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Like collecting creatures but don't have a lot of time? Kabuto Park is the one for you. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Since its reveal, Hell is Us has been something of an enigma. As an action-RPG that hones in on detective-style investigations within a hauntingly alluring world filled with weird monsters to explore, it's a type of game that tasks players to meet it on its strange and unorthodox terms. For its developers, Hell is Us also represents a game that pushes back against contemporary trends of gaming that places its story and gameplay in a neat package and instead trusts players to piece together just what the hell is going on within the corrupted land of Hadea, and how to survive it. After playing several hours of the opening of Hell is Us along with some mid-game dungeon crawling, I came away with a clearer idea of developer Rogue Factor's new-weird-influenced take on an action-adventure game that pushes players to mind the finer details of the world and maintain poise during some of the intense engagements. So far, Hell is Us is a game that makes charting out into a familiar yet deeply alien world feel captivating. Hell is Us takes place in an alternate 1990s where the fictional European country Hadea is in the midst of a civil war following the events of a mysterious, supernatural incursion known as the "calamity." Playing as Remy, a United Nations peacekeeper and former resident of Hadea, he's detained by a mysterious organization following his mission into Hadea to find his parents. With the organization and its leader pressing down on Remy, he has to recall the fateful decisions he made with the surviving factions and how he fought off the seemingly otherworldly creatures known as Hollow Walkers. The main plot of Hell is Us reminded me of a mix between Death Stranding and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The main plot of Hell is Us reminded me of a mix between Death Stranding and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which focuses on immersing players into a world that takes a sudden and violent turn to the weird and with a seemingly unreliable protagonist recounting his interpretation of events. Hell is Us fully commits to its premise of a bleak setting and being a stranger in an even stranger land, one that feels familiar with its backwoods and small towns clinging onto survival, but feels so disorientingly strange with the rise of Hollow Walkers and portals that have turned the European countryside into an alien landscape. What immediately drew me into Hell is Us was its unusual approach to storytelling and immersing players within its strange world. The sense of mystery is palpable in Hell is Us, and I was constantly walking into areas that had grotesque monsters or strange anomalies that drew my eye. I was especially taken in by the plight of the surviving characters, who struggled to endure in their ramshackle sanctuaries held together by duct tape and dwindling hope. This story very much chucks you into the deep end with its narrative and gameplay flow as you explore the different open zones filled with their puzzles and points of interest. What I found most intriguing, and what I suspect many players will have to come to grips with, is how Hell is Us takes a largely unguided approach to gathering intel and charting out to complete quests with no mini-maps or waypoints to help you in your trek. This very '90s adventure game approach puts the onus on players to listen to the details that the surviving characters bring up in conversations and read the well-organized intel from Remy's personal datapad. It's the type of game that demands a certain level of attention, or else you can find yourself wandering at length to figure out where to go next. Outer Wilds is a particular example that inspired the dev team for its approach to a largely unguided adventure game that gradually expands in scope as more players use their growing knowledge. Speaking with creative director Jonathan Jacques Belletête, the approach the devs took with Hell is Us was all about trusting players with figuring out the mystery and embracing the campaign's more methodical approach to progression. "So at first we really wanted to go full hardcore with this game, like players would have a little notebook and a pen to write notes, because that's where we came from when we played games in our youth, but what inspired us was the general fatigue we've felt with this new contemporary era, like games should never have a problem too big for players to solve because you have to reach every type of player possible," said the creative director. Hell is Us is equal parts an investigation game and an action-RPG, and there's a surprising amount of combat to engage with while you're on the desolate road. On the surface, Hell is Us has the makings of a soulslike – and it certainly has some of those elements under the hood – but it goes in a direction with combat and power progression that's more about managing your poise and picking the best moments to strike against enemies that can easily take you out. Some of my favorite moments came using my powered-up weapons to dish out some chunky damage while sending in my drone to stun other enemies off in the wings. Hell is Us is equal parts an investigation game and an action-RPG, and there's a surprising amount of combat to engage with while you're on the desolate road. The Hollow Walkers in Hell is Us are some of the most visually distinct and unnerving video game enemies I've seen in a long time. They're highly aggressive and can come in large numbers. Still, things get more unnerving once you face off against the powered-up walkers that can summon support enemies that were very much giving The Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion vibes. Once these enemies appear, you'll have to switch up to take them down fast before you can finish off the main walker. Much like a souls game, stamina management is critical for survival, and I found myself constantly having to be decisive with my skills so as not to overexte nd myself against unforgiving enemies. One interesting wrinkle that took me time to get used to was the fact that health and stamina share a single bar. With your health being your primary source, the more health you lose in a fight, the less stamina you'll have to fight. While you have limited health items, the Lymbic Pulse skill is the best way to help you stay in the fight. Similar to Nioh 1 and 2, activating the pulse immediately after seeing a glow around Remy will instantly restore health and stamina based on the attacks you dish out. It's a very risk-reward approach to combat, and depending on how intense the combat gets, it can be easy to forget to hit the pulse and lose out on health. I found the engagements surprisingly challenging and unrelenting, yet I still felt good about scraping through once I figured out how best to clear out the foes. Combat took the most time for me to get used to, as it's far more survival- and resource-driven than Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Some battles were so unforgiving that I felt unfairly outmatched by the numbers and aggression of the walkers. Still, I managed to rally and rethink my approach by going for it. According to the creative director, he likened their approach to combat with the act of boxing, which is also about managing stamina and dealing with decisive blows when you can. "This is us trying to put our own spin on third-person melee combat, and we're always a bit inspired by From Software, but it was important for us to put our spin on," he said. "Like in real life, you pretty much just have one hit point, right? It's all stamina, and when once you're tired and you get hit, you're done. Like, I boxed for a very long time, and when your stamina is done, you're done. So that's where we were coming at it. The more damage you take and the more health you lose, that'll directly affect your efficiency in combat, but we also added in our balance to that with the Lymbic Pulse, to help your restore your health when you do take those risks to lay in damage – and that gives us a bit of a signature to the game as well." I was thoroughly impressed with the visuals and atmosphere of Hell is Us, and it presents such a compelling yet still bizarre mix of fantasy and science fiction. Along with the other games mentioned, another piece of media that served as a key influence was Alex Garland's 2018 film Annihilation, which dealt with exploring an environment that underwent radical and violent change. It presents such an intriguing setting, but at times, the hardened and traditional adventure game approach Hell is Us takes to taking in the details and surviving this world felt a bit too stoic for its own good. Still, I was very invested in the bizarre, new-weird setting that Rogue Factor has crafted, and it so far has the makings of being one of 2025's more original and creative takes on the action-RPG experience. Given that this year saw the rise of Blue Prince's reinvention of a roguelite puzzle adventure, it'd be fitting for Hell is Us to succeed with its own reinvention with its new type of role-playing experience. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

