iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I've played enough dodgy Sonic that 06 was more just annoying. DNF was way worse to actually finish 😅

Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Very excited for this. But now I'm wondering, is DNF the most well known/played bad game from the PS3/360 era? I know Sonic 06 is in contention but this might be worse.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Spent some time with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The more time I spend with non-Metroid Metroidvanias, the more I think my taste in this subgenre is more specific than I thought. So far, my time with Mio: Memories in Orbit was more my speed

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MinnMax @minnmax.com · 01/10/2026

Jacob Geller is no longer a part of MinnMax. He won't be on content moving forward and we won't be publicly airing this week's episode of The MinnMax Show. We're in shock and deeply hurt. Thank you for your patience during this sensitive time.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I also feel awful for the people who could be caught in the blast of this by association, but most of all i do hope the person who was assaulted is okay and has been able to heal. Believe women.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's sickening that it took this long for the story to get out. It's sickening that he was able to get as far as he did and be as prominent. It's sickening that people still have to be shocked by this, as if it could never happen in their corner of the industry. I hope the victim is okay

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It is not a surprise that there is someone being accused of heinous, awful things in games journalism, as they are in every industry. I know I've heard many femme-presenting people speak about being uncomfortable or having things happen at events. It's sickening every time you hear it.

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James GHOULizio 👻 @theswweet.myatproto.social · 01/10/2026

Worth noting that some of his peers at MinnMax are women, so please have grace for them at this time. Please!

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Bat-Tali 🦇🎃 (Vancouver era ✨) @talidev3d.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I want to say it cannot be said enough how important it is for other men to say things about this shit. In the moment, or ASAP My first ever game dev event I was sexually harassed (assaulted?) by a Sony exec while all of my coworkers saw and said nothing Please say something, for people that can't

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Bat-Tali 🦇🎃 (Vancouver era ✨) @talidev3d.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I've been trying to think of what to say and I can't, so in the meantime I'll just make sure this gets shared

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

From there Im not sure what game would rise to this level. In the last 10 years I've played a lot of games I loved and that meant something to me but rarely anything that completely rocked my world. Only Death Stranding comes close - a near-religious experience in a deep depression. But even then...

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I started playing Wolfenstein in my dorm as my final semester was winding down, but finished it after I got home. At the same time, I was also tearing through Demon's Souls like I had always wanted and finished both games like 2 days apart. This era of gaming for me probably felt the best?

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In high school, around 2010, the DS was flourishing and I was discovering a ton of things about myself. Legacy of Ys kicked so much ass out of nowhere and got me interested in the localization scene. 999 blew me away and made me want to start writing reviews because its coverage was minimal.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In middle school came Ace Attorney and Xenosaga about a year apart - I only remember this because I got a PS2 for Christmas in 2007 and didn't get into Xenosaga until the following holiday season. Otherwise in my head, getting into these games mostly overlaps.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Putt-Putt was the first game I played, at a friend's house on a laptop in the 90's. Pokemon was one of the first major games I played and it taught me a lot. SA2B is one of the first games I remember finishing. I found these by the time i was 8/9 years old

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Yeah okay I did this too. I listed them in the order I finished them which also (mostly) breaks down into different phases of my life, first as a kid, then teenager, and after college.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm still rather down on Twilight Princess, but I think it's really neat that my second playthrough is able to live beside the one I completed when I was twelve. Talking to each other despite almost a 20 year gap.

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Marcus Stewart @marcusstewart7.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

As a games media writer, this will probably be the biggest cover story I’ll write in my career. As a lifelong South Florida resident, this is the most Florida thing I’ve ever Florida’d.

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MinnMax @minnmax.com · 21/09/2026

❤️ Chicago❤️ Don't miss the new MinnMax Spotlight with @leovader.com and @gameonysus.bsky.social exploring Chicago and @jackboxgames.com with appearances by @pokachee.bsky.social, @suriel.bsky.social, @patrickklepek.bsky.social, and more! youtu.be/Aj53SRZn4VA

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Nothing tells me I'm in a funk like a change in my playing habits. I've gone from playing one or two games at a time to hopping between four or five, many of them being pretty large. It's hard to stay comfortable right now!

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Imran Khan @imrankhan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Game journalism is brutal and contracting but, like I dunno, man. This is what I like doing.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Nothing has been more frustrating and defeating than dealing with America's health system as my mother's caregiver I say, waiting 2+ hours now to talk to the staff of the facility my mom's been at the last couple weeks because I'm being forced to discharge her.

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Chairman George @superbunnyhop.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a game about helping Snake overcome AI psychosis by destroying walking mobile AI data centers and stealing their graphics cards

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I reviewed Duskfade! Unfortunately, I did not love it. As a 3D platformer it works fine, but even though it evokes Kingdom Hearts, it is not an action RPG. Please adjust your expectations accordingly!

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PM Studios🐺Wolf Among Us 2 @pmstudios.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It's almost spooky season and Tenebris Somnia is arriving just in time. Launching digitally October 16! 👻Physical pre-orders are live for Xbox, PS5, and Switch 2!

