Game music isn’t just for gaming nerds anymore. It’s finally being recognized as real, “serious” music. This year, the Grammys introduced a new category for video game music: Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. The music has evolved along with the video game artform, as scores …
Read More »'Horizon: Call of the Mountain' is the First Must-Play Game for the PlayStation VR2
As both the flagship title for the newly launched PlayStation VR2 and the next installment of the acclaimed Horizon series, Horizon: Call of the Mountain has massive expectations to overcome. For many, it could be their first experience with the franchise – or even with virtual reality itself – and …
Read More »Is Sony's PlayStation VR2 the Virtual Reality Headset to Beat?
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. It’s safe to say that we’re past the infancy stage of consumer-grade virtual reality. Released back in 2016, Sony’s first foray into console-tethered VR was a major leap …
Read More »'Octopath Traveler II' Shows the Unlimited Potential of JRPGs
Octopath Traveler II is a mesmerizing free fall into why traditional JRPGs are an irreplaceable art form. The sequel from Square Enix and Acquire hits every note that the 2018 original so carefully illustrated – the eight co-protagonists, the hyper-stylized turn-based battle systems, and “HD-2D” visuals that make Final Fantasy …
Read More »'Like A Dragon: Ishin!': An Eccentric Action RPG Vision of Edo-Period Japan
Like a Dragon: Ishin! originally debuted in 2014, just before its parent series Yakuza got its big break outside of Japan with Yakuza 0. While entries after that game quickly came westward (and now launch the same day worldwide), Ishin remained out of reach for audiences outside Japan until now. …
Read More »'Metroid Prime Remastered' Is a Reminder of a Bolder Era of Video Gaming
Released in 2002 for the GameCube, the original Metroid Prime feels like a concept that frankly wouldn’t be made by modern Nintendo. At the time, the Japanese company was coming out of their first ever major defeat in the console wars with the Nintendo 64 having been outsold by Sony’s …
Read More »The 'World's Smallest Arcade Game' Is Just $24 and Includes 10 Popular Titles to Play From the Palm of Your Hand
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Nostalgia is having a moment, with new products re-capturing the fun and whimsy of our youth. Case in point: this miniature arcade set from Atari, which has been …
Read More »'Hogwarts Legacy' Is the Biggest Game on Twitch — But It's Facing Culture War Fallout
Hogwarts Legacy, a hotly anticipated new role-playing video game set in the magical world of Harry Potter, is already breaking records. Its early access launch made it most popular title on the streaming platform Twitch, even before its official Feb. 10 release. But with the fantasy franchise increasingly tarnished by …
Read More »'Hi-Fi Rush' Is a Visually Lush — But Tediously Choreographed — Combat Game
Rhythm games, as a rule, have largely been ignored over the past decade. Though Guitar Hero made a splash in the early 2000s and spawned a wave of me-too music titles that persisted throughout the late 2010s, the genre has all but evaporated. Long-running franchises like Dance Dance Revolution and …
Read More »New 'Harry Potter' Video Game Introduces Wizarding World's First Trans Character
A newHarry Pottervideo game is ostensibly trying to distance itself from J.K. Rowling and herstring oftransphobic commentswith the introduction of the series’ first trans character — and many fans are calling it a cynical way to make up for the creator’s rhetoric. Over the weekend, the first reviews of Hogwarts …
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