Gaming News

All Baldur’s Gate 3 PC Improvements and Fixes Will Make It Into the PS5 Version

Larian has told PlayStation 5 owners that all the fixes it’s putting out for the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will carry over to the release version on Sony’s console. In a tweet (below), Larian director of publishing Michael Douse confirmed all of the improvements and fixes to the Steam hit will be reflected in the PS5 version “and beyond”. This suggests Larian plans to update Baldur's Gate 3 on PC and PS5 in lockstep, which is encouraging for console owners. There's still no word on a release date for the Xbox Series X and S versions, however, thanks to a complex problem surrounding Microsoft's feature parity policy. You can read all about Larian’s struggle to get Baldur’s Gate 3 running well on Xbox in IGN’s report. Since...

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Baldur's Gate 3: Should You Turn Karmic Dice on or Off? Think of It Like a ‘Friendly DM’, Dev Says

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Karmic Dice have become a hot topic of discussion, particularly after Larian’s role-playing game left Steam Early Access and enjoyed a massive launch. As IGN’s Rebekah Valentine reported this week, Baldur's Gate 3 players may want to turn Karmic Dice off in the game settings. Karmic Dice, which are enabled by default, avoid failure streaks, while keeping the results mostly random. It’s a sort of bad luck protection in Baldur's Gate 3, a setting that effectively manipulates dice rolls to prevent characters from having long streaks of good or bad rolls. As Valentine explained in her story: “So if you've been rolling especially badly lately, the setting will put a little finger on the scale to tip it in your favour...

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Overwatch 2 Steam Launch Immediately Flooded With Negative Reviews

Overwatch 2’s Steam launch got off to a rough start with thousands of players leaving negative reviews. Just 14% of the over 25,000 user reviews are positive, Steam’s own stats reveal, which has caused Overwatch 2 to carry an “overwhelmingly negative” rating on Valve’s platform. Most of the negative reviews focus on one thing: monetisation. Blizzard was heavily-criticised when Overwatch 2 launched late 2022 as it forced its premium predecessor to update into a free-to-play sequel, rendering the original Overwatch unplayable. Since then, Overwatch 2 has endured a number of controversies including the cancellation of its long-awaited PvE Hero mode — the one feature, players said, that justified the sequel's existence. Yesterday’s...

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Set Course for a Starfield Preorder Down in the 80s, Quake II Returns, and More!

Thank your own personal deity — possibly The Dragon God — it's Friday. Along with the usual deals today, I'd like to draw your attention to something dear to the black void in my chest that ought to hold an organ. Quake II, id's seminal shooter, has just been remastered and released upon Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox. (Steam users who own it get a free upgrade, too!) I've been shredding Strogg in it for a bit, and my evening is now booked solid for some co-op (4P-split or online cross-play, undecided). While the term 'Boomer Shooter' doesn't resonate with me (my oldies are actual 1946—64 Baby Boomers, and would rather eat earwax than play The Computers), I will say this antiquated AAA scrubs up well. Worth a look, especially on...

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Atomic Heart: Annihilation Instinct Review

Making one of Atomic Heart’s quirkiest side characters the star of its first dose of DLC is a clever touch. Few moments in the main game were more memorable than those spent with NORA, the sex-mad Soviet AI running riot within the lewd and lustful upgrade machines dotted throughout Facility 3826. Annihilation Instinct’s story picks up after the weaker of the main game’s two anticlimactic endings and pits us against NORA, who’s gone completely rogue. Unfortunately, unlike the main campaign itself, the gauntlet you run in Annihilation Instinct is a largely linear and fairly forgettable few hours, with a stripped-back suite of weapons and power-ups giving it less of an opportunity to distinguish itself. The added context Annihilation...

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Baldur's Gate 3 Players Thrilled by How Much Karlach Has Changed Since Early Access

As players delve deeper and deeper into the full launch of Baldur's Gate 3, certain companion characters are standing out as especially beloved to fans. There's problematic faves Asterion and Shadowheart, who players are convinced they can "fix." There's (of course) the bear everyone wants to bang. And then there's Karlach, who early access players are discovering has gotten one heck of a glow-up in the full release: As many players have pointed out on Reddit, Karlach used to look, well, quite different. As you can see above, her earlier look left a lot to be desired. It was early access, after all. She's gone through multiple appearance changes throughout early access, from her very first character model shown above to her current...

