PCGamesN Sunday, August 3, 2025 12:28 PM There are increasingly fewer things you can get for just $5 nowadays, but one of 2025's most simple and satisfying sandbox games makes the cut, and it's already proven a winner for more than a million eager players. A Game About Digging A Hole is, well, exactly what it says. Built by one person in their spare time, it whisks you back to the glorious days of early Minecraft, where all that mattered was you, a shovel, and some fresh dirt. Now, developer Doublebee says it's "speechless" as it crosses the seven-figure milestone. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sandbox games, Best indie games, Best single-player games |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 3, 2025 11:27 AM Why do you care about having a Battlefield 6 server browser? That's the question posed by DICE producer Alexia Christofi as the team aims to hone its offering to best suit the community's demands. We've just been given a first proper look at the bombastic new entry in EA and DICE's long-running multiplayer FPS series, and I'm already feeling the itch to suit up and join the action. As the beta nears, Christofi calls on players to tell the studio what they want to see from the new shooter's server browser tools. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Battlefield 6 preview, Battlefield 6 release date, Battlefield 6 weapons |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 3, 2025 12:15 PM As exciting as the looming Terraria 1.4.5 update is, my attention has just been stolen away by modder 'ScottieKnowz' and their imminent open beta launch for Path of Terraria. This hugely impressive full-conversion mod takes Re-Logic's beloved indie game and transforms it into an ARPG inspired by Path of Exile. There's no element spared; expect a full story progression, quests, classes, randomized loot drops with affixes, crafting currency, a passive skill tree, and a full endgame with PoE-style mapping. There are even online leaderboards and the option to trade. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: PoE 3.25 details, Best free PC games, Best ARPG games |
PCGamesN Sunday, August 3, 2025 12:15 PM Playing Day of the Shell, I'm struck with a desire to see more games like it. The new roguelike from indie developer Duper Games has all the grid-based, turn-based tactics of XCOM, but trades out the squad strategy for a single character. Tasking you with battling through a series of pretty island battlefields and overcoming vicious boss fights, it offers some real build variety that rewards you for carefully considering your play style, and might be one of the most stylish alternatives to XCOM since the mighty Mario and Rabbids. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games |
Siliconera Sunday, August 3, 2025 3:00 PM
Did you know that Bandai Namco made Umamusume: Pretty Derby model kits that let you make figures of Special Week, Silence Suzuka, and Tokai Teio? Yup! They're all part of the Figure-Rise Standard Model Kit line, which means there's no glue necessary, you get stickers for different parts, and they're generally really adept kits with a lot of points of articulation and detail. They're mostly great! Mostly, I say, because there are some extremely fiddly parts that can be a paint in the butt during the assembly process, to the point I worried I'd break Tokai Teio when building her!
The fact that the Tokai Teio Umamusume: Pretty Derby Figure-Rise model kit is so annoying to build is part of the reason why the resulting figure is so cool. Basically, the issue here is that there a lot of extremely fiddly parts, water slide decals, and stickers. Due to the elements involving her uniforms' tassels, ribbon, and accents, it means you're dealing with extremely small parts where even glue or tweezers can't save you.
This starts with the head for the Tokai Teio figure, as it is a pretty tricky part of this Umamusume: Pretty Derby model kit. Now, you get an already made face plate, and it comes with eight water slide decals for other expressions. The main parts of this portion of the build that can be problematic are the ribbon accent by her right ear and her white lock of hair. In the case of the hair, it is a bit fiddly due to the arc of it and possible concerns about getting it in using the right amount of force. With the hair accessory, I hated that it involved a super small sticker on what is probably the teeniest piece of plastic in this build. I'd have preferred a water slide decal I could have let dry and then painted over. Even though I gave it time, it started to slip a bit, and I dropped the part twice.
None of this prepares you for exactly how challenging it is to build Tokai Teio's torso parts. See, it involves a number of very thin, very fragile pieces of plastic placed in a certain order. You need to get the white and first gold parts first. Then, an additional white part goes in. Get that done and it seems fine, until you realize there is a blue piece of plastic that "outlines" the gold across her chest. This needs to be put inside just so. However, it's also incredibly thin and, in my case, was really brittle! I was so worried it would break. It didn't, but it was a pain. Snapping in the pink tie around her neck also felt a bit challenging.
