Horror games have stepped things up over the last few years. First there was the success of Alien Isolation, proving that a good Alien game exists, and now another horror franchise is given the nod of success. Friday the 13th is the series in question, and the game remains popular amongst the streaming community of both Twitch and YouTube.
 
Even with its’ successes, Friday the 13th still has a major flaw…an extremely (situational) toxic community. There’s no doubt the game is fun on either side of play, as it’s exciting to be both the hockey-masked psycho and one of the 12 possible camp counselors doing anything to escape and survive Jason Voorhees’ terror. There are plenty of things that make the game special. At the same time, there are a few things that hold the game back from being an awesome multiplayer-only experience one never forgets. ​

After over a two-year hiatus, I decided to give livestreaming video games another shot. When I began streaming over two years ago, I did it as “test streams” to determine if I could do it consistently. With no real schedule, popular games to stream, or notoriety, I quickly gave up and swore to myself I wouldn’t do it again.
 
Fast forward to present day. I decided to give it another try, this time with the notion that if I had fun and set my expectations low, I could keep myself motivated to do it as a casual hobby. While I have indeed had fun over the last month since I started up again, it’s been a hard road to travel with no lights in sight, and the feeling of everyone passing me up with no knowledge of how or why.
 
It’s difficult being a Twitch streamer, and in my case, it’s doubly difficult for multiple reasons.​

This certainly isn't a common list to find on the internet, but I feel like it's one worth doing. Photo modes are still relatively new to gaming, but since being introduced they've gone from a small distraction to a full-blown feature in games. This week I wanted to look at the ones that paved the way or went above and beyond. As always, feel free to share your favorite in the comments below. ​

Written by ALFA_OverloRd

​Welcome to Cradle, a cartoonish-planet that holds the secret to saving mankind at its core. The Spiral Knights are the brave soldiers that delve into the planet using elevators and battle the monsters and beings inside; whether they be slimes, zombies, ghosts, machines, or the main antagonist race: The Gremlins.
​
All right, you might ask "Why is the game rated mature?" Well, that's just the rating OOO adopted for the game, since it is an MMORPG, and they can't accurately rate the online interactions the players will have. However, in the Terms and Conditions, it says you must be 13 or older to play, so the game isn't 18+, but it is rated mature, due to it being hard to rate the online interactions. It is not 18+ due to gore, language, sexual content, or any other attributes associated with mature games.

The PlayStation Vita was a failure. As tough as that is to admit, it's an undeniable fact when you look at what's coming out (or what isn't) for the device in the future. Undertale appears to be the last gasp of life from the ill-fated portable system, and as an early adopter of the Vita, this is a shame to see. Despite this, I actually do want Sony to try making a handheld again. Sure, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I truly believe that if they learn from their mistakes they can deliver. ​​

​I've grown to appreciate video game soundtracks more than ever over the past few years. Initially, during my early years of gaming, I mostly ignored the music that played in the background because I simply didn't understand its importance. Nowadays, video game soundtracks are almost all that I listen to when it comes to music. A great score can add so much to a big moment (or the entirety) of a game, and it can make memories that stick with you for years. This week, I'll be looking at my 5 favorite soundtracks of all time. Since there are so many great ones, though, I'll be sharing a list of honorable mentions in the comments section as well. Feel free to leave your favorites while you're there, and without further ado, let's get started!

Written by DicloniusGames​

Since March 2014, I’ve been the happily (mostly happily) owner of a PlayStation 4. Before that, I owned a PlayStation 3 for a little while but mostly played on XBOX 360 for the last generation of gaming.

While I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore trophy hunter like some are, I would think that 4,000 trophies in over 3 ½ years is quite the accomplishment, even if I’ve played a lot of PS4 games in that amount of time along with some games from the PlayStation Now service that incorporates the PS3.

Written by ALFA_Overlord

​Welcome to Cuphead, the wonderful bullet-hell platformer themed around the era of rubber-tube animation; complete with minor screen corruption and jazz music.

Right off the bat of loading up Cuphead, I fell into the atmosphere it provided. The music was spot on, and the art-style lined up perfectly with the era it was representing. I hit "START" and loaded up file A, and was met with a cutscene in the form of a short comic. Already, I enjoyed this, because it allowed me to go at my own pace throughout the cutscene, instead of having to sit through the slow transitions.

Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Release Date: 9/26/17 (NA), 9/29/17 (EU)
Platforms: PS4, (reviewed) PSVita, PC
ESRB/PEGI: M/PEGI 16
MSRP (USD): $59.99 (PS4), $39.99 (PSVita)​

The Danganronpa series is one that quickly became a cult classic following the western release of its first game in 2014. Its status was more than confirmed when Guinness revealed that a character from this series is the most cosplayed video game character in the world. Now, on the heels of its worldwide popularity, series writer Kazutaka Kodaka has released his swan song for his collection of murder mystery visual novels in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
 
Danganronpa V3 is the first new mothership game in the series since the original Japan-only launch of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair in 2012 on the PSP, and the first to be developed with consoles in mind. With these two factors, it leaves a lot of room for this to be the best game in the series to date, but does it fill its audience with hope, or does it sink them into the depths of despair?

​Developer: Deck Nine
Release Date: 10/19/17
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows PC 
ESRB/PEGI: M/PEGI 16
​MSRP: $16.99 USD (season pass)

By Jose Gonzalez / DicloniusGames​

As the bond between Chloe and Rachel deepens, the plot thickens and reveals more towards Rachel’s backstory and what may lead her down the path of no return.
 
Life Is Strange Episode 2 starts off after the events of episode one and the fire that both Chloe and Rachel caused, thus causing a chain reaction of events that starts Chloe’s path of rebellion with her eventual stepfather David and her continued isolation towards her mother, along with her association with Frank. ​

Assassin's Creed Origins recently released, and with a slew of positive reviews, it appears that it's the return fans were hoping for. The game supposedly improves on the repetitive open world activities and innovates on the gameplay that has remained the same for years. The wildlife is more interesting, the skill trees are deeper, and the world is larger. The new loot system seems to add a deeper layer of motivation to the optional activities of Assassin's Creed, making previously boring tasks exciting. In many ways, this looks like a huge step forward. Yet, what should be the best Assassin's Creed ever may fail to do so due to two huge issues the series has had for years: poor storytelling and under-developed main characters. I'll be looking at these two problems below with attention to the older games, so if you want to avoid spoilers for any Creed games prior to Origins, look away now. ​