Wuchang Fallen Feathers Is The Freshest Souls-like In A Long Time

Ever since From Software’s Demon’s Souls created an all-new genre back in February 2009, I don’t think it’s an especially controversial take to suggest that something of the freshness which defined Demon’s Souls’ original release has been diluted or outright lost in the many Souls-likes that have been released since that time. Things, however, could be looking up with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, from Chinese developer Leenzee, looking to usher in the sort of refreshing changes to the Souls-like formula that feel long overdue.

An Evocative Setting That Plumbs The Opulent Depths Of Chinese History And Mythology

Following a somewhat similar path trodden by last year’s extremely well-received Black Myth: Wukong, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers makes a point of delving deep into the richness of Chinese history and mythology. From a historical perspective, developer Leenzee has made ample use of both China’s storied history and wealth of national landmarks. Chiefly unfolding in what we now know as the Chinese province of Sichuan (known as ‘Shu’ in the game itself), Wuchang: Fallen Feathers makes the most of its picturesque locales by taking in such key landmarks as the towering Leshan Giant Buddha statue, the twin ancient sites of Sanxingdui and Jinsha, to name just a few.

In terms of the mythological side of things, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers also goes to the well of Chinese inspiration, as players take on hordes of people that have been corrupted by a mysterious plague and transformed into monstrous creatures, as well as a wide cast of ultra-powerful, shape-shifting deities, too. This notion of spiritual affliction very much dovetails into traditional Chinese superstitions and myths around the effects that curses can have on both the human body and spirit.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Is Not For The Faint-Hearted

Though Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is firmly in the Souls-like camp from a design perspective, it also weaves elements of horror into its formative tapestry. Leaning into its central concept of bodily and spiritual corruption, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers’ tale of Wuchang, a pirate protagonist with amnesia who finds herself cursed by a mysterious Feathering disease which twists and corrupts her body as players progress through the game, is not for the faint-hearted. Neither, as it turns out, are the generous buckets of blood or the absolute throng of horrifically twisted and grotesque creatures. Make no mistake, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is gnarly in ways that horror fiends will eagerly lap up.

The Feathering Disease And Inner Demon Mechanics Are Central To Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Speaking of the Feathering disease, rather than just being some trite window dressing for the narrative, Wuchang’s titular plague has sizable gameplay ramifications that extend beyond the story. Tied directly into a ‘Madness’ system, the more damage or deaths Wuchang absorbs, the greater her affliction with the Feathering disease becomes, increasing Madness that, in turn, means that our protagonist can deal more damage but also take more damage, too. Interestingly, if Wuchang perishes while at a very high Madness level, a special inner demon will spawn on the spot of her death, possessing all of her powers and is required to be defeated by the player to reclaim precious Red Mercury (Wuchang’s version of XP currency) that would have been lost at the point of death.

It’s worth noting that the Madness system also goes hand in hand with Wuchang’s more traditional progression systems. This means specific abilities, perks, and even certain weapons can only be used when a certain level of Madness has been reached. Equally, some weapons can reach an even higher level of power if Wuchang’s Madness has been ratcheted up to the desired amount.

Wuchang Fallen Feathers

As you can probably well imagine, the way that the Feathering disease functions in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers lends itself to high-level play and, as a result, introduces a solid risk and reward element to the proceedings. As you become more and more proficient at evasion, do you ‘force’ deaths upon Wuchang to ramp up the Madness in an attempt to find that sweet spot of high damage output – knowing that you’ll take much more damage in turn – or, do you play things more conservatively and prize every single life and chunk of damage? Whatever you choose, it’s clear that Wuchang: Fallen Feathers provides players with ample and welcome freedom to dictate the damage they take and receive in this way.

Dodging And Managing Space Are Your Best Defences

Being able to dodge and dodge well is hardly a fresh concept when it comes to Souls-like games, but Wuchang: Fallen Feathers places a more focused emphasis upon it than many of its genre stablemates. In particular, perfect dodges when successfully pulled off award Wuchang with something called ‘Skyborn Might’, a special buff that allows her to temporarily let loose with highly damaging techniques and proves to be a valuable addition to her burgeoning arsenal of attacks.

It also isn’t quite enough to merely have good reflexes. In Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, having a solid awareness of distance and space, and more specifically, the furthest point at which an enemy attack can reach you, is crucial to survival. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers isn’t just about dodging – it’s about effectively managing your space so that you can counterattack effectively without leaving yourself open. So between the perfect dodging, the Skyborn Might attacks and the management of distance, the rhythm of combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is equal parts balletic, intelligent and wholly satisfying.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

A Beautifully Versatile Combat System That You Can Switch Up

In a manner not unlike the recently unveiled Nioh 3, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers allows its titular heroine to switch between two entirely different weapons during combat, offering up a wealth of playstyles and tactical approaches in any given combat situation. And this is something that you’ll be wanting to do often, too, as some weapons have particular attributes that make them more suited to certain encounters, such as faster, small blades that would be more suitable for faster foes, for example. Add in a sophisticated build system, bespoke weapon techniques and the aforementioned Skyborn Might and Madness systems, and it soon becomes clear that the combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is some of the most freewheeling and creative that we’ve seen in quite some time. In the increasingly crowded world of Souls-likes, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers emerges as a bold and refreshing entry – one that dares to challenge convention while embracing its heritage. Rooted deeply in Chinese history and mythology, and enriched by a haunting atmosphere and imaginative mechanics like the Madness system and inner demon battles, Wuchang doesn’t just replicate the genre’s greatest hits; it reimagines them. With its emphasis on precision dodging, versatile combat, and player-driven risk and reward, it invites both mastery and experimentation. If the genre needs a second wind, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers might just be the storm that brings it.

How Broken Arrow Redefines Large-Scale Real-Time Modern Warfare Tactics

One of the most promising PC RTS titles to come along in a good while, Broken Arrow from Russian developer Steel Balalaika rekindles the spirit of 2007 RTS World In Conflict for an all-new generation of tactical gamers. From its contemporary setting to its focus on combined arms, supply lines and unit customisation, here’s how Broken Arrow redefines large-scale, real-time modern warfare tactics on PC.

A Modern Setting For A Modern RTS

Both Broken Arrow’s cinematic single-player campaign and its various game modes are entirely wrapped around its very modern setting. Depicting a traditional armed conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation in the present day, Broken Arrow allows players to engage with a wide range of conventional warfighting apparatus, including tanks, helicopters, aircraft, artillery, drones, and long-range missiles.

Broken Arrow’s choice of a modern war setting also somewhat predictably permeates its various maps and battlefields. Whether you’re waging war across rural expanses, urban areas that are thick with complex structures or sprawling harbours, Broken Arrow offers up a veritable smorgasbord of unique map types for its particular brand of modern war to be waged across. To be clear then, this isn’t your dad’s RTS, this is your RTS for the time that you presently live in, and while I don’t know if that’s especially scary or not (it is a little bit, I guess), Broken Arrow certainly manages to capture the current landscape of traditional warfare with aplomb.

Broken Arrow

Bringing Combined Arms To The Fore In An RTS Played At Scale

As part of Broken Arrow’s embrace of a modern theatre of war, combined arms is very much at the forefront of its tactical design. In essence, this means that as a battlefield commander, you have to be adept at weaving together different unit types to create tactical synergies across land, sea and air. Another aspect of Broken Arrow’s modern setting is the sheer scale at which its numerous battles and skirmishes play out. With over 300 authentically designed military units and technologies to choose from, resulting in greater than 1,500 different combinations of squad and grouping types and with six key roles broadly spread across each faction, there is no shortage of creative latitude for wannabe armchair generals to wage war on their unfortunate foes.

In-Depth Per Unit Customisation Allows You To Personalise Your War

Beyond all of these unit types and combinations, Broken Arrow invites players to tweak, adjust and customise entire armies, whole squads and even individual units to their liking. In practice, this means that you can swap out things like different firearms and weapons for your boots on the ground, assign different missile types to your helicopters and even specify the sort of armour packages you would like your tanks to use. Put simply, Broken Arrow is all about making the player feel entirely in control of every aspect of the battle, and the extent to which customisation plays a key role cannot be overstated.

Managing Battlefield Resources Is All Part Of The Fun

Akin to World in Conflict, so many years before it, Broken Arrow also places a firm emphasis on resource management. In Broken Arrow, much like other RTS efforts, each unit has a very specific resource point value, which the player must have to purchase and use them, while ‘recycling’ these units also allows a portion of the original unit value to be returned to your war chest. So far, so RTS 101 then.

Broken Arrow

Where Broken Arrow looks to change things up a bit, however, is in its upkeep system, which seeks to balance out power and cost. Essentially, this means that the more units you have deployed on the battlefield at any one time, the lower the income for your coffers will be and as such, is a good mechanic for encouraging digital generals to spend and deploy more frugally, rather than just spitting out hundreds of units into battle without any kind of cost attached.

Another key aspect of how Broken Arrow deals with resource management is through its rather neat logistics and supply systems. Not only do units need to be close to your supply vehicles to be topped off with ordnance or health, but those vehicles which carry the lifeblood of your war effort must also be manually transported to where they are needed, adding an extra layer of tactical consideration to the whole process. In the end, this helps to shift Broken Arrow away from the traditional RTS model of building a base, spamming units into existence and then marching all of it towards the other side of the map, and instead impresses upon the player the need for shrewd resource management, tactical decision making and the fostering of an effective risk appetite for war.

A Powerful Scenario Editor That Separates Broken Arrow From The Competition

One of the biggest aces that Broken Arrow has up its digital sleeves when compared to its genre peers is its comprehensive scenario editor. A powerful tool indeed, Broken Arrow’s scenario editor allows players to create entire story-driven scenarios and missions complete with dialogue and cutscenes. Better yet, developer Steel Balalaika has said that the tool will require absolutely zero code to be written, essentially making the barrier nice and low for just about anybody to jump in and create their own war scenarios.

Not only will Broken Arrow’s scenario editor use existing maps (this is not a map editor, to be clear), but the unit placements, objectives, triggers, cutscenes and more are all entirely dictated by the player. Better yet, not only can these scenarios be used across Broken Arrow’s competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes, but all of this player-generated content can be uploaded to the Steam Workshop for ease of discovery by other players. Going forward, it certainly looks like this hugely ambitious scenario editor will give Broken Arrow some substantial legs in the weeks, months and even years after release. Huzzah!

