About Us

Welcome to VGamingNews! We’re a UK-based independent videogame site, founded on 27th March 2011 by two grown-up geeks who formed a bond over Sonic the Hedgehog and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon.

We report on the latest news in the world of gaming, as well as providing reviews of recent releases, and previews of up-and-coming games, and are passionate advocates of indie game development, game preservation, and physical media.

We don’t have any sponsors and pride ourselves on being wholly independent.

Working without sponsors looming over us allows to discuss games based on our honest opinions, without the risk of any coercion or ulterior motives. Opinions are entirely subjective, of course – so while you may not agree with what we have to say about a game, you can at least be confident that we’ve said it because that’s how we feel and not because some lurking sponsor is pulling the strings.

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Staff

The VGamingNews staff is made up of a small but dedicated team, who commit to running the site alongside their full-time jobs. Despite being hobbyists, we take our writing responsibilities seriously, being sure to offer nuanced opinions that are fair and considered.

Read on to find out a little bit more about the team:

Ian is a *age redacted* videogame player who’s been playing videogames for more than *some* years. His first console was the SEGA Mega Drive and after falling in love with Sonic The Hedgehog has never looked back.

He’s currently working on *Redacted*, as well as *Classified* and collecting every N64 game -PAL of course. Outside of games, his interests are *wide ranging*, but his mysterious persona means he’s not at liberty to say, just remember that if he doesn’t like something, you’ll know about it!

First Platform: SEGA Mega Drive
Favourite Game(s): Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, Sonic The Hedgehog

Joe has been playing video games since he was knee-high to a grasshopper when his mum bought him the original Game Boy for Christmas, and he was hooked from the get-go.

Primarily a handheld gaming nerd, attracted by everything from Sony, Sega and of course, Nintendo, his collection is slowly taking over his home. When he’s not producing content for the site, he is busy repairing broken and unloved games consoles to give them a new lease of life… or playing Tetris.

First Platform: Nintendo Game Boy
Favourite Game(s): Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Drew was lured into video games by the Dizzy series on the ZX Spectrum and then further bewitched by The New Zealand Story arcade cab in the corner of the Boarhound pub while his dad played pool!

As home consoles became more prevalent, so did his love of gaming. He’s been an unabashed Nintendo fan for more than half his life. Between reviewing games for VGN, he likes to dabble in other artistic ventures, including graphic design and fiction writing. More often than not, you’ll find him stuck to his Switch and attacking his enormous games backlog!

First Platform: SEGA Master System
Favourite Game(s): Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana

Odi started out playing Alex Kidd (the built-in game on the Master System) every day after school and never got past the first level.

For the longest time, he was lured into the Dark MMO Places of WoW and EVE: Online, but now spends most of his gaming time either shooting folk in depressing Russian apocalypse sims or pretending he’s better at puzzle games than he really is.

First Platform: SEGA Master System
Favourite Game(s): Portal, Enter the Gungeon, that game where you keep adding titles to your Steam library but never seem to play them

Gaz has been playing video games since he first learned how to turn on the old IBM computer in the corner of his dad’s home office. Presented with Wizkid II and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis on about a bazillion 3.5” floppy disks for Christmas ’92, he’s been hooked on gaming ever since.

Growing up on a mix of various consoles and handhelds, Gaz is something of an ‘oldskool’ gamer who enjoys games with enthralling gameplay and storytelling, regardless of whether they boast the best graphics.

First Platform: Atari 2600 (Condition: Beat Up, First Owner: Cousin)
Favourite Game(s): Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Heroes of Might & Magic III, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, Resident Evil (all of them – almost all of them)

Where most of the team are built with (at best) N64-era face cards, Tom is rendered in 4K, so he’s been nominated as our videographer / YouTube sensation. A fan of quick-fire FPS titles and stylish co-ops, Tom pays as much attention to how a game makes you feel as much as he does the nuts and bolts – getting a great overview of the experience as whole.

Rob reviews with a discerning eye, based on his great knowledge of the historic themes, inspirations, and fads in gaming. With his son often hogging the TV or the PC these days, Rob’s a recent convert to the Steam Deck and may never look back.

Historically pretty tough to please, you should consider playing anything Rob scores highly, as he doesn’t hand out recommendations easily.

A long-professed fan of Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, and Metroid, Glen has an incredible attention to detail and can thoughtfully explain how individual features, plot points, and design decisions impact a games overall presentation.

He’ll pick up on the little things that developers have worked hard on but that often go unnoticed by other players.

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Previous Staff

Louise joined us in 2011, rounding out the OG VGamingNews team. A valued member of the team and Joe’s better half, Lou dedicated herself to covering open-world and action RPGs, which absolutely her bag.

While her day job has since stolen her from us, Lou still holds a place at VGamingNews, suggesting articles and reviews on the cozy side of gaming. Along with helping share the load when the team ventures to various gaming conventions.

Our first overseas writer, Tori hails from the Emerald Isle and wrote for VGamingNews between 2022-2024. An avid fan of virtual photography, ‘Torz’ once amassed a serious social media following based on her in-game shoots, and brought a real playfulness to the VGamingNews-room.

While we were sad to see her go, we were thrilled when Torz announced she was bringing a Player 3 into her life. Happy and healthy – we wish her and her growing family all the best.

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Interested in getting in touch, or even joining the team? Shoot us an email: