Steam

Games about high stakes, globetrotting military operations with the balance of global power at stake are a dime a dozen. But take their automatic weapons and tactical gear and replace them with flying brooms and pointy hats, and now we’re firmly in “things you don’t see everyday” territory. Tactical Breach Wizards’ imaginative setting pairs well with its snappy and witty script. The actual tactics in its main campaign didn’t challenge my brain as often as its jokes tickled my funny bone, but the small encounters kept a brisk and engaging pace that put hours of my time under a magical handkerchief and made it disappear in a blink of an eye. Tactical Breach Wizards is a pretty literal name, all told. Your party, a rag tag group of magic using mercs from all walks of life, take their ****** to the ****** one splintered door at a time. While this fits directly into the wheelhouse of Zan, a former ****** ops agent turned wizard of fortune, there’s no great explanation as to why his old friend Jen, a pretty mid private detective, takes to the explosive breaking and entering so well. But a few missions in, it didn’t seem out of place anymore. A lot of this world feels like pieces of real life and bits of witchy ideas kinda dropped together, with powerful spellcasters who have day jobs as traffic cops. But everything is treated so matter of factly that it all made sense eventually. Of course there’s a powerful ****** of druids featuring a guy who turns into a dog like Snoop in that one music video. Why wouldn’t there be? The story is solid enough, following Zan and Jen as they chase a powerful and dangerous operative who can move faster than sound across the planet, but that tale isn’t all that enchanting in and of itself – especially in the back half where things escalate and get pretty convoluted. The dialogue is absolutely stellar throughout, though. It’s fun and plucky in a way that reminds me of TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Characters can be funny and vulnerable and sincere all in the same conversation without undermining any of it. There’s a lot of reading to do since there’s no voice acting, but the conversations are so energetic that it doesn’t feel like a drain. The dialogue is absolutely stellar throughout. Most of the story happens in cutscenes that surround each mission. These turn-based skirmishes are more Chimera Squad than XCOM 2, with characters that have specific ability sets operating on more limited maps with lots of environmental factors to consider. Each encounter starts with the eponymous breach, where you deploy your units across one or many possible infiltration points and figure out your first moves. Having a really good first turn can set the pace for a good mission, but I rarely felt the opposite was true. I could almost always recover from a bad turn thanks to the ability to rewind any actions during it. You always know where your ****** is targeting, so you can always be reactive about mitigating their damage by any means necessary. That said, since you don’t always know where they are going to move the following turn, you still have to be more proactive to get good positioning on the map so that enemies have to react to you. As far as your squad of (eventually) five goes, it’s all hits, no misses when it comes to powerful abilities and the creative ways in which you can combo them with each other for big results. Most of your characters don’t fit neatly into well worn archetypes of the genre – there are no generic mages and fighters here – but their roles are distinct. Jen is a disrupter who can push several enemies around the level at once. Zan can put down overwhelming damage when mixing in a clone or overwatch-style abilities into his regular actions. Later, you get access to a tank who can switch places with anyone on the map, and can charge into people from long distances. Even through to the end of my 13 hour run, I was finding clever new ways to stunt on my foes. Much of the action requires you to get your surroundings involved. Bouncing enemies off of walls and other objects is not just an enriching experience in its own right, but a sound and necessary tactic against well-armored baddies. This, as with the other two games in developer Tom Francis’ aptly named “Defenestration Trilogy”, has a healthy(?) obsession with throwing people out of windows, to the point that one character can actually make windows to throw people out of if one isn’t readily available. Many objectives involve not only knocking out all bad guys, but also interacting with points on the map; interfacing with a laptop, locking down doors so reinforcements can’t come in, and turning off turrets are the bulk of the ask here. Tactical Breach Wizards didn’t overwhelm me with these sub-goals, but it didn’t really wow me either. I spent most missions doing the same things in different configurations. There are tougher, optional goals that did test my skills when I chose to engage with them, like attempting to KO all the bad guys in one turn or using certain abilities in specific ways. Going back to complete these with stronger loadouts and characters is on my list of endgame stuff to do, but during my initial run though the story I didn’t stress much about them, and the game itself didn’t poke me too much about them either. There are also some special challenges to vary things up that come in three forms: Anxiety Dreams, which are personal missions for each character, Dream Training, and Proving Grounds, which are unique maps with tests themed around specific mechanics or units. The latter two are where the real difficulty *****, tactically speaking, but unfortunately there are only a limited amount of them. Meanwhile the Anxiety Dream missions aren’t as tough, but they are creative, usually focusing around one character’s unique kit and lots of ways to use it. They pop up in the middle of the story and earn characters special upgrades for their abilities, but you can skip them without sacrificing the buff and comeback to it later. In fact, Tactical Breach Wizards lets you just skip every mission to progress the story if you so choose, and you can even choose to jump into any mission from the mission select screen regardless of if you’ve done it before or not. It’s a strange feature that I didn’t personally get any use out of, but it’s a bold statement to say “play this game at your own pace, literally whatever that pace may be.” Every mission grants you XP that become perk points you can spend to give character abilities a little extra zazz. Not all of these upgrades are made equal, and I’ve definitely made the most out of the perk point refunds in search of the right bonuses. Making Zan’s clone hologram, normally just used to draw ****** *****, a ********* platform in its own right is one of the several upgrades I trial and errored myself into that became significant game changers for me. It’s all pretty linear progression, though, and the only choices you have to make regarding customization are due to the scarcity of your perk points at any given moment. You could pretty easily go back to old missions and grind XP to unlock everything. View the full article

