Unwinnable Monthly – April 2017
This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue Ninety. You can buy Issue Ninety now, or purchase a one-month subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!
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Hi gang!
Here’s another jam-packed issue of cultural criticism to read while you nurse your suddenly inescapable allergies. If you’re anything like me, you dread April and the pollen-y suffering it brings.
First off, I’d like to introduce our latest regular column, Monster Closets, by Brock Wilbur. Our resident comedian will be exploring obscure horror games of the last century and kicks off the column with a real gem: Haunting: Starring Polterguy. Yea, I’d never heard of it either, but trust me, you’re going to wish you had.
Elsewhere in Columnville, Gavin Craig is torn between gaming’s magnetic poles of Proteus and Lego Harry Potter. Megan Condis explores the world of competitive tickling. Casey Lynch hips us to the best metal of the month (spoiler: Mastodon’s new LP tops the list). Amanda Hudgins introduces us to male pregnancy. Corey Milne gives up on Resident Evil 7. Matt Marrone sees the first performance of Groundhog Day The Musical. I ponder what’s in it for the cultists who worship indifferent horrors like Cthulhu. Rob Rich shares his secrets for avoiding the videogame hype cycle. Jason McMaster ruminates on spoilers and Atlus’ ban on streaming Persona 4. Never let it be said that we’re not an eclectic bunch.
For our cover story, I’m pleased to welcome back long time Unwinnable alum Brendan Keogh, who had a lengthy chat with the always compelling composer and game developer David Kanaga. David’s game Oikospiel just won the Independent Games Festival Nuovo Award last month and he’s got plenty to talk about. The beautiful cover it art is by Ryan Vogler, who also finds himself in this month’s Artist Spotlight.
Meanwhile, Ethan Gach was on location at Philadelphia’s RGB LAN event to observe organizer Dave Sylvia’s attempt to preserve this endangered form of play and the surprising ways traditional LAN play is changing. Finally, in our Unreal Engine 4 sponsored story, we talk to Bruno De Araujo, the developer behind the forthcoming sci-fi exploration horror game Nebula: Sole Survivor.
That’s it for this one. If you dig it, show it to your friends!
Stu Horvath
Kearny, New Jersey
April 15, 2017
