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enTue, 31 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000The RPS Selection Box: Ed's bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-eds-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Ed ThornTue, 31 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-eds-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024ExplorationMultiplayer CooperativeWindblownHack & SlashLife SimulationNintendo SwitchOpen WorldBird view / IsometricSingle Playerh.a.n.d.Motion TwinRPS Selection BoxRoguelikeIndieKids & FamilyAction AdventureNeos CorporationChristmasShin chan: Shiro And The Coal TownPCFantasyAnime

Unlike a lot of the team I'd imagine, my opinion is this: I thought the year was quite middling for games. Or at least, it was middling for my own personal taste, which is quite unsavoury at the best of times. Most of my best picks made it into the calendar proper, but a couple didn't. One I hadn't even played properly until after the vote, and the other? The other is a flawed pick, but one that I couldn't stop thinking about.

Anyway, hope you all have a restful Xmas folks and a cracking new year. I hope Santa bought you some nice warm socks or a chocolate orange so dense, you could tee it off at your local golf club.

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The ninth RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-ninth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSTue, 31 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-ninth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What game does Geoff Keighley play now that E3 is gone forever?

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The RPS Selection Box: Ollie's bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-ollies-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Ollie TomsMon, 30 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-ollies-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024ExplorationEnshroudedRealismFightingStrategyThird personFull productLeague of GeeksKeen GamesMultiplayer CooperativeNovaLogicRPG: ActionDelta ForceSocialFirst personRPGSolium InfernumOpen WorldSingle PlayerSandboxSimulationShooterRPS Selection BoxIndieSurvival & CraftingAction AdventurePS2ChristmasPCMultiplayer CompetitiveFantasy

I'm quite proud of the delights that we packed behind each door of the Advent Calendar this year, to be honest. All my major choices are in there, plus a few more that I haven't played but I'd watched other people play, and had a swell time doing so. Still, there are always a handful that don't quite make the cut, but still deserve a heaped Christmas plateful of praise at year's end. So here's my selection box, my bonus games of the year for 2024. It's an unusually diverse triad this time.

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The eighth RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-eighth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSMon, 30 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-eighth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What game released this year is set entirely within a jar of anti-ageing cream?

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What's on your bookshelf?: Time has no bearing here as we enter the space between the clock hands editionhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-time-has-no-bearing-here-as-we-enter-the-space-between-the-clock-hands-editionNic ReubenMon, 30 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-time-has-no-bearing-here-as-we-enter-the-space-between-the-clock-hands-editionBooked For The Week

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome to The Space Between The Days. Missed the streak? Missed it? Missed the weekly Sunday column? Missed my deadline because I bought a new matress yesterday and spent most of the day lounging, limbs akimbo like a petulant starfish making noises no starfish has or will ever make? Missed the streak? You are simply wrong. Time has no bearing here. Here is the column. I've been reading Mark Forsyth's books on words and this very good New Yorker column about Kanye West smashing up an architectural masterpiece.

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The RPS Selection Box: James’ bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-james-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024James ArcherSun, 29 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-james-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024ExplorationSaber InteractiveThird personShooter: First PersonXbox Series X/SOpen WorldSingle PlayerFocus Home InteractiveSimulationScience FictionShooterLittle Kitty, Big CityRPS Selection BoxIndieAction AdventurePS5Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2PlatformerFocus EntertainmentPCEcho Point Nova

I’m actually quite happy with how many of my voted games made it into this year’s Advent Calendar, not least because it proves I am acutely in-touch, and definitely didn’t dedicate at least fifty percent of my 2024 playing time to a late-onset Elden Ring obsession. Point being, I can present to you my almost-made-it picks without malice nor bitterness, unlike my loser colleagues who didn’t get as many in the main list. Nyeh nyeh.

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The seventh RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-seventh-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSSun, 29 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-seventh-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: I want to role play as a singing gastropod! What game should I play?

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The RPS Selection Box: Brendan's bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-brendans-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Brendan CaldwellSat, 28 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-brendans-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024ExplorationThunderfulThird personHorrorDragon's Dogma 2Bethesda Game StudiosPuzzleBlockbusterIndiana Jones and the Great CircleFirst personShooter: First PersonBethesda SoftworksRPGNintendo SwitchCapcomXbox Series X/SSingle PlayerLovely HellplaceMachineGamesSecret ModeThe Chinese RoomSteamWorld Heist 2Science FictionStealthStory RichStill Wakes The DeepRPS Selection BoxIndieDread DelusionAction AdventurePS5DreadXPNarrative / Story DrivenStrategy: Turn-Based StrategyChristmasPCFantasy

I'm a sucker for a good first-person runabout. I don't need to shoot, but it's sometimes nice to get a sword, or a big whip. As long as I get to be immersed in an adventure. I think that's the big theme of my selection box: being grounded within my player character. I want to feel what it's like to hike through canyons with too much sellable loot in my backpack. I want to park my soul in the head of a scared Scotsman way out of his depth, hundreds of miles from shore. The closer I can comfortably fit in my character's shoes, the more I seem to buy into the world they inhabit. Even if that world is constantly glowing a magnificent crimson.

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The sixth RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-sixth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSSat, 28 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-sixth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What's the best news you can hear after a trip to the vet?

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The RPS Selection Box: Nic’s bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-nics-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Nic ReubenFri, 27 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-nics-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Strategy: Real-Time StrategyMysteryStrategyThird personHorrorMultiplayer CooperativeFinal Fantasy VII RebirthTotal War: Warhammer IIIRPGEpic GamesXbox Series X/SBird view / IsometricSingle PlayerShooterAlan Wake 2RPS Selection BoxThe Creative AssemblyAction AdventurePS5ChristmasSquare EnixPCMultiplayer CompetitiveRemedy EntertainmentSega

If pushed, I’d describe my 2024 gaming habits as eclectic, but that would actually be a lie. All my favourite games for the year are actually very similar: they are all the best. Unfortunately, the realities of sharing website space with several less-correctos means they didn’t all make this year’s advent calender.

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The fifth RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-fifth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSFri, 27 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-fifth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What d'you call a pair of komodo dragons making a sand castle?

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The RPS Selection Box: Jeremy's bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-jeremys-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Jeremy BlumThu, 26 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-jeremys-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024MysteryThird personHorrorPoint and ClickPuzzleDragon's Dogma 2RPGCapcomXbox Series X/SBird view / IsometricPostmodern AdventuresSingle PlayerponcleArcadeAn English HauntingRPS Selection BoxSide viewIndieHistoricalAction AdventurePS5Vampire SurvivorsChristmasPCFantasy

2024 was my first full year at RPS, and as a guides writer, it was a year packed with the sort of games that make you roll your sleeves up, wipe sweat from your brow, and stare up at the sky from the trenches, ruminating on what life is like when you aren't dealing with back-to-back Soulslikes interspersed with gacha games that feature incomprehensible lootbox mechanics.

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The fourth RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-fourth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSThu, 26 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-fourth-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: Why was the grave robber disappointed when he broke into Ubisoft's tomb?

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The RPS Selection Box: Edwin's bonus games of the year 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-edwins-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Edwin Evans-ThirlwellWed, 25 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-selection-box-edwins-bonus-games-of-the-year-2024Withering RoomsTo The StarsStrategyHorrorPuzzleRPG: ActionMetroidvaniaNintendo SwitchOpen WorldBird view / IsometricSingle PlayerScience FictionStory RichRPS Selection BoxIndieAction AdventureIsles of Sea and SkyChristmasFantasyPCStealth

My selection box isn't really a selection box. It's a tray of barely-nibbled leftovers, hastily lifted from my Steam backlog. One of the disadvantages of being news editor, you see, is that I have developed a goldfish-grade attention span. In my hectic pursuit of the next scoop, or the next Elden Ring update changelog, I snatch and cast aside game demos like a pickpocket speedrunning the checkout line at Harvey Nichols. I'm dimly aware that some of these cast-aside games are Very Good. A few might even deserve to be played for longer than 30 minutes. I feel immensely guilty about that. Perhaps a little... existential, too. I have measured out my life in tutorial levels.

So! Rather than digging out three of the games I've actually completed this year, such as The Crush House, Death Of A Wish and Mask Quest, I'm going to gamble on recommending a few I've barely scratched, but which sure feel excellent and have attracted a positive critical consensus. If I am false in this assessment, may Horace the Endless Bear bite my head off for my impudence. Let's begin.

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The third RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-third-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSWed, 25 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-third-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: What's an etiquette teacher's favourite medieval sim?

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 24thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-24thRPSTue, 24 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-24thFirst personMouthwashingIndieThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024HorrorPCSingle PlayerAction Adventure

Here we are, the final voyage of 2024. This is the last advent calendar entry of PC gaming website Rock Paper Shotgun. Days elapsed: 24. Writers employed: 8.

I hope this hurts.

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The second RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-second-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSTue, 24 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-second-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: How can you tell a soulslike fan has fallen in love with a giant ape?

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 23rdhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-23rdRPSMon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-23rdPS5PCBlack Myth: WukongThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024

An ancient tale, often re-told - and that's just the story of the development studio that made it.

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The first RPS Christmas Cracker 2024https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-rps-christmas-cracker-2024RPSMon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-rps-christmas-cracker-2024IndieChristmasBlockbuster

The fell moons rise, and in their cold glare emerges a parcel from the dirt. Bloat and gangrene, crimped as if by tourniquet. A dark promise wriggles within. Grip the fibrous handles, feel its jagged soul imprint upon your palm. Now pull! Rend the sinew, tear muscle from bone, hatch their fetid gift! The yoke draws near! Take up the slip and read the words upon its face.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q: Why do oil rig workers only drink sparkling water?

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What's on your bookshelf?: I am 90% yule log but I need to keep up the streak editionhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-i-am-90-yule-log-but-i-need-to-keep-up-the-streak-editionNic ReubenSun, 22 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-i-am-90-yule-log-but-i-need-to-keep-up-the-streak-editionBooked For The WeekThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 22ndhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-22ndRPSSun, 22 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-22ndFirst personFireshine GamesRPGThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024PuzzleShadows of DoubtIndiePCMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle PlayerAction Adventure

It was a rainy day when she walked into my office, hard rain, like stray stones from a truck on the highway hitting your car bonnet. I lit my cyber-cigarette and put my feet on my desk, I don't know why, I thought it would make me look nonchalant to this strange woman. She wasn't impressed. "Detective," she said, glaring at me with eyes like gorgeous tennis balls, "I want to open today's advent calendar door." I was confused. "Whaddya wanna do that for, missy?" She sat back, relaxed, and pulled a gun from her purse. "I need to stuff a body into it."

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 21sthttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-21stRPSSat, 21 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-21stSimulationRPGParadox InteractiveTextThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024StrategyCrusader Kings IIIBird view / IsometricMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle Player

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.

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What are we all playing this holiday?https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-holiday-4Edwin Evans-ThirlwellSat, 21 Dec 2024 08:04:15 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-holiday-4Playing This Weekend

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 scheduled in the RPS Post-A-Tron, but the RPS Post-A-Tron is an unreliable beast, full of malice and deceit. If I publish this and it turns out we have two, please divide into rival factions and have a comments war over which is the real one. Apologies! Normal service will resume next year.

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Here's how the strategy layer works in Menace, the turn-based squad combat RPG from the Battle Brothers devshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-how-the-strategy-layer-works-in-menace-the-turn-based-squad-combat-rpg-from-the-battle-brothers-devsEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 20 Dec 2024 17:05:27 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-how-the-strategy-layer-works-in-menace-the-turn-based-squad-combat-rpg-from-the-battle-brothers-devsHooded HorseSimulationScience FictionStrategy: Turn-Based StrategyRPGMenaceStrategyBird view / IsometricPCSingle PlayerOverhype Studios

"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, meaty concoction a tasty, nourishing sandwich.

And by bread, I of course mean the strategic layer - the parts between the turn-based battles where you pick your next mission, improve your squads, deal with pop-up story events, appraise your standing with each NPC faction, and equip your strike cruiser with auxiliary systems. Developers Overhype have now shared a few details of how it all works. Mmmmm, such malty, yeasty strategicalness.

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Should you bother with... mini PCs?https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/should-you-bother-with-mini-pcsJames ArcherFri, 20 Dec 2024 16:46:50 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/should-you-bother-with-mini-pcsShould You Bother WithHardwareMini PCs

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 tiny, box o’ chocolates-sized computers – which have, of course, been around for decades.

Recently, however, I’ve been wondering if mini PCs are finally on the cusp of having their moment as serious games machines. Between rising desktop component prices and ever-ballooning electricity bills, it would make sense that a smaller, cheaper system would take on a new appeal, and the success of handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally show that convenience still trumps out-and-out performance for a lot of PC players. There have even been hints that Valve are resurrecting their Steam Machine mini PC concept, years after a flopping first attempt. Should you be interested?

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Rally Point: Oh phew, Songs of Silence is only pretending to be a card gamehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rally-point-oh-phew-songs-of-silence-is-only-pretending-to-be-a-card-gameSin VegaFri, 20 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rally-point-oh-phew-songs-of-silence-is-only-pretending-to-be-a-card-gameH2 InteractiveSongs of SilenceStrategy: Turn-Based StrategyThe Rally PointRPGChimera EntertainmentStrategyPCMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle Player

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 Might and/or Magic, but with little RPG emphasis or base building, and minimal tactical fighting.

Taxonomy is arbitrary and often unimportant at the end of the day, but I am very glad to firmly rule it out of one category: It's not a bloody card game. It looks like one, sure. You do most things with cards, and characters acquire more cards over time. But even if you absolutely, utterly, and correctly loathe card-based systems, this game has none.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator and the quest to replace Earthhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-and-the-quest-to-replace-earthEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 20 Dec 2024 15:16:25 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-and-the-quest-to-replace-earthXbox Game StudiosFirst personSimulationMicrosoft Flight SimulatorAsobo StudioThird personMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2024Multiplayer CompetitiveSingle Player

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 expands "lightly as a thought," with spectral continents "sleeting" through walls and people. It surges across the landscape until the entire population and geography of the Disc is exactly duplicated and enclosed by a shimmering shadow-self of "shining threads that followed every movement."

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Two Epic Games directors step down after US Department of Justice investigate games companies under antitrust lawshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/two-epic-games-directors-step-down-after-us-department-of-justice-investigate-games-companies-under-antitrust-lawsBrendan CaldwellFri, 20 Dec 2024 13:33:06 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/two-epic-games-directors-step-down-after-us-department-of-justice-investigate-games-companies-under-antitrust-lawsRiot GamesPCTencentEpic Games

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 upon a minority stake in the Unreal Engine company) but the United States government took a look at this and said: ah-ah-ah, you're not allowed to have a director in your boardroom if they're already fingers-deep in the pie of a competing company. Naughty Tencent! Naughty Epic! And, yes, naughty Riot Games!

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 20thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-20thRPSFri, 20 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-20thHack & SlashSingle PlayerRPGThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024Like a Dragon: Infinite WealthThird personSegaAction Adventure

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.

