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PAX West 2024: Ender Magnolia balances beauty and brutality, just with fewer difficulty spikes | Interview with Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Ender Magnolia publisher Binary Haze talked to us about the "oppressive and dark, but still beautiful" Metroidvania releasing winter 2025.

Nate Hermanson
Sep 16, 20246 min read
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REVIEW: PS2-era horror lives again in Hollowbody
Hollowbody’s blend of PS2 horror mechanics and modern-day anxieties is a different breed of scares.

Nate Hermanson
Sep 12, 20247 min read
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REVIEW: Revenge is a dish best served bloody in I Am Your Beast
I Am Your Beast is a bold statement from a team known for making bold statements.

Nate Hermanson
Sep 10, 20249 min read
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PAX West 2024: Dread Delusion's James Wragg talks about making the retro RPG I couldn't put down
Talking about crafting difficult choices for players and a weird world ripe for interesting lore with Dread Delusion's James Wragg.

Nate Hermanson
Sep 9, 20245 min read
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PAX West 2024: Heartworm is a standout in DreadXP's buzz-worthy indie horror lineup
Catching up with DreadXP, Heartworm, and the team behind this Silent Hill-inspired retro indie horror game.

Nate Hermanson
Sep 8, 20245 min read
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Early Access Check-in: The '90s are back in Fields of Mistria's community-driven farming sim
Checking in on the 40+ hours of content available at Early Access launch for the farming sim Fields of Mistria.

Nate Hermanson
Aug 11, 20248 min read
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REVIEW: The Crush House shows the cracks in reality (TV)
REALITY GONE WILD (GONE SEXUAL) (GONE CHORBY) (ALL FUN)

Nate Hermanson
Aug 9, 202410 min read
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REVIEW: This game slaps - Thank Goodness You're Here
The laughs come easily in this 2-3 hour "slapformer" where British humor reigns supreme.

Nate Hermanson
Jul 31, 20247 min read
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REVIEW: Find community through cooking in the surprising Metroidvania, Magical Delicacy
Magical Delicacy's world is like a comforting bowl of soup, although some of its systems seemed at odds with its laid-back, cozy nature.

Nate Hermanson
Jul 16, 20248 min read
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SGF 2024 x Steam Next Fest: Breaking our minds with these puzzling Steam Next Fest demos
For those eternally chasing the enigmatic: our four most-loved puzzle games of Steam Next Fest 2024.

Nate & Glory
Jun 24, 20246 min read
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SGF 2024 x Steam Next Fest Mini-Preview: Preteen angst has a name and it's Tabitha Bones - This Magical Girl is a B☆tch
Tabbie is definitely listening to Simple Plan in the hallways. Sulky kids get access to magic. What can go wrong?

Julie Cooper
Jun 15, 20244 min read
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LudoNarraCon Mini-Preview: Fishbowl looks to be an emotional story of loss, loneliness and finding the joy of life through it all
Fishbowl's LudoNarraCon demo gives a look at a heartfelt slice of life, centering connections across distance, coming of age, and loss.

Rincs
May 12, 20244 min read
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Playdate's Pulp stirs up creative juices and makes game dev accessible
We talked with AlternateHamlet, George Banks, and Ron Lent about how the easy-to-use Pulp engine can make a game dev out of nearly anyone.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 30, 20249 min read
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REVIEW: Lucas Pope's silly community center work sim Mars After Midnight demands to be let into your Playdate library
Lucas Pope's 'Papers, Please-lite' for Playdate is all alien community-building charm.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 27, 20247 min read
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REVIEW: Life Eater is Strange Scaffold's most twisted game yet (and they made a black market organ trading sim)
Being a weird little freak behind my computer screen because god told me to.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 16, 20248 min read
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REVIEW: Harold Halibut is a grand artistic achievement and a humbly quiet adventure
A story about feeling different than the people around you and struggling to find purpose in a world that tells you what your purpose is.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 15, 20248 min read
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REVIEW: Botany Manor is an accessibly cozy and surprisingly defiant escape room puzzler
Botany Manor: Gently compelling and seeded with cleverness.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 10, 20247 min read
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REVIEW: Death Trick: Double Blind has more twists and turns than a high-flying acrobat
A slow burn of a mystery — full of surprising warmth, misdirection, tension, and surprise.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 4, 20247 min read
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How the Playdate's crank reignited my passion
This little box with a crank is full of some of the most creative bits of game design I've seen in years.

Nate Hermanson
Apr 1, 20244 min read
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REVIEW: Capitalism's a drag in the work-work balance simulator CorpoNation: The Sorting Process
CorpoNation's gameplay bravely toes a line between fun and total drudgery (on purpose) in this dystopian corporate world.

Nate Hermanson
Mar 25, 20247 min read
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