A new day-one release is making its way into the Xbox Game Pass catalog on October 23, and if you’re a fan of mech-based action and base-building, you won’t want to miss it. Microsoft’s subscription service underwent a big revamp in its structure, introducing a new tier system and prices. There are a lot of changes to Xbox Game Pass, but the intention is still to offer a catalog of games for members. View the full article
Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7 developer Treyarch Studios has responded to player requests and revealed that it has implemented a major change to the Dexterity Perk. After fans got to go hands-on with Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7earlier this month, one of the biggest requests was that Treyarch Studios make certain features from the Dexterity Perk part of the default movement system. The studio has now responded to players in a new development update and outlined its plans for the game's launch on November 14. View the full article
Frogwares announced The Sinking City 2 in 2024 with a bizarre teaser billing an overt shift to survival horror and a 2025 release target. Today, however, the studio said it needs more time, and has thus pushed the game's release into 2026... Read more.View the full article
Persona 3 Reload is still a fantastic way to experience an Atlus classic, but the Switch 2 version isn't as good as it should be. Our P3R Switch 2 review. View the full article
A while back I was sent a Play For Dream MR headset for evaluation. While out of the box it didn't even fit my face right, here's how it eventually became my PC VR daily driver. The Joy Of 4K Micro-OLED Before I tell you how I got Play For Dream MR to fit my face, I'll explain why I went to the effort: it's those displays. While the rest of my headsets have 2-3K LCD panels, Play For Dream MR has 3840×3552 micro-OLEDs, providing ultra-high resolution, deep contrast, and rich colors. Playing older games that I’ve been experiencing for years with this headset has given them new life. It feels similar to the jump from standard definition to HD TV, where you could finally see the little details that were obscured by lower-resolution screens. Except in this case, instead of bad makeup on a performer, I notice extra details that enhance my feeling of being inside virtual worlds. Flying the House Atreides Ornithopter in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Dune DLC, the resolution looks so crisp you would think you could count the individual grains of sand on Arrakis. Games set in outer space, such as Elite Dangerous and Star Wars: Squadrons, feel amazing before you even start piloting the ship. That's because the stars in the distance on the other side of your cockpit glass seem to pop out of the inky ****** darkness. These micro-OLED screens are incredibly sharp and produce deep contrast and colors in a way an LCD headset like Quest 3 simply can't. High Quality Wireless PC VR I've been impressed by the headset’s wireless display performance while using the currently-exclusive “Monster” mode in Virtual Desktop, as well as by a recent firmware upgrade that adds Steam Link Beta support with foveated transport. After updating, the picture quality makes me forget I’m on a wireless connection and not tethered to my PC by a long DisplayPort cable – it feels almost lossless. After playing demanding sims like Flight Simulator 2024 with the recent Jurassic World: Archipelago DLC, I can see the improvements in action firsthand; where I used to see artifacting and some slowdowns in demanding scenes, I now see none. Experiencing this new streaming tech for the first time felt like unlocking a new layer of fidelity for wireless PC VR streaming. The Comfort Issue Comfort is where Play For Dream really struggled for me out of the box. I immediately noticed that something felt off about the way it sat on my head because it uses a rigid, non-removable strap. In my opinion, this is just not a good idea from any manufacturer, but either way, it meant that I couldn't adjust it to go low enough on the back of my head without it tilting off of my cheeks. Even a slight misalignment in a headset that has a small sweet spot, like the Play For Dream MR does is enough to ruin the experience by introducing distortion and blurring. I was determined to fix this because after seeing those high-resolution Micro-OLED screens perfectly aligned, returning to the murky image from the LCD headsets in my collection was going to be difficult. I cobbled together what I call Franken-Dream out of pieces of other head straps, and after making the modifications, it became one of the most comfortable headsets in my collection. After I posted my changes online, Play For Dream saw them and contacted me to say they were working on a redesigned facial interface intended to better accommodate "Western" face shapes, and they sent me a prototype. This was meant to address the issues I had experienced, but once I started using it, I noticed that while it did seem to fit my face much better, and it kept the sweet spot better aligned, something was still off. The back padding remained in a position that was too high above my occipital