Keith Stuart
@keefstuart.bsky.social
Novelist. Video game correspondent for The Guardian. He/him 💖
Hi I wrote about how Iron Lung isn’t so much a film based on a video game as a film based on watching someone else play a video game. I also answered the age-old question: what is the Citizen Kane of games?
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/f...
Is surprise box-office hit Iron Lung the future of ‘video game films’?
The YouTube gaming star’s weird and divisive adaptation of his obscure horror film is a game within a film about a game – and hints at new directions for storytelling
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Hi I wrote about how Iron Lung isn’t so much a film based on a video game as a film based on watching someone else play a video game. I also answered the age-old question: what is the Citizen Kane of games?
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/f...
The justification for these AI experiments is always “this stuff is not going away”. Well no because the tech giants lobbying for it have billions invested in the technology and they’ll do anything to make it mandatory www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Barnsley rebranded UK’s first ‘tech town’ as US giants join AI push
Minister announces Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe to help apply AI to local schools, hospitals, GPs and businesses
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:26 AM
The justification for these AI experiments is always “this stuff is not going away”. Well no because the tech giants lobbying for it have billions invested in the technology and they’ll do anything to make it mandatory www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Keith Stuart
Latest from me, and one of the most important pieces on Special Needs I've written so far: "In fifteen years of political journalism, I don’t think I have seen anything quite like this: a mad game of briefing, counter-briefing and official stonewalling."
maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/why-the-po...
maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/why-the-po...
Why the politics of media leaks, briefings and "sources" is only spreading dread and fear
The painfully long story of the government's SEND reforms has pushed exactly those buttons, among people already used to a level of anxiety that may soon get even worse
maybeimamazed.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:59 AM
Latest from me, and one of the most important pieces on Special Needs I've written so far: "In fifteen years of political journalism, I don’t think I have seen anything quite like this: a mad game of briefing, counter-briefing and official stonewalling."
maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/why-the-po...
maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/why-the-po...
I am writing this week’s Pushing Buttons newsletter for the Guardian - do you have a question about video games? Anything you’re dying to know about games, the industry, etc, please reply. I have two hours to write this sucker!
January 27, 2026 at 3:16 PM
I am writing this week’s Pushing Buttons newsletter for the Guardian - do you have a question about video games? Anything you’re dying to know about games, the industry, etc, please reply. I have two hours to write this sucker!
Hi I spoke to Jade from Traitors about how playing video games prepared her for life in the castle…
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
‘I didn’t have anything to prove’: what Traitors finalist Jade Scott learned about survival from video games
Accused, isolated and constantly under scrutiny, The Traitors contestant drew on years of social deduction gaming to stay calm under pressure
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Hi I spoke to Jade from Traitors about how playing video games prepared her for life in the castle…
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
Reposted by Keith Stuart
1: Love is a Curse by @keefstuart.bsky.social: A smartly told story following a woman navigating grief whilst investigating a generational curse. Took a little longer to get its hooks in than his previous books, but it still had me completely invested by the end
January 25, 2026 at 10:09 PM
1: Love is a Curse by @keefstuart.bsky.social: A smartly told story following a woman navigating grief whilst investigating a generational curse. Took a little longer to get its hooks in than his previous books, but it still had me completely invested by the end
Hi I wrote about SpellTower by @stfj.net - one of my favourite ever mobile games!
We're trying something a bit different this week. We asked five game critics for a piece on a mobile game they play regularly, but never get to actually write about. First up, it's Guardian games writer and author @keefstuart.bsky.social on SpellTower: mobilegamer.biz/critics-week...
Critics week: Keith Stuart on the endless magic of SpellTower
This week, we’re running five articles from game critics who rarely get to write about mobile games. First up, it’s The Guardian’s Keith Stuart on Zach Gage’s timeless puzzl…
mobilegamer.biz
January 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Hi I wrote about SpellTower by @stfj.net - one of my favourite ever mobile games!
Reposted by Keith Stuart
LONDON! Come see me on 16 Feb at Loading Bar in Stoke Newington, I'll be talking about my book Super Nintendo with my longtime friend and colleague @keefstuart.bsky.social ✌️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/super-nint...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/super-nint...
