Ruth Cassidy
@velcrocyborg.bsky.social
games critic and journalist · excessive use of Emphatic Title Case · bylines including Unwinnable, Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more · they/them · linktr.ee/ruthvcassidy
Aaand Exark, which really got me first with arranging things nicely on a grid, and second with the soundtrack in the trailer
store.steampowered.com/app/3435610/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3435610/...
Exark on Steam
Exark is an engine builder about building a city aboard a gigantic ark-ship. Construct buildings, staff them with crew members, and maximise your ark's resource production by exploiting powerful syner...
store.steampowered.com
September 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Aaand Exark, which really got me first with arranging things nicely on a grid, and second with the soundtrack in the trailer
store.steampowered.com/app/3435610/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3435610/...
wrapping up with some honourable mentions (ie. Some Very Good Trailers)
Clowned King, which I cannot blurb better than it does: "In a world made of glass, an exiled Prince becomes a clown to conceal his bloody past behind a mask of laughter."
store.steampowered.com/app/3195150/...
Clowned King, which I cannot blurb better than it does: "In a world made of glass, an exiled Prince becomes a clown to conceal his bloody past behind a mask of laughter."
store.steampowered.com/app/3195150/...
Clowned King on Steam
In a world made of glass, an exiled Prince becomes a clown to conceal his bloody past behind a mask of laughter. In this tactical JRPG inspired by Brazilian culture, play as the Clown Prince Matheus, ...
store.steampowered.com
September 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
wrapping up with some honourable mentions (ie. Some Very Good Trailers)
Clowned King, which I cannot blurb better than it does: "In a world made of glass, an exiled Prince becomes a clown to conceal his bloody past behind a mask of laughter."
store.steampowered.com/app/3195150/...
Clowned King, which I cannot blurb better than it does: "In a world made of glass, an exiled Prince becomes a clown to conceal his bloody past behind a mask of laughter."
store.steampowered.com/app/3195150/...
and last but not least (for today!) HeartLinks: A Puzzle Called Love, which *really* commits to the bit and has very silly puns on top of pleasantly chewy physics puzzles
store.steampowered.com/app/1643800/...
store.steampowered.com/app/1643800/...
HeartLinks: A Puzzle Called Love on Steam
Solve puzzles with the power of friendship! Each student you befriend gives you a unique item that lets you unlock new areas and explore a wacky anime school! To deliver a confession to your crush, ca...
store.steampowered.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
and last but not least (for today!) HeartLinks: A Puzzle Called Love, which *really* commits to the bit and has very silly puns on top of pleasantly chewy physics puzzles
store.steampowered.com/app/1643800/...
store.steampowered.com/app/1643800/...
I have also *really* enjoyed the demo for Detective Hindsight, which is about solving mysteries with the help of the oddly prescient crayon drawings of a little girl. there is also a nun who is an ungracious poker winner.
store.steampowered.com/app/2982950/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2982950/...
Detective Hindsight on Steam
Solve a variety of perplexing cases in the sleuthing shoes of Detective Hindsight - who gets help from Phoebe: a young orphaned girl with dreams of being a storyteller and powers to look into the past...
store.steampowered.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I have also *really* enjoyed the demo for Detective Hindsight, which is about solving mysteries with the help of the oddly prescient crayon drawings of a little girl. there is also a nun who is an ungracious poker winner.
store.steampowered.com/app/2982950/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2982950/...
from the game devs of colour expo: a whole free game! both *painfully* familiar (does anywhere not? have a housing crisis currently?) and meaningfully specific as a story store.steampowered.com/app/3795490/...
Don't Get Your Hopes Up on Steam
You're looking for a new apartment in Amsterdam. Your once-confident search is morphing into panic. Nothing is available. Anything will do. ANYTHING.
store.steampowered.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
from the game devs of colour expo: a whole free game! both *painfully* familiar (does anywhere not? have a housing crisis currently?) and meaningfully specific as a story store.steampowered.com/app/3795490/...
it is one of those rare games that delights me in both a game-as-craft way (this is a VN with *microexpressions* and deeply satisfying narrative reactivity) and a game-as-experience way (it's been two years and I could still rattle off Opinions about all the characters)
September 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
it is one of those rare games that delights me in both a game-as-craft way (this is a VN with *microexpressions* and deeply satisfying narrative reactivity) and a game-as-experience way (it's been two years and I could still rattle off Opinions about all the characters)
maybe the secret to being good at video games is not sitting like a shrimp
or! maybe it was a coincidence. but who could possibly say
or! maybe it was a coincidence. but who could possibly say
April 29, 2025 at 2:33 PM
maybe the secret to being good at video games is not sitting like a shrimp
or! maybe it was a coincidence. but who could possibly say
or! maybe it was a coincidence. but who could possibly say
Reposted by Ruth Cassidy
It's also time for the annual call for submissions to This Year In Videogame Blogging! Check the public post for details.
critical-distance.com/2024/12/01/c...
critical-distance.com/2024/12/01/c...
Call for Submissions: This Year in Videogame Blogging 2024
Hello everyone, It’s December 1st, which means it’s time to start compiling Critical Distance’s annual This Year in Videogame Blogging roundup. Through the rest of this month, we&…
critical-distance.com
December 1, 2024 at 5:28 PM
It's also time for the annual call for submissions to This Year In Videogame Blogging! Check the public post for details.
critical-distance.com/2024/12/01/c...
critical-distance.com/2024/12/01/c...
right, it's that something is behind her (and it's a puzzle)
November 4, 2024 at 5:19 PM
right, it's that something is behind her (and it's a puzzle)
Bellara's quests especially seem the Most self-conscious about everything videogame-y that happens ("here's the third puzzle! hopefully that's the last one!" "here's the first wave of enemies! because there's always a second wave!") and it's like. oh boy please stop pointing out the redundancy
November 4, 2024 at 5:07 PM
Bellara's quests especially seem the Most self-conscious about everything videogame-y that happens ("here's the third puzzle! hopefully that's the last one!" "here's the first wave of enemies! because there's always a second wave!") and it's like. oh boy please stop pointing out the redundancy