Description

‘A loot drop of brilliance’ Naomi Alderman, author of The Power

‘Critical Hits is an exciting, original and rich collection. It made me want to read more, to write more, and – I admit without shame – to play more’ New Statesman

Whether you’re an avid gamer, a Twitch subscriber, or just an incidental Subway Surfer, video games have changed the way you interact with the world, and have been part of our lives for over fifty years. Critical Hits is a celebration of play and playfulness, and the lasting impact of videogames.

Composed of sharp, impassioned, and inquisitive essays, this collection begins with an introduction by Carmen Maria Machado and presents video games through the eyes of eighteen writer-gamers as they straddle real and artificial worlds. In games, they find solace from illness and grief, test ideas about language, bodies, race, and technology, and see their experiences and identities reflected in-or complicated by-the interactive virtual realities they inhabit.

From a deep dive into “portal fantasy” games by Charlie Jane Anders and a comic by MariNaomi about her time as a video game producer, to the overlaps in gaming and poetry by Stephen Sexton, Critical Hits illuminates fragments of an industry that is wildly popular, grossly misunderstood, and absolutely spellbinding.

Publisher Review

These fun, funny, occasionally cutting but often affirming essays celebrate the surprising potency of video games and virtual experiences. With any luck, this book will find a place of honour on every literary gamer's bookshelf -- Tom Bissell, author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter A loot drop of brilliance, and a hugely satisfying and entirely convincing literary salvo on the artistic worth of games in our lives -- Naomi Alderman, author of The Power In this variety pack of exciting essays, writers make an electric case for the essentiality of video games, both as storytelling aids and as ways of understanding the world ... Critical Hits marks the welcome ascendance of an emerging body of gamer literature -- Adrienne Westenfeld * Esquire, "Best Books of Fall 2023" * Insightful ... The diverse entries highlight the ways in which the far out plots of video games can change how players understand themselves and the world around them. Gamers with a literary bent should take a look * Publishers Weekly * Alexander Chee, Charlie Jane Anders, Hanif Abdurraqib, and other writers who love gaming wax poetic about the lasting emotional impact that comes with playing some of the most popular video games on the market: The Last of Us, Call of Duty, and Disco Elysium * Time Magazine, "Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023" * A veritable arcade of essays on the cultural vitality of video games -- Michelle Hart * Electric Literature, "Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books for Fall 2023" *