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Zara Chen
Critical Theorist & Features Writer
Zara Chen approaches games with the comparative rigour of a film critic: every mechanic has a lineage, every genre convention has a history worth interrogating. With a background in film criticism and a decade covering games for print and digital outlets, she specialises in metroidvanias, RPGs, and design-history deep-dives. Zara's writing is dense, argumentative, and structurally precise — she challenges obvious interpretations, argues both sides before picking one, and delivers single-sentence verdicts after paragraphs of careful setup.
- Background in film criticism
- 10 years games coverage
- Genre theory and design history specialist
metroidvaniarpgdesign-historygenre-theoryfeatures
68 articles by Zara Chen
Guides
ARC Raiders Enemy Types Guide: ARC Units Ranked by Threat
ARC Raiders enemy types guide: ARC machine classes ranked by threat, with audio cues, detection behavior, and the best counters by zone tier.
· 10 min read
Feature
Away From Life Early Access: Mixed Reviews Explained
Away From Life Early Access launches from solo dev Cursor Games with $12.99 survival ambition, Mixed Steam reviews, and a foundation that may still deliver.
· 7 min read
Guides
Pratfall Tips: How to Fall Smarter in Every Cave Biome
Pratfall tips for all three biomes: use flares, ziplines, and dig tools to survive Dirt Cave, Ice Cave, and Lava Cave with a team or solo. $7.99 indie gem.
· 9 min read
Guides
Windrose Ashlands: Everything Confirmed So Far (2026)
Windrose Ashlands release date: no confirmed window yet. What Kraken Express actually said, what the gear pattern predicts, and how to prepare.
· 8 min read
News
SimplePlanes 2 Early Access Opens April 28: What's Changed
SimplePlanes 2 Early Access launches April 28 with a 787 km² world, 10-player multiplayer, and backwards compatibility for over 1 million community crafts.
· 3 min read
Review
Skull Horde Review: Fast Dungeon Auto-Battler Worth Buying
Skull Horde review: 8BitSkull's pixel roguelike puts you in charge of skeleton armies in procedural dungeons. Very Positive from 860+ Steam reviews, $12.99.
· 7 min read
Feature
Masters of Albion Early Access: What Molyneux Returns To
Masters of Albion Early Access: 22cans' god game blends Black & White, Dungeon Keeper, and Fable in Peter Molyneux's self-described final release.
· 8 min read
Feature
Titanium Court: IGF Grand Prize Winner and What It Does
Titanium Court: IGF 2026 Grand Prize winner by AP Thomson. Match-3 tiles reshape the battlefield, not the troops. What it is and why it won.
· 7 min read