As someone who missed the off-ramp to try to get into games journalism two decades ago, this cuts right to it. I always wanted to write about games in the same way that I want to talk about them with my friends — to explain what struck me, and how; to plant the seed so they might pick it up as well

The way this is written is too perfect, starting with a comparison to an addict doing something dangerous and either ignoring it or justifying it — a sense of “but I can handle it” — and ending with an acknowledgment of the dangers of AI use and a nearly-telegraphed, implicit “but I can handle it”.

Permanently relevant

We made a pretty good coming of age story game but most players won’t even give it a chance because it’s got too much color. We’re not all that different in love, relationships, and generational issues. I promise you can relate to these characters. store.steampowered.com/app/1617220/...

Why weren’t the voice of trans families represented in her podcast about trans kids? Well for one thing, she is profoundly untrustworthy so no one is willing to talk to her.

The first three movies offer great insight for modern creators if taken *independently* and not as a series. A New Hope says we don’t need to explain everything. Viewers can buy in on faith alone. Empire says it’s okay for your story to lack a happy ending. Jedi says “redemption arcs don’t work”.

My hot gaming take is that the people complaining most audibly about DLC and wanting games to ship “fully complete” would be the same ones complaining about features or characters missing if that DLC went away.

Over 200 active video game publications. Text. Audio. Video. Reporting. Criticism. Analysis. Blogs. Sites. Networks and wikis. Even in its incomplete form, the document is a treasure trove! I hope it helps you find your next favorite blogger, essayist, reporter, video maker, podcaster, and more!

I love that Disco Elysium feels like it will be perpetually relevant I am afraid that Disco Elysium feels like it will be perpetually relevant

Thalassophobia Immersion Therapy Bundle, coming soon

Continue to be fascinated with this line of thinking for so many reasons, but the most practical of which is simple: what leverage do you, the voter, have over the elected official *you already voted for*? Your only pressure is your vote.

The Democrats sense that they're gonna cruise to midterm victory by doing nothing and offering nothing and are using it as a freebie to punch left to make sure the voters don't get any ideas.

post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet (if you feel like it):

“The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day.”

wrote about unc, and the way that the internet works as an accelerator of cultural appropriation aftermath.site/unc-aave-afr...

Vacation over. Here's some anime to watch.

🥘 Dosa Divas, a cooking themed turn-based RPG, is OUT NOW and we've got 5 Steam Keys to giveaway!!! To enter: 1. Share this post 2. Tell us about your favorite RPG 🙂 Entries close Friday @ 11am! (EST) Lucky winners get to cook Dosas with giant mechs to topple a fast food empire!

Let me say this plainly: Iranian children have as much of a right to live and thrive as American children. Their babies MUST be as precious to me as my 6 niblings and my baby grandnib are IF I want them to have a future. If I want a future for my kin AND humanity, I MUST act like it. So must you.

“Despite the refutation of our assertions and some extensive clarification from the Board’s Chair, we’re pretty sure we know what they *actually* meant” is the kind of response I’d expect from NYTPitchbot, but I guess we’re getting closer to merging that account with reality every day.

The sheer volume of time spent in my day on activities that I take to near-completion before saying out loud — to no one but myself and my cat — something to the effect of “there is no value in this, why would I even put it out there” could break a lesser man. I’m the lesser man. It broke me.

Another Evangelion/Chainsaw Man Isaiah blog has hit the internet.

*taps the "profit losses are the fault of executive leadership, who are conveniently never affected by profit loss" sign*

In Silent Hill 2, toxic masculinity is the inescapable villain. It's Part 3 of our ongoing series on feminist themes in the Silent Hill franchise buff.ly/njCLpeo

The USPS IS NOT LOSING MONEY. THE USPS IS SPENDING TAX DOLLARS ALLOCATED TO IT BY THE BUDGET. THE USPS SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO ZERO OUT ITS BALANCE SHEET IT IS NOT A BUSINESS IT DOES NOT HAVE SHAREHOLDERS. IF THE USPS IS OUTSPENDING ITS BUDGET IT SHOULD BE ALLOCATED MORE BUDGET.

