Strategy News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Unlocking and beating the Knave boss fight in can grant you important rewards for some characters, in addition to being one of the best encounters in the game. The Knave is the boss form of Arlecchino, the Fatui Harbinger that was first introduced as an NPC and was then added as a new playable character in 4.6. While Arlecchino is a ruthless and powerful DPS unit, she gets even more powerful in her boss form – this is quite similar to Raiden Shogun as a character versus her boss form in the region of Inazuma.

Historical strategy sim Manor Lords - which budding feudal despot Nic Reuben has deemed "a sturdy and immersive builder that feels incomplete yet alive with promise" - is now available on Steam, the Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store and GOG. It was Steam's most wishlisted game before launch, and it's so popular right now that Steam's servers are struggling to keep up: there's an official developer post on the game's Steam forum warning that "the store is overwhelmed from all the people buying, it may take a couple tries for a bit while things calm down".

Splotter Spellen Games have stayed with me since I started gaming and before I started logging plays in 2017. My tastes have dramatically changed over the years, but owning and playing Splotters hasn’t stopped. In fact, I rarely pre-order games (Kickstarters included) and I pre-ordered 2023’s release. I think all their games have unique ideas, themes, and a lot of strategies through fairly condensed rules. They aren’t games that have wide appeal, as their designs are built under a philosophy: “If you can’t lose the game on turn one, what is the point of having a turn one?” Of their 15 released games, only seven of them received multiple print runs or wider releases. It would have been six, but they happened to release a game last year. Those seven are all good, but allow me to rank them based on my taste and preferences.

Do you know what dimidiation is? Unless you happen to be a scholar of medieval heraldry, you probably don’t. It’s an older method of combining two or more coats of arms into a single shield to denote a union of, say, two families. In dimidiation, the two coats of arms would be cut down the middle, so you might end up with a shield featuring a griffin’s head stuck to a horse’s rear. Later on, it became more common to simply feature the two coats of arms side by side (a practice known as impalement), which is less confusing and more aesthetically pleasing, but also less funny.

Eco-conscious village builder The Wandering Village sees you raising a settlement on the back of a huge wandering creature called Onbu. For the most part, you live in a symbiotic relationship with this gentle giant, as your villagers keep the gargantuan trundlesaur healthy while being ferried about on its back. Awww. Well, the wholesome city-builder now lets you feed villagers to the creature and start a cult in the great devourer's name. Okay. Why not?

In its weekly This Week in Destiny blog post, Bungie announced today it would be reversing one of its most controversial Destiny 2 decisions: the one that "sunset" older weapons by giving them a power limit.

Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier Games, has made an indelible mark on board gaming since he entered the space in 2011. Not only has he designed and published incredible strategy games like Scythe and Viticulture, but he also helped produce and publish Elizabeth Hargrave’s genre-defining nature-themed board game Wingspanand its sequel. On Wednesday, he announced a secret project, the culmination of seven long years of work. It’s called Vantage, and it might be one of the most exciting tabletop projects slated for 2025.

Patch 29.2.2, launching later today, contains big updates to Hearthstone and Battlegrounds.

This GeForce NOW Thursday brings several major additions to NVIDIA's cloud gaming platform. Arguably the most important one is Manor Lords, currently the top wishlisted game on Steam by over three million users. To quell the hype, the solo developer behind Slavic Magic recently wrote a blog post to explain what the game is not:

As genre mash-ups go, I didn't see this coming. But maybe I should have, knowing how once things like battle royales pop off, they will always spawn curious mutations. Inferni: Hope And Fear is one of these curiosities, being an online co-op, deckbuilding, battle royale, with a 90s theme.

Alien-infested submarine sim Barotrauma has received a chunky update, bringing two new-ish monsters into its lethal aquatic world. The shrimp-looking Mantis may be recognisable to veterans (it once appeared in pre-Steam builds). And the Viperling is a venomous variant of the existing Spineling (a thorny seaworm with hull-piercing porcupine-like spikes). But don't worry, the medical systems have also seen a "mini-rework", which means drugs like morphine are "less of a 'solution for everything'". Wait. What?

