Steven Santana
@number8axel.bsky.social
“Hey man I noticed you picked yoshi. Do you mind letting me have him or else.” -@pjayevans
https://breakingarrows.substack.com/
https://breakingarrows.substack.com/
Good morning! This week's episode @benverschoor.bsky.social and I talk at length about Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. We get into what it chooses to change from the novel and what its effects are, the many striking images, and the dumb wolves. miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-18-g...
Mise en Screen: Episode 18: Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
Frankenstein is the 992nd adaptation featuring the monster from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. It is probably the 6th that hews closer to the source novel than the 1931 Universal film adaptation. This 2025 adaptation is directed, produced, and based on a screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, best known for The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Pinocchio (no not the soulless one released the same year from Zemeckis and Disney). In this film we follow Oscar Isaac as Baron Victor Frankenstein who creates life in the form of The Creature, played by Jacob Elordi. Felix Kammerer is William Frankenstein, Victor’s younger brother, and Ti West muse Mia Goth plays Lady Elizabeth Harlander, William’s fiance. Christoph Waltz supports as Henrich Harlander, Elizabeth’s uncle. We also have Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson, David Bradley as the blind man, Charles Dance as Victor’s father, Ralph Ineson as Professor Krempe, and Burn Gorman as the executioner. Time Stamps: (01:11) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1973) (17:19) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh, 1994) (32:27) Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro, 2025) (1:15:59) Spoilers (1:49:55) Next Time: Die My Love (Lynne Ramsay, 2025) Works Cited: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Charles Barton, 1948) Bloodborne (FromSoftware, 2015) Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992) Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro, 2015) (Lauren Wilford, 2017) Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro, 2025) Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (Mary Shelley, 1818) The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2012-2014) Lisa Frankenstein (Zelda Williams, 2024) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh, 1994) Peter Pan Live! (NBC, 2014) Pinocchio (Guillermo del Toro, 2025) Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023) “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” (Adam Shankman, 2010) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1973) The Sound of Music Live! (NBC, 2013) (1975) Not I (Samuel Beckett, 1972) Email us at Miseenscreenpodcast@gmail.com! Find us elsewhere! Ben Verschoor @benverschoor.bsky.social Steven Santana @number8axel.bsky.social Opening music is Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel Closing music is G-Spot Tornado by Frank Zappa Subscribe, rate and review us! Apple Podcasts: Spotify Podcasts: Player.fm: Podcast Addict:
miseenscreen.libsyn.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Good morning! This week's episode @benverschoor.bsky.social and I talk at length about Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. We get into what it chooses to change from the novel and what its effects are, the many striking images, and the dumb wolves. miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-18-g...
2025 to play list:
Blue Prince
Despelote
Consume Me
Keep Driving
Expelled!
The Roottrees Are Dead
Seance at Blake Manor
Skin Deep
Possessor(s)
Mafia: The Old Country
Anything I'm missing?
Blue Prince
Despelote
Consume Me
Keep Driving
Expelled!
The Roottrees Are Dead
Seance at Blake Manor
Skin Deep
Possessor(s)
Mafia: The Old Country
Anything I'm missing?
November 12, 2025 at 6:14 PM
2025 to play list:
Blue Prince
Despelote
Consume Me
Keep Driving
Expelled!
The Roottrees Are Dead
Seance at Blake Manor
Skin Deep
Possessor(s)
Mafia: The Old Country
Anything I'm missing?
Blue Prince
Despelote
Consume Me
Keep Driving
Expelled!
The Roottrees Are Dead
Seance at Blake Manor
Skin Deep
Possessor(s)
Mafia: The Old Country
Anything I'm missing?
Reposted by Steven Santana
Had a really fun interview with Dread Central a few months back that is finally out. Check it out! 🐀
www.dreadcentral.com/news/548442/...
www.dreadcentral.com/news/548442/...