Broken Arrow stands as a bold and thoughtful evolution of the real-time strategy genre. With its emphasis on modern combined-arms tactics, in-depth unit customisation, and resource management systems that reward strategic thinking over brute force, it offers a fresh yet familiar experience for veterans and newcomers alike. Coupled with a robust scenario editor that empowers players to craft and share their missions, Broken Arrow is built with longevity in mind, positioning itself as a dynamic and

Rematch: Switching Roundhouse Kicks for Goal Kicks

Whether it’s the studio’s debut title, Absolver, or the more recent Sifu, Parisian outfit Sloclap is no stranger to crafting games with educated feet at their core. Certainly keen to keep on heading down this particular avenue, Sloclap brings us Rematch, a stylish football (or soccer – for those across the pond) centric offering that combines key aspects of the Beautiful Game with Sloclap’s verve and flair. Whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool, season ticket owning, scarf-wrapped football fan, or just an appreciator of ultra-responsive, super stylish sports games in general, online multiplayer footy effort Rematch has something for everybody and is shaping up to be the next big thing. Here’s why.

Authentic Football With More Than A Dash Of Arcade Sensibilities

Though the likes of EA FC and Konami’s eFootball games are very much framed through a simulation-like lens, there is ample room for other football titles to take a less rigorous angle on the game, and this is precisely where Rematch comes in. Designed to simplify a regular game of football, but not dilute the mastery of it, Rematch makes several changes to the typical football video game formula that will feel refreshing to old and new football fans alike.

The first and most obvious change is that, rather than the usual eleven players to a side concept seen in a regular game of footie, Rematch instead elects to trim both teams down to a maximum five players a side, resulting in each match essentially creating a much faster-paced game of football as a direct result. Oh, and the futuristic virtual reality style arenas add a further dash of arcade goodness to the proceedings too, lending Rematch a colourfully energetic and vivid aesthetic that you wouldn’t normally see in traditional football titles. Think FIFA Street meets Rocket League, and you’re part of the way there.

Rematch

Controlling A Single Player Brings Total Responsibility, Reinforces Teamwork

Another seismic shift in design that takes Rematch away from the orbit of its genre contemporaries is how it deals with team control. As each game can be played in 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 variants, players each find themselves in control of a single footballer, rather than being able to cycle through the whole team on the fly as you would normally expect to see elsewhere. What this means is that every player has an immutable role in every given game, encouraging everyone involved to truly specialise as a defender, striker or goalkeeper in a way that other football games can’t boast. Of course, the flip side of this is that with each player inhabiting different roles, tight-knit teamwork and coordination are paramount to success. Y’know, like a real game of football.

An Intimate, Third-Person Camera Puts You At The Heart Of The Game

Though perhaps not quite as considerable as the previously aforementioned changes, Rematch alters the camera perspective in a new and interesting way that helps to support its ambitions. With less than half of the players on the pitch than you would normally see in a more traditional game of football, there is ample room for the camera to take a much more active and intimate role. By sitting behind the player that is being controlled, the camera in Rematch lends the proceedings a much more intense and immediate sensation, making you feel much more like you’re part of the action rather than viewing the entire game from an elevated sky camera.

Real World Skill, Not Stats, Makes The Game

In Rematch, there are no stats, no player perks and no abilities. Indeed, there are just two metrics by which govern how your team and player will perform – your own skill and how well you can work as a team. Regarding the former, Rematch affords players a massive, accessible toolkit of moves and tricks that can be easily performed on the pitch. Thanks in part to the ultra-responsive controls, Rematch provides players with the latitude to pull off all manner of lightning-fast headers, overhead kicks, slides, foot switches, and so much more besides.

Rematch

Much like real football, Rematch is all about accuracy, reaction times, and expertly stringing together dodges, passes and shots in response to the on-pitch action. In Rematch, you become elite because you’ve put the time in to reach such a high standard and not because you happen to be controlling a player that boasts higher stat numbers than others on the pitch. This also means that folks who haven’t played football games before can hop right in and begin their journey to football super stardom. Rematch isn’t just for the elite, it’s for everybody who wishes to become elite. Put simply, Rematch gives you all of the power and all of the tools of a football megastar, but lets you master them on your own accord. More of this, please, footy game developers.

If The Rules Don’t Help The Game, They Get The Boot

Neatly dovetailing with its ambitions to streamline the Beautiful Game in video game form, Rematch also takes a hammer, rather than a scalpel, to some of the real-life rules, too. Essentially, any rule that might otherwise slow down or halt play has been jettisoned in Rematch. This means no offsides, no fouls, no penalties, no throw-ins, no goal kicks and certainly no pauses. There is just the ball, the play and your momentum (or lack thereof). That’s it.

Every Season Is Football Season

In a similar vein to other online multiplayer PvP efforts such as the estimable Rocket League, Rematch is already putting plans in place to deliver free seasonal content to players from launch. In practical terms, this means not only a wealth of new cosmetics, arenas and so on, but new game modes, tournaments and leaderboards too. I’d not rule out possible collaborations with real-life footballers further down the road, either. On day one, Rematch will already boast an array of competitive modes, tournaments and leagues, with cross-play both with and against players from other platforms set to arrive some time after launch.

In a genre often dominated by realism and stats-heavy simulations, Rematch breaks away with bold confidence, offering a more immediate, expressive, and player-driven take on football. It’s a game where style meets substance, where slick footwork and fast thinking take precedence over meta builds and stat sheets. With its focus on individual skill, streamlined rules, and team-centric gameplay, Sloclap’s latest creation isn’t just rewriting the rules of football games – it’s redefining who gets to feel like a star on the pitch. Whether you’re chasing glory with friends or just looking to express your love for the game in a new way, Rematch is shaping up to be a fresh and thrilling evolution of the sport

Skin Deep Mini-Review: An Immersive Sim with Cats, Floating Heads, and Sass

Immersive sims are those glorious games where just about any weird idea you cook up somehow works. Think Deus Ex, Prey, or Streets of Rogue – all prime examples of the genre. While their vibes vary wildly, what really ties them together is the sheer freedom they offer. Skin Deep is the latest entry in this chaotic club, and it brings a style that’s entirely its own.

Skin Deep Mini-Review

Skin Deep casts you as an insurance commando tasked with repelling space pirates who’ve boarded your ship. You start the mission fresh out of cryo-freeze and ready to raise hell… well, sort of. Weapons aren’t exactly lying around, so at first, you’ll be relying on boxes of pepper, rogue bananas, and the occasional assist from a cat. It’s absurd, yes, and it only gets weirder from there. So don’t sweat the underpowered start; the chaos ramps up fast.

As an added twist, enemies don’t stay dead for long in Skin Deep; they can resurrect themselves, which means you’ll need to grab their floating heads and find creative ways to dispose of them. Sometimes that means chucking a head out of an airlock; other times, it’s a one-way trip down a toilet. There’s not much dignity left in space piracy these days. Hopefully the pay’s good, otherwise you’re getting flushed for nothing.

Things start off fairly linear,  but the world opens up pretty quickly, and you’re encouraged to approach everything in any way you can think of. Skin Deep is a game about turning carnage into art, and failures into success, and it’s just a sublime experience from start to finish. If you’re someone who always wants to test boundaries in games, then you’re going to absolutely adore this game and everything it offers.

Indie Video Game Round-Up – June 2025

June is set to be dominated by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, which arrives alongside a flood of re-releases, remasters, and more. And while that’s undoubtedly going to grab most of the spotlight, plenty of us won’t be jumping aboard just yet; mostly because, let’s be honest, it’s not exactly cheap.

That’s where we come in. As always, we’re here to highlight some of the coolest indie games hitting digital shelves this month. It’s a mixed bunch, but we’ve dug up some genuinely intriguing titles worth your time. Strangely enough, a couple of them are even tied to major film franchises, which is a rare and welcome twist. Let’s dive in.

Midnight Mayhem - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Midnight Mayhem – 3rd June

Midnight Mayhem has you and a bunch of other survivors trying to get through the night as an invisible monster hunts you down. The good news is that the monster is controlled by another player; the bad news is that the monster constantly gets new abilities, so you never know what you need to defend against. It seems like pure chaos and fear, and we’re totally here for it.

Ultra Mega Cats - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Ultra Mega Cats – 3rd June

Ultra Mega Cats seems to be aiming to be Risk of Rain meets cats. That means it’s a third-person shooter where you get to choose from multiple different cats, shoot a lot of things to try and survive, and overcome the evils in the world. Actually, you’re trying to break out of jail in this one, so that’s a nice change of space. The game looks cool, and there is also a demo available now!

Dune Awakening - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Dune: Awakening – 10th June

Dune: Awakening is a massive multiplayer survival game set on the harsh, iconic desert world of Arrakis – the legendary backdrop of Dune. You’ll need to scavenge resources, build futuristic space buildings, and navigate the ever-shifting sands. You will also need to figure out how to navigate faction dynamics, form alliances with other players, and avoid the massive sandworms, too.

Tron Catalyst - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Tron: Catalyst – 17th June

Tron: Catalyst is the next game from Bithell Games, the team behind incredible story-based puzzle games like Thomas Was Alone and John Wick: Hex. Tron: Catalyst lets you enjoy a mix of story and action as you take control of Exo, a special program which wields the Glitch as a weapon. You’ll even get to muck about with Light Cycles.

Battle Train - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Battle Train – 18th June

Battle Train is a roguelike deckbuilder where you’re in charge of a train (yes, a literal battle train) and it’s every bit as fun as it sounds. Set within the framework of a deadly game show, you’ll face off against eccentric hosts and rival contestants, all while trying to ensure your train is the last one rolling at the end of each round. It looks delightful and has a real “90s Saturday morning cartoon” kind of vibe.

Crown Gambit - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Crown Gambit – 18th June

Crown Gambit is an interactive fiction game where you must try to find out who killed the king. It’s got a beautiful Grimdark art style that makes it look like a deeply twisted pop-up book, and it’s all about trying to make the right decisions and survive through not only the politics of it all, but also some card fights as well.

Ourider Mako - Indie Video Games Round-up June 2025

Outrider Mako – 23rd June

Finally, there’s Outrider Mako, a 2D action game where you take down enemies by jumping on them and explore the mysterious Mayoi World. This strange realm is packed with gods and monsters, and it’s your job to track down the items the gods desire and deliver them in charming little packages. It looks wonderfully odd and full of personality – we’ve got high hopes for this one.

