in Reflection
Latest stories
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in TSG AsksTSG Asks: Should questionable development practices affect game reviews?
Making video games is a difficult business. From one-man passion projects to small independent studios to massive, international development teams, it doesn’t matter how many people you have working on a game it will always be a struggle to make great art. This difficulty often leads to unreasonable work hours and inordinate amounts of anxiety, […] More
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in NewsOne Hand Clapping wows IndieCade attendees
Indiecade was the first gaming convention that I went to. Beforehand, I went to a writing convention in Los Angeles and D23 in Anaheim. I never knew how much fun it would be to play so many unique and different games currently in development. There was a lot of games there that were so unique […] More
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in VideoRed Dead Redemption 2 has an overwhelming start that eventually reveals a deeply immersive experience
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a difficult game to wrap your head around. While it opens with an entertaining introduction to the Van der Linde Gang that functions as a tutorial to the title’s basic mechanics, it quickly sets you loose in a hostile world with very little information. It’s hard to get things done […] More
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in FeatureWhat Red Dead Redemption 2 understands about open-world games that Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey doesn’t
This October saw the release of two epically large open-world games: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2. It isn’t fair to pit these two against each other for the sake of determining which is better. It’s Red Dead Redemption 2. That game had the benefit of nearly eight years in development and a […] More
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in Feature[UPDATED 10/30] Bowsette and other cool cosplay from LA Comic Con 2018
Last weekend, I gallivanted around the Los Angeles Convention Center at LA Comic Con 2018 filming for a cosplay video that should come out later this week. While you wait for that, here are some photos of cosplayers who I thought were noteworthy, but who didn’t fit the theme of my video. More
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in TSG AsksTSG Asks: What game do you still need to finish?
Finishing video games can be quite the ordeal. While some games can be completed in a single afternoon sitting, others can be 100+ hour projects that require investment, commitment, and endurance to power through. Beyond sheer size, there are other factors that can get in the way like not having a buddy to play a […] More
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Gameplay: Our first foray into the wilds of Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is probably the biggest game of the year and it has finally arrived! It’s been eight years since Red Dead Redemption set the world on fire and we can already tell that the wait has been worth it. Now that we’ve got our hands all over it, we wanted to show […] More
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Game of the Month Recap: Celeste (Jan 2018)
We’re trying out an idea we’ve had for quite some time now. Moving forward, all of our Game of the Month winner announcements will be accompanied by a video. Instead of awkwardly starting in October, we’ve decided to catch for the whole year. Expect one Game of the Month video every week through January until […] More
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in GameplayWhat happens when you combine Super Mario Party with alcohol?
Mario Party has been turning friends into enemies since 1998. Everyone on staff has fond memories of playing the Nintendo 64 entries. Over the years, the game has strayed away from its classic board game formula, but Super Mario Party on Nintendo Switch is a true return to form. So the Top Shelf Gaming staff […] More
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in ReflectionWhat’s the big deal about Ocarina of Time?
I was a young kid when I played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, the game that introduced me to the Zelda series. It was my cousin’s game on the handheld Gameboy Advance console. I started playing it and I just couldn’t enjoy it. Since it was such a long time ago, I don’t […] More
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in TSG AsksTSG Asks: What sequel is better than the original?
Creating a good sequel can be tricky. Developers usually want to improve aspects of the previous game that worked while also changing aspects of the series so that it can evolve in a meaningful way. Sometimes this causes a series’ later entries to look nothing like their predecessors while other times they can appear surprisingly […] More