The Wii U has now been offline since April of last year. However, this hasn’t stopped online gamers from seeking out unofficial means of still playing their favorite Wii U games online. Although this has been an ongoing situation since last spring, Nintendo has just now taken to social media…
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is, once again, going through a bit of a collector’s boom at the moment. In the years since Pokémon card frenzy reached an all-time high in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hype around new set releases had died down somewhat, meaning it wasn’t all…
In the long history of gaming, the exploration of different genres has been one of the key ways that franchises have evolved. One of the earliest genres to take hold was the beloved RPG format, with turn-based gameplay and a focus on story. With how long this formula has existed,…
The number of fighting games available for Switch has been growing at a great and steady rate. Big names like Capcom, Arc System Works, and soon Bandai Namco are complemented by plenty of indie efforts and first-time forays, like Nicalis’ Blade Strangers. Now a new challenger enters to similarly bridge…
Grid-based strategy games may have two Nintendo flagships in the form of Fire Emblem and Advance Wars, yet it’s still not a genre I see fully represented all that often. Mario + Rabbids was a nice surprise, but it didn’t get my own gears turning the way the aforementioned titles…
Despite not starting on Nintendo consoles, Monster Hunter has built up a relationship with the company, with the 3DS in particular home to the series for almost a decade now. Even though its latest release (the massively popular Monster Hunter World) isn’t abiding by that, Switch owners finally have a…
It feels like the Switch is getting new fighting games fairly regularly, usually in the form in re-released classics or spinoffs of existing franchises. Nothing new had cropped up and caught my eye, until out of nowhere during E3 2017 when Nicalis started showing off this unheard of fighting game…
Regardless of what types of games I played growing up, sprites are always going to define “video game” for me in a visual sense. There’s something so pure to the medium about pixels coming together — you can even guess when a game was created based on how it looks…
It’s no secret that I’ve been a huge fan of both Metroidvanias and roguelikes ever since I was a old enough to coddle a controller. Like peanut butter and chocolate I’d always imagined the two could go together smoothly, despite their conflicting concepts around general progression and character growth. Games…
The joy of simulation games comes not from blood-pumping action, but laid back passivity. Whether it’s farming, management, or whatever the heck you do in Animal Crossing (debt payments?), a good simulation game can entice you with simple core gameplay loops and relaxed atmospheres. However, the line between lax and…
A lot of work goes into starting a business. You have to have standards, goals, something the people want, and the support of colleagues and customers alike. Against all odds, Wario’s managed to get all of these within his grasp and for 15 years has been selling us microgames under…
The ultimate judge of any property, whether it be a movie, book, or TV show, is time. Popular works that are lauded in their day may be forgotten within a year. Nostalgic favorites may be revisited later, only to have aged poorly in the interim. This is especially true for…
Monopoly and Mario Party are some of the most frustratingly fun games I’ve ever had the (dis)pleasure of playing. To this day my family can’t finish a round of either without rage quits, hissyfits, and idle threats to the winner’s physical and mental wellbeing. To an outsider we look crazy,…
This is the third part of our Octopath Traveler review. Read the previous two parts for contextualization and thoughts on other parts of the game: Octopath Traveler review-in-progress, Part 1: A breath of fresh, nostalgic air Octopath Traveler review, Part 2: The path is yours When it comes to long…
Video games are one of the most complex forms of entertainment to create, whether done with a handful of people or a company of hundreds. As you can imagine, this simple observation is especially true when tackling a project solo — a commendable accolade only a revered few can claim….
