Scandimania – Five Of The Top Scandinavian Developers In The Industry Today

It’s certainly fair to say that great developers can be found in more places than just on this lovely island of ours, and indeed, perhaps nowhere is the concentration of great industry talent more keenly observed than in the Scandinavian countries. 

So with that in mind, here are five such outfits that are at the top of their game on the Scandinavian games development scene.

Avalanche Studios

Famed for the raucous Just Cause games which seem like the sort of spectacle stuffed efforts that should act as the bedrock for a Mission Impossible title, Swedish outfit Avalanche Studios has long carved out a niche as one of the very best purveyors of open-world mayhem.

Somewhat reflecting the fact that the developer finds itself nestled in the idyllic, dual locations of Stockholm’s beautifully water surrounded townscape and also within the hustle and bustle of Malmö’s spellbinding coastal metropolis, Avalanche’s open-world aspirations fittingly extend across a broad spectrum. From the loud brutality of Mad Max and Just Cause, through to the fantastically chilled and much underrated stealth gameplay of the Hunter: Call of the Wild, the Swedish developer is in every way at the top of its game when it comes to crafting open-world shenanigans.  

Fatshark

Almost single-handedly managing to make Warhammer fantasy interesting again by virtue of its superb Left 4 Dead style Vermintide games, Stockholm based Fatshark is most assuredly a force to be reckoned with within the games industry.

Embodying the creativity and drive that has become eponymous with Swedish culture, Fatshark has gone from strength to strength, having recently caught the attention of investment giant Tencent who invested some $56 million into the company back in January 2019, safeguarding its prospects for the foreseeable future in the process.  

Funcom

Founded all the way back in 1993, the Oslo based Funcom is perhaps best well known for its licensed titles – Age of Conan and most recently, the really rather good sandbox MMO, Conan Exiles. Significant investment in the company (again, from Mr. Moneybags Tencent), has meant that the company has been able to spread its wings somewhat when it comes to new and varied IP, allowing them to publish intriguing titles such as the well-received turn-based tabletop effort, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.

Though Norway has a notably lower gaming population than Sweden, the culture is one that prides itself on resilience, and perhaps no better is that steadfast virtue reflected than in Funcom itself – a company that has endured for over 26 years and shows no signs of taking its foot off the gas anytime soon.

IO Interactive

Based in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, and originally beginning its existence as a seven-man team, IO Interactive has managed to define itself, more than any other company in this feature, on the back of a single IP – Hitman. 

Effectively precipitating the creation of the stealth sandbox genre with the Hitman franchise, IO Interactive has nonetheless dabbled in other IPs too. From the sorely missed likes of Freedom Fighters and the Kane & Lynch series, through to the twee Mini Ninjas, though the Danish developer realises that the murderous escapades of Agent 47 are its bread and butter, it’s encouraging to see that since its separation from Square-Enix, this Danish superstar developer still craves the need to sail those uncharted waters from time to time.

Paradox Interactive

In Scandinavian countries there is a lot of pride in doing things well or if you can’t, simply don’t do it at all, and it would seem that Swedish based Paradox Interactive has taken this maxim somewhat to heart. Originally starting off from humble beginnings in 1995, Paradox Interactive has arguably grown into one of the largest Scandinavian developers out there, with offices all over the world, from Seattle to Stockholm.
Responsible for mammoth strategy titles such as Stellaris and also for publishing a range of excellent games from smaller developers, such as jailhouse sim Prison Architect and next year’s Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, Paradox Interactive’s star looks to be permanently ascendant.

Destiny 2: 5 Reasons Why It’s The Perfect Time To Jump In

Destiny 2 has launched into a new era, with the latest expansion, Shadowkeep, the beginning of the new Season of the Undying, and most importantly for new players, it’s free to play the base game.

All this means that there are big changes afoot for Bungie’s superstar shooter, but why should you care? You’ve not played a Destiny game before, and you’ve seen the news scroll past you like rain on a car window.

Well it’s time to care, here’s five reasons why it’s time to make the plunge into Destiny 2 and see why it’s worth your time.

5. It’s free to play

The initial investment in Destiny 2 now is only time and hard drive space. Everyone has been asking for demos to return in some form or another, and what better demo is there than a huge amount of content and game, all for free? You can play tonnes of Destiny 2 before hitting anything you might feel you need to pay for, so why not?

4. The intro’s been revamped

One of the criticisms historically aimed at Destiny 2 was that for non-fans, its onboarding process was a little obtuse. Packed with lore and references to objects you’d have little idea about, it was probably a bit of a turn-off. Now the intro’s much more streamlined, you make your character, you do a mission, and you’re off. The lore’s still there if you want it, but you can get to the game that much faster.

3. New armour system means more options

There are a great deal of changes inbound for armour in Destiny 2, but the long and short of it is; you can now customise it to be more applicable to you. What this means is that no longer will you have to ‘make do’, you’ll be able to tweak your armour to better fit your class and your playstyle. Now finally, you can get loot for you and nobody else, with a few changes, of course.

2. A new expansion means everyone’s exploring together

As anyone who’s played an MMO knows, expansion time is the most exciting time to be playing. Everyone’s at roughly the same place, everyone’s exploring at roughly the same speed, and people are finding things out for the first time together. With Shadowkeep having just launched, it means that the game, whilst new to you, is also new to a lot of experienced players as well. So you’re not going to be alone – everyone’s going to be asking questions.

1. Did we mention it’s free to play?

The best price is free, and Destiny 2 as part of New Light is free to pick and give a whirl. There’s no downside, if you don’t like it, it’s just a bit of time lost. But it might be your new favourite game, and you might make friends there. So why not, what’s stopping you?

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is out now and Destiny 2: New Light means you can play the base game for free. Wanting to start out for the first time or meet like-minded Guardians? Head to our forum and start the conversation.

How Cuphead Has Evolved into a Cultural Phenomenon only Two Years After its Release

When Studio MDHR’s Cuphead was revealed, it felt like a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle was simply falling into place. With an unforgettable art style and old-school gameplay to please a wide demographic of gamers, it seemed like a sure fire hit, and as such, it launched to widespread critical acclaim, leading to a jolt in sales and a massive player base. The game has now launched on every platform beyond mobile and as of September 29th, sold five million copies, a neat milestone to reach by the game’s second anniversary. 

Cuphead is Not Just a Game Anymore

As well as taking home a number of gongs at The Game Awards and the BAFTA’s, the game has somehow gone beyond the scope of its video game boundaries, and that’s even without the release of its final forthcoming DLC. Cuphead and Mugman are seriously recognisable characters in the gaming space, so much so it wouldn’t be too wild to say that they could certainly fit in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. 

