The Long Review
3,000+ word critical reviews with no numeric score. Free to read, published every Thursday. Sponsor a review slot from A$180.
Weekly · Free to read
A game blog from Surry Hills
Read as hard as you play
Long-form reviews, lore essays, and frame-perfect speedrun guides for RPGs, roguelikes, and cosmic-horror indies — published weekly, no scores out of ten.
How each piece is made
Our editorial process
Every article passes through four stages before it lands on the site — no rushed launch-day hot takes.
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01
Full playthrough
We finish the game — main story plus a meaningful chunk of side content — before a single word is written. Minimum 25 logged hours.
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02
Notes & capture
Screenshots, clips, and timestamped notes are collected in a shared doc so every claim in the review is backed by something we actually saw.
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03
Draft & edit
A second editor fact-checks builds, patch versions, and platform quirks. Nothing goes live with a "played on an early build" asterisk unnoticed.
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04
Publish & update
Pieces are revisited after major patches so a review from launch week still means something a year later. Updates are dated and logged.
What we publish
Coverage that goes deeper
Three ongoing columns plus paid consulting for studios who want honest pre-launch reads.
Lore & Systems
Essays untangling worldbuilding, hidden mechanics, and endgame math. Bundled in the Moonletter — A$6/month or A$60/year.
Fortnightly · A$6/month
Speedrun Guides
Route breakdowns, frame data, and glitch tutorials written with community runners. Studio playtest consults from A$650/day.
Monthly · Consults A$650/day
From recent posts
Screenshot gallery
Captured in-engine during our playthroughs — no press kit renders.
What readers say
Reader ratings
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 1,342 reader ratings
5★
82%
4★
12%
3★
4%
2★
1%
1★
1%
★★★★★Their Ember Hollow guide shaved four minutes off my any% PB. The frame data was actually correct, which is rarer than it should be.
★★★★★Finally a blog that finishes the game before reviewing it. The lore essay on the Moth Sovereign made me replay the whole third act.
★★★★☆No scores out of ten is the right call. The writing does the work. Would love a wishlist tag for smaller AU indies though.
★★★★★We hired them for a pre-launch playtest read. Blunt, specific, and every note was actionable. Worth every dollar of the day rate.
Good to know
Frequently asked
Reading & subscriptions
Is the blog free to read?+
Every Long Review is free, forever, with no paywall or registration. The Moonletter with lore essays and systems deep-dives is A$6/month or A$60/year, and it funds the site so we never run affiliate scores.
How often do you publish?+
A Long Review lands every Thursday, a lore or systems essay every second week, and a speedrun guide roughly once a month. Our full schedule is pinned on the homepage and to the Moonletter.
Working with us
Do you accept review copies?+
Yes, and we always disclose them. A review code never guarantees coverage or a favourable read, and we tag every piece with how we obtained the game. Email a key with a Steam or console platform noted.
What does a studio playtest consult include?+
A full day at A$650 covers a structured play session, a written report of friction points and pacing notes, and a follow-up call. It is confidential and kept entirely separate from any published review to avoid conflicts.
Can I pitch a guest article?+
We take a handful of guest essays each quarter, paid at A$0.25 per word on acceptance. Send a two-paragraph pitch through the contact form and we typically reply within five business days.
Say hello