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Miami, Florida, October 17th, 2024, GamingWire Valhalla, Floki’s revolutionary blockchain-based Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), has proudly announced a new partnership with Hafthor Júlíus Björnsson, the world-renowned strongman and actor famous for his role as “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones. Hafthor is joining Valhalla as its official ambassador, marking the beginning of an […] Source View the full article

Astarion is one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s most useful and versatile companions. There are plenty of ways this High Elf vampire can help a team, and choosing the best feats possible for Astarion is essential for maximizing his potential. While multiclass builds are an option, Astarion is a Rogue which means we’ll only go over the best feats for this specific class build. Changing his class or multiclassing completely alters what the best feats are for him since it fundamentally changes how he functions, so it’s best to leave him as a standard Rogue when choosing these feats. Here are all of the best feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. View the full article

Someone playing the new Vessel of Hatred DLC for Diablo 4 discovered a massive issue with the multiplayer aspect of The Dark Citadel raid, in which they seemingly couldn't access couch co-op mode. Released in June 2023 and developed by Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo 4 is the fourth main installment in the role-playing, dungeon-crawling series. View the full article

Ever been in a position where two people are really going at each other, hurling pointed jabs and insults back and forth, and you're stuck in the middle? Well then, perhaps you'll empathise with the enemies in Archons, a twin-stick Vampire Survivors-like where you control two characters at once, and attacks bounce between them automatically as they move about the arena. I gave the Steam Next Fest demo a quick whirl today, and after a couple of swift attempts (I ***** horribly fast), I realised this could become a bit of a danger to my free time, so I've put it away for now. Read more View the full article

Xbox Game Pass delivers some of the best gaming experiences, all under one subscription. With hundreds of games available for subscribers to access, there's always something there for players to dig into. From cozy farming sims to open-world titles, there's something for everyone's preferences. View the full article

Nepos Games are the two-person studio behind Nebuchadnezzar, which Nate Crowley called "two thirds of an outstanding historical city builder". They've just informed me they're making a new building sim called County Of Fortune, out in Q4 2025. It ain't a city builder, though. In fact, it claims to have murdered the city builder in cold blood, which is unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to a round of Manor Lords later. "The city-builder is *****, long live the county-builder," declares the press release, brandishing the husk of SimCity over its head. OK, I'll ***** - what's a county-builder then? Well, it's sort of several city-builders having an argument. In County Of Fortune, you seed and grow a number of settlements side by side, then manage their economic and social relations. In other words, it's a game that appears to simulate the phenomenon of culture clash. I'm not sure all this amounts to the wholesale ****** of a genre, but it's certainly intriguing. Here's the Steam page, and here's a trailer. Read more View the full article

