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Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital): Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 2

Jason

with Jeremy Andriano (Host) and Jason Boyd Broadcast date: 12 December 2025 Writer: Jeremy Andriano Producer: Jeremy Andriano Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital is an exploration-based adventure game set in a cozy, at times confusing, and often dangerous solar system that the player soon discovers only has 22 minutes left to exist. However, the player is stuck in a time loop, which results in their restarting those same 22 minutes over and over again. Will that be enough time for the player to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and perhaps save the solar system? In many ways, the … Continue reading Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital): Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 2

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Silent Hill f: Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 1

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (Host), Jeremy Andriano, and Alex Hurezeanu Broadcast date: 31 October 2025 Writer: Chelsea Russell Producer: Jeremy Andriano Silent Hill f, a psychologically dense entry in the Silent Hill series that relocates the franchise’s signature anxieties from late-20th-century New England to mid-20th-century Japan, exploring Showa-era expectations around purity, obedience, marriageability, and reputation though the life of its main character, High school student Shimizu Hinako. The game literalizes those pressures as floral, fibrous horror growing through a town and a teenage girl’s life, using social horror—bullying, communal shame, adult euphemisms—to make the supernatural feel like an extension of everyday … Continue reading Silent Hill f: Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 1

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Storyteller

Jason

https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/storyteller Entry by Leila Kazeminejad A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator(s): Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Annapurna Interactive: https://annapurnainteractive.com/en  Date of Original Release: March 23, 2023 Platforms: PC, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Netflix Peripherals Required: Keyboard/mouse or Touchscreen-enabled device; speakers/headphones ESRB Rating: T (Teen) Awards & Distinctions:  Version used for entry: 1.1.18 (October 16, 2023) for PC B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Narrative Puzzle Time to complete: Approximately 2 hours. Time to completion largely depends on how quickly the player is able to solve the puzzles. For 100% completion, around 3 hours of game-time is recommended. Replay required/useful?: A single playthrough is … Continue reading Storyteller

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Pools: Unarchived, Season 3, Episode 6

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (host), Andrew Bailey, Jason Boyd, Patrick R. Dolan Broadcast Date: 2 June 2025 Writer: Chelsea Russell (with Jason Boyd) Producer: Patrick R. Dolan Bonus Summer Episode! Inspired by liminal space aesthetics, Pools (2024) is a first-person exploration game set in a bewildering, seemingly endless complex of swimming pools. Pools is a minimalist game—there’s no heads-up display or status bar, no dialogue, no clear objectives, no monsters, no NPCs, no dialogue, no text, no soundtrack, no death, no puzzles, no resource gathering, no inventory, no tools, no quests. You can look around, walk (or run), crouch, swim, and … Continue reading Pools: Unarchived, Season 3, Episode 6

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Dredge

Jason

https://www.dredge.game/ Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Black Salt Games Studio website: https://www.blacksaltgames.com/ Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Team17 Date of original release: March 30, 2023 Platforms: Windows; macOS; PlayStation 4/5; Nintendo Switch; Xbox One; Xbox Series X/S; iOS; Android Peripherals required: Mouse/keyboard, game controller  ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: PlayStation 5 Version 1.4.0 B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Open world, exploration, role-playing, nautical/fishing, horror Time to complete: Main Story: 9.5 hours; Completionist: 19 hrs (https://howlongtobeat.com/game/94128)  Replay required/useful?: No. All quests conclude in the same way (assuming the player succeeds) and both endings can be … Continue reading Dredge

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Unarchived podcastLeave a comment

Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 5)

Jason

with Alexander Hurezeanu (Host), Jason Boyd, Kevin Ghouchandra, Chelsea Russell Broadcast Date: 18 March, 2025 Writer: Alexander Hurezeanu (with Jason Boyd) Producer: Jeremy Andriano Disco Elysium is a unique role-playing game that blends thoughtful storytelling, detective work, and philosophical exploration. Set in a sprawling, crumbling city called Revachol, the player controls a hard-boiled detective who wakes up with amnesia and no memory of who he is. The game’s story revolves around solving a murder mystery, but its true focus is on the player character’s internal struggle and attempts to situate himself in the world of Elysium’s complex political, social, and … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 5)

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Overboard!

Jason

https://www.inklestudios.com/overboard/ Entry by Jeremy Andriano A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator(s): Inkle (https://www.inklestudios.com/) Creation Technology: ink, Unity Publisher: Inkle Date of Original Release: June 2, 2021 Platform(s): Windows, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Peripherals Required: Mouse or Touchscreen-enabled device, Speakers or Headphones ESRB Rating: T (Teen) Awards & Distinctions:  Version Used for Entry: Apple iPad iOS, Version 1.4.2 b354ec B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): Adventure, Visual Novel, Roguelike, Puzzle/Strategy Time to complete: Main story: 2.5 hours, according to https://howlongtobeat.com/game/93626, although this may be misleading. A single Overboard! playthrough can be completed in less than 20 minutes. However, it may take dozens of … Continue reading Overboard!

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Unarchived podcastLeave a comment

Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 4)

Jason

with Chelsea Russell (Host), Jeremy Andriano, Kevin Ghouchandra Broadcast Date: 12 February, 2025 Writer: Chelsea Russell Producer: Jeremy Andriano In this episode, the panel discusses Doki Doki Literature Club, a Japanese style visual novel that disguises itself as a cute, light-hearted dating sim—only to shatter expectations with its disturbing psychological horror elements. Beneath the surface of poetry clubs and school crushes lies a game that manipulates not only its characters but also the player, challenging ideas about narrative structure, player agency, and the boundaries of digital storytelling. Doki Doki Literature Club‘s use of meta-narrative techniques, fourth-wall-breaking glitches, and psychological horror … Continue reading Unarchived (Season 3, Episode 4)

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The Stanley Parable and The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

Jason

https://www.stanleyparable.com/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. BASIC INFORMATION Note: The Stanley Parable was originally released by Davey Wreden on July 31, 2011 as a free modification for Half-Life 2. This entry describes the 2013 ‘remake’ as well as The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe, which is not an extension or DLC of the ‘remake,’ but a remaking of the remake in Unity, with additional content.  Creator(s): Studio website: http://www.galactic-cafe.com (but redirects to URL above) Creation technology: Source (remake); Unity (Ultra Deluxe) Publisher: Galactic Cafe Date of original release: October 17, 2013 (remake); April 27, 2022 (Ultra Deluxe) Platform(s): Windows; Mac OS … Continue reading The Stanley Parable and The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Unpacking

Jason

https://www.unpackinggame.com Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Witch Beam (https://witchbeam.com.au/) Creation Technology: Unity, Wwise (in-game audio), Aseprite (pixel art) Publisher: Humble Bundle Date (of original release): 2 November 2021 (Windows, Switch, Xbox), 10 May 2022 (Play Station 4/5), 24 August 2023 (iOS, Android) ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Platform(s): Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Play Station 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One Peripherals required: Keyboard/mouse (PC); speakers/headphones Awards/Distinctions: Version used for entry: B. GAME INFORMATION Game/eLit Genre(s): visual novel; puzzle Time to complete: Main Story, 3.5 hours (From https://howlongtobeat.com/game/69666)  Replay required/useful?: No. A single attentive playthrough will reveal the full story. … Continue reading Unpacking