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Sable: A World Worth Seeing

Sable: A World Worth Seeing

I try to write about games as personally as I can. This often leads to long breaks between written pieces because not every game speaks to me in a way I feel I have something unique to share. Sable gave me something to write about from its very first moments to its very last. A coming of age tale that has just as much to say about what it means to find your place in the world as it does reminding you to remember what it felt like to explore without fear. What a wonderful thing to put in the hands of players.

Caleb SawyerJuly 8, 2022Comment

Minions: The Rise of Gru (Illumination, PG)

Minions: The Rise of Gru (Illumination, PG)

As an adult, more importantly as a parent, what I find silly is that while writing this review I found myself debating the principles of film. I find it pretty significantly comical that I almost wrote about this movies adherence to the three act structure, or the fact that I wanted to measure its necessity in the larger universe of Minions films. The reality is that this movie was made for children, and as someone who got to watch it in a room full of children, they loved it.

Review, ReadableCaleb SawyerJuly 1, 2022movie review, film, minions, rise of gru, despicable me, animation, review, readableComment

Lightyear (Disney/Pixar, PG)

Lightyear (Disney/Pixar, PG)

For a movie that ostensibly didn’t need to exist, Lightyear does a tremendous job campaigning for that existence, thrilling viewers with a space spectacle that feels right at home in its universe, and furthermore, lives up brilliantly to its initial pitch. If I had seen this as a five year old, I would have absolutely begged my mom for a Buzz toy. After this movie who wouldn’t?

ReviewCaleb SawyerJune 17, 2022movie review, disney, pixar, buzz lightyear, toy story, review, readable, filmComment

Jurassic World: Dominion

Jurassic World: Dominion

Following the cataclysmic events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom the Jurassic World park has failed yet again, only this time the dinosaurs got out, migrating across the world. Those events have the possibility to set up a world in which dinosaurs have truly taken over the ecosystem. I will admit, the potential of a Jurassic movie that edges on the post apocalyptic, with dinosaurs taking over cities and people fleeing new and dangerous predators is a delicious idea.

ReviewsCaleb SawyerJune 11, 2022movie review, film, jurassic, universal, reviewComment

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount, PG-13)

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount, PG-13)

In an era where action movies were standalone, twenty or thirty years later, why not stir up that nostalgic feeling? It’s a guaranteed draw at the box office. So bring the crew back together, drum up some old tunes, and rip into the sky again. If part of your argument is that special effects and film quality has jumped astronomically since the 80s, Top Gun is a prime choice of a revisit.

ReviewsCaleb SawyerJune 1, 2022movie review, top gun, maverick, paramount, military, filmComment

Memory (Open Road Films, R)

Memory (Open Road Films, R)

Liam Neeson, in my approximation, can be attributed with reigniting America’s fervor for the solo action hero flick. Sure, there are others that started to come out around the same time as the first Taken, but Wanted, Rock n’ Rolla, and The Bank Job hardly captured the attention of moviegoers like Neeson’s kidnapping revenge flick. His most recent, Memory, is a great addition to a summer season that is getting properly spun up.

Caleb SawyerApril 29, 2022Review, film, movie revie, open road, liam neeson, action, assassin, hitmanComment

FAR: Changing Tides - The Tragedy of a Lost Child

FAR: Changing Tides - The Tragedy of a Lost Child

FAR: Changing Tides, the follow-up/sister title from the small team at Okomotive, is another one of those titles that I found deep resonance with. It seems, somehow, that the Zurich-based indie studio managed to bottle lightning twice. Games are art. Art is inherently political. The FAR games stare right into environmental disaster, and then through that lens tell tales of survival, endurance, and the relationships we have with our machines.

ReadableCaleb SawyerMarch 15, 2022review, readable, far lone sails, far changing tides, indie games, indie, zurich, okomotive, nerdybitsComment

The Unspoken Rules of Stealth Games

The Unspoken Rules of Stealth Games

I love stealth games. They are my absolute jam. I’ve been an Assassin’s Creed acolyte from the beginning and Splinter Cell rests firmly atop my list of favorite franchises. The industry isn’t flooded by this genre, but there are a fair number of quality contenders. The Dishonored games are a tour de force, I love the critically mixed Deus Ex prequels deeply, I only play Far Cry with my knife and bow, Ghost Recon is a kind of comfort food, even in Uncharted 4 I avoided combat in favor of being a sneak. Why is there so little stealth multiplayer?

Readable, FeatureCaleb SawyerMay 21, 2021stealth, stealth games, far cry, assassin's creed, multiplayer, asymmetrical multiplayer, splinter cell, hood outlaws and legends, article, blogComment

Press Reset - Review

Press Reset - Review

Press Reset tells the myriad stories of those who are left on the side of the road when the game industry’s volatility shows its face. It’s something that we have all become familiar with. We all remember Star Wars 1313, the closure of Visceral, the reframing of Irrational. What we don’t know is what exactly happened to those people. Each of these instances impacted the lives of dozens, sometimes hundreds of developers.

Caleb SawyerMay 7, 2021Comment

Second Extinction: First Impressions

Second Extinction: First Impressions

Only a week ago I wrote about the constant search for the perfect co-op game. While that search is never ending, I do believe that we’ve come one step closer. Second Extinction hit Game Pass on Wednesday, April 28th. The early access (Game Preview) title, on Xbox, pits up to three players against mutated dinosaurs in a post-apocalyptic action shooter. Imagine Turok and Deep Rock had a baby and you’re well on your way.

