Videogames
Roguelites, slow RPGs and anything with an honest loop. Notes on what I am playing and what a good game system teaches outside the screen.
Hollow Knight, or difficulty as narrative
Hallownest does not punish you — it explains something to you. The difficulty in Hollow Knight is not a wall, it is the way the game tells you what its world feels like to inhabit.
Silksong and why knowing how to wait is also discipline
I have been waiting for Silksong for years without losing my mind. A studio that refuses to commit to a date is protecting the game — and itself.
Red Dead Redemption 2: slowness as respect
Almost everything the industry calls "unnecessary friction" in RDR2 is exactly why the game stays with you years after you finish it.
What a roguelite teaches you that an FPS does not
Hades and Dead Cells have taught me more about adversary simulation than many courses. Iterating over runs is the same as iterating over detection rules.
