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Stephen Gillespie

@stephenage.bsky.social
126 followers 102 following 614 posts

Film Podcaster, Critic and General Opinion Haver. Find me at The STACKS and on I’m Thinking of Spoiling Things. Contributor to Step Printed. www.letterboxd.com/stephenage www.StepPrinted.com

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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I’m on your side.
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Reposted by Stephen Gillespie
murph0ween @murph04.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Daysgonedreamcast featuring @stephenage.bsky.social
open.spotify.com
Days Gone
Daydreamcast · Episode
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Every time I watch The Gruffalo’s Child with my son, I am struck by how similar it is to The Last of Us Part II. And how it does that in 25 minutes… just saying.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Taking Code out of the name of the Code: Veronica remake is going to make that puzzle at the end where you have to put in a code (and it’s Veronica) very hard.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Mixtape is a game that lacks specificity and fails to elevate its tropes through interactivity. Read all about it here…
open.substack.com
Mixtape: An Empty Compilation
Later on in Mixtape you head to a dinosaur amusement park.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
We are back!! And we are making enemies.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I wrote about the enticing, inherent violence of Marathon (2026). Why the game makes you kill and why that’s so fun.
open.substack.com
I Am a Gun: Life as Gleefully Brutish and Short in Marathon (2026)
In Marathon (2026), you play as a gun.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I hope it continues still.
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Reposted by Stephen Gillespie
Quick Save @quicksavepodcast.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
New Episode Claxon 🚨🚨🚨 Did Joe forget to post the episode from last week? No! Of course not! Unrelated, but tune in below to hear @joerichardswrites.bsky.social and @stephenage.bsky.social's shared thoughts on Metroid Prime:4 Beyond, and beyond. open.spotify.com/episode/7E9S...
open.spotify.com
Episode 12: Metroidvania-mania
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Reposted by Stephen Gillespie
Quick Save @quicksavepodcast.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
We really should have had an account set up sooner, but no time like the present, and at the start of the new year! Welcome to Quick Save, where @joerichardswrites.bsky.social and @stephenage.bsky.social talk games, sometimes. Every two weeks, or so, to be precise. Thank you for being here!
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
New fone who dis?
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Some of them are even good.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I hate that this is my legacy.
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Reposted by Stephen Gillespie
austin_walker @austinwalker.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
2. ian, you old dog, you old troll, you still got it.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Maybe my most recent post shouldn’t have been about Salo… what will my new found audience think?? With all sincerity, though, so glad you reached out and that I was able to help and already excellent piece.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Forget gaming’s Citizen Kane, with HORSES we finally have the medium’s Salo.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The survival horror of Silent Hill: Homecoming is surviving the horrors of this busted PC port. It’s unstable, you have to guess what buttons to press (it gives a prompt for a button but doesn’t tell you which one) and the controller option in the game is entirely fictive.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Well, this Derry Girls spin off is certainly different.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
backloggd.com/u/stephenage...
backloggd.com
stephenage's review of Silent Hill 3 | Backloggd
After two standalone titles, Silent Hill 3 is the first direct sequel. This game follows up the events of Silent Hill 1, though effectively stands alone for new players with its own internal stakes an...
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
backloggd.com/u/stephenage...
backloggd.com
stephenage's review of Silent Hill 2 | Backloggd
A masterclass in mood. The astounding promise of the first game is refined into something even more special, aided by a more focused narrative that works much better on a character level. It is an int...
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
backloggd.com/u/stephenage...
backloggd.com
stephenage's review of Silent Hill | Backloggd
Still feels utterly unique. For all the talk about how much the game is aged, the central feel is actually fantastic. Sure, the game will occasionally demand a touch more precision than is comfortable...
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Finally getting round to the Silent Hill games… these are GOOD.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
A delight to discuss Fuller with tremendous company!
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Silksong asks the question of ‘do you like down attacking onto small buds but you’ll also down attack at an angle?’ To which I answer, no, not really.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
It’s awesome.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
This is all accurate.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
