Though Spleunky 2 is not an easy game nor a kind game, it doesn’t actually hate you – the roguelikelike platformer just wants you to improve and become all you can be. The developers aren’t monsters. In fact, they’re planning to make the first set of levels, in the Dwelling biome, a little friendlier by tweaking the numbers of traps and baddies. Perhaps soon you’ll stop waking up from nightmares stricken with the fear that a mole has burrowed into your bed and is coming to boop you.
Earlier this year, when the pandemic made us shut ourselves away in our homes, there was a hope (and, well, wishful thinking) that it would all wash over in a few months. Evidently that was too optimistic, and is very much not the case. It sucks for many reasons, but one that’s been on my mind over the last few days is that I won’t get to celebrate Halloween in-person with my pals.
But it’s kind of okay, because games like Overwatch with their silly Halloween events almost provide a sense of normality amongst it all.
There have been some great external SSD deals during this year’s [cms-block], but when it comes to value for money, external hard drives still make a lot of sense – especially when you get so many more terabytes per pound. Case in point, whereas a 1TB Samsung T7 will set you back £158 during Amazon Prime Day, you can currently get the 5TB model of the excellent WD Black P10 for just £100 right now, beating last year’s Black Friday price by a couple of quid.
The plan has always been for Baldur’s Gate 3 players to leave behind their old saves when the RPG leaves early access, but it wasn’t meant to happen so soon. Larian Studios released the first official patch-patch last night, following a string of wee hotfix patches, and found it accidentally stopped some players from accessing their save games. So they rolled back the patch, reverted the game to its previous version, and say they’ll launch the update again when it works properly.
Larian also shared some of their data on where players are dying, for those who enjoy looking at heatmaps and finding out “oh thank god it’s not just me hating that spot”.
SSDs that support the new super fast PCIe 4.0 standard are going to become increasingly important over the next couple of years, so if you want to get on the bandwagon early then Sabrent have three of their PCIe 4.0 Rocket NVMe drives on sale as part of [cms-block]. They’re all 2TB drives, so prices are naturally quite high, but with £60 off two of their regular models and a whopping £180 off their chunky heatsink version, they probably won’t be this cheap again for quite some time.
I never enjoyed horror. Why would I want to engage with media specifically designed to make me anxious and uncomfortable? Not my bag, sorry. Thankfully, zombies often bring the perfect mesh of horror and goofiness that makes the genre far more easy to get into. Telltale’s The Walking Dead, for example, lets you into a world where the horror isn’t in the immediate terror, but rather lies in the interpersonal tension and the fear of assimilation into the mass.
Dead Rising doesn’t use zombies in this way. It doesn’t make you question the human condition and the essence of what it is to be alive. No, Dead Rising puts you in a shopping mall and fills it with the undead and a whole pile of toys with which to kill them.
Have you played Quake? If you have you’ll, like me, probably have wondered why Episodes 2 and 3 don’t end with a boss fight. This week, former Id designer Sandy Petersen explained some of the hacks he and American McGee tried bashing together to fill those boss-shaped holes, from a tower-block sized rotter to a giant grotesque spiderthing wot would’ve chased you around the entire map.
Until now, your only foe in VR sword-slasher Beat Saber was the music. A fight to the death against floating blocks hurled through the void in time to some boppin’ tunes. While you’ll still be decapitating cubes, the latest update for Beat Games’ virtual, musical fencer adds multiplayer, letting you test your moves against up to five other humans making fools of themselves in their living rooms.
Despite 2020 having lasted millennia, we now somehow find ourselves in the midst of October. Frightening as the passage of time may be, Overwatch is about to take another stab at scaring the bejeezus out of us with its annual Halloween Terror event – bringing in spooky new skins, emotes, and a limited-time fight to the death against a cackling Australian’s army of undead robots.
As a strategy retelling of an ancient Homeric epic, the events of A Total War Saga: Troy are certainly up for reinterpretation – with one foot firmly rooted in myths while the other tentatively tiptoes around historical fact. Soon, though, you’ll be able to bring your own twists on the Trojan war to fruition, with official mod support arriving at the gates of Troy via the Epic Games Store later this month.
