December 2022

Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter's #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, more Twitter technical troubles mean we maybe don't have the most games to admire, but we do still have some pretties alright. My eye has been caught by a pretty island castle, scaling a giant creature, a look inside computers, and more. Come see!

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Welcome to day 11 of the RPS Advent Calendar! We're going to have a great time: singing songs by the fire, kayaking in the lake, and definitely none of the camp counselors are going to be brutally murdered by monsters!

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Sundays are for clearing the ice off your car's windscreen with lukewarm water. Before you pour, let's read this week's best writing about games (and game related things).

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Religion is the opiate of the masses, I've heard tell. Some religions are more cute than others, though. At least, on the face of it they are. I was pretty on board at the start, but I'm not sure about the glowing eyes and sleeping in a tent and eating grass. Plus the leader keeps going into the forest and comes back covered in blood.

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We had snow in Edinburgh this week, so it's full-on Christmas as far as I'm concerned. This tweet (with a clip from cute Christmas romcom A Bride For Christmas, by the way, available on Amazon Prime) speaks to my current professional mindset. I've bought and wrapped all my presents, written and posted my cards, and now I can sit back and continue watching Christmas movies (37 since the start of November). But what are you playing this weekend? Here's what we're clicking on!

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Amazon Basics have produced some great computer gear in their history - memorably, once selling a full-size mechanical keyboard for £23 that I reviewed and found surprisingly good value for money. Today though, it's something different: an Amazon Basics branded Micro SD card in a 256GB capacity, selling for just £15.67 rather than its UK RRP of £26.99.

Here's what I've learned about the card, and why I reckon it's worth picking up if you're in need for a memory card for your Steam Deck, Switch or whatever.

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Some men just want to watch the world burn, and that includes me. The Devil's Moon event for excellent cowboy swamp simulator Hunt Showdown kicks off on December 14th, no doubt sending players off to squish environmental objects for points that unlock new weapons and cosmetics in the manner of previous events. This one is different, though, in that it also introduces a "wildcard condition" called Inferno that sets large swathes of the map on fire. It is dramatic. Come see.

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Logitech's MX Master line of office-friendly, gaming-capable mice are normally quite premium propositions. However, today on Amazon UK the recent MX Master 2S is on sale for only £40, around a £25 reduction from its usual price point. This is a good deal for a mouse loved for its high-tech scroll wheel, wide and comfortable shape and long-ass battery life.

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Your wallet may still be quivering from the Steam Autumn Sale. Tough. It's time to grab hold of it again, comfort it with a few tender strokes, then gorge on its innards to pay for some of the splendid turn-based strategy games on sale in Steam's TurnBasedFest.

There are decent discounts for Katharine's beloved Dorfromantik, my beloved Slipways, and many generally beloved digified board games. Most of the sales end on December 12th, so don't spend too long thinking about it. Reality's turn-timers aren't optional.

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The impact of the 2D Fallouts still reverberates, and the latest result of that is Space Wreck, an isometric RPG with a huge emphasis on screwing up.

Okay, maybe that's just my bad decisions talking. You're stranded on a wrecked space station after a failed pirate attack, and must get back to your ship. It's not super secret, but I almost don't want to say more than that, because this is a game overflowing with possibilities in a way that even Fallout seldom matched. It is not quite ready, but if the bugs can be ironed out, and perhaps more crucially, the save system reorganised, this could easily become one of the best RPGs of its kind.

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I wasn't on call last night, so I didn't get to experience The Geoffies in their full, live glory, as God intended. But that doesn't matter, because we've done our own awards, and who needs a live show with a smiley man in clean, clean trainers when you've got a list of the games and things in games that we liked for reasons too specific to get a category on stage? Also, none of them are Elden Ring.

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A lot of people claim foisting modern graphics on older games just results in compromising the original's artistic vision. I am a chump who likes shiny things, so the release of Portal with RTX on Steam pleases me. It's free if you own Portal, but fellow chumps should be aware that it's not running too hot for everyone, with reports of crashes and literally too-hot GPUs. Ray-tracing does not come cheap.

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On this week's episode of the Ultimate Audio Bang, we drop our early verdicts on the state of Warzone 2 and whether or not it lives up to expectations. That's with thoughts on DMZ mode too, which we reckon has great potential.

