Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone promised to reveal the game's new marriage candidates in today's 10th anniversary video, and he did not disappoint. After an extensive breakdown of what the beloved farming RPG looked like early in development, he revealed Clint and Sandy will be your new romantic options. They're both natural choices as some of the last remaining single characters in the game, though Clint's position in the fandom is a bit tenuous – even if some of his biggest fans are absolutely feasting right now. Barone certainly milked the drama for the reveal, teasing an envelope containing the character's names for 20 minutes before he finally opened it as if he were announcing an Oscar winner This is just the second set of marriage candidates added to Stardew Valley. The last new options were Shane and Emily, who were added to the lineup as part of the 1.1 update way back in October 2016, just months after the game's original launch. The dating pool in the valley has been pretty stagnant over the past decade, but it's finally getting a little spice. Stardew Valley 1.7 update will add "2 more marriage candidates," and fans theorize they could be anyone in the farm sim Stardew Valley creator announces 10-year anniversary video with "pre-release footage" and "new 1.7 marriage candidates" Stardew Valley fans hope for divorce in the 1.7 update as ConcernedApe's past comments on homewrecking pop back up Speculation over who these new marriage candidates would be had fans digging up old comments from Barone about turning players into homewreckers by breaking up Robin and Demetrius, Stardew Valley 1.7 likely has more surprises in store, but Barone recently noted that he's "not going to abandon Haunted Chocolatier," even as he splits his time between the two projects. There's no telling when Haunted Chocolatier will finally launch, but at least we've got a whole lot of Stardew Valley to enjoy in the meantime. For more games like Stardew Valley, you know where to click.

We’re still waiting for releases dates for Remedy’s in-development Max Payne remakes, but if you’re in need of a noir fix sooner than that, keep an eye on Liquid Swords’ Samson: A Tyndalston Story, which just got a release date of April 8. The debut game from a new studio formed by Just Cause creator Christofer Sundberg, Samson looks like a tighter, more narrative-led experience than Avalanche’s proudly ridiculous open-world series, but no less packed with over-the-top action. You play as the eponymous Samson McRay, a man down on his luck and seriously in debt in the punishing city of Tyndalston. "Samson is built on a simple, brutal truth: every day has a cost," said the developer in a press release. "Debt grows with interest, and time is not on your side. Each job burns a limited pool of Action Points, and every decision shifts how the city treats you— there are no do-overs. Players have to move forward because standing still makes everything worse." Sundberg, who by his own admission has spent much of his career making "massive" games and sounds a bit worn out by it all, says his studio set out to make a bloat-free experience for "fans of gritty ‘90s action flicks," which will be music to the ears of anyone who likes blasting through a game in a handful of weekends. For more on gameplay, check out this recent developer diary focused on combat and driving sections. Samson’s brevity is seemingly also reflected in its $25 price tag. It will be a PC exclusive at launch (via Steam and the Epic Games Store), with no word on a console release right now.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! I never had a Dreamcast growing up – I was strictly a Nintendo kid – but like any good millennial gamer, I've grown obsessed with a nebulous style of game with a "Dreamcast vibe." Think Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, or Space Channel 5, with a nebulous combination of colorful graphics, a bangin' soundtrack, and a spirit of experimentation. That spirit isn't dead, either, as the Steam Next Fest demo for Denshattack! has offered the most distilled Dreamcast vibe experience I've had in ages. The name of Denshattack! evokes the popular Japanese train series Densha de Go!, exclamation point and all, but this isn't a simcade experience that has you roleplaying as a train conductor. Instead, you drive a train like Tony Hawk rides a skateboard, jumping off ramps, pulling off tricks, and trying to build a high score out of increasingly intricate combos. You're bound by the constraints of the track, but it works like rail-grinding in a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game. Tracks weave in and out, offering options for which path to follow. Sometimes, three tracks side by side will give you a chance to dodge obstacles, and in other cases, you'll need to pick a lane to follow to see a different portion of the course. Zero Parades proves itself a worthy Disco Elysium successor in this free Steam demo, and I shouldn't have doubted it The comically long name of this Steam publisher led me to the discovery of a sick Ace Combat and DMC-inspired