Kotaku Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:15 AM  This week, after days of swirling rumors and fan speculation, Phil Spencer and other Xbox bigwigs finally pulled back the curtain (a little bit, at least) on what the future holds for the console and the Xbox brand. Sony also hinted at what 2025 will bring for the PlayStation 5 (or at least what it won't) while Helldiv… |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:39 AM  Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition was released back in 2018 as, you guessed it, an updated version of the original Dungeons & Dragons RPG created by now famed Dragon Age and Mass Effect developer BioWare. The Enhanced Edition was developed by Beamdog, however, the dedicated DnD community is responsible for the game's latest update, which is quite expansive, even by Dungeons & Dragons fans' standards. Continue reading 22 year old DnD RPG gets a huge new update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition interview, The best RPG games on PC |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:15 AM  There are seemingly dozens of new souslike titles released every calendar year, each packed with its slight spin on the subgenre of action role-playing games. However, Star Wars Jedi Survivor has managed to stand out from these hordes of releases with a unique story to tell in the famous sci-fi universe, bolstered by a great development team at Respawn and a fantastic leading man in Cameron Monaghan. Although the game is a sequel, you'd be hard-pressed not to find a dedicated Star Wars fan who isn't tempted to dive into the game as its latest price drop has it sitting at just $34.99. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Star Wars Jedi Survivor lightsaber colors, Star Wars Jedi Survivor review, Star Wars Jedi Survivor system requirements |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:02 AM  Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski, best known as 'Cliffy B,' says he's frustrated by claims the long-running Xbox shooter series went 'woke.' Bleszinski, who worked as a lead designer on the first three Gears of War games, before moving on from Epic Games to form new studio Boss Key Productions, points to the cast of its third game and says it would face similar claims were it to launch today. Continue reading Gears of War creator Cliffy B says 'woke' claims "p*** me off" MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Gears 5 release date, Best shooter games, Best action-adventure games |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 8:22 AM  There were some fantastic soulslike games on PC in 2023, from direct contenders such as Lords of the Fallen and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty to those adopting Dark Souls ideas in different formats like Blasphemous 2 and Remnant 2. But of those more traditional offerings, the real winner was Lies of P, which rose above its 'we have Bloodborne at home' comparisons to stand out as one of the year's most pleasing surprises. Now, developer Neowiz has removed its Denuvo anti-tamper DRM in its latest update, and is offering the game cheap in a Steam sale, if you're quick about it. Continue reading Stellar soulslike Lies of P drops Denuvo, and it's on sale right now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Lies of P weapons, Lies of P review, Best games like Dark Souls |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 6:08 AM  The classic old Fallout games are among the most iconic PC RPGs ever, so we were very much looking forward to even more people getting the chance to discover them thanks to an upcoming deal that would see Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics all become free games on the Epic Games Store. Sadly, however, the Fortnite and Unreal Tournament developer has seemingly had a change of heart, replacing them instead with a new game. Continue reading Fallout was about to be free, but Epic changed its mind MORE FROM PCGAMESN: How Fallout 2 defined the series, Best Fallout companions |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 6:00 AM  What are the Monopoly Go Victory Campaign rewards? This February event is one of the easier ones to clear, with plenty of prizes to grab along the way. All about having Mr. Monopoly take up office, there's not a whole lot to do but roll big, fast, and with purpose. It's also a great source of chips for the returning Prize Drop machine. New to Monopoly Go? Check out the Monopoly Go events page to learn about events past and present. It can help you spend your spins wisely and predict when another promotion is set to come around. To make most of the events easier, you can also rely on daily Monopoly Go dice links to get loads of free spins. Looking for something new? Check out the best online board games while you work through the latest event. Continue reading Monopoly Go Victory Campaign rewards MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Free PC games, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 6:05 AM  What is the next Monopoly Go event? With so many limited-time events in Monopoly Go, it can be hard to keep track of the rewards you can get your hands on. Monopoly Go events can last anywhere from a few hours to