first impressions
Massively Overthinking: Unfair stigmas that follow MMORPGs
A few weeks back, our team was discussing the intersection of survival sandboxes, MMORPG virtual worlds, and gankboxes - and how hard it is...
SGF 2024: Hands-on with NCsoft’s long-awaited Throne and Liberty, launching September 17
Most of the games I played at Summer Game Fest were more enjoyable than I expected - including Throne and Liberty, which was probably...
SGF 2024: Hands-on with New World’s controversial Aeternum reboot, which is still an MMORPG
How's everyone recovering from all this New World Aeternum news coming out of Summer Games Fest? It's been kind of a confusing time for me, as...
Hands-on with V Rising: PC vs. PS5, multiplayer, and progression impressions
You might think given the last few pieces I've written that I might have a thing for vampires. I vehemently deny this. It is...
First Impressions: Elder Scrolls Online story, not scribing, is Gold Road’s apex
If you followed my series of Choose My Adventure columns from last month, you'll know that I ended up making Elder Scrolls Online my...
Progress Bar: Wayfinder is in a much better place as an offline game
Normally we're the sort of gamers who advocate for more MMOs and multiplayer games, not less. We're also all about games being preserved. Therein...
First Impressions: Corepunk’s MOBA-esque closed alpha was fun – with lots of room to grow
I've got a pretty good poker face, especially when nobody can see my face. So I've been pretty subtle about my excitement for Corepunk...
Second Wind: V Rising’s 1.0 build is a fangtastic revamp of the vampire survival sandbox
It doesn't seem possible that V Rising burst onto the scene almost two years ago, but here we are. I sometimes struggle to get...
Second Wind: World of Warcraft’s radically casual new endgame
Today we're going to be dusting off Second Wind, a column where we revisit MMOs of the past. It's an older column, sir, but...
First Impressions: Gigantic Rampage Edition’s classic Clash mode and the game’s overall plans for the future
I admit that when I was first invited by Gearbox Publishing to get my hands on the resurgent Gigantic, I was mostly awestruck. I...
First impressions: Final Stand Ragnarok is not Camelot Unchained, but it’s a fun romp anyway
At the top of 2020, when City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs first announced Final Stand Ragnarok - called Project Colossus back then - it...
The Daily Grind: Are there any MMOs you waited for reviews before buying?
As someone who spends a not-insubstantial part of my life reviewing games, especially with bigger titles, I know it sometimes feels like wasted time....
Global Chat: What are the top dragons in EverQuest?
If you were pressed to put together a top 10 list of the most famous and infamous dragons in EverQuest, which beasties would you...
Progress Bar: Inside the latest 24-hour pre-alpha test of Pantheon Rise of the Fallen
This past Saturday was when Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen elected to open up its floodgates and let a whole bunch of people into...
First Impressions: Nightingale’s survival and realmwalking blend could make it a stand-out in the sub-genre
Our regular readers know that the survival sandbox sub-genre is suddenly getting very crowded in very short order, which means that the upcoming gaslamp...
Not So Massively: Stormgate isn’t delivering a revolution (yet)
Stormgate's marketing is laser-focused on studio Frost Giant's plan to deliver an "RTS revolution." With StarCraft II still popular but slowly waning as it...
First Impressions: Palworld copied all the right homework to graduate as its own enjoyable game
You know how the back of a box of Hamburger Helper or other boxed dinner mixes encourage you to toss in extra ingredients to...
Fight or Kite: Warhaven’s pre-season 2 is super fun but perilously unbalanced
Update: This column was written before we knew that Nexon has decided to sunset the game in April, unfortunately. Consider this our eulogy and...
A fresh first impressions: Checking out Palia for the first time on Switch
Outside of MMORPGs, life sims are probably the most-played genre in my household. I originally bought Stardew Valley for my wife a few years...
First Impressions: Nexon’s THE FINALS blends the best features of Overwatch, Valorant, and Titanfall
As a true gamer through and through, I’ve played my fair share of games. By now I’ve probably played every genre of video game...
