Author: AndresPlays

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy is the spiritual sequel to the critically acclaimed Rogue Trader. Instead of being more of the same, it expands in ambitious ways. Earlier this year, I published my review of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Taking a crash course on this grimdark universe, I found myself heavily intrigued by what it entails. The God Emperor, the millions of daily human sacrifices, praying to the Machine Spirit. It gets dark fast. I could spend a whole day talking about the intricacies of the lore from its humble beginnings in the late 80s. Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy is the…

Starvester is an incremental game that has you harvesting a solar system for its resources, and it feels impossible to put down. Did you know that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos makes 911 dollars every second? You probably do, considering the widening wealth gap. It is mind-boggling to think, then, of the figures of billions or trillions that most of us will never see. And yet, it is utterly fascinating to see numbers go up. Incremental games bank on this primal feeling that we want to see in a virtually controlled environment the harvesting of endless resources. Why is that? Regardless…

Mina the Hollower is a masterpiece that has a glaring issue it should address, and it relates to accessibility. Mina the Hollower has a big problem. I know what you may be thinking. What? The highest-rated game of the year so far? The concern with this is that it is so ingrained in gaming that you would not even consider it to be an issue. But it’s there. Whenever you turn on any accessibility features that turn down the difficulty, the achievements in the game are disabled. This is something that countless games do. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, for example,…

Mina the Hollower is the latest game to infuse several longstanding franchises to great effect, but some might find it harder than others. Here is how to make it easier. Mina the Hollower evokes classics like The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and Bloodborne. For veteran players, that last one will invoke painful memories of struggle to achieve victory. And it’s true. Mina the Hollower is not an easy game. Thankfully, in this friendlier day and age in gaming, for the most part, game developers have focused on giving plenty of options for a variety of players. Mina is not the…

Compass is an open-world VR flying adventure that peacefully recreates that feeling of space exploration to much success. Getting lost inside a virtual alien world feels like a luxury nowadays. Not every game we pick up will connect with us. It could be too easy. It could be too hard. The mounting indecision may paralyze to lose precious time deciding which one to play instead of actually spending time immersed in them. All of this came to mind when playing Compass. There was a time in human history when we were hopeful about space exploration. The Artemis II briefly brought…

Among Giants is a sprawling open world full of mystery that is just as intriguing as it is cryptic. In the world of art, often historical artists are misunderstood. Take, for instance, Vincent Van Gogh. Spanish painter who died penniless and in obscurity. Only after his passing did his more successful brother rehabilitate his image to present his work as avant-garde. I think of this expressive style when I think of Among Giants. A solo dev VR adventure inspired by Shadow of the Colossus—I see the vision, but I cannot understand it. Much like the myth of Tantalus, who was…

NTE: Neverness to Everness just wrapped up its first livestream of future content. Introducing a heap of new content, it also addressed fan feedback from its debut in late April. As is the nature of live service games, urban open-world anime NTE plans to release an update every five weeks. Dubbed “Dreamwalk Corridor,” this first major expansion brings a slew of content, from fresh characters to gorgeous new areas to explore. In a surprising turn of events, it is also implementing fan feedback in what is a quick turnaround in game development. Earning high praise on our initial review, its…

Mixtape is a video game that intimately explores the lives of unruly teenagers. It helped me recontextualize my past in the process. My parents divorced when I was 14. They did not tell me. I found the divorce papers randomly in a drawer. I had lived a very sheltered life up until that point. This became a very pivotal moment for me. As an upper-middle-class, selfish, and nerdy Mexican who always had every video game he wanted, this crack in my reality started a series of changes I would not be fully aware of until later. And at 17, I…

Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is a psychological thriller that meticulously recreates the life of a worn-down spy, crafting a conspiracy worth unraveling. Armando fears for his life. Looking over his shoulder at all times, he is on the run from regime authorities during Brazil’s dictatorship of 1977. Staying at a safe apartment building with fellow refugees, everyone uses codenames to avoid familiarity. This is the plot of last year’s film The Secret Agent. In a pivotal scene bonding with the other political dissidents, an air of lament permeates the atmosphere. They start questioning their life choices and what caused…

WILL: Follow The Light tells an introspective tale of loss and love through its adventurous sailing and uneven puzzles. All of this will end someday. My articles. This website. Hell, even humanity if we go to those extremes. Please bear with me. There is a lingering trauma that comes with this realization. We do not want things to end. It is in our nature. That is the main reason Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” resonates with me so much. Because I want to rage against the dying of the light. Exploring these themes introspectively,…