Emulators have finally arrived on Steam – and they’ve landed on Valve’s storefront with a bang. This week, developers Geod Studios brought their long-running NES emulator 3DSen PC to Steam. The twist? This virtual console turns old-school pixel pushers – whether they’re modern homebrew throwbacks or legitimately-acquired Marios – into adorable, fully-playable 3D dioramas.
Alright! That’s the first fortnight of notE3 finished and done. With E3 2020 cancelled by the pandemic and its organisers not putting an official online alternative, instead of a tight week of marketing events we have a months-long sprawl of events with different focuses (and amounts of focus). Bit weird. I miss E3. But enough about the future: have you seen all those great demos in the Steam Game Festival right now? So, so much to play.
What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on!
Ah who needs magic in RPGs anyway, right? Henry of Skalitz of Kingdom Come: Deliverance fame sure doesn’t. If you’re looking for another big RPG to tickle your tabard, Warhorse Studios’ big RPG about life as a blacksmith turned soldier in medieval Europe is getting a free to play weekend.
Earlier this year, the developers of Monument Valley brought their newest pastel creation to PC. Now, Ustwo Games are tinkering with the game itself some more, adding a free epilogue level to Assemble With Care. The update is free for all owners, and is the “longest and most ambitious level yet, combining multiple mechanics from other levels and new surprises.”
The year of Halo on PC is rolling right along. We’ve checked off several PC Halo releases already this year and by lore order Halo 3 is next up to bat. As with the others, 343 Industries are inviting registered members of the Halo Insider Program to what they call “flights,” basically a big beta test. Instead of continuing to pick select groups of players, 343 say that they’re shooting off an invite to the current Halo 3 test to all registered Insider members. The test is scheduled to end on June 26th.
Put yer sand shoes on, folks. We’re going to Egypt. Assassin’s Creed Origins is free to play this weekend. Start downloading now if you happened to miss this particular chapter of stealth, stabbing, and wall climbing.
has a good line in names. Across its campaign missions, you play Gravcycle pilot and – yes – television presenter called Romer Shoal in a rebellion against “integrated” human-robot hybrids led by Black Shuck. If those names aren’t fun enough to roll around in your mouth, consider that the TV show Romer presented was called “Cradle 2 The Grav”.
If only there was as much personality to be found in every other aspect of this hybrid of first-person shooting and light strategy.
Strategic wild west adventure Desperados 3 is out and yup, it’s a gunslingin’ good time according to RPS’s Desperados 3 review. Your crew of misfits sneak through trains, towns, and other yeehaw settings to take out enemies with stealth and trickery. What good’s all that strategy though if you can’t do it with frightful efficiency? Ye olde speedrunners are on the case as always and boy howdy watching them blast through Desperados 3 levels is a treat.
I watched some footage of West Of Dead in action… this week? Last week? Who can remember these things. And it occurred to me that I’ve somehow never seen a twin-stick cover shooter until now.
In case that’s not enough to pique your interest, you play as an undead cowboy Ron Perlman. It looks bloody good, and it’s out now.
Following Saturday’s news that Baldur’s Gate 3 will (maybe) launch in early access in August, developers Larian last night showed more of the fantasy RPG – and what’s changed since we last saw it. Let’s see… the narrator has switched to second-person, the initiative system has been tweaked, and hey look it’s over an hour of new gameplay footage, there’s loads in here.