Why Are Digital Chores So Much Better? Let’s address a fundamental mystery of the human psyche: why is cleaning your actual house a miserable, soul-draining chore, but cleaning a digital house in a video game is one of the most therapeutic experiences on earth? If…

A Beautiful Blasphemy of Genres Enter Horripilant. Let’s be honest: the “idle clicker” genre doesn’t typically command much critical respect. Usually associated with watching cookies duplicate or mindlessly tapping a screen until the numbers get too big to comprehend, the genre is rarely praised for…

A Long-Awaited Transmission For years, Mega Man Star Force fans have felt like they were screaming into the void of outer space. Following the massive success of the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, the community desperately hoped that Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis would eventually…

Entering the Domain of the Flame Princess The character action genre is notoriously difficult to break into. For years, giants like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and NieR: Automata have completely dominated the space, setting an incredibly high bar for combat fluidity and visual spectacle. When…

A Masterclass in Dread There are very few franchises in gaming history that command the same level of hushed reverence as Fatal Frame. When the original Crimson Butterfly launched on the PlayStation 2, it wasn’t just a scary game; it was a deeply emotional exploration…

The Graveyard Shift from Hell I have sifted through my fair share of indie horror games that promise a terrifying “night shift” experience, only to deliver a generic haunted-house experience with a flashlight that dies every 12 seconds. It takes a lot to stand out…

Project Hail Mary Review: Is It Worth Seeing in Theaters? Our Project Hail Mary review is in — and Ryan Gosling’s performance as Ryland Grace is nothing short of extraordinary. This feel-good sci-fi adventure from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is easily one of the…

The “Goldilocks” of Extraction Shooters Let’s address the elephant in the room: when Bungie first announced they were resurrecting their beloved 1990s boomer-shooter IP, Marathon, as a modern PvPvE extraction shooter, the internet was highly skeptical. After years of watching the genre become saturated with…

A Bear in a Onesie Steps Outside If you have ever looked at the intense, grid-based combat of traditional tactical RPGs and thought, “This is great, but it needs significantly more amphibians and a bear wearing a onesie,” then your hyperspecific prayers have been answered.…

Doing My Part Touching back down in California after a grueling week walking the floor at GDC, my brain felt like absolute mush. Between the endless networking, the developer panels, and staring at engine presentations for six days straight, I needed something to completely fry…