Dylan Bishop

Bullets whiz past my avatar as I select her next attack against the Russian mafioso. I settle on the same one as last turn: a hearty blast of ammo from my assault rifle. After unleashing her barrage, my spritely young anime-inspired protagonist returns to her respective side of the screen. All this happens over the backbeat-laden hip-hop-influenced soundtrack. I genuinely enjoyed my time with Orangeblood’s PAX West demo, which showed me a game developed in RPG Maker by a single person. I just wish I could give more context to this paragraph, because, beyond aesthetics, I have no idea what the hell the game was truly about.

“We wanted another Shovel Knight game,” says Alec Faulkner of Yacht Club Games, “but we didn’t want to make it. We’re sick of making Shovel Knight games. And we’re still making one of our own!” It’s safe to say that developing Shovel Knight has probably been exhausting. In 2014, the game launched after a successful Kickstarter campaign and subsequent development process. It became an instant indie darling, lauded by fans and critics alike.

A bulb-backed dinosaur, a flame-tailed salamander, and a bubble-blowing turtle — can any pocket monster match the iconic looks of Pokémon Red and Blue’s starter trio? Some players would argue no, believing that modern Pokémon designs have taken a turn for the worst. Sentient ice cream cones and literal piles of garbage just don’t make the kids excited like the critters of yore, they say. But what if we take nostalgia out of the picture? What if Pokémon designs really are different from how they used to be, for a reason? What if the Pokémon of today are instead being designed with a different goal in mind?

One of my fondest memories from Red Dead Redemption 2 is from my first play session with it, almost four months ago. It was just past midnight, and I had no earthly idea where my horse had run off to. Hoping not to lose my way in the wilderness, I kept close to the train tracks outside Valentine. It’s there I noticed something hanging in the support beams beneath—a body, crucified and missing a head.

Donut County, a 2018 game by Ben Esposito, is overflowing with dumb jokes, an aspect of the game I was immediately taken with. Its music, dialogue, and even “Trashopedia” are full of obscurity just for the hell of it. Donut County leans into its nonsense, and in doing so, speaks directly to a nonsensical audience: my generation, “the Millennials.”

There’s an age-old discussion about whether games are truly art. Or rather, there’s an argument that wonders if that conversation should be continued. Video games are art, that much is sure. The more interesting dissection, then, is how certain experiences are artful. Gone Home was a master-class in emotional, thoughtful, environmental storytelling, as was Journey. 2016’s Doom was a fine-tuning of decades-old shooting mechanics, contorting them into something new yet familiar. It could be said that most games are works of art with their own specialty; you just need to turn your head and find the perfect angle to see.

Character movement in Smash Bros. is central to the series, and has evolved with each release. Ahead of Ultimate's launch, we look back at how the mechanics have shaped the game as we know it today.

No video game this year dares to ruffle feathers as much as Fallout 76. It’s a bold, purposeful departure from the formula Bethesda has built for years. Thanks to this significant change, fans are understandably upset. Fallout is forcing our industry to ask a few tough questions. Is change always good? Does “bold” mean “better?” What creates a solid story? The answers aren’t always pleasing. Fallout 76 is so outrageously talked about that I won’t dive into a multi-paragraph explanation of its m

Fallout 76 has a lot going on. That was pretty evident last month with my hands-on preview, but during this week’s B.E.T.A., I’ve been able to dive even further into the virtual Appalachia. I’ve tried everything under the sun when it comes to exploring: solo and group adventures, scavenging for loot, crafting, bartering, and more. When taking those into account, this feels just like any other Fallout title, which I mentioned a few weeks ago. But I never got a solid grasp on the game’s story missions, which are told mostly through robots and holotape recordings. While this didn’t seem like a huge deal when Bethesda broke down the concept, I’ve changed my mind a bit.

Like its predecessors, Fallout 76 is a massive game. With its loving recreations of West Virginia, from the monsters to the monuments, you can spend countless hours here if you so choose, sifting through the aftermath of the Great War piecing together stories from skeletons and Holotapes. Bethesda is shaking up the Fallout formula quite a bit by adding multiplayer and an increased emphasis on survival mechanics.

