GamersHeroes Sunday, October 5, 2025 3:59 PM Looking for good deals this Sunday? HYTE's limited-time anniversary sale is now live, providing discounts on a number of PC cases and peripherals. The post HYTE Site-Wide Anniversary Sale Live Through October 7 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Sunday, October 5, 2025 8:28 AM
The entire Roku Stick lineup just hit a new record low for Prime Day. The post Forget Fire TV Sticks, Amazon Is Blowing Out Roku Devices at Their Cheapest Price Ever appeared first on Kotaku. |
PCGamesN Sunday, October 5, 2025 3:00 PM You don't need to defeat hordes of enemies to score this loot, as Borderlands 4 just got a huge discount after the FPS game's launch. |
PCGamesN Sunday, October 5, 2025 12:03 PM Paradox Interactive has released the final patch for Millennia, its embattled historical 4X contender to Civilization and Stellaris. |
PCGamesN Sunday, October 5, 2025 10:20 AM As Blizzard stops combat addons in World of Warcraft Midnight, WeakAuras dev 'Stanzilla' tells PCGamesN why the team decided to let go. |
Siliconera Sunday, October 5, 2025 3:00 PM
I have mixed feelings about Dragon Quest manga spin-offs and adaptations! There are times when I really enjoyed The Adventure of Dai. Yet, I liked it more as a general shonen sort of romp than as a piece of Dragon Quest media. I didn't really care for Dragon Quest Monsters+, though I do appreciate that Seven Seas localized it. But when it comes to Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick, I unabashedly adore the manga and feel so glad both that Square Enix picked up the series and is releasing it in a format that really honors the original release with extra features highlighting its design and development. It genuinely feels like a story that fits in alongside the tales told in the games.
Editor's Note: There are some minor spoilers for the first volume of the Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick manga below.
The first thing about Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick that really helps "sell" it as being a cohesive potential part of the series' lore is the connections it has to the early games. This Chiaki Kawamata and Kamui Fujiwara series is based on early entries, fitting in with the Erdrick line that includes titles like Dragon Quest XI, III, I, and II. In particular, it's established this takes place 100 years after Dragon Quest III. With Zoma defeated, there's temporarily peace in the world. Where Baramos' lair near Isis once stood, the kingdom of Carmen is founded. But while things seemed peaceful, the Dragonlord and his evil still persists. By having the Mark of Erdrick, split into two, and a background that is familiar, we get this foundation built on familiar tales we recognize and consider hallmarks of these early titles.
What I also love about this series and feels helps establish it is how much care is put into Arus' background. He's the scion of Erdrick who is our hero for this tale, and the Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick manga's first chapter focuses on establishing the rise of both the Dragonlord and Arus. The king of Carmen is fighting alongside his soldiers, among them the loyal Commander Bolgoy and his daughter, the new knight Lunafrea. After beating a brigand tribe, the king goes in to destroy a shrine with a strange idol. Except it's the Dragonlord's, and it's used to capture the real king and replace him with a shapeshifter named Dersu. The goal is to take the newborn Arus, who already shows exceptional power from the goddess, and turn him into a Fiendlord by assigning him the corrupted name Jagan as a minion of Lord Imagine.
Fortunately, this doesn't happen. The priest Tarkin, Bolgoy, and Lunafrea fight back alongside Queen Rosa, with Lunafrea and Tarkin escaping with the baby Arus and fighting back by tapping into his power. They flee, forcing the Dragonlord and Lore Imagine to turn the other latest descendant with a Mark of Erdrick, the Prince of Loran, will become cursed by the name Jagan and fulfill the villain's plans.
From there, Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick feels more like a traditional shonen manga and start of a game in the series. These games can often feature young adults with great potential and power heading off on their first adventure to prove themselves and fulfill their destiny of dealing with Dragonlords. We get this as we see Arus as a Ibis Sandsea sailor kid who grew up with and trained alongside Kira. We see how Lunafreya, Tarkin, and a guru named Tao trained them at Hermit's Hideaway. We see the rise of the Archfiend forces. It's executed in such a way that we see the possibilities and how things pull together in a satisfying way.
