runes Archives

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

The League of Legends trading card game is surprisingly good, because it embraces the best trends in card games

Trading Card Games (TCGs) are experiencing a surge in popularity, with titles like Magic: The Gathering achieving success through crossover events. Wizards of the Coast reports financial gains from these initiatives. TCGs face competition from board games, miniatures wargames, roleplaying games, and digital card games. Magic: The Gathering remains dominant, with The Pokémon TCG and Yu-Gi-Oh as its main challengers, though neither poses a significant threat. Riot Games has launched Riftbound: The League of Legends card game, which sold out its first print run and is being resold at inflated prices. Riftbound features a 40-card deck centered around a single Champion and incorporates unique gameplay mechanics. It is designed for both casual and competitive play, with straightforward mechanics and flexible formats. Riot's previous success in tabletop gaming supports their credibility in this venture, and Riftbound may develop a dedicated community even if it doesn't achieve mainstream success.

AppWizard

November 16, 2025

League of Legends TCG Riftbound is the best thing Riot’s done since Arcane, but I’m not convinced it has MTG’s staying power

Riftbound is a card game set in the League of Legends universe, inspired by traditional trading card games like Magic: The Gathering. Players choose a Champion Legend, a Chosen Champion for buffs, and a Battlefield with unique traits to win by reaching eight points through unit placement and skirmishes called 'Showdowns.' The Proving Grounds set features four decks—Annie, Garen, Lux, and Master Yi—with varying complexity. Decks are designed to reflect the champions' characteristics, such as Lux's burst spells and Garen's tank role. Gameplay can be lengthy, especially with larger player counts, with matches lasting from 30 minutes to nearly two hours. Riftbound Set 1, Origins, is currently sold out online and in most local game stores, with cards available on the second-hand market.

AppWizard

November 11, 2025

Arcane Trigger Announced For PC With Free Demo

Indie game developer MiniWhale, in collaboration with publisher Anotherindie, has released a retro-inspired wizard shooter called Arcane Trigger. A free demo is available on Steam. Players take on the role of a mage defending their realm from interdimensional foes, featuring three distinct characters with unique magical abilities and 15 waves of escalating difficulty. The game includes over 220 unique bullets, 150 magical seals, and a dual progression system. Players can craft elemental arsenals using various magic types, fuse bullets for enhanced versions, and experience over 2,000,000 possible combinations of bullets, seals, and upgrades. The game features enchanting pixel art and is designed for fast-paced, accessible gameplay.

AppWizard

October 19, 2025

Minecraft is now a fully fledged, dungeon-crawling fantasy RPG, thanks to Soulsteel

Soulsteel is a newly launched Minecraft server created by Noxcrew that combines RPG elements with the Minecraft experience. Players start their journey in the town of Port Fortuna, engaging with NPCs and embarking on quests. The main focus of the game is dungeon exploration, featuring timed challenges that include battling foes, navigating traps, and solving puzzles for loot. Players can customize their play style with a variety of armor and weapons, and can establish campsites to enhance their equipment. The world map is expansive, with plans for future updates that will introduce new regions, dungeons, weapons, armor sets, characters, enemies, and cosmetics. Soulsteel is available for Minecraft Bedrock Edition through the server browser tab.

AppWizard

August 13, 2025

Elden Ring Nightreign’s next Everdark Sovereign is the GOAT. No, literally.

Players in Elden Ring Nightreign are preparing for a new boss encounter with Libra, Creature of Night, set to debut on August 14. Libra is described as a horned, magic-wielding creature that presents a significant challenge, with attacks causing madness buildup. Players can use Clarifying Boluses and talismans to mitigate this effect. Libra features a unique mechanic where he offers players a Faustian bargain at the start of each battle, allowing them to gain a boon in exchange for a bane. This mechanic also appears during random invasions, adding strategic depth to the gameplay.

AppWizard

August 10, 2025

Semi-open World Puzzler ‘Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times’ Hits PC & Consoles Early 2026

Developer SlugGlove and publisher Yogscast Games announced their upcoming semi-open world puzzle adventure game, Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times, set to launch on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation in early 2026. Players will craft spells by combining magical runes to solve environmental puzzles across 14 main areas, with over 102 million possible spell combinations. The game features a narrative-driven experience where players guide Rhell, a mage, and her companion Beesle, as they uncover clues and interact with various characters. Rhell will be showcased at the Tiny Teams festival from August 7-14, and a demo is available on Steam.

BetaBeacon

July 15, 2025

Top 5 cross-platform games available on mobile (2025)

- Action RPG with cross-platform play, deep storyline, and classless system - Multiplayer content available after main campaign - Social deception game with cross-platform play - Anime-style MMORPG with shared open world and cross-platform support - Card-game spin-off from Witcher franchise with cross-platform matchmaking and cross-save functions - Roblox allows players to be creative and play with friends across platforms

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

Witchfire’s massive next update is inspired by games like Syndicate and Bloodborne, and it’s the biggest one yet: ‘We really mean it’

Witchfire, developed by The Astronauts, is a first-person shooter that has been in development for nearly a decade. It debuted in early access on Steam after an initial release on the Epic Store in 2023. The game has received two significant content patches in the past seven months. The upcoming update, named Webgrave, will introduce a new region called the blighted town, new weapons including the oracle sniper rifle and the lever-action rifle named nemesis, and a revamped stats system with six core attributes: flesh, blood, mind, witchery, arsenal, and faith. Additionally, a secondary stat system called the Rosary will allow players to equip magical beads for bonuses. The Webgrave update is scheduled for release on July 28.

AppWizard

May 9, 2025

Doom: The Dark Ages review

The latest first-person shooter from id Software, titled Doom: The Dark Ages, is set to release on May 15, 2025, with a price of £60. It is published by Microsoft and has been reviewed on an RTX 2080 Super, Intel Core i9 9900KS, and 32GB RAM. The game features a new mechanic called the Shield Saw, allowing players to deflect attacks and engage enemies more aggressively. However, the complexity of the firearms has been reduced, with no dedicated secondary fire modes and a focus on passive upgrades. The game emphasizes accessibility, offering customizable difficulty settings, but the level designs are simpler compared to previous installments. Players can pilot mechs and engage in aerial dogfights, but these moments are brief and feel disconnected from the main gameplay. The overall experience may lead players to prefer earlier entries in the series. The game does not include multiplayer and has not been tested on Steam Deck.

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Calling all cozy mystery fans: the follow-up to 2022’s best puzzle game gives you even more ways to play detective

Strange Antiquities is a game set in the town of Undermere, where players run a curio shop and assist customers with peculiar requests involving occult relics. Players gather an eclectic inventory of items, such as stone tablets and brass effigies, each with its own story. The game features evolved mechanics for identifying artifacts through visual and tactile exploration, allowing players to assess qualities like color, texture, warmth, and hardness. An innovative feature called "inner perception" encourages players to tap into their intuition regarding the emotional qualities of items. Exploration is also a key component, with players navigating a map to discover new artifacts and information. The game promises a rich and immersive experience, blending cozy and eerie atmospheres as players curate their collections and craft narratives.