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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 21st
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-21st
Published: December 21, 2024 12:00
There's a slight breeze and a comforting glow coming from the crack's in today's calendar door, the sound of merriment and many accents from all over the world. Better join in the campfire revelry, because whoever's there won't be staying for long. Read…
What are we all playing this holiday?
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-holiday-4
Published: December 21, 2024 08:04
Happy weekend all. Due to the intervention of Dark Powers and also, half the Treehouse already being on holiday, we neglected to do a round-up of staff Xmas plays before signing off for the year. Well, I’m pretty sure nobody did one. I can’t see anything…
Here's how the strategy layer works in Menace, the turn-based squad combat RPG from the Battle Brothers devs
Published: December 20, 2024 17:05
"A tactically rich turn-based game with some meaty role-playing elements", was how Staff Sergeant James Archer characterised his Menace hands-on, back in September. The only thing missing from his account of the game was the bread needed to make that rich,…
Should you bother with... mini PCs?
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/should-you-bother-with-mini-pcs
Published: December 20, 2024 16:46
I’m hoping you’ll forgive a spot of mission-bending here, given Should You Bother With? Is usually intended to test out the new and the strange of gaming hardware. Instead, I want to talk about mini PCs – not just small-form-factor desktops, but properly…
Rally Point: Oh phew, Songs of Silence is only pretending to be a card game
Published: December 20, 2024 16:00
Clambering deep out of the Contemplation Pit, where reading reviews or opinions or, god help you, Takes, is forbidden, I am curious to learn how people have been categorising Songs of Silence. Its structure most resembles Songs of Conquest or Heroes of…
Microsoft Flight Simulator and the quest to replace Earth
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-and-the-quest-to-replace-earth
Published: December 20, 2024 15:16
Early on in Terry Pratchett's novel The Light Fantastic, a spell is cast to map the world. It begins as a "fireball of occult potentiality," dangling in the Great Hall of the Unseen University, which evolves into a ghostly "embryo universe." The embryo…
Two Epic Games directors step down after US Department of Justice investigate games companies under antitrust laws
Published: December 20, 2024 13:33
Two men on the board of directors for Epic Games have stepped down from their positions after the US Department of Justice investigated the board under antitrust laws. The pair of directors were originally appointed to Epic's board by Tencent (who slurp…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 20th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-20th
Published: December 20, 2024 12:00
Ahhh, the lap of the ocean is calming isn't it? And it's really warm here, too. What's interesting is that the sounds of the sea are occasionally masked by the sounds of multiple segways. Weird. Read more
Here are 5 snowy games you can get for cheap in the Winter Steam sale
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/steam-winter-sale-2024-the-cheapest-snowy-games
Published: December 20, 2024 11:54
Steam sales aren't the drop-everything-and-grab-yer-wallet events they used to be, according to you lot. The Winter sale that began yesterday is almost identical to the Autumn sale that ended just two weeks ago, for example. But you can still find one or…
After 7 years of alien war, Elite Dangerous pilots have finally defeated the Thargoids
Published: December 19, 2024 17:16
Open that bottle of space champagne, the aliens have been wiped out. At least that's what the interstellar pilots of Elite Dangerous are celebrating in the galaxy-sized multiplayer space sim. Earlier this month, the Thargoid menace finally landed in the…
Frostpunk creators cancel "Project 8" and lay off staff amid concerns that "narrative-driven, story-rich games" don't sell
Published: December 19, 2024 16:43
Frostpunk developers 11 bit studios have cancelled a new, console-oriented game in response to both "shifting market trends" - in particular, declining player enthusiasm for "narrative-driven, story-rich games" - and specific problems during development.…
Path Of Exile 2 early access review: an expressive, characterful ARPG with plenty to chew on
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/path-of-exile-2-early-access-review
Published: December 19, 2024 16:00
At any given moment I am in the center of a wonderful vortex of skeletons. Bones splash and rattle and burst out of the ground in sharp, horrible spurs. My weakest skeletons, sensing their death coming, explode into fire and shards. My strongest skeletons…
Having Ciri as The Witcher 4 lead will help the game explore the Witcher world's sexism, say CD Projekt
Published: December 19, 2024 15:43
