Author: Ray Watts

Less than six weeks after launch, Caleb Draper’s Slash-Out: Fantasy Dueling received a major update on Monday, October 26th. The new update features three big additions: Unlockable sword and shield skins, a character gallery with new art and bios, and a slew of new game over screens with tips. Some skins are unlocked for progressing through the game normally, while some are locked behind achievements for defeating specific enemies without being downed. Sword and shield can be set independently and sets will be unlocked retroactively upon update for anyone who already met the unlock criteria in 1.0. As with the…

I Write Games Not Tragedies is a stylistic victory that struggles with the weight of its story. We’re leading with the content warning on this one, as the review itself will also discuss some of these topics. Content Warning Per the game’s Steam page: “I Write Games Not Tragedies,” explores alcohol abuse and mental health struggles as key narrative themes. If you have a sensitivity to these topics, we recommend that you play with care. The game also contains references to tobacco, self-harm, and casual sex. I’ve been struggling to write this review in a way that pays due regard…

Slash-Out: Fantasy Dueling is a stylish and fun boss rush where every level presents a unique experience, held back a bit by a short campaign and lack of options. Slash-Out: Fantasy Dueling is an homage on the level of genre films like Hot Fuzz and Cabin in the Woods. It wears inspiration proudly, but still does surprising and new things (particularly in the encounter design). The name “Slash-Out,” to my estimation, is itself a direct callback to arcade classic Super Punch-Out!! The moment-to-moment gameplay is a synthesis of that, Infinity Blade, and more. The game recommends you use a controller…

Dressmaker is a well-crafted medium-weight dress simulation that provides just the right balance of structure vs freedom. I’ve always enjoyed fashion in games—either as the main focus or a fun little bonus. I’ve been playing Style Savvy for almost 20 years. I prefer Destiny 1 to Destiny 2 because you can play dress-up better. These, like most games I’ve encountered in the space, are styling based. Picking out pieces of an outfit and putting them together. Dressmaker, on the other hand, is a design game. You design the dress from concept to final product. The achievement of Dressmaker is that…

The Fall In Love Visual Novel Festival, hosted by Studio Élan, brings fans a worldwide collection of over 250 visual novels across countless genres—all without the use of generative AI. The second annual Fall In Love Visual Novel Festival runs September 1st through 9th at 1pm EDT. Though the Steam festival page may disappear in a couple of days, these games, and their coverage will persist. Below is a brief overview of the games I played during the festival. You can find more coverage from streamers, reviewers, etc. by using the #FallInLoveFestival tag on Twitch, YouTube, and social media platforms.…

The UVW-CWA hardship fund is available to all qualifying North American games workers, even non-members. The hardship fund bundle has raised over 200k, with a final goal of 250k in the next two days. You can support it by buying over 100 games for $10 (or more) right now. We’ve seen a huge amount of layoffs and closures in the last few years, including the massive Xbox layoffs just last month. The UVW-CWA’s Game Worker Hardship Fund was created to offer a lifeline to those impacted by loss of income as a result of industry layoffs beginning in January 2024.…

Yes, I do have games on my phone. And this is a pretty good one. STYLZ: Daily Runway brings to mind classic fashion games in the style of syn Sophia. Better in some ways, worse in others – it will live or die based on how active the playerbase is and whether or not the microtransactions get worse. I think a lot of us really enjoy the idea of designing and dressing up our characters – we’ve got MMO transmogs, Fashion Souls, multiple Destiny dress-up subreddits, Stardew Valley outfits, whatever is happening with Baldur’s Gate mods, Monster Factory (in its…

Visually and aurally similar to an old school installment of Castlevania, built with gameplay that rewards speed but allows patience. The most fun and rewarding gameplay loop is one based on the risk-reward calculus of when to ride your momentum forward and when to play defensively. The itch store page provides what would have been the back of the box, or maybe instruction manual text, if the game had come out in another era: “Undead hordes are swarming the countryside and endangering townsfolk, and you’re the only one who can stop them! Make your way through flesh-hungry skeletons and track…

Celestial Return has many individually interesting elements that don’t fully come together, but may offer enough to satisfy players willing to wrestle with some technical issues. The concepts of the setting in Celestial Return are great. A detective noir cosmic horror corporate dystopia where the horrors are more human than the corpos. Strange, untamed power appears and the first thing we try to do is weaponize and monetize. You play as Howard, a former cop turned private detective who carries a rescued sentient clairvoyant rose in his coat pocket. You live and work in Netherveil, a strata of city built…

Tri City Monsters is a game about finding love, acceptance, and growth in a dark world. Immediately, Tri City Monsters show you that everyone is welcome here. Character creation involves choosing your name, your pronouns, and your genitals (penis, vagina, or ambiguous). The gender you choose does not impact any of the choices or story beats, just how your character is referred to in certain instances. I also noticed a lot of the language is already not gendered, which is nice. Your choice in genitals dictates how your arousal and certain sexual acts are described, but none of the art…