The Long Verdict
Our flagship review: 30+ hours logged, difficulty modes tested, performance notes on every platform. Published only when the credits roll. New verdict every Thursday.
Melbourne Game Desk · Est. 2016
Games worth reading about, not just playing.
Slow-cooked reviews, lore deep-dives and indie spotlights, hand-stitched from a South Yarra studio. No review scores rushed out on embargo day — just honest hours on the controller.
New long-read every Thursday · 24,000 subscribers
This week: 40 hours inside a haunted open world
The Desk
A tiny studio that plays the whole game.
We started in a Chapel Street share-house in 2016, tired of reviews written from a two-hour preview build. Everything here gets finished, patched, and played again before we publish a verdict.
Four full-time writers, one archivist, and a stubborn commitment to spoilers-flagged, ad-light reading. We cover PC, console and the Melbourne indie scene with equal care.
- ◆Reviews only after a full playthrough — no embargo-day scores
- ◆Reader-funded, so no publisher decides our verdicts
- ◆Every lore essay fact-checked against the source game
What We Cover
Columns stitched by hand, week after week.
Six regular sections, each with its own rhythm and its own writer. Pick a thread and follow it.
Lore Vault
Story breakdowns and hidden-timeline essays. Spoilers always flagged up top.
Southside Indies
Melbourne-made games profiled before launch, straight from the makers.
Patch Notes, Read
We translate cryptic update logs into plain English — what actually changed, and whether it's worth reinstalling.
Backlog Club
A monthly revisit of an older classic, with reader picks. Free companion podcast for AU$0 — always has been.
Reader Voices
What the readers keep telling us.
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FAQ
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Contact
Send a tip, or just say hello.
Got a Melbourne game we should cover, or a correction on a review? The desk reads everything. Newsletter sign-ups and story tips both land here.
- Phone
- +61 3 9349 8724
- [email protected]
- Studio
- 57 Thomas Street, South Yarra VIC 3141
- Desk hours
- Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm AEST
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