I used to pre-order live-service games on instinct: slick trailers, a cool concept, and the promise of "a game as a service that evolves over years." After a few rough launches and pay-to-win surprises, I learned to treat preorders like contracts — not with legal jargon, but with expectations. If...
Read more...
TV
I’ve spent a lot of time watching how streaming platforms behave, talking to...
Music
I still get a jolt when a record I bought for £30 suddenly lists for £300 the...
Film
I want to walk you through a story I’ve been watching closely: how a tiny...
Gaming
As someone who spends a lot of time parsing games, fandoms and the...
I’ve been moderating, reading, and sometimes agonizing over comment sections for as long as I’ve been covering fandom culture. Over the years I’ve watched heated debates blossom into communities and, just as often, watched threads spiral into...
I’ve been to enough movie nights, indie premieres, and studio-backed blockbusters to know that paying premium for a “streaming-friendly” theater experience should feel like more than just a bigger chair and a pricier popcorn. As someone who...
I spent the last two weeks trying to live with Sony’s new PlayStation handheld as my primary on-the-go gaming device — swapping it in for my PS5 at times, taking it on commutes, and forcing it into backyard chill sessions. I wanted to know one...
I’ve been collecting records long enough to remember when soundtracks were the odd cousins of rock and pop LPs — interesting, sometimes pricey, but rarely the breakout stars at record stores. Lately, though, I’ve been watching whole runs of...
I get a lot of DMs and emails from readers asking how to tell whether a commission offer on social platforms is legitimate or a scam. As someone who’s spent years in fandoms, commissioning artists, and covering creator communities, I’ve learned...
I remember the first time I stood in the dealer hall at a con and felt that sudden, delicious pull: I wanted to be part of this — not just spectate, but become a character I loved. I also remember the crushing realization that good cosplay can be...
I’ve spent years watching TV the way some people collect stamps: obsessively, analytically, and with a soft spot for the weird corners of storytelling. Over time I’ve learned to spot patterns in how showrunners build toward endings — and,...
I’ll be blunt: Taylor Swift’s vault tracks are doing more than just padding deluxe editions — they’re forcing us to rethink how we evaluate an album in the streaming era. As someone who follows pop culture for a living, I’ve watched how...
Balancing legacy characters with fresh faces is the tightrope Marvel has walked for years, and Phase 5 feels like the moment they either master the choreography or trip in front of a packed arena. As someone who’s followed the MCU from movie...
I’ve watched more than a few final seasons unravel in real time — fans raging on forums, creators offering defenses, and the shows themselves staggering toward an ending that rarely satisfies everyone. As someone who covers TV obsessively, I...