Category: Video Games

Civilization 7 Patch 1.0.1 Addresses Some of the Negative Feedback From Advanced Access

Civilization 7 developer Firaxis has released patch 1.0.1 just in time for the strategy game’s full launch following an advanced access period that was met with a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam.

Firaxis is working on addressing various community complaints, most of which revolve around the user interface, a lack of map variety, and a feeling that the game has launched without a number of key features fans have come to expect.

In an interview with IGN ahead of the release of its third quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that Civilization 7 had received some negative reviews from press and players, but insisted that the “legacy Civ audience” will come around the more they play, and called Civilization 7’s early performance “very encouraging.”

Now Civilization 7 is available to all and not just those willing to pay more for advanced access, Firaxis has released Patch 2, which is only for PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck. In a post on Steam, Firaxis said it is “the first in a series of upcoming patches” intended to address feedback from advanced access. The patch notes in full are below.

It’s worth noting that Firaxis has temporarily disabled crossplay multiplayer “to expedite” updates to the PC version. This means the developer will sometimes deploy patches to PC at a different “cadence” than on consoles, and indeed that includes patch 1.0.1. This will have no impact on console players attempting cross-platform play with other console players, nor on PC-to-PC multiplayer, Firaxis clarified.

Looking for tips to help you take over the world? Check out our guide to completing every Civ 7 victory, our run down of the biggest Civ 7 changes for Civ 6 players, and the 14 crucial Civ 7 mistakes to avoid. We’ve also got explanations on all the Civ 7 map types and difficulty settings so you know what you’re getting into.

Civilization 7 1.0.1 Patch 2 – February 10, 2025
Gameplay
Windows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck

  • Fixed an issue causing Ages in Epic and Marathon speed games to be shorter than intended.
  • City States will now turn into Friendly Independent Powers on Age Transition instead of disappearing completely. They will also now start with more units in Exploration and Modern Ages.
  • Fixed inconsistencies with Naval Combat.
  • Naval Units will use the correct Combat Strength values when attacking another Naval Unit in all instances.
  • Naval Units will properly take reciprocal damage after attacking another Naval Unit.
  • Naval Units will more consistently move into the attacked tile after defeating another Naval Unit.
  • Completing the final milestone of a Legacy Path no longer adds Age Progress in the Modern Age to ensure you have more time to complete a Victory.
  • Towns will now switch their focus back to Growing town automatically if they are no longer eligible for their chosen Focus (for example, if their population decreases) until they are eligible again.
  • Future Civic is now repeatable in all Ages. The cost of Future Tech and Future Civic will now increase more when repeated.
  • Fixed an issue after too many bonuses to Growth where Food needed for the next growth event became negative.
  • Improvements to Rail Networks aimed at increasing the reliability of Settlements connecting to the Rail Network over water by building Ports. This should apply as long as the Capital either has a Port or is connected by rail to a settlement with a Port.
  • Made improvements to the Loyalty Crisis in the Antiquity Age, including giving the ability to purchase Villas in towns during this crisis, giving another way to manage the happiness of your settlements.
  • A note about cross-play multiplayer: To expedite updates to the PC experience, we will sometimes deploy patches to PC at a different cadence than we do on consoles – including today’s Patch 1.0.1. As a result, cross-play between PC players and console players is temporarily disabled. This will have no impact on console players attempting cross-platform play with other console players, nor on PC-to-PC multiplayer.

AI
Windows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck

  • AI will now offer high-value Cities less often during Peace Deals.
  • In Modern, AI will now declare war less often at the start of the age.
  • In Modern, AI will now consider Ideology more before Declaring War or offering Peace.
  • Other Leaders now have a decreased desire for war if neither party has an Ideology.
  • Other Leaders now have an increased desire for war with players of Opposing ideologies.
  • Other Leaders now have a decreased desire for Peace with players of opposing Ideologies.

Camera
Windows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck

  • Fixed an issue on native-resolutions where the camera would focus on the lower end of the map when clicking on the minimap.

