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TJ Denzer

@johnnychugs.bsky.social
588 followers 258 following 2.7K posts

Senior News Editor Shacknews.com & culinary host of tasty indies on Indie-licious. Unofficial Bowser expert/weirdo. contact: tj.denzer (at) shacknews.com

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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 7h
I've rarely ever had such an easy decision to make about a score. Between gorgeous art, banger music, satisfying platforming and combat, and a deep reverence to series lore, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a game I've long dreamed of, and the reality turned out to be so good.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 11h
It’s late and you should go to sleep, but you went to your local Costco where you learned they sell a weirdly noticeable amount of one-person Swedish saunas, and you can’t stop wondering who goes to Costco for some groceries and walks out with a sauna.
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David L. Craddock - Author/Filmmaker @davidlcraddock.bsky.social · 18h
In the lead-up to the documentary’s premiere this is Friday, we’ve prepared shorts that go into aspects of @yachtclubgames.bsky.social’s culture and design process. Enjoy!
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 13h
My game of the year list has changed drastically in two weeks. Stay tuned. Absolute banger coming up. 🏰🦇
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 13h
It took us about a year to get legal IDs settled. Still more effort to get everyone else to change with it. Our insurance was a mess and I helped my guy with all the paperwork and filing. Mind you that’s Texas, which is a nightmare fuel state, but it made me wonder how anyone figures it out solo.
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Shacknews @shacknews.com · 22h
No Man's Sky is coming to iPhone and iPad with a mobile version that was built from the ground up. The game features touch controls and supports controllers as well as keyboard and mouse input. It only takes up 5 GB of storage and will launch on October 28, 2026. #NoMansSky #Gaming #Mobile
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 22h
Back in May, ahead of Mina the Hollower’s launch, our team visiting Yacht Club Games’ studio to do a deep dive into the front-to-back creation of Mina. This a culmination of the stories they told us leading up to the high-stakes launch. Don’t miss it. #indiegame #indiedev
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Publishers… if believe you believe you have a good game and want critics to see that in their reviews, and I can’t stress this enough, don’t give them a shitty, broken version you’re rushing to market to try to meet investor expectations. That works against your interests.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Me, sizing up the pickle jar in the fridge at 2AM
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Finally got around to it. Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil feels like something as close to an end-game The Thing movie in a setting where The Thing already won as we’d ever get from a not John Carpenter/not The Thing movie. Crazy interesting trip.
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Shacknews @shacknews.com · 10/10/2026
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls' EVO France 2026 build teases neutral tag & assist cooldowns
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Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls' EVO France 2026 build teases neutral tag & assist cooldowns
Players at EVO France 2026 checking out Marvel Tokon reported five-second cooldowns on hitting assists and three-second cooldowns on whiffs.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Having played Dead by Daylight for years, the deep nitty gritty of what went into it and the steps that led to the game we know today are incredible in @davidlcraddock.bsky.social's latest long read. DbD fans need to check this out.
shacknews.com
Embrace Chaos: The Origin of Dead by Daylight
Journey back to the early 2010s with some of Dead by Daylight's earliest developers as they recount the making of the game.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Mama Yaga was the third character I made after myself and my spouse. She is the undisputed heart, soul, and mascot of Arcadia.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It occurred to me that if I had a nickel for every time Slavic folktale witch Baba Yaga figured into my 2026 gaming year, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it is funny it happened twice. #Deadlock #TomodachiLife
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Not entirely joking
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Lost my voice yesterday after Indie-licious and I’m currently at the point of recovery where I sound almost exactly like the Simpsons teenage part time worker nearly effortlessly.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Scott Summers merging with the Phoenix (and by extension Jean Grey) and getting a rich white girl sweep for it seems like the FGC equivalent of wearing an "I love my girlfriend" t-shirt to the fight. #MarvelTokon
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
When you very specifically told them no pickles on your hoagie, but the sandwich fartist went and added pickles. #FGC #MarvelTokon
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
She can hulk out a park bench to destroy you or crush you under pigeons until you are one yourself. Baba's looking great in #Deadlock.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Thank you to everyone who tuned into Indie-licious. Otterly Lost was incredibly relaxing, colorful, and silly. It's also available now on PC so check it out if you get a chance! #indiegame #indiegames #indiedev
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Live on twitch now. twitch.tv/shacknews
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Live with another indie on Indie-licious this week. It's Otterly Lost from Soulworks Interactive. Come watch. #indiegame #indiegames #indiedev
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Read more on the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger close and their bouncing baby SKYD here: bsky.app/profile/shac...
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Skydance (Paramount/WB Discovery merger's joint entity) will be trading publicly as SKYD, which is fitting since the deal is a SKYDmark in terms of ethical business and market balance.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
‪Stabbin’ Mike was another great one. Distinct and different from Bitin’ Mike, also addressed. 🐭 #Deadlock‬
