By Ronald Gordon

Hello and welcome back to the Roundup, where we gather up stories from interns and members alike to give them a shoutout! July has ended its end and many events in August are prepping for their spotlight. One that I’m personally interested in is GenCon, a Tabletop Gaming convention happening in Indianapolis. With Dungeons & Dragons reaching its 50th Anniversary, there’s no telling how many games are going to be happening there, but I’m dedicated to covering New York and its various scenes. Along those line, this roundup includes reviews for the Vampiric FPS EvilVEvil, an educational game that brings much more than a learning experience, The Razer Edge and its capabilities, a joint chat about the Xbox 360, a blind gamer dedicated to helping others and so much more!

Newest Intern Alay Polanco has a lot to say about Elden Ring and how beautiful the Lands Between really is. Having played video games as a means to cope with life’s various hardships, Alay took to writing about games more quickly than others and has now found a new favorite game in Elden Ring. “Elden Ring, an action role-playing game which won the New York Game Awards’ “Game of the Year” in early 2023, is almost the perfect game.  From the cutting-edge story to the complex boss fights and the jaw-dropping open world, it kept me engaged and provided plenty of replay value. It also made me realize that a game can be more than just pixels on a screen. It evoked many emotions and made me experience the real rush of how only games can make one feel, exhilarated and engrossed. It also shows that games can be as immersive as a well-made film or book.” Alay‘s words of passion highlight how engaged he is in FromSoftware’s content, and how easily one can get sucked into a world so deep as the Lands Between despite the challenges. “If you want to beat Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree, you need extreme persistence due to the fact that these bosses and NPCs are difficult. This game will make you rage, but it is very worth it. Even if you want to take a break from the bosses, just exploring the varied environments offered me a delight based in discovery.” We’re looking for to more from Alay!

Khloe Wilkerson’s review of Headlines and High Water, shows us something uncommon, an educational journalism game for 6th-9th grade students that still manages to bring an enjoyable aspect to the experience for adults. Games meant to teach lessons or act as supplemental activities for a quiz are mostly uninteresting, leaving plenty of room for the mind to wander as they struggle to keep attention. Headlines and High Water begs to differ however, as Khloe mentions in her review, “As you step into the role of a young reporter amidst this chaos, the game elevates beyond mere storytelling to become a profound journey of trust-building, personal growth, and the pursuit of truth in the face of adversity.” Bringing a more down-to0earth perspective on teaching younger individuals about life, Headlines and High Water doesn’t neglect the fact that its players are people too: “This short, text-based game with a minimal amount of animation is certainly appropriate for middle school students. It imparts valuable skills that are essential at that age. Personally, I find it enjoyable and suitable for students looking to unwind during school hours or as a break after a presentation or project. But it’s meant to be taught in class, too.” 

Jatin Gundara believes that EvilVEvil, a great game with a humble beginning, brings fresh blood to the FPS scene. This shooter has not only proclaimed itself as a “Vampire shooter” but has also garnered Jatin’s interest solely from the fact that an idea with such potential came from Toadman Interactive, a dev team consisting of mostly under 100 people. Says Jatin, “I’ve always been intrigued – moreso in the past few years – by games developed by smaller studios. There’s no doubting the allure of a huge AAA title; some of my favorites in the last year are nothing other than certified blockbusters like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom. However, games with fewer employees, namely without a development team of hundreds, produce some of the most compelling offerings. That’s perhaps due to the fact that their design process is so straightforward and cohesive. EvilVEvil by Toadman Interactive successfully exemplifies how good games can come from a studio of any size.” 

“Immediately, as an anime fan, I was captured by the animation style.” That’s how Karila Warner starts their review of AI: The Somnium Files off. They believe an Anime-esque detective game is too good to pass up. AI: The Somnium Files, a Lookback of an under-reviewed game, is all about piecing together the deeper puzzle behind mystery and murder, all while adding a unique twist to a slightly repetitive format. In their article Karila writes, “My yellow notepad was never far from my side, jotting down anything I thought important to the investigation. Each character – from Boss, a sharp-tongued female and the leader of ABIS (the police authority you work for) to the Yakuza leader, Moma, a suspicious man with an unordinary obsession with teen idols – has unique dialogue that could only have been produced by that person. Even when I had to point and click to trigger actions, I was eager to hear what the characters had to say, even the pointless ones. The investigations were very reminiscent of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, fast-paced and full of hijinks.” For Karila, it’s all about how the depth; Somnium Files fed them so much information that they needed a notepad to keep track of it all. Yet they still craved more, always looking and hunting for the next clue that could solve the case. “Despite being a two-year-old game, AI Somnium: The Nirvana Initiative has something for mystery loving fans and Japanese animation loving fans. I have never played a game that made me want to hold a notepad and pen at my side while I played. I never had to pause a game to solve riddles and wrack my brain for answers. The story and case you are challenged to solve is not your normal murder mystery. There’s futurism and mysticism all wrapped into the whimsical story.” 

