Home - Ninja Refinery

Quick Look: Dead Cells

Keeping at the forefront of modern gaming, we here at ninjarefinery.com are finally ready to ...
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A history of coffee in the UK

Coffee has a long and interesting history in the UK, dating back to the 16th ...
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Portal 2

With the Steam Deck to hand, I’ve been trying all kinds of games to see ...
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How do they decaffeinate coffee?

Coffee is really popular around the world for its unique taste and stimulating effects, and ...
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Monster Hunter Rise: Is it the best in the series?

That question is almost always, immediately and aggressively met with a resounding “No!”. But hear ...
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Quick Look: Pokemon Scarlet

There’s only one mainline Pokemon game in the entire series that I’ve not finished. Pokemon ...
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Quick Look: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle-R

Long title for a quick look! JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle-R certainly is a bit ...
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Elden Ring – The Review

It’s our game of the year 2022, and all I’ve done is written about it ...
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Blog – 2023

Ok, new year……not likely to be a massive new Ninja Refinery. But that’s ok, every ...
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Game of the Year 2022 – The Winner

2022 has been one heck of a year for games, big Triple-A titles, indie hits ...
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Hardware Review: Roccat Kone XP

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the Roccat Kone XP over the past couple of ...
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The Witcher 3 – Next-Gen update is here!

It's a big one! The next-gen update for The Witcher 3 is here, and it ...
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Game of the Year 2022 – The Contenders

Game of the Year at ninjarefinery.com isn’t about the best game released this year. Although ...
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Christmas Giveaway!!

Happy ho-ho-holidays everyone! Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s still a great time of ...
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Next-Gen Update

We don't often do news here at ninjarefinery.com but some games transcend even our rules ...
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God of War Ragnarok – Initial thoughts

I really enjoyed 2018’s God of War, in a way that I hadn’t expected. Not ...
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Quick look: Rumbleverse Season 2

On November 15th 2022 Iron Galaxy released Rumbleverse season 2! I played a good bit ...
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Best Nintendo Switch Games You’ll Ever Play

Ever since its release in 2017, the console-handheld hybrid - Nintendo Switch has garnered tremendous ...
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Hitman 3 Freelancer: Closed Alpha Test

I was fortunate enough to get my invite to the closed technical test for the ...
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5 annoying things about Overwatch 2

Josh from over at fullsync.co.uk is back again! This time with some thoughts on Overwatch ...
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Quick Look – Ni No Kuni 2

I’ve been in somewhat of a rut recently. Not motivated by any game to sink ...
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No Man’s Sky on Nintendo Switch

No Man's Sky has had plenty written about it over here at ninjarefinery.com and let ...
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Guest Post: Top 5 Horror Games

Anyone that knows me, knows horror games aren't my thing. Although for October 2022 I ...
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Farewell to Overwatch

Overwatch isn’t going to be Overwatch as we know it after 2nd October. It’s being ...
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Starting Marvel’s Avengers in 2022

I took part in the Avenger’s Beta a little while ago, and remember it fondly ...
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Football games that are better than FIFA 23

We've had another guest post from our friend @MaddOx_FS over at fullsync.co.uk . This time ...
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Spider-Man Remastered on PC

I’ve written plenty about 2018’s Spider-Man game, and then the DLC. Followed by the Miles ...
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Giveaway – Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 has just seen patch 1.6 with some decent changes and some additions to ...
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Best recipes in Breath of the Wild

I’ve been playing a lot of Breath of the Wild again recently, and it’s honestly ...
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Blog: Ninja Refinery Update

It's been a little while since anything has been posted up here. Not for lack ...
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Deathloop: Final Thoughts

I've been playing a lot of Deathloop. Since it was voted for on Twitter, I've ...
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Coming back to Deathloop

I started Deathloop not long after it was released in September 2021. An Arkane Studios ...
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Quick Look: Neon White

Neon White seems to be taking the gaming world by storm. A game I'd not ...
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Quick Sip: Cold Brew Coffee Guinness

It's no secret that here at ninjarefinery.com we love coffee. And whilst it's likely not ...
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PUBG – Deston is here!

Today, 13th July 2022, PUBG has seen the release of the 9th map, "Deston". I ...
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Review: Fall Guys

Fall Guys came out at the peak of the COVID 19 lockdowns, and thanks to ...
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Giveaway: Risk of Rain 2

Between starting to write a "Quick Look" piece on Risk of Rain 2. Starting to ...
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Review: Shredder’s Revenge

Shredder's Revenge is here! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a staple of my growing up ...
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Guest post – Apex Legends Ranked: Have the changes been a success?

Josh from FullSync.co.uk is back on Apex Legends again, and he's got a few things ...
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A quick guide to Monster Hunter Rise

With the release of Sunbreak just around the corner, we’ve been hammering Monster Hunter Rise ...
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Quick Look: Roller Champions

Ubisoft have released another free to play game that looks to be chasing something popular ...
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Quick Look: Rogue Legacy 2

I love a run-based game. A roguelite (controversial topic calling things roguelikes!) is something that's ...
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Final Fantasy VII Remake: Further Thoughts

I've whacked another 10 hours on top of my Final Fantasy VII Remake playthrough, and ...
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Monster Hunter: Rise – Sunbreak

I've written plenty about Monster Hunter: Rise since before the initial release on Nintendo Switch ...
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Mobile Games: Age of Origins

Mobile games aren't always my bag. It's nice to have something to help noodle the ...
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Java Update: Coffee on the road

Sometimes, you're out on the road, possibly hitting service stations on the motorway or even ...
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Final Fantasy VII Remake – Initial Thoughts

Final Fantasy VII is the only Final Fantasy game I've completed. I did a lot ...
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XCOM 2 on Nintendo Switch

I love the XCOM series. The modern variant, anyway. I can't claim to have been ...
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Elden Ring – I’ve been playing it wrong

Elden Ring is obviously a massive game, with a massive following. From a developer that ...
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Quick Look: Vampire Survivors

Ever play a game that’s so simple that it seems absurd that it takes up ...
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Elden Ring – Is it good?

