April 2022

Portable monitors have become increasingly popular over the last few years. The slim form factor makes for an easy-to-pack travel monitor that slides in right alongside your laptop, but these screens have potential as a on-the-go gaming display as well. There's just one issue - these monitors are almost universally built using LCD technology which, as anyone familiar with DF might know, is not our first choice when it comes to gaming displays. That's why I was fascinated by the sudden appearance of new OLED-based portable monitors such as the Innocn 15K1F we're discussing today.

Compared to LCD, OLED technology offers vastly superior contrast with inky blacks, excellent colour and faster motion response - I simply had to check it out to see if this is a worthy purchase or if it runs into some unforeseen pitfalls. I've spent the last month tinkering with this monitor in a variety of scenarios and walked away mostly impressed. So how does it stack up?

For starters, like its LCD brethren, the 15K1F is slim and lightweight (just 1.6lbs/0.7kg) with a form factor resembling an over-sized tablet in its design. It features a nice aluminium casing surrounding the screen itself and feels reasonably durable. The package includes a protection cover with rubber sides that grip onto the unit which also doubles as a foldable stand. The side of the monitor features power and volume buttons in addition to a pair of USB-C connectors and one mini-HDMI input - two of which can function as sources for video input.

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Bill Clinton has been immortalised in Guilty Gear Strive, after remarks against the series made in 1999.

As reported by Gamespot, then President of the United States Bill Clinton gave a speech condemning violence in video games, specifically violent messaging in advertisements.

He held up a number of examples, which included "kill your friends, guilt free" from Guilty Gear, the 1998 first instalment in the fighting game series.

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One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was shared over the scream of a high-revving V10 engine. The summer before I headed into my GCSEs, my work experience took me to the British GP in 1996 where I was lucky enough to shadow the brilliant motorsport journalist David Tremayne who at the time was The Independent's F1 correspondent.

We were standing at the back of a garage watching Martin Brundle's car being fired up, the Jordan liveried in the same thin gold of the B&H cartons I'd started sneakily smoking on the walk back from school. The engine note - a shrill, banshee scream that got louder and louder as it bounced off the concrete walls - was what we games journalists might call visceral, an all-encompassing thing that visibly moved me.

My mentor saw that wide-eyed excitement, the same look that's struck me whenever I go to a race track and first hear an engine striking a note of fury, and recognised it; it was pretty much the same one he had on his face as we were being blasted by a V10, some years into his career and having heard that same note over countless race weekends. 'Hold onto that', he said. 'When it's gone you might as well walk away'.

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The Sonic the Hedgehog film series won't follow the chronological order of the games.

Speaking to IGN, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 director Jeff Fowler stated the films will be a melting pot of ideas rather than directly paralleling the game series.

"It's not always going to be a linear progression of like 'Oh, this was in Sonic 2 so it's going to be in the Sonic 2 film'," he said. "It's going to be a little bit of a cherry picking, a little bit of a melting pot. There's so much great, inspiring imagery to pull from the 30 years of games. So if we didn't get it in one film, there's always the chance that we'll revisit it somewhere else."

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Steam payments to Ukrainian developers have been suspended, though Valve has confirmed this is for technical reasons.

"Due to the current environment, we are unable to send bank payments to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine," reads an email sent by Valve to developers affected two weeks ago.

Following criticism, this was followed up by a further email apologising for the lack of information and offering more detail on the issue.

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The lead writer on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has claimed her work has been "erased" following a GDC talk by Insomniac lead designer Mark Stuart.

As reported yesterday, Stuart discussed the development of Rivet, including gameplay elements and the character's name.

However, lead writer Sam Maggs has responded to IGN's coverage stating "it's pretty upsetting and frankly offensive" that she wasn't included in Stuart's talk, adding "sucks to have my work erased".

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Xbox Games with Gold is a service that allows you to download fan favourite Xbox games for as part of your subscription.

Typically, there are four new games available each month - two Xbox One titles and two Xbox 360 titles. Though there may be the occasional classic Xbox title as well.

We'll update this page every month, so that you don't miss out on any exciting titles.

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Cursed to Golf is a pretty good game of golf. It's 2D and side-on, so aiming is simplified, and once you've selected your club from a limited range, it's one click for power and then another for the angle and you're off!

