Brian Barnett | Ribnax
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brianbarnett.bsky.social
Brian Barnett | Ribnax
@brianbarnett.bsky.social
He/Him

Co-Founder & Editor-at-Large @skyboxcritics.bsky.social

SkyboxCritics.com
https://www.patreon.com/c/skyboxcritics

Writer @ IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, etc.

Podcaster | Singer | Drummer

http://linktr.ee/ribnax | Inquiries: [email protected]
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Hey, everyone! I'm Brian Barnett. I am a singer, drummer, songwriter, & video game critic, podcaster, & guide writer

I write for @ign.com, GameSpot, @kotaku.bsky.social, etc, & was full-time on the IGN Wiki team for a bit

Community is incredibly important to me, so I try to build it wherever I can
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I don’t have a whole lot of advice for people younger than me but the earlier in life you stop worrying about what other people will think and just wholeheartedly enjoy the stuff you like the happier you’ll be
One thing people kind of tell you, but not really, about middle age:

One day you'll be like "oh [thing] looks fun but people will think I'm a loser" about a thing

And then you'll say. Wait a second.

Fuck 'em
Darn Tough turned me on to Cute Socks and I've never looked back
November 11, 2025 at 1:24 AM
lots of accessibility options
November 10, 2025 at 11:43 PM
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This also goes for freelance writers, journalists, editors, etc. So many people I know use marketplace plans (including myself) and those prices are going through the roof - unbelievably so
Many freelancers in the United States rely on ACA marketplace plans for their health insurance. In an industry that has already been working overtime to turn gamedevs into gig workers, freelance and contract devs are about to get even more squeezed. This is unacceptable.
November 10, 2025 at 11:37 PM
if you remove skeletons and blood, is there anything left?

reminds me of this joke from arrested development, where george michael is asked to give the censored version of what his grandfather said on the phone:
November 10, 2025 at 11:35 PM
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low polyamory
hardcore bondage people are so fucking funny look at this shit bro
November 10, 2025 at 9:33 PM
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It's time for the F.E.A.R. episode of Skydive, our deep-dive podcast available for Patreon backers.

Check out the Pre-Flight Check article companion here: skyboxcritics.com/2025/11/10/s...

And listen to the episode if you support the site on the Skydive tier: www.patreon.com/posts/143264...
Skydive Pre-Flight Check: F.E.A.R.
In a better timeline, we’d be praising F.E.A.R. for being the pivotal first-person shooter that changed the genre, becoming the template that others would try to build on or supplant for mult…
skyboxcritics.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
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Designer: all right Mr. Del Toro here’s those Frankenstein’s monster designs, real sexy just like you asked for.
Del Toro: (nodding) this is exactly as sexy as I asked for.
October 26, 2025 at 7:23 PM
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i would love to hire someone next year who is just starting out in the youtube/digital media/production world and would be down to work 15-20 hours a week as a production assistant/coordinator on my channel.

you would learn a lot and i wouldn't yell at you.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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Democrats would do well to remember that trusting a party defined by deceit and bad faith isn’t just naïve, it’s dangerous to democracy itself.
November 10, 2025 at 12:55 AM
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November 9, 2025 at 10:20 PM
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If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?
November 10, 2025 at 12:53 AM
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no amount of state propaganda will ever convince me this man is my enemy
I for one will welcome our Chinese overlords #Beerjacket #China #Tsingtao
November 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I have never used any of the plagiarism aggregators ✋🏼
Hands up if you've never used Chat GPT ✋

(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
Probably a good way to tell right now if the job you’re applying for is run by absolute dumbfucks is to ask if they’re using AI.
November 9, 2025 at 3:34 PM
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November 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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Commissions are open!

See replies for more detailed examples of the tiers.
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
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Not to be the fun police but I do hope people know that Arc Raiders does use generative AI for voice acting, and by supporting the game you're letting higher-ups know that this is an okay practice.

They try to downplay this on the Steam store page by describing the AI usage as vaguely as possible.
November 8, 2025 at 6:51 AM
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40 years ago we’d have congressional hearings falsely accusing metal bands of putting backwards messages in their songs that told kids to kill themselves & now we have a planet-killing chatbot that’s all like “bet you won’t commit suicide chickenshit bitch” & the government is like here’s $5 billion
November 8, 2025 at 4:23 AM
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Monolith's horror-shooter stars a ghostly little girl, but players have always missed the point of its tragic story.
'F.E.A.R.' at 20: Is the Game's Villain the Ghost -- Or the System That Killed Her?
bit.ly
November 8, 2025 at 6:00 AM
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November 7, 2025 at 4:11 PM
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my latest is out for skybox!!! 💜

the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it

please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜
Hamazaki Has To Goh - where does Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio draw the line on casting, and why is it not at sexual assault? by @ashlikeadragon.bsky.social

"it’s particularly insulting and disgusting for him to be cast in a series that has historically featured sex pests being (rightly) beat up"

Read on:
Hamazaki Has To Goh - where does Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio draw the line on casting, and why is it not at sexual assault?
A look at the bizarre decision to cast Teruyuki Kagawa's in Yakuza Kiwami 3, through a lens of previous re-casting decisions from RGG Studio.
skyboxcritics.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
the people seem to like @skyboxcritics.com

if you haven't joined us, why not?

patreon.com/skyboxcritics
November 7, 2025 at 10:19 PM
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Yea we gotta get him outta here buddy
SCHUMER is on the floor now making this offer to end the shutdown:

Clean CR
Bipartisan "minibus" of approps bills
1-year ACA funding extension
Bipartisan cmte to negotiate on health care

"This is a reasonable offer that reopens the government, deals with health care affordability."
November 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM
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Let this sink in. The President of the United States is now appealing a court order forcing him to feed starving children.
November 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
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In my absolutely unbiased opinion you should follow @skyboxcritics.com and contribute to the Patreon
November 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
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This is what they took from you
November 7, 2025 at 3:40 PM