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Spinning in Circles: Limbo and Structural Ambiguity

I’m well aware of the love it or hate it reaction to ambiguous, exploration-driven indie games. For every rave about a Journey, there’s an equally passionate pan. The pros and cons are sometimes even...

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I Am Alive and the Big Start

When it comes to Spring Into Suspense, we’ve covered everything from orchestral scoring to spiraling structures in video games, books, theater, comics, and film. Yet there is an entirely different...

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No Quarter 2013

Last Friday night, I took the train into New York City to experience the Fourth Annual No Quarter event. This is an indie game showcase run by NYU’s Game Center. They commissioned four new indie games...

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Ico and the Beauty of Ambiguity

Ico is an adventure game for the PS2 (and available for the PS3 in the amazing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection) from Japan. You play as Ico, a young boy left to die in an elaborate temple...

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Game Mechanics as Storytelling: Cursed Mountain

When I wrote about Alan Wake last month, I spent a lot of time on mechanics as a function of storytelling. If the controls don’t match the story being told, they don’t really serve the video game...

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Thomas Was Alone Review (Game, PC/Mac/PS3/Vita)

At this point, a lot of indie game developers try to make mind-bending puzzle games. Portal helped bring back the genre in a huge way with the taunting narrator and level manipulating mechanic. A lot...

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Little Inferno Review (Game, PC/Mac/Linux/Wii U)

Little Inferno is an indie puzzle game with a bit of a dark edge. You are a child living in the future. The sun hasn’t been out in years and the world is getting progressively colder. Everything is...

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Play It: Organ Trail

I know some people are burned out on zombies. Just this year, we’ve had Warm Bodies, that disastrous World War Z adaptation (the second film this year I could not bring myself to review after...

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Papers, Please (PC/Mac Game, Review)

Papers, Please is a thought provoking indie game that’s still a lot of fun to play. The message does not get in the way of the gameplay or the story. It just raises it to another level. You play as…

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The Stanley Parable: The Horror and Absurdity of Free Will

In the indie adventure game The Stanley Parable, you are given a simple choice: follow what the narrator says, or go against him. The first real game-changing choice is a room with two doors. Go to the...

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Game Dev Tycoon Review (PC/Mac/Linux Game)

So there I was, developing a new AAA title for my console The Best Games Console Ever, when disaster struck. My console was selling well against the GameStation and my games were critically acclaimed....

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9.03m Review (Game, PC)

Imagine Dear Esther with even less of a defined narrative. We’re talking about a beautiful game that’s all about exploring your environment and putting the story together for yourself. There’s a deeper...

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Not the Robots Review @ GIZORAMA

I’m happy to announce that I will be reviewing video games for GIZORAMA. It’s a great site with very thoughtful writers that you should be following. First up is my review of Not the Robots. Perhaps...

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Infested Planet Review

My review of Infested Planet went up today at GIZORAMA. I really liked the game. I normally can’t handle RTS games (do you count tower defense as RTS? I’m a tower defense guru), but Infested Planet has...

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Electronic Super Joy: Groove City Review

My new review is up over at GIZORAMA. It’s the mini-sequel to Electronic Super Joy, one of the most entertaining and frustrating games I’ve ever played all the way through. The sequel is actually...

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Pretentious Game Review (PC)

I don’t know what to tell you. I really wanted to like this game. I played the original browser game forever ago and jumped on the opportunity to review the full release. I wish it was as good as the...

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Spoiler Alert Review

My review of Spoiler Alert just went up today at GIZORAMA. If the title sounds familiar, I wrote about the first game trailer a few months ago. It is a PC platformer played in reverse and it’s really...

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Doctor Who: The Adventure Games Review (PC)

Let's call Doctor Who: The Adventure Games my biggest surprise of 2014 so far. I knew the game existed and was always tempted to purchase it. I'm a big Doctor Who fan and that's justified a lot of...

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Ico and the Beauty of Ambiguity

Ico is an adventure game for the PS2 (and available for the PS3 in the amazing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection) from Japan. You play as Ico, a young boy left to die in an elaborate temple...

View Article

Game Mechanics as Storytelling: Cursed Mountain

When I wrote about Alan Wake last month, I spent a lot of time on mechanics as a function of storytelling. If the controls don’t match the story being told, they don’t really serve the video game...

View Article
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