Katya Ryabova 🔜 Gamescom

@katyar.bsky.social

752 Followers 184 Following

Video games freelance writer & journalist. Gaming, motherhood, drinks. She/her. Substack: playingthisweek.substack.com Coffee and games fund: https://ko-fi.com/katyar Toronto 🇨🇦

An open laptop showing Young Suns (a video game) with a wired purple Xbox controller on the side
A selfie of Matthew and Katya smiling at the camera because they're still so in love ten years later
A black can of non alcoholic coffee stout standing in front of a computer monitor showing the Steam page for Blue Prince
A screenshot of The Big Con game credits
An empty street in Toronto with reddish yellow sky because of horrible air quality because wild fires because climate change
Screenshot from Titanium Court showing the beginning of the game
A screenshot of Katya's computer storage showing the new hard drive with 1.8 TB capacity
Multiple bouquets of flowers in glass vases and birthday cards on a dining table
It's a tall pale lilac-coloured buttercream cake with a Happy Birthday sign and a Paris-Brest pastry on top
It's a selfie of Katya looking really pretty
Playtesting event in progress with people seated in front of computers with The GRID logo on a screen in the background
Unc test result showing unc score at 8 and youth score at 92, titled Youth Coded
A street pole with a small poster advertising Mina the Hollower stapled to it
Screenshot from the opening sequence of 007 First Light showing Bond's silhouette against a yellow circle background
A crowd including two seated folks checking out a video game while a content developer wearing a white dinner jacket looks on
Katya's conference pass for XP Game Summit
Hosts Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer on stage of the Canadian Game Awards
Wanderstop winning the Best Indie award at the Canadian Game Awards
Hell is Us winning Best Game Design award at the Canadian Game Awards
Compulsion Games team accepting GOTY award on stage at the Canadian Game Awards
Question mark!
Screenshot of ScreenRant article preview titled The Witcher 3 Ciri Of Cintra Gets Official 2026 Release
A bowl of fruit, a purple Xbox controller, and a glass of white sparking wine are standing on a wooden desk in front of a computer monitor showing the game Botany Manor
A screenshot of credits starting to roll on Blasphemous, a game by The Game Kitchen
A screenshot from the game The House of Hikmah showing a young girl, Maya, in a colourful Atrium
It's Katya's Dad wearing an orange T-shirt and making a funny face at the camera
Level Up Showcase sign at the entrance
It's Katya's Dad, a man standing outside looking towards the right, squinting at the sun
A toddler dressed in a pink snowsuit and pink hat with two pom poms is walking decisively away along a snowy path in a residential area
It's a decorated Christmas tree with colourful lights and baubles
Katya's 12 for 12 video game challenge board that includes Citizen Sleeper, The Unfinished Swan, Spider-Man, What Remains of Edith Finch, Inscryption, Disco Elysium, Blasphemous, Cassette Beasts, Slay the Princess, Alan Wake, The Saltsea Chronicles, and Hi-Fi Rush.
A porch decorated with Christmas lights at dusk
12 games in 12 months graphic with 12 empty slots for game recommendations
Mike Jungbluth from Compulsion Games on stage at MIGS 2025
A panel of speakers on stage C at MIGS 2025
Embers A Cozy Fantasy Journal booth at MIGS 2025
Michel Nohra from Sandfall Interactive speaking on stage at the MIGS 2025 conference
Giant letters spelling Grand Quai dusted with snow
A view of the empty snowy pier in Montreal Old Port seen through a window that reflects Katya taking a photo
Screenshot from the game Keeper showing a fantastical pink coral island with mountains in the background
Film set on a residential street in Toronto
A photo showing two computer monitors with a DnD character sheet on one and Discord open on the other, a small jack-o'-lantern on the desk and a notebook with ink pen at the forefront
A screenshot from Keeper with blue and pink hues showing a narrow path over a precipice towards a mountain range
A colourful screenshot of red and green plants and a twisted red fruit tree in Keeper
Screenshot of a "victory" screen in Blue Prince after Room 46 is found. It says Mt. Holly Your New Home, with stats for this run and the drafted plan of the house
A glass double-wall mug of coffee with milk, an empty French press, and a small black booklet titled Brew Guide sitting on a wooden table and a grey placemat in the background
A screen showing the poster for Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons and saying October 14 Meridian Hall Toronto all ages
Screenshot of a river farm from Stardew Valley shown in the fall season
The I-Gave-Up Roundup: Summer Edition. Great games I likely won't pick up again. Available July 31, 2025 on playingthisweek.substack.com
A screenshot from Kingdom Come Deliverance II showing rural countryside with blue skies, light clouds, a village and a pond, and the back of Pebbles the horse's head
A large plate of meats, cheeses, cut bagel pieces, blueberries, tomatoes and cucumbers with a glass of red wine and a computer monitor in the background
A screenshot showing Katya's Steam library open to Kingdom Come Deliverance II
The Alters, Clair Obscur, and the curious case of AI nonchalance. Plus, my stance on GenAI in games.
A laptop screen and a coffee cup with saucer on the foreground with a colourful yellow wall of a coffee shop and a person on a Mac in the background
South of Midnight loading screen with the title of the game and its protagonist Hazel looking at the viewer
A close up of fuchsia pink coloured rose bush
A playtester playing a game called North Shore while the developer looks on smiling
Tables, screens and monitors at the G.R.I.D. game playtesting event