I think that, all this time, people have been under the mistaken impression that GNU Emacs is just an editor. Or that it’s an environment that includes an editor and games. It’s more than that. It’s a colossal game built upon an environment that includes an editor and several mini-games!

So, in that spirit, since the gaming publications are seemingly too busy to do so, I feel obligated to write my own game review of Emacs.

Genre-wise, I’m thinking it’s an RPG. You accomplish a lot through menus. And you can play all sorts of roles, like being a coder, a writer, a slacker (try “M-x dunnet”), etc. I’m still seeing if there are any comically large swords. Maybe in the MELPA DLC.

It’s very story-driven, and sticks tight to the non-linear, “choices matter” kind of system. In fact, your choices matter so much that you cram them all into a special file, the dot Emacs file!

In the Org Mode expansion, the player can enjoy a full open-world experience. You get to roam through endless forests of trees, on quests to search for tags and other goodies. You can also use links for teleportation. It’s practically like Breath of the Wild, but a decade earlier!

I like the way you can easily enter cheat-codes with M-x. I do feel, however, that the community overuses the viper-mode cheat. I prefer to play the game straight so I can enjoy the ergonomic challenge.

I strongly appreciate how the developers have taken a principled stand and not submitted Emacs to the ESRB for a rating. They have also stood firm and resisted any sort of pressure to take out the rampant killing. When I try a completion on “C-h f kill”, I see a whopping 36 functions for killing all sorts of things. Absolutely no censorship or holding back here. Take that, Grand Theft Auto!

As far as downsides go, it must be acknowledged that there’s a pretty good learning curve here. It’s not quite as demanding as Dwarf Fortress or the Monster Hunter franchise, but getting into this one still takes some commitment.

It’s also a bummer that it doesn’t have Achievements. Wouldn’t it be great if you were using it and suddenly got a pop-up congratulating you on using TRAMP to edit files on a remote server? Or that you managed to go 1000 keystrokes without touching the mouse or arrow-keys? Doesn’t everybody appreciate a good pat on the back now and then?

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I play lots of games, but Emacs is the one I keep coming back to again and again.