Natalie Raine
@witchbride.bsky.social
30, She/They | 🏳️⚧️✊🏾 | Games Writer | Featured in Critical Distance and Good Games Writing | bylines: IGN, The Loadout, startmenu among others | Yas, Bri, and Em forever. Sometimes I talk about things you won't care about.
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Natalie Raine
@witchbride.bsky.social
· Dec 3
Hey! It's been a while! It looks like we've all agreed to start fresh over here, so if I can throw my hat into the fold rq:
Hi! My name's Natalie and I like writing about games! Here are links with a bunch of stuff I've written! I'll write for you, if you give me money for it! More info below!
Hi! My name's Natalie and I like writing about games! Here are links with a bunch of stuff I've written! I'll write for you, if you give me money for it! More info below!
I have to ask, do any of you genuinely care about the video game name discourse or was today a Monday and we all had to do anything to get to 5 PM?
March 4, 2025 at 3:59 AM
I have to ask, do any of you genuinely care about the video game name discourse or was today a Monday and we all had to do anything to get to 5 PM?
It is positively fucked that I am 25 years late on something that I KNOW I would love just because of how difficult it's been to actually find a way to play it, but here we are. So far, it's stellar.
February 27, 2025 at 5:18 PM
It is positively fucked that I am 25 years late on something that I KNOW I would love just because of how difficult it's been to actually find a way to play it, but here we are. So far, it's stellar.
Hi! Play Veilguard. In a world of AI slop and joyless profit-first media, Veilguard was a game that you KNOW was made by real humans, for better and (arguably, I guess?) worse.
PS+ March Essential titles:
-Dragon Age: The Veilguard
-Sonic Colors: Ultimate
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
https://buff.ly/3XlZBLY
-Dragon Age: The Veilguard
-Sonic Colors: Ultimate
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
https://buff.ly/3XlZBLY
February 26, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Hi! Play Veilguard. In a world of AI slop and joyless profit-first media, Veilguard was a game that you KNOW was made by real humans, for better and (arguably, I guess?) worse.
Hearing about Roberta Flack so shortly after losing my mother- who was a die-hard Roberta Flack fan- makes today...so much harder, if I'm being quite honest.
February 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Hearing about Roberta Flack so shortly after losing my mother- who was a die-hard Roberta Flack fan- makes today...so much harder, if I'm being quite honest.
my girlfriend is playing the pirate yakuza game today and I don't know anything about it but I hope she has a lot of fun
February 22, 2025 at 5:26 PM
my girlfriend is playing the pirate yakuza game today and I don't know anything about it but I hope she has a lot of fun
Very excited to see the quality of one of my favorite franchises go doooooown
Prepare for the Bond Cinematic Universe: Spinoffs and TV shows for all!
James Bond Shocker: Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise as Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Step Back
As Amazon MGM gains control of the James Bond franchise, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are stepping back to focus on other projects.
variety.com
February 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Very excited to see the quality of one of my favorite franchises go doooooown
I cannot say what I want to say because this is my work account but OH BABY I am thinking it. I am thinking the hell out of it.
February 20, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I cannot say what I want to say because this is my work account but OH BABY I am thinking it. I am thinking the hell out of it.
I typically don't complain about this because thankfully it doesn't come up very often, but it's really disheartening for a mainstream game to release and have it contain:
A. Really big sp*ders
B. No arachnophobia mode
Avowed could be the coolest game in the world and I will literally never know.
A. Really big sp*ders
B. No arachnophobia mode
Avowed could be the coolest game in the world and I will literally never know.
February 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I typically don't complain about this because thankfully it doesn't come up very often, but it's really disheartening for a mainstream game to release and have it contain:
A. Really big sp*ders
B. No arachnophobia mode
Avowed could be the coolest game in the world and I will literally never know.
A. Really big sp*ders
B. No arachnophobia mode
Avowed could be the coolest game in the world and I will literally never know.
'women should be able to use voice chat without being harassed'
someone who is incorrect every time: 'okay but also you should be recording your voice chats and gameplay and responding just as harshly and also friending EVERY girl you meet and that means joining SEVEN different girl discords AND-'
someone who is incorrect every time: 'okay but also you should be recording your voice chats and gameplay and responding just as harshly and also friending EVERY girl you meet and that means joining SEVEN different girl discords AND-'
February 17, 2025 at 11:19 PM
'women should be able to use voice chat without being harassed'
someone who is incorrect every time: 'okay but also you should be recording your voice chats and gameplay and responding just as harshly and also friending EVERY girl you meet and that means joining SEVEN different girl discords AND-'
someone who is incorrect every time: 'okay but also you should be recording your voice chats and gameplay and responding just as harshly and also friending EVERY girl you meet and that means joining SEVEN different girl discords AND-'
When I tell people that I believe- firmly- that Nier Automata is the greatest game ever made, I usually get some pushback. All I can say is that everything it does, it earns. If you've managed to duck spoilers and can go in completely blind, it's life-changing.
Nier Automata should go in a museum for the way it makes you slowly feel worse and worse and worse, just *barely* without going over, then right at the end it hits you with a soaring emotional unification that brings its true message together.
