Mellow_Online1
@mellowonline1.bsky.social
Independent video games journalist | Owner and founder of Sentinels of the Store | Moderator at Dead MP Games Resurrection
New @steamsentinels.bsky.social article! @sirviolentdeath.bsky.social dives headfirst into @steampowered.com's store tags, discussing how they work, the benefits and issues with the system, and how Steam could fix them. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
Steam's Store Tags
Intro Hey folks, SirViolentDeath here with a short article while our fearless leader, Mellow, is busy reorganizing his tea collection. This week I wanted to talk about Valve’s Steam Store tags, since ...
steamcommunity.com
A Quick Personal Update steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
A Quick Personal Update
Hi all! This is just a quick announcement to say that I’m going to be stepping away for a short while. For those who don’t know, my day job is freelance media work, and I’ve got a very intensive coupl...
steamcommunity.com
Heya everyone! I did a guest article piece for The W2 Report about my 5 red flags that I think everyone should look out for before buying games on Steam. Go and give it a read if you please. www.thew2report.cv/five-red-flags Thanks!
Five Red Flags Every PC Gamer Should Watch for Before Buying a Game on Steam - The W2 Report
Official site of The W2 Report, the YouTube channel that presents the news without the echo chamber while having more fun than we are legally allowed to have
thew2report.cv
NEW @steamsentinels.bsky.social ARTICLE! Hard Shark Games were exposed last year for stolen content and review manipulation. Some games were removed. The developer wasn’t. And now they’re continuing to abuse @steampowered.com's Early Access system. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - One Year Later, Nothing Stopped Hard Shark Games
Back in March 2025, we published an article on Hard Shark Games , the current alias of Johnny Ginard, a developer we had previously covered in 2021 . At the time, the situation was already extreme: do...
steamcommunity.com
NEW @steamsentinels.bsky.social ARTICLE @nukearts.bsky.social have responded to the EU trademark challenge over “Hidden Cats.” It’s now a live dispute: Is “Hidden Cats” a brand - or just a description of the genre? We break down the latest developments. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - NukeArts Responds to EUIPO Challenge Over ‘Hidden Cats’ Trademark
NukeArts have now formally responded to the EUIPO challenge against their “ Hidden Cats ” trademark application. This response marks the next stage in what is now a live dispute over whether the term ...
steamcommunity.com
I've been alerted @nukearts.bsky.social's legal team has responded to the third-party observation I shared last week - new article inbound - going through it now.
BREAKING NEWS: Bohrdom has been purchase disabled on Steam following the developer's shooting at a White House dinner. store.steampowered.com/app/945530/B... #Steam #PCGaming #GameDev #GamingNews #SteamGames #TechNews #PlatformPolicy #DigitalPlatforms #BreakingNews #USNews
NEW ARTICLE ON @steamsentinels.bsky.social! The “Hidden Cats” trademark by @nukearts.bsky.social has now been formally challenged in the EU. A third-party observation has been received and logged by the EUIPO, marking the first official pushback. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - “Hidden Cats” Trademark Application Faces Formal EUIPO Challenge
Today, I can confirm that a third-party observation has been received and logged by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in relation to the “ Hidden Cats ” trademark application by ...
steamcommunity.com
NEW @steamsentinels.bsky.social ARTICLE As our visibility grows, so does scrutiny - and sometimes misrepresentation. We’re clarifying what Sentinels of the Store is, what it isn’t, and how we approach accountability on @steampowered.com. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
Steam Community :: Group :: Sentinels of the Store
The Sentinels of the Store is a group founded on the core values of transparency, fairness, and consumer protection. Our journey began when we saw the urgent need to address the growing concerns withi...
steamcommunity.com
NEW @steamsentinels.bsky.social ARTICLE @valvesoftware.com has spent years refining @steampowered.com's review system to tackle review bombing - but have they struck the right balance? steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti... #Steam #Gaming #Valve #ReviewBombing #GameDev
SteamWatch - Valve's Efforts to Combat Review Bombing
Hey folks, SirViolentDeath here with another article while Mellow is out harvesting tea. This week, I want to continue talking about some of the changes Valve has made , focusing on the user review sy...
steamcommunity.com
A monthly behind-the-scenes look at Steam Sentinels, including ongoing investigations, article insights, and work we don’t always share publicly. First issue is live now! If you aren't a patron yet, it's a great time to join and enjoy more bonuses than ever before! www.patreon.com/posts/sentin...
Sentinel Log - Issue #1 (March 2026) | Steam Sentinels
Get more from Steam Sentinels on Patreon
patreon.com
The FTC has issued warning letters to PayPal, Visa, Mastercard & Stripe over concerns of “debanking” consumers. This follows last year’s situation, where payment processor pressure led to removals on Steam. Is this the start of regulatory pushback? Read more: steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - FTC Warns Payment Processors Over ‘Debanking’ Concerns
As some of you may be aware, back in August 2025 we published a couple of articles covering the fallout between Steam & major payment processors including Paypal, Visa & Mastercard. For those ...
steamcommunity.com
New @steamsentinels.bsky.social article! “Asset flip” has become shorthand for “bad game.” That’s not what it actually means. I break down why the term should be factual - not a value judgement. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - Let's Talk Asset Flips
Asset flips are something we cover quite a lot on the curator, but not as much in our articles - and there’s a reason for that. Most cases are straightforward. “This game is a Unity template.” “This g...
steamcommunity.com
Small win I wanted to share with everyone. Yesterday, our curator hit a new 24-hour lifetime peak for App Views Influenced! Thanks as always for the support you all throw behind @steamsentinels.bsky.social!