Elden Ring is the hot topic right now, and that of course means I got ...
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Java Update: Getting the best from your Aeropress

Man, do I love the Aeropress. A seemingly innocuous collaboration of two plastic tubes and ...
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Review Ratings – Update

This is just a quick one but a worthwhile note on how ratings are changing ...
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Horizon Forbidden West: Further Thoughts

Following on from my initial thoughts, I've added another 15 or so hours to my ...
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Horizon Forbidden West: Initial Thoughts

I played about 20 hours of Horizon Zero Dawn and dropped-off. Not for any grand ...
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Quick Look: Inscryption

How on earth does someone describe Inscryption? Let me tell you now, I'd heard a ...
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Java Update: Coffee at home doesn’t have to cost a fortune – Hario V60

The hobby of home coffee-making can be a little bit snobbish, and people can get ...
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Quick Look: Captain Tsubasa – Rise of New Champions

I'll be honest, I knew nothing of Captain Tsubasa until I saw a gameplay reveal ...
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Replay: The Witcher 3

God damn it, I love the Witcher 3. Much like a high percentage of the ...
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Stream Team Showdown!

Did you know that Ninja Refinery hit affiliate level on Twitch last year? Did you ...
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Quick Look: Injustice 2

What do DC Comics and NetherRealm Studios have in common? One creates the worlds of ...
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Ninja Refinery’s Best of 2021

I'll keep this relatively short, because all the work is done in the listing, reasoning ...
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Blog: Quick update – 2021

2021 has been a hell of a year! The past month or so has been ...
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Death Stranding – Final Thoughts

I've written plenty about Death Stranding. It's equal parts weird as it is fascinating or ...
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Running a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign

Over the past few months we’ve toyed with the idea of trying to play Dungeons ...
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Guest Post: Splitgate – 5 of the most satisfying things when playing

Josh from over at FullSync has been hammering some serious time into Splitgate, and I've ...
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My take on Death Stranding

How do you review or even describe a game like Death Stranding? I honestly don’t ...
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Guest Post: New World – First Thoughts

Today Ninja Refinery gets the great pleasure of hosting a guest post from the one ...
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Skyward Sword HD – Further Thoughts

I'm pretty pleased with myself. I haven't dropped off Skyward Sword HD and I'm well ...
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Halo Infinite – Multiplayer Beta

I got to take part in the Halo Insider Flight test for Halo Infinite multiplayer ...
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Quick Look: Mario Golf Super Rush

I'm a couple of tournaments in on Mario Golf Super Rush and I'm having a ...
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Blog – Coffee changes

It's been a little while since any posts, but that's fine, it's in the name ...
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Giveaway – Rainbow Six Siege

Ninja Refinery recently saw a massive uptick in Twitter followers, and to celebrate, we're giving ...
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Skyward Sword HD – Initial Thoughts

I love the Legend of Zelda series. Ocarina of Time was an absolute turning point ...
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Roccat – Magma

Roccat are a big brand in gaming (part of the Turtle Beach family no less!), ...
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Quick Look: Pokemon Unite

Pokemon Unite is a Pokemon MOBA on the Nintendo Switch, and honestly, I wasn't sure ...
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HyperX – Alloy Origins

In the short time that I've been gaming on a PC, one of my favourite ...
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Giveaway: Metal Gear Solid V

Ok, I'm working hard on a Cyberpunk 2077 review right now. But afterwards, I'm really ...
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Quick Look: Into the Breach

After getting into FTL - Faster Than Light I remembered that Epic gave away "Into ...
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Blog – Small Changes

Nothing drastic going on here, in fact, nothing much going on, hence the update. I've ...
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FTL – Faster than light

I'm really late to the party on this one! FTL was released in 2012 originally, ...
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Destiny 2 – Beyond Light

Here we are again, Destiny 2 - Beyond Light. Beyond light is the latest big ...
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Dishonored Giveaway!

We love Dishonored here at ninjarefinery.com and we also love the great work done by ...
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Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Quick Review

This is going to be a little more brief than my Spider-Man review, namely because ...
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Blog: Post 300!

It's been a little while since I've put anything up here. Although I have a ...
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Monster Hunter: Rise – Early Doors

My gaming life has been consumed by Monster Hunter over the past few weeks. Between ...
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The Best Casino Mini Games Within Video Games

Mini games have been a part of video games for a long time. Even one ...
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Ghost of Tsushima – Final thoughts

It's been a few months since my "further thoughts" stage of the Ghost of Tsushima ...
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News: Monster Hunter Rise – Update

I don't do news here at ninjarefinery.com. It's a lot of work, and I keep ...
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Java Update – Crackd Coffee: G-Force

The third and final review of the Crackd coffee trilogy. G-Force, the dark roast. I ...
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Java Update – Crackd Coffee: Gamr

Number two in my review of the Crackd Coffee roasts. Gamr is up, and damn, ...
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Java Update – Crackd Coffee: Focusd

Crackd Coffee is a UK coffee roaster, that roasts and sells gaming themed coffee’s! When ...
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Monster Hunter Rise – Quick Look

