UHQBot
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Not to brag, but the one time I played mini golf, I won. And I wasn't a kid either, that was this year. So with this boundless confidence I decided to try out Cursed to Golf, a roguelike where you play to escape from purgatory back to the real world with your golfing prowess. You play a little golf champion about to solidify your name as the best golfer the world has ever known before a sudden storm hits, dramatically kills you and sends you 60 feet under.
Cursed to Golf tasks you with playing through 18 tough golf holes in an effort to leave purgatory and rightfully claim your title as the best of the best. Roguelikes are ever more creative in finding a way to get you to play the same game over and over and over until you find your way out. I particularly liked Hades' take on the formula and haven't stopped playing Slay the Spire after I bought it on my phone. The former's premise is very similar to Cursed to Golf and they both evoke that desire to break free from a supernatural prison—Hades' Underworld and Cursed to Golf's purgatory. For Slay the Spire, it's all about taking your time and smart resource management, which is a little more like managing Cursed to Golf's line ups and powers.
The art is adorable with its rounded, bouncy, pixelated style and purples and greens evoking a halloween-y vibe. But with the champ's little coordinated outfit (which you can alter the colour of), bright backgrounds and luscious grass, the art makes this ghoulish setting very inviting. And the music is just the right amount of quirky and energising. The actual golfing is also more engaging than just choosing how hard to hit the ball as you've got ace card power-ups at your disposal too. Though you have three clubs, the iron, wedge, and driver to pick from, as well as their direction and velocity, the course is pretty hard without some extra little underworld magic. Cards that will allow you to freeze the ball mid air and let it drop to the floor are good when you've only got a small platform to land on, while others let you practice your shot first, before you take that critical swing. When each hole only gives you five shots, any help is appreciated.
The only downside is that I feel it's the perfect project to try out on a sofa with a Steam Deck
And that's where the other main cast member comes in. The Scotsman is a ghost that'll show you around and owns the chain of shops (called Eterni-tee, amazing) you can buy the all important ace cards in. His design is equally delightful with his ghostly flowing beard and green kilt with a badass fiery golf ball where his heart should be. And he gives a great tutorial of how to begin your golfing adventure, even providing the cutest little golf cart for you to lug your kit around in.
The holes themselves are platforming in style. Rather than the holes you might think of for mini golf or, uh, big golf, these send you up, and down, and all around, giving you multiple ways to play the same hole depending on your skills and confidence. The five shots to complete the hole sounds harsh but you can earn shots along the way by hitting statues which replenish your stash. This doesn't make it easy, but it makes these levels far more achievable.
(Image credit: Thunderful )
Players also have the option to pick different paths through the course. A harder hole for better rewards? Or maybe just an ordinary hole which you're more likely to survive? It's up to you.
Cursed to Golf is pretty delightful. Though the stakes are high, it's a chilled out indie adventure with a dark premise and adorable artwork. I smiled plenty just going through the first section of the game, and felt suitably challenged by the gameplay. If you're a fan of any of the recent silly golf games and new roguelike projects, I'd consider giving it a go. The only downside is that I feel it's the perfect project to try out on a sofa with a Steam Deck, which I don't own. It's these sorts of games that really make me want to change that.
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Greetings Inheritors,
The game has been updated.[Content Updates]- Anthalon’s appearance time was changed from CEST 19:00 (PDT 17:00) to CEST 18:50 (PDT 16:50).
- Added the below craftable items to the Manastorm Fountain of Mirage Isle.
- Added Designs for 50-Slot Instrument Chest and 70-Slot Instrument Chest.
- Please check the link below for the details about the update.
[Content Update][archeage.playkakaogames.com][New Products][archeage.playkakaogames.com][New Event][archeage.playkakaogames.com]
Thank you. - Anthalon’s appearance time was changed from CEST 19:00 (PDT 17:00) to CEST 18:50 (PDT 16:50).
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A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.
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Destiny 2: Season of Plunder is the penultimate season ahead of the Lightfall expansion in 2023, and there's a new raid to enjoy, exotics to collect and, as the title suggests, pirates! To get all of the good loot, though, you'll need to complete various quests and tasks, some of which are trickier than others.
Whether you're hunting down map fragments or hoping to get your hands on the Touch of Malice raid exotic, I've got you covered in this Season of Plunder guide.
Destiny 2: Season of Plunder exotic weapons
Exotic weapons are always worth chasing in Destiny 2, as their unique intrinsic perks set them above the rest. Not all of the Season 18 exotics are available in-game yet, but you can check out how to get the ones that are below.
This exotic fusion rifle is the easiest exotic to get your hands on this season, so here's how to get it and its catalyst.
This scout rifle is this season's raid exotic from King's Fall. It's not a guaranteed drop, either, so here's Sean's guide on how to improve your chances.
If you want some powerful exotic armor to go with your new weapons, Fallen Sunstar, Gyrfalcon's Hauberk, and Point-Contact Cannon Brace are all available through legend and master lost sectors.
(Image credit: Bungie)Destiny 2: Season of Plunder quests
To get your hands on the new exotic sparrow, you'll need to go on a treasure hunt.
Map fragments work like lures from Season of the Hunt, letting you influence the type of reward you'll receive by slotting them into your Captain's Atlas. Here's how to get them.
If you want to get yourself some pinnacles and earn the Frostmire's Will triumph for the Iron Banner title, you'll want to finish these daily challenges when the mode is active.
King's Fall raid
King's Fall is this season's raid and alongside the raid exotic, you'll have the chance to earn extra weapons and armor by finding these secret chests.
Here's how to get a guaranteed Deepsight weapon after defeating Oryx so you can craft raid weapons.
Destiny 2: Lightfall
Tim had a chat with Joe Blackburn to get all the deets about the next exapansion, Lightfall.
New loadout systems and LFG will come to Destiny 2: Lightfall, and you'll also be able to praise your fellow Guardians if they were a particularly good leader.
The Strand darkness-based subclass arrives in Lightfall and you'll be zipping around Neptune soon with your green cosmic grappling hook.
It's off to Neptune in February, with the most futuristic-looking location yet in Destiny 2.
Season 19 and beyond
Bungie has always taken feedback from fans seriously, and has made the decision to stop sunsetting whole expansions.
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Tencent is China's largest tech company and has long had its sights set on Ubisoft. It's not alone in this: as the industry consolidates, the French publisher is one of the largest and most attractive targets out there, with a public valuation of roughly $5.3 billion and globally recognised brands like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and the Tom Clancy games.
In June Tencent looked to increase its existing 4.5% stake by making a megabucks offer to Ubisoft shareholders of $101.84 per share: a price that represented a huge premium over stock that so far this year has averaged a price of less than half that. In other words, this is the kind of corporate aggression that won't take 'no' for an answer.
A complicated element, however, is that Ubisoft is a public company but remains under the control of the Guillemot family, who founded the publisher and through a holding company own a 16% stake in Ubisoft that comes with unique voting rights. That is, the Guillemots own approximately 1/6th of Ubisoft economically, but have a much bigger say in how the company is run than such a stake would otherwise have.
Tencent and the Guillemots reportedly sat down in May to talk turkey, with an insider telling Reuters that "Tencent is very determined to nail down the deal as Ubisoft is such an important strategic asset for Tencent".
The Guillemot family has previously shown it wants to retain control of Ubisoft, most notably in fighting tooth-and-nail to stop a hostile takeover from Vivendi (which eventually gave up and sold all of its Ubisoft shares back to the publisher). The Guillemot fightback against this deal was helped by investments from, among others, Tencent.
Now Tencent has announced a large investment in the Guillemot holding company, Guillemot Brothers Limited, of €300 million (€200 million in exchange for shares, and €100 million capital), which values Ubisoft at €80 per share. The Euro and the Dollar are currently more-or-less 1:1 in value.
But of course it's not that simple. The press release announcing the deal goes to great lengths to emphasise the limits that Tencent has accepted in order to make this investment. "Guillemot Brothers Limited remains exclusively controlled by the Guillemot family. Tencent will not be represented on its Board of Directors and will not obtain any consent or veto rights over the business."
The deal comes with an allowance that the Guillemots and Tencent may increase their joint stake in Ubisoft to 29.9%, and Ubisoft's board has authorised Tencent to increase its stake from 4.5% to 9.99%. However Tencent is not able to sell these shares for five years, and if it chooses to do so at a later date has to give first refusal to the Guillemots, and cannot go beyond that upper stake of 9.99% for eight years.
To put it in plain language: the Guillemots have taken Tencent's money, but with conditions that for now put any kind of takeover on the back-burner. In fact this arguably insulates Ubisoft from takeover for the next decade: any company interested in acquiring it will, if you'll excuse the turn of phrase, have to go through Tencent first.
Most importantly from the Guillemot perspective, "As a result of this transaction, Ubisoft's governance will remain unchanged and Tencent will not have any operational veto rights."
