This month, I played and enjoyed Prey's Mooncrash DLC, where one of the game's objectives is to stash enough food and drink to escape in a supply crate headed for Earth. As I collected the items I needed, I was reminded that the developers put real effort into the types of food and drink found in the Prey universe. The packaging is beautiful. There's fun flavour text for each item. And damn, the food sounds fancy.

What would happen if you had to live on the supplies in places-gone-wrong like Talos I? Below, I rank five of gaming's most notable dystopias, using no criteria other than which consumables I personally find tasty, versus what's likely to make me projectile vomit. I also touch upon the drinks options in some of these worlds, because first-person games love to get you virtual drunk so they can make the screen blurry. 

1. Talos I (Prey)

Consumable food available: Big Bang Candy, Captain Spree's Fish Sticks, crispy frites, Dr. Howard's Superfruit, jellied eels, Methuselah apple, Ossetra caviar, RanDom Dim Sum, Russian blinis, Shaker lemon pie, Siskak Unagi Rollz, Skyking pomegranate, Spiralite cookies, sun-dried tomato jerky, Sunburst banana pudding, veggie blend 

I feel like the food on Talos I says a lot about TranStar, the space station's owners: they have some serious cash, and if you're going to work in space for a private company that's this flush, then hot damn you should eat well. There's even a few decent veggie-friendly options in there, too, and the concept art above shows at some point they planned some crispy tofu bites too. 

Impressive amounts of detail on even simple objects has become something of an Arkane hallmark—the packaging on these products (designed by artist Fred Augus) is beautiful, and effort was even put into bringing the food to life with flavour text. Here's how RanDom Dim Sum is described: "A bowl of randomly selected dim sum by TranStar Kitchens. Every bowl is different." I wish more of my food had the element of surprise.

The drinks options are strong, too, with beer, gin, wine and bourbon. Maybe I'd accidentally unleash a typhon infestation too if I was drunk off my ass. At least they have green tea and coffee for the inevitable hangover.

2. Columbia (BioShock Infinite)

Consumable food available: Apples, bananas, bread, beans, candy bars, cake, cereal, cheese, corn, cotton candy, hot dogs, jar of pickles, oranges, peanuts, pears, pineapples, popcorn, potatoes, potato chips, sandwiches, sardines, spinach, tomato soup, watermelon, white oats

I wouldn't live in Columbia for a few reasons—mostly the beliefs of the citizens and leaders, but also the fear of wandering out of my house in a sleepy daze and accidentally falling to my death. The range of food you can pick up around the flying city is reasonably close to my existing (terrible) diet, however. I mean, I'd better pack my acid reflux tablets before moving there, but hey, I'd eat watermelon and pineapple for breakfast, cake for brunch, sandwiches for lunch then hot dogs and beans for dinner. Admittedly it's not great for veggie options based on this selection, but on the snacks front, Columbia is formidable. 

I'm not sure where they get the sardines from, though. It must be a bit awkward to plan fishing expeditions when you're living above the clouds. Maybe the Luteces just open a portal to another universe's ocean, into which you can sling a fishing net, or perhaps a portal opens into a supermarket, where they load up on hot dogs and pickle jars before the store's baffled manager catches on to what's going on. 

3. Rapture (BioShock)

Consumable food available: Creme-filled bars, pep bars, potato chips, potted meat, sardines

BioShock's Rapture just had creme-filled cakes, pep bars and potato chips, but by BioShock 2, it also had the extra two items above. Another factor that makes BioShock 2 the secret best BioShock game (maybe). Perhaps Sofia Lamb, Rapture's post-Ryan leader, just wanted a little more culinary variety in the underwater city? Or, maybe they just found a supply of potted meat and sardines in Andrew Ryan's office after he was beaten to death with a golf club. In Burial At Sea, at least, Rapture shares most of the same food with Columbia. Perhaps Suchong and Fink were trading snacks across universes.

It's worth saying, that where Rapture disappoints slightly with food consumables, it makes up for it in booze—no surprise given that the player just arrived after a NYE party. Alcohol is probably the only escape from the insufferable intellectuals who live in Rapture. Sometimes you just want to drink in a dystopia where the people have no self worth, you know? 

You've got vodka, gin, absinthe, moonshine, beer, whiskey, brandy and two types of merlot across both games. Hot damn, that sounds like a night out. Let's party like it's 1959!

