By Ronald Gordon

Hello and welcome back to the Roundup! It’s Critics Circle’s way of gathering up the salient news that happened relating to gaming inside and outside of the Circle. This week we’ve got interviews of the people behind Immortality by our talented interns, a God of War: Ragnarok review, a How to on Twitch Streaming, and the resurgence of Online Capabilities in a Monster Hunter game! 

To start us off, interns within the Circle, including me, got the chance to interview the amazing members of the Half Mermaid team, the same people that made Immortality. The interviews themselves were a wonderful experience and each Intern took full Interview Workshops, researched and got to ask their own questions to a member of the Half Mermaid team. I’d highly suggest you give them all a look, so here’s a brief roundup of these interviews.

Wondering what to think about the new God of War: Ragnarok? Harold Goldberg has his own thoughts on the game, mainly praising it but critiquing it all the same in his article on Observer. God of War: Ragnarok continues the story of the 2018 God of War, usually known as God of War 4 because of its placement in the franchise, and does so to a point where people such as Harold might believe others would miss out of they haven’t played it. “I still worry about those who haven’t played the 2018 game. Even though there’s furious fighting, magic and puzzles to distract and engage, there’s nuance from the past story they’ll miss, especially if they don’t pay attention to the walk and talk through eye-popping environs. But those who played and have waited four years for the follow up will be quite satisfied with Ragnarök, its curious or gigantic monsters and its over the top gods who are constantly saddled with human-like problems,” he says in his review, worried and hopeful that those who haven’t gotten to playing God of War will at least have the chance to get a hold of its story before diving into God of War: Ragnarok. 

Next we have Whitney Meers writing an article on a Destiny 2 YouTuber’s extraordinary Solo playthrough. Going by the name Esoterickk, this Destiny 2 player did the unexpected by not only soloing an already difficult challenge called a Master Nightfall, but doing it entirely without the use of any movement keys. Says Whitney, “Here, he relied solely on mouse movements to control his direction, meaning he could only travel in the direction of his camera position. Esoterickk heavily leveraged on Thruster, a Titan Arc subclass ability that allows players to evade laterally while grounded. His Arc Titan Super ability, Thundercrash, allowed him to hurtle through the air. Destiny 2 swords also enable players to lunge, with the Eager Edge perk increasing lunge distance immediately after switching to the weapon.” With her own brand of Destiny 2 knowledge, Whitney explains Esoterickk’s build and how it works for him despite the obvious challenge. Take a look if you’re interested in hearing about someone who figured out how to do the seemingly impossible. 

For those that are looking for good deals on gaming headphones, Jorge Jimenez wrote just the article for you. Published on PCGamer, the list of headphones each come with their own discounts and prices for you to browse if you’re in the market. More importantly, Jorge provides a brief tip to aid in picking out what might best fit your needs depending on sound preference, Bluetooth connectivity, or just general pricing. The whole story further drives home the fact that headphones should cost nothing more than what you’re willing to pay for quality and comfort. 

Christopher Byrd recently published a Washington Post review on a clever horror game called Saturnalia. Featuring four main characters and an unsettling series of events within the Italian town of Gravio, Christopher writes on his experience of the game by mentioning, “Playing it is like putting together a morbid jigsaw puzzle, where the draw is seeing how the pieces fit together.” Saturnalia really wants the player to think about what could happen between the characters, giving all four of them separate quests and allowing you to switch between them. Yet they can also die if you’re unlucky around the game’s central monster. Christopher says, “the creature is no bloodhound and is really only a threat if it corners you.” 

Getting into a serious streaming hobby anywhere online nowadays, especially on Twitch, can be difficult to those who are new to the idea. Yet Michael Andronico seeks to make Twitch’s appeal more open to newcomers with the Ultimate Guide to Twitch and how to get a foundation on the platform. Knowing how popular Twitch streaming has become in the recent years, Michael is sure to warn you that “even with the growing number of viewers, becoming a famous Twitch streamer is not an easy task, especially when you consider the amount of effort and commitment it requires. Of course, there are some lucky streamers that appear to go viral out of nowhere. But in the vast majority of cases, getting there takes years of hard work and dedication.” Twitch fame isn’t an easily accomplished goal, but with the help of the article giving as many tips as it can, getting a start on the platform feels as if it could be checked off the list faster. I’d definitely suggest you check it out if you’re looking to start a streaming hobby/career. It’s a collaborative article between Michael from CNN Underscored and two writers on Tom’s Guide. So rest assured there’s a ton of helpful tidbits on gear and setup, finding your niche, and what you should/shouldn’t worry about. 

When looking for good two player games on the Nintendo Switch to occupy your time with friends and family, Alyssa Mercante brings you the perfect article for this occasion. Focusing mainly on games that are enhanced by having one more player, Alyssa’s list of games is just what you’d need following these coming seasons of togetherness. From classic games such as Super Mario Maker 2 to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, a grand total of 25 different games are listed with their own descriptors to inform anyone about what they can expect a co-op session can look like. “So get ready to jump in with a friend or family member as we take you through our pick of the 25 best two-player Switch games you can play right now,” 

Beyond The Circle

Moving onto Beyond the Circle, a 12-year-old Monster Hunter is soon to have its online servers re-launched by dedicated fans. Monster Hunter Tri, which first came out for the Wii back in the 2010s brought a lot of good with its release. Newer weapons, bigger monsters, underwater combat, but aside from all that a lot of what old players of MH3 loved was the online capabilities which would unfortunately disappear only two years after its initial release. Despite the years passing and newer games coming to fruition, fans of Monster Hunter Tri just couldn’t let go of all that it brought to the table, so instead they decided to reignite the spark they got by re-launching its online servers. While still in a closed beta status due to bug fixes and the like, Monster Hunter Tri is once again on the road to being multiplayer accessible, with the first group hunts in nie years happening through the beta testing. YouTuber flyann 2 covers everything about Monster Hunter Tri and how they loved the game growing up, relishing in the fact that soon enough it’ll be available for groups of veteran hunters to experience the nostalgia of MH3’s multiplayer and how it felt.