UI
Windows PC/Mac/Linux/Steam Deck

  • Replaced the Simplified Chinese font with the font used in Civilization VI while we work on additional improvements for future patches.
  • Fixed an issue where the Settlement menu fails to open when clicking on a non-player’s Settlement Banner in gameplay.
  • Fixed an issue where yield icons fail to populate on the now available buildings when converting a town to city.
  • Fixed an issue where some text was cut off on the Global Yields Breakdown screen.
  • Added a notification for completed Espionage actions, so that you can more easily check the results of their Espionage actions.
  • City projects no longer appear to be purchasable.
  • Your current religion is now displayed first in the belief picker tabs.
  • Fixed an issue where a District’s health bar would remain on-screen after being fully healed.
  • Fixed an issue where Leaders fail to have a portrait when the relationship has changed during gameplay.
  • Improved the alignment of leader names and portraits on the Age Summary, when viewing the Overview screen of the Victories Rankings.
  • Fixed an issue where the background color remains the default color when the user changes it in the Player Customize tab.
  • Improved the spacing between Civ descriptions, unique units and building icons on loading screen.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Random: A Kirby Board Game? This Fortune Street Mod Brings The Dream To Life

Planet Robo-what?

Looking back on 2011’s Fortune Street (or ‘Boom Street‘ for those in Europe) today feels like a fever dream. A Wii board game starring Mario & co. that isn’t Mario Party? One that’s published by Nintendo but developed by Square Enix? And also features a handful of familiar faces from the Dragon Quest series? Sounds like something you’d find in a nasty AI-generated mash-up, no?

Fortunately (heh), Fortune Street was anything but. Sure, the crossover never quite reached the heights of the Mario Party series, but the bonkers board game has still managed to build up quite the following in the years since — even grabbing the attention of some rather talented modders.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

I will kill every hedgehog I see in roguelite RPG He Is Coming

It is I, the guy who has only played Mechabellum playing his second autobattler, and getting strong Mechabellum vibes from it. Except, actually no, not at all. He Is Coming, from Chronocle and noted good game recognisers Hooded Horse, is actually a kinda sorta classic roguelike RPG. You’ll be shuffling over a Commodore 64-tified overworld map, grabbing treasure, bumping foes that move when you do, and turn-based autobattling them.

Got wounded? Maybe have a nice rest at that campfire. Not too long, you slovenly wastrel! You’re actually on the clock: the ‘he’ of the title refers to the menagerie of boss creatures that turn up after a set time. The idea is to use your time wisely to prepare for the big fight, getting stronger without getting whittled down too much.

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A Game About Digging A Hole is Powerwash Simulator for holes

PowerWash Simulator simply too strenuous? House Flipper 2 furrowing your brow? They can’t hurt you anymore, friend. It is simply you and the hole now. The days may come, and the world may spin, but you? You need only dig. A Game About Digging A Hole is a game about digging a hole.

“Hey Steam community,” goes the delightfully unadorned Steam page introduction to this simulation game. “I’m Ben, and I created this game in my spare time!”. I love you, Ben. Not a “play your way” in sight. Nary a “the only limit is your imagination”. Absent a venomous and detestable “easy to learn, hard to master”. Just a bloke named Ben, and a hole named hole.

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“Massive” Mario Kart LEGO Set Rumour Surfaces Online

It could be a big year for Nintendo’s racer.

Nintendo-related LEGO leaks have been quite accurate in the past – with perhaps the biggest one of the lot so far being The Legend of Zelda Deku Tree set. Now, new rumours have surfaced online about another “massive” Nintendo-themed set.

According to multiple reports, the next major Nintendo set could be a Mario Kart one valued at $169.99 and launching in July 2025. (thanks, Brick Fanatics). Multiple Lego leakers have apparently shared evidence of listings for this new set including the product code 72037.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Round Up: The First Impressions Of Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Are In

Launching this May on Switch.

Capcom last week confirmed the Capcom Fighting Collection 2 would be arriving on the Switch and multiple other platforms in May 2025.

Ahead of the launch of this new collection, the first batch of previews and impressions have gone live. Starting with fighting game enthusiast Maximillian Dood, who went hands-on with select titles including Capcom vs. SNK 2, Project Justice and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper during a Capcom event. Here’s his summary:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Anker’s Newest High-Capacity Power Bank Now Includes Two Built-In USB Type-C Cables

Anker quietly released a new high-capacity power bank earlier this year that sits alongside their Anker 737 and Prime series of power banks. This particular model boasts a massive 25,000mAh battery capacity, 165W of total charging output, and two built-in USB Type-C cables in case you forget to bring your own. It’s also attractively priced at under $100, and there’s even a deal today that drops the price by another $10 to $89.99. This is a great complement to your power-hungry gaming handheld PC like the Steam Deck, Asus Rog Ally, or Lenovo Legion Go.

