Gaming Archives

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Nancy Drew Series Still #1 in PC Games

Nancy Drew debuted in 1930 during the Great Depression, providing an escape for families and inspiring readers with her ingenuity and bravery. She transitioned into video games in the late 1990s, with HeR Interactive launching over 30 titles starting in 1998, allowing players to embody her character without seeing her physical form. However, after 2015, the franchise faced challenges, including layoffs and a decline in game quality, as the company shifted focus to attract younger mobile audiences. Despite these changes, the games are now appealing to a broader audience, including adults. Nancy Drew symbolizes the potential for female protagonists to inspire through intelligence and determination rather than violence.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Mafia: The Old Country PC Performance Analysis

2K Games unveiled Mafia: The Old Country, utilizing Unreal Engine 5. A performance analysis was conducted on PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. Various GPUs were tested, including AMD Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, RX 9070XT, and NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 4090, and RTX 5080, on Windows 10 64-bit. The game features adjustable graphics settings for PC gamers and supports technologies like NVIDIA DLSS 4, Intel XeSS 2.0, and AMD FSR 4.0. Global Illumination has only High and Epic settings. Mafia: The Old Country lacks a built-in benchmark tool, so testing was done in a demanding area. At 1080p with Epic Settings, only the NVIDIA RTX 4090 exceeded 60FPS. No GPU achieved consistent 60FPS at Native 1440p and 4K on Epic Settings. The RTX 4090 had a minimum of 42FPS and an average of 51FPS at 4K. Adjusting settings to High improved performance by 28-48% at 4K on the RTX 4090. AMD FSR 4.0 performed well, with the RX 9070XT exceeding 60FPS at 4K on High Settings. The game features dynamic shadows and minor pop-in issues. It performs comparably to other Unreal Engine 5 titles on High Settings, requiring a powerful PC for optimal 4K gaming.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

A bruised Capcom escapes “Overwhelmingly Negative” Steam hell as Monster Hunter Wilds’ recent user reviews climb to 20% positive

Monster Hunter Wilds has improved its Steam rating from "Overwhelmingly Negative" to "Mostly Negative" after receiving recent feedback. Despite several patches released by Capcom since February to address performance issues on the PC version, many challenges remain, including black screens during cutscenes. Recent reviews indicate a mix of opinions, with some players expressing a desire for a more stable gaming experience. The game has received a few positive reviews, surpassing the 20% mark, with players noting its potential for extensive gameplay if performance issues are resolved. There is hope that future updates will further improve the game's reception.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Rod Fergusson is leaving Blizzard

Rod Fergusson, the general manager of the Diablo franchise, has announced his departure from Blizzard Entertainment. He joined Blizzard in February 2020 after over 15 years with the Gears of War franchise. Fergusson expressed fulfillment in his time at Blizzard, having driven the Diablo franchise forward with four major launches. Xbox head Phil Spencer acknowledged Fergusson's contributions to the franchise. The future leadership of the Diablo franchise at Blizzard remains uncertain.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Bithell Games laying off 11 staff

Bithell Games is reducing its workforce by parting ways with 11 employees due to difficulties in securing new projects. This decision follows the launch of their title, Tron: Catalyst, in June. Founder Mike Bithell highlighted the challenges faced by smaller studios in finding financial backing for future projects. He emphasized communication with affected staff and offered severance packages to ease the impact of the layoffs. Bithell praised the skills of his team and encouraged other developers to consider the laid-off employees for future opportunities. Despite the layoffs, the studio's existing self-published games will remain available, and ongoing support for them will continue.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Sega’s games business reports 13% dip in sales

Sega reported a 13 percent decrease in sales for the first quarter of its fiscal year, with the Consumer segment generating ¥44.6 billion, down from ¥51.3 billion the previous year. The operating income for the gaming division dropped 66 percent from ¥8.9 billion to ¥5.2 billion. Sales of new games declined by 33 percent from ¥3.9 billion to ¥2.6 billion, while catalogue sales decreased by 21.4 percent from ¥11.2 billion to ¥8.8 billion. Sega Sammy, the parent company, experienced a 22.7 percent decline in net sales, totaling ¥81 billion for the quarter.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

More than 2 million people grabbed co-op roguelike Guntouchables when it was free for 24 hours

Game Swing, the developer of Guntouchables, launched the game for free for 24 hours, attracting over two million players on its first day. The game peaked at over 16,000 concurrent players on Steam, with nearly 1,800 user reviews despite only 41 visible on the store page. Guntouchables is priced at £4.49/.99 after the free launch and maintains a healthy player base.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

4 PC-exclusive classics that deserve a modern remake

Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines (2004) is a flawed masterpiece that struggled with bugs and unfinished elements at release but features sharp writing and memorable characters. A modern remake could refine its dialogue and enhance gameplay. The first Witcher game, while adhering to the source material and featuring strong character development, suffers from clunky mechanics and performance issues. Rumors suggest a remake is in the works to update controls and accessibility. Half-Life 2 (2004) set a new standard for first-person shooters but has aged, particularly in visual fidelity. A modern remake could enhance graphics and AI, and address unresolved plot points. Thief: The Dark Project (1998) introduced stealth mechanics focused on subtlety and patience. A modern remake could improve its mechanics with advanced AI and ray-traced lighting, redefining the stealth genre.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Battlefield 6 Open Beta on PC: How to turn on secure boot in multiplayer shooter game; follow the steps to enter warfare

EA's Dice studio has released the first public beta version of Battlefield 6, with the full game set for release on October 10, 2025. The beta will last two weekends, with the first open beta running until August 11, 2025, and the second weekend starting on August 14, 2025, and ending on August 16. Players may need to enable Secure Boot to play, as it enhances security during the PC boot process. Secure Boot is essential for Windows 10 and Windows 11, ensuring only trusted software loads at startup. Battlefield 6 requires Secure Boot to enhance defenses against cheating using the EA Javelin Anticheat system. To check if Secure Boot is enabled, players can access System Information and look for the BIOS Mode and Secure Boot State. To enable Secure Boot, players must access the BIOS, which varies by motherboard brand, typically using keys like F2, F10, F12, or Delete during startup. For Windows 11 users, they can enter the BIOS through the Windows Recovery Environment.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

This asynchronous autobattler is like Backpack Battles meets FTL

Down with the Ship is a recently launched demo on Steam that features asynchronous autobattling PvP, allowing players to assemble unique spaceships from spare parts. The demo includes three factions: The Imperial Faction, which focuses on critical hits; The Renegades, known for overwhelming firepower; and The Rust Cult, which uses degenerative rust effects to weaken opponents. The game is set to officially launch in the first quarter of 2026.