PC Gamer presented their its PC Gaming Show for November 2023, and showcase centered around the most wanted, new PC games, voted for by a panel of content creators and developers. There were also a few new announcements woven in with the countdown.

The most wanted entries included a range of games, although few of them featured new announcements. In some cases such as Avowed, Grand Theft Auto 6 and Tekken 8, the panel discussed why people are excited for these games but shared no new info. Some games did get new updates, however, including Path of Exile 2, Homeworld 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The Ken trailer for Persona 3 Reload also made an appearance.

Here are all the new games that got new trailers or updates at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted November 2023 showcase, along with when we can expect to see them:

• Bellwright – Q1 2024
• Crashlands 2 – 2024
• Crown Wars: The Black Prince – March 2024
• Cryptical Path – TBA

I am late to walk the Path of Exile. Very late: the evergreen free-to-play dark fantasy action-RPG launched literal generations ago in 2013, the heyday of Bioshock Infinite and GTA 5. (It's still arguably the heyday of GTA 5. Bioshock Infinite, not so much.) It's my understanding that New Zealand-based developer Grinding Gears have released approximately one bazillion Path of Exile updates and expansions in the decade since, the latest of which, Affliction, is briefly detailed in a boxout down the page.

I am not your guy for blow-by-blow descriptions of what Affliction adds to Path of Exile. My cautious summary would be: lots of terrifying trees, and lots of modifiers. I am, however, your guy for a newcomer's snapshot verdict on the sequel ahead of the closed Path of Exile 2 beta on 7th June 2024. In a twist so far-fetched they might just pull it off, the new game is designed both for returning players and newcomers, and I think a lot of that is epitomised by the just-announced Mercenary class, which reflects game director Jonathan Rogers's desire to create combat mechanics that are at once more involved and more inviting.

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The Mercenary class has been unveiled for Path of Exile 2, and notably, it brings a whole new style of play to the game: shooter gameplay. It doesn't mean the game has suddenly gone first-person, but it does mean optional - and fluidly interchangeable - WASD movement is coming to the series for the first time. And that you can now move slightly while attacking.

The Mercenary revolves around the crossbow weapon they carry, which behaves - depending on the type of crossbow - like either a shotgun, an assault rifle, or a sniper rifle. You can carry two kinds of crossbow at the same time.

What your crossbow does also depends heavily on the kind of ammo you're using. If you're using incendiary ammo, for instance, your assault rifle crossbow will spin-up like a mini-gun and be devastating - and fiery - once revved up. Meanwhile, your sniper crossbow with incendiary ammo will behave more like a rocket launcher, exploding on impact. Frost ammo, meanwhile, freezes enemies and also creates varying kinds of frost effects - or ice walls - on the floor depending on which crossbow you use. Oh, and there's a grenade-launcher attachment too, because why not? And again, there are varying types of grenade you can fire.

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Sanei Boeki is releasing a new plush line of traveling Korok carrying a backpack from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. There are two different Korok plushies available, and both are set to release in Japan in mid-February 2024. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The new Korok plushies cost 3,300 yen (or about $22) each. There are two versions, one carrying a brown backpack, and the other one using a red backpack. The Korok themselves are also different and are wearing different leaf masks. The backpacks are faithfully reproduced and include all manner of details.

Both plushies are approximately 22cm wide, 18.5cm deep, and 17cm tall (or 8.6 inches wide, 7.3 inches deep, and 6.7 inches tall).

Since the launch of Modern Warfare 3, DMZ fans have been wondering about the mode’s future, especially with the arrival of Zombies. And now, the Call of Duty Blog has finally disclosed its conclusion, indicating that there will be no new content moving forward.

Once MW3 Season 1 launches, DMZ Beta will only be available to play via the Call of Duty: Warzone section. You won’t be able to access it through Modern Warfare 3, as Zombies will be the main focus.

Sega released a new trailer for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth that showcases the English dub for the new Yakuza game and includes Danny Trejo.  The trailer debuted at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2023 showcase.

The new English story trailer for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth features plenty of story scenes from across the game. It reveals that Ichiban Kasuga is being sent to Hawaii to deal with gang members who are after his mother. We also get to see plenty of scenes of Ichiban and Kazuma Kiryu teaming up in their battles.

