HPCritical

It’s Halloween! HPCritical is back with another episode, bringing you the latest news of the week while dressed up for Halloween. Host Jerel, joined by Brandon , Kellie , and Gabe talk PS5 and Xbox Series X | S , as well as looking forward to the future of Nintendo. We discuss what we’ve been playing together, (including the jump scares in Warzone that have Jerel and Gabe screaming like children)...

September 15th to October 15th is Latinx Heritage Month. Of course, diversity in the gaming community is important to us at HPCritical, and to celebrate I’ve reached out to Latinx journalists and content creators within the video game community. We discuss their experiences within the gaming community, what Latinx representation means to them, how being Latinx affects their work, and what can be d...

Few things make me happier than being able to properly celebrate Diversity at HPCritical. As a part of our ongoing series throughout October, I’ve been interviewing Latinx content creators about a number of topics including how they handle navigating the video games industry. I’m so happy to be able to talk to our very own Brandon Alvelo for this latest episode. With all the work he does for HPCri...

We are BACK. This week our conversation gets a bit wild. We finally have a video recording for our podcasts. Our videocasts will be up on our YouTube channel so you can watch us as we record every week. Next week we will have a special Halloween episode so stay tuned.  For this episode though, we discuss everything from the Black Lives Matter PlayStation 4 Theme as well as the changes to the...

It’s official, the console casters are here. Host Jerel, joined by Brandon , Kellie , and Gabe have come together to form the console casters. For all things next-generation the HPCritical Podcast Crew has got you covered. Kellie is our resident Xbox Expert, Gabe is our PlayStation Expert and Brandon is our Nintendo Expert. We’re covering all things PS5 and Xbox Series X | S , as well as looking f...

September 15th to October 15th is Latinx Heritage Month. Of course, diversity in the gaming community is important to us at HPCritical, and to celebrate I’ve reached out to Latinx journalists and content creators within the video game community. We discuss their experiences within the gaming community, what Latinx representation means to them, how being Latinx affects their work, and what can be d...

It’s another busy week where host Jerel, joined by Brandon , Kellie , and Gabe have come together to discuss the latest gaming news. First, it’s OCTOBER so the spooky season is here. We talk scary games first, some of our favorites, and some of the scariest suggestions we can provide. Then for this week (September 27th-October 3rd), we continue to discuss the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S , including...

So much has happened in gaming news this week. The new HPCritical Crew comprised of host Jerel, Brandon , Kellie and Gabe have come together to discuss the latest gaming news every week. This week (September 20th-26th) we’ve spent the time discussing a number of issues including the fiasco that was PS5 and Xbox Series X | S preorders, Spider-Man on PS5 not having cross-saves with PS4 or a physical...

The PlayStation 5 has been revealed. Host Jerel is joined by Brandon and Duende once again as they discuss the reveals of the PlayStation 5 price and release date. We go down the line and discuss every title mentioned from Final Fantasy XVI and Spiderman: Miles Morales all the way to the PlayStation Plus Collection and God of War : Ragnarock. During Latinx Heritage Month I was lucky enough to be j...

Our Favorite Final Fantasy Moments! HPCritical has created a JRPG club. As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The first game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy X. As we continue to make our way through Final Fantasy X, we’ve seen the wedding, every Maester of Yevon, the de...

Finally, the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X have been revealed. Host Jerel is joined by Brandon and Duende as they discuss the reveals, including price points, release dates, and how the entire setup was handled. We also take a look at all the ways you can purchase the Series S and series X, the value of Gamepass with a new generation, the integration of EA Play, and the deal that comes along wit...

The Last of Us 2 was a pretty divisive video game for a number of reasons. Whether it be due to the appearance of Abby, the actions that happen within the title, or situations surrounding it’s creators. Anyone who has played the game though, can definitely vouch for having strong feelings one way or another about its story, gameplay and other aspects. To discuss everything Last of Us 2 related, ho...

