Video game adjacent, I finished reading Polybius this week. A horror story based on the myth of the mind altering arcade cabinet.

While touting to be Stephen King meets Stranger Things, it neither had the style or nostalgia to meet expectation. It left a nihilistic sense of doom in my lap. Unsure as to what the author is saying about people or video games themselves. A wasted opportunity. The writing inexperience shows in this debut novel, clearly stemming from the authors television background. It leans into the shock value of violence instead of character development. A detriment when jumping between multiple points of view.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. The story contains what's described on the back. Horror is not a genre I enjoy and not one I'll return to. The worlds uncertainly is harrowing enough and fraught with similar unease in the town described in the novel. Uncomfortable, especially having sunk many quarters into this one.