How The Alters Combines Personal Turmoil And Survival In A Delectable Sci-Fi Offering

Let’s be clear: when it comes to survival games, few developers understand the genre as well as 11 Bit Studios does. Arguably, the reason for this is that rather than crafting some dry, inoffensively bland genre effort, the talented Polish outfit instead infuses its thoughtful takes on the strategy survival genre with a very human, emotional core that separates them from any other developer out there. From This War of Mine to Frostpunk and its most recent sequel, 11 Bit Studios has long made a habit of blending personal turmoil and survival mechanics in super interesting ways and with its latest effort, The Alters, they’ve done it again. If you’re a fan of 11 Bit Studios’ past work – or simply looking for deeper, more ambitious survival games – The Alters is shaping up to be the next big thing.

A Terrifying, Murderous Sun Is The Big Bad

In The Alters, players take control of Jan Dolski, a resourceful miner who finds himself stranded on a hostile planet where the sun is powerful enough to provide anything living with an instantly lethal dose of radiation. Much like a memorable sequence in the underrated Chronicles of Riddick that has Vin Diesel attempting to outrun a murderous sun, so too does The Alters employ a similar idea – essentially reversing the role of the sun as a life giver into an indiscriminate death dealer. Yeah, Boots’ own brand E45 sun cream isn’t going to cut it here.

The Alters

The Great Thing About Being Me Is, There Are So Many Me’s

In a bid to keep himself alive, Jan realises that he needs to pilot a mobile, wheel-shaped base across the surface of the planet to avoid the sun’s deathly rays. Of course, Jan is just one fella, and the wheelbase is massive, so this is where the mysterious chemical compound known as Rapidium comes in. Much more than just a cool-sounding name, Rapidium allows Jan to create the titular ‘Alters’, which appear at first glance to be clones of Jan himself, which is handy for trying to keep a mahoosive wheelbase up and running. The problem is, they’re a lot more than that.

Taking The Mickey 17

In a similar fashion to Bong Joon Ho’s excellent Mickey 17, each Alter isn’t a straightforward copy of Jan, but rather an alternate version of him based on a particular set of different decisions that were made at key points in his life. This means that not only does each Alter have their strengths, weaknesses and unique skills which would be useful for maintaining the base, gathering resources, providing scientific solutions and so on, but they also have their own personalities too, which provide the personal turmoil which sits at the heart of The Alters.

You see, every Alter has their own needs, fears and emotions and much like the ragged survivalist civilians seen in This War of Mine, or the burgeoning throng of desperate folks in Frostpunk, these needs, fears and emotions must be met, lest there be consequences. For example, one Alter might be especially proficient at solving particular problems but might also desire simply to have some face-to-face time with his fellow Alter. Failing to satisfy this need, however, will mean that this particular Alter will begin to slow down in the fulfilment of their duties, before beginning to act out and then eventually rebel completely against your commands.

The Alters

The core of this mechanic is the Brain Map, a handy central point of reference that shows the current memories Jan has, in addition to the memories he doesn’t. By using Rapidium and other materials, Jan can create these alternate memories from the paths never taken and create new Alters as a result. Certainly, the whole situation is fraught with ethical considerations – are these Alters their own people? Do they have their own thoughts, feelings and emotions? Do they respond to how you talk and treat them? The answer to all of those questions is a big fat, morally grey ‘yes’.

And this represents what is essentially just the tip of what is a very big, socially-linked iceberg, too. The Alters is far more than just the sum of your individual interactions with each of your Alters; it’s also about how they act with each other, how they work (or don’t work) as a community and having to deal with moral compass realigning decisions on the fly that can really, really punch you in the gut. You can expect a lot of moral gut-punching, too – this is an 11 Bit Studios game after all.

A World Filled With Deadly Opportunity

Even though The Alters is very much about this balancing act between personal turmoil, social cohesion and survival, there is a whole heap of exploration to be done as well. The planet that Jan finds himself stranded on is quite the melting pot of chaotic insanity and deadly opportunity. If the skin-blasting sun and terrifying magnetic storms weren’t enough, Jan’s newfound home is also an unexpected bounty of bespoke biomes filled with secrets to be unearthed and precious minerals to be extracted.

The Alters

Given the volatility and ever-present threat that this planet presents, such rewards go hand in hand with a whole range of additional dangers beyond the ones already mentioned. As it turns out, the planet is riddled with all manner of bizarre anomalies which can not only cause instant death (as if there was a shortage of that in the first place), but can also have psychological effects on Jan and his Alters, disrupting their relationships and introducing yet more turmoil to the proceedings.

As such, exploration in The Alters certainly embraces a risk and reward dynamic in much the same way that previous 11 Bit Studios titles did. Do you push the envelope and force your increasingly unstable Alters out further into the world in search of precious materials and secrets every so often, or do you play it safer, inching your way across the planet’s surface for incremental gains more frequently?

In The Alters, 11 Bit Studios has once again crafted a deeply human survival experience full of emotional complexity, this time wrapped in sci-fi spectacle. With its lethal solar menace, morally murky cloning mechanics, and a planet teeming with both promise and peril, the game doesn’t just challenge your strategic thinking; it demands your empathy, too. It asks what it means to survive not just physically, but psychologically and ethically, when every decision can unravel a delicate social fabric. If This War of Mine made you care about nameless civilians and Frostpunk forced impossible leadership choices, The Alters takes that legacy further, putting your very sense of self under the microscope. It’s survival not just against the elements, but against your own fractured identity – and that might be the toughest enemy of all.

Why PC Players Should Be Excited For Stellar Blade’s Upcoming Arrival

Though a quick look around the PC gaming scene might suggest that third-person actioners with an emphasis on melee combat are hardly rarified air, Stellar Blade from Korean developer Shift Up stands out from the crowd on account of being a rather special offering. From its ultra-glossy visual presentation and extraordinarily satisfying combat through to its audacious embrace of provocative sex appeal and ultra-violence, here is why PC players should be excited for Stellar Blade’s imminent arrival.

A Captivating Sci-Fi Tale Of Vengeance, Betrayal And Alien Invasions

Much more than some hyperactive and hollow action extravaganza, Stellar Blade weaves a compelling setting and narrative tapestry upon which its more visceral exploits sit. In the far-flung future, Earth has found itself ruined and almost destroyed by a race of vicious alien creatures known as Naytibas. Forcing the remnants of humanity to flee to a colony orbiting the planet, the forces of mankind begin their ferocious fight to retake Earth by sending down squads of enhanced warriors to carve a path through the Naytiba menace.

Stellar Blade

The main protagonist, Eve, counts herself among such an elite cadre of warriors and duly makes her way to Earth as part of the 7th Airborne Squad, keen to lend aid in the effort to retake the planet. Tragically, however, her entire squad is eliminated during the operation, leaving Eve as the only survivor. Forced to find a desperate conclave of humanity on the surface of the Earth, Eve treks across the desolate planet surface, befriending Lily and Adam along the way, a seemingly friendly engineer and scavenger duo, whilst the mysterious origins of the Naytiba invasion are brought to terrifying light.

Easily One Of The Most Visually Stunning Third-Person Action Games Ever Made

There’s no getting around it – Stellar Blade is an almost boundlessly gorgeous game that fuses technical spectacle and a beguiling art style like no other entry in the third-person action adventure genre. Pushing Unreal Engine 4 to its absolute limit (yep, that’s UE4, *not* UE5), Stellar Blade is a treat for the peepers with downright beautiful environments that are ably augmented in turn by some of the most detailed and smoothly animated character models you’ll ever see.

Aside from its soaring technical merits, Stellar Blade’s art direction is also very much due an equal heap of praise. Starting with the environments, Stellar Blade’s team of artists have done a stellar (pun intended) job of depicting a far future Earth where the neon-lit, mechanical ruins of humanity simultaneously intersect with an encroaching Mother Nature looking to reclaim her domain as well as the Naytiba corruption that is threaded through almost every part of the world.

Stellar Blade

In terms of the character models, Stellar Blade’s Korean pedigree very much shines through here with striking, ultra-attractive character models whose allure is set in sharp relief against the endlessly grotesque, yet visually astounding Naytiba enemies. And of course, if you’ve seen even just a little of Stellar Blade, you’ll know that titillation abounds throughout, with ample fan service on the character design of Eve in particular allowing Shift Up to show off some rather advanced jiggle physics.

PC Improvements Out The Wazoo

In very much sticking with the pattern set by previous PlayStation Studio titles that have landed on PC, Stellar Blade brings with it a whole heap of PC centric improvements to make folks feel at least a little less miserable about spending a chunky four figures on their latest shiny new GPU. In real terms, this means that Stellar Blade on PC will bring such expected upgrades as unlock frame rates, support for ultrawide displays (ranging from 5:4 to 32:9 ratio screens), higher resolution textures and of course full support for DLSS 4 and FSR 3 upscaling techniques to allow for the best image quality possible. It’s also worth noting that with Stellar Blade running on Unreal Engine 4, it also stands to reason that you wouldn’t necessarily need to have a cutting-edge PC rig to get a decently playable and enjoyable experience either.

Pixel Perfect Combat That Stands Shoulder To Shoulder With The Best In The Genre

Even though Stellar Blade is very much a visual spectacle with style to spare, there is also a great third-person action game lurking underneath all of those glossy curves and hyper-detailed environments. Broadly speaking, the combat in Stellar Blade plays out like an enticing mix of the hyper-kinetic exploits of something like Devil May Cry and the more challenging beats of From Software’s Dark Souls series and is extremely satisfying as a result.

Stellar Blade

Eve can not only mix up acrobatic melee combinations and split-second evasions together, but she can also unleash numerous charged attacks and ranged strikes, too, all of which can be augmented and upgraded through Stellar Blade’s compelling progression system. Ultimately, this lends Stellar Blade’s combat a real sense of versatility that you don’t really see in many similar efforts. Oh, and a word about Stellar Blade’s boss encounters. Often screen-filling affairs, the various big bads that Eve finds herself tangling with are both challenging and downright butt-ugly in equal measure, making their eventual defeat all the more rewarding. Put simply, Stellar Blade is much more than a pretty face – there’s a resoundingly solid and compelling combat system sitting beneath its attractive veneer, too.

Worlds That Beg You To Explore Every Nook And Cranny

Much more than just a boss rush or linear enemy masher, Stellar Blade provides players with sufficient freedom to explore the various opulent worlds that surround them, and it’s here that Shift Up’s breakthrough title also shines. Entwined with Stellar Blade’s progression system, there’s an evergreen temptation to want to explore every corner of a given map in order to tease out its hidden treasure, loot caches and more to bolster Eve’s equipment and abilities. Like all the best examples of this approach to exploration, Stellar Blade often teases the player with shiny goodies that are seemingly just out of reach, encouraging them to work out how to get there and obtain these sweet rewards.

