Are there any reputable independent gaming sites left?
Are there any reputable independent gaming sites left?
I'm looking for sites not owned by Fandom, Ziff Davis, Tencent, etc., who still cover news and reviews.
I stuck with Giantbomb for years, even after Red Ventures acquired it, but, like others, drifted away from the site when its core members left/got fired.
I followed Easy Allies for awhile, but after Bowman moved on, it wasn't the same.
Anyone have any recommendations?
I know it's not quite what you're asking for, but it's where I get my gaming news from at least. I have subbed to SkillUp on YT for a very long time, and he covers loads of games and does weekly news videos where he covers the latest. The vids are very genuine and authentic, imo.
He, and a few of his friends also started a very chill and good podcast called Friends Per Second going more in depth on different gaming topics.
Highly recommended 🙌
Am a fan too. I'd mention YongYea here, but the
unorganizedunscripted way in which he makes 20 minute videos on every topic really kills it for me.SkillUp's weekly summary is much nicer.
Edit: remembered a word
YongYea just reads reddit threads without providing any actual commentary or context of his own. He repeats himself until he crosses the video length threshold for monetization.
He also had a nasty case where rushed his Cyberpunk 2077 review to be one of the first to monetize, and then monetized his apology video where he stated he didn't really play the game enough to review it. And he admits he "went way too easy on this game in a way that I wouldn't have with other games or companies and the review shouldn't be up".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WeCfKzwaV0
I also remember when I used to watch him before Final Fantasy 7 Remake came out and he acted like he was a longtime huge fan of the original game, but when he watched the ff7r trailer he seemed like he barely knew the basics.
Yeah unfortunately I agree. I think Yong seems like a cool guy but his videos always start with a lengthy recap which anyone who watches his channel already knows from his previous video on whatever is recapped, and then he takes the longest possible route to explain the topic too.
I reckon if he made 5 min videos without all the fluff he'd be great.
SkillUp is great, I have a bunch of new games specifically because of him.
I mostly just follow the nextlander crew and Jeff Gerstmann. They aren't much more than podcasts, there's little to no written work produced, and they don't really consider themselves gaming journalists, but that's pretty much what we're left with.
"Influencers" and corporate cash have largely killed games journalism.
Following this up with Remap Radio, the folks who were recently fired from Vice. They are Nextlander-adjacent.
EDIT: just saw @bogdugg recommended them a little further down
Oh damn yeah! The remap folks are FANTASTIC!
I'd like to know too. Just me realize I don't have a go to reviewer or site anymore, but been mainly relying on just user submitted trailers to know about new games and word of mouth when it comes to if I want to buy it.
My suggestion for YouTube video reviews currently is ACG. He states that he buys every game he reviews and if the studio sends him a copy for free he gives a copy away to the community out of his own pocket to try and reduce the bias.
He also seems to do a good job of testing on a variety of difficulty levels and platforms.
I've started following two recently: DSOGaming and TechRaptor.
Does Rock Paper Shotgun count?
No, they are owned by Relx (fka Reed Elsevier), known for PAX and the scam which is the academic publishing industry.
Reed Elsevier
Oh damn, I had no idea. Thanks for letting me know...
I'm not sure about sites, but many of the old GB people have independent podcasts and streams. Check out Nextlander or The Jeff Gerstmann show. Some of their stuff goes up on YouTube as well.
YouTube is also a good place to find reviews, if you can find a few people who generally like the same stuff you do.
I've tried to get into their branching podcasts. The one I enjoyed the most was probably Fire Escape with Dan, Mike and Mary because they have the strongest group dynamic IMO.
If you are okay with Vox Media Group, I've been pretty happy with Polygon. They even have RSS!
I think Mike Mahardy from Polygon is alright, but generally I find their content leans into social commentary more than I want in a gaming outlet. I respect that some people want that, and I'm glad these sites exist for them.
I haven't really noticed that...? But, maybe that's just because whatever's being said "agrees" with me or isn't in the articles I choose to read from them (?)
I’ve never seen any social commentary content from them. I haven’t watched everything they do, but can’t be that common if I haven’t seen it yet.
Too bad xplay was cancelled again
I have two podcasts in my rotation currently:
- Remap Radio; previously Waypoint Radio, sometimes their politics feel overly dogmatic, perhaps as a reflection of the audience and culture they have cultivated, but the vibes are good and they have insightful things to say. I'd say they are currently in a transition period so they're still finding their rhythm.
- 8-4 Play; Started by a localization company based in Tokyo, you'll get a unique perspective of life in Japan, Japanese games, and industry connections that you can't really get anywhere else, at least not in English.
Used to listen to the Bombcast, but none of the splinters from what it was appeal to me much. New Bombcast, Nextlander, solo Gerstmann, are all flawed in different ways imo.
I've listened to 8-4 Play on and off for years. I usually check back in with them when a new Monster Hunter game/expansion comes out because few other podcasters I've come across really cover it with any depth.
Honestly, a bit out of left field but... DIgital Foundry? Though they don't cover everything...
Gematsu is niche, but I'm 99% sure there's nothing really shady going on there.
Do people like PC Gamer? I was a little surprised when I found out they're still around. I used to get the print magazine with demo CDs.
PC gamer has done a fair bit of shilling for Epic Games the past few years, so you need to take everything they say with a pinch of salt
I never really read PC Gamer. I used to subscribe to PSM and Nintendo Power. By the time I got a PC capable of running games, magazines were already on their way out lol
I do appreciate that they generally (BG3 review notwithstanding) aren't afraid to call out bugs and aren't one of the publications rushing to press with reviews. Even if their scoring system is ridiculous.
I don't know if they are truly any more independent than any of the other big names, especially considering they have a (formerly E3) trade show now. They are also part of the same publishing group as Tom's Hardware, which hasn't been my first choice for hardware reviews for a while.
Miraheze is similar to how Fandom used to be, before ads entirely took over. There are no ads at all there. It is a site that uses MediaWiki so probably not many of its' sites would be news oriented (with like a single author controlling the content), but instead more wiki content for an entire community to share.
I get a lot of my gaming news from Spawnwave on YouTube. But I dunno. In depth reviews are hard.
I mostly just listen to podcasts these days. I don't have time to watch someone play a game for an hour+.
I still listen to the Giant Bombcast and now Jeff's show.