• Reviews - Video Games

    Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Is Redeemed by Its Finale

    March 30, 2024 - By 

    Is it reasonable to say that I like Star Wars a healthy amount? I like it, but I don’t love it like my older brother does and I definitely don’t love it as much as die hard Star Wars fans do. So it may not surprise you to learn that the first time I played Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was four years after its release, despite the sequel already having been out for some time, and only because it had finally come to PlayStation Plus. It also suffices to say that I wasn’t going in with major expectations. I…

  • Video Games

    9 Ways Final Fantasy IX Stopped Me in My Tracks

    February 20, 2024 - By 

    This month, I finished playing my third Final Fantasy game – Final Fantasy IX. And I loved it! There was so much to enjoy about my journey across Gaia, but my biggest take away was how many times it took me by surprise, sometimes by doing the unexpected and other times by sticking to conventional JRPG fare but really excelling at it at the same time! Here are 9 ways Final Fantasy IX stopped me in my tracks: 1. Every Time Someone Said ‘Bastard’ I’m not sure why this was so jarring to me, possibly because FFIX is a very…

  • Video Games

    I Played Bloodborne Like a Couch Co-op Game (Pass-the-Pad style) and Now I’m Convinced It’s the Only Way to Play Souls-like Games

    January 6, 2024 - By 

    I’ve avoided Soulsborne games for as long as possible. I’m not the type of person who loves a challenge and I get gamer rage very easily, so I convinced myself that watching various Let’s Players handle them was enough for me. But since moving in with my partner, we’ve been working our way through a number of your typical co-op games. I think our success must have filled us with a bigger-than-usual dose of hubris the day that we decided we were going to beat Bloodborne together. Both of us having already dabbled in only the first Dark Souls, Bloodborne…

  • Video Games

    Crafting the Ultimate Game Map: My 5 Essential Demands

    December 28, 2023 - By 

    I’ve been thinking about maps a lot recently, probably because I’ve been reading The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands, in which various real authors explore the maps of books they grew up with, as well as those from their own books. Then, I started playing Carto, a cutie indie puzzle game where the player is able to alter the world around them by literally rearranging fragments of a map. This got me thinking about video game maps in general – what are my favourite video game maps, and what makes a good video game map, anyway? The perfect…

  • Video Games

    The One Thing Fire Emblem: Three Houses Does Better Than Any Other JRPG I’ve Played

    November 6, 2023 - By 

    Enjoying video games is hard when you’re an adult with a job. Free time becomes a scarce and sacred resource, and so naturally we become much more selective about what games we play. As much as I want to clear my backlog of From Software games, it’s a little hard to unwind after a long day by playing… Bloodborne. Sometimes I want something mindless, which is why I tend to rack up hours in sims like Planet Coaster, Two Point Hospital and The Sims 3.  But sometimes sims aren’t enough. Sometimes, a little more substance is needed. A good story,…

  • Video Games

    Am I the Only Person in the Solar System Who Didn’t Fall in Love With Outer Wilds?

    October 12, 2023 - By 

    Standing out from the Crowd Space-adventure games certainly aren’t scarce these days. With recent large studio games such as The Outer Worlds (2019) and smaller, kickstarted indie titles like The Way (2014), space enthusiasts such as myself can hardly want for titles to choose from. Outer Wilds manages to stand out in this sea of games with a distinct visual style that exudes cosiness. Its promotional art of campfires on small planets promise a mellow experience mixed with the lure of space travel. “Fuel up your jet packs and get your camping gear ready…” is the bold statement Mobius Digital…