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Throughout this Two Point Campus tour series, we've covered the core aspects of campus life. In our first video we introduced prospective students to the variety of classes they can take, and in our second we talked about the many ways to keep students happy throughout the academic year.
But there's a whole lot of stuff in between that hasn't been revealed yet; how to shore up students' skills between classes to make sure they get the best grades, how to make the most of your staff, and how to expand your campus as your reputation grows and the students begin flocking to your college in droves.
So here's the best of the rest of the things you need to know about Two Point Campus.
A student's education doesn't end in the classroom. To maximise those grades, students will need to attend lectures on their chosen topic, as well as get private tuition. Tuition is a specialised skill, so if you find a teacher skilled in it, consider assigning them to work exclusively one-on-one with students. It really will pay off.
(Image credit: SEGA)
Then there's the library—a veritable world of knowledge at students' fingertips. The bigger the better here, as things can get pretty rammed pretty quickly. Buy bookshelves dedicated to specialist topics, create different types of cubicles for students to work in, and make sure you have a skilled librarian in there around the clock.
Not every student cares as much for the body as the mind, but those that do will appreciate an on-site gym. Here students can shoot some hoops, practice vaults, and pump some iron, aluminium, or whatever other metal is associated with the gym these days. Students of 'Academic Exercise' in particular will thrive here.
If the strain of campus life gets a bit much for students, send them over to pastoral care. Here a counsellor will sit them down in front of the fire with a cup of tea and let them talk through their worries—whether it's a gastronomy student overcome with Seasonal Issues or a Clown with a sad case of Comic Mistiming.
And let's not forget that staff are people too (only smarter and wiser). Build a staff room with tea and food tables for them to unwind in. Chuck some sofas, a dart board, arcade cabinet, and old-fashioned TV in there and they'll return from their breaks ready to deliver some serious education!
(Image credit: SEGA)If you're lucky enough to be working with a staff surplus, send off-duty staff to the Training Room. Make teachers smarter, assistants funnier, and janitors better-skilled with their Super Soakers for getting rid of intruders. Over in the Research Lab, meanwhile, teachers can uncover upgrades to existing equipment, and new items and furnishings that will improve both classrooms and the wider campus. You may not think you need a Dragon Tower or Green Screen, but the campus is a complex place with complex demands.
As your campus grows, you'll need the funds and flexibility to accommodate a bigger influx of students. Buy out new plots of land surrounding the main building. If that old lecture theatre suddenly feels a little cosy, then expand it, pick it up and plonk it down in another building. Students may be surprised when suddenly a lecture theatre disappears out from under their feet and they have to go looking for it, but they're young, they'll adapt.
If you've built the perfect dorm or toilet that strikes the perfect prestige-price balance, save it as a template, then copy-paste it around your campus (making adjustments where needed). It'll save you a ton of time in the long run.
Your college is an ever-evolving, ever-growing space, and you'll need to exercise a little creativity to keep things flowing smoothly in Two Point Campus.
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Absolute Tactics, or as it would've been called in '90s California, Hella Tactics, is an indie project that longtime Gearbox Software developer Jason Shields has been working on for the last five years. It's finally almost finished, and landing on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on September 15—right in the middle of the biggest year for the strategy RPG genre in decades.
Tactics Ogre, the grandfather of the genre, is making its way to PC later this year, but Shields took a bit of a different tact with his design for Absolute Tactics. "I think a natural trend in games, and SRPGs are no exception, is to become more and more complicated over time," he says. "Even though there’s plenty of gear and min-max opportunities for those who are inclined, I wanted Absolute Tactics to have a little bit more streamlined approach in those areas."
For example: Your characters in Absolute Tactics aren't locked into a particular class, and swapping classes doesn't mean starting from zero. You just swap a piece of gear called a Class Handbook to switch classes, or equip two to dual-class. Upgrade the handbook, and the class grows stronger.
"This was a simple way for me to help make choosing classes be a bit more fluid and let players try lots of different combinations, rather than feel locked in to certain playstyles for the whole game," Shields says.
Dual-classing is probably Absolute Tactics' standout feature, and it makes sense for the smaller squads you'll be deploying compared to the dozen-odd units you micromanage in many strategy RPGs.
"I think dual-classing is generally the way to go in order to get a wide array of skills for each character, to make them super useful in as many situations as possible," says Shields. "For example, a defensive class like Saboteur who places traps, or the Guardian class who places barricades, can benefit a lot from pairing those with a class like Necromancer or Fire Mage, who can launch some ranged skills from behind their defensive lines."
Image 1 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 2 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 3 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 4 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 5 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 6 of 6(Image credit: Curious Fate)Some of today's indie tactics games are all-in on recreating Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem, right down to their UI or pixel art style. Absolute Tactics is more of a blend, based on some particular favorites from what Shields calls his favorite videogame genre.
"The isometric, grid-based classics are where I really drew my inspiration from," he says. "Shining Force had the coolest characters to me, so I knew for sure I wanted actual characters with unique personalities, as opposed to the more 'paper doll' approach of some games. Vandal Hearts had this awesome story and utter brutality of the enemies that has really stuck with me over the years. And Final Fantasy Tactics had amazing levels and scenarios, and fantastic player choice while building your units' playstyles. So those were all things that I thought about while making Absolute Tactics."
Absolute Tactics has a demo you can play on Steam now, ahead of its launch on PC and Switch in three weeks.
Image 1 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 2 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 3 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 4 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 5 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 6 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate)Image 7 of 7(Image credit: Curious Fate) -
When a developer starts saying stuff like "we hear your feedback," it's hard not to imagine that a clock has started ticking. Any online game is in danger of Antheming out of existence these days, or at least being deprioritized if it underperforms. So far, though, DICE hasn't wavered commitment to making Battlefield 2042 popular.
It hasn't quite succeeded, but the game's average Steam concurrent player count did increase after the delayed Season 1 update dropped in early June. Now the shooter's second season is about to start: A new map, specialist, guns, and vehicles are coming next week, on Tuesday, August 30.
Later in Season 2, DICE will also patch in revisions to the Renewal and Orbital launch maps based on player feedback: Renewal in September and Orbital in October. Another launch map, Kaleidoscope, has already been reworked, and in a recent blog post, DICE also said that it plans to reintroduce "classic and familiar classes" to Battlefield 2042 by putting gadget restrictions on specialists. There's no ETA on that change (Season 3, maybe), but it's a significant, if not total, concession to players who've shunned 2042's freeform loadout system and focus on specialist abilities.
The new map coming in Season 2 isn't quite as interesting as the snowy peaks from the first season's map; it's another stranded container ship in a former body of water. I did see a lot of calls from players for tighter quarters, though. One of the new vehicles, the EBLC-RAM, can place spawn beacons, and the other is a lightweight buggy that could be fun. The update will also add concussion grenades and three new guns, the most interesting of which is the PF41, a full-auto pistol that uses a P90 magazine. The new specialist is named Crawford: He can drop a mountable stationary minigun, and when he revives players, their gadget ammo is resupplied, which should help with maintaining anti-air pressure. Nothing too wild there; I tried the mounted gun in a preview build of the update, and locking down doorways was entertaining.
The first battle pass is also coming in Season 2, though DICE has reiterated that anything that affects gameplay, such as the new weapons and vehicles, will be unlockable without the premium tier. Season 2 will also introduce an assignments system that will let players unlock guns and vehicles from previous seasons, as well as guns from the old Battlefield games featured in the Portal mode, starting with the M60E4 and M16A3. Portal guns in regular 2042 Conquest is another thing I saw players requesting after launch.
Portal itself is getting some updates, too, including customizable Conquest rules. The fact sheet DICE provided mentions "user-editable objectives," which I'm excited to check out. Sometime after the start of Season 2, DICE will add "extra-small playspaces" and new guns to Portal, too.
Image 1 of 6(Image credit: EA)Image 2 of 6(Image credit: EA)Image 3 of 6(Image credit: EA)Image 4 of 6(Image credit: EA)Image 5 of 6(Image credit: EA)Image 6 of 6(Image credit: EA)My opinion on Battlefield 2042 hasn't changed a lot since it launched last November: It's a dated-feeling game, but as a dated gamer, I enjoyed its unserious, inefficient, and buggy battles for a few weeks. Someone recently asked me why I didn't keep playing it if I enjoyed it so much, and my excuse was that I broke my wrist, but if I'm being real, I did play a bit of Rocket League while healing. So, fair point. Battlefield 2042 might've lacked the so-called stickiness developers always hope their multiplayer games will have. For $60 or more, people want endlessly repeatable fun, especially when there are free-to-play games that offer that (like, say, Rocket League, if I had to pick an example that I've put over 1,000 hours into).
It seems like DICE is working hard to find that glue, though. I recently saw a rumor going around that the studio had given up on Battlefield 2042, but I haven't seen any evidence to support that idea. DICE said in June that it is "only focusing" on Battlefield 2042, and the developer has communicated about everything it's done—the map reworks, balance changes, big fixes, scoreboard redesign—in more detail than I think most people really care to read. The evidence of DICE's efforts is in all the blog posts and patch notes I've been swimming in for the better part of a year.
EA has plans for the Battlefield name that are a lot bigger than 2042—Respawn head Vince Zampella is in charge of the series now, and at least one singleplayer game is coming—so maybe EA and DICE want a comeback story here bad enough to make it happen. It wouldn't be the first time public opinion about a Battlefield game changed.
