Here’s a quick thought experiment: how do you write a compelling, agency-driven character without turning them into a blank slate? Most visual novels do the heavy lifting themselves, offering only a few branching options to their audience, but that makes them more of an observer than a participant. As we gradually hand more control to …
In the seven months since Nier: Automata’s release, I’ve played through a number of heavy-hitters and memorable gems alike, yet none have had the same level of permanence. The wounds left by Yoko Taro’s depressing masterpiece never closed: “Vague Hope (Cold Rain)” still makes me tear up without fail, and few things give me greater …
When I put time aside for a book or start a new show on Netflix, I tend to make the completion my actual goal. Sure, I’m there to be entertained and experience something special, but whether it happens to be an upcoming class or shift at work, my time has always been limited: why linger …
I often find myself disgruntled with retro indie games. Though the style’s significant titles revitalize their genre of choice with gorgeous visuals and minutely tuned mechanics, the story often gets left by the wayside. I’m not the kind of person who thinks every single game requires a tantalizing plot, but while I might have an …
It’s an average weekend evening, and I’m camped out in my friends’ living room, watching two teens edged ever closer to a steep drop by a pack of unruly elk. Everyone in the room is wound up: though we’ve all seen teen slashers of this ilk, we feel a tad more attached to this unlucky …
On its face, Volume is an ambitious step up for Mike Bithell and his merry collaborators after their critical darling, Thomas Was Alone. They’ve gone from a two-dimensional platforming adventure starring colorful rectangles to a top-down sneaking mission reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid’s early days. Touting 100 “core” levels, a sophisticated level editor and a …
As a culture, we often romanticize the large moments of triumph, like scoring the winning goal, finishing the last stretch of a run or rescuing a kitten from a burning building. These moments are indeed worthy of celebration, but in our rush to worship at the feet of a larger-than-life victory, we tend to forget …
Picture this; you’re casing a bank with three other partners in crime, each bringing their own skillset to the table. You pick the lock of a door, allowing the Lookout to observe the layout and memorize the guard patterns.