They're here, and they're gorgeous. Apologies to everyone who has been waiting for a dispatch notification for exp. 2602 or the reprints, but due to a Canada Post strike I've been unable to send them out. It's been unfortunate timing, but I support the strikes—the workers are standing up to a predatory capitalist political class undermining an essential public good. Issues will begin being dispatched next week, though delivery may be slow due to the continuing rotating strike. The PDF/ePub editions will be sent out at the same time (though those will be instant, obviously.) Thank you so much to everyone for their patience on this.

If you haven't ordered yet, now is the perfect time! Pick up exp. 2602 or the full set over at the shop in the next couple of days and they'll be included in the first batch of orders sent out.

(And while I'm apologising, I wanted to note that the adaptive padding for the last couple of newsletters was broken on mobile, so sorry about that. The newsletter should actually be readable now.)

Recently On exp.

Subscriber Post: Poltergeist (Tandy, 1982)​

Decided I wanted to celebrate the Halloween season the same way I celebrate the Christmas season: by adding yet more fucking obscure games to my backlog and then writing way too much about them.

Unlocked Posts: Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo (Pocket Trap, 2025) / Castlevania (Konami, 1986) / Elechead (Namatakahashi, 2021)​

My Halloween theming began with Castlevania, though Pipistrello is a bit of a edge case (there's a curse, and you play a bat?) Worth mentioning that as I write this Elechead is 50% off on Steam and well worth it.

From The exp. Archive: Wipeout 2048 (Studio Liverpool, 2012) / Rymdkapsel (Grapefrukt, 2013) / Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Sega, 1990) / Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Sega, 2013)​

Quite a grab-bag here again, with the Wipeout 2048 article that was at one point the most popular article I'd written for exp., a look at a game I wished was a Roguelike-like before we all got tired of everything being a Roguelike-like, and then that weekend where I played both Castle of Illusion games and thought they were... fine.

exp. Du Cinéma

Subscriber Post: Still Family #11: Fast X​

I was invited on to the Still Loading Podcast to talk about the Fast & Furious franchise (specifically the currently final film), and the host Josh let me share it with my own Patreon patrons as well. So if you've got a hankering to listen to me waffle for nearly three hours, go wild!

Also reviewed: Kneecap (2024) / Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet (1977)​

Zine News

​Antler River RPG Trade: 8 Points to Buck Up Your Games!​

"100% of the proceeds of Antler River will be donated to the Homelessness Program of the Elgin-Middlesex United Way."

Saw this one covered at the CBC of all places.

​A Decadent Day​

"A zine of three recipes, developed over the last eight months, for a breakfast, dinner, and dessert cooked exclusively in an 8-inch cast iron skillet."

As a vegetarian I can't recommend all of these recipes, but I can recommend skipping the meat or subbing in your favourite alternative. Plus there's a pretty neat tofu dessert here.

Mutual Aid

Legendary game developer Rebecca Heineman, whose work includes The Bard's Tale (which I only wrote about recently) but honestly just so many things, has been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and is facing huge bills for her treatment, because... America. Support if you can.​

And Finally…

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A couple of things this week. First up I've been obsessed with with the big strong boys of Haha, You Clowns since I discovered it, and with a HBO Max show hitting next week, the best time to get caught up on creator Joe Cappa's original shorts is now. It would be easy to say "the joke is that there is no joke" but what makes the shorts so captivating is how they explore just how strange it is to try and act normally while living with grief, and it ends up very, very funny as a result. I love it.

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Secondly, I adored Majuular's ridiculously long retrospective on Ultima VII: The Black Gate, and he just put out a video on the sequel, Serpent Isle. I have a tremendous warmth to these two Ultima games in particular, and I think Majuular explains very well why they're so unique and special, so I loved getting to spend another 6-odd hours(!) in the world with a fella who seemed to love them as much as I did.

Next week on exp.: The scariest thing of all... more of my voice.