Est. 2016 · South Melbourne
Field notes from the iron dungeon.
We tear down RPGs, roguelikes and forgotten indies bolt by bolt — no hype, no scores bought with review copies. Just honest hours logged in the citadel.
Cited and syndicated by the community
The workflow
How a review gets forged
Every piece runs through the same four-station line before it leaves the citadel. No shortcuts, no drive-by verdicts.
Log the hours
Minimum 20 hours in-game, campaigns finished, endgame reached. We record playtime openly at the top of every review.
Bench the hardware
Frame pacing, load times and thermals tested on three rigs plus Steam Deck, so performance notes hold up on real machines.
Cross-check the crew
A second writer plays the same build to catch bias, difficulty spikes and bugs one person alone might miss.
Publish the teardown
Verdict, timestamps and known issues laid out plainly. We update posts when patches change the picture.
What we cover
Coverage benches
Latest from the citadel
Recent teardowns
From the readers
What the guild says
"The Hollow Bastion II teardown talked me out of a day-one purchase and into waiting for the patch. Saved me the frustration everyone else was posting about."
"Finally a blog that lists actual playtime and re-tests after patches. The Ember Loop piece is the only roguelike review I trust anymore."
"Their handheld thermals showdown had numbers no other AU outlet bothered to run. Bought my Deck based on that chart and it holds up."
Get in touch
Pitch, tip or say hello
Got a review request, a bug we should flag, or an indie that deserves the bench? The citadel door is open on weekdays.