What if RTS but you ditched the omniscient perspective for the humble vantage of a single unit? That’s part of the pitch for Earthbreakers, recently announced by Petroglyph. The Grey Goo studio are tossing a hefty helping of first-person action into a pot of already simmering resource collection and tactical building. They’re hoping the result “combines the most enjoyable elements of FPS and RTS”.
This week, 2K announced the shutdown of Gearbox’s Battleborn, many many many many games and objects went on sale in all the Thanksgiving blowouts, and a fair few companies were bought up too. Read on for more of the week’s PC gaming goings-on in our News Digest, and do also check out Weekly Updates Update for some of the week’s big patches.
After a wee bit of teasing, Avalanche Studios this week launched the first expansion for Generation Zero. Alpine Unrest continues the post-apocalyptic Swedish survival shooter’s story of humanity’s struggle against deadly machines with a trip to a ski resort island. How very Christmassy.
This week, Stardew Valley added plenty in the long-awaited update 1.4, Dota added two new heroes and shook up the whole dang game, and Noita added yet more ways to kill you. Read on for more of the week’s PC gaming patches in the Updates Update.
When Hello Games announced last week that their next update would improve nearly every part of No Man’s Sky in some way, they weren’t trading in hyperbole. The now-live Synthesis update squashes bugs and smooths out base building, sure. But the marquee additions that elevate it above mere housekeeping include the ability to salvage your ship for parts, carry a handful of multi-tools on your person, and grind ‘n’ combine elements within your handy space backpack.
Codemasters, the makers of many zoom ’em ups, apparently want more power under their hood. They purchased the entirety of Slightly Mad Studios, developers of the Project Cars and Need For Speed: Shift games, this week to the tune of £23 million. The entirety of Slightly Mad’s 150-person team will reportedly join the company.
I have been feeling a bit low lately. It’s likely a combination of the season (where did the sun go?), drop in temperature (yes it’s 11°C in Los Angeles, and my home is built to get hot air out of it!), and another year coming to an end. 2019 really didn’t have too much to offer me and I am psyched to see it go.
In the run up to New Year’s, my favourite holiday, I am practicing being kind to myself and celebrating the milestones I managed to accomplish with panache and aplomb. Here are some games to warm you up when you might be feeling low, and games to indulge in without judgment.
At this, the time of endings and casting a gaze over your shoulder on the way out, it has been nice to look back at recent games and suffer the problem that there have been more good games than you have space to mention.
What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on!
After a little over a year, The Curious Expedition‘s multiplayer mode Rivals has left open beta. Once limited to a browser-only test version, this week Rivals launched as a free update to the main downloadable game. Developers Maschinen-Mensch are offering a tantalising prize for dropping in, too – find a particular golden pyramid within its expanse, and earn early entry to the closed alpha for Curious Expedition 2.
On a rainy night, some people enjoy getting comfy, grabbing their beverage of choice, and curling up with a good book. Some others like doing the same exact thing, but with a game. I say, “why not both?” Visual novels are the perfect genre of game to curl up with. Here’s our collection for the ten best visual novels.(more…)
In the yard below, a corpse hangs from a pine tree.
It is my failure and my shame for all to see, rotting in plain sight.
Martainaise, the broken-down home of Disco Elysium’s broken-down police story, is an excoriating light shone not just upon its broken-down policeman, but also upon me, and my failure to be the person I thought I was. It is my mid-life crisis writ in grey rainfall, my dread realisation that death is coming and I’m not who I ever meant to be.
In the yard below, a corpse hangs from a pine tree. Decaying in the rain. It’s been there for days. Everyone sees it, no-one mentions it.
Come one, come all. Epic Games have spun the big wheel of free games once again – this week, Rayman Legends is running, jumping and slapping up the store for nary a penny. A rhythm-driven romp through some lovingly drawn chaos, it’s one of the best platformers on PC – and you can pick it up for free until next Friday.
Nvidia’s RTX 2080 Ti graphics cards have been monstrously expensive ever since they came out in the autumn of last year, with almost every model topping at least £1000 / $1000, if not significantly more. This week, those prices have been creeping down ever so slowly, with the most recent one settling at £950, but this hot new Black Friday graphics card deal from Ebuyer has got Zotac’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Twin Fan model for “just” £870, making it the cheapest RTX 2080 Ti I’ve ever seen.
