Austin Wood
Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.
Latest articles by Austin Wood
"I'm honored that Stardew is included": Unstoppable roguelike Balatro continues its indie game bucket list with Stardew Valley collab art drawn by Eric Barone himself
By Austin Wood published
news Plus Cyberpunk 2077, Slay the Spire, and The Binding of Isaac for good measure
Helldivers 2 has a new Warbond coming next week, and it's got anti-stagger armor plus a booster that lets you sprint forever at the cost of your health
By Austin Wood published
news The Truth Enforcers Warbond is definitely, definitely not filled with lies
Terminally ill Borderlands fan asks if there's any way he can see Borderlands 4 early, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says "we're going to do whatever we can to make something happen"
By Austin Wood published
news The 37-year-old Borderlands fan was diagnosed with terminal cancer this year
Denied their crafting fix, Destiny 2 players got so unlucky that they started conspiracy theories about the MMO's drop rates, and got so loud Bungie had to correct them
By Austin Wood published
news "There is no perk weighting active for any legendary weapon perks in Destiny 2," Bungie says
Space Marine 2 speedruns the Helldivers 2 arc, reversing unpopular nerfs and buffing tons of guns: "I forgot that once the game comes out ... it's yours first and foremost"
By Austin Wood published
news Stop me if this sounds familiar
Almost 10 years later, Monster Hunter Wilds will finally expand one of the coolest and rarest monster types in the whole series
By Austin Wood published
news Three all-new monsters confirmed for Monster Hunter Wilds in new trailer
One of the coolest roguelikes of 2021 is finally getting a sequel, and based on its Steam Next Fest demo it might be one of the coolest roguelikes of 2025
By Austin Wood published
news Vivid World uses a dash of TFT to make a fresh strategy roguelike
One of the top survival games in Steam Next Fest is an open-world adventure through never-ending winter with your dog buddy and up to 3 of your less useful friends
By Austin Wood published
news The Permafrost demo has gone down well so far
'Classic Pokemon JRPGs but battles are volleyball' is as fun as it sounds, and I knew what was up as soon as this Steam Next Fest demo asked if I watch sports anime
By Austin Wood published
News Beastieball is a tactical, sporty take on creature collector RPGs
I need every Enter the Gungeon fan to try the slick Steam Next Fest demo for this bullet hell roguelike "designed for those who crave a difficult game"
By Austin Wood published
news Vividerie is a promising and punishing slice of roguelike
After loving Black Myth: Wukong, I'm pushing this new Chinese Soulslike action-RPG way up my wishlist following a bloody trailer that doubles the Sekiro vibes
By Austin Wood published
news Wuchang: Fallen Feathers looks like even more of my latest obsession
My problem with the climbing in Uncharted is basically solved in this cute Steam Next Fest platformer designed by a Disney ride engineer
By Austin Wood published
news How to make holding the analog stick just a little more interesting
I see what the creator of Balatro meant: this pachinko roguelike's Steam Next Fest demo is dangerously hard to put down
By Austin Wood published
news Ballionaire is a clever bouncy roguelike about oddball combos
Bungie teases Diablo-style "treasure goblins" and "dynamic enemy spawning" for new Destiny 2 missions you can solo in 10 minutes if you don't want the MMO experience
By Austin Wood published
news Solo Ops missions can also be played with three players if you want
Hades 2 surprises fans with its first big expansion: the roguelike's Olympic Update is out now with more gods, a new jetpack weapon, and half-naked Dionysus
By Austin Wood published
news Fan-favorite god Athena is also back, contrasting Dionysus with full plate armor
MMO Pokemon rival Temtem has a new roguelike in Steam Next Fest, and without even trying the co-op it's already one of the best demos I've played
By Austin Wood published
news Temtem: Swarm comes out swinging with a fun Vampire Survivors roguelike riff
It's no Lies of P, but the most popular Soulslike in Steam Next Fest is just the anime action RPG I was hoping it would be – and it's coming to PS5 too
By Austin Wood published
news AI Limit is a sci-fi Soulslike with uncannily familiar vibes
Combine Sekiro and Risk of Rain 2 and you're pretty close to this unhinged open-world game's Steam Next Fest demo, which I was only kind of into until I parried the ground
By Austin Wood published
news V.A Proxy is a wonderfully ridiculous game about parrying
"How can we do better than Dead Cells?": Motion Twin follows a roguelike icon with a co-op game under huge but "good" pressure with "millions" waiting
By Austin Wood published
Features Dead Cells is a legendary roguelike, so Windblown has a lot to live up to
Dead Cells dev says early access is key to help them make good games, but "it depends on the game you want to do"
By Kaan Serin published
News "At the end, it's for the player. So you need to know what they think."
Dead Cells developers felt "pressure" to match the roguelike's high bar in their next game: "It's awful and very, very cool at the same time"
By Kaan Serin published
News Windblown has very big shoes to fill
After 7 years of Dead Cells updates, devs share hopes for their new roguelike to get just as much support: "If we can, why not? If we are lucky enough"
By Austin Wood published
news "We have a ton of things to do and a ton of things to say"
Hungry for Metaphor: ReFantazio, I spent 97 minutes fighting a single godforsaken boss that the JRPG's director made 21 years ago
By Austin Wood published
Features Now Playing | This is a cry for help
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