Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 doesn’t require reflexes, says player who beat the game without dodges or parries “Despite the hype, this is not Elden Ring.” Image credit:Kepler Interactive Yes, yes, I’m opting for the scoundrel’s gambit and reporting on a Reddit post. Of a self-imposed challenge run, no less! But I adored the bejeezus out of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 , and figured this was worth sharing in case it convinces a couple of you to give it a go....

Clowned King is a Fire Emblem-inspired RPG in which you lead a whole party of clowns Infinite jester Image credit:Moonana I must confess, it was not till this very hour that I envisaged the possibility of an RPG party consisting exclusively of clowns. There’s a fine tradition of clown characters in RPGs - Sylvando from Dragon Quest XI, Harle from Chrono Cross, the Jester in Darkest Dungeon - but a whole party’s worth?...

Counter-Strike modders are remaking the classic shooter, and they’re using Valve’s official Source Engine SDK to do it The legacy lives on Image credit:CSPromod Dev Team There are two shooters that I imagine will never die, because they just seem to hang on despite being incredibly old and plenty of other games coming out in the mean-time: Team Fortress 2 , and Counter-Strike (both Valve games, funnily enough - they’ve clearly got the Source (sorry))....

Creepy card game Arsonate is a very short race to be the last person burning Smoker face Image credit:Nash 2024’s small but growing avalanche of games that trap you in a room with a nasty little freak continues with Arsonate , in which the nasty little freak wears a gasmask and wants to set you on fire. He wants to do this using cards. There are 47 of them - a forest of silhouettes, laid across the blood-stained table between you....

Cyberpunk 2077’s flying car modder has removed the game’s max speed limit and I may soon be involved in a 1222mph mid-air fender bender Don’t tell my insurance people, the premiums on an Aerondight are high enough already Image credit:CD Projekt If you’re reading this, it may be too late. The mysterious genius behind Cyberpunk 2077 ’s most popular flying car mod has just released its first update in a good while, alongside a fresh work that removes the speed limits the game applies to all of its vehicles....

Cyberpunk 2077’s update 2.3 is delayed, and definitely not just because CD Projekt can’t stop adding things They’re addicted to the shindig Image credit:CD Projekt Sorry, we’re not done yet, CD Projekt has said about a Cyberpunk 2077 update that also represents that same phrase, it being about the third patch to be labelled the final one the game’ll be getting. Update 2.3 was originally set to be dropping on this week, but now it’s been delayed so the devs can make it about the same size as its predecessor....

Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked rolls the dice on a release date and lands on this November A soon to be critical hit? Image credit:Resolution Games I could probably quite safely bet some money that many of you are still happily ticking away at Baldur’s Gate 3 , but for those of you that would like newer pastures to get your TTRPG fix in video game form, there’s some good news....

Demonschool review Saturday morning carcasses Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games A wonderful tactics RPG that delights through its character writing and comedy just as much as its combat. Developer: Necrosoft Games Publisher: Ysbryd Games Release: November 19th, 2025 On: Windows From: Steam Price: £20/$25/€22 Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-13500, 32GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 Super, Windows 11 To say that Demonschool comes out swinging with its premise would be an understatement....

Devolver boss calls GTA 6 an “AAAAA game” in latest attack on human dignity Tadaaaaa Image credit:Rockstar Games Not long before joining Rock Paper Shotgun, I wrote a feature for Edge magazine about the origins of the very silly term “AAA game”. The overall conclusion I came to is that “AAA game” is possibly a boardroom-level borrowing from the credit rating industry and Hollywood, and that it has little meaning beyond “most expensive/biggest”....

Devolver have delayed Baby Steps, Skate Story, Stick It To The Stickman into 2025 Not that you expected them this year anyway Image credit:Devolver Digital Let’s face it, nothing important happens in December. I’m scheduling 24 advent calendar posts this week and then spending the rest of the year eating boxes of Cadbury Mini Yule Logs Triple Chocolate. So it’s no surprise that Devolver have announced their remaining slate of games aiming for release in 2024 are actually coming out in 2025....

