Reconnect Recap - w/e 24th August

A weekly recap of some of the best video game articles to feature on Reconnect.

Aug 25, 2025

Kia Ora folks

It’s been an exciting week as Gamescom delivers another fresh batch of the things we love more than anything else in the industry… trailers.

Whilst the industry gets hands on with cool new games, it’s the devices that have me intrigued. I’m not saying I’m going to get rid of my Steamdeck but if it broke tomorrow I’d be taking a second look at that ROG Ally Xbox handheld that’s being shown off. I don’t love windows, but there are some games that just don’t work on the Deck.

Talking of the deck, Im still working my way through Cyberpunk’s DLC on mine, I can’t get over how well the game runs on the handheld. When I’m not hacking peoples implants and driving a Katana through their hearts I’ve actually been pouring a heap of time into an idle game, called Examiner. Love a sci fi setting and this idle game is all about mining resources on planets, thought it has an interesting twist where you reset (prestige) every twenty levels and start all over again, sale values double and you get to keep some upgrades. I thought I’d get bored of resetting so often but it’s keeping me engaged.

If you’re new to the newsletter, or suffer from short term amnesia, this is the Reconnect Recap, the companion newsletter to Reconnect, a website that aggregates over 300 amazingly talented games writers, so readers don’t need to do the hard work of finding something new to read, they can visit Reconnect, the one stop shop.

This week we’re diving into butt-cheeks, socks, puzzle games, managing video game scripts, and plenty more.

Let’as dive in!

Great Write Ups

War, war never changes: Fallout has always been a popular setting and game series, so it never made sense to me that we didn’t get many copy-cat spin offs. Magnvs has taken the time to dive into Atom, a game that very much is carrying on the essence of Fallout 2.
Moving your game launch: At the beginning of the year, games were tentatively waiting to hear about GTA VI’s launch date so they could plan around it, now with GTA delayed you’d think it would be smooth sailing for devs. However, Aftermath reports that it’s now Silksong everyone is avoiding.
Not enough cheek: I’ve been vaguely aware of the industry’s obsession with video game books, heck, Laura Kate Dale made an entire book about video game butts, but I was not prepared for the opening paragraph to Ferg's Frickhouse piece about DK’s peaches, or lack there of should I say.
Don’t ship the wrong game: The GameDiscoverCo newsletter features a talk by René Habermann, creator of Dome Keeper, on making sure you don’t release a game no one wants to play.
Socks, blown: Video Game Stories reflects on the first gaming moment that felt like magic.
Giraud’s essence: We were all captivated when we first saw footage of Sable, and It made me buy the game on sight, such a peaceful game. I’m very happy to be reminded about the game thanks to Oya ‘s great article.
Thinking Recommended: Thinky games is a platform dedicated only to games that require thinking to play (puzzles), their latest edition of recommended titles is a great selection, and I think they are about the 4986th person to recommend ‘Is this seat taken’.
Writing a game script: Scripts in games are confusing beasts, with multiple branches, hidden dialogue, NPC barks, Its obvious they don’t just store the script in a word file, so what programs do they use? Greg R Buchanan explains.
Some games can’t live forever: Monoliths femme-fatale No One Lives Forever might have been a successful game, but we’ve never seen a new release or a remake since its last title, and its probably because no one knows who owns the rights.
Develop Brighton 2025: TWIV covers off their experience at this years Develop Brighton, I’m quite interested to see if I can watch the talks on pain noises, and Lego Horizons.
Less dragons, not more: Dubious Media walks us through how EA, being EA, did some EA things, that lead to some EA consequences, mainly an under supported Dragon Age franchise.
Who are Microsofts Allies?: The Game Business explains Microsofts approach to their upcoming handheld the ROG Ally X.
Blind Box Buying: The Video Game Storyteller did something none of us have done in years, buy a video game without any foreknowledge of it or research before hand. The game, a PSP game, turned out to be a bit of a treat for VGS.
Um, I’m afraid of heights: Everyones all about climbing mountains now, apparently every day life isn’t stressful enough. Button Musher shows off an upcoming realistic climbing game that got the whole studio thinking vertical.
Cat vs Dog: Did you know Sony, is going after a games company called Naught Cat, because they own Naughty Dog, also did you know there was going to be an American beer company called Super Mash Brothers…. Stephen Totilo explains.
Under pressure: We all know games manipulate us, some for good reasons, others to empty our wallets and cause consternation. Game Wisdom breaks down the psychology of high stakes choices in games.

Thanks for reading Reconnect Recap! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Housekeeping

🟨 Want to see more? Visit Reconnect and bookmark it, the site is updated multiple times a day.
⏰ Missed a previous Recap? Check out the full catalog here.
✍️ Like how I write? I occasionally write my own thoughts on the games industry, find those articles here.
🦋 On Bluesky? Give me a follow, I share all the best articles on my profile every day, if you’re curious about following more games writers, I’ve made a starter pack so that you can follow all the Reconnect writers in one spot. Not 100% complete yet but I’ll keep adding to it.
💸 I develop, and pay for the costs of hosting Reconnect out of my own pocket, and everything I do from managing the site and writing these articles are things in do in my personal time. If you're feeling generous feel free to give me a tip.

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?