Steam

The amount of Primogems available in Genshin Impact 4.7 has allegedly leaked and, based on that, players can start thinking about how they optimize their gains and direct that toward acquiring new characters. Version 4.7 is set to arrive in early June if the game sticks to its regular schedule and there are no delays to planned content. The patch will introduce three new playable characters to the game as already confirmed by developer HoYoverse, all of which should be described in detail during the Genshin Impact 4.7 livestream that occurs before the arrival of the patch itself. View the full article

Bandai Namco and From Software will publish a new Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer today. Following a reveal trailer released in February, the second trailer for the expansion will focus on its story. Premiering at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST, it will be viewable via the YouTube video embedded at the top of this page. Read More... View the full article

In a bid to combat cheating and uphold the integrity of its environment, League of Legends has fully implemented the Vanguard advanced anti-cheat system, while also announcing new Hardware ID bans for the first time. This new measure, targeting cheaters' entire PCs rather than just their accounts, marks a significant escalation in Riot Games' efforts to address cheating and botting in League of Legends. View the full article

The Hellblade 2 reviews have finally landed. As Senua's adventure across the breathtaking Icelandic plains is anything but smooth sailing, so too are many of Hellblade 2's critiques. Though we all knew Ninja Theory's latest would be a technical marvel, replete with mocap magic and groundbreaking graphics, the jury's out on whether it's sacrificed too much of its gameplay to ******** its vision for an experiential masterpiece on Xbox. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Hellblade 2 doc showcases its powerful portrayal of psychosis on Xbox Xbox exclusive Hellblade 2 could join Hi-Fi Rush on PS5 post-launch You can buy Hellblade for just $3 now in the new Xbox Spring ***** View the full article

The latest Humble Bundle gets you seven iconic beat 'em ups for just $20 (£15.93) or just $2.87 (£2.28) each. This is a gold mine for fans of the genre, as it features a delightful mixture of old and new games including Battletoads, River City ******, and Double Dragon. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Battletoads is coming to Steam in August Battletoads is coming to Xbox Game Pass Dlala is looking to add to its team as development on Battletoads continues View the full article

How long is Hellblade 2? Ninja Theory and Senua return with a sequel that pushes both the studio and the character to new heights. Senua's Sacrifice was a relatively short experience, so you might be curious if the sequel's greater scope extends to its total playtime. We've braved the horror and beauty of Senua's journey across Iceland to find out how long it takes to beat. Hellblade 2 is a linear story game, so there's limited opportunity to extend the length of your playtime beyond the circumstances of the plot. Check out our Hellblade 2 review to discover what awaits you in Senua's Saga - or stay in the dark and read on to find out the total playtime for Hellblade 2. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best Hellblade 2 settings for max fps Is Hellblade 2 Steam Deck compatible? All Hellblade 2 Lorestangir locations View the full article

If you'll allow me to labor a metaphor, the jagged fault lines and yawning chasms that opened across Azeroth with the launch of Cataclysm reflected, also, a division in the World of Warcraft fandom. For some, the 2010 expansion delivered a badly needed remake and revitalization of the map. For others, the new raids were too tough at launch, and fresh material for Cataclysm didn't arrive fast enough. And they also didn't like the new map. 14 years later, Cataclysm has finally returned via World of Warcraft Classic. Is the history of WoW's most controversial expansion about to be rewritten? Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: WoW Mists of Pandaria Remix players revive absurd frog farming method World of Warcraft Dragonbane Keep timer explained World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria Remix is less WoW, more Diablo View the full article

Life by You, the robust simulator developed by Paradox Tectonic has had a rough development cycle and it seems the game's woes aren't over yet as it's just been delayed once again. Positioned as a major competitor to EA's The Sims, little is known about Life By You beyond the fact that it aimed to provide one of the most immersive life-simulator experiences on the market by offering unmatched customization and control over players' characters. That all sounds like a great deal of work, which may explain why publisher Paradox Interactive halted its imminent launch. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