Diablo 4 Invoker of Varshan: How to fight the Echo of Varshan Learn how to get and use the Invoker of Varshan in Diablo 4 Image credit:Blizzard Entertainment Want to know how to get an Invoker of Varshan in Diablo 4? Diablo 4 introduced a scary new boss in Season 1 , called Varshan, the Consumed. You’ll fight Varshan during the Seasonal storyline for Season of the Construct, but you won’t be able to fight it again until after completing the new quests....

Don’t Nod “pause” two game projects and “refocus” others following Jusant and Banishers sales disappointment Vampyr and Life Is Strange devs looking at “all possible options” in note to investors Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Focus Entertainment We liked Jusant , Don’t Nod’s clamber-upper masterpiece, and we also liked Banishers, their colonial ghost-busting action-adventure, but it seems that not enough people did. The company have posted a profit warning, reflecting an 11% decline in operating revenue for the first half of 2024....

Dragon Age: The Veilguard review: A reluctant RPG, but a compelling, heartfelt action adventure You couldn’t make Dragon Age: Origins today! (because there’s been several sequels already) Image credit:Bioware/Rock Paper Shotgun Developer: Bioware Publisher: EA Release: October 31st, 2024 On: Windows From: Steam / Epic Games Store Price: £50 /€60 /$60 Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-12600K, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 2070, Windows 10 If there’s one thing I’d like to get across about my time with Dragon Age: The Veilguard - perhaps a surprise given Bioware’s recent history, Anthem , and some of the early marketing for this game - it’s that in my 50 hour return to Thedas, I very rarely felt I was playing something cynical....

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Feast of Deception quest walkthrough How to set yourself up perfectly for the Feast Of Deception Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom Looking for a walkthrough for the main quest Feast Of Deception in Dragon’s Dogma 2? Congratulations on getting to the end of the first major story arc (some might say Act 1) of Dragon’s Dogma 2 . There’s a lot more to go after that, but first you have to sit through a number of cutscenes and dialogues which make up the quest, Feast Of Deception....

Dune: Awakening’s latest patch takes aim at PvP border campers, and dishes out some extra Landsraad rewards Also, “building a vehicle with items from another player’s inventory” should no longer be a thing Image credit:Funcom Evacuate your Deep Desert tents, Dune: Awakening ’s latest patch enacts a timer tweak aimed at eliminating cheeky PvP zone border camping. It’s also added some extra rewards to the Landsraad and switched up how goodies are distributed to PvE players....

Dying Light: The Beast gets a release date bump so short you’ll wonder why they bothered Better than a delay! Image credit:Techland Whenever there is word of a video game’s release date being changed, it’s hardly ever surprising because nine times out of ten, it’s because it has been delayed. That’s just the way things are these days, no one can have the luxury of Team Cherry, who took so long making Silksong just because they were having fun....

Elden Ring Nightreign’s latest update is here to save you from frame drops, buggy bosses, and more Should make runs go a bit more smoothly Image credit:Bandai Namco When you have a game that is so run focused like Elden Ring Nightreign , balance is the key to not getting someone to throw their controller at a wall, cursing their own birth as they do so. Up until now, there were parts of Elden Ring Nightreign that certainly weren’t balanced, though that mostly came down to a few bugs....

EVE Vanguard gets extremely vague roadmap promising “major event” before early access launch Aim for the stars and all that Image credit:CCP Games Image credit:CCP As you can see, the roadmap as it stands is effectively a yawping gap charting the time between now and the last open beta event, although there are a few details for plans (though not dates) moving forward. The wishlist includes establishing more economic links between the shooter and their long running MMO, which I still find very cool conceptually despite having no real interest in either....

Everything we know about Dune Awakening Everything we know so far about Dune Awakening and its upcoming beta Image credit:Funcom That’s what Funcom promise with Dune: Awakening : a massive open-world survival MMO with a focus on keeping yourself alive and watered in the dunes of Arrakis, avoiding attacks from sandworms and rival factions, and building your power bit by bit in the most hostile planet ever colonised. In this guide:...

Fanatical’s new Level Up sale is a goldmine for Steam deals Big discounts on Blue Prince, KCD2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and more. Image credit:Raw Fury I like to think I’m immune to sales like this, then Fanatical drops its Level Up Sale and my wishlist instantly turns into a shopping cart. And it’s not just filler, either. These are standout games, including recent releases, with discounts deep enough to make me forget (briefly) about my backlog....