PCGamesN Saturday, May 31, 2025 4:34 PM May 31, 2025: We've added a few steps FromSoftware recommends following if you're having trouble with Elden Ring Nightreign matchmaking. Is Elden Ring Nightreign down? It isn't often that you have to check the server status of a FromSoft game, but Nightreign is a different beast completely. While you have the option of taking on the game's many bosses alone, it's a much better experience with friends - but for that to happen, the servers need to be online. Thankfully, if the Elden Ring Nightreign servers are down, you can still jump in solo. As we mentioned in our Elden Ring Nightreign review, the solo experience can feel punishing for those who aren't already experienced with the roguelike game. Here is the Elden Ring Nightreign server status so you can plan your adventure accordingly. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Elden Ring Nightreign review, Elden Ring Nightreign class, Elden Ring Nightreign bosses |
PCGamesN Saturday, May 31, 2025 3:00 PM A new malware is in circulation that disguises itself as a VPN, bypasses Windows Defender, and enables Winos 4.0 command & control attacks. Anyone who's looking for a new VPN service needs to be vigilant so that they can avoid falling victim to this scam. Continue reading This VPN is actually malware MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Saturday, May 31, 2025 1:00 PM I love gaming on my Steam Deck, but it's becoming increasingly frustrating to see huge games bypass the handheld all because some anti-cheat software doesn't play nice with Linux. This feeling is renewed following the release of F1 25, a franchise that will be unplayable on the Steam Deck for as long as EA persists with its proprietary anti-cheat software. Despite being the best gaming handheld, there's no doubt that the Steam Deck has its drawbacks. One huge issue is the age of its AMD chip, which contains the CPU and GPU, and is now struggling to keep up with modern triple-A games such as Doom The Dark Ages. Despite this, anti-cheat is the biggest threat to the Steam Deck's dominance, as it's already had a huge impact on the game library. We're also likely to see the Steam Deck 2 eventually released with better hardware, but it won't be able to fix this anti-cheat crisis. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Saturday, May 31, 2025 12:07 PM If you've finished with Clair Obscur Expedition 33 and are looking for another French studio's take on the JRPG genre, I've got exactly what you need. I was fortunate enough to go hands on with the upcoming Edge of Memories recently, and the action RPG has some slick combat ideas that make it one to watch. With pedigree from Xenoblade Chronicles X, Nier, Nier Automata, and Chrono Trigger, Edge of Memories can't come soon enough. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs, Best JRPGs, Best indie games |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, May 31, 2025 5:52 PM  The next Phasmophobia update, Chronicle, is due out next month with a newly revealed June 24th release date, and developer Kinetic Games have offered up some details on what it calls one of the game's "biggest updates" so far. So, let's have a look at what that entails! The key addition with this update is the arrival of sound evidence, which as you can probably guess is a new haunting paranormal proof type that you'll acquire by using the newly added sound recorder. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, May 31, 2025 4:52 PM  Developer Rebellion Developments revealed a first look at Atomfall's first DLC expansion yesterday. Titled Wicked Isle, it unsurprisingly brings you to an island called Midsummer Island that is, in fact, a bit wicked, but like, in the bad way, not in the something a teen in the 2000s would say about something they like kind of way. Specifically it'll have a bit more of a folk horror vibe to it, which I'm certainly into conceptually. Lots of great folklore in the UK, as long as it's not stepping over frequently trodden upon territory. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, May 31, 2025 1:59 PM  Yesterday, ZeniMax Workers United-CWA, the union made up of more than 300 quality assurance workers at Microsoft via its subsidiary ZeniMax Media, reached a tentative contract agreement with Microsoft. The union was formed back in 2022, and has been bargaining with Microsoft in the intervening years since. Last month, the union was preparing to potentially strike against Microsoft, but now it seems like this may be avoided. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, May 31, 2025 1:00 PM  Earlier this week, EA did the thing they oh so frequently loves to do, which is making a bad decision. This time, it was cancelling Marvel's Black Panther, alongside shutting down the two year old studio that was making it, Cliffhanger Games. As every single announcement like this over the past few years has been, it was an incredibly frustrating one that can't be justified. Now, a new report from Bloomberg has shed a bit of light on why it was cancelled, as well as what the game might have been like. |
Siliconera Saturday, May 31, 2025 3:00 PM
I'm constantly bombarded with ads from manga apps with shojo series, like Emaqi and Manga Plaza, taunting me with a few pages from a Cinderella story series about a black sheep twin or stepsister who meets the best man who recognizes her for the diamond in the rough she is. Some of these types of stories can be great in their own right due to certain takes on the genre, like Bride of the Barrier Master. Now that we're five volumes deep into the My Happy Marriage manga, I keep being reminded how its the superior series when it comes to characters, handling of sensitive topics, and actual relationship development.
