PCGamesN Sunday, May 18, 2025 1:13 PM  Diablo 4 Season 8 is perfectly fine, but feels safe and more of the same. Path of Exile 2's Dawn of the Hunt has improved dramatically since its rocky release, but the early-access ARPG still has a long way to go. Last Epoch Season 2 is strong, but by now you may be looking for something fresh. Enter The Slormancer, a pixel-art indie ARPG from Slormite Studios that was launched out of early access at the start of this week, and has since built up impressive momentum with very positive Steam reviews and an ever-growing player count. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games |
PCGamesN Sunday, May 18, 2025 12:08 PM  Just over one year since it launched into early access, gorgeous city builder Of Life and Land has just hit its full 1.0 release. Its blocky aesthetics call Minecraft to mind, yet this surprisingly deep strategy game uses an involved simulation that demands careful management of your citizens, resources, and facilities to succeed. The result is at once as pretty and presentable as the likes of Against the Storm, yet with a systemic richness that will tickle the brains of anyone who enjoys games like Rimworld or Oxygen Not Included, and you can get it cheap to celebrate it stepping out of early access. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city building games, Best management games, The best games like RimWorld |
Siliconera Sunday, May 18, 2025 3:00 PM
The Gloomhaven-like Sunderfolk certainly feels geared toward community nights. The app that acts as a controller is free and available on every device. It's as easy to stream a version for sessions over distances as it is to gather a group of people at a home for a campaign. All of its characters can fill niches and work well together on quests. Of course, this does mean that you really do need to get the whole band together for a proper party.
Arden is a peaceful town filled with various anthropomorphic animals living together. The brightstone, a fixture of the community, helps with its protection, and each player is one of six heroes who helps protect the people living there with various skills. This is a very real danger, given the opposing shadowstone can corrupt unprotected individuals. After an unusual assault by orcs that involved parts of town being destroyed and the brightstone assaulted, it's up to the crew of four to rally, then take on missions to help deal with these new threats.
Sunderfolk is a turn-based tactical game like Gloomhaven, as I mentioned before. Each of the six classes in the game fills a specific role, and these can be combined to help achieve goals. For my campaign, I controlled an Arcanist crow that could move themselves and others around the board to more quickly reach or complete objectives and cast spells. My Pyromancer could burn places on the grid, then walk on that to power themselves up for attacks or hope enemies would walk there and take damage. My ally controlled the tank-y Berserker polar bear, who would draw ire, deal melee damage, and push people (allies and enemies alike) around. Our crew was rounded out by the deer Ranger archer, who could half enemies in tracks or help speed up our own movement. Weapons and items could affect their stats, we could pick up to three skills to equip, and decks of cards could positively or negatively affect actions from those skills.
Each mission can feature varying objectives, and additional ones can come up as your group achieves goals. For example, one early case involves removing barrel bombs from a bridge. Another involves rescuing two merchants who got attacked outside of town by first reaching them, then protecting them as they make their way back to Arden's gates. So success doesn't always stem from "killing everything." There can even be puzzle elements to these quests, with labels applied ahead of taking them so you can pick the types you like. One early example is reaching and rescuing a kidnapped bug, then interacting with it during the mission to ensure it runs to the exit of a cave. All allies act on their turn, with each person handling movement in the app on their phone and selecting actions and items, and enemies or NPCs take turns after that.
The Sunderfolk app works quite well! I did find actually moving characters a little finicky, since you're drawing lines in a blank space on the screen. It works, but you might find you'll run out of space quickly if you're on a phone and not a tablet. Information is clearly organized, and it's very easy to parse your actions and cards in decks to make informed decisions about your build. Likewise, since there are no timers of any kind, it is very easy to coordinate with fellow players to decide on how to approach each turn, and there's even a way to bring up a cursor on the communal map and screen to more precisely point out possible moves, enemies to target, or places to investigate.
