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Danny Wave / Games

Games worth thinking about.

A game can stay with you because of a song, a city, or the feeling of one more run. This collection follows those details into bigger questions about what games ask of us and what we want from them.

Streaming Fortnite Games Personal notes

What stays with you

Music, imagination and the appeal of returning to an older game.

A yellow convertible taxi flies above a steep coastal street in bright sunshine.

Crazy Taxi figured out the hard part first

Crazy Taxi made its central idea easy to understand and hard to put down. Danny Wave looks at what its design got right about the pleasure of playing.

Comic-style illustration of a young child seen from behind, sitting on a bedroom floor with an original PlayStation controller, watching Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar train opening on an old CRT TV as glowing musical notes drift from the screen around them.

Why Final Fantasy VII’s Music Still Has a Place in My Heart

Danny Wave reflects on Final Fantasy VII music, the memories attached to it and why its soundtrack still means something to him years later.

Cartoon of a person seen from behind watching a blocky, low-detail beach on an old TV, with a thought bubble showing the same beach as a lush painted scene and an open book nearby.

Final Fantasy VII left room for my imagination, like a book

Final Fantasy VII left space for players to imagine what its world could be. A personal essay on the original game and the feeling of reading a book.

Two children share a turn playing Zelda on a Nintendo 64 at home.

I never owned Ocarina of Time, and that’s why the remake might sell me a Switch 2

Danny Wave reflects on missing Ocarina of Time growing up and why the possibility of returning to it matters to him now. A personal gaming essay.

What keeps you playing

Arc Raiders, the pace of the feed and the choices around paying for games.

Conceptual Arc Raiders fan art. scavengers plan a shared attack on a huge industrial machine.

Arc Raiders should give PvE a proper endgame

Arc Raiders has a world worth spending time in. Danny Wave argues for a PvE endgame that gives players a reason to keep exploring and fighting.

Conceptual Arc Raiders fan art. a scavenger pauses over spare parts while bags wait for another run.

Arc Raiders is gorgeous. I still don’t know what I’m playing for.

Arc Raiders looks striking, but what keeps the next run meaningful? Danny Wave considers progression, purpose and the reasons to keep playing.

A golden needle glints in a haystack as rows of similar haystacks fade into the mist.

Gaming now moves at the speed of your feed

When the feed sets the pace, games can become something to keep up with. Danny Wave considers what that does to the experience of playing.

A blank monitor lights a designer’s desk covered with sketches and a game controller.

AI took my clients. I’m still not cancelling Fortnite Crew.

Danny Wave reflects on AI, lost client work and continuing to pay for Fortnite Crew, in a personal essay about work, spending and gaming.