Gaming in While. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Google Meet is rolling out a long-awaited feature that enables users to enhance their appearance during video calls. This new feature, known as "portrait touch-up," was announced in a recent Google Workspace update and is currently available to early adopters on mobile devices. The extended rollout to all remaining accounts is set to commence on October 28th. Additionally, Google has plans to bring this feature to Google Meet on the web by the end of 2023.

The Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating the father of the Dwarves with its Durin's Day event hitting game servers today, while its Forester event in Combe has hit yet another snag. And one of the banner features of The Corsairs of Umbar seems to have foundered before it crossed the finish line.

Some games tell you everything you need to know in the title. Don't Starve is a classic example. It's a game about how you need to eat to live. Don't Scream is the same, only there's an added layer of challenge. It's a horror game where, if you scream in real life, the game starts over.

Dark Souls 3's hardest bosses are routinely getting punished by Elden Ring's most devoted players as they wait for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to finally release.

How about a little something to lower your spirits? FoxNext have announced that they're delisting or, ugh, "sunsetting" 505 Go's Alien: Blackout, the surprisingly solid mobile and tablet horror game you could summarise as Five Nights at Freddy's, if Freddy's were a subsidiary of Weyland-Yutani. You've got until 31st October to play it, after which all development and support for Blackout will cease and the game will no longer be available to buy.

We need to do some kind of wellness check on the Team Fortress 2 community. Sure, the game might have gotten a big summer update and smashed its all-time concurrent player record in the last year, but it's hardly the apple of Valve's eye in 2023. Players of the venerable shooter were left to gaze forlornly over at Counter-Strike 2 when that game was announced back in March, wondering if TF2 might get similar treatment «in another decade».

After a slightly shaky launch last month, the Mineko's Night Market devs have issued an apology. 

It’s unclear how long it will be until gets an official launch date, but there are plenty of fantastic horror games to play during the wait. The survival horror genre has been experiencing something of a renaissance in recent years, much like the initial surge the genre had when the series was just getting started. This rebirth is set to continue with the remake, among other upcoming titles that fans will likely also want to get their hands on, but there is a lot to play that’s already on many of the digital marketplaces.

Genshin Impact is a notably resource-intensive title and has even caused the iPhone 15 Pro to display massive stutters in a basic combat area, signaling that the A17 Pro temperatures are likely going beyond the recommended threshold. However, with the latest iOS 17.0.3 update, Apple resolves most issues, particularly thermals, while increasing the framerate, so let us look at the updated statistics and see how well Apple carried out its software polishing.

New World has been having a week thanks to the launch of its first paid expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth. However, as rising player counts have caused queues to return, Amazon has needed to spin up even more servers to combat the issue.

Ghostwire Tokyo gets a bad rap. This supernatural thriller is a bizarre magical FPS filled with all manner of weird and wonderful creatures, tasking you with uncovering the truth behind a vanished city. It might not be the traditional survival horror we expected from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami’s Tango Gameworks, especially following The Evil Within games, but you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to try Ghostwire Tokyo for free.

New World launched its first paid expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, yesterday, and the excitement new content — especially mounts — has brought to Amazon's MMO has seen a return in queues and a rise in player count.

If you're picking up a new Microsoft Surface laptop, you could now indulge in a bit of retro gaming while waiting for Windows to finish crawling through the interminable setup and updates process. Here's hoping it comes to the DIY Windows installation, too. It will certainly be something to do while setting up a new office test rig.

We've gotten another bittersweet taste of Haunted Chocolatier. Sweet because, well, it's Haunted Chocolatier, and bitter because I still don't know when this game is coming out. But we do have some new screenshots: in a tweet earlier today, Haunted Chocolatier and Stardew Valley dev Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone shared four tantalising new screenshots of the spooky sweet-making sim. Here they are:

Presented by Horizon

Counter-Strike 2 has finally arrived and as the name suggests, it is the sequel to the original Counter-Strike which launched over 10 years ago. With so many players trying to get into Counter-Strike 2, it’s not a surprise that errors are popping up. If you’re unfortunate enough to be hit with an alert that says “an error occurred while updating Counter-Strike 2,” we’ve got some fixes for you to try out.

It's one in, one out this November. Don't Nod's Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden has been delayed until February 13th, 2024 from its original November release date. That's because its developer and publisher want to avoid the busy release season.

Starfield's latest patch has gone live on console and PC, adding a small helping of meaningful fixes, and one that may not be so welcome to the game's cheesier players.