The United Kingdom is known for many things—its bizarre love of monarchy, its militant football fans, its ever-increasing cost of living, and, of course, drinking tea. When I lived in England, drinking tea became a part of my personality as well, so much so that I had a favorite (Twinings). But even I, an American who…

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Tonight's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted stream may have been mostly focused on games we already knew about, but there were a couple of surprises hidden away in there, too. One of them was Spine, an upcoming action game that asks the question: what if Sifu also had guns? The new gameplay trailer shows street artist heroine Redline punching, kicking and shooting her way through a cyberpunk-themed world of thugs and armoured guards, and her fancy footwork and the equally agile camera framing looks like it could be quite the combo when it eventually comes out in 2025. Alas, the trailer doesn't give away much else, but I spoke to developers Nekki ahead of tonight's showcase to find more about it, and how it's taking direct inspiration from Sifu and John Wick to become the next big cinematic beat 'em up.

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After suffering a delay to next year, we now know that the driving-focused roguelite survival game Pacific Drive is arriving on February 22.

The news comes courtesy of today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. Pacific Drive is a first-person adventure that unfolds in a surreal version of the Pacific Northwest. Players drive a station wagon to explore a forest filled with supernatural threats related to a government agency’s experiments gone wrong. Check out a recent story trailer below.  

As a run-based game, the world shifts with every trip into the forest, and the only thing keeping you alive is your trusty vehicle, which you’ll repair, reinforce, and modify using materials found while exploring the unsettling landscapes. Your car will need to stay up to snuff in order to withstand dangers such as the Zone Storm, a recurring maelstrom that obliterates everything in its path, meaning players will have to outrun it to stay alive. 

Pacific Drive will be available on PlayStation 5 and PC. For more on the game, you can check out our extended preview of the game here.

The year is not over yet, but arguably its biggest rush of video game releases have completed, which means now we actually need to play all of them. Or at least play as many as we can. On this week's episode Marcus Stewart, Kyle Hilliard, and Charles Harte discuss the games they're trying to catch up on including The Talos Principle 2 and Dave the Diver, and of course Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Batman Arkham Knight, and Grounded. We also answer questions from the community and reflect on our 2023 Thanksgiving meals.

Follow us on social media: Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), and Charles Harte (@chuckduck365).

I play a lot of mobile games. I have about six installed on my phone at the moment, which includes Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis. Almost all of them have some kind of gacha (or random loot box) element. And while each have drop rates for weapons, characters, or accessories in varying degrees, they all have one thing in common: events. It's one thing Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is never left wanting for, as a new event seems to roll out every week or two with an accompanying banner or three, but I wish it would slow down.

As of writing, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is hosting a Final Fantasy IX event that features a total of three event banners running from November 9, 2023 to December 7, 2023. Each of these banners has unique "Weapon" drops and "Attire" as rewards for making it through the Chocobo Pass system. Characters need Weapons, as specific attacks are attached to them, and Attire is more or less the stand in for armor. It provides you with a new cosmetic that often times has some really powerful passive stats attached to it.

Things haven’t been going great for Netflix’s IRL version of the fictional South Korean show Squid Game. Called Squid Game: The Challenge, contestants previously claimed that the British reality competition series was rigged, with former participants seeking legal action against the show’s producers for unsafe working…

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The November 10 launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III reignited the seemingly endless debate about multiplayer matchmaking, with players demanding Activision and Infinity Ward provide details, or even abolish it entirely. This conversation has perpetuated across multiple Call of Duty releases, but the team behind…

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The release date for Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mezase! Saikyou Taishi, a game known as Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board internationally, has allegedly been set for April 25, 2024 in Japan, said leaker ryokutya2089 in a post on their blog. Although the date has not yet been officially announced, Aniplex had previously stated that the game was planned for a release in 2024. [Thanks, ryokutya!]

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mezase! Saikyou Taishi was revealed back on September 10, 2023 by Aniplex as a Damon Slayer board game-style party game for the Nintendo Switch. At that time, a release date for the game was not revealed beyond the 2024 release window.

Hellish political strategy Solium Infernum will launch on PC on February 14th. The news was announced with a trailer that explains its demon scheming and manouvering, as well as its asynchronous multiplayer - of which there will be a test in early 2024.

