Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Last year, developer Bloober Team unveiled Layers Of Fears, the next entry in their first-person horror series. At the time it was hard to gauge if the game was a sequel, a pseudo-remake, or something in between. We now have a clearer view of what it really is ahead of its release this June, and it’s also (confusingly) changed its name back to Layers Of Fear, singular. Check out the new trailer below:

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Arkane’s co-op vampire hunter Redfall has received a new trailer ahead of its May release date, showing off its twisted open-world and magic-infused shooting. It looks like a bloody visual feast, but the bigger news is how Redfall’s open-world multiplayer is untethered, meaning a four-player squad can separate and fight bloodsuckers in different parts of the coastal town.

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You ever see that Mastodon post where a guy explains why he now understands Elon Musk is an idiot, because he's started talking about software? I imagine you've experienced a similar thing with video games, whenever a columnist for a broadsheet writes about them and you can instantly tell that they have never played one in their whole dahlia-manuring, boot room-having, fox hunt-following life.

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow is a book about the decades-long relationship between two people who are game developers. And like the above, it would be impossible to explain to someone who doesn't work in the games industry why a small exchange between the two of them made me absolutely roar with laughter.

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Atomic Heart’s long development cycle has provided ample opportunities to show off the power of ray tracing. From an Nvidia tech demo back to in 2019 to an RTX-branded trailer released just last month, this souped-up lighting and reflection tech has been a key piston in propelling the Soviet sci-fi FPS’ hype train. Some slightly awkward news, then: the PC version won’t support ray tracing at launch.

I noticed the lack of ray tracing options in the review build we received last week, and got in touch with the game's press relations team to check if I was missing something, or if they were due to be added via update. The response confirmed that their absence was not an error, and that "the devs will be looking into implementing this post-launch." Well then!

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Jumplight Odyssey is an upcoming starship roguelite colony sim from the makers of Armello, and when I saw it in action late last year, I was extremely pumped for it. It was formally announced with its very flash animated opening sequence during November's PC Gaming Show Preview stream, but now you, too, can see what it actually looks like in motion with its very first gameplay trailer. Come and have a gander at its spaceship antics - or, if you're like me, just watch the two full seconds of a crew member giving Ham the pig a nice big belly-rub on repeat.

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After being stranded on the original Playstation for two decades, the time-travelling sequel Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition finally made its way to PC last year. It should’ve been cause for celebration as the classic Square JRPG had never seen a European release, but technical woes plagued the modern port and dampened the party. Now a year after launch, Square is updating Radical Dreamers with a “wide range of changes” later this month.

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If you’re British and you’re old, then you love the ZX Spectrum. (Or the Commodore 64, I suppose, but not both. Never both.) Personally, I’m what they called a “Speccy” kid, and I have carried a deep and profound love of the elderly microcomputer’s cassette tape screeches, colour clash and long, long load times into my adult life, despite the fact that – and please don’t get upset, purists – many of the great Spectrum games don’t hold up in the cold light of the modern day. It’s not that the games are necessarily bad, more that they were tremendous for their time. Still eminently enjoyable, but they require the player to get their head into a certain zone, to put up with what are inarguably quite archaic controls and mechanics.

Oddly enough, there are some Spectrum games on Steam, thanks to a publisher called Pixel Games. However, with the utmost respect to their output… these are not the kind of games that are going to foster interest in the Speccy amongst modern players. Of course, that may well not be the point, but I’d be a little taken aback if even avowed old-school gamers were going to bother picking up the likes of gardening simulator Pedro, a game that scored 63% in Newsfield’s iconic Crash magazine back in the day, or Sam Stoat: Safebreaker, which did a little better at 68%.

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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, we have a lot more of a horror vibe than I expected in February, from cursed websites to Apocalyptic events and even hints of Myst. Brrr! Chilling. Come see!

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I’ve played a lot of strange games, but never one that lurches between greatness and bafflement as hard or as fast as Atomic Heart. It’s a fascinatingly chaotic medley of ideas, and a rare FPS that lacks even the slightest whiff of battle pass-peddling live serfdom, but those ideas so often fail to gel that it can feel like a game made by several different dev teams. For a shooter set within an alternate history Soviet Union, it could perhaps have used some more central planning.

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I see novelty games on Steam every couple of days; things like gun-wielding slime shooters, or hyper-realistic dog-walking sims. They all force a little chuckle out of me, but none of them have made me belly laugh like I Am Jesus Christ, a first-person retelling of Christ’s tale from birth, to death, to rebirth.

