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Author: Ben Sailer

Collision Detection
A portrait of the band Mogwai, lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and staring blankly yet directly into the camera, true indie-cover style.

In the Spaceship Over Glasgow With Mogwai

By Ben Sailer • January 4th, 2023

Mogwai are often pigeonholed as the elder statesmen of post-rock. The real story about their roots and influences is much more interesting.

Revving the Engine
A miniature knight in full-plate with a head wreathed in flame stands at the edge of table, sword at the ready.

How Dracma Studios is Lighting Its Own Path With Candle Knight

By Ben Sailer • December 22nd, 2022

Mexico-based Dracma Studios is creating more than just an intriguing platformer with Candle Knight. They’re lighting a path forward for themselves (and developers across Latin America).

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A screenshot from Bad Writer showing the pixellated protagonist staring at a blank computer screen.

Better Living, Better Writing

By Ben Sailer • December 7th, 2022

Bad Writer shows how becoming a more interesting writer starts with living a more interesting life and there’s nothing interesting about joyless overwork.

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A close-up of Mae, the protagonist of Night in the Woods.

The Boomer Death Cult of Possum Springs

By Ben Sailer • November 2nd, 2022

As the Boomer death cult in Night In The Woods serves to remind us, sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones that could actually exist.

Revving the Engine
A 3D rendering of a gray metal robot wearing a shoulder-slung pouch and a loose piece of red fabric tied around its head. A teddy bear with glowing blue eyes perches on the robot's right shoulder.

2020s Tech, 1980s Spirit

By Ben Sailer • September 26th, 2022

Dykom Software’s twin-stick side-scrolling shooter invokes 80s geek culture nostalgia while hiding a few twists underneath an absurdist premise.

Collision Detection

Game Guides vs. The SEO Grind: Who Wins and Loses?

By Ben Sailer • September 7th, 2022

Physical strategy guides are on their way out. But is the SEO sinkhole that has replaced them better? Spoiler alert: no.

Revving the Engine

Creative Constraints in Unbound: Worlds Apart

By Ben Sailer • August 29th, 2022

Unbound: Worlds Apart looks like a typical puzzle-platformer. However, thanks to some creative design decisions, it’s much more than that.

Feature Excerpt
A drawing featuring the main protagonist in DOOM. A muscular soldier in a helmet holds a large gun.

Misremembering DOOM

By Ben Sailer • July 27th, 2022

In this revised reprint from 2018, Ben revisits the SNES version of DOOM, and destroys part of his childhood in the process.

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A field of sky blue featuring a minimalist version of a Super Nintendo controller in stark white.

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.

Revving the Engine
A hooded figure wearing a stylized plague doctor mask leans forward with glowing eyes.

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.

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A blue, red and white race car sits in a mirrored trailer.

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.

An engraving of a fierce Roman chariot race. The drivers lash at their horses while throngs of people look on.

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.

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A videogame screenshot shows several 16-bit characters engaged in a gunfight while paddling down a river in a canoe. Toppled stone ruins make up the scene behind them.

Harder Core Than Thou

By Ben Sailer • March 30th, 2022

Ben tries to figure out what defines games as hardcore and nearly goes insane.

Revving the Engine
The sunlit facade of the museum in the videogame Mukti. Smoke pours out of a smokestack in the foreground.

Night in the Museum

By Ben Sailer • March 24th, 2022

Mukti is an upcoming first-person narrative adventure title that sheds light on human trafficking and the plight of its survivors.

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A blurry photo of a clock reading quarter-to-twelve. It looks as if the viewer is the one with blurred vision.

Pressing Pause

By Ben Sailer • March 2nd, 2022

Ben gets his year-end wrap-ups from various entertainment services and has an unexpected epiphany.

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A white plastic Sega Dreamcast videogame console. The large controller features a small LCD screen and four brightly colored buttons in red, yellow, blue and green.

Welcome to the Circus of Value

By Ben Sailer • February 2nd, 2022

Ben ponders the absurdity of inflated videogame software and hardware valuations on the used market and nearly has an existential crisis.

Revving the Engine
Four people patrol dystopian city streets at night, pistols drawn.

Mean Streets: Project Haven

By Ben Sailer • January 24th, 2022

Watch the trailer for Project Haven and you might assume you’re seeing something from a large studio. Its actual origin story is rooted in humble beginnings.

Revving the Engine
Three astronauts in space suits are posted on a scaffolding set on the surface of a rocky planet. A giant red planet sets on the mountains behind them.

Surviving the Near Future in Phobos Subhuman

By Ben Sailer • December 27th, 2021

There can be something especially empowering about feeling as though you can shape and survive whatever is around the next corner.

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Crowds of people mill around a bustling and colorful future metropolis.

Rethinking the Post-Apocalypse in Eastward

By Ben Sailer • December 3rd, 2021

Post-apocalyptic stories are often framed as tales of what happens after everything ends. Eastward instead shows how life moves on.

