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The whispers still linger here Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is quite a scary game, but maybe not in the ways you might think. Sure, there are scary monsters, and dark corners, and whispers in your ear at all times, but those are not the true frights the game has in store for you. In truth, the real fear comes from within - inside Senua herself, and inside us, the player. The game begins with Senua - the titular character - on a mission to save her now-dead lover from Helheim, and in order to do so, Senua must confront the Northmen who hunt her, and the terrors of her own making. On the surface, Hellblade is a game set in a quasi-mythological world that's a mish-mash of Norse and Celtic mythologies, and it's a story about a woman who just wants to defy the gods to bring back the man she loves. This is all window dressing for the game to explore its themes of mental illness and psychosis, and those themes permeate through every facet of the experience. Publisher:  Ninja Theory Developer:  Ninja Theory Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released on August 8, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, April 11, 2018 for Xbox One, April 11, 2019 for Nintendo Switch, and August 9, 2021 for Xbox Series X/S From the first moments of the story, Senua is beset by auditory and visual hallucinations. The voices, known as "The Furies" in-game, are the first to make themselves known. A product of "The Darkness" (a sort of corruption that is a physical manifestation of Senua's psychosis), The Furies are there to guide you through every part of the game. From puzzles to combat, the voices are always chattering away, offering hints or direction on what's coming or what to do next. The implementation of these voices is excellent, and if you have a nice headset or surround sound setup, you're going to be amazed at the type of effects used here. While the voices generally add a nice layer to the game from a thematic and story-telling perspective, some of the implementation can be a bit grating. The voices are constantly prattling, and in combat they can give you a nice heads-up if someone is attacking you, but it most often felt like an annoyance rather than helpful. I think it's easy to hand-wave this and say that the discomfort of the combat is representative of the discomfort Senua is feeling, but I can't help but wonder if there would have been a less deleterious way to implement this. After all, combat is inherently simple - Light attack, heavy attack, parry, dodge, charge. Not much to worry about, and the enemies telegraph their moves quite obviously. It feels like a chore more often than an engaging part of the game, but the threat of The Darkness creeping up on Senua can create a bit of tension. As perhaps the game's most controversial mechanic, The Darkness is more than just an allegory for Senua's struggles - it is the greatest threat to your journey. Each time you fall in battle, The Darkness that starts in Senua's arm creeps closer to her head, and once it gets there, your save will be deleted. Or, so they say. I'm not sure it is actually possible for this to happen, but it's the threat that matters - keeping you in a state of paranoia not unlike the one Senua is experiencing herself. It is unfortunate, then, that the combat is so uninteresting in execution. It just feels so disjointed, like it's an entirely separate thing from the rest of the game, or that it's just an afterthought to keep people engaged. With all of the care put into the other sections of the game, it feels like a strange miss. Hellblade is stunning to look at, even in motion. Luckily, the combat is usually only a punctuation on the more interesting environmental exploration and puzzle solving sections. These exploratory moments see Senua stumbling through very detailed, and sometimes confusing, surroundings - looking for runes in the environment. The runes often unlock via a change in perception, whether that's just finding the right spot to look, or doing another action to then create the right conditions for the rune to appear. This is, of course, another reference to Senua's mental state and how perception often guides reality. How perspective can shape our actions, or allow us to continue through difficult times. These puzzles offer us insight into Senua's ongoing struggles, and how she is dealing with them, with each new environment exploring some trauma or difficulty in Senua's own world - represented by the scenes in front of us. Sometimes the line between what is explorable and what isn't can be a bit blurry. I don't actually think this is intended, but it is funny how that could also be seen as an allegory for Senua's psychosis blurring the line between fiction and reality. Despite those minor grievances, Hellblade 's greatest strength lies in its presentation, The superb audio design - spearheaded by the voices - elevates every scene and moment the game offers you. The boss encounters are very strong, as they often have a more interesting combat gimmick. Combining this with the eerie sounds of Senua's mind and an additional unique visual flair, the boss fights become something special . The cutscenes especially are exemplary. The cutscenes make excellent use of color, lighting, and effects to convey their messages. Despite being 7 years old at the time of writing this review, the cutscenes are still gorgeous. Yes, graphical fidelity