Culture

As is the case with many video games published by Annapurna Interactive, there’s nothing quite like A Memoir Blue on the market. The upcoming title developed by Cloisters Interactive will undoubtedly be labeled as “games as art,” “interactive story” and a whole lot of other relatively meaningless subgenres to say that it boasts a unique narrative rather than action-heavy gameplay, but Shelley Chen’s first project as creative director and driving force is still going to catch plenty of people by surprise. For starters, there’s no text or spoken dialog. The entire tale — which happens to be about the ups and downs of a championship-winning swimmer named Miriam — is told entirely through the player’s interactions and song, leaving plenty of space for interpretation and imagination to fill in ...

On March 31, 2016, times were simpler. Obama was president. Harambe was alive. Global pandemics were reserved for sci-fi movies. Things were generally going pretty well. To make things even better, that was the day when developer and creative director Alx Preston of Heart Machine released Hyper Light Drifter into the world. An acclaimed and refreshing indie title that paid tribute to classic 16-bit action RPGs, Hyper Light Drifter became an immediate fan favorite and award winner for a number of reasons — particularly the unique and unforgettable score that was equal parts nostalgic and futuristic. Richard Vreeland (better known as Disasterpeace) was the one behind the now-iconic soundtrack, which soon became one of the most sought-after vinyls in the entire industry. At the time, Vreeland...

As players of Supermassive Games’ previous titles — like Until Dawn, Man of Medan, and Little Hope — know, there’s nothing quite like the horror movie-esque video games in The Dark Pictures Anthology. They’re equal parts narrative-driven video game and campy scary movie, and they’re generally perfect for their annual fall release dates. This year’s addition of House of Ashes is no different, bringing in an actor or two that TV and film fans would recognize (primarily Ashley Tisdale this time around) and immediately putting the group of playable characters into a possibly deadly situation full of frights. As per usual, they also brought back veteran composer and horror expert Jason Graves (Dead Space, Tomb Raider, Moss) to complete his fifth terrifying soundtrack in the last six years for t...

If you haven’t checked out the video game version of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy yet, it’s far better than you think it’s going to be. From the exciting combat to the gripping narrative and dialogue that’s way more emotionally powerful than pretty much anyone expected, Guardians is pretty much the full package as far as what one could want from an action-packed single-player linear title. Oh, and of course it has an absolutely incredible soundtrack to go along with it. With tracks ranging from the orchestral to the electronic to the ‘80s tunes you’ve come to expect from Star-Lord and his crew, Richard Jacques (Mass Effect, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, Headhunter) shows why he’s been one of the United Kingdom’s most sought-after musical minds for the past quarter-century. Plus there’s ...