Letter to a gamer: the newsletter with no ads, no sponsors and no AI

Letter to a gamer is for those who are tired of wondering if the videogame news or critique they are reading or listening to is a paid ad or not.

Letter to a gamer is independent, reader financed and does not accept game codes.

Letter to a gamer will never try to sell you anything and doesn't have sponsorship agreements or affiliate links.

Letter to a gamer's purpose is to close the gaping wound that years worth of omitted #ad have opened.

Letter to a gamer abhors generative AI for any type of content: everything its written by the author, Riccardo Lichene, a professional journalist and a videogame critic.

Letter to a gamer is made for the readers and with the readers: if there's a AAA videogame that the community wants to see reviewed, the purchase of said videogame will be crowdfunded, as I believe that readers are willing to spend 1$ for an expert and unbiased opinion before spending 80$ for a product.

Letter to a gamer doesn't score the titles it reviews because it doesn't pretend to be universal. Videogames will be judged and dissected thoroughly, but the analytic process will be centered around who the game is talking to, who's its audience and what it is doing that's good or bad.

Letter to a gamer is not just what it isn't or doesn't do: it's essential, so no 15k worlds reviews; it's omnivorous, so there's no game that's too small or niece, all that matters is the quality; it's intersectional, so I'll tell you loud and clear when a game (or its author) is sexist, misogynist or homophobic.

Letter to a gamer is a selection endeavor. In a world that releases more thank 15 thousand games every year its difficult to find one's footing and get to discover quality experiences that are small of medium sized. My goal is to find them, test them, talk about them and, if they are good, recommend them so that readers get to save time and enjoy quality games.

Letter to a gamer cares about the reader's finances so it will signal when something good is on sale on major platforms.

Letter to a gamer cannot stay up to date with the latest, day to day news, but it will, every week, analyze the most important stories of the previous 7 days focusing on the consequences for players and industry professionals alike.

Letter to a gamer speaks with the developers. Interviews will be conducted with those who make videogames and will also talk about how they make them. There's so much hard work behind a videogame and sometimes the technical aspect is what makes an experience stand out and I want to showcase it.

Letter to a gamer wants to listen to the voice of its readers: a subscribers-only telegram group is where all communications and polling for readers will happen.

Letter to a gamer stands with whistleblowers: anonymity for those who have something to report is guaranteed. Wether you are inside or outside the industry, if you have something you want to denounce you can contact me on Signal (+39 3397096135) and your safety will be my number one priority.

Letter to a gamer is the work of a single author. I'm a nobody: I don't have millions of followers and I haven't played every single game that's ever been made since the 70s. However, I'm a professional reporter who studied ethics and history and I love videogames. Italian law prohibits me from promoting products or services, otherwise I could lose my license.

But that's not the reason you won't see any commercial or sponsorship. My mission is to rebuild trust between the public and videogame journalists that years worth of non disclosed sponsorships of affiliate campaign have eroded; or at least try.

There's so much passion among those that make and play videogames, so much love for stories, bossfights, impossible clutches, raids and do many sleepless nights just to make an NPC's animation a little better when you meet them during the 12th step of a minor side quest.

I want to tell you about this burning passion and how it's alive and well despite job cuts, mismanagement and monetization practices of unspeakable unfairness. I want to convince you all that my critiques are at your service, not for sale or for corporations to buy; to do all this I need your support.

Letter to a gamer considers videogames an art form, and its subscription is 4.5 dollars a month.