Farming life sims like Stardew Valley remain enduringly popular, and until Stardew dev ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier arrives, there are plenty other games popping up like cute life sim mushrooms to horn in on our shared desire for a simpler, more rustic way of life. The route to this in Stardew Valley is actually quite hard, requiring mastery of several different interlocked systems that each ask a level of expertise that, on most days, I cannot be arsed to work towards. I love Stardew Valley, to be clear, but I hold no expectation of ever getting the most out of the farm space alloted to you as a result of your grandfather's death.

Fae Farm is a Stardewlike with a fantastical veneer and 3D graphics, but importantly it frontloads progress. It's slightly easier, in ways that seem small but cumulatively mean it takes up way less of your brain's runtime on bad days. For example: all activities, including watering your crops, use less energy than in Stardew Valley. This means you can run around clearing farm space and gathering resources, and have a working plot in just a couple of days. Heck, you can have a pretty full day in the mines before you've mechanised your farm. Game changer!

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Fractal Design's Ridge case is one of the best recent SFF (small form factor) releases, with a skinny design that can nonetheless support a surprising range of high-end hardware. The case debuted at $130, but spikes in demand pushed it north of $150 at many retailers. Today things are swinging the other way, as Newegg has knocked $20 off its MSRP to bring it to $110.

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If 2023 is remembered for one thing, it's that it was a 100% critical success year for the RPG. Role-players across the land have been feasting exceedingly well these past few months, what with the stonking success of Baldur's Gate 3 (and to lesser extents, Starfield and Diablo 4), so we thought it was about time to celebrate your favourite RPGs of all time. Your votes have been counted, your comments have been sorted, and the cream of the RPG crop has been assembled. But which of the many excellent RPGs have risen above all others? Come and find out below as we count down your top 25 favourite RPGs of all time.

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I dunno if you've heard of this game Starfield, but there's a lot of talk about it at the moment. It is a roleplaying experience> where the role you play is not "Viking-ish warrior who can shout with the power of a million metal frontmen" or "wasteland wanderer downing cans of irradiated coke" but "person in space following a broadly unexciting A-plot". Much of the most interesting stuff in Starfield is on the periphery of the main story, as is the case with most Bethesda RPGs, but I find Starfield to be much less whimsical (something I won't relitigate here). As an RPG, Starfield is taking itself seriously, and sometimes this collides with the design game systems and menus.

An example of this is that you are supposed to experience the vastness of space, but cannot do so without going through a lot of loading screens. Another is that you have two sets of clothes: a spacesuit for places that are hostile and have no breathable atmosphere, and street clothes for planets that do. And NPCs keep making fun of me for wearing my spacesuit when I don't need to, and I hate them for it.

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Overnight, in what Edwin called an "unredacted document oopsie" related to Microsoft trying to buy ActiBlizz, two things have been revealed that interest me. Well, three. Firstly, Phil Spencer capitalises "Gaming", which I hate. Secondly, as noted in that linked story, Phil Spencer wants to buy Nintendo and, in pitying also-ran brackets, Valve, which has some of the same energy as me walking into an estate agent and demanding a six bedroom house with a new fitted kitchen and a hidden library. And thirdly, according to a release schedule from a presentation dated 2020, Bethesda and Zenimax have planned out their next few years of games in depressing MCU presentation-style. Boy, are the next couple of years going to be whelming.

As is predictable now, it is largely a list of sequels and remasters, many of them dated quite optimistically, it must be said. This document pegs Starfield for 2021, for example, and obviously that didn't happen. There are also two unnamed games on there for this year (Projects Kestrel and Platinum; 2021's Project Hibiki we know refers to the surprise-released Hi-Fi Rush) and it seems unlikely they're going to appear before the end of the year. We know The Elder Scrolls 6 isn't coming for at least another five years. They're going to remaster Oblivion (but not Morrowind, the weird cousin everyone else likes most, but whose parents aren't sure what job to give them in 2023). And they're going to make Dishonored 3. I'm excited about that! But also fearful.

