History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Music from Brutal Legend

| October 29, 2025

I’ve mentioned before that I really love music in video games, and as someone who listens to a lot of musical genres, it pretty much doesn’t matter what game it is. That being said, I started listening to heavy metal in high school and never really stopped (yes, even now in my K-pop era). So […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: The Music of the BioShock Series

| June 25, 2025

I love music in general, and music in video games is a large part of what makes them memorable for me, possibly especially because I’m not playing the games. The first two BioShock games have a ton of music from the first half of the twentieth century, with a few assorted pieces from earlier and […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Surprisingly Good at Tiger Woods Golf?

| May 21, 2025

Many years ago, I dated a guy who was one of four brothers. All of them played video games, though they had different game preferences. His two older brothers were mainly interested in sports games, so that’s what he played with the two of them. And one at least one occasion, they invited me to […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Hey, I Know That Voice (Brutal Legend)

| April 23, 2025

Several years ago now, Jeremy picked up a copy of Brütal Legend, and as per the usual, he played it while I was doing other things. This game caught my attention in part because of the music, but my main focus was “hey, I know that voice!” I have an uncanny talent for recognizing actors across […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Cyberpunk 2077

| March 19, 2025

Jeremy has been a cyberpunk fan for years, so of course he picked up Cyberpunk 2077 when it came out. I was excited, because Keanu Reeves voices one of the characters in the game. I was not prepared to hate a character voiced by Keanu Reeves. But man, Johnny Silverhand is a DICK! He’s grumpy […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Katamari Damacy and the “No Flappy Things” Rule

| February 19, 2025

At some point around 2009 or 2010, my then-boyfriend (now husband) introduced me to Katamari Damacy. This seemed like a video game I could manage–all you had to do was roll a ball around the screen and let it collect random things. However. (There’s always a however.) Eventually, I got to a level where you’re rolling […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Where are the Big Daddies?

| January 15, 2025

Jeremy curates lists of YouTube videos for me, which include trailers that he thinks I might be interested in. Which means that when the trailer for the Fallout TV series came out, he put that on the list. I watched it with some confusion, because I didn’t remember any wild west zombies, and the weapons didn’t […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Saints Row Franchise Radio Stations

| December 18, 2024

One of my favorite parts about the Saints Row franchise is the variety of radio stations. My favorites of those are often based on them playing songs I know, though there are also songs I have come to know and love from Jeremy playing through the games multiple times. Of course, the radio stations change from […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Mario Kart (maybe?)

| November 13, 2024

So there I am, chilling out, when I get a message from one of my friends. Their sitter is ill. Is there any chance I can come over and kid-sit for them that night? My schedule was clear, so off I went! The kids in question are three very smart, very nerdy kids. The eldest was […]

The Non-Player Review of Video Games: Ranking the NPCs in Baldur’s Gate 3

| October 16, 2024

Like many gamers, Jeremy picked up a copy of Baldur’s Gate 3 pretty much as soon as it came out. In fact, I think that game was the impetus for him getting a new laptop, with specs that could handle the game. Since it’s on his laptop, rather than on a console, I hear it more […]