by Kathryn Hemmann | Mar 3, 2025 | Lists, Video Games
Sewers are dark, dangerous, and filled with creepy-crawlies. Although most of us would prefer never to enter their winding tunnels in real life, sewers can serve as intriguing stages for video game adventures. Sewers combine the allure of secret underground tunnels with the chance to study old artifacts that have been thrown away and forgotten. These areas often have a strange beauty as well, with the slow drip and flow of water enhancing the dance of the light reflected on the mossy walls. From forbidden horrors to buried history, these seven video games showcase the potential of a well-designed sewer. (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They post about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman on Bluesky.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Feb 10, 2025 | Lists, Video Games
One of the pleasures of playing games is the immersion into a fantastic world. Some games attempt to recreate real-life locations through careful historical study and architectural modeling, but many games sidestep reality by injecting fantasy elements into real-world cultures. While this mix of history and imagination is easy to take for granted in games set in the distant past or the near future, it can be interesting to look at contemporary culture through the lens of fantasy. What might the United States look like when envisioned as the setting of a story filled with magic? Let’s explore five iconic Japanese games set in a fantastic version of America.
(more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They post about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman on Bluesky.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Dec 16, 2024 | Comics, Video Games
A short comic about ludic representations of nature and the value of digital green spaces as sources of healing and inspiration.
(more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They post about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman on Bluesky.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Oct 1, 2024 | Lists, Video Games
There’s a chill in the air as the twilight lingers and the moon glows bright in the autumn sky. What better time to crouch in front of your computer and scare yourself silly? For intrepid digital ghost hunters searching the shadowed corners of the internet for interactive thrills, Sidequest presents eight eerie games that are free to play on itch.io and short enough to occupy an intermission between deep dives into creepypasta wikis. (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They post about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman on Bluesky.
by Kathryn Hemmann | Sep 5, 2024 | Essays, Video Games
In Binary Haze’s 2021 Soulslike Metroidvania Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, a young girl named Lily navigates a hostile postapocalyptic world with the help of grotesquely mutated undead monsters. As the game progresses, Lily becomes increasingly reliant on her monstrous companions as she becomes more monstrous herself. Ender Lilies functions as an intriguing model of mutual aid, especially in relation to its gradual descent into fungal horror. As the world changes around us, Ender Lilies asks, is it really so horrific to develop radical new relationships with the environment? (more…)
Kathryn is a writer and comic artist who lurks at the center of a digital labyrinth in Philadelphia. They post about books, plants, and video game villains as @kathrynthehuman on Bluesky.
![A screenshot from the Cozy Grove press kit overlaid with "GET YOUR GAME ON" and "[COZY GAMES]".](https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/wordpress-popular-posts/107896-featured-200x75.jpg)
Recent Comments