DEREK EX MACHINA, created by author and editor Derek L.H., is a blog dedicated to exploring the effect that video games and film have on people.
Banjo-Tooie is a cautionary tale about what happens when you try so hard to create something revolutionary and new that you partially forget what made the original experience so magical for a lot of people.
Few movies explore this experience as succinctly and genuinely as A Real Pain. Through a script that masterfully balances chaotic discomfort and quietude, A Real Pain makes for one of the best film experiences of the year.
Heretic is a supremely smart, hilarious, and disturbing movie that masterfully balances emotion, logic, and skepticism to craft a story that is sure to inspire broader, deeper conversations about faith and its relationship with control among its audience.
Persona 3 Reload doesn’t need to exist, but I’m glad that it does. This remake is a case of refinement over reinvention - aside from a fresh coat of paint and a couple additions here and there, Reload is ultimately concerned with presenting Persona 3 in a way that’s on par with Atlus’ more recent titles. In that context, Reload is as great of an execution of this mission as you can get.
The theme of trusting your spirit to understand how you want to live your life is an idea that transcends age, gender, nationality, and walk of life. We all have a lot to learn from our spirit, but doing so isn’t an inherently easy thing to do. This is precisely what makes Kiki’s Delivery Service a timeless classic.
Exhibiting Forgiveness is an emotional adventure that smartly and gracefully investigates how the broken relationships of the past can inform the new relationships we build in the future. This film excellently reveals information to its audience in a way that humanizes the very real pain experienced and brought about by its characters in honest, profound way.
Look Back is a tender, heartfelt exploration of how much can change in what feels like a short amount of time. So many aspects of our lives shift throughout time. Look Back is an excellent, bittersweet exploration of these shifts and how they inform the person we become.
A Different Man is a film ultimately concerned with our relationship with individuality and the comparisons we make with others through highlighting two characters' opposite relationships with their attitude towards the world and their disabilities.
Beyond providing a fun adventure with stellar and stylish animation, The Wild Robot concerns itself with providing believable characters that overcome believable obstacles that much of its audience, regardless of age, will connect with.
Theming is at the very core of The Substance. This is a film that is ultimately concerned with having a conversation with its audience - a conversation about what leads people to develop ideas that cause them to hate themselves and what they look like.
Despite all the darkness currently surrounding the industry, games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Astro Bot prove to be a beacon of light that remind us that there is still always hope for the future of games. Games that embrace fun, creativity, style, developer expression, and consumer-friendly release models still exist and they’re still thriving.
Whisper of the Heart revels in the meaning and impact of progress and how deeply complicated but ultimately rewarding that process can be. It can take years or even decades before we truly know what we want to do with our lives. And that’s okay - navigating that process in our own way is precisely what makes us human.
Through intelligent framing and using the audiences familiarity with the film’s genre against them, Strange Darling subverts and weaponizes audience expectations, making them just as much of a victim as the many characters who get bested in the film.
Sing Sing stands far above its contemporaries due to its uniquely authentic and intellectual approach to its story, performances, and themes about hope, humanity, and integrity. This film respects those whose story this film is based on while also being a story full of heart and humanity that its depicted inmates share.
Dìdi is a special film thanks to its dedication to authenticity. [The film] authentically captures the struggle of becoming emotionally intelligent in a way that everyone can understand - especially those that also grew up in an era where technology and the internet grew alongside us.
Final Fantasy VII Remake turned Final Fantasy VII into a game that I like into something that I am actively looking forward to seeing more of. It’s a special game that gives me a new degree of optimism and hope for the future of Final Fantasy - which is perhaps that greatest thing that Final Fantasy VII Remake could have possibly given me.
Yakuza 4 is a textbook example of what a sequel should be - it takes the foundation of what the previous game established and builds upon and improves what was there. Yakuza 4 simply feels a lot more fun to play and tells a story that, through its more stylized structure, is one that feels more dramatic, emotional, and impactful. While it still doesn’t quite reach the heights of later entries, Yakuza 4 is clearly a stepping stone that transitions the series from an awkward, transitionary phase to a greater, more polished experience.
Many people love NieR Replicant because of its ambition, unconventional approach to gameplay and storytelling, and such ambition is admittedly alluring. While it doesn’t shield my eyes from the clear issues that hold the game back from true greatness, I still feel that NieR Replicant is a game that deserves to be experienced, if only to get more people thinking about how games can continue to telling captivating stories only capable through the medium of video games.
Especially in an era where RPGs are leaning towards telling more complex, adult stories, it was incredibly refreshing to visit the world of Grandia. The battle mechanics are satisfying and strategic, but the true magic of Grandia lies in its ostensible charm in its storytelling, worldbuilding, and characters. Grandia invites players to give in to their natural senses of adventure, wonder, and curiosity, and it gloriously succeeds in doing so.
The JRPG genre is not as hard to get into as some may think. The games discussed here are proof that the genre is capable of being welcoming to newcomers. Regardless of which JRPG you start with, know that the genre is beloved for a reason. They transport players to other worlds to explore, offer various characters to talk to, and deliver gameplay experiences that can be strategic, stylish, and satisfying.
