encounters Archives

Winsage

June 10, 2025

6 essential steps that Windows 11 users often miss after a fresh install

Many users overlook crucial default settings after installing Windows 11, which can lead to performance issues, privacy vulnerabilities, and complications during recovery. Key settings to configure include: 1. System Restore: This feature is disabled by default and allows users to revert system files and settings to a previous state. To enable it, users must access the System Properties page, select the main drive, click Configure, and turn on system protection. 2. BitLocker Recovery Key: Windows 11 automatically activates BitLocker on new installations. Users should back up their recovery key in their Microsoft account to avoid issues during startup. 3. Power Settings: Users should adjust power settings to prevent underperformance. This includes selecting "Best Performance" for both "Plugged in" and "On battery" modes and configuring screen and sleep timeouts. 4. Privacy Settings: Windows 11 collects diagnostic data by default. Users can enhance privacy by turning off features like "Find my device," "Personalized offers," and "Advertising ID," as well as disabling optional diagnostic data transmission. 5. Device Drivers: Users should verify that all device drivers are correctly installed, as the operating system may not install drivers for critical components. This can be checked in Device Manager, and updates can be managed through Windows Update. 6. System Backup: Establishing a backup is essential for data protection. Users can set up regular backups using the "Backup and Restore" feature by connecting an external drive and following the setup process in Control Panel.

AppWizard

June 9, 2025

I love Hideo Kojima’s games, but last night’s fawning over his genius from Geoff Keighley and the Death Stranding 2 cast got me the opposite of hyped

The premiere event for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach took place at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Geoff Keighley. The event featured a glimpse of an early boss fight with a character named Neil and introduced new gameplay elements, including a tar cannon and a blood boomerang. The panel discussion included Hideo Kojima and actors like Troy Baker, who expressed admiration for Kojima's work, but some attendees felt overwhelmed by the praise. Despite the event's aim to generate excitement, it left some viewers feeling underwhelmed and cautious about the game's release.

AppWizard

June 9, 2025

Sunless Sea studio Failbetter’s Mandrake is a rural life sim with a folklore twist

Failbetter Games has announced a new rural life simulation game called Mandrake, set in the village of Chandley, where horticulture is forbidden. Players will assume the role of the last horticultural sorcerer returning to their family's abandoned home. The game features typical activities like gardening, fishing, foraging, cooking, and crafting, while also incorporating elements of British history and folklore. Players will interact with a unique cast of villagers and explore various environments. The game includes darker themes, such as trading mundane crops for peculiar seeds and encountering otherworldly beings. A specific release date has not been announced, but the studio plans to conduct playtests and encourages players to wishlist Mandrake on Steam.