I Am Jesus Christ’s genre is slightly murky, although, it almost looks like a giant Skyrim mod complete with unfeeling NPCs, first-person spellcasting, and an open world full of quest markers. The newest trailer shows some of Christ’s cool abilities like walking on water, shooting light beams at Satan, and fishing - which is incidentally what I’m looking forward to the most.

In fairness, the Christ sim looks like a pretty robust and thorough retelling of his journey, depicting scenes like the Last Supper, only this time all the disciples have exclamation marks above their heads. The Steam page also details 30 different miracles (or spells) and a number of different areas to explore.

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Like all good fairytale characters, Pinocchio gets a revision every couple of years - except for 2022, when he was adapted thrice (mostly in bad films, except for the Del Toro one). The loveable puppet isn’t waiting too long for his next comeback, as the RPG Soulslike Lies Of P is coming to PC and Game Pass in August.

Lies Of P’s newest trailer is mostly a black screen with a lot of VO, but we get a clear look at Pinocchio's daddy Master Gepetto this time. The trailer follows a blob wobbling through very Victorian streets before it slides into some automation and uses the machine’s body as a puppet. The result is a boss-sized monstrosity that sits halfway between Lovecraftian horror and industrial defect. It also reminds me of Gears 5’s weird infected robots, with tentacles and slime hanging off their metallic arms - equally gross and cool.

The newest trailer doesn’t show off any Bloodborne-style combat, but we’ve had plenty of looks at that already, including a fight with a gorilla robocop. This Soulslike looks just as aggressive as you’d expect, emphasising quick dodge rolls and last-minute, anxiety-fueled parries. Pinocchio’s arm doubles up as a grappling hook to pull enemies in, which is always cool in a hack n’ slasher, and makes even more sense when you’re playing as a puppet. Also, is it just me or is Pinocchio pretty this time around?

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League Of Geek's Solium Infernum revival was first revealed at the end of last year, and while I got to see a very early alpha version of it back then, the subsequent demo footage wasn't quite ready for public consumption. Happily, League Of Geeks have now added the final bit of infernal spit and polish to Solium's first gameplay trailer, which has been shown off during IGN Fanfest this week. Come and have a gander.

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Sundays are for buying your books from an independent book shop. Before you support local business, let's read this week's best writing about games (and game related things).

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Earlier this week, globular suck 'em up Slime Rancher 2 received the Song Of The Sabers update. It adds a new, snow-covered zone called Powderfall Bluffs filled with prehistoric slimes. There's a trailer for the update below - but its also a "secret" designed such that some players might never find it, says its game director.

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Natural Selection 2, the asymmetrical scifi shooter from the makers of Subnautica, is no longer in active development. Unknown Worlds say that after over ten years of support, it's now "time to look to the future and continue on to other projects within the company."

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A new Steam feature allows you to transfer games between machines using your local network. If you've got a game installed on your desktop PC, and you want to play it on Steam Deck for example, you can now transfer it between the machines without having to re-download any files.

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Diablo 4 is due to launch on June 2nd, but it'll be playable before that during two beta periods in March. Those who pre-order the game will be able to play during an early access beta between March 17th and 19th, while everyone else can access an open beta between March 24th and 26th.

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Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is a citybuilder about wrangling supply chains and logistics. Sin is a big fan. Unfortunately the supply of the game itself from Steam has been halted, and its developers allege that it's due to DMCA takedown notices filed by a "once a respected member of our community."

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Our fortnight of RPS Magic Week has ended (a little bit of chronomancery there) has ended so do catch up on all the witchery and wizarding if you want more to read this weekend. Beyond that, hey, do tell: what are you playing this weekend? Here's what we're clicking on!

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On this week's episode of the Ultimate Audio Bang, we get an update on Hayden's knees and the various ways in which he's attempting to save them. We also take a gander at fantasy FPS Dark And Darker, Steam's most wishlisted 'shooter'. I'm less keen on it than Hayden is.

In the second part of the pod, we talk about the goals we've achieved in theHunter: Call Of The Wild, including a tale about moose and a deer that knocked me out.

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Quickplay strategy games have always been a thing, but they appear to be gaining in popularity lately. I will probably regret not keeping Ozymandias aside for the traditional "summer strategy game for when your brain is a gas" bit, but the scene is looking healthy enough to chance it.

You know that cliché feeling of "just one more turn"? Ozymandias is a bronze age 4X that builds momentum enough to turn that into "just one more game". It is incredibly easy to learn, and despite looking a little dry and number heavy, becomes more effortless, more pleasant the longer you play. It also becomes more clear how much depth there is hidden away in such a light design. It's about proving yourself the most prestigious civilisation, not through total conquest, but by exploiting the lay of the land, and leaning into your strengths.

