Lead a dogsled expedition into horror in this cracking little indie game

It’s a beautiful spring day, so what better time to close your shutters, put on your headphones, and tether your sled dogs to head out into frozen wastes? I’ve had a wonderfully unnerving time playing That Which Gave Chase, an hour-long indie horror game where you play as a musher in charge of a sled dog team taking a scientist back to an abandoned expedition. It’s a good’un, with clever fast cuts between scenes and a strong sense of growing dread.

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Latest Mortal Kombat teaser points toward a timeline reset or soft reboot

Warner Bros. Discovery casually name-dropped Mortal Kombat 12 earlier in the year, when an earnings call revealed the fighter was “set to release this year, with ambitious launch projections.” The relaxed announcement wasn’t followed by any flashy marketing (outside of a few funny Ed Boon tweets) until now. Developer Netherrealm have been dropping small teasers that potentially point toward a series reboot, or a timeline cleanse, or a return to the series’ past. Hey, the next instalment might not even be named MK12. Watch last night’s very brief teaser below:

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Persona meets teen Scooby-Doo shenanigans in supernatural RPG Demonschool

After playing the the demo at last year’s PAX West, then playing the same demo again at this year’s PAX East, and then playing it a third time from the comfort of my own home as part of this year’s LudoNarraCon, I think I’m slightly obsessed with Demonschool.

I’ve had a blast beating up supernatural weirdos with a group of misfit college teens. Together with its soundtrack of absolute bangers that combines dramatic church choir chorus with pulsing synth wave beats (please put the OST on Spotify, Ysbryd), and a slick art style that makes me dribble like a brain-hungry zombie every time I see it, I’m thinking that Demonschool might very well be on its way to being be one of my favourite games of 2023 when it releases sometime this year. What can I say? I love punching freaky demons in the face.

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What’s better: petting the dog, or entering cyberspace?

Last time, you decided (by an overwhelming majority) that heals harming the undead is better than voice chat. I cannot say I’m surprised by this outcome, yet nor can I say I’m not wistful thinking about how much I now hate a feature which had brought me so much joy across the years. Ah well. Onwards! This week, I ask you to choose between a simulated cute little moment and a simulated whole new layer of reality. What’s better: petting the dog, or entering cyberspace?

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Get the PCIe-5.0-beating Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD for £159

Samsung’s 990 Pro 2TB drive is the fastest gaming SSD we’ve ever tested – even after we looked at next-gen PCIe 5.0 options! That makes it well worth keeping an eye on for price drops, and today we spotted a great deal on the drive over at Tech Next Day.

Here, you can use the code TND-10 to pick up the drive for just £159, a solid tenner off its previous price and significantly cheaper than any other retailer (eg £179 at Amazon).

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Vampires meet Frankenstein-ish experiments in V Rising’s first big update

Early access hit V Rising is getting its first major update next week with the Secrets Of Gloomrot, a Frankenstein-inspired package that offers a brand new region full of fresh-fanged beasties, and plenty more improvements. Secrets Of Gloomrot is set to join one of the best survival games – according to RPS readers and the RPS Hivemind – on May 17th as a free update. Lay your eyes on the first horrid gameplay trailer below:

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Total War: Warhammer 3’s roadmap outlines the next year of expansions and updates

The Forge Of The Chaos Dwarfs expansion is hot out of the oven, but Creative Assembly have already detailed what’s next for Total War: Warhammer 3. A fresh roadmap shares what’s coming in the next twelve months, which includes three paid expansions: Shadows Of Change (Summer 2023), Thrones Of Decay (Winter 2023), and To Be Revealed (which I’m hoping is the official title, coming Spring 2024). Each expansion will be accompanied by a free update that brings Legendary Heroes for everyone, as well as interim patches in between content drops.

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Pokémon developers Game Freak announce their new action-adventure IP with vague concept art

Take-Two’s “indie” publishing label Private Division have announced a partnership with Game Freak, the long-standing studio behind every mainline Pokémon game, plus a few extras. Details are scarce, but the pair are working on a brand new action-adventure IP codenamed Project Bloom. We’ve been teased with a single piece of concept art that shows off a brooding character dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, contemplating something in a very dreamy forest.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong has been delayed because it’s “gotten quite big”

Last summer’s Xbox Games Showcase stated that every featured game would release in the following twelve months, which included the much-anticipated metroidvania sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong. Developer Team Cherry have now shared that Silksong likely won’t hit that “1st half of 2023” mark as the bug-squashing adventure has “gotten quite big”.

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The Elephant Collection remasters 10 classic Flash games

Armor Games are a conventional PC publisher nowadays with games such as Bear And Breakfast and the upcoming Tartarus Key under their belt. But they’re perhaps best known for their history as a browser games heavyweight, having hosted hundreds of free Flash games back in the day. Armor Games are now going back to their Flash game roots to publish The Elephant Collection, a remastered decalogy featuring some of the most famous, relephant elephant games from creator and CEO John “jmtb02” Cooney.

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