Live Open Mike

An Announcement For the last six and a half years, I've been working in games media in varying capacities. Now it's time for something new.

So... I still can't believe I'm writing this. After three years with @UploadVR.com, it's surreal to say I'm stepping down after next week. Happy to say this was my choice, and I'm beyond thrilled to announce I'm joining @futurefriendsgames.com on January 12th! 👀 - medium.com/@terranauts9...

This holiday season, I'm doing a game review drive in my Twitch community called CritiqueMas.

You earn points for posting reviews of recent (<18mos old) games & posting about it on socials. Every 5pts earns entry into a raffle for prizes.

For more info, check out my Discord: discord.gg/9ESCDpT4CD

Happy to announce I will be freelance reviewing VR games (written and video) for @uploadvr.com.

Check out my debut piece for Men In Black: Most Wanted by @coatsink.com!

Thank you, Henry.

Wow, it's been a few months eh? Life has been LIFE-ing hard the last 3 months, but should get back to a normal cadence in the coming weeks.

@resolutiongames.bsky.social have done an amazing job with @battlemarked.bsky.social, there's so many fun bits of lore floating through it and I'm really enjoying seeing the story unfold.

A lot of the business failures of the games industry are really rooted in this desire to create a product that dominates the market. The recent Amazon thing really highlights that: they wanted to create a product that outperformed Steam, but they didn't understand Steam or what the audience wanted.

Slight correction. Endless multiplayer came last year (did a video on it). This update just improves and expands it.

I love all of this, but Arken Age not being in the GOTY running hurts my heart.

Proud to announce that I am one of the eight judges in this! Really happy to see SteamVR being celebrated like this, looking forward to this dropping next week

SAME! I've already bailed. Never been a gacha guy and the story is not compelling enough to keep me engaged.

Blimey, Ghost Town just won the ‘Best Game’ award at the Raindance Immersive Festival🥳!
As a small indie studio it means a lot to us seeing Ghost Town getting this kind or recognition, so big thanks to the organisers and judges @raindance.org 🙌
www.raindanceimmersive.com/2025-awards

I’m in Act Two and loving it

Dammit.

Upload VR Summer 2025 Get lost in the new frontier of gaming with our fresh VR bundle for summer—pay what you want and get standout VR titles like Until You Fall today!

Bundle of VR greatness

h/t @liveopenmike.bsky.social

www.humblebundle.com/games/upload... #vr #pcvr

My @polyarcgames.com Discord takeover kicks off in a few hours (6p ET, 3p PT)! 🐭

I'll be chatting with Polyarc's Design Director Chris Bourassa, Senior Artist Kieran Lampert, & Community Manager Kristen Carlisle about Moss, Glassbreakers (mostly), and the state of the #XR ecosystem.

See you soon!

15 - At first, this felt more concerned with MTX than meaningful content, but the last two update after leaving early access remedied that. This game has infinite room for growth from an already rock solid foundation. Great stuff and I hope development continues.

4/5

14 - I loved Vertigo 2, despite some nebulous storytelling. It was jarring after being Sonia for two full games to transition to Brian being the protag, but the gameplay holds up, the level & creature design is still top notch, and it neatly wraps up an at times tough-to-follow plot.

4/5

I’m in the middle of a game rn that has me wanting to make a new “best boss fights in VR” list video. My last one is two years old now. It needs updating.

I don't know how I brainwashed @polyarcgames.com, but they're letting me take over their Discord again to grill, I mean leisurely chat with the team about Glassbreakers! 🐭

Join me next week for a roundtable talking about the new characters and any secrets I can pry out of them. 👀

13 - I grew up in the gaming era this game represents, so I related to this one a bit more than its predecessor. Again, Arvore nails the aesthetics & despite the limited runtime, the gameplay switches things up so often I was dying for more when it was over. Absolutely tremendous.

5/5

12 - Long overdue to play this game-within-a-game gem. Some legitimately challenging platforming and the Matryoshka doll-like set up was terrific. Great boss fights and Arvore nails the aesthetic. Any gamer mid 30s and up will appreciate this kick of nostalgia.

4/5

11 - It's 2025 & a developer thought a VR movement system where you can ONLY move in a straight line & snap turn was a good idea. The admittedly fun horse races are hurt by clunky controls.

With patches, this would be awesome. As is... only cozy or horse loving gamers should apply.

2/5

10 - Civ VII VR - A MESSY VR implementation plus bad onboarding makes this a hard sell for newcomers to the franchise like me. For those starved for this genre in VR, get through the friction & there's something here, but I have a hard time seeing anyone preferring this to the flat game(s).

2/5

9 - The predecessor to my frontrunner for 2025 VRGOTY (Arken Age). Some parts really haven't aged well (stiff NPC & enemy animations, for one), but weapons are fun, combat is passable, & the two boss fights were pretty fun. Worth a grab on a sale.

3/5

8 - Wow, I'm behind. A nice little bit of 'Life Is Strange'-like storytelling marred by a clunky node teleport movement system & some odd rhythm minigame mechanics. Get past the friction and there's a REALLY good story being told here.

3/5

On my Twitch streams, we play a game called 'Guess The Clip' where viewers can win stream currency if they correctly guess the game in the clip from a previous #VR livestream.

Can you name this game? First correct guess gets a cookie!

@kroyvr.bsky.social, you're not allowed to respond.

A quick recap of the "great" year VR is having, or at least the narrative others would like you to believe.

If you missed the @polyarcgames.com s town hall I hosted, catch the full Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss discussion with Polyarc's Design Director, @chrisbourassa.bsky.social, on my YT channel.

Link in bio.

#questcreatorpartner #vr #metaquest #pcvr