Month: June 2022

Time loop video games and why we love (or hate) them

Some essays about time loops in video games:

“Time Loop Narratives Are About Love” by katy (cw: incest)

“Growth is a genuine change in you. Growth is seeing the world differently than you did before because you’re someone different now.”

Games highlighted: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, DEATHLOOP, Twelve Minutes, Oxenfree

“Time loops are a weird genre for an anxious time” by Jenna Stoeber and Polygon

“Part of why they’re regaining popularity is because the world is a mess and we either don’t know how or don’t have the power to fix it.”

Games highlighted: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Elsinore, Outer Wilds, Undertale, Inscryption, The Stanley Parable, The Forgotten City, Twelve Minutes

“Time Loop Nihilism” by Jacob Geller (cw: graphic violence)

“I eventually came to realize, if I’m going to do this all again, if there are few real consequences for failure… why would I play in a way that’s so boring?”

Games highlighted: DEATHLOOP, Dishonored, Hitman 3, Bloodborne, Twelve Minutes

“Clockwork Games and Time Loops” by Game Maker’s Toolkit

“Every decision you make matters because you’re always spending your most precious currency: time.”

Games highlighted: Outer Wilds, Dead Rising, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, The Sexy Brutale, Elsinore, Minit, Vision Soft Reset, Twelve Minutes, DEATHLOOP, Hitman 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution

“Why Time Loops Work Best in Video Games” by Extra Credits

“Failure doesn’t feel like an inconvenience or a punishment, but is instead a natural and necessary part of the story.”

Games highlighted: Elsinore, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Undertale, DEATHLOOP, Returnal

“The Problem with Time Loop Games | 12 Minutes Analysis” by Ozzy II (cw: graphic violence and incest)

“This is the point I was talking about earlier, where the first half of the game is just worthless.”

Games highlighted: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Outer Wilds, Twelve Minutes, The Sexy Brutale

“Dying Rules in Time Loop Games” by Inside Gaming

“When the sun began to glow and implode, I knew I had no choice but to put down whatever I was doing and accept what was about to happen.”

Games highlighted: Outer Wilds, Into the Breach, Minit, Twelve Minutes, DEATHLOOP, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

“The Best Time Loop Games” by The Gadget Show

“Its black-and-white design and funny writing make this one memorable way longer than the minute it takes to complete a loop.”

Games highlighted: DEATHLOOP, Outer Wilds, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Minit, Elsinore

New Fiction 2022 – May

“The Ghost Birds” by Karen Russell (2021)

You see them when you look away.

The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete – “1 Kings” ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Saul done fucked up and all of Israel pays the price. God really loves an underdog though, helping David survive and accrue power on the sidelines as he gets built up to be the good king.

The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete – “2 Kings” ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

This is some real Game of Thrones-ass Bible with the fallout from Saul’s death and David’s coming and going as he keeps having to fight off the Philistines and others. And I thought Kings was a 2-parter but now you’re telling me there’s ANOTHER TWO chapters of king-making?

Dracula Daily – “May” by Bram Stoker & ed. Matt Kirkland (1897)

My good friend Jonathan Harker is having a rough start to his summer.

“Gorn Trek” by dux (2022)

All of Star Trek is poorer for having not received a TV series following the continued journeys of Gorn.

Outer Wilds – “Echoes of the Eye” dev. Mobius Digital (2021)

I was sour over being made to dwell in the dark, but I understand now. The rest of it bowled me over and now I’ll gladly replay those segments with more appreciation. I can’t get enough of conspiracy board gameplay.

Aperture Desk Job dev. Valve (2022)

Yep, Valve needs to make more games.

Sitting dir. Emily Yoshida (2017)

Hold my hand and tell me of yesterday.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dir. Sam Raimi (2022)

Like: it’s so weird and VERY Sam Raimi horror-goof. Dislike: too many moving parts and definitely hindered by MCU tie-in fluff. EEAAO is my multiverse of choice this season.

The Ancestral dir. Le-Van Kiet (2022)

You can’t run away when you’re chasing.

Petite Maman dir. Céline Sciamma (2022)

An understanding achieved is the greatest moment.

Firestarter dir. Keith Thomas (2022)

Control was the illusion. Now it’s chaos we seek.

Eraserhead dir. David Lynch (1977)

Motile horrors.

Videodrome dir. David Cronenberg (1983)

Ah, yes, absolutely long live the new flesh.

Men dir. Alex Garland (2022)

You almost got there.

Crash dir. David Cronenberg (1996)

Meet me on I-5 and I’ll show you something sweet.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie dir. Loren Bouchard & Bernard Derriman (2022)

A feature-length pace isn’t always the way.

Goosebumps – “Stay Out of the Basement” (1996)

You know you shouldn’t go back for the dog.

Goosebumps – “Monster Blood” (1996)

Leave Aunt Kathryn to her hi-jinks.

Goosebumps – “Let’s Get Invisible” (1996)

If we’re in it together then it might not be so bad.

Goosebumps – “The Girl Who Cried Monster” (1995)

Self-defeating prophecies.

Goosebumps – “The Ghost Next Door” (1998)

An eternity of repayment.

Goosebumps – “Be Careful What You Wish For” (1996)

Leave good endings alone when you bring them to TV.

Goosebumps – “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” (1996)

If a howl works, take it.

Goosebumps – “You Can’t Scare Me” (1996)

The perfect girl is real actually.

Goosebumps – “One Day at Horrorland” (1997)

You had to take it too far.

Goosebumps – “More Monster Blood” (1996)

A light jaunt through 1970s TV set design.

Goosebumps – “Scarecrow Walks at Midnight” (1996)

Nope.

Goosebumps – “Go Eat Worms” (1996)

Perhaps the most awful notion.

Goosebumps – “Ghost Beach” (1996)

Just stick to nice hotels.

Goosebumps – “Return of the Mummy” (1995)

Story so nice they did it twice.

Goosebumps – “Phantom of the Auditorium” (1995)

Not the dark and handsome stranger you’re looking for.

Como Dice el Dicho – “Muerto el perro se acabó la rabia” (2019)

Except I wouldn’t even want a dog.