Unreliable Narrator
Edge
|February 2022
Exploring stories in games and the art of telling tales
Videogame awards season is here – the time of year when I hunker down and play through the year’s big games in a marathon crush for various jury duties. For a few weeks I live like a game reviewer, overwhelmed by how damn long games are. Flashback to the year when a fellow juror told me: “You really need to play at least 70 hours of this game to understand why its narrative is so special!” Normally this makes me grumpy towards bloated triple-A blockbusters and my heart soars when I hit a short and unique game. However, this year the triple-A blockbusters are pandemically thin on the ground and so I am left to get grumpy at the short and unique games. This is not the kind of behaviour I really want to boast about in public. But for now let me (half-heartedly) grumble about indie storytelling as I digest my thoughts on the recent Unpacking.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2022-Ausgabe von Edge.
Abonnieren Sie Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierter Premium-Geschichten und über 9.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Sie sind bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
WEITERE GESCHICHTEN VON Edge
Edge UK
Possessor(s)
After three rounds of layoffs this year and Hyper Light Breaker’s curtailed development in early access, a lot seems to rest for Heart Machine on this plucky Metroidvania side project. The studio has an obvious knack for conjuring up fascinating fantasy worlds, but since its compact debut, Hyper Light Drifter, it’s been less obvious whether it can manage projects of a larger scale. And perhaps, on that count, even the modest Possessor(s) isn’t quite modest enough — it feels as much a victim of the company’s production woes as a showcase for its creative talent.
4 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
Street Fighter 6
Superstition might suggest that even numbers are more auspicious for the series, but it's fairer to say that Capcom learned from the mistakes of Street Fighter V and launched a fighting game that doesn't just feel like a full package, but one that has foundations to build on in future updates.
2 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
GLOOMY JUNCTURE
Finding hope in seedy alleys and dive bars
2 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
The Outer Worlds 2
There's always a risk in imitating something regarded as a classic: if it offers a template for success, it could just as easily invite unfavourable comparison. Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas has gained that reputation in the 15 years since its release, and while the original The Outer Worlds, led by Fallout creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, referenced that series without aping it, the sequel zeroes in on New Vegas as its direct source of inspiration. This explains both why The Outer Worlds 2 is a success and why it can't quite stand tall as a creation with its own identity.
6 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
Lumines Arise
The pacing melds with the music, each unique track on each level passing through phases of calm and ferocity.
4 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
STRONG MUDDY VIOLENCE
What happens when you mix the tech of SnowRunner and Space Marine 2 in a co-op shooter with '80s flavour to spare? Toxic Commando has the answer
13 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
Once Upon A Katamari
Fittingly, each stage in Once Upon A Katamari takes place in the past.
2 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
FAILBETTER GAMES
The industry's finest sustainable storyteller shifts towards 'fireside menace'
7 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
DRAGON QUEST VII: REIMAGINED
Can a serious makeover preserve the original's identity?
2 mins
January 2026
Edge UK
Wreckreation
It's easy to believe that Three Fields just wants you to enjoy driving at speed in its preposterously big open world
4 mins
January 2026
Translate
Change font size