As an Assassin's Creed girlie, I enjoyed Assassin's Creed Mirage, a pared down (but still big game, which is really just proof of how bloated AAA games have gotten, but I'll stop because it's not time to take my personal bugbear for a walk) Ass Creed game that was closer to the simplicity of the older games in the stab 'em up stealth-action series. Yesterday creative director Stéphane Boudon and art director Jeal-Luc Sala took to Reddit for an AMA, and in response to a question about plans for Mirage DLC, Boudon said no - but that they have ideas for more stories for Basim.

French publishing giant Ubisoft has promoted Cécile Russeil to the position of EVP of communications, corporate affairs, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, human resources and legal.

The CEO of Embracer Group, Lars Wingefors, has said that the decision to lose the Embracer name has nothing to do with the industry's negative perception of the brand.

I can feel some kind of sore throat bug coming on. It must be the baleful influence of Creative Assembly's latest free update for bellowing strategy bonanza Total War: Warhammer 3. Out 30th April, the update introduces Epidemius, Proctor of Pestilence - a new Nurgle Legendary Lord who gains rewards based on how many ickle diseases you’ve spread to other factions (already my favourite aspect of playing Nurgle in the game). Does Epidemius also get buffs if the player is infected by something? I hope so. It would be a consolation to know that my ailing trachea is contributing to the Nurgle cause.

The developers behind Fable card game spin-off Fable Fortune and the digital adaptation of dungeon-crawling board game Gloomhaven have revealed a new upcoming co-op RPG… only to announce at the same time that the upcoming game’s development has been put on pause amid layoffs at the studio and difficulty finding funding.

What do you think of when you think of fireworks? For me, it’s the rush of excitement that comes from loud noises and bright, beautiful colors on display. In Skyrockets: Festivals of Fire, you get much of the same experience in a cooperative game that puts you in the role of working with your fellow players to put on a fireworks show for your wizard school.

Songs Of Conquest is a strategy-RPG with some of the most handsome pixel art around. Steam tells me I've played its Early Access release for 0.7 hours, which was long enough to know that I wanted to play more and would wait for version 1.0. I won't have to wait much longer. It's now got a May 20th release date.

Publisher Wired Productions and developer Tomas Sala have announced Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles free update “Trade, Tribute, and Splinters.”

Against The Storm's latest update adds a a River Kelpie, a "legendary water demon" that can mesmerise villagers in your rain-slick settlements. I've been mesmerised myself by another part of the update, however: the ability to zoom out 66% further than before.

Afternoon, conveyor belt fans! Good news, I think I may have discovered the first genuinely cosy automation game. Attempts have been made at cosy automation and automated cosiness in the past – Satisfactory is on the sunnier side, providing you enable the right settings, and Shapez 2 has lots of rounded edges. But IDK, there’s something about the ravages of mass industry that doesn’t quite gel with zoomorphic raccoon baristas and other such wholesome trappings. Have you ever encountered a cuddly smokestack? How about a cuddly just-in-time network?

The former multiplayer lead for RTS giant StarCraft 2 is working on a new real-time strategy game that he promises will mark a “paradigm shift” for the storied PC genre.

The sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters has more than tripled its Kickstarter funding goal in four days. Free Stars: Children Of Infinity, which is a sequel to the series formerly known as Star Control, has so far raised $332k (£268k), although it's still shooting for several stretch goals - including one as high as $4.4 million.

The Voice of the Galaxy brings exciting news and updates to Honkai Star Rail! Version 2.3 introduces the Developer Radio, a massive overhaul to the Simulated Universe.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a classic rags to riches tale, only about an entire army. I didn’t know what my team would end up looking like when I started recruiting dozens of unique characters – however, as more fighters joined my cause, from a two-faced healer with a brutish side to a magical girl with a hero complex, this unpredictable journey started to take shape. The scale of the story grew with every chapter, folding in more countries and people that would eventually turn my ragtag team into a proper battalion. That sizable cast and loads of side content can add fluff to the campaign, with half-baked elements like encounters that rely on RNG to drag things down a bit. But for anyone willing to hold out long enough, Hundred Heroes’ slow burn eventually lights into an impressive fire.

It seems that Prison Architect 2 is going method in its approach to launching the 3D sequel to the jailhouse management game, as - like its inmates - it just can’t seem to secure a solid release. Originally due to arrive in March, before being pushed into May, developers Double Eleven have now shunted it all the way back to September.

