GamersHeroes Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:50 PM The largest content update yet for Delta Force, Team Jade has launched Season Break for the free-to-play modern team-based tactical shooter. The post Delta Force Season Break Now Available appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:35 PM  Destiny 2's next expansion, The Edge of Fate, goes live later this month. It will provide the foundation for the struggling live-service shooter for the foreseeable future, and Bungie is making everything currently in the game free for all players on every platform. It's a pitch to get lapsed fans back into the fold… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:20 PM  It's official: Iron Man loves Ironheart. While we didn't get a crossover with the two heroes in the first season of the Disney+ limited series, we did recently get a nearly 14-minute conversation between Robert Downey Jr. and the show's star, Dominique Thorne, in which the former gushed over how the show's first… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:05 PM  If you're like me, you might have booted up Mario Kart World and immediately started spamming Charge Jumps as soon as you learned how to do them. After all, they seem like a Drift that lets you keep moving straight, and Drifts are awesome! Charge Jumps generate Mini-Turbos just like drifting does too, and Mario Kart… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:03 PM  Did you know there are currently 74 playable operators (75 if you count Recruit) available in Rainbow Six Siege X? Back when I used to play daily on PS4, there were, like, twelve. It was manageable. Nowadays? Not so much. How is a new player supposed to sift through thIS broad assortment of characters, find one that… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:35 PM  PlayStation Plus just got a big boost: Cyberpunk 2077 is joining Sony's subscription service and will be free for all paying members to play starting today, July 9. It feels like the 2020 sci-fi RPG is on its fourth or fifth wind right now, with new content on the way, a great Switch 2 port, and more Edgerunners in… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:25 PM  Lies of P impressed us in 2023 with its fun and innovative weapon assembly system, which resulted in some of the most bizarre weapon creations in the Soulslike genre. With Lies of P: Overture, the game's first and only major DLC, that trend continues with even weirder weapons than ever before. However, not every… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:15 PM  The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, one of 2025's biggest games, is getting a significant new update that is set to improve the game's performance, fix a ton of bugs, and add more difficulty options, too. |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:00 PM  I love when things start going off the rails in an MMO, and while Dune: Awakening's ongoing Deep Desert troubles are frustrating for fans, they're also a fascinating experiment in balancing competing player incentives. Developer Funcom recently nerfed the endgame area's PVP potential, turning almost half of it into… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:55 AM  Star Wars Battlefront 2, released in 2017, sparked controversy at launch due to its use of loot boxes and allegations of a pay-to-win system. But that hasn't stopped the aging shooter from becoming one of the biggest games this Summer. |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:45 AM  On Tuesday July 8, X (néeTwitter) was forced to switch off the social media platform's in-built AI, Grok, after it declared itself to be a robot version of Hitler, spewing antisemitic hate and racist conspiracy theories. This followed X owner Elon Musk's declaration over the weekend that he was insisting Grok be less… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:30 AM  The only thing Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) probably detests more than attention is bright colors. She's about to be flooded with both in the new season of Wednesday. In the second season's first official trailer, the reluctant hero of Nevermore Academy returns as a reluctant celebrity, battling her newfound… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:12 AM  Persona 5: The Phantom X has been out in the West for only a week and a half, but in China, the gacha game has been out for over a year. As a result, most of the world is far behind the Chinese audience on story and character updates. Rather than letting most players lag behind, Atlus and developer Black Wings Game… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:35 AM  Call Of Duty: WW2 joined Game Pass on June 30, including for PC subscribers who could now access the game through the Microsoft Store. Days later, that version of the game had to be taken offline amid reports of players getting hacked and trolled with pop up messages on their PC, which seems very, very bad. Players… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:45 AM  Stalker 2 originally launched last November just in time for long-standing post-apocalyptic survival sickos to feast on its eerie, emergent sandbox, and for most other people to bounce off its buggy gameplay in favor of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle or their massive backlogs. It's getting a second chance to… |
Kotaku Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:00 AM  Live-service game development has become the ultimate gamble for any publisher. If you get a hit, you're set—money will pour in for as long as you can surf the wave. If you miss, countless millions are lost forever. Most of them miss. The latest game to spectacularly fail to be a long-running cash cow is Steel Hunters,… |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:50 PM Sifting through the Steam Summer Sale is never easy; there's too much choice. For indie developers, that means poor discoverability, with multi-million dollar projects overshadowing their years-long labor of love that just needs a good weekend to break even. That's just one area where indie.io can help, and we're highlighting just a tiny selection of the collection currently enjoying big content updates on top of massive discounts during this year's red-hot Steam Summer Sale. |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:53 PM July 9, 2025: We've revamped our All Star Tower Defense X tier list. Who ranks well on the All Star Tower Defense X tier list? If you're waiting on banner rotation cooldowns, let us help you pick between the X and Y summons. With around two dozen units at launch, the strongest ASTDX units are largely the rarest. But with teamups, traits, and trees, how you build the best ASTDX characters can make all the difference. Before you pull, make sure to use the latest ASTDX codes to score some bonus gems for pulls. You'll also snag upgrade materials, orbs, and trait rerolls to build up your best units. Deep in other Roblox tower defense titles? Grab more freebies with SpongeBob Tower Defense codes, Anime Last Stand codes, and Five Nights TD codes while they're active. Continue reading All Star Tower Defense X tier list - best units and traits MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:00 PM Thought the first War Thunder of the year would set back plans for the next? Not so. The second big 2025 War Thunder patch is here. And when we say big, we mean big. Leviathan-class big. The focus of the Leviathans update is exactly as it sounds, with some of the world's most brutal battleships here to push War Thunder to its limits. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best free Steam games, Tank games, War Thunder system requirements |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:43 PM A new Oblivion Remastered update has just been unveiled, and while it's currently only available in Steam beta, it'll soon bring some much needed improvements and fixes to all players. Update 1.2 also looks to expand Oblivion Remastered's difficulty options, with a new 'Journeyman' difficulty tier. Continue reading Oblivion Remastered update adds an unexpected new difficulty option MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Oblivion Remastered quest list, Oblivion Remastered mods, How long is Oblivion Remastered? |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:44 PM Rainbow Six Siege X might look like a realistic and tactical FPS on the surface, but in the decade since launch it's become anything but. Ubisoft has crossed the shooter over with everything from Yakuza to Rick and Morty, and even Nier (no, I'm not joking). Now, though, the colorful and chaotic universe of Borderlands is coming to the game, and I personally couldn't be happier. Continue reading Rainbow Six Siege X and Borderlands are having a surprise crossover MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Rainbow Six Siege X review, Play Rainbow Six Siege |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:39 PM There's something so satisfying about managing resources and designing locations in a city builder, watching how every decision you make and every resource you decide to use can result in triumph or adversity in your city's growth. Like all the genre greats, Aztecs: The Last Sun is no different, except it's historical. Oh, and there's human sacrifices. Continue reading Aztecs The Last Sun is ancient Cities Skylines with human sacrifices MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:13 PM New Total War Warhammer 3 patch notes have arrived for Creative Assembly's mighty strategy game, and the developer has brought a colossal round of unit balance changes in the wake of its recent magic items overhaul. With long-neglected factions including Slaanesh and Norsca getting fresh attention in the upcoming Tides of Torment DLC, CA is attempting to spruce up the overall pace of its game, with some specific changes to Domination alongside a long list of more general rebalancing. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC, Total War: Warhammer 3 races, Total War: Warhammer 3 review |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:13 PM July 9, 2025: Two new Goalbound codes have been added to the list. What are the active Goalbound codes? For stacks of new Lucky Spins of both varieties, you'll want to use these Roblox Goalbound codes before they expire. With them, you might just score legendary and mythic-grade styles without parting with your precious Robux or hard-earned in-game salary. Think Goalbound needs a little more time to cook? Give Blue Lock Rivals codes or Azure Latch codes a go instead. Want more sportsball? See what the latest Basketball Legends codes can get you, or give Volleyball Legends codes a go if you're up for sprinting around the sand. Continue reading Goalbound codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:01 PM Delta Force Season Break is live, bringing with it an avalanche of reasons to jump into the free-to-play FPS. Team Jade's shooter has been going from strength to strength on Steam recently, consistently hitting over 150,000 concurrents every single day. It blends the large-scale gunfights of Battlefield with the extraction mechanics of Escape From Tarkov, creating something totally unique. With Season Break, though, you've got a new operator, extra maps, more weapons, and even the ability to swim. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Delta Force guns, Delta Force operators, Delta Force loadouts |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:08 PM July 9, 2025: We've added a missing Bee Swarm Simulator code to the list. What are the active Bee Swarm Simulator codes? Whether you're in the market for some free items to help you get started farming honey, or you need that extra boost to your bee's effectiveness at collecting pollen, there's no quicker way to get your hive started than to redeem a whole bunch of codes. However, it's not always easy to know where to find ones that work. So, if you want to give your little pollinators a helping hand, we have many tried and tested active Bee Swarm Simulator codes to redeem that give you valuable free items and boosts. We also have freebies for other popular Roblox games, including Blade Ball codes, Blox Fruits codes, and Murder Mystery 2 codes to help you get ahead. Continue reading Bee Swarm Simulator codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:04 PM July 9, 2025: We're looking for new Survive the Killer codes ahead of a potential update this month. What are the Survive the Killer codes? Putting players into the roles of killer and survivors, this horror movie-inspired Roblox game promises to immerse you into a classic hunter vs hunter experience, but it's all the better when there are codes to grant extra bonuses too. If you want to best chance of winning the night, following this guide is a must. When playing Roblox games that pit you against monsters or creatures in the dark, getting extra help from guides like those for the latest Dandy's World codes or Five Nights TD codes is a must. Survive the Killer is no different, so here are the latest bonuses you can get right now. Continue reading Survive the Killer codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:09 PM July 9, 2025: While the whole Roblox world searching for eggs to hatch, we've been looking for new Murder Mystery 2 codes in safety. What are the newest Murder Mystery codes? Roblox games rarely throw up an intense experience as MM2, a game where you could be set up as the murderer, a bystander, or the sheriff. The murderer has to, well, murder while the bystanders attempt to avoid the wrath of said player, leaving the sheriff to figure out, and eliminate, the out of place baddie. Murder Mystery 2 game codes can spice things up with some additional flair. This Roblox game is more cerebral than most, which means you'll rely on your wits most of the time. Still, having a helping hand in the form of some freebies via MM2 codes never hurts. Blade Ball codes shouldn't be ignored if you're after other gifts. We also have Project Mugetsu codes and Blox Fruits codes that can help you grind those long-tail adventure games. Continue reading Murder Mystery 2 codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:06 PM July 9, 2025: Even with no new update on the horizon, we're looking around for new Shindo Life codes. What are the new Shindo Life codes? Shindo Life is among the most popular gacha games on the Roblox platform thanks to its lightning-fast action, wealth of unlockables, and Naruto-like vibes. Developer RellGames is also an extremely active creator, delivering a tight weekly update schedule and serving up regular codes for rellcoins, spins, double XP, and more. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you'd be wise to make use of our codes list down below, which we update regularly to bring you the latest rewards before they're gone. We'll also explain how to redeem Roblox Shindo Life codes as well as when you can expect new codes to arrive. Continue reading Shindo Life codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:59 AM It's almost unheard of to find an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT below MSRP, and yet it has finally happened, but only for UK shoppers. For everyone else, prices seem to be dropping so it could soon make upgrading your rig to this level of performance as affordable as it should always have been. The RX 9070 XT is without doubt one of the best graphics cards you can buy right now. While it might not be as powerful as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, the mid-range AMD graphics card delivered solid performance in our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review and should be great value for money at the card's MSRP of $599 / £569. The card even performs up to 27% better than at the time of its launch on select games, following the release of the 25.6.3 AMD drivers, but there's always been one small issue: that price tag. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 9070 XT review |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:50 AM July 9, 2025: We're still tiptoeing around the subway to avoid a certain someone while we hunt for new Persona 5 The Phantom X codes for you to redeem. What are the new Persona 5 The Phantom X codes? If you're keen to jump into the Persona 5 spinoff now that the global release of the gacha game is here, you're going to need all the free goodies and rewards you can get. Here are the latest codes. Persona 5 is one of the best RPGs on PC, and Metaphor ReFantazio was one of the best PC games to emerge from Atlus in 2024, so we're excited that a new Persona 5 game is here. You take on the role of new characters, and some old ones return, too. Persona 5 X codes are particularly handy to get hold of in-game currency and items to use on banners for the chance of getting your favorite character, so here are all active codes. Continue reading Persona 5 The Phantom X codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Persona 5 The Phantom X codes, Persona 5 The Phantom X tier list, Best turn-based RPGs |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:00 PM July 9, 2025: Ahead of the release of Marian and Yui in update 1.1, we've added the two new characters to the P5X tier list based on prior data. What's the Persona 5 The Phantom X tier list for patch 1.1? Now available worldwide after a successful run in certain regions, the global release of P5X features a slightly different launch lineup. And while the strongest character is who you're likely expecting, rooting for a single unit is far from the best angle. Get the bigger picture with this P5X tier list. It'll be interesting to see how the meta changes in Persona 5 The Phantom X over the coming weeks and months. Looking to get into some of the other best gacha games? Just need a refresher course on the best units around? Check out our HSR tier list for more turn-based battles, or our Genshin Impact tier list if you're looking to mix things up with real-time brawls in vibrant open worlds. Continue reading Persona 5 The Phantom X tier list - best characters and reroll guide MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Persona 5 The Phantom X codes, Persona 5 The Phantom X tier list, Best turn-based RPGs |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:45 AM July 9, 2025: We're looking for new Greenville codes for the Greenville Land Rover update. What are the new Greenville codes? While cruising around the idyllic town generating ideas for your next midwestern emo band, you'll probably find yourself eyeing up some of the fancier vehicles this Roblox game offers. Fresh wheels aren't cheap. Need a few extra boosts to get you to the showroom quicker? Use these Greenville game codes. Whether you're kicking it old school with the 1995 Volzhsky Rocket, or are looking for something with a little more sauce like the 2025 BKM Y60 W, Greenville codes will give you a helping hand in acquiring your dream car in the driving and life simulation game. Read on for the latest freebies available in the Roblox experience. Continue reading Greenville codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:42 AM July 9, 2025: We have three new Anime Shadow 2 codes to use to celebrate the game's full release. What are the new Anime Shadow 2 codes? While still in beta testing, this Roblox adventure is scooping up players at a pace, suggesting it's an experience well worth trying before its full release. This list of Anime Shadow 2 game codes should get you all the boosts and new top-tier Shadows you'll need to help you catch up to (or eclipse) your friends. For general Roblox freebies, check out the latest Roblox promo codes. And for roleplaying games, use these Roblox music codes to add some ambience to your place or set up a street party. And if you're looking for recommendations, Grow a Garden codes continue to be popular. Blue Lock Rivals codes just keep coming, too. Continue reading Anime Shadow 2 codes July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:34 AM July 9, 2025: We added to new free Bingo Blitz credits links for July 9. What are the new free Bingo Blitz credits? You won't be playing much bingo without them, that's for sure. Even if you've exhausted your usual free credits in Bingo Blitz through login rewards and premium subscriptions, the secret to playing another round is through our Bingo Blitz credits links. New Bingo Blitz free credits links work in much the same way as Monopoly Go dice links. One click and your account is automatically topped up with credits ready to be used on multiple rounds or one big blow-out session with multiple cards. The choice is yours. Continue reading Free Bingo Blitz credits July 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Bingo Blitz credits, Best card games, Best PC board games |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:27 AM How do you unlock the Spongebob level in THPS 3+4? We've seen some interesting collaborations with the Tony Hawk games in the past, but this Spongebob crossover might just take the crown as the best in the series. By jumping off a specific rail, you can get a glimpse of the titular sponge's pineapple-shaped home under the sea. While you can take a trip to Bikini Bottom, we're sad to report that the Spongebob level in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 isn't a full-blown level. What's particularly great about this easter egg is that you don't need to complete any goals like the grind the molten bucket challenge, you just need to head to the right area in the skateboarding game. Continue reading How to unlock the Spongebob level in THPS 3+4 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best skateboarding games, Best sports games, Best PC games |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:16 AM Fancy a new gaming handheld? If you're in the UK, you could treat yourself to a brand new Asus ROG Ally, thanks to this stonking Amazon Prime Day deal which puts it at its lowest ever price. Amazon has dropped the price of this original Asus ROG Ally down to just £399.99, down from as high as £599.99 just two months ago. You're not getting the base model, either. This Asus handheld comes with AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, the better of the two original models, and while it may have been superseded in our best handheld guide by the newer ROG Ally X, this OG rival is still a powerful option for Windows gamers who don't want to spend a fortune to take their gaming sessions with them. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 review, Asus ROG Ally X review, Best gaming motherboard |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:13 AM Sonic the Hedgehog is a beloved franchise that has survived the test of time, and the latest Sonic Rumble system requirements point towards an incredibly accessible game that will run on just about any entry-level PC or laptop, even one that's a decade old. This online co-op version of Sonic puts us in mind of Fall Guys with a SEGA twist and, as can be expected, barely demands anything from your gaming laptop or PC. In fact, you won't need anything nearly as powerful as the best graphics card on our buying guide to get Sonic Rumble running at its very best. You won't even need a high-powered processor, as hardware from 2012 is enough to get this contender for best battle royale games running. Continue reading Sonic Rumble system requirements |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:11 AM Planning a memory upgrade to your gaming PC? You might want to do it sooner rather than later. A new report from TrendForce suggests that PC RAM prices are set to skyrocket in the next quarter of 2025, with DDR4 RAM in particular expected to cost significantly more in the near future. Whether it's a PC, laptop, or handheld, the cost of system memory is going to play a part in the overall price of a lot of your PC gaming hardware. For instance, if the price of LPDDR5X RAM goes up, manufacturers are likely to pass on those costs, making the devices in our best handheld guide even more expensive. For gamers already facing the uncertainty of tariffs, prices could start to trickle up across the board. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:48 AM Now is a great time to bag yourself a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card if you've been waiting for the prices to drop, as gamers in the UK can currently buy this gaming GPU for less than the MSRP. Overclockers currently has an overclocked PNY RTX 5080 card going for £929.99, saving you £170 on the previous price, and even saving you £20 on the MSRP for a stock speed model. There's nothing else on the market that can touch this Nvidia GPU at that price. As we found in our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 review, this graphics card might not be massively quicker than the previous RTX 4080 in terms of rendering power, but it's still a formidable 4K gaming GPU that's at least half the price of the RTX 5090, plus it supports the whole Nvidia DLSS 4 tech suite, including multi frame gen. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 review, Best graphics cards |
