Robin Valentine
Formerly the editor of PC Gamer magazine (and the dearly departed GamesMaster), Robin combines years of experience in games journalism with a lifelong love of PC gaming. First hypnotised by the light of the monitor as he muddled through Simon the Sorcerer on his uncle’s machine, he’s been a devotee ever since, devouring any RPG or strategy game to stumble into his path. Now he's channelling that devotion into filling this lovely website with features, news, reviews, and all of his hottest takes.
Latest articles by Robin Valentine
![A wizard and her soldiers standing in front of a castle in Cataclismo.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YQiyGcqcgWBHLHExYhymxB-320-80.jpg)
This clever survival RTS has such a fun and in-depth building system that it's got me making little roofs to keep my soldiers dry when it rains
By Robin Valentine published
WALL FOR ONE Cataclismo lets you build your defences literally brick by brick, and it's a blast even if you're as bad an architect as me.
![The view over a settlement at night in No Rest for the Wicked.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gnSW2HrspSJ22reXmVz5tJ-320-80.jpg)
The next adventure from the developer of Ori and the Blind Forest is a gripping soulslike action-RPG with a survival game twist
By Robin Valentine published
REST ASSURED After 90 minutes with No Rest for the Wicked, I'm already in love with its enthralling visuals and deeply satisfying combat.
![Cards swirl in an interdimensional vortex in Balatro's trippy intro sequence.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bNSaVUMce96WEjwcdHH7NQ-320-80.jpg)
19 essential Balatro tips to make you a master of the blinds
By Robin Valentine published
HANDY Get to Ante 8 and beyond with these key strategies.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AYwu8v6rCzhSLdiN6LSAHY-320-80.jpg)
5 things you always think are going to be amazing in games but never are
By Robin Valentine published
DISAPPOINTED! From evil choices to infinite galaxies, there are some ideas that seem doomed to disappoint, no matter how cool they sound.
![The two brothers of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4smNg8fdV7AiuCovHdB5P6-320-80.png)
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake isn't just needless, it's as creatively bankrupt as a remake can get
By Robin Valentine published
OH BROTHER Misguided changes to the visuals, cutscenes, and story make this a deeply disappointing release that's simply worse than its predecessor.
![Lara Croft wielding her classic two pistols on the cover of Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xDBkNKnoUXsSubGCAtbMdm-320-80.jpg)
A Tomb Raider tabletop RPG wasn't an announcement I expected, but the more I think about it, the more I think it's a perfect combo
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Tomb Raider: Shadows of Truth is being developed by the publisher of Blades in the Dark and Monster of the Week.
![Aiming down sights at a minefield in Helldivers 2.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/h7UnqDYN9K87EuUKoEdQSW-320-80.jpg)
Taking on Helldivers 2's missions solo is like playing the world's scariest tower defence game
By Robin Valentine published
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE Diving alone may not be psychologically healthy.
![A duckling using psychic powers to levitate a screw in Blister Critters.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DaXoeLCqG2xv2B4vqNmN7d-320-80.png)
Want more skateboarding and laser pistols in your D&D campaign? This year's ZineQuest is offering up a feast of weird and wonderful new adventures for tabletop RPG fans
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS There's even a new game for people sick of waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong to come out.
![Two pirates at the wheel of a ship in Tortuga - A Pirate's Tale.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tXffBj3TN5SpzDKeQKXCfF-320-80.png)
Forget Skull and Bones, there's another pirate game out on Steam this week that's plundered my heart with turn-based naval combat and pirate presidential campaigns
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Tortuga - A Pirate's Tale is a more in-depth take on leading your own marauding fleet.
![A Digger fighting off a horde of bugs in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Lxho59KPPVHkBJ6w3qUmx5-320-80.jpg)
Deep Rock Galactic's first spin-off is out now in Early Access, and it's the best auto-shooter since Vampire Survivors
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is already a complete and satisfying roguelike, and this is only the beginning.
![A close up of Harley Quinn's face looking concerned in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8ekfuoLzqorTVanMstFxdU-320-80.jpg)
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's forgettable enemies, empty missions, and incongruous gun obsession prove why superheroes and live service do not mix
By Robin Valentine published
DEAD ON ARRIVAL Rocksteady's latest represents nearly a decade of work wasted on a combo that simply doesn't work.
