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s a great duck once said: the better part of valor is quacking back off where you came from. Especially poignant advice for the latest hot extraction shooter because it's actually way easier to extract in Escape From Duckov than you'll initially realize. I won't bury the lede here: you can extract in Duckov by returning to the bunker entrance... Read more.View the full article

The newest indie game sensation of 2025 is the recently released survival roguelite BALL x PIT, one of the year's most surprising and addictive releases. There's been a wave of incredible indie games this year, from Hollow Knight: Silksong to Megabonk to Blue Prince, with BALL x PIT launching to over 300,000 units sold in its first week. View the full article

Now Playing | Oath of Vengeance is basically the same as a hero, minus the dragons – right?View the full article

Including one who died in the game's first chapterView the full article

Thrasher will launch its remastered edition in two weeks on Steam with visual updates, a new game mode, and more. Released on Quest and Apple Vision Pro last year, Thrasher is a cosmic action racer that tasks you with controlling a space eel through obstacle-filled levels, and we previously named it our favorite Apple Vision Pro game of 2024. Following last month's PC VR demo release, developer Puddle confirmed its reaching Steam on November 7. As detailed last month, Thrasher's remastered Steam release promises improved visuals compared to standalone platforms. Puddle states the new PC VR controls are more responsive too, letting you pick either controllers or hand tracking support. There's also an optional flatscreen mode on PC with gamepad and mouse controls, alongside Steam Deck compatibility at 90 FPS. Other changes include a new Play+ mode that aims to provide a harder challenge for advanced players, while Time Trials test your speed at clearing levels with no combo bonuses. It's unknown if these modes will eventually come to Quest or Apple Vision Pro, and we've contacted Puddle to clarify. If we learn anything new, we'll update this article accordingly. Thrasher is out now on Quest and Apple Vision Pro, while the Steam version will follow on November 7. View the full article

Former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith has been dropping a lot of takes recently, and the newest interview reveals his thoughts on Starfield. Nesmith has a long history of creating RPGs, ranging from writing Dungeons & Dragons modules to working as the lead designer for the Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. While he departed Bethesda before the release of Starfield, he worked as systems designer during most of its development. View the full article

UTOPIA MUST FALL is absolutely one of the best arcade-styled base defense games made in modern times, and now it's massively better with a new update. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Call of Duty's spooky seasonal event The Haunting continues with a new set of limited time rewards themed around slasher icons Jason and Chucky. ****** Ops 6's limited time event Tapes of Terror begins on Oct. 23, and there's up to 10 rewards players can earn simply by playing the game. These VHS Video Tapes are inspired by films like Friday the 13th and Child's Play, where Jason and Chucky respectively are popping out of in the appropriately-set 1990s era of BO6. Here are all of the rewards you can earn in BO6 Tapes of Terror, including a special animated weapon camo. Table of contentsHow to get Video Tapes in BO6 Tapes of Terror****** Ops 6: Tapes of Terror event rewardsMastery Reward: Zombies Reel animated camoHow to get Video Tapes in BO6 Tapes of Terror To earn Video Tapes in Tapes of Terror, eliminate enemies in BO6 multiplayer or Zombies, or open loot caches in Warzone. The Video Tapes will drop on the ground and you can pick them up to add them to your collection, and then trade them in for rewards. ****** Ops 6: Tapes of Terror event rewards Image via Activision RewardCostOne hour double XP token5 Video TapesOne hour double weapon XP token5 Video Tapes3x Wall to Wall Clearance GobbleGums10 Video GapesSkeleton popcorn emblem10 Video Tapes"Flesh is Mine!" Legendary calling card15 Video Tapes"Wraithful Pursuer" loading screen20 Video Tapes"Get It Off!" Legendary emote30 Video Tapes"Scavvy" operator skin for Alvarez60 Video TapesMastery Reward: Zombies Reel animated camo Screenshot by Destructoid Once all eight of the above rewards are claimed, you unlock the Zombies Reel animated camo. There's also a BlackCell version of the camo if you own this season's BlackCell Battle Pass. Tapes of Terror begins at 12pm CT on Oct. 23. 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 All challenges and rewards in BO6 Tapes of Terror event appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

