South Korean publisher KRAFTON is probably best known for titles such as PUBG and The Callisto Protocol. Recently, however, in an effort to bolster their gaming portfolio, they’ve turned heads by saving studio Tango Gameworks from being shut down by Microsoft. With that goal in mind—to expand on their offerings—KRAFTON has been hard at work on inZoi: a life simulation game developed using Unreal Engine 5 and boasting a variety of creative tools. If this brings The Sims to mind, you’d be encouraged to know that the inZoi team is well aware of the comparison, the overall goal for their virtual world being to combine Sims and SimCity and add some innovative features to boot.

Having spent 5 hours playing an early build of the game, I found that what they’re trying to do rightfully sounds too good to be true. With some more polish and work on tightening its elaborate systems, inZoi might just rise up to its lofty ambitions and carve a place for itself within the genre. Nevertheless, on start-up, inZoi begins with the explanation that the player is working as a “trainee god” for an in-game tech giant.

“For now, despite some frustrations, inZoi is largely an enjoyable experience.”

According to the tutorials, referred to in-universe as the “onboarding”, being a said trainee god involves creating Zoi, the game’s name for the inhabitants of its digital world, and ensuring that they have good relationships with others and the environment. Failure to do so would result in “a meeting with the CEO”.

With this warning in mind, I began work on my Zoi in earnest, trying my hardest to make the perfect digital version of myself. The final result, I think, looks more like YouTuber hasanabi than me, but that’s not the fault of the character creation tool, which is genuinely amazing. Beyond getting the basics right, inZoi’s character creator is mindful of the details. This might not sound like a big deal at first, but put together, these small choices make for a customisable experience that already makes inZoi stand out from the rest.

This dedication to the minutiae can also be seen when it comes down to the city-building element. Whereas not as elaborate as something like SimCity, I was pleasantly surprised by what inZoi allowed me to do. To give just an extreme example, I decided that the main park in town should have a high density of cats, pandas and…crocodiles. To my great disappointment, the crocodiles, from what I could tell, had no effect gameplay-wise as they were simply content meandering here and there. In any case, after maybe 3 hours of fine-tuning, it was finally time for some action.

What took me by immediate surprise when taking control of my Zoi was that I was able to maneuver him as if he were a character in a third-person action-adventure game. I still had to issue other commands with a click of the mouse, but still, this added to my immersion. This being said, inZoi was dropping frames left and right and continued to do so during my time with it despite running it on a decent PC.

Another issue was the overall game logic, as all the Zoi I encountered were often making inexplicable decisions. My Zoi, when left to his own devices, was obsessed with deep cleaning his house even though it was brand new and squeaky clean.

To test the AI further, I decided to see how easy interactions with other Zoi were and, to my amusement, I was able to get the character I created married to someone he had just met and spent the last half of an in-game day (or about ten real-life minutes) complimenting. Now, I’m not necessarily opposed to love at first sight, but the ease with which I made this happen reminded me of the OG Sims, which reflects a bit badly on inZoi.

“Whereas not as elaborate as something like SimCity, I was pleasantly surprised by what inZoi allowed me to do.”

For now, despite some frustrations, inZoi is largely an enjoyable experience. The team over at KRAFTON have a lot of work left, yes, but what I’ve played so far is encouraging. My hope for the game, which is set to release in Early Access later this year, is that the developers remain committed to seeing through their ambitious vision. Time will tell if that will indeed be what happens.

inZoi is set to launch in Steam Early Access in 2024. Make sure to check out all things gamescom here on CGMagazine.

Kingdom Eighties is an 80’s-inspired base-building game where you need to protect your town against greed while helping your friends and learning more about your family. You play as a young character...

The post ‘Kingdom Eighties’ Overcomes Danger by Building Bases With Childhood Buddies appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Microsoft has confirmed the next batch of titles headed to Xbox Game Pass for the latter half of August: Atlas Fallen, Core Keeper, and Star Trucker.

Then there's that little known game called Call of Duty Black Ops 6. You'll be able to participate in the early access open beta when it kicks off for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on 30th August, 2024, with pre-downloading available from 28th August.

