The Video Game Library Newsletter - Vol. #010
Cinephiles, Collectors and Cocktail Connoisseurs; this one's for you! A sarcastic amount of book news - plus a Lara Croft cameo!
Welcome back to The Video Game Library Newsletter!
We’ve officially hit double-digits with Volume #010! Your clicks, comments, and DMs keep proving there’s a passionate community for a newsletter like this, so THANK YOU for rolling with every rabbit hole we dive down.
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This week in News & Highlights we’re swimming in bundled artbooks: Elden Ring, Shinobi, Absolum, Orcs Must Die, even Jerry Wanker. Dark Horse lines up Plants vs. Zombies scares for October, Kurt Kalata tackles ‘80s and ’90s movie games, and Overclocked offers a look at the GPU box art of yesteryear.
Behind the Shelves plays with the idea of recording our cataloguing process while we also welcome new volunteer Hadeel to the fold.
In Recommended Reads, I dust off Lara Croft’s polygonal glory in The Official Tomb Raider Files - one of my first reviews on my (now very defunct) YouTube channel.
From the Archives spotlights the ever-tangled love affair between Hollywood and gaming.
And finally, our Community Interview shakes (and stirs) things up with Elias Eells, whose Cocktails & Consoles pairs mixology with gaming nostalgia.
Grab a drink, and let’s turn the page on another packed week of video-game-book goodness.
📰 News & Highlights
Another big week in the world of releases and announcements.
Perhaps one of the biggest releases this past week was Elden Ring: Nightreign. Well, did you know!? - The Collector’s Editions of the game actually came bundled with a 40-page hardcover called The Art of Elden Ring Nightreign.
Also in “bundled book” news, Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love just released, and comes bundled along with the Jerry Wanker and the Quest to Get Laid NSFW Art Book. This one was first announced a few weeks ago, and covered in Newsletter Vol. 006 for loyal readers!
Continuing the trend of bundled artbooks, Limited Run Games has just launched its pre-orders for Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and the Collector’s Edition will come with a hardcover artbook. Will work on getting this one added to the site if I can get a decent cover shot.
Also announced from Limited Run Games this week is a new book from Kurt Kalata - Now Playing: The Guide to 1980s and 90s Movie Games. This one inspired this week’s From The Archives article.
Robot Entertainment has announced a physical PS5 and XBSX release of Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap on September 23. These physical editions will come with an Art Booklet for the game.
Phew…and ANOTHER bundled art book comes in the form of the Absolum Art Book which is packed in the game’s Special Editions
Mr. Mega Man Vol. 2 from Udon Entertainment graces fan shelves this week, an English translation of the Japanese manga release from back in 2023. With his battles with Dr. Wily in the past, Mega Man must face is greatest challenge of all…life as an adult!
And from Dark Horse Books, they’ve just announced that Plants vs. Zombies Zomnibus Vol. 3 is arriving just in time for Halloween this year with an Oct. 21st release date.
One book I’m really quite excited about is this week’s release of Overclocked: An Archive of Graphics Card Box Art. From Mike McCabe and Sam Bailey, this book offers a visual history of one of gaming’s most bizarre and overlooked art forms rescued from obscurity.
A big congratulations to long-time Video Game Library supporter Andrew Schartmann for the release of his latest book Analyzing NES Music: Harmony, Form, and the Art of Technological Constraint.
While Representation of Disability in Children’s Video Games from Krystina Madej came out early last year, the much more affordable Paperback publication just released this past week. This is the 2nd video-game related book in Routledge’s “Research in Disability and Media Studies” series, following up 2022’s Gaming Disability.
The Vault has been opened, the waters have risen, and the rivers of the Nebula have become a sea. Heaven’s Vault III: The Flood by Jon Ingold has officially released, and is the 3rd book based on the acclaimed game.
For those who caught my interview with Darren Hupke back in Vol. #002, you’ll be pleased to know that his next Kickstarter is live - this time for Beat 'Em Up: The Unofficial History of the Genre Volume 1. I’m personally VERY excited for this one.
Assassin’s Creed: Discovery Book - Le Japon des Samouraïs is a gorgeous 96-page art book exploring the aesthetics of Feudal Japan through the lens of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. This one just released this past week!
For all the German speakers out there, Nicolas Deneschau’s The Last of Us: Auf Der Suche Nach Menschlichkeit has just released this week, hot off the heels of the Season 2 finale. This is a German translation of Decoding The Last of Us, which originally came out in France from Third Editions back in 2001.
Heading over to Japan, Kadokawa has confirmed a July 11th release date for their Elden Ring: Nightreign Official Guidebook. Really digging the blue flames on this game’s key art!
