iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 12h

Mike Tomlin would literally ghost NBC if someone showed him Pokemon Pokopia

Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

They really should have a best of five series at least in the first round of the wnba playoffs but LIBERTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Liberty playing like they’re (rightfully) mad that none of them got to host SNL when they won

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I should get an extra win for winning my fantasy matchup while starting Drake Maye

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

TIL that Jaxson Dart’s brother is legally named Diesel Dart and is basically the NWO Dart brother

A photo of Diesel Dart posing in Utah gear

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Watching these early slate NFL games and the Liberty blowing out the Lynx on the road... I genuinely don't know why anyone bets on sports.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Woke up today thinking about Method Man saying “Knicks in five” during halftime of game 4 of the NBA finals with the Knicks down 27.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The fuck are they still writing?!? This game was announced in 2008 and then again in 2017!

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

New Button Mash with @benlindbergh.bsky.social and @steveahlman.bsky.social! We've finished Control Resonant and Silent Hill Townfall! We have impressions to share for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave! Find out which of these games I almost quit halfway through!

open.spotify.com

'Control Resonant,' 'Silent Hill: Townfall,' and 'Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave' Reactions | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse · Episode

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

55. CONTROL Resonant You can't escape the feeling that Remedy had a tremendous amount of fun making this. This is a wildly ambitious, risky sequel. Its small failures (combat damage balance, mostly) are overshadowed by incredible environmental design, fascinating lore, and nuanced performances.

Dylan Faden attacks a mutated enemy in the streets of NYC

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Microsoft seems determined to kill the morale and momentum of every single studio they own.

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Jeff Grubb @grubb.wtf · 22/09/2026

Draco and the Seven Scales rules

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Every Matt Stafford pass is a "piss missile" in these neon yellow uniforms.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

54. Silent Hill: Townfall I can’t remember a game I’ve had more of a shift of opinion on from the midway point to the end. After the stunning opening until the midway point, Townfall gave me very little. Tons of questions, no answers, and antiquated gameplay.

Simon sits in the town square of St. Amelia, checking his CRT device while surrounded by protest signs

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Holy shit, I just got to *that moment* Anyone who wants to play Resonant should try to hit it hard at launch to avoid being spoiled.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Draco is a great example of how exciting it can be to play Steam games on Android devices.

Draco and the Seven Scales running on a Retroid Pocket Classic through GameNative

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

53. Draco and the Seven Scales Out today, this is genuinely one of my favorite games of the year. It’s a must-play for fans of overhead Zelda games. It’s like discovering an all-timer Game Boy Color game that you somehow never played. Draco oozes charisma and is very humbly smart in its design.

youtu.be

Draco and the Seven Scales - Official Release Date Trailer

YouTube video by Indie Games Hub

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I haven’t finished CONTROL Resonant yet (23 hours in) but I’m finding it to be such an enjoyably bold swing for Remedy. It would have been so easy to make a very safe Control sequel. Resonant takes so many risks and has way more successes than failures.

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Jawn Gonzalez @johngonzalez.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

hoping AI screws up the apocalypse like Bryan Colangelo with a burner account

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I should get some kind of steam achievement for finding a review of this data center game that questions its usage of AI art.

A screenshot from the Steam store for a game called “Data Center” in which you build data centers

The AI usage disclosure for the game Data Center

A review of the Data Center game in which the reviewer describes the usage of AI art as “questionable”

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Wow, hopefully I’m not too busy playing Beyond Good & Evil 2

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

52. The Blood of Dawnwalker One of my favs this year. An open world game that absolves me of my completionist sins by giving me a due date on my assignment. Time used as a resource rather than an omnipresent stressor. Nuanced choices ripple forward throughout the game world. Strong recommend.

Coen prepares to engage in combat with some soldiers

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Ben Lindbergh @benlindbergh.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A very busy Button Mash! @matt-james.bsky.social, @marioprime.bsky.social, and I unsheathe adamantium takes on: •Nintendo's double Directs and the Ocarina remake •Wolverine—our reviews and the wider reception •The Blood of Dawnwalker and the best vampire video games open.spotify.com/episode/15w4...

open.spotify.com

Nintendo Directs, 'Marvel's Wolverine,' and 'The Blood of Dawnwalker' Reactions | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse · Episode

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

51. Wolverine Wolverine feels a bit too on-rails to deliver the magic of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, but expectations aside, I had a good amount of fun. I’d complain about its length (11 hours for me) but the combat and progression systems don’t have the depth to go any longer.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The future of XBOX is... worrying about remaining hours of access like it's 30 years ago?

A photo of an old America Online CD that says "1045 Hours FREE!"

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I can’t even handle the Ocarina of Time Remake discourse, how I supposed to survive the GTA 6 discourse?

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I’m old enough to remember the Gamecube Zelda tech demo. This Ocarina of Time remake feels like a long lost dream come true to me. I have NOTHING critical to say. I am 110% hyped. youtu.be/jqcyQOgmUYE?...

youtu.be

Zelda Spaceworld 2000 Demo HD 60FPS AI Upscale

YouTube video by Neil

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Wow this new Legend of Zelda movie looks spot on

A still of Elizabeth Holmes from an upcoming documentary

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Brian Phillips @brianphillips.lol · 03/09/2026

I have plunged into the dark, icy depths of Lake America and returned with a column about MAGA's obsession with names

theringer.com

MAGA’s Big, Beautiful Quest to Rename the Entire World

The Lake America story is spectacularly dumb. It’s also spectacularly important.

