Will Borger
@edgarallanbro.bsky.social
Pushcart Prize-nominated fiction writer/essayist.
Co-founder/Editor-in-Chief @skyboxcritics.com.
Words: MLR, Purple Wall, ASP, The Rupture, YourTango, Vet. Life.
Games: Rolling Stone, IGN, PC Gamer, Digital Trends, Shacknews, Unwinnable, Restart +
Co-founder/Editor-in-Chief @skyboxcritics.com.
Words: MLR, Purple Wall, ASP, The Rupture, YourTango, Vet. Life.
Games: Rolling Stone, IGN, PC Gamer, Digital Trends, Shacknews, Unwinnable, Restart +
Pinned
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. isn't just a PC port of a 19-year-old game: it's the reason a diehard fighting game community can 'finally reach out and play with each other across the world'
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O's arrival on PC marks the start a new era for the series that pioneered 3D fighting games.
www.pcgamer.com
I interviewed several members of the VF community about why VF5: R.E.V.O. matters for @pcgamer.com. VF is so important, and it's so good to see that community get their moment and help them tell that story.
Big thanks to @wes.readonlymemo.com for the opportunity.
www.pcgamer.com/games/fighti...
Big thanks to @wes.readonlymemo.com for the opportunity.
www.pcgamer.com/games/fighti...
Reposted by Will Borger
Oh hey look, it's my first piece for the AV Club!
The HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest might modernize these ancient RPGs, but could anything recreate the experience of playing them on the NES? www.avclub.com/dragon-quest...
A quest for relevance: Dragon Quest’s remakes search for the impact it had in the ‘80s
The HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest might modernize these ancient RPGs, but could anything recreate the experience of playing Dragon Warrior on the NES?
www.avclub.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Oh hey look, it's my first piece for the AV Club!
Reposted by Will Borger
Okay fine. If 25 people send me proof of purchase of a game file annual subscription….i will post a selfie in the Mario costume my stupid friends got me. I am posting this late in the hopes no one does this
November 25, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Okay fine. If 25 people send me proof of purchase of a game file annual subscription….i will post a selfie in the Mario costume my stupid friends got me. I am posting this late in the hopes no one does this
Reposted by Will Borger
Think it's also time to start acknowledging that there's a bunch of people who don't actually play the games, and their whole engagement with the medium is doing culture war bullshit with games they haven't played as a pretext
Two months after firing over Charlie Kirk comments, Ghost of Yotei dev blames harassment campaign, not 'bad joke'
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
November 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Think it's also time to start acknowledging that there's a bunch of people who don't actually play the games, and their whole engagement with the medium is doing culture war bullshit with games they haven't played as a pretext
Reposted by Will Borger
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
November 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
I think I'd swap Solo and The Force Awakens, but honestly, yeah, I agree.
haven’t seen ROS or Solo but this seems like a pretty ball-knowing list from Pritzker, particularly if he volunteered the name “Star Wars” rather than “A New Hope”
November 24, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I think I'd swap Solo and The Force Awakens, but honestly, yeah, I agree.
Reposted by Will Borger
Now that folks have had the weekend to see WICKED: FOR GOOD, I'm over at @thewrap.com going long about how the ending doesn't just fail to meet to moment, it fails to live up to what Jon M. Chu and co. set up in Part 1.
"The girl in the bubble," indeed.
www.thewrap.com/wicked-for-g...
"The girl in the bubble," indeed.
www.thewrap.com/wicked-for-g...
The 'Wicked: For Good' Ending Fails to Meet the Moment | Commentary
The ending of "Wicked: For Good" avoids the darker conclusion from the book, but does a disservice to the sociopolitical commentary in the process.
www.thewrap.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Now that folks have had the weekend to see WICKED: FOR GOOD, I'm over at @thewrap.com going long about how the ending doesn't just fail to meet to moment, it fails to live up to what Jon M. Chu and co. set up in Part 1.
"The girl in the bubble," indeed.
www.thewrap.com/wicked-for-g...
"The girl in the bubble," indeed.
www.thewrap.com/wicked-for-g...
Reposted by Will Borger
For @aftermath.site, I spoke to @imodrew.bsky.social, the Sucker Punch dev fired after making a Charlie Kirk joke.
She paints a picture of an industry that all too often ignores bad actors until those bad actors threaten them financially.
aftermath.site/sucker-punch...
She paints a picture of an industry that all too often ignores bad actors until those bad actors threaten them financially.
aftermath.site/sucker-punch...
Two Months After Firing Over Charlie Kirk Comments, Ghost Of Yotei Dev Blames Harassment Campaign, Not ‘Bad Joke’
"I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, because I feel like with the state of everything, it will absolutely happen to other people," says Drew Harrison
aftermath.site
November 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
For @aftermath.site, I spoke to @imodrew.bsky.social, the Sucker Punch dev fired after making a Charlie Kirk joke.