Weddings, The Al Bhed, and The Dead, Oh My! HPCritical has created a JRPG club . As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The first game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy X. As we continue to make our way through Final Fantasy X, things are definitely heating up. We’re defin...

Positive Players Sharing Thoughts In A Rough Time Host Jerel is joined by his good friend Greysun as they discuss their journey in the gaming industry and Greysun’s new Podcast, the Positive Players Podcast . The two discuss their gaming journalism journey, talk about diversity in video games, dive into The Last of Us 2 a bit, and discuss what the Positive Players Podcast is, his inspiration behin...

Xbox, Games & Memes Oh My! Finally, we’ve seen some of the games coming to the Xbox Series X . Host Jerel is joined by Brandon as they discuss all the games mentioned from the Xbox Games Showcase. Microsoft has acquired 19 game studios under its brand, and they were able to show off games from 15 of those acquired studios. Along with seeing those, we learned about 22 console launch exclusives,...

Will Twitch Ever Be Able To Stop Sexual Harassment? Host Jerel takes some time to talk to Kellie , a new HPCritical writer about her article “Twitch Bans Alleged Sexual Predators From Their Platform.” Lately, a lot has happened within the gaming community and Kellie decided to tackle sexual harassment within Twitch as well as “ Why Twitch is So Toxic Lately ” and I wanted to talk with her about he...

How Far Has Representation In Gaming Come? Representation in video games has come quite a ways, but it still has a ways to go. In June, HPCritical hosted two charity tournaments as well as a Pride Parade/Fashion Show in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. To commemorate the event, we decided to host our very first live podcast with Patreon supporters and LGBTQIA members. We discussed pride, Diversity,...

Sin Ravages The World As We Learn The Truth HPCritical has created a JRPG club. As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The first game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy X. As we continue to make our way through Final Fantasy X, we’ve progressed through a big chunk of the ga...

After months of speculation, PlayStation finally held their own mini-conference to reveal details about the PlayStation 5. We got over an hour of content in brand new video games coming to the PS5, as well as a sneak peek at the startup screen and we FINALLY got to see exactly what the PlayStation 5 will look like. This week Jerel is joined by Brandon and two new writers to HPCritical Gabe and Dan...

We've been away for a bit but now we're back and better than ever. Welcome to another episode of HPCritical where we discuss and explore the theories and intricacies revolving around the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Being a full-on spoilercast, host Jerel is joined by Kristie, Brandon, and friends of the show Zack and Job as they dissect the FF7 Remake, discuss where the series goes next, compare theor...

HPCritical has created a JRPG club. As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The first game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy X. For the second episode of JRPG - Final Fantasy X, we look at the aftermath of Kilika, the Blitzball Tournament at Luca, and the infamous laugh bef...

The Cure For Isolation - Animal Crossing: New Horizons Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken over the world. with most of us on home quarantine at the moment, New Horizons has been the escape we’ve needed. While we’ve been obsessed with Animal Crossing, that doesn’t mean everything in the game is perfect. From the cute characters and humble beginnings to bunny Day and frustrating game mechanics,...

HPCritical has created a JRPG club. As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The first game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy X. This classic JRPG was the first Final Fantasy to have voice acting, and changed the way games in the Final Fantasy series were perceived. As one o...

Was This Shadowdrop Worth It? Or did the term mini describe exactly how we felt about the Direct? We couldn’t go without getting an episode out at the surprise shadow drop of a mini Nintendo Direct. Nintendo gave us an update on some titles we already have as well as a glimpse at projects to come. A ton of fun surprises and mature content is coming, as well as whimsical Square Enix stories, free t...

Due to some issues with the current situation involving COVID-19, our Final fantasy 7 Impressions podcast is releasing later than intended. Either way, join host Jerel as he chats with Marissa and David about their experiences playing the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo. They each talk about their perspective with playing the game, from both a long-time fan and a newcomer's stance. Come join the fun a...