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Lots of Soulslikes have about as much joy, and the same colour palette, as a burning cowpat. They are grim and dark and often have gimmicks that are a bit middling: mechanical arms that spew gunk, or turning to stone. Or they stand out with incredibly deep combat, with dense menus and rainbow loot. So, Another Crab's Treasure comes as a refreshing surprise, what with it's crustacean theme, platforming, and shell gimmick that actually complements fights in clever ways. Not only that, but it's colourful and funny, with plenty of challenge for veterans and plenty of difficulty tweaks for those who just want a good time. Trade cowpat for coral, I'd say. Read more View the full article

Roll20, the popular virtual tabletop tool, is coming together with Discord to streamline your D&D nights with your friends. Hate having to have both Discord and your browser open when you're playing a tabletop game with Roll20? Possible a weird thing to find a problem with, but I imagine there's a few of you that wish you could just do everything within Discord, and if you fit within that demographic, I actually have some good news for you! As reported by Polygon, Roll20 integration is coming to Discord so you can do everything that the tabletop tool offers, all within the chat service. It doesn't sound complicated to find either, as it apparently works like any other activity - just join a call, click on that rocket ship to bring activities up, and Roll20 will be available to select. "We are thrilled to introduce Roll20 to a new audience through our collaboration with Discord," said Roll20 co-founder Riley Dutton. "We know how many existing Roll20 users love Discord, and we’re excited to offer them an easier way to play!" As long as you use the same email across Discord and Roll20, you'll be able to seamlessly login to the latter, but if not then you'll just have to login to the latter, a task that shouldn't be too hard to land a natural 20 on. One thing to note is that everyone on the Discord call will also need a Roll20 account, and be on the same voice call, so keep that in mind if you'll be new to the service. Read more View the full article

Razer is once again making waves in the PC gaming peripheral scene, this time with its new gaming mouse, the Razer Viper V3 Pro. Not only is it impressively light at just 54g, but Razer has also secretly sent out units of this mouse into various competitive esports scenes, so it could be tested under the best possible conditions for the last six months. Shaping up to be one of the best gaming mouse options for just about any situation, but particularly FPS games, on paper the Razer Viper V3 Pro does a lot to improve upon its sibling, the Viper V3 Hyperspeed. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Ray tracing performance will soon double in some Unreal Engine 5 games This gaming PC's motherboard is in the middle of the case New AMD Ryzen 9000 CPU series confirmed, thanks to Gigabyte View the full article

Some six months since it launched, Cities Skylines 2 is still a dubious prospect. The foundations are there, but Colossal Order's sequel is still struggling with performance and, more recently, DLC issues. If you want an alternative, one of the best but most overlooked city building games on Steam just got ******* and better thanks to a new trains-based expansion. Currently available for half price, this is the modern SimCity and CS2 alternative you've been waiting to play. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

The Cerim Crucible is endgame content for No Rest for the Wicked and offers a roguelike experience. There are 10 floors to progress through, each becoming more difficult than the last.If you’re going to beat the Cerim Crucible, you’ll need to make sure you’re prepared. Here are the best ways to survive the Cerim Crucible in No Rest for the Wicked.How to beat the Cerim Crucible in No Rest for the WickedBefore you can enter the Cerim Crucible, it’s smart to learn of the best places to farm Fallen Embers. This rare material is the only way to gain access to the Cerim Crucible, where it requires one Fallen Ember per run.Be prepared for the ****** of your life as the Cerim Crucible is more challenging than anything you have experienced so far in No Rest for the Wicked. Here are the best ways to prepare and increase your chances of survival.Reach Max LevelOne of the best ways to survive The Cerim Crucible in No Rest for the Wicked is to reach ...View the full article

We're deep into The Finals Season 2, and Embark Studios still has plenty more surprises up its sleeve. Among the excitement of Power Shift and the recent Easter event, it appears that the studio has been crafting a brand-new game mode under our noses. Now, the developer teases a huge The Finals update coming to PS5 and Xbox very soon that might just reveal it. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The best FPS games on console 2024 The Finals' new update stuns Light class players the wrong way Do the Bunny Bash and get free skins in The Finals' new Easter event View the full article