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If I were a security guard at Black Mesa, my head would get crabbed within minutes of a resonance cascade. Not so for Barney Calhoun, who fought his way free of the facility back in Valve's 2001 Half-Life expansion, Blue Shift. Modding team HECU Collective have been forcing him to run that gauntlet again, so far releasing 3 chapters to their mod for Black Mesa - not the fictional company, but the very real (and good) fan remake of the original Half-Life.

Chapter 4: Captive Freight comes out tomorrow, so it's a fine time to jump in.

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Yesterday Wholesome Games hosted another showcase of fresh indies in collaboration with The Game Awards. Though the TGAs proper were full of big games, names, and announcements, the indie showcase was no slouch, highlighting over a dozen exciting indies. One of the most notable was Spirittea, a life-sim where you manage a bathhouse, build relationships with the local NPCs and help various spirits that only you can see. Sort of a Spirited Away meets Stardew Valley proposition.

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Last night at The Game Awards, we learned that not only will there be a Hades 2, but it will be making the absolutely correct choice of letting Zagreus step aside to make way for a new protagonist. This time around we'll be playing as Melinoë, modelled after the Greek goddess of nightmares and madness. She's also Zag's half-sister — yet another of the dozens of children, step-children, and foster-children of Hades knocking about the place — which brings me to my main take-away from the newly-confirmed existence of a Hades sequel: the title character is a really bad dad.

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Roll three dice and get all 3s! Yeah! Worm eyes! That must mean it's day 9 of the RPS Advent Calendar. But wait a second. There's something funny about your dice. You cheatin' me? Oh, hang on, they're just pizza dice. Well in that case.

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Last night at The Game Awards, Raw Fury and developers Red Soul Games released a new look at the indie horror Post Trauma. The paranormal game leans heavily into the PSX generation of survival horrors, with its fixed camera angles and even optional tank controls. The developers describe it as "both a tribute and a modern take on classic horror games."

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Soulslike RPG The Lords Of The Fallen debuted its first gameplay trailer last night at The Game Awards, showcasing its violent combat, grotesque creature designs, and beautifully grim setting. The Lords Of The Fallen was previously announced as a reboot to the 2014 game of almost the same name (they added a The this time), although it now seems to be a sort-of sequel. Judging from this trailer the devs would be quite happy if someone thought it was Dark Souls 4 by mistake.

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Oh look, it’s the end of the year. I’m very much not looking forward to those first few months where I must train myself to write out the year with a 3 at the end, but thanks to tonight’s much-awaited The Game Awards 2022, I’m left feeling about 33% more hyped for all the games we’re gonna get to play next year.

On the off-chance that you missed the live show, fear not. We’ve sacrificed our sleep to round up every little thing that was trailered or announced at this year’s Game Awards. Take a look at everything that’s on the games horizon, and let us know what you’re looking forward to the most in the comments below!

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Bandai Namco revealed a new trailer for Tekken 8 at this year's The Game Awards and wow did they bring the drama for this one. Not only did we see a montage of increasingly gritty brawls, but also some new info about the fighters we'll be seeing in this, octequel(?). Cast your eyes over the trailer below.

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The Geoffries tonight saw the announcement of a new cooperative heist FPS with set in the 90s, with an extremely 90s cast. 90s actors featuring in Crime Boss: Rockay City include Michael Madsen, Kim Basinger, Danny Glover, Danny Trejo, and even Vanilla Ice and Chuck Norris. The game looks a whole lot like Payday but honestly, I'm always up for more heists. Check out the trailer below.

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At this year's Game Awards, we got to see a short teaser trailer for the latest game to come under EA's Originals label. It's called Immortals of Aveum, and it's being made by the recently-formed Ascendant Studios - which you might remember is Dead Space creative director Bret Robbins' new thing. Details about the first-person magic shoot 'em up are slim, but the trailer shows off some flashy magical spells and a fantasy city in crisis. You can watch the teaser reveal below.

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Evil’s not very nice, is it? Good job you’re around to give it a jolly good thwacking in action-survival game Remnant 2, a sequel to Remnant: From The Ashes announced during The Game Awards tonight. Your do-gooder can play solo or team up to sort out some pretty unpleasant monstrosities with up to two pals. Have a glance at the trailer below to see some very creepy beasties, and hear someone absolutely wail on their axe.

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We got another glimpse at Cyberpunk 2077's paid Phantom Liberty expansion at The Game Awards tonight, revealing that Luther, Knuckles and Stringer Bell himself Idris Elba will be joining yer man Keanu in its starry cast. Come and see him in action in the reveal trailer below.

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For the longest time, FromSoftware were best known for their Armored Core series of middling mech games. Then they found a whole new audience with Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, and nary a big robot in sight. Well, now FromSoft are returning to big stompy boys with Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon, coming in 2023. Check out the cool mechs in the announcement trailer from tonight's Geoffries, below.

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Final Fantasy 16 got a fiery new trailer tonight, as well as a final release date of June 22nd 2023. At least that's the date for PS5 players. For us folks on PC, tonight's Game Awards trailer confirmed in tiny small print that Square Enix's next JRPG epic won't be landing on "other platforms" until December 31st 2023 at the earliest. So, unless Squeenix are going to deliver us a belated Christmas New Year special next year, I think it's safe to assume that FF16's PC release won't be available to summon until 2024. Still, based on what we've seen in its new "Revenge" trailer tonight, I reckon it will be well worth the wait.

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Aloy's adventures will continue in the Horizon universe, but Guerrilla Games is also working on a separate multiplayer title in the franchise. There's no official name yet or a release window, but the developer is hiring staff for an online co-op project.

Guerrilla Games confirmed this new entry in the Horizon series on Twitter with a job listings sheet. The open positions posting mentions the developer is hiring in Amsterdam for single-player, online, and external project teams.

"A new internal team is developing a separate online project set in Horizon's universe," Guerrilla Games said. "Featuring a new cast of characters and a unique stylized look, friends will be able to explore the majestic wilds of Horizon together."

Some of the job listings for the online project include: stylized world artist, lead combat designer, lead quest designer, player engagement designer, and principal writer. This has reportedly been cooking at Guerrilla for quite a while. In October, a Horizon multiplayer spin-off was supposedly in the works, something the developer has wanted to pursue since the original Horizon Zero Dawn.

There is also reportedly a Horizon MMO in development at NCSoft. The studio has expertise in the genre as it's behind the Lineage and Guild War franchises. Sony also stated earlier this year that live-service games are a part of its future plans.

My Hero Academia has arrived in Fortnite, and over the next two weeks, it's going to have a huge impact on how you play. That's because this collab isn't just about item shop cosmetics--though it certainly does have those. But on top of that, the island is now home to a new MHA-themed Mythic weapon: Deku's Smash.

Deku's Smash is just as big of a shift to the Fortnite meta as the Kamehameha was during the Dragonball collaboration this past summer. This is to say you should expect things to blow up a lot more during the next two weeks, as players will no doubt be constantly throwing this thing around.

What actually is the Deku's Smash mythic weapon?

Remember how the Kamehameha was basically a giant laser that would melt anything that you pointed it at--provided you could survive the lengthy charge-up time? The Deku's Smash is a pretty similar concept, with the main difference being that it's more like you're throwing a very large bomb.

In gameplay terms, the distinction here is that while the Kamehameha would damage whatever it touched and would last a set amount of time, Deku's Smash fires off a projectile that goes up in a single massive explosion once it makes an impact with any hard surface--or player. And yes, it's extremely good at taking out buildings and especially player structures.

Where to get the Deku's Smash mythic in Fortnite Battle Royale

There are three methods for getting your very own Deku's Smash mythic that you can use to demolish your enemies and whatever buildings they're hiding in.

It's bad news for games like Starfield, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Final Fantasy XVI, as a strong contender for 2023's game of the year has just emerged in the shape of Peppa Pig: World Adventures. The adorable TV star is back in a new game next year that will see her visit several locations around the world.

Alongside her family and friends, Peppa will be trotting out to Paris, Australia, London, and several other locations, meeting new characters and dressing up. You'll also be able to design your own character and family for the trip, and closer to home, you'll be able to construct a house in Peppa's neighborhood and decorate it with collectibles and souvenirs from your travels.

"We're thrilled Peppa is back with Outright Games for her next video game Peppa Pig: World Adventures. We're enjoying the challenge of building on the fantastic reception to last year's My Friend Peppa Pig and making this game bigger with more locations, characters, and fun! We're looking forward to sharing it with everyone next March," said Outright Games CEO Beth Goss in a statement.

