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Although FBC: Firebreak is still a few days away from its official launch, Remedy Entertainment has shared some information about free future content updates for the game, codenamed "Outbreak" and "Blackout" respectively. FBC: Firebreakrepresents a totally new approach by Remedy Entertainment, with the game being the studio's first multiplayer co-op-focused title that's set to receive continuing support from the developer in the coming years. View the full article

I remember the first time a boy made me a mixtape (okay, mix CD, same diff). It wasn't even a romantic gesture - he made them for all our friends. Mine had a now-embarassing mix of Morrowind music, Naruto OPs, Queen and Kansas (inexplicably), and uh, this song. It was a wild mix of nerd stuff and absolute bangers that made no sense together at all. So I can appreciate a really, really good mixtape, one that makes you feel big feelings and think big thoughts. Sure, I make my own Spotify playlists now for myself, but there's something tangibly retro about someone handing you a physical item of songs, perfectly selected and ordered, that they curated for a person, a moment, a space and time. So what if that, in video game form? That's the entire premise of the aptly named game Mixtape that I previewed at Play Days last week. Mixtape follows three teens: Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra, though it's told from the perspective of Rockford and their final mixtape of the summer: a collection of musical hits to encapsulate their last night together with their best friends. See, Rockford has big dreams, and is headed to New York in the morning to take a huge, ridiculous swing on a future career that's incredibly, appropriately teenager of them and unlikely to pay off (though Rockford's plenty confident). So Rockford has assembled a pretentious lineup of perfect songs, each backing a different vignette from the crew's final night of mischief (and, occasionally interrupted by a flashback or a song they didn't necessarily intend to include). Mixtape manages to effectively capture a very specific flavor of reminisence for one's youth. Look, even if Rockford's whole schtick is being a music elitist, they're right about one thing: they do compile an excellent mixtape. The whole game opens on "That's Good" by Devo, and the segment I played proceeds through Jesus and Mary Chain, Alice Coltrain...I don't want to spoil it too much, because the songs themselves are such a fundamental part of each moment and do a lot of heavy lifting to play into Mixtape's overall aura of nostalgia. In fact, I think one thing I appreciate most about Mixtape is that aside from the music, this isn't a game jam-packed with specific pop culture references like so many other nostalgia plays love to do. The songs have got it covered. I'm not stopping every few seconds, pointing at an artifact or a joke and going, "I recognize that!" And yet, Mixtape manages to effectively capture a very specific flavor of reminisence for one's youth, and that feeling is injected into everything from Rockford's room decor to how the characters speak to the gentle, golden, almost-autumnal light permeating everything in the opening. Here's another thing that struck me: the three main characters are, frankly, pretty annoying! And I love it! They're such teens. Older teens, sure, on the cusp of adulthood, but teens! I'm 34! I can't take them remotely seriously, and I'm not supposed to. The trio, while distinct in their personalities, all carry a slightly exaggerated self-obsession, that feeling I remember well from being 17, 18, 19, and thinking my concerns were at the center of the universe. Obnoxious quirks and all, I'll be happy to spend a full evening with all three in the full game. The actual meanest thing I can say about Mixtape is that at least in the snippet I played, you're not doing very much. There's some skateboarding, and a sequence where you careen through the town on a shopping cart, and in both situations you steer, but I'm not sure there's really any consequences for doing either activity well or poorly, or any reason to try very hard. You can headbang to music played loud in a car. Mostly, from what I saw, you walk around a room and look at things while talking to your friends. The most interesting gameplay was an extended section where you simulate two awkward teenage tongues making out in a simultaneously hilarious and disgusting interchange. I get the sense that the wider game will likely play out more as a series of minigame vignettes that one specific flavor of video game, but as it stands I'm hard-pressed to explain to you what it is you're going to be doing, mostly, throughout the rest of Mixtape. The thing is, whether the rest of the game turns out to be action-packed or not, I'm not really sure it matters for what Mixtape is going for. This is a vibes game through-and-through, and Mixtape's vibes are impeccable. I'm happy to let Rockford take me along on whatever journey they and their friends are about to head out on, one song at a time. Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected]. View the full article

After nearly 40 years, Mel Brooks is finally making a follow-up to his classic Star Wars spoof, Spaceballs. The nonagenarian announced the project with a hilarious clip parodying the opening scroll made famous by the Star Wars series – created by George Lucas and now run into the ground by Disney. Read Entire Article View the full article

The Finals is unlikely to crush Call of Duty or Valorant, but this FPS has a character all its own. The Running Man meets Titanfall 2 meets Red Faction (remember that one?), it's a ridiculous high-octane outing that deserves to do well. Now, The Finals' Season 7 update has dropped, giving it a major boost in player count and introducing one of the strangest FPS weapons you're likely to encounter. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best The Finals settings for PC The Finals system requirements Underappreciated FPS The Finals heads to Mexico for Season 5 View the full article

Baldur’s Gate 3has always prided itself on offering an unprecedented level of player freedom, allowing your Tav to alter the fates of countless NPCs across the game world. Even some of the most doomed characters in Baldur's Gate 3 can still have their fate altered with the right preparation, but one character still can't seem to catch a break years after release. View the full article

