About Carlo Angelo Gonzales
Hi, I’m Carlo Angelo Gonzales. I’m a video game content creator, an always-Dungeon Master, a digital marketer by profession, and someone who probably spends a little too much time thinking about what the games I play are trying to tell me.
I review video games here on my blog and upload my playthroughs on YouTube. When my friends and I somehow manage the increasingly difficult task of getting everyone’s schedules to align, I also run tabletop role-playing games.
Outside of my hobbies, I’m a Digital Marketing Specialist with more than 10 years of experience helping businesses improve their online presence.
I’m also a son to two parents, a brother to four siblings, and the breadwinner of my family.
That last part probably explains a lot about how I approach games.
Why I Write About Video Games
Gaming gives me enjoyment, but it also gives me inspiration and access to perspectives I might not otherwise experience.
For me, playing a video game isn’t that different from reading a book or watching a movie. The biggest difference is the level of immersion. Instead of simply watching a world unfold in front of me, I can explore it, interact with it, learn about the people who live there, and sometimes make choices that affect what happens next.
And like books, movies, music, paintings and other forms of art, games can have something to say.
Video games are already a combination of different kinds of artwork. There’s writing, narrative, music, character design, environmental design, world-building, acting and everything else required to create a believable world. Add interactivity to all of that and you have a medium where the person experiencing the story gets to participate in it.
What that experience ultimately means can also depend on who’s holding the controller.
That’s where my Video Game Reflections come from. Sometimes I’ll recognize a theme in a game and realize that it connects with something I’ve experienced myself. A horror game about surviving monsters in space can make me think about burnout. A samurai trying to save his home can make me think about sacrifice and responsibility. A science-fiction adventure can somehow make me think about my relationship with my niece.
Those are my interpretations. You might finish the exact same games and come away with something completely different.
And that’s part of what makes them interesting.
I want to show people that video games aren’t necessarily lousy experiences where you sit in front of a screen and waste several hours of your life. Some of them are works of art that deserve to be experienced, discussed and admired.
Some of them, anyway. Definitely not all of them.
Is It Sulit?
Money, attention and time are resources we all have to manage if we want to live fulfilling lives.
Money can be earned again. Attention, to some extent, can be recovered. Time is different. Once you’ve spent 40, 60 or 100 hours on a game, those hours are gone.
Being a Filipino gamer makes me particularly conscious of that.
We’re already spending our resources dealing with worsening traffic, doomscrolling, the everyday cost of living and, unfortunately, a government that doesn’t always make you feel like your hard-earned money is being spent particularly well. Meanwhile, video games themselves are getting pricier.
Dropping ₱3,000 or more on a new release isn’t an insignificant purchase for a lot of people.
That’s why you’ll see me ask one particular question at the end of many of my reviews:
Sulit ba?
And when I ask that, I’m not simply asking whether a game is good.
Some games are worth buying at full price and experiencing for yourself. Some are great games that I’d still recommend waiting for during a Steam or PlayStation sale. And honestly, there are games where you might be better off saving your money, watching the story on YouTube and moving on with your life.
So when I say a game is sulit, I’m asking whether I think it’s worth your money, your attention and, most importantly, your time.
Because “Is it good?” and “Is it sulit?” aren’t always the same question.
Beginner-Friendly Gaming
I’m primarily writing for people who are new to gaming.
Maybe you just bought your first PlayStation or Xbox. Maybe you’ve finally built that gaming PC you’ve wanted for years. Or maybe you’ve spent most of your life thinking video games weren’t really your thing and now you’re wondering what all the fuss is about.
I have friends older than I am who are still discovering video games and learning how much fun they can be, especially when you just need something to help you unwind after work. Those are the people I often imagine I’m talking to when I write a review.
There are already plenty of incredible professional video game writers and critics who review games for a living and have spent years discussing their history, mechanics and impact on society. I’m not trying to replace any of them.
I’d rather provide an accessible place for someone new to the hobby to understand what they’re getting into. What kind of game is this? Is it difficult? Do I need to know anything about the franchise beforehand? What makes it fun? What might frustrate me? And ultimately, is this thing worth spending my money and limited free time on?
You don’t need to know every gaming term or have been holding a controller since you were five years old to enjoy video games. Everyone has to start somewhere.
I’m Also an Always-Dungeon Master
Video games aren’t my only form of gaming.
I’m also what you might call an always-DM. I run tabletop role-playing games for my friends whenever we can somehow get everyone’s schedules to cooperate, which becomes increasingly difficult when you’re dealing with a bunch of adults who have jobs and responsibilities. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the greatest threat to the multiverses you create isn’t the villains you make alongside it, it’s the schedules of your players.
Being a Dungeon Master scratches a slightly different creative itch for me. Instead of exploring someone else’s world, I get to build situations for my friends to explore. I create characters, encounters and problems, then watch as my players inevitably come up with solutions I absolutely did not prepare for.
And honestly, that’s part of the fun.
You’ll occasionally find stories, recaps and tips from my tabletop games here as well. The same goes for board and card games, because my idea of gaming has never been limited to what’s running on a screen.
Digital Marketing Strategist
When I’m not writing about games or figuring out what ridiculous thing my D&D players have done this time, I work in digital marketing.
I’ve spent more than 10 years working across SEO, paid media, content, digital strategy and client management, helping businesses make better use of their online presence.
If that’s the Carlo you’re looking for rather than the one talking about video games, you can learn more about my work on my Digital Marketing Strategist page.
Why This Site Exists
Professionally, a lot of my creativity naturally has an objective attached to it. There’s a client, a campaign, a keyword, a target audience or a business result we’re trying to achieve.
This website is different. Sure, I still use SEO because apparently I can’t completely turn off the digital marketer part of my brain. But this is mine.
It’s somewhere I can put myself out there and create outside of a work setting. I get to decide what I want to write about, which games are worth discussing and what I actually want to say about them.
Sometimes that’s a straightforward review helping someone decide whether a game is worth buying. Sometimes I finish something and realize I have considerably more to say about what it made me feel. Sometimes I just want to geek out about something I really enjoyed.
That’s enough of a reason for me to keep writing.
Play Something. See What You Think.
If you spend enough time around this site, hopefully you’ll eventually think:
“Carlo really likes sharing his thoughts about video games.”
Because I do.
Better yet, maybe you’ll play something I recommended, reach a particular scene or spend enough time wandering around its world and think, “Okay, I see what he meant.”
You don’t have to agree with me.
Two people can play exactly the same game and come away with completely different interpretations. Sometimes we’ll see a character, theme or story differently because we bring our own experiences with us.
And sometimes we’ll finish the same game and realize it made us feel exactly the same way.
Either way, I think that’s worth talking about.