Year: 2025
-
I’ve always been fascinated by big stories, and Xenosaga is a big story. It’s so big that it’s creator, Tetsuya Takahashi, originally conceived it as a six-part series. But even the best laid plans change, and only three Xenosaga games were released by the end of the PlayStation 2. Meanwhile, I graduated college and started…
-
Oxenfree is an adventure game about teenagers encountering the paranormal after getting trapped on Edwards Island during a late-night beach party. What happens after that depends on the choices the player makes.
-
The Last of Us Part II is one of the most effective video games that I’ve ever played. It is also one of the most relentlessly brutal video games that I’ve ever played. It feels strange to call such a dour game “fun”, but I found the world compelling and the encounters satisfying. Ultimately, it…
-
I really appreciate that not every video game is reliant on violence or complex puzzles to engage the player. What Remains of Edith Finch is first-person narrative (“walking simulator”) that forces the player to slow down, using simple mechanics to evoke complex feelings.
Medium Quality 