February 2023

Another day, another drop on AMD graphics cards. This time is special though, as it's one of the best value points on the current Team Red GPU hierarchy, the RX 6700 XT, and it's also a top-rated Asus Dual design. It was previously retailing for around £400, but now it's dropped at Amazon to £372.54, a very reasonable price for this level of performance.

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AOC make some of the best value gaming monitors in the business, especially in the mid-range where you can get some truly impressive specs and solid build quality at surprisingly low prices. Case in point is this deal on a 27-in 1440p 165Hz gaming monitor for just £230 after a solid £135 reduction. That's an awesome deal for this spec, which looks great and offers a competitive advantage over 60Hz alternatives.

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A few weeks ago, I talked about a number of new features coming to RPS in 2023, and here we are with our very first edition of Ask RPS! This is a new mailbag feature where RPS supporters get to pose questions to the RPS Treehouse team (mostly video games-related, though not necessarily always), and we then answer those questions in public posts for everyone to get involved with. Easy peasy.

To kick us off, our first question comes courtesy of Old_Man_Gaming, who asked: "What was the first game that really grabbed you and dominated your life?"

Come and find out which games had us trapped in the throes of childhood mania below, and why not tell us about your own gaming obsessions in the comments? You might just find a surprise kindred spirit.

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Universe-spanning survival sim No Man’s Sky is releasing its 4.1 Fractal Update today, bringing along a new Expedition, tons of accessibility options, a VR overhaul, and much more. Developers Hello Games have updated the game so consistently their launch woes are a distant memory, sent to a faraway galaxy. Since then, No Man’s Sky has become a not just a space exploration game, but a city management sim and a generally nice place to chill with your odd alien pets, all in one package.

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Even after a decade marked by the abandonware crowd being proven right, there are old games that remain lost between the cracks of digital distribution. Instead of waxing lyrical about that though, I'm here today with good news: My favourite open world 3D spaceflight/trading sim Hardwar is back.

It's been back for over a year, in fact, via Zoom Platform, who've just made the interesting choice to publish it on Steam too, promising that their own store will remain resolutely DRM-free, and that this aims "to help fund additional signings and improvements for our DRM-Free preservation efforts". I'll brush aside analysing this strategy, because the immediate upshot is that, hopefully, Hardwar might finally get its due. In a better world, we'd already be playing its modern descendants.

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Atomic Heart continues to dominate both my professional time and my personal brainspace; it really is a fascinating game, for reasons good and terrible alike. Its most recent twist came in the complete lack of ray tracing at launch, despite various pre-release builds having been held up by Nvidia themselves as the technology’s exemplars. Crispy critters, indeed.

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For Magic Week, I wrote about Team Lazerbeam's upcoming dating sim Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid On The Block (WWE) and how you're able to romance a beefcake composed entirely of green ooze. There is, of course, far more to it than that. I asked Team Lazerbeam's Ben Rausch about how it tackles themes of queer identity and diversity in a kickass way, which I highlighted in my post, but wanted to highlight even more here. Their answers were too good not to share.

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Amazon Games have announced that they’re bringing NCSOFT’s South Korean MMORPG Throne And Liberty to the Americas, Europe, and Japan. NCSOFT has a history of publishing their own games worldwide, as they have done with Guild Wars in the past, so their agreement with Amazon is somewhat unique. Amazon haven’t given a release window for Throne And Liberty, but they’ll be publishing the game on PC and consoles with cross-play enabled.

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Documentaries chronicling game development are great. With so much marketing fluff surrounding games, it can be nice to hear directly from the devs about their inspirations, struggles, and creative intentions. Hearing them chat candidly, making jokes and getting excited, is a good reminder that real-life people are at the heart of every game - what a crazy concept. Luckily, these types of documentaries seem to be increasingly common, evidenced by the Yakuza (or Like A Dragon) docuseries that just debuted on YouTube.

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Roguelike dungeon crawler Backpack Hero has been in early access for under a year, and it’s now getting a full 1.0 launch on PC and consoles in May. Backpack Hero has been successful for its three-person dev team and stood apart from other roguelikes with its Tetris-inspired inventory management. You see, success in Backpack Hero is determined by how you organise your bag rather than what you’re actually carrying, as you shuffle items around a grid to create synergies and mod your playstyle.

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It’s episode four of RPS’ indie podcast Indiescovery and this week the team got into the Valentine's Day spirit and had a long chat about our favourite indie game romances (any excuse to gush about how hot the characters are in Hades, really). We get gabbing about our favourite game OTPs, the fabulous representation of queer romances in indies, and then finish with a cursed (not horny) Cosmo-style dating quiz.

