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Turn-Based Combat in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Makes a Good Game Better

Back in June, I reviewed Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Like most Obsidian RPGs, it was a masterclass in gripping character work and creating an imaginative setting. But its combat system, a fossil of the Baldur’s Gate era of CRPGs,…

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Reviewing the Telltale Situation

Quin recounts the recent closure of Telltale Games Studio.

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Kratos the Literary Device

A lot has been made of Kratos’ glow up from raging barbarian anti-hero, to remorseful demi-father, and for good reason. The worse things about the God of War franchise always centered around finding justification in a completely unjustifiable man. Maybe…

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Long Live Yharnam

Yharnam had fallen. The wretched, sunken in faces of the public. The roving, mad bands of hunters gone too far, lost to the insatiable appetite and burning rage within them. The blackened buildings of Yharnam lined thick with a heavy…

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Professor RPG: The Alliance Alive Basics Primer

Welcome students, Professor RPG here! Need help understanding the Equipment Fusion system in Tales of Zestiria? Perhaps you would like a more deep dive into the history of Ivalice?  What in the world does the Intelligence stat do in that…

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Trap Adventure 2 is Super Mario Brothers in the Black Lodge

Hiroyoshi Oshiba is a terrorist. We should be meeting in non-descript rooms and drawing up plans to raid the Japanese developer, take him into custody, and answer for the pain and suffering he’s been causing iOS users. Hiro takes glee…

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Possum Springs, USA

Let’s take a trip to Possum Springs.

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Feature: Learned, Lost, & Pained in 1000 Days of Writing

Alex looks back on 1000 days of writing about video games.

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Housemarque in The Myth of Sysiphus

About Best Ofs This article is one of the “Best of Irrational Passions”, meaning it’s featured on our Best Of page. Along with it, we have both a full read-through of the article and a conversation about the article, the writing…

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In Ghosts of Miami, Latino Characters Take Center Stage

Even though it was not my own generation, the pop-culture and colors of the 1980s have always fascinated me. It was those bright blues, hot pinks, and the backdrop of a 1986 Miami that first grabbed my attention when I…

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For the Love of the Game

About Best Ofs This article is one of the “Best of Irrational Passions”, meaning it’s featured on our Best Of page. Along with it, we have both a full read-through of the article and a conversation about the article, the writing…

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Lost Oddities: Need for Speed Underground
Immediately upon reaching the title screen for 2003’s Need for Speed: Underground, there is an intense feeling of excitement and guilty pleasure, as “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz begins to blast from your TV speakers…