I can't like every game. But some sting more than others. xander51.medium.com/my-first-big...

I often think about a story that an audio company researcher once shared with me. Spare a thought for the hundreds of people that help make the stuff you love. It's the first step towards changing a faceless industry. xander51.medium.com/please-think...

I wrote a story about Scott Pilgrim EX that turned into a rant about its design. This game should have been specifically "for me," but its high price and weird choices mean I'm not sure it's for anyone. xander51.medium.com/scott-pilgri...

I haven't felt so strongly that a game was being sent to its proverbial death on the market in years. xander51.medium.com/the-best-new...

I feel like the Greedfall sequel is about to get swallowed up by other bigger games.

Crimson Desert is my most anticipated game of 2026. xander51.medium.com/im-really-ex...

There's an old man near me in this coffee shop loudly boasting about how well he navigated his professional life while working for such companies as Monsanto and Mobil Oil. I wish I was making this up.

I just listened to a few older guys have a two minute debate about the new layout of the chairs in this cafe. They weren't pleased. But then they acknowledged that soon it will be nice outside and they'll be sitting outside anyway.

I never thought I'd feel so good about Bethesda again. Perhaps it will be short-lived and I'll regret this article by the end of the year, haha. xander51.medium.com/oh-no-im-sta...

I published a new look back at my years reviewing headphones--and some thoughts about why I no longer do it. xander51.medium.com/the-three-re...

I paid five dollars for the Xenoblade upgrade. I hate that I keep doing this. xander51.medium.com/my-toxic-rel...

The new Skyrim Switch 2 patch is the best thing Bethesda has shipped in a while. xander51.medium.com/bethesda-tri...

I got into the habit of paywalling most of my online writing because the headphone reviews I used to enjoy posting for fun were *constantly* plagiarized and filled with gross affiliate links by random blogs.

My latest piece was inspired by the thousands of times I've seen game fans get personally betrayed because a sequel or remake dared to try something new. xander51.medium.com/games-inspir...

Sega has once again paid homage to their weird battery-eating handheld, and I'm here for it. xander51.medium.com/segas-yakuza...

I wrote up some thoughts on my five months using Corsair's tiny ultralight mouse. It didn't go the way I expected it would. xander51.medium.com/five-months-...

I think the Internet might have overstated the badness of the recent Yakuza/Like a Dragon English dubs. The Internet never gets anything wrong so this is very surprising to me.

My favorite "little" Switch 2 feature started its life on the Switch 1, and it's a key part of how I manage to finish games and still be busy with other stuff. xander51.medium.com/my-favorite-...

The more packed and small a game world is, the more likely I am to see all of it. xander51.medium.com/density-is-a...

I’m having one of those “write stuff I think is pretty decent and watch it flop miserably” sort of weeks.

HyperX's latest flagship headset is good now. But also, it should have been good last year. xander51.medium.com/im-so-tired-...

Ubisoft is in a bit of a mess, right? xander51.medium.com/ubisoft-migh...

Yakuza Kiwami 3 seems like it's very much my sort of game. xander51.medium.com/the-single-g...

I wrote up my thoughts after two days playing the Nioh 3 demo! It's very good, and it also got me to reinstall Rise of the Ronin. xander51.medium.com/nioh-3-alrea...

Whenever Hammerwatch II re-emerges in my brain, I simply must think about it. I know it wasn't the most popular game in the series, but I absolutely love it for what it tried to do. xander51.medium.com/the-coolest-...

Yesterday I told my girlfriend that I thought that Koei might delay the Dynasty Warriors 3 Remake. Today they delayed it. It was an easy guess since they hadn't had a big marketing push yet and it was supposed to be out in March. They've still got Nioh 3 next month!

I've got some new thoughts about game design now live on Medium! It's also a sneaky first impressions piece about the Visions of Four Heroes Dynasty Warriors DLC. xander51.medium.com/good-game-de...

I wrote up some of my thoughts on the Fable "gameplay overview." It didn't really connect with me. xander51.medium.com/i-refuse-to-...

Some new Dynasty Warriors Origins content launches later this week, so it's the perfect time to explain why I love the game so much. xander51.medium.com/my-second-fa...

I somehow got *way into* using the PlayStation Portal every single day. xander51.medium.com/oh-no-ive-be...

The @turtlebeach.bsky.social Atlas 200 is so good that it screwed up a review of a different headset I was working on. So, now I’m starting over and writing a head-to-head style piece instead!

I am very excited to play Crimson Desert in March. It seems like a game I will put hundreds of hours into across years without hesitation.

Oops, I spent the whole week playing Diablo IV! xander51.medium.com/how-diablo-i...

Just spent some time browsing @jeremycoatney.com's profile as I noticed my feed was no longer showing me any posts from that portion of the internet and I found that unacceptable!

I'm finally checking out Dying Light: The Beast.

I spend a lot of time thinking about video game skill trees. xander51.medium.com/are-skill-tr...

The best surprise release of 2025 was kind of a rumor for years, but then it turned out great anyway. xander51.medium.com/the-best-gam...

My PS5 Pro is still just barely holding on as a part of my gaming life. xander51.medium.com/i-almost-put...

My game of the year content begins! I've pivoted from doing a list to doing individual highlight articles, and I've bucked all other trends to start with my number one game. xander51.medium.com/avowed-is-be...

It's once again time for my yearly Christmas-week tradition of "ramble about my computer." I'm in a much better place this year, and quite thankful for it. I've got some game of the year lists coming up in the next week or two! xander51.medium.com/i-love-my-ly...

The new Avatar DLC is...fine? xander51.medium.com/the-avatar-f...

Sony improved an interesting older design into the best gaming headset I've used in a few years. xander51.medium.com/the-best-pre...

My favorite keyboard of the year came from an unlikely place. xander51.medium.com/a-cool-keybo...

The other day I took an updated look at the state of the two currently active Diablo games. If you want to get these articles as soon as they go live, please consider following me on @medium.com! xander51.medium.com/is-the-free-...

I think Diablo IV is finally in a place where I enjoy the way it feels to control it. That's a big deal! I have a piece about it going live on Medium later this afternoon.

The new Control sequel should have been my favorite thing announced last night at The Game Awards. Instead, it made all of these words come out of me. medium.com/@xander51/oh...

I wrote up my thoughts on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's new third-person camera mode. I'm excited for the DLC next week! xander51.medium.com/avatar-front...

I started the day happy to learn that Skyrim launched on Switch 2. But then I played it. xander51.medium.com/skyrim-on-sw...

I've got a new story up about my secret favorite mechanic in open world games. It's something that so few of them actually get right. xander51.medium.com/the-innate-a...

Skyrim is still out there influencing every modern open world game. Let's talk about it! xander51.medium.com/my-favorite-...