Steven Scaife

Steven Nguyen Scaife is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Buzzfeed News, Fanbyte, Polygon, The Awl, Rock Paper Shotgun, EGM, and others. He is reluctantly based in the Midwest.

Alone in the Dark Review: A Horrifying Reimagining of a Survival Horror Classic

Its deficiencies wouldn’t be so bad if it had much to offer in terms of setting, story, or puzzles.

March 19, 2024

Solium Infernum Review: Good As Hell

The game is all about taking advantage of and subverting the rules that restrict your actions.

February 23, 2024

Stopmotion Review: Animating Trauma

The film falters when it attempts to mold its best instincts into a discernible narrative shape.

February 18, 2024

The Promised Land Review: Mads Mikkelsen Tames the Untamable in Tale of Frontier Survival

Even when it’s painting its story in broad strokes, the film plays expertly to audience emotion.

February 1, 2024

Handling the Undead Review: A Too-Somber Zombie Drama About Making Peace with Loss

The film is fatally convinced that it has a subversive relationship to genre.

January 28, 2024

Stress Positions Review: Theda Hammel’s Sharply Observed and Hilarious Pandemic Comedy

The film is an insightful look at modern discontent and the pandemonium that it breeds.

January 28, 2024

Expats Review: A Portrait of American Privilege with Too Much Time on Its Hands

The series tells a story that might have worked just fine if it weren’t spread across six episodes.

January 25, 2024

Realm of Satan Review: Scott Cummings’s Portrait of the Church of Satan Is All Show

The film isn’t designed to challenge what you think you know about the Church of Satan.

January 21, 2024

Sujo Review: A Dreamlike Portrait of a Child’s Seemingly Inexorable Path to Violence

Like Identifying Features, Sujo favors leaving things unseen and unspoken.

January 19, 2024

Mayhem! Review: Xavier Gens’s Revenge-Fueled Action Thriller Packs a Generic Punch

Mayhem! comes to a screeching halt when it’s functioning as a narrative delivery machine.

January 2, 2024

Society of the Snow Review: Bearing Too-Reverent Witness to Andes Flight Disaster

The film never dares to court our revulsion at what the survivors must do to live.

December 18, 2023

Leave the World Behind Review: An Apocalypse Thriller That Thinks It’s Smarter Than It Is

The film is content to blandly shrug in the direction of an amorphous societal choas.

December 8, 2023

A Highland Song Review: The Hills Are Alive

The game’s rendition of the Scottish Highlands feels more like a world than a playground.

December 5, 2023

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Review: A Fresh, If Patchy, Twist on the Scott Pilgrim Graphic Novel

The series offers a surprisingly novel take on its source material, even if the pieces don’t fit together as neatly…

November 17, 2023

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Review: A Step in the Right Direction for the MonsterVerse

The series works best when it takes the time to observe humanity as much as its monsters.

November 16, 2023

Thirsty Suitors Review: Reconciling Past Romantic Loss with a Limited Moveset

At its best, the game is quite good at creating a rich and tumultuous history for its characters.

November 13, 2023

Your Lucky Day Review: Or Is It?

Your Lucky Day offers a twist-laden take on the hostage crisis film.

November 8, 2023

The Invincible Review: An Alienating Journey

The game eventually becomes a bout of scientific calculus on autopilot.

November 7, 2023

RoboCop: Rogue City Review: As a Cyborg Cop Stalks Trouble, the Thin Blue Line Is Celebrated

In the game, RoboCop’s actions are emphatically framed as making the world a better place.

October 31, 2023

Scavengers Reign Review: A Breathtakingly Inventive Alien World

The show’s alien ecosystem is often far stranger than anything in its characters’ heads.

October 18, 2023