Written by Brandon Billingsley

Category: Reviews

Published: 20 January 2025

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The Majestic Wolf Runs

Flowers Bloom Along the Path

And Once Again Spring Beckons

Ōkami is one of the most unique games I’ve played and also one of the most interesting success stories. Odds are, if you’re like me, you’ll have seen Amaterasu the White Wolf around. She’s become a gaming icon of sorts and still shows up at times in games like Marvel vs Capcom. . And yet, she seems like an enigma as unlike Ryu or Chris Redfield, her story isn’t as widely known.

Ōkami was developed by Clover Studio, and released in 2006 for the PS2. Formed by Capcom R&D veterans, Clover Studios' other notable work was adapting Viewtiful Joe for PlayStation 2 and developing its sequel for both PS2 and GameCube. They created only two original works: Ōkami and their last game God Hand. While both were interesting concepts, neither were considered financial successes as they didn’t sell as well as Capcoms more well known franchises. To be fair, Resident Evil 4, which released just a year earlier, set the bar at an unprecedented high which a new IP was probably not gonna come even close to. Despite all that, Ōkami received critical acclaim, nearly around a 9/10 universally at every notable publication. A lot of people noted how Okami’s unique gameplay seemed especially suited to Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems, both of which were very new at the time. The clamor was enough that Ōkami did get a well received port to Wii and while it wasn’t ported to the DS, that system got Ōkamiden, a spiritual successor. The game was later ported to modern consoles in an HD release that has gone on to perform pretty well. The love for Ōkami was still strong and with the 2024 Game Awards shocking announcement of Ōkami 2, now seems like a good time to take a look at this beloved classic.

Read more: Ōkami HD Retro Review - The Rising of the Sun

Written by Leon Sarambi

Category: Reviews

Published: 11 January 2025

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When I was young, in grade school, and when I visited my grandma, my uncle lived with her at the time and had an SNES, while I had a Genesis. He always played 3 games when I visited: Super Mario World, Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger. I think this memory is what kicked off my love of RPGs but I remember Chrono Trigger always being the one that always eluded me in trying to find ways to play it. It wasn't until I got my PS1 where I got the chance to play Final Fantasy 4 and Chrono Trigger in the Final Fantasy Chronicles pack. And over 20 years later, I decided to give Chrono Trigger another try to see if It still held up. I picked up the Steam version which is the most accessible version at this time, So let's see if one of the best RPGs of all time still holds up today. 

Read more: Chrono Trigger (Steam) - Retro Review

Written by Joshua Wyld

Category: Reviews

Published: 09 January 2025

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There’s nothing quite like a game by “The Wild Gentlemen”, a developer who has gained a reputation for fantastic narrative forays into detective work, which also just so happen to feature a wonderful bevy of anthro furry characters as the bedrock of the experiences. They create games in this “World of Wilderness” setting where all the cities and politics are inhabited by furries, which also heavily lean into the animalistic traits and interactions that may happen because of their species. I wish more games with animal characters did this, where we get an insight into the societal landscape that would form with predators, prey, insects, and everything in between having to learn to live with (or forcibly without) each other around. Their newest release, titled “Chicken Police: Into the HIVE!” is a sequel to the 2020 game “Chicken Police: Paint it RED!” in which we follow along with two clucking good detectives, Sonny and Marty. These two chickens are anything but, as they venture into the most dangerous of places around the city of Clawville to find the answers to their most dangerous case yet. You won’t soon forget the story and the way it’s told, and “Into the HIVE!” is one of the best narrative games I’ve played, bar none.

Read more: Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! Review

Written by Sean Phillips

Category: Reviews

Published: 24 December 2024

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I don’t think I ever saw a game with such a strong contrast of opinions as I did with The Thing. When I first heard of this game years ago, the reviewer I was watching called it another dime a dozen third person shooter, so I admit I passed this game up because of said review. But, as the years went on, I started to hear more praise for this game, with some calling it a hidden gem, and it did kinda stir my interests in it but not enough to find a copy for the PS2 or original Xbox. But, thanks to the talented people at Nightdive Studios, we now got a remastering of The Thing with The Thing Remastered and to be honest? I do fall in the camp of calling this a hidden gem, but I also fall in the camp of saying that the game does have some rough spots too.

Read more: The Thing Remastered Review

Written by Brandon Billingsley

Category: Reviews

Published: 07 December 2024

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Sonic the Hedgehog, a name many know and love. And what a history he has. Much like the loops he speeds through on his way to stop Eggman, Sonic has had a lot of ups and downs. His early days on SEGA consoles solidified his popularity. Then in 1998, he made his first jump to 3D with Sonic Adventure. The early 3D era went well enough until it started going downhill with the divisive Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005 and the disastrous release of Sonic ‘06 a year later. To say ‘06 severely damaged Sonic’s reputation is an understatement. It took years before the Hedgehog recovered and was back on his feet. 5 years later in 2011, Sonic Generations released as a celebration of the Hedgehogs 20th anniversary at the time. 

Read more: Sonic X Shadow Generations Review - A Look Back...