It’s no secret that I loved Monster Hunter World. I’ve written about it enough and ...
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Persona 5 – Getting started

Persona 5 is a game that has been on my periphery for ages, but I've ...
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Ninja Refinery 2021

I think it's fair to say that 2020 has been erm…..a substantial year. Global pandemic ...
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Quick Look: Red Dead Online

I have a stack of games to play. Loads I want to review and create ...
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Guest post – Animal Farm Review

Massive thanks to Nil from FullSync for this one! Another guest review. This time for ...
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Java Update – Tiki Tonga 232

I'll be honest, until I got a follow from Tiki Tonga Coffee Roasters on Instagram, ...
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Guest review: Session

Massive thanks to Josh from FullSync for covering this one for me. I've wanted to ...
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Looking back – Tomb Raider

After finishing my Arkham Origins playthough, I found myself with a third-person adventure craving. So ...
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Looking back – Batman: Arkham Origins

These days, I'm more inclined to play games I've either not finished, or had previously ...
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Guest review – SHUT IN

Massive shout-out to Nil from Fullsync for coming through on this review for me. Covering ...
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Quick look: Hades

I know nothing of rogue like games, I know a little about Supergiant Games, and ...
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Ghost of Tsushima: Further Thoughts

I'm at the beginning of Act 3 in Ghost of Tsushima, and if I'm honest, ...
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Quick Look: Spellbreak

By now, I think it's pretty well known that I love a battle royale. Better ...
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Giveaway: Edifier S350DB Speakers

I recently did my first ever video review for fullsync.co.uk, and whilst the results leave ...
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Heroes of the Storm – a MOBA Underdog

In today's multiplayer gaming climate, battle royale games are all the rage. Ever since PlayerUnknown's ...
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PC Gaming – A few months in

It's been a few months now since I did my first ever PC build, and ...
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Ghost of Tsushima – Initial Thoughts

From the outset, Ghost of Tsushima has appealed to me. Playing as a Samurai in ...
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Quick Take: Avengers – Beta

I can't lie, there's nothing about the upcoming Avengers game that appeals to me. If ...
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In-game casinos

In 1998, I bought the James Bond 007 game on Gameboy, and it inadvertently taught ...
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The Witcher 3 – Cross-save playthrough

The Witcher 3 is one of my favourite all-time games. Compelling story, massive open-world, loads ...
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The Cannonball Coffee Double

Cannonball Coffee are one of my favourite coffee companies, and recently I purchased a couple ...
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Guest Post: Fifa on PC

Since doing my PC Build, I've been really keen to try as many styles of ...
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In-game gambling

I’ve written a little bit in the past about loot boxes, keys, battle passes and ...
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The Educational Potential of VR Gaming

As any avid gamer knows, video games can have educational qualities. That's not to say ...
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Hyper Scape – Initial Impressions

Does the world need another Battle Royale? Probably not. But I do! I love the ...
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Giveaway: Sandberg Xterminator Gaming Mouse

Thanks to our good friends over at Fullsync.co.uk. We have a Sandberg Xterminator gaming mouse, ...
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Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Isle of Armor

The new Pokemon Sword and Shield DLC is finally out, and I'm so pleased to ...
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Guest post: Apex Legends Season 5

Season 5 of Apex Legends is now entering its sixth week. It saw a whole ...
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Giveaway: DOOM

DOOM 2016 - Steam Code Giveaway ...
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The Ninja Refinery PC Build

How do you cover a broader spectrum of games, and develop a deeper insight into ...
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Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

I've written plenty about Monster Hunter World over the past couple of years, and now ...
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Role Queue in Overwatch

A while ago, Overwatch introduced "role queue" which has put me in a bit of ...
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Animal Crossing: End Game

The last time I wrote about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, I basically declared that I'd ...
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The Coffee Mate – Santa Petrona

The Coffee Mate were good enough to reach out not so long ago, and send ...
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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – I give up

Oh Odyssey, why did it come to this? It's not uncommon for me to fail ...
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Guest post: Grizzland – Review

Today is a pretty big day. Ninja Refinery has it's first ever guest-written post. Here ...
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Super Tennis (Nintendo Switch) – Giveaway!

Giveaway time! I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Super Tennis for the Nintendo Switch, ...
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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Further thoughts

I've hit just over 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Odyssey now and I think I've ...
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing is a series that I've had very very little to do with over ...
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Java Update: Cannonball Coffee

Cannonball time: It's easy to write coffee's-off as a gimmick when they focus on the ...
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Embarking upon an Odyssey with Assassin’s Creed

I had a really good time in Assassin's Creed Origins and had always planned to ...
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Visiting the past: Link’s Awakening

My first Zelda game was Link's Awakening on the Gameboy. I didn't really know what ...
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Raid life – Ding dong Calus is gone

We did it! Raid night was a success. Released September 2017, the Leviathan raid was ...
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Games and our approach to them

A mantra used in so many methodologies, from project management to development of software and ...
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Pokemon Sword – Change is good

My love for Pokemon is years-long and runs deep. I've played everything from Blue, onwards ...
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Ninja Refinery 2020

A whole new decade is upon us! 2020 is going to see the release of ...
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Overwatch on Switch

Overwatch isn't a new game to me. I've spent countless hours grinding my way through ...
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Headset Review: HyperX Cloud Earbuds

Not content with two different sets of gaming earbuds, I decided it was worth checking ...
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Forza Horizon 4 – Battle Royale

Forza Horizon 4, Battle Royale. What?! A series of games synonymous with realistic driving, licensed ...
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Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

On paper, the idea of a crossover between the iconic Mario series, and the Ubisoft ...
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The impact of achievements and trophies

I'm no psychologist or even anyone with knowledge/interest in human behaviour, so this isn't some ...
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Shadow of War: Here we go!