Battlefield 2 At 20 – How Battlefield 2 Placed EA’s Shooter On The Map For Decades To Come

With twenty years on the clock since its initial release in June 2005, EA’s Battlefield 2 still occupies a place of fondness in the hearts of PC gamers who have been initiated with its heady quality – and for good reason, too. Certainly, it’s no coincidence that with the release of every new Battlefield title, comparisons are drawn with Battlefield 2. So with that in mind, on its 20th anniversary, here’s how Battlefield 2 kept EA’s FPS franchise in the hearts and minds of millions for decades to come.

Moving Into The Modern Era Of Warfare

After Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam gave players a chance to engage in historical warfare across two of humanity’s most high-profile conflicts, Battlefield 2 instead decided to throw players into a much more contemporary, albeit near-future, theatre of conflict. In Battlefield 2, players find themselves choosing between three sides: China, the United States and the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC) within the context of a near-future theatre of war.

Leaving the old MP40, M1 rifles and clunky vehicles of previous games behind, Battlefield 2 by dint of its much more modern setting, brought all manner of evolved battle tanks, APCs, light armoured vehicles, boats, attack helicopters, UAVs and fighter jets in addition to a vast range of automatic firearms, grenade launchers, anti-tank sniper rifles and much more besides. The future of warfare had finally arrived and brought with it all-new high-tech ways for players to lay waste to each other.

Battlefield 2

An All-New Modern Game Engine Built With Warfare In Mind

Aside from the obvious change in setting, one area in which Battlefield 2 handily outstrips both its predecessors and other FPS efforts on the market was in the game engine that it used to power its warmongering shenanigans. Not only did this new engine (known as the Refractor 2 Engine), bring the expected uptick in graphical fidelity with much more highly detailed environments, more lifelike and better animated character models with a range of more realistic vehicles but it also introduced a degree of environmental building destruction to the series for the first time.

Another boon for Battlefield 2 embracing this new technology was that about material penetration. Essentially, the Refactor 2 Engine could simulate levels of composition density in various cover materials, making it easier or harder for certain weapons to shoot or otherwise blast through them. Though neat in concept, in practice, this also added an additional level of tactical anxiety to the proceedings, not least because if you were behind cover, you needed to be sure that the cover would be sufficiently durable to protect you from enemy fire.

No More Infinite Sprinting Or Fixed Resource Pickups

Though certainly a relatively smaller advancement in the series when compared to the changes in setting and game engine, Battlefield 2 also made a great number of meaningful alterations to the low-level gameplay side of things, too. Not only was a new stamina system in place to prevent players from running and jumping endlessly like deranged rabbits on crack, but fixed ammo and health replenishment boxes also went the way of the dodo, instead requiring players of the Support, Medic and Commander roles to supply those drops to their troops on the fly. Pointedly, by making key resources such as health and ammo a distributable item between soldiers, Battlefield 2 embedded the first real notion of creating rudimentary supply sanctuaries and front-line supply areas that made players think twice before recklessly plonking down such precious resources.

Battlefield 2

Overhauled Squad System Mechanics Underscore Essential Cooperation

More than any Battlefield title before it, Battlefield 2 took a figurative hammer and chisel to its squad system, overhauling it in all sorts of meaningful ways to bring it kicking and screaming into what was then the current day. Squads in Battlefield 2 weren’t just made up of six players, but each squad also boasted a squad leader who had a direct line of communication to the Commander by a dedicated VoIP channel. As an added boon, squad members could also spawn on their squad leader (assuming they were alive), to help in speeding up the capture of enemy control points and the breaching of enemy positions. Being in a squad and functioning like a well-oiled unit meant something in Battlefield 2, and it’s an aspect of the series that has endured, in one form or another, throughout its lifetime.

Commander Mode Allowed Players To Realise Their Strategic Ambitions

One of the most striking innovations that Battlefield 2 brought to the series (and sadly, one that has been lost in its more recent outings) was the Commander Mode. Here, players who assumed the singular role of Commander for their side could communicate directly to squad leaders using Battlefield 2’s new VoIP system, in addition to providing and marking supply drops on the map and deploying support assets such as UAVs and artillery strikes onto the Battlefield. The implementation of the Commander Mode in Battlefield 2 meant that players who weren’t necessarily all that jazzed about being on the frontline could instead take a backseat of sorts and enjoy a much more tactical role, broadening the appeal of Battlefield 2 in such a way that its genre peers struggled (and continue to struggle) to match.

Persistent Player Progression Is Here To Stay

One other feature that Battlefield 2 would bring to the table that would later be co-opted not just by future instalments in the franchise, but also in titles from competing series, too, is the notion of persistent player progression. Realised through a tiered ranking system where players could work their way from the lowly rank of Recruit to that of General, Battlefield 2 rewarded players with ranking points earned by killing enemies, supporting team members with healing and ammo resupplies and completing objectives. Put simply, the more points you earned, the quicker you rose the ranks, and this was in addition to special ribbons, pins, medals and unlockable gear that could be earned along the way. Quite unlike any genre effort before it, Battlefield 2 thoroughly incentivised its progression system in smart and thoughtful ways. More keenly, this also made the idea of being a ‘lone wolf’ less attractive, as the system was all about making everyone who participated feel like they could actively contribute to both the macro progression of the battle itself, as well as the micro progression of their own individual soldiers.

Battlefield 2

Two decades later, Battlefield 2 remains a defining pillar not just of the Battlefield franchise but of the multiplayer FPS genre as a whole. Its bold leap into modern warfare, groundbreaking engine innovations, and forward-thinking gameplay systems – from squad-based tactics to persistent player progression – set a new standard for what online shooters could be. More than just a product of its time, Battlefield 2 anticipated the future of multiplayer gaming, building a blueprint that countless titles would follow for decades to come.

Indie Game Round-Up – May 2025

Mayday, mayday, we’ve got a whole heap of new indie games coming our way. That’s right, the start of a new month is yet another chance to look ahead and find some incredible-looking indie games to dive into. This month is kind of stacked as well, so if you’re looking for something to play, you really won’t have to look hard. In fact, we’re going to do you a solid and find a bunch for you. 

Here, you’ll find a list of some of the most interesting and exciting indie games coming in May, and it turns out we’ve got a lot of action coming up. Maybe it’s so that everyone can get their hands “beach body ready” or something? We’re not really fussed as to why, but we are excited to talk about this month’s slate of indie games, so let’s get to it.

Vellum – 2nd May

Vellum has been in Early Access for a little over a year at this point, and the good news is it’s an incredible take on the roguelike action game. Similar to Risk of Rain 2, but with smaller levels and a more focused and player-led meta-progression, you take control of ink-infused characters who can dole out damage using magical spells. Quick tip: Mixing and matching those spells can lead to some pretty amazing builds.

Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree – 8th May

Bahamut and the Waqwaw Tree is a touch more chilled than the other options on this list. This is a 2D adventure game with its lore all based on Arabian mythology, giving you a chance to dive into an incredible underwater world that’s been corrupted by darkness. You’ll have to explore and save this realm if you want to stay alive, and oh, it all looks absolutely gorgeous.

Empyreal – 8th May

Empyreal is a game full of mysteries. You find yourself on a strange planet that’s being explored by something called the Expedition, which is checking out an enormous Monolith – a massive structure built by a lost civilisation. You’ll need to fight your way through dungeons and navigate complex NPC quests and personalities to discover what’s going on.

Revenge of the Savage Planet – 8th May

Revenge of the Savage Planet is the follow-up to 2020’s Journey to the Savage Planet, a deeply satirical and cynical take on capitalism and exploration. This time round, we have the luxury of co-op and provided the follow-up manages to master the same sense of humour and entertaining collectable gameplay, we’re certain it’ll be a blast. Plus, it’s a shot in the arm of pure colour, which can be nice these days. 

Monster Train 2 – 21st May

Monster Train is one of the best deckbuilding roguelikes ever made, and if you’ve never played it, you’re missing out. The good news, though, is that Monster Train 2 is coming in May, and it’s looking to build on the original with more variety, some new clans to muck around with, and a few more modes thrown in for good measure. Expect great things from this one. 

Blades of Fire – 22nd May

Blades of Fire is a Soulslike action game that has you playing as Aran de Lira as he tries to discover and master his fate. The real bit of intrigue here, though, is that you get to craft your weapons and keep upgrading them like that as you go. As long as it does that well, we’re expecting this game to be a standout of the month, and possibly the year.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 – 29th May

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 is the final entry in the trilogy that has you taking control of absurdly large mechs in tough battles. The story for the first two games is amazing, and they’re worth playing too, but apparently, you won’t need to have played them to enjoy the final entry. This game’s sure to have a stunning story and some serious spectacle to its fights, so is as good of a starting point as any.

How Lost Soul Aside Combines Devil May Cry Combat And Final Fantasy Style Characters Into A Tremendous Hybrid

If, when you hear ‘Lost Soul Aside’, your ears prick up and something akin to a pinging sound rings in the back of your mind, I wouldn’t blame you. Originally announced all the way back in 2016(!), with development kicking off two years prior, Lost Soul Aside has for the longest time been a labour of love from just a single Chinese developer, Yang Bing, who had his debut title picked up as part of Sony’s China Hero Initiative before being published by Sony Interactive Entertainment itself. With more than eleven years of development time on the clock and with a fleshed-out development team behind the wheel, here’s how Lost Soul Aside looks to meld Devil May Cry-style combat and Final Fantasy-style characters into a delectable genre hybrid.

A Kaleidoscope Of Final Fantasy Flavoured Influences

It only takes the most fleeting of glances at any footage from Lost Soul Aside before your brain tells your eyes ‘Oh yep, that definitely looks like Final Fantasy.’ As it turns out, though, creator Yang Bing has made no secret that elements of Square-Enix’s cornerstone JRPG franchise have been explicitly threaded through Lost Soul Aside’s visual makeup (specifically Final Fantasy XV), with its exceedingly photogenic cast of heroes and villains looking like they’ve stepped straight out of Eos. 

It’s not just the slender, gothically garbed and relatively androgynous look of the main protagonist, Kaser, that Lost Soul Aside lovingly echoes from Final Fantasy XV and more broadly, the designs of the legendary Tetsuya Nomura, since the various monsters in Lost Soul Aside also draw from a similar pool of inspiration. Often screen-filling creations with spectacle and extravagance to spare, the numerous bad beasties of Lost Soul Aside are blessed with equally retina-stroking presentation as the heroes that seek to lay them low.

