The latest in a series of remastered classic videogame looking to build on the appeal of ‘Battle Royale’ titles such as Fortnite and PUBG has led to the emergence of the MMOMCVG (massively multiplayer online maze chase ghost game).
Should a videogame sequel be bigger, shinier and more of the same, or a bold new approach to gameplay and mechanics? The question seems pertinent with the release of the latest Monster Hunter game on Nintendo Switch.
When considering the success that Nintendo has had with the Legend of Zelda series dating back to the 1980s, it is not surprising that developers will have been influenced by the action adventure classic.
However, it is testament to the flexibility of the series that developers are continuing to this day to try and take bold, and not so bold approaches to recreate the earliest Zelda games with some interesting tweaks to gameplay, story and tone.
After 35 years, the Legend of Zelda series remains an important fixture in the broad tapestry of videogames – an icon for digital adventurers. However, after decades of inspiring a range of imitators and ground breaking RPGs, the series is playfully discarding many longstanding tropes and staples to experiment and play around with a host of new gameplay mechanics popularised in everything from Dark Souls to Donkey Konga.
Amidst a range of recent titles seeking to update the classic videogame brawler, Squareblind.co.uk looks at how the simple mechanics of kicks, punches, parries and special moves that are essential to the genre are being subverted to incorporate more nuanced narrative themes and concepts such as unreliable narrators.
There can be real joy in plugging in some beloved old controller or joystick into a modern platformer. But trying to give a modern game with its multiple input and control options a retro, tactile feel is not always easy when you have just six buttons to do so.
JJ Robinson braves the zombified cornfields of digital small-town Americana. Along the way, he finds the experience of going through an 8 year-old game – and especially its sequel – may tell a player way more than is comfortable about who we are in times of strife and trouble, as well as what matters most when the chips are down… Yeehaarrrrgh.
Our final retrospective of gaming in 2020 looked at the concept of anti-football games, online competitive Super Mario and what makes a good videogame forward roll.
Squareblind.co.uk looks at the game that have defined its 2020 with co-op titles such as Risk of Rain 2 sitting alongside more cutthroat distractions such as Monopoly and Mario Party.
For better or worse, we all have to do the best we can in life to get by with what we’re given. Both Dead Cells and Slay the Spire perfectly encapsulate this school of thought with very different styles of gameplay.
