[Originally posted on The Border House] After introducing her topic in an episode of “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games,” Anita Sarkeesian begins with some variation of the following: “It’s both possible—and even necessary—to simultaneously enjoy a piece of media while also being critical of its more pernicious aspects.” I sense the phrase is meant … Continue reading Welcome to the Machine: the ambivalent tone of The Last Story
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Satire and parody are words that get thrown around a lot around videogames—often inappropriately (Anhut, Anjin. “You Are Not Getting it.” How to Not Suck at Game Design. Sep 26 2013.)—and while mainstream games seem to struggle to reconcile certain traditions with their offensive subtexts, it’s possible to have fun with problematic content without endorsing the … Continue reading Rethinking the Homo-Bro-cial Order in Broforce
An NPC in Motherbound, the third of four towns in Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, jokes that she wishes she could go out and see more of the world, but the monsters surrounding the town are too difficult for her to fight; if only, she laments, she started an adventure in Lufestpolis—the player’s starting … Continue reading Mobility as a Weapon in Phantasy Star
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Secrets of Raetikon is part platformer, part flight simulator, part Metroid-vania, part creation myth. It’s a lot of things without ever settling on what it wants to be most. Really that’s its strongest quality. It just sort of gracefully floats along boundaries. Secrets of Raetikon points to the value of exploration as an … Continue reading Exploration and the Secrets of Raetikon
[Originally posted on PopMatters] Line of Defense Tactics is a spinoff game based on the Line of Defense MMO and follows the events of the DC comic series of the same name. Perhaps it is because the game is based on two disparate sources—one in beta, the other in issue #0—that it feels so aloof and … Continue reading Review: Line of Defense Tactics
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