"Sure, it takes itself way too seriously and the loot chase can get monotonous, but everything outside of the monster-slaying is just an excuse to get right back to the monster-slaying. Or make the monster-slaying cooler with upgrades," we said in our Atlas Fallen review.

Read more

Paradox Interactive's streak of game delays continues with the news its Chinese-Room-developed Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is now targeting a release in the "first half of 2025", rather than its previously announced "late 2024" window.

In a post on its website, Paradox called the delay a "proactive decision" derived from its commitment earlier this year to deliver "high-quality games" to its players. "Though [Bloodlines 2] is in a good enough place that we could have maintained our planned release window," it wrote, "Paradox and The Chinese Room collaboratively decided to prioritise polish."

Paradox says the delay will "create a quality assurance buffer, giving more time between testing and launch, ensuring we release the game when it's ready." More specifically, The Chinese Room will use the time to expand Bloodlines 2's story, providing twice as many endings as its predecessor, and to "adjust certain areas" such as Fabien - the voice in its protagonist's head.

Read more

Hunt: Showdown 1896 - the huge new update that necessitated an engine upgrade and introduced all new UI - has just hit an all-new concurrent player peak of over 60,000.

Up until the 1896 update dropped on 15th August, the extraction shooter's simultaneous player record - set back in October 2023 - sat at a modest 42,000ish players.

Read more

A flurry of Pokémon news has confirmed a launch date for the long-awaited Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, and a look ahead at what's next for Pokémon Go.

Pokémon TCG Pocket, a digital version of the phenomenally-popular trading card game, will go live via the iPhone App Store and Google Play for Android worldwide on 30th October.

As previously announced, you can open two packs of Pokémon cards for free per day - just enough to get you hooked - and it's interesting to see the pack-opening mechanic front and centre in the game's trailer below.

Read more

Just a month after its last free event, Star Citizen is free-to-play again, from now until 22nd August, 2024.

That means everyone can jump in and give the space sim a chance, as well as try out all "top 16 ships", "granting both green and grizzled pilots the ability to try out eligible ships before choosing which one to vote for" at this year's Ship Showdown event.

For the last few weeks, the community has been voting for their favourite ships and ground vehicles with their own "original creations", including videos, songs, photos, paintings, and more.

Read more

Sega's Eternal Champions is the next video game franchise to get a silver-screen adaptation.

Whilst it's hardly surprising that filmmakers are still rooting through video game catalogues for ideas, I can't say I had Sega's 1993 fighting game on my bingo card for the next series to be getting an adaptation.

However, according to Hollywood Reporter, that's exactly what's happening, with Jurassic World trilogy writer Derek Connolly set to write the live-action screenplay.

Read more

The Elder Scrolls mobile game, The Elder Scrolls: Castles, is set to launch on 10th September.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles - which was quietly released into early access in September 2023 - is now open for pre-registration on both Apple and Android.

From the same "award-winning team" behind Fallout Shelter, The Elder Scrolls: Castles lets you reign supreme over your very own castle and dynasty within The Elder Scrolls universe.

Read more

Springloaded Software, the developer behind 2021's animal-splicing tycoon game Let's Build a Zoo, has unveiled Let's Build a Dungeon - a new "multi-layered" management sim in which players attempt to run a game development studio while creating their own MMORPG.

Let's Build a Dungeon's first layer comes in the form of studio management, with players needing to recruit staff (including artists, programmers, planners, and testers); manage project deadlines, advertising campaigns, and press relationships; negotiate with shareholders, and pitch to publishers, all in the hope of rising from indie start-up to mega-blockbuster studio.

But alongside the business stuff, players also need to get creative and build their own fantasy MMO - which could be anything from a creature-catching RPG to a cosy farming sim - filling it with towns, monsters, dungeons, and quests, all tailored to satisfy their virtual playerbase's demands and expand its audience. And it's even possible to jump into your creation at any time to experience it through the eyes of your players.