The good news is, if you can survive all that, the rest of the Umamusume Tokai Teio model kit is pretty easy. The arms, skirt, and legs are all easy to manage. While the cuff designs are intricate, you have the option of water slide decals or stickers. (I went with the stickers.) It really all comes together once you leap over those early hurdles.
In the end, the Umamusume: Pretty Derby Tokai Teio Standard Figure-Rise makes a pretty great figure. It's even more durable than I expected, considering how delicate some parts seemed during assembly. Also, now that it's done, I do appreciate how that extra effort looks on the finished build. However, given the frustration I experienced, I would recommend it for folks more familiar with kit building.
The Umamusume: Pretty Derby Tokai Teio Standard Figure-Rise model kit is available now. The game is available worldwide on the PC and mobile devices. The original anime is on Crunchyroll, and Cinderella Gray is on Amazon.
The post Umamusume Tokai Teio Model Kit Is a Cute Pain in the Butt appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Sunday, August 3, 2025 9:00 AM
We're already well aware that Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree is a gag manga following a hapless Tarnished names Aseo as he goes on what is essentially the game's campaign. He's a dork and not too bright, people's characteristics are exaggerated. Everyone gets pretty silly. However, the interesting thing is that the sixth volume, which is largely about facing Starscourge Radahn during the Radahn Festival, actually gets more serious than any before it.
Editor's Note: There will be mild spoilers for volume 6 of the Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree and Starscourge Radahn.
While there is a jovial nature to the Radahn Festival, similar to how the Godrick the Grafted fight turned into a competition and event, it's a bit more serious here and pulls more from lore and the actual boss battle. While Melina and Jerren appear as commentators, the tone is different. It still involves the Redmane Knights trying to arrange an honorable death for their former leader. The NPC Summons from the fight, which are Blaidd, Finger Maiden Therolina, Great Horned Tragoth, Iron Fist Alexander, and Okina all show up as allies, and Patches is there too. There's a nod to Aseo being able to summon Torrent, and the fight starts just like it does in the game, with his magic arrows.
We're also immediately getting some other tidbits of genuine lore, which changes the dynamic from other pieces. In a nod to his love for his horse Leonard, we learn how he uses gravitational magic to be able to still ride it. (I mean, there's also a great gag tied to that.) There's a nod to how and when some people use Runes when it comes to Melina helping Aseo prepare at one point. And remember how before I mentioned Torrent is summoned? It's done in the same way someone would actually use the horse in the fight, as Aseo calls upon him to dodge Radahn's Rain. Throughout the depicted fight, he's acting as we'd genuinely expect in-game. And, while Aseo is often a joke character who's somehow managing to luck into doing well, he's actually heroic here.
What's also great is that none of this feels out of character, even though Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree is a gag manga. There are a few jokes during this fight. We see Aseo volunteered for a certain tactic. But Nikiichi Tobita largely plays it straight for this, and it works much better than I would have expected. It even makes it feel a little more satisfying. Of course, after the harrowing moments, things go back to usual. But it comes together in a way that really pays tribute to how fantastic the Starscourge Radahn fight is in Elden Ring here.
I think it helps keep things interesting in Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree, as volume 6 is about when some manga series could start to get predictable or boring. This is still as good and solid as the day it started. It remains a generally accurate reproduction of the game experience in many ways, while also being incredibly funny for both newcomers and fans of the title and manga. Plus, it really pays tribute to Starscourage Radahn, one of the more fascinating characters in Elden Ring lore, in a fitting and even respectful manner.
Volume 6 of Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree manga is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 7 on October 28, 2025.
The post Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree Manga Gets Serious for Starscourge Radahn appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 2:40 PM
Titan Quest 2 might share plenty of similarities with other games in its genre, but Masteries sets it apart from other titles that use more traditional class systems.