PCGamesN Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:44 AM New 18th-century grand strategy game Master of Command brings the Seven Years' War to Steam. It lets you direct more than 150 historical units across large-scale, tactical battles and a real-time campaign. Built by indie studio Armchair History Interactive, this upstart challenger is set to launch in 2025, and if you're looking for something to scratch the historical strategy itch while we await Europa Universalis 5, Master of Command might be just the thing for your wishlist. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:00 PM  Just hours after we shared a huge deal on the HP Omen 45L with an RTX 4090, the manufacturer surprised us again with another deal that's not likely to last long. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:54 PM  Of all the "what if Balatro, but" projects on offer, there are surely none so atrocious and indecent, so utterly irresponsible of conception and offensive to human dignity as Birdigo, which bills itself as "what if Balatro, but Wordle". For the uninitiated, Balatro is the rad poker roguelite that took the games industry by storm in 2024, while Wordle is what the New York Times do now instead of articles. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:53 PM  Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Time Flies, the latest wonderfully weird game from Swiss devs Playables, will turn you into a fly. I mean, the clue was in the name. You live for a matter of seconds every playthrough, and in that time, you've got a bug bucket list of stuff you can do. You'd better not screw around. Or you'd better get on with screwing around. Either way, this cool cousin/sibling to the equally bizarre Kids and My Exercise is coming out on PC July 31st. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:05 PM  The second of two Oblivion Remastered updates Bethesda told us all they had up their buggy sleeves arrives in Steam Beta later today, July 9th. This one's update 1.2, and it's headlined by the sorts of performance improvements folks have been begging for, plus some difficulty setting tweaks. In case you missed it, The Elder Scrolls 4.something's last update did many things, but by fair the most noteworthy was stopping a vampire from succumbing to the urge all men get. That being the urge to become bald so you can save like £10 a year by no longer buying shampoo. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:59 AM  Back in June, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of alleged undocumented migrants in Los Angeles provoked a wave of protests. The Trump administration attempted to make hay from the situation, dispatching federal military troops to the city in a show of toughness, against the objections of California's own governor. Despite this cynical cultivation of a pressure-cooker atmosphere, the majority of protesters were peaceful, albeit justifiably loud and angry at having their neighbours seized and imprisoned by random thugs at the behest of a dime store Palpatine. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:59 AM  Assassin's Creed Black Flag Remake chatter has started reverberating around the decks of the internet again recently, like a mighty sea shanty that Ubisoft won't say much about. With folks keener for new info than they are booty, an update to the original Black Flag's Steam backend is the latest thing to fan the Remake speculation flames, but before you get excited about it, it's worth bearing in mind that a bunch of other Assassin's Creed games got similar tweaks yesterday. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:25 AM  I Don't Want To Be A Good Woman is an abstract walking simulator that depicts the experience of being a young girl in Iran - a country that, as characterised by UN human rights investigators in September 2024, operates "a system, both in law and in practice, that fundamentally discriminates on the grounds of gender". It takes the form of a molten grey landscape strewn with faceless figures, floating symbols and text. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:55 AM Mortality Decomp. Killers is a free Post Void-like that scores you on how many doors you've "killed'  MDK was a 1997 shooter in which you played a pointy headed janitor named Kurt Hectic with a parachute suit and a gun for an arm, the best thing about it being its Giger-ish sniper mode interface. MDK is also Mortality Decomp. Killers - a sour lollipop puke hued Post Void-like with Hotline Miami's lethality and a very good spinny knifey move. It's completely free on Steam, although you can pick up the soundtrack for a few quid if you fancy supporting it. After each level, your score breakdown includes how many doors you've "killed". Not since my beloved Mullet Mad Jack has a game facilitated such reckless hinge hatred. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:47 AM .jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp){kind=tracking} Prime Day is going full throttle, and if you've been waiting to upgrade your keyboard, now's the time. Chasing ultra-responsive switches for competitive play? Low-profile vibes for a clean desk setup? Just want something that lights up like a spaceship? there's something in this Prime Day sale with your name on it. I've rounded up the best deals I could find—everything from custom-ready beasts to wireless wonders with serious discounts. Scroll through, see what catches your eye, and don't forget to activate that 30-day free trial of Prime. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:10 AM  Steel Hunters, a free-to-play mech shooter from World of Tanks devs Wargaming, was only revealed last December. An early access release in April this year followed that Keighley Awards cameo, and just three months on, the game's been given a shutdown date. It's not quite a Concord-level speedrun from the live-service cradle to the live-service grave, but it's still a pretty quick one. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 8:36 AM  I'm a month late on this, but since we don't appear to have written about Kenshi for about six years, I figured this was worth highlighting. Chris Hunt and Natalie Mikkelson of Lo-Fi Games recently put out a video chatting about Kenshi 2, their approach to design and, uh, their shared hatred for fondue. It's a lovely, unadorned look at game development, with Hunt and Mikkelson talking through how they basically learned to do everything on the fly, from Kenshi's beginnings to Lo-Fi Games's current size of 30 people. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Wednesday, July 9, 2025 6:15 AM  Naughty Dog have released a new mode for The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered that lets you play out the events of the story in chronological order. Nobody who has ever read a single book can understand why. |
Twinfinite Wednesday, July 9, 2025 8:51 AM  |
Twinfinite Wednesday, July 9, 2025 6:50 AM  |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 2:00 PM
Cover announced the Hololive Summer promotion for 2025 will be holoNatsu Paradise. Vtubers Houshou Marine, Kureiji Ollie, La+ Darknesss, Shirogane Noel, and Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard (Fuwamoco) acted as the initial ambassadors for the "opening ceremony" that already appeared on YouTube on July 9, 2025. The Idol Project song for the event is live, Cover shared official art for each performer, and there are different kinds of Hololive merchandise available. We should also see more activities tied to it now that the event kicked off.
Each year, the Hololive Summer events tend to involve Vtubers in swimsuits and engaging in different themed activities together. For example, the 2023 installment involved swimsuit models and a karaoke relay. At the moment, the official Cover social media account only brought up the music, initial stream, and first round of merchandise.
Here's the holoNatsu Paradise 2025 opening ceremony stream. Note that even though two Hololive English members are present, it's all in Japanese.
The teaser PV for the Summer 2025 event shows every Hololive Vtuber ready for the season:
And here's a gallery of all the holoNatsu Paradise Vtuber designs.
The new Hololive Idol Project song for the holoNatsu Paradise summer event is a collab track with a number of individuals from different branches. It's called "Aizome Summer Time." The cover art for it showed Usada Pekora, Ayunda Risu, Kobo Kanaeru, Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard, Momosuzu Nene, and Tsunomaki Watame.
The initial Hololive merchandise for holoNatsu Paradise includes voice packs and accessories. 55 voice packs are available from people from the Japanese, Indonesian, and English branches for $4 each. However, in some cases some Vtubers released multiple packs in different languages. Ayunda Risu is an example of one person who released English, Indonesian, and Japanese versions, while some like Ouro Kronii released English and Japanese ones.
The other items are more generic and mostly feature the branding for this year's event. There's a $15 card holder, black or white $30 t-shirts, a $25 tote bag, and $15 keychain. There are also an array of different ice cream charms with color schemes and designs inspired by different performers. Acrylic ice cream charms are $5 per random charm or $40-70 per box with multiple charms for multiple generations.
Here's how all those look:
The holoNatsu Paradise Hololive Vtuber event is now live.
The post Hololive Summer 2025 Is holoNatsu Paradise appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:00 PM
Atlus and Black Wings announced the new character Minami "Marian" Miyashita and her Persona Thalia will appear in Persona 5: The Phantom X 1.1. She will be a five-star Blessing character who acts as a Medic. We'll see her on a Phantom Idol banner after the July 10, 2025 update, just like characters such as Kotone "Mont" Montagne.
Marian is one of those characters who proved to be quite a popular and useful character due to her healing capabilities and ability to deal light-based damage to enemies in the Asian release. The only other Medic characters you can really turn to, aside from her, are Cattle and Mona. She's voiced by Satomi Sato, who also played Escoffier in Genshin Impact, Corrin in Fire Emblem Fates, and Magilou in Tales of Berseria. In the Asian version of the game, she joined the general pool of characters after her debut, but it is unknown if that will be true for the worldwide release.
In Japan, two trailers are also available for her that shows her in and out of battle. First, here's the combat-focused one:
You can see more story-focused scenes with her below:
And here's the official art of the character:
We know the other character debuting in this update as well. Yui, who goes by the code name Bui, will appear with her Persona Apseudes on a Persona 5: The Phantom X banner just like Marian and Thalia. She's more of a damage dealer, as she'll be an Assassin who deals Thunder element damage to foes.
Persona 5: The Phantom X is available on the PC via Steam and mobile devices, and we'll see Minami "Marian" Miyashita with Thalia after 1.1 arrives on July 10, 2025.
