goblins Archives

AppWizard

January 16, 2026

Hytale Feels Like Little More Than A Neat Minecraft Texture Pack

Hytale is an early access game that has been in development for a decade, facing a cancellation by Riot Games before its revival in November. The game features mechanics such as jumping two blocks high and a combat system that requires timing for attacks, which are similar to potential mods in Minecraft. Hytale includes familiar mobs like skeletons, spiders, zombies, and golems, alongside new creatures like goblins and Kweebecs, and a mysterious area known as the Void. Crafting in Hytale is more complex than in Minecraft, requiring multiple workstations, and workbenches can recognize adjacent chest contents. Despite its unique elements, Hytale often feels derivative of Minecraft, with similar sounds and inventory mechanics. Future updates, including an anticipated Adventure Mode, aim to introduce RPG-like storylines and quests. The game currently faces balancing issues but remains visually appealing, though it has not surpassed Minecraft's foundational elements.

AppWizard

December 12, 2025

Ten years in the making, Jonathan Blow’s new game breaks all the rules of gaming’s greatest puzzle

Jonathan Blow is developing a new game titled Order of the Sinking Star, which has evolved from a modest engine test for his programming language, Jai, into a full-fledged Sokoban-style puzzle game. The game combines elements from four lesser-known freeware puzzle games and features multiple worlds, each with distinct realms and mechanics. Players will navigate challenges involving various characters, each with unique abilities that enhance gameplay. The narrative follows a deposed queen in a fantastical setting, with gameplay focused on exploration and puzzle-solving. Blow's design philosophy emphasizes the interaction of game mechanics and player agency, diverging from traditional storytelling methods. He is collaborating with a publisher for the first time to address the challenges of a saturated market.

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

This absurdly stylish side scroller feels like playing two different genres of retro shooter at the same time, and I love it

Neon Inferno is a run-and-gun side-scroller set in a cyberpunk city, featuring corrupt law enforcement and Yakuza enemies. It combines run-and-gun action with gallery shooting mechanics, allowing players to aim between the background and foreground. The game includes a forgiving difficulty system, allowing players to absorb hits and deflect projectiles, and features bullet time for counterattacks. It offers various difficulty settings and local co-op play. A 10-minute demo is available on Steam, showcasing its gameplay dynamics.

AppWizard

November 15, 2025

How well do you know your videogame goblins? We’re giving the most underappreciated monsters around their due in our latest quiz

PC Gamer offers a variety of gaming trivia quizzes that cover topics such as health bars, currencies, and patch notes. Goblins, often seen as level 1 adversaries, have been a part of gaming for over forty years, appearing in RPGs, strategy games, and point-and-click adventures. Typically depicted as three-foot-tall troublemakers, goblins add charm to games. A quiz invites participants to identify the games featuring different goblins, emphasizing that any creature resembling a goblin qualifies, regardless of lore debates.

BetaBeacon

November 15, 2025

I hand picked 16 of today’s Meta Quest games announcements you need to see, plus several stealth releases you can play right now!

- Vampire Survivors is now available in virtual reality. - Hotel Infinity is a VR game that features shifting and changing worlds with impossible architecture. - Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss is a MOBA spinoff that is a real-time strategy game. - Syberia VR is a remastered point-and-click adventure game from the early 2000s playable in VR. - EXOSHOCK is a co-op PvE sci-fi squad shooter with unique combat and art style. - Banners & Bastions is a strategy puzzle game with new content and improvements. - Dimensional Double Shift is a multiplayer game where players work together in different dimensions.

AppWizard

October 20, 2025

Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit (PC) Review

James Rolfe, known for his series The Angry Video Game Nerd, has significantly influenced the Let’s Play and video review genres on YouTube. The latest installment, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit, features a storyline where The Nerd battles a mechanical antagonist, Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C. Version 4.0 Beta, who disrupts his gaming experience. Players help The Nerd defeat various bosses using a cartridge that channels the essence of bad games. The game includes Full Motion Video cutscenes, reminiscent of classic Sega CD games, and maintains the character's humor. Gameplay draws inspiration from Mega Man 2, with levels themed around notorious games like Pepsiman and Castlevania. Power-ups enhance The Nerd's NES Zapper, introducing strategic gameplay elements. Unlike previous titles, this installment offers a more balanced challenge, including a feature that assists players after multiple deaths. The game visually captures the NES aesthetic and features a nostalgic soundtrack. Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is released as an actual NES cartridge, celebrating retro gaming.

AppWizard

September 9, 2025

In today’s weirdest roguelike, Deep Rock Galactic publisher’s new game sees you pay your mortgage with goblin blood

Flask is a roguelike autobattler game created by Danish artist John Kenn Mortensen, where players act as an alchemist managing a mobile tower while dealing with a mortgage that requires payment in blood. The game involves collecting fluids from goblins and other creatures, crafting homunculi for battles, and making decisions on how to use harvested blood, either to pay the mortgage or trade with merchants. Players can also compete against the creations of other players every third battle. Flask is set to be published by Ghost Ship Publishing and developed by Chop Chop Games, with a release date in 2026.

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

Two Point Museum’s latest update lets you manage a museum atop a massive mountain, and allows all players a taste of its upcoming fantasy-themed DLC

Two Point Studios released the first paid DLC for Two Point Museum, titled Fantasy Finds, which adds new artifacts. A new museum called Pointy Mountains is included in the free 4.0 update, unlocking at curator rank 7, and is the largest museum in the game. The narrative involves investigating the disappearance of a curator. The 4.0 update also offers a "taster" of the Fantasy Finds DLC, allowing players to access the first three points of interest and collect six fairytale exhibits, along with introducing new guest types and items. The full DLC will be available for purchase on July 17, while the 4.0 update and the taster are currently live.

AppWizard

June 27, 2025

The best PC games of 2025 (that don’t need a graphics card)

In 2025, several innovative games have emerged that cater to players without high-end graphics requirements. - 9 Kings: An early access game focused on base-building and strategy, where players construct armies on limited tiles and face randomized enemies. - Pipstrello and the Cursed Yoyo: A vibrant adventure game reminiscent of Game Boy Advance titles, featuring real-time combat and puzzles, with a soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. - So to Speak: A gamified language learning puzzle game that helps players learn Japanese vocabulary and culture. - The Roottrees are Dead: An investigative game exploring a plane crash mystery, combining genealogy and drama, now available in a remastered version on Steam. - Cast N Chill: A relaxing fishing game with pixel art aesthetics, allowing players to catch and document various fish. - Wizordum: A fast-paced action game that mixes first-person shooter mechanics with spell-slinging, featuring a level editor. - Glass Cannon: A physics-based puzzle game with roguelike elements, where players shoot at enemies with limited bullets. - Urban Myth Dissolution Center: A psychic investigator game with retro aesthetics and a narrative inspired by Japanese horror. - Chronicles of the Wolf: A side-scrolling action game set during the Beast of Gévaudan attacks, reminiscent of classic titles like Castlevania. - Desktop Survivors 98: A survival game featuring Clippy in a whimsical digital landscape, paying homage to early computing days.

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.