Tencent's games industry holdings are enormous and, amidst a giant tech crackdown in China, it is explicitly looking to expand its international appeal. The company has stakes in the likes of Epic Games, Riot, Supercell, and Frontier, and owns studios including Sumo, Turtle Rock, Playtonic, and Digital Extremes. Ubisoft is now on that list, though arguably in a much smaller manner than the Chinese corporation would like. For now.
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As the AI image generation trend continues unabated, so too grows the lore. It appears there are stranger forces at work here than we first anticipated as, in the wake of this new creative wave, a cryptid is born.
She is known only as Loab.
Created accidentally through a series of negatively weighted prompts, Loab's macabre facade has persisted across countless image iterations, even when the AI is asked to move as far away from the subject matter as possible.
Just so we're all on the same page, a negatively weighted image prompt is that which "instead of creating an image of the text prompt, the AI tries to make the image look as different from the prompt as possible," Supercomposite explains. Supercomposite is the AI image generation artist responsible for this cryptid's existence, and will henceforth undoubtedly become known as the mother of Loab, which I'm sure she's delighted about.
And in case you're not familiar with the concept of cryptids, these are entities such as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster which are not generally recognised by science, but whose image is recognised through multiple supposed sightings.
Loab is supposedly the "first cryptid of the latent space," though there's some (albeit insubstantial) debate surrounding those claims.
Feeding the AI the prompt "Brando::-1" was how it all began, says Supercomosite. The logo for an imaginary company arose, the contained text of which she fed back to the AI. "I typed 'DIGITA PNTICS skyline logo::-1' as a prompt. I received these off-putting images, all of the same devastated-looking older woman with defined triangles of rosacea(?) on her cheeks."
: I discovered this woman, who I call Loab, in April. The AI reproduced her more easily than most celebrities. Her presence is persistent, and she haunts every image she touches. CW: Take a seat. This is a true horror story, and veers sharply macabre. pic.twitter.com/gmUlf6mZtkSeptember 6, 2022See moreAnd while many AI artists would have stopped there, content with dipping their toes into the unknown, Supercomposite isn't one to let sleeping dogs lie. She is known for pushing whatever strangeness presents itself on her AI pilgrimages, and the algorithms always deliver tenfold.
She says that after combining an image created by a friend of a "hyper compressed glass tunnel surrounded by angels [...] in the style of Wes Anderson," using Loab as an image prompt, her face persisted "through some kind of emergent statistical accident."
And so it went on from there, with Loab's face continuing to turn up time after time. In speaking to Supercomposite about Loab, she notes that "most celebrities get more distorted after being put through an image prompt. Loab pretty much stays the same even after several generations of feeding the results back into the AI."
"The AI reproduced her more easily than most celebrities. Her presence is persistent, and she haunts every image she touches," the Twitter thread reads.
Essentially, where other faces would mould into something new, Loab manages to stay consistently recognisable even as her face is cross-pollinated with other images. She even pops up later down the line after disappearing completely, like the AI just can't let go of her.
"After she disappeared from the image breeding lineage, she would sometimes reappear, later down the line, out of nowhere."
(Image credit: Supercomposite)"Since Loab was discovered using negative prompt weights, her gestalt is made from a collection of traits that are equally far away from something," one Tweet explains. "But her combined traits are still a cohesive concept for the AI, and almost all descendent images contain a recognizable Loab."
"The AI can latch onto the idea of Loab so well that she can persist through generations of this type of crossbreeding, without using the original image."
Supercomposite, although being much more well versed in the inner workings of AI than I, admits that she doesn't fully understand what's going on here.
"I haven't experimented extensively with it but it seems like this pattern holds for multiple AIs, perhaps due to them all using CLIP in one way or the other. Or maybe it's a quirk of the RAION dataset. I'm not sure exactly why, even if I generally understand in principle how! Neural networks are a black box as they say."
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the restShe has asked me to keep the name of the AI secret as many of the images generated of Loab contain excessive gore verging on snuff, and I'm sure whatever company is involved doesn't fancy that kind attention.
As the founder of AI image generating discord bot Midjourney said in an interview with me a few weeks ago, "Obviously, it doesn't matter if there's a little bit of gore. But the problem is that you have 10,000 people who want to do gore all day. Then we produce more gore content in one month than all of human visual history. I don't know if we need that."
So whichever AI it is that has this strange obsession with the cryptid Loab, we can only wait to see what other dark and wonderful anomalies will rear their heads as the AI image generation trend continues to snowball.
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The best MSI gaming laptops are sleek and powerful. Speedy in games and yet offering great value for money too. MSI holds a spot on our list of the best gaming laptops for a reason. Laptops like the GS66 Stealth don't compromise one strong gaming performance and battery life—two things that are vital in a choice gaming laptop. After all, MSI is known for packing its laptops with capable hardware and delivering smooth framerates in the latest games.
If you're looking for an MSI gaming laptop, you'll want to sift through the current deals on them first. MSI has a variety of options out there and some of them will fit your needs more than others. Chassis size is an important one to get you started—do you want a 15-inch all-purpose laptop, a 17-inch desktop replacement, or something more portable?
The MSI gaming laptops below are some of the best deals we can find at the moment. There are other models around as well that are worth looking out for. If you're after true portability without sacrificing performance, the MSI Stealth Thin is a great machine. It takes full advantage of Nvidia's Max-Q technology, with a slim-line chassis that weighs in at less than five pounds.
If portability is second on the list, and performance is your top priority, a heavier 'muscle class' laptop (aka. desktop replacement) with more powerful components might be a better bet. The MSI GE76 Raider, for example, with its choice of full-fat GTX or RTX graphics, these aptly named machines can handle recording, streaming, and editing too, as well as some immense gaming sessions.
The best MSI gaming laptop deals today
MSI GF63 Thin | 15.6-inch | Intel Core i5 11400H | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti | 512GB SSD | 16GB DDR4 | 1080p | 144Hz |
$1,049.99$879.99 at Newegg (save $170)
This budget gaming laptop comes in at under $900 right now, which isn't a bit of a bargain for what's on offer. It comes with Nvidia's RTX 3050 Ti, which will drive the 1080p screen at high frame rates in the latest games. While the CPU is last-gen, it's one of Intel's finer 11th Gen chips, and it's paired with an envious 16GB of DDR4, which is greater than you might often see at this sort of price. That's a decent gaming laptop for the money.View DealMSI Katana GF66 | 15.6-inch | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 | Intel Core i7 11800H | 16GB DDR4 | 512GB SSD |1080p | 144Hz |
$1,349.99$1,281.99 at Best Buy (save $68)
Admittedly not a huge saving, but this is still a good laptop for the money being asked. For under $1,300 you're getting an RTX 3060 that would handle anything you can throw at it, especially at the laptop's native 1080p. It does have a last-gen Intel CPU, but it's still a powerful chip for gaming, and you're looking at 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD too. A solid specification.View DealMSI Pulse GL66 | Nvidia RTX 3070 | Intel Core i7 11800H | 15.6-inch | 144Hz | 1080p | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD |
$1,499$1,289 at Amazon (save $210)
The RTX 3070 is very capable in mobile form, particularly when driving a 1080p screen like this. Pair that with an 11th Gen Intel CPU and that 144Hz screen will be well used. This is a decently specced gaming laptop that will handle whatever you throw at it. That's a healthy saving right now as well.View DealMSI Crosshair 15 | Nvidia RTX 3070 | Intel Core 17 12700H | 15.6-inch | 1440p | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD|
$1999.99$1799.99 at Best Buy (save $200)
This MSI gaming laptop at $200 off isn't exactly a steal, but it's a solid price nonetheless. It comes with an Intel Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia RTX 3070, and a terabyte of SSD storage. If you were already planning to spend close to $2,000, this is a good time to pick this one up.View DealMSI GF65 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | Intel Core i5 10500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 8GB RAM | 512 SSD|
$1099.99$799.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
The MSI GF65 lacks in RAM, but for modest gaming and other work, it's still a strong choice. The laptop comes with an Intel Core i5 and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 that should help power a boatload of games on its 1080p screen. At less than $1000, this is a solid choice.View DealMSI Pulse GL66 | Nvidia RTX 3050 | Intel Core i7 11800H |15.6-inch 144Hz 1080p | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD |
$1149$1049 at Gamestop (save $100)
You're not seeing double, but Gamestop has a sale on a slightly lower spec GL66. You get all the same goodies from the above model, except this one comes with an RTX 3050 to keep your price under $1000. This model does have a sizable 1TB SSD which we never really see in laptops.MSI Creator M16 | RTX 3050 Ti 4GB| Intel Core i7-11800H |16-inch | 2560x1600 | 60Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD |
$1,599$1,149 at Adorama (save $470)
If you do more work than play, this MSI Creator should be right up your alley. This laptop has a great display 1600p display and should be able to handle all of your photo and video editing needs along with with some light gaming. -
What happens when you give one of the world's biggest licences to two of the world's biggest companies? One of them takes its ball and goes home, it turns out. When Amazon's Lord Of The Rings MMO was suddenly cancelled last year, we were left wondering what it was that had caused the talks between Amazon and Tencent to break down after what felt like a significant amount of hype for the game.
