Mittwoch, 30. April 2025

Assassin's Creed Shadows is getting a much-needed parkour update

Ubisoft today revealed the year one update roadmap for open world weather-appreciate-em-up Assassin's Creed Shadows. It includes a steady drip feed of new quest and story updates, some fan requested features like NG+, and a few additional quality of life bits. However! None of this matters. Shoo, less important details. The real headline here is that the series built around making jumping between rooftops feel good is making jumping between rooftops feel even better. Excellent news.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/bAlyfsn
via ifttt

Oh no, Battle Brothers is actually incredibly unforgiving of minor mistakes

"....and that, I'm sure you'll understand, is why I haven't washed my codpiece in fifteen years," concluded Rumjugs with a flourish, downing the last of the gutrot in a single guzzle. An alcoholic? He wouldn't say that, no. Just vastly preferred having recently consumed alcohol at all times and was prepared to sacrifice a range of basic necessities and niceties to achieve it. You couldn't blame him, really. We were all a little shaken after watching Terry barely survive the last fight, although Rick Nipples' constant sobbing over his permanently disfigured face was keeping the boys in relatively good cheer.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/7hYCtfK
via ifttt

A new Starcraft game is on the way from the publishers of Dave The Diver and The Finals, according to reports

It's been so long since the last Starcraft that all I can remember is that Zergs build on creep, the Protoss Void Ray is a glorified Xmas bauble, and Jim Curry went to space. I'm pretty sure at least one of those things is from some other strategy game universe. Maybe Worms. How long must we wait for a Starcraft 3? A long time yet, but possibly not forever, for Blizzard are apparently handing the rights to the cherished RTS series to Nexon, publisher of Dave the Diver and The Finals.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/mrEHxVp
via ifttt

Dienstag, 29. April 2025

Splitgate 2 is almost ready for you try it out, as the Portal with actual guns shooter sets a date for its open beta

You know, I don't think I'll ever understand why, after finding a huge amount of surprise success, developer 1047 Games decided to stop working on Splitgate all so that they could make a sequel. Perhaps that's just part of my general confusion towards live service games as a whole, but I do think it's a bit odd all the same. Still, Splitgate 2 is still on track for a 2025 release it seems, with a date now set for the game's first open beta.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/XwcGyVp
via ifttt

Medieval strategy sim Manor Lords is getting proper AI village-building, an upkeep system and fancier castles

Classic RPG remasters drop from the shadows, surprise GOTY contenders spring from the cracks, but life goes on in the sleepy oxen-powered villages of Manor Lords, the medieval strategy city builder from Slavic Magic and Hooded Horse. Well, not entirely.

Change is afoot in oxen country, as detailed in a round-up of update plans for the game’s first birthday. What did you get for your first birthday? I think I got: the continued affection and/or tolerance of my parents, after a year of being puked and widdled on. Manor Lords is getting: an upkeep system, various visual or UI rejigs, and a boost for the AI’s capabilities that ranges from non-player town-planning to the navigation of fortresses.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/shBv045
via ifttt

Russia threatens to seize World Of Tanks studio's assets, accusing executives of "extremism"

The Russian government has threatened to seize the assets of studios behind free-to-play tank battler World Of Tanks, according to state media. Russia has accused the game companies' executives of "extremist activities" in relation to the war in Ukraine, although they provide no evidence in the legal action. The seizure casts a grim shadow over both Wargaming (the original developers of the game) and Lesta Games, a Moscow-based studio who were once owned by Wargaming and who took over the free-to-play game in Russian territories. It's Lesta Games who seem to be taking the brunt of the government hostility.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/u9aV3hS
via ifttt

Occlude is a "Lynchian horror" cardgame for weird solitaire fans and the "terminally curious"

A few years ago I found an old hardback tome of Solitaire rulesets on a garden wall. It was a bright, unambiguously pleasant day and I remember thinking 'oh, that's the wotsit that inspired those regency thingamajigs'. So I took it home and tried my hand at a few variations, then forgot about the book entirely. After reading about Occlude, I can only wish my discovery had been more ominous, more foreboding. Why couldn't I have found the book in a secret cellar, its hastily painted-over entrance given away by the motion of air through a dream-catcher? Why couldn't it have been thrust upon me by a desperate man with hypnotic tattoos, pushed into my hands with a precautionary mutter to 'Ware The Onyx Triangle?'

