!.04-Rock Paper Shotgun

!.04-Rock Paper Shotgun

Games must let us be proper villains again if they want us to make meaningful moral choices

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 09:30 AM PDT

The most despicable, awful and down right evil thing I’ve ever done in a video game was during a Dark Side playthrough of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. At the end of the side quest Honest Debt, you convince a man to either spare or gun down a rather horrible chap who wronged him greatly. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about that - I’ve encountered the same thing dozens of times in games - but what comes after is a real doozy.

Not content simply with nudging the fella into giving in to his worst impulses, I then proceeded to persuade him to wipe the very memory of his nemesis from the galaxy, up to and including hunting down his friends and family members. Bastilla Shan, noted Jedi do-gooder, pointed out that neither she nor the Jedi council would approve. I was giggling like a schoolgirl.

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The BB Boys Road Trip: Director's Cut Special Edition

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 09:00 AM PDT

With the release of Death Stranding Director's Cut on Wednesday, I've been reminded of two important things this week. Firstly, that Kojima's bonkers hiking postal sim is still one of the best open world games around. If you haven't read my full thoughts on the new Director's Cut, please do consider having a gander. The second most important thing is that Death Stranding's photo mode remains just glorious, brilliant fun, and it therefore felt appropriate, nay, necessary to give my good old BB Boys another trip for the album.

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The top 10 games on PC in April 2022

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 08:03 AM PDT

And breathe... We did it! We made it through the first three months of 2022, potentially the busiest first quarter of any year to date. By comparison, April 2022 almost seems a little light when it comes to new PC releases. Only one AAA blockbuster launching this month? How quaint.

Still, this relatively quiet period finally gives indie games a chance to breathe again. There are a ton of super interesting, smaller titles launching on PC this month that I’m excited to share with you all today. From epic turn-based RPGs based on English mythology to offbeat walking simulators about free will, there’s something for everyone launching on PC this month.

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Potato Flowers In Full Bloom overcame my distaste for dungeons

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 07:30 AM PDT

The main consolation of disliking a genre is the childish fun you can have by describing it badly and pretending you don’t know its name. For example, there's probably a generally accepted term for RPGs about traipsing around dungeons killing rats, while turning and moving strictly at 90 degree angles. But I actually typed out "Dungeons of Gridlock" because I genuinely thought that's what Legend Of Grimrock was called. For once, I am not trying to annoy fans of a thing I generally hate.

That's because I've been playing Potato Flowers In Full Bloom, which is very much one of those games. And it’s the first I’ve ever enjoyed.

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The Steam Deck battery life guide: games tested and how to extend it

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 06:27 AM PDT

The Steam Deck’s battery life isn’t one of its best qualities. While this weakness is outweighed by the pleasures of playing PC games in bed or on the bus, most such games will drain the Deck quickly, requiring a degree of foresight if you want to entertain yourself on a long trip away from mains power. At the same time, different games will drain at different speeds, with some allowing Valve’s handheld to last hours longer than others.

Ultimately, I think the only truly accurate way to measure and judge the Steam Deck’s battery life is to test a bunch of different games to see how long it lasts with each. So I have! Here you’ll find a list of games with how long they took to empty the Deck’s battery from full. I’ll be coming back and adding more to the list as I test them, so you can see for yourself what uptimes to expect from your favourites.

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Tiny Tina's Wonderlands review: neurotic humour and the precise gun magic you'd expect

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 05:00 AM PDT

The comedy of Borderlands is like a high-recoil submachine gun. Hit and miss. In poorer moments, it falls into the trap of the sketch show, flogging a perfectly fine jokehorse to the point of putrefaction. In richer moments, it flips your expectations with a huge scene-changing gag that solicits a hearty giggle. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is more mix for the bag. It's a loots-be-shoot with a moreish loop urging you onward, boasting characterful art design and thick-lined scenery goading you to pause for yet another snap in photo mode. For Borderlikers, the gun compulsion and farty japes will be enough. It exists as a handsome world to roam through with pals, half-listening to dialogue while Paula chews toast and Jeremy complains about work. As that, Tinalands is fine. It is also 100% not for me.

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House Flipper added F.R.I.E.N.D.S. apartments for April Fool's Day

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 04:46 AM PDT

April Fool's Day mostly exists to demonstrate that marketing people are not funny, but I do like when developers follow through and actually make daft jokes reality. Case in point: renovate 'em up House Flipper has added two apartments from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. for you to fix up. You can refresh the 90s vibes of Rachel & Monica's flat, and make Chandler & Joey's flat at least somewhat resemble a place fit for human habitation. I approve of this April Foolishness.