The wait is finally over, as Fortnite's collaboration with My Hero Academia has just made this year's Winterfest celebration a lot more interesting. Just as we saw during past collaborations with Naruto and Dragon Ball Z, Fortnite x My Hero Academia is more than just a few new skins in the item shop. On top of the four new outfits and accompanying cosmetic sets, the Deku's Smash mythic will be wreaking all sorts of havoc in Battle Royale, and you can earn some free cosmetics through quests that you can do in Battle Royale and the new My Hero Academia Creative island.

Like the Dragonball Kamehameha from this past summer, Deku's Smash is a potential game-changer whenever someone uses it. As we saw in the season launch trailer, this thing can take out a lot of structures very quickly--builders are gonna have to be vigilant with the Deku's Smash mythic in play.

Deku's Smash comes from two sources. Like Fortnite did with the Dragonball collab, My Hero Academia will have its own All Might supply drops that will give you the mythic for free, and you'll also find new MHA-branded vending machines that will let you buy it with gold bars.

My Hero Academia has also taken over the item shop with four new outfits from the franchise--Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, Ochaka Uraraka and All Might--along with accompanying back bling and pickaxe for each.

Disney Dreamlight Valley has been a bit festive for about two weeks thanks to its winter update, which brought a variety of new holiday-themed recipes to craft and items to unlock in the Festive Star Path. But it's time to kick things into full gear with the Gift of Giving Event, which runs from December 18 to December 31.

This exciting time in the valley promises plenty of gifts to unlock and a fresh set of holiday Dreamlight tasks to knock out. Read on for everything you need to know about the Gift of Giving event.

The Castle Christmas tree

During the event, you can visit the castle to find a Christmas tree has appeared, and you'll have gifts to unwrap beginning on December 25. Don't worry, though--if you don't play on Christmas day, you can always come by any day through December 31 to snag them. What you can expect to get out of each of your gifts is listed below.

Marvel Snap picked up the Best Mobile win at The Game Awards last week, and this week is thanking players for the accolade with a handful of freebies. All players will be gifted 1000 credits, as well as a Mystery Variant, just for logging in to the game.

Players can find the current rewards in their in-game mail the next time they log in. Marvel Snap added that an extra freebie consisting of a GOTY Card Back and Title will also be gifted early next year.

Marvel Snap isn't the first game to gift free in-game items after award wins--Genshin Impact is well-known for giving out premium in-game items after wins, which likely contributes to its dominance over two years of The Game Awards' Player's Voice category.

Genshin Impact was one of the other mobile titles that newcomer Marvel Snap beat in the mobile category, along with Apex Legends Mobile, Diablo Immortal, and Tower of Fantasy. The Marvel Universe card battler released on mobile and PC in October 2022, impressing critics with its unique, elegant take on the digital card collecting genre.

As you navigate your way through Elden Ring's massive open world, you may find yourself wanting to blend various playstyles. That's entirely possible thanks to tons of cool spells that can be used in tandem with your melee weapons to dish out the hurt on your foes. Gravity Well is one such sorcery that blends exceptionally well into melee-centric builds, and we'll tell you where you can find it in this guide.

Gravity Well explained

Gravity Well is a sorcery that requires 17 Intelligence to cast. Using it will cause you to pull your enemies towards you, allowing you to follow up with some quick melee damage.

Gravity Well's item description reads:

One of the glintstone sorceries that manipulates gravitational forces. Fires a projectile of condensed gravitational force. Those struck by it will be pulled toward the caster. Charging enhances potency. A gravitational technique studied by the young Radahn. His master was an Alabaster Lord with skin of stone.

Where to find Gravity Well

Gravity Well can be obtained by defeating the Monolith Guardian enemy [1] in Raya Lucaria Academy in Liurnia of the Lakes. You'll first need to access the academy, though, but that can be easily handled by snagging a key nearby.

Overwatch 2's Season 2 dropped on December 6, and following the release, Activision Blizzard made some further tweaks and balance changes to the hero roster.

Ramattra, the new Omnic Tank added in Season 2, has been buffed. His Nemesis form is more effective, with increased movement speed and armor bonus. His Omnic form's Void barrier has a reduced cooldown time.