In a development that will surprise basically no one, Stellar Blade's arrival on Steam two days ago has created an influx of mods for the title on PC, and a lot of them are just straight up porn. The game's page on Nexus Mods boasts 238 results at the time of this article, and most of the first two pages are nudity mods, including the most-downloaded one that switches up the appearance of the main character, "Eve with No clothes on (Original Proportions)." Because of course. Image via Shift Up A good amount of the mods seem to replace the main menu screen with all sorts of looping videos of Eve in X-rated fashion, while others give her interesting or cute outfits, and there's even one that makes her pregnant. Yeah. Judging by the Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews (of which there are over 13,000 total), whether gamers are playing the title or simply watching the main character Eve walk slowly around the pretty environments, they are having a blast with the former PS5-exclusive action game where the heroine hacks and slashes her way across the storyline, battling monsters and epic boss battles in a skin-tight body suit. "Plot?" said one review. "I only saw hips swinging and melons jiggling. 10/10, would simp again!" This is a common thread in the reviews I've browsed, but a lot are also praising it for being a solid PC port with good performance, too. By all accounts, Stellar Blade is a really solid action game, regardless of how the "gooner" attention seems to overshadow it. It has an 81 critic rating and 9.2 user score on Metacritic, and so not everyone can only talk about the main character's attire (or lack thereof) when praising it. "The game is high-quality hack and slash representative with a well written story and interesting characters," one Steam reviewer said. "Another undisputed plus is that the game runs smooth. I also would like to highlight the beautiful animations. Despite all the fan service in the game, Stellar Blade would be just as good even without it." That's good to know! I bought Stellar Blade on PS5 last year at launch and haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but perhaps I will soon. But for my PC brothers enjoying the new launch on Steam, please make sure to wash your hands before returning back to the game. The post Stellar Blade PC mods are overflowing with risqué content as satisfied gamers quench their thirst in the Steam reviews appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Q will teach the young Bond "manners"View the full article

Steam users in multiple countries can now purchase and launch some PlayStation titles without any restrictions. Following months of backlash from fans, the PlayStation games Helldivers 2, God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are once again available for Steam users to purchase and play in several countries. View the full article

The MSX version notably had more powerful bosses compared to prior releases. View the full article

