Renata Aieta

I tried Pokémon Legends: Z-A and loved the new battle system – but the graphics are still pretty awful Swapping historical intrigue for familiar fun

Last week, I went to Paris to hang out with Pikachu in the Eiffel Tower.

While I was there, I played just over an hour of Pokémon Legends Z-A - a demo that left me with mixed emotions.

www.techradar.com/gaming/pokem...

The Retro Handheld goldrush 25/09/2025 How forward thinking companies are cashing in by looking backwards.

What's driving the rise in retro game handhelds?

For this week's @vgim.bsky.social I speak to Evercade's @cleaverslips.bsky.social, @apzonerunner.com and GamerCard's Grant Sinclair about the legality and longevity of gaming's newest booming industry.

www.videogamesindustrymemo.com/p/the-retro-...

Editors, I have some truly top-tier gaming interviews that need a home.

If you have budget and are looking for some juicy high quality features, don't hesitate to slide into my DMs.

o ego deles é tão grande que acham que não poder ir pros estados unidos é punição?

For this week's VGIM, I explored the tricky relationship between ARMA and real world warfare.

I spoke to Bohemia Interactive about its game engine being used to spread misinformation about real conflicts and explore the morality of their game engine being sold to UK defence firm BAE systems.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review – cold war chaos reborn with cinematic swagger Konami’s lavish remake of Hideo Kojima’s PS2 masterpiece swaps in slick controls and stunning visuals, but leaves the eccentric espionage drama as gloriously unhinged as ever

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/a...

I had an absolute blast with Snake Eater Delta.

This is a gorgeous and stoicly faithful recreation of Kojima's most filmic achievement to date.

While there are aspects where this 2004 classic shows its age, it still had me grinning throughout.

Onimusha: Way Of The Sword has some of the best animations I've ever seen in a video game.

Fast, fluid, challenging and fun, Way Of The Sword felt somewhere between Sekiro and Devil May Cry V.

My preview for VGC below 👇

Resident Evil Requiem feels an awful lot like Hideo Kojima’s cancelled P.T. | VGC Hands-On: Resident Evil 9 offers an overly familiar brand of fear…

Hands-On: Resident Evil Requiem feels an awful lot like Hideo Kojima’s cancelled P.T., writes @grapedosmil.bsky.social.

vgc.news/features/res...

‘Even after 20 years, I still cry’: the enduring brilliance of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Two decades after its release and with a remake about to land, the cast of Hideo Kojima’s stealth blockbuster reflect on what made this cold war caper a gaming classic

21 years later, I speak to the cast and creators of Snake Eater, who reflect on what made Snake’s cold war caper such a gaming classic.

I don't know about you, but I'm still in a dream.... SNAAKKEE EATERR

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/a...

Tony Hawk soars between two quarter-pipe ramps in the desert, his red shirt pops against clear blue sky.

"My name is not just about me anymore, it's synonymous with a video game..."

The one and only Tony Hawk reflects on 90s culture, celebrity, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, the game that changed his life:
www.eurogamer.net/tony-hawk-on...

For Eurogamer, I sat down with the one and only Tony Hawk, who tells the story of how he went from struggling to make a living to becoming the face of PlayStation's coolest game.

Silent Hill f – horror classic comes back to life in a fog-bound 60s town Playing as ill-used teenager Hinako, players must contend with that era’s sexual politics as well as more unearthly terrors

Here’s our preview of Silent Hill f, written by @grapedosmil.bsky.social - fear, fog and feminism in 60s Japan…

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/a...

A star studded games console state of play, 07/08/2025 Andy Serkis, Henk Rogers, and the sweary guy from Hazelight weigh in on the state of play for games consoles (and the industry at large)

Another week, another VGIM.

In this week's edition, @grapedosmil.bsky.social talks to the creator of Doom, the man who brought Tetris to the west, the sweary guy from Hazelight, Rematch's Creative Director and Gollum about games today.

www.videogamesindustrymemo.com/p/a-star-stu...

Why are there so many video game showcases?, 31/07/2025 Or, why there were 30+ events with 7070 games for you to watch this Summer

This week, I'm back writing @vgim.bsky.social

I talk Japanese politics, hobbits & lycra,while examining why we're drowning in livestream showcases.

Cheers to @dompepin.bsky.social @jaketucker.bsky.social @indoorheroes.bsky.social for the insight

www.videogamesindustrymemo.com/p/why-are-th...

The Pro Skater games shaped a generation's music taste, but they were even more transformative for the bands on the soundtracks.

