Chris Compendio

Writer and Digital Media Specialist

Editorial Highlights

When Is A Video Game Allowed To Die?

If we all take the "nothing is eternal" comment to heart, Fortnite will not literally last forever. One day, perhaps in the absurdly far future, Epic Games will stop adding new content to Fortnite. Some number of years later, Fortnite will go offline, and the game as we knew it will be dead.

Maybe companies can stop killing games, but that won't stop games from dying. And the folks who make online games should at least consider how they'll give their games a merciful death when it's time.

The Legend of Korra molded a theme out of metalbending

The sequel, The Legend of Korra, did far more than just continue The Last Airbender’s story — the series showed how society, with the tools that Aang and his Team Avatar had left behind, transformed after that shift. In the world of Avatar, the invention of metalbending, introduced as a level-up by Airbender character Toph Beifong, but in full effect after the 70-year time jump in the sequel series The Legend of Korra, is the best example of how political ideologies and the spiritual nature of bending were naturally intertwined.

How Red Dead Redemption 2 Attempts (and Struggles) to Emulate the Modern Western

Every time the black bars letterboxed the screen during Red Dead Redemption 2, I knew that the “video game” portion of this experience was on hold. I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that Rockstar (and the game’s writers) were plopping a movie in front of me instead. It is relatively obvious that Rockstar’s recent games are meant to invoke the feelings of familiar films, but reading and hearing the thoughts from my peers had me realize that many of us—the Housers included—simply have it wrong when analyzing this game’s relationship with the Western film genre.

How Daredevil Season 3 Depicts the Fight Against Real and Present Fears

Daredevil season 3 will obviously not solve any of our real-life problems—but it demonstrates that something as fantastical as the MCU can be very powerful by recalling realistic imagery and sentiments. In a society where people are fearful to live their regular lives under the threat of violence, however real or false that threat may be, and with bad actors exploiting that very fear, we need a fantasy like Daredevil. Season 3 is all about how he earned the famous moniker “the Man Without Fear.”

Video Game Presidents Were Meant to Be Funny (Until They Weren't)

The presidency is a monolithic concept in U.S. culture for pretty obvious reasons — as the leader of the nation, anything they do or say is instantly influential and important. As a result, the president of the United States is often reflected back in our popular culture. Once the president is involved in a story, you know shit’s about to get serious. Any piece of fiction is sure to represent a heightened reality to some degree, but this is always a telltale sign that some irreversible threshold has been crossed.

Unpacking in real life: how I handled the stress of managing physical spaces

I’m told that the idea of constantly moving between places is a very “American” concept. Whereas my family in the Philippines is accustomed to staying in the same family home for generations, I’ve been moving from one new space to another — twice in the past year, in fact. It is a stressful ordeal every time, but around the time of my most recent move, I happened to be playing Unpacking from developer Witch Beam. What resulted from playing the puzzle game was an enlightening recontextualization of how interacting with my personal physical space affects my mental space — and I loosened my anxiety over building a complete, “perfect” home.

Editorial/Features Collection

Below is a comprehensive collection of original articles I've written, ranging from opinion pieces, analytical essays, media impressions, and historical primers.

GameSpot •

The Resident Evil Movie Doesn't "Look Like RE," But Neither Do Some Of The Games

Already, some fans are complaining (as they do) about the movie's apparent lack of connection to the games, lamenting that it isn't a more overt adaptation of the adventures of Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy, et al. What those folks seem to forget is that some popular games in the franchise have occupied that territory before.

In fact, Resident Evil can be at its best when it strays from its own familiar trappings.
GameSpot •

It's Almost Annoying How Fun Splitgate 2 Was

Shooters are having a moment in 2025, with Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders topping the charts and attracting large player counts as the year comes to an end. The former title is a return to form for a legacy franchise, while the latter leads the charge for the fledgling extraction-shooter genre. Left in the dust in the shooter space, however, is Splitgate 2, a game that its makers thought would revitalize a genre they saw as growing stale.
ComicBook.com •

The Greatest Paper Mario Game Isn't the One You Think

If you ask any Paper Mario fan, there are two distinct eras in the 25-year history of the subseries: The golden age of character-driven RPGs, and the more experimental games with simpler gameplay and stories. Most of those fans would likely point to 2004’s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as their favorite, and for good reason. But looking back at the heyday of Paper Mario, one installment arguably stands out on top.
ComicBook.com •

Star Wars Outlaws Should've Starred the Best Character in the Franchise Over Kay Vess

There’s nearly endless potential in the Star Wars universe to create new planets, cultures, characters, and other concepts, so it’s hard to blame any creator who gets to play in that IP sandbox for leaving their personal stamp on the world. Still, as I was playing Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, which stars original protagonist Kay Vess, I couldn’t stop thinking about a preexisting character in Star Wars lore and how I’d rather be playing as her instead.
GameSpot •

When Is A Video Game Allowed To Die?

