When Games Came Out at Midnight… And So Did We
In what feels like a lifetime ago, I was a manager at EB Games..
Voice Chat
About the Outlet
What’s It Like is an independent, emerging games media outlet, reviewing games, testing backwards compatibility, writing features, and covering titles we believe deserve attention. Every piece of content is built with care, not speed. Our policy isn’t to chase ragebait for ad revenue. Instead, we aim to help people make honest, informed decisions about what to play, while also spotlighting games and developers that are doing something special.
Whether it’s breaking down Switch 2 performance quirks, spotlighting indies, or diving into nostalgic favourites, What’s It Like? is built with heart.
Quick Facts
Managing Editor: Joshua Hawthorn
Founded: 2023
Based in: Australia
Focus: Nintendo Reviews, Switch 2 Performance Tests, Interviews, Guides
Email: hello@whatsitlike.com.au
Website: www.whatsitlike.com.au
Socials:
Audience Snapshot (last 90 days)
Total Reach: 1.7 Million
Daily Audience: 19,000+ people watch or read What’s It Like?
YouTube: 1.1 Million views
TikTok: 287,000 views
Meta (Facebook/Instagram): 300,000 reach
Website: 5,000+ monthly readers
Top Audience Age: 18–44
Regions: Australia, USA, UK
Approach: Honest, Thoughtful, Fact-Based, Helpful, and Community Building.
Honest Reviews (Both Written and Video)
Clear, timely, and grounded in play, every review on What’s It Like? is written with respect for the people who make games and the people who play them. What’s it Like aims to take the time to understand how a title performs, how it’s designed, and how it makes players feel. Reviews are written with thoughtful insight built on real time spent with each game.
What’s it Like’s focus on how titles feel to play on Nintendo platforms, covering performance, value, accessibility and design without the noise. No drama, no bait, just thoughtful coverage from someone who genuinely plays what they write about.
Thoughtful Features
From retrospective deep-dives to personal reflections, the features on What’s It Like? go beyond surface-level takes.
Whether reflecting on what Mario Kart means to families, or how a sim like Railway Empire 2 helped shape the outlet’s early days, these stories are where the heart of our outlet lives.
Factual Performance Analysis
As Nintendo transitions to its next-generation hardware, performance matters more than ever. This ongoing series puts older and recent Switch titles through real-world testing on Switch 2 by tracking resolution boosts, framerate stability, and hidden improvements on backwards compatibility. It’s one of the channel’s most popular formats, and one that’s helping define how players experience backwards compatibility.
Helpful Guides and Top Tens
From quick-start strategy tips to curated lists that highlight overlooked gems, these pieces are designed to be both practical and evergreen. Whether it’s breaking down a boss fight in Monster Train 2, or ranking the best-performing games on Switch 2, each guide and list is carefully built to inform, not overwhelm.
Supporting Movember & Mental Health
Every year, What’s It Like? proudly supports Movember by donating 100% of the channel’s earnings during November to mental health, suicide prevention, and men’s health research. In 2024 alone, the community raised over $300.
Beyond donations, the outlet also explores how games intersect with mental health, from the comfort of nostalgia to the therapeutic value of certain genres. Whether it’s a quiet farming sim or a story that hits unexpectedly hard, I try to highlight the emotional side of gaming where it matters.
The Lifesaving Lobby: How a Warzone Squad is Fighting Cancer Between Matches
When you think of Call of Duty: Warzone lobbies, what comes to mind? Plenty.
How Skyrim Helped Me Overcome a Brain Injury – 30 Years of Elder Scrolls
Parts of this story originally appeared in the article: What does gaming mean to.
Can Gaming be Therapy?
This article may contain trigger points about suicide and depression. Reader discretion is advised..