Critical Hits

September 18, 2023
In this insightful anthology, novelist Lennon (Subdivision) and memoirist and short story author Machado (In the Dream House) bring together reflections on video games from such writers as Hanif Abdurraqib, Alexander Chee, and Vanessa Villarreal. In “This Kind of Animal,” novelist Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah discusses how selecting the personal qualities (e.g., composure, empathy, endurance) of the detective protagonist of 2019’s Disco Elysium prompted him to consider the “pieces and parts that combine into what I and others think of as me.” Memoirist Elissa Washuta likens her struggle to identify the cause of her medical condition to the plight of The Last of Us’s Ellie, a 14-year-old who travels across the U.S. so doctors can unravel the medical mystery of why she’s immune to a fungal virus that has turned infected humans into zombie-like creatures. Though most of the contributions praise the artistic merit of the games discussed, novelist Eleanor Henderson expresses ambivalence about the long hours her sons spend gaming instead of reading, while suggesting that their investment in the games connects “them to their most empathetic selves.” The diverse entries highlight the ways in which the far out plots of video games can change how players understand themselves and the world around them. Gamers with a literary bent should take a look.

November 1, 2023
Though video games are a relatively new medium compared to television and literature, they've been a pillar of the media landscape for over 50 years. Editors Lennon and Machado have collected an ambitious set of essays to celebrate and scrutinize the impact of video games, with many of the pieces straddling the line between memoir and media criticism. The contributing writers come from an array of backgrounds: essayists, fiction writers, poets, comic book artists, and more. For the most part, each writer rests their essay on a particular game or franchise. Forgotten PC games of the 1980s are analyzed alongside contemporary hits like Undertale. The games serve as escapist fantasies during periods of illness, objects of scholarship, things that can be played with and played through, and as new frameworks for relationships and moral dilemmas. Whether they're casual gamers, lifelong fans, or simply curious, readers will come away with a deepened sense of appreciation for the medium.

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