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Review – Promise Mascot Agency
Marketing is one of the most powerful forces on earth. It steers human society, telling us what is important and what to think. It has caused immeasurable harm as it single-mindedly puts profit above everything else. We have never been without marketing, but it’s become so much more unstoppable with the increased access to information. Humanity’s downfall will probably be…
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Review – The Rocky Horror Show Video Game (2024)
Do you have some toast on hand to throw at the screen? It's time to look at the subversive impact that the Rocky Horror Picture Show had, illustrated through a personal anecdote. The best kind of anecdote. Also, if there's time, there may be some words on the recent game.
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Review – The Sinking City
Lovecraft is someone often imitated but never matched. A significant number of games have lifted from his mythos to different levels of success, but there's something intransferable about his storytelling. The Sinking City is an interesting take on his brand of horror, but it winds up a very mixed bag.
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Review – Resident Evil: Revelations
Back around when Resident Evil: Revelations was first released on the 3DS, some were hailing it as a return to horror (I have the receipts and everything). It's not that. It's not bad, either, but if this is only horror if you have a mortal fear of hickies.
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Review – Black Bird
Yoshiro Kimura and his cohorts have my eternal gratitude for Chulip. So, I don't think there's any situation where I wouldn't be willing to try something new from them. Black Bird is a pretty far cry from promiscuous smooching, but that's okay. At least in this case.
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Review – Slime Rancher
Slime Rancher is among the most successful cozy games in the niche, and for the most part, I love it. However, it's like a glass of milk; it's very enjoyable at first, but if you sit with it too long, it starts to smell and you don't want to drink it.
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Review – Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
I was a teenager once (surprising, I know), so I know what it was like to be awkward, terrible, and still think of yourself as the center of the universe. I never thought a game could possibly capture that period in our lives, but Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer [sic] does just that.
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Review – Elevator Action Returns
How is Elevator Action Returns not talked about more? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the absolute most obscure arcade game that I’ve covered. It even recently got an enhanced port (of the Sega Saturn version) called Elevator Action Returns S-Tribute, but it’s so much better than its niche suggests. I already love Elevator Action, the 1983 game that is…
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Review – Ben Bero Beh
I have a confession to make: I’m attracted to weird Japanese arcade games. There’s a word for it: Bakage (Ba-kah-gey, not ba-cage). It means stupid game. It’s not to be mistaken for kusoge (koo-so-gey) which means crappy game. I have made the mistake before, but merely because I didn’t know there was a name for bizarre games. 1984’s Ben Bero…
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Review – Metal Slug
Do you know the Tragically Hip song "Bobcaygeon?" That's actually the next town over from where I grew up. There was a bowling alley there (it burned down), and they had a limited number of arcade machines. For a period, one of these machines was Metal Slug. I've been in love ever since.