This is the ambience cultivated by Occlude, a "single-player cosmic horror card game for the terminally curious", in which Solitaire is the basis for seven rituals involving Tarot cards, which steadily unlock access to an archive of fragmentary lore. Here's a trailer.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/LzrvFly
via ifttt

Montag, 28. April 2025

Leaked Star Wars Eclipse images reveal Rodians, Gungans and other aliens coming in new Quantic Dream game

A long time ago in, well, this galaxy, actually, Quantic Dream announced that they were making Star Wars Eclipse, a cinematic adventure from the High Jedi era in which everybody can die. Alice Bee (RPS in peace) poured soothing oil over the flames of hype by saying it was probably going to be rubbish, citing reports of abusive working conditions. NetEase acquired Quantic Dream in 2022. Then, nothing was shown for many years. The world froze in anticipation like Han Solo doing jazz hands through carbonite.

Now, finally, some news, albeit the unofficial kind. Leaked concept artworks and pitching documents have shown off a few of the new game's races.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/nmowqcJ
via ifttt

No, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wasn't "made" by 30 people

If you've read my review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you'll know I loved it. It's pretty handily my game of the year so far, and an all-timer RPG besides. It's a hugely impressive piece of game magic, and I'm certainly not trying to diminish that.

However, the culture being what it is, I keep seeing the game's quality weaponised against the state of game development in general. Even celebrations are often accompanied by some variation on the phrase "made by just 30 developers". It's good to be impressed by things! I was impressed too. And I generally agree with the sentiment that game development has become untenably bloated. It's a very tasty narrative, but the figures are a bit sloppy. No need to listen to me, anyway. The credits are actually very easy to find.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/aR57Ckt
via ifttt

Sonntag, 27. April 2025

What's on your bookshelf?: Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! This column is likely slightly late today, but that's simply because I know there's at least one of you rapidly thumbing through the last few pages of your current book so you can share your thoughts. Laziness is, in it's own way, the greatest form of charity. When I do it. Everyone else needs to pull their socks up. God.

This week, it's Magic: The Gathering, Vanguard Exiles, and many, many more's Richard Garfield! Cheers Richard! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/d9ABqK8
via ifttt

Samstag, 26. April 2025

A PS1 kei truck, jungle beats, and an eery vibe combine to make Easy Delivery Co., a game where there's "definitely no secrets"

There isn't a huge list of things that'll immediately sell me on your game, but there is one that'll draw me in without fail pretty much every single time: you can drive around in a kei truck. Now, admittedly, there are very few games where you can actually do this, the delightful Promise Mascot Agency being the most recent one. There's the yet to be released Honcho from the devs behind Landlord's Super and Jalopy, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be playing that one. And now, there's Easy Delivery Co., a game with a kei truck that isn't exactly what it says on the tin.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/ynrfKOA
via ifttt

Square Enix if that Nier Reincarnation thing you're teasing isn't a port I won't be your friend any more

I'm sure like me, some of you would really like another Nier game. A Nier 3, if you will, except I won't, because it already came out and it was called Nier Reincarnation. Unfortunately it was also a free-to-play mobile game, and as most mobile games are destined for, it shut down last year rendering it completely unplayable. Nier celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, so far with no big announcements, though there is a new website that's slowly sharing bits of a special novel. And curiously enough, it appears to be teasing something Nier Reincarnation related.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/mCjF8xa
via ifttt

You can start ringing the new Skate's death knell, because EA says it's online only

I think to properly convey my severe dislike of always online games I'd probably need more space and time than what an average RPS news article provides, but I'll try to contain myself on this one. You see, EA's just started up this new thing it calls The Grind (like what you do on a skateboard, get it?), which they describe as their "platform to talk directly to you, the community." The first volume had quite a few questions from expectant skaters about the upcoming Skate reboot, one of the first being whether or not it'll have an offline mode. Can you already guess from my tone so far that it won't?