As the calendar continues its ceaseless onward march, Epic has announced its next batch of weekly Epic Games Store freebies, which this time look very much like Cold War shooter Industria and post-apocalyptic RPG bundle Lisa: Definitive Edition.

Eiyuden Chronicles, the RPG series that’s effectively a sequel-slash-spiritual successor to nineties and early noughties JRPG classic Suikoden, will continue with a sequel despite the death of its creator earlier this year.

Prison Architect 2 has been delayed once again. The upcoming jail sim sequel will now arrive this autumn, following the discovery of «unexpected issues occurring too often».

While Manor Lords may at first glance seem similar to the Total War series, its developer has said the upcoming strategy game should not be seen as a competitor.

While Cities: Skylines 2 has made progress on the performance front, not everything about the troubled citybuilder is on the up. In fact, player reception to the recently released Beach Properties DLC has proven so un-sunny that both developers Colossal Order and publishers Paradox Interactive have issued a joint statement apologising for the state it launched in.

Eiyuden Chronicle developer Rabbit & Bear Studios will continue working on a sequel following the death of its creator Yoshitaka Murayama.

Imagine Earth, a city building strategy title that launched a few years back on PC and Xbox, is making the jump to PS5 and PS4 on the 9th May. The game takes place in 2084, and tasks you with creating sustainable civilisation on various alien planets, following on from the greed-driven ruin of humanity's original home. We think developer Serious Bros. is trying to tell us something...

UK studio and publisher Kwalee has revealed recent staff cuts were made to «reshape» the company's business around «significant growth opportunities.» The company has layed off approximately 10% of its workforce, around 40 people, in recent months. Despite that, Kwalee stressed it expects to grow its headcount (currently about 400) to somewhere between 410 and 420.

Helldivers 2 players have been issued a new directive as the Galactic War effort again devolves into a grinding stalemate. The Automatons have deployed increasing numbers of Factory Striders to break the impasse, but for now, the line holds. To amass the necessary fuel to fire a Super Earth counterattack, billions of Terminids must die to acquire enough of that sweet, sweet oil E-710.

Helldivers 2 players have recently managed to blunt the advance of the oncoming Automaton invasion fleet, with the conflict again devolving into a grinding stalemate. However, it seems the machines never rest on their laurels, as reports of the lumbering Factory Striders being deployed in unprecedented numbers begin to trickle in.

SteamWorld Heist, the beloved turn-based tactical shooter, is getting a sequel. Launching on PS5, PS4, and basically everything else on 8th August 2024, SteamWorld Heist 2 is a direct follow-up to the original, swapping out spaceships for a sea-faring adventure but retaining the ricochet-based strategy fans know and love.

Beating the Tides of War event in 2.1 is a matter of using the best team comps and selecting the ideal Support Functions that will not only give you a bonus during the combat phases but also synergize with the team you chose. In one stage of this combat event in 2.1, for instance, the best way of getting through all the boss encounters is to focus on Energy Regeneration alone, with a party that boosts that effect, sustained by Support Functions that further increase the rate at which your characters recharge their Ultimates.

Manor Lords is launching into Early Access next week, and as the milestone approaches, its developer is taking a moment to remind fans what the game isn't.

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, after the success of Amazon's Fallout TV series, we discuss the TV and movie adapatations of video games we'd love to see next.

Cities Skylines 2 publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Colossal Order have issued a stark apology for the state of the game and the release of its recent DLC, admitting to fans: «We let you down».

With the world of Dungeons & Dragons now officially behind it, Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has confirmed it currently has two new projects in development, both based on its own IPs, which studio founder Swen Vincke has described as «our best work ever.»

Hot off the heels of its BAFTA wins, developer Larian has given a little tease for Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming «improved» evil endings.

Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian has announced that it’s working on two new projects based on its own original IPs.

Larian aren’t just not making Baldur’s Gate 4 – they’re treating Baldur’s Gate 3’s success as an opportunity to develop their own intellectual properties, with two new games in the works. These games will build on the “sensibilities” of Baldur’s Gate 3 in being “immersive experiences shaped by your choices”, but by the sounds of things, they won’t be adaptations of anybody else's narrative or setting. Divinity: Original Sin 3? It’s the obvious call, but come now, free your mind. How about a kart racing game, Larian, or a banging old school mascot platformer? When are you going to make a platform game, Larian?

