Gonçalo Santos
@mushwrites.bsky.social
Freelance writer on all things videogames. Bringing you news and interviews about the best games made in Portugal. Reach out at contact[at]goncalosgames[dot]com.
Ending the month of July with a bang (pejorative). Fingers crossed that August and Gamescom bring us some good news.
startmenu@startmenu.bsky.social · 3d agoNew month, new Update Patch: @mushwrites.bsky.social is back in the saddle to round up each week's goings-on for August.
As a reminder: 💛The Stacks is open for pitches & paid writing!💛 I'm looking for writing on obscure games history, art history, sex/gender, and more Full guidelines + rates: thestacks.ca/submissions
The Stacks Submissions
thestacks.ca
Joey ‘Detchibe' W. 🏳️⚧️@thestacks.ca · 2w agoThis month in The Stacks, Molly Quell (@mollyquell.bsky.social) takes us through a history of image manipulation, from giant vegetables to disappearings to fairies. thestacks.ca/posts/2026-0...
Career Update: after a more-than-month-long interview process, I'm now being completely ghosted by the only employer to respond to an application since I got laid off in January. Still looking (increasingly desperately) for any writing/games-related work!
Robin Bea@robinbombus.bsky.social · 7mo agoI’m an experienced game critic/journalist looking for work! I’d love to continue writing about games, but I’d happily consider PR, consulting, narrative, or non-gaming editorial work. I have experience hosting and producing podcasts, and I’m comfortable on mic and camera. Portfolio/email in bio! 🧵
gamescom? More like JamesTom! I'll be at #gamescom alongside my colleague Tom as we represent @twofrogs.biz! We're there from August 24 - 28, including gamescom dev. If you're a self-publishing indie dev, or an indie game publisher, let's meet and find out how we can help with your marketing!
And so well deserved!! I really liked Type Help, but I LOVE The Incident At Galley House. It's a fantastic mystery game, so engrossing and the aha! moments hit HARD. Utterly brilliant. store.steampowered.com/app/3641000/...
The Incident at Galley House on Steam
In 1936, something terrible happened at Galley House. Decades later, with a strange contraption that reveals echoes of the past, you must uncover the truth behind this grisly mystery.
store.steampowered.com
Robin Ward@eviltrout.com · 2w agoWe released The Incident at Galley House a week ago, and it's been a wild ride: * Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam in 48 hours * We recouped our entire development budget * At peak, 2500 people were playing at the same time!! Thanks to all the detectives out there for making it a big success.
IGDA-PT Checkpoint Meetup - Porto Hello everyone! We are organising the first IGDA-PT Checkpoint, a simple and informal hangout for the game dev community. Date: July 25th Time: 18:30 – 20:30 Location: Catraio, Rua de Cedofeita 256, Porto More Info and sign up here: luma.com/yy7mgmbs
Thanks so much for penning this incredible piece @austingallagher.bsky.social! I live in hope for the day that Inf Lives has the funds to run much, much longer pieces at a fair rate for writers! We’ll get there!
Austin Gallagher@austingallagher.bsky.social · 3w agoI wrote a piece for @harrisonpolites.bsky.social's Infinite Lives. Lots of cool people took time out of their busy schedule to talk to me about Game Jams (this could have been three times as long with the wealth of information and insight they provided). Check it out! substack.com/home/post/p-...
So after Forbidden Solitaire, I accepted an invitation from Cobalt Lane to work on Imprinted, about an audio restoration job which becomes an occult investigation as an elusive musician’s damaged cassette tapes are exhumed in Italy. I couldn’t resist… #fakeos store.steampowered.com/app/3980340/...
Imprinted on Steam
An audio restoration job becomes an investigation into the occult, as an elusive musician’s damaged cassette tapes are exhumed in northern Italy. Use a fully-operational desktop to sift through files,...
store.steampowered.com
NEW: Unions in the U.S. and Canada are have filed unfair labor practice charges against Microsoft for allegedly mishandling its latest round of mass layoffs. CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth claims Microsoft "unlawfully" fired Bethesda Game Studios Montreal workers without notifying the union.
Unions take legal action against Microsoft over Xbox layoffs
CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth claims the company 'unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union.'
gamedeveloper.com
NEW: I spoke to multiple people impacted by the job cuts at Xbox to understand how the latest round of mass layoffs played out and what it means for the embattled video game division moving forward. This is their story.
Inside the latest round of mass layoffs at Xbox
Multiple workers impacted by the latest job cuts at Xbox believe the decision will hamstring some studios.
gamedeveloper.com
The problem here is that the Western AAA industry isn't "the only world we've ever known or can conceptualise"... Most people have been living in a very different world for over a decade. It's games media that actively chose to stay in Geoff Keighley's PR Dreamland, where 2012 never ended...
Aftermath@aftermath.site · 3w ago'Grand Theft Auto VI, The Last Blockbuster' GTAVI won't be the last AAA video game, but it sure does feel like the last one we'll ever see at this scale. aftermath.site/gta-vi-grand-t...
Now live for the public. I reviewed Wax Heads @waxheadsgame.bsky.social, Sol Cesto by @docgeraud.bsky.social, Tethergeist by oandcogames.bsky.social, Amberspire by @nictringali.bsky.social, and The Last Winter Knight by @endysis.bsky.social for my half-year indie roundup!
Indie Roundup Review 2026 - Unwinnable
All these games have characters out of their depth to some degree, struggling through challenges as they fight powers bigger than themselves.
unwinnable.com
My reflection on hitting Unwinnable's 200 issue milestone on the site. Go read it and learn the secret significance of vultures and pie for @unwinnable.com. I'll be back a little later to run you through all the stories in the issue! unwinnable.com/2026/07/02/r...
