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Left 4 Dead - Update
The War to End all Wars is a colony sim now, with an Acceptable Losses gauge
If Dig In were called a 'historical wave defence strategy base-builder' or similar I wouldn't have been jarred by it. Odds are I'd have skimmed right past. Instead, Icelandic developers Vitar Games are calling it "a WW1 trench warfare colony sim", and this wigs me out a little. We are colonising the Somme! Nothing is too sacred for artistic depiction, and people have been commodifying memories of the World Wars for decades, but throwing in a fraught concept like "colony" really turns it all up t
As the Steam Controller breaks cover, Valve say they're hard at work on the Steam Deck 2 and keeping current Decks in stock
In case you missed it, Valve confirmed the Steam Controller's price and release date yesterday. Naturally, as part of that reveal they've faced a bunch of questions about the other hardware they've got in the works, including the Steam Machine and the more distant next Steam Deck. As far as the latter's concerned, they still aren't saying much, but have at least confirmed they've busy working on both it and making sure current Decks don't keep going out of stock amid the ongoing RAM crisis. Read
Helldivers 2 isn't a cosy game, but the tranquil forests and beefed up exosuits of its latest patch might convince you it is
Take a deep breath. Listen to some birds chirping. Watch some plants sway in the gentle breeze. Ahhhhhh. Life could be a dream. At least, it could be if the new forest biomes added by Helldivers 2's latest patch were in a totally different game. Instead, they're in a frantic shooter about murderdeathing space monstrosities, now with sturdier mech suits and rebalanced melee weapons at your side. Read more
Our Steam Controller second opinion: what works, what doesn't, and what Valve should add for the next one
The new Steam Controller verdict is in: James likes it. And now it’s back out again, as Julian has also been poking and prodding at Valve’s made-for-PC controller ahead of its release on May the 4th. Has this second pair of hands dug up some disagreements, or will they join together in peace for all mankind, and/or gamepads? Find out as we give, for the first time since 2022, The Second Opinion. Read more
What do Marathon and The Lord of the Rings have to do with each other? PvPvE gameplay, apparently
Marathon and The Lord of the Rings are diametrically opposed narratively, aesthetically, and functionally, yet they have been paired together to underscore a point about the former's relationship to PvPvE gameplay. No, it's not a leap I would have made either, but game director Joe Ziegler did, so let's have a listen to what he had to say about it all. Read more
The Blood of Dawnwalker gets a late summer release date, system requirements, and another, very Witchery, gameplay look-in
It's been a good four years since The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz helped to form Rebel Wolves, and here we are with the studio's debut title The Blood of Dawnwalker on the horizon. And oh, what's this ship sailing in right about now? The S.S. Release Date? Ahoy! Read more
Greedfall and Steelrising developer Spiders look set to close their doors, according to a recent report
It is, unfortunately, another one of those days. According to a report from French outlet Origami, weeks after launching Greedfall: The Dying World, developer Spiders are looking pretty set to close their doors (as a note, I've had to use machine translation for this one). This follows on from layoffs last year that affected a large number of staffers, and publisher Nacon failing to find a buyer for Spiders after they began filing for insolvency. Read more
Windrose devs ask for some grace as they prepare to set sail towards a six month wait for the next big update
Windrose has been out for a couple of weeks now and seems to be doing more than alright for itself. I guess the people like pirates? Good news for those You Be Soft guys, I suppose. But as much success as Windrose has found itself in, it is also an early access game, which means the aforementioned people crave a nebulous sense of More. Developer Kraken Express do plan on offering More, but it sounds like the people will have to wait for it a little while. Read more
Solve a murder mystery by flying people around on your giant crane in the Disco Elysium and Chinese folktale inspired The Crane Rider's Tale
Nothing will put me on to a game quicker than having a concept so laser-focused on the thing it's trying to do, and, seemingly, doing it well. This is the case for The Crane Rider's Tale, the next game from the developer of Butterfly Soup, a visual novel/adventure game hybrid that takes cues from Disco Elysium and Zero Escape where a serial killer is on the loose who has killed your friend, so you ferry around your local townsfolk around on your giant crane to figure out who did it, all wrapped