4. 2027-2072 (Deus Ex)

Consumable food available: soy food, Cyberboost pro energy packs, bread, candy bar

Pretty simple but practical foodstuffs. The item description for soy in Deus Ex: Invisible War makes the utilitarian nature of food 60 years from now extremely clear. "The complete snack! Engineered to provide maximum nutrition—not a single molecule wasted on added flavor or texture." Doesn't sound like the foodie future of my dreams, but hey, at least there's an option everyone can eat (if not enjoy). 

Rewind a little, and the food consumables aren't much better in Human Revolution or Mankind Divided. Adam Jensen is a big fan of cereal and even has boxes of the stuff in his apartment (it's very pure), but you can't eat it in-game, which is a tiny shame. I could just imagine him sitting behind cover, using his cloaking augment while he tops up on Crunchy Pirate cereal. 

Jensen's hoarding of cereal also produces a nice little Easter Egg early on in the game—see the video above. And check out these great fictional designs by artist Manuel Vallelunga from his blog. I particularly love the term 'suspiciously delicious!':

5. Dunwall and Karnaca (Dishonored)

Consumable food available: Apricot Tartlet, Bluejawed hagfish eggs, bread, Gristol apple, Gristol cider, Morley apple, rat skewer, Tycian pears, Serkonan blood sausage, Serkonan grapes, brined hagfish, potted Dabokva whale meat, Pratchett jellied eels, Bastillian fig, Bastillian peach, lettuce, potato, dark bread, dried bough lizard, Saggunto flatbread

A mixed affair, really. In theory I'd eat an apricot tartlet in a second, but I'm less sold on the blood sausage and the hagfish eggs. And don't get me started on the rat skewers. I thought these things carried the plague? By the second game, however, you've got dried lizard and flatbread to choose from—stronger choices, to me, depending on how hungry I was. Like on Talos I, you've got jellied eels available, too, which is surely an Easter Egg to connect the game's universes. 

I'm still not sure I could eat anything here, though. It's not that the food sounds bad in Dunwall—I just don't think I could enjoy eating knowing that I might be surrounded by rats or bloatflies at any time. I won't even eat crisps on the train in real life if someone's sneezed near me. Sorry, Dunwall. Sort out the infestation problem, and I might find the idea of munching down on some potted Dabokva whale meat a little more appetising (although probably not). 

Fallout: New Vegas is the best Fallout in the series. Better than 3, 4 and that isometric carry on from a million years ago. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, New Vegas may also be the last Fallout game Bethesda outsources for third party development. 

In conversation with The Guardian, company director Todd Howard says Bethesda is in a position now where in-house projects make the most sense going forward. 

"I wouldn’t say never," says Howard asked about the nature of NV's development. "[But] now that our company is so big, it’s always better to keep stuff internal... it becomes less likely, but I could never say never. I thought the Obsidian guys did a fabulous job."

Which may come as a disappointment to some Fallouters. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, but there was something about New Vegas that grabbed me that the others didn't quite manage. I think Andy reflects how I feel when he bills NV the most authentic 3D Fallout game. And with that in mind, I'd always hoped Bethesda might consider passing the baton back at some point down the line. 

Another thing Howard is doubtful of is remastered versions of old games. Despite the success of 2016's Skyrim: Special Edition, Howard suggests experiencing old games as they were at launch is more satisfying than modern reimaginings might be.

"For Skyrim Remastered, we had done some work on it but it was already pretty visually close," Howard tells The Guardian. "But for something like Morrowind, my personal preference is not to remaster it. We [also] get asked a lot to remaster [1997’s] Fallout 1, and I usually say, if you have a PC you can play Fallout the way it was. I think that’s how it should be. 

"I think streaming technology is definitely coming, and it’s gonna make people’s access to games infinitely easier. You’ve seen it happen to music and movies and I think it’s a great thing."

Check out The Guardian's chat with Howard (and Pete Hines) in full this way. It follows this conversation earlier in the week. Head in this direction for everything we know about Fallout 76.   

GTA Online's new nightclubs will feature real-world performers, including Tale of Us, The Black Madonna, Solomun and Dixon. Due July 24, this coming Tuesday, GTA Online: After Hours rolls out the red carpet for partygoers and proprietors alike—including Grand Theft Auto 4's Tony Prince, aka Gay Tony. 