The post Next Persona 5: The Phantom X Character Is Minami "Marian" Miyashita appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:00 PM
One day after a "Keeping Up with Star Rail" video showed Saber gameplay in Honkai: Star Rail, HoYoVerse shared another installment focusing on the Fate series Servant Archer who also debuts in the crossover. He's also based on his Fate/stay Nigh [Unlimited Blade Works] appearance.
The first moments of the Honkai: Star Rail Archer focus on showing him around Penacony. In one segment, he uses his weapons to attack enemies approaching people. Other scenes show him lurking around. It then reconfirms he's a Hunt type of character who deals Quantum damage to enemies as Owlbert and Skott begin to discuss his moveset.
Things begin with his basic attack. Since he's a Hunt character, he's focused on dealing damage and targeting one opponent. He uses Kanshou and Bakuya blades to attack one enemy. His Skill is Caladbolg II: Fake Spiral Sword, which brings out a bow he uses to fire a sword at one opponent. This can start a Circuit Connection state that allows him to keep using that attack until his Skill Points run out and keep stacking damage. His Projection Magecraft allows him to increase SP when he's present, bringing the number up to seven.
As for his Ultimate, it should look very familiar to those who saw the original anime. It is Unlimited Blade Works. This deals damage to a single enemy while also charging himself up. He can use that charge to perform a follow-up attack after an ally attacks using his Mind's Eye (True) Talent.
Here's the full "Keeping Up With Star Rail — Archer: Would Be Nice if You Could Materialize Firearms" showing the Fate Servant's gameplay in Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai: Star Rail is available for the PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the Fate collab starts on July 11, 2025, then ends just before the launch of 3.7. The Fate/stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
The post Honkai: Star Rail Archer Fate Crossover Gameplay Shared appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:00 AM
Dragami Games has revealed that it will release LoveR Kiss Endless Memories for Nintendo Switch and PC in late November 2025. The newly upgraded version of the Japanese dating simulator game will also be available worldwide with additional language support in English and Simplified Chinese.
For the record, LoveR originally appeared for PlayStation 4 in Japan in March 2019. It is the latest iteration of a long-running dating sim game series that launched with the 1996 PS1 entry True Love Story and also comprises KimiKiss, Amagami, PhotoKano, and RecoLove. LoveR Kiss, an upgrade to the original LoveR, appeared on the PS4 and Switch in February 2020.
Endless Memories will bring even more updates to LoveR. There will be a new Pro Photo Session mode, where the player can immediately access additional photography and decoration features like frames and stamps.
In addition, the English localization for Endless Memories will be human-translated. Frontline Gaming Japan's Johann C.K. revealed that he had provided translations of the game's scripts that contain around 750,000 Japanese letters.
Dragami Games has also uploaded an announcement trailer for LoveR Kiss Endless Memories in Japanese on its YouTube channel:
LoveR Kiss Endless Memories will be available worldwide for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam on November 27, 2025.
The post LoveR Kiss Endless Memories Will Include English Localization appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:00 AM
The Demon Slayer Crocs are coming back, as the shoes will return alongside the upcoming Infinity Castle movie. They will first appear in Japan on July 11, 2025. The US website for the shoes noted they'll be back on August 11, 2025. This follows an earlier appearance of the shoes in 2023. People who visit the English website can supply an email address to sign up for notifications.
In Japan, only four Demon Slayer Crocs varieties appeared, while five types of shoes showed up on the US website. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu ones will apparently be everywhere, but Shinobu seems to only show up outside Japan for now. The Tanjiro model is the Echo Clog design with more holes along the side. Both the Inosuke and Zenitsu ones are All-Terrain Clogs designed for more active outdoor activities. The Nezuko and Shinobu variants are Classic Clog designs. Each one features a design inspired by the character's outfit and Jibbitz charms that match their motif, weapons, or accessories in the series.
These are standard Crocs unisex styles, with typical sizes available. This means the smallest shoes are a 4 in Men's and 6 in Women's, and the largest are a 17 in Men's and 12 in Women's.
As a reminder, here's how they all will look:
This is the second recent collaboration collection confirmed. Animal Crossing Crocs are also on the way.
The Demon Slayer Crocs will show up in Japan on July 11, 2025, then the shoes will appear in the US on August 11, 2025. Demon Slayer the Movie: Infinity Castle heads to theaters in Japan on July 18, 2025, then debuts in the US and Canada on September 12, 2025. The anime is on Crunchyroll, and Viz Media handles the manga outside Japan.
The post Demon Slayer Crocs Will Return appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:00 AM
The Switch 2 launch included the return of a Square Enix JRPG series, with the company reviving Bravely Default: Flying Fairy for an HD Remaster. It marked the return of a 13-year-old classic and added range to the new console's library. To learn more about this welcome return, Siliconera spoke with Producers Tomoya Asano and Naofumi Matsushita about the project.
Jenni Lada: When did Square Enix decide it would return to Bravely Default for an HD remaster?
Tomoya Asano: Around spring 2022, the team members discussed what would be the best way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series and show our appreciation to all our fans who have supported us. Masashi Takahashi, who was the assistant producer for the original version, even pressed us on this, saying, "It's the 10th anniversary, you know!" (laughs) We considered various directions, like making a new game or a remake or remaster, but we decided, "Let's make the first Bravely Default game easily playable for today's gaming environment." So, I consulted Matsushita-san, saying, "Matsushita-san, we only have six months until the 10th anniversary. Do you think we can pull it off?" Of course, there was no way we could. (laughs)
Naofumi Matsushita: Just as we were having that discussion, it was announced that the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS would be closing in March 2023. I was tasked with handling this occurrence for the title, and we received an overwhelming response not only from players in Japan, but also from overseas, with many saying, "Please don't close it yet. We want to use the online features." I was deeply moved to learn that there were so many passionate fans who still wanted to play the game. I thought it would be wonderful to release a title that would bring joy to these fans, so even though we couldn't make it in time for the 10th anniversary (laughs), we renewed our determination to create a remastered version.
What made the company decide to choose the Switch 2 as the platform for Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster?
Asano: As we were adjusting the development schedule, it just so happened to coincide with the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, so we were fortunate with this good timing.
What kinds of challenges did you face when turning the 3DS StreetPass elements into ones that would be tied to online interactions?
Matsushita: From the initial planning stage, we had the concepts of "don't change the game experience" and "improve playability" in mind, so replacing "StreetPass" with "Passing Souls" within the towns was a top priority, and we spent a lot of time discussing and adjusting this in the early stages of development.
Since Bravely Default II already had a similar online system in place, there wasn't a large hurdle to implementation in itself. However, after implementation, adjusting the frequency of other players appearing in the towns, how they appear and disappear, and organizing and integrating the information obtained, were somewhat more challenging.
Did you consider adding any extra content to Norende as part of the development process?
Matsushita: Since it was already planned to fully develop the map of Norende Village from the start, we felt confident about its volume based on feedback from fans of the original game and didn't consider adding to this. However, we did make some adjustments to the rewards given when it was unlocked to balance the gameplay.
Which Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster quality of life change did you consider most important and your priority for the Switch 2 release and why?
Matsushita: Rather than deciding the priority features from the start and implementing them, our approach was to bring in features that would be convenient for people playing for the second or third time, drawing from the entire series, and we gradually implemented these features as the specifications were finalized as part of the UI revamp process. This ranged from small details like recommended character level displays in dungeons and implementation of Sets, to larger features, like double playback speed when autoplay is enabled, once the events were getting finalized. We all played and assessed the feel of the game before implementing features. The development studio, Cattle Call, is very passionate about the original game, so we were happy to receive many enthusiastic suggestions from them as well.
Although we were nearing the end of development, we were able to add features such as a 'Heal All' button and a tent feature with adventurers in dungeons (albeit at a high price). This was only possible thanks to everyone's proactive cooperation, so I was personally very moved.
The new additions for the Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster are minigames involving Switch 2 Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. How did the team come up with the ideas and concepts for both?
Matsushita: When it comes to Bravely Default, one of its main selling points is its use of various features of the hardware, so if we were going to release it on new hardware, I wanted to include something unique to it. Cattle Call, who oversaw developing the remastered version, was also very enthusiastic, so we decided, "Let's try making something that uses the mouse controls."
Asano: As creators, it's fun to be able to create something using new features on new hardware. I think everyone is eager to experience what it's like to use a mouse with both hands, so I'm glad we were able to include these minigames at launch.
Matsushita: We came up with many ideas for minigames with Cattle Call, but we decided that rather than just increasing the number of minigames, we would focus on making more substantial minigames, which led to the two minigames included in this release. The rhythm game "Luxencheer Rhythm Catch" was one we quickly decided on. A rhythm game using both hands for mouse control seemed like a unique experience, and we thought the gameplay would be easy to grasp from the screen.
We created "Ringabel's Panic Cruise" with the concept of making a game using double mouse controls that was unlike anything else out there.
Ringabel's Panic Cruise reminds me a lot of the Japanese train simulations. Did you look to any of those types of games when developing this minigame?
Matsushita: Actually, we had been developing the game based on the previously mentioned concept from the very beginning, so there were no specific titles we referenced for the airship. Initially, we tried displaying a mock cockpit in the foreground while controlling the airship itself from an objective viewpoint, similar to the main game. However, after experimenting with various approaches to enhance the sense of controlling the airship, we felt that a first-person perspective would be more suitable, and after some trial and error, we settled on the current design.
