Summer. It’s the season to spend money on the essentials: a new air conditioner, backup pairs of sunglasses, hand-woven picnic baskets and 15 or so video games you probably won’t even install on your PC until next year. That’s right, folks. PayPal warned you, and now the video game chickens have come home to virtually roost. The Steam Summer Sale is upon us. Last year’s sale came packed with new sets of trading cards and craftable game badges. This time around, they’ve added quests which fill a digital sticker book. Completing a page in the sticker book will permanently unlock that page on your account. We know it’s tough to sort out the best deals and discounts while basking in the sunshine and taking delicate sips of an afternoon mint julep, which is why we’ve done all the work for you. Some of this year’s highlight price drops include the Final Fantasy and Ghost Recon franchises, as well as Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor’s Game … [Read more...]

The Steam summer sale is in full blaze. For a while it even blazed so hot that the servers went on fire and all the price stickers peeled off the games. Either that or the store just got swamped with cheapskates looking for the best bargains. Cheapskates like you! Well, don’t worry. We’ve rounded up some recommendations. Here are the things you should consider owning in your endless consumeristic lust for a happiness which always seems beyond reach. You’re welcome. Newish These aren’t the best deals, because the games are still quite fresh. But it’s better than nothing! Torment: Tides of Numenera for £17.49/$22.49 – A sad man falls out of the sky and must read 2 million words to discover why Nier: Automata for £27.99/$41.99 – A lovable robot accidentally unplugs her own CPU chip and dies Northgard for £12.74/$16.99 – A Viking with a lisp is axed over a piece of land, and says: “That was Thor!” Dead Cells for … [Read more...]

For a few horrible minutes during E3, it looked like Bethesda might seriously claim that The Elder Scrolls and Fallout were part of the same universe. Thankfully, not. Despite this being an era where Sony wants a Ghostbusters universe and Universal thinks demeaning the Universal Monsters by linking them with a top-sekrit monstah hunting group led by Dr Jekyll is anything other than schoolboy fan-fiction, Bethesda’s Pete Hines has been quick to go “What? No. No! No…” Phew! Honestly, it’s bad enough that Daggerfall has six endings, ranging from the villain becoming a god to orcs being either defeated or victorious, and canonically all of them are true. But at a time when we’re seriously asked to pretend that “Dark Universe” is a thing we should want to see, that unholy union really wasn’t impossible… I’m not really a fan of shared universes, and at the very least I think they have to be earned rather than just stated or … [Read more...]

For this holiday season, all kinds of video game companies are gearing up their sales to provide fans with the best gift-giving season possible. Sony PlayStation is no different, and they’ve started their Black Friday sales early, to beat the rush. Fans can get games and videos up to 70% off, with PlayStation Plus members getting up to 80%, and everyone gets 5x bonus points on items purchased during the sale, which can be redeemed on the rewards screen for “games, PlayStation Store cash and even once-in-a-lifetime experiences.” You can pick up full games from as low as $10.49, like Bully. Some highlights from the Black Friday sale include: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor: Game of the Year Edition for only $9.99. Overwatch: Origins Editon for only $39.59. The entirety of The Witcher 3 collection, including all 16 DLCs, and 2 Expansion Packs: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine for $29.99. Far Cry: Primal for $15.99, which is a ridiculous steal, down from the … [Read more...]

Remedy Entertainment has released a video on their YouTube channel teasing an upcoming game trailer. It is not known yet what game the trailer is for. The teaser features Remedy’s creative director Sam Lake, and shows him introducing himself multiple times over the past years. Afterwards, some text promises a new game trailer will be coming soon. The teaser ends with a very short clip of some music over a black screen, which is presumably from the new game. While we know that Remedy’s second team has been working on the story mode for Crossfire 2, it seems more likely that this trailer will be for a previously unannounced game — there is not much of a reason to keep the game a secret if it is has already been announced. What’s also worth noting is that Remedy’s other team very recently released Quantum Break, which would make it unusual for them to already have a trailer ready for another project. Stranger things have happened though, such as CD Projekt … [Read more...]

