Series: Join The Game : NPR

'Disco Elysium: The Final Cut' Is A Grimly Gorgeous Genre-Bender

At the start of Disco Elysium, you wake up in a crummy hostel room, without your memories — and without your pants. ZA/UM hide caption

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ZA/UM

'Disco Elysium: The Final Cut' Is A Grimly Gorgeous Genre-Bender

April 7, 2021 • In Disco Elysium, you play as an unnamed detective figuring out the story behind a dead body in a windswept, wintry city. The new Final Cut edition features extra quests and a fully-voiced script.

A Year Of Falling Stars, Evening Swims And Friendship: Animal Crossing Turns One

Wish on stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the next morning, jewel-bright star fragments will wash up on your beaches. Screenshot by Amal El-Mohtar/Nintendo hide caption

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Screenshot by Amal El-Mohtar/Nintendo

A Year Of Falling Stars, Evening Swims And Friendship: Animal Crossing Turns One

March 27, 2021 • Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out a year ago and quickly became the game of the pandemic era, offering a candy-colored fantasy world where the occasional bug bite is the worst that can happen.

The Latest Chapters In Gaming's Favorite Farm Story Wither On The Vine

Pioneers of Olive Town is flawed, but the actual farming is soothing and engaging. Screenshot by Kaity Kline/Marvelous/Xseed Games hide caption

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Screenshot by Kaity Kline/Marvelous/Xseed Games

The Latest Chapters In Gaming's Favorite Farm Story Wither On The Vine

March 26, 2021 • Harvest Moon: One World and Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town are the latest installments in a beloved, long-running series of farming sims — but fans may want to stick with older games.

Microtransactions Are Great For Game Companies, Less Fun For Players

One of the suits of armor available in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla — if you're willing to pay real money. Screenshot by Elijah Smith/Ubisoft hide caption

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Screenshot by Elijah Smith/Ubisoft

Microtransactions Are Great For Game Companies, Less Fun For Players

March 11, 2021 • Microtransactions are small in-game purchases that grant you mostly cosmetic upgrades — but sometimes, they can affect game play. And some gamers say they're becoming increasingly intrusive.

Nintendo's 'Super Mario 3D World' Gets Another Chance On The Switch

Super Mario 3D World allows online multiplayer in a beautifully designed environment. Nintendo hide caption

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Nintendo

Nintendo's 'Super Mario 3D World' Gets Another Chance On The Switch

February 18, 2021 • The original Super Mario 3D World was one of the many good Wii U games that never got a chance, because no one bought the console. Now, it's getting a new lease on life as a Switch re-release.

For The Kid In Your Life, 3 Video Games That Play Like Storybooks

Explore Nordic forests (okay, and some monsters) in Röki. Polygon Treehouse hide caption

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Polygon Treehouse

For The Kid In Your Life, 3 Video Games That Play Like Storybooks

January 14, 2021 • Explore alien worlds, Nordic forests, and European countrysides in these point-and-click games — which may not have been designed specifically for kids, but will definitely keep them entertained.

Sweater Design? Gin Rummy? Typing? These Are The Mario Games You've Never Heard Of

Super Mario no Sweater let you design a sweater and send away to have it made for real. Screenshot by Brittany Vincent/Royal Industries Co. Ltd hide caption

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Screenshot by Brittany Vincent/Royal Industries Co. Ltd

Sweater Design? Gin Rummy? Typing? These Are The Mario Games You've Never Heard Of

January 7, 2021 • Everyone who's ever played a video game knows Super Mario Brothers — but did you know Nintendo's iconic goofy plumber also taught typing, dealt gin rummy and even helped program sewing machines?

Run, Die, Repeat: How Roguelike Games Helped Us Get Through 2020

When nothing else works, you can lose yourself in the simple repetition of a game like Into the Breach. Subset Games hide caption

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Subset Games

Run, Die, Repeat: How Roguelike Games Helped Us Get Through 2020

December 31, 2020 • Video games can offer immense, immersive open worlds — but for some players, the small-scale grinding repetition of the games known as "roguelikes" is a better way to pass the time.

In 2020, Indie Games Were A Well-Deserved Distraction

This is not a representation of what 2020 felt like — it's a screen shot from Dead Cells. Motion Twin hide caption

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Motion Twin

In 2020, Indie Games Were A Well-Deserved Distraction

December 24, 2020 • 2020 is almost over — and if you're anything like us, you spent a lot of time this year escaping into video games. Here are five favorite independent games that helped us get through the year.

CD Projekt Red

In 'Cyberpunk 2077,' The Only Truly Punk Move Is Not To Play

December 22, 2020 • CD Projekt Red's hotly-anticipated new game turned out to be a buggy mess — but beyond that, it's just a bad game that doesn't do justice to the gritty, anti-corporate nature of its source material.

'Genshin Impact' Is Free-To-Play Fun — If You Can Resist Opening Your Wallet

Genshin Impact has a huge world to explore, and a surprising amount of content for a free-to-play game. Screenshot by Kaity Kline/MiHoYo hide caption

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Screenshot by Kaity Kline/MiHoYo

'Genshin Impact' Is Free-To-Play Fun — If You Can Resist Opening Your Wallet

November 26, 2020 • The exploration and combat game Genshin Impact has earned some favorable comparisons to Nintendo's Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but like many free-to-play games, it's good at getting you to spend money.

It's Not Easy Porting Games To The Nintendo Switch — But Developers Do It Anyhow

Nintendo's Switch console is less powerful than competing consoles, but offers a more interesting gameplay experience. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images