No Lives Left

  There aren't many games I have played that struck me like Inscryption . It's hard to talk about most of this game without delving into spoiler territory, so read at your own risk. I'm probably not going to be going through a " What I Liked" and "What I Didn't Like" like I normally do since I really don't think there is much I honestly disliked  about this game.  I also wanted to discuss this game and how it sets itself apart from a lot of other games I've played this year. Long story short, this game deserves your attention.  This is how the game starts...Notice that the new game button can't be selected.  First things first, Inscryption is a very addictive card game.  They game has great mechanics right off the bat and it's eerily fun. Playing cards feels fun and gives a Yu-Gi-Oh! feel. The animations of each card are charming and detailed; they don't stagnate which is really cool. The mechanics are sound too. While the beginni...

Back in 2011, Tim Schafer from Double Fine Productions explored the idea of what a game would look like if every level was actually set in the minds of the characters in the game. When I played it, I immediately fell in love with the environments, characters, and story. The level designs were able to be super out there and weird but totally believable. The gameplay had the ability to blend with the story. Each enemy was related to what was going on inside the characters head at the time. Levels designs were able to dabble in the obtuse and imaginary. It's okay if there are endless pits to nowhere because you're in someone's mind and it sorta makes sense. The premise also kind of "cheats" in that you get all sorts of character development when you make the level in someone's mind. Psychonauts 2  continues Raz's adventure from his 2011 adventure. Almost the entire cast of characters come back in this entry. The game starts off hot with Raz going on a mission...

Metroid has always been a series near and dear to my heart. Exploring planet Zebes in Super Metroid  and the first opening moments of looking through Samus's visor in the rain Metroid Prime  are extremely hard moments to re-live. Those moments are some of my favorite in gaming. Games that can give me that feeling of wonder and exploration will rank up there in my list of great games.   Super Metroid is a classic. It's so good it has half of the genre named after it (Metroidvania). It's method of exploration and maze-like maps bore a whole series of amazing games that all owe their roots to this beloved Nintendo franchise. If you're a fan of video games, Super Metroid  is a must play. Just an amazing game that had no right being as good as it was. Because of it's great art design and pixel art style, it holds up to the test of time beautifully.  While the Metroid series has had critical acclaim, it's not as obscenely popular  as Nintendo's other big hit...

The Tales of series is like JRPG junk food. They've established themselves in the JRPG genre as light hearted adventures about saving the world (but with friendship!). Most of the series protagonists sport the cliché innocent, can do no wrong look and seem to struggle to understand  the difference between good and evil (but ultimately do). These stories are rarely anything to write home about. They aren't necessarily forgettable though, in fact most are really enjoyable. The Tales of s eries is the definition of the saying "it's not the end but the journey that is most important." The series has continuously evolved it's combat system while still keep the addictive action based combat in tact. I think most fans will cite the gameplay as the reason they continuously come back to each entry. Following close second is that interaction the characters have with each other over the course of the main story as well as the haphazardly placed "skits" that are...

  Sequelitis is the word that comes to mind when playing Axiom Verge 2. I'm not 100% sure of the origin. But I learned about it from a YouTube series by EgoRaptor (Arin Hanson). It's defined as the sequel of an original price of media not delivering on the same merits as the original. The idea being that the original had set bar that the sequel had to surmount. A sequel will always be judged by the piece of media that came before. And sometimes a sequel ends up failing to find critical and cult success if it is anything but better and bigger than the original in every aspect. Super Smash Brothers Brawl  suffered from sequelitis because of how much Sakurai (the creator of the beloved series) wanted to ensure his game didn't a have such a high skill ceiling as its predecessor. He wanted more people enjoy the Smash  series and wanted to give new fans (that came from the huge influx of Wii owners) an entry point. So he added random tripping and removed any expert skills that ...

  There seemed to be a melancholic air to the plaza where the South Gate Regal Cinemas theater stood. Barely any cars littered the many parking lots. It was a hot. A forgotten "Max Height" sign was half fallen as we made our way into the parking structure. A solemn, unspoken metaphor as if to say that the times have not changed; social entertainment is not something that this parking lot has condoned. It wanted to block us out. The courtyard where the giant theater was condescending, It stood  as if to ask my friends and I if we should really be here. If  watching movies in the midst of the pandemic was really a good idea. But after the horrible affair of trying to watch Wonder Woman 1984 over a Zoom call and after all of us getting fully vaccinated, we decided to go against what the world was telling us. We decided to head into the theater and watch The Suicide Squad (2021). It's been over eight months  since Wonder Woman 1984   has arrived and the DCEU ha...

Grief. Guilt. Trauma.  We've all probably dipped our feet in these thing. The feeling of losing a loved one. The guilt that we could have tried to have been better. The cell we trap ourselves in with regret and guilt can be overwhelming and paralyzing. It's not a fun place to be and it's not an enviable place to be. But it's natural. It happens. And we have to deal with it because time still goes on. As many proverbs, songs, and famous people have mentioned, "Time heals all wounds."  There is this sense, as humans, that we have the mercy of forgetting for small moments. It helps us get through the days and helps us move on. I am not discussing the idea of forgetting permanently , just more about the distractions and responsibilities that help make time move without dwelling in despair. With the ability to focus on positive responsibilities, we  can move away from the bad times. Like a ship set sail, we are constantly moving and changing, whether we like it or ...

I've been gaming for a long time and have probably touched every genre gaming has had to offer. From shooters to indies to weird puzzle games, I feel like I've tried a lot.  One genre I had fancy for in my youth was "musou"-styled video games. The literal translation doesn't mean much ("unrivaled") but the style is born from a series called Dynasty Warriors . The games revolved around playing various characters from different Chinese dynasties and ruling houses clashing for the control for power. Gameplay boils down to running around an open field and slashing through hundreds and hundreds of enemies. The story progresses through completing mission objectives on the field and defeating bosses. After building a special meter, characters can go into an enhanced power state called "musou mode." And that's about it. This genre enveloped almost two years of my life. I eventually played three to four games in the series before I realized how the ...