Gaming News

The Greatest Enemy in Helldivers 2 Isn’t the Bugs or the Robots — It’s Farmers

Helldivers 2’s great war to spread democracy across the galaxy is being undermined by an unlikely source: farmers. Arrowhead’s phenomenally popular co-op focused third-person shooter features a galaxy-wide war that pits the forces of Super Earth against Terminids (alien bugs) on one side and Automatons (alien robots) on the other (check out our Terminids and Automatons enemy list for more). The idea is to “liberate” planets from alien infestation by completing operations, which are made up of a variety of missions. If you start an operation then fail to complete all the missions within it, the operation counts as a loss for Super Earth. You can see the effect your work has on the status of each planet’s liberation as you complete...

View full article »

Palworld Patch 0.1.5.0 Tackles Pal AI, Fixes Save Data Issues, and No More Long-Holding F

Palworld developer Pocketpair has released an update for the game that makes a number of important improvements. Patch 0.1.5.0 is out now for Palworld on Steam and soon on Xbox. Highlights for patch 0.1.5.0 include adding backup of save data on the world selection screen, resolving an issue of unnecessary data accumulating in save data, improvements to the Pal AI, server lobbies, and the first improvements to cheat prevention (Palworld's cheating problem is on the rise). It’s also worth noting the patch adds fully supported keyboard key configuration. And players will be happy to know long-pressing F can now be toggled. Now your finger can rest! Last week, Pocketpair announced its ‘Pokémon with guns’ crafting and survival game had...

View full article »

The Must-owns of Multiple Steam Sales, An Eye-Watering Elden Ring Collector's Edition, and More!

I'm going to break from tight-fisted tradition by starting my discounts article with something that could not reasonably be considered a thrifty gamer purchase. That said, and despite its $549 price tag, I feel the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Collector's Edition is something most of us would want on our respective radars. If only for drooling purposes, at the very least. I can't wait to play this DLC. Am currently looking for a buyer for a few spare organs of mine, but have hit some T&Cs issues with Facebook Marketplace. Today I'm raising a mid-morning vodka martini to the 20th birthday of Everything or Nothing, the best Bond game this side of GoldenEye 007. Considered a continuation of Die Another Day and technically the last...

View full article »

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Surprise Patch Includes Tifa Outfit Change Ahead of Rebirth Release, Breaks Major Mod

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth releasing just later this week, Final Fantasy VII Remake got a surprise update, tweaking one of Tifa's outfits and breaking a heavily used mod. The update was released across PlayStation and PC last night. Square Enix didn't reveal full patch notes for version 1.003, only listing "updates to several bugs" on its Steam page. Fans, however, were quick to notice one change in particular in regards to one of Tifa's outfits. Warning: Potential spoiler for Final Fantasy 7 below. As spotted on ResetEra, Tifa's cowgirl-inspired outfit in a Nibelheim flashback was changed slightly to add a black undershirt under her white button-up. The change is likely a continuity one, as the outfit as patched more closely...

View full article »

Pentiment 120FPS on Xbox Was Disabled Due to a Bug, Creator Says

Pentiment launched on PS5 and Switch last week. Some quickly noticed the PS5 version runs better than the Xbox version. However, that will change soon, according to the game's creator. A user on X/Twitter posted a screenshot of a video comparison of the frames per second (FPS) performance between the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Pentiment. While not a graphic-intensive game, some were puzzled that the Xbox Series X version of this 2D game was locked at 60fps while the PS5 version was able to run at 120fps. Pentiment director Josh Sawyer cleared the air, noting that 120fps will be enabled on Xbox in the next update, and it was locked or "disabled" on that platform due to a bug. While the update will arrive on Xbox soon, it is...

View full article »

Stardew Valley's Big Patch 1.6 Update Gets Release Date From ConcernedApe

For nearly a year, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, has been teasing the farming simulator's massive Patch 1.6. Now, after a development period that turned out longer than he had expected, the update finally has a release date. In a post on Twitter/X today, Barone celebrated the game's eighth anniversary by announcing that the 1.6 Update will be out on PC on March 19, with console and mobile following soon after. In an update to the game's press site, Barone also noted that the game has sold an impressive 30 million copies across platforms, with over 19 million copies on PC, throughout its eight years. "With a new update on the horizon, a worldwide concert tour underway, an official cookbook coming...

