VIRTUAL BASTION

The Xbox Series X|S is On Track to be Microsoft’s Bestselling Console(s)

Microsoft revealed an interesting bit of information over the weekend regard the Xbox Series X|S consoles. According to company, the Xbox Series X|S has outsold all previous Xbox consoles at this point in their lifecycle. This is despite the chronic shortages plaguing the consumer electronics industry, a quality that’s more or less inline with other…

The Duck’s 2021 Game of the Year

It’s now the Duck’s turn to cover my game of the year! While I didn’t exactly play a lot of games released in 2021, the few that I did were quite memorable indeed. After perusing my choices, however, the most logical pick would have to be Psychonauts 2 thanks to its creativity and unique premise.

Portal Knights: Demo Review

My first impression upon starting the Portal Knights demo was that it felt a lot like Minecraft with RPG elements. The game is described as a sandbox RPG, and the world is split up into a bunch of randomly-generated islands, though the demo only had us exploring one island after I spent a good deal…

Hatmonster’s 2021 Game of the Year

I don’t know about you, but I always struggle to recall what all I’ve played each year. It’s not that good games don’t leave an impression, rather it’s more that I play so many different ones (and talk about so many more) that it’s easy to lose track of them. Not to worry though, I’ve…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #231

Up this week: Five Night’s at Freddy’s: Security Breach – check out the “best of” from our recent playthrough of the latest FNAF game! Deltarune Chapter 2 – there’s more adventure to be had and secrets to uncover in this next chapter of Deltarune. Psychonauts 2 – Raz and the gang are back in this…

Resonance: Secunda [Revisited]

Despite all the games that I simply must finish (ahem *Metroid Dread* ahem), I’ve found myself back in the world of Skyrim. It’s a game that just calls, usually in moments of gaming stress (ahem *Metroid Dread* ahem), as something of a remedy. Indeed, it is, and it’s excellent soundtrack goes a long way in…

FNAF: Security Breach: Not Quite Deserving of Superstar Status

It would be pretty difficult for any gamer to be unaware of the premise behind the hugely popular Five Nights at Freddy’s series at this point. The early games largely involved sitting in place in your office while you check your cameras and try to keep out the roaming animatronics in a pizza restaurant reminiscent…

Awesome Pea: Demo Review

Awesome Pea is a retro-styled platformer where you control a supposedly greedy pea who enjoys collecting money. The game clearly wants to be reminiscent of old-school games, with green-tinged graphics and an unforgiving nature, sending you back to the start of each level whenever you mess up. The demo consists of the first three stages…

[Revisited] It Finally Happened. I’m Now A Huge Fan of the Nintendo Switch

As the year winds down and we all settle-in for our New Year’s festivities, I find myself looking back a bit. Now that I’ve gotten onboard the current generation with an Xbox Series S, I can’t help but ponder a bit on how the last one started. In particular, I find myself thinking about the…

Listmas 2021: Favorite Things in Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Over on our YouTube channel, my playthrough of Rare’s now-classic 3D platformer (and then some), Conker’s Bad Fur Day, recently wrapped up, and the game’s been on my mind since. This is thanks, in part, to the fact that I recently tried out its remake, Conker: Live & Reloaded, which I had never played before….

64 Bits Reimagines BioShock Infinite as a SNES Game

It’s always interesting to think about games out of time. For example; what if Ocarina of Time had been a Gamecube game, or what if Halo had come out for the original PlayStation? Well, the guys over at 64 Bits asked a similar question: “What if BioShock Infinite had been a SNES game?” The result,…

Listmas 2021: The Duck’s Funniest Games

During last year’s Listmas, we spent a week discussing our favorite comedic gaming moments. This year, for the Duck’s free choice, I thought it would be fun to list some of the funniest games, in general, that I’ve ever played. After all, who doesn’t want to end the holiday season with some good cheer? As…