In an interview with Gamespot, Amazon Games president Christoph Hartmann revealed that the game's development got so complicated after the involvement of Tencent—the Chinese tech giant with investments all over the world—that Amazon decided it would rather drop the whole thing. Hartmann said the companies "maybe could have worked together" on a different project, but they were "too big as companies to really turn into partners" on the MMO. So Amazon walked.
Amazon's initial deal regarding its LOTR MMO was with the Hong Kong company Leyou, a firm that was practically microscopic compared to the gargantuan bulk of Amazon and Tencent. Things were proceeding relatively well until Tencent acquired Leyou in December of 2020. That put a spanner in the works: Middle-earth Enterprises—the LOTR rights holder—terminated the MMO's rights to the LOTR licence and made it necessary to hash out a new deal.
Negotiations dragged on, but it seems that Tencent and Amazon just couldn't come to terms on how the Tolkienian pie would be divided. Hartmann makes it sound like the disagreement stemmed from a dispute over which megacorporation would have control over the relevant rights. He mentions that a situation in which Tencent owned the licence and Amazon developed the game was not acceptable, so Amazon decided to bail.
It doesn't seem to have worked out too badly for either company. Tencent continues to pull companies into its orbit with slow-burning inevitability, while Amazon has a couple of successful MMOs on its hands in the form of Lost Ark and New World. "I want to keep on investing in that," says Hartmann somewhat hopefully. "I know, it's not going to be Lord of the Rings, but we have our own fantasy; why not keep building on that."
As Amazon releases its Rings Of Power series to great fanfare, you've got to wonder if some small part of the company wishes it had a lucrative, Middle Earth MMO to show off to its new viewers.
Fans of the series have the upcoming Gollum game and a project from Take Two's Private Division to look forward to, but after that any future Lord of the Rings games will be coming from Embracer Group, which recently acquired the rights to adapt the series. Tencent and Amazon are giants but Embracer's been on an acquisition spree itself, clearly has money to burn, and didn't buy those rights for nothing.
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The best full-tower PC case makes a statement. If you want subtle, then a full tower chassis is probably not what you're after. If you're going the full-tower route, then it's because you want room for everything—from the largest possible GPUs to a full array of SSDs and hard drives that would put most NAS boxes to shame. You'll want plenty of space for the most elaborate of cooling too.
I'm talking about the kind of cooling configurations that just wouldn't be feasible in smaller systems. This is custom water cooling loop territory, with multiple radiators and a frankly ludicrous number of fans.
When choosing a suitable full-tower case, a lot of it will come down to personal taste. Just consider everything you need in a good PC case, like ensuring you've got enough clearance for the best graphics card and decent airflow. However, you should note that these large cases also come with hefty price tags. So, if cost is a concern or you're trying to make the best budget PC, consider one of the best mid-tower cases to make your wallet happy.
We've listed here our favorite full-towers we've tested and wholeheartedly recommend for your future PC build. Alternatively, if you want to look at the other end of the scale, we also have a guide to the best mini-ITX cases for those small form-factor builds. And, if all this custom build stuff scares the living hell out of you, check out our guide to the best gaming PCs and score yourself a nice prebuilt PC.
The best full-tower case
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Corsair)1. Corsair 1000D
The biggest and baddest of them all
Form Factor: Super tower | Motherboard Support: ATX, Extended ATX, Mini-ITX, SSI EEB, microATX | Dimensions: 27.4 x 12.1 x 27.3-inches | Weight: 29.5kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm; 480mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 3.1 Type-C | Drive Bays: 6x 2.5-inch, 5x 3.5-inch
Supports just about any crazy buildCan house an E-ATX and Mini-ITX build at the same timeSupports dual 480mm front radiatorsSpace eaterThere are big cases; then, there are big cases. Actually, to describe this case simply as 'big' would still be an understatement. The Corsair 1000D is larger than what many would define as a full-tower. It's so enormous that Corsair calls it a super tower. It's truly a behemoth of a PC case, ready to house the biggest and baddest systems. Standing tall at a staggering 27.3-inches, this super tower features enough space to house 18 fans and up to four massive radiators simultaneously.
In addition to the insane cooling support, the 1000D features a unique triple-chamber design with convenient French-door-styled storage compartments and telescoping radiator trays for easy installation. It's a case that is so massive; it can house both an entire E-ATX build and a mini-ITX build at the same time.
Because it is 2022, of course, there is also an RGB-lit front panel I/O with built-in smart lighting and fan control courtesy of Corsair's Commander Pro controller. The Obsidian 900D has long been a top choice for massive, over-the-top builds, and it only fits that the 1000D would come along to knock it off its throne.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)2. Cooler Master Cosmos C700M
The best full-tower case for flashy builds
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX | Dimensions: 650 x 306 x 651mm | Weight: 23.8 kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 1x Mic, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.0 | Drive Bays: 4x 2.5-inch 2, 4 (+1) x 3.5-inch
Highly customizable layoutIncluded GPU riser cableRiser cable is last-gen PCIe versionThe original Cooler Master Cosmos chassis is a classic of PC case design, and has seen many revisions over the years. The latest, the Cosmos C700M is the pinnacle of that design, taking over from the C700P, a chassis which held firm as one of our favorite full-tower cases for years.
Bigger even than the C700P, the C700M is one of Cooler Master's largest enclosures and comes with an equally hefty price tag. The premium case maintains the same handlebar design as the calssic Cosmos design, but adds a few modern touches that make it one of the most beautiful cases we've seen.
It's also dialled back the heavy tint on the side panel to more readily reveal the shiny components you've paid good money to house inside it.
We were already impressed with the tasteful RGB lighting from its predecessor but the C700M really kicks it up a notch. The lightning now features individually addressable RGB strips that form a continuous line from the back of the top panel all the way through the bottom of the case. Metallic contacts allow you to easily remove the front panel without having to worry about wires. A fresh matte design on the case's signature handlebars allow the understated lighting to really accent its curves.
The exceptional build quality and premium materials definitely go a long way towards justifying the price.
The company's signature logo is noticeably absent from the case. Instead, all that remains is a familiar hexagonal shape used as a power button. We've already seen this shift with some of Cooler Master's other cases and liquid coolers, but the C700M really seals the deal with its sleek lines and artfully crafted top ventilation.
One of the favorite things we experienced while building in the case is the fact that we were able to remove the motherboard tray and assemble a majority of our system outside of the case. Built in cable routing, cable management clips and a modular cable cover system also makes it easy to create a very clean system.
The ability to switch between a conventional layout and an inverted one is not uncommon for a high end full tower. What really sets the C700P and C700M apart from the competition is the ability to rotate the motherboard 90 degrees into what Cooler Master calls its chimney layout. This type of layout allows hot air to follow its natural trajectory and efficiently exhaust from the top of the case.
Our only complaint about these alternative motherboard configurations is the fact that it becomes quite a hassle to access the rear I/O. Depending on your desk size, you might even need extension cables for your peripherals. Regardless, the modularity and freedom to customize the C700M is totally in line with Cooler Master's "Make It Yours" philosophy that enthusiasts have come to love.
That and you'll have to buy one of Cooler Master's PCIe 4.0 riser cables as the bundled one is last-gen.
Despite the price, the exceptional build quality and premium materials definitely go a long way towards justifying the price. If money isn't an issue and you aren't interested in the behemoth that is Corsair's 1000D, Cooler Master's C700M is the ultimate high-end full tower.
Read our full Cooler Master Cosmos C700M review.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: be quiet!)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: be quiet!)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: be quiet!)3. be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900
The best high-end full-tower
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: E-ATX, XL-ATX, ATX, M-ATX, Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 577 x 243 x 586mm | Weight: 14.4kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, Qi Wireless Charger | Drive Bays: 10x 2.5-inch, 5x 3.5-inch
Highly modularWireless Qi chargerExtensive cooling supportModular = fiddlyInitially known for its silent power supplies and fans, be quiet! entered the case market with a big splash and has done well in a short period since its first case launch in 2014. One of the company's later cases, the Dark Base Pro 900, remains one of our highly recommended full-towers thanks to its sleek design and enthusiast-friendly interior.
The case is one of the most modular cases we've ever seen. You won't find too many rivets in this one. Instead, just about every single panel can be removed, making this case a modder's dream. There's also a lot of customization available with options for an inverted motherboard layout and even some nifty features like wireless Qi charging and preinstalled LED lighting.
Though for some that might also be its biggest drawback, because that modularity can become rather fiddly if you really start pulling it apart.
The Dark Base Pro 900 is large enough to support the biggest motherboards and radiators up to 420mm in size. It's a huge full-tower that can support just about any custom cooling you can dream up. It also looks very sleek with a few color options to spice things up. Priced around $200, the Dark Base Pro is a relatively affordable case in this category but comes with all the bells and whistles to make it worth it.