New article on Sentinels of the Store! We go over developments that have happened in the Hidden Cats Trademark dispute - review bombings that have happened on @nukearts.bsky.social's games, and what's going on with the trademark status in Europe. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - Hidden Cats Fallout Expands
This article serves as an update to our previous coverage of the ongoing ' Hidden Cats ' trademark dispute. If you’re not familiar with the story, I recommend reading our earlier article first: SteamW...
steamcommunity.com
New @steamsentinels.bsky.social article from Caff DLC spam is quietly flooding @steampowered.com's new releases - with some games listing dozens of expensive DLC packs with little explanation of what they even contain. Our latest piece looks at the growing issue steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
DLC Spam - The Oft-Forgotten Issue Flooding Releases on Steam
It's no secret that DLC has become abundant on Steam, even amongst independent developers. Aside from games infamous for their large swaths of downloadable content like Train Sim World or Europa Unive...
steamcommunity.com
New Sentinels of the Store article! Steam is enforcing a trademark over "Hidden Cats". Developers are scrambling to rename their titles. Valve has poorly handled the claim, which is in itself anti-competitive, anti-developer and anti-consumer. Full article here: steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - Steam Enforces "Hidden Cats" Trademark - Indie Developers Forced to Rename or Risk Removal
“ Hidden Cats ” is a micro-genre within the broader hidden object (HOG) space: illustrated puzzle games where players search detailed scenes to find concealed cats. Over the past several years, multip...
steamcommunity.com
Our @steamsentinels.bsky.social has grown. With growth comes visibility. With visibility comes scrutiny. We’ve published a clarification on representation, governance, and where we draw the line between evidence-based accountability and ideology. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
Let's Be Clear
As Sentinels grows, visibility increases. With visibility comes scrutiny - and sometimes misrepresentation. So it’s important we clarify structure. Sentinels of the Store is not built around any singl...
steamcommunity.com
In 2026, @steamsentinels.bsky.socialhas grown. With growth comes visibility. With visibility comes scrutiny. We’ve published a clarification on structure, representation, and where we draw the line - particularly around ideology vs evidence. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
Let's Be Clear
As Sentinels grows, visibility increases. With visibility comes scrutiny - and sometimes misrepresentation. So it’s important we clarify structure. Sentinels of the Store is not built around any singl...
steamcommunity.com
New @steamsentinels.bsky.social article! @steampowered.com has landed on the front page of @theguardian.com. Developers are speaking out about bigoted reviews, curator campaigns, and what they describe as inconsistent moderation on the platform. steamcommunity.com/groups/Senti...
SteamWatch - Developers Accuse Steam of Failing to Tackle Bigotry
Steam is under mainstream scrutiny this week following a detailed report in The Guardian titled “‘ This shouldn’t be normal’: developers speak out about bigotry on Steam, the world’s biggest PC gaming...
steamcommunity.com
New @steamsentinels.bsky.social article! Atomic Fabrik was removed from @steampowered.com in 2024 after documented abuse of review and pricing systems. They remain on Epic. Recent discussion brought it back into focus, so I’ve written up a full breakdown. Read here:
SteamWatch - Atomic Fabrik is on the Epic Games Store
First of all, apologies for my absence the last few weeks - work was hectic and I was briefly out of action with chicken pox. Back to business as usual now. Almost two years ago, Atomic Fabrik was rem...
steamcommunity.com
The @steamsentinels.bsky.social community are awesome. Even in my absence, we've still seen people joining our group in large quantities. Let's make @steampowered.com better
Just watched a YouTuber play a demo. They finished it, then said: “I’d get the full game on sale.” The game isn’t out yet. There’s no price. No RRP. How do you recommend “on sale” when you don’t even know the baseline value?
Speedrunning Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Durector's Cut. @revolutionsoftware.bsky.social Take 3...Ready...steady...go! www.youtube.com/live/zT734do...
Speedrunning Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director's Cut
YouTube video by Mellow Online1
youtube.com
And wow - wake up, look in the mirror, and I’ve got red spots and rashes on my face. Shower…turns out they’re on my chest, arms, legs and feet too. Fam, I might have finally caught chickenpox! Off to the pharmacy I go.
Mellow_Online1@mellowonline1.bsky.social · 6mo agoSorry for the silence on my part. Been pretty busy IRL, and I'm also battling the worst headache and nausea I've had probably in my life, which has been a major hurdle for me in making anything @steamsentinels.bsky.social related. I'll get back to it as soon as I'm back in shape.
Sorry for the silence on my part. Been pretty busy IRL, and I'm also battling the worst headache and nausea I've had probably in my life, which has been a major hurdle for me in making anything @steamsentinels.bsky.social related. I'll get back to it as soon as I'm back in shape.
