Facepunch s violent, vile Rust isn t an obvious starting place to learn about philosophy. You might explore virtue ethics with the Ultima series, or free will with Bioshock, or concepts of self and moral worth with Soma. Even when looking at political philosophy, you d perhaps be more inclined to stop by the totalitarian bureaucracy of Paper s Please, or Crusader Kings II s massive variety of governmental forms, or Eve Online s+ unique democracy/tribalism.

But Rust ? Rust, a primitive world of dingly-dangly dongs and caved-in skulls? A transient land of ramshackle fortresses and roving gangs of hostile thugs? What can we hope to learn from that?

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They say the best meals start with the finest ingredients. For example, if you take a freshly bought Pot Noodle, add a splash of boiling water and a soup on of sachet sauce, you have a tasty meal for the bachelor in a hurry. Trinket Studios’ Battle Chef Brigade is a little more omnivorous, and a lot more ambitious, drawing from puzzle games and anime and reality TV in a way that, perhaps, should result in a steaming mess. It’s not a steaming mess, I’m happy to report, even if a couple of the ingredients do feel a little underdone.

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The voice actor behind spunky punky teen rebel Chloe in the original Life Is Strange, Ashly Burch, will reprise her role in the bonus episode of prequel series Life Is Strange: Before the Storm. While Chloe is the main character in Before the Storm, Burch couldn’t play her because of the voice actor strike so publishers Square Enix replaced her with another actor, Rhianna DeVries. Oh dear oh dear. But the strike is over now and Burch will voice Chloe once more in ‘Farewell’. Life is strange but business is stranger. (more…)

If the news outside of the game-o-sphere wasn’t enough to convince you we’re living in a post-truth world, then maybe this will change your mind. The Elder Scrolls Online is launching a free weekend that starts from today and ends on December 6th, but apparently that doesn’t mean you can take every day until Wednesday as a day off. I’ve checked.

TESO was pretty shonky when it released, but three years of updates might have brought it to the point where it’s worth giving a go. The Elder Scrolls VI isn’t coming out any time soon, after all.

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Football Manager 2018 isn t just about playing for a season, giving up, then starting over it s about building a legacy, relationships and a squad to be proud of. With that comes the need to sign people who are still legally children for more money than most of us will ever see in our lives. Wonderkids, then.

With that in mind, I ve trawled through the game to find 36 of the best young players in the game, across all positions, and for a selection of budgets. The days of genuine bargains have faded into near obscurity, but you ll still be able to put together a winning squad for a reasonable amount. Just remember they probably won t be winning anything until 2023 at the earliest.

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When Empire Divided, Total War’s latest expansion, trundled into our garage, Fraser was the mechanic on duty. He walked around the chariot, kicked the wheels, took the pencil from behind his ear and made a few notes. “It’s not in bad nick,” he said, after some deliberation, “but it’s no Warhammer.”

You should read the rest of his review if you’re considering buying this new expansion for Rome II. It’s out now, gives the game a brand new grand campaign and loads of other gubbins, and might scratch that historic itch. But it also highlights one of the issues of a post-Warhammer world; namely, that loads of people with various pointy or clubby things don’t quite match up to dragons, dinosaurs and man-eating trolls.

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Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.>

(Out Of This World if you are not tea-swilling, toothless Brit who cleans chimbleys in old lahndahn tahn). SPOILERS for a 26-year-old videogame follow.

The first time a game broke my heart, or at least left me in a state of shocked disbelief. (more…)

Lest 2017 didn’t already feel like the year in which everything happened all the time constantly, also joining the fray is Bethesda’s three-pronged attempt to adapt their biggest games into virtual reality. Skyrim VR is PS4 exclusive for now, Fallout VR arrives on Steam in a fortnight, and DOOM VFR – well, that’s today. Prepare for Cacovision. (more…)

I haven’t played Scoregasm, but I can describe it in one word – and that’s ‘crisp’. Ok, actually I also need to tell you it’s a top down shooter that might not qualify as bullet hell, but at least counts as bullet limbo. Building up combos enhances your weapon and opens up new levels based on which combo targets you go for, but ‘crisp’ is my main takeaway from what I’ve seen. Your brightly coloured foes stand out against the blackness of the void behind them, and every ‘zap’, ‘plink’ and ‘thunk’ sounds just right.

Scoregasm’s follow-up, Son of Scoregasm, is out today, and you can soak it all in via the trailer below.

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The harsh and wet ruins of Rain World are now slightly less harsh (but still just as wet), say developers Videocult. That s good, that s real good. In the summer we learned there d someday be an easier Monk mode for anyone struggling with the game’s “disco lizards”, as well as a harder Hunter mode for anyone who thought death by a dozen leeches did not come quick enough. Well, it’s here in the form of a beta. (more…)