Another new Dota 2 hero has been announced at The International, hot off the heels of Snapfire, the elderly lizard-riding goblin announced earlier this week. They should have lead with this one. Snapfire is not an easy act to follow. Still, Void Spirit will also be joining the MOBA this autumn, though he seems somewhat reluctant to do so in his introductory video, which you can see below.
Just looking at ritual crafting game Stones Of Solace lowers my blood pressure. The fuzzy, dreamlike edges to the items. The daily shifting of the colour palettes. The gentle, beach-y music to keep you company. It s all a much-needed breath of fresh air on a hot weekend. Here is a very pretty trailer to soak in.
If you’ve not been following PC games goings-on across the week, catch up on some of the big stories quick in the first of our Weekly News Digest. I’ve slipped in a few things we haven’t already posted about, and do also read The Updates Update for some of the week’s notable patches and updates.
This week brought a load of announcements from Gamescom, everything from new games to delays, but it’s not all Gamescom.
In all the hubbub of the week, you might’ve missed some of the patches and updates rolled out to games. Presenting the Weekly Updates Update, a noncomprehensive roundup of new maps and characters and balance tweaks and fixes and such which caught my eye over the week – including a few we haven’t posted about.
League Of Legends developers Riot Games have this week agreed to settle one of the class action lawsuits levied against them, paying up to the women who sued them for gender discrimination. Hooray for those women getting what they consider to be a fair settlement; may it be all that they deserve. Boo to well, where do we begin.
FMV investigate em up Telling Lies has launched, bring you reams of stolen footage to search through at your leisure. There s a good reason you re nosing into the lives of these four strangers, I m sure. At least, if you think naked curiosity is as good a reason as any. Which I do. Look, here s a sneak peak via the launch trailer.
Troubled runaway scamps Sean and Daniel Diaz are back. The fourth episode of Life Is Strange 2 released this week, with big brother Sean casting about a big desert in search of his lost brother. He isn t in great shape himself, either, understandably, given everything he s been through. Observe, a very melancholy launch trailer.
Whenever I go a week without writing a Priceless Play, my head goes a little fuzzy. It has become a part of my weekly routine and when I take a week off here and there to tend to other writing commitments, I feel a little lost. When I load itch.io back up again, my fingers feel a little clumsy, as if I have lost the rhythm of things.
I have been reading and writing a lot about grief, loss, and mourning lately. Not necessarily the profound sense of grief following the death of a loved one, but instead a profound and ongoing melancholy which can pervade a community, or colour a prolonged period of time. It isn’t the most cheerful corner of my research, but it is generative.
Here are some games which remind me of that sort of unknowable melancholy.
This weekend is a bank holiday weekend here in the UK so we’ll be away on Monday then return on Tuesday. See you then! In the meantime: go outside.
Some will tell you that autumn begins next weekend. Do not listen. We have weeks of summer left. Weeks! Get out there and enjoy it. I don’t care if it’s overcast, rainy, or whatever, you get out there and enjoy the summer. I cannot recommend strongly enough: get in the sea. The summer jellyfish bloom is still going on round my way and they’re beauties alright. I don’t even really notice the stings anymore.
What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on!
I ve burnt my feet in a fireplace, severely concussed myself in Kings Cross station, and my mugshot hangs in every owl sanctuary throughout the land. It s fair to say that Hogwarts just doesn t want me, but that’s okay, as I ve sniffed out a potential replacement. The next The Sims 4 game pack Realm Of Magic might not be an entirely original prospect, but since we re still waiting on a proper Potter game, it might be the best we have for now.