Sweary peripheral experts Dbrand sent me the Asus ROG Xbox Ally/Xbox Ally X version of their Project Killswitch case yesterday. I squeezed my Xbox Ally X into it. It was great. Sturdy. Form-fitting. Protective and grip-enhancing in one. Everything that makes the original Killswitch one of the best Steam Deck accessories, wrapped snugly around 800 quid of Windows handheld.

It also annoys me, a little bit. Not the skin and cover themselves. More the fact that it’s so important that they exist, as neither ROG Xbox Ally models – costly as they can be – bother to include a carrying case in the box. Nor does the original Ally and Ally X, or the Zotac Zone, or the MSI Claw 8 AI+, or the Lenovo Legion Go and Legion Go S. Give me a case, you plastic jerks. Give it!

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As I wrote in our King of Meat preview, I've long since fallen out of love with looting games. After thousands of hours rinsing RPG dungeons, I gaze upon even the shiniest and most temptingly crenelated of treasure chests with frigid contempt. But I'm not unenticed by the clanky and colourful, Deathloop meets The Division stylings of Arc Raiders, Embark and Nexon's third-person extraction shooter, which is getting a three day open playtest this weekend.

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Marvel Rivals is finally getting a PVE mode, pitting five of the game's 42 stylish and bizarre, caped or capeless crusaders against... zombies. Ah, zombies, the real heroes of any videogame looking to phone in a quick co-op wave attack mode (while dabbling in a little cross-promotion). The AI and character design are supposed> to look basic, stoopid. The experience is supposed> to feel like punching a bucket of porridge, you ass. These are brainless shamblers, not the Sinister Six.

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The Galaxies Showcase games show – which, if you missed the Spring edition, is a game reveal showcase with more of an indie/lower-budget focus – is back next Thursday, October 23rd.

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Attention, folks who like the idea of flinging a fire-breathing Group B monster down some dirt tracks. Assetto Corsa devs Kunos are bringing out a rally sim. It's called Assetto Corsa Rally, therefore instantly winning the inventive video game name award for this year.

As with road racing AC successor Assetto Corsa EVO, the studio and co-developers Supernova Games Studios have opted to go the Steam early access route for this selection of Scandinavian flicks, with a release penned in for November November 13 this year.

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If you are fond of snake ladies, sea snakes and staffs that look like snakes, you'll likely be hypnotised by Total War: Warhammer 3's Tides of Torment DLC, which adds three Legendary Lords representing the High Elves, Slaanesh and Norsca.

Creative Assembly and Sega have just slapped a release date atop this serpentine assembly - 4th December. (PSA: Do not slap anything on real-life serpentine assemblies, unless you are a trained zoologist.) On that very same day, they're hosting a 25th anniversary showcase "unveiling what's next for the franchise".

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The Crew 2's offline mode is now live, ensuring that the racer "remains accessible for years to come". Well, assuming you're not bothered about playing online, which would still be deep-sixed if Ubisoft opted to shut down the game's servers, as they did with its predecessor. Odds are that won't happen at least in the immediate future, due to the player feedback the publishers have credited as the impetus behind this addition.

That acknowledgement very much looks to be a way of nodding to the Stop Killing Games campaign, who rose to prominence following Ubisoft's shutdown of the first Crew's servers - thereby rendering it totally unplayable - without naming them directly.

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Battlefield 6 will soon receive updates that let you earn more XP per shootbrawl, rank up faster, and unlock gadgets and weapons attachments sooner. The tweaks are coming in response to frustrations about sluggish progression that have seen players pack the game's community servers with XP-farming matches against bots.

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Former Assassin's Creed series lead Marc-Alexis Côté's departure from Ubisoft after 20 years in various roles was announced earlier this week, and the developer's now put out a post in which he says that leaving wasn't his choice. Instead, Côté asserts that it came after he was asked to step aside as Assassin's Creed boss by Ubisoft as part of a corporate restructure, then offered a reduced role as part of the company's Tencent-backed Vantage Studios subsidiary.

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There is a woman trying to get into my supermarket. She's banging on the sliding door glass, an urgent silhouette against swirling fog and darkness. My manager told me it's not safe outside at night, but the woman doesn't seem afraid, for all her banging. She is smiling. Not a nice smile. A Skibidi smile, all teeth and gums and painfully stretched skin.

I do not think I should let the woman in, but she explains to me in text dialogue that I have it all backwards. She's> not outside the store. I> am. So really, if I let her in I'm only letting myself in. I do not find this gnomic insight reassuring. I tell her to clear off. She doesn't press her case, but comments before drifting away that there might be consequences later. I silently observe that I would rather have consequences later than consequences right now.

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