2019’s Game of the Year Winners

When searching for games to add to your collection, it’s always good to check-in with the five major industry award shows. The following games received “Game of the Year” honors in 2019:

    The Game Awards: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
    GDC Awards: Untitled Goose Game
    DICE Awards: Untitled Goose Game
    SXSW Gaming Awards: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
    BAFTA Games Awards: Outer Wilds

A complete list of all winners and nominees can be found below. Continue reading

Viz Media Will Publish Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania Compilation in Late 2020

Viz Media and Nintendo are teaming up to release the Super Mario-Kun manga series in the US for the first time.

Published in Japan’s CoroCoro Comics magazine since 1991, Super Mario-Kun will make its stateside debut as part of Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania, a 160-page compilation of “handpicked” story arcs from throughout its 30-year run:

Experience the zany world of Super Mario Bros. through manga!

Join Mario and pals in crazy adventures inspired by the hit video games! This collection of short stories showcases the fan-favorite characters of the Super Mario Bros. world in new, unconventional and hilarious ways. Handpicked from years of Mario comics in Japan, this compilation has never been available in English—until now!

Writing on Twitter, a spokesperson for Viz Media said that Super Mario Bros. Manga Mania would be available in Late 2020.

God of War: Fallen God is an Upcoming Comic Series That Fills in the Story Between GoW3 and GoW2018

Kratos spent decades wandering the world in between the events of 2010’s God of War III and 2018’s God of War. Rather than leave this story untold, Sony Santa Monica is teaming up with Dark Horse to give fans a glimpse at part of his travels in an upcoming comic miniseries.

Told over four issues, God of War: Fallen God will be written by Chris Roberson, with artwork from Tony Parker (artist), Dan Jackson (colorist), John Roshell (letterer), and Dave Rapoza (covers):

Can a man ever be free of his past? Can the tides of time ever wash away the bloody sands of sin? Or do transpired trespasses permanently and inescapably stain one’s soul?

God of War: Fallen God follows Kratos after conquering Zeus and thwarting Athena. Believing himself to be finally free of his bondage, he sets sail for the desert in an attempt to distance himself from his home and his shame only to find his rage and guilt follow close behind. Kratos rages against the one foe that has proven to be unconquerable—himself. But a war against oneself is unwinnable, and only invites madness.

The first issue of God of War: Fallen God will be available on June 24, with a collected edition sure to follow sometime after its conclusion.

Square Enix Will Summon Two Final Fantasy VII Artbooks to Bookstores This Fall

After more than a half-decade in development, Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s launch date of April 10th is finally in sight. But Square Enix also wants to give fans the chance to delve deeper into the highly-anticipated RPG, so they’ve partnered with their Manga & Books imprint to produce a pair of artbooks that go further behind the scenes.

Priced at $24.99 apiece, Final Fantasy VII Remake: World Preview and Final Fantasy VII Poster Collection were designed to “celebrate the iconic characters, massive world, and beautiful visuals” of Final Fantasy VII Remake:

Final Fantasy VII Remake: World Preview, releasing on September 8th, is a lavishly illustrated, full-color introduction to the world of the beloved game. The hardcover volume offers both new players and long-time fans essential information on characters, gameplay, and more, in addition to exclusive commentary from Director Tetsuya Nomura and Producer Yoshinori Kitase.

Final Fantasy VII Poster Collection, shipping on November 17th, is a collection of 22 full-color, premium-quality removable posters celebrating the game’s rich legacy, with images depicted from the world of Final Fantasy VII, including Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will launch “first” on the PS4, and a demo of the game is currently available to download through the PlayStation Store.

Reporters Without Borders Opens The Uncensored Library in Minecraft

Reporters Without Borders has launched “The Uncensored Library,” an Open Server for Minecraft that houses articles from journalists that have been banned by governments around the world.

The non-profit organization discussed the purpose behind their latest project in a blog post on their official website:

In many countries, free information is hard to access. Blogs, newspapers and websites are censored. Journalists get arrested and have to fear for their lives.

Such censorship lets many young people grow up in systems with almost no access to independent press. Their opinions become heavily manipulated by governmental disinformation campaigns.

But although the youth in those countries differ from ours, they do what young people all around the globe do: play video games. Minecraft is a favourite – one of the world’s most successful computer games, with more than 145 million active players every month. Here communities can build entire worlds out of blocks, experience the freedom of an open world. Its creative mode is often described as “digital Lego”. In these countries, where websites, blogs and free press in general are strictly limited, Minecraft is still accessible by everyone.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) used this backdoor to build “The Uncensored Library”: A library that is now accessible on an open server for Minecraft players around the globe. The library is filled with books, containing articles that were censored in their country of origin. These articles are now available again within Minecraft hidden from government surveillance technology inside a computer game. The books can be read by everyone on the server, but their content cannot be changed. The library is growing, with more and more books being added to overcome censorship.

Reporters Without Borders recruited 24 builders to create the library in Minecraft. They designed the building in neoclassical architectural style and spent more than 250 hours placing the more than 12.5 million blocks used in its construction.

Review Roundup – Dreams

Like Super Mario Maker and LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule’s Dreams is a game creation tool that allows players to create their own interactive worlds, and share them with other players. But instead of the side-scrolling platforming featured in those two games, Dreams gives players a much larger canvas to play with, encompassing “games, music, art and everything in-between, and beyond.”

Dreams has been available to download as an Early Access title through the PlayStation Store since last April, and in that time, the game’s community’s has filled the “Dreamiverse” with a huge selection of custom creations. And last week the developer launched the full version of Dreams for the PS4 through the PlayStation Store and as a retail disc release.

Critics have been extremely positive about the possibilities offered by Dreams and they had a lot of good things to say about it… Continue reading

Review Roundup – Darksiders Genesis

The Darksiders franchise first launched in 2010, and over the last ten years it’s told an apocalyptic tale about the end of days across three interconnected games. Now, publisher THQ Nordic and developer Airship Syndicate have expanded the game’s world with a prequel, Darksiders Genesis, for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Unlike the third-person camera found in the numbered entries in the series, Darksiders Genesis is an Action RPG with a top-down viewpoint that should conjure up comparisons to Diablo. But Genesis isn’t an exact copy of Blizzard’s franchise (which, coincidentally enough, also revolves around an apocalyptic battle between humans, angels, and demons), and players will instead find a game more focused on big brawls with various demons and some light environmental puzzle elements.

Will this spinoff receive the same warm welcome that Darksiders and Darksiders II got? Or does it track more closely with the muted response that critics gave Darksiders III? Would you believe that it’s both… Continue reading