Featured
Final Fantasy VII Remake is the Template for “Grown-Up” JRPGs
Final Fantasy VII Remake's storytelling makes JRPGs more accessible to adults—along with a new postgame model, "The Chadley Interpretation."
Featured
With a Terrible Fate Podcast Episode 1: Pressing Start
In the first episode of WaTF's podcast, we introduce ourselves and the project and discuss Nier, Returnal, and "games as rent."
Featured
The Missing Soulmate in Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Ni No Kuni quietly tricks its adult player into curing both herself and the White Witch of cynicism.
Featured
The Second Impact of NieR: Automata’s Ending E
NieR: Automata's Ending E is a case study in how to completely erase the distinction between gameplay and story.
Featured
The Outset Island Effect
The Wind Waker's music shows us how a century-old literary phenomenon blends the lived experiences of player and avatar into something more.
Featured
How Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Whispers Changed Fate—and Storytelling
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.
Featured
A Three-Stage Method for Analyzing Video-Game Stories
Casual talks, reviews, and academic papers are all parts of a unified strategy for analyzing games.
Dark Souls
Why It’s a Good Thing That Dark Souls Isn’t Coming Back
How Dark Souls committed an act of genius by building a world where Dark Souls IV is impossible.