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Here are 5 snowy games you can get for cheap in the Winter Steam salehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/steam-winter-sale-2024-the-cheapest-snowy-gamesBrendan CaldwellFri, 20 Dec 2024 11:54:48 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/steam-winter-sale-2024-the-cheapest-snowy-gamesComedySaber InteractiveRacingArctic EggsSportsThird personSnowRunnerMultiplayer CooperativeFirst personPS4Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X/SSingle PlayerSimulationSubnautica: Below ZeroArcadeLife is Strange: Double ExposureUnknown WorldsIndieValveSurvival & CraftingUbisoft AnnecyAction AdventurePS5Xbox OneUbisoftSteepFocus EntertainmentPCMultiplayer CompetitiveStory Rich

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 two gifts if you bore deep enough into the ice. Me? I'm only interested in one thing. How many of these games are snowy and chilly enough to induce wonderful hypothermia? I'm on a frostbitten quest to find out. Here are the most winter-iest games you can pick up for cheap.

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After 7 years of alien war, Elite Dangerous pilots have finally defeated the Thargoidshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/after-7-years-of-alien-war-elite-dangerous-pilots-have-finally-defeated-the-thargoidsBrendan CaldwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 17:16:20 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/after-7-years-of-alien-war-elite-dangerous-pilots-have-finally-defeated-the-thargoidsFrontier DevelopmentsStrategySpace CombatMultiplayer CooperativeMacFirst personPS4RPGVirtual RealityElite DangerousSingle PlayerSimulationScience FictionMMORPGShooterIndieAction AdventureXbox OnePCMultiplayer Competitive

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 Sol system, putting earth itself under threat for the first time, not to mention other human homeworlds and colonies. This meant players were invited to drop everything and head for home - to embark on one last great stand against the final, desperate, and dangerous alien attacker: a Thargoid Titan called "Cocijo". Don't worry, they got him.

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Frostpunk creators cancel "Project 8" and lay off staff amid concerns that "narrative-driven, story-rich games" don't sellhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/frostpunk-creators-cancel-project-8-and-lay-off-staff-amid-concerns-that-narrative-driven-story-rich-games-dont-sellEdwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 16:43:04 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/frostpunk-creators-cancel-project-8-and-lay-off-staff-amid-concerns-that-narrative-driven-story-rich-games-dont-sell11 Bit Studios

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. As a consequence, a number of 11 bit staff are going to lose their jobs, though at least half of the affected development team are being offered the chance to move to other projects, including a few unannounced ones.

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Path Of Exile 2 early access review: an expressive, characterful ARPG with plenty to chew onhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/path-of-exile-2-early-access-reviewSophie GlassThu, 19 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/path-of-exile-2-early-access-reviewHack & SlashMultiplayer CompetitivePCearly accessWot I ThinkPath Of Exile 2Bird view / IsometricMultiplayer CooperativeGrinding Gear GamesSingle Player

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 fight so hard and with such alacrity that upon dying, they drag their spirits together and keep fighting as ghosts for a while. Foul little bone scorpions skitter around on fans of legs made from human hands. Somewhere in the middle, almost invisible among the noise, is the character I am actually playing: Path of Exile 2’s mean-spirited, callous, and gleefully enjoyable Witch.

This is a review in progress. It has to be. Even in its incomplete early access period, Path of Exile 2 is a great sprawling mass of a game. Three meaty acts of a planned six act campaign are followed by a trickier return tour through them, before the absurd endgame kicks into gear and the real work begins. If I came to you having played everything on offer I would be wild-haired, bloodshot-eyed and possessing perfect, incomprehensible knowledge. Let’s compromise: I have toured the dark caverns and the antediluvian crypts. I have been killed by various accumulated nasties. I’ve had a great time.

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Having Ciri as The Witcher 4 lead will help the game explore the Witcher world's sexism, say CD Projekthttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/having-ciri-as-the-witcher-4-lead-will-help-the-game-explore-the-witcher-worlds-sexism-say-cd-projektEdwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 15:43:21 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/having-ciri-as-the-witcher-4-lead-will-help-the-game-explore-the-witcher-worlds-sexism-say-cd-projektPS5The Witcher 4Single PlayerRPGCD Projekt REDCD ProjektThird personOpen WorldXbox Series X/SPCBlockbusterAction Adventure

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 especially, shock, a video game in a series that has hitherto starred a man. And some of it is people commenting more thoughtfully on whether Ciri genuinely makes for a suitable Witcher protagonist, given that she isn't the product of the typical Witcher genetic modification regime (which is heavily tailored towards men), and given that, without spoiling too much, she has gifts that make crumbly old Geralt's sword-and-sorcery skillset look rather paltry.

Speaking to Eurogamer this week, game director Sebastian Kalemba and narrative director Philipp Weber responded to a few of these comments, and also shared a little about Ciri's situation at the start of the game.

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Caves Of Qud review: an obscenely rich roguelike realm you could get lost in for monthshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/caves-of-qud-reviewBrendan CaldwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 14:45:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/caves-of-qud-reviewFreehold GamesAction AdventureKitfox GamesSimulationPCSingle PlayerRoguelikeRPGStrategy: Turn-Based StrategyWot I ThinkStrategyOpen WorldIndieBird view / IsometricStory RichBestest BestsCaves of Qud

"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 in his home village at dawn. Later, I examined the senator's personal history more thoroughly and discovered he was "hated by bears for cooking them a rancid meal." I suppose every politician has their enemies.

That Caves Of Qud creates fun anecdotes out of simple encounters shouldn't be a surprise. It has had 15 years of early access to establish itself as a small-but-mighty story generating roguelike of repute (there's a reason it sits deservedly side-by-side with Dwarf Fortress in the same publishing house). After creating many characters, and dying and dying and dying again, I understand why it grips the brain with such fierce glee. It is a machine of grand imagination and adventuresome comedy. A deceptively powerful RPG that isn't half as obtuse to newcomers as the screenshots make it out to be. Qud's low-res bark is just a complement to its bite.

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Here is a page of insultshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/here-is-a-page-of-insultsEdwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 14:27:17 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/here-is-a-page-of-insults

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 roaster and the roastee. Here are a few stupid putdowns I've found or made up specially for Xmas, organised into tiers of savagery.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 19thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-19thRPSThu, 19 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-19thIndiePCThresholdThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024

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. Prefers paper and pencil.

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After much talk of an acquisition, Sony and FromSoftware parent Kadokawa announce "strategic alliance"https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/after-much-talk-of-an-acquisition-sony-and-dark-souls-parent-kadokawa-announce-strategic-allianceEdwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 19 Dec 2024 09:56:06 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/after-much-talk-of-an-acquisition-sony-and-dark-souls-parent-kadokawa-announce-strategic-allianceFromSoftwareSonySpike ChunsoftKadokawa Games

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 possibly also, "parent company of Spike Chunsoft". Sony and Kadokawa were reported to be in talks last month, fomenting all sorts of speculation about, say, the PC version of Bloodborne being ritually sacrificed to consecrate the PS6-exclusivity of Dark Souls 4. Now, the pair have emerged from the Cave of Haggling and announced... "a strategic capital and business alliance agreement". What does this mean? Is it safe to scream yet?

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The Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, part four: the last bitehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-beastmaster-of-stalker-2-part-four-the-last-biteJames ArcherWed, 18 Dec 2024 16:59:15 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-beastmaster-of-stalker-2-part-four-the-last-biteS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylDiaryFirst personThe Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2RPGShooterGSC Game WorldMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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 else was attempting to tame the Zone’s beastly inhabitants. With one of their electronic tracking collars in hand and absolutely no preexisting knowledge of their location, I set out to find this kindred spirit, only for the Zone to once again slam a door in my face.

