Impressions | Moves of the Diamond Hand - Alea Iacta Est — startmenu Artemis Octavio returns to Off-Peak City and reminisces about luck in her impressions of Cosmo D’s Moves of the Diamond Hand.

@stopcar.ing returns to Off-Peak City and reminisces about luck in her impressions of Cosmo D’s Moves of the Diamond Hand.

I am really thankful to @kellymerka.bsky.social and @lexluddy.xyz for letting newer writers like me publish works like these on startmenu. An extra thank you goes to Lexi for the invaluable edits to my original (messy) draft.

Cannot believe I got to review this amazing game. Pragmata is the best game I've played this year!

Lex Fridman’s Tell-All Interview With Jeff Kaplan Was Missing Some Important Questions — startmenu Despite a runtime of over five hours and having time to talk about everything from Zork and EverQuest to the potential firing of 1000 employees, Jeff Kaplan’s tell-all interview with Lex Fridman did n...

Despite a runtime of over five hours, Jeff Kaplan’s tell-all interview with Lex Fridman did not include any line of questioning regarding Blizzard’s largest-ever scandal that broke just months after the creative director and vice president left the company.

@mushwrites.bsky.social digs deeper.

Review | Pragmata - Fly Me To The Moon — startmenu Pragmata is a new Mega Man game, if you threw out Mega Man, replaced the 2D platforming with third-person shooting and puzzling, and it's set on the moon.  So it's not really a Mega Man game at ...

Pragmata is a new Mega Man game, if you threw out Mega Man, replaced the 2D platforming with third-person shooting and puzzling, and it's set on the moon.

So it's not really a Mega Man game at all, but that doesn’t mean @brandoncraw.bsky.social didn’t love his time with it.

Was looking forward to this one! Had an interesting time with the game, and had to get my thoughts out in the piece. Go check it out!

Review | Angel Engine - Playing As God — startmenu Angel Engine solidly executes upon an interesting premise, but it is based on a web series that was made using generative AI. Brandon Craw grapples with a quandary: if the source material used AI, but...

Angel Engine solidly executes upon an interesting premise, but it is based on a web series that was made using generative AI. @brandoncraw.bsky.social grapples with a quandary: if the source material used AI, but the game itself does not, is it corrupted by association?

i had a lovely time playing and reviewing dosa divas!

a hell of a lot of heart, but a slight bitter aftertaste

thank you for reading 💜

Review | Dosa Divas - Eat Drink Mecha Woman — startmenu Dosa Diva’s is a hearty and heartwarming RPG about family and food with a robust combat system; however, it occasionally struggles to highlight the star of the show: cooking with those you love. Ashl...

Dosa Diva’s is a hearty and heartwarming RPG about family and food with a robust combat system; however, it occasionally struggles to highlight the star of the show: cooking with those you love.

@ashlikeadragon.bsky.social reviews.

Update Patch News Roundup (12/04/26) | startmenu Get more from startmenu on Patreon

With Disney and Epic potentially teaming up for an extraction shooter, it sure was nice to have the Triple-I Initiative full of cool little indie games to balance things out.

All this and more in @lesbiankakyoin.bsky.social's latest Update Patch.

Crimson Desert is often overwhelming in its scale; however, if you can get past convoluted controls and thin characterisations, there is a vast world to explore.

@easbygames.bsky.social reports from the fields of Hernand: www.startmenu.co.uk/home/impress...

Jearum is an incredible artist and just as good a human.

He's done work for both @startmenu.bsky.social and @rewinder.co.uk and its always absolutely incredible!

Support him if you can.

[PATREON UNLOCK] Update Patch - March 2026 — startmenu If you thought February was full of bad news for the video game industry, let Lawrence Adkins introduce you to March in this latest Patreon Unlock of all of last month’s Update Patches.

If you thought February was full of bad news for the video game industry, let @lsmewtwo.bsky.social introduce you to March in this latest Patreon Unlock of all of last month's Update Patches.

www.startmenu.co.uk/home/patreon...

Impressions | Vital Shell - Digital Daydreams, From Software — startmenu Vital Shell’s bite-sized stages and bullet-hell mechanics make for an experience best enjoyed in short bursts. Holly Redfield shares her impressions of the game.

