Midsumma Carnival 2026 :)

But even the classic is just 🤌

Our team always comes up with a stellar Top 10, showcasing awesome titles and maybe a few that you wouldn’t expect near the top!

Hey Bluesky 👋 We’re Big Bear Energy, a friendly, no-fluff indie game PR agency here to help small studios, solo devs and emerging game teams get noticed. We take care of launch campaigns, press kits, media outreach, store-page optimisation, social media strategy and community building

This time of year is tough for me now. 2 years ago, I spent my last Xmas Day with my Mum, while she was in hospital. Last year, Xmas was seriously difficult. Despite spending it with other loved ones, it was a sad time, and being in my home, without Mum, was the worst. (1/3)

SAW YOUR FACE AND MIIIIIIIIIINE

New movie review from me! I love Wicked, and I love this movie, even though it doesn't quite solve the "Act 2" problem with the theatre musical.

Lumines Arise is a special game; I can’t stop playing it!

Alright it’s Halloween, so I’m going to start my watch of the whole The Conjuring franchise, starting with the first one from 2013! I’ve seen this one before back when it came out, but it’s been a while. Let’s see where it all began!

Support video game journalists!! Especially local indie publications!!

Reviewing Battlefield 6 felt like a huge task, particularly after flying to L.A. (on a trip that turned out to be personally life-altering) to be a part of its big reveal. Thankfully, the game is genuinely great, and even after publishing I’m itching to jump right back in.

I think one of the saddest things about being a millennial is remembering a time when technology was advancing in a way that made life better and easier and more exciting instead of actively, intentionally worse

So today I hosted a panel called “Out, Loud and Critical: Queer Journalists Changing Games Media”. Since starting Checkpoint Gaming 11(!) years ago, focusing on the importance of queer voices in the video game industry has been paramount. 🧵(1/4)

Once again, thrilled to have roped in a bunch of incredibly talented people to have meaningful discussions during @paxaus.bsky.social 🥰

The Life of a Showgirl is fine, but I think she forgot to include an actual memorable hit on there? It all just blends.

I loved Good Boy. It’s rare for a movie to offer something completely different, and seeing horror from the perspective of a dog made for a terrifying, uncomfortable and compelling watch. Indy is easily the best pet actor in history. A must see for anybody who loves dogs.

Anyway here’s my golden child looking adorable 🦮

Been a while since I’ve reviewed two games at once, but it’s rare that two franchises I care deeply about release in short succession. Oh well… here we go!! 🤪

Late night thoughts: Should I try streaming for the first time? Use my platform to spotlight cool indie games, or something? Is it too late or am I too old to join the streaming game? I’ve seen a couple of awesome people in my life give it a crack recently and I’m like… why not? Maybe?

Still reeling from the absolutely fantastic, epic, life-changing week I had in L.A. Heading into the office today is gonna be tough, so I’m just gonna repeatedly cycle through all the photos of amazing people, experiences and food I got to have last week. ❤️

PODCAST: Indie Symphony 2 We chat with @dangolding.com and the crew from Orchestra Vic all about the event, taking place this Friday and Saturday in Melbourne. Listen here: joy.org.au/checkpoint/2... And buy tickets here @artscentremelb.bsky.social: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/202...

The bitch is back!! 💞🎀 Excited to be checking out M3GAN 2.0 tonight, thanks to #UniversalPicsAU #M3GAN2

REVIEW: Nintendo Switch 2 "It no longer feels like we have to make concessions or excuses when compared to its counterparts. Instead, the future feels bright and full of possibilities. Once again, it’s a great time to be a Nintendo fan" @nintendoau.bsky.social checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...

The first-ever @frostygamesfest.com has just wrapped up. Here are nine demo recommendations from us, courtesy of the fantastic showcase! Featuring: @soyoudontneedto.bsky.social @fourfoxinteractive.bsky.social @archrebels.bsky.social @abandonedsheep.com @hungrysky.com and more!

The @frostygamesfest.com has concluded, and here are 10 games which have revealed new gameplay content! Featuring: @radiatoryang.bsky.social @queebly.bsky.social @rotub.bsky.social @smashattackaus.bsky.social ...and many more! checkpointgaming.net/features/202...

