Of all the games that were released in the first quarter of the year, the one I was the most excited about was Night in the Woods . For some reason the game called to me even though I knew next to nothing about it. I found out I enjoyed the art direction and game concept from a few screen shots, one preview video, and an abstract from the studio’s website. It looked like it contained everything I love about a game: story, deep themes, and action, but I had no idea how personal the story would be to me. NITW is a side scrolling adventure game that takes place in a crumbling blue collar town called Possum Springs. The town is based off the real world rustbelt cities in the U.S. that have seen jobs move overseas, crime rise, and infrastructure decay. Interestingly, the citizens of Possum Springs are not human, but instead animals. You play the game as Mae Borowski, a cat punk rocker, bass playing, college dropout who moved back home. Your friends, Gregg, Bea, and Angus catch you up ...

I was going to take this post to discuss a few of my favorite games from this past year but instead I thought it might be a better idea to look forward instead of looking back so I am going to write about two new games I am looking forward to playing in 2017. For Honor is a new game in development by Ubisoft that utilizes melee weapon combat and puts you in the role of either Vikings, Knights or Samurai. The three factions are in perpetual warfare with each other and it is the player’s responsibility to bring victory to your chosen faction.     The most interesting aspect of the game is its unique combat system. Instead of using basic inputs such as hitting one button to slash and another to do a power attack, the system utilizes the control sticks to mimic something close to real sword duels. It allows for one on one combat to be a guessing game of what your opponent will do next. Move the stick slightly to the write and you will parry an incoming blow, but move it ...