Feature
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Always There for You: How Fire Emblem: Three Houses Subverts Absentee Parent Tropes
In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, parents are an unavoidable force even in their absence.
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The Lost Gunship Returns to Base
After more than twenty years, two friends reunite thanks to a long-forgotten Commodore 64 game.
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Death Stranding Finds Hope in Despair
In a world filled with nightmares, Death Stranding still manages to show us a path forward.
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No Blood for Imulsion: Gears of War and the Military-Industrial Complex
The latest game in the series continues its tradition of drawing real-life military parallels from the Pendulum and Locust Wars.
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Why Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Remains One of the Best JRPGs Ever
Twenty years ago, a cute little Japanese RPG became a beacon of hope in Final Fantasy VII’s long shadow.
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The Human Side of Those Who Cheat at and Hack Games
Why break the rules? Why spend your time and money on a hollow victory?
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The Second Life That Wasn’t
The official guides for Linden Lab’s online world offer a time capsule of optimism and delusion.
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A Russian Crucible: Pathologic 2 and the Problem of Video Game Difficulty
How do you think about challenge and accessibility when the point is to punish the player?
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Space and Place(lessness) in NieR: Automata
Despite outward appearances, NieR: Automata’s setting isn’t empty. It’s placeless.
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Fear of an Irradiated Planet
How games past and present echo and exploit our nuclear anxieties.
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Gaming’s Pleasure Principle: How Virtual Worlds Make Our Creative Brains Come Alive
This is your brain. This is your brain on games.
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Gone for Good: The Phantom Pain of Peace in Metal Gear Solid V
When it comes to unending war, we’re all as culpable as Big Boss.