The Atelier series makes frequent appearances in these newsletters, and the latest literary entry is Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land - The Complete Guide which released in Japan on May 26. I love the consistent cover style that Kadokawa has been sticking to over the years with these Atelier guides!
In celebration of the recent release of SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, DigiCube has just published a reprint of their 1999 book SaGa Frontier II Perfect Works this week. Very excited to see another opportunity for collector’s to grab this one!
While I haven’t played the Fuga: Melodies of Steel games, doing a bit of research online uncovered a pretty die-hard fanbase. So I imagine there will be some excitement for the Fuga: Melodies of Steel Trilogy Art Book which just released this week, bundled alongside the game’s trilogy pack. (Big thanks to Tommo for help getting the details on this one)!
Also in the “Deluxe Edition” department, Staffer Case: A Supernatural Mystery Adventure just released this week with a bundled artbook. As with most bundles, it will take a few days before I see the final cover art, and get it fully catalogued on the site - so expect it to appear in a future “Behind The Shelves” exclusive.
Did I miss something cool? Want to see this laid out differently?
Drop it in the comments or swing by our Discord to share it with the community.
Let’s keep this celebration of game-inspired books going strong!
📚 Behind the Shelves
Every week, I take you behind the scenes of The Video Game Library. From surprising discoveries to cataloging challenges, there’s always something new as we dig deeper into this ever-expanding archive of game-related literature.
I’ve been toying with the idea of filming the entire workflow of this project: discovery, data hunt, cover cleanup, posting, the works. I think it might be a fun glimpse beyond these weekly write-ups. If a behind-the-scenes video sounds fun, let me know in the comments or tag me on social. Would love to hear if there’s interest.
In cataloguing, there was a heavy focus this week on capturing some of the news announcement and releases. I always feel a sense of pressure when an announcement hits, to get it on the site. I need to learn how to calm down on that race against the news cycle - but hopefully you’re all finding the quick updates useful!
I also spent some time with foreign language books this week, doubling-down on Japanese and Spanish books. I’ve noticed a huge surge in site traffic from Spain lately, so wanted to make sure I was properly representing the Spanish-speakers out there.
And finally a warm welcome to our brand new volunteer this week - Hadeel! Alongside Geneviève and Taylor, they were hard at work this week cataloguing a bunch of fun new books I hadn’t stumbled across yet.
This, as usual, is only a small sample of what we catalogued this week, so take a peek at the site to see everything! And while you’re at it, drop your thoughts in the comments below. Your feedback helps shape how we deliver these looks behind the curtain.
💡 Recommended Read of the Week
The Official Tomb Raider Files Featuring Lara Croft
Susie Hamilton, Beck Ward (Editor), Robert Allen (Puzzles), Kerrin Edwards (Project Editor), Mark Lloyd (Art Direction), Sarah Corteel (Production)
While the incredibly successful Tomb Raider reboot titles often overshadow the franchise's nostalgic Core origins, books like this are a refreshing reminder of Lara's 400-polygon roots in the annals of gaming history. Covering the first 5 entries in the series (Tomb Raider 1-3, The Last Revelation and Chronicles), you're sure to get some interesting tidbits, fantastic artwork and unique development insight from the beloved era of Eidos Interactive.
Early pages of the book focus on the Core Design team, a small group of 6 people, who set out with the ambitious goal with making a franchise driven by a female protagonist, how the ideas and the characters were conceptualized, and some of the challenges and successes that brought. From there, it takes us deep into the world of Tomb Raider. The weapons. The vehicles. The outfits. The flora and fauna. The map. The timelines. Everything you could ever want to know.
The chapters are sorted into "Files", each focusing on a unique aspect of the games. Bio Files for the characters and enemies, Adventure Archives for the storyboard snapshots and artwork, Diary Chronicles for the diary entries. It's a fun and unique way to bring together all the games cohesively without worrying about following the chronology too closely. Coupled with the graphics-packed pages, and colorful panels, and it makes for a fantastic read.
If you're a fan of the early years of Tomb Raider, then I can't recommend this book enough for your library. Terrific stuff!
You can find details about The Official Tomb Raider Files here
💾 From the Archives
Each week, I’ll dive deep into the shelves of The Video Game Library to spotlight a hidden gem or forgotten series — with the hope of surprising you with something new, unexpected, or long overlooked. This week, I wanted to share…
…a reason why the Video Game Library is so great for cinephiles!
From the first Pong cabinet to today’s photo-realistic blockbusters, video games and cinema have been locked in a decades-long dance. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse; but undoubtedly connected. A growing shelf of titles in The Video Game Library explores that relationship as a story worth chronicling. These books trace every misfire (I know you’re thinking Super Mario Bros. 1993 - but I refuse to admit that it’s a bad movie) and every triumph (the ingenious atmosphere of Detective Pikachu or the big-screen staying power of Resident Evil) to show how Hollywood and the games industry have repeatedly tried - and occasionally succeeded - to translate pixels into popcorn.
