Joshua Wolens
One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.
Latest articles by Joshua Wolens
![Darius - an armoured warrior with a huge greataxe.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zG7uxT4WYFFMH7frnmWee9-320-80.jpg)
Senior Riot devs say the League of Legends playerbase is getting older, with fewer newbies jumping in: 'Candidly, it's not the same situation it was 10 years ago'
By Ted Litchfield published
news It's a common problem in long running live service games: how do you onboard new players into something this complex?
![Gallica and the protagonist from Metaphor: ReFantazio.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VzC9UmBpZN8zKuCLeTcb8K-320-80.jpg)
Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a fantasy Persona where no one was allowed to say no to the art team
By Joshua Wolens published
Persona-ly Speaking Atlus finally asks itself the most powerful question in gaming: What if we made it British?
![Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s9KFCMssBqURzNJs8jCY83-320-80.jpg)
Our 13 favorite games from the 2024 summer gaming showcases
By Tyler Wilde published
best in show After seeing what felt like hundreds of games, we've picked a few that really stood out.
![Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xdbgp4pDwCuLFHYCvH6MUc-320-80.jpg)
Casper Van Dien is loving the Starship Troopers renaissance but finds it mind-boggling some still take it at face value: 'My grandfather fought against the Nazis, and it's not a pro-war film—Everybody f***ing dies!'
By Rich Stanton published
news "Quentin Tarantino talked to me for five hours about why Starship Troopers is one of the best movies ever made."
![A lineup of heroes from Dragon Age: The Veilguard.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/E4c9Ea6RPxrdUkiXmst7ME-320-80.jpg)
With Veilguard, Dragon Age becomes what it was probably always destined to be: A Mass Effect game
By Joshua Wolens published
Unveiled Thedas is more beautiful than ever in the hour I spent with Veilguard, but I'm left wondering if Dragon Age has shed its RPG heritage.
![Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xdbgp4pDwCuLFHYCvH6MUc-320-80.jpg)
Casper Van Dien says Helldivers 2 may be 'a good tribute' but now he's Johnny Rico again, and Starship Troopers fans better 'come in here and help us kill some damn bugs—Yeah!'
By Rich Stanton published
news "This is what I'd be playing anyhow, because this is my world."
![Various characters sit on a stage on some kind of TV chat show.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jiUj2mt2zPKveFdYLdbnGW-320-80.png)
Rise of the Golden Idol goes full Columbo as it transports the first game's 18th-century murder solving to the 1970s
By Joshua Wolens published
PCGS Formica, disco, and death.
![The Enigma Squad from Sumerian Six.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Foe5nM3Fs2XwxGFTdKhPum-320-80.jpg)
Sumerian Six is a WW2 stealth tactics game that summons up all my childhood memories of Desperados and Commandos, and also summons up literal demons
By Joshua Wolens published
PCGS You gotta take the good with the bad.
![Grapping a thug by his lapel in Fallen Aces.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MS7qhzH7G8h6XFX6KPXbwE-320-80.jpg)
Sneak past, shoot through, or throw rats at your foes in Fallen Aces, a bloody and creative FPS that is coming out next week
By Joshua Wolens published
PCGS Whiskey and stogy optional but encouraged.
![A starship trooper points into the camera while being attacked by bugs on all sides.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xt9Rpm4DV7CAFAcWaXcFwi-320-80.jpg)
The official Starship Troopers co-op shooter has a full release date, Casper Van Dien, and a miraculous-sounding corpse pile-up system: 'No other game has been able to achieve persistent death at the scale we're doing'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Starship Troopers: Extermination leaves early access this October.
![The player wrestles with an alligator.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/V5FJhAhjZQuaf2zxkpmyMo-320-80.jpg)
An FPS series that dominated Chinese net cafes in the '90s is being revived: I tried it, and wound up breaking all the bones in my character's body
By Joshua Wolens published
Let's Delta Delta Force: Hawk Ops is a new entry in a series that last surfaced in 2009.
