https://stayclose.social/MargaritaAwn/ Latest updates from Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6686/vertical-slice-demos-provide-a-clear-cut-advantage/ Witches aren't exactly the most imposing enemies in Minecraft . After all, they simply look like a Villager dressed in "spooky attire." One might mistake them for a Villager celebrating Halloween, but ignoring their presence is a mistake. Witches have a nasty poison that lasts for an agonizingly long 45 seconds for any player that's hit by their toxic concoct

I’m not going to argue that every game should sell itself vertical slice demos. There’s obviously a lot of cost involved in giving away a standalone product, and not every game lends itself to this sort of distillation. However, both Dead Rising and The Stanley Parable went the extra mile with their demos and garnered excellent sales. The same seems to be holding true of Bravely Default. Developers capable of building a short standalone scenario should definitely consider it when it comes time to market their games.

If you’re a gamer and you haven’t read Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal (you might have seen her on The Colbert Report ), head on over to Amazon and check it out. It’s a fascinating look into how video games are making the world a better place, but also how we look at games overall. In the first chapter, she illustrates four main components of any game, one of which being the "goal", that important drive that gives gamers incentive to continue. It’s essential to any kind of game because without it, the game doesn’t have a meaning. It’s generally pointless to play, and therefore, a gamer won’t play.

While there are those who will gravitate towards single player or competitive games, I would personally recommend something with a friendly and helpful community that will help scratch your socializing itch. Of course one of those games is Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO where you can hop on with friends or find completely new players to traverse the vast world with. It’s a daunting task as there’s thousands of hours worth of content that can be dipped into, but that just ensures you’ll never be bored. We’re talking raiding, treasure hunting, PVP, decorating houses or apartments, fishing, mount farming and so much more. Of course there’s the terrific storyline that (especially in Shadowbringers) touches upon strong themes, but it’s the communal aspect that Final Fantasy XIV excels at, making this one of the best games to play whilst social distancing. You can even go onto servers that have an active role-playing community, if that’s your thing. The number of linkshells and discord servers I’ve become a part of over the last year alone has only helped me enjoy the game even more, showing me how much the community has grown. You’ll always run into someone who’s a bit toxic, but it’s such a rare occurrence. With Square Enix pumping out a steady amount of content -- with the last major update only a month old -- there’s plenty to dig through, be it for new or returning players.

From the same people that brought us Game of Thrones and Tales From the Borderlands comes their newest decision based game, Minecraft: Story Mode. Telltale Games is notorious for their rigorous storytelling and memorable characters and this time is no different. You play as Jesse, regardless of which gender you choose at the beginning, who is on a mission to create the greatest build at EnderCon, (Enderman Convention if you didn't catch on). The winner gets to meet the great Gabriel of the Order of the Stone, a group of people who slayed the Ender Dragon years ago but have disbanded since. Of course, the episode would be nothing without some kind of story of revenge that spirals the characters into an adventure that they would have never seen themselves in. Someone sets out to create a Wither, a huge monster that sets out to consume everything, leaving you and your friends to seek out the Order of the Stone. You are accompanied by your friends Olivia, confidant and trusty, Axel, large and loyal, and Reuben, a pig. Telltale hit the nail on the head this time with a different, family-friendly take on one of their main installments. No prior knowledge of the original building game is needed, but it would help if you had some basic terminology.

Minecraft is the brainchild of Markus "Notch" Persson, an independent game developer from Sweden. Persson’s interest in the building elements of games like Infiniminer led him to expand upon the construction pitch of the game and add in expansive exploratory and dungeon-crawling features as well. In 2009, Persson released an alpha version of Minecraft , with an overwhelmingly avid public flocking to see the game. Persson continued to develop the game into beta, with users being frequently updated with new Stardew Valley features modes, mods and abilities as it developed. Before the game even went gold in March 2012, Minecraft earned over 4 million purchases. It is currently the sixth bets selling PC game of all time with over 33 million copies sold across all platforms (over 12 million of those being on PC alone).
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6686/vertical-slice-demos-provide-a-clear-cut-advantage/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:57:39 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6675/best-games-like-minecraft-dungeons/ Minecraft Dungeons is a hack & slash action-RPG in the vein of Diablo where you take a character, beat on monsters, find better gear, and use the new toys to beat on bigger and tougher monsters. The paper-thin plot is that an outcast villager was corrupted by an evil orb of power and down came the smiting, and only a hero etc etc etc. The story is "hit monsters, get loot, search out secrets," which really is all this genre needs.


