Sometimes, a great story is enough. Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, for example, stays on the shoulders of its fascinating protagonist and central conflict, as its simple, straightforward combat system would never carry a game on its own. We play as Cicero Gavar, a man who is summoned back from exile to assist in an investigation into the whereabouts of an …

The Lovecraft Project: Howard Phillips Lovecraft is the father of cosmic horror – the genre constructed around the notion that we humans are just a tiny, insignificant part of the universe, which holds much bigger, ancient, more powerful beings. We are nothing compared to what lies out there, beyond our reach and understanding. The plan is to write a few …

Tales of the Abyss is an excellent RPG that tells an engaging story full of complex characters and fascinating discussions about identity and free will. The core of its combat system may be too simple for its own good, but the quality of the narrative more than makes up for that. The protagonist is a young man named Luke, the …

Foundryside is a great urban fantasy novel set in a world where people can change the properties of matter – an ability held by powerful merchant houses that, like any good company, monopolize the technique to maximize profit and gain political power. The protagonist is Sancia, a young thief with a very special ability: she can “communicate” with any object …

Astral Chain is a curious action game that’s constantly mixing genres to try and offer something new to the player alongside its complex combat system. However, it ends up cluttered, suffering from too many underdeveloped ideas, and a story so shallow that it makes the original Bayonetta’s feel like Primer in comparison. In Astral Chain, we control a cop in …

This review contains as many spoilers as the game contains rats. A Plague Tale: Innocence is a stealth-adventure game that greatly succeeds in setting up an intriguing story and building a gripping, oppressive atmosphere, excelling in mood and tension during its first hours. Unfortunately, the latter half is bogged down by an increasing sense of power and an underwhelming ending. …

It’s rare for a book to show its fangs before it even starts. But Mira Grant manages that with Into the Drowning Deep, in the Dedication Page of all places, where she simply writes, “For Mike and Marnie. Stay away from the water.” It’s a chilling warning and a statement of intent: this horror novel is basically a thalassophobic’s worst …

Developed by Starbreeze Studios, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a poignant adventure that combines dramatic and fantastical elements to tell a captivating story. With a simple control scheme that’s brilliant in the way it reflects the relationship between the main characters, A Tale of Two Sons fails only at one precise moment: the twist that leads to the …

Oh, Lara Croft, you’re always looking for a lost city, chasing the ghost of your dead father while being hunted by secret organizations. You never rest. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, you’re the same, as the game builds upon the foundations of its predecessor, with a more carefully written story – where your journey is not at odds with how …

Although Blood of Elves is the third book in The Witcher saga, you could say it’s actually the first proper novel in the series, as the previous two volumes, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, are structured more like a collection of short stories. The transition proves to be more of a curse than a blessing, however, as Blood …