roguelike One of the best pixel art RPGs ever made is getting a spiritual sequel, and I’ve been hooked on its Steam Next Fest demo The game has you constantly moving forward at breakneck speed, so all you really need to worry about is braking around corners, choosing your rail, and jumping over obstacles, but there's a tremendous amount of depth in each of those systems. Curved portions of the track pop up a little balance meter which challenges you to apply just the right amount of brakes around the corner, with perfect applications offering a boost of speed like a Mario Kart drift. Dodging obstacles rewards you for memorizing each of the courses – you can simply switch rails to get past most roadblocks, but a well-timed jump could open more scoring opportunities if it doesn't send you careening off the track. Just completing a level is no hassle thanks to generous checkpoints, but the real fun lies in beating the stage quickly while meeting certain score thresholds. When you're mid-air, you can flick the right stick and draw little half and quarter circles to pull off tricks, which naturally combo together for massive points potential. All that would be enough for me to like the time I spent with Denshattack, but it's the vibes that have me loving it. It's an anime world where train conductors battle to see who can pull the most outrageous tricks, and it all moves at a breakneck pace with unbridled possibilities. One stage has you escaping an erupting volcano. Another sees you riding a runaway ferris wheel as it rolls across the countryside. It's got a bit of Katamari Damacy in the sense that you'll never quite be able to predict what ridiculous thing will happen next. And yeah, the soundtrack is great. Arguably the most important thing for capturing those nebulous vibes I mentioned earlier, this music would be perfectly at home pumping out of a 2001-ish Japanese arcade, and there's not really any higher compliment I could pay to a game's audio. You can try the demo for yourself on Steam, and be assured that I'm not alone in thinking this is an incredibly promising taste. The nearly 500 user reviews for the demo are sitting at 97% positive, so clearly I'm not alone in needing a little of that Dreamcast spirit in my life. Finally, a new pirate game that's actually good: I can't stop playing the Steam Next Fest demo for this open-world survival game with Assassin's Creed Black Flag sailing, Sea of Thieves combat, and Ark crafting.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! The designer behind Donkey Kong's 1994 redesign has revealed the original model had no fur while questioning the cursed cartoon's version's place in the character's evolution. Over on Twitter, an account named Video Game History posted an image showing the evolution of Donkey Kong, from his 1981 design, through to his Super Mario Bros. Movie and Donkey Kong Bananza looks. Kevin Bayliss – who is credited as designing Rare's version of the character which would become his default look from then until last year – took notice. The Donkey Kong Country render used in the tweet was actually an updated version, as Bayliss notes. "The 1994 version I created of DK didn’t have fur on, we didn’t add that for a while because the tech wasn’t there." He later added, "I feel very lucky to have been involved at a time back when there were significant changes in technology and graphics" Out of nowhere, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD gets updated with new content a year since launch After 44 years as second banana, Donkey Kong Bananza makes Nintendo's first star a mascot to rival Mario and Link in the Switch 2 era Banjo-Kazooie creator reveals that the mythical "Stop 'N' Swop" feature was originally bigger than we ever knew Now, this doesn't mean Donkey Kong was buttass naked the whole time on SNES and you just don't remember it. The original Rare renders instead had DK with weird brown sleeves (via Mario Wiki) like someone had covered him in Play-Do. The furry design wasn't implemented until later, with the first SNES sequel Diddy's Kong Quest featuring actual fur on the characters. Bayliss also took aim at the 1999 Donkey Kong Country cartoon version of the character being included in the image, saying, "I wouldn’t class the 1999 tv show version as part of his evolution. It was more a 'spin off' version." He continues, "And hideous." Pokemon Presents February 2026 time – as the Pokemon Day stream draws near, we're all hoping for a Gen 10 reveal