AppWizard

June 9, 2025

Everything Revealed During The PC Gaming Show 2025

The PC Gaming Show 2025 featured over 60 trailers in a nearly three-hour livestream, showcasing new titles and updates on previously announced games. Major reveals included world premieres of titles such as Ambrosia Sky, Ratatan, and The Alters, covering a variety of genres like roguelikes, co-op shooters, and survival sims. Key titles highlighted include: - Ambrosia Sky: A first-person sci-fi game where players confront an alien fungus in a space colony. - Far Far West: A co-op game where players are robo-bounty hunters in a Wild West setting. - Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition: Revives classic Dungeons & Dragons adventures with new features. - Fresh Tracks: A skiing adventure game with music elements. - Terminull Brigade: A co-op hero shooter set in a digital realm. - Ratatan: A rhythm-action game featuring online co-op battles. - Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth: A narrative-driven game about friendship and resilience. - Necesse: A sandbox action-adventure game focused on building and exploration. - Den of Wolves: A session-based shooter involving cooperative heists. - All Systems Dance: A game that combines dance battles with a dystopian narrative. - Spooky Express: A management simulation game set in a monster-themed theme park. - The Rogue Prince of Persia: A roguelite experience featuring acrobatics. - Enginefall: A multiplayer social sandbox aboard a mega-train. - EVE Frontier: A player-driven sandbox in a harsh cosmic environment. - Skyrig: A game focused on building rigs to extract gases in a stormy atmosphere. - Kaizen: A Factory Story: A factory design game set in 1980s Japan. - Dawn Apart: A colony simulation game on a destructible voxel planet. - Modulus: A factory-building game with customizable modules. - Generation Exile: A turn-based city-builder aboard a generation starship. - Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults: A co-op hack-and-slash ARPG. - Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault: Continues the story of its predecessor with action-RPG elements. - Barotrauma – Home & Harbor: An expansion for managing a deep-sea outpost. - No, I'm Not A Human: A narrative-driven game set in a dying world. - Botsu: A physics-based competitive gaming title. - No More Room In Hell 2: A co-op survival game in zombie-infested zones. - Farever: An online co-op action RPG in a fantasy world. - Mandrake: A narrative game about uncovering family mysteries. - Pizza Bandit: A cooking and shooting game. - Demonschool: A tactics RPG combining university life with battles. - The Last Caretaker: A survival game set in a flooded world. - Railborn: A game about building trains and managing resources. - Voyagers of Nera: A cooperative survival-crafting game in a magical ocean world. - Icarus: Great Hunts Campaigns: Offers nonlinear missions with unique stories. - Garbage Country: An exploration sim in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. - DarkSwitch: A vertical city builder around a great tree. - Sprint X Strike: A chaotic battle game in a post-apocalyptic setting. - Worship: A multiplayer roguelite about cultists performing rituals. - Stars of Icarus: A starship combat game emphasizing teamwork. - 007 First Light: A game featuring a young Bond's journey. - goblinAmerica: A game where players possess U.S. presidents to correct historical mistakes. - EverSiege: Untold Ages: A rogue-lite action-strategy game. - Pigface: A narrative-driven game about confronting the past. - TerraTech: An open-world sandbox adventure game. - Paralives: A life simulation game focused on building and managing lives. - Lost Rift: A cooperative survival game on an archipelago. - Hell Clock: A roguelike ARPG. - Militsioner: A narrative-driven escape game. - Arcane Eats: A roguelike deckbuilder. - Guntouchables: A cooperative survival game against mutants. - Ultrakill – Layer 8: Fraud: Details are yet to be revealed. - Stario: Heaven Tower: A game about building ecosystems. - Dispatch: A superhero workplace comedy. - Wheel World: An open-world mission game. - FBC: Firebreak: A cooperative FPS in a federal agency. - Anno 117: Pax Romana: A historical city-building game. - Baby Steps: A walking simulator exploring self-discovery. - Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Arbites: Players enforce law in a Warhammer universe. - Endless Legend 2: A fantasy strategy game. - Berserk or Die: A survival game against overwhelming odds. - Mycopunk: A game about uncovering a fungal catastrophe. - Bippo Plus: An interactive experience for Playdate owners. - Morbid Metal: A roguelike with simultaneous character control. - Love Eternal: A psychological horror platformer. - Bus Bound: A public bus service management game. - Atmosfar: A survival and co-op road trip adventure set for early access in 2026. - Void/Breaker: A sci-fi FPS with destructible environments. - Grave Seasons: A farming simulation with a mystery element. - Eyes of Hellfire: A multiplayer horror game with puzzles. - Deadwire: An action game with hacking elements. - Dinkum: A life simulation game on islands. - Void Martyrs: An action game set in a grimdark world. - CloverPit: A unique gameplay experience set to release in summer. - Eclipsium: A title with intense visuals and gameplay elements. - Abyssus: A cooperative FPS adventure. - Ascendant: A multiplayer shooter with chaotic gameplay. - Mewgenics: An endless cat breeding RPG set for release on February 10, 2026. - Dead Reset: A sci-fi horror FMV adventure. - Bernband: A lighthearted cyberpunk game. - Wanderburg: A roguelike adventure with a castle on wheels.