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Several times now, I have answered the What are we all playing this weekend? question with something like "I think I'm going to give Dwarf Fortress a go this weekend". Reader, I have not given Dwarf Fortress a go, and I'm starting to think I never will. It's too much, much too much. It scares me.

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I like wizards because they're the dramatic combination of powerful, cocky, and a bit dim. Through some quirk of bloodline or destiny, wizards can access impossible forces simply by saying magic words. This does not engender caution. A wizard's not a real wizard until they have accidentally set themselves on fire or unleashed an ancient evil. And if you throw four of this dim demigods together? Well, you get the co-op wizard action of the Magicka games, where freestyling elemental combinations can (and often will) lead you to heal a boss or torch your pal's face. Splendid chaos.

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Director Jake Solomon is leaving Firaxis after two decades of work on Marvel’s Midnight Suns, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and XCOM 2. This comes amid a studio shakeup with multiple senior roles sliding around the corporate conveyor belt. Firaxis also revealed that they’re in early development on the next Civilization game.

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Update: Digerati have provided a statement saying that "Conradical has been timely paid all royalties due to date," and that "Conrad has refused to work with us" to identify issues with ports of The Outbound Ghost. The full statement is included below.

Late last year, turn-based indie RPG The Outbound Ghost was delisted from Steam after a statement from lead dev Conrad Grindheim claimed his relationship with publisher Digerati had “dissolved.” Soon after, Digerati filed a lawsuit against developer Conradical over a breach of contract and “several false defamatory” statements. When reporting on the original news, CJ thought the messy situation could get messier, and he was right. Grindheim has now DMCA’d his own game on console storefronts and accused Digerati of withholding royalties.

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I am legendary ronin Sakomoto Ryoma. I shout "yosh!" as I harvest six (6) gleaming radishes from my allotment. I shoot a bandit in the head with a revolver. I send my adoptive daughter to trade some homemade pickles. I partake in a brooding chat, then stamp on a dude's head. I help a recluse regain his confidence. I have totally forgotten what I was meant to be doing.

Like A Dragon: Ishin feels like a step backward, but in a brilliant way. Kiryu and co. may have moved onto a turn-based future, yet Sakomoto Ryoma and his pals have turned back the clock to an Edo period of brawlin' and chicken betting that's most reminiscent of Yakuza 0, only it's not the roaring 80s but the bloody 1800s. There's nothing here that will convert those who aren't keen on the series, but if you're an ardent fan or a newcomer eager to experience its wild swings between serious and silly, Ishin is an excellent place to start.

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Magic doesn't always need to be like, cauldrons of bubbling newts. I'd say building a romantic connection with a wrestler entirely formed of green ooze, or training your M.E.A.T. at Mrs. Muscles gym counts as magic – pure magic, even. And that's what Wrestling With Emotions: New Kid On The Block offers. It's a wrestling dating sim with a splash of RPG, and almost certainly a game that'll pin your heart in a bear hug and never let go.

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Spidey’s occasional rival and everyone’s favourite symbiote Venom is swinging into Marvel’s Midnight Suns as DLC on February 23rd. Venom was a villain in the base game, but he’s now transitioning into a playable antihero for the fight against Mephisto. To celebrate, the deckbuilding strategy game is free to try on Steam for the entire weekend.

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Space exploration sim Kerbal Space Program 2 is crash landing into early access on February 24th, just under a week, and developers Intercept Games are celebrating with a new gameplay trailer. The trailer begins at the Kerbal Space Center, on the planet Kerbin, as the cute little aliens attempt to build a working spaceship and rocket off into the Kerbolar System. Genuine question: does this make the green minions Kerbites, Kerbals, or Kermen?

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You know that famous saying about those who forget the past are forever doomed to make the same mistakes? That's Octopath Traveler 2 in a nutshell, a JRPG that follows so precisely in the footsteps of its predecessor that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was suddenly 2019 again and that the last few pandemic years were nothing but a terrible existential nightmare. But alas, here we are in 2023 with another Octopath Traveler game that is, bar a couple of very light tweaks and additions, exactly the same game as what came before it, for better and for worse.

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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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Solidigm's P41 Plus SSD has featured on our pages before, but it's worth mentioning again as this 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD has finally dropped below the $100 barrier, at $99.99 when you use code SSCPA629 at Newegg. That's a heavy reduction from its original $169.99 price point, and an awesome value for a drive that works well in PCs and even PS5s.

