The rarest video game podcast returns

Art: A Life Well Wasted (Olly Moss)

This week on Post Games:

• Act 1: The story of a video game studio in 2025

• Act 2: Behind-the-scenes of A Life Well Wasted

• Patreon Bonus: Games and perverts

• Act 3: The news of the Week

Act 1: The story of a video game studio in 2025

• “Game Over, Episode 9” (A Life Well Wasted)

• Data points to slowing layoffs, but doesn't capture true harm to game industry (Game Developer)

• A rolling collection of stories on layoffs (GamesIndustry.biz)

• PlayStation Shutters Studio Behind ‘Concord’ Video-Game Flop (Bloomberg)

• A collection of Concord coverage (PCGamer)

Art: Life Well Wasted (OIly Moss)

Act 2: Behind-the-scenes of A Life Well Wasted

• “The Death of EGM, Episode 1” (A Life Well Wasted)

• 1up Sold to Hearst Publications, EGM Closing Doors (Wired)

• Robert Ashley on the Return of ‘A Life Well Wasted’ (in 2023) (Vice)

• Reddit fans reacting to a new episode drop 12 years ago (r/Games)

• The Death, and Future Rebirth, of A Life Well Wasted (EGM)

• “Memory, Episode 8” (A Life Well Wasted)

• The Future of Podcasting Is Here and It Sucks (Defector)

Image: Time Flies

Patreon bonus prologue: A chat about games and perverts

• Time Flies (timeflies.buzz/)

• 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Wikipedia)

• Xeno Tilt: Hostile Pinball Action (Steam)

• The Drifter (Steam)

• Tactical Breach Wizards (Steam)

• UFO 50 (Steam)

• Void Stranger (Steam)

Image: Silksong

Act 3: News of the week

• Hollow Knight: Silksong causes server chaos on Xbox, Steam, and Nintendo as platforms grind to a halt (Eurogamer)

• Silksong fans are turning Steam's error blobs into the game's first 'real' boss (Polygon)

• The atrocities of Hell Is Us make me wonder if 'real-world' Soulslikes have a future (RPS)

• "History is repeating itself." The real-world inspirations of Hell is Us are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago (Eurogamer)

• Cronos: The New Dawn review: "An unabashed mash-up of survival horror greatest hits, from Dead Space to Silent Hill, with plenty of its own gory ideas" (GamesRadar)

Image: Golden Axe

This week in video game links

• The Strange Urban Legend About Golden Axe And Death Row Inmates (Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games)

• A Very Chill Review of the dbrand Killswitch for Switch 2 (Wavelengths)

• Tomorrow's Hope (Bullet Points Monthly)

• The brain behind QWOP has spent 20 years perfecting the art of failure (Polygon)

• "A culture of intimidation, retaliation and oppression": How Microsoft’s Gaza stance fuelled an industry-spanning boycott (RPS)

• A Hit of Pure Videodrome: Sam Barlow and Natalie Watson on Full-Motion Video Games (MUBI)

• One More Win' Is The Ultimate Love Letter To Ridge Racer Type 4 (Time Extension)

• 007: First Light is so much more than Hitman - with its 'breathing' structure, it looks like the ultimate composite video game (Eurogamer)

• Former Polygon staffers establish independent video game website Rogue (Game Developer) 

• I ignored UFO 50's first game, but then Barbuta pulled me back in (Rogue)

• "It feels unreal in a way": After nearly 1700 days, Daily Silksong News' bittersweet goodbye on the eve of Hollow Knight sequel's release (Eurogamer)

• How Tetris Effect permanently changed my brain chemistry (Malindy.Medium)

Image: Doki Doki Literature Club

Free game of the week: Doki Doki Literature Club!

One of the most infamous psychological horror games of all time appears to be free on Steam, just in time for spooky season.  From the Steam page: “The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.” The concept is correct. If you choose to play this, be prepared for dark, difficult, and uncomfortable subject matter. (Steam)

Photo: Wizard of Oz at The Sphere (Sphere Entertainment)

What else I’m enjoying

• Is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Sphere the Future of Cinema? Or the End of It? (NYTimes)

• How OnlyFans Piracy Is Ruining the Internet for Everyone (404)

• The Exit 8 movie is even scarier than the game (The Verge)

• DIE MY LOVE | Official Teaser Trailer (MUBI)

• Weird Al Yankovic Live Fullshow Shoreline CA 2025 (Fragile Undertow on YouTube)