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.
All tagged Video Games
Digger is weird, flawed, ambitious, and exactly what I want to see more of - and if large companies like Skydance and Disney won’t greenlight projects like that in the future, then that means it’s more important than ever to support independent filmmaking, smaller distributors, and emerging talent.
The quality of Saros’ storytelling is a byproduct of the many developers, systems, and layers of presentation that come together to create the package that is Saros. On a narrative front, they fail to align and elevate the core narrative that I see quality in at the very heart of this game.
The games industry needs another blue ocean because the writing is on the wall, just as it was for Nintendo over twenty years ago. A looming crisis is going to severely impact how accessible and affordable games will be for people, and the only way to circumvent this tragedy-to-be is to brainstorm another way forward.
At their core, video games are an expression of humanity. They are an expression of fun. And for the health of the industry, I think we need to return to projects that unrelentingly cognizant of that.
I’ve had difficulty praising Ghost of Yōtei ever since completing it, mostly because its positive qualities are clearly self-evident to anyone that’s already gotten a taste of this series with Tsushima. Ghost of Yōtei doesn’t add many new reasons to like this style of game nor does it create new positive qualities about it that were completely absent in what came before.
I played Kingdom Hearts because doing so gave me joy, and it reminds me that I want to write stories and make games to bring joy to others. There doesn’t have to be more to it than that. It may not be possible to be normal about Kingdom Hearts, but I think remembering the value of finding joy during our limited time in this world is the most normal, natural thing that we can possibly strive for.
Although Octopath Traveler 0 recycles content from both the original Octopath Traveler via settings and characters as well as Champions of the Continent via story and party members, it ultimately takes familiar elements to carve a new path forward. I think such an approach is deeply admirable, especially because it does so in the pursuit of ensuring that all the content produced in CotC will now permanently live on.
How much fan service is too much? At what point does fan service cause the broader experience to deteriorate? Does having fan service necessarily make something worse, and how so? We’re certainly part of the reason why fan service exists in the modern media landscape to the degree that it does. But we are also the reason that it can be kept in check.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake walks a fine line between respecting the mission of the original games while making them more mechanically and narratively satisfying to play.
Between the domination of indie developers throughout the year to the sheer variety of ideas posited in many of the year’s best games, 2025 was, in my eyes, a net gain for the overall direction that the games industry is headed on. Here are my top five games of 2025!
I truly hold my gameplay experience of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance with extremely high regard. This game offers some of the best turn-based combat I’ve ever experienced in a game. The game delivers excellent atmosphere that keeps the uniquely SMT twist of grunginess alive and fresh. There’s so much to like in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance that it makes its few shortcomings stick out even more.
Age of Imprisonment is a game that is itself imprisoned. Its commitment to tell a canon story and inherit the best (and worst) of Tears of the Kingdom’s mechanics and identity limits its overall potential. That isn’t enough to make the game a disappointment, but it is enough to bring into view the chasm that separates the game that Age of Imprisonment is versus the game it could have been.
Cracks of the original game’s shortcomings still manage to reveal themselves in this 2020 update, but Trials of Mana’s remake manages to at least surround those cracks with an armor that’s as pretty as it is promising. Trials of Mana is a promise about the potential of simplicity and how much of a place there is for games that meld simplicity and complexity.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge’s commitment to being different is an act of creative bravery - the kind of which we deserve to see more of in video games and beyond. Being different is an essential part of making art and we need to reward and celebrate the instances of game developers choosing to embrace making their games different from what’s come before.
Don’t let the gorilla on the box art fool you - Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the most human games in this moment. Bananza is a shining beacon of what the environment of the games industry can and should be: a fun-filled exploration of new ideas packed to the brim with charm, polish, and clear love from the developers.
Making a game work in an open world context isn’t something that can be done by just taking a game and having it take place in a larger, non-linear environment. It takes strong direction to make open worlds work, and even then, there are many instances where an open world is simply incongruous with realizing a game’s greatest potential.
Illustrating what a game’s entire design looks like in a relatively short amount of time goes a long way at convincing the player of a game’s mechanical depth and diversity. Micro-challenges help accomplish this. Through creating brief snippets of game design that compartmentalize and test different mechanics, players can get introduced and brought up to speed with various facets of a game without ever being bombarded with multiple mechanics at once.
Weirdness is a vital component to storytelling - one that fuels human creativity in a way that nothing else can. It is for that reason that the conversation around weirdness in media needs to shift.
Collection of Mana is a tough sell, given that two of its three games are disappointing messes in my mind. However, I do find it to be worthwhile peek into the series, especially for new fans introduced through the series’ more modern titles. In light of the frustration that I shouldered throughout my time with Secret and Trials of Mana, the optimist within me sees the potential that his collection occasionally gives players glimpses of.
Against all odds, this year still managed to bless us with incredible video game experiences, many of which will be sticking with me for decades to come. This is Derek Ex Machina’s definitive list of the top five video games of 2024.
