In the ashes of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, amid the bloat and pretense of the games industry, always must there be a presentation... always must there be game trailers... and always must there be those who commentate. So it is we find ourselves in the aftermath of this year's collected summer showcases, a cavalcade of announcements and information to parse in its wake. For my part, I set forth to once again note the games (and, occasionally, people or moments) that stood out - for good or ill. Today, we tackle that which was displayed at Sony's State of Play, the OTK Games Expo, and the Summer Game Fest... Sony State of Play The High Point: Astro Bot Is it nakedly playing off of lingering nostalgia for various Sony properties, current and forgotten? Yes. Is it unmistakably taking cues from other more successful platformer series? Absolutely. Nevertheless, the team at Sony seem to have nailed the charm when it comes to their robot mascot, which is half the battle for cr...
"I am the crushed one. It crushes my heart to see you not doing your best." Release Date: August 25, 2021 Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X Note: writer contributed to 2015/2016 Fig campaign funding the game's development In an age where sequels and reboots are in abundance, particularly where video games are concerned, sixteen years is a hell of a gap. Yes, it can help cultivate a nostalgic longing for the return of something beloved from a bygone era... but it can't be helped that in that time, everything from the basics of design priorities through to the greater-scope concerns of the world around us has shifted more than once in inescapable, inevitable fashion. So it's an interesting position for Double Fine's latest work Psychonauts 2 to find itself. It needs to not only stand on its own merits but also ride the line between honoring its cult classic predecessor and growing beyond its roots, while also reckoning with the reality t...