By Kimari Rennis

Hello, Circle members. This is Kimari Rennis, the 15-year-old intern for the New York Videogame Critics Circle, and I will be delivering December’s first round up. As we near the end the year, people are becoming excited for the holidays, its deals, and sales. Some have even let out murmurs of what the game of the year should be.

Without further ado, here’s what’s going on within the circle:

Michael Andronico — Compiles a nice catalog of cheap gaming PC’s for eager gamers. There’s nothing like getting a deal and finally sitting down to play some PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or even getting your hands on some VR. Check out the list here.

Allegra Frank — Participates in Polygon’s game of the year picks for 2017, presenting Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus due to its feminine center. The strength and bravery portrayed by the female characters really sets the game apart from other titles. It’s time to step away from stereotypes and show some independence and power. Allegra Frank’s article can be found here.

Gita Jackson– Gives her opinion on the holiday event for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. What’s worse than having your heart broken by not having enough in-game holiday currency to purchase all the wonderful Christmas decorations? Either spend countless hours grinding or spend money to get what you want. Building snowmen and purchasing Christmas bed sheets have never been so time-consuming. Check out her story here.

Harold Goldberg – Delivers a review on the heavily anticipated game; Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Despite part of his enjoyment being hindered by the “unfriendly gameplay and controls” he was charmed by the characters and lush atmosphere. Even with that, Harold Goldberg will not be returning to the game. There’s a good game deep within Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but its flaws makes it difficult to find. Read his article here.

To coax out some holiday spirit and bring some closure to the year, Harold Goldberg, Sherri L. Smith, Me (Kimari Rennis), Dan Ackerman, and Scott Stein all sat down for a holiday podcast. It was a pleasant conversation filled with holiday memories from the past, merchandise, holiday clothing and closing off with an announcement on the tickets for next year’s New York Game Awards on January 24.

Take a look at the podcast and learn about the tickets here.

Now for the news outside of the circle.

Christian Donlan on Eurogamer, covers the fate of Demon’s Souls when the game’s last servers are shut down for good in February. Although Christian Donlan has not played the game much himself, engaging in deep conversation about Demon’s Souls made him question whether the memorable experiences of the game will fade. With the clever insertion of the concept behind William Henry Fox Talbot’s photography, Donlan compares the fading of Talbot’s photos to the Demon’s Souls fading as well. Check out his story here.

For MMORPG fans, time is quickly running out for a chance to play The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind for free. Along with being free to play for a limited time, The Elder Scrolls Online’s rather expensive DLC is 50 percent off. It’s definitely worth it for the innumerable amount of adventures to be had in this open-world RPG.

Speaking of The Elder Scrolls Online; Bethesda Softworks announces the Return to Clockwork City expansion pack which is now available which is free for ESO Plus members. Ungodly monsters and machines tied together with gears and sheets of metal await the lost city. Prepare yourself for adventure and empty your inventory to fill it with new ancient loot. For those who are interested in The Elder Scrolls Legends, Return to the Clockwork City cards are available for purchase as well.

To top things off, this month, the list of free games on the PlayStation store include Darksiders II,  Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of the Legendary Legends and more. The selection is pretty solid, allowing PSN users to have a VR experience, an action role-playing game, a silly fighting game for the young ones. What a pleasant way to end the year, Sony.

This concludes the first Roundup for December. Happy Holidays, everyone!  Release dates are nearing and prices are lowering. This is prime time for gamers.

Kimari Rennis is a New York Videogame Critics Circle intern, part of our ongoing partnership with Bronx’s DreamYard Prep School.