Doomfist's abilities have also been slightly adjusted. His Rocket Punch ability has been incrementally nerfed. Cooldown lasts one second longer, and takes more juice to power-up. In the December 6 update, the devs buffed him so players can use him more effectively as a brawler-slash-interrupter tank. That may have been too much, so his abilities have been dialed back down a notch in the December 15 update.

The Epic Games Store’s annual holiday sale is now live, giving PC gamers a great way to load up on free and discounted games from now until January 5.

There are hundreds of PC games from the Epic Games Store catalog sale including big AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 for $30 (normally $60) and Red Ded Redemption 2 for $19.79 (normally $60), and games from smaller studios like Weird West or The Pathless, both of which are just $20 each (normally $40).

Bungie has addressed rumors that secrets would cease to be part of Destiny 2. A new statement claims that not only will secrets continue to be a part of the game, they will come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

In the most recent This Week At Bungie, assistant game director Robbie Stevens addressed rumors that secrets will stop being developed. Stevens wrote, "the people working on Destiny 2 believe that secrets are an important part of this franchise, and we’re dedicated to delivering secret experiences, both small and large, throughout the coming year."

The statement goes on to address a Reddit AMA thread concerning the difficulty of encrypting game content. Statements made in the AMA were interpreted to mean that secrets will exit the game. Stevens' clarifies that this is false. He emphasizes that encryption is a real challenge, but it's something that every live game deals with.

The statement also clarifies that while secrets can include missions and puzzles, these are the most difficult kinds of secrets to create. Stevens wrote, "although we’re intentionally hiding things for you to discover in every release, not every secret can be something as big as a mission or puzzle." The section concludes with a survey of secrets from the past year of Destiny 2, as well as a promise that more secrets of a variety of shapes and sizes are on the way.

Vampire Survivors, the bullet-hell rogue-like that is one of GameSpot's best games of the year, just got its first paid DLC, Legacy of Moonspell. Inspired by Japanese monster hunters, the Legacy of Moonspell includes a brand-new map, Mt. Moonspell, in addition to eight new characters and 13 new weapons and evolutions. Here's everything included in the new Legacy of Moonspell DLC for Vampire Survivors.

New map Mt. Moonspell

The DLC only includes one map, Mt. Moonspell. This map takes place in a snowy mountain region where feudal Japanese buildings are scattered throughout. Mt. Moonspell is the largest map in the game, with a developer sharing an image showing that Dairy Plant is a fraction of the size of Mt. Moonspell. The map includes an abandoned castle, snow covered mountain, and a yokai-infested village. There are also a few unique boss battles throughout the map, although the only one related to an unlock is the Orochimario, a purple dragon that unlocks the hyper version of the map upon defeat. Orochimario does not appear to have a specific location, instead showing up late into a run.

Following the launch of the big Season 1 Reloaded update, Activision is hosting a double XP weekend for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.

Season 1 Reloaded added more operators and the new Chimera assault rifle to multiplayer and battle royale, and now players can enjoy an easier time leveling up with an extended double XP weekend event. The double XP and double weapon XP rates are active across all platforms. The event will run from December 15-19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

Activision is also offering a free Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer trial during this time for those who don't already own the game. The multiplayer trial will also last until December 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. The free access weekend includes the maps of Farm 18, El Asilo, and Shipment with a mix of four game modes: Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Domination, and Kill Confirmed.

Shipment returns in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer with a new stormy setting on a cargo ship. Players familiar with the classic map will notice a few differences to the Modern Warfare 2 version, and a breakdown of the Shipment map changes can be found here. Additionally, a holiday-themed variant of Shipment will arrive in Modern Warfare 2 on December 21, sticking around until January 4.

Humble Bundle's Sid Meier's Ultimate Collection features the latest Civilization game, Civilization 6, complete editions of past Civilization games, and more. You can get the Sid Meier bundle for just $15, and it contains 20 selected items that normally would be $471 in total.

There are no payment tiers with different selection of games, as seen in some other Humble Bundles. $15 is the minimum to get everything in the Sid Meier bundle, and if you choose to pay more, you'll still get the same number of games.

The bundle not only has the base Civilization 6 games, but also comes with eight Civilization 6 DLCs. The newest DLC, Leader Pass, is not included in the bundle. The Leader Pass features various head-of-states from several civilizations, and was first announced in November.

As always, you can choose to give more. The Sid Meier bundle specifically supports Trees, People, Water, an organization devoted to helping communities protect and conserve their natural resources.