Michael Leri
@orangeflavored.bsky.social
Current freelancer. Former editor/writer at ComingSoon, GameRevolution, & PS LifeStyle + words at Game Informer, Lost in Cult, ComicBook, GamesRadar+, & more. Wacky third descriptor.
https://cargocollective.com/michaelleri/
https://cargocollective.com/michaelleri/
Pinned
Michael Leri
@orangeflavored.bsky.social
· Jun 13
🚨 Checkout your baskets: KILL THE PAST Deluxe Edition pre-orders close in 5 MINUTES
Last chance for:
🎁 Embossed black box
🖼️ Prints w/ art from GhM titles
🃏 Set of limited ed. baseball-style cards
📛 Pins & stickers
📚 4x exclusive essay books
https://buff.ly/46ZG1IX
Last chance for:
🎁 Embossed black box
🖼️ Prints w/ art from GhM titles
🃏 Set of limited ed. baseball-style cards
📛 Pins & stickers
📚 4x exclusive essay books
https://buff.ly/46ZG1IX
I'm proud to say I wrote the Shadows of the Damned essay book for this, and I'm happy with how it turned out!
People sometimes look down on DMD like it's a stain on GhM's legacy because of EA, and while there's some merit to that, I tried to explain why that's reductive and not entirely fair.
People sometimes look down on DMD like it's a stain on GhM's legacy because of EA, and while there's some merit to that, I tried to explain why that's reductive and not entirely fair.
the AI shit in BO7 sucks, and it being this blatant helps paint a more accurate and honest picture of what these crocodiles truly want to do
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's AI Art Is an Embarrassment
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 heavily uses AI-generated artwork that, despite Activision's words, doesn't "empower" anybody.
comicbook.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:38 PM
the AI shit in BO7 sucks, and it being this blatant helps paint a more accurate and honest picture of what these crocodiles truly want to do
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
The many colors of Yotei:
November 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The many colors of Yotei:
I had pretty annoying eye strain-related headaches last week, and I'm pretty sure it's from playing a ton of Lumines Arise.
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
Lumines Arise Is an Electronic Symphony of Catchy Tunes and Timeless Block-Dropping Puzzles (Review)
Lumines Arise is a beautiful audiovisual feast and puts the series back on top of the block-dropping puzzle genre.
comicbook.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I had pretty annoying eye strain-related headaches last week, and I'm pretty sure it's from playing a ton of Lumines Arise.
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
ok fingers crossed another war criminal dies and we elect one more socialist mayor today
November 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
ok fingers crossed another war criminal dies and we elect one more socialist mayor today
Reposted by Michael Leri
He should have died in The Hague.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died, his family said in a statement. He was 84 abcnews.go.com/Politics/for...
November 4, 2025 at 12:13 PM
He should have died in The Hague.
Reposted by Michael Leri
I feel like most of young journalists entering the industry are not super familiar with a lot of the history of video games, games media pre-2010 (and just like the industry outside of America in general), and it's really doing a disservice to readers because of the lack of context given.
October 31, 2025 at 11:30 PM
I feel like most of young journalists entering the industry are not super familiar with a lot of the history of video games, games media pre-2010 (and just like the industry outside of America in general), and it's really doing a disservice to readers because of the lack of context given.
Many of these stories have been told before, but having them all in one playable package gives this bundle such a huge edge. That said, it's frustrating how it tiptoes around the bad MK games! I want to hear candid interviews about the trashy ones!
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection Gives the Series the Respect It Deserves (Review)
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is more than a bundle of classics, as the included documents and interviews yield some much-needed context.
comicbook.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Many of these stories have been told before, but having them all in one playable package gives this bundle such a huge edge. That said, it's frustrating how it tiptoes around the bad MK games! I want to hear candid interviews about the trashy ones!
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
comicbook.com/gaming/revie...
Reposted by Michael Leri
I think a lot about the chance we had at the start of COVID to finally become a more compassionate, collectivist nation, and how profoundly we were failed not only by the sociopathic greed of the ruling class but by each other.
It doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but the lost opportunity haunts me.
It doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but the lost opportunity haunts me.
Remember how just a few years ago during the worst of the pandemic when we saw how the govt can actually do big things and saw that our collective health & well-being are intertwined, and then corporations got mad that they lost a modicum of power and helped fund a backlash of amnesia and fascism?
October 30, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I think a lot about the chance we had at the start of COVID to finally become a more compassionate, collectivist nation, and how profoundly we were failed not only by the sociopathic greed of the ruling class but by each other.
It doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but the lost opportunity haunts me.
It doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but the lost opportunity haunts me.
it's hard not to cringe a little when some devs speak about trying so hard to please players, people who would, if asked, probably demand to be served familiar gruel, so this is refreshing to see
![Another thing is that there’s a huge amount of focus on the gamers. I mean, every press conference you see, it’s like, “Oh, we listen to you gamers. Oh, we do this for you.” It’s like, Come on, trust in your own visions. And sometimes the gamers don’t know what they want. You know what I mean? It’s like, Focus on yourself. What do you want? […] Have the knowledge that you’re making the game for a gamer, but don’t be dependent on it. I mean, I respect and I have acknowledged that someone would play the game, but I’m not dependent on it. I’m not like, OK, well, how will I make this player like my game? I have to trust my game, and he’s going to be surprised that, Oh, my god, I really like this game. You know what I mean?](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:svw5cgxrgyiteugqtbiie7bh/bafkreifz7lvc763mi7cyiidkmjs3mxzyxczbkf5xup2dwxglztnyjgbvfu@jpeg)
October 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
it's hard not to cringe a little when some devs speak about trying so hard to please players, people who would, if asked, probably demand to be served familiar gruel, so this is refreshing to see
shoutout to Ninja Gaiden being good again
October 21, 2025 at 12:46 AM
shoutout to Ninja Gaiden being good again
Reposted by Michael Leri
This is what they have now. There are no ideas, only "oh you don't like that? Then I'll do it more." That's the sum total of the right's brain trust now
It is a scandal totally unprecedented in history that the Vice President has shared a video depicting the President as king. It’s an obscene violation of every founding American principle.