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Put berries in the hole. Get money. Win. This appears to be the law of Berry Bury Berry, a strange, esoteric, and beguiling puzzler on Steam that's got thousands of positive reviews already, even though I don't think anyone really knows what's going on with the hole. But then, are we ever meant to? It seems like our mission is to grow berries and befriend them. They're colorful, spherical companions in this small garden you've found yourself in. Fodder for the hole, the gaping mass that always demands more. More, I said. More. Rewards gleaned thus can be used to buy tools and make improvements that'll let you make more fodder for the hole, and learn about these green but distinctly ominous surroundings. What's really going on here? Do I want to know? Do you? Growing berries and dipping them into oblivion seems so much simpler. Art imitates life, so I'm munching through walls while an AI chatbot tells me to buy a gun in Drywall Eating Simulator I was informed of what seems to be the only game on Steam with this many 100% positive reviews, and I need you to see it with me Steam users pile into the demo of a job sim about the very thing wreaking havoc on PC gaming: data centers All of this is to say, I can see why Berry Bury Berry has gathered a steady, infatuated audience. Made by Get(Color) Games, it's a bright, eye-catching, and bizarre-looking thing with a mechanical hook that seems fun enough off the bat to justify the $8 price-tag. I mean, the PowerWash Simulator games have proven that people love mundane yet satisfying tasks if they're translated in the right way mechanically. Throw in a narrative rabbit hole that seems somewhere between the TV show Severance and space horror Mouthwashing, and it's a strong pitch. I've only played the demo, so I'm not far enough in to get an ending yet, but there's more than enough to push me forward. Who knew it would feel so good to just put stuff into a giant hole? I mean, honestly, there are several aspects of my life I wish I could give this treatment to. Or perhaps I can… that's a question for another time. Berry Bury Berry is on Steam, and there's a free demo out now. Like moths to a flame, PC gamers and Steam users pile into the demo of a job sim about the very thing wreaking havoc on PC gaming and the Steam machine right now: data centers.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! As usual, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered fans are finding creative ways to break the revamped RPG from Bethesda Game Studios – and this one player who has turned the Imperial City into a scene from Resident Evil certainly offers no exception. There's no shortage of silly Oblivion Remastered challenges or feats achieved by players – there was a leap across the entire map allowed by 15,000 points poured into Acrobatics, a fan managing to paralyze their character for 66 years, you name it – but Reddit user "SwimmingNo1851" might've just topped everyone by using ever-beloved PC console commands and… making the RPG a zombie game? Uh, yeah, that sounds about right. They reveal their RPG-turned-horror creation in a new post, writing, "I recreated a zombie apocalypse in the Imperial City!" Attached is a video that I can only quite describe as chaotic. Zombies battle with poor guards who are in for way more than they're paid to do – and we're talking, like, hundreds of zombies. The number of red enemy dots on SwimmingNo1851's compass is headache-inducing, but they dodge the undead quite well themselves. This Oblivion Remastered fan has now spent 300 days following an Imperial Palace Guard "until I can loot his armor" This Oblivion Remastered mod adds actual jobs to Bethesda's revamped RPG, in case you're not already sick of working IRL Oblivion Remastered's wildest bug made me choose between losing achievements or living as a fugitive I recreated a zombie apocalypse in the Imperial City! from r/oblivion Comments are just as amusing as the notion of a zombie takeover in Cyrodiil, with one fan joking, "Knight of the Nine Living Dead." Another exclaims, "Talos have mercy, how does one even achieve this?" Elsewhere, folks reminisce about an old mod for the original 2006 Oblivion – likely 28 Days and a Bit 4 on Nexus Mods, a now 12-year-old creation that boasts over 200,000 views and a plethora of downloads. "This brings me back to the old zombie apocalypse mod," says one player. "Good times." Another chimes in, "Well, now I want that zombie apocalypse mod that 4 had." Elsewhere in the replies, somebody else similarly states, "Man, this takes me back! I remember playing with a zombie apocalypse mod for the OG!" Does this mean we need another, revamped zombie-themed mod for Oblivion Remastered? Methinks yes. The potential is definitely obvious, and from people's responses, I'd argue that a good few players would give such a mod a go in 2025 if they could. But, until then, we can do what SwimmingNo1851 did – do it "on the console command." This Oblivion Remastered player has spent 300 days following an Imperial Palace Guard in the RPG "until I can loot his armor" – and they've only just seen his face

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! As Palworld inches ever closer to the doors leading out of early access, at least one fan is getting really impatient. Pocketpair's ever chatty communications lead John "Bucky" Buckley took to social media, where he's normally outspoken about industry topics, to share a funny pitch sent in to Pocketpair Publishing, the studio's arm for helping and publishing indie games made outside its offices. "Great pitch came in to Pocketpair Publishing today," he writes, alongside a pitch document that has "hurry up with Palworld 1.0" and "hurry up with Palworld" scrawled across it. Game name? "Hurry up with Palworld." Developer name? "Hurry up with Palworld." Developer website? You guessed it. Also, "hurry up with Palworld 1.0." Talk about brand synergy. Palworld lead hits back at claims Pocketpair "dgaf" about its survival hit, jokes "we should drop 1.0 right now" Palworld's Home Sweet Home update "won't be as content-heavy," but it will make the 1.0 launch "the best ever" Palworld 1.0 gets whale-sized tease in 2 year anniversary video from Pocketpair, who says it's the "biggest update ever" Great pitch came in to Pocketpair Publishing today😔 pic.twitter.com/BVl75JWa9TFebruary 26, 2026 Great pitch came in to Pocketpair Publishing today😔 pic.twitter.com/BVl75JWa9TFebruary 26, 2026 Great pitch came in to Pocketpair Publishing today😔 pic.twitter.com/BVl75JWa9TFebruary 26, 2026 New Blood Interactive co-founder Dave Oshry, the publisher behind Dusk and fellow Palworld collaborator Ultrakill, joined in on the fun too. "NO LIES THO," he quipped in the replies. After two very successful years in early access, the survival-y monster tamer Palworld still doesn't have a 1.0 release date, but Pocketpair has been continually updating Palworld with new features, improvements, extra Pals, and way more the entire time. The developer even teased Palworld's 1.0 launch last month in an update briefly showing off a new whale-sized Pal. Other details about Palworld 1.0 are light, apart from the fact that it's due sometime later this year – though Bucky did also reveal that 1.0 is shaping up to be the team's largest update ever. Together with the upcoming Palworld TCG this summer, 2026 looks to be a massive year for the Pals. "There are a zillion demos in this Steam Next Fest," Palworld lead says, and "I don't feel very compelled" to check out any that feature AI art.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Data Center Demo is climbing the Steam Next Fest charts, despite the irony that increased AI use and data centers are currently plaguing PC gaming, and are basically the reason for the Steam Machine's delay. Simulation games have seen a huge boom in the last few years. While life simulation has long been popular, few other types of simulation games were standouts like Truck Simulator and Farming Simulator. Over the last few years, the genre has seen a boom, and you can play a simulation game for pretty much anything you can think of. Type 'Simulator' into Steam and you'll be hit with thousands of them. It's not just the big names and genuinely fun games, like Powerwash Simulator, but also hundreds of low-effort asset flips looking to get in on the trend. Without playing Data Center Demo myself, and not having the technical understanding to really 'get' it if I did, I can't tell which category it falls into. "There are a zillion demos in this Steam Next Fest," Palworld lead says and is hesistant of games AI art capsules PC gamers and Steam customers are "a really bright spot" as the games industry struggles with prices, analyst says Despite AI-generated textures, audio, and music, Steam users shower survival game in 11,000 95% positive reviews Luckily, there is a way to better understand it through the opinions of people far smarter than me. Heading to the user reviews to better understand its mystique, the top-rated comment at the time of writing reads, "I don't recommend buying it, but I do like the idea! The demo lacks depth, I hope in the future they add more complex systems meaning: failures, ddos, power fails." Another user with nine hours on record says, "No game has ever yet made me pull out an Excel spreadsheet, let alone make it almost 3MB." Not all the vibes are positive, however, and alongside the depth lacking, there is some irony in that generative AI was used in the game's development. "In-game logos and the store description are clearly shitty genAI," one review reads. "For some reason the tutorial contains a shit ton of info on real-life data center management, 99% of which has absolutely no application in the game. Not an asset flip but it looks low-effort all around." Might not be the next TCG Card Shop Simulator then. Modder takes Valve's AI measures one step further with a browser extension that adds an unavoidable gen AI warning to Steam games to cut out the slop

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! It's hard not to discover something new in No Man's Sky, really, with 18 quintillion planets or so knocking about its many galaxies – but one player has gone and found a world that might just top them all with its Light No Fire-esque charm. From planets with unintentionally NSFW aliens to worlds that harbor dangers at every turn, there's no shortage of exciting terrains to explore in No Man's Sky. One Redditor, however, has unearthed (get it, haha) an absolute gem, sharing their discovery in a post.Sure, it's a lush paradise with crystal-clear waters, but that's not what actually makes this planet unique… It's the spitting image of what we've seen of Light No Fire, Hello Games' upcoming title. "I found Light No Fire in No Man's Sky," as user "Tijex10" so