Robin Bea
@robinbombus
Followers
497
Following
865
Media
214
Statuses
3,001
Game critic/reporter @inversedotcom , second-best host of @girlmode_pod . robin.bea @inverse .com 🏳️⚧️she/her🏳️⚧️ @bdgunion forever
Joined April 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
梅雨明け
• 208034 Tweets
Raila
• 160348 Tweets
#BKPPยอม_MV
• 55845 Tweets
パワプロ
• 47647 Tweets
NORAWIT X BV IN EMPORIUM
• 29837 Tweets
Harmony
• 24815 Tweets
暇空敗訴
• 24622 Tweets
PAPA DALI
• 20099 Tweets
Kamari
• 20011 Tweets
Overdose
• 19926 Tweets
WazirX
• 16967 Tweets
SEMANGATbaru EKONOMItumbuh
• 15856 Tweets
JIMMYSEA CHOC x AIS
• 15531 Tweets
डिब्रूगढ़ एक्सप्रेस
• 14581 Tweets
रेल मंत्री
• 13175 Tweets
スキズ再契約
• 12212 Tweets
Mehmet Büyükekşi
• 10976 Tweets
#プレバト
• 10939 Tweets
awful news, but so telling that indie dev closures are often "we don't have the money to finish this game so we're giving as much as we can to employees" and AAA layoffs are "we made $80 billion last year then fired 900 people with no warning and gave their salaries to the CEO"
4
2K
6K
Is Dragonsplague bad design or are you just conditioned to think that video games should do nothing but dole out instant gratification at every turn? (hint: it's not the first one)
'Dragon's Dogma 2' is better for not giving players everything they want, and the controversial Dragonsplague is the perfect example of why.
7
10
165
77
360
4K
Emerged from my covid haze to see capcom using someone who JUST mainstreamed a hate campaign against marginalized people in gaming to promote dragons dogma, and I just wish the games industry weren't embarrassing and actively dangerous at every turn. I'm going back to bed
Introducing the second round of
#DragonsDogma2
Official Pawns! Now joining the fray...
@TheSphereHunter
@Asmongold
@WoolieWoolz
@SuperRADLemon
@anniefuchsia
@Arekkz
@Ashewyn
@kitosan
@Frederic_Molas
+ more!
👉
#DD2
928
310
4K
669
181
3K
@waxpancake
@bombsfall
I miss those days, riding my motorcycle with reckless abandon to the... tennis... database?
13
79
2K
snark aside, I do think a lot of the reaction to this comes from viewing video games as just a consumer product (where any friction looks like a flaw), as opposed to an art form (where it's clearly a creative choice)
11
17
442
I spoke to visual novel developers including
@vnstudioelan
about how it feels to see the genre treated like a punchline every year on April Fools' Day.
"These developers deserve better than to have their efforts reduced to shallow, derivative jokes."
8
203
432
this is only the second time I've ever given a game a 10/10. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an incredibly ambitious game that pulls off its bizarre vision to perfection. I guarantee you've never played anything quite like it
4
27
267
If your reaction to the Kotaku news or anything else is "there's no good games journalism left," you're just admitting you're not looking. There's mountains of good work out there. Free yourself from the idea that a publication's name is what defines good work and you'll find it.
22
33
259
@Melizande
I mean it's definitely harsh (though easy to avoid or mitigate). But the game is so much about strong, permanent consequences I think that harshness is kind of necessary.
3
0
255
@bywillborger
It's such an unbelievable self-own to admit they played this game and missed the point so badly.
4
0
192
The Pies are officially the protagonists of blaseball
3
21
184
Pretty cool that the Starfield controversy we've chosen to have is "people have different opinions about it" and not "it lacks basic accessibility features you'd find in games with much smaller budgets and dev teams"
I wanted to love
#Starfield
and I did have a blast with it. But its lack of accessibility is extremely disappointing.
I didn't know when Todd Howard said on
@KindaFunnyVids
that they would have Big Font Mode that was all they would have.
Full review:
32
148
609
0
51
180
This isn't my first layoff, but it's my first from a job I loved. I lost my job along with dozens of others today. Inverse is full of unbelievably kind and curious and talented people struggling under cruel and capricious management and I'm going to miss being there with them.
14
15
158
@lachancenaomi
@bombsfall
Does this guy have to give his fiance 60 days notice before he dumps her?
2
0
132
Excited to share that as of today I'm covering video games as the new staff writer at
@inversedotcom
!
19
4
119
I'm deeply grateful to
@SamanthaZero
and
@Melizande
for speaking to me on how they helped shape Catalyst! I genuinely could not have fit all the incredible things they said into this if I had 3x the word count
2
23
95
Thanks to
@JumpOvertheAge
for speaking to me for this piece! Come for insight into Citizen Sleeper's production and themes, stay for my favorite pull quote ever randomly dunking on Commander Shepard.