Editor's Note: There will be some minor spoilers for early volumes of the My Happy Marriage manga below.
The first reason I feel like My Happy Marriage is the superior Cinderella story manga is because the start is exactly that. Miyo Saimori's the elder daughter who is pushed aside in favor of her stepsister due to not possessing a Gift and the marriage between her father and mother being essentially a political one. She's engaged to Kiyoka Kudo, a person with a powerful gift who is also head of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit and rich. He's as close as a prince as we can get in this period piece. Because she's so kind, humble, considerate, and unlike any fiance ever forced on him, he ends up seeing exactly who she is and realizing how special she is. And because this is a manga based on a light novel, there's ample characterization to make him appealing too.
Also important is how Miyo is depicted throughout My Happy Marriage compared to the Cinderella fairy tale and other shojo manga. Miyo went through hell in her family home. She was abused. Throughout the first two volumes, we see her responses to that. She hides the fact that she has so little clothing and is working to make what she has last. She apologizes too much. She goes out of her way to not cause trouble. Don't make requests. Don't make mistakes. Don't make assumptions. It might almost seem like overkill sometimes to see someone trip over herself so much to keep out of others' ways. However, if you ever were in her position or knew someone who was, it comes across as quite realistic. It isn't like other shojo manga that involves a heroine more quickly getting over years of abuse because now she's got a normal life where she's potentially pampered and loved. She's very much in recovery.
I also appreciate that Kiyoka's approach to the situation feels equally realistic. He tries to be patient and kind. He reaches out to her. He sets up gifts in such a way to possibly encourage her accepting them and not feeling guilty about doing so. He has his housekeeper Yurie reach out to her and support her. But at the same time, there are moments in later volumes of the manga in which even he gets frustrated. Which happens! Even if you care about someone, it could be easy to get impatient about the time table for recovery not being what you'd expect.
The fact that Miyo keeps growing throughout My Happy Marriage and her own development as a person isn't sidelined for the sake of the more romantic elements in this shojo manga and immediately resolved Cinderella story is encouraging as well. By the time the fourth volume hits, we're aware of her capabilities. But this isn't a blessing. All gifts are shown to have their own trade-offs, and in her case being untrained is leading to negative experiences that exacerbate her PTSD reflected throughout the story. This means as we lead into the fifth volume, we're hitting a point at which her own character development is going to be prioritized. As a result, I feel like we're seeing her feelings for Kiyoka coming through more clearly and better understanding her own power.
I love My Happy Marriage so much, and I'm so glad Square Enix Books picked it up, as the manga ended up being one of the best period piece Cinderella style stories out there. It feels like one of the best written "underdog" tales in a sea of manga about twin sisters who supposedly aren't the gifted ones, but actually are, and end up with a too-good-to-be-true fiance who realizes exactly how amazing they are and fights off their jealous family. Here we see things like PTSD acknowledged. We watch personal growth between characters. Difficulties surrounding supernatural abilities are addressed, so they don't seem all wonderful. Plus the actual relationship between Miyo and Kiyoka feels as though it is developing in as health a manner as it can, given the circumstances. It's a wonderful shojo manga.
Volumes 1-5 of the My Happy Marriage manga adaptation are available via Square Enix, and both seasons of the shojo anime are on Netflix.
The post My Happy Marriage Is the Best Cinderella Story Series appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Saturday, May 31, 2025 4:32 PM
For many, it's a lifelong dream to pursue a musical career or become an instrument-playing content creator. Although your options for this in BitLife are limited without the Musician special career pack, you can still master instruments and prove to the world that you're the best there is.
How to master an instrument in BitLife
To master an instrument in BitLife, create a new character who's at least eight years old before heading into Activities, Mind and Body, and Instruments. From here, you can choose any option you wish before asking your character's parents if you can take some lessons. Reaching mastery requires taking lessons until your newfound skill bar is at max level.
How you go about this process depends on whether you own Bitizenship or the Musician Special Career pack. If you own both, you can use the tips below to make this process easier:
Overall, your goal is to choose an instrument and take lessons every year until its skill bar is completely filled. Filling this bar means your character has mastered the instrument, completing any accompanying challenge tasks that are currently active.
One obstacle you might encounter is your character's parents refusing to bring you to your lessons While this won't prevent you from mastering the instrument, it'll force you to wait until your character turns 18. You'll then have to pay for the lessons out of your character's pocket, requiring you to work a part-time job or find other means of making money. It's up to you whether you do this, but it'll overall take much longer than mastering an instrument as a teenager.
Occasionally, you'll have challenges that ask for mastery of specific instruments. While the Trailblazing Superstar challenge only asks you to master an instrument, the Rocket Man and Blonde Bombshell challenges require you to master the piano. Although the core strategy is the same, this may require you to recreate your character if their skill progression is slow in the challenge's chosen instrument. Your other option is to challenge your patience by taking a few extra years to master it.
The post How to master an instrument in BitLife appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Saturday, May 31, 2025 3:45 PM
Have you ever had a BitLife character master dancing, playing instruments, and acting? It takes a lot to do all three, but the potential rewards are worth it. Even if you don't get a high-paying job out of it, the progress through BitLife's Trailblazing Superstar challenge is worth the effort.
Table of contents
BitLife Trailblazing Superstar challenge guide
BitLife's Trailblazing Superstar challenge has five tasks to complete:
Although you normally need special career packs to become an actor or musician, you don't need them to take lessons or master an instrument. However, you will need to watch a few ads if you don't own Bitizenship or have any special career packs, so be prepared for that.
Be born in New York
Our first task of BitLife's Trailblazing Superstar challenge is to create a character born in New York. To do this, pick any gender and name you wish before choosing the United States as your starting country. From here, you'll find New York in the Place menu, allowing you to complete this first task quickly.
Although it isn't required for this challenge, it's recommended you choose the Musician special talent on the character creation page. That way, it'll be much easier for you to master an instrument later. Taking one acting lesson is much easier than mastering instruments, which is why it's best to avoid the acting special talent in favor of improving your musical skills.
From here, you'll have a lot to do throughout your character's early childhood. Here's a quick list of tips to keep in mind:
As a bonus, try creating a character who has high smarts. Having high grades is important for a future task, so starting with favorable smarts stats will help. Having decent looks stats is another bonus, but this isn't nearly as important.
Take acting lessons
Although the president of the drama club task is next, I recommend knocking out the acting lesson objective first. To do this, age up your character until they turn eight years old, then proceed to Activities, Mind and Body, and Acting Lessons.
Once your character is old enough to take acting classes, choose the option to ask your character's parents for lessons. If they say no, you can wait until they reach adulthood or create a new character and try again. Either way, taking one lesson will complete this task, but you'll want to continue taking them to make the next one easier.
You'll also find the Instruments menu in this same category. Keep this in mind for a future task.
Become president of the Drama Club
Now that you have your character set up for success, age up until they enter middle school. You now have access to school clubs, which you can access by selecting School, Middle School, and Activities. Scroll through your options until you spot the Drama Club. You'll need to repeat this once more after entering high school.
Although joining the drama club only requires having high grades, you'll need high acting skills to become president. You don't need to max out your grades, but the bar should be around 70 percent full. In most cases, this is all you need to join. However, you'll need to have high acting skills—close to mastery, just to be safe—to become president. Age up, take acting lessons every year, rejoin the club once your character enters high school, and keep your grades up to eventually become president.