"Los Santos is a city of bright lights, long nights and dirty secrets, and they don’t come brighter, longer or dirtier than in GTA Online: After Hours," reads the Rockstar Newswire. "Partner with legendary impresario Tony Prince to open and operate a top shelf Nightclub featuring world-class DJ acts Solomun, Tale Of Us, Dixon and The Black Madonna, and use it as a front for the most concentrated network of criminal enterprise ever to hit San Andreas."

Not much else to go on beyond that just yet, but the trailer above has me quietly hopeful we're getting something relatively narrative-heavy. I guess we'll find out either way come Tuesday. Best dust off yer dancing shoes.   

Last month, we wrote about how OpenAI's Dota 2 bots are totally on some I, Robot shit as they aim to "beat a team of top professionals" at The International. Back then, the collective known as the OpenAI Five were working to set of tight restrictions. Now, a host of the "most significant" conditions have been removed. And it's getting exciting. 

It's worth noting here that I know next to nothing about Dota 2. I'm now going to unashamedly pass off PCG dep ed/MOBA expert Pip's thoughts and advice on the following as my own.  

So, it appears OpenAI has now reintroduced Roshan—the river-dwelling NPC monster which bisects the map—as fair game. Killing him grants victors significant bonuses, therefore an important part of any match is knowing when your enemy is trying to kill him—or judging when best to attempt it yourself. OpenAI now reckons the OpenAI Five are smart enough to handle these considerations on the fly. 

Likewise, wards have been reinstated. Wards expand players' ground vision—which would have previously given human players a leg-up over their AI counterparts—and are therefore tied to Roshan, as knowing when your enemies are targeting the river baddie is crucial mid-battle.   

"Because our training system Rapid is very general, we were able to teach OpenAI Five many complex skills since June simply by integrating new features and randomizations," explains OpenAI in a blog post. "Many people pointed out that wards and Roshan were particularly important to include—and now we’ve done so. We’ve also increased the hero pool to 18 heroes. Many commenters thought these improvements would take another year. We’ll see how well these new game mechanics work on August 5th."

OpenAI says that while the bots' strength comes more from teamwork and coordination than reflexes, it has managed to up the reaction time of the Five from 80ms to 200ms—a reaction time closer to human level. 

As OpenAI notes above, this next match—the 'OpenAI Five Benchmark match'—takes place on August 5, ahead of the Five's final showdown at The International 2018. 

"The OpenAI Five Benchmark match will be held 12:30pm Pacific Time on August 5th in San Francisco," adds OpenAI. "The human team will include Blitz, Cap, Fogged, and Merlini, some of whom are former professionals." 

NB—Thanks, Pip!

JulioNIB is best known as the GTA 5 modder bringing The Avengers to Los Santos. His player-made projects include Ghost Rider, The Flash, Iron Man, Dragon Ball Z, Thanos and The Hulk—the latter of which has now been upgraded to devastating effect. Without further ado, here's the new 'HULK v2 script' in motion. It's, dare I say it, pretty Incredible.

As showcased there, The Hulk now has 17 special abilities including: Super Strength, Auto Heal, Super Jump, Super Sprint, Super Melee Attacks, Grab and Throw, the aptly-named Use Lamp Pole as Baseball Bat… Hulk-sized breath... Jump and Smash Ground, Atomic Slam, Thunder Clap, Jump and Special Attack, Attack Mid-Air Targets, Jump to Mid-Air Vehicles, Take Down Mid-Air Vehicles, Wall Climb, and, my favourite, Rip Off Pilot/Driver From Mid-Air Vehicle. 

That last one is best demonstrated at the 3.27 mark above. That parachute ain't saving you there, pal.  

JulioNIB explains players can customize the Green FX with different colors by "checking the suit .ini files, and the fxBaseColor variable (Alpha, Red, Green and Blue)". The creator then explains how to activate the Hulk's 'Wall Climb' manoeuvre, how to grab vehicles in mid-air, and how to perform the aforementioned pull-dude-from-flying-helicopter action.  

Head over to JulioNIB's blog for HULK v2 script installation instructions, and check out our collection of the best GTA 5 mods.  

During a Reddit AMA discussing operator balance and today’s big 2.2 patch announcement for Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft devs from the balancing team shared some aspirations and hinted at a few plans for operators that are in the works. Most notably, Ubi is not happy with one of the most popular operators in the game: Thatcher.

