Ys II - "What's All Ys, Then?"

Japanese role-playing games - or JRPGs to their friends - are perhaps one of the most inaccessible genres to the uninitiated. The most common crime they commit is enforced grinding, as players have to circle a patch of tall grass or forest or "world map", fighting the same creatures over and over until characters in their party are sufficiently levelled up to take on a boss. Then there's the minute-to-minute tedium of the gameplay, which even in the more complex JRPGs often boils down to selecting "attack" from a menu every time. And of course there's the time investment, which can stretch to 50, 100, even 200 hours or more - this becomes a more crucial metric the more your age and the size of your Steam library goes up.

Behind these off-putting elements - some of which it could be argued are central to the experience of playing a JRPG - there can be a lot of value, depending on the quality of the game in question. Persona 4 Golden is my personal Best Game Ever, and I could ramble on for quite some time about a fair few Final Fantasy's. It makes me feel a bit sad that the above issues could (very reasonably) put someone off ever delving into the genre.

If there was ever an entry-point, a catalyst for more interest in games that many find so impenetrable, I believe it is Ys Chronicles. This Steam bundle contains the first two games of a long-running series that has seen endless rereleases, remakes and enhanced reimaginings. I finished them in a total of 18 hours. There are no random encounters. The combat is real-time and could not be played while sleeping. Grinding is almost entirely unnecessary. What's more, Ys and Ys II are exceptional games and they do far more than just stand the test of time. They're easily some of the best 2D games I've ever played, and I want to let you know why you should check them out.

Alex's Top 10 Games of 2015

This website, as you may have noticed, is quite partial to rating individual games out of 10. This year, I have decided to flip this concept on its head, and rate ten games, against each other. I call this radical idea, this list-based article, a "Top 10".

A Story About My Uncle - "Wrong, Said Fred"

A Story About My Uncle is a first person platformer held together with grapple physics. Putting you in the boots of an unnamed protagonist retracing the steps of the titular Uncle Fred, this game tries hard but unfortunately ends up proving that the indie badge does not guarantee value for money.

Elite Dangerous - Never Not Scanning

Some months ago I wrote a blog post summarising the appeal Elite: Dangerous held for me, and relating my early experiences in the game. After roughly 30 hours, I had a Cobra Mark III, and an excited feeling that 'the real Elite: Dangerous begins here'. I was about to dive into the explorer class headfirst.

Approximately 150 hours later, I haven't come up for air yet.

Elite: Dangerous - Space Truckin'

I'm obsessed with space. If you're one of the twelve-ish people who read my short-lived series of blogs covering my time with Kerbal Space Program, you already know this. I am so riddled with space madness that I once shook hands with Arjun (perhaps you know him as arjybarjy) in agreement that we would both sign up to Eve Online. Thankfully, I have so far reneged on that promise - I don't need more spreadsheets in my life, my day job more than satisfies that quota. Meanwhile, the concept of Kerbal fascinated me, but its realistic physics and rulesets ultimately limited my ability to interact with it. My ideal space game, should it ever arrive, needed to deliver the mindblowing vastness of the cosmos with the comparatively mundane tools of, say, a Euro Truck Simulator-style open world.

Enter, stage Space, Elite: Dangerous.

Mind: Path to Thalamus Really Makes You Think

There's a good chance you haven't heard of Mind: Path to Thalamus. The name is perhaps not the most memorable, and I'm guessing the marketing budget of a small indie studio from Spain is fairly modest. I came across it by chance, and while at first I felt it aped Dear Esther a little too much, the story premise, first person puzzles and stunning surreal visuals make this game well worth a look.

The LCS starts soon and I am stoked! (With a few little predictions)

If for some crazy reason you have no idea what the LCS is then take a seat and let me explain. Once I have I hope that you will join me on a thrill a minute ride through the world of competitive gaming. LCS stands for The League of Legends Championship Series and it represents the highest level of League of Legends competitive play in Europe and North America. This year there will be ten teams in both EU and NA leagues all vying for the chance to represent their region in international and worldwide tournaments culminating in the League of Legends world championship. If you would like more information on this great game then checkout this site. It will explain it a lot better than I ever could.