As the fuzzy denizens of earth pivot to non-existence, we will soon be left with an unclear memory of the animal kingdom’s bizarre court. The elephant, for instance, what even is it? I cannot help with that question, I’m not a marine biologist. But what I can offer is a tour of endangered videogame wildlife. Otherworldly creatures you can’t find beneath the rocks of reality or swimming in the ponds of tangibility. It is the least I can do. So, here you go. A safari of the 9 weirdest animals in PC games.

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Listen, never mind that sharks are not the mindlessly violent animals we’ve been trained to fear, and simply additional victims of mankind’s global vertebrate binge. Dismiss, please, the ongoing cultural rehabilitation of this toothy swimmer, who is statistically quite poor at killing humans. Ignore also their adorable habit of falling asleep when you hold them upside-down. Forget it, forget it all. No more lovey-dovey thoughts for these wondrous aquatic beings, more maligned than malignant. This is a list about videogame sharks. And videogame sharks are the baddies. Here are the 9 deadliest sharks in PC games.

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Sorry, definition nerds. Soulslike is a word now. Disgusting, I know, but this is how genres are made. Along comes a giant like Dark Souls that everybody won t stop bleating about and soon it has copycats. Before you know it, a swarm of like-minded games with sparse checkpoints and lethal attacks are scuttling around, leaving slime trails and biting your ankles for surprisingly massive damage. Ugh, soulslikes. But stoop low to appreciate these little monsters, and among them you ll find some very good games about dying.

Here are ten of the best.

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No. Let’s not be ridiculous. But there are so many examples of bad survival games that it s important to remember the good ones. So that s what we are doing on the latest RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show. We’re breaking stones over the heads of rubbish survival games, but cooking, salting and eating the delicious ones. Adam wraps himself up in The Long Dark but reluctantly sets Project Zomboid on fire to stay warm. Matt gets sea sickness from Subnautica but wants to swim again anyway. And Brendan freedives into Subnautica too, in an attempt to escape from all the mediocre survival games set on red planets. (more…)

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…)

When we looked at survival platformer Rain World [official site] we found a gorgeous and intriguing world but one that often felt too brutal to fully enjoy. So it s good news that an upcoming expansion will add an easier mode, where you play as a yellow slugcat nicknamed The Monk who needs less food to survive and doesn t provoke the ire of as many of the world s vicious animals. Namaste, little Monkcat.

This is only one feature of the upcoming update, say developers Videocult. Also planned are a level editor, multiplayer arenas and perhaps most exciting a host of new creatures. Come peep at the deets. … [visit site to read more]

Here s some cheapo games because you like cheapo things and you re a cheapo person. Don t give me that look, I m just being honest. The same folks that do this sort of thing all the time are Humbling Bundling survival platformer Rain World together with Glittermitten Grove, which is a fairy management sim and definitely not hiding any other amphibious videogames inside its slimy belly sac, if that s what you re thinking. This is all part of the Adult Swim bundle, which includes some other bits and bobs. … [visit site to read more]

Hark! It’s the sound of our sweet voices taking up an hour of your precious time. The RPS podcast of old, the Electronic Wireless Show, has returned in a fresh new body. We’ve got news, interviews and silly features, as well as some of the traditional idle chat.

This week, Pip, Adam and I are chatting about Far Cry 5‘s “Last Supper” image, the recent layoffs at Hitman developer IO Interactive, and enjoying a jaunt through melancholy puzzler Old Man’s Journey. There’s also some Quickfire Questions with the developers of survival puzzler Rain World, news from Paradox Con and lots more. … [visit site to read more]

I finally completed Dark Souls III [official site] last week, a world that I have been dipping in and out of between bouts of listlessness since its release in April last year. It didn t grip me like the first revered Dark Souls, but it still made me sad to know it was all over. Where could I go now for my Souls fix? The answer, it turns out, is loads of places. The games industry is quietly reverberating with the series influence. From small games boasting souls-like combat, to bigger games doing weird things with death and player messages. Meanwhile, our PlayStation brethren got Nioh, which took the pocket full o souls idea and simply renamed them Amrita . There is a popular complaint that everything in the industry is now being compared to Dark Souls, and it’s easy to forget that games embraced difficulty and strangeness long before the Bed of Chaos made you weep with frustration. Nevertheless, the mechanics and the tone of Miyazaki s magnum opus is leaking into games everywhere.

That there’s an influx of Soulsian disciples out there isn t a problem to me. My problem is that they are learning all the wrong lessons. At least, they are neglecting the most important one. But first let s look at what sly tricks are being lifted from the series, and who is lifting them. … [visit site to read more]

Deceptively cute platformer Rain World [official site] has launched an update to make surviving the post-apocalypse marginally less punishing and, crucially, a bit less frustrating. The map is now improved, some resources are more common in places, and several control problems have been ironed out. Our boy Brendan wanted to like Rain World, oh he did, but he found control issues, poor explanations of crucial systems, and harsh penalties for failure just too much for him. Last night’s patch hasn’t massively changed how Rain World works, so it’s still a hard-as-nails game of mystery and misadventure, but it does take the edge off. … [visit site to read more]