Redditor Jay-Aaron wanted to know why Thatcher’s EMP grenades can’t destroy Alibi’s Prisma decoys and Maestro’s Evil Eye cameras. Typically, the EMP is a surefire way to permanently disable any electronic on the defender side. In response, game designer Jean-Baptiste Hallé said that this is because the team isn’t satisfied with the way Thatcher is played right now.

“EMP [temporarily] disabling things like Alibi's Prisma, Maestro's Turrets, or Bullet Proof Cameras are first steps towards bigger changes that we have in mind for Thatcher. In general, we are not satisfied with the interaction of the EMP and electronic gadgets when this interaction is a simple destruction. We believe that it is often too binary and doesn't leave enough room for counterplays,” Hallé said.

By “too binary,” Hallé refers to a gadget that doesn’t leave itself open to creative use. With Thatcher, you simply throw his EMP grenade. If it blows up anywhere near an electronic, it’s gone. The power and simplicity of this ability has dictated large parts of the meta since the game’s launch. Compare this tactic to similar operators like IQ and Twitch, whose gadgets require timing, positioning, stealth, and inherent risk to make the same impact that Thatcher can by simply tossing an EMP from outside.

It’s this type of gadget that Hallé believes is inherently problematic. Redditor ASCIIPASCII put it best with how this relates to trap operators like Kapkan and Frost. “Personally, I've always felt like traps like those of Frost (or pre-nerf Kapkan), capable of killing or downing an attacker from full health with only a single trap is too hard to balance in regard to the current meta. Leaving them either very much overpowered or underpowered depending on how they are designed.”

Hallé agreed with the commenter, citing Kapkan’s recent rework as an effort to curb an ability that was too binary. Siege data scientist Geoffroy Mouret also chimed in, saying they “want to avoid ‘all-or-nothing’ situations and have more consistent mechanics.” Instead of instantly killing an enemy upon triggering, Kapkan’s traps now explode for 60 damage and are much easier to hide.

Keeping with today’s theme of overly binary abilities, user research project manager Julien Huguenin touched on one fan’s concerns with Blitz being too weak when far away, and too strong up close. “Blitz is a tricky operator to balance—he can easily swing between being much too strong or too weak as the shield mechanic is rather binary as of now,” Huguenin said. He also went on to hint at future efforts to make shields less annoying, saying “we have larger plans in the future to give more counter to the defending operator when facing a Shield at close range.”

We got a few other coy references to future features, too, like a mysterious Mute buff and a gadget for next season that might focus on slowing attackers down. The devs are also looking into Capitão’s asphyxiation bolts to make them more consistent and useful.

Fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have found comfy homes on PC, and even Soul Calibur is making the jump in its next installment. But we're still lacking in platform fighters like Nintendo's Super Smash Bros., though Smash Bros. itself can of course be played on an emulator. Games like Brawlhalla have captured some of the same magic (and are plenty fun in their own right), but I reckon there's still a space for another great platform fighter. DimensionsVS, an upcoming free-to-play fighting game unashamedly styled after Smash, wants to fill that space. 

DimensionsVS supports up to four players in local or online multiplayer and can be played with a gamepad or a keyboard (though a gamepad is recommended). The goal is to KO your opponents by building up damage and knocking them off the stage, and you can duke it out in time trial or stock-based modes. It all looks very Smash, especially the 'break the targets' challenge mode and the bubble shields. 

One notable difference from Smash is the way DimensionsVS handles damage: dealing damage lowers opponent's health from a starting 200. Another notable difference is its small roster: DimensionsVS currently has just six characters (who you can learn more about on the game's official site). According to developer TeePee Studios, this is part of the reason DimensionsVS will enter Steam Early Access next month.

"We do not feel like we have achieved the quantity of content yet that warrants releasing DimensionsVS in its current state, specifically content that can be purchased via real world money or currency earned in game," TeePee says on Steam. "Releasing in Early Access lets us bring the game to you as soon as possible while still creating crucial content, and lets you know what to expect from the game before installing."

TeePee plans to leave Early Access in early 2019 after adding "a whole bunch" of levels and characters. DimensionsVS will stay free-to-play, mind, with "purely cosmetic" items available for purchase.  

