scavenging Archives

AppWizard

January 15, 2026

Marathon fully unveils all seven of its Runners, and I’ll take the one with the grappling hook and loot-stealing drone, please

The author initially lost interest in Marathon due to its challenges and competition from Arc Raiders, but recent updates, including enhanced visuals and the introduction of Runner Shells, have rekindled their enthusiasm. The Runner Shells are highly customizable, offering more flexibility than traditional hero selections in other games. Various Runner Shells, such as Destroyer, Assassin, Recon, Vandal, Triage, and Thief, have unique abilities inspired by Destiny, with Thief particularly appealing for its loot-gathering capabilities. The author expresses optimism about Marathon's potential and intends to engage with the game at launch.

AppWizard

January 13, 2026

If I could change one thing in Arc Raiders this year, I’d abolish late spawns

The author completed their Expedition by acquiring the last Ion Sputter and reflected on their experiences in Stella Montis. They noted that late spawns in Arc Raiders, while previously a minor inconvenience, have become a significant hurdle due to the game's focus on Expeditions and resource collection. Specifically, late spawns drastically reduce the chances of obtaining necessary items like Ion Sputters and Frequency Modulation Boxes. The introduction of aggression-based matchmaking has further complicated resource gathering. The author argues that late spawns disrupt strategic planning and introduce randomness, making it difficult to achieve specific objectives. They suggest that if the game continues to emphasize resource pursuit, the late spawn mechanics should be reconsidered to align with other extraction shooters.

AppWizard

January 10, 2026

The PvPvE extraction shooter where you build and drive a huge stompy mechanical base across a ruined planet gets a Steam release date

Sand: Raiders of Sophie is an open-world first-person shooter developed by Hologryph, set in an industrial alternate history of 1910 under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The game features player-versus-player and player-versus-environment gameplay, allowing players to raid resources and explore the remnants of cities. Players can engage in skirmishes for loot, search for weapons and resources, and navigate using a mobile base called the Trampler, which can transform into a ship. The game is set to be released on Steam in March, and it has undergone several playtests. A new trailer has been released, showcasing the game's visuals and environment.

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

Ultimate ‘Minecraft’ Food Guide: Easy Food Farms and Survival Food Tips for Beginners

Food in "Minecraft" is essential for survival, as it maintains the hunger bar, allowing players to sprint, regenerate health, and protect against hostile mobs. Beginners should prioritize food sources that are accessible and sustainable, such as bread, cooked meat, berries, and fish. - Bread: Crafted from three pieces of wheat, restores 5 hunger points. - Cooked Meat: Sourced from cows, pigs, and chickens; cooking doubles its effectiveness. - Berries: Found in Taiga biomes, serve as quick snacks. - Fish: Caught with a fishing rod, provides decent nourishment when cooked. Cooked beef (steak) is often considered the best early-game food due to its high saturation value, while farming wheat for bread is the simplest method for beginners. To establish a food farm, players can create: - Wheat Farms: Till soil near water, plant seeds, and ensure adequate lighting. - Carrot and Potato Farms: Found in villages or dropped by zombies, planted on hydrated farmland. - Beetroot Farms: Easy to cultivate but yield lower hunger points. Animal farms can provide renewable sources of meat and other resources: - Cows: Yield beef and leather; breed with wheat. - Chickens: Provide raw chicken and eggs. - Sheep and Pigs: Supply meat and wool. Foods that last the longest and restore the most hunger include: - Cooked Beef (Steak): Restores 8 hunger points. - Cooked Porkchops: Similar benefits to steak. - Golden Carrots: High saturation, ideal for late-game. - Suspicious Stew: Offers temporary bonuses based on ingredients. In situations where food is scarce, players can manage hunger by avoiding sprinting, sleeping regularly, walking instead of running, fishing, or raiding villages. For long-term gameplay, players should automate crop farms, build villager trading halls, diversify food storage, cook raw ingredients, and use bone meal for crop growth. Underutilized food sources include: - Mushroom Stew: Made from red and brown mushrooms. - Kelp: Smelted into dried kelp, abundant but low in saturation. - Beetroot Soup: A solid supplement for variety. - Honey Bottles: Restore hunger and remove poison effects. - Pumpkin Pie: Crafted from pumpkins, sugar, and eggs. The best biome for starting a food farm is the plains biome, which has flat terrain and abundant resources. Lighting is crucial for protecting farms from mobs. Foods like golden apples and suspicious stew provide status effects. Hunger mechanics vary by game mode, with survival and hardcore modes allowing hunger depletion, while peaceful mode prevents starvation.

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.