George Yang

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

Selected Works

The Ringer •

How ‘Call of Duty’ Got Dethroned in 2025

There are very few constants in the video game industry. The decades-long console wars waged by PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo are winding down. Business models are evolving to prioritize subscription services, free-to-play games, and microtransactions. And our gaming libraries are increasingly digital, with physical copies becoming collector’s items. But if there’s one thing that you could always count on amid the upheaval, it was Call of Duty’s overwhelming dominance. That is, until 2025, when the shortcomings of the online shooter’s latest incarnation, combined with a concerted attack by two rival games, conspired to take Call of Duty down.
The Guardian •

Can boba tea be high-protein and tasty? I tested 14 flavors to find out

Americans are obsessed with protein, but they’re not all gulping raw eggs out of a glass like Rocky. The last decade has given us protein bars, shakes, cereal, pancakes, chips, crackers, jerkies. More recently, Asian American entrepreneurs have made their own contribution to this protein bonanza: protein boba tea.Boba tea (or bubble tea, as it’s also called) originated in Taiwan in the 1980s before becoming a phenomenon in the United States in the last decade.
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.
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

Roger Ebert •

The 9 Best Video Games of 2025

First things first: This is not a comprehensive feature of all the best video games of 2025. Loyal readers of this site will know that we don’t “cover the waterfront” when it comes to games, usually choosing to focus on games with what could be called cinematic influences or ties to films/TV like “Resident Evil,” “The Last of Us,” and “Uncharted.” For this feature of the best of 2025, we simply asked our regular game critics to pick three games they would recommend. So it doesn’t include several widely beloved games not by intentional exclusion but by the process. And so it feels worth mentioning a few runner-ups cited by our trio: “Outer Worlds 2,” “Arc Raiders,” “Séance of Black Manor,” “Keeper,” “Death Stranding 2,” “Avowed,” “Dispatch,” “The Ghost of Yotei,” “Blue Prince,” and “Split Fiction.”
The Ringer •

How ‘Call of Duty’ Got Dethroned in 2025

There are very few constants in the video game industry. The decades-long console wars waged by PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo are winding down. Business models are evolving to prioritize subscription services, free-to-play games, and microtransactions. And our gaming libraries are increasingly digital, with physical copies becoming collector’s items. But if there’s one thing that you could always count on amid the upheaval, it was Call of Duty’s overwhelming dominance. That is, until 2025, when the shortcomings of the online shooter’s latest incarnation, combined with a concerted attack by two rival games, conspired to take Call of Duty down.
Epic Games Store Blog •

How 007 First Light brought its characters to life

007 First Light, the next game from Hitman developer IO Interactive, is a new and original take on the iconic spy franchise. Since it's starting from the ground up with a younger, fresher James Bond, naturally he needs an equally compelling villain. Enter the Pirate King Bawma, leader of a massive black market arms hub known as Aleph, a fictional city in Mauritania. Played by musical legend Lenny Kravitz, Bawma is shaping up to be a formidable match for the charming MI6 agent.
Fangoria •

From SILENT HILL F To DOOM: The 10 Best Horror Games Of 2025

2025 was a bit quieter year for horror games compared to 2024. The new mainline Silent
Hill game, Silent Hill f, took things in a new direction with its Japanese-inspired setting, while Doom: The Dark Ages revved up more demon-killing action. Once again, indie horror games really showed up to fill the gaps. This time around, there’s a bit more creativity and variety. Games like Look Outside offer a terrifyingly interesting turn-based RPG twist, while The Midnight Walk offers a hauntingly charming virtual reality experience. Without further ado, here are our top picks for the best horror games of 2025.
MMORPG.com •

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Review - Is the Third Time the Charm?

Koei Tecmo and Nintendo have teamed up to deliver yet another Musou game set in The Legend of Zelda universe with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. The first one in 2014 brought together a bunch of different characters from the series together with Dynasty Warriors-like combat. However, it felt little more than just a Dynasty Warriors game with a Zelda skin, devoid of much personality....
Crunchyroll •

The 10 Best JRPGs of 2025 Worth Playing

After dominating 2024, Atlus had a surprisingly quiet year. The developer only released two games, one of which was a remaster and the other was the worldwide launch of Persona 5: The Phantom X. Atlus also focused on the newly launched Nintendo Switch 2, porting Persona 3 Reload onto the platform. Square Enix, as always, had a substantial year too, with games like Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles and Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D remake. Without further ado, here are 10 of the best Japanese RPGs of 2025.
Game Informer •

Octopath Traveler 0 Review - Going From Zero To Hero

Octopath Traveler 0 offers a significantly overhauled – and improved – PC and console port of the previously mobile-exclusive Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. With the gacha mechanics stripped out, Octopath Traveler 0 is a premium, well-paced game. Its expanded gameplay mechanics distinguish it from its predecessors and it has a stronger focus on storytelling, but its bloated cast makes it hard to care about most of the characters.
Roger Ebert •

“Dispatch” is a Superhero Drama Equally Mighty and Emotional

You’ve probably heard the term “superhero fatigue” everywhere, with people getting sick of media showing supernatural beings saving the day. Sure, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t quite reached the same highs as it did during the “Endgame” days, but I’d argue that people are only tired of superhero movies because they fail to give us meaningful stakes.

Enter “Dispatch,” the debut game from AdHoc studio, created by former Telltale, Ubisoft, and Night School Studio developers. These studios...
Nintendo Life •

Review: DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO (Switch 2) - A Brilliant Brawler With A Colossal Roster

When Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launched last year on non-Nintendo platforms. I was taken aback at how much time had passed since the last entry in this series. I was a teenager still in school!

With the launch of Nintendo Switch 2, a flurry of ports are coming to the updated console and handheld system, including Sparking Zero. I’m glad to say that Switch 2 is a great way to play this action-packed 3D brawler filled with content, if you can forgive some of the performance issues.
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