Letter From the Editor Unwinnable Monthly – January 2020 By Stu Horvath • January 17th, 2020 A new year, a new magazine. See what’s inside!
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.
Collision Detection There’s No Such Thing as a Neutral War Story By Ben Sailer • January 14th, 2020 Like literally every other piece of media, videogames don’t exist in a vacuum.
This Mortal Coyle Asra from The Arcana By Deirdre Coyle • January 13th, 2020 Who doesn’t love obsessively pondering over fictional characters’ tarot readings?
Forms in Light Beyond Blueprints By Justin Reeve • January 13th, 2020 Manifold Garden is filled with structures that you’ll never see on a blueprint because they would be impossible to actually build.
The Usurper Noteworthy Metal – December 2019 By Astrid Budgor • January 12th, 2020 Astrid shares her favorite metal hits from 2019.
Noteworthy Hip Hop Noteworthy Hip Hop – December 2019 By Noah Springer • January 12th, 2020 Noah says “goodbye” to 2019 by saying “hello” to a few albums he overlooked during the year.
Checkpoint 2020 By Corey Milne • January 11th, 2020 Corey offers a year-end roundup, some quickfire crit on 2019’s best games and a farewell.
Here's the Thing An Ode to the Fan Mode By Rob Rich • January 11th, 2020 It took some time, but Rob has realized that sometimes the best way to “fix” a toy is to stop following the instructions.
Another Look Fallen Men By Yussef Cole • January 10th, 2020 Like most Star Wars IP, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order isn’t interested in shaking the status quo of its narrative universe.
It’s Us Or Them By Matt Marrone • December 29th, 2019 The Lumineers’ album III is a stunning record with beauty and tragedy and hope – and hooks.
Feature Excerpt Undercurrent: Sea of Solitude’s Monsters Undermine a Mental Health Journey By Caitlin Galiz-Rowe • December 20th, 2019 The protagonist’s inner demons seem to get the least screen time for a game about monsters.
Feature Excerpt The Art of LARP By Sharang Biswas • December 20th, 2019 LARPing is as much about community and art as it is about roleplaying.
Letter From the Editor Unwinnable Monthly – December 2019 By Stu Horvath • December 17th, 2019 The end of the year is a time for reflection. A decade even more so.
Musings From Kamurocho, With Love By Blake Hester • December 13th, 2019 Halfway around the world, in a city he’s never been to before, Blake finds a place he knows as well as his home.
This Mortal Coyle Goth Stereotypes as Videogame Characters By Deirdre Coyle • December 12th, 2019 If you’ve never dabbled in goth subculture, you may not realize how many gothic sub-subcultures exist.
Here's the Thing I’m Terrified of Disney+ By Rob Rich • December 11th, 2019 Streaming services have been A thing for several years now, with more and more companies trying their hand at it. Even Disney. But Rob’s a bit nervous about the massive entertainment corporation’s efforts.
Rookie of the Year #Monster25 By Matt Marrone • December 10th, 2019 With the re-release of REM’s Monster, Matt Marrone is 16 again.
Another Look Tea and Warfare By Yussef Cole • December 9th, 2019 In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, tea is a pleasant diversion that holds a deeper meaning.
Forms in Light Gotham’s Multiple Masks By Justin Reeve • December 9th, 2019 There are many different Gothams.
The McMaster Files The Mundane and the Sublime By Jason McMaster • December 6th, 2019 In Death Stranding, you can measure your progress by what you have built and contributed to the world.
Collision Detection Exploring Social Impact Journalism With Headliner: Novinews By Ben Sailer • December 5th, 2019 Headliner: Novinews asks players to consider the social impact of sound journalistic best practice by offering questions that lead to more questions.
Backlog A Great Story and a Good Fluke By Gavin Craig • December 4th, 2019 The 2019 World Series is an example of what is wrong with major league baseball.
The Usurper Noteworthy Metal – November 2019 By Astrid Budgor • December 3rd, 2019 A double dose of metal albums you should check out.
Noteworthy Hip Hop Noteworthy Hip Hop – November 2019 By Noah Springer • December 3rd, 2019 Fresh November beats!
Feature Excerpt What Lies Beneath: Subtextual Storytelling Techniques in Videogames By Jeff Spoonhower • December 2nd, 2019 Jeff Spoonhower discusses how stories can be told during gameplay through the use of powerful subtextual audio-visual techniques.
Feature Excerpt Games About Death (Are Stuck In a Rut) By Mark Hill • December 2nd, 2019 Why has the treatment of death in certain indie games become so predictable?
Letter From the Editor Unwinnable Monthly – November 2019 By Stu Horvath • November 18th, 2019 Cliches about death, subtextual storytelling and more in this month’s issue of Unwinnable Monthly!
Here's the Thing Futurama and Faith By Rob Rich • November 14th, 2019 Rob takes a look at how Futurama (of all things) has managed to approach religious concepts and faith with a surprising amount of profundity.
No Accounting for Tastes WaveRunner 2140 By Adam Boffa • November 13th, 2019 In New York 2140, neoliberalism still reigns supreme. But maybe even this dire prediction is too optimistic.
Forms in Light Function and Fiction By Justin Reeve • November 12th, 2019 Destiny 2 has a more complex relationship with Modernism than its clean-cut buildings would suggest.
Collision Detection How I Learned to Stop Worrying (And Love Being Horrified) By Ben Sailer • November 11th, 2019 Ben hasn’t felt frightened by a game since playing the original Resident Evil two decades ago. However, a brisk run through Outlast changed that, and in the process, helped him rekindle a long-lost love for being scared shitless.
Musings Concerts Suck, But Landon Tewers Doesn’t By Blake Hester • November 11th, 2019 Blake sees his first concert in four years and it’s…weird.
Another Look Planting Seeds in the Apocalypse By Yussef Cole • November 7th, 2019 Mutazione owes its narrative to those who now survive in spite of colonialism and it’s world-ending tendencies.
The Heavy Pour This Time It’s Personal By Sara Clemens • November 6th, 2019 Sara got to meet Pee-wee Herman at this year’s NYCC and only freaked out a little.
Rookie of the Year Remember. Every. Moment. By Matt Marrone • November 1st, 2019 Matt shares a story of R.E.M.’s Monster and parenting on the album’s 25th anniversary.
Feature Excerpt The Horror of the Tortured Artist By Rachel Watts • October 24th, 2019 Both Layers of Fear games tap into the horror of what happens when artists become desperate chasing their muse.
Feature Excerpt Two Hands Off the Wheel: Learning to Embrace the Chaos of Zweihander By R. M. Jansen-Parkes • October 24th, 2019 Most tabletop RPGs boil down to a roll of the dice.
Feature Excerpt Grim, Perilous and Inclusive By Adam Brown • October 24th, 2019 Zweihander: Grim & Perilous is a fresh take on dark fantasy and tabletop RPGs.
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…
