Saints Row Helped Me Realize I’m Trans

When the original Saints Row launched in 2006, many were quick to label the game a Grand Theft Auto clone. It was an open-world crime playground, fair enough, but it had plenty of fe...

How to Draw Rowlet in 7 Easy Steps

I love Rowlet so much. I don’t remember what life was like before Rowlet. A baby owl. A bird orb. A borb. A round owlet. A Rowlet. Ever since starting Pokemon Legends: Arceus, I think about R...

The Fancies 2021: Steven Strom's Game of the Year List

Another year, another landslide of problems to try and escape in the world of video games. I won’t go too deep on just how hard 2021 has been. I edited most of our end-of-year pieces by my coworkers....

FFXIV Patch 6.1 MSQ: The Knight in Black Hints at the Story's Future

The following article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.1’s main scenario quest.

The Fancies 2021: Collin's Guide to Picking Your GOTY

It’s that time of the year again where we at Fanbyte share our favorite games of the year. This discussion typically includes insightful listicles, chaotic podcasts, and the infamous Jordies. Yet, I r...

The FFXIV Cruise Chaser Mount Reignites Debate Over Paid Cosmetics

A few weeks ago, Final Fantasy XIV dropped the highly anticipated Cruise Chaser mount for $30 on its Mog Station digital store. The mount, along with the recent influx of vocal World of Warc...

FFXIV Aglaia Lore Dive: The Story Behind Nald'thal, Azeyma, Rhalgr, and Byregot

For many Eorzeans, their relationship with their patron deity is a personal choice brought on by any combination of socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural factors, meant to grant succor through praye...

Pride Is the Ultimate Downfall in Elden Ring

“My name is Malenia, Blade of Miquella, and I have never known defeat.” In all of Elden Ring, this may be the voice line I heard the most.

titan, ahsa, savathun, the witness, destiny 2
What Does the Cast of Destiny 2 Smell Like? (Part 2)

Kept you waiting, huh? Since the last one of these, we’ve seen the release of two major Destiny 2 expansions as well as the introduction of a number of new characters. So let’s just dive...

We Are OFK is a Game About Itself

We Are OFK is an episodic series rolling out weekly starting on August 18. We were able to play all five episodes early, and this article is based on my experien...

Elden Ring is Full of Things That Are Absolutely None of My Business

The Elden Ring network test opens with a sight as old as time. Or at least as old as 2006, when players first crawled out of a sewer in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion only to be digi...

Elden Ring's Undying Quest for Drip Extinguishes Black Self-Expression

This article contains light spoilers for Elden Ring, we warned ye Tarnished.

Cyberpunk 2077’s Romance Update is Small, But Meaningful

Cyberpunk 2077 is finally on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and along with those ports came the 1.5 update. The patch has a fair amount of quality-of-life tweaks, new apartments to buy, a...

Final Fantasy XIV: An Outsider's Perspective

I’ve tried to play Final Fantasy XIV twice. Both times I bounced off it after a half dozen hours or so, overwhelmed by the game’s imposing UI or losing interest in the early game gr...

The Making of Jinx, the Loose Cannon of League of Legends

The charming blue-haired menace Jinx makes an emotional splash as the lead in Netflix’s heart-tugging Arcane. Growing up in Zaun, the poverty-stricken undercity of Piltover, was rough for her...

Elden Ring Is a Horse Girl Game, Actually

The beauty of Elden Ring is that you can play it any way you want. A fighting game? No problem. Just get one of those fingers and invade away. A role-playing game? Sure. There’s plenty of lor...

FFXIV Endwalker: All New Healer Changes up to Level 90 and Sage Breakdown

One of the best things about our time playing the preview build of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker during the recent media tour was having access to every Job at level 90, including the upcoming R...

Ahead of Endwalker, the Voice Cast of Final Fantasy XIV Reflects on the Journey

When Peter Bramhill, the English voice actor for Thancred, reflects on the professional and personal impact Final Fantasy XIV has had on him, he recounts an experience from just earlier this ye...

Far Cry 6’s Vision of Queerness Is Embarrassingly Limited

Máximas Matanzas — a DJ rapper duo made up of Paolo de la Vega and his girlfriend Talia Benavidez — is one of the major “factions” you recruit in Far Cry 6. Unlike the region of Valle de Oro...

Starting No Man’s Sky for the Third Time

I have something of a long and storied history with starting No Man’s Sky: I’ve just done it for the third time in six years this past week. My first time with the game, I played on launch we...