Levi Rubeck (@rubeck.bsky.social) on the appeal of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake: "...it certainly isn’t the narrative, and Dragon Quest III knows this, relishes in it, refuses to apologize."

UNBEATABLE’s approach to space and its discussion of absence left a major impression on me. It captures grief in a way that hit me like a fucking truck when I finished, esp. given a recent loss personally. My latest, maybe most personal, piece @unwinnable.com: unwinnable.com/2026/01/23/f...

The latest article in our ongoing Curios issue is @strida.bsky.social on The Seance of Blake Manor. Read it below: bulletpointsmonthly.com/2026/01/21/d...

Speaking of pitches, we've had another malfunction with our pitch inbox. If you pitched before Christmas and didn't get a response, please resend your pitch. And if you sent one within the past month, feel free to follow up if you don't get a response within the next week or so!

We know you've been waiting for this -- the pitch form for our Final Fantasy x politics issue is finally here! Pay is $0.05/word and pitching deadline is February 6th. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I think it would be really helpful if everyone posting their very cool takes on the state of music journalism this week would also encourage people to subscribe to worker-owned outlets & support independent writers trying to make new things happen

Hey! Do you want to pitch a feature for @unwinnable.com's Final Fantasy x Politics theme issue this spring? Use this form: forms.gle/3jqN8rJavyQc... !!!

ICYMI: "REVII’s unlockable difficulty seems to anticipate my complaint that you can only truly experience a horror game once." @jhensliterature.bsky.social digs into the rare horror experience Resident Evil VII's Madhouse difficulty offers:

For the first Stop Caring piece of the year, it is my honor and pleasure to welcome @ashlikeadragon.bsky.social to the site. She wrote about Depression Quest, Hanif Abdurraiq's On Seatbelts and Sunsets, and struggling with depression. The gold standard to what a personal essay should be.

You are feeling compelled to sign up and get all the 2025 issues for free. unwinnable.com/subscribe/

"What teemed with life visually on screen could not plant a seed that stuck in my mind." @rubeck.bsky.social explains why Sea of Stars didn't stick the landing for him:

In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties. The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized. Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.

A reminder that one reason @unwinnable.com rules is because they publish thoughtful board game criticism alongside their video game pieces. Shoutouts @orringrey.com for this one about the challenges of games, like critical darling Root, that require iterative play. unwinnable.com/2026/01/13/t...

In 2026, Unwinnable is running a long-term drive with the goal of getting one new subscription each day. To up the ante, we're including the 2025 issues of Unwinnable Monthly and Exploits – 24 free issues of thoughtful, sharp writing on games and culture. Is today your day? unwinnable.com/subscribe/

My goal this year is to get one new subscriber for Unwinnable Monthly every day. Is that you, today? If you do it, you also get all 24 issues from 2025 right now, which is a pretty good distraction, if you want to be distracted. unwinnable.com/subscribe/ @unwinnable.com

I think about this quote from the Luddite movement all the time

Renee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears: archive.is/ur35j

ICE killed a Black man, Keith Porter, 7 days before Renee Good, and I hadn't heard about it until today. His vigils went unnoticed. His life came and gone and America forgot to blink. Two Americas.

First 2026 piece is here! @dirtlord77.bsky.social's VILE: Exhumed is a scathing examination of men that frequent the worst parts of the internet, as well as the culture that emboldens them, presented as an engaging puzzle game. Damn shame Steam banned it. Check it out: exalclaw.com/2026/01/08/v...

great piece by @emilyprice.bsky.social about one of my all time favorites.

I've resolved to be more energetic in promoting Unwinnable this year. Stories deserve to be read! Readers deserve thoughtful stories! These things should be bullshit-free! In more measurable terms, I'd like to get a new subscriber for every day of 2026. So, ahem: unwinnable.com/subscribe/

“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...” A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today. lithub.com/renee-nicole...

My last 2025 interview is now up! It's on DISCOUNTY subverting the expectations of a cozy game by showing the "inherently negative consequences of unlimited growth." Also: its thesis project origins, research done at a real supermarket, and the influence of...DILLON'S DEAD-HEAT BREAKERS?

Write for our Exploits mag in 2026! If you're new here, Exploits covers our micro-criticism on pop culture. $25 for a ~500-word meta essay and $10 for a ~375-word section essay. More info here: unwinnable.com/submissions/

Like Miyazaki's revulsion at "a.i." animation, @rubeck.bsky.social recoils at the thought of "a.i." poetry: "it wouldn’t be a dialogue, a communion with my fellow living beings – just a shout to the void and a striking and hollow voice in return." tinyurl.com/3zrv9e9e

1. Did you know that Girl Scouts has, for a long time, accepted trans girls and nonbinary scouts? Trans kids are under attack. Every year, I make a thread of trans and nonbinary girl scouts you can get your cookies from. Lets get our cookies from them this year in solidarity!

ICYMI: "On The Spiritual Sound, Agriculture have challenged not only my understanding of what black metal can sound like, but what themes it can explore, and what feelings it can invoke." @bensailer.bsky.social explores Agriculture's "ecstatic" black metal:

Let's walk through why Unwinnable is some of the goodest critical writing you can find today. I'm going through our Genuine Unintelligence issue (April, 2025) story by story to show you the stuff, then at the end you can smash the "subscribe button" up there because you've been blinded by our light.

Posting a little thread ranking all the games I played last year (ones I rolled credits on), none of which were released in 2025. I did play all the Devil May Cry games though and picked up where I left off on the Final Fantasy pixel remasters. Anywho, here they are:

here are some actual, really useful pieces of writing advice that i've read from other people + some of mine. these really reshaped how i viewed writing 1) living your life is research. anything you listen to, watch, overhear, read, experience, survive, that can become material.

FUNLAND FUNLAND FUNLAND Y'ALL THIS IS EVERYTHING WE HAVE LOST ABOUT GAME WRITING SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON

Well, well, well. Here it is, our last episode of the year. And what a year! What's the best game of 2025? What's the worst? All this and more!

Likely my last article of the year, on both Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6, and how online multiplayer feels like the most apt metaphor now for real war. If you read it and like it, please share it. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/12/24/k...

"So, rather than set out to make this big, sprawling strategy game as a first time designer, the game and I sort of grew up together." @aguaspoints.bsky.social talks to Pablo Clark about creating the board game The Old King's Crown:

!! Here’s a link to full video of the 60 Minutes segment that Bari Weiss killed last minute, via @jasonparis.bsky.social: is.gd/paU8Ko (It was uploaded to the Global TV app in Canada, seemingly by accident, and has now been taken down)

The absolute legend @metallicaisrad.bsky.social arrives!!!

'you can't just not play any game that uses AI in any way at all' Fuckin' watch me, bitch

if there are any sites looking for a freelancer to review/cover yakuza kiwami 3 who has also reviewed infinite wealth + pirate yakuza and wrote about the series at length in the past, i'm truly the girl for it 💜 aware this is a little early shares appreciated 💜

Trans youth healthcare is based in decades of research and supported by every major medical organization in the US. Under RFK Jr, a handpicked panel produced a dodgy report claiming otherwise. It's a clear example of Kennedy's war on science. So why aren't news organizations treating it that way?

This month's column is in fact NOT a column. What could it possibly be?! What madness has @unwinnabledavid.bsky.social let me unleash?!? How much of it involves genres other than games?!?! Well...

This one's sticking with me. Harper Jay MacIntyre writes about the controversial videogame 'Horses,' the fecklessness of game-site administrators, and the distressing reemergence of ludocentrism among high-status videogame scholars. transgamerthoughts.com/post/8023277...

There's nothing more festive than Frankenstein. In this month's Unwinnable Monthly, read @orringrey.com's feature on the creature as well as our regular columnists' latest thoughts. Happy holidays! Buy: unwinnable.bigcartel.com/product/unwi... Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/

I say this with zero irony: if you are even tangentially a part of a retro video game community, it is your civic duty to push back against this company and shun anyone who doesn't. This is fascism tapping gently at the door and as soon as you let it in, it's going to invite its friends.

For the last contributor piece of the year, it is an honor and pleasure to welcome @crapstacular.bsky.social to the site Khee Hoon Chan wrote about Untitled Paper RPG and what we can learn from unfinished games. It is a laser-focused piece that was a joy to read and edit.

Sarah McBride rarely centers her identity as a trans woman. Republicans do that for her. So when she steps to the microphone and talks about "21 years of unwavering homesickness," it means something. @mcbride.house.gov www.readtpa.com/p/watch-rep-...

I wrote a little something for @tier-review.com On 24 Killers and what a home really is Thank you to @gracemachine.bsky.social and @phoenixsimms.bsky.social for the opportunity and the great edits.

A story I found about Haiti: In 1999, a group of Haitians were tired of political disorder and dreamed of a better life in the United States. So they built a small, 23-foot boat by hand using pine trees, scrap wood, and used nails. They called the boat "Believe in God."

It's time