Finding materials and money in the middle of the desert can be quite a harsh task given the conditions you will face. Well, not for long! Here is the best way to farm currency and materials in Sand Land.Sand Land: Best way to farm currency and materialsMany activities in the game will reward you with a lot of materials and money – Zeni, the local currency. While you can find a lot of raw materials and resources by simply choosing the vehicle of your preference and ********* any ****** unit on sight, there is a better way you can optimize your currency and material income as well as your vehicle usage. The best way to farm currency and materials in Sand Land is by winning races.Screenshot: PC InvasionYes, there are races in Sand Land all across its regions which you can identify by the Race Flag icon in your map. Once you arrive at said location, you will find that there are several tiers of races you can compete in and are repeatable. The higher the difficulty tier,...View the full article

Solo Leveling: Arise has grabbed the attention of gamers worldwide even before its official release. But its thrilling story and visually striking VFX aren’t enough for players to forget the often frustrating gacha-like system for hunters and weapons. Many players who already have access to the game have expressed concerns over the draw system’s impact on the gaming experience, leading to frustration and disappointment when missing out on items. In an interview with Dot Esports, Seong-Keon Jin, the lead developer of Solo Leveling: Arise at Netmarble, shed light on Netmarble’s rationale behind incorporating the gacha-like system into its action game. View the full article

Users looking to return a game on Steam may have a slightly more difficult time, as Valve recently updated the service’s refund policy to close a popular loophole involving “advanced access” titles. Steam is one of the biggest digital game retailers, offering customers a massive selection of PC titles that run the gamut from the latest triple-A releases to smaller indie fare. Of course, not everyone is going to be happy with their purchases, and Steam allows users to refund their games within 14 days of buying them, as long as they have only been played for less than two hours. View the full article

A new ***** from Genshin Impact is teasing a major change coming to the rotation schedule for the Spiral Abyss, with the endgame dungeon now only changing once a month. The massively popular RPG from developer HoYoverse offers players a wide array of things to do within its sprawling open world. Each of the game's regions has multiple quests to tackle, hidden chests and collectibles to uncover, and even offers alternative experiences like Genius Invokation TCG and the Serenitea ****. However, Genshin Impact's endgame has often been a point of criticism. View the full article

Honkai Star Rail has just revealed its latest character, and developer HoYoverse is getting our tongues tied and wallets opened. Clearly, it's not enough for Star Rail to have a premium gacha currency called 'Stellar *****,' as the studio has now decided to materialize the precious gem into human form with the introduction of new character ***** on PS5 - for legal reasons, this is a joke. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Honkai Star Rail 2.1 blesses you with more space for your trash Relics Honkai Star Rail banner schedule - all current and next banners Honkai Star Rail on PS5 has become my ultimate cozy game View the full article

What year is it? Because I'm sure Sand Land (and the Akira Toriyama-authored anime and manga it's based on) just came out, but this action RPG, complete with numbers popping out of enemies whenever feisty lordling fiend Prince Beelzebub hits them, feels like a return to the bad old days of licensed games. The sort of forgotten PlayStation tie-in that included a bit of everything whether it should have or not, a game your well-meaning grandparents bought as a gift because they recognised the name of the movie... Read more.View the full article

Capturing the spirit of an original work when adapting it into a game is difficult. But instead of being drawn out, Sand Land perfectly brings the manga to life—and I couldn’t put it down. Sand Land was originally a short manga released by legendary mangaka Akira Toriyama in the early 2000s. It tells the story of Sheriff Rao and ****** prince Beelzebub going on an adventure to bring water back to a land devastated by drought. It was short, sweet, and fully complete—until a few years ago when Bandai Namco announced it would be adapting the manga into an anime and game, featuring an expanded story and new characters created in part by Toriyama before his tragic passing. View the full article

The classic PUBG: Battlegrounds map Erangel that started the battle royale craze will be coming back for a limited time next month, PUBG Studios announced today. Fortnite: Battle Royale was released in 2018 in the thick of PUBG‘s outrageous ******* of hype and popularity, and now it looks like PUBG will return the favor by taking some inspiration from Fortnite, too. View the full article

