by Thomas Pulsifer Little Nightmares II, released in 2020, is the prequel to 2017’s Little Nightmares. In this video game, players take control of Mono, a tiny, paper bag-wearing boy who’s name is never actually mentioned within the game itself. Mono teams up with a girl in a yellow raincoat named Six, and together, theyContinue reading "Close Playing – Little Nightmares II"

by Thomas Pulsifer After a long and terrifying journey, I’ve finally reached the end of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. I can say now with certainty that I’ve never played through a game quite like this one. With a story encompassing many generations, multiple playable protagonists, and hallucinations that range from humorous to skin-crawling, Eternal DarknessContinue reading "Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem – Final Journal"

by Thomas Pulsifer The plot thickens as I continue my riveting playthrough of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. I started this session by discovering a chapter inside of a glass jar in a closet. This chapter, titled “The Lurking Horror,” features Dr. Maximilian Roivas in 1760, the first instance of a playable character that’s a directContinue reading "Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem – Gaming Journal #3"

by Thomas Pulsifer My playthrough of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem continues, and things are starting to heat up. I started this session by beginning Chapter 3 – Suspicions of Conspiracy. In this chapter, you once again play as a new character in a different time period. This time, you take control of Anthony, a messengerContinue reading "Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem – Journal #2"

by Thomas Pulsifer It was hard to choose a game from the list of options for our second gaming journal, but I ultimately ended up going with Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. I’ve known of this game for quite a while, and I’ve been meaning to play it at some point, so this seems like theContinue reading "Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem – Journal #1"

by Thomas Pulsifer With the first journal for Games & Culture coming to a close, it’s time to gather my thoughts on the experience I’ve had with Return of the Obra Dinn as a whole. In this post, I’ll go over the visuals, the gameplay, the storytelling, and how these elements combine to form oneContinue reading "Return of the Obra Dinn: A Reflection"

by Thomas Pulsifer Finally! After uncovering every memory, I’ve managed to piece together the entire story of Return of the Obra Dinn! It wasn’t easy, and certainly took some trial and error, but managing to correctly identify the identities and fates of each crewmate is immensely satisfying. Of all the members of the Obra DinnContinue reading "Return of the Obra Dinn: Gaming Journal 9/26/21"

by Thomas Pulsifer I never thought I would find myself writing a follow-up to a visit to an arcade for a college class, but here we are! My visit to Reclaim Arcade was an absolute blast. In the past, I’ve been to places like Chuck E. Cheese, but I’ve never been to a dedicated arcadeContinue reading "Arcade Reflection"

by Thomas Pulsifer As I progress further through Return of the Obra Dinn, I continuously find myself surprised at every turn and glued to the edge of my seat. The fact that a game with this much depth has been created using nothing but still 3-D dioramas is incredibly impressive. Oftentimes, these scenes are framedContinue reading "Return of the Obra Dinn – Gaming Journal 9/12/21"

by Thomas Pulsifer Game Review: Dark Souls II Continuing on with my series of FromSoftware reviews, I’ll next be covering the infamous sequel to Dark Souls, Dark Souls II. It’s no secret that this game is the least well-received Soulsborne game developed by FromSoftware. Ask any Dark Souls fan which game they think is theContinue reading "Games & Culture: 9/9/21 Homework"

Game Review: Dark Souls (2011) It’s time for the second review in my series of FromSoftware reviews! This time, I’m covering the iconic classic that redefined gaming as a whole: Dark Souls. As mentioned in my previous review, due to licensing issues, Dark Souls is actually as blatant a ripoff of Demon’s Souls as FromSoftwareContinue reading "Games & Culture: 9/7/21 Homework"