Fan of vintage brawlers Michiel Kroder reviews MakinGames‘ nostalgic, rambunctious debut. “Whatever happened to the scrolling beat ‘em ups, the Double Dragons, the Final Fights […]
Features
This is where you’ll find all our written features such as opinions pieces and reviews
What Remains of Edith Finch and the friendly shadow of death
In which Jacob Geller ponders gaming’s inextricably intertwined relationship with our inevitable expiration. NB: Spoilers beyond. We recommend that you play through What Remains of […]
Flashing before his eyes: The nature of time in Gorogoa
Jacob Geller attempts to unravel Gorogoa’s knottiest riddle. NB: Spoilers beyond. We recommend that you play through Gorogoa before reading this piece. Gorogoa initially feels […]
What never lived cannot die: Alienation, architecture, and NaissanceE
Jacob Geller explores another otherworldly environment, this time that of Limasse Five‘s “obscure and magical first person exploration game”, NaissanceE There’s a moment in NaissanceE, […]
An anxious gamer
Brian Edwards considers how our personal propensities can shape the game designs that we relish, and those which send us screaming in the other direction. […]
A planet of my own: Subnautica and the meaning of ‘survival’
Jacob Geller explains how he found himself rapt by Subnautica’s alluring undersea environs. Eight years ago or so, I sunk literally hundreds of hours into […]
Fan, I am – becoming the Ultimate Fan in Rare Replay
Our former Rare employee Darren Gargette has recently proven himself to be one of their biggest fans too. On the 28th March 2018, at about […]
Interview with a Life Force: The Salamander super-fan
New contributor Joshua Robinson recently had the pleasure of talking with Salamander/Life Force obsessive Madd74 about his dedication to the classic shoot ’em up. Konami’s […]
Jessica Curry and the walking simulator
Jacob Geller appreciates how important Jessica Curry’s compositions are to the first ‘walking simulator’ – Dear Esther. When I first played Dear Esther, I didn’t […]
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – giving a voice to historical mental illness
Historian Dr Cat Beck celebrates and explores the effective and sensitive portrayal of late 8th century mental illness in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. NB: Cane and […]
Shadow of the past – Shadow of the Colossus then and now
Jacob Geller fondly recalls his first time with Shadow of the Colossus on PS2, and compares the memory of that to his perception of the […]
Interactivity, agency, and institutional oppression: Virginia’s relationship with control
Jacob Geller makes some observations regarding player agency – and the lack thereof – in one of the endings to Variable State’s Virginia. It was […]