Super Nintendo: Keza MacDonald and Keith Stuart
The Guardian's game writers in discussion on the cultural phenomenon that created Mario, Zelda and Pokémon
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 5:40 PM
LONDON! Come see me on 16 Feb at Loading Bar in Stoke Newington, I'll be talking about my book Super Nintendo with my longtime friend and colleague @keefstuart.bsky.social ✌️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/super-nint...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/super-nint...
Bathysphere is a newsletter I set up with wonderful gaming pals Christian Donlan and @florencesn.bsky.social last year. It’s about video games, culture, art, archeology and many other things - no gaming news, no hot takes. Now 100% free. Please join us!
Expedition 40 of The Bathysphere is out, and this week we have a lovely essay from Chris Donlan on the Brontës and paracosms!
The Bathysphere is now entirely FREE to access! Make sure to subscribe to be updated each week!
buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
The Bathysphere is now entirely FREE to access! Make sure to subscribe to be updated each week!
buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
Expedition 40
Happy 40th expedition! As you heard from our emergency communication, we’re changing things up at The Bathysphere. From now on, the entire newsletter will be...
buttondown.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Bathysphere is a newsletter I set up with wonderful gaming pals Christian Donlan and @florencesn.bsky.social last year. It’s about video games, culture, art, archeology and many other things - no gaming news, no hot takes. Now 100% free. Please join us!
Reposted by Keith Stuart
I've been subscribed to Bathysphere since the start, and it's been full of really amazing little essays and lots of fascinating links about games, play and surrounding cultures. And now it's completely free! Highly recommend subscribing if you're not already.
Expedition 40 of The Bathysphere is out, and this week we have a lovely essay from Chris Donlan on the Brontës and paracosms!
The Bathysphere is now entirely FREE to access! Make sure to subscribe to be updated each week!
buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
The Bathysphere is now entirely FREE to access! Make sure to subscribe to be updated each week!
buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
Expedition 40
Happy 40th expedition! As you heard from our emergency communication, we’re changing things up at The Bathysphere. From now on, the entire newsletter will be...
buttondown.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:29 AM
I've been subscribed to Bathysphere since the start, and it's been full of really amazing little essays and lots of fascinating links about games, play and surrounding cultures. And now it's completely free! Highly recommend subscribing if you're not already.
Reposted by Keith Stuart
I've been commissioned to write a piece about games based on real places that changed peoples' perception of that place or had some kind of local impact - are you a dev who made a game like this? Or are you a player who has a story about a game that inspired you to visit somewhere? Let me know!
January 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I've been commissioned to write a piece about games based on real places that changed peoples' perception of that place or had some kind of local impact - are you a dev who made a game like this? Or are you a player who has a story about a game that inspired you to visit somewhere? Let me know!
Reposted by Keith Stuart
I was having an extremely bad time last year. I started experiencing excruciating pain in my right arm, pain that lasted for months (it's ongoing now). When Hollow Knight Silksong came out, I didn't know if I'd even be able to play it. On Silksong and suffering: www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
Four months and 40 hours later: my epic battle with 2025’s most difficult video game
When Hollow Knight: Silksong came out last summer I was in so much pain that I didn’t know if I’d be able to play it. Could a video game teach me anything new about suffering?
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:15 AM
I was having an extremely bad time last year. I started experiencing excruciating pain in my right arm, pain that lasted for months (it's ongoing now). When Hollow Knight Silksong came out, I didn't know if I'd even be able to play it. On Silksong and suffering: www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
A disliked government will try to redirect anger at the most vulnerable people in society
Third time in not much more than a week for the "falconry, ski-ing & horses" anonymous brief on SEND. What's worse: the Westminster insiders who put this toxic, nasty crap about or the journalists who blithely repeat it? PS ask an OT professional about autism, dyspraxia, core stability & horses
January 11, 2026 at 12:29 PM
A disliked government will try to redirect anger at the most vulnerable people in society
Reposted by Keith Stuart
I'm going on a BOOK TOUR next month with Super Nintendo! I'm launching it in Glasgow on Feb 12, then London, Brighton Edinburgh, St Andrews and Manchester. Tickets for everywhere are through this link: linktr.ee/super_nintendo
January 6, 2026 at 3:15 PM
I'm going on a BOOK TOUR next month with Super Nintendo! I'm launching it in Glasgow on Feb 12, then London, Brighton Edinburgh, St Andrews and Manchester. Tickets for everywhere are through this link: linktr.ee/super_nintendo
Goodbye David Rosen. I interviewed him ten years ago for my book on the Mega Drive and he was lovely. His influence on the arcade business is incalculable.
