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Whether it's Fallout, State of Decay, or Dying Light, when it comes to post-apocalyptic shooters, you want to feel like the entire world is against you. Tough enemies. Realistic weapon behaviors. A dynamic environment where NPCs and monsters live out their lives of their own accord, seemingly indifferent to your suffering. These are the core components of a survivalistic FPS. Six months since it was released, Stalker 2 is still going strong. But GSC has a lot more it wants to achieve. From the combat to the trademark A-Life system, the new Stalker 2 update makes the entire game feel more alive and more dangerous. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best Stalker 2 mods Massive Stalker 2 update repairs hundreds of crashes Stalker 2 makes more A-Life improvements in huge new patch View the full article

Leveling up in competitive mode is a pretty tough scene, and it takes lots of time and effort to reach higher ranks in Marvel Rivals. You'll likely have a much easier time getting where you want to go if you know how to get and use Chrono Shield Cards. Chrono Shield Cards are a pretty divisive game feature, but they seem like they're here to stay, so you need to understand how they work. Here's how to get and use Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals. Table of contentsHow to get Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel RivalsHow to use Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel RivalsWhat are Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals?What do Chrono Shield Cards do in Marvel Rivals?Can you buy Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals?Can Chrono Shield Cards be used at any rank in Marvel Rivals?How many Chrono Shield Cards can you have in Marvel Rivals?Do Chrono Shield Cards expire in Marvel Rivals?How to get Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals Screenshot by Destructoid So far, Chrono Shield Cards can only be obtained as prizes in special events. The first event that features them is Galacta's Gift, but there will likely be additional means for earning them in future updates. How to use Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals You can activate a Chrono Shield Card at the end of a competitive match to block a rank drop. It works the same as the regular Chrono Shield feature, so it can essentially be used to hold your place. What are Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals? Chrono Shield Cards are a special consumable item that can be used to prevent a rank drop. It stops you from losing points after a loss and allows you to stay where you are for the time being. What do Chrono Shield Cards do in Marvel Rivals? Chrono Shield Cards can be activated to block a rank drop during lower rank competitive matches. For example, if you were in Silver III and lost enough points to be sent back down into Bronze I, you could spend a Chrono Shield Card to keep yourself in Silver III. Can you buy Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals? So far, you cannot purchase Chrono Shield Cards. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the devs said Chrono Shield Cards and Chrono Shield Tokens won't be available for *****. [Hidden Content] Chrono Shield Cards be used at any rank in Marvel Rivals? Chrono Shield Cards aren't available at all ranks and can only be used to block losses for Gold rank and below. According to the Marvel Rivals devs, their purpose is to "allow lower-ranked players to enter ranked mode with even less pressure through this mechanism." How many Chrono Shield Cards can you have in Marvel Rivals? You can have a maximum of 20 Chrono Shield Cards in your inventory. Each time you use one to block a rank drop, it's consumed and subtracted from the total number of cards you have. Do Chrono Shield Cards expire in Marvel Rivals? All Chrono Shield Cards expire at the end of each season. This means if you don't use them, you'll eventually lose them. More will likely become available in each new season, depending on whether or not NetEase decides to keep them around following the massive backlash from the community. Marvel Rivals has seen lots of changes and additions, so you may want to learn about the battle pass exclusivity changes, Vanguard nerfs, and Strategist buffs next. The post How to get and use Chrono Shield Cards in Marvel Rivals appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

***** has released four new English dub videos for Yakuza 0 Director's Cut showcasing Kuze, Tachibana, Kashiwagi, and Makoto Makimura. View the full article

Opinion | A Bonnie and Clyde-style romance makes GTA 6 stand out from the other entries in Rockstar Games' beloved seriesView the full article

Although for some of us this is a well-known problem, it has appeared again with the release of DOOM: The Dark Ages so it's worth a quick PSA to remind people about Denuvo activation limits with Proton on Linux, SteamOS / Steam Deck. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani recently assured fans that the developer’s main focus is now Helldivers 2, and it will stay that way for “a loooong time,” as long as players continue supporting the title. Speculation about Arrowhead “abandoning” Helldivers 2 arose after Jorjani mentioned a new project the developer has behind the scenes called Game 6, but the CEO was very clear in stating that fans shouldn’t worry about this new project jeopardizing the successful third-person co-op game’s ongoing support. View the full article

When it comes to DnD alternatives, Pathfinder 2e remains among the most popular options for tabletop nerds. Founded on the core mechanics of the classic DnD 3.5e, Pathfinder manages to carve its path in the fantasy tabletop genre. The franchise isn't content with just offering Tolkien-esque fantasy, however. This diverse universe is filled with lots of different settings, and the Pathfinder 2e Asian Fantasy Humble Bundle showcases that perfectly - and at a 93% discount too. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: All DnD classes and subclasses - a player's guide DnD sizes explained Legends of Avantris' $4m Kickstarter DnD book is now up for pre-order View the full article

