Play Episode

A sequel to one of our favourite Patreon episodes – it’s 50 more truths on games media from the Two Giant Men. Well, 48 technically – two were trimmed in the edit for being too much of a bummer.

Enjoy yet more advice on games media that no one asked for, and that no one living can actually use. But, it’s a good time if you enjoy our magazine chatter.

  • Soma
  • Planet of Lana
  • Deliver Us the Moon
  • Marathon (2026)

Samuel

  • Writing in first person is always better than writing in third person.
  • It was better when games came out in Japan first and you could only learn about them via import reviews.
  • There is no more valuable freelance writer than a person who understands racing games - or Football manager.
  • Bookazines are basically never good value. Buy magazines instead.
  • You can tell when a writer has had to write the captions for a cover feature before they’ve actually seen the assets (inspired by Jeremy Peel’s No Law cover feature in Edge).
  • So much interesting video game history went in the bins of specialist press in the 2000s, since preview builds and assets just got thrown away willy nilly.
  • I’d rather have no boxouts in a print review than a bad or extraneous boxout.
  • No video games mailer was ever better than the time 2K sent out Civ VI plug socket converters. Mine is still in use. Never played Civ VI.
  • Never use ‘war! Huh! What is it good for? This computer game, actually’ or similar horseshit in your FPS review.
  • Reading a magazine on a tablet is never as good as reading a physical magazine.
  • The worst asset you can receive as a journalist for a new game is a developer diary. It’s not a trailer, and it’s usually not got any new gameplay in it. Who is it for? The answer: vanity for the developers or publisher.
  • If your new magazine project says ‘we miss magazines’ and you don’t acknowledge the magazines that already exist, it might as well go in the bin.
  • Likewise, if your new journalism venture says something like ‘games journalism is broken and we’re going to fix it’, it’s probably garbage.
  • More UK games journalists should become video essayists. They’d be better at it than a lot of the children who drive hundreds of thousands of views with reheated takes.
  • Getting a review right is more important than hitting an embargo.
  • Demo discs were the greatest gifts you could ever get with a magazine; tips books were the worst (or bits of plastic that were genuinely dangerous).
  • This will sound anti-intellectual, but any piece of writing that rubs the author’s degree in your face usually belongs in the bin.
  • Likewise, a magazine running late doesn’t make it bad. You shouldn’t lionise lateness, but the people who insist on a magazine being completed earlier in the cycle normally don’t care about good editorial.
  • It’s okay to have someone who’s not a fan of a franchise review a new entry in that franchise. Sometimes, it’s even better.
  • It was rad when games magazines used to have pages dedicated to DVD review or other bits and pieces.
  • Retrospectives have never had more value in an age where it’s easy to miss games from 10 or so years ago.
  • Review events were probably not a good idea. People always enjoy games more in their own surroundings anyway.
  • I would rather read about a game I’ve never heard of than Steam user numbers for literally any game.

Matthew

  • A comedy photoshoot can elevate a mediocre feature into a solid feature.
  • You will never be better at an online shooter than you are at a preview event. Enjoy that kill death ratio while it lasts.
  • Individual magazine forums were the forerunners to discord communities and phasing them out was a mistake.
  • I wish we’d jumped on YouTube in the early days, shifting our DVD content to easy wins.
  • You have to learn to manage extreme envy when other people get better access than you.
  • If you give freelancers a menu of boxouts to choose from, expect to get the quickest entries back every time. Don’t give the chance to pick ‘Would Batman like it?’
  • Be prepared for an interview to sound very different when you listen back to it. A bad chat can be good, and a good chat might be hollow as hell.
  • Don’t ever make a directory that promises to include every game. That way madness lies.
  • Making let’s plays isn’t as easy as it looks. Trying to make let’s plays revealed to me that I don’t have an internal monologue.
  • Try to leave some space in Gamescom schedule for complete unknowns - you’ll meet some interesting people outside of the big publisher conveyor belts.
  • There is no better feeling than doing a developer interview/preview event where they have clearly engaged with your previous words on their game.
  • Some of the best developer interviews have already been done, they just haven’t been translated yet - the sites that do are doing god’s work.
  • No PR freebie was more nerve-wracking than Remedy’s Gamescom USB stick shaped like a bullet. Approaching airport security with that was a nightmare.
  • The art of the preview hands-on is finding something no one else has found or doing something no one has done in 30 mins that will be played by hundreds.
  • You should wait to play in public servers before judging a largely online game. (I think I believe this?)
  • Don’t read the embargo details until you’ve played the game.
  • The best PR is personalised and targeted - know who likes what and you’re way more likely to catch their attention.
  • A smart/organised editor can begin an issue with a quarter of the pages written.
  • Pay attention to everything around you on a studio visit - the tiniest detail could give you an in. Have as many informal chats as you can have.
  • There is a real art to explaining something (and your reaction to it) in a concise and entertaining manner - not everything needs to be a profound state of the nation analysis.
  • Retrospectives and replay features will often be stronger/more valuable than your initial review.
  • If you are trying to grow your video channel, the holy grail is a AA game that is too small for IGN to cover, but shiny enough to impress the attention of the AAA gamer. It’s probably published by Focus, Nacon or THQ Nordic.
  • There’s no better style guide than actually reading a publication. (Caveat: I realise magazines cost money, but you can request PDFs)
  • If you’re reviewing a series entry, do the publication the courtesy of reading their previous reviews. (You don’t have to agree, but familiarity helps.)
  • Publications should always stand by their writers (and think long and hard before publishing writing they might be unsure of).