Katya Ryabova 🔜 Gamescom
@katyar
Video games freelance writer & journalist. Gaming, motherhood, drinks. She/her. Substack: playingthisweek.substack.com Coffee and games fund:
Literally screamed upon finding a Monstrosa sticker in-game. Lauren is a dear friend whom I've known for a decade+. I absolutely love our little village of the Toronto games dev scene.
Literally no idea what's going on here, but I LOVE IT Cc: @taru-cozycube.bsky.social 💛
I also felt very loved and very cared for all day. I feel this way most days, but I'm just extra grateful today. ❤️🎈
Happy to report that today has been extra in all the best ways. An ube buttercream cake with a Paris Brest topper? Top that!
I love my birthday 🎈 After the birth of my daughter I chilled out some, but I still love it so today is going to be EXTRA HECK YEAH
I'm at The G.R.I.D. @playthegrid.bsky.social structured playtesting event! It was such a highlight of the Toronto Games Week for me last year, and this year, it's back with a vengeance. Bigger, calmer, more poised, and just as awesome. Kudos to Antonio for pulling it off once again!
Haven't had a chance to play more than an hour for now, but 007 First Light has been an utter delight. Big shoutout to @gaypavarotti.bsky.social for the best Christmas gift ever 🎮
My fave photo from the Canadian Game Awards: My dearest friends from MTL, checking out a very special game I know will make it big (Cc: @ravinestudios.ca @mhdante.com).
XP Game Summit 2026 is now in the books! The Canadian video games industry is epic, and the summit just proved it. Again and again. Also, I had no idea I could be this exhausted, but guess what I'm going to do to relax tonight? That's right. Play video games.
The Canadian Game Awards 2026 are now in the books, and it was a great show and an awesome experience. Commanders Shepard as hosts killed it—it was such a good time! Congratulations to all nominees and winners once again!
Wanderstop by now-defunct @ivyroadgames.bsky.social won The Best Indie award. Bittersweet would be putting it mildly—it was heartbreaking that no one came up on stage to claim it. Too real a reminder about the industry's incessant layoffs and the hardships faced by studios, especially small ones.
Delighted for Hell is Us by Rogue Factory for winning the Best Game Design and the Best Performance awards at the Canadian Game Awards also. An underrated gem that I believe will endure.
Congratulations to Compulsion Games @compulsiongames.bsky.social and South of Midnight on sweeping the Canadian Game Awards! Game of the Year, Studio of the Year, Best Console Game, Best Art Direction, Narrative, Soundtrack, and Audio Design! What an achievement 🏆🎮
XP Game Summit 2026 is off to a roaring start. These are the moments I treasure the most about my journalism life. I'll see so many of you in the next two days—please say hi!
I hate this clickbait shit so much. Fucking hate it. The article is talking about a Ciri statue, STATUE, as in merch. Not the DLC for TW3 nor the news of TW4. I still clicked.
Rolled credits on Blasphemous (ending B, but who cares), and let me tell you: what a superb fuckin' game that I'm ecstatic to never EVER, EVER touch again Back to my cute lil narrative-driven games and cozy sims, thank you very much
The House of Hikmah was gorgeous, different, and *just right*. Some small hiccups too, inevitably so, but no matter—I've been thinking about the game all day after rolling credits. Thank you, @lunacystudios.bsky.social.
Level Up Showcase 2026 by @xpgaminginc.bsky.social was a sight to behold. 160 games from student teams representing 18 universities and colleges across Ontario! So much cool stuff! Ontario game dev has one heck of a future.
Not an anniversary of anything today, but I'm missing you especially hard right now, Dad.
My sweet child has just turned 2. Celebrating her birthday is just as fun and even more meaningful than my own, and I LOVE my birthday. The light and delight of my life 🥹💕
The loveliest @iffimoozipan.bsky.social gifted me a game for Christmas, and now I really have no choice! Jk I'm so excited to play it 🎁🎮
I've got my work cut out for me! With additional recommendations by @mysticmuffin.bsky.social, @datvivar.bsky.social, @priceofreason.bsky.social, and @andresplays.bsky.social, thanks friends. 2026 is going to be 🔥🎮