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Every so often, the fine folk of Resetera take a break from their usual schedule of complaining that video games journalists get all their news from Resetera, and post a Thing Of Beauty. For example: it's thanks to Resetera member AstralSphere that I know about Alistair Aitcheson's Magic Box and BizHawk retro emulation tools, which - amongst other things - allow you to play old Sonic the Hedgehog games in giddy parallel, shuffling between them whenever you collect a ring. Read more View the full article

Hello gamer. I have some bad news. It looks like the global economy is having a bit of a rough time, with markets all over the globe taking a tumble towards the red. It's lacking aura, as the kids say. Wall Street has lost much of its rizz. As a video game website, this may not seem like relevant news to you, but it absolutely is. Companies like Nintendo, *****, and Capcom have seen a decrease in stock valuation as a result of this historical ******. This article will go through the why of it all, ahead of what could be the starting **** of a global recession, in video game terms. Let's start in Japan, with the likes of Capcom and Nintendo. Prior to today's events, both companies were doing very well! Nintendo, on the verge of releasing the Switch 2, should be sitting comfortable right now. At the same time, Capcom has been on one ***** of a [Hidden Content] streak with recent games, and had sharp stock rises as a result. The ********* yen may have been weak in recent years, but even this was showing signs of improvement. All this makes it sound like it's a great time to be a ********* game dev - Kenzo Tsujimoto should be drinking champagne in a ********** suite. But he certainly isn't today. Capcom has seen a stock decrease of roughly 16%, Nintendo -15%, ***** -13%, Nexon -13%... etc etc. No matter how good a video game company is doing, it's been hit hard. This is because the problem isn't with the video game industry in Japan, but the ********* stock market itself! You've got the onion of economic downfall here - layers upon layers. As of market close, the ********* Nikkei - think of this as a single marker of overall market health - sank by over 12%. It's worth noting that the value increase of the Yen may have actually hurt the market here, as with it came an increase in interest rates.This is the largest drop since 1987 for the Nikkei - bad news! Read more View the full article

The Forsaken Giant is a challenging Level 60 boss you can try to defeat for different rewards in Once Human when you unlock a Phase 4 server. This hulking blight of nature is one of the game's toughest foes, with multiple phases that can be hard to overcome. You need to understand this creature's ******* patterns and weaknesses to counter its every move and take it down confidently. View the full article