I spoke to Less Than Jake, The Ataris, Drain, AFI, The 900 and Tony Hawk himself about how Pro Skaters' killer soundtracks changed their lives

How to make your old Nintendo Switch games feel new again on Switch 2 Here’s a breakdown of how original Switch titles work on Switch 2, explaining everything from free Switch 2 updates to inbuilt backwards compatibility and the paid Switch 2 Edition upgrades

My favourite thing about Switch 2 so far are the free updates transforming blurry Switch classics into 4K-ready stunners.

Here's how these various paid & gratis upgrades work, as I test every game during a heatwave - and go slightly insane in the process. Enjoy.

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/j...

Photo of a Jolteon eating a png of a cheeseburger

borgor

Shameful

Donkey Kong Bananza: gorilla finds his groove with Mariah Carey on his shoulder For his first Nintendo Switch 2 appearance, DK goes on a rhythmic rampage, powered up to new hulking heights by singing sidekick Pauline. It’s big, brash and impossibly enjoyable

I came away from my first DK Bananza demo feeling a bit like a Cranky Kong, but after three hours with it last week, it's won me over.

Part Banjo Kazooie, part Incredible Hulk simulator, this lizard-brained smash 'em up is big, brash and an absolute blast 🍌🐒

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/j...

Beyond Mario Kart World: what else is worth playing on Nintendo Switch 2? Nintendo has slept on new games for its new handheld but clockwork-puzzle murder missions, an RPG reborn and a beefed-up Yakuza 0 are the highlights from other developers

For The Guardian, I wrote a review roundup of the most notable third party Switch 2 launch games.

Hitman, Kunitsu-gami, Yakuza and Bravely Default all really impressed me, but I found Cyberpunk and Street Fighter a little too compromised to fully recommend.

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/j...

Coheed and Cambria vs Taking Back Sunday: New Jersey emo legends pick each other’s greatest tracks From doing favours across the Atlantic to a decade under each other’s influence, Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara and Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez talk their enduring friendship.

For @shortlistofficial.bsky.social I spoke to two of the best New Jersey bands to ever do it, Coheed and Cambria and Taking Back Sunday.

Here's Claudio Sanchez's favourite Taking Back Sunday songs and Adam Lazzara gushing about his favourite Coheed tracks.

www.shortlist.com/entertainmen...

I'm excited to announce the NES-ential Celebration, a beautifully-designed hardcover book celebrating Nintendo's first console.

As its editor, I've commissioned a supergroup of phenomenal writers, alongside unique essays from beloved game developers & creators

www.kickstarter.com/projects/338...

you are correct x

I wanna playyy

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake makes me feel like I'm sipping on warm cocoa, minimal meddling keeping these oldies golden Hands-on | Slaying slimes and becoming the dragon warrior in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake

I played Dragon Quest 1+2 HD, and just like the gorgeous, nostalgia-tickling 3 HD Remake, it's hard not to be charmed by this loving ode to gaming's past.

www.gamesradar.com/games/jrpg/d...

proud of you xx

‘It was just the perfect game’: Henk Rogers on buying Tetris and foiling the KGB The man who brought Tetris to the west reveals what the movie of his life got right and wrong, how he influenced Nintendo, and why he has now swapped gaming for climate change campaigning

For @theguardian.com I interviewed Henk Rogers.

The man who brought Tetris to the west reveals what the movie of his life got right and wrong, how he influenced Nintendo, and why he has now swapped gaming for climate change campaigning.

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/m...

Skin Deep review – kitty rescue immersive-sim is slapstick fun in a cartoony playground This attempt to cosy-fi an immersive sim game is full of ‘zany’ gags as you rescue cats from a spaceship, but it gets a bit too saccharine

I reviewed Skin Deep for The Guardian. Full of cats, carnage & colliding systems, it's a playful attempt to cosy-fi the immersive sim.

Yet for all its enjoyable systems-led slapstick, the nauseating millennial humour grates.

A Deus Ex for Disney adults 🌟 🌟 🌟

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/a...

Edge magazine, Blades Of Fire Tom Regan

Your boy's back in the hallowed pages of EDGE this month, writing about Metroid Dread creators intriguing new original IP, Blades Of Fire

Not pictured, the mountain of heavily discounted vegan easter eggs next to me.

How 2025’s surprise RPG hit lured some big-name stars In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Andy Serkis and Charlie Cox join a cast featuring gaming’s hottest voice actors.

For @theverge.com I spoke to the cast of the brilliant Clair Obscur.

Andy Serkis reveals what attracted him to this painterly RPG and why he's championed mo-cap and games since LOTR

While @benstarr.bsky.social and Jennifer English talk wrestling with mortality.

www.theverge.com/interview/65...