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In its heyday, Rare was unstoppable. Almost every game they released was beloved, from 3D platformers to first-person shooters. But that all changed when Microsoft purchased them in 2002. While given free reign for several years, Microsoft eventually decided that Rare would be better used toiling away on motion-controlled sports games that utilized the Kinect. Yooka-Laylee exists, in part, because of the resulting exodus that led to the formation of Playtonic Games....

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of the eerie and emotionally gripping A Plague Tale: Innocence. However, if you want to play it but haven’t yet had the chance, starting today you can give it a shot. The first chapter is now available for free on Steam, so if you want to try one of the best games out this year, this your opportunity. A Plague Tale, however, is a dire story....

Following the release of Version 2.4 of Genshin Impact, developer MiHoYo published a new trailer featuring the new characters that came with the update. This time around unlike the previous trailer that showcased Yun Jin’s backstory, and the one showing her gameplay, the trailer focuses on everyone’s new favorite opera singer, but also involves the other new character, Shenhe Basically, Yun Jin does the singing (entirely in Chinese, with a professional performer from the renowned Peking Opera lending her the voice), but she’s recounting the story of Shenhe....

While nothing has been confirmed yet, Bluepoint Games and its Technical Director Peter Dalton have posted cryptic tweets on Twitter suggesting the possibility of a remake of the cult-classic Legend of Dragoon. There has been much debate among fans over the possibilities of different titles Bluepoint Games’ November 28th tweet (seen below) may be cluing us in towards, which is the latest in a handful of possibly coded messages. While Legend of Dragoon is one of the suggestions, Demon’s Souls is the more popular one, with Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter and Castlevania franchises also being suggested by fans to a degree....

Valve has announced that Windows drivers are now available to install on its Steam Deck. The company posted a short update on its Steam blog saying, “have we mentioned Steam Deck is a PC? Like any other PC, you can install other applications and OSes if you’d like”. To have the best Windows experience, users will simply need to download some new drivers (links to these can be found on Steam’s Windows resources page)....

It’s not easy getting every single trophy or achievement for that one favorite game. That’s even more true with open-world titles that thrive on missable scenarios and hidden secrets discovered only by chance (or lots of research). Much like the various monsters and creatures that lurk throughout its massive world, snagging all of the many achievements in The Witcher 3 is a beast of its own. Given the fact that there are multiple endings, plenty of missable missions, as well as two DLCs that broaden the story, CD Projekt Red’s groundbreaking classic requires ample patience to win every trophy....

Playing Wolfenstein 2 alongside dipping into some of October’s other releases has been a weird experience. This is primarily because, like its predecessor, Wolfenstein 2 goes beyond what you’d necessarily expect from it. The recent Wolfenstein games are essentially a reboot of a series in which the plot, story, and setting can all be boiled down to “shoot a bunch of Nazis.” To grab something from the last few weeks to compare it to, Destiny 2 is from a studio somewhat renowned for having a huge, complex, overarching mythos in their games....

Game design comes with a lot of challenges. Blizzard has confirmed that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will feature support for the Xbox Adaptive Controller. This is in an effort to make the game more accessible to players with varying needs. Last week, after new details from the Shadowlands alpha build emerged, fans discovered gamepad support hidden within the game’s code. This led to some speculation about gamepad play on the game’s forum....

For a little over a decade now, indie developer Benjamin Rivers has been crafting some fairly unique and expressive pieces of media. Starting with graphic novels and working towards video games, the man has always walked his own path when it comes to creating. Never sticking to one genre for too long, his games have gone from point-and-click adventure to party game and then horror. While you may not exactly know what each game is about, the name of “Benjamin Rivers” should give you a baseline of quality with to expect....

A new update for Xbox owners brings Discord voice chat to consoles. This will allow for users to “chat with anyone on Discord via voice channels or group calls directly from your console”. Xbox says this will make it easier for us all to connect with fellow users across its various platforms. “Planning a few rounds of multiplayer action in Halo Infinite with buddies on both console and PC? Exploring new biomes with your friends in Minecraft?...

