No Such Thing as Failure: Nintendo’s Failed Virtual Boy
Nintendo’s failed Virtual Boy followed the tradition of wondrous human inventions made to trick the eyes, like a diorama. “Retro collecting” gamers love it.
Luis Aguasvivas
Luis Aguasvivas (aguaspoints.bsky.social) is a writer, researcher, and member of the New York Videogame Critics Circle. He covers game studies for PopMatters. Other writings at aguaspoints.com.
1000xResist’s Magnificent Operatic Heterotopia
Set in the politically significant year of 2046, sci-fi game 1000xResist evokes Michel van der Aa’s operatic music and Hou Hsiao-hsien’s heterotopia-like films.
Cuban Video Game ‘Saviorless’ Subverts the Revolution’s Narrative
Cuban video game Saviorless joins Lillian Guerra’s scholarship and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s film The Last Supper in subverting the Cuban Revolution’s narrative.
Steve Reich’s Music Echoes in Jordan Mechner’s Graphic Memoir ‘Replay’
Like Steve Reich’s Different Trains, Jordan Mechner’s graphic memoir Replay is a work of introspection that looks to history and tragic synchronicity.
‘Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’ Represents
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, depicts its setting and characters with care and arguably more seriously than any commercial game produced outside of Iran.
Video Game History Preservation: It’s Not All Fun and Games
It’s Not All Fun and Games is straightforward in manner and unconcerned with critical introspection. It’s a practical affair about how games are produced.
Five Sci-fi Video Game Soundtracks for the End of the World
PopMatters looks to the sonic canvas of five sci-fi video game soundtracks, because every dystopia, no matter how bleak, deserves good music.
‘Bahnsen Knights’ Game Revels in ’80s Pulp Fiction
Bahnsen Knights‘ story is an intersection between violent fanaticism and German expressionist philosophy. The clue is in the game’s title.
‘Pedro Páramo’ Is a Masterpiece that Resurrects and Welcomes the Dead
In our world, we irrevocably control the dead and their narrative. In Juan Rulfo’s masterpiece Pedro Páramo, however, the dead control their narrative.
The Best Video Games of 2023
PopMatters’ best video games of 2023 are important cultural artifacts. These games also stand out for their artistry, innovation, and accessibility.
The End Is Only the Beginning in Literary Game ‘Saltsea Chronicles’
Die Gute Fabrik’s Saltsea Chronicles is a poetic journey through emotional waters that the literary cognoscenti mustn’t ignore.
Nostalgia in Lieu of Substance: ‘A Handheld History’ Plays It Safe
Good looks can’t save the book A Handheld History: A Celebration of Portable Gaming from being a trivial account of video game history.