Remember Paragon? Epic’s shooty MOBA might be long-gone, but its DNA (and models, and textures, and animations) live on in Fault. Released in early access this week, Strange Matter Studio’s successor isn’t just influenced by Paragon – it’s an attempt to revive the ill-fated MOBA using that Paragon’s very own (and very free) assets.
In a line that only further proves the cyberpunk dystopia is real, the US Army have been reprimanded by Twitch for running phoney giveaways on their streaming channel. Following criticism for banning viewers who raise the service’s history of war crimes, Twitch have now forced the US Army’s Esports Team (a thing that sure does exist) to stop a thinly-veiled recruitment trick disguised as a free controller giveaway.
Lovable television strongman Henry Cavill overclocked hearts around the world when he documented his latest PC build on Instagram this week, reminding us all once again that even Hollywood A-listers with inhuman physiques can turn out to be giant, lovable nerds on the inside. But as it transpires, Cavill isn’t the only one in Tinseltown who knows their way around these inscrutable, whirring machines we call “computers”. Indeed, in the wake of his charming video, a swathe of weapons-grade celebs have come out of the woodwork to reveal their secret hardware passion, and have all – somehow – chosen to share their PC build secrets exclusively with us. Read on, then, as we reveal the rigs of the stars:
Alright here we go, we’re about to enter the final week of notE3. Next week, Microsoft have their big show-off stream plus another Day Of The Devs showcase is coming as part of the Summer Game Fest. That’s it. Then we’re into a period I’m now declaring pre-Gamescom. But for now, still so many video games to play. Even if we are mostly playing Death Stranding.
What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on!
If you think “ah yes, Final Fantasy Tactics” when you look at Fae Tactics, I suspect that’s totally its intention. Everything about it reminds me of being huddled up in the back seat of my mother’s van with my nose against the screen of a Game Boy Color being absolutely stymied by the logistics of vertical tactical battles. Fae Tactics pushed out a new trailer to announce you’ll get your hands on some classic turn-based skirmishes on July 31st.
If you’re not so sure about the recently-announced, Worms Rumble battle royale game, you may be more excited to hear about today’s glow up for classic Worms Armageddon. Released today, version 3.8 adds all sorts of modern features to the old turn-based battlefield including more custom match options, windowed mode, and a few other neat new tricks.
In narrative game We Should Talk., both your drinks and your relationship might be on the rocks, but that’s up to you. You’ll piece together conversations with your pals at the bar and your partner at home, trying to pick the tone you’re looking for. It’s a neat conversational puzzle that will probably stress me out just as much in-game as it would in life.
In a world of resigned and begrudging “yes”s, indie game Say No! More invites you to do just that. Stick up for yourself and say “no!” every once in a while. If you speak a language that Studio Fizbin aren’t already supporting, they’d like to invite you to say “no!” several times for an in-game voice pack. Thunderful Publishing will repay your performance with a €100 donation (about £91) to charity organization Ditch The Label.
Bridge man Sam Stranding or Die Bridgeman or whatever his name is has been trekking across post-apocalyptic America now that Death Stranding is out on PC. You’ll have an update queued up before you can get back to delivery mode though, as 505 Games have released the first quick patch for strand simulator before the weekend. It’s a collection of small bug fixes for better stability, they say. That’s stability of the game itself. Mailman Sam’s stability is still in your hands.
is a 3D point-and-click adventure game which is the sequel to 1994’s 2D point-and-click-adventure game Beneath A Steel Sky. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t play the first one, although some knowledge is helpful. You play as Robert Foster, returning to a futuristic city-state he freed from an evil AI ten years ago, because new bad things are afoot (these involving kidnapping children from the land outside the city). You have to infiltrate the city, team up with your robot pal Joey, and save the day. In its final form, this is looking a lot better than when I previewed it – the animation bugs are gone, and there’s a new layer of polish on everything.
But that is not what I want to talk about. Very early on in the game, a precocious child gives you a hacker tool to help with the whole saving the day thing. It is amazing. It is ostensibly to solve puzzles, but what it actually does is make you an agent of chaos capable of bringing any automated system to its robotic knees. I think it’s the best puzzle doohickey I’ve seen in a game for a long time.
