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When I played Escape From Tarkov for the first time in 2018, I remember being captivated by its obtuse, insanely challenging structure. Like PUBG was to the battle royale genre, this promising prototype of an extraction shooter had so many unique elements going for it that made me absolutely certain it would be the next big thing, even if it was sometimes completely broken in its Early Access state. All these years later, now finally hitting 1.0, it’s pretty shocking how much has changed while it also remains exactly as exasperating as I remember it. The hands-off approach to onboarding that forces newcomers to beat their heads against its unforgiving mechanics for dozens of hours before claiming even a single victory captures the same relentless challenge I’ve always adored, while other frustrations, like its continued bugs, poor technical performance, and inability to address an abundance of cheaters, remains disappointingly worse than ever. I’ve only spent 30 hours with the 1.0 version so far, which (as any veteran player will surely tell you) is no time at all, but right now it feels like this progenitor may have been left in the dust of the genre it spawned. Escape From Tarkov isn’t just the original standalone extraction shooter, but also the one most fanatically adherent to the ruthless principles on which the genre was founded. Not only are you thrown into a deadly hellscape filled with lethal NPCs and merciless human opponents, but you’re given absolutely no guidance in your quest for survival and loot. Practically none of the progression systems are explained to you, there’s no map for you to look at while out in the field to indicate where the extraction points are, and you could easily spend tens of hours studying weapon attachments and ammo types just to understand how the heck to use the tools of death you’ll find in your journey. In some ways, I really admire how unrepentant Tarkov is – its beautifully exacting game design, and the sense of discovery that takes place across hundreds of lessons learned the hard way can be incredibly rewarding. But then there are times where it’s all just so dang frustrating, like how atrociously the UI and menus are organized, as if they were designed specifically to offend you. Whether or not the payoff of finally feeling comfortable enough to bring your best equipment out and try for a proper extraction is worth it will ultimately depend on couple things: your tolerance for pain, and your drive to master something designed to really test your expertise of systems Tarkov refuses to teach you. At least in these early hours with 1.0, I find myself somewhere in the middle of enamoured by its harsh edges and utterly disgusted by outdated design choices. Unfortunately, the intentionally punishing design is marred by completely unintentional issues that have made this full launch that much harder to enjoy. The servers so far have been incredibly unreliable, with regular disconnects and wait times greater than 15 minutes to get into a match, and cheaters are very prevalent since accounts and items can be sold for real money in the gray market. As a result, I decided to spend most of my time this first week just focusing on the PvE mode for the sake of my sanity. There’s also the matter of just how bad this thing looks and performs by the standards of the day. I remember thinking Escape from Tarkov already didn’t look great when I last revisited it, and coming back to it again a few years later has not done it any favors. Objects in the environment are blurry and low res, and with the exception of the vendors you’ll chat with as you complete quests, human faces look like they were modeled using the monster-generator that is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’s character creator. It’ll take me a while before I’ve played enough to call this review final, so hopefully developer Battlestate Games will smooth out the worst of these issues before they drive me insane, but it’s been an incredibly rocky start. Anyway, I should get back to it – between the PvE mode, PvP mode, and Arena, I’ve got plenty more to see and do before I can make a recommendation either way. For now, diving back into this influential, daunting game has been equal parts fascinating and irksome, but I’m looking forward to going as deep down the rabbit hole as I can. View the full article

NIS America announces the release date for the definitive version of Ys X for all platforms. View the full article

There's also a new "legendary loot indicator"View the full article

"Oh my God!"View the full article

Even if Path of Exile 2 has no chance of having a full release this year, you can't say it's not making meaningful progress toward that goal. In a major update next month, the action RPG will finally get a class players have been begging for since it launched in early access: druids... Read more.View the full article

Spore might be one of the highest-profile disappointments in all of PC gaming, but it's also a game I have a huge soft spot for. It was the first game I ever begged my parents to preorder for me (for my birthday at the ripe age of 8), and I adored it endlessly back when I had no concept of what anyone else expected it to be. These days, I find myself longing instead for the evolution sim Spore promised to be rather than the minigame mishmash it ended up as, but maybe all I need is a set of fresh eyes. Lucky me, there's at least one newcomer to the game somewhere out there... Read more.View the full article

