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The Grim Reaper might not be a friendly sight in The Sims 4, but as it turns out, the specter of ***** can be weak to a much more comical foe. The Sims has always taken a wacky approach to its simulation of life, and the Grim Reaper appearing to harvest the souls of the departing is an absurd choice that fits right in. Although he receives renewed focus in The Sims 4's recent Life & ****** expansion pack, the Grim Reaper's status as the star of the show doesn't make him immune to all threats. View the full article

Players who have purchased The Storybook Vale expansion pack for Disney Dreamlight Valley have much new content to explore. The expansion comes with a brand-new world, similar to what players received with A Rift in Time. Along with the new world, players also receive new quests, new characters, and a whole new story. View the full article

World of Warcraft just revealed some key details about its upcoming player housing feature, including that it will be a departure from the Garrisons system from Warlords of Draenor. Fans can expect to learn more about this evergreen World of Warcraft feature in early 2025. View the full article

Every time I play Path of Exile 2 – and I’ve been lucky enough to play it a few times now – I grow more confident that it’s going to be special. I’ve now played as the Hunter, Monk, Witch, Warrior, and most recently Mercenary. You’d think that I’d be tired of doing 2+ hour sessions with each of the classes, but the inverse is true. I can’t wait to ***** back in. Its beta release on December 6 can’t come soon enough. I’m going to focus this preview on the Mercenary. While it’s not my favorite of the classes, the Mercenary is very unique in that it transforms traditional Path of Exile gameplay into what you would expect from a top-down shooter. This class, which focuses on the use of a crossbow, has you start by ******* 7 rounds of bolts at any approaching enemies. You’ll then slowly unlock new skill gems that add abilities that will snipe, rapidly ***** Armor Piercing Rounds, lob a grenade, freeze, set on *****, or otherwise set you up for success against the waves you’ll come across. This transformation to a shooter is intentional, with Grinding Gear Games’ Jonathan Rogers embracing the challenge the class gave them by taking lessons from other titles in the shooter space that they then built upon. While I found that I missed the thwack of the Monk’s staff or the agility the Hunter’s bow offered I can see how the Mercenary could be an attractive option for new players who may be more familiar with other genres and entering the ARPG space for the first time. The one reason I feel the Mercenary is held back is because of the sheer amount of reloading needed, as it happens when you swap between ******* modes or run out of ammo, leading to a bit more downtime than I liked in the early game. The Mercenary class starts coming together and feeling quite powerful around the graveyard section of Path of Exile 2. That said, the class does start coming together and feeling quite powerful around the graveyard section of Path of Exile 2. This seems to be the point where all the classes really begin to come into their own and give players a peek at their endgame potential. By this point I had: a grenade launcher that shot three projectiles and did increased area of effect damage, a **** that fired ice that slowed and froze approaching enemies, and a ***** shot that lit everything on ***** that came near me, but also pushed back approaching mobs with force. These building blocks give you a chance to begin placing perks into the abilities you like the most. Especially because your passive skill tree journey will have likely unlocked a bonus or two that allow you to begin building the character you will use to continue through the campaign. Into the Endgame A large focus of my preview event for Path of Exile 2 was a behind-closed-doors presentation focused on the endgame path you’ll be taken on. While I didn’t get hands-on time with it, Rogers took us through the endgame challenges, including a massive world map to be cleared and end-game activities that they think players will keep coming back to for hundreds of hours. In a roundtable interview, when asked about the endgame he said, “If we don’t have a good endgame going into early access, then Path of Exile 1 players are just going to say, ‘Hey this is just a worse game.’ We need that stuff to be able to actually make a POE1 player feel like, ‘Oh yeah, you know what? This is a true sequel to POE1.’” And boy does it look like they delivered. To give you a peek into what’s planned for December, the first half of the campaign, including Acts 1-3, will launch first and should take you around 25 hours to complete. The endgame awaiting you after campaign completion promises a lot of exciting new ways to power up your build. I got a small sneak peek at some of those endgame chases as part of a 2-hour presentation detailing several of the modes you’ll be able to chase. While there are eight primary endgame modes planned at the launch of early access, you’ll be introduced to a few during the campaign. They include several sequels to popular leagues from the original Path of Exile, with more to be launched during early access. I saw the Trial of Sekhemas, which has you enter a series of rooms that each have unique challenges, like filling a blood chalice by defeating red enemies in the area. Or surviving increasingly difficult ****** spawns before a timer runs out. These floors each have several challenges like this, and at the end of each, after a boss ******, you’ll have a choice to cash in keys you’ve collected or proceed to the next level for a chance at better loot. ****, or have your “honor” reduced to zero by being hit too many times and you’ll be kicked back to the beginning. To improve your chances, there’s water you’ll collect that works as a currency to buy items during your run and help you along. Some relics can also be found or crafted. One relic teased the chance at a coveted unique item, but you’d be forced to complete this Trial with only 1hp. There are eight primary endgame modes planned at the launch of early access. In addition to the rewards, this will also give you access to the Altar of Ascendency, where you get to pick one of three Ascendency classes at the end. In early access there will only be two Ascendency classes to start with. We got a peek at the Witch’s Infernalist Ascendency class that lets you summon a hellhound who will set everything next to it on ***** once it is summoned. It also had the bonus of being the one who takes damage for you if you’re hit. They also showed off the Witch’s ****** Form that allows you to become a winged monster who is faster, does more damage, and casts spells faster, but also takes damage as you remain in the form. Keep in mind this is just the first endgame mode, which on its own seems like it would be able to provide hundreds of hours of fun challenges. I also got a peek at another endgame system called the Temple of Chaos, which will be encountered in act 3. This Temple can be entered after you acquire a token from the trial master, and the event was called a sequel to the Ultimatum league from Path of Exile 1. You enter the Temple, and pick a modifier like Blood Globules (which are globby blood orbs that will spawn and follow you around in the sky before falling quickly to earth in an attempt to damage you). Or Shocking Turrets that make a grid of electricity occasionally ****** across the battlefield. These modifiers stack, and you’ll still need to complete the normal map challenges like trying to survive, ******** everything in the room, or escorting a giant hammer across the map until it reaches its destination. And the final endgame activities revolved around the Ziggurat location, where you can access a world map and travel to various spots to dispel ***********. Here you can clear towers, defeat bosses, or clear Breaches. There's also the Expedition League sequel that has you plant dynamite across a map to unearth cool loot and unlock new abilities on gear. There are Delirium maps that increase difficulty and allow you to earn more passives from your passive tree. And they even teased an Uber Pinnacle boss that you'll need unique keys to access. They said that the Uber Pinnacle boss would offer a challenge for longtime players as it’s promised to be the hardest content in the game. The rewards included a new gem system for your weapons, armor, and passive skill tree. The latter gives you the ability to socket unique gems into the tree that give you enhancements to anything unlocked in the vicinity of the socket, or additional boosts that give you the chance to further empower your build. And all of that is on top of an entirely unique Atlas skill tree which will let you unlock perks that are specifically tied to each of the endgame modes. Buckle Up There’s so much to cover from the Path of Exile 2 preview event and I’m only scratching the surface here. Each of the modes described could have an entire video dedicated to discussing strategies and options for tackling them to get player rewards. There’s going to be an almost overwhelming amount of loot to chase across several systems to keep me entertained and I can’t wait. One note from the Grinding Gear Games team was that at the start, everything I’ve described is only half the content. The playable classes, number of story acts, enemies and bosses will all double throughout the early access *******, with more league sequels also on the docket for endgame. Path of Exile 2 will be free to play, but to get in on December 6th for early access you’ll need to buy a $30 supporter key which will also give you in-game currency to spend. However, if you’ve spent $500 or more in the last 10 years of the original Path of Exile then you’ll get in for free for being a longtime supporter. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Platypus, a classic Xbox 360 ****** 'em up from days past, is getting a full remake for modern platforms called Platypus Reclayed. Though the original game debuted on PC in the early 2000s, it was then brought to consoles, including the Xbox 360. Platypus Reclayed is developed by Claymatic Games and is set for release sometime in 2025. View the full article

