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Hayes Madsen

@solfleet.bsky.social

1.7K followers 870 following 4.6K posts

Video Game Trends Writer at Inverse.com Freelance Reporter. Words at CGMagOnline, IGN, Rolling Stone, and more. RPG aficionado. Bisexual.He/they. [email protected]. Signal: HayesM.26

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · May 21

Know things aren't great right now, but after dealing with a family event, I'm officially looking for freelance work again. Made a new portfolio selection, focusing on what I think I do best - interviews.

Please reach out if you want to talk or are open to pitches. www.clippings.me/users/hayesm...

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 49m

I have been sitting on the screenshot for a week lol

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 55m

I had to cut two Pokemon out of this image because of embargoes lol. Sorry it’s weird

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 55m

Some of the stuff Z-A NPCs say is wild man

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

I know handheld PCs are a "different market" conceptually, but this specific one feels like it's more designed to appeal to try and appeal to casual players or those who aren't tapped into the scene - and I dunno man

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

Releasing this two months after the Switch 2 (which people love partially because it's so streamlined and game-focused) is a wild choice

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

A tiny bit in here that I talk about, I've seen some bad actors say this game is "anti-marriage" and that decisively is not true in absolutely any way if you actually play the game

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

I talked to the development team of Silent Hill f (who asked to be credited as the whole dev team) and the series' brand manager about Silent Hill f's success, break from the series' norms, and themes of societal gender roles www.inverse.com/gaming/silen...

‘Silent Hill f’ Devs Wanted To Break From The Series' Norms of ‘Women Placed in Dire Circumstances’

Inverse talks to the ‘Silent Hill f’ development team about the boundary-pushing survival horror game, and the franchise's future.

www.inverse.com

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

As long as it’s not just Ares - I don’t want that in Kingdom Hearts lol

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

Genuinely sad that Ares might be how the Tron franchise goes out. With a whimper. I hope there’s still room to explore Tron in video games, because that’s largely (fittingly) where most of the best stuff has been

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1h

And please for the love of god don’t put Jared Leto in Kingdom Hearts 4

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Reposted by Hayes Madsen

Inverse @inverse.com · 1h

This October's Steam Next Fest is more packed than ever with demos. To give you a head start on searching for the best games on offer, here are our top picks. www.inverse.com/gaming/best-...

Steam Just Added 6 Of The Best Upcoming PC Games You Won’t Want To Miss

This October's Steam Next Fest is more packed than ever with demos. To give you a head start on searching for the best games on offer, here are our top picks.

www.inverse.com

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 9h

This. 100% this.

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 18h

🤐

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 18h

I think I probably have to post this with no comment. So. www.axios.com/2025/10/14/b...

Exclusive: Bustle parent company pivots to influencers

"We are the next generation influence company," BDG CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg says.

www.axios.com

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Reposted by Hayes Madsen

Rollin Bishop @rollin.bsky.social · 18h

bdg still owns inverse, which is a truly unfortunate name in this climate. even so, inverse has managed to do some good work over the years despite getting cut to the absolute bone

Riley MacLeod @rcmacleod.bsky.social · 18h

OK bro
www.axios.com/2025/10/14/b...

Why it matters: A few years ago, Goldberg was focused on scaling his portfolio to take the company public or sell it. Now, he's leaning into BDG's niche brands to grow memberships around social influencers.
"We are the next generation influence company," Goldberg says.
Zoom in: Core to BDG Media's strategy has been investing in new revenue streams — notably memberships and events — while also cutting back significantly on costs.
Roughly 240 people work at the company today. At its peak, it employed 400.

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 21h

What the fuck are we doing here?

GQ @gqmagazine.bsky.social · 1d

Is hard-right streamer Nick Fuentes winning over women on the left? Writer Katherine Dee investigates www.gq.com/story/nick-f...

Is Nick Fuentes Winning Over Women on the Left?

There are the Tumblr “Nickstorians” and sincere fanfics. But are young, liberal, possibly irony-poisoned women fetishizing or even falling for the hard-right streamer with the “groyper” following? Wri...

www.gq.com

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 21h

The US government has now killed over 20 people in unsanctioned strikes, without providing a single shred of evidence that any of the people they killed were actually trafficking drugs

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Reposted by Hayes Madsen

Charles Harte @chuckduck365.bsky.social · 23h

I got to interview Aaron Paul, one of the main cast members of my all-time favorite show (Bojack) but also Dispatch, and it was very cool

Game Informer @gameinformer.com · 23h

We spoke with actor Aaron Paul about his starring role in Dispatch and the struggles of recording a game with so many dialogue options. "It was honestly a very confusing process for me, as a performer," Paul says. "But a challenging and rewarding one, as well." gameinformer.com/interview/20...

Robert, Aaron's character in Dispatch, gazes longingly at an old helmet.

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Reposted by Hayes Madsen

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 1d

I interviewed the director and producer of Octopath Traveler 0, talking about how they basically built this game from scratch, how the villains have been thematically enriched, the ethos behind the town building, and more. www.inverse.com/gaming/octop...

'Octopath Traveler 0’ Devs Explain Why They Built The Latest RPG Remake ‘From Scratch’

The developers of Octopath Traveler 0 talk to Inverse about how the RPG quickly became so much more than a simple mobile game remake.

www.inverse.com

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

Seems to be a guide farm now

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

Twinfinite jump scare

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

Looked it up, the last Pokémon games I reviewed were Sun and Moon (in a different life). I vibed with those games and gave a 5/5 - and I genuinely think Sun/Moon are smart reinventions of Pokémon to this day, that the series hasn't recaptured the same way until Arceus twinfinite.net/reviews/poke...

Sun and Moon are the Best Pokemon Games Since Gold and Silver

An incredible island adventure.

twinfinite.net

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

Very much agree with you. I’m even glad they did the wild zone system and didn’t make you go to like the outskirts or something. Keeping it entirely focused on Lumiose is a genuine strength, in my opinion

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Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

Yeah I don't, in the same way I wouldn't capitalize "role-playing games"

Hayes Madsen @solfleet.bsky.social · 23h

🫠