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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · 9d

Check out this week's edition for a GwG triple play, feat. @srtrzinski.bsky.social, @mayorhere.bsky.social, and @patfio.bsky.social!

Critical Distance | Where’s all the good writing about games? @critdistance.bsky.social · 10d

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…

critical-distance.com

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · 15d

We are LIVE with @mayorhere.bsky.social on VILE: Exhumed, art, payment processors, profit, gatekeeping, censorship, reactionary politics... I'm going to stop listing things, go read the piece:

VILE: Exhumed and the Politics of Digital Horror — Gamers with Glasses

Cara Cadaver was supposed to launch her game VILE: Exhumed on Steam. Instead, she got banned. Spencer Johnson explains how this exemplifies how companies seek to maintain their profitable gatekeepin...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · 15d

This game made me reflect on the horror genre with how Vile: Exhumed unsettles you with implication instead of gore. That kind of discomfort is art. And lawful art, no matter how challenging, should never be at the mercy by payment processors.

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · 15d

We are LIVE with @mayorhere.bsky.social on VILE: Exhumed, art, payment processors, profit, gatekeeping, censorship, reactionary politics... I'm going to stop listing things, go read the piece:

VILE: Exhumed and the Politics of Digital Horror — Gamers with Glasses

Cara Cadaver was supposed to launch her game VILE: Exhumed on Steam. Instead, she got banned. Spencer Johnson explains how this exemplifies how companies seek to maintain their profitable gatekeepin...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Sep 1

I played a cozy game about helping wooly yak-like creatures to a new home, and it reminded me how short games can cut through all the open worlds with simple, heartfelt adventures that know when to make an exit. Check out my simple review @okomotive.ch new game, Herdling.
medium.com/@spencer2457...

In Defense of the 4-Hour Game: Why Herdling Gets Length Exactly Right

I finished Herdling in one sitting and actually appreciated that it knew when to end. Sometimes shorter games get it right.

medium.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 17

I’m going to try and write a new retrospective series looking back on different games. I just released an article on Clive Barker’s Jericho and play to do his Undying next.

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 17

Eighteen years later, Clive Barker’s Jericho remains one of gaming’s most interesting flops—a cosmic horror corridor shooter.
medium.com/@spencer2457...

When Literary Horror Meets Video Game Logic: Jericho’s Identity Crisis

What happens when a horror master’s cosmic vision meets video game industry logic? Clive Barker’s Jericho reveals the tragic mismatch.

medium.com

Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Dead of Darkness - Indie 2D Survival-Horror Game @deadofdarkness.bsky.social · Aug 10

I'm so happy when players dig deeper into the lore and narrative of Dead of Darkness. Check out this article "Dead of Darkness: When Survival Horror Borrows from Folk Tradition"

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 9

@deadofdarkness.bsky.social feels like classic Resident Evil but haunted by something older - folk traditions, island spirits, and the weight of ancestral sin. New piece on how survival horror is learning from folk horror's playbook.
medium.com/@spencer2457...

Dead of Darkness: When Survival Horror Borrows from Folk Tradition

When I first booted up Dead of Darkness, I was expecting a pixelated horror game that would make me nostalgic. You know the type: chunky…

medium.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 9

As someone who grew up with Jurassic Park, Turok, and Dino Crisis, I am beyond stoked to play a proper dinosaur story game again. For fans of dinosaurs and gunplay similar to Escape from Tarkov, definitely check out Ferocious by OMYOG.
medium.com/@spencer2457...

Ferocious Brings Dinosaur Games Back from Extinction

When I first used the DCD to scan a Velociraptor and then directed it to attack a squad of Manifesto mercenaries in Ferocious, I felt…

medium.com

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 9

@deadofdarkness.bsky.social feels like classic Resident Evil but haunted by something older - folk traditions, island spirits, and the weight of ancestral sin. New piece on how survival horror is learning from folk horror's playbook.
medium.com/@spencer2457...

Dead of Darkness: When Survival Horror Borrows from Folk Tradition

When I first booted up Dead of Darkness, I was expecting a pixelated horror game that would make me nostalgic. You know the type: chunky…

medium.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Aug 6

@thegamebakers.com have never missed for me. Furi was incredible, Haven was beautiful, and now Cairn looks like it’s going to complete a perfect trilogy about freedom.

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · Aug 6

What games with climbing feel most like actually climbing to you? @mayorhere.bsky.social has the full scoop on the Cairn demo by @thegamebakers.com, which along with being the climbiest climbing game also concludes a trilogy on different kinds of freedom
www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...

Liberation through Limitation in Cairn — Gamers with Glasses

If you've ever wondered what would happen if a climbing game actually tried to simulate climbing instead of just letting you hold a button and magically ascend any surface, Cairn has a genuinely tac...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · Aug 6

What games with climbing feel most like actually climbing to you? @mayorhere.bsky.social has the full scoop on the Cairn demo by @thegamebakers.com, which along with being the climbiest climbing game also concludes a trilogy on different kinds of freedom
www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...

Liberation through Limitation in Cairn — Gamers with Glasses

If you've ever wondered what would happen if a climbing game actually tried to simulate climbing instead of just letting you hold a button and magically ascend any surface, Cairn has a genuinely tac...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · Jul 23

And to make this thread complete, check out @mayorhere.bsky.social's piece from on passing the controller, the agony of siblings who unknowingly deleting your save, and the social history of games.