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Islands Of Insight was described to me by Katharine earlier as "Talos Principle: The MMO", and yep, that seems about right. It's a "shared world" puzzle game with toga-wearing characters and architecture seemingly littered with marble columns. It also now has a release window of February 2024 and a new trailer, below.

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Phoenix Labs revealed the first major DLC expansion for Fae Farm, which is titled Coasts of Croakia. The update will be available to download on December 14, 2023.

Coasts of Croakia will take Fae Farm players to a new realm, accessed via a portal inside the mouth of a giant magical frog. The update will contain new discoveries and mysterious new characters who will guide characters on a set of new quests. In addition, new mechanics will be added to the game, although details on these mechanics have yet to be confirmed. A new teaser trailer shows hints of the new realm, which is heavily themed around frogs.

The Fae Farm DLC expansion will be available for players with the Deluxe Edition on PC, and for all players on Nintendo Switch. Standard Edition players on PC will be able to purchase Coasts of Croakia separately, although how much it will cost has not been confirmed yet. It will be the first of two content updates for the game, with the second arriving sometime around June 2024.

Fae Farm is out now for Nintendo Switch and PC. Its first DLC expansion is Coasts of Croakia, which will be released on December 14, 2023.

Japan celebrates Camera Day on November 30, and to mark the occasion Square Enix shared some details about Angeal and his photography hobby in Crisis Core FFVII.

According to one of the Angeal Fan Club updates that Zack receives in Crisis Core FFVII, Angeal’s treasure is a camera that his mother gifted to him. The bulletin also reveals that Angeal likes to keep a collection of photos of landscapes taken during his missions.

It is possible Angeal might have gotten his love of photography in Crisis Core FFVII from his mother, as she keeps plenty of pictures of him at his childhood home of Banora. When Zack visits her home early in the game, the player can examine some of them. The first picture shows a young Angeal back when he became a Soldier, and two other show Angeal as a baby, and Angeal and Genesis when they were children.

Due to the image quality in the original PSP release of Crisis Core, players could only read the descriptions of these pictures. However, the Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion HD remaster allows players to get a better look at them. You can also check them out here:

A reportedly leaked survey from Blizzard indicates that the developer is looking at different possible prices for its upcoming Diablo IV expansion, and one of these potential packages is priced at $100.

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The Resident Evil 4 VR and VR Mode Demo release date is set for PSVR2 owners. Anyone with a PS5 and the headset can start playing next week on December 8, 2023. 

As a reminder, this update was first announced back in February 2023. If someone owns a copy of the game, then the VR Mode update is free. Their game will automatically update the day the patch goes live. If someone doesn’t own it, then the demo will be available for free. The trial will offer both a sample of the campaign gameplay, as well as the optional Shooting Range to test out equipment. 

There’s also a closer look at how this Resident Evil 4 VR Mode will look on the PSVR2. The launch trailer is already out ahead of its debut. It primarily focuses on the campaign. However, you can see the Shooting Range after the 1:05 minute mark. 

Minthara is one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s most interesting companions, but only a select few people tend to see much of the Drow Paladin in their playthrough because recruiting her typically requires you to help her slaughter Tiefling refugees. Despite this, fans have found creative workarounds to recruit her without…

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Bushiroad announced that it will cease its online services for Senki Zesshou Symphogear XD Unlimited in Japan on January 31, 2024, at 2pm JST. The company is also preparing a permanent offline archive app for existing players on iOS and Android devices to review content that they have unlocked, such as story episodes, character cards, and music tracks. It will provide a unique serial number for each player on December 8, 2023.

Symphogear XD Unlimited is a "Symphonic Battle RPG" where players collect characters from the Symphogear anime series that ran from 2012 to 2019. They can also gather music tracks and equip them to apply combat-related buffs for the characters in PvE and PvP matches.

Bushiroad worked with Pokelabo, the studio best known for SINoALICE, to develop this free-to-play title. The game launched in late June 2017, so it will have a total lifespan of around six and a half years by the time it shuts down at the end of January 2024.

Larian have released Baldur's Gate 3 patch 5, which they're calling the fantasy RPG's "most feature-filled" update so far, and glancing over the patch notes, it's hard to disagree. It's not just about shaving the cats, this time: the standout additions and fixes include a new story epilogue, two new modes, and some performance boosts aimed specifically at the game's ever-divisive third act.

