Features
Animal Crossing New Horizons Hands-On Impressions at PAX East 2020
Every year I look forward to my trip to PAX East in Boston, and every year I look forward to what Nintendo is going to bring to the expo hall floor. I can tell you from four days of personal experience, Nintendo did not disappoint this time. Past years there was always a nice looking spot with multiple demos of different games that are either out or coming out very soon.
Hands-On With N1RV ANN-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
When Sukeban Games launched their retro-styled bartending/visual novel VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action in 2016, it became an indie and critical darling. The retro graphics style, good writing, and cyberpunk setting all combined to a make something special. Now Sukeban aims to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time with the 2020 launch of N1RV ANN-A.
Hands (and Face)-On With SoundSelf: A Technodelic
There was no way to miss the Andromeda Entertainment booth at PAX South this year. While the surrounding booths featured the typical demo layout of big screens and up-front action, Andromeda centered their booth around a tea ceremony. People walking through the hall at any time of day could see company founder Robin Arnott or one of the other employees pouring small cups of tea for folks waiting t...[Read More]
World of Horror – A PAX Hands-On Redux
Astute readers may recall last year’s PAX South hands-on with World of Horror, a black-and-white horror game that harkens back to much earlier days of computer gaming. At the time, the game was expected to be released sometime in 2019, however, that schedule slipped into 2020. For PAX South this year, that meant that World of Horror was back at the Ysbryd booth, showcasing both the school story fr...[Read More]
Hands-On With The Artful Escape
With its unique art style and a blend of side-scrolling and rhythm game mechanics, The Artful Escape made for a splashy, eye-catching demo at PAX South this year. The game places players in the shoes of Francis Vendetti, a teenage guitar prodigy preparing for his first major performance. Before that happens, however, Francis must set out on a psychedelic multidimensional journey which will inspire...[Read More]
The Longing (Steam) Hands-On Preview
Games these days tend to lean towards the quick and snappy side of things. Whether it’s the ability to hop in and do a couple of rounds online or move through a compelling story, the pacing often mandates that things progress or conclude typically within a couple of hours for each session. The Longing aims to challenge that idea with the concept of rewarding patience. The Longing follows a y...[Read More]
Hands-On with Ghostrunner from PAX South
Take one part Mirror’s Edge-style seamless first-person view parkour running. Add a dash of cyberpunk design – because it’s 2020, after all! Mix in some one-hit-kill sword-swinging action, and blend it all up with a bullet-time slow-mo sauce. What comes out is Ghostrunner, an absolutely fascinating experience that this writer was able to go hands-on with during PAX South this year.
“Tank and Spank” – An Interview With Kitfox Games about Boyfriend Dungeon
For some time I’ve been keeping a keen eye on Kitfox Games future release of Boyfriend Dungeon since its announcement as well as successful funding on Kickstarter. At times I’ll admit to see how soon I can more hands-on time with the game. Why? In the past, I’ve had the chance to play a build of the game at PAX East. You can read my hands-on preview with Boyfriend Dungeon over he...[Read More]
Streets of Rage 4 – A PAX South Hands-On
How do you resurrect a classic game series that’s been dormant for over twenty years? For some, the answer is a gritty reboot, and a new title that bears little resemblance to the source material save for the name. For others, it’s to craft a flawless recreation of the original. Developers Guard Crush Games and Lizardcube have chosen a middle path with their upcoming Streets of Rage 4 title, tryin...[Read More]
Disintegration Closed Technical Beta Giveaway
I’m always in for a beta to give a game a good kick around and see what I can break. While I’ve done this for quite a few years on other projects, I always do enjoy giving feedback to developers and helping them really break in the systems. Well if you’re looking to help out as well and be able to give feedback, then you’ve found the right place here on Marooners’ Roc...[Read More]
PAX South 2020 Overall Wrap-Up
The annual opener to the PAX show season, PAX South started off 2020 by showcasing the theme for this year’s PAX merchandise, along with some game announcements, and a few significant layout changes.
Daddy Gamer Episode 13 Untitled Goose Game
A new episode of Daddy Gamer featuring everyone’s favorite water fowl from Untitled Goose Game has finally arrived after a ton of major updates to the show.