[Like slogging through the mud in a busted-up truck? Snowrunner’s your game!]

And here’s another installment of  video game Deep Cuts on Substack, in our 932nd week of self-isolation. That’s about right, huh? At least our digital video games & interesting articles/videos still seem to arriving promptly. Bon appetit!

- Simon, curator

The Current: New Games To Consider

• Tonight We Riot (PC, Switch) is an ‘unapologetically leftist’ pixel squad brawler made by a worker-owned cooperative. 📰

• Levelhead (Xbox Game Pass, PC, Switch, iOS, Android) is a ‘leaving Early Access’ super-fun ‘platformer maker’ game from the Crashlands devs. 📰

• Wintermoor Tactics Club (PC, Switch) is a strategy RPG & visual novel combo about high school D&D shenanigans. 📰(Trailer.📽)

• Old World (PC Early Access @ Epic Games Store) is Soren Johnson (Civ IV/Offworld Trading Company)’s latest intriguing 4x strategy game.📽

• Snowrunner (PC, PS4, Xbox) is the latest in the Spintires series, involving lots of slow, low-gear heavy vehicle maneuvering in rough terrain. It’s weird/good! 📰

• Someday You’ll Return (PC, pictured) is an atmospheric first-person psychological horror game which has great visuals, but mixed reviews to date. 📰

The Culture: Game Culture & Deep Dives

• What makes a good RPG dungeon? A look at 11 great video game dungeons. 📰

• Why we need more games that are social platforms first & games second. 📰

• Fed up of no physical game exhibitions? LIKELIKE Online & oMoMA are playful, tricksy pixel-art style multiplayer galleries & environments. 📰/ 🎮

• Went deep into the rhythm game scene this week, & found this joyous 2-player freestyle on Konami’s Dancerush Stardom - 100%-ing the game while doing it! 📽

• A great overview of virtual concerts in Minecraft. 📽 (BONUS: this 100 Gecs DJ set from the recent Square Garden benefit is wild. 🎧)

The Past: Game History

• The story of how Bullfrog made futuristic racing game Hi-Octane in 8 weeks (?!) after EA decided they wanted a PC game out that quarter. 📰

• Billy Mitchell’s Donkey Kong high-score cheating controversy makes it all the way to court, sigh. 📰

• Go behind the scenes of seminal ‘80s British game magazine Your Sinclair. 📰

• The massive effort to re-engineer Mario & Zelda N64 game source code. 📰

• The ‘best art show of the year’, the 2020 Famicase exhibit (pictured) features imaginary covers to imagined Famicom/NES games. 📰(Alt list of the 25 best!) 📰

The Other Goodness

• Sim car racing doesn’t have the same physical danger as real-life racing - is that changing the rules of fair play? 📰

• ‘The floor is lava’. Or quicksand? Or something else? A comprehensive survey of the most dangerous childhood imaginary floors. 📰

• How the Jackbox Party Pack devs grapple with quarantine-driven success. 📰

• What games really help you unwind? 50 notable game developers tell us their personal picks. 📰

• Not out just yet, but the Hylics 2 closed beta (pictured) reveals an insane fever-dream of an oldskool 2D RPG that’s graphically… something else. 📽

• The wild, affordable world of 1 player print & play board games. 📽

Hope you liked this particular set of links - and see you next week!
Simon.