a week, so bookmark this page as we'll keep it regularly updated with the next events and their start and end dates. Monopoly Go is the latest online board game sweeping the globe, but completing all of these events won't be easy without some Monopoly Go free dice links, so check out our daily updated guide for some freebies and rewards before you get started on the next Monopoly Go tournament. Continue reading All Monopoly Go events, tournaments, dates, and rewards MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Free PC games, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 5:46 AM  Is Helldivers 2 down? If you're here searching for an answer, it could very well be obvious. Like any popular live service title, Helldivers 2 is prone to the odd blip from time to time. If you're struggling to log into the co-op horde shooter to smash big bugs and dangerous droids, you might want to know the Helldivers 2 server status, what the error codes mean, and how to fix them. New to Helldivers 2? We've all been there. We're learning as go, and there's always more to discover. To make your first group sessions run smoothly, check out how Helldivers 2 crossplay works. And if you're yet to jump in, you'll want to know whether or not you can get Helldivers 2 on Game Pass. For performance-related issues, read up on how the Helldivers 2 AMD and Nvidia FPS gap might affect you. Continue reading Helldivers 2 server status and error codes MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Helldivers 2 system requirements, Steam Deck compatability |
PCGamesN Saturday, February 17, 2024 4:47 AM  February 17, 2024: We've added new codes to our list of free dice links. 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 February 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Free PC games, Monopoly Go dice |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, February 17, 2024 6:00 AM  I have an extremely annoying neck and shoulder ache that I can't get rid of, but on the other hand I found the backing to the right earring in my all-day black studs. On a third hand, I found this after I bought a replacement pair. Less ideal. But at least video games have never let me down. That's an egregious lie, though. Games let me down all the time. Which ones are you pinning your hopes to this weekend? Here are ours. |
Twinfinite Saturday, February 17, 2024 10:00 AM  |
Siliconera Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:00 AM
On January 31, 2024, Konami released Silent Hill: The Short Message for the PlayStation 5 entirely for free. The first console entry in the Silent Hill series since Silent Hill Downpour, this bite-sized experience lends itself to the psychological horror elements of the series. However, due to the focus of its narrative and first-person controls, long-time fans of the series may find it lacking. That said, Silent Hill: The Short Message is perhaps the closest thing to a "true" Silent Hill game fans have been looking for since the days of Team Silent.
Editor's Note: Silent Hill: The Short Message and this review of it contains mentions of suicide, self-harm, and abuse.
Silent Hill: The Short Message takes place in the fictional city of Kettenstadt, Germany, a sister city to an unnamed town in Japan that will no doubt somehow tie into Silent Hill f, given the inclusion of the mysterious Silent Hill Phenomenon. Given numerous failed attempts to revitalize the dilapidated city, Kettenstadt's reputation is one of decay and hopelessness that permeates the town to the point an abandoned apartment building called The Villa has become an attractive place for the hopeless (primarily teenagers) to commit suicide.
(There is some irony here that I am writing this review in a mostly empty airport in Germany in transit to a German-Japanese sister city.)
Players assume the role of Anita, an 18-year-old girl who has woken up alone in The Villa with nothing but her cell phone. Like all Silent Hill games, context clues as to the going-ons of the narrative are found within the environment and documents you obtain through exploration. However, since Anita has her cell phone with her, you will also receive texts from her classmates Maya and Amelie at various intervals, revealing to the player that not everything is as it seems. This is where Silent Hill: The Short Message leans into the expected narrative twists and turns of the series — though it's clear that this bite-sized experience more or less draws inspiration from Silent Hill 2 and less from the more "cult-focused" entries like Silent Hill, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4.
Anita is an unreliable narrator in her own story. Her perspective is skewed and wrong as the narrative begins to unravel, with the hole that the players first see upon starting the game growing larger and larger with each painful loop she is forced to endure as penance. Anita is eventually forced to reconcile with the truth that she had a hand in the bullying and subsequent suicide of Maya. There are some interesting bits of lore in The Short Message that more or less feel at home with the Higurashi or Umineko series. Which makes sense given that Silent Hill f will be written by the series creator of both those deeply beloved horror visual novels.