Speaking of satisfying, the execution of Square Enix's Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick manga is also pretty great. This feels like a deluxe release compared to other manga series. It's 376 pages, so it almost feels like an omnibus. There are a lot of color pages at the outsets of chapters, which is a great touch. Concept art pages appear between chapters as well. It feels like there's a lot of respect being paid to the original work, and seeing those extra materials show the thought put into this original work.
Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick really feels like a strong manga spin-off that really understands what makes the games' stories special. It pulls from Dragon Quest III's lore in a positive way to shape this new hero and his world. There's a strong foundation! Plus the execution of this release, with the color pages and concept art, makes it feel special. It's a lovely release.
Volume 1 of Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick is available now, and Square Enix will release the second volume of the manga on December 23, 2025.
The post Dragon Quest: The Mark of Erdrick Manga Fits in With the Games' Stories appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Sunday, October 5, 2025 11:01 AM
Razer and Sanrio announced the new line of PC accessories based on one of the company's characters is a collection with a Cinnamoroll Kraken V4 X headset, Ornata V3 Tenkeyless keyboard, Cobra mouse, and Gigantus V2 medium mousepad. All four items will be sold at Target stores. The company also confirmed that the retailer will offer its Razer Switch and Switch 2 skins of Cinnamoroll, Hello Kitty, and Kuromi for $19.99 each. These follow past collections that included items based on Kuromi and Hello Kitty.
The most expensive item in the collection is the Razer Ornata V3 Tenkeyless Cinnamoroll Edition keyboard at $119.99. Like the standard version of the peripheral, it features the company's Mecha-Membrane Switches for its low profile keys and is designed to be ergonomic with a detachable wrist rest at the base. It also features Razer Chroma RGB backlighting for customization purposes. It features a pastel blue color scheme, with "Cinnamoroll" logo along the space bar. The aforementioned wrist rest also features a happy Cinnamoroll sitting among clouds.
The Cinnamoroll Razer Kraken V4 X headset is the next most expensive at $109.99. That is a wired USB headset that supports 7.1 surround sound, has TriForce 40mm drivers, and includes a retractable HyperClear Cardioid Mic that can be stored in the left ear cup. Like the standard model, it supports both PCs and the Switch and PS5. (The Switch would need to be docked to use it.) It features the same color scheme as the keyboard, with Cinnamoroll on the headband. It also features RGB lighting.
As for the Razer Cobra mouse and Gigantus V2 medium mousepad, both also feature the same sort of Cinnamoroll art and pastel blue and white color scheme. The mouse a wired model with gen 3 optical switches, an 8500 DPI optical sensor, and RGB lighting support. That costs $59.99. The pad is $29.99 and is about 14 inches long and almost 11 inches wide.
Here's a closer look at all the items:
The Razer Cinnamoroll accessories will only be available at Target, even though the other Sanrio character items also appeared at retailers like Amazon.
The post New Razer Keyboard, Headset, and Mouse Star Cinnamoroll appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Sunday, October 5, 2025 9:00 AM
Blaze Entertainment's support of the Evercade platform continues, even through international commerce challenges. In the latest batch: two Taito Arcade compilations and new colorways for the home and portable hardware to play them. So what do the Evercade Taito arcade collections offer, and what's up with the new hardware? Let's dig in.
We understand that the Evercade platform's primary, collection-based marketing focuses on a "buy 'em all" approach, but we'd love to see cartridges like these sort themselves more into themed batches. When one cartridge is released first with priority games and then a second much later, this scheme makes more sense! But these are simultaneous. From a playing perspective, we'd much rather have ones that offer a specific mood.
Evercade's Taito Arcade 1
There are a ton of ways and places to play Space Invaders, but it's undeniably a big get for Evercade to have at least a few of the seminal titles of history. It, along with Colony 7 and a handful of options on the other cart, make for good Tate Mode options on the handheld. It's such a simple game, but we still got absorbed and lost track of time playing it in 2025. Side-scrolling beat-'em-up Growl adds a much-appreciated four-player option for VS owners. It's got some quirks and a nonlinear path that makes it worth checking out.
