New York Game Awards and GG! Fest tickets (which includes the big, Supergiant Unplugged concert) are now available! Get them before they sell out!

By Ronald Gordon

Hello once again and welcome back to the Roundup, a column created to highlight the work of Circle’s members and our many writing interns! It has been a long time coming, as the Circle has gotten the ball rolling towards the 15th Annual New York Game Awards! This week, we shine the light on Isaac’s Pokémon Legends Z-A essay, Aeth’s dip into the world of Friends Vs Friends, Khloe’s interview with the team behind Anno 117: Pax Romana, Karoline’s Static Dread review and how it bewitched her, Final Fantasy Tactics as Ryan’s first tactical RPG, and more! 

To start us off, I’d like to highlight the beauty that was Game-A-Palooza, an event put together by IGDANYC to highlight the talented New York-based indie game devs of today. I had a blast seeing the various games out there, and enjoyed talking with developers of all kinds even more. What I wound up taking away from the event was a mountain of insights and positive thoughts on how the indie space looks for NYC-based devs, and I couldn’t have been happier. Give it a read if you’re interested in some of the best games to come out of NYC! 

Khloe Wilkerson did something amazing (as per usual) and conducted her first ever solo interview with the devs of Anno 117 Pax Romana. Anno has been a staple of real time strategy games since 1998. Each has captured a small piece of history in the most grounding way possible. The newest installment takes players to the times of the Roman empire, allowing them to build and maintain gorgeous cities and engage in the lost art of trade and commerce. Khloe does a fantastic job pulling thoughts from creators Manuel Reinher, Haye Anderson and Stephane Jankowski, so be sure check out the full article! 

Aeth Finch says Friends Vs Friends is a breath of fresh air when it comes to team based FPS games, throwing card mechanics and whacky shenanigans into the mix. In a short and sweet review, Aeth shares his thoughts as he writes, “Friends Vs Friends is different. It’s an FPS that’s based on, to put it simply, fighting friends. The game’s art style is one that is colorful and cartoonish, with each character having a unique design based on an animal. Characters like Moose Salto, who moves swiftly with their double jump, Duck Anderson with his healing power, and Ribberto Mullington, who copies what passive your opponent has, give the game personality and lovability. Maps are small and bright, without being too compact. They’re designed in a way to keep the action between players fast and close, making every fight feel personal.” Friends Vs Friends is a lot more than just an FPS, it’s a zany experience meant to rekindle the joy of such games, and does so in a way that surprised Aeth – in a good way. 

Resident Pokémon expert Isaac Espinosa speaks volumes on Pokémon Legends: Z-A, beginning his thoughts with tantalizing questions, asking rhetorically if it was all worth it in the end. Legends Z-A takes players back to the familiar locale of Lumiose City from the earlier X and Y games, but adds brand new areas, more diverse characters, and a real time battle system. Intern Serenity Cruz‘s original artwork highlights this awesome new game.

Isaac pours his thoughts onto the page about the battle system, opining, “This excellent ability adds a completely different layer to Pokémon battles that was never present before. With each move now on a cooldown timer instead of having accuracy, you need to be wary of which moves will lead you to victory. Do you go for powerful attacks that may take longer to recover from? Or do you use weaker moves that have faster cooldowns and have more combo potential with other attacks? In addition, moves that have repositioning effects like Dragon Rush, Heat Crash, or Fly, have the added benefit of avoiding the oncoming attack if you time it right! Combine this with the bombastic return of Mega Evolution, and that’s an entirely different layer of play to add onto battles. This game redefines how to play Pokémon in such a unique and interesting way, it’s unironically some of the most refined gameplay that the franchise has ever seen. And during the fraught sparkle nighttime, when you have the opportunity to face off against numerous trainers, the Z-A Royale experience never grows boring or tiring.”

While many fans may not have liked the game, Isaac sees Legends Z-A as a step in the right direction for the franchise, ending with a hopeful note as he writes, “Through channeling that untapped potential of the Kalos region, I believe that Pokémon has created a game that not only did that region immense justice, but can hopefully rebuild the reputation of this beloved Nintendo juggernaut.”

Come to the New York Game Awards on 1/18/26 to see Pokémon get our lauded Andrew Yoon Legend Award.

