Xenogears proves to us all that compromise is not a scary word. It’s something that we should embrace and allow us to get creative with how we tell our stories and present our ideas to the world. So let’s do just that.
Top 15 Movies of 2025
If 2025 was an indicator of anything, it’s that we all deserve to continue allowing art to surprise us, and open our hearts enough for new, unexpected stories to reshape how we think about the world. Here are the 2025 films that did just that for me.
Top 5 Games of 2025
Between the domination of indie developers throughout the year to the sheer variety of ideas posited in many of the year’s best games, 2025 was, in my eyes, a net gain for the overall direction that the games industry is headed on. Here are my top five games of 2025!
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review: Netherworldly Bliss with a Story that Still Underwhelms
I truly hold my gameplay experience of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance with extremely high regard. This game offers some of the best turn-based combat I’ve ever experienced in a game. The game delivers excellent atmosphere that keeps the uniquely SMT twist of grunginess alive and fresh. There’s so much to like in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance that it makes its few shortcomings stick out even more.
Hundreds of Beavers is a Reminder that We Should Just Make Cool Shit
I had fun while watching Hundreds of Beavers - but more crucially, I felt alive. Getting to engage with something alongside others in such a visceral way was the precise experience I needed at this moment in my life.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Review: Musou Action Without Fan Service is Still Good Fun
Age of Imprisonment is a game that is itself imprisoned. Its commitment to tell a canon story and inherit the best (and worst) of Tears of the Kingdom’s mechanics and identity limits its overall potential. That isn’t enough to make the game a disappointment, but it is enough to bring into view the chasm that separates the game that Age of Imprisonment is versus the game it could have been.
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Review: Memories Last, As Does Emotional Spectacle
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is a sweet, tender exploration of the humanistic value of sentimentality and companionship. It’s a remarkably human film, despite its protagonist consistently trying to convince herself otherwise
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: A Turn-Based Marvel Punches Above its Weight, Flaws and All
Not only is Expedition 33 a fun RPG, it’s an unflinchingly courageous one. It tackles ambitious narrative themes, has tantalizingly deep mechanics that lead to boundless customization and player expression, and boasts the production value of a game that has ten times its budget. Expedition 33 punches above its weight in pursuit of a more idyllic landscape for games.
Spirited Away and How its Thematic Density Leads it to Masterpiece Quality
Spirited Away’s thematic density and depth are precisely what elevate it to greatness. Even I, as someone that takes issue with some major elements of the film, can comfortably call Spirited Away a masterpiece because it’s a film that begets looking at the world in so many different ways.
Tron: Ares is Exhilaratingly Cool and Stylish and That's Enough (Review)
Tron: Ares provides comfort through its immersion, and the coolness embedded into the very essence of this movie only further drenches the film in style. It’s enough for Tron: Ares to be a cool film above all else, because such an emotion and style is one that we don’t see much of as a primary emotion elicited in blockbuster films such as this.
Trials of Mana's 2020 Remake Salvages One of My Least Favorite JRPGs (Review)
Cracks of the original game’s shortcomings still manage to reveal themselves in this 2020 update, but Trials of Mana’s remake manages to at least surround those cracks with an armor that’s as pretty as it is promising. Trials of Mana is a promise about the potential of simplicity and how much of a place there is for games that meld simplicity and complexity.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge and the Power of Difference
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge’s commitment to being different is an act of creative bravery - the kind of which we deserve to see more of in video games and beyond. Being different is an essential part of making art and we need to reward and celebrate the instances of game developers choosing to embrace making their games different from what’s come before.
Donkey Kong Bananza Represents the Apex of Creativity that the Games Industry Needs and Deserves More Of
Don’t let the gorilla on the box art fool you - Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the most human games in this moment. Bananza is a shining beacon of what the environment of the games industry can and should be: a fun-filled exploration of new ideas packed to the brim with charm, polish, and clear love from the developers.
Weapons Review: Innovation in Horror Genre Continues with Ambitious, Flawed Structure
Weapons is a refreshing reminder that there are still new ways to tell familiar stories and unfamiliar ways. While this is far from the first horror-adjacent film to tackle a mysterious conflict about grade-school children disappearing, the smart use of perspectives and the judicious blend of thrills, mystery, and dark humor makes for an unforgettable viewing experience.
Sorry, Baby Review: The Uplifting Potential of Connections and the Slow Burn of Trauma
Sorry, Baby is a beautiful case study in the power of telling stories centered on authenticity and a willingness to be grounded. Through its narrative structure showing how one instance of trauma influences different aspects of its protagonist’s life, Sorry, Baby weaves a compelling, believable, funny, and harrowing tale that I strongly believe anyone will enjoy and look fondly upon despite its heavy subject matter.
How Open World Design Can Suppress a Game's Focus (featuring Batman: Arkham Knight)
Making a game work in an open world context isn’t something that can be done by just taking a game and having it take place in a larger, non-linear environment. It takes strong direction to make open worlds work, and even then, there are many instances where an open world is simply incongruous with realizing a game’s greatest potential.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R Review: A Beautiful yet Imperfect Blend of Old and New
Star Ocean: The Second Story R is short and sweet thanks to great pacing, unique mechanics, and fun if unambitious combat, yet it still retains a lot of artifacts that reveal its age - many of which arise from the game’s lacking story, characters, and dungeon design. This game embodies the snappiness and visual splendor that I’d truly like to see more of elsewhere in the JRPG genre.
Mario Kart World, P-Switches, and Why Micro-Challenges Make for Great Bite-Sized Game Design
Illustrating what a game’s entire design looks like in a relatively short amount of time goes a long way at convincing the player of a game’s mechanical depth and diversity. Micro-challenges help accomplish this. Through creating brief snippets of game design that compartmentalize and test different mechanics, players can get introduced and brought up to speed with various facets of a game without ever being bombarded with multiple mechanics at once.
It's Time to Rewrite the Narrative About Turn-Based RPGs
We need to rewrite the narrative about turn-based RPGs. Instead of being a genre often obstructed by the scary possibility (as perceived by some publishers, at least) that turn-based games inherently sell less because they’re perceived as outdated by the gaming masses, we should instead be celebrating and empowering developers for having the courage to make the games they truly want to make.
Wolf Children Review: An Examination of the Value of Empathetic Multiculturalism
Through utilizing fantasy elements to illustrate the importance of teaching future generations of their cultural backgrounds, Wolf Children tells a story that feels as deeply moving and informative as it feels entertaining and fun. Wolf Children holds within it a perfect balance of humor, heartbreak, and emotional erudition.