Stephen Gillespie
@stephenage.bsky.social
Film Podcaster, Critic and General Opinion Haver. Find me at The STACKS and on I’m Thinking of Spoiling Things. Contributor to Step Printed. www.letterboxd.com/stephenage www.StepPrinted.com
Every time I watch The Gruffalo’s Child with my son, I am struck by how similar it is to The Last of Us Part II. And how it does that in 25 minutes… just saying.
Taking Code out of the name of the Code: Veronica remake is going to make that puzzle at the end where you have to put in a code (and it’s Veronica) very hard.
Mixtape is a game that lacks specificity and fails to elevate its tropes through interactivity. Read all about it here…
Mixtape: An Empty Compilation
Later on in Mixtape you head to a dinosaur amusement park.
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I wrote about the enticing, inherent violence of Marathon (2026). Why the game makes you kill and why that’s so fun.
I Am a Gun: Life as Gleefully Brutish and Short in Marathon (2026)
In Marathon (2026), you play as a gun.
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New Episode Claxon 🚨🚨🚨 Did Joe forget to post the episode from last week? No! Of course not! Unrelated, but tune in below to hear @joerichardswrites.bsky.social and @stephenage.bsky.social's shared thoughts on Metroid Prime:4 Beyond, and beyond. open.spotify.com/episode/7E9S...
Episode 12: Metroidvania-mania
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We really should have had an account set up sooner, but no time like the present, and at the start of the new year! Welcome to Quick Save, where @joerichardswrites.bsky.social and @stephenage.bsky.social talk games, sometimes. Every two weeks, or so, to be precise. Thank you for being here!
2. ian, you old dog, you old troll, you still got it.
Forget gaming’s Citizen Kane, with HORSES we finally have the medium’s Salo.
The survival horror of Silent Hill: Homecoming is surviving the horrors of this busted PC port. It’s unstable, you have to guess what buttons to press (it gives a prompt for a button but doesn’t tell you which one) and the controller option in the game is entirely fictive.
Well, this Derry Girls spin off is certainly different.
Finally getting round to the Silent Hill games… these are GOOD.
A delight to discuss Fuller with tremendous company!
PT Klein@ptklein.com · 12mo agoJoin @jasonachristian.bsky.social, @stephenage.bsky.social, and I as we consider this striking film, writer-director Sam Fuller’s incendiary, but ultimately idealist, politics, and how Pickup helps us make sense of where we are today. On Spotify:
Silksong asks the question of ‘do you like down attacking onto small buds but you’ll also down attack at an angle?’ To which I answer, no, not really.
When they do a definitive edition of The Old Country, they should just take out all the knife fights. This cutting content should be cut content.
Early in The Old Country but really like the gunplay. You expect quick stop-and-pop cover shooting but guns take a moment to aim and steady. It’s more about lining up a shot in the right window to hit before your foe lines up theirs. Gives a really methodical pace to combat that fits cover shooting.
Having played through Mafia 1-3 this week, it’s such a fascinating series. The first is an of its time proof of concept, with good storytelling and fun set pieces — great atmosphere. The second elevates all of this. …
Video game podcast time! The best takes on Death Stranding 2, Atomfall, THPS 3 + 4 and moooooore!! As always, with @joerichardswrites.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/5Lg6...
Episode 4: Stephen is a Sicko, Joe is Not
Quick Save · Episode
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I’m behind on sharing stuff as I’ve been too busy. But.. here’s a video games podcast with Deltarune, Doom the Dark Ages and Mario Kart World… oh and to a T. The highlight though is a story of why I uninstalled Civilization 7. With @joerichardswrites.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/1p8S...
Episode 3: The One Where We Talk Deltarune (and Switch 2)
Quick Save · Episode
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Finally getting round to Atomfall. Certainly the most Stephen game of the year. The hilarious amalgamation of British stereotypes that’s charmingly specific certainly appeals. However, this is S.T.A.L.K.E.R meets the open ended, emergent structure of Fallout 1 and 2. Precision tooled to my interests
Thoughts on the, very sadly, deeply disappointing to a T stepprinted.com/to-a-t-serie...
to a T (Series X): An Admirable Failure from the Katamari Creator
Over the last couple of decades, game director Keita Takahashi has become one of the most interesting creatives in the medium. He's most famous for the superlative Katamari Damacy, though also cult de...
stepprinted.com
28 Years Later reminds us Garland is a better writer than he is a director… But still not a great writer.
Yes, you get some very raw and personal conversations inspired by The Rehearsal; yes, you get an in depth discussion of Wes Anderson’s distinct language of film… But we know you’re really here for the… CHICKEN JOCKEY. A Minecraft Movie, covered here. Next ep, Hurry Up Tomorrow. We treat you.
Well that’s all of Deltarune for now. The objective kindness vibe still slightly grates on me but it’s still a completely masterful game.
Playing through Deltarune. Those first two chapters are good to great but feel very much in line with what you expect. Finished chapter 3 yesterday and just adored it. Manically creative and full of swings; great blend of ideas and interactivity. So excited for what 4 brings.
Full thoughts on the — lightly underwhelming — new Doom game. stepprinted.com/doom-the-dar...
Doom: The Dark Ages (Series X): Rip-oste and Teareth
The two previous Doom games (Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal) from id Software are brilliant examples of cohesive design. The 2016 reboot took what was, at that point, an oversaturated and homogenised ge...
stepprinted.com
My thoughts on the truly excellent The Phoenician Scheme stepprinted.com/the-phoenici...
The Phoenician Scheme: Immaculate Chaos
Every line would be the funniest thing you’ve ever heard if not for every other line.
stepprinted.com
Here, I deconstruct the often brilliant, and often maddening, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A game that persistently gets in its own way. stepprinted.com/clair-obscur...
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Series X): Always Parrying its Own Potential
The highs are high but the lows are low. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is persistent mix of satisfaction and disappointment, of potential and eventual failure. A great premise is thrown to the wayside, ...
stepprinted.com