Battlefield 2042 Season 2 starts on August 30. All the stuff I've talked about here is free for owners of the game—the map, new weapons, new vehicles, new specialist—but there will be premium cosmetic stuff. DICE will be talking more about that next week.
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It's been a while since we last heard from Atomic Heart, the alternate reality FPS-RPG set in a retrofuturistic USSR, but developer Mundfish has seen fit to give us a surprise in time for Gamescom. It comes in the form of an announcement that the game will release later this year, and a new trailer showcasing the game's gunplay, powers, enemies, and… halo-braided robot women cutting each other open with unicorn horns. Sure!
It's one of the most in-depth looks we've gotten at the game's combat so far, and it'll look incredibly familiar to anyone who's ever laid hands on a BioShock game. From the trailer, it looks like you'll be wielding powers in your left hand and a weapon (ranged or melee) in your right, unless you're toting something like a Kalashnikov that requires both hands. Combat seems to be a bit faster-paced than it was back in Rapture, though: the trailer shows the protagonist using their powers to manage throngs of fast-moving enemies and dodging out of the way of charging behemoths.
Hopefully it all fits together into a combat system that's weighty and satisfying; it's difficult to get a proper gauge on it from the trailer alone. Either way, though, I've been willing to tolerate a lacklustre combat system if the vibes are good enough ever since the first Deus Ex, and vibes seem to be something Atomic Heart has in dizzying abundance.
I'm looking forward to this one. Everything we've seen of Atomic Heart so far has been redolent of BioShock, Stalker, and Prey (2017). That's a potent admixture all by itself, but when you drench it all in Soviet kitsch and give it an Alla Pugacheva soundtrack, you're basically sitting down and making a game just for me.
We've been keeping a close eye on Atomic Heart ever since it came out of nowhere with a scintillating trailer back in 2018, but it's remained a beautiful mystery ever since. Even now, with a surfeit of trailers and a vague release date, I can't really tell you exactly what it is this game is going to be. Whatever it is, though, I'm into it more than almost anything else I've seen this year.
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Surprisingly innovative. That's how I'll sum up the Secretlab Magnus Pro XL. I've never been one to look for much in a gaming desk—I ask only for a flat plane on which to sit my monitors, keyboard, and mouse—yet the Magnus Pro XL has so thoroughly impressed me that I'm starting to reconsider my whole opinion of what a desk should be.
The sit/stand functionality on the Magnus Pro XL is quite simply one of the best out there.
I'm now firmly in the camp that a desk should be absolutely massive. The Magnus Pro XL is the largest desk I've ever used personally, having only recently found the space for such a behemoth, coming in at 177cm x 67cm. This is also the heaviest desk I've ever had to move solo by far, at 32.9kg for the desk alone. The mostly metal frame of the Magnus Pro XL, explains some of that, though it's the two included motors, one integrated into each of the legs, which add a whole lot of mass to the equation.
I don't have an exact weight for the completely assembled desk with accessories, but the two boxes the Magnus Pro XL comes in (which includes the Magpad Desk Mat but no other accessories) weigh ~77.8kg (171.5lb) combined.
But that's what makes this the Magnus Pro XL: the desk's adjustable sit/stand functionality. The standard Magnus doesn't offer this. The Magnus Pro XL is capable of lifting 120kg in gross weight (87.1kg if you subtract the weight of the metal desk itself) up to a height of 125cm. It sits only 65cm off the ground at its lowest.
Magnus Pro XL specs(Image credit: Future)Desk dimensions: 177cm x 67cm x 2cm
Adjustable height range: 65–125cm
Weight: ~77.8kg
Warranty: 5 years
Accessories (included): Magpad Desk Mat
Accessories (not included): Cable Management Bundle ($49), PC Mount ($89), Dual Monitor Arm ($249), MagRGB Lighting Kit ($89), Headphone Hanger ($29)
Price: $949 | £829To control the Magnus there's a control panel integrated into the front right of the desk. It's pretty easy to get to grips with. You can pre-program three heights to one of three hotkeys on the desk for quick adjustments or you can manually tap the up and down arrows for a little more granular control. The best bit, however, is the on/off switch, which simply prevents any accidental bum bumps or hand taps from moving the desk at all.
The sit/stand functionality on the Magnus Pro XL is quite simply one of the best out there. The motors are whisper quiet and they move with a liquid action. The fact they gradually come to a halt means you don't have to worry about what's on the desk jolting to a stop as you adjust it, even a cup of coffee or glass of water.
Another thing I've come to re-evaluate since the Magnus XL is how a desk should handle cable management. The foremost impressive thing about the Secretlab Magnus Pro XL is how sharp and clean-cut it makes your PC setup look. That's not through a lack of cables on my part, of which I have arguably too many, but for the Magnus Pro XL's clever magnetic cable management accessories and discrete cable tray. These hide my gluttony of USB, audio, and power cables out of sight.
(Image credit: Future)My favourite of which is the compact cable tidy: a small block of metal with a couple of strong magnets within that securely fixes my cables in place. This has proven especially useful for my stack of audio devices, including DAC, amp, and microphone interface. Whereas the front-facing ports on these would usually spill the cables out towards my keyboard, I have neatly redirected these off to the side using only a single, magnetic cable tidy.
Sticky miceOne unforeseen issue I ran into during my initial setup with this desk is that my mouse, the Logitech G Pro Wireless Superlight, was sticking to it. The Superlight has magnets in the base that are intended for use with Logitech's Powerplay charging system, and these magnets have some very slight sticking power to the Magnus Pro XL's metal surface. That causes a noticeable drag while you're skirting the desk's surface. My solution, however, was to remove the small plastic token from the underside of the Superlight, therefore keeping the magnets far enough away to avoid any sticky behaviour.
Though it must be noted that these magnetic cable ties are not included within the cost of the desk itself, and instead can be purchased for $25 for a set of three or for $49 as a set of three alongside two cable management sheaths and a stack of fastening straps. If, like me, you have plenty of velcro cable ties already, I'd recommend just picking up the three cable tidies on their own; the sheaths are decent, though may not be as handy depending on how you set up the desk with your PC.
This is the thing: the Secretlab Magnus Pro XL requires some added expense to make it as sleek an experience as it should be.
If you're tucking your PC under the desk you might want to consider extra lengthy DisplayPort, HDMI, or USB cables to make sure you have the length for the desk's sitting and standing positions. That's easier said than done, and I had to buy some new 3-metre DisplayPort and USB upstream cables to cope.
If that's not what you're after, you could mount your PC on the desk or consider Secretlab's PC Mount ($89), which hangs on the underside of the desk and offers a place to load your PC into. That means it can move up and down with the rest of the desk, cable runs be damned. My Corsair 5000T case rules that one out—the max load for the kit is 15kg and that case alone (sans any components) weighs 14.53kg.
(Image credit: Future)The other extras to consider include the MagRGB Smart Lighting Edition lighting strip ($79) and the Magnetic Headphone Hanger ($29), which are slightly less essential, if quite appealing add-ons. I particularly like the robust, flexi-feel to the lighting strip, which is powered by Nanoleaf for in-sync RGB goodness. Though there is also a cheaper option I haven't tried out for $59.
The dual monitor arms come with slick magnetic cable management covers, though my 3-metre Amazon Basics DisplayPort cables are too big too fit. My 1.5m cables fit just fine, however. (Image credit: Future)The one accessory I really do think is worth investing in is the dual monitor arm. It's a single unit that clamps firmly onto the desk, between the hinged cover and the desk itself, and it offers sprawling reach for both the 28-inch and 32-inch monitors I've got in right now. They're highly adjustable with just a couple of turns of the included tool, and they're easy to switch up when you shift from sitting to standing. This accessory will set you back $249, however.
None of these accessories are absolutely essential but they absolutely make the desk feel more deserving of its considerable price tag. At $949 for the Magnus Pro XL alone, you're looking at over $1,000 for the all-in setup I've been using for this review, and that's the version that makes
Ultimately I have to ask myself would I be happy with this desk if I'd paid that sort of sum for it? And, yes, I would. Though it is a definite luxury to be able to allocate that much of your budget to a component in no way connected to the performance of your gaming PC. The main reason I feel it worth doing is more because I feel I fit into a group of people most likely to benefit from an investment in a high quality sit/stand desk alongside an ergonomic gaming chair: those that work primarily from home.
(Image credit: Future)The option to change up my workspace with the push of a button is more worth it for me than, say, someone who is primarily using this desk for gaming in the evening after work. If that functionality isn't to your liking, a lot of what makes the Magnus Pro XL great is similarly found on the Magnus for over $350 less.
I had to take a snap of this gorgeous issue of the PC Gamer magazine I had on the desk this week. (Image credit: Future)You also can't ignore the many motorised sit/stand desks going for a lot less money, some around the price of the non-motorised Magnus. Really you're paying for the attention to detail and clever design with these Secretlab models, and for that they're firmly planted in the premium market.
Though I really am impressed with what the Magnus Pro XL offers, as it's much more than anything I had expected from a desk previously. To turn a slab of metal into a clever combination of cable management and functionality, one which offers both function and form, it's impressive. I didn't expect to be blown away by a desk, of all things, but here we are, and I am.