But that's not the entirety of it. Really it's just the start. Because in Cursed to Golf you're dead - is it a spoiler to say you die halfway through the tutorial? - and your mission is to play your way out of golfing purgatory.

This is a clever game, I reckon. A spin on a platformer that feels nothing like a platformer. It turns out that purgatory golf holes are tough. They zig-zag up and down, so the fairway you want to land on with your first shot might be below you. Or it might be blocked off by TNT. Or a fan might push the ball out of the way.

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The Spotlight Hour in Pokémon Go is a weekly event that will highlight one, special, surprise Pokémon and a special bonus effect.

Originally this bonus took place during the Mystery Bonus Hour, but this mini-event was merged with Spotlight hour at the beginning of April 2020.

For one hour, the chosen Pokemon will appear more frequently in the wild, allowing you to catch as many as you can. This could help you fill in a missing entry in the Pokédex or find a strong Pokémon for raiding.

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UPDATE 30/3/22: Following reports of Funomena's closure last night the studio has tweeted to say it's still actively working on closing an investment round.

"Funomena was in the process of closing an investment round just before GDC, and we are still actively working to do so," reads the tweet. "Last week we let everyone know that if we do not successfully finish the fundraise, we will be forced to close the studio.

"We love game development, we love making games and we love bringing people into the community. It is our sincere hope that we can continue to do so, together."

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A US district court judge has confirmed they're "prepared to approve" Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard's $18m USD settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year, despite objections from other parties.

Activision Blizzard initially announced it had reached an agreement with the EEOC - to set aside $18m for employees who had experienced harassment and discrimination at the company - last September, but court approval of the settlement was delayed after California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing objected.

In that objection, the DFEH - which had filed its own bombshell lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July last year, calling the publisher a "breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women" - claimed the settlement would cause "irreparable harm" to its own ongoing legal proceedings if approved, given that its terms would, among other things, require employees to release Activision Blizzard from claims under California state law.

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If cute critters of the damp variety are your thing, Frontier Developments has you covered in Planet Zoo's latest DLC expansion, known as the Wetlands Animal Pack, which will introduce the likes of the capybara, platypus, and more when it heads to PC on 12th April.

Wetlands, if you haven't been keeping a tally, will be Planet Zoo's ninth DLC expansion since its launch in 2019, following on from the Arctic Pack, South America Pack, Australia Pack, Aquatic Pack, Southeast Asia Animal Pack, Africa Pack, North America Animal Pack, and Europe Pack.

Given that this latest expansion falls into the 'Animal Pack' category, it lacks the zoo-sprucing scenery items seen in Planet Zoo's just plain-old 'Pack' packs, instead choosing to focus on a boosted number of creature additions - in this case bringing a grand total of eight new water-themed species: the capybara, platypus, Asian small-clawed otter, spectacled caiman, Nile lechwe, wild water buffalo, red-crowned crane, and Danube crested newt.

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Developer Witch Beam's "zen" puzzler Unpacking - which, you may recall, was named Eurogamer's Game of the Year in 2021 - will be making its way to PlayStation 4 and PS5 "soon".

Unpacking initially burst out of its box toward the end of last year, giving PC, Switch, and Xbox players the opportunity to experience significant moments in the life of its protagonist, as relayed entirely through the act of pulling her current possessions out of boxes and packing them away into a new living space each time.

"Here's a puzzle game, at surface, about tidying things away," wrote Martin Robinson on announcing Unpacking as Eurogamer's Game of the Year in 2021, "a premise that's compelling enough alone. There's something soothing about the fundamentals of neatly folding away t-shirts and socks while proudly stacking books on once empty shelves."

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With April inching ever closer, Microsoft has hoisted its Games With Gold sack once more, upending it to reveal a fresh selection of titles being made available as part of Xbox Live Gold (and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) subscriptions next month, which this time look an awful lot like Hue, Another Sight, Outpost Kaloki X, and MX vs ATV Alive.

Hue, if you're unfamiliar, is puzzle adventure that sees players wandering a grey world and using their colour-based powers to push ever forward. Puzzles are largely built around the ability to change the background colour of the world, either causing previously invisible objects to be made visible or to colour-match obstacles so they disappear. Developer Fiddlesticks Games expands on that premise to deliver an experience that's as sweet as it is clever - and Xbox Live Gold subscribers can grab it as part of Games With Gold from 16th April to 15th May.

