PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 9:07 AM  As impressive as Grand Theft Auto 6's trailer is, it closes with the sad revelation that we won't be able to get our hands on it till at least 2025. That's quite a wait but to help pass the time, fans have taken to recreating the trailer inside other entries in the Grand Theft Auto series. The results are quite something. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: GTA 6 release date, Best open-world games, GTA 5 cheats |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 9:00 AM  It was inevitable that videogames would reach this point, whereby technology allows for the creation of what we'd commonly call 'photorealism.' Hardware gets better. Tools get better. Naturally, any and every game-maker wants to experiment with the outer reaches of fidelity. The problem is not a decline in imagination or originality, or an absence of talent among artists, designers, and videogame directors. In 2023, between the biggest mainstream games - Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3, Dead Space, Diablo 4, Modern Warfare 3, and others - what we're living through is a fateful homogenization of aesthetics that was bound to result from advancements in engines and raw computing power. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Starfield mods, Starfield outposts, Starfield traits |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 7:59 AM  Payday 3 launched just a few months ago and it didn't go well. Server problems meant that purchasers were unable to play this heist game, which lacked any kind of offline mode. City-builder Cities: Skylines 2 also ran into technical problems, resulting in a similarly rocky launch. And yet, both games have sold well enough to make it on Steam's 2023 list of top sellers. Continue reading Despite everything, Payday 3 and Cities Skylines 2 sell big on Steam MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best co-op games on PC, The best crime games on PC, The best FPS games |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 6:56 AM  Mod repository ModDB has unveiled 2023's Mod of the Year and it's Thief: The Black Parade, the colossal expansion for '90s sneak-em-up Thief: The Dark Project. If you've not tackled this amazing add-on, it needs to be next on your list. Continue reading Giant expansion for a '90s PC gaming classic wins mod of the year MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best old games, Best stealth games, Best RPG games |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 6:40 AM  December 29, 2023: We've added new Monopoly Go dice links to our list. How can I get Monopoly Go free dice links? The classic board game has made its way to a free-to-play format, and you'll be doing laps of the board collecting houses and hotels and completing a variety of multiplayer minigames along the way. You can't get far in Monopoly Go without dice rolls, which you'll have a limited amount of to begin with. To earn more dice rolls, you'll need to log in daily to collect bonuses, invite your friends to the game, or progress further. If you don't want to spend your hard-earned money on more dice, you can use dice links for the board game instead. Now, let's run down all the currently active Monopoly Go free dice links for today. Continue reading Free Monopoly Go dice links December 2023 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Free PC games, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 5:00 AM  Being overburdened with materials and valueless items is like a rite of passage in Dragon's Dogma, making managing its inventory system a frustrating experience. Imagine a game world teeming with things to gather, and almost every 20 minutes, you're diving back into your bag to shift stuff around. Even worse, if you're like me and can't help but pick everything up, the inventory system will drive you mad. Alongside impactful changes coming in Dragon's Dogma 2, the sequel needs to fix the original's cumbersome inventory and make managing it far less of a headache. Continue reading Dragon's Dogma 2 needs to fix the original's biggest problem MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Dragon's Dogma 2 release date, RPG games, Dragon's Dogma 2 system requirements |
PCGamesN Friday, December 29, 2023 4:00 AM  What are the Warframe system requirements? There can be no doubting the quality of Warframe's community given that the game has been live for over a decade. A big part of this is also the approachable system requirements that don't scare off new players. You won't need one of the best graphics cards to get going with Warframe, which is one of the best free PC games you can play. The system requirements still sit very low like many live service titles tend to do, even after years of updates. Continue reading Warframe system requirements MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Warframe 1999, Warframe builds, Warframe system requirements |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, December 29, 2023 7:00 AM  I've mentioned elsewhere that I played a lot of huge games this year, both literally referring to their size, and metaphorically referring to their brand name awareness (I had great intentions of doing a long-running Starfield diary, where I visited every planet I could until I got demoralised by the project, but unfortunately that turned out to be the length of one entry). I didn't play quite as many small, odd things as I would have liked in 2023. I am very pleased with the shape of our Advent Calendar this year, though, especially the mid-table, which has some good weirdo entries and some surprises there. So I thought I'd struggle to come up with three reminders for you for the Selection Box. And yet I didn't! They're also very on brand. Words and murder you say? Maybe in 2024 I should make a resolution to switch things up a bit. Gotta keep you guessing, dear readers... |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, December 29, 2023 5:00 AM  Promise you won't tell the other children, but the RPS staff are actually complex magical spells cast by the Sugar Plum Fairy, as part of an age old pact with the ents of the forest where the RPS treehouse was built hundreds of years ago. Each year the Sugar Plum Fairy has to collect more wishes to power the spells every year (you can help to make the spells more powerful by joining the RPS supporter program). While she's out wish-hunting, here are some Christmas Crackers to distract you. Time to enjoy your lovely joke! Q: What do you hang above the fireplace in a cyberpunk space station controlled by a malevolent AI? |
Twinfinite Friday, December 29, 2023 10:00 AM  |
Twinfinite Friday, December 29, 2023 9:00 AM  |
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Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 9:00 AM
Astlibra Revision a surprising indie action-RPG developed by a single person for over 15 years. It is also simultaneously the most and least fun I've had playing a game this year. I jumped into it not sure what to expect. After a powerful first half introducing a fun combat system and engaging plot that kept upping the tempo, the writing started to lose gas at a pretty alarming pace. While the game makes efforts to make up for it, it never fully recovered from the blow.
