InsomniaVideogame Culture2018-10-10T01:26:00+00:00Alex KierkegaardPatreon: New private Discord text channel and role for Sponsors2018-10-10T01:26:00+00:00There has been some demand for an off-topic text channel on Discord to chat about all the non-videogamey subjects that I post about in my philosophy forum, and I finally decided to create it.Patreon: Bugs my Ass2018-10-08T13:13:42+00:00As long as a game is even remotely playable, bugs are essentially outside the scope of criticism...Patreon: Insomnia Podcast #22018-10-07T01:49:17+00:00With the last podcast we lost one patron; SriK of course, a mere few hours after the update went up. Let's hope everyone else is not as thin-skinned...Review: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (3/5)2018-10-06T19:29:01+00:00Dracula with all the charm removed. It looks the part but it's unexciting and too easy.Review: State of Decay 2 (3/5)2018-10-06T19:29:01+00:00Beta DLC of the original with even more clunkiness and bugs and repetition, and even less story.Review: Post Scriptum (5/5)2018-10-02T18:46:45+00:00You pay full price for the game, you can't choose your own weapon, and a squad lead you have never met gets to control your experience. Fuck this game.Review: Death's Gambit (2/5)2018-10-02T03:05:47+00:00The frames per second are lower than the number of white blood cells in a cancer patient.Review: Chasm (2/5)2018-10-02T03:05:47+00:00Like a mix of Dead Cells and Rogue Legacy but ten times worse.Patreon: Help me test Nietzschean psychoanalysis2018-09-28T09:47:29+00:00Fast-forward to today, and I believe I am at a stage where I can test out this method on live subjects.Patreon: Not Art: GuitarFreaks (1999) - Part III2018-09-28T06:27:44+00:00Music, in other words, should be the dominant consideration only in pure music; and in all the other artforms, where it makes sense to include it at all, it should assume a subservient role...Patreon: Not Art: GuitarFreaks (1999) - Part II2018-09-28T01:41:46+00:00"Party" games, "social" games, "serious" games, "art" games, "independent" games: these are all lies; Orwellian doublespeak that means precisely the opposite of what it says...Patreon: Not Art: GuitarFreaks (1999) - Part I2018-09-26T04:20:11+00:00What's worse is that, even when viewed as mere music simulators, these programs still suck.Review: Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia (3/5)2018-09-26T01:14:52+00:00Less is not more. More is more. Quit streamlining! The crowd that plays Total War games does not want this.Review: Kenshi (5/5)2018-09-26T01:14:52+00:00An ambitious mess of completely different genres with a janky UI that runs like trash. And it's absolutely amazing.Review: Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War (3/5)2018-09-17T21:11:38+00:00Sid Meier's Civilization: 40k... but there is only WAR.Review: Jurassic World Evolution (3/5)2018-09-17T21:11:38+00:00God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs. God creates Man, man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.Patreon: Celebrating Insomnia's redesign2018-09-13T15:43:55+00:00I just launched a little contest over on Insomnia to celebrate the recent redesign...Patreon: Videogame Art: Life is Feudal: MMO (2017) - Part I2018-09-11T13:41:17+00:00I have news for you, buddy: if you aren't "ruining" your life over it, to some extent or another, you are not playing a great game...Patreon: icycalm Patreon breaks top 500 gaming Patreons2018-09-08T13:19:09+00:00My Patreon broke $700 today and got into the top 500 gaming Patreons (455 out of 8,258, to be exact).Patreon: How Devs Like Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch are Holding Gaming to Ransom2018-09-06T12:35:19+00:00It's time to talk about this, and once more, as usual, our analysis must be brutal.Review: Phantom Doctrine (3/5)2018-09-05T20:28:53+00:00I named my spy David Hasselhoff after the famous CIA agent who brought down the Berlin Wall, reunited Germany and started the communist collapse with just his powerful voice and inspirational lyrics.Review: Deathgarden (2/5)2018-09-05T20:28:53+00:00You know that one kid in high school that always gets picked on by people? Well play as the Hunter and relive the dream.Patreon: Hardware Review: Blade Shadow2018-09-01T08:48:06+00:00I haven't written a hardware piece in years, but it's only fitting that the best hardware development in years would be the one to bring me back to the subject with a vengeance.Patreon: How To Not Use Genres Like A Retard2018-08-30T10:41:47+00:00Do not abuse the terminology we need to analyze games, or even to merely communicate between us.Review: The Crew 2 (3/5)2018-08-30T01:43:39+00:00Just