Bookworm adventures free game play

Sometimes a game crashes and burns so loudly that it's impossible to ignore. But for others—following a flashy marketing campaign, maybe some preview events or E3 presentations—the release date passes, and soon after that they might as well cease to exist. They're played and reviewed, sure. And someone, somewhere, probably even loved them. But for the rest of us, they're forgotten until years later when someone mentions their name and we go, "Oh, yeah! That game! I forgot that came out." Here are some of the last decade's biggest games that disappeared from the public consciousness. Paragon Released: August 2016. Why we were excited: As someone who always bounced off MOBAs, like many others I had hopes that Epic's big-budget in-house entry into the genre, with its third-person shooter presentation, would be my best chance to finally become someone who understands what "jungling" means. Why we forgot it: Paragon had an identity problem. In response to … [Read more...] about The big games from the last decade we forgot ever existed

Audio player loading… Battalion 1944 (opens in new tab) launched into early access in 2018 as a throwback to the early days of the Call of Duty games. There were some troubles, predictable for an early access game, but it seemed like a very strong start (opens in new tab) for a niche multiplayer FPS. Square Enix, which had published Battalion 1944 under its indie-focused Square Enix Collective, apparently thought so too: It acquired a 20% stake (opens in new tab) in developer Bulkhead in November 2018. Unfortunately, neither the game nor the relationship between Bulkhead and Square Enix worked out quite as hoped. Battalion 1944's average concurrent player count has been stuck in single-digits since mid-2020, a console release that was promised in a 2016 Kickstarter never happened, and today Bulkhead announced that it has "formally ended" its relationship with Square Enix. An announcement about @PlayBattalion pic.twitter.com/pvFQJx8ibz August 9, 2022 See … [Read more...] about Battalion 1944 studio splits with Square Enix, announces free Legacy edition coming to Steam

Audio player loading… Watch Dogs Legion was a fascinating twist on the usual Ubisoft open world format. Reviews were mixed—as they often are when a blockbuster series experiments a bit—but Chris dug it. "Playing as anyone works great in Legion," he wrote , "once you've finally found the right group of anyones." I for one thought Legion was great, especially if you play it with permadeath on. If you've yet to sample the game but remain curious, Watch Dogs Legion is free to play from Friday, September 3 until Sunday, September 5 on PC, via the Epic Games Store or the Ubisoft store (either way, you're gonna need Ubisoft's client). If you like what you see during that period you can buy the game at a heavy discount and keep your progress. The PC versions are all 60% off, while the season pass is 25% off. Watch Dogs Legion has expanded quite a bit since launch. In addition to a meaty singleplayer expansion which added the first game's protagonist, there's … [Read more...] about You can play Watch Dogs Legion for free this weekend

I'd suffered through too many bad Predator movies to get excited about Prey, but now I'm an evangelist spreading the good news: this is the best Predator movie since Arnie flexed his muscles in the jungle. It's striking but understated, leaving plenty of room between the lavish violence to build tension and develop not just Naru, played by the superb Amber Midthunder, but her alien adversary as well. And now that we've finally got another great Predator movie, wouldn't it be nice if we got a game to match? Predator hasn't exactly gone ignored by game developers: there's a long list of adaptations going all the way back to 1987, though in most of them the spotlight is shared with the xenomorphs. This was the case with the best Predator games: 1999's Aliens versus Predator and its 2001 sequel. There was even an AvP RTS in 2003. But aside from an appearance in Mortal Kombat X, there's not been much Predator love for years. When Predator: Hunting Grounds came along in 2020, then, my … [Read more...] about Prey is the perfect blueprint for a killer Predator game

Audio player loading… Itch has launched the Bundle for Ukraine , a massive collection of nearly a thousand games designed to raise funds for two humanitarian organisations aiding civilians in the war-torn country. Donations start from $10 and, in exchange, you'll get a dizzying amount of games: 991, to be exact. Honestly, more than you'll probably ever be able to play. Some highlights in the bundle include the brilliant retro-styled JRPG CrossCode, bleak roguelike Gonner, and the cheerful musical adventure game Wandersong. But you'll also get heavy hitters like Celeste, Towerfall Ascension, Superhot, Baba Is You and A Short Hike, to name barely a fraction of what's on offer. The bundle was initiated by Necrosoft Games last week, the studio responsible for Gunhouse, Oh Deer! and the forthcoming Hyper Gunsport . Since then, over 700 creators have joined the initiative, which will split all income between International Medical Corps—a medical assistance organisation—and … [Read more...] about Itch.io’s ‘Bundle for Ukraine’ fundraiser offers nearly 1,000 games for your donation

