Featured Articles
The Second Impact of NieR: Automata’s Ending E
By Caymus Ducharme on January 16, 2021
NieR: Automata's Ending E is a case study in how to completely erase the distinction between gameplay and story.
Critical Review: Final Fantasy VII Remake is Completely Incomplete
By Aaron Suduiko on December 28, 2020
How Final Fantasy VII Remake turned a cliffhanger ending into an unexpected path to "boundless, terrifying freedom" for Cloud—and Sephiroth.
The Outset Island Effect
By Lauren Spohn on September 8, 2020
The Wind Waker's music shows us how a century-old literary phenomenon blends the lived experiences of player and avatar into something more.
How Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Whispers Changed Fate—and Storytelling
By Aaron Suduiko on May 7, 2020
The ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake has turned the storytelling formula of challenging fate on its head—and all it took was a Whisper.
A Three-Stage Method for Analyzing Video-Game Stories
By Aaron Suduiko on October 13, 2017
Casual talks, reviews, and academic papers are all parts of a unified strategy for analyzing games.
Why It's a Good Thing That Dark Souls Isn't Coming Back
By Aaron Suduiko on August 21, 2017
How Dark Souls committed an act of genius by building a world where Dark Souls IV is impossible.
A New Theory of Video Games
By Aaron Suduiko on March 23, 2017
I offer a new theory for how video games tell stories.
Recent Articles
The Drawing Board: The Legacy of Final Fantasy VII Remake, Article Postmortem #2
By Aaron Suduiko on January 18, 2021
With a Terrible Fate's analysts discuss the two most recent articles in "The Legacy of Final Fantasy VII Remake"—and one upcoming article!
The Second Impact of NieR: Automata’s Ending E
By Caymus Ducharme on January 16, 2021
NieR: Automata's Ending E is a case study in how to completely erase the distinction between gameplay and story.
Meet the Game Analysts: With a Terrible Fate Interviews Lauren Spohn
By Aaron Suduiko on January 6, 2021
Get to know Lauren Spohn: Legend of Zelda superfan, pilot, Rhodes Scholar, and video game analyst.
LAN Party: With a Terrible Fate's Favorite Games Played in 2020
By Aaron Suduiko on December 31, 2020
We asked four of our video game analysts: how would you rank the Top 5 video-game stories you experienced in 2020?
Critical Review: Final Fantasy VII Remake is Completely Incomplete
By Aaron Suduiko on December 28, 2020
How Final Fantasy VII Remake turned a cliffhanger ending into an unexpected path to "boundless, terrifying freedom" for Cloud—and Sephiroth.
The Horror of Code Vein is You
By Aaron Suduiko on November 22, 2020
The hidden achievement of Code Vein's fusion of Dark Souls with JRPGs is that it quietly turned you, its player, into a monster.
The Outset Island Effect
By Lauren Spohn on September 8, 2020
The Wind Waker's music shows us how a century-old literary phenomenon blends the lived experiences of player and avatar into something more.
Solving the Puzzle of Roche in Final Fantasy VII Remake
By Dan Hughes on May 28, 2020
The mysterious Roche vanishes from Final Fantasy VII Remake as quickly as he arrives—but he's no sideshow.