Paper Trail review: a beautiful puzzler I had a (mostly) miserable time with Lo-fi beats to get extremely stressed to Image credit:Newfangled Games/Rock Paper Shotgun Developer: Newfangled Games Publisher: Newfangled Games Release: May 21st 2024 On: Windows From: Steam Price: TBC Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-8600K, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 2070, Windows 10 I’d like to start this review with a question: What’s the difference between overcoming a challenge and thinking “I did it!...

Paradox show off their mysterious ass to tease Crusader Kings 3’s 2026 expansions That’s what they’ve done Sire, I swear Image credit:Paradox Interactive I can’t believe it either, your majesty. While outlining their plans for Crusader Kings 3 in the new year, Paradox have teased a major expansion by turning around and revealing a work-in-progress donkey. They’ve also spilled the beans on some of the tweaks coming with yet another “realm maintenance” update as part of this year-end dev diary ....

Parkour boomer shooter Metal Eden has a free demo out now, and you can even win some dosh playing it if you’re quick enough Time to learn how to speedrun Image credit:Reikon Games Right, Doom: The Dark Ages is still a month away, but I’m guessing there’s some of you that could do with a bit of boomer shooting to fill the gap in the meantime. Metal Eden will probably scratch that itch, the next game from the devs behind the quite violent and flashy Ruiner , given that it’s out May 6th....

PC and Xbox Game Pass are getting a worldwide price hike Line must go up Image credit:Microsoft Microsoft have announced global price increases for their Game Pass subscription business across all existing packages on console and PC. They’re also doing away with Xbox Game Pass For Console, while introducing a new Standard tier for console users which includes the Xbox back catalogue but doesn’t offer day-one access to new games....

PC peripheral makers “deeply apologise” for hosting malware in their mouse software, by accident Endgame Gear’s tainted Configuration Tool was left online for at least two weeks Image credit:Endgame Gear PC gaming mouse ’n’ keeb manufacturers Endgame Gear have admitted to and apologised for unknowingly spreading malware, after an infected version of the OP1w 4k v2’s Configuration Tool software was left available to download from their website. After Reddit user Admirable-Raccoon597 raised the alarm , having installed the Configuration Tool and found the malware hiding inside, German tech site Igor’s Lab confirmed that the publically available application had been compromised for at least two weeks....

Pillars of Eternity’s turn-based mode arrives in open beta this week, and draws on lessons from Deadfire Obsidian want more feedback before making this tenth birthday surprise a permanent addition Image credit:Obsidian Pillars of Eternity ’s much-anticipated turn-based mode debuts in PC open beta form on November 5th, with Obsidian seeking more input on their very nice tenth anniversary gift before rolling out a final version. That’s not to say the devs haven’t already been working to ensure “very reasonable criticisms” of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire ’s own turn-based mode, though, as outlined by director Josh Sawyer in the beta’s announcement video....

Plant horror boss rusher Perennial Order is an oozing hybrid of Hollow Knight and Titan Souls Ah vegetation, the original boss Image credit:SOEDESCO As the wait lengthens for Hollow Knight: Silksong , other Soulsy creature features are scurrying to fill the breach. We had Deviator last week - now, it’s time for a bumper helping of the heebie-jeebies in the shape of Perennial Order . The title makes it sound like an eBay delivery of potted geraniums....

Play piano, blag your book report, and navigate high school crushes in this gorgeous Philippines-inspired indie game A Space For The Unbound likers need to play Until Then’s Next Fest demo, stat Image credit:Modus Games If you played and liked last year’s excellent slice-of-life adventure A Space For The Unbound , stop what you’re doing and go and download the Steam Next Fest demo for Until Then . Go on, I’ll wait....

Please find me some good video game music for the next several hours of work It’s urgent Image credit:Amplitude I’d have loved to delve into some Next Fest shenanigans, but at the moment guidestown is groaning with work. And there are only so many times I can listen to the Endless Legend soundtrack in one day. I need to expand my horizons. Come on, let loose. I need all your best game soundtrack recommendations for background music while I work....

Please let Red Dead Redemption 2’s unsolved ancient spiderweb mystery end by revealing that RDR2 is a spider’s dream Web links about linked webs Image credit:Take-Two Interactive / IGN “Weird spiderwebs appearing at odd hours of the night in Rockstar’s open world game Red Dead Redemption 2 ?” you chortle. “That sounds like the testimony of crazy old Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, the guy who writes about new Molyneux projects like a pauper child returning from market with a handful of magic beans”....