She paints a picture of an industry that all too often ignores bad actors until those bad actors threaten them financially.
aftermath.site/sucker-punch...
She paints a picture of an industry that all too often ignores bad actors until those bad actors threaten them financially.
aftermath.site/sucker-punch...
I wish everyone had this mindset for every game they played.
We use "progression" as a shorthand for "my numbers are bigger and so I am more powerful," but genuine, meaningful progression isn't tied to stats and loot, it's in your growth as a player. Imagine the industry that could imagine this.
We use "progression" as a shorthand for "my numbers are bigger and so I am more powerful," but genuine, meaningful progression isn't tied to stats and loot, it's in your growth as a player. Imagine the industry that could imagine this.
Honestly one of the coolest start-up messages I've ever seen. Game: store.steampowered.com/app/3594120/...
November 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I wish everyone had this mindset for every game they played.
We use "progression" as a shorthand for "my numbers are bigger and so I am more powerful," but genuine, meaningful progression isn't tied to stats and loot, it's in your growth as a player. Imagine the industry that could imagine this.
We use "progression" as a shorthand for "my numbers are bigger and so I am more powerful," but genuine, meaningful progression isn't tied to stats and loot, it's in your growth as a player. Imagine the industry that could imagine this.
If you liked this thread, you should subscribe to Skybox on Patreon so our little indie website can continue to write cool things and pay our writers fairly to do it. $5 gets you access to our Discord and a special weekly podcast and $10 adds a special monthly deep dive podcast on top of that.
November 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
If you liked this thread, you should subscribe to Skybox on Patreon so our little indie website can continue to write cool things and pay our writers fairly to do it. $5 gets you access to our Discord and a special weekly podcast and $10 adds a special monthly deep dive podcast on top of that.
Reposted by Will Borger
Can’t stop watching this guy get Silent Movie Slapsticked to death and then still making a play
keep pushin'
November 24, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Can’t stop watching this guy get Silent Movie Slapsticked to death and then still making a play
Reposted by Will Borger
Reposted by Will Borger
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Whenever I say this, people get Really Mad, but it's true. Same of any other art, too. You have to read the book, watch the film, see the painting, listen to the song, whatever.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
"you have not played the game unless you've played the game" is one of my more annoying but unshakable opinions
the whole "don't play the game, just watch a video on youtube that will explain its story to you" is so disheartening because the issue of accessibility is genuinely really important but it's always just people who want to be spoon-fed nicely quantifiable information
November 23, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Whenever I say this, people get Really Mad, but it's true. Same of any other art, too. You have to read the book, watch the film, see the painting, listen to the song, whatever.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
Reposted by Will Borger
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
November 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
Reposted by Will Borger
don't threaten me with a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good time
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
'Suddenly exposed' DOGE employees fear prosecution after Musk abandoned them: report
Current and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are growing increasingly concerned that the work they did slashing government programs and eliminating jobs will come back to hau...
www.rawstory.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:47 PM
don't threaten me with a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good time
Reposted by Will Borger
hey, i'm looking for work! full-time or freelance 💜
journalist, critic, author
proficient in features, criticism, reporting, reviews, previews, news, guides
words at lost in cult, RPS, VGC, unwinnable, gamesradar+, polygon, EDGE, PLAY
muckrack.com/ash-like-a-d...
[email protected]
journalist, critic, author
proficient in features, criticism, reporting, reviews, previews, news, guides
words at lost in cult, RPS, VGC, unwinnable, gamesradar+, polygon, EDGE, PLAY
muckrack.com/ash-like-a-d...
[email protected]
November 22, 2025 at 11:52 AM
hey, i'm looking for work! full-time or freelance 💜
journalist, critic, author
proficient in features, criticism, reporting, reviews, previews, news, guides
words at lost in cult, RPS, VGC, unwinnable, gamesradar+, polygon, EDGE, PLAY
muckrack.com/ash-like-a-d...
[email protected]
journalist, critic, author
proficient in features, criticism, reporting, reviews, previews, news, guides
words at lost in cult, RPS, VGC, unwinnable, gamesradar+, polygon, EDGE, PLAY
muckrack.com/ash-like-a-d...
[email protected]
Reposted by Will Borger
A major antagonist dies in the guilty gear pachinko machine and is never mentioned again
The machine has a built in ash tray
The machine has a built in ash tray
After "film trilogy that dropped a critical plot point exclusively via timed Fortnite event" and "video game series whose story only makes sense if you're aware of the events of a canon pachinko machine", I feel like there are whole frontiers of user-hostile narrative design waiting to be explored.
