Gavin Stuff

I (somehow) built my own streaming service.

Gavin

Some people put their year-end bonuses into a high-yield savings account. Some use it as a down payment on a better car, some are lucky enough to get into a jelly of the month club.

I, on the other hand, built a media server. Flash forward a couple months, a storm swept through my city and left Spectrum, an ISP that can’t deliver under even the sligthest of inconveniences, out for two days.

The ordeal sucked, but it sure did vindicate my sudden new hobby and provide a thrilling conclusion to a small series of blog posts about my hyperfixation.

Continue reading “I (somehow) built my own streaming service.” →
TV/Film

a review of action button reviews boko no natuyasumi

Gavin

Why yes, I’m reviewing a review that takes six hours to watch. A review of a review of a niche Playstation game that was only released in Japan. I do what I want.

This is a review of action button reviews boku no natsuyasumi, the opening video of Action Button season two. In the interest of not undermining the herculean amounts of research and writing that went into Rogers’ review, I will avoid going too much into specific detail. Instead this text will be more of a broad spoiler-free birds-eye view of whether or not you should watch this six hour review of a Playstation game.

Continue reading “a review of action button reviews boko no natuyasumi” →
Uncategorized

Introducing: Podcast Pinpoints

Gavin

For a year or so I had a pretty good (if underpaid) gig reviewing podcasts in bite-sized reviews. The kinda critique you’d find in a local newspaper or magazine’s media section. It was a fun time. I’m gonna try to rekindle that fun on my own.

Continue reading “Introducing: Podcast Pinpoints” →
Gavin Stuff, Op-Ed

Jason Vorhees and the TikTok Trend (feat. Katy Perry)

Gavin

Last month a forgotten survival horror game saw a brief spike of interest thanks to a TikTok meme featuring a quirked up white boy busting it down sexual style on Jason Vorhees, all scored to a 2013 Katy Perry single.

It was a flash in the pan few will remember, but in that moment this forgotten game highlighted a weak spot in the superstructure of video game criticism that demands discussion. With single-player games critics have things pretty well covered. You get a review copy, play the game, write one review and call it a day. If a remaster or substantive story DLC comes along there will inevitably be a second write-up covering the content changes so consumers have a fresh interpretation of the game with the added clarity of modern context.

Content Warning: One instance of a homophobic slur. Have fun finding it.

Continue reading “Jason Vorhees and the TikTok Trend (feat. Katy Perry)” →
Gavin Stuff

Wolf Stockburn: Failroad Detective

Gavin
The many (badly photoshopped) faces of Wolf Stockburn.

Occasionally I type the word “railroad” into audiobook apps to see what’ll pop up. Mostly I get the usual suspects of dry history books, but a few weeks ago an enticing cover caught my eye: Wolf Stockburn, Railroad Detective. Written by first-time author Max O’Hara, the book follows the titular detective solving train robberies on the newly-completed transcontinental railroad. 

What I expected was a Book for Dads with some occasional spurts of train-based action and intrigue. What I got was a book that genuinely spurred me to return to fiction writing. Not because it’s a good book, heavens no. If anything, I read the sequel Hell’s Jaw Pass purely to see if the inherent problems of Wolf Stockburn were systemic or just first-novel hiccups. 

They were not. 

Continue reading “Wolf Stockburn: Failroad Detective” →
Gavin Stuff

Halo: Infinite Isolation

Gavin

Halo: Infinite’s multiplayer beta is nearing the end of its first weekly event and I cannot get over how goddamn lonely 343 Industries has managed to make a multiplayer game. A series known for a bustling community has been reduced to an excellent video game choked underneath a thick layer of tried and true moneymaking tactics. In the olden days one could boot up Halo for hours of fun, joining naturally-forming micro-communities and potentially making friends with complete strangers. Halo: Infinite is the online multiplayer equivalent of walking around a dead mall. Sure, there’s technically other people there, but it stands as more of a reminder of times when the area thrived. 

Continue reading “Halo: Infinite Isolation” →
Gavin Stuff

Gas Station Simulator: A Pit Stop from Bland “Simulators”

Gavin

Twelve hours into DRAGO Entertainment’s newest release Gas Station Simulator I find myself at a crossroads. The first few hours are a wild ride that seems to buck the trend of the asset-flip homogenous “simulator” game genre, only to fall to pieces as its flashy mechanics degrade into annoyances to be automated or outright ignored. In those opening hours it’s better than the rank-and-file barely-functioning “[Insert Job] Simulator” games, but what points it earns with moxie it loses to unpolished jankiness and an insidious dark secret. Welcome to a 4,300 word review of a $20 game you’ve barely hard of.  

Continue reading “Gas Station Simulator: A Pit Stop from Bland “Simulators”” →