It’s early days for Elden Ring Nightreign, but already players have run up against their toughest challenge so far. No, it's not a classic FromSoftware boss, it’s the struggle to find friends to play with. Elden Ring Nightreign drops players into the shifting lands of Limveld, exploring and fighting for survival either solo or in groups of three. There is no way to play two-player co-op. We’ve already reported on Elden Ring Nightreign’s ‘mixed’ Steam user review rating, with most of the complaints revolving around a lack of a duos option as well as no voice chat. Playing Elden Ring Nightreign solo is proving to be a particularly difficult experience. As explained in IGN's Elden Ring Nightreign review: "Let’s get the most important caveat out of the way first: if you are hoping to tackle Nightreign entirely solo, and are anything less than a hardcore Elden Ring player that actively seeks out ways to make that already difficult game even more challenging, Nightreign isn’t for you. Yes, there is technically a single-player option, but it is so poorly balanced that I would be shocked if it isn’t patched and adjusted within the first month of release. And this is coming from someone who lives and breathes these types of games." So, solo players are faced with matchmaking with random players, which itself is presenting problems because of a lack of coordination required to defeat Elden Ring Nightreign’s bosses. As a result, players are turning to the Elden Ring community for help. The Elden Ring subreddit, for example, is packed with requests from duos looking for a third player (yes, the community is having fun with this situation). The nightreign sub looking like a threesome sub byu/justhereforstoriesha inEldenring .reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; } “There’s like a zero % chance I’d find one other person to play with much less two,” said redditor trickponies. “Is the game even worth it solo?” Players are pointing out that Elden Ring Nightreign does have matchmaking, so you can play trios if you do not have friends to play with. But, as others have countered, playing this game with randoms isn’t always the best experience. “I have seen too many videos on this sub to trust randoms with anything more than the newspaper,” said one player. “I love you all. But from a distance. My blood pressure can only take so much.” Players are turning to Discords and other online platforms as they hunt for like-minded fans to team up with. Elden Ring Nightreign hasn’t even been out 24 hours, but this is proving to be a big hurdle for the community as they work their way through the game. Some Elden Ring fans are even saying they won’t buy the game because they don’t have any friends to play with. “Yeah, as disappointing as it is, Imma have to pass on this game, purely because I don't have any friends to play it with and I can't play solo,” said Twinkie454. Others are calling on FromSoftware to rebalance the solo experience so it’s more manageable. “We'll see what FromSoft does to re-balance it, so maybe have some patience,” one person said. And, as you’d expect, some fans are offering to help others out. “.... Did we just become best friends?!” said one Elden Ring player. “Get the game bestie, I'll see you tomorrow when I get off work!” Despite these issues, Elden Ring Nightreign has enjoyed a massive launch on Steam, with an incredible 313,593 peak concurrent users on Steam overnight. That was enough to make Elden Ring Nightreign one of the most-played games on Valve’s platform. And it sounds like FromSoftware may add a duos option at some point in the future. In IGN's interview with Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki, the Nightreign lead developer discussed the choice to lean on solos and trios as the core experience options. When asked why there's no option for a pair of players to drop in together without a matchmade third player, Ishizaki said it was overlooked. "The simple answer is that this is simply something that was overlooked during development as just a two-player option, so we're very sorry about that," said Ishizaki. "As we said before, we set out to make this a multiplayer co-op game for three players, balanced for three players, so that was the main focus and it's at the core of Nightreign. "Of course, I myself as a player understand that and often want times where I'm just playing myself, so this is something that we considered from the start," Ishizaki continued. "And so we did put a lot of effort into creating this experience that was playable for solo players in as much as the rules and new systems allowed. So in putting all our efforts into that aspect, we kind of overlooked and neglected the duos aspect, but this is something that we are looking at and considering for post-launch support as well." We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters. 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

