Games about death improve our lives
Games about Game Over
Countless video games depict death, but few ask us to contemplate our mortality. Thank goodness. Mario wouldn’t be nearly as fun if we had to attend every goomba’s funeral.
And yet, as I approach 40 and my death anxieties find new ways to keep me awake, I wonder if video games could be uniquely equipped to help us emotionally grapple with the big question that has no answer: what comes next?
So, I called an expert. Video game writer and narrative director Kaitlin Tremblay has written three games exploring the many sides of death: A Mortician’s Tale, Seasonala Cemetery, and the upcoming Ambrosia Sky.
Don't let the topic fool you. This is an uplifting conversation. And hey, if you're listening to this episode, then I can guarantee one thing: you're alive.
Act 1: A life of making games about death
Act 2: How death in games can help us
Patreon Bonus: Why I keep playing this tiny game about dying
Act 3: News of the Week
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Act 1: A life of making games about death
Ambrosia Sky is Metroid Prime meets PowerWash Simulator, which still may sell it short (Polygon)
A Mortician’s Tale (Steam)
Seasonala Cemetery (Steam)
Ambrosia Sky (Steam)
Death in games (Soft Rains Games)
Act 2: How death in games can help us
20 Most Emotional Video Game Deaths, Ranked (CBR)
Death Positivity in Video Games (Gabby DaRienzo)
What video games can tell us about death (Astral Noize)
The Gamification of Death (GDC)
Rest in Play: Exploring Death in Videogames (A Good Death)
Patreon bonus:
Why I’ve been playing a game about death for half of my life
Act 3: News of the week
August 2025 is the month of remakes and remasters (PCGamer)
What’s wrong with AAA games? The development of the next Battlefield has answers. (ArsTechnica)
Battlefield 6 Reveal Trailer (Battlefield on YouTube)
Inside The Mass Call Campaign To Stop Video Game Censorship (Aftermath)
Demand payment processors stop facilitating rape, incest + child abuse game sales! (Collective Shout)
The chaos and confusion of itch.io and Steam’s abrupt adult game ban (The Verge)
Also on the Patreon
A new episode of Video Game Journalism 101 explaining the history and evolving purpose of video game previews
The best video game links of the week
Free game of the week
What else I’m enjoying
Oh this is so very much my type of shit Chris!!! Can't wait to listen to the episode
On a game play narrative note, for me playing Gone Home, and getting to know Katie's sister Sam through notes, letters, journals, etc and feeling convinced that she was dead, that all of this information about her was a lifetimes obituary that she had left behind, was an emotional Rollercoaster. The wave of relief for me was overwhelming when you find Sam's last note in the attic. Sort of the inverse of Kira from Unreal.