A cold, steel, very literal door to boot. It turns out that the scientist’s laboratory is locked up tight, and will remain so until I delve about twenty hours deeper into the faction war that’s bubbled up while I’ve been running around throwing irradiated rats at people in tracksuits. Fine. Fine! But I’m keeping the collar.

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Spider-Punk lands in Marvel vs Capcom Infinite thanks to a giant mod with a revamped art style and new modes out this weekhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/spider-punk-lands-in-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-thanks-to-a-giant-mod-with-a-revamped-art-style-and-new-modes-out-this-weekBrendan CaldwellWed, 18 Dec 2024 12:16:15 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/spider-punk-lands-in-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-thanks-to-a-giant-mod-with-a-revamped-art-style-and-new-modes-out-this-weekXbox OnePS4FightingCapcomSide viewPCMultiplayer CompetitiveMarvel vs. Capcom InfiniteSingle Player

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 visuals. Since then the modding team has grown to 40 people and the scope of the mod's features has ballooned. It's now going to include new moves, stages, costumes, and a chaotic-looking 2v2 multiplayer tag team mode. All good news for biff 'em up sickos, as the mod is due to release on Friday.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 18thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-18thRPSWed, 18 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-18thThird personMultiplayer CooperativeFirst personPS4RPGXbox Series X/SOpen WorldSingle PlayerSimulationShooterThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024IndieSurvival & CraftingAction AdventurePS5Xbox OneFromSoftwareElden RingBandai Namco EntertainmentPCMultiplayer CompetitiveFantasy

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...

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Mass Effect-like Exodus's first gameplay video features duels with space bears and chats with thankful frogshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mass-effect-like-exoduss-first-gameplay-video-features-duels-with-space-bears-and-chats-with-thankful-frogsEd ThornWed, 18 Dec 2024 11:58:44 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mass-effect-like-exoduss-first-gameplay-video-features-duels-with-space-bears-and-chats-with-thankful-frogsBlur StudioRPGArchetype EntertainmentIndieExodusSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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, and it loves a bit of time dilation. In October of this year, we got a look at some icky celestial faction and zero in the way of actual gameplay. And now? Now we finally get a look at how you do things. Like sucker-punching armoured space bears in the face with electro-pistols.

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Helldivers 2's first licensed crossover is also Killzone's official debut on PC, sort ofhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/helldivers-2s-first-licensed-crossover-is-also-killzones-official-debut-on-pc-sort-ofEdwin Evans-ThirlwellWed, 18 Dec 2024 11:34:34 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/helldivers-2s-first-licensed-crossover-is-also-killzones-official-debut-on-pc-sort-of

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 and "Liber-tea", they've teamed up with the loathsome fascists of Killzone, the elderly shooter series from Sony and Guerrilla Games.

From today, you'll be able to buy weapons, armour and cosmetics belonging to Killzone's despicable stormtroopers from the Helldivers Superstore, and there's the suggestion of an additional Killzone-themed reward depending on the fortunes of the so-called Galactic War, a xenocidal bloodbath couched as an exercise in bringing "freedom" to the upstanding socialist Automatons, the blameless wildlife of the Tyranids, and the Wellsian cosplayers of the recently added Illuminate faction.

We here at Rock Paper Shotgun stand against Super Earth and Arrowhead's wanton aggression, which absolutely isn't a big satirical joke based on some Verhoeven film or other. Anyway, those capes. Find an image and further details below.

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Times Of Progress is an elegant, focussed city builder set during the Industrial Revolutionhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/times-of-progress-is-an-elegant-focussed-city-builder-set-during-the-industrial-revolutionEdwin Evans-ThirlwellWed, 18 Dec 2024 10:29:19 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/times-of-progress-is-an-elegant-focussed-city-builder-set-during-the-industrial-revolutionStrategy: BuilderTimes Of ProgressIndiePCHistorical

Times Of Progress is a special game for me, because it's 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 backflips in front of the kung fu master. Writing about a new city builder at Sin's suggestion is like being invited to budget the development of Londinium by Julius Caesar.

The terror of screwing it up - together with other, more trivial distractions, like international games industry conferences - has stopped me from writing about Times Of Progress for months. Today I bite the bullet, and emerge from my lodgings to issue a hesitant speech to the masses, hoping like hell that Caesar is too preoccupied with the latest Gaul uprising to notice my errors.

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I can't bear to play much of free horror game Toy Box, but I love the concept of pulling talking toys aparthttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/i-cant-bear-to-play-much-of-free-horror-game-toy-box-but-i-love-the-concept-of-pulling-talking-toys-apartEdwin Evans-ThirlwellTue, 17 Dec 2024 16:56:32 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/i-cant-bear-to-play-much-of-free-horror-game-toy-box-but-i-love-the-concept-of-pulling-talking-toys-apartToy BoxVisual Novel & DatingIndiePuzzleHorrorPC

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, his face hidden above the top of the screen. Your job is to disassemble toys - five in all - according to his eldritch written instructions, and either "salvage" them or "sentence" them to the incinerator.

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Elden Ring: Nightreign will support singleplayer, but it might not reward ithttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/elden-ring-nightreign-will-support-singleplayer-but-it-might-not-reward-itEdwin Evans-ThirlwellTue, 17 Dec 2024 12:56:12 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/elden-ring-nightreign-will-support-singleplayer-but-it-might-not-reward-itPS5Xbox OneFromSoftwareElden RingPS4RPGXbox Series X/SElden Ring: NightreignOpen WorldBandai Namco EntertainmentThird personPCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveRPG: ActionFantasySingle PlayerAction Adventure

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 you value sleep over the spectacle of Geoff Keighley's fashion friends, let me catch you up: in Nightreign, you pick one of eight preset characters and explore a parallel-universe version of Elden Ring's Limgrave map, fighting lesser foes and levelling up quickly so that you can battle a boss at the end of each 15-minute in-game day.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 17thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-17thRPSTue, 17 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-17thAbiotic FactorFirst personSimulationRPGShooterThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024IndiePCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveSurvival & CraftingSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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.

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Gwent returns in The Witcher 4, according to CD Projekt's heavy hintshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/gwent-returns-in-the-witcher-4-according-to-cd-projekts-heavy-hintsBrendan CaldwellTue, 17 Dec 2024 11:48:24 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/gwent-returns-in-the-witcher-4-according-to-cd-projekts-heavy-hintsStrategyThird personBlockbusterPS4RPGXbox Series X/SOpen WorldBird view / IsometricCard GamesSingle PlayerThe Witcher 4CD Projekt REDAction AdventurePS5Xbox OneGwent: The Witcher Card GameCD ProjektPCMultiplayer CompetitiveFantasy

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". The wind outside is howling, and so are the nightwraiths, but you're just sitting there. Playing another "cow" card. Okay.

Guess you'll be happy to learn that the Witcher 4 developers have more or less confirmed that Gwent will be making a return in the recently trailered Ciri-led sequel.

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Boomer shooter dev discovers his dogs have been barking on an "unbearable" loop for yearshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/boomer-shooter-dev-discovers-his-dogs-have-been-barking-on-an-unbearable-loop-for-yearsBrendan CaldwellMon, 16 Dec 2024 15:47:43 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/boomer-shooter-dev-discovers-his-dogs-have-been-barking-on-an-unbearable-loop-for-yearsFirst personShooter: First PersonShooterSpytihněvHrotIndiePCSingle Player

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 and endless loop.

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Playing Wreckfest while learning to drive was surprisingly helpfulhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/playing-wreckfest-while-learning-to-drive-was-surprisingly-helpfulBrendan CaldwellMon, 16 Dec 2024 13:28:21 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/playing-wreckfest-while-learning-to-drive-was-surprisingly-helpfulXbox OneWreckfestFirst personSimulationRacingPCPS4THQ NordicBugbear EntertainmentSportsNintendo SwitchThird personRacing ArcadeSide viewIndieBird view / IsometricMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle Player

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 to drive. And weirdly, a racing game about destroying clapped-out old bangers helped me along. Thank you Wreckfest, for all the bottled road rage you allowed me to unleash.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 16thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-16thRPSMon, 16 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-16thPS5SonyAction AdventurePS4RPGNixxes Software B.V.The RPS Advent Calendar 2024Horizon Forbidden WestThird personPCSingle PlayerGuerrilla Games

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 woolly mammoth.

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The Maw: what's new in PC games this week?https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-maw-whats-new-in-pc-games-this-week-25Edwin Evans-ThirlwellMon, 16 Dec 2024 09:13:15 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-maw-whats-new-in-pc-games-this-week-25The Maw liveblog

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 they say it's permissible to hang a trash bag by your George Foreman grill or local equivalent, and leave a comment on an RPS article instead. Wot you want for Wintermas, then? Extra trash bags? New George Foreman grill? Whatever it is, Santa will provide. If he doesn't, I'll feed him to the Maw.

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What's on your bookshelf?: I am going to sleep for several weeks editionhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-i-am-going-to-sleep-for-several-weeks-editionNic ReubenSun, 15 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-i-am-going-to-sleep-for-several-weeks-editionBooked For The Week

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!

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 15thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-15thRPSSun, 15 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-15thStraftatFirst personShooter: First PersonShooterThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024IndiePCMultiplayer CompetitiveLemaitre Bros

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. There were plenty of arseholes back then. Some of them now run very large software companies. But at least there was no grinding to ruin your bunnyhopping.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 14thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-14thRPSSat, 14 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-14thPS5MetroidvaniaBigmodePlatformerShared MemoryThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024Nintendo SwitchPuzzleAnimal WellSide viewIndiePCSingle Player

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? Ah, whoops, you’ve startled it. Better follow it offscreen.

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What are we all playing this weekend?https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-weekend-313Ollie TomsSat, 14 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/what-are-we-all-playing-this-weekend-313Playing This Weekend

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, we're sensitive at the moment. Here's what we're all playing this weekend!

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Open world sword-swinger Crimson Desert horse-powerslides to a late 2025 releasehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/open-world-sword-swinger-crimson-desert-horse-powerslides-to-a-late-2025-releaseEd ThornFri, 13 Dec 2024 15:40:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/open-world-sword-swinger-crimson-desert-horse-powerslides-to-a-late-2025-releasePS5The Game Awards 2024MMORPGCrimson DesertRPGPearl AbyssThird personXbox Series X/SPCThe Game Awards

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 is a release date. Now, thanks to The Geoff Awards, that's changed! Well, sort of - Crimson Desert is out sometime in late 2025.

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While CEOs got dressed up for the Game Awards, 461 workers at Zenimax Online Studios unionisedhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/while-ceos-got-dressed-up-for-the-game-awards-461-workers-at-zenimax-online-studios-unionisedBrendan CaldwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 14:05:49 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/while-ceos-got-dressed-up-for-the-game-awards-461-workers-at-zenimax-online-studios-unionisedThird personMultiplayer CooperativeBethesda Game StudiosMacCommunications Workers of AmericaFirst personBethesda SoftworksRPGMMOXbox Series X/SMicrosoftMMORPGAction AdventurePS5ZeniMax Online StudiosLayoffsPCThe Elder Scrolls OnlineMultiplayer Competitive

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 succeeded in organising something of their own. Employees at Zenimax Online Studios launched their union with 461 members, as announced on social media site Bluesky last night.

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Turok: Origins will revisit the dinosaur hunter in a third-person shooter with co-ophttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/turok-origins-will-revisit-the-dinosaur-hunter-in-a-third-person-shooter-with-co-opBrendan CaldwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 12:56:32 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/turok-origins-will-revisit-the-dinosaur-hunter-in-a-third-person-shooter-with-co-opPS5Shooter: Third PersonSaber InteractiveXbox Series X/STurok: OriginsPC

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 third-person shooter and you can play in online co-op as a team of T-rex wreckers. You then slurp up their dino DNA to upgrade your character. Come and watch these crimes against nature in the trailer below.

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Tekken 8's next fighter is Clive, actuallyhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tekken-8s-next-fighter-is-clive-actuallyBrendan CaldwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 12:56:18 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tekken-8s-next-fighter-is-clive-actuallyPS5Multiplayer CompetitiveRPGTekken 8FightingBANDAI NAMCO StudiosThird personSide viewBandai Namco EntertainmentSquare EnixPCFinal Fantasy XVIFantasySingle Player

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 last night's Game Awards we learned that the next fighter to come to the game will be... Clive? From Final Fantasy XVI? Sure. Why not.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 13thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-13thRPSFri, 13 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-13thHelldivers 2PS5ComedyScience FictionShooterArrowhead Game StudiosThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024Third personPCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle Player

Would you like to know more? Open the door and earn your citizenship today.

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We're getting an Okami 2, with Hideki Kamiya at the reinshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/were-getting-an-okami-2-with-hideki-kamiya-at-the-reinsEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 04:16:54 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/were-getting-an-okami-2-with-hideki-kamiya-at-the-reinsThe Game Awards 2024PS2RPGClover StudioCapcomNintendo WiiThird personOkamiThe Game AwardsSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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 original Okami game director Hideki Kamiya. I am tickled pink, I tell you. Find a trailer below.

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Naughty Dog are making a sci-fi bounty hunter game called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophethttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/naughty-dog-are-making-a-sci-fi-bounty-hunter-game-called-intergalactic-the-heretic-prophetGraham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 04:11:16 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/naughty-dog-are-making-a-sci-fi-bounty-hunter-game-called-intergalactic-the-heretic-prophetThe Game Awards 2024Naughty DogIntergalactic: The Heretic ProphetThe Game AwardsBlockbusterAction Adventure

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 is below.

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Aaron Paul stars in Dispatch, a story based superhero management game from ex-Telltale devshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/aaron-paul-stars-in-dispatch-a-story-based-superhero-management-game-from-ex-telltale-devsNic ReubenFri, 13 Dec 2024 04:08:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/aaron-paul-stars-in-dispatch-a-story-based-superhero-management-game-from-ex-telltale-devsThe Game Awards 2024DispatchStrategyThe Game Awards

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 where you’ll play a broke superhero trying to get himself a new mech suit by working at a hero dispatch center. Having trouble tracking a trailer down for this one, but you can find it here on Steam.

Wait. I’ve found it! Leaving that last bit in though. Consider it my gift to you reader. The gift of visible workflow at 4am.

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There's a new Sonic Racing game in developmenthttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/theres-a-new-sonic-racing-game-in-developmentGraham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 03:50:53 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/theres-a-new-sonic-racing-game-in-developmentSonic Racing: CrossWorldsRacingThe Game Awards 2024The Game AwardsSega

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 cautiously interested to learn he's getting back behind the wheel. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was just announced.

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Classic '90s PC racing series Screamer is returning, from the makers of Hot Wheels Unleashedhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/classic-90s-pc-racing-series-screamer-is-returning-from-the-makers-of-hot-wheels-unleashedGraham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 03:28:21 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/classic-90s-pc-racing-series-screamer-is-returning-from-the-makers-of-hot-wheels-unleashedMilestone GamesRacingThe Game Awards 2024Screamer (2026)The Game Awards

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 again called simply Screamer. Huh! Huh. You'll find a trailer below.