View full article »

Elden Ring Hero 'Let Me Solo Her' Says Shadow of Erdtree DLC May Finally End His Relentless Malenia Killing

Two years ago, we learned of one of the greatest video game heroes of all time: a man wearing nothing but a jar atop his head. His name? Let Me Solo Her. His job? Exactly what his name says he does: standing outside the doorway to Elden Ring's most difficult boss, Malenia, and offering to take down the punishing, scarlet rot-infested warrior on behalf of players who were struggling to do it themselves. Now, almost two years later, Let Me Solo Her (LMSH) is still fighting Malenia on behalf of the people. But his Malenia-murdering days may soon be at an end, thanks to the recent announcement of Elden Ring's first major story DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree. We first spoke to LMSH way back in April of 2022, and caught up with him again...

View full article »

Cool-Looking Action RPG Set in Modern-Day Tokyo Heads West This Fall

Publisher NIS America has announced an English version of dark action RPG Reynatis heads west this Fall on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. Reynatis, directed by Takumi Isobe, is described as a single-player “atmospheric urban fantasy” and is set in a realistic recreation of Shibuya, Tokyo, “where the ultimate clash between magic and order is about to unfold.” Here’s the official blurb: In Reynatis you navigate the streets of Shibuya and choose between remaining concealed to talk to civilians, shop, and accept quests, or exposing your true self to harness your inhuman powers. You get to visit the alternate world of Another, a fantasy land packed with monsters and secrets. As for combat, you can...

View full article »

Elden Ring Fans Left Scratching Their Heads Over Miyazaki's Undiscovered Secret Tease

Elden Ring players are flummoxed over FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki's tease that one final secret still exists within the two-year-old game. Speaking to IGN last week, Miyazaki commented on the myriad twists and turns Elden Ring takes throughout its pieced-together story that demands players interpret items, landscapes, bosses, and beyond. This style of storytelling naturally leaves a lot to player investigation and interpretation, but despite more than two years of myriad fans analysing, Miyazaki said there's still more to find. He and his team at FromSoftware "are always surprised and delighted by how much the players do discover, and how much these communities work to uncover these secrets", he said, before dropping the...

View full article »

'Stop F**king Firing My Friends’ - DICE Award Winners on the Industry’s Biggest Challenge Today

Earlier this month, the games industry gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards, honoring the best of video games in 2023. It was a great time, and a lot of really excellent games won well-deserved prizes. But it’s also been a rough year for the games industry. We’ve written about the current upheaval elsewhere, and it didn’t go unremarked upon onstage, either. Even in a time of well-earned joy, a number of developers onstage were there having lost fellow team members who should be celebrating with them. Even those lucky enough to have avoided layoffs were accepting their awards in front of an audience of peers rocked by job loss, funding uncertainty, and apprehension. Backstage, we had the...

View full article »

Official Elden Ring Book Tells the Story of Two Co-Workers Who Become Friends Through the Game

The parent company of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware is releasing a novel based on the beloved fantasy role-playing game, but its subject isn't necessarily what you'd expect. As reported by Siliconera, Kadokawa Corporation is releasing See You At That Grace After Work in Japan, a novel telling the story of two co-workers who get to know each other by playing Elden Ring. The title references the Sites of Grace locations throughout Elden Ring's world of The Lands Between. The novel follows a Japanese office worker and gamer who enjoys Elden Ring but has only played solo. After spending his workbreaks looking at guide websites, a senior colleague notices and, as a fan of Elden Ring themselves, speaks to the worker about it. The two...

View full article »

Until Dawn Developer Supermassive Games Plans to Lay Off 'Around' 90 Workers

Supermassive Games, the studio best known for making choice-filled horror games that are borderline interactive movies, announced that it is planning to lay off employees as job losses continue to devastate the gaming industry. In a statement posted on Twitter/X, the developer acknowledged the challenges the gaming industry currently faces with mass layoffs, and that it was not “immune” to this. It stated it was “undertaking a reorganisation” of its studio and planned to enter “into a period of consultation,” which would affect some of its employees. Although Supermassive did not disclose how many employees are affected, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier wrote before the announcement that the British developer planned to lay off...

