With a new Mass Effect and Star Wars: Battlefront also getting new trailers , EA and DICE continued to give the people what they wanted with a taste of yet another highly anticipated sequel at their 2015 E3 press conference, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst.
During its E32015 presentation, EA announced Unravel, a charming, heart-felt, puzzle-platformer from Swedish developer Coldwood Interactive. No release date was given, but the game is available through EA’s Origin service on PC for $20. The trailer showcases a small character that is created by yarn. The developers at Coldwood Interactive really put emotion response at …
Valve usually holds their IPs close to their chest but in a rare move, they have decided to loan out Portal to the talented team at Zen Studios to create Portal Pinball. Portal Pinball for Zen Pinball 2 brings a lot of the expected charm, laughs, and unique touches Zen has been known for with their tables, but it also provides one of their most solid experiences in regards to digital pinball.
Welcome, my friends. It’s another fabulous day to start a Kickstarter. The residents of Wellington Wells have done something unforgivable, but no one remembers what that something is. However, there is no need to worry. Uncle Jack is here to ensure every Wellie continues to forget the past and leads a blissful life. Even if it …
Scientific guns, boxes, buttons, and deadly puzzles. Sounds enticing doesn’t it. All of these things are readily available in the newest addition to the first person puzzle genre, Magnetic: Cage Closed, a mind-bending game that draws inspiration from Portal and Cube. However, instead of testing for science, players will be testing for freedom.
Toren is a great example of what can happen when a creative team over-reaches, and Brazilian developer Swordtales has clearly over-reached with their first major release.
From the first glance it is easy to see where Titan Souls’ developer, Acid Nerve, took their inspiration. Their newest title, Titan Souls, borrows heavily from games such as Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls, but never deliverers the same level of reward. Titan Souls requires quick reflexes and great patience, although few will actually enjoy the journey.
Your brother and mother have been killed, and your ranch has been burned down. With his dying breath, your brother points you to your uncle’s farm in search of the killer. From this point on, the list of people you can trust is pretty short. Everyone seems to know something about the killer, it’s up to you to find out their price. Welcome to Westerado.
Nintendo has announced a new partnership with DeNA Co. to create and operate new applications for smart devices and build a new multi-device membership for consumers worldwide. What this means for consumers is that Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong could soon be making a journey to mobile devices such as the iPhone. Using both Nintendo’s …
Aaru’s Awakening takes our need for speed, crosses it with the fascination of teleportation, and ties it together with gorgeous graphics that lure us to our doom. Which is, of course, why this game is so incredible to play–if you’re up to the challenge, that is.
Rarely are games capable of being as deliberately uncomfortable as Lucas Pope’s Papers, Please. By casting you as an immigrations officer manning the border of the fictional nation of Arstotzka, it first presents your position as a glorious gift from the country’s fabled Labor Lottery program. However it quickly becomes clear that this “prestigious” position isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
The Portal series is home to Valve’s most deliberately uneven and deliriously uncomfortable of narratives. The seemingly innocent fun of cutting holes between dimensions and using them to pass tests or accomplish tasks is offset by the brutal after-effects and the havoc which they can wreak. Likewise the witty banter and amusing dialogue of characters like GLaDOS and Wheatley are immediately rendered moot by the homicidal and power-hungry psychological states that each AI shows when challenged or placed in a position of authority.
Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa), a game created in collaboration with the Iñupiaq, a Native American tribe in Alaska, is a rare example of a video game consciously bridging cultures together. Based on Iñupiaq folklore, Never Alone weaves the tale of a young girl named Nuna, an accomplished hunter, and an arctic fox, a spiritual medium, as they journey through the arctic tundra in order to discover the source of a series of devastating blizzards.
Much like the first Amnesia title, A Machine for Pigs is engrossing from the very outset. While dropping you into a world with absolutely zero memory of how you got there has become something of a cliche for both gaming and storytelling purposes, the Amnesia series is proof positive that even the oldest of hats can be a fit for our cynical post-modern heads.
If you grew up in the 80s or 90s and played video games, you are likely familiar with LucasArts titles. The LucasArts team created classics like Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, The Dig and Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire. The company eventually went out of business and took a hiatus from game making. The game makers have now reunited to make a new game called Thimbleweed Park.
There are no doors. No sheets of reinforced steel to slam shut and keep out the wandering animatronics. This time there are not four killer robots, there are ten. The number of cameras has multiplied. As if all of that wasn’t worrisome enough, now there is a music box that must be constantly wound. Luckily there are two ways you can attempt to prevent death and dismemberment: a flashlight, and an old Freddy Fazbear head.
Though the release date and any real plot details still remain shrouded in secrecy, Telltale’s upcoming Game of Thrones series purportedly leaked a few screenshots yesterday. The pictures revealed that the game’s art style will not be following in the comic-inspired aesthetics of it’s forebears (The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us respectively) but will instead impart a more realistic style that will be more appropriate to the show from which it takes its name and setting.
Music has the power to make you move, to inspire great works, and to touch your soul. But as the year draws to a close, Christmas music prepares to blast our eardrums for what seems like an eternity, music becomes the enemy (I love Christmas, but can we at least wait till Thanksgiving is over before we deck the halls?). Before we all stuff our ears with cotton, let’s reflect on a game that really brought music to life in the distant year of 2008.
Based on designer Matt Gilgenbach’s battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, Neverending Nightmares is a psychological horror game that amplifies feelings of unease through repetition in a minimalist setting. Personally, this was the most difficult game for me to finish because of the content. There were several moments when I just had to stop and seriously question whether or not I could feasibly finish the game. I am a little squeamish around blood, which is why I refuse to see most horror movies right now, and Neverending Nightmares artistic style made sure you knew there was blood on screen.
Among the Sleep returns players to a time when they had merely two years of world knowledge under their diaper. At this tender age you are just beginning to hold conversations, everything is new and exciting, and imaginative play is how you spend most of your day. Of course, sometimes life gets a little scary. Among the Sleep uses the perspective of a two year old protagonist to remind players just how frightening the world can be, especially when dealing with traumatic events. Be warned. This game looks cute and creepy, but it deals with pretty heavy topics like alcoholism and child abuse.
Telltale Games has managed to make a pretty big name for itself over the last few years. By focusing heavily on plot and character development in an industry that too often leaves these factors at the wayside, Telltale has brought storytelling back to the forefront of the medium. Now, with two Walking Dead titles, and the Fables-inspired series, The Wolf Among Us, under its belt, Telltale has turned it’s focus to the Game of Thrones universe.
Lakeview Cabin Hypnohustler PC Private island. Peaceful cabin. Perfect weather. These hardly seem like the elements of a horror game, but Lakeview Cabin manages to turn this scenic vacation spot into the stuff of nightmares. It’s impossible to talk too much about this horrifyingly comedic puzzle game without ruining the plot, so, SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been …
EA’s sci-fi horror doesn’t so much wear its influences on its sleeve, but rather takes them to a tailor and makes them into a three-piece suit. Its protagonist, for instance, is named Isaac Clarke – an eye-rolling, brow-beating reference to two of science fiction’s heavyweight authors, and its premise is, essentially, Event Horizon. But despite all this, it all works really rather well.