Inside Games

What is it that makes horror video games so terrifying? To mark the release of the souped-up remake of Resident Evil 3, Louise Blain investigates, tracing the genre's shocks and scares from Resident Evil's first fright in 1996 to more recent nerve-racking hits such as Alien Isolation, Until Dawn and PT.

As the beloved Final Fantasy VII receives a super-polished HD remake, Aoife Wilson investigates why the original game had such an impact on the industry, and revisits the single moment in the story that changes games forever.

There are more black characters appearing in games than ever before, but what makes them feel truly authentic? Using examples ranging from Grand Theft Auto and Dishonored 2 to Wolfenstein and Call of Duty, Elle Osili-Wood gets to the root of the matter.

How do you turn falling in love into gameplay? Keza MacDonald explores romance in games, from high-fantasy role-playing adventures to the dating simulators that offer love up on a platter. Say the right thing in a sci-fi epic, and your spaceship crewmate might go to bed with you - but what happens when relationships in games are more complicated and true to life?

What's the deal with video games' obsession with celebrity? Michael Leader goes star-gazing, from Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077 to the cameo-filled casts of Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. How do games use stars, and what do they have to offer for these house-hold names and famous faces?

Keith Stuart explores how, now more than ever, video games can bring us all together.. From Animal Crossing and Minecraft, to Destiny and Fortnite, these games offer us spaces to meet, create, and help each other get through hard times, as well as play.

What makes a great video game character? In this extended Inside Games special, Elle Osili-Wood charts the history and development of characters in video games, revealing the key role they play in the power of games as an artform and a business. In 1980, Pac-Man revolutionised the industry, giving gaming its first face and first icon, and kickstarting a generation of zeitgeist-grabbing mascots whose popularity spilled out into every corner of pop culture, from tacky merchandise to fast-food tie-ins. Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic would follow, but the mould was broken again in 1996 by Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft, a pin-up heroine who perfectly played into 90s pop trends from girl power to lad culture. However, while these characters achieved undeniable and monumental crossover success, this programme argues that the true power of characters in games lies in the relationship built with the player, and how games hold up a mirror to who is playing and making the game. Video games offer us the unique opportunity to literally walk a mile in a character's shoes, and, as times and tastes change, characters do too, as seen in the rise of the 'dystopian dad' in mainstream games such as The Last of Us, God of War and Death Stranding, where reluctant father figure characters reflected a generation's own reckoning with parenthood. And at the cutting edge of the industry, games are finding ways to use play as a gateway into understanding the lives and experiences of others, from early on-set dementia in Before I Forget, to struggles with anxiety and depression in Celeste. Every step of the way, the guide through these thrilling, moving, life-changing games is the character we control, and relate to, on screen.