The first ChoiceBeat of 2025 has hit the stands, and we’ve got some great reviews and articles for you!
For our last issue, I dove into the gritty world of Fallen Hero. This time, I opted for a lighter take on the superpower genre, The Hero Unmasked! by Christopher Huang. If you’d like to give it a try as well, there’s a generous coupon to help you get started!
I also reviewed an itch.io game, Dominion of Darkness, which allows you to step into a high-fantasy world - as the villain. If you’re a fan of @adrao’s games, particularly Raiders of the Icepeak Mountains and Life as a Lich, you"ll probably enjoy it.
Matt Griffin (aka @Mifga) once again elevates our intellectual discourse with a glimpse into the world of game poems. (I didn’t know what a game poem was either until I read his piece.) His interview with Jordan Magnuson, author of Game Poems: Videogame Design as Lyric Practice, will invite you to explore an artistic potential in games that you’ve likely never imagined.
Whether you’re looking for a surreal game or a scary one, a thoughtful essay about the environmental impact of game preservation, or just a guide to the waifu potential of various male pigeons, you can find it here!
I have started to go through all the back issues. I really love this mag, you all do such a great job covering that large muddy area around IF-style games past and present. Used to be a computer game mag addict and having something cover this corner of the gamerverse is great. Very entertaining and interesting.
I wonder, would you ever do a limited print of issues? Or maybe a collector issue with, say six mags bound in a volume? I know I can print them out myself but having that glossy mag feel of old would be even better.
Maybe you do and I missed something?
If not, no fear. Just want to say thanks to all of you who put this together.
I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying our zine, including the back issues. There’s a small core team of us putting a lot of love into every issue, and it means the world to us to know there are readers who share our enthusiasm.
We’ve never done a print run, although when I pointed out that our next issue is due to come out a day before NarraScope, Matt and I tossed around the idea of printing a few issues to distribute there. (If we do, I’ll see that you get one if you’re willing to give me a mailing address.) The idea of putting together a special edition print volume with back issues is deeply appealing, but I’m not sure there’s enough interest to make it worth our while.
I’m definitely going to share your message with the rest of the team, however. Even if nothing much comes of it, they’ll be thrilled to hear from a fan!