Astlibra Revision follows an unnamed protagonist fleeing from a horde of demons attacking his hometown. After running away, he finds himself trapped in one of the vast uninhabited Frontier lands of the world, with the raven Karon as his only companion. The protagonist then embarks in an eight year journey with Karon to find his hometown and his childhood friend Anulis. As part of their journey, the duo finds the Libra scales, an artifact said to be able to change the past, and finally reach civilization. This is simply the introduction to the world of Astlibra though, as the main duo is shortly after joined by a cast of interesting characters and the story expands into an odyssey that defies time and fate.
Briefly explaining the plot of the game is difficult and does a disservice to how beautifully it is presented. The story of Astlibra Revision is very interested in exploring themes of personal growth, sacrifice, love and longing, as well as how the people around us can help us make the "right" choices. A lot of the characters throughout the game come to regret past decisions made a long time ago in a hostile world that gave them very little room to work with. These moments are powerfully written, and are very surprising considering Astlibra was written by a single dev. Unfortunately, I feel like this is also what allowed for several extended episodes made entirely of fanservice, sexual innuendos, and "jokes." While the game starts strong and keeps up the pace, a large portion of the plot gets obscured by avoidable tropes that damage the pace, and ruins the characterization of plenty of female characters. And, while the game recovers some strength in its later parts, this characterization has already done a lot of damage, and distracted enough with the plot. To make matters worse, plenty of unnecessary dialogue after a certain point in the game comes off as the author's thinly veiled fetish.
Moving on to something a bit more positive, the gameplay is far more consistent than the game's writing. Astlibra Revision is divided into several chapters, each one having its own level to explore that can be revisited while in the main hub. Combat in Astlibra Revision will feel familiar to those that have played some Vanillaware 2D action games, and it is especially similar to Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The protagonist starts with a basic attack combo. Unlocking skills and finding technique scrolls adds more variations to combat. Some of these include launching the weapon in an arc like a boomerang, performing a shield bash that deals high stun damage if one is equipped, and performing a quick flurry of aerial strikes that deals massive damage.
Alongside these, players have at their disposal a variety of weapons, items, and skills that aid them in battle. Weapons range from swords, knives, clubs, hammers, and axes to various magical staves that scale with your magic attack stat, adding some build variety. Weapons are categorized by their attack power, range, handling, and weight, and each player will favor different combinations of weapons and equipment. Stats can be manually allocated when leveling up, and they can be changed for free at certain stores and locations. I found that a balanced build worked very well for my playstyle, as I mostly used melee weapons, but also found using skills vital to survive the hordes of enemies the game can launch at you.
Leveling up each piece of equipment will either unlock a new Karon Ability or increase the number of points you can use to activate these abilities. Karon Abilities are a variety of passives that allow for even further customization. The system reminds me of the abilities in the mainline Kingdom Hearts titles. Combat is always satisfying, and the game is constantly throwing new toys to play with, but it's important to note that there are large chunks in the story where you won't be able to access your skills or Karon abilities. Bows, arrows, and crossbows are secondary weapon that players can equip to the item slots, and these can be a lifesaver during these sections.