Because a defining aspect of humanity is repeating our mistakes if we think it might turn out funny this time, someone has once again resurrected dinosaurs. In Second Extinction, the new cooperative FPS from one of Avalanche’s studios, we’re cleaning up that problem. This time, we have big guns but they have weird genetic mutations. Second Extinction debuted in early access today and yup, it does already sound like a game where you fight dinosaurs with your pals.
SSDs may have been the big stars of this year’s [cms-block], but holy moly would you look at the size (and price) of this 20TB WD My Book Duo Desktop external hard drive. This monolithic storage cube would normally set you back a whopping £680 at any other time of the year, but the old Prime Day bargains have brought this two-bay, Raid 0-ed mega drive down to a deals-tastic £350.
AMD may have announced their next-gen Ryzen 5000 CPUs are arriving on November 5th, but their unusually high prices may have you thinking it might be better to snap up one of their existing Ryzen 3000 chips on the cheap instead. While CPU deals have been few and far between this [cms-block], Walmart have currently got the excellent Ryzen 5 3600X for just $210, which is the cheapest I’ve seen in ages.
At the end of the first of three acts in Torchlight III, there’s a boss character who repeats two of the same barks over and over. One is “This should be fun.” The other is “Let’s make it interesting.” I couldn’t help but hear both as the ignored voice of a quiet developer at the back of a Torchlight III planning meeting.
Torchlight III feels an awful lot like what it is: a free-to-play multiplayer game that thought better of itself, and decided to become a proper full-price microtransaction-free primarily solo release. If I didn’t already know the path it had taken, I’d have spent my entire time playing the game being gnawed at by wondering just what it was that made it all feel so off.
No, not that Knight’s Tale. While I’d love to be proved wrong, I’m afraid Paul Bettany probably isn’t going to show up to give your latest tussle a bombastic shoutout in NeocoreGames’ King Arthur: Knight’s Tale. Announced today, the developers of dimly-lit action RPGs like Van Helsing and Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr are returning to their Arthurian past for a nightmarishly dark, tactical-RPG twist on the English legend.
Amazon Prime Day is in full swing right now, and we’ve rounded up all the best PC gaming deals from the UK and the US right here in one handy list. I’ll be updating this article regularly throughout the day and into tomorrow, so make sure to keep an eye on it for all the best Prime Day PC gaming deals. And because it’s not just Amazon holding lots of deals today, you’ll also find your fair share of non-Prime Day deals in here, too. There is truly something for everyone.
As you might expect, there are gaming laptop deals galore taking place this [cms-block], but none of them have me as excited as this Lenovo Legion 5 bundle from Best Buy (and I can’t even buy it because I don’t live in in the US). Not only does this GTX 1660 Ti-powered laptop have a great spec, but it also comes with a RazerBasilisk X Hyperspeed Wireless mouse and Razer Goliathus mouse mat for a very tidy sum of $998 – that’s a combined saving of $170 overall, and arguably much better than some of the other sub-$1000 laptop deals I’ve seen in my [cms-block] round-up lately.
Sorry, Mister Chief. With testing for Halo 4 about to begin for The Master Chief Collection on PC, 343 have once again confirmed that their first game will also be The MCC’s last – with no plans to bring Halo 5 into Captain Motocross’ big ol’ bundle. It might have a reputation for being a bit rubs, but that’s a weird, Cortana-shaped hold to leave in between the MCC and Infinite’s release next year.
‘s third Act drops today, and it’s bringing a bounty of lovely new things to Riot’s guns and wizards first-person shooter. The first and most notable of these is a cold new map called Icebox. Then there are updates to ranked play and the deathmatch game mode. And to top it all off, later in Act 3 we’ll see a new wizard arrive, too. Her name is Skye, she throws animals at people, and she looks a bit like Artemis from Supergiant’s Hades.
Graphics card deals have been pretty scarce in this year’s pick of [cms-block] deals, but this ridiculously cheap from Powercolor is just too good to ignore if you’re after a fantastic 1080p graphics card. It’s only the 4GB model, mind, rather than the beefier 8GB one, but as you’ll see from my AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT review, you really don’t gain much by opting for the larger memory model. Both versions can hit a smooth 60fps on Medium to High settings, and I really can’t see any reason to opt for the more expensive 8GB model – especially when this 4GB model is around $40 cheaper than normal.