While revealing its new AI-powered Surface laptops this week, Microsoft shared a demonstration where the device's Copilot onboard AI offered real-time tips in games like Minecraft and Sea of Thieves. The fully voiced digital assistant appeared to conduct a natural conversation and react to in-game events. Read Entire Article View the full article

Ninja Theory has just dropped Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2, one of the most important exclusives for the Xbox brand in 2024. However, while its release is important to the dev team, they are already looking forward to a set of new projects, one of which has recently been greenlit by Microsoft. View the full article

King under the Mountain from developer Rocket Jump Technology, a simulation-based settlement-building strategy game, that was going through a big upgrade and re-brand with Mountaincore ended up shutting down and being open sourced. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

One dedicated Genshin Impact player has built Howl's Moving Castle within their Serenitea ****. Genshin Impact's Serenitea **** is a housing system that allows players to customize their little realms to their liking. It features a miniature world where Travelers can build custom contraptions, such as houses, castles, and towers, from the ground up. Moreover, they can change the interiors of buildings with various furniture and decorative items. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Intel has shared some details of its upcoming new CPUs, revealing that it believes its Arrow Lake desktop gaming CPUs are "on track" to arrive in the last quarter of this year and that its Lunar Lake mobile chips will be arriving even sooner, in Q3 2024. That means your next Intel CPU upgrade could be available well in time for the holiday season. The reveal of these new Intel CPU timelines means we can expect the battle for the best gaming CPU to really hot up in a few months. That's especially true, as we are also expecting new AMD Zen 5 CPUs to be arriving around that time, bringing us a complete overhaul of the CPU market over the course of perhaps just a few weeks. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Intel Arrow Lake release date estimate, specs rumors, and latest news New Intel CPU ***** reveals expected Arrow Lake specs Gear up for Ghost of Tsushima with this free Intel download View the full article

Aiming to secure the 16-inch gaming laptop crown, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) has the solid build quality, good looks, and fantastic screen that you expect from a champion. Frustratingly, its positive qualities come with a few caveats that can become substantial, depending on which configuration you buy, but this smart gaming laptop is nevertheless a cut above its competitors for the most part. Having spent weeks with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), I can confidently say that it easily ranks among the best gaming laptops on the market. Sharing much in common with its smaller, fantastic sibling, the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024), including its gorgeous, well-built design and OLED screen, it naturally has plenty going for it. It does have a few unfortunate shortfalls, however. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Asus' new OLED gaming monitor has a world first technology Asus' new ROG Ally X has 50% more RAM than Steam Deck, because reasons Asus just apologized for its outrageous repair costs and RMA process View the full article

