(Photo courtesy of The Syndicate. “City Livin’ blends genres like lo-fi, hip-hop and electronic to create a dreamlike, nostalgic soundscape.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor Released just last week on Oct. 24, “City Livin’” is San Francisco-based “jazz-infused” electronic duo Late Aster’s debut LP. Comprised of classically-trained musicians Aaron Messing and Anni Hochhalter, Late Aster manages…
A look at the music of “Hades II”
(Image courtesy of SteamDB. “The music of ‘Hades II’ reinforces its narratives and further immerses players in its world.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Contributor Video game music can be just about anything: Sweeping, orchestral soundscapes that fill players’ headphones as they explore fantasy worlds, thrumming electronic beats accentuated by gunfire and shouting, blissful ambience punctuated by…
Triple-A gaming is making us pay more for less
(Photo courtesy of Spellbinder.com/Paige Burgueno) An example of video microtransactions Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor As Editor of our Arts & Entertainment section, I believe it to be my responsibility to stay as up to date as possible with what’s happening in the world of gaming. That involves reading about what’s going on in terms of…
“Hades II” Review: Weapons and Witchcraft
(Image courtesy of SteamDB. “Melinoe wields weapons and witchcraft alike in ‘Hades II’.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor Riding the success of 2020’s “Hades”, Supergiant Games released its sequel “Hades II” earlier this year on Sept. 25 following a four-year development cycle and a year-and-a-half of early access on Steam. Much like its predecessor, “Hades II”…
“Hollow Knight: Silksong” challenges gamers
(Image courtesy of SteamDB. “Team Cherry’s ‘Hollow Knight: Silksong’ features a familiar hero in an all-new kingdom.) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor After six years in the making, three-person studio Team Cherry’s “Hollow Knight: Silksong” finally made its debut on Sept 4. 2025, to critical acclaim. Following its initial announcement in 2019, “Silksong” quickly gained a…
Xbox “Copilot for Gaming” met with resentment
(Image courtesy of Xbox Wire. “Microsoft’s upcoming ‘Copilot for Gaming’ has not been received well by gamers.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor On March 13, 2025, on the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft announced Copilot for Gaming, an implementation of its flagship GPT-4o system into the Xbox family of systems. Intended to aid struggling players and increase…
Players upset following two-day PSN outage
(Image courtesy of Forbes. “Sony’s PlayStation Network, the backbone of the PlayStation family’s online service, experienced a two-day outage.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor Last weekend, PlayStation users experienced an unprecedented outage as Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) went down for over 24 hours. Players were unable to sign into their accounts, browse the PlayStation store, or…
DOOM: The Dark Ages to release this May
(Image courtesy of Bethesda/Zenimax. “DOOM: The Dark Ages will take players through a dark, unfriendly past.”) Aaron Preziosi Connector Editor Following the smashing success of 2020’s “DOOM Eternal,” id Software has been producing a bold, new medieval entry to the franchise in the form of “DOOM: The Dark Ages.” Initially teased last June, “The Dark…
