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Introduced in 2013's The Playroom, the general concept for the Astro Bot series has always been fairly straightforward, serving as essentially a tech demo and tutorial to the myriad of functions present in the PS4 and PS5. Generally consisting of minigames that take advantage of the unique features of the Sony consoles, the games serve as an introduction to the DualSense controller and Sony's VR headset, all in a cute, family friendly package. After finishing work on Astro's

Founded by industry veterans from Telltale Games, Ubisoft, and Night School Studio in 2018, following the rather sudden closure of Telltale Games, AdHoc Studio partnered with Critical Role Productions to create a workplace comedy game focused on superheroes. The original concept was meant to be a live action production inspired by, of all things, ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" commercials, though the idea was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Revived in the form of a vide

Since I apparently have a new fascination with playing games in which I play as a cat, Copycat's siren call of feline antics was irresistible. Developed as the debut title from Spoonful of Wonderful, Copycat puts us in the role of a stray cat with a checkered past as we get adopted from a shelter and, over the course of the game, learn the true value of home. Though most of the game is lighthearted and silly, the narrative touches on some deeper, rather dark elements, handlin

Launched in Febuary of 2003, Kingdom of Loathing is a browser based adventure game notable for its hand-drawn assets and surrealist humor. In it, the player explores a satirical fantasy land primarily through text while engaging in PvE combat. There are PvP options available, as well as a chat feature, the ability to join clans, and a surprisingly robust option to sell items to other players that has been the focus of academic study. While the visuals are simple, the characte

Released in September of 2020, When the Past Was Around was created and illustrated by Indonesian illustrator and developer Brigatta Rena who wanted to create a love story that was relatable, yet mysterious. Partially based on her own life experiences, the game was made with no dialogue, leaving interpretation up to the player. While this caused some issues during development as each team member interpreted the story differently, they eventually agreed on the details after a

Developed by Colombian indie studio Dreams Uncorporated, Cris Tales is a self proclaimed tribute to classing JRPG titles such as Final Fantasy, Persona, and Chrono Trigger. Featuring plenty of influences from Colombian culture and architecture, the game also shows clear visual influences from Genndy Tartakovsky, Mary Blair, and Eyvind Earle, with character designs inspired by 2009's The Secret of Kells. Combined, these influences give Cris Tales a unique visual identity that

After working on the excellent sidecroller beat 'em up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, the team at Tribute Games approached Marvel in hopes of developing a game in the Marvel universe. Getting the greenlight with the condition that the game launch with at least 15 playable characters, the team set out to compile a roster of popular and lesser known characters while taking artistic cues from Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, and John Byrne. They chose to adapt 2006's Ann

After playing Pokémon Legends: Z-A and being left with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth, I yearned for a new experience that could perfectly capture the glory days of the franchise. Unwilling to replay for the thousandth time one of the many versions of the game to be released over the past 30 years, I opted to look elsewhere, finding myself desperately scouring the eShop in the pursuit of that sweet dragon-type fix. As a popular and incredibly profitable franchise, Pokémo

Art by ItsumiCarlo "Oh my stars, did I do all this?" Originally code-named Van Buren, the game that would become Fallout: New Vegas was originally intended to be the third mainline entry in the series. Facing financial issues, Black Isle Studios was forced to cancel the title in December of 2003. In 2007, Bethesda purchased the Fallout intellectual property, releasing their version of Fallout 3 the following year. With Bethesda already hard at work on Skyrim, the company sti

How far can you take a single gameplay concept? How far can you push a premise, regardless of how stupid it may be, before you cross the line between funny and annoying? How far can you stretch the premise of the player controlling each individual action, such as taking a step or breathing, without the game losing its charm and becoming unplayable? Is it possible for Death to land a kickflip? These are the hard hitting questions that the team at Perfectly Paranormal set out t

"Being noble has nothing to do with who you are as a person or how hard your life is." Introduced in 2019's Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Claude is the leader of the Golden Deer class which hails from the Leicester Alliance. Unlike the other houses the player can choose between the Golden Deer has a greater focus on commoners over nobility, and while Claude himself is set to lead the Alliance some day, he remains far more approachable, bordering on aloof. While he hides behind

Hello, and welcome back to the first annual Dpademy Awards. This is the final part of a four part series released every Sunday of the month of December. Over the course of the year, I've played over 52 games, and while I've written separate articles for each game, this is where I get to take a closer look at things, big and small, that either I didn't cover or that I wanted to gush more about. The categories are a bit unconventional, but that's part of the fun. For this, I'll

"We will create our own path to follow." A young noblewoman, Estellise's upbringing was fairly restrictive, mostly limited to Zaphias Castle. As such, she gained most of her knowledge of the outside world from books, making her an avid reader who can recite passages from memory. Naturally skilled in the use of healing artes, made all the more impressive due to her ability to cast without the use of a blastia, she is also proficient in the use of swords, staves, and shields.

Final Fantasy, as one of gaming's longest running franchises, is certainly no stranger to spin-off titles. Generally, these either become new series themselves, such as with the Mana, Bravely Default, and Octopath games, or serve as the odd direct sequel to a mainline game. The few times that the series has experimented by branching out into other genres is typically met rather tepidly. So, imagine my absolute surprise when Square, in collaboration with Team Ninja, announced

As we get ready to ring in the new year, I thought it only fitting to deliver what everyone truly yearns for during the holiday seasons: Numbers, graphs, and sweet delicious data. So I broke down the 52 games I played and covered this year into a few choice statistics to see how well I stuck to my stated goals of playing through my backlog and broadening my horizons. Games Played by Release Year: This is the percentage breakdown of the year of release for games 1-52. There a

Art by Jenu the Angel "Anytime you need help, just give ol' Alfyn a holler!" While a few of the characters I've included have kind of skirted the line on the rules I set in place, Alfyn is probably the most blatant case of ignoring the rules for the sake of the narrative. Hailing from 2018's Octopath Traveler, Alfyn i s one of the eight party members that players can choose as their "main character." While I chose Minthara from Baldur's Gate III in part due to her role as on

Released in 2021, In Sound Mind is the first game built from the ground up by the team at We Create Stuff, whose previous work included browser and flash based projects, as well as the Nightmare House games which were elaborate, horror themed Half-Life 2 mods. Working with mental health advisors and with a soundtrack crafted by the band "The Living Tombstone"In Sound Mind bills itself as a psychological horror game. Putting players in the role of therapist, Desmond Wales, the

Art by Ferilily "It's quite easy to throw your own life away... However, you must think of all who will mourn if you do!" Introduced in Suikoden II, Sierra is the Tenei Star, which generally serves as the "Sworn Protector", often protecting the protagonist or some other character, usually willing to risk their lives for them. Sierra wields the Moon Rune, one of the 27 True Runes, which form the backbone of the Suikoden universe which allow it to exist. The intense power conn

Hello, and welcome back to the first annual Dpademy Awards. This is part three of a four part series that will be released every Sunday of the month of December. Over the course of the year, I've played over 52 games, and while I've written separate articles for each game, this is where I get to take a closer look at things, big and small, that either I didn't cover or that I wanted to gush more about. The categories are a bit unconventional, but that's part of the fun. For t

Art by Kidstainlab "What you're really asking is... 'Will you please beat the shit out of me, Kanji?" Introduced in 2008's Persona 4, Kanji is a first year high school student, making him among the youngest of the party. Despite this, he's easily the tallest and possibly the most physically intimidating. When we're first introduced to Kanji, he's presented as an infamous figure in the small town, having single-handedly run a biker gang out of town while in middle school. He