Readable, First ThoughtsCaleb SawyerApril 30, 2021written, article, blog, xbox, game pass, cooperative, opinion, first thoughts, early access, game previewComment

The Family Hunt for Cooperative Games

The Family Hunt for Cooperative Games

In the last 10 years that pattern is increasingly, for me, built around competitive or cooperative multiplayer. Yet, despite the amount of time that this trend has sustained itself, the experiences that exist all fall into well tread and familiar genres. Overwhelmingly we get shooters. After a year of playing cooperative games with my family, we have all begun to notice that what we’re looking for, somehow, doesn’t exist.

features, ReadableCaleb SawyerApril 22, 2021gaming, article, blog, feature, opinion, readable, multiplayer, Co-op, pve, familyComment

An Update of Sorts

An Update of Sorts

The last few months have been...rough. That’s putting it mildly. It’s been a full year now since I quit my job at GameStop, a full year of pandemic lockdowns started, and four months since the birth of my son. A heaping spoonful of good added to a stew of less than ideal.

Readable, featuresCaleb SawyerApril 20, 2021depression, games, video games, article, readable, personal, post, nerdybits, blogComment

Ghost of Tsushima and PlayStation Prestige Storytelling

Ghost of Tsushima and PlayStation Prestige Storytelling

PlayStation exclusives refined themselves this generation. They are heightened storytelling experiences with a tremendous amount of good writing, jaw dropping visuals, and reimagined mechanics. Have they been a consistent wellspring of innovation? No. But then neither has prestige television. It’s a familiar system, twisted and turned, made to look fresh. And it’s perfect, and learning.

features, Readable, ReviewsCaleb SawyerFebruary 8, 2021ghost of tsushima, playstation, exclusive, article, readable, review, sucker punch, ps4, games, nerdybitsComment

Letting My Mind Drift

Letting My Mind Drift

I have always dabbled in driving games. I have fond memories of winning a few races in Gran Tourismo well before I was old enough to understand the ins and outs of tuning an automobile for the track. I have fond memories of specific moments of car games, but very few of those same games have kept my attention for very long. Then three things happened: Forza Horizon 4 came out. I learned that my control scheme wasn’t conducive to what I was wanting to do. 2020 happened.

featuresCaleb SawyerFebruary 3, 2021racing, forza, driving games, sport games, forza horizon 4, drifting, rally, nerdybits, article, readableComment

Shroudbreaker

Shroudbreaker

My family plays video games together, online. We recently introduced my daughter, Cara, to Sea of Thieves, a game, Ben and Caleb, my son and grandson (Cara’s son) and I had played countless hours before. Sea of Thieves with three generations of family members, aged from 28 to 67! Recently we sailed off of the known map into a region called The Shroud, with only a journal and a talisman to guide us.

ReadableCaleb SawyerSeptember 25, 2020sea of thieves, xbox, game pass, family, procedural generations, onlineComment

DOUBLE KICK HEROES - Review

DOUBLE KICK HEROES - Review

From the trailer you’ll immediately notice the game’s charm: lovable art style, characters, great music and that mid-90s design aesthetic with beautiful hard edged pixel graphics. There are an impressive 30 tracks composed by Frédéric "ElMobo" Motte while also featuring guest tracks from bands like Carpenter Brut, Gojira, and a whole lot more.

ReviewsCaleb SawyerSeptember 23, 2020review, double kick heroes, indie games, pr hound, rhythm games, sidescrollingComment

Ultracore Review (Switch, PS4, PSVita)

Ultracore Review (Switch, PS4, PSVita)

Reverse engineered with an actual Genesis dev kit #Ultracore is truly like jumping into a time machine. There are some really advanced ideas in this game. It really seems like too much for a Genesis to handle. However, games at the end of a consoles life-cycle always seem to do the impossible.

ReviewsCaleb SawyerAugust 19, 2020review, ultracore, sega, genesis, ps4, switch, psvita, side scroller, shmupComment

Strategy Games: A Blueprint for My Life

Strategy Games: A Blueprint for My Life

Strategy video games are near and dear to my heart. My childhood was full of long nights playing Age of Empires II, Empire Earth, and Civilization III. Later, when my friend’s older brother decided we were mature enough to appreciate one of the greatest in the RTS genre, we were introduced to Starcraft.

featuresCaleb SawyerJuly 29, 2020strategy games, age of empires, starcraft, homeworld, homeworld 2, company of heroes, company of heroes 2, pc, lan partyComment

A Family Conquers Destiny 2's Zero Hour Together

A Family Conquers Destiny 2's Zero Hour Together

Recently my sister, Kacy (58), and my daughter, Cara (49), have both been bitten by the gaming bug. We meet regularly on Xbox and play online games together. For us it is social, challenging, and fun even though we didn’t grow up playing video games. We’ve come late to gaming, learning to navigate in virtual 2- or 3-D environments using a dual-stick controller, suffering the embarrassment and frustration while loving the challenge.

FeatureCaleb SawyerMay 18, 2020destiny, destiny 2, zero hour, gaming, cooperative, family, procgens, gammaComment

Anthromancer: Beauty, Mystery, and Deadly Aesthetic

Anthromancer: Beauty, Mystery, and Deadly Aesthetic

The goal of any game, table top, digital, or otherwise, is to catch your eye. Walking the floor of Pixel Pop 2017 there was one game in particular that shouted "Come look at this!" Anthromancer is the creation of the multitalented folks at Dancakes. Yes, that is correct. Pancake artists by day, the people at Dancakes are also hard at work on a board game that is damn beautiful.

featuresCaleb SawyerMay 18, 2020indie, pixel pop festival 2017, pixel pop, board game, kickstarter, campaign, live, support, anthromancer