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/Q4FPuaA
via ifttt

The ever-gorgeous Capcom classic Breath of Fire 4 is back on PC, alongside a little sprucing up

The thing about computers is that they're just really annoying, actually. They're massively complicated, constantly changing machines, and despite the fact the hardware is technically better now, they can sometimes struggle to run older games because of… reasons. Those reasons often being software issues I won't even attempt to understand. So, it always brings a smile to my face when I see another game back from the dead through the efforts of GOG's preservation program, the most recent entry being the classic Capcom JRPG Breath of Fire 4.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/nGi8Qy3
via ifttt

Dune: Awakening's biggest beta yet sets a date, though I expect most of you won't have time to play all of it

Earlier this month Nacon did something unthinkable, completely unpredictable with Dune: Awakeningthey delayed it. Alright, fine, generally the opposite is true for big games these days, but it did come down to the wire in the greater scheme of things as it was due out this coming May 20th. Now the MMO is slated to be released on June 10th (or June 5th for those with early access), just three weeks extra. That "meh" news did come with some "oh that's cool" news though, as a large-scale beta was promised. Now, following a snazzy new story trailer, a date for said beta has been set!

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/mvYsAzR
via ifttt

What are we all playing this weekend?

I'm out of milk! Where's the milk! I thought we had milk! How am I supposed to have my favourite Saturday treat (triple milk milk bowl) without milk! There's nothing on this website about milk at all, it's all video games! That's incredibly useless to me, someone who desperately needs to find milk! I have coconut milk but it's separated so it's more like coconut water with a giant puck of coconut cream stuck to one end of the tin! I can't make a triple milk milk bowl with that! Gahhhhhh! Have any of you seen my milk?

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/rwMuWFN
via ifttt

Freitag, 25. April 2025

Steam will soon let you filter games by accessibility feature

When shopping for a game on Steam you'll soon be able to filter results by accessibility feature. The filter options are coming some time later this year, say Valve in a Steamworks update post, and will include tickboxes for alternative colour options, adjustable difficulty, menu narration, and subtitle options, among some other useful categories.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/mAdwhf4
via ifttt

"Destroy everything you have" on Fallout's development, Interplay told creator

Do subscribe to Tim Cain's YouTube channel if you haven't already. The Fallout creator is eminently listenable and seems to have an infinite well of great stories about a career working on formative RPGs. His latest is on game preservation, in which he reveals that Fallout developer and publisher Interplay had to approach him after he'd left the company to ask if he still had development archives they'd ordered him to destroy. The reason? "Oops! We lost it", Cain says (cheers, Games Radar).

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/1iM592B
via ifttt

Donnerstag, 24. April 2025

Here's a pleasant surprise: the gorgeous Sekiro-like Metroidvania Nine Sols has a prequel manga

Red Candle Games are probably more frequently remembered as a horror developer, what with their first couple of games being Detention and the slightly troubled (but very good) Devotion. Surprisingly, their follow-up to the latter wasn't another horror game, but Nine Sols, a Sekiro-inspired 2D action Metroidvania that just looks stunning in motion. It was a welcome surprise! Developers should never feel beholden to expectations, and Red Candle Games have once again offered up a lovely little surprise in the form of a Nine Sols prequel manga.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/qGOUi0A
via ifttt

11 bit studios' new Frostpunk game isn't a threequel or a spin-off, but a remake of the original

It was literally only last week that 11 bit studios announced a new Frostpunk was on the way, even saying that it could have a release date "as early as 2027." Yet, here we are now, with the reveal of what it actually is. It's not Frostpunk 3, it's not a spinoff, it's Frostpunk 1886, a "reimagined" version of the original game. Yes, that basically just means that it's a remake, though it does sound like it's got a bit more going on from it than the original.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/5h9zT3j
via ifttt

With the right settings, Oblivion Remastered won’t sacrifice Steam Deck support to the graphics gods

As a Steam Deck game, I already prefer The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered to the original Oblivion, and for reasons mirroring why the Deck itself still beats newer, faster handhelds: the performance might be lower but everything, as Toddy H himself would say, just works. Spend two miserable minutes trying find a custom controller configuration that makes thumbing through OG Oblivion’s menus even remotely comfortable, and you’ll appreciate all the more how the remaster gels with the Steam Deck immediately.