Vital Shell’s bite-sized stages and bullet-hell mechanics make for an experience best enjoyed in short bursts.

@hollydrivethru.bsky.social shares her impressions of the game.

Update Patch News Roundup (06/04/26) | startmenu Get more from startmenu on Patreon

This week's Update Patch comes courtesy of @lesbiankakyoin.bsky.social and includes news on the future of Shinji Mikami's new studio and the future of Epic Games.

Review | Planet of Lana II - The More the Mui-er — startmenu Planet of Lana II builds on its predecessor’s strong foundation, but retains some of the original game’s issues. Alex Green reviews.

Planet of Lana II builds on its predecessor’s strong foundation, but retains some of the original game’s issues.

@alexgreen9898.bsky.social reviews.

Update Patch News Roundup (30/03/26) | startmenu Get more from startmenu on Patreon

The final Update Patch of March sees @lsmewtwo.bsky.social round up Crimson Desert's AI controversy, rising prices across the industry, and Epic's huge layoffs.

Update Patch News Roundup (22/03/26) | startmenu Get more from startmenu on Patreon

Well, I suppose we should also talk about DLSS 5 too, right?

@lsmewtwo.bsky.social gathers up the latest reporting around Nvidia's much-maligned new tech alongside all the other big gaming news from the week in this edition of Update Patch.

"there is no ludonarrative dissonance between how it feels to play and how it wants to be perceived" what a line! Go check out this review from @stevenstoermer.bsky.social !

It was a pleasure to spend some quality time with the TCR Marines and Waybackers of @overhypestudios.bsky.social new squad based tactics game, MENACE!

Review | Menace - Service Is Always an Act of Valor — startmenu Battle Brothers developer Overhype Studios' new release Menace makes a strong showing, but has plenty of room to grow. Steven Stoermer reviews.

Battle Brothers developer Overhype Studios' new release Menace makes a strong showing, but has plenty of room to grow.

@stevenstoermer.bsky.social reviews.

Review | I Hate This Place - Nominative Determinism — startmenu An interesting aesthetic and odd flashes of ambition aren’t enough to save this muddled isometric survival horror. Michael Moran reviews.

An interesting aesthetic and odd flashes of ambition aren’t enough to save this muddled isometric survival horror. @sixtytwomike.bsky.social reviews.

I've not experienced much art that has forced itself under my skin in the way that 1000xRESIST did. It gave me a lot to think about and to do, the first of which being writing this piece.

Thank you startmenu for the space for this, and to @kellymerka.bsky.social for making it the best it can be.

Feature | 1000xRESIST, The Game That Should Remain — startmenu For Jay Weaver, 1000xRESIST is the game that will remain.

For @thetenthletter.bsky.social, 1000xRESIST is the game that will remain.

Update Patch News Roundup (15/03/26) | startmenu Get more from startmenu on Patreon

This week's Update Patch sees @lsmewtwo.bsky.social round up a lot of GDC's biggest updates, and Capcom hit with a Do Not Work order by SAG-AFTRA on one of its upcoming games.

Loved this demo and @mushwrites.bsky.social describes exactly how I felt about the game. Go check out his piece!

I had an absolute blast with Denshattack. It is a skateboarding game, except your skateboard is a highly customisable Japanese train that is allergic to spending more than a few seconds on a rail.

Preview | Denshattack - Trainboarding Through Japan — startmenu It may star a train, but Denshattack! is off the rails! Gonçalo Santos takes a look at the demo for the stunt-filled autorunner-meets-skateboarding game.

It may star a train, but Denshattack! is off the rails! Gonçalo Santos takes a look at the demo for the stunt-filled autorunner-meets-skateboarding game.

Here is my first piece for startmenu, a review of a bizarre yet fascinating videogame which has put Poor Locke squarely on my map.

If it is a good read, you can (and should) thank @kellymerka.bsky.social for that, they are a godsend in editing form.

Review | Crimson Capes - A Gaming Time-Capsule — startmenu From its demanding combat to vivid pixel art style, Gonçalo Santos finds a lot to love in Crimson Capes.

From its demanding combat to vivid pixel art style, @mushwrites.bsky.social finds a lot to love in Crimson Capes.