Author: Vincent Mahoney

Vincent is a game reviewer, graphic designer, illustrator and insurance agent: He wears many hats, but none of them properly cover his bald spot. His long-term goal is to publish a comic of the story he and his wife created together. He grew up playing action-platform games such as Super Mario, Metroid, Mega Man, Contra and Castlevania, but discovered his love for RPGs through Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy VI, then embarking upon a quest to play every RPG he possibly can. At over 200 RPGs and counting the quest is not going so well, and there are buster swords, giant cats, eight virtues and personae appearing to him in his sleep. Please send help.

Sovereign Syndicate: A High Point for Narrative RPGs

The Victorian England steampunk setting is a perfect backdrop for the narrative-focused RPG Sovereign Syndicate. Similar to other titles like Disco Elysium and almost as wacky with its unique characters and dialogue, it has players playing as three different characters and uses tarot cards instead of dice to determine skill checks.

The Joker Is Truly Wild in Balatro Deck Builder

Balatro is a new roguelike deck builder that takes the general rules of poker, and then uses mercurial joker cards to magically scramble everything around for players trying to achieve high scores and battle big bosses. It’s a unique experience with eight difficulty levels to test players’ skills and luck.

Save State Has Three Times the Fun With the Ace Attorney Trilogy

Back when he was much younger, Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney was a tremendous fan of the Ace Attorney series. The first three titles are now available in the new Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, so he’s enjoying all the visual novel and courtroom antics this week.

Rising Lords Offers Challenging Medieval City Building and Combat

There is a little bit of everything in Rising Lords, which on the surface plays like a medieval version of Civilization. But below the surface you have elements of city building, turn-based combat, management and even some board game elements to keep things interesting.

Save State Rolls Into Fantasy Grounds

Tasked with running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for a group of far-flung friends, Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney decided to invest in Fantasy Grouds, an online tabletop simulator designed to bring remote role-players together for adventure.

Diving Into Diablo III’s Endgame 12 Years Later

While much of the world is slaying demons in Diablo IV, Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney is adventuring once more in Diablo III. But there is a method to his madness. After 12 years, the endgame is finally fixed.