Reconnect Recap, w/e 26th Jan - Keeping it CIVil.
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Welcome to the Reconnect Recap, the Genki Switch Leak, to Reconnect, the games writing discovery platform.
In a period of time, not marked by a lot of game releases, there sure has been a tonne of discourse and chatter in the gaming sphere this week. As always, it’s my job to bring you some of the best articles that featured on Reconnect this week, and I also share a few extra fun things you might like.
If you’re on Bluesky, 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.
The Recap
Today we’re starting with Civilization. I have huge respect for these games, though never really played one, I have however read Sid Meier’s book, I highly recommend.
Civ 7 is right around the corner, but before we look ahead, let’s first look back. Classic Game Revival has a comparative review of all the Civ Series, which is a fun way to see how the games have grown.
Now back in present time,
has a preview on the upcoming Civ game, as well as some switch news, and cancelled Sony live service games.Jumping into analytics (my day job, but not this exciting), we have survey information from GDC that shows more developers are targeting PC, and to be expected, more are also targeting the Steam Deck, via GamingOnLinux.
has the January numbers for the industry, you’ll never guess which indie hit not about poker has sold more than 5m units on mobile, and 75m people have been assassinating others for fun….Looking into the future,
has some great analysis about the growth of gaming in the past couple of years and why things are a bit messed up at the moment, but plenty of positive news for future games.Let’s take a brief interlude to look at some retro hardware, I love looking, but I never buy. RetroDodo has news of more handhelds on the way with the launch of the MagicX Mini Zero 28.
Going a bit left field here, Game Wisdom is a great resource for non-traditional gaming, specifically gambling machines, their latest piece covers how Casinos keep people playing with fancy tricks, psychology, and flashy games.
Even more left field is a very technical article by the Interplay of Light, who walks us through the hidden cost of shader instructions in games.
Taking us home we have some great articles about games. Distant Arcade takes us back to the music from the Golden Sun games.
on Damage Per Second takes us into the first Alan Wake game and how it set the scene for Remedy’s ongoing success. talks us through a first timers experience with the FF7 universe, playing Remake having never played the original. This was my exact experience and found a lot of parallels between cats experience and mine.And finally,
gives us a review of a demo disc. Not your expected back of a magazine demo disc, but a new one packed with released and upcoming horror games as part of an indie initiative. I for one can’t stand horror, there are some adverts that I find too scary, but I love this concept so much.Its been a busy week and I hope you enjoyed the Recap, and can forgive me for a few mistakes in last weeks issue. Keep reading on for some few fun extras and I’ll catch you this time next week!
Something Extra
It’s another week, and we have yet another fun Doom project. I might just rename this section as these things seem to be coming out thick and fast (got a suggestion for a new section title?).
It’s not a mod of doom, nor is it doom running on a pregnancy test (not a joke) or a PDF.
Instead someone who has a love of a PS1 Platformer called Jumping Flash, has rebuilt the game in an open source doom engine, and then merged concepts from both game into it.
Check it out over on TimeExtension.
Writer Recap
Today I’m shouting out a newish writer to substack,
, who only started writing in December, but has been pumping out some quality articles since and I hope they continue. Mike’s experience in mental health enables them to look at games from a more psychological point of view and has provided some really great insights to bullies and your own gaming identity.As always, chuck them a follow!
Latest Article
Survive 'till 25: Now what?
In the span of two years, around 25 - 30,000 people lost their jobs in the games industry.
Last Recap
Reconnect Recap, w/e 19th Jan -
Welcome to the Reconnect Recap, the Intel Battlemage, to Reconnect, the games writing discovery platform.
I legit cannot wait for Civ 7. That series has been a staple of my gaming rotation since Civ 3, and Civ 6 seemed truly insurmountable, until now. Looking forward to sinking many more hours into it!
Always appreciate the highlight! You rock 🤘🏻