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The creator of Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus is making a giant robot-piloting gamehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-creator-of-ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-is-making-a-giant-robot-piloting-gameEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 03:27:55 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-creator-of-ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-is-making-a-giant-robot-piloting-gamePlatformerThe Last GuardianSingle PlayerThe Game Awards 2024PS2PS4Sony Computer EntertainmentSony Computer Entertainment EuropeThe Game AwardsBluepoint GamesShadow of the ColossusThird personPuzzleTeam IcoICOAction Adventure

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 castle). Now, he's getting into Gundams, though it looks like small boys are still a feature. Epic Games Publishing have just unveiled Ueda and genDESIGN's latest creation - Project: Robot. Find a trailer below.

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Onimusha Way Of The Sword is the Capcom action-RPG's first new instalment in almost 20 yearshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-is-the-capcom-action-rpgs-first-new-instalment-in-almost-20-yearsEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:53:39 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-is-the-capcom-action-rpgs-first-new-instalment-in-almost-20-yearsThe Game Awards 2024The Game AwardsOnimusha: The Way Of The SowrdHorrorPCRPG: ActionFantasyAction Adventure

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. So, 2012? Maybe 2006, if you rule out the Unity browser sim? Cor.

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Helldivers 2's update adds the dreaded Illuminate faction, plus city maps and bouncy jeepshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/helldivers-2s-update-adds-the-dreaded-illuminate-faction-plus-city-maps-and-bouncy-jeepsEd ThornFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:35:22 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/helldivers-2s-update-adds-the-dreaded-illuminate-faction-plus-city-maps-and-bouncy-jeepsHelldivers 2PS5ComedyScience FictionThe Game Awards 2024ShooterArrowhead Game StudiosThird personPCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveThe Game AwardsSingle Player

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 Halo's Warthog, and is hopefully just as fragile and bouncy. Here's a trailer.

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Borderlands 4 looks ready to drop the hottest memes of 2011 in first-look trailerhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/borderlands-4-looks-ready-to-drop-the-hottest-memes-of-2011-in-first-look-trailerNic ReubenFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:33:37 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/borderlands-4-looks-ready-to-drop-the-hottest-memes-of-2011-in-first-look-trailerFirst personThe Game Awards 2024RPGBorderlands 4ShooterGearbox Software2KMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveThe Game AwardsSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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 Fourderlands, which is out sometime next year.

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The makers of Yakuza are working on "Project Century", a new third-person brawler set in 1915https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-makers-of-yakuza-are-working-on-project-century-a-new-third-person-brawler-set-in-1915Graham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:28:54 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-makers-of-yakuza-are-working-on-project-century-a-new-third-person-brawler-set-in-1915Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioBlockbusterRPGFightingProject CenturyAction Adventure

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 set in 1915. There's a trailer below.

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The Long Dark 2 announced with co-op multiplayer, new urban areas and sanity systemhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-long-dark-2-announced-with-co-op-multiplayer-new-urban-areas-and-sanity-systemEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:24:31 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-long-dark-2-announced-with-co-op-multiplayer-new-urban-areas-and-sanity-systemHinterlandStrategyMacFirst personPS4RPGVirtual RealitySingle PlayerSandboxSimulationShooterBlackfrost: The Long Dark 2IndieSurvival & CraftingAction AdventureXbox OneThe Long DarkPCFantasy

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 winter - it's out in early access in 2026, and introduces urban environments together with a "Will to Live" sanity system and co-op multiplayer. Here's the trailer.

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It Takes Two devs are making a new co-op game called Split Fiction, coming March 2025https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/it-takes-two-devs-are-making-a-new-co-op-game-called-split-fiction-coming-march-2025Graham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 02:08:38 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/it-takes-two-devs-are-making-a-new-co-op-game-called-split-fiction-coming-march-2025Hazelight StudiosThe Game Awards 2024The Game AwardsSplit FictionAction Adventure

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 two aspiring authors, one who writes science fiction and one who writes fantasy, being sucked into and having to survive inside their own fictions.

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Here’s the first look at The Outer Worlds 2 gameplayhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-the-first-look-at-the-outer-worlds-2-gameplayNic ReubenFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:57:32 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-the-first-look-at-the-outer-worlds-2-gameplayXbox Game StudiosFirst personThe Game Awards 2024Obsidian EntertainmentRPGThe Outer Worlds 2PCThe Game AwardsSingle Player

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 nary a vaguely satirical sign nor very large gun since. Now we have both, plus some punching. Here’s that trailer.

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World Of Tanks creators reveal Steel Hunters, which isn't quite World Of Mechshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/world-of-tanks-creators-reveal-steel-hunters-which-isnt-quite-world-of-mechsEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:53:10 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/world-of-tanks-creators-reveal-steel-hunters-which-isnt-quite-world-of-mechsSteel HuntersThe Game Awards 2024ShooterPCThe Game Awards

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 smashable, post-apocalyptic maps. It’s just been announced at Wrasslin' Geoff’s Winter Hootenanny, aka the Game Awards, and there’s a 10 day PC playtest underway right now. Here’s a trailer.

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is heading to PC in January, a year after its console launchhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-is-heading-to-pc-in-january-a-year-after-its-console-launchGraham SmithFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:51:15 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-is-heading-to-pc-in-january-a-year-after-its-console-launchPS5The Game Awards 2024RPGThird personSquare EnixFinal Fantasy VII RebirthThe Game AwardsSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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.

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The first Witcher 4 trailer is here, and Ciri is the starhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-witcher-4-trailer-is-here-and-ciri-is-the-starEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:47:58 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-witcher-4-trailer-is-here-and-ciri-is-the-starPS5The Witcher 4Single PlayerThe Game Awards 2024RPGCD Projekt REDCD ProjektThird personOpen WorldXbox Series X/SPCThe Game AwardsBlockbusterAction Adventure

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 a whole new Witcher saga, though there’s a tease at the end of the footage that crusty old Geralt may return as well.

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Solasta: Crown of the Magister is getting a sequel starring Baldur's Gate 3's narratorhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/solasta-crown-of-the-magister-is-getting-a-sequel-starring-baldurs-gate-3s-narratorNic ReubenFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:27:04 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/solasta-crown-of-the-magister-is-getting-a-sequel-starring-baldurs-gate-3s-narratorTactical AdventuresThe Game Awards 2024RPGSolasta IIPCThe Game Awards

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 and online co-op. Here’s a trailer. Warning: it has shiny rock people in it, the worst videogame enemy.

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From Software reveal Elden Ring: Nightreign, a three-player co-op spin-offhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/from-software-reveal-elden-ring-nightreign-a-three-player-co-op-spin-offEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:26:07 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/from-software-reveal-elden-ring-nightreign-a-three-player-co-op-spin-offPS5Xbox OneFromSoftwareElden RingThe Game Awards 2024PS4RPGThe Game AwardsXbox Series X/SThird personOpen WorldBandai Namco EntertainmentPCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveFantasySingle PlayerAction Adventure

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?

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Shadow Labyrinth is a twisted bloodthirsty take on Pac-Man, out in 2025https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/shadow-labyrinth-is-a-twisted-bloodthirsty-take-on-pac-man-out-in-2025Edwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:00:53 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/shadow-labyrinth-is-a-twisted-bloodthirsty-take-on-pac-man-out-in-2025PlatformerThe Game Awards 2024Shadow LabyrinthThe Game AwardsHorrorPCFantasy

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. But none so gruesome as Pac-Man, who can transform into a huge champing black hole. Wakkawakkawakkawould you play this?

