Why The Return Of The Obra Dinn Is Such A Satisfying Puzzle Game

The modern indie gaming scene continues to prove that there is an infinite possibility space for the potential of the medium. While it's understandable why most titles tend to follow genre formulas or have a clear lineage, every once in a while we get something like Return of the Obra Dinn, which completely reimagine their …

Soulcalibur VI: A Beginner’s First Impressions

While RDR2 has essentially sucked up all of my free time, I did enjoy the week or so I had with the latest in the long-running Soulcalibur series. Although I had only played a little bit of the 4th entry, and I am generally inexperienced in 3D fighters, I was able to make the transition …

Telltale Games and the Legacy of Walking Dead Season 1

With the deflating news that Telltale Games has shut down, it seems as good a time as any to reflect on their defining title, The Walking Dead. Their episodic zombie tale combined a popular property with a narrative focused adventure, introducing many to the concept of story-focused games. While TWD Season 1 obviously isn't the …

The Narrative Fetch Quest Problem

After playing through Yakuza Kiwami 1, and finding it fairly disappointing, I started thinking about why I enjoyed the story of Yakuza 0 so much more than that of its sequel. Among other things, one of the problems with Yiwami was its pacing, an issue brought to the forefront by video game contrivance which I'll …

Why Super Smash Bros Melee Is Still One Of The Most Unique And Rewarding Competitive Games Ever Made

Recently I had the pleasure of writing about one of my favorite games, Super Smash Bros Melee for the Nintendo GameCube. Melee is a exceptionally weird case of an amalgamation of many unintentional mechanics coalescing into a fighting game like no other. It's crazy fast, has endless depth due to its fluidity, and is immensely …

Hollow Knight Review: A Mysterious Labyrinth Beckons

There may be a plethora of Metroidvania games that are worthy of your time, but Hollow Knight stands out among crowded genre thanks to its excellent world design, cohesive sense of style, and sturdy gameplay. It's easily one of the most interesting titles I've played this year, and gets my emphatic recommendation. Check out my …

Five Games That Demonstrate Why 2017 Was An Amazing Year For Video Game Storytelling

This was an especially fun one to write. 2017 felt like a hallmark year for storytelling in games and I had a great time highlighting some of my personal favorites. Titles like Nier: Automata, Yakuza 0, Wolfenstein II, Doki Doki Literature Club, and Night in the Woods offered a diverse medley of ideas delivered in …

Hits And Misses From This Year’s Sony E3 Conference

With E3 2018 in the history books, its a good time to look back at Sony's approach to the massive gaming event. Although they didn't pack quite as much firepower into their conference as Microsoft, I would say they had the second most exciting/engaging showing for me personally. I was intrigued on some level by …

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 …

Exciting News! I will be writing for upstart gaming site GameRVW

A few weeks ago I was given an offer to help out an upstart gaming site GamesRVW, where I'll be assisting as a freelance writer! While I still intend on continuing to write on this blog about movies and anime, most of my video game posts will end up over there. I'll also be helping with …