The “Roll” of Life in ‘We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie.’
We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie is as accessible as it is attractive. Its bright art style and jubilant music make the gameplay deliriously uplifting.
Games
The Fun of “No-Fun” in ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’
The creators of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have created a video game worthy of Kant’s maxim, “have the courage to use your own intelligence.”
How Pokémon and Japanese Media Created a Generation of ‘Monster Kids’
In Daniel Dockery’s Monster Kids Pikachus usher the pandemonium of Pokémania into the US, but his account of the phenomenon leaves readers wanting more.
Cultural Self-Aggrandizement Has Us Playing Games of Oppression
In Playing Oppression, scholars Mary Flanagan and Mikael Jakobsson lay bare the colonialist origins of board games.
Post-Apocalyptic ‘The Last of Us’ Begs the Question – Do We Ever Learn?
The characters in Craig Mazin’s hit series, The Last of Us, are just like the rest of us – violent, tyrannical, and on the verge of being irredeemable. Yet we hope for them, still.
Too Powerful to be Merely Entertainment: Video Games and the Work of Nicholas O’Brien
Video game designer Nicholas O’Brien creates and curates in a medium starving for critical conversation.
Horror Video Game ‘Silent Hill’ Explores Dark Paradoxes in Normalcy
Inspired by Japanese Buddhism and American pop culture, the grotesque is a metaphor for normalcy in the horror video game Silent Hill.
Indie Game ‘Best Month Ever!’ Navigates Single Motherhood
Indie game Best Month Ever! challenges players to navigate single motherhood – including illness and low wages – in a ruthless capitalistic and patriarchal society.
Nintendo Makes Binge Eating Fun in Kirby’s Dream Buffet
Nintendo’s multi-player Kirby’s Dream Buffet is a playful indulgence for those with a big appetite for quick, colorful, and approachable games.
How Moebius’ Psychedelic Fantasy / Surrealist Art Influenced Video Games
French artist Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, inspired his peers and mass media. In video games especially, his psychedelic fantasy/surrealist art may live on forever.
Undone Apart: Artistry and Philosophy in Graphic Adventure Game ‘Life Is Strange’
Why create such a highly-fictionalized, aestheticized setting as Life Is Strange to express the confusion and contradictions of life?
Found in Translation: A Journey into Adventure Game Heaven’s Vault
In the adventure game Heaven’s Vault, learning an ancient language is akin to discovering and shaping history; you decide how it is written and interpreted.