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The creators of Sifu and Absolver are making a football game, set many decades from nowhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-creators-of-sifu-and-absolver-are-making-a-football-game-set-many-decades-from-nowEdwin Evans-ThirlwellFri, 13 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-creators-of-sifu-and-absolver-are-making-a-football-game-set-many-decades-from-nowScience FictionThe Game Awards 2024SportsRematchPCThe Game Awards

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, find this news deflating. Football? We already have that at home. It's like a martial art, but all you get to kick is some... ball.

I'm not sure I'll ever entirely swallow my disappointment, but credit where it's due, Rematch does look like both an enjoyable game and a quietly disruptive one. It's also struck a chord with me inasmuch as it's a new way into the culture of a sport which I have pretty mixed feelings about.

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Here’s the trailer for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, from Koei Tecmo, Dotemu, and the Blasphemous teamhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-the-trailer-for-ninja-gaiden-ragebound-from-koei-tecmo-dotemu-and-the-blasphemous-teamNic ReubenFri, 13 Dec 2024 00:52:50 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/heres-the-trailer-for-ninja-gaiden-ragebound-from-koei-tecmo-dotemu-and-the-blasphemous-teamDotEmuNINJA GAIDEN: RageboundArcadeThe Game Awards 2024Koei TecmoThe Game KitchenPCThe Game Awards

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. Trailer below.

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Warren Spector and Thief's game director are making a multiplayer immersive sim called Thick As Thieveshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/warren-spector-and-thiefs-game-director-are-making-a-multiplayer-immersive-sim-called-thick-as-thievesJeremy PeelFri, 13 Dec 2024 00:51:19 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/warren-spector-and-thiefs-game-director-are-making-a-multiplayer-immersive-sim-called-thick-as-thievesPS5Thick as ThievesAction AdventureOtherside EntertainmentShooterWarren-SpectorXbox Series X/SPCStealthSandbox

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 shady enough to cause an itch in the swordarm of any passing guard.

Until, that is, they take to the thieves’ highway - following the trajectory of their grappling hook upward to the rooftops, from which they can see the shape of the city, and the moon beyond. Up here, it’s a parallel world - the trees on street level answered by chimney stacks, and the distant hills echoed by the rise and fall of steep gables. “We’re super proud of these rooftops,” says Greg LoPiccolo. “It’s an amazing landscape that we put a lot of thought and effort into, and it’s a lot of fun to traverse.”

Back in 1998, LoPiccolo was the game director who saw Thief: The Dark Project to completion. Today - after an 18 year detour to Harmonix to lead projects like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, among other adventures - he’s the game director of Thick as Thieves. “It really is an opportunity to do something unique and cool and new, on the shoulders of this stuff that is now well-respected,” he says. “Thief has some legs, right? People still talk about it to some degree.”

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Mafia: The Old Country release date shrinks to summer 2025https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mafia-the-old-country-release-date-shrinks-to-summer-2025Edwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 12 Dec 2024 22:43:46 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/mafia-the-old-country-release-date-shrinks-to-summer-2025PS5Mafia: The Old CountryThe Game Awards 2024Xbox Series X/SPCThe Game AwardsAction Adventure

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, shoot-outs and punch-ups. We get to see wise guys swinging knives, riding horses and glowering silently at sun-baked Sicilian countryside.

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The Game Awards 2024 livebloghttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-game-awards-2024-liveblogJames ArcherThu, 12 Dec 2024 16:52:12 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-game-awards-2024-liveblogThe Game Awards 2024The Game Awards

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 developers whose acceptance speeches cut into that valuable trailer showcase time.

Who will need to please wrap it up this time? Which games will be revealed? Will there be a musical number to top last year’s Herald of Darkness performance? (That was fun, actually, fair play on that one.) You can find out right along with us, as we once again fire up the RPS liveblog-o-tron to report all the developments as they happen. Even the ones that happen at 3:45am, when I’ll be desperately trying not to collapse into my keyboard like a felled tree.

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Marvel Rivals review: it's like Overwatch, if Overwatch was overcomplex and frequented Comic Conhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/marvel-rivals-reviewEd ThornThu, 12 Dec 2024 15:53:27 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/marvel-rivals-reviewNetease GamesFree-to-playShooterFightingMarvel RivalsStrategyThird personWot I ThinkPCMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveBlockbusterAction Adventure

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 Spider-Man or Squirrel Girl or Marcus Fenix so as they wait to respawn, you hop on the big area that needs capturing. Or you push the cart while tanky Hulk absorbs bullets with his biceps and John Marvel snipes from afar.

The more I played Rivals, though, the more it hit me that it's specifically a messier, more complex Overwatch. A hero shooter with a surprising amount of polish and charm, sure, but also one that slides off my brain like water off Birdman's back. I understand why it's supremely popular at the moment and yet, I really don't.

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The Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, part three: the stalker becomes the stalkeredhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-beastmaster-of-stalker-2-part-three-the-stalker-becomes-the-stalkeredJames ArcherThu, 12 Dec 2024 15:32:46 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-beastmaster-of-stalker-2-part-three-the-stalker-becomes-the-stalkeredS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylDiaryFirst personThe Beastmaster of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2RPGShooterGSC Game WorldMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle PlayerAction Adventure

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 enough to really open up the map, and with it, access to more of the Zone’s fiercest fleshwarps.

Also, rats. Buoyed by the successful Bloodsucker siccing, I’m back on the trail of some mysterious anomaly scanners, and word is I might find a lead inside a local maze of wrecked cars. It’s heavily guarded by some gangster types, but for once, I won’t have to dash off in search of some far-off muties and coax them back here using my neck as bait. Mercifully, a gaggle of overgrown rodents are already hopping around right outside the labyrinth’s entrance. I beckon them in like a bouncer on his last day, then sprint past the stunned gunmen, who can barely shoulder their rifles before being set upon by a pack of giant carnivorous hamsters.

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Total War: Warhammer’s Rich Aldridge on roleplaying, iteration, and lessons from nearly a decade on strategy’s most ambitious serieshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/total-war-warhammers-rich-aldridge-on-roleplaying-iteration-and-lessons-from-nearly-a-decade-on-strategys-most-ambitious-seriesNic ReubenThu, 12 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/total-war-warhammers-rich-aldridge-on-roleplaying-iteration-and-lessons-from-nearly-a-decade-on-strategys-most-ambitious-seriesTotal War: Warhammer III - Immortal EmpiresStrategy: Real-Time StrategySegaStrategyThe Creative AssemblyBird view / IsometricMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveTotal War: Warhammer IIISingle Player

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 respective factions, but it’s the fourth lord - a Khorne champion free to all players - that I imagine Aldridge will end up remembering the most fondly.

When Total War: Warhammer released back in 2016, it shipped with eight legendary lords - famous characters from Games Workshop’s fantasy setting that here act as faction leaders. The number grew steadily and, in terms of announcement order at least, today’s addition of Arbaal The Undefeated marks the series’ 100th. That's a hundred campaigns, a hundred joint efforts of game design, animation, art, writing and voice work.

Aldridge has never been shy about the team’s ambition for the series to eventually offer up each unit from every Fantasy Battle 6th edition army book ("The goal is to do everything, right?"). But ambition is one thing, and considering the fraught conditions at Creative Assembly and parent company Sega over the past few years, it’s not just the addition of the 100th lord that feels like something to celebrate. It’s taken time, effort, and a siesmic shift in update frequency, but Total War: Warhammer III is in the best place it's ever been.

