Epilogue Gaming: Video Games as Art, Literature and a Storytelling Medium
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...
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...
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 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.
These were the best of the games at PAX East 2024.
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.
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.
Each year, the Epilogue staff likes to reflect on what we’re grateful for. Here’s are our highlights from 2023.
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.
Flora Merigold reflects on five years of games writing, revisiting her favorite articles from Epilogue’s website.
Life is short. Let’s play some games.
Christmas is an important plot point in many video games. Here are our favorite times where the player has to save it.
The Epilogue Gaming Staff share what they’re grateful for in video games for 2020. What are you thankful for?
This week in the Epilogue Gaming Discord server, a series of opinions exploded around a central theme: should a game’s price affect the way it is reviewed? It began with a discussion of Joseph...
Epilogue takes on the difficult task of answering: “What are our favorite video games?”. Capcom lands another big hit with Devil May Cry 5 and EA bounces from its E3 press conference.
The Epilogue Crew breaks down video game economics. Are games more expensive than they used to be? What justification could there be for firing 800 employees all at once?
Battle Chasers: Nightwar (BC:N) is a compelling emulation – with additional modern elements – of classic JRPGs. The characters are unique and interesting with backstory that is revealed through a mixture of main story...
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...
My two favorite game types are RPG’s, like the Witcher series, and turn-based strategy games (TBS’s), like the Divinity: Original Sin series. Both at times require some skill to play. RPG’s require weighing tactics,...
Cuphead is one of those games that seemed to thrive on pure aesthetic alone. The classic cartoon art-style instantly captivated audiences of all ages, while the big band orchestra perfectly encapsulated the bygone era....
A Mystery Is a Powerful Storytelling Device, But Not a Story Itself. The story Shadow of the Colossus tells uses a simple plot: Wander wants to revive Mono, and is instructed how to do...
LucasArts was a company well known for its interesting and compelling storytelling, and Grim Fandango is no exception to that reputation. This game is presented in a noir style based on the Aztec version of...
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...
The Epilogue Crew talks about their video game resolutions for 2019 and breaks down sex video games. Are there any good ones? Ben, Dakota and Marcos break down the genre and its future.
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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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...
Dakota returns to the podcast and the Epilogue crew breaks down the latest Smash Bros rumors, what makes a good NPC, and invents the Goofy Rule.
Andy discusses shared language and participatory art.
Andy presents and explains the nature of “mediums” as an intermediary phase and dives into the concept of video games as art.
A series of mini podcasts begins with Andy navigates the concepts of play, ludonarratology, and video games as art.
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...
The Epilogue crew breaks down the Red Dead news about Rockstar overworking their development team. Blake Guthrie steps in for Dakota this week and shares some of his favorite video game crossovers.
Welcome to Musings, where Andy reflects on video games as art, literature, and a storytelling medium.
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...
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...
The Epilogue Podcast crew break some news and discuss sexuality in video games.
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...