Capcom has shared more information on Dragon’s Dogma 2 at the Tokyo Game Show, with attendees and publications going hands-on with the demo. The environments have looked fairly big so far, which makes sense, given the world is four times larger than the first game. Speaking to VGC, director Hideaki Itsuno also confirmed that exploration is seamless with no loading screens.

Rockstar Games launched GTA Online in October 2013, just two weeks after GTA 5 debuted. It gave GTA 5 players, who had completed Story Mode, another exciting opportunity to get back in the game. In this mode, Players in GTA Online can join a biker club, compete in races, play a sport, plan heists, invest in stocks, and do much more in an action-filled sandbox environment. As an added incentive for players, Rockstar on March 29, 2022, announced a membership program exclusively for GTA Online on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.

MSI is running a ‘back to school’ promotion in the UK with discounts of up to 35 percent on a range of gaming laptops, including some ultra powerful current gen machines. Even if you’re not heading back to the classroom, this MSI gaming laptop sale could be a great opportunity to save big on your next PC gaming purchase.

If you love free PC games as much as we do, you won’t want to miss this pair of absolutely gorgeous indie puzzlers, which can be yours completely free this week. Out of Line and The Forest Quartet are both up for grabs as part of the recurring Epic Games store free game promotion, and they’re two rather different but equally beautiful puzzle games.

Thermaltake View i467T R4 | Intel Core i7 12700F | Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti | 1TB SSD | 32GB DDR5 RAM | $1,599.99 at Best BuyThermaltake has been knocking it out of the park with some desktop deals recently, and this RTX 4070 Ti system is no exception. Yeah, it's got a last-gen CPU, but it still has enough horsepower to play most of your games with all the bells and whistles turned on.

In a recent episode of GamerTag Radio, Insomniac Games’ associate animation director James Ham said that players will be able to find the opposite Spider-Man — if they’re playing as Peter, then they’ll run into Miles, and vice versa — and join them in fighting crime in Spider-Man 2.

Yesterday, Google started pushing the September security update to all supported Pixel devices, and the Pixel 4a was missing from the list of phones that received the event. Today, we have an official confirmation that the software support for the 2020 device has finally come to an end, with the last update being the one released in August 2023.

Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk is such a fever dream of disconnected and bizarre anecdotes about the man that you almost find yourself skimming past the brief mention of him taking a 200 year old gun to a recording studio to demand he be a cameo in Cyberpunk 2077. Of course he did, why wouldn't he? That's just another Tuesday afternoon for this guy, apparently.

Metal Hellsinger is the latest game with an uncertain future amid the ongoing controversy around a new Unity fee policy introduced by the game engine creator. David Goldfarb, founder of Metal Hellsinger maker The Outsiders, joins an increasing list of game developers citing uncertainty about their games’ future. The Doom-style rhythmic FPS game made a big splash last year with its original soundtrack featuring notable metal bands such as Trivium, Arch Enemy, System of a Down, and Lamb of God.

If you’re looking to pick up an ultralight gaming mouse to give you the edge in competitive FPS games or want to get involved in handheld streaming, we’ve got great news for you: the Logitech Logi Play Days promotion has just begun. This UK-only sale includes a range of excellent Logitech gaming products at record-low prices, and there’s sure to be something that catches your eye.

Harry Potter is truly the fandom that lived. Hogwarts Legacy, the latest big-budget entry in the 26-year-old franchise, grossed over $1 billion as of May, selling 15 million copies — despite a number of outlets declining to cover it, citing Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling’s history of making transphobic statements. It’s highly rated by players and supports a thriving ecosystem of streamers and fans. Likewise, the award-winning Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play has broken records for weekly grosses around the world. The franchise is even getting a TV reboot.

PS5 sales in the UK have jumped 60% year-to-date while sales of both Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch are down compared to last year.

Starfield is a big game with a lot of exploration and plenty for players to discover during their playthroughs. For one more casual, science-based player, this has led to the discovery of planets having realistic ecological systems that make surveying easier. It also highlights Bethesda’s knack for getting all the little details right and its commitment to always giving players something new to discover.

After years of waiting, Starfield has finally arrived. I recently called it the most important launch for Xbox since at least Halo 5, and now it’s here and on your Xbox console or PC. I hope you enjoy it! But being the previews lead at IGN, it’s my job to live in the future; I’m always looking ahead to the next big thing. And the next big thing for Bethesda Game Studios isn’t The Elder Scrolls 6. At least, not for a while. The next big thing for Todd Howard and his team is still going to be Starfield! Let me explain.

