Independent gaming blog · Fitzroy, Melbourne
Gaming stories worth pressing start for.
TouchChronicle.blog serves up honest reviews, indie spotlights, speedrun breakdowns and controller-first guides — freshly scooped from a little studio on Gertrude Street.
A note from the founder
One controller, a thousand stories to tell.
Hi, I’m Marlow Deakin — I started TouchChronicle in 2018 from a share-house bedroom in Fitzroy, armed with a battered controller and far too many opinions about frame pacing. What began as weekend rants grew into a full blog read by players across Australia and beyond.
We don’t chase review embargoes or publisher perks. Every piece is written after we’ve actually finished the game — sometimes twice. If a title stumbles, we say so; if a tiny indie shines, we shout about it from the rooftops of Brunswick Street.
These days a small crew of five writers keeps the presses rolling, but the promise is the same: thoughtful, spoiler-careful writing for people who love this hobby as much as we do.
Marlow Deakin — Founder & Editor-in-Chief
What we cover
Every flavour of the hobby.
Six regular columns, updated weekly, each with its own voice and its own release schedule.
Deep-Dive Reviews
Full, spoiler-careful verdicts published only after we roll credits — scored across feel, story, value and staying power. New review every Tuesday.
Indie Spotlights
We hunt down under-the-radar gems from Australian and global studios, interview the makers, and tell you why they matter before the algorithm buries them.
Speedrun Breakdowns
Frame-by-frame explainers of record-setting runs, glitch routes and category rules — written so newcomers and veterans both keep up.
Controller-First Guides
Setup, sensitivity and accessibility guides for pad players, with button-mapping diagrams and remaps tested on real hardware.
Retro Rewinds
Monthly revisits of the games that shaped us — from PS2 obscurities to arcade cabinets still humming away in Melbourne bars.
Weekly Roundup
Every Friday: the news that actually matters, patch notes worth reading, and three tiny games to try over the weekend.
From the gallery
Featured features & photo essays.
Tap any cover to open the full-size shot.
Reader reviews
What the community says.
A few notes from readers who stuck around after the first article.
“The only review site I trust before dropping $90 on a game. Their scoring actually maps to how much I end up enjoying things.”
“Found my favourite indie of the year through a TouchChronicle spotlight. Nobody else was even talking about it yet.”
“The controller guides fixed my aim on PC after years of struggling. Clear diagrams, no filler, tested settings that just worked.”
“Their speedrun breakdowns made a category I found impenetrable suddenly click. I even started running it myself.”
“Honest, funny, and never sponsored-feeling. The Friday roundup is the only newsletter I don’t archive on sight.”
“As a small dev, being covered here felt like a real conversation, not a press release. Sales genuinely moved.”
Membership
Support the blog, skip the ads.
TouchChronicle is reader-funded. Free to browse forever — members keep us independent and unlock a few extra scoops.
Casual
Everything you need to read along.
- Full access to every article
- Weekly Friday roundup
- Comment on any post
- Standard site (ad-supported)
Sprinkles
For readers who want it ad-free.
- Everything in Casual
- Zero ads, faster pages
- Reviews 48 hours early
- Members-only monthly mailbag
- Comment badge & name colour
Double Scoop
For the die-hards and the studios.
- Everything in Sprinkles
- Quarterly print zine posted to you
- Vote on our next deep-dive
- Invite to Melbourne meet-ups
- Priority reply on emails
Get in touch
Pitch a story, or just say hi.
Story tips, review copies, corrections or collaborations — drop us a line and a real human will read it.
Studio details
- Phone+61 3 9419 5759
- Email[email protected]
- Address56 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
When we reply
Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm AEST · We aim to answer within two business days.