“Inside the human body, roughly 37.2 trillion cells are working hard every day.” So begins the introduction of Cells at Work, an anime that turns complex medical concepts, scenarios, and organisms into interesting situations and characters. Seeing as I work extensively with these little friends, allow me to introduce you to the true cast of Cells at Work.

Roguelikes are mysterious enigmas, usually warranting a high playtime in stressful situations. It’s for this reason that I don’t have a full review ready for Moonlighter on the day of its Nintendo Switch release. Every night, my silver-haired adventurer braves into the ever-changing never-ending dungeons near his home. Every night, the unseen, bespectacled player-god controlling him (aka myself) battles with sluggish sword swings, light control issues, and the stress of trying to marathon a dungeon crawler. It’s safe to say that Moonlighter doesn’t come as easily to me as other roguelikes, and I’ve yet to fully assess whether that’s the game’s fault or mine. But the most intriguing moments of the experience lie somewhere other than these worrisome nights.

The Reigns series has been around for a few years, but the games have eluded me for the longest time. It’s a series of fantasy-based choose-your-own-adventure games laced with a Tinder makeover. Your choices are tied to left and right swipes, which will dramatically alter your fate and your kingdom. Various resources are listed at the top of the screen (military power, religious faith, the peoples’ love, and wealth), the extremes of which can end your glorious rule.

Fallout 76 is filled to the brim with places that local citizens will find familiar. But after the game’s initial reveal, there was one location I had to see for myself: Camden Park. I grew up near Huntington, WV, and have many memories of field trips, youth group outings, and weekend trips to the tiny nearby amusement park. Camden Park’s sign was shown briefly in Bethesda’s E3 Showcase, but I wanted to see more. Would Huntington be in the game? Could we cross the Ohio River?

As you may know, we went hands-on with Fallout 76 last week, and we didn’t need a trip to the Greenbrier Resort to tell you the game is set in the idyllic hills of West Virginia. But seeing as I grew up near Huntington, WV and know its area well, I was curious as to why the game was set there. Did the rustic, rural culture, country tunes, and enthralling folk tales steal the hearts of Bethesda Game Studios? Did they simply enjoy the sheer amount of green? Maybe they liked mountains?! According to a roundtable interview, it’s a solid mixture of all the above.

Vault Dwellers, the time has finally come: we can discuss that Fallout 76 event from last week. The showing took place at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV, which gave us quite a close look at the real region Fallout 76 is modeled after. But when all’s said and done, the trip itself doesn’t matter. A three-hour gameplay demo is the reason we were there, and by god, that’s what we’ve been dying to discuss.

Chances are you’ve caught wind of Minit between its initial release and the clamor for a Switch port. It’s a wee, wonderful, one-bit adventure where, thanks to a cursed blade, you die every 60 seconds. While it’s a romping hoot of a game, it also blatantly wastes your time. I mean that in a good way: Minit tosses away precious seconds with so many fun, sincere, and clever tactics that this shines as a pro, not a con.

We’ve known for a while that Miles Morales would pop into Marvel’s Spider-Man. He briefly appeared at the end of a gameplay trailer at E3 2017, and he has been lightly hinted at ever since. What we haven’t known, though, is what sort of role he would play. Miles Morales is an Afro-Latino character who, in the Ultimate Marvel comic universe, takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker. His powers aren’t exactly the same as Peter’s (he can camouflage himself and paralyze foes with a single touch), but that’s okay. It sets Miles apart, and frankly, those abilities are awesome! He strives to be his own man, and is not content to sit in Peter’s shadow. I carefully observed Miles throughout Spider-Man, and I’d like to talk about his role for a bit.

The International 2018, the biggest event on the Dota 2 calendar, closed just weeks ago with OG taking home the trophy in a thrilling best-of-five series. Yet fans are already hungry for more Dota action. Plenty of diehard fans have been discussing roster shuffles, many have recapped big plays, and tinkering players have flocked to new heroes. It's an exciting time for Dota, as everyone prepares to see what the next season will bring.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is here, and critics are raving. Our very own Chandler Wood is one such critic, lauding how the game handles Peter Parker’s personality, personal life, and superhero antics. The game comes with a lot of baggage, as it attempts to be greater than all superhero and Spider-Man games before it.