What’s striking is how wide-ranging this micro-genre has become. Luke Owen’s Lights, Camera, Game Over! digs into the set gossip and studio politics behind notorious game-to-film adaptations, while Christopher Carton’s two-volume A Guide to Movie-Based Video Games flips the script, cataloguing hundreds of playable tie-ins churned out to ride a movie’s marketing wave. Academic collections like Game On, Hollywood! zoom out further, comparing how both media handle time, space, and narrative, and Jamie Russell’s Generation Xbox chronicles the boardroom tug-of-war as each industry raids the other’s talent and technology. Together they reveal a constant back-and-forth, with both sides chasing the same fans with transmedia universes.
Today’s prestige TV hit (The Last of Us) is yesterday’s PlayStation masterwork, and tomorrow’s biggest film may become the next AAA title to win at the Game Awards. These books frame that convergence as a living history, equal parts cautionary tale and creative roadmap. Whether you’re a scholar studying media convergence or a fan who loves spotting Easter eggs between your console and the cinema, this micro-genre might be something to check out.
You can browse through all of the books that share tie-ins with TV and cinema, right here!
✨ Community Interview
What happens when a veteran cocktail educator, lifelong bibliophile, and newly minted gamer decides to fuse all three passions? You get Elias Eells, the mind behind Cocktails & Consoles, a recipe-packed tribute that pairs landmark video games with bespoke drinks.
Eells treats mixology like level design, matching flavors to mechanics, eras, and fandom lore. Fresh off his weekly “Bar Cart Bookshelf” channel, where he adapts novels into cocktails, the self-described “man of letters” sat down with me to talk recipe philosophy, balancing beginner-friendly pours with expert flourishes, and how a pandemic-era dive into Ace Attorney led to the ultimate mash-up of gaming and spirits.
Enjoy!
Let’s start at the beginning - who is Elias Eells? What led you from the world of books and cocktails to this brilliant intersection of gaming and mixology?
I am a writer, reviewer, and cocktail educator, a Man of Letters. I had been working for a cocktail supply company for several years when I started Bar Cart Bookshelf, my review channel, and that had me making new recipes every week, honing my craft and my speed. Meanwhile I had fallen deep into the Ace Attorney games as an early Covid hobby, reigniting and wildly expanding my childhood love of games. It was through those experiences that I connected with my editor, the incomparable Britny Perilli, and we had a real meeting of minds. Once we were connected, it all just came together: the chance to play with expertise, to discover new games (it was so great to take time from writing and recipe creation to just play and have it still count as work), and to make something that is both beautiful and useful for groovy gamers and savvy sippers of all ages and persuasions.
It makes sense that you have a history in the profession. Your book “Cocktails and Consoles” doesn’t just slap video game names onto drinks, it thoughtfully matches game themes, eras, and mechanics to flavors. What was your guiding philosophy in crafting recipes that truly reflect the spirit of these games?
One of the guiding principles that I tried to stick to, at least in part, was the idea that video game history could reflect cocktail history. For example, the drink for Colossal Cave Adventure, is a julep riff. This was in part because the game is set in cave country, heavily inspired by Kentucky’s own Mammoth Cave, and thus the home of the mint julep. But not only that, because the julep is one of our oldest styles of cocktail, a progenitor to many later types of drink, just as CCA is a progenitor to so many later games. I was always eager to find ways to play with the intersection of inspiration and history. It’s a major theme in the book for sure, with some elaborations of genre leading to elaborations in the drink (looking at you, Pong and Wii Tennis).
I can definitely see that care in drinks like Hershel Layton's Top Hat and the Oregon Trail Buck. What usually comes first for you when creating? Do you start with the game or the drink concept?
Mostly I started with the game, I really wanted to be specific and thorough when I was working, and that starts by honoring the longstanding fandoms around these games. They mean so much to so many people and so I saw that as the essential starting off point. There were a few cases where I had a drink first and found the right game to fit (the Ether for Final Fantasy XIV started as a stamina potion for a more generic chapter on gamer culture that we ultimately cut, but it was such a good drink and concept that I had to find the right fit), but by and large it was looking at a game, thinking about interesting consumables, characters, story moments, or mechanics, and finding a drink in that.
And how do you balance accessibility for beginner home bartenders with creativity for seasoned mixology nerds?