Of course, writing a love letter to the vainglorious veneer of the recent entries in the Final Fantasy series is one thing, but Lost Soul Aside also takes ample inspiration from the narrative stakes as well. Casting players as Kaser, a warrior of immense power, Lost Soul Aside sees his world invaded by interdimensional creatures known as the Voidrax that are hellbent on erasing all life in the universe by sucking out the souls of their intended victims. As it turns out one of these victims is Kaser’s sister Louisa and so an epic odyssey begins where our main protagonist, aided by an enigmatic, symbiotic-like companion named Arena that can shapeshift into different weapons, cuts a swathe across a devastated world to get her back, whilst an authoritarian organisation known as the Church attempts to stop Kaser in his tracks. 

Compellingly Acrobatic Combat Dante Would Be Proud Of

In addition to delving into the depths of the Final Fantasy series for its visual style and narrative flavour, Lost Soul Aside also takes cues from another legendary Japanese-developed franchise. With more than a nod in the direction of Capcom’s Devil May Cry titles, Lost Soul Aside fully embraces the sort of hyperkinetic and blisteringly fast combat that is so readily associated with the house that Dante built. Such inspirations are felt as soon as combat begins, as the music swells with a thrumming operatic nu-metal style soundtrack that settles into the sort of foot-tapping pulsating beat that fans of Devil May Cry will be more than a little familiar with. 

Broadly speaking, Kaser engages his opponents with his trusty sword and, as well as stringing together all manner of neat-looking combinations, can also swiftly parry and evade incoming strikes, not to mention launch enemies in the air for some eye-opening juggle combinations. Further into the game, Kaser can also unlock additional abilities that allow him to cast out waves of energy and elemental magic to hit enemies at a distance as well. So far, so Devil May Cry then. Where Lost Soul Aside seeks to separate itself somewhat, however, is in how Kaser’s erstwhile companion, Arena, figures into the combat side of things.

Always following Kaser around the battlefield, Arena can augment itself with our hero, providing him with access to all manner of weapons on the fly, including massive tentacled whips, thudding hammers, smashing maces, and so much more. Think of a more calm, less chaotic version of Marvel’s Venom that can be bonded and unbonded at will, and you’re basically there. Of course the upshot of Arena’s modular and flexible approach to combat is that it dovetails directly into the functional design of the various enemies and bosses you’ll face, meaning that some foes will be more susceptible to the use of particular Arena weapon configurations, whereas others (and particularly bosses), will require a creatively broader approach that necessitates switching between all of these weapon types at a moment’s notice. 

As an aside (no pun intended), it’s also worth noting that beyond just Kaser’s choice of wardrobe, the combat in Lost Soul Aside also draws from Final Fantasy XV’s main protagonist, Noctis, a touch too, since Kaser can generously teleport around the battlefield to either engage enemies quickly, or evade incoming attacks. 

Arguably, though, the biggest way in which the combat of Lost Soul Aside pays homage to the Devil May Cry titles is in its rapidity. Blisteringly fast, Kaser’s many combat encounters play out in balletic fashion. Enabled by an ultra-responsive level of command input, players can dash, teleport, evade, leap, strike and morph their armaments during battle in a split second, lending Lost Soul Aside the sort of nerve-fraying and frenetic combat beats that Capcom’s Devil May Cry series has embodied for decades.

Ultimately, the end result is that not only do you end up with combat that looks flashy on the surface and lovingly echoes that of Capcom’s legendary Devil May Cry franchise, but so too do we get a deeply mechanical system of high-octane violence that is surprisingly layered and agile, too. Put simply, if you happen to exist in that Venn diagram overlap of Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry fandom, then Lost Soul Aside is shaping up to be achingly essential.

Haste Mini-Review: A Platforming Roguelike With Big Sonic Vibes

Ever played Sonic and thought, “What if this were a super stylish roguelike?” Honestly, it’s not such a wild idea. There’s just something magical about that feeling of the world whipping past you, and while Sonic may be the undisputed champ of speed, a few indie games manage to capture that same thrill in their own unique ways. The latest? Haste.


Haste is all about one thing: outrunning the end of the universe. And yeah, you’ve gotta be really fast to do that. Luckily, you are. Beyond your regular sprint, you can hold down the run button to pause for a second, then blast off like a rocket. You’re so fast, in fact, that a huge part of the game is built around launching off ramps for huge air time, then sticking the landing to keep that sweet momentum flowing.

It only gets better as you progress. You’ll unlock and master slick abilities, like a killer surfboard that cranks your speed even higher, and gather items to fine-tune your build. By the time you’re deep into a run, you’re gliding across the landscape like wind. Even early on, though, you’ll feel smooth and fluid, like water just finding its path.

There aren’t many games that can make you feel totally in control while tearing through the world at breakneck speeds—but Haste nails it. The wind roars in your ears, the scenery becomes a blur, and yet you can still see what’s ahead, weaving through danger like you’ve done it a hundred times. And the best part? It’s a roguelike—so once it gets its hooks in you, there’s always a reason to go back for just one more run.

How FromSoftware Is About To Create The Most Accessible Soulslike Ever With Elden Ring Nightreign

For a long time, Soulslike games – especially those created by pioneers of the genre, FromSoftware – have had an intimidating aura. While not outright hostile to the average gamer unfamiliar with their cryptic and sometimes obscure design, they’ve certainly felt unwelcoming. These games are, after all, supposed to be routinely challenging and punishing offerings that are not consciously directed at the mainstream. Looking to change things up in this regard, Elden Ring Nightreign seeks to maintain the high degrees of mastery associated with Soulslike efforts while also providing a tempting on-ramp of sorts for newcomers that have yet to dip a toe in these swampy waters. As such, this is how FromSoftware is about to create the most accessible Soulslike ever with Elden Ring Nightreign.

Multiplayer First, Single-Player Second

A markedly different proposition than Elden Ring itself, Elden Ring Nightreign instead channels the core design of the former into an all-new, multiplayer-focused experience, which naturally has a sizable knock-on effect on its learning curve. A standalone title that takes place within the Elden Ring universe, Nightreign has between one and three players embarking on a quest to take down a ruling boss of that particular night before darkness swamps the land. 

Being very much geared towards the multiplayer side of things (you can play Nightreign solo but it would be a lonely experience), Elden Ring Nightreign allows players to support each other, share Runes (Nightreign’s version of experience points) and combine their classes to create unique synergies that are key for overcoming Nightreign’s challenging boss encounters. With help never far away and cooperation running through every strand of its design DNA, Elden Ring Nightreign is arguably the most welcoming a Soulslike effort has been since the inception of the subgenre.

Streamlined Class Selection Allows Newcomers To Hop Right In

With both Elden Ring and the numerous Dark Souls titles that have come to pass, actually picking out a class and completely understanding its various strengths, weaknesses, and other eccentricities isn’t a straightforward process, especially for newcomers. Elden Ring Nightreign hopes to address that issue directly by introducing beginner-friendly Nightfarer classes that have a clear set of skills, abilities and playstyle. 

The hulking Guardian Nightfarer class, for example, has a ton of HP and great defence stats, making it an attractive choice for first-timers that don’t necessarily want to get one or two-shotted just as they walk in through the door. Beyond just being a compelling choice for new folk, the tank-like Guardian Nightfarer class also looks to blossom into a more than capable support role, too, thanks to its ability to soak up damage and revive teammates safely. Handily, the Roundtable Hold, which serves as the player hub prior to leaping into the game proper, also allows players to experiment with different classes via its Sparring Grounds training area.

A Smaller Open World Map With Clear Navigation

Another aspect of its design where Nightreign also hopes to attract new faces is that while you are indeed exploring a sizable open world mass (known here as ‘Limveld’ – a nod to Elden Ring’s ‘Limgrave’ realm), the map is both smaller than what you would find in Elden Ring, yet it also happens to be procedurally generated as well, offering up a new experience with every run. In addition, the Limveld map can be seen in its entirety at the start of any given run, with key objectives, optional dungeons and other such points of interest identified for players from the get-go. Clearly, this was a key design choice for the development team to make early on, as it helps to make every run swift enough that Nightreign can focus on its core gameplay loop without players becoming lost in the sprawl of its world. 

Speaking of the map, Elden Ring Nightreign also employs a mechanic known as the Night’s Tide, where a darkness gradually encroaches on Limveld, sapping the hit points of any poor souls that happen to be stuck in its shadowy embrace. Essentially a take on the shrinking map mechanic that has been predominantly featured in Battle Royale titles such as Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, the Night’s Tide neatly provides players with a grand incentive to keep moving in ways that Soulslike games don’t typically do. 

Overhauled Movement System That Takes The Pain Out Of Traversal

With Elden Ring, or indeed any other Soulslike to come out in the last decade or so, traversal has often proven to be a fairly laborious slog, often punctuated with sizable chunks of spicy peril thanks in no small part to these games’ typical obsession with death by gravity. In Elden Ring Nightreign, though, developer FromSoftware has utterly overhauled movement and traversal so that it all falls in line with Nightreign’s much more accessible approach to the Soulslike formula. In practice, this means that not only does the player character sprint faster, but sprinting now no longer depletes your stamina pool, allowing players to keep up a much more frenetic pace as a result. Further afield, a new wall-jumping mechanic provides additional opportunities for traversal and exploration, while the trusty Spectral Hawk mount can be used to cover large amounts of ground at speed. Finally, fall damage has been entirely removed from Elden Ring Nightreign, not only allowing you to throw caution to the wind and quite literally leap into any scenario, but it also removes the chance of an untimely death due to an accidental stumble, too.

A Sleek Approach To Progression

Whenever you gain a level in Elden Ring, you are typically presented with a veritable smorgasbord of different stats and abilities to pile your Runes into. With Elden Ring Nightreign, this system is pared back in a smart, yet elegant way, with points automatically being assigned to stats that are the most appropriate for your chosen class. There’s no more fiddling about with towering stat screens here, Elden Ring Nightreign makes the levelling process so seamless it barely registers during gameplay, helping to keep everything moving along at a refreshingly furious clip.

Weapons & Items For Everybody

In addition to character levelling being automated, Elden Ring Nightreign also takes a similar approach to the various weapons and items that you’ll collect and use. Here, weapons and items no longer scale or have stat requirements and can be used by any of the Nightfarer classes, with only the more powerful armaments being locked to the players who have the correct level to use them. Again, this is just one more example of Elden Ring Nightreign stripping back the complexity of Elden Ring and other Soulslike titles to create a genre effort that everybody can just hop into and enjoy.