Ari Gibson and William Pellen ponder a hypothetical Hollow Knight 3View the full article

Moonlighter 2's early access features an extensive crafting system that lets you use different materials to craft various items. Crafting materials come in different types, and the methods of obtaining them are quite varied. This guide will give you a brief idea about how to find all of them on your adventures. How to obtain all the crafting materials in Moonlighter 2 The table below provides information about the sources of all the crafting materials. The materials you get largely depend on the dungeons and the specific zone. Most items are obtained randomly, but being in the right place will help you find them. NameLocationHow to getAncient TranslatorThe Gallery - Exhibition WallDrops from mini-bossesAlabaster CandleNight Realm in KalinaDefeat ThalaamBlob VoucherAny mapRandom drops from enemies and breakable objectsBroken RocketTreasurey Halls in The GalleryDefeat TykeBroken MicDay/Night Realm in KalinaDrops from mini-bossesEcho LinkTreasury Halls in The GalleryRandom drops from normals and elite enemiesEcho BondExhibition Wing in The GalleryRandom drops mii-bosses and elite enemiesGlass StoneAny mapRandom drops from breakable objects and enemiesGoldNoneSell RelicsMoon FlowerNight Realm in KalinaBreak Spike FlowersOneiric CoreZephhhyr Fields and arrowing Heights in AeoliaRandom drops from mini-bossesOneiric StoneHarrowing Heights in AeoliaRandom drops from normal and elite enemiesOneiric QuartzZephyr Fields in AeoliaRandom drops from normal and elite enemiesQuantum CoreExhibition Wing in The GalleryDefeat the Curator****** ShardsAny mapDefeat slimeenemiesSun EaterDay Realm in KalimaRandom drops from breaking Spike FlowersThe King's Left MaskZephyr Fields in AeoliaDefeat SendaThe King's Right MaskHarrowing Heights in AeoliaDefeat MonteThe Sound of HubrisDay Realm in KalimaDefeat The Herald Finding all the crafting materials will take a fair amount of time, but you can raise your luck by getting the Double Materials perk. This perk increases the chance of getting double drops to 5 percent. The following items will also appear for purchase from Nou once you discover them. Echo BondEcho LinkMoon FlowerOneiric QuartzOneiric StoneSun Eater The post All crafting materials in Moonlighter 2 and how to get them appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

A live stream detailing the Global version launch schedule will be held on November 26. View the full article

Developer Poncle says its newly announced Vampire Crawlers is more of a spinoff than a sequel, but it sounds like Vampire Survivors 2 may actually be in the works, too. Fans had their eyebrows raised when the studio behind the hit monster-slaying video game announced Vampire Crawlers as its new game during today’s Xbox Partner Preview. While the roguelike deck-builder might seem like a proper Vampire Survivors sequel at first glance, Poncle says in a new interview with Xbox Wire, this isn’t the case. “This is just a spin-off of Vampire Survivors – hopefully the first in a series of spin-offs!” studio founder and CEO Luca Galante said. “The idea is to take some of the core pillars behind the development of VS and to apply them to existing genres. I’m talking about accessibility, immediacy, affordability, replayability, and sparkly stuff. Tons of sparkly stuff!” It’s no doubt an idea a wide range of Vampire Survivors fans will gravitate to, especially as Poncle teases what could be more than one spinoff. Alas, the lack of a 2 next to the title means Vampire Crawlers is planned to offer something different from the core experience, but fans hoping for a proper follow-up may not want to count out Vampire Survivors 2 just yet. “With regards to a sequel to Vampire Survivors, we’re working on something, but we’re not talking about that just yet,” Galante adds. It's just one sentence of acknowledgement, but it’s still enough to confirm that Poncle has multiple ideas brewing when it comes to the future Vampire Survivors. Whether that lands a 2 next to the original title's name or results in something else entirely, we’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Vampire Crawlers seeks to bring the humor the series is known for together with a new gameplay loop. A trailer for the spinoff, which Galante says Poncle has been working on for around four years, reveals a switch to first-person gameplay with some dungeon-crawling to boot. Vampire Survivors 2 could be years away. In the meantime, players can look forward to Vampire Crawlers when it comes to PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in 2026. For more, you can read our Vampire Survivors 1.0 review, where we gave Poncle’s popular monster-slaying game an 8/10. Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe). View the full article

