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
95 articles by Zara Chen
All Hail the Orb Obelisk Guide: Stages and When to Advance
All Hail the Orb Obelisk guide: the 6 stages, when to advance vs. let automation run, pre-finale checklist, and what the April 22 patch changed.
· 8 min read
All Hail the Orb Secrets: Hidden Rooms, Duck, Alchemy
All Hail the Orb secrets guide: the four hidden dungeon achievements, how Resonance Crystal chains work, and which alchemy discoveries you can miss
· 8 min read
ARC Raiders Other Raiders: Survive Player Encounters
ARC Raiders other Raiders guide: how to avoid, outmaneuver, and survive contested extractions. Extraction types ranked by silence and run behavior.
· 9 min read
INDUSTRIA 2 Out Now: Bleakmill's UE5 Narrative FPS Sequel
INDUSTRIA 2 arrives on Steam today: Bleakmill's UE5 narrative FPS runs 4-6 hours, sends Nora into a parallel dimension ruled by rogue AI ATLAS.
· 7 min read
How Long to Beat All Hail the Orb: Story, 100%, Routes
How long to beat All Hail the Orb: story ends at ~3 hours, but the April 22 patch created two distinct 100% routes: 4-4.5h in-run or 5.5h post-story.
· 8 min read
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
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
Pratfall Tips: 3 Biomes, 30+ Items, and the Catch Mechanic
Pratfall is a co-op cave survival game: $7.99, 130k copies sold, 90% positive. All 3 biomes, 30+ items listed, and the catch mechanic explained.
· 9 min read
Windrose Ashlands Release Date: Late 2026 at Earliest
Windrose Ashlands release date: Kraken Express said 'at least 6 months' on April 29, so late October 2026 at the earliest. What's confirmed and how to prep.
· 12 min read
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
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 900+ Steam reviews, $12.99.
· 7 min read