bone, keeping it slightly uncomfortable. I used this setup for a few weeks until Play For Dream also sent the $140 optional forehead and back padding system that enables an open-periphery layout like Meta Quest Pro and Samsung's upcoming headset. Admittedly, ever since the Quest Pro hit the scene, open-periphery facial interfaces have become my preferred way of wearing VR headsets. With this new padding in place, I could finally remove all the modifications because the headset was now properly aligned, comfortable for longer sessions, and no longer resembled the stitched-together tech version of Frankenstein's monster. Battery Life Issue Play For Dream MR has a small built-in battery, providing only around one and a half hours. After I changed the settings to allow for full 4K per-eye rendering and eye tracking, I was lucky to get an hour out of it. Using an external battery pack eliminates the issue, though you'll need at least a 30-watt output. Controllers The Play For Dream MR comes with a pair of tracked controllers in the box. They are compact and lightweight, and they feel okay in my hands, but missing is a safety strapping system. I once again modified the product using a set of knuckle straps and some hook and loop squares. I also used the USB-C magnetic connectors from a pair of display glasses as a way to attach the straps to the bottom. These homemade knuckle straps are surprisingly comfortable and stable. Audio Quality In headset, the speakers built into the strap sound clear and loud enough that I haven’t felt the need to use external headphones. They lack the bass levels I want to hear when watching movies or playing games, and there’s no 3.5 mm headphone jack on the headset. If you plan on using headphones, they will need to support either a USB-C or Bluetooth connection. As for the microphone, it should be fine for multiplayer gaming, but a wireless mic solution or a dedicated gaming headset is likely going to improve clarity. Why PFD Is My Daily Driver After using Play For Dream MR for just a week, when I swapped back to Quest 3, the downgrade in ****** levels and fine text clarity hurt. Don't get me wrong, I can still enjoy my Quest 3. But I now find myself squinting at labels and struggling with aliasing and grayish-looking ******* while using it. Play For Dream MR delivers top-tier visual quality and outstanding wireless PC VR performance, and these qualities have made it my PC VR daily driver. However, you might need to either buy the $140 open periphery forehead pad or extensively mod the headset yourself to make it fit your face, and because of this issue we can't recommend it to everyone. View the full article
Only four players can play RV There Yet? together in a single session. While fans are eager to increase that player cap and create wild sessions of eight, 12, or maybe even 20 players at once, this won't happen soon—at least not officially. You can't increase the four-player cap in RV There Yet? today. The game developers answered in a FAQ post on Steam that support for larger groups will "possibly" come in the future, but it's not planned for the short term. [Hidden Content] "There are more things we will add, though," the developers wrote. "Some of these things we already plan to do after launch (eg. localisation and bug fixes), some of these things we are very open to based on community feedback (eg. allowing more than 4 players in one way or another)" At the end of the post, the devs' message is clear: "For now, the game will be what it is. We think it's fun, we're really proud of what we achieved, and we hope you have a good time. Everything else is future stuff, and when we know more, we can let you know." Considering this message and that RV There Yet? was released on Oct. 21, it's best not to expect groups larger than four anytime soon. But there's hope for impatient fans. Group expansion mods could be in the works The game's General Discussions page on Steam already has players claiming they're working on a mod to expand the four-player cap. Nothing is confirmed, and no mods are publicly available yet, so it's unclear when these mods will arrive or if they're even possible to create. Your best bet is to keep an eye on mod forums and the Steam Community page of RV There Yet?, as these are the most likely places where fans will share how to actually increase the player count. Once there's a public way to boost the player count in RV There Yet?, we will test it and update this story accordingly. The post Can you increase how many players can play RV There Yet? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Once you have cleared the initial set of tasks and made it to the roof in Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2, you'll have to make the first difficult decision - pick a clan. There are six clans to choose from, each with its own pros and cons. You can only pick one clan, and your decision will determine how the playthrough will feel. Some clans definitely feel better, and this tier list will make it easier for you to decide. Table of contentsComplete Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 clans tier listS-tier clansA-tierB-tierComplete Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 clans tier list I have used three tiers to separate the clans. However, you can complete and enjoy the game with any clan of your choice. The distance between the six clans is not much, and the tier list has been made based on my experience with Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 so far. Screenshot by Destructoid S-tier clans Brujah The Brujah is definitely one of the simpler yet effective clans you can find inside the game. It's the best choice for players who want to take an aggressive approach and can soak up a lot of damage. It's purely based on melee, where you'll be able to hit hard (and also take some punches). Feeding empowers you with Vampiric Strength, thanks to the Brutality passive, while Lightning Strike and Earthshock will allow you to do AoE damage. Taunt forces enemies to attack you while they take more damage. Overall, it's an uncomplicated way to play the game where you hit harder than the blows you take. Tremere Treme is the antithesis of Brujah, as you deal damage from range. Corrosive Touch as a Passive feels amazing as all bodies of fed enemies will dissolve. Blood Curse will explode once you manage to land a curse, while Recall is an excellent mobility-based move that allows you to move and to and fro between different locations. Cauldron of Blood and Blood Salvo use blood magic to damage enemies, while the perk allows you to add blood pip to a random ability. If you're into a ranged playstyle and want to do blood magic, this could be your clan. A-tier Lasombra The Lasombra can be considered as S-tier if you manage to master its abilities. The Shadow Cloak passive hides you temporarily after feeding an enemy, while Arms of Ahriman causes a shadow to trap enemies and prevent them from moving. Shadow Step adds a teleportation ability via shadows, while Enter Oblivion allows you to manipulate reality. I found mastering the shadows to be pretty hard in one of my runs, which is why I have placed it in the A-tier. Banu Haqim If you know how to hit enemies while dodging their attacks, the Banu Haqim is a good choice. Your attacks generally will do a lot of damage, and Silence of Death ensures all your actions post-feeding on an enemy will be silent. Blade Hand slashes through enemies and can one-shot weaker targets, while Split Second makes you go immensely fast. Unseen Aura is one of the best abilities in the game as it completely makes you invisible to all enemies for a small window. The kit is designed for those who know when to hide, and hence, it's not really my favorite style. Toreador If the Twilight movies inspire you, maybe Toreador should be your go-to choice. This clan represents the fashionistas of the vampire world, and there's a touch of grace in almost everything that you do. A major reason behind this clan not being S-tier is the passive Cat's Grace, which makes you move fast after feeding. The impact of this passive feels inferior compared to other choices. Entrancing Kiss will convert an enemy to an ally for a few seconds, allowing you to raise your own zombies (not literal ones). Blink allows you to reach the targeted location in a second, while Beckon can slow and confuse enemies. Thanks to Momentum Fleetness, your Blink will almost always be in a ready state, allowing you to move around the map smoothly. B-tier Ventrue The Ventrue is the easiest clan to master, but most of the abilities just feel boring. Flesh of Marble makes you harder to take down, while Terminal Decree can make a mortal kill themselves. You can also use it to stagger and disarm vampires, while Possession will allow you to possess someone and manipulate them. You can even use them to attack another character. Cloud Memory can cause temporary amnesia, while Mass Manipulation prevents an enemy from attacking you. It's not that the Ventrue's abilities are bad. They're fun, and the easiest ones to master. However, they will lose their charm in the long run, and the main reason for me to place the clan in the B-tier. 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 Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 clans tier list appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
In one of your earliest quests out of the bunker in Escape From Duckov, Jeff sends you off to kill and loot a couple Rampaging Scavengers: "the red ones with butcher knives." It's a straightforward description, and the little suckers are hard to forget if you've encountered them. They aren't hanging around as random spawns in the middle of the map though, so you'll need to find them at their camp a little off the beaten path... Read more.View the full article
