Steam

The latest title update for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is released today, adding new crossover content based on Dead by Daylight and Balatro. The Version 1.0.5 patch goes live today at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST and applies to all formats. According to Ubisoft, the update adds a special Dead by Daylight event which includes a new free quest, which can be accessed from the Hideout after unlocking Yasuke. Completing the event earns players a free trinket and banner. Read More... View the full article

I like Cities Skylines 2. I maintain that its road-building tools and its foundational systems provide, for the most part, the backbone for an extremely promising sequel. But even with all the optimism in the world, after a difficult launch, it now feels like Cities Skylines 2 is starting to drift off the path to redemption. The Bridges and Ports DLC has just been delayed. Colossal Order explains that, after internal testing, while some components of the expansion were ready to go, other new features were not up to standard. A small, free update is still on the way soon, but with rivals like Transport Fever 3 and Anno 117 on the way, it feels like time is ticking down for CS2's comeback. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: 14 games like The Sims to play in 2025 The 19 best Cities Skylines 2 mods The 18 best city building games View the full article

It's a major blow in the fight to defend Super EarthView the full article

This dude beat the game on the hardest difficulty with all 150 Jokers, all while presumably working on the PS6View the full article

CD Projekt Red’s vision for the next Witcher protagonist has been in place for nearly a decade, and it’s CiriView the full article

Jump with even more styleView the full article

Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda has revealed what's coming up in the May 28 Ver. 1.011 update, including "an abundance of new features and changes to the game including a collaboration with Street Fighter 6." In his latest Director's Letter, Tokuda said the team wanted "to provide more great content for you to enjoy as well as make various adjustments to make Monster Hunter Wilds even more fun to play," including new challenger, Street Fighter's Akuma. You'll get a full Arkuma armor set as well as layered armor, and whenever you have either set equipped, three items will be added to your item bar — assisted combo Akuma, Drive Impact, and Gou Hadoken (you can find out more about them on the official Monster Hunter website). We're also getting eight-star "challenging" monsters in Ver. 1.011 — Gore Magala, Rey Dau, Uth Duna, Nu Udra, and Jin Dahaad will become available to hunt at HR 41 and higher; this will give players options for hunting eight-star tempered monsters other than Arkveld — although they will still be available to hunt at seven-star difficulty. The eight-star versions, however, will be more resilient, with increased health, wound resistance, and "tweaks to multiplayer scaling." Tokuda warns that Tempered Gore Magala is a "particularly tough challenge to even the best of hunters." You can expect higher-difficulty quests and quests with multiple monsters to pop up more often, too, as your HR increases. A slew of "player-centric balance adjustments" are also on the way in both Ver. 1.011 and Title Update 2. The Hammer, Hunting *****, Gunlance, Light Bowgun, and Heavy Bowgun all had various adjustments made, and "certain aspects" for Gunlance Artian weapons have been increased. "While some weapons have had certain parameters adjusted downward, other parameters have been adjusted upwards, and viewed in totality I think you will find that all weapon types have had their possibilities expanded, so I encourage you to give them a try for yourself once the update is out," Tokuda said, adding that the Hammer and Dual Blades are additionally receiving "various improvements." As part of other QoL tweaks, Hunters will be able to rest in the Grand Hub and Suja, Peaks of Accord. Resting restores all destroyed Pop-up Camps, a confirmation window will no longer appear after obtaining an item when your item pouch is full (the obtained item will automatically be sent to your item box), and the visibility of the remaining time of meal effects is improved — the countdown will display 10 minutes before expiration. In fact, all notifications have been adjusted, with their frequency in locales lowered so only higher-priority targets will be displayed in the environment overview. They will also no longer block the input for opening the map. "As mentioned in the previous director's letter, you will be able to view individual endemic life you captured," Tokuda added. "In the Windward Plains, select Check Endemic Life in Ecological Research to view your creatures and their names, as well as the size and weight of fish you caught. You can also favorite creatures so that they'll be kept even if you go over the maximum storage capacity! Individual creatures can have different patterns or other unique elements, so if you find one you particularly like, be sure to use this feature to keep it around!" You can also expect stability improvements — particularly on Steam — and with the addition of eight-star monsters, the rewards for eight-star investigations and field surveys have also been increased. Guild Point rewards for fishing have also been "rebalanced," although how has yet to be explained. Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest mainline installment in Capcom's longrunning Monster Hunter series, boasting dynamic, ever-changing environments, and a story of monsters and humans in a world with two faces: one in which the lands are harsh and unforgiving, where monsters fight for scant resources and another in which the lands are vibrant and brimming with life. We gave Monster Hunters Wilds an 8 in our review, writing: "Monster Hunter Wilds continues to smooth off the rougher corners of the series in smart ways, making for some extremely fun fights but also lacking any real challenge." Did you see that Monster Hunter Wilds players have discovered an unconventional method of dodge attacks by using their emotes? Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article

Sure, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Skyblivion either already have dropped this year or are set to arrive before 2025 is done. But the people crave more revamps of classic TES games, and the modders behind Skywind - a remake of Morrowind in Skyrim's engine - have just dropped a fresh gameplay showcase. Read more View the full article

