Three Games From 2018 That Demonstrate the Power Of Video Game Storytelling

While it may not have reached the stratospheric heights of 2018, last year saw the release of quite a few fantastic stories in the medium. Although the fact that there were new examples of good video game writing is not inherently surprising anymore, the specific games that impressed were a somewhat unlikely bunch. Rockstar managed …

My Five Favorite Games of 2018

It's that time of the year again, the period in which I look back at my massive backlog of games that I missed over the past twelve months and feel vaguely disappointed that despite my best efforts there is still a mountain of stuff I haven't even touched yet. Between Return of the Obra Dinn, …

The Narrative Fetch Quest Problem

After playing through Yakuza Kiwami 1, and finding it fairly disappointing, I started thinking about why I enjoyed the story of Yakuza 0 so much more than that of its sequel. Among other things, one of the problems with Yiwami was its pacing, an issue brought to the forefront by video game contrivance which I'll …

What Is Ludonarrative Dissonance, And Does It Matter?

I wouldn't be a wannabe game critic without weighing in my two cents on the topic of ludonarrative dissonance, so I finally got around to writing an article about it. It also gave me another excuse to write about Nier/ Yoko Taro, so definitely a net positive. In all seriousness, I think of ludonarrative dissonance …

God of War Review: A Herculean Feat

Games are growing up. It’s hard to think of a better representation of this rapid maturity than the recently released God of War, a complete shift for the series in terms of its storytelling. Carrying on the tale of the endlessly enraged Kratos, we find the Ghost of Sparta a stranger in a strange land. …