The following is an episode of With a Terrible Fate’s weekly podcast discussing video-game storytelling from all angles. Find all episodes here.


Our main story today is about Returnal, one of the few PS5 flagship titles at the moment and part of the recent resurgence of “roguelikes,” commonly understood as games that feature mechanics setting avatars back to near the beginning of the game and largely resetting their progress every time they die. We analyze Returnal as a multiply psychological game that boldly meshes genres and ultimately refuses to let us go. (Sound effects from zapsplat.com.)


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Aaron Suduiko

Aaron Suduiko - Founder and Chief Video Game Analyst

Aaron Suduiko is the founder of With a Terrible Fate and a philosopher of video-game storytelling. He specializes in the impact of player-avatar relations on game stories.  Learn more here.

Stefan Heinrich Simond

Stefan Heinrich Simond - Video Game Analyst

Stefan Heinrich Simond is a game studies scholar at Philipps University Marburg working on a PhD studying the construction of madness in video games. He is the host of With a Terrible Fate's weekly podcast.  Learn more here.

Dan Hughes

Dan Hughes - Video Game Analyst

Dan Hughes has dabbled in everything from playwriting to religious studies to YouTube personas. He is the seriesrunner for With a Terrible Fate's "Now Loading... The Video Game Canon!"  Learn more here.

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