Reviews

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EasySMX Gaming Chair Review

EasySMX Gaming Chair Review

There are so many gaming chairs out there these days that it can be impossible to compare them all. It seems like every company with a gaming brand has their own line of chairs, but there are few...

Resident Evil 8: Village Review

Resident Evil 8: Village Review

Resident Evil 8: Village was just released on May 7th! The series has always been popular, but Resident Evil 7: Biohazard as well as the recent remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 have been...

Buildings Have Feelings Too! Review

Buildings Have Feelings Too! Review

Some games have titles whose entire purpose seems to lie in drawing attention instead of conveying what a game is about or what you might expect to do playing it. Such a title might sound something...

Shelter 3 Review

Shelter 3 Review

I came in expecting a relaxing game about elephants. I looked at the achievements. They spoke of pretty flowers and pink flamingos. They implied a game that would be breezy and cheerful,...

Stronghold: Warlords Review

Stronghold: Warlords Review

Sound the call, bang the drums. The Warlords march to battle.  Just shy of the series’ 20th anniversary, Stronghold: Warlords finally swaggers up to the field of battle after...

Cyberpunk 2077 Review

Cyberpunk 2077 Review

Hey there, choombas! The wait is finally over — Cyberpunk 2077 is here. CD Projekt RED started developing the dystopian RPG roughly nine years ago. It was finally released on...

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes Review

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes Review

Sometimes it takes dedicated time to suss out a game’s influences. Maybe a strong thematic element to a story only becomes truly apparent near the ending or upon repeat playthroughs. Other...

Moon Pod Crescent Review

Moon Pod Crescent Review

Note: This is a review of the Crescent + Super Moon Pod. You can find our original Super Moon Pod Review here. If you read our Super Moon Pod review, you know it didn’t exactly end with a...

PlayStation 5 Review

PlayStation 5 Review

The next generation of consoles is officially here! Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S are out in the wild and ready to kickstart the next 5-10 years of gaming. And while the promise of true...

Chicken Police Review

Chicken Police Review

Dark night. Hardly a star in the sky. Nights like these, if you walk the streets, you can almost taste the desperation in the air. Through the dazzling lights and the fake laughter, you can tell...

Witch It! Review

Witch It! Review

Commenting on balance can be a tricky proposition. When determining whether a gameplay element screws with the overall balance of the experience, how can you be sure that your perceived issues...

Aquanox Deep Descent Review

Aquanox Deep Descent Review

Is anyone else tired of amnesia as a plot device? Often, memory loss within video game narratives serves as a convenient excuse to deliver exposition to the player. Further, it often serves as a...

Partisans 1941 Review

Partisans 1941 Review

Sometimes a game comes out, and it feels like it was made for you. It’s in a genre you find interesting and offers an equally-interesting setting, and is embellished with novel mechanics and...

Against the Moon Review

Against the Moon Review

Against the Moon feels like a game that’s split in two. On one hand, there’s the tactical deckbuilder with roguelite mechanics. On the other, there’s the diegetic...

Unrailed! Review

Unrailed! Review

In the age of uncertainty, many gamers are looking for ways to play with friends, especially online. Of course, the market for multiplayer games is astonishingly huge, and you’ve got a wealth...

Bounty Battle Review

Bounty Battle Review

Fighting games can be quite complicated. If you’ve ever seen gameplay at the professional level, this may come across as a laughable understatement. But take, for example, something like...

Paradise Killer Review

Paradise Killer Review

Sometimes, a game draws you in from its very first moments. There’s something about its aesthetics, its mood, maybe a particularly compelling story hook that catches you and reels you in....

Dota Underlords Review

Dota Underlords Review

Is Dota Underlords a game worth playing? There’s no shortage of reviews from the game’s launch that sought to answer that same question. Many complement the merging...

Frostpunk: On the Edge Review

Frostpunk: On the Edge Review

How often do you feel exactly what the player character is feeling when playing a game? How often is that feeling evoked by the way the mechanics unfold in conjunction with the story, rather than...