As for Another Sight, it's a "surreal fantasy adventure" with another distinctive mechanic at its core. Here, players take on the role of a partially sighted girl named Kit and her cat Hodge, flipping between the two and using their respective abilities to solve puzzles and progress - Hodge being smaller, more agile and able to view much more of the environment on-screen, and Kit being more attuned to noises around her and able to manipulate larger objects. It's available on Games With Gold from 1st-30th April.

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I'm trying to unite Ireland. It's 1066. Harold is about to get shot in the eye over in England - I know that because of history - so I've snuck in early and befriended him, and arranged for my daughter to marry one of his sons when she comes of age. Icky, I know, but when the French later decide to help my Irish neighbour in a war against me, and turn up in their thousands, I'm able to call on the English to fight them off. Step by step, I'm getting there.

This is Crusader Kings 3, and I've wanted to play Crusader Kings 3 for a long time. I've tried playing on PC before but bounced off it. Why it's taken until the console release to try again, I don't know, but here I am. And now the question is whether, on console, it works. The answer? Sort of.

It's a port with some adaptation; it's not a complete rethink for consoles. The game you might already know has been squeezed onto a gamepad and slightly enlarged for TV, and though it never quite feels natural, it works well enough to play.

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Recovering the missing Battle Bus Plans is one of the challenges you can complete in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2.

This challenge is classified as a Resistance challenge, which means it's part of Season 2's storyline and requires you to find a beacon in either Condo Canyon, Coney Crossroads or the Daily Bugle to start.

Completing it will reward you with 23k XP, which will help you unlock some new skins from the Battle Pass, but, first, you need to know the Battle Bus Plans locations.

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A new PC mod for Elden Ring adds a much wished for element to the game - a transmog system. This allows players to wear whatever armour they like, without having to worry about little things such as stats.

The mod in question is by NexusMods user pelooleq (nice spot, Screen Rant), and is their first mod.

"Want to look classy without sacrificing your stats?" pelooleq writes. "Finish the game with your starting armour skin, or with this armour you like? This mod is for you!!!"

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If you want to flex your meterology rather than your vocabulary, check out a neat new free game inspired by Worlde: Cloudle. Each day, it asks players to guess the five-day weather forecast for a random city around the world, filling out a grid with weather symbols. It's Wordle but with weather, and I like it.

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Doom – the 1993 one – can famously run on all manner of stuff that generally has no business running games, from inkjet printers to pregnancy tests. You’ll be wanting a bonafide PC for this new mod, though, as it adds some GPU-intensive but rather lovely ray tracing to Doom’s first three episodes. There’s DLSS support too!

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Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Coca-Cola has announced the latest in its line of Creations soft drinks, a gaming-themed "pixel-flavored" beverage called Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte. 

In collaboration with lifestyle and gaming organization PWR, Byte will be introduced first to the metaverse, with its real and drinkable version coming in limited quantities in May. The virtual version of Byte will come first to an "individually created Fortnite Creative experience" called Pixel Point. This island created by PWR features four "sensory inspired multiplayer mini-games" named The Castle, The Escape, The Race, and The Tower. Pixel Point and the promotion of Byte have no official connection to Fortnite or Epic Games.

To try out Pixel Point right now, enter this Fortnite Creative code: 8565-0287-3178

Additionally, an augmented reality game can be accessed at the Coca-Cola Creations site that will feature a virtual leaderboard to compare completion times on social media.

During his YouTube stream, someone off-camera asked if the package was an apology for choosing Martin and Sanderson laughed saying "no, they should've hired George", but another off-screen voice told him to read the note that came with the gift.

A new trailer for Final Fantasy 14 has been released, showing off gameplay of its Newfound Adventure Patch 6.1 coming 12th April.

Released following the latest Letter from the Producer live broadcast, the trailer shows plenty of flashy gameplay of bosses and dungeons from the new content. Check it out below.

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Previously unseen footage from a demo for an unannounced Gex sequel has started making the rounds on the internet.

The footage in question shows a character named Gex Jr. making his way through what appears to be a cinema.

