Are all you kids out there still playing Minecraft? Let’s hope so, because some folks have made a Minecraft map to teach you younguns about how social distancing and healthcare services work together to beat a pandemic. It sounds a bit corny off the cuff but it does look pretty neat, actually, and although it’s not a scientifically-accurate model, it might actually help teach some folks in a more visual manner than talking heads on the news.

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Well well, it’s not every day (or year) that you see a new custom story mod for The Witcher. Yes, the original Witcher with the clunky combat and clunkier menus and questionable voice acting that is still pretty enjoyable despite all that. This new adventure is made in The Witcher 1 but takes place after the events of The Witcher 3. Geralt finds his way back to the outskirts of Vizima where, as usual, there’s a murder mystery to solve and a monster to catch.

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Heads up, story-liking folks. Narrative game celebration LudoNarraCon is kicking off its weekend of game developer panels and game demos today. Story games big and small are offering up demos, sales, and some insight into how they’re created. You’ll be able to catch livestreams and talks from today through Monday, April 27th.

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Another game giveaway joins the fray amidst the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, imploring you to stay home and do your warring indoors. You can have as many strategic samurai battles as you like if you grab Total War: Shogun 2 next week while it’s free for keepsies. Some other Total War games will join it on the front line, going on sale for a week instead of entirely free.

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The dog companions in Fallout games are iconic. Dogmeat? A hero. Rex? The best boy. I was surprised Fallout 76 never put in any sort of dog friend to help you out, but now I see Bethesda were just taking their time getting round to it. In a Q&A on Reddit yesterday, a couple of developers teased some of the stuff coming to the wastelands of Appalachia, and it looks like pets might well be on their way.

“Now that we have our companions system in the game, we are looking to add pets as well,” said project lead, Jeff Gardiner.

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As we prepare to enter another round of lockdown fun times, at least there are still bucketloads of PC gaming deals to help keep us occupied. Indeed, this week’s roundup of best PC gaming deals is (yet another) bumper crop of tasty savings, including the best prices on today’s big releases – XCOM: Chimera Squad and Trials Of Mana – as well as huge discounts on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, Planet Zoo, Heaven’s Vault and loads more. Whatever you need, your deals herald shall provide.

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If you’re looking to try and get one of today’s [cms-block]s on the cheap, you may find yourself out of luck. Stock levels continue to be pretty low across the board in the UK and US this week, but there are still a couple of great gaming monitor deals to be had if you look hard enough. To help you find your next best monitor for the best price, I’ve rounded up all the best gaming monitor deals from the last seven days right here. As well as several of my best gaming monitor 2020 recommendations, I’ve also included a bunch of other great gaming monitor deals I’ve spotted along the way that I’m confident will have accurate panels. Whether you’re looking for the best G-Sync monitor deals or cheap ultrawide deals, here are the best gaming monitor deals of the week.

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Very early on in XCOM Chimera Squad, you’ll get the ability to send an agent on a spec ops assignment. When they’re finished, you’ll get a small bonus that can help your squad.

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The strategic squad-shooting antics of XCOM return today by way of XCOM: Chimera Squad, a standalone spin-off that takes place amidst a new world order. Whereas in previous games the player fought directly against the alien menace, in Chimera Squad, developer Firaxis Games have fast-forwarded events to five years after XCOM 2’s campaign. Now humans and aliens have made peace, and characters from both factions must fight side-by-side against separatist groups who oppose the interspecies alliance.

It’s a big shift for XCOM, and one Matt enjoyed in his XCOM: Chimera Squad review, albeit with caveats. I spoke to the game’s lead designer ahead of its release, however, to find out why they decided to make a spin-off rather than an expansion, and one that makes so many changes to the beloved formula.

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The Flare Path turned eight last summer but was so busy doing the things eight-year-olds do (Stress-testing their ankles, baiting ghosts, drawing WW2 bombers with 17 simultaneously firing turrets…) that it forgot to celebrate in the traditional manner. Amends will be made today with the help of half a dozen puzzles and a cache of high-quality prizes donated by 2×2 Games, DeGenerals, Foolish Mortals, Ndemic Creations, PortaPlay and Serious Sim. (more…)