Speaking about “deep games”, take into account Sublustrum – http://www.ndgames.ru/catalogue/?sublustrum. Unfirtunately, nothing is clear about the international release, but description below gives us a hope.)

Anyway, some fascinating reviews there, thanks for the links. I don’t think I’ll be playing Pathologic any time soon, but it’s good to know that it exists, in case I find myself with a lot of free time to fill.

IT’S TERRIFYING.

But surprisingly addicting.

A couple of years ago I had an argument with a friend, one of those differences of opinion that leaves you fuming and coming up with witty ripostes for days afterwards. I was saying that a good game doesn’t have to be fun. She was saying that was ridiculous.

My argument, though I botched my explanation at the time, is that games have incredible untapped potential in the field of negative emotions. Just as the lowest common denominator of any art form appeals to ‘positive’ emotions, whether it’s humour, arousal or excitement, so it is that our young games industry is obsessed with the idea of ‘fun’.

I think this is one of the core reasons that the games industry hasn’t had its Casablanca or Citizen Kane- we’re still in the era of musicals and slapstick comedy. No games developer’s going to try and make its audience feel sad, or lonely, or pathetic, at least not for long stretches. You might get games that dip their toes into that water from time to time, but by and large developers are keen to keep you smiling.

While I wholeheartedly agree, there’s another side to this, however. And that is that it is far easier for a critic to recognize something as artistic if it is obviously sad and depressing. In a way, to be recognized as an artist making games, it’s easier to create a sad horror game than it is to create a romantic, uplifting game, which can be equally deep and meaningful. But I guess such is the nature of contemporary art anyway.