That said, its 2025-ified visuals do present a relatively distinct challenge. Indulge too enthusiastically in their fancy lighting and hyper-detailed Patrick Stewart facial creases, and the Steam Deck’s hardware is quickly overwhelmed. But, drop the graphics settings to their lowest, and Oblivion Remastered simply looks like bum, to the point of undermining the point of the whole 'Remastered' thing. The solution: a healthy, balanced mix of low and medium settings, which you can find further down in case you don’t want to run your own trial-and-error experiments on how Cyrodiilian bush rendering affects framerates.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/Q1pTNZd
via ifttt

Subnautica 2 teases new creatures and co-op among the coral

There's still no solid release date for Subnautica 2, but the studio making the fishy survival game have given folks a glimpse beneath the surface of development in a devlog video. There are shots of a bubbly submarine speeder pod, and a brief sighting of a sea creature that does an annoyed underwater bark at you, before headbutting something it doesn't like. We also get some idea of co-op, with footage of two players helping each other out - a feature that'll be new to this sequel.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/X9l0nw1
via ifttt

Mittwoch, 23. April 2025

RPS asks: please tell me your stupidest Oblivion Remastered anecdotes so far

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, I'm delighted to report, is still incredibly stupid. How stupid? This stupid. I first noticed its stupidity in the starting dungeon, where one of the emperor's guards got shunted around floatily trying to contend with a jug I'd placed in his path. It might be even stupider than the original RPG, because it all looks so modern that its mush brain is thrown into sharp contrast.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/LI2DK01
via ifttt

Dienstag, 22. April 2025

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is a crisp remaster of a charming relic

I'm a lifelong Resi fan but relatively late-coming Capcom devotee, so I find Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny's amalgam of more famed series hallmarks fun to think about - sitting as it does at the intersection of Devil May Cry's orb-sucking fighting game combat and Resident Evil's deliberate spacial awareness, fixed camera exploration and puzzles.

But I've also got some second-hand nostalgia for this 2002 action game. I didn't play it myself, although I did spectate snippets at a friend's house. I remember him having fun, although he may have mostly enjoyed boasting about how sword-tough he was in the face of the game's difficulty.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/gqFsUJG
via ifttt

Anker 537 is the best Steam Deck power bank I've tested, and it's only $35 today

I've just picked up the Anker 24,000mAh 65W Portable Charger for $34.99 in Woot’s charging devices sale, and it's been one of the more practical purchases I've made for my Steam Deck and ROG Ally X. At half off the regular $69.99 price, it's an easy recommendation. It's powerful, compact, and actually delivers the speed these handhelds need without making a scene about it.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/oWLOBeQ
via ifttt

Doom: The Dark Ages story trailer shows off a full-scale hell invasion

At some point in their development of the most recent trilogy, someone at Id Software apparently decided that the most interesting thing about their FPS was the character of the Doom Slayer himself - an odd though not entirely disastrous decision that I'd argue is mostly responsible for the design shape of Doom Eternal. I'm a big fan, even despite this misplaced fascination with its unnecessarily fleshed out gun-numpad-with-legs. I'm hoping to be a fan of Doom: The Dark Ages too, but based on the latest trailer, I'm still trying to tell whether they've scaled the Slayer lore back or are still banking on me being enraptured to learn the millenia-long backstory to why I'm yanking a Cacodemon's eyeball out like clogged hair from shower drain.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/NH5GaDE
via ifttt

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Andy Serkis says the film industry "could not exist" without games

Ah, well thank heck for that. I thought I'd spent my weekend hunched over a screen in a goblinesque sweat-trance. No! Says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 voice actor Andy Serkis: I was simply partaking in some vital culture; a veritable Wildean sophisticate. Film industry folks thought games were "not an art form in any stretch," Serkis told Game Watcher, "and gradually it's taken over the film industry, which could not exist without it." Take that, Roger Ebert's dead wrong dead horse of a dead body.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/Fcl7Kwh
via ifttt

Starseed Pilgrim creator's new platformer wants to "kill gameplay"

The maker of cryptic block-seeding puzzler Starseed Pilgrim has announced a new game in which you are invited to do the unspeakable and "kill gameplay". The End Of Gameplay will be an exploratory 2D platformer according to the tags on its Steam page but anyone who has played the work of creator Droqen might predict those labels to prove looser than a toddler's shoelace. Enjoyers of obscure and poetic wanderings in minimalist spaces will probably be happy with the trailer below.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/ZSeykon
via ifttt

Montag, 21. April 2025

The Maw: what's new in PC games this week?

This week, no liveblog, for Edwin is away and the Maw is strangely passive - as delicate and pliant as the crumbling of embers in the grate. Still, there are new PC games.

