Kill Screen is an expensive publication: each issue costs $20, and the four-issue subscription with a T-shirt is $75. It's ridiculous when we're used to getting our writing for free online, but the talent here is formidable, and the writing is incredible. This doesn't look or feel like a magazine, it's more of a journal: a collection of meditations on different aspects of gaming, and you'll want to take it from the shelf to read again and again.

Here is a selection of articles from Issue no. 1:

J. Nicholas Geist with a story of marriage, judgment, and World of Warcraft addiction.

with a story of marriage, judgment, and World of Warcraft addiction. Jason Killingsworth is schooled by an eight-year-old Guitar Hero prodigy—and uses the opportunity to grow up.

is schooled by an eight-year-old Guitar Hero prodigy—and uses the opportunity to grow up. Gus Mastrapa battles anxiety and finds rescue in EverQuest.

battles anxiety and finds rescue in EverQuest. Rob Dubbin digs up the strange, hilarious fan fic of internet legend Stuart Michigan, starting with his latest work, "Some Russian."

digs up the strange, hilarious fan fic of internet legend Stuart Michigan, starting with his latest work, "Some Russian." Majed Athab takes on the Six Days in Fallujah controversy, and asks: why is it easier to make a ridiculous war game than a realistic one?

It sounds like the stories we're used to seeing, but the dives are deeper, the writing is thoughtful, and the presentation and custom art for each story makes the experience of reading these stories about our hobby a sensual experience. It's good quality writing in an old medium, and the magazine itself feels and looks wonderful in your hand.

Some tips from the submission page are darkly funny if you're familiar with most writing about games. "At this time, women probably don't make up a full half of the audience for a video game magazine. But you should write as if they do—and as if they brought the beer. 'My girlfriend doesn't understand games' articles don't work for us," is one hint. "Sometimes we joke around the office that we never, ever need to see another pitch about BioShock. We laugh, and laugh," reads another. "But maybe we're not joking."

These aren't reviews, or news, or even standard interviews... each piece makes you think of some aspect of gaming in a different way; it's a delightful way to spend an afternoon. The writers come from the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, GQ, The Daily Show, The Christian Science Monitor, LA Times, The Colbert Report, The Onion, and Paste. No, it's not cheap, but these are stories that are going to be as interesting five years from now as they are today. When I finished the first issue I put it up on my bookshelf, and I can't wait to put the second right next to it. I haven't been excited about collecting magazines since Next Generation.