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.

Escape Room Strategy Combines With Survival Horror in Do Not Open

Those who like escape rooms will find a lot to enjoy about Do Not Open, which presents an entire mansion to explore and multiple escape room like scenarios. But there is one big twist. When you take too long to open the exit, a monster starts stalking around the halls to add one scary additional challenge.

Save State Dives Into the Rapids of Rampage in River City Girls 2

River City Girls 2 continues the tradition of being a wonderful beat ‘em up series. As funny and irreverent as it is a solid combatant, this is one title that no self-respecting brawler will want to miss. It also has four player co-op for even more punch.

Save State Leaps Into the Sonic Inspired Series Spark the Electric Jester

Fresh off his review of Sonic Frontiers, Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney goes racing off again with an indie game series called Spark the Electric Jester, which is inspired by all things Sonic the Hedgehog. Let’s see how well this new game flies around its electrified tracks.

Pokémon Series Tries Something New With Scarlet and Violet

The beloved Pokémon series has undergone many reiterations, although they are mostly filled with incremental changes. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet really does try something new with the introduction of the robust open world Paldea region and three separate story paths.

For Your Steam Awards Consideration: Astlibra Revision

It’s time for the Steam Awards. This year, Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney is putting forward an indie game called Astlibra Revision which he hopes everyone will consider with a nomination because it’s certainly a labor of love for the developers and fun to play as well.

The Blue Blur Blazes New Trails in Sonic Frontiers

The iconic Sonic the Hedgehog blazes onto the scene once more in the brand new Sonic Frontiers adventure. With a gigantic cast of characters, beautifully rendered new levels and speedy challenges, this could be the game that helps Sonic race back to the top of the heap.

Digging Into the Delightful Shovel Knight Dig

The original Shovel Knight game helped to boost the entire indie game movement. Now, developer Nitrome and publisher Yacht Club Games are back with Shovel Knight Dig, hoping to tunnel towards success with platformer players one more time.

Save State Jumps into Classic Sonic Games to Get Ready for Sonic Frontiers

In this week’s Save State, columnist Vincent Mahoney, who’s a self-professed big fan of the blue blur, prepares for the new Sonic game by first jumping into some classic Sonic titles before grabbing at Sonic Frontier’s golden rings.

Save State Talks About Turnip Boy and Taxes

This week our Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney decides to tackle one of the most bizarre titles that he has looked at in a long time. Get those vegetables ready to rumble this week as he goes farming with Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion.

It’s Toga Time for Save State With the Isometric Roguelite Hades This Week

A terrible dental crisis has had our Save State columnist, Vincent Mahoney, having a hell of a week, so he decided to lean into that theme and play Hades to take his mind off things. What he finds there is a beautiful platformer that not only plays well on his PC, but also works perfectly on the Steam Deck for those who may or may not be temporarily bedridden.