Gex Jr. jumps from screen to popcorn machine and on to yet another screen (one of which appears to show Gex from Crystal Dynamics’ original games), all while chugging down cans of fizzy soda and making some pretty dated references.

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Square Enix has released a new patch for its Final Fantasy themed kart racing sim Chocobo GP.

This patch will finally address numerous bugs present in the game, including an issue where the game stopped progressing at the rankings screen at the end of a race or while matchmaking for the next race.

It will also attend to an issue where finishing in fourth place or higher was treated as being eliminated due to lag.

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Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation delivered a solid second season toward the end of last year, but it’s only now that McFarlane Toys is readying its second line of figurines for launch. Pre-orders went live over the weekend, with the Roach model by far and away proving the most popular; in fact, it’s already sold out!

The full lineup includes four figurines of the same scale as its Season 1 offering, including two Geralt figures (one with a “toxic” appearance), Ciri, and Roach — all of which can either be purchased individually or as a bundle. Thankfully for those still wanting to get Roach, the bundle is still available.

You can check out a slideshow featuring each of the models below, which all cost between $39.99-$49.99, with the bundle coming in at $110.46:

Moss: Book II on PlayStation VR

My time with Moss: Book II was a tale of two halves. One half was a rekindling of my love for VR, a medium that’s fallen by the wayside in the past 12-18 months in favor of the premium experiences releasing on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Experiences that don’t require strapping something to my face and the flailing of my arms in the middle of my living room. The other was a reminder of just how far VR has come since PlayStation VR’s release back in 2018, and how frustrating this very dated tech can make experiencing the fantastic games developers are still releasing on the platform four years later.

Moss: Book II isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel that its predecessor so meticulously crafted. At heart, it’s still the fairytale-inspired platforming experience which sees you guiding the titular white mouse, Quill, through a fantastical world oozing with charm and character.

The story follows on immediately from the events of the first game, where Quill and Uncle Argus embark on an adventure to save the world of Moss and put an end to the rule of the Arcane. To do this, players must help Quill acquire the five ‘glass,’ which are essentially the Infinity Stones of their world.

It’s an okay enough story, but it didn’t do enough to initially grab me. But, this is where Polyarc’s magic comes into play. The longer you’re in the world, pulling blocks, powering up Quill’s sword for her dash ability, or just gawking at the colorful scenery, the more immersed you find yourself and the more engaged you are in helping the adorable lil’ mouse succeed in her quest.

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S
Also on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: TT Games
Release: April 5, 2022
Rating: Everyone 10+

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: TT Games
Release: April 5, 2022
Rating: Everyone 10+

Since 2005, LEGO has partnered with Star Wars to create some zany fun for fans of a galaxy far, far away, and that paring finally continues in 2022. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is almost here, and we're showing off some new gameplay and discussing our review thoughts on developer TT Games' latest wacky adventure.

Platform: PlayStation 5
Developer: Blue Box Game Studios

Blue Box Game Studios revealed Abandoned, a PlayStation 5-exclusive survival horror game, in April of last year and since then, it’s been on a ride, and not a particularly great one. 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Ilca, Game Freak
Release: November 19, 2021
Rating: Everyone

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are still receiving plenty of love from The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, and the remakes’ developer, Ilca, and much of that love comes in the form of Mystery Gift distributions. 

Don’t let your memes be dreams gamers, because last night Kirby, in the year of our lord 2022, won a Grammy.

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Merriam-Webster defines “wall” as “a means of access” or “a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened.” Wait, nope, my mistake. That’s the Elden Ring definition of “wall”—and as spotted by Polygon’s Mike Mahardy, apparently the Tina Tina’s Wonderlands one, too.

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One of Elden Ring’s toughest bosses just got harder, again. FromSoftware released a small patch overnight to buff Starscourge Radahn after the game’s massive 1.03 patch accidentally weakened some of the demigod’s attacks. Some Elden Ring players are already rejoicing, because if there’s one thing they love it’s…

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Devolver Digital has announced a sequel to Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is finally on its way, and it is rather fittingly called Return to Monkey Island.

Monkey Island co-creator Ron Gilbert is spearheading the project, alongside fellow co-creator Dave Grossman. Dominic Armato will also return as the fan-favourite voice of Guybrush Threepwood.

To accompany this announcement, a new teaser was also revealed, with a tenuous release date set for some time this year.

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