https://jamesfitzpatrick2.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for James FitzpatrickenThu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/544a42d2-10e2-45c1-a8f8-2e415723836b.pdfWith tears in my eyes, I stand over your grave. The autumn cool is descending into a winter chill. Wind sweeps over my stalk still form, rustling my hair. Waltzing with loose clothing. Dry air carried with it robs any exposed flesh of moisture. Hairline cracks form on my knuckles, baring their painful, red maw.Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/544a42d2-10e2-45c1-a8f8-2e415723836b.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/1695d16c-0b9d-45fc-975b-974ee4b07c99.pdfThis is a world unlike our own. A boxed-in world with literal borders stretching up into the unknown. A world of pollution infecting the land and air. All water is stagnant. The unfortunate souls born of this world never live long: the average life span is roughly twenty years. Not that they know. They’ve no need for numbers, and no desire to question their existence. They just are.Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/1695d16c-0b9d-45fc-975b-974ee4b07c99.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/cd3fec82-c4ac-4173-ad2a-fae90ae08e82.pdfA faint noise that did not want to be heard reached Wig’s sleeping ears, rousing him. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness before scanning his surroundings. The limited moonlight entering the room accented the shadows which were detailed by its pale glow. An intimate familiarity with the room allowed his mind to fill in the blanks of what the various shadowed forms were that he saw. There was nothing amiss other than the unoccupied bed across from his own, its blankets hastily tossed aside. Wig’s head snapped to the bedroom door, positive of the source of the sound that awoke him.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/468268/uploads/cd3fec82-c4ac-4173-ad2a-fae90ae08e82.pdfhttps://indierift.com/strings-theory-review/I’ve been writing here for a while now. Back when it was called Dual Squirrels—though the name had to change when one ate the other. In my time here, I’ve written more previews than reviews. It only makes sense that eventually I’d circle back and do follow-ups to some of those previews, numerous as they are. And so it happens again! This one is the quickest turnaround so far.Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/strings-theory-review/https://indierift.com/mafia-the-old-country-review/I know what you must be thinking. “Gasp! indieRift covering a triple A title? J’accuse!” Well, I attended a panel about it at PAX and wrote a first look that got (for me) a lot of attention. So… deal with it.Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/mafia-the-old-country-review/https://indierift.com/ccarrion-review/Playing as the villain isn’t a new concept in gaming. I’m not talking about morality-driven titles like Fallout or Fable, where the player chooses whether their character becomes good or bad. I mean games where the protagonist is objectively not a good person, titles like God of War, Braid, and The Last of Us Part I.Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/ccarrion-review/https://indierift.com/metroidvanias-pax-east-2025/There was a time not that long ago when you couldn’t shake a stick in the indie scene without hitting a metroidvania. Since then, the trend has inevitably moved on as roguelites have taken that mantle. But stepping out of the spotlight isn’t the same as disappearing completely.Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/metroidvanias-pax-east-2025/https://indierift.com/from-sicily-with-style-mafia-the-old-country-delivers-a-powerful-first-impression-at-pax-east-2025-exclusive-first-look/The acclaimed mobster series is back, this time shifting from its traditional American backdrop to early 20th-century Sicily. Mafia: The Old Country serves as an origin story not just within the franchise, but in the broader context of modern organized crime.Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/from-sicily-with-style-mafia-the-old-country-delivers-a-powerful-first-impression-at-pax-east-2025-exclusive-first-look/https://indierift.com/get-tangled-up-in-cozy-fun-with-strings-theory-the-puzzle-game-you-didnt-know-you-needed-pax-east-2025-hands-on-impressions/Sometimes a game can just be one thing, and that’s perfectly okay. The industry has evolved to where games often blend multiple genres out of necessity. RPG elements have found their way into sports and racing games, just to name a couple examples. And trust me, I’m all for it. That said, this is me being the “old man yelling at the clouds,” nostalgic for when games were simpler.Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/get-tangled-up-in-cozy-fun-with-strings-theory-the-puzzle-game-you-didnt-know-you-needed-pax-east-2025-hands-on-impressions/https://indierift.com/dont-sleep-on-neverawake-review/We can all agree that dreams are weird, right? During that daily, eight hour period of near-comatose time that we all have to do or we’ll die, our brains subject us to wild hallucinations that we may or may not remember the following day.Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/dont-sleep-on-neverawake-review/https://indierift.com/lost-in-prayer-is-a-gripping-grid-based-roguelike-where-everything-that-kills-you-becomes-playable-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/At PAX East 2024, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Nine Dots Studio booth. Among the games I tried there was Lost in Prayer, a traditional roguelike where you embody a lost soul on a quest for eternal peace. And who wouldn’t want that, right?Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/lost-in-prayer-is-a-gripping-grid-based-roguelike-where-everything-that-kills-you-becomes-playable-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/pocket-quest-draft-a-team-of-epic-titans-cute-heroes-in-this-charming-auto-battler-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/Pocket Quest is an adorable mobile auto-battler with aspirations of expanding onto Steam in the near future. The core concept revolves around assembling a party within a fantasy setting, utilizing available resources to compete against parties uploaded by other players.Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/pocket-quest-draft-a-team-of-epic-titans-cute-heroes-in-this-charming-auto-battler-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/spooky-and-on-fleek-with-hydes-haunt-seek-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/Hyde’s Haunt & Seek is a captivating 3v1 asymmetrical party game. During my time at PAX East, I had the pleasure of chatting with Morgen Stern, the narrative/visual director and marketing lead at Smol Games, the brilliant minds behind this title. As she walked me through the demo, I assumed the role of the Seeker.Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/spooky-and-on-fleek-with-hydes-haunt-seek-pax-east-2024-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/rocking-the-roguelike-realm-of-godstone-hands-on-preview/“Ah, darn. Died again. Well, I should probably set this down and write up that preview… but just one more run.” Godstone is a roguelike dungeon crawler that immerses you in an enchanting 8-Bit aesthetic. The narrative orbits around a potent ancient artifact bearing the same name.Wed, 20 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://indierift.com/rocking-the-roguelike-realm-of-godstone-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/play-as-an-adorable-flour-golem-on-a-quest-for-justice-in-born-of-bread-a-hilarious-paper-mario-inspired-rpg-hands-on-preview/There is an old saying: heroes come in all different shapes and sizes. The developers over at Wildarts Games have taken this saying to heart and have cooked up Born of Bread – a whimsical turn-based RPG where you play as an adorable flour golem with a bunch of wacky abilities. Knead I say more?Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/play-as-an-adorable-flour-golem-on-a-quest-for-justice-in-born-of-bread-a-hilarious-paper-mario-inspired-rpg-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/unleash-your-inner-mayor-and-build-your-legacy-in-go-go-town-hands-on-preview/Have you ever played Animal Crossing and wished you could delegate all the busy work to its colorful townspeople? If so, you’re in luck! The developers at Prideful Sloth have created Go-Go Town!, a game that combines life simulation and tycoon elements and frees up your time to focus on the big picture.Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/unleash-your-inner-mayor-and-build-your-legacy-in-go-go-town-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/farewell-north-is-an-emotional-journey-in-conquering-grief-hands-on-preview/The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things we can ever experience. While the pain may initially be sudden and sharp, we can endure and we can make peace, especially with the support of those around us. Such themes are at the heart of Farewell North, a highly expressive and stylized open-world adventure where you play as a border collie who will help restore color to a desolate world, and perhaps help their owner find a bit of tranquility along the way.Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/farewell-north-is-an-emotional-journey-in-conquering-grief-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/risen-review-playstation-4/Can Risen rise above in 2023? In this age of ports, remakes, and remasters, everyone’s jumping on board. Risen is an action RPG from Wizardbox that came out on the PC and Xbox 360 back in 2009.Tue, 07 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://indierift.com/risen-review-playstation-4/https://indierift.com/duel-screens-games-of-the-year-2022/An expansion…as a Game of the Year? Hell. Yes. Sunbreak builds off of what made Monster Hunter Rise so much fun. It features its own campaign missions, a whole mess of terrifying new monsters, brand new locations, and new techniques to play around with. All of this – along with the consistent stream of free Title Updates that Capcom has pumped out – makes for an incredible beast of an expansion. The amount of content in Sunbreak has more than doubled since its release, which is insane because it is already a content heavy game. It’s well worth the entry fee to continue the adventure of the Hero of Kamura!Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://indierift.com/duel-screens-games-of-the-year-2022/https://indierift.com/duel-screens-indie-games-of-the-year-2022/Tunic, hands down. For starters, the paper-like, diorama visuals are so damn endearing. Secondly, the souls-like difficulty completely caught me off guard. Once I found my groove, it smooth sailing. But probably the best part about Tunic are the manual pages you find throughout your adventure. Not only do these pages provide new techniques and hints at even greater rewards, they also tickle the ol’ nostalgia bone and harken back to the time of physical game manuals that were a staple in gaming’s early years.Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://indierift.com/duel-screens-indie-games-of-the-year-2022/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnD8iBNoo6k→Subscribe for new videos. #fusionenergy #asteroidmining #scifi That fusion energy breakthrough is making waves, and a lot of what's been said by mainstream journalists is kind of misleading. https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Yo! Merry Holidays and happy Christmas. We're back from the void of burnout to talk about fusion, and specifically, how James and I think asteroid mining could make inertial containment fusion viable...in the future. Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Further Reading:Fri, 23 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnD8iBNoo6khttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvVfurpsk28&t=11s→Subscribe for new videos every Tuesday and Thursday! #podast #timedilation #scifi #movies What is time dilation? And how accurate are good are scifi movies about getting this scientific phenomena right? Find out today! https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Discord: https://discord.gg/2Gd4vx7mdN Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/32mDixygfhtHhZPKf5FgwN Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvVfurpsk28&t=11shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA0PWDTKINg#science #podcast #startrek →Subscribe for new videos every Tuesday and Thursday! How does modern CGI stack up against real life cameras in space? Join Eric Malikyte and James Fitzpatrick as they discuss the scientific accuracy of effects work in science fiction films like Alien and Star Trek, and specifically, how they fail or succeed to capture how cameras actually work in space. https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Follow the podcast on Buzzsprout! https://sciencegetpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Further Reading: https://www.planetary.org/articles/why-are-there-no-stars#:~:text=The%20answer%3A%20The%20stars%20are,too%20faint%20to%20show%20up.Sat, 15 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA0PWDTKINghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYFpuaVhFY#spiderrobot #science #experiments →Subscribe for new videos every Wednesday, and sometimes Saturdays! Let me repeat that. A group of scientists turned a spider into a robot! https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/2Gd4vx7mdN Fiction Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/e7a0z9 Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Further Reading: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dead-wolf-spiders-robots-necrobots https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-use-dead-spiders-to-grip-objects-180980498/ https://spectrum.ieee.org/robot-bugs https://www.ferret-school.co.uk/working-ferrets/cable-laying https://www.convertunits.com/from/millinewton/to/ounce https://justagric.com/how-much-does-a-wolf-spider-weigh/ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/actuate https://www.mopec.com/history-of-the-autopsy/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.202201174 00:00 Introduction 00:44 Necrobotics: A Source of Inspiration 02:22 Pioneering New Territory 05:04 So Preoccupied with Whether or Not They Could... 07:48 End CreditsWed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYFpuaVhFYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0hBHbMhNn0&t=11s#Cepheid #GalaxyMap #MilkyWay →Subscribe for new videos every Wednesday and Saturday! Most Accurate map of the Milky Way just got released, and it's in 3D! Stay tuned to the end of the video to see it in all its glory! https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Today on Science Get we’ll be looking at the methods being utilized to give us the most accurate 3D mapping of the Milky Way to date. Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/2Gd4vx7mdN Fiction Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/e7a0z9 Further Reading: https://www.physics-astronomy.com/2022/02/astronomers-reveal-biggest-3d-map-of.html https://geoawesomeness.com/check-out-what-this-new-amazing-3d-map-of-the-milky-way-tells-us-about-our-galaxy/ https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-big-is-the-milky-way https://www.space.com/milky-way-3d-map-warped-shape.htmlWed, 07 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0hBHbMhNn0&t=11shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu89sp-0RGY&t=15s→Subscribe for new videos every Wednesday and Saturday! Did LIGO solve a massive problem in astronomy? https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Our understanding of the universe is always expanding, and at the forefront is LIGO and their observations of gravitational wave events. Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/2Gd4vx7mdN Fiction Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/e7a0z9 Further Reading: https://astronomy.com/news/2022/06/gravitational-wave-observatory-amasses-discoveriesThu, 25 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu89sp-0RGY&t=15shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpOXZ86pVrA&t=15s→Subscribe for new videos every Tuesday, Thursday, and sometimes Saturday! JURASSIC DINOSAUR BUGS cared for their young in SURPRISING WAY https://www.youtube.com/c/ScienceGet/ Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/2Gd4vx7mdN Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ericmalikyte Sign Up for the Mailing List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r8d6g8 Further Reading: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361971013_The_earliest_known_brood_care_in_insects https://www.livescience.com/jurassic-insect-with-egg-broodTue, 09 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpOXZ86pVrA&t=15shttps://indierift.com/the-big-con-grift-of-the-year-edition-review/It’s the 1990’s. The biggest thing happening in your life is that your dear ole’ mom is sending you to band camp. On the eve of your departure however, you come to find that mom has gotten in too deep with loan shark and is in the hole for a whopping $97K.Wed, 01 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/the-big-con-grift-of-the-year-edition-review/https://indierift.com/my-friendly-neighborhood-is-a-survival-horror-fps-that-teaches-the-abcs-of-battling-crazy-evil-puppets-pax-east-2022-hands-on-preview/While visiting the DreadXP Booth at PAX East this year, I played a game called My Friendly Neighborhood, a non-linear survival horror FPS that pits you against puppets that are out get you. And I have to say, for a horror game that features puppets that look like they were pulled right out of Sesame Street, that relies on atmosphere and tension-building, and does not include a single drop of blood, My Friendly Neighbor really hooked me.Tue, 10 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/my-friendly-neighborhood-is-a-survival-horror-fps-that-teaches-the-abcs-of-battling-crazy-evil-puppets-pax-east-2022-hands-on-preview/https://indierift.com/nuclear-blaze-review/Despite being an essential component to human survival, fire has a reputation of being a terrifying element when it gets out of control. This is the basis of Nuclear Blaze, the debut title from developer Deepnight Games – a “one-man” studio founded by Sébastien Bénard, former Motion Twin associate, and lead dev and game-designer on Dead Cells.Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://indierift.com/nuclear-blaze-review/