Flying to Paris to dance with Pikachu, and writing for New York Times again
Plus Pokémon in Paris, Consume Me, Borderlands 4, and Hades 2
A large Pikachu bounded out into the room and began to bounce from one foot to the other.
The cameraman says something to the effect of “Alors, on danse,” and I also began to hop from one foot to the other. This was the final Pokémon Legends: Z-A preview event, held in Paris, the city that Lumiose City is based on. Although I couldn’t get a straight answer of what exact restaurant one of the boss battles took place in, I did get to spend the weekend at various brasseries that looked like they could be teeming in Pokémon, in game.
I’m back after a whirlwind month of travel and recovering from whatever bug I caught on the flight back from Berlin. This month, I traveled to Paris, got off on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower to play Z-A and write about it for Inverse, and turned around a story about the indie game Consume Me for the New York Times. Meanwhile, I haven’t forgotten about my loyal Updater newsletter subscribers, and so here’s your monthly issue summarizing some of the bigger stories in the gaming world. (This list is by no means exhaustive.)
Saudi Arabia, Jared Kushner, and others are buying Electronic Arts for $55 billion. It’s a jaw-dropping deal to wrap your head around, which analyst and fellow Substacker Joost van Dreunen writes, just highlights the value of the gaming industry.
Robin Bea has the story on Hollow Knight: Silksong and how it’s still too hard after an update.
I reviewed Borderlands 4, my first time playing the series, and gave it an 8/10. This one was a doozy, clocking in at around 60 hours. Then, talking to other journalists, I later discovered I had been playing the game on easy mode, essentially. The game is not quite tuned for single player unless you made the same choice as me to play as Vex with her clones.
Hades 2 is out of Early Access, which means more people besides games journalists will be picking this one up now. It may be time to actually dive into this world.
Hideo Kojima interestingly tweeted out my article commemorating Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, a story that acknowledges the rift that grew between him and Konami. Quote from the story: “In 2025, Konami just remade MGS3 and it’s clear that the franchise is not anywhere close to fading from our collective consciousness quite yet, even if Kojima has expressed regrets for not owning the rights to his baby. But the fallout seems increasingly in the past for both parties. In the recent Death Stranding 2, there are still the marks of the Metal Gear legacy, especially in sudden stealth mission moments and in the general world exploration. And the developers of the remake have expressed that they wish Kojima would try their game.”
Bonus anecdotes
I went to Berlin for the first time, as recommended by various friends, and experienced several culture shocks, including a nudist sauna, German trains that actually close their doors before boarding time, a bathroom at the co-working space with four doors that locked in various ways, unlimited beer almost everywhere, a soothing microplastics ban, and an elitist club that turned me away at the door. Apparently, you should really know the name of the DJ performing tonight to get into Berghain. It’s not enough just to wear leather and say you want to danse. Oh, and traveling during the Berlin Marathon is just an absolute nightmare with road closures throughout.
Next up, it’s New York Comic Con, followed by Twitchcon, and Halloween spooky festivities. And we do plan a presence at the Game Awards in Los Angeles later this year (we’re early this time!). As always, thanks for subscribing!