big_denim

As someone who's done unpaid game reviews for a handful of years and just recently stepped away from the role, there's aspects of OP's original post that really resonate with me.

My advice to anyone checking in on this old thread with the thoughts of 'getting in' to the industry - start your own blog/site/channel instead. I realize my views are limited since I primarily wrote for just a single site, but you're much better off having control and ownership over your content. I've written many reviews that received little to no feedback, editor changes without any discussion or input from me, and oftentimes chunks of a review that are entirely different from my original submission. Heck, I even found reviews with typos and grammatical errors that weren't present in the submitted draft.

This was all unpaid work, so now I have published pieces of work that don't really feel like 'my own' and no monetary compensation for the countless sleepless nights (I have a kid and a fulltime job so this was literally a 'moonlight' job for me).

Don't get me wrong, I knew it was unpaid so that part is something I am totally willing to accept. The lack of a solid portfolio after all those years is what really stings though.

Any who, hope you're doing better now OP.

Clicked for the topic.

Stayed for the Mass Effect backing music.

@wollywoo: I think I read the the game was originally funded on Kickstarter and PS4 was a platform option at that time. So DF is kind of on the hook to deliver a PS4 version of the game. They're not making a native PS5 version though, and I wouldn't expect them to release any future games on PS platforms. Nice to see them at least uphold their agreement to all the Playstation players out there though - and the MS money I'm sure helped make it an ever better experience for all players regardless of platform.

@humanity: I know this is sort of anecdotal, but I had the exact same thoughts/feelings as you and ended up really digging the Axiom Verge 1. I admittedly didn't beat it, but I got at least 6 or 7 hours in and really enjoyed what I had played up to that point.

You know what the funny thing is, though? Despite all of that, I am still approaching the sequel with the same tepid feeling. :P

I was getting errors at first but was able to get one 10 minutes or so after the go-live time.

I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully it doesn’t suck 😅

@kemuri07: Oh no. Ya I guess I wasn’t clear. I wouldn’t make it exclusive to the Deck but just exclusive to the Steam store. Then throw it in as a packin with the purchase of a Deck.

That’s gonna be their best way of capturing the non-pc folks that are interested in the simplicity of this thing compared to building a gaming pc.

I am totally down for this. My PC has been STRUGGLING lately, and I really don't want to just move on from my 500+ game library that I've built up over the years. Couple that with the opportunity to run some emulators on this? That's a sweet deal for ~$500.

Being able to play Grim Dawn comfortably from bed? Sign me the fuck up.

I'm also one of the freaks that uses, loves, and defends the Steam Controller, so I think I'm just the oddball kind of person that this thing is targeted at? I think?

I don't know, all I know for sure is that I'm cautiously excited about this thing.

(And to the people crapping on Valve's hardware track record, the last thing they put out - Index - is amazing (albeit a bit expensive).

I'm also naively hopeful that they start releasing more steam store exclusives to drive more interest in this thing. Source 2 has proven to be a very efficient and scalable engine and they have claimed multiple times that they have a number of games in the pipeline. Surely those are being developed with this in mind right? Hell, they've even said that they're jealous of Nintendo being able to develop games specific to the hardware they design. If they can package something like L4D3 with this (sort of like they did with Index and Alyx) then this thing will sell like hotcakes IMO.

It's barren for sure, but I do really like Borne to Run and GrubbSnax so far. Hopefully the other contracted folks' shows will start spinning up soon and end the drought.

The lack of Quick Looks is a bummer, but then again that's the only piece of content from their 'core' shows of yester-year that I'm really missing. Any content after Dan left never really captured me, and I'm surprised at how much BTR and GSnax have gained my interest, so I'd honestly say they're on the right track if they can bring on more shows and re-introduce proper QLs (I have zero interest in the multi-hour solo streams).

Sekiro failure gang, checking in! I made it super far in that game, and then one boss in particular (Owl) just totally exhausted me. After many attempts with what felt like little to no improvement, I decided I was done with the game. There's too many great games and so little time in my life these days. I can't be bothered to pound my head against the wall for too long before I decide it's time to move on. I did something similar with Cuphead too. I don't think there's any shame in it.

Life is short and time is precious. Play what you love, and love what you play. That's what I say.

@deckard: I wouldn't say that's entirely true. There's been some stinkers for sure, but there's also been some awesome day one releases for the service since its inception.

• Void Bastards
• Outer Wilds
• Octopath Traveler
• Tetris Effect Connected
• Spiritfarer
• MLB The Show 21

And that's just off the top of my head without including first party games like Ori, Forza, and Gears. Those first party games alone pay for the service as it is. Anything else is just gravy.

And the road ahead looks even more promising as well (Hades, The Ascent, Back 4 Blood, MS/Bethesda first party games, etc).

If there's anything to be concerned about with GP its the plethora of live service and co-op games that will take over the service. You know, the sort of games that entice people to continue to subscribe and/or purchase the game when it leaves gamepass as opposed to linear/narrative games where you can easily cancel a subscription once you've finished it.