A collection of 20 games on Itch are part of a Black Lives Matter bundle raising money for related organisations. So far the bundle has raised over $50,000, ten times its original goal. The organisers are now hoping to raise a total of $99,999, the maximum goal they say that Itch allows them to specify. If you’re looking for a way to continue donating to the cause, you could do worse than grabbing some good indie games at the same time.

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Earlier in the year, charity speedrunning event Summer Games Done Quick made the decision to delay until August in light of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Organisers have now made the decision to cancel the on-site parts of the event, opting instead for a fully online event.

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Amid all these flashy full remakes of older games, Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is holding the line for the remaster crowd who want their classic games with more pixels but no fewer quirks. The Remastered Collection is out now, bringing all its expansion packs and some modern niceties like a new UI to the old RTS series.

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I played a lot> of Startopia growing up. If you are unfamiliar, it was a weird management game where you were in charge of running a port on a big, donut-shaped space station. Last year Spacebase Startopia was announced, a sort of remake-slash-sequel to Startopia made by a different studio, and this weekend it went into a closed beta. So what else could I do, but suit up and go back into orbit? Honestly, every time I get out…

If you’re a Startopia fan, Spacebase Startopia feels like an off-brand version of the original. When you first start, everything seems very similar to, and yet slightly different from, how it was when you played before, as if you’ve gone into Aldi and bought a box of CHOCO WEETIES CEREAL HOOPS. You have a sarky AI, but it has a feminine robot voice. Communications arrays on your space station used to be manned by Targs, squat little beetles with spacesuits; they’re now run by Bugs, squat little beetles without spacesuits. The tall, slim archetypal Grey aliens who served as doctors are now… well they’re the same, but shorter. But once I got over that weird “déjà vu but not” feeling, I found Spacebase to be in good shape.

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In yet another show of words, Activision and Infinity Ward have updated Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare with a new loading screen proclaiming Black Lives Matter. This follows two other attempts to show support for those protesting the death of George Floyd and police violence in the United States and around the world that disproportionately affects Black people.

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As you probably already know, America and the rest of the world are in the midst of hundreds of protests fighting back against racism and police brutality. These protests were sparked by the muder of George Floyd, and while his killer has now been charged with second-degree murder, there’s still much more to do to fight back against systemic racism.

To that end, the American contingent of our corporate family, USgamer, are hosting a livestream this evening in support of Black Lives Matter. They’ll be playing games and having chats with journos and hosts from other sites within our network, as well as the good folks from IGN, Kinda Funny, GameSpot and more.

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I am working on my review for The Sims 4‘s newest expansion pack, Eco Lifestyle, in which you can choose to live carbon neutral or carbon positive, but so far, it is fun. Fun but difficult. I’m trying out various different new things in the new neighbourhoods added with Evergreen Harbour, but so far I can say that living in an eco-friendly way is hard, especially if you’re off the grid.

I made a pair of Sim eco warrior roomies called Britta Horace and Nigel Sneed, along with Britta’s small and lazy mongrel dog Graham. They moved into the off-the-grid shipping crate home in Port Promise, which is an industrial port area in a terrible state, and promptly became abjectly miserable. The Sims get sick even going outside because the air quality is so poor. They are constantly dirty and unhappy because they shower in brackish, room temperature water, and on their first night a huge thunderstorm destroyed their dew collector, so showers may soon become a thing of the past. But there is one thing that makes Britta happy. And that is crawling through other people’s filth.

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Two weeks ago, Monster Train breezed into my life like a man wearing a trenchcoat stuffed with cocaine. I’ve been playing Shiny Shoe’s roguelike deckbuilder almost every night since, and I have no intention of stopping.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but it’s at least as good as Slay The Spire.

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Buying a laptop that doesn’t cost the earth is getting easier and easier nowadays, but finding one that can play the latest games without wheezing under the strain is much, much harder. Indeed, spending over £1000 on a gaming laptop used to be a foregone conclusion to get something that’s in any way competent, but that’s no longer the case – and to prove the point, here’s a quick roundup of five gaming laptops I’ve found that won’t break the four-figure barrier. As you might expect, the pricier the laptop, the better the performance, but you may be surprised at what you can get for your money.

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If you’ve ever fancied giving Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds a try, now is probably the time to do it, because over the next few days it’s holding a free weekend. It kicked off yesterday and will run until 6pm BST on Monday the 8th of June, so there’s still plenty of time left to get droppin’ with the boys. And if you suddenly decide PUBG is the battle royale for you, you can pick it up for 50% for the duration of the free weekend.

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