One of the finest things about Cuphead is the electrifying jazz score, which when seperated from the game managed to top the Billboard jazz charts last month, showing just how much of a cultural phenom this indie gem is. It’s a mystery as to what is so attractive about the concept, but it’s without question that the game is seriously stylish, pleasing on the eyes and ears and even more haptic in the hands. 

The Cuphead Show

This has unbelievably led to a deal with Netflix, in which King Features are working on the aptly named ‘The Cuphead Show!’ which seeks to develop the charming characters found in the game and add a sense of scale to The Inkwell Isles. From the limited information available at the moment it looks to focus on the under spoken personalities of the lead two characters. Whilst this isn’t developed so well in the game itself, an animated series is a perfect place to give these characters a voice, and define their morals and character. Cuphead is naturally seen as the more brazen, adventurous part of the duo, whereas Mugman is supposedly “cautious but easily swayed,” creating quite the dynamic duo in the leading roles. 

Granted, this is all without talking about the amount of merchandise available for Cuphead fans. Given the Disney-esque art style of the game, creating plush toys, t-shirts and models must feel fairly natural. Somehow the game and it’s long development cycle captured the imagination of many gamers worldwide, who have took a liking to Cuphead and Mugman even if they can’t quite topple some of the game’s most difficult challenges. 

Not many games have managed to escape the confines of their medium and worm their way into the hearts and minds of the public. Another recent example would be the Untitled Goose Game, starring a waterfowl which has now become a viral superstar thanks to countless memes and the silly nature of the honking-good gameplay. Who knows, given that Blink 182, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have already co-signed Panic’s mischievous goose adventure, it could itself go beyond the medium of video games and much like Cuphead, excel in the realms of TV and music.

To find out more about Cupheads 2 year anniversary celebrations, head over to the Cuphead Game hub on GreenManGaming.com.

How Nintendo is “Changing The Game” by Merging Virtual Fun With Physical Activity

Ever since the company’s establishment in 1889, Nintendo has been innovating in the games space. From playing cards to motion controls, Nintendo is known as the main publisher in games that captures the wistful childlike wonder of play, and in 2019 it’s plans are only becoming more experimental.

Nostalgic design

It’s hard to argue with the fact that we probably wouldn’t remember the Nintendo 64 or GameCube so fondly if they didn’t look so alien and interesting, with their squid-like controllers and experimental gaming experiences. We’ve now come to terms with and adore the Nintendo Switch, which at first earned the glare of many sceptics. In its own way, the physical action of slotting your controllers into the device and retrieving them to play anywhere is peak Nintendo, who have always pioneered the confluence of physical activity with virtual gaming.

Wii Sports is an easy example to point to, a game that everyone and their grandma can play with ease, and burn some calories whilst doing so. Yet it doesn’t feel like you’re actually putting in any effort as the fun keeps your mind occupied. This developed into the Wii Fit balance board and most recently played host to Fitness Boxing, where the Switch Joy-Cons are used to stimulate an intense boxing workout.

Cardboard creativity

It might not seem so important, but with a global loneliness and obesity epidemic, Nintendo’s focus on physical multiplayer is refreshing, especially when it’s on a par with the rest of the gaming spectrum. Playing PUBG in a pitch-black room sure is fun, but the inactivity of a typical evening of gaming isn’t going to stimulate your brain as much as a detour into invention or fitness will.

This was most recently seen with Nintendo Labo, the company’s cardboard workshop series where players can build fully usable vehicles, mech suits and even musical instruments out of bits of recyclable tat, leveraging simple elastic bands and the Joy-Cons haptic HD Rumble to simulate the crank of a fishing rod or the engine of a motorbike. At first people thought it was totally insane, simply because it dared to be different, but it’s seriously understated how important it is for developers like Nintendo to think outside of the box and provide ways for children and adults to stimulate the inventive or physical side of their brain, getting them to build, invent and explore their ideas all through the medium of gaming. You can say it’s just for kids if you want, but let me ask you again once you’ve built something and seen the results of your work, and I bet you’ll be grinning.

Adventure time

Whilst more and more Labo kits have been rolling out (the most recent offering a swathe of physical VR experiences) Nintendo has not stopped dreaming, with the most recent experiment being a hula-hoop device and a leg strap into which you slot your Joy-Cons. This is in service of the Switch’s apparent answer to Wii Sports, known as Ring Fit Adventure. 

With clever, sticky RPG systems underpinning intervals of physical activity, you’ll take part in yoga poses, plank on the floor to defeat monsters and work different muscle groups to progress in this fascinating physical adventure. As well as a cohesive RPG experience, there’s also more rudimentary mini-game gauntlets and exercise modes to work your body and help you get slim. 

The game is due out later this month on October 18th and is indicative of Nintendo’s unique approach to physical activity which blends virtual fun with physical engagement. What other games do you think offer this wonderful blend of activity? Let us know in the comments and head over to the Green man Gaming Community site for more.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Comes to PC

Good monster collecting games are surprisingly sparse on PC. It’s an annoying fact of life for those of us who don’t own consoles, we simply don’t get to train up our little beasts, and evolve them before un-evolving them then re-evolving them into a new kind of dog with machine guns. What’s that? Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition is coming? so that’s exactly what we’re going to be able to do? 

Well, That Changes Everything

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition contains not one, but two fully-fledged Digimon games for you to sink your digital teeth into. The original story has you saving the world as part of a mysterious detective agency, standard stuff really. Although the characters you’ll meet along the way are genuinely interesting, and there are even a few somewhat horrifying moments thanks to the strange almost horror-esque setting. It’s a good game on its own merits, but it’s not all you get. 

You’ll also get to play through Hacker’s Memory, which, rather than focusing on a traditional hero, has you playing a rather bland-looking side character. It’s a unique set up, and one that tells a story that runs alongside the main game. It gives you details about the background goings-on in the world of Cyber Sleuth and shows a side of RPGs that players rarely get to see. 

So What’s It All About?

Each game has an incredible amount of quests to undertake, items to find, and stories to uncover. Of course, the main attraction here is the Digimon themselves, who you can easily spend hundreds of hours training and growing them in the perfect way to make them far outclass any of the villains you’ll have to overcome. 

The key to victory is to figure out which of the strongest Digimon you want, and then the requirements your baby monsters need to meet before you can Digivolve them. Sometimes just being a high enough level is enough, but more often than not you’ll need to have spent a certain amount of time with them to make them like you more or raise their stats by raising their level cap. The best Digimon are a combination of two high-level ones, which means you’ll have to be prepared to fuse two of your favourites together if you want the most powerful team possible. 

