Welcome to the seventh expedition of the Bathysphere. We should have paid subscriptions set up now so that you can opt for the annual option (Thank you so much Ben from Buttondown!), but please do let us know if you have problems. In the meantime, enjoy our latest cruise through the bathypelagic zone of video game culture.

The Bathysphere crew
Christian Donlan
Florence Smith Nicholls
Keith Stuart

Contacts us at bathyspherecrew@gmail.com

Delightful games

Helionaut, by Sokpop, is a fidgety spin on the whole No Man’s Sky dream: a universe where you can zip through the ether and then land on a planet and see what’s going on.

Because this is Sokpop, though, the confines of the universe are wonderfully snug, and the planets are colourful little playsets, all delivered in pastel colours and looking, from a distance, a little like viruses covered in spike proteins.

Helionaut’s not a long game, I suspect, but I have been portioning it out to myself over the last few years because it’s a delightful, playful thing and I don’t want it to end. It’s a perfect example of the kind of thing this collective is so good at making. CD

Roadcraft is the latest slow-paced offroad driving sim from Saber, the creator of SnowRunner and MudRunner. It’s about very methodically clearing up after natural disasters using big trucks and diggers – and sometimes accidentally steering into a ditch. I find these games fascinating, but I also really want you to watch the surprisingly beautiful trailer which perfectly encapsulates their appeal as grown-up embodiments of childlike play. KS

Interesting things

That brilliant thing happened last week when you’re reading two books, purely at random, and they start to spark off each other in interesting ways. The first was Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer, which is so well known I don’t really need to chuck in a link. It tracks a group of uneasy allies as they explore a strange zone where nature has started to make unusual choices. The second was The Bathysphere Book, by Brad Fox. This is a poetic revisiting of an early series of bathysphere trips down into the depths of the ocean. It feels so writerly a subject that I had to google around to make sure it actually happened. I don’t want to spoil either book, but I will say that they’re both a bit like literary Roguelikes, offering repeated runs into the unknown in search of beauty and horror. CD

Bathysphere subscriber David Eastman recently emailed us to recommend a current exhibition at the Royal Academy: Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo. David felt the great author’s sketches of imaginary castles and monsters will resonate with fans of modern role-playing games, especially Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Of course, the Bathysphere crew particularly appreciates his wonderfully inky drawing of an octopus. KS

The beautiful Sagaiden site has a new post listing early Sega peripherals, including photos of the original packaging. How did I not know there was once a Sega-branded cassette player? KS

I just returned from visiting Japan for a conference, and one of the highlights of the trip was attending Tokyo Game Dungeon, a biannual showcase of indie games made by small teams. I saw everything from an exercise ball used as a controller, to countless examples of gorgeous pixel art. It’s also the only event of this kind I’ve ever attended in which everyone applauds at the end. FSN

If you’re into immersive experiences you’ve likely already heard of the international collective teamLab. In their Tokyo exhibition “Borderless,” I wandered a labyrinth of interconnected installations, with interactions in one area having a ripple effect on those around them. With no map, and only curiosity to guide me, I spent hours following parades of animals that stalked between rooms. There’s really nothing else like it. FSN