That said, witches (or the accusation of a character being a witch) have been a staple in the Silent Hill series since its inception; it's just an interesting direction for this series of Japanese developers to veer into, given their previous body of work, with Kiichi Kanoh also having a hand in the Higurashi series. What impressed me was the attention to detail in The Short Message's environments and other objects. I lived in Germany for almost ten years, and the structure of The Villa reminded me of the large, grey concrete apartment complexes in one of the villages I lived in.
When the game takes you to the now trash-laden homes of Anita and Amelie, certain details are so precise, like the kinds of cups found on worn dining room tables, the button used to flush the toilet, and perhaps most importantly, the packaging Anita's anti-depressants come in. The game makes clear very early on that she is on medication, and players are more or less allowed to speculate for what despite it being very clearly laid out, but seeing those boxes and the little aluminum packs in the bathroom of her apartment closely resembled the kind I was prescribed and am still taking.
As mentioned previously, dialogue between characters is mostly communicated through text messages through Anita's cell phone. Conversations play out differently between each successive loop as Anita is yanked out of the metaphorical fog that she has become encased in and thrown into the "Otherworld." The dialogue isn't clean or particularly well scripted but leans into the fact that the protagonist and almost every character she interacts with are teenagers.
This isn't to excuse writing that could be seen as sloppy, but honestly, teenagers can be mean, and people can tear you down in five words or less, regardless of their age. Insults slung at Maya are shallow and born out of jealousy, but not entirely unrealistic. You learn that Anita has harbored resentment for her due to her popularity on social media, bright future as an artist, and the fear that she is taking her only friend from her. There doesn't need to be a deeper motivation here because that in itself is realistic enough for events to play out the way they do in the game.
The Short Message blends CG cutscenes with FMVs, which can make for a jarring transition, as the performances given by the actresses can feel stilted and uneven. Which more or less makes it feel at home within the Silent Hill series, at least to an extent. The characters don't necessarily feel as wooden as they do in Silent Hill 2 or Silent Hill 4, and the actress for Anita does deliver during some integral moments of the game. This cannot be said for the rest of the cast, particularly Anita's abusive mother. Her English performance feels wildly overdone, but this could be for dramatic effect as we are seeing the world through Anita's eyes and her experience as a child, abused and neglected.
However, the game's voice acting and general performances will not rival bigger budget AAA titles like The Last of Us. Taking a page from "modern" survival horror, Silent Hill: The Short Message is first person. What the Amnesia series popularized and the canceled P.T. inspired in both the AAA and indie scene holds this bite-sized experience back. The controls are clunky and sometimes unwieldy during chase segments. There was one instance specifically where I had to deliberately turn my camera to the right over the left in order to get ahead of the sakura-headed monster that pursues Anita through the entire game. I never grew frustrated with these segments, but the final one, in particular, could definitely cause players to drop the game, as instructions to complete it are unclear.
I was streaming the game, and it wasn't until someone came in and told me what I needed to do to find the keys to the exit that I could eventually make my way to safety and the end of the game. And honestly? It was worth it. Silent Hill: The Short Message isn't a game about retribution like Silent Hill 2, and maybe that's what people wanted or were expecting. Instead, it ends with a tearful conversation between Anita and Amelie that lends itself to the final sentence of the content warning you will see time and time again:
One brave step can save a life.
Silent Hill: The Short Message is available for the PlayStation 5.
The post Review: Silent Hill: The Short Message Is A True Silent Hill Game appeared first on Siliconera. |
Gamer Empire Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:23 AM Mostly completed in the area east of Varrock, "The Dig Site" quest is one of the main quest requirements for multiple Master and Grandmaster quests. Uncovering lost ruins from the Dig Site and passing a series of tests to become a qualified archaeologist. Recommended Read: Which Crush Weapons Are the Best in OSRS? While not […] |
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Gamer Empire Saturday, February 17, 2024 3:31 AM Getting a lot of kills in Destiny 2 takes time. Having a good method for farming kills is crucial to speeding up the process. Today, we have a list of the best farming methods you can use to get your objectives done in a reasonable time. Recommended Read: How to Emote in Destiny 2 The […] |
WGB Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:26 AM It's time to speculate about the inevitable Switch 2 yet again, but this time numerous sources are corroborating information which suggests Nintendo's next console has been delayed until next year. |
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