Epilogue Gaming: Video Games as Art, Literature and a Storytelling Medium
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...
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...
One of the worst things in video games is the mandatory tutorial. It severs any chance of replaying a game and enjoying it in full (there will always be that part that you have to...
In a Pokemon “Nuzlocke Challenge”, you’re tasked with difficult obstacles like the mortality of your Pokemon (if they faint, they are gone forever) and limited access to which Pokemon you can “own” or use...
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...
After an eight-year long hiatus, Mega Man is back with a brand new entry into the classic franchise. The movement, shooting and level design harkens back to the NES-era. The art style and voice...
War never changes. This is the opening line to Fallout: New Vegas, and it rings true throughout the game. It begins with a unique 1950’s aesthetic in its retro-futuristic style and keeps it consistent...
With the shocking news of developer Telltale Games’ closure last week, a lot of unanswered questions remain in its wake. It isn’t bad enough that one of the most critically revered developers is now...
No Man’s Sky started as a flop with broken promises, and what seemed like immense empty space. The last part is the most intriguing though, a game full of empty space with very little...
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...
Question: How can games develop meaningful relationships between the player and its characters? What kind of mechanics help develop a bond – and what are your favorite instances of those mechanics? Andy: I feel...
I was at work, dealing with the banality that entails, and fell into a conversation with Art, a co-worker of mine, about film and video games’ similarities and differences concerning audience engagement. Him and...
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...
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...
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,...
There was an intense moment of relief for me when I found my first character buried beneath the levels of soil, mystery and labyrinth of Hollownest, the beautifully quiet setting for Hollow Knight. Cornifer the...
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...
I was at work, dealing with the banality that entails, and fell into a conversation with Art, a co-worker of mine, about film and video games’ similarities and differences concerning audience engagement. Him and...
“…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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Titles in games usually speak to a main theme. But what if the characters and certain game subplots undermine that main theme in the game? In Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, the game is...
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....
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...
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...
It took me four different Mega Man games, all of which I played in order, to realize that they’re pretty much identical to one another. In an era where consumers rip franchises like Call...
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...
Mega Man 3’s combat systems serve as a puzzle that can have its pieces either a) jammed and squished together through defiance or impetuosity or b) fit snugly into their place if you’re patient...
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...
Imagine an image of a cocoon. Spring green plant life fills the background and the sun is rising, with light filtering in through the leaves. The photograph is stagnant and there are no words,...
Kingdom Hearts II is a fusion of components smashed together to make something charming, intuitive and comprehensive. At various times, I found myself flying through the air on an anti-gravity motorcycle, participating in musicals...
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...
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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...
Demon’s Souls wastes little time getting to the point: Boletaria, the imagined kingdom the game takes place, is a brutal place to spend time in. It goes without saying that the trailblazer for the...
When I opened Kentucky Route Zero I had no expectations or understanding for what it was going to get me to think about. After playing, I was inundated with thoughts surrounding how character dialogue...
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...
Level design rarely gets enough credit, but something to consider is that even a game with fantastic mechanics won’t get to show them off unless the level allows for it. When choosing our favorite...
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...
Before we get into an in-depth conversation over the various nominees, it’s worth pointing out that this year has been a phenomenal one for unique art design. There was a lot of feedback that...
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Every month, Epilogue Gaming will be selecting a new game to analyze, anatomize and explore. These games are chosen by our golden tier Patreon members, who select the titles from a list of games...
2017 has rightfully been championed as one of the best years for games ever. We had a variety of titles, ranging from things like the wonderfully somber Hollow Knight to the contemporary and flashy...