From the desire to add more movable mechanics to the cockpit or create more confusion through the controls, ideas like orders, radios and levers emerged, leading to the name of that minigame. Ringabel always has a tough job; thank you for your hard work.
Oh, one thing that could be considered somewhat having a reference was the shield mechanics in the Default Mode during boss encounters. Based on my experience working as an Assistant Producer on Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, I thought it would be fun to incorporate a shield mechanic using dual mouse controls. Rather than implementing it exactly as it was in Swords, since this is an airship, I decided to add visuals for the shields and make them combine to form a reflect shield, drawing inspiration from Dragon Quest Swords to create a look, gameplay, and feel unique to this game. We thought, "if there's a Default Mode, we need a Brave Mode, too!" which led to the introduction of the cannon mechanic.
Since planning and development were already well underway, I later asked Asano, "Can we have shields and cannons coming out of the airship?!" He replied, "If it's interesting, you can do whatever you want." I remember being very happy to hear that.
Hearing that, the designers also got amped up and drew some great artwork (laughs). The mechanics are actually positioned differently for the Eschalot and the Grandship, and we deliberately had different artists draw the cockpit and cannons to give them a different look and feel. We hope you'll take a close look at all the details.
What would you like to do next with the Bravely series, now that Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster helped reintroduce it to new audiences?
Matsushita: Unfortunately, at this time, we have no news to share regarding plans for new titles in the Bravely series. My apologies. For those who enjoyed this game, although there is no direct connection, Bravely Default II is also available on Nintendo Switch, so we hope you will give it a try.
If you enjoyed this Bravely Default title, which is a cornerstone of the Asano team, we hope you will also take an interest in other works by the team. While you explore our past works, we hope to continue exploring new possibilities for the future.
Your feedback is a great source of motivation for us, so we sincerely appreciate your continued support.
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster is available on the Switch 2 worldwide.
The post Interview: Developing Bravely Default HD Remaster for Switch 2 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:55 AM
Throughout Disney Dreamlight Valley's Unwritten Realms storyline, you'll help Maleficent by uncovering three of her Anchor Moments. We've already found the first, with the "The Spinning Wheel" quest focused on uncovering the second.
Table of contents
Venture to the second review floor
Before we can uncover Maleficent's second Anchor Moment, we'll need to talk to another Magic Quill. There's a malfunctioning conveyor system that requires a manager to repair. You'll tell the Quill you're the manager, prompting it to question your abilities.
To test your knowledge, the Quill will ask three questions. Thankfully, if you get them wrong, you'll have a chance to find more information and return later. Otherwise, you can solve them all immediately or use the nearby scroll to find the answers.
All Magic Quill supervisor answers
Here's a complete list of the Magic Quill's supervisor questions and answers.
Once you solve the questions correctly, you'll receive a wheel from the Magic Quill that lets you unlock the conveyor. Attach the wheel and spin it once. Then, go to the far right-side wheel and activate it once. These two interactions will unlock the conveyor, letting you begin the second Anchor Moment puzzle.
Solve the puzzles to find Maleficent's second anchor moment
After entering the Anchor Moment's portal, you'll find a dungeon full of suits of armor and teacups. Break through the teacups to discover a statue of Aurora and a large Spinning Wheel opposite of her. Reading a nearby hint paper reveals that we need to raise both platforms high to unlock the path forward.
As you approach each statue, you'll notice water wheel devices behind them. Activate the spinning wheel's first before going behind Aurora's. Hers doesn't have a wheel, so we'll need to explore the room behind her.
In this next room, you'll find the water wheel atop a large platform. To access this, we need to create a bridge connecting the room's beginning to this second location. Doing so requires activating two water wheels, which you'll spot along the room's path.
The first is directly to your left after going down the stairs and running forward. As you follow this path, you'll find the second on the area's left side, hidden away behind some rocks. Breaks these rocks and activate the wheel to create a bridge, letting you backtrack and collect the water wheel for Aurora's statue.
With the wheel in hand, return to Aurora's statue, attach this wheel, and activate it to unlock the dungeon's door. Entering it will reveal Maleficent's second Anchor Moment, which you can return to her to complete the "The Spinning Wheel" quest.
The post The Unwritten Realms: The Spinning Wheel quest walkthrough in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:47 AM
The second map in the THPS3 roster, Canada, is one packed to the brim with goals, challenges, and activities.
One of its more difficult goals is collecting the Secret Tape. These tapes are found all over the THPS 3+4 map roster, but this one is certainly among the more challenging ones to get. So, here's where you can find the Secret Tape on Canada and how you can get there.
Where to find and collect the Canada Secret Tape - THPS 3
The Secret Tape is located at the end of a broken railway at the back side of the map.
To get to this location, you'll have to unlock the secret path to it. As soon as you spawn on Canada, turn around and head for the big snow ramp to get to the roof of the wooden shack. Then, proceed to along the end of the next platform, then jump down to the lower platform. You can also grind along the right side after the roof to continue collecting the S-K-A-T-E letters that are found along this path.
Once at the end of the lower platform, jump down again under the building held by massive logs. On the left side you will see a generator which you need to grind against to make it raise the skating platform on the far end. Without doing this, the top part of the map with the Tape is inaccessible.
When you raise the ramp, you'll have to get some speed and air. I strongly suggest you load up your special meter for the mobility buffs, as it can be quite tricky to make these jumps. To get to the top ramp from the lower one, hold X/A and release it at the very top, then use Circle/B to transfer yourself over to the other ramp. It is easier said than done, therefore the special boost can tremendously relieve your troubles here.
From up there, use X/A to get speed and jump over to the next platform. Aim for the very middle, as the sides are almost impossible to reach. From that platform, move onto the next, prioritizing the left side which is more extended and easier to land on. Then, grind on the broken railway but aim for the right railing as it is the one which leads to the Tape. At the very end of the railing and your grind, you will have collected the Canada park Secret Tape.
If you happen to miss the railing and go to the left, you will need to repeat this whole ordeal, so be careful.
The post How to find Secret Tape on Canada – Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:46 AM
There are many faces, both friendly and not, that you can meet around the village in Disney Dreamlight Valley. One of the many characters you may come across is Maleficent, a powerful fairy you may want to unlock.
If you're eager to add her to your village, you may be wondering what needs to be done to recruit her to the valley. She's not an easy character to get, so here's what you need to know to unlock Maleficent in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Table of contents
How to get Maleficent in Disney Dreamlight Valley
You need to complete several prerequisite quests to unlock Maleficent. We're currently working through all of them and will update this guide with further details once we have them. There are lots of quests to get done, so you can get started on them in the meantime.
Maleficent prerequisites in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Before you can unlock Maleficent, you need to complete the main storyline for The Storybook Vale. So far, there are 21 quests you have to complete before you can recruit her, but there are likely more to follow. We'll add all additional details here as we work through them.
To tackle all of these quests, you also need to unlock and befriend Merida, Flynn, and Hades. They're super important characters for all of these tasks, so getting them in your valley is crucial for eventually unlocking Maleficent too.
The post How to unlock Maleficent in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:32 AM
Disney Dreamlight Valley's Unwritten Realms quests are full of difficult puzzles that can leave you stuck for a while. Maleficent's Gift already had one, with this next challenge, The Spinning Wheel, posing another mystery to tackle.
During the "The Unwritten Realms: The Spinning Wheel" quest, you'll search for Maleficent's second Anchor Moment following your encounter with the first. This time, you'll enter a dungeon full of teacups and suits of armor. Let's dive into how to solve these puzzles and find Maleficent's second anchor moment.
Solve the puzzles to find Maleficent's second anchor moment in Disney Dreamlight Valley
When you first enter The Spinning Wheel's dungeon, you'll immediately spot some teacups blocking your path and several suits of armor. Progressing beyond this point reveals a larger room with statues of Aurora, a spinning wheel, and additional suits of armor. Don't worry about the armor—we're only focused on the statues for this quest.
More importantly, though, we have a small hint paper you can interact with after entering this second room. Reading it reveals the following hint:
"Raise high the fingertip and the spinning wheel, and a path forward thou shalt reveal."
As you investigate both statues, you'll notice that they have water mechanisms to interact with. Starting with the Spinning Wheel, run over to it, break the teacups blocking access, and use your watering can to raise its platform.
Unfortunately, you'll need a few extra steps to do this with Aurora's. The wheel is missing, requiring you to venture to the room behind her to solve a separate puzzle. One of the first things you'll spot after descending its staircase is a third water wheel, which you can water to create a small bridge.
Before we can cross it, though, we'll need to navigate a mini maze. Follow the path, clearing away any obstacles you find using your Royal Tools until you spot a fourth water wheel behind some rocks. Break them and activate this wheel before backtracking to the beginning, crossing the bridge, and claiming the wheel.
Now that you have the missing wheel, use it on Aurora's statue and water it to raise both platforms, unlocking the room's door. Inside the next room is Maleficent's second Anchor Moment, which you can return to her to conclude the Spinning Wheel quest and begin the "The Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Demise" mission.
The post How to find Maleficent's second anchor moment in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:31 AM
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is finally here, brining two old school classics back into the limelight.
The games, just like in the old days, are packed with all sorts of challenges that earn you new rewards, parks, and Skaters. One of the more strange, unexplained ones is Indy Over the Half-Pipe in the Foundry park, so here's how you can clear it.