A recent Steam security bulletin confirms that hackers have accessed phone numbers and SMS two-factor authentication records linked to most Steam accounts. Steam's internal systems weren't penetrated, and Valve hasn't recommended that users change their passwords. However, now is a good time to review security settings for accounts potentially containing... Read Entire Article View the full article

Grotesque new platform game Gennady takes place in a squelchy, eminently punchable world of procedurally generated, wriggling alien cubes. Burst a cube and you'll be rewarded with juicy, golden maggots and a shower of delightful green ooze. Sometimes the ooze spawns a grotty little janitor monster, who slinks up behind you with mop in tentacle. Yes, this is a game in which the filth tries to clean up after itself. Good luck with that, filth. Here's a trailer. Read more View the full article

The Pixart PAW 3395 and PAW 3950 are everywhere right now, but which should you choose and what difference can it make?View the full article

Marvel Rivals has given players their first look at gameplay of the upcoming Retro X-Uniform skin for Namor, which is scheduled to release on May 15 at 7 PM PDT. NetEase Games recently announced that it will be bringing back Marvel Rivals' Season 0 battle pass for a limited time, a decision that has been highly requested by fans. View the full article

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the most innovative turn-based RPGs of recent years. It takes the gameplay and flair of the beloved Persona series and combines it with the narrative strength of earlier Final Fantasy games, yet is wholly original in its approach to the genre. It's an easy contender for Game of the Year already. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you should take a chance to get it for just $7.99 / £7.15. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Clair Obscur Expedition 33 dev warns of potential scams, plans official merch All Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Mime locations and weakness Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 attributes for all characters View the full article

Electronic Arts, publishers of Clive Barker's Undying and Pooh and Tigger's Hunny Safari, have let employees know that they're ending full remote working and hiring, and implementing return to office for all employees as part of hybrid work plans, reports IGN. Read more View the full article

The American football team, the Los Angeles Chargers, have demonstrated their love for video games by promoting its NFL schedule through a Minecraft reveal video. Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox game by Swedish developer Mojang Studios, which offers a procedurally generated 3D world made of voxels for players to extract materials, craft tools and items, and build structures to their hearts’ content. View the full article

Assassin's Creed Shadows was good. So, Ubisoft's decided to do the same thing with some of the "biggest productions" it currently has in the works, pushing several unnannounced games back in the hopes that more development time will yield more success. Read more View the full article

Now this is some seriously cool software and I love to see it. PartyDeck is a new tool that can help you run various games in local split-screen, even if they don't actually support it. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Is Doom The Dark Ages on Game Pass? There's quite the ownership chain now when it comes to id Software, which belongs to Bethesda, which belongs to ZeniMax, which now belongs to Microsoft. But does this mean Doom The Dark Ages will arrive on the Xbox publisher's Game Pass service by default? Doom The Dark Ages finally fills the gap between Doom 64 and Doom 2016, taking place at the height of the war between the Sentinels of Argent D'nur and the legions of hell. It's a darker, grittier FPS than its predecessor, Doom Eternal, yet as our Doom The Dark Ages review attests, it hasn't lost any of its sheen in the gameplay department. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: This one Doom The Dark Ages setting will transport you back to the 90s All Doom The Dark Ages weapons and locations All Doom The Dark Ages Demonic Essence locations for health, armor, and ammo View the full article

