PC

It’s widely known that 2D sprite-based gaming underwent a sharp decline with the rise polygon-pushing machines. Such changes happened nearly overnight with the release of 32-bit consoles such as Sony’s Playstation as well as the ...

Mirroring the moniker of their parent company, Idea Factory, developer Compile Heart has been consistently proficient when it comes to conceptualization. Record of Agarest War introduced an intriguing “Soul Breed” system into the SRPG genre, ...

Intellectual properties are vigilantly defended in the United States. Try to make your own Star Wars fighting game and you’ll likely receive a cease and desist letter as soon as Disney discovers your aspirations. But ...

Few countries feature as rich a gaming heritage as Japan. Known for crafting unique experiences, several genres as we know them today was either created or inspired by titles hailing from the rising sun. Yet, ...

While Western players might not recognize the Kunio-kun series by name, they’re likely to have appreciated some of the long-running franchise’s localized iterations. From Renegade, River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball, Crash ‘n’ the Boys: ...

Confrontation in games takes many forms. Fighting games require the ability to predict an opponent’s next move, instantly responding with a fury of quarter-circle gyrations and successions of complex button presses. While role-playing games often ...

Conceptually, games built by combining multiple genres offer the possibility for innovation. There’s a chance that the components will intermingle stylishly, providing synergistic dividends and a sense of novelty. But there’s also the possibility that ...

Periodically, titles like TowerFall, Nidhogg, and Paperbound remind us that some of gaming’s most blissful moments stem from local multiplayer sessions. It’s a message that’s reaffirmed by the PlayStation 4 and Steam release of Stikbold! ...

As game worlds have grown, so has the push to provide players with guidance. But occasionally, instruction can border on the overt, diminishing the thrill of exploration and discovery that can make play feel so ...

On console, the Hyperdimension Neptunia series has provided a consistently engaging experience, blending amusing allegory, comical banter, and engaging play mechanics that are rooted in role-playing convention. But far more remarkable are the Console Patron ...