Earning our karma
I came across Destructoid back in 2006. At the time, it was barely a blip on the industry’s radar. It was just a pack of dedicated bloggers with a rebellious streak. Now, this site has seen at least a dozen of its own graduate and pursue other roles in the gaming industry. It’s grown to a site with millions of monthly views.
Our Special Selections
These are the sites that we think are particularly excellent for one reason or another.
Critical Distance and Dire Critic
Kris Ligman contributes to both of these sites on a regular basis. The first, Critical Distance, is a blog dedicated to highlighting other independent blogs. The latter is Kris’ personal site and it is fantastic all-around.
Nightmare Mode
Those of you disillusioned with the growing bond between many game journos and PR folks might be interested in Nightmare Mode. Run by former Dtoider Patricia Hernandez, the site is personal and honest, which is a lot more than can be said for many other sites these days.
Awesome Out of 10
Several former Dtoiders and their pals contribute to this blog regularly. It seeks to turn the whole notion of numbered scores for games on its head by boiling each game down to a word or phrase… out of ten.
Venus Patrol
Venus Patrol focuses on the visual and aesthetic beauty produced by the games industry. Concept art, screens, and side projects all get a fantastic showcase here.
Die Gute Fabrik
These guys represent a game studio in Copenhagen. Their team attempts to translate the mechanics of physical games into something new with 21st-century technology.
Unwinnable
Wow… just… wow… The scope of Unwinnable is somewhat ridiculous. There’s so much content covering so many different aspects of geek culture you are guaranteed to find something you like here.
Dorkisms
Deeply personal and heavy on the swears, Dorkisms is just as the name implies — a dorky place with dorky things.
General Gaming
Brainy Gamer
Are you a scholarly gamer? Do you enjoy your frag fests with a piping hot cup of the finest herbal tea? Brainy gamer might be your place. They try to look past the superficial and get into the meat of games, criticism, and the culture that surrounds them.
Attract Mode
A “videogame collective” of artists, designers, journalists, and the like, Attract Mode is best described as a mini Gamasutra with a much more attractive website.
Twinfinite
When I see the Twinfinite people at conferences, I think of a very young Destructoid. These folks are dedicated and they deserve your clicks.
Action Button
Tim Rogers is a person. And this is his blog. Operating without a standard review format, Tim and friends post some of the more engaging pieces of legitimate criticism I’ve ever read. Great stuff.
Rock Solid Audio
Run by a former game journo, Rock Solid Audio is a fantastic blog from one Nick Suttner.
Beeps and Bloops
Not updated very often, Beeps and Bloops is focused on “informed criticism,” something that our industry is definitely lacking.
Grantland
I’m going to preface this by saying that if you haven’t read Tom Bissell’s Extra Lives, you should probably go take care of that. This man is a brilliant journalist who happens to be a gamer. His content is fantastic and you need it in your life.
Electron Dance
If you like well-thought, intelligent discussions about videojuegos, then this another site you can add to your list of daily bits.
Good Games Writing
This isn’t so much a news or reviews blog in the traditional sense as it is a place to highlight the best in games journalism. It gave me a smidge of hope amidst the recent Geoff Keighly insanity. It’s good to know there are people being awesome all the time, everywhere.
Quarter to Three
QtT is rather close to my heart a website that acknowledges the apparently chronic insomnia of the people who game. Among the sites listed here, this is among the most active and has a relatively high post/day count, so you’ll get quite a bit to keep your eyes busy.
Themed websites
Indie Games
It follows that some indie game blogs would be about indie games, right? Well this is one of the best. Give it some lovin’.
Free Indie Games
The title says it all.
Tiny Cartridge
Are you passionately in love with all things DS? Are you sick and tired of not getting all the DS coverage you feel you deserve? Tiny Cartridge has you covered.
HookShot Inc.
HookShot Inc. is all about cheap, small downloadable games that run $15 or less. If you’re a gamer on a budget, or just love PSN and XBLA, this might be your jam.
Dead End Thrills
Duncan Harris uses heavily modded games and a pretty solid gaming rig to squeeze all the visually beauty he can from games… then he takes pics. Seriously, if you ever want to see just how pretty some games can get, you should check this guy out.
Rockman Corner & The Mega Man Network
These blogs are all about Mega Man. I mean EVERYTHING Mega Man. From fan art to music to modern film, these people have an obsession. Our very own Mr. Tony Ponce swears by both, and Destructoid editors are never wrong.
We sincerely hope that you’ll take a look at some of these sites and give them the traffic and recognition they deserve. If you don’t like one, don’t worry there’s plenty here to keep you occupied for a long time to come.
