#PS4
#PS4

Mulaka captivated me with its low poly art and mythical atmosphere. I’m a sucker for good mythology, and the stories of the Tarahumara, the indigenous Mexican tribe the game draws from, are definitely cool in their own right. It’s a beautiful mix of the strange and familiar. Mulaka’s shamanistic quest has plenty of recognizable beats, but its in the particular of the beasts and people that you meet that it stands out. There’s a lot of cool illustrated scenes and fantastical set pieces. Even the loading screens felt like they had interesting stories to share.


by Amr (@siegarettes)
Becoming familiar with the Yakuza series means becoming familiar with Kamurocho, the bustling entertainment district that the series calls home. And like Kiryu Kazuma I’ve come to accept that Kamurocho is a place I can’t escape, but also a home of sorts. The are others cities, each with their own character and charm, but the heart of Yakuza has always been Kamurocho. So I’m pleased to see that Yakuza 6 has once again brought new life to this city.


by Amr (@siegarettes)
“The Dark Souls of x” is a phrase so ubiquitous now that you’ll probably hear it used to refer to any difficult game. obviously the creators of DJMAX have gotten wise to this, as all the press copy for DJMAX Respect, the latest in the notoriously demanding rhythm series, includes the phrase. But is it true? Is this really the Dark Souls of Rhythm Games?
No. What? That doesn’t make sense.
In fact, that whole ~Dark Souls of~ thing is seriously just… useless for describing…anything.
Let me offer a better comparison: DJMAX Respect is the bullet hell for rhythm games.


by Amr (@siegarettes)
For a while, Assault Gunners HD seemed promising. Mechs feel weighty, guns fire off with heavy feedback that makes even basic weapons feel substantial, and there’s the eternal appeal of collecting parts and building up your machine. But the longer I stayed with it the more the flaws began to dominate the experience and by the end of it Assault Gunners had become a chore.

by Amr (@siegarettes)
Warhammer has got to have what is personally the most off putting, wretched and boring fantasy worlds put to pen and paper. Everything about it, from the aggressive focus on the ugliness of its world to the aggressively unlikable characters with ridiculous names spouting fake ol’ timey insults really represents everything that I personally dislike about fantasy as a genre. Warhammer: Vermintide II is one of the few games good enough to make me put up with that.


Innerspace is beautiful. Soaked in a palette of aqua, burnt sienna, gold and purple, Innerspace feels like a pastel filtered rendition of a sci-fi novel cover. Monuments of a past civilization reach across its landscapes, and waves crash across bodies of water that are both the ocean and the sky. There is no up here–earth and sea wrap around to create a world with no end. There’s no boundaries to reach, only deeper spaces to explore. And here is where both its wonders and frustrations begin.
[TRANSCRIPT]
Sonic Mania is an incredible achievement. It’s a game I looked forward to since its announcement, and one that I had total faith in knowing the team behind it. It’s smooth, modern, and has great boss fights and a few surprises that I appreciated.