Kotaku Saturday, December 14, 2024 12:00 PM  The long-anticipated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has finally arrived, and it's different—and better—that what we expected, really putting you in the boots of Harrison Ford's adventurous archaeologist to become something of an Indiana Jones simulator. Read our full review for lots more on this terrific new… |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 12:39 PM  Spreading managed democracy has never been as much fun as it is in Helldivers 2, and it just got popular again. After rising to become one of 2024's biggest hits, the fantastic co-op game slowly started to drop back down the Steam charts as newer games arrived. That was further exacerbated by some discontent with the game's balance and the kerfuffle around PlayStation Network account linking. Developer Arrowhead has worked hard to bring the game back to greatness, however, and now the arrival of its long-awaited third faction is propelling Helldivers 2 back into the stratosphere once more. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Helldivers 2 weapons, Helldivers 2 stratagems, Helldivers 2 system requirements |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 12:09 PM  December 14, 2024: We added two new Fisch codes to our list, which now totals four active codes. What are the new Fisch codes? Promising the pinnacle of exploration and progression of what Roblox fishing experiences have to offer, Fisch gets even better when you use the latest working codes to get free rewards. After launching in early 2024, the Stardew-inspired fishing game by WoozyNate has seen millions of visits, meaning even more players just like you can benefit from the bonuses on offer. Just like when using Fishing Simulator codes, getting extra items or currency will make the Roblox angling experience far easier since you'll be able to access or buy upgrades much faster. That's even the case when trying out Meme Sea codes too. This quick and easy Fisch guide will tell you about all the free rewards you can get so far. Continue reading Fisch codes December 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 11:54 AM  December 14, 2024: We've added the latest new Monopoly Go dice links for free dice rolls and tokens. 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 December 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Monopoly Go events, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 11:37 AM  If you've bought Path of Exile 2 early access, you'll have some points to spend in the new ARPG's microtransaction shop. Most of the things you'll find in there are purely cosmetic upgrades for your equipment and spells, but there's one specific set of quality-of-life items that almost all long-time PoE players will recommend. Stash tabs give you more space to hold all the loot you'll gather as you traipse through the world, and if you've played other such games like Diablo then you'll know just how valuable that can be. A weekend sale means that now is the best time to spend those points, so here's what you need. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 builds, Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 quests |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 11:18 AM  December 14, 2024: We added a new Dress to Impress code to our list, which now totals over ten active codes. What are the new Dress to Impress codes? Look no further if you want to strut your stuff on the catwalk with all the latest fashion accessories. The latest DTI codes grant you the hottest cosmetics to add to your ensemble and create a stunning new look, and it's as simple as entering a code or two. As the name suggests, Dress to Impress is all about fashion, collecting new clothes, and trying out different styles. Unlike most Roblox games, these DTI codes permanently unlock a set of items to add to your wardrobe. If you're looking for extra freebies, we also have codes for some of the other best Roblox games such as Blox Fruits codes to help you get an edge on the competition. Alternatively, you can check out our list of Dress to Impress outfit ideas. Continue reading Dress to Impress codes December 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 14, 2024 11:08 AM  It's been over ten years since we saw Diablo in-game. Banished back to the Burning Hells at the close of Diablo 3, Diablo 4's story has shifted in the direction of his brother Mephisto, Lord of Hatred and my personal favorite of the Prime Evils. Vessel of Hatred's ending points towards a Mephisto-centric storyline, with the potential reappearance of his daughter. Diablo, however, is nowhere to be seen, even if his essence lingers in modern-day Sanctuary. Set five years after the events of Diablo 2 but before Diablo 3, Diablo Immortal's overarching narrative has pointed towards the return of the Lord of Terror for years, and patch 3.2 finally lets us get up close and personal with him. We spoke to lead content designer Scott Burgess and senior game designer Nan Jiang to discuss the face-off. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo Immortal tier list, Diablo Immortal system requirements, Best Diablo Immortal builds |
Siliconera Saturday, December 14, 2024 3:00 PM
There are times when a new manga series can be intimidating. If there's too much hype behind it, sometimes I get apprehensive about starting it. What if it doesn't hold up? Is it really going have staying power? It's one of the reasons it took some time before I gave Kagurabachi a chance, because the manga seemed to immediately have people considering it to have the same sort of potential as series like Naruto, One Piece, Demon Slayer, and some of the most famous Shonen Jump series. With physical volumes properly releasing, I finally took a chance, and I'm glad I did.
Editor's Note: There will be some spoilers for the first volume of the Kagurabachi manga below.
Kagurabachi begins by informing people about the Tanren forging process that uses Tamahagane steel to create Japanese katana, before showing people being cut down by said sword. From there, we get to see our hero Chihiro Rokuhira going to work with his swordsmith father Kunishige. One of Kunishige's final lessons is teaching Chihiro about the weight the craftsmen like them carry, and they need to pick the correct people to forge them for.