The 2021 relaunch of Splitgate solidified that Valve-style portals and old-school arena shooters are two great tastes that taste great together. Splitgate 2 carries that same great melding of run-and-gun action and tactical trickery that helped the original plant its flag in the genre, so it’s starting from a good place. However, even though the addition of character classes and a wider range of weapons help bring Splitgate 2 through a new threshold of promise, some of the other shots it takes through the looking glass come back to bite it and have made me a bit less optimistic about the time I’ve spent with this free-to-play followup so far. Visually, quite a bit has changed relative to the original. Gone is the muted, more industrial look of the battle venues, replaced by lots of vibrant colors and brighter lighting, making it look less distinctive and more like the many games trying to catch the eye of Fortnite players. In the trade up from the grubby metal walls to the cleaner, sleeker surfaces, Splitgate 2 is also absent of the more interesting features that made the original’s maps interesting and memorable. Features like deserts and trees that would be smack-dab in the middle of a map (like in one of my favorites, Oasis) are now relegated to background decorations, and every surface you’ll actually run and gun across feels samey across the 15 map options. The returning map creator mode, now called The Lab, is powerful enough that it’s already filled with dozens and dozens of fan-made recreations of famous PvP maps from ******* games, alongside some more interesting and original user creations that serve as great side shows to the main action. But they are often too gimmicky to be considered good replacements for the developer-made maps as far as having consistent and competitive rounds of the standard modes (to the extent that's possible considering there’s no ranked mode currently available). I had a pretty hard time getting strangers to ****** for some of the wackier-looking options, often sitting in lobbies alone for long periods of time in hopes some other curious Splitgaters would stumble in. I was often disappointed. Splitgate 2’s biggest win, though, is in gameplay tweaks that have a huge impact on pacing from match to match. The signature portals are still the X-factor, allowing you to create paths between two points on the map on the fly. They are the perfect tools for setting up ambushes, tricky getaways, and even manipulating physics to slingshot you across the map. I mostly use them here like I did in 2021, pulling off one-man flanks on jerks attempting to take my team's objectives. This time, though, it only takes one button to create both ends of your personal wormhole when shot in succession, making them much more convenient to use. It comes at a slight cost, in that opening one of your portals on top of an enemy’s is the only way to close theirs, and that can force you to close off your own routes. But after logging 10 hours this week, I much prefer this minor drawback over the anti-portal grenades of yesteryear. It only takes one button to create both ends of your portal, making them much more convenient to use. What We Said About Splitgate: Arena Warfare Splitgate: Arena Warfare’s portal guns turn what would’ve been a forgettable arena shooter into one of the smartest I’ve played in years. Placing portals gives you endless chances to outthink and outmanoeuvre your opponents, which means you can climb the rankings even if you don’t have the best aim. It’s let down by its drab maps that repeat too often in the first hours, and its current lack of players can make it hard to find an evenly matched game if you haven’t brought your own teams. But it’s fun, free, and it proves that portals can work in a competitive shooter. It deserves at least a few hours of your time – which would help with the player population, incidentally. – Samuel Horti, June 7, 2019 Score: 7.1 Read the full Splitgate: Arena Warfare review [/url] Movement always felt smooth, quick, and controlled in Splitgate thanks to its fast (but not too fast) sprinting and the limited jetpacks. In Splitgate 2, both of these things combine with a new slide mechanic to make getting around the maps feel like I remember my best rounds of Titanfall. The jetpack seems more powerful, with more lift before cooldown than the original’s version. Being able to stay aloft for longer means firefights more often begin or end in the air, adding a level of dynamism that makes every skirmish a challenge at every angle. The arsenal isn’t much different than the original, though, which is a shame because it’s not very imaginative. Most weapons have slick futuristic curves and color schemes but function exactly like the assault rifles, SMGs, and carbines you’ve wielded in other games, and I wasn’t motivated to do much exploration of the options or customization of loadout presets because of it. They really just make me want to sprint to grab power weapons, which spawn with some fanfare on neutral points during matches, as soon as possible. These returning super guns have gotten a couple of notable additions to their lineup, including my favorite: a pair of machine pistols that can be combined to form a longer machine gun when aiming down the sights. These are all awesome, game-changing weapons that are worth the effort to secure every time they’re available. Mechanically, the biggest change to the way Splitgate 2 plays is the addition of three character classes, avatars of competing corporate entities who settle their differences in this futuristic sport of gun-toting portal slipping. Sabrask, Meridian, and Aeros all have their own unique active abilities, like Sabrask’s Smart Wall, which plops a one-way bullet shield that protects anyone standing behind it while being free to shoot through it at the enemy (much like non-portable version of Reinhardt’s shield in Overwatch). They each also have passive effects that they can grant their whole team simply by being present, incentivizing teams to have at least one of each in play. That means actives are more obviously impactful than the passives, largely because I’ve yet to play a game where every team involved wasn’t receiving boosted health regen from Meridian and faster ability and equipment recharges from Aeros and Sabrask, respectively. Is it really a “boost” if it’s basically the standard? I think there’s an argument to be made that the choice to forgo class-based, hero shooter-y design was a keystone of the monument to the past’s simpler shooters that the original Splitgate was building. It meant every player started from the same base capabilities and had to earn every advantage during a match. I am sympathetic to this old-school Halo-style mentality, but I've come to prefer the diversity of these three new classes, which add just enough tactical expression to give old people like me a chance against fast-twitch no-scoping youth so long as I can out-think them. It’s a bummer that these new modes rely on isolatingly large spaces. Matches, regardless of which of the suite of returning modes you’re playing, are almost always more fun on smaller maps, which may not be as interesting as they were in Splitgate but at least are built to take the most advantage of portaling in a way that ensures you’re never too far from the action. Larger maps, like the ones found in the new three team, 24-player Onslaught game types that supersize Team Deathmatch and Hotzone, can feel almost lonely because you have to run a fair distance to find some other players exchanging fire before plotting your portal game. It’s a bummer then that all of these new modes rely on increasingly isolatingly large play spaces. Across the board, it strikes me as odd that maps seem to deemphasize the advantage that using portals would have – so many objectives sit in places completely hidden from a portal wall, and it felt much more difficult to use portals for aggressive pushes. Fortunately for me, someone who mostly uses portals to set traps and for escapes, and I felt like Splitgate 2’s layouts firmly establish that my more passive approach is the right way to play. Firstly, thank you so much 1047 Games, but secondly, this means that offensive strikes on objectives, especially the ones you have to hunker down on like in Firecracker or Domination, happen with the kinds of jetpack assaults and high-energy flanks that you could do anywhere else. Even modes that require lots of movement or rotating objectives, like Splitball and Hotzone, don’t afford many more opportunities to use the feature in a way that couldn’t be done without it. The most damning realization of this came when I was playing one of the No Portals limited-time playlist maps and realizing my games didn’t feel all that different without them. Finally, the big new marquee feature of Splitgate 2 is the battle royale mode, which at the time of this writing, I haven’t spent too much time with (hence why this review is still in progress). But from what I have played, it operates mostly as expected: many teams of four drop into a semi-random zone on the map and fight each other to be the last squad standing. The wrinkle it adds to the genre (besides portals) is that the greater map is made up of four smaller maps connected to one another by jump paths and tunnels. Splitgate 2’s version of the storm closing in around you is shutting down one of these regions, forcing all surviving squads toward each other in a shrinking set of rooms. These maps are styled as different environments – there's a snowy zone and a lava zone, for instance – so it’s easy to communicate which one you’re talking about when planning with your team. I haven’t noticed if these zones have too many differences from one another outside of how they look, though. Does the lava burn you? Does the ice make you slide uncontrollably? I’ll report back when I wrap up this review next week. View the full article