In between missions and major story segments, Sunderfolk gives players time to interact with the townsfolk they protect. Every character can engage in three conversations during these downtime periods, as well as manage their own equipment, get new cards, swap items with other campaign characters at the post office, and rebuild facilities in town. Each playable has one character they're tied to via friendship or relation. That person, and all others, have a relationship level. As it grows, you can get gifts. (Those gift conversations don't use up one of your three conversations per rest period.) These discussions also unlock supplemental missions, which can help provide quests to take to advance time until the next story task starts.
The most important observation gleaned from Sunderfolk sessions is this is a game absolutely made for a full group of four. It's fine with two people! Someone playing alone could probably enjoy it just fine. But with the time the town socializing segments take and the nature of the experience, I feel like it you don't get the full measure of it unless there's a full crew.
I really enjoyed playing Sunderfolk, and I would love to go through a second time with a larger group and different characters. Though honestly, I'd also be equally happy to go again with the same avatar (I love my Pyromancer) and make different choices. It's a lot of fun, and the nature of its additional objectives, varying missions between the campaign quests, and possible party compositions means it is the type of title that could be worth replaying with different folks or on varying difficulties. Sunderfolk works quite well and I'd recommend a it for a series of game nights.
Sunderfolk is available on the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the controller app is available on Android and Apple iOS devices.
The post Review: Sunderfolk Is Made for (Adventuring) Parties appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Sunday, May 18, 2025 3:00 PM
While Mona isn't one of the most important characters in Genshin Impact, we've seen quite a few items tied to her. She ended up being the first figma based on the game, and one of the first scale figures ended up being of her too. Now she's the character in the spotlight for the Genshin Impact Charlotte Tilbury collection, and it seems quite appropriate given the types of elixirs and magic creams included in the Starry Miracle Adventure Box and Starfell Treasure Kit. From what I've seen and experienced though, the items really are best when tied to the character.
First, all the Charlotte Tilbury items in the Genshin Impact box are pretty great. I got the most use out of the Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir, which makes your lips shine while also hydrating and softening them. I also ended up being impressed with the Magic Cream moisturizer, as I have some skin sensitivities and it didn't irritate or cause my skin to get flushed after using it. These two bundles tend to be a way to sample those products while also getting accessories related to the game, so it's a way to test things out. However, it ended up being the other accessories that I liked best.
Mona has a fantastic aesthetic in Genshin Impact. Even though she isn't one of my Hydro mains, as those roles fall to Neuvillette and Kokomi, I like her design a bunch. (Especially her original design.) My two favorite items in this Charlotte Tilbury Genshin Impact promotion are the ones that more subtly reference her and the game. Her outfit, both before and after the adjustments, included an accent on her hat that features a golden moon encircling a gold circle with red accents and a star design in the center. The pin included in the Starry Miracle box is an exact replica. I found it a bit big to include in my ita bag, so I'm not sure how I'll display it yet, but it's a gorgeous, well-made piece.
The other fun item is a replica of her mirror in the Starfell Treasure Kit. The outside design is an exact replica of the one she used to scry in the Unreconciled Stars event quests. It's such a fun callback to a moment in the game that pretty much changed everything about the nature of Teyvat. (Not to mention, we ended up introduced to Scaramouche, aka Hat Guy, via it.) It's also a really handy mirror with a standard reflection on one side and magnified on the other, which makes it practical.
As for the other items in both Genshin Impact Charlotte Tilbury sets, they're fine. The eye mask, headband, drawstring pouch, and zippered makeup bag are all totally fine and work well. The one from the Starry Miracle Box especially is handy for carrying items, thanks to dividers that help with organization. The tote bag with the logos from the collaboration on one side and Mona on the other is also sturdy and good for books or a few groceries. I just wish the logos were a bit smaller and more subtle. I get that it is important to note what it is, and to include the "Makeup your destiny" branding for it all. But the astrological designs tied to Mona are such an appealing pattern that are recognizable without screaming out, "This is a Genshin Impact bag!" So I'd have appreciated if the same subtlety and nuance shown with the mirror, pin, and even tote bag applied to the other items. Like in the case of the eye mask, I'd have put the logo names across the band or on the inside of the mask if possible, so you have that gorgeous print that resembles the pin untouched.
