expansive environments Archives

AppWizard

January 6, 2026

In 2025, Monster Hunter fell prey to profit

Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds sold 8 million copies within three days of its release, making it the fastest-selling title in the company's history. However, the game's review ratings on Steam fluctuated between Mixed and Mostly Negative due to performance issues, leading to a drop in sales from 10 million at launch to fewer than 500,000 in a single quarter. Capcom's net sales fell by 24.7% year-over-year and profits dropped nearly 40%. The company has introduced 190 microtransaction items for the game, while significant improvements to its optimization are not expected until February.

AppWizard

December 28, 2025

A game about giant, helpless teddy bears fleeing a dying world may be a bit on the nose right now, but it’s also my favorite game of 2025

Herdling, developed by Okomotive, is a light puzzle adventure game that focuses on nurturing rather than violence. Players guide a calicorn, a majestic creature, through a world affected by neglect, emphasizing themes of life, hope, and companionship. The gameplay involves herding the calicorns through various landscapes while facing challenges that require strategic thinking. The bond between the player and the calicorns creates a sense of responsibility, and players must navigate obstacles while maintaining the creatures' trust and safety. The game features simple mechanics, artistic design, and atmospheric soundscapes, fostering emotional engagement and empathy.

AppWizard

December 14, 2025

007 First Light, the James Bond game from Hitman developers, gets a major pre-order discount months before launch

James Bond has been a popular character in video games, with adaptations varying in quality. The upcoming game, 007 First Light, developed by IO Interactive, features a young Bond on his first mission, aiming for a more relatable portrayal. This game allows players to engage in action rather than traditional stealth gameplay, appealing to a wider audience. It combines elements of Hitman and Uncharted, and is available for pre-order at Fanatical for .89 / £52.19, with a 13% discount. The promotion is expected to last until the game's release.

AppWizard

December 12, 2025

Pragmata’s PC Demo Runs Like a Dream

CAPCOM revealed the release date for Pragmata as April 26, 2026, during The Game Awards 2025, and launched a demo available for PC users. The demo lasts approximately 25 minutes and showcases a shift to a more contained environment, resulting in enhanced performance. The demo runs smoothly on an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and an RTX 4070 Super, achieving an average frame rate of around 90 FPS at 1440p with DLSS configured to DLAA, and up to 120 FPS with DLSS set to Quality. The demo includes options to disable ray tracing and other visual effects for improved performance, and supports Frame Generation for enhanced frame rates. The minimum system requirements include a CPU of Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500, 16 GB RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU, while the recommended requirements include an Intel Core i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super or Radeon RX 6600 GPU. The demo is 7.4 GB in size and available for download on Steam.

AppWizard

November 15, 2025

Battlefield 6 Devs Are ‘Learning’ From Player Created Big Maps

Battlefield 6 developers have acknowledged criticism regarding the lack of large maps since its launch and have promised additional maps are forthcoming. Bobby Kotick revealed he offered [openai_gpt model="gpt-4o-mini" prompt="Summarize the content and extract only the fact described in the text bellow. The summary shall NOT include a title, introduction and conclusion. Text: Good morning and welcome to your regularly scheduled Friday. As you prepare to embrace the weekend, take a moment to catch up on today’s Morning Checkpoint, a curated selection of noteworthy updates from the gaming industry. Battlefield 6 devs address lack of big maps and offer some hope Since its launch last month, Battlefield 6 has faced criticism regarding the absence of expansive maps. In response, EA has taken to their blog to reassure players that additional maps of various sizes are on the horizon. The developers at Battlefield Studios have acknowledged the community's creativity, particularly in the Portal mode, where user-generated maps have begun to reshape the gaming experience. In a recent playtest, I had the opportunity to explore the upcoming map, Eastwood, and it appears to be a promising addition that will likely satisfy players’ desires for larger battlegrounds. The hope remains that future updates will deliver even more expansive environments, fulfilling the expectations of dedicated fans. Bobby Kotick offered Notch .5 billion for Minecraft In a recent podcast appearance, former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that he nearly acquired Minecraft before Microsoft finalized the deal in 2014. Kotick recounted his experience negotiating with Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, stating, “We offered him .5 billion. And he said, ‘By the way, I’m quitting, and my top leadership guys are all quitting.’” With only 30 employees at the time, the deal fell through, leaving Activision to eventually gain ownership of Minecraft through Microsoft’s acquisition of the company in 2023. Insider claims RDR2 is going to get a PS5 upgrade In recent news, Rockstar announced that Red Dead Redemption will receive free upgrades for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2, enhancing its performance on newer consoles. According to reliable leaker NateTheHate, there are also plans for a PS5 upgrade for Red Dead Redemption 2, although the timeline has been impacted by delays related to GTA 6. The gaming community eagerly awaits further developments on this front. Phasmophobia devs don’t want the game to be a live-service ‘treadmill’ The co-op ghost-hunting game Phasmophobia has garnered a significant following, yet its developers are keen to distance themselves from the live-service model prevalent in titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty. In an interview with PCGamesN, art director Corey Dixon expressed a desire to avoid the pressures of live-service development, emphasizing the importance of creating a game that players enjoy for its inherent fun rather than as a means to retain their attention. This refreshing perspective highlights a commitment to player experience over monetization strategies. Rockstar’s firing of 31 employees is now officially being discussed in the UK Parliament Earlier this month, Rockstar Games made headlines by terminating over two dozen employees in the UK. The affected workers, along with the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, have accused the company of union-busting and are demanding their reinstatement. Rockstar contends that the dismissals were due to the sharing of confidential information. This situation has escalated to the point where it was addressed in the UK Parliament, raising questions about the company's practices and the implications for its workforce. ICYMI: Watch This:" max_tokens="3500" temperature="0.3" top_p="1.0" best_of="1" presence_penalty="0.1" frequency_penalty="frequency_penalty"].5 billion to acquire Minecraft before Microsoft finalized the deal in 2014. Rockstar announced that Red Dead Redemption will receive free upgrades for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2, and there are plans for a PS5 upgrade for Red Dead Redemption 2, though delays related to GTA 6 have impacted the timeline. The developers of Phasmophobia aim to avoid the live-service model, focusing instead on creating a game that players enjoy for its fun. Rockstar Games recently fired 31 employees in the UK, leading to accusations of union-busting and discussions in the UK Parliament regarding the dismissals.