YouTuber 'Grim Beard' Leads the Goth Gamer Nation [New Blood Drops]
YouTuber 'Grim Beard' Leads the Goth Gamer Nation [New Blood Drops]
www.dreadcentral.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Had a really fun interview with Dread Central a few months back that is finally out. Check it out! 🐀
www.dreadcentral.com/news/548442/...
www.dreadcentral.com/news/548442/...
Reposted by Steven Santana
Oh, hey! I'm *writing* again!
Let's talk about a man named named Ramza Beoulve. Let's talk about the "ease at which men are branded heretics..."
Let's talk about revolution.
www.eurogamer.net/the-revoluti...
Let's talk about a man named named Ramza Beoulve. Let's talk about the "ease at which men are branded heretics..."
Let's talk about revolution.
www.eurogamer.net/the-revoluti...
The revolutionary politics of Final Fantasy Tactics, and why Ramza Beoulve is a hero for our times
Final Fantasy Tactics' original writer-director Yasumi Matsuno signalled the timeliness of this remake for a reason: its hero offers a model of resistance.
www.eurogamer.net
October 3, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Oh, hey! I'm *writing* again!
Let's talk about a man named named Ramza Beoulve. Let's talk about the "ease at which men are branded heretics..."
Let's talk about revolution.
www.eurogamer.net/the-revoluti...
Let's talk about a man named named Ramza Beoulve. Let's talk about the "ease at which men are branded heretics..."
Let's talk about revolution.
www.eurogamer.net/the-revoluti...
Reposted by Steven Santana
"We found out later that Keighley had a party in another room with all the influencers and industry people. You know where Future Class met that day? At a Starbucks.”
‘We were effectively props’: young stars of game development feel let down by the ‘gaming Oscars’
Announced in 2020 by the Game Awards as an inclusive programme for the industry’s next generation, the Future Class initiative has now been discontinued. Inductees describe clashes with organisers and...
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:28 PM
"We found out later that Keighley had a party in another room with all the influencers and industry people. You know where Future Class met that day? At a Starbucks.”
Dialogue choices
how it feels to miss all the narrative design discourse this weekend
November 11, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Dialogue choices
Reposted by Steven Santana
i wrote about silent hill f which is moving & intense, but ultimately set on dispelling “the fog” of its strong points…
New on the site, @strida.bsky.social writes about Silent Hill f. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/11/10/m...
November 10, 2025 at 6:01 PM
i wrote about silent hill f which is moving & intense, but ultimately set on dispelling “the fog” of its strong points…
Reposted by Steven Santana
Hello. This is probably the best episode of The Safe Room podcast. Give it a listen and tell your pals. Thank you
Episode 39: Silent Hill f www.abnormalmapping.com/the-safe-roo...
Episode 39: Silent Hill f — Abnormal Mapping
Rose and Grace discuss the first (good) Silent Hill game since SH4! We talk over its deeply felt depiction of growing up, its introduction of real ensemble dynamics to the franchise, and its exhaustin...
www.abnormalmapping.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Hello. This is probably the best episode of The Safe Room podcast. Give it a listen and tell your pals. Thank you
"How can we build up and out if everyone is laying their blocks separately from each other? How can we hope to learn anything if we refuse to look for what has already been said? Illiterate writers removing and replacing the same base brickwork year after year."
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
A Reading Manifesto
or a theory on how to break through circuitous discourse
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
"How can we build up and out if everyone is laying their blocks separately from each other? How can we hope to learn anything if we refuse to look for what has already been said? Illiterate writers removing and replacing the same base brickwork year after year."
Reposted by Steven Santana
We've added 100 new CDs to our collection of press CDs from GamePro magazine, with thousands of pieces of game art, screenshots, and more
So, what's the GamePro press CD collection? We put together an explainer
So, what's the GamePro press CD collection? We put together an explainer
The art of GamePro | VGHF Library Highlights
YouTube video by The Video Game History Foundation
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
We've added 100 new CDs to our collection of press CDs from GamePro magazine, with thousands of pieces of game art, screenshots, and more
So, what's the GamePro press CD collection? We put together an explainer
So, what's the GamePro press CD collection? We put together an explainer
Reposted by Steven Santana
New on the site, @strida.bsky.social writes about Silent Hill f. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/11/10/m...
