Unwinnable Monthly – August 2021

This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 142. You can buy Issue 142 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!

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Here’s August!

Hey there reader. I hope you’re having a really nice day today. If you’re not, I hope these pages can bring you a little joy and maybe make you think about something in a new way.

So, what’s inside this month? Let me tell you. Our cover (art by Michael Hsiung) feature this month is by Zsolt David picking apart the world after our world through the lens of Fallout 3. Our other feature is William Dowell. William discusses the insidious way Orientalism creeps into games through music. This month’s Unreal Engine spotlight is Sara Clemens talking to developer Joe Winter about Song of Iron, a side scrolling Viking action adventure.

Onto the columns! Matt Marrone goes into the strange in between space occupied through events now attempting to come back in the next stage of the pandemic. Rob Rich talks about Weird Al and its honestly delightful. Noah Springer digs into the present and has some very fresh picks. Yussef Cole is back, hey Yussef! This month he dives into the particular strain of masculinity presented in Leave No Trace. Justin Reeve talks about the antagonistic way architecture interacts with the unhomed, particularly via Umurangi Generation. Stu Horvath is back this month to talk about a train ride. Ben Sailer played the Google Olympic JRPG tie-in. Truly there is no territory JRPGs won’t go. Autumn Wright discusses Makoto Shinkai’s work in this month’s column. Sara Clemens shoots you right in the feels. And also, Melissa King writes to Kainé, bless.

Be well everyone and be good to each other!

See you all in a few weeks at Exploits!

David Shimomura
Chicago, Illinois
August 13, 2021