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Hot diggedy daffodil, am I glad I picked Casual difficulty in Veil Of Dust. Unlike some games, Veil Of Dust doesn't make it sound like any sort of concession; the middle difficulty is called Challenge, and says "it's pretty tough - you've been warned". I took the warning seriously, and thank God, because even the easiest difficulty had me pouring dandelion tea down my brother's throat like he was doing a kegstand (and in the game).

Áine and Shane are a pair of Irish siblings who've moved to Oregon to start a new life, which, in the main story, involves eating potatoes and trying not to get depressed. It's difficult enough that I didn't think I would like it at first, as even basic tasks deplete your stamina and sleeping in your 1860s hovel with a hole in the roof doesn't restore very much per night. Áine can do spells, but they're simple and only really take the edge off what is a very hard life. Magic isn't a cure-all in Veil Of Dust, and using it has to be weighed up, just like everything else.

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From the heady mists of 1994 once came Master Of Magic, an all-time best 4X loosely summarisable as Civilisation crossed with Master Of Orion.

In the... uh, semi-heady fog of 2019 came the news that it was getting a remake, and I was muchly excited, for in the interim I'd actually learned the original existed and how good and somehow unrivalled it still was. And finally, in the slight damp of late 2022, that remake arrived. It is a remarkably faithful remake, to a degree I may not ever have seen for such an old game. Some details and flourishes aside, it's basically the same design, with all the same parts.

Coincidentally, I've also finally got into Total Warhammer lately, and spent some time reacquainting myself with Warlords Battlecry, and in between building city walls and crushing stupid aryan elfs, I've realised what truly connects all three: balance. They all, correctly, reject it.

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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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Has it ever taken you 10 years to finish a task? If so, you'll either love or hate this episode of The Electronic Wireless Show podcast, where we discuss the surprising release date of 2029 for In The Valley Of Gods, the surprising advance of the Dead Island 2 launch date, and the entirely unsurprising delay(s) of Skull & Bones. Do you know what the most delayed game ever is? Because the title recently changed hands. This plus what we've been playing, a new hardware update, and a round of "what video game should Shakespeare play?"

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American McGee is still trying to turn his theoretical Alice: Asylum into a reality. The last game in his dark action-platformer series, Alice: Madness Returns, released more than ten years ago, and since then McGee has been funding development through a Patreon which, at the time of writing, currently has 3,192 paying members. In 2021, McGee released the first draft of a script, and now he’s back with a 414-page design bible, the announcement of a partner studio, and an odd plea to EA.

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Like a sticky ball of regurgitated sap spat from the jaws of a giant dog, review code for Wild Hearts came in hot and fast earlier this week. So while other outlets will be delivering their final verdicts on Omega Force’s beast batterin’ simulator today, I’m afraid I haven’t had the chance to play enough of it to give it a fair shakedown yet. It’s good, though! I really like it, and as a huge Monster Hunter fan I’m pleased that there’s finally a worthy alternative to Capcom’s long-running series. Competition is good!

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To celebrate Total War: Warhammer 3’s first anniversary, developers Creative Assembly are making the Immortal Empires campaign free to all owners of the Warhammer 3 base game. Previously, you needed to own all three Total War: Warhammer games to play Immortal Empires, since it compiles campaign maps, war units, and Legendary Lords from across the strategy trilogy. Now, you’ll just need to own Warhammer 3 for access to the campaign.

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It’s the dead of night. I’m in my little tugboat out on open waters. I can barely see three feet in front of my nose because of the thick blanket of fog, but I'm trying my hand at night fishing, hoping to hook something really good. I find a squid spot and start to fish, reeling in one or two fine-looking catches. The third one, however, is monstrous, a mess of jagged teeth and sickly pale flesh. Yes, this should make for a fine amount of cash. The more morbid it is, the more money I get. Suddenly there’s a deep rumbling in the ocean and panic starts to creep in. I chuck my prize into my cargo and speed back to town, the phrase ‘fuck round, find out’ circling my brain.

I’ve not been playing Dredge long, but I’m calling it one of my favourite games of the year, right now, in February. Black Salt Games' sinister fishing RPG is gripping and enchanting in a way I didn’t anticipate. I’ve spent hours exploring its murky waters and my constant shock at what unsettling creatures my hook brings in is seemingly never-ending. Its eldritch world keeps pulling me back with its mystery and malevolent horror, and its sense of atmosphere and tension is incredible. Basically, I'm completely enraptured, hook, line, sinker. Dredge already feels like one of this year’s greatest indie horrors and all this, from a fishing game of all things.

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