Metal Gear Solid: The Master Collection Vol. 1 is currently down to just $19.99 for Nintendo Switch. This is part of the Target Circle deals event that is ongoing right now, and will be available at this price while stock lasts or until May 25 when the ***** expires. You'll need to be a Target Circle member to access the offer, but it's free to join. This discount was also available for PS5 and Xbox but has since sold out, so it could be worth snapping up the Switch version before it meets a similar fate. If you're desperate for a copy on PS5, Woot currently has The Master Collection for $25. How Many Metal Gear Solid Games Are There? Back in 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain seemingly marked the end of the franchise, with Hideo Kojima leaving Konami and the Metal Gear Solid IP to start his own studio. However, Konami has since announced plans to revive the series through re-releases and an upcoming remake. With many new players diving into this world of undercover espionage, government conspiracies, and gruff-voiced protagonists with cool eyepatches for the first time, we’ve detailed the chronological order of the Metal Gear Solid series so newcomers and returning fans can catch up. There are 17 total Metal Gear games, excluding remakes, ports, and remasters: 11 mainline games, five on handheld devices, and one on mobile. Despite this extensive list, several of these games are considered non-canon as they diverge from the main storyline. 2018's *Metal Gear Survive* takes place in an apocalyptic reality overrun by a zombie virus, positioning it outside the main canon. The PSP's *Metal Gear: Acid* and *Metal Gear: Acid 2* also deviate from the timeline, presenting alternate-timeline spin-offs. The Game Boy ******'s *Metal Gear: Ghost Babel* is another alternate-universe entry, erasing the events of *Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake* from its narrative. Additionally, *Metal Gear Mobile* and *Snake's Revenge* have been deemed non-canon by both the community and creator Hideo Kojima. This leaves 11 games within the main storyline, which collectively form the true Metal Gear Saga, spanning from the fictional alternate-history 1960s to the late 2010s. We've run through the full list of the games in our chronological guide, if you're interest in learning more. We have a few other deals roundups worth checking out right now as well, including the best Xbox deals, the best PlayStation deals, and the best Nintendo Switch deals. In each of those, you can find a wide variety of great discounts on physical media like games alongside deals on hardware, accessories, and sometimes even memberships. Another great spot to look for the latest sales is in our Daily Deals roundup, where we highlight the best deals available right now. Currently, we have some great video game deals listed alongside Nintendo Switch OLED and CRKD Nitro Deck discounts. Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Australia is already notoriously riddled with creatures that can ***** you, from the snakes and spiders that can surprise you in the shower to the sharks and stingrays that circle our shores. Still, that hasn’t stopped developer Weforge Studio from drafting in a malevolent monster from another dimension and inserting it at the very top of the Aussie food chain in Macabre, a co-op ‘stealth extraction horror’ adventure that aims to fuse the bowel-loosening cat and mouse thrills of Alien: Isolation with the gadget-based teamwork of Phasmophobia. After a brief hands-on with a very early build of the game, I can attest to the prowling predator’s stalking prowess since I didn’t actually get a good look at the ****** until it was suddenly dragging me through the snow-capped forest setting and knitting a sickening scarf out of my entrails. “To start with you are very helpless, and this thing’s going to terrorise you and tear you apart,” says creative director Jay Topping. “It's not like this ***** meandering thing, the way that it interacts with the player is that at first it's cautious, then it gets closer and [once] you're out on your own it's gonna start [picking you off].” The core gameplay loop of Macabre, which in its current pre-Alpha form takes place in and around an alpine lodge setting inspired by Australia’s Snowy Mountains region, sees up to four players investigating a mysterious rift in time and completing objectives provided by an exceedingly *********** guide named Banjo. In order to survive, players must scavenge for materials like batteries, electrical tape and old mobile phones to craft makeshift gadgets that both detect and distract the interdimensional assailant that hunts them from the shadows. The map itself is marked with ominous trails of blood and shadows that appear to be either cast by the branches of the surrounding snowgum trees or the spindly limbs of a quadrupedal ******* ****** depending on how much you trust your fluctuating paranoia levels. Meanwhile, the map layout is randomised each time you enter it, further heightening the sense of panic and disorientation as you try to evade a deadly ******* that silently studies and gradually learns to anticipate your behaviour. Yet although it’s effectively four against one, it’s worth highlighting that Macabre is not an asymmetrical horror experience like ***** by Daylight, and its monsters are solely AI-driven. “When you play games like [***** by Daylight], I think you lose a bit of the mystery and magic that comes with an AI-controlled monster,” says Topping. “Player-controlled stalkers learn popular strategies from other players that make it repetitive, but they also mess around and do ******* *****, which really ruins the immersion. So the biggest inspiration [for Macabre’s monster] is Alien: Isolation where it's constantly adapting and changing. You can't just hide in the same closets or cabinets, eventually it's going to figure out that you've hidden that same cabinet three times [in a row], and it’s going to come and ***** you.” While its core development team is based in Sydney and its initial map is