I play a lot of competitive shooters – and I mean a lot of competitive shooters. Whether it’s being an unfortunate son in Grey Zone Warfare, flipping cards in FragPunk, or smashing and grabbing in The Finals, this has been my default “gaming night with the friends” genre since I was in school many, many (many) years ago. And even after many thousands of hours spread across Destiny, Call of Duty, Halo Infinite, and Valorant, there is something about the action on the Rainbow Six series that stands out and just feels right. Now that Rainbow Six Siege is celebrating its tenth year with a massive new update in the form of Rainbow Six Siege X, it seems like a perfect time to reevaluate how this popular tactical shooter stands among its peers after a decade of tweaks, updates, and additions. The fundamentals of Siege are as strong as ever, which is great to see. Bomb is the headliner mode: Two teams take turns on offense and defense trying to either fortify position and protect a bomb, or battle their way in to defuse it. That setup has been around for decades (and is also the core mode of games like Counter-Strike) but Siege’s distinctive entrenchment and destruction mechanics make its version stand out, and both sides of that coin are extremely fun. I love throwing down a bunch of temporary walls, setting up razor wire or other boobie traps, and getting ready to ambush attackers. And it’s just as satisfying on offense, knowing the other team has set up similar defenses, and blowing a wall open with some thermite to bypass all of it and get the drop on the enemy. The fast time-to-kill rewards position over twitch skill, and I appreciate the way the relatively slow aim-down-sites animation forces you to decide before a fight how you want to engage. This is a thinking man’s shooter, through and through. The cast of playable characters is an impressive 75 Operators. Each has a different loadout and slightly unique playstyle, with half reserved for Attackers and the other playable only when you are on Defense. They do a great job catering to different playstyles, whether you want to smash through walls with your big hammer as Sledge, or dash around at high speed as Oryx. It is surprising that the Siege X update didn’t add anyone new to the roster, though we did get Rauora just a few months ago. Dual Front mode hasn’t yet grown on me in the time I’ve spent with it so far. In addition to Bomb, Siege X adds a new 6v6 mode called Dual Front, but that one hasn’t yet grown on me in the time I’ve spent with it so far. Here, both teams have an area to attack and another to defend simultaneously. There are no restrictions on what type of character you can use, though only 37 of the 75 operators are eligible selections. The single available map is enormous, which, combined with the fast time-to-kill of Siege, means you tend to spend just a very small fraction of the match duration involved in actual action. Unlike in Bomb you can respawn after you die, which seems like it would make this a good mode for onboarding new players, but so far I feel like it really just takes away the pulse-pounding stakes that make Siege what it is. What We Said About Rainbow Six Siege in 2018 Rainbow Six Siege’s focus on teamwork and strategy over just aiming prowess sets it apart in exciting ways, and the constant stream of new maps and operators have made it a wonderfully varied FPS. All that new content has made it harder for new players to catch up, and I wish more work had been done to address this, but smart play and good communication will still win you more games than having the newest operator. It’s got some growing pains to sort out, but the future continues to look bright for Siege. – Tom Marks, January 18, 2018 Score: 8.5 Read the full Rainbow Six Siege 2018 Review [/url] Siege X is built around a limited free-to-play model. I say limited because, while you can absolutely play Siege X for free, it locks some key modes, like Ranked and Siege Cup, behind a paywall. You’ll need to spend around $20 USD if you want access to those. That seems like an odd choice for something that already has a robust shop and battle pass system for generating money, particularly when other popular games, like Marvel Rivals, don’t do any such segmentation between paid and unpaid players. The community has long been a bit weary of how slow progression and a protracted Operator unlock pace push people towards the paid battle pass, but with the revamps in Siege X I still need to spend more time unlocking things to get a feel for how much better or worse that has gotten. One of the hallmarks of Siege has always been the way you can punch through walls. One of the hallmarks of Siege has always been the way you can punch through walls, breach barriers, or come crashing down through the ceiling into your assault, but that feels like it could’ve used an update for this relaunch. For all the walls you can Kool-Aid Man through, there are still a surprising amount of invincible barriers, like thick walls, certain window coverings, and any sort of furniture that make its destruction system less flexible than a more modern game might be. This is especially true on rooftop maps, which limit your options for a vertical breach to the small number of predetermined access points. Those limitations really stand out when other games that’ve come along since Siege first paved the way let you smash through almost anything. I’m not saying Siege needs to let you literally bring down the house, but the fact that I can’t throw some thermite under the bomb and drop it through the floor like I can with the bank in The Finals really sticks out. A decent audio system, especially headphones, has always been an advantage in Siege thanks to its outstanding sound design, and Siege X has noticeably improved it. Explosions and gunfire sound as great as ever, but it’s the ability to locate the general direction of sounds really impresses me. It’s always been handy for finding enemies trying to get the drop on you, but the revamped soundscape now feeds a lot more detail into it. The most significant difference I’ve heard is in footsteps above and below you – once you learn to recognize the difference between the boomy noise above versus the more hollowed-out sounds below you can start to close your eyes and pinpoint exactly where threats will come from, which is such a cool gameplay-based reward for paying attention to the details. There are a few other extremely situational upgrades I quite like. Rappelling is one of the most fun offensive options in Siege X: Hanging upside down like a tactical Spider-Man and getting the drop on enemies watching stairways and doors is supremely satisfying, though until now the actual usefulness in combat has always been somewhat limited. That’s because the rope has tended to leave you a sitting duck – or a pinata – if the enemy sees you. But new options to sprint along the wall or jump around corners means getting spotted isn’t instant death, and I’ve found myself using it a lot more as a result. On top of that, new destructible objects like gas pipes and fire extinguishers can be shot to create jets of flame or smoke. It’s extremely rare for that to matter in a fight, but it does have a very cool cinematic flair with just a touch of area control that I really appreciate. All that said, I’m still early enough in my return to Siege that I’m not quite ready to render a final verdict on its new iteration. I can certainly say that Siege X is a lot of fun to play, and mastering every Operator will be enough to keep me busy for the long haul. I’m a big fan of most of the new additions like the improved sound design, more mobile rappelling, and destructible elements, though at this point I don’t know if Dual Front will be a destination mode – I need to give it more time to gel before I write it off. Overall, I think this a solid step forward that I’m eager to keep playing and evaluating, so stay tuned for the full review next week. View the full article

