David Shimomura
@unwinnabledavid.bsky.social
EIC of Unwinnable, views own.
PFP by @shaferbrown.com
PFP by @shaferbrown.com
The only good PS6 conspiracy is that Rockstar and Bethesda are paying them off so they don't have to port GTA and Skyrim
February 16, 2026 at 5:37 PM
The only good PS6 conspiracy is that Rockstar and Bethesda are paying them off so they don't have to port GTA and Skyrim
February 13, 2026 at 6:48 PM
I hear a lot about how the Olympics should be a celebration of sport and joyous. And I agree but I also think in celebratory and joyous spaces we need to make room for people in great pain. A community coming together must shoulder each other's burdens.
www.nbcnews.com/sports/olymp...
www.nbcnews.com/sports/olymp...
Ukrainian star disqualified from Winter Olympics over helmet honoring war dead
The International Olympic Committee told Vladyslav Heraskevych that his "helmet of remembrance" violated its rules prohibiting political statements.
www.nbcnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:54 PM
I hear a lot about how the Olympics should be a celebration of sport and joyous. And I agree but I also think in celebratory and joyous spaces we need to make room for people in great pain. A community coming together must shoulder each other's burdens.
www.nbcnews.com/sports/olymp...
www.nbcnews.com/sports/olymp...
Reposted by David Shimomura
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February 13, 2026 at 1:29 AM
I am confident at least 60% of our over 7000 stories would never have been told if Unwinnable didn't exist, and subscribers weren't there to keep it going.
Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Get 95 issues of Exploits free.
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Get 95 issues of Exploits free.
That was cool. Time to go back to Final Fantasy Tactics
February 12, 2026 at 11:16 PM
That was cool. Time to go back to Final Fantasy Tactics
Really glad they brought back TC Carson but there is a lot in the old God of War games that should be left in the past.
February 12, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Really glad they brought back TC Carson but there is a lot in the old God of War games that should be left in the past.
A lot of people "finding an alien device" these days and just touching it
February 12, 2026 at 11:03 PM
A lot of people "finding an alien device" these days and just touching it
I would be way more into Control 2 if it were a 3D Castlevania game.
February 12, 2026 at 10:46 PM
I would be way more into Control 2 if it were a 3D Castlevania game.
Dang, 2D Castlevania?
February 12, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Dang, 2D Castlevania?
If nothing else, people being reminded that Harry Gregson-Williams did some really cool work
February 12, 2026 at 10:39 PM
If nothing else, people being reminded that Harry Gregson-Williams did some really cool work
Still really not sure why Control: Ragnarok May Cry exists? Feels like none of that weirdness I liked about Control survived
February 12, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Still really not sure why Control: Ragnarok May Cry exists? Feels like none of that weirdness I liked about Control survived
Would not have thought there would be a Legacy of Kain announcement in 2026
February 12, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Would not have thought there would be a Legacy of Kain announcement in 2026
Too many games require me to have 3 friends
February 12, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Too many games require me to have 3 friends
No one is ignoring what LLMs are good at. They're questioning if they are actually meaningfully good at anything.
“You can’t ignore LLMs are good at code” sure but also Microsoft broke notepad this week.
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM
No one is ignoring what LLMs are good at. They're questioning if they are actually meaningfully good at anything.
Yeah I don't really think that there was a turn as much as fans really wanted Emilia Clarke to be their unproblematic fave despite evidence to the contrary.
#lrp ima invite everyone upset about dany's heel change to watch the show again. They were laying that groundwork as far back as mereen.
February 12, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Yeah I don't really think that there was a turn as much as fans really wanted Emilia Clarke to be their unproblematic fave despite evidence to the contrary.
I think we really need to talk about "cozy" in terms of labor a lot more. As a term, I think cozy rubs people the wrong way because it means too many things (a global problem in writing about games). And to Patrick's point, the scary thing is that for some that labor = dopamine.
I tend to look at games like this as busywork (derogatory), but my kids look at games like this as busywork (complimentary), because games about organizing and task completions scratch an itch in their brains that doesn’t exist in mine. For families, I see real promise in Pokémon Pokopia!
An hour playing Nintendo's cozy Pokémon game shows a loop that might work for younger kids, older kids—and their parents. www.crossplay.news/p/pokemon-po...
February 11, 2026 at 5:17 PM
I think we really need to talk about "cozy" in terms of labor a lot more. As a term, I think cozy rubs people the wrong way because it means too many things (a global problem in writing about games). And to Patrick's point, the scary thing is that for some that labor = dopamine.
It's so wild to me that Golden Sun is not one of the long running RPG franchises. Golden Sun, The Lost Age, and Mario Golf Advance Tour make up one of the best RPG trilogies of any era
February 11, 2026 at 4:51 PM
It's so wild to me that Golden Sun is not one of the long running RPG franchises. Golden Sun, The Lost Age, and Mario Golf Advance Tour make up one of the best RPG trilogies of any era
I've said it before, there are two types of gamers. Those who believe pixels can feel pain and those who believe they must be made to do so.
Every time I've seen an I, Robot or Detroit Become Human style sci-fi racism allegory, I always think "I would be kind to the robots :)"
But every single time I've used Chatgpt, I end up verbally abusing it like a mean step-dad. I literally tell it shit like "I wish you had feelings I could hurt"
But every single time I've used Chatgpt, I end up verbally abusing it like a mean step-dad. I literally tell it shit like "I wish you had feelings I could hurt"
February 11, 2026 at 3:27 PM
I've said it before, there are two types of gamers. Those who believe pixels can feel pain and those who believe they must be made to do so.
Reposted by David Shimomura
ICYMI: "It’s important to understand Carol as a person instead of a representative, not only for a better understanding of how fiction works, but for a better understanding of how people work."
@nochshorn.bsky.social pushes against an allegorical reading of Pluribus:
@nochshorn.bsky.social pushes against an allegorical reading of Pluribus:
Pluribus - Unwinnable
Allegory works better at a more remote, mythic level where the specifics of character matter less than their function in the story.
unwinnable.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:01 PM
ICYMI: "It’s important to understand Carol as a person instead of a representative, not only for a better understanding of how fiction works, but for a better understanding of how people work."
@nochshorn.bsky.social pushes against an allegorical reading of Pluribus:
@nochshorn.bsky.social pushes against an allegorical reading of Pluribus:
Why can't he do his job remote?
Starbucks has scrapped a $250,000 limit on its CEO's use of the company jet for personal travel.
CEO Brian Niccol uses the jet to commute from his house California to corporate HQ in Seattle.
The company is lifting the cap while refusing thousands of baristas a union contract.
CEO Brian Niccol uses the jet to commute from his house California to corporate HQ in Seattle.
The company is lifting the cap while refusing thousands of baristas a union contract.
February 10, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Why can't he do his job remote?
Shafer did my profile picture which I love. I think about it every time I wear that shirt. Which is often because I have two!
got some vet bills and car stuff to handle this month while my partner whittles away at all the paper from insurance companies & hospitals from a broken leg.
any support from commissioning me, backing me on patreon, or simply sharing my work with someone in your life is appreciated.
any support from commissioning me, backing me on patreon, or simply sharing my work with someone in your life is appreciated.
hello #portfolioday
Im a queer illustrator from the mountains of north carolina drawing flat fantasy. I've done work for mtg, videogames, beer labels, podcast art and socks, but my favorite work tends to be personal commissions.
portfolio: shaferbrown.com
contact: shaferbrownillus@gmail.com
Im a queer illustrator from the mountains of north carolina drawing flat fantasy. I've done work for mtg, videogames, beer labels, podcast art and socks, but my favorite work tends to be personal commissions.
portfolio: shaferbrown.com
contact: shaferbrownillus@gmail.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:36 AM
Shafer did my profile picture which I love. I think about it every time I wear that shirt. Which is often because I have two!
Democrats could easily take the House and the Senate if they had the spine to do it.
Instead, they will march towards the primaries disregarding how overwhelmingly popular banning ICE is in order to placate a donor and consultant class.
Then they'll blame you for not voting hard enough.
Instead, they will march towards the primaries disregarding how overwhelmingly popular banning ICE is in order to placate a donor and consultant class.
Then they'll blame you for not voting hard enough.
After a string of ICE murders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries proposed reforms — and $11 billion more for ICE.
Including reconciliation bill funding, the Schumer-Jeffries plan would give ICE a $30 billion budget, higher than all but 15 militaries worldwide:
www.stephensemler.com/p/democratic...
Including reconciliation bill funding, the Schumer-Jeffries plan would give ICE a $30 billion budget, higher than all but 15 militaries worldwide:
www.stephensemler.com/p/democratic...
February 9, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Democrats could easily take the House and the Senate if they had the spine to do it.
Instead, they will march towards the primaries disregarding how overwhelmingly popular banning ICE is in order to placate a donor and consultant class.
Then they'll blame you for not voting hard enough.
Instead, they will march towards the primaries disregarding how overwhelmingly popular banning ICE is in order to placate a donor and consultant class.
Then they'll blame you for not voting hard enough.
This is a sweet deal and even if it wasn't, being a subscriber helps keep one of the longest running independent games and culture publications thriving into the future
My mission this year is to get a new subscriber to Unwinnable every day. For 5 bucks, you get two monthly magazines, a back issue archive of 95 issues of Exploits and the satisfaction of supporting freeform cultural criticism free of the usual online publishing nonsense: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
February 9, 2026 at 11:10 PM
This is a sweet deal and even if it wasn't, being a subscriber helps keep one of the longest running independent games and culture publications thriving into the future
Tom Brady could have dug this one out and it's really funny he's 50 years old now and thinking he could suit up and dig this one out
February 9, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Tom Brady could have dug this one out and it's really funny he's 50 years old now and thinking he could suit up and dig this one out
I hope that was a real wedding
February 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM
I hope that was a real wedding