Best mid-tower case | Best mini-ITX case | Best CPU cooler | Best DDR4 RAM | Best gaming monitor| Best gaming headset
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Thermaltake)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Thermaltake)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Thermaltake)4. Thermaltake View 71
The best full-tower for tempered glass lovers
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: Mini ITX, Micro ATX, ATX, 12” x 13”(E-ATX) | Dimensions: 592 x 274 x 577mm | Weight: 18.9kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 360mm; 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 | Drive Bays: 6x 2.5-inch, 3x 3.5-inch
Tons of tempered glassIncludes three RGB LED fansHighly modular caseAirflow somewhat stunted by glass frontNo bundled riser cableWith RGB now firmly entrenched in the PC building psyche, tempered glass cases are clearly more than a passing fad. Thermaltake’s View 71 boasts four tempered glass panels to show off your LED-soaked skills, and it comes with three RGB LED fans pre-installed as well.
The View 71 RGB, then, is the perfect full-tower for case lighting enthusiasts. The tempered tinted glass does a great job making internal lighting stand out. And unlike some of the other tempered glass cases we’ve used, the View 71 comes with swinging doors, so you don’t have to remove the entire glass panel every time you want to make a change.
The case also includes a vertical GPU mount and extensive liquid cooling support for all-in-one and custom loops, although you'll have to buy the riser cable separately if you want to take advantage of that vertical mounting.
If you want a big case with E-ATX support, and the RGB lighting game to showcase your components inside, Thermaltake's View 71 is a great option.
Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Phanteks)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Phanteks)5. Phanteks Enthoo Pro
The best budget full-tower
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: ATX, EATX, mATX, SSI EEB | Dimensions: 235 x 535 x 550mm | Weight: 13.8kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 | Drive Bays: 7x 2.5-inch, 6x 3.5-inch
Great cable managementSupports several liquid cooling optionsAffordable large towerOutdated aestheticWhen it comes to PC cases, Phanteks is one of the most underrated brands around. The company is slightly newer to the scene, but has done a fantastic job making things easier for first-time builders and enthusiasts alike. The Enthoo Pro is one of our favorite full-sized towers.
Phanteks was one of the first manufacturers to include pre-installed cable management ties. This little feature makes a world of difference when it comes to the tedious task of keeping your cables in check. The case also offers a ton of flexibility, which makes it great for all sorts of large builds.
Out of the box, the case comes with a 200mm fan in the front panel and a 140mm fan in the rear. This is enough to provide quite a bit of airflow in the case, but the top panel lets you take things even further with support for a radiator up to 420mm in size. Priced at just under $90, the Phanteks Enthoo Pro is a fantastic value and beefy enough to support a wide variety of full-sized builds.
Best full-tower case FAQ
What should I look for in a full-tower case?
Aside from looking good on your desk, there are a number of key features you should consider before picking up a full-tower case. First off and most important is airflow and cooling. You need to make sure there's enough space to install fans or liquid cooling radiators. An overheating PC could have devastating effects on performance.
You need to see if your future full-tower case has room for your video card. Not all GPUs are created in the same size so knowing the length of your GPU ahead of time can save you a headache.
Some full-tower cases have special sections to routing and hiding cables which is a big help if your cable management skills aren't the best.
Are full-tower cases worth it?
The average full-tower PC case will generally be more expensive than their mid-sized, or mini-ITX brethren, so you have to consider whether you really want that scale before you make that purchase. They're big chassis designed for extreme cooling and extreme components, but they have a footprint and price tag to match.
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Strike it big in the Season of Plunder(Image credit: Bungie)
Destiny 2 map fragments: How to get treasure maps
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Destiny 2 lost sectors: This season's daily rotation
Destiny 2 Touch of Malice: How to get the raid exoticIron Banner daily challenges are one of the best ways to earn XP, Iron Banner weapons, and rank up with Lord Saladin in the Season of Plunder's new PvP activity. If you're trying to get the Iron Banner title, you'll also have to complete these in order to finish the Frostmire's Will triumph.
These challenges generally consist of playing games of the new killtastic Eruption activity, in which you try to get kill streaks and stop yourself exploding once you do by getting even more kills. It could be a bit clearer about what each challenge is and how they work, so to help you along, I'll explain where to find the Iron Banner daily challenge so you can complete it.
How to complete the Iron Banner daily challenge in Destiny 2
(Image credit: Bungie)Finding the Iron Banner daily challenge is a little difficult due to the fact it's actually listed as a weekly challenge. If you hover over the Iron Banner activity in the Crucible destination, it'll list the current daily challenge you're on. The first one is Complete three Iron Banner matches as either arc or stasis subclasses. The second, third, and four daily challenges will appear at reset between September 7-9 respectively, but they are usually just further variations on completing Iron Banner matches.
The good thing about daily challenges is that they last all week. You can choose to complete them each day as they come up, or you can wait until the end of the week and finish all four challenges in a row for the pinnacles. The most important thing is that you need to complete them all before September 13, when Iron Banner ends, since you might not be able to earn the Frostmire's Will triumph by the end of the season if not.
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The best UPS backup will keep your machine running should your electricity supply fail. Whether that's a blackout, brownout, or power surge, you'll be covered long enough to save what you're doing and turn off your machine safely. Given that power surges and interruptions can be bad news for PC components, this can ultimately save you money. And who doesn't like saving money?
If you've got a high-end gaming PC, it's a smart idea to pair it with an uninterrupted power supply as a backup. This protects your precious system from fluctuations in outlet power and acts as a surge protector, too. A UPS utilizes internal batteries to deliver a steady flow of power, and a good one will give you plenty of time to save your work or get to a save point, before shutting down your PC safely.
The time a UPS gives you to save your game or work will vary, depending on its power draw, and there are other things to consider, too. Each UPS below we've tested and found to deliver exactly what we needed out of what should be an otherwise fairly unremarkable looking black box. So you can get a better read on which is best for you and your budget.
The best UPS for gaming PCs
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)1. CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
The best UPS for most gamers
Capacity: 900W | 1500VA | Voltage range: 160–265Vac | Surge protection: Yes | Dimensions: 265 x 100 x 370mm | Weight: 10.9kg
True sine-wave UPS900 watts sustained power deliveryUseful LCD screen for monitoringPremium pricingThe CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500VA is one of the best UPS on the market. Several factors contribute to it being our top pick for most gamers. First, it has enough juice to handle most gaming machines, even if you're running the beefiest of GPUs and an overclocked CPU. Unless you've got systems with ten hard drives, quad-way GPUs, and other accessories, the CP1500PFCLCD should have enough juice to last 10–20 minutes (longer if you have a more moderate rig) if a power failure occurs.
One of the most critical features of the CP1500PFCLCD is its true sine-wave output. Most UPS backups in their price range only provide sine-wave simulated production, a stepped sine-wave that approximates what you get out of your wall outlet. Some electronics are sensitive to simulated sine waves and will behave abnormally. At $214, having true sine-wave output is unheard of, so kudos to CyberPower for delivering such a quality output.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Cyberpower)2. CyberPower EC650LCD
The best UPS for your network and accessories
Capacity: 390W | 650VA | Voltage range: 96–140Vac | Surge protection: Yes | Dimensions: 150 x 79 x 269mm | Weight: 2.9kg
Good power reserves for its sizeLCD screen for load monitoringECO mode for outlet managementWon't power high-end systemsFor smaller accessories and network equipment, the CyberPower EC650LCD is the best pick for most. Coming in at $88 for 390W/650VA, the EC650LCD has enough power reserves to keep the average home network alive for well over 15 minutes, which is enough time to exit your game/applications, save all your work through the network, and shut everything off gracefully during a power outage.
The EC650LCD is small enough to hide away, taking up very little desktop room for a 390W unit. One of my favorite features of the EC650LCD is its array of ECO ports. These ports can be managed and timed to turn on or off, depending on your schedule or use case. The ECO ports will also power down accessories like your speakers and display if your PC is asleep or powered down.
Best gaming PC | Best gaming laptop| Best gaming motherboards | Best SSD for gaming | Best DDR4 RAM | Best PC cases
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: APC)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: APC)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: APC)3. APC BE600M1
The best UPS for small accessories
Capacity: 330W | 600VA | Voltage range: 92–139Vac | Surge protection: Yes | Dimensions: 139 x 105 x 274mm | Weight: 3.49kg
Enough power for accessories and routersCan power game consolesSmall and convenient sizeFor your network, not your PCThe name APC is synonymous with high-quality UPS. I use three of the company's Smart-UPS professional level units at home: two 1000VA units for my network and NAS gear and one 1500VA unit for my PC and displays.
APC's BE600M1 is excellent at providing both battery and surge protection for the devices you use most every day. That is your phone and possibly a tablet. However, it has enough power reserves for you to plug in at least a router and a single display. If you only plan to use the BE600M1 to power a Wi-Fi router, the unit will have enough juice in it to let you browse the internet in peace for several hours, even if the electricity in the rest of your house is gone. Priorities.
