How ‘Cocoon’ Is A Game That’s Its Own Worst Enemy
Cocoon is the latest effort by the creators of Inside and Limbo. Despite tons of charm, the game never leaves that same impact.
Tagged: Ludonarrative
Ranking the Yakuza Series: ‘Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name’
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 First Chapter of ‘Life is Strange: True Colors’ is Everything I Could Have Hoped For
After stumbling with Life is Strange 2, the newest game in the series regains its footing. True Colors is a refreshing story. Here’s why.
Why I Almost Stopped Playing ‘That Dragon, Cancer’
There’s a moment in That Dragon, Cancer (TDC) that nearly stopped me from playing the game. A baby lies in a crib, crying at night. The crying escalates from soft whines to proper sobs...
Visualizing the Narrative: ‘Journey’
Introduction Journey greets us with stunning visuals of a desert landscape. An out of focus dune reaches skyward, silhouetted against the white-wash sun. A bright light streaks through the sky below thin clouds and...
Why ‘NieR: Automata’ is a Masterpiece
Somehow it didn’t click at the end of my first playthrough of NieR: Automata that there would be multiple routes to multiple endings: 26, in fact. As is standard procedure through most of the...
Does ’Owlboy’ Earn its Wings?
Owlboy is one of the most visually charming and beautifully crafted video games that I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Every pixel in this retro-style 2D platformer bursts with exuberance. From the meek...
‘Gris’: A Meditation on Parents, Life and Death – Part Two
Grief is not something we can be taught abstractly, but something we must first experience and then, while it surrounds us, figure out. Gris’s main theme, “learning how to grieve,” does this spectacularly. The...
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...
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...
Gris
In this month’s episode of LudonarrativeFM, Preston and Blake explore the uniquely artistic and emotional Gris (2018). This melodic platformer envelops you in a swirling watercolor world of hand-animated beauty, illustrating the journey of a young woman through emotional grief and depression. We argue that Gris will be enshrined as an affirming response to the question of whether videogames are art.
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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...
‘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...
On Play: Part Four
Andy continues to break down the language of art and play.
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...
Participation versus Witnessing: An Examination of Video Games – Part II
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Shadow of the Colossus
In this month’s episode of the Ludonarrative Podcast, Blake and Preston spend time unraveling the hauntingly beautiful “Shadow of the Colossus” (2005). This game, designed by Fumito Ueda, adheres to the design principle, “design by subtraction.” The game’s mechanics come alive, even today, as we anticipate the forthcoming redesigned release for the PS4. Check back with Epilogue this month for more on “Shadow of the Colossus.”
Ben and The Gang Talk Sex in Video Games
The Epilogue Podcast crew break some news and discuss sexuality in video games.
Epilogue’s Best Art Styles of 2017
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...
Epilogue’s Game of January: Demon’s Souls
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...
