Category: Games

October Spookfest: Trick and Treat

By Gingy Gibson • October 18th, 2019

A simple, though no less spooky, take on a night in the woods.

Unwinnable Monthly – October 2019

By Stu Horvath • October 17th, 2019

It’s October, and that means the latest issue of Unwinnable Monthly is full of horrors of all sorts…

The Ancestors of the Children of Morta

By Levi Rubeck • October 17th, 2019

Families that fight together…fight together in fairly unsurprising ways.

Even the Mediocre

By Jeremy Signor • October 16th, 2019

Too often we think of keeping good games alive when we think of game preservation. But ignoring the rest does a disservice to the whole of game history.

Forms in Light

Anomalous Architecture

By Justin Reeve • October 14th, 2019

If some of the buildings look weird in Yakuza Kiwami 2, you can blame Japanese regulations.

Pacesetter’s Chill, and an interview with Nathan D. Paoletta

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • October 14th, 2019

This week, we look at the 1984 horror RPG Chill, from Pacesetter Games. We also chat with Nathan D. Paoletta about his games Worldwide Wrestling and Imp of the Perverse.

Collision Detection

Backing a Fake Basketball Underdog

By Ben Sailer • October 13th, 2019

It cannot be overstated exactly how bad NBA 2K has beaten NBA Live over the past two decades.

October Spookfest: Misadventures of Laura Silver

By Gingy Gibson • October 11th, 2019

This one’s for all you less than stellar detectives out there.

Clacking Out a Few Kind Words

By Levi Rubeck • October 10th, 2019

Levi plays Kind Words, a game about comforting and being comforted.

The Mumbling of Control

By Jeremy Signor • October 9th, 2019

The setting and premise are undoubtedly the stars of Control, but the sound design and nonsensical dialogue truly make the Oldest House otherworldly.

Checkpoint

The Client List

By Corey Milne • October 9th, 2019

Void Bastards is quintessentially British. Even with its prisoners-cum-clients.

The McMaster Files

1994 via the Year 40,000

By Jason McMaster • October 9th, 2019

Gladius accomplished the near-impossible: transforming Jason from a critic into a fan again.

October Spookfest: Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa

By Gingy Gibson • October 4th, 2019

It’s that wonderful time of year where I get to focus on visual novels centered on the creepy, the terrifying, and the downright spooky. Ghosts, demons, mysterious happenings and the like all take center stage this month; sadly, however, our first VN was less horrific because it presented a dark story well, and more because it represents a colossal and exhausting waste of hours that I’m never getting back. Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa is a middling mystery utterly dragged down by the tools you must use to solve it. The premise of Kotodama is pretty standard anime fare:

Untitled Goose Game Subverts Stealth Gameplay

By Jeremy Signor • October 2nd, 2019

Untitled Goose Game is the most innovative stealth game in years thanks to the subversion of the usual stealth gameplay loop and bold thematic juxtapositions.

This Mortal Coyle

The Exile from Grim Soul

By Deirdre Coyle • October 1st, 2019

Deirdre survived a lonely summer by escaping to an equally lonely game.

Ultraviolet Grasslands and Luka Rejec

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • September 30th, 2019

This week, its all about artist, writer and game designer Luka Rejec. We dig into Witchburner, the forthcoming Ultraviolet Grasslands and interview the man himself!

Cribbage With Grandpa and Dad

By Levi Rubeck • September 26th, 2019

Levi plays Cribbage With Grandpas, a game that conjures surprising memories of his ailing father.

Sayonara Wild Hearts Exudes Queer Energy

By Jeremy Signor • September 25th, 2019

Sayonara Wild Hearts is not only a celebration of the queer and feminine in games, but proof that these qualities have been part of the medium all along.

Feature Excerpt

Dwarves in Space

By Ian Williams • September 24th, 2019

The gig economy is everywhere, even in our videogames. At least Deep Rock Galactic makes it fun.

Feature Excerpt

Ghost in the Machine

By Harry Mackin • September 24th, 2019

Both the psychological thriller Personal Shopper and Breath of the Wild explore what happens when we allow technology to shape us.

Feature Excerpt

Taking Control of my Sobriety

By Blake Hester • September 24th, 2019

When you take addiction out of your life, you’re left with more hours in the day than you know what to do with. Luckily, there are games like Control.

The Platforming Genre That Might Have Been

By Jeremy Signor • September 19th, 2019

We all know how the Metroidvania became the standard for so much of the platforming genre. But what it there was another possibility?

Letter From the Editor

Unwinnable Monthly – September 2019

By Stu Horvath • September 16th, 2019

Welcome to the September issue of Unwinnable Monthly!

Zweihander – Daniel D. Fox Interview

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • September 16th, 2019

We talk to Daniel Fox about his two-handed dark fantasy RPG, Zweihander!

Episode 15: Control

By Sara Clemens and David Shimomura • September 12th, 2019

The gang gets in Control for this episode of Unmissable!

Checkpoint

Sometimes, Pixelated Spectacle Is All You Need

By Corey Milne • September 12th, 2019

Domina wasn’t what Corey expected, but, hey, at least there’s wine to go with all that gore.

an anime girl lounging tiredly on a stone throne.

On Sincerity and Scheduling

By Jeremy Signor • September 11th, 2019

Anime-inspired games that are built on scheduling like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Persona appeal to queer people through agency and sheer earnestness.

The McMaster Files

The Rose Colored Galaxy

By Jason McMaster • September 10th, 2019

There are points when playing Rebel Galaxy Outlaw that Jason loses track of, not where he is, but when he is.

Forms in Light

Living Architecture

By Justin Reeve • September 6th, 2019

The architecture of Red Grave City comes alive in Devil May Cry 5.

FIFA 20 and PES 20 set for epic gaming battle

By Alan Smithee • September 4th, 2019

The FIFA 2020 versus PES 2020 battle promises to be fiercely fought, with the makers of both games promising players a plethora of new features.

Another Look

Making Lore Personal

By Yussef Cole • September 4th, 2019

Yussef sees a reflection of his own relationship with games in others’ deep dives into the minutia of their mythology.

Exploits Feature

Noble Blood

By Justin Reeve • September 3rd, 2019

Justin Reeve looks at how A Plague Tale handles the concept of noble blood.

Endless Quest

By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • September 2nd, 2019

This week, we check out the old TSR Endless Quest gamebooks, then we get a head start on Halloween with some spooky games.

Collision Detection

Feature Excerpt

The Year Videogames Blew Up Shanghai

By Mark Hill • August 26th, 2019

Unlike most first-person shooters, these two titles make you think about the very real city destroyed in the wake of your protagonist’s outsider crusades.