Things then flash forward to three years in the future. Chihiro is now scarred, carries a katana himself, and is meeting with his father's associate Shiba. Chihiro is on a quest for vengeance, fighting anyone who may have answers or a lead to find the Hishako sorcerers responsible for killing his father and stealing six of the seven Enchanted Blades he forged. Here, at this moment, Chihiro has a chance to get closer to people who may have information or access to one of them, but it means going through the Korogumi Yakuza plaguing the city.
In that first chapter, we get a perfect sense of tone. Chihiro has an incredibly serious mission. Given the number of katana he has to recover and the nature of the Hishako, there's already an inkling that this won't be a short journey. We get hints about both his power and the potential of the sword he has, Enten. However, there are also hints that maybe it won't always be deadly serious, given the levity Shiba's presence adds to early scenes in the first two chapters. In addition, we get an idea of what these sorcerers he's hunting are capable of, due to the sampling of the power used by the one sorcerer when the Korogumi are threatening a resistance movement and a spell is triggered when Chihiro corners the Korogumi leader who might spill information. There's absolutely potential.
Especially since other supporting cast members are also great at assisting with the narrative's progression. Shiba is a lot of fun. Also, by the second chapter we're back in Tokyo, and there's some toying with Hinao breaking the fourth wall to educate us about the city's lore, Chihiro, and Shiba. We learn about the sorcerers, yakuza, and other individuals in the city, and how Chihiro gets involved in the potential cases around him in the name of more information. The diversity of personalities means there are a lot of fun foils to Chihiro, and the initial cases and situations are gripping.
With the first volume of Kagurabachi, it's pretty easy to see how this manga became such a darling with both general audiences and clerics. It hits the ground running. The initial cast is strong, as are the situations and set-ups. Revenge tales typically are good for long-running tales, as well as setting up mysteries, major fights, and maybe even a few secrets. It also helps that the pacing is handled so well that it really pulls you through Chihiro's missions and keeps them engaging.
Volume 1 of the Kagurabachi manga is available now via Viz Media, and volume 2 will debut on February 4, 2025. New chapters are available to read on MangaPlus and Viz Media each week after they appear in Shonen Jump.
The post Volume 1 of the Kagurabachi Manga Shows Why It's Succeeding appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 14, 2024 12:00 PM
Cozy games is one of those genres that can have a different definition depending on who you ask. Some view them as non-violent games with pleasant interactions where you help people with their issues. Others view them in the same realm as casual games to relax to, like The Sims or Animal Crossing. Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is a picture perfect example of the first kind of cozy game. Despite that, I found it very difficult to remain cozy while playing it due to its shallow story and character interactions, as well as its visuals.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island follows Alex, a normal backpacker who goes on a trip to take a break from modern life. After a storm hits her boat, she finds herself on an island full of amnesiacs who share the names of Greek gods and goddesses. In fact, they are the gods and goddesses themselves. They all had a falling out in the past, though they don't remember details of that, nor do they recall their lives or powers as deities. Alex needs their assistance in order to get off the island, and so she helps them regain their memories and their senses of self. However, there's a greater mystery afoot as to why these gods and goddesses lost their memories in the first place.
This game reimagines the gods and goddesses in a pretty modern way. For example, Hephaestus appears in a wheelchair due to his Greek mythological counterpart having a physical disability in his legs. It does also whitewash the figures, sanding away some of their more controversial history and personality traits. Zeus and Hera seem like they're a happy couple here. "Dysfunctional" isn't a strong enough word to describe them in the original myths.
It's an interesting interpretation of the familiar stories and characters. Ares was my favorite, because the idea of him taking up farming as therapy and his opinion on how wars are in modern times was something I've not seen in other media. Hades looks like he would've been popular with those who were in the Onceler fandom way back in the days of yore. While I did like Ares's depiction in this, I have to say that I wanted a lot more from the dialogue and character interactions. For all that the gods and goddesses' falling out and severed connection play a huge part in the story and their character arcs, we hardly see them speak with each other in the game, even though they'll gossip and complain about their fellow deities to Alex. I'll discuss more about this point later.
For now, let's talk about what it's actually like to play this. The gameplay loop of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is really simple. After speaking with one of the Greek gods, they'll request that you do something for them. What they want differs from god to god. For example, Hermes wanted me to go feed birds, while Aphrodite wanted me to clear the dust and rubble off the mosaics she made around the island. Meanwhile, Poseidon wanted me to fill up the fountains again. You'll also need to search for mementos to help them regain their memory. Your friendship level with a particular god will only increase after finding the mementos and completing their requests, and you'll need to max out your friendship with everyone in order to clear the game.
