VIRTUAL BASTION

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #65

Believe it or not, good people, it’s Friday once again…and you know what that means! It’s time for our weekly roundup of YouTube Highlights! Really, what better way to kick off the weekend than with some grand gaming goodness? Even better, it takes no effort! All you need to do is sit back, relax, and…

Persona 3 Portable: Update 3

It’s been a while, eh? <flips back calendar pages> I haven’t revisited Persona 3 Portable here since…March?! Well then, it looks like we have some catching up to do. <stares blankly at screen> Hmm, off to a good start, I’d say. <crickets> Alright, all joking aside, so much has happened in the game since my…

Monstrum is a New Mesh of Roguelike and Survival Horror

Developed by Team Junkfish, Monstrum promises to combine the best elements of the survival-horror and roguelike genres. All the elements appear to be here, but the question is whether or not the team behind it can really pull it off.

Resonance: Fossil Falls

I know that I can’t say that Super Mario Galaxy is an objectively awesome game, but I really want to! I realize that it trades tight level design for worlds that are often a little too big, and getting Power Moons is altogether too easy. I can acknowledge that. It’s not a perfect game and…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #64

Somehow, some way, it’s Friday again, which means it’s time for some YouTube Highlights! Greetings, folks. If you’re with us today (rather than shooting off some early 4th o’ July fireworks), welcome to our weekly post in which we train the proverbial spotlight on a few favorite videos from our past week on YouTube! Today’s…

Cary’s Top 10 Video Game Songs

Bringing Resonance month to a close, and following on The Duck of Indeed’s heels (do ducks have heels?), it’s time for me to offer up ten of my most favorite video game songs…of the moment. I add that qualifier there because, there’s always something new to explore when it comes to game music. While the…

Remedy’s New Game is Called “Control”

After the disappointing performance of Quantum Break, it looks like Remedy is back and ready to get back to what they do best: pairing third-person action with mind-bending phenomenon. It’s not that Quantum Break didn’t deal with potentially mind-bending subject matter, it did deal with time travel after all; it’s just that time-travel isn’t all…

Resonance: Rain

The Halo games have changed quite a bit over the past few years, and not always for the better. One could even argue that the series started going downhill right after Halo 3. I disagree. Without getting into it, the Halo series entered its prime with Halo 3 and only started declining with Halo 4…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #63

Hi everyone! Thanks a million for visiting once again to share in our weekly round-up of highlights from our YouTube channel! This past week marked the official start of summer, so what better way to celebrate that with some funny and sunny games? Alright, so maybe Ori and the Bind Forest isn’t exactly what you’d…

Resonance: Goron City – Day

If I have but one goal this year, it’s to complete The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! I started up this game a few months back, and it’s been slow-going ever since. That’s partially of my own doing, because, as many of you know, it’s a huge game with lots of distractions quests….

Resonance: Kushi’s Ride

This is not the first time we’ve written a Resonance post for Okami. Why, way back in 2013, I wrote about a rather interesting tune called Giant Monster in Wait. Three years later in 2016, Hatm0nster discussed Battle of Orochi II. There’s a good reason why Okami has gotten so much attention, for it is…

Resonance: Don’t Think Twice

With all this E3 buzz in the air this week, I found myself drawn away from gaming’s past and focused upon what looks like an almost blindingly bright future. True, this year’s E3 didn’t have everything I wanted to see, but it did have a lot. Rage 2, Death Stranding, Prey DLC, Super Smash Bros….

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #62

Hello, good people! Are you recovering from an E3 hangover? Well then, do we have just the remedy for you! The prescription is: step 1: sit back; step 2: relax; and step 3: enjoy our YouTube Highlights! Indeed, it’s that time of week where we share a few videos from our YouTube channel. And what a…

Resonance: Build That Wall (Zia’s Theme)

An indie darling of 2011, Supergiant Games’ Bastion is undoubtedly a work of art. Late to the party as usual, I only just played it for the first time a few months ago. Knowing its reception and legacy, I can safely now say it’s a self-contained masterpiece in terms of gameplay and style. It’s hard to…

Nintendo Didn’t Bring Much to E3, But Was Still Impressive

I’ll be honest, with the Switch such a good state, I was expecting quite a lot from Nintendo at this year’s E3. I was expecting Metroid news. I was hoping for Animal Crossing news. I was sure that I was finally going to see more news about that new Yoshi game they’re working on. Alas,…