Like many other survival games set on deserted islands, Raft places a big emphasis on finding food and water. Some of the islands that players visit are also home to dangerous creatures like sharks and bears, which can make exploration both challenging and exciting due to the increased dramatic tension. Exploring and surviving with friends through the game's online multiplayer mode only makes for a more enjoyable experie

It takes a while to build up a full arsenal, especially due to how many gems are required to level up equipment skills, but once you've got a foothold the game opens up into a fun combat romp. Minecraft Dungeons is designed with younger players in mind, so on standard difficulty it's too easy for any kind of seasoned player, but after a few levels you can crank it up to the hardest and eventually get a decent challenge that can actually run the risk of killing you. Enemies attack in large numbers, whether they be familiar Minecraft creatures like zombies, spiders and skeleton-archers or newer threats such as the corrupted Illagers (like villagers but ill) or zombie-summoning sorcerers. Combat is initially a simple matter of holding down the attack button and letting the combo animation play out, broken up occasionally by needing to shoot archers that don't want to hang out in melee range. The final levels do a nice job of putting all your abilities to the test, though, requiring regular use of magic, support pets, keeping an eye out for traps in the environment and giving the bow a good workout.

The other type of item is accessory and each one grants a different skill. The feather, for example, does a quick roll that stuns an enemy, while the soul cube lets out a powerful arcane jet of energy blasting through everything in its path. A bundle of wheat summons an attack-llama, there are healing pendants, berzerk mushrooms, magic shields and plenty more to turn up. These let you create a personalized loadout of three skills, defining character class by what you choose to carry. The more powerful accessories are powered by souls, which are released and automatically gathered as you take out monsters, but it doesn't take many to fill the bar. The skills are there to be used rather than hoarded.
Certainly, this lends itself to some games better than others. It won't work with any sort of scripted, linear action game, but it's not much trouble to take a chunk of an RPG or Sandbox world, string together a bare-bones quest line, and set players loose. This allows for demos of the caliber you see with emergent games, where it's much easier to take a chunk of Vampire Survivors gameplay and give it away - Civ V's Demo let you play with a few civilizations on small maps, for instance, while Killer Instinct gives players one free character as a taste. I'm all for anything that allows single-player, structured games to be more competitive, especially when it provides a workable alternative to awful early-access crap.

The episode also alludes to death; a lot. Considering the fact that both Olivia and Axel are completely omitted from the episode save for the prologue, there is basically no comic relief. Not that you should play a game simply for its humor, Minecraft: Story Mode has a reputation for having humor and making friendship stand above all else. While this episode does focus on friendship and how your decisions can shape the future, death always seems to be around the corner and everyone you come in contact with seems to want you to die, or at last Aiden openly expresses it. It also doesn't help that Aiden and the Blaze Rods were basically considered obsolete until now, so it's difficult to really believe that he would want to do this to the citizens of Sky City just because he's jealous. Had this episode focused on why they are being brought back rather than throwing them into a whole new story, the episode would have made a little more sense.


If someone is looking for a dungeon crawler with a quirky twist, then Crypt of the NecroDancer is the project for them. The game mixes dungeon exploration with rhythm-based mechanics, with players having to move to the beat through the procedurally-generated dungeons. The character's actions are more effective when the player manages to keep the beat, with the actions being impaired if players miss a b

This Nintendo title can offer lots of fast-paced multiplayer fun for you, friends and strangers. Thanks to Turf Mode, Ranked and Salmon Run, you and others will be able to enjoy plenty of splatisfying action. Because you play with a team of people there's a need for teamwork and going through tough battles alongside one another bonds can form. While there hasn't been much new in the last few months for Splatoon 2, there's still a large amount of users at different levels of skill to make things interesting. You could easily play round after round all day and experience something new each time in each location. Also, maybe it's time you pick up a new weapon just to change things up. Splatoon 2 keeps things fresh for those in search of online interactions.
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6675/best-games-like-minecraft-dungeons/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:46:40 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6664/minecraft-on-rift-mostly-avoids-the-usual-first-person-vr-mistakes/ Castles are always a safe choice for Minecraft players since they'll often end up looking impressive and fantastical no matter the location or setting. Plus, the blocks and the aesthetics of the game are simply perfect for more medieval-style bui

Remember in the beginning of the 32-bit days when controllers simply weren't designed for 3D cameras? You'd have games that mapped up and down viewing to the triggers, and the only way to rotate the camera was to turn your character in the right direction and manually recenter things with a button press. There were a lot of experiments, some better than others, but none held a candle to the introduction of twin-stick controllers. VR FPS is in the same state right now, and while there's a lot of interest in getting to the twin-stick equivalent of whatever the solution ends up being, it's not there yet. Minecraft deals with the motion sickness problem by breaking the immersion during rotation, but as long-term solutions go it feels like sticking the up/down view on the shoulder buttons. It may be graceless and awkward, but at least it gets the job done. Creating a workable free-roaming FPS viewpoint in VR is still an ongoing task, though, so until a better solution is found this will do

On the plus side, once you're in the Minecraft world the sense of scale is truly fantastic. Everything seems bigger somehow, more immediate and solid. A pit in a cave that would be little more than a hazard to plop a staircase onto is all of a sudden an ominous presence waiting to see you fall into its depths. Hills are more imposing, cliffs shoot dangerously into the sky and canyons are massive rifts in the earth, and the oceans go down forever. Even the standard block has a sense of mass, with its one meter cube transformed into a substantial chunk of scenery. Another side effect of the new sense of scale is that combat has become a little easier because the strike distance is so obvious. The move to VR has done a great job of freshening up an experience I've been done with for several years now, which is an impressive feat. While I'm still not completely sold on the viewing solution, it's something that works for now until a better idea is implemented.


