A whole lot is stressful and depressing right now, but I just had a really lovely interview. Talking to nice, passionate people is the ultimate pick-me-up

It's too danged hot. Deploy the okonomiyaki.

Pairing my usual 3pm cup of tea with a choc ice is a sure sign of desperate times

Soon I too shall melt. But for this brief, tolerable window, I enjoy.

First time sticking jalapeños in one of these. Smells good, just hope the taste matches! Also I suck at scoring.

Me as a cryptic crossword fan when the Parseword is straightforward

Ok so my interview with FFVII Rebirth Director Naoki Hamaguchi finally came back and it's a weird one with a lot of random information. I went to dinner with him years ago and planted the seed of making Chadley playable, I didn't get a no when following up about it!

Chatted to my sister about this because "wife game" is a term we had never encountered before. It's a great read and a look into a side of the hobby I've not experienced. My wife got me into board games!

Jesse is our brilliant, brave 100+hr RPG hero. Read his interview if you dare to be as brave as he

If you’re a game publisher, biz or PR, I also do mock reviews. I’ve done them for some of the biggest triple-A games of this year, and I’ve handled dozens of indie games, helping set expectations, solve internal debates, and prioritise fixes and improvements for the day one patch.

I reviewed Directive 8020. I'm glad Supermassive is taking the time to try new stuff with the series, but unfortunately a lot of those added elements feel unfinished so far and cut down on the good stuff from prior games. That said, I *loved* the cast of the game! www.restart.run/articles/dir...

Built Blastoise a pirate ship home with a lower deck and surrounding port. He deserves it, the king.

I'm not yet sure if some of the new elements in Directive 8020 strengthen or dilute the overall experiences of a Supermassive Games package, but I enjoyed my first foray with the game's cast and am excited to learn more about them. Preview up on @restart.run www.restart.run/articles/dir...

Yes but do they call it Aliens: Isolation?

Good god the atmosphere for this France v Ireland game in the W6N is *phenomenal.* I have got to see a game over there

It helps that Chase did such a bloody good job running this, but we really did manage to dive into the Alien TTRPG with, I think, less than 5 minutes of setup and explanation. Glorious. We messed up just one system that I can recall and it didn't ruin things by any means.

Really enjoyed chatting to @mamavitelli.bsky.social about his thoughts on Saros because I could I could clearly see why it didn't work as well for him but certainly might for someone who feels desperately strapped for time like me. I really should try Returnal first though...

Reading this dang book and discovering that even the sayings I didn't think were from ships are, in fact, from ships. My entire language is boat.

Spent some time today screaming into the void (of my helmet)

Chase is a stellar reporter, and he also runs brilliant TTRPG sessions as a bonus.

I'm looking for some extra work and would be very interested in any part-time or contract gigs that could make use of my writing, editing, and project management experience. Creative work, research and reporting, consulting; I am happy to do it all. Email: chasewritesthing [at] gmail DMs open here!

First cheese sourdough! Quickly becoming a Bread Guy to keep myself sane

Spent a frankly embarrassing amount of time making my cat in Tomodachi Life. Not sure if the result is good or cursed. Video up tomorrow.

Spent a not insignicant portion of today making my cat in Tomodachi Life and I can't decide if the result is great or cursed

There are an awful lot of video game concerts happening this year. I had the good fortune to speak to the folk behind Game Music Festival for @restart.run about starting out, and how these shows keep experimenting. www.restart.run/articles/vid...

Playing the Alien RPG and having the best time completely failing to save my fleshy humans as a friendly android.

Listening to @sunsetvisitor.studio chat about Prove You're Human, and speculative sci-fi influences has me: A) Very excited to see more of this one and B) Feeling like a muppet for still not yet having played 1000xResist despite numerous recommendations www.restart.run/articles/100...

I was also able to chat with @blacktabbygames.com about the duo's aspirations for their new publishing arm, and the confusing-but-entirely-plausible-in-a-video-game concept of healing the industry by a thousand cuts. Have a read.

Okay, People of Note's Sorry Girl song did make me cackle at the obligatory final verse key change

We sat down and talked to @sunsetvisitor.studio about its upcoming game Prove You're Human “It's about the violence of declaring a binary … of declaring something is not this and something is that.”

I was also able to chat with @blacktabbygames.com about the duo's aspirations for their new publishing arm, and the confusing-but-entirely-plausible-in-a-video-game concept of healing the industry by a thousand cuts. Have a read.

Listening to @sunsetvisitor.studio chat about Prove You're Human, and speculative sci-fi influences has me: A) Very excited to see more of this one and B) Feeling like a muppet for still not yet having played 1000xResist despite numerous recommendations www.restart.run/articles/100...

Something fishy going on here...

Just having a lovely time designing spaces in Pokopia

Watching Interior Design Masters with my wife has truly upped our Pokopia game.

This week on The Game Informer Show, our pal @mamavitelli.bsky.social from Restart.run joins us to discuss Marathon! Plus, we debate the concept of "spring games." Check it out here: gameinformer.com/video-podcas...

Wrote a piece on the rise of increasingly sophisticated photo modes, and chatted with the photo mode consultant - and several virtual photographers - on this trend. For the Verge:

Today is my husband's birthday. I'm playing through the Tomodachi Life demo. I created us as my first two Miis and just got this special news bulletin, with a report straight from his birthday party. Stop it. This is so cute.

Bread: Part Two

Entering my bread era 🍞

I really don't think you've lived until you've experienced the heady highs and crushing lows of a full 18 holes of Mario Golf: Super Rush.

Sending out the week on a positive note. March has been Restart's strongest month on YouTube by a country mile. Really proud of the work our humble team has put in to achieve this. Now if only Capcom could release a new Resident Evil game every month...

This is the only Crimson Dessert I'm interested in.

Reckon this encapsulates one of the key reasons this isn't a game for me at all (even as someone who plays CS weekly) but I've enjoyed every story Jesse shares about Marathon. Maybe I'll just get into Marathon lore videos.

Now officially the best article on our website not just because it's great but because it features a pie chart.

Had a lot of fun adapting @imrankhan.bsky.social's fine Resident Evil Requiem article idea to video at the end of last week and, blimey, it has performed rather beyond my expectations. www.youtube.com/shorts/IvR23...

I used my time at the IGF/GDC awards to ask the winners about their choices from Pokemon Wind and Waves. Do their choices agree with your own?

Possibly the best Six Nations I've watched, even with England going 1/5. Rugby, man.

Wrote a bit about Resident Evil Requiem's excellent opening street and the little silly details that add so much life to survival horror and games in general (incl. the one and only, strong and healthy Minmo!) www.restart.run/articles/res...

Had a wonderful chat with @aptshadow.bsky.social and @minahoneybat.bsky.social about turning speculative fiction books into engines for collaborative roleplay. Pumped that Legacy: Life Among the Ruins is serving as the mechanical backbone here - what a phenomenal game in its own right!