This week on exp.

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Actual Journalism: I Asked Panic About GenAI in Playdate Season 2​

An unusual week on exp. because I did some actual journalism. I’m really not sure why more outlets didn’t pick this up in the first place–isn’t it news that there’s a game that uses AI in Playdate Season 2? I think it is! Anyway, I got some quotes. A few people have mentioned maybe I should have followed up with them to nail down if they’re going to allow AI on Playdate in future or not–and they’re right. But this kind of thing isn’t the focus of the site! If I end up having to do this again, I’ll put some more thought into it.

(To be fair, also, they made me wait two weeks for a response.)

Subscriber Post: Super Xevious: GAMP No Nazo (Namco, 1986)​

I thought this meme I made was very funny. I guess lots of people didn’t see it, it was a busy news day. Yeah… that’s it.

Unlocked Post: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, 2025)​

Clair Obscur has stayed in the headlines a bit, this article on Digital Trends begging people to be normal about it then when discussing good criticism of the game, somehow forgetting to link this epic article. It’s ok, I’ll forgive them.

From The exp. Archives: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega, 1992)​

Old me’s tone of voice annoying me in this one. The iconoclastic wee twat.

Other Zines

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​This Queer Online Zine Can Only Be Read Via an Ancient Internet Protocol​

And here was me thinking I was being old school by having a website. I’ll need to try harder. This newsletter is moving to, uh, Gopher.

​Rulebooks for Radicals by Greg Loring-Albright​

“If games can’t change the world, why bother to make them? I lay out my answers in zine form, including some tips on how to get started making games if you haven’t before.”

And Finally…

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Friend of exp. Raigan Burns pointed out after reading our article on Sky Kid that Sopwith, a Canadian MS-DOS game, actually predates it by a year or so and is extremely similar. I think it’s sort of unlikely that someone at Namco saw this and decided to rip it off, but it also seems so close to be as unlikely to be simultaneous invention either. Mr. Namco, if you’re reading this, get in touch!

Next week on exp.: Footy Footy Footy, Ball Ball Ball!

Hello and welcome to the very first exp. Dispatch! A little later than I expected for a variety of reasons. But at least with the delay I fixed the mailing address so this doesn’t just go immediately into your spam box, like the confirmation emails for, uh, about half of the people who have subscribed, who therefore won’t be reading this in their inboxes. Oops!

This week on exp.

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exp. was on rare sale at the Toronto Games Week Indie Game Emporium last Sunday the 15th! There’s a decent chance if you’re reading this you signed up for the newsletter while there, so thanks!

Subscriber Post: Clair Obscur (Sandfall Interactive, 2025)​

Really proud of this one, and I think it speaks for itself. It should do—it’s four thousand words long. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can subscribe on Patreon to read this right now!

Unlocked Post: Sky Kid [NES] (Namco, 1986)

I’ve updated my way of titling posts, and it’s here I was like… “er…” because I forgot sometimes I write articles about games released in specific versions after I’ve written about a “primary” version. This doesn’t really matter for anything modern–everything comes out on everything–but it does when I’ve got, like, four versions of Ghosts n’ Goblins or something on the backlog. Anyway, I settled on square brackets. Yes, this kind of thrilling peek behind the curtain is what you’re going to get if you’re subscribed to this newsletter.

From The exp. Archives: Saints Row III (Volition, 2011)​

While I get the archive up and running on the site properly, I might as well prompt people to read some really, really old stuff, because not all of it made into Every Game I’ve Finished 14>24 (buy now! etc.) This has since been remastered, though I’m sure these ancient thoughts hold up. Thoughts that mostly made me now go “would be nice to replay Sleeping Dogs, I never wrote that one up.”

exp. du Cinéma: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning​

Good joke at the start of this one, IMHO.

Other Zines

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​But what can I do? How to fight the trans panic by Ruth Pearce​

“The zine is written particularly with allies in mind. It provides some background information on the UK’s anti-trans moral panic, and offers some suggestions for easy things people can do.”

​Secret Passages #2​

The Secret Passage #2 Kickstarter is almost over, but there’s still time to back it!

Mutual Aid

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​CRT Pixels is a Bluesky account I’ve been following for a while who shows off why I’m such a stickler for playing retro games with CRT shaders or on real hardware when I can–it’s how the art was supposed to look, innit. Their partner was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and a gofundme was started for support because, of course, America is a hellzone. If you know me personally, you’ll know I lost my best friend to a shock stage 4 cancer diagnosis, so this one hit home. Support if you can.​

And Finally…

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Hey look! A mildly viral post on Bluesky!

Next week on exp.: A return to 1986, to write about a sequel to a game that it feels like we mention in 90% of our essays.