![Finding a strange studio with a giant chicken in it.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/A5GwSCnNH4zGQe8MjT369C-320-80.jpg)
This anti-meat industry horror game was inspired by the death of the dev's pet chicken, and it's basically Abe's Oddysee plus Resident Evil but you're poultry
By Joshua Wolens published
News I'm hoping vegano-horror becomes a whole genre.
![Face covered with oil looking at fire](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yFKBgaU3ErEdyPTpLyx23b-320-80.jpg)
Frostpunk's lead designer was 'dumbstruck' at the insanely difficult self-imposed challenges players managed in the brutal settlement sim: 'I was like, that's not possible'
By Ted Litchfield published
news "And there's a group of people who really enjoy playing like that."
![Nikki from Infinity Nikki flashes a peace sign at the camera.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZTSDrkiybGEMxjW6SjhYr5-320-80.jpg)
The Sony State of Play 'open-world dress-up adventure' game and the RPG where you carry a child on your back are both headed for PC
By Joshua Wolens published
News I am going to look amazing.
![frostpunk art](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4FWJZXEWGnEUQnw6Rg5PLJ-320-80.jpg)
Frostpunk devs say they're not out to make 'depression simulators' despite all the death and child labour: 'There always has to be a good way out'
By Joshua Wolens published
News So it's just my cities that are like that, then?
![Face covered with oil looking at fire](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yFKBgaU3ErEdyPTpLyx23b-320-80.jpg)
In Frostpunk 2's post-post-apocalypse 'it's not nature that's your worst enemy, it's human nature,' and nothing proves that like my doomed attempt at turbo-communism
By Joshua Wolens published
Red and Blue You've got nothing to lose but your chains. Oh, and the coal. You could definitely also lose the coal.
![Multiple versions of Jan Dolski quarrel with each other in keyart for The Alters.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qu2e6Mn82gBP4LGuoamDp-320-80.jpg)
I took my alternate-universe self on a pierogi date in the Subnautica-style survival game from This War of Mine's creators, and now I can't wait to see more
By Joshua Wolens published
Alter Egomania The many strange layers of The Alters has suddenly made it one of the game's I'm most interested in this year.
![Best free Steam games - Counter-Strike 2 header image](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xz2HxeuCGUzmZKoWCdp8JV-320-80.jpg)
The best free games on Steam
By Joshua Wolens last updated
Updated! Nothing but the best free Steam games you can play right now.
![A knight on a rearing horse inspires the troops](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PZzoGuVySwwzy8LQjtfdkW-320-80.jpg)
Starving Heroes of Might & Magic fans finally eat as spiritual successor Songs of Conquest leaves its 2-year early access behind
By Joshua Wolens published
News When the HoMM you have at home is actually better.
![Morrowind](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8Cs2LdUoSYndUiKdaU3hXc-320-80.jpg)
Bethesda won't make a game as cool as Morrowind ever again, so thank god an original dev has come back 20 years on to make quest mods for it
By Joshua Wolens published
News Douglas Goodall has returned to the game he helped make with a bunch of mods.
![Alex Horne and Greg Davies on Taskmaster stage](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mEeK7HTS2q4gcdC3HNgyVF-320-80.jpg)
The Taskmaster VR game is out in a few weeks, and Little Alex Horne is resigned to what his avatar can expect from you sickos: 'They will definitely do things to me'
By Joshua Wolens published
News But he's at least pretty sure you can't strip him like they do in the show.
![Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker depicted in art for Star Wars: Unlimited.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gqiGzsif7Q3fhhdQJKPkUQ-320-80.jpg)
One of Star Wars' most baffling post-Lucas edits is becoming an ability card in an official TCG
By Joshua Wolens published
News A clunky edit, you might say.
![Congressional candidate and former Bungie composer Martin O'Donnell speaks to the camera next to a pickup truck.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/p2JH25CkjqZDfEJqYfjPh9-320-80.png)
Former Bungie composer reckons he can enter Congress against impossible odds no problem because it'll be 'a walk in the park compared to making Halo 2'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Marty O'Donnell says what's happening in Congress is "like a walk in the park compared to making Halo 2."