One of the most recurrent problems in fantasy novels concerns exposition, with the intricate world created for the story being described in too much detail, to the detriment of the characters and pacing. Sometimes, however, the opposite is true: the world is put aside for too long and so fails to capture our interest. In Gardens of the Moon, one …

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?” the Happy Mask Salesman – his name both mocking and reinforcing his creepy disposition – asks Link, when we meet him in a strange world, cursed, spooked, and incredibly lost. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask remains to this day the most narratively ambitious game in the franchise: establishing an oppressive atmosphere …

Written by Clare Vanderpool, Navigating Early is a touching novel whose narrative is built on parallels and allegories, whose frequent mixing of fantasy and reality doesn’t quite land, relying heavily on bizarre coincidences to work. The story takes place in 1945, following a trip two boys undertake through a forest in Maine. Jackie, the protagonist, is a 13-year-old boy who …

Written by Josh Malerman, Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic horror novel about a world where people are haunted by unfathomable creatures that drive everyone who lays eyes on them mad. The book, however, fails to take advantage of this terrifying premise, unable to present compelling characters and scenes packed with tension. The protagonist is Malorie, a woman who finds herself …

This review contains some small spoilers. The Tales of series is marked by its character-driven stories, where their quirks and relationships receive much more attention than the actual plot itself. This is Tales of Arise saving grace, as it boasts a touching love story and a great cast of characters that do a lot of the heavy lifting that the …

Developed by Platinum Games, Bayonetta is an action game with an unusual heroine and a very engaging combat system. Its tone is bonkers all around, and the action is appropriately over-the-top and insane: it’s high octane madness in videogame form… that’s being constantly interrupted by long cutscenes that tell a boring, barebones story. The main character, Bayonetta, is one of …

Written by Robert Jackson Bennett, City of Stairs is a great urban fantasy novel that frames its narrative around religion, persecution, and war, excelling when it comes to worldbuilding, but faltering when it’s time to build suspense at the beginning. After an important Saypuri historian is found dead in the ancient city of Bulikov, Saypur tasks a young female ambassador, …

Gone Home is a narrative-adventure game that focuses on exploration and environmental storytelling but relies too much on red herrings to fully work: its attempts to build suspense – and even horror – fall flat, serving only to distract us from the important themes being discussed. We control Kaitlin Greenbriar, a young woman who has just returned home from a …

Abzû is an adventure game very similar to the last title directed by Matt Nava, Journey, which also they aimed to tell a touching story almost exclusively through exploration, traversal, and interactions with the environment. In Abzû, the player controls a mysterious diver (their face is hidden in shadows inside a mask) who is alone in the open sea, right …

A tiger never changes its stripes. This is the great problem of flat characters: they do not change, they do not evolve, which may end up giving little purpose to their journeys. They are usually either stereotyped or mnemonic characters, being defined by their one or two notable traits even after the end of their stories. The great sin of …