Video Game Thoughts

Created as recently as 1987, nonograms are picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid are either colored or left blank according to numbers along the the edges in order to form a picture. Due to the easily scaled difficulty of the puzzles, along with the binary nature and blocky nature of the puzzles, they've been a fairly popular form of puzzles in the video game landscape since the mid 90's. So, what do we get when Ed Fear, writer for the game The Sword of Ditto, teams

The first of three DLC packs available for Far Cry 5, Hours of Darkness is, for my money at least, the hands down best of the bunch. Far Cry 5 definitely went above and beyond in terms of how out there they were willing to go for the DLC, including a zombie storyline and a mission to Mars, but Hours of Darkness stands out for how grounded it is not only in real life history, but also in terms of how it provides context for a minor NPC and the sidequest he sends us on. I don't

After the release of Far Cry: Primal in 2016, Ubisoft announced that the next installment in the franchise would need more time in development, and thus would not release in 2017 as had been previously planned. Instead, the game released in 2018, and though it released to mostly positive reviews, the game was steeped in controversy due to the setting and plot. Far Cry had long been known for its more exotic locales and antagonistic groups that were easy to identify as being

After the release of Sunset Overdrive for the Xbox One, Sony Interactive Entertainment's VP of Product Development, Connie Booth, met with Insomniac Games' CEO, Ted Price, for an informal, off the record meeting. From this meeting, Marvel's Spider-Man would begin to form, seeing a marked difference both in how Marvel would handle its video game releases, as well as marking the first time Insomniac would work on a licensed property as opposed to an original IP. Since 2000, Act

After an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, the most successful ever for a Spanish developed game, Mika and the Witch's Mountain released in early 2025. With heavy inspiration from Wind Waker and, most prominently, Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service, the game puts us in the role of Mika, a young aspiring witch who travels to small island in order to receive training from the witch that resides at the top of the mountain in the center. The story begins as Mika,

Beginning development in 2019, shortly after the initial release of Sword and Shield, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet represent an ambitious step forward for the series. The titles ditch the linear routes and progression the series is known for, instead focusing on a fully open world that had been heavily requested by fans. The team at Game Freak made realism one of the primary goals of the games, setting out to craft realistic areas, redoing Pokémon models with more detailed text

Originally released in 2017 exclusively on mobile, the game later found its way to Steam in 2020 and consoles in 2021. As the name may imply, Nexomon is another in a long line of games that's heavily inspired by Pokémon, featuring over 300 monsters to collect and battle with. Given the benefit of over two decades worth of Pokémon games from which to draw inspiration, how does Nexomon compare? Better than I'd have thought, it seems, but not as well as I'd hope. We begin our j

Originally released for iOS and Android in 2015 and 2016 respectively, Agent A made its way to consoles in 2019. Featuring artwork inspired by the works of Shag and Kevin Dart, Agent A is a relatively short point and click style puzzle game that puts us in the role of the titular Agent A. The game has a distinct 60's retro style that, combined with clear inspiration from classic Bond films, gives it a style and flair all its own. Originally released in an episodic manner, the

First conceptualized while developers Chip Moore and Dylan Takeyama were in college, the pair set out to match the gameplay style of older tactical RPGs, such as Fire Emblem and Shining Force, with a modern look. Created in GameMaker, the game saw a successful Kickstarter campaign before being surprise released on Steam and later ported to the NIntendo Switch. The story follows a group of military academy students who get swept up in a questionable war before finding themsel

Developed as the second game from Black Tabby Studios, a Canadian based indie developer consisting of husband and wife Tony Howard-Arias and Abby Howard, Slay the Princess is psychological horror visual novel that tasks players to, surprise, slay a princess. While this may seem like an overall straight forward goal, it becomes clear pretty quickly that there's much more going on. We begin our journey as an unnamed character in the woods. The narrator sets the scene that we a

