We’ve all seen them, those suspicious Minecraft clones on the fringes of web ads and Steam Greenlight. It seems like a new one pops up every week. Who could forget the wholly original Block Story, 3079: Block Action RPG, or Guncraft? Into this bramble of voxels comes Trove, a new Minecraft-style MMORPG from Trion.

I still vividly remember the day I “lost it,” bolting out of a crowded college lecture class as the professor wrapped up musings on some former president’s mission of Manifest Destiny. My own thoughts were as far away from expansionism as they could be, preferring to retreat inward. I had 15 minutes before work at the library across the street.

Imagine my surprise when, after years of decrying “YouTube celebrities” and shouty montages of horror game jump scares, I finally broke down and succumbed to the rising star of video. It wasn’t until I’d familiarized myself with some of these deceptively human personalities, and the activities they devoted themselves to outside of my little screen, that I understood how anyone with a webcam could establish a connection to millions of eager viewers.

In 2005, a video game called Shadow of the Colossus changed the world of gaming. Amid a swell of your usual action and shooter video games, Shadow stunned players with its immense, stylistically barren world inhabited only by monstrous behemoths that obstructed your mission: restoring life to a beloved companion.

True fear is born in the familiar, whether it’s the photorealistic households of P.T. or Allison Road, the teddy bear animatronics of Five Nights at Freddy’s, or the wooded campgrounds of Slender—an unwavering sense that something just isn’t right, despite everything being normal on the surface. For Norwegians, memories of everyday childhood treks through the dense, coastal forests are deeply connected to their folklore, laden with tales of woodland creatures big and small.

P.A.M.E.L.A., developed by Toronto-based NVYVE Studios, features an RPG-style progression system, as players explore the futuristic city of Eden, desolated by a mysterious affliction that's driven its citizens to madness. P.A.M.E.L.A., the game’s titular A.I that runs Eden, awakens the player character and guides them via the AARM, a bionic attachment that allows access to various technologies found in the city.

Just a little less than a year after it’s artistic rebirth in The New Order, the Wolfenstein franchise sees a major piece of DLC in The Old Blood, but most of the flaws found in the main game are present as ever in this lengthy prequel. What remains is an enjoyable but only occasionally innovative adventure through one of Wolfenstein’s most notable locales.

We talk Madden’s scary accurate prediction, the sale of Sony Online Entertainment, and the Death of Monty Oum.

Flying serpents, ebony-skinned elves and fantastic vistas teeming with foreign life inhabit the covers of our favorite fantasy novels, but it can be easy to forget the artists serving as the gatekeepers to new worlds. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly ponder the journey the artwork and its creator took to get it to you.

Is inFamous: Second Son worthy of the series' moniker, or is it all smoke and mirrors?

BYTE catches up with famous video game composer and Video Games Live creator Tommy Tallarico to discuss the future of video game music, his favorite composers and how to put on an awesome show!

How a punk rock husband and wife are taking charge at home and on the stage.