Even putting aside the other issues with the show and franchise

The Last of Us Season 3 casting Kyriana Kratter, a cis actress, as Lev, the trans boy who is a massive part of Abby's storyline, is wildly insulting in 2026 and immediately undercuts anything they might try to do or say

Gaming is expensive, and I don't begrudge people prioritising getting more 'content' for their money, but I do think it misses a lot of what makes games special and is a small part of the equation for why development cycles are so long and games are so expensive in the first place.

Don't really understand people who approach gaming from an hour count / £ perspective if I'm honest, it's so reductive. I'd much rather have a tight and refined 15 hour game like Resident Evil than a vastly overinflated 30-60 hours full of meaningless fetch quests.

Feels like we are cursed to a life where the generation before us does everything in its power to impoverish us out of some petty sense of entitlement, ignorance and arrogance

It comes up on Twitter CONSTANTLY

I am begging anti-poly / open relationship posters to just get into their heads that different people have different boundaries in relationships and that's not something to police. Not everyone views sex and intimacy as something exclusive, sacrosant or precious.

👏

Ball

Ok ok *breaks spine*

I am Metroid, the hero of Metroid

I mean we can try a lobotomy?

This is true of politics globally and what - as someone who's actively engaged in politics - you have to constantly rally against, as these imprinted people are also adamant that they're actually really informed and pragmatic.

This has big PS1 game manual asset energy and I’m fucking HERE for it

Yo this absolute RIPS, completely nailed it holy hell

The Pokemon Lego pricing is absolutely unhinged. Sincerely hope they're punished for this because it's been trending this way for a few years now.

Happy Birthday! 🎈🥳

Really enjoying the Fallout TV show again - it's spread maybe too thin, and whilst it can feel like each plotline takes the smallest of steps forward every week, it's still constantly engaging - but I really detest the impulsive need, presumably from Bethesda, to reset Wasteland 'progress'.

#1 Expedition 33

FFX is an absolute GOAT, and this is the first time since an RPG world has truly awed me with imagination and execution. Stunning soundtrack, a cast of incredibly distinct, memorable characters that aren't just archetypes and a true turn based evolution. 10/10.

#2 Citizen Sleeper 2

CS2's writing is so sharp and emotive; every character you meet feels fleshed out, relationships are believably complicated and unstatic, and it's contract system adds interpersonal and broader tension and fun friction to it's fraught world and dynamics.

#3 Silksong

Playing Silksong's early hours I was immensely frustrated by it's difficultly, but with distance from the game this isn't what I remember at all - it's the incredibly intricate world and the joy of exploring it, the memorable setpieces, encounters and unique vision.

#4 Death Stranding 2

I've always loved exploration/movement in games, and making the traversal the point of DS1 felt bold - whilst 2 sands off too much of 1's friction IMO, mastering the environment and building up a continent's infrastructure is still totally enthralling.

#5 ARC Raiders

I've been extraction shooter curious for a long time but lack a committed gamer group - this game doesn't get enough credit for being totally viable as a solo player, and whilst I've still yet to get over gear fear, I find the tension completely captivating.

#6 PEAK

Man, PEAK is just so much fun, I'd play a million hours of this game if I could nail my friends down more consistently - the climbing just feels so intuitive, the proximity chat is incredibly well integrated and the special sauce and the challenge always feels engaging.

#7 Silent Hill F

Konami has really mishandled the SH license, and being the first installment not set in the titular town I was anxious about how this would turn our, particularly given how stellar the SH2 remake was, but man, they nailed it; a hauntingly beautiful, layered game

#8 The Alters

I will eat up a game based around tech tree base building any day of the week, but throw in some survival elements and interesting, moral questions around cloning and the interpersonal dynamics and I think you've got something really special.

#9: Atomfall

I don't think Atomfall got the attention it deserved - a lean, focused, British Flavoured Fallout that completely hit it's marks within 15 hours when many fail with 70. Intriguing central mystery, detailed and immersive world, engaging encounters. I'll take 10 more.

#10: Lego Party

Taking on Mario Party is a bold move that I'm surprised hasn't been attempted more, but Lego Party has all the earned confidence to succeed - less bullshit, better humour, fun boards and minigames. I've fully retired Jamboree - sorry Yoshi.

Every year I love to pull together a Game of the Year list as a way of celebrating the hobby I sink the most time into.

This year my shortlist was actually short. Whilst some of the anticipated games didn't live up to hype, looking back it was still a great year for gaming!

Here's my GOTY 2025:

Sometimes it’s the people you love who hurt you the most xoxox

He’s a 7 but he’s stuck in the Federal Bureau of Control