The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) video games from around the web.
Sundays are for enjoying a Walkers handbag. Before we jump in, let’s read this week’s best writing about games (and things related to games).
At Polygon, Harri Chan wrote about the Impossible Quiz and how it helped them learn to collaborate. You know me, I’m a fan of nostalgia trips and this hits the mark. It’s a look back at an infuriating flash game called “The Impossible Quiz” and how it took over Harri’s class, first driving them mad, then encouraging camaraderie as they worked together to beat him . This piece is also part of Polygon’s Computer Lab week, which is also full of other fun stuff. Definitely worth a look!
He was a bit of a phenomenon in class. At any given time, there could be eight kids on different computers playing The Impossible Quiz, young minds at work. We were always trying to see who could go the furthest. While this was competitive, it also led to a strange group collaboration. Since the questions made no sense to us, the only way forward was to memorize as many correct answers as we could. Watching each other play, we learned the answers to the riddles and practiced memorizing them. I remember playing The Impossible Quiz while another kid coached me on the answers over my shoulder, telling me when to strategically use the jump arrows. (Spoiler: This would later bite us in the ass when the last question required using all seven jumps.)
For Eurogamer, Christian Donlan wrote about how it turns out he’s been training for MultiVersus since it was born. An interesting perspective on MultiVersus that I hadn’t considered in my impressions of the MultiVersus open beta. Maybe it leans on the story to make up for Nintendo’s lack of polish?
The second reason goes a little in the opposite direction. You can play as Bugs Bunny in MultiVersus. And Batman. And Shaggy from Scooby Doo. This makes a real difference. It makes the game, for someone like me in my 40s, especially easy to get into. I know Bugs Bunny. I know Batman, Shaggy and Wonder Woman. And that means I have a pretty good idea of how they’ll express themselves on the battlefield.
Over at PC Gamer, Tyler Colp spoke with the masterminds behind NieR: Automata’s church mystery. If you are unfamiliar with the church debacle, Alice O’s post is a must read. Colp’s chat goes into why and how they upset the deceptive people.
“I’ve been playing games for years while learning programming and reverse engineering, jumping from game to game, but the Nier series is the one I’ve been hooked on the longest now,” Wolf said. “I think it’s because the community is so dedicated, as small as it is (compared to others) and no one was working on creating modding tools before! So I thought this had to change!”
Miguel Penabella looks at the Forza Horizon series and its depiction of a “dream life” for Haywire Magazine. A great summary of the dreamlike fantasy that the Forza Horizon series represents.
In addition, the handful of “showcase events” offer scripted show moments, similar to moments planned on a vacation, like seeing the Eiffel Tower light up in the dark or the sunset over Santorini . These could find players cutting across farmland to the sight of hot air balloons taking off in the distance, or climbing a rugged coastline as a storm rages over the Mediterranean. What the game aims to convey in these moments is a particular sense of being centered, capturing experiences that feel glamorous, cinematic and romanticized. Unconcerned with competition, many events emphasize driving rather than winning: “Finish in the top 3” or “Drive the Huracán to the festival!” the game commands players excitedly. In this sense, Forza Horizon 2 resembles the sunnier side of 2015’s Need for Speed, another game that de-emphasizes competition in favor of simply cruising with friends, capturing the feeling of freedom. juvenile.
This week’s music is Arpeggio by Alexandros. Here is the YouTube link and the Spotify link. The opening song of Judgment is excellent.
That’s all for now, see you next week!