Read more

In the roiling waters of the northern sea, a mysterious oil rig has appeared whose lights can be seen for miles in the darkness. The foreman is a bit jittery, clearly worried about the platform's somewhat shoddy construction and his overbearing boss docking his pay for being behind schedule. When the drilling does begin, it's not oil they strike, but something far more sinister that splinters the sea floor with an ominous red, volcanic glow. And the resident scientist and his corporate suit boss only seem to want to feed this supernatural terror, the safety of their fellow workers be damned.

To some, I've just described the plot of The Chinese Room's recent walking horror, Still Wakes the Deep. But in a strange coincidence, Dredge is now following the same trajectory with its latest DLC, The Iron Rig - albeit with fewer left hooks throwing errant Coke cans to distract wandering nasties and more actual hooks reeling up yet more fresh horrors from the deep. This new chapter in Dredge's faintly cursed archipelago finally puts the spotlight on the mysterious Ironhaven Corporation, whose CEO is a dead ringer for Wake's weaselly boss Rennick, right down to his last-minute escape on the corporate helicopter. It's all profits before people in this unfortunate corner of the ocean, though unlike Wake's poor Caz, at least you can share in some of those benefits this time thanks to the plentiful supply of upgrade opportunities for your boat.

Over the course of three to four hours, The Iron Rig will see you revisit each of Dredge's main island clusters, hunting for fresh fish in new micro-habitats created by pools of ungodly ooze that have sprung up from the fissures created by the rig's drill. Each time one of these clearly very bad cracks opens up, the rig's scientist will task you with collecting various samples to bring back to him for further analysis, but some of these aren't easily won with your default set of equipment. Cue, then, a gentle and well-paced upgrade back and forth that will see you construct new buildings on the rig to unlock enhanced versions of your rods, nets and winches, as well as blueprints for new engine parts, bait types and other gadgets to help speed the process along.

Read more

Arcade Paradise VR might initially come across as simple, and some might even find it a bit dull, but once it gets under your skin, it becomes a game that truly grows on you, emerging as one of the better management sims available in VR.

Source

This Supermarket Together sell items guide will detail how to get rid of unwanted clutter within your store. Managing your money and keeping things tidy are great ways to improve your supermarket so being able to sell unwanted or accidental purchases is a helpful tool. Supermarket Together is a free-to-play title that has been a major hit over on Steam with thousands of players leaving positive reviews since its release in August.

Read More: Thank Goodness You’re Here Spill the Beans Guide

Note: The content in this article is accurate as of the time of writing and does not account for any future updates to the game

Supermarket Together Sell Items Walkthrough

One of the only small issues with Supermarket Together is it often leaves things up to the player to figure out. Some small details like how to sell your unwanted items aren’t really covered which has lead to some confusion from players on what to do.

Thankfully, the process of selling items is fairly simple and it is reminiscent of other scaled-back sims that *insert job here* simulation games have used before.

Go into your office and find the Manager Blackboard. On the right hand side there’s a tablet that you can pick up. This tablet should, when picked up, be set to remove items.

Bring the tablet with you and point it towards the item you want to sell and make sure there’s a red outline on it, by right clicking you will successfully sell the item and remove it from your store. This does only give you back a percentage of what you originally paid so if you made an accidental purchase you will just have to eat the loss.

As I said, very simple mechanic that’s very similar to popular games like the House Renovator title where the tablet was the hub of activity, Supermarket Together kept that trend going. There are other things that the tablet can do but you’ll be able to see what they are on screen anyway.

Read More: Thank Goodness You’re Here New Shop Guide

That is all for this Supermarket Together Sell Items guide. Did we omit anything? Is there any other Supermarket Together content you’d like to see? Be sure to chime in and let us know. There’s a few different mechanics in Supermarket Together that we could dig into if there’s interest so please do let us know what you’d like to see explained about the game.

Read More: Cat Quest 3 Prince Charming Guide

Check out the rest of our tips & guides to find our other builds and tips/walkthroughs/explainers for games across all genres including NBA 2K, MLB: The Show, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, Football Manager, Steam indie hits, free-to-play titles and a lot more.

Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews You can always count on LWOG to be on top of the major news in the gaming world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the world of video games.

The post Supermarket Together Sell Items Guide appeared first on Last Word On Gaming.

I’ve had the Steam Deck since its launch, and it’s been a mostly positive experience. […]

Haddie’s Pizzeria is a cooking simulation game with a big focus on realism as you prepare and cook delicious pizzas from scratch.

In Haddie’s Pizzeria, players take on the role of Haddie, a young entrepreneur seeking to build a successful pizzeria in a small town. The game is a simulation where players manage the daily operations of the pizzeria, including taking orders, cooking pizzas, … Read More

The post Haddie’s Pizzeria – Open Beta first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

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Truck Mechanic: Dangerous Paths is a simulation game where players step into the shoes of a truck mechanic operating in challenging and hazardous terrains.

Set in a vast open world, Truck Mechanic: Dangerous Paths focuses on repairing, upgrading, and driving trucks as they traverse through perilous routes. Players must manage their workshop, source parts, and complete various missions to transport goods across dangerous landscapes, including … Read More

The post Truck Mechanic: Dangerous Paths – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

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Peacequarium is a chilled out idle aquarium simulator that you can stock with fish and leave running on your screen while you do some work.

The basic gameplay in Peacequarium is similar to most idle games – you earn money, and buy stuff and upgrades to earn more money. You’ll buy fish, buy food, upgrade your tank and collect rare, epic and legendary fish. There … Read More

The post Peacequarium – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

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If you’re reading this preview, it’s likely that you already know what Civilization is on some level. A 4X game encompassing the entirety of human history may sound like a bit of a stretch, but that’s exactly what Sid Meier and the rest of the team aimed for when creating the first - and every subsequent - Civilization game. I think it’s fair to say they’ve done a decent job at it.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best 4X games on PC, The best strategy games on PC, Civ 7 wishlist

It was only a short while ago that we got our first glimpse of Civilization 7, the much anticipated latest entry to the long running series. As with any fresh instalment to classics from the strategy genre—games like Homeworld 3, Company of Heroes 3, Total War: Pharaoh, or Age of Empires 4—there's a lot of excitement surrounding the next Civilization, especially regarding when it's set to come out. Gamescom's Opening Night Live has just revealed that date, and, fortunately, it's much sooner than many might have anticipated.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best 4X games on PC, The best strategy games on PC, Civ 7 wishlist

Announced at this year's Geoffcom, RoadCraft is a new game courtesy of the vehicular bods behind MudRunner and SnowRunner. This means it's very much a simulation game where you're fighting terrain with tyres, except this time you aren't just driving about, but managing a fleet of machines to carry out heavy construction work. Think a mixture of logistics, cars, cranes, and paving some lovely new roads from a once dilapidated junk heap.

Read more

I’ve likely mentioned hitting Lovecraft fatigue so often that it’s now evolved into a second phase of Lovecraft-fatigue fatigue. This is not the same as Lovecraft refreshment, no matter how much I might want to return to the days before old one plushies and Cthulhu children’s books terrorised the internet en masse. There’s not quite enough information about “story generator” sim Marry a Deep One: Innsmouth Simulator for me to confidently say it’ll cut through my exhaustion with all things tentacular and horrifically be-gilled. But it is beguiling, isn’t it? There’s all sorts of little widgets and details shown off that remind me of everything from Sid Meier’s Pirates to classic adventure games, and maybe even a little Rimworld? It’s a heady soup, although one I’d recommend against quaffing, given where the water comes from.

Read more

Minecraft's Realms servers have been down for most of the past four days. Mojang's official account for reporting service status updates noted that "intermittent failures or slowdowns" began on August 13th, and despite similarly intermittent reports of uptime in the days since, the servers remain inaccessible to most players today.

