James Margaris
@markymarg2.bsky.social
A perfectly harmless box. Game dev, half of Dark Roast Entertainment. Games criticism at http://jmargaris.substack.com
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Monster Hunter Wilds was a Huge Miss and Other 2025 Thoughts
Rough times for AAA games and games media, a breakout year for indie, Youtube is warping player feedback, and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy as a map game
open.substack.com
open.substack.com/pub/jmargari...
(I swear I only used this as the lead image because I could only fit a few images in this post and this was the only one at all readable in terms of shape / color etc without context)
(I swear I only used this as the lead image because I could only fit a few images in this post and this was the only one at all readable in terms of shape / color etc without context)
Got it again.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
January 17, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Got it again.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
Paul Giamatti was the worst part of Starfleet Academy - more evidence for my long-running theory that actors having too much fun on set almost always results in bad performances.
January 16, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Paul Giamatti was the worst part of Starfleet Academy - more evidence for my long-running theory that actors having too much fun on set almost always results in bad performances.
2 minutes after posting this I went to youtube and the first ad I saw was Liz Warren begging for money so that Dems could "resist."
The Democratic party is top to bottom engineered to make sure it produces this sort of politician - the guy who posts a strongly worded letter to social media after his first 300 strongly worded letters were ignored.
January 16, 2026 at 8:29 PM
2 minutes after posting this I went to youtube and the first ad I saw was Liz Warren begging for money so that Dems could "resist."
The Democratic party is top to bottom engineered to make sure it produces this sort of politician - the guy who posts a strongly worded letter to social media after his first 300 strongly worded letters were ignored.
January 16, 2026 at 1:19 AM
The Democratic party is top to bottom engineered to make sure it produces this sort of politician - the guy who posts a strongly worded letter to social media after his first 300 strongly worded letters were ignored.
A character on Starfleet Academy said "I'm not being compulsive, it's a strategy."
They meant impulsive right?
It's a hotheaded character who demonstrates no compulsive tendencies. Did they just use the wrong word?
Am I going crazy?
They meant impulsive right?
It's a hotheaded character who demonstrates no compulsive tendencies. Did they just use the wrong word?
Am I going crazy?
January 15, 2026 at 1:18 PM
A character on Starfleet Academy said "I'm not being compulsive, it's a strategy."
They meant impulsive right?
It's a hotheaded character who demonstrates no compulsive tendencies. Did they just use the wrong word?
Am I going crazy?
They meant impulsive right?
It's a hotheaded character who demonstrates no compulsive tendencies. Did they just use the wrong word?
Am I going crazy?
A couple months ago I read a long essay to this effect and it was very clear that the person who wrote it had watched a ton of Trek, but didn't understand the most basic plot points, character arcs, personalities, etc. They genuinely had no idea what was happening on their screen.
January 15, 2026 at 6:47 AM
A couple months ago I read a long essay to this effect and it was very clear that the person who wrote it had watched a ton of Trek, but didn't understand the most basic plot points, character arcs, personalities, etc. They genuinely had no idea what was happening on their screen.
They knew what they were doing.
And the way the guy is posed lol
January 14, 2026 at 5:47 AM
They knew what they were doing.
BTW I have that ad saved to my desktop because you just never know when it's going to be handy.
January 14, 2026 at 1:04 AM
BTW I have that ad saved to my desktop because you just never know when it's going to be handy.
I genuinely think Wilds has one of the all-time worst stories in both concept and execution.
I wrote about it here (jmargaris.substack.com/p/monster-hu...) but TL;DR - the main character arc is that a kid who loves animals unlearns empathy in favor of "it's good to kill animals."
I wrote about it here (jmargaris.substack.com/p/monster-hu...) but TL;DR - the main character arc is that a kid who loves animals unlearns empathy in favor of "it's good to kill animals."
January 12, 2026 at 12:02 AM
I genuinely think Wilds has one of the all-time worst stories in both concept and execution.
I wrote about it here (jmargaris.substack.com/p/monster-hu...) but TL;DR - the main character arc is that a kid who loves animals unlearns empathy in favor of "it's good to kill animals."
I wrote about it here (jmargaris.substack.com/p/monster-hu...) but TL;DR - the main character arc is that a kid who loves animals unlearns empathy in favor of "it's good to kill animals."
I think this and Shadow of the Colossus are good examples of games that the modern industry isn't suited to create. Not something a AAA studio would bother with but too ambitious and technically demanding for a small team.
RE: current MonHun Wilds conversations: I've put ~45 hours into a MH Freedom Unite replay these past couple weeks, and it's more apparent to me than ever that the field is wide open for an indie successor to Gen 1/2 MonHun.
January 11, 2026 at 11:52 PM
I think this and Shadow of the Colossus are good examples of games that the modern industry isn't suited to create. Not something a AAA studio would bother with but too ambitious and technically demanding for a small team.
It's a real bummer to hear that Starfleet Academy is a young adult show. (If this was known I somehow missed it)
Star Trek was always a show teens could watch. (And the teen character in TNG, Wesley, was the worst character!)
I don't think Trek needs separate CW-style content.
Star Trek was always a show teens could watch. (And the teen character in TNG, Wesley, was the worst character!)
I don't think Trek needs separate CW-style content.
January 11, 2026 at 10:05 AM
It's a real bummer to hear that Starfleet Academy is a young adult show. (If this was known I somehow missed it)
Star Trek was always a show teens could watch. (And the teen character in TNG, Wesley, was the worst character!)
I don't think Trek needs separate CW-style content.
Star Trek was always a show teens could watch. (And the teen character in TNG, Wesley, was the worst character!)
I don't think Trek needs separate CW-style content.
"I've got this **** on lock"
Yoru and Aoba are surprised, but Uni stays composed… the strongest, as always
January 11, 2026 at 8:19 AM
"I've got this **** on lock"
If you want a game dev to be mad at Jaime Griesemer has posted like 50 times mispresenting laws regarding officer involved jeopardy, praising ICE for "mag dumping" into that woman, and making people believe he's an Iraq / Afghanistan vet. (As part of defending mask-wearing by ICE agents)
Ok - I'm frustrated! And I'm all for cancelling these assholes. (Bring cancel culture back twice as bad!)
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 AM
If you want a game dev to be mad at Jaime Griesemer has posted like 50 times mispresenting laws regarding officer involved jeopardy, praising ICE for "mag dumping" into that woman, and making people believe he's an Iraq / Afghanistan vet. (As part of defending mask-wearing by ICE agents)
Ok - I'm frustrated! And I'm all for cancelling these assholes. (Bring cancel culture back twice as bad!)
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
January 11, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Ok - I'm frustrated! And I'm all for cancelling these assholes. (Bring cancel culture back twice as bad!)
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
I would suggest that, in addition to reaching out to steam (who will just ignore you), you also reach out to the Idle Thumbs / Campo Santo guys who work at Valve now. They have dozens of hours on tape patting themselves on the backs for being some of the good ones, performatively feminist, etc.
I am looking into this, I've reached out to Steam directly, and I'm actively pitching stories on this subject of the platform's shaky moderation. If any other devs have experienced something similar with reviews and moderation, do reach out.
the Steam team responded to my support request and said they will not remove the review calling me a liar and ridiculing my sexual assault because of censorship concerns.
steamcommunity.com/profiles/765...
if Steam refuses to enforce their community guidelines and allows harassment, what can i do?
steamcommunity.com/profiles/765...
if Steam refuses to enforce their community guidelines and allows harassment, what can i do?
January 11, 2026 at 1:53 AM
I would suggest that, in addition to reaching out to steam (who will just ignore you), you also reach out to the Idle Thumbs / Campo Santo guys who work at Valve now. They have dozens of hours on tape patting themselves on the backs for being some of the good ones, performatively feminist, etc.
I ran into a guy vociferously defending the ICE killing.
On his substack page he has a series of long screeds about how he hates all women. I looked him up and found he has a 10-year history of contacting women at random to gloat about other women being murdered by their ex-husbands.
On his substack page he has a series of long screeds about how he hates all women. I looked him up and found he has a 10-year history of contacting women at random to gloat about other women being murdered by their ex-husbands.
January 10, 2026 at 11:13 PM
I ran into a guy vociferously defending the ICE killing.
On his substack page he has a series of long screeds about how he hates all women. I looked him up and found he has a 10-year history of contacting women at random to gloat about other women being murdered by their ex-husbands.
On his substack page he has a series of long screeds about how he hates all women. I looked him up and found he has a 10-year history of contacting women at random to gloat about other women being murdered by their ex-husbands.
I recently watched the SyFy show "Defiance" and thought I would post some positive thoughts on the reddit sub, as kind of a treat for sickos.
It turns out the game (it was a TV show and an MMO) was flipped back on recently and all the posts there are about the game. Weird!
It turns out the game (it was a TV show and an MMO) was flipped back on recently and all the posts there are about the game. Weird!
January 10, 2026 at 1:35 PM
I recently watched the SyFy show "Defiance" and thought I would post some positive thoughts on the reddit sub, as kind of a treat for sickos.
It turns out the game (it was a TV show and an MMO) was flipped back on recently and all the posts there are about the game. Weird!
It turns out the game (it was a TV show and an MMO) was flipped back on recently and all the posts there are about the game. Weird!
Miiverse was great. I had 7000 Miiverse followers (I will never be that popular again!) and people would just ask me random questions about other games or Nintendo or post silly pictures or whatever. Like the exact opposite of modern social media.
"y cant metroid crawl?" is an all-timer but honestly the whole saga is gold too
January 10, 2026 at 6:56 AM
Miiverse was great. I had 7000 Miiverse followers (I will never be that popular again!) and people would just ask me random questions about other games or Nintendo or post silly pictures or whatever. Like the exact opposite of modern social media.
I'm terrible at this sort of thing - I assumed "ship" was like "they shipped them together" like...in a packing crate or shipping container.
It took me years to realize that Arbok is Kobra backwards, even after I knew the Ekans is Snake.
It took me years to realize that Arbok is Kobra backwards, even after I knew the Ekans is Snake.
January 9, 2026 at 10:31 AM
I'm terrible at this sort of thing - I assumed "ship" was like "they shipped them together" like...in a packing crate or shipping container.
It took me years to realize that Arbok is Kobra backwards, even after I knew the Ekans is Snake.
It took me years to realize that Arbok is Kobra backwards, even after I knew the Ekans is Snake.
I stumbled across a Twitter post from John Carmack about how all the game devs who left for silly ideological reasons should come back and all the quotes are like "this is a child porn site now bro."
We made a huge mistake when we decided that guys who are good at computers are all-around smarties.
We made a huge mistake when we decided that guys who are good at computers are all-around smarties.
January 8, 2026 at 8:22 AM
I stumbled across a Twitter post from John Carmack about how all the game devs who left for silly ideological reasons should come back and all the quotes are like "this is a child porn site now bro."
We made a huge mistake when we decided that guys who are good at computers are all-around smarties.
We made a huge mistake when we decided that guys who are good at computers are all-around smarties.
Reposted by James Margaris
🌿Hello everyone🌿
I’m looking for new opportunities as a 3D Environment/Asset Artist and Level Artist positions 💫
My focus is Stylized Art and PBR texturing!
I also have experience in Substance Designer 👽
I'd appreciate your support in sharing 🫶
🎨 artstation.com/helenthsh
DM me if interested!
I’m looking for new opportunities as a 3D Environment/Asset Artist and Level Artist positions 💫
My focus is Stylized Art and PBR texturing!
I also have experience in Substance Designer 👽
I'd appreciate your support in sharing 🫶
🎨 artstation.com/helenthsh
DM me if interested!
January 7, 2026 at 5:34 PM
🌿Hello everyone🌿
I’m looking for new opportunities as a 3D Environment/Asset Artist and Level Artist positions 💫
My focus is Stylized Art and PBR texturing!
I also have experience in Substance Designer 👽
I'd appreciate your support in sharing 🫶
🎨 artstation.com/helenthsh
DM me if interested!
I’m looking for new opportunities as a 3D Environment/Asset Artist and Level Artist positions 💫
My focus is Stylized Art and PBR texturing!
I also have experience in Substance Designer 👽
I'd appreciate your support in sharing 🫶
🎨 artstation.com/helenthsh
DM me if interested!
Waltz is stoically and heroically not being "baited" into any action beyond writing a stern email.
Of course the lion's share of the blame goes towards Trump et al, but boy it's galling that these Dems have called themselves "the resistance" for 8+ years now and don't do *anything.*
Of course the lion's share of the blame goes towards Trump et al, but boy it's galling that these Dems have called themselves "the resistance" for 8+ years now and don't do *anything.*
what the fuck do you mean “the bait”
Governor Walz says he's prepared to deploy the Minnesota National Guard if protests become violent in reaction to ICE fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis.
"We will not take the bait," adds Walz, saying he's also angry but demonstrations should remain lawful.
"We will not take the bait," adds Walz, saying he's also angry but demonstrations should remain lawful.
January 8, 2026 at 3:59 AM
Waltz is stoically and heroically not being "baited" into any action beyond writing a stern email.
Of course the lion's share of the blame goes towards Trump et al, but boy it's galling that these Dems have called themselves "the resistance" for 8+ years now and don't do *anything.*
Of course the lion's share of the blame goes towards Trump et al, but boy it's galling that these Dems have called themselves "the resistance" for 8+ years now and don't do *anything.*
Same publication and same author!
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
January 7, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Same publication and same author!
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
I've said for a while now that I don't like the "write evil characters as if they think they're good" advice because a lot of these people know they're evil and revel in it. Pretending that they believe they're doing the right thing is giving them way too much credit.
January 7, 2026 at 1:45 AM
I've said for a while now that I don't like the "write evil characters as if they think they're good" advice because a lot of these people know they're evil and revel in it. Pretending that they believe they're doing the right thing is giving them way too much credit.