Some of the top Soulslikes are toning down their difficulty in some wayView the full article

During Summer Game Fest, Techland released a 30-minute gameplay walkthrough for Dying Light: The Beast, its upcoming zombie RPG. At around the 29-minute mark, protagonist Kyle Crane radios a mysterious character called Olivia, informing her of his successful mission to kill one of the antagonist's monstrosities. According to Samantha Beart, the actor behind Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3, Olivia's voice is their own, yet Beart tells PCGamesN they were never actually cast. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Dying Light The Beast puts the focus back on the zombies, promises punishment Dying Light The Beast release date, gameplay, and news The Dying Light The Beast launch date is confirmed, and there's not long to wait View the full article

Steam Next Fest usually feels like videogame Christmas. I get to try out a bunch of exciting new games for an hour or so each. Some bad, some good, and some future favorites. Be it due to time constraints, the overwhelming flood of Summer Game Fest announcements, or fewer obvious standouts, this time around just didn't feel the same. So, instead of my usual round-up of seven, eight, nine demos you should try, here's one: Hotel Barcelona. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Suda 51 and Swery's Hotel Barcelona could be the weirdest roguelike of the year View the full article

Following yesterday's Estelle trailer, Falcom showcases a new Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter character trailer for Joshua. View the full article

Overwatch 2 just revealed some of the balance changes coming in Season 17, including a 10% reduction to Bastion’s size. This hilarious buff arrives alongside adjustments to Junker Queen, Pharah, Lifeweaver, and more when Overwatch 2 Season 17 begins on June 24. View the full article

The demo offers a vertical slice of the game's Story and Exploration modes. View the full article

