what a entertaining piece, this!

Now that everyone is going back to work, it's a good time to remind you I still urgently want to be your next writer of things. Email [email protected] or DM me for my portfolio. Happy New Year!

"international law must be followed" is european for "thoughts and prayers"

In Blade Runner 2049 Joi's voice: 't was a year (with a lot of banger articles from SUPERJUMP)

Genuinely one of EOTY lists I've personally been looking forward to 👏 Played three out of 10 games (Nubby and Butcher's Creek) from the list (two of 'em) inspired by Artemis' amazing write-ups. Still, have a feeling It Takes War would be on the list if you've gotten around to playing it(!)

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

Gotta get me one of these

the only way to write something good is to write something bad over and over again until it becomes good. outsourcing all the writing something bad parts to a machine means you didn't write the good thing on the other end (if it's even good)

Since I'm in the Baltics, we're pretty late with the whole Geese discourse. But seeing multiple Geese memes in the last few days (plus P.T.A. filming frontman's Carnagey Hall concert, for some reason), I went to my go-to music critic to find out what the deal is, and boy, it did not disappoint.

We had an Overwhelmingly Positive score on Steam, then these two reviews rolled in Why does Valve allow this?

love an End of The Year album ranking from Zach

Hi, for this week’s Pushing Buttons newsletter I talked to Dan Houser about the influence of Victorian literature on his games writing - especially Middlemarch on Red Dead Redemption 2 - it was a really interesting chat! www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...

haló friends .ᐟ.ᐟ it's been a tough year for devs and I'm now looking for my next job, so if you know of any projects or teams in search of a concept artist/character designer/silly guy connoisseur, please keep me in mind ⋆.˚ you can see more of my concept work here: mattjohnsillustration.com

I think it's worth pointing out that very few video-game companies are as transparent as Shovel Knight maker Yacht Club Games, and I appreciate that the studio was so candid about their story and why their next game, Mina the Hollower, has taken so long www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Happy release day to @santaragione.com! Quickly, While They Still Have HORSES www.gog.com/en/game/horses

Totally forgot to share the piece that I wrote for GI.biz - but that's besides the point; The point is that folks at @santaragione.com make very fascinating games and that we should put money where our mouths are and buy Horses (which is bonkers in the best way possible) when it comes out! 🐴

new article from me is live I wrote about @knifedemonsoftware.bsky.social's Brush Burial: Gutter World, catharsis, power fantasies, and getting socially ostracized after being punched in the face.

Seriously, unlike anything you will play in a long long time - support @santaragione.com and buy Horses when it comes out ✊

Very good write-up @jickle.net 👏 And a very good interactive experience that any The Beginner's Guide fans should play

Support Stop Caring, people!

Had a good chat with Rob Davis about Ghost of Yotei and came away from it with a renewed ambition to find a way to watch Lady Snowblood www.superjumpmagazine.com/ghost-of-yot...

A very talented games writer is looking for work! 👇

turning BJ Blazkowicz into an introspective woke warrior poet is one of the best video game magic tricks of the last 15 years

Spoiler alert: it's MGS Delta (inside you can find like a mini-review of it!) and RDR2 (which I'm replaying - I know, I know... 🫠)

For the Shadow of the Colossus story, we interviewed 14 people including project leads Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, hired Gravity Rush concept artist Takeshi Oga to illustrate the cover, and put together a 10,000-word story with help from @milkman.bsky.social @shmuplations.bsky.social and others.

My @gibiz.bsky.social feature on Palestinian game devs is here! 🤯 (pssst, go check it out)

WGA Statement on ABC’s Decision to Pull Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Starting to realize that if you're a single guy in a big city and don't have a cute dog in 2025, your chances of a meet-cute drop by 75% 🫠 #catpersonproblems

Silent Hill f Review Thread: CGM: XboxEra: TechRadar: WellPlayed: Shacknews: Destructoid: Wccftech: Screen Rant: Digital Trends: DualShockers: 9.5/10 Game Informer: IGN: VGC: Game Rant: GamesRadar: GameReactor UK: Windows Central: Gamespot:

Had a brilliant chat with @mattnava.bsky.social about @giantsquidstudios.com's Sword of the Sea and the hardships it went through to see the light of day - oh, and what a sensory delight of a game it is 🏄

Been thinking about this all week; but really this just brings a bunch of stuff bubbling up that I've been sitting on for way longer. On the death of criticism: noescapevg.com/games-critic...

Let this be a constant reminder that most people don’t know shit about shit. If you are a creative, get the idea you’ve been holding on to off the drawing board and out into the world. The right people will get it.

The best alternatives to Spotify for listening to music

I reviewed Mashina for Start Menu :^)

Hit like if you read film criticism weekly and repost if you read film criticism more than that

Hey, that's my therapist's building

Going to repeat myself here, but Artemis is one of the best writers I know ⭐ Seeing a new article from them never fails to stop me in my tracks and make me read the whole thing in one gulp - and this one is no exception (Also: go sub to Stop Caring!)

NEW: During an interview at the Xbox booth on the Gamescom show floor, I attempted to ask a veteran Obsidian developer for their thoughts on making video games at Microsoft amid layoffs and widespread criticism over the company's links to Israel. I was immediately shut down.

My new article is for Stop Caring is live. A short write-up on Metal Garden by @aleksandraht.bsky.social, how it made me ponder about ideas of 'escape', and how it reflects certain concerns I have about our Real World. It's one of my favorite games of the year. Definitely worth checking out.

One of the great modern American film magazines needs your help! The best way to help is to get a 1 year subscription. The price -- $2.41 a month!! -- is bargain for all the great writing and illustrations it'll help pay for.

Honored to be mentioned among the best of July's crop 🙌 (pssst, it's a very exclusive interview that you should check out if you haven't already!)

Has any game been as out of step with its time as Battlefield 6, which depicts the U.S. as a victim of the collapse of the post-World War II order instead of one of the main reasons it might happen? www.endlessmode.com/article/batt...

Blind Alley No. 16

big WTF (or: here goes another one...)

Been chipping away at this beast of an interview for a good month, but can finally share it with y'all ⭐ Big jolly thank yous go to @kamibox-ph.bsky.social ph.bsky.social and Lorraine Bowen for making this charming little game & cracking me up during the interview - now, go play PBJ - The Musical!

The MGS Delta Collector’s Edition is a GAME exclusive in the UK.