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Paradox’s grand spacefaring strategy Stellaris is getting its fifth story pack First Contact on March 14th, following on from the previously released Leviathans, Synthetic Dawn, Distant Stars, and Ancient Relics. Story packs are mid-sized expansions that flesh out Stellaris’s universe and this time First Contact is focusing on pre-FTL civilisations, taking a step back from the stars. The expansion was officially revealed back in January after a series of SteamDB leaks outed the project.

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Introversion Software are, we can infer, at home in simulation games by now, what with their most famous game Prison Architect having a bajillion DLCs that, at this point, can add zombies, rehabilitation, or the jungle to your prison. Their new one is called The Last Starship, a layered spaceship simulator that's less friendly than their prison. I am not sure if it's because the early access is still largely without any tutorial markers, or because I am very bad at the game.

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Earlier today we looked at the most affordable PCIe 4.0 SSD, with the Solidigm P41 Plus 2TB at $99.99, and now it's time to look at one of the very fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs, the WD SN850x. It's down to $99.99 for a 1TB model and $159.99 for a 2TB size, a new low price for each capacity and a great deal for our top PCIe 4.0 SSD recommendation.

This SSD is only really rivalled by the more expensive Samsung 990 Pro, our overall 'fastest SSD' recipient, with both options offering random write performance well over 1M IOPS and sequential read speeds of up to 7300MB/s, at the very limit of the PCIe 4.0 standard.

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Ghost Ship Games have found major success with their co-op space-mining sim Deep Rock Galactic, and now they’re expanding into indie games publishing with Ghost Ship Publishing. The team have described the initiative as a launchpad for indies in the “rapidly growing Danish games industry and beyond.” Ghost Ship Publishing haven’t announced any games yet, but we’ll get to see their upcoming projects on March 2nd as part of Deep Rock Galactic’s fifth-anniversary livestream.

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The long-awaited release of Like A Dragon: Ishin in the west is a dream come true for die-hard fans of the series, but discourse online suggests that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio made some missteps along the way.

Like A Dragon: Ishin is a samurai epic that reimagines the series cast as historical warriors from Japan’s Bakumatsu Era in a time of great political upheaval for the country. Up until now, the entry has been something of an obscure entity that was only playable in Japan. The remastered version, currently available worldwide, has proven a godsend for longtime fans who have been dreaming of getting their hands on the title and experiencing for themselves the over-the-top brawls in a feudal Japan setting. The series has become renowned for its brutal beat ’em-up gameplay, but fans craving a challenge have been left frustrated and disappointed.

The game offers five difficulty options: Easy, Normal, Hard, Legend, and the most challenging difficulty, Ishin. Players hoping to dive head first into the biggest challenge the game can throw at them were met with a paywall that charged them to unlock the difficulty setting early. Having tried it out for ourselves, it appears that this is an issue that is plaguing users who bought the standard edition of the game.

Anyone who buys the Deluxe Edition of the game — which contains six DLC packs — is able to access the Ishin difficulty right away. Players who own the standard edition will have to play through the game to unlock the Ishin difficulty without paying for it. While Like A Dragon: Ishin is enjoying a mostly positive reception on Steam, this is an issue that is causing contention amongst players.

Genshin Impact has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons lately, and this time, the developers themselves have grabbed the spotlight by apparently taking legal action to pursue Twitter leakers.

With the dust still settling on the dreadful situation involving former voice actor Elliot Gindi, miHoYo has applied for a California court to subpoena Twitter directly, in an effort to reveal the identities behind three accounts notorious for leaking details about upcoming updates.

A little over four years ago, developer Mundfish revealed the team’s latest project: Atomic Heart. Set in an alternate timeline (not inspired by the Marvel Multiverse), the USSR made major strides in technology, introducing synthetics and creating the “perfect society.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper video game if everything went well, and everything does indeed fall apart as the robots rebel and throw the Soviet Union into chaos.

The reveal trailer captivated millions as it oozed absolute mechanical chaos, with snippets showcasing a blend of Bioshock and NieR: Automata elements as the protagonist fights off bloodthirsty automatons and travels through the depths of hell looking for answers. Each subsequent trailer built up the levels of promise Atomic Heart could reach, with the addition of Mick Gordon to round out the soundtrack and a Game Pass Day One addition serving as the icing on the proverbial cake.

After what feels like forever, Atomic Heart is finally here, and despite the immense build-up of promise, it falls flat. Numerous issues and design choices plague this heart, and while it’s not a dealbreaker, it solidifies how much of a boon Game Pass has been to the gaming industry. To perfectly sum up the crux of this argument, look no further than a few months back when High on Life arrived.