In general, there's a good balance among items in the Genshin Impact Charlotte Tilbury sets. For people who want merchandise directly based on the series, perhaps even for cosplay purposes, there's the pin and the mirror. Those of us who would actually use the cosmetics and creams get an array of sizes of different Charlotte Tilbury products to test and see what we might like. The accessories like the bags, headband, and eye mask are handy in a practical sense. I just wish everything employed the same sense of subtlety as some of the other items, so the designs were the main focus instead of the logos for both the brand and game.
The Genshin Impact Charlotte Tilbury bundles are available now. The game is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices.
The post Genshin Impact Charlotte Tilbury Items Are Best When Mona Is Referenced appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 5:26 PM
Singing a specific genre in BitLife is more challenging than you'd expect. Pursuing a music career is already difficult, with the bonus of relying on RNG to find the exact genre you need. There's some luck involved, but we have a few tips to make the search easier.
Table of contents
How to become a rapper in BitLife
Becoming a rapper in BitLife requires purchasing the game's musician special career pack. You can buy it for real money through BitLife's ingame marketplace or pick up Boss Mode, letting you obtain all current and future job packs. Owning the musician pack enables you to train your singing skills and audition to become a singer, giving you a chance to become a rapper. It's impossible to do this without the pack.
If you own the musician special career pack, you'll find a Musician job option under Occupation and Special Careers. Here, you can audition to join a band or become a solo artist. Although rap bands exist, you'll usually find it easier as a solo artist.
However, not just anyone can become a professional singer. First, you'll need to take singing classes by heading into Activities, Mind and Body, and Voice Lessons. If your character is a child or teenager, you can take them for free with permission from your character's parents. These classes will raise your skills, with around 90-100 percent mastery required to pass your solo artist auditions.
To make things easier, you can start on a new character who has a music special talent. You'll find this on the character creator menu, making it easier to progress in randomized instruments. Having this talent doesn't guarantee you'll have an easier time with singing, specifically due to its random nature. To offset this, you can remake characters until you notice one that gets massive skill buffs per lesson. This strategy is entirely optional, but it can help if you don't want to take a ton of voice lessons or plan on mastering other instruments later.
Once you master singing, head into the Musician special career tab and apply to be a singing solo artist. If you don't succeed right away, age up and try again next year. After passing an audition, you'll get an offer to sign an exclusive contract listing the genre, cash advance, royalty rate, and term. If the genre isn't rap, turn it down and keep going until rap appears. Signing the contract will officially make you a rapper in BitLife.
How to become famous in BitLife
Now that you're officially a professional rapper, it's time to become famous. You have two options: use the Hollywood Star to become famous instantly or work your way up to stardom.
If you have the Hollywood Star, you can instantly become famous in any job that has fame. At most, it'll take you aging up once or creating an album for it to activate. However, you need to buy this item from BitLife's marketplace for real money.
Alternatively, you can work hard as a rapper until you become famous. Generally speaking, performing concerts and creating albums for a few years is enough to make you famous. As long as you increase your popularity over time, you'll eventually receive a "you are officially a famous rapper" notification, unlocking exclusive fame options through your Activities list.
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Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 4:09 PM
Playing chess is child's play these days: Just fire up your browser, go to Lichess or Chess.com, and the world's your oyster. But even as traditional chess video games have fallen by the wayside, there are many fun variations on the theme to experience.
From roguelites to puzzle games, management titles and even fantasy RPGs, there are many great chess-themed video games to try. Here's my top five.
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
The Black king is left all alone in their castle, and the entire White army is bearing down on their home. Thankfully, he still has his royal shotgun.
An extremely silly concept that makes for a surprisingly fun puzzle roguelite, where you alternate moving your king and shooting your trusty shotgun. Upgrades and odd alternate rules ramp up the challenge and the enjoyment factor, ensuring that your showdown with your White counterpart will be a duel to remember.