Super excited about the @seagshowcase.bsky.social next week - and the other awesome showcases that are part of #SummerGameFest like @womenledgames.com and @lagshowcase.bsky.social So much to look forward to!! checkpointgaming.net/news/2025/06...

HANDS-ON: Nintendo Switch 2 After spending a few hours with the new console across multiple upcoming games, we've got a lot more confidence ahead of launch in just a few weeks. @nintendoau.bsky.social Read our full thoughts now: checkpointgaming.net/features/202...

The fact that it’s specifically the WWE Crown Jewel PLE in Perth during PAX weekend makes it a little easier. Those champ vs champ no-stakes matches are garbage. Doesn’t bode well for the whole card tbh and last year the build was bad, too, which means Smackdown the night before will suck, too.

Fuck.

REVIEW: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 "Blasting the door down and becoming an instant masterpiece classic, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 defies all expectations and ambitions and then some." How @expedition33.bsky.social is perhaps the best RPG ever made: 10/10 checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...

If they put WWE in Perth the same weekend as PAX I will cry

Once again there’s somebody doing the rounds requesting game codes, pretending to be me, with a fake email. A quick check shows their Instagram profile is not me, and they’re based over in the Ukraine. Please be diligent! I feel really bad for devs having to put up with scammers like this.

Hi everyone! Editor-in-Chief of @checkpointau.bsky.social here. It’s great to see so much passion about this, as we expected. Charlie, a wonderful trans woman, has dedicated a lot of her time to updating this article, but it’s a huge task as you can imagine!

This #TransDayofVisibility we’ve collated a definitive list of 90+ trans games throughout history. Almost 100 games by trans developers and/or with trans representation. Featuring games from: @deconstructeam.bsky.social @maddymakesgames.com and many others 🏳️‍⚧️ checkpointgaming.net/features/202...

Thanks to those who took my post as intended: a rallying cry for volunteer journalists to get recognized in an industry that seems more reliant on them than ever before, and not take it the total opposite way to pick fights over semantics.

Let’s gooooooooooo!

I just wish more volunteer “writing for the love of it” journalists were recognised in the gaming space when it comes to awards. I think I can see two people out of 26 across two major categories who aren’t in paid full time/freelancer roles.

As somebody who actually loves the action RPG direction the series has gone over the last few games, this is another massive success. And yes I put 100+ hours into Valhalla, no regrets!

Anyone else wanna go to the Death Stranding concert in Sydney in November? Otherwise I’ll totally fly solo and take myself on a fabulous date night 😂

REPORT: SAGE 2025 proves that SA games are booming "...the South Australia games scene is so much broader and wider and more interesting than I ever realised.” @igea.bsky.social checkpointgaming.net/features/202...

Charlie once again nailing it, @transundertale.bsky.social one of the most important and wonderful voices on my team ❤️

First review of 2025 for me! 🥰

2025 Finished Game #1 - Unknown 9: Awakening A decent “B-game” with combat that veered from fun to frustrating constantly. Enjoyed the diverse cast. Still enjoyed my time with it, don’t think it fully deserved the bad rap it received!

Hmmmm should I do the “games I finished this year” running tally on Bluesky? I finished 67 in 2024 so that’s my goal to beat!!

My personal Game of the Year is Farewell North. It gave me some intense catharsis after losing my Mum, a game where you play as a Border Collie helping your person deal with their own loss and grief. Made by solo dev @kylewbanks.com, it’s a tear-jerker, and utterly gorgeous.

Just looking at the numbers for @checkpointau.bsky.social and our audience, and we reached 157k people on the site in October! 🤯 We smashed out some massive reviews, epic interviews and a whole HEAP of PAX Aus/SXSW content; so very happy with those results and hard work paying off!

Snuck one more in! Puts us at 206 - thanks, @jamwa.bsky.social 🥰

Dancing to Rumors by Lindsay Lohan in a gay bar at 2am just hits different in 2024

Endlessly proud of my team at @checkpointau.bsky.social Bit of a humble brag, but we posted 205(!) reviews this year. Our team of volunteers, doing this coz we love it, posted the equivalent of *a review every 1.7 days* in 2024.

📢Attention all Aussie game developers!📢 We want to hear about your yet-to-release video game project so that we can highlight it for a 2025 feature and national broadcast. Please comment about your game and share this around so more devs can see it. More details below 👇