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Josh Look's Top 5 Horror Games

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JL Updated
Josh Look's Top 5 Horror Games

It's more than a Halloween thing.

As long time members of this site will know, my love of horror movies has been well documented.  As one might suspect, that passion extends to board games.  Just about anything outside of the overused zombie and Cthulhu fare catches my eye, but even some of those games end up in my collection regardless.  I buy horror games year round, play them year round, and am more than happy to play them during the Halloween season once the rest of the world is on my level.  When I saw the Top 5 Halloween Games thread in the forums, I felt I had enough to say to merit getting back behind the keyboard and, as one of the sites top horror enthusiasts, put together something more concrete.

First, a few notes about criteria and what, for me, makes for a great horror game.  Most importantly, it can't just be a coat of paint.  You're not going to see Arkham Horror (or even Eldritch Horror, which I'm actually quite fond of) on this list for that reason.  I have plenty of unpopular opinons on the game, but I don't think anyone can argue that it doesn't have any more tension than any other Pandemic-like co-op or that it's really more of pulp adventure game than it is one of skin-crawling terror.  No, I want my horror games to give me the same feeling l would get if watching a movie with the same subject matter.  I'm looking for something that is less about characters and plot and more about a visceral reaction, something that hits me more as a person than a gamer.  The games that are able to accomplish this are certainly rare, but they do exist and these five games are the ones that I feel do it best.  Finally, this is very much my list with my favorites.  I don't expect it to be yours.

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5.  Nyctophobia

Love them or not, jump scares are a horror movie staple.  Nyctophobia is the only board game I've played that has the capacity to generate them.  One player takes the role of an axe weilding maniac and attempts to hunt down the other players as they make their ways through the dark forest in hopes of reaching the safety of the car.  The twist?  The maniac is the only player who can see the board.  The other players wear black out glasses and literally have to feel around the modular 3D board to find their way out.  More so than any other game on this list, Nyctophobia lives and dies by who you play it with.  It's a singular design, make no mistake about it, but the maniac player should be taking full advantage of the situation.  During my most memorable game of Nyctophobia, Al (the killer) quietly made his way around the table, got right next to my ear and menacingly said, "I'M GOING TO GET YOU."  I shot out of my chair, which in turn caused everyone else to shoot out of theirs.  Plenty of games can build stress and tension, hallmarks of watching scary movies, but a well-played game of Nyctophobia is genuinely scary.

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4.  The Bloody Inn

Even without its theme, The Bloody Inn puts you off balance with its rather strange mechanics.  It's the kind of game that takes half a play before you start wrap your head around it.  This little card game may be a thinky one, but you won't be able shake the feeling of just how fucked up this game is.  See, The Bloody Inn has you play as a family of innkeepers.  The object is to be the richest family member by the end of the game.  Problem is, running a legitimate business is not very profitable.  The family decides that murdering their guests and robbing them is a much more lucrative venture, though a code of honor dictates that they won't take anything until the body is buried.  However, police officers frequently come around and you don't want to have any unburied corpses lying around when they do.  With only two actions per round, there may not enough time to dispose of your kills in time.  There is, of course, another option, that being to bribe the officer to help you kill more later or to simply murder them.  It's easy to find yourself with a mountain of corpses with no where to put them with more police officers on the way.  The tension runs incredibly high as does the inescapable feeling that everything the game is asking you to do is wrong.  When I introduce folks to The Bloody Inn, I always wait to the end  and then I drop the real bombshell on them:  The game is inspired by a true story.

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3.  Lifeform

Mark Chaplin and Toby Farrands's love letter to Alien may have only been released just this year, but it's already earned a lofty position amongst my favorite horror games.  While there have been many games over the years to pull inspiration from James Cameron's significantly less terrifying but still excellent sequel, Lifeform goes back to Ridley Scott's original masterpiece.  While the H.R. Giger aesthetic may be missing, everything else is intact, the labyrinthine ship, the ship's cat, a malfunctioning android and, of course, one unstoppable alien killer.  While the rules may seem dense due to how many situations can arise, the gameplay moves along at a brisk pace, maintaining a high amount of tension from start to finish.  Even when any surviving crew manages to get aboard the escape shuttle, there's still a chance they'll find the alien stowed away and waiting for them.  The cardplay is whip smart, frantic for the humans and scheming for the lifeform, nailing the survival horror genre better than any other game I've played.

