Screen Rant

Derek Garcia-

Derek Garcia

About Derek Garcia

Derek Garcia is a Game Feature Writer for ScreenRant. He writes about both video game and tabletop RPG features. When trying to meet a specific word count in writing a personal biography, Derek sometimes adds pithy quotes, like, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Author Details

Derek lives with his wife, three dogs, and a likely excessive number of video game consoles. When he is not writing, playing video games, watching movies or television, or reading novels or comic books, he occasionally takes some time to sleep. Derek majored in journalism and worked for a print newspaper before discovering the internet. After being immersed in nerd culture for many years, he is now happy to write about the media he enjoys instead of just ranting to his friends.

Industry Focus

Derek is an avid tabletop RPG player and Game Master, a lifelong video game fan, and an enthusiast for films, television, and comics. He takes equal interest in charting the history of entertainment media and emergent trends and evolution, alongside analyzing where the future might take them.

Favorite Media

Derek is a fan of science fiction and fantasy, video game and tabletop RPGs, classic Hong Kong action movies, and graphic novels. He explores genre classics as well as diving into the latest and greatest. Derek balances sampling the newest entertainment media with revisiting the well of a (thankfully) never-ending backlog.

Sony Core On A Bravia TV besides a PS5. 1
Sony's New Movies Feature Somehow Makes PS Plus Worse

Following a major price increase, the Sony Pictures Core app offers free movies for PS Plus Premium subscribers, but it needed more QA before launch.

A meeting of Constellation members in Starfield. 1
Starfield Makes You Friends With The Worst Parent In The Multiverse

Among Starfield’s companions, one is very charismatic, but his treatment of his daughter makes it clear that he is a cosmically unfit parent.

You're Playing Starfield Wrong, But It's Not Your Fault - An image of Starfield NPC ally Walter speaking from a strange angle 1
You're Playing Starfield Wrong, But It's Not Your Fault

The story of Starfield is Bethesda’s best, but the game’s storytelling ruins its emotional impact. A more linear structure could have remedied it.

Starfield's Story Doesn't End When The Credits Roll - An image of the a player character from Starfield in front of a background of space. 1
Starfield's New Game Plus Improves More Than Just Its Story

Starfield cleverly incorporates its New Game Plus into the game’s central narrative, making it more enjoyable for RPG fans who are invested in story.

Cloud Strife and Zack Fair standing back to back, both holding the Buster Sword. Cloud, on the left with blond hair, is holding the Buster Sword on his shoulder. Zack, on the right with dark hair, is holding the Buster Sword out in front of him, with the blade point resting on the ground. Both are wearing black outfits with gloves. 1
Will FF7 Ever Crisis Come To Switch & PS5?

A console port of Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis is likely feasible, but in its current form it is a passive experience with little gameplay to enjoy.

Should You Rush To New Game Plus In Starfield - An image of one of Starfield's Starborn, a central plot point in the main quest prior to New Game Plus. 1
Should You Rush To New Game Plus In Starfield?

Though Bethesda’s Starfield is a massive RPG with worlds to explore, players should rush through the main story missions to get to a New Game Plus.

An image of two Dungeons and Dragons characters fleeing from a trap. 1
5 D&D Character Archetypes That Aren’t As Fun As You Imagine

Planning a new Dungeons & Dragons character can be fun, but players need to distinguish concepts that are good in play from those only good on paper.

FF7 Ever Crisis Is Still Missing One Important But Obvious Feature - An image many of the main cast members as seen in gameplay in Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis. 1
FF7 Ever Crisis Is Still Missing One Important But Obvious Feature

The compilation of remakes in Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis have appeal for hardcore fans, but it lacks controller support, which is inexcusable.

It Doesn’t Take Long For Ever Crisis To Ruin Its Final Fantasy 7 Vibes - An  image of Cloud wearing new equipment featured in Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis 1
It Doesn’t Take Long For Ever Crisis To Ruin Its Final Fantasy 7 Vibes

Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis has potential, but the game’s prevalent gacha elements quickly rob players of immersion and ruin the throwback FF7 vibe.

