Fanbyte • 12th August 2020

The Battles and Celebration of FFXIV Player Peter 'Fearless' Nguyen - Fanbyte

Every would-be adventurer in Final Fantasy XIV inevitably takes trepidatious steps through the sun-bleached gates of Vesper Bay. For this quiet, seaside town makes legends out of fledgling heroes. On a day quite unlike the rest, though, a parade in elegant black garb took to the virtual streets. Melancholy music filled the air courtesy of a string and wind octet, while onlookers toasted to absent friends. Eorzea’s champions went home to honor Peter “Fearless Wynn” Nguyen, who recently passed away.

Rely on Horror • 22nd July 2020

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Review - Rely On Horror

In some far-flung parallel universe, Bloodstained is an NES classic with three decades worth of beloved sequels and a shockingly decent Netflix adaptation. At least, that’s the wistful narrative Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon 2 and its prequel push. This totally-not-Castlevania side-scrolling action platformer excels at harmonious tag-team combat and wild platforming sections, but some intentionally stiff controls got on nerves. Curse Of The Moon 2 is often needlessly preoccupied with homage rather than fun.

Ign • 5th June 2020

Valorant Review - IGN

Nail-biting bomb plants, hip fire headshots, and hypernatural flicks of the wrist are the tenets of Valorant. This 5v5 tactical hero shooter by League of Legends developer Riot Games had a stranglehold on me from my first carefully strategized victory. Now, after clocking 90 hours between the closed beta and the full release, I'm still utterly enamored with the brilliant implementation of its superpowered cast and stellar gunplay. The learning curve is steep, but once the cogs of mastery clicked together, it became damn near impossible for me to put Valorant down.

Ign • 28th May 2020

Crucible Review - IGN

Crucible plucks popular staples from all over esports, attempting to forge a greater whole through the fires of interstellar warfare. This sci-fi multiplayer third-person shooter is a battle royale at one moment, and the next it’s a back-and-forth team affair closer to a MOBA, topped off with a hero-shooter veneer. During my 20 hours with Crucible thus far I grew increasingly exhausted with its manic hat-juggling, culminating in lifeless wildlife hunts, lonely team fights, and excruciating slow matches. Too often, this gauntlet is a messy jumble of parts that don’t fit together.

Fanbyte • 6th May 2020

The official Silent Hill 2 HD sucked, so these fans made their own - Fanbyte

James Sunderland’s haunted visage stares back at him from a grimy bathroom mirror in the opening of Silent Hill 2. A letter from Mary, his late wife, has just come in the mail — insisting she’s alive in the dilapidated ghost town of Silent Hill. “I’m alone there now,” writes Mary. “Waiting for you.” James knows the dead can’t put pen to paper, but even the faintest hint of his beloved’s presence is enough to make him brave the fog and eldritch horrors found within. For the passionate team behin

Ign • 28th March 2020

Bleeding Edge Review - IGN

Awash in a neon cyberpunk aesthetic and built around flexible third-person brawling, Bleeding Edge oozes style from every corner. This 4v4 objective-based action game wears its heart on its sleeve and isn't shy about comparisons to Overwatch, but it tips its cap to Street Fighter just as often. After spending 30 hours with Bleeding Edge (across both betas and now the final release version), I adore its ferocious close-quarters battles and diverse lineup of characters. However, the erratic camera, insipid ranged combat, and a lack of encouragement for good team composition more than tested my patience.

Into The Spine • 23rd March 2020

A Secure Place - Into The Spine

Growing up, I had this mischievous practice of fooling my dad into renting horror games for me. “So what’s Silent Hill 2 about,” he’d ask, unable to discern anything from the blank Blockbuster Video box. “Your mom will be pissed if this one has zombies too.” A good poker face was necessary for success. “It’s a farming game where you tend to cows and crops,” I replied, trying not to snicker that I’d just given the synopses for Harvest Moon.

VG247 • 19th March 2020

How the Pennsylvania ghost town of Centralia came to be known as the real Silent Hill - VG247

A fading memory of town is all that remains of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Its earth is hot to the touch as smoke billows past the surface and into the air, blotting out the sun. Gnarled streets and empty lots are strewn in graffiti, commemorating the bitter absence of all life. This desolation, laden with sinkholes and trash, is the result of a coal vein set ablaze more than half a century ago. Beautiful neighborhoods are now a trampled playground for gawkers and would-be ghost hunters.

The Indie Game Website • 19th February 2020

World Of Horror Early Access Impressions - Indie Game Website

It’s 198X, and the once quiet seaside town of Shiokawa, Japan, has a serious fucking problem. “Am I beautiful,” a woman asks, “…aM I bEaUtIfUl?” She beams from ear to ear, revealing a grossly widened grin thanks to her crudely snipped open cheeks. Nobody is startled by this mangled visage, or that she’s still holding the sharp, bloody pair of scissors that did the job. To folks around here, this madness is an everyday occurrence. A thick, ethereal malevolence clings to the salty sea air, and no one exactly knows why. Welcome to the World Of Horror.