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PSA: Be Careful When You Long Rest in Baldur's Gate 3

Picture this: Faerûn, 1492 DR. You're walking down the road with your pals when you suddenly smell smoke. Around the bend, you come across an inn engulfed in flames. Inside, you can hear multiple voices screaming for help. You know you should rush in and save them, but your party is a bit battered from the last battle with the local goblins. So you sit down, make camp, and take a long rest to make sure you're fit to save everyone. Hours later, your health replenished, you stand up, only to discover the inn has burned to ash and everyone died. Well, yeah, what did you think was going to happen? There's been a lot of discussion lately in the Baldur's Gate 3 community about the intersection of long rests, missable events, and quest...

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Quake 2 Remaster Surprise Releases on Xbox Game Pass After Months of Leaks

To kick off QuakeCon 2023, Bethesda and ID Software have released a remaster of Quake II. Complete with visual enhancements, a new expansion, multiplayer, and the Nintendo 64 version of Quake II bundled in, this remaster is available now on Xbox One and Series S | X, Nintendo Switch, PC, and both PS4 and PS5. It's also available through both Xbox and PC Game Pass and is playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming. This shadow drop mirrors that of Quake 1's remaster which hit Xbox, Switch, and PC, and was announced at QuakeCon and released the same day in 2021. QuakeCon, one of the world's biggest LAN parties, has been around since 1996. The bring-your-own-controller event has always been a hotbed for arena shooter-style multiplayer, but it's...

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Overwatch 2 Has Now Moved on From Early Access, Blizzard Says

With the release of Season 6, Overwatch 2 has now moved on from its early access period, Blizzard has said. Overwatch 2 Invasion launches today alongside a big update that adds a raft of new modes, new story missions, a new hero, and new maps. Overwatch 2 also launches on Steam today in a move that is sure to boost the game’s player count. Speaking to reporters ahead of the launch, executive producer Jared Neuss declared Invasion the point at which Overwatch 2 graduates from being an early access game to a “full” live service game. “Invasion is the point at which we move on from early access,” Neuss said. “For me it’s less about content threshold and more about, are we operating the game we want to operate? Is this the structure...

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Overwatch 2 Dev Team Calm on Declining Player Engagement

The Overwatch 2 development team says it’s unconcerned by declining player engagement, insisting it’s seeing the “normal ebb and flow” associated with free-to-play games. Blizzard launches Invasion, the hero shooter’s sixth season, hot on the heels of stark comments from Activision Blizzard, which confirmed Overwatch 2 engagement and player investment had declined during the three months to June 30. At the time, Activision Blizzard pointed to today’s release of Invasion, which adds a new hero, new story missions, and new maps, as a potential flashpoint of much-needed interest. But in an interview with reporters ahead of launch, Blizzard played down the importance of Invasion as a 'make or break' moment for Overwatch 2. “There’s...

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Destiny: Zavala Has a New Voice Actor Following Death of Lance Reddick

Bungie has announced that Commander Zavala’s journey in Destiny 2 isn’t over and that his late voice actor, Lance Reddick, will be replaced by Keith David for the English language in the upcoming The Final Shape expansion and beyond. “Earlier this year, we lost Lance Reddick, the English-language voice actor of Commander Zavala. The passion and professionalism Lance brought to the role over the last decade was unmistakable and loved by all,” Bungie said in a statement. “Lance’s iconic voice led us through the most intense moments in Destiny’s history and his impact on our Guardians, our community, and Bungie as a whole will never be forgotten.” Bungie also confirmed that it wouldn't be re-recording Reddick’s existing lines, and that...