In 2011, a user on the internet's dumping ground, 4chan, posted an image of a HobbyTown location that was undergoing renovations. The image featuring a large carpeted room, fluorescent lighting, and pale, yellow dividing walls, began circulating on the site, and in 2019 was the featured image for a post on a paranormal themed board asking for "disquieting images that just feel 'off'". Another user replied to the post, supplying the image with its first description. Mentioning

Inspired by his childhood in Ecuador, Julián Cordero originally conceived of a game that would use the universal language of football in order to convey his memories of growing up. Wanting to avoid the high budget look of sports games like FIFA, as they didn't represent the soccer that he grew up with, he struggled with how best to move forward. With a little help from his University Professor Gabe Cuzzillo, the designer of 2019's Ape Out, he was inspired to bring the place t

As the first original intellectual property released by publisher Dotemu, Absolum combines everything the publisher had learned working on other side scrolling beat'em ups they had published for other developers, as well as Guard Crush Games' experience as the co-developer for Streets of Rage 4. Looking to create something new and bring the beat'em up genre to a new audience, the team decided to add roguelike elements to the game after with them in Mr. Nightmare X, the DLC fo

Serving as the much anticipated follow up to 1999's Chocobo Racing, the game that would become Chocobo GP floundered in development limbo for well over a decade. Originally announced in 2010 as a 3DS title, Square had outsourced development before quietly cancelling the project in 2013. in 2021, trademarks for Chocobo GP and Chocobo Grand Prix were filed before the official announcement of the title, which would release in March of 2022. The game was plagued with decisions th

As the name might imply, Raptor Boyfriend is a visual novel dating sim in which players can simulate dating a raptor. Not limiting itself to just being a dinosaur dating sim, which would frankly be enough to pique my interest, the game allows the player to also court a bigfoot and a fairy. While the core concept of a high school dating sim featuring cryptids is loosely based on Twilight, the developers drew more direct inspiration from Life is Strange, Night in the Woods, and

Developed as the debut title for indie studio All Possible Futures, The Plucky Squire follows the exploits of Jot, a writer and protagonist of a children's storybook, and his friends as they battle against the forces of the dastardly Humpgrump. As the studio was founded by James Turner, who had previously worked for Game Freak designing Pokémon from generation five onward, and Jonathon Biddle, who had worked for Devolver Digital as the creative director for The Swords of Ditt

Released in 2020, Going Under is the first game developed by indie studio Aggro Crab, and follows the tumultuous unpaid internship of Jacqueline "Jackie" Fiasco. Having earned her degree and hoping to enter the working world, she lands a "job" working for Fizzle, a beverage company subsidized by the much larger conglomerate company known as Cubicle. Though eager to get firsthand experience and hopefully being hired to a paid position, any dreams of a normal job are dashed alm

Beginning development in 2016, The Gap began with the "simple" idea of traversing the multiverse. The story focuses on neuroscientist Joshua Hayes, whom we control, who by the time we begin the game has lost it all. We awake, disoriented and confused, in his apartment in the not so distant future. With clear signs of a troubled life, with missed calls, subscription services lapsing, and nothing but the faintest and concerning clues as to what has led us to this point, it's up

Originally conceived during the development of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet by director Shigeru Ohmori, Pokopia draws heavily from his earliest work in the series as a map designer for Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire. Feeling as though the idea of creating their own Pokémon habitats would be appealing for fans, he further developed the idea as a spinoff title as a new approach to the franchise. Lacking the experience of working on sandbox games, Game Freak enlisted the aid of Koei Tecmo

Developed by Mad Head Games, Adam Wolfe bills itself as a paranormal mystery adventure. Thrust into the role of paranormal investigator Adam Wolfe, we're presented with a handful of cases that ultimately tie into the larger mystery of our missing sister. With fights against elementals, cultists, and even a car chase sequence, all of the pieces are in place for what, at least on paper, sounds like a thrilling, action packed adventure. Set in San Francisco, our first case sees