sphorti@gmail.com

I'm an Associate Editor at Business Inside, based in London (my BI profile is here). This site is for my freelance work: before joining BI, I covered politics, video games, science and business for various publications (see below).

New Statesman • 29th May 2020

Experts warned Cameron's government the Lansley reforms would hobble Britain's epidemic response | New Statesman

Some of the government's most senior public health officials, including two directors of public health, warned the government that sweeping reforms to the NHS proposed...

Huck Magazine • 27th May 2020

What comic books can teach us about war, guilt and trauma | Huck Magazine

“I could’ve easily become a crack addict to get away from the pain,” says Dr Benjamin Dix. Instead, he found comic books...

New Statesman • 6th May 2020

Why 200,000 tests is a meaningless political goal | New Statesman

When Jess and her partner James arrived the coronavirus testing centre in Preston, they were given two options. They could either swab their own noses and throats, or...

EGM • 28th February 2020

The Coronation of Meghna Jayanth | EGM

The 80 Days and Sable writer opens up about her “mystical” process, rooting out white supremacy, and being a reluctant role model...

New Statesman • 7th April 2020

The comforting economic delusions of Animal Crossing, quarantine’s most popular game | New Statesman

The local supermarket is out of lentils and kitchen roll, but in Nook’s Cranny, the fictional shop in Nintendo’s new videogame Animal Crossing: New Horizons, shelves overflow with...

New Statesman • 29th April 2020

How coronavirus turned medical research into a free-for-all | New Statesman

On 20 March, a group of French scientists claimed to have shown that hydroxychloroquine – a drug commonly used for malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus – could be used to treat patients with Covid-19...

PC Gamer • 7th June 2019

What Anno 1800 gets wrong, and right, about colonialism and the Industrial Revolution | PC Gamer

Zoom in on a fishery in Anno 1800 and you'll see men dangling rods off the end of a rickety pier, while...

Why the much-discussed “R” is not the magic number

On 22 April, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty explained how ministers would decide the next steps for leaving lockdown. The process...

VICE/Waypoint • 8th May 2020

The Creator of 'PUBG' on Where Battle Royale Started and Where It's Going | VICE/Waypoint

“Essentially it's poker, right?” says Brendan Greene. “You all start with the same deck, and it's the decisions you make that get you to the end. I didn't invent the idea of...

New Statesman • 6th February 2020

Why game developers are giving up on guns | New Statesman

He may not be a household name, but Alex Hutchinson was behind some of the most popular entertainment products of the last decade...

Vice • 7th February 2020

Why 'Mass Effect 2' Was the Series' Pinnacle, and What to Learn from It | VICE/Waypoint

In late 2009, Casey Hudson told a studio-wide meeting at BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada base that Mass Effect 2 would be the company’s best...

PC Gamer • 18th August 2019

How one phone call saved a tiny new studio and gave the world System Shock 2 | PC Gamer

"I was heartbroken," says Ken Levine. "I went away with my girlfriend and some friends up to Maine....

EGM • 6th January 2020

Pauline Jacquey’s World Tour: The unlikely journey of Ubisoft’s punk nomad fixer | EGM

Watching Pauline Jacquey clamber up the rusty red dumpster makes my nerves jangle. It’s nearly as tall as...

More feature examples

New Statesman • 7th April 2020

The government’s "game changer" antibody tests are inaccurate. What next? | New Statesman

The coronavirus antibody tests that Boris Johnson hailed as a potential “game changer” have, it turns out, changed nothing at all...

EGM • 13th March 2020

Mark Healey’s Wildest Dreams | EGM

“Oi, you, what you lookin’ at?” sings Mark Healey over a lively electronic beat, his voice rasped and over-Cockneyed...

Edge • 17th February 2020

Inkle: The 80 Days developer on burnout and reinvention | Edge

Around a table in Scott’s All Day café near Cambridge station, staff from 80 Days developer Inkle are arguing about Mercury’s orbit...

New Statesman • 7th April 2020

Could your smartphone detect early signs of coronavirus infection? | New Statesman

The wearable tech market has ballooned in recent years, in part because of the public’s desire to better understand and monitor their bodies, and Fitbit is not alone in focusing on health...

VGC • 5th October 2019

Rockstar’s Bully 2 ‘fizzled out’ after ’18 months of development’ | VGC

Rockstar New England spent more than a year working on a sequel to 2006 fan favourite Bully in the early 2010s, going as far as...

Eurogamer.net • 10th October 2019

Beating the Bully | Eurogamer

Bully designer Mike Skupa on Rockstar's crunch culture and genius, the death of the developer of Sleeping Dogs, and how grief fuels his own, new horror game...

New Statesman • 14th April 2020

The Cowboy Cooking Channel will keep your mind off the news | New Statesman

I avoided Kent Rollins’s 2016 US election video for as long as I could...

