Mark Steighner
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Writing For
COGConnectedLatest Reviews
Saints Row
You don’t have to be an action game devotee to have heard of the Saints Row franchise. In terms of popularity, the games aren’t all that many rungs below GTA. In terms of notoriety and all-out, envelope-pushing, nose-thumbing raunchiness, Saints Row Saints Rowhas always edged out Rockstar’s series. But the...
Thymesia
Dark Souls and its FromSoftware brethren have long had a reputation for punishing difficulty. Of course, that perception is only partially true. FromSoftware games brilliantly build in mechanisms for player improvement. None of the games have a difficulty slider, but there are character classes and builds that can stand in...
Hohokum
When it comes to entertainment — whether movie, TV, book or videogame — there’s room at the table for everyone and everything. Not every game needs to be an action blockbuster, serious drama, open-world masterpiece or platforming extravaganza. Sometimes, just being chill and colorful is enough. That’s certainly true of...
When it comes to videogame narratives, deep dives into mythology aren’t rare. They are, however, rarely done coherently or well. Case in point: Achilles: Legends Untold, a game loosely inspired by Greek heroes and myths. It mixes and matches familiar characters almost without regard to the source material. At the...
It’s a lesson well-learned by writers, musicians, TV producers, and film directors: when something is successful, don’t mess with it. More of the same is a good thing. Sure, you want to tweak your product a little. Making big changes, though, tends to alienate your audience. It’s a good way...
If MMORPGs are an endless time-sink for players, they must be an equally bottomless pit for developers. Long time players need new content, and new players need enticement. There has to be a feeling of evolution, but not so much as to alienate the faithful. Does the Elder Scrolls Online:...
Frozenheim
I’m a sucker for city builders and building sims. Whether I’m building the city of the future, a theme park or a dinosaur zoo, I’m a happy camper. Frozenheim is two parts city builder, one part RTS. But is this Viking themed sandbox fun to tinker around in?
Most everyone has had at least one crappy job. For me, it was the summer I worked in the Honda warehouse. All day, every day, my job was to count and inventory bins of small auto parts. We’re talking washers, bolts and screws, not fenders and steering wheels. Decades later,...
Deadcraft
We’ll say it again: there isn’t a videogame, movie, or television show not built on the bones of something else. Even if the particular bit of entertainment seems outwardly unique, it probably has a familiar story or maybe character tropes you’ve seen before. Does Deadcraft forge its own identity, or...
Dolmen
Developers, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news first. We’re living in a post-Elden Ring world now. If you make a Soulslike game, it’s going to be compared to FromSoft’s masterpiece, like it or not. It’s not good enough to just be a Dark Souls...
I don’t envy any developer releasing a Soulslike game in the same year as Elden Ring. FromSoftware’s open world masterpiece sets a pretty unattainably high bar. Salt and Sacrifice, like its predecessor Salt and Sanctuary, certainly borrows mechanics from Dark Souls. Being a 2D side scroller, however, it looks and...
Winter Ember
When it comes to settings for games and other entertainment, I’m a big fan of the late 19th century. I love that soot-covered, cusp-of-the-modern look. Science and the occult battled it out, and evil lurked in the shadows. Does Winter Ember catch the Victorian vibe or fumble the opportunity?
