Category: Life

Community Will Always Grow

By Anthony McGlynn • May 21st, 2020

“People hate the steel sky, the slums…but I don’t. How could I? All that passion, all those dreams, flowing and blending together into something greater…”

Forms in Light

Japan Style Architecture

By Justin Reeve • May 13th, 2020

The structures in Sekiro were clearly created by people with a passion for traditional architecture

Here's the Thing

The Weird and Disturbing World of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

By Rob Rich • May 12th, 2020

Rob remembers one of his favorite cartoon shows, about a foster home for imaginary friends, and realizes that it’s kiiiiiiiiiinda disturbing when thinking about the details.

The Fail Cycle

Gotta Bro Fast

By Declan Taggart • May 11th, 2020

Declan gets a taste of speedrunning at the cost of his laptop.

Self Insert

Expectations

By Amanda Hudgins • May 11th, 2020

There’s a different expectation in books versus fanfiction; one predicated on tags and warnings.

The McMaster Files

A Smaller World

By Jason McMaster • May 10th, 2020

With everything that’s going on, Jason’s found that his favorite Twitch streamers have helped make things a bit easier and the world a little smaller.

Rookie of the Year

The New York Times Bestseller List, July 25, 2021

By Matt Marrone • May 9th, 2020

If we make it through all this craziness, Matt predicts that next summer’s must-reads will definitely have a running theme.

This Mortal Coyle

Iris From the Drawn Trilogy

By Deirdre Coyle • May 8th, 2020

The concept of turning artwork into reality—into an escape—has never been more tempting.

Collision Detection

Finding Meaning in Animal Crossing’s Weird-Ass World

By Ben Sailer • May 7th, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has dominated social media since its release. This explainer might help you understand the appeal, or it might not explain anything at all.

Musings

Persona 5 and the Eternal Classroom

By Blake Hester • May 6th, 2020

Persona 5 is a glorious reminder that even if high school sucked, being a kid kinda ruled.

Feature Excerpt

Sticks and Stones Might Break My Bones But Words Will Never Hurt Me

By Autumn Wright • May 4th, 2020

Marvel’s New Warriors series is an attempt to land the most expensive “how ya doing fellow kids” meme in the history of late capitalism.

Feature Excerpt

In the Suburbs I: Stardew Valley and Arcade Fire

By Alyssa Hatmaker • May 4th, 2020

No matter what artists might be trying to convey in their music, we inevitably tailor their message to fit ourselves.

Exploits Feature

Godzilla is the Perfect Disaster Film for the COVID-19 Crisis

By Bryn Gelbart • May 1st, 2020

“If we announce this too rashly the public will panic,” he says, “Our political life, economy and foreign relations will be plunged into chaos.”

This Mortal Coyle

Rowan from Seers Isle

By Deirdre Coyle • April 14th, 2020

This spectral figure makes an impression as a great storyteller long before she’s ever introduced.

The Fail Cycle

A Gamer’s Guide to Weightlifting

By Declan Taggart • April 14th, 2020

Weightlifting has the kind of level-up progression perfectly suited for someone with a compulsive dependence on videogames.

Collision Detection

On GameStop and Contempt for Nostalgia

By Ben Sailer • April 13th, 2020

Ben thinks way too hard about his strained relationship with a struggling videogame retailer and learns about Swiss mercenaries along the way.

Self-Insert

RPF

By Amanda Hudgins • April 13th, 2020

Bring Real Person Fanfiction onto The Graham Norton Show, cowards.

Rookie of the Year

Bite Club Episode 1: Mangia Ninja!

By Matt Marrone • April 12th, 2020

Matt begins a pilgrimage to the most bizarre restaurants the world has to offer.

Forms in Light

Bizarre Brutalism

By Justin Reeve • April 11th, 2020

In Control, developer Remedy takes the supernatural aspect of this architectural style and runs with it.

Musings

Code Orange and the New Reality

By Blake Hester • April 10th, 2020

Code Orange’s newest album feels like the group’s most cohesive product to date.