For those who can't get enough of Fallout right now, the excellent Fallout bundle is back in stock at Fanatical for PC players. This includes every game (Fallout Classic Collection, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4 GOTY, and Fallout 76), but more importantly, it's the cheapest way to play Fallout 4 GOTY edition right now. This bundle usually retails for $139.95, but you can score it for just $22.49 with the code 'OMEN10'. With the next-gen update hitting consoles tomorrow and PC players getting widescreen and ultra-widescreen support, fixes to Creation Kit and a variety of quest updates, stability, bug fixes, and mods, there's never been a better time to jump back into its world. And to be able to do it for a whopping 84% off with all the other games included? Sign us up! Best Fallout Deal: Get Seven Fallout Games For Just $22.49 Normally, the Fallout 4 GOTY edition runs for about $39.99 on Steam, and here it drops down to $16.59 as part of this bundle. At that price, though, it's worth paying the extra few bucks to just get the whole bundle. And why not, really? To own all seven games for that price is an incredible deal, and it's one of the best PC video game deals we've seen lately, so worth every penny. Looking to check out even more of the best Fallout deals going on at the moment? There are a couple more worth keeping on your radar. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout 76 are available for free to Amazon Prime members right now, and you can also get some Fallout-themed drinks on Amazon, from coffee to AriZona tea. These also come in a Vault-Tec-themed box, which is a fun little bonus. What better way to zap your thirst, huh? Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Game adaptations are a tricky business. In trying to capture the spirit of a comic, show, or movie while also abiding by the conventions often demanded of a video game, something is likely to get lost in the translation. Sand Land, the open-world adaptation of the titular manga by the late, great Akira Toriyama, is a prime example of such a case. In many respects, it's wonderful to see the world of Sand Land at this scale with some of its original charm coming through at key moments, and its emphasis on vehicles for exploration and combat gives it a unique gameplay focus. But the majority of its roughly 25-hour runtime equates to a very by-the-numbers action-adventure, where everything else around it – from storytelling to quest design – left me feeling rather underwhelmed. Sand Land isn't necessarily a deep examination of the human condition, nor is it intended to be, but its premise of demons and humans coexisting in an arid wasteland fighting comically corrupt governments makes for an immediate *****. The struggle for resources, particularly water, unravels to become more about building a resistance, making amends for grave mistakes from the past, and the lengths its villains will go to cling onto power and control. You control the childish fiend prince Beelzebub, whose soft side always wins out regardless of how often he proclaims to be the scariest, most evil ****** around. He's consistently endearing and brings characters together like the shamed veteran Rao and genius mechanic Ann for a fun group that unpacks their dark histories throughout the journey. What we said about the recent Sand Land anime Sand Land is an expertly written and animated post-apocalyptic epic with exquisite mechanical designs and a poignant, complex story of redemption, featuring a bold new story by icon Akira Toriyama. Though be warned that the first six episodes are basically just a TV edit of the 2023 movie of the same name. - Rafael Motamayor, March 22, 2024 Score: 9 Read our full Sand Land anime review. [/url] There's a lot to like about Sand Land, but it loses much of its impact from what really seems like a phoned-in presentation. While the voice performances are largely good fits for each character’s personality, the writing itself falls into tons of cliches and rote conversations to carry the story along. And most of these shortcomings are spotlighted in stilted cutscenes (where you'll have to manually click through each line of dialogue) that woefully undersell what could have been legitimate moments of hype, levity, or sincerity. The rare occasions it's able to turn things up with a fantastic pre-rendered scene to provide some of the excitement I know Sand Land is capable of, but they're so few and far between that it's hard to be fully invested in the adventure when the storytelling itself isn't either. That’s made just a bit more disappointing because it's such a joy to see Toriyama's signature artwork and character designs in motion, impressively recreated in 3D here. His penchant for over-the-top goofiness tucked under some darker themes still underpins this adaptation, even as it ventures into new territory for the sparsely explored series. Sand Land is also a good representation of his imaginative vehicle designs, evident in parts of the Dragon Ball series, and it's where this adaptation finds part of its strength. Sand Land's best qualities are found in its vehicle system. Sand Land's best qualities are found in its vehicle system, which it smartly relies on for most of its gameplay. You can load up to five vehicles to take with you and then instantly summon each one on the fly, all of which offer a variety of use-cases and specific strengths. The old reliable tank was my go-to for combat, but in tight spaces the Jump ****'s maneuverability gave me a distinct advantage and its mortar shells were just strong enough to take down ****** bots. Later on, you also get a special mech that mixes both melee and ranged abilities, which packs a mean punch and is required for a few puzzles along the main quest. Quests like these contain some notable highlights that come to surface with a few interesting boss fights or dungeon-like scenarios that challenge you to aptly wield your roster of vehicles. Infiltrating ****** strongholds, for example, often have distinct stealth sections to break up the pace followed by some explosive mech and tank battles. One sequence led me through a labyrinthine ruin to sprinkle in puzzles and get me used to controlling a newly acquired Hover **** before pitting me against an imposing kraken boss. It made for some satisfying chaos where I used the Hover **** to tread water before swapping to my tank on safe spots at opportune moments for big damage. Individually, these elements aren't particularly outstanding, but they are solid enough that they create some enjoyable moments when mixed together. The primary region of Sand Land might be a barren wasteland, yet there's a nice feeling to driving across large stretches of desert and seeing how far it reaches, or being overwhelmed by large structures like the abandoned battleship at the Junker's Market where scavengers congregate. However, it's the all-new location of Forest Land where expansive vistas and lush vegetation provide a refreshing contrast. Winding roads and steep cliffs guide you through a handful of key points of interest and past optional diversions, like caves and ruins with plentiful resources to pilfer. Sidequests and hunting targets, albeit basic, also fill out the world to net you resources and experience as you might expect, although I do appreciate that Sand Land avoids feeling bloated with unnecessary fluff in a way that can typically weigh down the genre. Vehicles remain most of the focus when it comes to exploring this world, too – whether that be just getting from point A to point B or solving basic puzzles in a dungeon. It works well since they feel good to control despite their specific quirks, and hot-swapping between them seamlessly keeps the momentum going. It was fun to speed through the world on the motorbike, immediately change to the tank to take out an ****** squad, switch to the Jump **** to reach a plateau where key resources are found, then be on my way again with the motorbike all without a hitch. I was left wanting more from combat in terms of creative challenge. Keeping your favorite vehicles in top shape is important, too, and that's where the crafting and gathering elements of Sand Land come into play. You'll need to upgrade them consistently to stay within ****** levels, and thankfully, most of the resources required to keep the pace come to you naturally through ****** drops and items found in the open world along the way. Customizing each of them with specific weapons or swapping different engines and chips genuinely affects how they function, and it's nice to actually feel the tangible difference once you've upgraded a vehicle or changed its parts. Developer ILCA was cooking with gas when it comes to the customization, riding the line between simplicity and depth – sometimes you don't really want complexity and just want to ***** things up, and Sand Land does deliver on that front. But while the vehicle system itself is to be commended, rarely are you presented with challenges that bring out the most in it. That’s due in part to a lack of ****** types and poor AI, which often extends to many of the bosses, so that circling around them and blasting away like ********* fish in a barrel is good enough to win most battles. I felt somewhat unsatiated by the time I wrapped up Sand Land, because despite its vehicles being a definite highlight, I was left wanting more in terms of creative challenge. While I'd say Sand Land leans on vehicular combat roughly 70% of the time, the other 30% relies on hand-to-hand on foot combat, and that’s one of its other glaring shortcomings. It's a fairly shallow endeavor that seems like it exists only because it has to in order to fill in scenarios where Beelzebub needs to ****** in-person. There's a straightforward skill tree to upgrade basic features like better ******* damage, stronger special attacks, or more effective item usage, and that comes along with perks or summonable abilities you can get from your companions who tag along for the ride. However, these action-brawler style fights turn out to be button-mashing affairs where you dodge telegraphed ****** attacks, and it lacks both fluidity in the controls and that satisfying feedback you'd expect to get from landing a hit. View the full article