The announcement of The Witcher 4 with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's Ciri as protagonist has attracted a bit of discussion. Some of the reaction is online toddlers waxing wroth about a video game having a (somewhat older!!!) woman as lead character, and…
Caves Of Qud review: an obscenely rich roguelike realm you could get lost in for months
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/caves-of-qud-review
Published: December 19, 2024 14:45
"We are a people who honour democracy," said the dog, scratching himself. "Per our custom, you may drink of our fresh water." The dog was called Senator Umeshefaat, and he was very civil, even if he was shedding his black and white fur everywhere. We spoke…
Here is a page of insults
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/here-is-a-page-of-insults
Published: December 19, 2024 14:27
Insults are so serious, these days. They're all so insulting, whereas the kinds of insult I cherish are the ones that coax a belly laugh from both the instigator of the roast and the roastee. Here are a few stupid putdowns I've made up specially for Xmas,…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 19th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-19th
Published: December 19, 2024 12:00
Huh, it's a little hard to breathe today, don't you think? Like the air's a bit thin. Anyway, I have a job I need to get to and there's this guy who's going to mentor me on my first day. A guy called Mo, who seems nice but isn't particularly talkative.…
After much talk of an acquisition, Sony and FromSoftware parent Kadokawa announce "strategic alliance"
Published: December 19, 2024 09:56
It's been rumoured for a while that Sony are about to buy Kadokawa Corporation, a monolithic Japanese media conglomerate that means nothing to the bulk of you unless I append the magic words "parent company of Dark Souls developers FromSoftware" and…
The Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, part four: the last bite
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-beastmaster-of-stalker-2-part-four-the-last-bite
Published: December 18, 2024 16:59
They say hope is the first step on the road to disappointment, and reader, I’ve made a pretty damn big step. Previously, on my mission to survive S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl with only wild mutants as my weapons, I’d discovered clues that someone…
Spider-Punk lands in Marvel vs Capcom Infinite thanks to a giant mod with a revamped art style and new modes out this week
Published: December 18, 2024 12:16
Fists up, a big fighting game mod is due out this weekend. Marvel vs Capcom Infinite came out in 2017 and got some flak for its plastic figurine art style. But this year a modder began work on an overhaul that would grant the game pretty cel-shaded…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 18th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-18th
Published: December 18, 2024 12:00
Today's Advent Calendar might take you quite some time to polish off. It's ridiculously dense, darkly majestic, and popular among masochists. Come then, touch the withered arm and be transported behind door number 18... Read more
Mass Effect-like Exodus's first gameplay video features duels with space bears and chats with thankful frogs
Published: December 18, 2024 11:58
First revealed all the way back in December 2023, Archetype Entertainment and Blur Studio's sci-fi action adventure Exodus hit us with a few things: Matthew McConaughey is involved, it looks a bit like Mass Effect, it's being developed by BioWare veterans,…
Helldivers 2's first licensed crossover is also Killzone's official debut on PC, sort of
Published: December 18, 2024 11:34
After much teasing, the vicious tyrants of Arrowhead Games and their noxious puppets, the "democratic government" of Super Earth, have announced the very first Helldivers 2 licensed crossover. In yet another hollow display of solidarity in the name of…
Times Of Progress is an elegant, focussed city builder set during the Industrial Revolution
Published: December 18, 2024 10:29
Times Of Progress is a special game for me, because is the first news tip I have ever received from Sin Vega, Prime Minister of Strategy Gaming. Sin once described writing news articles for our former news editor Alice0 (RPS in peace) as like practising…
I can't bear to play much of free horror game Toy Box, but I love the concept of pulling talking toys apart
Published: December 17, 2024 16:56
Toy Box sounds like a very Xmassy game, but then you watch a trailer, and realise that it is not very Xmassy at all. It's a free visual novel with a macabre puzzling element. The setup is that you're a toy inspector working for a jovial Grand Toy Maker,…
Elden Ring: Nightreign will support singleplayer, but it might not reward it
Published: December 17, 2024 12:56
Great was the adulation last week when FromSoftware announced a new Elden Ring game, Elden Ring: Nightreign - and great the lamentation from certain quarters when it was revealed to be a co-op-focussed experience. If you missed the reveal, perhaps because…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 17th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-17th
