Famed mass-layoff-manufacturing corporation Embracer Group are dividing into three companies, which will be listed separately on Sweden’s stock exchange. Those companies are: Asmodee Group, which comprises Embracer’s tabletop games biz; Coffee Stain & Friends, an evolution of the existing Coffee Stain publisher, who will pursue "a dual focus on indie and A/AA premium and free-to-play games for PC/console and mobile"; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, “a creative powerhouse in AAA game development and publishing for PC and console, as well as the stewards of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual properties, among many others”.

After writing roughly 100,000 posts about Embracer’s butchering of vast swathes of the games industry, this is surely my chance to raise a cheer and celebrate the conglomerate’s unglomming with a cool glass of turnip juice, but it is Monday, the man next door is shouting again, and I am tired - so tired that only ill-suited Simpsons references come to mind.

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Valheim, the popular norse-inspired survival game, is set to get even deadlier and at least several percent more volcanic with its upcoming Ashlands biome. The new biome is due to enter public testing as we speak.

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Rising Up is a free, sub-fifteen minute browser game that’s a bit like Streets of Rage, where you play a balding office worker and beat a giant scanner to death within the first 30 seconds. This, I believe, should be enough to tempt you into dunking it enthusiastically into your next break coffee, but if you need more convincing, let’s do it.

Created by E.H Jørgensen, whose credits include Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Rising Up is a relatively simple 3 button side scroller that has you make your way up an office building, destroying everything in your path. First, irate co-workers wield swivel chairs. Then, security join the fray. Then some sort of G-men get involved. You can punch, block, jump, and air-kick. The brawling is simple but satisfying enough, and the way office equipment violently degrades when hit is better, but this isn’t why I’m recommending the game.

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I'm currently trying to find a new flat in London. This is not much fun, though it's a great opportunity to meet and bond with other would-be tenants over a shared, grinding resentment of landlords who will literally stuff a bed in a toilet and call it a "studio apartment". It's also left me powerfully invested in the premise of Blue Prince, a first-person puzzler which looks like a graphic novel and starts with your character inheriting a huge, weird, isolated mansion, Mt. Holly, from an eccentric great-uncle.

Lucky you! There's a catch, though: according to your great-uncle's will, you only get to keep the place if you can find its 46th room. The catch hanging off that catch is that going by its flatplan, the mansion only has 45 rooms. And the catch hanging off that> catch is that the mansion changes shape between visits. Every time you open one of its many doors, you must choose from three cards to decide which room is on the other side. To find the elusive 46th room, you must "draft" rooms in certain combinations to unfold the mystery of the place and wiggle your way to its heart.

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Ugh, I do not have the energy to feed the Maw this week. Sometimes the creature manifests as a proper monstrosity, with B-movie prosthetics and sound effects, and sometimes, it's more of an... unfathomable annoyance, like a nose that won't stop running, or a single player game that requires an internet connection. In either case, the Maw must be sated, and fortunately, there are quite a few appetising video-or-computer games out in the next seven days, with at least one behemoth landing on Friday.

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the spiritual successor to a classic JRPG called Suikoden, and it came to be thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign. As someone with little knowledge of Suikoden, I went into Hundred Heroes thinking it was going to be a dense, old-fashioned, and slightly impenetrable time. And yes, some of it is annoying and obtuse and will almost certainly suit veterans who enjoy those quirks, but it has a surprisingly easy going nature. Hundred Heroes accomodates new players like me with combat that's simple to grasp and a story that's emotional and sprawling and absolutely worth your time.

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Sundays are for unsubscribing to the deluge of ‘Happy 4/20! Here’s 10% off’ emails I’ve gotten from every place I’ve ever bought CBD from in the past five years. Before I do so much clicking my fingers get sore and I immediately order some soothing CBD - perhaps at a tempting 10% off? - let's read this week’s best writing about games (and game related things!)

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I spend a portion of my every week surviving and crafting. And in the game>, where the game is called Minecraft. I still have appetite left for Tinkerlands: A Shipwrecked Adventure, a demo that offers topdown, 2D construction and fights with giant frog bosses, among others.

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The Palestinian Relief Bundle on Itch.io contains 373 items for a minimum cost of $8. 213 of the items are are games, including greats such as Wandersong, A Short Hike and Coffee Talk. All proceeds go towards the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), a non-profit working to provide food, water and medical treatment in Gaza.

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No rest for No Rest For The Wicked's developers, it seems. The punishing action-RPG launched in Steam Early Access last week with performance issues, among other issues, and Moon Studios have now deployed their first hotfix.

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