REVIEW: Mask of the Rose Provides Character-First, Monster-Dating Fun

REVIEW: Mask of the Rose Provides Character-First, Monster-Dating Fun

Failbetter Games’s Mask of the Rose is the kind of game where I can turn my laptop toward my friend, show her a picture of a giant being with no visible face except for two glowing red eyes (?), and say, “Hey, do you think I’m gonna hook up with this thing?” and within minutes, be actively hooking up with that thing.

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30XX Is a Great Start to a Mega Man X Successor

30XX Is a Great Start to a Mega Man X Successor

In my time going through runs of 30XX, I kept feeling like I was supposed to have some more information than I already did. Like if I started another attempt and kept playing, I’d learn more about some quirks of the game’s story, layouts, and mechanics that would be better explained as I got more familiar with the game. And while I have enjoyed 30XX and gotten more comfortable every time I’ve gone back in, I’m still left with a lot of questions where I feel I wasn’t meant to. (more…)

REVIEW: Outshine Is a Thrilling Introduction to the Typing Game Genre

REVIEW: Outshine Is a Thrilling Introduction to the Typing Game Genre

There’s a degree of classism in requiring technology to hold a job and get an education. I first noticed this years back when my classmates got their classwork highly praised in grade school for having high definition (for 2004) pictures taken from the internet, and it only got worse as I lost about two years of university due to not having regular access to an internet connection, or a laptop in a world weathering a global pandemic. (more…)

Review: Soul Void Dives Deep into Retro Body Horror

Review: Soul Void Dives Deep into Retro Body Horror

Soul Void is a dark fantasy Game-Boy-style adventure game that takes about three hours to finish. Its story of a young woman navigating the perils of the underworld is intriguing and cathartic, and its art design makes incredible use of the eeriness of its retro pixel graphics. For anyone who enjoyed the characters and worldbuilding of Undertale, Soul Void offers a similarly offbeat odyssey of mystery and friendship illustrated with disturbing but brilliantly creative horror art. (more…)

Review: The Librarian’s Apprentice Celebrates the Magic of Libraries

Review: The Librarian’s Apprentice Celebrates the Magic of Libraries

Libraries in fantasy literature and media are always magical and mysterious. In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, Unseen University’s library books have to be chained down for the safety of the students. In Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, the library in the Dreaming contains every book ever dreamt. In David Tennant’s Doctor Who run, the Doctor and Donna visit a freaky space library where people’s bodies are stripped to bone and others disappear, supposedly saved by the library itself. Libraries are weird and scary and cool, librarians have magic powers, and visitors never leave unchanged.

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Review: Fishing Vacation Dredges Up Unwholesome Summer Fun

Review: Fishing Vacation Dredges Up Unwholesome Summer Fun

Fishing Vacation is a retro Game-Boy-style game that answers an intriguing question: What happens when you cross the wholesomeness of a retro fishing game with the gothic horror of an abandoned cabin in the woods? Created by Teebowah Games with open-source GB Studio software and originally published on Itch.io in 2020 as part of a “fishing horror” game jam, Fishing Vacation is now available to a wider audience on Nintendo Switch. (more…)