Carlton · Melbourne · Since 2014
Turn on, tune in, level up.
Ember Battle Frontier is a Melbourne gaming blog serving honest reviews, deep guides and esports dispatches with a swirl of 60s colour. No hype, no shill lists — just the good stuff.
Reviews published
Monthly readers
Hours streamed
Years on the grid
What we cover
Columns worth your coin
Six regular beats, each written by someone who actually finished the game.
Verdict Reviews — AU$0, weekly +
Full scored reviews within 72 hours of launch, always played to credits. No embargoed puff — we tell you if the day-one patch actually fixed the frame drops. New verdict every Thursday.
Deep-Dive Guides — free, on demand +
Spoiler-marked walkthroughs, build calculators and boss checklists for the big RPGs and soulslikes. Each guide is stress-tested by two writers before it goes live, then updated after every major balance patch.
Esports Desk — AU$8/mo members +
Match reports, roster moves and bracket breakdowns across the ANZ Premiership and beyond. Members get our Monday tactical newsletter and post-grand-final voice-note debriefs from ringside in Melbourne.
Retro Deep Cuts — free, fortnightly +
We haul out the cartridges and CRTs to revisit forgotten classics, from Amiga oddities to PS1 cult hits. Every fortnight, one game gets a fresh essay on why it still matters — with emulation and preservation notes.
Hardware Bench — AU$0, monthly +
Controllers, handhelds and budget GPUs tested on real Australian pricing, not US MSRP fantasy. We log thermals, battery life and thumbstick drift over a month of actual play before scoring anything.
Frontier Podcast — free, weekly +
A 45-minute Friday roundtable recorded in our Barry Street studio — release chatter, hot takes and a listener mailbag. Local devs drop by monthly to talk about making games from Melbourne.
Setup makeovers
Before & after the frontier treatment
Reader battlestations we rebuilt on a budget. Drag the handle to see the glow-up.
Priya's studio corner — AU$180 cable & light rebuild
Dan's console shelf — retro display + acoustic fix
From the readers
The commune speaks
Marcus K.
Fitzroy, VIC
"Their soulslike guide got me through the final boss after three weeks stuck. Clear, spoiler-tagged and no filler — exactly what a guide should be."
Sophie L.
Carlton, VIC
"Finally a review site that scores on AU pricing. I skipped a hyped release because their bench flagged the stutter — saved me ninety bucks."
Thanh N.
Footscray, VIC
"The Retro Deep Cuts column sent me back to my old Amiga. Beautiful writing and the emulation notes actually worked first try."
Riley B.
Brunswick, VIC
"The Friday podcast is my commute ritual. Smart takes, proper local dev interviews, and they never talk over each other. Rare stuff."
Amara O.
Docklands, VIC
"Their esports desk called the grand final upset a week early. The Monday tactical newsletter is worth the eight dollars alone."
Jess W.
Northcote, VIC
"They rebuilt my messy desk for under two hundred dollars and it looks unreal. The before-and-after made my whole group chat jealous."
Questions
Frequently asked
Is Ember Battle Frontier free to read?
Most of the blog — reviews, guides, retro columns and the podcast — is completely free and always will be. Only the Esports Desk newsletter sits behind an optional AU$8/month membership that helps keep the lights on in Carlton.
Do you accept sponsored or paid reviews?
Never for the score. We buy most games ourselves and clearly label any review copy or gifted hardware. Sponsors can support the podcast with a read-out ad, but they never see a review before it publishes and cannot change a verdict.
Can I pitch a guest article or guide?
Yes — we love sharp writing from Australian gamers. Email us a short pitch with a paragraph sample and the angle you want to take. We pay per accepted piece and reply to every pitch within two weeks, even the passes.
How do you score reviews?
Every game is played to its natural ending, or 40+ hours for open-ended titles, before we score it out of 10. We weigh performance on Australian retail hardware, value at local pricing, and how it holds up after the launch patches settle.
Do you cover the setup makeovers in person?
For readers within Melbourne, yes — we visit, plan the rebuild and document the before-and-after. Interstate readers can send photos and we'll write up a remote plan with a parts list. Slots are limited, so drop us a line early.
No questions match your search.
Get in touch
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