Retro-style platformers have been a prominent genre in gaming to the point of oversaturation. However, a few of these games — like Shovel Knight, Axiom Verge, and Celeste, just to name a few — have genuinely risen to prominence bringing fresh ideas to the genre. After going hands-on with The Messenger at PAX East, I am sure
Previews
When it comes to new creative takes on “Metroidvania” style gameplay, DrinkBox Studios’ Guacamelee! was among one of the most creative in the genre with its inspirations from Mexican culture and luchador wrestling. Thankfully, the game’s unique take on the style of gameplay from Metroid and Castlevania didn’t go unnoticed, and with the upcoming Guacamelee! 2 coming later this year, players
Good afternoon, readers – this is Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief of DualShockers. We interrupt you from our regularly-scheduled news reporting to touch on something important to us: our creative independence. Now, it’s no secret that gaming is a somewhat expensive hobby – many of us have our bookcases stacked (to some degree) with collector’s editions of
In today’s gaming industry many genres tend to be plagued with oversaturation; not to say that a particular genre has declined in overall quality, but there is no denying that you need to dig deep within a specific genre to find a gem that’s worth your time and money. That being said, it takes a
Last year, Survios (the same team behind one of my personal favorite VR shooters) Raw Data announced its new project. To be perfectly honest, I was initially disappointed with the announcement — mainly because the studio decided to focus on building a game that was designed for fast-paced locomotion movement. With the closed beta finally over,
Imagine a world where technology got the better of humanity and the world crumbled underneath the imposing weight of it all. Now, look at the image above. Does this description match the picture? What if I were to tell you they were one in the same? My Time at Portia is technically post-apocalyptic, but it’s so
It’s 2018 and here I am excited about the remake of a little game that came out in 1993 called Secret of Mana. I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest fan of video game remake or remastered release crazy, but I can’t seem to help but get excited from time to time. This is just one of
If you don’t know already, I’m a pretty big fan of the roguelike genre. From dungeon crawlers to platformers, you could say I’m a sucker for punishment, but most of all games in this genre have a rather fast pace and are naturally easy to pick up. In 2014, a game called Tower of Guns
Earlier last week, I got the chance to sit down with Far Cry 5 to check out how the game is coming along. I have a pretty basic history with the Far Cry series; the only one of the games that I’ve finished is Far Cry 3, though I’ve dabbled in Far Cry 2 and I wasn’t able to get into Far
Tabletop and board games have crossed over to video games (and vice versa) in some interesting ways over the past few years. Games like the Jackbox Party Pack series have brought the hilarity of experiences like Cards Against Humanity to the living room, and even Dark Souls has made the jump to becoming a tried-and-true tabletop experience. However,
When it comes to tabletop gaming and “the classics,” few hold the regard of something like Settlers of Catan. Amassing over 22 million sales over the course of its 20+ years since release, Catan is a game that’s synonymous with tabletop gaming. Thanks to the immersive powers of virtual reality, tabletop players will get to experience the
With Xenoblade Chronicles 2‘s release date quickly approaching, many fans are excited to get their hands one of Nintendo’s most beloved RPG series. However, perhaps you’re still on the fence about it. If that’s the case, we’ve got you covered. There’s so much about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that could and should be discussed, but we’re
I have done nothing but play Star Wars Battlefront II’s multiplayer over the last two days. While I’m reserving my full thoughts for my final review of the game, I’ve greatly enjoyed my time so far with it and I can’t wait for servers to go live on launch day. Instead, what I want to dive into is
During a press event in Paris, DualShockers had the chance to check out an extended gameplay session of Detroit: Become Human by Quantic Dream. On top of the older demo featuring the hostage crisis with Connor as the playable character, we finally see Kara in action, as she finds herself in a rather dire situation. The
During a preview event hosted by Sony in Paris, DualShockers had a chance to check out Horizon Zero Dawn‘s expansion The Frozen Wilds, which will in a few days to a PS4 near you. The expansion isn’t a sequel to the main game, but it’s actually set in parallel, opening a large new area named “The Cut”