The best part of the BE600M1 is its size. Most UPS are large and belong on the floor, but APC encourages you to put the BE600M1 on a desk. The unit provides a single 1.5A USB port for charging a phone or tablet, so you don't have to use your device's power adapter, which is inevitably a wall wart that potentially overlaps another socket or two, so you free up sockets for other devices.
The best UPS for PC gaming FAQ
How long will a UPS last?
An uninterruptible power supply that rates at 1500VA should run your computer for a little under an hour. But if you're trying to run your PC and your monitor from it, then you're probably looking at more like ten minutes of up-time. A 650VA, at peak load, will maybe net you something in the range of seven minutes, though that is obviously with a far lower peak wattage.
What type of UPS should I buy?
There are two types of uninterruptible power supply to look out for when shopping around for your gaming PC: sine-wave and simulated sine-wave.
Sine-wave UPS backups deliver a smooth, consistent oscillation of AC power directly to your PSU. These are often the only type of UPS you'll find recommended for gaming PCs due to their efficiency and clean power delivery.
What's the difference between sine-wave and simulated sine-wave UPS?
A pure sine-wave signal will be a match for the AC mains power your PSU is expected from your mains. Essentially, your PC shouldn't know the difference between your UPS battery power and the power coming from the wall.
Simulated sine-wave UPS deliver a stepped, approximated waveform using pulse-width modulation (PWM). That's the same concept used to control PC case fan RPM. These are often far less expensive than pure sine-wave UPS and can be useful for peripherals, small devices, and monitors. However, since the waveform is not always exact, these may not function as intended with PSUs that demand a stable and consistent input.
When your UPS detects a power surge or cut it will switch to battery power. How it delivers that battery power to your PC or accessories is when sine-wave versus simulated sine-wave matters most. That's because some PSUs will actually recognise a simulated sine-wave frequency and shut down suddenly to protect themselves from the unexpected oddity in power. Thus, your UPS won't actually be saving your PC from a loss of power.
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Whether you're hoping to read a handcrafted clue designed to gently nudge you in the right direction or you'd just like the answer to the September 7 (445) Wordle delivered straight to your eyeballs, you'll find all that and plenty more tips for the internet's favourite word game below.
An odd scattering of green and yellow letters meant it took me so much longer than it should have to form something approaching today's Wordle answer, and in a desperate bid for guidance I threw out an unrelated guess to try and narrow down the pool of possibilities. By some luck it worked, and I scraped by with a last-minute victory.
Wordle hint
Today's Wordle: A hint for Wednesday, September 7
You're looking for a relatively uncommon word today, used to describe a mistrust or wariness of someone or something—enough to make you want to avoid them/it as much as possible. There's one repeating vowel to find, so once you've got it focus on those consonants.
Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day
If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:
- A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants.
- A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
- The solution may contain repeat letters.
There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank.
Wordle answer
(Image credit: Josh Wardle)What is the Wordle 445 answer?
Let me help you over the finish line.The answer to the September 7 (445) Wordle is LEERY.
Previous answers
Wordle archive: Which words have been used
The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.
Here are some recent Wordle solutions:
- September 6: TAUNT
- September 5: WHOOP
- September 4: INTER
- September 3: GULLY
- September 2: CHARM
- September 1: FUNGI
- August 31: PRIZE
- August 30: ONSET
- August 29: CHIEF
- August 28: GAUZE
Learn more about Wordle
Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.
You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you've got right or wrong. If a box turns
️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. 
means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 
means you've got the right letter in the right spot.You'll want your second go to compliment the first, using another "good" word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer.
After that it's just a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there's an E). Don't forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).
If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you'll find those below.
Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.
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Chrome users are going to want to get on the latest browser update ASAP regardless of whether you're using Windows, Mac, or Linux. This one affects us all and is aiming to fix a security exploit that has been actively exploited by hackers.
The official releases blog for Chrome (spotted by The Verge) explains that an anonymous user had recently reported the bug that relates to the data validation in some of the runtime libraries used by Chrome. Google is purposefully keeping details about the exploit under wraps to avoid further exploits, especially as the update is still rolling out.
The security vulnerability has been described as a high risk and users should take care to check that they are running the latest software. The version number you're looking for is 105.0.5195.102 across all the desktop platforms and you should be able to check this in the settings on your browser.
On Windows you can find it by clicking on the three dots under the close window X on the top left hand side of the screen. Find the settings menu which will open as a new tab, and click on the About Chrome option which should be at the bottom of the left hand list. Here you can see what version of Chrome you're running, and whether or not you're all up to date.
Perfect peripherals(Image credit: Colorwave)Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming
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Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audioIt feels like Chrome has been seeing its fair share of updates for security reasons lately, which can be a bit of a double edged sword. On the one hand it is worrying that we're seeing so many security issues, especially so soon after the last lot of patches. But on the other it's great to see people are reporting these exploits and that they're being fixed.
With Google still keeping its cards to its chest on this exploit, it's hard to say in what way users were affected and what hackers were able to achieve. Still given the wide variety of tasks we use our browsers for, including storing passwords and internet banking, any exploit can feel dangerous. Make sure to stay safe out there, and perform all your security updates as you're browsing the world wide weberverse.
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Here at PC Gamer we see our fair share of keyboards from all different makes and styles. We often split them into categories like wireless or mechanical to help rank them for different use cases. However, we do have a top spot overall for gaming, and that belongs to the analogue master, the Wooting Two HE.
If you've been eyeing off our favourite gaming keyboard ever, you might want to get in quick. According to the official Wooting Keyboard Twitter account, the company is expecting to be out of stock of the keyboard by October. It also doesn't anticipate having stock again until the beginning of next year, so it'll be a long wait if you miss out.
The Wooting two HE will run out of stock by October and be out of stock until start 2023.We decided to allocate more resources (IC parts) to the 60HE at the expense of a W2HE production.If you had the intentions, now is still your chance.August 31, 2022
See moreThe Tweet also states this is partially due to diverting parts to Wooting's new 60% keyboard which is currently up for preorder. The website explains that while this keyboard is being mass produced, it is currently still receiving tonnes of preorders with the latest batch to ship in October. It's likely this will be an excellent TKL board but if you're looking for full size you'll want to get in quick for the Wooting Two HE.
Now, you won't find the Wooting Two HE on our best cheap gaming keyboard list. These go for $167 USD, but you're getting something a bit unique compared to most others on the market. The analogue switches mean they can measure distance being pressed, which some games and programs can read as more specific inputs. You can get a look at how these features can work in the video at the top of the page, and the ever excellent Jacob Ridley goes into a fair bit more detail on how they work in our review.
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Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audioWhile it's pretty rare to find games that use the feature, it's certainly nice to have, but it's not the only thing that makes this keyboard our top pick. The Wooting Two He has hot swappable keys, so if you ever need or want to replace any it's an easy affair. Plus there's a two year warranty if you're really concerned about durability.
As an added bonus the Wooting keyboards also have excellent software. The wonderfully named Wootility program can let you adjust your RGB profiles, analogue switch settings, and other little tweaks. It's clean and simple which is a big departure from many other similar software offerings making it surprisingly nice to use. Plus you can store the profile and software on the keyboard itself, making it able to load on other PCs instantly.
If you're already in possession of the keyboard of your dreams, don't forget you can still up your game. These shortcuts will give you the skills to elevate your keyboard mastery to a brand new level.
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It's an exciting time to be a PC gaming enthusiast. After a quiet first half of 2022, we're getting set for a flood of PC hardware releases, and one of the specific items I have my eye on is Intel's upcoming 13th Gen Core i5 13400. The i5 12400 is already our favourite budget gaming CPU, but the 13400 is looking even better.
Check out our review of the i5 12400. Dave James gave it a stratospheric 95/100, and the only way it could realistically score higher than that was if it cost 50 bucks and came with a free motherboard. It runs cool, sips power, and delivers enough horsepower to keep even high-end graphics cards fed. But one thing it lacked compared to the more expensive 12th Gen CPUs was efficiency cores. This meant that its multi-threading and multi-tasking prowess fell well behind the likes of the more expensive 12600K.
That's all set to change as the 13400 will include four Gracemont E cores meaning the 13400 will get a major multi-threaded performance boost. Though it won't be able to compete with the higher core count CPUs as you'd expect, 16-threads is more than enough for current gaming requirements, and the inclusion of E cores should mean the chip will deliver very low idle and light load power consumption.
According to a list of specs provided by WCCFTech (via sweclockers) the 13400's E cores will be clocked at 3.3GHz. That's quite low compared to the clocks of the higher tier models but if they're just going to be performing background tasks or utilized in idle situations, they won't need to deliver amazing performance.
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Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the restThe 13400's P cores get a 200MHz maximum turbo boost increase, up to 4.6GHz from the 4.4GHz of the 12400. It also gets an L3 cache increase to 20MB compared to the 18MB of the 12400. That's expected due to the inclusion of the E cores. DDR4 and DDR5 memory support remains the same, at 3200MHz and 4800MHz respectively, though you'd expect good quality XMP kits to run faster than that without any issue.
