Epilogue Gaming: Video Games as Art, Literature and a Storytelling Medium
This article originally began as a tongue-in-cheek “Top 10 Games About 9/11” list. In the twenty-five years since September 11, 2001, video games have become one of the principal cultural mechanisms through which contemporary...
By now, I’d consider myself a die-hard fan of FromSoftware – a sentence I cannot believe I am sincerely committing to in 2026. For years, I hated these games. I only came around under...
Narrative adventure games have been on the backfoot since I began writing about them nearly a decade ago. Despite all time classics like Telltale’s The Walking Dead and DontNod’s Life is Strange leaving enduring...
The Life is Strange series has remained dear to my heart despite some questionable releases over the years, and I’ve remained faithful to the franchise since its 2015 debut. While I’ve made no secret...
I’ve been so far out of the loop with regards to AAA gaming that Pragmata is a title I had not heard of until its release day review scores dropped. Debuting at a strong...
Another year in the books for my annual tradition of flying up to Boston for a week and previewing what the games industry has to offer in the coming future. After playing dozens of...
As some of you surely have noticed, I’ve struggled to make time for video games these days, predominantly because of the abundance of creative endeavors sitting unfinished on my plate. Most recently, for instance,...
2025 has not just taken the wind out of my gaming sails, but ripped the entire mast off the ship. In letting my gaming habits deteriorate throughout the past two years, opening up Steam...
Flora Merigold I have made no secret that 2025 has been an incredibly difficult year for me emotionally, which has eaten the lion’s share of gaming time out of my life. Though, despite those...
“Remembering the past always makes us think about the future.” – Cinta, Afterlove EP I am lucky enough that, this year, my friends at Epilogue have given me space to discuss intensely personal subject...
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 released one day after the love of my life moved out of our apartment and 1,000 miles away, effectively ending our relationship. This unfathomable loss was impossible to begin processing,...
Dave the Diver is a game that garnered enough word-of-mouth praise that I, someone who genuinely despises both fishing and swimming around fish, voluntarily purchased a copy as my next “relaxing” podcast game. While...
Every spring, I have the joy of attending PAX East in Boston as a member of the games media. It’s several grueling eighteen-hour days cherished with my friends and collaborators from places like the...
For as long as I can remember, two types of stories have captivated me more reliably than almost any other: stories depicting queerness and stories featuring time travel. In Stars and Time, an indie...
The ways Omori has been critically exhausted for its depictions of mental health and trauma make me feel hesitant to weigh in on this game. Since its release, friends have recommended Omori to me...
I don’t often write about my Philosophy undergraduate studies, mostly because they have predictably left career doors unopened, but also because mentioning Nietzsche and Epistemology in the same sentence often makes people’s eyes glaze...
I will never forget the first time a video game made me cry in my adult life. The final act of The Last Guardian, a game notorious for its problems, yielded one of the...
One of the first video games I remember finishing as an adult is Persona 3: FES, and though it took me about 90 hours – or nearly a year of my life, in terms...
I grew up on comic books, so naturally I was the target audience when the first wave of early-2000s superhero movies rebooted franchises like Spider-Man and Batman, offering my generation some of the greatest...
One of the oddities of writing about video games for the past several years is the phenomenon of trying to write something that does your favorite games justice. Since writing, for me, is a...
One of my personal video gaming rollercoasters is CDProjekt Red’s infamous Cyberpunk 2077. A notorious disaster at launch, I initially boycotted the game due to its egregious mistreatment of working staff, reversal of key...
Venba is a magnificent game that transmutes cultural memory and identity through food. It also evokes the loss of that culture. Here’s how.
One of the delights of the breathtaking entries in the remake series for Final Fantasy VII is the surprising abundance and depth to mini-games. Fort Condor, as it launched with the Yuffie DLC for...
Heading Out looks like yet another racing game, but this wonderfully designed gem should be on every Steam Deck owners’ radar. Here’s why.
Emily Is Away has a sterling reputation as a nostalgia-baiting AIM simulator. Under the surface of the writing lies something much more sinister, however.
Here’s how Flora Merigold felt her relationship to the Yakuza games change when she stopped drinking alcohol.
PAX East is packed with game demos, but 2024’s game of the show has to be Kind Words 2 – the sequel no one expected. Here’s why.
In her ongoing ranking of the Yakuza (Like a Dragon) series, Flora Merigold assesses the newest mainline entry, Infinite Wealth.
Goodbye Volcano High is a zenith in queer video game storytelling. Here’s how my own experiences paralleled with the narrative.
Cocoon is the latest effort by the creators of Inside and Limbo. Despite tons of charm, the game never leaves that same impact.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name isn’t exactly the most robust attempt at a Yakuza title. Here’s where is succeeds & fails.
The Scream fight in Spider-Man 2 was not only unexpected, but helped me understand my romantic relationship better. Here’s how.
Saltsea Chronicles is a lovely follow up release by Die Gute Fabrik, creators of Mutazione, offering a complex but relaxing narrative.
Final Fantasy 16 has an incredibly strong opening & achieves technical marvels. It also fails to do anything meaningful as a game.
All it took to bury a generational grudge was a night out with the lads. Here’s what makes “Feud of the Ages” in Yakuza Ishin special.
Strayed Lights is an impressive indie debut from Embers, but the combat system ultimately never evolves enough to remain interesting.
If you couldn’t make it to PAX East this year, Flora has you covered. She discusses her overall PAX experience as well as her favorite games from the show.
I didn’t know that I wanted a houseplant dating sim, but here we are, romancing plant-partners. The only question is: which to pick?
While I adored the original Plague Tale, the sequel overstays its welcome, dragging out what it otherwise a powerful story.
If you claim to care about transgender people, sitting out the new Potter game is the least you can do to show solidarity.
Bubble Tea is a wonderful comfort. This cute, quick game about making it is a relaxing way to spend a few cozy minutes.
Floor Chicken in Vampire Survivors is crucial to survival in the early game. But it also comes in clutch as you play further. Here’s how.
2022 was a mixture of massive releases and dozens of charming indies. Here are the top five games that impacted Flora the most in 2022.
Flora Merigold reflects on five years of games writing, revisiting her favorite articles from Epilogue’s website.
If you are struggling to finish the games you’ve started, it might be because you’re playing games “buffet style.” Here’s why.
During Transgender Awareness Week, the Pokemon fandom seems particularly supportive, which has unlocked some fond gender memories of Crystal.
Die-hard Yakuza fans may be tempted to 100% the prequel. Here’s why doing so is tougher than it seems. Beware of the platinum.
This article features a before and after story of two Doki Doki Literature Club playthroughs. It explores deadnaming after transitioning.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners not only pays tribute to the game, Cyberpunk 2077, but enhances its strengths with an incredible story. Here’s how.
The headbanging premise of Metal: Hellsinger will hook any lifelong metalhead, but does the game maintain its groove?
