Unwinnable

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A promo image for Assassin's Creed: Shadows with the ninja and the samurai standing next to each other in front of a Japanese castle sword and shuriken drawn

Beyond the Shadows: The Aesthetic Ambition of Assassin’s Creed

By Justin Fenech • May 13th, 2026

On artistic terms, is Shadows comparable for Ubisoft to the Water Lilies series were for Claude Monet’s late career?

Current Issue

Exploits Feature

The Oxford English Dictionary

By J. Ryne Danielson • May 1st, 2026

If words are magic, then dictionaries are spellbooks.

Interlinked

A screenshot from Final Fantasy VI shows large, ornate red and gold curtains hanging prominently above a multi-tiered orchestra pit. Two levels of musicians are seen playing instruments, led by a conductor positioned in the center.

Prismatic Sound

By Phoenix Simms • May 13th, 2026

Art in a globalized world is about coexistence and the collective effort making meaning.

Don't Stop Believing

A close-up of Caine, the ringmaster and primary artificial intelligence in the web series The Amazing Digital Circus.

The Burden of Godhood Is Hellish in Final Fantasy XIII

By Elijah Beahm • May 12th, 2026

Like the Fal’Cie, the game feels miserable, struggling against its own design.

Here Be Monsters

A close up of Tifa wearing her signature combat-ready attire – a white sleeveless crop top with black trim, a black sports bra underneath, and tactical suspenders.

Stepford Waifus: The Politics of Aesthetic Homogeneity in Final Fantasy

By Emma Kostopolus • May 11th, 2026

The only thing the female characters get to be, all narrative protestations of their strength to the contrary, is small and delicately pretty.

Monster Dinosaur

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 11th, 2026

Oh wait, this is supposed to be a podcast about roleplaying games?

A screenshot from Vampire Crawlers where the player is considering a Hellfire card that could deal 748 damage or one of a few other cards against an enemy in a blue robe and black hat all in a blocky pixelated style

Vampire Crawlers Is an Exponential Problem

By Rob Rich • May 8th, 2026

Will Poncle’s dungeon drawling follow-up to Vampire Survivors be as huge – and as commonly duplicated – as the original?

Run It Back

A screenshot from Final Fantasy VII Remake shows the Mako Reactor mid-explosion, mean and fiery oranges, whites and reds painting an otherwise serene night sky.

1997 – 2020

By Oluwatayo Adewole • May 8th, 2026

It’s much easier to force desperate people into extractive economic relationships when you’ve fundamentally destabilized their society.

Commander Jane Shepard and Admiral Anderson run from an explosion that tosses many alliance colleagues and Shep's probably saying "I told you so"

The Paragade Paradox

By J.M. Henson • May 7th, 2026

A character who is never challenged, who never lapses, becomes saccharine quickly.

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