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2.  Fury of Dracula (Third/Fourth editions)

If Alan Moore is to be believed, we are at, have just past, or are approaching the point in which overexposure robs Lovecraft's creations of their capacity to terrify and instead reside in the pop culture landscape where they will inevitably become little more than punchlines.  I tend to agree here, especially when you look at the examples set by Frankenstein's monster and Dracula.  Despite being anything but scary in 2019, Fury of Dracula still earns a place on this list because how it manages to capture a horrifying core element that makes Bram Stoker's novel effective over 100 years after publication.  A group of hunters, determined they may be, are facing off against adversary with powers beyond their imagination, something that is more likely to kill them than they kill it.  I've always said that any edition of Fury of Dracula is worth playing, but this is something that only the more recent third and fourth editions properly capture.  With the options at his disposal, Dracula has always been more than cunning when it comes to the hidden movement end of the game, but could then be punched to death with bare hands due to a silly, sloppy combat system.  Now when the hunters feel confident because they've finally caught up with the infamous count (fair and square, I might add, now that the frustrating teleportation abilities have been removed on both sides), they may find that they've bitten off more than they can chew when they encounter Dracula in a fight.  Fury of Dracula has been an essential classic for many years now, but the most recent iteration has truly perfected what was already a masterpiece.

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1.  Camp Grizzly

Camp Grizzly is a game that I took a chance on some years back and now, years later, I don't think there's another game in my collection that I have such a strong relationship with.  The game has to be ordered from the publisher, either from their website or from Amazon.  For what you pay for it, you might be disappointed when it arrives.  There's an undeniably cheap quality to the box, the board, and the components.  And yet I find what the average board gamer would call "issues" to be endearing and appropriate given that the game is heavily based on the Friday the 13th franchise.  Camp Grizzly isn't so much a game as it is an experience, an activity more than a strategic exercise.  It's as if every time it hits the table it tells the next story in a series of slasher flicks, and like the movies that inspired it, each one essentially the same plot as all the others but still packed with unique memorable moments.  The recently released expansions (still hard to believe we finally have these things) fill in any gaps in the F13 tropes, covering ground from A New Beginning, The New Blood, and even jump-the-shark elements like Jason X.  I've said it elsewhere, I'll say it again here:  Camp Grizzly is a spot-on slasher movie simulator, and if we're judging games based on how effectively they achieve what they set out to do, it's a perfect one.

There Will Be Games

Josh Look (He/Him)
Staff Podcaster

One night during the summer of 1997, Josh Look's cool uncle who owned a comic shop taught him how to play Magic the Gathering. The game set off his imagination in a way that he could not sleep that night, and he's been fascinated by games ever since. He spent many afternoons during his high school years skipping homework to play Dungeons & Dragons and paint Warhammer minatures, going on to discover hobby board games in his early 20s. He's been a writer for ThereWillBe.Games and is the creator and co-host of the geek culture podcast, The Wolfman's Lounge. He enjoys games that encourage a heavy amount of table talk and those that explore their themes beyond just their settings.

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Articles & Poscasts by Josh

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drewcula's Avatar
drewcula replied the topic: #302961 31 Oct 2019 08:42
Fun post Josh. I've been reading your lead-up to this article for a few weeks, so I had a pretty good grasp of what you would include. And still, I wasn't expecting to see Nyctophobia & The Bloody Inn.
I have not played Nyctophobia. I've passed it by repeatedly because it just looked, "gimmicky." But with your seal of approval - I'll look again.
The Bloody Inn? Interesting. I owned it. I sold it. It didn't do much for me or my play group. I will admit though, the illustrations are bloody terrific. The games shines on artwork alone.

I played Fury of Dracula last night. As the Count, I reached lucky ol' 13 at the end of week two. Fun times, though whiskey and wine and a baseball game provided too many distractions. The game took three hours.

And during some of our sidebar, the lot of us reminisced over our sessions of Psycho Raiders.

So here's MY five horror hound favs:

5) Escape from the Dark Castle
4) The Thing: Infection at Outpost something something
3) Psycho Raiders
2) Fury of Dracula
1) Ouija*

* Yeah. I said it. There's a lot to unpack with that declaration. But I'll just leave it for now.
Vysetron's Avatar
Vysetron replied the topic: #302962 31 Oct 2019 08:49
Great piece. Your last point regarding how we evaluate games is key. It seems like most people go into any given game hoping or assuming it'll be one way, and if it's not then it's a failure somehow.

Camp Grizzly has mechanical problems if you're comparing it to other coops, but none of them matter here because they're intentional. And the result is great. We could do with more games that are willing to lean into flaws for authenticity's sake.
Josh Look's Avatar
Josh Look replied the topic: #302964 31 Oct 2019 08:55
I turned a corner on “flaws” in games a couple years back. It might have been War Chest that put it into place. I feel like there are a lot of gamers out there who label something they don’t like about a game as a flaw, they completely refuse to see them as an intentional limitation that serves a greater purpose. For as much as I love how streamlined modern design leans, there’s also this idea that everything needs to give you that hit of satisfaction. I think that’s ultimately damaging to design as a whole.
charlest's Avatar
charlest replied the topic: #302966 31 Oct 2019 09:04
Solid list for sure. The Bloody Inn is the only one I don't really like and it was fine. Surprised about Nyctophobia as well - it would definitely be on my list but I don't recall anyone else here really liking it.
Josh Look's Avatar
Josh Look replied the topic: #302968 31 Oct 2019 09:15
I am utterly fascinated by it, but it’s definitely a hard sell for me with the folks I play with.

I knew Bloody Inn would be the divisive choice. While I appreciate that there are folks out there that are using the framework of board gaming to make statements about uncomfortable topics, it’s not the kind of thing I could really get into personally. The Bloody Inn was the first time I played something that, while still at a safe distance, definitely put me closer to being a “bad guy” than anything else I had played. I play with the Roses every once in a while and we love it, but every once in awhile I’m acutely aware of the conversation going on at the table and I remind myself, “Wow, this is really fucking grim.” The expansion completes it, it really fulfills ideas that were only hinted at in the base game, but man, do carnies not do it for me.

I wish I could get into Psycho Raiders. Something about it feels a little too XTREME IN YO FUCKIN FACE for me, and while I’d probably watch the shit out of that horror movie, for whatever reason I’m less okay with it in my games.
drewcula's Avatar
drewcula replied the topic: #302969 31 Oct 2019 09:49
I was going to say Psycho Raiders is not perfect, but then...

Anyway, PR is grim dark fun. My group really got into the characters and kept taunting the teenagers. We still laugh about it, and during FoD last night? We couldn't help but do a few chants. "Raaaaaaaaandy! RAAAAAAAANDY!" I sometimes wish there were a fewer options for players, because there can be some awkward rule interpretation with some weapons. But whatever. My biggest gripe is that I can't find card sleeves for the damn game. And I suppose that's a joke on me too, considering the nature of game/'zine.

I saw there was an expansion to The Bloody Inn, after I sold my copy. Does it improve on the base game, or is it more of the same? I don't think I would re-purchase it, but I could be persuaded to try it again.
hotseatgames's Avatar
hotseatgames replied the topic: #302970 31 Oct 2019 09:59
Put me in the PRO-Bloody Inn camp. That game is great, and as mentioned, the artwork is amazing. We have the expansion and I think it adds more options. It has been a while since we played but I don't think there is any reason to not get the expansion if you enjoy the game.

This weekend I will be playing Sea Evil for the first time. I'm hoping for good things. Or evil things.
Josh Look's Avatar
Josh Look replied the topic: #302971 31 Oct 2019 10:12
IIRC, the carnies essentially act as an event deck. They’re mixed into the main deck and if they’re still in the inn when it’s time to check out, events happen, usually bad. Really ramps up the tension because they give you one more thing to deal with and you start accepting those calculated failures. They tighten up the game to the point where you will actually see someone bury one of their corpses in someone else’s building, which the base game offered as an option but gave you no need to ever do it.
Michael Barnes's Avatar
Michael Barnes replied the topic: #302972 31 Oct 2019 10:36
For as much as I love how streamlined modern design leans, there’s also this idea that everything needs to give you that hit of satisfaction. I think that’s ultimately damaging to design as a whole.

Quoting this because it is one of the most profound statements about modern design and audience reception I’ve ever seen. This gets into fail states and “flaws” (which are as Josh pointed out often intentional limitations), which is something some people get really antsy about. The idea that you can lose brutally and unfairly or find yourself in a situation with no good option is anathema to the golly gee board games are happytimes crowd.