On Tuesday 22nd April 2025, get your digits into deckbuilding dream-diver Out Of Hands, commit to the bit in "match-3 survival horror comedy RPG metroidvania" Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mountain 3, platform through megacities in Steel Seed, team up to crash submarines in Darkwater, and rewarm your memories of PS1/PS2 survival horror in Post Trauma. On Wednesday 23rd April 2025, a choice of fantasy boardgames through a phone in Sunderfolk, time-travelling in pixel-clicker Old Skies, spying on passengers in Beholder Conductor, and galloping through bullets in Asura The Striker.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/fpGyMJQ
via ifttt

Samstag, 19. April 2025

As literally everything gets more and more expensive, Everspace 2's devs say screw it, let's make our upcoming DLC cheaper

Everything is expensive. Everything! Bills, food, video games, you name it. I mean, £75 for a game where you drive around as an Italian plumber? Not entirely convinced by this one, Mr. Bowser. I could get into the weeds of why all of this is happening (none of it for being particularly good reasons), but I won't because I bring word of something actually getting less expensive. Shock horror, I know, and yet here are Rockfish Games announcing that Everspace 2's upcoming Wrath of the Ancients DLC will be a bit cheaper when it launches.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/4sZhMwU
via ifttt

"Can we find the resources to do it? I don't know" Rebellion's CEO on the likelihood of an Atomfall sequel

I always find it a bit odd when people make comparisons like "new game is the next game you really love" because you're most likely setting yourself up for some kind of disappointment. Atomfall was the most recent game to fall victim to such a framing, with many dubbing it as British Fallout, which it didn't end up being, nor was it likely intended to be. Thus, alongside some other issues, it's had a general reception of "yeah, it's not bad", which in a world of sequels upon sequels isn't always the response a developer might want. Still, a sequel is still clearly on developer Rebellion's mind.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/Qu8MVaU
via ifttt

Star Wars Outlaws second story pack all about pirates sets a release date for next month

It's Star Wars Celebration right now, which as I gather is about celebrating giant balls of gas fighting one another. Sorry, I'm being told that it's actually about some multimedia franchise that has so much going on it's impossible to keep track of? Doesn't sound right to me, but I'll have to trust it. Arguably the biggest Star Warsy game announcement of the weekend is the first trailer for the Star Wars meets XCOM game Star Wars Zero Company, but it wasn't the only one. Turns out last year's Star Wars Outlaws' second story pack got a reveal too, and a release date to boot.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/uIdL1vP
via ifttt

Star Wars Zero Company looks like XCOM in a galaxy far, far away in its first trailer

We've all known it's coming for a long while now, three years in fact, but Star Wars Zero Company got a proper reveal today. In case you aren't sure which one this was meant to be, it's the strategy one from Respawn and Bit Reactor, led by former XCOM devs. For the most part the announcement trailer is just a CGI cutscene, you've been round this rodeo before, you know how these things go. Though, it does end with a smidge of gameplay and yeah, it really does just look like Star Wars by way of XCOM, which is likely to be an instant winner.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/MV4XuGQ
via ifttt

Freitag, 18. April 2025

What are we all playing this weekend?

Edwin had the lovely idea of increasing everyone's workload this week, by suggesting that we add a bit more meat to the bones of our responses this weekend, given that it's Easter here and we've got Friday and Monday off work. Which means more time to fill with games, in theory!

So! Here's what we're all clicking on this extended, vaguely chocolatey weekend!

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/IkDOSrN
via ifttt

Donnerstag, 17. April 2025

Unbeatable, the rhythm game where music is illegal and you do crimes, has a sick as hell new demo

Look, I'm sorry, but Unbeatable has the best hook of any game ever. As the headline notes, this is a game where music is illegal, and you do crimes. It's a rhythm game, no less, which it couldn't really be anything else but that, right? I've been waiting for it for about four years now, since the Kickstarter launched, and unfortunately it's still not quite ready yet. However! As of today, the next best thing is here: a demo.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/4A2YxtB
via ifttt

"You get twice the amount of Oblivion this year" says Skyblivion modder undeterred by official remaster

Virtuos Games' remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is all but confirmed to be releasing later this month, and honestly, even that "all but" is looking shaky. A few different sets of images from the RPG have surfaced, supporting rumours that have been kicking about since an internal Microsoft document leaked in 2020. Also, Eurogamer said it was true, and they've got an uncle that works at the White Gold Tower, although prodding Bethesda themselves proved as forthcoming as trying to get stones out of a blood orange.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/5sjX6kP
via ifttt