If you’re looking for a great SSD deal this [cms-block], you may be slightly disappointed with the selection available on Amazon US today. While there are a couple of stand-out hits, including a 2TB WD Blue 3D NAND for $176 (down from $230), it’s not exactly as wide-ranging as the UK deals. Happily, other retailers are filling the gaps. I’ve already highlighted a great deal on the excellent WD Blue SN550 over at Newegg, but if it’s Samsung SSDs you’re after, the place to be is Best Buy, especially if you’re after an 860 Evo or 970 Evo Plus. Read on below for the highlights.
Who says you don’t get more than one chance at a happy ending? Not the Terraria developers Re-Logic, that’s for sure. Today, they’re releasing their, uh, second final update for the 2D mining and crafting game. Named Journey’s Actual End, after Journey’s [fake] End that released back in May, the update adds a final NPC, new achievements, balance changes and “the long requested game credits (done Terraria style)!”.
Dungeon diving loot ’em up Torchlight 3 leaves early access today. Eight years after its stellar hack ‘n’ slash predecessor, with a studio closure and a complete pivot away from a shared-world online vision, it’s kind of amazing the game’s even made it this far. But now, Torchlight 3’s long journey towards being a pretty alright goblin-puncher finally comes to an end.
I’m told today is Prime Day, which I can only imagine is a day wizards travel from far and wide to pay tribute to the Prime Sorcerer. Among them are Wizards Of The Coast, who come to the court of Mammon with [cms-block] deals on tabletop RPGs and Magic cards. But wait, as if by magic, these are connected to video games! You’ll find Descent Into Avernus, the Dungeons & Dragons campaign which serves as a prequel to Baldur’s Gate 3, as well as some Magic cardboard decks that are also Magic: The Gathering Arena digital decks.
When three-man studio Runner Duck released management-tactics game Bomber Crew in 2017, it was rightly praised for turning the “move people around the parts of a large vehicle in an ever-increasing state of panic” aspect of roguelite classic FTL into a whole game. Followup Space Crew takes the action back into space. And while there’s a superficial level of similarity to FTL, with reactor power bars to be allocated, fires to be extinguished with atmosphere vents and all the rest, it’s a different beast.
Crucially, it’s built around the time-honoured structure of bracketing missions with time in a central hub, where you use space coins to upgrade your ship, its crew, their gear and their skills. That back and forth between frantic space missions and dopamine-soaked downtime at HQ is what makes Space Crew so compelling – but it’s also the source of some major, if fixable, limitations.
The 144Hz model of our current bestest best gaming monitor, the AOC 24G2U, is so good it’s more or less been out of stock for 95% of this year. Fortunately, if you’re not too fussed about that high refresh rate, you can get the equally good 75Hz version for a miniscule £110 right now as part of [cms-block], giving you a saving of £40. That’s a right old bargain for a screen of this quality, particularly as you also get a height-adjustable stand.
It turns out when Apex Legends came out last year, Respawn released it a couple of hours later than planned. This wasn’t down to server issues or last-minute bugs, though. The battle royale’s launch was pushed back by two hours because the studio’s former lead programmer had a court appointment to finalise his daughter’s adoption on the very same morning.
When I tested the Oculus Quest earlier in the year, it was one of the most freeing VR experiences I’ve ever had. It was also one of the most uncomfortable. Ditching the cable for wire-free VR is definitely the way forward as far as I’m concerned, but not when the headset in question crushes my nose, pinches my cheeks and makes me feel like I wanted to rip it off my head after just 30 minutes of use.
Newegg’s Fantastech sale has had some great CPU and SSD deals so far, but for those who of you who are just looking for a slightly easier way to play your favourite PC games around the house (or outside, if you’re not in lockdown right now), then there are also some great gaming laptop deals going on right now, too. Chief among them is the GTX 1660 Ti-powered Asus ROG Strix G GL531, which is currently down to $899 from $1300 (a saving of $400), but there’s also $200 off Asus’ recently released RTX 2070 Super-powered Scar 17 laptop as well, and $150 off one of Acer’s new Predator Helios 300 laptops, too. Read on for the top highlights.
