Gonçalo Santos

My early access review of @delverium.bsky.social and how it helped change the way I view quality of life in games. It doesn't break the mould or completely change the genre, but it respects your time more than any survival game I've played. buttonmusher.substack.com/p/polishing-...

wrote some words about bioware's closure for update patch this week.....

I'm genuinely shocked that this game is free. It's polished, beefy, seems well designed, and the demo did relatively well on Steam. Sign of the times? Overwhelming competition? Either way, grab it. It's kinda like Darkest Dungeon/Griftlands with Borderlands' setting and sense of humor.

#NextFest has some wild demos. #Inkblood is set entirely inside a horse drawn carriage, and uses the interior as an ingenious diegetic UI. #AppleCrumble is a mystery game that feels like taking part in a creepy stage play. #APPULSE invents twin-stick pinball. You can still play most of 'em, too.

My review of Phantom Blade Zero for Eurogamer is up! Some highly impressive combat here, and really beautiful world design. Yet balance & quality issues in the build I played let it down somewhat. www.eurogamer.net/phantom-blad...

NEW OPPORTUNITY: Short fiction writer? Love the world of Heaven's Vault? ... then come play in the waters. We're looking to commission 20 short stories set in the Nebula for a new anthology. Paid, obvs. Full details and a link to the form on the blog: www.inklestudios.com/2026/10/24/t...

Hi! If you're an editor looking for someone to cover @devgamm.bsky.social Lisbon 2026, reach out! I'm based in Lisbon and already attended last year. Get in touch and let's make some cool things happen.

I've gathered my thoughts after first week of Burn With Me release: the results, all my "thank you"-s, and some of the future plans for the game! Go read this Steam post! store.steampowered.com/news/app/295...

Here is my latest. There is one thing that Marvel’s Wolverine does better than the Spider-Man duology that preceded it: accessibility. Here’s how Insomniac’s latest title excels at being the most accessible super-hero videogame ever made.

There comes a point in the story where a solid chunk of the protagonists' dialogue sounds like it could be verbatim lifted from a filler episode of Dragon Ball Z where everyone is just discussing power levels.

I want to try something out! 🙌 Is your indie game going to be in this week’s Steam Next Fest? Drop that link in the thread! 🔗⬇️

#NextFest starts tomorrow! It's the time to play some indie weirdos, odd experiments, new contenders, dark horses, riders and runners. This 30-game selection is a rich mix: maybe something here will turn out to be the one.

While I'm excited to see more content in this game, I am really not comfortable with the concept of Early Access DLCs. Early Access makes sense for certain game genres, but extending that to an extra paid portion of a game is too much imo.

Polymarket is paying people to QRT its branded esports accounts on X. Players, coaches, and other prominent figures make hundreds or even thousands per month. “Literally this needs to look organic,” wrote a Polymarket rep on the Discord where this is organized. www.readergrev.com/p/polymarket...

In my latest installment of my column the Anthropocene Medium for @debugmag.com, I talked with Jigmé Özer of Calligram Studio (@calligramstudio.com). This is one of the hottest interviews I have ever conducted. www.teamdebug.com/issue/18

One day after Burn With Me launch! 3333 copies sold, 90+ reviews, 95% positive 🎉 Thank you all so much! So insane to see such a response to our little game 🧡

🎉 HUGE CAREER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉 Today, I'm launching Vertical Slice, a new independent trade outlet committed to producing quality video game journalism that inspires, informs, and interrogates. That means daily news, incisive interviews, vital investigative work, and more. www.verticalslice.news

now you may be asking: hey why is this out on a Wednesday? is it because the person who should've posted this on a Sunday was playing Ace Combat 8 instead? and I'll tell you this: I know better than to incriminate myself, okay www.patreon.com/critdistance...

Forever Ago's exploration of grief is marred by its deeply unpleasant protagonist. @lesbiankakyoin.bsky.social reviews.

always a privilege to have @dreamcastaway.bsky.social in @mothership.blog :')

Thrilled to make my CBC Arts debut by featuring three fabulous games made right here at home! Thank you @playhilltop.bsky.social, @akiiwansurvival.bsky.social, @redshiftpanda.bsky.social, I can't wait to play 🎮

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the shot in the arm the arcade racing genre has been waiting for. Fast, frenetic, and fun. It's a reminder of what the genre can be when it is willing to push boundaries and the speed limit. My review: www.gamerguides.com/star-wars-ga...

I played Outcast Tales’ demo for four hours and was pleasantly surprised. While the combat has some issues, the game truly shines via its at times hilarious writing and excellent character interactions. Plus, the full release will be free! buttonmusher.substack.com/p/outcast-ta...

Panthalassa is 20% as part of the Steam Autumn Sale. the lowest price so far! store.steampowered.com/app/2955720/...

pretty proud of what i’ve put out this year (and something coming soon) but this piece really pushed me to grow as a writer and is my standard now 💜 it’s also depressingly evergreen www.deletedsaves.com/papers-pleas...

Hi! I am a femme who primarily works behind the scenes as an editor, but am proud of the critical work I have published about games and film. Most recently, I wrote the cover story for @unwinnable.com's September issue, an excerpt of which is currently available online:

shot in the dark but do I know anybody on here who is an expert in social media marketing? writing about a particular kind of social media promotion and curious to see if it's a common practice/how it's viewed among industry professionals.

if you aren't already supporting @mothership.blog, you should be. support women and queer people in video game criticism and journalism. we deserve to exist in these spaces but, at least in the case of mothership, we can only exist and pay our writers and introduce you to new writers if YOU help us.

If you haven’t yet you should read the follow-up article Ashley wrote on Metroid, kick ass combo she did there www.mothership.blog/disobedience...

today was my first day being OFFICIALLY laid off, and my first @gamespot.com byline.... what a coincidence! 🦋 www.gamespot.com/articles/sil...

is 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

tiny bookshop is out here changing lives!!!! this one's free to read with just your email address

Had the pleasure of attending the first +XP Sessions Game Jam and absolutely loved it. +XP Sessions is an organization focused on mentorships and other ways to bring all kinds of people into game development in Portugal, especially under-represented ones. buttonmusher.substack.com/p/the-first-...

Games and tech freelancers : I am once again asking for freelance pitches for PC hardware features (not reviews or guides, sorry!) on RPS. Email's in bio, genAI users need not apply (it's much, much easier to spot than you think)