When The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in 2015, players were blown away by how much developer CD Projekt RED had packed into the game. Not only is there a seemingly endless amount of quests to complete, but there is also a whole other game within the game: Gwent. Playable throughout The Witcher 3, Gwent is an in-universe collectible card game that is so fully featured that players wondered why it wasn’t available as a standalone product. CD Projekt RED listened to their fans, and now, over a year later, the standalone version of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is in closed beta.Digital card games have never been more prevalent, with The Elder Scrolls: Legends in open beta and the massively popular Hearthstone getting bigger every year. So chances are, if you’re interested in playing Gwent, you likely have some experience with digital card games already. Many people get bored of playing the same card game year after year and get excited at the … [Read more...]

2015 saw an excellent lineup, in both terms of the future and current releases. With E3 being the year of closures, we saw The Last Guardian, Fallout 4, and surprisingly Shenmue III all hit the main stage with release dates in mind. We saw two Indie games, Undertale and Rocket League rightfully take their place on several game of the year lists, alongside Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, and Bloodborne.For PC gamers, the largest exclusive market is currently run by Indie. Unfortunately, unless you’re playing more of the main stream Indie games, you aren’t going to find a huge amount to play. The Indie market is being over run by clones, poorly coded games, and free element created Unity games.Although the exclusive market may not be as big as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo’s, 2016 is still a promising year for the PC. With a (hopefully) more promising Indie market, and AAA titles still being tended too, it’s time to see what PC gamers can sink … [Read more...]

The word ‘epic’ gets thrown around a lot, especially in the world of video games. But few titles capture the truest, most traditional sense of the word as The Banner Saga. A visual novel with added elements of Oregon Trail-style travel simulation and an interestingly unique and intuitive turn-based battle system, The Banner Saga feels like the first book in a grand epic of fantasy storytelling.Following multiple characters across a fully detailed world, Stoic Studios weaves a Viking-inspired apocalyptic narrative that’s intriguing, breathtaking, and heartbreaking from beginning to end. Humans and the race of horned giants known as the Varl have lived together in an uneasy peace ever since driving back the race of malicious stone creatures called the Dredge during two cataclysmic wars.But at the onset of the game, the sun has stopped rising and falling in the sky, frozen where it is, and the game starts with a single line: “The Gods are dead.” From … [Read more...]

With all its monsters and corpses, the bleak battlefields and crowded cities of The Witcher 3 certainly lack that bit of holiday charm. But CD Projekt Red is looking to fix that, and they’d like your help. The Witcher 3 developer has announced a new holiday mod contest. To enter, all you need is a holiday themed outfit mod for any of the characters in The Witcher 3. “It can be an epic armor for Geralt, a christmas hat for Johnny, or candy canes for Nekkers!” the developer suggests. Then, upload it to Nexus Mods with a “Witcher Mod Contest” tag, available under the “file admin,” and fill out and submit the form you can find here with a link to the mod. One winner will be chosen, and that winner then gets the gorgeous, rather epic, sword that you can see in the picture below. You must be 18 to enter the contest, and CD Projekt Red recommends you check first if your country will even allow someone to send you a sword. The contest is now open and … [Read more...]

With Game of the Year announcements looming and the last round of AAA titles still warm on store shelves, perhaps it's time to take stock of the year that's been, and maybe even look ahead to the coming months. Simply put, it's been a good year (aren't they always?!) and we've been treated to some excellent video games along the way. What's been most encouraging for me is the width and breadth of the offerings we've been treated to this past twelve months, and experiences are continually branching out in new directions. Even more encouraging, as gaming becomes more inclusive and with virtual reality looming around the corner, this diversity is only going to broaden further. It's an interesting time at Nintendo. While the year will be remembered because of the tragic death of Satoru Iwata, it has also been a year of transition. The company has plans relating to theme parks, they're moving into the mobile space, and there's the Nintendo NX, their mysterious upcoming home console. … [Read more...]