This is a game made for those who have a love of stat management, one for people who adore seeing the new forms their companions can take on, and one for anybody who just loves a good JRPG. The fact that you get to play both of these excellent games for just one price is almost unbelievable, but you’ll be able to do so when it releases on PC and Switch on October 18th.

Indivisible: Getting to know This Unique Indie Hit

After the successful Indiegogo campaign in 2015 Indivisible is finally set to release on the 8th October. Indivisible tells the tale of Ajna, a courageous and rebellious girl living in the village of Raswat. Her normal village life is soon disrupted as local warlords attack her town forcing her to leave the comfort of her home and on to an epic adventure to confront her attackers. 

Not your average RPG

Indivisible combines platforming with turn-based RPG elements to create a new and exciting experience as you take control of over 20 playable characters. Soon after the attack Ajna discovers a mysterious power that allows her to absorb individuals – known as Incarnations, into her being. Fusing with them not only allows Ajna to summon them during battle but will also grant her new abilities and weapons. 

Verticality and fluid movement across the platforming areas plays a large part in Indivisible and Ajna will be able to run, jump and dash her way through the world with wonderfully vivid and bright hand-drawn animations. 

Hand-drawn World

There is no doubt that Indivisible is a beautiful game to look at, with each of the characters being hand-drawn in immaculate detail. Each character has a distinct look to them with a fully fledged back story to go along with them. 

Inspired by Southeast Asian mythology the game is full of wonderful locations to visit from the lush greens of the Ashway Forest, and hot dunes of The Almutah Sands all the way to harsh peaks of Mount Sumeru and Fortress Vimana to name just a few. 

There are an abundance of locations to visit all with their own feel, enemies and secrets to find.

Unique Combat

The combat in Indivisible allows for a vast range of customisation as you can have up to four characters each mapped to a button or key. As a result your party functions like a single, customizable character. The key to ensuring success is trying out new combos and mastering your Incarnations abilities to get the best out of them in any situation. 

Whilst not strictly a turn-based game your attacks will use actions that recharge over time. Ultimately making the combat feel more real time but waiting for more actions to be available will allow for more devastating combos to be unleashed.

Inner Realm

Away from the fighting and platforming Ajna can meditate to visit her inner realm. Here is where the Incarnations will reside and it will act as the main hub of the game for quests, saving and applying upgrades to weapons or armour. It’s a nice twist on the traditional need to visit towns or safe areas and gives players the chance to get to know the Incarnations a little better. 

The more Incarnations that join you the larger and more developed Ajna’s inner realm will become. Speaking with them will unlock new quests that will resolve some of their personal stories. Furthermore some will provide you with quests that grant upgrades to your equipment. 

Whilst traditional experience points are in the game, they aren’t the main source for helping Ajna to become more powerful. For example your damage will increase for all your characters based on the number of Incarnations you have acquired.

Indivisible is trying to do things a little differently in the RPG world and looks to have nailed a lot of interesting sounding mechanics. Couple that with a fantastic looking world to immerse yourself in and you’re on to a winning combination.

Top 10 Wildest Promotional Campaigns in Gaming

There’s a lot of games out there, so the race to catch your eye has never been as important as it is now. Publishers and developers need you to notice their games, pause for a moment, and then have that info lodged in your brain.

With the race on for your limited attention, it’s understandable that sometimes game publishers get a little wild when it comes to marketing games to you. Here are the ten wildest promotional campaigns in gaming, ever.

10. Agent 47 Kills Your Friends

Agent 47, international man of murder, is here to bump off your pals. A campaign launched to promote Hitman: Absolution saw Facebook friends hiring Agent 47 to bump off their pals. Unfortunately it didn’t go down well, with many people alarmed at receiving messages that their beloved friends had taken out contracts on them, and was soon cancelled.

9. Power Gig’s Hot Guitars

You know what’s more rock and roll than throwing a load of plastic guitars into a volcano via helicopter? The marketing team for Power Gig don’t think there’s anything more metal, so that’s what they did.

8. One Million Dollar Saints Row

To promote Saints Row 4, a sole million dollar version of the game was produced, which included items like a Lamborghini, plastic surgery, and a trip to space. Now that’s a collector’s edition.

7. Daikatana’s Bitchiness

If you’re of a certain age, and might I say, I am. You might recall being told that Mr Romero will make you his bitch. One of the most, shall we say, forthright campaigns ever attempted, it at least was memorable. Even if Daikatana wasn’t.

6. Dante’s Fake Inferno

Protesting is a human right and one to often be applauded, but Dante’s Inferno was promoted via a paid protest where actors pretended to be a religious mob angry with EA. You can understand that this neither went down well with the intended audience, nor religious groups who felt mocked.

5. Resident Evil Butchers

Wesker & Son, for a brief time, became a real butcher shop in London. Specialising in meat shaped into human form, it’s one of the more stomach-turning promos we’ve seen. Though it has a happy ending, all proceeds were given to a charity that aids amputees.

4. Burnout’s Speed-a-thon

Everyone loves Burnout, the game series about driving fast and doing slow-motion crashes. So when Burnout 2 was released on PS2, Acclaim decided a good way to promote the game was to pay off any London speeding tickets gained while racing to buy the game. 

3. God of War Goat Death

To celebrate the launch of God of War 2, someone decided that the best thing to do would be to hold a faux-ancient-Greece party, complete with dead goat. The Daily Mail got their hands on pictures of the event, and you can imagine how well that went.

2. Shadowman 2 Grave Desecration

To promote Shadowman 2, publisher Acclaim paid for advertisements to be plastered on real gravestones. Yep, you read that right. You’ll be surprised to learn that the relatives and friends of the deceased affected by this had a few choice words for the now defunct publisher.

1. Code Vein Blood Drive

Ending on a more positive note, Code Vein are running a blood drive today, the 27th of September, at TwitchCon. If you’re there and want to help out this good cause, you can get a copy of the game for free. 

What is the wildest marketing campaign you’ve seen for games? Let us know in the comments below, or head over to our forum to have your say.

Meet Opera GX, the world’s first browser built with gamers in mind

When I sat down to chat with Opera product manager Maciej Kocemba, one of my first questions was “How hasn’t anybody thought of this?”

Opera GX is a browser built with gamers in mind. As well as a robust VPN, users can enjoy a network, CPU and RAM limiter built into the browser. No longer will you have to deal with Chrome weighing down your computer whilst you’re gaming.

