cool stuff and hard work from @jakefriend.bsky.social

Learning to See: Scrabdackle and the Art of Observation — Gamers with Glasses Scrabdackle is a game about students and studying, about the gap between academic knowledge and lived experience, about learning to see clearly. It asks you to pay attention, to be curious, to engage...

We're back with an in-depth review of Scrabdackle by @mayorhere.bsky.social!

An Arsenal of Next Fest Indie Recs — Gamers with Glasses Next Fest correspondent Sophie Atkinson returns for more great indie recommendations, with a general focus on games that feature interesting combat. Games covered include Hark the Ghoul , Alabaster ...

GwG Next Fest Correspondent @skycherry.bsky.social is back with a brand new bunch of games to keep an eye on!

With thoughts on Hark the Ghoul, Alabaster Dawn, Acrolyte, and Cicadamata, good stuff is heading our way.

Not sure what was good at NextFest? All good, @skycherry.bsky.social has it covered.

In order, that's @harktheghoul.bsky.social, @radicalfishgames.com, @cyberkomodo.bsky.social, and flowergarden (I don't think they have a bsky handle, but lmk if they do!)

An Arsenal of Next Fest Indie Recs — Gamers with Glasses Next Fest correspondent Sophie Atkinson returns for more great indie recommendations, with a general focus on games that feature interesting combat. Games covered include Hark the Ghoul , Alabaster ...

GwG Next Fest Correspondent @skycherry.bsky.social is back with a brand new bunch of games to keep an eye on!

With thoughts on Hark the Ghoul, Alabaster Dawn, Acrolyte, and Cicadamata, good stuff is heading our way.

I’ve managed to put out two pieces so far this year. One was about a jazz album and the process of listening (and it was in Unwinnable’s Exploits, go check it out!). This is the other, and it’s about the American imagination and videogames. They both reflect the kind of writing I want to see.

In 1974, Ursula K. LeGuin asked "why are Americans afraid of dragons?"

In 2026, games and gamers are much too comfortable with dragons, but the dragons they're comfortable with have nothing left in them of the imagination LeGuin's dragons were made of.

Well said, @optional.bsky.social

Let's Imagine More than Dragons — Gamers with Glasses Games can easily fall into the same traps for imagination as science fiction and fantasy books. Ursula Le Guin wrote that Americans were afraid of fantasy, and in 2026, we still face a captured imagin...

Here's what happens when you start with a year-end wrap-up, wind up making a better point about games, fantasy, science fiction, and imagination, and then free the piece from being a year-end wrap up. @optional.bsky.social on games and writing about games: www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/let...

"But even though I know it’s not true, there’s a loud part of my brain that says, 'You don’t have time for good feelings! You don’t have energy for happy thoughts! If you make a single concession to joy right now, you’ll be giving up your anger, which is the only power you have!'" Oof.

Breathe In. Breathe Out. Play the Dolphin Game. — Gamers with Glasses What if there was a spiritual successor to Shadow of the Colossus where you didn’t have to kill that big creature, where your whole purpose was to go around fixing the world and helping people? What...

What if, when every day feels as emotionally heavy as a year, there was still a game that left you feeling a little bit…hopeful?

I just really liked Sword of the Sea.
www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/swor...

Life After Slay The Spire: Roguelike Deckbuilders to Play Next — Gamers with Glasses GwG Recommends: What Roguelike Deckbuilders to Play After Slay the Spire

Back in November 2020, @cphiliphaines.bsky.social wrote up this list of deckbuilders to play after Save the Spire. Considering @walshbr.bsky.social's recent piece on Death Howl and with StS2 out in early access, maybe it's due for an update. I bet the games on this list are still quality, tho.

Also, introducing a fancy new "timeline" feature! Somebody's been learning some HTML around here, as if this were a website or something. If you made a timeline of the last twelve months of your life in games, what do you think would make the cut?

Rewinding, Remembering, and Replaying 2025 — Gamers with Glasses From the VGHF's digital library launch in January to Andrew Borman's Indianapolis preservation lecture in November, 2025 reminded our resident historian Spencer Johnson that games are worth preserving...

