Kotaku Sunday, August 4, 2024 9:00 AM  Unsure of what new games to pick up this month? Still suck on an Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree boss, or a Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail baddie? We've got you covered with the best tips of this final week in July. Click through for them all. |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 11:57 AM  Among the best grand strategy games that Paradox Interactive has graced us with - the likes of Crusader Kings 3, Stellaris, and Hearts of Iron 4 to name but a few - Europa Universalis 4 remains one of its finest works. A sprawling take on the middle ages, it's been a long-standing stalwart on Steam food more than a decade. But as the studio gently teases a possible Europa Universalis 5, one comprehensive mod completely reimagines EU4 in an altogether different classical era form. Continue reading Massive Europa Universalis 4 mod hauls the strategy game to 600 BC MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Europa Universalis IV DLC guide, The best Europa Universalis 4 mods, Play Europa Universalis 4 |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 10:53 AM  Everyone's wanted to unplug, pack their bags, and embrace the rural lifestyle at some point. I write in front of a screen all day and often catch myself gazing out the window, wondering what my life would be like if I traded the sounds of my mechanical keyboard for blissful winds. While we keep dreaming, it's the escapism of games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Stardew Valley that provide our best alternative. Ranch Simulator brings that rural fantasy into one complete package, with livestock rearing, farming, hunting, and building combined into one neat open-world simulation game. Best of all, it's dirt cheap right now. Continue reading RDR2 style life sim Ranch Simulator is 70% off right now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best farming games, Best simulation games, Relaxing games |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 10:30 AM  Let's be honest, we all play videogames to escape. Whether it's the sprawling plains of Baldur's Gate 3's Faerun or the smoking, radioactive ruins of Fallout New Vegas' Mojave, exploring vast worlds that feel greater (or deadlier) than our own is why we all boot up our PCs in the first place. But there's no greater galaxy to explore than George Lucas', and that's what Star Wars Outlaws is all about. After the recent round of press previews, however, it seems like spectacular visuals are doing a lot of heavy lifting to offset some rough gameplay. While some have been quick to criticize Outlaws as a result, I'm not so sure. Continue reading Star Wars Outlaws' stunning open world might save its janky gameplay MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Star Wars games, Star Wars Outlaws release date, Best open world games |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 10:11 AM  One of the biggest games like Stardew Valley on Steam, Sun Haven offers a vast fantasy world full of magic and monsters. It features four dramatically distinct biomes each playing host to their own unique items and recipes, 23 potential marriage candidates, and a colossal selection of farming and crafting options at your disposal. Now, developer Pixel Sprout Studios is responding to community feedback with another big quality-of-life feature and some additional improvements. |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 8:08 AM  It's been almost a month since Once Human launched. In that time developer Starry Studio has been dealing with cheaters, gameplay overhauls, and a wave of feedback from players that the team has been taking in its stride. It doesn't matter if it's account-wide cosmetics or changes to doors, Starry Studio is listening and trying to offer solutions. Next on the chopping block are in-game interactions and audio optimizations, with plenty planned for this month and beyond. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sandbox games, Best open-world games, Best survival games |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 8:05 AM  August 4, 2024: We've added two new Monopoly Go dice links for free dice rolls. How can I get Monopoly Go free dice links? The household favorite board game has been reimagined as a free-to-play app on smartphones, allowing everyone to experience the thrills of Monopoly on practically any device. Everything that makes the board game special is here in Monopoly Go, so you'll be collecting properties and building hotels as you go around the board, and there are a variety of multiplayer minigames to get through along the way. You're going to need to get your hands on Monopoly dice rolls, but they are difficult to come by no matter how far you are into the board game. There are ways to earn additional dice rolls, including logging into the game every day to collect daily bonuses, progressing further in the game, and inviting friends to try Monopoly Go. While you can also spend real money to unlock more dice rolls, you may want to give our list of Monopoly Go dice links a try instead, especially if you're waiting for the next Monopoly Go Golden Blitz event. Take a look at all the currently active Monopoly Go free dice links for today. Continue reading Free Monopoly Go dice links August 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Monopoly Go events, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 8:02 AM  In a year where competition among the best survival games has been fierce, Nightingale has struggled despite its striking sense of style. The "gaslamp fantasy" release from Inflexion Games hasn't reached the highs of rivals such as Enshrouded, Palworld, Once Human, and Valheim, and hasn't seen over 1,000 active players at once since the start of July. CEO Aaryn Flynn and art director Neil Thompson of Inflexion Games deliver a frank assessment of where the game is at, but promise that big changes are coming. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best survival games on PC, Best crafting games on PC, Best fantasy games on PC |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 6:43 AM  2023 was a magnificent year for the best co-op games, with the likes of Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo 4, and Lethal Company among the highlights. Yet Remnant 2 stands head and shoulders above the pack for me as something truly special. After the original Remnant: From the Ashes built up a dedicated following through gradual word of mouth, Gunfire Games elevated its compelling mix of sublime gunplay, soulslike boss design, and rewarding RPG and character building elements for the sequel. As a big Steam sale brings it to its lowest price yet, now is the perfect time to jump in. Continue reading If you love co-op games, don't miss this big Remnant 2 discount MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Remnant 2 archetypes, Remnant 2 review, Remnant 2 bosses |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 4, 2024 6:31 AM  On the whole Fallout 4 holds up incredibly well. The shooting is tight, the Commonwealth is still fresh almost a decade later, and the modding community always gives us something new to play with. Every time I revisit Fallout 4 though, I'm reminded how much better the movement of other games is. Titanfall 2, Severed Steel, and Halo Infinite all boast incredible movement systems held together by a slick sliding mechanic, leaving Bethesda's RPG lacking on a return visit. Not anymore though, as a legend of the Fallout 4 modding scene has just released an entirely modular movement overhaul, and yes, it includes sliding. Continue reading New Fallout 4 mod gives it the action FPS overhaul it sorely needs MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Fallout 4 console commands, Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 4 System Requirements |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Sunday, August 4, 2024 11:00 AM  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! July has shrivelled up like a freshly laundered sock left on the radiator for too long, and yet, it's still hot enough that even typing the word radiator makes me want to inject concentrated Solero straight into my bloodstream. With my last remaining un-fugged brain cells, I have wrenched this column back from its hiatus, and who better than to get us into the swing of things once more than Baldur's Gate 3 lead writer and bloody RPS legend Adam Smith! Cheers Adam! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf? |
Siliconera Sunday, August 4, 2024 12:00 PM
There are some stories that, when the finale comes, it might not feel quite right. Something might be missing or let out. Fortunately, like everything else about Ryoko Kui's manga Delicious in Dungeon, the final volume closes things out exceptionally and provides a perfect resolution for every character we've come to know and love. It exemplifies how much everyone genuinely cares for each other, and what they will take away from the experience as they decide what likes ahead for them after the events of volume 14.
Editor's Note: There will be spoilers for all events leading up to volume 14 of the Delicious in Dungeon manga and the early premise of the last chapters, but the end of the final volume won't be spoiled.
While naturally the introduction to volume 14 of Delicious in Dungeon deals with the aftermath of Laios dealing with the Winged Lion, the rest of the final entry of the manga deals with setting things right and accepting what will come next. After all, there are people now above ground in the Golden Country who wouldn't normally be able to survive outside of the labyrinth. Sissel and Captain Mithrun are the most severe cases, but everyone is dealing with the repercussions of the desires taken by the demon. Areas are resurfacing. Falon is frozen and a chimera. Laios is also initially missing after a monstrous rampage.
Once everyone starts to reunite, we get to see what makes Delicious in Dungeon as a series so special. That is, we get to see the characters' bonding and caring for one another and the cooking of monsters. Laios' thinking suggests that if the red dragon part of her is disposed of, via eating and grinding bones into the soil, then the mages can resurrect what is left of her and restore her to her normal self. Initially, this perturbs many of the people around them. (Shuro's reaction is hilarious.) However, seeing how everyone comes together, out of love for Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, Senshi, Izutsumi, and Falin, is the most heartwarming thing.
As this is going on, Kui makes a very smart decision. Instead of just explaining what everyone is considering doing now that the adventure part of Delicious in Dungeon is done, Izutsumi gets to be the protagonist for a while. She doesn't know what she wants to do next. So, she checks in with everyone she knows and adventured with. In so doing, we get to see the fallout of the events of the story, as well as some wholesome moments regarding these characters they love. We get to realize that they remain who they are, through and through, even with all the character development. It shapes their futures. There's a fantastic running gag that involves what the red dragon parts are being made into at this point, which lets us still savor the cooking elements of the series that made it so special.
