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Steven Santana

Steven Santana
Why "Troglodytes" in Cairn?

Why "Troglodytes" in Cairn?

All throughout Aava’s ascent of Kami she comes across remnants of a group who bear the misnomer of troglodyte. I share the same distaste for this term that Jay Castello notes in their writing on Cairn for Unwinnable, “Called only ‘troglodytes’ (literally ‘cave dwellers’ but with an unfortunate association

By Steven Santana 24 Apr 2026
The Parable of Aava the Mountaineer

The Parable of Aava the Mountaineer

There was a certain woman named Aava who desired to scale the highest mountain in the world: Kami. Her father was a renowned mountaineer, and had placed Aava on the rock wall as early as three. She fulfilled her inheritance, making famous climbs of various mountains, but had at last

By Steven Santana 22 Apr 2026
Player as Puppeteer and Caretaker in Cairn

Player as Puppeteer and Caretaker in Cairn

While climbing in Cairn you control each of Aava’s limbs individually. It can be a bit odd at first. The game automatically switches from one limb to the next as you attempt to determine which cracks offer an optimum hold for Aava to grasp onto as you push her

By Steven Santana 20 Apr 2026
The drifter stands on the edge of a cliff looking into the distance at a giant humanoid skeleton that is leaning against a mountain and is covered in snow and decaying

Replaying Hyper Light Drifter

[Today marks 10 years since the release of Hyper Light Drifter. Special thanks to Artemis Octavio for their edits/suggestions on this piece.] I did not play it while I was sick. I did not play it preceding or during or after a death. Playing it did not teach me

By Steven Santana 16 Mar 2026
Resident Evil Requiem mines horror from hallways and our own atomic wrath

Reading Games Writing: Resident Evil Requiem review by Giovanni Colantonio

less posting and more conversation This article is part of my series on responding to games writing and is a good faith attempt at starting a dialogue, not a personal attack or to feed the chuds on the usual channels of toxicity and trolling. Thank you for your time. This

By Steven Santana 25 Feb 2026
Despelote (2025)

Videogames

Despelote (2025)

developed (primarily) by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena (and many others) spoilers for Despelote Everyone is taller than you. Inanimate objects obtain movement when you touch them. Posters wink at you or sparkle or embiggen the number one, projecting the dream of Ecuador’s football team winning the 2002 World

By Steven Santana 09 Feb 2026
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