Zork, the classic text-based adventure game of incalculable influence, has been made available under the MIT License, along with the sequels Zork II and Zork III. The move to take these Zork games open source comes as the result of the shared work of the Xbox and Activision teams along with Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO). Parent company Microsoft owns the intellectual property for the franchise. Only the code itself has been made open source. Ancillary items like commercial packaging and marketing assets and materials remain proprietary, as do related trademarks and brands. Read full article Comments View the full article

Total Chaos, a new horror game from Trigger Happy Interactive featuring Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka has just been shadow dropped on Xbox Game Pass. Total Chaos was shadow dropped during the November Xbox Partner Preview, a 30-minute showcase that contained new Xbox Game Pass reveals, trailers for Tides of Annihilation, 007 First Light, and Reanimal, and brand new game announcements such as Vampire Crawlers, a roguelite deck builder coming from Vampire Survivors developer Poncle, and Zoopunk, a game set in the same universe as 2021's F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch. View the full article

Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7 released a week ago, and Treyarch has now come forward with news on what will be changing in the game's first big post-launch update. In a new Dev Talk video, Treyarch's Matt Scronce and Yale Miller detailed what to expect from how they've been implementing feedback, starting with tomorrow, when the Endgame mode will unlock for all players regardless of whether they've completed the campaign or not. Image via Activision Scronce detailed an "across the board" buff for SMGs in multiplayer, and said Treyarch is "monitoring the data" with marksman rifles and sniper rifles. Shotguns, meanwhile, are also being "closely" monitored, although the devs feel "pretty good" about them currently. As for BO7's aim assist nerf for controller players, which I have been feeling pretty painfully, Treyarch is "fairly happy" with where it's at, but will be "slightly increasing" aim assist strength before season one launches on Dec. 4. Multiplayer spawns are always an interesting discussion when a new CoD launches, and Scronce said Hardpoint, Free-for-All, and TDM spawn points will be getting some tweaks soon, too. Meanwhile, the annoying Drone Pod Field Upgrade will be getting nerfed, and thank goodness for that. Targeted buffs are also coming in for the Point Turret, Needle Drone, Molotov, and Cluster Grenade lethal equipment. And that may come in handy when the minimap range is buffed as part of the update, too. When it comes to Zombies, the Ashes of the Damned main boss Veytharion is "more challenging" than Treyarch was hoping for, and so it will be made "slightly easier" in the update, including more heals for the Ol' Tessie vehicle, and a nerf to the attack speed of the boss's missile attack. [Hidden Content] The devs did not detail when the update will be coming, or how much of it will be in the pre-season one update vs. the season one launch on Dec. 4, but it's good to know that feedback is heard and that these changes should hopefully enhance the game. The post ****** Ops 7’s first big update will nerf the Drone Pod and Zombies boss fight, buff SMGs, and unlock Endgame mode for all appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a fan-favorite and an incredibly successful AA production, has won its first major award at this year's Golden Joysticks. It's an overture to The Game Awards, set to take place some 20 days from now, where the game is expected to sweep through the categories. The award: Ultimate Game of the Year. Expedition 33, which came seemingly out of nowhere, took home the biggest award The Golden Joysticks have to offer, setting a precedent for its soon-to-come sweep of The Game Awards. It is the most-nominated game in the show's history, and could theoretically win them all, though I believe the judges will probably think "that's enough" after a certain point and allow some of the categories to go into another's hands (unless Geoff wants us to listen to Sandfall's devs on stage for literal hours). With this crowning achievement at The Golden Joysticks, Expedition 33 has proved that a game does not have to be a billion-dollar venture, nor a live-service attention-span-reducing "product" that is a video game in name only. All you need is a good story, compelling characters, and an aspiration to create substantial art, art that does not rely on the eye of the beholder but yearns to achieve and inspire something great in anyone who observes it. From the music to the style to the France-inspired setting, everything in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 carries artistic value, which no doubt explains why so many people felt enchanted by it. E33 is emotional, stylistic, and, most importantly, fun. Screenshot by Destructoid And, being a video game, it still needs considerable gameplay and a fun loop, which it provides by all means. It's an evolution of the JRPG genre, which is taken in its base form and transformed into something both recognizable and new, fast-paced and tactical, action-packed and emotionally charged. It's as close to a perfect game as they come, and JRPG powerhouses are going to need to have a long, hard think about what they need to do to make their games competitive in the genre again (though for some companies and fans, yearly regurgitations seem to do the trick, unfortunately). I congratulate Sandfall for the win, and can't wait to see how the game fares in the upcoming, biggest award show of the year (in gaming). The post Clair Obscur is clearing the path for its Game Awards sweep with a major win at The Golden Joysticks appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