It's almost that time of year when we in America roll the clocks back and sit in darkness for the majority of the day for several months. Welcome back (in a couple weeks), Standard Time. You *****. Waking up in darkness and then eating dinner in darkness isn't fun, and it brings about the very real and understandable affliction of seasonal depression for millions of people. Image via Mojang Studios And you know what, Standard Time? Your sort-of-equivalent sucks in games, too. It's not exactly the same thing at all, but the upcoming and impending darkness has me thinking about how day/night cycles in games really bug me. For full disclosure, I thought up the idea for this piece while in a rage after losing a Pokémon after the game transitioned from day to night. Every time that happens in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, a mini cutscene plays, and then you're given control again. The Pokémon I was attempting to catch disappeared because certain monsters only show up depending on the time of day. I was livid. I've calmed down now (I'm an adult, mind you), but I've been dwelling on how I really don't like these sorts of mechanics in games – and I never have. I think of games like Minecraft or Stardew Valley, where you're basically on a timer to get stuff done during the day before all hell breaks loose at night, and it irks me. It's why I've never been able to get fully immersed in Stardew. I already feel like I'm on the clock most hours of the day, trying to get everything done. I really hate that games make me feel this way, too. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you can sit on a bench to pass time, and in Minecraft, you can sleep to get to the next morning, but I'd just rather be able to do what I want without worrying about the setting sun. The sun is setting on us all as it is, anyway, and I dislike being reminded by that fact during what's supposed to be my leisure time. And I also hate feeling rushed in-game, just like I sometimes am in real life, to complete tasks before it's time to head to bed and wake up to a new, fresh hell. Yes, I understand Pokémon Legends: Z-A gives you plenty of warnings about when the sun is about to set, but I think that honestly makes it worse for me. It's like playing the game with someone lurking over my shoulder, back-seating my every move, saying, "You better hurry up!" Please stop. Screenshot by Destructoid This sort of mechanic isn't always a bad thing. Being on a timer works in some games where the tone is set by it, like a battle royale, extraction shooter, or something like Elden Ring: Nightreign. But when I play those games, I expect it to be there. A laid-back game like Pokémon should remain as chill as possible. I'm willing to bet I'm not alone in my thoughts here, so let me know in the comments below while you still can if you agree (or disagree) with this sentiment. Because the clock is ticking, the sun is about to set, and the night is dark and full of terrors. 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 The seasonal depression debuff is bad enough IRL, why do we need day/night cycles in video games too? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Codes for Raise Animals will boost your in-game currencies, to spend on Food, Lasso gacha pulls, and unlocking map regionsView the full article

If you're after a great gaming mouse deal, Amazon has you covered right now with a massive 63% off the NZXT Lift Elite wireless, bringing down the price to just $29.99. This ultra-light mouse is packed with features, and is also available in both ****** and white, with both models being on offer. While NZXT may not be a name usually associated with leading PC peripherals, its recent gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets have been surprisingly strong. I've used the NZXT Function 2 keyboard and OG NZXT Lift mouse, as well as the Capsule microphone and Relay headset, and it's all great kit. Now the next generation, including the Lift Elite Wireless mouse, is looking just as strong, especially at this price. Its specs have a lot in common with the gear on our best gaming mouse buying guide, and you get a lot for your money with this deal. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: NZXT H3 Flow review - a sleek, compact PC case for a great price Save a huge 33% on this gorgeous NZXT AIO CPU cooler with an LCD, now a bargain This gorgeous NZXT aquarium gaming PC case has a bargain price right now View the full article

And over 8,000 games are estimated to have earned under $1,000View the full article

If I had to choose a favorite between the pair of special sets, Pokémon ****** Bolt would easily be my top choice. Well, it would be, if I could get any packs. Much like many other recent Pokémon sets, ****** Bolt is a casualty of the stock shortages and the continued hype, but you don't have to pay extortionate prices - in fact, you could get some Pokémon ****** Bolt Elite Trainer Boxes and some mini tins below market value. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: All Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon in order Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution's best deck took everyone by surprise Upcoming Zacian Pokémon card will be strong… But only during the Phantasmal Flames prerelease View the full article

Prolific fantasy author Brandon Sanderson showed up on a video posted to Magic: The Gathering's social channels, prompting fans to speculate about a MTG set based around the Cosmere fictional universe. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Classic Scarecrow MTG card spikes 120% over new set hype Reality Fracture won't merge MTG with other IPs, or feature triple-sided cards, but it will do something unknown and new MTG Edge of Eternities card price spikes 474% thanks to plague slinging Legacy deck View the full article