Death Doesn’t Have The Sting That It Used To

If there’s one aspect of the Soulslike experience that is immutable, it’s, well, dying. Often leveraged as a way to punish the player with additional consequences, dying in Soulslikes can be a controller-squeezing experience to say the least. With Elden Ring Nightreign, however, FromSoftware has taken the figurative sting out of its tail somewhat, so as not to discourage newer players. In Elden Ring Nightreign, you lose your current level should you die, but that’s it – there are no lingering penalties, no shortening of your health bar or anything like that. 

Even better still, before your character pops their digital clogs, it’s now easier than ever to keep them alive. This is thanks to a Near Death gauge which triggers when your hit points reach zero and enables that player to be rescued by a friend who attacks them over and over until the gauge disappears completely. Naturally, should the gauge run its course, the player dies, while repeated entry into the Near Death state causes the gauge to increase in size (though this can be reset by resting at a Site of Grace).

In Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware hasn’t just built a new chapter in the Elden Ring universe; they’ve reimagined the very soul of the Soulslike genre. By refining its systems, easing its learning curves, and encouraging cooperation at every turn, Nightreign offers a rare blend of challenge and accessibility that’s as inviting to genre veterans as it is to wide-eyed newcomers. Whether you’re a longtime fan of punishing boss fights or someone who’s always wanted to try a Soulslike without the fear of constant failure, Nightreign feels like the perfect gateway.

Ready to dive into the shadows of Limveld? Pick up your copy of Elden Ring Nightreign now on Green Man Gaming. Adventure awaits, and this time, it’s not going it alone.

Wildkeepers Rising Is Vampire Survivors Meets Pokemon

Vampire Survivors is a pretty popular game; it even kicked off an entire genre. Same goes for Pokémon, which also kind of birthed its own genre. So, what happens when those two genres do a fusion dance, and you get to play the result? You get Wildkeepers Rising, of course, which is an absolute blast – especially for fans of either of those genres.

In Wildkeepers Rising, you step into the shoes of a young hero determined to protect their hometown, which is about as wholesome a set-up as you can wish for. So, off you go into the world, fighting off hordes of monsters. Luckily, not all monsters are hostile, as it turns out some are happy to team up and fight alongside you. From there, it’s everything you’d expect from a Survivors-like (or bullet heaven, or whatever name you prefer for the genre).


That means mowing down absurd numbers of enemies, all of which look fantastic thanks to a gorgeous hand-drawn art style. As you play, you level up both yourself and your monster allies, gaining more power to, well, keep mowing down even more enemies. The core loop is as satisfying as ever, but this time, you’ve got backup, which adds a really refreshing twist.

There’s also solid meta-progression between runs. You can upgrade your creatures (huge win) but also unlock new ones, making every run feel genuinely rewarding. In a sea of bullet heaven games, that kind of progression really helps Wildkeepers Rising stand out as something special. It’s in Early Access right now, and sure, there are a few kinks to iron out, but even at this stage, it’s already a ton of fun, and we’ve got high hopes for where it’s headed.

Border Pioneer Is A Delightful Town-Building Tower Defence Game

Let’s just say it: Border Pioneer is an absolute joy to play. It’s a town-building strategy game with a dash of deckbuilding, but not in a hardcore way, just enough to keep things interesting. Everything is wrapped in a wonderfully chill art style, and while it includes some real-time strategy elements, it’s not a fast-paced, reactive game most of the time.

Instead, you’ll be dealt cards that represent buildings like farms, logging camps, and other structures to help you gather resources. You’ll need to manage those resources wisely as you grow and evolve your settlement, keeping a close eye on how everything fits together. That alone would be fun, but there’s a twist: random portals can open at any time, unleashing waves of enemies eager to tear your village apart. Luckily, you’ve also got cards for defences such as towers, magical cannons, and even troops.

The trick is in how you lay things out. You’ll want to create open paths for enemies to follow, then carefully place your defences and maybe even throw in some flashy spells to keep them at bay. After each battle, you can choose upgrades to improve your build, and the game keeps rolling. You’ll also face random events that offer choices and shake up your strategy.

It all adds up to a game that’s easy to drop into for five minutes (or five hours) as you try to push just a little farther than your last run. There are multiple characters to unlock, and the gameplay is just plain fun. If you love strategy games but want something more approachable that throws you straight into the action, Border Pioneer is a brilliant pick. It eases you in, then lets the depth grow naturally as you place buildings and units. Don’t sleep on this little gem.

From Solo to Squad: FromSoftware’s Surprising Shift with Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware has largely stuck to single-player games ever since their debut with King’s Field. They followed it up with Armored Core, and then ventured into some real oddities like Echo Night, Shadow Tower, Lost Kingdoms, Otogi, and more. But it wasn’t until Demon’s Souls dropped in 2010 that the studio really began to stand out—and from that point on, their popularity only grew with each release.

Sure, the Souls games have always included co-op, but let’s be honest, it’s been clunky at best in it’s default state. Even Elden Ring, a sprawling open-world adventure that seems tailor-made for multiplayer, stuck to that same awkward co-op model. Defeat a boss? Your helper gets sent back to their world. It’s functional, but exhausting if you’re really trying to play the game alongside a friend. I get that loneliness and isolation are part of the intended experience, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to run around with friends, enjoying just how incredible these games feel.

In fact, the first real change to that formula didn’t come from FromSoftware at all, but from Yui’s Seamless Co-op Mod for Elden Ring. With it, you’re no longer tethered to a single boss or area. Instead, the whole game opens up. You and up to three friends can roam freely, sharing every victory and defeat together, and it’s every bit as magical as you’d hope. Honestly, it made the game feel the way I always imagined it should.


So now, seeing FromSoftware take a full swing at multiplayer with Elden Ring: Nightreign feels kind of surreal. For those who haven’t heard, Nightreign is more in the vein of a roguelike. You and a couple of other players get dropped into a portion of Elden Ring’s world, and the goal is to grow stronger before facing a final boss. It’s an idea we’ve seen before in other roguelikes, with the amazing Ravenbound coming to mind as a standout example.

But this isn’t a single-player game with some multiplayer features bolted on. This is a full-on multiplayer game, and that’s a strange direction for FromSoftware, a studio known for forging new paths, not following trends. Not that there’s anything wrong with trying something new, but as someone who’s been following them for over 20 years, it does feel a little off.

Don’t get me wrong, it looks great and I’ll definitely be playing it. FromSoftware makes games that feel amazing, and even with the rise of the “Soulslike” genre, nobody else really captures the same vibe. Games like Nioh, The Surge, Lies of P, etc., are all great in their own ways, but for many fans, they either fall just short of FromSoft greatness or feel too different to really compare. But I’m not getting into genre debates here; that’s another article entirely.

Let’s not be mistaken – more Elden Ring is never a bad thing, especially if it means you can coax a friend into trying it, get them hooked, and then drag them into the full experience with the Seamless Co-op Mod. I can’t be the only one planning that, right? Good.


Still, while the multiplayer focus is a big shift, it’s not the most striking thing about Nightreign. What really stands out, at least from a broader gaming perspective, is that Nightreign brings back some old Dark Souls bosses, despite having no direct ties to the Dark Souls universe. That’s a pretty major break from the carefully maintained continuity and lore that FromSoftware is known for, and honestly, it’s left me feeling a bit conflicted.

Part of what makes games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring so addictive is how cohesive they feel. The lore might be cryptic, but it fits together. It’s internally consistent. Shadows of the Erdtree, Elden Ring’s DLC, expanded the world and added new lore. Not everyone agreed with all the choices (yes, I’m talking about the final boss), but it still felt like part of the same world. The same continuity.

Now, with bosses pulled straight from other games being dropped into Elden Ring, what does that mean for the lore? Well, the obvious answer is: it doesn’t mean anything. This isn’t meant to be a seamless extension of Elden Ring’s world. It’s just a video game, meant to be fun, first and foremost. And that’s perfectly fine. Really, it is. I’m still excited to play it, and I’m sure most fans are too. But it’s not the kind of game FromSoftware usually makes. It’s not a living, breathing world slowly crumbling into ruin; it’s a funhouse version of that. And I can’t help but feel a little perplexed by it.

Call me a hypocrite when I inevitably rack up hundreds of hours in Nightreign, but part of me still wishes it were either another proper addition to Elden Ring’s world, or better yet, its own thing entirely.

If you’re curious, excited, or just want to gather your friends for a new kind of journey through the Lands Between, you can grab Elden Ring: Nightreign now at Green Man Gaming, with the added bonus of supporting a trusted digital storefront. See you out there.

Wanderstop Review: A Cozy Tea Making Sim With A Lot To Say About Work Stress And Self Care

If you’ve ever heard the term ‘busywork’ associated with a video game and reflexively rolled your eyes, I can’t say I blame you. After a day of toil, the notion of having to busy yourself with repetitive tasks to while away the hours during your leisure time probably is hardly appealing, not least because, well, it all feels a little too much like actual work. 

Wanderstop, a third-person narrative adventure and the debut title from indie studio Ivy Road and the creator of The Stanley Parable, has something to say about that. Certainly, while cosy games are nothing new, Wanderstop takes a very specific focus that allows Ivy Road’s debut offering a lot to say about dealing with work stress and self-care, and I’d wager that both of those things are something we could all do with from time to time. So here’s why you need to take some time out of your daily crush, sit down, fix yourself a nice steamy brew and relax with Wanderstop, one of the best cosy efforts to come along in a good long while.

Understanding How To Slow Down

Arguably, the centrepiece of Wanderstop is Alta, the primary protagonist that players take control of. A fierce warrior with near-unparalleled skill, Alta’s world comes crashing down around her after a string of devastating defeats, propelling our proud fighter to push herself even harder as she seeks out a sword instructor in a mysterious forest to give her the skills she needs to be victorious once again. Well, as it turns out, not only does Alta collapse during her trek through this mysterious forest, but she also discovers that her trusty sword has become far too heavy for her to wield – even if others can pick up the weapon with ease.


Awakened in a strange clearing by a bald-headed gentle giant known as ‘Boro’, Alta’s immediate reaction is to leave and force herself back on the critical path to what she deems to be success and by doing so, our protagonist once again collapses and finds herself once more revived by a deeply concerned Boro. Soon realising that for better or worse she’s trapped in this odd-looking clearing, with an even more odd bald-headed giant that just so happens to run an extremely odd looking tea shop, Alta resigns herself to helping Boro manage his tea shop as a means to pass the time, not quite comprehending that by doing so she’s in essence helping herself in a fashion that she never would have prior. 

