teamfight tactics feels like a solved puzzle, so why am i still playing it?
When Teamfight Tactics came out a year ago, it was the latest in a 2019 fad of “auto battlers” or “auto chess” games. This craze started with a Dota mod called Dota Auto Chess that came out in January, which…
is harry potter’s world big enough for open-world hogwarts legacy?
As a long-time Harry Potter fan, I was excited by the announcement of the first open-world video game set in the Harry Potter universe. When Hogwarts Legacy was announced last week at the PlayStation 5 showcase event (16th September 2020),…
batman’s helping hand: indirect control in arkham asylum
It’s been eleven years since Batman: Arkham Asylum was released. Yet, with my recent playthrough during lockdown, the definitive Batman video game still remains peerless in my mind. It’s actually more impressive, all these years later, that a 2009 game…
gotham knights’ 4 playable bat-family characters: hopes and fears
One of my latest lockdown activities has been playing the eleven-year-old video game that put Batman games on the map, Arkham Asylum. That nostalgia, combined with my love of Batman, games and comics, had me on the edge of my…
the thrill of narrow wins in slay the spire and mario kart
You know that moment in a movie when the hero is certainly doomed but pulls himself through at the very last second? From Indiana Jones’ evasion of a rolling boulder to Jack Sparrow’s escape from the gallows, some of the…
on slay the spire, progression, and making games more loser-friendly
When we think of what makes games fun, we often think about winning. Conquering a tough level, solving a difficult puzzle, getting to 100% completion or defeating a fearsome boss forms much of our narrative when we talk about why…
antichamber review: flipping the script on learning in video games
Over the past few days, I’ve spent many hours wandering the corridors and exploring the rooms of Antichamber, the 2013 puzzle platformer game by Alexander Bruce. It’s a mind-bending experience packed with tons of intriguing puzzles, and aside from some…
the problem with cards against humanity
Cards Against Humanity is a social card game that was released in 2011, and became very popular as a staple party game. This is how the game developers describe it on their website: Basically, the person who asks the question…
black lives matter: diversity resources for gamers and game developers
In light of recent events and the Black Lives Matter movement, I am writing this blog post to help fight against the racism and police brutality against African-Americans that have come to the forefront in the past couple of weeks.…
