Gaming Under The Influence

So we've established[i] that games coverage (and the rote “gamer”) tends to reduce its object to subject-or-market immanent metrics: desire, pleasure, value, profit. Further proof this week shit-blazed across the internet as kojima fans petitioned for a new game to be canceled for its Microsoft affiliation (an affront to their market-immanent substitute for "games", a channel for their desire: bra...

Green Dragon CVR Presents: The Scarlet Nexus Review Part 1

Why do we treat all ideas expressed in the video game medium as equivalent just because they are "playable"? We are [culturally] willing to admit a difference between commercials and movies, novels and textbooks and roadsigns, but not different kinds of video games. This week Mike & Alex discuss why an approach to games based on what they expressed [and not their shared medium of expression] would...

This week, we return to our long-standing fixation on the superiority of Japanese games with a comparison of Mass Effect and Kingdom Hearts. See https://greendragoncvr.com/gui-81 for full episode description!

Sometimes, says Zizek, the “first gesture to provoke a change in the system is to withdraw, to do nothing”[i]; some times, “doing nothing”, making no change at all, can be the most violent or [counter-] revolutionary thing to do[ii]. In an age where journalists think describing something as proper to “two generations ago” or “off the pace of other games” is a slight[iii]; where an incessant desire...

A clear lack of extramental [objective] standard motivates most contemporary “professional” video game criticism (for more on this and our proposed solution. This is clear from contents of reviews themselves, which rely heavily on subjective states of affairs and relative measures of quality; from a general approach that posits the experience of the player as the absolute measure of a game’s worth...

Alex & Mike talk Biomutant, a game from Experiment 101/THQ Nordiq you likely have not heard of. While the AAA side of the industry tends to homogenization and imitative, cinematic presentation, “AA” games remain creative and innovative in 2021. Drawing on inspirations as varied as Dark Souls, third person shooters & kung fu cinema, Biomutant is Ratchet & Clank on acid, developed by a team of 20 pe...

This week, the boys assess the bounty of fine games we have enjoyed in the past month (and one we are thrilled to experience anew); Returnal, Resident Evil Village and [the] Mass Effect Trilogy. Alex updates us on his slog toward the end of Returnal, with but a single biome standing between him and the credits. Mike explains the novel hub-world progression structure Capcom has implemented in Resid...

Our discussion this week veers from the endgame of Returnal to Resident Evil Village and its series precedents in recent years. The franchise has undergone substantial mutations since 2017 yet retains an unmistakable genetic code that appears to have translated well into Village. We will draw comparisons to the Resident Evil 2 & 3 remakes and to 7.

Mike & Alex discuss the mechanics, universe, loop & philosophy of Returnal.

This week we discuss Sony’s unfortunate Westward turn. As Sony winds down support/marketing for first part Japanese development and the creators of lauded IPs (like Toyama) depart to pursue creative freedom elsewhere, the publisher appears poised for a total orientation toward GOW 2018/TLOU2-style “blockbuster” experiences.  This is a very disappointing turn for the worse.  Here's hoping we are ov...

Mike & Alex are pleasantly surprised by Outriders. Despite an always-online requirement that has severely hampered it in the launch period, People Can Fly has developed one fine third-person shooter. All the best parts of Destiny and the Division are here, dissected and made available for experimentation; this all takes place within a refined gameplay loop absent any map-wandering or useless flour...

Monster Hunter Rise is here. As with Bravely Default II before it, we are pleased against our expectations with how weird and novel this game feels, even in the shadow of MH World; the addition of vertical movement blows the gameplay loop wide open. Join Mike and Alex for a free-form discussion of Rise’s various additions and quality of life improvements to the Monster Hunter Formula. Also featuri...

Final Fantasy XIII is widely regarded as the bloated hallway simulator, forgotten between its more competent older and younger siblings. This week, Mike and Alex challenge this notion and explain why Final Fantasy XIII is the JRPG we wanted and forgot we already had. A special focus on the lack of mp guage (something we discussed last week), uncompromising linearity, the hybridization of real-time...

Mike and Alex Return to the concept of worldbuilding, armed with new concepts and examples. What exactly defines the act of worldbuilding? What are the different components of this act? What is the antithesis of worldbuilding? ARGUMENT: Good literature concerns not merely what has happened but what kind of thing WOULD happen in accordance with categorical necessity[i]; it is "political" or inheren...

This week, Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR discuss the prolific repetition - of brands, ideas, mechanics - that characterizes the video game industry. While repetition can tend toward banality and cloning, this is not always the case. On the basis of Bravely Default II, the concept of a genetic clone is contrasted with the possibility of growing entirely new specific cases from the soil of preexisti...

After a week jam-packed with video game news, Mike & Alex discuss some of the upcoming titles we are looking forward to including: Solar Ash, Returnal, Deathloop, & Kena: bridge of spirits. We also learn that The Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Remakes are real, announced alongside a brand new game titled Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This one described as an open world RPG, how that differs from the current...

Mike at GreenDragonCVR writes: news has surfaced that Ethan will return as the protagonist of Resident Evil VIII. This adds a layer of continuity with the previous entry beyond the overarching universe. Meanwhile Alex is busy with three different Final Fantasy games at once (VIIR, X, XV), which have continuity of an entirely different sort (if any). Join us for a comparison of these and other fran...

Nioh 2 has experienced a renewed surge of interest since the PS5 remaster came around. But after putting it down almost a year ago, getting back into this beastly grindcore soulslike can be daunting. This week, Mike & Alex are here to go over some of the mechanical complexities and unique aspects of Nioh 2. Including a discussion of burst counters, efficient loot recyling, Nioh’s historical fantas...

In 2019 & 2020, the ‘AA [double-A] publishing space was flooded with more noteworthy and interesting titles than we have seen in recent console generations. Games like Greedfall, The Surge II, & Maneater recall the glory days of mid-tier PS2 publishing. The first quarter of 2021 may be lacking in huge AAA releases, but for the next few weeks you can join GreenDragonCVR for an exploration of Q1 AA...

Xbox's planned, then abandoned, price hike for online membership has irritated the internet, but not for the right reasons. No one will ever enjoy a price increase. But the real problem on the part of Microsoft is the consistent lack of worthwhile things on offer in exchange for any quantity of our money, having cannibalized their core brands and refused to invest in ambitious or noteworthy new IP...

What makes video games different (or better) than other artistic mediums at expressing a given subject matter? This week, Mike & Alex discuss the special qualities of video games over text, film etc in the context of Red Dead Redemption 2’s epilogue.

The video game medium is full of amusing and insightful depictions of intoxication. As a literary trope distinct from mere "drunkenness", intoxication refers to a "half-death and resurrection", induced by chemical substances in order to strip away contingent meaning & attain some metaphysical insight. Join us this week for a guided tour of the very best depictions of intoxication in recent years....

If you've followed our December coverage, you'll know we are big fans of Cyberpunk 2077 and the dystopian vision it conveys. It is a delight to explore the impact of technocommodification on human nature and consciousness, through a narrative packed with interesting concepts: digital ghosts, reincarnated CEOs, AI superminds & cybermadness. There is some significant conceptual overlap: both games t...

Cyberpunk2077 hits like a truck. Mike & Alex are here to talk about the unparalleled achievement of world & character building that is Cyberpunk2077, including definitions of such terms as ‘Mikoshi’, ‘engram’ & ‘digital matter’. What does it mean for two minds to inhabit a single body? For technology to dissolve the boundaries of ‘mind’ altogether?