At a high level, Wanderstop has you doing chores, making tea, drinking tea, speaking to folks, and that’s pretty much about it. With your trusty book and instructions, you soon learn how to plant specific flowers, which in turn yield the various fruits you need to brew the various types of tea that each of Wanderstop’s very different clientele craves. As Boro quickly informs Alta, there are no deadlines, no times and no pressure – you do everything at your own pace and march entirely to the beat of your own drum. As such, Alta’s sword becomes an effective metaphor for the work and creative passions within your life that become too weighty to hold on your shoulders, because you’ve forgotten to take things slowly and take proper care of your physical and emotional well-being.

Finding Peace In The Small Things

Whether you’re concocting deliciously steaming brews through Wanderstop’s streamlined tea-making system, picking tea leaves, returning lost packages to their owners, or just sweeping up and pruning unruly weeds in the local vicinity, Wanderstop gently reminds you that a great deal of tranquillity can be found within the small things in life. 


There are no massive open-world maps stuffed with icons, no monetisation, no epic overarching quests or anything of that nature in Wanderstop. Instead, the focus is very much on taking the time to appreciate the doing of smaller jobs and smaller acts as a way to not just relax yourself, but feel like you’re contributing to something greater than yourself.

It isn’t long into Wanderstop’s 15-hour or so duration that you soon realise that doing these micro activities presents something more than purely just a reprieve from the more complex and sophisticated tasks of everyday life. It’s not just about the separation from such toil and a focus on the smaller things, Wanderstop confronts you with the notion that the embrace of such simplistic tasks is crucial to building up your emotional resilience, akin to how feeding a starving person begins with smaller morsels rather than an immediate feast. There’s a degree of empathy and emotional intelligence threaded through every digital fibre of Wanderstop that you just don’t see anywhere else.

Helping Others And Helping Yourself

Even though Alta is very much the central protagonist of Wanderstop, it’s also true to say that as much as you’re there to realise the breadth of her journey and fruitful emotional development, so too are you a broader force for good. You see, making tea isn’t just an activity to pass the time; it also doubles as a conduit to teasing out levels of varying emotional enlightenment from both Alta and the myriad patrons of the Wanderstop tea shop. 


Of course, it tracks that the magical Wanderstop tea shop deals in magical tea, whereupon each brew can tease out emotional reactions and responses depending on the ingredients that are used. After talking with each of the travelling customers that arrive at the Wanderstop, you begin to learn what makes them tick to a degree and, more pointedly, the tea that would be best to help them out of their current funk. Whether it’s Gerald the frenzied but loveable knight that needs a tea to wake him up and get him going, or the Engineer that needs a brew to alleviate some accumulating chronic pain, every time you serve someone a warm mug of tea in Wanderstop you’re helping them and there’s a sort of weaponised, feel-good feeling in that which, again, reminds you how the small things can be enriching to the mind and heart.

Those different teas with their varying effects also work on Alta, too. After brewing a mug of this wondrous liquid and finding a nicely relaxing place to sit, Alta will drink said beverage and reflect on her own life and how each different brew brings out both new and suppressed emotions in her that longed to be brought to the surface. 

Despite such weighty and keenly felt lessons, Wanderstop never feels preachy, thanks in no small part to how it imparts such precious wisdom where such wisdom feels offered up as an idea, rather than as some sort of mandatory doctrine that must be followed. Approaching something representing a digital intervention, Wanderstop feels like a kaleidoscope of self-help and stress-busting care that many of us, including me, never knew we needed until now. After all, what’s not to like about slowly drinking a relaxing cup of tea while watching the world go by to help with the unburdening of all your problems, if only for a little while, eh?

Best Games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

If you’re drawn to the unique blend of atmosphere and dynamic turn-based combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you might be on the lookout for similar games that capture that same energy. While turn-based titles aren’t as common in today’s gaming landscape, there are still plenty of standout experiences worth exploring.

We may not be able to find many games steeped in Belle Époque France, but we’ve put together a diverse selection of games that each capture at least one key element of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – whether it’s the combat style, the atmospheric storytelling, or the overall vibe. Rather than over-explaining, let’s just dive in and explore what’s out there.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the remake trilogy, following Final Fantasy VII Remake. This time, the story opens up, both literally and tonally, as the crew leaves behind the dense, cyberpunk city of Midgar for more vibrant and expansive environments. The game features a fantastic cast, with plenty of opportunities to deepen your connection with each character. Its flexible combat system also lets you lean into either turn-based strategy or real-time action, depending on your style.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is easily one of the best modern RPGs out there. The series has always been strong, but the shift to turn-based combat (along with the introduction of a fresh new protagonist) really helped it stand out. Infinite Wealth brings together both the new and returning heroes, delivering a story packed with heart, humour, and a sense of adventure that lasts from beginning to end.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Metaphor: ReFantazio got a fair few game of the year awards in 2024, and rightly so. This turn-based RPG contains a lot of Persona DNA, but it tells a tale separate from that series about the importance of heroism and hope. The combat involves just about every possible over-the-top monster you could want, the characters are incredible, and it’s gorgeous to boot.

Super Mario RPG

Super Mario RPG is a remake of the classic original, brought to life with a stunning new visual style that makes the world feel like a toy diorama in motion. You’ll guide Mario and a colourful cast of allies as they team up to take down the villainous Smithy Gang. It’s a joyful, nostalgia-packed adventure that blends classic gameplay with beautifully updated graphics – and it’s just a ton of fun from start to finish.

Chained Echoes

Released in 2022, Chained Echoes remains one of the best indie RPGs in recent memory. It was met with tons of praise at launch, for good reason. Styled like a 16-bit classic, it throws you into a world filled with dragons, magic, and, yes, even mech suits. If that kind of quirky, genre-blending adventure sounds like your thing, you’re in for a treat.

Steelrising

Steelrising might be a soulslike, which doesn’t sound much like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at first, but hear us out. You play as Aegis, a mechanical warrior battling through the king’s automaton army to keep the French Revolution on track. It’s a wild concept, sure, but surprisingly fun. And while the gameplay might not be a perfect match, the shared French setting gives it a similar flair.

Sea of Stars

Sea of Stars is another standout indie turn-based RPG, and an absolute joy to play. You’ll harness the powers of the sun and moon to overcome enemies, solve puzzles, and push the story forward – and yes, you can even team up with friends in co-op. It’s polished, charming, and full of surprises, all leading up to an epic showdown with the mysterious Fleshmancer.

How Tempest Rising Is Shaping Up To Be Essential For Command & Conquer Fans

Though it can be said that the PC is hardly a platform that’s left wanting for RTS efforts, it’s also perhaps equally true that fewer of those recent efforts have attempted to recapture the magic of Westwood’s legendary Command & Conquer series. Looking to address this most egregious of situations is Tempest Rising, an all-new RTS offering from veteran developer Slipgate Ironworks, which by all accounts is an essential pick-up for Command & Conquer fans. Here’s why.

Command & Conquer As An Influence

More of a mission statement than anything else, developer Slipgate Ironworks directly cites the Command & Conquer RTS titles of old as a direct inspiration for Tempest Rising. Indeed, in an interview posted on Steam, it is revealed that Game Director Fred Schreiber has had a ‘lifelong dream’ to bring back the core gameplay of EA’s Command & Conquer franchise alongside updated production values that take optimal advantage of current technologies. With a team of passionate creatives that clearly have such a unified love for the Command & Conquer games, it’s pretty safe to say that fans of that legendary series have a lot to look forward to in Tempest Rising. 

A Familiar Modern-Day Alternative Timeline Scenario

One of the obvious ways in which Tempest Rising seeks to pay homage to the Command & Conquer games is in its setting. Presenting players with an alternate history setting which unfurls in 1997 after World War III has kicked off with a whole heap of nuclear devastation to boot, Tempest Rising shows us a world where the remaining factions fight over a precious resource known as Tempest in order to assert their dominance over a planet steeped in ruin. Sound familiar? Indeed, it does, and I’m absolutely here for it.  

Separate Story-Driven Campaigns

From day one, Tempest Rising boasts a cinematic story campaign that can be played from the point of view of two very different factions, with a third, the Veti, due to arrive at some point after release, though a campaign for that faction has yet to be confirmed. The two factions that you will be able to play at launch are the Global Defense Force (which aren’t at all like the GDI faction seen in the Command & Conquer games) and the dark-clad Tempest Dynasty (which absolutely isn’t inspired by the nefarious Brotherhood of Nod) with each having their own eleven mission long story campaign. 

Much like the beloved Command & Conquer games which have come before it, Tempest Rising focuses its single-player campaign stories through these factions with each not only having a wealth of missions that push along a narratively threaded campaign, but which also boast a bunch of interconnected, in-engine cutscenes that evoke the spirit of the Command & Conquer franchise. Both of the story campaigns are deemed canon, too, as they not only occur side by side to create a narrative whole but also paint each faction in hues of moral grey, leaving it up to the player to make key choices throughout to shift their respective moral compasses.  

Finally, Tempest Rising also embeds smaller stories into each of these campaigns thanks to the specialists that can be found in each faction. Essentially hero characters, these uniquely named specialists not only give each side a devastating single unit to be used against the opposition, but also provide players with a unique story arc to follow in each case as well.

Traditional Command & Conquer Style Gameplay – Refreshed

Though the classic nature of the Command & Conquer formula might seem straightforward to replicate on the surface, Tempest Rising proves that there is a real degree of craft involved in getting it just right. For a start, though there are two (and eventually three) factions, each of them has been designed to be asymmetrical in gameplay terms, encouraging players to fully embrace the strengths and weaknesses of each faction in order to lead them to victory.

In tapping into the essence of the Command & Conquer games of yore, Tempest Rising is broadly all about base building, resource collection and, well, a whole heap of unit-on-unit real-time strategy warfare. In terms of the base building, Tempest Rising keeps things pleasingly simplistic, allowing players to construct buildings on a grid-style layout and then upgrade those structures in turn later on when a sufficient amount of credits and ranked units have been amassed to do so.

Much like the Command & Conquer titles, Tempest Rising also adheres to a classic ruleset in terms of how things behave in regard to base building and construction. Of course, every building craves a specific amount of power in order to remain active (resulting them becoming predictably non-functional should the dependant Power Plants be destroyed), but so too can cheeky engineer units not just take over buildings, they can also leverage the construction tree of the opposing faction should they prove lucky enough to take over an enemy Construction Yard. 

Where the resource collection side of things is concerned, Tempest Rising again follows in the steps of its genre defining inspirations by enabling players to employ harvesters to scoop up all of the Tempest on a map, take a bunch of the stuff back to a refinery and then convert all of that material into credits for buying new units and structures. 

