I knew as soon as I saw the trailer that I was going to play Virginia. Something in the press about “a very X-Files meets Twin Peaks vibe,” and I’m interested. Go ahead and throw in a ‘narrator’ who was almost immediately recognizable as unreliable (my favorite kind), a MILD SPOILER AHEAD case of the ETs, a Ghost of Possible Futures If You’re A Jerk moment, and an ambiguous if positive-leaning ending? Sign me up.

Although this was absolutely a ‘walking simulator,’ (a term with negative connotations that I’m disregarding here because I think it’s also not an inaccurate descriptor), it was a walking simulator in a year that had several really, really good ones and it measured up. Virginia had a cohesive if not always chronologically-linear story that grabbed me; it said things about race and gender and familial expectations without ever using words; it had a minimalist art style that mated with the game’s lack of dialog well; it had this strings-heavy soundtrack that looped back upon itself kind of like the story. Thanks for giving me my dose of thought provoking drama, weird creepiness, and aliens, Virginia.

Games of 2016

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.