"That's a roleplaying game"

Image credit: New Blood Interactive

You know, I think at this point in my life there is a non-zero chance I will die before anyone is able to settle comfortably on what defines an immersive sim. I'm not going to even try to! The idea is too annoying and I'm sure someone will disagree with some aspect of it. And if you ask New Blood boss Dave Oshry, when it comes to trying to flog an immersive sim, it's probably best to not even refer to it as one.

"Is it a good marketing term? No. It sucks," Oshry told PC Gamer in a recent interview. "It's awful." For those unfamiliar with New Blood, they're a publisher of some pretty cultishly popular games like ULTRAKILL, as well as immersive sims like Gloomwood and Fallen Aces . Ironically, though, it's through publishing Gloomwood and working with lead dev Dillon Rogers specifically that he even heard of the term. "He's like, 'That's what these are called'. I'm like, 'I have never heard that before in my life.…