Category: Critical Pieces

Looking Back (and Forward) at the Success of Vampire Survivors

It has been about four years since the release of Vampire Survivors blew up the indie space, created the “bullet-heaven” genre, and developers have been chasing after its success. With the latest DLC inspired by Castlevania, I jumped back …

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The Struggles of Studying Game Design

It’s a new year and that means it’s time to once again ponder the nature of game design. Given all the YouTubers, streamers, and now even professors teaching design, you may think that the act of studying games has become …

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The Marvelous Monetization of Marvel’s Contest of Champions

I’ve talked a lot about big names in the mobile and live service space: Digital Extremes, Grinding Gear Games, and of course the entire Hoyoverse. But there is one other game that has been one of the longest-lasting in the …

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Prince of Persia’s Accessibility is Inaccessible To Some

At the Game Awards, it was easy to blink and miss the award for best accessibility feature in a game for 2024, with the winner going to Prince of PersiaThe Lost Crown. You may be hard-pressed to …

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Crafting the Creep of Creeper World

The Creeper World series has been a different take on RTS design over the years, focusing on fighting back an unending force known as the creep. With the fifth game moving to a different style and returning to 2D instead

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