Author: Hailey Rounsaville

A DC transplant and avid Bethesda apologist, Hailey can usually be found hanging with her two rabbits, bumping into things, and reveling at pictures of sushi.
The Hero of Rhyme
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The Legend of Zelda has been turned into a rap-battle RPG

I’ll cut to the chase: someone gave Link a voice. As everyone’s favorite silent protagonist for 30 years and counting(!), you’d think that Link might have some sophisticated musings on his experiences. As it turns out, he’s got something even better: the power of rhymes. The Legend of Zelda: The Hero of Rhyme is a surprisingly accurate browser-based game that replaces all of the combat of the RPG classic with rap battles. Good rap battles. Like any other Zelda game, there’s winding forests, temples, and an inevitable face-off with Ganon. Na’vi is your more eloquent, still annoying fairy god-rapper. However,…
Doggo
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We don’t deserve Doggo

There are many things that separate the common Canis Lupus from the beloved “doggo.” Since the rise of meme culture in the late ‘aughts, dogs have become their de-facto mascot: sniffing, fraternizing, and bumbling their way through life. Many will be familiar with the gargantuan Facebook communities “Dogspotting” and “Cool Dog Group” (the latter of which has less rules and regulations), which pride themselves on spotting the most eccentric and adorable canines all over the world. All in all, every dog is a doggo: it’s an endearing title that highlights their goofiness and pureness of heart. Humanity doesn’t deserve dogs.…
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Which Passover Plague Are You? is a real question and a real game

Anyone who had the misfortune of going through bible school will know the story: the Jewish people spent generations in slavery, tortured at the hands of great Pharaohs, before God inflicted 10 plagues upon Egypt to free his ill-treated servants. What wasn’t covered in the Abrahamic texts, though, were questions like, what would be the soundtrack to your plague? Or, what’s your revenge color? What would you do with the power of a god? Designed by Veve Jaffa, Which Passover Plague Are You? tasks you with the seemingly simple decision of how you, a human representative hand-picked by the big guy himself, will…
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Spotify finally recognizes videogame music

You’d be hard pressed to find a song you want that isn’t on Spotify—except, until recently, beloved soundtracks of games like Halo (2001), Portal 2 (2011), and even the original The Sims (2000). The release of Spotify Gamers has further expanded Spotify’s gargantuan library, including pretty much every blockbuster soundtrack you can think of from the last 10 years. The library is extremely current, including cuts from No Man’s Sky, I Am Setsuna, and Florence and the Machine’s gorgeous additions to the Final Fantasy XV soundtrack. turns games into sensorial experiences But they didn’t stop there. Spotify is now treating game music like any other…
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Morrissey and PETA made a game, and yep, it’s terrible

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Morrissey has yet again teamed up with PETA, this time to create a game illustrating the atrocities of factory farming. Created by independent studio This Is Pop, This Beautiful Creature Must Die is a highly-stylized 8-bit clicker that, at first glance, is all too reminiscent of Flappy Bird (2014). The original woke heartthrob, Morrissey has been unabashedly pushing his animal rights agenda since 1985’s Meat is Murder. The singer and PETA are a natural pair, both sharing a penchant for the criminally vulgar, and the desire to liberate animals by any means necessary.…
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New simulator lets you try to fix NYC’s crappy subway system

I’m not from New York, but even I know to avoid the 5. The largest rapid transit system in the world, New York City’s Subway links Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx to rush in workers from across the Tri-State area. Over 54 percent of New York’s citizens use the subway exclusively to commute. Millions depend on it for transportation, yet it’s been increasingly plagued by issues of sanitation, mechanical failure, and overcrowding. Brand New Subway tasks you with improving NYC’s decaying subway system, while maintaining the delicate balance of cost and ridership. An intricately detailed experience, the game gives…