facility Archives

AppWizard

December 27, 2025

It was a good year for survival crafting sickos, and I’ll be playing some of these well into 2026

The author is actively involved in a community focused on survival crafting games, exploring various titles such as Dune: Awakening, Grounded 2, and Abiotic Factor. They have a nostalgic connection to Pax Dei, which features a grind-heavy, player-driven universe but faces challenges in player retention. Misery, currently in early access, offers a melancholic atmosphere with potential for future development. Recent updates to Rust, including a new jungle biome and blueprint system, have sparked renewed interest. Abiotic Factor, recognized as the Best Co-op Game of 2025, remains the author's favorite due to its charm and homage to the Half-Life series.

AppWizard

December 25, 2025

Sci-Fi Survival Horror Game Free on the Epic Games Store for 24 Hours

The Epic Games Store offers free games weekly, with a special holiday promotion providing a new free game every 24 hours. The latest free game, The Callisto Protocol, will be available from December 24th at 11 AM ET until December 25th at 11 AM ET. Players who claim it will retain access indefinitely. The Callisto Protocol is a narrative-driven third-person survival horror game set in a futuristic environment, where players escape a high-security prison while facing monstrous inmates. It received a Metacritic rating of 69 and mixed reviews on Steam, with praise for its graphics and narrative but criticism for combat variety. The Steam Winter Sale runs until January 5th, and the next free title from the Epic Games Store will be announced on December 25th at 11 AM ET.

Winsage

December 23, 2025

Microsoft bets on AI to rewrite Windows after code it wrote broke the OS

Microsoft plans to eliminate all C and C++ code from its products by 2030, as announced by Galen Hunt on November 25, 2025. This decision follows significant malfunctions in Windows 11 that began in July 2025, affecting core components like the Start Menu and Taskbar. The company aims to achieve "1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code" through AI-assisted rewrites. A patch to address these issues is promised for December 2025. The initiative is part of Microsoft's Future of Scalable Software Engineering group, with a focus on leveraging AI to manage and modify code at scale. A Principal Software Engineer position has been opened, emphasizing expertise in Rust. Microsoft is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, with plans to allocate billions for datacenter construction in 2025.

AppWizard

December 20, 2025

Abiotic Factor’s 1.2 update invites you to explore the ‘Holiday Cryosphere’, a festive interdimensional snowglobe where everything’s on fire for some reason

Deep Field Games released the 1.2 patch for Abiotic Factor, introducing a holiday-themed dimension called the holiday cryosphere, which features a snow globe environment with a frosted pine forest and a chocolate-box village. Players can unlock a new home world, a mountain log cabin, and enjoy seasonal features like snowball fights and a 'wishing shelf' at the GATE Cascade Research Facility. The update also includes a new plantable food item, an increase in food buffs for strategic gameplay, and new inventory management tools. Abiotic Factor has received positive reviews, including a 92% rating from Morgan Park.

AppWizard

December 17, 2025

Six Xbox Game Pass titles to dive into during the holidays

The text describes a cozy holiday atmosphere enhanced by gaming, highlighting six games suitable for the festive season: 1. Fallout 4: An award-winning RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Boston where players can build settlements and explore a vast open world. 2. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor: A game where players control a dwarf miner, gathering resources and battling aliens, featuring a unique path-carving mechanic and a rich progression system. 3. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7: The latest installment in the franchise, offering three game modes and over thirty multiplayer maps for co-op campaigns and competitive play. 4. Age of Mythology: Retold: A reimagining of the 2002 classic real-time strategy game, featuring mythological heroes and significant gameplay improvements. 5. Abiotic Factor: A survival game where players are stranded scientists dealing with a paranormal outbreak, focusing on resource scavenging and teamwork, nominated for PC Game of the Year. 6. Diablo 4: A loot-driven game with engaging mechanics, featuring roguelike events and character customization, set in demon-infested zones.

AppWizard

December 14, 2025

XCOM creator’s spiritual successor strategy game just got a colossal update inspired by its best mod, and it’s 60% off

The Firebird update for Phoenix Point has been released, featuring significant gameplay enhancements and a 60% discount on Steam until December 18, allowing players to purchase the game for .99 / £7.79. The update includes reduced research and construction times, adjustments to resource management, rebalanced Haven Defense missions, refined encounter types, a redesigned manufacturing screen, and rebalancing of all five DLC packs. The development team collaborated with creators of the popular Terror From The Void mod to ensure compatibility with ongoing campaigns.

AppWizard

December 6, 2025

PC gaming’s best inventory system is hidden in this obscure post-apocalyptic roguelike from the dawn of the survival craze

Neo Scavenger is a roguelike survival game released in 2014, set in a post-apocalyptic Michigan. Players awaken in an abandoned research facility and must navigate a hex-based landscape while uncovering their character's identity. The game features a unique grid-based inventory system that reflects real-world physics, starting players with no inventory and emphasizing the urgency of scavenging. Items like clothing and plastic bags provide storage and enhance realism, allowing for creative uses of everyday objects. Players can encounter larger inventory solutions and utilize a crafting system for tools and shelters. The game presents challenges such as hunger, thirst, and hostile factions, requiring players to make critical decisions for survival. The narrative explores moral ambiguity as players may pursue other survivors for resources.

AppWizard

November 30, 2025

Space sandbox game sequel gets the transformative update I’ve been waiting for, with a full star system and planets

The latest update for Space Engineers 2, known as the Vertical Slice 2 (VS2), introduces the first full implementation of planets and enhances the survival experience. The update features the Almagest star system, including the brown dwarf star Delfos and the planets Verdure and Kemik, which offer diverse biomes and destructible elements. A new survival mode is introduced with a storyline, base contract systems, and an innovative building system that allows players to create holographic designs before committing resources. The update also includes a grid power system, various consumables, and tools for ore detection and drilling. The VS2 update will launch on December 1 and is currently available at a 20% discount until December 8. Future features, such as wheels, weapons, and mechanical blocks, are planned for the VS2.2 'Survival Extensions.'

AppWizard

November 29, 2025

A new Half-Life game has just launched a demo on Steam, but Valve’s not involved

Half-Life: Element 64 is a community-driven mod developed by Dark Vector, which has released a demo on Steam. Players need to own a copy of the original Half-Life to access the mod, which takes place in the Black Mesa Research facility and features gameplay inspired by classic first-person shooters like Doom and Quake. The mod consists of four episodes, beginning with players fighting through medical bays and research facilities overrun by alien invaders and zombified staff. The demo is available for free on Steam, and while a full release date has not been announced, it captures the essence of the original Half-Life game from 1998.

AppWizard

November 12, 2025

New Star Citizen update finally removes one of the most frustrating ways for a mission to go wrong

Star Citizen version 4.4 has introduced significant changes to the injury mechanics, moving away from random injury occurrences to defined "binary thresholds," which require approximately 1.5 times more damage for injuries to occur, resulting in a lower frequency of injuries. The maximum health reduction for initial tier-three injuries has been decreased, while various negative effects remain based on the injured body part: leg injuries cause slower movement, arm injuries lead to unstable weapon aim, chest injuries result in stamina penalties and wheezing, and head injuries impair vision and hearing. Other features in the patch include a requirement for rank-one reputation with Intersec for the Vanduul-Tech smugglers mission, activation of the IAE Expo Hall in Orison for testing, new weaponry such as the 'Triple Threat' and 'Boomtube,' and the introduction of the Nyx system with the asteroid Delamar and the mining facility of Levski. The patch is currently accessible for testing via the Public Test Universe (PTU).