editorial

Ray's JRPG Shame Pile

Ray's JRPG Shame Pile

I have spent a lot of time playing JRPGs in my game-playing years. I have played a lot of the big hits, gotten many playthroughs under my belt for some all-time classic games. I have also sought out niche titles, and evangelized them to those around me. However, there are gaps in my experience, and I wish to share those gaps with you dear readers, along with my everlasting and perpetual shame. This is a list of 20 JRPGs that I have never rolled ending credits on, which maybe I should have done instead of spending a few thousand hours in World of Warcraft. Hindsight as always, is 20/20 and I cannot turn back time. Instead, I can use this list as a guidepost, and maybe start ticking down some of these entries over the rest of 2022 and beyond. If any of these are in your piles of shame as well, feel free to join me, tell me how the list is going on Twitter. Without any further ado:

Horizon Forbidden West's Machine Strike is my new Obsession

Horizon Forbidden West's Machine Strike is my new Obsession

I love a good game within a game and I feel like we’ve been inundated with them recently. From Final Fantasy VII Remake’s reworked Fort Condor to Eastward’s Earthborn, we’ve had some real bangers. Horizon Forbidden West may have included my favorite of these in a long time/ Lady’s and Gentleman, can we talk about Machine Strike?

Ray's 2022 Gaming Resolutions

Ray's 2022 Gaming Resolutions

I am not typically one for the standard New Year Resolutions. I tell myself I will get to the gym more, or I’ll stop cursing so much, or…yadda yadda yadda. Point is, anything I promise to myself in that grand scheme idea, never works. So I don’t do it. Impossible to disappoint yourself if you don’t pump yourself up in the first place folks. Words to live by. Now resolutions about something smaller, that works. So I decided this year I am going to try some resolutions for gaming. As an adult who likes playing longer games, it can be difficult to hit everything, simply because the time isn’t there. How many sprawling Japanese stories about teenagers killing God while romancing the local sales clerk can I get through while I have to work a day job and go to school? The answer is probably not many, so that is why I am thinking I need to change the way I play games at times. So to that end, let’s get into my gaming resolutions of 2022:

What the Hell is Inscryption?

What the Hell is Inscryption?

Author: Rich Meister

This thing started as a review be the more I typed, the harder it got to dance around the things that make Daniel Mullins’ latest card-based adventure so cool. Sure the card mechanics play a big part; I’m a sucker for a good card game, but more than that, it’s the weird story being told and the mysterious way it unfolds that make it this year’s must-play game.

What do you do to relax besides play video games?

What do you do to relax besides play video games?

Author: Ray Mcgill

I know this is a video game website, and I assume all of you come here for the podcasts, reviews, and articles about major game releases. While video games no doubt make up large parts of our lives, having at least a few hobbies is healthy and conducive to living a fun, good life. So I am here in front of you today to ask, besides video games, what other hobbies do you have? Something timeless like stamp collecting? Something more modern? I am writing this with an invitation for comments; I want to know your other-than-video game hobbies. To help jump-start the conversation, I'll share one of my hobbies that doesn’t involve a controller.