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Katya Ryabova

@katyar.bsky.social
783 followers 192 following 1.5K posts

Video games freelance writer & journalist. Gaming, motherhood, drinks. She/her. Substack: playingthisweek.substack.com Coffee and games fund: ko-fi.com/katyar Toronto 🇨🇦

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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
Saoirse Victoria Stone 🏳️‍⚧️ @saoirsestone.bsky.social · 6h
I cannot emphasize enough that financially supporting Mothership is legitimate praxis. You are funding a games site that is doing it right. They’re supporting women, queer folks, writers from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, and they’re doing it with strong professional ethics.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 21h
YES now that is welcome news in this hellscape
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Katherine 🏳️‍⚧️ @quadraticink.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Having these shared experiences brings us together, lets us connect, gives us conversation topics. In some cases, it lets is communicate complex concepts by mentioning a work of art. It is a common basis. It has become foundation of culture.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
BRB putting that on a T-shirt! Thank you @thecrossoverappeal.com 🫶
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Ash Parrish, Kotaku's LeBron James @adashtra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
and i also know we are all passing around the same $5 or fewer dollars but uplifting also means paying for their work. Either with hard cash or with the inconveniences of shitty ad experiences or less than great headlines.
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Ash Parrish, Kotaku's LeBron James @adashtra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
a whole website of 'em in fact: www.mothership.blog/tiny-booksho...
mothership.blog
Tiny Bookshop made me want to change my career
What happened to that girl who saw herself as an aspiring author? As it turns out, she's still a part of me
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Ash Parrish, Kotaku's LeBron James @adashtra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
i know because i've curated my feed quite well that i may be preaching to the choir, but i hope in your rush to condemn the decline of femmes in the games journalism space you also take a moment to uplift the work of the femmes still here.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've listened to Say What a couple of dozen times already in the last couple of days. DOPE EP IS DOPE
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Maddy Myers 🏳️‍🌈 @midimyers.com · 29/09/2026
tiny bookshop is out here changing lives!!!! this one's free to read with just your email address
mothership.blog
Tiny Bookshop made me want to change my career
What happened to that girl who saw herself as an aspiring author? As it turns out, she's still a part of me
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Playing Tiny Bookshop quickly became part of my nightly routine. Wash my face, brush my teeth, put on a face mask, and load my last save." 🧡🧡🧡 @mothership.blog www.mothership.blog/tiny-booksho...
mothership.blog
Tiny Bookshop made me want to change my career
What happened to that girl who saw herself as an aspiring author? As it turns out, she's still a part of me
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Witcher 3 remaster is downloading, but where to find the time?!
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Astreia @redoubters.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Cc: @playhilltop.bsky.social
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Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Jennifer Hale once told me Canadians need to champion ourselves more. I wholeheartedly agree. Over the past few months, I reached out to dozens of Canadian devs to learn their favourite Canadian games. Their varied responses offer a wonderful spotlight on some of the incredible talent we have here.🍁
mobilesyrup.com
These are must-play Canadian games, according to Canadian devs
As Canadians, we don't champion ourselves enough, so we asked dozens of game developers to do just that.
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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
Tom Caswell @tomcaswell.games · 24/09/2026
If you’re wondering if Control Resonant, a game set after a long lockdown where the admin in charge makes things somehow even worse, has anything in it that feels relatable to our modern existence, oh baby, it does.
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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Congrats to Toronto’s @playhilltop.bsky.social for the release date announcement for Curse of Resthaven! I’m so impressed with the creativity of this team, especially in how different this is from their first game, the wonderful Lil’ Guardsman. Excited for next month!
mobilesyrup.com
Promising Canadian gothic narrative roguelite Curse of Resthaven launches Oct. 29
The perfect Halloween game is almost here.
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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
Hilltop Studios @playhilltop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
IT’S HAPPENING. Curse of Resthaven arrives October 29 on PC, Mac, PS5 and Xbox. Two days before Halloween felt like the appropriate time to unleash the curse. And there’s more: we're giving you a bit longer to play the current demo and earn your bonus gold + skill points…
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Great timing! THE article I wanted to write about Gamescom is up, and I'm very, very grateful to @videogame.town for giving it a home. Pretty scary to write something like this, but it's very important to talk about. videogame.town/2026/09/24/t...
videogame.town
The Smoke And Mirrors Of The Video Game PR Machine
Or how I learned to pause and spot the bullshit.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I regularly share what I'm up to on here, but Substack is a different story. Below is the list of my fave things I've worked on, with writing in @mothership.blog, @mobilesyrup.com, @crossplayblog.bsky.social, @videogame.town @rogue.site, and @pixelbytegaming.bsky.social!
playingthisweek.substack.com
My writing for games media outside of Substack
Katya is a games journalist, wow!
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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
Jonny @darthmalks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
@playhilltop.bsky.social studio lead Scott Christian was the best dang podcast guest a guy could ask for. After Lil Guardsman, Scott and team are back with Curse of Resthaven. It’s going to be a thrilling game! audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/32 yt: youtu.be/pXdww2iXikM?...
indiegamegarden.transistor.fm
indie game garden | 32 - Scott Christian of Curse of Resthaven & Lil' Guardsman
Before Scott Christian was making games, he helped bring musical theater productions to life. A composer, pianist, conductor and musical director, Scott built a career across the Canadian performin...
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
So, like... What do these people do for fun? Actually? Life is a series of little quests. I'd like to do them myself, thank you.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Good writing is good
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A drastic gesture of the day: unsubscribed from PressEngine emails. My inbox is feeling it already 🥰
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
HYPE!
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Lunacy Studios @lunacystudios.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