When available, the magic system is a very effective tool in combat. Performing strings of combos fills the mana gauge, and skills are activated by holding down the skill button, which stops time, and using directional command inputs. The elemental attributes are fire, water, earth, wind, holy, and dark, and you can have one skill of each type available to cast. As you unlock different skills, you can customize your deck of skills as you see fit. I found that Moonlight, Assassin, and eventually Dark Flare in the late game take care of most enemies and bosses pretty effectively. The Growth menu allows to unlock more magic skills, along with a permanent stat increases, weapons, and items. Finally, the Libra scales system allows to balance several items to add extra effects and buffs. Between the many character progression mechanics available, I feel like some of these are redundant, as the game doesn't offer that much challenge in the standard difficulty.
Alongside the gameplay loop, the overall presentation of Astlibra Revision carries the game into being something great. The soundtrack in particular is a perfect fit for this type of side-scrolling action game. Developer KEIZO mentioned in an AMA that the soundtrack is made out of royalty free tracks from various Japanese artists. However, KEIZO has also gone into great lengths to make sure that every single track fits every moment of the game, with plenty of amazing rock and electronic songs for bosses being the standout of this patchworks soundtrack. In a similar fashion, the art style is made of other royalty free elements for the various maps and backgrounds, and illustrator Shigatake of Vanillaware fame designed the character models and some of the monsters for this particular Revision release (yet another element that makes the game feel so Vanillaware.) While Shigatake's collaboration is sure to please many, this also means that plenty of female characters and bosses are barely clothed, making for a mixed experience. For some of the maps and backgrounds, it can be clear at times that this is a one-person project. This is in no way a bad thing, as it is impressive that a game of this quality was made by mostly a single developer.
When Astlibra Revision is at its best, it is an impressive action game with fun characters and a story filled with thrilling plot-twists. At its worst, the game falls for the trap of unnecessary fanservice, being too raunchy, and not taking its female characters seriously enough. I wish I could look past these moments, but in such a story heavy game the text makes a concerted effort to remind the player every so often that some characters are only there to be a sexual "joke." If you're able to stomach this type of tropey writing, the story has very surprising turns, and the gameplay is fun, albeit its systems can be a bit bloated at times.
Astlibra Revision is available for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
The post Review: Astlibra Revision Is Full of Highs and Lows appeared first on Siliconera. |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Friday, December 29, 2023 9:00 AM  With the holidays around the corner, you (like me) probably have a lot more free time on your hands than usual. So, why not invest it in a game with a friend? There are a lot of them out there, but the ones that follow on this list are what I think are the best of the best. On top of that, you only a need Game Pass subscription for PC and you'll get access to them without spending more than your monthly subscription. So follow along with the top 6 co-op games on PC Game Pass 6 Best co-op games on Game Pass PC to play this holiday This list is that it's not ranked, so you can pick whichever one and I can promise you and your friends will have a good time. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge Screenshot: Tribute Games Inc. Jumping into this beat-em-up action game is as easy as breathing. The colorful 8-bit action game has an easy learning curve, which makes it easier for everyone to get into. While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: S... |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Friday, December 29, 2023 8:39 AM  Fortnite may be casual and friendly on the surface, but many players aspire to play more competitively. If you want to keep up with those players, you'll need every advantage you can get, so let me show you how to turn on visual Footsteps in Fortnite. Related: Fortnite lingo explained – What terms mean Fortnite: How to enable Visual Sound Effects Image: PC Invasion Visual audio can be turned on in the settings menu. Enter settings, then head to the Audio Tab. Scroll down until you find the Visual Sound Effects option, switch it on, and it'll be active in every game mode until you turn it off. What are Visual Sound Effects in Fortnite? Visual Sound Effects are designed to help players who are hard of hearing by displaying sounds with a visual cue. You can reliably pinpoint sounds with a decent pair of headphones or headset, but Visual Sound Effects make tracking those noises much easier. ... |
Gamer Empire Friday, December 29, 2023 7:08 AM Mementos are one of the many end-game rewards that Destiny 2 has to offer. While experienced players may be familiar with them, newer players will have no information on how to get them. This guide will help you understand how you can get Mementos in Destiny 2, as well as how to use them once […] |
Gamer Empire Friday, December 29, 2023 5:18 AM Destiny 2 has always been a stylish game, both in terms of fashion and gameplay. Finishers are another way that Destiny 2 allows players to show off their sense of style during their gaming sessions. Let's go over what finishers are and how you can use them to destroy your enemies in new and interesting […] |
Gamer Empire Friday, December 29, 2023 5:10 AM If you are a new player looking to visit Europa in Destiny 2 for the first time or a long-time player returning to the game, this guide is for you. We will quickly go over how to unlock Europa, as well as some tips for players who are having issues doing so. Recommended Read: How […] |