While exploring the Goblin Camp during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, most players will stumble across Halson. He’s a recruitable Druid with the power to transform into an animal, but he’s trapped as a bear in a ramshackle prison. Now, players are confused about why Halsin hasn’t escaped long before they meet him.

Sony's PS5 console is going strong in retail sales even when compared to the already highly successful predecessor, the PlayStation 4.

TennoCon 2023 saw an update on two of the most anticipated updates to Warframe: cross-save and its mobile port.

Starfield, the brand-new RPG from Bethesda, looks out this world, but there’s still some time to go until you can blast off and explore the vastness of space and beyond. While you eagerly wait to begin your starry-eyed adventures, Bethesda and AMD are giving you a chance to win an Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card, which any Starfield fan would be lucky to have as part of their PC gaming setup.

The teenager allegedly behind the GTA 6 leaks from last year was "caught red-handed" in a hotel room hacking into Rockstar after being banned from the internet due to his bail agreement, which resulted from him already being caught hacking into other major corporations.

EA-owned development studio Bioware has provided a studio update in which the creator of a new Mass Effect has announced layoffs.

Pearl Abyss has a few big updates for Black Desert Online , including a brand new territory out today on PC. Black Desert Console is also having a fourth anniversary celebration.

The teenager suspected of hacking GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games last year was reportedly "caught red-handed" in a hotel room using an Amazon Fire Stick. 

Starfield has yet to be released worldwide on PC and Xbox Series X and S, but some lucky fans already had the chance to try out the game, and one of them shared the first footage from the retail version yesterday.

It has been almost a week since Elon Musk made a tweet declaring he will delete the blocking feature on Twitter (now X), and it led to users debating it and many claiming that it will make the social media experience unsafe. But while Twitter decides to take away users' right to block others, Twitch is taking the exact opposite approach. According to reports, it is getting a new feature that will allow streamers to totally block users to the extent that they cannot even watch their streams.

While the Iron's Hot is a crafting adventure game, and it's coming to PS5 and PS4 on 9th November. We got a trailer showing off what a blacksmith's journey looks like in a world where every problem can be solved through metalworking.

Regular readers will know that we're huge fans of WipEout. The futuristic racing series has long been ignored by Sony — much to our disappointment — but if you're yearning for a quick fix of eye-watering speed (and perhaps a healthy nostalgia hit) then you may be in luck.

A Diablo 4 Barbarian just gave Uber Lilith a paper cut to the tune of seven billion damage when she was already inches away from defeat.

Crafting adventure game While the Iron’s Hot will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and Humble Store on November 9, publisher Humble Games and developer Bontemps Games announced.

The Dynamic Duo are back once again with a brand new Batman and Robin comic coming in September from DC. 

Pokemon masters aren't above the law.

Diablo fans had waited quite a few years to get their hands on the next major installment. Now Diablo IV is now available for players to enjoy. However, it’s not without its share of problems from players. It’s a game that has players connected online, and as a result, there needs to be an even playing field. While every game has its share of exploits uncovered, this latest Diablo installment has developers quickly taking action. For instance, developers have just shut down the trading feature because of one exploit discovery.

The Genshin Impact version 4.0 update can now be pre-installed to save some time when the Hydro nation gets added to the anime game tomorrow. The file size numbers might give you a few issues, though, depending on your storage situation. You’ll need nearly 70GB of free storage on PC to pre-install the Genshin Impact update, so you might want to start clearing that space up now ahead of the Genshin Impact 4.0 release date.

Hey, nice pain shards you've got there, my friend. Want to trade them for my collection of unfomented wound imps? Well too bad, because Diablo 4 just suspended trading indefinitely while Blizzard tries to get on top of a player-reported bug in the system that lets scallywags and rascals use it to duplicate their gold and items.

There is no denying that using your phone in the rain is never an easy experience because, in most cases, you are going to miss the touches, or your phone won't really register the touch at all. Yet, we don't have smartphone manufacturers running to the solution, perhaps because no one thinks that these are important. Well, OnePlus thinks otherwise because the company is bringing a Rain Water Touch screen that will, you guessed it, work in the rain.

Composer Austin Wintory has a secret that might surprise you. For years, his work in games like Journey, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Aliens Fireteam Elite has consisted of sweeping scores populated with orchestral swings and emotive choirs. You'd be forgiven for thinking his musical passions were strictly inspired by cinematic soundtracks or the symphony.

The Client CPU market seems to have broken its downward trend with Intel leading the charge over AMD, reports Jon Peddie Research.

