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Di cosa si è parlato questo mese

Ludica @ludicamag.com · 11d

Deltarune, Endless Legend 2, Discounty, Mina the Hollower e Consume Me sono solo alcuni dei titoli di cui si parla nella nostra nuova rassegna stampa videoludica mensile.

Agosto-Settembre 2025: Deltarune, Mina the Hollower e tanto altro ancora.

The artists who turned teenage obsessions into an award-winning video game

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Giovanni Colantonio @marioprime.bsky.social · 12d

Consume Me is a work of autobiography born out of its creator's real experiences growing up in NYC. I spent a day with the devs visiting real places that inspired the game and looking through boxes of high school memories. A chat about how to adapt reality to game. www.polygon.com/consume-me-j...

To create an interactive autobiography, Consume Me's creators had to turn teenage memories into playable self-portraits.

www.polygon.com

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · 13d

This week: 21 articles on culture movements, maps, difficulty, dungeon crawlers, and much more. No Freddi Fish articles this week, sorry:

critical-distance.com/2025/09/28/s...

September 28th

Welcome back readers. We’re two for two on this recent streak of on-time Sunday updates. I’m hoping to keep this up as I adapt my schedule to accommodate a couple of new work commitment…

30 Years Later, Command & Conquer's Excellent Level Design Still Sets It Apart

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Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · 17d

Thirty years later, Command & Conquer's well-laid-out maps remain strategically rewarding in ways that other RTSs can still learn from. Read @marcnormandin.bsky.social on C&C here:

Thirty years later, Command & Conquer's well-laid-out levels remain tactically rewarding in a way other RTSs can learn from.

Welcome back readers. Behold! A rare on-time-ish Sunday post! If you are as amazed by that feat as I am, what would you say are the odds we can translate that amazement into Patreon support? Eh? Eh…

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · 20d

This week: Literary editions, punk rock, TikTok nostalgia bait--oh, and videogames, too, we promise:

critical-distance.com/2025/09/21/s...

September 21st

The eternal feedback loop of Hideo Kojima

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Gene Park @gene.meme · 22d

Hideo Kojima and I chat about the current state of digital media and his evolving relationship with audiences as he learns to build bridges, much like the hero of Death Stranding.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The famed game director dissects his evolving nature with his fans, technology and his new narrative era with “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · 25d

This week: Dev communities, pop VNs, Garfield Kart, and more:

critical-distance.com/2025/09/16/s...

September 14th

Welcome back readers. If you haven’t already seen it, Kaile’s latest Patreon recap is live–we made the difficult decision to delay it so as not to compete with the release of Holl…

Welcome back readers. Two more weeks for the Queer Games Bundle. This is one case of line-goes-up I’m always happy to see. Check out our Patreon if you like what we do and want to help us con…

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Hourly Videogame Box Art @vgboxart.bsky.social · 27d

KID DRACULA

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · Aug 25

This week: Sixteen new picks on Atari RPGs, spectacle and vastness, the eroticism of game overs, and more:

critical-distance.com/2025/08/25/a...

August 24th

Why ‘Silksong’ Took Seven Years to Make

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PRBG_Aesthetics @prbgaesthetics.bsky.social · Aug 24

Blade Runner (1997)

Developed by Westwood Studios.

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Jason Schreier @jasonschreier.bsky.social · Aug 21

Team Cherry told me that Hollow Knight has sold 15 million copies, making it one of the biggest indie games of all time.

What's really wild is that in February 2019, when Silksong was announced, Hollow Knight had only sold 2.8 million copies.

The full story: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

The highly anticipated indie game has been in production for so long that it’s become an internet meme

www.bloomberg.com

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Retro XP @retroxp.bsky.social · Aug 21

Phantasy Star is a vital RPG from the 8-bit era, and one that, thanks to its Sega Ages treatment, is worth your time today, even if you're the kind of person who shies away from this era of role-playing game. Especially if, really.

Retro Spotlight: Phantasy Star

The original Phantasy Star is very much an old-school JRPG even in its more updated forms, but it remains a piece of genre history worth experiencing.

retroxp.beehiiv.com

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 15

The role-playing game Off, in which players take control of an entity in a black-and-white baseball uniform who is sent on a mission to “purify the world,” had an uphill battle when it was released in 2008. It has since grown a cult following. nyti.ms/4mCINKO

The Surreal Family Tree of a French R.P.G.

The otherworldly role-playing game Off grew a cult following after it was released in 2008, influencing a generation of indie developers.

nyti.ms

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PRBG_Aesthetics @prbgaesthetics.bsky.social · Aug 15

Baldur's Gate II (2000)

Developed by BioWare.

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 15

This year has been a standout one in games, and these are our favorites so far.

The Best Video Games of 2025 (So Far)

Video games have been a welcome bright spot in 2025, and these are the best so far.

nyti.ms

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Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · Aug 13

Yoot Saito's Dreamcast oddity Seaman might be infamously weird, but it was also very successful in Japan. On the 25th anniversary of its American release, @marcnormandin.bsky.social looks back and wonders why it hasn't been rereleased since the PlayStation 2. www.endlessmode.com/article/25-y...

25 Years Later, Seaman Remains an Absolute Original. Too Bad You Can't Really Play It These Days.

Seaman was a cult classic in America, but it was a mainstream smash in Japan. And yet it hasn't been rereleased for any system since the PS2.

Take My Hand - Unwinnable

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Unwinnable @unwinnable.com · Aug 12

"The game knows you don’t care about the mountain. You care about holding hands with your friends."

@jaymcastello.bsky.social recounts their experience playing Peak:

Peak begins with a plane crash. This is approximately how things feel in general.

unwinnable.com

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Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · Aug 12

The house fly sim Time Flies has us thinking about time--the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. www.endlessmode.com/article/time...

Time Flies, but It Sinks, Too

The house fly sim Time Flies has us thinking about time--the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

Welcome back readers. This week I’m plugging the Queer Games Bundle again. Worth your time, worth your support. We also are always happy to have you check out our Patreon! This Week in Videog…

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · Aug 11

This week: Fifteen picks on porn censorship, BDS, Mega Drive shmups, and more:

critical-distance.com/2025/08/11/a...

August 10th

Inside The Cancelled Bonk Game: How Hudson’s Ice Age Froze A Cult Mascot’s 3D Debut

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Endless Mode @endlessmode.bsky.social · Aug 8

Bonk, the one-time mascot for the TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine, starred in a 2011 revival that was never released despite basically being finished. We talk to one of Bonk: Brink of Extinction's designers about the lost Bonk game. www.endlessmode.com/article/insi...

A new Bonk game was set to revive the TurboGrafx mascot in 2011 until it was cancelled late in development. We talk to one of its designers.

Gangster sull’isola che non c’è

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Ludica @ludicamag.com · Aug 7

Che sia nei videogiochi o nei film, sembra che i gangster debbano essere rappresentati primariamente come dei grandi giocherelloni, dei moderni Peter Pan. Di Andrea Rotondaro.

Sulle connessioni tra il gangster movie e Mafia: Definitive Edition.

Welcome back readers. This week I’m plugging this year’s Queer Games Bundle over on Itch, which recently went live. Right now is always the best time to support queer and trans game dev…

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Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · Aug 5

This week: Sixteen new picks on memory, porn, representation, culture, and much more:

critical-distance.com/2025/08/04/a...

August 3rd

Di cosa si è parlato questo mese

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Ludica @ludicamag.com · Jul 31

La nostra nuova rassegna stampa videoludica mensile (che è anche una newsletter), con articoli da @superjumpmagazine.com, @endlessmode.bsky.social, @retroxp.bsky.social, @skyboxcritics.com, @bulletpointsvg.bsky.social e altri magazine ancora.

Luglio 2025: Grand Theft Auto III, Hauntii, Donkey Kong Bananza e tanto altro ancora.

Il videogioco del mondo, intervista a Stefano Gualeni

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Ludica @ludicamag.com · Jul 30

Attraverso semiotica, esistenzialismo e letteratura, @gua-le-ni.com‬ affronta anche le criticità del videogioco, ma al contempo prova a superare l’isolamento culturale che spesso lo circonda. Di Marco Montanaro. [dall'archivio]

Cosa perdiamo e cosa guadagniamo quando videogiochiamo.