Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻

@samueltolbert.bsky.social

1.2K followers 280 following 1K posts

Freelance writer for games at Windows Central, Inverse, etc. Aspiring narrative designer. Semi-accomplished himbo. Sometimes I paint figurines. Signal: 803-403-6061 | Email: samuelwtolbert (at) gmail dot com | He/him

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · Nov 15

Alright, here's my intro. I'm Samuel, a freelance journalist with work published in Windows Central, Inverse, TechRadar, and more.

Outside of talking about video games, I can also be found reading, mixing drinks, painting Warhammer 40K figurines, and sharing pictures of my cat, Blue.

Here's Blue:

A big cat named Blue. He's thoroughly unimpressed right now.

3 3 18

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 4d

You're a cool person and a great writer, to the point I get actively excited whenever I find out you've worked on something.

Your recent decent into Warhammer 40K depravity is a nice bonus.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 4d

(love you too @morbidlycurious.bsky.social )

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 4d

Whenever I hear you say "okay am I wrong or-"

a hand reaches for a glass of whiskey on a piece of paper

ALT: a hand reaches for a glass of whiskey on a piece of paper

media.tenor.com

1 2

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 5d

In the novel Avenging Son, several scribes on Terra have a group dinner that actually seems half-decent, and it's noted to be a special occurrence since they're being served instead of serving others.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 9d

a cartoon of a man shaking hands with a man in a top hat and a woman

Alt: A clip from The Princess and The Frog where the Shadow Man says "Won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?" enticing two unwitting schmucks to make a dark deal.

media.tenor.com

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 9d

So mote it be.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 10d

It's been deeply enjoyable to watch. I hope you're still enjoying sinking further and further in.

The more you learn, the more *there is* to learn.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 10d

Every games publishing/planning/PR person I have talked to this year is worried about three free-to-play games. I can't emphasize enough how much of a problem it is.

No idea how you tackle it. For Xbox, leeching that crowd into other titles via Game Pass makes sense. But not at this price, imo

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 10d

Amid all the (deserved) takes around Game Pass Ultimate prices going up, there's one facet that particularly interests me.

I think Xbox is trying to solve a very valid problem by pulling in the Fortnite crowd. This just isn't the way to do it.

www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/...

I understand what Xbox's goal is by shaking up Game Pass Ultimate, but it's not going to work

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's price hike and new additions are trying to solve a valid problem, but it won't work.

www.windowscentral.com

1 3

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 12d

Unironically, painting 40K figurines has done more for my mental health the past couple of years than basically anything else. It's extremely therapeutic and fun.

dr. hazel 🐝 @hazelmonforton.com · 12d

"How will we solve the male loneliness epidemic, how can adult men make friends in this day and age" literally just pick up a brush and buy a warhammer mini, it's not hard

1 6

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 13d

Man, do I have great news.

Karl Franz from Warhammer Fantasy in Total War: Warhammer 3, wielding Ghal Maraz.

Reposted by Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 17d

My Hades 2 review is up. In short, it's phenomenal. Supergiant Games has dialed up everything that made the first game excellent, resulting in a far bigger game and more compelling narrative while not diluting all the small details.

www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-ga...

Hades 2 is a fantastic experience

I'm thrilled Supergiant Games proved itself yet again with another masterpiece, blending roguelike action with a compelling story and characters.

www.windowscentral.com

4 4 36

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 15d

An orange cat named Puddin' sleeps again his crate bars. He must not be freed.

A big striped grayish cat named Blue sleeps in a blanket that was meant to be washed.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 16d

Finally going on that second route is such a good moment.

1 1

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 16d

I don't have the answer haha.

I will say, Hades 2 being built around loops makes it pretty easy to play alongside something else. Put it down after you fail/win a particular run, etc.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 17d

If any podcasts are somehow lacking a guest to talk about Hades 2 please reach out to me. I'm gonna be continuing to play this (and continuing to think about it) for a long time.

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 17d

In that case I would just start over. However, for anyone reading this that *has* poured a lot of time into the early access, I actually recommend just sticking with it. You're not shortchanging yourself, there's a lot to get through still.

Reposted by Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻

Blaine "God Killer" Klutchko @morbidlycurious.bsky.social · 18d

Help a trans woman start her new life!!!
Next week I'll be making my way down to Oklahoma to be with my boyfriend of 10 years! However- it's going to cost upwards of $2k. If anyone could help out I'd appreciate it! Info below!

Rabbit fursona in front of a map charting a course from New York to Oklahoma with speech bubbles that read "I'm Moving!" "Lend me a hand?"

9 75 99

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 17d

I'm honestly not a huge roguelike fan, and I find it a testament to Supergiant's game design chops that the team is able to weave the story into every aspect of the gameplay so seamlessly. Some really clever stuff here that actually uses Melinoë's witchcraft instead of having it as a coat of paint.

1 6

Sam(hain) Tolbert 🐺👻 @samueltolbert.bsky.social · 17d

There's a truly absurd amount of dialogue and character interactions here. I've spent almost 100 hours in different runs and it still feels like there are relationships where I'm just scratching the surface.

www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-ga...