Author: Zach Barbieri

Rounding out the Nintendo Partners Direct held today, Square Enix showcased new RPG titles to feature the HD-2D aesthetic that was popularized for the company with Octopath Traveler. While one of these titles was in fact a new Octopath Traveler Game, the other was a new IP entitled The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, which looks like a combination of a few different games under Square Enix’s Belt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-zycj_tJgo Set in the Kingdom of Hurter, where the titular character Elliot sets off to investigate a mysterious set of ruins that has been found. Once there, he discovers a door…

One of the things that has come from the gaming market, where indie games can flourish, is that genres often dominated by one or two titles have exponentially grown. Take, for instance, the Management and city builder genre that had only a few games in it, a few experiences to have, and now you could wander Steam for days and never reach the end. Not all of these games are good, of course, but thankfully, The Wandering Village both manages to craft something unique in its approach and engaging in its execution. The first noticeable thing about the game is…

Light spoilers for Lies of P Below While not advertising them or having a functioning tracking system for all the side opportunities Pinocchio can come across, there are a few optional tasks that can be taken along the way. One such moment comes during the second chapter of Lies of P when a silhouette asks you for help, reaffirming that these are dark times you are living through. Chapter 2 begins when you exit Hotel Krat, heading towards Elysion Boulevard, where you will encounter a Stargazer on the street right at the entrance. You will need to make your way…

Light spoilers for Lies of P below Anybody familiar with the Souls games knows that the big monstrosities you fight are only scary till you have to fight a human-like enemy. Lies of P is no exception to this rule, and the Mad Donkey, a sub-boss you will fight along the road to Krat City Hall, is no exception. While the enemy isn’t hard to read, he doesn’t really change up his combat style. He hits hard and moves fast to drain you of your health, sometimes before you can react, so here we will discuss how to take this…

Minor spoilers for Lies of P are contained Lies of P, being a souls-like, is going to have a lot of bosses that can punish you if you are not careful. Being the first true boss in the game, the Parade Master serves both as the first true challenge for Pinocchio as well as a metric to see how well you, the player, are learning the mechanics of the game. As such, while not a particularly hard boss, getting the best of him can be a little difficult. You will encounter the puppet master shortly after arriving in Krat, making…

Mario Paint, the classic SNES game, is the latest title to be added to the Nintendo Switch Online. The classic game from 1992 focused on creativity in multiple forms, beyond just art, such as music and animation. Up until this point, despite being an often fondly remembered part of Nintendo’s history, unless you own the game on the SNES with a system to play it, it was unavailable for modern audiences to enjoy. One of the more interesting components of the original title was that it allowed players to connect a mouse controller, since the game served a similar function…

Sony has filed a lawsuit against Tencent, alleging that the publisher’s upcoming game, Light of Motiram, is “a slavish clone of SIE’s…Horizon series of video games.” The complaint, which was filed in the state of California, alleges that Tencent’s upcoming adventure title bears too many striking similarities to PlayStation titles Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West from developer Guerrilla Games. The complaint outlines several similarities, including the fact that both games feature nearly identical key art of a woman overlooking robotic creatures in a valley, with the woman featured on the leftmost side of the art. Art elements, Landscapes,…

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the buildup to EVO, has given more details for their upcoming Fightstick peripheral, known now as the FlexStrike. Previously known as Project Defiant, the wireless controller was showcased during Sony’s June State of Play, during which it was also announced that Sony was partnering with Arc System Works on a 4v4 fighting game known as Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, based on the Marvel Universe, which should be a great game to use the Flexstrike with when it releases next year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGmg6uYXKc Now, in the lead-up to the extremely popular fighting game tournament that is owned by Sony and…

The thing that typically turns me off about games that position themselves as realistic takes on a genre is that they often take a turn into tedium that you can only find in a video game. This was the thing that initially turned me off about Ready or Not. I understand there is an audience for a game like this, and playing through the many missions you are tasked with, I could see exactly why those people might enjoy the experience. It didn’t take me long, though to realize that it wasn’t for me. Going further into the experience than…

Developer Techland has announced that Dying Light: The Beast, the upcoming standalone title continuing the narrative of the original Dying Light and its protagonist, Kyle Crane, has been delayed by an additional month. Originally planned to release on August 22, the title has been pushed back and will now release on August 22, 2025. This news was shared via a post on Pilgrim Outpost, Techland’s official hub for the Dying Light fan community. In this post, the developer stated that they “understand that this may be disappointing,” but “our experience has shown how important the first impression is.” They go on…