The entire game is running around the island and completing these tasks. There's a limit on how many requests you can fulfill at every friendship level. Once you hit the maximum, you need to unlock the deity's memory before you can continue doing so. This then sets you off on a trip around the island again. In other words, the entire game feels like you're completing fetch quest after fetch quest, which isn't bad on its own. It's what I expected from a cozy game. But the characters and Alex herself are a little unlikable because of their dull or one-note personalities. Since the entire game revolves around helping them out, it can feel like you're completing a bunch of chores rather than enjoying running around the island. Like, the only reason I want to help them is because the game locks me out of progression otherwise.
Fortunately, the game is really easy to play. Because everything is on my map, I never got stuck. Alex will also constantly remind you of what you're looking for in an area, and when I needed an item to let me traverse the water, Alex was kind enough to tell me so I wasn't wasting time looking for a memento I couldn't access. When returning mementos to the gods and goddesses, you have to figure out what belongs to who. They're pretty easy to figure out, but even if you're unsure, you can simply test out all the mementos and see which one works. There's no penalty in doing so. The music is my favorite thing in this game, so running around the item while listening to it and a podcast or something made for a pretty relaxing time.
While I like the music in the game, the visual aesthetic isn't exactly my cup of tea.... The character designs themselves aren't too bad. However, their expressions always make them seem like they smelled something bad in the air As well, the shading for skin tones, especially on Aphrodite and Alex, makes them look like they're exhausted and haven't blended out their make-up. It didn't look appealing to me. Hermes in particular looks like a joke. Since I'm not sure if this was an intentional stylistic choice or an art style, I won't say anything more about this. The environments do look really nice with the light color scheme, though. But I wish the island was more varied. So much of the game has you running around Ambrosia Island, yet so much of the island looks the same that it can start getting boring.
The biggest criticism I have towards Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is the story. As mentioned earlier, very few of the characters are compelling, which is detrimental in a game that revolves around helping them. The dialogue never quite becomes "therapy speak" or "Tumblr language," but it still feels like I'm reading something that I might hear on a children's show. While Alex may have spent anywhere between fifteen to twenty days on the island, the actual play time is short enough that it's possible to clear the entire game in a single sitting. So I found it difficult to connect to these characters and care about their issues, even though that's the entire point.
The game seems to expect a base level of affinity towards the characters, who are classic figures in mythology. Unfortunately, they're reimagined versions so removed from their real-world counterparts that I'm basically meeting people I've never met in my life. I like Athena in mythology, but feel nothing for Athena in this game. Conversely, I despise the mythological Zeus, yet feel nothing for him in Mythwrecked. That apathy is a pretty baseline emotion I had throughout the entire seven hours of playtime. In fact, I found it fascinating that I never grew to care for anyone, since I'm usually quick to like characters.
At several moments, the game seems to introduce themes, but it never gives them much attention or fleshes them out enough that I'm confident in saying that's what the game is about. The entire point of the game, as well as a part later on, seems to criticize technology. It never actually says anything about it, though. There are also several moments when Ares and Poseidon criticize modern warfare and marine pollution. But again, the game never really delves much further in that. Not every game really needs a deep theme or message. But introducing them without any meaningful follow-up can get a little frustrating, especially when they're interesting enough conflicts in a game that's already devoid of them.
Conversations between Alex and the deities can feel shallow, because they don't sound like actual people talking to each other. It reminded me a lot of the skits on children's TV shows—the ones that teach kids to share or be nice to each other. In fact, this entire game, between the gameplay loop and dialogue and even the collectible mythological lesson, feels like an educational game for a much younger audience. I won't delve into spoilers in this review. But I will say that, outside of a brief moment when I thought the story was going to have some real depth, the ending for this is ridiculous in the same way that shows for very young children can be.
I've played many cozy games in private and for work. It's a genre that's received some flack over the years, and the criticism isn't without merit. If Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island was a simple game about Alex running chores for the Greek gods, then complaining about the story might be gauche. But I've played cozy games where the story didn't matter, and this isn't it. From the amount of dialogue and lore, it does seem like the developers had a story they wanted to tell. Unfortunately, it kind of fell flat here.
While Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is a nice way to unwind at the end of the day, it's definitely not something I would recommend for long consecutive hours. The story and characters lack meaningful depth, and the 3D models were distracting. However, if there's a child in your life who's interested in Greek mythology, this might be a fun game to get them for Christmas.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is readily available on the Switch, Xbox, and Windows PCs.
The post Review: Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island Feels Like It's for Kids appeared first on Siliconera. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, December 14, 2024 5:46 PM A trailer was also released. The post Killing Floor III Announced for PC and Consoles appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, December 14, 2024 4:58 PM A release date was also released. The post Palworld Feybreak Update Release Date Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, December 14, 2024 3:33 PM The user claimed to have access to a non-powered copy. The post Even More Details About the Nintendo Switch 2 Have Allegedly Leaked appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |