Every fantasy fan has, at some point, wanted to be a wizard—to hurl fireballs, manipulate objects with a thought, and brew bubbling potions in a mysterious tower. Most games only let you do this within rigid confines. Waltz of the Wizard, from developer Aldin Dynamics,…

The Silent Hill franchise has been a source of both devotion and division for 26 years. From genre-defining classics to controversial departures, the fan base has been at war over what a “true” Silent Hill game even is. Now, Konami and developer NeoBards Entertainment seek…

Every genre eventually evolves, and the Survivor-like phenomenon, largely defined by 2D horde-slaying, has finally entered a richer, more strategic space. Royal Revolt Survivors, from Team Warriors and published by Headup, seeks to blend the highly addictive, build-stacking chaos of its inspirations with the charismatic characters and…

As a massive fan of the original Painkiller games, I played the life out of Battle Out of Hell. When I saw they announced a “NEW” Painkiller game, I almost jumped out of my skin. This series has been quiet for a long, long time,…

Every so often, a game appears that doesn’t just borrow from its inspirations but feels like a lost relative, a familiar soul from a different dimension. Dreamed Away, the solo-developed passion project from Nicolas Petton, is one of those games. It wears its Earthbound and…

For 25 years, a certain type of strategy gamer has been chasing a ghost. We are the fans of 1999’s Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim—a game that did the unthinkable. It put you on the throne and then told you, “You’re not in charge.” You…

There are games that test your reflexes, games that test your mind, and games that test your patience. And then, there are games from Bennett Foddy. The name itself has become a genre, a warning label for experiences that are less “played” and more “endured.”…

There is a unique romance to the railway. It’s the deep, resonant rumble of a diesel-electric engine, the rhythmic clack-clack over the tracks, and the immense, tangible weight of pulling a mile-long freight train over a mountain pass. It’s a hobby of precision, patience, and…

The Black Phone was a grounded, tense horror film that balanced supernatural elements with gritty, serial-killer realism. Its sequel, Black Phone 2, looks at that balance and throws it out the window. Director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill have returned to craft a…

The world comes back into focus through a haze of pain and the coppery taste of your own blood. Your head feels like it’s been split open—and it has. A phone rings somewhere in the abandoned warehouse you’ve woken up in, an insistent, screeching demand.…