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Lewis Gordon @lewisgordon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Capcom is on a generational run. But this is no renaissance: the company has never been greater. I reported on the secret of its success, from "Crapcom" in the early 2010s to its one-banger-after-another present, speaking to many of its most illustrious producers. www.theringer.com/2026/09/03/v...

theringer.com

How Capcom Cracked the Code of Game Development

The video game industry is in turmoil, but 2026 could be Capcom’s career year. How does the company behind ‘Resident Evil Requiem,’ ‘Pragmata,’ and ‘Onimusha: Way of the Sword’ keep pumping out hits?

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Imagine losing FIVE first round picks and not even getting a Mikal Bridges

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Every political poll I see is like “30% of Americans feel that the biggest issue facing the country ahead of the midterm elections is that walls, doors, and windows can’t stop Islamic transgender ghosts from coming into your home and turning all your cheeseburgers into salad.”

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I think part of the reason why I often marathon games is because as a kid I was trained by rental deadlines to finish a game in three days. High anxiety stuff before memory cards! I'd never start a game in the first save slot because that was the most likely save to be deleted by another renter.

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Ben Lindbergh @benlindbergh.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Wasn't sure anyone else would be talking about GTA today, so I asked @netw3rk.bsky.social and @jomiadeniran.bsky.social to join me for a Button Mash breakdown of the extended look: • What we thought! • What we learned • What we're still wondering • The Cyberleek saga open.spotify.com/episode/2Z1o...

open.spotify.com

'Grand Theft Auto VI' Extended Look Instant Reactions | Button Mash

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

My biggest concern after watching today's GTAVI trailer is the character of Jason. He just seems like a pretty flat character so far? Lucia is so expressive, Jason's voice is fairly monotone. He's alone in an elevator while Genesis plays and we don't even get a little sway or a rhythmic head nod.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Netflix is about to crash, right?

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This is why they need to build data centers… so an AI can incorrectly Well Actually millions of users per day. We will gently melt the polar ice caps every time someone online calls a hot dog a sandwich or Squall Leonhart “a beloved Final Fantasy character.”

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Ben Lindbergh @benlindbergh.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

An in-depth, spoiler-free Star Wars Zero Company review, with @matt-james.bsky.social and @steveahlman.bsky.social: •How it compares to the best Star Wars games and stories •Star Wars games vs. Star Wars TV/movies •Untapped genres for Star Wars gaming •Kabb Uppercut open.spotify.com/episode/7yyn...

open.spotify.com

'Star Wars Zero Company' Instant Reactions | Button Mash

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

We got all the glorbs. What a beautiful gift of a game.

The trophy for "Completely finish the game" in Big Walk

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I LOVED this game, haven't thought about it in like 20 years. Will be curious to see if it holds up after all this time. It was released late in the heyday of PC adventure games, just a few months before Grim Fandango in 1998. It kind of looked like Fallout despite being an entirely different genre.

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Ben Lindbergh @benlindbergh.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

New Button Mash! • @matt-james.bsky.social on The Duskbloods, GTA leaks, Sony live-service losers, Kratos recasting, Kingdom Hearts • @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social on game cloning and vibecoded copycats • @jazayerli.bsky.social on giving up and getting back into games open.spotify.com/episode/1NTX...

open.spotify.com

'GTA' Leaks, Copycat Clones, and How to Get Back Into Gaming | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse · Episode

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

New Button Mash! I played the upcoming Wolverine game! I share my impressions plus interviews with Liam McIntyre (who plays Logan), Grant Hollis (Art Director), and Brian Wyser (Senior Animation Director). Then @benlindbergh.bsky.social tells us about his hands-on time with Star Wars Zero Company!

open.spotify.com

'Marvel's Wolverine' and 'Star Wars Zero Company' Hands-On Previews | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse · Episode

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I don't understand the knock on Bluesky that it isn't a full picture of the entire American experience. Of course it isn't. Why would that be something that I want from social media? You think in real life I make sure to have some friends who are racist fascists in order to "hear both sides?"

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Ben Lindbergh @benlindbergh.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

New Button Mash, with @matt-james.bsky.social & @steveahlman.bsky.social: •A PS5 Pro confession •Big Walk rocks •Are we too washed for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls? •Koo is a good boy, but what about the rest of Beast of Reincarnation? •All-time top 5 gaming glow-ups open.spotify.com/episode/0HxV...

open.spotify.com

'Big Walk,' 'Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls,' and 'Beast of Reincarnation' Reactions. Plus, the Greatest Gaming Glow-Ups. | Button Mash

The Ringer-Verse · Episode

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Would love to watch Minecraft/Roblox iPad kids trying to play Marvel Tokon. I am 42 years old, lived through the arcade fighting game era, and even I feel initially overwhelmed by Tokon. It’s wild to put such a mainstream IP into such a (presently) niche game genre.

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Matt James @matt-james.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Just went through the Marvel Tokon tutorial and I’m wondering if I should just do med school instead of learning Tokon since it seems like roughly the same time commitment.

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