Karoline Castillo-Troncoso doesn’t do horror, yet Static Dread: The Lighthouse practically mystified her with its plot in a compelling way. Her thoughts begin with a warning as to how the game might grab you, stating, “In and of itself, this game’s spooky essence isn’t evoked by a typical jump scare (although they are included). Instead, it evokes horror as part of the setting’s isolation and loneliness — and the uncertainty of what’s lurking in the shadows.” Inspired by Lovecraftian horror and the fear of what’s beyond, Static Dread doesn’t rely solely on classic horror game staples to put the player on edge. Instead, it preys upon one’s instincts when faced with solitude, channeling the natural jumpiness that comes with being alone. Even something as simple as dialogue can stick with you, as Karoline writes, “A line that I thought was particularly eerie was, ‘The lighthouse isn’t your property, and it sure as hell ain’t your home.’ This phrasing reigns true; oftentimes, players are left feeling uneasy and unwelcome – whether it be through uncanny voices heard through the radio or creepy individuals knocking at the door late hours into the night. They beg to come in and then assure me that I’ll regret not doing so — which doesn’t necessarily leave one with a warm and fuzzy feeling!”

Executive Director Ryan O’ Callaghan shares his thoughts on the brilliantly infuriating Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, a remaster of the original from 1997. Despite being a long time RPG voyager, Ryan hadn’t yet played any of the tactics-based line of games out there. Ryan laments Ivalice Chronicles being his first step into TRPGs, speaking about the grueling battle style when he writes, “As a novice of Tactical RPGs, FFT has been a true struggle. Though the battle system is your standard turn based (no time crunch), the complexity of the battle area turns it into a mix of chess and Final Fantasy. Each turn allows for movement and attack/ability. Each attack/ability has limitations to distance. So placing your character in the right spot is key, both offensively and defensively.” Even with important battles taking him nearly 20 tries to beat, Ryan still enjoyed his time in FFT, enough to crave another battle, ending his review stating, “The more I played, the more I saw the game as a series of puzzles, difficult, but not impossible. Even as I stand at my desk now, there is an itch in the back of my brain thinking about the next battle to come.”

Alyssa Mercante tells tales of a sad day for education. The Game Awards’ Future Class has come up short. What was once meant to be a massive innovation for the industry has now been discontinued, leaving the attentive eyes and ears of those who wanted something new wondering just how the Future Class could fail. Alyssa brings the facts of the matter to our attention, offering up not only careful research but also the disheartened testimonies from Future Class attendees.  Dianna Lora, for instance, shared her thoughts over video call, stating, “‘We were effectively props,’ game producer Dianna Lora, who was inducted into the first Future Class in 2020, said over video call. ‘Once we got to the Game Awards (most people flew in from other countries, which was expensive), we showed up, and it felt like we were pushed to the side door … We found out later that Keighley had a party in another room with all the influencers and industry people. You know where Future Class met that day? At a Starbucks.’”

Times are changing and Michelle Ehrhardt offers her thoughts about the end of the original Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s breakout console coming to the end of its shelf life. The Switch 2 has so far sold over 10 million consoles since its debut earlier in June, pushing Nintendo consoles to the front of everyone’s mind, thanks to all of its capabilities. While the original Nintendo Switch is selling alongside its newer version, Nintendo has announced that they’d be shifting focus to prioritize the second iteration. Michelle helps to clear up any confusion, writing “That doesn’t mean the original Switch is being discontinued right away, but despite the latest Pokémon game having come out for it just half a month ago, it does mean the system is getting prepped for retirement. Despite the Switch’s success (154.01 million lifetime sales so far!), the transition makes sense. That console is eight years old at this point, and was already using older hardware than that when it came out. Continuing to make the latest first-party Nintendo games compatible with the original Switch as well could hold Switch 2 development back—and with such a large player base having upgraded to the Switch 2 already (the successor system has sold 10.36 million as of Sept. 30), the company probably doesn’t see it as necessary.” When it comes to consoles, perhaps numbers matter most, and the Switch 2’s success signals that greater focus should be put on what’s recent rather than what’s dated. Michelle encourages fans to not give up on the Switch 1 just yet, writing, “If you’re as stubborn as me, that means you can probably hold off on a Switch 2 until 2026, but to play Nintendo’s big new releases after that, you’ll need to move on.”

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

---