The Outlast Trials hits 1.0 release with new ending, single player tweaks and Toy Factory map Lab horror levels up Image credit:Red Barrels Red Barrels’ co-optional horror “therapy” simulator The Outlast Trials leaves early access today. I haven’t played an Outlast game since reviewing the second numbered game and having excitable opinions about its portrayal of the moon . I’ll be honest, I’d assumed the series had died, but Steam user reviewers seem pretty keen on Trials, which takes the first game’s mucky asylum premise and spins it out into a low-key live service game about playing a series of human guinea pigs, trying to escape an experimental brainwashing lab run by the villainous Murkoff Corporation....

The RPS Selection Box: Edwin’s bonus games of the year 2023 The final insult Image credit:Fluttermind/ub4q/Red Hook Studios Happy Wintermas, dear reader. And happy new year, I guess. Are you enjoying yours? I’m writing this in the distant past of mid-December, a period of total spiritual desolation. If all has gone to plan, I am currently waving a goblet over my head like some kind of hipster barbarian, and trying to finish all the dodgy vegan Xmas food I’ve cooked which the rest of my family won’t eat, the savages....

The Sims 4 kicks off the weirdly horny new roadmap with a refresh to base game swimwear What’s Simlish for “I like your vibes”? Image credit:EA The Sims 4 is nothing if not a teetering jenga tower of updates and add-ons and DLC packs, and the latter half of 2024 will be no exception for EA’s life sim king. Yesterday saw the release of an update to the base game’s swimwear, kicking off the updates teased in the recently-revealed new roadmap , Season Of Love....

The Sinking City 2 delayed to 2026, as Frogwares battle “ongoing challenges related to the war in Ukraine” “You work all day, then spend the sleepless night listening for explosions, and somehow still need to function the next morning” Image credit:Frogwares Frogwares have delayed the release of Lovecraftian survival horror The Sinking City 2 to the first half of 2026, citing the effects of developing a game in amid the war between Russia and Ukraine as having understandably affected how long it’s taken to get things done....

The Six One Indie Showcase had too many cool games, so here’s a few I think look neat There weren’t quite 61 indies, but there were a lot of them Image credit:insertdisc5 The Six One Indie Showcase is a bit of a new kid on the block when it comes to video game presentations, but it’s certainly working hard to justify itself. Early today the latest showcase was held showing off a huge range of indies, 48 in total, some of them being brand new reveals, others smaller showcases....

The Steam Deck now lets you do low-power, screen-off downloads, finally Another SteamOS power play Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun In ‘Yeahhh, probably should have had that already’ news, the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED are getting a new low-power mode that will let the handheld PCs continue any active downloads with the display switched off. It’s part of a SteamOS update that’s available right now on the Beta and Preview channels, at last closing a longstanding feature gap that’s had us all downloading games to our Decks with the screens chewing up precious battery life....

The Sunday Papers Image credit:RPS Sundays are for searching for book recommendations. Let’s browse as we also peruse the week’s best writing about games and game-related things. For The Verge, Mia Sato wrote about the perfect webpage . Here’s how Google shaped/sterilised the internet so every webpage has to conform to its measures. But many websites just do what they think Google wants or what’s being recommended by SEO experts, even if there’s no guarantee it will work....

The Sunday Papers Image credit:RPS The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) videogames from across the web. Sundays are for resting, supposedly, but it can also be for mopping the floors, washing the bedding, and catching up on work because you simply have too much to do. Remember the Electronic Wireless Show? Two of its hosts, Alice Bell and Nate Crowley, have started a new podcast “about video games (mostly)”....

There’s a playable Disco Elysium 2 prototype in the wilds, according to a report on clashes between the “spiritual successors” Summer Eternal, Dark Math and Longdue continue to fight over the RPG’s legacy Image credit:ZA/UM / Rock Paper Shotgun / The Spriters Resource On 11th October 2024, three video game studios announced themselves near-simultaneously as the creators of “spiritual successors” to ZA/UM’s mournful Marxist RPG Disco Elysium . First came Longdue , a conspicuously corporate operator who are making an untitled “psychogeographic RPG”....

This bite-size free horror game has you study an ancient artefact that holds a dark secret I want more Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Balazs Ronyai I have zero archaeology experience or knowledge, but I bet archaeologists really love their jobs (for the most part). They get to analyse and discover cool artefacts and educate us on the histories of forgotten civilisations. That’s dreamy stuff, that is. But I do wonder what it’s like for archaeologists to discover and study something they shouldn’t have; something with a disturbing secret - a curse, maybe....

