Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. I think about that title a lot. It may not even be the weirdest game name. But it stuck in my mind as one of the quintessential "Square Enix" titles in recent memory. The thing is, NieR actually earns the right t...

Millions of California residents like myself are bracing for what could be a very dry year for our state. Water conservation may have to make a comeback in 2021 as our snowpack is below the yearly average, and I honestly can't remember the ...

Animal Crossing fans, this one's for you.

So good but so, so buggy.

Spacebase Startopia is a bit of a weird thing. On the surface, it is definitely some sort of remake/reimagining/remaster of 2001's Startopia. It's even right there in the name. Looking over the marketing however, you'll find a suspicious la...

The launch of Fantasian really snuck up on us. After getting announced back in 2019, it flew under the radar until right around New Year's when developer Mistwalker confirmed the JRPG would release this year. Then, out of the blue, it ...

I can’t claim to be intimately familiar with Record of Lodoss War, but then, it’s a little scarce in the West. It started out as a “replay” of a group’s Dungeons and Dragons campaign, then spun out in about a m...

The last time we checked in with the long-awaited Oddworld: Soulstorm, things were looking good. Let's see how it turned out.

There's a good chunk of games (especially from big publishers) I kind of avoid until they're basically out. "No, I don't want to watch this NPC backstory video. Call me when it's out!" Our own Jordan Devore can't count the number of ti...

The evil genius archetype is one that fascinates me. It’s not that outlandish that an eccentric megalomaniac could gather a group of underlings and launch a campaign against the world, but I can’t convince a courier to leave a p...

Back in January, I wrote up an impressions piece for my hands-on with the Balan Wonderworld demo, saying it was saving its best bits for the final game. That statement wasn't really supported by any concrete evidence, it was more wishf...

There is a start to everything. All conflicts and compassions require a catalyst, but finding the true zero point can range from easy to very, very tricky. This is the setup of Genesis Noir, an adventure from developer Feral Cat Den that's ...

It's weird to think how Monster Hunter low key became Capcom's top franchise in an instant. While Street Fighter and Resident Evil still reign supreme overall, with multiple entries dotting the top 10 list, Monster Hunter is the absolute ki...

Reviewing Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town has been an interesting couple of weeks, to say the least. When I first got my review code, I was told there would be a day-one patch that would aim to alleviate many of the issues that hav...

One of these days I'm going to go to Japan. It's been a lifelong dream of mine, and there is so much I want to see over there, from Mt. Fiji to Chuka-Soba Tomita to the torii gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. I'm also going to wa...

While most rabbits prefer the simple life — hanging around in fields, lolloping in runs and hutches, playing basketball with Bill Murray — such mediocre pastimes do not trouble the head of tomb waidin' wabbit, Kaze. Kaze chases ...

It may only be March, but I'd wager the cast of Gnosia is the most infatuating group of eclectic weirdos we'll see in gaming this year. The 14 characters that make up the passengers of this wayward spaceship are a diverse bunch, w...

Content Warning: This game, and thus the review, contains depictions and descriptions of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Having been Kickstarted in 2014, Omori seems to have gone under many people's radar, myself included. While at a...

Combat is a central feature to many games. We’re not very good at depicting conflict resolution in an interactive way unless it involves swinging a sword or firing a gun. A debate is difficult to simulate, but ballistics are not. Rece...

It's crazy to think that it's been nearly five years since The Climb! That's about how long mainstream VR tech has been out, and thankfully, a handful of plucky studios are still plugging away at VR games. I mean, it's a niche at this point...

Taxi Chaos is, for all intents and purposes, the spiritual successor to Sega's Crazy Taxi. It features convertible cabs driving around a city, picking up fares, and dropping them off as quickly and stylishly as possible. There's e...

Ghosts 'n Goblins is an absolute retro classic. It kind of embodies the old school, no holds barred feel of some old game development philosophies: you're either in or you're out. And even if you're in, you might eventually be out, after th...

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times. I don't need to write another lengthy, misty-eyed intro on how my entire formative life years were spent squinting in the noisy din of the arcade, breathing cigarette smoke into my young...

To some, the Bravely Default franchise exists merely on the peripheral plane. "We want more old school JRPGs," fans cried out. "Here's a few," Square Enix answered. But the reach of projects in the aforementioned series, as well as one-offs...

Omega Force, as a studio, has carved out a nice little niche for itself. Well, some wouldn't say it's nice! "Repetitive," is the word some might use. But despite their reputation for similar-looking beat 'em ups, hardcore Omega Force fans k...