Joshua Wolens
One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.
Latest articles by Joshua Wolens
![helldivers 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ujqMzpgMcBeQJsYnVQ7svZ-320-80.png)
Helldivers 2 has sold over 12 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation game ever: 'There are more Helldivers than there are Swedes'
By Joshua Wolens published
News This is democracy manifest.
![Fallout 4 next-gen update screenshot - nail gun](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YJEKDgDRR9FGAFnCEWPJFY-320-80.jpg)
The first patch for Bethesda's busted Fallout 4 next gen update leaves its biggest problems intact, and you're still better off downgrading the game
By Joshua Wolens published
News Rebuilding civilisation, one patch at a time.
![A car parked in front of an array of billboards.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LKugwNz27iSRfZm2MLmGRE-320-80.jpg)
Brace yourself, EA is thinking real hard about inserting ads into its videogames
By Joshua Wolens published
News CEO Andrew Wilson was asked about in-game ads in a recent earnings call.
![Andrew Wilson, chief executive officer of Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), speaks during the company's EA Play event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Saturday, June 9, 2018. EA announced that it is introducing a higher-end version of its subscription game-playing service that will include new titles such as Battlefield V and the Madden NFL 19 football game. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o9tP4wjvnzfaShCeWxMMZH-320-80.jpg)
Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider pours scorn on EA's AI dreams: 'What they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Gaider remembers how excited execs were for live service games like Anthem, and reckons they're just repeating a pattern.
![Fallout 3 guy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LQ8KLFp29yDZvFjkoGQnu3-320-80.jpg)
Fallout 3, the objectively 5th-best Fallout game, is free to keep via Prime Gaming right now
By Joshua Wolens published
News My scientific ranking of the Fallouts in the guise of PSA posts continues.
![OpenAI logo displayed on a phone screen and ChatGPT website displayed on a laptop screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on December 5, 2022.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eQ4QvnT5n24R9f4nQNq5MP-320-80.jpg)
ChatGPT giant OpenAI is 'exploring' a more relaxed attitude towards AI-generated porn and smut
By Joshua Wolens published
News But experts have concerns.
![close up of Ashley smiling, plagas infection apparent around her eyes](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/B9bNtoowowamWc7J9P52UF-320-80.jpg)
As cuts and closures batter the industry, Capcom posts its 7th consecutive year of record-high profits and says the 8th is just around the corner
By Joshua Wolens published
News Capcom sold more games this year than in any previous year in its history.
![A sniper stands amidst 1000s of spent bullet casings in Shadows of Doubt.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5VvZZuQph7f4aiezakzwxV-320-80.png)
Immersive sim bugs are the best kind of bug: Shadow of Doubt's snipers are leaving behind thousands of spent bullet casings as they fail to hit their targets
By Joshua Wolens published
News No one told me the target would be moving.
![Vladimir Putin being shown something on a computer monitor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/c3sB7z58HJCKTqt4Pa7YJn-320-80.jpg)
Russia's homegrown Wikipedia promises a 'different direction' from its inspiration: One where Yevgeny Prigozhin just happened to explode in mid-air
By Joshua Wolens published
News Launched in January, Ruwiki is another attempt by Russia to secure domestic "digital sovereignty."
![helldivers 2 operation swift disassembly](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zxNStQpBeJDDnV9wLHZvVV-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers 2 players' new battle: A petition for the reinstatement and 'canonization' of community manager fired for supporting review bombing and refunds
By Joshua Wolens published
News Almost 2,000 have signed so far.
![A shot of Geralt relaxing in the bath, his face overlaid with an amateur photoshop of Zoltan from The Witcher 1.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KruZxv3WvkSULYkJ8bpvjE-320-80.jpg)
Bathtub Zoltan Chivay becomes more real than ever as The Witcher 3's full-fat modding tools get a release date
By Joshua Wolens published
News Unsubscribe me from all non-Zoltan content.
![A Nord in a state of distress.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oaNKvgcV8EiwY8URzkVx8Y-320-80.jpg)
Modder adds the one thing Skyrim has always been missing: Crippling psychological stress
By Joshua Wolens published
News Finally, Skyrim is a true life sim.
