GamersHeroes Saturday, December 9, 2023 1:42 PM Version 4.3 of hoyoVerse's Genshin Impact, dubbed "Roses and Muskets," will launch on December 20. The post Genshin Impact Version 4.3 Launching December 20 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 3:34 PM Dino-taming developer Studio Wildcard has announced a special branch of its upcoming PC beta for Ark: Survival Ascended that will grant players a first look at the game's Survival of the Fittest mode – a fresh take on the popular battle royale spin off of the original Ark: Survival Evolved that pits up to 60 combatants and their dinosaur armies against each other in fast, round-based combat. Continue reading Controversial Ark remaster prepares beta for its battle royale mode MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best survival games, Best dinosaur games, Best co-op games |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 1:30 PM Is your Starfield ship the best in the Settled Systems? With all the customization options available to you in the Bethesda space game, finding the best loadout can be tough. But while the maker of The Elder Scrolls Skyrim and Fallout has packed quite a few ship modules into its interstellar 2023 RPG, mod creator 'Chokehold' is here with a set of enhanced ship modules to help get that little bit more out of your starship. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Starfield mods, Starfield outposts, Starfield traits |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 12:53 PM December 9, 2023: The new likes code for Haze Piece has arrived. What are the new Haze Piece codes? Like many Roblox experiences, Haze Piece is inspired by the popular One Piece anime. If you aspire to become the king of the pirates, then you can get a head start by typing in some codes for free race spins, gems, and even some stat refunds if you fancy changing things up a bit. There are several other anime-inspired Roblox games out there, with the most popular ones at the moment giving away loads of free stuff via codes. We have regularly updated lists for Blade Ball codes, Blox Fruits codes, and Project Slayers codes, among many others. For now, though, let's run through the Haze Piece codes and the rewards on offer. Continue reading Haze Piece codes December 2023 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 12:47 PM That's it: a handful of Battlefield games, Dead Space 2, and other EA games have seen their online services and servers shut down. It might seem somewhat inevitable for online games that see their player bases dwindle over time, especially as newer games in their series come out, but it's still a sad moment. Continue reading EA's best multiplayer games have now shut down for good |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 1:18 PM Hotly anticipated indie adventure Chasing the Unseen has unveiled its Steam release date at ComicCon Stuttgart as part of its Be a Hero event. The single-player title that invites players to climb gargantuan beasts traveling through surreal landscapes, akin to Shadow of the Colossus, is out early next year. |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 12:45 PM December 9, 2023 The Blox Fruits Kitsune update 21 trailer has arrived. Check it out below. When is the new Blox Fruit update? Whether you're waiting for the right moment to start or are in dire need of some new content to conquer, it can be hard to understand when a new Blox Fruits patch is on the horizon. This large-scale Roblox MMORPG, unofficially based on the famous One Piece franchise, has been welcoming pirates and marines alike for years now, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. Time your sessions around updates and you're more likely to score some helpful freebies to boost you on your way to the top. And if we just so happen to be in a bit of a Blox Fruits content drought with nothing new expected for a little while, there's still plenty more to play across the Roblox platform. For a familiar experience, King Legacy codes are always available to use. And if you just like anime in general, Anime Champions Simulator codes are worth checking out, and Anime Adventures codes can offer another convincing MMO experience for you to lose many, many hours to. Have at it. Continue reading Blox Fruits update – Kitsune update 21 trailer and release date MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 11:06 AM The Day Before has already seen an incredibly steep drop off in player numbers on Steam despite releasing earlier this week, as the Fntastic developed game is rife with bugs, a lack of things to do, and appears to be a very different game from the one advertised by the development team. Continue reading The Day Before has already lost around 75% of its peak Steam players MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best PC survival games, Best PC zombie games, The Day Before release date |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 11:06 AM The cutesy chaotic co-op mini-golf game Golf With Your Friends from Worms developer Team-17 recently received a new update that allows you to play golf both with your friends and against them at the same time. The new Teams Mode grants players the ability to split into, you guessed it, teams of any size, competing against rival players to rack up points for their golf squad. Continue reading One of Steam's best multiplayer games just got a big update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best multiplayer games, Best sports games |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 10:34 AM Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6 prove that Capcom is still right on top of its game, with the pair being among the best games of the year by many metrics. In a new Steam sale celebrating The Game Awards, where SF6 took home the best fighting game award and RE4 Remake was a nominee for the top prize, both games are given spectacular discounts, making it a great time to grab them cheap. There's also plenty