Three and Out – ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the most perfectly polished experience I have ever played. Every single aspect of this experience challenged me to be better, and I learned a lot...
Author: Flora Merigold
Three and Out – ‘Vignettes’
Everything is connected to everything else. Life is a fluid series of reinventing and shifting perspectives. Some video games capture this message in linear, narrative ways. Other games abstractly demonstrate this schema to us,...
LudonarrativeFM: Episode 2.3 – ‘Super Mario Odyssey’
In this month’s episode of LudonarrativeFM, Preston and Blake journey through the many joyful kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey (2017). This bouncy and boisterous 3D platformer boasts a bunch of boundless fun and movement...
Roundtable: Explaining the Trend Behind Unfinished, Unpolished Games
Question: Why are we continuing to see unfinished, unpolished games as we move into what seems to be the umpteenth year of this growing trend? Ben: This is a frustrating trend that probably won’t end...
‘Overcooked 2’: A Tale of Friendship and Interdependence
My first job was dishwashing in a pretentious restaurant that prided itself on its kitchen being run by a victor from the television show “Top Chef.” This was my introduction to both the restaurant...
Roundtable: Is Good Narrative an Excuse for Bad Gameplay?
Question: Does a strong narrative exempt a game from issues in its gameplay? In terms of difficulty, lack of engagement, or simply poor game design, is such a narrative enough motivation to push through...
Why ‘Life is Strange 2’ is Struggling to Find its Footing
The original Life is Strange left an indelible impact on me and strengthened my conviction that videogames are perhaps the most powerful storytelling medium. Naturally, I’ve been jitteringly anticipating the sequel: Life is Strange...
Ludonarrative Harmony in ‘Wandersong’: Bringing the World Together
Wandersong is a refreshingly optimistic tale of a humble bard who is tasked with saving the world, and was one of the best indie games of 2018. The game is both narratively and mechanically...
Roundtable: 2018’s Best Moments in Gaming
Question: If you had to highlight the single best moment you had in a 2018 game, what would it be? What made that moment so special? Marcos: Honorable Mention: Getting revenge for Cayde-6 in...
Roundtable: The Best Games of 2018
Question: 2018 has been a flourishing year for video games. What do you consider to be the absolute best games of 2018? What makes your number one game special? Marcos: 5. Kirby Star Allies...
Roundtable: Videogames are NOT Art?
Question: Why would anyone believe that games are not art? What is some of the value in or purpose of labeling games as an art form? Blake: I think the reason games are easily...
Exploring Antenarrative in ‘The Stanley Parable’
I began my first playthrough of The Stanley Parable by not following directions. The game’s narrator guides you along through the opening gambit of the level until you are met with two doors. Each...
Roundtable: Companion Characters
Question: What role do side characters have in games? Specifically companion characters, not just NPCs. How do character companions influence the story, drive the narrative, and affect the gameplay? Ben: Companions, and the way...
Analysis: Is Bethesda going the way of Telltale?
With the abysmal reception to Bethesda’s recent release, Fallout 76, many gamers including myself found themselves in a state of utter disappointment. Though the company has taken repeated criticisms for buggy games, an outdated...
‘One Hand Clapping’: A Sonorous Sensation
One Hand Clapping combines unexpected gameplay mechanics, lore, and surprisingly silent storytelling. The premise is generally a mystery. You are dropped into a world swirling with atmosphere and intrigue, something deeply reminiscent of how...
Why ‘Chrono Trigger’ Holds Up in 2018: A Fresh Perspective
This past month, I embarked on a journey unlike any other: a blind first playthrough of Chrono Trigger. I had no expectations, no context, and no experience with this game – but I had...
What Remains of Ludonarrative in ‘Edith Finch’
It’s easy to accuse narratively driven games of “walking simulator” status, meaning that a game lacks true challenge or “play” in the traditional sense. What Remains of Edith Finch has faced that criticism due...
Three and Out – ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm’
Prequels tend to serve as a foot in the mouth of a storyline that we already know the conclusion to. I nervously expected our time with Chloe Price and Rachel Amber to reveal too...
Three and Out – ‘Night in the Woods’
When my friend Dakota gifted me a copy of Night in the Woods, I had no idea I was stepping into the best game I’ve played all year. The deceptively cartoony sidescrolling adventure...