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I am no major U2 fan (I just have a music podcast), but listening to Days of Ash made me appreciate that Bono et. all were willing to make political statements... even if it's U2, and that compliment had extended to Sheeran until now. What a cowardly move to say you're not complicit, man

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

What's really interesting to me about Ed Sheeran's idiotic controversy (how hard is it to denounce genocide?) is just this year he feature on one of U2's new EPs which discussed the genocide in Gaza, the Ukranian War, the ICE shooting of Renee Good and more.

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MinnMax @minnmax.com · 14/09/2026

❤️❤️The PEOPLE who made IGN❤️❤️

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Jenna "the" Yow @jannouna.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

So with the news of the layoffs at KO_OP, I'm officially looking for work later this fall. I'm an experienced narrative designer that's worked on both sprawling open world stories and intimate cinematic narratives, even netting some award wins and noms. More details on my experience below!

key art for Goodbye Volcano High by KO_OP

key art for Spirit Swap by Soft Not Weak

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Bo Moore @usebomswisely.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

My team had a huge content day today on IGN, covering the launch of Valve's Steam Frame. So this seems like a good time as any to say that I was affected by today's layoffs.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Really sad to see the layoffs at IGN. We've seen too many layoffs in this industry. I hope everyone is able to find something quickly and better than they had before

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lex luddy needs a nap @lexluddy.xyz · 14/09/2026

I had a really thoughtful chat with two of the leads on the upcoming Hellraiser: Revival and touched on everything from reverse engineering the audio effects on Doug Bradley's voice for Pinhead, all the way to avoiding demonizing kink and BDSM as they try to respect Clive Barker's original works.

shacknews.com

Hellraiser Revival's developers are aware that Clive Barker's work requires a deft touch

'We knew right from the start that we didn't wanna demonize BDSM.'

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Level 5 using so much gen AI bums me out. Such a legendary developer, just putting out slop. Everything I've seen from their direct that should excite me just leaves me frustrated. I'll forever be a fan of Overblood and Professor Layton. Yo-Kai Watch 3 was stellar. But this new era sucks

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I think game to game the GBA version wins. But re:Chain being the second version gives it console level-flair. It's more dynamic in 3d space vs 2d: it otherwise feels like KH. The more complex controller makes it a little harder to be as speedy, but that also gives it extra edge.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It's a cool game! Nothing beats the feeling of high level play, especially in the Re:Chain version.

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I've considered Akihiro Hino an important, unsung voice in the industry for a long time. It's so sad that he's willing to throw away both his and his company's reputation just for AI stupidity.

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Quest 64 Official @quest64official.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I know it's been going on with them for a while but it really fucking hurts when the company that used to make Dragon Quest and Ni No Kuni and Snack World and Dark Cloud and Professor Layton...... Outside of Dragon Quest I can't even look forward to some of my favorite games/series

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lex luddy needs a nap @lexluddy.xyz · 10/09/2026

y'all ever think about how many women in game media have to pivot to being "the indie game person" or hyper-focus on a specific underserved niche because basically 90% of triple-a reviews get assigned to cishet men?

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

(And this may sound like I just can't be satisfied but that's not true. I just love seeing the Nintendo pipelines in action. Still fascinating to examine.)

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Nintendo's got a reliable stable of games in the pipeline. Ocarina looks cool, i love a new Metroid, and Kirby has promise. Plus Xenoblade eventually. But I'm curious what they're next freaky games are gonna be. Duskbloods, but what else? New Mario Baseball? A small DL title? I can't wait to see!

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I think part of it too is admitting "yeah we've all had a Nier fishing moment" and moving beyond it. These things happen to everyone at some point!

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Truly fantastic work. I wish it was longer!

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lex luddy needs a nap @lexluddy.xyz · 04/09/2026

My first piece for @kotaku.com sees me document the rather surreal experience of demoing a game funded by a government that would have me executed for being trans. kotaku.com/the-1001-thr...

kotaku.com

The 1001 Threads Of Mizan Director Avoids Answering A Simple Question At Gamescom - Kotaku

'This is a really decentralized company. We completely decentralized'

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We can draw a line documenting the power of Microsoft's cloud computing efforts from Crackdown 3 to whatever this is. I don't think they've ever made a great use case for it

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Where do you think this ranks with Requiem and Pragmata?

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I know the 90's were a different time, but the fact that DFW seemed to be unable to conceive of queer characters outside of the one that gets consistently humiliated, tortured, and embarrassed for most of the book, is so WILD to me. You're telling me an elite tennis academy is all straight?

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Every time I see David Foster Wallace brought up I feel the need to relitigate that I read Infinite Jest during Covid. It was not good. Interesting, sure. A well-realized world, in some ways yes. But also morally bankrupt, lacking in empathy for its characters, and painfully Gen X in philosophy.

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chirping bird @chrpngbrd.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

from 2023 www.billboard.com/culture/prid...

When looking at the issue of anti-trans legislation, Parton said that "I try to get into the human element of it." Pointing out that she has people in her life who identify as queer and trans, the 77-year-old star said it was important to hear what they're saying.
"I know and love them all, and I do not judge. And I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are," she said. "I know how important this is to them. That's who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me. If there's something to be judged, that is God's business. But we are all God's children and how we are is who we are."

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Dominic Cichocki @dacichocki.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

In these moments you cannot move, shoot, transform, NOTHING but look around by pressing B and waving the remote. The lock on icon also doesn't show until you're already hovering over the object and pressing B. You can easily miss it while looking around.

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