merritt k

merritt k Jan 16, 2020. 8 minute read

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Review: The Balls Are Inert

In Akira Toriyama’s legendary Dragon Ball series, the titular seven orbs — when gathered together — allow their bearer to summon the dragon Shenron to grant them a wish. So say you’re a big Dragon Ball fan, and you decide to wish for the perfect game. Maybe you wish for a game that…

merritt k Jan 14, 2020. Less than a minute

Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill: A Review

merritt k Jan 8, 2020. 3 minute read

7 Smaller Games I’m Looking Forward to This Year

I haven’t exactly made it a secret that I’ve been down lately. There are a lot of reasons why, ranging from the weather to global events to brain chemistry, but it’s meant that I’ve been having a hard time getting excited about anything. When the Fanbyte staff all listed our…

merritt k Jan 6, 2020. 2 minute read

Captain Toad: Serotonin Tracker

Captain Toad is a member of the Toad species in the Mario universe. He is the same as every other Toad except that he has a backpack and a headlamp and owns his own spaceship. In Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker he embarks on his greatest adventure yet, collecting magical golden stars and…

merritt k Jan 1, 2020. 1 minute read

13 Pokemon Who Just Destroyed Your Priceless Ming Vase But Know You Can’t Prove It

In the Pokemon justice system, vase-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In the Galar region, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Vases Unit. 1. Jigglypuff “Look, somebody broke something! It wasn’t me. I pwomise.” 2. Snivy “Even if…

merritt k Dec 26, 2019. 7 minute read

merritt’s Top 10 Games of the Year – 2019 Edition

2019 was a weird year for me. After getting hired here at Fanbyte, I tried to keep up with current releases to a degree that I hadn’t since I was a kid. I spent hundreds of hours playing Destiny 2, a game I only got into to broaden my utility to…

merritt k Dec 21, 2019. 4 minute read

Looking Back at Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is a 2011 action game in which the player takes on the role of one of the titular marines — genetically-enhanced supermen fighting for the Imperium of Man in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium. Borrowing liberally from Dune, Alien, and a plethora of other sci-fi sources, the 40K world…

merritt k Dec 19, 2019. 2 minute read

The Vainguard, a Destiny Fashion Column: Season of the Dawn Edition

Happy Dawning, Guardians, and welcome back to The Vainguard, a Destiny fashion column. It’s a new season and a new event, and I can already see the styles changing in the Tower. People are actually wearing the Wings of Sacred Dawn! Since we’re all busy fixing Osiris’s mistakes and baking…

merritt k Dec 14, 2019. 1 minute read

Alternatives to ‘Metroidvania,’ Because If I See It One More Time, I’ll Die

Metroidvania Comes from the names of two games that do a similar thing We don’t call FPS games “Doom clones” anymore Imagine if we called real-time strategy games “Warconquers” or platformers “Sonarios” Doesn’t mean anything I don’t care that it’s come into common usage Bad Stop it “Where the fuck…

merritt k Dec 13, 2019. 2 minute read

Destiny 2 Xur Location – January 31-February 3, 2020

Want some Destiny 2 Exotics from our good friend Xur? Head to the Hanger in the Tower, where you’ll find him up a staircase from the Dead Orbit area. This week, you can grab the following from him: Black Talon: 29 Legendary Shards Knucklehead Radar: 23 Legendary Shards Lion Rampant: 23…

merritt k Dec 12, 2019. Less than a minute

Osiris: A Review

merritt k Dec 11, 2019. 3 minute read

Pokemon Sword & Shield Remind Me That I Am a Hateful, Wicked Person

I blew through the story of Pokemon Sword and Shield in about a week. It was enjoyable enough, but mostly it was work. As the only member of the content team who’s kept up with the series, I was helping out with our coverage and just wanted to get through it as…

merritt k Dec 10, 2019. 2 minute read

The Vainguard, a Destiny Fashion Column: Season’s End Edition

Today we bid farewell to the Season of the Undying. And as we wrap up our Vex Offensives and seasonal quests, we look back at the fashion of the last few months. For this week’s Vainguard, I asked you to deck out your Guardians in seasonal armor and ornaments, and…

merritt k Dec 7, 2019. 2 minute read

Where’s Xur in Destiny 2? – December 6, 2019

This week, you’ll find Xur on Titan. Drop into The Rig area, then head east until you reach the part of the map where the edge rounds out. Xur is hiding in a little building on the far side of that half-circle. What’s he selling? This week, you can grab…

merritt k Dec 2, 2019. 2 minute read

Gato Roboto is My Favorite Virtual Boy Game

I have a complicated relationship with Metroidvania titles. Super Metroid is one of my favorite games of all time, and the DS Castlevania entries are up there too. But the genre has become so oversaturated over the past decade, with dozens of games trying to recapture the magic of the classics by mechanically reproducing their…

merritt k Nov 30, 2019. Less than a minute

Kim Kitsuragi: A Review

merritt k Nov 26, 2019. 2 minute read

The Vainguard, a Destiny Fashion Column: Undying Light Edition

Welcome back to The Vainguard, a column described by Commander Zavala as “a gross misuse of resources” and “published weekly.” This week I had no theme in mind — I just asked you to show me your favorite Destiny 2 looks as we approach the end of the Season of the…

merritt k Nov 25, 2019. 2 minute read

For the Love of God Stop Referencing Other Video Games in Games

I’ve enjoyed What the Golf a great deal so far. You might think the joke would wear thin after a few minutes, but the game digs so deep into its simple premise that it rises above a gimmick and becomes an engaging exploration of video game conventions. I love this shit, because…

merritt k Nov 22, 2019. 2 minute read

Where’s Xur in Destiny 2? – November 22, 2019

This week, you’ll find Xur on the EDZ once again. Drop in the Winding Cove then head to the northmost end of the area. Hop up the rocks and you’ll find the Agent of the Nine at a little camp overlooking the cove. What’s he selling? This week, you can…

merritt k Nov 20, 2019. 4 minute read

I Did a Bunch of Nitrous and Tried to Play MOLEK-SYNTEZ

Let it be known that I am of the smooth-brained. When I encounter a Tower of Hanoi puzzle in a game, I panic and start throwing disks everywhere. Ask me to ferry a chicken, fox, and grain across a river and I will arrive on the opposite bank on an…