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Readers, I have a confession to make. I might have to stop playing Starfield. Not because its main story quests are intensely boring and repetitive. And not because its planets are all mostly dull, lifeless husks. It's mainly because wherever I go in the universe, I'm haunted by the fleshy spectre of a misshapen man. I'm not even talking about the adoring fan (though he does also stalk my every step, too). Rather, I'm alluding to my own in-game father, who's randomly generated face and features are so utterly horrifying to me that I do a little sick in my mouth every time I run into him. Who can blame me, honestly, when his mouth is so high it clips right through his goddamn nose?

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I am in control of the RPS Game Club this month, so therefore I can do whatever I want - and this time I'm delving into the world of Hypnospace Outlaw's music. No other game sounds> like Hypnospace. Featuring a veritable mountain of tracks (most of which was composed by the game's creator, Jay Tholen), Hypnospace’s extensive catalogue stretches across genres both real and imaginary. While Seepage’s Nothing Left For Me is a clear pastiche of Linkin Park, Fre3zer’s Icy Girl is a purposefully poor attempt to mimic Coolpunk, a genre built upon remixes of a jingle for a discontinued soda brand. The most exciting thing about Hypnospace is that its soundtrack is so dense and complex that there's opportunity to hyperfocus on one particular area to an intense - even problematic - degree.

Enter The Chowder Man, a stetson wearing Kid Rock analogue who makes frequent appearances throughout Hypnospace. A prominent rock musician in the 80s, Erik Helman (portrayed beautifully by musician, comedian and inventor of the Rick Roll Hot Dad) is attempting a last-ditch revival after his music career flatlined, transforming him from Jagger-esque superstar to sold-out jingle writer. The Chowder Man’s in-game discography is strange and varied, spanning from glorious rock ballads to 22 second earworms about a microwavable butter-based dessert. Totalling ten tracks, I have decided that it is my duty - nay, my fate - to rank and review them in their entirety. So let us commence this spiritual journey together, my friends, into the complex mind of The Chowder Man.

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Often when we talk about "hype" surrounding a release, it’s in anticipation of shared cultural euphoria more than that of a great gaming experience. Either way, a great RPG game hits different. Recently, Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3 have both been landmarks. Not to mention the enduring sweep of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the Minesweeper-esque ubiquity of Skyrim. When studios get the RPG right, the end result inspires excitement and devotion in ways that feel utterly unique to the genre.

To this end I chatted to Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate, and Mass Effect maestro Mark Darrah, some of the folks at Studio ZA/UM, and the minds behind the two definitive tomes on CRPG history: Matt Barton of Dungeons And Desktops, and Felipe Pepe of The CRPG Book. I wanted to ask these genere experts about all things choice and consequence, player freedom, and Baldur’s Gate 3’s phenomenal success. What turns a niche into a phenomenon? What goes into creating a great RPG? And what makes the genre so special to people? Turns out that last one is a big question to ask.

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Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter's #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, my eye has been caught by dramatic skies, a body-surfing game I cannot help but suspect is not actually Starfield, and the fanciest interactive toilet I have ever seen in a video game. Check out these attractive and interesting indies, and many more!

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My kitten became a game designer after I taught her to play Fetch. She'll carry the little felt balls around in her mouth and drop them in different places to explore new playpossibilities. In my slipper brings the fun of working in the dark. Beneath a chair makes for a great climbing frame ballsport straight out of a dystopian movie where a kickboxing freedom fighter (played by a muttering European) brings down The Man by being really, really good at batting a ball while dangling from a bar. Between two dumbells creates fun obstacles and windows of opportunity. And in the tangle of wires behind my PC brings the transgressive anti-authoritarian thrill of rolling around while being told "Baby no! Don't you...! Get out my wires!" Anyway, what are you playing this weekend? Here's what we're clicking on!

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