"But I do think culturally we are back to brunch." This month in Dialogue, @austinwalker.bsky.social goes long on craft, industry, and doing the work.

Walker has garnered a lot of well-earned respect in this space, and I’d love to see that respect extend beyond his presence to his principles. If we value his perspective, that should include the parts that make us uncomfortable. being aligned is not enough. unwinnable.com/2026/02/11/a...

nothing grinds my gears more that seeing people acknowledge the horrors we are all witnessing, posting about it online, and yet taking zero action against these atrocities. stop doom posting and feed your unhoused neighbors or some shit idk.

do you yearn for a book club? you can join one right now at www.patreon.com/c/CriticalEr...

First episode of the CRITICAL ERROR Book Club goes live for patrons on Thursday!

man, the full blown fall apart this Discord news is causing is kinda surprising me - just don't participate? accept the default settings? surely the power to swear and look at porn isn't enough to cause these heightened mental breakdowns.

i lucked out big time

is the QB of the Patriots 4 years old? it’s like a toddler got hit with a “Wumbo Ray”.

new piece about desire, totemic memories, and resisting the urge to write about pain: jakesteinberg.substack.com/p/i-dont-do-...

the faces are so atrocious wtf hahahahaha

don't let this be enough to break the boycott. don't drool over a video game cart knowing that those that produced it are actively supporting an ongoing genocide. be a fucking adult and deny yourself. bdsmovement.net/news/boycott...

man. this is what the "if only you had voted for Kamala" crowd was psyched about. fml.

"why do you have to post and repost messages about the BDS boycott every time there's a new game announcement or set of trailers" because there's this weird phenomenon of active forgetting that Microsoft is a tech partner of one of the most heinous crimes against humanity happening on earth today

Hey, I know Blizzard confused everyone yesterday, but just as a reminder -- Bethesda is also a Microsoft studio, and is still part of the BDS boycott.

Reminder that if you're a BDS boycotter, Blizzard is part of Microsoft, and Overwatch is very much a Microsoft product.

truly feels like the BDS Xbox movement in games press circles specifically has experienced little to no motion in the past 10 months. Really disappointing and discouraging. Idk why everyone shared that YouTube video if business as usual reemerges the second it needs to.

calling this fantastic feels tonally inappropriate but I really appreciate Peter talking about the effects of our refusal to memorialize covid death amidst the universal feeling of dread returning to an old Animal Crossing save brings

Metroid Prime 4, a game about exploring a lost civilization has no civilization. A Video About Terrible World-Building Streaming now exclusively on Nebula and Patreon. Link below.

Superb video essay here from @peterspittech.bsky.social on the bittersweet experience of returning to Animal Crossing, Covid memories, finding meaning in actions taken years ago, and more.

“Let People Enjoy Things,” like “Let People Hate Things,” is a nothing phrase—an abdication of saying anything substantive, dressed up as generosity. Its real function is to discourage any kind of thinking. Critics shouldn't worry about crowd management. CRITICAL ERROR: youtu.be/V2Khidj4owY?...

i've watched this four times. each view carries the same weight. incredible work @peterspittech.bsky.social youtu.be/ga1m1MXsen4?...

This Is Going To Hurt, Isn't It? youtu.be/ga1m1MXsen4

i’m not crying you’re crying.

2 weeks after a woman was shot in the face, a man in the same city was executed—but you’ve decided your big concern is complaining about people who drew the line at genocide. You are worthless.

Noting that there’s an active boycott happening against Xbox and then covering it anyway is like definitionally useless. I really don’t think you can both ways out of this one.

we visited the islands of Critical Error patrons last night 🤌

Microsoft provides technology that upholds Israel’s apartheid and powers ICE’s deportation and detention infrastructure. It’s strange to watch people express genuine, justified rage at ICE and then immediately fawn over Xbox reveals like Microsoft exists in a gamer vacuum medium.com/@noazurefora...

In light of today’s Xbox showcase: a reminder that the BDS boycott against Xbox and Microsoft products is still ongoing. If you say you oppose Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, or oppose ICE here in the US, Microsoft is not a neutral company in either of these stories.

the doom posting is out of control. go for a walk or something folks, much better for your mental health than whatever you think you’re doing with your quips.

you cannot Own someone on X in 2026. if you are using X in 2026 you are being Owned. nothing you can say will outweigh the shame of being a member of the world's largest incel group chat. if you run out of a bathroom covered in shit holding a turd no one will think the turd is the uncool one

man fuck today’s word Wordle 1,675 X/6 ⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨🟨🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩

I've only been subbed to Critical Error's Patreon for a few weeks now. I've loved their main show but it's nice to hear from these dudes in a more casual setting and about a broader array of topics. They've quickly become by go to show to listen to, very few voices in games media like them.

are books better than video games? CRITICAL ERROR PODCAST: youtu.be/9CcgykmNBlA?...

i am, of course, anti-crunch. but god damn do these posts that only amount to “crunch is bad, like this post if you agree!” drive me up the wall. volunteer a solution! have an actionable response to work conditions you find unacceptable! do more than live on the internet!

PREDICTING 2026 Video Game DISCOURSE 🔮 What is everyone going to talk about this year? 🚨 CRITICAL ERROR available now: youtu.be/IqWpOQfTa1k?...

Such a wonderful experience for watching 4 games writers genuinely having fun and presenting critical ideas about writing at the same time. Makes me hopeful during a bleak time. #MAGFest Great job @aguaspoints.bsky.social, @theautumnwright.bsky.social, Stuart, and @jakesteinberg.substack.com

this got a laugh and a cry out of me.

folks will celebrate the decision of Larian Studios to not use Gen AI (to an extent, maybe?), putting the power of protest on a pedestal. and yet those same people are hyped for the Xbox whatever presentation while this is going on? hate posting this shit btw. bdsmovement.net/news/boycott...

a feed littered with alternating posts of “new mario looks good!” and “nazis killed a mom yesterday!” is causing severe psychic damage.

If you are anxious and sad about the state of the world, that's fine, and there are plenty of strategies for dealing with that. But I think you already know that drive-by online dooming isn't a strategy. It's selfish and adolescent. It's a contagion that only spreads the worst of you, not the best.

man, this broke me. love crying in my car.

signing this!! i dont believe ive streamed any microsoft or xbox game stuff recently but i'll double check and drop them from my rotation if i am! going forward i will not be streaming or supporting any of them!!! free palestine!!!

I want to get back in the habit of regularly blogging and sharing my thoughts on Nintendo in unconventional ways. Keeping in this habit also helps with my professional work!! Gotta stay sharp. So here's a little story about my favorite, pointless activity in DK Bananza: medium.com/@abrambuehne...

dear god

nvm that ending was trash hahahahaha

maze runner kinda rules

We have SO much stuff on the patreon already and (as we talked about in this week's bonus pod) we have SO much planned for 2026!! Subscribe!!!

i’ve long been out of practice when it comes to reading - hoping to redevelop that skill in 2026 through the act of reading a book a month. this begs the question: how do you find books to read? is there a resource that helps identify a book that would click with me?