iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 8h

For your weekend, a new podcast episode with amiable gamer & friend of the show @supernintendad.bsky.social. On the slate: Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Onimusha, Control: Resonant, Nivalis, Sockpuppet Noir, & more. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g... Links: gaminginthewild.com

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 01/10/2026

This is turning into a nightmare season! At Fate's End is looking more & more like a 2027 release. Kena delayed, Sons of Sparta a third-party dud instead of a Santa Monica gem, Nivalis & Nocturne on not enough reviews... Splendid Software might be having layoffs (only I work here).

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 30/09/2026

I keep getting this very specific sensation when playing Control Resonant that's like: 'this is the one and only time I'll get to play this for the first time, so relax, concentrate, appreciate, fall into it.' Felt this way playing Clair Obscur, TOTK, Death Stranding 2. Just: the really good shit.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 29/09/2026

Control: Resonant, the wholesome story of a guy who goes to see some art in the big city.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 26/09/2026

Shout out to @remedygames.com for listening to feedback & adding difficulty sliders to Control 1&2. Remedy's idea of base difficulty is about +20% on mine, I've found—being able to tune it improves the experience immeasurably. Everyone is different. There is no cookie cutter player. This is the way.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 24/09/2026

Happy CONTROL: Resonant day to those who celebrate. Who's picking it up?

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 24/09/2026

Played the first five hours of CONTROL: Resonant tonight. Opened a cold drink when I sat down, when I got it up was exactly where I'd put it, still full, now warm. A very absorbing game.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 22/09/2026

Which one do you think wins the A/B test? Muted, Brighter, or Tree?

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 20/09/2026

Onimusha's combat rules. Love how smashing a torch on the wall here takes two enemies out the fight, giving me time to consume a bunch of souls and unleash a huge attack on the others (and then get comedy-papped by an arrow in my moment of triumph).

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 18/09/2026

New pod, for your weekend! On the agenda: ✨ What Onimusha gets right (spoilers: it's a lot) ✨ What Sony is getting wrong (spoilers: also a lot) ✨ 2026's next indies ✨ And more! Apple: tinyurl.com/gitw297 PocketCasts: pca.st/3vha70ud YouTube: tinyurl.com/ytbb297 Patreon: patreon.com/gaminginthewild

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 18/09/2026

This Switch sale is a big one, you can get these four certified indie bangers for <£15 total.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 12/09/2026

Played a few hours of Onimusha. The action is tight, it looks great, and the characters have a fun pulp cinema vibe. Game stories often have the X-Man movie problem of being entirely unserious while grasping for gravitas that... isn't there. Onimusha knows it's silly. Extra points for that.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 05/09/2026

Saw a great triple-bill of Gwenno, Angine de Poitrine, and Stereolab at the Manchester Psych Fest today. Angine were incredible—a paradoxical feeling of being both improv-scribbly and astonishingly tight.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 28/08/2026

You get a note from Dolly Parton when you donate to her Imagination Library project, which gets books to kids who can't afford them. donate.imaginationlibrary.com It's cute and heartfelt and signed:

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 26/08/2026

The most interesting trailer at ONL was also the only one IGN couldn't find a couple words about.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 22/08/2026

And finally, if you join the Patreon I'll message you to say thanks with a free game code from a hand-picked selection! (Existing patrons can also upgrade their tier to get a code.) patreon.com/gaminginthewild

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 22/08/2026

I'm also completely taken by Lunarium. It's an isometric action RPG with crunchy, Soulsian combat and soft-edged anime art. The levels are full of secrets, the bosses are tough but manageable... a sense of discovery. It's good.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 21/08/2026

#WeirdDays is a new weeklong Steam event. The inaugural run is about messed up job sims. They asked me to hop in as a guest curator to highlight a few titles from their awesome 100+ game selection. It starts on the 24th over on Steam! Follow them for more: @weirddaysevent.bsky.social.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 21/08/2026

For your consideration, a weekend podcast. ✨ Big Walk has big charm ✨ Lunarium should be on yr radar ✨ Post-credits Beast of Reincarnation takes ✨ Weird Days: Job Simulator arrives on the 24th Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g... Pocket Casts: pca.st/episode/f6b4... More: gaminginthewild.com

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 19/08/2026

I know "plush" is their whole deal but the Esquie plushie is.. plush.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 19/08/2026

This passage from Franzen's forthcoming new book has been eating at me. A working class character in a small mining town who was married at 19, and widowed at 24, is scathingly judged for not developing an instant sense of academic or entrepreneurial possibility, in a life that has seen none.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 18/08/2026

Hit credits on Beast Of Reincarnation. Rly enjoyed it. Ambitious, imperfect, NieR-ish. Sort of crash-lands the story in the back half. Always fun to play.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 16/08/2026

And if that sounds tempting to you, patrons who join at the Bonus Pod tier also get a free game code to say thank you!

