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One of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time's most important mechanics is its Life system. Lives, also known as professions, let you choose classes that help you gather resources, craft objects, and hunt monsters more easily. They all have specialties, and thus, they have their pros and cons. This begs the question—are some Lives better than others? Which one should you choose first? Let's dive into which Life you should pick first in Fantasy Life i, alongside a complete breakdown of each option and their features. Table of contentsBest starting life in Fantasy Life iAll Fantasy Life i lives explainedPaladinMercenaryHunterMagicianMinerWoodcutterAnglerFarmerCookBlacksmithCarpenterTailorAlchemistArtistCan you change lives in Fantasy Life i?Best starting life in Fantasy Life i The best starting life to choose in Fantasy Life i will depend largely on your preferred playstyle. Generally speaking, though, your best bet is to pick a Combat Life to start before diving deeper into Gathering and Crafting Lives. Most of your playthrough will depend on slaying monsters for resources, gathering materials from the world, and transforming them into refined goods through crafting. Combat Lives are great stepping stones for this, as they'll help introduce you to the game's combat systems and make the main storyline's progression feel more natural before transitioning over to Gathering and Crafting later. That said, picking Magician, Mercenary, Hunter, or Paladin depends on what attack style you feel more comfortable using. If you like casting spells, Magician will be your go-to choice. Paladin or Mercenary are your best bet if you want to slice and dice your enemies from close range. You'll eventually unlock every Life throughout Fantasy Life i's story, making your starting one more of an introduction to the mechanic than anything. Nonetheless, let's discuss each Life in detail so you know what to expect before trying it out. All Fantasy Life i lives explainedPaladin Screenshot by Destructoid Paladin is a standard sword and shield-wielding warrior who protects the innocent and defeats those who threaten the lives of others. If you want to slash enemies while also having a shield as a defensive measure, Paladin is the way to go. Mercenary Screenshot by Destructoid Our second melee option is Mercenary, a greatsword-wielding lone wolf that inflicts massive damage to enemies at the cost of slower attack speeds. If you can outmaneuver your enemies and land some hits despite slower movement, the Mercenary may be a fun alternative for you. Hunter Screenshot by Destructoid If you prefer long-range attacks, Hunter is your first option to pick. With a bow and arrows in hand, you can easily poison and paralyze your foes, setting up combos for any Paladin, Mercenary, or Magician friends you may have by your side. Since Hunters are weaker defensively than the previous two options, knowing how to avoid attacks is the key to surviving with this Life. Magician Screenshot by Destructoid Our last Combat Life option is Magician. With a wand equipped and long-range elemental abilities at your disposal, your only downside is your lack of defenses that enemies can exploit. Over time, you'll unlock elemental spells that you can swap between depending on an enemy's weaknesses, or utility spells to heal yourself and others. Miner Screenshot by Destructoid Miner is our first Gathering Life in this list. If you want to spend more time underground mining for precious minerals than above ground slaying enemies, this is a great option to pick. Miner pairs particularly well with the Blacksmith Life, letting you acquire ores as raw resources before transforming them into weapons and armor later. Woodcutter Screenshot by Destructoid Chopping down trees is one of the best ways to get into Carpentry so you can make some furniture. If this is your goal, the Woodcutter Life is the option to choose. With an axe in hand and a world full of trees, the Woodcutter's job is to cut down trees, which you can refine later if you combine this with the Carpenter Life. Angler Screenshot by Destructoid Next up is Angler, whose main focus is fishing. Your goal is to fish to your heart's content so you can acquire the rarest fish in the world and eventually transition into Cooking. You'll even get to try out Fantasy Life i's special fishing minigame, which can easily turn into hours of relaxation if you clear your mind and focus on grinding this profession. Farmer Farmer is one of two Lives in Fantasy Life i that require advancing through the game's main storyline questline before you can unlock it. You'll gain access to this Life after completing The Polturnip and The Leafe. Once you finish this quest, you can return to the Guild Office to change into the Farmer Life, letting you plant crops and use them in cooking. Cook Screenshot by Destructoid They say the way to someone's heart is through their stomach. By far, the best way to test this is by trying out our first Crafting Life on this list and becoming a Cook. Using resources gathered through farming and fishing, you can make delicious meals that you can sell or eat for stat boosts. Blacksmith Screenshot by Destructoid The Blacksmith is one of the most important Crafting Lives you'll experience in Fantasy Life i. Using the Blacksmith's abilities, you can craft armor, weapons, and tools to help improve your other Lives. If your equipment is old and needs some upgrades, changing into a Blacksmith and using ores you acquire from the Miner Life is the way to go. Carpenter Screenshot by Destructoid Remember when I mentioned the Woodcutter's affinity with the Carpentry Life? The Carpenter life is all about making furniture, from chairs and tables to weapons and tools. If you like interior design and want to make any wood-related object, including entire houses, this class is for you. Tailor Screenshot by Destructoid It's time to get our Fashion Life i side going with the Tailor Life. While many of the Tailor's clothes are purely for fun, fashionable moments, you can also make armor for yourself and others, giving this class some much-needed utility alongside the rest. Alchemist Screenshot by Destructoid The Alchemist is an interesting Life, turning various materials you find around the world into potions, flasks, and even bombs you can use in battle. The Alchemist Life is perfect for anyone looking for some chaos. Artist The Artist is the second class that requires advancing through Fantasy Life i's main story missions. After completing The Artist's Treasure Hunt during Chapter five, you can head back to the Guild Office to receive an Artist's License, giving you free rein to practice this Life and create some beautiful artwork. Can you change lives in Fantasy Life i? Yes, you can change your character's Life shortly after picking your first option. After picking your first option and completing some main story missions and personal quests to familiarize yourself with the mechanic, you'll eventually return to the Guild Office, letting you talk to Auntie Anne to change your Life. Screenshot by Destructoid The only requirement you need to acquire a new Life license is reaching Fledgling with your initial class. After reaching Fledging in your starting class and progressing through the main story, return to Auntie Anne to change your Life for no extra cost. From here, you'll need to advance to Fledging to acquire a third Life, and so on. You can also swap freely between them once you acquire extra licenses from Auntie Anne. You can switch Lives by opening your main menu, picking Life, and choosing whichever options you've unlocked. However, even though it doesn't cost extra money to access them, you will need to complete enough guild quests to Fledging with each Life before receiving a license for a new one. In short, you won't unlock every option in your first hour of playing, but you can obtain them all with enough patience and dedication to questing. The post What Life should you choose first in Fantasy Life i? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

