Unwinnable Monthly – January 2021
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 135. You can buy Issue 135 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Happy new year, gang! Let’s see how Unwinnable is kicking off 2021. For starters, welcome David Shimomura, who came on as assistant editor this issue!
In our cover feature, Henry Ewins looks at game developers who are crafting communities through an absence of players. Zack Giallongo delivers a fabulous cover capturing the spirit of being a lone explorer of a strange and empty wilderness.
Our second feature sees Alma Roda-Gil interrogating the political commentary of plague in the Dishonored games. In our sponsored feature, Jason McMaster talks to Anthony Gallegos about the development of Torchlight III.
In the columns, Noah Springer eulogizes MF DOOM. Harry Rabinowitz cheers Superman for smashing the Klan. Olutwatayo Adewole’s world tour brings them to France, where they find rap metal and a film about cycles of violence. Diego Nicolás Argüello tells part one of his three part history of the Into The Spine Discord. Melissa King pens a letter to Mei, from My Time at Portia.
Ben Sailer shows up for work in Prey. Matt Marrone weaves an interesting theory about the Talking Heads. Yussef Cole commits to some blasphemy. Autumn Wright welcomes winter. Justin Reeve takes a look at the architecture in Immortals Fenyx Rising. Rob Rich closes it out with some thoughts on that whole Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco.
January, in the best of times, is a sleepy time at Unwinnable HQ, after the scramble for year-end lists and the rushed relaxation of the holidays and the fact that the sun only pops in to say hi for like five minutes a day, if it shows up at all. Add in a pandemic and a violent insurrection and it is a small wonder any of us have managed to get out of bed. Which is a long way of saying A. some of our columnists are off this month, but they’ll be back in February and also B. I hope you are taking care out there.
Stu Horvath
Kearny, New Jersey
January 14, 2021