inspired by *********** terrain, Weforge Studio’s plan for Macabre’s roster of deadly destinations is to expand beyond its southern hemisphere starting point. “These rifts are kind of like portals, bubbles of time, that have popped up all over the place and they’re interconnected,” says Topping. “So while [Macabre] starts in Australia, it can kind of go anywhere including [destinations] beyond our own dimension.” The key is that each map will have to offer its own gameplay point of difference beyond mere texture swaps in order to consistently evolve the experience. One example given by Topping is the remote *********** outback town of Coober Pedy, an arid, desert area once featured in **** Max Beyond Thunderdome where residents build their homes in caves bored into the sandstone hillsides, which would serve as an ideal subterranean setting for a highly claustrophobic form of *******. Another potential Macabre map would be one located in China’s Kowloon Walled City, a densely populated slum that would bring a greater sense of vertical scale to the stealth horror. “Kowloon Walled City would offer a great [visual] contrast of really dark areas and really bright neon-lit areas,” says Topping. “But its twisting corridors would also allow us to have a creature that runs around above you, below you, and in the walls.” “It would be terrifying.” The monster itself will apparently adjust its form and behaviour to suit each location, meaning that the unnatural ****** you encounter in the *********** Snowy Mountains won’t resemble the ****** you encounter in say, a Mayan temple in a South ********* rainforest. In fact Topping compares it to the alien from John Carpenter’s The Thing or Pennywise from Stephen King’s It in the way it adapts to each environment. According to Topping, its ability set will also randomise along with the map elements each time you start the game, and that will determine which gadgets from your expanding list of blueprints you’ll need to craft. “You’re not just dealing with the same thing every time,” explains Topping. “In each map there are different artifacts to find, and the combination of artifacts that are in there unlocks the abilities for that specific monster. You might go in and it will be moving super quietly and it’s invisible for most of the time, then [you’ll] need to [craft] this tool, this tool, and this tool [in order to combat it].” Ultimately, we’re not just trying to create one game; we’re trying to create a universe. However, the interdimensional apex predator isn’t necessarily the only monster that players will have to contend with, as Weforge Studio is currently brainstorming ways for players to betray other players, potentially by steering them into the claws of the ****** and then pilfering the loot off their freshly dispatched corpses. “[In a way] that sounds like a good idea, but [the risk] is that you get into a realm where everyone is going to ***** each other, and so why would they ever trust each other?” says Topping. “I think the feeling that we want to create is something like [social deception survival game] Dread Hunger where everyone works together, but in the back of their mind they're kind of like… are we working together?” “Our end goal is to create the feeling of… you've got the main monster and then you've also maybe got all these other little monsters around you [in the form of your fellow players], and you can’t ever be completely sure if you should trust what everyone else is saying.” Exactly why the rifts have appeared and exactly what sort of dark forces are behind them is a mystery at this point, and at this stage Weforge Studio is keeping mum about the actual ‘extraction’ part of the experience – it’s not clear whether the goal is to gather resources and safely extract yourself from the area, or eventually somehow trap the monster and extract it along with you. However, what is clear is that Topping and his team have no shortage of ambition as far as the Macabre experience goes, and have apparently got a lengthy narrative backbone constructed that extends beyond just one game. “Ultimately, we’re not just trying to create one game; we’re trying to create a universe, like a Tolkien universe,” explains Topping. “Maybe [Macabre] is like The Hobbit and we’ll [eventually] get to The Lord of the Rings, you know? It would be so cool to build out a world around this so that it doesn’t just end at this game. There’s so much more that we want to discover.” Weforge Studio has just launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the development of Macabre, which is now live on Kickstarter. But it’s not just financial support that the team is seeking, but the feedback from fans to help shape the scope and design of the Macabre experience. “The idea with the Kickstarter is that we want to get community involvement,” says Topping. “And I think we also want to do that during Early Access as well. Because ultimately, we can make a game for ourselves but [there’s no point] if no one's there to play it.” “So we want to hear what people want to see. We've set the parameters, the [template] of these [maps that] you can play in. Where do you want to go?” Even in its early state there’s a lot to like about Macabre and it’s strong potential for serious scares, and I’m certainly keen to see how it – like its main monster – continues to shapeshift and surprise as it progresses deeper into development. Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN AU. He's more afraid of social media than he is of murderous beasts from another dimension, but on the rare occasions he does tweet you can find him here. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Rambley, from the indie mascot horror hit Indigo Park, is developing a small cult following online as people flock to show their support for the loveable purple raccoon turned train conductor. Rambley, from the indie mascot horror hit Indigo Park, is developing a small cult following online as fans flock to show their support for the loveable purple raccoon turned train conductor. View the full article

Indigo Park is the latest viral mascot horror game to take the internet by storm. It was bound to attract speedrunners given its popularity, but no one expected them to break the game this quickly. In Indigo Park, you explore an abandoned amusement park to uncover the sinister secrets hidden inside. It’s one of the latest YouTube crazes, so speedrunners have been hard at work finding ways to beat the game as quickly as possible. On May 21, speedrunner Danger1451 cleared the whole of Indigo Park chapter one in just over 15 minutes, without using any major glitches. View the full article

Hello there. Another games studio has left the warm, er, embrace of the nice little friendship thing Embracer Group recently morphed into, and it's via an acquisition by Nintendo this time. The studio is Shiver Entertainment, and if you've ever played Mortal Kombat 1 on Switch, you've enjoyed a bit of their work. This news follows what's been an interesting year so far for the publisher that Saber Interactive founder Matthew Karch has argued gets a bit of a bad rap, with Embracer having jettisoned Saber and Borderlands developer Gearbox Software in recent months. As outlined in Nintendo's notice of acquisition, its ageed to a deal to "acquire 100% of the outstanding shares" in Shiver - which was founded back in 2012 - thereby making it a full-blown subsidiary of the Switch maker. Read more View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

I expect we all know this by now, but it's worth repeating: if you're playing a game and there's a friendly artificial intelligence or a sentient computer program that's helping you on your journey, it will, eventually, try to ***** you. We saw it in System Shock 2. We saw it in Halo. It's the premise of the entire Portal series. A new horror game, which also takes cues from the intensely frightening intro of Silent Hill 3, is yet another lesson in computerized companion caution. Boasting a huge 95% rating on Steam, you can also play right now completely free. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

With the upcoming patch 14.11, League of Legends developers are making big moves to address the fundamental problems with the Arena game mode and make it more fun for casual players. League‘s gameplay designer Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison went over the details in the 14.11 preview on X (formerly Twitter) today, saying that the developers will be taking a “larger swing” at nerfing healing, shifting the power scales of champions, and also looking at outlier legendary and prismatic items. View the full article

After defeating Bilibili Gaming on May 19 and lifting the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 trophy, Gen.G’s support was awarded the finals MVP, but the star had serious health issues throughout the tournament. On May 20, a player on League’s subreddit shared a part of Lehends’s livestream, where the player revealed shocking information about his health. According to Lehends, his health was in such a serious condition during the MSI 2024 that not even IV drips helped him. View the full article

Xbox Game Pass has added Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2017s Senuas Sacrifice, as a day-one launch title. Developed by Ninja Theory, Hellblade 2 continues the physically and psychologically arduous journey of protagonist Senua as she seeks vengeance against the Vikings for their devastating invasion of her homeland. The game is currently an Xbox console exclusive and is accessible for no extra cost to Xbox Game Pass subscribers. View the full article

Is Hellblade 2 Steam Deck comaptible? While opinions on the definition of a playable gaming frame rate may differ, it's widely agreed that the bare minimum requirement is 30fps, and Helllblade 2 barely passes this figure on Steam Deck. However, future updates could improve this situation. Having tested Hellblade 2 on the Steam Deck OLED, I recommend sticking to playing this title on a gaming PC for now. Despite being the best handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck struggles to handle Senua's latest adventure, and the compromises needed to get the game running at 30fps aren't worth making. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Intel confirms new gaming CPU range "on track" for holiday season 2024 Next-gen AMD CPUs could feature up to 32 cores per **** Asus' new OLED gaming monitor has a world first technology View the full article

The original Red ***** Redemption, one of Rockstar’s biggest hits, is making its way to more subscription services, according to a new *****. u/Timtendo12 on Reddit claims Red ***** Redemption might be coming to Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus Premium because they found a hidden string on the game’s website that mention the services. The hidden string on the game’s website reads: “Available for Nintendo Switch, PS3, PlayStation Plus Premium for PS4 and PS5, Xbox 360, and Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One And Xbox Series X|S.” The poster also added in a GTA Forums post that the website is filled with placeholders, which means this could be anything, so take the ***** with a grain of salt. View the full article