The Sunday Papers
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Sundays are for changing into your second Halloween costume and returning to that house who gave out KitKat Chunkys. Before you go to hell, let's read this week's best writing about games.
For Polygon, Stephen Wilds wrote about Far Cry 6's accessibility options and how they are empowering for a legally blind player.
Far Cry games like to drug or inebriate their protagonists frequently, as well as splash blood across the screen when the player is near death. Thankfully, all of these effects, which have become a tired trope across myriad genres, can be turned off for those who already have trouble perceiving their virtual surroundings. Not only do these screen-changing visuals get me killed, but during certain missions, they prevent me from even finding my objective. The ability to remove these effects — along with the camera shake — increases my enjoyment tenfold. Far Cry may have developed a reputation for becoming stagnant as a series, but past the surface, as far as accessibility goes, it has continued to evolve.
Over on her site, Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster wrote about the mother of all fishing games.
This game really leans into fishing as an experience, the whole package of being there and getting yourself into a fishing mindset and doing all the fishing things, and so you don’t feel the parts where you’re not actually dangling a line into the water or when you are and nothing’s biting are wasted time – that’s just how the hobby is. To be doing those none-things is just as much a part of fishing as the act of actually landing a fish.
For Wired, Jackie Snow wrote about deepfake historical artefacts.
Al-Badri calls her use of technology on cultural artefacts “technoheritage,” an approach more interested in exploring the future than looking at the past. It’s not preserving some piece of history; it’s offering a new starting point for artists to extend our understanding of an object. This type of work could become increasingly widespread, especially after the pandemic, when many museums beefed-up digital collections to engage with the public.
For Eurogamer, Christian Donlan thinks he's figured out what Metroid Dread's bosses are for (for him, at least).
What about Metroid Dread though? I'm playing it and loving it, but I know - I always know with a Metroidvania - that at some point before the end I am going to need a break. And yet! Something has occurred to me this time and I think it might help. A kind of inversion of Hemingway's writing advice. This time, when I am stepping away for a bit, I will be stopping each time before a boss.
Finally, Zullie the Witch asks: What's inside the pot merchant's pot in Sekiro? If you're a fan of From Software's games, this channel is pure gold.
Music this week is Yeah by Mac Miller. Here's the YouTube link and Spotify link. A haunting beauty of a bonus track from the late Mac Miller's re-released mixtape "Faces".
That's me. Have a solid Sunday everyone!