November 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
New on the site, @strida.bsky.social writes about Silent Hill f. bulletpointsmonthly.com/2025/11/10/m...
It's so funny the man who reviewed pop culture in front of a Ready Player One banner image has now directed four good sci fi films (I have not yet seen the predator anthology). Never give up hope!
November 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
It's so funny the man who reviewed pop culture in front of a Ready Player One banner image has now directed four good sci fi films (I have not yet seen the predator anthology). Never give up hope!
Reposted by Steven Santana
For months I've been thinking about what precise anxieties and insecurities hide in questions like "how can I write at a time like this?" and tried to untangle them by parsing separate (though interrelated) acts: making, sharing, and selling meantforyou.beehiiv.com/p/deconstruc...
Deconstructing Creative Angst
Making • Sharing • Selling • Freedom
meantforyou.beehiiv.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:08 PM
For months I've been thinking about what precise anxieties and insecurities hide in questions like "how can I write at a time like this?" and tried to untangle them by parsing separate (though interrelated) acts: making, sharing, and selling meantforyou.beehiiv.com/p/deconstruc...
Reposted by Steven Santana
I am quoted in this, but that is not the reason I'm sharing
Steven is great at eloquently explaining the core issues of games criticism and, rather than muddle in the dark, he is pushing for us to move forward, to be better writers and critics. And it all starts with reading other ppl's works.
Steven is great at eloquently explaining the core issues of games criticism and, rather than muddle in the dark, he is pushing for us to move forward, to be better writers and critics. And it all starts with reading other ppl's works.
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
A Reading Manifesto
or a theory on how to break through circuitous discourse
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I am quoted in this, but that is not the reason I'm sharing
Steven is great at eloquently explaining the core issues of games criticism and, rather than muddle in the dark, he is pushing for us to move forward, to be better writers and critics. And it all starts with reading other ppl's works.
Steven is great at eloquently explaining the core issues of games criticism and, rather than muddle in the dark, he is pushing for us to move forward, to be better writers and critics. And it all starts with reading other ppl's works.
Reposted by Steven Santana
also read steven. doing the work analyzing what is happening to games crit with a method that is not vibes, discourse, or clique based. this one seems relevant today: breakingarrows.substack.com/p/who-is-wri...
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
also read steven. doing the work analyzing what is happening to games crit with a method that is not vibes, discourse, or clique based. this one seems relevant today: breakingarrows.substack.com/p/who-is-wri...
I encourage everyone to poke around the document I've been working on attempting to compile and sort a body of links on worthwhile game writing. I'll likely create a thread of some of the most interesting ones I have found, and feel free to share additions to be made!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
November 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I encourage everyone to poke around the document I've been working on attempting to compile and sort a body of links on worthwhile game writing. I'll likely create a thread of some of the most interesting ones I have found, and feel free to share additions to be made!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Steven Santana
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
A Reading Manifesto
or a theory on how to break through circuitous discourse
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:11 PM
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
Reposted by Steven Santana
my latest is out for skybox!!! 💜
the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it
please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜
the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it
please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜
Hamazaki Has To Goh - where does Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio draw the line on casting, and why is it not at sexual assault? by @ashlikeadragon.bsky.social
"it’s particularly insulting and disgusting for him to be cast in a series that has historically featured sex pests being (rightly) beat up"
Read on:
"it’s particularly insulting and disgusting for him to be cast in a series that has historically featured sex pests being (rightly) beat up"
Read on:
Hamazaki Has To Goh - where does Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio draw the line on casting, and why is it not at sexual assault?
