
Alan Wen
Alan Wen is a freelance journalist writing about video games in the form of features, interview, previews, reviews and op-eds. Work has appeared in print including Edge, Official Playstation Magazine, GamesMaster, Games TM, Wireframe, Stuff, and online including Kotaku UK, TechRadar, FANDOM, Rock Paper Shotgun, Digital Spy, The Guardian, and The Telegraph.
Latest articles by Alan Wen

This cosy indie game lets you decorate tiny dioramas from handmade assets
By Alan Wen published
Kenney Vleugels makes free assets for all and turns them into games.

How Lou’s Lagoon captures the magic of Nintendo to feel like a lost GameCube classic
By Alan Wen published
Tiny Roar co-founder Robert Koch reveals how mixing influences can be creative.

The Drifter blends pixel art nostalgia and noir storytelling – here’s why it will have you hooked
By Alan Wen published
Indie dev Powerhoof is avoiding typical influences for something more original.

How Moonlighter 2 builds on its Zelda-inspired twist as it moves from 2D to 3D
By Alan Wen published
Game co-director Luis Pérez explains why 3D in Unity makes a creative difference.

How psychedelic detective game Nirvana Noir is adding 3D and colour to its nostalgic graphic design look
By Alan Wen published
Feral Cat Den's creative team discuss building on its 2021 predecessor to create two very different worlds.

“The key to our success was keeping a 2D mindset": Marvel Rivals' art director on the game's unique comic book style
By Alan Wen published
Marvel Rivals art director Dino Ma on creating a unique comic book style for the hit superhero shooter

Having played Survival Kids, here’s why it’s an imperfect showcase for Unity 6 on Switch 2
By Alan Wen published
Unity's first next-gen Nintendo release is more than a tech demo.

I played Reach and have never felt like more of a parkour king in VR
By Alan Wen published
nDreams' new game, made in Unreal Engine 5, is the next (literal) leap for VR since Half-Life: Alyx.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour review: nerdy and disappointing in equal measure
By Alan Wen published
This is one for die-hard Nintendo heads.

Escaping a religious cult clashes with cosy 80s pixel art nostalgia in Quantum Witch
By Alan Wen published
Solo indie dev NikkiJay channels personal trauma into a bold queer 'plotformer' built with MonoGame.

I went to the new Nintendo Museum for a hit of nostalgia before Switch 2 launches the game icon's next chapter
By Alan Wen published
What can Nintendo's past teach us about its future?

How abstract art, graphic design and point cloud tech combine in unique indie game Dreams of Another
By Alan Wen published
Director Baiyon shares how the game's shifting stylised world is made.

Unreal Engine 5 has been customised to deliver a Ghibli-like painterly art style for upcoming indie game Crescent County
By Alan Wen published
This witchy fantasy sci-fi mashup looks wonderful.

This brilliant parody of The Elder Scrolls was made possible with pre-made assets
By Alan Wen published
The solo indie dev behind The RPG explains how customising off-the-shelf 3D models has helped.

Redesigning football? How Rematch reimagines the sport as utopian 'painterly and impressionistic' cartoon chaos
By Alan Wen published
Art director Sabrina Tobal on an aesthetic that's "futuristic, optimistic, with movement and cooperation".

The Midnight Walk review: like stepping into a Studio Laika animation
By Alan Wen published
This hand-crafted, stop-motion cosy horror game impresses.

How an inspired gamble on Nintendo Switch 2's mouse controls led to party game Mouse Work
By Alan Wen published
Nitrome's Mat Annal reveals how one of the best-looking Switch 2 launch games came about.

How the new fantasy world of video game Absolum was created in collaboration with an animation studio
By Alan Wen published
Supamonks' Maxime Mary discusses comic influences and the challenge of merging animation and game design.

The Midnight Walk is a 'cosy' stop-motion horror game completely made by hand
By Alan Wen published
Indie devs Moonhood's Klaus Lyngeled and Olov Redman have 3D scanned hundreds of hand-crafted models.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves review – a triumphant comeback that rekindles the series' classic fighting spirit
By Alan Wen published
SNK's original prize fighter still packs a punch with its comic book roots.

How indie rhythm game Unbeatable takes inspiration from Dreamcast and early 90s anime with its stylish hand-drawn animation
By Alan Wen published
Art director Andrew Tsai on the appeal of a style that embraces limitations.

I've been testing Switch 2's mouse controls for hours in Metroid Prime 4 – they're way better than expected
By Alan Wen published
Seamlessly switching between Joy-Con functions makes this more than just a mouse.

How Tanuki: Pon's Summer infuses its art style with the aesthetic of rural Japanese festivals and anime
By Alan Wen published
DenkiWorks' Liam Edwards explains why this is not just another 'Ghibli style' game.
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.