This castle is made completely out of diorite, which is a creative choice not many end up taking. Diorite is a niche material at best, but ToastyPuma makes it glorious in its highly skillful classic castle creation. This is a home fit for a king, that much is cert

If you’re a gamer and you haven’t read Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal (you might have seen her on The Colbert Report ), head on over to Amazon and check it out. It’s a fascinating look into how video games are making the world a better place, but also how we look at games overall. In the first chapter, she illustrates four main components of any game, one of which being the "goal", that important drive that gives gamers incentive to continue. It’s essential to any kind of game because without it, the game doesn’t have a meaning. It’s generally pointless to play, and therefore, a gamer won’t play.

It wasn't meant to last though, as even though the 32/64 bit era only barely blurred the party lines, with every subsequent gaming generation, it became harder and harder to separate one system from another just by looking at the games on the store shelves. By the time that Peter Moore revealed a "GTA IV" tattoo on his arm at E3, the message was clear that Triple A titles had become too big and too expensive to only commit to one system or another and, outside of some in-house and privately published development teams, the idea of big name exclusives was a dying light in the night drowned out by the dawn of a new day.

When there's a lot of stress or anxiety in the world, it's nice to take a step back and relax. Animal Crossing is a game that does this well while alone or even better when hanging out with friends. It's hard to find a title where doing next to nothing can feel rewarding, but in Animal Crossing just running around with friends feels like a fun time. There's a sense of companionship when sharing items or fruit and rivalry when catching bugs or fish. The core of Animal Crossing's entire identity is community, sharing interests and differences. New Horizons has players starting from nearly nothing and building their own world along the way. Eventually players can show off their hard work with a fully decorated house or a fantastic visit to the museum. Even just sitting down to take a picture together with silly expressions gives that relief that it's alright to take a break without thinking too hard now and then. Not even a wasp sting can hurt long when a friend is there to give some medicine or at least laugh over how ridiculous it was.


151owners decided to go big for their build, which they named after the very persistence that helped them through finishing this project. Although these detailed, absolutely massive, mcversehub.com and epic builds take weeks, sometimes even months to finish, the results are always worth
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6664/minecraft-on-rift-mostly-avoids-the-usual-first-person-vr-mistakes/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:30:54 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6658/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-5-order-up/
I love Nintendo, but its tough to watch something or someone you love go through such a rough time and seemingly stop bothering to even try anymore. Eventually that sympathy is going to turn into anger, and for many that's exactly what is happening.

A bit of a cheat considering that Chivalry began its life as a mod to Half-Life 2, and thus retains many of the aesthetics and gameplay ideas of a shooter, it's nonetheless impossible to single out games that think outside the shooter box without mentioning a game that in doing so manages to give us a game scenario that many have wanted for years.

But there are still those who "cannot get into video games." Maybe the person is intimidated by a controller with 25 buttons and Chicken Jockey Full Diamond three joysticks. Maybe the subject matter of a 2D platformer just appears juvenile or an FPS appears too violent. These failures to get involved push some people away from gaming, but as stated earlier, gaming is no longer a single formula. We’re seeing so many ways to approach game design, narrative and control in this day and age; I’m of the mind that, with such a buffet of choice, anyone can find at least one game that can hook them into gaming. Maybe it’s not in the "hardcore" form where they’ll stand outside at a midnight launch, but in a way that they can have a favorite game that they can revisit over the years, while still enjoying it.

Editor’s Note: Before reading this review, we highly recommend checking out our review for Episode One: The Order of the Stone , Episode 2: Assembly Required , Episode 3: The Last Place You Look and Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place as there are spoilers ahead.

There's a certain joy in the shared experience of gaming frustration. While there are specific parts or levels in our favorite games that make us want to tear our hair out in anger, we usually advert a meltdown when we discover that there are many, many others who are having the same difficulty. In these shared experiences, we feel a bond.

Think about when you were a youngster and you went to the sandbox at the park. You weren’t told "build a sand castle" by your parents. You had your shovel, bucket and action figures and you did what you wanted. Fundamentally, you had no real goal; the end result was completely secondary to what you were doing to reach it. That’s the idea of a "sandbox" game: you aren’t being told what to do and you can feel free to express yourself creatively. You can break the status quo and go to places that you couldn’t otherwise. It’s not based around how much is given for you to do; it’s based around giving you tools and letting you discover what to do yourself.

The only rules here are the game can't be a shooter (obviously) and have to be on a current gen system, or be a PC game released roughly between 2006 and 2013. That type of timeframe means a lot of great had to be cut and, to help make those decisions, I really tried to focus on games that provided a multiplayer experience you couldn't get prior to this generation. However, some exceptions do apply.

Yet Nintendo ignores it, just as they have ignored pleas from their own fans regarding everything from addressing many of the issues already noted, to making their own historically great back catalog more readily available. Yes they've done things like release Earthbound on the Wii U, but only after years and years of remaining silent on the subject while fans begged and pleaded for even an acknowledgment of the damn thing.
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6658/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-5-order-up/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:19:11 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6649/best-multiplayer-games-like-dont-starve-together/ Slay the Spire mixes things up in a refreshing way by combining the dungeon crawler genre with tabletop card game elements, with combat solely using this card-based system. Players can customize their decks before they head into the procedurally-generated dungeon levels of the Sp


The Binding of Isaac was originally released for PC in 2011, but this project was later remade and re-released as The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth . After that, the remake gained a couple of expansions, starting with 2015's Afterbirth and concluding with 2021's Repentan

While Mojang may in fact be too busy at the moment to make that a reality, let's be very clear about something. If Nintendo had really wanted Minecraft on the Wii U, it would be in the works or out already. That's not to say it would be easy to make happen, but ultimately they are the kind of company that can make something like that a reality if they really wanted to.

Sometimes, though, developers go the extra mile and build a vertical slice to demonstrate their game. This is a lot of work – even re-using assets from the game, you’re looking at many hours of scripting and scenario design – but the payoff speaks for itself. Bravely Default’s demo is essentially its own mini-RPG, with three dungeons to conquer, five bosses to fight, and a whole bunch of enjoyable grinding to do in the interim. It has condensed versions of the streetpass and job mechanics from the main game that allow you to familiarize yourself and get to the fun quickly. The demo may take all of its assets from the main game, but it uses them to craft an experience entirely distinct from it. In doing so, it gets straight to the essence of what makes the full game fun. What’s more, if you master the demo, you get rewards to help you out in the early game, as well as a head start on streetpasses.

While there are those who will gravitate towards single player or competitive games, I would personally recommend something with a friendly and helpful community that will help scratch your socializing itch. Of course one of those games is Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO where you can hop on with friends or find completely new players to traverse the vast world with. It’s a daunting task as there’s thousands of hours worth of content that can be dipped into, but that just ensures you’ll never be bored. We’re talking raiding, treasure hunting, PVP, decorating houses or apartments, fishing, mount farming and so much more. Of course there’s the terrific storyline that (especially in Shadowbringers) touches upon strong themes, but it’s the communal aspect that Final Fantasy XIV excels at, making this one of the best games to play whilst social distancing. You can even go onto servers that have an active role-playing community, if that’s your thing. The number of linkshells and discord servers I’ve become a part of over the last year alone has only helped me enjoy the game even more, showing me how much the community has grown. You’ll always run into someone who’s a bit toxic, but it’s such a rare occurrence. With Square Enix pumping out a steady amount of content -- with the last major update only a month old -- there’s plenty to dig through, be it for new or returning players.

I’m not going to argue that every game should sell itself vertical slice demos. There’s obviously a lot of cost involved in giving away a standalone product, and not every game lends itself to this sort of distillation. However, both Dead Rising and The Stanley Parable went the extra mile with their demos and garnered excellent sales. The same seems to be holding true of Bravely Default. Developers capable of building a short standalone scenario should definitely consider it when it comes time to market their games.

When there's a lot of stress or anxiety in the world, it's nice to take a step back and relax. Animal Crossing is a game that does this well while alone or even better when hanging out with friends. It's hard to find a title where doing next to nothing can feel rewarding, but in Animal Crossing just running around with friends feels like a fun time. There's a sense of companionship when sharing items or fruit and rivalry when catching bugs or fish. The core of Animal Crossing's entire identity is community, sharing interests and differences. New Horizons has players starting from nearly nothing and building their own world along the way. Eventually players can show off their hard work with a fully decorated house or a fantastic visit to the museum. Even just sitting down to take a picture together with silly expressions gives that relief that it's alright to take a break without thinking too hard now and then. Not even a wasp sting can hurt long when a friend is there to give some medicine or at least laugh over how ridiculous it was.


While not the deepest farming sim or action RPG on the market, Rune Factory 4 is polished, accessible, and charming. Like Minecraft Movie 2025 Dungeons , it is a good entry-level option for people looking to dip their toes in dungeon crawlers (and also farming si
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6649/best-multiplayer-games-like-dont-starve-together/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:10:09 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6648/best-multiplayer-games-like-dont-starve-together/ Slay the Spire mixes things up in a refreshing way by combining the dungeon crawler genre with tabletop card game elements, with combat solely using this card-based system. Players can customize their decks before they head into the procedurally-generated dungeon levels of the Sp


The Binding of Isaac was originally released for PC in 2011, but this project was later remade and re-released as The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth . After that, the remake gained a couple of expansions, starting with 2015's Afterbirth and concluding with 2021's Repentan

While Mojang may in fact be too busy at the moment to make that a reality, let's be very clear about something. If Nintendo had really wanted Minecraft on the Wii U, it would be in the works or out already. That's not to say it would be easy to make happen, but ultimately they are the kind of company that can make something like that a reality if they really wanted to.

