Mortal Kombat 11 Review | Lootboxes Can’t Stop The Bonecrushing Fun

As my journey into the fighting game genre deepens, I've finally gotten properly into a NetherRealms game. Although there are plenty of frustrating qualities to MK11, I can't deny that this game probably has the best single player story in a fighting game. Additionally, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the core gameplay, …

Devil May Cry 5 Review | Reigning In Hell Has Never Felt So Good

Considering that character action games are few and far between these days, it's nice to see that Capcom has continued its run of doing right by some of its long-running franchises. Devil May Cry 5 is a well-tuned delight that zips through its demonic vistas with distinct glee. The controls are snappy, and there is …

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Review | A Flawed Experiment

Black Mirror is a series with significant ups and downs. For every transcendentally uplifting San Junipero or grim masterpiece like White Christmas, there are unsuccessful mystery tales like Hated in the Nation or shallow depictions of the current political landscape like The Waldo Moment. Unfortunately, the series' first foray into interactive entertainment exists near the bottom …

Valkyria Chronicles 4 Review | War, Peace, And Anime

It's been roughly eight years since the last non-Japan only Valkyria Chronicles title was released, and while the turn based strategy genre has had significant popular titles like XCOM and several Fire Emblems, its nice to have the shooter strategy hybrid back. While its competitors do offer more complexity and depth, the winning combination of …

Yakuza Kiwami 2 Review: The Triumphant Return of the Dragon

My wild ride with the wonderfully bizarre world of the Yakuza series continues with Kiwami 2, a remake of the second game in the franchise. While Kiwami 1 was fairly disappointing, both in a narrative and gameplay sense, Kiwami 2 has the benefits of a much better script and has significant gameplay improvements due to …

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Review – A Well Measured Balance Between Approachability and Complexity

My unexpected deep-dive into the world of fighting games continues with ArcSys' latest BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. I was somewhat intimidated at first due to how notorious the BlazBlue titles are for being complex, but this one very much exists in the foot-steps of Dragon Ball FighterZ. In short the systems have been simplified without …

Shadow of the Colossus (2018) Review: A Titan Reborn

The original Shadow of the Colossus was a total game changer. The sophomore effort from Team Ico is a singular work, and for many years has been cited in the “Are games art?” debate as the medium’s foremost champion. It is a lyrical dark-fairy tale that doesn't cast the player as a triumphant savior of …

God of War Review: A Herculean Feat

Games are growing up. It’s hard to think of a better representation of this rapid maturity than the recently released God of War, a complete shift for the series in terms of its storytelling. Carrying on the tale of the endlessly enraged Kratos, we find the Ghost of Sparta a stranger in a strange land. …

Rivals of Aether Review: Carrying the torch of SSB Melee

In my opinion, Super Smash Bros Melee is one of the happiest accidents in the history of game design. While it functions as a fun party game on the surface, it's still played by thousands of players at a competitive level. Although it was designed to be a crowd pleasing party game that simplified fighting …