As an adult, more importantly as a parent, what I find silly is that while writing this review I found myself debating the principles of film. I find it pretty significantly comical that I almost wrote about this movies adherence to the three act structure, or the fact that I wanted to measure its necessity in the larger universe of Minions films. The reality is that this movie was made for children, and as someone who got to watch it in a room full of children, they loved it.

FAR: Changing Tides, the follow-up/sister title from the small team at Okomotive, is another one of those titles that I found deep resonance with. It seems, somehow, that the Zurich-based indie studio managed to bottle lightning twice. Games are art. Art is inherently political. The FAR games stare right into environmental disaster, and then through that lens tell tales of survival, endurance, and the relationships we have with our machines.

I love stealth games. They are my absolute jam. I’ve been an Assassin’s Creed acolyte from the beginning and Splinter Cell rests firmly atop my list of favorite franchises. The industry isn’t flooded by this genre, but there are a fair number of quality contenders. The Dishonored games are a tour de force, I love the critically mixed Deus Ex prequels deeply, I only play Far Cry with my knife and bow, Ghost Recon is a kind of comfort food, even in Uncharted 4 I avoided combat in favor of being a sneak. Why is there so little stealth multiplayer?

Only a week ago I wrote about the constant search for the perfect co-op game. While that search is never ending, I do believe that we’ve come one step closer. Second Extinction hit Game Pass on Wednesday, April 28th. The early access (Game Preview) title, on Xbox, pits up to three players against mutated dinosaurs in a post-apocalyptic action shooter. Imagine Turok and Deep Rock had a baby and you’re well on your way.

In the last 10 years that pattern is increasingly, for me, built around competitive or cooperative multiplayer. Yet, despite the amount of time that this trend has sustained itself, the experiences that exist all fall into well tread and familiar genres. Overwhelmingly we get shooters. After a year of playing cooperative games with my family, we have all begun to notice that what we’re looking for, somehow, doesn’t exist.

The last few months have been...rough. That’s putting it mildly. It’s been a full year now since I quit my job at GameStop, a full year of pandemic lockdowns started, and four months since the birth of my son. A heaping spoonful of good added to a stew of less than ideal.

PlayStation exclusives refined themselves this generation. They are heightened storytelling experiences with a tremendous amount of good writing, jaw dropping visuals, and reimagined mechanics. Have they been a consistent wellspring of innovation? No. But then neither has prestige television. It’s a familiar system, twisted and turned, made to look fresh. And it’s perfect, and learning.

My family plays video games together, online. We recently introduced my daughter, Cara, to Sea of Thieves, a game, Ben and Caleb, my son and grandson (Cara’s son) and I had played countless hours before. Sea of Thieves with three generations of family members, aged from 28 to 67! Recently we sailed off of the known map into a region called The Shroud, with only a journal and a talisman to guide us.

NerdyBits EIC Caleb Sawyer got a chance to talk with some of the devs responsible for Coffee Talk. Join them as they talk about their inspirations, motivations, and of course their favorite drinks to order at a coffee shop.

Playing Outer Wilds prompted a mental reaction I have never had before. Somewhere in the space between planets, as I sought out the clues to solve this rapidly decaying universe, I found the answer to a question I never asked. All the time I spent with this game was fraught with tension and trepidation until I knew what I was meant to do; A lesson with surprising connections to one’s journey through life.

When I was a kid, in fact, when most of us were kids, our options for games to play were limited. I still remember planning out what game or two I would have for summer break. There is so much out there to play, so many things to discover, you should never feel like you have to like something. Someone out there is making your favorite game. Maybe it’s already out!

People connect emotionally to their games. Sometimes that emotional connection is peace in a tumultuous world. Sometimes that connection is a new reason to live. For the next adventure. For the next quest. For the next moment. Sometimes that connection goes unnoticed until someone else puts context to content.

Just before the Super Bowl rumors started stirring. Vince Zampella had been abnormally active on Twitter in the last week, streamers were talking about trips to California, in the days leading up to the weekend keywords were being tossed in the air. Free-to-play, Battle Royale, Titanfall. All of them interesting separately, but together, a potentially amazing surprise. Then, during the Super Bowl, Vince sent this tweet: