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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 2d

Ah, time for today's "for fucks sake".

Suffice it to say Bitmap Books will never see another penny from me.

I genuinely don't understand why it's so hard for people to not be arseholes these days, but I find myself increasingly despairing at the world.

Bitmap Books @bitmapbooks.com · 3d

Monday 6th October 2025

Dear supporters of Bitmap Books,

Although I stand by the fact that Moses’ comments were ill-advised and insensitive, the whole thing blew up and was made much bigger than it needed to be. Moses has publicly apologised for any offence caused, as has the original poster of the comments who did not intend to cause this much trouble. I do not feel that this warrants an author losing his livelihood and ruining years of hard work to produce the book.

Despite multiple accusations to the contrary, Moses freely agreed to donate his royalties to charity. There was no coercion from me, however we both recognise that due to an increasingly stressful situation that decisions were rushed on both sides. I’m pleased to say that Moses and I have spoken again today, we stand together, and have agreed that he will receive 100% of his royalties.

Maybe I was hasty in my response, and I’m happy to admit to that. At the time I sincerely thought I was doing the right thing to diffuse an increasingly difficult situation. I will commit to donating all company profits from this first print run to the charity, Special Effect.

The bottom line is that is that Moses has apologised for his original comments, and will now be paid the royalties that are rightfully his.

Moses and myself have received a large amount of personal abuse and threats over the past few days. We hope that this statement will bring some closure to what has happened.

Sam Dyer, founder of Bitmap Books

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 3d

I played through this late last year and distinctly remember trying to figure out how to save. Don't think I'd seen autosave in an 8-bit RPG before!

It was a fun little romp for passing the time on the commutes.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 5d

I just wanted to go one day without going "for fucks sake" at... *gesticulates wildly at everything*

For the record: fuck hate speech and fuck anyone trying to justify it as "satire" or through strawman arguments. That shouldn't need to be said in 2025, but here we fucking are.

X ΘΔ @xkeeper.net · 5d

for those just now joining us in the retroachievements debacle i posted a blog that more or less goes over this stupid bullshit

blog.xkeeper.net/thoughts/ran...

i said last night that a lack of strong stance + enforcement would mean smouldering. well, one night and two threads later, here we are

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 5d

Today's pick for #RandomGameSaturday is El Shaddai, my favourite stylish action game based on Christian bible apocrypha.

Every level has a unique look and boasts a beautiful soundtrack. It's also *really* weird and I have no idea how on earth it got greenlit. It makes for a memorable experience.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (PS3). No, I have no idea why I have an American copy of the game with a BBFC rating lazily stuck over the ESRB rating either.

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Reposted by Zonerunner

Gematsu @gematsu.com · 10d

Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 coming to PC in English

Publishers DMM Games and Shiravune, and developer AQUAPLUS will release Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 for PC via Steam, the companies announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese language options.

Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 coming to PC in English

Publishers DMM Games and Shiravune, and developer AQUAPLUS will release Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 for PC via Steam, the companies announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese language options.

www.gematsu.com

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 12d

Nice to meet a fellow connoisseur of janky, quirky, loveable nonsense.

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 12d

Have been feeling rough all day, but dragged myself out of bed to grab something for #RandomGameSaturday and today's pick is Freak Out.

Known as Stretch Panic in the US, it's definitely one of Treasure's lesser known titles. Make no mistake though, it's a Treasure-style boss rush game at heart.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 15d

Catching up on last night's PlayStation State of Play.

Legitimately intrigued by the possibilities of Flight Simulator in VR.

Genuinely excited about playing some classic Dynasty Warriors action.

Oh, and I guess everything else looked alright...?

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 18d

Misty Monday Morning.

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 18d

Thank you kindly. <3

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 18d

Tapping comic artists to draw video game characters because you needed something for your front cover is certainly a flex.

I genuinely wouldn't mind looking through a collection of high quality scans of these covers if such a thing existed.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 18d

Spent the weekend playing through Shining in the Darkness because I fancied a little RPG and I'd never played more than the first hour of the game before.

It's definitely an early 90's dungeon crawler, but it's not as brutal as others in the genre and the classic fantasy anime vibes shine through.

The characters have a surprising amount of personality for an early video game translation too.

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 20d

Latest additions to the collection were literally just delivered, so in the spirit of #RandomGameSaturday I present Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series.

I appreciate that they put as much effort into preserving development material and making documentaries as emulating the games themselves.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 23d

It's been chucking it down all morning. Me and the dogs are completely soaked through, but clearly some birds don't mind the weather...

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 26d

I'd snark that the only thing they can think to do with Danganronpa these days is retread old ground, but I'm one of those weirdos who actually liked Crystar so I'm willing to let them cook.

Gematsu @gematsu.com · 27d

Danganronpa 2×2 announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC

Publisher Spike Chunsoft and developer Gemdrops has announced Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair remake Danganronpa 2x2 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2026.

Danganronpa 2×2 announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC

Publisher Spike Chunsoft and developer Gemdrops has announced Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair remake Danganronpa 2x2 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2026.

www.gematsu.com

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · 27d

Another week, another #RandomGameSaturday. Today we're going back to the PS2 shelf for Onimusha 3.

I always liked the slipcase this game came in. Definitely draws on the design language of the auteur director, which given the cinematic ambitions Onimusha 3 had was unlikely to be coincidental.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Sep 6

I hear Rayman got to celebrate his 30th anniversary recently, so for #RandomGameSaturday let's celebrate his 10th. With a, uh, compilation re-release. Yeah, turns out Ubisoft has never been able to figure out what to do with their mascot.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 30

It's #RandomGameSaturday time and today my hands have landed on the Prince of Persia reboot, the first game I ever got a Platinum trophy in some 16 years ago. (!!!)

I adored the art direction and I even think the simplified controls helped make for a good chill out game. Terrible ending though.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 25

God damnit Hideo Kojima, I love you you mad bastard.

(Currently playing through Death Stranding 2. No spoilers because it's still a relatively new release, but people who know me and have played the game probably know what I'm talking about and my inevitable reaction. And they'd have been right.)

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 23

Did somebody say Exhumed?! That gives me a nice excuse to pick PowerSlave Exhumed for #RandomGameSaturday and extol the virtues of both hidden gems from the Sega Saturn and the sterling work that Night Dive Studios do on their remasters.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 16

This week for #RandomGameSaturday I've grabbed the Asterix & Obelix XXL Collection.

I have fond memories of watching the Asterix cartoons as a kid and borrowing the comics from the library, so I've always had a soft spot for the plucky Gauls.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 16

I was playing City Crisis last week and it's definitely one of the little hidden gems that the PS2 had so many of.

Combining the thrill of rescue helicopter stunts like SimCopter with short arcade-like levels that definitely promote a one more go feeling, it was tough but never felt unfair.

Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · Aug 12

New blog post time!

This week's game is City Crisis, a PS2 helicopter sim about rescuing people from fires and catching perps in high speed chases. It might look like a silly game from afar, but it takes both its premise and scoring mechanics quite seriously, making it stand out:

#blog #gaming

City Crisis

City Crisis is a ~mysterious game~, the kind of game you’d pick up on a store shelf or in a bargain bin if it managed to compel you, but you’d never see anybody else with it or talking …

ephemeralenigmascom.wordpress.com

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 14

That's fair. It did always strike me as a strange business decision, but I'll always respect an earnest attempt to revive a dormant franchise (read: not gacha)

Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 14

I hope you don't mind me asking, but seeing this thread got me wondering. Did you ever play that PSN/XBLA prequel they made back in the day, and if you did was it any good? I remember hearing about it at the time and always wondered if it lived up to the legacy of the originals.

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Zonerunner @zonerunner.co.uk · Aug 14

Hehe, yeah. PSO is one of those games I always find time to go back and play every few months. There's really been nothing like it since, one of my all time favourite games for sure.