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Overwatch 2: Invasion Story Missions, New Support Hero Illari, and All Season Updates Explained

Overwatch 2: Invasion is out now August 10th on all platforms including, for the first time, Steam. Invasion brings in Story Missions, new Support Hero, new game mode Flashpoint, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about the Invasion season update in Overwatch 2. New Support Hero: Illari Illari is the 10th Support Hero to be added to Overwatch 2. Illari gets her power from the sun, and her kit revolves around solar powered attacks and healing. Here’s how she plays: Primary - Solar Rifle: Illari uses a long range auto-charging rifle | Secondary Fire: A medium range healing beam that consumes solar energy. Ultimate - Captive Sun: Illari shoots a fire ball of solar energy that slows hit enemies and explodes them after taking...

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Metro Author Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Discrediting Russia's Armed Forces

Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author behind the Metro books, has been sentenced to eight years in prison. As reported by the Associated Press, on August 7, Glukhovsky was found guilty of intentionally spreading misinformation about Russia's armed forces by the Moscow court. Glukhovsky revealed over a year ago that he was placed on a Russian federal watchlist after being accused of discrediting Russia's army in a post on his Instagram account. While Glukhovsky does not live in Russia, he was tried in absentia, according to the Associated Press. Glukhovsky is a Russian journalist and author best known for his post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel Metro and its subsequent sequels. In addition to a list of successful novels, the franchise has spawned a...

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Localisation Company Takes Blame for Baldur's Gate 3's Missing Credits

Baldur's Gate 3 launched earlier in August with various members of its localisation team missing from the credits, but the blame lies with the localisation company and not developer Larian Studios. Responsibility for the incomplete credits, which don't currently include freelancers' names, was immediately placed on the localisation company. "This was all Altagram group," a Larian spokesperson told Eurogamer. "We reached out and compelled them to fix this." Altagram took to Twitter itself to accept this blame, saying in a lengthy statement it was sorry for the omission of freelancers' names and that it would address the issue in a coming hotfix. It also released seven commitments to improve its crediting standards to ensure the issue...

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Lords of the Fallen: Hands-On Preview

The original Lords of the Fallen holds the distinction as being one of the first non-From Software developed Soulslikes to put its own unique stamp on the genre. It’s a stamp that, nearly ten years later, is very faint and hard to make out, and also has itself been stamped over many times. That said, this new Lords of the Fallen, developed by the newly formed Hexworks studio, is looking to put a new stamp on the genre as the first truly “next-gen” soulslike, thanks to visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, an ambitious parallel realm mechanic, and a release that leaves previous gen consoles in the dust. I got to play through about two hours, and based on those early impressions, Lords of the Fallen is certainly shaping up to leave quite a...

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EA Announces FC Mobile, With Vini Jr. Its Cover Star

EA has announced EA Sports FC Mobile, a mobile football game launching on September 26. FC Mobile is a free update for those who already have FIFA Mobile so there’s no need to redownload, but new players will of course need to download the FC Mobile app to play. Real Madrid and Brazil star Vini Jr. is the FC Mobile cover star. FC Mobile has authentic running styles, penalty kick stances and celebrations for certain players (Vini Jr. is a given), a “mobile-first and tactile” game speed, a revamped shooting system, a power shot, a knock on dribble, and a hard tackle move. EA said its mobile community has over 100 million active users, which gives you an idea of just how big FIFA is on mobile. Meanwhile, EA Sports FC Online, which is...

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Baldur’s Gate 3 Players Were Doing So Much Larian Had to Issue an Emergency Hotfix

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has issued an emergency hotfix that changes the way personal story databases work because players had maxed them out. “As it turns out, many of you were doing so much in Baldur’s Gate 3 that some of your personal ‘story’ databases (where your choices and actions are stored) got too big,” Larian explained in a post on the game’s Steam page. “We now made the size infinite (or at least as infinite as you have storage space), to account for the sheer amount of things you’re all doing on your journeys.” Baldur’s Gate 3's monstrously large launch was way beyond Larian’s expectations. It’s one of the biggest games on Steam ever, with over 800,000 peak concurrent players. According to Circana analyst Mat...