Loot boxes in Overwatch will no longer be available for purchase following the conclusion of the game's Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event on August 30, Blizzard has confirmed. While players won't be able to purchase loot boxes directly after the aforementioned date, loot boxes can still be earned through leveling up and other in-game activities for the next few months, a Blizzard blog post states. All loot boxes in a player's inventory will automatically open prior to the launch of Overwatch 2 on October 4. The news comes as part of the shooter's final Anniversary Remix event, which is now live. Like the two previous Anniversary Remix events , Vol. 3 brings a rotation of all the game's seasonal event brawls, exclusive recolors of various skins, and a return of formerly one-time event skins that can be earned by playing matches. Once Overwatch 2 arrives, it will be ditching the first game's loot box system in favor of a battle pass and the ability to purchase cosmetics … [Read more...] about Overwatch Loot Box Sales Will End August 30

FFXIV's entire 6.X storyline will center around the thirteenth shard, as confirmed by Naoki Yoshida. Players have guessed as much since 6.1, Newfound Adventure, teased the appearance of a mysterious voidsent, but Yoshida's interview confirms that the 6.X arc will focus on what happened to the thirteenth shard, as well as the memories of feelings of those who were once human, but are now monsters. Yoshi-P says in a new Famitsu interview that FFXIV Patch 6.2 and the rest of the 6.X patches will revolve around the Thirteenth Shard in its story. pic.twitter.com/SVz7Yj0IQK — ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) August 9, 2022 The thirteenth shard is the first word the Ascians tried to rejoin, but unfortunately, through their efforts, everybody in that world became voidsents. Yoshida says in an Famitsu interview, with translation by Twitter user Audrey (@ aitaikimochi ), "Patch 6.1 asks…'since we have already traversed to the world of the First, what would the other shards look like?" … [Read more...] about FFXIV 6.X Story Will Revolve Around The Thirteenth Shard

I identify with Hank, the ursine protagonist of Bear and Breakfast. Not just because I am also large, hairy, and fond of long naps, but because my winding journey through life had me renovating and running a small B&B out in the hinterlands for a few years. It's hard work, but it's satisfying when a guest has nothing but praise. I admit though, having Hank's charming friends and neighbors would have improved things greatly. Bear and Breakfast is the first game from Romanian indie outfit Gummy Cat, and a strong first showing if my first 10 hours of play are anything to go by. Doing what it says on the tin, it's a game about a cute, vaguely Yogi-esque bear managing a rapidly expanding bed and breakfast business, revitalizing an abandoned tourist town in the process. The bear essentials On a purely mechanical level, Bear and Breakfast is a relatively simple construction and management game. Controlling Hank directly (except when in the building interface), you wander around … [Read more...] about Being a bear who runs a B&B is no picnic

If you've ever come across the Tarot, it's probably as a means of telling the future. A cousin of modern playing cards that dates back to the 15th century, the Tarot consists of four suites of numbered Minor Arcana cards and a Major Arcana of trumps depicting archetypal characters and concepts, such as Death or the Empress. Each card is dense with possible interpretations that can be hypnotic to unravel, even if you don't take the divination thing seriously. Videogame developers among other artmakers have seized upon the Tarot as both a motif and a creative tool: Tarot-esque designs appear in fantasy RPGs like Dragon Age: Inquisition, and studios like Ice Water Games use them as a source of quickfire inspiration. A common Tarot fortune-telling method is to draw three cards and use them to explore answers to a question, like “will there ever be a proper Legacy of Kain revival”. This is also how you'll unlock games in Cartomancy , a full-blown indie collection of 22 games from … [Read more...] about Read your future with 22 videogame interpretations of the Tarot

Audio player loading… We have Valve to thank for the introduction of paid loot boxes in PC gaming, but the loot box trend didn't really kick off until Overwatch made box-opening fun, cool, and sometimes free in 2016. Six years later, Overwatch is one of the only popular games left pushing loot boxes, but not for much longer. To prepare for the day that Overwatch 2 ditches loot boxes forever, Blizzard will cease selling them in Overwatch 1 later this month. Blizzard is sunsetting loot boxes (opens in new tab) during the third chapter of its Anniversary Remix event that kicks off today. The three-week promotion features a handful of legendary skin recolors based on old favorites. Some can be earned through play, while others have to be bought with in-game coins or earned through loot boxes. Players can still purchase loot boxes directly to increase their chances, but Blizzard will close the doors on loot box sales on August 30. Throughout September players will still be … [Read more...] about Overwatch will stop selling loot boxes this month