Welcome!

I designed and built Main Menu after developing a healthy cynicism about for-profit review outlets, and I hope it becomes a place for unbiased and helpful reviews. To me, looking at critical literature has always been about more than “What should I buy?” - it’s a conversation about the directions that our favorite cultural mediums are taking.

Unfortunately, there’s ample evidence that, for a lot of review sites, this conversation has taken a back seat to (or rather, been stuffed in the trunk by) a focus on profits. From a business perspective, exchanging positive reviews and publicity for ad sales and exclusive access makes sense - but it’s a toxic practice when we’re talking about the health of the medium as a whole.

Main Menu probably won’t be able to match the pace and amount of content of the larger outlets - at least, not at first - but hopefully it’ll play host to the conversations about art that really need to take place.

And hey, if it steers you clear of buying some overhyped garbage… 

I ain’t mad about that.

About Me

My name is Sam LeBlanc.

I’ve been gaming for almost 2 decades - it’s the longest-running hobby in my life. I’ve played legendary titles, unenjoyable garbage, and everything in between. I've also poured over articles, books, and everything else I could on the subject; Game Informer is still my favorite magazine, and it’s actually the publication that first sparked my passion for talking critically about the things I love.

Gaming’s been good to me - I’ve gotten to make friends, compete on Summoner’s Rift, wield the Master Sword, fly a Tie Fighter, become a Spectre, pilot a Mech, master the Hadouken (as Mega Man X, no less), slay dragons, catch Mew, and so on throughout the hundred or so lives that games have let me live. It’s really that aspect - the ability to truly live a narrative - that I think makes gaming the ultimate entertainment medium.

If you’d like to submit a review, send over an email with your idea to mainmenureviews@gmail.com