username is bluesky account / freelance writer / game photographer / lead @ #hotgamercollective + OW Capture Club / av: @L0VERSEYES
Articles by Nico Deyo
Dressmaker is all about childlike joy
Recs Image: Dressmaker (Cozy Lives/Free Lives) Even as a child, one of my hyperfixations was fashion design; I used to tack up pictures from the JCPenney catalogue of the bridesmaid dresses to my wall, inspired by the pastel confections of tulle and satin. I spent hours drawing fancy shoes, dresses, and other chic outfits in sketchpads, fully believing that it would one day be my career.
After my ADHD diagnosis, I began to rethink how I play games
Every time a little white rectangle came up on the black computer screen, I pressed the button. Rectangle, button. Rectangle, button. I idly wondered if this was testing my focus while doing repetitive tasks. It was also the first time I felt “competent” during this neurological evaluation, and reminded me of spending hours late into the night waiting to hear my fishing bobber splash while fishing for a Sewer Rat pet in World of Warcraft.
Peak Is A Playground For Slapstick Comedy
There’s something acutely hilarious about a video my friend Tyler clipped when we played Peak for the first time. It’s him turning his camera to look for me, and in the distance you see me standing there looking up at the new, even more treacherous jungle terrain we have to scale.
What Marvel Rivals and Overwatch Can Learn From Each Other
Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. When Chinese developer Netease dropped Marvel Rivals in December of last year, the hype around the kinetic 3rd-person team shooter featuring Marvel characters had reached a fever pitch. Despite it arriving to a somewhat cursed market, it seems to be the one title that is challenging Overwatch 2‘s particular genre niche.
House Flipper 2 needs every Animal Crossing and HGTV fan’s attention
It’s notable to see a smaller game given the time to grow into something special. When Empyrean’s House Flipper arrived in 2018, it felt less like a house flipping game than a bare-bones cleaning sim. While big updates and DLC added more and more to do over the years, it was an experience broken into chunks. By contrast, House Flipper 2, which arrived earlier in December, is a fully cohesive game straight out of the box.
Fortnite’s Marriott Bonvoy Land is a ghost town of capitalist sadness Original
While browsing my friends list on Bluesky, I came across a post about the “Marriott Bonvoy Land’’ in Fortnite. Curious as to what that would even look like, I went down the rabbit hole, expecting to suffer through a strange nightmare world of inescapable hotel rooms, or maybe knocking through the walls of a luxury suite with a giant sparkly hammer for a sniper rifle and Slurp Juice.
Elon Musk asked Amber Heard to cosplay Mercy in true gamer bro cliche Original
In May 2016, billionaire Elon Musk and actress Amber Heard hung out at the Met Gala, just weeks before Heard filed for divorce from Johnny Depp. The two had met several years before, while Heard was filming Machete Kills, for which Musk had been brought on as a consultant — but it was at the prestigious fashion charity event that the two hit it off as friends.
Overwatch: Genesis is a major stumble for the series’ narrative aims
It’s really hard to engage with the story of Overwatch these days. This is saying something, as a person who is mocked regularly by my best friend for rewatching old cinematics and crying, but sitting through Genesis, the three-part Overwatch 2 anime short, over the last three weeks elicited very little excitement from me. Despite it being the first time fans ever saw a pivotal chunk of the series’ history play out, it felt disconnected from where the game is now.
Overwatch 2's Latest Hero Lifeweaver: A Primer
Hope blooms as Overwatch 2’s Season 4 rolls out, which includes the release of the newest support hero, Lifeweaver. A beautiful Thai “biolight” architect who aids his allies with plant-based constructs, Lifeweaver feels like an interesting first experiment in hero design post-launch. Lifeweaver is available to players at level 45 on the Battle Pass, as well as via specific hero challenges, or instantly via the Premium Battle Pass for 2,000 Overwatch Coins ($9.99).
A messy era of gay comedies is finally paying off
If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Gay men have always been a part of comedy, even if at their own expense — prissy sissies, snide queens, and swishy creatives. Portraying male homosexuality on screen as appealing or relatable has been a small part of the long history of film, but only in the last three decades have gay creatives been the ones opening the doors for those ideas.
Overwatch 2 coach says gameplay isn’t the key — it’s ‘how you are as a person’
Illustration: Isip Xin for Polygon Filed under: Training Mode To understand Overwatch, you must first understand yourself By Jan 10, 2023, 10:45am EST Spilo, a sturdy dude with wild hair and a hoodie, looks gently concerned as he speaks via webcam.
