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


What happens when the cosmic proportions of a Bandai Namco JRPG collide with the intimate, personal storytelling of deep character study? Join us this week as Aaron begins an analysis of Scarlet Nexus, the “brain punk” video game that’s equal parts psychology of the self and psychology of the Other.

In side quests, Stefan continues his Yakuza: Like a Dragon diary, Dan reflects on what the Japanese language illuminates about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Aaron considers the dynamics of gaming in the company of “uninvited onlookers.”

(Correction: three characters not mentioned in the conversation can use a Brain Field, but one is unable to maintain his sanity thereafter and the other two can only use one when working in tandem with one another, so the point about the set of characters to which Brain Fields are available stands.)


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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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