We've seen some of these Taito titles appear on the Super Pocket handheld (and they're also on that new Alpha variant), but it's the debut of the company's releases on cartridge and we're always appreciative of further delving into Japanese classics.
Also included in Evercade Taito Arcade 1: Bubble Bobble, The Legend of Kage, Don Doko Don, Chack'n Pop, Pirate Pete and Raimais.
Evercade's Taito Arcade 2
While the earlier games are more well-known, we're bigger fans of Taito's later output. Liquid Kids (1990), Volfied (1989) and The NewZealand Story (1988) all have enough graphical definition to fit in some personality, and iterate on previous games to offer deeper gameplay mechanics that you'd want to spend time learning and exploring.
The standout in this collection is probably Kiki KaiKai. The game that spawned the Pocky & Rocky series, it got so much right the first time and is still a good time to play today. We'll also note Operation Wolf, a light gun release, that still works fine enough with D-pad controls.
Also included in Evercade Taito Arcade 2: Rastan, Elevator Action, Alpine Ski and The Electric Yo-Yo.
Looking at the New Evercade EXP-R and VS-R Hardware
Along with these two new Evercade Taito carts, Blaze sent us the new "Classic Retro" editions of the EXP-R and VS-R. This is our first encounter with the -R versions of these devices, and they're largely similar. The EXP-R drops the HDMI out (which is honestly fine, it's for edge case use anyway), and also doesn't include any built-in games. Both have some really minor adjustments to the design, too, but there's nothing there to really sway a decision.
These versions also aren't bundled with a cartridge like the previous "Neon Retro" editions, choosing instead to keep costs as low as possible and packaging as small as possible in our home country of Self-Inflicted Economic Conditions. As people who need to store things, it's nice that they're smaller boxes! And the packaging does feel and look good after all the iterations over the years, a far cry from the first attempt.
As for the new look: they're nice! The vaguely NES-like aesthetic works for most of the games you can play, and it's not too far from the Evercade's signature red-and-white brand anyway. A note, though: the cartridges are still the white color of the original Evercade handheld, which makes pairing them with the light gray of the EXP-R noticeable. The original EXP doesn't quite match either, but it's close enough to ignore. We get how Blaze got here, though.
These two new Evercade Taito cartridges are available now. The new Classic Retro Evercade EXP-R and VS-R are also available, both for $119.99. For more information and impressions about the system and its games, check out our Evercade archive.
The post Evercade Taito Arcade Collections Join the Library appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 2:44 PM
Modern gaming is a mess, an unpredictable tidal wave of flops and successes that never stops slamming against the cliffs of Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. However, one bit of that wave is carrying the bulk of the industry—the indies.
While we have had occasional indie hits here and there all the time, from the very onset of gaming itself, 2025 has been utterly dominated by small teams and solo-dev ventures. Game after game has come out only to end up outselling even the biggest franchises on the market, whose corporate owners and publishers are grasping at whatever live-service model to increase that quarterly earnings report and put a band-aid on their sinking ship.
It all started with Schedule 1, an unassuming title about drug dealing and pretending to be Walter Heartless White, produced by a single developer out of Australia. The game's quick and easy-to-understand gameplay, unique concept, and co-op functionality allowed it to achieve an amazing 459,000 concurrent player count on Steam alone, making it one of the best-selling and best-performing games of all time.
It wasn't the first single-dev game of this year, nor the first successful indie launch, but it did herald a new age of gaming, one where AAA blockbusters pale in comparison to small teams pursuing fun and artistic expression over profits and short-term gains.
Later on, we got Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a game with a relatively sizable studio, though still within the indie or AA range. Around 30 people worked on this title, which has more artistic merit than some classical artworks, and is by far one of the most beautiful and gripping games to have come out in the past few years. It has everything: a good story, great visuals, exceptional Unreal Engine optimization (another point for indies I'll get to later), and a soundtrack to rival European orchestral greats.
