Sydney gaming journal · est. 2019

Play louder,
read deeper.

Crimson Game Odyssey is a Surry Hills newsroom for players who care about the details — frame-time benchmarks, honest reviews and the stories behind Australia's local studios.

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240+ full reviews published Weekly benchmark lab No paid rankings, ever
Gamer at a neon-lit desk setup

This week

Handheld shootout: our 900-frame verdict

Our story

From a share-house LAN to a full newsroom

What started as three friends arguing about frame pacing is now a small independent desk covering the games Australians actually play.

  1. 2019

    The first thousand words

    We publish our first hardware teardown from a Surry Hills kitchen table and somehow 4,000 people read it in a weekend.

  2. 2021

    The benchmark lab opens

    We build a proper capture rig so every review ships with repeatable frame-time data instead of vibes.

  3. 2023

    Backing local studios

    We launch a monthly column spotlighting indie developers from Melbourne, Brisbane and right here in NSW.

  4. 2025

    40,000 readers a week

    Still independent, still ad-light, still refusing paid placements in our rankings.

What we cover

Everything a serious player reads

Review desk with controller and notes

Flagship

Long-form reviews

Every score is backed by at least 15 hours of play, a spoiler-free structure and a plain-English verdict. New reviews land every Tuesday and Friday.

Weekly

Benchmark lab

Frame-time graphs, 1% lows and thermals for the latest GPUs and handhelds — measured, never guessed.

Monthly

Local studio spotlight

Interviews and deep dives with Australian developers shipping games from bedrooms and studios alike.

Retro console shelf

Backlog & retro

Revisiting the classics worth your time, plus honest advice on what to skip.

Buyers guide gear layout

Buyer's guides

Australian pricing, no affiliate spin — just the gear we'd actually spend our own dollars on.

Before / after

See what our tuning guides change

Drag the slider on each build to compare stock settings against our optimised profile.

Optimised graphics preset
Stock graphics preset
↔ Stock preset Our tune

Open-world RPG on a mid-range GPU

+38% average FPS by rebalancing shadows and volumetrics — no visible loss.

Optimised handheld settings
Default handheld settings
↔ Stock preset Our tune

Handheld battery vs. clarity

Nearly two extra hours of playtime while keeping a locked 40fps target.

Reader wall

What the community says

JM

Jordan M.

Newtown, Sydney

"Their GPU tuning guide got my aging card running the new Final Fantasy at a smooth 60. Saved me a $900 upgrade."
PT

Priya T.

Fitzroy, Melbourne

"The only review site I trust because they publish the raw frame data. No hype, just numbers and a clear call."
LC

Liam C.

West End, Brisbane

"Their spotlight on my two-person studio brought us more wishlists in a week than six months of posting alone."
RS

Renee S.

Surry Hills, Sydney

"The weekly newsletter is the one email I never delete. Sharp writing and it respects my time."
DK

Dinh K.

Adelaide CBD

"Their buyer's guide steered me away from an overpriced monitor and towards a far better panel for less."
AO

Amara O.

Fremantle, Perth

"Finally a gaming site with Australian pricing baked in. No more converting US dollars in my head."

The Friday drop

One sharp email, every Friday

The week's best reviews, one benchmark chart worth seeing, and a single Australian indie worth wishlisting. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Get in touch

Pitch a story or say hello

Reviewing something we should see? Developer with a launch date? Drop us a line — the desk reads everything.

Studio
85 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Desk hours
Mon–Fri, 9:00am – 6:00pm AEST