The makers of NBA Top Shot are back with more officially licensed digital collectibles and partnerships for fans. The National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and Dapper Labs, creators of the Flow blockchain, today unveiled the latest season for NBA Top Shot, the officially licensed digital collectibles platform that reimagines how fans experience the game. This season features headline partnerships with top rookies Cooper Flagg, Yang Hansen, and other emerging stars, who will debut digital autograph inscriptions and 1-of-1 signature collectibles on NBA Top Shot. Fans can look forward to revamped collectibles with foils, textures, and interactive designs, plus more dynamic pack experiences. From its inception in 2020, Dapper Labs said NBA Top Shot has introduced a new era of fandom, allowing NBA fans worldwide to collect, trade, and celebrate the league’s most memorable plays. NBA Top Shot has fostered an active global community, merging the excitement of real-time basketball action with genuine ownership of Top Shot Moments. Blockchain makes it all possible. Dapper Labs was the non-fungible token (NFT) darling of 2021, but NFTs haven’t held their value. Now the company is embedding more utility into its digital assets to deal with declining user engagement. The company still has 300 or so people, but it’s down significantly from the past. Dapper Labs’ Flow token is worth about 27 cents, down 99% from $46.16 in April 2021. Rising star Cooper Flagg. Source: Dapper Labs This season’s doubling down on rookies was inspired by the market’s clear demand for rookie collectibles. On NBA Top Shot, fewer than 5,000 rookie collectibles from Victor Wembanyama or Cooper Flagg will ever exist. The NBA, NBPA and Dapper Labs remain fully committed to ensuring the permanence of NBA digital collectibles to the Top Shot community. By creating a fun and innovative platform for fans to engage with the best plays and players from the NBA, Top Shot is a platform where collectors can showcase their fandom and passion for the greatest Moments from the NBA—past and present. Every dunk, assist, and buzzer-beater is independently retrievable and verifiable—setting a new benchmark for digital sports collectibles. “NBA Top Shot was built to bring fans closer to the sport they love, ensuring that each digital collectible remains an authentic and lasting piece of basketball culture long term,” said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs, in a statement. “This season we’re taking the next step—delivering autographs and interactive collectibles from the NBA’s next generation of stars while securing the highlights themselves on chain.” Since launch, NBA Top Shot has attracted a global audience of collectors who own, trade, and celebrate the greatest plays in basketball history. With star partnerships, digital autograph inscriptions, interactive collectibles, and fully on-chain highlights, the 2025–26 season is poised to be Top Shot’s most exciting yet. The post NBA Top Shot launches new season with new collectibles and star partnerships appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article
Hot on the heels of Ninja Gaiden's own 2D revival with the excellent Ragebound, Double Dragon Revive comes off more like a tribute band for the series rather than a proper reunion tour. It doesn't play the hits how you remember it, instead putting its own spin on things – from how it looks, to how it sounds, to how it plays. All of those aspects not only fail to live up to my admittedly mild expectations for a new Double Dragon, but after hours of its out of tune meandering, started to cement the idea that maybe we should put a little more distance between attempts to revitalize this series. Even though I've been playing these games for most of my life it's sort of jarring how straightforward Double Dragon Revive is. Side scrollers of this arcadey, "belt scroll" variety have found a lot of ways to spice up the “punch your way to the right” recipe, and Revive seems interested in keeping as much of that new seasoning away from its plate as possible. It's a basic protein packed with eight non-branching levels, accompanied by starchy combat that's filling but has barely any sauce. Picking up any of the four playable characters is simple and intuitive, with normal attack strings that can be mashed out on one button alongside special attacks and hyper blows that can be used to punctuate these combos, or in some instances extend your offense into wall bouncing juggles. All of these actions are unique to each fighter. Well, Billy and Jimmy Lee have distinctions that don't translate into mechanical differences, but former damsel-turned-headkicker Marian and ninja frenemy Ranzo have attacks that are a little more flashy and utilitarian. I rarely felt it necessary to use more than basic combo loops on Normal difficulty, though. As long as an enemy didn't have an annoying shield or hyper armor protecting them as they wound up a big attack (something ubiquitous in the later levels), they were reliably vulnerable to a good old fashioned fist to the face. There are limited options for those who do want to attempt to style on these street thugs, but they all rely on bouncing enemies off of walls to keep them in the air long enough to string more hits together as they come down. It often felt like enemies kind of just went wherever they wanted after a launch or a throw as opposed to where you directed them to go, making a laborious task out of trying to set up simple combo extensions, jamming enemies into background environmental hazards that take them out of the fight instantly, or taking advantage of the super powerful wall strike and wall ****** options. It rarely felt necessary to use more than basic combo loops on Normal difficulty. There's no air combos to be had either, so chasing a launched bad guy skyward only allows you a single, disappointing smash down to earth so you can wait for them to stand up and let you hit them again. Everyone can get a free hit on downed enemies, if you can finagle the finicky button prompt to do so that is unresponsive and unreliable. If there's the right kind of wall around – the right kind being the one they decide is right based on no reliable context clues – you can do a super sized air dropping attack, but even getting the wall kick off that's required to get the requisite height is a dice roll. Everyone has powerful, screen clearing finishing blow attacks that are charged up by all the fisticuffs, with boosts given when you make a timely dodge, counter an enemy’s big attack, or grow your combo meter. But no playable character, not even with Ranzo's cool explosive kunai or Marian’s charging knee, can make Revive’s combat feel special, or even interesting, across long stretches of time. It took me around three hours to finish my first playthrough, and I lost interest well before then, with three more playthroughs after that, one for each playable character. That said, enemy variety is at least diverse and effective at making you use the small menu of options you have. As levels progress, old bad guys show up to mingle with the newer ones to form a sort of street thug gumbo that can get a little spicy towards the end of your run. It’s largely a numbers game, with you often getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming blows from all angles. I liked the little brain puzzle of having to identify the most dangerous threat to take out first, or needing to figure out the most efficient way to wrangle as many folks as possible into a big attack, but it wasn’t beguiling enough for me to forget that the process of breaking these dudes down was still rather dull. Even the array of limited use weapons, though strong tools usually worth the effort to grab if things get hairy, are your standard fare knives, two-by-fours, sledgehammers, etc. As the challenge escalates, some of Revive’s jank becomes an enemy of its own. Small things, like the direction of your character sometimes defaulting to the opposite direction inexplicably, stops being a quirk to work around and starts being the reason you drop a combo or get punished. Enemy variety is at least diverse, but breaking dudes down is still rather dull. Bosses break the monotony up a little bit, introducing slightly more engaging stage hazards and pattern mechanics, like Linda, who you need to shake off of the pillars she’s hiding on top off before you can attack her directly. These get pretty brutal towards the end, though, specifically the chapter seven boss, which has to be the most aggravating fight I’ve maybe ever played in one of these games – truly a test of endurance against a ceaseless onslaught of the most cheating cheaters the game has to offer. There’s not a lot of flash visually, either. Most character models look good, but the fire, wind, and dragon effects that come from their limbs when channeling their chi looks a step behind in quality. Camera work and sound design come together adequately to make big hits feel good and all that jazz. The sound track is decent, with a handful original riffy rockouts and remixes of old series jams that sound good in the moment but sort of leave your head immediately after they end. Overall, Double Dragon Revive lacks the visual identity that the 16-bit Double Dragon Gaiden and even pastel-punk Double Dragon Neon have, let alone its peers like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound from this year. The stages you bash your way through run a much broader gamut. A colorful Japanese pagoda-style tower with a fun little perspective shift mid-way through is simple but much more stirring than a non-descript highway level, even if there is a wrestling ring at the end of it. Some of these zones require some platforming that I was never happy to see but in mercifully short bursts. It’s a bit of an eye-roll that most of these stages are just takes on series staple locations without much novel flair added this time around, but it’s truly disappointing how many of these locations are just bland and lifeless. And not to be one of those “the story in this beat 'em up sucks” sort of freaks, but I mean, it does. It's less that the plot is nonsense, the characters are bland, and the writing is lousy and more that Revive lacks the confident and chaotic energy that is necessary to sell this sort of thing to begin with. The post-apocalyptic villain of Neon was a gang-leading ****** knight straight out of a heavy metal album cover named Skullmaggedon. The gang struggles in Gaiden made that version of New York City feel like Gotham City, complete with goons color-coded and themed after their outlandish bosses. By comparison, Revive is just a completely tame and underwhelming take on returning villains ****** and Raymond, who used ****** magic and the military industrial complex to experiment on people and make the Sousetsuken kid’s lives worse. View the full article
Since its launch in 2023, Starfield has cemented a reputation as Bethesda's okayest game. While Skyrim has been honored with what felt like 800 re-releases and Fallout's enjoying its time in the TV adaptation spotlight, Starfield hasn't managed to foster the same level of fondness—even with Bethesda leaving sneaky little teasers in its spacefaring RPG's birthday card... Read more.View the full article
Following the completion of the Traunts Don't Need a Reason community challenge, Borderlands 4 is finally giving away a free SHiFT code for Harlowe, the Gravitar. The latest code is just one of the many free Borderlands 4 SHiFT codes that have been given away to players and granted them Golden Keys, new character skins, and more. View the full article
Marvel Rivals Season 4.5 is set to introduce a new game mode, pitting multiple players against dangerous Zombies in a long-awaited PvE mode that changes the hero shooter's normal formula. This mode changes several game mechanics, including the abilities of the limited characters you have access to. With powerful bosses and chaotic, large-scale battles against hordes of zombies, this mode has many details to discover. View the full article
The highly anticipated release of ARC Raiders is right around the corner, and even though excitement is at an all-time peak after a free Server Slam weekend, the extraction shooter has some stiff competition. The developers at Embark Studios don't seem phased by going toe-to-toe with Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7, however. View the full article
Cyberpunk Legends, the co-op campaign card game with Poker-inspired gameplay set in Night City, came to Kickstarter late last month. With just a few days to go before crowdfunding wraps up, the game has hit $1 million in funding, allowing publisher Night Crew Games to add what would have been the first expansion into the base box. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best ******** board games 7 beefy RPG board games worth adventuring through Board game creator CMON sells Cthulhu: Death May Die, one of its biggest brands, in the wake of $7 million losses View the full article
The improvements to Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7 began before its beta test earlier this month, but based on feedback, a number of other changes are coming that should make community members happy. Treyarch design director Matt Scronce went into the nuts and bolts of what's changing in a new Dev Talk video released this afternoon. New improvements from the beta include aim assist adjustments, louder footsteps, tuning for sliding, and different distribution of Perks. Image via Activision One of the main complaints from the beta is that players needed to use the Dexterity Perk to aim down sights while sliding, diving, and wall jumping, and Scronce said that will now be a default mechanic in the game. Dexterity will now give "maximum fluidity" on top of that. In addition, sliding distance and speed has been slightly reduced, but mantling will now be faster "across the board." One of the age-old hot button issues in CoD has been the strength of aim assist, and that continued in the BO7 with many players feeling it was overtuned. Scronce addressed it by saying that controller players win slightly more close range battles, while mouse-and-keyboard players win a bit more at long range. "So, what we're going to do here to try to close that gap is take a very close look at the strength of aim assist across all of those ranges," he said. "Additionally, we are looking at rotational aim assist and the requirement for the right aim stick to be moving in the direction of your target. We'll have more concrete details to share soon." As for Perk changes, here's what's happening on that front: Tech Mask: Slot 1 to Slot 2Scavenger: Slot 1 to Slot 2Cold Blooded: Slot 1 to Slot 3Looper: Slot 2 to Slot 3Tac Sprinter: Slot 3 to Slot 1 The early returns on these changes from most players are positive on social media, with CoD players sounding off about their excitement for the newest game in the FPS franchise that's now just a few weeks away. [Hidden Content] ****** Ops 7 is set to launch on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on Nov. 14, and more info about the game will be revealed in the weeks leading up to launch. 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 Treyarch details a slew of exciting improvements to ****** Ops 7 thanks to beta feedback, and CoD players are hyped appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Gearbox has said the hotly anticipated Borderlands 4 patch that will finally dull crit knife builds is delayed again and will now launch alongside the Horrors of Kairos mini-event. Borderlands 4’s 'Day 30 Update' was set to launch last week but was delayed to early this week. Fans had wondered when it would turn up after another no-show today, prompting developer Gearbox to say it’s now due out alongside Horrors of Kairos, which runs from October 23 to November 6. “Glad you’re excited for the update!” Gearbox is posting on social media in response to questions about the patch. “We have a few things we're tidying up right now, and it’ll be rolling out with the Horrors of Kairos mini-event. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been brewing.” The question now is when exactly the patch will be released. Horrors of Kairos is down to start on October 23, but it may end up releasing at some point between then and November 6. Last week, Gearbox developers addressed disgruntled Borderlands 4 players who questioned the need to nerf overpowered builds in the mostly single-player looter shooter, saying it was necessary to preserve the challenge and encourage build “diversity.” Players have been bracing themselves for the end of builds that rely on what the community has dubbed 'the crit knife,' an "unintended interaction” Gearbox has said will be nerfed with this upcoming patch. Borderlands 4 is rife with overpowered builds that cause massive damage, even to the game’s toughest bosses on the hardest difficulties. The most infamous of these is the crit knife, which Gearbox has said it’s aware of. But there are many others. The nerf sweep set to hit Borderlands 4 has sparked a debate within the game’s community about the rights and wrongs of balance changes such as these in single-player games. With no PvP component, Borderlands 4 is mostly about solo players — and occasional groups of co-op players — farming bosses for loot that makes their build ever so slightly better each time. (IGN recently interviewed a Borderlands 4 player who spent 150 hours on over 3,000 boss kills to find out the game’s true drop rate.) Builds based on the crit knife, for example, can essentially delete bosses even on Borderlands 4’s toughest difficulty, making farming for loot a trivial endeavor. Some believe there’s nothing wrong with such overpowered play because players aren't competing with others in any way. Others argue it’s bad for the game. Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins has responded to the complaints, pointing to the game’s upcoming Invincible boss, which the developers want to present a challenge. “We have future content like the upcoming Invincible that we want players to find challenge/accomplishment in,” Timmins explained. “If we balanced that content around bad gear, it would remove build diversity, forcing players into specific builds using said gear.” Specifically on the crit knife, associate creative director Grant Kao said this particular, hugely popular build “diminishes playstyle variety,” and confirmed changes are planned. “We will be adjusting it,” Kao said. “The crit knife’s potential output diminishes playstyle variety. The gun builds that use the crit knife have other options and will have more options coming soon.” Timmins then chimed in on the crit knife, saying: “Our intent is always to expand the number of builds, so any adjustment we make is in service of that goal.” All eyes are now on Gearbox to see what changes it has in store for not just Borderlands 4’s crit knife build, but any build it believes relies on an “unintended interaction.” Earlier this month, Gearbox revealed Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack 1: How Rush Saved Mercenary Day, the first seasonal mini-event for the game, the aforementioned Invincible boss, and more. Last month, Gearbox revealed Borderlands 4’s first of two new Vault Hunters coming to the game as part of the paid Story Pack DLCs. C4SH, due out during the first quarter of 2026, is a playable character whose luck-based powers can make him either the best or worst character in the game. We’ve got plenty more on Borderlands 4. Last month, a Borderlands 4 dataminer unearthed evidence to suggest that one of the most hated characters from Borderlands 3 was cut and replaced relatively late in development. 2K Games and Gearbox declined to comment when contacted by IGN. And we recently reported on comments from Gearbox chief ****** Pitchford, who said if more developers better understood why gamers love making decisions about loot, "We'd have good competitors." If you are delving into Borderlands 4, don't go without updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We've also got a huge interactive map ready to go and a badass Borderlands 4 planner tool courtesy of our buds at Maxroll. Plus check out our expert players' choices for which character to choose (no one agreed). Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article
Gothic first-person shooter Painkiller first graced our screens in 2004, and it built a cult following thanks to its fast pace, dark atmosphere, weapon arsenal, and intense combat. Now it’s back with a modern reimagining with the same name from developer Anshar Studios and publisher 3D Realms that’s out now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. If you’re not familiar with Painkiller, the central concept is you play as someone trapped in Purgatory because of your previous transgressions, but you get a mission to redeem yourself and earn your way into Heaven. In this reimagined version, that mission is simple: stop the fallen angel Azazel and his three children, the Nephilim. While that’s the explanation for the setting, this isn’t a narrative-focused game. It’s all about action, all the time. So really, your mission can be summed up in even simpler terms: kill as many demons and horrors as you can, in whatever brutal way you choose. You’ll always have a three-person team, which you can form by teaming up with people in online co-op or by playing offline with bot teammates. Between missions (called raids here) you’ll return to a hub area called Purgatory’s Crossing, where you’ll choose your loadout before jumping into the next raid. That starts with picking one of four characters: Ink, Void, Sol, or Roch, each of whom has a unique perk. Ink has better health restoration, Void does more weapon damage, Sol has higher ammo capacity, and Roch has increased max health. Regardless of who you choose, speed, agility, and weaponry are the primary focus of combat. You’ll start the game with the classic Painkiller weapon, which will be a permanent part of your loadout on every raid. Its alt fire mode, called the Shredder, can shred enemies (hence the name) and also acts as a grappling hook. You can use it on designated grappling points to traverse biomes quickly, or you can use it directly on enemies. Be careful of using it on tougher enemies though, they’ll retaliate if they’re not stunned first. In addition to the permanent Painkiller weapon, you can take two other weapons with you on every raid, which you can switch out in the hub area. You’ll get your first two weapons automatically during the prologue, while the rest can be unlocked in the order you choose. There are six selectable weapons in total (not counting the Painkiller), each of which has a main firing mode and two alt fire modes that you can swap between before each raid. So that’s 18 firing modes, and you can unlock upgrades for each weapon that modify how it works, bringing that total up to 72 different attack types. You unlock things by gathering ancient souls from finishing raids, which can then be spent in the hub area. You can use them to unlock new weapons, alternate shots, or upgrades, so your loadout will consistently evolve as the game goes on. The Painkiller weapon isn’t the only one that fans of the series will recognize. The Stakegun and Electrodriver also make their return, and they’re the two starting weapons you’ll unlock in the prologue. The Stakegun can impale enemies and launch different types of grenades as alternate shots, and just like in the original game, you can combine these two capabilities if you’re skilled enough to pull it off. The range of the primary stake shot is longer than the grenades, so you can fire a grenade and then hit it with the stake in mid-air to carry the grenade farther. The Electrodriver is for dealing with larger groups. It has electric shock attacks that stun enemies, and it can fire a set of bouncing shuriken that can ricochet around corners or past enemy shields. Combo those two together, and you have a recipe for clearing out hordes of enemies quickly. Not all of the weapons are returning classics. The new Handcannon is a powerful handgun focused on hitscan precision. If your aim is on point, it has very high DPS potential. You can also modify it with a scope to turn it into a sniper-style weapon if you so choose. On top of weapon modifications and alt fire options, you can also customize gameplay with tarot cards that enhance your abilities. You use gold collected in raids to unlock new cards in the Tarot Lottery in the hub area, and you can select cards to activate before you start a new raid. That card’s benefits will stay active for the entire next raid, then be used up, but you can use ancient souls to replenish one if you want to reuse it. There are currently 44 tarot cards, and they can have a wide range of effects. Some are passive and always active, others react to particular enemies, and others require certain conditions to activate. For example, Angel’s Torment allows you to one-shot kill any regular enemy that’s thrown in the air. ******’s Payload spawns explosive barrels when you kill a large ******. Crimson Cadence gradually heals you as long as you keep your combo count above a certain threshold. Other tarot cards affect your teammates, so you and your allies can try to find synergies that combine together well. For example, Harmonic Torment allows you to share your health with allies and Revenant’s Veil causes enemies to ignore you while you’re reviving downed teammates. This is just a taste of the different types of weapons, modifications, and tarot cards available. The rest you’ll have to discover for yourself. Painkiller is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. If you want to learn more, you can check out the game’s official website or follow it on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. View the full article
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A new day-one release is making its way into the Xbox Game Pass catalog on October 23, and if you’re a fan of mech-based action and base-building, you won’t want to miss it. Microsoft’s subscription service underwent a big revamp in its structure, introducing a new tier system and prices. There are a lot of changes to Xbox Game Pass, but the intention is still to offer a catalog of games for members. View the full article