A week ago, Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, announced that the state intends to bring a lawsuit against Valve over its use of loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. She argues that both children and adults are exposed to “illegal gambling,” comparing the loot box system to slot machines and Valve to … Read more
If there’s one detail I’d pass along about the ambitions I carried for adult life when I was eleven, it would probably boil down to a single word: henchmen. Back then, I assumed that growing up meant taking on henchmen. I pictured them as my main preoccupation and the very first thought … Read more
4th April Hi there, and welcome back to our continuing feature where we share a little about the games we’ve been losing ourselves in. This week, Victoria gets her children to give Super Mario Galaxy a try before they end up watching the oddly questionable movie take; Bertie discovers a game as unusual as he … Read more
Right now, I’m spending more time playing games on my PlayStation Portal than I am on my actual PlayStation 5. I’m sure that wasn’t the original intention behind this neat little accessory, yet the folks in charge are still keeping me perfectly settled in their ecosystem. I’ve brought the Portal along to friends’ houses, fired … Read more
For fans of survival horror from a particular age, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (it’s also known as Project Zero 2) holds a special, well-earned place among the genre’s most haunting legends. This 1980s story follows two twin sisters, Mio and Mayu Amakura, as they’re trapped in a condemned village forced to replay the same … Read more
Have you ever paused to consider what game creators envision when they’re thinking about games—or how they view the medium itself? When a story doesn’t quite land, or when the writing feels out of sync, do you look for what’s behind that disconnect? Why does it happen? What steps, tools, and thought processes shape the … Read more
Among the most recognizable names in the first-person shooter space, Rainbow Six has now made the jump to mobile—at a moment that could hardly be more interesting. Mobile gaming continues to expand rapidly, while the rising price of devices and the ever-growing competition for attention and budgets are pulling more players away from their PCs … Read more
28th March Hey there, and welcome back to our usual slot, where we share a little window into the games we’ve been getting stuck into. This week, it looks like everyone’s heading back to the same set of titles. Bertie is diving into Slay the Spire 2; Connor’s growing frustrated with teammates in Marathon, though … Read more
Marathon is still early in my time with the game, but so far I’ve been genuinely impressed. Behind the lively art style and the standout approach to fonts is, at its core, a truly strong Bungie shooter—one with plenty of depth and flexibility in how you play. Right now, the part I’m enjoying most is … Read more
Even if it’s only a coincidence, the timing feels striking. The free Switch demo of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream hit on the 15th anniversary of the 3DS just this week, and—at least to my eye—it feels wonderfully fitting. Tomodachi Life is probably the 3DS game I think about most often. Not exactly because it’s … Read more