A look at the bizarre decision to cast Teruyuki Kagawa's in Yakuza Kiwami 3, through a lens of previous re-casting decisions from RGG Studio.
skyboxcritics.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
my latest is out for skybox!!! 💜
the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it
please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜
the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it
please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜
Reposted by Steven Santana
For our first November article, @lucafisher.bsky.social wrote a personal essay about @sunsetvisitor.studio's 1000xResist, his mother, cycles of abuse and domestic violence, and letting go of emotional baggage.
Mother Loves You
Or, the last article I will ever write about my mother.
www.stopcar.ing
November 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
For our first November article, @lucafisher.bsky.social wrote a personal essay about @sunsetvisitor.studio's 1000xResist, his mother, cycles of abuse and domestic violence, and letting go of emotional baggage.
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
A Reading Manifesto
or a theory on how to break through circuitous discourse
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:11 PM
A write up on why reading other critics is worthwhile in all instances, with extensive quoting from others works I have read, and publicly sharing the very large games writing resource document I've been slowly accumulating links for these past months (years)
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
open.substack.com/pub/breaking...
Reposted by Steven Santana
Janus just dropped a proper trailer for Resurrection, the best thing I saw at the festival and, arguably, this century. I can't wait for others to see it and argue I'm being hyperbolic!
November 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Janus just dropped a proper trailer for Resurrection, the best thing I saw at the festival and, arguably, this century. I can't wait for others to see it and argue I'm being hyperbolic!
Reposted by Steven Santana
Repromoting the first in my close readings of Dishonored, focusing on the lack of imagination in specific sections of this fictional alternative history.
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
Dishonored Step by Step Part 1: Dunwall Tower
The Limits of Imagination
breakingarrows.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Repromoting the first in my close readings of Dishonored, focusing on the lack of imagination in specific sections of this fictional alternative history.
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
Reposted by Steven Santana
This week's episode is Bugonia! But first we talk about my alien invasion pick and @benverschoor.bsky.social's kindred film to the main feature before the usual non-spoiler and spoiler sectioned conversation on Bugonia.
miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-17-b...
miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-17-b...
Mise en Screen: Episode 17: Bugonia
Bugonia is a 2025 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. This is an English remake of a 2003 South Korean film called Save the Green Planet! which was directed by Jang Joon-hwan. In Bugonia Jesse Plemons ...
miseenscreen.libsyn.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This week's episode is Bugonia! But first we talk about my alien invasion pick and @benverschoor.bsky.social's kindred film to the main feature before the usual non-spoiler and spoiler sectioned conversation on Bugonia.
miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-17-b...
miseenscreen.libsyn.com/episode-17-b...
Reposted by Steven Santana
EXCLUSIVE on @gamedeveloper.bsky.social: not only has The Game Awards not nominated a Future Class for 2025, it's told alumni it "does not have any active programming plans" for the award.
The Future Class page was taken down sometime this year—eliminating a definitive archive of honorees.
The Future Class page was taken down sometime this year—eliminating a definitive archive of honorees.
The Game Awards' Future Class program remains on ice
Future Class organizer Emily Weir has informed past honorees that The Game Awards has no active plans for the program.
www.gamedeveloper.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:33 PM
EXCLUSIVE on @gamedeveloper.bsky.social: not only has The Game Awards not nominated a Future Class for 2025, it's told alumni it "does not have any active programming plans" for the award.
The Future Class page was taken down sometime this year—eliminating a definitive archive of honorees.
The Future Class page was taken down sometime this year—eliminating a definitive archive of honorees.
Repromoting the first in my close readings of Dishonored, focusing on the lack of imagination in specific sections of this fictional alternative history.
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
Dishonored Step by Step Part 1: Dunwall Tower
The Limits of Imagination
breakingarrows.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Repromoting the first in my close readings of Dishonored, focusing on the lack of imagination in specific sections of this fictional alternative history.
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...
breakingarrows.substack.com/p/dishonored...