I played it in February, but Firewatch was my own personal summer camp. It offers a delightful, if sometimes melancholy and mysterious, departure from urban life with a vast expanse of nature to explore at your leisure.
A game that was highly anticipated, generally well-received at launch, and subsequently second-guessed for not being as life-changing as people thought it should have been, Firewatch is still an experience that sticks out in my memory as a very personal journey inward experienced through the eyes of a man searching for an escape (and maybe newfound purpose) after a period of loss and grief.
The term "walking simulator" has often been used as a pejorative, but it might just be my new favorite genre. Like Gone Home before it, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a game with no action or combat. There really aren't even puzzles to solve—at least not in the traditional sense. However, the five-or-so hours I spent exploring its idyllic English countryside were some of my most memorable gaming moments in 2015.
It's been over a month since Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, a game that lets you build your own Mario levels. In that time, I've been trying to find time to write a review of it, but it's taken me this long because I can't stop playing this game. It's captured my imagination in a way that probably no other game has before, and it's finally Wii U's "killer app" to show why its tablet-meets-gamepad controller lets players do things no other console can offer.
The 3DS eShop has gradually become host to a growing library of smaller, download-only games that help balance some of the larger retail releases. Those bigger games may help sell systems, but it's titles like Boxboy!, developed by HAL Laboratories (of Kirby fame), that give 3DS owners plenty to do in-between tentpole releases.
Click through to the post for the full review.
Game of Thrones is back! The Season 5 premiere covered a lot of ground (and characters), and should set up what might be the most unusual season of the show to date.
Full episode spoilers follow!
Telltale captured the world's attention with its first season of the episodic, narrative-based game, The Walking Dead, so it likely surprised no one that it managed to warrant a second season. However, it was probably more surprising that their next game would feature a completely different (and easily less well-known) property, the graphic novel Fables. Check out my review to see if this fairytale-inspired series stacks up to its zombie-infested predecessor!
If you've read or watched anything about Tomodachi Life so far, you'll know that it doesn't fit the traditional definition of a video game. It doesn't let you control a character, it doesn't involve combat of any kind, there are no levels, you don't win or lose, and there aren't even any pre-defined characters or a story. So what, exactly, is it? Read my full review to find out!
SPOILER ALERT! Before you read any further, be aware that this post covers spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3 of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead game series, "In Harm's Way." If you've played to this point, then read on. Otherwise, go download them now (they're all awesome!) and come back when you're done.
This is a big one. Mario Kart Wii debuted on Nintendo's wildly popular Wii console in 2008 and went on to become the best-selling racing game of all-time and the fifth best-selling game. Ever. Plus, it introduced me to the world of Drinking Mario Kart (rules inside!), which earns it a special rank. This is the last home console Mario Kart game before Mario Kart 8, so don't miss it!
SPOILER ALERT! Before you read any further, be aware that this post covers spoilers for Season One, 500 Days, and Season Two (Episodes One & Two) of Telltale's The Walking Dead game series. If you've played them, then read on. Otherwise, go download them now (they're all awesome!) and come back when you're done--but know that my verdict on these episodes is absolutely positive!
One of the PlayStation 4's first-announced indie games, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, launched this week. Octodad first appeared as a title slated to appear on Sony's newest console during its E3 press conference as part of an eight-game indie showcase. Although it released on PC in January earlier this year, PS4 is the only console to host this uniquely strange game. Check out my full review to see if it's earned a spot in your PS4's library.
