Tag: Software

The sequel to Outward, one of the most polarizing action RPGs, is just around the corner. Developer Nine Dots plans to release Outward 2 in early access sometime next year, but fans of the series will be happy to know that an alpha version will be playable this month. Outward 2, just like the original game, is very different than most of the popular RPGs out there because it offers a grounded adventure rather than a fantasy experience. You play as a regular person doing mundane things, at least until something bad happens and you’re forced to leave one of the game’s main cities. In the alpha version of the game that I recently played there’s a lot of lore to discover as soon as the intro cutscene ends. Although nothing is voiced in this particular build, the game will be fully voiced. Outward 2 is one of those games that won’t hold your hand, so you’ll have to figure out what your next step should be. There’s a lot of detective work involved at the beginning of the game,

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is a game where our favorite Nicktoons characters like Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob, Timmy Turner or Katara are playing an off-brand Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but it’s becoming too easy. Timmy Turner goes to his parents to help him, and his friends play such a campaign for real. You have all these great characters in a top-down ARPG where the stakes couldn’t be any higher. It’s nice to see that Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is an action RPG, but it’s not as complex as something like Path of Exile or Diablo. I would say it’s more of a child-friendly version of those games. It certainly has skill trees and items you can find as you play, but it’s not very deep. I like the fact that you can play as 9 different characters, and each one of them has their own attack, skillset and weapons that fit their play style. You will have a party of 3 characters, and what I like is that everyone shares XP, so even if you favor playing SpongeBob a

Capping munition and fuel nodes at the start of a match is more important than going for victory points. It makes it easier to bring in squads and absorb some losses. To make things easier during the early game, I chose the Polish Cavalry battlegroup for my British force, enabling a squad to get Vengeance for 50 munitions. The 25% attack speed boost allows them to hold off, from some nice green cover, two enemy squads at once, while I use my engineers to flank and eliminate one. I also call on some Polish Lancers that give me even more anti-infantry punch, and I decide to go after one victory point to make sure my deficit does not grow too fast. If the Wehrmacht shifts to armor quickly, I can use one upgrade point for Tulip rockets, and if the tank problem continues to grow, a three-aircraft strike can be very useful if they congregate in one area. Firing all these cool abilities depends on having a solid munition supply, something I’m failing at, with 4 out of 6 a...

PowerWash Simulator became a cult hit out of nowhere in 2022, for many reasons. A lot of people play games to be competitive, but others play to relax and unwind. PowerWash Simulator was a great game for that, because it allowed you to use a power washing system and different functions to clean a plethora of items. PowerWash Simulator 2 takes things to the next level by offering some nice quality of life upgrades, some interesting levels, and overall, a much more polished experience. You will have to make a business and be profitable from cleaning a variety of things. But we don’t have just cars. We also have buildings, construction equipment and a multitude of items that you need to clean. It’s more grandiose in scale, while still retaining that fun element of power-washing things, which is and has always been extremely relaxing and engaging. Having played the first one, I knew what I was getting into, but PowerWash Simulator 2 still surprised me in some ways. The...

I should have told my team to stay closer together. I split them up and allowed them to roam, moving as quickly and recklessly as possible to uncover the entire map and, more importantly, discover where the alien spawn points are. They managed to do that just as three monsters jumped in. Our four-man squad took them down, but Hicks needed a health stim after getting splashed with acid. Grouping them would make them a more efficient fighting unit, able to quickly eliminate incoming aliens. It would have also meant that they would take longer to reach their intel pickup objectives, having to face extra enemy waves to complete the mission. The squad manages to get two of the intel packages easily, and I decide to extract two operatives while grouping the others to push for the third. Grayson has a shield and a shotgun, while Morse has a power sword. They should be able to deal with the aliens that stand between the objective and the extraction point. Unfortunately, a ...

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord - War Sails brings us the cool and engaging medieval gameplay we’ve been accustomed to, while adding new elements like sea battles, but also rivers are added to the main map as well. That makes it more versatile and easier to go on a ship and explore the world at your pace. With that in mind, the AI captains for these ships are very powerful, and it does take a bit to strategically eliminate those enemies. Although War Sails makes the original game a lot more expansive, the main appeal here is the naval battles. Being able to browse the seas, lakes or rivers with your own ship is quite amazing, and there are 18 ship types here, so there is no shortage of options. And to make it even better, you also have coastal sieges and the new Nord faction which is inspired by Vikings. All of that allows you to bring your dream of becoming a Viking to life, as you can explore the seas, attack enemies and immerse yourself in this challenging world. I...

The Syberia series has always been people’s guilty pleasure when it comes to adventure games, even if the third one wasn’t that great to begin with. But what the series always did well is it managed to bring a very cohesive and interesting, gripping story, while also adding a variety of cool puzzles and ideas into the mix. With the Syberia – Remastered version, we’re getting an updated version of the first game, the favorite of most players. Not only did the first one manage to bring a very charming and creative story, but it set the building stones for this great and unique world. That’s why, when I saw they would remaster Syberia, I was a bit skeptical about the result. As someone who played Syberia close to its launch a long time ago, I forgot most of the minor details related to the game, so coming back to this world was very nostalgic. However, it also impressed me quite a bit, since the world not only looked better, but it also felt more alive, at least in th...

Since Call of Duty has relied too much over the past years on the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise, a lot of people wanted something new, but now we finally got the 7th entry in this series. Naturally, they went with a tried-and-true approach which honestly, works very well. As soon as I entered Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 I saw that the game has a whole lot of content, ranging from a sci-fi focused campaign to the great multiplayer we all enjoy, and of course, zombies. Let’s start with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s campaign, which is quite wild, as it does take you through different dimensions, you battle all kinds of bosses, but also regular enemies in a rather linear story. That being said, there’s a lot of ambition here, and the 11 missions they have are actually a lot of fun to play. It’s a plus that the campaign can be played coop, because it does add more excitement when you play with others, even with randoms. And yes, you can unlock or improve weapons that ar...

The roguelike genre has always been home to greats like Hades, Dead Cells or Risk of Rain. However, with Godbreakers, we’re entering a new era where we bring in the action RPG element into the mix as well. Godbreakers does a very good job at bringing you right into action, without a huge premise other than you’re saving a world and you need to defeat bosses in order to do that. But the thing that makes Godbreakers unique is definitely its unique set of worlds. You have 6 worlds in total, all of which are very vibrant, and they do connect to the world boss as a whole. For example, you have a desert world, but also a gladiator-inspired world, a garden-like world and so on. All of these look stunning and for me, they are the epitome of quality and incredible style. From the beginning, these worlds impress you with the amazing color they bring, the attention to detail, but also the character design. Every world has different enemy types and even if there are not a lot ...

The Chinese infighting went from problematic to disastrous as the Japanese launched their long-planned 1937 assault. Playing as the Soviet Chinese Republic, I was holding my own front line, launching sabotage campaigns, and raiding supply dumps for weapons. But the Nationalists and the cliques collapsed after two years, making it impossible to hold on. In an alternate version of history, Chiang Kai-shek abandoned his reliance on the military and tried to turn China more democratic. This made it harder to resist the Japanese invasion, which quickly took over most coastal areas. But we dragged the United States into the war and, after defeating Japan in 1942, became a Democratic Axis that straddled the Americas and Asia. In another universe, the Philippines, after narrowly resisting against the Imperial assault, took over some of the U.S. fleet and played a major role in sinking Japan’s carriers. Elsewhere, I decide that Japan should go the Kodoha route and focus on ...