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A glowing red tunnel entrance leads into a fortress-like building.

Rethinking Retro Remakes With Tunnel B1

By Ben Sailer • November 5th, 2021

We’re in the middle of a retro shooter renaissance. Why not mine the forgotten past for ideas and inspiration?

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A teenager touches hands with a glowing monster who seems to be manifesting itself from the graffiti on the side of a building.

Escaping Isolation in Concrete Genie

By Ben Sailer • September 28th, 2021

Ben finds a surprisingly poignant message about the interconnectedness of commerce and community beneath the family-friendly veneer of the underappreciated painterly adventure Concrete Genie.

Revving the Engine
A sign bearing the shield and name of Abertay University hung on the side of a brick building.

An Unreal Curriculum

By Ben Sailer • September 20th, 2021

At Abertay University, students learn the skills to thrive in an industry that’s grown into an economic and educational force.

Collision Detection
Three cute cartoon characters – a green kappa, a calico cat, and a blue bison – stare excitedly into the distance with big grins on their faces.

The Terrifying Truth Vs. Some Free JRPG Mini Games

By Ben Sailer • August 25th, 2021

Ben finds a free game hidden on Google’s home page and slowly sinks into a pit of existential despair.

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A medieval castle hallway.

The Role-Playing Television Future of Tomorrow, Yesterday

By Ben Sailer • August 12th, 2021

VR, the hard way. The really hard way.

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Laika, a Soviet space dog the first animal to ever orbit the Earth.

Dos Vedanya, Kudryavka

By Ben Sailer • June 29th, 2021

Correcting the tragedy of the first dog in space.

Revving the Engine
A wolf with blue glowing marks stands at the mouth of a cave.

Death is the Beginning

By Ben Sailer • June 25th, 2021

Reaching the spirit world is not going to be so easy in Path of Kami

Revving the Engine

The Occupation: Mind Your Deadline

By Ben Sailer • June 8th, 2021

A righteous mission. An edge of danger. A David and Goliath dynamic.

Collision Detection
An array of NFL team logos.

Controlling the Future in Five Minutes or Less

By Ben Sailer • June 1st, 2021

Ben gets hooked on pretending to draft players for his favorite football team, and maybe, just maybe, learns something along the way. Or not.

Revving the Engine
A cute orb like robot flies into the sky.

Cute ‘Em Up

By Ben Sailer • May 14th, 2021

A close chat with the creator of a “first-person cute ’em up.”

Collision Detection
The start screen from Contra where two men stand back to back and look out menacingly.

On Cheat Codes and Disappearing Forever

By Ben Sailer • May 5th, 2021

Ben finds a book to a lost era, a time of sharks, genies, and rapid button combinations.

Revving the Engine
A picture of a sports car in the game Automation

Under the Hood

By Ben Sailer • April 1st, 2021

The beauty of having a dream, and making it so, and then having thousands of others make their dreams within your dream.

Collision Detection

Controlling the Narrative

By Ben Sailer • March 26th, 2021

Why the hell would anyone play two-player sports videogames by themselves?

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A futuristic city at night with skyscrapers.

Cyberpunkland and the Full Service Dystopia Simulator of Tomorrow, Today

By Ben Sailer • March 10th, 2021

A free dystopian browser-based game like Cyberpunkland should be a silly diversion. But considering recent events, it feels bizarrely prescient instead.

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In Videogames, Everybody’s Working for the Weekend

By Ben Sailer • January 26th, 2021

Work sucks, I know.

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Countering COVID-19 Disinformation in Five Minutes or Less with Go Viral!

By Ben Sailer • January 8th, 2021

Separating fact from fiction on the Internet and in the media is more difficult than ever. In the middle of a global pandemic, the consequences are potentially lethal. Could a simple browser game be part of the solution?

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On Videogames, Accessibility and the Winter From Hell

By Ben Sailer • December 10th, 2020

Videogames are more accessible than ever thanks to increased digitization. Facing what will be the harshest winter in a generation, this is a godsend that is easy to miss, but should not be taken for granted.

Checkpoint

Colin Kaepernick, Madden NFL 21 and the Football Future That Wasn’t

By Ben Sailer • October 27th, 2020

After punting on social justice for years, Electronic Arts recently patched Colin Kaepernick back into Madden NFL 21. Don’t rush to pat them on the back.

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We Can’t Afford to Log Off

By Ben Sailer • October 1st, 2020

Twitter isn’t just a time-wasting hellsite. It’s also the world’s worst multi-user dungeon.

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Baseball is Dead, Long Live Blaseball

By Ben Sailer • September 3rd, 2020

The only thing weirder than the satirical baseball sim Blaseball is actual professional baseball.

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Open Worlds, Open Minds

By Ben Sailer • August 7th, 2020

While Ben used to hate open-world games, now that life under lockdown has made his surroundings feel more compact than ever though, the promise of exploring their vast landscapes has taken on a different appeal.

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