Already convinced? We don’t blame you, but we’re merely scratching the surface of this browser’s features. Kocemba tells me that “gamers have different needs” when it comes to browsing and that other browsers are more of a “general-purpose tool” designed to please as many as possible. The concept for GX came from the clever observation that many players don’t turn off the browser when they game, so they wanted to create something that didn’t limit users who wanted to have their cake and eat it. After many meetings at Gamescom 2018, Kocemba told me that the team had a moment of realization. “We knew this is something people wouldn’t expect, maybe they don’t feel that they need it right now, but once they see it, they love it.”

Opera GX focuses on Gamers needs

GX has it’s own demographic in mind that they are focusing on, but after switching myself I would say it’s a no-brainer for the performance increase even if you don’t game regularly. Chrome and its ilk are famous for their memory-leaking capabilities, and there’s even a use case here for artists, designers and those who use high-intensity programs but also want to keep their browsing intact. You see, GX is built with Opera as a base, so you can expect all the trimmings of the standard experience as well as the handy video popout system & screen capture functionality you’re used to, tweaked to be even more useful to gamers.

Opera GX – Whats in the box?

Twitch is integrated right into the sidebar, meaning you can easily jump into a stream and be notified when your favourite stars go live, and in the ‘GX Corner’ you can see gaming news pulled from the top sites, a release date calendar to see what games are upcoming, and even a deals aggregator to get you the best discounts on popular games. 

Perhaps the sticking point for many is swapping from Chrome and keeping all of your bookmarks, data and extensions. This was my worry too, but there’s actually a tool in the browser settings where you can import everything in one click and an extension within the Opera store that allows you to download Chrome extensions, which means that switching is seamless.

The design is also clean and customizable to suit the (most likely) RGB lighting surrounding you at your gaming pc, and it has cute sound effects recorded by Ruben Rincon and the band Berlinist, who worked on the soundtrack for indie darling Gris. 

“If you’re a gamer, or even remotely interested in gaming, you should use it so you’re closer to the content. There’s nothing to manually configure.”

Whats next for Opera GX?

In terms of how the future of GX is going to develop (despite the feature set, it is still in early access!) Kocemba tells me that they have a number of “aces up their sleeves,” and that the team have plenty of interesting ideas they’re batting around, from Discord integration to the potential for a mobile browser.

“It’s not important that the integration would be technically possible, it’s about how useful it would be for GX’s user base,” Kocemba tells me. Clearly they want to listen to their users, and this is just the start of a promising journey. Kocemba noted that the typical version numbers seen in browsers will be known as levels in Opera GX, with the current ‘about’ page displaying Level 1.

The team want a level up to feel like a level-up, so expect even more useful features when GX finally dings and hits level 2! For now, you can download the browser over on the Opera GX website and give it a test drive yourself.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep The Moon and Beyond

We’re drawing ever nearer to the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, the latest expansion to Bungie’s space shooter. The expansion brings with it a huge slew of changes, not just limited to PC storefronts and new boss battles, but it actually changes a lot about how you’ll be playing the game itself. 

New Armour system

One of the most notable changes comes in the form of the new armour mod system. While previous years have had us all searching for a specific piece of armour, then a specific role of a specific piece, it looks like those days are behind us now. Instead, the new system introduces a system that RPG fans are going to love. 

Along with this, they are bringing back the old stat system. This means that there are six things to focus on when picking your armour: 

  • Mobility – Increases movement speed
  • Resilience – Increases total health
  • Recovery – Increases your recovery speed
  • Discipline – Decreases grenade cooldown
  • Intellect – Decreases super cooldown
  • Strength – Decreases melee ability cooldown

These will be the things you’ll be hunting down new armour for, so get ready to grind for the perfect set of gear that suits your playstyle. Destiny just wouldn’t be Destiny without something to grind for, though many players will just be happy to see their Light Level climbing again. 

Modding your gear

The new mod system is where things get really interesting. While each set of armour has fixed stats, you’ll be able to fully customise the mods they have. Different mods require different energy types, which means you might not always be able to use the mods you want on the armour you want. The energy type that a piece of armour has will be randomised, so you may need to hunt for the one you want, but once you’ve got it the fun begins. 

You’ll be able to use the energy to equip the piece of armour with different mods – all of which are reusable – this will let you completely control which buffs you have and should make for a far more varied pool of playstyles. If you just love punching people, then you can completely deck yourself out in melee mods. 

Each mod uses a set amount of energy, with more powerful ones requiring more energy, so you’ll have to consider that when planning your build. It should be a lot more fun for those of us who love a good bit of customisation, and the fact that the mods are reusable should keep things less frustrating for those who don’t love the grind. 

The new systems should make for a completely different feel to the RPG side of the game. It also feels as though they’re embracing the MMO part of the MMOlite game that Bungie have been developing all of these years. Whether or not there will still be ‘perfect’ builds remains to be seen, but it’s good to see a bit of genuine innovation from the team behind the game.

The game goes free to play on Ocotber 1st along with the release of the new expansion Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. Come find your perfect squad on the Green man Gaming Community Pages. You can also check out the new Destiny 2: Shadowkeep story trailer released this week.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Wildlands’ Gritty, Survival Sequel

In 2017, Ubisoft released a controversial but highly successful entry into the Ghost Recon series. Whilst the games used to be about stoic operatives engaging in tactical modern warfare, in Wildlands you played as a more humanized group within Delta Company as they battled to liberate Bolivia from the influence of a drug cartel. This was a far cry from the futuristic advanced setting of the previous mainline game Future Soldier, which launched way back in 2012. Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a direct sequel to Wildlands which is slowly moving the series in a more futuristic direction by introducing offensive drone technology and cutting-edge equipment.

What is Ghost Recon Breakpoint

Announced in early May this year, Ghost Recon Breakpoint was revealed as a direct sequel to Wildlands, with the same protagonist in tow. It’s a co-op open-world shooter where players pick a character and class and level up their ghost, all the while attempting to liberate the island of Auroa from the rule of the drone-crazy Skell Technology and Cole D. Walker, their fearless leader. 

What is the story behind Ghost Recon Breakpoint?

In Ghost Recon Breakpoint you play as special forces operative Nomad, the protagonist of Wildlands who leads another crack team of soldiers into battle with Cole D. Walker, a former ghost gone rogue who has set up on the island of Auroa with the help of Jace Skell, an entrepreneur and founder of Skell Technology who has set up a utopian base on the island to develop drone technology which has been co-opted by Walker’s army of Wolves. Walker summons a drone swarm to destroy the inbound ghosts, killing 32 men and women in the process, the only survivors being protagonist Nomad, Vasily, Fixit, Holt and Fury, who have to fight against Walker’s dangerous war machine.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint gameplay – what does it play like?

