You step out onto the muddy pavement with your trusty weapon in hand, it’s time to liquidate your enemy and give them a piece of your mind. After selecting the right tool for the task, you take aim and pull the trigger:

FSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Everything drips, the floor is slick with viscous fluid- there’s no traces left of your opponent, not even the slightest evidence of what stood before you. Caked on dirt and mildew are no match for your quick thinking skills and pressure washing prowess. Another 5 star rating, another payday.

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Have you ever been sitting around and wondering, “If only I had some way of listening to cutting edge culture critique mixed in with some pop philosophy” ?

I have good news for you! You can! Today we’re serving up a fresh appetizer platter of our favorite video essays in recent memory, let’s dig in:

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For a very special episode, we’re joined by guest Cameron Kunzelman, former writer of Postscript column for VICE and Co-host Matthew Seiji Burns of Zachtronics, writer behind their recent release Eliza

We deep dive on the Apocalypse in fiction, why it’s so prevalent, and what makes it work or in many cases not work.

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Ring. Riiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Who is it? Who could it be? Why….. love is calling….. and it’s… for YOU?

….. Actually, taking a second look at you, you’re kind of…. disheveled? Come to think of it, when was the last time you even showered?! Ugh, well… I… suppose we can work with this? Go change your clothes, slip into something nice, put your receiver on straight, clean your keys, whip out the phone book… yeah, y’know what, I think we can find you…

A DATE!

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WARNING: This article contains spoilers for DOOM 2016 and DOOM: ETERNAL. But who cares about the story anyway, right?

The videogame market has, for many years, engaged in a form of self-referential cyclicality, from indie games hearkening to the minimalist pixel-art design of the medium’s early forebears, to the current wave of PS1 aesthetic resurgence and the much-beloved resurgence of the “boomer shooter”, all the way to the DOOM series’ reflection on nostalgic memories of the hyper-violent and frantic action of 90s FPS titles. This is, of course, nothing unique to video games as one need look no further than the box office hits of modern Hollywood to see that reboots, remakes, and reimaginings are the order of the day.

Enter Jean Baudrillard and his conceptualization of “hyperreality”, the indistinguishable muddling together of reality and the simulated as originally explored in Simulacra and Simulation of The Matrix fame.

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Yo fellow Gamers, what’s up? It’s ya boi here, and today we’re gonna look at the most heart pounding adrenaline pump’n’dump hidden gem we’ve ever played: DOOM: ETERNAL.

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There was a sentiment in many game communities in the early 00’s that you just couldn’t make a satisfying shooter game set in the universe of Star Trek. The aspirational sociopolitical commentary of the show with its emphasis on intercultural understanding came across to most as bereft of action potential despite its imaginative settings, fierce naval conflict, factional strife, and well-established arsenal of exciting technology.

The struggle to adapt Star Trek‘s more passive nature into a satisfying action romp was perpetually brought out as an argument against even trying to tackle this fool’s errand whenever there was anticipation of another franchise entry that would seemingly disrupt or misinterpret the storytelling strengths established by The Next Generation. Voyager, however, was a rulebreaking contender, well-known for a fire-tempered might-makes-right captain that made the show uniquely ripe for adaption, culminating in finally pulling off the unthinkable: a fun and gritty Star Trek shooter… the only thing is, it wasn’t the first.

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On this episode, we sit down with Kyle Kukshtel, developer of Cantata and host over at the SuperCulture network. We talk about what they’ve been up to, their pivot into game dev, time spent at Killscreen, the state of Games Journalism, and the language we use to critique work. We also talk about the legacy of film critique on games through the lens of Cahiers Du Cinema, Critical Code Studies, Goose Game, and Disco Elysium.

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Ever feel weighed down by your worries? Can’t get out of bed without falling out of it? Late to appointments? Can’t find anyone to talk to about it?

The answer is simple: Pretend you are a plane, and start throwing your troubles out the cargo bay door! It’s a classic technique. Kiss your stress BON VOYAGE!

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We sit down with Mark Fillon of General Interactive in our new Spotlights series to talk about their new game, Chinatown Detective Agency, Wine Tycoon management sim Terroir, the southeast asia indie game scene, the evolution of Dubai, and working in a global market.

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