Unwinnable

Featured Story

Frieren the elf on the left with two friends sitting next to her enjoying a cool leg dip in the river

The Aesthetics of Impermanence: How Frieren Visualizes Untranslatable Japanese Philosophy

By Beatrix Kondo • March 16th, 2026

What if we honored the space between things as much as the things themselves?

Current Issue

A screenshot from Mad Men where Joan is trying to help Peggy but it's mostly coming off as mean and Peggy's not having it

THAT’S WHAT THE BLOG IS FOR! Mad Men S1E9–S1E10

By Natasha Ochshorn • March 13th, 2026

Does Don really want to live a life outside of his work? Unclear!

Exploits Feature

Feminine Panic: Who Gets to Own Masculine Narratives?

By Beatrix Kondo • March 2nd, 2026

The panic serves control, not preservation.

The Privilege of Play and Other Topics

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • March 16th, 2026

Another collection of chit-chats.

Nonhuman Meditations

Mabel Pines meets a rainbow-maned unicorn in an episode of the animated series Gravity Falls.

Sensing and Leaving the Unicorn Trap

By Alyssa Wejebe • March 13th, 2026

Even when I was little, I could tell that when it came to unicorns and dragons, unicorns were pushed onto girls, and dragons were meant for boys.

Here's the Thing

A screenshot from Pathologic 2 shows the player character's hands holding a revolver. Two figures in dark clothing approach on a cobblestone street, at least one ready to fight.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Pathologic 2

By Rob Rich • March 12th, 2026

The fact that a videogame can make me think about these kinds of dilemmas on both a moral and mechanical level is utterly fascinating.

A screenshot of Pluribus where Carol is looking out a window at Zosia but we only see Zosia's reflection next to Carol's

Navigating Desire Through Lynch, Pluribus, Romantasy and Bollywood

By Sara Khan • March 11th, 2026

Just pretend you’re in a dream.

Forms in Light

Seen from above, Link falls through the Hyrule sky, arms and legs outstretched.

Staying Aloft

By Justin Reeve • March 11th, 2026

Gliding in Tears of the Kingdom is less about getting somewhere than agreeing to fall in a particularly coordinated manner.

Casting Deep Meteo

A screenshot from Lanesplit shows a first-person perspective of a motorcycle ride on a highway at night.

The Joy of Focus

By Levi Rubeck • March 10th, 2026

The premise is taut – you’re riding a fast motorcycle through one highway or another, at dusk or dawn, racking up points by weaving as closely around traffic with as much speed as possible.

A photograph of painted miniatures of the characters from Dragon Quest VII all looking dazed and doll like

Dragon Quest VII and Reimagining the Critic in 2026

By Luis Aguasvivas • March 9th, 2026

We must kill the content creator inside of us that has taken over our being like a body snatcher.

Totally Generic

In a scene from Shannon Hale's Princess Academy, a group of nine young girls dressed in simple, rustic-style dresses of various colors walk in a single file line, many of them holding hands.

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