The trailer for No Man's Sky Next arrived yesterday, and feel free to give it another viewing above before reading on because there's a lot to take in. Hello Games provided a rundown of what its fourth free expansion will contain, including the long-awaited multiplayer feature and third-person perspective, but it can't hurt to dive in deeper and see what other details we can wrangle out of the footage.

Here's a breakdown of everything we spotted in the trailer, as well as a few things we didn't see.

Co-op appears to be four players max

It appears as though the multiplayer or team cap may top out at four. The only thing I've seen Hello Games say in terms of numbers is 'a small group' or 'a small team.' The screenshots shown contain no more than four players, and the various trailer scenes show a total of four players at any given time (with one possible exception I'll get to in a bit).

This could mean your team is maxed out at four, but what's unclear is what happens if you run into another team or solo player? Or two other teams? Or, like, 10 teams? I assume we'll find out very soon after Next arrives, as dedicated NMS players have already begun planning mass meetups.

One of the players is a Gek

There are four factions in No Man's Sky: the Korvax machine race, the grouchy Vy'keen warriors, the Travelers (players), and the birdlike yet aquatic Gek. Except in the trailer, one of the players is a Gek rather than a Traveler. Or, at least is a Gek who is a Traveler.

That's pretty cool, and I'm curious to see if players can also choose to be Vy'keen or Korvax, and if it's simply a cosmetic choice that can be swapped at will or if it has some deeper impact on the game.

Underwater bases?

There were random structures that could spawn underwater in No Man's Sky, and players have been able to build bases underwater with some clever terraforming, but water would still fill all the chambers of the base. It's hard to tell from the opening scene in the Next trailer, which shows players swimming around near some underwater buildings, if those structures are player-made or randomized spawns.

There's also a frame or two where you can see a much larger structure that looks like it could possibly be a player-built base:

According to Hello Games "Bases can now be built anywhere on any planet." This is great since it sounds like we won't need to have to find a randomly placed habitable outpost to begin building, but I'm hoping it also truly means anywhere, including at the bottom of an ocean where you could construct an air-tight habitat.

Are those pilotable mechs?

Hm.

So, near the end of the trailer there's a cool sight: one player and three big stompy robots. I'm not sure they're player-controlled, though—a car can be briefly spotted in the same scene, which I assume is driven by a player. So if there is a four-player team cap, and one is in a car, and one is running around on foot, there probably wouldn't be three more players piloting mechs at the same time. Unless you could have more than four players on your team, or if this shows a team of four encountering a fifth player. I don't know. I don't know!

Those mechs just might be extra-large sentinel bots (there's a small quadrupedal bot as well) on the lookout for anyone blowing up trees or stealing expensive resources. They might all be chasing the guy in the car for some infraction of the planet's guidelines (you can see a few standard hovering sentinels following the car, too). But it would be pretty cool if we could pilot those stomping bots around as a new exovehicle. And if not, I'd be surprised if some modders didn't make it happen in the future.

Portal pals

It's not clear how you'll be able to link up with your friends in the vast expanse of No Man's Sky. It may be as simple as inviting a friend to a session and having them appear beside you. If not, it could require using portals to crew up, which were dormant in the original game and only became functional in the Atlas Update. There's a brief glimpse in the trailer of a couple players strolling out of one.

NMS looks great in third-person

We've been able to see our ships in third-person perspective since the Pathfinder Update added a photo mode, but we could only use it while the game was paused. It made for some great screenshots, but it's exciting to think about running and flying around in real third-person mode in Next. It looks like some thought has been put into extra effects you wouldn't normally see while flying in first-person, like the wake the ship leaves when flying over the water.

(Also I think that pilot hit a tree.)

At last, ringed planets

The best planets are ringed planets. Scientists agree on this (probably), and so do I. I'm personally in favor of a mission to blow up our dumb boring moon and turn it into a sweet rocky ring around the earth. Please call your congressperson and help make it a reality.

Modders addressed the ringed planet shortcomings of No Man's Sky long ago, but it's still nice to see long-overdue official rings around planets. I'm interested to see what they look like up close: is it just an effect or are rings made of actual, mineable rocks?

Exterior freighter docking pads

Being able to dock on a freighter (and buy one) was introduced in the Foundation Update. But I sort of didn't care for the way you docked with them: fly too close to the entry port and you sort of automatically get sucked into the interior landing area, which is a bit of a hassle if you didn't intend to actually land.

