Highguard is in a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation. That's because at the time of writing, the official site only shows the shooter's logo, and text that reads "This site is currently unavailable. Please contact support@codethirtytwo.com for assistance," alongside links to its official Discord server and Dwitter page. This, of course, could just be a blip, but even as I'm writing this it's been the case for several hours, and there's not a single word from developer Wildlight about why it's down. So, it is both dead and not dead until someone opens the box.

Read more

"Huh." This, as admiringly as I can make this sound, was the first thought I thunked when I put down the demo for Titanium Court. Here is a game that is many things. The first thing it is is a play, in perhaps a literal sense, perhaps as a tool to immediately allow one to suspend their sense of disbelief at everything that is about to follow. We're watching a play, a narrative vehicle where anything can happen as long as what's on stage is convincing enough to make us believe it's happening. And truthfully, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what did happen.

Read more

Remember Hyper Scape? I acknowledge that this might come across as a tad mean, but in this ridiculously fast-paced world we find in, it can genuinely be hard to remember one failed live service game from the next. For a refresher, this was Ubisoft's attempt at a battle royale game back in 2020, though it didn't pan out as it was shut down only a couple of years later. Well, anyway, it's back! Sort of, not quite, but it might soon, or actually probably eventually, will be thanks to the efforts of a group of people hoping to revive it.

Read more

I think that with a game like Crimson Desert, you'd be well within your right to have an eyebrow pre-raised considering its online, sort of free-to-play (depending on where you live) predecessor Black Desert Online regarding the like of microtransactions. I know I certainly have! At a glance Crimson Desert certainly looks like it could fall into similar pitfalls if only based on vibes alone. However! Developer Pearl Abyss would quite like you to know that, in that regard at least, you have nothing to worry about.

Read more

Video game updates are an incredibly funny thing, mostly because I come from a time where they weren't a thing at all, apart from the odd second printing that patched some things here and there. Which is why my humerus has been particularly tickled by the news that a new Assassin's Creed Shadows has arrived today that, amongst a couple of other things, add in the ability to simply let you jump.

Read more

You knew it was coming, I knew it was coming, and now one Mr. Hideo Kojima himself (disclaimer: technically it was Sony during tonight's State of Play, though I'm sure he's Fweeted about it on Fwitter) has confirmed that yes, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is making its way to PC. It's also doing so pretty soon, and with a small suite of additional features not present in its original PS5 release.

Read more

If there is anything that is concretely true about the upcoming Disco Elysium follow-up Zero Parades, it is that it is certainly a new RPG from ZA/UM. Everything else, well, that depends on who you ask, and where they lie in the messiness that has been in and around the studio these past few years, but a ZA/UM game in name it is. And now there are two opportunities for you to form a more direct opinion about Zero Parades, and its quality therewithin.

Read more

There is certainly something to be admired in Peter Molyneux's commitment to infinitely overpromising right through to what is meant to be his final game, Masters of Albion. I'm not saying I admire it, but someone might. And while I truly have no horse in the race regarding the quality, or potential lack thereof, in Masters of Albion, its latest gameplay trailer certainly does at least suggest it'll be a true as it can be Molyneux game.

Read more

Back when Lil Gator Game arrived in the forgotten year of 2022, it received RPS' coveted Bestest Bests badge because, well, it was just so darn delightful! And in the years since, developer MegaWobble have been tinkering away at a seemingly Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom influenced bit of DLC. Which, as it just so happens, has just been released today!

Read more

This is probably a sentence that could be said literally any day of the week, but a new cosy farming sim is on the block, this time taking the form of Starsand Island. The flavour on this occasion is of the anime variety, with some slightly goofier farming mechanics (i.e. turning your watermelon patch into one singular, 10 foot tall watermelon), some very Pokemon Legends: Arceus looking combat, and some appropriately cute animals to hang out with. And there's skateboarding! But never do launches go all that smoothly, as developer Seed Sparkle Lab have had to do a dash of damage control regarding some concerns over the game.