View full article »

Tekken 8 Sells Over 2 Million in a Month

Tekken 8 has sold over two million copies in the first month after launch, publisher Bandai Namco has announced. The fighting game launched on January 26 across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, and sold one million on its first day of release, then hit the two million sold mark in the first month. This “greatly outpaces” the sales of Tekken 7, Bandai Namco said. Tekken 7, which is still being played, has the series’ total highest sales record of over 11.8 million copies sold worldwide. Tekken 8 appears to be selling at a similar pace to rival fighting game Street Fighter 6, which also shifted two million copies after a month on sale. Capcom's Street Fighter 6 went on to sell three million copies in seven months...

View full article »

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Preorders Get a Limited Time Discount for PC

Rejoice, Elden Ring fans, as the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion now has a nailed-down release date of June 21. What's better than that? Well, a discount on DLC of course. It's currently priced at $39.99 MSRP, sparking speculation that this could truly be a massive offering for fans. But, if you're on PC, we highly recommend picking up Shadow of the Erdtree from Green Man Gaming, a trusted online PC code merchant who currently has the DLC listed for $35.19 instead (see here) / £30.79 in the UK. That's $4.80 savings, and 12% off for an expansion Elden Ring fans are most certainly going to buy -- it's a Steam code as well so this is a no-brainer. The only catch is the deal will expire before the end of the day (February 26), so you need...

View full article »

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag Players Rise 200% Upon Skull and Bones' Release

The number of people playing Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag has risen 200% on Steam after the release of fellow Ubisoft pirate game Skull and Bones. As reported by PCGamesN, the player numbers of 2013's Black Flag have floated either side of 1,000 for years. According to tracking website SteamDB, however, this number spiked on February 16: the day Skull and Bones finally released after years of troubled development. Black Flag rose to 1,679 players upon launch, followed by 2,600 on February 17, and 3,226 on February 18. That growth has continued, not dipping below 2,401 since reaching a new peak of 3,594 on February 25. Skull and Bones has yet to launch on Steam, with Ubisoft favouring a PC release on the Epic Games Store and its own...

View full article »

Helldivers 2 Sample Cheats Are 'Ruining' the Grind for Anyone Unlucky Enough to Play With Them

It was perhaps inevitable: cheating has hit early 2024 blockbuster Helldivers 2. Players have reported a variety of cheats and exploits for Arrowhead’s explosive co-op focused third-person shooter. Hacks are adding infinite ammo, increasing speed, and even allowing players to trigger ‘god mode’. A recent popular exploit triggers an infinite stratagem glitch, which causes even more chaos on the battlefield. Some players have also ended up playing in a group with cheaters who are able to obtain hundreds of samples from missions. Samples are one of the key currencies in Helldivers 2 progression, with some only found on the harder difficulties. They’re used to buy ship module upgrades, which are powerful passive buffs that can...

View full article »

Baldur’s Gate 3 Dev Warns Community About Threats and Toxicity Over Mod Support

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has called on the game’s community to cease what it called “threats and toxicity” over mod support, insisting conversations around new features “take time”. Ever since Baldur's Gate 3 came out in August 2023, players who use mods have been frustrated with having to uninstall, reinstall, update, and re-juggle their mods every time a new patch is released. So last week’s announcement that official mod support is on its way was seen as a positive. However, it seems a vocal minority within the community has taken things too far. In a series of tweets, Larian director of publishing Michael Douse said, in order for the developer to continue its healthy relationship with its community, the threats...

View full article »

Helldivers 2 Players Are Kicking Teammates Who Don’t Have ‘Meta’ Loadouts

Helldivers 2 is only a few weeks old and already players are kicking their teammates before games even get going because they’re not bringing so-called "meta" builds to the party. As Helldivers 2 players level up and seek out the the rarest resources exclusive to harder difficulties, their loadout becomes an increasingly serious business. The community has declared a handful of must-haves for higher difficulties, including the SG-225 Breaker Primary weapon, and the Railgun, Eagle 500KG Bomb, and Shield Generator Pack Stratagems. (Check out IGN’s best loadouts guide to see what we think). One post on the Helldivers 2 Steam forum is gaining attention for declaring the need to “set the standard for 8+ missions.” “If they are using...

