Samhain Tolbert 🐺👻

Alright, here's my intro. I'm Samuel, a freelance journalist with work published in Windows Central, Inverse, TechRadar, and more. Outside of talking about video games, I can also be found reading, mixing drinks, painting Warhammer 40K figurines, and sharing pictures of my cat, Blue. Here's Blue:

Dracula is good. I like steamy, Gothic ballets that give me an excuse to dress up a smidge and drink prosecco.

Across my life, I have stayed up all night to play five single-player games. BioWare made four of them. I just don't have words.

God.

Ah hello! Was it you who rang the Bell of Awakening?

Double feature today! A preview of There Are No Ghosts at the Grand, and a review of Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival. The former is a whimsical, musical, Lovecraft-lite renovation game. The latter is one of the most brutal things I've ever played. campaign-mode.ghost.io/thoughts-on-...

For Campaign Mode: Gears of War: E-Day is a fantastic time, and easily the best game The Coalition has made. In the wider context of launching something as an Xbox studio, I truly hope that means something. campaign-mode.ghost.io/gears-of-war...

My real start came at AC and its sister sites shortly after. I learned so much from @carlivelocci.com and @jenlocke.bsky.social being patient with me and showing me the ropes. It was a really good, tight-knit crew. This is rough to see.

For Campaign Mode: Gears of War: E-Day is a fantastic time, and easily the best game The Coalition has made. In the wider context of launching something as an Xbox studio, I truly hope that means something. campaign-mode.ghost.io/gears-of-war...

Be there for people. Say something when needed, no matter how uncomfortable. Push back, be the change. I'm sorry for absolutely every survivor of the worst of what this world is. You have all my support. If I'm ever at an event and you need help or just a vibe check, please ask away.

I want to say it cannot be said enough how important it is for other men to say things about this shit. In the moment, or ASAP My first ever game dev event I was sexually harassed (assaulted?) by a Sony exec while all of my coworkers saw and said nothing Please say something, for people that can't

Redeeming the disc for Middle-earth: Shadow of War on my Series X, then seeing it available to install on my PC, is very, very cool.

New on Campaign Mode -- I played a ton of Control Resonant and Total War: Warhammer 3's new expansion over the weekend, and so far, I'm really enjoying both! campaign-mode.ghost.io/a-weekend-sp...

New on Campaign Mode -- I played a ton of Control Resonant and Total War: Warhammer 3's new expansion over the weekend, and so far, I'm really enjoying both! campaign-mode.ghost.io/a-weekend-sp...

Lord. campaign-mode.ghost.io/xbox-continu...

Weekend Campaign Mode! I had a great conversation with some folks at Blizzard Entertainment who shared details on the huge union contract they recently ratified, getting recall rights, having a say in AI usage, the general vibe at the studio, and what's next. campaign-mode.ghost.io/it-is-a-real...

Double-feature for Campaign Mode today! I previewed The Viking Sagas DLC for Age of Empires 2, which adds a bunch of new northern factions and a campaign focused on the life of Harald Hardrada. Plus, impressions of Warcraft 3's new Forsaken Kingdom DLC. campaign-mode.ghost.io/decades-late...

I think it's easy, and understandable, to be cynical about a lot right now. But for me, it was very cool to watch some big announcements out of Blizzard today and know that the teams behind it all recently achieved a major ratified union contract. campaign-mode.ghost.io/blizzard-off...

Said it for 2025, I'll say it for 5786: it's been a really rough year for me. A lot of hurt, a lot of struggle. Feels like a thousand wounds are opened before one is healed. But I'm still here. May the next year be significantly sweeter. Shanah Tovah, y'all. שנה טובה

*Blinks stupidly*

Some thoughts on the two recent Nintendo Directs and how I'm excited for both the Ocarina of Time remake and Metroid Ravenous. I just wish the latter wasn't launching the same day as Until Dawn 2, especially how packed the following weeks into February look. campaign-mode.ghost.io/nintendo-bri...

Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game I ever played. Didn't even really know what I was doing a long while, I played at a friend's house in increments. But I still loved it. I'm so excited to go back.

If I lived in Hyrule Castle Town and was emotionally exhausted, struggling to fall asleep, only to finally drift off just as Link plays his little Sun Song, I'd be beating him over the head with that ocarina, I promise.

We're in September now, so a good time for me to put out a call and say if you don't have all your outlet's game reviews sorted for the next couple of months, I'm ready and available to help, let's get in touch. Also, frankly, I could really use the work.

We're in September now, so a good time for me to put out a call and say if you don't have all your outlet's game reviews sorted for the next couple of months, I'm ready and available to help, let's get in touch. Also, frankly, I could really use the work.

ICYMI: I'm really, really liking Star Wars: Zero Company.

Happy Friday! New piece for the weekend. Almost 10 hours in, I'm really enjoying Star Wars: Zero Company. It's not shocking me, but it absolutely nails the strategy formula and is filled with tons of care for its greater universe without feeling forced. campaign-mode.ghost.io/nearly-10-ho...

Plenty of people quite rightfully reminiscing on Tim Curry's myriad starring roles, but I'll always be particularly fond of his voice acting for Arl Howe in Dragon Age: Origins. A sneering, contemptuous antagonist that you just love to hate, Curry gave him pure venom.

Double-feature for Campaign Mode today! Some thoughts on the Gamescom 2026 showcase, plus, hands-on impressions of Gears of War: E-Day's campaign. campaign-mode.ghost.io/hands-ongear...

This is me if you even care.

Reminder: Dolly Parton helped fund the Moderna vaccine for COVID.

Double-feature for Campaign Mode today! Some thoughts on the Gamescom 2026 showcase, plus, hands-on impressions of Gears of War: E-Day's campaign. campaign-mode.ghost.io/hands-ongear...

New for Campaign Mode: I've been playing Blood Dungeon, and it's an absolute blast. The auto-battling of something like Vampire Survivors gets a big shake-up via 2D platforming, and I talked to developer @messhof.bsky.social about how it all came together. campaign-mode.ghost.io/messhof-talk...

New for Campaign Mode: I've been playing Blood Dungeon, and it's an absolute blast. The auto-battling of something like Vampire Survivors gets a big shake-up via 2D platforming, and I talked to developer @messhof.bsky.social about how it all came together. campaign-mode.ghost.io/messhof-talk...

I always love talking with Cj, even if it's a more difficult topic like this. We had a very good chat about the why of it all and where people even *can* go from here.

I always love talking with Cj, even if it's a more difficult topic like this. We had a very good chat about the why of it all and where people even *can* go from here.

Having an extraordinarily rough week, y'all. Any pet pics or kind words would be treasured.

My latest: An update on the unionized Xbox employees fighting back against the latest round of layoffs, as well as the ways players and fans of these games can actually show support for workers right now. campaign-mode.ghost.io/whats-next-f...