The 2025 installment of Disney Dreamlight Valley's Parks Fest event began on May 28, and although it's only been around for about two days, I can't wait for it to be over. It was already one of my least favorite events, and it's somehow even more annoying this year. The tedious, repetitive, and frustrating nature of this event feels even worse with the addition of several new time-gated quests. There's so much to do, and none of it seems fun, so after barely starting, I'm not even sure I want to participate any further. Image via Gameloft The 2025 installment of Dreamlight Parks Fest includes a collection of fresh scavenger hunt quests with Scrooge McDuck and Mirabel. Completing these quests is the only way to tackle the Squirrel! and Mine Time! duties so you can get your hands on the shiny new Dug and Mine Cart Popcorn Buckets. Just like all other Popcorn Buckets from the past run of this event, these ones are incredibly costly to craft, but they're even more of a nuisance to make since you have to complete several quests before you can even unlock the recipe for them. Scrooge McDuck's quests ask you to mine specific Gems around the village, which is a tricky task since it's mostly luck-based whether or not you get what you're after. As bad as Scrooge McDuck's quests are, Mirabel's are a whole lot worse. All of her scavenger hunt quests involve tracking down critters around the valley. Since each critter has a unique schedule and is only available on certain days and times, you can't properly progress until you find all of them. The very first one of her quests requires the elusive White Squirrel, so we're all just waiting until Sunday for this creature to show up. If you miss the limited window for this critter or other ones in her quests afterward, you're then stuck for a full week, which just seems ridiculous. Screenshot by Destructoid These quests would be overly complex no matter what, but they seem especially silly considering the rewards are just two measly Popcorn Buckets. This is the main prize you get for all Dreamlight Parks Fest event duties, and sure, they're cool, but they just don't seem worth the hassle. Because you also have to spend time farming Buttons by fishing, foraging, crafting, and cooking, the Parks Fest event is feeling more like a monotonous bore than an exciting festive experience. It's honestly a bit overwhelming, and I don't think I'm invested enough in some Popcorn Buckets to pour hours into trying to get it done. There's also the pressure of it being a timed event with only a short ******* when these tasks can be done. If it were longer, I might be a bit more open to it, but as it stands, I'll probably be avoiding most of the event. I'm surprising even myself with this choice as I've been a pretty avid collector of most items in DDV so far. I've participated in every single event since the game first launched, but this is the one I just can't get behind. Screenshot by Destructoid Last year, I did a bit of the event, but even when there was a bit less to do, I couldn't bring myself to push through the whole thing. The furniture versions of the Popcorn Buckets aren't necessities to me, but the added handheld variants in the 2025 release are a lot more appealing. Instead of gathering the materials to make each one, though, I used the Uncrafting Station to complete the specific duties that unlock them, since they don't disappear when you unmake them. Kind of a sneaky move, I know, but if it means I don't have to spend hours fishing in the hopes of catching just a few Blue Buttons, I'll take it. Truthfully, most events we get in DDV are kind of a lot to deal with, except for Star Paths, which I always enjoy. I think the event system overall could do with an overhaul, but considering most of them follow a fairly similar format with some of the same gameplay elements, it doesn't seem likely we'll get one. I can handle the rest, but I think I'm over Parks Fest for good and not looking forward to seeing it unfold or witnessing its likely return each year. The post Disney Dreamlight Valley’s Parks Fest event has barely started, but I’m already over it appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Games aren't one size fits allView the full article