Combat In Baldur’s Gate 3 Doesn’t Make Any Sense - A Githyanki delivering a punch in Baldur's Gate 3, a game where unarmed fighting is overpowered due to one feat change from Dungeons and Dragons. 1
Combat In Baldur’s Gate 3 Doesn’t Make Any Sense

Larian’s changes to the D&D rules in Baldur’s Gate 3 do not deserve the benefit of the doubt, as the Tavern Brawler feat destroys bounded accuracy.

Zelda Tears Of The Kingdom Is Going To Ruin Hundreds Of Other Game - An image of Ganon in his humanoid and dragon forms from Zelda TotK 1
Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Is Going To Ruin Hundreds Of Other Games

Nintendo has filed myriad patents associated with Tears of the Kingdom in Japan, and these could harm the future of video games if they are enforced.

Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3, a high-elf woman with dark hair wearing silver chain and plate armor with leather accents, standing in front of a bright red D&D logo. 1
Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Would Be Better Using Another D&D Edition

Baldur’s Gate 3 lets players shove enemies and interact with the environment, but the 5e Dungeons & Dragons rules are a bad fit for that focus.

6 D&D Subclasses Nearly Everyone Is Playing Wrong - An image of 5 iconic 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons character classes from the Player's Handbook 1
6 D&D Subclasses Nearly Everyone Is Playing Wrong

Subclass choice is important to a Dungeons & Dragons character, but many subclasses are not used optimally, or rely on rules players misunderstand.

Infinity Strash Dragon Quest Game Could Break The Curse Of Reverse Adaptations - An image of Popp the spellcaster and Dai the hero who will be featured in the Infinity Strash video game adaptation 1
Infinity Strash Dragon Quest Game Could Break The Curse Of Reverse Adaptations

Video game reverse adaptations have a bad reputation, but Infinity Strash could do justice to The Adventures of Dai anime and the Dragon Quest series.

Final Fantasy 16’s Best DLC Feature Would Make Clive Overpowered - An image of the Eikon Ifrit with its Dominant Clive from Final Fantasy 16 1
Final Fantasy 16’s Best DLC Feature Would Make Clive Overpowered

Final Fantasy 16 lets players equip three Eikons at once, but there are eight in Valisthea. DLC could add a mode where Clive uses every Eikon at once.

The image is split vertically into three equal panels. The left-most has Scooby-Doo looking shocked, mouth agape, with Shaggy next to him, cut off by the frame's edge. The center panel has He-Man's Skeletor, whose head appears as a skull under a purple hood. A brooch or clasp of sorts in the shape of two crossed bones is in the center of his chest. In the right panel is the 24th Phantom from Phantom 2040, wearing a purple cowled jumpsuit with silver belt and vambraces. He wears a black mask acro 1
6 Classic Cartoon Series That Still Need Tabletop RPG Adaptations

Fan favorite cartoons like Transformers and G.I. Joe have official tabletop RPG adaptations, but there are many more classics that would be ideal.

FF16 DLC May Completely Ruin The Game (& Past Final Fantasy Games Prove It) - An Image of an angry Clive in front of the burning capital of the Empire 1
FF16 DLC May Completely Ruin The Game (& Past Final Fantasy Games Prove It)

DLC expansions to Final Fantasy 15 helped fix an incomplete game, but Final Fantasy 16 is nearly perfect as it is. DLC could do more harm than good.

Pixel characters of Clive, Torgal, and Cid from FF16. 1
A Final Fantasy 16 Pocket Edition Might Be Weirdly Great

After the launch of Final Fantasy 15, a Chibi-style Pocket Edition was released. A similar Final Fantasy 16 Pocket Edition could be oddly brilliant.

New Game Pass Tiers Show Everything Wrong With PS Plus Changes - Promotional image for Game Pass showing multiple games - Tell Me Why, Dragon Quest 11, Halo 6,  & Doom Eternal 1
New Game Pass Tiers Show Everything Wrong With PS Plus Changes

Xbox Live Gold’s end brings the Game Pass Core and Console options. These let consumers decide what they want to pay for. PS Plus should do the same.

Ratchet & Clank - Rift Apart Is The Wrong Game For The Series’ PC Debut - Rivet and Ratchet from Rift Apart 1
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Is The Wrong Game For The Series’ PC Debut

Though the Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PC port is welcomed by many, it is not a good game to start with, lacking context and character development.

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