It only took 10 minutes of playing Unknown 9: Awakening for me to feel a keen sense of deja vu. Taking out enemies in small arenas, watching an emotional story of personal growth, and squeezing between plenty of tight cracks in walls – it’s a formula that feels all too familiar, sticking to the well-established traditions of the "Crevice Crawler" genre. It does try out one or two unique ideas to set itself apart, like mind-control powers that let you play puppet master with your enemies, but the problem is that it executes on the fundamentals significantly worse than its contemporaries. There are certainly glimmers of hope within that new stuff, but any novelty quickly wears off, resulting in a generic and underwhelming slog full of performance issues and other jankiness to boot. Set in an alternate-reality version of the early 20th century, you play as Haroona, a distrustful woman who loves spouting trite platitudes that has been imbued with the power to tap into an unseen dimension called the Fold. Her powers let you do typical magic stuff like go invisible for a brief ******* of time, Force push and pull baddies around like an off-brand Jedi, and enter a ghost form so you can walk around and solve the easiest puzzles ever conceived. You'll use them to worm your way through a series of small arenas separated by cutscenes clearly pining to be the next HBO adaptation – if you’ve played The Last of Us or **** of War then you already get the idea, but instead of finely-tuned combat encounters and nail-biting stealth sections, Awakening offers sloppy fisticuffs and barebones crouch-fests. Despite the extremely generic setup, the worldbuilding here is actually not half bad, and there’s clearly been a lot of time and effort put into establishing this universe’s timeline, lore, and supernatural rules. Like a knock-off Indiana Jones, this alternate version of Earth is home to mystical secrets and hidden histories kept just out of reach in parts unknown, including a mysterious cycle of extinction, a race of beings who cheated ****** by making themselves immortal, and secret societies vying for paranormal knowledge. Unfortunately, that promising foundation doesn’t do the story itself much good, as Haroona’s predictable tale is full of cliches and unremarkable characters, eventually getting horribly lost in a sea of magical jargon and convoluted references that completely whiffed on any attempt to make me care about what was happening. Haroona’s predictable tale is full of cliches and unremarkable characters, eventually getting horribly lost in a sea of magical jargon. A lot of that wonky journey will provide opportunities for sneaking about to dispatch enemies discreetly, but the stealth is extremely run of the mill and offers few innovations. You’ve got a ghostly rock you can throw to distract people and you will, of course, spend plenty of time hanging out in tall grass where no guardsman has ever thought to look. Unfortunately, the hopelessly ***** AI has a hard time detecting you even when you’re making things explode and leaving bodies in plain view. Still, there’s some small enjoyment to be had in the subpar stealth, as feeling like a master of the shadows who can clear an entire area without being spotted is still rewarding to pull off. Plus, your companions will sometimes comment on how sneaky you are if you can get through a section without being caught – that’s a nice touch. Sadly, you’ll have fewer opportunities to engage with stealth than you might think, as Awakening railroads you into outright combat frequently and with great relish. This weirdly seems to happen more and more as you get deeper into the roughly eight-hour story, which wouldn't be as much of a problem if it weren't for the false choices it sets up in its skill trees. This simple three-pronged upgrade system makes you better at combat, stealth, or mind control abilities as you collect barely hidden “Gnosis Points,” and does basic things like allow you to remain invisible for longer or make your melee attacks do more damage. After spending the vast majority of my skill points on the stealth abilities tree only to see those encounters dry up, I began to wonder if I’d wasted my efforts and started hedging my bets by investing in other playstyles. Combat is easily one of the things Awakening does worst. It’s really unfortunate that you’ll find yourself in more straightforward combat as you go, too, because it’s easily one of the things Awakening does worst. These wimpy encounters pit you against the same handful of ****** soldiers who wield guns and melee weapons, and they mostly amount to the typical dodging, light attacks, and heavy attacks recipe you’ll have seen in dozens of games before, only less polished. I played my entire run on the hardest difficulty and the AI is so ******* that the vast majority of the time I was able to fudge my way through battles by spamming the same set of attacks and effortlessly moving out of the way of highly telegraphed moves. Whether you’re squatting behind crates or punching ***** minions, at least you’ll be able to enjoy Awakening’s best feature: mind-control powers. You can leap out of your body and into others with the press of a button, then use those dim meat puppets to carry out your twisted designs, including activating that unit’s special ability to wreak havoc on the environment or their fellow villains. For example, you can possess one of the big bruisers and use his ground pound ability near a cluster of his friends to deal a ton of damage, or you can take over one of the ******* enemies and have him ****** at a piece of surveillance equipment to make your stealth job easier. As you progress, you’ll eventually be able to chain-possess multiple enemies in a row, instructing them to perform various misdeeds, then watch it all play out in slow motion, which can be a lot of fun. It’s not exactly revolutionary stuff and starts to grow a bit tiresome by the time you reach credits, but it’s definitely the most entertaining part of an otherwise disappointing adventure. Also, quite hysterically, if you start making your foes ***** each other while remaining hidden nearby, they seem only vaguely aware that you’re messing with them and quickly go back to what they were doing – because, again, they are so very *******. That's definitely not a good thing, but it did at least ****** me up with regularity. If sloppy encounters and a weak story aren’t discouraging enough, Awakening also suffers from various performance issues, bugs, and general jankiness throughout. The framerate dipped on a regular basis while I was playing on a Ryzen 9/RTX 4090 PC, including during combat in moments that might get you *******. Haroona likes to get stuck on objects and bounce in place bizarrely, and cutscenes do this really weird thing where they jump abruptly between a bunch of shots that only last a couple seconds each, like they storyboarded the scene but never bothered finishing it. That last one is mostly kind of funny, but it also adds to a general lack of polish that makes an already subpar game feel even more feeble. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The newer in-development open source and cross-platform Nexus Mods app just expanded, and it's sounding awesome. Much easier modding is coming for Linux and Steam Deck. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Unlocking Jack Skellington in Disney Dreamlight Valley isn't as straightforward as a lot of the other characters you'll meet during your time in the valley. Unlike characters like Simba, Moana, and Woody, Jack Skellington doesn't have his own realm to visit. Because of this, you'll need to do a little more work toward getting him invited... Read more.View the full article