Mittwoch, 16. April 2025

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's hardcore mode is out now

Last month, "Mark Corrigan's Oblivion" Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 got a free barber mode update, and now with yesterday's release of Patch 1.2.4, you can finally have those RPG barbers shave Henry of Skalitz boiled butter bean bald. Did baldness signify nail-hard bastardry in medieval times, or simply some kind of maledicted scalp leprosy? Hopefully it's the former. Henry'll need to look tough to survive the new Hardcore mode.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/hQPo7qV
via ifttt

Dienstag, 15. April 2025

As everyone questions if extraction shooters will ever get mega popular, Arc Raiders lines up another playtest

I feel like all I've been seeing the past few days is people asking if Marathon will be the game that finally brings extraction shooters into the mainstream. No one seems to be quite sure, mostly because it isn't done or out yet. The thing is, it's not the only extraction shooter due out this year that'll put that question to the test, as Arc Raiders is one the way still too. It comes from former Battlefield devs after all, who have found success with their other shooter, The Finals. And earlier today, developer Embark Studios announced that another playtest for Arc Raiders is on the way this month.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/KTRyfOx
via ifttt

Palia's Everwood update arrives with more critters, artifacts, and a boatload of the colour purple next month

It's been a little over a year since Palia had its proper launch, and its next big update, the Elderwood Expansion, received a little reveal today. This update is mostly focused on a new area, the titular Elderwood, and it'll be free for everyone. That doesn't mean everyone will be able to play it right off the bat though, as it's designed for higher level players that have already beaten the main story (you can still head there beforehand if you're impatient).

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/de9FXzl
via ifttt

Agni: Village Of Calamity is a terrifying, intimate Indonesian Resident Evil

Horror is escaping a melted flesh abomination, but to pull off true terror, you need to have a gleefully murderous human get right up in my face and grin about whatever nasty human stuff they're planning to get up to. Enter Agni: Village Of Calamity, an Indonesian survival horror that looks interesting for its early Resident Evil influences, but has gotten stuck in my head for specifically evoking Resident Evil 7's intimate human threat. Here's a trailer.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/0uZlbox
via ifttt

Classic post-nuclear shooter Metro 2033 Redux is now free to keep on Steam and GOG

15 years on from the release of Metro 2033, I still think with fondness and yearning of the Uboinik automatic shotgun. It’s a six chamber cylindrical affair with mouthwatering red shells that dangle before your trigger finger like pert, juicy plums. This is just to say / I have shot / the shells / that were in / the shotgun / and which / you were probably / saving / for the mutant round the corner. / Forgive me / they were murderous / so sockety / and so round. Ahem.

Reloading the shotgun is an intricate process of 1) sliding four shells into the available chambers while tossing the weapon jauntily from hand to hand, and then 2) cocking it again to expose and fill the remaining two chambers. You can also chamber a single shell and cock the weapon, if you don’t have time for a full reload, which means when you load another four shells and fire them, there’ll be an empty chamber to reckon with midway through the next burst. That empty chamber has gotten me killed a dozen times, I think.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/rOAdhU2
via ifttt

Montag, 14. April 2025

Civilization 7 being compared to Humankind is "probably the best compliment I ever got", says Amplitude boss

Much coverage of Sid Meier's Civilization VII has compared the Firaxis 4X to Amplitude's 2021 release Humankind. As our dirty turncoat strategy game columnist Sin Vega briefly explores in her review for Eurogamer, the game's Age structure, which hands you a new culture at intervals in each campaign, is reminiscent of Humankind's Era transitions.

Developers Firaxis have elsewhere observed that the impression of Civ cribbing notes from Humankind is an unfortunate coincidence. According to an interview with executive producer Dennis Shirk last year, the Civ 7 team came up with the concept on their own, pitching it to parent company 2K Games mere days after Amplitude unveiled Humankind. It's also, of course, worth reiterating that as a historical 4X, Humankind takes plenty of cues from older Civilizations. Still, Amplitude co-founder Romain de Waubert de Genlis was tickled pink when he saw Humankind cited in Civ 7 reviews. "That was probably the best compliment I ever got when I read some of these articles on Civ 7," he told me during an interview about Amplitude's forthcoming Endless Legend 2, adding "I did not see that coming, to be frank."