0
35
89
I read this fucking incredible essay about the weird sexlessness of modern blockbusters last night, and I've now run out of people to text about it so here you go
3
23
79
How Zenos Galvus became an unlikely supporter of animal welfare and inspired some of the best fan art to come out of FFXIV
1
31
64
@AzureKnight75
In terms of its actual impact, exactly this. It's a bit rougher in that it can bomb an entire town, but it's also easier to prevent.
1
0
62
also if anyone is in desperate need of an elder millennial trans weirdo to write sappy things about video games then wow have I got good news for you
2
6
51
Even in its "fix" for an infamously transphobic scene, Persona 3 Reload can't conceive of a way to treat trans people with dignity
0
15
43
I got to talk to
@WritNelson
about telling an authentic story of addiction and abuse, what makes good representation, the need for diverse leadership in games, and how cultural biases make writing a Black protagonist way more complicated
0
13
41
The frantic pace of last night's Game Awards has already reduced it to mush in my mind, but I salvaged some thoughts on what exactly made it such a failure and whether we should just write the show off altogether
1
7
33
Uppercut consistently published some of the best writing from totally new voices. Obviously Ty stepping away for his health is the right thing to do, but losing one of the last great independent crit outlets is a blow for all kinds of writing on games.
0
11
32
"game developers" are SEETHING about literally anything because it's the only way they can get attention.
Read
@veedztweets
' excellent essay (which mark clearly didn't do) for a great discussion on the weird unsexiness of "sexy" video game protagonists
1
3
28
when trans people talk about genocide, this is why. transphobes want every single of us dead or (if they can't get that) at least in the closet with no hope of ever getting out
A new Texas bill introduced would ban nearly all insurance coverage for gender affirming care for everyone, including adults. They are now pushing to eliminate all coverage of this care. It was never about trans youth.
146
3K
8K
0
17
27
I wrote about Dragon's Dogma 2's microtransactions, which are in fact very stupid but not worth your anger.
2
13
25
So there's just a bunch of creeps monitoring every reply to that capcom tweet huh. What a way to spend your time
Emerged from my covid haze to see capcom using someone who JUST mainstreamed a hate campaign against marginalized people in gaming to promote dragons dogma, and I just wish the games industry weren't embarrassing and actively dangerous at every turn. I'm going back to bed
669
181
3K
80
0
26
@bywillborger
You learn that the game is satire before you learn its controls! It's just so funny to miss literally the most consistent and pervasive thing in the game
1
0
25
I think what I’m going to miss most about writing for Inverse (aside from all my beautiful and perfect coworkers) is getting to write from an openly trans perspective about art.
1
2
25
@CJ_Johnson17th
Oh cool, so all I need is more time and money and better social skills and a new job and therapy.
1
0
21
If you showed some people a chart of US presidents' genders they would conclude that 100% of Americans are male
3
3
20
BDG management is so afraid of the writers who actually keep the business running that it locked them out of work rather than letting them show support for the union
This morning, the BDG Union undertook a concerted activity in response to 40 of our colleagues getting laid off last week.
We changed our Slack avatars to the union logo, set our names to “No Layoffs, Fair Contract Now,” and shared the same message in the BDG general channel.
2
74
288
1
5
21
I support the bargaining committee, and I'm proud to be a member of the
@BDGUnion
! One issue that's important to me in our contract is improving diversity in hiring and creating a supportive workplace for all.
0
2
20
extremely brave move from an extremely brave editor
Some personal news! I've resigned from Kotaku and Jim Spanfeller is an herb
497
213
3K
5
1
20
@9_volt_
Imagine how upset they'll be when they find out that's also how it works in real life.
1
0
17
I finally got to share my many feelings about my beloved rat queen Freya Crescent, melancholy and fierce icon, hero to the depressed and estranged,
#1
Final Fantasy character don't @ me
1
7
18
I'm proud (but not surprised) to be the first person to write the phrase "demon goat mommy" on inverse dot com
3
3
18
yes working in media is precarious and unforgiving but sometimes after interviews people say you ask good questions and that's why you can never leave
2
1
19
this absolutely never gets old
Also have to give a shout-out to how effectively Dragon's Dogma 2 uses music. The dopamine hit you get when the fanfare kicks in after taking down a big enemy is just unparalleled.