more deals to be found, including several Monster Hunter games ahead of its newly announced installment. Continue reading Two of 2023's best games get big discounts in Capcom Steam sale MORE FROM PCGAMESN: MHW: Iceborne release date, MHW: Iceborne Banbaro guide, Monster Hunter World review |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 10:13 AM December 9, 2023: New Clicker Mining Simulator codes are in for the Jewel event. What are the new Clicker Mining Simulator codes? The digging simulator tasks you with mining your way through a quarry, discovering treasures, gathering gems, opening chests, and upgrading your equipment along the way. Each new section of the earth comes with its own mining challenges, tougher ground that requires better tools and more power to break. The Roblox game has a healthy following; players with staggering amounts of power behind each swing; players that have seen things you wouldn't believe. A slow start in the free PC game quickly develops into a mining flurry, with each swing of your pickaxe improving your strength, enabling you to forge on ever deeper. Below are the latest Clicker Mining Simulator codes to help you with your underground adventures. Continue reading Clicker Mining Simulator codes December 2023 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 9:52 AM Launching to middling reviews this week, Ubisoft's Far-Cry-like open world take on James Cameron's Avatar film franchise, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is the latest game to answer one of the most important questions faced by all of games media: Can You Pet the Dog? Okay, so it's actually your ikran – a flying dragon-like lizard – not actually a dog that you can pet, but in the far-off world of pandora, populated by blue-skinned cat people, carnivorous plant life and megafauna the size of a house, it's as close as you're going to get. Continue reading Yes, you can pet the 'dog' in Avatar Frontiers of Pandora MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best open world games, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora review |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 9:51 AM December 9, 2023: A new Death Ball code is in for update 1.5. What are the new Death Ball codes? If you're looking for some free gems to afford the anime-inspired skin of your dreams or the best blades and skills you need to keep up with the competition, then you've come to the right place as we're here with some codes to help you win a round of Death Ball. Of course, this is a very similar game to one of the most popular Roblox experiences out there, but with an anime twist. Incidentally, we have all the latest freebies in one place if you're looking for the latest Blade Ball codes, and if you prefer anime gems, these some Haze Piece codes, Fruits Battlegrounds codes, or Anime Champions Simulator codes will get you free stuff there too. Continue reading Death Ball codes December 2023 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 9:27 AM The infamous Florida Joker is demanding that Rockstar Games sends him around $2 million for what looks to be a parody of his appearance in the new GTA 6 trailer. They first reacted to Rockstar's new footage and shared comparisons, but are now demanding Rockstar give them something in return. Continue reading Florida Joker says GTA 6 "took my life," demands up to $2 million MORE FROM PCGAMESN: GTA 6 release date, Best open-world games, GTA 5 cheats |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 9, 2023 9:04 AM Blizzard has released a video ahead of Diablo 4's upcoming seasonal holiday event Midwinter Blight that provides a few more details on what we can expect from Diablo 4's first foray into seasonal festivities. The event is launching on Tuesday December 12 and will run until Tuesday January 2, bringing with it various time-limited cosmetic unlocks, a new title for slaying the event boss, and the Shard of Dawn offensive aspect. But the most interesting inclusion that the features video gives us more details on (other than a truly abysmal pun about the patch 'goating live') is a new elixir named Gileon's Brew, that grants characters a whopping 15% exp buff for 30 minutes. Continue reading Diablo 4 winter event offers hefty XP buff elixir for you to keep MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 builds, Diablo 4 review, Diablo 4 classes |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, December 9, 2023 3:06 PM  The SteelSeries Rival 3 is the best budget gaming mouse in my eyes - and I've even written articles to that effect - so imagine my surprise and delight when I spotted the even better wireless model is down to £25 at Amazon UK. That's £30 below its UK RRP and a fantastic deal for a mouse that offers both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity plus an 18K optical sensor and a comfortable symmetric shape. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, December 9, 2023 2:30 PM  Recently I helped a friend spec out a gaming PC to play Baldur's Gate 3 and other triple-A releases, and we opted for a machine with an RTX 4070 Ti graphics card as that fit within her £2000 budget and allows for excellent performance with gaming monitors up to 4K while leaving enough cash free for a high-end CPU and other nice components. Today though, you can pick up a pre-built RTX 4070 Ti gaming PC for way less than that - just £1299 - when you get it from Stormforce Gaming in the UK. This build includes a 12th-gen Core i5 processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and a 750W power supply, all for £500 off its listed price. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 9, 2023 3:00 PM
I was on the fence about VR games and headsets for a long time, due to things like the cost, comfort level of them, and available library. I've owned a Meta Quest 3 headset for about two weeks now, however, and oddly enough it feels like this device is changing my thoughts about it with its capabilities and games.
