Maneater Review

Jun 19, 2020

Maneater puts you in the role of a bull shark seeking revenge on a deadly shark hunter. What developer Tripwire has crafted here is a “shark RPG.” It’s an open world you can traverse as this ferocious shark. Maneater is silly and campy, with just a hint of the realistic thrown in and thankfully, balances it all together very well. Things never feel too silly, yet you never get the feeling that you’re supposed to take any of this seriously, creating the perfect blend of fun.

ELDERBORN Review

Jun 18, 2020

Developer Hyperstrange draws inspiration from 80s power fantasy novels, DOOM (2016), and Dark Souls to deliver ELDERBORN. It’s loud, gory, and in-your-face with the arcade-like hack ‘n’ slash combat. The Souls-like consequences to its hack ‘n’ slash combat is a solid experience without having to watch or otherwise manage stamina bars or status effects. And while the overall experience of ELDERBORN leaves a lot to be desired, this is a first-person melee action game all its own.

realMyst: Masterpiece Edition (Switch) Review

Jun 17, 2020

The classics are given their mantle for a reason. They endure through the ages, remaining relevant well past their contemporaries and showing us the sources of inspiration still present in games of today. Myst is one such classic, a name so synonymous with games and adventures that it was an essential part of growing up in the 90s, and is still iconic to this day. It has been remade and updated multiple times, both to remain accessible on newer platforms, and to present the game as it was originally envisioned by the Miller brothers. realMyst: Masterpiece Edition is the current terminus of that path of the game’s evolution; a fully-realized 3D world with improved textures, effects, and music, navigable in first person. Originally released in 2014, it is arguably the definitive way to play Myst, and now to ensure it is as widely available as possible, it’s available on Switch. For a game that came out six years ago, you’d be forgiven for assuming it would be a cakewalk for the Switch to play, but the reality is that this feels like a step backward into time in the wrong way.

Desperados III Review

Jun 12, 2020

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This is Desperados III in a nutshell, where careful planning doesn’t always mean a flawless execution. This is a game of trial-and-error, where the use of quicksave and quickload become invaluable resources to rely on for getting through any given level. Desperados III sees the real-time tactics game with pause return in glorious fashion thanks to Shadow Tactics developer, Mimimi Games. Desperados III represents the best of the genre, and is the hallmark of excellence.

The Outer Worlds (Switch) Review

Jun 08, 2020

You’re jolted awake, shaken from a long, comfortable slumber by a frantic man with shock white hair and a sense of urgency that does little to soothe your frayed nerves. Klaxons wail and your senses are generally overwhelmed by the rush of stimulus they’ve not been subjected to in nearly seventy years. Wait, seventy years? It was supposed to be ten… and now you’re being sealed in a pod and dropped onto the surface of an alien planet, and you have next to no idea what’s going on . The world that awaits you is mysterious but lush and vibrant, full of bizarre creatures and a sizable number of people with a curious affinity for a questionably reputable mega-corporation. You’re intrigued, and you want to dive in deeper, except you can’t shake the sense that you’re wearing goggles covered in mud and grime you can’t seem to clean off.

The first fifteen minutes of The Outer Worlds serve as a great introduction into a world that should be full of life, personality, and unique character, but on the Switch the experience ultimately comes off as a discount replica of the genuine article.

OPSEAT Master Series Gaming Chair (2020) Review

May 27, 2020

OPSEAT has been making gaming chairs for several years now, and I’m without a doubt convinced they make the best of them. I’m a disabled veteran, and when I work or game, I need back support more than most. The OPSEAT Master Series Gaming Chair is a quality purchase for anyone worried about having bad posture or even discomfort during long sessions of whatever you’re doing while sitting. OPSEAT delivers on every front, and should be your first thought when considering a purchase of a new chair.

Saints Row: The Third Remastered Review

May 26, 2020

Remasters are becoming nearly as common as standard releases, with developers and publishers looking for opportunities to update their games from the previous generation to look and perform better on modern hardware (and perhaps just looking for a more palatable way to suggest that players repurchase a game they already own). The actual quality of remasters vary drastically across releases, with the bare minimum effort being support for higher resolutions and marginally up-scaled textures, and the absolute top end of things being just shy of total remakes. Most games fall somewhere in between, or perhaps re-implement an older title in a newer series release’s engine, and generally are serviceable in that they allow you to keep playing a game from a previous generation that might no longer be accessible. Then, there’s Saints Row: The Third Remastered, which, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, is one of the best remasters I have ever seen, and actually feels like a proper utilization of the term. It is truly a remarkable, notable improvement over the original game’s presentation in nearly every aspect, and frankly it is a joyful way to return to Steelport after all these years.

