The A.V. Club Games

Scarlet Hollow and Slay The Princess make branching narrative look easy Scarlet Hollow and Slay The Princess reveal the untapped potential of video game narratives--while also showing why it remains unrealized.

Scarlet Hollow and Slay The Princess reveal the untapped potential of video game narratives--while also highlighting why it remains unrealized. Read @gracemachine.bsky.social on Scarlet Hollow's fifth episode. www.avclub.com/scarlet-holl...

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly confidently retells one hell of a ghost story Thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and skilled storytelling, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly's remake lives up to its predecessor.

Thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and skilled storytelling, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly's remake lives up to the original. Our review: www.avclub.com/fatal-frame-...

It’s-a not you, it's-a me, Mario: Why Nintendo’s heroes and princesses aren’t going steady Sorry, Mario: Peach just wants to be friends. Like other would-be Nintendo romances, the two's relationship is officially platonic. Why?

Sorry, Mario: Peach just wants to be friends. Like other would-be Nintendo romances, the two's relationship is officially platonic. Why? www.avclub.com/nintendo-rom...

It's time for Nintendo to free the RPG geniuses at Camelot from Mario sports games The designers behind some of the best RPGs ever made have spent almost 30 years primarily making Mario sports games. That's got to stop.

The designers behind some of the best RPGs ever made have spent almost 30 years primarily making Mario sports games. That's got to stop. www.avclub.com/mario-tennis...

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly confidently retells one hell of a ghost story Thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and skilled storytelling, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly's remake lives up to its predecessor.

Thanks to its oppressive atmosphere and skilled storytelling, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly's remake lives up to the original. Our review: www.avclub.com/fatal-frame-...

By treating the past with reverence, Resident Evil Requiem loses its profane bite Resident Evil Requiem treats its past with too much reverence, undermining the mystery and blasphemy so crucial to great horror.

Resident Evil Requiem treats its past with too much reverence, undermining the mystery and blasphemy so crucial to great horror. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

Arcades spawned the Resident Evil virus Arcades spawned the Resident Evil virus

Resident Evil Requiem continues the survival horror game's healthy marriage between arcade concepts and AAA depth. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

How many more Highguards will it take for the game industry to change? Highguard is the latest live-service game to shut down almost immediately, causing another all-too-familiar round of layoffs.

Highguard is the latest live-service game to shut down almost immediately, causing another all-too-familiar round of layoffs. www.avclub.com/highguard-sh...

Horripilant is creepy, cool, and the wrong way to build a better idle game Horriplant tries to innovate the idle game by combining it with a dungeon crawler, but the two sides are at war with each other.

Horripilant tries to innovate the idle game by combining it with a dungeon crawler, but the two sides are at war with each other. www.avclub.com/horriplant-i...

How many more Highguards will it take for the game industry to change? Highguard is the latest live-service game to shut down almost immediately, causing another all-too-familiar round of layoffs.

Highguard is the latest live-service game to shut down almost immediately, causing another all-too-familiar round of layoffs. www.avclub.com/highguard-sh...

Arcades spawned the Resident Evil virus Arcades spawned the Resident Evil virus

Resident Evil Requiem continues the survival horror game's healthy marriage between arcade concepts and AAA depth. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

Strategy's an art in the Van Gogh board game The Yellow House The Yellow House turns the tumultuous friendship between Van Gogh and Gauguin into a tricky board game. Read our review.

The Yellow House turns the tumultuous friendship between Van Gogh and Gauguin into a tricky board game. Read @keithlaw.bsky.social's review. www.avclub.com/yellow-house...

Horripilant is creepy, cool, and the wrong way to build a better idle game Horriplant tries to innovate the idle game by combining it with a dungeon crawler, but the two sides are at war with each other.

Horripilant tries to innovate the idle game by combining it with a dungeon crawler, but the two sides are at war with each other. www.avclub.com/horriplant-i...

Strategy's an art in the Van Gogh board game The Yellow House The Yellow House turns the tumultuous friendship between Van Gogh and Gauguin into a tricky board game. Read our review.

The Yellow House turns the tumultuous friendship between Van Gogh and Gauguin into a tricky board game. Read @keithlaw.bsky.social's review. www.avclub.com/yellow-house...

Konami needs to remember that there’s way more to Hudson than Bomberman Konami loves Bomberman, and for good reason. There are other great Hudson Soft games that deserve that kind of attention, too.

Super Bomberman Collection reaffirms the obvious: Konami loves Bomberman. (And for good reason!) There are other great Hudson Soft games that deserve that level of attention, too, though. www.avclub.com/konami-hudso...

By treating the past with reverence, Resident Evil Requiem loses its profane bite Resident Evil Requiem treats its past with too much reverence, undermining the mystery and blasphemy so crucial to great horror.