It's been out a couple of years, but I'm finally starting Shadow of War. When ...
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Headset review: Turtle Beach Battle Buds

We all know Turtle Beach as one of the leading purveyors of gaming headsets, right? ...
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Nescafe Azera – Nitro Coffee

I'll be honest, if you say Nescafe I just think of "Gold Blend" and horrible ...
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Quick sip: Costa Coffee in a can

Over the weekend I saw that Costa Coffee have released a range of canned, cold ...
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Where on earth do you draw a line under Super Smash Bros. games, to be ...
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The Division 2: End Game

Level 30, World Tier 1. What?! The Division 2 did the impossible, and kept me ...
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Keeping up with coffee and games

The past month has seen quite a drop in me creating and publishing posts. Not ...
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No Man’s Sky – Starting Again

Approximately a year and a half ago, I decided to give No Man's Sky a ...
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Final Fantasy VIII Remastered

Final Fantasy is a massive franchise, and a franchise I have a lot of fondness ...
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Saving San Francisco – Watch Dogs 2

Approximately 20 hours, and I've played through the main campaign of Watch Dogs 2. What ...
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Diving into Washington DC – The Division 2

Apparently I can only play Ubisoft games at the moment. Not content with two Assassin's ...
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Java Update: Percol – Protein Latte

Coffee drinks are always fun to try. The spin that people put them on generally ...
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Destiny 2 is in really good shape right now

I've written a massive amount about Destiny 2 over the past couple of years. But ...
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Watch Dogs 2 – Getting Started

Watch Dogs was a good game. Despite what people have to say about Aiden Pierce ...
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What the hell is Auto Chess?

Coming off two Assassin's Creed games in a row, and bracing myself for Watch Dogs ...
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Assassin’s Creed Origins – Final Thoughts

Just shy of 40 hours in Origins, and my time with Bayek has come to ...
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Music Blog: The 5 albums that changed my life

It sounds dramatic, doesn't it? Albums that change your life? But, honestly, I think it's ...
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Assassin’s Creed Origins

Straight out of Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and into Origins. The re-imagining of the franchise, kind ...
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Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Final Thoughts

It's been about two weeks since I finished Assassin's Creed Syndicate, but I decided to ...
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Blog: Gaming on a budget

Gaming is a great hobby, with so much variety and breadth. Niche titles, global communities ...
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What happened to Anthem?

Releasing a new "live service" game never goes well, does it? Especially when it's a ...
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Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Almost finished

I've spent quite a substantial amount of time in Assassin's Creed Syndicate since I last ...
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Breath of the Wild – A Masterpiece

I've written multiple times of my love for the Legend of Zelda series. Beyond that, ...
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Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Getting Started

I've toyed with the idea of getting one of the newer Assassin's Creed games recently ...
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Monster Energy – Monster Espresso Drinks

In my lifelong quest to try the biggest variety of coffees and coffee-based drink, I ...
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Sea of Thieves – Anniversary Update

It's no lie to say that I've gotten back into Sea of Thieves recently. With ...
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Twilight Princess – Starting Again

After my Breath of the Wild binge recently, and my commitment to finishing all my ...
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GWENT – So much change

GWENT, the in-game card game from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in beta, ...
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Sea of Thieves – Anchors aweigh

Sea of Thieves came out on March 20th 2018. I was very keen to give ...
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Blackout – Alcatraz

I've been on a bit of a Call of Duty Black Ops 4 binge as ...
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Breath of the Wild is just superb

Obvious statement of 2019? Probably, but I'm back into Breath of the Wild in a ...
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Battlefield V – Battle Royale

Firestorm. Strong name isn't it? Well, yeah, and it makes literal sense because the classic ...
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Java update: Rave Coffee “The Italian Job”

Rave coffee is a name I've heard several times over the past couple of years, ...
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Star Wars Battlefront II – Initial Impressions

Battlefront 2 isn't exactly a well-loved EA game, is it? With a massive (justified) furore ...
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Java Update: Cornish Coffee “The Original”

When you think of coffee, you think perhaps of Italy or France? With the rise ...
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Anthem – The reviews

It's almost cool to hate on Anthem at the minute. Not without good cause, for ...
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Crackdown 3 – Quick Take

I think my brother put it best when he said "this is what I wanted ...
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Trust in YouTube

Being any kind of gamer can often mean looking for guides or reviews, or perhaps ...
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Monster Hunter World x The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

In the past 10 years, I'd suggest that there are only 2 or 3 game ...
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Apex Legends

Anyone that knows me, knows that they could utter either "Titanfall" or "Battle Royale" and ...
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Anthem: VIP Demo

Anthem isn't a game I've been particularly fussed about if I'm honest. Another online loot ...
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The Wii U Tri-Fecta – Zelda time!

