listening to the voice of elohim in the talos principle
When I played The Talos Principle, the puzzle game by Croteam released in 2014, it brought to mind other great puzzle games. Though it can get lost in the shuffle between the legacy of Myst (1993) and the star power…
journal 29 review: a tedious, incomplete puzzle book
The biggest puzzle I’ve encountered with Journal 29 is why this book exists at all. This has little to do with the quality of puzzles, which cover the same range of any typical puzzle book, from obvious to unfathomable. It’s…
the subtle storytelling of the video game inside
Since it’s October again, it’s time for my traditional post about a spooky game. Last year, I wrote about the innovative use of death in the mechanics of Limbo, and this year I’m excited to tackle the storytelling of Inside.…
the great houdini escape room: game design review
My last post was dedicated to identifying some of the most common design blunders in crafting escape rooms. This post follows up with a design deep dive into a well-executed escape room, The Great Houdini Escape Room by Palace Games…
common mistakes to avoid when designing escape rooms
Escape rooms are physical puzzle game environments where you get locked in a room with a group of friends and have a time limit within which you try to escape, by using clues and solving puzzles. These rooms are based…
best of palace games escape rooms: houdini, roosevelt or edison?
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have played all of Palace Games’ in-person escape rooms. Located at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, Palace Games offers the trio of The Great Houdini Escape Room, The Roosevelt…
the attraction escape room is palace games’ storytelling gem: review
Palace Games’ new escape room, The Attraction, was a long time coming. When I booked it back in early 2020, I had no idea that a pandemic would postpone our date almost two years. But nonetheless, masked and equipped with…
figment: a mind full of incoherent video game design
For a game that’s set inside a human mind, Figment doesn’t make a lot of sense. Released in 2017 by Bedtime Digital Games, Figment is a single-player action-adventure game including platforming, puzzles, and boss battles where the boss sings an elaborately…
trial and death in the video game limbo
In celebration of spooky season, I usually write about my favourite spooky games. In the past, I’ve written about the game design of fear in Dead by Daylight and the fun of playing Phasmophobia with friends. This year, I’ve decided…
