Skyrim- Video Games As Art

I’ve owned Skyrim for over 10 years, initially getting the game for the Xbox 360, but never got around to playing it properly. I think that I found the sheer scope of the game intimidating and so never really got any further than the first hour or so. Getting the Nintendo Switch port I could pick it up and play and, during Covid and the long periods of lockdown, I poured a couple of hundred hours into it-finally completing it. I feel like I’ve got that monkey off my back, finally!

Now onto more shorter game experiences for a while before my next open-world game that takes over my life. In the meantime, check out these awesome screenshots from my 3 year long playthrough of this stunning game.

Little Nightmares 2- Video Games As Art

I loved the darkly beautiful Little Nightmares, a puzzle- platformer game with horror elements developed by Tarsier Studios. I loved the creepy characters that reminded me of various shows including Jim Henson's The Storyteller, the work of the Bolex Brothers and the unsettling creatures created by stop-motion supremo Jan Svankmajer. The art style was grotesque, and even though there were horrific scenarios, the imagery it created were beautiful that stuck in the mind long after the game ended.

I awaited the sequel with much excitement and am happy to report that Little Nightmares 2 builds on this world further and still features Six, alongside main protagonist Mono. The story is intriguing and is not a straightforward sequel or prequel but rather a more complex, wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey affair. I completed the game in about 6 hours in a couple of sittings and loved it. I also loved the advert which is a work of art itself with the mysterious illusionist Derren Brown narrating the nature of nightmares.

The Last of Us 2- Video Games As Art

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working my way through The Last of Us 2. I liked the first game just fine but didn’t really think it was the masterpiece many gamers claim it to be but to each their own. I found this game to be much the same; it's 30 or so hours of moving around long grass shanking people interspersed with intense gunplay and the occasional clicker in run down liminal spaces. It's a dark revenge story told interestingly through 2 perspectives but I felt it was overly long and the story dragged out a lot.

The game does have gorgeous graphics and bold storytelling (for a video game) and, whilst I don’t think it deserved all the hyperbolic praise or accolades it received (video games ‘Schindler’s List’ anyone?), it is definitely a game worth playing.

Röki- Video Games As Art

Röki is a point and click adventure game inspired by Scandinavian tales of yore, but there is no Thor or indeed any Gods from the Norse pantheon. Rather this is the local folklore of the region which has been untapped in gaming (with the exception of the wonderful ‘Year Walk’).

You play as Tove, a young girl touched by magic and the heroine of the story. Over the course of around 12 hours, you are tasked with unraveling the mysteries of a mystical forest and its hidden pathways as you seek to save your brother, captured by a dark spirit. Along the way you find curious items, engage with intriguing creatures, and journey into Tove’s memories to directly confront her past as she attempts to save her family.

The game is presented in a beautiful picture book style, which is complimented with the cel art style, whilst the gameplay is rooted in non-violent environmental puzzle solving. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and liked the button click which made items glow, this prevented the frustration of pixel hunting for random items which plagued older titles in the genre.

A Short Hike- Video Games As Art

I've been playing a lot of open world games lately and whilst it has been amazing to explore the 9 realms of Norse mythology (God of War), the skyscrapers of New York (Spiderman) and a post-apocalyptic world strewn with robotic animals (Horizon: Zero Dawn), I was getting 'stunningly rendered world with amazing bloom lighting effect' fatigue. So I decided to take a bit of a break, by playing 'A Short Hike', an open world game where you explore an island with the purpose of scaling a mountain to receive reception for an important phone call. The difference between this open world game and the others is that it a tightly contained 1 1/2 hour game with no extra padding. It has a few fetch quests but I can count them on one hand and all are achievable in a couple of minutes. There isn't a map and as a result there isn't a splooge of icons like an irritating shopping list. No, it's concise and relaxing... Just what was needed after the intensity and demands of the other games. I love the colourful isometric Nintendo 3DS art style and the cute but concise dialogue. It's a charming game and well work the few quid on investment. 

God of War- Video Games As Art

God of War is a stunning game which puts you in the shoes of Kratos, an angry dad who has to take the ashes of his dead wife up a mountain in order to give her a good sendoff. But, he has to take his sullen teen son along for the ride and so we have a crazy ‘Plane, Trains and Automobiles’ style- romp through Norse mythology. Okay, so I’ve kinda tszujed it up but this is very much the ‘middle-aged angry dad looking after a kid’ trope but this is an amazing one. The story is compelling, the voice acting top notch and the graphics are stunning.

Check out my screenshots from the playthrough as this is one of the most gorgeous looking games I've ever played.

Control- Video Games As Art

Control is an intriguing game in which you play as the Director of a secretive New York agency tasked with keeping a supernatural force at bay. So far so videogamey, but what seperates this game from others is the strange dynamic Old House, the building that changes, grows and moves. This makes the play space intriguing and constantly in a state of flux, adding to the sense of confusion. It reminded me of Mark. Z. Danielewski’s stunning ‘House of Leaves’ with hints of ‘Twin Peaks’. The game is stunning and on my playthrough I took some great shots.

Call of Cthulhu- Video Games As Art

In these interesting times that we are living in, it’s easy to go dystopian and apocalyptic, thinking the end of the world is nigh! However, it shall all pass and we shall be the better for it. I prefer my brand of ‘end of days’ talk to be pure cosmicism; the sad realisation and existential dread that we humans are insignificant beings in the larger scheme of things with no power to change anything in the vast, indifferent universe that surrounds us. Yup, I’m a H.P. Lovecraft fan, not his racism or outdated and bigoted views on miscegenation of course which are problematic to say the least, but his horror writing. The concept that the protagonists in his stories never win as they face entities beyond their comprehension is thrilling and the ‘Call of Cthulhu’ video game taps into that. It’s a AA game (like a B-Movie but a video game in that it’s not quote ‘indie’ but not a heavy hitter either) and in this game the story is king. It’s a weird tale of an island, a mysterious fire, cults and Cthulhu… of course, Cthulhu. At about 10 hours the game doesn’t stick around but it is interesting and the story will keep you intrigued until the end. Check out screenshots from my play through.