Some news.

Very happy to have this review of Hades II by Cole Kronman, IMO one of the most engaging and stimulating critics writing about games today (though not often enough!), on Kotaku. kotaku.com/hades-ii-the...

Chotiner: So you're continuing to watch Alien Earth despite previously admitting that it's not very good? Me: I don't remember saying that, I mean, Babou Ceesay's performances alone... [link to discord chat where Yussef complains about everyone on the show perpetually making the worst decisions]

What I was staring at from five inches away when my dad came in and asked me why the bathroom smelled like pot.

Why I feel so rankled when people say "Too much Woke caused Trump" HELL NAH. Ppl were energized by the catastrophe of covid, many got to step back from the capitalist rat race thx to gov't support & take stock of things for the 1st time. Then we were forced to go back to business as usual.

remember RIGHT NOW asking gamers to stop supporting Microsoft and Xbox because of their role in Israel's genocide, largely to crickets? we could actually get some shit done if we acted swiftly and collectively but no.... "my entertainments"

Mocap in games is still hampered by the need to show how advanced the technology is, so we'll get the CU, but zero editing or composition work to set up the shot. We're perpetually stuck at square one: showing we can capture the acting, rarely getting to the point of DOING something w the acting.

*taps the sign* bdsmovement.net/news/boycott...

open.substack.com/pub/houseofm... Wrote about the radical act of returning to one's body in a digital age designed to detach us from them.

The moments that touched me in silksong: one boss fight w a compelling narrative arc. another where a character came to my rescue. Watching different pilgrims evolve over repeat encounters. None of this has anything to do with difficulty. It’s just not the point and it’d be a boring point if it was.

"We're gonna keep showing up until they stop abducting our neighbors."

Sucker Punch throwing its employee under the bus following a right wing pressure campaign is pretty bad as far as nominative determinism goes.

Great thread! A critic’s job is to be authentic and communicate their experience. And if we do our job right, even people who had a vastly different experience from us can gain a better understanding of the material. (Key is you really got read, and take it in)

a few thoughts (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Hey, don’t play Ghost of Yotei. Sucker Punch thinks free speech is optional. kotaku.com/sucker-punch...

It really needs to be said how these “concerns” were literally the default compromise position by every major sporting body since 2015 and anyone arguing other is just looking for further restrictions. And politicians playing into that rhetoric are why the current moment is perilous for us.

The rights for trans people should be a given. There can be no discussion in any forum in any respect as to where they can be, what they can do, which sport they can play. Anything less is a joke, unserious, deadly, irresponsible, dehumanizing.

He's turning into Ursula Le Guin

I reviewed Silksong for the Times. I found it disappointing. So much attention paid to mechanical challenge, while narrative and atmosphere take a backseat. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/a...

cold, salt and a meal at the same time

you need cold, salt and a meal at the same time

They just tear-gassed us. They tried to run us over in a van holding a peaceful protester. They shot us with pepper balls. They dragged another protester into the facility.

I reviewed Silksong for the Times. I found it disappointing. So much attention paid to mechanical challenge, while narrative and atmosphere take a backseat. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/a...

*taps the sign*

Me getting killed “oh, didn’t you say you despised murder? preeetty rich of you to then proceed to mur-“

Fuck it, how about a little self-promo tonight on the last night of the first amendment. I'm No Escape. I'm writing a book rn and when I'm not doing that I publish pretty good games criticism and commentary. I've been doing this shit since 2019. #supportindiemedia patreon.com/noescapevg

The outpouring of support from readers & colleagues is overwhelming. I can't imagine them coming together like this for a "problematic" trans woman even five years ago. If you want to help me make up the lost income from comics work, you can subscribe to my Patreon. www.patreon.com/c/scumbeliev...

You want to be alive, but they want you dead. We’re a new, well, funded democratic group that thinks you can meet them halfway.

New this week on the site: @aguaspoints.bsky.social on Mafia: The Old Country. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/09/17/n...

Re. RPS freelance, I now have a budget for irregular (maybe 6-12 pieces a year) 2000-3000 wordish, more granular and specific reporting and investigative criticism that broaches a new topic or addresses a gap in knowledge regarding something familiar.

We've started off a new Patreon-only podcast, Laputan Machine, about the Deus Ex series, starting, of course, with Deus Ex. With @edwardsmithwriter.bsky.social, @reidmccarter.bsky.social, and @youmeyou.bsky.social: www.patreon.com/posts/laputa...

Here's my early access review of Hades 2 from last year - looking forward to seeing how it's changed since then! www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/a...

Barry and The Nameless One

Melissa Barrera was fired from the Scream movies for speaking out against Israel back in early 2024. She deserves at bare minimum an apology and an offer for her job back, which she would be within her right to decline. And it brings me no joy to say this, but we shouldn’t watch Scream 7 next year.

it's me, i did it.

If you're having Borderlands 4 performance issues, there's an old school fix the Gearbox CEO used to suggest for the previous games but you'll need an external drive to make it work. Search Randy Pitchford USB to find out more

If you are a writer in this space and ever want to reach out for information, feedback, or my personal professional advice on a "game journalism" related thing my DMs and inbox are always open! I can't guarantee I will always have the time or a good answer but I can promise I don't bite.

having a media ecosystem that seems to be constantly making a calculation about where the power is at the particular moment and doubling and tripling down on that and just blowing through any obvious contradictions just feels emblematic of society that is falling apart to me.

With a red team versus a blue team, is it no wonder that we can’t find common ground?

Being a black personal in the media/tech/corporate world always feels like borrowed time. You’re supposed to be thankful they let you in the door and respectful when they unceremoniously boot you out.

Ultimate Companion for Windows (US Dreams, Windows, 1994)

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

The past few days have been a really interesting chapter in my reawakening. Trying to brush away some of the most racist commentary of the past decade as “politics” or “differences of opinion” has really confirmed how poisoned the culture is. Nobody will ever cop to this particular type of pathology

Just remember that even saying the most obvious things about how dude lived his life has gotten a number of people fired this week. And this is the normal course of things. Ain’t no backup.

Hello everyone. You may know Gretchen Felker-Martin has once again been suspended from bc they do that whenever some chud complains. Her brand-new ongoing DC series was also cancelled for the same reason. It’s stupid fascist bullshit as usual. Gretchen’s work rules. Consider supporting her here:

It’s an absolute shame that DC fired Gretchen Felker- Martin for exercising free speech and then @bsky.app suspended her account. Every writer here should be decrying this because we have to stand up for each other! This is ridiculous.

Great piece by @youmeyou.bsky.social on Mafia: The Old Country & "the magical space of a well-executed game world." Every environment — lemon grove, market, or mansion — is an "audio-visual cacophony," possessing something of the texture of life itself. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/09/10/a...

Time is a flat circle

she dis on my course till i stop posting