We play it fully
No skim-and-summarize. Every reviewed game gets a minimum 20-hour playthrough, logged and screenshotted, before a single word is drafted.
Toronto · Fantasy Gaming Blog
Where every rune tells a story worth playing.
Deep-dive RPG guides, hand-drawn lore maps, and honest indie reviews — written by players who log the hours so your next quest starts strong.
Our Story
From a basement LAN party to a 90,000-reader frontier.
DragonRuneFrontier began on Spadina Avenue as a shared Notion doc between four friends who couldn't stop arguing about boss patterns. Here's how it grew.
- 12018
The first strategy thread
A single 4,000-word Dark Souls parry guide, posted on a whim, pulled in 12,000 readers in a weekend and convinced us there was room for slower, deeper writing.
- 22020
Lore column launches
We started 'Runes & Ruins', a weekly column decoding worldbuilding in fantasy RPGs. It's still our most-shared series with over 300 published entries.
- 32022
Indie spotlight program
We opened submissions to Canadian indie studios, playing every build ourselves. Forty-one titles have since been featured, no pay-to-play, ever.
- 42025
The Frontier community
Our Toronto reader meetups now fill a room on King Street monthly, pairing playtests with tabletop nights and a very competitive lore quiz.
How We Work
Four steps between a game and a guide you can trust.
We map the mechanics
Combat timings, drop rates, and branching quests get charted so our guides explain the 'why', not just the 'press this button here'.
We fact-check the lore
Story claims are cross-referenced with in-game text, dev interviews, and patch notes so our worldbuilding pieces stay accurate after updates.
We publish & maintain
Guides ship with a version stamp and get revisited after major patches — an out-of-date walkthrough helps nobody.
From the Archive
Screens, sketches, and moments from the frontier.
Reader Voices
What the frontier says about us.
“Their Elden Ring endgame guide got me through Malenia after three weeks of failing. The parry-timing breakdown alone was worth bookmarking forever.”
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Priya S.
Scarborough, ON · March 2025
“I run a tiny studio in Montreal and DragonRuneFrontier reviewed our demo honestly — praised the art, flagged our tutorial pacing. That feedback shaped our launch.”
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Léo M.
Montréal, QC · January 2025
“The Runes & Ruins column is the only gaming writing I read out loud to my partner. It treats fantasy worldbuilding like it actually matters.”
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Devon T.
Toronto, ON · November 2024
Good to Know
Questions we get from the frontier.
Do you accept paid reviews or sponsored coverage?
No. Every guide and review is written after we buy or are given a standard press copy of the game. We never accept payment for a positive review, and any gifted key is disclosed at the top of the article. Our indie spotlight is completely free to apply for.
How often do you publish new content?
We ship two to three long-form pieces each week — typically one guide, one lore column, and one review or indie spotlight. Major game launches sometimes get a dedicated multi-part series that rolls out over several days.
Can I pitch a guide or become a contributor?
Absolutely. We work with a small rotating group of freelance writers and pay per published piece. Send a short pitch and a writing sample to our contact email, and our editor will reply within about a week.
Are your guides kept up to date after game patches?
Yes. Each guide carries a version stamp showing the patch it was tested against. After significant balance updates we revisit and re-test the affected sections, noting the revision date so you always know how current the information is.
Do you host events in Toronto?
We do — our reader meetups happen monthly on King Street West, mixing hands-on playtests, tabletop nights, and a lore quiz. They're free to attend, though seats are limited, so we announce them through our newsletter first.
Which platforms and genres do you cover?
Our focus is RPGs and fantasy titles across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. We also cover roguelikes and story-driven indies. We don't currently cover competitive esports or mobile gacha games in depth.
Say Hello
Pitch a story, ask a question, or just talk lore.
Whether you're an indie studio, a fellow writer, or a reader with a wild theory about the ending — the frontier's inbox is open.
Call the newsroom
+1 (416) 593-4576Email the editors
[email protected]Visit the studio
142 Spadina Avenue, Suite 210, Toronto, ON M5V 2L4
Editorial hours
Mon–Fri, 10:00–18:00 EST · Reader meetups monthly
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Our Toronto studio