In the last few years my brain has gravitated towards gaming systems as experiences. Similar to the deck-builder Dominion, a fantastic feedback loop sometimes makes for just as compelling a game experience as the deepest story.
And then there’s Balatro: A simple card game that is already my 2024 Game of the Year. It’s also one of the most maddening gaming experiences I’ve had in a while.
Balatro, you’re perfect. Balatro, you’re the worst.
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By and large, I’ve stopped bringing up my profession in social situations and polite conversation. This isn’t to say that I’m embarrassed about being a journalist — and a games journalist, at that.
Hey, how are you?
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Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE should’ve been the easiest thing in the world to get right. Continue reading
I’ve cried two days in a row.
Call it stress, repressed nerves, or too much time to think, but I think at this point I can say that I’m not handling my post-Ohio life and current unemployment all too well. Continue reading
Tired, dripping with sweat, and feeling somewhat vacuous, three thoughts entered my mind as Kyle, Rachel, and myself shut the storage container door. Continue reading
I have a confession: the Dark Souls 3 tutorial area boss killed me 15 times before I achieved victory. Continue reading
After months of speculation and a stream of glib, defensive sarcasm on part of WWE fans, we all have to finally admit that Daniel Bryan has retired from professional wrestling.
There’s a finality to that reality that wrestling fans simply aren’t used to. Such closure is uncomfortable, a squirming feeling that comes from an inability to tune in next week and see what happens next.
As fans wrestling fans we’re trained from the beginning to expect a payoff to come later. There’s always next week. A new episode of RAW. A new cycle to begin; a never-ending parade of emotion, fisticuffs, and twenty minute promos.
Perhaps that is why so many people were insistent that Bryan’s retirement had to be a story line. After all, everything else has been up for grabs as story material, even the “death” of Vince McMahon.
Alas, the show is over and the American Dragon has left the spotlight for the last time. Continue reading
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