At Kotaku, Carolyn Petit and Alyssa Mercante share their thoughts on the Xbox 360, and what we miss 20 years. In a sad bit of downsizing, the Xbox 360 marketplace has been shut down, going the way of the Nintendo eShop and many other online shops and services. Carolyn and Alyssa speak about their experiences with the console, alongside a few other Kotaku writers. Carolyn is quoted as saying, “The first E3 I ever attended was in 2005, with the Xbox 360’s launch still some months out and I have to say, the games I saw on the show floor looked amazing. It’s hilarious to me now considering I haven’t even thought about this game in probably 15 years, but at that time, the game that blew me away the most was probably GRAW.” As Carolyn relives the days of E3 2005, Alyssa remembers the old-fashioned Halo days of the 360, “I had borrowed my high school sweetheart’s original Xbox to play Halo 2 when he went away to college, but not long after that Halo 3 came out, which wasn’t backwards compact. So I went out during my free period in high school (we had an open campus for seniors, you could take your car and leave if you didn’t have class), and drove to a Target where I spent my summer job savings on a 360, Halo 3, and Xbox Live.” The entire article is a great lookback on all that the Xbox 360 had to offer, and I suggest it for anyone who’s looking to have a blast of nostalgia from like-minded individuals giving a now retro console its remembrances. 

“The typically slow summer release schedule for video games has been enlivened by Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, Flock and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, which offer intriguing mechanics while showcasing the need for a healthy community,” writes Founder Harold Goldberg, bringing a stunning triple review for Arranger, Flock, and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, all at The New York Times! Despite how different these games are from each other; they all drew Harold in either with their brain teasing puzzles, their beautiful fantasy worlds, or their beautifully choreographed fighting styles. The most intriguing of which being Flock, which Harold was heavily influenced by because of its cheeriness. When referencing how Flock’s atmosphere is enhanced by its gameplay, Harold writes, “Flock begins with so much positivity and good cheer that I felt I was visiting a fantasy world whose golden rule is ‘Welcome with kindness.; I boarded the back of a long-beaked bird as if it were a dragon and flapped to the Uplands to find Aunt Jane, a zoology professor. She asked me to find scores of avian wonders, none of which attack one another.” Harold proves the most beautiful games often don’t just support themselves graphics-wise, but also gameplay-wise as well.

Luis Aguasvivas felt both familiar and afraid of The endless train stations within The Exit 8. After recently coming back from a trip to Tokyo himself, it felt eerily similar to being lost within one of their many metro stations. “In The Exit 8, the underground hallways of the Tokyo Metro are the labyrinthine setting for this horror puzzle game. It’s advertised as ‘inspired by Japanese underground passageways, liminal spaces and back rooms;. The word liminal is key. In the game, you traverse through an uncanny space toward the exit and, eventually, the outside world. Where is your destination? You don’t even know. All that matters is to get out.” The trick to The Exit 8 is spotting the differences in an ever-repeating hallway. Something’s always going to be different, and sometimes it’s going to be vague and subtle or glaringly easy to figure out what’s supposed to be where. Says Luis, “In my experience, in five minutes of traversing through the hallway, I crossed its entirety over 50 times (this might be a conservative count). So, let’s say that one gets to know the passageway intimately. Eventually, it will be difficult to overlook any anomalies even if you try due to the familiarity one develops.” 

Gaming has advanced so far beyond prioritizing one console, that people like Giovanni Colantonio can go full weeks without touching a controller thanks to the Razor Edge, a handheld console to battle all others. “I had my criticisms of the Razer Edge in 2023, but saw potential in the deceptively powerful Android device. Despite that, I quickly packed my Razer Edge into a closet shortly after I finished reviewing it, where it collected dust. I just didn’t feel like I had a use case that other devices I owned didn’t fill already. That’s changed in the last month; now I’m using it all the time.” Having had his initial criticisms voiced months ago, Giovanni was drawn back to the allure of the Razer Edge thanks to the new Hoyoverse game Zenless Zone Zero, which has since gotten him hooked on not only RPGs, but also the Razer Edge. “Within minutes of booting the RPG up, I remembered why I had reviewed the device so favorably in the first place. It mini-tablet screen is just big enough without sacrificing portability, it delivers high performance on a bright display, and its bundled Kishi controller is a comfortable fit in my hands. It was the perfect way to dive into Zenless Zone Zero, giving me a smooth and uninterrupted experience without giving up the portable play it was designed around.” 

Beyond the Circle

“After Ross Minor was blinded in 2006, he still wanted to play Pokémon.” Wrote Stephen Totilo of Game File, speaking on the talented Pokémon Fan Ross Minor, who manages to be a full-time content creator all while blind. Stephen’s story opened my eyes to Ross Minor and his story of how he lost his vision at 8 years old. Despite this, Minor would still go on to not only become an avid gamer, but a gaming, media and technology accessibility consultant as well to ensure that people like him could still enjoy things like Pokémon and the newest tech despite their disabilities. He’s earned many achievements like the SXSW Award for Community Service to Accessibility, or being accepted into the Game Awards 2023 Future Class, and is still doing more with his YouTube Channel to spread his outreach. If you’d like to know more about him, take a look at his site for all his information! 

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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