Games

This review contains spoilers. There’s this moment early on in Fort Solis when we watch a video recording of a doctor confessing his desire to see his family. He’s on a mission on Mars, and he misses them greatly. But what stands out is not his angsty-laden words, but the prolonged silences between them, when we see his eyes focus …

Metroid: Samus Returns, the 3DS remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus, seeks to reimagine certain aspects of the original by focusing on all the wrong things: instead of improving the original’s linear structure or doubling down on its foreboding atmosphere, the game decides to revamp its combat system and visuals, making them both… flashier. In other words, Samus Return …

All good foxes know that chaos reigns. And when talking about the aesthetics of chaos, there’s one important word – a crucial concept, really – that must be discussed beforehand. A technical, deeply academic, almost inscrutable term that can confound even the analytical German mind of Theodor Adorno, who (an AI told me, so it must be true), gasped in …

Harold Halibut lives under the sea. The city of Fedora was haphazardly founded decades before his birth, after a ship crash-landed on a strange planet with no habitable landmass, and its people have been trying – and failing – to leave these alien waters ever since. But Harold’s worries are not that meaningful or grandiose. No, one night, when he …

Horizon Zero Dawn is a competent open-world action-adventure that has a strong start and boasts some great art direction. If it doesn’t reach the heights of its peers, then it’s mainly due to its disjointed narrative and stiff quest design. The world of Horizon Zero Dawn is full of bestialized mechanical monsters: robots that look and act like tigers, buffalo, …

I find it quite curious that questions of identity are far from being the core themes of Tron: Identity, which is much more interested in discussing the control and monopoly of data than anything related to the construction and framing of the self. This visual novel’s very brief runtime, however, shackles the story in such a way that it leaves …

Luigi’s Mansion, a launch title for the GameCube back in 2001, still holds up today as a quirky little game: it excels in its whimsy and charm, creating a playful horror atmosphere that is a perfect match for its funny protagonist. However, the entire experience can become a little repetitive by the end, thanks to an incredibly rigid structure that …

Sometimes good ideas are not enough. Pokémon Legends: Arceus, for example, feels like a promising proof of concept for what could be a terrific finished game one day, as it indeed shakes up the stagnated Pokémon formula, presenting many fascinating ideas without any type of polish, failing to make great use of any of them. Arceus’ story is an Isekai, …

Sleeping Dogs is a decent open-world game with a compelling premise and some interesting mechanics that give the whole experience a cinematic flair. However, it could have used just a little more ambition, especially regarding its structure: Sleeping Dogs is a bit too safe, too predictable. The story follows Wei Shen, an undercover cop who infiltrated Hong Kong’s triads to …

I Am Setsuna is a simple JRPG that tries to discuss themes such as death and alterity but fails to do these complex subjects justice, being dragged down by a shallow cast of characters, dull writing, and a painfully unexplored combat system. The plot revolves around a tragic pilgrimage. Setsuna, a young girl who has just turned 18, is chosen …