Resonance: Snowy Mountain

For our next Resonance post, we shall be visiting one of the Duck’s favorite platformers, the original Jak and Daxter on the PS2. This game’s soundtrack is unique in that the music is almost…not there, in a sense. And that’s kind of what I like about it. There’s just something about this game that relaxes…

Resonance: Uphill Both Ways

So, anyone still remember Halo: Reach? Of course you do! I know I certainly do (…I’m not the only one, right?) I’ve often said that Halo 3 is my favorite of the entire series, and for the most part, that’s true. Halo 3 gave me some of my fondest gaming memories, and was my very…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #61

Ahhhh, it’s good to be back. And how nice that it just happens to be Friday, because that means it’s time for more YouTube Highlights! In fact, it’s time for an extra-large selection of highlights from our YouTube channel because we took off last week. (Hey, everyone deserves a vacation once in a while, right?)…

Resonance: Tartarus

In case anyone was wondering, I’m still playing Persona 3 Portable. crickets Well, I am. And let me tell you, it’s pretty darn enthralling. I understand that later games in the series do everything Persona-y better, which is fair. At times, P3P has felt repetitive. But even though you’re essentially playing “wash, rinse, repeat” with…

Bungie Partners with NetEase to the Tune of $100 Million

The gaming community has been a buzz for the last few days over Bungie’s new partnership with NetEase, a Chinese tech and gaming company. In a post on Bungie’s official forum, the developer stated that they’ve entered into the partnership in order to move towards self-publishing smaller-scale games in the future. Of course, this announcement…

Resonance: Waterfall

It is no secret that the Duck adores Undertale. One of the many things I love about the game is its amazing soundtrack, which is easily one of my favorites from any game. I have already written a resonance post about Here We Are, which plays when you explore the True Lab, and today we…

Resonance: Time To Relax

It’s Resonance month everybody! This is perhaps our longest running series of articles, and since it’s our five year anniversary, why not take the opportunity to really dive into it for once, right? To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what song I should talk about to kick things off. I have plenty personal favorites…

To Regale with Resonance!

With June marking the start of the fun and lighthearted summer months, what better way to kick things off than with a month of music! Nearly since the site’s inception, one of our most popular series is “Resonance,” in which we celebrate the highs (and occasional lows) of game music. It goes without saying that…

Hopefully Conquering Final Fantasy 8: Part 3

I’m still working diligently on Final Fantasy VIII, using guides as I go so as not to miss anything. (I was using a guide on a website called Jegged, but then I kept getting lots of weird popups, so I switched to IGN.) I have recently reached disc 3 and am currently all caught up…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #60

Greeting friends! As many of you reading know, not only is it Friday and therefore time for our YouTube Highlights, but it is also a three-day weekend! Which means that it’s perfect time for catching up on your watch lists, which must contain plenty from our own YouTube channel! ( 😉 ) We remain firmly…

Resident Evil 7 Coming to Nintendo Switch…Via the Cloud?

On Sunday, Nintendo and Capcom announced that the much beloved latest entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil 7, will soon be coming to Nintendo Switch. While most Switch-owning horror fans will certainly welcome this, the announcement is still surprising considering Resident Evil 7’s impressive visuals. It’s a game that shouldn’t be able to…

N-No Virtual Console for the Switch?!

Say it ain’t so, Nintendo! Say it ain’t so! Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just…a bit upset right now. It’s fine, really. But hey, did you hear, Nintendo is apparently not bringing the Virtual Console to the Switch! What is happening to my life! I am ill-prepared for this news; why, cruel world, why! (Oh,…

Octopath Traveler Introduces Final Two Characters, Reveals Features

Fans of the classic Final Fantasy games may have something to forward to this July. See, Square-Enix is releasing a new JRPG on the Switch that both calls back to the classic 2D JRPGs and advances the genre in significant, but somewhat subtle ways. This game is known as Octopath Traveler, an RPG that puts…

The Duck’s Favorite Moments with Virtual Bastion

In my last two posts, the Duck talked a bit about Virtual Bastion’s early days and a few notable firsts in celebration of our five-year anniversary. When you’re lucky enough to spend half a decade working on a blog and Youtube channel dedicated to your favorite hobby, there are bound to be a lot of…

So Here We Are, Five Years Later

It’s amazing how the passage of years can feel depending on how you look at it. In one sense, five years can feel like almost nothing. While I can’t say that it feels like only yesterday that Cary, The Duck of Indeed and I were getting this idea off the ground, I can say that…

Nintendo Finally Gives Details About Switch Online Service

Nintendo has finally pulled back the curtain (somewhat) on the online service they’re bringing to the console this September. For starters, this isn’t going to be the same kind of robust online service PlayStation and Xbox users have grown used to over the years. It’s actually rather bare bones compared to PSN and Xbox Live,…

