Marcel Winatschek

Checking Out

Winter kills you. You’re stuck inside with friends, someone’s girlfriend, the neighbor’s dog, whatever. Gray, cold, nothing to do. You could pretend to care about small talk but you’re already half-dead.

Boot up Star Wars: Force Unleashed on Xbox and you’re Galen Marek for the next six hours. Vader’s apprentice, throwing people around with the Force, tearing apart walkers. The graphics fade eventually but the game doesn’t care. You’re deep enough that winter stops being real.

The giveaway bundled it with shower products, which was funny in a way nobody meant. Like the cure for winter gaming haze includes a shower. Maybe it did. But for those hours in the dark, that was the whole solution right there.