Star Wars Battlefront II has been granted a new lease of life. With a community-led effort to storm back into a war-torn galaxy, far, far away, players have flocked back to EA's sci-fi shooter in great numbers, breaking concurrent player records on Steam. Read more View the full article

Quite a surprise. 1047 Games recently launched the free to play Splitgate 2 in Beta on Steam, initially with their anti-cheat RedKard blocking Desktop Linux but allowing the Steam Deck with SteamOS. Now they've tweaked it to allow Desktop Linux players in. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The beloved JRPGs are also coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and the original Nintendo SwitchView the full article

Gears of War: Reloaded is bringing back one of Xbox's most iconic shooters and it's coming to PS5, tooView the full article

Last week's Warhammer Skulls brought announcements for a new Mechanicus 2 ally faction, a strategy remaster in the form of the first Dawn Of War and all expansions, and a free Boltgun typing game in which you tap out phrases like 'emperor' and 'thin your paints' to chainsword cultists. Nestled away in the recesses of that skull, like a coiled snake on a tattoo with the name of someone's pug on it, was a teaser for the next Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC. Here's that teaser. Read more View the full article

It makes sense given how inspired he was by previous JRPG greatsView the full article

As a major Banjo-Kazooie fan, I can't believe it took me nearly a whole month to learn of the existence of this modded fangame based around the bear and bird. By all accounts, it might as well be a spiritual new Banjo-Kazooie game dripping with nostalgia goodness. Banjo-Kazooie Nostalgia 64 is a modded version of Banjo-Kazooie that has you play as Banjo and Kazooie throughout classic worlds with a twist. These worlds are all based on other Nintendo 64 properties, from Super Mario 64 to Pokémon Stadium and beyond, with 1,000 notes to find, Jiggies to discover, and a wealth of gameplay you can only dream of. [Hidden Content] The fangame has been in development since 2024 and uses mostly assets of older Nintendo 64 games, with some extra features. I don't want to delve more into the game and reveal too much for those other classic retro lovers out there, but it's one of those games that needs to be viewed and experienced with little context. Since discovering it, I have been watching online playthroughs of the fangame and enjoying everything from the classic gameplay to seeing what worlds crop up next as players wade through all the easter eggs. It's a well-made fangame and has a classic Rare charm that has been missing for some time now. I'm sure a lot of retro fans like you watching will get a kick out of seeing streams or gameplay of it yourselves, so here is something I advise you to do. Get a notepad and write down all the neat easter eggs and references you see and come across while playing, and let me know anything you might have caught in the comments below. I want to know if I missed anything myself! I only hope the constant Banjo love we are getting will finally make Xbox and Rare finally release a brand new game in the series sometime soon... please? If not, at least give us a remake. Come on! I'm begging you. The post Banjo-Kazooie Nostalgia 64 is a love letter to retro gaming appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

I know. I know. It is a weird topic to have, but we need to have an honest debate about the Nintendo Switch 2 and, more so, how we think it'll perform. Despite original fanfare during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, since then, there has been a lot of discourse around the console for varied reasons. Where its the debate on $80 games being the new norm, the controversial game key cards that are physical games but not physical games, or the rumors circulating that Nintendo can brick your console anytime it wants, there's a lot of negative press around what should have been an exciting time for new hardware. [Hidden Content] I also must admit that my title was a bit over the top for this one. But onto the main topic at hand, do you expect the Nintendo Switch 2 to do well, flop, or even surpass Switch 1 lifetime sales? It's an interesting topic, as while I did use flop, I don't expect it to go down the route of Wii U. I think Switch 2 will do well regardless if initial pre-orders are anything to go by, and Nintendo already has a strong lineup of games. But perhaps it won't do as well as we, and Nintendo, expect it to? For me. I think the Switch 2 will do ok. I don't think it'll reach the level of hype that Switch 1 did and sell less than its former console, even with the Switch 2 having backwards compatibility. I think a lot of fans will be put off by the price tag or will wait until an OLED-like model comes out later down the line and then make the plunge into the new system, but I think Switch 2 will need to do something amazing to overtake the Switch 1 numbers. But enough of me waffling on and speaking all this nonsense, how do you expect the Nintendo Switch 2 to perform in its first year and beyond? Let me know in the comments below, as this debate is rattling my brain. The post Do you think the Switch 2 will ‘flop’? Or outsell the original? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Valve have launched the Zombies vs Vampires Fest on Steam running until June 2nd 5pm UTC. There's a number of nice games discounts, so here's some suggestions to go for that will work on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Fans have been puzzling together the jigsaw pieces of datamined Valve code for years, cracking the 'HLX' enigma to reveal what appears to be Half-Life 3. Reputable leakers claim that it survived the Winter playtests and that it's now in the polishing phase, the furthest that any iteration of Half-Life 3 has gotten. They even seem privy to its story, warning that some fans might not enjoy the direction that Gordon Freeman's next chapter takes. View the full article