VG247 • 7th November 2019

Final Fantasy 14: Yorha: Dark Apocalypse crossover has the look but doesn’t quite capture the spirit of Nier Automata - VG247

During the amusement park chapter of Nier Automata, Yorha androids 2B and 9S get a taste of a whimsical world far removed from the desolate wasteland earth has become. Fireworks paint the night sky with rainbow hues as machine lifeforms, the androids’ sworn enemies, don extravagant garb. “Let’s dance, let’s play,” the machines insist, extending an invitation to all would-be foes to join in the festivities. The androids are apprehensive accepting the offer, though, because, in their world, pleasa

Ign • 7th October 2019

Indivisible Review - IGN

You'd figure that an action RPG managing to merge tight 2D platforming, thrilling combat, and a thought-provoking story would be an all but impossible task, yet Indivisible makes it look easy. Developer Lab Zero Games proved it knew its way around a fight stick with the 2012 fighting game Skullgirls, but this is its first foray into the realm of dice rolls and level-ups. The result is one of the most wildly creative RPGs I've played this year.

VG247 • 17th September 2019

FFXIV: How Natsuko Ishikawa wrote the best Final Fantasy in years - VG247

Final Fantasy 14’s 2010 launch was a catastrophe that the series barely survived. It was only through sheer perseverance and determination that it did, the developers at Square Enix grinding away in their own real-world MMO. Naoki Yoshida was given a chance to take the wheel and right the ship. In the end, he and team did so spectacularly and have forged perhaps gaming’s greatest comeback story. In September of 2013, the realm of Eorzea was reborn. Six years have passed since Final Fantasy 14:

Ign • 14th August 2019

Darq Review - IGN

I'm a coward when it comes to nightmares, so Darq’s premise of a psychological horror game set in a lucid dream was enough to make me uncomfortably squirm in my chair on its own. My brain already loves to put me through the wringer with restless dreams, so I was worried that Darq’s subject matter might be too much for me. But its somber monochromatic visuals and puzzles that bend the laws of physics were too alluring of a sirensong, and I’m glad they pulled me to play it because, even at its most bleak, Darq is beautiful.

Ign • 13th July 2019

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Review - IGN

I'm a stranger in a strange land. The people's faces are familiar, but their names and customs are alien. In Eorzea, the masses gather in the streets and cheer for me, for I am Nidhogg's bane, Ala Mhigo's liberator, a knight of House Fortemps, and the Warrior of Light. However, those titles mean nothing in Final Fantasy XIV's newest world, Norvrandt. I'm no one here. Nothing. Hell, if the locals knew I was a champion of the light, they would grab the closest pitchfork and mount my head on a stick. Norvrandt isn't Eorzea, and as the light fades from my heart and a sunless sea of night seeps in, some emboldening words from my precursor, Ardbert, help me gain balance: "not even the most valiant heroes can stand alone" - the Warrior of Darkness has come.

Bloody Disgusting! • 25th June 2019

[Review] 'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night' Carries on the Legacy of 'Castlevania' in Style - Bloody Disgusting

Playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a lot like listening to Iron Maiden. I was but a tween the first time that band lit a fire under my ass. Bruce Dickinson, their lead singer, stood atop a giant mosaic of a skeleton-man with a venomous sneer, looking out over a sea of screaming fans. Then came a funeral bell toll, guitars ripped–the audience erupted, and so did I.

19th June 2019

Octopath Traveler PC Review | RPG Site

I'm a sucker for fantasy stories stuffed with camaraderie among would-be heroes. Where characters are initially distant, but insurmountable odds force them to lean on each other. Like in Return of the King, when Gimli looks over a sea of blood-caked swords and the snapping jaws of orcs. He's despondent because this might be his end, but if it is, Legolas reminds him that he's not facing the final curtain alone.

RPG Site • 26th February 2019

Anthem’s progression system and itemization leave a lot to be desired | RPG Site

With the killing blow dealt, Baal finally collapsed, consciousness fading from his visage as a peculiar mallet skittered across the floor and away from the demon’s clutches. The legendary Schaefer's Hammer now lay at our hero’s feet, their elation imbuing the crypt with a radiance brighter than any torch. The hellish beasts were slain, worlds were reshaped, and a crappy cable modem’s propensity to disconnect from Battle Net at inopportune times had endured; yes indeed, all the trials were worth it.

Bloody Disgusting! • 11th February 2019

The Blackout Club Reminds Us We Can’t Always Trust What We See - Bloody Disgusting

By adolescence, it’s known that malformed shapes moving about the darkness of a crawlspace are just a trick of the eyes. That self-reassurance doesn’t offer much comfort though when it looks as if a human silhouette is staring back, and suddenly, you wish asking a parent to see if it’s safe was still an option. That’s the sort of fear The Blackout Club accentuates, where the frightening byproduct of an ‘overactive imagination’ is given tangibility. Sometimes, escaping that waking nightmare means

Rely on Horror • 4th January 2019

Review: Last Year: The Nightmare

Slasher flicks have never been my cup of tea. The ritual of hooting and hollering as a masked psychopath disembowels some poorly written, annoying teens rarely resonates in a meaningful way. Championing the villain’s rampage over the protagonist’s plight is a narrative failure, in my eyes, but that’s generally the appeal of these movies — so I’m predisposed to revile Last Year: The Nightmare, given it’s a multiplayer take on the aforementioned slasher genre, on paper. In practice though, my feel

Bloody Disgusting! • 24th December 2018

Christmas Eve: What a Perfect New 'Parasite Eve' Game Could Look Like - Bloody Disgusting

Spontaneous human combustion isn’t synonymous with yuletide cheer quite like hanging stockings or drinking eggnog are, despite Parasite Eve suggesting otherwise. Sure, the tale of a New York City cop chasing after a malevolent swarm of mitochondria may not be the most recognizable Christmas story, but hey, if Die Hard counts then so does this. Square-Enix took their experience with RPGs to create a unique spin on the survival horror formula, rather than make yet another Resident Evil clone. Thou