I suppose it helps that I started out with certain staples. After getting adjusted, which this time only took a brief tightening of the bands on the head and a small dial on the front, I was ready. There was no grabbing headphones, getting things adjusted for five minutes to make sure it fit my head properly for that session, or more involved tweaking to ensure it accommodated my poor vision. Right away, I was jumping into Rec Room and Beat Saber, two VR games I'd enjoyed toying around with before, but never really spent substantial amounts of time with. But this time, it took.
With Rec Room, I was able to play through multiple paintball, disc golf, dodgeball, bowling, and laser tag matches without needing to take breaks due to the weight of the helmet or effects of playing a VR game for so long. It tracked my movements more competently, so my bowling and paddleball skills were better represented. With Beat Saber, it was so much easier to deal with walls and offer the degree of motion the game needs to succeed.
It also helped that now I'm coming into VR wholeheartedly about five years after various learning curves and experimentations. There are still plenty of "experiences" out there. Slices of particular sorts of gameplay. Moments where you go on brief adventures. But there are so many more games that go beyond brief novelties that are played for a few minutes or hours, then abandoned unless you want to show someone "how cool VR is." Tentacularis a little of that, but with a story to back it up. Cosmonious High added more of a story to tie school-like "experiences" together.
More importantly, we have the more major games that are substantial. I've been able to play through some of them. Asgard's Wrath 2feels more like a true God of War or Tomb Raider-like than a combat experience simulator, based on my first few hours with it. Assassin's Creed Nexus VRactually captures what people like about console entries and handles the whole Animus experience well. Not to mention both of them welcome everyone in with accessibility options to accommodate varying skill and comfort levels, so everyone can get through the games and do so without feeling queasy.
But I think what I like best about the Meta Quest 3 headset and what it means for VR games and experiences is the mixed reality opportunities. I always use the main menu in MR mode, so I can see what's around me. I loved playing Lego Bricktales in VR that way, because it was like I was actually building in my living room and I could have a familiar sitcom or show on in the background while I played around with virtual blocks. I feel more free to play any games, either standing or sitting, because I'm in a small space and know that the passthrough will let me know if things are getting a bit close in Beat Saber or Samba de Amigo: Virtual Party. Seeing others in my feed and using all of the apps is so much easier than it was in the past.
The only downside is knowing how connected the Quest 3 is to Meta and Facebook, and the kinds of data that could be connected. We know there's biometric tracking with this headset. Not to mention it's tied to a social media account, which is in turn tied to the accounts of other people users know and interact with. When I used mixed reality, could other people be seeing that? How much of my data is being taken? I try not to think about it, much in the same way I attempt to block out how much my cell phone could be taking in every day.
Still, it's like for the first time I'm genuinely excited about what VR games can do and be after spending a few weeks with the Meta Quest 3. It's the first headset I've been excited about, partially because I can wear it for over an hour without feeling like it's too cumbersome or the experiences are too draining on my eyes.
The Meta Quest 3 is available now. People get Asgard's Wrath 3 free with it if they buy the headset by February 27, 2024, and the game arrives on December 15, 2023.
The post Meta Quest 3 Makes VR Games Seem More Plausible appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 9, 2023 12:00 PM
Roots of Pacha is on the Switch now, and I've had a few weeks to take my time with it. In so doing, I realized just how well suited it is to the system.