Mortal Shell Review

Mortal Shell Review

As a genre, soulslike is proving not only its popularity but its versatility. With games like The Surge 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order adopting the challenging...

Metamorphosis Review

Metamorphosis Review

How do you create a story about societal inequality and uncaring, soul-crushing, monolithic bureaucracies without being overly depressing? As far as Metamorphosis is concerned, the answer...

Barotrauma *Early Access* Review

Barotrauma *Early Access* Review

Sometimes, a game being “right up your alley” is actually a detriment to evaluating it fairly. Why? Because that kind of perception creates high expectations. And if a game can’t...

Terrorarium Review

Terrorarium Review

Coherent mechanics can prove vital for a game’s playability. This is particularly true for the puzzle genre, the one to which Terroriarium belongs. Unfortunately, points about puzzle...

Summer in Mara Review

Summer in Mara Review

I’m a sucker for a game with farming elements. It’s a shame that I don’t have much of a green thumb in real life, because there’s something so profoundly satisfying to me in...

Desperados III Review

Desperados III Review

What sort of games tend to emphasize narrative and writing? Of course, any game can place an emphasis on such things, but what are the trends? We see a lot of third-person action games, first-person...

Deck of Ashes Review

Deck of Ashes Review

Sometimes, it behooves a reviewer to convey a game’s nature by comparing it to other games. It’s not a tool to be overused, particularly if you want to keep your articles relevant to...

Spirit Oath Review [Early Access]

Spirit Oath Review [Early Access]

Playing an Early Access title and trying to analyze its merits can involve a lot of trial and error. You might start a level and almost immediately get crushed by the AI. When that happens, what was...

Rising Lords Preview

Rising Lords Preview

The makers of Rising Lords seem to have adopted a similar approach to development as I did to conducting warfare within the game itself. That is after I got my ass handed to me in my first fight...

Resolutiion Review

Resolutiion Review

Cyberpunk as a genre feels increasingly relevant with each passing day. One might even go as far as to say that we’re living out the early stages of a cyberpunk society. This thematic...

Poly Bridge 2 Review

Poly Bridge 2 Review

As I write this in the Spring of 2020, the sun shining through my window, it occurs to me that Poly Bridge 2 is an excellent game to be playing right now. Life has been hectic lately, and...

OPEdge Gaming Desk Review

OPEdge Gaming Desk Review

Gaming desks are a luxury that many players forget about when designing their perfect game rooms. But make no mistake – gaming desks deliver a major upgrade, especially in terms of style. With...

Someday You’ll Return Review

Someday You’ll Return Review

Someday You’ll Return didn’t exactly endear itself to me in its opening moments. Dark, claustrophobic corridors, random jumpscares, a character called “the Beast.” I was...

Tidal Shock Review

Tidal Shock Review

Sometimes, I think game developers are afraid of water. Count the number of protagonists who will instantly drown the second they dip a toe in. Look at the Total War series, which once...

Spitlings Review

Spitlings Review

Spitlings is a game whose appeal is evident upon seeing a few minutes of gameplay. I do not say this flippantly; as I was playing, my brother took a brief look at the game and laughed and...

Arboria Review

Arboria Review

Arboria is a hodgepodge of ideas and mechanics drawn from games I tend to like. The combat system is extremely reminiscent of Dark Souls, various elements like permadeath and hub-based...

Fort Triumph Review

Fort Triumph Review

Fort Triumph is one of those games that sees the main characters amusingly observe the flaws inherent to feudalism, then encourages you to use the game’s over-the-top, physics-heavy...

The Shattering Review

The Shattering Review

I underestimated my emotional reaction to a character sitting at a desk with a glass of wine, ticking away at a typewriter. It sounds like a neutral enough action, perhaps even a bit mundane,...