Yesterday I got to get my hands on the newly-revealed EA UFC 3 on PS4, and although it’s still an early build, it looked and played incredibly smooth and showed off many of the new improvements that developer EA Canada have been boasting about. Graphically, technically, and simply authentically, the game has been boosted to the next
I won’t deny that seeing Skyrim running on the Switch during the console’s initial teaser trailer definitely piqued my interest a little bit back when it was shown around this time one year ago. Ultimately, it seemed like a weak game to get people hyped for a brand new console in 2017, and while the game is
The .hack//G.U. series has always held a special place in my heart as an underrated series that was not only ahead of its time, but also came out when the video game market might have not be the kindest to JRPGs. Furthermore, the series was releasing in the west months apart from each iteration and
There was no doubt in my mind that Psyonix would make sure that the Nintendo Switch port of Rocket League would imitate the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions of the game seamlessly. I got the chance to go hands-on with Rocket League on Nintendo Switch and, unsurprisingly, the game runs and plays as smooth as fans would expect on the
Crowdfunded games based off of nostalgic retro titles can be very hit or miss nowadays. For every charming game that delivers on its promises like A Hat in Time, there are titles like the ill-fated Mighty No. 9 that end up underwhelming and disappointing. Tower 57 from Pixwerk and 11 Bit Studios is inspired by top-down
This past week, I was flown out to Poznan, Poland by indie developer Robot Gentleman to check out the Poznan Game Arena and GIC, the biggest gaming conventions in Poland, and play their recently revealed 60 Parsecs! just after it was announced. 60 Parsecs! serves as a sequel or spiritual successor of sorts to Robot
Upon hearing about the creation of Tokyo RPG Factory and its first project I Am Setsuna a few years back, I was excited to see Square Enix putting a studio together that would really focus on replicating and enhancing what we know of traditional JRPGs. Unfortunately, I Am Setsuna’s reception seemed to be relatively mixed for the most part,
My fears for Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night quickly diminished after only a few minutes of going hands-on with the game at New York Comic Con this year. Being a Kickstarter title, I initially worried that Bloodstained might’ve gone down the same road as recent titles like Mighty No. 9 did, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at
As someone who seems to be in the minority that loved 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront, the game’s sequel — Star Wars Battlefront II — has easily been one of my most anticipated games slated to release this fall. I was able to check out Battlefront II earlier this year at EA Play and came away quite impressed with the changes
Dragon Ball is synonymous with anime as the series’ history has spanned through decades, and over the years that influence has expanded through numerous game series like Budokai, Budokai Tenkaichi, and the more recent Xenoverse titles. While each series has translated the super-powered fighting of Dragon Ball in some form or another, the upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ from Arc System Works is
My adoration for the WWE and the world of professional wrestling is a new found passion that has taken control of my life. Since I watched my first Wrestlemania two years ago — yes, the one where Seth Rollins cashes in his Money in the Bank contract to win the WWE Championship — I have
Donut County is the next project by one-man independent developer Ben Esposito, who has previously worked as a level designer and consultant for What Remains of Edith Finch and The Unfinished Swan. Esposito’s game was originally revealed three years ago, and it has since resurfaced under publisher Annapurna Interactive. At PAX 2017, we took a journey into Donut County‘s
Back in September 2016, Square Enix Collective announced that it would be publishing a 2D adventure title by Throughline Games called Forgotton Anne. During PAX 2017, we had the opportunity to play a short segment to the beginning of this game. From that short experience, it’s safe to say that this is a title that should
Gorogoa is a puzzle game currently in development by Buried Signal, a studio started by artist Jason Roberts. Although it is expected to release on iOS devices eventually, it will first release on PC this year. While at PAX West 2017, we got a chance to demo the PC version of the game, and it
Techland Games surprised everyone when it recently announced that its next game would be a fast-paced top-down shooter with heavy inspiration from Hotline Miami. The game, titled God’s Trigger, follows two main characters: Harry, an angelic soldier from Heaven, and Judy, an escaped demon from Hell. Together, they must fight to kill the four Horsemen before the