wait for Forza Horizon 4.Review: They Are Billions (5/5)2018-08-30T01:43:39+00:00Hodor could not hold this door. Even if he was there to hold the door, there's billions. Good luck beating the first level!Review: Detroit: Become Human (4/5)2018-08-23T20:18:09+00:00Quantic Dream's best game.Review: Monster Hunter: World (3/5)2018-08-23T20:18:09+00:00Monster Runner Degenerations.Patreon: Insomnia Podcast #12018-08-22T01:09:12+00:00On icy's evolving tastes, JRPGs, East vs. West, the state of 2D gaming, SriK's game vs. icy's game, the global studio, and much more.Cosmic War: Why Team Matchmaking is the Opposite of Team-making2018-08-21T15:08:08+00:00Because a Team of Strangers is no TeamPatreon: icycalm reviews Hunt: Showdown2018-08-20T21:33:43+00:00It all comes together to create a PVP free-for-all (it's 2v2v2v2v2) unlike anything on the market today, or in the genre ever.Review: Vampyr (3/5)2018-08-16T16:52:15+00:00Nosferatu: Ace Attorney.Review: Moonlighter (2/5)2018-08-16T16:52:15+00:00Recettear for hipsters instead of weebs.Patreon: Patreon archive access is now tier-based2018-08-11T10:25:53+00:00This is not an update that I enjoy making, but in order to preserve my peace of mind, and thus remain able to operate at maximum efficiency, I have to make it.Patreon: The Death of Discussion2018-08-11T03:18:30+00:00And the greatest cause in the death of discussion, believe it or not, is me.Patreon: icycalm reviews Space Engineers2018-08-09T06:53:02+00:00Don't listen to the kids and journalists: the coolest new genre is not Battle Royale, it's the Survival/Crafting genre (or, as I prefer to call it, the Domination genre: mere survival is for losers).Review: Seven: The Days Long Gone (4/5)2018-08-09T01:23:13+00:00You create a super badass assassin, with crazy high dexterity and acrobatics, and that guy? He can't vault a friggin barrel. And until Seven I thought, "Welp, I guess that's how it has to be".Review: Slay the Spire (2/5)2018-08-08T03:13:25+00:00Two roads diverged in a yellow map. I took one of them and died.Patreon: More reviews of current games coming from me soon2018-07-31T18:40:21+00:00The upshot of all this is that I will slowly start increasing my output of reviews of current games.Patreon: Videogame Art: OutRun (1986)2018-07-30T15:27:58+00:00It was so hugely successful and remains so hugely influential in our collective gaming imagination, because it speaks of nothing but eternal truths. Driving is awesome. Ferraris must be red. Girls must be blonde.Review: Octopath Traveler (3/5)2018-07-28T20:08:23+00:00The best JRPG exclusive on the Switch, but that's not saying much.Review: Darkest Dungeon (5/5)2018-07-28T20:08:23+00:00Had a favorite character once. I go visit him at the graveyard from time to time. 10/10 would send him to his doom again.Review: Blazblue Cross Tag Battle (3/5)2018-07-25T00:35:37+00:00From the makers of Blazblue: Centralfiction comes Blazblue: Fanfiction, aka Babby's First Fighting Game.Review: The Swords of Ditto (2/5)2018-07-23T15:05:31+00:00Do yourself a favor and don't waste the time you have on this earth on this game, cause you don't eventually unlock the ability to rewind some of it back.Patreon: icycalm reviews Synthetik2018-07-21T11:37:03+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.Review: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (3/5)2018-07-21T00:44:44+00:00Got game over in like 15 minutes for telling god "no".Review: A Way Out (2/5)2018-07-19T08:17:00+00:00For children who either haven't seen a prison movie or find anything more challenging than counting to three a struggle.Patreon: Designing An MMORPG That Doesn't Suck, or The True Episodic Gaming2018-07-17T22:22:56+00:00So you'll be making a world in which the person who has less of a life wins, essentially rewarding players who are harming themselves! Such a game design is not merely bad, but should be illegal!Patreon: Defining Cutscenes2018-07-10T22:56:46+00:00As far as our definition is concerned, the problem is that a rigorous application of it would classify everything as a cutscene, since every moment of a game between button presses is, strictly speaking, "non-interactive".Review: Pathologic (2005) (5/5)2018-07-06T01:13:58+00:00Have you ever wanted to play a Russian novel in all its bleakness and existentialism? Probably not, but here it is anyway.Patreon: The Insomnia Podcast2018-07-04T11:56:34+00:00icycalm launches the best videogame-related podcast ever, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Not Art: StarCraft (1998)2018-07-01T07:57:56+00:00If StarCraft is this awesome, ground-breaking game, how come there are no awesome, ground-breaking essays