has far surpassed what is here (see Senua's Saga: Hellblade II), but the direction and acting are exemplary. Melina Juergens, in particular, gives a stunning performance as Senua - able to convey such a wide array of emotions so well. Whatever facial tracking they used was implemented not only better than its contemporaries, but is still a great example today. Even beyond the graphics themselves, the use of darkness, lighting, effects, and camerawork makes everything feel tense and confusing. They really managed to put some amazing work in here. However amazing those moments may be, I do not believe they will be known as Hellblade 's lasting legacy. The visuals and presentation, while stellar, are (and will continue to be) outpaced. Time marches on for all of us, after all, and no number of cutscenes will ever cover up the unfortunate reality that playing this game isn't all that fun sometimes. Instead, I think Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will be primarily remembered for its representation of psychosis and mental illness. It is a conscious depiction with real care taken to display and understand Senua's struggles, and it becomes a mirror for us to examine our own understanding of the world and how so much of it is shaped by our own perception and circumstance. Verdict Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is at times moving and at others frustrating in its execution. With a considered portrayal of mental illness, it's a game that has a lot to say, and does so very well. While ultimately held back by its repetitive, often boring combat and some areas not being clearly navigable, Hellblade is something worth experiencing. Ninja Theory has made sure the subject matter is both handled with care, and remains interesting. If nothing else, it is a commendable effort. Image Credits: Taylor Rioux

No amount of new media can re-write this history I recently had the displeasure of re-experiencing Fallout 4 , and while I wouldn't normally bother doing a write up for a game I actively dislike so far from its release, this one stuck with me. See, Fallout is very plainly a mediocre series in Bethesda's hands in general , and at the time of it's release, Fallout 4 was garnering so much hype, it was impossible to avoid. Bethesda's most recent major release, Skyrim , was such a massive success, it had millions begging the developer for another entry into the Fallout franchise - excitedly wondering how the developer could improve on their formula and breathe new life into the storied franchise. Except they forgot to do that. Or maybe they didn't forget, and just chose not to, opting instead to pare back many of the mechanics and identifying features of past games in an attempt to capture the mass appeal Skyrim achieved. Releasing a full 7 years after Fallout 3 and 5 years after Fallout: New Vegas , it's shocking just how much lesser this entry feels as an RPG. Publisher:   Bethesda Softworks Developer:  Bethesda Game Studios Platform:  Played on PC Availability: Released November 10, 2015 on PS4, XBOX One, and Windows PC. Next Gen update on April 25, 2024 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S Despite being physically massive, much of the world feels the same in all the worst ways. Characters are completely one-dimensional, and even the best companions are limited in their speaking and interaction. Samey combat and encounter design becomes a chore very early on, and with so few unique areas to engage with, the experience quickly becomes repetitive. Each apartment or factory feels like the last, often sharing the same or very similar layouts and enemies. Honestly, this game coming out in the same year as The Witcher 3 feels a bit disgusting. Bethesda has all of the resources and time in the world to get these things right! How did they miss the mark so badly? I am going to put (perhaps too much of) the blame on the community surrounding Bethesda. Let me explain - since the early days, Bethesda has always suffered from broken, messy games. In many ways, the games were propped up by the vast world and unparalleled freedom the games offered. This lead to the community fixing the bugs or broken questlines through mods, and over time, Bethesda became reliant on this relationship. You can see it in action, as many of the same bugs from Skyrim exist in Fallout 4 and even still in Starfield . Bethesda is all too content to put together a shell of a game - sloughing off of old, broken bones - and throw their hands up, proclaiming, "the modders will fix it!" All too often, that modding community has been eager to answer the call and the games are paying the price to this day. The final moments of fun the game was able to share. It's not without some merits, however. Few games offer the freedom that Bethesda open world games do, and the character creator is pretty fun to mess with, even if it is a bit lacking by contemporary standards. However, they are no longer ahead of the curve, comparatively. They are no longer singular in this regard. All too often your reward for exploration or engaging with the game in less than straight-forward ways is not worth the trouble. Every time I look back at the time I wasted on this game, I regret it. I really wanted this one to be good, or live up to the hype. I recently ran through Fallout: New Vegas again, and the difference in the depth of role-playing achievable is pretty staggering. The story-writing falls flat as well, but I don't think it's