I was planning to play Cyberpunk 2077. I’d even pre-ordered it on Steam. I was aware of the issues—both content and coding—and I wanted to play it myself and review it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But after reading an early review, I discovered that might be difficult, if not dangerous for me.
Thing is, I have epilepsy, and I like video games.
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is possibly one of the most discussed novellas in literary history. The surrealist tale, published in 1915, covers the transformation of Gregor Samsa, a salesman who transforms into a giant bug. Despite its unusual story, it deals with some genuine themes, including family responsibility, transformation, and, ultimately, alienation.
While learning to navigate our new socially distant lives, many of us have turned to reading and video games to keep hold of our sanity. Melissa Brinks combines both with her new book Little Book of Video Games: 70 Classics that Everyone Should Know and Play.
This is my second month in social isolation and, to keep myself from going stir-crazy, I’ve been reacquainting myself with my video game library. Specifically, the indie video games I’ve been ardently collecting the past two years.
With Animal Crossing New Horizons releasing next month, an age old question that has bothered me for countless eons bubbles up in my mind once more: Is Tom Nook evil?
Credit: Wandersong – When you Bard the world Bards with you
Valentine’s Day is a complicated holiday for me. On one hand, it brings tasty heart shaped treats! On the other, with those treats comes an onslaught of heteronormative marketing and oddly strict gender roles. If you too are feeling the heteronormative heat, may I suggest cooling off with a good game with LQBTQIA+ themes? Below are some of my favorite games organized in two categories: Play As A Gay, and Queer Representation. Now go forth — be gay, play games!
Ah, the walking simulator.
Also known as “story rich” games, they’re my favorite form of storytelling and preferred video game genre. For quite a few of us, 2020 has entered the arena swinging. While I’m all for de-stressing with a violent video game (Left For Dead 2 has gotten me through many deadlines), sometimes it’s better to escape into a good story. Walking simulators let us experience a story in first person POV, and their clearly defined check lists of objectives can take off some of the pressures of existence. Cue daily dose of existential dread. What follows are five of my favorite examples of story driven games, in no particular order. Now let’s get to it—these simulators were made for walking.
Tarot cards are one of the most famous forms of divination. Originating as playing cards in the mid-15th century, by the late 18th century they had been adapted for occult purposes. Their symbolic nature means that they have been used as imagery in all manner of artwork, including video games. Have you played these video games featuring tarot?
This is part two of our PAX West 2019 coverage. Read part one here.
Welcome to the first Arbitrary Award Show round up! These prestigious, yet completely arbitrary, awards are chosen by a committee of one—myself—and laid at the digital feet of their incredible developers. This year’s PAX West was bursting with talent, but in the end I could only grant ten awards. Let’s start the show!