A Fold Apart Review

A Fold Apart Review

A Fold Apart immediately jumps off the screen and shows you what it’s about. Colorful, stylized visuals are paired with sweet, calming piano melodies to set the mood. You select your...

Dragon Banner Preview

Dragon Banner Preview

Dragon Banner takes a while to come into its own. Shoddy audiovisuals and stilted gameplay dominate first impressions, especially during missions where the goal is simply to reach a certain...

In Other Waters Review

In Other Waters Review

How many games have you played where the protagonist is encased in a mechanized suit of some variety, assisted by an AI companion? How many of those games entailed blasting through hordes of alien...

Half-Life: Alyx Review

Half-Life: Alyx Review

It’s been more than twelve years since Half-Life 2: Episode Two’s release. Fans of the Half-Life universe have waited for this moment like Sirius Black waited in...

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review

Could Animal Crossing: New Horizons have arrived at a more opportune time? In the midst of a period rife with panic, uncertainty, and isolation, out comes a game about the joys of exploring a...

Comanche Review

Comanche Review

My journey with the Early Access build of Comanche could be succinctly depicted with a movie-style montage. Like any good protagonist, I started out as a flailing neophyte, totally unable...

Half-Life: Alyx Preview

Half-Life: Alyx Preview

True to form, Valve is sticking with it’s “once every decade or so” release schedule. Up next on the roster? Half-Life: Alyx! After years of waiting, players will finally...

Hidden Through Time Review

Hidden Through Time Review

What’s got you stressed out right now? Current events? Relationship troubles? Frustrations with your career? If you’re feeling anxious and overwhelmed, maybe the best game to play...

The Pit: Infinity Review

The Pit: Infinity Review

One of the things I really like about Breaking Bad is how it deals with the consequences of violence. A character who suffers multiple gunshot wounds but survives...

Artificial Extinction Review

Artificial Extinction Review

Artificial Extinction is a unique take on the tried-and-true genre of tower defense games. The game is most definitely an “early access” indie title, but it already introduces innovative...

Femida Review

Femida Review

Some games wear their inspirations on their sleeve. This isn’t necessarily a problem — the Middle Earth series, Vermintide and its sequel, and a whole rash of...

Legends of Runeterra Review

Legends of Runeterra Review

Are you a fan of Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering Arena? Can’t get enough of digital cards, daring decks, and stomping fingers as you climb the PvP ladder? Allow me to...

The Blind Prophet Review

The Blind Prophet Review

The Blind Prophet is a mature, gritty and biblical graphic novel, wrapped around an indie point-and-click adventure game. The gameplay and graphics are simple yet enjoyable, though its story and...

Conglomerate 451 Review

Conglomerate 451 Review

Early in the year 2020, the development studio RUNEHEADS advanced Robot evolution by releasing EGO, a drone capable of relaying tactical information and providing real-time combat analysis for teams...

Zombie Army 4: Dead War Review

Zombie Army 4: Dead War Review

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is basically Left 4 Dead. From the way it marks levels with Grindhouse-style posters to the heavy emphasis on 4-player cooperative gameplay, Dead...

Skellboy Review

Skellboy Review

Guess what this is: an action RPG where you play an undead scouring a ruined kingdom, battling other, less sane undead and hulking monsters, while opening various shortcuts in the interconnected...

noblechairs HERO Review

noblechairs HERO Review

There are a lot of sports cars on the road. For the mid-life crisis on a budget, you’ve got the relatively affordable Ford Mustang or Mazda Miata. But every car enthusiast holds at least...

The Lab Review

The Lab Review

Valve’s The Lab was intended as a showcase for the HTC Vive way back in 2016. But in typical Valve fashion, once they started polishing their game, they forget to stop. The result is a...

Escape From Tarkov Preview

Escape From Tarkov Preview

When all its pistons are firing, Escape From Tarkov is a profoundly affecting experience. Having never experienced combat in real life, it’s hard to judge Tarkov’s success in...

