Occasionally I’ll come across an indie game that just isn’t harboring the attention it deserves. In the case of Unspeakable Pixels’ new Metroidvania, Batbarian, that couldn’t be more true. When you search for it on Google, it autocorrects you to search for ‘barbarian’ instead. And that’s a great shame because it’s going to make finding […]
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Machines that can look at people’s memories are a fairly popular sci-fi trope. The Signifier, however, goes about it in a noticeably different way. It’s part-adventure game and part-walking simulator, with enough unique concepts to stand on its own and deliver an intriguing, memorable story. The voice acting and character animations don’t live up to […]
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The medium’s storytellers can’t escape the allure of near-future dystopias. Getting to play around in a world of what-ifs is an enticing prospect — but stories need conflict, so utopias are out. But even when humankind crumbles under the foot of our robot overlords, the immutability of the narrative adventure will keep our legacy alive. […]
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The arrival of Torchlight III as an Early Access game back in June 2020 was quite a surprise. It was previously announced that the next installment in the hit action role-playing game (ARPG) franchise would be a free-to-play offering (Torchlight Frontiers). Then, plans changed and we saw a shift in the game’s development leading to […]
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It’s usually not very promising when a developer with no previous experience on a classic franchise announces that they’re rebooting it. Most of the time, those don’t turn out so well. Aquanox Deep Descent is a re-imagining of the franchise wrapped in a modern package. And it’s very good! The visuals are strong, the underwater dogfighting […]
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It’s truly rare for me to find a game that makes me feel the way Ring of Pain does. On one hand, I love its gameplay loop. Upgrading stats, scoring loot, fighting monsters, and taking risks are rarely as compelling and satisfying as they are here. But the game is also horribly unfair in ways […]
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(credit: Corsair) When it comes to keyboards, every peripheral company believes that its flagship keyboard is the best of the best. Oftentimes, however, not much is done to make the keyboard stand out from the pack. For Corsair, it’s hopeful that its new flagship K100 gaming keyboard will be the last one PC gamers will […]
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In the past few months, I’ve played several rogue-lite games from the likes of Hades and Risk of Rain 2. Those are known as “action rogue-lites” due to the emphasis on faster movement and attacks as you explore stages. This time around, I had the pleasure of trying out Crown Trick, a new title from […]
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I really enjoyed beat-em-ups in my younger years. Upon hitting adulthood, however, I saw little value in their extremely short lengths and horribly shallow gameplay that was designed to convince people to drop another quarter into a machine. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin very clearly takes inspiration from those games, but it has depth to its combat, a […]
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This is a World War II game where you fight as the local people resisting the Nazi occupation – but it’s not set in France! That’s right, baby, we’re finally acknowledging that Soviet partisans existed. The game, appropriately enough, is titled Partisans 1941. As hinted in the title, the year is 1941. The Nazi blitzkrieg […]
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The rogue-lite genre isn’t known for being kind. That being said, most games that fit the description actually want you to win. Noita does not. Noita wants you to die. At any given moment, you’re a single blink of your eyes away from death, which isn’t going to be for everybody. But it’s a remarkable […]
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Adventure games don’t come in the form of non point-and-click sidescrollers all that often. Re:Turn – One Way Trip may look like a more traditional indie horror title, but it truly is an adventure game through and through. The story kept my interest the whole way, even if it left some lingering questions (and the game […]
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They almost got the official name right this time. For years, it was Onechanbara, despite that’s not how that word is spelled. Now it’s Onee Chanbara, even though it’s a portmanteau and should be one word. Unfortunately, this inability to stick to proper naming conventions is probably the most interesting thing about Onee Chanbara Origin, which manages […]
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While it’s functionally impossible to review games in a vacuum, I usually try to judge them on their own merits. Maybe it’s ironic that Space Crew is set in the vacuum of space. Because there is absolutely no way I can express my opinions on Space Crew without talking about its predecessor, Bomber Crew. Bomber […]
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Many moons ago I spent my youth working in a restaurant. Over the years I worked basically every position, from server to bartender, to cook, to manager. While all that is a hazy memory now, nothing brings the dread of working a lunch rush back quite like having to fill all those roles at once […]
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