Thoughts

Let’s get straight to it: more games need a ping system like Apex Legends. It’s 2025. There’s no excuse left. And yet, developers keep pumping out multiplayer games where voice chat is basically mandatory — and it’s a f***ing joke at this point. Voice comms are trash. You jump into a match, ready to coordinate like a pro, and what do you get instead? Some dude mouth-breathing like he’s summoning a demon through a $10 broken headset. Another guy arguing with his parents. Someone else live-streaming their Doritos chewing session right into your ear drums. ...

I’ve been meaning to write about my long, complicated relationship with the Monster Hunter community for a while now—specifically, the parts of it I just can’t seem to fit into. But first—credentials check. Because let’s be honest, in this fandom, nothing screams “valid opinion” like a long Monster Hunter résumé. The community is packed with folks swinging their hours played like they’re compensating for something. Anyway, I got started back in 2008 with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. I was a broke uni student then, and my trusty PSP was pretty much my entire gaming setup. Between 2008 and 2016, I bounced around on laptops, doing whatever I could to emulate the games I couldn’t afford or access otherwise. The frame rates weren’t great, but I was determined to stay in the hunt. ...