Video game health benefits and strategies
Training Mode main illustration: Isip Xin Have you ever thought to yourself, I want to get better at games, but I don’t want to destroy my life or physical health? Or, What should a gaming “workout” routine look like? We’re here to help with a special week dedicated to all things video games and health.
Overwatch 2's Complicated New Tank, Ramattra, Highlights Some of the Game's Biggest Problems
With the release of Overwatch 2’s first post-launch season, Season 2, fans are getting to play the first post-launch tank hero, Ramattra. An imposing robot who can transform at will, he represents not just a complication of tank design, but also the game’s long-neglected worldbuilding around the Omnics. He is available to players at level 45 on the Battle Pass, or instantly via the Premium Battle Pass for 2,000 Overwatch Coins ($9.99).
Overwatch 2's Complicated New Tank, Ramattra, Highlights Some of the Game's Biggest Problems
With the release of Overwatch 2’s first post-launch season, Season 2, fans are getting to play the first post-launch tank hero, Ramattra. An imposing robot who can transform at will, he represents not just a complication of tank design, but also the game’s long-neglected worldbuilding around the Omnics. He is available to players at level 45 on the Battle Pass, or instantly via the Premium Battle Pass for 2,000 Overwatch Coins ($9.99).
Elden Ring’s Malenia embodies FromSoftware’s problems with women
She lies there, deep in the belly of the Haligtree, as if she had merely dozed off in the shafts of lights that filter down. Malenia the Severed (defender of Miquella!) has fallen to pieces, her one good arm resting at the feet of the whorls and gnarls that held her childlike brother. This enigmatic warrior captured the audience from the moment she appeared, and she featured prominently in the rest of the game’s marketing materials.
Arcane teased queer relationships, but season 2 can do better Original
Image: Netflix Since Arcane, Riot Games’ first foray into television, debuted in November, it has received adoration and praise across the board from critics, particularly in its handling of yet another video game adaptation. Missing from much of the criticism is any nuanced consideration of the show’s queer narratives. Many fans of League of Legends enjoyed seeing Caitlyn and Vi interacting, and were similarly excited about the potential for romance between the two.
Overwatch's First Year: Many Successes, but a Few Stumbles
A year is a length of time that’s hard to parse for most games. When people talk about their experiences with a title, it usually clocks in at hours, spent over a period of months. I’ve been playing Overwatch for over a year. It astounds me, but doesn’t surprise. I’m a veteran of persistent content, having played World of Warcraft for well over a decade.
Trampled Underfoot for Loot: How Diablo Fails Adria and Complex Women
Blizzard recently launched their 20th anniversary celebration for Diablo, accompanied by a suite of events for all of their current game franchises. For Diablo III, this included a recreation of Old Tristram, made to look as it looked in earlier games, framed around the concept that we were stepping into the memories of the witch Adria. She’s an important figure to the overarching story of Diablo, but also demonstrates a reflective moment of womanhood, twisted inside a stock narrative.
Looking Back On Gaming Without Nostalgia
I have a very distinct memory from 1997, watching an advertisement on TV. It had to be MTV, as that was one of two stations I consistently watched back then, other being Comedy Central, snuck deliberately in-between when I would get home from school and when my mom got home from work. It was showing this great drama, all in curious 3-D graphics, which was particularly unheard of at the time and my attention was rapt.
The Importance of Overwatch's Newest Hero, Ana Amari
Last week Blizzard announced the newest addition to their wildly popular team shooter Overwatch, and the gaming internet hasn’t felt the same. The character, named Ana Amari, not only brings a sniper support character to the game, but is also the canonical mother to Fareeha Amari, the hero known as Pharah. She’s a disabled veteran of Overwatch’s original strike team and a sassy older lady to boot.
Hotline Miami: Maybe It Wasn't As Great As We All Thought
What if Fight Club came out today? What if there was a sequel? Would the franchise still be as well-received? I might be dating myself here, but I remember when Fight Club was considered to be the height of edgy commentary. Everyone I knew was really into the film, particularly my male peers. After a while, I found myself caring a lot less about it than they did.
The Fantasy Life of a Millennial
A tiny wizard in traditional robes and alarmingly cute pink pigtails stands in a pixelated room. There’s a bed, a wardrobe, and now, as my character’s joyful landlord has informed her, a cute matching chair. This is Fantasy Life, the newest game from Level 5. That wizard’s walking around an apartment that rivals any I have ever lived in—and it’s not even real. I’m standing on the curb outside of my old apartment, looking at the cars go by on Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn. It’s the end of January, 2009.
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