Rock Paper Shotgun

Another week, another Slay the Spire 2 patch! Or really I should say another couple of weeks. The new beta version of the game, v0.105.0, is ready for those of you on the beta branch to try out, and the first point of order is bi-weekly patching. "As you've probably noticed, we're moving to patch every 2 weeks rather than weekly as outlined in our Early Access Disclaimer," explain developer Mega Crit.

The year is 3232 CE, a "self-replicating megastructure" named MOTHER is launched into the centre of space. Fast forward to the year 4,199,245,344,263,242,348,389,893,582,349,373 CE (no I'm not joking), and MOTHER has "consumed 99.99999997% of the Observable Universe." What's left of humanity hangs on in that tiny percentage that hasn't be consumed, which is where you, a Reaper, a creation of MOTHER's, steps in as part of AlteredBlood+, a movement-FPS platformer where the blood of your enemies is your strength. Читать дальше...

Sorry to all the Paranormal Activity heads out there, but the upcoming game adaptation Threshold has crossed over to the other side. Brian Clarke, the solo dev that goes by DarkStone Digital for his gaming exploits and maker of 2022's The Mortuary Assistant, shared the news to his personal Zwitter account earlier this week alongside a statement explaining why the game has been cancelled.

The latest patch for Europa Universalis 5 dropped earlier this week. Numbered 1.2 and titled Echinades, it is the game's "biggest update yet," as true a sounding statement as can be given that the patch notes come out to apparently 72 pages in a Google Doc. I don't have time to read all of that! So I won't, but I will tell you about the highlights kindly outlined by Paradox Tinto that feature in this update.

Some good news for the day: indie developer behind the cult classic psychic platformer Psychonauts and more Double Fine are unionising. As spotted by Aftermath, a petition was filed by the Microsoft-owned studio to the National Labor Relations board on May 7th, and are doing so with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), following suit from a number of other developers owned by the tech giant.

I really thought I'd be done with the decorating this week, but it continues. I have at least got all of the cabinets back on the walls, the larder unit painted and assembled, and regained ready access to the fridge. No more cheese sandwiches for a while, I pray. I'm in the last stretch. I need to touch up all the paintwork where I've left fingerprints and scratches, screw on all the door knobs, and then clean away all the paint stains on the floor and countertops.

This week the former Zachtronics folk of Coincidence released U.V.S. Nirmana, a new "Zach-like" puzzler that has fairly spaghettified my synapses, despite being billed as "medium-difficulty". It puts you in charge of a monastic spacecraft embarked on a pilgrimage through the galaxy, steeped in references to Dharmic religions. During your voyages, you'll help other civilisations with their philosophical dilemmas using a cosmic reactor that functions like a music sequencer. You'll join up pipes... Читать дальше...

Skywind, the long-running modding project remaking Morrowind in Skyrim's engine, hasn't been without updates over the past couple of years, but you do have to go back to 2024 for the last in-depth breakdown its team put out about their progress towards release. While the project's still release dateless as of right now, the Skywind folks have just put out another showcase of where they're at, with good progress being made and numerous aspects nudging towards being totally finished.

I first played Family Reunion at Gamescom Latam last week, which in hindsight was a bit of trek, considering the demo is right there on Itch and Steam. It’s good fun, though: a unique and chaotic time-attack adventure game, in which you play a disinterested child forced to entertain themselves throughout an interminable family meal, and rendered in the hand-doodled style that we all have before we learn how to properly hold a pen.

Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Commander.

Have you met the head scientist? I hate him.

I... haven't met him yet. Should I?

Don't, he's an arsehole. They call me "Commander" but won't let me fire him. "He's a genius", they keep saying. I don't believe in geniuses. I believe in good teams. He insults the engineers in every report. It's not even funny! I want to lock him in the workshop and tell them he's a strikebreaker.

...Because they're Soviets? Your organisation is unusual. Читать дальше...