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A person who must have so much fulfilling shit going on. 🤣
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The Rat King in #Deadlock brought numerous friends with him and calls them by name, so I started ranking the best of his subjects. Rabies Ronnie probably one of my faves. 🐀👑
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yes sir. I will do my best. 🥹 #deadlock
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
With over 100 faction lords playable in Total War: Warhammer 3 and Lords of the End Times marking both its biggest expansion yet and a doorway for new players, I asked when the team would just drop the "3" and call it "Total War: Warhammer" again. It's something they've thought about.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It’s late and you should go to sleep, but you’re playing Fire Emblem, you haven’t saved in like two hours after winning a major battle, and the characters won’t stop dialoguing and playing cutscenes
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
We were also so close to grabbing this fugly owl decoration but we were already over budget. He looks like he got in a bar fight and lost.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Went shopping for some home odds and ends and we found the perfect guest chair for unwanted/adventurous company.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Always saying this. #Deadlock
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Damn. Looks like they cooked in the new Star Wars racer.
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Lucas Wight @hokutolucas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
star wars galactic racer is fuckin awesome here’s my review
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It’s OCTOBER 1, y’all. Normies are officially licensed to get spooky and let loose.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Card Shark is a very good game that you should play. Best wishes to the Nerial team. You were very cheeky. #indiegame #indiegames #indiedev
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I gave them ample time to make things right and now I have hit a brick wall. Benefit of the doubt is over. Here's why Colonial Van Lines is an interstate moving nightmare. Don't ever use them. Don't let your friends use them. www.shacknews.com/cortex/artic...
shacknews.com
JohnnyChugs on Cortex
Let me use my little corner to tell you about what happens when you book interstate moving with Colonial Van Lines, and the nightmare scenario you will be put through.
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Shacknews @shacknews.com · 01/10/2026
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- review: That man has a family
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Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- review: That man has a family
The original Mystery Dungeon is finally officially available in English!
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Lucas Wight @hokutolucas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
i reviewed torneko! love this game, but don't love the visuals and technical issues the latter can be fixed and they are working on it, the former is just bleh forever
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Ashley Schofield is looking for work! 🐉 @ashlikeadragon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
new feature! back on RPS! i don't like deadpool in his contemporary form. i do, however, like deadpool in tokon quite a lot, as someone plugged into the FGC. please give it a read! this was really fun to work on, and i'm grateful to RPS for taking on a kinda niche pitch 💜
rockpapershotgun.com
The importance of being earnest: How Marvel Tōkon's Deadpool trades ridicule for fighting game reverence
By embracing fighting game culture, the Deadpool of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a much more likeable presence than his cross-media counterparts.
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David L. Craddock - Author/Filmmaker @davidlcraddock.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
... if? This has been happening for years.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Please be safe out there. Have a sense of self-preservation, be aware of your surroundings. And if you can, cultivate friendships that can be a lifeline in bad situations. If you’re confident you have it covered? Try to do the same for people who don’t. The deterrence of a creep starts with numbers.
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Zombies. The undead. You know, ghouls. @edgarallanbro.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Skybox is doing all right (our subscriber numbers are remarkably consistent) but we don't have enough money to publish everyone I want to, let alone pay them what I'd like. I'm not kidding when we say every dollar helps. www.patreon.com/skyboxcritics
patreon.com
Get more from Skybox on Patreon
Get more from Skybox on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $1/month. SkyboxCritics.comSkybox was started to be a place for everything we…
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The big brain move is I should make Thanquol in Tomodachi Life and make him The Indisputable Worst.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I did all my work assignments early and don't have further assignments due immediately, so tonight I get to catch up on my ✨Happy Tomodachi Life seasonal building plans✨ and my ✨Evil Total War: Warhammer 3 Rat People Campaign✨
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I feel like now that they've hit Code Veronica, they're in the stretch where they absolutely CANNOT leave these things as they were. The "Hmm" era of RE (though RE5 co-op was quite the ride).
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I can agree with that logic, but by the same logic, I would want them to spruce up everything that happens after The Big Choice, because MAN that section with the ship at the end sucks. 😅
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I think the problem structurally with RE6 is two thirds of it are barely a resident evil game and fixing that would require making a whole different thing. Like… I don’t know how you salvage action cover shooter mechanics here, and I suspect weirdos would be mad if you took out the gun ballet.
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TJ Denzer @johnnychugs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/whi... Steam Page: store.steampowered.com/app/2318580/... More on Delivery Issues: www.shacknews.com/article/1508...
kickstarter.com
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