George Yang

George is a freelance writer specializing in video games and other entertainment.

Selected Works

Rolling Stone •

How Hidetaka Miyazaki Made 'Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,' His Biggest Expansion Yet

Elden Ring was undoubtedly 2022’s Game of the Year, winning numerous awards across different shows and publications. With its dark fantasy atmosphere, punishing combat, and challenging difficulty, players keep coming back for more. It was also developer FromSoftware’s first open-world game, so it needed to have more content than any game that the studio had made before.
Game Developer •

Why Microsoft thinks 2024 will be the year of Xbox

The 2023 Xbox Games Showcase had a strong showing as Xbox Game Studios revealed its lineup of new titles coming later this year and beyond. During a roundtable after the showcase, titled “What’s Next for Xbox,” four Microsoft executives discussed the future of the Xbox platform: Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, corporate vice president Sarah Bond, head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty, and Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard.
Variety •

‘The Boys’ Star Karen Fukuhara Makes Her Video-Game Debut With ‘The Callisto Protocol’

Developed by Striking Distance Studios, “The Callisto Protocol” is a survival horror game set in the Black Iron Prison on one of Jupiter’s moons, Callisto. Players assume the role of an inmate named Jacob Lee, played by “Transformers” and “Shotgun Wedding” star Josh Duhamel. He meets Dani Nakamura, the leader of a resistance group called Outer Way, and together they must uncover the Black Iron Prison’s dark secrets and escape with their lives. Dani is portrayed by “The Boys” star Karen Fukuhara.
Digital Trends •

The Mega Man Battle Network esports scene is thriving in 2023

Imagine that your Nintendo Switch didn’t have the ability to connect online and that the competitive game you’re currently playing only supported local multiplayer. It’s a little hard to picture in 2023, right? That’s what Mega Man Battle Network fans had to deal with during the early 2000s. If you wanted to have a battle with your friend during Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance days, they’d have to be within your immediate vicinity and have a Link Cable available to connect two GBAs.
Complex •

The Live-Action ‘Halo’ Series Delivers High Impact Sci-Fi Storytelling

Taking video game plotlines and adapting them for television has had a shaky past. What kind of story should the series portray? Should it be an exact retelling of the source material? If so, why not just play the game itself? For gamers and television fanatics, it’s important that a new experience is created that’s appropriate for the medium. This challenge is what Paramount+ has taken on with the critically acclaimed Halo series (streaming now on the platform). Taking the iconic Xbox franchise
NPR •

'Shadow Warrior' tries to mend its flawed history with race by recasting its hero

Shadow Warrior 3 is the latest in a series of blood-soaked action games following assassin Lo Wang. It's got plenty of gunplay, sword fights, and fantastical monsters, but for the first time in its 25-year history, it now features an Asian actor to voice its Asian protagonist. For years, Lo Wang was played by Jason Liebrecht, a white man, but for this title, publisher Devolver Digital and developer Flying Wild Hog tapped Hollywood actor Mike Moh for a more authentic cultural portrayal.
IGN •

Why Japanese Games Are Increasingly Releasing at the Same Time Across The Globe

Since time immemorial, Japanese video games have followed a typical release schedule. Launch in Japan first, followed by a localized release for other countries a few months, or even years, later. But this trend shifted dramatically in 2021. Many high-profile Japanese games such as Tales of Arise, Shin Megami Tensei V, and both Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter Stories 2 have been launched day-and-date worldwide.

So, what has changed? A simultaneous global ship date allows Japanese games t
The Verge •

‘The little handheld that could’: examining the Vita’s impact a decade later

Christian Phillips still remembers the most jaw-dropping moment he experienced on the PlayStation Vita — and it was something that was never actually released.

Phillips, a former senior director at Sony, describes a tech demo that ultimately led to the PS4 game Days Gone. Sometime after shipping Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Bend Studio showed leadership the Vita tech demo that was similar to the famous Jerusalem scene in the movie World War Z.

The demo had a scene with a horde of zombies scramblin
Wired •

Orientalism, 'Cyberpunk 2077,' and Yellow Peril in Science Fiction

2020 has been one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory, but at least, in a few days, the most anticipated game of the year will come out. That game, Cyberpunk 2077, has already drawn both praise and criticism, but one of those criticisms is of how it handles different cultures—especially Asian culture, which is inextricably tied to the cyberpunk genre.