[cms-block] on Razer’s fancy Blade 15 laptops are all well and good, but there are also some good deals to be had on much cheaper gaming laptops as well. Having scoured the bowels of the Prime Day bargain bucket, these are the three worth considering. There’s an Asus TUF FX505 with an entry-level GTX 1650 inside it, an HP Pavilion with a beefier GTX 1660 Ti graphics chip, and an MSI GF63 Thin with a GTX 1650 Ti that’s right in the middle. In other words, there’s something for everyone here, with savings in the region of £150 across the board.
Newegg’s Fantastech sale is in full swing, and there are plenty of great CPU deals to be had on both Intel’s 9th and 10th Gen Core i7 and Core i9 processors today, with a maximum saving of $186 up for grabs. Naturally, the biggest discounts are on Intel’s older Core i7-9700K and Core i9-9900K chips, but there are also some sizeable discounts to be had on the brand-new (and special Marvel’s Avengers editions) of the Core i7-10700K and Core i9-10850K, too, with the former hitting an all-time low price of $360. Plus, you get a free copy of Marvel’s Avengers the game with all four of them.
While on the hunt for a healer in Baldur’s Gate 3 you’ll come across a mysterious grove settlement filled with sages. There’s a healer called Nettie here who will offer to help you with your mind-flayer problem. Things go south pretty fast, and you’ll find yourself trapped in the Enclave Library. Here’s how to get out.
It seems that Rockstar Games, the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, have snapped up Ruffian Games. The Dundee studio are known for making Crackdown 2, and most recently helped out with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. While neither Rockstar nor Ruffian have announced anything publicly, records filed with Companies House say that Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive now own at least a majority stake in Ruffian. Apparently they’re now renamed to Rockstar Dundee, and I’m disappointed they didn’t give a nod to Rockstar North’s office down south in Edinburgh by taking the name Rockstar Norther.
The new free-to-play Breath Of The Wild-like Genshin Impact is getting a new area for you to explore in December. Named Dragonspine, developers Mihoyo estimate it’ll arrive in the game on the 23rd, and it’ll come with an event linked to the area as well. That’s not all, though, because the devs have a bunch more events that they plan on hosting at the same times as real-world ones.
Back when we asked you what’s your favourite gaming mouse, you voted the Logitech G502 to a resounding victory, so you’ll hopefully be pleased to hear that it can be snapped up for just £35 right now thanks to some big [cms-block] discounts.
If there’s one thing I need right now, it’s storage space on a hard drive to install plenty of games without fuss. Infinity Ward have taken note and they’re releasing a patch later today for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare which will allow players to uninstall specific modes.
If there’s one gaming monitor deal you should consider this [cms-block], it’s the Samsung Odyssey G7. Down to £430 from its usual price of £550, this monitor has pretty much everything you could ask for. A 2560×1440 resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, HDR support and it’s fully certified as one of Nvidia’s official [cms-block], too.
If you’re looking for a new gaming laptop, there are some great savings to be had on a range of Razer’s ultra-thin Blade laptops today as part of the [cms-block] festivities today. There are four Blade models on sale at the moment, with the biggest savings stretching up to £400 on the base model of this year’s Blade 15 (a base model that includes an RTX 2070 graphics chip, a brand new 10th Gen Core i7 CPU and a 4K display, I might add). That’s not all, though. There are also savings of at least £300 to be had on the smaller Blade Stealth 13 as well, plus another £300 off the larger Blade Pro 17.
Newegg have just chopped $30 off the 1TB version of the excellent WD Blue SN550, taking this once $120 SSD down to an all-time low of $100. This is a fantastic price for a fantastic SSD, and is just one of many great SSD deals Newegg currently have as part of their just-gone-live Fantastech sale, which is their version of [cms-block]. Read on for my top SSD deal highlights.
is a game about a super boring dude named Gary. By day he works in a vacuous supermarket. By night, he spends his precious time off playing an RPG called Legend Of The Spear in his Mum’s dimly-lit basement. The RPG features isometric gameplay and a cast of characters pulling from Gary’s limited roster of friends and family.
