Game Reviews8/10
A 1995 Racing Game Where Wrecking the Car Beats Winning the Race
Destruction Derby (1995) review: Reflections made the crash the point, with predictable physics, a punishing radiator, and The Bowl as the purest mode.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Tag: retro gaming
Game Reviews7.6/10
Ridge Racer Returns on Vita With Drifting Intact
Ridge Racer on PS Vita launched in 2011 with four modes and a 7.6/10 critic score, carrying the series' drift legacy onto Sony's handheld.
Game Reviews8.3/10
The Star Ocean Remake Fixes What Frustrated Players Most
Star Ocean: The Second Story review: tri-Ace's 1998 PS1 RPG with two protagonists, real-time battles, and a cult following. Score: 8.3/10.
Game Reviews8.5/10
Suikoden II Deserved Better Than the Release It Got
Suikoden II launched quietly in 1998, but Konami's RPG with 108 Stars of Destiny, three combat systems, and a tragic Rune curse is a PlayStation classic.
Game Reviews8.7/10
Valkyrie Profile: A Goddess Who Collects the Dead, and the RPG That Still Has No Imitators
Valkyrie Profile review: the 1999 PlayStation RPG about a goddess who gathers the dead still holds up, with 24 heroes and platformer dungeons. Score: 8.7 of 10.
Game Reviews7.4/10
Why The Legend of Dragoon Still Divides Players Decades After It Flopped
Sony's 1999 RPG The Legend of Dragoon: its $16M budget, Endiness lore, Dragoon combat, million-plus sales, and the 2023 PS4/PS5 re-release.
Game Reviews9.2/10
Vagrant Story Made Its Dungeon the Whole Game
Vagrant Story review: Matsuno's 2000 PS1 cult classic with no shops, no party, just weapon crafting and the ruined city of Leá Monde.
Game Reviews8.4/10
Why Xenogears Still Merits the Patience It Demands
Xenogears review: Square's ambitious PlayStation RPG mixes hand-drawn animation, robot combat, and a reincarnation saga spanning civilizations. Score: 8.4/10.
Game Reviews8.9/10
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay: A Licensed Game That Actually Works
A look back at The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the 2004 prison-break stealth game that beat its own film.
Game Reviews8.6/10
Dark Souls: The Game That Taught Us How to Die
Dark Souls, FromSoftware's 2011 action game, defined a genre with brutal difficulty, bonfire checkpoints, and online play. A look back at what still holds up.
Polygon’s List of 15 Classic Games Proves Great Graphics Aren’t Everything
From N+ to Lemmings, these 15 classic games prove that gameplay beats graphics. Polygon's list shows why great mechanics last longer than pixels.
Game Reviews8.9/10
Shovel Knight’s Kickstarter Bet Paid Off, and Twelve Years On It Still Holds Up
Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight, from its 2014 crowdfunding debut to Treasure Trove and spinoffs, still holds up as a dig-and-bounce platformer.