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OpinionImpressionsLoop Hero Is A Wonderful New RPG About Overcoming Despair
Loop Hero is a lot of things: an RPG, a roguelite, an auto-battler, a card game, a city builder, an evocative visual novel. It’s also excellent, and I can’t stop playing it. Developed by Four Quarters (maker of 2015’s brilliant behavioral experiment Please, Don’t Touch Anything) and out today on Steam, the appropriately titled Loop…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionHey Nintendo, A Few More Requests For That Fancy New Switch
As the latest rumors about the Switch Pro/Super Nintendo Switch fly all about us, everyone is focused on the potential for that Samsung 7″ OLED screen, and just how well it’ll pull off its 4K resolution in docked mode . But if Mario HQ is currently piecing together components, we have a few other requests…
By John Walker -
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OpinionSorry PS5, Xbox Series X Has Unexpectedly Become My Preferred Console
I started this new generation of game consoles with the expectation that I would be playing most games on the PS5, like how I played most stuff on PS4 last gen. But nearly five months later, I’m spending most of my time on the Xbox Series X and now I feel bad, like I’m ignoring…
By Zack Zwiezen -
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OpinionImpressionsSorry Crazy Taxi Fans, Taxi Chaos Ain’t It
Taxi Chaos is not Crazy Taxi. But it’s trying to be, and it succeeds in some important ways while completely failing in many others. Consider this a warning: Don’t buy Taxi Chaos. But if you do, I can help make the game a bit better. I get why some folks might be tempted to buy…
By Zack Zwiezen -
OpinionNow That’s How You Do A Damn Game Reveal
After being utterly underwhelmed by BlizzCon, last week’s Nintendo Direct, and yesterday’s PlayStation State of Play, I wasn’t expecting much out of today’s Pokémon 25th Anniversary presentation. But it feels like The Pokémon Company took a good look at the competition and said, “Alright, now watch a master work.” No shade at all to those…
By Ash Parrish -
OpinionSquare Enix Is Finally Making The Final Fantasy VII Cinematic Universe Playable
Yesterday’s most important Final Fantasy news wasn’t delivered at the end of Sony’s lackluster State of Play livestream presentation but was instead casually tweeted out afterward: a new mobile game called Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is coming. This latest FFVII remix will tell the story not just of the original game but also of…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Ops Cold War’s Large-Scale ‘Outbreak’ Mode Shakes Up Zombies
Season Two of Black Ops Cold War arrives today, with a new 6v6 multiplayer map, new weapons, more challenges to complete, and another 100-tier battle pass to grind. It also brings the most unique Zombies experience we’ve seen in a while, in the large-scale “Outbreak” Zombies mode. As a part of Black Ops Cold War’s…
By S.E. Doster -
OpinionImpressionsBravely Default 2 Is Another Fun But Flawed Old-School JRPG
Bravely Default 2 is a trip, man. Going in, I thought I knew exactly what this game was, and it turns out I pretty much did—except for all of the tiny moments that occasionally delight, and just as occasionally elicit big, heaving sighs. Every time the familiar old-school JRPG wins me over it follows that…
By Ethan Gach -
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OpinionIt’s Weird To See Ryu Use A Gun In Fortnite
Yesterday, after some hints and leaks, Street Fighter characters Ryu and Chun-Li came to Epic’s mega-popular battle royale game, Fortnite. Watching Ryu run around shooting people with an assault rifle is weird. It’s also just one more example of how Fortnite consumes popular characters and franchises without much care or celebration. Guest characters have been…
By Zack Zwiezen -
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OpinionImpressionsI’ve Kinda Had My Fill After Wrapping The Division 2’s Latest Season
The Division 2’s latest manhunt is coming to an end. Players who have taken down this season’s previous four targets now have access to the final quarry, with a mission to take her out. This raid, while exciting and climatic, caps off another grind of a season that leaves the future of the game, and…
By Zack Zwiezen -
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OpinionImpressionsRed Dead Online’s New Solo Missions Are Pretty Good
The latest Red Dead Online update, released earlier this week, added a few new missions to the game. These new telegram missions are short and simple but are also built to be played alone, another sign that Rockstar is willing to give players more single-player content even in ostensibly online games. While Red Dead Online…
By Zack Zwiezen -
OpinionImpressionsXbox’s New ‘FPS Boost’ Feature Is The Real Deal
Yesterday Microsoft released FPS Boost, a new backward-compatibility feature for the Xbox Series X and S. FPS Boost will…well boost the framerate dramatically in specific, older games when you play them on a next-gen Xbox. After playing around with FPS Boost a bit I’m excited and impressed. This could be a big change in the…
By Zack Zwiezen -
OpinionImpressionsProject Triangle Strategy Just Became One Of My Most Anticipated Games
Think back to the last argument you had. Did you sway the other person to your side? How much effort did that take? That tug-of-war—the fraught nature of persuasion, and the notion that you don’t initially know if you’ve pulled it off—is the unexpected crux of Project Triangle Strategy, an upcoming tactical game from Square…
By Ari Notis -