Issy van der Velde

Issy van der Velde

Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

Latest articles by Issy van der Velde

On Sempiria in an Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet PS5 screenshot, Jodran leaps towards a robot with her glowing red sword
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet apparently has "RPG progression systems," which could be as simple as The Last of Us' supplements or usher in a whole new era

By Issy van der Velde Published

news It's a vague term, so the possibilities are endless

7 Comments
news
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hero Gustave in a striped swimsuit
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says hold the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 praise, please, as he only spent 4 hours working on the French JRPG and now feels like "a total fraud"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News He also hasn't played the game but he's "thrilled" it's doing well

7 Comments
News
Red Dead Redemption screenshot of protagonist John Marston aiming a pistol
The "exciting news" Red Dead Redemption fans were waiting for might have been a big meet and greet all along, which is still cool, but not as good as a remaster: "We're cooked, chat"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News I was a fool to believe

News
Elden Ring Nightreign Gaping Jaw
Elden Ring Nightreign sicko who beat the whole game solo using nothing but his fists sets sights on the first beefed-up Everdark Sovereign, punches it to death first try even after a "very bad RNG run"

By Issy van der Velde Published

news The fight took over 40 minutes

news
Dune Awakening
Dune: Awakening devs say "you don't have to engage in PvP" in the MMO and the Deep Desert is here to stay, but more PvE is coming

By Issy van der Velde Published

news Better get used to PvP

21 Comments
news
A man's grizzled face in side profile with a white background
NetEase's first AAA single-player game is packed with brutal action and gorgeous cinematics in a promising blend fans say looks "like a Tang Dynasty take on Uncharted"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News "Finally we get Uncharted 5," fans say reacting to Blood Message

News
Borderlands 4 screenshot of new Siren Vex
Baldur's Gate 3 dev buying Borderlands 4 "day one" despite calling out its price controversy and thinking Borderlands 3's writing "was a dry-ass turkey dropped 8 months after Thanksgiving"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News "I have a lot of faith in its writers"

News
ben starr dressed in harequinn makeup chomping down on a banana
Fighting his own roguelike monster, Balatro creator says he's "146/150 for completionist++ and getting a taste of my own medicine"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News God speed

News
Dark Souls Remastered screenshot of Gaping Dragon.
You can turn Elden Ring Nightreign into Pokemon as one of its big dragon bosses can inadvertently help you fight other enemies

By Issy van der Velde Published

News Not the crossover Nintendo was expecting

News
Psyduck looking stressed next to Misty
Google AI is worse at Pokemon than I was when I was 5 – taking 800 hours to beat the Elite 4 and having a breakdown when its HP got low

By Issy van der Velde Published

News It won't be competing in VGC any time soon

News
When you're spice infused in Dune Awakening
Dune: Awakening will get a roadmap "once the craziness of launch has died down," and the only time the survival MMO will charge for new content is "because it's something big"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News More PvE to come for all you Hagga-Basin lovers

News
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 may not cost $80, but it will be more than that when you upgrade your PC to meet the absurd minimum requirements

By Issy van der Velde Published

news Your PC may run Doom, but will it run Borderlands 4? Probably not

news
Clockwork Revolution screenshot showing the player character in conversation with a mechanical NPC
43-year CRPG Fallout and Wasteland veteran says his studio “wouldn’t be here” if not for a “Hail Mary” $2.9m Kickstarter: “That culminated into Clockwork Revolution”

By Issy van der Velde last updated

news Thank goodness for the fans

news
The key art for the full release of Deltarune
Toby Fox worried two Deltarune villains were too similar for anyone to "really care," but he's come to think they're "characters who mutually enhance each other"

By Issy van der Velde Published

news Just like Spy vs. Spy

news
Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder running alongside spectral hawk at the start of an expedition
Elden Ring Nightreign data miner uses math to prove FromSoftware really wants you to stay dead: reviving teammates gets exponentially harder the more they die

By Issy van der Velde Published

news Because the only way you'll get better is if FromSoftware punishes you

news
Borderlands 4
Gearbox says the Borderlands 4 collector's edition isn't actually the collector's edition, even though there doesn't seem to be any other version available

By Issy van der Velde Published

News Way more confusing than it needs to be

News
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 players, rejoice: Super Earth is in ruins and millions of NPCs died, but hey, we just got a sweet cape

By Issy van der Velde Published

News It's so pretty

News
The leader of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Team Star laughs menacingly
"Just all gone": Pokemon player loses "20 years worth of data" when transferring Scarlet save file to Switch 2, and they're apparently not the only one

By Issy van der Velde Published

News Please back up your 'mons properly

News
A screenshot from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, showing a man named Verso covered in dirt and blood, looking into the camera.
Hideo Kojima says size does matter, but smaller is better as he praises Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's team size: "That's my ideal"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News You can do a lot with a little

News
Borderlands 4 screenshot showcasing four different Vault Hunters taking on enemies with various weapons
Borderlands 4 post-launch roadmap includes 2 new Vault Hunters, 2 new stories, and a bunch of extra missions and areas

By Issy van der Velde Published

news You can buy it all now with the right pre-order

news
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima "changed stuff" in Death Stranding 2's script because playtesters enjoyed themselves too much: "If everyone likes it, it means it's mainstream"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News Co-composer Woodkid explains part of Kojima's thought process

23 Comments
News
Helldivers 2 review bomb cape
Helldivers 2's long-awaited review bomb cape teased once more as Sony rolls back controversial region lock: "A cape to celebrate is in order"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News Divers from certain Steam regions can return to the fight, and that demands a cape

News
The Witcher 4
The Witcher 4 has a "console-first" philosophy and a 60fps target to avoid another Cyberpunk 2077 situation, though the Xbox Series S is "extremely challenging"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News The Series X's little sibling causing more challenges

News
the bird-headed guardian blocking behind a greatshield as fire swirls all around
Elden Ring Nightreign's worst character is The Guardian, or he might be one of the best depending on who you ask: "Guardian is top 3 you can’t change my mind"

By Issy van der Velde Published

News The Marmite of Nightreign

News
A thumnail crop of Splitgate 2 key art showing orange and blue portals and teams of shooters running between them
"I would have done things differently": Splitgate 2 director would be "less controversial" if given the opportunity to repeat his Summer Game Fest antics

By Issy van der Velde Published

news He hopes fans put off will "reconsider"

news
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LATEST ARTICLES
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