Third game in the span of like six months that completely broke my thinking wide open

This makes me unreasonably livid. I only ever managed to snag one of these on Steam.

Jacksepticeye Bloodborne Movie Son or Northernlion Super Cruise Daughter

Mateusz recommends cozy words game, Find Your Words, by @capybaragames.com.

Read our full review here: gameobserver.com/find-your-wo...

Demon Tides Soundtrack:

This is your brain on old PC RPGs.

I wanna believe I like a lot of tedious/empty stuff in games because I find something wonderfully human in the space they create. And it's not like I like it by default, I dislike plenty of it. But a thought that I only feel that way cuz I'm used to it is always there in the back of my mind.

Dapper

Opinion: Triple I Is Here, We Need To Figure It Out We talk a lot about AAA cannibalizing opportunities for smaller projects, but what if indies are not far off?

You've heard of AAA, but have you heard of III? Well, you should!

gameobserver.com/opinion-trip...

Mateusz doesn't recommend decopunk RPG, Aether & Iron, by Seismic Squirrel and Chaos Theory Games.

Read our full review here: gameobserver.com/aether-iron-...

30 Years of Pokémon Part I: The Dreamers That Created A Phenomenon The year is 1990. We begin a story of the most beloved video game franchise of all time.

In Part 1 of our 30th Anniversary series for Pokémon, we take a deep dive into the individuals who created an impossible game and how the exact right configuration of people came together to make it happen. gameobserver.com/30-years-of-...

I feel really bad about the Nacon situation. Three studios under them now also filing for insolvency. I only barely began exploring their catalogue with the Styx games, but it was the exact kind of Eurojank, high-ambition stuff I love. Hope for the best for everyone working there.

It isn't, hope this helps

Opinion: I Don’t Buy The AI Placeholder Argument What’s a placeholder’s purpose? How can they slip into the final release of a game? Are AI placeholders treated too leniently?

What's the purpose of an AI placeholder and how do they end up in the final release of a game?

And are we being too forgiving when this reason is used to explain the use of AI in video games?

gameobserver.com/opinion-i-do...

You're laughing. The horrors of possibly having to change the diaper right after you just put on a new one are hitting your neurons and setting in your brain and you're laughing.

Placeholder Art from STS2

Placeholder Art from STS2

Placeholder Art from STS2

Slay the Spire 2 (2026)

Made my favorite video game town, Agate Village from Pokemon XD, in Pokopia! Complete with Relic Cave. Not planning to have anyone live here but just thought it would be nice to fill out this section of Withered Wasteland.

Opinion: GenAI Has Ruined Video Game Realism In pursuit of realism, video games have ended up in a space all too familiar. Is it time to pivot?

In pursuit of realism, video games have ended up in a space all too familiar. Is it time to pivot?

#nvidia #dlss5

gameobserver.com/opinion-gena...

Oak That Inspired Witcher 3’s Iconic Location Now A Natural Monument An oak that inspired an iconic location in Witcher 3 is now an officially recognized natural monument

The Witcher 3's iconic Hanged Man's Tree is inspired by a real tree, and it's now a national monument in Poland!

gameobserver.com/oak-that-ins...

What are you talking about

Tangent: the award show with a panel is nominating a game for best debut which has a section showing the devs working on their actual debut game. That game's on Steam. I understand there's likely some rules specifying what exactly qualifies, but COME ON lmao. It deserves a Best Game nom, not this.

Standard complaints about award shows aside, one trend I never thought about until now is how much indie games are pushed as "the other." As in, they can't be good at the things games with a bigger financial backing or big names behind them do. Elden Ring can get a nom for narrative, but not Skong.

the entire community. Like, it's ultimately narratively way closer to Planescape. It's a chosen one narrative, with his innate capability for spells, a background that's way more reactive to way more characters. And also, a point and clicker at heart. Monkey Island. Thinking through those helps imo.

It's absolutely a way sillier game, but I think The Cleric very quickly becomes a much more pre-defined character. Like, maybe it was my high wisdom, intelligence and charisma stat or something but for me he actually immediately knew most things about himself. It kinda moves a lot of the weight onto

Past three months I played indie video games so incredible they have continued to keep me humble in my understanding of my own biases and preferences, opened my eyes in so many ways. Today, I played 20 minutes of Marathon and the anticheat kicked me out three times so I couldn't do a single match.

Mateusz recommends CRPG, Esoteric Ebb, by @chrisbodegard.bsky.social and @rawfury.bsky.social.

Read our full review here: gameobserver.com/esoteric-ebb...

The Weird, Wonderful World Of February Steam Next Fest Check out a collection of some of the weirdest and most whimsical games from February’s Steam Next Fest

There are a lot of weird and wonderful games waiting to be discovered in Steam Next Fest!

gameobserver.com/the-weird-wo...

Cringe teen love stories are truly more challenging than anything else if you think about it

"Romantic" (like, historical period and genre) stories are not far from wish fulfillment you're not necessarily wrong, but... that's part of the empathy for others isn't it? What their pursuit of joy looks like. It's challenging to view someone else's happiness too. Part of the human experience imo.