aptly puts it. "A few days ago, I shared on this subreddit a beautiful, ringed Earth-like paradise planet I found in No Man's Sky, which I named Artemis. Since then, I've been exploring it to see what other wonders I could find, and I've definitely fallen even more in love with the game. On my journey, I came across truly heavenly landscapes, breathtaking views, and multiple points of interest." Light No Fire: Everything we know so far No Man's Sky and Light No Fire fans in shambles as Hello Games boss Sean Murray starts tweeting safety vest emojis 10 Games like No Man's Sky that are out of this world I found Light No Fire in No Man's Sky from r/NoMansSkyTheGame The player continues, explaining that they "took the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the scrapper theme of the latest update," the massive Remnant patch, as Artemis features plenty of scrap. That's when their friends noted that "the landscape reminded them a lot of Light No Fire, the new game Hello Games is developing." Tijex10 quickly saw what they meant: "I couldn't help but notice the incredible resemblance." Attached screenshots absolutely do show a planet that's reminiscent of Light No Fire, with its colorful charm, grassy hills, and pristine ponds. Commenters agree, too, with some even joking that it could be Hello Games lead Sean Murray's "test" planet of sorts. "Could you imagine walking around and actually finding random structures that look like they're from Light No Fire for testing? Like Sean is just over there building a log cabin, testing features." Someone else replies, "I always said LNF is an actual game within a game – some random system with 1 planet, and that's the game." Now, wouldn't that be something… Only time will tell what the ever-mysterious Light No Fire truly plays like, though (and I can't wait to see). Need something else to look forward to with Light No Fire still underway? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond for more.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Any deckbuilding game requires some finesse to balance, and when you throw in the roguelike RNG elements of the forthcoming Slay the Spire 2 and its predecessor, you've a lot of variables to contend with. During a Reddit AMA, developer Mega Crit Games gave an overview of how the team approaches card design in terms of balancing, and it's more of an art than a science. Jake Card, lead programmer on Slay the Spire 2, outlined the step-by-step process. First, the team thinks of cards that seem "cool and fun," then give them "initial values" that fit on a "gut level." The first round of testing occurs between the devs themselves, before they pass to the playtesters for further evaluation. Cards are examined for subjective fun, as well as more objective parameters such as win-rate. Adjustments are made, and the QA team gets different builds on a weekly basis, with a mix of new cards and old ones that have been altered somehow. Slay the Spire 2 devs shout out Hades, Elden Ring Nightreign, and more for making an impact on their roguelike sequel Slay the Spire 2's impending release scares another roguelike deckbuilder into a delay: "Everyone will be playing it" Slay the Spire 2 devs "admire the tenacity" of fellow roguelike dev who isn't moving their release date because of them "We hope you find ways to break the game!" Card adds. "Part of the fun of card games is finding unintended synergies that make you OP. If anyone finds anything that’s broken enough to make other strategies pointless, Anthony [Giovannetti, Mega Crit co-founder] gets to do his favorite thing: nerf cards!" Another commenter questions maintaining balance across single-player and co-op. There are always different considerations for multiplayer, including having more cards firing, and what the synergy is between players. "In an ideal world with infinite resources, we would perfectly balance both," Card states in response. "In this world, single player balance takes priority over co-op for us." That feels right for something the scale of Slay the Spire 2. Many players will approach it as a solo adventure, and if the alchemy is good in single-player, it makes a solid foundation for when others are in the fray. Slay the Spire 2 is due to arrive in early access on Steam on March 5. Slay the Spire 2 dev "flattered" everyone places its predecessor among the best roguelikes ever, shouts out Hades, Elden Ring Nightreign, and more for making an impact on them.