Ratopia is a city builder take on Terraria with, well, rats, and it just launched into 1.0 today Now you get to be the giant rat that makes all of the rules Image credit:Cassel Games I really quite like how simple a title Ratopia has. It’s a 2D strategic survival city builder, where you have to build a nice place for rats to live. Ratopia! It gets straight to the heart of it, and it just received its 1....

Raw Metal review: a brawler that thinks it’s a stealth game Et ceteraw, et ceteraw Image credit:Team Crucible Developer: Team Crucible Publisher: Team Crucible Release: Out now On: Windows, Mac From: Steam , Itch Price: £17/$20/€20 Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7-11700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3060, Windows 10 At first glance, this shadow-hopping top-downer looks like a nostalgic stealth game designed to evoke the boxy subterranean environments of the first Metal Gear Solid ....

Romestead is an upcoming survival city-builder that brings some quite lovely pixel art to ancient Rome And it’s being published by former Valheim and Minecraft devs Image credit:Beartwigs You know, with there being so many games set in ancient Rome, most of them being strategy games, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a pixel art game with that setting. I bring this up because Romestead , a pixel art game with that exact setting, just got announced at the Future Games Show....

School shooting lawsuit reveals that Black Ops Cold War cost $700 million, the highest development cost yet reported by a publisher 2019’s Modern Warfare also cost over $640 million Image credit:Activision Blizzard The development of 2020 FPS Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War cost $700 million, making it the most expensive video game project yet reported. That’s according to a court filing reviewed by Stephen Totilo’s Game File (paywalled) in which Call Of Duty creative head Patrick Kelly divulged the budgets of three games in the series....

Shin chan: Shiro And The Coal Town review: a nostalgic collectathon I can’t stop thinking about Cicada Summer Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Neos Corporation Developer: h.a.n.d., Inc Publisher: Neos Corporation Release: October 24th, 2024 On: Windows From: Steam Price: £26/€30/$30 Reviewed on: Steam Deck When I was little, I really liked what I saw of Shin chan, even if it was just largely flashes of his bare arse on Japanese TV. He seemed mischievous, a bit of a menace, and part of a fun family dynamic....

Skilful hero-juggling can elevate Resident Evil Requiem, even when Leon kicks the tension in half Impressions after three hours of Requimming Image credit:Capcom Resident Evil Requiem director Akifumi Nakanishi has said the imminent sequel is " almost equally split " between its two protagonists, stealthy newcomer Grace and returning mass zombie murderer Leon S. Kennedy. After playing a few hours at Capcom HQ, a chapter that apparently follows on immediately from the pure horror hag-dodging that Edwin endured , I’m hoping that’s an imperfect translation - Leon’s gun fu action brawls can mesh surprisingly well with Grace’s spook ’n’ sneak sections, but those tension breakers seem best deployed sparingly....

Somebody recreated all of GTA 4’s Liberty City in GTA 5 aaaaand it’s gone Rockstar treats modder to “friendly takedown” Image credit:World Travel In what has become fine tradition, I have learned of an amazing mod on the same day I have learned that the mod has been kiboshed by publishers. The mod in question is the GTA 5 Liberty City Preservation Project, a six year project that rebuilds GTA 4’s Liberty City in GTA 5’s world....

Star Wars Outlaws Rejected quest walkthrough Here is how to get the password for the black market in Star Wars Outlaws Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft Looking for access to the black market in Star Wars Outlaws? As you explore the first major city in Star Wars Outlaws - Mirogana on Toshara - you may encounter a shady individual selling black market items. The only issue is, he won’t sell to you unless you have the password....

Starfield’s biggest update yet fixes its rubbish maps, adds custom difficulty and expands ship decoration In beta now ahead of a May 15th release Image credit:Bethesda Starfield ’s biggest update since the Bethesda space game came out last year (remember that?) is arriving in a couple of weeks - with its Steam beta already live now, if you’re interested in poking around. The chunky patch finally tidies up the game’s oft-complained about surface maps to make them easier to navigate, as well as introducing new difficulty options, a decoration mode for the inside of ships and a bunch of other tweaks and fixes....

Stellar Blade devs ‘considering’ a PC release and sequel, as next game Project Witches also eyes up PC Pray for the mod sites Image credit:Shift Up Flashy action- RPG Stellar Blade looks like it could be the next PlayStation 5 exclusive to find its way over to PC, as developers Shift Up say they’re pondering a PC release. They’re also thinking about a sequel - probably not much of a surprise given the first game has sold well on just the one platform, by all accounts - while working on a new game that should also be headed to PC, codenamed Project Witches....