Sometimes, though, developers go the extra mile and build a vertical slice to demonstrate their game. This is a lot of work – even re-using assets from the game, you’re looking at many hours of scripting and scenario design – but the payoff speaks for itself. Bravely Default’s demo is essentially its own mini-RPG, with three dungeons to conquer, five bosses to fight, and a whole bunch of enjoyable grinding to do in the interim. It has condensed versions of the streetpass and job mechanics from the main game that allow you to familiarize yourself and get to the fun quickly. The demo may take all of its assets from the main game, but it uses them to craft an experience entirely distinct from it. In doing so, it gets straight to the essence of what makes the full game fun. What’s more, if you master the demo, you get rewards to help you out in the early game, as well as a head start on streetpasses.

While there are those who will gravitate towards single player or competitive games, I would personally recommend something with a friendly and helpful community that will help scratch your socializing itch. Of course one of those games is Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO where you can hop on with friends or find completely new players to traverse the vast world with. It’s a daunting task as there’s thousands of hours worth of content that can be dipped into, but that just ensures you’ll never be bored. We’re talking raiding, treasure hunting, PVP, decorating houses or apartments, fishing, mount farming and so much more. Of course there’s the terrific storyline that (especially in Shadowbringers) touches upon strong themes, but it’s the communal aspect that Final Fantasy XIV excels at, making this one of the best games to play whilst social distancing. You can even go onto servers that have an active role-playing community, if that’s your thing. The number of linkshells and discord servers I’ve become a part of over the last year alone has only helped me enjoy the game even more, showing me how much the community has grown. You’ll always run into someone who’s a bit toxic, but it’s such a rare occurrence. With Square Enix pumping out a steady amount of content -- with the last major update only a month old -- there’s plenty to dig through, be it for new or returning players.

I’m not going to argue that every game should sell itself vertical slice demos. There’s obviously a lot of cost involved in giving away a standalone product, and not every game lends itself to this sort of distillation. However, both Dead Rising and The Stanley Parable went the extra mile with their demos and garnered excellent sales. The same seems to be holding true of Bravely Default. Developers capable of building a short standalone scenario should definitely consider it when it comes time to market their games.

When there's a lot of stress or anxiety in the world, it's nice to take a step back and relax. Animal Crossing is a game that does this well while alone or even better when hanging out with friends. It's hard to find a title where doing next to nothing can feel rewarding, but in Animal Crossing just running around with friends feels like a fun time. There's a sense of companionship when sharing items or fruit and rivalry when catching bugs or fish. The core of Animal Crossing's entire identity is community, sharing interests and differences. New Horizons has players starting from nearly nothing and building their own world along the way. Eventually players can show off their hard work with a fully decorated house or a fantastic visit to the museum. Even just sitting down to take a picture together with silly expressions gives that relief that it's alright to take a break without thinking too hard now and then. Not even a wasp sting can hurt long when a friend is there to give some medicine or at least laugh over how ridiculous it was.


While not the deepest farming sim or action RPG on the market, Rune Factory 4 is polished, accessible, and charming. Like Minecraft Movie 2025 Dungeons , it is a good entry-level option for people looking to dip their toes in dungeon crawlers (and also farming si
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6648/best-multiplayer-games-like-dont-starve-together/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:10:05 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6644/in-the-next-generation-of-video-games-indies-are-the-new-exclusives/ While Mojang may in fact be too busy at the moment to make that a reality, let's be very clear about something. If Nintendo had really wanted Minecraft on the Wii U, it would be in the works or out already. That's not to say it would be easy to make happen, but ultimately they are the kind of company that can make something like that a reality if they really wanted to.

The popular tag line of any game that aimed at mainstream appeal is usually something along the lines of "It's so good, even grandma will play it!" While that's of course a sensationalized vision that most games never achieve, as a lifelong gamer whose actually played Wii Sports with his grandma (and been soundly beaten by her at it) I can say it holds no hyperbole here.

We've been running around games killing our friends for years, but Assassins' Creed was smart enough to really step back from the chaos that results in, and focus on the joy that comes from the hunt and moment of success instead.

The episode in itself offers a lot of promise for the rest of the announced episode, but it also cuts them short. The next slew of episodes will be adding new story arcs to the new Order of the Stone as they go on new adventures to build up their legacy. That being said, in the two hours it took to finish the episode to its completion, it made the entire premise feel very unimportant. SO much had happened and so much story and character development was involved that Telltale could have made the entire plot itself into a single season if they wanted to. The entirety of Sky City itself has so much more that could have been explored and so many more characters could have been introduced, but the story was limited to a couple of hours of gameplay. It creates a new kind of gameplay that forces you to pay attention and actually play the game rather than just putting your controller down and making a decision every once in a while.