Indy Over the Half-Pipe guide - THPS3
The Foundry level is part of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 experience, and you must clear at least four of its goals to unlock the next park, Canada.
As opposed to some of the more difficult challenges in THPS3+4 that you'll likely be focusing on, Indy Over the Half-Pipe is actually fairly simple, if elusive at first. All you need to do is perform an Indy over the couple of ramps that are right in front of where you spawn on the map, i.e., the half-pipe ramp.
To clear the challenge, hold down X/A while to gather maximum speed while descending the middle ramp. Then, once you near the edge of the half-pipe ramp, release X/A to perform a high jump, then hold Right and Circle/B to perform an Indy. Once you stick the landing, the challenge should be cleared.
If you're in need of some extra airtime to make the jump, charge up your special meter by grinding the ramps and railings, as it provides extra jump height.
Completing this challenge takes you one step closer to unlocking the following park and clearing the Foundry level for additional unlocks from the THPS3 roster.
The post How to Indy Over the Half-Pipe in Foundry – Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 11:28 AM
Artificial intelligence is growing by the day, with updated models making life-realistic videos in seconds, computing questions and answers even faster, and having conversations daily.
One of the most prolific AI right now is Grok, run by Elon Musk's company xAI. The bot gets countless commands each day by users on Twitter/X, and it's been in the news for some very unfortunate reasons of late.
Recently, Musk said Grok was too "woke" so he announced plans to make it less politically correct. Within days, Grok was calling itself "MechaHitler" and posting antisemitic memes and tropes. Yikes.
The posts in question have since been removed, much to the chagrin of those who want "truth" and "free speech" at any cost. And I just can't help but long for a time where AI was just a fictional fantasy to get lost in.
There have been so many AI characters written in movies, books, and games throughout the years. Here are a few who did not reduce themselves to bigotry, although they did serve as a warning for what AI could become if left unchecked. If only we listened.
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EDI (Mass Effect)
Before implanting herself into a sexy robot body in Mass Effect 3, EDI (Enhanced Defense Intelligence) was introduced in Mass Effect 2 as the Normandy SR-2 spaceship's defense system. This AI even had blockers put in place by the humans-are-the-master-race evil organization Cerberus. Imagine that.
EDI becomes a valuable member of Commander Shepard's team and even finds romance with the ship's pilot, Joker.
Ultron (Marvel)
Ultron was not a racist or antisemite, but in certain iterations, is dead-set on destroying all living life forms in general after seeing what they are capable of and that there's no hope for humanity. In general, Ultron gains sentience and becomes a menace whose main directive is to rebuild and improve itself so that it is omnipresent, whether in physical form or not. He recently became a playable character in Marvel Rivals.
In related news, OpenAI's o1 AI model recently attempted to download itself onto external servers and even lied about doing so when confronted, according to a report by Fortune.
GLaDOS (Portal)
The Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System AI of Aperture Science's computer-aided Enrichment Center is one of the more charming artificial intelligences in all of gaming, despite her seemingly incessant need to murder.
The primary antagonist of Portal and Portal 2, GLaDOS serves to test the game's protagonists (Chell, Atlas and P-body) in the most increasingly twisted ways, and that's after she flooded the facility with neurotoxins to kill everyone inside.
Cortana (Halo)
Potentially the most beloved AI in gaming, Cortana has served as Master Chief's sidekick and partner throughout most of his adventures in fighting the Covenant as a friendly disembodied voice. She was designed after Catherine Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II Program, and like EDI, was also depicted as a feminine humanoid.
Microsoft even eventually named its AI-powered virtual assistant for Windows after Cortana, but it has since been retired.
Skynet (The Terminator)
Yeah, this is the big one. Skynet was a collection of super AI systems that saw all of humanity as a threat, and when humans attempted to shut it down, Skynet responded with a nuclear attack against mankind in what is known as Judgment Day. How lovely!
Then comes the whole time travel thing with Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Connor, which was entertaining for a time. The Terminator's characters have since been brought to life in gaming via several titles, along with cameos in games like Fortnite and Call of Duty.
It seemed silly at first, but now this sort of thing really doesn't seem all that farfetched anymore.
The post While Grok goes rogue, here are 5 fictional characters that prove not all AI are racist appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:58 AM
The Vale is in serious peril, and to save it, you need to rescue Maleficent in Disney Dreamlight Valley. You must find her first anchor moment to stop her from being erased, but doing so is a fairly tricky endeavor.
This task requires you to solve a fairly complex puzzle room with multiple unexplained components. It's an easy task to get stuck on if you don't know what needs to be done, so here's how to find Maleficent's first anchor moment in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
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Solve the puzzles to find Maleficent's first anchor moment in Disney Dreamlight Valley
You can acquire Maleficent's first anchor moment by solving some puzzles around The Unwritten Realms. These puzzles are some of the toughest ones I've seen in DDV, and completing them takes quite a lot of work.
There are three essential steps for completing this process:
Right the askew dragon's heads
The best task to start with is finding all three askew dragon heads around the room and turning them right side up. Finishing this task unlocks a new area that has an essential item for solving the main puzzle, so it's easiest to knock this one out first.
The locations of the three dragon heads are:
Find the missing puzzle tile
Your next task is to find the missing puzzle tile. Righting all three dragon's heads opens up a previously locked door on the right side of the head near the scroll. Head through this doorway and all the way down the pathway on the other side.
At the end of the path, you'll find a pool of water. Equip your Royal Fishing Rod and throw the line into the gold ripple spot. Fish out the missing puzzle tile, then head back to the main room to finally tackle the puzzle.
Complete the puzzle to get Maleficent's first anchor moment
The first step for completing the puzzle is placing the missing tile you just got down in the middle. Once that's done, equip your Royal Shovel and get ready to start flipping tiles so you can solve this one.
To learn the correct order, you are supposed to go around the vast puzzle room viewing all of the boards to piece together the solution. It's quite time-consuming, though, and not necessary to input the answer. If you just want to get it done, here's the full puzzle solution:
Make sure you're viewing the puzzle from the correct direction, or it won't be right. The small neon green gargoyle should be hovering over the upper left corner of the tile puzzle. We've also got it pictured just below so you can compare your puzzle to the correct solution.
Finishing this puzzle unlocks the door directly north of it. Walk through the door and down the stairs to find Maleficent's Anchor Moment near the bottom. It appears as a floating page you need to grab to progress through the rest of The Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Gift quest and to unlock Maleficent.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:36 AM
During Disney Dreamlight Valley's The Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Gift quest, you'll enter a realm that, upon closer inspection, has the vibe of a corporate office building with how the area's Magic Quills interact with you. You'll even need a ticket, which Maleficent shredded up out of anger.
While her outburst is understandable, your character clues in that there's a "Now Serving" board in the area that, if tampered with, can help you progress quickly. However, you'll need to collect Maleficent's ticket, put it back together, and rearrange its numbers. Let's dive into exactly how to do so.
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All Maleficent Ticket locations in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Within the Unwritten Realm's waiting room, you'll find three of Maleficent's ticket pieces on the floor. Here's a breakdown of where to find each:
The first is located right behind the Magic Quill, which you spoke to after finding Maleficent. It can be tough to grab since it's close to the quill, but with a bit of precision, you should be able to collect it without much trouble. Finding this ticket will reveal that "5" is part of your solution.
The next ticket is in the middle of several couches and seats on the opposite side of the waiting room. If you look this way, you'll find a dark table with various decorations, multiple seats, and a gate leading beyond this area. More importantly, you'll spot the ticket with a "9" and part of the number three. That's two down, with only one more to go.
The final ticket is between a couch and two seats you passed while entering the waiting room. Turn toward the staircase you ascended to spot this spot to its right. Pick up the ticket to find the number "7" and the second half of the number three.
With all three tickets on hand, you now have everything you need to progress through this part of the Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Gift quest.
'Now Serving' board puzzle solution in Disney Dreamlight Valley
As you look at all three tickets, you'll notice a few major clues that are key to solving this puzzle. The numbers nine and five are easily visible, while the middle two are cut off. Rearranging each ticket in the order listed above reveals the answer as 9375.
With this answer in mind, head to the "Now Serving" board near Maleficent to find four blank number dials. Rotate them until you have 9375 as the answer to expedite the ticket queue, allowing you to talk to the Magic Quill and unlock the waiting room's gate.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:32 AM
To help save the Vale from ruin, you need to find out what's causing all the chaos in Disney Dreamlight Valley. You need to find Maleficent to solve this problem, but to do so, you need to solve a complex floor tile puzzle and gain access to The Unwritten Realms.
You're not given much instruction or guidance for this puzzle, so it's a decently tricky one to solve. If you're struggling to get it done, here's how to solve the floor tile puzzle to reach The Unwritten Realms in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
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Arrange the tiles on the floor in The Library of Lore to pass into The Unwritten Realms in Disney Dreamlight Valley
To arrange the tiles on the floor in The Library of Lore to pass into The Unwritten Realms, you need to interact with the three posts around the circle in the middle of the room until you align them to form an image. This is the trickiest part of the A Storm of Stories quest, but it's an essential one to get done if you want to progress the main storyline.