And nothing will come of it. It makes me physically sick.
And nothing will come of it. It makes me physically sick.
October 19, 2025 at 12:50 AM
This is what they have now. There are no ideas, only "oh you don't like that? Then I'll do it more." That's the sum total of the right's brain trust now
I beat Silent Hill f a few weeks ago, got the other four endings last weekend, and still keep thinking about it. What an experience. It'll suck ass if the series isn't this bold or interesting going forward.
October 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I beat Silent Hill f a few weeks ago, got the other four endings last weekend, and still keep thinking about it. What an experience. It'll suck ass if the series isn't this bold or interesting going forward.
Reposted by Michael Leri
very annoying that we had to endure about a month of these people going “calling us nazis hurts our feelings” to then immediately be revealed saying nazi shit and going “yup, we want gas chambers. so what libs”
October 15, 2025 at 3:45 PM
very annoying that we had to endure about a month of these people going “calling us nazis hurts our feelings” to then immediately be revealed saying nazi shit and going “yup, we want gas chambers. so what libs”
In honor of Dead Space's 17th anniversary, I wrote about how other teams have tried and failed to fill that niche, as well as how the means to make a new action horror game like that have seemingly all but dried up
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
Dead Space Was Killed (Twice) and No One Has Been Able to Pick up the Torch
Dead Space was sadly killed two separate times, but no other game has able to claim its crown and fill the hole it has left in the genre.
comicbook.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
In honor of Dead Space's 17th anniversary, I wrote about how other teams have tried and failed to fill that niche, as well as how the means to make a new action horror game like that have seemingly all but dried up
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
comicbook.com/gaming/featu...
Reposted by Michael Leri
Listen to the response to this and look how easy it is to say it.
We have armed secret police kidnapping people off the street based on the color of their skin.
When we win: we will haul them before a Senate committee. The masks will come off. There will be consequences.
When we win: we will haul them before a Senate committee. The masks will come off. There will be consequences.
October 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Listen to the response to this and look how easy it is to say it.
why repeatedly freeze Verdugo when you can just wiggle knife him to death
October 7, 2025 at 3:43 PM
why repeatedly freeze Verdugo when you can just wiggle knife him to death
Reposted by Michael Leri
I don't know if these calls are effective, but I may as well put it out there. If any editors need help covering the fall onslaught, I'm open for work doing reviews/guides/whatever. I have 9 years of experience editing & doing all types of games coverage. My portfolio is in my bio & my DMs are open!
September 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I don't know if these calls are effective, but I may as well put it out there. If any editors need help covering the fall onslaught, I'm open for work doing reviews/guides/whatever. I have 9 years of experience editing & doing all types of games coverage. My portfolio is in my bio & my DMs are open!
now that is some beautiful high-poly horseshit
October 2, 2025 at 6:52 PM
now that is some beautiful high-poly horseshit
I don't know if these calls are effective, but I may as well put it out there. If any editors need help covering the fall onslaught, I'm open for work doing reviews/guides/whatever. I have 9 years of experience editing & doing all types of games coverage. My portfolio is in my bio & my DMs are open!
September 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I don't know if these calls are effective, but I may as well put it out there. If any editors need help covering the fall onslaught, I'm open for work doing reviews/guides/whatever. I have 9 years of experience editing & doing all types of games coverage. My portfolio is in my bio & my DMs are open!
This is a pretty good discussion about game reviews and touches on why some are so underwhelming to read.
Now if only we could stop doing the plot summary in the second paragraph and spending too much time just explaining what the game is with no critical analysis...
Now if only we could stop doing the plot summary in the second paragraph and spending too much time just explaining what the game is with no critical analysis...
this one is for fans of the franchise:
youtu.be/WwEMO1SKFZQ?...
youtu.be/WwEMO1SKFZQ?...
Every Video Game Review in 2025 Has This Problem
YouTube video by Critical Error
youtu.be
September 26, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This is a pretty good discussion about game reviews and touches on why some are so underwhelming to read.
Now if only we could stop doing the plot summary in the second paragraph and spending too much time just explaining what the game is with no critical analysis...
Now if only we could stop doing the plot summary in the second paragraph and spending too much time just explaining what the game is with no critical analysis...
Reposted by Michael Leri
This is political violence. It's only accepted because the state claims the monopoly on violence.
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
September 25, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This is political violence. It's only accepted because the state claims the monopoly on violence.
important announcement, please listen
September 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
important announcement, please listen
Reposted by Michael Leri
So they cling to civility as a shield to cover the monstrous barbarities the system they defend does. Civility becomes calmly discussing millions of people dying as a result of cuts to USAID and ignoring the mass death and violence of that act. Civility is often a mask for vicious barbarity.
September 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
So they cling to civility as a shield to cover the monstrous barbarities the system they defend does. Civility becomes calmly discussing millions of people dying as a result of cuts to USAID and ignoring the mass death and violence of that act. Civility is often a mask for vicious barbarity.