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
Sega co-founder David Rosen dies aged 95
Rosen, who led Sega from the 1960s into the 90s and who died on Christmas Day, was a hugely important figure in the history of arcade and home gaming
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Goodbye David Rosen. I interviewed him ten years ago for my book on the Mega Drive and he was lovely. His influence on the arcade business is incalculable.
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
Reposted by Keith Stuart
Fresco of January at Castello Buonconsiglio, Trento, Italy, (detail), c. 1405-1410.
January 1, 2026 at 10:13 AM
Fresco of January at Castello Buonconsiglio, Trento, Italy, (detail), c. 1405-1410.
Hi, I asked some lovely developers for their favourite Christmas gaming memories. Please have a read and add your own in the comments section. Also, if you celebrate this season or not, all the very best wishes to you from the Guardian games team xx
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
‘I plugged in Zelda and everything changed’: developers share their fondest Christmas gaming memories
From a family showdown on Guitar Hero III to the winter levels in Diddy Kong Racing, the designers of some of today’s top titles recall the gifts and moments that lit up their childhoods
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Hi, I asked some lovely developers for their favourite Christmas gaming memories. Please have a read and add your own in the comments section. Also, if you celebrate this season or not, all the very best wishes to you from the Guardian games team xx
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Keza and I wrote about Vince Zampella. I suspect I have spent more time in his games than anyone else’s - I’m sure I’m not alone
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
Call of Duty’s Vince Zampella was a video games visionary
Zampella created the template for multiplayer shooters that is still used today, and his cinematic and epic military, sci-fi and Star Wars games thrilled and moved millions
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Keza and I wrote about Vince Zampella. I suspect I have spent more time in his games than anyone else’s - I’m sure I’m not alone
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
For some reason today, I have remembered the fascinating iPhone game Blackbar, from 2013 about a censorious dystopian regime
mrgan.com/blackbar/pre...
mrgan.com/blackbar/pre...
December 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM
For some reason today, I have remembered the fascinating iPhone game Blackbar, from 2013 about a censorious dystopian regime
mrgan.com/blackbar/pre...
mrgan.com/blackbar/pre...
Reposted by Keith Stuart
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a whopping 55% off in the Steam Winter Sale!
Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas!
store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...
Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas!
store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...
December 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a whopping 55% off in the Steam Winter Sale!
Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas!
store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...
Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas!
store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...
Hello, here are the best games of 2025 as chosen by Keza and me! Please enjoy responsibly
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
The 20 best video games of 2025
A family classic reborn in a wide open world, a satirical adventure through teenage life and a mystery puzzler for the ages – our critics on the year’s best fun
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Hello, here are the best games of 2025 as chosen by Keza and me! Please enjoy responsibly
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Hiya, I recommended eight local multiplayer games to try with your family and friends this Christmas/winter!
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Karts, cakes and karaoke: the eight best party games to play with family this Christmas
Whether your household is in the mood for singing, driving, quizzing or shouting, here are our top choices for homely holiday fun
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Hiya, I recommended eight local multiplayer games to try with your family and friends this Christmas/winter!
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Hello! I am writing a little thing on Christmas (or wintery festive) gaming memories - e.g. getting particular consoles or games as presents or just memories of playing games. Do you have any that mean something to you? My DMs are open if you want to share?! Xx
December 18, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Hello! I am writing a little thing on Christmas (or wintery festive) gaming memories - e.g. getting particular consoles or games as presents or just memories of playing games. Do you have any that mean something to you? My DMs are open if you want to share?! Xx
Reposted by Keith Stuart
Delighted to see this piece up! Massive thank you to all the women who shared their experience with me for this 🖤
www.gamesindustry.biz/a-decade-on-...
www.gamesindustry.biz/a-decade-on-...
A decade on from Gamergate, how has the games industry changed for women?
Some of gaming's most influential women share their experiences, along with what still needs to be done
www.gamesindustry.biz
December 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Delighted to see this piece up! Massive thank you to all the women who shared their experience with me for this 🖤
www.gamesindustry.biz/a-decade-on-...
www.gamesindustry.biz/a-decade-on-...