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Strike it big in the Season of Plunder(Image credit: Bungie)
Destiny 2 map fragments: How to get treasure maps
Destiny 2 Delicate Tomb: Grab the new season exotic
Destiny 2 Cryptic Quatrains: Solve the riddlesThe Destiny 2 Fortnite armor sets are a lot cooler than I thought they would be. As usual, the Warlocks have it best with their Painted Kitsune helmet and robes making them look like some kind of space-fox; pretty in-keeping with the recent reveal of a cyberpunk city on Neptune. The other fits aren't bad, either, though.
Titans get the Knightly Noire set, which is basically a black and red suit of armour, while the Hunters have the Eternal Vengeance set, which has pretty similar colouring, but also comes with a great-looking horned cloak and more of a cyber aesthetic. You can purchase these cosmetic sets now in Eververse, but there's also a way to get them without paying money, and here I'll tell you how.
Destiny 2 Fortnite armor: How to get it for free
You can purchase all three cosmetic sets of Fortnite armor through Eververse for 1,500 Silver, which costs real money to buy. However, according to Today In Destiny's Eververse store schedule, individual armor pieces are going to be on sale for Bright Dust during weeks 6, 8, 12, and 14. Bright Dust is a free currency that you spend in a dedicated store for cosmetics, and you get it through Eververse Engrams, the season pass, and by completing additional bounties from vendors like Zavala, Shaxx, and The Drifter, which is handy if you're already doing them to level your season rank. You also get a load for clearing every weekly challenge in a season.
(Image credit: Bungie)The bad news is that it costs 1,600 Bright Dust for each individual piece, which is around 400 more than ornaments cost last season. However, the positive is that if you don't like an entire set, but just want the Warlock's Kitsune mask, or that horned hunter cloak, you can get them without having to pick up everything. If you decide to buy the full set later, its price in Silver will also be reduced based on how many pieces you already own.
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Explore Sumeru these Genshin Impact 3.0 guides(Image credit: miHoYo)
Genshin Impact 3.0: What you need to know
Genshin Impact Sumeru: How to get there
Genshin Impact Dendroculus: Where to find
Genshin Impact Dori: Electro merchantLooking for more details on Genshin Impact's Cyno? He's a newly revealed five-star character that should arrive with the next update. Of course, with the recent release of version 3.0 you might be busy exploring the new Dendro region of Sumeru—providing you know how to get there.
We don't know much about Cyno's background, other than he carries the title "General Mahamatra" of the Sumeru Akademiya. He wields a polearm in battle and draws from the Electro element, giving him synergy with Dendro characters such as Tighnari and Collei, so it's worth taking a peek to see if he will fit into any team compositions you have in mind.
We have a good idea of his abilities, as well as his passives and constellations. So if you're looking for more info on this five-star Electro General, here's the lowdown on Genshin Impact Cyno.
Possible release date
When you can expect to wish for Cyno
No release date has been confirmed for Cyno though he's expected to arrive with version 3.1 which should land around October 4.
Both Nilou and Candace were also announced alongside Cyno, and, as they are five-star and four-star characters respectively, it's likely that Cyno will be part of the launch banner in the 3.1 update.
The law is just, and there is no escape for the guilty.◆ Cyno◆ Judicator of Secrets◆ General Mahamatra◆ Electro◆ Lupus Aureus#GenshinImpact #Cyno pic.twitter.com/hEa7TwqpFdAugust 22, 2022
See moreAbilities
Cyno's abilities
Here are Cyno's abilities, passives, and constellations (thanks to Honey Hunter). Just be aware that these may see slight changes before Cyno's launch.
Normal Attack: Invoker's Spear Normal Performs up to four consecutive spear strikes. Charged Consumes a certain amount of Stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to opponents along the way. Plunging Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE damage upon impact. Elemental Skill Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer Performs a swift thrust, dealing Electro damage to opponents along the path. When Cyno is under the Pactsworn Pathclearer state triggered by Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness, he will instead unleash a Mortuary Rite that deals thunderous AoE Electro damage and extends the duration of Pactsworn Pathclearer. Elemental Burst Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness Calls upon a divine spirit to possess him, morphing into the Pactsworn Pathclearer. Pactsworn Pathclearer Cyno's Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attacks will be converted to Electro damage that cannot be overridden. Cyno's Elemental Mastery and resistance to interruption will increase, and he gains immunity to Electro-charged damage. This effect will be cancelled when Cyno leaves the field and lasts a maximum of 18 seconds. Passives The Gift of Silence Gains 25% more rewards when dispatched on a Sumeru Expedition for 20 hours. Featherfall Judgment When Cyno is in the Pactsworn Pathclearer state activated by Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness, Cyno will enter the Endseer stance at intervals. If he activates Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while affected by this stance, he will activate the Judication effect, increasing the damage of this Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer by 35%, and firing off three Duststalker Bolts that deal 50% of Cyno's Attack as Electro damage. Duststalker Bolt damage is considered Elemental Skill damage. Authority of the Nine Bows Cyno's damage values will be increased based on his Elemental Mastery as follows: Pactsworn Pathclearer's Normal attack damage is increased by 100% of his Elemental Mastery. Duststalker Bolt damage from his Ascension Talent Featherfall Judgment is increased by 250% of his Elemental Mastery. Constellations Ordinance: Unceasing Vigil After using Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness, Cyno's Normal Attack speed will be increased by 20% for 10 seconds. If the Judication effect of Featherfall Judgment is triggered during Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer, the duration of this increase will be refreshed. Ceremony: Homecoming of Spirits When Cyno's Normal Attacks hit opponents, his Normal Attack Crit Rate and Crit Damage will be increased by 3% and 6% respectively for four seconds. This effect can be triggered once every 0.1 seconds. Max five stacks. Each stack's duration is counted independently. Precept: Lawful Enforcer Increases the level of Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. Austerity: Forbidding Guard When Cyno is in the Pactsworn Pathclearer state after he triggers Electro-Charged, Overloaded, Quicken, Hyperbloom, an Electro Swirl, or an Electro Crystallization reaction, he will restore three Elemental Energy for all nearby party members (except himself). This effect can occur five times within one use of Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness. Funerary Rite: The Passing of Starlight Increases the level of Sacred Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. Raiment: Just Scales After using Sacred Rite: Wolf's Swiftness or triggering Judication, Cyno will gain four stacks of the "Day of the Jackal" effect. When he hits opponents with Normal Attacks, he will consume one stack to trigger one Duststalker bolt. Day of the Jackal lasts for eight seconds. Max eight stacks. One stack can be consumed every 0.4 seconds. This effect will be cancelled once Pactsworn Pathclearer ends. Ascension materials
(Image credit: miHoYo)Cyno's Ascension materials
You need to collect specific materials in order to level up Cyno's stats and talents.
Character
Both Thunderclap Fruitcores and Vajrada Amethysts are dropped by Electro Regisvines, though the latter is also rewarded when defeating Electro Hypostases and Thunder Manifestations. You'll also need:
- Scarab
- Divining/Sealed/Forbidden Curse Scrolls
Scarabs are a new resource only found in Sumeru's desert ruins, while the Scroll items can be looted when you defeat Samachurl enemies.
Talents
You'll need the following items to level up Cyno's talents:
- Divining/Sealed/Forbidden Curse Scrolls
- Admonition scrolls
- Mudra of the Malefic General
- Crown of Insight
As mentioned above the Divining, Sealed, and Forbidden Curse Scrolls are dropped by Samachurls while Admonition scrolls are rewarded for completing the Steeple of Ignorance domain on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
Meanwhile, Mudra of the Malefic General is a possible reward from the Guardian of Eternity weekly boss and the Crown of Insight is a seasonal event reward. The latter comes from upgrading the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine, the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, or the Lumenstone Adjuvant in The Chasm.
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In order to be sure that a customer's data would be secured during a returns process for an SSD, Samsung is said to have recommended the customer take aggressive action and destroy the SSD before sending it back.
As a customer of Samsung's reports to Igor's Lab (via Tom's Hardware): while they were filing an RMA with Samsung because their SSD was faulty and showing signs of nearing death, there was some back and forth regarding the data on the drive and how super-duper secure it needed to be even in transit back to Samsung. The entire interaction was not published for privacy, but we have the final conclusion the two parties are said to have come to. That was to tell the customer they needed to destroy the drive before it was returned to them.
The customer was instructed by Samsung to take a hammer to their SSD or perhaps drill holes in it to ensure it's no longer in a fit state for any potential data thieves to take advantage of.
You see, Samsung required the drive to be returned to send over a new one, but not in one piece.
This was an exception to their customer support case, however, so don't do this before you've been given the green light to do so. You probably have to jump through a lot of hoops like this customer reportedly did to get any company to sign off on this sort of action. You'll need plenty of proof your SSD is broken, too.
Though if you do plan on drilling holes through your SSD to stop the feds from getting their hands on your bootlegged One Piece anthology, you want to make sure you get the memory chips themselves.
It's true that destroying the actual cells of your storage format is the most secure way to ensure no one is getting their hands on your data. While it's still technically possible to recover data from even a sliver of functioning storage, who's really going to go through the effort for your album of memes from 2012? Encryption is also great for data privacy, of course, so you could get away with that in some cases (when your SSD isn't already broken).
Ultimately it's good that Samsung is happy to take a drive back that's been proven to be b0rked and thus allowing a sanctified smashing to take place. Otherwise there really wouldn't be any easy way to get that drive back and a replacement or refund out of the company for the customer.
