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When the Developer Is the Problem: How Controversy Reshaped Heartbound's Steam Reviews

What happens to Steam reviews when the controversy is about the developer, not the game? A data study of 3,589 Heartbound reviews finds out.

The Day Final Fantasy Died

Final Fantasy was once more than just a video game series — it was an experience that made you feel something no other RPG could. But at some point, that magic disappeared.

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Music Video 1

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Nier Automata Isn't About What You Think

Nier Automata explores what AI truly is. And it's different from what movies and games usually tell us. This video essay examines the gap between how artificial intelligence is portrayed in media versus how it actually works in the real world.

Arc Raiders: Why Strangers Help Each Other

Arc Raiders broke the unwritten rule of extraction shooters: players actually help each other. After 20 years of toxic lobbies, rage quits, and extract camping, I found a game where strangers revive you, share loot, and cooperate against the machines. This video essay explores the game design, psychology, and game

Why Everyone Refuses to Talk About Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is a game people refuse to explain. Not because they’re elitist. Not because it’s complicated. But because the game is built out of knowledge — and knowledge breaks when you hand it to someone too early. This video breaks the first rule of Outer Wilds. It’s

Dark Souls is a Marxist Horror Story

Dark Souls is often described as bleak, punishing, and hopeless - but why does its world feel so broken? In this video essay, I explore Dark Souls as a horror story about decay, labor, and exploitation, reading the game through a Marxist lens. From endless cycles of work and hollowing,

How Disco Elysium Dances with Collapse

Disco Elysium isn’t just a game - it’s a meditation on collapse, memory, ideology, and the echoes we live among. In this video essay, I explore how disco, Revachol, and the rise and fall of the ZA/UM collective all reflect the same tragic rhythm: the moment after

How Video Games Aren't Truly Yours

The Video game industry does not look good. And Ubisoft talks about a world where players do not own their games. But, what does it even mean to own a game? If you want to support my work you can buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/davemarian Follow me

Elden Ring's Symbols: Miquella the Kind

Miquella is the most mysterious and most enigmatic character in Fromsoft's Elden ring and in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC we get a lot more lore and information on him. However, there is also a lot of symbolism that refers to different real life ideas and ideologies