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Can a video game be ‘woke’ and still good?

Video games

Gaming

Can a video game be ‘woke’ and still good?

In the latest Dragon Age game, characters are all essentially nice, they discuss their problems like they’ve had too much therapy and they resolve conflict appropriately. It’s insufferable

James Ball

Diablo IV, Elon Musk’s obsession

All you do is kill stuff, nerd out over your character stats and skill trees, then kill more stuff

Sam Leith

The return of CRT TVs

For enthusiasts of retro video games and other esoteric media hobbies, what others see as trash is their treasure

Oliver Jia

Vampire Therapist is simultaneously earnest and winningly ridiculous

It even comes with a trigger warning

Sam Leith

Gaming

Alone in the Dark is the granddaddy of video games

Now a lavish and loving reboot stars B+-listers David Harbour and Jodie Comer

Sam Leith

Gaming
January 23, 2024
The frustrating promise of infinite freedom in video games
For a game to work, it has to reach a complex balance of systems and narratives
Ross Anderson
Gaming
January 9, 2024
Video games are an art form
The language and concepts of gaming have come to saturate the world around us
Sam Leith
Gaming
February 1, 2023
The Sims adds double mastectomy scars and chest binders to game
Your favorite life simulator game is now trans-inclusive. WooHoo!
Cockburn
Television
January 16, 2023
The Last of Us is a video game adaptation that actually works
HBO has found a franchise with compelling enough characters and a rich world
Ben Domenech
Culture
June 14, 2022
Another moral panic over on-screen violence?
Movies and video games didn’t cause Uvalde but the questions don’t end there
Matt Purple
Science & Tech
December 26, 2021
Are we living in the Matrix?
Meet the very clever people who think our world is a simulation
Rizwan Virk
Gaming
August 31, 2021
Could the Chinese gaming clampdown backfire?
The CCP now permits minors just three hours of gaming a week
Ben Sixsmith
Art
December 11, 2020
The best video games to buy for Christmas
With the latest generation of consoles comes some great new games
Sam Leith
Humor
December 10, 2020
We need to cancel open-world video games
They provide a safe space for problematic individuals to ignore the teachings of social justice activists like myself
Jarvis Dupont
Art
May 21, 2020
Why do they call it a game? It is servitude: Nintendo Switch’s Animal Crossing reviewed
Lynn Barber isn’t sure she’s cut out to be The Spectator’s new gaming correspondent
Lynn Barber

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