Rick Lane
@ricklane.bsky.social
Freelance journalist, critic and consultant. Bylines at The Guardian, PC Gamer, NME, Eurogamer and more. Immersive sim geek. Contact: [email protected]
Reposted by Rick Lane
For this weekend's PC Gamer column, I went for a walk through Kowloon Walled City
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
This Minecraft map that recreates one of history's most notorious slums made me reconsider what's important in 3D level design
Kowloon Walled City in Minecraft is a feat of virtual architecture, but it's missing one crucial ingredient.
www.pcgamer.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:17 PM
For this weekend's PC Gamer column, I went for a walk through Kowloon Walled City
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
Alternatively, have you considered, I dunno, funding schools? www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Schools urged to trial four-day week to ease pressure on teachers in England and Wales
Advocacy group tells education secretary ‘working smarter’ can protect staff wellbeing and help students
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Alternatively, have you considered, I dunno, funding schools? www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Rick Lane
Let this be the motto of the AI movement.
"Hey, miss doesn't-find-me- attractive-sexually-anymore
I just tripled my productivity."
I just tripled my productivity."
November 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Let this be the motto of the AI movement.
There are two ways to throw a grenade in Half-Life, and those are at your feet or into space.
November 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
There are two ways to throw a grenade in Half-Life, and those are at your feet or into space.
For this weekend's PC Gamer column, I went for a walk through Kowloon Walled City
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
This Minecraft map that recreates one of history's most notorious slums made me reconsider what's important in 3D level design
Kowloon Walled City in Minecraft is a feat of virtual architecture, but it's missing one crucial ingredient.
www.pcgamer.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:17 PM
For this weekend's PC Gamer column, I went for a walk through Kowloon Walled City
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
(in Minecraft).
www.pcgamer.com/games/surviv...
Watched all 4 episodes of Stranger Things S5 in one sitting and I feel like I've eaten an entire jar of mayonnaise.
November 29, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Watched all 4 episodes of Stranger Things S5 in one sitting and I feel like I've eaten an entire jar of mayonnaise.
Her legs are through the table.
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 27, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Her legs are through the table.
They can prise Windows 10 from my cold, dead hands.
Around 500 million PCs are holding off upgrading to Windows 11, says Dell. The Windows 11 transition is a lot slower than the upgrade to Windows 10. Details 👇 www.theverge.com/news/831364/...
Around 500 million PCs are holding off upgrading to Windows 11, says Dell
The Windows 11 transition is a lot slower than the upgrade to Windows 10.
www.theverge.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:34 PM
They can prise Windows 10 from my cold, dead hands.
Private equity strikes again 🙃.
Splash Damage places entire studio into consultation ahead of extensive layoffs: www.gamesindustry.biz/splash-damag...
Splash Damage places entire studio into consultation ahead of redundancies
Splash Damage has announced a consultation process affecting all staff at the Bromley-based studio, which will conclude…
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 26, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Private equity strikes again 🙃.
At least one person has fired up Left 4 Dead 2 off the back of my Black Ops 7 multiplayer review, so I shall sit back and await my OBE. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer review
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7's multiplayer is a disappointing mulch that's only marginally better than its singleplayer.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:38 PM
At least one person has fired up Left 4 Dead 2 off the back of my Black Ops 7 multiplayer review, so I shall sit back and await my OBE. www.rockpapershotgun.com/call-of-duty...
Reposted by Rick Lane
The 'bad' thing is that now you've given me hope. Hope is a dangerous thing. 🙂 I went into this fully knowing that I would never recoup. It would be my calling card, but nothing people would have ever heard of. But 100+ Steam reviews, 97% positive + ~90 Metacritic is unexpected to say the least.
November 26, 2025 at 7:13 AM
The 'bad' thing is that now you've given me hope. Hope is a dangerous thing. 🙂 I went into this fully knowing that I would never recoup. It would be my calling card, but nothing people would have ever heard of. But 100+ Steam reviews, 97% positive + ~90 Metacritic is unexpected to say the least.
Reposted by Rick Lane
A big story on EG this eve - the incredible @santaragione.com seems likely to close, after a bizarre decision from Valve to ban Horses from the platform, submit it to several unusual extra layers of scrutiny in the application process, and offer the studio no recourse to make changes or re-apply.
"It's extremely frustrating and also f*cked up" - one of the world's best indie studios is facing shock closure following confounding Steam ban
www.eurogamer.net/its-extremel...
www.eurogamer.net/its-extremel...