Read more

Monster Hunter Wilds is fast approaching its first anniversary, meaning if it were a real human baby it would be legally unable to do anything really because have you met a one year old? Still, ahead of that anniversary, Capcom has outlined the game's next big update which, shock horror, includes a new monster to hunt, a new weapon to hunt with, a collab with basically itself, and more coming on February 18th. Oh, and there's DLC coming! But once again, the horror, the shock.

Read more

If you like your board games a little less physical, and a little more not technically a board game any more if we're being honest but that's fine because it's a neat looking, strategy RPG now, then boooooy howdy do I have the game for you! Those familiar with the dungeon crawling tabletop game Descent will be interested to learn that it's getting a video game adaptation in the form of Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent.

Read more

It's another day, another Subnautica 2 dev vlog, this time one with a big focus on multiplayer. This ability to play with, heaven forbid, other people is one that developer Unknown Worlds very much understands is not for everyone, given the first game's big focus on isolation and ruffing it yourself. So, this vlog is all about explaining why you don't need to worry if you like to go solo. And also to show off a dive elevator.

Read more

More like space the final funtier am I right (cue canned laughter that goes on a touch too long)? Besiege, the physics building game about building all manner of medieval machinery to destroy your enemy, has taken you to all kinds of lands and with its 2024 expansion, The Splintered Sea, a few oceans too. But with its newly revealed follow-up expansion, there's nowhere to go but up (because it's set in space, hence my absolutely hilarious opening line).

Read more

The single most offputting thing about a game like Arc Raiders, i.e. an extraction shooter, is that every single other person you meet in-game is Schrödinger's asshole. They could be a friend who you share a story or some loot with, or they could mercilessly gun you down at the drop of a hat. It's certainly not for everyone, but in the game's latest update, a new PvE event has arrived encouraging everyone to walk hand in hand together to defeat those big bad bots.

Read more

Every once in a while, a game rocks up that so quickly finds itself in my Steam wishlist I don't even remember clicking the button. Today, that game is Rakshasa, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and Baldur's Gate inspired first-person RPG set in modern India where you must face off against demi-gods and "centuries-old flesh-eating monsters" inspired by Indian folklore. Yeah! Hell yeah! Yeah, yeah sign me up!

Read more

Wizard Pool! It is, probably, exactly what you think it is. You are a wizard, and you play pool. Well, admittedly there is a smidge more to it than that, alongside a healthy amount of charm. Styled in a way that looks like an N64 game in the kind of way you remember that era looking rather than how it actually looked, you play as Kue, a budding young wizard tasked by his uncle to complete a trial in the form of a tower filled with magical, illogical pool tables.

Read more

I think as long as you make a new year's update post before the incredibly arbitrary date of January 13th, you're still able to do so without me thinking "come on, it's almost February", which is exactly what EA did with their new years Sims update post. Perhaps reassuringly, after word came last year of EA's concerning acquisition, the post opens by doubling down on what the team has previously said regarding staying committed to their values (those values including inclusivity is welcome though I wish they'd be more explicit about who is being included). But the post also, sort of, goes into what's next for the series.

Read more

Hear ye, hear ye, another extraction shooter is almost upon us, this time the smaller but still quite bold in scope Sand: Raiders of Sophie. Last time I personally heard of this game it was just called Sand, which doesn't sound great for that whole search engine thing, though I'm not entirely convinced by the subtitle. Anyway, this extraction shooter is set in an alternate 1910 where you get to roam the desert in a steampunky fortress with legs, and it's got a release month!

Read more

Last year, after a bit of a wait, Silent Hill was released, and with it came some changes to the series. The combat was a lot more actiony, the format for multiple endings was drastically different, but the most obvious change was its setting. We're not in Silent Hill anymore, Toto! We're in Ebisugaoka, Japan, also a fictional town, though clearly not a fictional country. And that's because Silent Hill, the place, is now also Silent Hill, the "phenomenon."

Read more