Echo Apsey
@echoapsey.bsky.social
Freelance games journalist, writer, editor. Words at IGN, NME, Rolling Stone, PC Gamer, Polygon, PCGamesN, Push Square, Pure Xbox, Nintendo Life, Gamer Guides, and more. Previously Guides Editor @TheLoadout.
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Echo Apsey
@echoapsey.bsky.social
· Feb 6
Editors, I'm heading to Gamescom this year for the first time since 2022, and I'd love to interview devs and preview games for you! Email is in bio and DMs are open. If any writers want to meet up too shoot me a DM!
2026 might be the year of developers taking everything they have learnt from previous games, bringing mechanics and systems together to create the best games they have made.
January 30, 2026 at 3:13 AM
2026 might be the year of developers taking everything they have learnt from previous games, bringing mechanics and systems together to create the best games they have made.
Reposted by Echo Apsey
Cairn is a staggeringly beautiful game that is more than willing to interrogate what drives a person to want to break and redefine the bounds of reality.
www.gamerguides.com/cairn/review...
www.gamerguides.com/cairn/review...
January 29, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Cairn is a staggeringly beautiful game that is more than willing to interrogate what drives a person to want to break and redefine the bounds of reality.
www.gamerguides.com/cairn/review...
www.gamerguides.com/cairn/review...
Reposted by Echo Apsey
I reviewed Cairn for @ign.com. It's a remarkable game about a mountain that has never been summited, and Aava, a remarkable woman determined to make it to the top, no matter the cost, and the kind of person she has to be to make the ascent. The climb is all there is.
Cairn Review - IGN
A mountain climbing game that's both challenging and rewarding.
www.ign.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:44 PM
I reviewed Cairn for @ign.com. It's a remarkable game about a mountain that has never been summited, and Aava, a remarkable woman determined to make it to the top, no matter the cost, and the kind of person she has to be to make the ascent. The climb is all there is.
Somehow missed this which is way worse than the "AI training for all".
"You are to poor to be taught by a human so enjoy this chatbot that's destroying the planet instead."
"You are to poor to be taught by a human so enjoy this chatbot that's destroying the planet instead."
We want to make sure tutoring isn't the preserve of a lucky few, but accessible to every child who needs it.
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
Poorest pupils to be given AI tutors
Bridget Phillipson says tuition would no longer be the preserve of ‘the lucky few’
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Somehow missed this which is way worse than the "AI training for all".
"You are to poor to be taught by a human so enjoy this chatbot that's destroying the planet instead."
"You are to poor to be taught by a human so enjoy this chatbot that's destroying the planet instead."
Everything is absolutely fine 🙂
Amazon has announced a second round of layoffs in two months, impacting 16,000 roles across the company
www.gamesindustry.biz/amazon-annou...
www.gamesindustry.biz/amazon-annou...
January 28, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Everything is absolutely fine 🙂
Incredible stuff here because it isnt critics who have spent six weeks shitting on a game before anyone had a chance to even play it.
January 28, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Incredible stuff here because it isnt critics who have spent six weeks shitting on a game before anyone had a chance to even play it.
Good to know the tax I have paid this year is being used to fund my own and my colleagues' future joblessness. Government is a bunch of out of touch clowns.
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Good to know the tax I have paid this year is being used to fund my own and my colleagues' future joblessness. Government is a bunch of out of touch clowns.
Reposted by Echo Apsey
I am not digging at anyone in particular truly but one of the ironies of the worker owned journalism movement is that it is born from instability that starts when bipoc journalists are laid off and then white editors are like “damn time to get off this sinking ship and start a bold indie venture”
January 27, 2026 at 4:47 PM
I am not digging at anyone in particular truly but one of the ironies of the worker owned journalism movement is that it is born from instability that starts when bipoc journalists are laid off and then white editors are like “damn time to get off this sinking ship and start a bold indie venture”
2026 sure hitting like 2016...
January 27, 2026 at 7:54 PM
2026 sure hitting like 2016...
Reposted by Echo Apsey
nothing is ok, even when i pretend it is. so i keep telling people that i'm proud to be the daughter of two immigrants, to have grown up speaking english only half the time, in a version of nyc that felt like it was the entire world. i love the WORLD, and this bald guy can't make me stop 😘
"You raise your voice, I erase your voice."
ICE in Minneapolis are erasing your rights.
Please share our new video of what's happening in our city. youtu.be/W1dyNcRGRXY
ICE in Minneapolis are erasing your rights.
Please share our new video of what's happening in our city. youtu.be/W1dyNcRGRXY
January 27, 2026 at 5:22 PM
nothing is ok, even when i pretend it is. so i keep telling people that i'm proud to be the daughter of two immigrants, to have grown up speaking english only half the time, in a version of nyc that felt like it was the entire world. i love the WORLD, and this bald guy can't make me stop 😘
Square Enix just be releasing random games. We are so back.
KILLER INN | Steam Early Access Announcement Trailer (Feb 12th) www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYhq...
January 27, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Square Enix just be releasing random games. We are so back.