View full article »

Yoko Taro Reportedly Teased Nier 3 With Repent Concert Message

The Nier community is currently aflutter after what some are taking to be a tease for Nier 3. The apparent tease comes from the recent Nier: Orchestra Concert in London, where the word R3PENT was apparently displayed at the end of the show. “Anecdote from the Nier London concert but Yoko Taro took the stage at the end, told the audience that the Square Enix president was in the crowd and that if we wanted an Automata sequel to give the loudest applause of the night,” said ResetEra user SanTheSly. “The room immediately erupted into claps, cheers and yells. How much of what Taro said is true is up for debate but the case was made abundantly clear in person to Taro himself, at the very least. Mild concert content spoilers follow...

View full article »

Here's How Score a Steam Deck for Just £315 Right Now in the UK (Limited Time)

If you head over to eBay and use the promo code LEAP20 you can currently bag yourself a Steam Deck (256GB model) for £314.95 from verified seller The Game Collection Outlet (we've recommended them many times). This is a significant saving compared to the current RRP of £349 -- with the notable improvement that the model is actually in stock from TGC versus being unavailable directly from Steam. If you want the alternate models, you could get the 512GB model for £374.95, while the 64GB model is currently out of stock. This deal will expire at 11:59 PM on February 29, so don't delay if you're looking to secure the offer. Other great deals in the eBay sale right now include Helldivers 2 for £30.28 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for £51.96...

View full article »

Helldivers 2 Servers Handled All Players Over the Weekend ‘Without Problem’, Dev Now Returns to ‘Original Plan’

The developer of Helldivers 2 has declared the weekend just gone a success, insisting the game’s servers handled all players “without problem”. In a tweet, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt said he was proud of the development team after a weekend that appeared to go much better than the prior weekend for players trying to login. This despite Helldivers 2 breaking its Steam concurrent player count record once again, hitting 458,709. Helldivers 2 has suffered significant server problems since its explosive launch across PlayStation 5 and PC, so much so that Pilestedt had issued a warning about server queues for the weekend just gone. But the developer appears to be getting on top of the issues after releasing a number of patches and, most...

View full article »

Save $850 on a Six Game, All-Time FPS Collection Bundle, Plus Cheap FFVII Rebirth Preorders, and More!

By now, you would have seen the Borderlands movie trailer and scratched your head. Why? Possibly because you don't know if it needs to be thing. Or maybe because you've somehow been gaming with no actual exposure to this phenomenal, 15-year-old looter-shooter franchise. Today, I'm gonna fix that up quick, fast, and in a hurry with an utterly stupid price on a whole shebang Borderlands Collection. You have 850 fewer excuses for not playing it now. In retro news, I'm celebrating the dual 15 year birthdays of Halo Wars and Killzone 2. The former was a gateway RTS that deftly dodged between the hardcore micromanagement of real-time strategy and the instant gratification expected by Halo fans. (I also played the crotch out of its...

View full article »

Pixel-Art Metroidvania 'Primal Planet' Officially Announced

A single developer has been hard at work on the now-officially-announced Primal Planet, a pixel-art Metroidvania that tasks you, a caveman, with protecting your family from dinosaurs...but also aliens. It's in development for PC, and it's playable in single-player as well as two-player local co-op. Solo developer Seethingswarm is bringing a decade of development experience to Primal Planet, and in addition to its Metroidvania core, the game will also feature crafting and survival elements. And co-op isn't just a typical carbon-copy player 2. Here, Seethingswarm says, "Player 2 can jump in at any time as Sino the nimble sinosauropteryx, your faithful companion. Work together to overcome obstacles, solve puzzles, and battle foes as your...

View full article »

Daily Deals: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Xbox Series S, Persona 3 Reload

It's officially Sunday, which means the weekend is once again coming to a close. We've rounded up the best deals available this weekend across games, technology, and more! New titles are seeing discounts, and plenty of hardware is on sale, too. The best deals for Sunday, February 25, include Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, PlayStation 5 Slim, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, and more. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $39.99 Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the latest title in the long-running RPG series. Kiryu Kazama returns following the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, uniting with Ichiban Kasuga in a wild adventure you won't forget anytime soon. This $30 discount just a month after launch is a great...

