Exploits Feature An Ode to Videogame Jumps By Jordan Havlik • July 1st, 2022 Even a bad jump is better than no jump.
Interlinked Retracing My Writer’s Statement By Phoenix Simms • June 30th, 2022 For this Unwinnaversary Phoenix compares her past writer’s statement/interests to her current state of affairs.
Collision Detection Some Thoughts on Independent Games and Media By Ben Sailer • June 29th, 2022 As Unwinnable celebrates its tenth (twelfth) trip around the sun, Ben looks back on the developments and decisions that led him to this point.
Past Presence Anything By Emily Price • June 28th, 2022 A large part of being a good critic is being able to be sincere. And part of that sincerity is admitting that sometimes, you just like what you like.
Monstrous Arcana By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • June 27th, 2022 Beholders and Sahuagin and Mind Flayers, oh my!
Revving the Engine The Accessible Soul of Thymesia By Ben Sailer • June 23rd, 2022 OverBorder Studio’s Epic MegaGrants-winning action-RPG Thymesia offers new twists on a tested formula for alchemical hack-and-slashery.
Letters from the Editor Unwinnable Monthly – June 2022 By David Shimomura • June 17th, 2022 New month, new decade…sort of.
Friction Burns In Card Shark, The Devil Finds Work For Busy Hands By Ruth Cassidy • June 16th, 2022 The easiest mark is one distracted by believing they’re getting one over on someone else.
Nonhuman Meditations Dreaming of Dream Land By Alyssa Wejebe • June 14th, 2022 Alyssa remembers the time she shapeshifted into a bunch of creatures and decimated an airship with her brothers before escaping on a sentient cyclops wheel.
Here's the Thing Let’s Talk About The Story of No Man’s Sky By Rob Rich • June 10th, 2022 Rob’s been spending a lot of time with No Man’s Sky lately and was genuinely surprised by its story. Yes, there’s a story.
Forms in Light Fair and Square By Justin Reeve • June 9th, 2022 Plenty of games have been set in Egypt, Iraq and even China, but few have taken place in India. Why has the Indus Valley Civilization been so badly ignored?
Casting Deep Meteo A Contender for Cultish Adoration By Levi Rubeck • June 8th, 2022 The vibe of The Anacrusis is Star Trek lined with Austin Powers – polymer one-piece uniforms meets chalk-candy make-up and analog design.
I Played It Like Twice... Burning the Torch at Both Ends: Peril Comes in Small Packages in Tiny Epic Dungeons By Orrin Grey • June 6th, 2022 These are minuscule board games that come in boxes about the size of the ones you used to get checkbooks in, back when anybody had checkbooks.
Another Look Starry-Eyed Fox By Yussef Cole • June 6th, 2022 “I’ve been trying to clear Star Fox,” she ventured, holding up the rectangular cartridge with a question in her eyes.
Conversation In The Ruins Of Interplanetary Capitalism By Ruth Cassidy • June 3rd, 2022 An interview with Gareth Damian Martin about Citizen Sleeper, and its bodies
Collision Detection Passion and Generosity in the Vision of Gran Turismo By Ben Sailer • June 2nd, 2022 Gran Turismo 7 has been criticized for greedy microtransactions. The spirit of its creative vision, however, is more generous than its commercial aspirations.
Past Presence Cheap Machines By Emily Price • May 31st, 2022 Using speculative genres, games propose a horror that lies within debt and the meaningless work meant to assuage it: that rather than being a neat system with a clear path to success, it is instead an unresolvable problem.
Dead Mall By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 30th, 2022 It’s just an abandoned mall, what’s the worst that could happen?
Revving the Engine Network Effects By Phoenix Simms • May 26th, 2022 Pull Stay is personal, pulling from solo developer Nito Souji’s experience as a hikikomori, his unique sense of humor and his favorite genre of beat ‘em ups.
Feature Excerpt Why Aren’t There Treasure Chests in Demon’s Souls? By Jon Thumas • May 25th, 2022 Not having treasure chests is a provocative decision for a Japanese action RPG to have made in 2009, but it was far from a transgressive one.
Feature Excerpt Cyberpunk 2077 is a Haunted House By Alma Roda-Gil • May 24th, 2022 Just because death permeates Night City doesn’t mean it’s a privilege afforded to everyone.
Central Casting By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 23rd, 2022 Tired of rolling dice for the same old characters? Add some unexpected zip with the Central Casting books!
Borderlands By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 16th, 2022 In which our heroes find a good job, with good benefits and decent lodging.
Friction Burns NORCO Is A Connected Web Of Estrangement By Ruth Cassidy • May 12th, 2022 The desire for connection and rejection of it shapes the core family in a web, but it plays out across the story’s politics too.
Dread By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 9th, 2022 Just pull one block out. What’s the worst that could happen?
The Mysteries of Motorsport By Ben Sailer • May 6th, 2022 A melon farmer accidentally falls into a time warp and is commissioned to produce words on a popular videogame by the insatiable content overlords of Unwinnable Monthly LLC.
I Played It, Like, Twice... We Did Warn You: Playing Horrified 2 During [checks notes] Still a Pandemic By Orrin Grey • May 5th, 2022 The good news is, most of the winning formula that made its predecessor tick is reproduced nicely here.
Kings of the Cable: The British Chess Association Festival of 1872 By Levi Rubeck • May 3rd, 2022 With more players gaining proficiency with pawns and rooks and bishops by the day, a hunger has emerged – the people cry out for more games, more analysis and more rivalry!
Players Handbook Rerun By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • May 2nd, 2022 What revelations lurk behind the idol of Moloch, within the pages of the first edition Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook?
The Fantasy Trip By Stu Horvath and John McGuire • April 25th, 2022 That’s over the river and through the woods, right?
Revving the Engine Beyond the Backdrop By Levi Rubeck • April 20th, 2022 The digital scene maker RPGScenery helps pen and paper RPG game masters visualize their stories while making combat scenes more immersive and manageable.
Letter from the Editor Unwinnable Monthly – April 1872 By David Shimomura • April 15th, 2022 A trip down memory lane for this special milestone!
Friction Burns In Disco Elysium, Cops Aren’t Community By Ruth Cassidy • April 14th, 2022 No matter how kindly or redemptively you play Harry, and for all Kim speaks to his belief that the RCM are doing good, Disco Elysium itself recognises that cops are not social care.
No Accounting for Taste Everything Old is New Again. And Then Some By Adam Boffa • April 12th, 2022 Thanks to one weird trick, the reboot has gotten a new lease on life.