AppWizard

October 29, 2025

How Was THIS the First Game I Finished on My New PC?

The author recently upgraded to a new gaming PC and completed LEGO Horizon Adventures, a family-friendly game part of Sony's 2024 initiative. The game, built on Unreal Engine 5, has faced criticism for its system requirements and performance issues, but it performed well on the author's PC, especially with Nvidia's DLSS 4. The game features high production value and effective use of lighting and environmental detail, although it condenses a longer narrative into a shorter format. It was developed by Studio Gobo and Sony, not the usual TT Games team. The author created a document to track completed games and noted that LEGO Horizon Adventures is the only entry so far. The review was self-funded, with no compensation received from developers.

AppWizard

October 27, 2025

Psychopomp is one of the best games you can get for under $10 on Steam, and its newly-revealed sequel looks even better

Fading Club has released the first trailer for Psychopomp 2, a sequel to the horror dungeon crawler Psychopomp, which was launched a year after the Gold version of the original game. The sequel features a new character, a besuited anime boy, and shifts to a third-person perspective, allowing for more movement freedom. It retains claustrophobic dungeons while introducing larger environments and a serene settlement. The visual style includes anime-inspired characters and vaporwave aesthetics. A release date has not been announced, but players can wishlist the game on Steam, and a free demo of the original is available.

AppWizard

September 23, 2025

Can You Play Games on a 300$ PC in 2025?

In 2025, a budget-friendly gaming PC can be assembled using second-hand components for approximately 0, featuring an Intel i7-7700k or 8700k, 32GB RAM, a GTX 1080 Ti, and a 2TB HDD. This configuration can deliver impressive performance, achieving around 147 FPS in Far Cry 5 at 1080p, 127 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p, and over 50 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p. In Apex Legends, framerates range from 115 FPS to 144 FPS depending on the map location. While performance can be improved with an NVMe SSD, the setup is suitable for casual gamers focused on single-player or older titles. However, it may not meet the demands of modern AAA games.

AppWizard

September 21, 2025

Cheap and cheerful new indie roguelike gets the vibe just right, and it keeps growing bigger

Megabonk is an indie game developed by Vedinad that combines horde survival mechanics similar to Vampire Survivors with expansive environments reminiscent of Risk of Rain 2. The game features a variety of characters, including a skateboarding skeleton and a monkey in shades, and offers a fast-paced gameplay experience with 20 characters and over 70 unique items. Despite concerns about launching during a crowded release window, Megabonk was released on August 18 and has achieved a peak concurrent player count of 18,085 on Steam, with 96% of users giving it an 'overwhelmingly positive' rating. The game is currently available on Steam for .49 / £7.22, with a limited-time 15% discount running through October 2.

AppWizard

September 13, 2025

Borderlands 4 is bringing me joy, but one bizarre design choice is making no-one happy

The player has enjoyed their experience with Borderlands 4, despite some performance issues related to Unreal Engine 5. The game has peaked at over a quarter of a million concurrent users on Steam. Players have noted frustrations with world bosses disappearing when they step outside designated boundaries during battles. Community feedback includes suggestions for a cooldown period for re-entering the zone and the idea of a Thunderdome-style arena for boss encounters. The game incorporates elements from previous titles, enhancing gameplay.