It’s odd to think menu music makes an impact on a game, but Planet Coaster’s mellow guitar strings and exited kid’s choir feels right. Planet Coaster is a simulation about happy places, and that catchy, hummable tune sticks in the brain even when amid the ambient shrieks, cheers, and mechanical whirring inside the parks. Tone… Continue reading Planet Coaster (Xbox Series X)
Originated in the early ’80s, the term cyberpunk (and resulting genre) rooted itself in anti-Japanese phobia, arriving in mainstream fiction as Japan became a technology-centric export economy. Cyberpunk 2077 looks the part, as does most cyberpunk. The neon signs, the noodle vendors, skyscrapers. A murder mystery too, revolving around a vicious generational divide and rebellious… Continue reading Cyberpunk 2077 (PS4)
It’s easy to dismiss Hades‘ tit-for-tat family drama between a father, Hades, and son, Zagereus. Much of Hades seems spiteful – sarcastic, smarmy, but just a rebellious teenager angry over his father demanding work. Then, soap-ish as cousins and other members in this Greek god fantasy pick sides. Those relentless attempts to escape, so smartly… Continue reading Hades (Switch)
Kenny Smith walked off the NBA on TNT set in solidarity with the players who chose to protest rather than play in late 2020. Smith, an ex-player himself, felt it was right. At that moment, mid-pandemic and additional cases of police brutality filling newsrooms, the league took a stand. None of that is in NBA… Continue reading NBA 2K21 Next Gen (Xbox Series X)
Spider-Man’s Peter Parker fought alongside the police. Miles Morales fights against them, or, is rejected when entering a battle. Morales lives and fights in Brooklyn. It’s a different New York. Culture breathes compared to Parker’s more static, Hollywood-ish good white guy approach. As an immigrant, Morales is an immediate underdog. Still righteous, but from a… Continue reading Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
In Godfall’s fantasy world, two brothers war with one another. Like everything else in Godfall, it’s stock fantasy fluff. Looking only at the in-game story, whether the hero and villain are human, robot, anthropomorphic animal, alien, or whatever else isn’t made clear. They just exist as tropes and it never matters. If this is someone’s… Continue reading Godfall (PS5)
The cynic derides Astro’s Playroom for the PlayStation commercial it is. A shameless advertisement one at that. Astro’s world doesn’t tell a story; it’s just an adventure through all things nostalgia and PlayStation, the stuff Nintendo often gets away with. It’s not even the life rafts in the shape of triangles and squares, but even… Continue reading Astro’s Playroom (PS5)
Ronald Reagan’s first appearance in Cold War makes the former President appear worthy of sainthood. It’s a dramatic, postured moment for the man staged as someone standing up to the Iron Curtain, dramatically stopping nukes, and taking down that wall. Mostly though, it’s a conspiratorial grab bag, more illusory than Oliver Stone, if avoiding a… Continue reading Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War (PS5)
Journeying from their home to new lands in England, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’s viking tribe comes near the shore, noticing crucifixes adorning churches. It’s hilarious to them – a religion that celebrates not only a defeat, but symbolizes the torture device that killed the Christian’s prophet. It’s a clever way to sell Viking beliefs and culture,… Continue reading Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (PS4)
Cobra Kai’s joke – the show’s joke – is that two 50-year-old men can’t let their feud over a high school karate tournament go. No one else cares, because it’s stupid, masculine posturing. Whether by choice or by budget restraints (the latter, most likely), Cobra Kai’s game spin-off nails that nuance. As the dueling karate… Continue reading Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues (PS4)