Cyberpunk 2077 gets a whole new ending thanks to a mod aimed at folks keen on riding off into the sunset with potential partner Judy Alvarez
I'd class few of Cyberpunk 2077's endings as unflinchingly happy, most are at least a bit bittersweet - as you might expect, given the grave situation the game's protagonist finds themselves in. If you've ever wished the one added with the Phantom Liberty DLC was a tad more upbeat or wanted a conclusion that sees V run off with braindance-programming love interest Judy Alvarez, you're in luck, as a veteran Cyberpunk modder's now brought that to life. Read more
While you wait for Subnautica 2, here's a moody Bioshock-esque strategy game in which you can put Big Daddies on crabs
As Subnautica 2's early access launch approaches, my mind inevitably drifts to videogames that explore the pleasures and horrors of the deep blue. Tides of Tethys is one for the Jules Verne fans amongst you, with perhaps a pinch of Warhammer 40,000. It's an underwater strategy roguelite with city-building elements in which you guide troupes of bathynauts around procedurally generated ocean floors. You'll need to expand your modular outposts, ensuring your Knights have oxygen and power and food,
I'm enjoying the boreal cyborg world of spooky FPS Industria 2, which launches on PC today and also has an excellent diegetic crafting screen
If your idea of great FPS level aesthetics is a hot mess of Black Mesa, Penumbra and Get Even – or you're just driven wild by the sight of porcelain tiles peeling flirtatiously away from mortar – you might get on with Industria 2, which launches today. I've not played the first one, but I admired its parallel dimension Cold War-era Berlin. The second game introduces a new parallel dimension, summarised by developers Bleakmill as a tug-of-war between "industrial decay", "boreal nature" and "other
American Truck Simulator cruises into Illinois with a fresh expansion releasing mid-May, as SCS also tease a new truck
Fresh off adding a new feature that'll make my reckless driving a bit easier to recover from, SCS Software have announced a release date for American Truck Simulator's next expansion, as the game continues its trek from US west coast to East. Illinois is the latest destination and you'll be able to take to its highways on May 14th. Read more
Following in Fallout's footsteps, British post-apocalyptic survival jaunt Atomfall's now getting a TV show too
Well, this is a nice suprise. Just a couple of weeks on from me revisiting it to check out the DLC it'd gotten since my review run, Rebellion have announced that their Cumbrian post-apocalyptic survior Atomfall's being adapted into a TV show. Read more
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era hits early access today with the start of a narrative campaign, six factions, a map editor and multiplayer
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is out in early access today, April 30th. It's taken just over a decade for Might & Magic Heroes VII to get a mailine follow-up that'll keep things heroic, mighty, and strategic, with Hooded Horse/Ubisoft-backed devs Unfrozen doing the honours. Read more
After a year of messy legal shenanigans, Subnautica 2 has an early access release date
It's been quite the journey for Subnautica 2, 'ey? We'll refresh ourselves on all that in just a bit, but after confirmation last month that the game would be releasing in May, developer Unknown Worlds have now confirmed a specific date that you'll be able to pick it up in early access. Read more
From the co-creator of Celeste comes City of None, a metroidvania about a wooden adventurer in a dying metropolis
Celeste remains one of my favourite platformers, so of course I'm always curious about whatever developer Extremely OK Games might put out. And while the full studio itself seemingly isn't ready to reveal what's next, at least one core dev is. EXOK Games (as they're also known) announced today that they'll be publishing City of None, a metroidvania with some lush pixel art by Celeste co-creator Noel Berry, alongside his brother Liam. Read more
Vampire: The Masquerade finds new undead life in Oaths and Ashes, a visual novel RPG set in Berlin
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 might be what it is (a bit of a mess), but that doesn't mean the series is dead in the water. In fact, a whole new game is on the way! It's called Vampire: The Masquerade - Oaths and Ashes, and it is still technically an RPG, just one mixed up The Fly style with a visual novel. Read more