Which ties into the horror thing here. Horror with no stakes doesn’t work. If there’s no risk of loss, a game can not be scary. Which is why Psycho Raiders is the best horror game ever made. It’s brutal, unfair, uncaring about your feelings, and death is always a turn ahead of you. It feels bad and wrong, it’s a tabletop video nasty and it’s sleazy crudeness serves to give it a harrowing, delinquent tone. I think it’s the only game I’ve ever played that felt like real horror. As much as I love Fury of Dracula, Horrified, or whatever none of them approach the feeling of watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Another one that I think gets close is actually a kids game, Im Waldschattenspiel. It’s available in the US now as Shadows in the Forest but the dark, folky tone isn’t the same. This is the game where one player is a witch represented by an actual candle and must try to find and bewitch dwarves hiding in the woods. The dwarves move around in the shadows cast by the light. You play it in the dark, so it takes on a eerie atmosphere and the notion of hiding in the shadows of a forest from a wandering witch is definitely spooky. There is some primeval stuff going on here- light and dark, hiding from a predator, fear of fire...the version you can get at Target now has a battery operated tea light and is lighter in tone, (it’s about finding elves) so the weird spookiness is thrown out the window. Which sucks. I love the simple fears expressed and the use of elemental triggers (dark, fire) to generate a sense of dread and unease.
Shellhead's Avatar
Shellhead replied the topic: #302974 31 Oct 2019 11:08
I'm also a big fan of horror board games and horror movies. Over a third of my board game collection is horror-themed. I haven't played 60% of the games on your list, but I suspect that I would enjoy them all, because your criteria is close to mine.

My list:

1. Camp Grizzly. I like it for all the same reasons, but I actually think that the quality of the visual design is so good that it makes up for the physical quality of the components. And while maybe Nyctophobia delivers bigger gotcha moments, I think that the red-splashed Otis Strikes cards also have that gotcha quality. Especially when a camper successfully runs away from Otis, then draws a cabin card of Otis Strikes anyway.

2. Psycho Raiders. The crude outsider art makes this game creepier than anything else in my collection, and the KILL cards take the whole experience over the top. I burned a 2-CD mix soundtrack for this game, and every song could have plausibly been played on October 31, 1978. Nearly every song I picked is from 1977 and 1978, and a surprising number work well for the game. Just for a few examples: Don't Fear the Reaper, by Blue Oyster Cult; Witchy Woman, by the Eagles; Psycho Killer, by the Talking Heads.

3. The Gothic Game. The murderous goal, the strange humor, and the brazen colors deliver great atmosphere. Despite the player elimination, everybody stays to watch the whole game play out. The vampire usually accounts for half the body count each game.

4. Intruder/Hidden Intruder. This pocket game was rushed to market by Task Force Games within a year of the movie Alien, and does a nice job of simulating that movie without the actual license. By modern standards, the components are cheap as hell, with a paper map and cardboard chits. But the gameplay is solid, and allows for solitaire, co-op, and one vs many play modes. An advanced scenario features a more challenging scenario where the good guys are space marines, anticipating Aliens a full seven years in advance. My copy is so worn out that I am tempted to buy a print on demand copy of the modern edition, Hidden Intruder.

5. Mall of Horror. All zombie board games are flawed, but this one does a nice job of emulating Dawn of the Dead, especially the Romero theme that other humans are often a bigger threat than the zombies. Characters lock themselves into stores as the zombies crowd against the entrance. Votes are held to see who gets eaten by zombies. Characters are forced to scramble from one location to another, and more zombies keep showing up. The visual of the zombie minis piling up is threatening, and the game usually gives at least one or two players the illusion that they are in control with a workable strategy. But the security room eventually gets overrun, and the parking lot is never safe, so the best-laid plans often end in shock and horror.
ubarose's Avatar
ubarose replied the topic: #302975 31 Oct 2019 11:54
Excellent list. I think I mostly agree with you, except for Nyctophobia. That one creeped me out so much that I never want to play it again. I actually screamed out-loud while playing it. I don't know if that makes it the best horror game ever...or the worst.
bfkiller's Avatar
bfkiller replied the topic: #302980 31 Oct 2019 12:45

hotseatgames wrote: This weekend I will be playing Sea Evil for the first time. I'm hoping for good things. Or evil things.


I'm hoping to as well. I haven't read the rules yet, but cutting out the ships this past week made me excited to see how much this differs from PR (besides just the setting).
WadeMonnig's Avatar
WadeMonnig replied the topic: #302982 31 Oct 2019 13:32
Im this close to grabbing camp grizzly. I wonder if the publishers have even a clue where this "sudden" interest is coming from.
Space Ghost's Avatar
Space Ghost replied the topic: #302984 31 Oct 2019 13:50

Michael Barnes wrote: For as much as I love how streamlined modern design leans, there’s also this idea that everything needs to give you that hit of satisfaction. I think that’s ultimately damaging to design as a whole.

