Pathologic 2 offers an alternative perspective on failure in games by removing a key element that often makes difficult games appealing
Pathologic 2 Does Difficulty Different
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Stephen Mansfield is an occasional game critic trying to write more often. You can find all their work on stephenamansfield.com and follow them on twitter @mmmfield.
On Playing Unpacking “Wrong”
My experience with the "meditative" puzzle-game was quite different than the consensus but equally effective.
Designed to Be Beautiful: Nature and Beauty in Ori and the Will of the Wisps
https://youtu.be/Hp9nyzoq2rg Video version of the essay. Full transcript below “Everything here glows. The luminescence smothers the thicket like a warm, snug blanket, dusting the world with a soft, preternatural radiance, piping the edges of the leaves and twigs that dance as you glide and tumble past them, leaving them trembling in your wake.” - Vikki … Continue reading Designed to Be Beautiful: Nature and Beauty in Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Art in Motion: Mirror’s Edge, Parkour, and the Subversive Potential of Speedrunning
A video about speedrunning, parkour, Mirror's Edge, and subverting constructed spaces.
The Power of Kids
Playables' Kids is a sobering reminder of the futility of individual action and a sometimes hopeful reminder of the power that a collective wields.
The Kratos Cycle – God of War’s New (and futile) Attempts to End the Cycle of Patricide
In the new God of War, Kratos is trying to end the old cycle of patricide in new ways, but it's hard for this old God to learn new tricks.
AAA Games and The Quest for Legitimacy
Reading about Anthem and playing God of War has reawakened my long-existing frustrations at the game industry's desperation to be taken serious.
NBA 2K19 and the Periphery of Professional Sports
NBA 2K19 tells a more interesting story than I've come to expect from this series and genre
“The Jump Off” was the Best Way to Watch Evo
The Evolution Word Championships just happened this past weekend, and it was an incredible event. There’s probably some bias here because I have been playing a lot of fighting games lately and following the pro scenes fairly intensely this year, but this is by far the most I’ve enjoyed an Evo. It was great to … Continue reading “The Jump Off” was the Best Way to Watch Evo
Yakuza 0 and The Melodramatic Language of Excess
Yakuza 0 toys with the conventions of genre in order to tell a more resonant tale.
Stephen Mansfield 