Fantasy dungeon adventure scene
Manchester gaming blog

Dungeons, decoded.

Fresh takes on RPGs, indie gems and honest hardware reviews — squeezed straight from the North of England for players who want more than a score out of ten.

Call +44 161 835 7135 · Manchester M1 5WW

Our story

From a shared flat to a full editorial desk

What started as two friends arguing about loot tables over cheap pizza is now a small independent outlet read by tens of thousands of players every month.

  1. 2016

    A blog is born in Fallowfield

    The first 40 reviews were written on a battered laptop between shifts, focused entirely on the RPGs nobody else was covering properly.

  2. 2019

    Moving into the city centre

    We took a small desk on Whitworth Street West and brought on freelance writers covering indies, retro and PC hardware.

  3. 2022

    100,000 monthly readers

    Our co-op guides and buying advice crossed six figures a month, funded entirely by readers rather than publishers.

  4. Today

    Independent, and staying that way

    A five-strong team publishing daily, still refusing sponsored scores and still answering every email ourselves.

What we publish

Everything a curious player actually wants

Sprawling RPG world

RPG deep-dives

Full 4,000-word breakdowns of builds, branching quests and endgame — the kind of coverage that respects your 90-hour save file.

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Indie discoveries

A new hidden gem every Friday, most under £15 on release.

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Honest hardware reviews

Handhelds, keyboards and GPUs tested for weeks, never hours.

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Co-op guides

Step-by-step routes so you and a friend never get stuck.

Weekly UK release calendar

Every launch dated for GMT/BST, with prices in pounds and links to the cheapest legit stores.

Editing showcase

Before & after: our capture desk

Drag the handle to see how we colour-grade raw gameplay captures into the crisp screenshots that headline every review.

Edited game screenshot
Raw game capture Raw capture
Graded
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Open-world dusk pass — restoring the atmosphere lost to auto-exposure.

Edited game screenshot
Raw game capture Raw capture
Graded
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Boss-fight clarity — cutting bloom so the mechanics actually read.

Reader voices

Loved by players across the UK

HB

Harriet B.

Leeds

"Their handheld buying guide saved me from a £500 mistake. I bought the runner-up they recommended and it's perfect for my commute."

DM

Deval M.

Manchester

"The Friday indie pick is the only newsletter I never delete. I've found at least a dozen games I'd have completely missed otherwise."

SO

Sian O.

Cardiff

"Finally a site that reviews RPGs like people who actually finish them. Their 60-hour verdict changed my mind completely."

TR

Tomasz R.

Glasgow

"The co-op guide got my partner and me through a boss we'd been stuck on for a week. Clear screenshots, no fluff."

AK

Amara K.

Bristol

"No sponsored scores, and you can tell. When they say something's mediocre, you believe them. That trust is rare."

JN

Jack N.

Newcastle

"I emailed a question about a GPU and got a proper, thoughtful reply the next morning. Try getting that from a big outlet."

The Friday Loot

One email. One gem. Every Friday.

Join 24,000 UK players getting our indie pick, the week's best deals and one review worth your weekend. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Get in touch

Pitch a story or say hello

Got a tip, a game you think we've missed, or a review request? We read every message ourselves — usually replying within a working day.

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Phone
+44 161 835 7135
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Studio
58 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5WW
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Desk hours
Mon–Fri, 9:30am–6:00pm GMT