features: The big ones
The bread and butter
Retrospective: Princess with a Cursed Sword
I designed the original Princess with a Cursed Sword in 2020 to solve a critical problem: I have too many tarot decks. Over the next five years, Princess with a Cursed Sword expanded to encompass four self-contained games using the same system and a System Resource Document that walks creators through making their own games.
Deconstructing the Deindexing
Gamers, we have a sitchuation on our hands.
On July 24, Itch.io unlisted all NSFW and adult content on their site in response to “scrutiny from [their] payment processors.” To say the response was overwhelming would be an understatement.
Fear and Lust
Horror and eroticism often share a fairly blurry line. Body horror, cannibalism, rape revenge, and the incest themes common in Gothic horror are only a few of the many examples of how sex, sensuality, and the disturbing intersect in horror media.
The recent payment processor bullshit that has been circling the internet for years has now…
The State of Gaymes in 2025
To be blunt about it, indie games are pretty fucking gay. However gay you think they are, make it gayer. Trust me.
Queer art has a tendency of finding its way into subculture and mediums off the beaten path, a side effect of creators often being pushed out of mainstream spaces and seeking both community and…
The weight of carrying both
Fiction has always been humanity’s most honest mirror, reflecting back the wars we wage within ourselves long before we have the capacity to understand them.
Following in this ancient tradition, Kuro Games’ latest character release, Cartethyia, the wandering knight of Wuthering Waves (2024), emerges as an avatar of our most fundamental conflict: the courage required…
Now Playing: Reviews from the back alley
games we love, games we hate, everything in-between
Everything Next Fest: Feb. 2026
If you were curious what you should be looking forward to on Steam this year, look no further. Here are eight of the best demos we played this fest alongside our (objectively) correct opinions.
Creature Kitchen: Charmingly Retro
Heart, humor, and horror are balanced expertly with the stupid simple cooking mechanics and delightful Dreamcast-era graphics. In short, this game cultivates a vibe.
Fallout 4’s settlement builder is so bad it’s fantastic
Sometimes I enjoy things that are bad.
Zelda CD-i cutscenes. The Johnny Depp remake of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Fallout 4 base building.
Zelda CD-i cutscenes. The Johnny Depp remake of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Fallout 4 base building.
Towerbolt
*SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE*
Towerbolt manages to successfully pull off a piece of advice often thrown at indie projects: do one thing and do it really fucking well. To be clear, the thing in question is jumping, which is pretty much all you’re going to be…
Towerbolt manages to successfully pull off a piece of advice often thrown at indie projects: do one thing and do it really fucking well. To be clear, the thing in question is jumping, which is pretty much all you’re going to be…
From Terra to Leo
Amnesiac protagonists may be an overdone trope, but Fantasian: Neo Dimension pulls it off.
Editorials: Columns and critiques
From our intrepid editors and erstwhile friends
Fighting fascism through play
You don’t need me to tell you that things are bad, but many players have stepped up in the last few months to do what they can to fight against fascism and support our communities, and they have been doing it all through the thing they know how to do best: play.
Halfway between Pokémon and Shin Megami Tensei
As loyal readers might expect, Jesse’s GOTY pick is a little unorthodox.
Fuck Spotify, I’ll wrap it myself
I’ve conned you all into reading another column about music.
So, because Spotify lies – I’ve become convinced of this, both because of their links to weapons manufacturing and the fact I obsessively track my own listening stats – I’ll wrap it myself.
So, because Spotify lies – I’ve become convinced of this, both because of their links to weapons manufacturing and the fact I obsessively track my own listening stats – I’ll wrap it myself.
University of Chicago kicks off its Year of Games
The University of Chicago has declared the 2025-26 academic year the “Year of Games.” Jonah White covers its opening symposium.
From Silent Hill to Soma & back again: how horror got here
Horror games are having a renaissance right now. For a while, they were stale, same-y, and uncreative, and Jesse Boruff thinks he knows why they became that way.
Dev Logs: Interviews and Developer notes
From developers of in-progress or completed indie projects
Bloodlusters
In Bloodlusters, the most recent effort by a loose collective Pham calls “Crowseeds and friends,” players control ghosts that have kidnapped a vampire princess. In order to repel the sparkly bloodsuckers that come to find her, they must haunt various household items to act as their towers.
Requiem
From Castlevania to Resident Evil, the horror genre is full of gothic castles, incomprehensible living horrors, and cryptic notes. So many notes.
Requiem, the latest effort from solo developer Justin Herrick, is no exception.
Sudden Soul
In upcoming card-collector RPG Sudden Soul, players take control of a party of civilians that have woken up with powers after a blackout in the city of Oasys. None of them are supposed to be heroes, but they just might become them in order to save themselves and their city.
Linguini’s Mansione
One of horror’s greatest strengths is its ability to mirror societal anxieties and force its audience to come to terms with the real horrors that surround them. Many scholars and critics have written pages upon pages about the links between society and the horror it creates, forcing readers to consider that they themselves could be…
Intrigue on Vesta Station
Vesta Mandate is the sci-fi political thriller tabletop roleplaying game for one shots or long-term play with a group of 2-4 players. On Vesta Station, you play the conniving mastermind with a secret agenda that will either bring the station to its knees or uplift it to a new era.
Archive: Icg Zine (2024)
Writing and event coverage from the ICG Zine
The Neutral Triangle in Action Games: Why Hotline Miami Hits Different
12 years after the release of Hotline Miami, there isn’t anything else like it in spite of its popularity and influence.
Community feature: Lunar Psychosis
In this interview, Dani Orizaba describes the process and inspiration behind their newest single, “Lunar Psychosis.”
CIGS Delivers Jam-Packed Celebration of Chicago Gaming
Jonah White covers all the games and talks that attendees of CIGS 2024 may have missed.
Interview: Party on Hallow Grove
Solo dev vaaasm (or Nattie) created a charming Halloween RPG where players throw a party for Death. Seb Galvez talks to them about it.
Interview With the Creator: Bit Bash
Bit Bash Chicago co-founder Brice Puls sits down with Seb Galvez to talk the past, plans for the future, and what they love about the community.
Interview: The Old Gentleman
Seb Galvez interviews one of the creators of The Old Gentleman, a Morse Code-based horror experience set in a submarine.
What You Missed at Bit Bash
Man About Town Jonah White details the most Xtreme Games from Bit Bash 2024.