A big question on many enthusiasts' minds is whether it will be able to overclock via BCLK. MSI released its B660M Mortar Max Wi-Fi, which allowed BCLK OC with locked 12th Gen CPUs. I wonder if motherboard manufacturers will be inspired to release budget B760 motherboards to allow it. If that's the case, the 13400 could end up not just an excellent CPU, but a legendary one. Intel may not allow it though. We’ll have to wait and see.
Core i5 12400 Core i5 13400 Cores 6 6+4 Threads 12 16 Performance core base clock 2.5GHz 2.5GHz Performance core max turbo clock 4.4GHz 4.6GHz Efficiency core max clock N/A 3.3GHz TDP (Base) 65W 65W So, we have a 65W base TDP processor with 16 threads, low cooling requirements. low idle power consumption, and a maximum 4.6GHz boost clock. The 13400 already looks mighty indeed. And it's surely going to be priced attractively if the 12400 is any indicator. The 12400 currently sells for $194 at Newegg, while the 12400F without integrated graphics is even less at $175. If the 13400 and 13400F land around the same prices, Intel will have a very strong budget gaming competitor.
How will it compare to the likes of a Ryzen 5 7600X? Don't forget that this time around, you can drop a 13400 into a 600-series Intel board with your choice of DDR4 or DDR5, whereas you'll need a new motherboard and RAM if you choose to go with AMD.
I can't wait to see the how the looming battle for the budget gaming crown plays out.
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A previous mod for Final Fantasy 7 Remake swapped the high-resolution model of Cloud wearing a dress for a more low-poly look, but now the mod we've all been waiting for is here: one that replaces the expressive and high-resolution models of all Final Fantasy 7 Remake's playable characters for the pointy polygons of the 1990s. Specifically, of the 1998 Windows version, which you can tell because unlike in the 1997 PlayStation original they've got mouths. (A mystery our own intrepid Wes Fenlon delved into in Why the hell do they have mouths: a Final Fantasy 7 PC retrospective.)
The Polygonal Players mod by FantasyRaider replaces Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barret, as well as Yuffie and Sonon from the Intermission chapter, in both gameplay and in-engine cutscenes—though the cinematics made with higher-definition models will show the remake's characters. It's super weird seeing Cloud's Lisa Simpson hair and staircase eyebrows alongside the modern-looking characters, and wielding high-def weapons, but entertainingly so.
To install Polygonal Players you'll need to download the .pak file from NexusMods and make a ~mods folder inside your FFVIIRemakeIntergrade\End\Content\Paks directory to put it in. It's a whole 6.5MB file for all those polygons.
Polygonal Players would probably combine well with the mod to restore the original's fixed camera. Meanwhile, there are of course nude Sephiroth mods for Final Fantasy 7 Remake in a variety of styles, as well as mods that give Cloud a keytar sword, put clown makeup on Sephiroth, and show off Cloud's washboard abs. Check out the dev console unlocker too. Truly, there's something to suit all tastes.
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy will continue with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is scheduled for a winter release next year. Who knows what wonderful things modders will be able to do with that? I mean, once they've finished making Tifa's boobs bigger again, of course.
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Zürich-based developer Stray Fawn Studio is making The Wandering Village, a city builder in which you cross a toxic wasteland on the back of a humongous creature called Onbu. As well as managing your settlement on this friendly kaiju dinosaur beast, you have to manage your relationship with Onbu, which may be a peaceful, symbiotic coexistence or something more parasitic and fractious. It'll be entering early access on September 14.
The trailer shows a village of berry-pickers and wood-choppers right out of Age of Empires' early game, growing as farms and towers are constructed, then dealing with a spore infestation by going at it with flamethrowers. The 2D villagers are easy to pick out of the 3D trees and crops, an interesting use of quite different art styles.
Chris played a demo earlier this year, in which he fell in love with Onbu and did everything he could to make the six-legged tarrasque-looking critter happy. "I focus on unlocking technology to make Onbu's life easier," he wrote, "like a food trebuchet. After building a special kitchen to make meals from the mushrooms I'm farming on its back, I have a citizen launch the food out of the village and right into Onbu's mouth. It's maybe the most fun I've had feeding a creature in a game, ever?"
Your own settlement may develop a spikier relationship with Onbu, and I mean that literally. As Stray Fawn describes it, "There's every chance a spike may have grown where villagers intended to place their kitchen, while a failed harvest may cause desperation and tempt villagers to draw blood from the creature for food." Onbu also reacts differently to the various biomes you cross together, and can grow sick or be harmed by environmental threats.
Though it's got a different atmosphere, there's something a bit Frostpunk about the idea of managing a settlement of people who may be the only survivors of an apocalypse. Just like in Frostpunk, you can send scouting missions to hunt for resources, only here they're balloons launched from Onbu's back and presumably you don't have to enforce child labor laws to fund them. Not that I would do such a thing, ha ha, not me.
The Wandering Village will be available in early access on Steam.
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When Undertale creator Toby Fox released the second chapter of Deltarune last year, it arrived roughly a year behind schedule. That's fine though, because it was reportedly very good, though if you've been waiting with decreasing patience for further instalments, I'm sad to report that none will arrive during 2022.
"We won't be able to put out any new chapters of Deltarune this year," Fox tweeted today, "but as usual, we have a little something special planned for the anniversary of UT/DR (Undertale/Deltarune) Chapter 2… see you next week!"
It'll be interesting to see how Fox approaches further Deltarune chapters. Upon release of Chapter 2, it was announced that the next three chapters—running 3 to 5—would release simultaneously. Unlike chapters 1 and 2, these would come at a price for the whole package. "It's definitely going to cost more than Undertale," Fox wrote in 2021.
Fox hasn't issued any substantial updates since the release of Chapter 2 last September, but he did tweet in May that development is "going well" and that "I'm getting more and more people to help recently, I have good feelings about it."
Undertale was famously developed by Fox alone, so the presence of more talent involved in the ongoing Deltarune chapters is pretty exciting. If you've yet to dive into Deltarune the first two chapters are still free on Steam: you'll need to download the demo to access them.
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Elden Ring can be an overwhelmingly huge solo adventure. It can also be a multiplayer journey for two that pairs you up with a pal for a hundred hours. Multiplayer makes FromSoft's notoriously difficult games a whole lot sillier and more manageable, too, as long as you aren't precious about soloing every battle by your lonesome.
Elden Ring multiplayer is easier to set up than co-op was in Dark Souls. There are special items you have to use to initiate multiplayer—usually. Normally you can't just open up your Steam friends list and invite a friend to play with you in Elden Ring. But thanks to a mod called Seamless Co-op, it's possible to play through the entire game without FromSoftware's arcane limitations. It's a totally new way to play Elden Ring multiplayer, beginning to end.
Here's what you need to know about official multiplayer in Elden Ring, as well as what's different about Seamless Co-op and what you need to do to get the mod up and running.
Seamless Co-op
(Image credit: FromSoftware)How to use the Seamless Co-op mod
Elden Ring wasn't designed to be played co-op from beginning to end. When you defeat an area boss, for example, the player you summoned is automatically returned to their own game world. You can't enter caves and dungeons from the overworld with a summoned player present; you have to re-summon once you enter the new area. You can't ride Torrent, the spectral steed, when another player is present, either.
Seamless Co-op changes all of these things.
"Simply put, the mod allows you to play with friends throughout the entirety of the game with no restrictions," says the Nexusmods description. "With this, it's theoretically possible to play the game from the tutorial up to the final boss completely in one co-op session."
Seamless Co-op does away with multiplayer zone restrictions and fog walls, lets you ride Torrent, and more. If you die, you stay connected to the multiplayer session. You share world progress, so everything you do sticks.
Because of the way the mod enables these things, it changes some other aspects of the game. You'll no longer be able to be invaded by other players, so it's definitely an easier way to play, though the mod does introduce a few new challenges to mitigate this. Seamless Co-op makes Elden Ring less of a multiplayer game but more of a dedicated co-op game, but if you want to play through the whole thing with a partner, it's the right tool for the job.
Since the mod's release in May, it's been updated a few times to fix bugs and add additional features. An update in early July, for example, let players drop sorceries, incantations, and weapon upgrade materials for their co-op buddies, which you couldn't share before.
The mod isn't just for cooperative play, either; Seamless Co-op lets the host enable PvP and customize teams, so you can use it to have 2v2 battles if you want.
Seamless co-op FAQs
Do you have to worry about getting banned?
According to the mod creators, no. Here's why:
"The mod prevents you from connecting the FromSoftware's matchmaking servers, and it uses save files different to the non-modded game. Easy Anti-Cheat is also not active when using this mod. There's no way to get banned using this mod unless you modify it with the intent of connecting to vanilla players."
Is the mod still being updated?
As of August 2022, yes. Seamless Co-op was updated to be compatible with Elden Ring patch 1.06, and modder LukeYui is regularly releasing new updates to fix bugs and make other tweaks.