One more moment. One more conversation. One more goodbye… 💙 Experience The House of Hikmah on Steam right now ✨ #indiegame #thehouseofhikmah #griefjourney #narrativegame #gamesaboutgrief
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Jared Russo @jaredrusso.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Wow a filmmaker with ideas made a movie superior to every other adaptation made by committee and focus testing to sell kids backpacks: videogame.town/2026/09/21/r...
videogame.town
‘Resident Evil’ Is The Best Video Game Movie By Default
“Yeah! Video games!”
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
CONTROL Resonant isn't perfect, and issues brought up by some reviewers have already surfaced for me, but the fun I'm having is immeasurable. I'm not planning a review of my own, but critical analysis/cold take for sure.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Going to see @monstrosaband.bsky.social play live tonight—the gals who wrote the theme song for The Big Con, by the way! This is the most metal shirt I now own 🤟🐺
A selfie of Katya wearing The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past black T-shirt
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You want that bonus gold, trust me. Set sails!
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Great timing! I LOVED what saw of Cassette Beasts 2002, despite my reservations about the first game, which I still enjoyed. The sequel is out next year.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I'm finally back home and settled, so I worked on my Gamescom highlights piece at last. Better late than never, right? Read my latest: playingthisweek.substack.com/p/gamescom-2...
playingthisweek.substack.com
The coolest sh*t I’ve seen at Gamescom
My first time in Cologne was an unforgettable, but still a learning experience
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Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sad to say Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave disappointed me. While I appreciate the ambition behind its sprawling interwoven campaigns, I found it painfully bloated & disjointed. The core gameplay loop is sublime when it's not buried under hours of tedium, but overall, this really wore me out.
mobilesyrup.com
Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is incredibly ambitious but frustratingly bloated
The series' core gameplay loop is in some ways better than ever, but it's buried under dozens of hours of tedium.
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Mothership @mothership.blog · 15/09/2026
It's time for our first-ever AMA! Got questions for Mothership's founders Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah? Drop 'em below and we'll respond (maybe even in video!) throughout this week and next.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Who is this 3D baby Link on my feed, and why does he look like my two-year-old?
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
YESSSSSS
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Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Let’s do this one last(?) time. After another long hiatus, we recorded another @mobilesyrup.com SyrupCast episode. This was largely a trial run to land on a new format and cadence, but overall, I’m really happy to do it again!
youtu.be
What are you more hyped for, GTA VI or iPhone Fold? [ SyrupCast 2.0 ]
YouTube video by MobileSyrup
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
One of the Gamescom highlights for sure!
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Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
One of the MANY things I love about @playhilltop.bsky.social is their steadfast commitment to uplifting Canadian actors. It's especially important right now, and it adds so much personality to their games. Kudos to Scott and the team! (And go check out Curse of Resthaven if you haven't yet!)
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Now that I've had a few days to process, I can say that Gamescom as a journalist is something special. I'd never attend as a private visitor (the crowds are unspeakable), but I will return as media again and again as long as I'm able. More coverage coming to your (mine) favourite outlets!
Katya standing confidently and smiling at Gamescom 2026 show floor
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AndresPlays @andresplays.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We were at Gamescom! Well, technically. I want to thank Katya Ryabova (@katyar.bsky.social) for covering Project Hail Mary VR for Pixel Byte. It is great to have her talent on our site.
pixelbytegaming.com
Project Hail Mary VR Gamescom Preview Teases A New Mission
Project Hail Mary VR had a special preview at this year's Gamescom, and we had a glimpse of what the upcoming adventure is about.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Well it's nice to know we got to see just a little more in the Business Area 😏 www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ku...
youtube.com
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past | gamescom 2026 Showcase Supercut
YouTube video by The Witcher
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AndresPlays @andresplays.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Silent Hill f is a powerful account of how women were oppressed in 1960s Japan. Wanderstop tells a universal tale about burnout. Dishonored 2 showed a different side of that world with Emily Kaldwin. Different perspectives enrich us all.
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AndresPlays @andresplays.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Every couple of years I see one of those appalling takes where a chud is like, "I don't like playing as a female character." and it really makes me think that there is absolutely zero creativity in their lives. IT'S NOT REAL. FREE YOURSELF.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Dwight Schrute: It's True
Alt: Dwight Schrute: It's True
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Brad Shankar @bradshankar.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
@katyar.bsky.social checked out The Witcher 3 Songs of the Past expansion at Gamescom. She’s one of the biggest Witcher fans I know she has some particularly great insight on this. Check out her feature!
mobilesyrup.com
Big Witcher 3 updates are a smart move ahead of The Witcher 4
Pushing out a free remaster and major new DLC to a beloved game is a great way to hype up the next title in the series.
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Reposted by Katya Ryabova
KO_OP: 🪐 Wishlist Young Suns on Steam! @ko-op.com · 29/08/2026
Check out Fishbowl, a beautiful game from our friends at @imissmyfriends.bsky.social, available now on PS5 and Steam!! 🖤✨ They’re also one of our booth neighbors at Gamescom, so swing by and say hi! We’re at S24 in the Indie Arena booth in Hall 10.2 🚀 💻
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Wrote a short overview of my impressions of the @thewitcher.com Songs of the Past sneak peek at Gamescom for @mobilesyrup.com! If I had only one word to describe it, "stunning" would be it. mobilesyrup.com/2026/08/28/b...
mobilesyrup.com
Big Witcher 3 updates are a smart move ahead of The Witcher 4
Pushing out a free remaster and major new DLC to a beloved game is a great way to hype up the next title in the series.
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
All the sexy people liking this post 😏
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Couldn't summon the energy to submit in time during Gamescom, but this is a total delight 🎮
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Katya Ryabova @katyar.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Hands-off previews that are 5 to 10 minutes long are such bullshit, man. Lesson learned for next year. #gamescom
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