![Shadowheart looks very, very distraught in Baldur's Gate 3.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bPtCZjrPgVUbN77oNBuUdc-320-80.jpg)
Following up 'one of the greatest RPGs of all time' had Baldur's Gate 3 devs in a cold sweat: 'A great honour and a lot of pressure'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Baldur's Gate 2 was a tough act to follow.
![A lose screen on Human or Not, showing that I guessed my partner was a human incorrectly.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TgaTanNzAvPp8njzHr45Va-320-80.png)
This viral Chatroulette-style browser game challenges you to figure out if your partner is human or AI, and I keep failing
By Joshua Wolens published
News Human or Not is a gamified Turing test.
![Cyberpunk 2077 character Johnny Silverhand with arms crossed looks away from the camera and smiles](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eDWMw8zjPZx59YVgKWqkrf-320-80.jpg)
Cyberpunk 2077 dev says they went all-out on the memorial to Johnny Silverhand's nuclear attack, then found out bosses 'just expected a commemorative plaque'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Let's be honest, it's better this way.
![Alan Wake, a writer in a snazzy black suit, gives his all during The Herald of Darkness music video from Alan Wake 2.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ReVY6H8vKvkiuYPuH984Ed-320-80.png)
Alan Wake 2 hasn't turned a profit 6 months in and there's no Steam release in sight, but Remedy says it's in control
By Joshua Wolens published
News Plus, we've gotten updates on the multiplayer Control spin-off and the Max Payne remakes.
![HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 13: Special Guest John Carpenter attends the screening of 'Escape from New York' at the 2019 TCM 10th Annual Classic Film Festival on April 13, 2019 in Hollywood, California.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TDEkb6aMFaaYGWRvtdeVw6-320-80.jpg)
Master of horror John Carpenter doesn't 'need to see' the Borderlands film, may have quit Diablo 4 for the same reason he dropped Red Dead 2: 'I can't even get on that horse'
By Joshua Wolens published
News On the bright side, he loved Horizon Forbidden West and had a grand time with God of War.
![An image of Todd Howard in the middle of explaining a concept using hand gestures.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DsZHdvF6u2v9S7GYjWnj47-320-80.jpeg)
Todd Howard reckons he knows why Starfield was so divisive: It was too 'different than you've seen from us in past'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Some players just "prefer the way it's done in Fallout or Elder Scrolls."
![LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: Executive Producer Todd Howard attends the UK Special Screening of "Fallout" presented by Amazon MGM Studios & Prime Video at White City Television Centre on April 04, 2024 in London, England. "Fallout" is launching exclusively on Prime Video on 11th April 2024.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xvmVuHMovGsQGuMgjmQhZS-320-80.jpg)
Todd Howard says the Fallout show was so fanatical about detail that 'We were sharing the files right from the games and they were 3D printing things'
By Joshua Wolens published
News "I'm like, 'You didn't even fake the stack of papers!'"
![A faceless shot of a priest with his hands clasped, holding a rosary.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nDX9JkWMrsPRsSUsRpZhW6-320-80.jpg)
Priest accused by cops of spending over $40,000 of church funds on Candy Crush and Pokémon Go, says it might have happened because he's not a 'details guy'
By Joshua Wolens published
News Lawrence Kozak is accused by police of misusing funds from Saint Thomas More Parish.
![The cover of the video game Doom](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X4LfZW6FWBhMDsry9AkYhR-320-80.jpg)
Software dev joins ranks of history's greatest monsters by adding microtransactions to the original Doom
By Joshua Wolens published
News EA is presumably already on the phone.
![Father Justin in full priestly regalia, from the Catholic Answers website.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kFxsGQDFrcPfJD3HECBWjj-320-80.jpg)
Catholic 'media ministry' defrocks AWOL AI priest after it told faithful you can baptise babies in Gatorade and that, sure, it can totally perform your wedding
By Joshua Wolens published
News Father Justin is just Justin, for now.
![Three survivors in a post-apocalypse](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PtMAnw322nRAWDmquVg9N5-320-80.jpg)
I loved the Fallout TV show, but I did it in spite of Bethesda's stifling take on the wasteland
By Joshua Wolens published
Wasted Potential Fallout's at its best when it lets itself grow and change.