Game Design
Ongoing coverage on Game Design.
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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Review
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope evolves its tactical strategy gameplay beyond the original, offering more freedom in combat and engaging character synergies. While the exploration and narrative may not be groundbreaking, the refined turn-based combat and extensive accessibility options make it a compelling experience for both newcomers and genre veterans.
My Famicase Exhibition opening in LA ⊟
The My Famicase Exhibition, featuring imagined game designs presented as Famicom cartridges, is opening in Los Angeles for the first time in 18 years. The exhibit, traditionally hosted by Tokyo shop Meteor, will showcase 253 original designs from international artists at Capsule Corner. Visitors can vote for their favorite design, and the exhibition will also be available to view virtually online.
My Famicase Exhibition opening in LA ⊟ - Tiny Cartridge 3DS
The My Famicase Exhibition, featuring 253 imagined game designs presented as Famicom cartridges from over 29 countries, is opening in Los Angeles for the first time. The exhibit, traditionally hosted by Tokyo game shop Meteor, will run from July 1 to 24 at Capsule Corner and will allow visitors to vote for their favorite designs.
Indie game developer Marcus Clarke talks career change and Overmorrow - Doctors of Gaming
Indie game developer Marcus Clarke discusses his career transition from Sumo Digital, where he worked on Sackboy: A Big Adventure, to solo development with his upcoming exploration adventure game, Overmorrow. Clarke highlights the challenges of managing marketing and development as a one-person team, the rewarding aspects of building an open community, and the unique 30-day reset mechanic in Overmorrow. He is also seeking funding for the game through a Kickstarter campaign, with a planned release in late 2022 on Steam.
Adios Review: The Doctor's Assessment - Doctors of Gaming
Adios is a first-person exploration game that deals with heavy themes of depression, self-harm, and suicide. Players explore a farmland, completing chores and making dialogue choices that influence the narrative. The game uses the Unreal Engine to create a lonely atmosphere, with unique character designs and environmental details emphasizing the protagonist's isolation and the fantasy of dictating one's own end.
Ys IX - Monstrum Nox Review: The Doctor's Assessment - Doctors of Gaming
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is an action-RPG that suffers from bloated systems and a dull setting, according to this review. While it features a party-switching combat system and new movement mechanics, the game fails to demand strategy and its writing is criticized for being reactionary and lacking depth. The review notes that the PC version was used for evaluation.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition review. Gamers are bound to be furious
Mass Effect Legendary Edition offers a comprehensive remaster of the original trilogy, featuring graphical enhancements, gameplay tweaks, and all DLC. While the changes, particularly to the first game's combat and visuals, are significant and may alienate some long-time fans, the collection is an excellent entry point for newcomers to the series.
The Witcher 3 Authors Know How to Kill The Leshy from Assassin's Creed Valhalla
The developers of Assassin's Creed Valhalla engaged in a playful exchange with The Witcher's official Twitter account, discussing how to defeat the Leshy enemy type found in the Wrath of the Druids DLC. The Witcher team offered tips based on their game's mechanics, which the Valhalla developers humorously responded to by suggesting a silver sword.
Adventures in Valheim
Valheim is a highly enjoyable survival game that stands out with its robust building mechanics, challenging combat, and nostalgic visuals. Despite being in early access and having some bugs, the game offers significant content for its price, making it a recommended experience for players looking for a deep and engaging survival adventure.
Should you play Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition? (Review)
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition offers a deep monster-collecting and battling experience with extensive digivolution options, but is marred by excessive dialogue and gameplay padding. While the core mechanics are enjoyable, the lack of quality-of-life improvements and uninteresting story make it a difficult recommendation for anyone but the most dedicated Digimon fans, especially considering its age and potential achievement bugs on PC.
THE WICTHER 3 : WILD HUNT
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is praised as an impressive open-world role-playing game that continues to hold up years after its release. Developed by CD Projekt RED, the game offers a vast world, meaningful choices, and engaging combat across multiple platforms including PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Gaming Dad Blog 10: Character Creation
The author discusses the fun his children had with the character creation in the game Outward, comparing it to Skyrim's character creation. He notes the moral questions surrounding predetermined genetic structures in games.
Death Stranding Review | Giant Bomb
Death Stranding is a unique third-person action game focused on exploration and delivery, though it suffers from pacing issues and a narrative that is often over-explained. While the game offers moments of contemplative beauty and a well-realized world, its combat and stealth sequences are considered tedious distractions. Despite its flaws, the game is praised for its gorgeous visuals and the asynchronous online system that allows players to assist each other.
Fire Emblem Three Houses Concept Art
This article shares official concept art from the collector's edition of Fire Emblem Three Houses, including character designs, landscapes, and weapon concepts. The post also includes a brief mention of a sponsor and links to related reviews for Fire Emblem Three Houses and The Banner Saga Trilogy.
Sayonara Wild Hearts Analysis – Use of Tarot in Game Design and Narrative
This analysis explores the integration of the 22 Major Arcana of Tarot into the narrative and gameplay of Sayonara Wild Hearts. It details how each card's symbolism is represented through obstacles, adversaries, and tools within the game's 'Fool's Journey' structure, ultimately reflecting the protagonist's emotional growth and self-discovery.
Rising Stars – Gaming Blogger Spotlight #4
This article introduces the 'Rising Stars' series, designed to highlight new and lesser-known gaming bloggers to foster community growth. It features several bloggers, including Thomas for diverse genre coverage, Larissa for her early writing journey, Easha and Poppy for their Gwent and Witcher content, Kronick for World of Warcraft insights, Quin for MMO enthusiasm, and Reza for top lists and gaming advice.
Anthem Review
BioWare's Anthem excels in its flight mechanics and character customization, but suffers from numerous issues in storytelling, gunplay, and overall structure. The game is plagued by technical problems, including frequent load screens and bugs that can even cause console shutdowns, making the experience tedious and frustrating despite its promising core elements.
SNES Review – Lagoon
Lagoon is an action RPG for the SNES that, despite its bland story and lackluster swordplay, offered hours of entertainment with its exploration and unique magic system. While the graphics are generic and dungeons can be confusing, the game features a memorable soundtrack and visually changing armor. It is rated 6/10.
UPUPreverse
The article "UPUPreverse" appears to be a highly abstract or experimental piece, with the repeated phrase "PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY" interspersed with "rest and then". Its meaning is open to interpretation, potentially exploring themes of repetition, engagement, or the cyclical nature of interactive experiences.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Review
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a staggeringly detailed and massive open-world game that offers an enjoyable, albeit uneven, tale set in the Old West. The game excels in its immersion, with a world that feels alive and characters that are given ample opportunity to endear themselves to the player. While the game is an incredible achievement in design and presentation, the review also touches upon the labor costs and crunch culture at Rockstar Games that contributed to its development.