How to install:
- Download the mod from the 'Download' tab or the GitHub mirror
- Extract the package you downloaded, and move the following files to your Elden Ring folder (usually in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ELDENRING\Game")
- Edit "cooppassword.ini" to your chosen co-op password
- Launch the mod using "lauch_elden_ring_seamless_coop.exe"
What makes Elden Ring multiplayer different?
(Image credit: FromSoftware)How Elden Ring multiplayer differs from most games
Multiplayer in Elden Ring is built around the concept of summoning other players into your game world (or joining theirs) and taking on the Lands Between together.
You use an item to place your "summon sign" down on the ground, and that sign will show up for other players. If they interact with it, they can bring you into their game, where you'll stay until one of you dies or you defeat the boss of the area you're in.
Keep these limitations in mind:
- You can't summon in an area where you've already defeated the boss (though you can still put your own sign down and help other players defeat it)
- In the open world, you can't use your spectral steed while playing co-op
- When you find the entrance to a dungeon you want to explore, you can't load into the new area; you'll have to end the multiplayer session and start it up again once you enter
Multiplayer items are explained in more detail below. Once you get past the confusing names, it's not too hard to understand how it all works.
Even if you're not sure about playing in multiplayer, I strongly encourage playing online, which is the default. This way you get to see messages from other players as well as their blood splatters, which give you a glimpse of how they died. That can be really helpful information, and it also just generally adds to the flavor of FromSoftware's games. Even when the messages are stupid.
To be clear, in Elden Ring, other players can't invade you just because you're "online." You'll only be invaded while you're actively in a co-op session with another player. This is part of what makes co-op exciting: you're much more powerful with a friend in your game, but that power comes with some risk, too.
Elden Ring multiplayer items
Elden Ring's basic multiplayer items
(Image credit: FromSoftware)These items are the gateway to multiplayer in Elden Ring. The names can be a bit confusing, but they're all housed in a single menu in the game, with descriptions there to help you if you forget. The two most important are the Furlcalling Finger Remedy, the item you use to be able to see other players' summon signs, and the Tarnished's Furled Finger, the item you use to place your own summon sign on the ground.
Here's a rundown of the basic multiplayer items:
- Furlcalling Finger Remedy: Use this item to reveal the summon signs of other players, which will often be placed around sites of grace, in front of summoning pools, or near boss doors. Consumable, but easily crafted.
- Tarnished's Furled Finger: Use this item to place your summoning sign on the ground. Other players will be able to see it and summon you to their game. Infinite uses.
- Small Golden Effigy: Send your summon sign to multiple summoning pools, so that players can easily summon you. Think of this a bit like entering a dungeon queue in an MMO or flagging yourself as LFG. Infinite uses.
- Finger Severer: Use this item to return to your own game if you've been summoned, or to dismiss another player you've summoned from your online session. Infinite uses.
- Duelist's Furled Finger: Same as the Tarnished's Furled Finger, except for PvP. Places a red sign that allows you to duel another player if summoned. Infinite uses.
- Festering Bloody Finger: Attempt to invade another player's game. (Note you'll only invade the worlds of players who have already summoned co-op companions). Infinite uses.
There are several other multiplayer items besides these, but they're the ones you'll using most commonly, whether you're out to co-op with friendly players or get into PvP scraps.
How to start multiplayer
How to play Elden Ring co-op
(Image credit: FromSoftware)If you're playing Elden Ring online but not messing around with the Seamless Co-op mod, you're able to jump into multiplayer at basically any time, either by summoning players into your game or being summoned into another's.
Doing either is simple, but one thing to keep in mind: in the open world of the Lands Between, playing multiplayer means giving up access to your Spectral Steed. You also won't be able to enter dungeons and other separate areas. It's a bit of a pain, so it's often more practical to enter a dungeon before starting up a multiplayer session. If you find a particularly tough enemy out in the world, though, you can still try to summon some help!
Here's how to kick off a multiplayer session.
Survive the Lands Between with these Elden Ring guides(Image credit: FromSoftware)Elden Ring guide: Conquer the Lands Between
Elden Ring bosses: How to beat them
Elden Ring dungeons: How to defeat them
Elden Ring Ranni quest: What to do
Elden Ring map fragments: Reveal the worldUse a multiplayer password to play co-op with friends
From the multiplayer menu you can set a multiplayer password, which will only show summon signs from other players using that same password. Set a unique password with your friends to make it much easier to party up.
Wait, what's a multiplayer group password?
Okay, FromSoftware made things pretty confusing with multiple password fields. The first field is what you use to ensure you'll only get matched up with your friends, while a group password is more like a clan system.
Setting a group password prioritizes online elements from other players using that password, including summon signs, white messages, their phantoms and bloodstains. You can set a group password with your friends if you want, but you can also use one adopted by thousands of other players, like YouTuber VaatiVidya's "SEEKERS" or the Elden Ring subreddit's "straydmn."
Group passwords reward you with a small bonus: When one of the other players takes down a major boss, you get a temporary small buff to the number of runes you get for killing enemies.
Summon Signs
These things:
(Image credit: FromSoftware)To reveal Summon Signs left by other players in the Lands Between, you'll need to use the item Furlcalling Finger Remedy. This is a crafted item that uses Erdleaf Flowers that can be found on bushes throughout the game. Once used, you'll be able to see any Summon Signs left by other players. To make it, you'll have to buy the Crafting Kit from Merchant Kale at the Church of Elleh just after the Stranded Graveyard. If you've already passed it by, you can always fast travel there.
Pay attention to the colour of the Summoning Sign—gold signs are cooperative players, but red signs signify players looking to challenge you.
If you want to create your own Summon Sign to join another player's game to help, you need to use the Tarnished's Furled Finger item.
Summon Pools
These are located next to Martyr Effigies—creepy-looking statues with its arms outstretched. They are found in various places throughout the Lands Between and are generally located near bosses and dungeon entrances. These effigies signal the presence of a Summoning Pool, which you interact with to activate. Once you've activated a summoning pool, you can use the Small Golden Effigy item to send your own Summon Sign to the Pool. You can get this item at the first Martyr Effigy just outside the entrance to the Stranded Graveyard at the beginning of the game.
The benefit of Summoning Pools is that you can automatically send your summon sign to multiple nearby Pools at once, so you'll likely be summoned much more quickly than you would by placing a single sign with the Tarnished's Furled Finger. They also provide a concentrated place for you to summon other players.
To see the signs around a Summoning Pool and summon another player into your game, you'll still need to use a Furlcalling Finger Remedy.
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Cyberpunk 2077's 1.6 patch arrived today, and it brings some changes that would be a bit more exciting if they weren't overdue by about 18 months. Things like the transmog system and being able to edit your looks at the ripperdoc are great, but they also feel like they should have been in Cyberpunk 2077 from the start.
And hey, Keanu Reeves is coming back in some DLC. Cool, cool. But for me the best Cyberpunk news wasn't about what was included in update 1.6 or what will be added in an expansion. It's a single sentence game director Gabe Amatangelo said during the Night City Wire: Edgerunner's Special presentation today. It's about cops and cars.
Back at launch, players pretty quickly noticed that one particular system in the game was severely lacking. It was missing entirely, in fact: the ability for police to respond in a believable way when you committed a crime. If you got a warrant issued and tried to escape in your car, cops would chase you on foot even if their cars were parked right there. You'd never see a cop car pursuing you, ever, you'd only see more cops appear (also on foot) in your path. And even if you shot someone in an elevator or out in the desert with no one else around, you'd quickly find yourself surrounded by police because rather than actually responding to your crime from a believable distance, they'd simply materialize out of thin air a few feet behind you.
I know Cyberpunk 2077 isn't meant to be GTA. I'm sure there's far more to making cops chase you in cars than just typing into the game's engine. But police who have the ability to teleport yet can't even make a proper U-turn just make the world feel unconvincing, which was really disappointing in a city that clearly had so much detail poured into it. The AI could drive around in set patterns but struggled whenever they had to deviate from them.
It was pretty clear there was a big hunk of videogame missing from this videogame. Teleporting cops were a band-aid stuck on a missing limb. Hell, even in a scripted mission where you're supposed to escape from cops pursuing you in a car, they'd literally vanish the second you stopped looking at them:
But at long last, it sounds like there's some hope on the horizon. While discussing the future of Cyberpunk 2077, Gabe Amatangelo said "a complete overhaul to the cop system as well as vehicle-to-vehicle combat" was in the works. And I might just be reading too much into this, but "vehicle-to-vehicle" combat sounds like it won't just be cops but also other gangs, maybe even just angry citizens, that can chase you around in the open world instead of just during scripted setpieces.
I know it's one throwaway sentence in a 25 minute presentation, but it's more interesting and exciting to me than anything else in today's 1.6 update or the prospect of more Keanu. I think it's because Cyberpunk's bugs didn't bother me as much as the fact that the game simply wasn't finished. I'm less interested in expansions than I am core pieces of Cyberpunk like this working like they should have to begin with. That missing chunk of AI feels like one more piece of the Cyberpunk 2077 puzzle waiting to be clicked into place.
When is this update coming? I don't know and they didn't say. But just the fact that they announced it is good news, another step toward an incomplete game finally becoming whole.