analyzing it?Patreon: How Art Works2018-06-28T01:56:29+00:00But it is important to realize that to ask for realism from art, when the entire point of it is illusion, is a deeply anti-artistic demand.Patreon: Because everything icycalm makes is awesome2018-06-24T12:05:53+00:00To complete the revamp of the Patreon reward tiers, I've thrown all books, games and merchandise I will release in the $50+ tier.Patreon: Against Retro2018-06-21T13:47:42+00:00What my readers probably don't know is that I am not a fan of REAL retro games either, and what I'll do now is try to explain why.Patreon: Introducing CULT GAMES2018-06-17T18:22:35+00:00So it's time to make it official: I have started a dev studio, and we're already working on our first two games (simultaneously, in different genres).Patreon: On Nerd Psychology and The Ultimate Goal of Videogames2018-06-16T14:59:37+00:00I mean, does anyone honestly think that the people who made Spacewar had Mushihime-sama in mind, instead of science fiction novels and movies?Patreon: Not Art: Half-Life (1998)2018-06-02T18:34:31+00:00icycalm reviews Half-Life, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Not Art: Tetris (1984)2018-06-01T06:14:39+00:00icycalm reviews Tetris, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: VR Is Stalling For No Reason2018-05-31T08:13:32+00:00Understand that there's nothing particularly special about a VR headset compared to a monitor or TV or projector, IT'S JUST A FUCKING DISPLAY YOU STUPID FUCKING MONKEYS.Patreon: Why I Don't Bother With Card Games2018-05-31T08:13:32+00:00See how simple the analysis is if you know what you are talking about? I just reviewed all electronic card games ever in a couple of sentences.Review: Kingdom Come: Deliverance (5/5)2018-05-31T01:26:54+00:00SJWs hate this game/10Review: Into the Breach (2/5)2018-05-31T01:26:54+00:00Reinstall FTL, you know it's better.Review: State of Decay (3/5)2018-05-31T01:26:54+00:00The most realistic Bush administration Katrina simulator on the market.Review: Frostpunk (3/5)2018-05-22T02:03:39+00:00Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sawdust is good for you.Patreon: How to Deal with Backlogs2018-05-17T20:22:58+00:00icycalm explains, exclusively on Patreon, the correct way to think about gaming backlogs, and how to clear them within days, if not indeed instantaneously.Review: E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy (2011) (5/5)2018-05-16T21:20:27+00:00In Deus Ex, you hack door. In E.Y.E, door hacks you.Patreon: $25 reward tier now includes access to my philosophy forum2018-05-15T21:15:32+00:00Those who pledge at this level will be contacted by JC Denton to set up or reactivate their accounts, or you can contact him first at admin@culture.vg.Patreon: Why The Best Games Also Have The Best Graphics2018-05-13T21:14:23+00:00Have you noticed that, through the entire history of videogames, the best games also tend to have the best graphics? icycalm explains why, among many other things, exclusively on Patreon.Review: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) (5/5)2018-05-11T22:15:41+00:00The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever.Review: Sea of Thieves (3/5)2018-05-08T18:19:56+00:00$60 DirectX 12 sea simulator FTW.Review: Far Cry 5 (4/5)2018-05-08T17:12:30+00:00Those Duck Dynasty guys took it too far this time.Review: God of War (2018) (3/5)2018-05-08T01:48:56+00:00The new God of War tries to open up the franchise's design, but not very successfully.Patreon: The Myth of Toxicity2018-05-04T00:41:11+00:00icycalm explains, exclusively on Patreon, why the charge of "toxicity" in games boils down to nothing less than an attack on masculinity itself.Patreon: Why Science Fiction Is The Ultimate Videogame Theme2018-04-29T15:09:11+00:00icycalm explains why science fiction is the ultimate videogame theme, and much more, exclusively on Patreon.Review: RimWorld (5/5)2018-04-25T19:57:53+00:00If we were only allowed to have two videogames for the rest of our lives, it would be this and Mount & Blade.Patreon: The Myth of Accessibility2018-04-23T18:12:09+00:00icycalm explains, exclusively on Patreon, why there is never any reason to use the word "accessibility" in connection with videogames.Patreon: Not Art: Quake (1996)2018-04-22T19:58:46+00:00icycalm reviews Quake, exclusively on Patreon.Review: Xenoblade 2 (3/5)2018-04-22T13:24:45+00:00How many hoops are you willing to jump through to reach Elysium?Review: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (5/5)2018-04-22T11:13:47+00:00Bipolar Tomb Raider doesn't need Adderall or a $60 pricetag to look, play, and feel more polished than any other game this year.Review: Owlboy (2/5)2018-04-20T21:21:45+00:00Can't wait for part two to come out in another ten years!Review: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (4/5)2018-04-20T19:12:57+00:00Buy this game, only if your wallet exceeds 3.5 inches in width, and your credit card's number ends with a four. If not, proceed to section 6e, "Earning a paycheck".Review: Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (3/5)2018-04-20T17:50:24+00:00America gets nuked so the president becomes an anime.Review: Middle-earth: Shadow of War (3/5)2018-04-19T01:56:35+00:00It seems one simply does walk through Mordor...Patreon: icycalm reviews Cuphead2018-04-18T18:37:12+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.Review: Ori and the Blind Forest (2/5)2018-04-16T07:45:21+00:00Anime Princess Celestia-Samus and a lame balloon-fairy sidekick save the Great Japanese Deku Tree and his forest.Review: Radical Heights (4/5)2018-04-16T00:34:08+00:00Downloaded as a meme. Can't believe I ended up actually enjoying it.Patreon: icycalm reviews Fortnite Battle Royale2018-04-10T00:24:03+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: To Everyone Trying To Play Mushihime-sama Because Of My VGART Essay2018-04-09T16:01:17+00:00Danmaku for beginners.Patreon: Why Steam Curation Algorithms Are Doomed To Eternal Failure2018-04-06T04:19:52+00:00Valve's efforts to improve their curation algorithms are failing, and no one knows why. icycalm explains all, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Insomnia Magazine?2018-04-01T11:39:32+00:00It all began when we made the new Insomnia logo.Review: Pitfall! (1982) (5/5)2018-03-31T01:40:31+00:00Welcome to the jungle, in the world's first true action game.Review: Mystery House (1980, AII) (5/5)2018-03-31T01:40:31+00:00The lights keep going out and the corpses keep-a-coming in the first graphic adventure ever.Patreon: The Console Wars Are Over2018-03-25T01:34:08+00:00After 46 years, the console wars are over, and the winner is not who you think it is. icycalm explains all, exclusively on Patreon.Review: Super Mario Brothers (1985) (5/5)2018-03-24T14:59:09+00:00The best Mario review ever written, and by a huge margin.Patreon: Videogame Art: Mushihime-sama (2004)2018-03-21T22:51:51+00:00icycalm reviews Mushihime-sama, exclusively on Patreon.Review: Far Cry (2004) (5/5)2018-03-21T18:07:42+00:00Takes tactical shootery to the unbelievably great outdoors.Review: Shenmue Isshou: Yokosuka (1999) (5/5)2018-03-21T16:37:57+00:00It put the "Dream" in Dreamcast.Review: M.U.L.E. (1983) (5/5)2018-03-21T14:55:42+00:00Because sharing is for losers.Patreon: Videogame Art: Power Stone (1999)2018-03-16T18:53:30+00:00icycalm reviews Power Stone, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Rewards update2018-03-12T09:22:58+00:00Changes to the pledge tiers and corresponding rewards.Patreon: Upcoming Reviews Mar '17 Edition2018-03-03T14:48:26+00:00Breakdown, Colonization, Power Stone and much more!Patreon: icycalm reviews They Are Billions (I)2018-03-02T00:15:49+00:00Part I of icycalm's review of They Are Billions, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Not Art: Master of Orion (1993)2018-02-28T21:53:18+00:00icycalm reviews Master of Orion, exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: icycalm reviews Assassin's Creed (2007)2018-02-27T00:24:12+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Not Art: Crusader Kings (2004)2018-02-24T15:18:43+00:00icycalm reviews Crusader Kings, exclusively on Patreon.Review: Iconoclasts (2/5)2018-01-26T23:48:08+00:00Good news is, it'll take him another seven years to make another turd, so we won't have to deal with his crap again anytime soon.Review: Killer 7 (2005) (5/5)2018-01-18T15:04:57+00:00All killer — no filler.Review: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002) (5/5)2018-01-17T02:10:50+00:00A lovingly crafted game of gothic horror.cosmicwar.net: What Is Insomnia Legion And Why PA Needs It2018-01-13T20:08:25+00:00This is the Future of Planetary Annihilation.Review: Moria (1975) (5/5)2018-01-10T01:31:04+00:00It's about time I wrapped up my coverage of the earliest CRPGs that I started a couple of years ago with The Dungeon (AKA pedit5,1975) and continued with The Game of Dungeons (AKA dnd, 1975) and Oubliette (1978).Patreon: icycalm reviews Total War: Arena2018-01-09T02:07:40+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.Patreon: Shopping List Jan '18 Edition2018-01-07T19:04:25+00:00Cuphead, Iconoclasts, XBONEX and much more!Patreon: For The King impressions2018-01-07T05:21:24+00:00Don't miss this little gem!Patreon: icycalm reviews Dragon's Crown2017-12-24T02:20:12+00:00Exclusively on Patreon.