Darwin Project Review

Darwin Project Review

Like Star Wars, the United States, and countless adolescents, Darwin Project seems to be going through an identity crisis. One look at it screams influences: Fortnite, Overwatch, maybe some Team...

Google Stadia Review

Google Stadia Review

Google Stadia is a baffling, awkward, frustrating product. It is equal parts impressive and underwhelming, purposeful, and arbitrary. It is strikingly convenient in some ways and pointlessly obtuse...

Elite Dangerous VR Review

Elite Dangerous VR Review

Who doesn’t want their very own spaceship? Elite Dangerous may be a few years old, but it has aged like fine wine — especially in VR. See the stunning sights of our galaxy up close and...

Boneworks Review

Boneworks Review

It was around the third level that Boneworks clicked for me. Sure, there’s plenty to see and engage with in the first few scenes. The physics elevate the experience into new realms, for better...

Darksiders Genesis Review

Darksiders Genesis Review

When I learned I’d be reviewing Darksiders Genesis, I was excited. I’d only played the first game in the series, but I enjoyed it thoroughly, and its sequel always lit the fires of...

Don’t Die, Minerva! Review

Don’t Die, Minerva! Review

One of the compelling elements of Roguelites is the series of decisions you have to make over the course of your run. In The Binding of Isaac, you might be deciding how to spend bombs — do you...

Tools Up! Review

Tools Up! Review

I can be pretty competitive when playing multiplayer games, so many people find it surprising that I enjoy couch co-op games as much as I do. There’s just something about sitting down with a...

Hot Brass Preview

Hot Brass Preview

Picture this. An office building is under siege, hostiles have taken multiple hostages, and it’s your job to neutralize the situation and get everyone out safely. You’re only given a...

Superliminal Review

Superliminal Review

Between the narration, architecture, testing framework, and shady corporate goings-on, Superliminal strikes me as a game striving to evoke titles like Portal and The Stanley Parable. Whether...

Sparklite Review

Sparklite Review

When taking on a boss in Sparklite, there’s typically something big and red you should be targeting. The fight becomes rhythmic as you determine their attack patterns, running and dodging...

Rocket Wars Review

Rocket Wars Review

As someone who grew up playing party games with my brothers, I’m always on the lookout for a new game that I can open up when I have company over to help break the ice and put everyone in a...

Door Kickers: Action Squad Review

Door Kickers: Action Squad Review

Door Kickers: Action Squad feels like a madcap pastiche of 80s action movies draped over a meticulously-designed, tactically-driven side-scrolling shooter. The developers clearly wanted to deliver a...

Moons of Madness Review

Moons of Madness Review

Down to the title, Moons of Madness is very obviously inspired by the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Protagonist Shane Newhart hangs a framed picture of the degree from his alma mater,...

Hell Let Loose *Early Preview*

Hell Let Loose *Early Preview*

It’s the Allies vs. the Axis powers in this new multiplayer FPS by Black Matter. Hell Let Loose draws inspiration from WWII-era events to deliver an action-packed multiplayer experience with...

Neo Cab Review

Neo Cab Review

The introduction of Neo Cab is reminiscent of the theatrical cut of Blade Runner. If there’s a moment where a relationship or concept could be set up with tact and subtlety, an obnoxious inner...

The Surge 2 Review

The Surge 2 Review

The Surge 2’s opening cutscene muses that machines built by imperfect creators can never themselves be perfect. Nonetheless, H.A.R.O.L.D. — an AI capable of projecting itself onto...

The Soujourn Review

The Soujourn Review

Dark energy pulses in my hands as I carry the relic across the precarious walkway. I place it in the statue’s alcove and the stone mirror springs to life, illuminating the walkway with dark...

Mythgard Review

Mythgard Review

Did you ever collect trading cards? Do you remember the exhilaration of opening booster packs and building decks? I sure do. I was a big fan of Magic the Gathering back in the day, and I have fond...