The blocky sandbox sensation known as Minecraft came out of nowhere, launching into phenom status after starting with humble origins as an indie project by Markus "Notch" Persson. This vast, open-ended experience has helped pave the way for a new era of open-world software and helped spur the rise of indie gaming at la
The game begins with the newly formed Order of the Stone infiltrating a dungeon that Ivor tipped them off to. They manage to find a treasure room that contains what appears to be an enchanted flint and steel. After escaping the booby trapped dungeon, they come across the former Ocelots and their leader Aiden. They don't seem too happy with the fact that you reached the dungeon before they did, Aiden mostly, and they begin to spew hurtful comments to the new team. Ambushed by the former Ocelots, now known as the Blaze Rods, Jessie and his friends explore an entirely new area only known as Sky City where resources are plentiful but nothing exists below the world. the world is conceived using what is only knows as the Eversource, a material that has the power to create all materials. Aiden convinces the city's ruler that the Order is up to no good so that they can be punished and he could take the Eversource for himself. While this episode may be jam-packed with story and new characters, be warned; this will not be the last we see of Minecraft: Story Mode.

The age of system mascots and Triple A exclusives may be a fading memory, but it's really no matter, because the one we are about to enter where innovative new ideas and bold risks are rewarded, encouraged, and prized above all may just be the most exciting time ever to be a gamer. All the hype on which system you should buy may be focused on what a system costs, or what it can and can't do in its multimedia capabilities, but trust me when I say that in the end, you'll be keeping an eye on who's got what indie titles all to themselves when deciding which console is right for you.


Gamers have since been captivated by the expansive landscapes, rewarding building mechanics, and thrilling survival gameplay. While one can theoretically pour hundreds of hours into this massive digital playground of blocks, there will inevitably be those seeking similar content. What are some of the best games like Minecra

Much like Assassin's Creed, I wasn't constantly thinking "Wow! What a great multiplayer game this would make!"nwhile playing the original Portal. In both cases, it wasn't so much a lack of potential for a multiplayer experience that turned me off the idea, but rather the thought of how easily things could get screwed up if not handled carefully. Of course, as is the case with most worries involving game design and Valve, those fears would turn out to be completely unfounded.

Minecraft is the brainchild of Markus "Notch" Persson, an independent Xbox game pass Addictive games developer from Sweden. Persson’s interest in the building elements of games like Infiniminer led him to expand upon the construction pitch of the game and add in expansive exploratory and dungeon-crawling features as well. In 2009, Persson released an alpha version of Minecraft , with an overwhelmingly avid public flocking to see the game. Persson continued to develop the game into beta, with users being frequently updated with new modes, mods and abilities as it developed. Before the game even went gold in March 2012, Minecraft earned over 4 million purchases. It is currently the sixth bets selling PC game of all time with over 33 million copies sold across all platforms (over 12 million of those being on PC alone).
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6644/in-the-next-generation-of-video-games-indies-are-the-new-exclusives/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 21:53:24 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6624/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-5-order-up/ Looking back at my own experiences, my situation isn’t too much different than a lot of the experiences seen in the younger crowd who are being introduced to Minecraft or Wii Sports today. It might seem silly at first, but the appeal of these games is so vast and varied that it’s difficult to be scared away from gaming that badly. It’s an age where what defines a game is so ambiguous and diverse that it’s near impossible to be turned off by absolutely every title on the market. This is why games are such a fantastic medium today; there’s just so much to play. New niches are being formed and filled as we speak and even the most jaded, cynical technophobe would have to find some aspect of a video game that’s worth a considerable look. It’s hard to explain what exactly makes games so magical, since we all have our own little moments of fascination with games, ones that kept us playing throughout the entire story and into the sequel.

Editor’s Note: Before reading this review, we highly recommend checking out our review for Episode One: The Order of the Stone , Episode 2: Assembly Required , Episode 3: The Last Place You Look and Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place as there are spoilers ahead.

Sometimes, though, developers go the extra mile and build a vertical slice to demonstrate their game. This is a lot of work – even re-using assets from the game, you’re looking at many hours of scripting and scenario design – but the payoff speaks for itself. Bravely Default’s demo is essentially its own mini-RPG, with three dungeons to conquer, five bosses to fight, and a whole bunch of enjoyable grinding to do in the interim. It has condensed versions of the streetpass and job mechanics from the main game that allow you to familiarize yourself and get to the fun quickly. The demo may take all of its assets from the main game, but it uses them to craft an experience entirely distinct from it. In doing so, it gets straight to the essence of what makes the full game fun. What’s more, if you master the demo, you get rewards to help you out in the early game, as well as a head start on streetpasses.

This has been gone over in many other articles, https://WWW.Mcversehub.com/articles/minecraft-s-Real-world-expansion-the-aotearoa-new-zealand-dlc-and-what-it-means-for-Gaming-s-future.html but the short version is that what the player sees in VR is strong enough to trigger an instinctual expectation of motion that, when the body doesn't feel it, causes a nausea reaction. You're seeing something that the brain knows is wrong based on physical feedback; the most likely cause based on data from the last several million years of evolution is some kind of ingested toxin, so systems get purged to remove the poisons from the body as fast as possible. Personally I just get a nasty headach and woozy feeling, but other people need an emergency bucket available. The cost/benefit ratio to FPS VR is completely off, no matter how cool it seems before the reaction kicks in. At this point I've learned the best thing to do with a VR FPS is to poke in for no more than two to three minutes to get a sense of the environment, and then switch back to the monitor and never use the headset for it again.