The Legend of Zelda has been at the centre of my gaming life for as ...
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Call of Duty Black Ops 4

Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is the second Call of Duty I've ever written ...
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Spider Man: Back into the swing of things

Finishing Spider Man last year was great. I had a great time, and wrote plenty ...
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Monster Hunter World

Thinking of a title for this post left me a little dumbstruck......What is it that ...
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Coffee: Mastering the Moka Pot

Until a little while ago, a Moka Pot wasn't something on my radar. That little ...
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Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

Fighting games are not my thing. Try as I might, I am not good at ...
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The Gold Standard – 2018

2018 has been a pretty great year for Ninja Refinery, but better still for gaming ...
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God of War – Final Thoughts

I have no idea how to say this, nor did I ever expect to say ...
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Halo – Still got it after all these years

It's no secret that I'm a Halo fan. Hell, my wedding ring is a Halo! ...
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1 year on – PUBG is still the king

It's been 12 months as of December 12th since Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) was released on ...
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God of War – Several hours deep

I expected to blitz through the story of God of War. Envisioning a linear, fast-paced, ...
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The most satisfying “touches” in gaming over the past few years

We mostly play games for fun, right? To attain a certain level of satisfaction. Whether ...
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Oh my God of War

God of War has been on the "must play" list for a little while now, ...
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Red Dead Redemption 2: The light at the end of the tunnel

I've done it! In just over 40 hours of play I've completed the main story ...
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Fighting that “new game” compulsion

Gaming is without a doubt my favourite hobby, alongside writing on here, playing guitar, drinking ...
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Red Dead Redemption 2: The long road through hell

I've just about hit the 30 hour mark in Red Dead Redemption 2, which is ...
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Realm Royale – Alpha Test

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for a battle royale game. But it's a ...
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Red Dead Redemption 2 – Oh my….

True story: I had low expectations for Red Dead Redemption 2. I don't know why, ...
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Horizon Zero Dawn – Getting started

Horizon Zero Dawn seems like a game that requires no introduction. A runaway success almost ...
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Java update: Coffee Cola

Let's be fair, when you see the words "Coffee" and "Cola" bunched together, you'd perhaps ...
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Quick look: Battlefield 1

The Battlefield series is one that I've loved for several years now. From Battlefield 1943 ...
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Finished business

Sometimes we have an experience with something that ends up either being so profound, or ...
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Spider-Man – Review

Spider-man games have been published for years and years, in fact, one of my first ...
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PUBG 1.0 – Review

It's here! It's finally here. PUBG is now out of beta and officially "full release" on ...
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Shenmue – Remastered – Review

To be clear, Shenmue is one of my all-time favourite games. A title that it's ...
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Unfinished Business

Sometimes you just can't find the time, nor the will to see something through. Never ...
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Why is Warframe so good?

It's very easy to write Warframe off as a free-to-play game and ignore it (like ...
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Java Update – Starbucks Cold Brew

I gave the Costa cold brew a bash and it was ok. How does the ...
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GTA Online – Heists

It's early doors, in that we've done two heists. One is the 2-man intro to ...
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Overwatch – New Hero: Wrecking Ball

Hammond (Wrecking Ball) is live in Overwatch on consoles! Straight off the bat, we've got ...
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Mass Effect Andromeda – Initial thoughts

About 10 hours in, a few planets scanned, a full team and a cool ship ...
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Fortnite – Save the World

Fortnite has been on the lips of the public for quite a while now. With ...
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Mass Effect Andromeda

Infamous barely begins to scratch the surface when describing Mass Effect Andromeda. A release that ...
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Java Update: Alpro Caffe – Coffee and Hazelnut

It's personal taste, but I think it's fair to say that the combination of coffee ...
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Metal Gear Solid V – The Phantom Pain – Chapter One is done!

It's been hours, pushing 40 hours at the time of writing. Hours of non-stop stealth-action, ...
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Carving out a living in GTA Online

Let's be fair, one of the core elements to the success of GTA online, is ...
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Fortnite Battle Royale – 50 v 50 Mode

It's fair to say that I've not given Fortnite Battle Royale as much attention as ...
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Blog: Nice problems to have

I have a problem......I've found myself in a strange place recently, but a great one ...
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – Diving back in

One of the games on my pile of shame is Metal Gear Solid V: The ...
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Re-play: Sleeping Dogs – final thoughts

I finished my playthrough of Sleeping Dogs. Re-living some fond memories, seeing how times have ...
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Java Update: Cold Brew at Costa

Cold Brew has been a pretty big deal in the past couple of years, with ...
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Monster Hunter World – What have I begun?

I played a Monster Hunter game a few years ago, it was Monster Hunter 4 ...
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Destiny 2 Raid Lair: Eater of Worlds

Having practically given up on Destiny 2 around the release of the Curse of Osiris ...
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Re-Play: Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs is one of those games that took me by surprise, saw me love ...
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Java Update: Bay Bank – The Baytown Coffee Company

Frankly, it's embarrassing how long it's taken me to get this review together. Not only ...
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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

I'll be honest, I never had any intention of playing, let alone writing about a ...
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Destiny 2 – 2 DLCs in

Having played through the Warmind missions, I find myself in a really strange spot with ...
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Overwatch – New hero! Brigitte

I know this is well past the release of Brigitte into Overwatch, but I like ...
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Destiny 2: Warmind DLC – Time to bounce back?

Destiny 2 is due to have DLC number 2 (Warmind) released and it's genuinely the ...
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PUBG – Miramar Map on Xbox One – Thoughts

Bluehole only went and gave us a PTS (public test server)! So, those of us ...
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Warframe: I think this is my new Destiny

I've now logged into Warframe for 16 consecutive days. I know this because you get ...
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Blog: Looking backwards to move forwards

Here's the thing. I'm trying to calm the hell down on my almost ADHD levels ...
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Blog: Sometimes you need the grind

The past month has been pretty hectic, trying to maintain a level of frequent/readable content, ...
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Warframe: Free to play done right?

Over the past couple of years Warframe has randomly popped in and out of my ...
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PUBG: So much change!

PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds (PUBG) isn't new anymore. It's in "full release" on PC, and it's still ...
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The Last of Us: Remastered – Initial Thoughts

When it comes to games that are deemed as "must play", I think it's fair ...
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Java Update: “Albion Street” by Baytown Coffee Co

I'm not exactly qualified or even particularly experienced at writing, or reviewing coffee, so it's ...
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Sea of Thieves – Fun with friends!

It's here! Sea of Thieves has been released and after a technical alpha and two ...
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Mobile Gaming: Marvel Puzzle Quest

Playing games on mobile is something I love the idea of, but rarely does it ...
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XCOM 2 – Trying to control chaos

XCOM 2 is an excellent game. Honestly, I love it. But seriously, I hate it ...
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Finishing Dishonored 2

When I started getting back into Dishonored 2, I'd say that I was simply going ...
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Java Update: Baytown Coffee Company – Christmas Blend

One of the best coffee findings in recent years is that there is a relatively ...
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Blog: These days every game wants my attention forever, and my money…..

In the past couple of years, the rise in "games as a service" as seen ...
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Dishonored 2 – Diving back in

As I promised last week, I've gotten back into Dishonored 2 (man, it really pains ...
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Java Update: Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso (in a can….)

My coffee coverage is going to improve, I've got bags of beans to get through, ...
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The dreaded pile of shame

I'd hazard that most gamers have one, I'd suggest that it sits in the back ...
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Review: Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is a game that I've been told to play by so ...
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Fortnite and PUBG – Enjoying both is easy

The Battle Royale genre has seen some massive growth in the past year. I'm not ...
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No Man’s Sky – Final Thoughts

It isn't possible to ever really "finish" No Man's Sky. Sure, there's a couple of ...
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Using your PlayStation 4 Screenshots

When I started taking screenshots on the PlayStation 4, it never occurred to me that ...
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InFamous: Second Son – Final Thoughts

I finished it! I had a great time, and I'd recommend it to anyone that ...
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Burgershot: 50 Years of the Big Mac

This month marks 50 years of service to the iconic "Big Mac" from one of ...
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InFamous Second Son – Further Thoughts

I've had a good chunk of time with InFamous: Second Son now. I've unlocked new ...
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Overwatch – Getting to grips with Moira

This is really late, Moira was released on November 16th last year, so I'm not ...
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Getting started in InFamous – Second Son

InFamous is one of those series that I've never really heard anything bad about, and ...
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PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds – Still going…..

This is madness, I can't remember the last time I was so hooked on a ...
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No Man’s Sky – Further thoughts

I'll be honest, up until this morning, I was ready to just give up on ...
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Sea of Thieves: Closed Beta

I was fortunate enough to get in on the final technical alpha for Sea of ...
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Uncharted 4 – Review

I set myself up for this review, in my previous Uncharted 4 post. Basically ruining ...
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No Man’s Sky – Initial Thoughts

No Man's Sky is a game you can ask people about, and likely hear some ...
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Uncharted 4 – Review incoming

I'm about 20 hours deep in Uncharted 4 and I'm moments away from finishing it ...
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Getting back into the swing of things

2018 has seen a pretty slow content-feed so far. With the Christmas break, work, a ...
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PUBG – what makes it so enjoyable?

It's hard to not keep writing about PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, even though I have so much ...
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Expanding coverage at Ninja Refinery

I have a pretty incredible wife, and because of that, Ninja Refinery can now start ...
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The Gold Standard – 2017

2017 is dead, but it's worth looking back on. It was a big year for ...
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Inspired by – NoClip

My second "Inspired by" piece is a little broader than just the "NoClip" name, it's ...
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Headset Review: HyperX Cloud Stinger

I've only ever heard of HyperX in the context of computing, so I was very ...
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Playing Battle Royale games the “right” way

Playing "Battle Royale" games is becoming something of a big deal in gaming as of ...
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Inspired by: Insert Coin Clothing

Gaming is big business, and it goes well beyond just playing games. We become engrossed ...
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Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds – It’s here!

A few hours early, and my code for Playerunknown's Battlegrounds was sent through to get ...
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Getting back to grips with The Division

The Division is an open-world, online-only, third-person cover shooter, set in Manhattan. Released in March ...
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Trying something new

Now I've gone past 100 posts published, I've started to see some patterns in what ...
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Mobile gaming: Lineage 2 Revolution

Here's a sentence I never expected to say or write: I'm currently playing an MMORPG ...
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Coming back to Titanfall 2

The best thing about playing Mirror's Edge Catalyst, was the fact that it reminded me ...
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Mirror’s Edge Catalyst – Final Thoughts

Clocking in at just under seven and a half hours, I've finished the campaign of ...
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Mirror’s Edge Catalyst – Initial thoughts

The original Mirror's Edge was a bit of a surprise to me. I'd read a ...
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100 published posts!

It's perhaps no major event to most, but here at Ninja Refinery, it's a big ...
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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Final thoughts

My journey with the main campaign of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has come to an ...
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Star Fox Zero – Co-op Chaos

After falling back in love with Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64) on my 3DS, it ...
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Review: Star Fox 64 (3DS)

My first proper console was the Nintendo 64, and one of the many fond memories ...
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Incoming! PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

Due in a few weeks, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is heading to Xbox One. I've spent a ...
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Let’s Play – Animal Crossing Pocket Camp

Yesterday, I decided I'd had enough of the mobile games I've been playing (Pokemon Go, ...
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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Further Thoughts

I'm over halfway through Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, now, and I'm suckered in until the ...
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Headset Review: Turtle Beach XO Three

One of the most recognisable names in the gaming headset arena, Turtle Beach sent me ...
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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Getting Started

Played a lot of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I didn't finish it, but that's for ...
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Just Cause 3 – Final Thoughts

