VIRTUAL BASTION

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…

First Impressions of Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition

As of writing, I’m about 15 missions into Grand Theft Auto III from the Xbox version of *inhales* Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. *exhales.* Yes, it’s a mouthful of a title for this compilation, but it fits. Within this title are three remasters of Rockstar’s classic open-world adventures: GTA III, GTA:…

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…

Song of the Deep: An Undersea Metroidvania

Song of the Deep had been on my radar for a long time, largely because it was made by Insomniac, the creators of one of my favorite gaming franchises, Ratchet & Clank. The game is an underwater Metroidvania where you control a submarine built by a girl named Merryn who makes it her goal to…

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…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #227

Up this week: Psychonauts – in this classic game, Raz works to unravel a mystery using his psychic abilities and mad platforming skills. Conker’s Bad Fur Day – we travel through a very bad day in the life of a red squirrel in this classic 3D platformer. The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried…

Fallout Worlds is Fallout 76’s Rose-Tinted Glasses Mode

A couple months ago, when I opted into Fallout 1st, Fallout 76’s subscription service, its custom world-building mode call Fallout Worlds was on the verge of release. It was not why I subbed; I only wanted to try out the game privately with an actual “lone wanderer.” In this regard, my current replay is moving…

It Seems Quantic Dream Will Be Doing Something in the Star Wars Galaxy Next

Since the release of Detroit: Become Human, we haven’t seen or heard from neither developer, Quantic Dream, nor creative lead David Cage. The game apparently sold well enough to keep the company in business, but one can never know these days. Anyway, Quantic Dream is indeed still around, and it seems their next project involves…

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…

Immortals Fenyx Rising: Demo Review

I recently had the pleasure of trying out the demo for Immortals Fenyx Rising, an open-world game made by Ubisoft where you play as the new demigod Fenyx. Having studied a decent amount of Greek mythology in school, I can really appreciate this aspect of the game and was rather pleased whenever the game made…

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II is Absolutely Irresistible

This month, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic makes its debut on the Nintendo Switch, something that I’m actually rather excited about. The idea that even more people will have the chance to enjoy the game makes me happier than I thought it would, and it’s inspired me to return to the games myself….

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #226

Unforgettable: Nightmare (Metroid Fusion)

I’ve sunk many replay hours into several notable gaming series: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Grand Theft Auto, to name a few. But I don’t think any of them come close to the time I spent replaying a “trilogy” of its own: Metroid: Zero Mission (remake of the original Metroid), Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion. While…

Nintendo States that It Will Improve Their Online Service

Anyone who’s had to use Nintendo Online over the past couple of years will no doubt tell you that $20 a year almost seems like too much considering how rudimentary the service actually is. The cloud saving and “free” NES/SNES games are nice and all, but those aren’t the reason most Switch owners use the…

How Abzu Helped Me Overcome an Irrational Fear

Around Thanksgiving of 2020, I was browsing the Nintendo and PlayStation stores for some great deals. One of the best was a 90% discount on a game called Abzu, which I got for $2 (its usual price is $20). If it wasn’t for the cheap price, I might not have bought this game because part…

Resonance: Galleon Galaxy

Being the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie and sporting the talents of the very same composer, Grant Kirkhope, it’s no wonder the soundtrack of Yooka-Laylee is so darn nostalgic. Yooka-Laylee proved that it’s possible to feel nostalgia for a game within seconds of starting it. From the similar personalities of the game’s titular buddy duo to…

Mario Party Superstars is an Awesome Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

Last Friday, I picked up Mario Party Superstars and dove into it pretty heartily. See, I used to play the Mario Party games with my friends on a fairly regular basis before I moved, so I’ve been missing it terribly for the past couple of years. With Mario Party Superstars, I thought I’d finally get…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #225

With Metroid Dread, I Need to Get Out of My Own Way

According to my save file, I’ve put almost six hours into Metroid Dread. In my head, that time makes me think that I should be close to wrapping up the game; like the final boss should be on the horizon. In reality…well, I’m pretty sure that about a third of those six hours have been…