New Release: Anker 25,000mAh 165W Power Bank

The new Anker power bank features a 25,000mAh battery capacity, which is the second largest capacity we’ve seen from Anker in a compact form factor. So how much juice will that offer to today’s gaming handheld PCs? A 25,000mAh battery equates to a 95Whr capacity. An 80% power efficiency rating (which is standard for power banks) means you get about 76Whr of usable charge. That means this power bank will charge a Steam Deck or ROG Ally (40Whr) from empty to completely full 2 times, an Asus ROG Ally X (80Whr) 1 time, and a Nintendo Switch (16Whr) about 4.75 times.

The Anker power bank has one USB Type-C port and one USB Type-A port. In addition, there are two built-in USB Type-C cables. One is a retractable cable that can extend up to 2.3 feet. The other is a fixed 1-foot cable that doubles up as a lanyard when not in use. Each USB Type-C port is capable of up to 100W of Power Delivery with a total 165W maximum output. That means all three USB outputs are capable of charging any gaming handheld PC at its fastest rate, including the Asus ROG Ally X, which supports up to 100W of fast charging.

Another feature common to Anker’s other premium power banks is the digital LCD readout. It displays a wealth of information like remaining battery capacity, current charging rate, input/output wattage, battery temperature, battery health, charge cycle count, and more.

TSA-Approved

TSA states that power banks must be under 100Whr in capacity for carry-on (check-in is not allowed under any circumstances). This Anker power bank is rated at 95Whr. You might get checked simply because this is a relatively hefty power bank, but you shouldn’t have any problems getting it cleared.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Guide: 98 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo’s ‘Play On’ eShop Sale (Europe)

Every game we scored 9/10 or higher.

Hot on the heels of the North American equivalent, Nintendo of Europe has opened the doors on the ‘Play On‘ Switch eShop sale, bringing discounts to thousands of titles until 23rd February.

To help you separate the hot from the slop, we have assembled the following list of every game in Nintendo’s sale that we scored a 9/10 or higher. This is presented in alphabetical order, with each title accompanied by its discounted price in GBP (you’ll find all EUR savings on the respective eShops).

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Marvel Rivals Sets February Release Date for The Thing and Human Torch

Marvel Rivals will round out The Fantastic Four team when The Thing and Human Torch launch as playable characters on February 21, 2025.

The release date for the new heroes in Marvel and NetEase Games’ popular hero shooter was announced today, revealing that they’ll arrive alongside an update for the second half of Season 1. Although the team has yet to spill the beans on what exactly this Season 1.5 update has in store, a Dev Talk blog post on the Marvel Rivals website teased “major balance adjustments.”

As for The Thing and Human Torch, we have yet to see exactly how the two classic heroes will light up the roster with their new moves and abilities. Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman were introduced as the first post-launch Marvel Rivals heroes when Season 1 launched last month. Both characters brought along unique tools to shift the multiplayer game’s meta in a new direction, with Reed Richards able to take stretchy (and goofy) swings at enemies thanks to his elastic powers while Sue Storm introduced invisibility mechanics to the battlefield. Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm will surely do the same when they launch in a few weeks, but let’s hope NetEase reveals some gameplay before then.

The upcoming Marvel Rivals Season 1 update will also see Ranked players hit with a rank reset. Come February 21, expect to see your Rank drop four divisions, meaning if you’re a Diamond I player on February 20, you’ll be brought down to Platinum II the following day.

NetEase explained how this process will carry on in the future, saying that brand-new seasons will hit players with a six-division drop, while half-season updates will bring a four-division drop. As Marvel Rivals continues to tweak its Ranked offerings to players’ desires, NetEase said it will “tune this as necessary.”

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as competitive Marvel fans in the Gold rank can look forward to new costume rewards with the launch of the second half of Season 1. NetEase will also be introducing new Crests of Honor to “recognize players at Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and One Above All (the top 500).”

Superhero fans had been not-so-patiently waiting to hear more about how Marvel Rivals will continue its post-launch plans, and The Fantastic Four is just the beginning. Last month, creative director Guangyun Chen drummed up excitement by promising to release a new playable character every half-season. That means a fresh Marvel face will join the fight roughly every six weeks, giving fans plenty to keep coming back for as seasonal updates progress. There’s quite a bit of evidence to suggest the vampire-hunting Daywalker Blade is next on the list, though outside of some rumors and leaks that have had players arguing for the last few weeks, Marvel Rivals’ future remains a mystery.

You can read up on our current Marvel Rivals Season 1 tier list to find out the best characters while you wait for the mid-season update to shake things up. You can also see how the original Marvel rivals Season 1 patch turned the meta on its head, and why the community got so worked up over Marvel Rivals’ alleged bot issue.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).