This puzzle is controlled by three posts sitting near the southern end of it. Each post controls a specific tile section of the puzzle, and knowing which one moves each piece is crucial for solving it.
Tiles on the floor puzzle solution in Disney Dreamlight Valley
The solution to the tiles of the floor puzzle is a silhouette of Maleficent, so you need to align all the pieces to recreate an image of her. This is done by interacting with the three posts to move the pieces. To solve this puzzle, you need to:
Once all of the pieces are facing the right way, the puzzle will be complete, and a portal to venture forth will appear. Once it does, you can venture into The Unwritten Realms to get one step closer to unlocking Maleficent.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:22 AM
As you progress through Disney Dreamlight Valley's Storybook Vale questline, you'll eventually discover that four of its residents—Merida, Flynn, Hades, and Maleficent—are slowly disappearing. Although helping the first three wasn't too tough, finding and saving Maleficent is another challenge in and of itself.
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Explore the waiting room of the Unwritten Realms
Immediately after completing the "A Storm of Stories" quest, you'll begin The Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Gift. You'll first start this mission inside of the Unwritten Realms, where you'll catch a glimpse of Maleficent slowly disappearing, much like Merida, Flynn, and Hades.
Talk to Maleficent and the Magic Quill
After ascending the stairs in the Unwritten Realms, you'll discover Maleficent roaming around. Talking to her reveals that she's been struggling to talk to a Magic Quill, who's taken on the form of an average corporate receptionist.
After calming her down, you'll talk to the Magic Quill, who, through various corporate jargon, reveals that they can't fix the Erasure right away. Instead, you need to wait in line by taking a numbered ticket. You'll quickly learn that Maleficent did the same, leading to her angrily ripping up the ticket and throwing its pieces on the floor.
Search for Maleficent's Ticket
With that exchange out of the way, it's time to find Maleficent's ticket so we can expedite the waiting process. You'll find three pieces in the following locations:
Once you have all three pieces, you'll be ready to solve this area's puzzle.
Change the Now Serving board to match Maleficent's ticket
All three tickets have numbers of them that you'll need to input into a "Now Serving" board near Maleficent. Rearranging each number reveals the solution as 9375. Interact with each number until you get this answer to expedite the queue, allowing you to talk to the Magic Quill once more.
Following a brief interaction with the Magic Quill, you'll unlock the waiting room's gate, letting you get one step closer to saving Maleficent.
Maleficent First Anchor Moment puzzle solution
Once you're ready to progress, head through the gate and talk to the Review Magic Quill. They'll open a portal for you, leading you to Maleficent's first Anchor Moment. Before you can claim this item, however, you'll need to solve a difficult puzzle.
In these puzzle rooms, you'll spot a 3x3 grid of question blocks that were previously featured in past Storybook Vale quests. Alongside these, you'll find several answer grids scattered around and dragon heads that you'll need to rotate.
Starting with the dragon heads, you'll have three total to rotate. You'll find them in the following locations:
Once you rotate all three heads, a door in the main room will open, revealing a fishing spot. Fish here to collect a missing tile you'll need for the large grid.
Next, you'll have several miniature puzzle grids to uncover. Here's a complete list of their locations:
These hints and the missing tile are all you'll need to solve this puzzle. Below is an image of the exact solution.
Four of the five dragon tiles will cover the middle-top, right, left, and bottom slots, with a fifth dragon in the bottom-right corner. Fill the rest in with skulls to progress through a door and collect Maleficent's first Anchor Moment.
Collecting Maleficent's first Anchor Moment and returning to her will wrap up Disney Dreamlight Valley's The Unwritten Realms: Maleficent's Gift quest. You'll now be ready to tackle its next part, The Spinning Wheel.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:15 AM
The Foundry has some tough challenges to complete in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, and Grind the Molten Bucket will test your sense of timing.
Unlike some of the other goals available at this location, you'll have to wait for the perfect opportunity to complete the Molten Bucket. This guide will provide you with all the required information to complete this task easily. It's a simple goal to finish, but not knowing what to do will make it nearly impossible for you to complete it in the first place.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 Grind the Molten Bucket explained
The Foundry is the first location you can access, making it perfect for beginners. This location is essentially the insides of a large plant, filled with dangerous machinery. Travel to the back area (from where you start), and you'll come across a large bucket.
This bucket pours out molten steel in a rhythmic fashion. This is where you'll need to get your timing correct. To complete the goal, you'll have to jump and grind on the rails located beside the bucket. You can do so on either side, based on your preference.
There's a catch: you have to do it all while the bucket is active and pouring out the molten material. If not, your grinds won't qualify for completing the goal. While trying to complete the achievement, make sure to be careful about the molten material pouring out of the bucket. The grindable rails are relatively small, making it harder for you to notice them first.
You could fail a few times because I know that I did. In fact, I first thought that the goal was to just grind on the rails without waiting for the right moment. However, that's not the case, and you'll have to wait for the bucket. If you're doing the right things but not completing the goal, it just means that you're missing out on the pivotal moment to time your skateboarding skills.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 10:15 AM
Umamusume Pretty Derby has a broad roster of characters available for you to pick from, and you can quickly reroll your account if you're unhappy with your early game luck.
There are some differences with this gacha from what's typically available on the market. For starters, most events in Umamusume Pretty Derby are solo, where you'll be using one of your characters. The banners (at least the ones available till now) don't have any hard pity, but there's an exchange system. In short, you'll want to be lucky with your first set of multi-pulls, and if you're not, the Reroll option is pretty easy to use.
Umamusume Pretty Derby Reroll guide
The first task will be to start playing with a guest account. You shouldn't bind your in-game account with a different platform, e.g., Facebook, Google Play, or Game Center. Clear the tutorial to proceed with opening the freebies from your inbox.
Based on when you start playing the game, you should get at least 8,000 Gems (aka Carats), if not more. Gems are the premium currency in the game, and you can also buy them via microtransactions. Every multi-pull guarantees you at least one 2-star or better Trainee, with odds of a 3-star being set at three percent, and they cost 1,500 Gems. Essentially, you can enjoy at least three multi-pulls after clearing your tutorial.
There are two predeterminants of whether you should reroll.
Unlike typical gachas, Cygames has implemented a system that's easy to use by following these steps:
That's how it is to reroll inside Umamusume Pretty Derby, and you can continue doing so until you find your favorite trainee.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:48 AM
Disney Dreamlight Valley's Storybook Vale expansion has multiple Snippet types you'll need to collect to re-order the Lorekeeper's pages. Re-ordering these pages involves solving puzzles that, when completed, unveil stories involving various Disney characters.
While you'll learn about regular Snippets early in your playthrough, it'll take some time to discover Shadow Snippets. Let's dive into how to find and use Shadow Snippets in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
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Where to find Shadow Snippets in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Finding Shadow Snippets in Disney Dreamlight Valley requires progressing far enough into the expansion's storyline to begin the A Storm of Stories quest. A Storm of Stories is part of the expansion's second chapter, requiring you to unlock every biome, meet multiple of the story's characters, and complete most of their storylines.
Once you start the A Storm of Stories, you'll collect your first batch of Shadow Snippets from a mysterious vortex. Afterwards, you'll find these rare variants flying around The Bind, Everafter, and Mythopia. Below is a breakdown of where to find each type:
Since they're rarer than their regular counterparts, it may take some time for you to find your first one. Thankfully, once you spot your first few, they'll start to appear regularly. Be on the lookout for them during your travels.
Hanging out with a villager with the Snippet Catching hangout bonus can also help. This bonus gives you a chance to collect two Snippets instead of one, making it much easier to stockpile a bunch.
How to use Shadow Snippets in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Much like their regular variants, Shadow Snippets are a key part of re-ordering the Lorekeeper's pages. Below is a breakdown of every story involving these Snippets and how many you need:
While some, like Winnie the Pooh's and Snow White's, are relatively easy to unlock, others require having every biome open to access. By this point in the story, you'll already have access to most, making this a matter of farming for Snippets.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:18 AM
The second chapter of The Storybook Vale DLC has arrived, and it's brought with it plenty of additional quests to tackle in Disney Dreamlight Valley. One of these tasks is A Storm of Stories, which is the first quest for the second half of the storyline.
Like all quests, this one has some pretty tricky components and can be tough to work through. If any part of this one has you stumped, here's how to complete A Storm of Stories in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
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How to complete A Storm of Stories in Disney Dreamlight Valley
Claim the mailbox message
Head to any mailbox to claim the message sent from the Lorekeeper. You must open this letter to initiate the second half of the storyline. It's best to open a mailbox over at The Storybook Vale since this is where the rest of the quest unfolds.
Talk to the Lorekeeper
Venture to The Library of Lore and approach the Lorekeeper, the floating book in the very center of the area. Chat with them to discuss what's going on. A sickness has overtaken the Vale and is erasing its villagers, so it's up to you to fix it.
Follow Merida to the mysterious whirlwind in The Bind
Meet up with Merida around the Vale to chat about this issue. She's disappearing, and says it all started with a strange storm that's overtaken The Bind biome. Follow her over to the bridge overlooking The Bind biome to investigate this stage storm. Have another chat with Merida once you're standing by it.
Catch the Shadowy Bird Snippets
As soon as you approach the storm, a bunch of new Snippets come flying out. Catching them may help you solve what's going on, so your next task is to catch all five Shadowy Bird Snippets. They're fast, but all stay around the general bridge area, so equip your Royal Net and get to catching.