With over 200 Units currently in the game, making this Five Nights Tier list was no easy task. But, despite all that, we pulled through, and are proud to show you the Ultimate Five Nights TD Unit Tier List. Table of contentsFive Nights TD Tier listFive Nights TD Top 10 Apex UnitsFive Nights TD Top 10 Nightmare UnitsFive Nights TD Top 10 Secret UnitsFive Nights TD Tier list Screenshot by Destructoid Because there are so many units in the game, and because we know most of you don't care about lower-tier units, we limited ourselves to only covering the top 10 Units from every rarity. This means you'll see only the best of the best. Five Nights TD Top 10 Apex UnitsUnit NameCostDamage TypePlacements Frotbite Freddy$17,500Pierce Spread / Slow1 Astral Bonnie$25,000Continuous Splash2 Coffee$400Damage + Cooldown Booster8 Gravelord Foxy$34,000Summoner3 Kronos Endo Freddy$24,879Nuke Passive1 ****** Ice Freddy$17,500Cone AoE Passive2 Old Man Consequences$11,340AoE Passive1 Dark Knight Puppet$21,000AoE Passive2 Gilded Knight$21,000AoE Passive2 Old Man Krampus$11,340Aoe Slow Passive1Five Nights TD Top 10 Nightmare UnitsUnit NameCostDamage TypePlacements Moondrop$6,000 AoE Stun2 Eclipse Ballora$850Support3 Frost Queen Ballor$1,200Cooldown Booster / Slow3 Ennard$18,000Chain Shock2 Valkyrie Prime$10,000Continuous2 ITS ME$12,500Cone AoE1 Jar of Pickles$3,000Support Slow3 DJ Music Man$1,000Cooldown Boost / Ranger Boost1 Exotic Butters$15,000AoE1 Galleon Foxy$8,000Splash Slow3Five Nights TD Top 10 Secret UnitsUnit NameCostDamage TypePlacements Tarnished Fredbear$600Cone AoE Slow3 Bucket Bob$300AoE Slow4 Clowntrap$8,000Splash Stun3 Fortified Endo 02$500Cone AoE4 Scrap Baby$8,000AoE2 Lolbit$4,000Cone AoE Stun2 Nightguard Afton$550Cone AoE Poison / Slow3 Phone Guy$750AoE Slow3 Hydra Mangle$20,000Charge AoE Burn3 Tarnished Spring Bonnie$600Cone AoE3 That's all there is to it. Have fun building your ultimate team of FNAF characters. If you need a different tower defense game to play in Roblox, check out Anime Rangers X. The post Ultimate Five Nights TD Unit Tier List appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Phasmophobia has been around in an early access state since September 2020, and there are still many updates planned before it officially launches. One of these updates is Horror 2.0, and if you haven't been around since the start, you may be unfamiliar with what this is. The Horror 2.0 update used to be discussed fairly frequently, but since it was delayed many times, it has since become a more obscure update that only longtime players of the game are super familiar with. It's a pretty exciting expansion that will completely reshape the game, so if you're eager to learn more about it, here's what Horror 2.0 is in Phasmophobia. Table of contentsWhat is the Horror 2.0 update for Phasmophobia?All Phasmophobia Horror 2.0 update featuresWhen is Horror 2.0 for Phasmophobia?What is the Horror 2.0 update for Phasmophobia? Screenshot by Destructoid The Horror 2.0 update is a planned update that will completely overhaul key gameplay aspects in Phasmophobia. This includes ghost models, ghost events, ghost interactions, ghost hunts, and all other key ghost features. The goal of the entire update is to make the game a lot scarier and more detailed. This major update has been planned since 2021. After many delays, Phasmophobia's biggest update yet entered development on May 21, 2025. It's still got quite a ways to go before release, but it's officially being worked on now. All Phasmophobia Horror 2.0 update features So far, we only have a general idea of what Horror 2.0 will entail, including several overhauls and additions to key gameplay features, most of which are focused on the ghost. Here's everything we know will be included in this update so far. New ghost modelsChanges to ghost huntsChanges to ghost eventsChanges to ghost interactionsNew hallucinations featureNew death scenes New death animationsNew sounds Additional features will likely be unveiled as Horror 2.0 gets closer to actually launching. As any new additions are unveiled for this massive overhaul, we'll add them here. Screenshot by Destructoid When is Horror 2.0 for Phasmophobia? Horror 2.0 is currently slated for release sometime in 2026. There's no official release date yet, and this update is only in the concept phase, so its release is likely quite a way off. Since it's likely slated to launch with the official full release of Phasmophobia, it likely won't be released until later in the year. If you want to keep up with when this update might be released, the official Phasmophobia Trello board is the best place to check. The devs have cards up for all planned features, and they're moved around as they get closer to release. As soon as Horror 2.0 enters the closed beta testing column, it's pretty close to release. The post What is Horror 2.0 in Phasmophobia? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Summertime, and the living is easy. Well, unless you're sweating against skill-based matchmaking in ****** Ops 6. The summer in CoD is heating up with five new weapons, five new maps, a new collab with the John Wick movie Ballerina, Grief mode's long-awaited return to Zombies, and a whole lot more for gamers to sink their teeth into. Here's what's coming to season four of ****** Ops 6. Table of contentsBO6 season 4 early patch notesWeapon nerfs and buffs5 new maps5 new weaponsNew game modesNew limited time eventsNew ScorestreakNew Ranked Play seasonNew Zombies contentBO6 season 4 early patch notes Image via Activision Season four kicks off on May 29, and there's a good amount of stuff to look forward to for CoD players. Weapon nerfs and buffs Image via Activision While new guns take center stage, old ones get tweaked for the meta. Check back here on launch day to see what's new and different among existing weapons in BO6. 5 new maps Image via Activision ****** Ops 3 classic map Fringe is the highlight of five new locales being added in season four, although it won't be coming until later in the season. Other maps include Shutdown (six-vs-six), Fugitive (six-vs-six), Blitz (two-vs-two and six-vs-six), and Eclipse (two-vs-two and six-vs-six). 5 new weapons Image via Activision The LC-10 SMG, FFAR 1 assault rifle, Essex Model 07 marksman rifle, Olympia shotgun, and Pickaxe melee weapon are all joining BO6 to expand the game's massive stable of guns, as the continuous romp through arsenals in ****** Ops past rolls on. There will also be new attachments, such as the G-Grip foregrip for SMGs, 3-Round Burst Mod for the Stryder .22, Full-Auto Mod for the SVD, and CQB Auto Conversion for the TR2. New game modes Image via Activision Fun party mode One in the Chamber highlights new modes coming in season four, alongside Team Elimination, and a new limited time mode called Party Ops coming later in the season. New limited time events Image via Activision The John Wick spin-off movie Ballerina is this season's collab for season four, and its event will be how players can unlock the Essex Model 07 marksman rifle and add it to their collections. The movie's main character, Eve Mecarro (played by Ana de Armas), will be joining the game as part of an operator bundle. Other events, including Rivals and King of the Dead will also offer unique rewards in June. New Scorestreak Image via Activision The Grim Reaper rocket launcher makes its return to CoD as a new Scorestreak in-season. At 725 Score, you can equip the quad tube loaded launcher to envelop the battlefield in destruction. New Ranked Play season Image via Activision Sweaty gamers, there's a whole new list of items to unlock as part of season four in Ranked Play, including new calling cards, charms, a large decal, and an exclusive weapon blueprint as you climb the ranks. Basically, if you're ready to sweat it out, there's reasons for you to play each season. New Zombies content Image via Activision Wow, it actually happened. Grief is returning to Zombies for the first time since ****** Ops 2. The PvEvP mode pits two teams of four against each other in Zombies maps, of which there are 11 to play on at launch, made from sections of existing Zombies maps. This article will be updated with more information as soon as it becomes available. The post ****** Ops 6 season 4 early patch notes – New weapons, new maps, John Wick collab, and more appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