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Corsair's new Xeneon Flex represents something rather new in the gaming monitor world. It's a bendable OLED panel, fitted in an ultrawide, 21:9 configuration and with a massive 45-inch expanse of screen.
And it already looks like my perfect gaming monitor.
I've already spoken about the peak gaming monitor era that we're about to enter, with the likes of Asus and BenQ showing off their own large-scale OLED panels, and Alienware having already released an ultrawide OLED screen from Samsung's display stable. But Corsair is teaming up with LG to create a unique, ultra high performance screen that will still be incredibly sympathetic to the power of your gaming PC.
While the other new big-screen OLEDs are seemingly pulled straight out of existing TV manufacturing lines, the Corsair Xeneon Flex's panel feels far more bespoke. For a start, that 45-inch, 21:9 scale is something you're not going to find in the home cinema. But you're also getting proper gaming monitor goodness in the shape of a 3440 x 1440 native resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate.
That means you're not going to need an RTX 4090 to be able to get the most out of this panel; the 21:9 native res is nowhere near as punishing as a 4K display.
Paired with that is an almost instantaneous 0.03 GtG response time for a silky image free that ought to be practically free of motion blur. It's also fully compatible with G-Sync and FreeSync Premium, too. You might even get something like a good HDR experience with OLED's fantastic contrast levels and the 1,000cd/m2 peak luminance of the screen itself.
And yeah, it's flexible. Bendable. Pliable. And, as much as I'd be terrified to flex what is sure to be a $,2000+ panel, I love the idea of being able to switch from flat screen for work or strategy games, to a super-tight 800R curve for first person gaming.
From the looks of the teaser trailer the change is fully manual, allowing you to adjust how tight a curve you actually want at any given time, with a supportive brace running along the backside of the panel itself.
The inevitable concern is that it will add another point of failure into the picture—potentially literally—will repeated flexing of the panel create an issue in the future? We want our expensive gaming monitors to outlast our PCs, after all. But on this point I have faith in LG. It's the original OLED manufacturer, and has been creating rollable OLED panels for years now.
Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Corsair)And what of the classic peril of OLED: burn-in? Corsair claims to have that covered with "a sophisticated burn-in prevention system which operates when both powered on, and when switched off, to ensure a flawless image even after extended UI or OS use, all backed by a three-year Zero Burn in and Zero Dead Pixel Warranty."
Screen queens(Image credit: Future)Best gaming monitor: Pixel-perfect panels for your PC
Best high refresh rate monitor: Screaming quick screens
Best 4K monitor for gaming: When only high-res will do
Best 4K TV for gaming: Big-screen 4K PC gamingGiven the rather prosaic nature of the first Corsair gaming monitors, the Xeneon 32QHD165 and Xeneon 32UHD144, it's great to see the company pulling out all the stops for this absolutely next-gen display. It's first screens were good, just didn't really deliver anything that new for their high price. The Xeneon Flex, however, is a new class of transforming gaming monitor, probably for a very high price.
It's being demonstrated at Gamescom at the moment and we're going to get our hands on the widescreen beauty ourselves very soon.
We'll try not to break it.
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Good ol' Boston Dynamics has been keeping me in the loop with updates to its rarest pupper, Spot. Aside from dancing to rock and/or roll, he's bedcoming a little more autonomous to help him carry out his many, crucial roles at manufacturing plants and warehouses across the globe.
Not only does the upgraded Spot 3.2 use new, improved thermal imaging, he's also able to stick to strict paths on autonomous missions; stop, look, and listen before walking out at factory crosswalks; and even shuffle around obstacles without anyone holding his paw.
The footage of him teetering around a toppled bin is honestly one of the most adorable things I've seen in weeks (skip ahead to 1:28), but it's also incredibly impressive. There's the option to switch on obstacle avoidance, or have him refuse to deviate from the path to walk around obstacles. There's a danger in either case since that's around $75,000 worth of tech that'll need repairs if it stumbles.
Still, the Boston Dynamics robots are pretty hardy. And while they haven't yet been fitted with explosion proofing like the refuelling robots of China, they can take a hit or two as exemplified in their parkour antics.
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 restThere's a Spot currently trotting around, supporting work at GlobalFoundries' manufacturing facility in Vermont. That's a chip manufacturer for Apple, Qualcomm, Asus, Google and many more, in case you didn't know.
GlobalFoundries actually employed Spot in order to avoid another chip shortage; by running automated inspection missions with Spot, the fab can collect data more efficiently and "build models that better predict planned maintenance and downtime," the blog says.
If Spot's latest update is any indicator, that logistical efficiency is about to skyrocket. But really, what a good boy he is: making sure it's safe before crossing the factory floor *swoon*
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More top Genshin Impact builds(Image credit: miHoYo)
Genshin Impact Collei: Trainee ranger
Genshin Impact Tighnari: Forest watcher
Genshin Impact Heizou build: Brawling detective
Genshin Impact Klee build: Little red bomber
Genshin Impact Kazuha build: Anemo roninNilou is one of the new Sumeru characters that appears in the Genshin Impact 3.0 update. This Hydro sword-user and dancer is a follower of Lesser Lord Kusanali, the Archon of Sumeru, and when you first meet her she'll be obsessed with trying to recreate the Dance of Sabzerus in honour of Kusanali's birthday.
Not so surprising, then, that Nilou's abilities and talents seem to centre around dancing and switching between different stances to grant various effects. It's a little like how Childe can swap between his Hydro dual-blade melee stance and his bow, though it sounds a lot more complex. Considering her abilities also scale with max HP, she bears some similarities to Kokomi as well.
In this Genshin Impact Nilou guide, I'll talk through this new character's likely release date, abilities, constellations, and what ascension materials you'll want to farm in advance of her arrival.
Possible release date
What is the likely Nilou release date?
Nilou has already been previewed on the official Genshin Impact Twitter, and she also appears a lot during the 3.0 Archon quest, so it's extremely likely that she will arrive in version 3.1. Considering Cyno is also likely to arrive then, and is arguably a more popular incoming five-star, Nilou's banner should release in the second half, around October 25 if the duration remains the same.
The dance of the lotus blooms, awakening from an ethereal dream.◆ Nilou◆ Dance of Lotuslight◆ Star of Zubayr Theater◆ Hydro◆ Lotos Somno#GenshinImpact #Nilou pic.twitter.com/eMwQkq0M1qAugust 22, 2022
See moreAbilities
(Image credit: miHoYo)Genshin Impact Nilou abilities
As usual (thanks to Honey Hunter) we have a good idea of Nilou's abilities, constellations, and passive skills, though be aware that these will likely change and be tweaked before she launches:
Normal Attack: Dance of the Bowstring Moon Normal Perform up to three sword strikes Charged Consume stamina to perform a whirling slash Plunging Drop from mid-air to the ground dealing AoE damage Elemental skill Dance of the Seven Realms Nilou enters the Pirouette state, dealing Hydro damage based on her max HP. When in Pirouette, normal and elemental attacks will make her enter the Sword Dance and Whirling Steps stances respectively, converting her damage into Hydro. In these stances, Nilou's third dance step will end Pirouette. Nilou is unable to use charged attacks when under the effect of Pirouette or Lunar Prayer. Sword Dance Fires a watery moon that deals Hydro damage to opponents and grants Nilou the Lunar Prayer. This effect converts normal attacks into Sword Dance techniques, with the final hit unleashing a watery moon. Whirling Steps Unleashes a water wheel that deals AoE Anemo damage and creates a Tranquillity effect that follows your character, applying wet to nearby enemies. Elemental burst Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring Causes a Lotus of Distant Waters to bloom, dealing AoE Hydro damage based on Nilou's max HP, while applying the Lingering Aeon effect to those it hits. Opponents with Lingering Aeon will take Hydro damage periodically. Passives White Jade Lotus There is a chance to gain double food when perfect cooking is achieved. Court of Dancing Petals If all party members are a mixture of Dendro and Hydro, Nilou's Dance of the Seven Realms grants the Golden Chalice's Bounty effect. This lasts for 30 seconds, and increases elemental mastery by 60 for ten seconds when hit by a Dendro attack. Triggering Bloom will also create Bountiful Cores instead of Dendro Cores. These have a larger AoE when bursting, but cannot trigger Hyperbloom or Burgeon. Dreamy Dance of Aeons For every 1,000 points of HP above 30,000, damage dealt by Bountiful Cores will increase by 8%. The max increase possible via this is 300%. Constellations Dance of the Waning Moon Dance of the Seven Realms gains 65% increased watery moon damage, and Tranquillity's duration is extended by six seconds. The Starry Skies Their Flower Rain When characters with Golden Chalice's Bounty deal Hydro damage, that opponent's Hydro resistance is decreased by 35% for ten seconds. When a Bloom reaction deals damage, their Dendro resistance is decreased by 35% for ten seconds. This constellation only functions if Court of Dancing Petals is unlocked. Beguiling Shadowstep Boosts Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring by three levels. Max upgrade is 15. Fricative Pulse When the third dance step of Dance of the Seven Realms hits opponents, Nilou gains 15 elemental energy. Damage from her Dance of the Lotus: Distant Dreams, Listening Spring is also increased by 50% for eight seconds. Twirling Light Boosts Dance of the Seven Realms by three levels. Max upgrade is 15. Frostbreaker's Melody For every 1,000 points of HP, Nilou's crit rate and crit damage are increased 0.6% and 1.2% respectively. The max boost this way is 30% crit rate and 60% crit damage. Ascension materials
(Image credit: miHoYo)Nilou ascension materials
Character
If you want to prepare for Nilou's arrival and farm up some materials, you're going to need Varunada Lazurite from Hydro bosses and a new boss material called Perpetual Caliber, which seems to come from the Blightdrake boss that's apparently being added in version 3.1. You'll also need some world materials from Sumeru:
- Padisarahs
- Fungal Spores
Padisarahs are flowers that can be found near Sumeru city and near Vanarana. You can see every location on the official Genshin Impact map. Fungal Spores, on the other hand, come from defeating the Floating Fungi you'll find all over Sumeru.