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Band Of Crusaders is a dark fantasy party RPG with heady overtones of XCOM and Diablohttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/band-of-crusaders-is-a-dark-fantasy-party-rpg-with-heady-overtones-of-xcom-and-diabloEdwin Evans-ThirlwellThu, 12 Dec 2024 13:06:29 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/band-of-crusaders-is-a-dark-fantasy-party-rpg-with-heady-overtones-of-xcom-and-diabloBand Of CrusadersStrategy: Real-Time StrategyRPGOpen WorldHorrorPCHistoricalFantasy

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 bunch of wily Archdemons out of Europe. It seems to play a bit like XCOM, with an oppressive world map that is slowly encroached upon as you travel around recruiting soldiers, interacting with settlements, and picking real-time fights with hellfiends "inspired by biblical descriptions and European folklore". Naturally, parallels with real-life xenophobia and sectarian hatred abound. Here's the trailer.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 12thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-12thRPSThu, 12 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-12thSingle PlayerPCThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024StrategyPlaystackIndieBird view / IsometricLocalThunkCard GamesBalatro

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 around you like a cloud of spores. It cannot be denied. It can only be…

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A minor tweak to Steam will soon let you change the way you download that monstrous 250GB updatehttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/a-minor-tweak-to-steam-will-soon-let-you-change-the-way-you-download-that-monstrous-250gb-updateBrendan CaldwellThu, 12 Dec 2024 10:56:26 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/a-minor-tweak-to-steam-will-soon-let-you-change-the-way-you-download-that-monstrous-250gb-updatePCValve

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 installed games automatically when a new update is released (and sometimes schedules the updates according to its own capricious whims). But the platform is testing a new option in the beta client, which lets you set download behaviour to git new gigs only when you actually launch a game. This would be a terrible curse, for reasons I will explain, but it's only going to be an option - not the new default.

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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 thinghttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/untitled-goose-game-and-thank-goodness-youre-here-publishers-are-doing-a-thing-and-im-not-sure-what-the-thing-is-but-it-seems-like-a-cool-thingNic ReubenThu, 12 Dec 2024 09:19:20 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/untitled-goose-game-and-thank-goodness-youre-here-publishers-are-doing-a-thing-and-im-not-sure-what-the-thing-is-but-it-seems-like-a-cool-thingBlippo+PanicIndiescoveryIndiePC

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 is that "quite"? I love being fooled into getting charmed by automated systems via colloquial British understatement. Anyway, I bring this up because I honestly don’t have anything to add about Blippo+. I just wanted to inform you all of its existence. It's a "casual" "FMV" "Cinematic" "Pixel Graphics" "1980s" digital product from developers also named Blippo+, as well as publishers Panic, who've previously unleashed the horrible goose and Thank Goodness You’re Here! on the world. Have a visual orientation:

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It's almost Christmas, which means it's time to play Skealhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/its-almost-christmas-which-means-its-time-to-play-skealGraham SmithWed, 11 Dec 2024 22:37:45 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/its-almost-christmas-which-means-its-time-to-play-skealSkealFirst personPlatformerNick CummingsSportsChristmasSingle Player

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 notice. The work is unseen and unremarked upon even as, through repetition, we come to depend upon it. Until, one day, that light that they shine can't be seen. Maybe you left home, or maybe they did, but now it's your turn to perform such acts of kindness. To carry the tradition forward for others - and for yourself.

Friends, it's time to play Skeal.

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Curiosmos is a galactic playground of planet creation and creature evolutionhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/curiosmos-is-a-galactic-playground-of-planet-creation-and-creature-evolutionGraham SmithWed, 11 Dec 2024 21:27:08 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/curiosmos-is-a-galactic-playground-of-planet-creation-and-creature-evolutionExplorationCéline & The Silly StarsSimulationCuriosmosIndiePCThe Game AwardsAction Adventure

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 different game, but it has a little of the same appeal. It's a galactic playground in which you smash meteors together to make planets, then tinker with the ecosystems of those planets to make life and watch that life evolve. All while a hungry black hole lingers nearby, eager to consume everything you have created. There's an explanatory video below.

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Hyper Light Breaker, the co-op, open world 3D prequel, will launch in Early Access in Januaryhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/hyper-light-breaker-the-co-op-open-world-3d-prequel-will-launch-in-early-access-in-januaryGraham SmithWed, 11 Dec 2024 21:05:08 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/hyper-light-breaker-the-co-op-open-world-3d-prequel-will-launch-in-early-access-in-januaryHyper Light BreakerIndiePCGearbox PublishingThe Game AwardsAction Adventure

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 Early Access: January 14th, 2025.

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TankHead offers vehicle combat in a sci-fi world where you scavenge parts from your enemieshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tankhead-offers-vehicle-combat-in-a-sci-fi-world-where-you-scavenge-parts-from-your-enemiesGraham SmithWed, 11 Dec 2024 20:40:44 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tankhead-offers-vehicle-combat-in-a-sci-fi-world-where-you-scavenge-parts-from-your-enemiesKepler InteractiveRacingAlpha ChannelShooterRoguelikeTankHeadThe Game AwardsAction Adventure

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 scavenging them for parts using a drone.

It's been in quiet development for years, but it got a big reveal during tonight's Day Of The Devs stream. It was also released during tonight's Day Of The Devs stream, so you can buy it from the Epic Games Store now.

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Path Of Exile 2 is so "severely overloaded" by players that Grinding Gear are hiring new support staffhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/path-of-exile-2-is-so-severely-overloaded-by-players-that-grinding-gear-are-hiring-new-support-staffEdwin Evans-ThirlwellWed, 11 Dec 2024 17:08:44 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/path-of-exile-2-is-so-severely-overloaded-by-players-that-grinding-gear-are-hiring-new-support-staffHack & SlashMultiplayer CompetitivePCPath Of Exile 2Bird view / IsometricMultiplayer CooperativeGrinding Gear GamesSingle Player

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 skeletons in response. A similar horde vs horde encounter is underway at POE 2 developers Grinding Gear Games. The game launched in early access over the weekend, and has already drawn so many players that the developers are emergency-hiring additional staff to cope with the waves of support emails.

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Symphonia might scratch your Silksong itch, even though it's not a metroidvaniahttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/symphonia-might-scratch-your-silksong-itch-even-though-its-not-a-metroidvaniaEdwin Evans-ThirlwellWed, 11 Dec 2024 12:25:04 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/symphonia-might-scratch-your-silksong-itch-even-though-its-not-a-metroidvania

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 catgut feed through titanic pegboxes overhead. Sampling the demo, I was immediately enflamed by the orchestral score and placed in a mood of white-gloved sophistication only slightly spoiled by the familiarity of the underlying platform moveset, and by my repeatedly falling into pits.

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The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 11thhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-11thRPSWed, 11 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-advent-calendar-2024-december-11thPCStrategy: Turn-Based StrategyThe RPS Advent Calendar 2024MechabellumStrategyBird view / IsometricMultiplayer CooperativeMultiplayer CompetitiveSingle PlayerGame River

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 squadron of tiny automata with drills for noses that burrow through your battle lines and utterly wreck your vulnerable missile launchers. Country’s gone to the tiny robot dogs, I tell you!

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Beautiful hand-drawn Cat Tram game arrives at station Steam todayhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/beautiful-hand-drawn-cat-tram-game-arrives-at-station-steam-todayEd ThornWed, 11 Dec 2024 11:59:38 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/beautiful-hand-drawn-cat-tram-game-arrives-at-station-steam-todaySimulationAlexander PerrinPC2pt interactiveIndieIndiescoveryShort Trip

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, and on this very day, it's out on Steam. Not only that, it's arriving with all the tramming of the original, with an added "scheduled mode" that adds more charm to an already lovely game.

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