The episode in itself offers a lot of promise for the rest of the announced episode, but it also cuts them short. The next slew of episodes will be adding new story arcs to the new Order of the Stone as they go on new adventures to build up their legacy. That being said, in the two hours it took to finish the episode to its completion, it made the entire premise feel very unimportant. So much had happened and so much story and character development was involved that Telltale could have made the entire plot itself into a single season if they wanted to. Some characters could have definitely used some development to give the story a little more depth and the entirety of Sky City itself has so much more that could have been explored. It's a little bit of a shame that what could have become a great season based on the new Order of the Stone's adventures was downgraded into a single episode that takes place over the course of about two days.

The problem is that VR is such an incredibly tempting target that it's nearly impossible to not experiment with applying it to the FPS experience. (For the sake of argument, lets call any first-person game you move around in an FPS experience, even if no shooting is involved.) The incredible presence is still wonderful even after repeated exposure, and who wouldn't want to feel the full sense of scale of the world they're gaming inside? VR Minecraft? After the hundreds of hours I've put into that game it sounds like the best idea ever, except for the small issue outlined in the previous paragraph. On the plus side, Microsoft and Mojang haven't ignored the problem, and while one viewing mode is self-defeating and another a guaranteed ticket to quick nausea, the recommended VR controls actually work. It's awkward and jerky, but actually allows the game to be played with no discomfort.

Even better, indie games can afford to lose. They are often low cost, low maintenance, high concept works that don't rely on reaching a certain figure to be considered viable, and as such they can throw caution to the wind and take some big risks while still making a profit off of even the most modest sales. That means they can also afford to remain loyal to a system like an undertaker with a debt to the don, as while they might want the money that can come with being a multi-platform release, what they need is the backing and spiritual support of a major company like Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo to get their games out there. A backing that is no longer lip service and is becoming very, very real.
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6624/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-5-order-up/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:56:28 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6604/review-minecraft-dungeons/ The Wii U is in bad shape. While that's clear from the system's sales figures , which were a major contributor to Nintendo president Saturo Iwata recently deciding to cut his salary in half , the issues surrounding Nintendo's flagship system are much greater in truth than just click the next website page some slumping sales.


Palworld should not work anywhere near as well as it does. Combining multiple genres and concepts, the game should buckle under the weight of its ambition; yet, nearly everything clicks to create an experience quite unlike anything else on the market. Both Minecraft and Palworld demonstrate that the sky is the limit for the indie market. Even though it is still too early to guarantee its longevity, there is nothing to suggest that Palworld will not remain a fixture of the gaming landscape for ye

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Perrson, and other representatives from studio Mojang, have addressed the absence of a Wii U version of Minecraft on several occasions. The most recent of which came from Notch himself who said that Mojang simply doesn't have the free time to be working on a Wii U version at this moment. Though he does acknowledge that version of the game would "make sense."

It’s safe to say that Minecraft has become one of biggest gaming phenomenons ever, earning mass cultural significance and merchandising opportunities, all while solidifying Persson’s creative mastery and contributing to the indie game boom of the 2010s, but Minecraft has taught many gamers and developers alike that there are ways to approach game design from other angles and still provide a fulfilling experience. When it comes right down to it, gaming hasn’t had the kind of creative milestone Minecraft has shown in a long time. It uses the gaming medium in groundbreaking ways that no other medium can use; it is a work of art in every sense of the matter.
The game begins with the newly formed Order of the Stone infiltrating a dungeon that Ivor tipped them off to. They manage to find a treasure room that contains what appears to be an enchanted flint and steel. After escaping the booby trapped dungeon, they come across the former Ocelots and their leader Aiden. They don't seem too happy with the fact that you reached the dungeon before they did, Aiden mostly, and they begin to spew hurtful comments to the new team. Ambushed by the former Ocelots, now known as the Blaze Rods, Jessie and his friends explore an entirely new area only known as Sky City where resources are plentiful but nothing exists below the world. the world is conceived using what is only knows as the Eversource, a material that has the power to create all materials. Aiden convinces the city's ruler that the Order is up to no good so that they can be punished and he could take the Eversource for himself. While this episode may be jam-packed with story and new characters, be warned; this will not be the last we see of Minecraft: Story Mode.

He's not the only one who thinks so. A quick Google Image search of "Minecraft Wii U" reveals a host of fan made mock ups that make it clear why a Wii U version of Minecraft would not only make sense, but may result in the definitive version of the game.

It wasn't meant to last though, as even though the 32/64 bit era only barely blurred the party lines, with every subsequent gaming generation, it became harder and harder to separate one system from another just by looking at the games on the store shelves. By the time that Peter Moore revealed a "GTA IV" tattoo on his arm at E3, the message was clear that Triple A titles had become too big and too expensive to only commit to one system or another and, outside of some in-house and privately published development teams, the idea of big name exclusives was a dying light in the night drowned out by the dawn of a new day.