2D BOY / Tomorrow Corporation have updated World of Goo 2 to include their developer level editor, along with Steam Workshop support. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s portfolio director has acknowledged the game’s success is partly to do with its scope and ability to respect the player's time, noting that he would like more games to be shorter. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG by French studio Sandfall Interactive, and it received its debut back in April. Gamers join a party of volunteer expeditioners who are tasked with defeating the Paintress, an entity that enforces an annual Gommage that removes people of a certain age from the world. View the full article

If you want to lose yourself in a survival game, the surface-level pitch for Soulmask is pretty irresistible: the world is massive, you can create custom buildings, and developer Campfire promises a play time of some 500 hours. Heck, even the free demo, released at the top of 2024, was 40 hours long. Despite 'very positive' Steam reviews, however, the initial fervor around Soulmask has died off a little. At peak, it pulled in more than 45,000 concurrent players - right now, it's still doing admirably, but the simultaneous player base averages around 3,000. An alternative spin on the genre pioneered by Rust, The Forest, and The Long Dark, if you want a unique, hidden-gem survival game, Soulmask is mounting a resurgence with new, free DLC. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Hit survival game Soulmask details packed 2025 roadmap and impending 1.0 launch Survival games Soulmask and The Planet Crafter are cheap in a bundle right now Survival game Soulmask gets colossal update, free DLC, and ***** for new players View the full article

FromSoftware "neglected" duos, but this Seamless Co-Op modder hasn'tView the full article

Hands-on | Hell is Us shapes up to be a unique action adventure thanks to its dedication to compass navigation as much as tricky combatView the full article

Here's an up to date list of games available on Amazon Prime Gaming for May 30th, and what compatibility you can expect for Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

OBS Studio 31.1.0 Beta 1 has been released for testing, bringing new features to the popular open source video recording and livestreaming app. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Right, so. Oblivion Remastered modders continue to find ways to pull off really cool stuff despite not having any official tools. The latest interesting new mod to drop adds a whole Skyrim-style smithing system and skill to the game, and it's by someone who'd already blown us away with their faction overhauls. Read more View the full article

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is everything I wanted and then some, and then more stillView the full article

Modding project Tamriel Rebuilt's quest to make the rest of Morrowind continues apace, even over two decades after it began. The team has just released Grasping Fortune, its biggest expansion yet, bringing with it the sprawling city of Narsis. As House Hlaalu capital, Narsis took years to put together and features over 600 interiors, which means it dwarfs every other playable city in every Elder Scrolls game... Read more.View the full article

Canonical recently announced Ubuntu 24.04 LTS has been upgraded to improve support for modern Intel GPUs. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Managed democracy has never been more under siegeView the full article

The online servers for MultiVersus officially close down today, bringing an end to Warner Bros Games’ crossover Smash Bros rival. The publisher announced back in January that the game’s fifth season would be its last, running from February 5 to May 30. Today at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST, the game will go offline and will be delisted from the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Steam and Epic Games Store. Read More... View the full article