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Dune: Awakening developer Funcom has just posted new patch notes to help prepare players for Patch 1.3.10 in March – and players are, in fact, going to want to prepare. They're going to be moving houses soon. "With Patch 1.3.10.0, we will begin the process of migrating characters and consolidating less populated official servers," says Funcom in its update. "Arrakis is at its best when the desert is alive, when the social hubs are bustling, the Exchange is active, and the player cooperation and Landsraad competition is high." The developer assures fans that, in early March, it'll release a comprehensive list of all the worlds affected by its consolidation plans, "to give you ample time to prepare." But March is still a little bit away, and that gives players time to worry. New Dune: Awakening patch finally lets you transfer your character to another server After surprise server shutdown, Dune: Awakening devs squash bug that cost players 1,000-hour bases Dune: Awakening "shutting down all servers" for emergency fix to yet another exploit that put entire bases at risk "I actually enjoy having less people on the server I am on (Richese). I think Richese will be one of the servers hit when it comes to these migrations," one fan observes in a Reddit thread on the issue. "This makes me a bit nervous about the migration." Anticipating these worries, Funcom continues to explain that fans impacted by the shuttering of servers can eventually "choose to immediately initiate a token-free character transfer after backing up your base and storing all vehicles. If you prefer to wait until the world closes, your characters and everything they own, including bases and vehicles, will be stored safely for you automatically." And, speaking of bases, Funcom would also like to officially apologize for what it's calling "the recent Hagga Basin incident" – that exploit bad enough to trigger a server shutdown. "While we deployed a fix as soon as we could on Monday, February 23rd, this breach of the game's core rules should never have occurred," Funcom says. As penance to players who lost bases and time, Funcom will "provide generous resource packages," and it'll double rewards earned from Landsraad Missions from February 27 to March 2. The developer has already finished permanently banning 155 "biggest offenders, and it's issued 289 14-day suspensions "to other players who knowingly abused this exploit." "These were not new players; they were individuals who chose to bypass the game's mechanics to harm others," Funcom says decisively. "Such behavior has no place in Dune: Awakening." After surprise server shutdown, Dune: Awakening devs squash bug that cost players 1,000-hour bases – and promise "adequate resources and item packages to cover any losses incurred."

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! I stumbled onto a new Steam page because of the extremely long name of its publisher, but stayed for the merging of two of the sickest games known to man. Finding games on Steam is rough. There's so much AI slop flooding the marketplace – which has made this Steam Next Fest in particular a tough one to deal with at times – so it's becoming increasingly hard for games to stand out, especially without backing from a big publisher. But I spotted a game called Delivery Must Complete the other day from a different kind of big publisher, the big in this case being its name. The publisher in question is: "It was a dark night after a storm and I had been torn apart from the despair of realizing I needed money to make video games. In my depression, I gazed upon a pristine pool of water on the sidewalk and a beautiful expression gazed back; every inch of his beauty encapsulated in the tiny portal to the realm blessed by his mortal presence. He pulled out his phone with grace and I followed suit - logging onto my bank account and showing that I had money saved up. With his delicate finger he pointed at the number written on the savings account. 'This is our budget for the game', his silk-like voice rang. And thus, through his sheer wisdom, the funding for the game was secured. Despite never seeing that absolute sage of a man ever again, I still consider him and his insight into the solution for my troubles deeply integral to the development of this game, and thus, he, in spirit, is my publisher." This nautical take on the boomer shooter is filled with 90s cartoon absurdity, and it's already one of my favourite games of the year after only playing an hour This might be the fastest I've gotten sucked into a roguelike all year: build the perfect war castle in this Steam demo "Stop trying to get us to make the next Fortnite or Destiny," says the dev of this odd reverse bullet hell tactics game Not only a great publisher name, but a great way for me to hit my minimum wordcount on this article. Gimmicky or not, I'm very glad to have run into it, given that the elevator pitch is "Devil May Cry meets Ace Combat," which is a shorter way of saying "the two coolest series of all time are having a roguelike baby. The Steam page even mentions parries, which I have no clue how you would do with a fighter jet. But I love a good parry, so who cares? Ace Combat is already one of the most over-the-top series of all time as is, and adding a Devil May Cry-like rating system is a moment of "I didn't know I needed this" if I ever saw one. Even the name Delivery Must Complete is a nod to Capcom's classic action game. If anything, the biggest problem is that it isn't a part of Steam Next Fest this time around, because even from the little bits of gameplay on the page, I'm already hooked. Super Meat Boy 3D's Steam Next Fest demo proves Team Meat's masocore platformer translates to 3D shockingly well.