Tomorrow Conan O’Brien promises to feature Bethesda’s upcoming game Fallout 4 on a segment of his show called “Clueless Gamer”, this of course begs a very important question… who is this for?I mean, the two circles that represent Conan’s viewer-base and gamers that would buy Fallout 4 because they saw it on Conan just don’t interlap in my mind. I know it’s probably not meant to necessarily raise awareness for the game but still, its like if you put ads for diapers in Tiger Beat, it’s catering to the wrong audience (or at least I hope so). But I digress…In a promotional video posted on Facebook, O’Brien and co-host Aaron Bleyaert are shown dressed up in some super snazzy vault dweller jump suits. O’Brien said the episode will be “very special.”, what that means… I guess we’ll find out.https://www.facebook.com/teamcoco/videos/1042864895772392/ Other games … [Read more...]

With The Witcher 3 already haven eaten away most of your free time the highly anticipated expansion makes sure you put your social life on hold just that little while longer. Featuring a multitude of brand new quest lines and characters to interact with Hearts of Stone certainly justifies it’s more than reasonable price, putting a lot of recent paid DLC expansions to shame. If you’d thought Geralt’d had his fill of bedding women, slaying monsters and bedding women during his pursuit of the wild hunt… well you’d be wrong. The ashen haired, gravel voiced hero continues his journey bringing both death and love to the northern realms, making both monsters and women folk alike weak at the knees.First of all it must be stated just how helpful the opening screen is. A lot of players may be confused as to how to begin this expansion but the game does a simple but effective way of telling you what you need to know. It would be fair to say Hearts of Stone certainly … [Read more...]

I don’t have a lot of time to play video games anymore. I know, that must sound strange coming from the person writing for a video game news site, but it’s true. I’m a junior in an engineering curriculum in college; my free time in general is limited, my free time to play games is far slimmer. What this means for me—somebody who clearly loves games and the communities surrounding them—is that I have to pick the games I play wisely. While The Witcher might be perfect for the player looking for the most bang for buck, I would view it as an incredibly lengthy journey that I’d get about halfway through by the end of a semester.I only came to grips with this fact last year, when I realized that most of my anticipated, huge open-world games had been left largely unplayed, gathering dust on my shelf. Don’t get me wrong; those games were wonderful experiences based on the little time I had with them, but I just didn’t have enough of it. The time … [Read more...]

With the likes of Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, Batman Arkham Knight, and Metal Gear Solid V all filling up the roster, it goes without saying that 2015 has already been a stellar year for video games, but the best is yet to come.Having too many games to play is a good problem, and one that we as gamers appear to be facing as the year reaches its conclusion. Fallout 4 is the obvious heavy-hitter – the huge RPG that will likely break sales records and have fans and critics alike engrossed for hours upon hours, but there are so many great games coming out this fall that some fantastic experiences will likely go under your radar. Which games are you willing to sacrifice for games you consider to be more important? Do you have time to play all the games you want to?Personally, my most anticipated titles involve Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Rock Band 4, Fallout 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Star Wars Battlefront, Just Cause 3, and Hitman. That’s not to mention the other huge games that … [Read more...]

  CD Projekt Red announced this week some new details for the first story expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, including the release date and a new preview video. You can check out the preview in the player below. The Hearts of Stone Expansion will launch next month on October 13. According to CD Projekt Red, the expansion will feature over 10 hours of new story gameplay, along with new characters, powerful monsters, a unique romance path and a new storyline shaped by gamer choices. In Hearts of Stone, players will once again take the role of Geralt of Rivia. The Witcher has been hired ot take down a ruthless bandit captain named Olgierd von Everec, a man who apparently holds the power of immortality. The expansion will allow players to recruit a crew of break-in artists, spend a night partying with a ghost and also outsmart one of the most bizarre creatures Geralt has ever faced. One of the other new … [Read more...]

