Video games print media isn't dead despite what a glance at the shelves of TG Jones (nee WH Smith - RIP) or your local supermarket might suggest. Instead, niche independent publishers have arisen to continue the heritage of magazines past. There are those that use the handy A5 format, others the more usual newsstand proportions, but some, such as [Lock-On] from Lost In Cult, take the journal approach - more book than magazine. Joining such illustrious company in 2025 is ON Games Magazine with a pair of volumes, the first of which I'm reviewing here.
Full disclosure: this copy was sent to me for review. What you are about to read are my own thoughts and opinions, and ON Games Magazine has had neither input in to this review, nor foreknowledge of its contents.
Arriving in very secure packaging (approaching Bitmap Books levels of quality - both practical and classy), the first thing you notice as you hold the magazine/journal/book - let's settle for journal at this point - is that it's an absolute chonk. A smidge under A4 in footprint, 19mm in thickness, and 891g in weight, volume one has some heft to it. It feels solid, and the heavy duty paper cover bridges the gap between traditional magazines and the additional expense of a hardback book. Inside, the stock offers a high quality tactility to each page turn and the uncoated matt paper compliments the artwork greatly. There are eight cover designs to choose from, this one being the straight forward ON logo.
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| Contents page |
This volume comes in at just over 200 pages and comprises of seven long form articles, some from contributors you may be familiar with, others less so. The obvious advantage of a journal like this is that each author has the space and word count to properly convey their topic of choice.
From Keith Stuart's illuminating yet wistful retrospective on Sega's Model 1 arcade board (encompassing mentions of PLATO - check out The Friendly Orange Glow, a fascinating read! - and name dropping Zarch, warming my RISC OS cockles), to Yussef Cole's thought provoking treatise on the subject of death in Cyberpunk 2077 and its parallels to the real world, there is much to engage the thinking part of your brain.
Along the way, you will find Keza MacDonald's alternate take on the history and culture of Nintendo as defined by seven of Ninty's catalogue, a unique view on how the Japanese giant is still key to the industry today. Staying in Japan, Margaret Robertson's perusal of paper-based play is a fascinating insight into a cultural space that not only entertained, but informed as well, and has admittedly led me down a rabbit hole in online searches. What's one more hobby to add to the pile???
In pure gaming terms, Christian Donlan provides a round up of the best puzzles games that accompanied the launches of handheld consoles, and yes, whilst that game is mentioned, tis but a building block(!) to the fun that follows. Suffice to say, after reading this article, I fired up my import PSP (purchased from the long since departed Maughan Micros in the MetreCentre back in the day) and revisited both Lumines: Puzzle Fusion and Archer Maclean's Mercury - both still hold up wonderfully.
In similarly time-limited circumstances, run-based games fall under the gaze of Nathan Brown, and whilst not a genre I'm au fait with, I have dabbled in Hades a bit. I am in complete agreement that when free time is a scarce resource, such games are a perfect drop in/drop out opportunity.
The last of the features details the little genre that could - dressing up games. With a keen insight and knowledge of the subject, Jen Simpkins delivers an exemplary essay on how games and gaming can challenge cultural norms, as well as help people define themselves in a kaleidoscope of different ways. Not saying Barbie Fashion Designer was released with any particular intent, but by popularising the genre, it has seen this subset of gaming become an outlet for people to explore concepts of gender identity and sexuality without fear or persecution. Interviews with several developers reinforce, with personal experiences, the key arguments of the article that even though effort is still required within this distinctive gaming space, there is much to be hopeful for.
There are also interludes that provide unique visual viewpoints of the work of FromSoftware, SNES classic RPG EarthBound, and the NES version of Tetris. Each proves a nice break from the features if you decide to power through the journal. Myself, I took a more leisurely pace.
As you can see, text is well spaced and the layout is easy on the eyes. One criticism I have, and your mileage will vary on this one, is that I found that white text on black backgrounds was crushed to the point of being difficult to read. Not a common occurrence and my good lady did not agree, so my eyes then, but something to be aware of if you understand the concern.
ON Games Magazine is a notable entrant into the video games print market. The array of content is diverse enough to avoid repetition, yet also of such high quality that I found that every article well worth reading - something that cannot be said for a typical magazine issue. Pleasing to read in a general sense, and thought provoking at its best, this first volume of ON Games Magazine is highly recommended.
You can pick up a copy of volume one direct from the ON Games Magazine website, and you can follow them on the following social media sites:
Instagram: ongamesjournal Instagram
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ongamesjournal/videos
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ongamesjournal.bsky.social
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