The McMaster Files

Chasing Ephemeral Highs in Escape from Tarkov

By Jason McMaster • April 8th, 2020

A.K.A. Turning to virtual worlds to feel alive when the real one doesn’t cut it.

The Beat Box

Noteworthy Hip Hop – March 2020

By Noah Springer • April 8th, 2020

Noah celebrates this column’s one-year anniversary with some great new albums.

Feature Excerpt

Expanding Worlds with Video Game Tabletop RPGs

By Scott Roepel • April 2nd, 2020

Unlike in roleplaying videogames, for tabletop roleplaying, all you need is an imagination, a good storyteller and a set of dice.

Feature Excerpt

Accepting Death as the Sun Goes Out

By Ryan Cooper • April 2nd, 2020

The Outer Wilds’ tragic time-loop helps Ryan Cooper process real-world struggles.

No Accounting for Taste

Lost in Space, Out of Time

By Adam Boffa • March 19th, 2020

In Outer Wilds, the clock is always ticking.

Another Look

Fantasies of Fatherhood

By Yussef Cole • March 13th, 2020

In Death Stranding, players get a chance to parent less a child than the idea of one.

Forms in Light

The Genius of Beauclair Palace

By Justin Reeve • March 11th, 2020

Justin dives into why, exactly, this Witcher 3 structure commands such a presence.

Self Insert

When Fanon Eclipses Canon

By Amanda Hudgins • March 10th, 2020

How a Canadian TV show from the ’90s lives on in alternative universe fanfiction.

Collision Detection

Could the Decline of Violent Football Videogames Have Predicted the Future of Player Safety?

By Ben Sailer • March 10th, 2020

Football videogames in the early to mid-1990s reveled in over-the-top physical violence. Could the disappearance of that tendency be connected to changing public perception around the safety of the sport?

Feature Excerpt

Picking Fruit in Hyrule: Playing Breath of the Wild Like It’s Animal Crossing

By Alyssa Wejebe • February 21st, 2020

If you’re sick of emptying your pockets to Tom Nook and microtransactions, another Nintendo mainstay may be exactly what you’re looking for.

Collision Detection

What I Think About When I Think About Grandia

By Ben Sailer • February 10th, 2020

What can we learn about social activism from an aging 32-bit-era role-playing game? According to one writer who probably needs to get more sleep, maybe more than one might think.

This Mortal Coyle

Jesse Faden from Control

By Deirdre Coyle • February 7th, 2020

Deirdre desperately wants to be friends with Jesse Faden, someone similarly comfortable with the surreal and unexplainable.

Self-Insert

Dead Dove Do Not Eat

By Amanda Hudgins • February 6th, 2020

Let this be your warning.

Revving the Engine

Dead Static Drive: A Dark and Winding Road

By Stu Horvath • February 5th, 2020

“I didn’t ever feel like I sought out horror so much as people brought it to me.”

The McMaster Files

Ghosts in the Machine

By Jason McMaster • February 4th, 2020

What happens to our digital life when we die?

No Accounting for Taste

Socialism in One Solar System

By Adam Boffa • February 3rd, 2020

The Outer Worlds knows exactly what’s wrong with capitalism. So why doesn’t it talk about what might come next?

Feature Excerpt

Searching for Kirby(‘s) Air Ride, a Game that Does(n’t) Exist

By Don Everhart • January 28th, 2020

Nostalgic for a game that never existed, Don Everhart considers how he has carried a torch for the never-released Nintendo 64 version of Kirby’s Air Ride. Chasing an online game swap for the Gamecube game Kirby Air Ride may have been the next best thing.

Feature Excerpt

The New Age of Nollywood

By Oluwatayo Adewole • January 28th, 2020

A new generation of Nigerian filmmakers is finally putting quality over quantity.

The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star

By Amanda Hudgins • January 20th, 2020

There’s probably some academic who would be able to stay what stage of capitalism is a multi-part expose about the beauty industry that is actually a seven part ad for a makeup palette.

Musings

When in Hell, We Do Shots At the Bar

By Blake Hester • January 14th, 2020

For something that marketed itself as a funny, drunken romp through hell, Afterparty sure feels a lot like an AA meeting.