Fergus Halliday
@cvamped.bsky.social
Award-winning journalist at Reviews.org Australia.
I really thought Ball X Pit was going to be this year's Balatro for me but it turns out that game is actually Q-Up
November 14, 2025 at 10:22 AM
I really thought Ball X Pit was going to be this year's Balatro for me but it turns out that game is actually Q-Up
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
I have a million things I could add to this and only so many characters. I have heard some version of this from almost everyone in games PR in Aus, but the names they use are News or Nine. They want normies, new audiences, not the core. Whatever they’re selling, they already expect you to buy it.
I've had this chat with PR people and they know that supporting smaller sites and freelancers makes sense and would help build a healthier games media.
The problem is game publishers pretty much exclusively want GI cover stories or an IGN First and anything smaller isn't worth it.
The problem is game publishers pretty much exclusively want GI cover stories or an IGN First and anything smaller isn't worth it.
I don't understand this mentality as long as the person/website has reputable people. How does it hurt you to provide a code? With how hard it is to get publicity for games of all sizes even "small" coverage seems like it would only help?
November 14, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I have a million things I could add to this and only so many characters. I have heard some version of this from almost everyone in games PR in Aus, but the names they use are News or Nine. They want normies, new audiences, not the core. Whatever they’re selling, they already expect you to buy it.
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
I think the main audience for the Steam Cube is gonna be people who have a large steam library but haven't upgraded their PC since like 2017. The actual PC market is a nightmare right now and something that is affordable and can handle upper middle tier games acceptably is an easy sell
November 12, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I think the main audience for the Steam Cube is gonna be people who have a large steam library but haven't upgraded their PC since like 2017. The actual PC market is a nightmare right now and something that is affordable and can handle upper middle tier games acceptably is an easy sell
My experience with the Steam Deck has been so overwhelmingly positive that the price would truly have to be cooked for me to not consider that revamped take on the Steam Machine.
November 12, 2025 at 9:48 PM
My experience with the Steam Deck has been so overwhelmingly positive that the price would truly have to be cooked for me to not consider that revamped take on the Steam Machine.
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
My last word on the matter
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
My last word on the matter
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
ABC, giving up on their gaming youtube account with 416K subs (having already given up on their gaming tiktok account with 66K subs): how do we reach younger viewers?
November 12, 2025 at 1:12 AM
ABC, giving up on their gaming youtube account with 416K subs (having already given up on their gaming tiktok account with 66K subs): how do we reach younger viewers?
So excited to pick this back up again youtu.be/X6xQKNM1xA8?...
ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN The Forsaken Hollows | Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer
YouTube video by Bandai Namco Entertainment America
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 10:52 PM
So excited to pick this back up again youtu.be/X6xQKNM1xA8?...
Hellclock has managed to get its hooks in me this week. Wouldn't mind an alternate class or two to shake things up but what a refreshing riff on the Diablo-style hack and slash.
November 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Hellclock has managed to get its hooks in me this week. Wouldn't mind an alternate class or two to shake things up but what a refreshing riff on the Diablo-style hack and slash.
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE
This has consumed around 4 months of my life. We've rebuilt the business from the ground-up. New site, new backend, new customer experience, new platform, new everything.
we spent two years flailing, having no idea how to run a business. now...we have more of an idea.
This has consumed around 4 months of my life. We've rebuilt the business from the ground-up. New site, new backend, new customer experience, new platform, new everything.
we spent two years flailing, having no idea how to run a business. now...we have more of an idea.
Despite the ravages of age and an internet steeped in misinformation, your eyes – in this one case – do not deceive you: Website different. It’s taken an immense amount of time and effort, but welcome to Aftermath version 2.0:
aftermath.site/aftermath-rela...
aftermath.site/aftermath-rela...
November 10, 2025 at 3:53 PM
WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE
This has consumed around 4 months of my life. We've rebuilt the business from the ground-up. New site, new backend, new customer experience, new platform, new everything.
we spent two years flailing, having no idea how to run a business. now...we have more of an idea.
This has consumed around 4 months of my life. We've rebuilt the business from the ground-up. New site, new backend, new customer experience, new platform, new everything.
we spent two years flailing, having no idea how to run a business. now...we have more of an idea.
Oh we're doing quibi again?
Fox, Disney, and others are investing in micro dramas, a mobile-first format, to engage new audiences.
5 Hollywood companies from Fox to Disney that are looking to capitalize on soapy 'micro dramas'
Fox, Disney, and others are investing in micro dramas, a mobile-first format, to engage new audiences.
www.businessinsider.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Oh we're doing quibi again?
Oh this might be the thing that finally gets me into Shelved By Genre
Let's make it official:
SHELVED BY GENRE's next unit, spanning ALL of 2026, will be a delve into the depths of modern genre with J.R.R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION.
If you don't have those, you can grab them through our Bookshop:
bookshop.org/lists/shelve...
SHELVED BY GENRE's next unit, spanning ALL of 2026, will be a delve into the depths of modern genre with J.R.R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION.
If you don't have those, you can grab them through our Bookshop:
bookshop.org/lists/shelve...
Shelved By Genre
These are books discussed on the podcast Shelved by Genre!
bookshop.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Oh this might be the thing that finally gets me into Shelved By Genre
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
If sandwich shops don’t start offering a sandwich named “the acquittal” then what are we even doing
November 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
If sandwich shops don’t start offering a sandwich named “the acquittal” then what are we even doing
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
November 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
new blog post: notes on quest design in Dread Delusion, a very good indie first person RPG / Morrowind-like www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2025/11/drea...
The bleak and poignant open world sidequest design of Dread Delusion
World design / quest design review of Dread Delusion, a 2024 indie first person RPG / Morrowind-like
www.blog.radiator.debacle.us
November 7, 2025 at 1:04 AM
new blog post: notes on quest design in Dread Delusion, a very good indie first person RPG / Morrowind-like www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2025/11/drea...
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
Look I get publishing a broad spectrum of opinions but I already fed them this morning
November 6, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Look I get publishing a broad spectrum of opinions but I already fed them this morning
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
i said what i said
November 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
i said what i said
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
![image of andrew cuomo at his nyc mayoral election watch party with disco elysium ui text overlay that reads:
Suggestion [Challenging: Failure] - You thought you did everything right. You had the money, the power, and the fame. Where did it all go wrong? Why couldn't those sniveling little city dwellers see that you were meant to lead them? You're now a twice certified loser from a family of winners. Your father's name is on a bridge. Your name is next to a Wikipedia entry that says "sexual harassment allegations."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/bafkreibvgcmgeluhegcun73wdfsve7nzg3djqxf5cnpxz6t54i7jsf5uby@jpeg)
Some cool news from me. Multiplier is moving over from Substack to Ghost as of this week. You can find the latest issue (feat. @lawksland.bsky.social) and the newsletter's new home over at www.multiplier.au/are-the-down...
Are the downsides of digital distribution becoming harder to live with?
Has the degradation of digital storefronts reached a tipping point?
My guest for this week’s issue of Multiplier is Lachlan Williams. Once upon a time, Lachlan was the editor of The Escapist. These d...
www.multiplier.au
November 5, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Some cool news from me. Multiplier is moving over from Substack to Ghost as of this week. You can find the latest issue (feat. @lawksland.bsky.social) and the newsletter's new home over at www.multiplier.au/are-the-down...
Finally! I've been waiting for this to replay the first PoE for ages www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pi...
Pillars of Eternity's 10-year anniversary turn-based mode will sidestep the biggest issues I was worried it would have, and you can try it this week
Pillars 1's turn-based mode enters public beta testing on November 5
www.pcgamer.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Finally! I've been waiting for this to replay the first PoE for ages www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pi...
Very late but Mouthwashing is a very good video game
October 25, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Very late but Mouthwashing is a very good video game
I don't care that much but the Halo remake looks garish and creatively bankrupt.
October 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I don't care that much but the Halo remake looks garish and creatively bankrupt.
Reposted by Fergus Halliday
A Melbourne real estate agency just casually putting a job out on Airtasker for a lawyer to write a cease and desist for a fkn Google review. Incredible.
October 24, 2025 at 5:56 AM
A Melbourne real estate agency just casually putting a job out on Airtasker for a lawyer to write a cease and desist for a fkn Google review. Incredible.
Part of me is convinced there has to be more to this story because the very familiar story of a SP-focused studio being pushed to pivot into live service only for it to go poorly so rarely seems to end with any consequences for the executives/leadership responsible.
Remedy Entertainment has announced that CEO Tero Virtala will step down, effective immediately, after nine years in the role.
The company recently issued a profit warning to investors, due to the underperformance of FBC: Firebreak.
The company recently issued a profit warning to investors, due to the underperformance of FBC: Firebreak.
Remedy CEO Tero Virtala Steps Down, Effective Immediately
Remedy has announced that Markus Mäki will become interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement
thisweekinvideogames.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Part of me is convinced there has to be more to this story because the very familiar story of a SP-focused studio being pushed to pivot into live service only for it to go poorly so rarely seems to end with any consequences for the executives/leadership responsible.
Finally managed to catch up with @bibbybhoy.bsky.social for this week's issue of Multiplier, which delves into our complicated feelings about live service gaming and how it's changing the industry we both cover multiplierau.substack.com/p/is-there-l...
Is there life beyond live service gaming?
Can we come back from the era of the forever game?
multiplierau.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Finally managed to catch up with @bibbybhoy.bsky.social for this week's issue of Multiplier, which delves into our complicated feelings about live service gaming and how it's changing the industry we both cover multiplierau.substack.com/p/is-there-l...
I remain super keen to dig into VTM: Bloodlines 2 at some point but that RRP feels *steep* given how all over the map the critical reception seems to be.
October 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I remain super keen to dig into VTM: Bloodlines 2 at some point but that RRP feels *steep* given how all over the map the critical reception seems to be.