Just Cause 3 has taken me a little while to get finished (it's been sat ...
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Headset Review: Steelseries Siberia 200

Since my recent epiphany I've been on a one-man mission to delve into the audio of ...
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Just Cause 3 – Further Thoughts

Since diving back into Just Cause 3, I've found myself having a great time. I've ...
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Album Review: Mean Everything to Nothing (Manchester Orchestra)

I knew I should have written this as my first album review, from the moment ...
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Coffee Review – Loading Coffee

I've waited for the right coffee to hit me for the first review on here ...
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Just Cause 3 – Initial thoughts

As much as I love realisim, a great narrative, next-level game design and genre-bending mechanics. ...
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Forza Horizon 2 – Review

I’ve been a fan of the Forza series for a long time (fact: when I ...
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Overwatch – Halloween Terror 2017

I'm late to the party, in fact, I'm really late because I missed the event ...
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Fortnite: Battle Royale – Getting more time in.

I've been getting more time in, on Fortnite: Battle Royale. It's proving to be the ...
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The difference a headset makes.

Most people know this already, and honestly, I have no idea why it's taken me ...
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Show review – New Found Glory – Leeds 2nd October 2017

Some of the best times I've had have involved New Found Glory, whether it's their ...
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Soundtracks – Destiny 2

Destiny 2 is a good game, not a timeless classic, but a game that I'll ...
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Fortnite Battle Royale – Getting started

The drama around Fortnite - Battle Royale has, as far as I can tell, only ...
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Keeping up……

It's September, a few weeks after the Destiny 2 release, and I'm knee-deep in glimmer, ...
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Burger Review – The Elvis Burger (Hungry Horse)

Cheap eateries don't always mean terrible food Pub chains like "Hungry Horse", "Beefeater" and "Fayre ...
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Music Blog: Reviewing albums is tough

I’m more than happy to share my opinion, hell, I’ve built a site dedicated to ...
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Destiny 2 – Initial Thoughts

It would be completely remiss of me to not make any kind of post about ...
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Ninja Refinery Reviews

Further to my post about review scoring, I feel that it's important to at least ...
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Destiny – Thank you, and goodnight.

It’s the eve of Destiny 2, and it seems like the perfect time to reflect ...
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Review scores are dead

I've read a massive amount of reviews in my time. So many gaming sites provide ...
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Review: Hyrule Warriors

Who knew that a hack-and-slash style "Warriors" game could be so much fun?! Honestly, I ...
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Taking Screenshots on the Wii U

Who knew that working out how to get a screenshot on a Wii U would ...
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Brand New – Science Fiction – It’s here!!

After years of waiting, and scraps of demos and live versions of new songs, Brand ...
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Overwatch – More thoughts on Doomfist

Apart from playing Lucio Ball, I've been hitting QuickPay as often as possible, and where ...
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Ninja Refinery – Wii U Streaming

Thanks to a great session of Mario Kart 8 last night, I was able to ...
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Mario Kart 8 – Wii U – I love this series

Who doesn't enjoy a game of Mario Kart? Is it possible to dislike it? Here ...
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Overwatch – Doomfist

What's a Doomfist? Doomfist is the latest hero released in Overwatch. After much speculation about ...
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Fallout 4 – The loyalty dilemma

I thought that I had just about written as much as I could about Fallout ...
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Killed the Kage – All change

Change is inevitable, like it or not, things have to change. Change? In a very ...
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Gaming Habits – How they’re changing

There was a time where I would exclusively play one game for months at a ...
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Fallout 4 – So far, so good

I've hit about 15 hours in-game now and got a good feel for it. It ...
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Destiny 2 Beta – How was it?

It was more Destiny. Simple as that really. Now that's not a bad thing, not ...
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Destiny 2 beta – The Farm

The new social space "The Farm" was made available for one hour this Sunday (6pm ...
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Destiny 2 Beta – Here we go!

The Destiny 2 beta went live on Xbox One yesterday, and so I dived right ...
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Music

Ugh, I hate to put it like this, because it's so naff.......but, I love music ...
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Destiny 2 – Beta incoming!

This is the week, the Destiny 2 beta is taking place from Wednesday, and I'll ...
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Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

I love coffee, simple as that. I brew and grind and try every bean and ...
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Burgers? Burgers!

I spent the latter part of my 20's and these first couple of years in ...
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Fallout 4 – Let’s get started

Fallout 4 has been on my "need to play at some point" list for quite ...
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Batman Arkham Knight – Final Thoughts

This game is/was wonderful. Rocksteady should be proud. It is the perfect end to a ...
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Launching towards a win!

The clock hits 0:00, it's a tie-game and the ball is still in the air ...
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Batman – Arkham Knight – Further Thoughts

I've been putting some decent hours in on this game now, not through attrition and ...
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Breath of the Wild – 3 Divine Beasts down, 1 to go!

Yeah, I'm taking my sweet time with this game, but I'm loving every second of ...
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Star Wars Battlefront – Initial Impressions

Star Wars Battlefront is a game that's been out a while, got some good press, ...
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I don’t think I’ll ever finish Breath of the Wild – But that’s ok

Finishing a game is subjective. Do you mean 100%? Do you mean complete the main ...
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Batman – Arkham Knight – Initial Thoughts

I started Arkham Knight yesterday, after having it sat on the shelf for months, making ...
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Some games aren’t meant to be streamed

I've done a few posts on streaming platforms, and I've done a post on streaming ...
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Overwatch – New Map – Horizon

The newest map on Overwatch was released to consoles this week, and I've been getting ...
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Gwent – Beta

The in-game card game from The Witcher 3 is being made as a standalone game, ...
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Magikarp Jump! What the?!