The early 2010s were an incredible time to be a fan of indie games, with classics like Limbo, Bastion, and Super Meat Boy paving the way for others to follow. One of my favorites from that ******* was the original Volgarr the Viking – it’s a 2D platformer that looks and plays like a 16-bit ***** Genesis game, but one informed by the ways in which the genre had evolved since the 90s. It was brutally difficult, but always fair, and that careful balance made it incredibly satisfying to overcome its challenges. So it pains me to say it, but that balance is all out of sorts in its 2024 sequel, Volgarr the Viking 2. This is a game that recaptures a lot of what made the original so great, but adds very little to iterate on those ideas, and the few areas that are substantially different end up being changed for the worse. For the most part, Volgarr the Viking 2 is extremely similar to its 2013 predecessor. You play as the titular Volgarr, a mighty Norse warrior wielding an arsenal of weapons granted to him by the gods of Asgard, as you march from the left side of the stage to the right, cutting a path through hordes of enemies as you go. Like many older 2D action-platformers, Volgarr the Viking is defined as much by what you can’t do as it is by what you can. You can only swing your sword directly in front of you, either crouching to hit low or standing to hit high; you can’t control the direction or momentum of your jump once you leave the ground; and while you can double jump, doing so also doubles as an *******, which is occasionally not ideal due to the fact that some enemies will ******* back once you strike them. While that may sound rough, learning to play around these limitations is actually one of greatest joys I got out of Volgarr the Viking 2. Granted, a lot of it is carried over from the first game, especially because this sequel also recycles a large percentage of its enemies, but I enjoyed how often I had to get creative in combat nonetheless. You might have to jump backwards, then double jump forwards and throw a spear to hit an ****** that’s at an awkward angle, or make use of the incline of a slope to better line up a spear throw against an ****** that’s low to the ground, or use your double jump slash to ***** an ****** that’s directly above you. Enemies are designed in a way that really forced me to make use of every single move in Volgarr’s limited repertoire, which feels really good. This creativity in problem solving is true for the platforming challenges as well, which once again make clever use of the fact that Volgarr’s spear can be thrown into walls to become impromptu platforms. Enemies make you use every single move in Volgarr's limited repertoire. There are also interesting little nuances to the enemies depending on how you ******* them. Draugrs, for instance, **** to a single swipe if you hit them high, but if you hit them low, their torso will fly off their body and still be able to damage you. Other enemies will have shields that block their top halves, leaving them vulnerable to crouched slashes. Volgarr the Viking 2’s level design does a great job of playing to the strengths and weaknesses of its enemies, oftentimes forcing you to be patient as you wait for an ****** that’s vulnerable only to low attacks to climb up a set of stairs so you can get a clear shot on its legs, or find another way to deal with them entirely. Volgarr the Viking 2 also retains the first game’s tiered power-up system. You start off with no gear, and while you’re in this state, you’re like Mario without a mushroom – one touch away from ******. To be able to withstand more hits, you’ll need to find treasure chests, and every one of them you open will grant you the next tier of power-up. So if you’re gearless, the next chest you find will have boots, then a flaming sword, then a belt, and finally a helmet to complete the set. Every power-up you get acts as both a shield against a point of damage, but also a boon to your combat capabilities: The boots cause a damaging shockwave that covers both sides of you when you plunge your sword into the ground from above, the sword doubles your ******* power, and the helmet increases your ******* speed. It’s generally a great system that truly makes you feel powerful once you’re fully geared up, and rewards you well for taking risks by going out of your way a bit to try and collect a chest. Going through the first world, I was having a great time. The difficulty felt like it was in an appropriate spot of being tough, but fair; the levels were *******, sure, but there were now checkpoints that could be destroyed Shovel Knight-style to add more riches at the expense of losing a respawn point; and I also appreciated the quality of life improvements, like having the that sword power-up come second as opposed to saving it for the final tier. But the deeper I got, the less fun I found myself having – partly due to an enormous difficulty spike once I reached the second world, but mostly because of the way Volgarr the Viking 2 is structured as a whole. A Shaky Foundation Like the original, the campaign is split up into five worlds – plus a secret sixth one – with each world consisting of two levels and a boss. There were no mid-level checkpoints in the first game, but this was an issue that was mitigated by the fact that levels were relatively short, the bosses were simple, and there was no real penalty for dying other than getting locked out of certain endings. Volgarr the Viking 2 proves that ******* isn't always better. Volgarr the Viking 2 proves that ******* isn’t always better, with levels that feel about two to three times as large. While there are checkpoints, they come with a fatal flaw in that you always respawn without any of the gear power-ups you may have collected before that point, meaning the first hit you take will be lethal. And you're almost never given an easy chest after a checkpoint, with the exception of the checkpoints right before a boss battle. That left me with very little wiggle room to do any sort of trial and error experimentation in order to figure out a way past whatever just ******* me. ****** is also very punishing, as you have a limited number of lives and, once you’re out, you have to use a continue and get sent back to the very beginning of the level. There’s even a penalty for relying on continues, too. If you use six continues over the course of a single playthrough – which is very easy to do, given the difficulty – you permanently become Zombie Volgarr, which locks you into the worst ending and makes it so that you are impervious to damage. Basically, it turns on **** Mode whether you want it to or not, making you unkillable unless you fall into a pit. I’m sure for some people this might be a welcome lifeline in what is a very hard game, but for me, it felt like I was being forced to use a cheat code that trivialized everything after it. What I love about Volgarr is that careful and deliberate pace, and the aforementioned creativity that you must use to work around your limitations and overcome its challenges. And I just don’t get that when I’m able to bulldoze through enemies and hazards without caring about taking damage. I so badly wish that Zombie Volgarr was a choice, rather than something that was forced upon me. I so badly wish that becoming Zombie Volgarr was a choice. But it’s not, and I didn’t want to beat Volgarr the Viking 2 like that. But the only way to avoid being locked in as Zombie Volgarr for the rest of your playthrough is to delete your save and start the whole dang thing all over again. Which I did. Over and over again, for about 10 hours, making it as far as the third world until I eventually got to the point where any of the fun that I had playing those first few levels was completely sucked out of my soul. These levels are simply too long to rely on the player being okay with replaying them over and over and over again. Ultimately, I just resigned and played through the rest of the campaign in zombie mode to save my sanity. And just in case you aren’t familiar with my past reviews or overall taste in games, it’s worth mentioning that I love to be challenged in video games. I recently reviewed Shadow of the Erdtree and had no issue with the difficulty of that DLC, nor any other game that I’ve reviewed throughout my time at IGN. That’s not to brag, it’s just to illustrate how significantly the difficulty balancing in Volgarr the Viking 2 feels out of whack when not in Zombie Volgarr mode. There is a Practice Mode that allows you to quickly replay any level you’ve already beaten, which is great, but you still have to play through the full level first. You also can’t select a specific checkpoint or boss ****** that’s been tripping you up, either, which makes it unappealing as a way to try and master these levels before trying to unlock one of the good endings. It’s doubly disappointing, too, that this mode feels like Volgarr the Viking 2’s only big, new tentpole feature. Outside of the larger levels, the checkpoints, and a few quality of life upgrades, there are no other big new mechanics or enhancements in this sequel. The graphics are better, but not that much better; Volgarr himself has virtually no new moves, weapons, or abilities that change up his approach to combat or platforming; and most of the enemies are taken directly from the first game with almost nothing done to alter their behaviors. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Last week, we reported a slew of negative Intel news: CPU crashes affecting more chips than originally expected, a warranty extension to appease current owners of those chips, yield problems on the latest mobile CPU models, the potential for a class action, and an announcement of job cuts. In hindsight,... Read Entire Article View the full article

