Phil Bothun
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phil.70percentcomplete.com
Phil Bothun
@phil.70percentcomplete.com
Co-creator of 70% Complete, a games blog. Cohost of the 70% Complete Podcast, a weekly show covering lore, reviews, and other neat stuff. Essays on Youtube.

Email me: hey@70percentcomplete.com

www.70percentcomplete.com
www.youtube.com/@70percentcomplete
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Hi! I’m Phil, I co-run 70% Complete, a video games website, co-host the 70% Complete Podcast, and make Youtube essays.

If you like deep dives into the books of Avowed, the silly lore of OSRS, and blogs about narrative gambling in Blue Prince, check us out!

Find links at: www.70percentcomplete.com
70% Complete
www.70percentcomplete.com
I have reached end of day 2 in Seance of Blake Manor and good on them for not throwing in a “the game is afoot” but also shame on them for not doing it
January 7, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Video game publishers will do literally anything than add difficulty options
A patent filed by Sony over a year ago has resurfaced, and shows the company has ideas for an AI 'ghost' that could assist players if they get stuck in a game. https://bit.ly/49adovq
January 6, 2026 at 8:50 PM
👀
Just got off the phone to the lawyer. It's all official. A cup of coffee, and then -- details. As many as we're allowed to give.
inkle.co inkle @inkle.co · Nov 20
Today is the day to tell a strange story.

The long version we'll tell later, but the short version is this. In an attic, in his late great-uncle's house, @jon.inkle.co found a locked trunk. It took twenty years to open. Last summer he did.

Inside was a wiring diagram, and a stack of books.
January 6, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Yesssss
January 5, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Been thinking about Dishonored lately and how letting you play as a “villain” in Death of the Outsider is a master stroke

So much of D1 and D2 is a moral quandary about making the world better with clever vengeance, but DotO lets you go full assassin because of the narrative. Genius design
January 5, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Finally having the time to sit down and play Seance of Blake Manor and man I knew I was saving the best for last, but what an absolute treat of a video game
January 4, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Crustaceans mounted with black powder cannons that you pilot around a desert?!

Sign me up.

store.steampowered.com/app/1833200/...
DuneCrawl on Steam
DuneCrawl is an open world action-adventure game, where you take to the sandy seas atop a gigantic crustacean festooned with black powder cannons. Play as a solo Crab Keeper, or with a crew of up to t...
store.steampowered.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:26 PM
This is it! My top 10 games of 2025. A list that is filled with games that brought me joy, empathy, and hope in a Very Good Year for 70% Complete. Celebrate the wins and some truly amazing video games with me!

www.70percentcomplete.com/my-favorite-...
My favorite games of 2025
Ten games. No order, and the only rule is it’s my website, I make the rules.
www.70percentcomplete.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Phil Bothun
Thank you all for your patience! Without further ado, it's This Year In Videogame Blogging 2025, complete with a bonus This Week In Videogame Blogging, December 28, 2025!

critical-distance.com/2026/01/01/t...
critical-distance.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:28 PM
The penultimate GOTY post: my favorite moments of 2025’s games. Long after I rolled credits, these moments have lingered.

www.70percentcomplete.com/my-favorit-m...
My favorite moments of 2025
Sad, scared, or existential, these are the moments I’ve been thinking about all year.
www.70percentcomplete.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:12 PM
I cannot wait to loop back and read one specific piece of this post when I finish up Seance, but otherwise totally agree on so many of these!
This is one of my biggest projects each year.

My top 20 moments of 2025. 14 games. Over 5100 words.

No one (as far as I know) goes harder on a favorite moments list than me!

I avoided spoilers in any pictures or titles so it's easy to scroll through.

bignerdgaming.com/2026/01/01/b...
BigNerdGaming’s Top 20 Moments of 2025
This is probably my second favorite post I do every year. As great as it is talking about the characteristics of different video games, there’s something extra special about diving deep and e…
bignerdgaming.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:14 PM
The 70% Complete holiday break ends NOW with three days of end of the year posts! First up: my favorite soundtracks of 2025!

www.70percentcomplete.com/my-favorite-...
My favorite music of 2025
I’ve got these playing on repeat and you probably will too.
www.70percentcomplete.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:20 AM
A relevant blog post for this Christmas Day? Say it ain’t so!

www.70percentcomplete.com/so-you-didnt...
So you didn’t get a Nintendo Switch 2
Blue shell Mario Kart World, play Metroid Fusion instead
www.70percentcomplete.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Hey if this is you:

“Undoutedly a mighty price tag, and one that only enthusiasts of ModRetro and Andruil would acquire.”

You might as well block me now and then when you’re done with that go walk into the ocean
December 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Phil Bothun
AJ is one of the most talented creative people I know and have the pleasure of working with daily.

If you make audio of any kind, you should hire them to do the hard part for you. You won't regret it.
December 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer the closest we as a society have gotten to the oral tradition since like 7AD?
December 19, 2025 at 12:50 PM
If you’re looking for a narrative game to add to your GOTY list, you need to check out Duskpunk. About 10 hours of revolutionary hope and solidarity
December 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Breaking: CEO provides unneeded aid to another CEO over usage of ocean boiling plagiarism machine!

Internet dummies claim public is overreacting!

In probably unrelated news, energy costs are soaring, the economy teeters on a fake boom, and jobs slow!

www.pcgamesn.com/kingdom-come...
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 director defends Larian over AI "s***storm," says "it's time to face reality"
Bemoaning the long production times for Kingdom Come Deliverance and KCD2, Daniel Vavra labels recent Larian outrage as "AI hysteria."
www.pcgamesn.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
You will literally never guess my #1! Spoilers: it’s been hinted at in months of episodes, lurking in plain sight ;)
December 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
I truly believe the struggle is worth it when making something creative BECAUSE of all of this. The “inefficiency” of art isn’t always profitable, but it’s enriching (which is so much more important)
Been thinking on the use of GenAi for mood boards. Ethics and legal risks aside, I truly believe using GenAi as references deprives one of many pivotal things.

Here’s a blurb on what I mean:
December 17, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Need some new cozy farming games to add to your wishlist? (Of course you do)

I’ve got you covered!

www.70percentcomplete.com/add-these-3-...
Add these 3 gardening games to your wishlist
Check out these three unique cozy farming and gardening games!
www.70percentcomplete.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
You’re probably seeing that little yellow and teal cube all over your timeline today, so if you want to know what’s so interesting about it, check out this article!
December 17, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Phil Bothun
US video game hardware total units sold and average price paid, Nov 1995 through Nov 2025.
December 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This is fine, right? The sign of a growing market?
The average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware in the US during November 2019 was $235. In November 2025 it was $439.

3.9 million units of video game hardware sold in the US in November 2019. In November 2025 it was 1.6 million.

Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service
December 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Phil Bothun
not to be glib but a lot of discussions about AI will be solved very quick if you just become communist
December 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM