Unwinnable

Featured Story

I Played It, Like, Twice...

The box art for Masmorra with many cute warriors fighting adorable monsters in a dark blue dungeon

Roll With It: Kicking Monsters and Taking XP in the Dungeons of Masmorra

By Orrin Grey • May 22nd, 2026

There is still treasure in Masmorra – where would a dungeon crawl be without it, after all.

Current Issue

Letter from the Editor

Unwinnable Monthly – May 2026

By David Shimomura • May 21st, 2026

Just a little more Final Fantasy, as a treat.

Nonhuman Meditations

An orange-skinned, reptilian creature known as a Bangaa from the Final Fantasy series, standing in a neutral pose against a plain white background.

Strategy and Predetermination with the Bangaa in Ivalice

By Alyssa Wejebe • May 20th, 2026

What variety can be found in a warrior culture, what boundaries can be pushed, how do philosophical ideals and practical truths interact?

Here's the Thing

A screenshot of the Midgar Expressway (also known as the Midgar Highway) from the Final Fantasy VII series, specifically featuring the industrial, multi-tiered infrastructure of the city of Midgar.

I Don’t Want to Live in Midgar Anymore

By Rob Rich • May 20th, 2026

Midgar is an example of corporate greed run amok that wasn’t supposed to act as a blueprint, but it kinda has been.

Forms in Light

A screenshot of the city of Midgar from the video game Final Fantasy VII Remake. At the center sits the Shinra Electric Power Company headquarters, which towers over the rest of the urban landscape.

Life Between the Levels

By Justin Reeve • May 19th, 2026

The fallacy of social hierarchy is made clearly manifest in the urban landscape of Midgar.

A screenshot from Tomodachi Life showing an entire town including a grocery story that looks like a full basket and a clothing store shaped like a polo shirt

Paper Towns and Potemkin Villages

By Jonathan Fenn • May 18th, 2026

Who wouldn’t want a game world in which people and places actually felt like they were alive?

Casting Deep Meteo

The protagonists of Final Fantasy IV are assembled clad in battle gear with weapons drawn in front of blue sky in this key art from Airi Yoshioka.

Final Fantasy IV and the Necessary Weeding of Kings

By Levi Rubeck • May 18th, 2026

Monarchies are weeds, and Final Fantasy loves to tear out the plant but leave the roots.

Abattoir Hymnal

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 18th, 2026

Yes, meat sorcery!

Magazine Columns

fictional companions

This Mortal Coyle

Deirdre Coyle

finding digital grace

Don't Stop Believing

Elijah Beahm

touch digital grass

Area of Effect

Jay Castello

interfacing in the now

Mind Palaces

Maddi Chilton

after we’ve moved on

Past Presence

Dr. Emily Price

kcab ti nur

Run It Back

Oluwatayo Adewole

the feedback loop

Interlinked

Phoenix Simms

elsewhere,here

Totally Generic

Natasha Ochshorn

games, music and poetry

Casting Deep Meteo

Levi Rubeck

The art of games criticism

Dialogue

Autumn Wright

what we’re afraid of

Here Be Monsters

Emma Kostopolus

A guest in queer spaces

The Guest

Amanda Hudgins

ruminations on the riff

Noise Complaint

Ben Sailer

on being something else

Nonhuman Meditations

Alyssa Wejebe

architecture and games

Forms in Light

Justin Reeve

ridicule and reverence

Rookie of the Year

Matt Marrone

a monthly soapbox

Here's the Thing

Rob Rich

now this

Noah's Beat Box

Noah Springer