Taking things that are not yours will have its consequences. And today, you will be shot down by a giant ball. Nice. Here is how to beat the Cargo Airship boss in Sand Land.Sand Land: How to beat the Cargo Airship bossThe Cargo Airship is the first former boss you will face in your first hours of Sand Land. You have already met all your party members – Rao, Thief, and Ann – and you have also successfully stolen a tank from the King’s Army – which I know sounds crazy, and that’s because it is. Of course, the Royal Army will not take this with kindness – albeit with a bit of incompetence – and they will have General Are take care of business. And by taking care of business, that means almost missing you and then doing a complete 180 to face you. Oh well, time to do some fighting.Screenshot: PC InvasionNow, before you make Beelzebub use his overpowered fists to take care of business, this boss ****** revolves around you using your n...View the full article

Shortcuts are blocked for a reason: to have you travel across large distances just to backtrack after you know how to deal with them. Here is how to ******** rock formations in Sand Land.Sand Land: How to ******** rock formationsAs soon as Beelzebub – that is, the character you control, of course – and Thief join forces with Rao – a human – you will all go for an adventure across Sand Land to find a new source of water in the south. How will you travel there? Well, using Rao’s car that has seen better days, a long time ago. Screenshot: PC InvasionAlong the ride, you will manage to spot several pathways that are blocked by rock formations. While Beelzebub will suggest ramming them at full speed with your car as a solution, the actual way to get rid of them is to make them explode. With a tank.Screenshot: PC InvasionGetting the tank means stealing a tankTo get the tank, you will have to complete several missions after your car gets ...View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The power of Darkness will only get you this far, so it is time to use the power of Skill Points! Let us talk about what skills you should upgrade first in Sand Land.Sand Land: What skills to upgrade firstWhile leveling up will not be as frequent as other games, Sand Land does feature a selection of skills you can invest your Skill Points in across you as Beelzebub and your party members, with a separate count of Skill Points being allocated each time you level up. Picking the right skills will allow you to gain some early advantage during your travels across Sand Land, so let’s take a look at what will be the best skills you can invest your first Skill Points in.Beelzebub SkillsScreenshot: PC InvasionBeelzebub’s skills are mostly based on combat maneuverability, combos, and HP and Darkness boosts, among others. I would recommend investing Skill Points in the first column on the left of Beelzebub’s Skill Tree. This will unlock the following Skills ...View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Sand Land is like a sanitised manga-ish **** Max Fury Road, where there are fewer explosions and nobody huffs paint and screams "Witness me!". So, arguably, a less cool **** Max. In this incarnation it's an open world action game with light RPG elements; in previous incarnations it is a manga and anime by the creator of Dragon Ball. My takeaway from playing Sand Land the game is that it is a tremendous advert for the manga and anime, in the sense that everything good about Sand Land the game is from those, and I would rather be reading or watching them instead. Read more View the full article

A new trick in the Stardew Valley update will bring joy to players who decide to put in a little extra work. The most recent 1.6 update has not only added a lot of quality of life improvements, but developer ConcernedApe has also added a decent number of hidden additions to the game. Players have discovered new dialogue from NPCs, new ways to travel faster thanks to the Stardew Valley 1.6 update, and new tricks to get more items. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

PlayerUnkown's Battlegrounds is scrapping the new and going back to the old so players can revisit the classic Erangel map, which was the battle royale's first-ever battleground. It will be available on PC from May 14 and is "designed to evoke nostalgia for players who remember the early days," according to an official blog post... Read more.View the full article

If you are still yet to build your secondary mining base in Palworld or are just keen on rebuilding the one you have, one player has found the perfect spot for you to consider. As explained by a player named redial2 on Reddit, building your second base in front of the Anubis Statue in the volcanic region of Palpagos Island gives you access to five crucial ingredients: Wood, Stone, Ore, Sulphur, and Coal. So, instead of building a mining-exclusive site near Desolate *******, you can set up an “Anubase” at coordinates (-555, -625) for the most productive outcome. View the full article

Mezii is the latest addition to Team Vitality’s Counter-Strike 2 roster, yet he’s already won multiple tier one trophies. The team is led by a true CS legend, apEX, and the British player believes there’s one aspect in which the French in-game leader stands out above the rest. ApEX is a veteran of the scene at 31 years of age, having won numerous trophies along the way, including two CS:GO Majors. In CS2, he already claimed two BLAST titles alongside his Vitality teammates. Mezii is fairly new to apEX’s style of calling since he’s only been a part of the squad for half a year. While he praises the French IGL in many ways, he finds him exceptional in reading the opponents. View the full article

********* TV station TV Asahi recently asked international anime fans what their top 20 anime openings are, and the results have me convinced no one actually watches anime. Back in March, it was announced on TV Asahi's Sosenkyo Twitter account that they'd be hosting a special program going into the top 20 anime openings ranked by international anime fans. The program apparently polled 1740 people, from all across the world, in order to find out which are the best of the best according to non-********* viewers of anime. Don't worry, you won't have to sit through the three hour long special to find out, as conveniently the Twitter account listed them out for us. Here's the full list, which certainly indicates that most people are just thinking of the anime they most recently watched rather than what the best are: Read more View the full article