ever been a strong suit of the Bethesda brand. Coming off the excellent TV series, it feels a bit sad to have to trudge through this. Choices in conversations are now 2 or 3 words, with the character going off on tangents at their whim. All-in-all, Fallout 4 is a plodding, and often hopelessly bland experience. Clunky gunplay and pared-down role playing mechanics make this among Bethesda's worst offerings. It is an effort completely devoid of purpose or meaning - meant only to take from you. I hope that one day the series can be saved from Bethesda's cultish devotion to mediocrity, but I won't be getting my hopes up. Verdict Fallout 4  remains Bethesda's weakest offering to date. A game filled with bugs nearly 15 years old, it rarely feels like more than a chore to play. Featuring some of the weakest story and character writing the company has ever released, it attempts to win the audience over with a massive map and endless checklists of things to do. Slavishly devoted to avoiding risks, it is a game without meaning or thought. The drowned out color palette is frankly representative of the experience as a whole - there's just not much going on here. Image Credits: Taylor Rioux

Could this be a turning point for the series ? Earlier this month on Sept. 5, BioWare held a hands-on capture event for the latest, highly-anticipated, release in their long running Dragon Age franchise. At this event, media members and content creators were invited to play and capture footage of their time playing. With the embargo now lifted on Sept. 15, a deluge of videos, articles, and tweets have surfaced about the game - and they're overwhelmingly positive. Jade Valkyrie , a content creator who was present at the media event, was effusive in their praise. "From my early hands-on experience, I can confidently say that this game is everything we hoped for - and more. There [are] improvements across the board for many types of Dragon Age fans," Valkyrie stated in her most recent Youtube video . For myself, Dragon Age: The Veilguard felt more like a myth than a real game prior to this summer. We knew BioWare was working on it, but they have been very tight-lipped over the last 10 years. Since the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014, the series has been completely dormant in the gaming space. This year, however, we've been treated to trailers, podcasts, and articles all about DATV . I felt so much excitement over the reveal trailer in June, that I played through all of the games again, read some of the comics and even did a deep-dive on all the lore and codex entries. YouTuber @ GhilDirthalen , who was also at the capture event, has really helped me through this mania by providing an assortment of videos and playlists that cover everything from world lore to theories about where this is all going. You can also catch their latest videos about the preview event, if you're looking for some information and impressions of the game. As far as what I've seen today? The game looks better than I ever imagined it would. DATV looks absolutely stunning in every shot we've seen. I have heard some longtime fans complain about the way DATV looks, stylistically. I think it looks amazing, even if there has been a definite shift in style from Dragon Age: Origins to now. It just looks beautiful in motion, and thank God for those updated hairstyles in the character creator. From the characters to the effects on screen, DATV is full of eye-candy. The gameplay they've shown off so far has me excited. Combat looks fast-paced and fun, but also has a nice depth to it that I'm itching to explore. The role-playing portion of this RPG looks great, too. There are a lot of backgrounds and factions to choose from, and new exciting characters to bounce those ideas off of. Combat and characters are the real highlights for me. Twitch streamer Saira , also known by @sairaspooks on Twitter , noted, “this was important to me, and [I]’m sure it’s going to be important for some of you too. not only can you pet assan forever, you can also play rock paper scissors with manfred! make sure you say hello to them whenever you return to the lighthouse 💜”. Overall, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is shaping up to be an amazing game, and BioWare’s best title in a decade (maybe even longer, actually). Early impressions make it clear BioWare just might be on the cusp of something incredible. Will this be the series’ big break? I don't know if it will outpace Inquisition in sales, but I can't wait to get my hands on it when it releases on Oct. 31, 2024. Image Credits: BioWare/Electronic Arts

Can the franchise recover some of its standing? Sept. 18, 2024 - Square Enix has released a financial results briefing that was held on May 13, and those results come as a blow to fans of the prestigious JRPG franchise. Stating "profits did not meet our expectations," Takashi Kiryu, president and representative director of Square Enix lamented the lack of growth in their Digital Entertainment segment. Focusing on their HD games sub-segment specifically, Kiryu continued "The HD Games sub-segment failed to better its profitability, posting operating losses in every year of our previous medium-term plan. In addition to this, we did not manage our title portfolio across the company as well as we could have, which I believe resulted in opportunity losses due to cannibalization between our own titles." Final Fantasy XVI had an excellent DLC come out earlier this year. With Final Fantasy XVI and VII Rebirth releasing only around half a year apart, Kiryu believes the games may have stepped on one another, but Square is taking steps to address this. "In the case of the HD Game sub-segment, sales of individual games will remain the key variable, but we believe that we will be able to exercise some degree of control over that volatility by carefully curating our pipeline over the next three years,” Kiryu assured investors. Kiryu said, “By also working steadily to improve our profitability, we intend to offset the weakness in SD games to achieve overall profitability.” Kiryu also mentioned a shift to a multiplatform strategy as part of their effort to increase profitability. With Final Fantasy XVI' s release on Steam on Sept. 17, 1024, final numbers are still in flux. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth released earlier this year to critical acclaim. Both Final Fantasy XVI and VII Rebirth were excellent entries in the series, but it seems that quality did not translate to sales. You can read our write up on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth here , and our review of the Final Fantasy XVI DLC The Rising Tide here . Square Enix has a lot of games on the docket over the next few years, but questions remain on what direction their flagship series will take moving forward. Profitability is obviously their main concern, but how will they balance those decisions with the creativity and quality the series has exemplified over the last 37 years? Time will tell, but you can be sure Square will continue to find ways to make Final Fantasy a prestige IP. Kiryu continued, "Engaging with content can move us. This is a sensation that, with the passage of time, forms unforgettable memories that help shape the values that ground us. It is our belief that this chain of events enriches our lives. We arrived at the conclusion that continuing to deliver content that can provide our customers with unforgettable memories that enrich their lives is our Group’s mission and reason for being." Image Credits: Square Enix

Sail the Seas of Loss and Healing If you've ever played a Thunder Lotus Games project before, the stunning artwork and beautiful animations of Spiritfarer should come as no surprise. What may surprise fans about this work is just how easy-going it is, comparatively speaking. In a world of rogue-lites, rogue-likes, and souls-likes, sometimes a relaxing experience can be a breath of fresh sea air. You could use any number of game genres to describe what Spiritfarer is, or tries to do, but in many respects, those labels seem to fall a bit short. In my best effort to box-in the experience, I would say Spiritfarer is a base management game with some minor platforming elements where you’ll sail the world to help departed souls find peace through completing their quests and help them pass on to the afterlife. Spiritfarer is clearly meant to be an easier, relaxing/cozy game, versus something more action oriented like Jotun or Sundered - Thunder Lotus Games' previous projects. As the game progresses, you’ll befriend many souls, learn about their trauma, and help them through their final wishes. You can also play co-op, although I did not have the opportunity to do so myself. Publisher:  Thunder Lotus Games Developer:  Thunder Lotus Games Platform:  Played on Switch, PC Availability: Released August 18, 2020 on PC Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and October 4, 2022 for iOS and Android The game starts with you, Stella, and your partner/cat Daffodil taking over the job of Spiritfarer from Charon. He presents you with something called the Everlight and sends you on your way to find a new boat to carry out your tasks. You soon find a boat, get it fixed up, and begin your journey in earnest. The game does a really great job of onboarding you into the experience, and even as you progress and open up the world and get new abilities and ship functions. Characters will explain every new mechanic themselves, offering you a bit of development and insight into the characters themselves - all while teaching you the nuts and bolts of the management aspect of the gameplay. Your ship starts off with only a few functions – You can do a simple fishing mini- game, sail to new locations, and sit on a couch. You receive a blueprint table early on that can allow you to upgrade your ship. Eventually your ship will have the capacity to mine, cook, harvest, farm, and craft items that can be used for many different things. Some items are good gifts, others are used to upgrade your ship, etc. I'm a sucker for fishing in games, even if it is extremely basic (as it is here), so I took it slow in the beginning; collecting items lost at sea while sailing and hauling in a few nice meals consumed my early hours. Between islands, there is plenty of time to do the tasks you need, whether that’s quests for your spirit pals, or any other of the various management functions. I never felt rushed as I played through the game.  