There's a phenomenon observed among most tabletop roleplaying (TTRPG) groups: As you play together, falling into each other's rhythms, two things start to happen. Firstly, your capability for sincere storytelling reaches new heights; secondly, your ideas grow increasingly unhinged... Read more.View the full article

When picking out ******* movesets for your Pokémon in Pokémon Go, you must be specific based on the many options you can select. They vary for every Pokémon you collect. Those who want a powerful Metagross on their team, it needs to learn a specific moveset combination. There are only a handful of attacks you can teach Metagross. Despite these limited choices, figuring out the best moveset you want to create can be challenging. Certain attacks meld better with others for certain Pokémon in Pokémon Go, and Metagross can be a powerful asset. There might be better legendary Pokémon, but Metagross can be used in several gameplay aspects that make it a worthwhile investment. View the full article

The price tag of the Until Dawn remake for PlayStation 5 and PC will seemingly be $59.99, an announcement received with mixed reactions from players. The pricing of the upcoming Until Dawn remake has reignited the ongoing debate around the cost of remakes in the gaming industry, questioning whether such titles offer enough value to justify their prices. View the full article

Ahead of Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, the show's producer and host Geoff Keighley may have something big in store for Dying Light fans. The event marks one of the biggest weeks of the year for video game publishers and developers, and this year's Opening Night Live is confirmed to feature fresh looks at upcoming games like Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Monster Hunter Wilds, Marvel Rivals, and many more. Dying Light fans are eager for more information regarding the sequel's second DLC, and it may be coming sooner than anticipated. View the full article

Sakura Stand takes obvious inspiration from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and the Roblox title honors the popular manga with frenetic fighting and simulation elements. Its Red Mist Spec, however, is a highly sought-after feature. Roblox has plenty of experience with anime and anime-related games. You only have to look at Anime Impact, Anime Souls Simulator X, and Roblox Karate as examples of how well Roblox meshes with anime and manga. View the full article

Larian is once again teasing one of the new evil endings coming to Baldur's Gate 3 in the next patch. This time, we get another look at the new extended cinematic for The Dark Urge, which plays if you commit to an evil playthrough. View the full article

CS:GO and CS2 skins are not just cosmetic items that enhance the visual experience of the game; they have also become valuable digital assets that players can buy, sell, and trade. For those looking to turn their in-game items into real-world currency, various platforms offer safe and convenient ways to sell skins. In this article, […] Source View the full article

Beyond All Reason is quietly building up to be one of the best real-time strategy (RTS) games around. It's free, open source and it has a fancy new trailer. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Gamers looking to play Call of Duty’s Season Five Reloaded update are expected to be met with a giant, head-scratching download and will undoubtedly be wondering why it’s so large. Thankfully for CoD fans, there’s an explanation for why the update is so big for Season Five Reloaded in MW3 and Warzone, and it’s full of genuinely good news in the future despite how inconvenient it may be at the time of waiting around to play. View the full article

Image: Square Enix Square Enix has finally shared a release date for the PC version of Final Fantasy XVI: September 17th, 2024. The single-player RPG first launched on PS5 in June 2023, with two DLC chapters following in December (Echoes of the Fallen) and April (The Rising Tide). You can now preorder Final Fantasy XVI on Steam and the Epic Games Store, and there are complete editions that include both DLCs available for preorder, too. You can also check out a demo for the game from both stores, and your progress from the part of the demo that covers the opening section of the game will transfer to the full version. Since Final Fantasy XVI first launched, Square Enix has introduced numerous updates to fix bugs and add quality-of-life features, including a... Continue reading… View the full article