0
0
5
1
3
19
Yes, $70 games are a standard now for plenty of Sensible Business Reasons, but we don't need to defend something that could keep people out of gaming entirely
3
4
18
As of this week, I'm freelancing for some site called inverse? I don't know much about it but it seems pretty cool
0
4
17
if you're writing about a game that MIGHT be made by neo-nazis, you ARE obligated to ask the developers if they're neo-nazis
NEW:
@thewillarowe
asks the anonymous developers of upcoming Mickey Mouse horror game 'Infestation 88' if they are neo-Nazis. They replied, "No, we are not." More here:
3
10
27
1
2
16
Microsoft says its AI partnership will empower developers. Voice actors say it's a threat to their craft. Thanks to
@abbeyveffer
@shelby_young
and
@TimFriedlander
for speaking to me for this piece!
0
5
15
So putting aside the straight up lie that
@nytimes
coverage of trans people has ever been empathetic, it's both laughable and offensive to claim they're reporting on "prejudice faced by the community" when they're the ones giving a platform to that prejudice
the
@nytimes
statement on the open letters about its coverage of trans people. from Charlie Stadtlander, director of external communications
119
145
1K
1
3
15
Just went to court so I never have to write in my "preferred name" again. 10/10 would recommend
0
0
14
if your partner wouldn't do this they don't deserve you
0
1
12
This week I got to write about Abe's Oddysee, a game that's been rattling around in my brain for 25 years, making me the weird little gremlin I am today.
2
5
14
I think if you want to make a game longer than 10 hours you should have to justify it to Congress
2
2
13
Baby's first Pride was this weekend. Just saying you can come out way older than the cool trans kids who are so visible here and still find joy and community and learn to love yourself and finally feel like life is worth living and anyone who says you can't can fuck right off ✨
1
0
14
(not to mention that Kotaku and other "name-brand" pubs are still doing good work too. a bunch of you dorks have just been pretending that's not the case for years.)
5
0
14
Baldur's Gate 3 is a great RPG built on top of an awful one
1
5
13
If I can become a homeowner, anyone can!
Here's how I did it:
Stopped buying expensive coffee biscuits
Walked everywhere to avoid Aethernet fees
Took side jobs as a blacksmith, weaver, fisher, and alchemist
Received a small 5 million gil gift from my uncle, a Garlean war criminal
0
1
13
if there was even a shred of doubt left in your mind, Roll7's closure should prove that layoffs have literally nothing to do with how good you are at your job
The publisher of 'Grand Theft Auto' is closing two small studios months after one won a BAFTA for 'Rollderdrome,' proving once again that no job in games is safe.
0
2
2
0
2
13
let👏women👏summon👏tables!
1
6
13
As important as it is to remember that these bigots can cause real harm, it's also very, VERY funny to be reminded that they're some of the biggest dumbasses on planet earth
0
1
12
I always feel silly about self-promotion, especially as it becomes ever harder to imagine anyone being interested in seeing it, but I did a lot of work I'm proud of this year so I might as well do it for posterity's sake, and to pass the time
1
2
12
Please say happy first birthday to my perfect daughters!! I would have put fun little party hats on them for the occasion but I know I wouldn't survive the attempt
3
0
12
the writers explicitly say they're proud of horny fan artists in this interview, so keep you up, you thirsty animals
This is now live! Writers talked a lot to me and
@robinbombus
about what changed between early access and now. In previous versions, Wyll and Gale kept talking about their exes, something that fans noted and complained about.
1
4
19
0
4
12
@Brendan_LH
Yeah good point, I didn't even think about that. it's interesting that Dragon's Dogma has SO many ways to lock yourself out of progress but they're less showy than Dragonsplague so they're not drawing the same heat.
0
0
12
I'm still way too much in shock to start replying individually, but I just want to thank everyone who's reached out with support today. It means a lot to me.
0
0
12
The best part of my job is talking to game devs for insight on their process and a look into the fascinating and unexpected inspirations for their games, like how horror movie makeup inspired Demonschool's art style
1
1
11
It's been a while since I've mentioned it, so just want to say again that I'm still very much in need of work! Editorial work around games would be ideal (I have lots of experience with news, reviews, and interviews) but I'm open to anything! DMs are open, portfolio in bio! ❤️
1
11
11
Can't wait for this to change the minds of all those people who are definitely against trans women in sports for legitimate concerns over fairness and not just because they're joyless bigots who love inflicting suffering on others
Transgender female athletes are at a physical disadvantage compared to cisgender women in several key metrics, research funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has found...
145
2K
8K
0
2
11
I am once again asking people to be normal about this game for one single second
I wrote about Dragon's Dogma 2's microtransactions, which are in fact very stupid but not worth your anger.
2
13
25
1
0
11
This is insane and silly and I love it.
Ranking: Every Radiohead Song From Worst to Best via
@coslive
0
4
10
It's good to see the GLAAD Gaming Survey put numbers to the state of gaming for queer people, even if it's most confirming what we already know. I wrote a bit about how their findings square with my gaming experience as a trans woman today
0
4
11
now this is how you write a fucking headline
1
4
11
Sure Hades is cool, but what if you got weirdly obsessed with a short demo for a totally different roguelike for two whole weeks instead
'Witching Stone' mixes the best parts of casual puzzle games and replayable deckbuilders for one captivating roguelike.
