by Kathryn Hemmann | Sep 25, 2023 | Essays, Video Games
I experienced a strange moment of déjà vu when I first set foot on the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring, the breakaway hit game of 2022. There was something about the way the golden leaves of the trees swayed in the breeze that stirred my memory. I had definitely seen this place before. I had walked through these abandoned ruins. I had gotten lost on these plains, and I had died under these golden leaves. In fact, I had died kind of a lot.
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Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They tweet about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Aug 21, 2023 | Reviews, Video Games
Soul Void is a dark fantasy Game-Boy-style adventure game that takes about three hours to finish. Its story of a young woman navigating the perils of the underworld is intriguing and cathartic, and its art design makes incredible use of the eeriness of its retro pixel graphics. For anyone who enjoyed the characters and worldbuilding of Undertale, Soul Void offers a similarly offbeat odyssey of mystery and friendship illustrated with disturbing but brilliantly creative horror art. (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They tweet about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Jun 19, 2023 | Reviews, Video Games
Fishing Vacation is a retro Game-Boy-style game that answers an intriguing question: What happens when you cross the wholesomeness of a retro fishing game with the gothic horror of an abandoned cabin in the woods? Created by Teebowah Games with open-source GB Studio software and originally published on Itch.io in 2020 as part of a “fishing horror” game jam, Fishing Vacation is now available to a wider audience on Nintendo Switch. (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They tweet about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman.
by Kathryn Hemmann | May 31, 2023 | Roundtables
May Day may have come and gone, but it’s always a good time to talk about labor and worker’s rights. Both in and out of games (and the games industry), we’re seeing a growing consciousness of how exploitative labor practices shape our society. From increased pushes for unionization to games explicitly about striking or exploitation in the workplace, these ideas are also part of ongoing conversations within the gaming industry. That’s what we’re discussing this month—labor and work within the games industry, both representationally and behind the screen. (more…)
Melissa Brinks is Sidequest’s editor in chief, co-creator of the Fake Geek Girls podcast, author of The Compendium of Magical Beasts, and an aspiring beekeeper. She once won an argument on the internet, and tweets at @MelissaBrinks.
by Kathryn Hemmann | May 2, 2023 | Essays, Video Games
Four men sit in a dimly lit conference room. Their expressions are impassive as they watch Nintendo’s conference at E3 2003. The next year finds the same four IGN reporters sitting on a couch as they watch a remote broadcast of Nintendo’s presentation. They erupt into motion, their excitement comically evident on their faces. This dramatic pair of photos has become a meme, with the storytelling of the images surviving long past the memory of their original context. (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They tweet about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman.
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