For this edition of Punished Favorites, we’ve decided to highlight some polarizing entries in beloved franchises and why we still love them, warts and all.
Zack Gulinello
Zack Gulinello
Zack has been hooked on games ever since his older brother taught him where to find the secret warp whistles in Mario Bros. 3. He has never felt more joy than when Yoshi congratulated him on getting 120 stars in Mario 64 or more sadness than when he played Kingdom Hearts 3 after waiting 14 years for it. Zack mails a letter to Nintendo every day asking them to bring back Chibi Robo and will gladly tell you all about why it’s one of the greatest games of all time. He was hoping that writing for the site would help him get through his backlog, but it actually just made it worse now that he’s hearing about so many more great hidden gems. Oops…
While Frog Detective is far from perfect, I found that after spending an afternoon with the collection, I could hardly wipe the smile off my face.
In honor of International Women’s Day, we wrote about 20 of our favorite games made by womxn.
Which Best Picture nominees should you watch? Zack ranked every film nominated this year based on craft, story, and entertainment value.
In anticipation of big 2024 remakes like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, here’s our staff’s list of most wanted video game remakes.
There will be no boring, self improvement resolutions here, that’s for sure. Positive vibes only! Here’s 6 goals I have for this year, including trying short games, buying dream hardware, and quitting games.
2023 was quite the year for video games, and Zack’s been a little preoccupied. Still, he found time to play some gems, both old and new.
Cozy games empower and engage players in a safe, gentle space. Here are some of the best cozy video games and mechanics in a blooming genre.
In The Punished Podcast Episode 3, we discuss our own backlogs and share tips for getting through that stack of games.