View full article »

Daily Deals: Persona 3 Reload, PlayStation 5 Slim, LG 65" B3 OLED TV

Saturday is here, which means it's time to round up the best deals available this weekend across games, technology, and more! New titles are seeing discounts, and plenty of hardware is on sale, too. The best deals for Saturday, February 24, include Persona 3 Reload, PlayStation 5 Slim, Super Mario Odyssey, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, and more. 19% Off Persona 3 Reload Persona 3 Reload is already one of the biggest 2024 releases so far. The remake brings in new gameplay features, new voice actors, and an impressive slew of technology, including ray tracing. It's already on sale right now at Amazon for $56.99, which saves you $13 off the game. If you've never experienced the story of Persona 3, this is the definitive way...

View full article »

Nightingale Early Access Review in Progress

Nightingale is a game of fascinating contradictions. While I’m still early on in the Early Access version of this co-op survival crafting game, it’s already jumping wildly between intriguing and confusing, aesthetically pleasing and outright ugly, intuitive and obtuse. It does a lot right, and I can see the potential of building a life from the ground up in this mysterious land – but it also does a lot wrong, particularly with how much time and effort it takes to make meaningful progress. I have a lot more to play before I put a score on this review, but so far I can’t quite tell if Nightingale's rough spots will eventually become part of its charm or hold its otherwise interesting ideas back. Nightingale takes place in a gaslamp...

View full article »

Sons of the Forest Review in Progress

It's been a whole year since my Early Access review of Sons of the Forest, in which I found a deeply creepy – and deeply compelling – survival game that improved on its predecessor in just about every way. Having put around 10 hours into the now final version since its 1.0 launch this week, I've found that it's mostly the same game so far. A lot of the new stuff is located in the back of this unsettling story, which I have yet to get to as of this writing, but I’ve definitely seen a welcome armload of touch-ups and optimizations already. The thing I noticed immediately is how much more polished Sons of the Forest has become on the technical side. The animations that hide the loading times between the exterior world and caves, which...

View full article »

AT&T Execs Asked Game of Thrones Showrunners to Shoot Episodes Vertically to Be Viewed on Phones

While Game of Thrones was a bit controversial towards the end of its original run, it could have been a lot more polarizing as executives at HBO's former owner asked if the fantasy series could be shot vertically so that the episodes could be watched on phones. In a new article from The Wall Street Journal, the outlet notes that executives from AT&T asked Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss whether the series could be shot vertically "so it would fit on your phone." According to WSJ, AT&T also "openly discussed" making "snackable" mini-episodes for Game of Thrones. "Dysfunction kills more projects than anything else, whether it's interpersonal dysfunction or institutional dysfunction," Weiss told the WSJ. AT&T...

View full article »

IGN Fan Fest 2024: Everything Announced From Day 1

IGN Fan Fest 2024 is finally here are we're so excited to present our show that's filled with some of the biggest names in games, movies, TV anime, and comics like Dune: Part Two, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Avatar: The Last Airbender, WWE 2K24, and so much more. Day 1 of IGN Fan Fest has come to a close and it featured such heavy hitters as Prime Video's Fallout, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Invincible, Star Trek: Discovery, TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution, and much more. Don't worry, however, as Day 2 arrives tomorrow and you can check the full schedule and what to expect in our How to Watch guide. There is so much good stuff planned and already shown that it can be a bit hard to keep...

View full article »

Age of Mythology: Retold Coming to Xbox and PC Later This Year

Age of Mythology: Retold, the upcoming remaster of the 2012 Age of Empires spin-off of the same name, will release on Xbox and PC simultaneously later this year. Age of Mythology: Retold is a real-time strategy game by World's Edge and Xbox Game Studios. In it, players can command gods from Greek, Norse, and Egyptian gods in epic battles over warring territories in single-player or co-op campaigns. Although Age of Mythology doesn't have a concrete release window, the game will launch as a day one Game Pass alongside its release on Steam and Xbox consoles. "In Age of Mythology Retold, we're not only upgrading the engine and bringing all of those quality of life improvements that you've come to expect from World's Edge, but in...

View full article »