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Efforts to integrate NFTs into videogames have been largely unsuccessful for a few reasons, but essentially it can be boiled down to two primary points:
And that's without even considering the environmental damage caused by NFTs. But as seen in a new Rest of World report, that's not preventing NFT evangelists from coming up with even worse ideas for the future.
The bulk of the story by the nonprofit journalism organization is about a Minecraft-based NFT game called Critterz, which enjoyed enough success in its early days that some players began hiring others to help build their in-game ownings in exchange for a cut of the profits. One such high roller, who goes by the name Big Chief, had "his team"—made up mainly of kids in the Philippines—collect building materials for a casino, which he then paid "professional Minecraft builders" $10,000 to actually create.
"I have a lot of kids that play for me, and they play because they want to make extra money in a country that’s really just locking them down," Big Chief explained. People in the Philippines were willing to play the game this way, he added, because "they were able to earn just enough where it was worth their while."
It wasn't just play, though. Big Chief said members of his play-to-earn guild were required to put in eight hours a day, the equivalent of a full-time job, in order to recover the costs of NFT purchases—the digital "plots of land"—and maximize revenues as quickly as possible. Still, he said was "annoyed" by the suggestion that his exploitation of disadvantaged people in poor countries was, you know, exploitation.
"I couldn’t tell you what the hourly rate comes to, but I could tell you that people make very little money and the cost of living is very low in the Philippines," Big Chief said.
But as Critterz grew in popularity, its value began to drop: Big Chief said players were selling their $BLOCK tokens used in the game rather than holding them "because they need money to live," which combined with the increased number of players created a token glut that drove prices down. Following the trajectory of most cryptocurrency in 2022, $BLOCK sunk from a high of 85 cents in January to just 3 cents in May. The wheels didn't really come off, though, until July, when Mojang declared that NFT integration into Minecraft is "not something we will support or allow." That cut the value of $BLOCK, already dramatically diminished, in half. Earnings dropped, player counts fell off, and at this point the future of Critterz is uncertain at best.
Big Chief understandably bemoaned his loss—that is, the loss of his ability to do so much good for others.
"I treated a lot of these kids like they’re my kids, so it’s kind of sad now that I can’t really offer them much," Big Chief said. "Before, I was really helping a lot of these kids, giving them an opportunity to make some extra cash for their families and it just kind of sucks that I can’t really do that right now."
(Image credit: Critterz)Luckily, for him at least, people are coming up with fresh ideas for how citizens of the Third World can be put to productive use by wealthy Westerners. Mikhai Kossar of blockchain gaming consultant Wolves DAO, for instance, suggested that they could be added to the background of videogames for the amusement of other, presumably wealthier players.
"With the cheap labor of a developing country, you could use people in the Philippines as NPCs, real-life NPCs in your game," Kossar said, apparently seriously. They would "just populate the world, maybe do a random job or just walk back and forth, fishing, telling stories, a shopkeeper, anything is really possible."
It's an odious idea, perfectly in-character for the NFT field, and literally the dictionary definition of exploitation: "Selfish utilization … especially for profit." As much as I hate to admit it, it's also not at all outside the realm of possibility. Paying people to do the heavy lifting in your videogame of choice is nothing new—most of us are at least passingly familiar with the practice of gold farming in MMOs—but the introduction of real money into these systems only encourages bad behavior. It's dystopian, but also foundational: As long as real money is involved, there will always be people willing to pursue it, and there will always be others eager to take advantage of them.
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On September 10, Ubisoft is hosting a livestream that includes "a special Assassin's Creed showcase offering a peek at the future of the franchise." Reports about the exact contents of that showcase have now been published on Bloomberg and Try Hard Guides, stating that Ubisoft will be revealing several games, including last week's leaked Assassin's Creed Mirage.
According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Ubisoft will be showing two other major games: an Assassin's Creed codenamed Red set in feudal Japan, as well as another codenamed "Neo or Hexe... set during the latter stages of the Holy Roman Empire and revolves around witch trials." The two games are part of Assassin's Creed Infinity, according to the report, which is Ubisoft's plan for an Assassin's Creed live service platform.
There will also be a mobile game in the showcase: a mobile game set in China codenamed Project Jade, according to Try Hard Guides' Tom Henderson. Henderson's report echoes the same details as Bloomberg's, with matching descriptions for Red and Hexe.
We can likely expect to see the most of Project Mirage, which Ubisoft officially acknowledged last week after its leak. Mirage is expected to be set in Baghdad and offer a return to the stealth-focused design of the early Assassin's Creed games, without the broader RPG features Ubisoft has incorporated since Assassin's Creed Origins.
PC Gamer can confirm that we attended a preview event related to this weekend's Assassin's Creed Showcase, but can't corroborate the above reports at this time. The Ubisoft Forward stream begins at 12 pm PT (8 pm UK) on Saturday.
(Image credit: Ubisoft) -
Overwatch set at half of its rendering scale, no HUD, and no audio makes it look like a fuzzy Nintendo DS port that never was. It looks playable at first, but then you see the lack of UI elements and audio cues and the whole thing looks like an unfinished project from 15 years ago.
Twitch streamer Bogur spent several days playing this less-than-retro version of Overwatch in the game's competitive mode and managed to hit the highest rank anyway. He started the climb with a new unranked account and gradually turned off the game's essential settings as his Twitch subscription goals were met.
He only played the game's gorilla tank hero Winston (who luckily doesn't have to precisely aim his Tesla Cannon) and turned off all the settings you might take for granted in any FPS, especially Overwatch:
- No audio
- No HUD
- 50% rendering scale
- No voice chat
- No player outlines
In a chaotic, fast-paced game like Overwatch, where two teams of six players shoot and throw magical abilities at each other, the lack of contextual information in the game's audio and UI is like playing chess without the board. It's possible, but you're at an extreme disadvantage if you don't know the game well. You can't see things like the cooldown of your abilities, your health, your crosshair, and the status of the payload or capture point. It's all feel—a skill that only a consistently high-ranked player like Bogur could reasonably have.
It took Bogur seven streams to go from the game's mid-tier diamond rank (where the game initially placed him) to grandmaster, longer than most 'unranked to GM' streams that other players frequently do. Not only did he have to play against players with their games intact, but he suspects that a few people showed up in his matches to derail the challenge.
You can still view all of the stream archives on Twitch. It feels like watching a video that got DMCA'd and all the audio except his voice and the clicks and clacks of his keyboard were removed. It's no-fi ASMR.
"I barely ate for days, I barely slept for days," he said right after he achieved his goal. "Oh my god, I can't believe it."
Bogur's challenge is impressive, but I can't imagine his teammates were always thrilled to have to play with someone at such a massive disadvantage. It's the final season before Overwatch 2 launches and replaces the game next month though, so a little fun seems warranted before it makes fundamental changes to its format.
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As is town life sim tradition, Witchy Life Story begins with your customized witch arriving in the tiny town of Flora to help the locals with your special abilities. Less traditionally, you actually do not want to be there escaping from the big city. You've been shipped off by your grandmother to serve as their witch for two weeks, all to prove that you aren't a total embarrassment to your bigshot witch family the von Teasels. Best get to brewing then, shouldn't you?
Witchy Life Story has announced its September 30 release date with a new trailer today and there's a demo available on Steam if you'd like to give it a go. I tried out the first few days to learn the ropes around Flora and found that this town is certainly a concoction of distilled cuteness.
Take note that Witchy Life Story is definitely more on the narrative side of sim games. It's "a cozy story filled with chaos, friendship, and romance," Sundew Studios says on its store page. I spent most of my time in conversation with the six main characters around Flora, learning about the impending festival and choosing dialogue options for my desired flavor of chaos teen (overconfident or totally disaffected).
The witchy bits center around gardening and brewing, both of which are pretty simple. A selection of flowers will pop up in your garden each day for you to clip and water, though a few will take multiple days to bloom again, and you're able to use fertilizer you've collected to speed them up.
Each morning, the locals will send you letters asking for particular solutions. The mayor wants to feel reconnected to her duties, which calls for a "reconnect potion" my grimoire tells me, while her granddaughter needs an "inspiration potion" instead. Though Sundew Studios cautions that "just like any client, sometimes what they really need isn’t what they asked for."
(Image credit: Sundew Studios)Each concoction, be it potion or incense or other output, has a symbol, color, and astrological symbol associated with it, as do all of my flowers. I choose three flowers to hit all three requirements, choose the right form for the spell, and click on the brewing stand to make it happen. Easy peasy. Witchy Life Story's store page references Tarot readings and guided meditations I can prescribe instead of brewed spells, though I didn't quite get to those bits of the demo.
As a story-led game, it'll be the cute but sassy flavor of teen writing that makes or breaks this one for most people. Convenient then that you can hop in to give it a try in the demo. If it's just the recipe you'd been waiting for, launch day on September 30 is just around the corner.
(Image credit: Sundew Studios)
Maintenance Notice - Sep 08, 2022
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