Shoutout | Gamers on Substack Who Deserve Your Subscription
The gaming community on Substack is growing fast, and I’ve been blown away by the support I’ve received. So I wanted to give back by spotlighting a few Substacks worthy of your subscription.
Hello everyone and welcome to today’s post about gamers on Substack. This is something i’ve wanted to do for awhile and isn’t the typical indie game review or newsletter post but don’t worry Friday’s next Follow-UP is coming. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Best Gamers on Substack | Time to Sub!
Since I started writing reviews and the newsletter, I’ve met gamers of all types, and we’ve all intersected somewhere in what we play and have reviewed. It’s interesting to see how a game has affected someone, or even how the outcome becomes a catalyst for the game finally being purchased or wishlisted. Literally, the reason we do it is seen in the comment sections discussing and praising each other’s work. I am going to speak about a group of people and their Substacks, but if you do not see yourself here, please do not take that as a slight. I plan to make this something I can share again in the future or even update with more writers as we all grow. Get ready to subscribe!
Gamedev Relay | News
The thing that makes this newsletter’s community grow is how connected we’ve all become in the gaming section of Substack. Just ask
, who has been humbly asking Substack to create a category for gamers. You know, the industry that makes more money than all of entertainment combined and still makes us share the stage with technology or (insert whatever category you want here). 🙃
His gaming Substack gives insights and news headlines — from studio closures, acquisitions, latest updates on AAA titles, and more. A pulse of the gaming world delivered weekly just for you. Alex is also a game producer, so it’s nice to hear his own personal wins and struggles working in the gaming industry while also reporting on it.
Exploring The Games | Reviews and Essays
I am not a horror fan, but I powered through and played a few last year that even ended up on my end-of-the-year lists, like 10 Dead Doves or even Grunn, which may arguably not even come off as horror, but if they are grotesque at times and give me the jump scare, they qualify for me. Recently, during the Horror Game Awards Summer Showcase, I saw that Kevin was streaming the showcase, so I jumped into the stream chat to see what upcoming games I would most likely not even try. But what surprised me was how many games I was writing down to check out in the future. This is exactly why I love connecting with other gamers. The thing I love about his work is that where his main focus may be horror and what he loves, he will not stray away from the cute and cozy, like this year’s indie hit Spilled, and even recently shared an article about what makes a game truly cozy and how subjective it can truly be. His insights, sense of humor, and writing all shine in Exploring The Games, and he’s also a great hang in a live setting, which I hope he streams more of!
Oya’s Game Hub | Reviews and Essays
An almost 40-year-old dad who has ADHD with a 7-year-old son with autism is already enough to throw a wrench into any plans for gaming, let alone writing reviews and posting. So when it comes to RPGs, they have mostly taken a back seat in my life. That’s why following along with Oya’s reviews of the recent Final Fantasy releases lets me vicariously live through her playthroughs. That’s not to say that Oya doesn’t have anything to deal with — considering she is living with limited internet reach from Turkey’s social media bans — but she is VPNing her way to the Good Game Lobby Discord server, sharing her gaming love with the community.
Her takes on RPG staples like Final Fantasy and her series “Co-op Days” about co-op games give an insightful look into single-player titles and multiplayer hangouts spanning across tons of great games. Also, she is playing Expedition 33 right now and I can not wait to hear her thoughts on it.
Margot Plays Videos Games | Reviews and Essays
made me so happy when I first read her reason for starting her Substack. Someone who bought a Steam Deck and wanted to get back into gaming — and one by one started chipping at her backlog. This is EXACTLY what led to Good Game Lobby. I felt that parallel trajectory, but instead of a Steam Deck, my journey began with a ROG Ally. We both mostly play indie games but still sneak in a AAA like Avowed, which she has a great review on. I can’t tell you how many times a new review hits my inbox and I think, “Damn it Margot, I also own that game and don’t know why I didn’t play it.” But as I mentioned with Oya above, I am living through Margot as she clears out her backlog — and ultimately mine too. Sometimes I watch a playthrough of a game after her review and feel like, “Okay, I bought the game, did my part to support the developers, maybe won’t get around to playing the game, but will support and shout it out in the comments.” At the end of the day, it’s just too many games, but at least if I don’t get to review or play it entirely, I know Margot — whose work I respect — is doing a hell of a job battling her backlog like a champion. Check out her update on clearing out the backlog here.
Adventures in Indie Gaming | Demo Reviews
I am jealous. They literally have the handle (at)Indie Games. Like, damn it, that’s such a good idea, and it is rightfully owned. Just look at the Steam Next Fest coverage from this summer. They posted five recaps filled with indie games to wishlist or demos to enjoy, and that was just a week of posts curated for the community. You can expect weekly demo reviews posted with guest writers being featured regularly. I can’t even tell you how many times I see a new game or one of the larger recaps and think, “How are NONE of these games on my radar?”
is also one of the reasons my wishlists are up to 500+ games…thank you? hahaSide Quest | Update
Adventures in Indie Gaming is an inspiration in how I am going to personally pull back my personal reviews of games just slightly to focus more on demos I play because:
Reviewing games is not easy and it is very time-consuming
Sometimes a demo is enough to win over a gamer
If I can output more content in shorter time periods and still get the point across, then why not?
Reconnect Recap | Games Writing Newsletter
If you are new to Substack, let me introduce you to a gaming legend around these parts. Alex started a project called Reconnect that aggregates all the gaming writing they search for into a feed, proving that though bigger institutions like Game Informer (who is back now, thank the gaming gods), Polygon, and more may be losing staff, games writing is thriving in solo blogs, Substack newsletters, and communities all around the world. I am grateful to get out a review and know Alex is right there, ready to repost it on Substack, and that I will be amongst many shining works of the Reconnect feed. Their Substack,
is a companion newsletter to Reconnect. I’ve been reading the articles posted in my feed for quite some time and only now just realized I wasn’t even subscribed! I corrected that immediately! I cannot wait for the next recap and who else has started their gaming journey we should check out next.Just One More Turn | Gaming Health and Education
What happens when a gaming nerd with a PhD in cancer genetics has taken it upon themselves to share the impacts of gaming from a truly unique perspective? Well, you get
, which is a great name for sharing turn-based games. One of his latest posts is about moderation in gaming and how too much of a good thing can yield worse results in tests or schooling. It’s easy to defend video games as a player, but to see factual data either backing a claim or proving the naysayers sometimes correct is a push and pull I truly love to learn about. Where many of the Substack will default to reviews its great to see a unique perspective on gaming that broadens what we all have to offer.Thank You All For Your Support
These are just a handful of talented, passionate gamers that provide a service for us for free, most not even asking for anything yet, but just wanting to share their experience, support gaming, and grow the community. It’s how the social media world has worked for content creators — and now writers as well. We can’t all be Game File, whose work is not something to demean for the large audience they brought to Substack but celebrated for the goals we can all see are in reach. I wanted to fill a void that, as I grew, I could see could easily be filled without me, but seeing a comment like this, and how we are following along gaming journeys either from development or reviews truly is why I love doing this.
Sharing small tidbits on how my non-gaming family still sneak into my gaming world, how a game’s premise can lift me out of a funk, or getting a comment connecting with another gamer makes it all worth it. Thank you for joining me, and I hope to see more of you in the comments, in the feed, and joining the Good Game Lobby. Thanks for sharing, commenting, liking, subscribing, and being you — and as always, GG!
Happy to say I was already subscribed to all of these bar one (now rectified!) great shout outs, love to see the community supporting each other
Have mercy, I can't keep subscribing to so many amazing writers T^T
(please don't have any mercy and keep them coming)