Harvey Randall
Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.
Latest articles by Harvey Randall
![World of Warcraft void elf character Xal'atath looking intently in a close up](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5unuzVSdptC6jTNm5SqgGb-320-80.jpg)
WoW's devs will continue to use private auras, which limit UI addon functionality, in The War Within: though they'd like to be selective to avoid cures 'worse than the disease'
By Harvey Randall published
News "A lot of what it boils down to is reclaim some design space."
![A banana, on its own, in an orange void.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vwVqzRAtqGvaUbYLDbioP4-320-80.png)
Dev promises that Steam sensation Banana has 'no scamming', after fellow dev's shady faux-Bitcoin past sees his fruits confiscated
By Harvey Randall published
News Oh. Banana.
![An armoured warrior holding a flaming sword](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7NEhqmtPqCWXUdHcxh3zda-320-80.jpg)
Miyazaki says don't worry, the shiny new weapons in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree shouldn't outpace your old favourites
By Harvey Randall published
News Blasphemous Blade, my beloved.
![An image of a boss from Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, a powerful knight wielding a blade of magic and a blade of roiling flame.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ph9S34QmYVRSbvmgYbz24Q-320-80.png)
I've played Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree for 15 hours and haven’t seen like half the bosses in this launch trailer, which is fine
By Harvey Randall published
News I'm in for a beating.
![Life By You - a character with long dark hair, glasses, and a green shirt stands on a suburban street](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3bhdGu7tuDE2b24ynVsXsa-320-80.jpg)
Former dev from sunken Sims competitor Life by You alleges the team had 'the rug pulled' from under them—despite outperforming the company's internal metrics
By Harvey Randall published
News "We were a strong team on a strong project ready to launch to a strong audience."
![An image of the Habbo Hotel in all of its glory.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xej2VMMufgWQVcfyDZftNN-320-80.png)
Habbo Hotel: Origins is a delightfully strange and chaotic time capsule from the internet of the early 2000s—and a fresh start for a game marred by controversy
By Harvey Randall published
News The grand Habbo-fest hotel.
![The Dream Visitor from Baldur's Gate 3, a shadowed figure amidst a blue magical backdrop, reachies their hand out towards the viewer.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dQKgmwt6xjdpw86ngompyE-320-80.png)
Baldur's Gate 3 foreshadowed one of its biggest Act 3 twists with music even earlier than I thought—but don't worry if you didn't catch it: 'That was exactly the idea'
By Harvey Randall published
News I am a fool.
![An image of Hornet from Silksong engulfed with rage.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ThYcoVdoxVUpSu6DUNwyQB-320-80.png)
737 days since the last Silksong news, and not a whisper from this year's Nintendo Direct—I'd like to say fans are coping well but, y'know
By Harvey Randall published
News Skong (deflated).
![Helldivers 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rwK6VS36wStkUSp7zP3xNF-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers CCO Johan Pilestedt reminds players (twice) that he's not solely responsible for the latest good patch, and wants 'to clarify that I did not cook'
By Harvey Randall published
News "I've seen a lot of people give me lots of credit for this patch as if I am the sole person responsible."
![Dave Jones, Borislav Slavov, Neil Newbon, Amelia Tyler, Adam Smith, Andrew Wincott, Swen Vincke, Ali Plumb, Tracy Wiles, Lawrence Schick, Chrystal Ding and Jane Douglas attend the BAFTA Masterclass: An Evening with Baldur’s Gate 3, photographed by Dan Fearon on Friday 14 June 2024 at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London, U.K. (Image ©BAFTA/Dan Fearon, 2024).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/azVPujw6zENNCV8N4Suask-320-80.png)
'Work with the players ... otherwise you shouldn't be doing it': Heads at Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios say you ought to 'really mean it' going into early access
By Harvey Randall published
News "You've sold someone a game, they paid for the game, so you do need to maintain it."
![Lae'zel talking to the player while holding her sword up in Baldur's Gate 3.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sd4hyszc6kgqaxz2Ytx4Va-320-80.jpg)
To create its cast of Baldur's Gate 3 companions, Larian came up with 'hundreds and hundreds' of character concepts: 'It was a huge, huge list'
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Character classes were the last details finalized in the Baldur's Gate 3 party's long iteration process.
