Sundays are for… oh god, there’s more of it, isn’t there? I thought it was just a regular cave, not a cave for literally a million new things. Before I turn left and spend the next three hours stressing about the things I missed by not turning right, let’s read this week’s best pieces about games (and game-related things!).
Kastel wrote about ‘Big and “Big” games’ via Cohost, or games that are traditionally, persistently huge and games that are a bit more sparse and thoughtful with their expansiveness. Kudos to the always great Critical Distance for the spot. It strikes me that there’s a whole world of these great, personal Cohost blogs that I’m just not tuned into, and it’s probably where a lot of the most interesting writing in the sphere is right now. I’ll try to dig!
But there are other ways to make something feel big without giving everything away. Something I found interesting while listening to an interview with the creative director of 1000xRESIST was his description of Final Fantasy 7 as a game where you leave places. For him, there’s something sentimental about leaving places you’ve been forever and then exploring a new, big world. It transforms the sense of loss of not being able to reach places into something great and wonderful. It’s like it’s saying, “You may have to leave your hometown, but there’s a bigger world out there.” As you play 1000xRESIST, you’ll notice that each chapter is packed with unique setpieces not found in other chapters. The same goes for Final Fantasy 7, Mass Effect 2 and other games where you lose access to places you know. You are forced to go to other places, a new world. I think this negative sense of loss and the strange need to “immigrate”, for lack of a better word, makes the world feel bigger and harder than it really is.
Unwinnable decided to see me come this week and have pieces on both dark fantasy TTRPG MÖRK BORG And Godzilla Minus one. If you’re not familiar with MÖRK BORG, I think it’s spawned quite a unique tabletop phenomenon with its open license, which allows for loads of spin-offs, expansions and gear, and it’s always a joy to see people working wonders spinning with its signature atmosphere and ominous, Soulsian lore snippets.
For Aftermath , Nathan Grayson (RPS in Peace) wrote how Dr. Disrespect will, depressingly, probably come out of all this with the same career. I usually pay very little attention to what Grayson describes as the “middle-aged man who yells at video games” industrial complex, so his perspective is always illuminating.
There’s clearly a trainwreck appeal here, but some fans also see these creators as an avatar of sorts. If a major content creator can embrace an unhinged lifestyle and get what he wants, maybe viewers can too. These types of viewers will always support someone like Beahm, a 42-year-old man who acts like a 16-year-old boy, because they see themselves in him. And while Beahm will likely lose viewers as a result, regardless of whether he stays on YouTube or ends up elsewhere, the viewers who stick around will likely become bigger fans than ever. Because ultimately this is not about morals or principles; it’s about people developing such a strong bond with a creator that they feel like attacks on them are also attacks on them and on platforms that recognize that they will make more money than they lose by harnessing that ugly energy.
Hellworld aside, season 3 of The Bear is here! Good news for people who like to watch fictional people get really stressed out with each other in tiny kitchens, like me. Gingy is one of the better lore-summarizers out there, and he’s summarized Shadow Of The Erdtree’s revelations for your viewing pleasure. Simone de Rochefort over at Polygon made me sad about the armor I wore for most of Elden Ring’s DLC. This week’s music is Lost by Robohands. Have a great weekend!