Talent
Here's what you'll need for Nilou's talents:
- Teachings of Praxis
- Fungal Spores
- Tears of the Calamitous God
- Crown of Insight
The Teachings of Praxis and their higher rarity variants come from the new Steeple of Ignorance Domain on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fungal Spores are from Floating Fungi of different world levels.
Tears of the Calamitous God are a drop from the Guardian of Eternity weekly boss, or can be crafted from her other drops with Dream Solvent (another drop from weekly bosses). Finally, a Crown of Insight can come from upgrading the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine with Crimson Agate, the Lumenstone Adjuvant gadget in the Chasm, the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma, or from certain seasonal events.
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It's hard to overstate just how important Firaxis's XCOM reboot was for PC gaming. In the years since its release, the turn-based strategy and tactics genres have experienced a renaissance, and most of the games that followed owe a debt to Firaxis's mix of classic tactical depth and more modern, streamlined conveniences.
But what if you're trying to make the successor to a different turn-based classic? Then, it seems, XCOM's legacy can be a hindrance instead.
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)"We found that, no matter what we did, everyone played just like they played all the other games like XCOM," says Brad Logston, senior producer for Jagged Alliance 3. "We weren't playing it like Jagged Alliance. We didn't even know how to fix it. We were doing things like tweaking AI, tweaking weapon damage ranges, all these different things. Nothing was really working."
No matter what we did, everyone played just like they played all the other games like XCOM.
Brad Logston, Haemimont GamesThe solution may seem small, but it's had an oversized effect on how the game plays. "One of our combat systems designers proposed: 'you know, this may be crazy—and people are gonna kill us—but what if we just remove chance-to-hit and see how that works.'" It's a standard part of every turn-based tactics: go for a shot, and the game will tell you how likely you are to hit your foe. It's such an ingrained part of the genre that it's almost a meme. Every XCOM player has a story about the 99% chance shot that missed.
"Once we did, everything shifted. Before, if someone had a 75% chance shot, they wouldn't take it. They'd hold back, and the AI would have to react to that—it had to know that the player was only going to move up when they could get the kill shot. Once we removed chance-to-hit … they're experimenting. It also meant we could make the AI more fluid. They could try things, they could be a little sloppy during play."
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)Some of my favourite turn-based games of this new era are ones that give the player an overabundance of information—games like Into the Breach or Invisible, Inc., that reveal not just chance-to-hit, but fully telegraph the enemy's response as well. But here, Haemimont Games have discovered something that gets to the essence of what made the early Jagged Alliance's mix of turn-based combat, 4X strategy and RPG-lite management so good. These are not games about responding perfectly to the situation. These are games about messy, chaotic combat simulation, where unexpected things happen that force you to react.
"It's not just chance-to-hit," says Logston. "Even things like weapon jam chance, or grenade fumble chance. I've had situations where I've been on the second story of a building, fumbled a grenade, and blown up the floor beneath me. All the mercs fell down one floor, took fall damage and were stunned for a turn. But those are the things that happen in Jag sometimes—it just goes that way."
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)The Jagged Alliance series has reemerged a few times in the last couple of decades, but never in a way that did justice to the spirit and depth of the first two games. But here, it feels like Haemimont wants to get it right. Its African setting features extreme weather effects that will change the combat simulation—in the jungle, during heavy rain, visibility is lowered, but so too is sound, giving your mercs an opportunity to be exploited.
I've had situations where I've been on the second story of a building, fumbled a grenade, and blown up the floor beneath me.
Brad Logston, Haemimont GamesIts roster of 40 mercs are all fully voiced, with personalities that may clash against each other. And, in the spirit of the original games, they're hired diegetically—this time through an early 2000s version of the internet. The strategy layer is also classic Jagged Alliance: a dynamic map that tracks and simulates both the missions you deploy your mercs on, and the enemy force's attempts to retake what was once theirs; where intel you find in missions can provide hints at where and when to go to discover sidequests and opportunities.
But the real sign of Haemimont's commitment is that one seemingly small decision to upend the conventions that XCOM laid down. It would have been easy to make another XCOM-alike. They're pretty popular, after all. But it wouldn't have been Jagged Alliance.
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)"It's really hard to explain to people who haven't seen where we've gotten to, but where we had it before, it was just XCOM," says Logston. "There was nothing unique about it. And we were like, 'well, are we just cloning what someone else has already done?' That's not what we're trying to do. There are already games out there that have done that. That doesn't make us special. It made a lot more sense for us to find how to bring that Jagged Alliance experience back."
Perhaps the bigger question then, is whether people want a departure from the systems that have come to define the genre. Is there a place for Jagged Alliance in this turn-based renaissance? As someone who loved the borderline chaos of those early games, I really hope there is.
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We've become all too familiar with price hikes for PC parts these past few years, but sadly now it's our console cousins' turn. Sony has announced that the price of a PlayStation 5 will increase in most regions worldwide, either immediately or imminently, though the US isn't affected.
Updated PS5 prices worldwide
- Europe
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99
- UK
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99
- Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥60,478 yen (including tax)
- PS5 Digital Edition – ¥49,478 yen (including tax)
- China
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥4,299 yuan
- PS5 Digital Edition – ¥3,499 yuan
- Australia
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $799.95
- PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $649.95
- Mexico
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – MXN $14,999
- PS5 Digital Edition – MXN $12,499
- Canada
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CAD $649.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – CAD $519.99
For the UK market, that's an increase of £30; in Australia, around $50 AUD; in Canada, that's another $30 CAD to pay.
What's missing is the United States, which has avoided any price increase for the time being, leaving the Digital Edition at $400 and the disc version at $500. That's interesting in that the US is suffering from high rates of inflation currently, though these are perhaps steadying, but which may also signify that other factors are contributing to the rise in prices elsewhere.
"We’re seeing high global inflation rates," Sony says, "as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries. Based on these challenging economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5 in select markets…"
Sony's price increase comes at a time when inflation is soaring in many markets, with the knock-on effect of causing some companies to increase their prices. One important marker you can look at for this is the humble McDonald's cheeseburger.
Yes, a burger is something of a portent of price increases to come.
Having been priced at 99p, and staying that price for 14 years, McDonald's UK and Ireland have decided to increase its price to £1.19. It's worth noting that the UK has been hit especially hard by rising inflation and is forecast to continue on an upward trend.
The above picture states the original RRP of the two PS5 models for launch, November 2020. (Image credit: Sony)Your next machine(Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines from the pros
Best gaming laptop: Perfect notebooks for mobile gamingSo everything from burgers to consoles are feeling the brunt of today's unfavourable market conditions. Major tech firms we rely on heavily for our gaming components are also feeling the strain: Intel and Nvidia have posted some less than favourable financial reports for this past quarter. Unlike Sony, Nvidia has recently said it is working to drop prices for its graphics cards, though it is dealing with an entirely different issue. Nvidia and its partners have far too many graphics cards, while Sony can't make enough PS5 consoles.
Sony at least has this glimpse of positivity on PS5 supply: "our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 offers."
So there's that. Though it doesn't feel like recompense enough for the price hikes when people are struggling with money as much as they already are today.
Sony reported an operating income of 307 billion yen in the first three months of 2022, a 5% increase over the same period in 2021. Gaming revenue was, however, down 11.7% year over year.
- Europe
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Sometimes, you look at the Steam store by newest, and see a game called I commissioned some bees 5. And you have to ask: "What happened to I commissioned some bees 1-4?"
There's an answer to that question, and it's called I bundled some bees.
I commissioned some bees (and its sequels) is a hidden object game to find over 1,000 bees, but really what I find so compelling is the store descriptions. I know what a hidden object game is. It's not a novel concept to me. Why is this so charming?
"The brief was simple. I commissioned artists to create a fantasy world, and hide as many bees as they can inside it."
Really, what else is there to say? If your inclinations are a little more resource management oriented, but equally bee, you might also be interested in Apico. Apico came out on World Bee Day this year, and hopes you'll take an interest in conservation while enjoying its minigames.
You can pick up the entire bundle of bees on Steam for £5.95/£7.01, or any individually commissioned set of bees for around £1.69/$1.99. You can also find Apico at apico.buzz.
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This makes me feel all funny inside. I guess because I always like to think of my PC as a complete unit. I mean, my PC is a total unit as it's jammed right into my chonky desk and therefore built like a tank on legs, but to me it's a single device with a bunch of discrete parts inside it to make up the whole.
To Nvidia, however, "GeForce is essentially a game console inside your PC." At least that's how CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang sees it.
