As the calendar flips from October to November, and you pop that sexy calculator costume back in the cupboard for another year, Sony arrives with a fresh batch of PlayStation Now titles, which this month include Mafia: Definitive Edition, Celeste, and Final Fantasy 9.

Last year's Mafia: Definitive Edition is, of course, the fancied up version of Illusion Softworks' fondly remembered open-world mobster game from 2002. This new version certainly looks the part, reimagining the 1930s city of Lost Heaven for modern hardware, but Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell didn't feel the the tweaks to its ageing gameplay were quite so successful.

"It's a marvelous, period-perfect setting, with fireworks and tension and some nice views of the city," Chris wrote in his rather lukewarm review, "but it immediately evokes the thought of Hitman, or even GTA 5, games next to which Mafia suffers thanks to its lack of pageantry and more traditionally linear, rigid mission design."

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Looking for some more speedrunning to watch following this year's Summer Games Done Quick? There's plenty more where that came from, as all-women speedrunning event Flame Fatales is taking place next month.

The online event is taking place between 15th-21st August, and will be broadcast on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel. There's a real variety of games listed in the lineup, with everything from Warframe to a 15-card run of Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories. There are speedrunning favourites like Celeste and Super Metroid, along with some stranger entries like Disney's 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue. Oh, and I'm also glad to see there's also a Fire Emblem: Three Houses run in there.

The event is being held in support of Malala Fund - a non-profit organisation founded by Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai in 2013, which works to "champion every girl's right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education". Flame Fatales raised $80k (£63.8k) for Malala Fund last year, and since 2010, Games Done Quick events have raised over $34m (£24.6m) for charity.

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The Itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality has been a stunning success, raising $8.1m for funds supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

The bundle, which contained more than 1700 games donated by their creators, was bought by over 810,000 people, raising $8,175,430 - well over its $5m target. The average contribution was $10.30. The top contribution was $5000.

The Itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality was widely considered to be the best value bundle in video game history, not just because it had so many games included, but because of the quality of some of the games included. Indie darlings Night in The Woods, Overland, Minit, Oxenfree, Celeste, Super Hexagon, A Short Hike and 2064: Read Only Memories were all donated by their developers.

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Five of the Best is a weekly series celebrating the poor old parts of games we tend to overlook. Not the glitzy bits but the supporting cast. Things like crowds - whoever stops to think about a crowd? And how do you think that makes the crowd feel? But the games they're in wouldn't be the same without them, so let's big them up a bit, shall we?

Also, I want your ideas! I want to know what you remember when you read the title of this week's piece, the things that spring to mind. Don't worry about what I think, no one ever does, but do jump in the comments below. We've had some lovely discussions and you've remembered loads of great details about games.You can find all the previous Five of the Bests in a handy archive.

So, on to today's five. But how to summit up...?

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Celeste's long-awaited free DLC update, titled Chapter 9: Farewell, finally has a release date! It'll be launching on all platforms (although there's apparently potential for slippage on Xbox One) next Monday, 9th September.

Celeste's free DLC update was initially unveiled last December, when creator Matt Thorson revealed that the team would be releasing a set of "very hard" new levels in early 2019 to celebrate the critically acclaimed platformer having sold 500,000 copies.

Chapter 9: Farewell, which obviously now arrives somewhat later than expected, is a fresh story chapter containing more than 100 new levels (making for over 800 in total, if you're keeping track), incorporating a selection of new mechanics. There are no B- or C-Sides this time around, but it does bring 40 minutes of brand-new music, courtesy of Lena Raine.

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If you're looking for more ways to expand that list of games that you really, really honestly will get round to playing eventually but probably not right now because you've still got a load of other ones to get through, then I'm pleased to inform you that Fez is currently free on the Epic Store. Oh, and that Inside and Celeste will be free next week too.

Fez, for those yet to experience its multi-dimensional charms, is, at first glance, a sort of puzzle-y platformer in the retro, side-scrolling mould. Before too long, however, its 2D protagonist discovers that their world isn't quite as flat as they'd been led to believe, beginning a slightly brain-scrambling adventure that requires players to flip through the world's previously hidden sides. Really, it makes more sense if you see it in action.

Eurogamer, it's fair to say, adored Fez when it released back in 2012. Oli Welsh gave it a Eurogamer Essential badge well before they were a thing, and everybody else refused to shut up about it, even going as far as to crown it Game of the Year.

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Celeste creator Matt Thorson has revealed Celeste's upcoming DLC will contain over 100 new levels but has still yet to confirm when the free content will be available.

Celeste's free DLC was initially unveiled last December when Thorson revealed that the team would be releasing a set of "very hard" new levels in early 2019 in celebration of the game selling 500,000 copies. Earlier this year, however, Thorson said the new content wouldn't make Celeste's first anniversary on January 25th, but confirmed in April that the challenging platformer's DLC was "on the home stretch of development".

"Celeste Chapter 9 has over 100 levels! ...we've been detailing them for weeks now," Thorson recently said by way of his personal Twitter account (thanks, PC Gamer).

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Celeste developer Matt Makes Games has offered a progress update on the sublime platformer's previously announced free DLC, explaining that while it won't release this month, it's "on the home stretch of development".

Celeste's free DLC was initially unveiled last December, when creator Matt Thorson, in celebration of the game having sold 500,000 copies since launch, revealed that the team would be releasing a set of "very hard" new levels in early 2019.

Thorson popped up again at the start of this year, apologising that the new content wouldn't make Celeste's first anniversary on January 25th.

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Accessibility and difficulty options are no threat to artistic vision, video game developers have said.

Responding to an ongoing debate about video game accessibility sparked by From Software's Sekiro, which most agree is a particularly challenging game, God of War director Cory Barlog tweeted: "Accessibility has never and will never be a compromise to my vision."

This tweet was picked up by many other video game developers who agreed with Barlog. JP Kellams, former creative producer at Platinum Games insisted Bayonetta's one-button mode "didn't ruin your experience".

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I know it's a week late, but Happy Birthday Celeste! It's been lovely having you around this past year.

Really, I'd like to merge the Switch's gallery with my phone. To have all these recorded shards of Celeste gameplay rightfully placed, spliced throughout my year alongside other cherished moments like - I've just checked - my gym bike times, a car parking permit, the sun setting behind a maize field, and a really good bread and butter pudding (multiple angles).

But from Celeste mountain I'd get the Old Site, and its star-glow that falls soft as snow. I'd get that single satellite dish with a playful secret. The stills I took of that lovely campfire conversation. A mystical ascent through northern lights. Reflection's floating jags of pink light. Of course, Madeline at the mountain summit. And also: lots and lots of proud recordings of inspired, flow-state control and grace (without the lots and lots of deaths that led up to them).

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