I tried to think about not just the degree of experience that my readers will have, but also the amount of work that I’m willing to do when having people over. Sometimes we really want to go all out, to do the deluxe, the special edition, but sometimes we have people coming over in 15 minutes and there are still five things we need to take care of before guests show up and we need a punch that comes together in a snap. And there are lots of party vibes in between, a full spectrum. I always wanted it to be a book that would be useful for someone who flipped through on a whim and saw their favorite game and offer depth for more experienced mixologists. It’s a book that can grow with you from your first beginnings to expert mode.
You mentioned Bar Cart Bookshelf earlier, where you adapt books into cocktails every week. How has that experience shape your approach to writing and structuring this book?
Bar Cart Bookshelf keeps me on a tight schedule. We cover about 48 books a year, with only occasional breaks and that means that I have to read quickly and read carefully. I have to pay attention to details while also holding on to the library of flavors that I carry around in my head. That experience has made me flexible and quick, helped me hone the skills that get at an essence of a creative work. When there were games I didn’t know as well, or that I’m not inclined to play myself, like CoD: Modern Warfare, I knew I could still find something that would appeal to fans, people whose hard work preparing wikis were an absolute godsend when I needed to learn a little more.
The book also features gorgeous illustrations. How involved were you in guiding that visual process, and do you have a favorite illustrated spread?
I looooove the illustrations that Solji Lee did for the book. They’re absolutely stunning and filled with so many little easter eggs and details. My part in the process was taking reference photos of every drink in the book (that was a fun weekend with a dedicated group of good friends!) and sharing a visual dictionary as well, with references, then Solji worked her magic and I was just delighted with every sketch I saw! I’m so bad at picking favorites, but I really love the spread for Zero Escape, a game I really love and wanted to get exactly right, and Danganronpa because the little detail of the truth bullets on the lime wheel garnish is perfectly emblematic of the game and the fun that we had in making the book!
Was there a game or drink you were heartbroken to leave out due to space, theme, or timing—and do you have a “DLC list” ready if you ever get to write a sequel?
I felt I could really only do one Greek Mythology game, so I was sorry to leave out Age of Mythology which I’d loved as a kid and still pick up every now and then. And Baldur’s Gate 3 hit about two months after I had turned the book in to the publisher, so that’s one I really wish I’d been able to include. But yes, I have a whole list in my notebook of other games I’d like to feature (Frogger, Spiritfarer, Celeste, etc.) and I’d love the opportunity to do a sequel or anniversary edition some day!
You’ve clearly played a wide variety of games - from Stardew Valley to Hades to Disco Elysium. Do you find you naturally pair your drinks with what you're playing?
Haha, love those examples, because those are three particular faves! The Stardew Valley cheeseboard was one of the first bits of the book that I wrote. When I’m actively playing I usually stick to a mocktail like the Princess Peach Bellini for Mario Kart (gotta keep those fingers quick), but yes. Some games and some flavors just sorta go together for me. It ends up being seasonal in many ways. I feel like picking up Hades again in the fall, and even in the depths of winter Animal Crossing feels like springtime to me, so some of those flavors and vibes come through in the recipe. It would be a ton of fun to really dive into one franchise and explore a whole menu of drinks, just to see how much deeper I could go. I love the chance to really sit and think about what works, what shows our favorite games in the best light.
This book has potential to be more than just a fun novelty, it could become a staple at game nights everywhere. What do you hope readers feel when they use it, and what kind of experiences do you hope it sparks?
I wrote Cocktails and Consoles so it could be someone’s first cocktail book or 15th, I think it’s a book that can grow with you as your skills in mixing drinks expand, with lots of different techniques to try. And every ingredient is used at least twice, so there are lots of chance to try something new with a bottle you already have on hand. At the end of the day, though, it’s about community, sharing good times, so I hope that it inspires many happy evenings in the company of friends, whether in cooperation or competition!
And finally, where can people find the book, follow your weekly creations, and raise a glass to what you’re crafting next?
Cocktails and Consoles is available wherever books are sold! I especially love to see it on the shelves in indie bookstores when I travel, so requesting from your favorite local store or library is a great thing! As for myself, I am active on Bluesky and Instagram as @eliaseells and on YouTube as Bar Cart Bookshelf. I hope I’ll see y’all there! Cheers!
Thanks for your time, Elias!
🙏 And THANK YOU for Reading
That’s a wrap for this week’s deep dive into all things video game literature. I hope you discovered something new, surprising, or just plain fun.
As always, your feedback helps shape this project—so don’t be shy! Drop a comment below, join the conversation on Discord, or just reply to this newsletter and share your thoughts.
And if you’re enjoying these weekly roundups, please consider supporting The Video Game Library with a paid subscription or forwarding this to a fellow fan. Every little bit helps us keep preserving and celebrating these incredible works—and the passionate people behind them.
Until next week — happy reading,
Dean (Founder, The Video Game Library)
Great interview