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CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will launch on December 5, 2023 alongside the release of Update 2.1. Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.1 will include new and highly anticipated gameplay additions to the game.

Although details about the upcoming update were not provided with the announcement, CD Projekt Red will be hosting a REDstreams dedicated to Update 2.1 to explain all of the new content and fixes that will be coming to Cyberpunk 2077. The stream will be held on Twitch on December 1, 2023 at 4.00 PM CET. The upcoming REDstream will feature Paweł Sasko, Quest Director, and Monika Janowska, Producer, as guests who will share more information about Update 2.1.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will be the first physical retail version of the game to release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Ultimate Edition will contain the base game, the Phantom Liberty DLC expansion, and every update that has released up to Update 2.0 without.

Fallout 76 continues to add more new content to the experience. On December 5, 2023, the game will receive Season 15: The Big Score.

In Season 15 players will be able to earn S.C.O.R.E. by completing in-game challenges, with new cosmetics on the table for those who can climb up through the rank - such as the Diamond Dress Outfit or the Conqueror Power Armor Paint. Plus get new items for your C.A.M.P.

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Larian Studios offered an idea of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 size hours ahead of its debut. People will be about 30GB. It didn’t offer any additional information concerning its contents.

However, the company did offer some details about dealing with the Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 size. It noted it needs 130GB of space before you can install it. It then recommended uninstalling and reinstalling the game to ensure someone has the most up-to-date experience.

The new update was only just revealed on November 29, 2023. The major addition in it is an epilogue for those who completed the RPG. The patch will also end up fixing a bug that’s been slowing down the game. A Patch 4 fix unintentionally caused some issues related to stealing in the game, with slowdown continuing into later portions of the game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now for PC and PS5. Patch 5 is out now. The game is also coming to the Xbox Series X, with the release date being announced for that version at The Game Awards 2023. It is expected to debut on the Xbox before 2023 ends, so people should be able to begin playing it on the new platform in December 2023. It is unknown if that version will include the latest updates like Patch 5.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch #5 is bringing more reasons than ever to go back to Larian Studios’ excellent RPG with new modes and, more importantly, a new epilogue that takes place six months after the main game.

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Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks awesome, right? The much anticipated action role-playing game about dragons and pawns came out swinging with a hefty new gameplay showcase on November 28, showing off the impressive character creator and some spectacular combat and officially revealing a March 24, 2024 release date. One thing…

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The month of December brings many things: cold weather, the holiday season, and this year, a new crop of games on Xbox Game Pass. Highlights this month include Remnant: From the Ashes and Remnant II, giving subscribers a chance to try out both games if they haven't yet. It also gives them day one access to SteamWorld Build, the latest in the genre-shifting SteamWorld series. And for fans of big-budget open-world adventure games, subscribers will also get access to the latest entry in the Far Cry series. Below is the full list, their dates, and our reviews.

What's Coming To Game Pass

Remnant: From the Ashes (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 30 | Our Review

Remnant II (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) – November 30 | Our Review

Spirit of the North (Cloud, Console, and PC) – December 1 | Our Review

This week on The Electronic Wireless Show podcast, we get a little bit removed from the rails, as it were. Things aren't looking great for Starfield - or at least, they're looking mixed, as in the Steam reviews, and verified but nameless devs are responding to negative reviews with comments that are basically like "no, our space game is fun and you're playing it wrong". We laugh about this (but also discuss the role of Steam reviews and devs replying to them). As well as that, the lads have been playing, well, the same sort of stuff this week, James brings us talk of mini PCs, and Nate makes us play Dracula or Russell Crowe. Extremely normal.

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The Apple App Store Award winners for 2023 were announced, and Honkai: Star Rail, Lies of P, and Hello Kitty Island Adventure were all honored. They were three of six games named on the list. 

Here are the five titles that all ended up being named as various App Store Award winners. In the case of Unpacking and Finding Hannah, both were among the Cultural Impact honorees for the nature of the content they provided.

• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Hello Kitty Island Adventure
• Cultural Impact Winner: Finding Hannah
• Cultural Impact Winner: Unpacking
• iPad Game of the Year: Lost in Play
• iPhone Game of the Year: Honkai: Star Rail
• Mac Game of the Year: Lies of P

In a nice little end-of-the-year twist, one of the more surprising hits of 2023 just stealth-dropped onto Game Pass—and there are some other great games still coming to the Netflix subscription service in the weeks ahead. Soulslike shooter Remnant II is now on the service alongside the first game and just in time for…

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You probably know by now that Henry Kissinger, a notorious war criminal who was the U.S. Secretary of State during Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford’s presidencies, died yesterday, November 30, at the age of 100. You might also know that he was behind the carpet bombings in Cambodia that took place from 1969 to 1973 and…

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Square Enix is now accepting pre-orders for the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Vinyl Soundtrack, which features nine songs over 2 sides and shared a trailer showing the album off. The soundtrack will cost $44.99, €47.99‎, or ¥4,500 with US orders expected to ship in May, 2024.

The vinyl is split into an Aerith and a Tifa sides, with art of each character on their respective side of the disc. The Aerith side features songs such as "Chadley's Theme," "Farm Boy," and the battle arrangement of the FFVII main theme. Meanwhile, the Tifa side features several songs from the Junon region, including a battle and underground theme, as well as the song "Materia Guardian."

You can listen to a preview of the songs in the Youtube video below:

During Nijisanji Vtuber Selen Tatsuki’s 2023 birthday stream, she announced the HoloNiji Apex Custom Apex Legends tournament that will feature both Nijisanji and Hololive Vtubers. More details about it will come on December 3, 2023.

Selen noted that Team Snake Bite (TSB), which consists of her and Holostars Vtubers Regis Altare and Axel Syrios, “was cooking something.” That turned into this Apex Legends tournament. As a reminder, Syrios was invited to participate in V-Saikyo in April 2023 as the only English branch leader, and he added the other two to his team. Selen said this new Apex Legends tournament, which is officially supported by EA, has “been in the works for a very long time.” 

This HoloNiji Apex Custom event was originally going to be a chill, custom tournament. During initial planning, Selen said it only involved people from Nijisanji English and Holostars. Now it will include people from the EN, ID, and JP branches from both Anycolor and Cover. Between 10 and 15 teams, which are still being finalized, will appear. Selen herself and TSB will also be playing. No “main” broadcasting will happen during this with three for-fun and three serious game modes. Selen also noted strong teams will be nerfed.

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a superhero game – several of them! Fans of spandex-clad saviors have several titles based on their favorite comic heroes to look out for, regardless if you love DC, Marvel, or (preferably) both. We’ve gathered the biggest announced superhero titles and arranged them in chronological release order to know when to expect these games to swoop in and rescue you from boredom.

Xbox chief financial officer Tim Stuart has said Microsoft wants to get Game Pass and its first-party titles on "every screen that can play games" - including Switch and PlayStation - in what he calls "a bit of a change of strategy".

This isn't the first time Microsoft has talked about getting Xbox Game Pass on all platforms, of course; Xbox boss Phil Spencer has referenced the strategy on multiple occasions, calling it a "long term goal" for the company back in 2019.

One year on from that comment, however, it seemed as if Spencer had admitted defeat in getting Game Pass on competing consoles, saying, "The other competitive platforms really aren't interested in having a full Xbox experience on their hardware. But for us, we want to be where gamers want to be and that's the path that we're on."

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Capcom's fantasy action-RPG Dragon's Dogma 2 will sell for $69.99 - $70, if you disregard the usual "deduct one cent to fool silly left-to-right readers into thinking it's significantly cheaper" gambit - when it releases in March 2024. If you're in the UK, the figure is currently £53.98 on Steam. It's the first time Capcom have sold the base edition of a game for $70 in the US of A, and follows comments this September from a Capcom executive that videogames are priced "too low" these days, based on how much games cost to make.

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Good Smile Company opened pre-orders for its upcoming Nendoroid of Leon S Kennedy from Resident Evil 4. The chibi figure will be available worldwide at ¥7,200. People residing in the U.S. and Canada can place orders for the figure on the Good Smile Online Shop U.S. for $45.99.

After previously teasing the figure at WonHobbyG Spring 2023 in late May, Good Smile Company has published sample images of the finished prototype with various items included in the package. The set will come with an alternate face part where Leon shows a more serious expression with lowered eyebrows. It will also include a miniaturized handgun, knife, and attache case.