Florence introduces us to Florence Yeoh who lives her daily routine, spending time on social media, working, calling her mother, brushing her teeth, and going to bed, until one day, she stumbles upon Krish, a cellist. This short love story grapples the gamer with a comic-strip scroll of images that details us of their adventure together, with each chapter changing with how you interact with the environment. Due to the short length of the game (roughly 45mins-1hr), it serves more as a quick escape from the usual triple-A games that suck us in for a whirlwind of emotions and narratives. What Florence does accomplish with this time constraint, is the ability to convey stronger emotions to the gamer through its use of storytelling interactions. I always felt like I was more than an observer in this relationship, and rather was the third party helping one another along with its trials and tribulations. The use of color in this game is what stood out to me the most, becau...

                     Mafia: Definitive Edition   is a fantastic narrative driven by the cab driver, Tommy Angelo, who quickly gets wrapped up in a series of (un)fortunate events leading up to his new job as a Mafia soldier under the Salieri family in the city of Lost Heaven. This game is full of adrenaline, with tommy guns blazing and high-speed chases. The game is set in the decade of the 1930s, with Tommy making his rounds, until, (as old Mafia fashion would have it) chaos ensues. This game shines in not only its great storytelling and voice acting, but the visuals are remarkable (in the cutscenes, anyway). This game had me hooked until the moment I started playing, and may I mention, I was glued to this game, beating it in only two sessions of playing it.                     I didn't get to play the original game when it was first released in 2002 on PC or...

      Tell Me Why   is hopeful in its approach to match its successful predecessor Life is Strange, and in some ways it does, but for the most part, it doesn't seem to ever hit the same. We follow Tyler and Alyson through their journey to piece together their past using their telepathic powers, to find out the truth about who their mother really was during their childhood. To Tyler, she seems to be more insatiable, but Alyson seems to make her out to be more forgiving, but what version is the truth? That'll be up to you to decide.     The biggest draw factor of conversation for the game, is the discussion of Dotnod's decision to make one of their protagonists (Tyler), transgender. I think it was a smart move to make, considering that there needs to be more inclusion of the LGBTQIA community in media, if we are ever going to reach wide acceptance. There are a few consequences within the story itself that complicate the decision, such as, referring back to Ty...

BLAIR WITCH: A DREADFUL SUSPENSE     My time with Blair Witch caused me to initially react with estrangement and boredom, as the navigation system throughout the woods, left me with no progression whilst exploring the landscape. It's overbearing sharpness on the screen caused a jarring motion blur that ultimately I had to turn off due to its compensating techniques for graphical precision. After some configuration and a few steps in the right direction, that's when the game finally hooked its teeth into me.     Although the beginning was a rough start, I was persistent to see it through, due to its higher reviews from other publications. And man, oh man. By the time the ball starts rolling, you are in for a roller coaster ride that is a straight shot into dreadful suspense that never leaves you until the credits roll. There are seventeen chapters of running through the woods, hoping to not get mutilated by whatever is controlling this PTSD nightmare, but it is never-...

      Love. That's how I would describe The Last of Us Part II, in both gameplay and in narrative arcs. Controversy has surrounded the title, from people's expectations not being met, to fans thinking the game focuses too much on a political agenda, but beyond the bullshit that it gets, it will still serve to be a historical trademark for the PS4 generation. So what is it that makes this game so special?        The love is powerful. Narrative and character development is the core of this game, with Naughty Dog striving to create relationships that will leave you both full of vitality and heartbroken from start to finish. After 26 hours of gameplay, I found myself encapsulated by the environmental landscapes that the game offers as a breath of fresh air from its intense gameplay. Its weapons, similar but with a few new features; Ellie's enemies, stronger, and the NPCs, personable.      Its most compelling feature is the new character des...

In recent news, the topic of strenuous hours has risen once again to discussion for revision. In the gaming industry, it is well known that industry workers are overworked to the point of making sacrifices outside of their career lifestyle. Although, services are provided to compensate for the amount of hours put into the work of perfection for their consumers, it is starting to seem more like a bribe than a fair trade. With developers and artists leaving companies like Naughty Dog for the overwhelming circumstances that they are faced with   when producing new and innovative titles that have high expectations like The Last of Us Part II, will future games be faced with the questionable standards that make a game as great as its nominations?  The obvious answer is that the cycle will continue, because as technology advances with the correlation of instantaneous gratification, it will be hard to find a balance that meets both consumer happiness, and fair work polici...

In the growth of the past 30-40 years, we have seen video games create a monstrous industry devoted to consumers. Esports have evolved to multi-million dollar competitions with such games as Call of Duty and Fortnite. With the continual innovation of this industry, it begs the question: Is this too much for the sense of a hobby. Controversies surrounding the genre have battled numerous health reports, in-house controversies such as sexism, over-worked employees, and even the attempt to define a video game disorder for those who play too much. Although the sensible answer would be to use it in moderation, it can not always be the case for those who professionally seek a career either working to create or play these games for profit. Should excess playtime be reserved for those who profit from such avenues, or should they be held accountable for the same consequences? Even if they were exempt from such scrutinies, what about those who grind their time trying to join them in the f...