A lot of my friends from school have done things like have children or move to other countries now, but in the wilderness years of 2010-2016 we still all returned to our home town every Christmas, primarily to see our families, but also, secondarily, to get absolutely destroyed on Christmas eve.

A tertiary reason was that my friend Tim, who has now both had a child and> moved to another country, would have an annual Christmas LAN party at his house. There were a few games that cropped up at these. When Gang Beasts first appeared, around 2014 or so, it entered heavy rotation.

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Howdy pardner! Git yerself a mighty glug of moonshine and meet me down at Dysentery Dan s place, cause we ve got ourselves a roundup to oh. Wait. Wrong game. It s the horses that threw me off, you see. I always associate them with cowboys, now. But this is not the Cowboy Game. This is Darksiders Genesis.

Nevertheless, while this prequel spin-off to the hack-and-slash series is – as you might expect – a mix of isometric enemy-mulching and super-stylish character-focused action, it s also more than a little equestrian. Indeed, in between funneling demons at your fists, it lets you clomp about on what RDR2 s Arthur Morgan would consider to be a very fine selection of boahs indeed.

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After months of invitation-only testing for the shiny new version of their client, digital store GOG today launched GOG Galaxy 2.0 into open beta testing. More than a downloader and launcher, the optional client tries to draw together game libraries, friends lists, achievements, and more from loads of different stores and even consoles into one single place. You can admire virtual shelves full of all your games, see what all your pals are up to, and feel like the chief of cheevos when admiring all your accomplishments. Here, the video below explains it.

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Almost five and a half years ago, I made my RPS debut looking at what creative modders for Tabletop Simulator were doing. While frequently of grey legality (the majority of items on the Steam Workshop are still unofficial digital reproductions of expensive physical games), the platform is still thriving. Official adaptations of games for Berserk’s virtual play-space are now sold more readily, but few take quite as much advantage of Tabletop Simulator’s increasingly advanced scripting system like these showcase productions. Here’s a few stand-outs pushing the boundaries of what ‘tabletop’ even means.

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After a difficult financial year which saw them face a very real threat of shutting down, Starbreeze have survived a reconstruction process (roughly the Swedish equivalent of administration) and agreed a plan to pay off their debts. They’re still not in great shape, what with those debts and all, but the court have approved their proposal to complete the reconstruction process so there is hope. For now, they’re focusing on what they say is their “core business”: the cooperative heisting Payday games, including the upcoming Payday 3.

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Phoenix Point has arrived at last! From Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-COM, comes a new turn-based tactics game which tasks players with reviving the defunct Phoenix Project to save humanity after the emergence of a deadly alien virus that mutates human and animal alike to wipe out all of humankind.

Gripping stuff, and also very challenging – which should come as no surprise to veterans of the XCOM series. But never fear! I’ve been playing the game for a grand old while now, and I’ve put together the below Phoenix Point guide, filled with my 20 top tips covering every aspect of this ambitious strategy title, from combat to diplomacy and much, much more!

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The three Phoenix Point Factions dominate the remains of human civilization after the emergence of the deadly mutant-birthing Pandoravirus; and how you govern your interactions with each of them is entirely up to you. Our Phoenix Point Factions & Diplomacy guide will give you an idea of how diplomacy works in Phoenix Point, along with useful details on the three main factions in the game: New Jericho, Synedrion, and the Disciples of Anu.

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Phoenix Point classes soldiers into seven distinct groups, giving players a surprising amount of scope for customising your armies and your overall playstyle during tactical missions. From the initial three soldier classes to the unique specialists acquired through the three different factions, our Phoenix Point Classes guide will walk you through the abilities, skills, strengths, and weaknesses of each one – along with some useful tips and tricks on equipment, multi-classing, and more.

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We’re racing down the river rapids of the RPS Advent Calendar now, aren’t we? Door number nine is marked with some kind of unknown language. Can you figure it out?

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The Phoenix Point enemies are a colourful bunch of mutants. Each one is a patchwork of arthropod, annelid, human, and alien DNA all rolled into one by the Pandoravirus; and each enemy has different strengths and presents different threats – some far more than others.

In this Phoenix Point enemies guide we’ll walk you through each Pandoran enemy in turn, along with detailed sections on how to counter the Siren, Terror Sentinel, Chiron, and Scylla – four enemies that seem to be giving players a great deal of trouble.

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