On June 13th, the new Mercenaries of Trarthus league launches alongside the Secrets of the Atlas Expansion. To help you tackle the new content, Maxroll has released a major update including their new PoEPlanner tool, new and updated league starters, PoB import/export, and much more! Mercenaries of Trarthus In the Mercenaries of Trathus Challenge League, players encounter one special Mercenary per zone, each with their own personalities, different skills, items, and builds. You may also find "Infamous" Mercenaries, which are far less common but carry far better items. Mercenaries have a lot of interesting buildcraft implications that we look forward to exploring more after the league launches. Defeat Mercenaries to gain different rewards based on which option you picked before the duel: HirePlayers pay an upfront gold cost before the duel beginsUpon defeat, the Mercenary joins the player in combatFreely change their items once they join your team or dismiss themOnly one Mercenary can accompany you at a time, with up to 2 more waiting in Town to swap between themTheir level is locked to the area level you find them in so frequently upgrading them is recommendedRevive fallen Mercenaries in Town for a Gold feeThey do not lose items upon deathTake ItemSelect one of the Mercenary’s items to drop on death, including currency items they're holdingMercenaries can spawn with special "Of Trathus" versions of Skill Gems, which are similar to Transfigured GemsThese can be selected as a reward"Infamous" Mercenaries may wear special Rares with the "Infamous" item modifier, granting brand new exclusive effectsExileAn exiled Mercenaries archetype is blocked from appearing for the next ten encountersUp to two Mercenary attribute types (STR/INT/DEX) can be exiled at once Learn more about Mercenaries of Trarthus and Secrets of the Atlas with Maxroll’s reveal overview post! Or take a deeper dive by reading the PoE 3.26 patch notes. Build Guides Here are all of the new and updated league starters for the 3.26 Mercenaries of Trarthus and Secrets of the Atlas update, straight from the experts at Maxroll. New League Starters Volcanic Fissure of Snaking is shaping up to be one of the most popular league starter picks for Mercenaries of Trarthus. Maxroll has 2 guides for this: a Berserker setup from Crouching_Tuna which is focused on speed and damage, plus the Slayer version from Carn that has continuous leech effects. Zizaran’s new Earthquake Gladiator is a big bonk bleed build. Earthquake’s Aftershocks hit hard, making them perfect for inflicting a large bleed on tankier enemies. Gladiator provides explosions thanks to Gratuitous Violence, and easy defenses through Block scaling nodes like More than Skill. The new Rolling Magma Mine Saboteur from Goratha is a hot league starter that unleashes bouncing ****** of fiery destruction. This build takes advantage of the new Shrapnel Specialist node from Saboteur to push Rolling Magma and your GPU to the max! The Glacial Cascade Elementalist from Aer0 takes advantage of all the golemancer buffs to bring a personal support squad to any fight. When you position correctly, Glacial Cascade deals immense damage with its final burst. The Tornado of Elemental Turbulence Inquisitor from Velyna fills the screen with deadly vortexes that sweep across the battlefield. Thanks to the Inquisitor ascendancy, this build leverages both life and energy shield for a comfortable mapping experience. Updated League Starters Explosive Arrow Ballista Ignite has long been a league start staple in Path of Exile. You can play it as a tanky Champion from Zizaran, which excels in both Hardcore and Solo Self Found, or take advantage of the Elementalist buffs to play a higher damage version of the build from Palsteron. Another ignite setup (more focused on the SSF experience) that benefits from the Elementalist buffs is Zizaran’s Wave of Conviction Ignite Elementalist. Next up, Goratha’s Eviscerate Bleed Gladiator turns the entire screen into explosions of blood and monster guts. This mapping-focused build is all about going fast and clearing screens. Maxroll’s Necromancer-in-Chief HelmBreaker has updated all 3 of his minion guides. The classic Poison Summon Raging Spirits is still a great choice in 3.26. Alternatively, if you want to go all in on the minion fantasy, use the Chaos Minion Army Necromancer to roleplay as a battlefield commander while your mindless dead kill everything for you. Last up, if you’re feeling a bit more experimental, check out the Poison Ranged Animate Weapons Necromancer build. Lightning Arrow Deadeye is an incredibly consistent league start choice for players who enjoy bow builds. This setup from Crouching_Tuna gets you off to a strong start and can later be converted into Elemental Hit of the Spectrum. If melee is more of your style, check out Carn’s Ground Slam of Earthshaking Slayer, a titanic build designed to shatter foes with ease. Aer0’s Ice Trap Trickster creates icy doughnuts of destruction, trapping monsters within an icy grave. While a bit less tanky than some of the above builds, Ice Trap is easy to get off the ground and frozen enemies can’t fight back. If you prefer mines to Traps Aer0’s Ice Shot of Penetration Deadeye is a glass cannon screen-clearing machine. Fire a barrage of icy arrows that explode into smaller projectiles, covering your screen in icy explosions. Another miner on offer is the Exsanguinate Miner Trickster from CptnGarbage. This build leverages all of Trickster's “don’t get hit” energy and combines it with Exsanguinate, a spell that chains through the entire screen in an instant. Maxroll's PoE Leveling Builds Breeze through the campaign with leveling guides set up by the Path of Exile racing legend, Havoc616, to get you to maps quickly and easily. TemplarRangerWitchShadowMarauderDuelistScionMaxroll Currency Guide Revamp In addition to the build guide updates, Maxroll is revamping their currency strategies to cut out the fluff and present more of the meta farming options. Check out the Maxroll Currency section, and keep an eye out for more updates to the currency guides in the future. For example, Crop Rotation Harvest is a strategy for the Harvest League Mechanic where you play a mini-game of buffing your crops to get the most juice out of a single plot! Maxroll's PoEPlanner Maxroll’s new PoEPlanner tool is fresh off the presses for 3.26. This tool works very similarly to their popular PoE2Planner tool, allowing Path of Exile players to theorycraft and share builds with ease while also providing a public build database to browse other people's creations. Getting started is straightforward; you can either select your ascendancy on the left to begin making a planner from scratch or link your Path of Exile account to import a character directly using the large blue button on the right. The gear on the right side is also where you go to save a profile. The Maxroll PoEPlanner supports a lot of modules, but you don't need to use all of them. If you leave a section blank, it won't be visible when people browse the build. The exception here is required sections like passives, skills, or gear; don't leave these blank! This is your passive tree; you can set your ascendancy nodes and even create variants. Add Jewels to your tree by left-clicking on the socket.Click the box in the top right to expand.Give the build a rating: red = bad, green = good.Write notes about your build. You can use this section to give people tips or explain the nuances of gearing and playing the build.What is the build good at? Where does it struggle?Include all of the skills and supports you are using. If you want to show build progression, you can do so by creating additional steps.Explain the order in which people should use their skills for optimal DPS.Select a major and minor Pantheon.Select equipment set(s) here. The PoEPlanner supports multiple equipment sets (created via the edit button on the top right) and stat weights for each set.What bandit should players use, or is the plan to kill them all?Link a Lootfilter, or if you want to go above and beyond, link multiple Loot Filters.Like with the Passive Tree, the Atlas Passive Tree supports multiple variants,The build's author (hey, that's you!)Link a build Showcase on Youtube, best practices include clear explanations of the mechanics and showing gameplay.If there's a related build, link the relevant planner here.Changed the build? Update everyone with a changelog entry. Want even more builds? Then check out more builds from the Maxroll Path of Exile team, or browse the Community Builds section to see what other Exiles are cooking up. Example Builds Here are a few planners from the Maxroll Path of Exile Team: Rolling Mines Saboteur and Eviscerate Bleed Gladiator by GorathaDual Strike of Ambidexterity Berserker by Zen_MExsanguinate / Reap Mine Trickster by CptnGarbageVolcanic Fissure of Snaking Berserker and Lightning Arrow Deadeye by Crouching_TunaGlacial Cascade Golementalist by Aer0Poison SRS Necromancer, Chaos & Poison Ranged Animate Weapons, and Chaos Poison Zoomancer by HelmBreakerMore Path of Exile NewsPoB Import / Export In addition to the new tool, Maxroll partnered with the Path of Building team to support importing and exporting directly from this popular community tool. You can see build information, including configuration settings at a glance. You can find this on Maxroll’s PoB page. PoExchange C3ntrax has updated the PoExchange tool. The most prominent feature is direct integration to the Maxroll website. This means getting notifications for sales even when you’re browsing build guides or using the planner and seamless switching between PoExchange and the rest of Maxroll. Written by IGN Staff with the help of the Maxroll Path of Exile Team. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Meet ShoulderCoffin, a boss killer among boss killersView the full article

