My Favourite Things 2022
I reflect on my media consumption during 2022: the video games and films that hit me in the feels, that I want to recommend to others, and that I found just damn fun.
Showing 16 result(s)
Fallout: New Vegas and finding your place in the world
Starting a new RPG can be daunting: making a new build and quickly learning the rules is a road fraught with frustration. What can Fallout: New Vegas teach us about impostor syndrome and making us feel like we belong in a game world?
Image: my upcoming game, Siblings Who Stew Together
My unconventional route into game development (is via film school)
I open up about my early experiences learning to be a game developer – at film school
Image: Valve
Heroes of the lockdown: Left 4 Dead 2
With so many people using video games as a way to destress and stay connected through the pandemic, I share my personal hero of the lockdown: Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2. I dissect why it continues to help teams bond over a decade after release.
Credit: Media Molecule, Tarsier Studios
Tearaway: Unfolded and writer’s block
Media Molecule and Tarsier Studios’ previous-gen platformer brought me the most unexpected joy. While working through my own creative anxieties, I found some of the lessons I had learned reflected in this wholesome tale.
Final Fantasy VII Remake – how Square Enix renewed its charm offensive
Finally, I’m covering FInal Fantasy VII Remake, a reimagining of one of my favourite JRPG’s of all time – well, the first part of it, at least – and how its narrative won me over… again. Let’s mosey!
Nippon Marathon, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the jank
Before Fall Guys, there was Nippon Marathon, a confounding mess of a party game set in racecourses inspired by Japan. It’s time to leg it from shiba inu, sled down a hill in a trolley, and fly-kick goofy mascots as we analyse what makes this jank-fest so charming.
Games that made me: Rayman 2 – The Great Escape
I return to the first video game I ever played and analyse why, over two decades later, its narrative design continues to captivate and enchant me.
Yakuza and humour: the rhythms of life
As I play through Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s legendary series, I attempt to pin down how Yakuza’s barmy sense of humour and dedication to player freedom create harmony, not dissonance with its more serious elements.
Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remakes: (re)Making a Monster
I visit one of my favourite series to compare the implementation of a Resident Evil staple in the two latest entries: the pursuer monster. Will X give it to Nemesis or will the new kid on the block make Mr. X see S.T.A.R.S.?