Sean Jordan | Sharing Great Games You Probably Never Played!

Why do I hate the term "Metroidvania?" Because like a lot of gaming terms, it's convenient and sloppy and boxes games into a certain style of play rather than categorizing them in a useful way. I favor a term like "progressive exploration action sidescroller," but that's admittedly pretty clunky.

I remember firing this game up on launch day and being STUNNED. There was no hype. It came out of nowhere and was instantly the gotta have it game. It's rare you get to experience something that evolutionary for gaming! Only a handful of games have ever achieved what GTA III did.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

BioWare was supposedly working on a new Mass Effect game, and EA cut their funding on all other projects to prioritize it. But clearly, we're never going to see that. What we'll probably have to look forward to instead is Exodus, made by ex-BioWare devs.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

The waning era of BioWare started in 2019 with the botched release of their live-service game Anthem. EA (now their owner) charged BioWare with making a live-service action title that didn't really play to their strengths. Anthem sold 5 million copies, but is widely considered a failure today.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

Dragon Age and Mass Effect were joined by a third game - Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare's excellent and very distinctive MMORPG set hundreds of years after KOTOR but thousands of years before the movie. I love this game. It has hundreds of hours of incredible stories to experience!

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

One of the reasons Dragon Age was so successful was because it offered a role-playing experience that was accessible for console players and immersive but still grounded in third person tactical combat. Another was its excellent cast of characters and branching storyline. Who can forget Morrigan?

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

The Mass Effect games were groundbreaking for a number of reasons, including the (fully-voiced!) choice of gender for Shepherd, the dramatic choices involving which characters would live or die and, of course, the graphic sex scenes that made this series feel very adult.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

BioWare tried to apply their RPG formula to something more family-friendly with Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. But it wound up being one of their worst-regarded games since it didn't live up to the potential of being a BioWare game OR a Sonic game. Even so, I feel it's also underrated.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

One of the things that made KOTOR so interesting was its light side and dark side reputation system. While the D&D games had also employed reputation to some degree, in KOTOR, the effects impacted the look and progression of your character as well as the story ending. Plus, Revan was awesome!

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

The promise of bringing D&D's 3rd edition ruleset into a full 3D game engine seemed unbelievable when BioWare launched Neverwinter Nights in 2002, but even more amazing was that the game was built for players to create their own campaigns, not just play the (excellent) pre-made ones.

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

If there was any question Baldur's Gate was a fluke, BioWare cemented its status with Baldur's Gate II, which was not only a superior game but one that also rewarded players who carried over their characters (a common feature in CRPGs) with a deeper, more personal story. It's still fantastic today!

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

BioWare's first game in 1996 was a really mediocre mech cockpit game called Shattered Steel that was more of a tech demo for a deformable terrain 3D engine than a full-on mech game. Nobody had any idea what this studio would do a couple of years later with its first big hit.