Helldivers 2 developers Arrowhead has addressed player concern that it might leave the game behind to focus on its next project, dubbed "Game 6." As spotted by VG247, CEO Shams Jorjani spoke to fans in the official Helldivers Discord following the explosive launch of the full-scale Illuminate invasion this week. “The wonderful thing is that thanks to the amazing support of you FINE people Arrowhead's future is quite bright and we have the freedom to explore some really cool concepts that we couldn't have otherwise. Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you,” Jorjani said. That seemingly innocuous quote sparked concern from one fan who said it suggested Arrowhead was “already abandoning a good chunk of dev time and money from Helldivers 2.” Jorjani quickly shut that down, insisting: "Nah. It's ALL Helldivers 2 for now. A very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it sloowly. Helldivers is our main focus and will be for a loooong time." So, how long does Jorjani expect content updates for Helldivers 2 to last? "As long as you folks keep playing and buying Super Credits we can keep it going," Jorjani said, pointing to Helldivers 2's virtual currency that's used to buy Premium Warbonds. "Last summer we were kinda screwing the pooch so it looked like we wouldn't be able to keep the train going for a long time - but we turned the ship around, you support us a lot so it's looking bright." And here’s an interesting follow-up comment from Jorjani, in response to one fan who called on Arrowhead to make its next game available in all regions and avoid the region-locking purchase debacle the Sony-published Helldivers 2 has suffered from: "The next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots." That suggests Arrowhead isn't going with Sony or any other company for its next game, which in turn suggests it's not Helldivers 3. Speaking of Game 6 and how its development will (hopefully) differ from the "rough", eight-year slog that was Helldivers 2, Jorjani said Arrowhead wants to nail the "core s**t" early on before moving on to making the rest of the game this time around. "For the most part of the development cycle games plain *****," Jorjani explained. "Very seldom are they truly fun from the get-go. And for Helldivers taking eight years to make it was rough for the longest time. But it came together in the end. The ONLY way to know is to playtest playtest playtest. "For our next game we're doing things in a much smarter way and nailing a lot of the core s**t early on (as you should) then make the rest." All this tallies with previous comments from Arrowhead developers, who’ve said they want Helldivers 2 to last for years to come. Let’s remember, Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time, with an astonishing 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks. It is a record no first-party Sony-developed game will likely ever beat. But so much has happened since that initial explosive release: a dramatic U-turn on PSN account requirements on Steam, review-bomb campaigns, and a community often at war with Helldivers 2 itself as nerfs and buffs either go too far or not far enough. So you'd be forgiven for wondering whether enthusiasm for Helldivers 2 at Arrowhead might have waned. But Alex Bolle, production director on Helldivers 2, recently told IGN “we want it to be around for years and years and years to come.” “How do we stay true to the Helldivers 2 fantasy, challenging enough that we keep making amazing new features and new systems and all that while we stay true to who we are? And I think it's something that is so motivating for the years to come. “The more we figure out how to thrive in a live environment, and we still have a way to go to figure out a lot of things around that, the more we can let creativity loose on new systems that we would've never thought about a year ago when we released. I've worked on live games before and it's where you feel like you have something you can figure out: what if I would do this cool thing I've seen in other games and adapt it to our sauce, that still makes it true to ourselves? I'm looking forward to this moment.” To that end, recent leaks (one from PlayStation itself) point to the imminent release of Super Earth as a playable map, as the Illuminate eventually make it to our home planet. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Wizards of the Coast just put out a new line of Baldur's Gate 3 miniatures via WizKids, and some recipients are complaining because, well, half the cast looks like they got hit with an Acid Spray—maybe a Vitriolic Sphere... Read more.View the full article

Frogspin pulled my in by the colourful and inviting sweet visuals but reading more into it, the game sounds like it becomes pure hilarious chaos due to the slot machine modifier mechanics. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

OCCT recently released a supported Native Linux version of their popular fully featured stress-testing application, and now they've announced it's coming to Steam as part of a wider expansion. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

There is over three weeks to go until the Nintendo Switch 2 launches worldwide despite the ongoing worries regarding US tariff changes and other worldwide events hindering supply, though I am happy to confirm that I was able to grab not one, but two pre-orders of the Mario Kart World version of the console ahead of release. Why two? Protection in case one gets cancelled. We have all been there before on a new console release where a company takes on too many pre-orders and ends up cancelling one, leaving you without a system at all on launch or having to scrounge each page, refreshing every minutes in hopes that pre-orders randomly appear (they don't, but we pray they do.) I'll likely send a console pack or give the second console to a family member for cost if I end up getting both. No way am I joining the scalper hoard. No sir. [Hidden Content] Thankfully, with three weeks to go, some sites are starting to add more pre-orders, but that does beg the question: Were you able to secure your own pre-orders? And if so, what games do you plan to get at launch? (There is a lot after all, I don't know how I'm going to find time for both Mario Kart and the new DELTARUNE chapters, to name a few.) And if you weren't able to secure a pre-order, how come? Were you unlucky? Are you giving the system a miss at launch on purpose to wait for another version of the console down the line, or waiting for the holiday season? I'm genuinely curious what everyone was able to secure and would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. Either way. If you did get the console, I hope to see you all in Mario Kart World for the next month, where I will be playing nothing but the new knockout mode, sweating on Rosalina, trying to climb whatever arbitrary ranked or points system the game has. See you there! The post Did you get your Switch 2 pre-order, Destructoid? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Getting the best units in Anime Saga is the most important thing. However, even when you have the best units, with the best stats, there is one more thing you should aim for to give you an even ******* edge: Traits. Traits are passive effects each unit in your team can have, and they can really heat things up, especially during end-game. To help you pick the best traits, we made this Definitive Anime Saga Trait Tier List. Table of contentsAnime Saga Trait Tier ListSS-TierS-TierA-TierB-TierC-TierAnime Saga Trait Tier List Image via TierMaker / Remix by Destructoid Traits can really push your characters to do even more damage and even get a few passive abilities. Unfortunately, just like the units and the stats, the Traits you get are completely random, and many of them have aView the full article

Square Enix, still sweating from burying the corpse of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link yesterday, has posted a selection of screenshots of Kingdom Hearts 4 online to reassure fans that the much-anticipated sequel still exists. These screenshots feature scorching new reveals such as Sora's face, a telephone, some girl, and Mickey Mouse standing on a chandelier. Brilliant. Read more View the full article

"What in the mobile gaming is going on here?"View the full article