There is a ton of attention put on the Call of Duty franchise this week. With several leaks and reports revealing that the next Call of Duty installment will be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Activision finally made the grand reveal. So while we know what the next game will be, we’re still waiting on the first trailer to highlight the game. As a result, we’re getting small bits of information to tie us over. For instance, today, we had a new trailer drop highlighting the character Makarov. If you missed that, we’ll have it embedded below. But besides that, there is also the reveal of carry forward content.

Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive seems to really want everyone to understand that GTA 6 is coming out next year, but the company is equally reticent to actually say that out loud.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is easily my favorite phone to come out this year, and while I like the phone mainly because of the cover display, the hinge is apparently very durable. Samsung has mentioned in official documentation that the phone is rated at 200,000 folds, and this was verified by Bureau Veritas, a certification company. But it turns out that the phone is much more durable than the official numbers suggested, as it has managed to beat the Motorola Razr Plus, its nearest competitor.

Apple’s Q3 2023 earnings call reported that its iPhone division generated $39.67 billion for the three-month period, but that amount was 2 percent lower compared to the same quarter a year ago. While that is still an abnormally large chunk of change, it represents a trend that even the technology giant has noticed and has no choice but to admit; the U.S. smartphone market has been in decline, and it has been this way for a while. Naturally, this will prompt the firm to reduce its dependency on its biggest cash cow, but that is easier said than done.

At one point in Endwalker's development, most of Final Fantasy 14's characters were reviving a beloved community meme.

Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

Microsoft have announced the next batch of games coming to Game Pass, and just like the last line-up, indie gems are carrying this fortnight’s offerings. August begins with venerated A Short Hike, which crosses paths with fellow hiker Death Stranding on its way off the Game Pass mega mountain.

Half-Life’s spiritual fan remake is probably the definitive way to play the classic Valve FPS game. With extended sequences, modern visuals, and a facelift for the ages, Crowbar Collective’s Black Mesa turns phenomenal classic Half-Life into a modern-day masterpiece, and it’s in a Steam sale that’s about to end you should act on.

Clickers, idlers, and the like exist for a reason: That reason is many of us want to do two things at a time. We want to stimulate more than one bit of our brain. I'm sure that by now you know at least one person, or are that person, who combines in some way watching shows, listening to podcasts, reading social media, and videogames at once.

The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra retains the functionality and footprint of its direct predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, all the while sporting decent hardware upgrades. However, this year, Samsung went the extra mile and added IP68 dust and water resistance to all members of its premium tablet range, and evidence of this protection is seen in a short video clip, where the slate can be seen submerged underwater with the S Pen and used simultaneously.

Homeworld 3 was originally scheduled for a 2022 release, which got pushed to 2023, and then pushed again into 2024. All up that's a substantial delay, but it has offered ample time to catch up on earlier instalments, at least. Now's an especially good time to do that, because the Homeworld Remastered Collection has just hit the Epic Games Store, and to dramatically sweeten the deal it's free-to-keep for a limited time.

A Diablo 4 player has managed to clear a top-end dungeon using the least impressive class in the game, and what's more, they did it while being under-leveled.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the portal where users can book tickets, check PNRs, and more is currently facing technical issues. IRCTC has also issued a statement on Twitter, saying “Our technical team is resolving the issue. We will notify as soon as the technical issue is fixed."

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Barbie 's third act. Make sure you’ve seen the movie before reading any further.

After recent court losses preventing the agency from preventing Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard from closing, the United States Federal Trade Commission has suspended its internal administrative challenge to the deal. A hearing was set to begin in early August if the process were to continue at this time.

The Elder Scrolls Online has stood the test of time, improving constantly throughout the years since its initial launch back in 2014.  If you haven’t yet played the MMORPG, then now could be the perfect opportunity to hop into Tamriel as you await more news from Bethesda on The Elder Scrolls 6. The Elder Scrolls Online is currently free thanks to the Epic Games Store’s rotation, along with a hilarious puzzle game, but you’re going to have to be quick to snag them both before the platform changes its offered titles.

In a recent earnings report, Blizzard celebrated Diablo 4's meteoric rise as its highest-earning game of all time, even while community sentiment around the latest patch hasn't been stellar. 

Final Fantasy 14's Savage raids are pretty tough—they're focused, 8-player brawls with teeth that are learned like choreographed dances. One slip-up can spell doom for your whole crew, and dying is pretty common. What's less common is the series creator of Final Fantasy showing up to cheer you on while you're doing them.

Pikmin 4 is a smart and content-packed refinement of one of Nintendo’s most underrated series, but long-time fans may be put off by how long its generous campaign takes to get going.