Grand Theft Auto 5is often considered one of the best games of all time due to the unique experience that it offers, but it's not the only game to fulfill on some of its most engaging elements. From an immersive story that is constantly swapping between three protagonists, to a huge open world with unique places that players loved exploring, GTA 5 has a bit of everything. View the full article
Last updated October 24th, 2025 - Checked for new Pixel Quest codes! [/url] Pixel Quest is a brand new 2D bullet hell RPG, where you'll face an onslaught of foes across biomes that range from the beach to the desert. The Third Dimension has been destroyed by 1x1x1x1, and now the Robloxians will need to work together to protect the pixelated 2D land of Robloxia. There are over 70 quests to complete, and legendary loot to obtain that will make it far easier to eviscerate hordes of enemies. With so much to do, you'll want some codes to make use of. Working Pixel Quest Codes Here are all the currently active Pixel Quest codes. Be sure to redeem them before they expire! LUCKYDAY - 1x Gold Clover, 2x EXP Booster, 1x Medium Dungeon Key, 3x Defense InfusionPQDISCORD2025 - Wumpus SkinHow to Use Pixel Quest Codes Redeeming Pixel Quest codes is a straightforward process. Launch the experience and complete the tutorial if you haven't already done so. When you're in the main hub, here are the steps you need to follow: Locate the chat box on the bottom left of the screen. It says "To chat click here or press / key".Click or press the / key and then press / again. This will bring up a list of commands.Type code, so it now says /code in your text box.Copy and paste the code from the article and enter it into the box, e.g. /code PQDISCORD2025Hit enter.You'll then see a message in the chat that tells you if the code has been redeemed successfully, and what the reward is.How to Claim Gifts from You Gift Box Some codes will give you rewards that you need to claim from your Giftbox. On the righthand side of the screen, you'll see a yellow and red gift box. Click on this and you'll be automatically transported to the southeast corner of the main hub. The Gift Box menu will also automatically open, so you can drag them into your inventory. How to Find Skins If you receive a skin via a code, then you'll want to find the icon on the left side of the screen that shows a person and says Wardrobe. When you open the Wardrobe, you'll see three sub-menus: Skins, Badges, and Titles. You can then scroll through and see any Skins, you've unlocked. Expired Pixel Quest Codes You're in luck! There are currently no expired Pixel Quest codes, but don't let the above ones slip away before you use them. Why Isn't My Pixel Quest Code Working? Codes for Roblox experiences are usually case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you've got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they're working. Just double-check that you haven't copied over an extra space! When Is the Next Pixel Quest Update? Pixel Quest is currently in Alpha release, but that doesn't mean that the Pixel Quest! group isn't already working hard to bring new content to the RPG. The next update is planned for Sunday, 26th October. This mini update will introduce a new dungeon and new Legendary items. Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures. View the full article
In a new community update, Battlefield 6 players learned a few new details regarding the upcoming and highly anticipated Battle Royale mode. There's a lot on the horizon for Battlefield 6, as Season 1 is finally right around the corner, which means new content to check out and potentially, the arrival of the highly anticipated Battle Royale game mode. View the full article
The development team behind The Sims 4 has reportedly sent a message to some creative players, with part of it aimed at reassuring them that the game will continue to offer a welcoming space amid publisher EA's privatization. Many fans of The Sims 4 have expressed concern over the recent $55 billion buyout of EA, but the creative team at Maxis states that its values will not be changing. View the full article
The past few years have seen some really spectacular run-based looter shooters coming out of smaller studios, and while Roboquest might have the edge on pure gameplay, Gunfire Reborn is the easiest recommendation if you're there for big loot drops and buildcrafting. It's still one of the best co-op games you can get on Steam today, and to celebrate the launch of its new Echoes from Primal Grove expansion Duoyi Games has a special offer. A free weekend lets you try Gunfire Reborn right now for nothing, and its deepest Steam ***** discount ever means it's cheap to keep if you like it. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Beloved roguelike Gunfire Reborn is having a huge comeback on Steam Gunfire Reborn is basically roguelike Borderlands, and it's just left Early Access Gunfire Reborn is a roguelike Borderlands that's quickly rising up the Steam charts View the full article
It’s not often that directors get a second crack at delivering their video game concept. Naoki Hamaguchi, co-director of Final Fantasy 7 Remake – itself a second attempt at interpreting a 1997 classic – already had his chance at delivering an improved version with 2021’s Intergrade. Now, FF7 Remake is coming to Xbox and Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time, offering its own tweaks. The upcoming ports, which will release on January 22, 2026, introduce new difficulty options, allowing players to tweak HP, damage, and more to suit their play style. As Hamaguchi explained in an interview with VGC, the development team has also worked wonders getting the Switch 2 edition to look remarkably comparable to the other versions of the RPG. Read More... View the full article