High on Life was Squanch Games’ big title, debuting on Game Pass and throwing players into a Rick and Morty space special. In all fairness, High on Life is a solid title, especially if you’re a fan of the previously mentioned adult sitcom and its overly aware sense of humor.

Fortnite’s Icon Series is the one way for fans to play as their favorite celebrities and honor popular Fortnite streamers. This series will be expanding soon as another streamer is being added to the exclusive rarity that includes celebrities such as LeBron James and The Kid LAROI. Popular Brazillian Fortnite streamer Flakes Power will be the newest entry, with his collection of cosmetics arriving in the Item Shop on Feb. 25.

Players will be able to get their hands on the Flakes Power outfit that includes the Phantom Power alternate style. In a similar fashion to the Fortnite x Dragon Ball cosmetics, there will be a built-in Get Flakey Emote to let you change between the styles even while in a game.

The full Flakes Power bundle will also have the Electro-Crest Back Bling and Electric Crescents Pickaxe, but the official Fortnite news post doesn’t say how many V-Bucks players can expect to spend on the set. As with most of these Icon Series cosmetic sets, it will likely be something around 1,400 V-Bucks.

Tangled Web 

“Why spiders?! Why can’t we follow the butterflies?” Sorry, Ron, but there’s no denying that Tangled Webs is one of the cooler side missions in Hogwarts Legacy. In this quest, you’ll be tasked with becoming an exterminator by eliminating spiders.

And for anyone that might be afraid of spiders, well then even you can get in on the fun with this one thanks to the arachnophobia mod. Instead of fighting eight-legged freaks, you’ll combat boxes, allowing you to play one of the more interesting quests in the game.

The next State of Play for PlayStation announcements is fast approaching, and it promises to bring a nice look at upcoming titles. While they haven’t released the full list of games that will be shown off, there’s plenty of available information to guess what might be making an appearance during the show.

Below you’ll find the games we believe will be shown off during the February 2023 State of Play.

For the longest time, Like A Dragon: Ishin has been the missing link in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s long-running high-octane beat ’em up series. The game was originally released in Japan nearly a decade ago and never fully reached Western audiences until now. Like A Dragon’s fanbase in the West has grown dramatically in recent years, but ten years ago, the series was a very different beast and considered to be as niche as they come.

While the series now enjoys simultaneous worldwide releases, fans of the series used to have to endure an agonizing wait before the games reached the West. Yakuza 5 which was released in 2012 in Japan wasn’t available to play until three years later for Western audiences. In some ways, it was a dark time for the franchise. There simply wasn’t the demand for English localisations and the low sales for the series spoke for themselves. The risk of a Samurai spin-off drenched in Japanese lore and mythology far exceeded the reward.

The current landscape couldn’t be more different. Like A Dragon is considered to be the most popular its ever been thanks to the astronomical success of the prequel title Yakuza 0 which brought in legions of new fans. Since then the series has been appraised, for its story, characters, combat, and its dedication to embracing its Japanese heritage. The series has been going from strength to strength and coupled with the success of Sucker Punch’s samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima, the time was right for Like A Dragon: Ishin to reach a new audience.

Riot Games is readying itself to launch another of its Valorant skin bundles, but whether this next one proves popular remains to be seen. Revealed today over on Twitter, the ‘Reverie’ skins have a stained glass design that is reminiscent of a church window, with each weapon boasting a colorful array of different panels that look similar to glass shards.

As you can see in the image above, the Valorant Reverie bundle features the following weapons:

• Classic
• Martial
• Guardian
• Phantom
• Knife Melee

The bundle is set to go live in the store later today, Feb. 22. There’s no word yet on whether there are different upgrade tiers, and nor do we have information on the price. At a glance, and based on the fact that we’ve recently had a special edition VCT LOCK//IN skin, I’m going to assume it’s a fair entry-level bundle that won’t feature SFX, kill banners, and all the other features you’d associate with more expensive bundles. We’ll have to wait and see, though.

Until then, check out my latest feature on why the stun in Valorant sucks and needs a buff! Or you can read up on Twinfinite’s excellent VCT LOCK//IN viewers guide, which has all the results and a full schedule.

Nintendo of America has officially announced that the third and final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be released on March 9, 2023, at 2 pm PT/5 PM ET with a special Nintendo Direct dedicated to the movie. This comes about a month before the movie itself is released, steadily keeping hype for the title high.