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Apex Legends' Latest Update Includes a Hilarious Hidden Message for Dataminers

The Apex Legends Season 18 update recently dropped, and alongside some balance tweaks and new content, developer Respawn Entertainment rolled out a new secret message for dataminers. X user KralRindo posted a screenshot of what he found when he went to datamine the latest version of Apex Legends. Instead of finding data that could lead to hints on what content may come down the pipeline, KralRindo was met with a string of code that reads: "const string HI_DATAMINERS = "TOP SECRET DATA HERE ->", and a link that directs to Respawn's careers page. While Apex Legends enthusiasts may be disappointed in the discovery, the replies on the post seem to have found it quite hilarious. Respawn has a history with Apex dataminers. After a number...

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Ghostrunner 2 Closed Beta Sign-Ups Kick Off

Sign-ups for the Ghostrunner 2 closed beta are now open, 505 Games has announced, but slots are “very limited”. Ghostrunner is a well-received 2020 action platformer developed by One More Level. You play Jack the Ghostrunner in a fast-paced, cyberpunk-themed first-person "slasher" that's all about dashing, jumping, wall-running, grappling, and sliding. There’s a cool slow down time mechanic that lets you dodge and deflect bullets in midair. In May, 505 revealed vehicular combat, with Jack getting his very own ninja motorcycle. The new Previously in Ghostrunner video, below, recaps the events of the first game that led to Jack’s escape from Dharma Tower, setting the scene for him to explore the wasteland beyond in the sequel. The...

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Best Indie Cyberpunk Games To Prepare You For Robocop: Rogue City

The best cyberpunk games let you fight back against the evils of capitalism, enjoy the neon sights, and hopefully get some cool robot limbs or something. It’s basically what a rebellion nowadays would be like in the real world, but with the bonus of having useful robotic parts, instead of just ageing joints that make […] The post Best Indie Cyberpunk Games To Prepare You For Robocop: Rogue City appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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Best Indie Space Games To Play Before Starfield

The best space exploration games are the ones that inspire wonder. It’s not necessarily about going into space itself, it’s more about the feeling of awe that such a thing would cause. That feeling that you’re seeing something genuinely otherworldly, and it’s a feeling that a lot of people are going to be seeking out […] The post Best Indie Space Games To Play Before Starfield appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Trailer Sparks No Russian Fan Theories

Modern Warfare 3’s latest trailer includes snippets of in-game footage that have set tongues wagging within the Call of Duty community. While it’s clear from the trailer (below) that Modern Warfare 3 will see Captain Price and company attempt to take down franchise antagonist Vladimir Makarov once and for all, fans are speculating about the missions and settings the campaign may include. The headline here is a potential fresh take on No Russian, one of the most controversial video game levels of all time. The original No Russian is a mission in 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 in which the player participates in a mass shooting at a Russian airport. While the player is not forced to shoot any civilians, and can even skip the level, No Russian...

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Tears of the Kingdom Standard and Collector's Editions Get Chopped, a Huge Resi Bundle, and More!

If you've been holding off on purchasing Tears of the Kingdom, now's the time to strike. Because, o' patient one, the standard edition has dropped down to $69 (after being back up at 79-ish for a while). More importantly, the once rare and oft-sold-out Collector's Edition has been chopped by 40 bucks. Basically, you'd be deku nuts to miss out on this. In historical news, it's the 14th birthday of Braid (on PC, at least). This clock-bending platformer stands the test of time quite well. The mere mention of it also makes me want to relive its developmental woes in Indie Game: The Movie. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware - Braid (PC) 2009. Get Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation...

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Avowed Was Originally Going to Be a Multiplayer Game

Fallout: New Vegas and Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment was originally making upcoming RPG Avowed a cooperative multiplayer game before returning to its single player roots. Speaking in a documentary celebrating Obsidian's 20th anniversary, studio head and founder Feargus Urquhart admitted to being wrong after pushing for Avowed to be multiplayer. "One of the things where I really pushed was that Avowed was going to be multiplayer, and I kept on that for a long time," he said. "I know in the end it was the wrong decision to keep on pushing on it." Head of development Justin Britch said earlier in the documentary that Obsidian showed Avowed to Microsoft early on in the acquisition process, and while Urquhart didn't...