Ahead of The Last of Us season two coming to max next year, a new half-a-minute trailer has been released—which seems to suggest a character arc change for Joel. The focus of the teaser, posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 5, is Joel, who talks with Catherine O’Hara’s new, unnamed character about what had happened by the end of season one. She could be some sort of therapist since she asks Joel if he hurt Ellie. “No. I saved her,” Pedro Pascal answers. View the full article

We all need a good pillow to rest our weary heads on. As the NYT Mini Crossword says, you can add a “Decorative pillow cover” to liven up an otherwise comfy but uninspired pillow, so let’s go through the clue, help you with hints, and give you a good night’s sleep. ‘Decorative pillow cover’ Aug. 5 NYT Mini Crossword solution and hints One down clue. Screenshot by Dot Esports Hint 1: Fake marriages are considered this.Hint 2: It has one vowel. Hint 3: This clue is nearly a “shame.”Hint 4: It ends with “M.” I’ve given you four hints to get you on the path to the solution, so it’s time to reveal the full answer. View the full article

If you're quick, you can bag yourself a 32-inch LG gaming monitor for an incredible price right now, with the 32GS75Q-B currently discounted by a massive $150. This LG gaming monitor deal saves you 33% off a display that delivers you an IPS panel with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution and a speedy 180Hz maximum refresh rate - an ideal all-round combo for a gaming monitor. With loads of the features we love about the best gaming monitors in the world, the LG 32GS75Q-B delivers a big-screen experience with speedy gaming performance and a sharp image for a new low price. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Don't miss this 34-inch LG gaming monitor deal for just $290 LG's new OLED monitor tech doubles lifespan, triples brightness This LG 240Hz OLED gaming monitor now costs just $597, if you're quick View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nvidia has reportedly announced that it's discontinuing the most popular gaming GPU on the Steam Survey. According to the latest *****, the GeForce RTX 3060 is now ceasing production, and there is just one batch of the chips left, with Taiwanese graphics card manufacturers being informed that their next orders for the chip will be their last. Thanks to its solid 1080p performance, ray tracing abilities, and affordable price, the GeForce RTX 3060 has been Nvidia's best graphics card in terms of popularity over the last few months. This Nvidia GPU has sat in the top spot of the Steam Survey for ten months, while its modern-day equivalent, the RTX 4060, is still at number five. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Nvidia faces antitrust probe over AI GPU dominance Game graphics could soon look as real as this teapot, thanks to Nvidia Nvidia GPU ***** hints budget gaming laptops could be in for an upgrade View the full article

The monst! The monst are back! Whoo-hoo! We’re still a while off from the TBC 2025 release date of haute-couture-asaurus RPG Monster Hunter Wilds, and Capcom have finally graced us with some delicious Actual Details, following the previous cinematic trailers. These come in the form of three short videos uploaded today on the official Monster Hunter channel, detailing the basics, focus mode, and the great sword's moveset. Read more View the full article