To commemorate the game's 5th anniversary, Bug Fables gets a surprise update. View the full article

From Blasphemous to Hollow Knight, there are some truly brilliant action platformers out there for you to play - however, South Korean studio Newcore Games is aiming to "rejuvenate" the genre with its new game The ****** Within: Satgat. With soulslike combat and dark fantasy samurai, it's certainly got all the ingredients to be a terrific and challenging experience. After showing promise during early access, the day has finally arrived for Satgat to hit 1.0, and it's out right now on Steam. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Gorgeous new neo-future soulslike platformer lands on Steam today One of the best-looking new Steam soulslikes gets an early access date View the full article

During a Path of Exile 2 preview and press rountable, game director Jonathan Rogers revealed details on the recent three week delay. This includes great elaboration on the technical reasons why, how the team might have been able to meet the original release date, and its rough cost. Read more View the full article

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We're just a couple of weeks from the Path of Exile 2 early access launch, so developer Grinding Gear Games finally lifts the lid on exactly what we can expect when the doors open. With Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred now behind us, PoE 2 has a clear space to stake its claim as the ARPG of choice for the holiday season. Ahead of its new presentation, which reveals the full breadth of content on offer from day one, I sat down with game director Jonathan Rogers to discuss how the team decided what would make the cut. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Path of Exile 2 system requirements Path of Exile 2 Twitch drops and how to claim Path of Exile 2 Witch class guide View the full article

Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 developer Treyarch confirmed that an investigation is underway on an issue causing profile data to reset after the November 21 update. This issue appears to be affecting both multiplayer and Zombies in Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, causing players to lose some of their data. View the full article

