Hello, my friends! I hope you had a festive Halloween and made use of the extra hour gained from Daylight Savings (if your region participates in such nonsense, that is). I used to the extra hour to dive into Let’s Plays, and goodness was that time well spent. Come take a look at what we gathered this October in This Month in Let’s Plays.
This month, Noah Caldwell-Gervais analyzes three different zombie games (Left 4 Dead 2, Dying Light, and The Walking Dead) and considers how each creates horror differently, despite using the same monster.
Elsewhere, Castle Couch argues that the developers of The Swindle and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime both use procedurally generated levels to their own unique ends.
Over at Cannot Be Tamed, Pam takes a look at Rule of Rose, a rare and controversial horror game released to the PS2. To accompany her entire playthrough of the game, the video below offers a critical review. (Content Warning: graphic imagery of harmed bodies.)
Next Up, Danielle Reindeau and Patricia Hernandez play a loose creation of Alien: Isolation made in Mario Maker and compare it to the original game.
Stephen Beirne joins us this month with another Two-Minute Game Crit. In this episode, Beirne looks at Metro: Last Light and considers how the first levels of games set up a narrative design for the game.
Elsewhere, Heather Alexandra analyzes the complexity of authorial intent in The Beginner’s Guide and its seeming antagonism toward such in-depth analysis.
Over at History Respawned, Dr. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, an expert on The Boxer Rebellion, discusses the history of the Chinese Boxers in relation to their depiction in Bioshock Infinite. (Breaking style guide here by NOT embedding the video below, as the still image for the video contains a visual trigger for violence against women. Therefore it also goes without saying – Content Warning: graphic imagery and violence.)
Bringing us to a close this month is an LP series of Minecraft Blightfall from Aira Plays Games. This series takes an in-depth look at both the immersive world and its compelling story.
Thanks for joining me for This Month in Let’s Plays. As always, I delight in your submissions, which help me discover, curate, and include new voices here! Please send your submissions for November via Twitter using the hashtag #LetsPlayCD or via email!
In closing, I’ll remind you that in addition to cherishing your submissions, we cherish your support. If you’d like to make a contribution, visit us on Patreon or Recurrency.