Category: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

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Unleash blunt force castration on execs when Stick It to the Stickman finally launches in early access this month

A stickfellow in a top hat’s just burst through a twentieth story window, taking a fatal tumble down the corporate ladder, and all because I lobbed a parcel at him. This kind of thing happens all the time in Stick It to the Stickman, the roguelite beat ’em up that Anger Foot devs Free Lives are set to release in early access form later this month.

It’s glorious enough to forgive any frustration you might have been left with when publishers Devolver Digital announced late last year that the corporate slapfest had been delayed into 2025.

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Come win the crowd in Bloodgrounds, a gladiator tactics RPG with Darkest Dungeon-style town management

I’d love to say that Bloodgrounds plunged me into a crimson mist, but in practice, this arena tactics RPG with town-building feels as cosy as a pair of soft leather socci on a frosty Saturnalia. The setup: you are a gladiator from a Roman-themed fantasy world, who has recently won his freedom in the arena. How is he celebrating his freedom? By becoming a gladiator manager himself, as he continues his quest for vengeance upon the Emperor who slaughtered his father.

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With Stop Killing Games-supported EU petition now closed, the campaign’s loudest voice reckons it’s “done about as well as is humanly possible”

The Stop Destroying Videogames citizens’ initiative, the petition asking EU lawmakers to look into the issue of publishers rendering online games unplayable when official support runs its course, hit its deadline at the end of last month looking like it’d amassed more than enough signatures. With that phase over, the Stop Killing Games campaign that’s vocally supported efforts like this is left to await the outcomes, whatever they might be.

That’s given YouTuber Ross Scott, who’s become the loudest voice publicising this worldwide push for action on consumer rights when it comes to these sorts of server shutdowns, a chance to take stock of how things have gone to this point. He’s keen to take a break, but will first have to see how things pan out with the multiple irons Stop Killing Games and their adjacent groups have in the fire.

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Battlefield 6 open beta maps and modes shared, as EA write an essay about tweaks based on Labs feedback

Battlefield 6‘s open beta kicks off later this week, and EA have now painted a picture of what you can expect maps/modes-wise, as well as in terms of the changes the devs have made based on Battlefield Labs playtest feedback.

Plus, there’s a new trailer that features yet more folks in camo running about amid booms. I’m glad to report that no helicopters, at least at a glance, look to have been harmed in the run up to this one.

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Build underwater cities out of Tetris pieces in Podvodsk, a game jam freebie from the Loop Hero developers

Imagine Tetris but played in a bottomless ocean shaft, with linked tetronimoes serving to continue your journey down that shaft, providing you keep earning enough points to play them. This is Podvodsk, a free game jam experiment from Loop Hero developers Four Quarters.

Not played Tetris? 1) you bloody liar, and 2) let me frame this differently, then. The idea here is that you’re trying to construct a tapering underwater city out of random clumps of building blocks, dangled from the bottom of a miraculously unsinkable surface platform. Each building both costs points and also, earns points based on different scoring criteria, and every time you play a piece, the screen scrolls irreversibly downward.

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Call of Duty QA staff secure union contract with Microsoft to stop them being treated like cannon fodder

A group of QA workers at Call Of Duty studio Raven Software have officially signed off on their first union contract with parent company Microsoft and COD publisher Activision-Blizzard, in the run-up to the launch of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7. The contract is the result of years of negotiations, and offers some protection against the treatment of QA workers as disposable staff – hired to quash bugs shortly before release and laid off soon afterwards, with minimal odds of personal development or progression to other roles.

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Wheel World, let me build weirder bikes

I’ve been liking, even occasionally loving ghostly bicycle racer Wheel World, for several reasons. One, it’s relaxing enough for post-work decompression; two, it’s just competitive enough that I can enjoy winning without necessarily undermining point one; and three, it’s far enough outside my usual interests that the culture and lexicon it celebrates feel fresh and interesting to learn. Those of cycling, to be clear. I obviously know loads about ghosts.

Nonetheless, I’ve struggled to engage with its parts system, which isn’t ideal given it both determines the performance of your haunted bike and, outside of the story, acts as Wheel World’s primary measure of progression. I agree with Brendy (who doesn’t?) that once you earn enough metal bits to replace the rusting starter parts, there’s very little to be gained from fine-tuning towards a particular spec – an all-rounder bike can win anything. And, given the game’s gentle difficulty, probably will.

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70 seconds makes all the difference under the new Marvel Rivals approach to rage-quitters

Techno-loving hollowtooth Blade has joined the playable cast of Marvel Rivals, but he’s not what I find most interesting about the free-to-play shooter’s latest update. Developers NetEase Games have introduced a new system of penalties for ragequitters, keyboard-away-frommers, and other craven scumbags who abandon a competitive mode match early on because the dishwasher’s overflowing, or similar.

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