Remember the Video Game History Foundation's Digital Library launch? Remember A Minecraft Movie? Taking a break from the frenetic move towards the next thing in gaming, @mayorhere.bsky.social offers a historian's perspective on last year's biggest moments.
www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwg-recommen...

Deck builders are meant to elicit a sense of snowballing strength. What if one used its mechanics instead to explore loss and grief?

@walshbr.bsky.social's debut on @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social is a banger.

F — Around, Find Out (Complimentary) Last year, I felt bewildered watching a post go around on bluesky where someone credulously asked people to “name 50 indie games” in the…

hi! find some games, play some games.

I wrote for @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social on Death Howl, frustrating mechanics, and narratives of loss.

Frustrating Mechanics Tell a Story in Death Howl — Gamers with Glasses As much an interactive fable as it is a game, Death Howl pushes players to build and rebuild again and again. The main character, Ro, confronts grief, sorrow, and loss. We could all use the practice...

Welcome new contributor @walshbr.bsky.social! Check out his thoughts on Death Howl and how its rules and development build up its story.

Help CD keep the lights on! Their work is so important; if they hadn't graciously started featuring our work I genuinely don't know how we, and other small sites like us, would have ever found readers.

Angeline Era Trusts You — Gamers with Glasses Angeline Era trusts your intelligence, your patience, and your willingness to be overwhelmed. In an industry that can seem equally terrified of challenging players and expressing genuine emotion, Anal...

We loved @angelineera.bsky.social, a detailed, lovingly crafted world that trusts you to handle a story about trauma and identity without constant reassurance that it's all just a game. Review by @mayorhere.bsky.social
www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/ange...

“Whether they are involved through donating their game or purchasing the bundle, they are making a difference”: jesthehuman’s No ICE In Minnesota Charity Bundle Goes Live With Over 1,300 Games Include... Charity content creator Jes Wade wants to support Minnesotans and is asking gamers to help.

@jesthehuman.itch.io's No ICE In Minnesota charity bundle has gone live with over 1300 games available priced at $10 min. All proceeds benefit the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. Jes also shared a few words with Exalclaw about the bundle and their goal for it:

exalclaw.com/2026/02/09/w...

I also like Caroline's description of it as an "open world of text." While it's not a text game, considering the art, audio, interfaces, etc., it looks like it has a cool way of incorporating that approach.

That's right! And, thinking of the works that @aetataureate.bsky.social compares it to, I (Don) am going to take it as a personal recommendation to play this game.

TR-49 is a Database Thriller with Creeping Dread — Gamers with Glasses TR-49 puts players in a situation to dig into and sleuth through notes, data, and language. Caroline Delbert likens it to an open world of text in the service of a thriller. The deeper into the semio...

i reviewed "TR-49" for @gamerswithglasses.bsky.social!

"It's a strong entry in the 'database thriller' category, with creeping horror that I didn't understand until later in the game's events."

I also like Caroline's description of it as an "open world of text." While it's not a text game, considering the art, audio, interfaces, etc., it looks like it has a cool way of incorporating that approach.

That's right! And, thinking of the works that @aetataureate.bsky.social compares it to, I (Don) am going to take it as a personal recommendation to play this game.

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...

"Cairn compellingly explores themes of personal limitation and transcendence through its challenging mechanics...by focusing on perhaps the most internal form of freedom—the liberation that comes from overcoming personal limitations." @mayorhere.bsky.social
www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...

Check it out and find something new! Also, this piece features updates on full games for which we previously reviewed the demo, including Labyrinth of the Demon King, Metro Gravity, and Look Outside.

Noteworthy Indies of 2025 — Gamers with Glasses Giant studios may be engaging in mass layoffs, nasty union busting tactics, and unwanted-but-somehow-perfunctory generative AI shenanigans, but indie games remain as strong as ever. Sophie Atkinson, o...

So, obviously 2025 saw the release of so many incredible indie games that we'd never be able to keep track of them all...but we did keep track of a few! Here are some of our favorites from last year, hand-picked by @skycherry.bsky.social.
www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwg-recommen...

If you happen to see a headline about Halloween that's still on our homepage right now just, you know, don't worry about it, it's probably fine