Life sims are great on any platform, to be clear. We often see some of them on PCs first, due to elements like early access, then ported to other places. That format also means mods could be available as a community grows. On consoles, it can mean access to a larger audience and immediate controller support. But the hybrid nature of the Switch means they can be especially convenient, and that's what happened with my latest Roots of Pacha adventures.
I spent quite a bit of time with the PC version of the game, but there are a lot of things that got in my way enjoying it there. A big one being that I spend at least half my day at work in front of a computer. When my shift ends, I don't necessarily want to spend more time in front of that particular screen. Some sort of detachment ends up feeling healthy and necessary, for the sake of creating more of a balance. Couple that with my go-to and only machine being a MacBook Air, and it's not an ideal gaming set-up to begin with.
It's only when I got into Roots of Pacha on the Switch that it felt more like a retreat. I pick up and play for a half hour or hour per day. I get to build some relationships, advance the community's progress by investing in new types of technologies, and take a break. It is like an actual step away, which I appreciate.
More importantly, it's a port that genuinely feels comfortable. I'd even say in some cases more so than on the PC. The controller support is pretty great for the Switch version of Roots of Pacha. I even prefer the fishing minigame method here to attempting to handle it on a PC with a mouse. It's easy to find information, and perhaps because of my muscle memory from games like Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons, I'm more instinctively taking to certain farming actions and routines. While there was a minor hiccup when I started playing involving a cutscene issue, patches also rolled out at a pretty good pace to ensure it'd be perfectly playable.
It just feels like the Switch is the way to go with Roots of Pacha, and I can't shake that with every hour I put into it. Even though it does mean losing some of the accessibility and easy of use options on the PC, as well as not being able to use mods, the portability and ability to make my system my go-to life sim machine makes it worth it.
Roots of Pacha is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC.
The post Roots of Pacha Switch Port Is an Ideal Way to Play appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 9, 2023 9:00 AM
I've been out of the loop on Honkai: Star Rail for a few months. I'd finished the main story as far as it went at the time with the intention of jumping in on the next update. That didn't happen, but I did finally return in December 2023, and it seems like it was the best time to do so. This is because the Stellar Shadowseeker quest turned out be a fun way to get reacquainted with the game.
In Stellar Shadowseeker, the premise is simple. March 7th discovered that a bunch of her photos have been corrupted, with the subjects now concealed by mysterious shadows. She instructed you to go out and take all these photos again, restoring them to their former glory. This requires you to head back to locations on the Herta Space Station and Jarilo-VI based on the shadowy shapes in the original photos.
On one hand, this quest has proven to be a great refresher for past locations in Honkai: Star Rail. Revisiting parts of Boulder Town or the Administrative District of Belabog reminded me of past story beats and allowed me to reacquaint myself with the game's systems in a relaxed way. It even has some fun little story elements, such as almost getting yourself run over by a tram. Which, of course, is fully in character for the chaos gremlin that is our Trailblazer protagonist. But I can't help but feel it's missing something.
For a start, the photos you take don't really matter. While the quest slots gradually fill up with pictures, these are not the ones you take. It removes a significant degree of personalization from the process. You spend time making sure to get the right shot, only for the game to toss it out in favor of one it made earlier. This makes the quest feel hollow, as it boils down to going to an obvious location, pressing a button in the right place, and then getting handed some Stellar Jades. Don't get me wrong, the Stellar Jades are nice, but it feels like there should be more to all this.
The Stellar Shadowseeker quest was the perfect opportunity to lean into the creative aspects of photography. Build a quest entirely around the act of framing, composition and timing that makes actual photography such a fine art. I believe they could have made this better by looking at the greatest photography game ever made. That game is, of course, Pokemon Snap.
If you're somehow unaware of the concept of Pokemon Snap, it's an on-rails 3D shooter, except slowed all the way down and with the gun replaced with a camera. As you trundle along a pre-defined track, Pokemon will pop out of bushes and bodies of water, and you must take pictures of them.
