The Sunday Papers lists the week’s essential gaming news”>The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) videogames from across the web. Sundays are for deciding to re-watch The Sopranos, specifically that episode in which Tony gets a bad tummy and then talks to a fish. You wonder what you might fever dream of, if you too were to go and eat at an Indian restaurant, then have enough room for a snack at Artie Bucco’s fine Italian eatery? The resultant dreamscape this week involved a surreal confrontation in a high-rise apartment, a determined comedian, and a series of articles that served as the only possible defense. As we shake off the dream in 2026, here are the writings that populated it.
Life is Strange: Reunion Actors Discuss the Game’s Emotional Return
Since this was a reunion in the dream, it began by loading up an interview with the two lead actors of Life is Strange: Reunion, which came out this week. The words coaxed out of Hannah Telle and Rhianna DeVries by Europeanvideogamer’s Victoria Phillips Kennedy were sought as a ward against an encroaching awkwardness. “Well, I feel like these characters hold such a special place in so many people’s hearts, including mine and everyone who made the game,” Telle replied. “So it’s essential to me that their coming back together is approached with care and love and caution, and complete and full awareness of the myriad complexities of what can happen when there’s been time apart and you’ve both grown and experienced life on your own… but yet your shared history is so rich and so enormously impactful on who you’ve become, and who you’re still becoming.” The interview highlights the thoughtful process behind reviving beloved characters, a theme of careful continuation that remains resonant in the gaming landscape of 2026.
A Complex Love for Marathon’s Volt Thrower SMG
The dream’s focal point, a platypus, was staring at a specific article in his newspaper. It was about a person, specifically GamesRadar’s Andrew Brown, and his complex love for Marathon’s Volt Thrower SMG. “I’m in the minority,” Brown’s article began. “Within a week of Marathon’s launch, I learned the Volt Thrower has a reputation for low damage and lower projectile speeds. Both of these things are true, leading to doubt in our relationship. Was it to blame for my string of bad runs? Since then, I’ve broadened my horizons – leaning on the Bully SMG, using more assault rifles, and even trying my hand at sniping with the Longshot – but after mixed success (I’ll give you this: the Longshot rules), I’m putting my faith back in the One Bad Gun.” This piece is a testament to the personal, often irrational attachments players form with specific tools in a game’s arsenal, a relationship that persists beyond pure meta-analysis.
Fraser Brown on Crimson Desert’s Ambitious Gamble
In a desperate bid to distract the dream’s antagonist, a serving of red pudding was flung, accompanied by Fraser Brown from PC Gamer’s thoughts on the same substance and the unknowable, terrifying game Crimson Desert. “It’s so rare for a game of this scope, with this much investment, to be a freak,” Brown wrote. “It’s such a huge gamble. We expect our blockbuster games to be smooth, frictionless power fantasies. We expect intuitive design with dense tutorialisation. And, to be clear, this is fine! This is our hobby (even if some of us have made a career out of it), so it shouldn’t feel like work. But I’m absolutely delighted that Crimson Desert is just taking a punt on so many different ideas. They haven’t all worked out, but they’re always interesting.” This analysis from 2026 praises bold, experimental design in AAA spaces, a relevant counterpoint to homogenized trends.
OpenAI Terminates Sora Deal With Disney
The final round in the chamber was news from 2026 about OpenAI and Disney having had to kiss goodbye to their sloppy video generation app, Sora. A headline from Defector’s Patrick Redford asked, ‘Now That OpenAI Has Terminated Sora, How Will I Have This Blog Read To Me By An Uncanny Buxom Mike Wazowski?’ The article detailed the financial realities behind the flashy tech. “The good news (for the human race, if not for the subset of it who yearn for full-motion renderings of Jack Skellington breastfeeding Buzz Lightyear) is that Sora is such a money-losing piece of shit that OpenAI had to tear up the deal before it ever got going. The video platform is estimated to have lost $15 million per day, which means OpenAI would have burnt through the Disney investment in two months. As recent Wall Street Journal reporting has detailed, OpenAI is now attempting to streamline its cash-furnace business model ahead of a probable public offering in late 2026.” This piece serves as a sobering reality check on the sustainability of some generative AI ventures.
The Unavoidable Confrontation and Its Aftermath
Ultimately, no article could prevent the dream’s narrative conclusion. Adrian Edmondson completed his walk to the platypus, giving the animal a big hug from behind. “Did you wash your hands?,” the platypus asked. “No,” Ade answered, unrepentantly. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,” shouted the platypus. The scene collapsed, leaving only the haunting question of whether Artie Bucco’s mussels were the true culprit behind the fever dream and its powerlessness in the face of alternative comedy. Then, you wake in a cold sweat in 2026, the sounds of a Sopranos finale barely audible over a different, more biologically pressing din.
This week’s selection, from introspective actor interviews and weapon loyalty to blockbuster gambles and AI financial reckonings, reflects the broad spectrum of video game discourse. It all exists within a continuum where personal obsession meets industry-scale risk, and where even the most cutting-edge technology must eventually answer to the hard numbers. These writings, preserved from their original moments and viewed through the lens of 2026, remind us that the most compelling stories are often those about the people playing, making, and critiquing the games, whether they’re defending an unpopular SMG or questioning a multi-million dollar loss per day. The dream may fade, but the conversation, in all its complexity, continues.