The fusions, transformations, and heightened powers of character in Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero can make it hard to tell which fighters are the strongest in the game's massive roster. Although many warriors have extremely powerful techniques, it can be tricky to determine if one is "better" than another. However, there are a few fighters that stand out as pinnacles of strength that defy any imposed limits. View the full article

Baldur's Gate 3 was a welcome reminder of just how special the best RPGs can be; that freedom to create and customize your squad, making meaningful choices that dramatically affect major and minor aspects of your characters' lives and the world around them. The magical steampunk world of New Arc Line is the next setting I'm eager to explore and impact. Developer Dreamate has built a bustling universe combining BioShock style steampunk with the classic fantasy of Dungeons and Dragons, and you can get a proper taste for yourself right now thanks to a free demo for Steam Next Fest. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New Arc Line is almost the steampunk Baldur's Gate 3 of my dreams Gorgeous tactical RPG New Arc Line blends Baldur's Gate 3 and Bioshock Fallout and Frostpunk inspire gorgeous new isometric RPG on Steam View the full article

Learning how to make birthday cake in Disney Dreamlight Valley is a valuable skill for anyone desperate to make some extra cash. It's a pretty high-value recipe, and most of its ingredients can be farmed or foraged pretty soon into the game. If you've already unlocked Remy's restaurant and have access to his pantry, you can bake your own cake in no time. It's also a great recipe to have on hand in case one of your villagers has a birthday cake as one of their favorite gifts... Read more.View the full article

The release of Unknown 9: Awakening promises to launch a transmedia event in a new sci-fi/fantasy world. While its nice to find a risky new IP among the glut of remakes, Reflector Entertainment and publisher Bandai Namcos third-person action-adventure game is a hasty patchwork of ideas that never adhere, further troubled by stuttery performance and imprecise action. Aspects of the project do prove effective the voice acting is generally strong throughout, and the possession mechanics are interesting in theory but Unknown 9: Awakening's best ideas never clear the landing. View the full article

Hades 2 developer Supergiant Games has shadow-dropped the roguelite's first major content update. The Olympic Update brings a colossal list of additions for Hades 2 players to enjoy, such as a new region, items, characters, and changes to existing content. View the full article

Blizzard has continued to lean into seasons in Overwatch 2 as a method of evolution to keep the game feeling fresh. Over six years, the original Overwatch enjoyed 35 competitive seasons, from season one in 2016 to season 35 in 2022. As of 2024, Overwatch 2 is in its 13th season. Seasons last roughly two months and add new heroes, maps, and more to the game. View the full article

Every Thursday we share the weekly Famitsu sales charts, which tracks physical boxed game sales and hardware sales in Japan. ... Read more View the full article

As Venom: The Last Dance nears its October 25 release date, fans are starting to wonder what's up with Knull as the main villain and whether this iteration of Eddie Brock and the symbiote will ever cross paths with Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Tom Hardy is playing coy but forward. Read more View the full article

Samsung has just announced a new GDDR7 memory chip that could make the rumored 24GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 a reality. The company's new 24Gb DRAM gives you 3GB on a single chip, rather than the usual 2GB, meaning a graphics card could accommodate 50 percent more memory without needing a new layout, or indeed a wider memory bus. One prime candidate for this new memory is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, which is rumored to be coming with 16GB of VRAM in its first guise, but with a 24GB RTX 5080 coming later. However, unlike the originally-mooted RTX 4080 12GB and 16GB, this 24GB card is rumored to have the same core spec as the 16GB RTX 5080, just with more memory, and this new Samsung chip would make that possible. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 guide: Everything we know about the new gaming GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and 5060 could launch sooner than expected, says ***** This new Nvidia GeForce Now update stops game streaming crashes on Shield View the full article

House Hopper instantly reminded me of WHAT THE GOLF?, taking the basic idea of Golf and turning it into something totally absurd. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge In early 2004, the world was shaking it like a Polaroid picture, flocking to theaters to see what was going to happen with all those hobbits, and wondering if that Tom Brady guy was something special. Meanwhile, a few folks around the world were inventing the web as we know it now: A world-shaking social network was brewing in a Harvard dorm room. A Google employee was dreaming up the future of email in their spare time. The coolest cellphone of all time was just about to drop. The internet was still a niche activity, but that was about to change — and fast. In so many ways, the digital world in which we now all live was created 20 years ago. Google went public and began to ascend to rule the web. Facebook, Gmail, Firefox, Flickr, and... Continue reading… View the full article

The launch of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred brought many updates to the base game along with the expansion content that makes up the DLC itself. With all these additions and improvements, the game overall has been made even better for all Wanderers who seek to explore the wilds of Sanctuary, and do a little good along the way. While some of the new things are exclusive to people who have purchased the expansion, many others are free additions to the entire game. View the full article

Riot announced a new Exalted Skins tier for League of Legends just days after the publisher ***** even more people off in order to ensure "we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond.".. Read more.View the full article

Peace in our time, or so AMD and Intel would like you to believe. These bitter frenemies are clubbing together to protect and develop the x86 standard for desktop and laptop gaming CPUs and to ****** off the threat from upstarts like Arm and Qualcomm via a new working body called the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group. AMD and Intel have dominated the PC market with x86-based processors for decades, and if you're looking for the best gaming CPU, you've been stuck choosing between them. That's starting to change, however. Powerful and energy efficient alternatives, such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon X range, pose a serious challenge, and the two companies are looking to ****** back against the threat. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: One of the best AMD gaming CPU upgrades ever could be about to disappear Call of Duty ****** Ops 6 will have 500 PC settings, gets AMD FSR 3.1 at launch AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D beats 7800X3D in new gaming CPU benchmark ***** View the full article

It looks like Konami and developer Bloober Team have successfully revived the Silent Hill franchise after the Silent Hill 2 remake hit an impressive sales milestone. In a tweet, Konami said the Silent Hill 2 remake sold one million copies as of October 11, just four days after the game’s global release date. This is thought to make the Silent Hill 2 remake the fastest-selling Silent Hill game ever, but Konami has yet to rubber stamp that potential record. Silent Hill 2 remake launched across PC and PlayStation 5 (there’s no word on an Xbox Series X and S version yet), and met with critical acclaim. IGN’s Silent Hill 2 remake review returned an 8/10. We said: “Silent Hill 2 is a great way to visit – or revisit – one of the most dread-inducing destinations in the history of survival horror.” The sales success of the Silent Hill 2 remake will perhaps embolden Konami’s plans for the franchise, which have ramped up significantly in recent years. Silent Hill f and Silent Hill: Townfall are both still in the works, but perhaps Konami will also continue to remake past Silent Hill games. There's a film adaptation of Silent Hill 2 coming, too. It’s early days, but already modders are doing eye-catching things with the Silent Hill 2 remake on PC, including removing hair sheen, the game’s famous fog, and even turning it into Sunny Hills. The Silent Hill 2 remake features several new puzzles and redesigned maps, so if you need help navigating through it all, head to our Silent Hill 2 Walkthrough Hub. We've also got a comprehensive guide to the Silent Hill 2 Remake endings, all Key Locations in the game, and what changes in New Game+. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Disney has a vast cast of unique characters across their many films and one of the most iconic ones is the mermaid princess in The Little Mermaid. Today’s NYT Mini Crossword tasks you with recalling “The Little Mermaid’s name.” If you’re unsure what “The Little Mermaid’s name” is, here are some hints and the official answer to help you solve this clue on the Oct. 17 NYT Mini Crossword. View the full article