‘Pony Island’: A Metaphor for Depression
As we discussed in July’s episode of our LudonarrativeFM podcast, Pony Island is a metacognitive game that subverts our storytelling expectations. We left a thread dangling in this discussion that, in editing the episode...
‘Florence’ and Brilliant Visual Storytelling
Unlike most mobile games I’ve played, ‘Florence’ tells its story in subtle and clever ways, indicating that the developers tried to tell this story exclusively for mobile players. Many games often feel patched in,...
‘Father and Son’: Bringing Closure to the Past
Growing up without a dad, you start to imagine all the possibilities of what he’d be like. Is he heroic or cowardly? Is he a man of great accomplishment or a miserable alcoholic? This...
‘Orchids to Dusk’: An Allegory for Beauty, Death, and Meaning
“…c’est peut-être ça la vie: beaucoup de désespoir mais aussi quelques moments de beauté où le temps n’est plus le même. C’est comme si les notes de musique faisaient un genre de parenthèses dans...
The Fountain of Wisdom: How ‘Thomas Was Alone’ Represents Disability in Video Games
Video games still largely marginalize the identities of people with disabilities, leaving the conversation about disability and ludonarrative rather silent. This deep-seated sociocultural callousness toward disability has been demonstrated to be uprooted by exposure...
How ‘Inside’ Manifests the Literary Uncanny in Video Games
Playdead’s Inside is often considered in terms of its role as a puzzle-platformer, as art, and for its minimalist storytelling. These three laudable elements of the game intertwine themselves into a unique and unforgettable...
Short Stories and Scrambled Chronologies in ‘Beyond: Two Souls’
People condemn Beyond: Two Souls for superficial reasons that take the storytelling for granted and focus on the controls. Sure, the controls don’t demand much from the player, and cutscenes – rather than player...
Disintegration in ‘Doki Doki Literature Club’
The adorable dating sim Doki Doki Literature Club might be the perfect embodiment of what we here at Epilogue try to highlight and analyze: video games as art, literature, and a storytelling medium. It’s...
Demoing ‘Detroit: Become Human’
Quantic Dream unveiled a demo of the long-awaited Detroit: Become Human this week. And it is fantastic. August 15th, 2038. Detroit. The game’s aesthetic heavily borrows from the developing company’s previous title, Heavy Rain....
Games You Forgot About – ‘Spider-Man’ (2000)
This month’s edition of the “Games You Forgot About” series breaks the mold. Most of the games in this series are old, dusty, lost games that deserve a fresh pair of eyes. But, with...
Collaboration, Cooperation, and Contention in ‘A Way Out’
Split screen gameplay is nothing new, but it doesn’t take a reinvention of the wheel to innovate in the realm of video games. Josef Fares’ second game, A Way Out, blends a compelling narrative...
Spray & Pray: The Ludonarrative Significance of First-Person Shooters
Video games have taken repeated beatings by the news media for ostensibly causing violence and morbid psychological behavior. The easiest target in this (misled) conversation is the presumably mindless genre of first-person shooters. As...
Where Things Grow: Failure and Frustration as Game Mechanics in ‘Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy’
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy is an idiosyncratic video game – almost to a fault. This genre bending game knows exactly what it is: a trial in patience, suspense, and frustration. Frustration is...
Games You Forgot About: ‘Kinetica’ (2001)
Kinetica is a racing game that was forgotten about nearly as soon as it was released in 2001. It was buried in the market by giant industry racers like Gran Turismo 3: A Spec...
A Guide to the ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ (2018)
Video games have a way of sticking with people for years at a time, sometimes decades. The 2005 Team ICO Shadow of the Colossus release is one of those games that just never disappears...
“Life is Tumblr”: A Refutation
As established in my previous essay for Epilogue, most of the critical discussion surrounding Life is Strange (2015) severely misses the point. I articulated a ludonarrative defense of the game, arguing that Life is...
‘Life is Strange’: A Ludonarrative Lighthouse in the Darkness
A common critique of the choice-based, point-and-click, episodic genre of games that Telltale Games have popularized is that choices don’t matter and gameplay is tedious. Life is Strange, though adhering to this genre, defies...
