The RPG Files

Between this year’s Game Awards and the PlayStation Experience conference, there was no shortage of exciting RPG news. Even among heavy hitters inside and outside the RPG world, what stood out most was a new game from a new studio: Dauntless, the first game by Phoenix Labs. The trailer was stunning but didn’t reveal much. We did some digging and found out how much more there is to be about than art style. Read on for our thoughts!

Some of you may remember LET IT DIE from its announcement trailer a few months back. It didn’t impress the few of you who commented, but the new free to play online ARPG from Grasshopper Manufacture and Gungho Online may be worth your time if you’ve got a PS4. Read on to find out why.

Pokemon is a series that Nintendo doesn’t often experiment with. I mean, sure there are spin off games, but rarely does the main series divert too far from the usual “beat the gym leaders, collect the pokemon” motif. That’s changed with Pokemon Sun and Moon, and it makes for the best games the series has ever seen.

Logic Artist’s is best known for their cult classic RPG, Expeditions: Conquistador. We were able to go hands-on with their promising sequel, Expeditions: Viking. We still had questions by the time we were through, so we got in touch with the game’s Creative Director, Jonas Wæver, who sat down for an interview. Read our preview, then see what Jonas Wæver had to say!

Obsidian Entertainment’s Tyranny casts you as the bad guy. For many players, being evil just isn’t up their alley. Chris is one of those players. He stepped out of his comfort zone to take on the bloody pauldrons and gauntlets of a servant of evil. Read how he made out in this week’s RPG Files!

Why do we play MMOs and RPGs? The answer is no clearer in the United States than this week following a bitterly fought presidential election. This week Chris ponders that question and what games mean to us in the heat of the moment.

Last week, Nintendo unveiled their latest console, the Nintendo Switch. Previously known as the NX, the Switch is smart blend of home console, handheld, and mobile device. Even with the Wii U flopping badly enough to make Free Willy cringe, this is a development we should all pay attention to. Even if you’re not a Nintendo fan, if the Switch takes off, it could change the gaming landscape.

This week Rob dives into the newest Final Fantasy, and no it’s not XV. Is it any good? Read on for his thoughts.

As MMO and RPG players, it’s easy for us to fall prey to tunnel vision. We read websites that focus on those interests and news directly related to our favorite genres. It’s a natural but short-sighted approach to being a gamer, especially if you want any hint of where those genres are about to go. Today, we’re going to look at action games and why they have more to do with the future of RPGs than anything else in years.

Now that Destiny’s last expansion has been out in the wild for some time, it’s safe to say that the game never completely lived up to its promise. Even though the game had some great ideas and some of the best gunplay on Playstation 4, the execution never met the mark, even though it became progressively better over time. Friends, Destiny: The Beta is done. Now it’s time to look forward to Destiny 2 -- especially if you’re a PC player!

We’ve all done it: started an RPG only to find ourselves drawn away by the latest shiny game. With few big RPGs on the horizon, now is the perfect time to dive back into the games you might have left behind. RPGs are notoriously hard to get back into, especially if you’ve been away a while. Here are 8 tips to save you from losing all those hours of investment and starting over.

This week Square Enix released the builder spin off of their Dragon Quest franchise for the west. Is it any good? Read on for Rob’s thoughts on the matter.

Divinity: Original Sin 2, Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Wasteland, Torment: Tides of Numenera… Old school RPGs are in the midst of a renaissance and nothing could be better. When so many games hand you a character and do their best to put you in an interactive movie, these are the games that put the RP back in RPG. Read on to discover just what these games have over their AAA counterparts.

The highly anticipated sequel to 2014’s Divinity: Original Sin has recently released to Steam Early Access. Original Sin 2 has been high on our watch list since it hit Kickstarter last year. Now that the first act is live for player’s worldwide, we sent Chris in for a hands-on. Does it live up to the original so far?

Earlier this month, Studio Wildcard announced their first paid expansion for ARK: Survival Evolved. While undeniably impressive, there’s something eyebrow raising about a “completely finished” expansion for a completely unfinished base game. With 12,000 reviews in the last month pushing the game’s review scores into the negative, Chris shares his take on the questionable actions of Studio Wildcard.