combat encounters Archives

AppWizard

July 27, 2025

Lost Soul Aside’s PS5, PC Price Could Be Its Biggest Bottle Neck

Yang Bing has classified the game Lost Soul Aside as a “AA game.” Sony has set its price at £59.99. Content creator Lunatic Ignus experienced a two-hour demo, expressing concerns about the game's execution and its ability to justify the price point. He noted issues with animations and combat, suggesting it may not achieve general success despite interest from Chinese gamers. The demo revealed a town with shops and NPCs, indicating more depth than expected. The release date for Lost Soul Aside is set for August 29th.

AppWizard

June 23, 2025

Death Stranding 2 cements Hideo Kojima’s legacy as a PC game designer still living in the console world

In Death Stranding 2, players are tasked with delivering a pizza to an anime VTuber who has withdrawn from society. The game emphasizes the character's belief in the simple pleasure of hot pizza. Game director Hideo Kojima notes that the sequel allows for greater player freedom, including the option to avoid combat. The game combines immersive sim elements with a focus on delivery mechanics, offering various approaches to challenges. Players navigate diverse environments, including dust storms and blizzards, using new gear like the coffin surfboard. The balance between combat and delivery is maintained, with a versatile arsenal and attention to detail enhancing the experience. The day/night cycle introduces strategic elements, and the character Dollman serves both narrative and gameplay functions. The game encourages exploration and personal storytelling within its expansive world.

AppWizard

May 29, 2025

Former BioWare lead writer says the best level in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines gave him ‘ammunition’ to argue that story can be just as engaging as combat

David Gaider, former lead writer at BioWare, expressed concerns about the overuse of "trashmob fights" in gaming, advocating for a balance between combat and narrative. He was influenced by the combat-free level in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, which emphasized tension through storytelling rather than action. Gaider argued against the necessity of frequent combat encounters, believing that narrative depth and political intrigue could engage players just as effectively. Despite his vision for a combat-free masquerade ball in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the design team opted to include combat, highlighting the ongoing challenge of balancing player engagement with narrative flow. Gaider emphasized that storytelling can keep players interested without relying solely on fighting.

AppWizard

April 4, 2025

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered review

The Last of Us Part 2 features a narrative that explores themes of vengeance and the moral dilemmas of violence, focusing on characters Abby and Ellie who are caught in a cycle of revenge amidst conflicts involving the military junta FEDRA, the Washington Liberation Front, and the Seraphites. The game introduces several enhancements in its recent PC release, including ultrawide support, HDR, enhanced graphics options, improved accessibility settings, and a new “speech to vibrations” feature. It also includes new gameplay modes such as a guitar-playing feature for Ellie and a roguelite mode called No Return, which emphasizes strategic resource management in randomized combat encounters. Despite its rich audiovisual presentation and engaging combat, the game has faced performance issues on PC, particularly with an RTX 3060 Ti, and its narrative has been criticized for being clichéd and for its handling of violence and power dynamics. A day-one patch is expected to address some of these performance concerns.

AppWizard

October 2, 2024

The Best ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Console Mods and How to Run Wild with Them

Patch 7 for Baldur’s Gate 3 has been released on consoles, featuring dynamic splitscreen gameplay, new endings for evil-aligned characters, and the introduction of Larian's official mod manager for customization. Console players will initially have access to a curated selection of 69 mods, while PC users have nearly 10,000 mods available on NexusMods. Recommended mods include ImprovedUI, Better Inventory UI, Weightless Gold, UnlockLevelCurve, and Adjustable Party Limit. Cosmetic mods highlighted include FaerunColors, All Camp Clothes and Dyes, Leicarna’s Piercings, Kay’s Hair Extensions, Faces of Faerun, and Custom Dice. New content mods include the Kuo-Toa Playable Race and the Mystic Class, along with the humorous Underwear of Rituals mod. Patch 7 is available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

AppWizard

September 20, 2024

God of War Ragnarök’s PC release is here with a sweet launch deal, so why not play the game that almost stole Elden Ring’s GOTY crown?

God of War Ragnarök has been released on PC, achieving a "Universal Acclaim" score of 94/100 on Metacritic and selling 15 million units as of November 2023. The game is currently available at a discounted price of .89 at CDKeys, down from .99, with the Deluxe Edition reduced to .19 from .99. It follows Kratos and Atreus three years after the original game, exploring the Nine Realms and featuring enhanced storytelling and gameplay mechanics. The PC version was developed by Jetpack Interactive, and early reviews indicate good performance with adequate hardware.

