[SHARED LINK] Consoles and Competition
Consoles and Competition (Stratechery by Ben Thompson)Ben Thompson summarizes the history business models of the most prominent game console makers, as background for discussing Microsoft’s ongoing...
View Article[THOUGHT] I played a game with zombies in it
I never owned an Xbox. But for several years I maintained a list of games I wanted to try if I ever got one. The list grew and shrank over time as new interesting games came and eventually got ported...
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[REVIEW] The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
A light-hearted murder mystery visual novel punctuated by an auto-runner minigame.A surprise free release for April Fool’s 2023, this is a full (if somewhat short, clocking in at under two hours) game...
View Article[THOUGHT] NFT discourse isn’t about NFTs
Here’s what frustrates me about the discourse around NFTs in games: it’s not actually about NFTs.We’ve already had, for a long time, digital marketplaces for artificially-scarce virtual goods. There...
View Article[THOUGHT] The right game at the right time
So, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was pretty good. But playing it also awoke my long-dormant Sonic fixation and made me want to spend more time with those characters.The problem is that as a rule,...
View Article[THOUGHT] Steam Deck and new AAA games
When I bought a Steam Deck, I wasn’t too concerned about its specs or compatibility with new stuff. As a rule, I don’t exactly rush to play the latest AAA releases. But sometimes I want to play a...
View Article[THOUGHT] Sonic Frontiers on Hard (to understand) Mode
Sonic Frontiers does something really weird with its final boss fight and I wanna talk about it.Obviously, mechanical spoilers follow. No narrative ones, though.As a bit of background: Sonic Frontiers...
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[REVIEW] Sonic Frontiers
A flawed but promising take on Sonic as an open-world game.A new formula for modern Sonic gameplay where traditional linear levels are present but only as one of many interconnected systems wrapped in...
View Article[THOUGHT] Convenience Features and Lazy Asceticism
It’s common for people to complain about a game getting convenience/difficulty/accessibility/approachability features they personally won’t use and which thus won’t directly affect their own...
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[REVIEW] Star Trek: Resurgence
A narrative adventure set in the Star Trek universe with compelling characters and decisions to make along with some flaws in story and gameplay.Created by veterans of Telltale Games, Resurgence...
View Article[SHARED LINK] Why NYT’s Connections makes you feel bad
Why NYT’s Connections makes you feel bad (Raph's Website)Raph Koster takes a look at Connections, the new daily puzzle at the New York Times, and delves into the design consideration of puzzles and...
View Article[THOUGHT] Minor design decisions and immersion in Star Trek: Resurgence
I finally played Star Trek: Resurgence, which I’d had my eye on for sometime. It’s an interesting game in its own right, but also significant as the first game from Dramatic Labs (a studio formed by...
View Article[THOUGHT] My Top Five Games of 2023
Based on how much joy they brought me, not on objective greatness.Star Ocean: The Second Story RStar Trek: ResurgenceSonic FrontiersStar Ocean: The Divine ForceThe Murder of Sonic the HedgehogAgain,...
View Article[THOUGHT] Star Ocean: The Second Story R Ending Checklist
I’ve been playing Star Ocean: The Second Story R and loving it.Among the many improvements in this remake are some that make it much easier to collect different endings (much appreciated since there...
View Article[THOUGHT] Star Ocean and Non-Person Characters
For me, the most important thing an RPG can do is make its setting feel like a real world inhabited by real people. Having recently played Star Ocean: The Divine Force and Star Ocean: The Second Story...
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