Terraria: Demo Review

To be honest, I tend to get rather overwhelmed by games that give me too much freedom. A game that can be played almost endlessly is more akin to a nightmare to me than the exciting prospect that it really should be. Sure, I do like freedom in my games, freedom to complete a challenge…

Listmas 2021: Best Christmas Gaming Memories

Hey all, Christmas was yesterday, so I suppose it falls to me to close out this year’s Listmas season. This year we had what I felt was a great selection of fun topics…which made picking my last one a bit tricky. What to talk about after food, party games and mascots? Well…how about Christmas gaming…

Listmas 2021: Let’s Chill

If there’s one thing that makes a holiday break, or any break from the grind, truly special, it’s having time to simply relax. Add to that spending time with friends and loved ones, and well, you’ve got yourself a nice vacation! Making for the trifecta is relaxing, being with family, and playing video games, and…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Will Be Making it Onto Steam Soon

According to Steam Database, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will possibly be coming to Steam soon. The first person to assert this was a Twitter user by the name of “AtelierTool.” They said that the game will probably come to Steam in about a year, after Square Enix’s exclusivity deal with Epic Games comes to…

Listmas 2021: The Duck’s Top Relaxing Games

Around the holiday season, we all like to relax and spend time with family. Or, if you’re a gamer like us, then you probably want to relax and spend time with some video games, and if your family insists on joining you, then…well, that’s what multiplayer games are for! Today, the Duck shall be listing…

Pillar (MichaelArts): Demo Review

While most of the demos I had played recently have been pretty good, there is one in particular that I was grateful I hadn’t paid any actual money for. This would be a demo I played for a game called Pillar. Haven’t heard of it? Well, no wonder, because if you try to look it…

Listmas 2021: Games the Whole Family Can Get Into

As we all know, Christmas and the other winter holidays all usually involve big family gatherings that tend to last at least an entire day. While it’s great to be seeing everyone, there’s only so much to talk about, so there can be a real risk of things slowing down and getting boring as everyone…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #230

Up this week: Psychonauts 2 – Raz and the gang are back in this mind-bending sequel to the original Psychonauts, and we are ready for it! Conker’s Bad Fur Day – we travel through a very bad day in the life of a red squirrel in this classic 3D platformer. Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom (demo)…

Listmas 2021: A Mascot for Your Thoughts?

In games, as in life, a picture can tell a thousand words. Sometimes, all one needs is merely the sight of a favorite character to know something great from their favorite company is on the horizon, if it isn’t already there. These character representations – these mascots – might seem frivolous, but they serve as…

PUBG Will Be Free-To-Play Starting Next Year

Despite a ton of (better) competition in the battle royale genre, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is still somehow hanging in there. What’s crazier, it’s been hanging in there as a “paid” game this whole time! Well, that’ll be changing come January. After all these years, PUBG is finally going free-to-play (F2P).

Listmas 2021: The Duck’s Favorite Gaming Mascots

This week’s Listmas theme covers mascot characters, those characters that are so darn iconic that they actually represent an entire company or franchise. Today’s post shall cover the Duck’s favorite examples of mascot characters in gaming, in no particular order.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course Finally Has a Release Date!

Just recently, Studio MDHR released a brand new trailer for the long-awaited Cuphead DLC, The Delicious Last Course! Just the stop-motion trailer alone is absolutely amazing, but I suppose our main focus should be on the set of brand new boss battles against a mountain-dwelling giant, an ice wizard, Sheriff Winchester, a cowboy who just…

Listmas 2021: Four Mascots Who Add a Bit More Cheer to Their Games

After talking about all the unfairly delicious-looking foods in games last week, it’s probably best to step away from things like treats and items for a bit. Instead, how about something both gamers and in-game characters can enjoy? Something like say, cute mascot characters? There’s a reason mascots are still around in both the real…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #229

Listmas 2021: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!