In this game, you can choose between two Masteries, and that task is done pretty early when you start your adventures. You're given the introduction to the system in the prologue. There are four options to pick from (at writing), so let's take a look at your available choices.
All Titan Quest 2 Masteries
Masteries determine how you play the game and what skills you get to upgrade. Every Mastery has its separate skill tree where you can invest your resources and build your characters. These skills will directly translate into your character build, but that depends on your choice.
How to upgrade Mastery skill trees in Titan Quest 2?
The path to getting upgrades in Titan Quest 2 is pretty self-explanatory. As you play, you level up. This gets you Attribute Points, Active Points, and Passive Points. You can use them to upgrade the skills that you want to unlock the relevant buffs.
When you boost a particular skill on one Mastery, it will also boost the skills on other Masteries as long as the keywords are identical. Finally, you'll unlock Divinity Points to unlock skills that are at the higher end of a skill tree.
The post Titan Quest 2 Masteries – all classes explained appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 2:01 PM
Remember the banana clicker game people flocked to last year, since it promised quick bucks via in-game item drops? Well, 14 months later, it continues to attract hundreds of thousands of people on Steam, despite the fact that most of the game's items are completely worthless now.
Every day, I load up and check out SteamDB for new and trending games, as I always love to keep my ear to the ground. Hell, sometimes I'll even see something interesting for me and my friends to fire up, so it's become quite the habit. However, just about every time I open the thing up, I notice one game near Steam's top, Banana, the 2024 clicker game where one could earn in-game drops by playing and subsequently sell them for a quick buck.
It was a new form of NFT, only these items weren't NFTs at all but rather price-inflated digital goodies one could trade on Steam's marketplace, much like you'd do with Dota or CS skins.
Back when it first launched, it managed to attract over 900,000 concurrent players and remains to this day as one of the most-played games in Steam history, sitting comfortably within the top 10.
These days, it attracts hundreds of thousands of players and has done so consistently for over a year. At the moment, it usually peaks somewhere around 100,000 concurrent players, surpassing some of gaming's most popular titles, such as Dead by Daylight or Marvel Rivals, with people obviously still believing you could get money out of clicking on a banana.
However, as Steam's own marketplace shows, most of the "expensive" bananas merely have a few listings available, meaning it's just a handful of players setting super high prices no one is going to pay. The most expensive item currently listed is the Cybernana, costing over a thousand Steam bucks, despite the fact that only three were sold in 2025, both at under 200.
And these "sales," indicative of a potentially still kicking, strong cash-making market, are very likely trades where random items are purchased at arbitrary prices as part of some other Steam transaction between players.
Now I get it, most of these "hundreds of thousands of players" could very well be bots. And, given that the internet is dead, and no real people use it anymore, that's probably true. But, no matter what, it's a ludicrous number of folk, using bots or not, trying to get rich quick via last year's fad, taking up a spot on Steam's charts and overshadowing actually good games.
The post Hundreds of thousands of people are still clicking on that damn banana appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 1:51 PM
EA FC 25 players can utilize Micah's Milestone Evolution to transform their existing RB for free.
This evolution offers new roles, playstyles, and stat boosts. Your chosen card will improve their stats in every key department, with focus on the offensive end. There are plenty of amazing options, so let's quickly get down to the offered upgrades and requirements.
Table of contents
EA FC 25 Micah's Milestone Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of the Micah's Milestone Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Micah's Milestone Evolution upgrades
There are four levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 4 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade conditions
Level 2 upgrade conditions
Level 3 upgrade conditions
Level 4 upgrade conditions
Best players to use in Micah's Milestone Evolution
Here are some of the best players to use in this evolution.
Your club's evo chain candidates can provide unique solutions exclusive to your Ultimate Team squad.
The post Best players for EA FC 25 Micah's Milestone Evolution appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 1:50 PM
DICE is going to implement some form of SBMM (skill-based matchmaking) in Battlefield 6's multiplayer, but, if past talks are still true, it won't be the same SBMM we've gotten used to. It'll instead focus on team balance rather than matching the best with the best, like in CoD.