AppWizard

August 29, 2024

Your bad choices literally haunt you in fantasy western RPG Arco, which has quickly and quietly become one of the most interesting games I’ve played this year

Arco is a dynamic tactical RPG set in a magical western environment, featuring a 2D side-scrolling adventure. Players assume the roles of members of an indigenous community dealing with the aftermath of colonialism. The game includes unique combat mechanics where the protagonist, Teco, must make an offering to a sacred tree, leading to engaging combat tutorials. The combat system combines turn-based and real-time elements, with players managing a resource called Magia and facing simultaneous movements from players and enemies. A Guilt mechanic introduces consequences for actions, resulting in ghosts that affect gameplay. The narrative follows Tizo, a bounty hunter seeking vengeance for his village's destruction, where decisions lead to emotional consequences and new challenges in battles. The game is set against the backdrop of colonial Mesoamerica, emphasizing creativity and depth in storytelling and gameplay.

AppWizard

August 12, 2024

20 Best Minecraft 1.21 Fabric Mods

A selection of mods compatible with Fabric for Minecraft 1.21 includes: 1. Just Enough Items (JEI) - Provides a comprehensive list of items and their crafting, smelting, and brewing recipes. 2. Fabulously Optimized - Enhances game performance by boosting FPS and smoothing gameplay. 3. Essential Mod - Allows creation and hosting of multiplayer worlds without a dedicated server, includes in-game chat and emotes. 4. First-Person Model - Replaces the character's head with a camera for a more immersive experience. 5. Not Enough Animations - Improves animations for player actions from a third-person perspective. 6. Shulker Box Tooltip - Displays contents of shulker boxes in an organized grid when hovered over. 7. BetterF3 - Customizes the debug screen HUD for easier data access. 8. Camera Utils - Manipulates the in-game camera for zooming and cinematic shots. 9. Nvidium - Optimizes performance for Nvidia GPUs, allowing over 1000 FPS and a render distance of 256 chunks. 10. WorldEdit - A tool for rapid construction and terrain modification. 11. Biomes O’ Plenty - Introduces over 50 unique biomes with new plants, trees, and blocks. 12. Xaero’s Minimap - Adds a minimap for navigation, displaying terrain and player coordinates. 13. BetterNether - Expands the Nether with new biomes, mobs, and structures. 14. Mouse Tweaks - Enhances item transfer mechanics for better inventory management. 15. Chipped - Offers new crafting stations for over 10,000 unique block variants. 16. Mace But 3D - Replaces the 2D mace model with a 3D version. 17. More Maces - Introduces four new maces with unique effects. 18. Do a Barrel Roll - Allows players to perform aerial maneuvers while using elytra. 19. Creepy Creepers - Adds new variants of creepers with distinct abilities. 20. Cycle Paintings - Simplifies the selection process for paintings. These mods enhance gameplay by providing various tools, visuals, and features.

AppWizard

August 9, 2024

Splitgate 2’s first gameplay is here, and yep, adding classes changes everything

Splitgate 2 features a gameplay reveal showcasing a mix of arena shooter mechanics and portal technology. The game introduces three distinct classes, moving away from the original's weapon pickup system to a more dynamic loadout system. It includes an accelerated movement pace and a new sliding mechanic, enhancing combat encounters. Players can utilize various abilities and utility powers, such as deployable shields and self-boosting stims. Splitgate: Arena Warfare, originally released in 2019, saw a resurgence in 2021, leading to the decision to halt its development in 2022 to focus on Splitgate 2. 1047 Games CEO Ian Proulx described Splitgate 2 as a revolutionary step forward for competitive shooters. Additional information is available on its official website and on Epic and Steam stores.

AppWizard

July 27, 2024

Weekend PC Game Deals: Simulation fests, Olympic bundles, and more

- Gold Medal Games Bundle on Humble celebrating the Summer Olympic Games - Fanatical's Into Games Bundle 2024 offers games for charity - Epic Games Store offering free copy of F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch - Free events this weekend for Dead by Daylight, For Honor, and Age of Mythology Retold - Steam hosting simulator festival, Plants vs Zombies franchise sale, and publisher promotions - GOG's specials this weekend feature DRM-free immersive sims and strategy games