Merry #Listmas! What better way to kick off another blogging holiday season than with a topic that is perfectly delicious – food and drink! While some virtual fare is best left to its own virtual world, there’s no denying that video game food has quite the avid following these days. Between sites, channels, and physical…

Vitua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown Goes to Kamorocho Today

The newest collaboration for Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown goes live today, and this time it’s crossing-over with Sega’s Yakuza series. As of today, December 8, fans can enjoy a bunch of new costumes and customization items inspired by Kiryu and his buddies in the Yakuza games. Check out some of it in the trailer…

Listmas 2021: The Duck’s Gaming-Themed Meal

Well, this is most assuredly the tastiest week Virtual Bastion has had in a long time. It’s now the Duck’s turn to write about just a handful of the many video game foods I’d like to try. I’ve narrowed it down to several sections, Sides, Meals, and Desserts, with three entries each. Because without some…

Deltarune Chapter 2 is Even Better

After roughly a 3-year wait, the second chapter of Deltarune has finally been released (and for free, no less!). Considering the long time period between both chapters, I have to admit that I don’t remember Chapter 1 super well, but I can’t shake the feeling that Chapter 2 is even better. The game might not…

Listmas 2021: Savory-Sounding Video Game Foods

Merry Listmas everybody! Yup, it’s that time again, and we’re kicking things off by discussing the most mouth-watering foods and drinks we’ve seen in video games! Even though we don’t usually see it in our games, food often plays an important role nonetheless, and some of it sounds pretty darn good! Here are some dishes…

Ocarina of Time has Finally Been Decompiled

To say that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a highly beloved game is, at least, a massive understatement. It’s been more than 20 years since it originally released in 1998, and it’s STILL widely regarded as one of the greatest games ever made. As such, fans are still doing their utmost to…

Psychonauts 2 is a Much More Polished Sequel

In the recent past, the Duck wrote a rather…critical review about the original Psychonauts from In the recent past, the Duck wrote a rather…critical review about the original Psychonauts from 2005. While I praised the game’s characters, story, and creativity, I was a lot harsher when it came to the game’s clunky platforming. With that…

Ranking the Bosses of Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread has to feature one of the coolest portrayals of Samus Aran that fans have ever seen. I’ve already written a review of the game, but finding myself unable to quit talking about it quite yet, I decided it would be fun to rank all of the game’s bosses that Samus so expertly vanquishes,…

First Impressions: Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning

Do you have any games that you genuinely want to play, but just never get around to for whatever reason? I know I sure do. Be it lack of time or even something as simple as just not being in the mood for a certain kind of game, sometimes I just can’t bring myself to…

Rumor: New Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment Projects Leaked

It’s been a bit since Microsoft acquired Compulsion Games and Obsidian Entertainment, and nary a word has been said about what either studio has been working on since then. That is, there hadn’t been until a couple days ago. IGN has dug up some info, and it seems both studios’ newest projects have been leaked,…

I Didn’t Dread Playing Metroid Dread

While I haven’t exactly played that many Metroid games, pretty much every console release since the original Metroid Prime on the GameCube has been a big deal for me. This particular game sees Samus investigating planet ZDR, from which the Galactic Federation received evidence that the dangerous X parasite is still in existence. While I…

Do It Yourself: Animal Crossing New Horizons vs Minecraft

Despite having plenty to play at the moment, I’ve recently found myself thinking about returning to either Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Minecraft. There’s just something about building your own stuff in games I just can’t help but find compelling (when it’s done well), so it’s hard to stay away from those sorts of games…

Ranking All Psychonauts 2 Levels

Not so very long ago, I ranked the wildly creative mindscapes featured in the original Psychonauts. Having finally caught up with the series, I now have the pleasure of ranking the worlds found in Psychonauts 2. Considering the franchise’s emphasis on psychology, it’s no surprise the Psychonauts games contain some of the most unique worlds…

2021’s Most Played Switch Game Was…Fortnite. Wow.

As is typical of the New Year’s season, there’s really not all that much to talk about in terms of gaming news. I mean sure, Square Enix really stepped in it with that NFT nonsense, but I don’t really want to talk about NFts at them moment (who does? they’re so stupid!) So, how about…