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.
Author: Lana Polansky
Lana Polansky is a Montreal-based writer, game critic, Twine enthusiast, and professional scowler. She has written for Kill Screen, Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, Five Out of Ten, Gameranx, Medium Difficulty, and Bit Creature.
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.