Read more

Good job, everyone! The cat talk in the comments has never been stronger. I miss my cats back in England very much. Though I did visit a cat cafe recently, and I got to boop some sphinx kittens on the nose. Life pretty much peaked then, so I'm in a bit of a slump right now. So do me a favour and sound off even more than usual about what your fur babies have been up to lately! And also, if you feel like it, let us know what you're playing this weekend too. Here's what we're clicking on!

Read more

Crytek's sweaty and superlative survival boss-rush shooter Hunt: Showdown has been relaunched as Hunt: Showdown 1896, introducing a comprehensive technological update alongside a chronological leap forward to a new map in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. As is tradition for big 2.0-style updates, some players absolutely loathe it, with recent Steam user reviews dragging the consensus underwater.

Read more

The mountain biking of Lonely Mountains: Downhill was sometimes a relaxing ride down gentle slopes, and at other times a hairy hurtle down declivitous cliffs. Alongside the likes of the Descenders and Riders Republic, it offered a more laid-back game, open to furious time trialling but always remembering to let you stop and appreciate the view. Both the stakes and the poly count were low. Happy news then, that it is getting a snowy sequel. In Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders you'll be swapping your bike for a pair of skis, and you'll be able to barrel down the mountainside with friends in co-op.

Read more

Life sim contender Inzoi is hoping to knock The Sims from its perch when it launches (supposedly) later this year. There will soon be an opportunity to judge whether that feat is likely. Krafton have announced that they're releasing a time-limited trial of Inzoi's character creator next week on August 20th.

Read more

The management game progression chart is supposed to go: zoo, then theme park, then hospital, then school. Apparently no one told Springloaded Software, who are following up their 2021 tycoon 'em up Let's Build A Zoo with a game about building an MMO.

Let's Build A Dungeon marries the business aspects of Game Dev Tycoon with a more hands-on approach to constructing your company's game, and there's a first trailer below.

Read more

Space 4X strategy game Stellaris launched in 2016, but Paradox can't stop adding to the universe. Last time I checked in, it was school trips to other dimensions. Now, it's Cosmic Storms. Due for release alongside the Stellaris 3.13 Vela update on September 10th, these are a paid "mechanical expansion" (priced at a rather chunky £11, $13 or €13, and available as part of the current season pass) that builds upon the game's existing Space Storms, "providing a deeper experience with strategically meaningful gameplay and beautiful upgraded visuals". Wash that down with new civics, precursor narratives, anomalies, archaeology sites, techs, edicts, a new Ascension perk, and new galactic community resolutions.

Read more

Tiny Glade is a relaxing, wholly escapist building sim where you can kick back and summon villages, cottages and castles whilst listening to whimsical tunes without the worry of combat or busywork. This cosy game has received a lot of attention, becoming the fourth most-played demo during Steam Next Fest and earning a place within our own list of favourite demos. It now has a release date - 23rd September 2024.

Read more

Over 2000 hours spent in various factory games makes me a bit of a purist, I suppose. In theory, I should then be the ideal reviewer to enjoy Shapez 2. But I'm also the ideal reviewer to tear it apart over the most minor hiccups and defects. I'm the Anton Ego of factory games. I don't like food, I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow.

Ah, you needn't worry. This is by far the most fun I've had reviewing a game, and Shapez 2 has, in my mind at least, turned the holy trinity of factory games (Factorio, Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program) into a holy quartet. Its pared back, everything-is-free-forever approach is quite liberating, and I've never had so much fun placing conveyor belts in my life. But 40 hours into my save file, I've often found myself yearning for a bit more creativity in the challenges, a few more curveballs sent in my direction.

Read more

Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...

Read more

Everyone loved Half-Life yet no one in 1998 was brave enough to say: "Okay, but what if this was an early access crafting survival game voiced by a bunch of New Zealanders?" Those 90s cowards. Abiotic Factor is the courageous game that has been correcting this historic oversight. It's fun, and the fun just got funnerer. The "Crush Depth" update, released yesterday, adds a heap of new areas to the game's messed-up scientific facility, including a dangerous Security Sector and a vast reservoir zone called the Hydroplant. On top of that there are new weapons, tools, workbenches, drivable vehicles, fishing rods, and quite a bit more. It's all shown off in the trailer below.