November is a Big Month for Games

With so many games coming out all the time, it can be difficult to keep track of everything from month to month. I mean, September and October were already huge, and there’s a bunch of stuff that’s going to be coming for the Christmas season, so it’d be very easy to forget what’s due out…

Ranking All Psychonauts Levels

Having recently completed Psychonauts for the first time, I can safely say that the game has some of the most creative selection of levels I’ve ever seen in a video game. These levels take place in the minds of various characters you meet over the course of your adventure and can tell you a lot…

Unravel: Demo Review

A game which has crossed my path a lot lately is an intriguing little game called Unravel. In this puzzle platformer, you play as a little yarn creature called…ahem, Yarny. It looked promising, but at the same time, I was a bit reluctant. I think I was worried Yarny (based on the name, no doubt)…

Spooptober: Dr. Reid’s Hammy Lines in Vampyr

Overall, Dontnod Entertainment’s Vampyr is a decently spooky game. To begin with, the entire game is steeped in an atmosphere of hopelessness bordering on fatalism thanks to the Spanish Flu epidemic. Once the supernatural elements come to light and we learn more about the true nature of the situation, everything takes on a much more…

Vampyr Looks Even Better (Spookier?) on PS5 and PS4 Pro Now

When it launched in 2018, Vampyr was already a decent-looking game. It wasn’t pushing the envelope of visuals, but it didn’t look bad either. If anything, its art style and visual fidelity actually served the overall feel of the game, that of hopelessness and melancholy in a completely exhausted and plague-ridden London. The game could…

Inside: Horror Done Right

On my ongoing quest to catch up on many of the highly praised indie games out there, it was only a matter of time before I played Inside (created by the same people who made another well-known indie game, Limbo). Having already seen a playthrough online, I still couldn’t help but buy this game for…

Spooptober: DK64’s Creepy Castle

When it comes to spoopy gaming stuff, I guess I really can’t keep myself from thinking about Rareware. Perhaps it’s the distinctive style of their early games or maybe it’s just straight-up childhood nostalgia on my part. Whatever the case, I think that Rareware is the definitive king of video game spoop, and the Creepy…

More Elden Ring Footage is Out There Now

Elden Ring is arguably one of the most anticipated games in development right now, so just about any new information about the game is sure to make waves in across the internet. Well, it seems that fans have indeed been making waves recently thanks to some new leaked gameplay footage. The clip is only 30…

I Have Mixed Feelings for Psychonauts

Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot about Psychonauts 2, the highly anticipated sequel to, well, the first Psychonauts game, which released all the way back in 2005. Intrigued, I was not quite ready to jump straight into the sequel when I had yet to play the original, so I downloaded Psychonauts on my PS4 and…

Spooptober: Control’s Haunted Refrigerator

There’s a lot of unsettling things to be found in Remedy’s sci-fi thriller game: Control. The main enemy is a “resonance-based” life form that takes over minds. There’s also an otherworldly mold that invariably turns people into its zombified thralls. Oh, and let’s not forget the living building governed by extra-dimensional creatures who may or…

Metroid Dread can Already be Played in 4K (on PC)

It hasn’t even been a week since Metroid Dread released for the Switch, and emulation enthusiasts have not only managed to get the game to run on PC, they’re supposedly getting it to run better. I’m not sure if this is an emulation mile stone or anything, but it sure is crazy to think that…

Spooptober: The Brain Tumbler Experiment

Despite being a generally light-hearted adventure, Psychonauts has some genuinely scary moments. For me some of the most memorable are the Nightmare creatures and the Nightmare Prison in Milla’s mind. From their loud whispers to their revolting appearance, everything to do with these things makes me shiver involuntarily. Other things though, things like The Brain…

Retro Games Are Getting More Expensive

It probably goes without saying that gaming is an expensive hobby. You gotta buy the systems, the games, the accessories…it adds up fast. This usually applies more to new games than to older ones, but that might not be completely true for much longer. See, it seems that retro games are getting more and more…

There’s More to Explore in Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye

When I played Outer Wilds earlier this year, it quickly became one of my favorite games of all time, where you must solve the mysteries of your solar system in a 22-minute time limit that always ends in a supernova. Progression was tied solely to knowledge gained throughout your adventure, so if you knew what…