XCOM Chimera Squad is my definition of a pleasant surprise. Just soldiering through quarantine on a lazy April Tuesday afternoon, across my news feed comes the improbable: a new XCOM game getting shadow dropped. Chimera squad is a $20 exploration into the ways that XCOM can, and I believe will, evolve.
Read MoreI remember hearing about Stardew Valley when it was approaching release. I thought it looked cute. I have this long hidden secret that I love organizational and management heavy games. It doesn’t come out very frequently. Deep down I knew that Stardew Valley was something that I could easily sink dozens of hours into, I would just need to find the right moment.
Read MoreBloodroots positively oozes style.From the music to the art direction, from the level layouts to the animations. Vibe Avenue’s score also absolutely rips and quickly found its way into my music library. Bloodroots is a devilishly smart, chaotically creative jaunt through fields of blood and mayhem well deserving of your twenty dollars.
Read MoreAfter what feels like years of conversations, planning, and ideation, NerdyFits has finally started to take form. NerdyFits is a vlog, produced by Caleb and his wife, Amanda, that chronicles their fitness journey. Caleb and Amanda are both nerds who love their video games, comic book movies and shows, D&D, and so much more!
Read MoreThe heart of what makes Bubble Bobble tick is alive and well in the latest installment. You are greeted by a smooth, Pixar like, style that brings a nice depth to the simple design of Bub and Bob. Each level (100 in total, but the back 50 are more or less remixes) taking place in a child's bedroom offers a "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" vibe to platform through.
Read MoreNerdyBits EIC Caleb Sawyer got a chance to talk with some of the devs responsible for Coffee Talk. Join them as they talk about their inspirations, motivations, and of course their favorite drinks to order at a coffee shop.
Read MoreCoffee Talk is a charming little narrative sim from the folks at Toge Productions, an indie studio based in Indonesia. Coffee Talk feels like it was made by people who love coffee, tea, and coffee shops. The aesthetic is executed extremely well. Even the soundtrack feels like a Chilled Cow playlist. After playing for a few hours, I couldn’t help but make myself a latte, grab a notebook and a cigarette, and listen to the rain.
Read MoreAs we all get ready to wrap up 2019 I wanted to share my thoughts on this year in cinema. This has been one of the greatest years for movies that I can remember, and we’ll be setting the bar very high in my first annual year in review. At the time of this writing I have been to the theater 37 times for 34 different movies.
Read MoreThe ONLY thing cooler than ninjas and robots, are ninja robots. I know this. You know this. And Taito knew this in 1987 when they released The Ninja Warriors in the arcades; a side-scrolling beat-em-up like so many others released at the time. Simply put Ninja Saviors is just plain FUN!
Read MoreCreature in the Well is the distillation of a dungeon crawler, and pinball. As if there were more disparate things in the gaming world. Despite having the urge to say something like, “you can count the number of games like this on one hand,” I am fully aware there aren’t any games like this title by Flight School Studio.
Read MoreHave you ever wanted to take back your planet from the colonizers with a battle falcon? I bet you would if I described it like that! Falcon Age places you, an initially nameless character, into an already destroyed world, mined into desolation by ORC, a company that strips planets for their resources.
Read MorePlaying Outer Wilds prompted a mental reaction I have never had before. Somewhere in the space between planets, as I sought out the clues to solve this rapidly decaying universe, I found the answer to a question I never asked. All the time I spent with this game was fraught with tension and trepidation until I knew what I was meant to do; A lesson with surprising connections to one’s journey through life.
Read MoreWhen I was a kid, in fact, when most of us were kids, our options for games to play were limited. I still remember planning out what game or two I would have for summer break. There is so much out there to play, so many things to discover, you should never feel like you have to like something. Someone out there is making your favorite game. Maybe it’s already out!
Read MorePeople connect emotionally to their games. Sometimes that emotional connection is peace in a tumultuous world. Sometimes that connection is a new reason to live. For the next adventure. For the next quest. For the next moment. Sometimes that connection goes unnoticed until someone else puts context to content.
Read MoreMechanically easy to pick up, hard to put down, a brilliant and evocative score, and entrancing art elevate Far: Lone Sails into the poetic. A contemplative and somber yet unwaveringly charming journey It hooked me immediately. Despite having beaten it twice, I keep finding myself coming back for a little more every couple of days.
Read MoreI went into Heaven’s Vault cautious. Not for any reason I believed to be ill-willed, but rather, simply because Inkle Studios set out to tell a story about the muddiness of history. That is an ambitious task. In the end, Heaven’s Vault is is a complex and interesting narrative with a genuinely unique core and excellent world building.
Read MoreIn June of last year, a few months after the release of Far Cry 5, Terry Spier (Creative Director, Red Storm) said that the Division 2 would not be making a political statement. The game takes place in D.C. after a plague decimates the population. D.C. is in ruins, and the trailer released at E3 last year says “A remnant of a corrupt state lurks in the shadows, ready to engage in a new civil war. Agents of the Division are the only one standing against it.” So how…what the…?
Read MoreJust before the Super Bowl rumors started stirring. Vince Zampella had been abnormally active on Twitter in the last week, streamers were talking about trips to California, in the days leading up to the weekend keywords were being tossed in the air. Free-to-play, Battle Royale, Titanfall. All of them interesting separately, but together, a potentially amazing surprise. Then, during the Super Bowl, Vince sent this tweet:
Read More2018 was a stellar year for games. From God of War kicking the door down in March, to Fortnite redefining persistent online experiences, to Red Dead Redemption 2 causing games to flee its wake, to Celeste, Owlboy, and Gorogoa taking hearts and thumbs by storm. It is impossible to tell people what they should go out and play because the list is humanly impossible to complete. That is, unless you are superhuman. So, rather than trying to page through every single Black Friday ad, we thought it would be more fitting to give you a list of games that you have to play.
Read MoreIf PlayStation’s offering came across a bit meager for variety, the Nintendo Switch is going to look a downright barren. Nintendo has been known to stick to their guns when it comes to pricing both their systems and their accessories, making Black Friday a small event for them, rather than the doorbusting sale you will see for everyone else. You can expect to find the Switch at its normal price of $300 across the board. If you are looking for accessories there are a few dynamite deals at each big store worth looking into. GameStop is selling the Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild accessory bundles for $34.99, down from their usual $70. They also give you a $50 gift card for the purchase of a new switch, which would make grabbing a few games a bit easier.
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