Author: Victor Hunter

The summer is getting started, and we've got no shortage of games ahead. But before we look at all the games waiting to steal our time, we've got speedrunner Moonblazewolf, fresh off their run of Chained Echoes at SGDQ 2023! We talk all that plus the news of the day and the start of Book 2 in our Summer of

This week, we have an in-depth discussion about Octopath Traveler II, an excellent choice from our $100 Patron and special guest, The Black Stones!

Greetings, students. The Dropouts aren't clever enough to know you shouldn't cast Fira in a dry field, but they're going into space nevertheless.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.

Kick back and relax as Field Studies returns for a guided audio commentary track through fan-favourite Shadowbringers dungeon, The Twinning. Sharlayan Dropouts host Victor Hunter takes you through the history of the Crystal Tower, the cascading effect that delays in the mid-2000s had on Square that are still being felt today, and the crystalline metaphor at the heart of this

All aboard, gatcha sickos. Honkai: Star Rail is now available to download. It's totally free, just like miHoYo's preceding game, Genshin Impact, but you can bet the awesome-looking characters in the banner events will wear your resolve down to a nub. But there's more to Star Rail than gacha, right? After all, it's a full-bodied RPG with hours of content.

Hey Microsoft! How's that Activision Blizzard deal coming along? …Oh. That bad, huh? Well, we're sure everything will be fine. Psst. That's a lie. We actually brought Polygon's own Nicole Carpenter to discuss the myriad ways this gargantuan acquisition attempt is going poorly for the Big M. And whatever's bad for Microsoft is probably bad for a lot of western

It's another Class Conscious episode of Axe of the Blood God, and we're going after the class that was elected "Most Likely to Steal your Heart and your Wallet" in high school: the Thief. Thieves have been part of the RPG landscape forever. These lithe, sticky-fingered tricksters excel at jacking stuff from enemies (and innocents) while avoiding traps and setting

Oh boy, here come the Sharlayan Dropouts to corrupt the students hanging out around the Last Stand. This week, Nadia, Victor, and Mike get together and talk all about the huge thumbprints Final Fantasy IV has left over Final Fantasy XIV, from 1.0 to Endwalker. Why is FFIV so lovingly referenced in FFXIV, and why so often? How will FFIV

Once upon a time, Microsoft opened up its mouth and swallowed the near entirety of the western RPG market. Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Fable--their home is on the Xbox now. That's great, but we have to ask: Where are all these RPGs that are supposed to be dropping from your well-stocked loins, Microsoft? Starfield is finally secured for a release this

It's finally here: our final Winter of Wick, centered on the recent release of John Wick Chapter 4. Kat, Nadia, and Eric band together for one last action-filled romp. It's John versus the High Table, in a big showdown, and talk all about it, including: Is anyone not an assassin Dogs, more dogs John Wick's i-frames Wick ruins Ladies Night

We're taking a breather this week, but fret not: for those who couldn't make it to our panel at PAX East 2023, this week we're uploading the audio from it! Kat, Nadia, and Eric were joined by friends of the show Michael Higham and Scott White to host a fantasy draft, making the perfect RPG in the process. We touch

Ding, dong, E3 is dead. Which E3? We don't know. The once world-famous video game trade show has endured so many trials and tribulations, it's hard to way which iteration is getting axed. Let's just say E3 2023 was supposed to be the show's big comeback, and it's getting cancelled instead. Kat, Nadia, Eric, and Reb are all E3 veterans,

It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for! FF4 has never been more relevant and we’re delighted to welcome a guest that couldn’t be better suited to the subject; FF loremaster, archivist, and all-round wonderful guy, Anonymoose. We talk all things Zero, the moon, and masked men with plans to move a whole lot of undead souls from one plane

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia, Kat, and Eric bid sayonara to the best RPGs on the Nintendo 3DS and the [snide snicker] Wii U. Nintendo is yanking the plug on the 3DS and Wii U digital storefronts very soon, but there's still time to thumb through some must-buy recommendations. Radiant Historia! Persona Q! SMT IV and

Axe of the Blood God has now officially hit 400 episodes, and what better way to celebrate than return to the root of it all and ask: just what is an RPG? Kat, Nadia, and Eric are joined by The CRPG Book editor Felipe Pepe to discuss what makes a virtual role-playing game different from all the others. Other topics

We hurl halibut and homilize halitosis but by The Twelve we look good doing it on this episode of Sharlayan Dropouts. It’s all things Blue Mage this week with your hosts Victor Hunter, Nadia Oxford, and special guest Eric Van Allen. Where did the Blue Mage originate? What’s the appeal of its innately masochistic mechanics? And what does the future

Why do they call it "FINAL Fantasy" when there are sixteen--oh God please put the serrated knives away, I'm just joking. This week, we invited Verge's Ash Parrish and freelance writer/regular guest Michael Higham to talk about their hands-on impressions of Final Fantasy XVI alongside our own Eric. How does it look? How does it play? How does it sound?

All of life's paths intersect and intertwine, so it was inevitable the Axe of the Blood God would walk down Octopath Traveler 2's twisted roads. This week we're joined by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who was less than enthused about the original Octopath Traveler. How does its sequel fare? Let's just say a game studio can learn a lot in five