Other management games really seem to push you toward efficiency to get the results you want – something I’m not too fond of, because it feels like chores to me – but Spiritfarer ’s more laid back approach allows you to take these at your own pace without penalty. You really get to steer your own experience; doing the tasks in any order and at any pace you choose. The calmness and ease with which you can approach the game really lends itself to a system like the switch and it's mobility. It's kind of the perfect couch game. I do quite appreciate the freedom in design of the ship itself. Each new room you get can be placed on the deck, but you are given full control over the height and position of each new room - allowing for a lot of creative applications in design for your vessel. I have seen some really cool designs online, but I'm quite boring in this regard; I just stacked the rooms on top one another in perfect rows like shipping containers, organized by function and size. There's no right way to do this, and I think that's neat. Daily tasks and work keeps you busy - all needed to get materials to advance. The art of Spiritfarer is easily its greatest strength, in a game full of them. I truly cannot overstate how stunning the visuals are here. Each of the characters have a fun, unique style to them that breathes personality with each animation. The vistas and sunsets are a wonder to look at, and the way they've made each and every scene just BLEED style is truly something worth beholding. That strength isn't limited to the pictures on screen, either, as the music is quite phenomenal. While generally soothing, and light-hearted, there are great pieces with an ominous air, or even expressing deep sadness. Each note goes so well with the scenes they accompany, I'm almost in awe. Truly, no misses here. Despite the game being 4 years old at time of writing, I think it would be a disservice to really talk in-depth about the story for anyone who may not have played it yet. The way the characters stories are presented, the thoughts and feelings they might evoke, and the masterful way it all intertwines with the overarching story are all best experienced. It feels like something that could be so personal to each player, I would be remiss to go into spoilers about it. If you have an inkling of a desire to play the game, do it blind. Trust me on that. While the beginning of the game might feel very barebones in it's narrative presentation, it really comes around and ties in beautifully. The little vignettes the characters offer speak to a lot of experiences many of us have encountered. Even if we have not seen these exact scenarios play out in real life, we can see ourselves and our lives in them in many ways, as we have all dealt with loss in one way or another. I often found myself thinking of lost family and friends as I played the game. It was a bit bittersweet. You cherish those moments you have so much more when those you love have left you, but it brings the pain of loss when you remember. Everything about the game oozes style. What complaints, then, could someone have about this game? Well, from my perspective, here are a few things I took issue with: The game is almost too simple, many in-game tasks start to feel too much like busywork, and it's a slow start to get into any semblance of over-arching story beats. It is easy to see how these points are just matters of personal preference - there is nothing technically wrong with any of the mechanics, progression, or stability of the game itself. I just kind of don't vibe with some of these things. Frankly, I generally don't enjoy base management style games in general; so, something like Spiritfarer might be immediately flagged as a bad fit. The art and quality of the developer's previous work is what drew me in. So, it might seem a bit unfair to dock the game for then having base management game mechanics. However, I do feel like if they had made those mechanics more interesting or, at the very least, less time consuming, I would have liked the game more. Thematic dichotomies are well expressed - there's great visual storytelling within the game. In fact, the simplicity of it's core mechanics is a huge detriment in this same regard. Because the busywork of base management is so omnipresent, something interesting or beautiful the first few go-arounds quickly morphs into tedium and monotony. I do understand that the game is going for a more laid-back approach, so asking for too much complexity might be abject idiocy. I find it hard to pin-point what I feel they should have done different - should it be more complex? Faster to do? Should we have to do the tasks less often? I don't have a real, concrete answer - doubly so since these games are just not made for me - but I do know I don't like whatever this is. Finally, while the story is legitimately wonderful once it all comes together, it takes a bit too long to really get anywhere at all. I feel like even if you beeline the major points, you're just kind of wandering for a little too long. It seems a bit directionless, but that may not be accidental. I have to wonder if this is intentional, as so much of the game is pointing to it's overall thematic elements; could this feeling of being directionless and being adrift tie into what the game is meant to portray? It is hard to say, but if you feel like it is purposeful, it's easy to excuse. Verdict Spiritfarer is a beautiful game, with some truly stunning artwork, music, and writing that is ultimately lifted up by what you bring into the experience. While there are some elements I don’t personally vibe with, it is an otherwise engaging and deeply moving game that should command your attention, and bring you many moments of joy, or even sadness. Thunder Lotus has once again proved they have an excellent command of their voice, using all aspects of their game to create something worth everyone’s time.