When it comes to the featured books in our “Gaming Books” series, the list is mostly made up of anticipated gaming-related new releases. A few were even sent early to cover by the publisher.
I came across Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games in a totally different way. I was killing time at my local bookstore (Books & Books) and I found this in the “Staff Selections” section. When I picked it up to get a closer look, the staff member who had “selected” it was there and convinced me to take it home.
Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games is a collection of essays by writers who don’t normally write in the video game space. This stood out since most of my daily gaming content consumption comes from games journalists, game developers, and others who work in some sort of gaming-adjacent space.
When I started myVGBC.com during the pandemic, it was mostly a way for me to write about something I love dearly — video games. Lately, I’ve been working on figuring out my particular point of view when writing about gaming. I came across this book around that time and thought it might be an interesting read.
Each essay comes from a different author covering a game (or games) that had an impact (big or small) on their life. Some authors were current gamers, others former gamers, some got sucked into one game, a few were pandemic gamers. The games covered ranged from retro games all the way up to current gen games, even some mobile games. I have played and am familiar with most of the games in this book, and it’s nice to read a different take on many of them.
Reading these essays helped me realize how there are endless possibilities when writing about games and gaming. You don’t always have to write “this game is good/bad because…” There are many other questions to ask yourself, like How does a game make you feel? Are there any parallels with your life? How do you relate to certain characters? What comparisons can be made to this game?
Every essay in Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games had an interesting point of view. I just wanted to showcase a few favorites:
In the Shadow of the Wolf by Vanessa Villarreal
I read Critical Hits last year, but I still think about this particular essay regularly — especially each time I see any Norse or Viking-inspired content (which is all of the time). Vanessa takes us down a rabbit hole she calls her “Normal Viking Conspiracy Well,” which starts off stating how Vikings are depicted as all-white, all-powerful warriors, and how that narrative is used in White Supremacy. While reading this section, that one “Vegan Viking” from the January 6th Insurrection came to mind.
I finally started Assassin’s Creed Valhalla a few weeks ago, but I didn’t make it very far. I’m not sure if that was due to Vanessa’s essay or the common repetitive problems I usually find in the Assassin’s Creed series.
What this essay really showed me is that you can choose one small inkling, whether you fully believe it or not, and start from there. She went on to mention many games and content that take place in this world (with Vikings or Norse Mythology). Now I’m thinking what small fragment can I take out of a game and put under a microscope?
Thinking Like the Knight by Max Delsohn
Max’s essay features two games that I hold in high regard — Undertale and Hollow Knight. Thinking Like the Knight mainly focuses on Max’s transition, and how Undertale was a big game before, and Hollow Knight became a big part of the process during.
There was one paragraph/concept on “button mashing” that really stood out to me:
“The problem with button mashing is that, for a lot of games, it works… Fast, directionless pressing will get you through most battles in Melee, just as fast, directionless living can get you through your own miserable, dysphoric life. Button mashing as a practice resists the nuances of a combat system in favor of beating the game as fast as possible.”
I’ve mentioned before how I have mostly been an impatient gamer (and a button masher). In recent years, I’ve worked on practicing more patience, especially when it comes to combat in gaming. Long gone are the days of spamming all of the buttons in a frenzy until I’m ready to quit.
I found this passage very comforting, and it is true for games and real life. When I slow down and try to figure out what’s next, I have a way better time than trying to quickly do everything all at once.
The Great Indoorsmen by Eleanor Henderson
Of all of the essays in this book, The Great Indoorsmen was definitely my favorite. Eleanor is a mother/former gamer, who enjoys occasionally watching and even playing games with her kids.
Eleanor writes about her children’s obsession with gaming, and although she doesn’t always agree with it, she understands it as someone who was somewhat into games. She tells the story of secretly camping out for six hours at a GameStop on Thanksgiving Day to get her kids a PlayStation 5, after missing out on one the year before.
This whole story made me think about how lucky I am that I had parents who supported my gaming obsession, even though they probably didn’t understand it. I thought of the time my dad picked up WWF Attitude for the Nintendo 64 for me, even though he had a busy work day. He came home extra late, but I stayed up waiting to play the game — even though it was a school night.
Her talking about waiting in line with other parents, kids, and different groups of people also reminded me of those midnight game releases. Back when we didn’t have the digital stores on our consoles. It wasn’t only about getting the game first, but the communal experience. You’d get home so tired, but have to play at least a few minutes of the game to make the experience worth it.
Then day one updates came along, Ok, I’ll let it update and wake up extra early to play before [school/class/work].
I could talk about each of the essays in Critical Hits, but instead I’ll just recommend that you read it for yourself — especially if you are like me, someone who consumes gaming news and articles daily. It’s a nice change to hear what non-games journalists have to say.
I’m hoping that reading this book has already improved the quality of my posts on myVGBC.com. As a small, one person team it is unreasonable to think I can put together a full review of so many games. I’m focusing on sharing love with the games I enjoy.
Life is too short to play bad games.
*Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games was not sent to me by the publisher, but I do want to shout out the two editors, Carmen Maria Machado and J. Robert Lennon. Mainly Carmen, who was able to include her “gaming essay” as the book’s intro.
VIDEO GAME BOOK CLUB 