The controversy surrounding Gearbox Software CEO ****** Pitchford and Borderlands 4's potential $80 price has prompted the popular indie publishing house Devolver Digital to chime in, promoting its upcoming co-op shooter Mycopunk in the process. Devolver Digital is the publisher behind hits like Cult of the Lamb, Enter the Gungeon, Death's Door, and The Messenger, and is known to piggyback off gaming trends and controversies to humorously promote its own upcoming slate of games. View the full article

Much as Clair Obscure Expedition 33 has forged a new path for what JRPGs can be in 2025, so Sea of Stars did two years prior. The stunning pixel-art adventure from ********* team Sabotage Studio shares a lot of common ground with Sandfall Interactive's masterpiece. It draws tremendous inspiration from genre classics, with Chrono Trigger in particular a clear influence, then builds on those concepts with fresh ideas of its own, garnishes them with satisfying combat, and wraps them in beautiful art direction. Now, as Sabotage unleashes a major story DLC for free, you can get Sea of Stars at its lowest price yet on Steam. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Brotato style roguelike Bioprototype returns to Steam, and you can get it free Valorborn is an ambitious medieval RPG made by just three developers Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 have a fresh rival as pixel-art ARPG soars on Steam View the full article

In Stardew Valley, any villager who is given the “single” label is a candidate for marriage later in the game. In order to marry someone, players need to earn ten hearts with the character by giving them a bouquet, then present them with a Mermaid Pendant to propose marriage. Once married to the player, a villager will stay inside the farmhouse and do various chores and provide the player with gifts. View the full article

Lies of P’s director has said that comparisons to FromSoftware games like Bloodborne are “an honor” and “motivation” for his team. Lies of P is a Soulslike game set in a fantasy Victorian setting, released in 2023. When the game was first revealed, many players compared it to FromSoftware’s Bloodborne, which features aesthetic similarities. While these specific Bloodborne comparisons waned somewhat when Lies of P was fully released, the game has routinely been compared to FromSoftware’s suite of beloved action games. Read More... View the full article

The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 was announced a couple of years ago during an investors' presentation—but all we were told was that it was only in the early stages of development. Since then, we've not heard a whole lot about Project Orion, but that's where Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith comes in... Read more.View the full article

A swanky, *********-themed board game called ******* on the Rocks hit Kickstarter on May 20, and it looks like a unique new take on the social deduction genre. The self-described "crime-solving party game" combines the limited communication of Mysterium with your standard hidden killer schtick. This ********* of mechanics is packaged in a ********* shaker, inside of which you'll find gorgeous cards and droppers for drink mixing. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

There's so much to love about The Witcher, but Doug Cockle really is the cherry on top. He's just a very nice lad, and quite the character even when he's not portraying the monster-hunting grump. Ever since CD Projekt revealed that Ciri would be The Witcher 4's protagonist, he's also been incredibly supportive, even though it means he's (partially) out of a gig. He's gone to bat for Ciri again in a recent Fall Damage video (cheers VG247), where you can also see him reacting to memes, player reviews and tweets, while also educating gamers on matters of the heart... Read more.View the full article

"I felt that perhaps I would never meet anyone again"View the full article

As our exclusive IGN First coverage of Elden Ring Nightreign continues, we bring you our interview with game and combat designer Takuya Miyazawa. Enjoy! To start, can you describe what it's like working at FromSoftware and getting to work on such highly acclaimed titles like Elden Ring and Nightreign? Takuya Miyazawa - Game and Combat Designer on Nightreign:I, myself, previously a huge Souls fan. I'm a big fan of these games and what the company's made, so it's a huge honor to get to work on such titles and as well as the fun of creating these games. I do feel a little bit of pressure and responsibility from the fans who enjoy these games as well, so thank you. Going into Nightreign, there are a lot of really subtle differences between the combat mechanics of base Elden Ring and Nightreign. Can you talk a little bit about why you felt like you should change up some of those mechanics for a multiplayer game like Nightreign and how the resulting gameplay fits Nightreign's fast-paced multiplayer style a little bit better? So, the changes for the design of Nightreign… Well first, let me give a little introduction to the general design of Nightreign itself. So, as you know, it uses Elden Ring as a base for the design, so the world and a lot of the assets and the base combat flow comes from Elden Ring. But while it does use it as a base for enemies and such, one area that we wanted to focus on with Nightreign was how we encounter these enemies, the flow of the battle, and the abilities you can use. And so having Elden Ring as a base allowed us to branch out and experiment in these other areas, making it into something that stood out from Elden Ring and becoming its own new thing. "While the game base sits with Elden Ring at its core, we wanted to create a gameplay experience that was ultimately very different." So while the game base sits with Elden Ring at its core, we wanted to create a gameplay experience that was ultimately very different. Elden Ring is a much more slow-paced, a lot more open-ended. You take your time and carefully go through the world, but Nightreign is what we're calling a short RPG. So there are some constraints here. For example, the three-day, three-night time aspect, and the limitations on the player; but at the same time while we’re putting these limitations on the player in terms of structure, we wanted to allow them some freedom points that they didn't otherwise have with Elden Ring. So the way they traverse the map, they can sprint and they can clamber up walls quickly. Let's see… there's no fall damage compared to Elden Ring. So while we put these constraints on the players from a structural point of view, we wanted to open up and allow them this freedom from a gameplay point of view as well. So it was about creating that balance and that contrast. In terms of status leveling and how the players build their character: With Elden Ring, of course, you had a character creation and building from the very start, but with Nightreign, you select from a preset character as a sort of archetype to start with and then you're free to change your weapons, change your equipment, and change your play style a little bit on the fly. So while you could start as a tank, you don't necessarily have to fulfill that tank role from a gameplay perspective. We wanted players to enjoy the role play of each character more from their sort of character traits and their abilities than a sort of preconceived notion of approach. We also wanted to reduce the amount of time players spend in the menu, actually, within the game. So instead of carefully checking their stats and going through the leveling process, it's a lot more on the fly, it's a lot more ad hoc, and we wanted to reduce and condense these elements that we found in our previous games but in a tighter, more compact experience, this short-form RPG experience for Nightreign. So those are just a few of the aspects that we've tried to consider when approaching this from a multiplayer co-op standpoint. The boss that we got to check out today as we were playing was Libra: Creature of Night So for this particular boss battle… Obviously for each boss battle in the game, we're trying to give them their own idiosyncrasies and their own unique touches to make them stand apart and feel original. We wanted each of them to feel like their own experience. So with Libra in particular, we kind of added this trade-off feature that takes place before the battle. And of course, this can allow the players to acquire a new special weapon or a significant level-up or something that benefits them. But of course, being the nature of Libra and the nature of the game, it's not always going to be exactly in their favor, so we wanted to create this interesting risk-reward sort of feature for this particular boss. As for the actual experience during combat itself, we wanted this sort of nature of Libra to be reflected in the gameplay as well. So this sort of duality aspect of the character, both in terms of its appearance and its behavior. So we wanted to give it a two-type move set. So first, it has the sorceries and traps that can kind of confuse and trick the player and then also the sort of more power and damage-focused attacks that come as well. So we wanted this duality to reflect both in its appearance and the pre-battle and the gameplay experience as well. One of the things that really struck me about the boss battle was that it almost reminded me of an MMO raid kind of boss with how you had to work together and coordinate with your squad to avoid the full effect of some of its attacks. Was MMO boss design any kind of inspiration in creating this boss fight and if not, what really inspired you in those aspects of the boss design? Yes, we paid attention to other genres such as MMOs and the boss fights within them and we did take some notes and some inspiration from these. But one thing we wanted to be careful of was the fact that seeing as