April 19th Welcome back readers. Kept you waiting, huh? It’s taken me an extra day to do the work, but we’ve got 23 new-and-interesting picks ready to go this week, so pull up a chair and grab a b…

This Week: Unfair Flips, River Kings, Wrestling Monopolies, and a whole lot more:

critical-distance.com/2026/04/20/a...

What RSS feed are you using and which reader?

April 12th Welcome back readers. I’m starting things off this week with a shout-out to long-time Critical Distance board member and my immediate curatorial predecessor, Zoyander, who is taking a step ba…

This week: Twenty fresh picks on tools, tilt, tension, and more:

critical-distance.com/2026/04/13/a...

We're sorry Patreon did that to you, but yes, this is a post for paid supporters specifically.

The Month in Videogame Blogging, March 2026 | Critical Distance Get more from Critical Distance on Patreon

Yes, you're seeing this correctly: it's March's monthly roundup posted at the *beginning* of April and not the end! This month: 20 incredible articles PLUS a bonus roundup of Pathologic 3, Resident Evil Requiem AND Marathon criticism, all from the month of March!

www.patreon.com/posts/month-...

April 5th Welcome back readers. If you haven’t already seen it, Kaile’s back with a new monthly edition over on the Patreon. Go check it out! And if you want to help us keep this show on the road…

This week: Cryo Archive, Crimson Desert, travelougue, and lots more:

critical-distance.com/2026/04/04/a...

The Month in Videogame Blogging, February 2026 | Critical Distance Get more from Critical Distance on Patreon

Good morning friends! New edition of the monthly Patreon roundup is out!

www.patreon.com/posts/month-...

March 29th Welcome back readers. We’re back to our regular Sunday schedule again with sixteen new-and-cool reads for your consideration. No major around-the-site updates this time around, but as always,…

This week: Are there fish in Marathon? Asking for a friend. Anyway, here's 16 new-and-cool picks:

critical-distance.com/2026/03/29/m...

March 22nd Welcome back readers. We’re running a day early this week because I have a daylong work commitment at one of my dayjobs this Sunday, so I have to shuffle things around to fit everything in. T…

Day early this week. Marathon, Pokopia, critical practice, and lots more in store:
critical-distance.com/2026/03/21/m...

March 15th Welcome back readers. Eighteen new-and-cool picks for you this week. Once again, I want to reiterate that your support over the last month has been incredible. If you (yes, you!) want to help us ke…

This week: Reimaginings, Radios, Requiems, and more:

critical-distance.com/2026/03/15/m...

March 8th Welcome back readers. Let me start with some around-the site news. First, we published the roundup for our second Fansite Jam! If you haven’t already done so, go check out the submissions! In…

This week: 21 fresh picks on Requiem, Rare, Radirgy, and plenty of things that don't start with R, I promise:

critical-distance.com/2026/03/08/m...

Critical Distance Fansite Jam Roundup: March 2026 Welcome back sickos. Our second not-quite-annual Fansite Jam has drawn to a close, and now it’s time to showcase the results! This year we have six submissions to share (including one of my o…

Critical Distance proudly presents the showcase roundup for our second Fansite Jam!

critical-distance.com/2026/03/06/c...

March 1st Welcome back readers. Thanks for the shout-out, Edwin : ) And a huge thanks as well to our community at large. Over the last few days you have rallied and helped to put us back into the black. If t…

This week: A staggering 30 articles, encompassing queer theory, spectrum games, communities of play, fangames, and a whole lot more. The Game Boy Color comes up more than once:

critical-distance.com/2026/03/01/m...

March 1st Welcome back, readers. Lots of outstanding writing this week. I’m at a loss for the attendant clever metacommentary to string it all together this week, so just read on and see for yourself! …

You can find Natalie's piece - and over a dozen other great pieces - in the March 1, 2020 roundup here (all links verified!):

critical-distance.com/2020/03/01/m...

Kentucky Route Zero Is the Rare Story that Sheds Light on the Experiences of Millennials of Color Kentucky Route Zero Is the Rare Story that Sheds Light on the Experiences of Millennials of Color

ON THIS DAY in 2020: @heartimecia.bsky.social highlights Kentucky Route Zero‘s attention to the particular cycle of enmeshed, intergenerational poverty and debt experienced by families and millennials of color.

www.avclub.com/kentucky-rou...

February 28th Take your time before rushing ahead: it’s this week in videogame blogging! Superhot The release of Superhot has many reviewers drawing comparisons with action movies, not simply because of it…

You can find Velázquez's work - and the work of well over a dozen insightful writers - here (all links verified!):

critical-distance.com/2016/02/28/f...

These posts are well worth a read today.

www.nymgamer.com?p=13557

Velázquez has a few other posts at NYMG on the subject of war and games.

www.nymgamer.com?p=13488

ON THIS DAY in 2016: Ashley J. Velázquez for NYMG (@saffista.bsky.social's brainchild) on This War of Mine.

www.nymgamer.com?p=13072

February 27th Last year I took over the reins of TWIVGB when Ben went gallivanting off to GDC; now a year later (holy shit it’s been a year), I’m doing the same. So here’s This Week in Videogam…

You can find Ben's writing and over a dozen other thoughtful pieces of games criticism in 2011 here (all links verified!):

critical-distance.com/2011/02/27/t...

ON THIS DAY IN 2011: CD founder @afterclimate.com.au mused on the reasons for a lack of criticism about multiplayer games. He followed it up with the beginning of a series on Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

web.archive.org/web/20110308...

February 26th We’ve been holding out for a hero, and we’re not gonna take it anymore. It’s time for This Week in Videogame Blogging! Love is a battlefield, and we keep paying for map packs. Pau…

You can check out the rest of that roundup here (all links verified!):

critical-distance.com/2012/02/26/f...

Today's post comes from our February 26, 2012 roundup, where Brainy Gamer's Michael Abbott suggests that discussions of DearEsther’s influences should include Soviet montage:

web.archive.org/web/20120223...

We're stoked to introduce a new feature we're calling "On This Day," where we share a great piece of writing from games criticism past. The way it works is simple: every day from here on out, we'll try to share an article from our roundup archives for the corresponding day of the month.

Good morning friends! Thank you for sharing Zach's post and call to action. We've all but smashed our goal overnight! This will help us stabilize and start doing more cool stuff... starting now!

Thanks again, and stay tuned for new editions of the weekly and monthly roundups coming soon!

Another way to help out is to join our Discord (link in the OP)! Even with all of the volatility of that platform lately it is still the best place to chat with games critics and scholars and volunteer to help with CD events and jams, and to talk directly with CD editors and curators.

Times are tough, of course; there are other ways for you to help us out! The first is simple: share these posts! If you know people who love learning about great new games writing who haven't heard about us, let them know! Let's make 2026 a great year for games writing curation and archival.

Get more from Critical Distance on Patreon creating a community resource for game criticism

The long and short of it is: we are looking to bump our Patreon support up by about $100/month to reach a point where we can become truly sustainable. If just 20 people signed up for our Circle tier ($5/mo), we would hit that goal in no time at all.

www.patreon.com/c/critdistan...

2025 Critical Distance Status Once again, it’s time to check in on the finances for Critical Distance.   Last year, I said the finances were on the brink of stability. We never actually achieved that stability: we are unli…

Hey folks! Board member Zach has written up a quick update re: how we are doing. Please check it out and share widely: critical-distance.com/2026/02/25/2...