The Silent Protagonists

"There ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on"  -Barrett Wallace,  Final Fantasy VII   As the AAA landscape becomes increasingly crowded with high-budget, action adventure titles that take an age to develop and even longer to see the credits, there are a smattering of other genres that get pushed to the wayside.  Before RPG's the gaming space was littered with arcade-inspired games like Pitfall, Donkey Kong and Galaga, all exceptional and seminal titles in their respective field but none offered a sense of adventure and storytelling that table top games of the 1970's could with each passing D&D session. There was no doubt, video games had the potential to deliver such experiences, and developers were quick to make that a reality once the crash of '83 subsided. Fast forward to the SNES and PS1 era and we're swimming in top tier RPG goodness, each more epic than the last. It couldn't get any better, and as PlayStation broke the world with ...

  "If ever I were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself" (*Spoilers Ahead*)  Those 11 short words put into perspective everything that The Last of Us Part II's tale aims to achieve. No other tagline has captured the essence of a story quite like Pearl Jam's 'Future Days' did with Naughty Dog's latest game, as the ~25 hours it takes to reach its conclusion is a poignant lesson in the fight to maintain our goodness when faced with immense adversity. Ellie's journey is undoubtedly about revenge, and in blindly following a lust for vengeance after a vicious attack on a person she holds dear. Her morality is constantly compromised. Maintaining her sanity, rationality and compassion as she meticulously hunts down those who wronged her is as challenging as the pursuit of 'justice' that she embarks upon. Few emotions override our sense of right and wrong, and when grief is forced upon us by the heinous actions of a single individual we surely lose a ...

Nintendo have never been one to shy away from doing things differently. Ever the innovators, Nintendo never push the boundaries of modern technology, instead opting to throw them away entirely and do something truly unique; often with mixed results. In Q1 of 2017, the Japanese game company developed (in conjunction with Monolith) and published  The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ; the first home-console entry in the series since Link and co. took to the skies in 2011's Skyward Sword . Skyward Sword was Nintendo at their most experimental. The game fully embraced motion controls with the inclusion of Wii Motion Plus, an add-on designed to give the Wii Remote a more responsive sensor, and included a far more cohesive story than previous instalments in the franchise. This came at the cost of freedom and exploration, which fans were quick to point out as commercial reception failed to mirror the immense critical reception the game received on launch. It was back t...

Who said console-quality gaming comes at a cost? Nintendo officially unveils the 'Switch Lite', a stripped-back, wallet-friendly alternative to the portable home console we know and love. Following a smattering of rumours that an all-new Switch model was in development, Nintendo officially revealed the Switch Lite this past week to a sea of mixed reactions. Designed as an entry-level counterpart to the surprisingly successful hybrid Nintendo console, this new portable-only system boasts a 5.5-inch screen (down from the standard model's 6.2), revised d-pad, improved battery life and an array of colours available at release; all for $100 less than the original console. Any previous Switch games that support handheld mode (which is most, if not all) are fully compatible with the new model and full range of eShop titles will also be accessible, meaning the commute to work got a whole lot more enjoyable as you are free to explore the vast land of Hyrule, traverse the we...

With the next instalment in the Shin Megami Tensei series, developer Atlus had a mountain of a task ahead of them. Persona 5 is the long-anticipated sequel of 2012’s Persona 4 Golden , which was released to critical acclaim on the PS Vita, thanks to a HD makeover of the PS2 version and the addition of new story elements and characters. Persona 4 Golden is one of my very favourite games of all time, so after a 6-year development cycle spanning 2 console generations I was excited to see what crazy adventure was planned for the series. Set in modern-day Tokyo, Persona 5 tells a tale of teenage defiance and adult corruption. You play as a silent protagonist who has recently transferred to the city after being falsely accused of a crime. Therein you are met by your new carer, Sojiro, and take residence in the attic above his quiet, yet charming café LeBlanc. Once we’ve been formally introduced to the exceptionally well recreated city and some of the kooky characters tha...

*If the title didn't make it obvious, there will be spoilers in this post* After pouring through the vast open world of Rockstar's recent outing Red Dead Redemption II  over the Christmas break , it's hard to recall the last time I was this conflicted over a game's quality. Red Dead Redemption II  released this past September to a sea of perfect scores from review outlets; and while the game's immense attention to detail and drop dead gorgeous visuals are a sight to behold, I constantly find myself butting heads with critics over the amount of praise the end product should receive. As 'hot takes' go, my dislike for the first 'Red Dead' game is a big one. Reviewers and players across the world hailed the romp across New Austin to be one of the very best video games of all time, yet I wore it on my sleeve that Red Dead Redemption simply was not good enough compared to other open world games that came before it. The controls were janky, the ...