The Sims 4 introduced the High Street Shopping Collection, a new selection of stylish clothes and accessories. This collection adds more shopping elements to The Sims 4 for players who enjoy customizing their Sims appearances and want to feel the rush of bustling shopping districts. View the full article

Arcane is doing better than ever with Act Two now streaming on Netflix, garnering millions of views and placing League of Legends back into the international limelight. However, its dreams of being the top Netflix show have been trumped by the utterly embarrassing Jake Paul and Mike Tyson ******. According to Netflix’s own Top 10 charts, the Paul vs. Tyson ****** was viewed by over 46 million people in the week between Nov. 11 and 17, overtaking Arcane season two by nearly 40 million views. The latest and final iteration of the League adaptation was number one until the Nov. 16 ******, and it would’ve stood its ground had anyone in their right mind ever considered blocking the bout from ever happening. Despite its nature and predictable result (Paul ended up winning the exhibition), the ****** nonetheless managed to attract folks from all over the world who wished to see Iron Mike go at it one last time. View the full article

The game director for World of Warcraft recently teased the possibility of Legion Remix coming in the future. According to his hint, the next Remix event may be hiding in plain sight on the World of Warcraft 2025 roadmap. View the full article

In the early chapters of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, protagonist Skif suffers a devastating betrayal by a contact he knows only as Solder, and must seek him out in order to find answers. This is one of several pivotal decisions players must make throughout the course of the game. Player choices have a great deal of impact on the world of STALKER 2, and this one seems to be no exception. The search for Solder forms the first major narrative thrust, and the way that players choose to resolve it determines how the next chapter plays out. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The development team behind *********'s Creed Shadows has revealed new information about how stealth mechanics will play into the next installment in the historic action RPG series. While stealth has always been a key part of the *********'s Creed games, *********'s Creed Shadows will feature a major overhaul in how players sneak around. View the full article

Deep Rock Galactic creator Ghost Ship Games has announced a new game called Guntouchables, which will be published under its Ghost Ship Publishing banner. Coming from Danish developer Game Swing, Guntouchables is a shooter title with an emphasis on co-op gameplay, similar to Deep Rock Galactic. View the full article

Vocations are Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake classes that you can choose for potential party members, but anyone you hire also has a unique personality. A character's disposition determines how easy or difficult it is to grow a particular stat as they level up. Some classes are made stronger with the growth of specific stats, so you want synergy between someone's personality and their chosen Vocation. View the full article

It’s hard to even comprehend how much PC gaming has changed in the past 20 years. But it was the classic FPS Half-Life 2 that convinced people to install this weird military-green launcher app named Steam and take the plunge on digital distribution. Not only was it a fantastic game, it built on Valve’s established track record of mod support, providing creators with the tools to create their own levels, campaigns and total conversions, even if the studio's own plans could be a bit of an inscrutable ****** box... Read more.View the full article

Developer Cloud Imperium Games has confirmed that the impending update for its long-in-development MMO space simulator Star Citizen will include a full wipe of players' in-game acquisitions and stats. Star Citizen, which has undergone full wipes before, will still be in alpha after the new 4.0 release is implemented. View the full article

2005 was a year bursting at the seams with great games - Resident Evil 4, the first **** of War, Psychonauts, GTA Liberty City Stories, and so many more iconic titles all arrived. On the other end of the spectrum, though, were some less-memorable games that got a frosty reception. One such game was Utopia City, a futuristic FPS that was panned by critics at the time. Bizarrely, it just appeared on Steam, almost two decades on from its original release date. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

The Sims 4: Life & ****** reintroduces the Specter family into the town of Ravenwood. Their matriarch, Olive Specter, was one of the most iconic residents and starting characters in The Sims 2. Rumors swirled that she was a mass *********, obsessed stalker, or crazed recluse. It was up to players to either find out the truth or help the Specters bury those secrets along with any enemies. The Sims 3 further touched on the life of a younger Olive, raising her son, Nervous Subject, alone but not out of the sights of the Grim Reaper. View the full article

With the Bog Witch released, the developers of Valheim have now offered players a first look at the highly anticipated Deep North update. Valheim has come a long way since its Early Access launch, as the sandbox game has sold over 13 million copies across Steam and Xbox and boasts very positive reviews. It added the Mistlands in December 2022 and the Ashlands in May 2024, taking Valheim's progression to new heights, especially when it comes to difficulty. View the full article

With a game title like that, the inspirations are quite apparent. View the full article

When I was a little thing, I spent most summers at my grandmother's old, overgrown farm in the middle of nowhere Mississippi. Without fail, at some point in each visit, I'd find myself in her kitchen as she equipped me with a small, dinky spoon and shoddy bucket. My task? Dig up a field of red potatoes with that spoon—yes, a spoon—and drag the bucket back and forth to her house to drop off my potato haul... Read more.View the full article