Reconnect Recap - w/e 19th April
Reviewing the week that's been over on Reconnect
G’day team!
Hope you’ve had as fun of a week as I had! Getting more settled into my new home, finally got some furniture and got to go see Project Hail Mary which was of course Amaze Amaze Amaze!
Welcome back for another issue of the Reconnect Recap, the companion newsletter for Reconnect, the games writing discovery platform. I added a handful new sites to the platform this week, so there’s now, more than ever, plenty of variety for whatever you are in the mood for.
This week we’re travelling the world a bit, talking about Indies, more gaming handhelds, and much much more!
Let’s dig in.
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Great Write Ups
Flooding the charts: The latest in industry figures from The GameDiscoverCo newsletter shows that the Triple-I initiative paid off in terms of wishlists, and they break down how latest hit Hozy did so well.
Face off: The Homie Big Picture Mode has teamed up with Roger Renfro to face off on some bad games, this weeks edition has them both pick and game and try to convince the audience which game was worst.
Portugal: Button Musher has started a series focussing on what’s happening in the Portuguese Game Development space, and I really love hearing about how games are growing in the non-expected places like Canada, and America.
Home Sweet Home: Mechanized Narrative delves into what makes RPG towns so memorable and special in games, and why some fall short.
God of Thunder: Oya is living my dream and got their hands on an AYN Thor and gives their personal thoughts on the device, and by proxy, is sending my FOMO into the atmosphere.
Chuck another game on the barbie: As someone who grew up in New Zealand, Australia’s shadow, I often wondered why NZ was out pacing Aus in terms of game dev. I mean I remember a time when there was a Rockstar studio in Sydney, so what happened? Thankfully Harrison Polites has the answer.
Under Pressure: Brian Crecente interviews a Cuban Indie developer to get the low-down on their upcoming Horror game, but to also understand what development has been like in a country that faces many issues, a major one being power cuts.
Finding the right words: Dialogue is no joke, it’s not easy to write lines for video games and have it feel correct. degonyte explains the thinking that goes into selecting the right words, to avoid the feeling that makes you think somethings off.
A little to close to home: Ellie Macdonald plays Fishbowl a cozy game she thought she could relax into, but alas the game tackles some great, but very real topics that hit a bit harder than expected.
Defining Luigi: Thrilling Tales of Old Video games, who always has the best deep dives on how things came to be, breaks open how Luigi got to look the way he does today, because originally he was just a cooler swapped Mario.
Nature is healing: Amongst the rising GPU prices, and the industry giants crumbling under their own hubris, Trip Harrison writes about how the Triple-I initiative is a sign that Indie games are leading the way, even if he does get a bit too caught up on what Triple-I means…..
Fun Tidbits
2026 Continues To Be An Awful Year For Retro Handheld Fans, As AYANEO Hints At More Price Hikes
Giving Graveyard Keeper Away for Free Generated $250,000, Says Publisher
Anbernic’s ‘RG Rotate’ Reminds Us Of The Gloriously Crazy Phone Design Boom Of The 2000s
Obscure Mega Man Game Given The Game Boy Remake “Nobody Asked For”
This Popular PSP SNES Emulator Is Getting Revived After Eight Years Away
Thank you for the mention Alex! What a great roundup, some fantastic reads in here 👏
Soooo many good things published this last week! 🤩 I love this community 🥰