There’s a First Time for Everything at Virtual Bastion

Since this month is a time for reminiscing over the last five years of gaming and blogging goodness that has taken place here at Virtual Bastion, I can think of no better time to discuss a few notable “firsts”. Before we get started, I’d just like to say that, no, I will not be covering…

Resonance: Beneath the Mask

Persona 5 is an excellent game. This statement might as well be a cliche in regard to this game as it’s received nothing short of universal praise ever since it released in September 2016/April 2017. It’s not hard to see why when looking at it from the outside and even less difficult if you’ve had…

Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion Gets Brief Gameplay Trailer

Splatoon fans have been geared up for the series’ first major expansion due out later this year. Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion splatted into Nintendo fan’s consciousness in a big way during the most recent Nintendo Direct. Its known features include a new, mission-based game mode which has players take on some sort of challenge mode….

Five Years with Virtual Bastion: A Duck’s Perspective

Wow, it’s hard to believe, but Virtual Bastion is now five years old! To celebrate our five-year anniversary, the three of us are going to reminisce and share some of our fondest memories of our time working together. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this trip down our respective memory lanes, won’t you?

The Paper Mario Prank That Changed Everything

As we’re talking about video game pranks and foolishness this month, I thought it would be a good time to talk about the most important gaming prank I ever came into contact with. It’s weird thinking of an obnoxious think like a prank as “important,” but that’s what this one wound up being. It’s something…

It’s our Fifth Anniversary! Ask Us Anything!

Hey everyone! May is almost here, and this year it’s going to be something of a special occasion here at the Virtual Bastion. You see, this May marks the fifth year of online life for our little corner of the internet, and we’re planning a little celebration of sorts. For the next month, we’ll be…

Pranked By The Plot: Prey (2017)

This article contains major spoilers for Prey (2017). If you don’t want some of the story spoiled, then it’s probably best not to read any further. One of the many qualities that makes gaming special is the player’s relationship with the game. Players are actively involved in what’s playing out on screen; we’re not just…

Octopath Traveler Details New Characters and ‘Path Actions’

Octopath Traveler is a new JRPG from Square-Enix set to release later this year. The game follows eight travelers, each on their own journeys in pursuit of their own goals. Square-Enix has been drip-feeding info to potential fans for a little while now, and today they introduced two new characters and explained how “path actions”…

Daxter: Gaming’s Best and Most Hapless Fool

If ever there was a character whose life was the embodiment of April Fool’s Day, it’s Daxter. Forming the crucial (but actually not-so-crucial) second half of the Jak & Daxter team, Daxter has had a rough go of it over the course of the Jak & Daxter games. His monumental run of bad luck actually…

‘Radical Heights’ Enters the Battle Royale Fray

From the team that brought you LawBreakers come “Radical Heights,” a very 80’s take on the battle royale shooter-style game that’s been growing ever-more popular as of late. Boss Key’s multiplayer shooter takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2023. In the game’s version of events, America went through some sort of “dissolution” conflict and…

Every Day is April Fool’s Day in Fable II

Fable II is, in many ways, a great and satisfying game to play. For those unspoiled by the likes of Zelda or Skyrim, and perhaps even for those who are, Fable II is a perfectly adequate adventure game. It’s not that it does anything particularly well, but neither does it do anything particularly poorly. Its…

God of War is Looking Both Good and Different

The newest entry in the God of War franchise is almost here, and I have to say that it’s got me feeling somewhat surprised. This continuation of Kratos’ story has him taking on a different pantheon, sure, but Kratos definitely doesn’t appear to be the same man who once destroyed Greek world in his quest…

Virtual Bastion Presents: April Fool’s Month!

Hey all, April is right around the corner! In fact, April Fool’s Day is exactly one week away! Commemorating the arrival of spring has become something of a tradition around here, but we haven’t really done all that much with this trickiest of holidays (if you can call it that). This April happens to mark…

Mario, I Forgive You

My relationship with the Mario franchise has been a rocky one. Early games like Super Mario Bros 1-3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64 turned out to be some of the most troublesome games I’ve yet to own, with the latter two taking literally YEARS to beat, while the original trio has yet to…

The Duck’s Top 10 Video Game Songs

While we have discussed often songs that have resonated with us (and the Duck has frequently listed top 5’s and 10’s from various games over on my own blog), we have yet to compile a list of our top songs from video games in general. Today, I am going to right this wrong with a…