Small and privately-owned, the studio behind Expedition 33 is proof that you don't need trillions in market cap to produce something grandiose. It, too, sold millions of copies, placing the studio on the map.
But the month of September was in its own league. Back-to-back, we got Hollow Knight: Silksong, Megabonk, Hades 2, and CloverPit—four roguelikes, each iterating on the genre in its own way.
Silksong expanded on what its predecessor had established, amassing countless players in just its initial weekend. Hades 2, too, upped the ante over the previous title, providing a recognizable but nonetheless fresh experience for fans and newcomers alike. Megabonk took what Risk of Rain and Vampire Survivors did and made it better, mashing them together for tremendous effect, while CloverPit looked at Balatro and decided to move from poker to slot machines, which turned out to be an incredible idea.
In just one month, more copies were sold in the indie department than most AAAs, with untold millions on Steam alone (and consoles). And you know how many people worked on most of these games? Silksong had three people, CloverPit had two, and Megabonk had just one. Hades' team was a bit bigger, about equal to that of Expedition 33.
And these are still just some of the most exemplary titles, most of which were produced by either one or a handful of people in a steamrolling indie takeover of the gaming industry. They prove that budgets and studio sizes dictate neither success nor quality, as well as that the use of generative AI to "speed things up" isn't going to save AAA.
So far, in the AAA department, we've had MH Wilds that still has an overwhelmingly negative review score because many can't even get it to run; Borderlands 4 with the same issues, despite being good underneath; Assassin's Creed: Shadows that peaked at 10 percent of Silksong's numbers; and Death Stranding 2, which is perhaps the only game worth anyone's while out of the AAA department, but still one coming from a privately-owned studio.
Speaking of low-tech quality and performance, small, dedicated indies one-upped AAA in that as well. Expedition 33, despite being on UE5, runs phenomenally on most machines while still looking good. Borderlands 4 looks marginally "better" than 3 and works many times worse, failing to even launch on many machines due to poor UE5 optimization.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, another indie AA hit, uses the notoriously demanding CryEngine, but still runs perfectly on most machines without sacrificing graphical fidelity. Small teams, which have limited resources and nonexistent R&D departments, are somehow managing to beat huge thousands-strong studios in optimization. That itself speaks volumes, the sales notwithstanding.
This year has truly been the year of the indie, and I can only imagine what else will come out by the end of it. It's high time AAA stepped up and used those many resources at hand to innovate rather than regurgitate, but even if they don't: the indies have our backs.
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The post Is 2025 the year when indies truly took over gaming? appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 2:32 PM
The Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC arrives in FC 26 Ultimate Team with another option for exchanging your fodder for a new pack.
Like all fodder challenges, the requirements are relatively simple, and you'll get a new pack. You can receive a walkout/promo card for your rewards if you're lucky. This guide will help you complete the challenge without any problems.
Table of contents
FC 26 Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC tasks
The Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC has one task, and here are the requirements.
Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC
The requirements are much more flexible than in some of the previous challenges. However, you can still get stuck on certain points without using the correct cards.
FC 26 Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC solutions
As the requirements are easier, you should use the fodder already available in your club. That will save your coins and raise the valuation of your rewards. However, feel free to use the following solution if you get stuck.
Completing the challenge gets you a Small Prime Electrum Players Pack, which includes three Silver and three Gold Player items. Any three of them are guaranteed to be rare, offering a chance to include walkouts/promo cards.
All the rewards are also tradeable, so you can sell them to make some coins. In short, make sure to complete the SBC before it expires from Ultimate Team.
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The post FC 26 Cornerstones Challenge 4 SBC tasks and solutions appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 1:48 PM
CloverPit, yet another indie roguelike hit, has tons of items that can help you in your endeavor of paying off your never-ending debt.
One such item is Barathrum, though the game doesn't do enough to explain how it works or what it actually does. In fact, it's a very useful item that can tremendously improve your odds of achieving massive scores, so here's everything you need to know.