What makes Pokemon Snap so compelling is the ranking system. In the original N64 game, Professor Oak would assess your photos on how a Pokemon was framed in the shot, how large it was and how it was posed. The Switch sequel expanded on this, with four tiers of shot for each Pokemon based on special things they could do, and each tier awarded its own points. It was a fun system that encouraged you to push Pokemon to do fun things on camera, like throwing an apple in a Meowth's face so it would get mad at you.
This kind of ranking system would have made the Stellar Shadowseeker quest in Honkai: Star Rail much more interesting. After all, we're taking pictures for March so she can replace her corrupted photos. Having her assess your work to ensure it's as close as possible to her own would not be out of character for her. It could have even added some fun dialog based on her reaction to how adorable your photo of Peppy turned out. And, of course, better photos could have brought more Stellar Jades and other rewards.
What's more, the quest already shows other ways this system could exist. The Wubbaboo in the Supply Zone of the Herta Space Station constantly wants you to retake its photo because it's not happy with it. If this dissatisfaction was based on your actual photography skills, it would have given the player more agency and an extra layer of challenge. Other NPCs could have similar reactions, such as the busker on Belabog requesting her picture look more like an album cover, for example.
Admittedly, implementing a full ranking system like the one in Pokemon Snap might be difficult. Honkai: Star Rail doesn't have a built-in ranking system for photos so building one from scratch for a limited time event might be seen as a waste of resources. However, MiHoYo managed to incorporate entire side quests built around management of a museum and a shopping district, so it's not that inconceivable to imagine something similar here.
We're living in the golden age of video game Photo Modes. They've led to an explosion of virtual photography communities, with even companies such as Sony hosting Instagram contests built around the best results. For Honkai: Star Rail to feature something as barebones as the Stellar Shadowseeker quest is disappointing in contrast. If I can get Professor Oak to yell "wonderful!" because I made a Pikachu roll on an Electrode in 1999, surely we can get something similar in 2023?
Honkai: Star Rail is available on PC, PS5 and mobile devices. The Stellar Shadowseeker event will run until December 11, 2023.
The post The Honkai: Star Rail Stellar Shadowseeker Quest Could Be More Creative appeared first on Siliconera. |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Saturday, December 9, 2023 1:16 PM  In Monopoly GO, the Sleigh Race is the latest festive tournament for us to play. Let's find out all the rewards and how it works. How does the Sleigh Race tournament work in Monopoly GO? The Sleigh Race is a tournament in Monopoly GO. Once you've hit five points, you'll be drafted into a tournament with 49 other players, where each of you will race to get as many points as possible. Once the tournament is over, you'll get the rewards listed for your rank. So you'll need to get as many as you can to get the highest possible place. To earn points in the Sleigh Race tournament, you'll need to land on a Railway Tile and perform one of the following actions: Blocked Shutdown = 2 points. Successful Shutdown = 4 points. Small Heist = 4 points. Large Heist = 6 points. Bankrupt! = 8 points. The points you earn here will be multiplied by your dice multiplier, so you'll need to be roll... |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Saturday, December 9, 2023 12:44 PM  In LEGO Fortnite, getting hungry is a constant struggle. Having to always source food and gets in the way of doing all the fun things you want to do instead. To limit the amount of time you have to spend getting food, I've listed the best ways of getting food that'll keep you stocked for a while. How to never get Hungry in LEGO Fortnite Below are two tricks I like to use to keep my own food stocks full in LEGO Fortnite. I use these whenever I'm running low to create a huge supply that lasts me for quite a while, so I can get on with whatever it is I'd rather be doing. Feeding animals AndromedaDream on Reddit shared a trick that allows you to get rid of excess vines in return for excessive eggs. In LEGO Fortnite, you can feed animals to receive their produce, as you would by petting them. If you have a ridiculous amount of vines lying around due to pumpkin harvesting or bush destroying, you can feed them in stacks to ch... |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, December 9, 2023 3:59 PM Square Enix recently released the new "Theme Song" trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The trailer highlights several details including several characters such as Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine, the Gold Saucer, Corel Prison, relationships, summons, and more. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will launch on February 29, 2024. […] The post Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Gets New Theme Song Trailer and New Details appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, December 9, 2023 3:18 PM The trailer reveals several new details. The post Rise of the Ronin Gets New Trailer, Release Date Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |