Although I'll take "cozy" over "wholesome" any day.
John Walker - Industry Analcyst
@botherer.bsky.social
Co-creator of Rock Paper Shotgun, currently helping out at Kotaku, and still looking for a new long-term gig. I write www.buried-treasure.org, unearthing excellent unknown indies. Please consider supporting! https://www.patreon.com/buriedtreasure
Moo Yu's game is amazing, and I think "cozy" does it a disservice. It was cheeky and plucky and peculiar and smart and funny and surprising. It was also cozy and cuddly in a number of ways. Just "cozy" too often suggests something without edges, without corners.
Moo Yu (Mythmatch on Switch and Steam Now!)@oneofmoo.bsky.social · yesterdayJohn. Some of have to try to "do a marketing" by associating ourselves with progressively meaningless buzzwords. The algorithm demands it! (I am simultaneously joking and being truthful). But also in my case, it did not work anyway. 😭
I have no objection to games being cozy! I love it, in fact! But it's the self-application of the term that gets me. To be cozy is an achievement, not a genre.
Jakub@koobazaur.bsky.social · yesterdayWe kinda fell into the cozy niche over our last few games, so I'm curious what prompted this? Too many games that aren't cozy labelling themselves as such? Or the term is too broad/subjective to be meaningful? (I've seen people claim Dark Souls is their cozy game heh)
Right, it's official, I'm banning games describing themselves as "cozy". I'll decide if your game is cozy or not. And at this point, I'd rather it weren't.
I wrote about the completely unique Unshine Arcade by @mardt.dev on Kotaku. kotaku.com/unshine-arca...
Unshine Arcade Is A Really Cool Crunchy Pixel Roguelite Shooter That's Packed Full Of Secrets
Win tickets, open gacha balls, enter cheat codes, and anything else you can think of to escape the arcade
kotaku.com
I'm sorry, "Metacritic bonuses" are still a thing?! They should never be a thing! If I play your game and review it and it didn't work for me and I don't think it's good, that doesn't mean the people who made it should get paid any less!
Kotaku@kotaku.com · 2d agoReport: Gears Of War: E-Day Developers Fear For Their Jobs And Bonuses - Kotaku https://kotaku.com/gears-of-war-e-day-the-coalition-microsoft-xbox-job-losses-2000738913
I think the team at VGC are absolutely fantastic, and do some incredible reporting. But I'm also a massive piece of shit.
Ashley is one of the smartest and most engaging writers I've read in years. People should be giving her all the work.
ashley bardhan@ashleybardhan.bsky.social · 4d agois there a better word than devastated? (shattered? fly-swatted?) anyway i've been laid off. i joined gamesradar+ as a freelancer in 2023, and the site had my lifelong admiration by the time i became a senior writer in 2024. i'll miss it lmk if u need a creepy🧟♀️ gurl: ashleybardhan(at)gmail(dot)com
I wrote about playing the lovely Minecraft Dungeons II with the boy. kotaku.com/minecraft-du...
Minecraft Dungeons II Is A Splendid Step Forward For The Family-Friendly Action-RPG - Kotaku
The loot-filled co-op game improves on the original, while maintaining its core appeal
kotaku.com
There are a lot of people who should know better who are reporting on the Pokemon Happy Meals without crediting @pokebeach.bsky.social, but essentially cutting and pasting the story verbatim. Don't do that. Credit your sources.
Buried Treasure changed my life - doubt I'd be working on game#2 if it weren't for the 'holds up against Prey' headline. A small contribution to keep a distinguished, artful and amusingly controversial (or controversially amusing?) video game writer type person in business, you'd be mad not to.
John Walker - Industry Analcyst@botherer.bsky.social · last wk.Tell me what you most want from Buried Treasure. What would make you more likely to give $2 or more a month to help the project of giving attention to unknown or under-known indie games? I know it's changed dev's lives, because they tell me so. I want that to keep happening. buried-treasure.org
Thinking aloud: Buried Treasure isn't getting updated as much as I want it to, largely because my other income has gone down dramatically this year and I'm trying to stay afloat. This has meant Patreon subs have gone down too. But what I want most of all is to spend more time on BT. So...
Ambrosia Sky by @softrains.bsky.social is out of Early Access with both acts complete, and this combination of Prey and PowerWash is a unique, gorgeous and compelling time. buried-treasure.org/2026/09/ambr... Please support Buried Treasure from $2 a month: www.patreon.com/c/buriedtrea...
Best day ever? My chosen starter word I've used for many months was the solution! Wordle 1,924 1/6* 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I cannot tell you the bravery of @chrisbratt.bsky.social and People Make Games to report on this. Extraordinary journalism.
Chris Bratt@chrisbratt.bsky.social · last wk.In recent years, the media has quietly begun to change the way in which it writes about Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard. PMG investigates how Kotick used the threat of defamation to reshape his legacy in the games business, one article at a time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...
In recent years, the media has quietly begun to change the way in which it writes about Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard. PMG investigates how Kotick used the threat of defamation to reshape his legacy in the games business, one article at a time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...
Inside Bobby Kotick's Campaign Against the Press
YouTube video by People Make Games
youtube.com
Nighthawks! It's out! Please buy and like it! That is the best marketing slogan my tired brain can come up with right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1221950/...
Save 10% on Nighthawks on Steam
The secret is out. Vampires have been exposed to the world… and you’re one of them. Seize the night as a modern monster, stepping out of the shadows to build a thriving nightclub empire through fear, ...
store.steampowered.com
like @danielleri.bsky.social, @diegoarguello.bsky.social, and @kerrblimey.bsky.social, i will no longer be contributing to game developer. it was an absolute blast working with this team on my twice-a-month column! that means i’ve got more time to report and write for you!!!! hit us all up, really✨
it’s so great and normal that Steam is randomly censoring games like this for no reason, at the same time as they’re blasting “HENTAI VS FURRY FEST” banners all over the front page, which takes you straight to full-frontal nudity in one click
Dave Gilbert@wadjeteyegames.com · 3w agoWe are aware that Steam has classified Nighthawks as an adult game and has excluded it from searches (and delisted it entirely in certain countries). We are working on it. Valve is under the impression that this game is way sexier than it actually is.
So I get a LOT of unsolicited email every day, hundreds of emails about games or tech or weirdly irrelevant PR splutter arriving every week. I obviously can't reply to most of it. A top tip for a thing NOT to do is follow up three or four times with an increasingly aggressive tone.
So this day has been a roller coaster and a half. Thank you all for the amazing support. The issue isn’t solved yet, but we’re hopeful. In the meantime, please wishlist the game. We need all the extra help we can get now: store.steampowered.com/app/1221950/...
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I'm glad PC Gamer has deleted their Grummz article, which I hope was written in ignorance of who he is, but I think it behooves a site to also acknowledge that it was posted and removed, not just retcon and hope everyone forgets.
I can't wait for Wolverine's accolades trailer. "FINE" "FINE" "FINE "FINE" "FINE" "FINE" "FINE" "FINE"
I've had a hefty ol' rant about the ridiculous "AI WILL DESTROY US ALL!" lies coming from the companies making the genAI. kotaku.com/anthropic-ai...
Anthropic Worker Declares AI Could Wipe Out Humanity In 10 Years
There's a reason why these companies want you to think their products are so potentially dangerous
kotaku.com
Ignoble by @retromagine.bsky.social is a wonderful combination of incremental game, auto-battler and roguelite resulting in a gory, wildly compelling action game I really don't want to stop playing. buried-treasure.org/2026/09/igno...
Ignoble by @retromagine.bsky.social is a wonderful combination of incremental game, auto-battler and roguelite resulting in a gory, wildly compelling action game I really don't want to stop playing. buried-treasure.org/2026/09/igno...
While you sleep in your beds, think of the barely-paid guides writers toiling all night long. (This is just what appeared concurrently in my gaming feed across a handful of sites.)
