Discussion
Video Games, Depression, and Quarantine
Yup. As the title implies, I’ve got depression. The meds help (a lot) but there are still times when apathy paralyzes me and I simply want to lie down and stare at a wall. On the flip side of that, there are times when I need to pace as anxiety and frustration build for no particularly good reason and I cannot find an appropriate outlet.
Home Is Where You Can Play D&D
I just came back from a year of working in Tokyo. While that might sound like a great, interesting experience, it was also an isolating one. See, my Japanese is mediocre at best and Tokyo is much like New York City; busy, impersonal, unfriendly, and sometimes hostile, though in a more passive-aggressive way than NYC. Between the language barrier, Japanese shyness, and a fairly prevalent distrust o...[Read More]
Unless It Moves The Human Heart – The Last of Us
According to author and professor Roger Rosenblatt, writing is not worth much “unless it moves the human heart.” As far as I am concerned, that standard should apply to all forms of art, and video games, my friends, are an art form. In my experience, few games have illustrated the ability to inspire emotion more profoundly than The Last of Us. While weaving a soul tearing narrative and...[Read More]
Persona 5 Royal (PS4) Impressions
A few years ago, P-Studio and Atlus stunned the world with the release of Persona 5, a JRPG revolving around high school drama laced with superhero tropes, mature themes, supernatural beings in strange parallel worlds, and addictive systems that provided hundreds of hours of play. Committing to Persona 5 is a journey, one that’s more like a televised series than most RPGs, as each section could be...[Read More]
Infernax Expands Castlevania 2 and Zelda 2 Designs with Bloody Brutality
I played a ton of games at PAX West back in September. In fact, I had an appointment almost every hour and they were often spread throughout the area. Somehow, I made it every single meeting and while I wasn’t able to share about every single session, there are several that stand out that I still think about. One of those games is Infernax, a violent display of retro-inspired, heavy metal brutalit...[Read More]
Temtem (Pokemon-like MMORPG) First Impressions
There are few things that frustrate me more in gaming than the reluctance to change that’s found in the core RPG Pokemon games. Ever since Ruby and Sapphire, there has been a laundry list of either removed features like an additional region or seemingly obvious improvements like a fast-forward mechanic. I’ve played just about every core Pokemon game multiple times through on top of many rom hacks ...[Read More]
Top Games of the Decade by Year
Wow, another decade has come and gone and along with it came lots of video games! We here at Marooner’s Rock clearly love video games, but it can be incredibly difficult to narrow down the top games of a single year, let alone an entire decade. So we made it slightly easier on ourselves by making a Top Games list where we all got a pick for each year. The result, I think, is a nice collectio...[Read More]
Square Enix shows Two Radically Different Remakes at PAX West 2019
Pop-culture is currently in a state that celebrates remakes and while it can get tiresome I find myself enjoying this type of content. Risks are fewer and remakes have become more and more robust. In games, we’ve seen remakes and remasters many times over with several releases that take the original game and elevates it above and beyond with new technology and gameplay offerings. Capcom knocked it...[Read More]
Best Game Awards at PAX West 2019
There were tons of excellent games spread throughout the Washington State Convention Center during PAX West. So many that it was quite the daunting task for me to narrow down the best of the best. Just know that there are gems I missed. That aside, let’s dive into five of the best games I played at PAX West 2019, with an honorable mention for some cool swag.
Savior, Now on Kickstarter, Radiates Style and Grace
There’s a particular style being displayed in the Kickstarter trailer for Savior, a game being developed by Starsoft. Using a pixelated art direction, Savior echoes of Metroidvania classics and old-school Prince of Persia titles with a focus detailed animation and fluidity of movement. Starsoft claims on their Kickstarter page that the game is in pre-production, looking for a more direct funding s...[Read More]
Best Indie Game Awards at PAX WEST 2019
While PAX West didn’t offer too many major surprises, as many of the big moments were shared a day early or even shortly after the event, there was plenty of games to enjoy, play, and discuss. From the mass of indies at the Indie MEGABOOTH to the hidden gems sprinkled throughout the show floor independent design was fierce at PAX West. We picked six nominations for the Best Indie Game at PAX West ...[Read More]
Netflix Turned Me into a Dark Crystal Fan
Being a child during the 90s, there was a lot of cult-classic 80s films that I missed out on, though my mother owned a ton of classics on VHS that I would pour through. While I was more interested in Power Rangers, Jurassic Park, and my NES, I never was exposed to the Dark Crystal. The few ads I saw for the film at the start of a few of my tapes all kind of creeped me out as I was a sensitive kid ...[Read More]