By Ronald Gordon

Hello and welcome back to the Roundup! It’s a column made with the purpose of gathering stories from Critics Circle members and interns alike to give them props for the hard work. This time around, we’ve got news on Pokopia’s wholesome fun, the simple addictiveness of Titanium Court, Mixtape’s purposefully unlikeable protag, the secret company behind many online multiplayer games, Fallout secret history uncovered, Subnautica 2, and so much more! 

To start us off, Tina Lam found herself sucked into Titanium Court, an addictive Match 3 game! It has some of the simplest play you can find, which reminds Tina of the mobile giant that is Candy Crush, and luring her in a similar way. The only thing that got her to stop playing was the music, which creeped her out to a degree she never expected. Tina shares a funny story as she writes, “One time, I was playing the game while doing homework on the side and forgot that I had the game open. Just as I was about to rip my hair out while studying for my upcoming test, I slowly turned to the side when I heard these chilling tunes come out of my computer. And guess what I did? Like the respectable person I am, I took my things and bolted right out of my room. Yep, I did all that over the irritating game music. But I swear I didn’t know the music was coming from the Court. I genuinely thought my computer was hacked and some ghost was out to get me.”

“As Pokémon fans desperately await news related to Winds and Waves, it is up to the newly released spin-off titles to hold them over. Pokopia falls right into this niche!” Local Pokémon expert Isaac Espinosa adores Pokémon’s latest life simulator, Pokopia! It’s going to be a long wait until the next Pokémon game, but fans like Isaac aren’t being left high and dry just yet. To fill the gap left behind after the release of Scarlet and Violet, fans can explore and cultivate an island full of other Pokémon as a Ditto who pretends to be human. This was more than enough to catch Isaac, who shares his thoughts as he writes, “As you revitalize more parts of the island, the more Pokémon begin to spawn in more suitable habitats. And that ends up leading perfectly into one of Pokopia’s most addicting gameplay loops. By bringing more Pokémon towards your island, not only does your Pokedex fill up, but you also gain numerous new allies to help with building new habitats for them to live. This includes having Squirtle teach you Water Gun in order to help dampen the dirt around you, learning how to surf with Lapras or rolling with Graveler, and then transforming to do so!”

As a Fallout aficionado, Ashley Bardhan can’t help but talk about the rediscovery of GURPS Fallout, a nearly forgotten version of the Fallout TTRPG. Fallout may be one of the biggest game franchises out there, but it didn’t always have an identity of its own. A long running tidbit about the original Fallout game was that it was initially designed around the framework of the Generic Universal Roleplaying System (GURPS), a cult classic tabletop system. While this was changed during the final stretch of development, Ashley brings news from co-creator Timothy Cain, who somehow found notes on the original framework. 

Ashley mentions the strange circumstances surrounding this discovery as she writes, “Interplay had Cain destroy his archive of the project after he left the company, and the developer apparently misplaced the separate archive Cain handed over before shipping Fallout in 1997. But that’s in the past – Cain finally has some proof of the elaborate wasteland GURPS Fallout, and he’s eager to share each exhausting detail.” If you’re interested in hearing all about what Fallout could’ve been, definitely check out Ashley’s article! 

Mixtape is the brand new sensation that’s sweeping the nation, but Giovanni Colantonio wants to remind everyone that you’re not supposed to like its Main Character. Many of the reviews for Mixtape have a lot to say about how freeing and fun the game is, and many more have insults and inquiries reserved for its protagonist Stacey Rockford. While she may seem like a boisterous teen with a head too big for her shoulders, Giovanni reminds readers that this is all a part of the plan. Characters need flaws, and Rockford’s flaw is her own ego, which Giovanni mentions as he writes, “That read is correct. Rockford is a selfish snob who condescends to everyone she meets — including the player. She’s not terribly sensitive about her friends’ personal lives and seems more interested in forcing them to listen to her favorite songs than hearing what they have to say. Though not quite the monster that Saros’ Arjun Devraj is, ‘unlikable’ is a fair descriptor. But here’s the thing: that’s the point. Through Rockford’s sullen demeanor, Mixtape reminds players that they don’t need to throw out the things they love just to escape something they don’t. That’s how meaningful memories get reduced to hollow nostalgia.”

Harold Goldberg, NYVGCC Founder and former music critic, had a different critique for Mixtape in his New York Times review; there wasn’t enough time to listen to its soundtrack. After spending time with Rockford and understanding the deeper parts of her character, absorbing the melancholy of a life on the brink of change, Harold just wanted a few more moments with the game’s music. He laments the songs being linked directly to the game’s progress as he writes, “Forced to direct the action, it’s a chore to feel the song’s essence, its groove, its hook. It would be glorious to have a stand-alone soundtrack, or for a chapter’s song to play by itself like a race replay in Mario Kart.”

Stephen Totilo had an talk with Wolfjaw, a company no one knows, but many need. If you’ve played one of the myriad online multiplayer games out there and engaged with their online shops or even used their voice chat features, you have Wolfjaw to thank for the experience. As a company that solidifies an online experience’s backend, Wolfjaw does a lot of work to make the games you can play with your friends functional, but they’re also one of the few making the effort. Stephen spoke with founder Matt Patterson, whom he quotes as he writes, “‘The problem is no one at those studios actually wants to do this,’ Patterson told me, when we met at the DICE conference in Las Vegas earlier this year. Well, it might be a problem for the studios. It’s an opportunity for Wolfjaw, which for about a decade has been specializing in this kind of work.”

Beyond The Circle

Subnautica 2 has finally entered early access after a long wait, and fans can expect there to be much more content on the horizon. After the dumpster fire that was former publisher Krafton trying to short the original Subnautica developers, much to the detriment of the next game’s initial development, Subnautica 2 is finally available to the series’ hungry fans. Even more good news, Christian Vaz of PCGamesN brings a road map of future updates, straight from developer Unknown Worlds themselves! If you’re interested in what exactly Subnautica 2 has in store for its plethora of players, check out the road map! 

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.

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