Thank goodness we're now well past the point of me apologising for still talking about a game from last Halloween and into the part of the year where I'll be unapologetically looking forward to this Halloween. Phasmophobia, the co-op ghost sleuthing simulation that I've yet to stop playing since last year, is getting a sizable update this month as spooky season creeps closer. There are even more new ghosts coming, redesigns for tons of your equipment, and "sprinting adjustments" which I believe must mean I'll be hoofing it out of houses faster than the current crawl.

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With all the Halo Infinite information now flying about, 343 is not so stealthily approaching that late 2021 launch window. Your Spartan sneaking capabilities will be similarly out the window at Infinite's initial launch, it turns out. 343 Industries have said that you won't be bopping your opponents in the back of the head for those extra special kills during multiplayer. Assassinations are good fun and all, but 343 have found that they often get turned off due to the disadvantage they create. Bringing assassinations back is already on their radar, but they really want them to "feel meaningful" when they return.

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Have you ever seethed at the injustice of juicy, happy grapes being crushed underfoot? Probably not. I hadn’t either, but playing Zelda-like Garden Story has changed things. It stars Concord, a purple vineyard-venturer so stalwart and noble that my empathy for grapes is now at its apex. Sommeliers. Jam makers. Raisin(eers?). M&S Holiday advert charcuterie board arrangers. Watch your fucking backs. I’m ride or die for grapes now. Garden Story has radicalised me.

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Alright look. I know some of you don't want to believe this, but it turns out a bunch of people enjoyed the Back 4 Blood beta, and I was one of them. It is conceivable that I'm going to play it and write about it multiple times when it comes out. Sorry not sorry. Was the free open beta perfect? No, it was not. I feel for the people who had trouble getting online, or got disconnected. It seems that was most prevalent for console players, and therefore beyond my sight. But I sort of feel the clue is in the name: it was free, it was a beta, it was stress testing a game that still has a coupla months of tweaking to go (although arguably, it might have been better to wait to splash about that the game had gone gold until after> the beta...).

A bunch of the problems raised are known issues, as noted in a Q&A with our pals at VG247. I was blessed by not running into any problems at any point. Most importantly, I saw no issues affecting the deep and abiding love I have for my new Cleaner character-of-choice Holly. Sorry, this website will be posting Holly on main soon.

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A post-apocalyptic world populated by drunks, murderers, nudists, and giant meat monsters is apparently just the existence you darlings crave, going by the success of Death Trash. The open-world RPG launched into early access on August 5th after over five years in development, and by the 14th had apparently already made back its development costs. Nice! To think, we suffered through so many years of bacon memes when the meat everyone actually craved was a vast bloody octopus.

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I adore strategy games, except for when I have to review them. With so many abstract systems, moving parts, and potential play experiences, it can be a real brain-scratcher to neatly sum up how good they are. Humankind is proving tougher than most. Partly, it’s because I’ve played an awful lot of it, meaning there’s even more than usual to sum up. Partly, it’s because as soon as Amplitude’s big boy 4X was announced, we all knew its success would be defined by how it compared with the Civilization series.

So, then. No point drawing this out: is Humankind as good as Civ?

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A prolonged, evenly-matched fight in Naraka: Bladepoint is a thing of beauty. Picture two combatants, each equipped with grappling hooks and panache, twirling across a sun-dappled battlefield. They’re locked in a mind game of slashes, somersaults and parries, both attempting to provoke a misstep that will spell either instant death or the beginning of a chase. Now picture the latter, as they bound across rooftops or treetops, the hunted party ducking and diving, desperate to steal enough time and space to pop a healing potion. This is proper Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Stuff. I like it a lot.

I’d also be the first to tell you Naraka’s combat can be frustrating, and not everyone will find it worth persevering with. If you’re into swords, grappling hooks and battle royales, though, I mean, come on. You’ve got to try it.

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If you're after a mid-year speedrunning fix, then I have some good news for you: the all-women Games Done Quick event Flame Fatales is on all this week. Like GDQ and AGDQ, Flame Fatales is a yearly charity speedrunning marathon, and this year they're raising money for the Malala Fund. So, stay tuned for some delightfully speedy gaming in Silent Hill 2, Stardew Valley, plenty of Sonic and loads more.

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While the next Destiny 2 expansion is looming on the horizon, hissing curses and weaving lies, you can continue your adventures so far beyond Bungie's official telling in a pen & paper adaptation. Fans have turned the MMOFPS into a tabletop RPG, building on the rules of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition to create Dungeons & Destiny. It's free, it just released a new version, and it's jolly impressive.

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Back in the day, I was quite partial to a strategy or management game. You'd find me hunched by the Dell home PC playing Age Of Empires, or my personal favourite, Populous: The Beginning. Clearly, my fledgling brain enjoyed playing God. Back then, something about birthing small followers and giving them axes and sending them off to chop wood was absolutely captivating.

Now, not so much. I don't really have an explanation, other than my patience for management games has shrivelled up considerably; where once that section of my brain was a vibrant pink sponge ready to absorb vast menus and numbers, it now resembles a dry raisin. I thought that no matter how hard I tried, it would never spring back to plump life. But having spent some time raising hens in Cheeky Chooks, I can feel the creases in my raisin unfurling.

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