Boosters in Helldivers 2 give you and your team an extra edge when you face off against hordes of hostile alien life (or machinery). Here’s everything you need to know about Boosters, including how to get and use them. How to unlock Boosters in Helldivers 2 Find Boosters in the Helldivers battle pass. Screenshot by Dot Esports Boosters in Helldivers 2 are unique buffs you can bring into every deployment, and their effects work on all party members. But Boosters aren’t easy to come by. The only way to pick one of these up is to unlock it in one of the multiple available Warbonds. Open the Acquisitions Center when on your Super Destroyer, select one of the Warbonds, and scroll through the pages to find Boosters. View the full article

Even with the lack of more specific details, the two new leaked characters from Honkai: Star Rail seem extremely exciting to me, especially given my history with some of the previous units they allegedly base themselves on. Currently, the turn-based RPG by HoYoverse is in Version 2.4, but as it progresses into the update, leaks about future content, including Version 2.5 and beyond, are starting to emerge. The characters from Version 2.5, Feixiao, Lingsha, and Moze have already had most of their details leaked. Lingsha, for instance, seemingly has the potential to become the best healer in Honkai: Star Rail. View the full article

Scott Cawthon, the creator of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, is teasing a mysterious collaboration in the works, with an announcement expected later today. Since Aug. 1, Cawthon has been dropping announcements and teases about the FNAF franchise as part of the franchise’s 10th-anniversary celebrations. These drops have included a behind-the-scenes look at the second FNAF movie and the announcement of a fan-game demo on Steam—but it’s today’s announcement of a mystery collab that has fans stumped. View the full article

Phantom Blade Zero studio S-Game is distancing itself from an alleged and anonymous developer who claims that "nobody needs" Xbox or its platform. The studio says that this statement does "not represent S-Games's values or culture," with PBZ currently slated for release on PC and PS5. S-Game also assures that it hasn't ruled out any other platforms yet, implying that Phantom Blade Zero could come to Xbox after all. With so many brilliant soulslikes such as Lords of the Fallen, ***** of P, Nioh, and Remnant 2 building the genre up, anticipation for Phantom Blade Zero is at fever pitch. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Phantom Blade Zero doesn't have FromSoft's "privilege" to upset you Phantom Blade Zero is the most fun I've ever had with a soulslike View the full article

Like a Dragon fans have grown excited after series publisher ***** filed a trademark for something called Yakuza Wars. The trademark was filed in Japan on July 26, 2024 but only made public today, August 5, as spotted by X/Twitter user Wario64. Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is revealing its next game sometime between September 26 and September 29 at Tokyo Game Show, with many fans now believing Yakuza Wars to be it. The trademark reveals nothing beyond the name though, not even if Yakuza Wars is a video game property. Yakuza Wars trademark filed by ***** [Hidden Content] [Hidden Content] — Wario64 (@Wario64) August 5, 2024 Fans have still run away with the prospect, of course, with Bestgamer on Reddit even discussing its potential as a collaboration between the Like a Dragon series and another ***** franchise Sakura Wars. "If it is, that would be totally mind blowing," they said. Sakura Wars combines role-playing and dating simulator gameplay in a steam punk version of early 20th century Japan where demons are invading, obviously. Others theorised Yakuza Wars sounds like a mobile or real time strategy game title, the latter of which RGG Studio has explored before through the Majima Construction minigame in Yakuza Kiwami 2. The next Like a Dragon game really could be anything though. RGG Studio has already said fans will be "surprised" by the reveal, and confirmed it won't be Yakuza Kiwami 3, a remake of the third game following on from Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Like a Dragon has many other offshoots too, so a reveal of the ninth (technically 10th thanks to prequel Yakuza 0) mainline game isn't the only option. RGG Studio has previously referred to spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name as the "first" Gaiden game, for example, and it could even remake PlayStation Portable and *********-only games Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō for modern platforms like it did with Like a Dragon: Ishin in 2023. Full spin-off Judgement is waiting in the wings too, as this still action heavy but more ******* mystery, detective focused series hasn't seen a new entry since Lost Judgement in 2021. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. View the full article