Those Nintendo Switch 2 Elden Ring extras are coming to PC as well, just don’t get too excited about them A knight to forget Image credit:From Software Last month, FromSoftware announced that Elden Ring would be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, which is wonderful for that plumber guy, but mostly meant piss all for us PC people. The thing is, this version of the game actually comes with some new stuff, and I like new stuff, and publisher Bandai Namco only vaguely said all the new bits would be coming to “other platforms”....

Trying to emulate Hollywood movie soundtracks is holding video game music back, says Final Fantasy composer And surprise, surprise, he doesn’t think soulless AI can write a decent score, either Image credit:Square Enix Developers happy to mimic the style of Hollywood blockbusters in their video game soundtracks are stopping video game music from advancing, one of the best to ever do it - Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu - has said....

Ubisoft investor wants to dethrone Ubisoft’s founders so Ubisoft can lay more developers off Tencent and the Guillemots are holding shareholders “hostage” Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft Commence Star Wars rolling prologue screen: A minority Ubisoft investor has written an open letter to Ubisoft’s board outlining their “deep dissatisfaction with the current performance and strategic direction of the company” and threatening a full-blown coup against the Guillemot brothers, Ubisoft’s founders, and their backers at Chinese juggernaut Tencent....

You won’t find a better discount than this. Ugreen Steam Deck Dock, 6-in-1 Docking Station Equipped with a 4K@60Hz HDMI port, 2x USB 3.0 and 1x USB C ports. See at Amazon Down from £39.99 / $49.99, it’s the best Steam Deck dock for USB-C lovers, and probably the most affordable option going right now. It’s the perfect deal for anyone wanting to set up their Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or any other portable PC device into a simple desktop PC setup while at home....

Until Dawn remaster confirmed for PC, “rebuilt and enhanced” former PS4 exclusive out later this year A killer announcement? Image credit:Supermassive Games The rumours were true! Until Dawn , Supermassive Games’ breakthrough horror game previously exclusive to PlayStation 4, is coming to PC in a remastered re-release later this year. A spruced-up version of the 2015 game - which set the formula for Supermassive’s effective mix of choose-your-own-death branching stories, uncanny facial tech and cameos from Hollywood actors later repeated in the Dark Pictures Anthology and The Quarry - was reported to be on the way to PC this time last week....

Valor Mortis will see Ghostrunner’s creators give Napoleonic era Europe the soulslike treatment in 2026 We hope you weren’t in the Waterloo during Opening Night Live’s preshow Image credit:One More Level Valor Mortis, a soulslike set during Napoleon’s 19th century conquest of Eastern Europe, has been revealed by Ghostrunner devs One More Level during Gamescom Opening Night Live ’s preshow. It’s set for release in 2026. Yep, if you’re a fan of games that drip with Frenchness and also revolve around beating up gaudily-health barred baddies before they do the same to you, this one might have you reaching for your musket and bicorne....

Warframe boss thinks publishers should have more faith in burgeoning live-service titles instead of getting “terrified” when numbers drop Tenno-longer with us Image credit:Digital Extremes Steve Sinclair, CEO of Warframe studio Digital Extremes, reckons publishers should give live service games more time to find their footing, and not see dodgy release periods as a “make or break” indicator of a game’s success. “It comes out, doesn’t work and they throw it away,” Sinclair told VGC ....

We Who Are About To Die’s new update has finally given me the excuse I need to cowardly lob some rocks at the heads of seasoned opponents Two thumbs sideways Image credit:Jordy Lakiere I am sure gladiator roguelike RPG We Who Are About To Die ’s latest update is very nice, and its accompanying 30% celebratory discount even nicer. You can find the full patch notes here, and I’d be interested to hear how significant they are from the more fascina-pilled among you....

Weak Legacy 2 codes (February 2026) Need to reset your breathing style in Weak Legacy 2? These codes have you covered Image credit:Weak Games Corp. If you’re on the hunt for some new Weak Legacy 2 codes, you’ve come to the right place. One of the many Roblox experiences inspired by the gorgeously gory world of Demon Slayer, Weak Legacy 2 really aims to immerse you in the full Demon Slayer Corps experience....

What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Do tell! Image credit:Winslow Homer Saturdays are for waking up early, stretching out, and realising with horror that you left it very late to ask people what they would be playing over the weekend. Then, when you are just about recovered from the first shock, realising with even bigger horror that you didn’t ask them what they would be playing over Christmas....