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We've played Nine Sols and its Sekiro-inspired combat is shaping up nicely

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 04:00 AM PDT

Nine Sols is an upcoming 2D action platformer developed by Red Candle, the folks behind horror games Devotion and Detention. It's a pretty big leap from their usual fare, but based on a 40 minute demo I got to play this week, it's worked out a treat. There's a hint of Sekiro in there, with katana clashing combat, combined with a mysterious story that has me itching to know more. This is rare for someone like me, who often cares more for the action than the characters. Hey, keep an eye on this one.

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The 9 best plot twists in PC games

Posted: 01 Apr 2022 02:00 AM PDT

Hello, it's the list goblin. Every month I bring fun lists to share. My hideous goblin features and desperate hunger for SEO crumbs hide a generous heart. People don't expect kindness from a creature such as I. But life is full of twists, and so are video games.

Remember when BioShock pulled the rug from beneath you so hard you cracked your head on the wet tiles? Remember when the dragon scales fell from your eyes during The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim? Here's the 10 best plot twists in PC games. (I've limited it to games that are at least a couple of years old, still, don't be sad if you read spoilers.)

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Diablo 4's art style promises a "return to darkness"

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 02:21 PM PDT

I remember when Diablo 3 was released. One of the (many) talking points around the game was its art style, and the perception that Blizzard had made the art style lighter and friendlier versus the gothic greys of the previous two games. The criticism seemed a little overblown and silly at the time, but here we are reading the latest quarterly update on the development of Diablo 4. It focuses on the new game's art, and the phrase "return to darkness" is used repeatedly.

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New World's Heart Of Madness update is live, concluding its main storyline

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 01:45 PM PDT

Heart Of Madness was announced back at the start of March, with promises of concluding New World's storyline. Then it was going to release on Tuesday of this week, but was delayed due to a last minute bug. Then it was going to release on Wednesday of this week, but was delayed due to a last minute bug.

Well, it's here now, Thursday, and it also adds a new Blunderbuss weapon and endless balance changes to the MMO.

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E3's digital event has been cancelled, meaning there's no E3 at all this year

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 01:05 PM PDT

E3 2022's physical event was cancelled back in January, but at the time organisers said they were "excited about the possibilities of an online event". Now that digital event has been cancelled as well, meaning there will be no E3 at all in 2022.

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Citybuilding spin-off Cities: VR will launch on April 28th

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 12:39 PM PDT

Squatting among the cityscapes of Google Earth remains one of virtual reality's best experiences, and so there's an instant appeal in being able to build the cityscape yourself. Cities: VR aims to allow that as a spin-off from Cities: Skylines, and we now know it'll launch exclusively for the Meta Quest 2 on April 28th. There's a new video below, offering a look at how it all works.

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The Electronic Wireless Show episode 180: the best games to adapt into a TV show special

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 10:56 AM PDT

This week, the Electronic Wireless Show podcast is talking about TV adaptations of video games, specifically the best games that would make for great telly box shows, rather than what's already been turned into visual screen fodder (*cough* Halo *cough*). Alice Bee is away this week, adapting to life in a brand-new country, leaving Nate and Matthew to dwell on the merits of The Mandalorian, and whether a show following the life of a Halo grunt would be better than big flashy Master Chief quips.

Matthew puts forward the idea of a Hitman TV show in the vein of Succession, focusing not on Agent 47, but the elite corporate villains he assassinates, as they deal with various cast members being offed in mysterious circumstances. Nate, meanwhile, wants to go all-in on a Dungeon Keeper sitcom, and The Office-like monster relationships therein.

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Total War: Warhammer is free on Epic this week

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 10:42 AM PDT

This week's big free game on the Epic Games Store might have two sequels by now, but it's still a good'un: it's Total War: Warhammer. You have one week to claim the start of Creative Assembly's strategy trilogy set in Games Workshop's fantasy world of WH0K. Epic have also brought back a previous freebie, the first-person stabber City Of Brass. A tidy haul for the small price of using the Epic Games Store.