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Atlas Fallen Review

I keep wanting to love Atlas Fallen. I mean, it’s a delightful Prince of Persia-inspired open-world action RPG with big ideas, big monsters, and even bigger weapons to fight them with, so it’s got that going for it. And I did enjoy myself as I explored each of its four unique zones, which stretch as far as the eye can see and deliver some mouthwatering, if kinda washed out, vistas. After spending about 18 hours with its mix of respectable monster slaying and brisk platforming, I can comfortably say it’s a good time – especially if you bring a friend into its seamless drop-in co-op. At the same time, its C-tier story is so campy and bone-dry – in both writing and character performance – that it’s clear Atlas has fallen a notch or two...

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Tekken 8 Director Confirms Game Won't Have Denuvo

Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada confirmed that the next main installment in the Tekken franchise will not include the anti-piracy software Denuvo. In a post on the social media platform X (spotted by PCGamer), Harada confirmed that the development team will not introduce Denuvo "or anything else" into Tekken 8. Harada made the statement after a now-deleted post pointed out that Tekken 8's End User License Agreement on Steam mentions Denuvo is being used under the third-party software category. "[T]his EULA is probably simply a copy/paste of TEKKEN7 or something..." Harada posted. "Anyway, I've no plans to introduce Denuvo or anything else in TEKKEN8, so stop your tedious allergic reactions to every single thing & sit quietly (sit...

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Five Nights at Freddy's: FightLine Collectible Game Revealed by Funko

The Five Nights at Freddy's franchise keeps expanding in 2023. Not only is the series getting a live-action movie adaptation, now it's becoming a tabletop game courtesy of Funko Games. Ahead of the Gamestop Expo later in August, IGN can exclusively reveal the Five Nights at Freddy's: FightLine collectible game. Get a closer look at the full starter set and expansions in the slideshow gallery below: The FightLine series is a new line of Funko Games products aimed at providing quick, 15-minute matches between two players. The base game, dubbed the Fightline Premier Pack, includes everything two players need to play the game, including four character figurines exclusive to the FightLine series. Funko will also sell additional...

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Lords of the Fallen: A Deep Dive Into the Umbral Realm | IGN First

At the heart of Lords of the Fallen is the existence of two parallel realms: The realm of the living, Axiom, and the realm of the dead, Umbral. What makes them special in gameplay is the ability of the player to both reach across, and fully transition between those realms. But there’s a lot more to Umbral than just a Stranger Things-esque Upside Down dimension with creepy tendrils and eyeballs following you wherever you go. So let’s raise our lamps into the unknown and do a deep dive into Lords of the Fallen’s most unique element. Illuminate the Dead When your character begins their journey, they’ll be given the Umbral lamp, which is your bridge between the realms of Axiom and Umbral. While you’re in Axiom, you can open up a window...

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PlayStation Plus Games Catalogue Additions for August 2023 Revealed

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus Games Catalogue line-up for August 2023, which includes Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Sea of Stars, Lost Judgement, and more. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 17 games are joining the library: 14 in the Games Catalogue available to Extra and Premium members and three in the Classic Games Catalogue only available to Premium members. These games will be available from August 15 with the exception of Sea of Stars, which doesn't launch until August 29 but will be available for no additional cost to Extra and Premium members then. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is the second to most recent expansion for Bungie's sci-fi shooter and still requires the base game to play, but since this was made...

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Diablo 4 Players Think They’ve Worked Out How You Can Tell When the Dreaded Butcher Is About

If you’ve played Diablo 4 for an extended period of time, you may have run into the Butcher, a super powerful enemy who seemingly pops up at random to ruin your dungeon crawling. The Butcher is a mysterious and tough boss who spawns to scare the life out of players, particularly low level players or, even worse, Hardcore character players that have permadeath. The Butcher can randomly appear in any dungeon in Diablo 4 so there is no way to guarantee the spawn. No way known currently by players, anyway. And while you can hear the Butcher stomping about and even breathing when he's very close, it’s more a case of the Butcher finding you than it is you finding him. But, as YouTuber GoinPostle2 has discovered, there is at least a way of...

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