Kotaku Wednesday, March 23, 2022 7:00 PM Stephen Wilhite, the man widely credited as being the creator of the Graphics Interchange Format image, better known as a gif, has died at the age of 74. |
Kotaku Wednesday, March 23, 2022 4:35 PM  Few tactical shooters stack up to XCOM. The venerable sci-fi series is considered best-in-class for the genre, thanks to a formula calcified in the widely praised XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its equally praised successor, XCOM 2. (The spinoff XCOM: Chimera Squad, released in 2020, is fine.) |
Kotaku Wednesday, March 23, 2022 3:50 PM  Gather 'round, readers, as I regale you with another tale of the weird shit players are up to in Elden Ring. Don't worry, this post won't be about panties, murdering turtle clergy, or rolling death strats (we've already done those). This time around, Elden Ring has become an even wackier gameplay experience thanks to… |
Kotaku Wednesday, March 23, 2022 3:10 PM  Elden Ring is massive, filled to the brim with all sorts of murderous creepy crawlies seemingly designed to make your stay in the Lands Between as unsettling as possible. But the enemies that keep giving me the most trouble are also the most banal. |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 6:54 PM  Lost Ark's next weekly update, arriving tomorrow, is making use of Steam's trusted account features in order to fight bots. Steam accounts that have lost - or have not yet earned - the platform's 'trusted' status are losing access to a number of features as part of an effort to block the bots that are currently crowding the game. New Steam accounts are classified as 'limited' until that account makes a purchase of at least $5 USD from the Steam store. Until then, those limited accounts are restricted from using most of the platform's social features, as part of Valve's effort to prevent fraud on Steam. Now, the Lost Ark devs are using that same feature to battle bots in the MMO. As of this weekly update, Lost Ark players with limited Steam accounts will no longer be able to initiate player-to-player trades, though trade requests can still be accepted. They'll also no longer be able to send in-game gifts, exchange Royal Crystals for gold, or send in-game mail with attachments. RELATED LINKS: Best MMOS and MMORPGs on PC, Upcoming PC games, Best fantasy games on PC |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 6:13 PM ![The Sims 4 devs are teasing [redacted]](https://www.pcgamesn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/sims-4-expansion-pack-2022.jpg "The Sims 4 devs are teasing [redacted]") The Sims 4 devs are teasing a major [redacted] announcement, which could mean anything from a kit up to a new expansion pack. But given the excitement the folks at Maxis are putting out, it seems likely that this will be a pretty major announcement - and given the very negative reaction to the very buggy wedding DLC, the game probably needs something big right now. The devs have used the [redacted] gag to tease several Sims 4 announcements in the past, and as fansites like Sims Community have noted, they're at it again. The mysterious [redacted] has new features, new shoes, and new object text, the devs are very excited about it, and no, they're not telling us anything more at this time. We got a Sims 4 roadmap earlier this year laying out the updates for the first quarter of 2022, but that roadmap runs out at the end of March. It's been nearly a year since the last major expansion pack, Cottage Living, and the devs had been in a cadence of twice-yearly expansion launches since 2018. RELATED LINKS: Best Sims 4 mods, Best Sims 4 sex mods, Play The Sims 4 |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 5:03 PM  The Witcher 4 is probably going to feature a new group called the School of the Lynx, and initial speculation that the first teaser image for the game hinted at Ciri as a protagonist appears to be incorrect. The devs at CD Projekt Red have been tight-lipped about the new game, but they're keen for you to know two things: it's not actually going to be called The Witcher 4, and the medallion in the teaser image is in the shape of a lynx. The first (and currently only) teaser image for the new game shows a Witcher medallion half-buried in snow. Its feline features led some fans to speculate that this is a hint that Ciri will be the protagonist this time around, since she wears a cat medallion in The Witcher 3. But the medallion in the teaser image isn't just a cat - it's a lynx, a North American wildcat. "Some mysteries should not be so mysterious," communication director Robert Malinowski tells Eurogamer. "I can confirm that the medallion is, in fact, shaped after a lynx." Malinowski later reported the same message directly to fans in a tweet. RELATED LINKS: The Witcher 4 release date, The Witcher 4 news |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:48 PM  Minecraft hacks are, ideally, not actually going to involve any 90s-style montages of people in trench coats in front of screens filled with green numbers. Instead, these are 'hacks' in the 'life hack' sense - a lot like Minecraft tips, but they tend to be for players who already have a rough idea of what they're doing and are ready to upgrade their efficiency in the sandbox game. Now, I know that efficiency isn't the sexiest word in the world, but when you're trying to mass-produce obsidian or terraform part of your world, then it's something you absolutely should care about. You're not the only person that cares about it though, as is made very clear thanks to Skip the Tutorial and a few of their Minecraft hacks videos. The latest video has nineteen of these Minecraft