Read more

In Shadows Of Doubt you can fall from the roof of a corporate office building during a routine investigation, shatter all the bones in your frail detective body, wake up in a clinic fully healed, and then sprint out the door without paying your sky-high hospital bills while the clinic's auto-turret shoots at you for doing a medical dine and dash. The early access game is on our best immersive sims list for a reason, you know, and now it has an autumn release date for the final version, along with a new trailer.

Read more

The search for the cheapest and yet best quality supermarket drink-as-you-go coffee continues. I know it's the first time I've made you aware of this project, but it's been going on since I moved to Glasgow. So far, Lidl's own brand remains the clear winner, a solid 8 on the taste meter at just 59p. But while writing this, I'm sipping an "Intenso" Arctic Coffee from Morrisons, which is giving the Lidl frontrunners some stiff competition at last, albeit at 145% the cost. Will one true victor emerge? Find out next week! For now, here's what we're all clicking on this weekend!

Read more

Announced at this year's Geoffcom, RoadCraft is a new game courtesy of the vehicular bods behind MudRunner and SnowRunner. This means it's very much a simulation game where you're fighting terrain with tyres, except this time you aren't just driving about, but managing a fleet of machines to carry out heavy construction work. Think a mixture of logistics, cars, cranes, and paving some lovely new roads from a once dilapidated junk heap.

Read more

I’ve likely mentioned hitting Lovecraft fatigue so often that it’s now evolved into a second phase of Lovecraft-fatigue fatigue. This is not the same as Lovecraft refreshment, no matter how much I might want to return to the days before old one plushies and Cthulhu children’s books terrorised the internet en masse. There’s not quite enough information about “story generator” sim Marry a Deep One: Innsmouth Simulator for me to confidently say it’ll cut through my exhaustion with all things tentacular and horrifically be-gilled. But it is beguiling, isn’t it? There’s all sorts of little widgets and details shown off that remind me of everything from Sid Meier’s Pirates to classic adventure games, and maybe even a little Rimworld? It’s a heady soup, although one I’d recommend against quaffing, given where the water comes from.

Read more

Minecraft's Realms servers have been down for most of the past four days. Mojang's official account for reporting service status updates noted that "intermittent failures or slowdowns" began on August 13th, and despite similarly intermittent reports of uptime in the days since, the servers remain inaccessible to most players today.

Read more

Good job, everyone! The cat talk in the comments has never been stronger. I miss my cats back in England very much. Though I did visit a cat cafe recently, and I got to boop some sphinx kittens on the nose. Life pretty much peaked then, so I'm in a bit of a slump right now. So do me a favour and sound off even more than usual about what your fur babies have been up to lately! And also, if you feel like it, let us know what you're playing this weekend too. Here's what we're clicking on!

Read more

Crytek's sweaty and superlative survival boss-rush shooter Hunt: Showdown has been relaunched as Hunt: Showdown 1896, introducing a comprehensive technological update alongside a chronological leap forward to a new map in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. As is tradition for big 2.0-style updates, some players absolutely loathe it, with recent Steam user reviews dragging the consensus underwater.

Read more

The mountain biking of Lonely Mountains: Downhill was sometimes a relaxing ride down gentle slopes, and at other times a hairy hurtle down declivitous cliffs. Alongside the likes of the Descenders and Riders Republic, it offered a more laid-back game, open to furious time trialling but always remembering to let you stop and appreciate the view. Both the stakes and the poly count were low. Happy news then, that it is getting a snowy sequel. In Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders you'll be swapping your bike for a pair of skis, and you'll be able to barrel down the mountainside with friends in co-op.

Read more

Life sim contender Inzoi is hoping to knock The Sims from its perch when it launches (supposedly) later this year. There will soon be an opportunity to judge whether that feat is likely. Krafton have announced that they're releasing a time-limited trial of Inzoi's character creator next week on August 20th.

Read more

The management game progression chart is supposed to go: zoo, then theme park, then hospital, then school. Apparently no one told Springloaded Software, who are following up their 2021 tycoon 'em up Let's Build A Zoo with a game about building an MMO.

