The true value of Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed is not a good game. I know this and I accept this. Infamous is not a good game. I know this, yet I want to get into a discussion with anyone …
Stick It to the Man (PS4)
There is an exact moment when Stick It to the Man (PS4) becomes a great game instead of merely staying a good one. Without spoiling too much, the moment …
No Man's Sky and Zelda tease freedom
The first trailer of No Man's Sky was already tempting. A lush planetary environment and a quick traversal from surface to outer space in your personal …
Destiny beta musings
Destiny never had its pedigree work for me. Back at the start of the century, Halo: Combat Evolved was a first-person shooter that finally had sensible …
Muramasa Rebirth (PSV)
Often when talking about games that are not so good, the following line is uttered: "It's such a repetitive game…" I've even used this phrase and its ilk …
The frightening future of virtual reality
A few weeks ago I attended the first Dutch VR Meetup at the Rockstart-headquarters in Amsterdam. As the name indicates, the meetup was completely focused on …
Axiom Verge (PS4)
Axiom Verge has been released for PS4 and with it, metroidvania is suddenly one of the most talked about genres. Still, it's not just praise that Axiom Verge …
Improv in the 'Lab
I’ve seen BoJack Horseman. Both seasons. So the idea of doing improv theatre was... a bit awkward. Still, I’ve played enough Dungeons & Dragons to know …
Child of Eden (PS3)
Back when motion controls were something new for video game consoles, Tetsuya Mizuguchi announced Child of Eden for Xbox 360 with Kinect support. It was …
When Nintendo stopped talking to its players
When Metroid Prime was released it was heralded as something of a miracle. So many years after Super Metroid, nobody thought Nintendo would release another …
Gamification? Use 20 card game learnings instead
Mark Rosewater, of Magic: The Gathering design fame, provides a one hour talk from GDC 2016 about 20 years of working on the collectable card game. To me …
Ingress VS. Pokémon Go: Location Monsters
Having played Ingress for a few years, people were kind of surprised that I held out until the official launch of Pokémon Go in the Netherlands to try it. Yet, …
“They told me I could be anything in VR, so I became myself”
Back at the start of the millennium, the online world was just recovering from its first bubble. But amongst the various train wrecks of businesses grappling …
Why did design cross the flat road?
Skeuomorphism is dead. It’s been dead for so long that we don’t really notice its absence any more. That said, I can still remember the Battle of Gloss, the …
Xbox-as-a-Service VS. muddled PlayStation messaging
After the somewhat awkward presentation of the PlayStation 4 Pro a lot of people were understandably confused about the future of PlayStation. Was this aimed …
Are nerds the problem?
Well, this is awkward. Most core gamers know of the Gamergate group, its ties to the alt-right and the sheer indecency and awkwardness it brings along. But …
Samurai Warriors 4 (PS4)
For many years people have watched Koei’s Warriors/Musou series of games and collectively shook their heads at it. So how could Samurai Warriors 4 possibly be …
Super Metroid's teachings
If you're making a game that breaks from convention, set that expectation early and show the player — force them to understand — through level design how yours …
Nioh (PS4)
It has taken a suspiciously long time before anyone attempted to emulate the success of Demon’s Souls and its offspring the Dark Souls series. Only two years …
Axiom Verge, looking back
It was some time ago that I claimed Axiom Verge to be Metroid 5. It wasn't until this weekend that my brain finally accepted it as a new 'home'. It's something …