Pine Studio released a new update for their popular game Escape Simulator, dropping the Linux version to focus on Proton. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The Long Dark from Hinterland Studio just got a big free update to enhance many parts of the visuals for high-end systems. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

NVIDIA have released the new stable driver 575.57.08, as part of their New Feature Branch for Linux systems. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

We explain how to use emotes in Nightreign, and where to get moreView the full article

Iron Man and at least two other superhero games are still in the works at EAView the full article

This week, Capcom released a detailed analysis of Monster Hunter Wilds’ play data. Bearing the official-sounding name of “The Forbidden Lands White Paper 1,” the Japanese-language report covers player activities after MHW’s April 4 update, and reveals that Hunters have very strong preferences when it comes to the in-game food. As well as adding new quests and monsters, Monster Hunter Wilds’ free April 4 update introduced the Grand Hub, an area where players can gather and meet up. The Grand Hub also has a canteen, where you can exchange Meal Vouchers for dishes from each region of The Forbidden Lands. Eating a hearty meal in Monster Hunter Wilds gives you various buffs depending on the dish, so the Grand Hub and Meal Vouchers provide a quick way to get your character ready before setting off on quests with other players (without having to trek out to a specific region to eat a particular cuisine). Meal Vouchers can pop up as daily login bonuses or as Arena quest rewards. As reported by Automaton Japan, the Forbidden Lands White Paper 1 revealed usage data for each of the four regional Meal Vouchers. Spring Kunafa Cuisine was the most popular by far, accounting for a staggering 87.8% of voucher usage. This was distantly followed by Fresh Sild Cuisine (8.2%), Colorful Suja Cuisine (3.5%) and Hot Azuz Cuisine (with only 0.5%). The report gives a major reason for the Spring Kunafa Cuisine voucher’s landslide victory. Five of these vouchers were given out to players at the time of the April 4 update, and it seems many players used up these freebies. Spring Kunafa Cuisine vouchers have a chance to give one of three buffs, and the report suggests that the Defender Meal (Hi) buff is likely popular with players taking on tough quests as it greatly reduces damage from monster attacks. An equal number of these regional meal tickets have not been distributed though, which is thought to be why Sild, Suja, and Azuz lag behind so significantly. The data on the Pick-a-Meal Voucher usage gives a much clearer picture of which dishes players actually like and dislike. As the name suggests, Pick-a-Meal Vouchers allow the player to choose a dish from any region. When using these vouchers, players’ top pick was Hot Azuz Cuisine at 41.3%, followed by Colorful Suja Cuisine (28.3%), Spring Kunafa Cuisine (19%) and Fresh Sild Cuisine (12%). The white paper suggests that players chose to chow down on Azuz dishes due to the Tumbler Meal (Hi) buff, which greatly improves evasion. It notes that performing successful Discerning Dodges is particularly important for bow users as it fills up the Trick Arrow Gauge. The second most popular, Colorful Suja Cuisine, is well-suited to offensive players looking to max out their rewards, as bonuses from this cuisine include Caprice Meal (Hi), which ups your attack damage at random intervals, and Exploiter Meal, which increases the rewards you get from destroying monster wounds (you also get the chance to watch your character dig into some huge sushi rolls). Although players are likely choosing which meals to eat based on the buffs that they give, the Pick-a-Meal coupon usage data has attracted some amusement from players as it seems to suggest that Sild Cuisine is unpopular. Most of the food in Monster Hunter Wilds looks mouth-wateringly delicious, with Kunafa’s banquet cutscene even making some players so hungry that Nepalese restaurants in Japan sold out of cheese naan. However, due to Sild’s location in the barren ruins of Wyveria, the food is very simple and includes unripe-looking fruits and vegetables, such as white tomatoes and raw garlic bulbs. This stands in stark contrast to the indulgent feasts of the other regions, with the Sild cuisine being deemed “unappetizing” in comparison by players, such as in the following Reddit thread. All village meals byu/save_0 inMonsterHunter .reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; } It seems that Capcom will release future “White Papers” on Monster Hunter Wilds, so it will be interesting to see if people’s in-game eating habits change in the future. Monster Hunter Wilds just got a new update on May 28, which even adds Street Fighter’s Akuma to the game — here’s what’s new in Version 1.011. Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications. View the full article

"Maybe players' perception can change a bit" about such pricingView the full article