The Witcher 3 launched to much acclaim from both critics and players alike. The game struck at the heart of what an RPG should be. It had a myriad of weapons and armour to use, an epic story, decisions with real consequences and a massive open world. The world is huge and dense, with many different stories to experience in every village. Despite this, I only managed to experience a small piece of this world, The leveling system does not allow much wriggle room in its recomendation for the main quest line.After wandering Velen, one of the first areas available to explore, for a short time, I found myself overleveled for the rest of the game. This took away from the overall experiece as I no longer wanted to explore. I felt like I had to progress in the main story, as being overleveled made it far too easy. For me, the ideal way of playing would be to wander aimlessly around the world between main story missions, but because of the way the leveling was set up, this was discouraged. I … [Read more...]

We are almost 8 months into 2015, which is crazy in its own right, but it is about to get even crazier. With the games heavy Fall lineup upon us, let me break down my top 5 games of 2015 so far this year! 5. Rocket League  Car soccer? I was skeptical at first too but Rocket League turned out to be the perfect summer game, especially for PS Plus members who saw it free in July. The physics engine is great, the game is addicting, and it appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers alike. You can spend hours or just minutes with this sports game and have a great time either way.4. Shovel Knight (PS4) All you technical people will tell me that Shovel Knight is not a true 2015 experience but it did come to PS4 in 2015 and was my first time with the game so it makes the list. A complete homage to the old school SNES platformers, Shovel Knight is a charming, yet brutal game. Everything in this game feels tight and calculated, and perfected, from the platforming to the upgrade system. … [Read more...]

With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt soon getting New Game Plus, as well as it’s two substantial paid expansions, fans have plenty to look forward to. But when can we expect The Witcher 4? Not anytime soon, according to CDProjektRED. The developers CEO Marcin Iwinski said in September’s Gamer Informer that they haven’t even thought about what’s next for The Witcher franchise. CDProjektRED previously stated that The Witcher 3 would be the last in the series to feature Geralt as the protagonist, so a new Witcher would take on the role of the hero in future games (whenever that might be). Iwinski went on to say that the world of The Witcher is ripe with opportunity, stating “We definitely are not annualising a franchise or anything – it’s about the experience. The world of The Witcher is gigantic and it’s great to tell these stories, but I don’t know when this will happen.” The developer are instead focusing all their efforts on the … [Read more...]

Being only really into tabletop in the last few years and only really being into the Witcher in the last few months, I find myself in awe at the thought of a Witcher tabletop game. Don your pencil and paper as the game is announced on the Witcher’s official site.According to the team, CD Projekt RED will be teaming up with R. Talsorian Games to bring this product to life. R. Talsorian Games is most notable for their famous Cyberpunk series; with Cyberpunk 2020 being the most reknowned and critically acclaimed. You’ll recall that CD Projekt RED was working on an incredible looking video game adaptation of the series; Cyberpunk 2077. As of now, there is no word on Cyberpunk, but at the very least this will certainly reinvigorate hope for the game’s existence, and hopefully tide us over knowing the two teams are working together on a project like this.The Witcher tabletop RPG will be fully fleshed out with all the skills, curses and assortment of weaponry that is … [Read more...]

Ah, the summer. It’s mid-July, it’s hot, and the sun is burning every inch of skin that is exposed to its rays. Alas, there’s never been a better time to wake up, pull down the blinds, and stay inside to take a stab at actually completing all of the games that came out in the previous six months that you simply haven’t had the time to.The year 2015 has been home to some massive blockbuster releases as well as some surprise hits, but time is the ultimate enemy of all of us when it comes to playing games as much as we would like to. So, read on to to see the best games of 2015 that most of us probably have failed to actually complete, but make sure to read quickly and get back to finishing what you started!The Witcher 3 is a behemoth of a game. Sure, the world that CD Projekt RED beautifully created stretches as far as Geralt can see, but the real way this game shows off its size is in the sheer amount of things to do. … [Read more...]