Alex Santa Maria
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TechRaptor
IGN
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Game Revolution
The OuterHavenLatest Reviews
The original Darwin Project tried a lot of new things. This was a small-scale battle royale at a time when that was still fresh and new. It had survival elements, a combat system without firearms, and a “director” role calling the shots. It also had too many currencies to keep track of,...
As we near the end of the 2010s, we look back at all that gaming brought to us across the decade. New genres, new ways to play, and new worlds to explore. Few have been more prominent throughout than Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft’s globe-trotting stabbing simulator. While the last two entries rebooted...
When Yacht Club Games put a four-player battle mode onto its Kickstarter stretch goals, the team probably didn’t anticipate it morphing into a wholly separate game. This was a bonus mode, a quick novelty to supplement the main campaign rather than grab the spotlight. However, much like the playable boss...
It’s been more than five years since Shovel Knight first premiered on Steam, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. Over the course of this entire generation, Yacht Club Games has gone above and beyond in fulfilling its Kickstarter goals, creating a series of inventive platformers that will almost assuredly stand the test of...
Not so long ago, there was a clear line between games developed for “handhelds” and games developed for “consoles.” When franchises had to release on both kinds of platforms, there was an art to shrinking down mechanics and worlds without losing what made the games appealing in the first place....
Earlier this month, a new Need for Speed hit major consoles and PC platforms. It’s alright if you didn’t notice, EA seems less than enthusiastic about promoting the game. Announced as an afterthought during a financial call, this once mighty franchise now feels like an obligation to the publisher. It’s not to...
Creating a new world must be pretty hard. Well-established tropes in sci-fi and fantasy cover a lot of bases, so carving out new space is a difficult task. It’s a similar situation when you try to find a new way forward in the roguelike space. The genre blew up this...
In theory, dreams exist to relax you. They allow your brain to eject every stray thought and play out stressful scenarios without acting them out in real life. This works just as well, as you probably wouldn’t want to fall off a cliff in real life. However, if you find...
Rage 2
Rage 2 has incredible gunplay and brilliant graphics, but that spit and polish can't hide its lame open world and generic characters. It all adds up to a paint by numbers open-world shooter that players will forget about as soon as the credits roll.
Back in the ’90s, Pokemon was one of those media crazes that supposedly corrupted the children. In particular, certain religious figures condemned it for its “demonic origins” amid more widespread bouts of Satanic panic. Even as a kid, whenever I saw this play out, I let out a sigh of relief. At least...
When you spend most of your time covering new releases, you don’t often get to look at pure arcade experiences. Sure, there are games with arcade elements and enhanced ports, but a top to bottom quarter-muncher is a rare beast indeed. That’s what makes KILLER QUEEN BLACK so interesting. A home version...
There’s nothing more tantalizing than a game with potential. Be it a unique mechanic, a novel setting or an innovative twist on familiar tropes, originality can sell players on new worlds and unproven concepts. Originality can also cause problems in production. A unique mechanic can lead to design headaches. Untested...