With Pooh now in the public domain, of course we're going to get some weird Winnie the Pooh games. Winnie's Hole sounds a bit…you know, but it's actually a clever sounding game from Twice Different who made Ring of Pain. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

After the news recently that EA Codemasters were pausing development plans on future rally titles, we now know who will continue the series with it being back with NACON. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Cogs from Lazy 8 Studios originally released back in 2009, and gained a Native Linux version back with the Humble Indie Bundle 3 in 2011. Now, 16 years or so later, the developer has give it a small remaster. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon currently has more Twitch viewership than Oblivion Remastered. Released on May 23, the new open-world FPP game has received a very positive reception and is quickly becoming one of the hottest new titles on Steam. According to the developer Questline, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon immerses the player in a dark fantasy realm inspired by Arthurian legends. View the full article

Anecdotally, it’s been said that in its native Japan, Dragon Quest is more popular than Final Fantasy, which is more popular abroad. This is most obvious for any fans of fantasy anime who will find Dragon Quest’s undeniable influence over the genre, from monster designs like Slimes to other fantasy tropes pioneered by the early Dragon Quest games. As someone who grew up primarily in the United States, I’m in the camp of gamers more familiar with the Final Fantasy series, with only a passing familiarity with Dragon Quest. Plus, while newer entries like Dragon Quest 11 have been rapturously received by fans, it’s the older Dragon Quest games that hold that certain air of history and mystique for someone like me who’s more interested in the legacy of the series. Which also means it’s been a pretty good couple of years for me as Square Enix is finally remaking these older, beloved, Dragon Quest games for modern systems – and with a fresh new look. Rather than a full, polygonal upgrade, Square Enix is utilizing the retro-modern fusion they call HD-2D from its Octopath series to revive games like Dragon Quest 3 for modern audiences. And that continues with its next remake, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, coming later this year. Despite being released before Dragon Quest 3, Dragon Quest 1 and Dragon Quest 2 are actually sequels, so playing Dragon Quest 3, 1, and 2 in that order is chronologically correct within the game’s universe. I got a chance to play those next two recently on PlayStation 5, and I came away even more excited to finally discover these early Dragon Quest titles. The Best Way to Play the Original Dragon Quest Games The first three Dragon Quest games comprise the “Erdrick Trilogy” – named after the hero of Dragon Quest 3. It’s no spoiler to say that in Dragon Quest 3, Erdrick is successful in his mission to save the kingdom from evil. You will then play as Erdrick’s descendents in Dragon Quest 1 & 2. Thus, Square Enix is actually releasing these games in chronological order, which is nice of them. Up until these remakes, these have only been released as ports on mobile and certain game consoles, but there’s no need to bother with those now, unless you want a truly classic experience. How Square Enix is Modernizing Dragon Quest Given the legendary status of these games, Square Enix has to walk a bit of a tightrope trying to maintain parts of them that fans already love while modernizing some of the more dated bits. These changes, aside from the art style, are typically related to gameplay and storytelling, I’m told. In Dragon Quest 1 for example, there was no party system in the series yet, so the whole campaign is played using a single character who fights one enemy at a time. This has been changed so that now the player, while still solo, faces multiple enemies at once. The two games are also “shorter” compared to modern RPGs, with How Long to Beat clocking Dragon Quest 1 at around 10 hours, while Dragon Quest 2 dials it up to 16 hours of playtime. Square Enix says they’ve beefed up some of the content and cutscenes to try and push those numbers up a bit, but don’t expect to be suddenly playing a 100-hour RPG. Even Better Looking Than Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D The main draw of the remakes, certainly, is the visual style. Square Enix has championed this HD-2D art style – wherein pixelated 2D player character models exist in a vibrant, 3D world. Despite already playing games like Octopath Traveler 2 and Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D in this art style, it somehow looks even better in the upcoming collection. The textures are even sharper, making the contrast between the 2D pixels and the 3D world starker, but more striking as a result. The 2D pixels have also received an upgrade, though you might not realize it at first. I compared some of the screenshots Square Enix sent over with my copy of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D running on the Switch, and they’re quite different, with the pixelwork in Dragon 1 & 2 HD-2D looking much more detailed and sophisticated than the pixels in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D. The character models are a little larger, and much more detailed with their armor and weapons looking particularly sophisticated in the new remakes. I found the art style, combined with the gorgeous music, drawing me into the world of Dragon Quest quite completely. Square Enix put out some chips during my preview event and I found myself munching away while fully engrossed in the story of the hero’s party discovering the wreckage of a fallen kingdom. In a way, Dragon Quest’s, let’s say “classic” storyline and trope-ish setting is easier to appreciate today than maybe a decade ago. Nowadays, with graphics as advanced as they are and storylines trying to compete with the biggest movies and TV shows, Dragon Quest is a reminder that some stories are timeless for a reason. I’m looking forward to playing both of these HD-2D remakes when they’re released on October 30, 2025 for all major systems – including the Nintendo Switch 2. Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

On Valve's official public GitLab, they've recently put up SteamOS Manager under the open source MIT license following the SteamOS 3.7 release for more devices. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Hands-on | Slaying slimes and becoming the dragon warrior in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D RemakeView the full article