Reposted by Echo Apsey
I *really* did not like Code Vein 2, a game that repeats the mistakes of its predecessor, but worse, and makes a bunch of new ones
www.polygon.com/code-vein-2-...
www.polygon.com/code-vein-2-...
Code Vein 2 is a misfire in every way
Bandai Namco's sequel is everything a sequel shouldn't be
www.polygon.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:03 PM
I *really* did not like Code Vein 2, a game that repeats the mistakes of its predecessor, but worse, and makes a bunch of new ones
www.polygon.com/code-vein-2-...
www.polygon.com/code-vein-2-...
Code Vein II is a perfectly fine soulslike. It improves slightly in most areas from the original but it still feels quite hollow and lacking in anything you can really sink your teeth into. My review:
www.gamerguides.com/code-vein-ii...
www.gamerguides.com/code-vein-ii...
January 26, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Code Vein II is a perfectly fine soulslike. It improves slightly in most areas from the original but it still feels quite hollow and lacking in anything you can really sink your teeth into. My review:
www.gamerguides.com/code-vein-ii...
www.gamerguides.com/code-vein-ii...
How incredibly sad
DrDisrespect Created A Fake Highguard Badge And Lied About Being Invited To The Preview
DrDisrespect Lies About Being Invited To Highguard Preview Event - Kotaku
The controversial streamer shared a post online claiming he was invited to a creator event for the new FPS
kotaku.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:09 PM
How incredibly sad
So far my biggest problem with Highguard is the armor system is as annoying to deal with as in Apex Legends. At some point everyone feels like a bullet sponge.
January 26, 2026 at 8:10 PM
So far my biggest problem with Highguard is the armor system is as annoying to deal with as in Apex Legends. At some point everyone feels like a bullet sponge.
Highguard time. Excited to give it a shot based on what I have heard.
January 26, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Highguard time. Excited to give it a shot based on what I have heard.
Resident Evil Requiem feels like the culmination of the journey the franchise has been on since RE7. It's a melting pot of the series' best ideas with a lot of impressive upgrades. It has the potential to be the best game in the series.
My preview:
www.gamerguides.com/resident-evi...
My preview:
www.gamerguides.com/resident-evi...
January 26, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Resident Evil Requiem feels like the culmination of the journey the franchise has been on since RE7. It's a melting pot of the series' best ideas with a lot of impressive upgrades. It has the potential to be the best game in the series.
My preview:
www.gamerguides.com/resident-evi...
My preview:
www.gamerguides.com/resident-evi...
Writing a review for the most milquetoast game in the world is incredibly challenging.
January 26, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Writing a review for the most milquetoast game in the world is incredibly challenging.
And with that, Starmer's time as Labour lead has begun to end. Only a matter of time now, just well frustrated Streeting is the prick who will probably take over.
Andy Burnham blocked from byelection race by Labour ruling committee
Andy Burnham blocked from byelection race by Labour ruling committee
Decision likely to set off ferocious row between Keir Starmer loyalists and allies of Greater Manchester mayor
Labour’s national executive committee has blocked Andy Burnham’s request to seek selection for the Gorton and Denton byelection, according to Labour sources.
The decision is likely to set off a ferocious row with allies of the Greater Manchester mayor. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:05 PM
And with that, Starmer's time as Labour lead has begun to end. Only a matter of time now, just well frustrated Streeting is the prick who will probably take over.
Saw that clip of the guy getting shot in the US by ICE and every new thing from over there just sends me down a spiral of thinking everything is just going to unravel over the next 12 months.
January 24, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Saw that clip of the guy getting shot in the US by ICE and every new thing from over there just sends me down a spiral of thinking everything is just going to unravel over the next 12 months.
Undoubtedly the best season of The Traitors so far. Incredible TV, saw gameplans we have never seen before and an incredible ending.
January 23, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Undoubtedly the best season of The Traitors so far. Incredible TV, saw gameplans we have never seen before and an incredible ending.
That new Harry Styles song is a grower. Rather groovy once you have spent some time with it. Everyone's descriptions of it though we're very wrong lmao.
January 23, 2026 at 7:46 PM
That new Harry Styles song is a grower. Rather groovy once you have spent some time with it. Everyone's descriptions of it though we're very wrong lmao.
Caught up with the Xbox Developer Direct and lordy if Fable manages to live up to what they showed off here, it could easily be the game of the year (minus GTA6). Forza Horizon 6 also looks incredible, as someone who spent hundreds of hours in 5.
January 23, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Caught up with the Xbox Developer Direct and lordy if Fable manages to live up to what they showed off here, it could easily be the game of the year (minus GTA6). Forza Horizon 6 also looks incredible, as someone who spent hundreds of hours in 5.
Real sad No Other Choice got completely overlooked at the Oscars, but overall a good nomination list. Some big surprises in there and what feels like a very young set of nominees.
January 22, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Real sad No Other Choice got completely overlooked at the Oscars, but overall a good nomination list. Some big surprises in there and what feels like a very young set of nominees.
Reading this and quickly realising its a MOBA.
The PS5 trophy list for Highguard is out: www.exophase.com/game/highgua...
The game is out on January 26.
The game is out on January 26.
January 22, 2026 at 5:25 AM
Reading this and quickly realising its a MOBA.