There are four classes to pick from in Breakpoint: Assault, Sharpshooter, Panther and Engineer, each with their own specialized techniques and weapon affinities. This forms the basis of your fireteam that you can swap between if you’re playing solo. Breakpoint adds a number of new features to the Wildlands formula, like the Bivouac, a makeshift camp you can drop in between missions to fix your kit and recover. The gameplay remains mostly the same, but there’s also a brand new realistic injury simulation system where you will limp or lose accuracy if shot. You can also spawn in vehicles and unlock and upgrade weapons via the new loot system.

When does Ghost Recon Breakpoint launch?

Ghost Recon Breakpoint will launch next month on October 4th for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. If you’re keen you can play the game on October 1st if you pick up the Gold or Ultimate edition of the game for early access.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint PC Specifications

Minimum – Low Setting | 1080p

OS: Windows 7/8.1/10
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1200/Intel Core I5 4460
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 280X/Nvidia Geforce GTX 960 (4 GB)

Recommended – High Setting | 1080p

OS: Windows 7/8.1/10
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600/Intel Core I7 6700K
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: AMD RADEON RX 480 8 GB/Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 (6 GB)

Ghost Recon Breakpoint trailers

Five of The Best British Indie Developers Out There Today

With there being enough depressing stuff in the news regarding good ol’ Blighty to shunt the Earth off its axis, we thought it would be both timely and nice to celebrate some of the best British indie developers out there today.

So without further ado, here are five of the best indie developers plying their trade on this sceptered isle of ours. Starting with…

Bithell Games

Debuting with the surprisingly heartfelt platform puzzler Thomas Was Alone in 2012, Mike Bithell made an immediate splash on the UK games scene. In 2015, Bithell would follow up with Volume, a Metal Gear Solid style stealth-based actioner set in a dystopian British society where players must hack terminals and enemy robots to expose a corrupt regime (it’s really good).  

His next big title? John Wick Hex, a tactical, hex-based effort which brings Keanu Reeves’ puppy avenging face shooter into a completely brand new (and somewhat unexpected) genre. We can’t wait to see more.

Hello Games

A breathtakingly ambitious space odyssey where whole galaxies are procedurally generated, No Man’s Sky somehow seemed a far cry from the pint-sized studio at Hello Games that was putting out two-dimensional stunt bike games just a few years prior. Indeed at first, it appeared that No Man’s Sky was almost too much for the small studio to handle, with delays and somewhat lackluster launch dragging the studio down in the early goings.

Still, Sean Murray and his crew stuck with it, constantly patching and adding new (and more importantly, free) content to the game until we have what we see today – No Man’s Sky Beyond, the latest version of the game that boasts multiplayer support, VR support and a veritable avalanche of content. Crazily, this looks like just the beginning of another cycle of new updates and content for No Man’s Sky too – a grandiose achievement from a remarkable British indie superstar.

Llamasoft

A British indie that’s been around for so long that he remembers when the Dead Sea was still alive, Jeff Minter and his tiny Llamasoft outfit have carved out a massive niche for themselves in hypnotic and often psychedelic arcade shooters.

At the zenith of Llamasoft’s offerings is Tempest 4000, a 3D shooter where players must maneuver a laser spitting claw spacecraft around a series of geometric prisms, laying waste to a horde of incoming enemies. With a superbly judged difficulty curve and a premium on old fashioned high score grabbing, Tempest 4000 is emblematic of one of the best and longest-running British indie outfits out there today.

Roll7 

Absolute masters of the two-dimensional plane, Roll7 came to prominence off the back off of its OlliOlli games – a pair of sublimely playable, BAFTA award-winning two-dimensional skateboarding titles that effortlessly sat at the top of the genre. Stick that up your Tony Hawk etc.

Since then, the prolific British developer has gone onto release NOT A HERO, a hugely enjoyable and hyperviolent 2D assassination shooter where players must murder various gang kingpins for a crazed city called ‘Bunnylord’. So er, yeah, that’s a thing. Also a thing is Roll7’s little known next title called ‘BeatFighter’, to which the developer says on its website,
“This is so far off that you might just die of old age before it is released. We sincerely hope not.” We hope not too.

White Paper Games

Though relatively new British studio White Paper Games is only two games deep into its tenure on the British indie games scene, the Mancunian (That’s Manchester based to the rest of you) outfit has shown a keen eye for well-told stories, sophisticated characters, and an atmospheric setting.

Proving such superlatives true is White Paper Games latest offering, The Occupation, a first-person detective adventure where players play an investigative journalist attempting to expose a political conspiracy in a late 1980s dystopian North West England. Though we’re not sure what comes next for the studio, we’re certainly sure that whatever it is will be worth the wait.

Did we miss out your favorite? Comment below with some of your own favorite Indie developers and tell us what makes their games so good. You can also head over to our Community Pages to check out our latest giveaways.

The best JRPGs you can play on PC

For almost the entire history of video games JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games) have been there. Going all the way back to 1982 with the release of Underground Exploration by Koei, the genre has exploded in the decades since. Now, JRPGs are a huge industry with loads of important and wonderful games being released each year.

Historically, however, it has been a genre tied closely to consoles, with the NES, SNES and PlayStation all being part of a golden age of JRPG-dom. Now though, with ports being more frequent and even some games getting special editions on PC, it’s never been a better time to be a JRPG fan as a PC gamer.

Here are our picks for the top 10 JRPGs you can play on PC right now.

7. Dragon Quest XI

If you want a game that knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be and does that perfectly, Dragon Quest XI is exactly that. With a huge campaign and traditional but absolutely slick design, it’s an exemplar of the genre and one that is well worth sinking your teeth into.

6. Final Fantasy IX

The last Final Fantasy to be released on the original PlayStation, it was a love letter to the tropes and games of the series up until that point. With memorable characters and a beautiful art style that can really be appreciated now that it’s on PC, it’s a truly special and heartfelt look back over the genre that makes it, to many, the best Final Fantasy game – at least until the Final Fantasy VII remake appears on the scene.

5. Valkyria Chronicles

War’s terrible, but somehow war with magic and steampunk tanks and a little winged pig mascot doesn’t seem that terrible. Combining a beautiful anime art style with deep tactical combat over a huge variety of missions, Valkyria Chronicles is an absolute treasure.

4. Yakuza 0

Sometimes you just want to go dancing, sing a song, play Scalectrix, eat too much fish, and then get punched out by a giant man. Yakuza 0 lets you do all that and more with a straight face. It’s a tonally bizarre but utterly joyful look at a small section of 1980s Japan, and dual protagonists Kiryu and Majima will worm their way into your heart.