November 22, 2025 at 1:26 AM
A major antagonist dies in the guilty gear pachinko machine and is never mentioned again
The machine has a built in ash tray
The machine has a built in ash tray
Still working on my preview because I spent the last week without a computer, but I had a good talk with Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa about how Square Enix is approaching the remake and what makes DQVII special 25 years later.
“Anyone can become anyone they want to”: An interview with Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa by @edgarallanbro.bsky.social
"I want them to feel like they’ve become a completely different person after playing this game."
Read on:
"I want them to feel like they’ve become a completely different person after playing this game."
Read on:
“Anyone can become anyone they want to”: An interview with Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa
A sit-down conversation with one of the minds behind Square Enix's latest classic RPG remake, Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined.
skyboxcritics.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Still working on my preview because I spent the last week without a computer, but I had a good talk with Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa about how Square Enix is approaching the remake and what makes DQVII special 25 years later.
This is what happens whenever I lie down on the couch.
November 21, 2025 at 11:18 PM
This is what happens whenever I lie down on the couch.
Sometimes people who don't get sports games ask me why I play Madden, and the answer is because of moments like this.
I was levitating for the next two hours.
I was levitating for the next two hours.
EdgarAllanBro7 - Lets Goooo
Watch EdgarAllanBro7's clip titled
www.twitch.tv
November 21, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Sometimes people who don't get sports games ask me why I play Madden, and the answer is because of moments like this.
I was levitating for the next two hours.
I was levitating for the next two hours.
Reposted by Will Borger
turning aftermath into a hockey website (i spoke to the skilled lehigh valley phantoms creative staff who put together this incredible evangelion intro!!)
aftermath.site/neon-gensis-...
aftermath.site/neon-gensis-...
A Hockey Team Recreated The Evangelion Intro For A Stadium Full Of Fans
Here's how an American Hockey League team embraced anime—then went viral.
aftermath.site
November 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
turning aftermath into a hockey website (i spoke to the skilled lehigh valley phantoms creative staff who put together this incredible evangelion intro!!)
aftermath.site/neon-gensis-...
aftermath.site/neon-gensis-...
Reposted by Will Borger
I know this makes me like a terminal bummer or whatever but there is still an Xbox boycott under BDS. The Gaza genocide might not be as in your face as it was a year or even six months ago but shit ain’t over. Israel/the US just put forward an ethnic cleansing proposal masquerading as a peace plan.
November 21, 2025 at 10:08 AM
I know this makes me like a terminal bummer or whatever but there is still an Xbox boycott under BDS. The Gaza genocide might not be as in your face as it was a year or even six months ago but shit ain’t over. Israel/the US just put forward an ethnic cleansing proposal masquerading as a peace plan.
Reposted by Will Borger
Last week, my former housemate punched me multiple times in the eye, forcing me to break the lease for the beautiful apartment we shared and move in with a trusted friend
As I try to rebuild my life and find more permanent housing, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer Stop Caring
As I try to rebuild my life and find more permanent housing, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer Stop Caring
Stop Caring
A publication about video games focused on the ways they evoke unique cultural conversations as well as the personal lessons we can learn from them as artistic media.
www.stopcar.ing
November 17, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Last week, my former housemate punched me multiple times in the eye, forcing me to break the lease for the beautiful apartment we shared and move in with a trusted friend
As I try to rebuild my life and find more permanent housing, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer Stop Caring
As I try to rebuild my life and find more permanent housing, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer Stop Caring
Reposted by Will Borger
here's something neat
the folks at @inverse.com trusted me to whip up a list of the top 25 rpgs of 2025, putting the team's top choices and my own picks together for a big ol' ranking endeavor
including review quotes from @solfleet.bsky.social to distribute blame where appropriate :D
the folks at @inverse.com trusted me to whip up a list of the top 25 rpgs of 2025, putting the team's top choices and my own picks together for a big ol' ranking endeavor
including review quotes from @solfleet.bsky.social to distribute blame where appropriate :D
The 25 Best RPGs of the Year, Ranked
As a team effort here at Inverse, we cooked up a big ol’ list of the 25 best RPGs of 2025, and believe it or not, there were still runners-up that are just as worth checking out.
www.inverse.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
here's something neat
the folks at @inverse.com trusted me to whip up a list of the top 25 rpgs of 2025, putting the team's top choices and my own picks together for a big ol' ranking endeavor
including review quotes from @solfleet.bsky.social to distribute blame where appropriate :D
the folks at @inverse.com trusted me to whip up a list of the top 25 rpgs of 2025, putting the team's top choices and my own picks together for a big ol' ranking endeavor
including review quotes from @solfleet.bsky.social to distribute blame where appropriate :D