Stimulus As Meditation (Legitimate Strobe Warning)

by JohnLee Cooper

2025
bitsy

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Review

My eyes hurt, July 11, 2025

Once you start this game, prepare to be bombarded by flashing colors and loud arcade music. You are given a pixel character to control, with basic 2D movement controls, and will have to navigate this flashing landscape, picking up some odd objects (leaves?) which will reveal a line of a poem each time.

The poem makes some references to the strobe effects and the constant bombardment on the senses. Still, I wouldn't blame you if you were too distracted by the flashing colors and blaring sounds to take in those words. The description talks about wanting to explore the themes of bombardment/spectacle/hypernormalisation, and it was certainly done here. Be warned, your eyes and ears might not thank you for it.

It's a game with a message, told to you via an indirect message with a blaring loudspeaker at full power. You can give this a go if you like, but please close the game if your eyes start to hurt, or you might be seeing strange colors even after you're done playing.

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