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2 days ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ReviewClair Obscur: Expedition 33 aspires to be many things. First and foremost, it’s a love letter to the mechanics of Final Fantasy and classic JRPGs. At the same time, it’s a character-driven fantasy with echoes of Gulliver’s Travels or Alice in Wonderland. It wants to wow players with slick production values and make them think about the power of art and artists.
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2 days ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy ReviewThe labels of remake and remaster are tossed around so frequently and interchangeably in the game world they’ve kind of lost their meaning. They used to mean very specific things. A remaster was a way of cleaning up outdated or buggy code and maybe adding some graphical polish. A remake was a more substantial project. Remakes usually strip an old game down to the basic concepts and build them back up.
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1 week ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Tempest Rising ReviewIf I had to list those games for which I feel genuine nostalgia, it would have to include a trio of real-time strategy games: Command and Conquer, Age of Empires, and StarCraft. Those games had such a satisfying loop and addictive mechanics that it was hard to stop playing. Matches against people were fun. Matches against the computer were fun, and building new levels was a happy time sink.
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1 week ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Gorn 2 ReviewWhen talking about technology, six years is a very long time. In that span, a new gadget can be released and eventually be refined into a much more sophisticated product. Back in 2019, VR headsets were heavy, uncomfortable slabs of plastic, and VR games were often lamentably short and simplistic. In 2025, VR headsets are slightly less heavy and marginally more comfortable slabs of plastic. The games, however, are often much more substantial and on par with non-VR titles.
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1 week ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
The Talos Principal: Reawakened ReviewAlthough developer Croteam is perhaps best known for the Serious Sam franchise, a decade ago they released a puzzle game called The Talos Principal. It looked great and had serious Myst vibes. Its puzzles were devious and sometimes fiendishly difficult. The Talos Principal was followed by a sequel in 2023.
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1 week ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Games and Movies Have an Awkward PartnershipGenerally speaking, the relationship between movies and video games has been…complex. Crossovers in either direction tend to be either big hits or abysmal failures. The more iconic the game or film franchise, the greater likelihood that fans won’t be happy with the results. Every once in a while, a movie-to-game adaption ends in a spectacular success, as with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, now coming to PS5.
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1 week ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Elder Scrolls Online Celebrates 10 Years and Looks AheadSatisfying long-term players while enticing newcomers has always been a challenge for MMORPGs. It doesn’t take long for dedicated fans to reach the endgame, so they need a steady stream of high-level content. New players don’t want to find lonely beginner zones because everyone has moved on. A few games have done a consistently good job of balancing the old and the new. One of these is Elder Scrolls Online, which launched in 2014.
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2 weeks ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
Age of Mythology: Retold – Immortal Pillars ReviewNo matter how many new and shiny games come along, I’ll always have a warm, fuzzy place in my jaded gaming heart for Age of Empires and its 2002 spinoff, Age of Mythology. Age of Mythology took aim at an already familiar genre and took it in a new direction. Instead of historical civilizations or clashing sci fi armies, the game focused on classic mythologies from different cultures. Heroes, drama and cool monsters are pre-baked in.
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3 weeks ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
South of Midnight ReviewIn the course of playing games over the past 25+ years, I don’t know how many dragons, knights, goblins, mages, and monsters I’ve slain. It must be in the tens of thousands. While I’m always hopeful that the next game will be the best ever, things can start to feel a little stale when your first task is choosing to be an armor-wearing warrior, stealthy rogue, or mage. Or the setting is a “medieval fantasy kingdom,” WW2, or an alien planet.
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3 weeks ago | 
cogconnected.com | Mark Steighner
The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PC) ReviewFive years down the line, there’s little new to be said about The Last of Us Part II. It’s an unassailable masterpiece of interactive storytelling. The game is a must-play for any fans of the action-adventure genre. It is also hard to imagine any gamer with an interest in narrative driven games who hasn’t played it, probably multiple times.
