2019

THE LAST OF US: GAME DIARIES, PART iX

Time passes strangely in The Last of Us. The seasons change between cutscenes, days and months passing in the second after a cutscene fades to black. Fall slips into winter in the seconds after Joel and Ellie leave the University of Eastern Colorado. When the scene changes, there’s snow on the ground and Joel is nowhere to be found.

TWO YEARS LATER, NIGHT IN THE WOODS IS STILL RELATABLE

I first played Night in the Woods shortly after its release in May 2017, and was immediately charmed. The narrative-heavy game follows twenty-year-old Mae Borowski, who is returning to her hometown, Possum Springs, after dropping out of college. Critics gave it favorable reviews, and its narrative, dialogue, and design landed NitW on many Game of the Year lists (including ours).

I HAVE SEEN HELL AND IT IS NICKELODEON KART RACERS

The one thing I could never have predicted about adulthood is just how often I would relive my childhood. At this point, it’s a recursive loop of remakes and reboots, cash grabs disguised as nostalgia. And a few weeks ago, it led me directly into the uncanny valley. The uncanny valley has fewer textures than I thought it would.