"Because we don't have so many people, people feel responsible for some parts of the game, and feel ownership of it. And I think that this is the most important thing"View the full article

SteamOS 3.7.18 Beta "Old Enough to Vote" was released by Valve today, bringing in a few more fixes for some annoying sounding issues. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Many people are saying thisView the full article

Overwatch 2 has officially revealed a gameplay trailer and the full suite of abilities and Perks for Vendetta, the new melee DPS hero coming to the game in Season 20. With a dashing whirlwind slash, a ranged blade beam attack, and her massive Sundering Blade Ultimate, Vendetta is bringing a fast and furious melee gameplay style to the damage role in Overwatch 2. View the full article

Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Beta and Preview channels, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel. General Fixed the performance overlay sometimes showing zero for CPU power draw Fixed audio not always switching to/from 3.5mm headphones correctly when inserted or removed Fixed a regression where certain in-game overlay UI elements could cause a frame time drop upon appearing Fixed the frame limiter interacting badly with VRR after an extended ******* Fixed an issue where Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 would only display a blank window View the full article

Resident Eviland Silent Hill are the beacons that virtually every other survival horror game aspires to, and Total Chaos looks like it could capture a lot of what's great about both. While both franchises have had their ups and downs, they've managed to maintain unique atmospheres and defining features for decades, leaving many fans hungry for more even after decades of games. View the full article

The development team behind Vampire Survivors has surprised fans with the announcement of an upcoming roguelike deck builder spin-off called Vampire Crawlers. Poncle's pixelated reverse bullet hell game was possibly the biggest surprise success story of 2021, and the publisher and developer is now looking to take the Vampire Survivors universe into an entirely new dimension. View the full article

t today's Xbox Partner Showcase, IO Interactive revealed its next celebrity-themed elusive target for Hitman: World of Assassination. Arriving on December 1, the free, limited-time Eminem vs Slim Shady mission sees the Detroit-based rapper recruiting Agent 47 to assassinate his young alter-ego, which has manifested on the material plane as a separate, homicidal entity... Read more.View the full article

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade's Switch 2 version will be even ******* than initially anticipated, taking up a whopping 95GB for the Standard Edition. Fans had expected the game to come with a hefty file size, and the updated figures confirm that it's far too large to fit on the Switch 2's cartridges. Anyone hoping to grab Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade on the platform will need a good bit of available storage space first, even with the physical version. View the full article

Larian have updated Baldur's Gate 3 with Hotfix #35, which includes more improvements to their Native Linux build supported on the Steam Deck with SteamOS. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

This is the kind of chaos I love to see, and very fitting from Vampire Survivor developer poncle, with the casual deck-builder Vampire Crawlers. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article