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 13/08/2026

Witcher 3. I've tried three times. Geralt seems like an 80s-style misunderstood-violent-dude cliche throwback. The camera is weird. The world feels mannered and artificial. The combat is just okay.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 13/08/2026

This was a soothing little indie open world. Free on Epic.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 12/08/2026

It was cloudy today in Iceland for the total eclipse—so no corona—but it was incredible to feel the city sliding quickly into a minute of eerie midnight—streetlights—birds going crazy—a feeling of falling—rollercoaster butterflies—the brief illogical panic that the light might never return.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 11/08/2026

Beast of Reincarnation is so satisfying on a moment to moment basis. The mobility, the ferocity, the.... super incongruous Japanese mallcore soundtrack, that I like for some reason.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 08/08/2026

Some folks from the GITW community are streaming Big Walk :) www.twitch.tv/drstclair

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 08/08/2026

New podcast, for your weekend! On the slate: ✨ #BeastofReincarnation is NieR Souls melancholia ✨ There's nothing sloppy about #BigWalk ✨ Power Washing Star Wars stuff is an odd joy ✨ August release highlights 💚 Links below or hit up gaminginthewild.com 🙌 RTs appreciated!

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 05/08/2026

A fun duel with one of the elites. These guys were formidable and deadly in the early game, so it's nice to face one having levelled up, found elemental ammo (and learned to parry).

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 05/08/2026

The reviews are soft on #BeastOfReincarnation, IMO. It's a little janky, but makes up for it with challenging but manageable swordplay, a sad n dreamy story, and a NieR-esque open world. It outstrips glossier AAA games like Saros or 007; both Meta 87s that were missing some magic, for me.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 05/08/2026

New $3 patrons get a hand-picked indie game code as a thank you. patreon.com/gaminginthew...

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 02/08/2026

This was a fun challenge: favourite albums of the 2020s (so far). Made with topsters.org.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 31/07/2026

Steam thinks families all live on the same ashen mining terrace like it's 1950

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 27/07/2026

In the latest pod: ✨ #SplatoonRaiders is a rare misfire for Nintendo ✨ #ShardsOfOrder makes a physical tarot deck ✨ My take on where the console component crisis might lead us ✨ A big PANIC! code giveaway! Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g... Elsewhere: gaminginthewild.com

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 25/07/2026

I like doing these. 25 beloved all-timer albums, right off the dome. I forgot Waits, Bowie, Sufjan, Nico Muhly, Ornette Coleman, Kid A, a bunch of other amazing or formative stuff. music.apple.com/gb/playlist/...

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 24/07/2026

What a treat it is to get an actual physical major arcana tarot deck in the mail, as part of a game's welcome pack. Will be checking out #ShardsOfOrder for sure. And the deck joins my Citizen Sleeper 2, Bloodletter, and Sayonara Wild Hearts video game tarot collection.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 23/07/2026

Splatoon Raiders starts rough. Feel like it's a what-not-to-do guide to dialogue & tutorialisation. Lots of egregious (let's call it) 'story'. Endless tutorials make the management stuff feel burdensome. The shooting is okay. It's the most chaotic/least-slick Nintendo game I've played for a while.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 21/07/2026

23m signatures and counting after their thuggish, mean-spirited, violent World Cup run. argentina-out.org

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 11/07/2026

Some of the stuff that's coming out about hate speech at the World Cup, like various fanbases routinely shouting homophobic/racist stuff, is really shocking. Good on the England setup for being vocal and unequivocal about it. It pushes FIFA to do more—fines, censures, etc.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 10/07/2026

Alabaster Dawn goes from strength to strength. A puzzle dungeon just really put me through my paces. I'm playing early access and it feels like a finished game. The gradual release of more chunks of game will be something to look forward to.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 04/07/2026

My favourite special edition controller is this Starfield one, I think. I don't normally buy them but it's super nice.

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John • Gaming In The Wild @gaminginthewild.com · 27/06/2026

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a nice lookin' game.

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