Nightreign is a co-op, multiplayer focused game, we still wanted to take care during these boss fights that when another player is drawing aggro, the boss still feels like a significant threat to other players in the group. So even if another player is drawing the aggro, the attacks that the boss is going to do and the way it's behaving is still going to keep other players on their toes even if they're sort of flanking it or taking a more solo-oriented approach. I definitely felt that, by the way. Feeling threatened even while I didn’t hold the aggro of the boss. Shifting gears to classes, what goes into designing a character class for Nightreign? Are you looking to fill specific archetypes? Do you come up with a cool idea for a skill and then design a class based around that, or what does that process really look like? It's quite an unorthodox approach we took to character design in Nightreign, similar to what we started with in Elden Ring. So for instance, we start with these kind of general roles or role titles for each of the characters, such as the tank we mentioned earlier or a mage type. So we start with these very general and loose kind of bases for the character archetype. And then from the director, we get an idea of the characters and their individuality and the sorts of abilities that they're going to use and things like this. Just to give one example of that. You might have used her in the network test or in your play session, the Recluse. Her archetype actually started as a mage, a magic user, plain and simple. But from there, we started to think about and discuss what's fun and what's interesting about playing as a mage from a player's perspective. And that is, of course, using magic, using your intellect to kind of suss out the enemy and its weaknesses and sort of piece the puzzles of the battle together as you go. Of course, just blasting magic is fun in itself, but we wanted there to be an extra layer to that such as how you use your resources, the timing of your spells, using multiple spells in conjunction. And so we started to design a system around that new kind of concept of a mage and how players would interact with that. So that's the kind of approach we took to the character design. "One area we did concentrate on is the feeling of a role or responsibility within each character." Another aspect of our approach to the class designs was how you engage with them in a multiplayer environment. So of course, Nightreign is a three-player co-op game at its core and we wanted these skills and characters to be interesting both from a solo and multiplayer perspective. So one example of this could be the restage skill of the Duchess. So obviously, this is a very powerful skill when you're playing in solo play, but if you're going to take it to the next level and master it, a nice idea might be to watch what your allies are doing, watch for when they're doing some big damage and then restage their attack patterns and get some extra damage that way. So it really encourages this sort of teamwork and thinking as a group and thinking in terms of co-op play. This is really the first from Soft Souls with fully developed, pre-made classes that each have their own unique skills and abilities. Does that have any effect, or rather, does it raise any challenges with regards to how you design bosses or enemy encounters, knowing the powerful tools that a squad will be able to take into a fight? In terms of each character's individual abilities and their ultimates and skills, we didn't want to have that dictate how we approach the enemy design or encounter design and vice versa as well. We didn't want the player action level to infringe too much on the enemy action level. We wanted to concentrate on these characters and making them feel unique and fun to players in and of themselves, first and foremost, rather than having these encounters and these boss battles sort of affect that negatively and impact the fun. One area we did concentrate on is the feeling of a role or responsibility within each character. So you might have somebody who feels it's their duty to try and protect the others during a difficult boss fight or try and distract the enemies, the adds (enemies) during a certain boss fight. Something like this was a feature of the pre-made designs that we could include in Nightreign that maybe we didn't experiment with too much in previous titles. Of course, another aspect is because this is a co-op game that focuses on having a three-person team, we did want to make the bosses feel particularly hardcore from that standpoint as well. So they will use very large-scale attacks. They will use certain abilities that will inhibit or restrict the player or kind of put a sort of urgency to their moves like the timer that's inflicted on them in the Gladius Boss fight. Things like this, we really wanted to make them feel unique and imposing in each their own way. You mentioned the Duchess ability and comboing that with a very strong ability that one of your allies will use. Do you have any other favorite ability combos or synergies from the available character classes? Another example I could give is the Raider character who raises a giant totem from the earth. This itself does damage to the enemies and bosses, but at the same time, the different characters can clamber up atop it. So you could, for example, have the Ironeye character raining down arrows from the safety of the tombstone or reviving a character by shooting them with long-range attacks. Something like this, we feel that there's a nice breadth and synergy that you can experiment with each of these characters. Another example might be a more general example is the Recluse who you could also use in the network test. Her ultimate art actually marks enemies, puts this sort of seal on them which grants you HP and your teammates HP as you attack. So this, used in conjunction with high damage output or fast subsequent attacks from your teammates, could be very effective at healing the team, keeping them