Most Recent: Reviews
The Witness Review: Puzzles as Far as the Eye Can See
In The Witness, you traverse an island divided into traditional video game zones (desert, forest, castle) solving line puzzles. Each puzzle exists on a square grid with a starting point and an end point. Your goal is to successfully navigate these puzzles. The puzzles are very simple at the beginning of your quest, but quickly become more complicated after the introduction of new rules.
Contrary to what the above description might make you think, The Witness is a fascinating game, and if my description makes it sound dry or boring, it is only because I am eager to dispel any theories of what The Witness may or may not be. (more…)
Victor Vran Review: The Hunter of Baddies
Victor Vran is a top-down hack and slash dungeon crawler set in a steampunky, demon-infested European country. You play as the title character, and your sole mission is to find you best bud, Adrian. That is, until the helpless need help and bosomy queens asks for your assistance. (more…)
TimeFrame Review: Blurring the Lines Between Art and Game
TimeFrame is a bit like Myst in that they are both calm and exploratory. It is the kind of game you can play to relax and unwind and continue to feel that way when you stop playing. Instead of a game where one might seek catharsis through lots of action, TimeFrame sets you on a thoughtful journey through a doomed society, as you’re given ten minutes to explore the last ten seconds of a world. It’s simple in its presentation, but TimeFrame features a lot of little details that make every ten-minute playthrough worthwhile. (more…)
SteamWorld Heist Review: Hard Coiled
When Image and Form’s SteamWorld Dig released back in 2013, it didn’t just release, it kicked open the doors and burst right in. Nobody expected Dig’s popularity to skyrocket as much as it did, but it was well-earned. SteamWorld Dig was a fantastic game (as evidenced by our review) that brought gamers into a new, fantastic world. Soon, everyone clamored for a sequel to Rusty’s adventure; however, Image and Form had other plans. Enter: SteamWorld Heist. (more…)
PictoParty Review: Drawing Up Good Times
To say that the Wii had a wealth of party games would be an understatement. Nintendo’s motion-controlled system stood out as as a veritable Mecca for games that required a large group of people to play. Unfortunately, as the Wii aged and software sales dried up, so did the party games. That, coupled with the rather unsatisfying sales of the Wii U, meant that those types of games became a rare commodity on the system. But a few party games, including the recently-released PictoParty, do still make it onto the Wii U through the eShop. It’s a lone survivor in a wasteland of long-forgotten party games, and a title billed as “fun for the whole family.” And after playing it with the family, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. (more…)
Knight Squad Review: Bomberman Goes Medieval
Let me tell you a story…
It’s 1993. You dust off an old Gauntlet cartridge and proceed to spend a few weeks marvelling at its overhead style and bashing monsters with your big barbarian’s sword. After that, someone hands you a copy of Super Bomberman and a Super Multitap, a small plastic brick with four controller ports. Gathering together three of your buddies, you blow each other up with bombs while laughing yourselves silly.
Now jump back to the present. Chainsawesome’s Knight Squad, which was released earlier this week on the PC and Xbox One, perfectly fuses those two games into a medieval-themed party game that drops up to eight players into its single-screen arena at the same time.
If it had been released in 1993, Knight Squad would have gone down as one of gaming’s classics. It doesn’t have the same impact 22 years later, but it’s still a ridiculously enjoyable romp. (more…)
Fallout 4 Review: There’s Just Something S.P.E.C.I.A.L. About It
Let’s not mince words, Fallout 4 is clearly the most anticipated title of 2015 for most gamers. Fans of Fallout are furiously intense about the game, though I was never one of those people. But I found myself carried along by the hype and excited to play the latest in the series. While I have to admit I haven’t finished it yet – mostly because who has that kind of time in their lives – I am immersed in this world, and find myself constantly checking the clock while I’m playing because it keeps lulling me into that false sense of “you won’t stay up until 1:00 AM.”
Spoiler alert… I haven’t gone to bed before 1:00 AM since I received it. (more…)
I Am Bread Review: Toasty!
Every year, video game companies spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars creating the next big title. Press conferences are held long before a launch date is announced, trailerss are produced showcasing the various features, and huge events are planned for the eventual midnight release. Fans cosplay as the game’s main character at conventions, while others upload artwork to their favorite forums. Downloadable content is planned to keep new content coming for years. Books are written expanding the universe, movies are released, and people take the day off of work just to buy the next exciting installment in the game’s story.
And then there’s the game where you play as a piece of bread. (more…)