Lloyd Coombes
Lloyd Coombes links gaming coverage with the wider ecosystem of consumer tech, writing service-focused pieces that explain how hardware, software, and games fit together in everyday use. He works as a freelance tech and fitness writer and podcaster, covering Apple, computer and gaming technology, and connected fitness devices for TechRadar while dedicating most of his time to video game coverage at Dexerto. His bylines also extend to titles such as TopTenReviews, Space.com, and Live Science, giving his gaming work a broad technical and science-aware context.
Nintendo 2024 in review and platform-level gaming coverage
On TechRadar, Coombes tackles gaming at the platform level, not just individual titles.
His year-in-review piece on Nintendo’s 2024 output looks across a full calendar of exclusives and releases to judge how the platform is evolving, rather than focusing on one marquee game. The format is evaluative and comparative, weighing what the publisher delivered against expectations and the competitive landscape, which positions his gaming writing as a way to understand a platform’s health and direction.
That platform view is supported by his broader expertise in “computer and gaming tech,” which anchors discussions of games in hardware realities. He is set up to write about how consoles and PC ecosystems are performing, to connect specific release schedules to a bigger picture of what players can expect from a given platform in the near term.
Communications around platform strategies, hardware refreshes, and multi-title lineups fit cleanly into this way of covering games.
Magic two-card infinite combo and mechanics-focused coverage
Coombes also follows competitive and mechanics-driven angles within gaming, as shown by his Polygon feature on a new Magic two-card infinite combo that is poised to reshape a popular format.
That piece focuses on how specific card interactions change the structure of play, spotlighting rules, synergies, and the impact of new combinations on established decks and strategies. His interest is in what a single design shift means for players at the table, rather than only the flavor or lore around the cards.
This mechanics-led style complements his platform work by drilling into how systems behave under pressure, whether those systems are decks in a trading card game or release strategies on a console. It signals comfort with competitive communities and format jargon, and a willingness to explain technical changes in plain terms for players who need to understand how a new interaction alters the meta.
Stories that hinge on rule changes, balance updates, or new systems in live-service titles and card games align with this way of working.
Apple, Mac, and the tools that sit around play
Much of Coombes’ work at TechRadar centers on Apple hardware and software, and that shapes how he writes about any technology that sits next to gaming. He has produced long-term-user pieces on macOS Tahoe, picking out five new features he “can’t live without” after decades of using the Mac, and explaining how those tools improve everyday workflows and device use.
He writes practical how-tos on core utilities like Spotlight in macOS Tahoe, showing new MacBook owners how to use search, shortcuts, and clipboard history to get to what they need more quickly.
His iOS coverage follows the same pattern, with explainers on email apps such as Spark on iOS and Android and guides to system features like Apple’s automatic Captcha bypass in iOS 16.
These stories share a consistent style: hands-on testing, a clear description of the feature, and step-by-step guidance for users who want to integrate it into daily routines. For gaming-focused pitches, this translates into an interest in how tools, operating-system features, and companion apps support players, whether that means performance, communication, or time management around games.
Wearables, fitness apps, and lifestyle tech alongside gaming
Coombes’ beat also extends into wearables and fitness apps, where he reviews devices and services with an eye on how they anchor day-to-day habits. He has reviewed hybrid smartwatches such as the Withings ScanWatch 2, focusing on design, health tracking, and how a watch fits aesthetically and practically into a user’s life.
He covers fitness platforms like Chris Hemsworth’s Centr, describing it as a one-stop wellness hub and assessing its mix of workouts, nutrition, and mindfulness tools.
News and analysis pieces on Polar’s planned screenless wearable, rumored changes to the Garmin Connect app, and the evolution of Surface AI wearables all look at where fitness and health tracking are headed and what that means for consumers. He follows Apple Watch developments closely, including Strava app updates timed around new hardware cycles such as Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11.
This lifestyle-tech strand means he often writes at the intersection of physical activity, health data, and digital services, which can be relevant for gaming stories about activity trackers, gamified fitness, or hardware that straddles play and wellness.
Across these areas, Coombes’ distinguishing trait is consistent: he approaches gaming and adjacent technology as systems to be explained, tested, and grounded in real use, whether that is a console’s release slate, a card game’s evolving meta, or the tools and devices that surround play.
4 more gaming journalists.
Aaron Astle
Aaron Astle covers the business of mobile games through data, company strategy and cross-platform trends. He is Features and Data Editor at PocketGamer.biz and has written more than 2,000 articles for the publication. His beat includes game performance, revenue, player numbers, market share, monetisation, longevity and location-based games. He covers leadership changes, studio restructures, trade bodies, publishing decisions, investment and platform relations. He also reports on mobile, console and PC compatibility, live operations, regional marketing, hardware and app store rules. His work includes interviews with publishers such as King, Scopely, Cygames, Sybo and Rovio, plus year-in-review features for 2024 and 2025. He combines news, interviews, performance data and product timelines in clear analysis. He also contributes to the Week in Mobile Games podcast and event coverage.
Aaron Down
Aaron Down stands out for practical, systems-aware coverage that helps players navigate complex PC games and the platforms around them. He is a guides writer at PCGamesN and a staff writer at The Loadout. His work covers strategy games, live-service updates, codes, online worlds, simulation and management games, and classic titles being remade. He writes about League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics from long experience with both, with a focus on depth, meta shifts, and long-term mastery. His PCGamesN work includes strategy round-ups, Guild Wars 3 news, and reviews such as Two Point Museum. His writing has also appeared in The Digital Fix, Medium, Newsbreak, Flipboard, and other gaming platforms. He reports in clear, direct language, focusing on verified information, game systems, player access, and how platforms such as Steam shape discovery.
Aaron Potter
Aaron Potter is a franchise-focused games journalist who judges big-budget console and PC releases as parts of longer stories. At the Mirror’s gaming vertical, he writes reviews, release-time explainers, deal guides and commentary across PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo. His beat includes narrative-driven action games, horror, superhero epics, fantasy RPGs, co-op shooters and major series such as Marvel’s Spider-Man, Star Wars Jedi, Resident Evil, Dragon’s Dogma and God of War. He also covers launch times, platforms, Game Pass, crossplay, pre-orders, discounts and AAA ports, helping players decide what to play and how to buy it. With more than eight years in games journalism, prior freelance work and a book on indie games, he compares new releases with their predecessors, weighing storytelling, polish, innovation and value.
Adam Starkey
Adam Starkey stands out for writing about how games feel to play day to day. At Metro, he covers console and PC games, with a focus on Nintendo, fighting games and competitive titles, and he mixes reviews, news and commentary on major releases and hardware. He writes clear, player-focused criticism on mechanics, monetisation, accessibility and local multiplayer appeal. He also reports on live service systems, trailers, reveals, studio statements and consumer issues such as PS5 Pro scalpers. Beyond Metro, he works as a freelance entertainment journalist across games, TV, film, music and esports, with work published in NME, Rolling Stone UK, Radio Times, Edge, Nintendo Life and VG247.