Helen Ashcroft

I was doing so well until I messed up a planet by accident and didn't realise. I'd got two of them the wrong way around and didn't click until it was too late. Also got betrayed by the dinosaur who claims he wasn't cleaned first. liar!

Bit of personal news: after four years, I've been let go from @thegamerweb.bsky.social and am a free agent!

If you need someone with half a decade of TCG and tabletop and over a decade of video game coverage experience, please get in touch at joe@joeparlock.com!

Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance Review - Brutal, Beautiful, Brilliant Art of Vengeance is the new benchmark for bringing back a dormant IP and making it better than ever.

Been really excited to share this one, my first 5/5 review for TheGamer in more than two years goes towards Shinobi: Art of Vengeance! Had an absolute brutal blast 100 percenting it, and it’s my current GOTY for sure. My review: www.thegamer.com/shinobi-art-...

Final Fantasy 14’s Yoshi-P Discusses Sphene’s Return, The Possibility Of New Crafter Or Gatherer Roles, And That Cryptic Final Patch 7.3 Scene At Gamescom, Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida discusses Sphene, Patch 7.3's revelations, and more.

At Gamescom, I spoke with Yoshi-P once again, and we chatted loads about Patch 7.3 (so be warned, there are spoilers), as well as the decision to include the original Sphene, whether we'll ever get another crafter or gatherer role, and more!

www.thegamer.com/final-fantas...

You can see it in Costco. We've been going to the same one for over 20 years and a large number of the staff have been there the whole time, with many more for a long stretch of it.

This is my favourite movie. Everything about it is perfection. I love that while he gets his revenge you also see the aftermath of him having been so consumed by it that he doesn't know what to do next.

“It Almost Felt As If The Raidou IP Itself Had A Will Of Its Own”: Raidou Remastered Director On Bringing A Classic Atlus JRPG Back To Life Director Kazuyuki Yamai talks about development, inspirations, and how the messaging and themes of Raidou Remastered are still relevant today.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kazuyuki Yamai about Raidou Remastered and it was so interesting to discuss the setting, why the themes are still relevant now, and inspirations!

www.thegamer.com/raidou-remas...

Beneath The Space Drama, Eve Online Is A Challenging Game With A Strong Community Willing To Teach You The Ropes Whether they teach you the easy way or the space death hard way remains to be seen

One of my favourite things about Eve Fanfest was hearing the many stories from so many lovely people. I loved the drama, the heartfelt moments, and I loved being taught the Eve lingo, too.

Eve can seem pretty daunting to a newcomer, but it's worth it!

www.thegamer.com/eve-online-i...

“I Don’t Want Other People To Know Us As Frauds”: Steam Is Banning Chinese Indie Games Without Reason Realm of Ink and Kill the Shadow were two games randomly delisted from Steam. For the indie developers making them, this was nearly a killing blow.

Very pleased to share this investigation into two Chinese indie games that got unexpectedly delisted from Steam earlier this year.

With their studios on the brink of collapse and little communication from Valve, here's an insight into the devs' fight for survival.

www.thegamer.com/steam-delist...

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is Already My Pick For GOTY And I Don't See That Changing I suspected Eurojank, I received Euroexcellence.

Put Oblivion down and play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It's a masterclass in pathos and it's also really fucking gorgeous. I shed real tears.

Every hour I spent with this game was better than the last. My third ever 5/5 review:

www.thegamer.com/clair-obscur...

Gamescom Latam 2025 Interview - Reaching New Heights In Latin America We sat down with the folks of Gamescom Latam and Abragames to talk about the 2025 edition of this event!

Aaaand we're up! My first Gamescom Latam 2025 interview is here, and I had the pleasure to chat with Gustavo Steinberg, Rodrigo Terra, and Patricia Sato, to discuss about the event's evolution over the last few years and how it affects the region at large. www.thegamer.com/gamescom-lat...

“When I Heard Close In The Distance For The First Time, I Knew It Was Going To Be Special”: Jason Charles Miller On Working With Final Fantasy 14 Jason Charles Miller tells us all about what it's like lending your vocal talents to FFXIV.

I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Jason Charles Miller about lending his vocals to FFXIV! You can read the interview here: www.thegamer.com/final-fantas...

We know you failed the spreadsheet roll because Craig/TVWR isn't here yet...

Three Mondays in a row. Hate this.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii Preview - RGG Continues To Prove That You Can Teach An Old Sea Dog New Tricks Adding naval combat into Like a Dragon is a bold move that pays off incredibly well.

You can also check out my preview write up, which mainly focuses on naval combat and the new ship side of things:

www.thegamer.com/like-a-drago...

I'll also have another piece going live in a couple of hours about my fave boi

"You Can't Make A Serious Majima Game" Say Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii Devs We spoke with RGG Studio chief producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto at a recent Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii event.

My Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Q&A with Sakamoto-san is up!

There were a few interesting takeaways from the event for me..

www.thegamer.com/like-a-drago...

Sameseys

Antonblast Review - Crash Blasticoot Antonblast is like Crash Bandicoot if it was part Wario Land, part Ed, Edd n Eddy, and all awesome.

Knew I'd be keen on Antonblast, but didn't expect it to rocket up my GOTY list as fast as it did - powerhouse of a platformer! @tonygraystation.bsky.social and the team cooked www.thegamer.com/antonblast-r...