Reflecting on 200 Issues of Unwinnable Magazine
As long as human beings keep making things, other human beings will keep thinking about them.
unwinnable.com
The June indie game guide is out! It's a big one — we're getting a crazy train-skating game, a Mass Effect-meets-Starcraft RTS-RPG, a weird anodyne AI colony simulator, a gothic cosy game where you can only go out at night, a gaudy horror take on Citizen Sleeper's dice RPG gameplay, and more.
A Massive Month Of New Indie Games • July 2026
YouTube video by Gaming In The Wild
youtube.com
Well, last week sure was... bad. @wendeego.bsky.social tries to round up as much of the seemingly never-ending torrent of chaos in this week's Update Patch. www.patreon.com/startmenu/po...
Update Patch News Roundup (29/6/2026) | startmenu
Update Patch News Roundup (29/6/2026) by startmenu on Patreon. Join startmenu's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
@envar.bsky.social 's @playwitchspire.com brings new life to the survival genre by transforming the menial into the magical. buttonmusher.substack.com/p/witchspire...
Hello! Looking to speak with a logo / graphic designer about a paid gig! Recommendations and self-promotion welcome!
Attention! We're adding a Tibetan fox with a brick to Burn With Me. Thank you for the attention.
There’s a whole site launch hidden in here! Very heartening news for a grizzled games journo such as myself. www.respec.net
Respec
Respec delivers no-nonsense news, reviews, features, and opinions on video games without corporate ownership.
respec.net
Alex Donaldson@apzonerunner.com · last mo.Don't quite know where the time went, but we've been at it for two decades today. 26 years including our fansite days. A look back from me here - and a bit about what's next, including for folk who maybe liked the style of stuff I did on Eurogamer and VG247.
It's STEAM SUMMER SALE time! Which means I've updated my Steam Curator page with everything I've enjoyed recently. I'll also be picking out the best deals in this thread - bookmark this post! If you like what I do, consider tipping! (Ko-Fi/Paypal) - All tips go towards more indie games to research!
Steam Curator: Dominic Tarason's Opinionation Station
Info-tags aside (for listing stuff) this is 100% personal recommendations on games I've played. Expect a lot of weird, indie, undersold or otherwise mysterious stuff, plus the occasional mainstream fa...
store.steampowered.com
Time flies when you're having fun - today, RPG Site turns 20 years old! Here's a letter from our co-founder looking back and revealing some incoming celebrations and additions: https://www.rpgsite.net/feature/20800-20-years-rpg-site-thank-you-celebrating-whats-next
hellooooooo it's the steam summer sale and Interstate 35 is 20% off!! this is the perfect time of year to take a sweltering virtual roadtrip up a Texas highway...
Save 20% on Interstate 35 on Steam
A visual novel exploring a near-apocalyptic vision of North Texas, told through the poetic words of a young woman going home.
store.steampowered.com
Was incredibly honored to write the cover story for Unwinnable's 200th issue. Cheers!
Unwinnable@unwinnable.com · last mo.Don't leave your pies unsupervised during this season of the vulture. Feast your eyes on Unwinnable Monthly Issue 200, featuring @gottsdamn.bsky.social on Okami and our usual cabal of contributors. Buy: buff.ly/jlKvwGN Subscribe: buff.ly/wd5q5n6
Don't leave your pies unsupervised during this season of the vulture. Feast your eyes on Unwinnable Monthly Issue 200, featuring @gottsdamn.bsky.social on Okami and our usual cabal of contributors. Buy: buff.ly/jlKvwGN Subscribe: buff.ly/wd5q5n6
Hi! Was planning on doing one of those “Steam Next Fest demos” piece but I don’t feel like I have enough to say about them to justify a full article. So, here are the notes I take on the ones I enjoyed the most, instead: Burn-9: MGS1 but you are the operator guiding the agents.
Less than a month to the release of one of my most hyped games of the year! Hell Maiden is looking phenomenal. youtu.be/Z43f0VYhNv8
Hell Maiden | Release Date Announcement Trailer
YouTube video by AstralShift
youtu.be
My latest for @gamesmarket.global telling the story of one of the longest-running studios in Portugal, @camel101.com. Here's how the Cesteiro brothers have managed to stay afloat and remain creatively free in the rough seas of game development in Portugal. www.gamesmarket.global/camel-101-ho...
Camel 101: How This Small Portuguese Studio Remains Sustainable Since 2009
Advertorial | Camel 101, founded by Bruno and Ricardo Cesteiro, is one of the few Portuguese studios focusing on original IP. In this portrait and company history, we put the developer of Those Who Re...
gamesmarket.global
007 First Light’s phenomenal voice cast featured a lovely surprise for me and one that highlights the game’s attention to detail.
A Subtle, Yet Fantastic Detail You Missed In 007 First Light
Unless You're Portuguese...
open.substack.com
GamesMarket wrote about Camel 101, our journey since 2009, and how we’ve stayed sustainable as a small indie studio in Portugal. A long road, many lessons, and still here making games. Thanks to @gamesmarket.global, APVP and @mushwrites.bsky.social www.gamesmarket.global/camel-101-ho...
Camel 101: How This Small Portuguese Studio Remains Sustainable Since 2009
Advertorial | Camel 101, founded by Bruno and Ricardo Cesteiro, is one of the few Portuguese studios focusing on original IP. In this portrait and company history, we put the developer of Those Who Re...
gamesmarket.global