Affection: A Touching Lesson in Vulnerability

Affection: A Touching Lesson in Vulnerability

Affection is a card-based, turn-taking game with a simple aim: be as vulnerable as possible. I am probably the least-equipped person to do this.

I’ve mentioned in other posts that I’m autistic. Contrary to the many inaccurate stereotypes about autism, I do have feelings. I actually experience empathy to an alarming degree; I can’t begin to tell you the amount of TV shows and books that have ruined me, emotionally, for days and weeks. (more…)

June Roundtable: Pride Month

June Roundtable: Pride Month

Happy Pride Month! June is a time of celebration and contemplation, our two favorite activities here at Sidequest. This month, inspired by a tweet by Freyja Erlingsdótter, we sat down to talk about what queerness means in a gaming context. Can games be queer? What kinds of games can be queer? Find out within. (more…)

Feather is a Relaxing, if Brief, Meditation

Feather is a Relaxing, if Brief, Meditation

For the last few months, it’s been hard for me to focus on a new video game. Day-to-day stresses and my country’s near-hourly political turmoil (you know, the usual) all take their toll. Video games have often been my go-to shelter, but I find myself too distracted to stick with one for long. Spider-Man held my attention for a while, but I soon got overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to do and collect. One of the ways my autism manifests itself is in a need to complete all the quests and obtain all the collectibles in video games. You can imagine the problems Peter Parker’s infinite backpacks caused me. (more…)

Dragon Age’s Isabela is a Catgirl (Kind Of)

Dragon Age’s Isabela is a Catgirl (Kind Of)

Back in January 2019, Patrick Weekes (now Lead Writer on Dragon Age) made a comment about catgirls. Soon, he was swamped in tweets about whether he was creating a catgirl character for Dragon Age 4. Sadly, Weekes clarified he had been talking about Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and had no plans to add a similar trope to the Dragon Age world of Thedas. (more…)

Exploring My Legacy: Adventures in Gloomhaven

Exploring My Legacy: Adventures in Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is one of those legendary Kickstarter stories, fueling the idea that if you have a good, solid game, you can enjoy outrageous success. In 2015, it presented itself as a “cooperative game of card-driven combat set in a persistent fantasy campaign.” Choices would have real impacts upon characters and the world, changing them forever over several sessions (i.e. a legacy game). This first Kickstarter raised $386,104, just over five times its original goal. By 2017, the fact that designer Isaac Childres had actually delivered on his original game (combined with glowing reviews) meant he experienced a much more wildly successful campaign this time. Though the 2017 Kickstarter’s goal was $100,000, Gloomhaven took in nearly $4 million in pledges (40 times the target amount). (more…)