Kotaku • 30th December 2018

Every Bar In Red Dead Redemption 2, Reviewed | Kotaku

Red Dead Redemption 2’s saloons are the hubs of their towns. Whether you want a full belly, a quick drink...

TechRadar • 19th July 2018

How sharks and camels could be the keys to curing brain diseases | TechRadar

“I bleed the sharks every month or two,” aren’t the words you expect to hear from an assistant professor at Maryland University...

EGM • 29th July 2019

Alex Hutchinson’s Pioneer Spirit | EGM

Alex Hutchinson’s final few months at Ubisoft Montreal were the worst of his career...

TechRadar • 30th November 2018

Vaulting ambition: Fallout 3 and the making of an RPG classic | TechRadar

One of Joel Burgess's proudest moments as Fallout 3's lead level designer was giving a big "F*ck You" to players. Literally...

Vice • 22nd January 2020

How a Compromised RPG Prepared Larian Studios to Take On 'Baldur's Gate 3' | VICE

The first five hours or so of Divinity 2 are a slog. Even with the difficulty dialed way down, the early...

TechRadar • 7th January 2020

BioShock revisited: unpicking the complex, messy legacy of 2K's knockout franchise | TechRadar

The “would you kindly?” twist in 2007's BioShock remains one of gaming's best: you can't see it coming and yet, when...

PC Gamer • 24th September 2019

How a Thai restaurant and a joke about the milkman inspired Psychonauts' best level | PC Gamer

The Milkman Conspiracy started, as many great things do, in a Thai restaurant...

Rock, Paper, Shotgun • 26th June 2018

Clear 100 hours in your calendar, ‘cos CRPGs are here to stay | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

In the mid-to-late 2000s, publishers abandoned the CRPG genre – an acronym describing the very specific genre...

Rock, Paper, Shotgun • 8th November 2018

10 years on, here’s how Dead Space went from horror to action horror in three games | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The first Dead Space turned 10 years old last month. It took me a month to get...

More review examples

Ign • 23rd August 2019

Telling Lies Review | IGN

Solasta Is the Best D&D Game I've Ever Seen and It's Not Actually a D&D Game

PC Gamer • 16th December 2019

Stormland review | PC Gamer

In small doses, Stormland soars above other VR shooters. As I scale its vast sci-fi bases, each vantage point makes...

PC Gamer • 29th February 2020

HyperX Cloud Alpha S review | PC Gamer

The HyperX Cloud Alpha S is a souped-up version of the Cloud Alpha, which we reckon is the best gaming headset you can buy right now, and I therefore had high hopes for it when I tore the box open...

Ign • 12th November 2019

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Review | IGN

What Did You Think of The Mandalorian Episode 1?

PC Gamer • 5th August 2019

Streets of Rogue review | PC Gamer

On my first run, I'm an assassin, backstabbing enemies and slinging shuriken. Then I'm a jock, barreling...

Ign • 24th May 2019

Mordhau Review | IGN

I pull back my giant Zweihänder sword, ready for a stab, and then cancel my attack at the last second. My opponent...

PC Gamer • 29th February 2020

Razer Deathadder V2 review | PC Gamer

A new sensor, scroll wheel, and wire arguably makes this the best wired mouse available today. But it’s a lot pricier than others that are nearly as good...

PC Gamer • 4th March 2019

The Occupation review | PC Gamer

The Occupation, a game about investigative journalism, feels like a rough first draft of something spectacular...

gamesradar • 26th March 2019

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review: “Genius combat and a world that begs to be explored” | GamesRadar

Sekiro has the best swordfights in any video game. It leans too heavily on its mediocre stealth, but its...

Ign • 9th June 2019

Splitgate: Arena Warfare Review | IGN

As a rule, portal guns make everything better. In the case of Splitgate...

gamesradar • 22nd April 2019

Heaven’s Vault review: "A stunning setting, but the story fails to find its voice" | GamesRadar

Heaven’s Vault makes a world filled with robots, ancient...

pcgamer • 16th December 2019

Razer Viper Ultimate wireless gaming mouse review | PC Gamer

Razer’s new Focus+ Optical Sensor puts the Viper Elite at the top of the wireless pile. Some of its buttons...

Tech writing

TechRadar • 29th May 2020

Nubia Red Magic 5G review | TechRadar

The Red Magic 5G is a top-tier gaming phone with the world’s first 144Hz refresh rate display. Only a handful of games can make...

TechRadar • 19th February 2020

Honor Band 5 Sport review | TechRadar

Compared to most fitness trackers, the Honor Band 5 Sport feels basic, and lacks key features of the Honor Band 5, such as...

TechRadar • 7th January 2020

Amazfit GTR review | TechRadar

The Amazfit GTR is a solid budget smartwatch with deceptively good activity tracking, and its GPS is...

TechRadar • 2nd July 2019

Living DNA review

Living DNA’s test is easy to administer and its results are clearly presented, but the vagueness of...