AppWizard

June 8, 2025

Thunder Lotus Games announces side-scrolling action adventure game At Fate’s End for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC

Thunder Lotus Games has announced a new project titled At Fate’s End, a side-scrolling action adventure game set for release in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. Players will take on the role of Shan, a young heiress wielding the God Sword Aesus, as she confronts her estranged siblings in emotionally charged duels. The game features a dual combat system, a narrative skill tree, and multiple endings influenced by player decisions. The game emphasizes themes of familial strife and reconciliation, contrasting with the farewell-focused narrative of the studio's previous title, Spiritfarer. An announcement trailer and screenshots are available for viewing.

AppWizard

June 7, 2025

I can’t stop watching these Dune: Awakening videos showing players having butt-puckeringly close calls with angry sandworms

In Funcom's survival MMO, Dune: Awakening, players face the threat of sandworms, known as Shai-Hulud, which can lead to a complete loss of inventory if swallowed. Encounters with these creatures transform desert traversal into a high-stakes experience, requiring players to be vigilant. Escaping a sandworm is more about being quicker than other players than about speed. The sandworm can also consume bystanders if it targets another player. Players have shared experiences of close calls, where unexpected encounters with sandworms can create chaotic scenarios. The game emphasizes tension and excitement as players navigate the desert while avoiding the ever-present threat of the sandworm.

AppWizard

June 7, 2025

Sci-fi action adventure game End of Abyss announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC

Epic Games Publishing, in collaboration with Section 9 Interactive, will release the science-fiction action-adventure game End of Abyss in 2026. It will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via the Epic Games Store. The game features a narrative centered around Cel, a young combat technician exploring a mysterious underground facility filled with intense combat and exploration. Key features include navigating a sprawling complex, facing overwhelming odds against terrifying creatures, and utilizing tools to uncover hidden areas.

AppWizard

June 6, 2025

Deltarune’s new chapters defy every rule of RPG logic

In Chapter 4 of Deltarune, players control Kris, who encounters a locked door, a step stool, and a green book. The intended solution involves using the step stool to reach the book and activate a switch, but players cannot interact with the stool. Instead, Ralsei acts as a step stool, allowing Suzie to hit the switch. The game features turn-based combat combined with bullet hell mechanics, encouraging creative, pacifist solutions. Emotional responses from enemies vary based on player actions. Notable moments include a turtle shouting at enemies and a battle that transforms into a roulette-style game. Humor subverts RPG conventions, such as a water cooler becoming an enemy and a game show hosted by a character with a CRT TV head. Players can design their hero, but the narrator humorously reminds them that they cannot fully project themselves onto Kris. The game consistently surprises players with its inventive mechanics and narrative twists.

AppWizard

June 6, 2025

Roguelike action game Reverie in the Moonlight announced for PC

Publisher and developer room6 is set to launch their roguelike action game, Reverie in the Moonlight, on PC via Steam in 2025. Players will take on the role of Little Tete, who, with the help of plush companions, fights nocturnal monsters that invade dreams. The game features 40 different plushies, each with unique abilities, such as Ham Jr., Snoozy-G, and Striped Angel. Players can collect gold after battles to acquire new plushies and over 100 items to enhance Tete's defenses. Additionally, players can customize Tete with more than 20 costumes, each providing distinct advantages and disadvantages. Official trailers for the game are available in multiple languages.

AppWizard

June 5, 2025

I’m hooked on this free Google app that transports me to different countries from my couch

Saeed Wazir, a daily user of Google apps, discovered the Google Arts & Culture app, which transformed his perspective on art. Initially hesitant about the Visual Arts feature, he found it engaging due to its diverse collection of artwork and user-friendly interface that allows for casual exploration. The app offers a Nature feature showcasing breathtaking locations, a Food feature highlighting unique dishes and culinary traditions, a Travel feature providing virtual visits to various landmarks, and a Design section displaying historical artifacts and inventions. Wazir appreciates the app's extensive features but notes that its cluttered interface can be challenging to navigate, and some sections may not resonate with him as much.