Devil’s Hunt Review

Devil’s Hunt Review

Déjà vu. Do you ever have that feeling? Maybe it comes in the form of an inkling that reminds you of multiple experiences all wrapped into one. In the battle between light and dark,...

Pesterquest Review

Pesterquest Review

John Egbert and Rose Lalonde. Who are these kids? We’ll start with the basics: John is a young man, eagerly awaiting a package. Inside, a game which will bring his small cohort of online...

Sin Slayers Review

Sin Slayers Review

I’ve led my team deep into the Forest of Gluttony. Our mission? To slay the first of the seven sinlords and end his evil scourge upon the land. But I never imagined his forces could be so powerful....

Children of Morta Review

Children of Morta Review

Love is the heart and soul of Children of Morta. When corruption ravages the land, and cruelty, desperation, and pain become the norm, love becomes the final bulwark against the darkness. The...

Remnant: From the Ashes Review

Remnant: From the Ashes Review

Blood clouds my vision as I stagger toward the twisted metal beams of a long-abandoned hotel. Collapsing into cover, I press the pulsing dragon heart to my chest and sigh in relief as its warmth...

Wreckfest Review

Wreckfest Review

Engines roar around me as I flash past the banner that marks the last lap of the race. I’m somewhere in the middle of the pack, and I know a spot in the top three will evade me unless I manage...

Vigor Review

Vigor Review

There’s a certain balancing act to being a reviewer. On the one hand, you need to judge a game by its own merits. On the other, the context of a game’s release remains relevant. Part of...

Brume *Early Preview*

Brume *Early Preview*

If you enjoy simple adventure titles, Brume is sure to impress. Although short in length, the game delivers big in the realm of charm and innovative mechanics. That’s because this indie RPG is...

The Blackout Club Review

The Blackout Club Review

Do you want to join the Blackout Club? Think carefully. The situation in Redacre is insane. Teenagers are blacking out and waking up in strange places, some of them covered in blood. The adults are...

Wolfenstein: Youngblood Review

Wolfenstein: Youngblood Review

Wolfenstein: Youngblood, developed by Machinegames and Arkane Studios, adapts the run-and-gun action of its predecessors into a fun but somewhat basic co-op experience with plenty of post-game...

Streets of Rogue Review

Streets of Rogue Review

Streets of Rogue exhibits a profound love and respect for its players. I can’t remember the last time I played a game so committed to addressing the question, “what would be fun for the...

Songbird Symphony Review

Songbird Symphony Review

Songbird Symphony is a rhythm & adventure platformer game about an orphaned hatchling named Birb. Curious about his true origins, Birb sets out on an epic adventure in search of his parents....

Archlion Saga Review

Archlion Saga Review

“Short but adequate!” That’s the official description on the Nintendo Switch game store. Surely the developers of this Japanese RPG encountered a language barrier in their sales...

Cadence of Hyrule Review

Cadence of Hyrule Review

Cadence of Hyrule is the latest addition to the Zelda series. Developed by Brace Yourself Games and published by Nintendo, the game combines your favorite Zelda characters with the rhythm-based...

Littlewood Review

Littlewood Review

You’ve defeated the mighty wizard and saved the world from his sinister grasp. The adventure is over, and it’s time to return home. Only, what’s there to do after you’ve...

Fortnite Review

Fortnite Review

Fortnite is everywhere. From social media feeds to local news channels, the hype is almost unreal. But how did it get to be like this? It could be due to the fact that Fortnite is available on every...

Diablo 3 Review

Diablo 3 Review

I still remember staying up ‘til the wee hours of morning, teaming with players from around the world to grind levels in Diablo 2. I spent hours upon hours in that fantasy realm, learning...

noblechairs ICON Review

noblechairs ICON Review

Thanks for coming by and checking out this chair review. Alex from noblechairs sent me a sample of their ICON Series Leather Chair in Midnight Blue and Graphite for testing. First I’ll share...

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