Replaying A Memoir Blue reminded me of a couple things. One, that we can't rewind or redo, but we can remember and work through. Two, that @niuxyz.bsky.social & the team at @cloisters.bsky.social created something rich, vulnerable, and moving — both uniquely personal and enduringly resonant.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 2d ago

"We all carry limited fragments of the events that shaped us, transforming those parts that remain anew with every chapter of our lives." @quiltedpoints.net dives into the depths of @cloisters.bsky.social's A Memoir Blue: buff.ly/b9wXZiO

My first published essay, from one year ago today:

On Faith, Eternity, and Impossibility in Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Pharloom: A Symptomatic Reading - Unwinnable

For those residing in the Underworks, faith only serves to ensure obedience to the system of oppression.

unwinnable.com

Feeling both appreciative and sheepish about my inclusion in this week's Critical Distance round-up. Hard to believe my excursion into non-poetry about a textless puzzle-adventure can live alongside such great company.

Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games?@critdistance.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This week: Trails, Control, aesthetic experiences, and the International Phonetic Alphabet: critical-distance.com/2026/09/20/s...

Helix is one of those peculiar games that feels both generous and withholding, inviting wildly different readings — equally as enjoyable to play as it is to interpret. Analysis aside, the breadth of its puzzles/secrets are beyond enough to fuel a player’s curiosity well after credits.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 2mo ago

"Playing within this realm of binary division, Helix: Descent N Ascent traces the loop between identity and difference." @quiltedpoints.net muses on what Helix: Descent N Ascent teaches about identity and disunity: buff.ly/bLq9IPf

Four of the five films in the Yuasa collection are fantastic, but The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and Ride Your Wave are my favourites. I hope my essay communicates, at least in part, how they succeed in rendering the complexity of love.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 3mo ago

"We all rationalize the trauma of love in different ways." @quiltedpoints.net looks at the anxiety and violent rupture that comes with love: buff.ly/IgcsLKH

From @danlesac.bandcamp.com's soundtrack to @mikebithell.bsky.social's dialogue and everything in between, Subsurface Circular is packed with style, clarity, and wit. Don't let my essay or the game's age scare you away, it's still one of the most thoughtful and engaging things I've ever played.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 4mo ago

"Progress and struggling to try is not so cut and dry in this world of androids, nor in ours." @quiltedpoints.net examines freedom and progress in Subsurface Circular:

I love much more about Brigsby Bear than I could’ve fit into this essay. But I wanted to explore how James’ quirky and tender story might resonate with people who know what it’s like to feel alone and still find the courage to express their passion and creativity. Also, “it’s dope as shit”.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 6mo ago

"To find one’s own voice, even if speaking through a language exclusive to you, means to be true to yourself." @quiltedpoints.net muses on making meaning and connections in Brigsby Bear:

I do believe The Longest Road on Earth is the most underappreciated game in the Raw Fury library. Here's a wonderful essay about it at Unwinnable unwinnable.com/2026/02/16/s...

Seeing Distance, Hearing Warmth in The Longest Road on Earth - Unwinnable

How can we measure a moment when our experiences of repetition shape our perceptions of time?

unwinnable.com

I've been listening to this soundtrack regularly since playing the game in 2022. If my essay got you curious, @brainwashgang.bsky.social & @rawfury.bsky.social put out this lovely mini-doc about the development process.

The Longest Road on Earth Documentary

YouTube video by Raw Fury

youtube.com

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 9mo ago

"The possibility of sharing our lives with each other, seeing ourselves in the struggles and joys of another, depends on the methods and means of our movements." @quiltedpoints.net explores the connections we make through movement in The Longest Road on Earth:

Mid-November, in the lead up to Skate Story, my partner suggested I replay Zarvot to quell my insatiable anticipation. The result was my most personal essay, which explores the aesthetic and thematic reasons why @bysameng.com's first project has been one of my favourites since 2018.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 11mo ago

"There is a messy balance to be found between expressing openness and engendering the conditions which allow people to seek help." Christopher Spina toes the line between politeness and intimacy in Zarvot:

My partner and I had been anticipating Henry Halfhead since Day of the Devs SGF 2023. We loved Henry's story so much that I decided to write about it - here's my essay from last Fall. Thank you @lululu.games and @popagenda.co for such a playfully inventive and subversive game.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · 12mo ago

"Henry’s experiences exhibited in the game make clear the delineation between the alterity inseparable from personhood and the exploitation that structures capitalist reproduction." Christopher Spina examines alienation under capitalism in Henry Halfhead:

A few months ago, I was published for the first time - thanks @unwinnable.com! I'm still very proud of this piece that touches on the portrayal of faith, deification, technological "progress", solidarity, and music found in this charming masterpiece of a game.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · last yr.

"For Pharloom’s past, present, and future, faith functions as an omnipresent mediator, embodied and exploited in varied ways depending on the social position of its interlocutors." Christopher Spina examines the various facets of faith in Hollow Knight: Silksong:

After the Nintendo Switch's release, my partner and I began creating game recommendation lists for everyone we knew who was fresh into the ecosystem.