The Queue: Siblings, Gaming, and Family History — Gamers with Glasses

In a house with six kids and one console, you took what you could get; SNES RPGs weren’t built for sharing, but we shared them anyway. Spencer Johnson explores the ways in which a console records fami...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Lex Joy @aeneas-nin.bsky.social · Jul 8

It begins! My book on Legend of the River King is the opener for this season of Boss Fight Books. Spread the word for me, if you can!

Boss Fight Books @bossfightbooks.com · Jul 8

We're live! Now funding THREE new documentary-style books about video games on Kickstarter.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gab...

#retrogaming #videogames #rpg #jrpg #legendoftheriverking #videogamebook #crowdfunding #kickstarter #gameboy #gbc

Boss Fight Books: Season 8 - The Depths Below

Three documentary-style books on classic video games. #1: A Japanese RPG that never caught on in the West: Legend of the River King.

www.kickstarter.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jul 8

My article on growing up and sharing a console was shared on Critical Distance!
critical-distance.com/2025/07/07/j...

July 6th

Welcome back readers. Mondays (which, officially, are the day after this issue comes out each week) are when we talk about what old games we’ve been playing this week over on the Discord serv…

critical-distance.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jul 1

It definitely is weird to think that I have my own gaming system and I’m not beholden to any timer or turn taking. I did enjoy kind a collaboratively beating games together with my siblings!

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · Jul 1

This one's for everybody who ever suffered the tragedy of the kitchen timer, the shock of the deleted save, and all the drama and glory of sharing a console with a sibling...or five. By @mayorhere.bsky.social.
www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/the...

The Queue: Siblings, Gaming, and Family History — Gamers with Glasses

In a house with six kids and one console, you took what you could get; SNES RPGs weren’t built for sharing, but we shared them anyway. Spencer Johnson explores the ways in which a console records fami...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jun 29

Finally got around to playing Final Fantasy 16, and it reignited my love for the franchise and now I need to find another story-driven rpg to play!

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jun 25

Summer is always great for indie demos, and Cybergead’s upcoming game One Way Home is great for fans of stealth horror similar to Inside and Limbo.

PopMatters @handle.invalid · Jun 25

'One Way Home' doesn't revolutionize childhood horror; it’s part of the evolution of a subgenre that continues to explore familiar fears in new ways.

One Way Home Review: Childhood Horror Gaming Evolution | 6/10 Score

One Way Home review - How CYBERHEAD's atmospheric horror game builds on Limbo and Inside to create a unique childhood trauma experience. In-depth analysis and 6/10 score.

tinyurl.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jun 15

Finally got around to playing Final Fantasy XVI (a couple years late), and it hit different. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to really appreciate how each entry spins the universe into something unique.

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · Jun 12

Just published on @popmatters.com previewed MIO: Memories in Orbit, a soulful sci-fi Metroidvania where you awaken as a drifting consciousness inside a mysterious robot. A hauntingly beautiful world awaits aboard The Vessel.
www.popmatters.com/mio-memories...

'MIO: Memories in Orbit' Is a Metroidvania with Soul » PopMatters

MIO: Memories in Orbit isn't just another entry in the Metroidvania catalog; it's a meditation on consciousness and identity in a space where the line between organic and artificial life is blurred.

www.popmatters.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · May 25

I sincerely hope that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 adds a new game plus mode, so I can relive the story with all my overpowered loot someday.

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · May 15

While I will rarely cover sports games, I will cover the weird ones. Check out my review of the Fear Fa 98 demo ⚽️🥅🏟️

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · May 15

The first of two soccer-related games we're covering this week, neither of which actually have anything to do with the actual FIFA franchise. "FIFA-meets-Silent-Hill" definitely gets points for creativity; just don't expect too much, you know, actual soccer
www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...

Strikers Meet Slashers in FEAR FA 98 — Gamers with Glasses

The makers of FEAR FA 98 have finally dared to ask the big question: what happens when you mix FIFA and Silent Hill? For anyone who ever played Mutant League Football back on the Sega Genesis, this fe...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Reposted by Spencer Johnson

Gamers with Glasses @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social · May 15

The first of two soccer-related games we're covering this week, neither of which actually have anything to do with the actual FIFA franchise. "FIFA-meets-Silent-Hill" definitely gets points for creativity; just don't expect too much, you know, actual soccer
www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...

Strikers Meet Slashers in FEAR FA 98 — Gamers with Glasses

The makers of FEAR FA 98 have finally dared to ask the big question: what happens when you mix FIFA and Silent Hill? For anyone who ever played Mutant League Football back on the Sega Genesis, this fe...

www.gamerswithglasses.com

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Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · May 13

I very recently started writing for a new history blog where my friend is the editor. My first post was over the Houston Riot of 1917 and the 24th Infantry Regiment. www.thesehistoriesdeservetobeheard.com/post/the-hou...

The Houston Riot of 1917: A Moment of Unrest in World War I America

On August 23, 1917, members of the all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment mutinied in Houston, Texas, in response to relentless racism and police brutality. Known as the Houston Riot or Camp Logan Mutiny, t...

www.thesehistoriesdeservetobeheard.com

Spencer Johnson @mayorhere.bsky.social · May 13

While I primarily use social media to cover video games, I am a historian and wonder if I should share my work time to time

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