Resident Evil Requiem treats its past with too much reverence, undermining the mystery and blasphemy so crucial to great horror. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

Photograph from 1994 of David Bowie looking at the CRT screen of a docked powerbook with a screenshot from NOCTROPOLIS superimposed on it, an adjacent laptop also depicts a screen from NOCTROPOLIS of a vampire hoochie. Bowie is biting a nail in anticipation of the coming horrors. Text: Adventure Gamers' Clubhouse #31 / Noctropolis

New for $1 Patrons is the latest Adventure Gamers' Clubhouse!

This time we're looking at the outlandish, inconsistent, problematic, m for mature, and surprisingly fun until it isn't until it is again NOCTROPOLIS.

Join me for some more irrepressible 90s FMV action

www.patreon.com/posts/advent...

Scott Pilgrim EX levels up the series’ beat-‘em-up antics While Scott Pilgrim EX doesn't move the story forward, it's a fun brawler that nails the series' look and tone.

While Scott Pilgrim EX doesn't move the story forward, it's a fun brawler that nails the series' look and tone. Our review: www.avclub.com/scott-pilgri...

Konami needs to remember that there’s way more to Hudson than Bomberman Konami loves Bomberman, and for good reason. There are other great Hudson Soft games that deserve that kind of attention, too.

Super Bomberman Collection reaffirms the obvious: Konami loves Bomberman. (And for good reason!) There are other great Hudson Soft games that deserve that level of attention, too, though. www.avclub.com/konami-hudso...

After a harrowing start, Resident Evil Requiem settles into the overly familiar Resident Evil Requiem begins with survival horror brilliance before a fan service-oriented back half diminishes those highs.

Resident Evil Requiem is at its strongest at its least nostalgic. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

Highguard shutting down permanently next week The raid's over: Highguard, an online shooter that launched in late January, will shut down on March 12 after only 45 days.

Highguard, an online shooter that launched in late January, will shut down on March 12 after only 45 days. www.avclub.com/highguard-sh...

Scott Pilgrim EX levels up the series’ beat-‘em-up antics While Scott Pilgrim EX doesn't move the story forward, it's a fun brawler that nails the series' look and tone.

While Scott Pilgrim EX doesn't move the story forward, it's a fun brawler that nails the series' look and tone. Our review: www.avclub.com/scott-pilgri...

It's time for Nintendo to free the RPG geniuses at Camelot from Mario sports games The designers behind some of the best RPGs ever made have spent almost 30 years primarily making Mario sports games. That's got to stop.

The designers behind some of the best RPGs ever made have spent almost 30 years primarily making Mario sports games. That's got to stop. www.avclub.com/mario-tennis...

Ditching Justin Roiland is the best thing that could have happened to High On Life 2 Ditching Justin Roiland is the best thing that could have happened to High On Life 2

High On Life 2 benefits from no longer being that game where a gun talks to you in the Morty voice the whole time. www.avclub.com/high-on-life...

After a harrowing start, Resident Evil: Requiem settles into the overly familiar Resident Evil: Requiem begins with survival horror brilliance before a fan service-oriented back half diminishes those highs.

Resident Evil Requiem is out today. Read our review. www.avclub.com/resident-evi...

Ditching Justin Roiland is the best thing that could have happened to High On Life 2 Ditching Justin Roiland is the best thing that could have happened to High On Life 2

High On Life 2 benefits from no longer being that game where a gun talks to you in the Morty voice the whole time. www.avclub.com/high-on-life...

March games preview: Getting in shape for Marathon March's new games include Bungie's latest shooter Marathon, anime cyberpunk racing game Screamer, and the return of Scott Pilgrim.

March's new games include Bungie's latest shooter Marathon, anime cyberpunk racing game Screamer, and the return of Scott Pilgrim. Here's what we'll be playing next month. www.avclub.com/march-2026-g...

It’s-a not you, it's-a me, Mario: Why Nintendo’s heroes and princesses aren’t going steady Sorry, Mario: Peach just wants to be friends. Like other would-be Nintendo romances, the two's relationship is officially platonic. Why?

Sorry, Mario: Peach just wants to be friends. Like other would-be Nintendo romances, the two's relationship is officially platonic. Why? www.avclub.com/nintendo-rom...

Battle beyond the stars in the fiddly board game Space Lion The cosmos is getting out of hand in the board game Space Lion: Divide and Conquer, which is too ambitious for its own good.

over at @theavclubgames.bsky.social I reviewed Space Lion, a capture-the-flag game for 1 to 5 players that is very ambitious in its scope but that I thought bogged down under all of its little mechanics: www.avclub.com/space-lion-b...

After a harrowing start, Resident Evil: Requiem settles into the overly familiar Resident Evil: Requiem begins with survival horror brilliance before a fan service-oriented back half diminishes those highs.

Resident Evil: Requiem begins with survival horror brilliance before a fan service-oriented back half diminishes those highs. Our review: www.avclub.com/resident-evi...