TechRadar • 29th September 2018

How long until we bring woolly mammoths back from extinction? | TechRadar

Part of Dr Tom Ellis – the “rational scientist” part – thinks that a group of researchers’ plans to bring back the woolly mammoth from extinction are just a “sideshow” of little...

TechRadar • 19th July 2018

How sharks and camels could be the keys to curing brain diseases | TechRadar

“I bleed the sharks every month or two,” aren’t the words you expect to hear from an assistant professor at Maryland University...

TechRadar • 19th July 2018

Google is building a smart city in Toronto – here’s what you need to know | TechRadar

We know Google can build phones, tablets, laptops, thermostats, watches, smart glasses (sort of) and driverless...

TechRadar • 27th July 2018

Eye tracking for gamers: seeing is believing | TechRadar

Gaming with an eye tracker feels like virtual reality-lite. It’s cheaper, easier to set up, and is already available in some of...

Additional writing examples

Property Week • 29th November 2019

Birmingham regeneration sparks LGBT row | Property Week (Create free account to read)

Regeneration efforts in Birmingham’s gay village are creating conflict between developers and parts of the city’s LGBT community...

gamesradar • 31st July 2019

The 50 best Android games to download right now | GamesRadar

The Google Play store is a treasure trove of amazing titles, but sometimes it can feel like wading...

Property Week • 23rd January 2020

UK deep coal mine dispute raises questions about councils' climate emergency response | Property Week (Register for free account)

Is the planning system equipped to respond effectively to the climate emergency? (Free registration to read article)

Rock Paper Shotgun • 21st June 2018

Four developers of scary games explain how to make scary games very scary indeed | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The inspiration for Alien: Isolation came from a simple thought experiment: what if somebody let a lion loose...

Kotaku UK • 29th April 2019

Splinter Cell Conviction is Still The Least-Subtle Stealth Game Ever | Kotaku UK

I stop smashing the bad guy’s head against a mirror in the gents’...

VGC • 3rd May 2019

Child of Light: Creators look back on Ubisoft’s surprising RPG | VGC

“I had people laughing at me in the corridor,” says Patrick Plourde, creative director...

Raconteur / The Times • 10th December 2019

Do video games have a social responsibility? | The Times / Raconteur

As the number of people playing video games grows, so does the appetite to create...

PC Gamer • 30th November 2018

Darksiders 3 review | PC Gamer

When you fight small groups of demons as the nimble Fury (who's one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), Darksiders 3 feels special...

EGM • 23rd August 2019

As Game Budgets Balloon, Indie Devs Learn to Work Smarter | EGM

The creators behind Outer Wilds, Observation, and Void Bastards on getting more for less...

EGM • 9th December 2019

Everybody's Gone: Dan Pinchbeck on Rebuilding The Chinese Room | EGM

The secret to game design, Dan Pinchbeck says, is dinosaur poop...

PC Gamer • 2nd July 2019

Rampant racism and toxicity are driving players away from Mordhau | PC Gamer

For some players, Mordhau's fun combat has been tainted by a growing toxicity problem that sees racist, sexist and homophobic s...

PC Gamer • 29th February 2020

HyperX Pulsefire Dart review | PC Gamer

For most PC gamers looking for a wireless mouse, the HyperX PulseFire Dart appears to be a solid, if unspectacular, bet...

PC Gamer • 22nd April 2019

Pathway review | PC Gamer

I’ve just watched four priestesses open the skies with magic crystals, send the Divine Chariot...

Kotaku UK • 28th February 2019

Kingdom Come: Deliverance's Latest DLC is Too Evil to Enjoy | Kotaku UK

Band of Bastards lost me somewhere between a joke about wanking – how to get a “well-polished helmet”...

Rock, Paper, Shotgun • 13th August 2017

Should kids be taught using Minecraft? | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

“The 14-year-old me was weeping inside” says Tom Bennett, the UK government’s school behaviour tsar...

PC Gamer • 8th November 2018

After 15 years, Max Payne 2's ridiculous physics still make it a must-play | PC Gamer

It took me a solid hour to remember why I loved Max Payne 2 when I booted it up the other week in honour of its 15th birthday...

gamesradar • 23rd October 2019

Pokemon Sword and Shield preview: Instantly familiar battling with a few very British twists | GamesRadar

My neighbour and Pokemon rival Hop won’t stop calling me “mate”, and I love it...

Rock Paper Shotgun • 16th November 2018

Wot I Think – Ark: Extinction | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

I’ve built an army of inflatable flesh bags that puff themselves up to three times their normal size and then launch into the air like oversized, leaky balloons...

PC Gamer • 29th February 2020

Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed review | PC Gamer

The Basilisk X Hyperspeed is Razer's latest stab at the affordable wireless mouse market...

PC Gamer • 16th December 2019

30 little touches in The Witcher 3 that show its amazing attention to detail | PC Gamer

CD Projekt went all out bringing Geralt's world to life with details you may have missed, even after a hundred hours....

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