Category: Unwinnable Monthly

Unwinnable Monthly, February 2020

By Stu Horvath • February 17th, 2020

The February issue of Unwinnable Monthly is here to infect your brain!

Middlewest and the Scars of Parental Abuse

By Harry Rabinowitz • February 12th, 2020

When you peel back its fantasy veneer, Middlewest Book One is a story of parental abuse and the scars, both literal and figurative, it leaves.

Rookie of the Year

GOAT vs. Block

By Matt Marrone • February 11th, 2020

How could you suddenly be twice as good at a game you’ve played so often there’s simply no conceivable room for improvement?

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?

Here's the Thing

Enough With G1 Already!

By Rob Rich • January 31st, 2020

Hasbro and Takara have been giving fans and collectors G1-inspired homages for years, and while it was neat at first, it’s getting pretty of stale

Another Look

Spectating at the End of the Universe

By Yussef Cole • January 29th, 2020

Mobius Digital’s Outer Wilds rebels against the shortcomings of traditional perspective.

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.

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.

The Beat Box

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.

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