Quoting this because it is one of the most profound statements about modern design and audience reception I’ve ever seen. This gets into fail states and “flaws” (which are as Josh pointed out often intentional limitations), which is something some people get really antsy about. The idea that you can lose brutally and unfairly or find yourself in a situation with no good option is anathema to the golly gee board games are happytimes crowd.
.


I agree with this and games that can cause either the brutal loss or the "no good options" situation are some of my favorites.

However, I feel like the last sentence in the original review

and if we're judging games based on how effectively they achieve what they set out to do, it's a perfect one.


is borderline a throwaway statement. It gets around projecting our own expectations on the game, but we replace it by our subjective interpretation and valuation of "what the game is setting out to do". If we don't like that, then we likely won't like the game, regardless of how well it does it. Pick the game you hate the most...do you think it sets out what it tries to do? How do you know what it is trying to do? I don't like Munchkin (for instance), but it might be doing what it was setting out to do. Or Spellfire (old CCG) -- I like it (most don't), I think it does what it wanted to do, but that doesn't mean it is a great game and my minority opinion is right. Sometimes what we set out to do is just dumb.
Space Ghost's Avatar
Space Ghost replied the topic: #302985 31 Oct 2019 13:55
My top 5 horror games:

1. Psycho Raiders
2. Waldschattenspiel (I can't believe Michael snuck that in first)
3. City of Chaos (horror in the "everything is so strange" kind of way)
4. Nyctophobia
5. Dark Shadows (I just love the illustrations on this paper map -- a lot of nostalgia for me, as well)
Josh Look's Avatar
Josh Look replied the topic: #302986 31 Oct 2019 14:32

Space Ghost wrote: It gets around projecting our own expectations on the game, but we replace it by our subjective interpretation and valuation of "what the game is setting out to do". If we don't like that, then we likely won't like the game, regardless of how well it does it. Pick the game you hate the most...do you think it sets out what it tries to do? How do you know what it is trying to do? I don't like Munchkin (for instance), but it might be doing what it was setting out to do. Or Spellfire (old CCG) -- I like it (most don't), I think it does what it wanted to do, but that doesn't mean it is a great game and my minority opinion is right. Sometimes what we set out to do is just dumb.


This is an entirely valid point, but there's some context that I couldn't afford without the article becoming too unwieldy.

There are alot of games that I would not assume that I could not ascertain what they were going for. Most Euro point salads, economic games, war games, etc, I have not made it my life's mission to understand the subject matter/design space and I would not be so bold as to make the claim that I would know what the designer was aiming for. I might enjoy games in those genres, but I would instead assess what I like/don't like about them and, at best, try to understand why the things I don't like are there.

This is a major problem I have with game reviewers, I feel like many of them do not understand their limitations, they rarely take the time to figure that shit out and that their barometers for judging a game do not align with my own, if they even have one at all outside of "I play alot of games therefore I understand them and am fit to review them." This is one reason why I got out of the review game, why I refuse to review games in the traditional sense on ICFTT and instead talk about the experience of playing them and why they achieve what they do. The entire process is, in most cases, kind of bullshit. Most reviewers establish themselves on the grounds of "I know what I like, if you find that you like the same things, maybe I can steer you in the right direction." It's tiresome to me.

Which brings me to my defense of the statement, and that is that I do feel like I have picked my niches, my genres, and I know them well. I know the limitations to what I can comfortably understand from a critical standpoint and I wouldn't feel right making claims outside of them.
Vysetron's Avatar
Vysetron replied the topic: #302987 31 Oct 2019 15:15
The true omnigamer is a rare breed and most who claim to be are lying, unintentionally or otherwise.
Shellhead's Avatar
Shellhead replied the topic: #302988 31 Oct 2019 15:31

Vysetron wrote: The true omnigamer is a rare breed and most who claim to be are lying, unintentionally or otherwise.


Elwood: What kind of music do you usually have here?
Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country *and* western.
dysjunct's Avatar
dysjunct replied the topic: #302991 31 Oct 2019 15:59

WadeMonnig wrote: Im this close to grabbing camp grizzly. I wonder if the publishers have even a clue where this "sudden" interest is coming from.


