Rise to Ruins: A Relaxing Retro Time
Rise to Ruins is a RTS that blends more than one type of game into its gameplay. There’s also something endearingly calm and minimal about it.
Escapism in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Perhaps the most final of the Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance questions the reality of not just its characters, but also that of its players.
You Play the Girl: Decoding the Mysterious PAGAN Trilogy
Oleander Garden’s PAGAN trilogy explores dead MMO’s and eerie nightmare cities, but also opens up a discourse on gaming, queerness, and how the two can meet to explore identity.
The Stellar Core of Tezuka’s Stars in Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Anime adaptations are a tough sell in games, especially for beloved franchises. Astro Boy: Omega Factor manages to fly past the pitfalls and do justice to its historic legacy.
Return to Zork and the Spirit of Adventure
Memories are a funny thing. Sometimes its a recipe for chicken parmesan, other times its Return to Zork, Infocom’s bold adventure game
Delayed Exposure: Umurangi Generation
Umurangi Generation is a game about photography and deliveries set in a future where things are going from bad to worse. So why not throw a song and have a good time?
Finding Your Mom’s Exboyfriend’s Roommate from Five Years Ago in Sol Trader
Ignore this weirdo on the cover image. He has nothing to do with this. Instead lets talk about the connection between two very weird games.
Check into a Psychedelic Limbo in “That Night, Steeped By Blood River”
Trippy, lo-fi visuals and a surprisingly uplifting story spin an existential crisis into this RGB indie fever dream.
Eternal Darkness is Still Gothic Horror at its Finest
A New England mansion filled with secrets, mysterious faraway lands, and paranoia spun into dizzying madness. Eternal Darkness didn’t write the book on Gothic horror, but it did rewrite it for the new millennium.
Uncovering Meaning and Self In Xenogears
Xenogears is a game that has a lot to say, but doesn’t always have the elegance to get it across. Taking a look at all its philosophy, let’s break down some of its messages and figure out why the game sticks with people long after playing.