The Anniversary Edition of Braid was originally announced almost four years ago, and originally meant to be out sometime in 2021. As such, the latest delay to Jonathan Blow’s time-rewinding puzzle-platformer - which sees its date pushed back two weeks into the middle of next month - feels like a relative drop in the hourglass.

Samsung is reported to stick with a dual-chipset launch strategy for its upcoming Galaxy S25 series, where some regions will offer the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, while others will sell the Exynos 2500 variants. The Exynos 2400 provided a slew of surprises as the company significantly improved its current-generation flagship SoC. Next year, Samsung is expected to kick things up a notch and is rumored to leverage its second-generation 3nm process to mass produce the Exynos 2500. This move could give the SoC power efficiency attributes that dwarf Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

Close Cities is a new puzzle game on Android that lets you play mayor without the headache. Think of it as your laid-back path to being a city-building pro. Created by indie dev Juan Manuel Altamirano Argudo, who has dropped titles like Broki, Brainito – Words vs Numbers, Chesspert, Chessplode and DueLito.

Mobigames has dropped a new title, Light of the Stars, on Android today (April 18th). It’s free to play and offers some in-app purchases. A strategy game out and out, it has anime-style art and lets you be a star who will fight a calamity and save the world.

Dwarf Fortress — the hugely influential, dizzyingly expansive colony sim that's been in development for over 20 years — has just released its roguelike Adventure Mode over on Steam, albeit initially in public beta form.

Slavic Magic, the sole creator behind anticipated (sub genres forthcoming) strategy game Manor Lords, has written a transparent and refreshingly to-the-point blog post on Steam addressing both expectations and future updates. Specifically, Slavic Magic aka Greg Manor Lords has taken time to outline exactly what his game - currently the most wishlisted on Steam, ahead of Hades 2 - isn’t.

After weeks of speculation, former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei-led Nothing has launched its latest wireless earbuds - the Nothing Ear and Ear (a). The launch of these wireless audio products takes place just weeks after Nothing's sub-brand CMF introduced its first-ever earbuds and neckband earphones. While the Nothing Ear is the premium offering, meant to be a true successor to the Ear (2), the Ear (a) is the non-flagship audio product that aims to cater to users who don't want to spend a premium for flagship wireless earbuds.

After proving themselves in darn near every genre under the sun, the devs behind the incredible SteamWorld series are finally returning to the format of their fantastic XCOM-style strategy game with a proper sequel set to launch later this year.

F1 Manager developer Frontier has been accused of mismanagement in a new report in the wake of layoffs at the company.

Braid: Anniversary Edition (or Braid, Anniversary Edition as it's officially styled) has been delayed by two weeks. The remake is now set to launch for PlayStation, Switch, and PC on 15th May, with Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One versions arriving a day later, on 16th May.

We learned that SteamWorld Heist would finally be getting a sequel during the April 2024 Indie World showcase.

UK developer and publisher Kwalee is cutting around ten per cent of its staff.

Larian Studios confirmed earlier this year that it will not be involved in Baldur's Gate 4. The studio is moving away from Dungeons & Dragons to focus on its own projects, whatever they may be. But that doesn't mean the series is over.

Baldur’s Gate IP owner Wizards of the Coast has addressed the future of the franchise, following the news that developer Larian won’t be making another game in the series.

Apple has long been criticized for offering a meagre 128GB as base storage capacity on its iPhone. Even the $999 iPhone 15 Pro features 128GB storage as standard. Owing to flak from consumers, the iPhone maker may be changing its strategy. A new leak suggests that with the iPhone 16 series, the Pro models may feature 256GB storage as standard, which, if true could be a highly appreciative move.

Larian Studios didn't so much smash last year's Baldur's Gate 3 out of the park as launch it straight into orbit, collecting countless Game of the Year awards and even a few BAFTAs along the way. But while the studio has made it clear it has no interest in returning for a Baldur's Gate 4, Dungeons and Dragons owner Wizard of the Coast is definitely onboard for more, and is currently «talking to lots of partners» about the future of the series.

Like previous entries in the series, Mortal Kombat 1 is rolling out plenty of DLC fighters, with the game’s first “Kombat Pack” including Omni-Man from Invincible, Quan Chi, Peacemaker from Suicide Squad, Ermac, Homelander from The Boys, and Takahashi Takeda.

