Adam Barnes

Adam Barnes

Freelance Writer

Adam Barnes is a regular contributor to Retro Gamer, and in the past has written for publications like Play Magazine, NowGamer, Games™, PCGN, Kotaku, Ginx, and more. Adam was once your go-to for all things Minecraft and retro, but now he also writes about technology, travel, and design.

Latest articles by Adam Barnes

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"It felt like a great, natural fit, it was just a matter of tuning the gameplay": How Shogun: Total War marched into new territory and laid the foundations for a strategy game empire

By Adam Barnes Published

Interview Every great military campaign has to start somewhere

Interview
The key art for Metal Gear Solid from the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection released, showing Solid Snake with his bandana on, as drawn by Yoji Shinkawa
26 years on, developers discuss the massive impact Metal Gear Solid had on the industry: "This was going much further than all previous action games. And that was totally inspiring"

By Adam Barnes Published

Features Feature | The Impact of Metal Gear Solid: Retro Gamer talks with a selection of developers about the stealth game's 1998 release, and how it changed the industry forever

Features
GTA Vice City
With GTA 6 taking us back to Miami, here's how the original GTA Vice City came to life

By Adam Barnes Published

Interview Holiday Long Read | How Grand Theft Auto Vice City went from a reskin to a revolution for the GTA series

Interview
Spyro
As Spyro the Dragon turns 25, we remember what made the purple platformer such a fierce fire starter

By Adam Barnes Published

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Join us as we celebrate a quarter-century of one of video games' most iconic mascots

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Gord review
Gord review: "It ends up feeling a little futile"

By Adam Barnes Published

Review

Review
Atlas Fallen
Atlas Fallen hands-on: substance, style and a solid fantasy romp

By Adam Barnes Published

PREVIEW Is this Deck13’s slickest venture yet? Or will it be buried in the sand like all those Funkos?

PREVIEW
BioShock movie
The making of BioShock: How Irrational Games created an FPS that's still celebrated 15 years on

By Adam Barnes Published

Features This year marked the 15th anniversary of BioShock, Retro Gamer looks back on the development of the celebrated FPS

Features
LEGO Bricktales screenshot
Lego Bricktales Review: "The puzzles are like inspirations for your creativity"

By Adam Barnes Last updated

Review

Review
Serial Cleaners screenshot
Serial Cleaners Review: "No skill or foreplanning necessary, just patience"

By Adam Barnes Last updated

Review

Review
Diablo 4 Necromancer
What Diablo 4 is doing to help the series reclaim its crown as the action-RPG king

By Adam Barnes Published

Features Between the release of Diablo Immortal and the Necromancer class reveal, Diablo fans are in a weird place right now

Features
Crash Bandicoot PS1
Crash Bandicoot turns 25 – How Naughty Dog transformed Willie the Wombat into a PlayStation icon

By Adam Barnes, Retro Gamer Team Published

Features Retro Gamer explores how Crash Bandicoot shaped 3D platforming, the PS1, and even Naughty Dog itself

Features
TimeSplitters
The history of TimeSplitters: "We naively thought that EA are better at selling games than Eidos"

By Retro Gamer Team, Adam Barnes Published

Features Retro Gamer looks back (or forward?) at the cult FPS from the team that once reinvented the genre on console

Features
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The Sims turns 20: Creator Will Wright reflects on the battle he waged to get one of the best games of all time made

By Adam Barnes Published

Features The Sims turns 20: Creator Will Wright reflects on the battle he waged to get one of the best games of all time made

Features
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Five years in, how easy is it to return to Hearthstone?

By Adam Barnes Published

Features How I fell back in love with Hearthstone after taking a hiatus

Features
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“There was some nervousness at the start” – The history of BioWare, as told by the people that were there at the time

By Adam Barnes Published

Features Former BioWare developers reflect on the origins and expansion of the legendary studio

Features
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What really makes a good BioWare game?

By Adam Barnes Published

Features What core value make a BioWare game, and what might that mean for Anthem?

Features
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  1. Close up of the bottom half of the Gilmore Girls Polly Pocket compact.
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    The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping trailer teases the darkest story yet for the franchise
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    Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave review: "Deep tactical battles and a compelling narrative make this an ambitious epic"

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