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An in-game screenshot of StarVaders. It depicts the game's combat screen. A wave of alien invaders descend downward through a tile-based grid. Two long snake-like aliens prepare shots that go straight forward and down two diagonals. Many of the invaders have blue shields around them. The player controls a red robot at the bottom of the screen by choosing from one of a few cards shown in their hand.

REVIEW: I never want to stop playing StarVaders

StarVaders burns bright and is no flash in the pan. I can't stay away from it and neither should you.

Nate Hermanson

May 21, 20257 min read

The key art of Every Day We Fight. Three soldiers stand on a pile of rubble, each wearing a yellow band somewhere on their body to signify their team. Two floating orbs and a giant monolith loom behind them.

Mini-Preview: Every Day We Fight feels like the evolution the turn-based tactics genre needs

More active than the usual tactics game, but in a way that preserves why people love the genre.

Nate Hermanson

May 7, 20256 min read

The key art for the game Despelote. A photograph of a city is tinged with a dark pink tone while black and white line art of kids playing soccer on the street is overlaid. There is a black and white flag of Ecuador, a group of people sitting around a TV in plastic chairs, and various other people milling about.

REVIEW: Despelote's part-game part-documentary speaks to the power of sports in community and simpler times

Ecuador, 2001: A boy, a ball and a country on the cusp of greatness.

Nate Hermanson

May 5, 20257 min read

An animated GIF of Wanderstop. It starts with a sword flying through darkness before cutting to the main character Alta wincing and shaking her head on a bench. She's got white hair done up with a yellow bandana and what looks to be a black leather jacket. It cuts to serene shots of nature and hanging pots before cycling again.

REVIEW: Wanderstop's therapeutic and tactile tea-making brought me to tears

Walked a chamo-mile in Alta's worn warrior boots.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 29, 20258 min read

An in-game screenshot of Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. A man with short brown hair who wears a green t-shirt and a black bulletproof vest stands with his hands at his sides and he speaks nervously to a tiny raptor with a pistol. Their conversation goes: "Freeze!" "You freeze! I've got a gun!" "OH MY GOD YOU TALK."

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 - A matchroidvania RPG about a fake game series represents the rage of an entire industry

When passionate folks fight for the marvelously strange ideas, for the oddball characters, and for match-3 games, a clever little project like Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 just might make it to your PC against the odds.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 22, 20257 min read

An in-game screenshot of Promise Mascot Agency. It depicts a conversation between Pinky, the severed finger, and Tofu, a giant block of Tofu. Pinky says: "We're all about making dreams come true and if your dream is to make a difference in people's lives and crush old men under your boot, we're here to help."

REVIEW: The stray mascots of Promise Mascot Agency gave me hope we'll survive 2025

The last place I expected to find hope for the nightmare year that has been 2025 is in the giant sparkly eyes of a severed pinky. But that's just the kind of world we live in right now.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 10, 20258 min read

An in-game screenshot of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza. On the deck of a pirate ship, various crew members pose for a photo. Some cross their arms, some raise a fist in glory. In the front, the game's protagonist Majima points at the camera. Next to him, a young boy stands with his hands at his waist, and his father stands next to him in a backwards cap raising his fist. A baby tiger sits off to the side as well.

REVIEW: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the definition of a side story... and that's not a bad thing

Being a pirate captain for a "short" 40 hours in the Like a Dragon universe is a dream I never knew I had.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 7, 20258 min read

A collage of key art images for four roguelike games: Ballardo (pool balls soaring on a green background), Desktop Survivors 98 (a "Clippy-like" sword with eyes on a desktop background), Wordatro (a lined paper background with star-shaped stickers), and Maze Mice (mice running from menacing cats with blue orbs floating near).

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: Seeking the next Balatro amidst four unique roguelikes

Four Steam Next Fest roguelike demos that'll hook anyone who loves to survive enemy hordes or make number go up.

Nate Hermanson

Mar 2, 20257 min read

A collage of two images: The key art for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown and the key art for Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion III.

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: These two demos prove Strange Scaffold both never stops working and never misses

They have cooked once again — twice again, actually. Demo impressions from Strange Scaffold's Steam Next Fest offerings.

Nate Hermanson

Mar 1, 20256 min read

An animated GIF of Wanderstop. A woman with medium length white hair is tied up with a yellow band. She pulls on a lever that pours out a bright pink liquid into a teacup below. The liquid overflows out of the cup and drains into the grate below.

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: 40 minutes with Wanderstop had me doing too much self-reflecting

Uh oh. It's my face reflected back to me in that cup of tea, isn't it?

Nate Hermanson

Feb 28, 20254 min read

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REVIEW: I never want to stop playing StarVaders

Mini-Preview: Every Day We Fight feels like the evolution the turn-based tactics genre needs

REVIEW: Despelote's part-game part-documentary speaks to the power of sports in community and simpler times

REVIEW: Wanderstop's therapeutic and tactile tea-making brought me to tears

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 - A matchroidvania RPG about a fake game series represents the rage of an entire industry

REVIEW: The stray mascots of Promise Mascot Agency gave me hope we'll survive 2025

REVIEW: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the definition of a side story... and that's not a bad thing

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: Seeking the next Balatro amidst four unique roguelikes

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: These two demos prove Strange Scaffold both never stops working and never misses

Steam Next Fest '25 Mini-Preview: 40 minutes with Wanderstop had me doing too much self-reflecting

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