Community Articles

25,358 community articles

The Wheel of Dubious RPGs Episode 41-42: The Last Remnant and Underworld Ascendant
Published Jul 7, 2021
The Last Remnant A weird, ambitious, and deeply flawed 360-era JRPG? Isn't that the only kind though? Developer : Square-Enix Release Date : November 20, 2008 Time Played : Two Hours and not a bit more Dubiosity : 3 out of 5 Amount of this game I felt like actually understood at the end of that time : 1 out of 5 Would I play more : There’s a part of me that absolutely wants to understand this g...
arbitrarywater (Premium member)
Clones & Memes: How Kojima uses repetition to create a mythos
Published Jul 6, 2021
Snake, we're sending you into an isolated environment to find and destroy a bipedal nuclear weapon: Metal Gear. Before you reach it, though, you'll likely have to do battle with a helicopter, as well as a sniper who is probably a beautiful woman and may be able to use photosynthesis. Should you find yourself captured, a mysterious third party will help you escape. They may be some kind of cybor...
eccentrix (Premium member)
The Dredge of Seventeen: June
Published Jul 6, 2021
When it comes to game releases every year has its big headliners and hidden gems, but none were more packed than 2017. As my backlog-related project for this year I'm looking to build a list of a hundred great games that debuted at some point in 2017, making sure to hit all the important stops along the way. For more information and statistics on this project, be sure to check out this Intro bl...
mento (Premium member)
Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport song
Published Jul 6, 2021
Dear readers and followers, I'm very tired of hearing the fanboy wars between Gran Turismo and Forza series for a long time so this inspired me to write this song as a parody of Black or White by Michael Jackson. Lyrics: I took my race car to a race circuit for a test drive and tuning session The Gran Turismo fan is that Forza Motorsport fan with you? Yes we're one and the same Now I run with t...
gtxforza
Miles Morales, Family, and Community. (SPOILERS).
Published Jul 5, 2021
Early in Miles Morales, on his way home, Miles comes across someone painting a mural on the side of a building. One of none other than everyone's favorite web-slinger, Spider-Man. The classic, original Spider-Man, with his bug eyes and bright red suit. Miles, still amidst his Spider-training, suggests adding the new Spider-Man too, and the painter replies with something to the effect of a dismi...
mooseymcman (Premium member)
Indie Game of the Week 226: Unavowed
Published Jul 2, 2021
I've used this organ of mine (I mean... the blog, this one) many times to talk about how adventure gaming has blossomed into this many branched thing thanks to the inventive storytellers in the Indie development tier, embracing many new and different approaches to designing a narrative-heavy game. Even with this veritable smorgasbord, I always find myself most drawn to the point and click genre...
mento (Premium member)
I'm A Final Fantasy Pessimist But I Don't Get People Upset At Intergrade's Ending (SPOILER WARNING!)
Published Jul 1, 2021
Preamble (And Again, SPOILER WARNING!) These sorts of interviews from three years ago sure make a lot more sense now. Despite having a reputation of ripping Final Fantasy and Square-Enix a new fucking asshole in their spare time, I have managed to avoid talking about Final Fantasy VII Remake. And before you ask, there's no compelling reason for this other than I have not been able to get to wri...
zombiepie (Premium member)
New Console, and Old Nostalgia (I finally got a PS5!!!).
Published Jun 28, 2021
It only took seven (7) months, but I finally managed to get my hands onto that most coveted of items...a Sony® PlayStation™ 5. How did I achieve this, you ask? Was it the months of checking stores online for stock? The weeks of having the Target page for PS5 open every morning? Was it waiting in line at PlayStation Direct queues? Was it some sort of elaborate Fast and Furious heist, just with c...
mooseymcman (Premium member)
Youtuber Matt McMuscles produced a Beat 'Em Up. I played it. It's a decent homage to the classics.
Published Jun 26, 2021
The Takeover is a brawler produced by Youtuber Matt McMuscles, formerly of Super Best Friends Play. I bought the game because of his regular shilling of it and because it was on sale on Switch. After playing it I have to say that it’s a pretty impressive project for a game done primarily by one person (who goes by the handle Pelikan13.) It is not, however, without its limitations. The Takeover...
bigsocrates
My thoughts on PS5 and Xbox Series X (As of June 26th, 2021)
Published Jun 26, 2021
Ugh, both consoles' library of games is drought at this moment, apart from playing PS4/Xbox One games via backwards compatibility. It's up to you to buy them by the next shipment or Christmas 2021 then add them to your gaming collection, but make sure you are capable to wait for more games to come.
gtxforza
Indie Game of the Week 225: Blasphemous
Published Jun 25, 2021
There aren't a whole lot of games about Catholicism. It's not like you see Super Mariology or World of Warcraft: Catechism lining the shelves, and what few religious games there are tend to be the soft, no-fun Protestant kind where Jesus gracefully carries you over all the obstacles if you fail a level too many times (in case you were wondering why there was only one pair of footprints leading...
mento (Premium member)
Why it's fun to watch people play bad games. Jeff's DA stream is my favorite GB video in months. Bring on the Amico!
