Essay
The Importance of Being in Jest
Videogames are rarely above an inside joke. But can cheeky self-reference become a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Lana Polansky on why good satire is hard to find, except when the game stars Charles Barkley.
Lana Polansky
Review
No, They’re Not Malfunctioning. They’re Alive.
In Vessel, you the player are aware that the beings your character wants to destroy are sentient. Do you continue playing and destroying these robots, in hope that your character will come to his senses?
Essay
Behind Every Great Pixel
Every hero needs a helping hand. Is it strange that in videogames, that hand is usually female and invisible?
Review
New Drivers Wanted
Twisted Metal gets another sibling in its long familial line on Playstation. Through the game’s noble attempt to shephard in new players while staying loyal to fans, Lana Polansky wonders if the game needed reinvention at all.
Review
Dear Esther, Where Do You Fit In?
The narrative experiment built on the bones of Half-Life strips away guns, glory, and even agency. What’s left?
Review
Review: Oíche Mhaith
A collaboration between two of gaming’s most esoteric creators, Terry Cavanagh and Stephen Lavelle, deals with child abuse, rejection, and death. But it’s more broadly a short story about irreversibility. Lana Polansky explains how the game gets its hook in you in a matter of minutes.
Review
Review: Where Is My Heart?
This game about helping a family find itself wants to be lovable—yet is frequently the opposite. Lana Polansky explains how a few small, but resounding, design oversights brought the author’s meaningful metaphors crashing down.
Review
Review: Fear Is Vigilance
Can politics really be gamified? Should they really be gamified? Lana Polansky plays the new Flash game Fear is Vigilance and finds herself revisiting her apathy over meaningless causes.
Review
Review: Rainbow Space Donkey Escape
Lana Polansky takes a ride through space in Niall Moody’s Christmas-inspired game, and has to get off sooner than she thought.
Essay
Please Try Again
We say we “play” videogames, but that word doesn’t always mean what it’s supposed to. Lana Polansky traces the line between Street Fighter and just about everything else, and describes why practice is important.
Review
Review: Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
Going down a self-referential route, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is not so serious. Lana Polansky on why the 8-bit reimagining of the game series is more fluff than serious weight.
Profile
Profile: Matt Thorson
We talk to Matt Thorson, creator of platformers Jumper and Give Up, Robot, about minimalism, why creativity is like a machine, and finding an unintended homage in Super Meat Boy.