If you’re a gamer and you haven’t read Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal (you might have seen her on The Colbert Report ), head on over to Amazon and check it out. It’s a fascinating look into how video games are making the world a better place, but also how we look at games overall. In the first chapter, she illustrates four main components of any game, one of which being the "goal", that important drive that gives gamers incentive to continue. It’s essential to any kind of game because without it, the game doesn’t have a meaning. It’s generally pointless to play, and therefore, a gamer won’t play.

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 5: Order Up! shapes up to be an incredible introduction to the Order of the Stone's newest adventures, but still manages to fall a little short. Telltale introduces new concepts, characters and worlds, but their biggest mistake was shoving it all into a single episode. Had they created a separate season talking about the events of Sky City and expanding a little bit more on the environments and characters, this episode would have been much more successful. That being said, however, this episode does deviate from previous installments as being much more adult and changes the characters as once being small time builders to being full-fledged heroes risking their lives to save common folk. Hopefully Telltale will continue to capitalize on that aspect of the characters and convey it in the following episodes.
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6604/review-minecraft-dungeons/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:17:15 +0000 Margarita Clapp https://stayclose.social/blog/6592/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-1-the-order-of-the-stone/ From the same people that brought us Game of Thrones and Tales From the Borderlands comes their newest decision based game, Minecraft: Story Mode. Telltale Games is notorious for their rigorous storytelling and memorable characters and this time is no different. You play as Jesse, regardless of which gender you choose at the beginning, who is on a mission to create the greatest build at EnderCon, (Enderman Convention if you didn't catch on). The winner gets to meet the great Gabriel of the Order of the Stone, a group of people who slayed the Ender Dragon years ago but have disbanded since. Of course, the episode would be nothing without some kind of story of revenge that spirals the characters into an adventure that they would have never seen themselves in. Someone sets out to create a Wither, a huge monster that sets out to consume everything, leaving you and your friends to seek out the Order of the Stone. You are accompanied by your friends Olivia, confidant and trusty, Axel, large and loyal, and Reuben, a pig. Telltale hit the nail on the head this time with a different, family-friendly take on one of their main installments. No prior knowledge of the original building game is needed, but it would help if you had some basic terminology.

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Perrson, and other representatives from studio Mojang, have addressed the absence of a Wii U version of Minecraft on several occasions. The most recent of which came from Notch himself who said that Mojang simply doesn't have the free time to be working on a Wii U version at this moment. Though he does acknowledge that version of the game would "make sense."

Minecraft: Story Mode strays from the more mature content that Telltale normally associates themselves with and manages to create a fun, family-friendly world for one with no real story. The episode is expertly done and gives players a perfect standalone game to the critically acclaimed game from Mojang. With the new lore introduced in the first episode, it's hard to believe what other new content will be available to us in the coming episodes. By focusing on a new concept that strays from their normally mature games, this episode paves the way for what is hopefully a great series from a great developer.

The Wii U is in bad shape. While that's clear from the system's sales figures , which were a major contributor to Nintendo president Saturo Iwata recently deciding to cut his salary in half , the issues surrounding Nintendo's flagship system are much greater in truth than just some slumping sales.

Minecraft on the Wii U is not the answer to all of the system's problems. What it would be, though, is an almost guaranteed financial success that would serve as a loud and clear symbol that Nintendo is not only aware of the complaints against it, but are ready to start taking actions to remedy them. Instead, its continued absence serves as yet another cause for fans to invoke a phrase that's becoming all too common, and increasingly disheartening:


While a steep departure from the main game, Minecraft Dungeons was a great success in its own right, with fans enjoying its cute graphics and enjoyable gameplay. While there are plenty of great dungeon crawler games out there, many of them are not suitable for younger audiences, which is one of the reasons that Minecraft Dungeons was so appeal

Clocking in at roughly two hours, this episode is one of the longer Telltale episodes right behind the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands. Even though it’s generally long for an episode, it doesn’t mean that time was wasted. With every passing second, new lore is learned about this rendition of the Minecraft world and how characters perceive the strange world around them. Who knew that people were pretty used to the idea of killing a dragon from another dimension and hosting a convention in honor of the heroes who slew it?

Giving life to a game that is notorious for not having any real plot or development within the story, Telltale did an incredible job capturing the world of Minecraft . They gave insight into the inhabitants of whatever world Minecraft takes place in and what they do when they aren't building or crafting. Inhabitants don't go around killing every zombie and spider in sight and in fact aren't actually set on mining for the greatest minerals to build the biggest buildings and the greatest weapons, which makes sense. With the decision-based mechanics of the episode, you give Jesse the opportunity to make his,(or her) own decisions that will essentially shape his personality as well as the way that others perceive him. Though a good majority of the decisions only result in "She/He will remember that," some are detrimental decisions that can make or break your situation. Regardless of How Rare Is A Chicken Jockey In Minecraft you play the episode, it offers a lot more than just being a TV show that you play and allows players the chance to create the story that they couldn't play before. For being only the first episode in this five episode series, the series gets off to an incredible start.
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/6592/review-minecraft-story-mode-episode-1-the-order-of-the-stone/ Tue, 16 Dec 2025 19:59:56 +0000 Margarita Clapp