Control (2019)

2025 had some amazing games to show us, and I wrote about my favorite ones! Free on Patreon!

I’ve never encountered a game quite like Phoenix Springs. I’ve played point-and-click adventures, sci-fi mysteries and narrative games, but I’ve never seen one that sounds this luscious, looks this dramatic or plays this hypnotically - Jessica Conditt ❄️ 40% off this winter ❄️ s.team/a/1973310

Fav games of 2025, led by @blippo.plus and ft. @pepijnwillekens.bsky.social @wednesdays-game.bsky.social @minddivergame.bsky.social @deconstructeam.bsky.social @ccharnul.bsky.social @thestaticman.bsky.social @namataka.bsky.social @uvula.jp @calligramstudio.com - these games mean so much to me ❤️

new studio bio

Love to see point and clicks + adventure games in everyone's top 10 lists this year 👌

ho ho ho

ho ho ho

Took this on a misty day at North Berwick. Ghost Story For Christmas vibez

Breakdown of where the money you pay for a game on Steam goes: - 30% goes to Valve, right off the top. - The remaining 70% goes to the publisher, and is split with the developer based on their contract. Usually the publisher will want to recoup their investment before paying the devs. ...

I spoke to a dozen professional concept artists working in games about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs easier, even if it's just used in "very early ideation stages." Zero said "yes." Most said it made their job harder. I learnt a lot about concept artists. You should too!

Ok the term indie is a bit blurry and undefined for me, but I've really been enjoying what people been posting, so here's what I would consider 50 Artemis Octavio coded deep cuts (also I'm bored at work)

reposting because Luis is a superb writer and because what we crave as players is to experience a feeling of "oh I didn't know games could do that" so yeah this is still GOTY at the studio

Soooo we accidentally launched the same day as UNBEATABLE, oops 😅 To celebrate our blunder, there's a bundle available on Steam featuring Bits & Bops and UNBEATABLE at a discount! 🤩 Enjoy this wonderful week of rhythm goodness by grabbing it for yourself or a friend! 🥰

Our statement on the recent layoffs affecting workers at Coatsink, Splash Damage, Glowmade & Square Enix, putting over 300 workers at risk of redundancy in the run up to Christmas. If you work in the UK games industry, join our union today: iwgb.org.uk/en/join/game...

"No one is helpless. No one is beyond helping." One part of the Log Lady's message in Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier I read today. All of the Log Lady's segments in the extra intros and supplemental material is getting to me way more these days. Think I used to just gloss over them.

Another batch of puzzle games. A Case of Fraud Ambrosia Sky: Act One The Apothecary of Trubiz Mind Diver Orbyss blog.zarfhome.com/2025/12/late...

Oh hey it's bandcamp Friday i always forget to share ours. Thanks to everyone who supports us over there x calligramstudio.bandcamp.com

Despite the controversy, Horses is only shocking if you're unfamiliar with the history movies, theater, literature, or basically any art form that does not have stats. aftermath.site/horses-indie-g...

Here's a fun Friday afternoon article from me! About the chilling effect of censorship in games, the ethical obligations of being a poweful entity in the medium, and how we respond when video games' freedom of expression - from so many directions - is under siege. www.eurogamer.net/however-you-...

HERE IT IS: my top 10 games of the year for @vulture.com TLDR: no Silksong; no Clair Obscur; much Lumines hype; NYU Game Center is massively overrepresented (congrats past and present faculty and alumni); Shadows over Yōtei (bite me); 2025 is Hinako & Nate's year. www.vulture.com/article/best...

same

Another December marks another @npr.org best games of the year list. Indies ruled 2025. Our list is the most eclectic you will find on the internet. 🧵 www.npr.org/2025/12/03/n...

Looking to open some freelance slots for the new year! I’m a Pixel Artist & Animator with 10+ years industry experience and can do a strong range of styles. if you need polished visuals, character work or fluid animations, then shoot me a DM! Shares also appreciated 😉 #art #gamedev #pixelart

Despelote is currently 35% off. You know what to do (if you haven't done so already). store.steampowered.com/app/2367820/...

going to [buy Horses] even harder

gamedev feels so dumb and pointless sometimes just clicking on the computer all day and then a stranger sends you a beautiful, radical 18k word essay and says the game inspired them to write again and it's so much joy it almost hurts www.patreon.com/posts/144611...

SOUP ROOMS is a collaborative minimalist art-game featuring over 100 ROOMS created by cool and talented indie devs from around the world. Admission is free of charge, and you can even make your own ROOMS and SOUP-like games to share with others! We hope you enjoy your stay. LINKS BELOW! ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

Recently played: Jusant by @edouardcaplain.bsky.social and team. A pensive, elegant, beautiful game filled with cozy cliffside houses and creaking windmills. Some of my favorite environment design in recent memory.

If you MUST consume MORE this weekend, the always excellent advX event is still on. Phoenix Springs is 35% off. store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...

Eyvind Earle

Happy release day to Detective Instinct!

Pleased to reveal that Phoenix Springs was this month's game at Slow Game Club – a great charity raising funds for @intogames.bsky.social Q&A on their podcast/stream tonight if anyone's interested. More info: www.slowgame.club

Pietro, a true auteur, is right about the potential and I think also about what's holding games back as a medium for artistic expression. There's also a long history of more radical art pieces not getting the big screen, at least not immediately.

Our upcoming game HORSES was preemptively banned from Steam, with no path to appeal. The game will still launch next week on December 2nd and will be available on EGS, GOG, Humble, and Itch for $4.99. Here is a detailed FAQ covering what happened: horses.wtf/BannedFromSt...

Another thing about Blippo+ that made me want to write about it: I think video games are uniquely good at preserving the experience of interfacing with old technology, and while a lot of retro tech/software in games is there for fun aesthetic reasons, this is a real strength of the medium

hey, i'm looking for work! full-time or freelance 💜 journalist, critic, author proficient in features, criticism, reporting, reviews, previews, news, guides words at lost in cult, RPS, VGC, unwinnable, gamesradar+, polygon, EDGE, PLAY muckrack.com/ash-like-a-d... [email protected]

re: roblox dude's interview crashout. the thing he wants to say but can't is "at scale, kids are gonna get hurt. that is the price for scale." the thing nobody wants to say out loud is "maybe scaling to a level where harm isn't manageable is bad, and scale should be contained"

journo friends: gimme your top interviewing tips and tricks, things to make interviews go smoother, ways to ask follow-ups, that kinda thing!

this is one of the best talks I've ever seen, and the resulting animation short 'Retirement Plan' is superb. Watch it at www.retirementplanfilm.com

Very delighted to be part of this beautifully crafted protest piece / peace

YOU 🫵 LOVE ❤️ CARS Pave paradise and wishlist Car Park Capital: store.steampowered.com/app/3031880/...

One of my favourite games — short, beautiful and effortlessly cool

hey Phoenix Springs What’s, like, your deal??

writing

thank you Nicholas Quah for spelling out exactly what makes these interviews so inane. also, on SFV you're only ever catching 90 seconds of an exchange, TOPS -- so you end up with what are effectively disembodied soundbites, cut off from context. it stinks! www.vulture.com/article/dumb...

re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...

LOUDER

@amabel.bsky.social makes the most thought provoking and innovative games. Few publishers have a catalogue as rich and stacked with gems. I've lost count of how many Hollandspiele games I've played that have floored me with their inventiveness.