Tag Archives: symposium

Symposium, June 1, 2023 – Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi-Rush (2023) stealth-dropped during the Developer_Direct stream from Xbox on Jan 25, 2023. Within a week, IGN, PC Gamer, and PC Mag had praised its art direction and soundtrack. However, many, like PC Gamer, have noted how its rhythm mechanics … Continue reading

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Symposium, May 4th – Against the Storm

The magic word for so many descriptions and writeups of Against the Storm is “roguelite” – even the game’s developer can’t resist using the term when asked to describe their work in this city-builder. If we push ourselves to escape … Continue reading

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Symposium: Norco, December 1, 2022

It’s hard not to put the point-and-click adventure game Norco (2022) in conversation with Kentucky Route Zero (2013). Both present their own takes on the surreal South, a location as much grounded in the poverty of the moment as it … Continue reading

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Symposium, October 6th – Citizen Sleeper

Somehow, Citizen Sleeper has managed to land right in the intersection of so many of our Symposium discussions, from Disco Elysium’s interrogation of the narrative capabilities of tabletop mechanics to Nier Automata’s exploration of how the body and self are … Continue reading

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Symposium: Tunic, August 4, 2022

Tunic (2022) revels in nostalgia. Playing the game, it is hard not to see echoes of the past from previous titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) and Dark Souls (2011). It is a game … Continue reading

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Symposium: Psychonauts 2, March 3, 2022

Psychonauts 2 (2021) is the long-awaited sequel to the initially commercial unsuccessful but critically praised game, Psyhonauts (2005). With nearly 16 years between the two, each presents very different approaches to level design, gameplay accessibility, and platformer combat. The second … Continue reading

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Symposium, 6 January 2022

I’m going to continue on with my symposium series about what I call the cooperative adventure card game. This time around, I’m hoping to zoom in on The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, though with the usual call … Continue reading

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Symposium, December 2nd – Outer Wilds

We launch once more into the void on Thursday at 8:30 EDT / 7:30 CDT / 5:30 PDT, with voice chat over Discord, to continue our exploration of space through the clockwork universe of Outer Wilds.

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Symposium, October 7, 2021: Bowser’s Fury

In this month’s Symposium we’ll be discussing Bowser’s Fury. Some topics I’d like to hit on: This is the first Mario game to go all-in on being an open world; that both to broader trends but also has points in … Continue reading

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Symposium, 2 September 2021: The Cooperative Adventure Card Game

“Cooperative Adventure Card Game” (CACG) is my term for the genre that includes the LCGs I’ve been bringing to my last few symposia. What is it, though? Clearly the genre comprises not only The Lord of the Rings: The Card … Continue reading

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