With Larian having now officially handed the reins of the Baldur’s Gate series back to Dungeons & Dragons owners Wizards of the Coast (and their Monopoly-making parents at Hasbro) - with the developers saying they have no plans to make any DLC or a sequel - the ball for a Baldur’s Gate 4 now sits in Wizards’ court. The good news is that, yes, they also want to make a follow-up to one of the most acclaimed and successful video games of the last few years. Just don’t expect that to necessarily be anytime soon.

A board game based on Rayman is coming this year.

Xbox has announced the next wave of games coming to Game Pass in late April.

Ninja Kiwi’s Bloons Tower Defense is currently on the Google Play Store for $3.99, a pretty big drop from its usual $6.99. It’s the first time Bloons TD 6 has been on sale in over six months.

Manor Lords is currently the most wishlisted game on Steam ahead of games like Hades II and Black Myth: Wukong, having surpassed two million wishlists earlier this year.

Baldur's Gate 3 players who have modded their games are seeing references to a popular NPC character that suggests they were once set for full-on companion status.

A pair of scientists working in the Antarctic have managed to get their remote research station added as a location in Pokémon Go.

Let’s dive into Blackjack. No, I’m not talking about the old-school Blackjack. I’m talking about Blackjack 21, a new digital version of the classic card game. The game’s got a lovely 3D makeover and lets you win virtual chips all for free!

Content Warning publisher Landfall Games has announced the viral Steam hit has sold an impressive one million copies even after its eye-catching free launch period.

Manor Lords, one of our most anticipated city-building games, has become the world's most anticipated city-building game according Steam wishlist charts.

Our Class Writers have prepared Best in Slot Gear Guides for every Class and Role combination in Season of Discovery Phase 3, which features gear acquired from the new Phase 3 Level-Up Raid Sunken Temple. If you'd like to learn more about Sunken Temple or Phase 3, take a look at our guides below -- Phase 3 Overview Sunken Temple Overview Sunken Temple Loot We held off from updating our gear guides while discovering everything new that Phase 3 has to offer, from the impact of new gear and runes, to strategies, theorycrafting, and community discussion. As our writers have had time to assess these new additions to the game, all of our guides have been updated with the latest and greatest information to help you make the most out of this Season of Discovery!

Recently, a Hotfix was released that fixed the Mixology For Fun and Profit quest, allowing Alchemists to receive a ~30% bonus to Potion and Elixir crafting. Now, players are reporting that they are able to complete both this quest and the Master of Transmutation quest in order to receive additional Transmutation bonuses as well!A player shared that they were able to complete both Mixology For Fun and Profit and Master of Transmutation. You'll need to turn in quite a few items in order to complete these quests — Mixology For Fun and Profit requires players to turn in 10x Elixir of Demonslaying, 10x Invisibility Potion, and 5x Elixir of the Sages to Mixmaster Blix, while Master of Transmutation requires players to turn in 3x Arcanite Bar to Crimeon Lablade.

As if you needed more proof that Baldur's Gate 3 is, in fact, a pretty damn fine video game, Larian’s D&D RPG swept through the video game BAFTA awards yesterday, picking up five of the British entertainment org’s top trophies. Even more impressively - after all, Baldur’s Gate 3 winning a shedload of awards is old hat by now - its latest Best Game triumph means that the sprawling RPG-slash-fanfic machine is now the first video game to win all five of the industry’s major Game of the Year awards.

We've prepared Boss Strategy Guides for Sunken Temple, the new Level-Up Raid introduced in Season of Discovery Phase 3! These guides will help prepare your 20-player raid group to defeat each boss in Sunken Temple, which has been redesigned for Season of Discovery with entirely new boss encounters and mechanics! Take a look at our boss strategy guides below --

 Adobe's 'Ethical' firefly AI raises questions over training data sources;  Instagram's Modi AI images: Political boost sparks controversy;  Infosys partners with Intel to boost AI expertise and solutions; Apple Plans M4 chips with AI for upcoming Mac models: Report- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 has been celebrated for the performances of its voice cast, who received several performance nominations for this year's BAFTA awards and which last night won the coveted Best Game award.

Her character in Barbie may not control the railways or the flow of commerce, but soon Margot Robbie herself will. Well, sort of.