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Crossovers! Collabs! Whatever you want to call them, love them or hate them, in an age where the biggest companies only seem interested in serving you the same thing over and over again, we’re stuck with them. This time around, it’s a bit of an odd one, as Palworld is getting a Terraria-themed update sometime this summer. Why Terraria? Genuinely no idea, I suppose they might appeal to a similarish kind of crowd, outside of that I haven’t the foggiest.
FBC: Firebreak is a bit of a departure from Remedy’s usual games, given that it’s a three-player multiplayer first-person shooter. The shooty bit is nothing new, that’s pretty typical of Remedy’s games, even if the shooting always has something slightly off about it. It’s the multiplayer angle that sets it apart, and, funnily enough, the fact that Remedy don’t always make shooting feel all that great, so it’s left me curious as to how it actually plays. I’m assuming some of you feel the same way, and there’s some sort of good news: you can sign-up to playtest it this week.
More than two years on from Microsoft’s last mass round of layoffs, the company is laying off a huge amount of staff once again. As reported by CNBC, the tech giant is laying off 3% of employees across the entire company, meaning all levels, teams, and geographies. While nothing has been directly confirmed as of yet, this does include the possibility that some games studios it owns will be affected too – we’ll provide an update if there is one.
In a statement provided to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the company will “continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” The spokesperson also said that one objective of the layoffs is to reduce layers of management. As always, a ridiculously heartless way to frame such a thing.
Anyone that’s played a FromSoftware Souls game knows how it tells its stories. You meet a wide range of characters, all of which mostly just talk at you in varyingly cryptic ways. There’s also tiny bits of lore offered up from weapons and items too, all of which build up a messy picture. But in something like the upcoming Elden Ring Nightreign, where the main focus is gameplay that encourages you to constantly be on the move, I’ve been left wondering how its story will play out. As it turns out, it’s quite different from the original Elden Ring.
Earlier this year the Black Panther(‘s voice actor) suggested that Skydance New Media’s Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra would release in Christmas 2025. We all slept a little easier that night, knowing that King T’Chanda himself had all but rubber-stamped the WW2 action game’s launch window. Well, it turns out the Black Panther was lying to us. Skydance have just announced that it’ll now release in early 2026.
If Letters Had Pants appears to be the product of three different elevator pitches that took place in the same elevator, and somehow resolved amicably rather than eating each other alive.
The first pitch was for a verbal puzzler in which you combine letters into words on a randomised grid against the clock, with the twist that words vanish when scored to create blank spaces that can be bridged by other letter combinations for higher scores. The second pitch was for a bizarrely prudish roguelite that is all about ensuring that letters are properly dressed. And the third pitch was for an archaeological excavation sim in which you exhibit things like lost floppy discs, or sell them to expand your museum. The result, against the odds, is a single and cohesive video game rather than a claustrophobic clownfight. Witness the below trailer.
Doom: The Dark Ages has encouraged us to redirect our booting utensils away from Rematch’s leather balls and into the vital organs of Hell’s revolting soldiers. Along with various punches, flail strikes, and shield thrusts, most of which aren’t even allowed in football. But could the manner of their delivery also be cause for a critical kicking? The Dark Ages notably replaces the lavishly animated glory kills of recent Dooms with faster, simpler melee strikes, so reviewer Nic and I sat down for a gentle argument over whether this was a change for a better.
Steam Deck owners will be familiar with the practice of peering into a new game’s Steam store page and hoping, begging, praying to whatever god is yet to abandon this cruel joke of a reality that it has a little green tick mark on it. This is, of course, the Steam Deck Verified programme, wherein Valve gives good behaviour stickers to games that function fully on their handheld PC.
Soon, this system – so often a source of relief and disappointment – will be expanded, with a view to rating games for compatibility with SteamOS as a whole. As the announcement post explains, that’s because the first non-Steam Deck SteamOS handheld, a new version of the Lenovo Legion Go S, is launching soon, with the possibility of more in the future.
Your FPS cup likely runneth over this month with Doom: The Dark Ages (unless you’ve got good taste. Nah, I’m just messing. It’s alright) but if you’d like a top up, spare a thought for the early access release of “comedic RPG shooter” Chambers. It’s from Mr. Pink and JFJ, the former of which made Golden Light, which Edwin called “the world’s most disgusting FPS”. Have you the read the Maw? Do you know how much it takes to disgust Edwin? Here’s a little looksee.
Yes, yes, I’m opting for the scoundrel’s gambit and reporting on a Reddit post. Of a self-imposed challenge run, no less! But I adored the bejeezus out of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and figured this was worth sharing in case it convinces a couple of you to give it a go. Redditor HunterIV4 has chronicled their journey to beat the RPG without dodging, parrying, or even using the powerful gradient parries, in a bid to show that Sekiro reflexes aren’t as crucial to success as they might seem. Thanks, cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer.
