How do you take what is arguably the greatest video game of all-time and translate it to a tabletop gaming experience? Tetris Link may certainly look the part, but this isn’t a game where you wipe blocks out of the well by creating lines. Instead, the basic premise of Tetris has been transformed into something new. Does Tetris Link do enough to stand on its own without alienating those looking for a more Tetris-like experience?
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Yoku’s Island Express Review
Yoku’s Island Express is one of the more novel game concepts you’ll come across. Playing the role of a dung beetle postal worker who is tethered to a ball, you’re tasked with delivering mail while also helping to prevent the apocalypse. Oh yeah, and while the game looks like a 2D platformer, you can’t actually jump. You traverse the entire world through walking and by launching yourself with pinball paddles littered throughout the island of Mokumana. Wait, what?
Mega Man 11 Review
Long time, no see! Not having starred in a new game since the release of the fan-made Mega Man X Street Fighter in 2012, many feared that the Blue Bomber would never find his way back. Six years later, he makes his triumphant return in Mega Man 11. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but is this game a welcome return for Mega Man?
Unearth Review
Once upon a time, our ancestors built great cities across the world. In the present, two-to-four “Delvers” are tasked with claiming these ruins and building new landmarks to restore these areas to their former glory. It’s a rather elaborate setup for Unearth, which is essentially a press-your-luck dice game. Are you ready to get some dirt in your nails in order to renew a city lost in the annals of time?
My Intro to MOBAs through Arena of Valor
Save for an hour of noodling with Guardians of Middle-Earth on PS3 many years ago, the entire MOBA movement has essentially eluded me. Flagship titles like League of Legends and Dota 2 have a home on PC, a platform I don’t play games on. Furthermore, my eyes tend glaze over any time I try to watch a match or have someone explain to me how these games work. Probably the same reaction I get from most people when I go in-depth about fighting games.
With Arena of Valor on the Switch, it’s an opportunity for me to meet the genre half way. I can play it on a platform I routinely use, and the game from what I’ve heard is a more streamlined version of the genre’s titans. After two hours of play, did I enjoy my time with the Switch MOBA? And could this be a stepping-stone towards the real deal?
Blueprints Review
Put on your construction hat, cause it’s time to build! Blueprints is a game that combines dice, cards, and drafting in a clever game about creating buildings while attempting to prove your worth as the best architect around. Does this game have what it takes to inspire you to build to the top?
Hollow Knight Review
Throughout the course of my history as a gamer, there are two game franchises that are my kryptonite: Dark Souls and Metroid. The former brutalized me with its unforgiving combat and its need for players to really study the nuances of it all in order to scrape by. The latter exploits my inability to memorize directions. To this day, I’ve still never beaten a Metroid game for that reason, even though I own most of them.
Hollow Knight is the twisted child of those games mashed together. With a labyrinthian cave to explore with limited navigation guides, methodical combat that will punish button-mashing, and a limited save system that will regularly cause you to lose many minutes of play by virtue of not being able to locate the next save point in time, I initially had no plans to play this one at all. Never say never I guess, as the rave reviews and a sizable discount inspired me to give this one a go.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Impressions
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a cheeky take on one of the most horrifying tasks one can perform. With the aid of a few friends an a 23-page manual that exists outside of the game, you’re tasked with diffusing every bomb placed in front of you. Can you all keep your cool under pressure and solve each ticking time bomb before they blow up in your face?
Alhambra Review
Alhambra transports players to Granada in the year 1278. As the master builders of the time, each of you is tasked with building your own Alhambra complex. Do you have the vision of a master architect and the financial sensibilities of a project manager to build the best one?
Boss Rush: Episode 7
The crew is back together to chat about games, as well as raise awareness and funds for Extra Life! Games we cover on the show include Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mega Man 11, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Lego City Undercover, Street Fighter: The Movie – The Game, Mad Max, Hollow Knight, and Octopath Traveler! Also, the final segment pits the guys in a new game where they must guess the Metacritic user score! Do you have a better read of the Metacritic user base than Jason, Mat, and Jon? Play along to find out!
Whether you want to watch the whole episode in one shot, or watch it in parts, both options are available above!
In Third Person 