alive. Things like this, we hope players will really have fun experimenting and playing around with these different combinations. Was the Libra Boss battle inspired by any specific characters or mythos? Well, he can't speak to any specific titles or names. One of the main inspirations for the Libra Boss battle was this sort of massively multiplayer raid battle sort of focus, so with this idea of having a lot of players coming together to fight this boss battle together. This involves not only the kind of exciting and dangerous elements of that fight, but also the puzzle elements as well, sort of figuring out the right time to attack, figuring out the time to retreat, figuring out the different elements to this boss fight. So we wanted it to feel like an intelligent boss design rather than just an all in, every man for himself kind of appeal. Personally, what Nightreign character is your favorite to play and what is a build that you really hope players will dig into and enjoy? A personal favorite of mine is the Guardian, the avian-type knight character with the shield. He favors a more defensive-y and tank-y kind of build that this character archetype provides. I enjoy being able to both attack and defend at the same time or provide that kind of bulwark and that area of safety for his team. If players are more not so keen on the fast dodge rolling and sort of the perfect timing of the parries and things like that, this is a nice character for them to feel like they're really contributing to the team aspect and able to enjoy the battle in that sense as well. Generally, we designed the game for the players to be able to beat it as any character. So we wanted them to feel like they could choose a character they liked, either from an ability standpoint or from an appearance or backstory standpoint, and beat the game just in their own play style and with a character they enjoy. That said, balance is still important and the team synergy we talked to, finding a good balance of, say, a tank type character, a mage type character, and a damage deal type character. This is often important as is the boss selection that you make as well. So sometimes, a different Nightlord Boss fight will encourage a different synergy or a different sort of group of roles, a different team composition. So we want players to enjoy figuring out these aspects and experiment with various characters and while they're doing that, find some that really resonate with them. We really wanted both the boss characters, these encounters, and the player characters themselves to feel unique each in their own way. And we wanted it to feel unique enough that players can go back to the game and approach with another character entirely. So even if they have beaten a boss with the Guardian, they might want to go back and try it as the Recluse and see what other tricks they can come up with. Players also might enjoy doing a three-Recluse team, so tripling up on a certain character and seeing what kind of crazy stunts they can come up with, so I'm really looking forward to that aspect of the game. Final question, and this might be the hardest one, but just what are some of your favorite video games? As I mentioned earlier, I really like From’s games, these action RPGs that we make. I'm also a big long-time fan of Final Fantasy 14 and other multiplayer online games as well. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Heart of Democracy update for Helldivers 2 has marked out a new battlefield on Super Earth itself. And it looks like Helldivers are jumping back on to help hold the line against the Illuminate invasion. Earlier this week, the Illuminate officially launched an invasion of Super Earth as part of the Heart of Democracy update in Helldivers 2. After a long build-up involving a mobile ****** hole, Super Earth has become a zone of conflict, and Helldivers are dropping into various cities to assist with the defense efforts. There are quite a few more Helldivers dropping in now, too. A quick look at SteamDB shows the player count rebounding back up alongside the Heart of Democracy update's drop, currently sitting at a 24-hour peak of just over 163,000 players. It's a number that exceeds the peak of the Omens of Tyranny update, though it's still far off from the release window peaks for Helldivers 2. That's still a feat for Steam, as developer Arrowhead Game Studios contended with negative ratings and complaints early on in Helldivers 2's PC life, alongside the infamous PSN situation. With recent valleys in the tens of thousands, a lift up to over 150,000 concurrents is certainly a shift worth noting. Over on X/Twitter, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt posted a few fascinating numbers. First, that this surge might be one of the largest simultaneous returns of players for Helldivers: I think this is the largest simultaneous return of players for Helldivers? Team did a MEGA job on the update! [Hidden Content] — Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 20, 2025 And second, that around 2.5 million Helldivers have been playing the game every week. It's a pretty staggering number for any live service game, but shows how the community has stayed attached. Around 2.5 million Helldivers playing the game every week, super excited to see how many more log in with this update! So happy and blessed that we have such an amazing community! — Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 20, 2025 Over on the Helldivers Discord (via VG247), Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani responded to players congratulating the team on the player count surge. "It's all you folks and your amazing support," said Jorjani. If you're eager to dive back in yourself, I can attest to it being a good time to play right now. The new Super Earth battlefields are great fun, and you can even recruit some SEAF helpers to assist in holding back the Illuminate threat. Just be mindful of all the chaos and destruction. Eric is a freelance writer for IGN. View the full article

