Wordsmith's Anvil

  Image courtesy of Don't Nod Entertainment It's rare that a game will captivate me so thoroughly and profoundly. If you have already been here before, then you're probably well aware that I play quite a bit of games. From the ugly to the gorgeous, the trash to the glorious, they can cover the entire range of the gaming spectrum. Banishers is a game that is very clearly on one side.   Don't Nod's venture into the New World focuses on two characters who are as intertwined and in love as can be. Red Mac Raith and Antea Duarte are married in every sense of the word, as long as the word doesn't involve church bells and priestly ceremonies. They work together as banishers, a name given to those who expel ghosts and conquer hauntings in exchange for a bit of coin. They don't have Dandelion singing for everyone to toss a coin to their nearest banisher, but in this version of the 17th century they don't really need him. Everyone is well aware of what a banisher ...

  Images courtesy of Thinking Stars Cyberpunk has been something of an obsession of mine since before I even graduated high school. I discovered Blade Runner as a teenager while flipping through the channels and landing on AMC, and that's pretty much what did it. I knew Harrison Ford well from Star Wars , knew Ridley Scott from Gladiator, and the Vangelis soundtrack was one of the many that my parents owned and threw on the CD player plenty. Hook, line, and sinker. I was in.       Blade Runner is my all-time favorite film to this day.     With that in mind, anything that comes out in the cyberpunk genre captures my attention. ANNO: Mutationem is no exception. I was intrigued instantly by the combination of graphics, pixels and otherwise put together by a Unity engine, as well as the aesthetics of the setting.     In ANNO , Ann Flores is an investigator who works for a private firm that receives contracts from the local police. She handles eve...

  Images courtesy of Out of the Blue Games Since I started delving into reviewing games I've tried to branch out a bit from my typical genres. I've always been partial to RPGs above all, but action games like Ghost Recon or adventure titles like Tomb Raider have always been fun too. Then there are more narrative-driven games like The Last of Us or hack n' slash action like God of War . Call of the Sea might never have turned my head in the past, but there is definitely a place for peaceful puzzle games like this one that Out of the Blue developed.     Call of the Sea tells the story of a young woman hoping to find her husband on a remote island some 74 miles off the coast of Tahiti. Henry, the husband, went there with the intention of finding a cure for his wife. Our protagonist has an illness that has not only placed concerning dark spots all of her hands, but has rendered her somewhat immobile through exhaustion. As the exploration of the island continues, however, the ...