Barathrum in CloverPit, explained
Barathrum is one of the rarest items in CloverPit, unlocked after you've picked up 100 upgrades from the phone. This can take a while (each phone upgrade comes after each deadline, meaning you need 100 deadlines completed to get the item).
Once you do have it unlocked, you'll have the chance to possess one of the most powerful items in the game, which can duplicate phone upgrades, but with a catch. Barathrum bans the phone upgrade you've selected after getting the item. Discarding Barathrum duplicates each phone upgrade, granting you double effects.
This means that if you were to get the Charm Space upgrade, you could make it give you two instead by discarding Barathrum after picking it. This item is best for long-term gain, with your duplicating many useful effects at once while sacrificing a few deadlines in return.
Barathrum stacks with Megaphone, allowing you to get multiples of each upgrade, since Megaphone triggers both on the upgrade you get from the phone and the duplicate from Barathrum. For example, you could get extra pattern triggers, then sell Barahtrum, which should activate the Megaphone twice, giving you +4 pattern triggers instead of one.
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The post What does Barathrum do in CloverPit? appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 1:21 PM
The Sideline Rise evolution is live in FC 26 Ultimate Team, allowing you to power up a silver card.
Being available for free, you can pick any silver item of your choice that meets the requirements to provide substantial boosts to its stats. There are hundreds of amazing options, and this guide will help you narrow down to the best choices.
Table of contents
FC 26 Sideline Rise evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of the Sideline Rise evolution in FC 26.
FC 26 Sideline Rise evolution upgrades
The evolution has four levels of upgrades, and there are certain conditions to fulfill.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 4 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade requirements
Level 2 upgrade requirements
Level 3 upgrade requirements
Level 4 upgrade requirements
Best players to use in Sideline Rise evolution
Here are some of my best recommendations for this evolution.
While the upgrades are pretty powerful, you can include these cards in future evolutions to create a chain and upgrade their stats further.
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The post Best players for FC 26 Sideline Rise evolution appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 12:14 PM
Black Ops 7 beta goes live on Oct. 5 across PC and consoles, and players are already enjoying the advanced access and the available modes.
However, it's a beta at the end of the day and has a finite period. Activision has already announced when the first open beta ends, and this guide will provide you with a countdown to keep track of it.
Black Ops 7 beta end countdown
The Black Ops 7 beta started on Oct. 2 for those who received early access. If you have a Game Pass subscription or already own Black Ops 7, chances are you're neck deep in the early access of the beta. Several codes have also been released that allow players to enjoy early access, but you won't require one once the open beta goes live.
However, the following countdown will help you keep track of when the beta session ends.
The countdown is based on the following times.
The beta ends at the same time across all platforms.
Incidentally, there's a strong chance for a second beta before the official launch. The current beta only allows us to reach level 20. However, three rewards are available at Levels 23, 27, and 30. Treyarch could repeat the playbook from last year and release a second beta for Black Ops 7.
Alternatively, they could raise the level cap when the regular access begins. Either way, all your progression from the beta will be reset, and everyone begins fresh with the full launch. However, all beta rewards you unlock will remain in your account for the full launch later this year.
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The post Black Ops 7 beta end countdown: Exact date and time appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Sunday, October 5, 2025 9:13 AM
Most of the damage dealt in Digimon Story Time Stranger is done with the help of your Digimons, but tamers have an active role to play with the use of Cross Arts.
These are powerful skills that belong to your Tamers. You begin with a basic one, then unlock more over your adventures. Going for the best is crucial since you can only equip one at a time.
Table of contents
Complete Digimon Story Time Stranger Cross Arts tier list
Before deep diving into the tier list, it's crucial to understand that every Cross Arts has a role to play. There are no bad skills per se, but some are more usable than the rest.
S-tier
A-tier
B-tier
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The post Best Digimon Story Time Stranger Cross Arts tier list appeared first on Destructoid. |
Level Up Sunday, October 5, 2025 2:30 PM  Discover every September 2025 video game release. From Borderlands 4 to Hollow Knight: Silksong, find the full list of new games on all platforms. |