That's fine on the one hand, where it sees its own product as the most important piece of the gaming PC puzzle, and the component which has the most bearing on just how slick a gaming experience you're going to get. But where I feel uncomfortable is when Huang is talking about the fact that Nvidia's targets are for the average price of a GeForce graphics card to be the same as a current gen games console.
"We’ve always believed that the ASP of GeForce should drift towards the average selling price of a game console," says Huang in the recent Q2 2023 earnings call. "And so it should be something along the lines of $500 or so roughly at this time."
If people are willing to spend that much on an Xbox then surely they'll pay that for a single graphics card to stick into their PC? I guess that's the theory, and honestly, he's probably right—if the past couple of years have taught us anything it's that people are prepared to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a GPU if they really want it.
But if we're looking at the mainstream, biggest selling graphics cards, I don't want them to be priced at a level where they can't compete with Microsoft or Sony's game boxes. But pricing is going that way, though fingers crossed when Nvidia unveils the RTX 40-series GPUs there will eventually be some worthwhile ~$300 cards that offer more than the previous generation.
Screen queens(Image credit: Future)Best gaming monitor: Pixel-perfect panels for your PC
Best high refresh rate monitor: Screaming quick screens
Best 4K monitor for gaming: When only high-res will do
Best 4K TV for gaming: Big-screen 4K PC gamingTo be completely fair to Jen-Hsun, the above quote is in reference to a question on whether the average selling price (ASP) across the Nvidia GeForce GPU stack would remain the same as it has over the last couple of years, or whether it would go down "because of the absence of that crypto tightening dynamic?"
"I would say that without crypto dynamic," responds Huang, "the mix would go down. However, the overall trend long term, the ASP is drifting up."
That's when he goes on to say Nvidia's always felt it should stick its ASP at the same level as a whole games console. With console prices rising on the whole, and Sony just now announcing a spike in the cost of its PlayStation 5, Jen-Hsun's only going to be focusing on an ever rising target price.
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Friends, 2022 is the year of Zelda on the PC. Not because Nintendo has had a Scrooge-like change of heart, but because dedicated teams of engineers have seen fit to give us both a fan-made PC port of Ocarina of Time and, now, a "reverse-engineered clone" of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
The clone comes courtesy of Github user snesrev, and comprises a cool 70-80,000 lines of code covering every inch of the original game. If you have a (legal!) copy of the original's ROM lying around, you can play the whole thing on your PC from start to finish right now. You'll have to extract the levels and images and compile them with the clone's code yourself, though. The authors can't include them by default because that would be tremendously illegal.
Playing A Link to the Past right there on your PC is pretty neat, but we've been able to emulate these old Zeldas for years and years at this point. The really interesting part of this project is the space it opens up for weird modding efforts.
The fan-port of Ocarina of Time has been equipped with all manner of upgrades since it debuted earlier this year: there's high-res textures and widescreen support, of course, but also gyro aiming, adjustable climbing speed, and a mod that turns every interactable item into a volatile high explosive. Naturally.
The potential of a native PC port of A Link to the Past is plain to see. The game already has a very popular randomiser that's become a staple of events like Awesome Games Done Quick, but using it means futzing around with your ROM every time you want to change the randomisation. A PC port could have a randomiser built-in, making the process as simple as clicking "Start New Game" and getting a newly-generated random world every time. That's not to mention all the other mods that could be crammed in there alongside it.
It didn't take long for the community to come out with a neat and easy-to-use PC version of Ocarina after that game got decompiled. I expect the same will be true here, and it won't be long before everyone clusters around a fan-made PC port of A Link to the Past that becomes the de facto basis for future updates, upgrades, and mods. In the meantime, though, you'll have to compile the whole lot yourself. Or just watch YouTube videos of it forlornly, if you're as lazy as me.
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It's all too easy to compare the continued existence of Dead Island 2 to the zombies it features. Lurching on for years, long after it seemed dead, passed from one studio to another. In spite of the name, though, Dead Island 2 is practically a new game. According to game director David Stenton, when development was taken over by Dambuster in 2018 it was "built from scratch". The only thing it kept was zombies and its LA setting. "That serves the "paradise gone to hell" pillar," he says. Though the genre in which it sits feels like it never dies, with zombie games still releasing on the regular. What does something like Dead Island 2 bring to the table? What even is the identity of this series?
Speaking to Stenton and creative director James Worrall, and playing a 20-minute demo, it's clear the focus is squarely on its gnarly close quarters combat. "It was the passion for the gore, the passion for up close melee combat," Stenton explains. "And just doing that really, really well." The section of the game I played sent me to the Santa Monica Pier as Amy, one of six playable characters. It's a tight, linear portion in which the bright lights and amusements rides are slowly brought back on as I delve deeper, which makes for a poor showcase of how the game's ambitions as an open world will fare, but a good showing for the game's moment to moment fighting.
(Image credit: Deep Silver)It's a spooky section, more atmospheric and subdued than the bombastic trailer might have you believe. A faint mist hangs over the city's too-damn-quiet beach, letting the red Ferris wheel blaze away in the night with real foreboding. It's a very handsome looking game. "It's easy for us to build a place that people can feel is familiar," Worrall says of the game's setting. "That then gives us that contrast with the zombpocalypse. It also means, they know wherever they go. Even if they've never been to Bel-air before, they know what Bel-air looks like." The tone in Dead Island 2 lands somewhere close to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series. Scary things are scary or at least grotesque, while our heroes are a little larger than life, confronting horror with bravado and one-liners. Amy kept shouting and swearing at zombies, goading them the way I often find myself doing.
Personality contest
While Worrall explains there is no branching narrative, the character you choose will bring their own perspective. "Each player character has their own voice and their own dialogue. So you might get one character who's particularly driven or energised or upbeat. You might get another character who's a little bit more of a cynical individual. Some characters are quite low key, subtle. We've written those characters to reflect broad playstyles." These heroes all come with their own starting stats and abilities, but you'll be able to mould any of them more or less to your preferred style of zombie killing, so the choice largely comes down to personality. .
Your player character is far from an invulnerable hero, and all the quips in the world do little once the undead shuffle onto the scene. There's a real sense of claustrophobia as zombies gather around you, since they can't be taken care of swiftly. Each individual walking corpse is a threat in its own right. In these moments the game conjures up memories of Resident Evil 4, making split second decisions about how to handle a group of foes. Take out a leg here, try for a headshot there. Except instead of guns, you're mostly wielding over-the-top melee weapons, wrestling them back as they get stuck or embedded in rotting flesh.
(Image credit: Deep Silver)All that is thanks to a system for rendering zombie bodies called F.L.E.S.H., or Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids. It took a decade to create the perfect acronym but by god, they've done it. What it means is that much like the recent Resident Evil Remakes, zombies have an absolutely disgusting level of detail as you hack or shoot at them. It's gross and grimy, the kind of excess that makes you feel like you need a shower after playing.
Perversely, I couldn't get enough. I'm a sucker for these intimate fights and Dead Island 2 has more in common with games like Chivalry than it does other zombie slayers. Dying Light might be a close cousin, but even it focuses more on acrobatics than the precision Dead Island 2 goes for. You have more than just a heavy and light attack to use, and your defensive and special attacks can be swapped out if, say, you'd rather have a block than a dash. There's lots of swapping out items (mostly cards that augment your character) for stats, but that feels considerably less exciting. It's not earth shattering—it's just done really well and the focus on precision, actually having to aim your pokes and swings to hit specific body parts, sets it apart.
Hazard warning
Dead Island 2 heightens the chaos of these skirmishes with loads of interactive scenery. Sure, there's your typical explosive tanks, but the game also has a fluid simulation for water and fuel. The interplay of elements is simple enough. Water conducts electricity, fuel spreads fire—you get the idea. It feels more dynamic than simply remembering to bring the right resources to every fight. Having an electrified zombie wander into a crowded fight created a moment of panic until inspiration struck and throwing some water at their feet turned them into a weapon against all their surrounding buddies. "Ultimately, when you're the full on zombie slayer later in the game, what you're really relying on, to some degree, it's sort of a combat symphony,” says Stenton.
(Image credit: Deep Silver)The demo ended with a boss encounter—a confrontation with a zombie clown who'd been taunting me as I explored the pier. In a fight like this, one-on-one, it transforms from a zombie game into a more well-worn action RPG. There are phases and windows of opportunity as the clown's arms can block ranged attacks. It highlights the combat's complexity, as well as its surprising difficulty. You have a lot of moves and abilities at your disposal, from a ground slam (an ultimate ability that can be traded for others, though I didn’t get to see any alternatives in the demo) to kicks and dodges, all strung together into combos. It just comes at the expense of the situational complexity of fending off a crowd of brain eaters, making it feel a lot less—and I appreciate the irony here—alive.
The presence of friends will probably help, and you'll be able to bring two along with you. Dambuster isn't giving much away about the 3-player co-op yet, but it's not hard to imagine how it could come together, with players specialising in different roles and abilities, emphasising the RPG aspect and allowing for tuning diverse builds. With some pals in the mix, I think Dead Island 2 could be a perfect game for those late night sessions.