If we all take the "nothing is eternal" comment to heart, Fortnite will not literally last forever. One day, perhaps in the absurdly far future, Epic Games will stop adding new content to Fortnite. Some number of years later, Fortnite will go offline, and the game as we knew it will be dead.

Maybe companies can stop killing games, but that won't stop games from dying. And the folks who make online games should at least consider how they'll give their games a merciful death when it's time.
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Collaborative Features and Lists

These are editorials and features that I contributed to with my own written blurbs. Most of these pieces cover lighthearted popular culture topics.

Flixist •

I'll never forget watching Inception in theaters

Children know that when school is over, it's time for the good movies. Superheroes, robots, aliens, and other out-worldly forces take over movie theaters to provide relief, escapism, and as we learn later in life, nostalgia. It is these summer blockbusters that stick out to us in our memories—we can remember who we were watching with, where we were in life, what our fashion sense was back then, and so on. Movies might be memorable, but the experience of watching them is something we can't forget.
Flixist •

Flixist Group Feature: White Whales

Is the opposite of a Christmas miracle a 'Christmas crime?' If that's the case, I may as well be a Christmas criminal. In the pantheon of holiday movies that everyone gets obsessed about for an entire month, Elf starring Will Ferrell is certainly up there. It was one of those movies that had a trailer that I felt looked stupid as a child, but to my surprise, it's become a popular culture staple. I missed it in theaters, not out of any sort of protest, but I guess it just wasn't on my family's radar at the time.
Flixist •

Flixist Holiday Group Feature

Folks, I realize that such a holiday-centered group feature should be wholesome, but when it comes to Christmas traditions, the only constant every year is that I am forced to watch the cinematic travesty known as Love Actually. This may come across as a wee bit harsh, but at least once a month, this movie comes up in my head and I devote some portion of my being feeling absolute hatred over it. Why is this, you ask? I love a good energetic ensemble story, but everyone in Love Actually acts either creepy, weird, or both.
Destructoid •

Flixist Group Feature: Dumbest Horror Movie Concepts

[In this group feature about the 'dumbest horror movie concepts,' Chris wrote about the film One Missed Call.]

'New technology will murder you' seems to be the premise of most stupid horror movies. Off the top of my head, I can think of movies with gruesome deaths involving Skype, social media, wi-fi, and so on and so forth. Perhaps even The Ring counts during an era where VHS tapes were novel. But the first one that always comes to mind is a little film, which unsurprisingly is a remake of a Japanese film, called One Missed Call. What is it this time? Cellphones, man.
Destructoid •

Flixist Fall 2018 Preview

[In this Flixist Fall movie preview, Chris contributes a blurb about Creed II.]

History is catching up to Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), with a new challenger in Ivan Drago's son (Florian Munteanu). Determined to avenge the death of his father at Drago's hand in Rocky IV, Creed once again trains under Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), but he must question whether to prioritize his revenge over both his own safety and his family, including his girlfriend and mother of his child (Tessa Thompson).
Destructoid •

Mission: Impossible - Fallout was the best damn movie of the summer

Ah, the summer. After the early year doldrums, moviegoers can finally sink their teeth into a feast that includes numerous sequels, reboots, adaptations, and crappy horror movies. Provided your MoviePass still works, there's a whole lot to choose from. Sure, you can argue that summer blockbusters are more formulaic than they've ever been—but they're still damn fun. Besides, just wait until Oscar season starts, when cold, calculated, awards bait begins to populate the theaters.
Destructoid •

Get to know your Flixist writers: We love bad movies and aren't afraid to admit it

(This group feature was about bad movies that the Flixist writers enjoy—Chris's contribution was Jupiter Ascending.)

I remember after watching Cloud Atlas, one of my favorite movies of all time, I gained a trust for the Wachowski sisters and knew that I would be down for anything they have to offer creatively. I was unprepared for their follow-up, Jupiter Ascending, and I had never felt more betrayed in my life. The first time I saw it, I was unable to process the images being flashed before me. The plot was at times, predictable, and other times, non-sensical.
Destructoid •

How to understand the insanity that is the Flixist writers

(This is a collaborative feature with the other Flixist writers.)

Listen, I loves me some Paul Thomas Anderson, I'm all over the Coen brothers, and I'd love to have Quentin Tarantino movies injected into my bloodstream—but sometimes, I just want to watch people beat the living shit out each other. And while there are plenty of these wonderful things that we call 'moving pictures,' there is something so tight, efficient and enjoyable about what Anthony and Joe Russo do with their first Marvel Cinematic Universe contribution.