GAMES

I'm just trying to find something meaningful amid the bullet casings and walking simulators.

Here's a MANIFESTO.

I write short, thoughtful pieces about games for ZERO STARS. 

Also, check out the ZERO STARS podcast on iTunes.
I'm the one with the better radio voice.

FIREWATCH is everyday FRICTION

I like the term walking simulators. I think it’s funny. You know what game simulates physical walking really well? FIREWATCH.

OVERWATCH is candy-coated candy

I’m Level 18 or something in OVERWATCH. I’ve opened a bunch of loot cases. They’re fun; the Christmas poppers of the video game world. I wish the DualShock rumbled when the rewards popped out. In fact, that’s my one legitimate criticism of OVERWATCH. It’s stupid that the controller doesn’t rumble when the rewards pop out.

The best corner of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD

The first ZELDA game I ever purchased was THE ADVENTURE OF LINK. It was 1992 and I found a $20 bill on the asphalt of a consignment store parking lot. I was six, and my mom let me keep it. It was the first $20 bill I ever held. The gold NES cart, no box, was sitting in a wicker basket near the register of the consignment shop. I had no idea what ZELDA was, but Nintendo was Nintendo. I bought it. I think it was $5.

PERSONA 5 has some great coffee mugs

I made the argument once, on a long defunct site, that JRPG casts operate more like coffee mugs than E.M. Forster-approved characters.

ANATOMY is meta haunted house in my hard drive

My 2013 MacBook Air can’t run much, but it can run ANATOMY. If I had to choose one game for my Mac to run, it might be ANATOMY. ANATOMY contains so much in so little.

NIOH is more NINJA GAIDEN than DARK SOULS

There’s an understandable tendency to call any modern game with a stamina bar SOULS-like.