Unwinnable Monthly – July 2021

This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 141. You can buy Issue 141 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!

———

Happy July everyone! I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere have been keeping safe as record temperatures are reached in so many parts of the world. Remember, the majority of global warming contributions come from a small number of mega producers but it’s on all of us to do what we can to fix and prevent the damage done.

So, what’s inside this month? Let me tell you. Our cover (art by Zack Giallongo) feature this month is by Samuel Kendall who explores the way that 1999’s Star Wars Episode I: Racer has been brought forward (and left behind) into the modern era. Our other features are by Emma Kostopolus and Ben Rueter. Emma writes about the very specific frame from which Amnesia: Rebirth is written and Ben discusses what nonfiction games can look like. This month’s Unreal Engine spotlight is Levi Rubeck on Militsioner, a game about a gigantic police officer who can pick up your tiny body.

Onto the columns! Justin Reeve goes to Japan and pulls back the veneer of lights in the Yakuza games. If you don’t know by know that Rob loves She-Ra, well you don’t know Rob, but this month Rob talks about what She-Ra did for him. I tweeted about Matt Marrone’s piece earlier and WOW wasn’t expecting to go where he takes us. Amanda Hudgins talks about who the heck Sebastian Moran is. Noah Springer is all settled in his new place and fulfills a need of mine with some fantastic instrumentals. Diego Argüello talks about a lingual in-between place and name drops one of my favorite Spanish language films. And also, Oluwatayo Adewole books our tickets to South Africa!

Be well everyone and remember that everyone deserves a living wage!

See you all in a few weeks at Exploits!

David Shimomura
Chicago, Illinois
July 13, 2021