This Month’s Soundtrack
Well, it couldn’t really be anyone else, could it? This isn’t exactly the kind of song that’s supposed to accompany you on the reading of a newsletter, but for better or worse my taste is largely sad bangers only, and this is such a perfect, fragile, heartbreaking object.
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This Month On exp.
Subscriber Posts:
Titanium Court (Thomson, 2026)
UFO 50 #8: Planet Zoldath (Perry, 2024) [subscriber exclusive]
My Titanium Court article was a real challenge to write. It took me a long time to put pen to paper–or I suppose finger to keyboard–because for some reason going against the consensus on this one surprised me [“what, after Consume Me, Clair Obscur…”–Ed.]. However, I published it and then received several lovely messages from people who agreed, so being a hater stays winning I guess!
Unlocked Posts:
Steel Worker (Taito, 1980)
Heiankyo Alien (Theoretical Science Group, 1979) / Heiankyo Alien 3671 (Mindware, 2017)
Find Your Words (Capy, 2026)
It taking a while to write the Titanium Court essay is why we actually got two retro pieces in a row here, when I usually try and strive to trade off retro and modern biweekly. Not sure if anyone’s noticed or counting on that or anything, so it’s fine. Great to finally get Heiankyo Alien under my belt, and Steel Worker, while hardly being that enjoyable, is a nice surprise from a historical perspective!
From The exp. Archive:
Pushmo [aka Pullblox] (Intelligent Systems, 2011)
Magic Sword (Capcom, 1990)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, 2011)
Yeesh, another month where because I’m going chronologically I’m pulling a lot of stuff out the archive that I don’t like that much (I really did post a lot of pretty throwaway stuff back in the day.) Still, this essay on L.A. Noire is alright, I guess.
exp. Du Cinéma
The Odyssey (2026)
My most successful piece of film writing on the site since I wrote about Avatar: Fire And Ash even though it was put up when the discourse was already dying down. Really proud of this one, I think it’s one of the best things I’ve written this year.
Also reviewed: Scary Movie 4 / Scary Movie 5 / Scary Movie (2026) / JFK / steve.odekerk.com / Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle / Back In Action / Countdown / Tatsujin Warriors
Zine News
Video Game Maps: NES & Famicom – Deluxe Edition
“Video Game Maps: NES & Famicom – Deluxe Edition is a curated art gallery featuring maps from 200+ games and is presented in full-color across 628 glossy pages in a premium hardcover.”
This is a special one, because… I’m in it! Yes, some of the quotes you’ll find in here are mine. Just three, admittedly, but if you’re picking this up you can also grab the exp. zine three pack at Retro Game Books, because it’s in stock there too, and get loads of my writing.
Trial of the Space Invaders: The Case that Changed Video Games
“For the past few years I have been working on a new non-fiction book about a little-known case from the 1980s in which Nintendo, which had recently arrived in North America, sued Magnavox, an American electronics and television company.”
Friend of exp. Simon Parkin’s got a new book to pre-order!
Call For Papers: Volatile Memory: Game Preservation Policy and Practice in Canada
“The central focus of Volatile Memory: Game Preservation Policy and Practice in Canada is to bring together the perspectives of scholars, institutional actors, and citizen archivists to assess and address the growing problem of videogame preservation in Canada.”
Huh, zine news has been kinda… book heavy, hasn’t it? And this isn’t a zine either, as such, but I thought it was worth sharing for the academically inclined!
Have a zine project you’d like us to share? Get in touch!
And Finally…
The Making of Xevious (1983)
The mad lads over at shmuplations have translated this lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the making of Xevious. Days since Xevious mentioned: 0.
Next week on exp.: Not sure if you’ll be able to handle handle it.
