And now the seasonal affective depression has come a-calling! Now I get to feel absolutely nothing *except* my bones hurting 😅. November is easily my worst month. I like winter, but the adjustment period absolutely sucks.

The weather’s changed a bit. The reasonable response is for my skeleton to hurt.

I have a pet Octorok now. This is important news.

Companies have so fetishized the idea of free labor they’re paying the highest prices to get it. If they can just realize their dream of a world without employees, they think, the savings will come. The savings will come. It’ll all be worth it when nobody has a job and all the money’s dried up.

I have a pet Octorok now. This is important news.

I would just like to remind everyone of a very telling and substantial report of Rockstar's abuse and disregard for workers that came out...... 6 YEARS AGO youtu.be/4xTDVlNGKng?...

FUN SCIENCE FACT: after five minutes of existing, a glass of piss cooling in front of an open fridge will have had a more positive influence on gaming than the industry’s entire executive class has had in two decades.

Game publisher execs are about two more fads away from putting all their faith in literal magic beans. They went all-in on services, all-in on NFTs, all-in on AI. Every time they’re convinced they’ve invested in a divine cure-all. They believe in magic the way a child might. Except kids learn.

Lickitung is a top notch Pokémon. I offer the following arguments in its favor: Cutelord. Weirdo Wobbler. Pinkboy. Beady-eyed Dumb Dumb. Soft Pudgemeister. Squirmsome Squidgetail. Slobberblob. Iguanadigits. Long Slurper. I do not like Lickilicky. It is too busy for me. I’m all-in on Lickitung.

I reviewed Double Dragon Revive. I'm in awe at its graphics for all the wrong reasons. It doesn't play as bad as it looks... but it plays really quite badly. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/double-...

I reviewed Double Dragon Revive. I'm in awe at its graphics for all the wrong reasons. It doesn't play as bad as it looks... but it plays really quite badly. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/double-...

I’m in a good position to do a little hustling again. Would love to get involved in one more project this year.

I’m excited about getting a royalty. I’m expecting the money to be a *very* small amount, but the cash is not the cool bit. Just the fact I’m getting one makes me feel like a proper grownup writer. My childlike wonder over a basic form of compensation undermines the grownup aspect a little.

Every time YouTube brings up so-called community standards and acts like the arbiter of trust & safety, feel free to remember it’s a platform where Nazis are allowed to say what they please and mentioning the Holocaust by name is considered inappropriate.

I reviewed the 2025 "reimagining" of Painkiller. It's not the Painkiller I wanted, but I've nonetheless become incredibly fond of it. I like this big ol' stompy shooter and its delicious chunky guns. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/painkil...

Aaaaaand there it is. Exactly like I expected. It’s only going to get less and less possible to discuss vast numbers of games on YouTube. Can’t wait for the GTA6 reviews full of law-abiding footage. I wonder if this will extend to official trailers or if publishers will get special treatment.

I was deeply disappointed at the time. I think it was a case of just not being noticed as opposed to getting actively ignored/buried, but I think it was an important report that should have been picked up by more media. Sadly, my reporting work has always gone down that way.

Old habits die hard.

I missed this until today but want to share it because it’s great. I’ve been increasingly conscious of anti-AI witch hunting, as well as the conflations and equivalences tarring legitimate creative tech with the same brush. It’s gonna hurt the fight against Regurgitative AI. Reel that shit in.

While I was sick I didn’t take my adhd meds which apparently removed a lot of tolerance because I’m pretty sure I’ve been awake for two days.

I reviewed the 2025 "reimagining" of Painkiller. It's not the Painkiller I wanted, but I've nonetheless become incredibly fond of it. I like this big ol' stompy shooter and its delicious chunky guns. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/painkil...

Husband is away and I’m left to my own devices tonight. Having myself a very quiet one with a little bit of writing, some Chinese food, and the possibility of going absolutely wild by cleaning the kitchen. This is some good crab soup.

Drafted a huge review for the new Painkiller. It contains more words about the new Painkiller than anyone else will ever want to read, but I had a lot to say about it. Review’ll be up later today, but I really must confess that I love the game even if very few others seem to. The guns are SO good.