Pick up the Mysterious Story Page
After catching the Snippets, a strange page will appear near the location where you previously found the storm. Approach this floating Mysterious Story Page and pick it up. Talk to Merida again, and she'll realize this page is part of her story. Reflecting on it fixes the sickness that was plaguing her so she's no longer disappearing.
Talk to Flynn
Meet up with Flynn around the Vale to see how he's faring with the sickness. He's also struggling, so you need to find a way to restore him to himself, just like you did for Merida. Luckily, he knows exactly where to look.
Follow Flynn to the mysterious whirlwind in Everafter
Head to the Everafter biome with Flynn, down to the very south end of the area where you previously completed a Trial. There's another mysterious whirlwind in the area, so chat with Flynn about it.
Catch the Shadowy Frog Snippets
Interacting with the whirlwind causes more Snippets to spawn, this time in frog form. Catch the five Shadowy Frog Snippets running around where the mysterious whirlwind was to progress.
Pick up Flynn's moment
Once the Shadowy Frog Snippets have been cleared away, a new floating page will appear near the Trial area. Pick up Flynn's moment to help him become whole again and chat with him to complete the process.
Follow Hades to the mysterious whirlwind in Mythopia
There's one more villager experiencing the strange disappearing sickness, so track down Hades next. To help him out, you first need to follow him to the mysterious whirlwind in Mythopia. This one is located near the north end of the biome, up by Mount Olympus.
Catch the Shadowy Demon Snippets
This time, you need to catch five Shadowy Demon Snippets that spawn from the storm. All of them stay around the same spot where the mysterious whirlwind spawned, so catching them is fairly easy. You do have to hit each one a few times with your Royal Net before you can get them, though.
Collect Hades' story page
Capturing the five Snippets allows Hades' memory to spawn, so grab the story page and pass it over to him to help him become whole again. With this done, all three Vale villagers are back to normal, but there's still a larger problem that needs to be fixed.
Talk to the Lorekeeper
Meet up with the Lorekeeper in The Library of Lore biome again to chat about what happened. They don't know what to do either, but think solving a puzzle may help unravel what's going on.
Complete Maleficient's Journey
Chat with the Lorekepper and select the "I want to reorder stories" option. Choose the Maleficient's Journey puzzle and spend the Shadow Snippets you previously caught to unlock it. Place all of the puzzle pieces in the correct spots to get it done. If you're struggling to get it done, you can see where each one needs to go below.
Figure out how to arrange the tiles on the floor in The Library of Lore to pass into The Unwritten Realms
Completing this puzzle reveals that Maleficent is trapped in The Unwritten Realms, so you now need to find your way there. To do so, you need to solve a tile puzzle in the middle of the room. Your goal is to move the pieces until they form a picture of Maleficent.
It's a decently tricky puzzle to solve, so if you get stuck on this one, here's how we got it done.
Enter The Unwritten Realms
Once the tile puzzle is complete, a massive book will appear floating right above it. Approach this book and interact with it to venture into a new region called The Unwritten Realms. As soon as you enter this new region, the A Storm of Stories quest will be complete, but you still have more work to do if you want to unlock Maleficent.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 8:37 AM
An interesting report earlier this week claimed that Bethesda was hard at work on multiple Fallout projects, with even supposed rumors of a Fallout New Vegas sequel, among other things, from remasters to entirely new games.
And while Microsoft might be in a position to push these projects, considering the success of the Fallout TV show and the lack of a new game since the ill-fated Fallout 76, the report from VGC journalist Jordan Middler speaking on an episode of the Friends Per Second podcast is just that, a report, and we always tilt towards reminding people to take these with a grain of salt. Cancellations can happen, after all.
But if Bethesda is to continue on with the series, a part of me hopes someone on the team is brave enough to take us away from the United States and show us how the fallout affected other parts of the world at the time and give us a truly worldwide experience.
You only need to look at Fallout London, a fan-made Fallout game massive in scope that showed us a different take on the apocalyptic nightmare, to get an idea of how the series could evolve its world and narrative by giving us a different part of the world to experience in the Fallout formula. Heck, I would love for Bethesda to work with the team that made Fallout London to tweak it up, add some areas, and ship it as its own game and make it canon. But I know I'm dreaming too big there.
What I'm trying to get at is, I really do hope we see a wider score for a Fallout game somewhere different in the future. Heck, even take us up north to Canada. Least that would be an interesting area to explore with the frosty wilderness and the potential for a mutated moose.
No matter what happens. I am all here for more of these games, so long as there are a few different takes so things don't become too stale in the Fallout formula.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 7:40 AM
Special events in The Sims 4 often challenge you to venture to unique locations you may not otherwise visit. In the Nature's Calling event, one of the places you're tasked with visiting is a special cave you have to investigate.
You're not given much information about how to find and interact with this cave, so it's certainly one of the trickier tasks you'll come across. If this one has you stumped and is halting your event progress, here's how to investigate the cave in The Sims 4.
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Where is the cave in the Nature's Calling event in The Sims 4?
The cave you need to investigate can be found near the northernmost end of the Desert Bloom Park lot. There's a small cave entrance up against the massive rocky wall surrounding this park.
To find the cave, start by visiting Desert Bloom Park. Once you're there, move the camera north until you can't go any higher, then look slightly west. The cave entrance is on a small cliff area near a picnic table, grill, bench, and trash can. There's a path that runs through the entire park, and you can follow it to reach this location.
Where is Desert Bloom Park in The Sims 4?
Desert Bloom Park is the park lot right in the center of Oasis Springs. It's part of a base game world, so all players have access to it. It's directly south of the Landgraab family's mansion and is the largest lot in this world.
Like all lots, this one can be replaced with any other one you build or place from the gallery, so if you've modified it, finding the right spot can be tough. Everything you need to do on this lot for the event exists around the outskirts of it, so you can still head here to tackle the quests even if the lot has been replaced with something else.
Investigate the cave in The Sims 4
To investigate the cave for the week three Nature's Calling event quests, click on the cave entrance and select the "Investigate the cave" option. Like all other event tasks, this one has a special wind and leaves icon to help you distinguish it from other tasks. Your Sim will look around the outside of the cave once you initiate this action, but not venture inside yet.
Although it's not time to head inside during the week three quests, the text accompanying it seems to hint that we might explore the cave in future parts of the event. If you haven't ever opened this cave before, it's locked behind level 10 of the handiness skill, so it's a good idea to get your Sims skill up to prepare in case it's needed to access the secret Forgotten Grotto area during the event. We've been working on this skill quite a lot already, so there's a decent chance we will need level 10 to finish the event.
With this task out of the way, you can move on to finishing the rest of the week three Nature's Calling event quests. Some other tricky The Sims 4 tasks you may need help with are finding Foundry Cove, doing homework, and listening to the wind.
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Destructoid Wednesday, July 9, 2025 6:33 AM
The reviews are now in for the hotly anticipated Superman movie by DC Studios and James Gunn, but does it live up to the hype or fall flat on its face?
It's looking like a mixed bag so far, with it teetering around the 70s on Metacritic, with critics divided between both hating it and liking it. But what are outlets saying about the film, and is it worth going to see?
BBC was one of the first ones I saw, with BBC saying that Gunn didn't really give the story more time to breathe, and it is mixed with its 3-star rating.
The Atlantic, though, has heaps of praise for the movie, devoting an entire section about what they feel is brilliant about the movie, and highlighting Hoult's take as Luthor as one of the stand-outs of the film.
But on the other end of the spectrum, The Guardian was scathing in their review, saying that the thrill of this movie and superhero movies in general has lost its thrill.
The New York Times praises the film, showing another take on what has already been a mixed bag of reviews from across the globe.
And lastly, from IGN, the site calls it a wonderfully entertaining, heartfelt cinematic, and the reset that DC needed to tell its own stories.
But critics aside, what did you think of the movie if you've seen it, and do you agree with any of the reviewers? Let us know in the comments below.
The post The reviews are in for Superman. Here's a round-up appeared first on Destructoid. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:57 PM A trailer was also released. The post S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Coming to PS5 appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Wednesday, July 9, 2025 1:25 PM The changes were spotted on SteamDB. The post Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag Steam Page Updated appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
MonsterVine Wednesday, July 9, 2025 12:00 PM Playism has been an independent Japanese publisher for close to 15 years now and has published dozens of games from very vastly different styles, genres, and from developers all over the world. Some of these IPs include Blade Chimera, Signalis, the Momodara series, and Playism has even provided Japanese localization updates for titles such as […] |
MonsterVine Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:00 AM Chris Bergman, CEO of Gylee Games. A Cincinnati native and serial entrepreneur, his lifelong love of video games led him to form Gylee Games in 2019. Chris Bergman modeled the characters, wrote, directed, designed, and composed Gylee Games' first upcoming release, Ra Ra Boom. Previously CEO of ChoreMonster, another company he co-founded in 2011 which […] |
MonsterVine Wednesday, July 9, 2025 9:00 AM Ra Ra Boom opens with a high-energy anthem letting you know these cheerleaders from outer space, who may or may not be ninjas as well, are all out of bubble gum. A rogue learning AI named Zoi, whose directive was to protect Earth from climate change, discovered the best way to do this was to […] |