By Ronald Gordon 

Hello and welcome back to the Roundup, where we gather up articles from Interns and Members alike to give them a blast! The weather is finally heating up now that the sun isn’t being blocked out by weather or an entire eclipse. With that, new games are coming out for the Spring and Summer months, ready to be reviewed. Speaking of which, this time around we’ve got news on the time devouring Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, Palworld which put up a good fight against the ever-present Pokémon regime, an fascinating museum trip through a free point and click game, and so much more!  

If you’re looking for a place to spend countless hours absorbed by the whimsy of a decades-old European book and cartoon franchise, Makeda Byfield says Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is your best bet. “Let this review serve as a warning — Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is nothing but good trouble.” Her review starts off with a very important warning, this game will chew through time like no tomorrow, “I sat down with the expectation of playing for about 45 minutes to an hour. Four hours later, I was still seated with no sign of putting my Nintendo Switch down anytime soon! As a new player who was unfamiliar with the Snufkin/Moomin franchise, there was still so much that drew me in. From Snufkin’s witty and sarcastic dialogue, to the calming and melodic background music, to the beautifully written narrative, Snufkin was a delight to play.” Yet, Makeda doesn’t seem to mind losing time over this lovely game, as she finishes her article saying, “As Spring brings new beginnings in my real life, Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is something I’ll happily embrace and keep playing again and again.” 

As a long time fan of all things Nintendo, Kimari Rennis takes a step outside of the world of Pokémon and into Palworld, a breathtaking mashup of different experiences. Having taken the world by storm with little to no advertising, Palworld accomplished something that many people didn’t believe could happen, it shook things up when it came to the average formula for games focused around capturing and taming powerful beasts. “What is Palworld? The better question to ask is, “What ISN’T Palworld?” Released in early access by indie developer Pocket Pair, Palworld is an open-world, action-adventure, survival, monster-collecting game. To put all those ambitious genres into perspective, imagine a game with a seamless go-anywhere vibe so you can explore, one where you collect materials and food to survive, and craft tools, and weapons to defend yourself from Pokémon-like creatures that inhabit the world around you.” As Kimari mentions, Palworld is not a one note game, it has aspects that anyone can enjoy. From monster collecting and flashy combat to base building and factory management, Palworld does it all while being in early access! 

If you’ve ever wanted to see a beautiful display of art and explore its deeper meaning from the comfort of your own home, you’re in luck! Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is even more than that, as Karoline Castillo-Troncoso puts it in her opening lines, “When experiencing a process as profound as grief, you may find yourself revisiting moments and clinging to objects once associated with what was lost in attempts to alleviate such anguish. Others channel their pain through creative outlets, such as art. And games. Or art in games.” Exploring the paintings of the late Belgian artist James Ensor may not sound like the most engaging game, but as Karoline references in her article, “Please Touch the Artwork 2 not only highlights James Ensor’s innovative artwork, but it also brings them to life; the engrossing puzzle game displays hand-painted masterpieces where players can interact with various objects, spot differences, find hidden objects and repair damaged paintings. Additionally, hints are provided for the player to ensure an easier puzzle-solving experience.” 

Nothing beats a classic revenge story, and as Giovanni Colantonio discovers, Children of the Sun is chock full of revenge in all sorts of gruesome fashions. “There are no righteous crusades here, only bodies.” In his opening paragraphs, Giovanni tells us all we need to know about the grim dark feel of Children of the Sun, which may be exactly what some are looking for in a puzzle shooter. “The violence is uncomfortable, the harsh soundscape is overwhelming, the visuals are creepy. And yet, I’m drawn to the trigger level after level, desperate to find nirvana in a pile of corpses.” I, for one, am enthralled by this description, as Children of the Sun sounds like it may just scratch an itch I haven’t scratched in a while. 

All this talk about the Apple Vision Pro may be overtaking the market on VR headsets, but as CNN’s Imad Khan discovers, the Meta Quest 3 is still putting out major updates that Apple has to compete with. “The Meta Quest 3 received a substantial update that improves the passthrough camera performance and makes it possible to use the VR headset while lying down, Meta said in a blog post on Monday. The update also adds external microphone support and the ability to continue casting the Quest 3 to an external display or TV if you take the headset off for a moment.” From improving camera performance to allowing a user to lie down and use the headset, the Meta Quest 3 continues to make itself a viable option to pursue while the market for VR headsets grows more contested. Yet, as Imad writes, as Meta continues to push for greater improvements, they only benefit more and more from these advances, “The company’s stock recently hit an all-time high of $527 per share and elevated Zuckerberg’s wealth to surpass Elon Musk’s, making him the third-richest person in the world.” 

Stephen Totilo of Game File covers a heart wrenching story about a voice actor who became a game dev, and how it helped with their grief. Going from the voice of Bayek from Assassin’s Creed Origins to one of the devs of Surgent Studios, which has developed the soon-to-be released Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, Abubakar Salim’s story is an intriguing one that started with a very hard loss. “’I think for a while I’ve been trying to figure out how to process my grief and how to kind of get through it,’ he recently told me at a Nintendo-hosted game showcase in San Francisco.“ I realized that, actually, the best way of doing it is not through a film or for a TV show. It is through a game.” Going in depth as always, Stephen tells the tale of Abubakar’s journey through becoming a game dev, a tough road to travel indeed. But it’s one I highly suggest everyone learns about. It could change your perspective on development as a whole! 

Beyond The Circle

It’s that time of year again where NYU Game Center is holding their annual Game Center Incubator Showcase! It’s free an open to the public. Once again showing off the works of their talented students and budding developers, NYU Game Center is hosting the event live on Twitch April 16 and In Person April 18th. From playing through podcasts about uncomfortable experiences in the bedroom to solving a murder mystery through newspaper clippings, NYU wants you to see the works that come from talented individuals who reside and thrive in NYC, one of which being Report on the Death of Robert Evergreen, a creation of the one and only Sarah Granoff, who helped us create a Twine game last year! If you’ve got the time and the interest, definitely check it out! 

Ronald Gordon is a New York Videogame Critics Circle Member & Mentor. He was the first of our writers – or any intern anywhere – to complete an internship at Rockstar Games.

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