3. Chrono Trigger

Sometimes what’s old can be the best, and Chrono Trigger is one of the most famous and most delightful JRPGs ever made. Spanning continents and millions of years across a huge story with a load of endings and side characters, it’s a true marvel, and one that hasn’t been beaten even in all the intervening years.

2. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

A troubled game during development and with a plot that often loses focus, Final Fantasy XII is still a brilliant game that deserves more attention. Forget the main character Vaan and just enjoy the marvellous roster of Balthier, Basch, Penelo, and Fran in this truly modern Final Fantasy game which now comes much improved.

1. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

What’s better than sitting down to a great film by Studio Ghibli? Sitting down to a game that they helped create, that’s what. Ni No Kuni combines the best of Pokemon, JRPGs, and anime into a heartwarming and stunning adventure. Even better, it’s now on PC. If you haven’t checked it out yet, give it a try and fall in love with Drippy. We guarantee you will.

What’s your favourite JRPG that’s available on PC? Hit us up in the comments below, or head over to the forum and join the conversation.

How to Keep Fit as a Gamer

Gaming and fitness are two entities that have never really gone hand in hand. As your parents have most likely told you, sitting in a hovel playing games all day is no comparison to some good old fashioned fresh air. Well, I’m here to tell you that things have changed. As game developers have gotten wise to this problem (and probably received plenty of lobbying from health organisations) there has been a swathe of fitness games, with the recent advent of VR turning gaming into a viable means of getting your daily workout in.

Beat Saber

The key to a good fitness game is making something that is both popular and fun and doesn’t feel like you’re actually exercising. Beat Saber ticks all three of these boxes, and is a surprisingly good workout, especially on the higher difficulty levels. Who knew thrashing your arms like a flailing fish would sweat you out? Add the ducking and weaving to pop, emo and trance and you’ve got a potent fitness game.   The addition of custom songs means that you can easily get lost in a playlist of your favourite tracks, and before you know it, you’ll be steaming up your goggles.

Fitness Boxing 

If you don’t have a VR headset but a Nintendo Switch is on-hand, this unsung gem is well worth picking up. Using the Joy-Cons you blissfully punch the air to a variety of modern tunes. It doesn’t quite have the force feedback of a punching bag, but the haptic rumble built into each Joy-Con does a good job of making you feel like you’re actually working out, and it’s easy to get into without the slog of donning a heavy plastic headset. Also unlike VR, you can take it anywhere you wish. 

Fitness Breaks 

Whilst not explicitly fitness games, you can turn most RPGs, looter shooters and sports games into healthy activities if you switch up your approach. Finished a raid in WoW Classic? That’s 20 sit-ups, rookie. Wrap up a game of Ultimate Team? Hit the free weights for a session. If you incentivize your own fitness by splicing it in between systemic games and battle royale, you can turn these quick-fire games of the moment into training sessions that work within the chaos of a modern schedule.

The Future

If you’re still putting off that revelatory fitness drive, don’t worry about it too much, as the future of fitness gaming looks very bright. Nintendo is leading the pack with games like Ring Fit Adventure, the recently announced hula hoop peripheral title that involves all kinds of locomotion, and that’s without hearing about what’s next for Wii Sports on the Switch.

Beyond that, the Oculus Quest, a wires-free VR headset was recently announced, which unlocks the potential for HMD-led fitness on the move. Games like Audica from Rock Band developers Harmonix and BoxVR are developing the field of music-led fitness titles, and with next-generation consoles around the corner and most likely new headsets arriving in tandem (especially in Sony’s case) hopefully developers will see that fitness games in VR are a hot ticket, a worthwhile endeavour that are dominating the charts right now and helping people lose weight whilst enjoying their favourite hobby.

Tokyo Game Show – The Big Announcements

Tokyo Game Show is always a big deal, it’s just not always given as much attention as something like E3 or Gamescom because it doesn’t always lead to games released in the west. Nevertheless, with games coming over to us far more often these days, it makes sense that we should all be keeping a close eye on the announcements that have been made there this year. Well, to help you know what’s up, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest announcements from this year’s TGS, so have a look. 

Final Fantasy VII Remake New Trailer

We got another look at the upcoming first episode in the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and it’s confirmed one thing: everyone is hot. We got our first look at The Turks this time, as well as a glimpse of a dude with a mullet on a motorbike, who seems to be a new character. This is perhaps the most exciting thing yet, as it means that there could be extra layers to the story. They also announced that there will be a classic mode for the combat, so if you don’t like change you won’t have to fight in the new way. 

Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Like a Dragon, burned for the very first time. This trailer showed off the latest Yakuza game, and it looks even more unhinged than the normal entries. Not only will it be the next entry in the fantastic series of games, but it will also be turn-based for the first time. This includes summons too, we’ve only seen one so far, which had a bunch of crustaceans attacking a man’s face after using a mobile phone. There really is an app for everything now. 

Death Stranding

This might be a slight exaggeration, but we’ve also been shown around 400 hours of new Death Stranding footage. It’s still a very strange title, but at least we know what the gameplay is going to be like now. Honestly, even with all the extra details the game still seems to be some kind of nap-induced fever dream, but who knows, maybe it’ll make perfect sense when you’re playing it. We all remember how coherent the Metal Gear Solid games were, right? Also, you can drink Monster Energy drink and get punched if you stare at Norman’s crotch. If only Kojima was so thoughtful when it came to Quiet. 

Nioh 2 trailer and open beta

Good news for fans of samurai and dying, we’ve got a release window for Nioh 2. Not only that, but we’re going to be getting an open beta to try out in November on PS4 between November 1st and 10th. There were rewards for completing the Nioh tests, so it’s quite likely that there will be something good worth playing for here too. Plus, you get to play the game ahead of time, hoorah. The game will be a prequel to Nioh, which means we might be getting the lowdown on how everything went down in the original game.

Blasphemous – a modern Soulslike, Metroidvania, Classic

There are no shortages of Souls-like games to choose from these days. Consequently, when a new one comes along it needs to stand out; to do things a little differently to entice players in. Blasphemous looks to do just that as you enter the cursed land of Cvstodia.

Blasphemous started life on Kickstarter back in June 2017 where is raised over $300,000 and smashed it’s target to successfully fund development of the game. Clearly people were very interested in playing this game and it’s not hard to see why. 

What is Blasphemous?

In Blasphemous you play as the The Patient One – the sole survivor of a massacre known as the ‘Silent Sorrow’. You now find yourself trapped in a cycle of endless death and resurrection. It’s down to you to free the world from its affliction. 

