The A.V. Club Games

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...

I wrote a little bit about 1490 DOOM and how I think skirmish war games are the answer to a whole lot of problems in the world.

A Shakespearean roguelike and bad times on submarines headline the latest Steam Next Fest Many of the most interesting demos from this latest Steam Next Fest take the roguelike genre in new directions.

Steam Next Fest has become a fixture for discovering what’s on the horizon in the world of games. Here's our guide to the best demos in the latest fest, which starts today. www.avclub.com/steam-next-f...

Move over, Warhammer: 1490 Doom makes miniature gaming accessible With minimal setup and easy-to-understand rules, 1490 Doom is a perfect on-ramp for anybody interested in wargaming with miniatures.

Interested in gaming with miniatures but daunted by collecting all those lil goobers? 1490 Doom is a good entry point for the mini-curious. www.avclub.com/1490-doom-wa...

Transport Fever 3 seeks the cure to our transit woes Getting there is the point in Transport Fever 3, a game about planning and creating transit systems that help your city grow.

Getting there is the point in Transport Fever 3, a game about planning and creating transit systems that help your city grow. www.avclub.com/transport-fe...

Forestrike demonstrates how practice can make perfect failure No artistic medium is better suited to discussing humanity’s natural inclination to fail than video games, as Forestrike proves.

No artistic medium is better suited to discussing humanity’s natural inclination to fail than video games, as Forestrike proves. www.avclub.com/forestrike-g...

Love Eternal can't escape the gravity of its influences There's a narrative and mechanical hollowness at the core of the new psychological horror game Love Eternal that keeps it from liftoff.

There's a narrative and mechanical hollowness at the core of the new psychological horror game Love Eternal that keeps it from liftoff. Our review: www.avclub.com/love-eternal...

10 years later, Firewatch’s critique of masculinity is just a different shade of toxicity Acclaimed upon release 10 years ago and still held up as an exemplar of video game narrative, Firewatch dresses up the same male fantasy.

Acclaimed upon release 10 years ago and still held up as an exemplar of video game narrative, Firewatch dresses up the same male fantasy. www.avclub.com/firewatch-10...

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...

10 years later, Firewatch’s critique of masculinity is just a different shade of toxicity Acclaimed upon release 10 years ago and still held up as an exemplar of video game narrative, Firewatch dresses up the same male fantasy.

Acclaimed upon release 10 years ago and still held up as an exemplar of video game narrative, Firewatch dresses up the same male fantasy. www.avclub.com/firewatch-10...

Will keep thinking about both these games for a long time...which has a lot more value than something slicker and less potent.

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...

In Misericorde, queer love and attraction are weighed down by the cross Misericorde is a sharp visual novel about 15th century nuns that conveys the crushing weight of queer repression.

For Love Week at The A.V. Club, I got a chance to write about the excellent VN Misericorde and how its queer hot mess disaster protagonist struggles against her own deeply entrenched religious beliefs.

Mewgenics is, at long last, a worthy successor to The Binding Of Isaac Mewgenics is, at long last, a worthy successor to The Binding Of Isaac

Edmund McMillen’s cat breeding/combat game is unafraid to give players a middle finger—or the power to break it in half. www.avclub.com/game-theory-...