Elijah Beahm

Unwinnable

Would the Real Dark Troopers Please Stand Up

This is a reprint of the featured essay from Exploits #5, Unwinnable's magazine dedicated to the culture we love.

Back in the 90’s, Lucas Arts released the groundbreaking 3D action game Star Wars: Dark Forces. It defied expectations in many ways, but one of its longest enduring elements is its iconic enemies: the Dark Troopers, a group of ruthlessly eff...

Unwinnable

How Wolfenstein II Lost Its Head Over Toxic Masculinity

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus should’ve been the ultimate successor to its surprise hit predecessor, Wolfenstein: The New Order; it’s certainly sold well enough. However, when it comes to nailing the same razor’s edge balance of bleak humor, surrealist pulp sci-fi, and pitch dark terror of a world taken over by Nazis, Wolfenstein II fumbles at its most pivotal moment.

ineeddiversegames.net

Finding Religion in the Mass Effect’s Companions – Elijah Beahm

Discussing the compelling religious themes of Mass Effect through the companions Samara, Mordin, and Thane; navigating the highs and lows of each interpretation.

Unwinnable

Tomb Raider and the Problematic Messiah

Religion in games is something you rarely see. It’s even stranger to imagine it utilized as a key aspect of any AAA project. You see some indie titles like Moon Hunters, but for something like Rise of the Tomb Raider, a bold Microsoft exclusive sequel to the well received 2013 reboot, to embed religion in itself is remarkable. Praiseworthy. To its credit, Rise gets far more right than most developers have; however, amid dozens of great details, it flubs one of its core aspects – its...

gamecritics.com

Interview With Asobo Studios on… A Plague Tale: Innocence

Asobo Studio’s A Plague Tale: Innocence is morbid modern fairytale in the making. Set during the Black Plague, it centers on sister and brother Amicia and Hugo as they evade the Inquisition, the plague, and other treacherous trials. Taking as much inspiration from Thief: The Dark Project as it does Hansel and Gretel, Asobo’s work may be one of the quietest sleeper hits announced at this year’s E3.

Interviewer Elijah Beahm reached out to the development team to hear more about this beak medieval stealth game.

gamecritics.com

Interview With Wes Platt on… Knee Deep

I sit down with the lead writer and developer of Knee Deep, Wes Platt, to discuss how the game came to be, what story beats didn't make the cut, and all sorts of behind the scenes goodness.

Gameskinny.com

Finding Religion in Dead Space

Religion is something a lot of games avoid or touch lightly on. Others stomp on it with malice. Yet, Dead Space touches the core of religious life better than anyone could have hoped for.

gamecritics.com

Knee Deep - Bodies in the Bayou

Knee Deep impresses with its creative storytelling and southern charm.

gamecritics.com

Interview with Martin Emborg of Ultra Ultra

Upcoming stealth-action title ECHO promises an ambitious director AI that learns from your playstyle and mimics it. I sit down with Ultra Ultra studio head Martin Emborg to discuss his team's upcoming project.

appolicious.com

Guns of Boom – Blasting Makes Me Feel Good

Guns of Boom is a multiplayer shooter in the vein of Valve’s Team Fortress 2. It’s not interested in highbrow, super serious action. If anything, it aspires to the blender utterly mad chaos of a reflex shooter with a dash of creative game design. The result isn’t perfect, but for a mobile multiplayer shooter, it’s not bad. It’s never groundbreaking, but it manages to be fun and engaging.

YouTube

Tactics and Roleplaying with John Rhee Interview: Liege Interview ...

I sit down with lead developer John Rhee about his upcoming tactical role-playing game Liege, and discuss Liege's distinctive art style, tone, and combat systems.

Facebook

Block of Art Facebook Page

Served as Administrator and managed content and marketing with the Facebook page from 2016 to 2017.

gamecritics.com

Hot Take, Old Game: Quake

Does the classic FPS Quake still hold up after over a decade of innovations and iterations on the shooter genre? Surprisingly, yes!