Gamers with Glasses
We are a volunteer-run writing collective working at the intersection of academic game studies and popular game criticism. We've got gaming stories to tell; we bet you do, too. www.gamerswithglasses.com
- "Cairn compellingly explores themes of personal limitation and transcendence through its challenging mechanics...by focusing on perhaps the most internal form of freedom—the liberation that comes from overcoming personal limitations." @mayorhere.bsky.social www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...
- So, obviously 2025 saw the release of so many incredible indie games that we'd never be able to keep track of them all...but we did keep track of a few! Here are some of our favorites from last year, hand-picked by @skycherry.bsky.social. www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwg-recommen...
- Because nobody makes money off this, we have a tendency to take the occasional unofficial hiatus - the motto at the top of our editorial workspace is "there's always no rush." But we're back at it again, and we have a bunch of great year-in-review stuff in the queue!
- Can the Game Boy Camera be your game of the year? 2026 started about six months ago, but we're finally ready to look back on 2025 and ponder, starting with @aeneas-nin.bsky.social. www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwg-recommen...
- Also for one reason or another this was a big year for Theseus over at GwG - not too bad for a guy who doesn't even have a ship anymore (or DOES HE?). Thinking about this great review from @exalclaw.bsky.social earlier this year. www.gamerswithglasses.com/impressions/...
- What does it mean to embrace the evolution of a franchise? Especially when that franchise is something like Pokémon, which basically defined a genre and then...changed a lot? @srtrzinski.bsky.social explores the big questions, just in time for the New Year! www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/shi...
- It's December 29th in California, and that means that @optional.bsky.social is thinking about... Halloween. It's time to talk about @draknek.bsky.social's Spooky Express.
- We're just over the moon to be sharing this with you: the one and only @hannahnicklin.bsky.social on South of the Circle and how developers use in-game choices to give players space in which to perform the story. www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/per...
- "The act of choosing allows players to perform a character: to inhabit the space between the score/script, and the performance of it. When choosing becomes an act of performance, we...are producing a shared space of pretend: a suspended disbelief explored by (inter)play of option and selection."
- What was the last game you played that made you say, "I love this crew"? For @exalclaw.bsky.social, that game is Battle Suit Aces by @team.trinketstudios.com, showcasing "a future where people can love without being driven by fear of the known and unknown." www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/batt...
- To all who've been wondering what demos to try: we've got you covered. Next Fest correspondent @skycherry.bsky.social returns with four handpicked recommendations, featuring @astralshiftpro.com, @regularstudio.bsky.social, RageForDragons, and Crimson Dusk. www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwg-recommen...
- @mayorhere.bsky.social asks: are the Hitman games really about stealth, or are they more about the social cues that we use to make decisions about authority and compliance? "Nobody questioned why I was there. The uniform answered that question for them." www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/hit...
- Also, you know that old tradition, the Twelve Days of Halloween? Aw man, you forgot this year? Well don't worry, GwG has you covered, because after that one we've still got at least one more article from the series that we started for Halloween.
- Why is SpongeBob in Sonic Racing? What is Spider-Man doing in MtG? What's the deal with Fortnite's Santa Dogg? As @corndruid.bsky.social describes, it all goes back to Mimikyu. Read on to see how IP mashups and the MCU paved the road to the slop factory. www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/eve...
- This Halloween, we invite you to remember the horror that is...Kirby: "Kirby is a shapeshifter, fueled by the essence of the living beings that he consumes...He shows up, he consumes all, and he leaves, with a trail of corpses in his wake." www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/kir...
- "With Mickey Mouse gloves Shadow grabs the steaming drink from the tall frappe and sugary syrup stained counter: 'Thank you again. I know that I am the best – THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM! Glad you see it too.'" www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/son...
- Very cool to see @srtrzinski.bsky.social and @aguaspoints.bsky.social's costume pieces featured this week. We assure @quips.bsky.social that yes, the costume party is ongoing!
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- We are throwing a party and you are invited. www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/hal...
- We're at it again! @mayorhere.bsky.social reviews Back to the Dawn by Metal Head Games, a game that uses anthropomorphism as a powerful estrangement tool through which to explore institutional power dynamics. www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/back...
- They say the NES is 40 today. Read what that means for the man.
- Featuring @aetataureate.bsky.social: "In a volunteer survey, we found almost no significant correlation between the zodiac sign and the favorite Mario items of respondents." www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/sup...
- Come for the great stuff in the roundup, stay for that critical chaser (feat. @corndruid.bsky.social, @srtrzinski.bsky.social, @aguaspoints.bsky.social, and @aetataureate.bsky.social)!
- Nate and Samantha set out to recap and wrap up our summer series on games, childhood, and nostalgia, and end up…somewhere else. We cover all the deep questions, like, “Do any of us leave childhood unscathed?”; and, “Isn’t Assassin’s Creed just Sly Cooper?” www.gamerswithglasses.com/gwgpodcast/t...
- Featuring @aetataureate.bsky.social: "In a volunteer survey, we found almost no significant correlation between the zodiac sign and the favorite Mario items of respondents." www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/sup...
- Mario fought his way to forty, so we fixed a fancy fête. Enjoy the Super Mario Zodiac, new directions in Mario Studies, crying over fake Yoshi, and, of course, André Breton. www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/sup...
- Hey there new folks! We had some good stuff in September (like www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/my-..., www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/vile..., and www.gamerswithglasses.com/reviews/blip...). We've got plenty cooked up for October, too.
- Check out this week's edition for a GwG triple play, feat. @srtrzinski.bsky.social, @mayorhere.bsky.social, and @patfio.bsky.social!
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- We've got it all, they've got it all, on BLIPPO+. See what YACHT, @telefantasytv.bsky.social, @panic.com, and more have been up to just a ways away in spacetime. New contributor @patfio.bsky.social has the review!
- ICYMI, we couldn't wait and started horror posting last week. This will continue.
- @srtrzinski.bsky.social on horror sensation My Friendly Neighborhood and the actual horror of defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/my-...
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- We are LIVE with @mayorhere.bsky.social on VILE: Exhumed, art, payment processors, profit, gatekeeping, censorship, reactionary politics... I'm going to stop listing things, go read the piece:
- @srtrzinski.bsky.social on horror sensation My Friendly Neighborhood and the actual horror of defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/my-...
- I think this article makes @srtrzinski.bsky.social game crit's official correspondent on matters related to ducks and geese - games which some have been calling "fowl play." From the mighty @unwinnable.com! unwinnable.com/2025/08/26/d...