Camp Grizzly is the Flamme Rouge of co-op horror games.
ChristopherMD's Avatar
ChristopherMD replied the topic: #302993 31 Oct 2019 16:22

Josh Look wrote: Frankenstein's monster


Horror Credentials Verified.
Space Ghost's Avatar
Space Ghost replied the topic: #302996 31 Oct 2019 17:07

ChristopherMD wrote:

Josh Look wrote: Frankenstein's monster


Horror Credentials Verified.


Indeed...just this week I reread Frankenstein. Between that and Dracula, it's hard to beat those two books.

I just got Abomination this week and am hopeful to play it soon.
Josh Look's Avatar
Josh Look replied the topic: #302998 31 Oct 2019 17:37

Space Ghost wrote:

ChristopherMD wrote:

Josh Look wrote: Frankenstein's monster


Horror Credentials Verified.


Indeed...just this week I reread Frankenstein. Between that and Dracula, it's hard to beat those two books.

I just got Abomination this week and am hopeful to play it soon.


I’ve played 3 times now, one a playtest for the short variant, one the full game and one with the official variant. I like it, the “Igor” variant from the Plaid Hat website is the way to go. Only thing you’ll be missing is another hour at the table.
Space Ghost's Avatar
Space Ghost replied the topic: #303107 04 Nov 2019 17:14

Josh Look wrote:

Space Ghost wrote: It gets around projecting our own expectations on the game, but we replace it by our subjective interpretation and valuation of "what the game is setting out to do". If we don't like that, then we likely won't like the game, regardless of how well it does it. Pick the game you hate the most...do you think it sets out what it tries to do? How do you know what it is trying to do? I don't like Munchkin (for instance), but it might be doing what it was setting out to do. Or Spellfire (old CCG) -- I like it (most don't), I think it does what it wanted to do, but that doesn't mean it is a great game and my minority opinion is right. Sometimes what we set out to do is just dumb.


This is an entirely valid point, but there's some context that I couldn't afford without the article becoming too unwieldy.

There are alot of games that I would not assume that I could not ascertain what they were going for. Most Euro point salads, economic games, war games, etc, I have not made it my life's mission to understand the subject matter/design space and I would not be so bold as to make the claim that I would know what the designer was aiming for. I might enjoy games in those genres, but I would instead assess what I like/don't like about them and, at best, try to understand why the things I don't like are there.

This is a major problem I have with game reviewers, I feel like many of them do not understand their limitations, they rarely take the time to figure that shit out and that their barometers for judging a game do not align with my own, if they even have one at all outside of "I play alot of games therefore I understand them and am fit to review them." This is one reason why I got out of the review game, why I refuse to review games in the traditional sense on ICFTT and instead talk about the experience of playing them and why they achieve what they do. The entire process is, in most cases, kind of bullshit. Most reviewers establish themselves on the grounds of "I know what I like, if you find that you like the same things, maybe I can steer you in the right direction." It's tiresome to me.

Which brings me to my defense of the statement, and that is that I do feel like I have picked my niches, my genres, and I know them well. I know the limitations to what I can comfortably understand from a critical standpoint and I wouldn't feel right making claims outside of them.


A almost agree with this in totality -- I think that there is a lot that can be expanded on here. And it is important. Most reviewers don't know what they don't know, which means that most of the reviews we get are nothing more than compatibility tests.
DarthJoJo's Avatar
DarthJoJo replied the topic: #303112 04 Nov 2019 18:13

Space Ghost wrote: Most reviewers don't know what they don't know, which means that most of the reviews we get are nothing more than compatibility tests.

These “compatibility test” reviews make sense for a medium entering the mainstream at the same time the most common “critical discourse” is Yelp and Amazon reviews. It’s a cultural moment that has retreated to subjectivism and purchase recommendations in fear of saying anything of substance.

Games criticism really lacks the foundation that literature and film and music and every other major artistic medium has. I really hope that Dan Thurot’s series on abstracts and thoughts on his critical process gets traction. Even if people disagree with him, at least they’ll be thinking about what they’re doing and make something that matters.

To discuss the original post, not enough Ghost Blitz. What of the tension of a streak without slaps? The fear of landing a slap atop your wife’s wedding ring?
WadeMonnig's Avatar
WadeMonnig replied the topic: #303136 05 Nov 2019 11:23
Anyone play axis allies and zombies?