The Balatro update features some of my finest, most painful work 🃏

“I thought that by selling us out to the people who want us all dead, I could find common ground with the people who want us all dead, but I found instead that they want us all dead.”

The Balatro update features some of my finest, most painful work 🃏

So does Arc Raiders want to actually be enjoyed? This has got to be one of the most deflating, negatively reinforcing gameplay loops I’ve seen in a while. I literally struggle to find an incentive to do anything in this miserable thing.

“8 FOOT CLEARANCE” is probably my favorite background visual gag in a game.

Whenever I replay The Simpsons: Hit & Run, I have to remark on how simplistic it is. It doesn’t offer very much gameplay, and yet I agree with the common belief that it’s both the best Simpsons game and a classic videogame of its era. That speaks volumes about how important the little touches are.

First impression of Arc Raiders isn’t great. It feels so… bereft.

I’ve been so unwell this week. Whatever cold was apparently going around the Manchester wrestling scene was a fucking brutal one.

I reviewed the excellent Ball x Pit. Block breaking Survivors-style action with pinball city building thrown in for good measure? It's like they made a game just for me. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/ball-x-...

I reviewed the excellent Ball x Pit. Block breaking Survivors-style action with pinball city building thrown in for good measure? It's like they made a game just for me. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/ball-x-...

I can 100% vouch for Z. Mann Zilla. Not just immensely talented but a pleasure to work with. They have a knack for really understanding what a client needs. Seriously, if you’re in the market for any of Zilla’s services, you would do very well to hit them up!

I’m not saying British fascists are the saddest fascists, but they get angry at sourdough and think sausages are a cultural battleground.

Peter Molyneux is a liar. He’s not “passionate” or “too ambitious” or anything else that softens his behavior. He is a career liar with a recorded pattern of using dishonest statements to sell products. There’s nothing innocent about it, it’s a routine he’s performed for decades.

The Molyneux Cycle, a term coined by @commandersterling.bsky.social roughly a decade ago, refers to the observable pattern of the aforementioned developer to badmouth a previous game to hell and back while promising the next game will be an absolute classic. The cycle then repeats for said next game

Another wonderful Pinfall Pro Wrestling show, and blessed to witness @commandersterling.bsky.social do the wrestle-fighting!Thank you so much for the photo too! 🤩

@commandersterling.bsky.social YES COMMANDER

always an absolute JOY to get to watch @commandersterling.bsky.social in the ring! pinfall shows are all the more fun for your potently charismatic stage presence and slapstick antics and I cannot WAIT for next time!!💜

I love those Pinfall shows. Great atmosphere backstage, amazing crowd out at ringside, just a lovely time every time.

The Commander is present and correct! #YesCommander

The Commander is ready for today.

Tomorrow! I’m really looking forward to this one.

I reviewed Pokémon Legends: Z-A, a game that honestly rather disgusts me. A cheaply produced minimum viable product with a pricing system that borders on a grift, this is Game Freak's complacency on full display. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/pok%C3%...

Watched a streamer literally burst into tears at the stuff I wrote for a videogame. I read a lot of online comments about how it made people cry, and actually seeing it happen made me start to well up too. I can’t describe the feeling of watching the emotional impact of my work unfold like that.

I reviewed Pokémon Legends: Z-A, a game that honestly rather disgusts me. A cheaply produced minimum viable product with a pricing system that borders on a grift, this is Game Freak's complacency on full display. Read here: www.thejimquisition.com/post/pok%C3%...

I hope fandoms know that when they’re mad at a review for rating a contentious entry too highly, they’re partly responsible. When you’ve spent years getting mad over less than perfect scores, you help condition the attitude that certain series inherently deserve high baselines. You wanted this.

This Sunday! Your Commander returns to Manchester with Pinfall Wrestling! It’s always a great time at these shows, so if y’all are in town on the 26th, I highly recommend coming for a good ol’ REJOICE! #YesCommander

The Emissary of Enmity prepares for the Starfall elbow drop, which she totally nailed because Succubus definitely didn’t roll out of the way and nobody can prove otherwise. #YesCommander (Photo: Nebula Wrestling)