When they do a definitive edition of The Old Country, they should just take out all the knife fights. This cutting content should be cut content.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Few but you and I realise that Thunderbolts* sucks.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
You have to leave yourself exposed for a moment so it’s more about balancing that time out of cover than quickly popping up and smoking fools. It’s a very methodical rhythm.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Early in The Old Country but really like the gunplay. You expect quick stop-and-pop cover shooting but guns take a moment to aim and steady. It’s more about lining up a shot in the right window to hit before your foe lines up theirs. Gives a really methodical pace to combat that fits cover shooting.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Yes three is repetitive but it’s very systematically interesting and thematically focused. The narrative exists around the action but also stems from it. It’s a reactive game with bold — if partially unrealised — possibilities. But it damn goes for it in so many regards.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Three makes the cardinal sin of tuning a franchise that was linear narrative games in open worlds (as a backdrop) into an open world game that has a linear narrative. That narrative is great though and the systems really aid it.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
The game devolves into a lot of random minority on minority violence, and isn’t as good as telling the ‘in the mob’ story as it is the getting into the mob tale. Though, this latter mentioned part is superlative.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
The open world is a backdrop for the story it wants to tell and is integral to the feel. It’s level design on a gran scale, a skybox of sorts where the liminal space between interactions becomes a key character. Crossing that bridge into the city is always a great moment.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Having played through Mafia 1-3 this week, it’s such a fascinating series. The first is an of its time proof of concept, with good storytelling and fun set pieces — great atmosphere. The second elevates all of this. …
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
I’m living parasitically off of your success and credibility.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Video game podcast time! The best takes on Death Stranding 2, Atomfall, THPS 3 + 4 and moooooore!! As always, with @joerichardswrites.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/5Lg6...
open.spotify.com
Episode 4: Stephen is a Sicko, Joe is Not
Quick Save · Episode
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
I’m behind on sharing stuff as I’ve been too busy. But.. here’s a video games podcast with Deltarune, Doom the Dark Ages and Mario Kart World… oh and to a T. The highlight though is a story of why I uninstalled Civilization 7. With @joerichardswrites.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/1p8S...
open.spotify.com
Episode 3: The One Where We Talk Deltarune (and Switch 2)
Quick Save · Episode
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
And we collected teeth.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Deciding to take on a military base yesterday by just teasing out foes and being methodical was just so satisfying. The odds far against you but if you have the same amount of bullets as there are enemies… you know you could win.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
There are few experiences in games that appeal more to me than gun fights where you are supposed to scrape by. Where a well placed shot will dispatch your foe, but a well placed shot on you is going to similarly be a problem. Few foes where they all matter, where a bullet missed is a failure.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Finally getting round to Atomfall. Certainly the most Stephen game of the year. The hilarious amalgamation of British stereotypes that’s charmingly specific certainly appeals. However, this is S.T.A.L.K.E.R meets the open ended, emergent structure of Fallout 1 and 2. Precision tooled to my interests
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Thoughts on the, very sadly, deeply disappointing to a T stepprinted.com/to-a-t-serie...
stepprinted.com
to a T (Series X): An Admirable Failure from the Katamari Creator
Over the last couple of decades, game director Keita Takahashi has become one of the most interesting creatives in the medium. He's most famous for the superlative Katamari Damacy, though also cult de...
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
I keep saying this. The last one literally came out the day my son was born.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
You can indeed do this.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
28 Years Later reminds us Garland is a better writer than he is a director… But still not a great writer.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Yes, you get some very raw and personal conversations inspired by The Rehearsal; yes, you get an in depth discussion of Wes Anderson’s distinct language of film… But we know you’re really here for the… CHICKEN JOCKEY. A Minecraft Movie, covered here. Next ep, Hurry Up Tomorrow. We treat you.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Well that’s all of Deltarune for now. The objective kindness vibe still slightly grates on me but it’s still a completely masterful game.
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Stephen Gillespie @stephenage.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Playing through Deltarune. Those first two chapters are good to great but feel very much in line with what you expect. Finished chapter 3 yesterday and just adored it. Manically creative and full of swings; great blend of ideas and interactivity. So excited for what 4 brings.
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