Xbox’s fight against PlayStation is slowly shifting from hardware to software as they focus more on selling Game Pass subscriptions rather than selling their consoles. Additionally, their next console is also rumored to be less of a traditional Xbox console and more of a mini PC of sorts. The potential Steam integration in Xbox hardware poses a worrying prospect for PlayStation since its exclusive titles may be available on the platform of its direct competitor. Whether PlayStation allows this is a topic for another time, but for now, let’s discuss what the Steam integration can do. Helldivers 2 could see a surge of players if Xbox manages to bring Steam to the platform The democracy may break through PlayStation’s barriers | Image Credit: Arrowhead Game Studios It’s no surprise that Xbox is slowly becoming a publisher rather than a hardware company after being unceremoniously defeated by PlayStation in the console wars. Yet their next-generation console is on the way. They already provide the best value to their customers through Game Pass, and if this Steam integration goes through, it could offer a whole lot more. Xbox’s ‘play anywhere’ strategy is in full swing as leaker ‘eXtas1s‘ has already stated that Microsoft has started testing Steam integration for their store, which could open up a new dimension of possibilities, one of which is bringing Helldivers 2 to the platform. Related: When Will Sony Return the Favor? By Next Month This Week, PS5 Will Get One of 2024’s Best Xbox Game Pass Releases Microsoft’s oversight also caused a visual mockup of the new Xbox app UI to appear, which they quickly removed as it featured a Steam filter within the app. It’s all but confirmed at this point, and they’re not doing a great job hiding it. Once Steam officially arrives on the platform, it could potentially mean more players finally joining the battle for Super Earth in Helldivers 2. With 120 million players on Xbox and a majority of them having decades of experience in Halo, the entire trajectory of Helldivers 2 can change for the better. It’s like they’ve been preparing for this moment their whole life. It seems like Microsoft’s not leaving the hardware market after all, but they’re taking cues from PCs instead of their own consoles. The question remains, though: Is PlayStation ready to welcome Xbox players on Helldivers 2 through Steam’s integration with the platform? Let’s look into the possibilities. Will PlayStation allow Helldivers 2 on Xbox through Steam integration? PlayStation is ridiculously rigid when it comes to its exclusives, so the chances of Helldivers 2 potentially making its way on Xbox through Steam integration are very slim. Fans shouldn’t get their hopes up, as PlayStation’s strategy is aggressive, and they rarely distribute their exclusives to competing platforms. If Helldivers 2 were to debut through Steam integration, that would mean PlayStation’s entire catalogue on Steam would be available to purchase on Xbox, which is probably one of PlayStation’s worst nightmares. Imagine playing titles like God of War, Uncharted, and Marvel’s Spider-Man on the platform. It would take more than a miracle for something like that to happen. Related: “A healthy option for certain people”: Xbox Game Pass Isn’t the Future of Gaming, Choice Is Chances are low but never zero, and Xbox has been very liberal with its exclusives, offering up their flagship titles like Forza and Gears of War to PlayStation without any discrepancy. Will they return the favor, though? Probably not. Considering how PlayStation is, Xbox players should consider themselves lucky if Helldivers 2 does make its way to the platform through Steam’s integration. So, what do you think about the prospect of having Steam on Xbox? Do you think it’s good for the platform’s future, or is it just another case of throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below. View the full article