![A crow wizard in Legend in the Mist.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/d4TpJ2ynBLvGNrA35crxpF-320-80.jpg)
This 'rustic fantasy' tabletop RPG couldn't feel more different to D&D: 'That sense of the hidden and the spiritual has just been dumped, and we want to bring that back to life'
By Robin Valentine published
MIST CONNECTION Legend in the Mist is a fantasy follow-up to the smash hit TTRPG City of Mist, and it's on Kickstarter now.
![Pepper leaping into the air with her drill in Pepper Grinder.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o2Nt4oJRayyob7uMhxMC4W-320-80.png)
This drill-wielding platformer lets you dive through the earth like a dolphin torpedo
By Robin Valentine published
DRILL THRILLS Pepper Grinder is a speedrunner's dream, and there's a free demo on the way.
![The masked protagonist of Children of the Sun telekinetically floating a bullet in her hand.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TE7Qg4CUyxfiJXk9coGwB8-320-80.png)
Kill whole camps of cultists with a single bullet in this psychic and psychedelic puzzle shooter
By Robin Valentine published
THE MIND KILLER Children of the Sun is a mind-bending combo of action movie flash and backwoods madness.
![A dwarf in a helicopter in Bore Blasters.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oYPHxTrraMJYQFtwUkJXYN-320-80.jpg)
Bore Blasters' brilliantly silly arcade action finally combines the mining power of dwarves and helicopters
By Robin Valentine published
CHOPPER ORE And it's got a free demo on Steam right now.
![The various game launchers on PC layered over each other in a big mess.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3TCT8nHHFMmJ5rgP85mCwm-320-80.png)
PC gaming's many launchers, reviewed for 2024: Steam still puts the rest to shame
By Robin Valentine published
LAUNCH BREAK Let's put a score on them all—the good, the bad, and the GOGly.
![A platforming sequence with lots of spikes to fall on to in Monster Sniper Season 3.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/opMuc2TLrtTeyUBLpstbNW-320-80.png)
Meet the amateur developer who's found success in 'the worst videogame of all time'
By Robin Valentine published
WORST IMPRESSIONS Monster Sniper Season 3 is an absolute disaster—and that's the point.
![A Bretonnian army marching to war in Warhammer: The Old World.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vfGvu4QRYc7pjwZ9F8vLHH-320-80.jpg)
Warhammer Fantasy is back—and now it's getting a new tabletop RPG too
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Cubicle 7 will be releasing a tie-in to Games Workshop's grand revival of the setting.
![Several anthropomorphic characters from Cult of the Lamb dance around a fire in the buff.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3ck9u4mm5VDGCkhKWuJYiN-320-80.png)
The sexiest thing in Cult of the Lamb's big 'sex update' is a demonic blunderbuss
By Robin Valentine published
FLOCK TEASE Wham bam thank you lamb.
![The covert art for Return to Perinthos, depicting a classical Greek figure.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GU4mMFCmvNiPTaDAxrhFNQ-320-80.png)
Legendary D&D and videogame designer Jennell Jaquays is getting a memorial megadungeon built in her honour
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Return to Perinthos will be a crowdfunded book of dungeon adventuring, with profits benefiting Jaquays' family and the charity Trans Lifeline.
![A psychic warrior fights off gnolls in D&D.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uez6HCGSiTYtWzxZz7DSvQ-320-80.png)
The 5 most ridiculously broken builds in D&D history
By Robin Valentine published
BUILD ME UP From chicken summoners to psionic sandwiches.
![A group of heroes in the cover art for Legend in the Mist.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zdt6dKuh2eUENsQCrk2mUJ-320-80.png)
The new tabletop RPG from the creators of City of Mist is 'rustic fantasy' but 'not another D&D clone'
By Robin Valentine published
NEWS Legend in the Mist will be designed for Lord of the Rings-inspired narrative-first adventure, with a Kickstarter launching February.
![A bug-afflicted Joel in the PC port of The Last of Us, with incredibly bushy eyebrows.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4ecZ659tRdcVK7FCbgTh4D-320-80.png)
The biggest PC gaming trends of 2023: 3 that need to stop, and 3 I hope continue into 2024
By Robin Valentine published
AROUND THE TRENDS The good, the bad, and a lot of ugly PC ports.