Master an instrument
Early in your character's life, you unlocked access to the Instruments menu, letting you try out different musical instruments in an attempt to master one. If you haven't tried any yet, now's a great time to. You can find this menu by heading into Activities, Mind and Body, and Instruments.
The instrument lessons you take will depend on your character's skills. Ideally, you want to find an instrument that your character is proficient in from the get-go so you can master it quickly. Mastering it requires maxing your skill bar in your chosen instrument, so keep taking lessons every year until this happens to knock out the task.
Become a choreographer
Your last task of BitLife's Trailblazing Superstar challenge is to become a choreographer. To do this, enrol into university and pick Dance as your major. If it doesn't appear right away, age up or close and reopen your BitLife app. You can also use the Golden Diploma to get the degree instantly if you've bought the item from the game's marketplace.
Once you graduate from university, search through your full-time job list until you see Jr. Choreographer. Like before, you may need to close and reopen the app if you don't see this option right away. Since you have a university degree, you just need to apply for the position and pass the interview to land the job and finish this final task.
You'll complete BitLife's Trailblazing Superstar challenge after becoming president of your school's drama club, mastering an instrument, and becoming a choreographer. Finishing the challenge lets you choose from one of four random prize boxes, rewarding you with a cosmetic item to use in future playthroughs.
The post How to complete the Trailblazing Superstar challenge in BitLife appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Saturday, May 31, 2025 2:34 PM
The Smart Cover skill has made its return to The Division 2, and it's an extremely effective one to unlock.
The seventh year of the content marked the launch of the Battle for Brooklyn DLC, and the new skill is part of it. You can unlock it by simply playing the game, and this guide will highlight all the steps to do so. This is the first time since Division 1 that Ubisoft has introduced Smart Cover to the sequel, and it comes with two variants.
How to get the Smart Cover skill in The Division 2
First, get the Battle for Brooklyn DLC, which has to be purchased separately (or as part of the new Ultimate Edition). You'll then have to travel to the Brooklyn region, where you'll be able to access the fresh set of missions. The opening quest begins with you taking on the Cleaners, which gives you access to the Bridges HQ.
Keep completing the missions until you start the H5 Refinery quest. This mission requires you to blow up the refinery, and you'll then receive a call from Theo telling you that the Bridges HQ is being attacked. Clear all the enemies attacking the headquarters and head inside to start a cutscene. Once the cutscene is over, you'll have unlocked the Smart Cover skill. You can then equip this skill from the selection menu.
Smart Cover skill stats in The Division 2
The Smart Cover skill has two variants: Fortified and Precision. The two variants are perfect for different playstyles: Fortified enhances your survivability, while Precision increases your damage potential. Here are the detailed stats for both variants.
Fortified
Precision
The post How to unlock the Smart Cover skill in The Division 2 appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Saturday, May 31, 2025 1:42 PM
The Fata Morgana Evolution is now live in EA FC 25, and it's the latest paid evolution to make its way to Ultimate Team.
If you have got 150,000 coins to spare, you can invest in this evolution to upgrade one of your lower-rated items. The boosts include stat upgrades, new playstyles, and roles, and they're certainly worth your coins. This guide will help you make the best decision in terms of which card to use.
Table of contents
EA FC 25 Fata Morgana Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of the Fata Morgana Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Fata Morgana Evolution upgrades
There are three levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade conditions
Level 2 upgrade conditions
Level 3 upgrade conditions
Best players to use in Fata Morgana 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 to use in EA FC 25 Fata Morgana Evolution appeared first on Destructoid. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, May 31, 2025 5:24 PM The game sold two million units in under two weeks. The post Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sales Surpass 3.3 Million Units in 33 Days appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, May 31, 2025 5:02 PM A trailer was also released. The post SEGA Football Club Champions 2025 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, May 31, 2025 4:28 PM Announced back in January. The post MultiVersus Delisted, Servers Shut Down appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
iDev Games Feed Saturday, May 31, 2025 5:38 PM Lots of dirt in the seas and strange things too ,clean nature as you venture out among living ascells!... |