Summer reissue: It’s the third most streamed game in the world, but what the hell is it? Sam Brooks dives into the world and the many, many memes of Among Us. First published November 9, 2020. So what the hell is Among Us? The party game Mafia, but with aliens, basically. Among Us is a … Read more
It was all set to be the biggest game of the year, but Cyberpunk 2077’s release has been overshadowed by technical hitches and multiple controversies. Sam Brooks reviews. Before you talk about actually playing Cyberpunk 2077, there are a myriad of other things you have to talk about first. More internet ink has been spilled … Read more
In the mood for some good old fashioned pillaging? Then play Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. But if you want to have a good time while doing so, probably look elsewhere. As a New Zealander who hails from a different colonised nation, it should be some weird kind of reverse revenge fantasy to colonise Britain. To do … Read more
It’s the third most streamed game in the world, but what the hell is it? Sam Brooks dives into the world and the many, many memes of Among Us. So what the hell is Among Us? The party game Mafia, but with aliens, basically. Among Us is a multiplayer game for four to 10 players, … Read more
The new generation of gaming is almost upon us and Microsoft is first out of the gate with the release of the of Xbox Series X on Tuesday. It’s big, it’s powerful, it’s packed with impressive new features – but is it worth shelling out $800 for? Lee Henaghan took it for a test drive. … Read more
The Playstation 5 is Sony’s hotly anticipated entry into the new generation of gaming. How does the big unit fare? The first thing you realise about the PlayStation 5 is that it’s one big boy of a console. If you saw this console walking down the street, with its white armour and flashing lights, you’d … Read more
Rebecca Wadey writes for Ensemble on the meditative pre-bed puzzle routine that has helped her through a messed-up year. My obsession with jigsaw puzzles started innocently enough, as most obsessions do. Initially it was a means to get off social media, and the inane scrolling one does discreetly while their family are watching yet another … Read more
Did you pull off a kickflip this past weekend like it was nothing? You shouldn’t be surprised, because games and memory are linked much closer than you think. If you’re a millennial who had access to a gaming console in the late 90s, chances are you played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. And chances are you … Read more
While musically and visually on point, much-anticipated indie game No Straight Roads is all sensory overload and little substance. I’ll give No Straight Roads one thing: I’ve never played a game where the title screen music was so good that even when I quit the game, frustrated, it lured me back in. No Straight Roads, … Read more
Do you like cute dogs? Do you like cute people? Wellington-based Starcolt Studios’ first game, Best Friend Forever, might just be the one for you. When you think game studio, you picture dark rooms with menacingly beeping black machines with Tron blue lights, not a lovely office that shares a floor with a counselling service. … Read more
Another PS4 exclusive, another game about the cost of violence. Sam Brooks reviews Ghost of Tsushima, the last big exclusive of the console. A lot of gamers have been calling for a game like Ghost of Tsushima since Assassin’s Creed started moving into different time periods and locations across the globe. They wanted an Assassin’s … Read more
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway. The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron Man’s shiny, red-bronze suit-hands … Read more
The use of zombies in video games is getting the world’s most inventive artform stuck in the mud, ready to have its brains eaten out, Sam Brooks writes. The Last of Us. Resident Evil 7. Days Gone. State of Decay. Metal Gear Survive. Dying Light. The Evil Within. 7 Days to Die. The Last of … Read more
It’s one of the most influential games of all time, but where does its legacy sit now? Sam Brooks on what many call the best game ever, Deus Ex. The opening level of Ion Storm’s Deus Ex doesn’t look especially appealing to the modern-day gamer. The colours are so muted it’s like you turned the … Read more
The greatness of The Last of Us Part II lies not in the gameplay, but for the conversations it will start, writes Sam Brooks. Major spoilers for The Last of Us follow, but no spoilers for The Last of Us Part II. In the seven years since the release of The Last of Us, the … Read more
A new first-person photography game set in a dystopian Tauranga under lockdown is the best work of Māori science-fiction this decade, writes Dan Taipua. Umurangi Generation is a first-person photography game set din the shitty future. Designed and developed by Naphtali Faulkner (aka Veselekov) the game has you move about a futuristic Tauranga and surrounding … Read more
A bill is currently being read in parliament that could radically shift employee rights in the screen and gaming industries. Mickey Treadwell writes on the implications of the bill. On March 3, the innocuous sounding Screen Industry Workers Bill quietly passed its first reading. The bill, which has garnered little attention outside of game development … Read more
For the last two months, Animal Crossing’s gentle version of agrarian economics has taken over our gaming consoles, and the internet at large. Sam Brooks looks back at the game that became a lockdown sensation. Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out for the Nintendo Switch on March 20. In the two months since, I’ve never … Read more
The cult 90s classic Sakura Wars is back after 15 years in hibernation, but has gaming left this dating sim granddaddy behind? Sam Brooks reviews. Sakura Wars, a series which debuted in the 90s, revolves around an army captain who is assigned to a secret unit in the Japanese military, comprised entirely of women who … Read more
After five years, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally appeared. Sam Brooks reviews the highly anticipated remake, looking back while leaping forward. Remakes have been around so long as we’ve been making art. We’re used to them, whether they’re new retellings of old myths, covers of old songs, or complete reimaginings of old films. … Read more
The debate over whether games can ever be considered a legitimate art form has been raging since the days of Manic Miner. Now Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the latest title to try to tip the balance. Lee Henaghan travelled to San Francisco for a hands-on preview. Can video games ever be … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Media Molecule’s Dreams, the game that allows you to turn your dreams into (virtual) reality, and share them with a likeminded community. Throughout my teenage years, I had dreams that my teeth would fall out, or that I had loosening teeth on the verge of falling out. Recently, these dreams of teeth … Read more
A few weeks ago, Final Fantasy VII superfan Sam Brooks got to play five hours of the new remake. He interviews the game’s director, Yoshinori Kitase, and reports back on why the game isn’t just a remake, but so much more. The opening moments of Final Fantasy VII are hard to forget. We pan across … Read more
The minister of economic development is trumpeting news that gaming is on track to be a billion dollar industry in New Zealand. Meanwhile Dean Hall, CEO of Dunedin-based gaming developer Rocketwerkz, is waiting for the government to do more than issue glowing press releases. When the NZ Herald spoke to me about the lack of … Read more
On its 20th anniversary, Sam Brooks looks back on The Sims, the safest space for an entire generation of gamers. Over the past two decades, The Sims has turned from a quirky life simulation experiment into one of those games that even non-gamers know about, and might even play from time to time. It’s a … Read more
Summer reissue: Sam Brooks digs into his childhood to present his magnum opus: a ranking of all 151 OG Pokémon. This post was originally published on 20 April, 2019. You can see the scrollbar at the right side of your screen. Let’s just get into this, shall we? Opinions are, as always, my own and … Read more
Summer reissue: A few years ago, deep into middle age, Britta Stabenow found solace in the world of gaming. Now she’s part of a passionate community: those who love, and collect, video games. This post was originally published on 27 June, 2019. I’ll always be a video game collector, that will never change. But the … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Gris, the stunning game from Devolver Digital that gamifies and makes beautiful that one universal process: grief. A girl lies on a massive stone hand. Her world is full of colour – radiant reds, bruised blues, yearning yellows. She opens her mouth and sings in a high fluttery soprano, and seem to float … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the latest generation of the Pokémon games which finally hits the big-ish screen. “I love Pokémon but I wish I could play it on my TV.” I’ve been playing Pokémon for 20 years and that’s been the main thing I’ve heard from my fellow Pokémon friends/fans. The games have been engrossing, addictive and entertaining … Read more