According to Insider Gaming, DICE has discussed BF6's multiplayer and specifically mentioned that SBMM will be implemented in the game to some degree. The report states SBMM will take ping, player location, server availability, and skill factors into account, though the exact way it'll do it remains unclear.
As mentioned in the report, DICE has previously commented on SBMM implementation in Battlefield 6, saying the system is supposed to help create more balanced teams and function on the server rather than the lobby side.
This means that SBMM in Battlefield 6 would be an improved version of auto team balance, meant to aggregate the entire server and place players into relatively equal teams rather than to fill the entire server with equally skilled players like CoD does. This is staunchly different from most SBMM systems, where player rank, skill, win-loss ratio, and other characteristics are taken into account to match every player with others equal to them.
Battlefield has always been a franchise of dedicated servers and community-hosted gameplay, where no form of matchmaking existed, so it remains to be seen how DICE will exactly pull this "matchmaking" off.
At the end of the day, though, it won't even matter so long as Battlefield 6 revives the series' server browsing tradition, which seems more likely as release approaches. We'll then have all the opportunities in the world to play wherever, however, and with whomever we want, caring little for skill-based matchmaking and other bells and whistles of modern live-service multiplayer games.
The post Battlefield 6 will have SBMM—but thankfully, it won't be like CoD's appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 1:12 PM
I've played my fair share of puzzle games, where my ego would inflate every time my sister asked for help. I've done my part for society with years of brain training in some form. My patience is tested daily with my three dogs that make me wonder if having kids would have been easier. Thinking I could take on the world with my very limited knowledge of horror games, flags, and random trivia, I wiped the dust off my DS and decided to challenge myself to a game of Nintendo's Big Brain Academy (2006).
I'd just completed Luto, helped my sister play through Dead Take, and came off the back of Post Trauma and KARMA: The Dark World. I was feeling pretty good about my puzzle-solving abilities. See, the thing about Big Brain Academy is there's no way to cheat the test. I had no one to blame for my score but myself. The only indication I had on how I could possibly do was seeing my sister's score from who knows when, which read C+. I thought, "Brilliant, here's something I can add to my list of things I'm better than her at" (I'm not that competitive, I swear). Oh, how wrong I was.
I played this DS game years ago, and it's a memory I've long forgotten about. Sadly, I don't have any previous grades to use as a comparison, but I doubt I was a child prodigy. After seeing my sister's grade from a time she too had repressed (likely from shame), I went in so confident that I ignored the practice mode. Instead, I registered as a new student and immediately went in for the kill.
How I have a career at all, I'm not sure. Having the most pitiful graph in existence, my results show that I'm only capable of remembering information that I just saw. Thankfully, these grades aren't needed for resumes. I got the Michelangelo award, and I'm not sure who should be more offended: him or me.
Left with only embarrassment and the threat to bring Dr. Lobe to my personal battlefield hanging in the balance (noscoping on Rust), I thought, "Surely this isn't the best I can do?" Was every survival horror game a lie, a mere illusion of my intelligence? Were beating Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Meridian 157, or Blue Prince simply flukes? All those years in random mansions solving sliding puzzles, figuring out how to open a safe for the world's smallest key, backtracking in hidden object games, or fixing generators in "abandoned" facilities have been washed away by the hard-hitting Dr. Lobe.
So, I decided to lock in, now knowing what I was in for. Big Brain Academy clearly doesn't mess around. My kryptonite was the find pairs game. I'd kill it finding one or two pairs, but the moment the third was introduced, my brain would combust. I accidentally went into a Think game without looking at the instructions, feeling like that odd one out in Mario Party that has no clue what they're doing with their joy-con. But games like these really show us that practice makes perfect.
Perhaps an S rank was achievable, but is it even worth it? My goal was merely to see what results I'd get now as an adult, on a forgotten game that must have been churning out young geniuses back in 2006. I think I'll stick to where I belong, with titles such as Resident Evil, Dark Souls, or Apex Legends, where I'm not judged so harshly by a squiggly that's still wearing his graduation hat.