January 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
When I tell people that I believe- firmly- that Nier Automata is the greatest game ever made, I usually get some pushback. All I can say is that everything it does, it earns. If you've managed to duck spoilers and can go in completely blind, it's life-changing.
My world inverted when I read this.
January 25, 2025 at 7:46 PM
My world inverted when I read this.
I'm really the worst at spin dodges but If I dodge /twelve/ of your attacks and you try to camp me on the ground after, because you finally landed /two,/ I think that says a lot more about you than it does me 😭
January 8, 2025 at 9:54 PM
I'm really the worst at spin dodges but If I dodge /twelve/ of your attacks and you try to camp me on the ground after, because you finally landed /two,/ I think that says a lot more about you than it does me 😭
Hello, friends. I regret to inform you that last night, my mother passed away. Emotionally, I'm a mess right now, and you may see me more or less in the coming weeks as I try to adjust to life without her.
Thanks for your understanding. 🫶
Thanks for your understanding. 🫶
December 28, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Hello, friends. I regret to inform you that last night, my mother passed away. Emotionally, I'm a mess right now, and you may see me more or less in the coming weeks as I try to adjust to life without her.
Thanks for your understanding. 🫶
Thanks for your understanding. 🫶
Reposted by Natalie Raine
I stayed up quite late working on this.
Please enjoy!
Please enjoy!
We’ve run the numbers (we haven’t) and checked the results (this is all vibes-based) and after our tireless scientific research startmenu has found its list of winners best, worst, somewhere in between games and game-adjacent things of 2024.
www.startmenu.co.uk/home/winter-...
www.startmenu.co.uk/home/winter-...
The startmenu Awards 2024 | Winter Spectacular 2024 — startmenu
We’ve run the numbers (we haven’t) and checked the results (this is all vibes-based) and after our tireless scientific research startmenu has found its list of winners best, worst, somewhere in betwee...
www.startmenu.co.uk
December 25, 2024 at 12:53 PM
I stayed up quite late working on this.
Please enjoy!
Please enjoy!
Thanks for sticking by an old girl through it all. 💜
December 23, 2024 at 12:18 AM
Thanks for sticking by an old girl through it all. 💜
Reposted by Natalie Raine
Titanfall 2 is one of those games where after one match or one game of the horde mode you're like, 'Oh, I get it'.
Titanfall 2 is literally $3 on steam right now if you want a christmas present for yourself, or for anyone you know who hasn't played Titanfall 2
December 21, 2024 at 10:38 PM
Titanfall 2 is one of those games where after one match or one game of the horde mode you're like, 'Oh, I get it'.
I think the thing they should make clear to you when you get into Games Journalism is the chance of people taking potshots at you or your career in places you never expect is always greater than zero.
December 21, 2024 at 10:29 PM
I think the thing they should make clear to you when you get into Games Journalism is the chance of people taking potshots at you or your career in places you never expect is always greater than zero.
I'm not a football fan but my partners are and Bluesky is slooooowly catching on
December 16, 2024 at 6:13 AM
I'm not a football fan but my partners are and Bluesky is slooooowly catching on
I can't overstate how much I don't care about the Witcher but it bothers me how many men I'm seeing say they're going to play Witcher IV like a protective father and not let Ciri have sex with anyone, when those same men let Geralt basically have sex with everyone they could.
December 14, 2024 at 8:48 PM
I can't overstate how much I don't care about the Witcher but it bothers me how many men I'm seeing say they're going to play Witcher IV like a protective father and not let Ciri have sex with anyone, when those same men let Geralt basically have sex with everyone they could.
Game Awards reaction thread, weeeee
December 13, 2024 at 12:33 AM
Game Awards reaction thread, weeeee
Alright I'll be honest, if there's no Bloodborne tonight- and of course there won't be lmao- I think it's time we put that dog out to pasture. I would LOVE to be proven wrong because Bloodborne is one of my all-time favorites, but basically begging Sony to acknowledge it is getting old.
December 12, 2024 at 9:27 PM
Alright I'll be honest, if there's no Bloodborne tonight- and of course there won't be lmao- I think it's time we put that dog out to pasture. I would LOVE to be proven wrong because Bloodborne is one of my all-time favorites, but basically begging Sony to acknowledge it is getting old.
My friday post is Yes For The Love Of God Play Marvel Rivals
December 7, 2024 at 6:00 AM
My friday post is Yes For The Love Of God Play Marvel Rivals
How many more toys can he take away at this point? You can't know WHEN something was posted?
Twitter posts no longer have timestamps. That's exactly what you want on a network built on being a realtime information source. Possibly the worst to ever do it in social media
December 4, 2024 at 10:35 PM
How many more toys can he take away at this point? You can't know WHEN something was posted?
'It's about Persistence' is going to either be the greatest setup for a reveal of all time, or the absolute most soul-crushing troll of all time on Sony's part. I cannot wait to see which it is when the Game Awards come around.
December 4, 2024 at 10:33 PM
'It's about Persistence' is going to either be the greatest setup for a reveal of all time, or the absolute most soul-crushing troll of all time on Sony's part. I cannot wait to see which it is when the Game Awards come around.