It's good, but not great for BethesdaView the full article

"It looks really good," after allView the full article

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the Jurassic Park movies, it’s that running a dinosaur theme park isn’t easy. It’s a constant balancing act of keeping your employees satisfied, making your park profitable, and meeting your guests’ needs, whether that means having enough bathrooms or just not getting eaten by a velociraptor. Jurassic World Evolution 3 once again puts you in the role of park manager, giving you a chance to do what the John Hammonds and Simon Masranis of the world could not: run a thriving, lucrative theme park with attention-grabbing dinosaur attractions and minimal violent deaths. With a complex set of management and customization tools, Evolution 3 gives you more control over your park than ever before. The result is an incredibly engaging management sim that’s a high point in an already satisfying series. Like the first two, Jurassic World Evolution 3 shares a lot of DNA with other theme park sims. You’re responsible for laying down paths and electrical infrastructure, building amenities that appeal to your clientele, and creating experiences that get more guests through your gates. Rather than roller coasters and haunted houses, though, the attractions are all about the dinosaurs. Just about any species will garner business, but having a variety is the key to long-term success — and thankfully, you’ll have a wealth of different dino types to choose from. There’s always a bit of a thrill in seeing these legendary creatures come to life, especially when you unlock the more recognizable species from the films. What we said about Jurassic World Evolution 2 While I can't quite endorse Jurassic World Evolution 2 as a robust park management sim, the area where it puts its main focus – the dinosaurs! – is engaging. Being able to hop into a tour looping around the raptor enclosure or taking direct control of a ranger team rushing to stop a catastrophic escape attempt during a raging storm creates a lot of the exact, awesome moments I want out of a modern Jurassic Park game. Especially compared to its frustratingly shallow predecessor, Jurassic World Evolution 2, uh, found a way. - Leana Hafer, November 16, 2021 Score: 7 Read the full Jurassic World Evolution 2 review. [/url] Of course, when you go to Disneyland, there’s almost no chance that Mickey and the princesses will escape their enclosures and maul the park-goers. That adds an extra layer of danger to Evolution 3, and park managers will have to maintain a high safety rating to continue to pull in money. Think of it as a chill, cozy management sim punctuated by moments of panic and terror. You’ll have to keep your dinosaurs happy by meeting their food, environmental, and cohabitation needs. Some need room to roam or prefer to live in packs, while others can thrive in small areas with only a bit of pasture to nibble on. Carnivores require either fresh meat or live prey, while herbivores need greenery, fruit, and nuts. Flying and swimming dinosaurs need special enclosures, since fencing in a pteranodon is about as useful as hiding from a T-Rex in a bathroom stall. It’s really satisfying to get into a loop of researching dig sites, sending expeditions to those sites, extracting DNA, and finally, finding the perfect spot to incubate your newly discovered species. If that seems like a lot to manage, it is — but the campaign does a great job of walking you through the increasingly complex mechanics. Head of PR Cabot Finch, who you might remember from the previous Jurassic World Evolution games, returns as your guide as you visit existing parks in progress around the world and restore them to greatness. In a nod to the original Jurassic Park, the campaign begins in the Montana badlands and eventually takes you to Las Vegas, Hawaii, and throughout Europe and Asia, adding a lot of variety to the local scenery. Finch is accompanied by a team of scientists and dinosaur experts, but the real star is Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm pops up from time to time to remind everyone that trying to control nature inevitably leads to disaster. Think of it as a cozy management sim punctuated by moments of terror. Even if you’re already familiar with the series, the campaign mode is an effective way of familiarizing yourself with Evolution 3’s new features. The biggest addition is the introduction of in-park breeding. Previously, you could only synthesize dinosaurs based on how much of their DNA you extracted from fossils found on expeditions. Now, once you’ve synthesized compatible males and females of the same species, you can set up a cozy nesting area and wait for them to get busy. This mechanic adds a few interesting new wrinkles to the tried-and-true Jurassic World Evolution formula. You can work with your scientists to create a breeding plan, or preferably just wait and see if nature takes its course. Who knew it would be so fun to play matchmaker to a bunch of prehistoric creatures? Once the next generation hatches, juveniles might have different needs than their parents. For example, while grown carnivores prefer to hunt their own prey, baby raptors and T-rexes will need stores of prepared meat in their pens. The tallest dinosaurs can reach the foliage on treetops, but their offspring will need nourishment closer to the ground. If you let breeding go on unchecked, pens can get overcrowded, which leads to breakouts and general panic among your guests. While you’re managing these dinosaur family units, you’ll also have to curry favor with the entertainment, security, and conservation factions, another new feature. You can gain reputation by completing certain contracts, which are basically well-paid side missions, and improving the quality of your parks. Gaining a positive reputation with all three factions becomes very important in the last few chapters of the story, but they don’t necessarily want the same things. Pleasing them becomes yet another balancing act that adds more depth to the gameplay. The campaign in Jurassic World Evolution 2 felt more like an extended tutorial, but this time around, you have more breathing room to find your own management style. Its objectives serve as a backbone to the overall story in which an activist group called Extinction Now! regularly hacks into your communications and sabotages your parks. As you make your way around the globe, you’ll also need to put a stop to Extinction Now!’s histrionics. The first few parks are heavily guided, but once the map opens up and you go international, you have a lot of welcome freedom to meet your objectives in whatever way you see fit. Pleasing the new factions is yet another balancing act that adds depth. Part of the fun of the management sim genre is being able to create something entirely from scratch, which you can do in sandbox mode. This mode has been a staple of the Jurassic World Evolution games, and Evolution 3 offers even more customization options. To start, you can choose any of the locations from the campaign, generate an island with its own unique topography, or use the square maps for a perfectly flat, obstacle-free mass of land. You have control over almost every aspect in the sandbox, including your starting funds, certain dinosaur behaviors, and beyond. You can make it more challenging for yourself with a shoestring budget or choose unlimited funding to remove all cost barriers to creating the dinosaur theme park of your dreams depending on what you are in the mood for. You can take on contracts to make extra money, but for the most part, sandbox mode is an unguided experience. It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re making sure your paths are perfectly aligned or setting up an unforgettable park tour with maximum dinosaur visibility. And unlike in the campaign, where Cabot, Malcolm, and the rest of the cast are frequently chattering at you, the sandbox is quiet and zen. Well, at least until the indoraptors get loose. The third gameplay mode, scenarios, was my least favorite of the three. These timed challenges, which can take anywhere from 12 minutes to a couple of hours, have specific objectives and restrictions. In one, you’ll have to take manual control of one of your ranger teams and take photos of wild dinosaurs; in another, you might be barred from editing the existing dinosaur pens regardless of the well-being of those inside. I couldn’t get on board with this time-trial approach to park management; for me, it was antithetical to the zen-like experience I’m looking for in a sim, and the objectives weren’t interesting enough to make them worth the effort. I found myself missing Jurassic World Evolution 2’s Chaos Theory mode, which sadly appears to be extinct. But even though I didn’t personally vibe with the Scenarios, it’s impressive that Evolution 3 offers options for just about every kind of management sim fan. If you need a story to guide you through the gameplay, the campaign has you covered. If you want to build something that’s entirely your own, you can do so in the sandbox. And if you actually like high-pressure time trials, you’ll probably find Scenario mode more satisfying than I did. I’m even more impressed with the quality-of-life updates Evolution 3 brings to the series. With the right infrastructure, you can automate maintenance and medical care, saving you from having to manually track down those units every time there’s a crisis. Aspects that were convoluted or confusing in the previous games, like creating park tours, are far more straightforward. There are more tours to choose from beyond the standard Jeep rides and gyroscopes from the movies; you can set up a hot air balloon tour or build a Cretaceous Cruise that allows guests to canoe through rivers and lakes. Boosting your transportation score by setting up monorail stations and tracks throughout the park feels much more intuitive this time around. As you expand, you can easily edit the existing tracks to expand their reach — or just set up an underground hyperloop to make traversing the park even simpler. A lot of rough edges have been smoothed out. I ran into a few technical issues while playing, though most of them have already been addressed by a patch. Most notably, the “continue” and “load” options were missing from the menu every time I started it up, so I had to begin a new game and load manually from there every time I wanted to get back into my ongoing campaign. This meant more long load screens and hearing the opening voiceover over a dozen times, which isn’t ideal. Again, that thankfully appears to have been fixed, but I also experienced a few crashes when trying to revisit my Indonesia park, which meant going through that same loop of starting a new game and loading all over again. Another drawback of playing Evolution 3 before release is that I didn’t get to check out the community creations. Because it has so many more customization options than its predecessors, it makes sense that players would want to share their creations with the world. It’s a fun idea on paper, though I can’t say for certain whether it works in execution since there was an extremely limited player pool before launch. View the full article

Both maps and modes are becoming a literal race to the topView the full article

This 4TB PS5 SSD gave my old Sony console a new lease of life, and it can do the same for yours now that it's down to a record-low price at Costco.View the full article

Jurassic World Evolution 3 review: "Far from a fossil, this park builder is one you'll keep coming back to, despite its flaws"View the full article

Opinion | Keep your rockets, EngineersView the full article

Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto has called out EA over Battlefield 6's credits for not properly acknowledging Ridgeline Games staff who worked on the title. The shooter was a massive effort, taking years of development and seeing EA combine multiple studios into a single, large group to revitalize the series and take it to new heights. However, it appears that not everyone who contributed to Battlefield 6 received full recognition for their efforts. View the full article

Monster Hunter Wilds launches Festival of Accord: Dreamspell, adding a spooky seasonal event just in time for Halloween. While not a true live-service title, Capcom has made sure to keep Monster Hunter Wilds updated and feeling fresh through new updates and special limited-time events. View the full article

Live on stage at Summer Game Fest 2025, perhaps the biggest gaming event of the year following E3's demise, Geoff Keighley praised Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as "a monumental achievement" from a "team of under 30 developers." This was far from the first time that Sandfall's team size had been in discussion following Expedition 33's huge success and rave reviews, which earned it a spot on our best RPGs list. How could such a tiny crew produce something so ambitious and with 'triple-A' grade production values? Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Here's a rare chance to grab Clair Obscur Expedition 33 for just $1 Expedition 33 dev says other games play it "too safe" with their storytelling Expedition 33 is "85% of the original vision," but one character deserves more View the full article

Chilla's Art is back with a completely new form, and this time we're headed to the ocean. The open water greets you with open arms, offering a boat, gas station, merchant, and a small sandy beach to trick you into thinking you have spawned in paradise. But it's more like purgatory. The singular task to "go to school" brings you back down to reality, even though nothing you're looking at makes much sense. This is UMIGARI, an upcoming indie horror fishing game—and it's like nothing we've ever seen from Chilla's Art. Screenshot via Chilla's Art A dev I always look forward to seeing what comes next is Chilla's Art, best known for The Closing Shift, Parasocial, The Bathhouse, and Aka Manto. With a distinct look and identity that focuses either on the supernatural or stalker villains, Chilla's Art has made a name for crafting consistent slow-burn horrors with janky yet creepy imagery. In a similar vein to Rayll's Fears to Fathom series or Puppet Combo's many titles, Chilla's Art has a signature, but the latest demo is very different from what this dev usually releases. UMIGARI is a fishing simulator that follows the typical sim rulebook: Reel in fish, sell for profit, and spend your hard-earned cash on upgrades. Simulators have been increasingly popular on YouTube and Twitch, with titles such as Schedule 1, Hellmart, PowerWash, and Supermarket Simulator, alongside the highly anticipated Quarantine Zone and We Harvest Shadows. There's something strangely comforting and addictive about these games, and Chilla's Art knows this. It's easy to get distracted by ******* fish, more money, and new places to explore, but there's something off about what's at the end of the line. Fish with hands as fins and human teeth, screaming as the harpoon hits their skin. It begs the question: What exactly are you? On the surface, there's nothing particularly nefarious going on. Yet, similar to DREDGE, Subnautica, and Iron Lung, it's about diving underneath the rippling waves to uncover the darkest secrets. Japanese folklore sits at the heart of this entry, where symbolism and strange dialogue reminiscent of Silent Hill will make you question what exactly you're playing. Screenshot by Destructoid Chilla's Art games are getting weirder by the second, and I'm all for it. Shinkansen 0 and Cursed Digicam could be the titles that pushed the dev into a new, experimental identity where confusion, disorientation, and panic are top of the list to craft a horror you'll never forget. It's impossible to predict Chilla's Art now, and that's a good thing. No official release date has been given at the time of writing. That Chilla's Art dreaded build never left, and UMIGARI's demo conclusion is one that'll surely make you want more. It's clear why Chilla chose to give us a good 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay early, because UMIGARI has already reeled me in, and I know I'll be swept away when this surrealistic adventure drops. The post DREDGE meets Silent Hill f in surreal Chilla’s Art demo—and I’m hooked already appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article