![The hero of Dungeon Clawler makes a heroic escape while being chased by several cutsey creatures.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3euLVrXAZNqnVTpJTNvgVk-320-80.png)
Dungeon Clawler is a roguelike claw machine game, which is just as frustrating and moreish as it sounds
By Harvey Randall published
News As some funny little aliens from Toy Story would say: The claw!
![Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach yelling](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yHJhq2PnHzFDrwxo3vkXpH-320-80.png)
Karlach's infernal engine was a late addition to her character in Baldur's Gate 3: 'One of the last things that fell into place was the heart'
By Harvey Randall published
News The telling-tale heart.
![A healer looks mournfully towards the camera, hand outstretched, as she topples into the bowels of the Tam-Tara Deepcroft in Final Fantasy 14.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Pw58449AHyKPiUKqn7WxNE-320-80.png)
Final Fantasy 14's healers have had enough and are going on strike, after streamer tears through Dawntrail's first dungeon preview without needing them at all
By Harvey Randall published
News What do we want? More damage! When do we want it? Ow!
![An image of a stately beach house from Cities: Skylines 2's upcoming DLC.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2BMBfpu2CLGsFaRS4rzsAB-320-80.png)
Cities: Skylines 2 kills off its (virtual) landlords to save players from the cruelty of soaring rent prices
By Harvey Randall published
News Too damn high.
![null](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z4m4dgvrrZnpgEXjb2sJiV-320-80.jpg)
Let's pour one out for these no-shows we were desperate to see during Summer Game Fest
By Kara Phillips published
Maybe next time Maybe in the next life.
![A heroic figure in Everywhere, dressed in cyberpunk gear, sprints full-tilt towards the camera.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MgByAx2qmTscoMfQHyMEFj-320-80.jpg)
Everywhere, an upcoming multiplayer sandbox game with a powerful creation suite under the hood, will be opening its toolkit to closed beta testers soon
By Harvey Randall published
News Everywhere, everywhere, but not all at once quite yet.
![helldivers 2 operation swift disassembly](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zxNStQpBeJDDnV9wLHZvVV-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers 2's enormous balance patch means business—weapons are getting buffed, galactic map supply lines are here, solo patrols are sensible again, and the worst mission modifier is gone
By Harvey Randall published
News The new Warbond will also be released later today.
![An image of game director Naoki Yoshida holding up a single finger to the fans, informing them he'll give them exactly one week to finish the Elden Ring DLC before Dawntrail arrives.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C2Nff8wXaEB5dncJPxTX9U-320-80.png)
Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P implies that Dawntrail's story will have something to do with the Twelve and the Ascians still, and my brain is on fire
By Harvey Randall published
News What does it mean!
![Serafin from Citizen Sleeper 2 floats in space, a determined expression on his hardy features.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zHt2ycEjXhs9aGiEVzP9dU-320-80.png)
I played Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector and talked to its creator about quests that 'don't give you the dragon money', Mass Effect 2 as an 'anti-reference', and making RPGs that aren't based on D&D
By Harvey Randall published
Sweet dreams "I want people to say 'I've finished Baldur's Gate 3', and for other people to say 'go play Citizen Sleeper 2.'"
![A companion character in Dragon Age: The Veilguard regards the player with no small amount of skepticism.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uS4YvtgNufCv69jk6HsaM7-320-80.png)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard's romanceable companions won't just wait around for you to woo them—also, they're all canonically pansexual
By Harvey Randall published
News Pan-ultimate.
![Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yA29fU3K8Tc4v5KSeiSip9-320-80.png)
FOMO is alive and well—Life is Strange: Double Exposure has a 2-week early access period if you cough up some dough for its Ultimate Edition
By Harvey Randall published
News Wanna avoid spoilers? You best avoid using YouTube for two entire weeks.
![An Orlan wizard stands in the midst of a dimly-illuminated grove, backlit by glowing mushrooms, in Avowed.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xL8gavWjbvpAS6hkAdkKXH-320-80.png)
Obsidian's Avowed shows off a 25-minute deep dive—revealing a 3rd person mode, a first look at its RPG mechanics, and a flirty wizard in need of a vase
By Harvey Randall published
News There are thirsty Animancers in your area.