Published: December 17, 2024 12:00
Uh, it's probably not a problem - probably - but I'm seeing a small discrepancy in today's advent calendar and... no, never mind... it's well within acceptable bounds. Go ahead, open the door. Read more
Gwent returns in The Witcher 4, according to CD Projekt's heavy hints
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/gwent-returns-in-the-witcher-4-according-to-cd-projekts-heavy-hints
Published: December 17, 2024 11:48
Quick, the world is in peril, your adopted daughter is under threat, and nearby villagers are being terrorised by monsters. What do you do? Oh, you're sitting down at a cosy table in the local tavern. You're playing a card game with a dude called "Aldert".…
Boomer shooter dev discovers his dogs have been barking on an "unbearable" loop for years
Published: December 16, 2024 15:47
Sometimes dogs are hard to shut up. Over a year and half after releasing Hrot from early access, the developer of the Quake-inspired shooter has fixed the dogs after discovering that a few of the canines have been, for some players, barking in a hideous…
Playing Wreckfest while learning to drive was surprisingly helpful
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/playing-wreckfest-while-learning-to-drive-was-surprisingly-helpful
Published: December 16, 2024 13:28
At 9 years old, in the plastic seats of a Sega Rally arcade machine, I quickly learned that "automatic" is better than "manual" without understanding why. And now I know: changing gears is a fucking chore. This year, in my mid-thirties, I finally learned…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 16th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-16th
Published: December 16, 2024 12:00
Today’s door has a big DO NOT ENTER sign, suggesting your immediate opening of it was in fact prohibited. Banned. Taboo, even. Yet it’s hard to see why, as it swings open to reveal a spectacular sunset view, interrupted only by the roar of a mechanical…
The Maw: what's new in PC games this week?
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-maw-whats-new-in-pc-games-this-week-25
Published: December 16, 2024 09:13
Seasons greetings, reader! It's almost time to hang your stocking by the crackling fireplace and post your handwritten letters to Santa up the chimney. If you don't have stockings, a fireplace, or a pen, rest easy. I've had a word with Santa's elves, and…
What's on your bookshelf?: I am going to sleep for several weeks edition
Published: December 15, 2024 16:00
Can one sleep on a bookshelf? I'm going to find out. See you in the new year. Or, probably next Sunday with another minimum effort column entry. Book for now! Read more
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 15th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-15th
Published: December 15, 2024 12:00
Today’s advent calendar window is a window upon Xmas past. It returns us to the days of LAN parties and dial-up, of demo discs and Fileplanet – a more innocent era, before multiplayer shooters fell under the spell of progression. Not that innocent, maybe.…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 14th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-14th
Published: December 14, 2024 12:00
Squeezing through the advent calendar window into a sodden glade of flower and coral, you spy a curious organism on a ledge in the shadows. It’s a video game of some description, though it looks like a squirrel, with frantic white eyes. What’s it doing?…
What are we all playing this weekend?
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-weekend-313
Published: December 14, 2024 08:00
Most of the population of the RPS treehouse is currently hanging limply off various branches after the ordeal that was "staying up until 6am to cover everything announced at The Game Awards. So let's keep this brief, and no one speak too loudly please,…
Open world sword-swinger Crimson Desert horse-powerslides to a late 2025 release
Published: December 13, 2024 15:40
Crimson Desert first galloped onto the scene in 2020, with a bombastic trailer at Gamescom 2023 showcasing some particularly beautiful medieval open world action adventuring. It's got horses, fishing, plate armour and roving heroism, but one thing it lacks…
While CEOs got dressed up for the Game Awards, 461 workers at Zenimax Online Studios unionised
Published: December 13, 2024 14:05
Stealth launching a game during an awards ceremony is cool. But you know what's cooler? Stealth launching a union. As many in the games industry settled in for an evening of advertisements and blockbuster backslapping, one group of US workers quietly…
Turok: Origins will revisit the dinosaur hunter in a third-person shooter with co-op
Published: December 13, 2024 12:56
Will the bulletting of my beloved dinosaurs never cease? Turok: Origins will revisit the dino-hunting archery of ye olde Nintendo 64, reimagining it as a story of three native huntsfolk out to lambast large lizards. The big new angle is that it'll be a…
Tekken 8's next fighter is Clive, actually
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tekken-8s-next-fighter-is-clive-actually
Published: December 13, 2024 12:56
Earlier this week we heard rumblings of a new character announcement for Tekken 8, and at the same time a trailer dropped a big unmistakable hint for red-dressed rabble rouser Anna Williams. Turns out that unmistakable hint was mistakable. My mistake. At…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 13th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-13th
Published: December 13, 2024 12:00
Would you like to know more? Open the door and earn your citizenship today. Read more
We're getting an Okami 2, with Hideki Kamiya at the reins
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/were-getting-an-okami-2-with-hideki-kamiya-at-the-reins
Published: December 13, 2024 04:16
Capcom are working on a sequel to Okami, the wonderful 2006 Zelda-like in which you play a sun goddess in a wolf's body, roaming a world of ink and parchment. It’s being co-developed by M-TWO Inc, Machine Head Works Inc and CLOVERS Inc, and directed by…
Naughty Dog are making a sci-fi bounty hunter game called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Published: December 13, 2024 04:11
Naughty Dog have announced their long-gestating new game, and their first in a long while that's not a sequel. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a science fiction bounty hunter game set on a mysterious isolated planet, and the first cinematic trailer…
Aaron Paul stars in Dispatch, a story based superhero management game from ex-Telltale devs
Published: December 13, 2024 04:08
Aaron Paul, he of a heartbreakingly fraught performance as Todd in Bojack Horseman, and also Breaking Bad, is starring in a new strategy story game from AdHoc, a studio with ex-Telltale developers at the helm. Dispatch is a story-focused strategy game…
There's a new Sonic Racing game in development
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/theres-a-new-sonic-racing-game-in-development
Published: December 13, 2024 03:50
I'm a big fan of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which pit Sonic and pals against a stable of characters from Sega's other games, including Total War and Football Manager. I'm less of a fan of Sonic's other kart racing exploits, but I'm still…
Classic '90s PC racing series Screamer is returning, from the makers of Hot Wheels Unleashed
Published: December 13, 2024 03:28
Back in the mid '90s, I was hooked on an PC racing game called Screamer. It got a sequel a couple of years later, and then the series went dormant. Until now, when it's seemingly returning as a foreboding, anime-infused racer about defying death, once…
The creator of Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus is making a giant robot-piloting game
Published: December 13, 2024 03:27
Fumito Ueda is the august visionary behind ICO (small boy rescues small girl from evil castle), Shadow Of The Colossus (grieving boy murders several massive stone animals), The Last Guardian (small boy and huge, dopey dogcat escape from another evil…
Onimusha Way Of The Sword is the Capcom action-RPG's first new instalment in almost 20 years
Published: December 13, 2024 02:53
Here's one I didn't see coming: a new Onimusha game. It's called Onimusha Way Of The Sword, and is the first new entry in Capcom's samurai action-horror series since... well, that upcoming VR game doesn't count, and nor does the Warlords remaster in 2018.…
Helldivers 2's update adds the dreaded Illuminate faction, plus city maps and bouncy jeeps
Published: December 13, 2024 02:35
Arrowhead and Sony have released a new Helldivers 2 update that introduces the long-rumoured third faction, the Illuminate. Titled Omens of Tyranny, the update also stirs in city maps and a driveable jeep with a mounted gun that immediately reminds me of…
Borderlands 4 looks ready to drop the hottest memes of 2011 in first-look trailer
Published: December 13, 2024 02:33
Looter FPS Borderlands 4 has gotten its first trailer, courtesy of Medium Geoff’s Happy Hour and..wait. What you mean it’s three hours? I’m going to die tonight, aren’t I? Ah well, at least I’ll die doing what I’m ambivalent about. Here’s the trailer for…
The makers of Yakuza are working on "Project Century", a new third-person brawler set in 1915
Published: December 13, 2024 02:28
I've lost track of how many Yakuza games are in development at any given moment, but it seems makers Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have space for more on their plate. During this evening's Game Awards, they announced "Project Century", a new third-person brawler…
The Long Dark 2 announced with co-op multiplayer, new urban areas and sanity system
Published: December 13, 2024 02:24
The Long Dark creators Hinterlands have announced The Long Dark 2, another helping of open-ended wilderness survival. Actually titled Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 - a travestying of naming conventions that is surely more harrowing than any post-apocalyptic…
It Takes Two devs are making a new co-op game called Split Fiction, coming March 2025
Published: December 13, 2024 02:08
It's the Game Awards this evening, which means another year of Josef Fares appearing on stage to performatively say "fuck" like he thinks it's naughty. Thankfully this year he also had a game to show: Split Fiction, a new co-op action adventure. It's about…
Here’s the first look at The Outer Worlds 2 gameplay
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-the-first-look-at-the-outer-worlds-2-gameplay
Published: December 13, 2024 01:57
The Geoffies have delivered us a first look at the gameplay for Obsidian’s spacefaring RPG sequel, The Outer Worlds 2. It looks, as you might expect, very much like the first one, but a bit nicer. The game itself was announced back in 2021, but we’ve seen…
World Of Tanks creators reveal Steel Hunters, which isn't quite World Of Mechs
Published: December 13, 2024 01:53
World of Tanks creators Wargaming are getting into the mech-bothering business with Steel Hunters - a new free-to-play Unreal Engine multiplayer shooter, in which Transformers-style juggernauts fight for control of an energy source called "Starfall" on…
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is heading to PC in January, a year after its console launch
Published: December 13, 2024 01:51
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launched on console back in February, and if I'd had to guess, I'd say it would arrive on PC about a year later. Hey - guess what! Square Enix just gave Rebirth a PC release date: January 23rd, 2025. Read more
The first Witcher 4 trailer is here, and Ciri is the star
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-witcher-4-trailer-is-here-and-ciri-is-the-star
Published: December 13, 2024 01:47
CD Projekt have screened the first trailer for The Witcher 4, the next instalment in their fantasy monster-slaying series. It’s another single player open world RPG, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Ciri is the protagonist. In fact, she's the protagonist for…
Solasta: Crown of the Magister is getting a sequel starring Baldur's Gate 3's narrator
Published: December 13, 2024 01:27
RPG Solasta: Crown Of The Magister is getting a sequel. Solasta II launches in early access next year, and they’re aiming to have a demo out sometime earlier. Like its predecessor, this one’s a party-based CRPG with tactical combat, featuring single player…
From Software reveal Elden Ring: Nightreign, a three-player co-op spin-off
Published: December 13, 2024 01:26
Remember when From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki said they weren’t thinking about Elden Ring 2, but they were thinking about the continuation of Elden Ring in general? Well, who had “three player co-op musou” on their bingo card? Read more
Shadow Labyrinth is a twisted bloodthirsty take on Pac-Man, out in 2025
Published: December 13, 2024 01:00
Pac-Man is doing a Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within, everybody. That’s to say, the Bandai Namco series is doing one of those dark, edgy iterations. It’s called Shadow Labyrinth, it’s out in 2025, and it’s a 2D hack-and-slash with gruesome monster designs.…
The creators of Sifu and Absolver are making a football game, set many decades from now
Published: December 13, 2024 01:00
Sifu and Absolver developers Sloclap have announced Rematch, a 5v5 multiplayer football game with a gentle dusting of science fiction, out in summer 2025. If, like me, you really enjoyed the French developers' previous martial art sims, you might, like me,…
Here’s the trailer for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, from Koei Tecmo, Dotemu, and the Blasphemous team
Published: December 13, 2024 00:52
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is the next entry in the venerable series of action slice-em-ups, revealed tonight at pre-Geoffies. It’s arriving in 2025 as a joint effort between Koei Tecmo, Blasphemous developers The Game Kitchen, and retro revivalists Dotemu.…
Warren Spector and Thief's game director are making a multiplayer immersive sim called Thick As Thieves
Published: December 13, 2024 00:51
A master thief creeps over cobbles in an early modern metropolis that splits the difference between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool. Lit by gaslamps that can’t quite dispel the industrial haze, they pass for a civilian - a rough one, admittedly, but not…
Mafia: The Old Country release date shrinks to summer 2025
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mafia-the-old-country-release-date-shrinks-to-summer-2025
Published: December 12, 2024 22:43
Open world fuhgeddaboudit simulator Mafia: The Old Country will release in summer 2025, according to a Youtube trailer that has leaked on social media ahead of tonight's Game Awards. The trailer also treats us to a few snippets of the game's story scenes,…
The Game Awards 2024 liveblog