Explore a nightmarish world of non-linear levels covering vast and varied landscapes filled with hellish abominations, deadly traps and challenging platforming. Travel deep into the twisted regions to discover the secrets hidden within. 

Throughout your journey you will discover relics, rosary beads, prayers and sword hearts that will unlock new abilities and powers to help you overcome some of the terrible bosses you will face. 

With the discovery of new items that you find and loot from the world you will be able to experiment with different styles of play to find something that suits you.

Oh and don’t forget the excellent soundtrack by Carlos Viola featuring 27 original tracks that perfectly suit the games setting and feel

Cvstodia

It’s hard not to notice the distinctive art style spread across Cvstodia. As a result you’ll come across heavy religious themes throughout the game, both in the characters – friend or foe, you encounter and the lore surrounding Cvtodia itself. It’s not just dark and oppressive dungeons you’ll be exploring though. 

There are a number of distinct areas each with contrasting visual styles across the whole game. From snow-covered mountains and sandy dunes to the dungeons we know and love from souls-like games gone by, you won’t be short of new places to explore. With rich lore spread throughout the game, the more you progress the more about the curse simply known as ‘The Miracle’ you will discover. 

Brutality

When I say this game has brutal combat I mean it. Wield the sword Mae Culpa – a weapon born from guilt, and use it to perform devastating combos in fast paced and skilled combat. Limbs will be severed and blood will be shed as you fight through Cvstodia. Don’t let the art style fool you, this game is full of gore and isn’t afraid to show you. 

Souls-like/Metroidvania

Blasphemous is obviously heavily influenced by other souls-like and metriodvania games using a lot of familiar mechanics. Expect to see fewer checkpoints as you play. Meaning death will be punishing and require backtracking or making your way through the same areas multiple times. There’s also an estus flask like healing system, but there is no stamina based combat. 

Some of this might put people off, but it definitely isn’t in the realm of the toughest of those in the genres and is – dare I say, easier. That’s not to say it’s a cake walk, you will still face tough challenges that will test even the most seasoned of souls-like players. 
Blasphemous is out now and is already receiving widely positive reviews.

Stranger things – Dead by Daylight DLC

Dead by Daylight is heading to Hawkins Indiana with a Stranger Things crossover due to come out later this month. With the expansion comes the show’s first terrifying monster that the gang had to face off against – the Demogorgon, along with two new survivors in Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington, plus some exclusive cosmetic items too. This chapter also includes a new map, the Underground Complex situated below the Hawkins National Laboratory.

Dead by Daylight is no stranger to bringing iconic characters from other movie franchises and we’ve already seen the addition of some incredible villains. Which got me thinking, who else would make a good villain? It’s easy to reel off a number of characters from horror films of years gone by, but what if we think a little more outside the box?

Xenomorph – Alien

I’ll admit that this one isn’t the most left-field of choices and would probably feature on a few people’s wish lists. Probably the most iconic alien of all time I’d love to see the Xenomorph makes its way into the game with Ripley added as one of the survivors. The Xenomorph’s speed, agility and acid blood would make for an interesting enemy to face off against. Imagine the level being set on the dark and dank Nostromo or on the harsh surface of LV426. 

Nazgul – Lord of the Rings

Dead by Daylight features a 4 vs 1 situation and what better four to take on the ring-servants of the dark lord than Frodo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin. I know adding four new characters isn’t the norm for the game, but it would be awesome to play as the whole gang as they hide from the foreboding presence of the Nazgul. Frodo could be carrying the ring meaning the Nazgul could track him easier which could lead to a more cooperative feel where the survivors have to work closer to Frodo in order to defend him by setting traps. 

Raptor – Jurassic Park

Just imagine how fun it would be playing as a Velociraptor, leaping around being a ‘clever girl’ would be great fun. Set on the fictional Isla Nublar you could have all sorts of fun creating a new level here, tall grass, underground bunkers and dense forest could easily hide the Raptor for all the best jump scares. And who wouldn’t want to play as Dr Ian Malcom, Muldoon or well any of them really. 

The Thing – The Thing

A lot of people may not remember John Carpenter’s The Thing but it is a classic – and I’m talking about the 80’s version, not the 2011 remake. The Thing is a creature that assimilates and imitates its subjects. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone started off as a survivor with one of you being The Thing and trying to blend in. Do you subtly try and sabotage the game without being noticed or do you break your cover and wreak your havoc upon the other survivors? It would be a slight shift in the standard gameplay from Dead by Daylight, but I think it could work.

Film and television is filled with great potential characters to add to the Dead by Daylight world, what other combinations would you like to see? 

Your adventure to Hawkins begins 17th September as the Stranger Things Chapter for Dead by Daylight will be launching then.

Did we miss your favourite villain? Comment below and join the rest of our gamers on the Green Man Gaming Community pages.

The five best jokes in Borderlands history

The Borderlands series could’ve gone in two directions, one is a gritty look at a semi-post-apocalyptic Western themed planet, and the other is a cartoonish explosive hilarious shooter with lashings of loot and a quip on its lips.

As you no doubt know, we got the second. And having seen the concept art for the original gritty version, we’re incredibly glad we did. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av5Eyx3bGtM

With Borderlands 3 launching, promising hours upon hours of co-op action and more jokes than you can shake a jokey stick at, we thought it was the perfect time to look back over the series and remember some of the funniest moments in Borderlands history.

Butt Stallion

Handsome Jack’s a great villain. He thinks he’s right but he’s also an utter bastard, often calling the team of vault hunters to taunt them. He’s so rich, you know, that he bought a horse made of diamonds and named it Butt Stallion.

The joke’s great on its own because of the incongruity between the taunt and the name, but it gets even better when you meet Butt Stallion later in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, and again in Tales from the Borderlands. Live on, Butt Stallion.

Face McShooty

It’s a simple quest in Borderlands 2, shoot Face McShooty in the face. Go on, he wants you to. Please. Shoot him. It’s just a bullet, do it.

There’s no possibility of anyone playing Borderlands 2 and not remembering our friend Face McShooty and his penchant for bullets to the face.

The shootout

In Tales from the Borderlands, there’s a magnificent moment that combines not only comedy but pure action, it’s when main character Rhys has a shootout with a cohort of suited Hyperion goons…using nothing but finger guns.

It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and it’s a neat twist on the douchey finger gunning that the Hyperion suits get up to in the rest of the game. It’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Not balanced yet

Obviously Tiny Tina is the best character in all of Borderlands – obviously. In Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC she gets to helm her own Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

The problem? She’s not really done it before. 