Pokémon Pocket has released a new trailer for its upcoming Mega Rising set, which launches on October 30, 2025. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Tracking site suggests Pokémon Pocket revenue crashed 50% in a month I love Pokémon Pocket's new set, but it might be hurting the game The Pokémon Pocket deck you should be playing if you don't have Suicune yet View the full article
Genshin Impact has officially unveiled Durin as a 5-Star Pyro Sword character coming in Version 6.2, kicking off the drip marketing for one of the most anticipated cast members of Nod-Krai. While Version 6.2 won't come with a new map expansion for Genshin Impact, the update is expected to introduce two new playable characters: Durin and Jahoda. Both have made an appearance during the Archon Quest, with Durin showcasing his new model in Version 6.1. View the full article
Mastering the hardships in RV There Yet isn't easy, and the last thing you want to encounter is your RV running out of oil. If you thought surviving in your RV was difficult, you'll also have to manage the oil requirements of your vehicle. This means that the vehicle will have to be refilled routinely in order for your party to proceed to the next checkpoint. Table of contentsHow to use engine oil in RV There YetHow to repair the engine in RV There YetHow to use engine oil in RV There Yet To use the engine oil, you'll have to head inside the RV. Go to the back of your vehicle.You'll notice the hatch.Open the hatch, and then use the engine oil to repair the engine. That will repair your engine and make your RV run as usual. Do note that the engine can only get refilled from inside the RV, and there's no external hatch or pipeline. Screenshot by Destructoid How to repair the engine in RV There Yet This section is a continuation of the last part, where we learnt about how to use engine oil. You'll have to repair the engine only when prompted. A prompt will appear on top of the engine.Click on 'Check Engine'.This will automatically refill the engine with the oil from one of your bottles. Only use engine oil when required, because it's not available in plenty. Their sole purpose is to repair the engine. If the engine completely breaks down, it will be game over for your party. Typically, the engine can have its own wear and tear. However, it can also take a lot of damage if your RV accidentally flips down a cliff and falls over a distance. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post How to use engine oil and repair your engine in RV There Yet appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Baldur's Gate 3 continues to keep its massive player-base engaged thanks to endless hours of content in the form of community mods. There's been a slate of amazing new mods lately for BG3, and if you've set the game aside for a while to play something else, you might want to consider diving back in after a recent mod fixed one of the game's most frustrating problems. View the full article
Combining elements of Slay the Spire and Luck be a Landlord, the roguelike deck-builder Roulette Hero is out now and it will likely spin your hours away. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
Gearbox Software posts a humorous clip regarding the recent Borderlands 4 nerfs made to the popular Crit Knife build. It's been an eventful week already for Borderlands 4 players, who finally received the long-awaited second major update as well as the first seasonal event. View the full article
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has added Super Fantasy Kingdom to its ever-changing library. This is the platform's 64th new arrival in October 2025, as well as the 186th new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate release since the start of the year. View the full article
It sounds as if Amazon is hoping to reignite interest in similar digital party games that experienced a boost in popularity during Covid times. Up to 16 players, depending on the title, can take part in GameNight by scanning a QR code on the screen and using their smartphone as... Read Entire Article View the full article
23 октября журналист Bloomberg Джейсон Шрайер сообщил, что руководство Microsoft потребовало от подразделения Xbox добиться уровня прибыльности на уровне выше среднего по индустрии — 30% от общего дохода. В обычных условиях выйти на подобные значения невозможно, поэтому Фил Спенсер и Сара Бонд вынуждены были запустить мультиплатформенную трансформацию бренда. View the full article
