Bloodline Bullshit Ruins the Revolutionary Message of Star Wars

This piece contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Now’s your last chance to turn back!

In Memoriam: That Time Daisuke Sasaki Had A Sword

On January 26, 2020, DDT’s silken-haired agent of chaos, Daisuke “Charisma” Sasaki, had an epiphany.

Fallout 76 Players Are Beating Each Other Up in a Nude Underground Fight Club

The crowd watches on as two warriors square up to fight in the makeshift ring. The ropes are built out of wooden fences and the mat is comprised of a collection of dirty mattresses stacked in rows. A...

History, Life, and Death in 'Disco Elysium'

Disco Elysium’s world is a corpse. The symptoms of its ongoing decomposition can be seen everywhere, creeping upon the shoulders of every character, reflected by the wild, fragmented exp...

How 'Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice' Made Video Game Horror Work

Most video games require an active player, an agent within the plot and mechanical framework of the simulated world. For horror, a genre built around instilling physical sensations of vulnerability an...

How Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II Made The Force Interesting

In the walled city of Iziz the caged beasts howl songs about their own matted fur into air that tastes like violence. Men stand alongside those cages, some dreaming of a home outside the walls. A nerv...

One Simple Tweak Makes Destiny 2 Into Joker Simulator

I was in a bit of a downer mood this past weekend. Maybe you know the feeling, since there’s a lot of it going around lately — listless, bored, and a little snippy. Lacking any better ideas, I booted...

Someone Had to Sculpt Spider-Man's Bare Nipples - This Is Their Story

Xavier Coelho-Kostolny wants you to know that he sculpted the nipples on Spider-man.

I Am Once Again Asking Game Freak to Put Respect on Raichu's Name

I’ve been writing a fair bit about how I’m on a Pokemon kick, and that includes going back to play some old games I never finished. First up is Pokemon Ultra Moon, which I’m now playing...

Nicolas Cage in a Post-Ironic Universe: On a Decade of Cagesploitation

Nicolas Cage is an actor forever associated in the popular imagination with his most outrageous scenes. In 2016’s Dog Eat Dog, for example, Cage sprays ketchup and mustard bottles on a shirtles...

The Quiet, Enduring Success of The Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the Rings Online recently launched its seventh expansion to a complete lack of fanfare outside of its fanbase and a few hardcore MMO sites. As a franchise, The Lord of the Rings ...

The Destiny Battle Pass Is Great Because It Feels Attainable

As my old bones march inexorably towards the age of 30, and therefore the grave, I wind up increasingly drawn to games I can play at my own pace. That’s not easy. The games I play for work are mostly...

How Sonic the Hedgehog Became a Hero For Kids With ADHD

Long before the Blockbuster empire dwindled down to a single location in Bend, Oregon, my local store was a bustling weekly destination. Throughout early grade school I frequented the video palace for...

A Cynic's Guide to Star Trek: Voyager

The years haven’t been terribly kind to Star Trek: Voyager, which marked its 25th anniversary this month. It’s sort of the Weezer “Green Album” to Deep Space Nine’s Pinkerton. Both shows...

Life is Strange 2 Crams an Entire Universe's Epilogue into a Mobile Home

Life is Strange 2 does a pretty good job through most of its five episodes of not crossing the path of Sean and Daniel Diaz with that of Life is Strange stars Max Caulfield and Chloe Pri...

Japan Correctly Voted on the Top Five Final Fantasy Games of All Time

The NHK, Japan’s national broadcasting organization, has closed out its official Final Fantasy poll with a whopping 468,654 votes. The poll surveyed for four categories: the top titles, chara...

Ranking the Enemies of Destiny by How Bad I Feel For Killing Them

I’m well and truly back into Destiny 2 this month, which means I’m back to grappling with the weird dissonance between the game’s lore and its mechanics. It feels like the two are a...

13 Pokemon Who Just Destroyed Your Priceless Ming Vase But Know You Can't Prove It

In the Pokemon justice system, vase-based offenses are considered especially heinous.

If Emet-Selch, Architect of the Ascians, Whose True Name Is Hades Was Your Boyfriend

If Emet-Selch, architect of the Ascians, whose true name is Hades was your boyfriend, you could always improve your self-esteem with the knowledge that you’re likely a better person than him. Because...

The Four Faces of Doki Doki Literature Club

This article contains discussion of mental illness, self-harm, and suicide.