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The Fertile Crescent review (early access): a bite-sized chunk of phenomenal RTS design

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 09:00 AM PDT

I’m not going to bury the lede here: The Fertile Crescent is, to my delight, a proper little belter of a real-time strategy game. Having just hit early access, this Mesopotamian pomegranate-’em-up is certainly no epic, and you can see pretty much everything it can do within a couple of hours of play. But it’s been under development for five years, and by Hammurabi’s majestic beard does it show.

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Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: a launch party of AMD hardware

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 08:56 AM PDT

Aha, another gaming laptop that conveniently lets me do a three-in-one review. The new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a more mature-looking replacement for the 2021 version, while also introducing two brand new components from AMD: the Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU and the Radeon RX 6800S graphics chip. Much like the key internals of the MSI Raider GE76, then, these components are up for first-time testing as much as the rest of the laptop is.

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RPS Time Capsule: the games worth saving from 2014

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 08:01 AM PDT

Welcome back to the third edition of The RPS Time Capsule, a monthly feature in which the RPS Treehouse puts their hivemind together to pick their favourite, bestest best games from a specific year to be preserved until the end of time. In the spirit of keeping you on your toes, this time we've set our sights on the best games from 2014. Which games will make the cut and ascend to the realms of the PC gaming elite? Find out below.

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Warhammer 40K: Darktide should finally arrive in September

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 07:09 AM PDT

The makers of cooperative Warhammer FPS Vermintide today finally announced a release date for the far-future follow-up, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Its ragtag gang will start rooting out Chaos on the 13th of September, which, yes, does mean the game is delayed again. But this time they're committing to an actual date.

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Superfuse is making a violent play to be your next co-op Diablo-like

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 07:00 AM PDT

Diablo meets The Boys is the four-word elevator pitch of Stitch Heads and Raw Fury's new isometric hack and slasher - and judging from the amount of loot, blood and minced limbs I saw in my hands on demo last week, I'd say they're pretty bang on the money, albeit with an extra dash of Borderlands thanks to its cel-shaded comic book visuals. Whichever way you slice it, though, Superfuse makes a striking and violent first impression.

Perhaps it's because I'm playing as its Berserker class, a large walking slab of man muscle whose axe and (comically large) fists can pulverise anything and everything standing in its way. Or maybe it's because the devs have given me free rein of the game's extensive skill tree, letting me pile in dozens of points into attacks, abilities and power-ups normally reserved for later on. Superfuse may be a loot-driven hack and slash with hundreds of different weapons and armour components to pick from, but its skill tree is equally vast, giving you as much flexibility in how your attacks play out onscreen as your various wardrobe choices - and some of its effects are deliciously gory.

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Weird West review: a breathtakingly reactive spin on classic Fallout

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

“Graveyard’s full,” says Timothy Hall, the man prodding the bones of the piano at the saloon in Grackle. It’s a concise expression of everything the town’s been through: the rampaging bandits, the cannibal kidnappings, the swirling tornados. Filling the graveyard has been a solemn bid for order in the wake of so much chaos.

It’s not that way in Bripton, the next town over. The graveyard there is uncannily empty, save for a similarly bare tree. But you can change that, should you so choose: shoot up the bank or fight a duel and, the next time you return to that settlement, new plots will have appeared for every life snuffed out. Weird West even suggests you head to the local cemetery to loot any bodies you’ve missed - though its reputational system implies you should ensure nobody’s watching first.

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Loop Hero makers support piracy if sanctions stop you buying it

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 05:16 AM PDT

The Russian studio behind Loop Hero have encouraged would-be-players to pirate their game if they're unable to buy it due to the sanctions against Russia. Access to some payment systems has been lost following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so the devs say if you can't figure out a way to buy it, hey, just download it. The route-building dungeon-crawler's publishers, Devolver Digital, have supported this.

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Nightmare Reaper is a retro-FPS roguelike that's bloody fun

Posted: 31 Mar 2022 03:25 AM PDT

Nightmare Reaper is rad, which is something I didn't think I'd say. DOOM and its DOOM-like spawn don't often do it for me. Bouncing around an arena and carving demons into hunks of meat gets a bit repetitive for my tastes. Which is weird! I love FPS games and repetitive things, like dying in Hades over and over again.

I'm into Nightmare Reaper because it's repetitive... but not. It's a roguelike DOOM-inspired shooter where you blast through procedurally-generated levels and their demonic denizens, earn cash, put points into a skill-tree, and get as far as you can. The quest for loot has elevated this from a potential "Meh" to a solid, "Oh yeah".

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