Ctrlr publishes long-form independent game reviews and previews covering a broad range of releases. The writing in these excerpts is opinionated and well-crafted, with close attention to how games use mechanics, atmosphere and their own premises.
Website: https://www.ctrlr.net/
Design Room publishes long-form oral histories of video games, built from interviews with the people who made them, covering famous titles and obscure ones alike. Issues also include community features and occasional updates on the publication's paid tier and plans.
Games criticism by Nick Capozzoli, combining close reading of individual titles like Baby Steps and QWOP with essayistic arguments about how gaming discourse frames itself. The sample also includes a personal essay about losing a pet, which shows the writer's voice beyond games.
Brain Worms is an essay newsletter that explores strange and unusual questions about media, from genre labels in video games to cult-like books and the cultural history behind them. Each issue offers a long, witty, digressive piece that uses a quirky premise to examine how media works and how people think about it.
One short email a week with hand-picked newsletters from the index. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
