PinnedI Forgot How To Climb The MountainMy review of Elden Ring, Guilty Gear, my brain chemistry…or maybe something else entirely. Something strange happens when you play video games. You can find yourself developing a unique relationship to the game, like it’s more of a push-and-pull than a film, TV show, or comic. …Elden Ring10 min readElden Ring10 min read
Feb 17My Feelings of JOMO: The Joy of Missing OutWhen you embrace how your game experience is unique to you, you might be able to fend off FOMO. Many games promise you “choice.” Games are interactive, and the fun of them is often how we have our own freedom to dictate what happens on the screen, what happens to…Gaming6 min readGaming6 min read
Jun 22, 2022When I Read Matchmaker, Everything Feels Right in the WorldIt’s 2022 and nothing really feels like it makes sense anymore. To be honest, I try not to have that thought very often. And I usually succeed! I live a life that’s lucky enough that I can forcibly distract myself from the horrors of the decade. The world, well, sucks…but…Matchmaker7 min readMatchmaker7 min read
Nov 24, 2021Even as a Straight Guy, the Key to My Happiness Is Shattering the Gender BinaryI’m slowly discovering the piece of me that was always missing. You should try it too. I’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately. Well, they’re not new. They’re just new to me. That’s often what the case is when you try something new, right? There’s nothing new about burritos, or oxtail stew, or sashimi, or roasted duck…Gender15 min readGender15 min read
Nov 25, 2020Persona 5, And What I’ve Learned About The “Open-World”The addictive fantasy of Persona is not in magic, but in teenage independence — For all of the surreal, power-tripping, ridiculous fantasy elements, it’s the mundane in Persona that sticks with me strongest. Getting coffee with a friend, playing some darts, studying for school, getting a part-time job. It’s easy to scoff when you hear about video games including such low-stakes, meaningless activities. …Persona12 min readPersona12 min read
Aug 12, 2020How A Slice-Of-Life Anime Became My Favorite TV ShowIt’s 2020 and we’re all trying to find ways to spend the time. Maybe you’re baking bread. Or learning to knit. Or catching up on an old TV show or film series. Maybe, like me, you’ve found a sense of peace in things that are repetitive or mundane. “Slice-of-life” is…Anime13 min readAnime13 min read
Jul 30, 2020How Deep Should Our Games Critique Go?Everyone who plays video games has an opinion about ‘em. This honestly feels like it’s even more the case for games than it is for movies. In my experience, there are a lot of folks (who aren’t writers or “content creators”) who will see a movie like Avengers: Endgame and…Games12 min readGames12 min read
Jun 19, 2020My Favorite Things Featuring WizardsSo you’re a fan of wizards, witches, and mages? Here are my top recommendations for you. Is there anything more magical in the world of fantasy media than wizards and witches? I mean, in a literal sense, probably not. If you’re like me, you’ve always gravitated towards mages, sorcerers, magicians…Games8 min readGames8 min read
Mar 15, 2020What Does It Mean For a Game to be a Huge Hit?The ecosytem of games is a pretty bizarre place right now, for both developers and players. To illustrate the point, let’s do a quick compare-and-contrast with movies. For better or for worse, the formula of the US’s Hollywood box office is pretty easy to follow at a glance. Check your…Gaming11 min readGaming11 min read
Feb 28, 2020Sonic the Hedgehog, and How We Rank Video GamesAre Sonic games “good”? This seems to be the question on everyone’s mind whenever this long-lasting series is brought up in conversation. Defenders will make a case for it, listing off the ways that the games have meant a lot to them. …Games12 min readGames12 min read
