Playing Video Games during Yet Another World-Shattering Historical Event to Control the Uncontrollable
Sarah Gzemski
after Luigi’s Mansion 2 (HD Remake)
We have a future history, Luigi. Last time, I focused on your resilience, because I am
resilient. Is there space for us to discuss futility? The ghosts never cease, and you are also
an apparition in my life. Do you have anything for me, the second time around, beyond
relentless optimism? I didn’t understand how rote it was for you to face the undead.
Maybe that’s the difference between us. You’ve been here before, and I’m always
out of my depth. If a mad scientist told me the moon had gone missing, I wouldn’t be
able to ransom the tides. It would take me hours to reach that rank, silent, still water
to even be in awe of its tragedy. My witness is haunted ever by my ineffectuality.
Luigi, I know there have been times I’ve let you perish in the dark. I want to know what you
feel in the moments before you reanimate. Do you ever imagine not coming back? I have
considered it, and fear, as much as anything else, keeps me. I can’t vow dauntlessness. I can
only stare down the pale expanse, trembling still, as versions of us linger in this unlit night.