The Xbox Series S Toaster is somehow a real product that you can buy right now.
18.12.2023 - 21:30 / pcgamer.com
Unforetold: Witchstone was maybe the biggest surprise for me at our PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted showcase. The Spearhead Games CRPG almost evokes Larian's first Divinity: Original Sin game in its presentation, but instead of pursuing cinematic RPG production values, Witchstone is like an alternate evolutionary path emphasizing the construction of an open-ended, RPG sandbox.
«Freedom alone is cool, but you want that world to respond. In tabletop, you have a game master, you have other players, there's always a response,» explains Spearhead co-founder and creative director, Malik Boukhira in an expanded interview with PC Gamer, noting that real videogame freedom «is also about creativity, feeling clever, feeling like you did things your way.»
The RPG's promised influence system sounds like almost nothing I've seen in an RPG. You can turn up the charm on any NPC in the game, using your capacity for persuasion, intimidation, or downright lying to get anybody to do practically anything.
«We have recommended companions, but essentially anyone in the world could be your companion and take you all the way to your very end goal,» Boukhira reveals. Our very own Fraser Brown used intimidation to browbeat random townspeople into his party in a hands-on demo experience, but you'll need the right tool for a given job: «A brave and courageous warrior might not respond very well to physical threats,» Boukhira caveats, «But maybe they're a bit gullible and you can sweet talk them.»
Even with this more systemic reactivity, Witchstone will still have «recommended» companions who resemble your more traditional RPG buds, with fleshed-out dialogue interactions, personal goals that may conflict with yours, the works.
The only other time I've seen anything like this was in Troika Games' cult classic, Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, where you could eventually recruit a train of henchmen following you everywhere if you had enough Charisma, but even that game had its limits. My mind's been set on fire at the character building potential: moving persuasion dialogue from specific skill gates into this more general system opens it up to being one of the most powerful paths you could choose, a master manipulator with the world wrapped around their finger.
Boukhira cites framing a faction leader for the murder of one of his lieutenants as a potential strategy opened up by this influence system, and he even posits that «If you have the patience, you could wipe out an entire town by just turning everyone against each other.»
All of this dialogue-focused gameplay is layered on top of the kind of crunchy, tactical, turn-based RPG I know and love, and it sounds like you don't even have to engage with the influence system very
The Xbox Series S Toaster is somehow a real product that you can buy right now.
Ever since Baldur's Gate 3 launched on Xbox, players have reported issues with their save files. In extreme cases, they said they were losing hours of gameplay, putting many off playing at all until it's confirmed that the issue is fixed. Now, as we enter the new year, neither Larian nor Xbox can say that the problem is gone for good.
is almost assuredly going to be a marquee release when it eventually comes out, and the wait for it may be grueling, but another upcoming fantasy RPG may ease the suspense: . The last game in Bethesda's iconic series,, has proved to be perennially popular, and has become notorious for how many times it's been re-released. Its follow-up,, was perhaps prematurely announced, and is still not expected for many more years. While there aren't any games that scratch the exact same itch as a Bethesda RPG, Obsidian Entertainment's is poised to fill an adjacent niche.
Now that I’m over 150 hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, still actively playing it on my Steam Deck or PC almost every single evening, you’d never guess that I initially gave up on the game 10 hours in. Yes, I was playing on the easiest setting. Yes, I have played Dungeons & Dragons multiple times before, and I understand how D&D works. None of that was a problem for me. But I found myself in a frustrated rage because Baldur’s Gate 3 has multiple complicated aspects to its turn-based combat that are never explained.
We've seen a lot of Ghibli-like indie games this year, but this might be the most faithful one yet.
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Players eager to see if they can survive the harsh landscape of Arrakis in Dune: Awakening might not have long to wait, as Funcom has revealed it's gearing up for a test in «early next year.» In fact, a test has already concluded in early December with a small number of players checking out the upcoming survival MMO.
Similar to other large-scale RPGs, has a number of characters and locations that it can be easy to miss some — especially when one is locked out by certain decisions, like the githyanki Orpheus. With the many possible ways that players might progress through, it might be easy to miss many of the game's best moments and characters, which can bleed over to other quests and even the overall ending of the entire game.
Asgard’s Wrath 2 is the most acclaimed VR game since Half-Life Alyx, mainly because of how it seamlessly adapts the open-world RPG experience onto virtual reality goggles.
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It is likely that will be the last game to feature its particular version of Link. is a direct sequel to, and because of this, it features and further develops the same incarnation of the famous hero. However, looking towards the future of the franchise, it may soon be time for ’s Link to retire.
It's been a while since I dove headfirst into a milsim, but Offworld Industries' bid to revitalize its WW2 spinoff of Squad makes me want to clear my calendar. Post Scriptum (2018) has been fully acquired by publisher and Squad developer Offworld Industries, who's slapped on a new label that better reflects what you're getting: Squad, but set in 1944.