At the end of the trailer, we see what appears to be a couple of exterior landing pads (I slowed it down in the gif above) outside the freighter with some ships parked on them. That feels a lot nicer than having to always park in the garage.

This little backpack dude lookin' around

I'm guessing this is just a cute animation of our suit's scanner, but this little pod attached to the player's backpack looking around is a nice touch. Like visiting an alien planet with a curious kid sitting on your shoulders.

What we didn't see much of

If there was a big disappointment at the initial launch of No Man's Sky for me, it had to do with the randomized alien lifeforms. Once you saw a few, you began to recognize the base parts and pieces they were mathematically cobbled together from, until each life form just became a familiar mix of limbs and beaks and claws you'd already seen dozens of times before. There just wasn't much magic to them, and when they were strolling around the randomized terrain on procedural legs, they often appeared clumsy, graceless, and completely artificial.

There's not a lot in the trailer showing off alien creatures. There are one or two in the background, and one scene lasting a few frames (slowed down above) with players attacking one of them. I'm hopeful there's been some work done on creatures along with everything else, and that we'll see some exciting and truly different lifeforms in Next. It's certainly not shown in the trailer, though, and not mentioned in the post on the official site.

"You can help friends to stay alive, or prey on others to survive." That's something Hello Games listed as a feature in NEXT, but it's hard to say how it will work or if any of it is included in the trailer. There are a few quick pew-pew spaceship scenes, but I can't tell if it's NPCs or players fighting each other. Certainly no face-to-face PvP combat is shown.

If you can prey on others to survive, does that mean you can take their loot? Their ships? Their bases? We don't know yet, but it won't be long until we find out: No Man's Sky Next arrives on July 24.

The last few years have shown that Square Enix is devoted to the PC, releasing nearly the entire Final Fantasy back catalog and new JRPGs like Final Fantasy 15 and Dragon Quest 11 that would've once been console exclusives. Now, in what may be a sign that Japan's PC audience is growing, Square Enix is taking a first step: releasing a game on Steam exclusively in Japanese, without it being region-locked to Japan. SaGa Scarlet Grace is launching on Steam on August 1st, side-by-side with its console versions.

As pointed out by Resetera, this is a new move for Square Enix, and SaGa Scarlet Grace is probably a good game to test the waters with. The SaGa series is infamously complex, borderline impenetrable, and several of its entries and remakes have never been released in the West. There's also a PC connection: the browser-based Imperial SaGa, also only available in Japanese, came out a few years ago.

In this case, it seems likely SaGa Scarlet Grace will get an English localization on PC, which may be why it's not region-locked to the Japanese store like some other games. Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu confirmed an English version was underway back in April, but it still has no planned release date. So for now, Scarlet Grace will serve as an interesting test case for how well Japanese RPGs can do on PC in their home region. 

Square Enix isn't the only Japanese developer to release games on Steam without English translations. Koei Tecmo has been doing so for years, releasing ports from its back catalog like Nobunaga's Ambition and Uncharted Waters. We'll see if this is a one-off for Square, or the start of a trend. 

According to Steam, I have sunk 114 hours into Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition, on top of 61 hours spent in the "Classic" edition. A lot of that is probably AFK time but there is no doubt that I strolled slowly and stopped to smell the roses. Divinity: Original Sin 2 speedrunner AlmostPi, on the other hand, did not. 

AlmostPi was credited by Larian earlier today with blowing through the game in 24 minutes, 58 seconds under the "Any%, Old Patch" rules. That means the only consideration is getting from start to finish as quickly as possible, without worrying about achieving any particular in-game goals or having to use the latest update, which would presumably patch out at least some of the exploits that speedrunners take advantage of when they do their thing.

You can see quite a bit of that in the video of the speedrun: He drops crates and barrels from his inventory to reach otherwise inaccessible locations, for instance, and bypasses just about everything on the map, including ostensibly-mandatory combat. I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again the next time the topic of speedrunning comes up: It's a terrible way to play a game. But it also speaks to an impressive familiarity with Original Sin 2 (imagine the amount of time a person would have to sink into a game to learn and memorize those angles) and how to bend it in ways that Larian never intended.

Amusingly, Larian's tweet about the new record did not stand for long: Speedrunner Semanari beat it later in the day with a run of 23m26s, but AlmostPi quickly reclaimed the title with a time of 23m16s. You can watch that run in all its glory (and in less time than it takes me to create a single RPG character) below.