Let's Build A Dungeon marries the business aspects of Game Dev Tycoon with a more hands-on approach to constructing your company's game, and there's a first trailer below.

Read more

Space 4X strategy game Stellaris launched in 2016, but Paradox can't stop adding to the universe. Last time I checked in, it was school trips to other dimensions. Now, it's Cosmic Storms. Due for release alongside the Stellaris 3.13 Vela update on September 10th, these are a paid "mechanical expansion" (priced at a rather chunky £11, $13 or €13, and available as part of the current season pass) that builds upon the game's existing Space Storms, "providing a deeper experience with strategically meaningful gameplay and beautiful upgraded visuals". Wash that down with new civics, precursor narratives, anomalies, archaeology sites, techs, edicts, a new Ascension perk, and new galactic community resolutions.

Read more

Tiny Glade is a relaxing, wholly escapist building sim where you can kick back and summon villages, cottages and castles whilst listening to whimsical tunes without the worry of combat or busywork. This cosy game has received a lot of attention, becoming the fourth most-played demo during Steam Next Fest and earning a place within our own list of favourite demos. It now has a release date - 23rd September 2024.

Read more

Over 2000 hours spent in various factory games makes me a bit of a purist, I suppose. In theory, I should then be the ideal reviewer to enjoy Shapez 2. But I'm also the ideal reviewer to tear it apart over the most minor hiccups and defects. I'm the Anton Ego of factory games. I don't like food, I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow.

Ah, you needn't worry. This is by far the most fun I've had reviewing a game, and Shapez 2 has, in my mind at least, turned the holy trinity of factory games (Factorio, Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program) into a holy quartet. Its pared back, everything-is-free-forever approach is quite liberating, and I've never had so much fun placing conveyor belts in my life. But 40 hours into my save file, I've often found myself yearning for a bit more creativity in the challenges, a few more curveballs sent in my direction.

Read more

Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...

Read more

Everyone loved Half-Life yet no one in 1998 was brave enough to say: "Okay, but what if this was an early access crafting survival game voiced by a bunch of New Zealanders?" Those 90s cowards. Abiotic Factor is the courageous game that has been correcting this historic oversight. It's fun, and the fun just got funnerer. The "Crush Depth" update, released yesterday, adds a heap of new areas to the game's messed-up scientific facility, including a dangerous Security Sector and a vast reservoir zone called the Hydroplant. On top of that there are new weapons, tools, workbenches, drivable vehicles, fishing rods, and quite a bit more. It's all shown off in the trailer below.

Read more

In Shadows Of Doubt you can fall from the roof of a corporate office building during a routine investigation, shatter all the bones in your frail detective body, wake up in a clinic fully healed, and then sprint out the door without paying your sky-high hospital bills while the clinic's auto-turret shoots at you for doing a medical dine and dash. The early access game is on our best immersive sims list for a reason, you know, and now it has an autumn release date for the final version, along with a new trailer.

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The search for the cheapest and yet best quality supermarket drink-as-you-go coffee continues. I know it's the first time I've made you aware of this project, but it's been going on since I moved to Glasgow. So far, Lidl's own brand remains the clear winner, a solid 8 on the taste meter at just 59p. But while writing this, I'm sipping an "Intenso" Arctic Coffee from Morrisons, which is giving the Lidl frontrunners some stiff competition at last, albeit at 145% the cost. Will one true victor emerge? Find out next week! For now, here's what we're all clicking on this weekend!

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When I zoom the camera on Alex's momentarily untensed face while he's dozing by the pool, it's not because I'm a creep. When I pursue Ayo and Dija around the garden, keeping their feet and butts in shot as they belittle each other, it's not because I'm a busybody and a lech. And when I pan to the lighthouse piercing the sunset beyond the security spikes it's not out of any feeling of wonder, or even curiosity about possible escape routes. Please understand: I do not see these people, these objects at all, just the boneless, faceless traces they leave upon my own servitude to the lens.

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