I started to see reports of a new Pokemon app on the Google Play store, ...
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Almost famous – for a couple of hours

Reddit is a site I visit frequently, and I post occasionally. I've had one very ...
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Super Smash Bros. Wii U and Amiibos

I managed to sit and play through a bit of Smash Bros. a bit the ...
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Streaming from a Wii U – Via an Xbox One (no capture card)

I recently got a Wii U, and in doing so, realised that I have no ...
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The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild (Wii U) – A few hours in

I'm roughly 10-12 hours into Breath of the Wild now, and I've barely scratched the ...
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Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)

Another game I got when I got the Wii U was a title that I ...
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The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild (Wii U)

I was fortunate enough to get a really good deal on a Wii U and ...
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Beam vs Twitch – Streaming from an Xbox One

I stream from my Xbox One. Few watch it, but that's by the by. The ...
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Overwatch – Orisa

Orisa has been released into the wild for a few weeks now, and more importantly, ...
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Destiny – The Age of Triumph & Destiny 2 news

Preface Destiny has been going on since 2014, and has seen some highs and lows ...
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VasDown Raids Again!

Preface We finally all got back together, ready to take on the Wrath of the ...
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Rainbow Six: Siege – Playing online

Nothing too exciting here, just the uploaded video of a stream, whilst playing online earlier ...
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Ghost Recon: Wildlands – GRWHQ App

Preface I've used a few companion apps in my time. Something that Ubisoft seem to ...
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Hearthstone – Level 20 and beyond!

Preface I mentioned before that Hearthstone was proving to be a grind, and level 20 ...
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Rainbow Six Siege – Bleeding out

A dude just watched me bleed out for a few seconds, got right up in ...
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Hearthstone – Grinding it out……

Preface I've been playing Hearthstone casually now for a couple of weeks, and felt like ...
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Ghost Recon: Wildlands – Further Impressions

Preface I've still not played a massive amount of this game, and I'm still in ...
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Assassin’s Creed Unity – Final thoughts

Preface It's done! I finished the main story missions, a fair few side missions and ...
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Ghost Recon: Wildlands – Getting into the game

Preface As I wrote previously, I played the open beta of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and ...
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Game soundtracks – Do you listen to them?

Preface I've recently been given a download to the Hitman soundtrack (looks like anyone who ...
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Assassin’s Creed Unity – Further thoughts

Preface I laid out some initial thoughts a few days ago, and then I've given ...
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I love Rocket League – I’m not great at Rocket League

Preface I've been playing Rocket League on and off since the day it was released ...
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Assassin’s Creed: Unity – Co-op first experiences

Preface In a well-timed accidental meeting of each other online, myself, Frostos and Tommygunlovers were ...
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Hearthstone – Learning the ways

Preface Ok, so my last Hearthstone post was about getting into it and giving it ...
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Assassin’s Creed Unity – Thoughts

Preface Ok, so I'm a fan of the Assassin's Creed series, I've played and finished ...
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Let’s Play – Ghost Recon Wildlands – Beta

Preface The open technical beta was opened up last week for a few days. I ...
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Hearthstone – Giving it a go

Preface I'm not particularly familiar with the Warcraft franchise or the lore, so this, to ...
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Halo Wars 2 – Initial thoughts

Preface Ok, so I love the halo universe, have done since Combat Evolved, and I've ...
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Update – Spam spam spam

Ok, so building the site is an ongoing project, and something that never seems to ...
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Let’s Play! – Hitman

I love the Hitman franchise, always have, and I've played most of the series, start-to-finish ...
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How do game reviews and sites like reddit impact how you purchase or play a game?

Preface I read a massive amount of content around games and gaming. It used to ...
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My top 10 games from the past year.

These weren't all necessarily released this year, but they have taken my time in 2016 ...
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The Division – VasDown style

So, we got a bit bored of Destiny, and all found The Division for a ...
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Let’s Play! – GTA V Campaign from the 1st person perspective.

When GTA V first came out, I played through it on the Xbox 360. I ...
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Update.

It's a little quiet here at the minute, but things are underway! I'm doing my ...
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Silver…..just. Overwatch ranking.

So, I did it. I got my rank, and crept into silver tier, by 30 ...
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Overwatch – Ranking is hard

Just a couple of the games, I'm clearly doomed to end up in the lower ...
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I got there in the end – Overwatch Ranked

So, I finally hit rank 25 in Overwatch, and now I'm apparently ready for competitive ...
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Let’s Play! – #VasDown takes on The Wrath of the Machine, again.

One step further! We got to the siege engine, and this time we had all ...
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Too much to play, too much to do.

What happened to the days where we would sit and play the same few games ...
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Review – Zombies, Run! Autumn Virtual Race

Preface: I love the Zombies, Run! app, the story, the characters, the zombies. You name ...
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Flashback – The VasDown clan completing the Vault of Glass raid for the first time

This is the first raid we did as a full 6-man clan. We tried to ...
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Destiny – 2016 Halloween Event – Thoughts

So, the Festival of the Lost has returned this year, sans paper and glue to ...
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Pokemon GO Halloween Event is live!

The Pokemon GO Halloween event is......Go! Seeing more ghost-types? You should be! Niantic have started ...
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VasDown – Latest Raid Attempt Video

So, we attempted Wrath of the Machine -1 clan member on Friday. Didn't get as ...
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Welcome to KilltheKage.com

This is the new hub for all things KilltheKage. All YouTube videos from my channel ...
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