Speak up, D4
Swery’s episodic game is sublimely bizarre.
Finally, a videogame that doesn’t fetishize nostalgia
“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood … back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame … back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time—back home to the escap
Before continues to take shape as the prettiest prehistorical survival game
Cavemen games seem to be the next big thing, a natural evolution of the survival genre. Now that the post-apocalypse is becoming a little tired, it makes sense to reach way back to pre-civilization for something fresh. Big titles like Far Cry Primal and WiLD may be the ones people are talking about,
A Japanese artist’s venture into the uncanny through cityscapes
In videogames, cityscapes are often the most interesting types of environments. From Jet Set Radio’s neon-colored, ever-grindable Tokyo-to, to Mirror’s Edge’s parkour-ready, futuristic city, cityscapes in videogames emit the uncanny, but not quite in a Freudian way. Fictional cityscapes are instead
Campo Santo team gives insight into lookout towers around the United States
The fire towers of Firewatch are much more complicated than you think
The Steam Machine wants to end an age-old war in games
A console for the in-between spaces
Progress to 100 makes your iPhone surprise you all over again
The iPhone may be eight-years-old, but with Apple reiterating on its design every year, adding new features to its tilt and tap core, it’s still a magic box full of tricks. Nevertheless, the experimental phase is kinda over for Apple’s smartphone—we know what works well and what doesn’t—and so we of
A videogame meant to raise awareness of anxiety attacks
Anxiety Attacks doesn’t need to wander far from its inspiration to earn its status as a horror experience; there are no jumpscares or monsters—just the knowledge that you might not be in control of what you see and feel, that something as simple as moving and breathing can become a chore to juggle.
Getting Trapped in Metal Gear Solid V’s War Economy
Debt, industrialism, and the systems of modern war.
Unless your name’s James Bond, the Cold War is still the topic of the day
In the interest of accuracy, I must attribute “Christ, I miss the Cold War” to Judi Dench’s M in Casino Royale, because she actually uttered those words. But M never had a monopoly on this sentiment. Here, for instance, is international relations bigwig John J. Mearsheimer’s “Why We Will Soon Miss T
Nova-111 defies our obsession with genre
The head-spinning time-turning workings of Nova-111
Somber will explore post-WW2 chaos and cults in small-town Argentina
I need more historical games in my life that aren’t pure strategy games or Assassin’s Creed, so when I heard of Somber, a game set during the political turmoil of mid-50s small-town Argentina, I was immediately interested. That’s primarily because Somber isn’t a game directly about war, which seems
This photo series captures the sublime horror of nuclear disaster
Despite—or perhaps because of—the horrifying nature of nuclear disaster, something of the sublime tends to emerge from out of the plumes and ashes. Creators have been trying to make sense of this ungodly power that we’ve wielded ever since the nuclear bomb was first invented, only to lay waste to it
This virtual reality forest experience is the perfect rebuttal to Avatar
Technology and nature don’t always have to be opposed When tech and nature become one See through the eyes of an animal through virtual reality
This videogame gets its art style from 15th century woodcuts
The danse macabre finds a new host.
Africa is not a country, unless you’re a videogame developer, apparently
Here’s an idea: If your blog post announcing a game set in ‘Africa’ doesn’t name a single country, it probably needs another edit. To wit, here’s a choice passage from Positech Games’ announcement for Democracy 3: Africa: In the west, we tend to think of Africa as either the target of charity fund-r
Halo 5’s Warzone mode is a glorious clusterf*ck
Never change, Halo 5’s absolutely bonkers Warzone mode
Crow money, crow problems
Sign up to receive each week’s Playlist e-mail here! Also check out our full, interactive Playlist section. Crowtel (PC) BY Sinks Imagine this: you’re just another crow hotel manager, living their simple life and minding their own business. You don’t want to be the next Ritz Carlton or anything—you
Videogames and ’80s Hollywood Masculinity: A Love Story
Videogames are stuck in the era of Rambo.
There may still be joy to be found in racing games
I spent the first 11 years of my life reading used car listings and saving up for my first set of wheels. I spent the next four months of my life burning all of these car savings on arcade racers, a relationship that burned so bright and fast that I have never since felt the urge to learn how to dri
5 Queer Video Games Breaking the Mold
Indie game developers create narratives that showcase queer culture beyond gender identity, connecting with players through universal human experiences.
Mason Lindroth’s "walking simulator" is a thing of surreal beauty
Mason Lindroth’s videogames have always appealed at first look. You may extend that to ‘first feel’ too, given that they’re usually made of squirming clay and chopped-up degenerated photos; time and again, uniquely and gloriously tactile. But let’s stick with that initial love at first sight idea. I
Stillness is the move
From Tokyo Story to Kentucky Route Zero, art speaks through silence.
Videogame dadification takes a delightful turn for the bizarre in Dad Quest
IRL dads are basically super human. In fact, there’s an entire subreddit dedicated to dad reflexes because they are so outside the realm of normal human capabilities that their special powers only activate once the fruit of one’s loins is threatened by malicious gravity and the like. Perhaps this ex
The aura of Twitch
How watching others play brings something new to the art of games.