What are the best Arena Breakout Infinite loot locations? As you'd expect from a high-stakes extraction shooter, knowing the best places to look for gear in Arena Breakout Infinite goes a long way. You'll need good gear not just to stay alive, but also to sell to afford specific items, like new weapons, attachments, and protection. It's not easy to survive in Arena Breakout Infinite, though that's what makes it such an intense FPS game. Scavenge one of the locations below and you're sure to find what you need. Be careful though, as other players will be doing the same thing, so expect company. Grab the best Arena Breakout Infinite weapons and you'll be good to go. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Arena Breakout Infinite will take "time to change" after mixed launch Arena Breakout Infinite has P2W mechanics after dev said it wouldn't Arena Breakout Infinite Twitch drops and how to claim View the full article

One of the best items you can get in Fortnite Chapter Five, season four is Doctor *****’s Arcane Gauntlets. This ******* lets you harness immense power, but finding and using it can be a bit tricky. Once you know how to find and use this item, your odds of getting a Victory Royale are a lot better since you have a strong ******* to help you get there. I’ve seen many players make it to the very end with this powerful item, so here’s how to get and use Doctor *****’s Arcane Gauntlets in Fortnite. View the full article

Following the latest developer livestream, HoYoverse CEO Liu Wei made a surprise appearance to address the negative feedback from Genshin Impact fans that has permeated since the Lunar New Year in 2024. While Genshin Impact has occasionally seen a tense relationship between players and its development team, many believe the controversy has never been as pervasive as it was in Version 4.4 and beyond. View the full article

Started off by porting studio Feral Interactive, the Linux system performance optimization tool GameMode v1.8.2 is out now. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

While most people generally talk about ChimeraOS, Bazzite and at times HoloISO, another choice for your handheld Linux gaming is winesapOS that just had a huge new release. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Enlarge / At this rate, it might be the only graphics card you'll ever need? [/url] When Dragon Age: Inquisition came out nearly 10 years ago, PC players could have invested $329 (~$435 in today's dollars) in a brand-new GTX 970 graphics card to make the game look as good as possible on their high-end gaming rig. Surprisingly enough, that very same 2014 graphics card will still be able to run follow-up Dragon Age: The Veilguard (previously known as Dreadwolf) when it launches on October 31. If you're using AMD cards, an even older Radeon R9 that you purchased back in 2013 will be able to run the game. Veilguard's minimum specs are just the latest to show the workmanlike endurance of the humble GTX 970, which is currently available used on Newegg for as low as $140. Relatively recent big-budget PC releases like Baldur's Gate 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 both use the old card (or the less powerful follow-up variant, the GTX 960) as their "minimum requirement" benchmark. Not every big-budget PC game these days is so forgiving with its minimum specs, though. When Cyberpunk 2077 and *****: Eternal launched in 2020, they both asked players to be sporting at least a GTX 1060, which had come out around four years prior. Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments View the full article

According to a reliable insider, Xbox might be preparing to announce a PlayStation 5 port of its upcoming first-party title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Developer MachineGames revealed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as an Xbox and PC game earlier this year, but if this new report is to be believed, PS5 users can look forward to playing the highly anticipated game as well. View the full article

By removing the unused hardware and shipping the board with 2GB of RAM instead of 4GB, the Raspberry Pi Foundation was able to cut end-user costs – from $60 down to $50. From the perspective of a Pi 5 user, the new board is functionally identical to the original save... Read Entire Article View the full article

Usagi Shima: Bunny Island is a game I've been following for quite some time, as it looks adorable (and as a Rabbit owner I couldn't resist) and it finally has a Steam page. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The original Resident Evil 2 will be re-released on August 27. While modern fans may be most familiar with the Resident Evil 2 remake that was released five years ago, the original RE2 is still considered one of the very best survival-horror games ever made. Unfortunately, those interested in playing the original Resident Evil 2, or any of the classic Resident Evil games for that matter, have been largely unable to do so on modern hardware - until recently, at least. View the full article

After being in Early Access for a few years, Unknown Origin Games have now fully launched their mystical colony sim Odd Realm. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The long-awaited web shop for Fortnite is finally here, and it’s even more awesome than gamers might have thought. Players can log in to their Epic Games account and use their V-Bucks to purchase Fortnite items currently in the shop, but the coolest part is how it functions just like the in-game store. It allows you to inspect each item currently viewable, along with a 3D model. View the full article

Resident Evil 2 is creeping its way to PC store GOG with a bunch of enhancements on August 27. It will include an improved DirectX game renderer, full compatibility with Windows 10 and Windows 11, and rendering options, such as Windowed mode. View the full article

***** Cells The End is Near has finally arrived, marking the end of one of the best roguelikes ever made. Between Motion Twin and Evil Empire, the Metroidvania spin on the genre has been supported with free and premium content for almost a decade. So while it's devastating to watch it end, ***** Cells is still going out with a bang. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The last ***** Cells update finally has a release date 10 top games to grab during the Steam Summer ***** 2024 Big ***** Cells ***** is the best time to try the immaculate roguelike View the full article