The adventure is filled with missteps and retcons, and it’s never better than when you run into an area to find it filled with high level mobs that you haven’t a hope of taking down. That is, until Tiny Tina tells you that she hasn’t balanced the area yet, drastically dropping the creature’s levels in a mad panic. A very familiar moment for any new Dungeon Master.

Just kill yourself

Handsome Jack isn’t just calling you all the time in Borderlands 2 to taunt you, sometimes he wants to offer you some tasty Eridium. All you have to do is kill yourself. Just jump off Lover’s Leap and die. He’ll reward you when you’re reconstituted.

It sums up Handsome Jack’s approach to villainy perfectly, and even though you get more XP for not doing it, it makes for a hilarious moment to have the team voluntarily leap to their deaths.

What’s your favorite funny moment from the Borderlands series? Let us know in the comments below or over on our forum. Borderlands 3 is out now, and you can pick it up right here.

Top 5 VR Games

VR is still something of a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view. With no one to tell us no, or where to go, how can anybody possibly know which games are worth getting? Well, because we’re good to you, we’ve put together our top 5 VR games. Each of these brings a very different experience, and each is an excellent game in its own right, let alone the fact that they are VR titles. So, without any further ado, let us soldier on into another reality. 

SUPERHOT VR

SUPERHOT is a game so good that you need to shout the title, ideally again and again until you’ve become indoctrinated. It’s a game unlike any other, with a world filled with strange orange beings and a peculiar flow of time. It’s also one of the best VR experiences you could possibly play, and even has a wealth of post-game content thanks to the inherently arcadey nature of it. Do not sleep on this. SUPERHOT. 

A Fisherman’s Tale

Where SUPERHOT distorts time, A Fisherman’s Tale distorts space. It tells the tale of a puppeteer in a lighthouse and is a wonderfully charming game designed to change the way you view the world. It’s genuinely delightful, and over the short story will have you changing your viewpoint multiple times in a series of mind-bending puzzles. 

Skyrim

Hear us out, imagine Skyrim, but in VR. Mind blown, right? That’s exactly what you get here, one of the best-selling RPGs of this millennium but with more immersion than ever. It turns out that a lot of the enemies who look harmless on a normal screen are terrifying in VR, and casting spells and fighting is a whole new ball game. Again, Skyrim, but in VR. It’s not a hard sell. 

Creed: Rise To Glory

Boxing in VR is an incredibly intense experience, and one that will actually help your fitness in real life. Creed: Rise To Glory might be one of the best personal trainers around, and the best part is you get to play games as you get fit. Not only that, but a wealth of updates means that the game is the best it has ever been. There’s really no excuse not to put the gloves on. 

Star Trek: Bridge Crew

Star Trek: Bridge Crew has you taking control of the USS Aegis, a brand-new type of starship, and one that relies on perfect teamwork to survive. As a result, you and your friends are going to need to learn to communicate properly or you’ll be crushed by the foes staring you down. The good news is that this is actually a cross-platform game, so you can play no matter where your friends are. It’s a good laugh even when things go wrong, and a must-have for the trekkies among you.

Did we miss your favourite? comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community pages to see what all our gamers have to say.

4 Browser Apps and Software To Improve Gaming Productivity

In the era of endless content, it’s hard to keep your mind focused. This makes playing high-intensity games difficult, especially when you have to juggle tactical decision making and focus on completing a variety of tasks in your chosen Moba or MMO.

In this article, we’re going to outline some helpful software and browser extensions that will improve your gaming productivity, keep your games running smoothly and keep your mind organized.

Tick Tick

Now there are a lot of to-do list software packages out there, from Wunderlist to Evernote, but none of them has a patch on Tick Tick. Tick Tick is a clean, minimalist organizational to-do list and task manager that sits on your browser, but crucially can also pop out into a software tab that you can hang on the desktop. It also works across all of your devices. This means that if you wrap up a task on PC but want to continue your play session on mobile (here’s looking at you, Runescape!) you can, with all of your tasks tracked in tow via the app.

If you type in the day and time by which you need to complete the task, Tick Tick will automatically create alerts for you, and you can separate your tasks into different queues depending on what game you’re playing or what productivity task you’re engaging with so you can get that done quickly and get back to gaming. 

WinDirStat

Windows Directory Statistics is my personal unsung software hero, a little gem that sits on your desktop and keeps your PC clean. Known as WinDirStat to ease the tongue-twisting nature of its original title, this handy bit of kit gives you an in-depth visualization of your hard-drive, which at first glance sounds totally boring, but if you’ve ever struggled with a lack of space and a hard-drive full of ‘invisible’ games (and who hasn’t, truly) then this software is a godsend.

After a short study of your hard-drives, both HDD & SSD, WinDirStat will tell you what is slowing your PC down and identify those gigantic recordings you most likely forgot about, as well as the massive games lurking in your dormant drives clogging up your PC and making your day to day productivity tasks feel like wading through a swamp. 

Geforce Experience

A fairly obvious pickup, and something that you no doubt already have on your PC if you’re a proud owner of an NVIDIA card (it comes recommended when you install drivers.) However, many don’t understand the breadth of use you can get out of Geforce Experience if you tinker with it and therefore like to remove it to save space.

At first glance, all it does is optimize your games, which is crucial if you want to spend more time playing and fewer hours mucking about with the settings. Yet, you can also activate ShadowPlay, which allows you to quickly record clips of your favourite games and share them straight to social media.

Some games like Fortnite or PUBG also have built-in technology that knows when you’ve pulled off a clip-worthy kill and records it for you. Beyond that, you can broadcast from the software, stream games to your TV and uses Ansel to take 360 and HDR screenshots in-game at the touch of a button. This is all bundled into one piece of accessible software, so if you’re into no-fuss productivity tools, it’s worth downloading Geforce Experience and giving in to Nvidia’s brazen cries. Stop unticking that box when you download your drivers! It’s actually a super helpful software package!

Habitica

This is a fun wildcard that combines both gaming and productivity to help you keep on top of your day to day tasks. Habitica lets you ‘gamify your life’ by turning basic tasks and habits into quests within a fully-fledged RPG.

From going to the gym to completing that pesky raid you’ve been struggling with, all of these tasks will help you level up your personal protagonist, giving them better armour, pets, and skills so they can do battle with monsters. You can even jump into some co-op with your Habitica-utilizing pals. If you’re addicted to your consoles, you can even mitigate this by purchasing spots of leisure time with your favourite games with the in-game gold system. It’s a clever approach to productivity that might be attractive to those who love the complex systems of RPGs.

Did we miss your favourite? Comment below, then head over to the Green Man Gaming Community pages to see what all our gamers have to say.