see? here's the thing. A lot of people are like, the earth is fucked, it's beyond salvation, it's hit the tipping point, but time and time again we see that if we just fucking fixed the problem, it rebounds so incredibly fast. Imagine what could be done if people actually cared

If, by the end of the week, I cannot find fan art of renowned father of French haute cuisine Auguste Escoffier wearing a little chef hat and riding on a crystal swirl, I think we — as a community — might have dropped the ball

In a world where Journalism is being sabotaged from every direction, it feels a little bad to point out your favorites since you really wanna see everybody* succeeding — but I’m never not happy to see a @shineyezehuhh.bsky.social piece come across my feed

Let’s a-go (to court)

A day later and no major national news org has covered what they're doing in Kansas. This is the flip side of the hyper focus on trans issues by the right. The national media ignores what's actually being done to trans people. This erasure is what contributes to the persecution.

You can be anyone you want in Stardew Valley! Except a man who wears a dress to his wedding, or a nonbinary person, for some reason. @katyar.bsky.social dives in for her first Mothership story www.mothership.blog/10-years-sta...

We are rapidly approaching the Dreamcast/Xbox Event Horizon and I can only hope for one outcome: That the death of the Xbox line somehow releases Lost Odyssey from its dark prison

For some people, calling it subscription fatigue feels like a way to hide what it really is: wanting to support 5 different newsletters and 10 different streamers and 15 different websites, then looking at your bank account and realizing that’s not the way a budget works for you in 2026.

Even if Bovino gets fired, ICE has to go. Even if Noem is out, ICE has to go. Even when Trump leaves office, ICE has to go. As protests grow and ICE's popularity drops, we may see concessions and leadership changes, like Bovino's departure. ICE still has to go. www.cnn.com/us/live-news...

This is 100% the kind of thing that my Senators in VA will tout as a win, a great success for “the American people” Which is why I will continue to call them and let it be known that anything less than the dissolution of ICE and criminal charges filed against its members is unacceptable

Spirit Swap was one of those games I kept sliding into Discord conversations when we were all a bit too focused on Things™️ — “hey, this is coming out in XX weeks, it’s gonna be gay and a healthy way to offload some cycles” that that’s not far removed from the dev’s viewpoint is pretty great

A good story does not necessarily mean a good show, and vice versa — but they can still coexist. Your well-animated spectacle does not invest me in your lore. Your robust world-building does not erase pacing issues or uninspired VA direction.

Welp, guess I should’ve gone to Vegas on this one Only misses appear to be underrating Carolina’s competitiveness and flipping the coin the wrong way on Buffalo/Jacksonville

Okay but when Mike Tomlin takes the Baltimore job and John Harbaugh ends up in Pittsburgh THEN, and only then, will I care about the AFC North again

hi! i'm co-founding a new gaming website with my former polygon colleague @zoehhannah.com. it's called mothership.blog. i made it for someone like me... the kind of website i always wished we had in our space. watch the video to learn more :D

Shouting into the void about such a minor thing, but I’m still so curious: Why do so many NFL GMs seem to be keeping their jobs as their coaches are given the boot? So many of these rosters look to need serious overhauls to be competitive — isn’t that the realm of the GM as well (if not moreso)?

“Common sense is common sense,” Schultz said. “I don’t need a report, one way or the other, to tell me that. I just firmly believe that minors should not be transitioning.” This really gives the game away. As we've said, no amount of evidence would ever satisfy them. It's ideological.

TGAs feels less like “Video Games Oscars” and more like “Video Games Pro Bowl” - Weird, deliberately murky voting system - Half the people probably don’t want to be there - Dubious financial incentives - When you look at a list of past participants, there will be some real head scratchers

since we're doing USPS discourse again, a reminder of what Dems should be saying

The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service

Fund social assistance programs fully and aggressively so that the only leg these people have to stand on is the one that says “I don’t think those people deserve help” — a position that should have them rightly pariah’d

The kind of data that both makes me question the value of these kinds of breakdowns while also endlessly fascinating me In other words, the PERFECT data