Published Jun 25, 2021
A lot of game commentators seem to think that viewers like watching them play bad games because we want them to suffer. That there's some sadistic joy to be had in watching someone suffer through something they don't like and get frustrated and irritable over time. I can't speak for everyone, but for me this is definitely not the case. Watching people play bad games is fun because there's almos...
bigsocrates
Little Inferno is a decent, if shallow, puzzle game with more resonance than ever after the last year and a half.
Published Jun 25, 2021
Little Inferno is a video game. When it was released there was some discussion as to whether it was a game or some kind of narrative interactive toy, like a visual novel where you burn stuff instead of chat with high schoolers, but there are enough established rules and gameplay challenges to mark this as clearly in the game category. It’s not a difficult game, and the gameplay isn’t its strong...
bigsocrates
What's The Deal With Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance?
Published Jun 25, 2021
As Jerry Seinfeld once said — “What’s the deal with Dark Alliance?” I wanted to like Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance , I really did. R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt Do’Urden, Forgotten Realms novels were the vehicle that got me obsessed with the fantasy genre. I’ve read the Dark Elf Trilogy three times and listened to the audiobook versions twice. I’ve read through the Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, (altho...
gla55jaw
Assassin's Creed Chronicles is not a great subseries, but its ambition made it much more interesting than I expected.
Published Jun 25, 2021
When I set out to play all the Assassin’s Creed console games I wasn’t sure that I’d actually play through the Chronicles side-series of stealth platformers. For one thing, most people say that these games are not closely connected to the broader Assassin’s Creed story and so can easily be skipped. More importantly, though, they have a terrible reputation as quick cash-grab tie in titles develo...
bigsocrates
Persona 5 Strikers: More than a Musou
Published Jun 22, 2021
When I played Persona 5 , I was enchanted by its eye-popping visual style, phenomenal music, and hokey yet resonant story. When credits rolled after 75 hours, I wanted to spend even more time in that world. But of course, I didn’t. Not only is the game a mammoth time investment, turn-based RPGs just aren’t my primary genre of choice. What I really wanted was for Persona 5’s unmistakable spirit...
jeremyf
The Wild At Heart is a gorgeous indie take on Pikmin that undermines its strengths with tedious mechanics.
Published Jun 22, 2021
The Wild At Heart is a game that I went into knowing only that I liked the graphical look and that it was “free” on Game Pass. From the short bit of the trailer I watched I thought it might be an adventure game, though I wasn’t sure. I soon found that it is sort of an adventure game, in that you walk through some gorgeously rendered 2D levels talking to people and solving puzzles, but it is rea...
bigsocrates
E3 2021: Wrap Up
Published Jun 19, 2021
I think I've been hearing people say that we've reached the end of the line for the last six E3s; that the expo can't continue because of a clash between the current state of media marketing and the communication channels E3 uses. But I think the idea of this rigid, immutable E3 that will blow away like a sandcastle in the wind ignores the historical polymorphism of the event. E3 used to be an...
gamer_152 (Premium member)
After E3 2021, I Hear Vampires Are Cool Again, So I Want To Talk To You About The Vampire: The Masquerade Visual Novels
Published Jun 18, 2021
Preamble Y'all really don't have to wait if you want to play some good vampire games. Vampires are cool again! Maybe that was always the case, but the ouroboros that is the video game industry is only now coming back to the famous fanged night-time creatures. Redfall seems to have impressed many people during E3 2021, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong appears to be a thing that exists as w...
zombiepie (Premium member)
The Wheel of Dubious RPGs Episode 39-40: Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear and An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire
Published Jun 17, 2021
Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear The Dragonspear is slaying Transphobia, or something. Developer : Beamdog Release Date : April 1, 2016 Time Played: Around three hours on stream (more on my own time) Dubiosity : 2 out of 5 You Must: Gather Your Party Before Venturing Forth Would I play more? Yeah. That’ll happen eventually. I cannot emphasize enough how weird Baldur’s Gate Siege of Dragonspe...
arbitrarywater (Premium member)
"Do We Need a Toasty of Him Dabbing?"
Published Jun 17, 2021
kone
Indie Game of the Week 224: Clam Man
Published Jun 17, 2021
Clam Man is an adventure game created by Team Clam so even though it's available on Steam, it's still not "by Valve." If you thought that joke was bad, not to worry because most of the ones in Clam Man are much better. Nominally a graphic " point and click " adventure game Clam Man is relatively light on the genre's usual inventory puzzles - it has a handful later on, and a single incongruous l...
mento (Premium member)
Does Microsoft need characters to represent Xbox?
Published Jun 17, 2021
Everyone knows we are long past the days of the mascot platformer being the standard bearer for a platform. Sonic, Crash, and Mario had their day in the sun, but these days Crash is a minor character who is platform agnostic, Sonic games are few and far between, and while Mario is still one of the top characters in the world, platforming is a relatively small part of his game portfolio. That do...
bigsocrates
E3 2021: Nintendo
Published Jun 16, 2021
2019 was a golden year for Nintendo. At E3, they were a tennis ball machine of announcements, pitching news on thirty-three games in just forty minutes. And they weren't just nailing it on quantity; they had quality too, with oodles of gameplay and landmark entries in their classic series to grab attention. There was Luigi's Mansion 3, the Link's Awakening Remake, Cadence of Hyrule, Animal Cros...
gamer_152 (Premium member)