The Origins of the Cyberpunk Genre

The origins of the cyberpunk genre involve Western anxieties about the East. Techno-orientalism is
Washington Post •

How some savvy fans are preserving the PS3’s multiplayer games

It wasn’t hard to understand why players reached this conclusion. Although “Mercenary’s” servers eventually came back online (the reason for the shutdown is still unknown) Sony has earned a reputation over the past several years for unceremoniously shutting down multiplayer service for its first party franchises. In October, Sony announced that it was updating the PlayStation Network webstore to only feature PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 titles for purchase, effectively locking away PS3, PS Vi
Polygon •

The personal experiences that Lev and Yara’s actors brought to The Last of Us Part 2

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Both Ian Alexander and Victoria Grace had never worked on a video game before, and neither had any prior experience with performance capture. However, in a recent interview with Polygon, both agreed that playing the Seraphite siblings in The Last of Us Part II was one of the most transformative experiences they ever had.

Alexander plays Lev, a former member of the in-game extremi

Latest Work

Digital Trends •

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is only the beginning | Digital Trends

Capcom stands out from other fighting game developers by constantly bringing its old games to modern audiences for both new and veteran players. Following 2022’s release of Capcom Fighting Collection, Capcom is releasing its second compilation, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, later this year. The hotly anticipated package includes seven games from the Marvel vs. Capcom subseries from the 1990s.
Mashable •

'Anger Foot' review: Brings my inner kid out, but that performance though

Anger Foot will have you kicking and screaming as you make your way through its grimy levels and colorful enemies. And it’ll always be through pure rage, whether you’re on an unstoppable rampage or dying suddenly to a stray bullet.

The game is a speedrunner and first-person shooter, with plenty of gameplay variety through its many weapons, shoes, and objectives. However, Anger Foot is held back by its poor technical performance on PC, as well as some control issues.
IGN •

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Review - IGN

Starting a fresh chapter in a long-running video game series must be a daunting endeavor for a developer. How do you follow up 20 years of worldbuilding and deeply intertwined stories with a new setting and cast? It’s a tough question that The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak answers confidently, kicking off an exciting new arc that both newcomers and veterans can equally enjoy after 2023’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie brought the series’ previous saga to a satisfying conclusion.
Rolling Stone •

How Hidetaka Miyazaki Made 'Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,' His Biggest Expansion Yet

Elden Ring was undoubtedly 2022’s Game of the Year, winning numerous awards across different shows and publications. With its dark fantasy atmosphere, punishing combat, and challenging difficulty, players keep coming back for more. It was also developer FromSoftware’s first open-world game, so it needed to have more content than any game that the studio had made before.
Game Developer •

Making Ubisoft's open world model work for Star Wars Outlaws

For years, Ubisoft has been known for its open-world game formula, complete with large sprawling maps, a litany of side quest markers, and landmarks for players to discover. This formula can be seen across most of Ubisoft’s biggest franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry. In a quest for seemingly endless content, Star Wars Outlaws looks to be following in those footsteps. However, it can be a challenge to fill such big worlds with more intimate, tightly knit stories.
Crunchyroll •

Monster Hunter Wilds Builds on the Solid Foundation of World

When Monster Hunter World was released in 2018, it took the ahem world by storm. Its immense popularity skyrocketed the series to new heights and sales figures, finally bringing it to the mainstream spotlight.

Now, almost seven years later, Capcom is following up lofty expectations with Monster Hunter Wilds. I was able to catch a 30-minute hands off demo of the game, and it looks like a worthy successor that builds upon the solid foundation set by World.
Digital Trends •

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance review: definitively demonic

When Shin Megami Tensei returned to Nintendo Switch in 2021, fans of the RPG franchise had a lot of reasons to celebrate. Shin Megami Tensei V was the first game in the series to feature an open world, and developer Atlus pulled it off with panache. It felt like a natural transition given that the previous entries were purely segmented with dungeons and maps. It was the kind of success story that was begging for a good victory lap.
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