Masthead
Sam Martinelli (he/him), Editor
Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between.
A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes though critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand their artistic merit.
Twitter: @sam_martinelli
David Silbert (he/him), Editor
David is the founder of The Punished Backlog. His favorite game is Final Fantasy XII, and he won’t let anyone tell him otherwise. With bylines at Epic Games, RPGFan, Business Insider, and Money, he keeps himself busy. When he’s not covering entertainment, food, or the future of work, he’s either listening to Dear Evan Hansen on repeat or watching the Boston Celtics hoist banners in TD Garden.
Follow him on Twitter at @David_Silbert to keep up to date with all things The Punished Backlog.
Amanda Tien (she/her or they), Editor
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, punch bad guys, make friends, and have a good cry. She started writing for the site in 2020, and became an editor in 2022. She enjoys writing about mystery games, indies, and strong femme protagonists.
Her work has also been published in Unwinnable Monthly (click here to read her cover feature on Nancy Drew games), Salt Hill Journal, Poets.org, Litro Magazine, Public Books, and more. She was the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University’s Culinarian Magazine, and served for two years as the Managing Editor of Aster(ix) Literary Journal.
She recently graduated with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her writing, art, graphic design, and marketing work can be viewed at www.amandatien.com. She does not post a lot on social, but you can find her on X and on Instagram.
Mark Bowers (he/him), Writer
Mark is a contributor to The Punished Backlog, often promising articles and occasionally delivering when he actually commits to it. Mark games mainly on his PS5 and his Switch, and some of his favorite games include God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and his all time favorite, Red Dead Redemption 2.
When not gaming, Mark is an avid fan of all Boston sports teams and his Villanova Wildcats. He also loves hiking, skiing, and traveling across the U.S.
Joe Chivers (he/him), Writer
Joe is a games critic and English literature graduate who knows far too much about video games and critical theory. He is based in the UK. He once wrote a Derridean reading of the animal masks in Hotline Miami. You can find him on Twitter @jchiverswriter.
Alexia Dahlin (she/her), Writer
Alexia grew up on video games like Zoombinis and Freddi Fish. After she played The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, she decided that games were her favorite hobby. She recently moved to Copenhagen, after a return to her home in Central California and graduating with a Bachelor in Social Sciences and Communications in Belgium. Her interests include gaming subcultures, fantasy world-building, and writing about cozy games!
Zack Gulinello (he/him), Writer
Zack has been hooked on games ever since his older brother taught him where to find the secret warp whistles in Mario Bros. 3. He has never felt more joy than when Yoshi congratulated him on getting 120 stars in Mario 64 or more sadness than when he played Kingdom Hearts 3 after waiting 14 years for it. Zack mails a letter to Nintendo every day asking them to bring back Chibi Robo and will gladly tell you all about why it’s one of the greatest games of all time. He was hoping that writing for the site would help him get through his backlog, but it actually just made it worse now that he’s hearing about so many more great hidden gems. Oops…
Donovan Harrell (he/him), Writer
Donovan is a Devil May Cry and Metroidvania enthusiast who loves fast-paced, single-player action games, especially indie games and action RPGs. He also considers himself to be an advanced scrub with several fighting games. He’s a lifelong gamer and can appreciate games of any genre, as long as he’s having fun. He also really wishes there were more diverse game characters and people in the video game industry. Or at least better hair options for Black people. We play games too, you know.
With a decade of journalism experience under his belt, he joined The Punished Backlog in 2023 after a mild existential crisis pushed him to try and write fun things more often. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @dono_harrell.
Vaughn Hunt (he/him), Writer
Vaughn Hunt is writer who has loved video games since he picked up a controller. His parents wouldn’t let him buy swords as a child (he wanted the real ones) so he started writing, reading, and playing video games about them. A historian at heart, you’ll often find him deep into a rabbit hole of culture, comics, or music.
Kei Isobe (he/him), Writer
Huge video game, comic book, and anime fan. Spends way too much time watching things he doesn’t like. Hates Zack Snyder. Mains Falco.
Allison McDaniel (she/her), Writer
Allison has been playing all sorts of games since the late ‘90s. She particularly enjoys life sims, casual games, tactical RPGs, and anything Mario. Her dream jobs are to be a Stardew Valley speed runner and a Mary Tyler Moore historian. As a recent MBA graduate, Allison hopes to spend her extra time tackling her backlog and the never-ending list of new releases.
Clint Morrison, Jr. (he/him), Writer
Clint is a writer and educator based out of Columbus, OH. You can often find him writing about Middle English poetry, medieval games, or video games. He just finished a PhD in English at the Ohio State University. You can find his academic and public work at clintmorrisonjr.com.
Ben Rashkovich (he/him), Writer
Ben is a lawyer by day, gamer by night, and overactive board game Kickstarter backer by dusk/dawn/witching hour. He loves Metroidvanias and Soulslikes, pixelated RPGs, and games about games. He’s also passionate about board games and tabletop role-playing games, and is fascinated in a mega-nerd sort of way by academic theories about play. He’s got a new Twitter account for writing at @BenRashkovich.
Eithan Rosemberg (he/him), Writer
Eithan Rosemberg is a freelance writer based in Mexico City and majoring in history. You can contact him at eithanrosemberg@gmail.com and check out his work via Muck Rack. You can also visit his blog at https://eithiwrites.neocities.org.
Jason Toro (he/him), Writer
Jason graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in English and Game Design. For him, video games are not just an art form, but one of the greatest mediums to tell a story. When not perpetuating the game journalist stereotype of being awful at a game and blaming the game for it, Jason likes writing short fiction novels that never get past chapter two or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Gary Wilson (he/him), Writer
Gary is a jack-of-all-trades video game enthusiast based in Boston, MA. A semi-professional fighting game player, even less professional Apex Legends player, and even less professional adult, he spends most of his time poking at strange indie gems and reading about the need for more diverse voices in gaming criticism. He invites anyone to recommend anything he’s missed in the gaming world via Twitter or BlueSky, where he can found under the username @grtnpwrfl. When he isn’t spending his time playing games, Gary is an avid New England Patriots fan and frequent hiker.
Past Contributors
Sabrina Anderson
Shane Bond
Kris Catchings
Theo Ciccarelli
Alex O. Colón
Colin Doyle
Anthony Franklin II
Geron Graham
Anna Hickey
Dwayne Jenkins
Jack Linnehan
PJ Manning
Jayne Martin
Krista McCay
Sam Moore
Meghan Nigrelli
Alyssa Payne
Cody Powell
Dylan Roy
Genesis Sandoval
Eric Tate
Luke Vennall
Augustine Villanueva
Bella Yaeger
Sabrina Anderson
Shane Bond
Mark Bowers
Joe Chivers
Theo Ciccarelli
Alex O. Colón
Colin Doyle
Anthony Franklin II
Geron Graham
Anna Hickey
Dwayne Jenkins
Jack Linnehan
PJ Manning
Jayne Martin
Krista McCay
Sam Moore
Meghan Nigrelli
Alyssa Payne
Cody Powell
Dylan Roy
Genesis Sandoval
Eric Tate
Luke Vennall
Augustine Villanueva
Bella Yaeger