Couldn't put Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's excellent card game Queens Blood down? Bad news, as it's coming back "even better" in the next entry. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had a whole lot of mini-games, for better or worse, but the one that stood above the rest was easily Queen's Blood. It's fast paced, it has tight mechanics, a jamming soundtrack that changes depending on how well you're doing, there was just too much to love about it. Best of all, there were players everywhere in the game, so you were never short on your next match. Queen's Blood is so popular in fact that some fans have asked for a real card game to be made, and in a recent appearance at the Otacon anime convention in the US, director Naoki Hamaguchi says he's even been asked to make it real. "Actually I've been receiving so many requests," Hamaguchi shared. "Right now we are preparing a revamped or even better version of Queen's Blood for the next title of this series. So I hope to be able to share more in the near future." That's obviously going to be welcome news to fans of the minigame, though it also might count as a threat for anyone that struggled to take a break from it. Unsurprisingly, when the panel members were asked what their favourite minigames were, Queen's Blood came up a lot, so you can start to see why it's making a comeback. Read more View the full article

The DnD 2024 Druid uses a primal connection to nature to grant them supernatural powers. They can shapeshift to gain the eyes of hawk, speed of a cheetah, or strengh of a bear. Their magic calls on the full power of nature, with a mixture of spells that can heal or strike like a thunderstorm. This guide explains the One DnD Druid rules, and everything you need to know to build a Druid adventurer. When compared with other DnD classes, the Druid can come across a sa 'jack of all trades, master of none' option, with a handful of particularly powerful Druid 5e subclasses. But don't underestimate it - it may not be the best at anything, but everything it does, it does well. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: DnD ******* Mastery 5e - complete guide DnD 2024 Warlock class rules explained DnD dungeon maps as Christmas gift wrap are a ******* of nerd genius View the full article

After weeks spent analyzing and playtesting the new Player's Handbook, we can now explain exactly how the DnD 2024 Fighter works. Fighters have always been maligned as 'boring', but the One DnD Fighter tunes up the class's strengths, giving it more tactical options to play with. This guide explains how Dungeons and Dragons has tweaked the major martial class. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: DnD 2024's new Backgrounds could make setting books way more exciting DnD hiring new designers 8 months after Hasbro mass layoffs The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 release date and news View the full article

20 years. It's been 20 years since the launch of Half-Life 2. The episodes kept the story going, and Half-Life Alyx flipped the whole world on its head, but in terms of playing a new mainline entry in the epochal FPS series, it's been two decades. What's next for Gordon Freeman? What's going on with the Borealis? Who is G-Man? We still have no idea. But Half-Life 3, despite its now mythical status, might actually be alive after all. There are recent rumblings about Valve's ostensibly upcoming shooter Deadlock. Now, a ***** from an actor's CV suggests - possibly, maybe, hopefully - something new from the Half-Life world. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Four years after Alyx, Half-Life 3 is further away than ever before Half-Life 3 artwork from Valve suggests plans for sequel The best long reads on PCGamesN View the full article

You ask me, you're not a real series until you have a decent "Wars" game in your arsenal. GTA: Chinatown Wars, Dune: Spice Wars, Star Wars: Empire at… Wars. Who had ever heard of any of those series before they had some wars to their name? No one, I bet... Read more.View the full article

Toward the end of Act One in Baldur’s Gate 3, an unassuming old man, dubbed the Weary Traveler, joins the long list of sketchy figures you come across. His outward appearance is so not nefarious that I found him greatly suspect. It’s always the ones you least expect, after all. To our surprise, it turns out this is one visitor who is actually transparent about their intentions. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Tablets today are as versatile as ever. Traditionally known for their portability, big displays, and long battery life, now you can find tablets that are as powerful as top-of-the-line laptops. Read Entire Article View the full article

While players eagerly await Wuthering Waves Version 1.2’s launch, Kuro Games has spiced things up by revealing the new five-star character for Version 1.3. The design is so good that it might make players skip the 1.2 banners. On August 4, Kuro Games posted the design of a new 1.3 five-star unit in Wuthering Waves. The official post reveals that the new five-star character is called The Shorekeeper, and players have already fallen in love with her beautiful design. View the full article

Marvel Rivals’ closed beta is rapidly reaching its conclusion, but we’ve potentially been given a sneak peek at a future character with the ***** of a popular name—and players already know the role they want them to fill. Eyebrows were raised with the first look at the Marvel Rivals roster as there were some glaring omissions, but that is set to change, with Captain America rumored to be coming to the title in a future update. View the full article

****** Panther is one of the most popular heroes to use in Marvel Rivals due to his smooth and sleek speed-based abilities and fast-paced attacks. While he has a great variety of attacks, many of which rely on his mobility for effective close-quarter damage, he is one of the most complex fighters to utilize effectively. View the full article