But it also leads to some poignant moments that tie into the story so far. Now that other desires are gone, what next? What passions do people want to pursue? Who do you want to be? What would you want most? As we understand that about the characters and see what is next for them through Kui's story, it might make the reader ask them about themselves. The Delicious in Dungeon manga ran for almost a decade in Japan, until the final volume released in 2023. It's a huge chunk of time in our own lives. As we watch what Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, Senshi, and Izutsumi decide what they need, want, or have to do, it's only natural to think about our own goals and next steps too.
So that when we do get that absolute final chapter of the Delicious in Dungeon manga, everything else in volume 14 already let us get answers about what's next for our beloved characters, what their futures may hold, and hints about how things turned out for them. It's such a heartwarming and reassuring way to go. We get everything we need and leave satisfied, with our hearts completely full.
The Delicious in Dungeon manga volumes 1-14 is available in English via Yen Press, and the final volume launched on July 23, 2024. Season 1 of the anime is on Netflix, and season 2 is in development.
The post The Delicious in Dungeon Manga Final Volume Ends Perfectly appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Sunday, August 4, 2024 9:00 AM
D3 Publisher's Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them series may sound like some gimmick. After all, the premise takes the games from mobile ads and turning them into actual minigames for each collection. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them, which we'll call Those Games 2 going forward, extends the premise by bringing back one type of mobile game from the original and adding four more to the mix. It can get shockingly challenging sometimes!
The returning minigame based on fake mobile game ads in Those Games 2 is Pin Pull, aptly called Pin Pull 2. It draws inspiration from the ones where you see two sad people freezing or something, like the Homescapes ads, and you need to pull pins in the correct spots and order to get them coal to warm themselves up. These are joined by Draw & Guard (the one where you draw to save a Shiba Inu from bees), Knock-Back Shooter (Evony: The King's Return), Numbers Dungeon (Hero Wars), and Spellbinding Scroll (also Evony). All of the inspirations are incredibly obvious, and they all play the way they seem to in those ads on places like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.
The number of puzzles for minigames vary, with some only being around 20 and others past 40. You earn up to three stars per stage depending on the speed with which you solve the puzzle. I was shocked going in at how strong all of the Those Games 2 minigames are, considering they are based on fake mobile ads. When I'd see the "inspiration" for Draw & Guard online, it usually seemed like a circle, a line shaped like a capital I, or one shaped like an H would do the trick. However, elements like fire or collapsing blocks mean it gets genuinely challenging. The first few stages of Knock-Back Shooter are incredibly easy, but after about 15 in I started only managing 1-2 stars per level due to needing to figure things out. (The brick blocks for areas helps with determining angles and where to shoot a lot!)
Pin Pull 2 and Spellbinding Scroll ended up being my favorites. In the case of Pin Pull 2, new elements like rocks that prevent things from getting past, switches, and items that can negate the heating or cooling effect of the items you're trying to get to the bottom really do make you think about the proper order. I did notice a little control issue with pulling items in later stages, perhaps because so many pins were around. There's a lot to consider though, and it's genuinely thoughtful. With Spellbinding Scroll, the idea of knowing which one to "keep shooting" to make numbers go down seems easy. However, a few stages there left me really plotting when it came to prioritizing targets in a way I didn't expect. I do wish it was a bit more responsive
The only minigame based on a mobile ad in Those Games 2 that didn't actualized properly is Numbers Dungeon. This isn't because the concept isn't sound or it was too easy. There are some great ideas here, such as dropping roads that keep you from doubling back, items that increase or reduce your number, and stages that really do require you to figure out the right "road" through what is actually a labyrinth of challenges. Rather, it's the inputs. You can't just press up, down, left, or right on the Switch. You have to cycle through the directions. That eats away at your time. Plus, while I got accustomed to that, I did accidentally send the little warrior down the wrong path twice.
Minor missteps aside with controls side, Those Games 2 can be a genuinely strong minigame collection. It gives a perfect amount of games for each fake mobile game ad, so you don't feel like they wear out their welcome. They do get genuinely challenging after the first 10 levels, in many cases. It's a fun game to play when you just want to take 10-15 minutes to play something and feel smart, and doing so in short bursts helps keep you from noticing that some levels can get repetitive.
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! 2 is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam.
The post Review: Those Games 2 Gets Genuinely Challenging appeared first on Siliconera. |