Even a few years after release, Cult of the Lamb continued to shine as one of the most popular roguelikes in recent years, thanks to several free and expansive content updates to enjoy. Offering an excellent blend of adorable visuals contrasted by darker player choices that heavily lean into the cult elements of the game, it's easy to see why Cult of the Lamb became such a smashing success. On top of its charming art style, the gameplay for Cult of the Lamb only got better with each update, adding more depth and difficulty to the satisfying rogue-like experience. View the full article

Microsoft has revealed the second wave of titles being added to Xbox Game Pass in May. This includes another day-one release joining the long list of games launching on the service this month, as well as some award-winning titles that will surely have many subscribers thrilled. Xbox Game Pass has had a strong year so far, and the gaming service continues to offer a pretty good value proposition for gamers who like to have access to a wide variety of titles at all times. View the full article

Mario Kart World started development back in 2017 as a game for the original Switch, but ended up becoming a Switch 2 one because it devs felt the tech boost was necessary to deliver the world bit of it. Said devs have also offered us some more info about its most important character - Cow. Read more View the full article

If you enjoy games like Vampire Survivors and Brotato, then mutating horde-survival roguelike Bioprototype is worth a look. With 24 unique characters, more than 80 organs, and the ability to adjust your own skill triggers, it offers a tremendous amount of build variety wrapped in a distinctive, fleshy theme. If you crave a little more depth and strategy while retaining the core of the auto-attacking format, Bioprototype has just returned to Steam, and you can get it completely free if you add it to your account in the next few weeks. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

It's starting to feel like history may repeat itself. Ten years ago, when Colossal Order released the first Cities Skylines, it quickly became the ideal and beloved alternative for players let down by the infamous Simcity 2013. Now, with Cities Skylines 2 still on the ropes, the time feels right for a new city builder and simulation game to step up. Transport Fever has already made a name for itself; thanks to their in-depth construction mechanics and realistic visuals and systems, the first two games have earned some major plaudits on Steam. But now, Transport Fever 3 is on the way, and, with a significant number of players seemingly less than impressed with CS2, the time feels right for a new headliner. Read the rest of the story... View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

After four years of Steam early access, Knock on the Coffin Lid hit 1.0 in 2024 and has built a strong rep as a tricky grimdark roguelike pitched somewhere between Slay the Spire and Dark and Darker. Now, developer RedBoon is bringing it to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. To celebrate, we've got ten Steam codes to give away. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Dark fantasy deckbuilder Knock on the Coffin Lid unveils first DLC Knock on the Coffin Lid is a grimdark fantasy twist on Slay the Spire View the full article

Nintendo just shared their latest edition of ‘Ask the Developer’ for the upcoming Mario Kart World, one of the Switch ... Read more View the full article

Despite being less than three years old, Sony just announced their plans to end their PlayStation Stars loyalty programme they ... Read more View the full article

"I don't remember, actually, the nature of the announcement we were going to make"View the full article

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