Tof Eklund reviews Lovestruck, a free-to-play treasure trove of romantic queer gaming content. Voltage’s Lovestruck does not, at first glance, look particularly queer-inclusive. Created in 2017 to unify four otome (‘women’s romance’) mobile games, this game hub now houses at least a dozen fictional worlds (depending on how you count them) and an advertised ’50+ … Read more
Tof Eklund goes deep on the historical context and significance of Dandara, a newly released Metroidvania-style game about the famous-in-Brazil folk hero. I was certain, from the first screenshot I saw of Dandara, that there were layers to the world and narrative of Brazilian studio Long Hat House’s jump-warping Metroidvania. Reviewers seemed not to care, noting that … Read more
That Dragon, Cancer was one of the most critically acclaimed indie games released in 2016. The point and click adventure’s frank depiction of a family’s battle with illness seemed to push video games into new territory. Tof Eklund spoke with one of the game’s creators about how the game was made and how some critics missed … Read more
Techweek! Demos, prototypes, presentations, discussions, and keynotes, all radiant with the reflected glow of futurist optimism. Tof Eklund got steeped in digital dreams last week, spending Sunday afternoon at the Magnify VR/AR Expo, and the next day at the subsequent Business Summit. The atmosphere at the Expo was carnivalesque, as techies, gamers, entire families, and … Read more
In their Spinoff debut, Tof Eklund examines the way sex and consent are treated in video games, and highlights a few things big studios could learn from indie developers. I’m not a wowzer, I swear. As an American ex-pat, you might even expect me to hold a “First Amendment” view of government censorship. The US … Read more