Field Notes from Melbourne
Charting the wild frontiers of gaming.
Crimson Fire Empire is a rugged expedition journal for players. We trek deep into RPGs, strategy epics and hidden indie gems, then bring back honest, hands-on dispatches — no hype, no filler.
Our Camp
A base camp for players who read before they buy.
Founded in 2016 above a laneway café off Little Collins Street, Crimson Fire Empire began as three friends logging obsessive playthrough notes. Today we publish four in-depth pieces a week, each built on a minimum of twenty hours in-game.
We buy our own copies, refuse embargoed puff, and rate games on how they actually feel after the credits roll. If a mechanic wears thin at hour forty, you'll read about it here first.
- ✓Every review backed by 20+ hours of play
- ✓Independent — we buy our own games, no paid placements
- ✓Melbourne-run, read by players across the Asia-Pacific
By the Numbers
Nine years on the trail.
Reviews published
Hours logged in-game
Monthly readers
New dispatches every week
What We Cover
Columns from every corner of the map.
From the Readers
Trusted by players who hate wasted weekends.
"I skipped a $110 pre-order after their forty-hour RPG review flagged the pacing collapse in act three. Bought it on sale three months later and they were dead right. This blog pays for itself."
"The strategy field notes are the only opening guides I trust. Their balance-patch autopsy after the last big update saved me relearning a whole faction from scratch. Genuinely expert stuff."
"Their Friday indie spotlight put me onto a two-person studio game that became my favourite of 2024. No other outlet was even covering it. The developer Q&As are a lovely touch."
Get in Touch
Pitch a story or say hello.
Developers, PRs and readers alike — reach the editorial desk directly. We read every message and reply to pitches within two business days.
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Phone+61 3 9679 2467
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Email[email protected]
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Studio58 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
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Desk HoursMon–Fri, 10:00–18:00 AEST