If you're not sure how well firearms mix with your chess enjoyment, there's a demo on Steam you can try.
Majestic Chess
I give precisely zero percent odds that you have heard of this game before. It is a shame, because it is such a cute and cool mix of fantasy and chess, and while it is clearly geared at kids in tone, it is a surprisingly fun romp and a great way to tutorialize even intermediate-level concepts of the royal game.
It is definitely of a different era (you have to – gasp! – read a lot of text), and it can be a bit of a bother to get it running on a modern computer, but it is a genuinely charming way to introduce a loved one to chess with a lovely art style and nice music, with fun items like the Pipes of Befuddlement (that forces your opponent to make a random legal move on their next turn) or the Grail of Bishop Renewal (that does exactly what you would expect it to), it is still a jolly good time. And hey, if you are actually good at the game, it is an enjoyable romp for an afternoon's delight.
Kung-Fu Chess
Real-time chess without turns—it's a silly concept, but a tremendous amount of fun in multiplayer. That said, there are still some timing and sequencing limitations to keep in mind: you cannot move multiple pieces at the same time, and there is a short delay before you can move again.
There are no checks and there is no stalemate rule – as is the case in most chess variants, your goal is to capture your opponent's king. The origins of Kung-Fu Chess go back to the early 2000s, and this multimove variant actually has some quite significant depth and a high level of play.
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
I am not too proud to admit it: this game broke my brain and therefore I have very little actual commentary to offer on it. The title says it all, really: You play multiple simultaneous chess games across various timelines and boards, and you need to win once to win everywhere.
"The first ever chess variant with spatial, temporal, and parallel dimensions," 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel was a pandemic sensation, and if you really want to rack your brain, it is a great choice – but fair warning, you will need some actual chess knowledge to truly enjoy it.
Master of Chess
There's Football Manager, there's Tennis Manager, there are a million different management games – so, why not chess? A solo developer project, Master of Chess lets you help navigate a chess prodigy's career, deciding on training regimen and tournaments to enter.
While you can play out the games yourself against the computer, what I found the most enjoyable way to engage with Master of Chess was to play the mode where you are only asked to input a move in critical situations. This way, your low-level player will actually make big mistakes against strong opposition, and the puzzle situations that emerge are genuinely compelling because you watched the whole match blossom out in front of you along the way. Once again, there's a demo for your consideration.
Pawnbarian
One more puzzle roguelite for the road. Pawnbarian is an entirely turn-based affair, with cards and upgrade mechanics making it a much tighter puzzler than Shotgun King, and with much less of the whimsy.
It is a great dungeon crawler experience, nevertheless. It's a deep and challenging game with great replayability, and a fun way to play something chess-adjacent solo.
The post The 6 best chess-themed video games appeared first on Destructoid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 3:17 PM
Enshrouded's Update 6 has added plenty of new content to the game, and you can enjoy gem customizations to empower your gear.
Gems allow you to empower your weapons and add new in-game effects. It will take a fair amount of time to unlock and use them in the game, but their long-term effects are pretty good.
All gems and their effects in Enshrouded
Here's the complete rundown about all the gems you can get in Enshrouded post Update 6.
How to use gems in Enshrouded
The first step is to unlock using gems, for which you'll require the Alchemist. Go and speak the About Weapon Gems option from the list of different chat texts, unlocking the first quest related to these gems.
You'll also need a Gem Forge to equip them on your weapons (if they have a slot in the first place). Gems are also upgradeable, which allows you to improve their in-game effects further.
The post All gems in Enshrouded appeared first on Destructoid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 2:37 PM
The EA FC 25 Unlock the Dribble Evolution is now live in Ultimate Team, and it's a smart option to consider if you're looking for offensive reinforcements.
While the new evolution offers some amazing upgrades, it's pretty expensive. You'll have to spend 125,000 coins to unlock and use it on a card of your choice, which will boost its overall ratings, stats, new playstyles, and roles.
