I vividly remember when Final Fantasy VIII came out in February 1999. I coveted it for months but didn’t get it until October for my 11th birthday. It was my first Japanese role-playing game ever. I struggled desperately just to get through its opening moments of tutorials and text walls…
Unlike Gears of War 4, Gears 5 technically doesn’t have loot boxes. But don’t have a party just yet. It has a convoluted system for unlocking cosmetic rewards that can be used to outfit the characters in Gears 5’s many multiplayer modes. It’s not intuitive, partially involves microtransactions and will…
Taika Waititi’s anti-hate satire might feel like it was created as a response to the wave of Trump-era fascism, but Waititi has been trying to make Jojo Rabbit happen for almost a decade. In a new interview, Waititi discussed the long road for the film and why, just because it…
The problem with making a sequel to The Shining is, which version of The Shining are you talking about?
Let me tell you about some pants. They’re a soft sort of charcoal, not really grey, not really black, straight cut, good with sneakers or dress shoes, relaxed but not too relaxed. They’re good pants; I know this because two people complimented them on the same day. This makes me…
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, the follow-up to 2017’s popular and controversial Ghost Recon: Wildlands, kicked off its closed beta weekend yesterday, letting players who pre-ordered the game take on two early story missions and a host of side missions that ostensibly will give players a clearer picture of what to expect…
For decades, old-school beat-em up fans have been following the adventures of River City Ransom heroes Kunio and Riki, a pair of high school tough guys with a knack for rescuing their girlfriends from thugs. Wayforward’s River City Girls turns that tired formula on its head. It’s an utterly charming…
“It’s aged nicely, with a sensual flavour, not unlike a fine wine,” purrs Trisha in Atlus’ Catherine: Full Body while sipping a glass of red, describing the “program” on the analogue TV on the bar next to her.
As the legendary developer of ground-breaking titles like Out Run, Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, and of course Shenmue, it’s no exaggeration to say that Yu Suzuki’s reputation precedes him.
In a surprise announcement, the folks behind Celeste revealed that the endearing puzzle-platformer will be getting some new content in just a few days. Chapter 9: Farewell will launch on September 9.
There is no formula for surefire success on Steam, but there are at least some commonalities among games that pull ahead of the rest of the 30,000-strong pack. A big name. Roguelite elements. Survival. Multiplayer. Hundreds of hours of content. Frog Detective, a game about a detective who is also…
Protecting the last vestiges of humanity from an invasion of otherworldly beings is no cakewalk for the anime police persons of Switch exclusive Astral Chain. The protagonist has to juggle detective work, exploration, and an obsessive photography habit while managing a menagerie of leashed beasts, and the game doesn’t explain…
I was off sick yesterday, so the last ScribbleTaku was Bubble Bobble as drawn by the wonderful Vanna. She’s done another drawing for today, and it’s so well done that I think you’ll have no troubles guessing what it’s from.
I’m ready to confess I always choose the easy setting for games I play. It’s just I’d rather enjoy the gameplay with minimal challenges as opposed to replaying shootouts, tough boss fights and difficult sections of a map. Thankfully, your quirky uncle Hideo Kojima, has revealed Death Stranding will have…
Last night’s Nintendo Direct was full of announcements, but the most exciting for Pokémon fans was likely the segment that detailed new content in the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield. This included reveals for two new Pokémon, one of which Nintendo is very eager for fans to literally drink.
During a special Nintendo Direct for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai introduced the Banjo-Kazooie DLC. Not only does he want you to get that, but he would also like you to play the original game on Xbox.
Gears of War 5 is out today, and Xbox is bringing out some funky flash to celebrate its release.
While Steven Universe: The Movie’s very much a story about the Crystal Gems’ future, it spends a fair amount of time exploring the Gems’ pasts in a novel way that makes you appreciate how far everyone’s come. The movie introduces some rather interesting new aspects of all the Gems’ personalities,…
In a free update for the game’s fifth anniversary, The Sims 4 will get new “Muslim-inspired” architecture and clothes, like hijabs and nehru collars, as well as some new patio items. But there’s one update in particular that Simmers are losing their minds about: customisable stairs.
Apex Legends fans appear to agree that the new limited-time skin for the character Wraith is pretty awesome. They are less sure that it is worth around $24.
It seems that every major video game publisher wants their own perpetually-updated mega-game that has a post-release content plan longer than a thousand trips around the Earth. The pinnacle of this is Ubisoft, which does everything extra large and appears to be testing the gaming world’s appetite by trying to…
The Wii U wasn’t exactly a raging success. The Nintendo Switch certainly is. So you can’t blame Nintendo for wanting to bring a bunch of games that a lot of people missed on the former over to the latter.
Growing up in the 1980s, I was a huge Star Wars fan. The first movie I ever saw in a theatre was The Empire Strikes Back. I loved it. Like everyone else, I eagerly awaited Lucas’ overdue return to the director’s chair. And in 1994, I wrote him a letter…
2018’s Monster Hunter: World was a successful update to the long-running beast-slaying series. Fully functioning ecosystems and updated combat crafted an experience where each battle was a unique challenge even after hundreds of hours. World’s latest expansion, Iceborne, is massive. Building up a solid framework, it brings dozens of new…
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, the crossover between Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem, is coming to Switch. Rejoice!
Good news and better news for fans of Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. Today EA officially announced Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, a brand-new third-person shooter that expands the never-ending conflict with co-op units, explorable free-roam areas, interactive social hubs and more. Even better, fans who purchase the Founder’s…
The Razer Blade Stealth is an outstanding laptop. There are few laptops under $3000 that deliver its combination of attractive, compact design, performance, and available inputs. But they do exist, and a 13-inch laptop with a wimpy discrete GPU is no longer nearly as impressive as it once was. Huawei…
And no, for the love of god, before you ask: neither of them are Bossk.
We’re so accustomed to modern cosplay photography being slick and bright and clean that it’s easy to settle into the idea that’s the only way to take photos of people in costume. But this series of shots from this year’s DragonCon shows that a change of hardware can make a…
Ever been to Sydney’s Town Hall station at 5.30pm in summer? The air is dense and moist, filled with the sound of thousands of tired, overworked human bodies slapping against each other as they pile on to a train out of the city. Even if you love Sydney, it’s most…
Beyoncé? Radiohead? Taylor Swift? Daft Punk? All great musicians, yes, but not quite the single greatest musician of our generation. That honour is reserved for someone so great he verges on fictitious: K.K. Slider.
No game is more controversial among my friends than Overcooked 2, a relatively innocuous game about cooking, plating and serving food. Overcooked 2’s saccharine art style and upbeat ukulele soundtrack are a thin cover for is deeply stressful gameplay. For me, this is a draw; for everyone else who comes…
What would you do if you wanted to make a gaming seat for console players who cared about their fitness? That’s what Puma has tried to answer, in a particularly interesting way.
