Tag: author_name|Jessica Conditt

Children of the Sun brings FPS puzzles to Steam on April 9

Children of the Sun is a bullet-bending puzzle game set in a trippy world of cults and revenge, and it's due to hit PC via Steam on April 9. In Children of the Sun, players line up a single sniper shot and then control the bullet as it ricochets among…

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ULTROS and the palette of surreal sci-fi

Game design is a daring and dangerous endeavor for Niklas Åkerblad, who creates under the name El Huervo. When he describes the artistic process behind ULTROS, a neon-speckled platformer set in a demonic cosmic uterus, he talks about pushing against the sharp edges of introspection and sanity, drawing from wells…

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GLAAD’s first annual gaming report is here to tell us how gay games are

“The game industry is out of step with contemporary media in terms of LGBTQ representation, and it is failing its LGBTQ customers.” This sentiment has felt true for years, and now the statistics in GLAAD’s first annual gaming report prove it. The media watchdog and LGBTQ advocacy group today published…

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What’s up with the ‘toxicity’ around Cities: Skylines II?

Cities: Skylines II developer Colossal Order has a uniquely close relationship with its community. The original Cities: Skylines came out in 2015 and gobbled up the audience that was left behind by EA’s SimCity, which came out in 2013 and was a busted mess. Cities: Skylines scratched that urban-planning itch,…

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Open Roads preview: Bring me to life in 2003

I own a jacket that’s eerily similar to Tess’ in Open Roads. It’s a blue bomber with yellow and burnt orange accents, and it’s not the only thing that Tess and I have in common. As she leisurely explores her childhood bedroom in the first few minutes of the game,…

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2023 was a year of layoffs and acquisitions | This week’s gaming news

Welcome back to our weekly gaming news roundup. As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back on 12 months of massive change for the video game industry, driven by acquisitions, layoffs and unionization. You can read my story on consolidation for more on gaming's tough year. This week’s…

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