Combat-wise, Tempest Rising continues to dig deep into its bag of classically informed tricks. Not only can players of both factions construct structures that can garrison infantry units, acting both as a secure location and one that those same units are able to open fire from, but each unit operates on a veterancy concept whereupon the more damage each unit deals to enemy targets, the further through the three levels of veterancy they progress, unlocking durability and similar buffs as a result. 

Finally, in addition to being empowered to create a wealth of different infantry, ground and air unit types, Tempest Rising’s unit relationships also operate on a rock-paper-scissors style principle where some units are much more effective against others. Heavy vehicles such as tanks and APCs can easily crush and overwhelm infantry units, while airborne bombers and fighter craft can destroy most ground units unassailed, unless those units happen to have some ground-to-air offensive capabilities.

Tempest Rising isn’t just a loving tribute to the golden era of real-time strategy – it’s a fully realised, modern RTS that understands exactly what made Command & Conquer so iconic, while injecting fresh ideas to keep things feeling current. With asymmetrical factions, morally complex campaigns, and pitch-perfect base building and combat mechanics, Tempest Rising confidently walks the line between nostalgia and innovation. Whether you’re a long-time RTS veteran or someone looking to dive into the genre for the first time, this is one battlefield you’ll definitely want to be a part of.

If you’re ready to experience the adrenaline rush of old-school RTS warfare with a slick modern twist, don’t miss out – Tempest Rising is available now on the Green Man Gaming store. So why not lock in your copy today and command your faction to victory!

Overwatch 2: Evolving Heroes, Expanding Worlds, and What’s Next

Overwatch 2 continues to evolve the iconic hero shooter by redefining how players engage with both its story and competitive elements. While originally pitched as a major overhaul with a new co-op story mode and hero progression system, the game has since taken a live-service approach – regularly introducing new heroes, maps, and limited-time events that expand on the lore and gameplay depth fans have come to love.

The Shift to Seasonal Content

Rather than delivering a traditional single-player campaign, Overwatch 2 now offers seasonal story missions – co-op PvE content that advances the Overwatch universe’s narrative in chapters. These missions, while not always available year-round, give players a chance to fight against threats like Null Sector, experience evolving alliances, and explore the personal journeys of the heroes they play.

Alongside PvE, Overwatch 2 introduces fresh competitive modes, rebalanced gameplay, and a free-to-play model that ensures regular content drops with every season.

The Expanding Hero Roster

Since launch, Overwatch 2 has added multiple new heroes to the lineup, each with unique playstyles that reshape the meta and deepen strategic diversity. Here’s a look at some of the key additions:

Sojourn

Role: Damage
Sojourn marks the first fully Canadian hero in the Overwatch franchise. A former Overwatch commander, she blends tactical precision with cybernetic enhancements. Her railgun rewards accuracy and timing, and her movement abilities—like Power Slide—make her a highly mobile damage dealer. Sojourn’s release set the tone for Overwatch 2’s faster-paced, skill-driven combat.

Junker Queen

Role: Tank
The long-teased ruler of Junkertown finally made her debut in Overwatch 2. Junker Queen brings a brawler’s aggression to the frontline, using her scattergun, throwing knife (“Jagged Blade”), and a commanding shout that boosts her team’s speed and health. Her ultimate, Rampage, applies anti-heal effects while dealing damage—making her a disruptive force in team fights.

Kiriko

Role: Support
One of the most dynamic support heroes introduced, Kiriko blends healing and offense through her Healing Ofuda and Kunai projectiles. She can teleport to allies with Swift Step, cleanse debuffs with Suzu, and boost team performance with her Kitsune Rush. Kiriko represents a new wave of hybrid supports that reward high mechanical skill.

Ramattra

Role: Tank
A complex tank hero with both defensive and aggressive stances, Ramattra toggles between Omnic and Nemesis forms. His lore ties deeply into Overwatch’s central conflict, as the leader of Null Sector fighting for Omnic liberation. His barrier deployment, piercing attacks, and area denial make him a unique threat on the battlefield.

Lifeweaver

Role: Support
A hero focused on positioning and team utility, Lifeweaver introduces abilities like Life Grip, which can pull teammates to safety, and Petal Platform, which lifts players vertically. His unique mechanics make him one of the most creative support options to date, encouraging coordination and clever plays.

Illari

Role: Support
Harnessing solar energy, Illari blends high-impact healing with powerful ranged damage. Her turret-like Healing Pylon supports teammates while she snipes enemies with pinpoint accuracy. Illari suits players who enjoy a more aggressive support role without sacrificing team contribution.

What Lies Ahead?

With each season, Overwatch 2 introduces a new hero (rotating between support, tank, and damage roles), offering players a steady stream of fresh content. Blizzard has confirmed that more PvE content and lore-driven missions will return in future updates, though in a more bite-sized, episodic format.

The developers have also doubled down on their commitment to diversity, with heroes from a wide array of backgrounds, identities, and playstyles. Expect continued balance updates, visual reworks, and innovative gameplay mechanics as Overwatch 2 continues to grow.

While the scope of Overwatch 2 has shifted since its announcement, the heart of the game – hero-driven gameplay and dynamic team competition – remains stronger than ever. Whether you’re diving into PvP, exploring lore through seasonal events, or mastering new heroes, Overwatch 2 offers a constantly evolving experience.

To stay updated on hero reveals, patch notes, and community highlights, follow Blizzard’s official channels – or better yet, jump into the action and discover your next main.

Why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is The Next Must-Have Turn-Based RPG

From Square-Enix’s legendary Final Fantasy VII through to Larian’s superlative Baldur’s Gate 3, the turn-based RPG genre has seen its fair share of heady, high-calibre offerings that have in turn (pun intended) redefined and elevated the concept of the humble turn-based RPG. The debut title from Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks to add its name to such well-regarded genre stablemates and in doing so, is shaping up to be the next must-have turn-based RPG. Here’s why you shouldn’t sleep on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Stunning Visuals Without Peer In The Turn-Based Genre

If you were lucky enough to catch the debut trailer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, it’s also likely that you, along with many others, believed that Sandfall Interactive’s unexpected debut effort stole the show – a train of thought that was absolutely merited and then some. From a technical perspective, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 finds its world and characters brought to life by Epic’s Unreal Engine 5. Of course, there are plenty of Unreal Engine 5-powered titles on the market, but it’s also true to say that none of them exude the visual swagger and sheer spectacle that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has in spades.


Underpinned by the cutting-edge visual feature set that Unreal Engine 5 provides, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks every bit like the next-generation turn-based RPG, with stunning lighting effects, particle effects work and detailed character models that beautifully texture and flesh out its game world. Beyond its seemingly stellar technical implementation, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 also makes a firm case for being one of the most singularly stylish genre efforts to come along in a good long time. Taking generous cues from French art and culture, particularly the Belle Époque period, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proudly boasts an aesthetic that at once feels otherworldly and yet, feels oddly grounded in history. A consummate mixture of elegance and surrealism, for sure.

A Fresh, Compelling Storyline And Setting Unlike Any Other

Much more than just some easy-on-the-eyes window dressing, the visual presentation of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 serves a greater purpose, namely to establish its setting and narrative. Taking place in a dark fantasy world through which the visual inspirations of the French Belle Époque ooze from every digital pore, the plot of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 focuses on the Paintress, a diabolical entity that commands a unique power whereupon she can erase anyone from existence simply by painting their age on a towering, mysterious monolith.

Where matters have become dire, however, is that the Paintress writes a new number onto the monolith every year, causing everyone unfortunate to be of that age to disappear into the ether immediately. Think Thanos but with a paintbrush and you start to get the gist. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 begins as the Paintress is about to scribe the number 33 on the monolith, resulting in humanity having nobody older than 32 years old still breathing.


Naturally keen to avoid the end of the world, humanity throws together a motley crew of individuals to try and take down the Paintress – no less than the thirty-third expedition of heroes to do so. Not only tasked with destroying the Paintress and laying waste to their legions of her ‘Nevron’, Art Deco painting-inspired monstrosities which unfailingly carry out her bidding, our heroes must also uncover the fate of the previous thirty-two expeditions as the fate of humanity hangs precariously in the balance.

One Of The Best Voice Actor Line-ups To Date

As stunning as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks, it’s equally exciting to find that its audio is just as impressive – especially when it comes to the voice acting. That’s thanks in large part to one of the most star-studded casts we’ve seen in years. With talents like Ben Starr (fresh off his breakout role as Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI), the legendary Andy Serkis, and Charlie Cox—yes, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen himself – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 arguably features one of the most prestigious voice lineups in any video game, RPG or otherwise.

A Deft Blends Of Real-Time Elements And Classic Progression

While a glance at the gameplay for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 immediately reveals its turn-based combat design, there’s also much more going on under the surface than a cursory glance might initially suggest. Indeed, while Sandfall Interactive’s debut effort does adhere to many design touchstones of turn-based combat, including turn orders and more, it’s really in how the French studio has managed to deftly blend in real-time elements into this system that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 truly soars.


Taking some inspiration from other giants in the genre that have previously attempted a similar hybrid of systems, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does a great job of maximising the agency players have in any given encounter. Certainly, the biggest way in which this manifests is through several ‘active’ mechanics that are available during battle. From a defensive standpoint, each member of the titular expedition can actively dodge, leap and outright parry enemy attacks mid-action in addition to their usual turn-based commands. Much more than just a one-note ability, a successful parry won’t just mitigate much of the incoming damage, it’ll also leave the enemy open to a follow-up attack, too. Brilliantly, if the entire expedition parries an attack that is intended to hit all of them, then likewise, the whole expedition strikes back as one. It’s a neat use of the active mechanics seen in other titles, not least because it expands it to the whole party which seems like a natural progression for mechanics such as these. 

On the progression side of things, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 strives to keep things streamlined, yet compelling. Each character within the expedition has their own class and thus entirely different ways of playing from one another. Likewise, not only can weapons be levelled up alongside each character, providing various stat buffs and ability boosts as a result, but a range of passive abilities can also be applied to each character and the group as a whole as our heroes progress.

Ultimately, there shouldn’t be any surprise when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ends up being a genre-defining masterpiece – melding breathtaking visuals, a refreshingly original narrative, an all-star voice cast, and a combat system that seamlessly blends real-time finesse with strategic depth. Sandfall Interactive’s debut isn’t just another turn-based RPG; it’s a bold artistic statement that elevates the genre to thrilling new heights. With its richly imagined world and compelling gameplay innovations, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn’t just one to watch – it’s one to experience.


Don’t miss your chance to dive into this unforgettable journey – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on the Green Man Gaming store. Secure your spot on the thirty-third expedition today and prepare to challenge fate in style.