Final Fantasy XVI works because of its desire to push the series in a new direction, influenced by all kinds of western media, while still celebrating its own quirky spirit. It doesn’t reinvent or subvert its original concepts — there are still crystals, chocobos, and scenery chewing villains — but …
Read More »Outrage Over 'Call of Duty' LGBTQ Pride Brings Us Full Circle to Gamergate
Another day, another multibillion-dollar corporate giant in the crosshairs of the “anti-woke” right. This time, it’s Activision Blizzard, the fifth-largest video game firm in the world, that aggrieved reactionaries are threatening to boycott. As with so many of these stories, the inciting “controversy” is ridiculously minor. Nickmercs (real name Nick …
Read More »9 Things We Learned About 'Street Fighter 6' From Its Creators
Street Fighter 6 is officially here and it’s very good. Fans agree with the game seeing record-breaking player numbers on day one. In a time when most non-Smash Bros. fighting games have waned in popularity behind larger live service and battle royale games, the latest entry in the storied franchise …
Read More »'Diablo IV' Conjures Up a Bloody Good Time
In the ever-changing world of video games, where competition is intense and fans’ tastes can shift quickly, one title remains constant: Diablo. It’s a series that can always be relied on for its meaty combat and tasty, expansive lore. Now, emerging from the legacy of its predecessors, Diablo IV, the …
Read More »'Street Fighter 6' Is a Knockout for Gamers of All Levels
The thing about being first is that it usually puts a target on your back. For Street Fighter, despite setting the standard for an entire genre in 1987, and perfecting it in 1991, it meant that the franchise would almost immediately be against the ropes. With its breakout followed the …
Read More »The Creators of 'Diablo IV' Want You to Go to Hell
To a certain kind of gamer, Diablo is sacrosanct. Arriving for PC in 1997, the first game in the series evoked all the most hellacious phantasmagoria ever dreamt up in a basement-bound Dungeons & Dragons campaign, neatly packaged in an endlessly replayable hack-and-slash RPG. A smash hit, its publisher, Blizzard …
Read More »'The Lord of the Rings: Gollum' Review: Ambitious Storytelling Let Down by Plain Parkour
Despite J.R.R. Tolkien’s meticulous planning of The Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth, he leaves one crucial part of the saga to chance: the hope that you’ll feel pity for Gollum. Daedalic Entertainment steps in to fill that gap with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, telling not the …
Read More »'Final Fantasy XVI' Aims to Thrive Where 'Game of Thrones' Failed
It’s been a long time since I truly loved a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy XII, which came out in 2006, was a somewhat forgettable distraction that mostly left me longing for another Vagrant Story. Unfairly maligned Final Fantasy XIII (2009) had a little je ne sais quoi but didn’t …
Read More »'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' Is a Perfect Video Game
When it arrived in 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild changed everything. Abandoning comfortable formulas the series had leaned on for almost 30 years, it instead focused on one very simple premise, one that the original game in the series was predicated on: discovery. Pure, unfettered discovery. …
Read More »Meet the Dungeon Master Bringing Sexy Back to 'Zelda'
Anyone who knows the voice acting world knows of Matthew Mercer. In anime, his work can be heard in the English dubs of mega-hits like Attack on Titan, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, One Piece, as well as some small show you may have heard of about dragon …
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