Every day, Microsoft makes Xbox Game Pass a better and better deal for players able to afford a $15-a-month subscription. Dozens of games of all types are currently available for subscribers, giving them a massive on-demand library of games that includes some truly great titles. And not only has it grown today, it’s going to get much bigger in the coming year. Amid all of the announcements made during today’s X019 event, Microsoft made time to hype Game Pass and announce several games for the service....

Nintendo first implemented vibration with the Rumble Pak in 1997, which sought to offer a more tactile, immersive experience with games like Star Fox 64. Since then, they’ve opened the doors to a slew of more pronounced and refined efforts. Not only has Nintendo upped the ante with its nuanced HD rumble Joy-Cons for Switch, but Sony and Microsoft have also stepped up their rumble game. The Xbox One, in particular, sports an impressive and unique form of vibration allocated to the trigger buttons....

Microsoft has kicked off the first of 2018’s Xbox One Games with Gold offering, with January’s games lineup now available for you to snap up on Xbox LIVE Marketplace without spending a penny. Leading the charge is the Xbox One horror romp The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, while Back to the Future: The Game – 30th Anniversary Edition still available to grab from December’s lineup until January 15....

Saturday marked the debut of the restarted XFL’s season. The American football league characterizes itself as a “reimagining” of the sport, focused on more action and fun. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that the XFL is already making inroads to appeal to video game fans. The league’s official Twitter account posted a photo from yesterday’s Tampa Bay Vipers vs. New York Guardians match that shows an official using an Xbox controller to review footage....

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering why we don’t have a full Yakuza: Like a Dragon review. To this, I can only say “It’s coming, probably.” Without going into the gory details, slightly late code and then a full restart of the game near to launch has delayed things a bit. Prior to (or in place of) a full review, we’ll have some other Yakuza-related content going live: guides, features, the tech review, and hopefully more....

Fans of NieR: Automata can now stream the game’s highly acclaimed soundtrack. Released in 2017, NieR: Automata was one of the year’s most notable titles. Players were captivated by the combat, story, and music. In May 2019, the game had sold over four million copies. PlatinumGames has cemented itself as one of the most respected developers in the industry since then. Aside from the Bayonetta series, the company has developed The Wonderful 101, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and more....

It’s nearly the weekend, which is the perfect time to wind down by popping the kettle on and working out the Wordle answer for today, 27th January. For the uninitiated, the aim of Wordle is to work out a daily five-letter word within six guesses. The fewer the guesses, the better - and if you fail to guess it at all, you’ll break your streak. The latter is why working out today’s Wordle answer is such a priority, as players pride themselves on keeping their streak going....

While reputation grinding is still useful, these days there are so many other ways to acquire gear, cosmetic items, and recipes that many people don’t bother with the volume of reputation grinds they once did. Back in the early days of World of Warcraft, reputation grinds were an essential part of the game. They offered rewards and recipes which couldn’t be matched outside of a raid, something far fewer people partook in anyway due to logistics....

World of Warcraft Classic has a few weeks under its belt, players who have already defeated Ragnaros and Onyxias, and the game is starting to move into operations mode after an insanely popular launch. With that transition comes the usual maintenance of an always online, game as service model; including fighting new and unique ways of cheating the system. Although Blizzard first said it wasn’t a very big concern, the developer has decided to address the issue of layer hopping to grind mobs or resource nodes in World of Warcraft Classic....

World of Warplanes has teamed up with Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson to produce a series of educational videos on World War II combat aircraft. Why enlist a heavy metal vocalist to talk about a video game, you ask? Well, Bruce happens to be not only a well-known World War II aviation aficionado, but he’s also a pilot. Plus, his band did that song Aces High, too. In fact, developer Wargaming has actually cobbled together a new World of Warplanes video set to the track, which features in-game combat footage spliced with actual gun camera action from the conflict....