From the series’ earliest 2D entries, to Ryu's critically acclaimed foray into 3D, Ninja Gaiden has hacked and slashed its way to the top of the hyper-violent action games genre. And while countless ninja games have been released since the 1988 NES original, Ninja Gaiden still remains relevant nearly 40 years later. But why is that? Let’s take a look back to when this series found its core game design DNA, with its early use of cinematics, narrative-driven gameplay, and innovation in difficult but rewarding challenges (not to mention, one of the sickest finishers ever in a video game.) From there, we’ll chart the course of Ninja Gaiden to see how it has kept its blade sharp over the decades, and why it remains one of the most influential action series of all time. Defining The Great Line The year is 1988. Arcades are a dominant force thanks to the likes of Double Dragon, Ghouls & Ghosts, and Contra. These are all excellent games in their own right, but little did the world know that one of the most important ninja games of all time was about to be released. Ninja Ryūkenden, the game we in the western world now know as Ninja Gaiden (because, according to the game’s art director, “it sounded cool,”) launched with two dramatically different versions. The arcades saw a Double Dragon-inspired port, which while popular at the time, was dramatically different from the NES console version of Ninja Gaiden we would all come to know and love. Ninja Gaiden was an unexpected revolution in action games. Overnight, it redefined what video games were capable of thanks to its difficult but gratifying combat, narrative-driven gameplay, and one of gaming’s first uses of cinematic cutscenes to tell its story. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a major release without some sort of cutscene or narrative break, with some even feeling more like interactive movies than video games. In the early days, though, this simply wasn't the case. The majority of games on the NES used a single static image with text and music to bookend a game's story, something you could only very loosely call a cutscene. Games like Castlevania or The Legend of Zelda, which featured stories that demanded more explanation, would require you to open up the manual and find it yourself, rather than find it in the game. And yes, while hardware was a limitation, that wasn’t the only reason. Western and Japanese versions of some NES games varied dramatically in narrative, tone, and marketing. Such variations were due to the fact that, at the time, video games were still considered to be primarily for kids, which each territory’s version tweaked for their respective younger audiences. One of Ninja Gaiden’s goals was to change that. Developer Tecmo used a Hollywood blockbuster-like approach to elevate its storytelling for mature audiences. The game starts with a cutscene of two ninjas duelling to the death in a grassy moonlit field. Like a “big budget” movie, it utilized fast cuts, cinematic camera work, a widescreen aspect ratio, and expressive music to set up the death of Ryu’s father, the inciting incident that leads you on a game-long quest for revenge. Revenge narratives weren't new to video games, but that kind of cinematic setup sure was. In just a few seconds, we went from video games with little to no storytelling, to anime-inspired cutscenes and dialogue motivating you to complete your journey. This level of storytelling marked a major step forward in the perception of video games, proving they could be so much more than a child’s toy. Now, video games could also be an engaging platform to tell a captivating story. Cutscenes, however, aren't the only thing that made Ninja Gaiden stand out all those years ago. Tecmo’s game design also made significant strides, and Ninja Gaiden proved to be uniquely challenging to gamers of the 8-bit generation. Instead of having to time jumps and memorize level layouts like in early Mega Man and Mario games, Gaiden’s high difficulty, high reward gameplay tied progression to skill development and a player’s ability to master the game’s combat mechanics. Before Ninja Gaiden, most “hard” games were purposefully designed to be challenging because it was an easy way to pad out the run time (or, in the case of the arcade, make sure our pockets were noticeably lighter when we left.) While some games, like early Mega Man, Castlevania, and Mario games, did demand a level of skill to beat, their difficulty was mostly based on level memorization. Ninja Gaiden was one of the first games to take the idea of high-challenge, high-reward and mould it into something enjoyable. You’re going to die a lot, but after enough frustrating failure (those dogs at the start of the game are no joke, and don't even get me started on the flying enemies in later stages) you’ll quickly find yourself playing with a mix of defensive dodging and aggressive strikes, and having a lot of fun while you do them. Stage 1-1 is a masterclass in this philosophy, teaching players that challenge can be rewarding. The first stage in most games typically acts as a tutorial. Super Mario Bros. teaches players how to jump with little difficulty. Metroid forces the player to backtrack in order to gain the morphball ability, teaching players the necessity of exploration. And Sonic quickly demonstrates the need for speed. By immediately thrusting you into combat, Ninja Gaiden’s first level not only explains the game's core mechanic of kill or be killed, but also demonstrates that enemies can come from all directions, even behind you. The game's tutorial level is a trial by fire that teaches you to strike first and strike fast. That skill is continually reinforced throughout the game, requiring a lot more trial and error as things get progressively harder. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? While the first true “soulslike” game wouldn't be released for another 20+ years, it's not hard to see Gaiden's DNA in ******’s Souls, Bloodborne, and every other soulsborne game since. This challenging and, at times, frustrating game design not only solidified Ninja Gaiden’s NES adventure as one of the 8-bit era’s best games, but also helped shape the next generation of Ryu’s adventures on the Game Boy, *****’s Master System, and, a decade later, the original Xbox. Bury Me in ****** The sixth generation of video games featured some of the most influential games of all time. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Resident Evil 4. Halo: Combat Evolved. Kingdom Hearts. Metal Gear Solid 3. The list goes on and on. So, it would take a forward-thinking (not to mention generation-defining) entry in the Ninja Gaiden series to cut its own place in what many consider one of gaming’s best generations. For Ninja Gaiden, no fewer than three games kept the series sharp during a time where the competition was fierce and groundbreaking innovation was everywhere. A few years earlier, Tecmo had established a new internal studio to develop Dead or Alive. But by the turn of the millenium, that studio – now named Team Ninja – had begun work on a new Ninja Gaiden. That project would become 2004’s Ninja Gaiden, released exclusively on Microsoft’s new Xbox console. Its expanded 2005 release, Ninja Gaiden ******, is considered one of the greatest action games of not only the sixth generation, but of all time. IGN gave it an incredibly high score of 9.4, praising its fast-paced combat, its hard but rewarding gameplay, and action. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Similar to the original, this new take on the series had the goal of redefining the standards of what an action game could be. While the cutscenes looked great for the time, it’s Ninja Gaiden’s gameplay that would once again shine and raise the bar for challenging action games across the board, while still emphasizing the strike hard, strike fast precision and timing from the NES era games. Combat is more chaotic and aggressive now that Ryu can be attacked in three dimensions, and parrying incoming attacks relies heavily on timing and rhythm. You can't just button mash your way through enemies – it requires a more methodical approach with each encounter, something you hone through a lot of death. Just like in the first game, you're taught this right off the bat as you find yourself fighting two very annoying ninjas on a cliffside. Rhythm, timing, and enemy behavior are important here. Foes can attack you from all sides and quickly overwhelm Ryu. Choosing when to attack, when to dodge, and when to avoid enemies ends up becoming a meta game of rock, paper, scissors, and it’s something we’ve seen in countless games since – from the Batman Arkham series to practically every Souls game ever. For some players, myself included, Ninja Gaiden ****** was one of the first games where, even though the gameplay could get extremely frustrating at times, it was pretty hard to put down once the game's core mechanics were figured out. For me, it wasn't until I beat the first boss, timing my strikes and dodges by finding the right balance between patience and aggression, that I understood how rewarding Ninja Gaiden could be. By the time the final boss comes stomping around, I’d been trained to fight in such a way that the entire event feels cinematic based on its gameplay, not cutscenes. Instead of cheesing the boss and spamming the attack button a million times until their health bar hits zero (which is how I unsuccessfully played at the start of the game,) I found myself dodging and parrying in ways I simply couldn't early on in the game. This is a journey that's found in pretty much every high-difficulty, high-reward game to this day. But if you take a step back and think about it, by forcing the player to “get good”, or at least achieve some semblance of a flow state, the combat actually becomes a narrative device that helps progress the story. By combining parries, dodges, and attacks with razor precision, you grow alongside Ryu. You get stronger alongside Ryu. And, most importantly, by the end, you fight like a master Ninja. It’s just like what the first game achieved, way back in 1988. Never Fade Away While not as impactful as the 2004 release, Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3 went on to receive critical acclaim and multiple re-releases and revisions. These games improved on what made the original Xbox release so meaningful, pushing Gaiden’s precise combat and difficulty into the next console generation. Unfortunately, the franchise didn't cut through the competition in quite the same way Ninja Gaiden ****** did at the height of the sixth console generation. And so it wasn't until well over a decade later that indie developer The Game Kitchen would revitalize the series with Ninja Gaiden Ragebound. What’s old is new again. Ragebound took the series back to its 2D roots, adding more to the lore of Ninja Gaiden, and perfecting the series’s difficult-but-fair gameplay for a new generation of side-scrollers. It went on to be considered one of the best entries in the series, according to the IGN audience, and I concur. What’s more, it helped pave the way for the latest instalment, Ninja Gaiden 4, which looks set to raise the bar again for a new generation of hyper-violent and tough action games. It’s impossible to overstate the impact Ninja Gaiden has had on action games over the years. Its DNA can be found in hundreds of great games – echoes of its excellent combat mechanics, crushing difficulty, and use of cinematics can be found everywhere in the genre. Simply put, action games as they are today simply wouldn’t exist without the influence of Ninja Gaiden. View the full article
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Tim Cain doesn't see the industry going in a healthy directionView the full article