Val Hull

Val Hull

Resident role-playing RPG game expert. Knows where trolls and paladins come from. You must fight for your right to gather your party before venturing forth.

Harvey Smith Video Interview – Deus Ex to Dishonored

Upon departing from Arkane Studios, Raphael Colantonio left Arkane’s Austin branch in the hands of Harvey Smith, his long-time friend who worked on both the original Deus Ex and its Invisible War sequel, as well as the Dishonored series. And…

Path of Exile The Design and Development of 3.1.0 Gems

In Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile the usual for the genre active skills and attacks are replaced by the so-called skill gems. While building your character, you can combine these skill gems with a vast number of support skill…

The RPGs of 2018

Head on over to PC Gamer and you’ll find a pretty extensive list of RPGs set to be released in 2018. From such noteworthy titles like Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, The Bard’s Tale IV, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance to…

A Look Back at the RPGs of 2017

With a thoroughness that can put to shame most of their peers, the folks at TechRapor looked back at the RPGs of 2017. Even Cleve Blakemore’s Grimoire got a prominent and fairly positive mention in this article, alongside the likes…

Path of Exile Stories from Development – The Undying

If you’ve ever played Path of Exile, you probably understand and even share my frustration with the narrow, labyrinthine streets of Sarn, the game’s third Act. However, this particular story from the game’s development tells us that we actually don’t…

Grim Dawn Physical Goods on the Way

If you backed Crate Entertainment’s action-RPG Grim Dawn during its Kickstarter campaign at a tier that promised physical goods, you will soon be able to receive those goods, roughly two years after the game’s initial release. Still, better late than…

Path of Exile – A 2017 Retrospective

If you’re a fan of Path of Exile, stats, or both, you’ll probably enjoy this retrospective from Grinding Gear Games that paints a picture of a rather successful game that continues to grow and expand despite, or perhaps precisely because…