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-game-awards-2024-liveblog
Published: December 12, 2024 16:52
Tonight is The Game Awards 2024, the first since Geoff Keighley killed E3 and consumed its heart in front of a group of screaming schoolchildren. Just saying, this had better be good, Geoff, especially after the 2023 show’s "embarrassing" shooing-off of…
Marvel Rivals review: it's like Overwatch, if Overwatch was overcomplex and frequented Comic Con
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/marvel-rivals-review
Published: December 12, 2024 15:53
At first I thought Marvel Rivals was basically rebranded Overwatch, in the way it's a free-to-play PVP hero shooter. And in some ways, it is. Fights are like if you took a MOBA and forced both teams to bash heads constantly. Success lies in picking off…
The Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, part three: the stalker becomes the stalkered
Published: December 12, 2024 15:32
After a failure-riddled start, my attempt to turn S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s mutants into beasts of war is finally bearing fruit. I’ve engineered a Bloodsucker attack that wiped out the worst of villains – someone who was mean to me – and I’ve progressed far…
Total War: Warhammer’s Rich Aldridge on roleplaying, iteration, and lessons from nearly a decade on strategy’s most ambitious series
Published: December 12, 2024 14:00
In more ways than one, today’s Total War: Warhammer 3 expansion marks a milestone for game director Rich Aldridge and his team at Creative Assembly. Omens Of Destruction’s three headline legendary lords each bring new campaigns and units for their…
Band Of Crusaders is a dark fantasy party RPG with heady overtones of XCOM and Diablo
Published: December 12, 2024 13:06
If Space Marine 2's wanton devil-mulching left you hungry for more fantastical depictions of medieval zealotry, maybe take a look at Band Of Crusaders, an open-world party-based RPG in which you are the Grandmaster of a knightly order, trying to keep a…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 12th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-12th
Published: December 12, 2024 12:00
Today’s advent calendar game is already inside your head, for this is not a game you stop playing, merely one you step away from between rounds. Even after you quit, it lingers on the edge of your awareness like a muffled bassline. It glitters in the air…
A minor tweak to Steam will soon let you change the way you download that monstrous 250GB update
Published: December 12, 2024 10:56
If your PC has ever started randomly roaring, and you check Steam only to find Space Marine 2 is panic-installing a 9 billion gigabyte update, then perhaps Valve's new upcoming feature is for you. For most of us, Steam simply slurps down fresh gigs of…
Untitled Goose Game and Thank Goodness You’re Here! publishers are doing a thing and I’m not sure what the thing is but it seems like a cool thing
Published: December 12, 2024 09:19
I have to write at least 250 words for a news post. Rock Paper Shotgun’s CMS (content management system) even has a built-in widget that shouts at me if I don’t write at least 250 words. "Page 1 body content is quite short" it says if I go under. How cute…
It's almost Christmas, which means it's time to play Skeal
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/its-almost-christmas-which-means-its-time-to-play-skeal
Published: December 11, 2024 22:37
Creation is an act of kindness. One person sloughs off a piece of themselves, shapes it, wraps it, and sends it out into the world in the hope that it might mean something to someone else. Other people do this for us all the time and mostly we don't even…
Curiosmos is a galactic playground of planet creation and creature evolution
Published: December 11, 2024 21:27
Infamous evolutionary flop Spore, for all its flaws, still had a lot of magic to it. It was fun to design your weird creatures, to watch them try to walk, and - in principle - to turn your humble creations into a spacefaring species. Curiosmos is a very…
Hyper Light Breaker, the co-op, open world 3D prequel, will launch in Early Access in January
Published: December 11, 2024 21:05
Hyper Light Breaker is a prequel to the excellent topdown action-RPG from 2016, Hyper Light Drifter. The differences are myriad, given that Breaker is also 3D, open world, co-op and a roguelite. It also now has a release date for its launch into Steam…
TankHead offers vehicle combat in a sci-fi world where you scavenge parts from your enemies
Published: December 11, 2024 20:40
One of video game's greatest pleasures is being able to shoot bits off an enemy and then append them to yourself. TankHead gets it. It's about steering a tank through a desolate sci-fi landscape, blasting similar tank and mecha enemies to bits, then…
Path Of Exile 2 is so "severely overloaded" by players that Grinding Gear are hiring new support staff
Published: December 11, 2024 17:08
Back when I played Path Of Exile 2 at Summer Games Fest, I fought a cave-dwelling boss who summoned hordes of grotty subterranean wildlife to swamp me. Fortunately, I was rolling a Witch - perhaps the best beginner POE2 class - so I could summon an army of…
Symphonia might scratch your Silksong itch, even though it's not a metroidvania
Published: December 11, 2024 12:25
In "non-violent and poetic" 2D platformer Symphonia, you're an extremely fancy violinist exploring a realm of musical machines, where gas lanterns kindle fitfully as you approach, crotchets adorn vast cogwheels, and reams of what I really hope isn't actual…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 11th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-11th
Published: December 11, 2024 12:00
When I were a lad, you’d open an advent calendar and get a piece of chocolate shaped like a bell with an aftertaste so rancid you’d wish you’d eaten the little cardboard window instead. And you’d bloody well make do, too. Not these days. Now, you get a…
Beautiful hand-drawn Cat Tram game arrives at station Steam today
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/beautiful-hand-drawn-cat-tram-game-arrives-at-station-steam-today
Published: December 11, 2024 11:59
First covered by Alice O (RPS in peace) in 2017, Short Trip was a chill hand-drawn game about driving a tram through a mountain populated by cats. Back then, it was only available as a free-to-play browser or itch.io experience. Seven years later, though,…
Here's Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver's iconic intro voiced by David Hayter - who originally auditioned for Raziel
Published: December 11, 2024 11:43
Ever wondered what the intro cutscene to Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver would sound like voiced by Solid Snake actor David Hayter? Quite specific of you, but a new documentary from Noclip might just have what you’re looking for. The Past, Present & Future of…
Valve are now selling refurbished Steam Deck OLEDs at up to £110/$130 off – if you can find them in stock
Published: December 11, 2024 10:30
The Steam Deck OLED has joined Valve’s Certified Refurbished programme, offering a much cheaper way of getting your hands on the best handheld PC around. Provided you don’t mind it being in someone else’s first, anyway. As with official refurbs of the…
Bulletstorm and Painkiller devs People Can Fly let over 120 people go and suspend or downsize projects
Published: December 11, 2024 10:19
Bulletstorm, Painkiller and Outriders developers People Can Fly are "suspending or parting ways" with over 120 people, shelving one video game project, downsizing another, and "restructuring some of our support teams" in the face of market turmoil. Read…
RPS Asks: what are you favourite games for the winter malaise?
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rps-asks-what-are-you-favourite-games-for-the-winter-malaise
Published: December 11, 2024 09:23
I am a Winter baby. My birthday is very close to Christmas, and so you’d think this might make me immune to the serotonin-sapping effects of the greyest season in a “I was born of the cold. Moulded by it” kind of way. No such luck, I’m afraid. So, since…
You can now scan and steal paint jobs from any car in Cyberpunk 2077, plus more customisation with the 2.2 update
Published: December 11, 2024 09:16
While it’s always worth starting a new game of Cyberpunk 2077 just to hear Judy say "his own choomba shot him!" for the thirtieth time, there’s now a slightly more tangible reason to start a new journey into Night City’s open world. Update 2.2 went live…
Piece By Piece is about mending, painting and selling goods in a cute repair shop
Published: December 10, 2024 20:40
It seems as if every "wholesome" game is either a Stardewlike or a Animal Crossingbut. Little Rocket Lab? Stardewlike. Piece By Piece? Animal Crossingbut. To be more specific, it's Animal Crossing but your chibi fox protagonist is specifically running a…
Friendly photography adventure Toem is getting a sequel with more black-and-white pocket worlds to explore
Published: December 10, 2024 20:35
Ooh, this feels like the biggest news out of this evening's Wholesome Snack showcase: nourishing photography adventure Toem is getting a sequel, appropriately called Toem 2. It looks to follow much of what made the first so well liked, including its…
Naiad review: still waters run deep they say, but then these waters aren't still
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/naiad-review
Published: December 10, 2024 20:30
Pity the "relaxing" games which set out to blanket their players in a wholesome fog. These minimalist or slight experiences set their stall against the mainstream philosophy of video game design focused on action, rules, clear progression, and often…
Little Rocket Lab is a Factorio and Stardew Valley mashup about building a rocketship in a cute town
Published: December 10, 2024 20:20
Stardew Factory? Factory Valley? Whichever it is, Little Rocket Lab is a factory-builder about efficiently placing conveyors and robot arms, and is drawn in the warm, pixel art small-town of a Stardew-like. That sounds like a fitting combination, although…
Mallard mystery-solver is taking on a new case in Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping
Published: December 10, 2024 20:08
Duck Detective's first case was The Secret Salami, which paired its cosy mystery about stolen lunches with a protagonist whose divorce and destitution were played entirely straight despite his being a duck. The results were seemingly delightful, and here…
First big Marvel Rivals patch makes Doctor Strange less of a monster
Published: December 10, 2024 18:05
Marvel Rivals, the free-to-play hero shooter from NetEase, launched late last week and is exceedingly popular. It's currently fourth on the Steam daily most played, right between Path Of Exile 2 and the evergreen Grand Theft Auto 5. I think there are three…
Beautiful, brainy space RTS Nebulous: Fleet Command is getting carriers and fightercraft
Published: December 10, 2024 17:18
I feel guilty about repeatedly comparing Nebulous: Fleet Command to Homeworld, inasmuch as it's an appalling bait-and-switch. It's like offering somebody a cake that is actually a cunningly painted hunk of torpedo fuselage. It's like offering to shake…
If the demo for this magical Scandinavian skiing game is so "serene" then why do I die constantly
Published: December 10, 2024 13:39
The demo for SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding isn't that new. It actually came out in September, but I'm filing it under the secret best unspoken RPS site category of "News (To Me)", a whizcrack piece of web 3.0 technology that allows us to travel back in time and…
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 review: a wonky career mode gives meaning to the formless flight sim
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-review
Published: December 10, 2024 13:28
London Gatwick Airport is a rare shade of brown, known to neither science nor art. A brown that doesn’t appear on the light spectrum. No easel contains it. It is a dusty brown, a damp brown, a hot and earthy brown that hums with the stinging malodour of…
Dread toy-peddler Funko Pop gets cool, handsome Itch.io taken offline via dodgy "AI-powered" brand protection
Published: December 10, 2024 12:28
Among my last-resort tactics for generating precious PC gaming news is to go on holiday - for as sure as toast lands buttered side down while cats always land on their feet, as sure as the number 13 breeds calamity and Star Citizen committing to a release…
Path Of Exile 2 patch makes looting significantly more rewarding, with further updates planned for dodge rolls
Published: December 10, 2024 12:09
Goblin-hitting bonanza Path Of Exile 2 launched into early access last weekend and the devs Grinding Gear Games have dropped some big patch notes that outline some things they've updated already, or things they plan on updating in a future patch. Things…
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 10th
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-10th
Published: December 10, 2024 12:00
Today’s advent calendar pick is one of 2024’s finest games we missed. It troubles our dreams and waking moments alike. It mushrooms in our peripheral vision and drifts towards us as we batter out advent calendar posts, hoping we can finish writing and beat…
Jean-Claude Van Damme is coming to Hitman this week as a double-crossing ICA agent, and it’s free to play for a month
Published: December 10, 2024 09:08
I’ve got a strange relationship with the stealth sandbox murderbox that is Hitman: World of Assassination. If you were to ask me to list my favourite games, the latest Hitman trilogy would be in the top five, no question. And yet, I must have gotten…
This is my first time learning of this nearly useless novelty keyboard gift and I am in mourning for all the microseconds I’ve wasted in my life
Published: December 10, 2024 09:07
If we follow Marshall McLuhan’s ideas about technology being an extension of the body, then the copy and paste keyboard shortcuts are my equivalent of a trip to one of Cyberpunk 2077’s ripperdocs. In the writing of this single article, I will use them for…
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon Of Serpentcoil Island Review: a traditional roguelite heavy on charm but light on agency
Published: December 10, 2024 03:00
I’m quite smitten by the Nintendo DS stylings and traditional roguelike charms of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon Of Serpentcoil Island, but I’m having real trouble summoning up the motivation to repeatedly grind through its opening levels to get…
You can score Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for PC at a discount on launch day, here's how
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-best-deal-steam-pc
Published: December 9, 2024 17:25
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t just good. It’s excellent. If you’re excited about playing the game on launch day (or beyond) and want to get the best deal possible, then look no further. Read more
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