Shadow of War – Ye Olde spite simulator
Were you to strip Shadow of War of its Tolkien-inspired setting and story, what you would have is a fully functioning, highly entertaining spite simulator.
To be or not to be Arnie? Embracing explosive chaos over control in modern 2D shooters
If conscious does make cowards of us all; two different 2D shooters take a very different approach to conveying violence with very different consequences for living out our inner action hero.
Behold the Kickmen – An anti-football game for the FIFA age
In blending satire with a retro-football game that shares more than a few of the absurdist mechanics of the Dark Souls series, Dan Marshall has created a unique kind of anti-football game.
Super Mario World – a study of a complex 16-bit digital ecosystem
World building is a consideration that we tend to attribute to more modern game design and interactive storytelling – yet the idiosyncratic character design and foibles of Super Mario World’s bad guys creates a real sense of place.
Minecraft Dungeons – a family friendly lust for power
If you are going to go power mad, there are worse places than Minecraft Dungeons to get such a kick.
SpeedRunners the videogame – embracing everyday instinct in a superhuman footrace
SpeedRunners seeks to shake-up the time-old thrill of defeating friends and enemies in a high speed, high-risk race by ditching motors and vehicles altogether – opting instead to pit two to four players together in a kind of simulated superhuman foot race.
A snack for the ego: the escapist joys and perils of Just Dance 2020
If music has a viable claim to being ‘food for the soul’, then the Just Dance series of games should probably best be seen as a snack for the ego.
Monopoly, the long way around: Do digital boardgames work?
Despite its century-old origins, Monopoly is a surprisingly fresh online and family multiplayer game. That may well continue to be the case for the next 100 years and beyond.
A matter of perspective: Heroism within Shadow of the Colossus
15 years after the release of the original Shadow of the Colossus on PS2, it will be impossible for many gamers to not have some pre-conceived idea about the game from critics and writers that have stamped their own ideas about its view of heroism, love and greed
Taking care of Wormy: Risk of Rain 2 and the real-time perils of online gaming
An online playthrough of Risk of Rain 2 is really about throwing yourself onto the mercy of friends or strangers, committing yourself to a shared world and sense of time