Wildfire Review

May 25, 2020

Wildfire is a game of actions, reactions, and consequences. One full of emergent from moments messing with enemies by using your magic to turn the environment against them in order to complete your objectives. As easy as it is for things to go well, they can just as quickly go bad. With a raging fire propagation system, Wildfire lives up to its name as fires can cascade out of control and ruin your plans in hilarious, unexpected ways. Sneaky Bastards have crafted a mischievous stealth game that I’ve not been able to stop playing.

E-WIN Calling Series Ergonomic Gaming Office Chair with Pillows Review

May 20, 2020

Picking out a chair for your desk setup is no small challenge, and with the playing field getting wider and wider each year, making a decision about the right choice for where you’re going to be sitting for long stretches of time carries a lot of weight. A cursory web search for “best chair” recommendations or reviews will net you a lot of different suggestions from a variety of perspectives, and parsing that into something meaningful for you personally is tricky. The one thing most of the reviews can agree on is that a good chair is well worth the money spent in terms of the comfort and benefits on offer.

80’s OVERDRIVE Review

May 15, 2020

Sunsets, neon, and synthwave; these are the characteristics oft-recalled from the 1980s. Insane Code draws inspiration from that decade to include the culture, the pixel art, and the games with 80’s OVERDRIVE. The developers took some liberties with the art style as it recalls the 16-bit era, making it a bit anachronistic, but it absolutely works. While later races are frustrating at times, it’s gorgeous to look at it, fun to play, and offers a solid challenge. 80’s OVERDRIVE is very fitting for the Switch, and if you have nostalgia for this style of game and era, you’ll be right at home.

Void Bastards (Switch) Review

May 14, 2020

Void Bastards is an exciting spin on the rogue like formula, blending elements of FTL, System Shock, and run-based game play, dressed up in a fantastically realized art style inspired by graphic novels. The world is detailed, saturated in creepy desolate sci-fi atmosphere sprinkled with healthy amounts of dark humor, and sports loads of smart design choices that give the game a unique feel in a crowded genre. Scott loved Void Bastards when it debuted last year, and I’m personally very excited to see it make its way onto the Switch, as its game play feels extremely well-suited for shorter sessions on the go. I also shared in that enthusiasm for the game at launch, and have been curious to see how it would fare when brought to a portable platform. After all, this is a game where immersion is essential to the experience and any compromise to its critical components will break that experience, and undermine a lot of what makes Void Bastards such a fun game to play.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered Review

May 06, 2020

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a mouthful to say, but is pinpoint accurate in what you’re getting. This is a remaster of just the campaign for the 2009 sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Every texture has been retouched, updated, and modernized for today’s consoles and PCs that makes it feel anything but eleven years old. While its pacing is breakneck, and the story is overkill, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is still an incredible ride, even if it isn’t as fully featured as the original.

Corsair DARK CORE RGB PRO Review

Apr 30, 2020

Corsair’s DARK CORE RGB PRO Wireless Gaming Mouse is the closest thing to being actual magic. It’s wireless, it’s got more RGB zones than I can count, it’s virtually lag-free, and it has amazing battery life. You usually get one or two things from that kind of list, but not all of them. So there must be some kind of sorcery going on for Corsair to have it in one device. The DARK CORE RGB PRO is an absolute delight that is the best of what Corsair has to offer today.

Streets of Rage 4 Review

Apr 29, 2020

Streets of Rage returns in tremendous fashion with Streets of Rage 4. The wizards at LizardCube, Guard Crush, and Dotemu have made something special here. The series has been dormant for over 20 years, and the first sequel in that time does not disappoint – in fact, it bridges the gap of time with such satisfaction. With a striking hand-drawn art style and liquid animations, Streets of Rage 4 is everything you want out of this arcade brawler series, and more.

DOOM 64 (Switch) Review

Apr 28, 2020

At last, 22 years after its original debut on the Nintendo 64, DOOM 64 comes back home with its release on Nintendo Switch, and it has truly never looked better. While this isn’t the first time this curious deviation from the mainline series continuity has been remastered, it’s the first official re-release of the game, and the first time the game has graced a Nintendo system (or any console, for that matter) since its modernization. And truly, it’s an excellent way to experience what is truthfully a classic DOOM game that so many fans have had few opportunities to play before, and arguably the most faithful way to play it on a modern system.