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...
Time Loader builds itself upon a premise that's hard not to empathize with, utilizing the concept of time travel and environmental puzzles as both narrative hurdle and thematic weight. Everything about its construction rings with a certain profound sadness, a longing rarely put to words yet always there, like background radiation. It is a game about being tied to the past and being unable to escape on every level. That inherent quality, though, begs the question: is Time Loader rooted so deeply to formula and familiar trappings that it cannot also be compelling or profound on its own merits? Do its preoccupations and occasional flaws stop it from going as far with its premise as it intends to? Title: Time Loader Developer: Flazm Publisher: META Publishing Version Played: Xbox One Release Date: March 10th, 2022 Note: Review code provided by HomeRun PR, on behalf of publisher When weighing the worth of this game, one needs to take into account that much to its cred...