This guide will help you make the best possible choices in terms of which cards to use.
Table of contents
EA FC 25 Unlock the Dribble Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of the Unlock the Dribble Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Unlock the Dribble Evolution upgrades
There are four levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 4 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade conditions
Level 2 upgrade conditions
Level 3 upgrade conditions
Level 4 upgrade conditions
Best players to use in Unlock the Dribble Evolution
Here are some of the best players to use in this evolution.
Your club's own evo chain candidates can provide unique solutions exclusive to your Ultimate Team squad.
The post Best players to use in EA FC 25 Unlock the Dribble Evolution appeared first on Destructoid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 1:26 PM
The eChampions Mystery League objective is live in EA FC 25, and you can win bonus rewards in Ultimate Team for your grind.
The objective coincides with the start of the knockout rounds for the eChampions League, which will pit the best esports pros against each other. While you can up your game and learn new skills for the pros, solving the objective will also help you get more rewards. This guide will help you figure out the mystery league.
EA FC 25 eChampions Mystery League objective guide
The basic premise of the eChampions Mystery League objective is pretty simple, but it has a specific condition.
The main task is to guess what the league in discussion is. This isn't an easy task at all, as there are plenty of official leagues present in EA FC 25. Once you've correctly guessed the league, select a card of a footballer from it. Turns out, the mystery league is Liga Portugal.
Score five goals with Finesse Shot using that player (from Liga Portugal) across any Ultimate Team mode. It's not necessary to score all five goals in the same game. You can break it down and complete the goal requirements from as many matches as possible. Make sure you complete the objective before it expires from Ultimate Team.
Once complete, you'll get an 83+ x2 Rare Gold Players Pack, and a coin boost to help your cause. It's always beneficial to have additional packs during TOTS, as you can always land a Team of the Season card if you're lucky enough. Hence, it's pretty cool to complete the objective as early as possible, especially since we have already cracked the mystery league.
The post EA FC 25 eChampions Mystery League revealed appeared first on Destructoid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Sunday, May 18, 2025 12:32 PM
Answering the Call is the first quest you can complete in Palia's Elderwood expansion, and it will introduce you to the new region.
To begin the quest, you'll have to make a fair amount of progress if you've just started playing the game. Once you've cleared the main story quests (the main vault quests and four additional ones), you'll gain access to the Elderwood region.
This guide will highlight all the required steps for completing the Answering the Call quest.
How to complete Answering the Call Quest in Palia
Once you unlock Elderwood, there will be a special cutscene, followed by meeting Einar. Einar will tell you that the Cosmos Protocol Lockdown is no longer in place, and you'll have to meet with Subira. This starts the Answering the Call quest automatically, and you'll find Subira at the Night Sky Temple.
The temple is pretty easy to locate, and it's southwest of the Leafhopper Hills. You'll also find Hekla and Jina with Subira, but she will leave to check the new location. Go to the north of the temple to interact with her once again. Subira will inform you that you'll have to find seven logbooks around the temple.
The key is to find a password of seven characters. Each logbook includes one of the secret characters, and combining them will form the password.
Once you've collected all the clues, climb the north wall underground to come across the hidden room. Subira will tell you about the console, where you'll need to enter the code. If you have figured it out from the table, the correct code is Qs7?v%J.
You'll have to enter the code in the exact order. If you miss out on a single character, you'll have to restart the entire process, which begins by retrieving the record logs from the very beginning.
You'll have to check each console tab for more information about the chamber. Gather all the clues you can, speak with Subira, and this will mark the end of the Answering the Call quest. This will mark a long line of quests that you can find and complete in the Elderwood region, and the Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow hidden mission is one of many.
The post Palia Answering the Call Quest walkthrough: How to find the password appeared first on Destructoid. |
WGB Sunday, May 18, 2025 5:38 PM Xbox is reportedly exploring integrating Steam into its ecosystem, including Windows and next-gen consoles, aiming for interoperability with PC platforms while potentially involving Epic Games Store for broader gaming accessibility. |