It's fun to revisit games I forgot even existed, to try to remember a time in my life when things were far simpler, happier even. Games like Big Brain Academy give you a reason to keep playing, like to achieve that higher grade, and know you've accomplished a personal goal. You can find that fulfilment in whatever you decide to do with your time. Be it catching the biggest fish in Animal Crossing, reaching Masters in Apex, climbing to the top of PEAK, or defeating Malenia in Elden Ring. Play games for you, not for the benefit of others. Never compare and always learn.
What I've learnt is that I will definitely be flunking again, for my ego is far too bruised. I doubt I'll get a call or letter anytime soon about my attendance.
The post I finally enrolled at Nintendo DS Big Brain Academy after flunking for years, and I'm offended by my grade appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, August 3, 2025 10:30 AM
In many BitLife playthroughs, your goal is to have a happy, loving relationship with your family, friends, and romantic partners. In others, you'll argue, attack, and even eliminate those you love for the sake of other goals. What are those goals? That depends on what challenge you're working through.
The Paint it Black challenge, for example, asks you to argue with your father. Although it's the first to introduce this particular task, it won't necessarily be the last. Let's dive into how to argue with your BitLife character's father.
How to argue with your father in BitLife
BitLife offers multiple ways to argue with your father, from getting in trouble at school while your character is a child to giving him an awful gift. While no method is guaranteed, they provide a chance for him to start an argument, allowing you to respond.
Your first option begins in your character's childhood. After enrolling in school, you can either bully other kids or retaliate when they bother you. The easiest way to get in trouble is to select your teacher and either act up in class repeatedly or insult them until they send you to the office. The school's principal will warn, suspend, or expel your character. Regardless of the outcome, they'll usually tell your parents, which can lead to your father arguing with you about the situation.
Another option later in life is to gift your father something he hates. This can be anything from a lump of coal to dead flowers, depending on what appears in your list. You can gift repeatedly, allowing you to finish this within a year or two if you have enough money to afford gifts.
You can also go more unconventional routes to get your character's father to argue with you, such as creating an in-game OF page through the Social Media tab or becoming famous and doing photoshoots that your character's father doesn't approve of. With an OF page, you can accomplish this in the same year by repeatedly creating content until your father reacts. Fame, however, limits you to one photoshoot a year, so this can take a few tries to complete if you're unlucky with your options.
Your character's relationship with their father will drop significantly after the argument. If your relationship stats were already low, this can lower them to a point where your character's father will refuse to talk to you. You can recover it by giving him gifts he appreciates. Otherwise, they'll naturally increase if your stats were high before the argument.
The post How to argue with your father in BitLife appeared first on Destructoid. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, August 3, 2025 3:46 PM A trailer was also released. The post Once Upon a KATAMARI Announced For PC and Consoles appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, August 3, 2025 3:17 PM Showcases several weapons. The post Lost Soul Aside Gets New Weapons Trailer appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, August 3, 2025 2:22 PM Announced in a recent trailer. The post Dynasty Warriors Remaster Game and Dynasty Warriors: Origins DLC Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
iDev Games Feed Sunday, August 3, 2025 1:56 PM Mine satoshi to become billionaire ... |
MonsterVine Sunday, August 3, 2025 4:00 PM THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp have announced SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide, a brand-new single-player 3D platformer set in Bikini Bottom's spookiest hour. Launching November 18, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, the game will see the dynamic duo of SpongeBob and Patrick taking on their ghostliest quest […] |
MonsterVine Sunday, August 3, 2025 2:00 PM THQ Nordic has unveiled Fatekeeper, a first-person action RPG that combines intense melee combat with precision spellcasting in a richly crafted fantasy world. The game invites players to explore ancient battlegrounds, forgotten ruins, and mystical forests, uncovering relics, facing dangerous foes, and forging their own destiny through meaningful choices. A World Steeped in History Fatekeeper […] |
MonsterVine Sunday, August 3, 2025 1:00 PM At Evo 2025, Digital Eclipse, Atari, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will be receiving multiple physical editions — all available for pre-order starting today. Alongside the reveal, the companies confirmed that the 1996 fan-favorite Mortal Kombat Trilogy will be included in the Kollection and will be playable at Evo […] |