Even though Sony has been ramping up the PC ports of many of its first-party games, so-called "tentpole" titles won't be rushed to the platform, Sony has announced. Following a "deliberate" and "measured" strategy, Sony wishes to protect its most important games, which it considers "showcases" of the PS5's power. As per GameSpot, PlayStation Studios chief executive Hermen Hulst recently spoke in a business meeting, providing comments regarding the future of PlayStation's exclusives and their potential PC ports. He noted how PlayStation's "value" must be protected, and that means keeping some games exclusive to the platform, especially those games the company considers to be among its selection of "tentpole" titles that act as "showcases" of PS5's hardware capabilities. Helldivers 2 was among Sony's most successful multi-platform releases. Image via Arrowhead Game Studios "It's important to realize that we're really thoughtful about bringing our franchises off console to reach new audiences and that we're taking a very measured, very deliberate approach in doing that," Hulst said, adding that extra mind is paid to the tentpole games mentioned above that are "such a point of differentiation" for PlayStation. A key phrase he used during the talk implies that certain games might never see the light of other platforms as they may be considered too crucial to PlayStation's exclusive ecosystem. Hulst said that the company carefully considers "if and how" they port games, highlighting that decisions can be made to outright reject porting a title that is deemed a big platform-seller. Games like Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, and others might fall under this "singleplayer tentpole" categorization, and it's clear Sony took their sweet time deciding if and when they are to be ported. Both Ghost and the first GoW game took four years to make the journey, whereas the likes of ******'s Souls and Bloodborne are nowhere in sight. This latter is also one of the most demanded ports in the history of Sony exclusives, with players anticipating each State of Play and similar Sony-related event, praying that the company will finally deliver and move the classic FromSoftware game to Gaben's splendid realm. This is in stark contrast to Microsoft's line of thinking, which has recently started emphasizing multi-platform availability, to the point that the company is bringing its biggest flagship franchises over to Sony's consoles. Hopefully, something changes in Sony's line of thinking that'll start getting us more and more first-party games on multiple platforms. Whether or not Microsoft's massive experiment pays off might influence Sony's decisions, so fingers crossed it turns out to be a bountiful venture, as the opposite could spell the end of universal multiplatform dreams. The post Sony doubles-down on “deliberate” approach to porting flagship titles to PC, and it’s very disappointing appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Cash is the most common currency in FIFA Rivals, yet it's also the most precious and will be extremely important in winning matches. Cash is the bright, green-colored item on the top of your screen if you're just a beginner. The currency is obtainable via different methods inside the game, ranging from winning games to dabbing into microtransactions. However, none of us is sitting on a pile of money, so let's look at how to earn Cash most effectively without thinning your bank balance. Table of contentsAll methods of earning Cash in FIFA RivalsBest ways to get more Cash in FIFA RivalsAll methods of earning Cash in FIFA Rivals As I said, there are various methods of earning Cash. I haven't included microtransactions because they're not sustainable. From the ****** that you win and open. ****** that require a longer time to open will reward you with more Cash.By leveling up.Season PassSeasonal ShopSeasonal Quests Out of all these methods, opening ****** is the most sustainable way to get Cash. The remaining stuff is available throughout a full season, but you'll max out after a certain point. In the case of ****** you earn as rewards, there are no limits. Now that we have understood how to get Cash in FIFA Rivals, let's look at how you can maximize your income. Best ways to get more Cash in FIFA Rivals Screenshot by Destructoid Here are some easy tips, especially if you're a beginner (meaning you have not played Season 0 or the beta). Win matches: This is pretty obvious, but winning is key to your progress. The more games you win, the more ****** you get to open. This will increase your Cash reserve and Diamonds and help you get more player cards.Use ****** that offer perks: Don't use the default football if there's another option. Items like the Vanta Pro (available on the Premium Season 0 Pass) allow you to reduce the cooldown of opening a new ball every five minutes when you win. If you're going through a long session and getting plenty of wins, you'll be able to get more rewards simultaneously.Use the ads: No, ads don't reward you with Cash, but they help you get extra contracts. If your players don't have contracts, you won't be able to use them in a match. Contract renewals cost Cash; if you use ads, you'll save a lot of your resources.Don't use higher rarities too much: It might look very attractive to stuff as many Epic and Rare players in your squad. Don't sleep on the common cards. Not only are they easier to upgrade, but they're also cheaper to use when they're out of contract. You also don't need to use the higher-rated Epic and Legendary items in the lower divisions.Max out the seasonal events: You'll come across at least one seasonal event, if not more. We had one in Season 0, and Season 1 also has one live. There are plenty of rewards to unlock, including Cash. The more Season Points you earn, the more Cash you can unlock.Use your Season Points judiciously: Once you have unlocked an Epic item from the Season Shop, use the remaining points as much as possible on Cash. I advise you to spend as many Season Points as possible on Cash because you don't need to field 11 Epic players at this game stage. If you follow these instructions, you shouldn't have any problem with Cash. It will be interesting to find out if Mythical improves the rate of earning the currency in the game. The post Best tips and tricks to earn Cash in FIFA Rivals appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

While many Survivalcraft and MMO games have come before it, Dune: Awakening is a remarkable example of an experience that builds off preexisting ideas and transforms them into its own identity. Dune: Awakening takes place in the world of Arrakis, a harsh desert planet inhabited by scavengers, scrap resources, and perilous sandworms. You, on the other hand, are a foreign prisoner sent to Arrakis to learn more about the Fremen's disappearances. All the while, you're forced to survive on this planet by gathering resources, avoiding its various dangers, and either working alongside or fighting other players. Screenshot by Destructoid Even beyond gaming, it takes an established story, Dune, and builds off it using modern game mechanics and beautiful visuals while still maintaining its core idea. Whether you develop a civilization with numerous other players or go on a solo adventure and fend for yourself is entirely up to you, giving you a few different paths that will affect your experience. I've been a fan of MMOs and survival games for most of my life. I started with Runescape in early 2006, with Dune: Awakening being the latest entry in my ever-growing library. I was mostly a solo player, making my playthrough more challenging yet exhilarating as I worked extra hard to gather all the resources I needed to stay alive, let alone progress. If you want an MMO with gradual progression and a noticeable lack of hand-holding aside from initial tutorial pop-ups, Dune: Awakening will be right up your alley from the start. At its core, Dune: Awakening is all about survival. While there are questlines that dive more into Arrakis' environment and the circumstances of the Fremen's disappearance, survival is your top priority until you get your bearings and establish yourself enough to safely explore without stressing about water and shelter. Once you're there, you can get to the fun part: the danger. Everything about Arrakis is dangerous. It's a desert, so you need to constantly think about having enough water on hand to stay alive and finding shade to avoid burning to a crisp. Along the way, you may accidentally stumble upon a scavenger's base of operations and have to fight or run away from them. Even if you survive that, there's the chance of a sandworm finding you and gobbling you up or a sandstorm killing off your character, making you lose everything on hand. It's unforgiving and cruel, which is exactly what makes Dune: Awakening so captivating. Screenshot by Destructoid Where there's fun, though, there are some downsides. Dune: Awakening heavily relies on gunplay when fighting enemies, with melee being a somewhat viable, albeit noticeably weaker option. NPCs also aren't particularly difficult to battle, making them more of a mindless obstacle like in most MMOs. Even the sandworms pose little threat, as you can easily avoid them unless you go out of your way to draw their attention. Dune: Awakening encapsulates everything I want from a survival MMO game. There's an interesting storyline, a beautiful world worth exploring, and some grindy aspects to keep me playing for as long as I want. If I'm only limited to an hour, I can quickly gather some resources and progress through a couple of quests before leaving. If I'm available all night, I can get a few friends to tag along to build a massive base in the middle of the desert and laugh when one of them gets eaten by a sandworm. It has some room for improvement with its combat, but with some polish, it can easily stand among the greats within both survival and MMO gaming genres. The post Dune Awakening review – An exhilarating adventure in a deadly yet beautiful desert appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

METASLA will bring the fishing RPG to Nintendo Switch next week with a 10% discount available for a limited time. View the full article

Overwatch 2 has officially teased Season 17, which will fittingly have its reveal trailer on June 17. Titled Powered Up!, the next Overwatch 2 season seems to be inspired by classic arcade games. View the full article

In the series' debut on Sony consoles, Gears of War: Reloaded will receive a physical release for PlayStation 5, an option that is not currently available for Xbox Series X/S versions of the game. Launching on August 26 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, Gears of War: Reloaded is a newly remastered version of the third-person shooter series' first entry. The game marks the second time Gears of War is getting the remaster treatment, the first being 2015's Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. View the full article