Newsletter Update - May 2026
And Now for Some News
It’s been a bit since I did one of these, but I wanted to share a quick update on a few things regarding the newsletter and me. First, I want to thank and welcome any new subscribers. I started this newsletter as a way to talk about video games I love and analyze the history and news of the industry, so the fact that there are even this many people interested in seeing my articles is a complete surprise, and I thank all of you, whether you’re subscribed or a regular reader from my social media, for all the support.
My Gaming Rotation and Plans
So, I just finished up Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and Mixtape. I’ll be getting out those reviews for both of them real soon. Cyberpunk took a lot of my time. I knew it was a big game, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it the way I did, and to do so much. I still have a lot of side missions I was forced to ignore because I needed to move on and roll credits due to my busy schedule. My new game is Replaced, the recent indie title that’s available on Game Pass. I’ll be picking up Mouse: P.I. for Hire soon, and 007: First Light is on the way. I’m still slowly getting through Pokémon: LeafGreen and Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. I’m going to use the next few months to push harder to finish more games and get reviews out. I feel confident I’m about to go on a pretty good streak.
Decision on News Roundup
So I tried something this year called News Roundup, which was going to be an article at about the start of the new month, looking at the past month’s news and giving quick opinions on it, but I had to admit to myself that it was best for me to drop it. My typical non-gaming life and 9-5 work made it hard to keep a list of news in my head and sit down to write about it, so I decided it was best to address really big news separately in an opinion piece rather than try to put it all in one article. However, in the last one I did, I came up with the idea of making recommendations for various podcasts, newsletters, and blogs, and I am going to keep doing that. I’m not sure when the first one will be, but every other month I want to release a list of recommendations, most likely calling it Recommendation Roundup or something like that.
Review System
Yes, we are back to this. The review system has been my weakest link since I started this newsletter, and every year I experiment with a new one, with 2025 leaning more toward a recommendation system than a score. This year I debuted a ten-point system among ten categories, with a max limit of 100 score. I used this for my first review of the year in Resident Evil: Requiem. However, now that enough time has passed since that review, I have to be honest with myself that I find that system a little stressful. I like the ten categories I came up with, but I wasn’t crazy about assigning a score to each one. I experimented with the system using previous games I’ve played, and it made me realize that it just wasn't going to be the best for scoring my reviews.
So, I’m going to go with a simple letter grade system. F for horrible, D for below average, C for average, B for good, A for great, and the rare S-tier, which is essentially me calling the game a masterpiece. I am going to keep the format I used in the RE9 review; however, since I liked having 10 categories to explain my feelings, I am removing the stress of adding a score to each. Also, yes, I’m aware my review system’s changing so much looks bad, but I’m just a little newsletter trying to find my groove and what works best for me. I hope and pray that this system works and stays in place.
Games of Impact and History of Video Games
Many of my long-time followers know I’ve been working on a project called Strachey’s List, named after Christopher Strachey (the first video game developer), dedicated to showing the most important games of the year, with a limit of twenty. I made it all the way to 1989, but I've stalled out for a few reasons. First, I decided to rebrand the series as Games of Impact. The main reason was that Strachey’s List was a confusing name to many who reached out to me. The point of naming it Strachey’s List was to memorialize Christopher Strachey, who I feel isn’t talked about enough in gaming history, but I think it didn’t do a good job of conveying the purpose of the lists.
Those Strachey’s Lists articles are still up, and if you’re new to the newsletter, just search for them in the archive section. I have the early era of gaming, the 1970s, and the 1980s. I am going to re-release those older lists slowly, with a potential change if I feel one is needed, but I’m still moving on to the 1990s, so no waiting until those older releases are done if you’ve been following me for long. Soon, I’ll get the 1990 list out, and it should be interesting, as we're entering the era of gaming when the medium really started to take off.
I also had a series focusing on the history of video games, this was my first true series I worked on and goes all the way back to when I started the newsletter in late 2022. I also plan to re-release this list and then catch up where I left off, but I will leave the older versions up for now in case any new subscribers want to read them. Just search for "History of Gaming," and the latest parts include links to the entire series.
Organizing
That brings me to a project I should’ve done a long time ago, and one I’ve teased starting several times. I need to make it easier to find and organize my older articles, specifically my lists and series. I can’t guarantee it’ll be this week, but I am going to look into adding links on the newsletter home page so you can easily find things like my game lists, opinions, the history of gaming, and more. I know how to do it; I just haven't gotten around to sitting down and setting it up because of my busy schedule and, quite frankly, choosing sleep over staying up too late. If everything goes as I envision, the first links should appear before the month ends.
As for what’s next, like I said, I got a couple of reviews to work on. I also want to get those lists going, and I want to get these going before the busy June news dump that I like to call Gaming Christmas. So here’s to a good summer.