November 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A big story on EG this eve - the incredible @santaragione.com seems likely to close, after a bizarre decision from Valve to ban Horses from the platform, submit it to several unusual extra layers of scrutiny in the application process, and offer the studio no recourse to make changes or re-apply.
Well worth reading re: Arc Raiders, AI voices and the notion of "ethical" use of generative AI.
I saw some chat about Arc Raiders' use of AI voice actors recently - I'm probably not going to rerecord the talk I gave at EXAG but I thought I'd drop in a few slides about the idea that you can make generative AI ethical by getting people to sign a piece of paper to say you can use their data.
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Well worth reading re: Arc Raiders, AI voices and the notion of "ethical" use of generative AI.
Reposted by Rick Lane
only had a few hours with Sektori this weekend but it absolutely rocks. The way it trusts you to figure out the mechanics is a joy.
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
This roguelike take on Geometry Wars is the best game I've played this month, and the latest to become a permanent fixture on my Steam Deck
Sektori is a blistering kaleidoscopic nightmare.
www.pcgamer.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
only had a few hours with Sektori this weekend but it absolutely rocks. The way it trusts you to figure out the mechanics is a joy.
A terrible collision involving a literature degree and PCZone magazine.
November 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
A terrible collision involving a literature degree and PCZone magazine.
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
This roguelike take on Geometry Wars is the best game I've played this month, and the latest to become a permanent fixture on my Steam Deck
Sektori is a blistering kaleidoscopic nightmare.
www.pcgamer.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Spent one of my news tokens to gush about Sektori for PC Gamer this weekend. A must play if you're fan of Geometry Wars/pre-Returnal Housemarque/Tetris Effect www.pcgamer.com/games/action...
Reposted by Rick Lane
Things move quickly in politics. The idea of a Sunday broadsheet dedicating it's entire front page to @greenparty.org.uk is huge, and let's be honest, a sign of changing times.
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
November 23, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Things move quickly in politics. The idea of a Sunday broadsheet dedicating it's entire front page to @greenparty.org.uk is huge, and let's be honest, a sign of changing times.
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
People are sitting up and noticing @zackpolanski.bsky.social
join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by Rick Lane
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Played a little Total Chaos before bed. Bad idea. Extremely promising, though. Love how you can still see the Doom DNA in it.
November 20, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Played a little Total Chaos before bed. Bad idea. Extremely promising, though. Love how you can still see the Doom DNA in it.
One of the most depressing things I've ever read. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
One of the most depressing things I've ever read. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Rick Lane
What happens in the video game world often happens in the wider world later - which is why anyone interested in the impact of AI should be looking at what's happening in games right now. We're seeing lines being drawn about what is and isn't culturally acceptable
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
How generative AI in Arc Raiders started a scrap over the gaming industry’s future
The use of AI in the surprise game-of-the-year contender has sparked a heated cultural and ethical debate, and raised existential questions for video game workers
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
What happens in the video game world often happens in the wider world later - which is why anyone interested in the impact of AI should be looking at what's happening in games right now. We're seeing lines being drawn about what is and isn't culturally acceptable
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
Since Half-Life 3 might (almost certainly won't) be announced today, here's a long, LONG feature I wrote a while back for @pcgamer.com about the un-history of the game so far. www.pcgamer.com/half-life-3-...
Half-Life 3: The complete history of the greatest game never made
The rumours, rhetoric, and running out of hope.
www.pcgamer.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Since Half-Life 3 might (almost certainly won't) be announced today, here's a long, LONG feature I wrote a while back for @pcgamer.com about the un-history of the game so far. www.pcgamer.com/half-life-3-...
Rewatching the Half-Life: Alyx trailer just to feel something.
November 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Rewatching the Half-Life: Alyx trailer just to feel something.
Ah, a Hieronymus Botched.
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Ah, a Hieronymus Botched.
So Sektori is out - basically roguelike Geometry Wars. I took an early code on holiday with me in October and played nothing else for the whole week. Utterly electrifying. store.steampowered.com/app/2105620/...
Sektori on Steam
Sektori is an intense, fast paced twin-stick shooter infused with hard hitting techno music. A game where the high-adrenaline gameplay, visuals, and music come together to transport you into another s...
store.steampowered.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:38 AM
So Sektori is out - basically roguelike Geometry Wars. I took an early code on holiday with me in October and played nothing else for the whole week. Utterly electrifying. store.steampowered.com/app/2105620/...