(Image credit: Deep Silver)Dead Island 2 is far from novel and any hope of twists or a compelling narrative lay beyond the scope of the demo, but still, there's certainly something intriguing in it. It presents the zombie apocalypse as something its characters are forced to live with. Its heroes are immune but infected, carrying the disease without turning into zombies themselves. Meaning leaving quarantined LA isn't an option. Unable to escape, our heroes are chasing momentary joys in a bleak, broken world as they fight for their lives. That might be a bit relatable to a bunch of people right now.
I had little to no expectations or even much interest in Dead Island 2. A sequel to a mediocre RPG? Yet another zombie game? While it absolutely lacks originality, it excels in some of its execution. There's no knowing if it has an enthralling campaign to tie it all together, but in its fights the game kills. For the great combat, it's worth keeping an eye on this unexpected comeback.
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The trailer for Forspoken that arrived earlier this month did not land well, to put it lightly. Frey Holland's self-aware quipping—however true it may be to the character—came across as tired in a media context where it's immediately recognised and referred to as Whedon-esque. Even if the style predates him, the immediate association says "No, we want something else now".
In this new 10-minute trailer from Square Enix, the focus is much more on Forspoken's setting, and how it plays: something that Lincoln Carpenter found promising in an early preview session. He described the spellcasting as a change from the static vision that previously had a grip on gaming, into something fluid, reactive and stylish, and you get to see more of that here.
The trailer shows off more of its traversal and open world system too, with a slightly more local-looking "towers fill in the map" mechanic. Frey can scan belfries to highlight nearby points of interest, which all look pretty close to the tower. If everything sticks to line-of-sight, it might be a sign for more engaging exploration than tracking to waypoints—particularly when your movement set includes flying, and speedy little zips and leaps.
That said, the new trailer doesn't entirely avoid trying to pull jokes out of Frey seeming out of place, with Cuff playing a genteel straight man to Frey's blunter stylings. I have several worldbuilding questions about why a sentient wrist cuff would have an upper class English accent, but here we are.
With Forspoken (like several other games) being delayed until the first half of 2023, you can keep an eye on its Steam page until its expected release date of 24th of January.
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The Logitech G735 gaming headset is just outside of what I'm going to call the 'goldilocks zone' for peripherals: It's not the absolute best thing you can get for $230, but it offers enough to make it a pretty tempting purchase. In fact, the G735 seems to be the more impressive addition to the "ethereal" Aurora collection.
Aurora is a peripheral series made for anyone with a smaller head and a penchant for white peripherals. It's a welcome sentiment, and it's true that the blanched look is totally in right now; gamers are leaning away from stark black accessories and Logitech has listened. The company has even made each item in the collection fairly modular, with the option to swap out the ear pads and detachable mic with pastel shades in "green flash" and "pink dawn."
I'm actually okay with not customising the Logitech G735 headset.
It's generally expected that you can swap out the ear pads on a headset, though, since they're often the first thing to deteriorate, so it's hardly the mega feature it's made out to be.
And while I'm a little miffed that these cute, muted flairs don't come free for the price—as I noted in my Logitech G715 gaming keyboard review—I'm actually okay with not customising the Logitech G735 headset.
That's because I'm less concerned with it being a fashion accessory and more with its comfort factor. What I've found is that the base "white mist" colourway (it's literally just white) is pretty darn appropriate for something so cloudlike in substance. With a lightweight frame, ear pads to rival actual clouds, and a padded headband that's fantastic at stopping the pressure focusing in one spot, this thing is exceptionally comfortable. I went through several full shifts working away with the G735 strapped to my head and almost forgot I was wearing it.
Logitech G735 specs(Image credit: Future)Type: Closed back
Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz
Drivers: 40mm
Connections: USB Type-C, 3.5mm audio jack
Wireless: Lightspeed 2.4, Bluetooth
Battery: 15.5hrs with RGB lighting, 300hrs without
Impedance: 38Ω (passive)
Microphone: Cardioid, detachable
Weight: 260g (9.2oz)
Price: £200, $230, €230Of course, the fact it's stylish helps, but the main draw for me is its portability. It's also where that detachable mic shines, as you can get rid of it—preferable in any situation where you're not using it honestly. I'm not saying it's a bad mic, it's just a little thicc and people keep mistaking it for a pen when it's sitting on my desk. It also doesn't hold shape in the slightest. It would have been nice to see the mic flip up out of the way, but that would likely detract from the portability.
The recordings we've put on our Soundcloud using the G735 are actually relatively clear, if a bit on the quiet side. Thanks to Logitech's Blue Voice control in the G Hub, there are a bunch of options to enhance such as a compressor for volume consistency, as well as noise reduction and sound gate to help eliminate background noise interference. The de-esser and de-popper options are a godsend, too, though it does come out a little scratchy when you whack up the gain.
Something to keep in mind, particularly if you plan on taking it to work or school, is the wireless connectivity range and strength. Unless you're going to stay within 10m of your device and avoid interfering with wireless connections, there's bound to be some drop out. And, if you're not able to download your preferred music app on your work computer for example, it's nice to have the option to connect via Bluetooth, Lightspeed 2.4 wireless USB dongle, or even both at the same time.
The battery life manages about 15.5 hours if you want the funky (and actually pastel) RGB lighting on. If you're willing to forgo lighting on your head, that's meant to extend to around 300 hours, but the battery is reading 21 hours remaining at 50% right now, sans lighting. There's the option to use a 3.5mm audio jack instead and save the battery, but you don't get one with the headset, sadly.
(Image credit: Future)Overall the sound quality is great, and although there are cheaper wireless headsets out there with a better frequency range (take the $200 HyperX Cloud Alpha for example) it handles sound at both ends very well. There's only some minor distortion at the low end of the spectrum.
My main issue I found with the G735, considering its focus on portability, is just how bad the sound isolation can be. I can still hear people chatting away on the bus even with the sound turned up. Something to consider if you're looking to get out but still have the option to ignore people.
So while Logitech refuses to pander to your anti-social tendencies, the company has nailed comfort, style, sound quality and portability with the G735. And although it would have been sweet to see some active noise cancelling or a better range for $230, even a spare pair of ear pads in funky colours, I'm still very tempted by the full price. Not least because it's nice to have something designed specifically for the tiny-headed among us, but also as it's easy to overlook the wireless range issues in my tiny apartment.
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After a quiet seven months for Dark Souls 3 PvPers, the PC servers have finally whirred back to life today, reviving the game's online features which have lain dormant since the discovery of a serious security vulnerability in the game's code back in January.
That means Dark Souls 3 players can once again enjoy all the thrills of player invasions, summoning, and contorting the game's soapstone messaging system to write some of the filthiest things imaginable. In the tweet announcing DS3's online resurrection, FromSoft indicated that the same features for Dark Souls 1 and 2 would follow in short order. With any luck, it won't take over half a year this time.
Online features for the PC version of Dark Souls III have been reactivated.We are working to restore these features for all other #DarkSouls titles and will inform you when they are back in service.Thank you once more for your patience and support. pic.twitter.com/XHiCZDEANCAugust 25, 2022
See moreThe vulnerability that caused all this furore was quite a nasty one. Publicised by a Souls enthusiast called SkeleMann, the exploit allowed attackers to gain low-level access to players' PCs and do stuff like steal login info, run programs, or just brick people's machines entirely. Luckily, the servers were shut down before there were any documented cases of it being used maliciously, but it's still pretty terrifying when you consider how many people still play the original Dark Souls games every day.
It's been a long time, but it's good to see Dark Souls slowly regain consciousness. For a while there, players were beginning to worry that the studio might just leave the servers offline forever, especially when the series' multiplayer tags disappeared from its Steam pages. FromSoft has been distracted by Elden Ring's launch for most of 2022, which goes some way to explaining why it's taken so long to get the Souls games back in working order, but it's still kind of wild that a set of games as famous and storied as these seemed to get left in limbo for a whole half-year.
But the age of dark is behind us, now begins the age of light (and perpetual, agonising griefing). We can put down the mods that attempted ersatz recreations of Dark Souls' online features and once again enjoy being crushed into jam by strangers from across the globe. On second thought, maybe I'll just leave it offline.
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Jen-Hsun Huang has confirmed that Nvidia is going to be finally giving us some concrete details about its new RTX 40-series graphics cards at the GTC event in September. Jen-Hsun needed to finish his recent Q2 2023 financial call on a high note—after posting gaming revenue 44% down on the previous financial quarter—and so throwing out the promise of Lovelace details at GTC was his best bet.
Having already spoken at length about that big decline in gaming revenue, repeatedly reminding Nvidia's investors that gaming's fine, gaming's good, people are still buying graphics cards, it's okay, he notes that "we'll get through this over the next few months and go into next year with our new architecture."
"I look forward to telling you more about it at GTC next month," Huang then says.
Ah, new architecture! We've been stuck reading ever-changing rumoured details, specs, speeds, and feeds for the past year, but finally Jen-Hsun's keynote on September 20 might actually give us something solid to look at regarding the new Ada Lovelace GPU tech.
The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) is traditionally a more data centre/AI focused event, with little focus on gaming products, but given that we're expecting Nvidia to only release the very high end of the RTX 40-series this year that might fit perfectly with the GTC ethos. The RTX 4090 will sit in the same professional user spot the RTX 3090/TI occupies right now, meaning it's more for creators than gamers, after all.
It's possible Jen-Hsun could have simply been referring to the advances in its upcoming Hopper architecture for data centres, something that has been spoken about in detail at this month's Hot Chips event. But he specifically mentions the RTX side of the business.
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 rest"I look forward to next month’s GTC conference," says Huang, signing off on a financial analyst call he wouldn't have wanted to be on, "where we will share new advances of RTX reinventing 3D graphics and gaming."
It's rare we get mentions of gaming at GTC, so it looks like it's definitely going to be worth tuning in to the keynote on September 20. And if Lovelace is getting unveiled towards the tail end of September then that makes a potential October release for the RTX 4090 even more likely.
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Whether you're after a quick clue for today's Wordle, a thorough explanation of the best techniques for the popular online word game, or you'd just like the answer to the August 25 (432) puzzle displayed in plain text you'll find it all right here on PC Gamer.
Somehow I managed to nail the tough part of today's challenge very early on, a happy fact that then left me with what felt like a billion possibilities (quantity possibly not accurate) to try and attach to this tricky core and definitely not enough guesses to try them all out. I did get there in the end, but it was close.
Wordle hint
Today's Wordle: A hint for Thursday, August 25
These distinctive entertainers are easily recognised by their painted faces and oversized shoes, although whether they're seen as fun circus jokers or the terrifying nightmare material varies from person to person. Having a fear of these people is called coulrophobia.
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 432 answer?
Let's save your win streak. The answer to the August 25 (432) Wordle is CLOWN.
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:
- August 24: NEEDY
- August 23: WOVEN
- August 22: MERIT
- August 21: WASTE
- August 20: TREAT
- August 19: SHRUG
- August 18: TWANG
- August 17: TWICE
- August 16: GRUEL
- August 15: POKER
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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In an excellent example of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should," you can currently buy what looks like an ex-engineering sample of the upcoming Ryzen 5 7600X. Given the better-specced finished chip is set to release in a little over a month's time for what is likely a much lower price, there's absolutely no good reason to. But you can.
VideoCardz has spotted a few different card samples on Alibaba's Goofish and the latest discovery is this alleged Ryzen 5 7600X sample. The listing even notes the clock speed of this chip being 4.4 GHz, which falls 300 MHz shy of the expected retail clock. Lower performance, and probably a tonne of bugs, are to be expected with this kind of sample device.
The chip could be a cool grab for collectors, or people looking to do very specific overlocking experiments, but other than that it's hard to find a good use case for something like this. That could be why the seller has put a placeholder price, and requests to be contacted by anyone looking to buy.
While that could be a red flag for some, it's probably a good move when selling something like this. It's easy to imagine an unwitting buyer thinking they're getting the retail version of the chip, as opposed to a weird sample. Though absolutely keep those red flags in view, because this sample is likely being sold illegally, without AMD's knowledge.
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the restAlongside being a potentially bug-ridden card with a dodgy past, this CPU is basically unusable right now. The motherboards available to support this socket size aren't actually available yet, though we did get to see them shown off recently. Even if you managed to get in with one of these early sample releases, you're still likely going to be waiting until the retail models are available before you have any hardware that will work with it.
What I'm trying to say is there is absolutely no reason to buy this chip. None. Please, let me know if you do and how it all goes.
Still, seeing these kinds of listings on the online marketplace is generally a pretty good sign before a product launches. Hopefully we'll get a solid look at the pricing soon, before the launch of Zen 4 next month.
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Cyber attacks generally speaking are never good, and can potentially ruin lives with stolen data, or locked access to much-needed computers. However, it's a special kind of evil when used against hospitals, disrupting important medical systems.
Unfortunately, attacks like these are not unheard of, and earlier this year the Costa Rican healthcare system was held hostage by crypto-hackers. Now, according to BleepingComputer, an attack is disrupting the Center Hospitalier Sud Francilien in France. The CHSF, which is about 28km (or 17 miles) south of Paris, is currently having to turn patients away and postpone surgeries due to the ransomware.
The 1,000-bed hospital was attacked on Sunday and still hasn't regained control of its systems. This not only affects things like the hospital's business software but also patient admissions and storage, including that of medical imaging. Patients are still being assessed at the CHSF, but many require transfers to other medical centres to get the treatment they require.
"This attack on the computer network makes the hospital's business software, the storage systems (in particular medical imaging), and the information system relating to patient admissions inaccessible for the time being," a translation from the CHSF announcement explains.
Tips and advice(Image credit: Future)How to buy a graphics card: tips on buying a graphics card in the barren silicon landscape that is 2021
According to French publication Le Monde, the attackers are demanding a $10 million ransom to release a decryption key to free up the hospital's systems. Targeting a hospital for what looks like just the demand of money is just the lowest move, even for ransomware attackers.
Authorities aren't sure who the culprits of the attack are as of yet, but suspect the LockBit 3.5 ransomware is being used. LockBit as an organisation states that attacks on hospitals are not allowed with its ransomware, so if that is the case the attackers might find themselves in trouble from both ends of the law.
Strategy Puzzler Absolute Tactics scratches my XCOM itch, until the characters start talking
in Gaming News
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Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy doesn’t waste any time when you press start. Smash through a simple tutorial and within a few minutes you’re an amateur general, frantically issuing commands to your motley crew of D&D archetypes. Combat plays out as a dance, lunging forward to deliver crushing blows and recoiling back to pass out combat buffs to your squad. Unfortunately, that dance can lose a lot of its momentum when knock-off Edward Elric protagonist Huxley flips his shounen switch on and takes you back to 2005.
When I muted the music, ignored the story, and threw up an episode of The Rehearsal on the other monitor, I found Absolute Tactics' groove: it's a comfort game, ideal for when you want to move units across a chessboard battlefield and knock down some knight-shaped pins.
There’s a cozy battle-flow that makes Absolute Tactics difficult to put down. You don’t face a crisis building up over several turns here—there are no stressful XCOM 2-esque turn limits or the constant threat of enemy reinforcements. Stygian goons diligently march at you in formations that are basically puzzles to be solved, and knocking down a squad of enemies evokes the same feeling as clearing four rows in Tetris with the perfect I-block placement.
Your mages and wizards dole out powerful attack and defense buffs, numbers which can be pushed ever-higher through skills like "pet the dog" (the most mechanically busted ability I’ve found so far). The chessboard levels funnel enemies towards your party in tight, aggressive formations, exposing a particular vulnerability and begging you to exploit it. There’s a nice tabletop skirmish game energy behind Absolute Tactics, bringing some commonsense design principles to combat—like how every unit in the game, friend or foe, can be attacked from behind for nearly double damage. So, yeah, the direction you face when you end a turn is extremely important, which I learned early on when my squad was pin-cushioned by crossbow wielding-goons that punished my exposed flank while I greedily snatched some tempting chests.
This is my weakness in this sort of game: an obsessive need to have the best gear, the ultimate loadout, the perfect party. Absolute Tactics caters to my cravings by expanding your party and toolkit through mid-mission progression—you’ll often rescue a new party member or have one join you every other mission, unlocking a slew of new combat options and teasing you with potentially devastating gear combinations. The flow of currency from enemy bodies to your wallet is steady enough to give you free run of the item shop between missions, so you’re encouraged to play around with different loadouts.
Progression is largely linear. You’ll rarely be making in-depth decisions as your primary focus is pushing attack, defense, and magic attributes ever higher. That feeling of chasing the perfect party is the game’s biggest draw for me, and progression is quick enough to ensure you’re getting a constant stream of upgrades and skills to test out on the bevy of side content, but it’s a tall ask that you stay immersed in Absolute Tactics long enough to see all of it.
Absolute Tactics’s high-medieval setting doesn’t take itself seriously, but it expects your attention nonetheless. The dialogue is a cocktail of Whedonisms and soulless quipping from characters who act like they want you to click "play now" on one of those old Evony ads that once blanketed webpages. We’re talking real bottom of the barrel stuff here: calling out a murderous, blood-drunk berserker for being a "chump" and having the disembodied voice of the captive princess in your head call him "cringe" when your dog tears his throat out.
The main quest has me defending my home from an invading army, but the narrative never feels rooted in place, like the Triangle Kingdoms and Great Houses of contemporaries Triangle Strategy and Fire Emblem. What little plot Absolute Tactics has to offer doesn't much worry about motivations—some baddies named the Daughters of Mercy are killing people to use their blood in magic rituals, and that's that.
Backgrounds are sharp and colorful, evoking a high production tabletop style, but experienced DMs and wargamers know that you have to sprinkle a little grimdark tragedy into your story of a brutal occupying army. You know, strewn about bodies, refugee camps, signs of plague and pestilence, that sort of thing, all completely absent here. The result is a narrative that feels light, fluffy, and devoid of substance, and Absolute Tactics's quips aren't good enough to get away with that.
Combined with the repetitive stock music (there’s one battle theme that you’ll hear for the majority of the first major act), stiff animations, and an early 2010s browser game feel, it was an uphill battle to pull my attention away from the excellent second season of Better Call Saul.
Mechanically, Absolute Tactics delivers. Narratively, it’s got the same energy as the Borderlands 2 "Assault on Dragon Keep" DLC (before they found their groove with the fantasy setting). The game's at its best when it’s not your sole focus, when you want to sling spells and chop heads while powering through a more engaging TV show. It does not leave me pining for its world, yearning for its characters, or pondering the mysteries and intrigue of its main quest, and I really would have preferred if it didn’t aim to do any of that in the first place.
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