0
3
5
1
2
10
I'm screaming internally at the 100+ character headline but this much needed update adds some illuminating quotes and an all-time great attribution
Update: Rolling Stone has once again changed their headline.
222
3K
35K
1
2
10
Please join the BDG union in ushering management from fucking around to finding out
Send a letter: Tell Bryan Goldberg: Stop the Layoffs & Agree to a Fair Contract at BDG
0
20
28
0
2
10
I'm really hoping more people pick up KarmaZoo, because I would love to have another multiplayer game that doesn't make me feel crappy for playing it
0
4
10
One day I will break my streak of only reviewing games that emotionally devastate me, but not today.
1
4
9
To say something positive for a change, I wrote about how Saltsea Chronicles eschews the typical individualist power fantasy of many adventure games and is a better game for it
1
1
10
got a late start so my TMNT review will be out next week, but April O'Neil is already 10/10
0
2
10
🗣️ All we want for the holidays is a fair contract! Support the BDG Union by sending a letter to CEO Bryan Goldberg urging him to commit to fair wage and salary minimums in line with accepted union industry standards.
#BDGFairWagesNow
@WGAEast
2
95
112
0
3
10
This just in: Mediterranea Inferno still absolutely rules
1
2
9
Sony may be right that "delivering the immersive, narrative-driven stories that PlayStation Studios is known for" requires regular human sacrifices, but at what point will the industry consider that that might not be worth it?
0
5
9
@Melizande
@LichVtuber
@BlairDurkee
I'm not in the UK so I may have limited info, but from what I've read the folks in replies saying Mermaids is a good charity seem to be right! Otherwise, look into Gendered Intelligence or see if there's a more local charity/mutual aid group in need!
0
0
9
If you can't answer this question in one sentence that is in fact a huge fucking problem!!
Ubisoft, MiHoYo, and more will start using Nvidia's Ace microservice, which can create AI-generated NPCs. When I asked what data the tool was being trained on to generate voices, I was told there is "no simple answer."
92
1K
3K
0
0
9
Every time I got to say “us” about trans people, to write for an implicitly queer audience, I was thrilled. I’m so grateful to
@CoreyIsAFox
and
@hellojenglen
for welcoming pitches that centered queerness but never asking me to commodify my identity when I didn’t want to.
2
0
9
@RadiantG_
Hi, I'm Robin (she/her)! I am a recently laid-off journalist and current podcaster looking for work writing for or about video games and TTRPGs!
0
4
9
This was the most exhausting, infuriating, cathartic, and somehow still fun conversation we've had yet. It's another heavy one, but please listen if you want to hear from two trans people about why we're so worked up about a stupid game.
Or just tune in for the Flaco update.
So Hogwarts Legacy is out. We spend the bulk of this episode discussing its real-world impacts and the media’s near-total failure to take them seriously. After an exasperating hour, we recommend games by and about trans folks you should be playing instead.
2
6
21
1
1
9
their thoughtful, heartfelt answers really show how crucial it is to actually have trans women telling trans women's stories (if it weren't obvious enough already)
0
0
9
.
@jpreyes__
is the first Inverse writer I can confirm exists outside of my computer, and she's just as cool as you'd expect
I met
@robinbombus
in real life 🥺
Can confirm she has as much personality and style in person
3
1
17
0
0
9
Just shouting into the void that I've been out of work since BDG laid me off in February and I'm going to be homeless in August if I don't find something soon. I would really appreciate any leads on editorial work.
I think what I’m going to miss most about writing for Inverse (aside from all my beautiful and perfect coworkers) is getting to write from an openly trans perspective about art.
1
2
25
2
13
10
I guarantee you're going to get more out of this piece than any of the reviews going up today
I've talked ad nauseum about why people shouldn't support the game. About how easy it is to just move on. Do people not think I had to do that when I learned R*wling wanted to wipe the planet of people like me? 2/7
4
6
24
1
0
8
This is the silliest thing I've ever published, and honestly there's a lot of competition
1
4
9
today is garbage so I'm astral projecting back to two days ago when it was 70 out and I was in the park
0
0
8
Hey that's me
Slay the Princess was Inverse's pick for best indie game of the year!
Absolutely wild to see our weird lil game making so many lists.
9
60
528
1
0
8
congrats to my bestie on this much deserved move! kotaku I will never forgive you for taking her away
Hey everyone. Some career news:
Today is my last day at Inverse. Starting Monday, you can find my words
@Kotaku
as its newest staff writer.
43
9
182
0
0
8