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/SOQBDKg
via ifttt

A Tekken 8 modder stripped off all the fighter's gimmicks so it's "more like Tekken 5"

A modder for Tekken 8 has pared back the fighting game to its bare essentials by removing most of its flashy new features, in an effort to "get us back to [Tekken 5] days." The mod is called "Good Ass Tekken" and it basically turns the game into a good-looking remake of older versions.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/bUwdG7E
via ifttt

I'm going to live in HeavenX when Windows 10 support ends

I've heard things, Microsoft, and I think I'd rather die. About Windows 11, I mean, although there's also that other stuff. Instead, I'm choosing to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by enshittification: the past (moon's done for already). Actual human immortality is due to launch by Q2 of 1999, and then all I'll have to do is upload my soul to HeavenX. This means I'll miss both the UK TV debut of The Sopranos and Roy Walker's final episode of Catchphrase but, eh, swings and roundabouts.

But, wait, there's anomalies in the system. Typical millennium shit. You know how it is. To fix them, you'll need to enter cyberspace and play with guns and cards. HeavenX bills itself as an FPS deckbuilder but stands out through 1. Exactly the kind of break beats I like writing to 2. Looking like the inside of your eyelids might if you pressed your fingers into your eyes for a bit after staring at a screensaver for three hours. You bet your sweet Roy Walker's final episode of Catchphrase I'm down. I couldn't find a trailer so just look at these cards with me for a bit.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/FlQY2EO
via ifttt

The Maw: what's new in PC games this week?

Hello and happy this week all! Goodness, it feels oddly cramped in here. Strangely... abbreviated. Ah, I see: the Maw has eaten a couple of weekdays again. In accordance with what governments are even now hurriedly white-washing as "the Easter bank holidays", we'll be ending this week on Thursday 17th April and returning to work on Tuesday 22nd. But do not despair, for the remaining days are thick with new PC games. Here are the ones I find most interesting.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/jDVPu34
via ifttt

Sonntag, 13. April 2025

What's on your bookshelf?: Mouthwashing's Johanna Kasurinen

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! While cleaning under my bed recently, I once again discovered my copy of the smallest physical book I have ever owned. It's a tiny handheld edition of the I Ching. What a wonderful thing. I mean, I haven't actually read it, but wisdom is owning at least one very small book, is what I assume the gist is.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/ZioGkwL
via ifttt

The Sunday Papers

Sundays are for ousting your editor from his throne while he's on holiday. Here's a roundup of some good writing from the internet last week.

This list of Games Writing Words I Hate by Riley MacLeod at Aftermath sets out some words games journalists would do well to avoid. I wrote a similar list over ten years ago, and it's interesting to see many of the examples ("immersive", "IP", "franchise") are still used by enough writers to merit continuing complaints from professional editors like MacLeod.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/7ot3OTw
via ifttt

Samstag, 12. April 2025

V Rising's first big post 1.0 update brings a bevy of additions, combat reworks, and Steam Deck support later this month

It's coming up to a year since V Rising received its 1.0 release, and ahead of that anniversary developer Stunlock Studios shared a trailer earlier this week for the game's first big update, Invaders of Oakveil. The update itself will be free (nice!), and introduces a whole new area to explore, the titular Oakveil Woodlands, a woodsy area where "corruption" is spreading (not nice).

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/WEpFbhP
via ifttt

Marathon is real, looks ridiculously stylish, has a release date, and is getting a closed alpha test this month

Almost two years after it was first revealed, Bungie have released a first-look at the upcoming Marathon reboot's gameplay. And you know what? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's looking really good! And it's out September 23rd! Much like the reveal trailer it's incredibly stylish, there's this clean, almost Mirror's Edge like quality to its world, but we've had hints of that already. The big thing is the gameplay, which looks like more of that chunky, Bungie, first-person shooting goodness.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/toyHxf4
via ifttt

Baldur's Gate 3's journey is almost at its end, as its last major update gets a release date for next week

The time is almost upon us all to prepare for the end of Baldur's Gate 3, and by end, I mean the RPG's final big update. Larian cheekily shared last year that it'd be getting one final hurrah in spite of the fact they'd said that patch 7 would be the last major one. Now, in a quick little video posted to the official Larian YouTube channel yesterday, the developer confirmed that patch 8 will be dropping April 15th next week. There's even a special little livestream coming April 16th, 9am EST/ 2pm BST where senior systems designer Ross Stephens will be chatting about the game, alongside a look at the new patch.

Read more



from Rock, Paper, Shotgun https://ift.tt/DeUE45X
via ifttt