I’m tired of open-world games. There. I said it. I like games that have an ending and a clear route there. A game advertising dozens upon dozens of side quests with a massive world to explore is no longer the selling point it once was. All it sounds to me now is more errands to… Continue reading Losing The Plot
Tag: Death Stranding
Goals
I like having goals in my video games, something to work towards. Something that once I’m done, I’m done. Once upon a time that was catching all 150 Pokémon, every now and then it’s a matter of reaching that sweet sweet 100% completion. More recently, it’s taken the shape of getting that elusive Platinum Trophy.… Continue reading Goals
Stranded Solace
I find Death Stranding’s postgame to be wonderfully meditative. I realize that the tranquility I suggest sounds quite incongruous with the game, one that I’ve said before manages to capture the terrible wonder of the sublime. But when you’ve finished the main story, uncovered the central mystery, and become quite adept at avoiding the ghostly… Continue reading Stranded Solace
Comforts
I started playing Death Stranding again last night. I wanna Platinum it, that is get all the trophies in the game and really finish it. Also, I was watching The Great British Bake Off with the girlfriend, and the game seemed a nice match. Which, I realize, sounds kinda odd. Bake Off is a super-chill,… Continue reading Comforts
What Day Is It?
I kid. I’m mostly sure it’s Saturday. Mostly. Kinda wild that another week has already gone by. Couldn’t tell you what I’ve been doing, just because it’s the thing where days tend to blur together, kinda like how summer days used to back when you were a teenager only with less time spent going outside… Continue reading What Day Is It?
Alone Together
I’m a big fan of escapism. Not the sort where you bury your head in the sand and ignore the world around you; the sort where you pay attention to what’s going on then seek out solace in entertainment. Call it self-care, call it recharging; but I believe that part of being an informed member… Continue reading Alone Together
Walking Game
I’ve finally started playing Death Stranding and it is delightful and weird and everything I want it to be. Basically, you play as a Porter, bringing things from A to B, by walking and sometimes balancing your load. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic America after the Death Stranding put a hold to civilization and… Continue reading Walking Game
Twenty-One Minutes
I’ve made no secret my anticipation for Death Stranding, the latest project from Hideo Kojima, the gaming industry’s undisputed resident auteur-genius-lunatic. This is the guy who brought us all the lunacy of the Metal Gear Solid series that somehow managed to merge questions of linguistic existentialism, mutually assured (nuclear) destruction, and giant robots into a… Continue reading Twenty-One Minutes
The Ephemeral and The Sublime
Over the years, Hideo Kojima has, because of his Metal Gear Solid games, become one of my favorite video game designers. He's also certifiably bonkers, mixing in discussions of American militarism-as-neo-colonialism in a game where you fight giant mechs alongside a mostly naked sniper who can't speak because of a parasite that uses language to… Continue reading The Ephemeral and The Sublime
Essays, Not Rants! 