God of War Ragnarok was a monumental and fitting end to the Norse chapter—the characters, the writing, the mythology come to life in interesting ways, all of it was masterfully crafted. However, in the grand scheme of things, that’s all it was: a chapter of Kratos’ life, though undoubtedly a significant one that opened many doors for the future.

I’d love to explore more of the Norse realms as much as the next fan. After all, plenty of questions were left unanswered that could perhaps be explored with time-travel, like more of Kratos and Faye’s relationship or, more importantly, a certain tragic death. The franchise has used it before, so should God of War Ragnarok have time-travel story DLC?

***Spoilers for God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok Follow***

Octopath Traveler II on Nintendo Switch

In 2018, the Nintendo Switch was gifted a stellar timed exclusive in the form of Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler. It boasted a rock-solid battle system, gorgeous visuals, a lilting soundtrack, and countless hours worth of content. It was, and remains to this day, one of my favorite games on the hybrid console.

Having spent a significant amount of time with its successor brings a lot of emotions, proving to be a distillation of everything that made the first title good, and yet, still falling short in many of the same ways. Trying to unpack how to feel about that is ultimately a question of what you really want from a sequel, and it’s one that I’m still pondering the answer to.

First, let’s hash out the fundamentals. As alluded to in our preview, Octopath Traveler II is a self-contained follow-up to the runaway success JRPG from yesteryear. You select one of eight protagonists, travel the continents and assemble the rest of the team, working together in turn-based battles as each character continues their own tale, chapter by chapter.

These characters are, for the most part, just as solid as the heroes from the original. The animalistic hunter Ochette is particularly endearing, and the cleric Temenos’ whimsical approach to theology is well-written. Of course, some of their motivations are clearly more compelling than others; the grizzled scholar Osvald is seeking revenge for the murder of his family, while the dancer Agnea is in pursuit of fame. Why Osvald would humor her by joining forces is far beyond me (five years in prison made him hanker for a bit of glitz?), but we will circle back to story interconnectedness later on.

When you think of Doom, you likely recall fond memories of playing through stages of ultra violence, ripping and tearing your way through until it is done. Perhaps you remember your favorite heart-pounding moments of brutality, mayhem, and carnage. However, one thing the Doom series may not commonly be thought of as is cute. Well, that is about to change, now that the next Doom game has been announced, and it is not what you would expect.

Publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced Mighty Doom, the latest installment in the franchise, created by Alpha Dog Games for mobile devices. Mighty Doom has shown itself to be a large departure from the tried-and-true first-person shooter formula of the franchise. Instead, this new mobile game will be a top-down arcade shooter, essentially in the shoot-em-up genre.

Despite the shocking difference in gameplay structure, the violent and action-packed spirit of the series seems to be alive in Mighty Doom, judging by its announcement trailer.

Anyone familiar with the Tekken franchise knows about Kazuya Mishima and what a terrible dad he is. Father of Jin Kazama and CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, with the future release of Tekken 8, you can expect to see his parental abuse and unethical business practices in stunning 4K.

Running an evil, multinational conglomerate and committing crimes against the world gets a little exhausting! To avoid work burnout, sometimes Kazuya Mishima likes to just kick back and relax by challenging his son to hand-to-hand combat and beating the absolute tar out of him. It’s all about self-care; nothing problematic happening here. See for yourself in the latest trailer for Tekken 8.

The new gameplay shows Kazuya in action, utilizing staple moves that Tekken fans will recognize, but it also shows off his prowess with the new Heat Smash system and reworked Rage Art moves. This time, by entering into his Heat State, Kazuya retains his Devil Form, amplifying just how brutal this character can be. In all fairness, Jin is no saint either, committing his own war crimes with the G Corporation. Like father, like son!

It’s no secret that Guardians in Destiny 2 have grown exponentially strong since the start of the Witch Queen DLC. With the current armor system, the Light subclass updates, and more, Guardians are the strongest they’ve ever been in franchise history.

With that in mind, Bungie is looking to bring some challenge back into the game when the Lightfall DLC by subsequently nerfing all of the PvE activities with the “contest” modifier.

Vice Chairman and President of Microsoft Brad Smith has stated in a tweet that Microsoft and Nintendo have completed negotiations and entered into a contract to bring one of the largest video game franchises to the Kyoto-based developer and publisher.

In an interesting turn of events, contingent on Microsoft’s impending buyout of Activision-Blizzard, Call of Duty will be on Nintendo hardware for at least the next decade.

The Jan. 2022 announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard shocked the video games industry, with a $68.7 billion being thrown down for the Overwatch and Call of Duty publisher, making a mark as the largest acquisition deal in Microsoft’s history.