hacks, each of which is designed to make one aspect of the game substantially easier. There are hacks on everything from how to best farm stone blocks, to how to best take on some of the tougher enemies in the game. There's no real guiding thread between any of the tips, but the smorgasbord style is quite fun to watch, and will definitely inspire you. RELATED LINKS: Minecraft console commands, Minecraft skins, Minecraft mods |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:35 PM  There's a Far Cry 6 free weekend kicking off tomorrow, so anyone who wants to try the latest game in the long-running FPS game series can do so for nothing - in single-player or co-op. Even better, it includes the free Far Cry 6 Stranger Things DLC - which also drops tomorrow. Pre-loads are live right now, but the Far Cry 6 free weekend and Stranger Things DLC both launch on Thursday, March 24 at 11am PDT / 2pm EDT / 6pm GMT. That time holds true across all regions and platforms, including Ubisoft Connect and the Epic Games Store on PC, as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The event ends on Monday, March 28 at those same times. The Stranger Things DLC is titled 'The Vanishing', and is billed as a "crossover mission" - so expect something small in scale. Ubisoft hasn't provided much detail on the crossover, but a brief teaser trailer reveals the show's Demogorgon in-game, and a bit of promotional art featuring Far Cry 6 protagonist Dani exploring the Upside Down. RELATED LINKS: Far Cry 6 review, The best open-world games, Buy Far Cry 6 |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:00 PM  W.A.S.D., the new consumer videogame show, kicks off on April 7 as part of the London Games Festival, and the event's organisers have confirmed a totally sold-out show floor. That means there will be plenty of games from publishers like Sega, Devolver Digital, and Team17 on display, and W.A.S.D. will offer the first public hands-on for several hotly anticipated upcoming PC games. Sega will be at the show with the first public hands-on look at Two Point Campus. A follow-up to Two Point Hospital, this university-building simulator takes the goofy sensibilities of classic management games like Theme Hospital and applies them to a new setting with a modern twist, letting you offer jousting degrees from Knight School or certificates in giant pies from the college of Gastronomy. Team17 will be on-hand with the recently-announced Ship of Fools, a co-op roguelike game where you sail the seas, buckle some swash, and do battle with varied abominations in search of ever-cooler loot. RELATED LINKS: Best indie games, What is W.A.S.D.?, Upcoming PC games |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:01 PM  Searching for the best Elden Ring builds? Now that the Elden Ring 1.03 patch has busted some of everyone's favourite builds, it's time to take a step back and assess where to spend your hard earned runes. The first 20 levels shape your entire Elden Ring class, so it's important to select your stats carefully. While it may be tempting to place some stat points into faith as an Astrologer, you're better off committing to the full sorcery build in order to maximise your damage in the late game. But what are the best Elden Ring 1.03 builds? Well some builds - such as the Hoarfrost Stomp build - aren't as powerful as they used to be, but new ones are rising to take their place, such as the Swarm of Flies. If you've found that your build has been nerfed, never fear - grab a certain Elden Ring Great Rune and you'll be able to unlock character respec. Elden Ring's deep character customisation options make this RPG game so special, but if you're looking to destroy your enemies with ease you need to create the most powerful build. Here's what you need to create the best Elden Ring builds, including where to allocate your stat points and which items you need to find. RELATED LINKS: Best Elden Ring settings, Elden Ring bosses guide, The best Elden Ring classes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:23 PM  Marauders is a Tarkov-style survival FPS game that wants to impart one key lesson - life is cruel. Indeed, it would have to be, in a Dieselpunk alternate history in which 'the Great War' never ended and everyone is fighting over scraps of the asteroid belt in the early '90s. Darwinism reigns supreme and Marauders is not going to give you a shiny insurance payout if you lose all your stuff. "Losing all your stuff is tough," Cameron Small tells me. He's lead designer at Small Impact Games, a four-person studio that's working on Marauders with Team 17. "It's a tough thing to get over. But I don't think any feeling beats it in terms of progression." It's also a very risky strategy for an indie game in the battle royale-adjacent space, as he's quick to acknowledge, but: "as long as we can educate the player that they can go in with nothing and come out with everything, maybe it's worth [the risk]". Small Impact was founded on a love of survival games, hardcore shooters like Escape from Tarkov, and about half a dozen other influences that all combine to make Marauders. The studio clearly revels in the harshness of Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' theory and the winner-take-all opportunities it implies; Cameron tells me he enjoys going into a game of Tarkov naked and seeing what he can walk away with. "Your first raid could be your best raid, or your worst," he muses. RELATED LINKS: Marauders alpha impressions, The best survival games on PC, The best space games on PC |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, March 23, 2022 12:56 PM  Lots of open world games – or at least, those that I've played – steer you through their maps methodically. Jim, Dave, and Sally all have their map markers in Vice City for a portion of the game, then they'll shift over to Tilted Towers after a few hours. Perhaps the bridge to Shrek's Swamp won't open unless you rescue the princess from Bowser's Castle later down the line. And there's nothing wrong with an open world that gently steers you in the right direction. Elden Ring does this with its checkpoints that blow the equivalent of directional arrows in the breeze, helping you feel in control of your progress. But I'd argue it's even better at the opposite: wresting that control away in a split-second. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, March 23, 2022 12:27 PM  I grew up watching the anime adaptation of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I would be lying if I said I understood much of anything about it anymore. Apparently, it's also a card game. When was this? When did this come in? Anyway, its digital equivalent Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is hosting a limited-time event called the N And R Rarity Festival, which begins today. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, March 23, 2022 12:26 PM  Over on Twitter, Rocksteady Studios confirmed earlier today that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League had been delayed till Spring 2023. You might have spotted this delay when it was previously reported as just a rumour over a month ago by Bloomberg, but it was officially confirmed earlier by Sefton Hill, the Creative Director and co-founder of Rocksteady. |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 4:18 PM Earlier today, it was announced on the official Pokemon GO website that Stufful will be making its debut in the game as the featured creature in the upcoming April Community Day event. This marks the first time that a Pokemon species originally from the Alola region will be featured during Community Day. Besides Stufful being […] |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 3:56 PM Back when Horizon Forbidden West was still in the pre-order phase of its development, many could not wait to get their hands on the title, especially the Collector's edition, which featured a custom sculpted Tremortusk. This impressive figure captures the true glory of one of the game's most impressive machines, and looks good on just […] |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 3:27 PM There is no other way to describe The Star Wars sequel trilogy other than that it is a bit of a mess. The plot is all over the place, it retreads a lot of the same ground as the original, and the directors simply had different visions of what they wanted, especially when it comes […] |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 3:17 PM Today Microsoft and Asobo Studio hosted a livestream showcasing upcoming plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator. |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 2:14 PM Recently, a developer at CD Projekt Red teased that The Witcher had one last secret that has yet to be found. Yes, despite releasing seven years ago, and having a massive, dedicated fan base, there was still one easter egg that no one had uncovered. Earlier this week, Youtuber xLetalis became the one to discover […] |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:44 PM Frontier Foundry released a new trailer of its upcoming turn-based tactics game Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters. |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 1:20 PM Today new details have been shared on the official website of the upcoming Bastard!! anime series coming to Netflix. |
Twinfinite Wednesday, March 23, 2022 12:29 PM Xbox's Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond Discuss Development, Culture, Gaming Ecosystem, & More in GDC Video Microsoft published a video starring Phil Spencer and corporate vice president, game creator experience and ecosystem Sarah Bond. |
Siliconera Wednesday, March 23, 2022 6:00 PM
The N/R Festival has begun in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. It is a limited-time event that will be available until April 3, 2022. As its name suggests, the N/R Festival is about using and celebrating cards of N and R rarity specifically. The Forbidden/Limited List for the event prevents duelists from using any cards in their Main Deck or Side Deck that are not of N or R rarity. Essentially, this is an opportunity for players to build strategies around common cards that might usually be overlooked. Anyone who participates in the Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel N/R Festival will earn Medals, whether they win or lose a duel. Medals can be traded for special rewards. However, Konami does remind players that they must finish the duel in order to get those Medals. If someone quits the match for whatever reason, they will not get anything. Konami has also provided instructions for how to verify the Forbidden/Limited List for the event, which you can view below. https://twitter.com/YGOMasterDuel/status/1504899045881430028 In March 2022, Konami announced that Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has passed 20 million downloads since launching in January 2022. The developer is celebrating the achievement by offering 1,000 gems to all players who log in by April 25, 2022. Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is available digitally on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS. The N/R Festival will last until April 3, 2022. The post Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel N/R Festival Has Begun appeared first on Siliconera. |
