shadows Archives

AppWizard

July 4, 2026

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced promises smooth handheld sailing with Steam Deck and Steam Machine verification

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will be released on July 9th and has secured the Steam Deck Verified badge, indicating it operates seamlessly on SteamOS handheld PCs. This new version surpasses the original Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, which only received a Playable badge due to technical issues. Black Flag Resynced is the first major title to achieve full compatibility across all SteamOS devices since the launch of the Steam Machine. Previous titles in the Assassin’s Creed series have had mixed performance reviews on the Steam Deck. The game must maintain a frame rate of at least 30fps on the Deck’s 800p screen to meet Verified status criteria, but there are concerns about its technical performance based on preview reports.

AppWizard

June 27, 2026

The next game from the director of Blood West is a frozen survival shooter where you scratch a living off the decaying corpse of a god

Blood West is an indie shooter launched in 2023, set in the Badlands where players battle eldritch horrors. The game has received expansions, including the Scavengers DLC. Hyperstrange is developing a new title called Bloodwoven, a spiritual successor that focuses on survival elements such as food and warmth, requiring players to manage temperature and prepare for challenges. Bloodwoven features a peak-style climbing system and has a trailer released, with speculation of a potential release next year.

AppWizard

June 26, 2026

Meccha Chameleon review

Meccha Chameleon is a game developed and published by lemorion_1224, priced at £5.29, that offers a unique twist on the hide-and-seek format through a camouflage mechanic using hand-painted designs. Players transform featureless marble figures into parts of the environment using a brush and eyedropper tool during the hiding phase. The game emphasizes creativity and strategy, challenging players to manipulate visual perception to remain undetected. It was created by a small team of two developers, which has led to some production limitations, such as collision issues and a simplistic user interface. Despite these challenges, the game's handmade quality adds charm and encourages players to embrace its imperfections.

AppWizard

June 25, 2026

Knight of the Old Republic 2 was great because it peeled back Star Wars’ black-and-white morality

Knights of the Old Republic II is a sequel that deconstructs its predecessor by exploring darker themes and the complexities of morality rather than adhering to a simple good versus evil narrative. Designer Chris Avellone challenges traditional Star Wars mythos, presenting players with the Exile, an outcast dealing with the consequences of past decisions. The game features a diverse cast, including Kreia, a mentor whose philosophy complicates the understanding of morality. Despite facing development challenges, such as a rushed timeline leading to technical issues and incomplete content, the game has been enhanced by the Sith Lords Restored Content mod, which restores missing material. Kreia is recognized as one of gaming's most compelling characters, and the game's writing and character development are praised, contributing to its legacy in video game history.

AppWizard

June 22, 2026

Google Photos may have a new trick to make your pictures look dramatically different

Google Photos is set to introduce a new feature called Moods in version 7.81 of the app, which utilizes artificial intelligence for photo editing. Moods offers eight distinct templates: Airy Minimalist, Crisp 35mm, 2000’s Cinema, Rich Textures, Pink Digicam, Retro Contrast, Night Lights, and 2000’s Night, each designed to evoke specific visual styles. The feature aims to provide a more personalized editing experience by analyzing images individually rather than applying uniform filters. Although Moods is not yet operational, it represents a shift towards a more AI-driven editing experience in Google Photos. An APK teardown indicates potential features, but there is no guarantee they will be publicly released.

AppWizard

June 21, 2026

2026 PC Game Now 100% Free to Keep

PC gamers can claim a free copy of Nightbell, a first-person Christmas-themed horror game developed by True Games, on Itch.io until June 30. After this date, the game will revert to its regular price of .99. Nightbell was released on January 10 and has a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam, with 75% approval from 65 user reviews. The game features a narrative where players control a young boy on Christmas Eve who experiences a transformed house filled with strange sounds and shadows. User reviews describe it as a fun horror game with good jump scares and an interesting puzzle, typically taking about an hour to complete. This is the first time the game has been available for free.

AppWizard

June 21, 2026

Dishonored review (2012)

The review of Dishonored in PC Gamer issue #246 (December 2012) highlights the game's immersive experience, customization options, and technical execution. The reviewer describes a gameplay moment where they successfully eliminate an enemy after a miscalculated leap. The PC version offers extensive customization, including field-of-view adjustments and graphics settings. The game runs smoothly on a 2.8GHz Core i7 with a 2GB GeForce GTX 670 graphics card. Dishonored is noted for its originality as a major title that is neither a sequel nor a remake, and it avoids unskippable boss fights, enhancing player freedom and engagement.

AppWizard

June 18, 2026

Sony’s Forgotten Multiplayer PS5, PC Game Gets Final Update as Developer Moves On

Velan Studios has announced the release of the final update for their multiplayer shooter, Midnight Murder Club, which was launched by Sony in August 2025 for PS5 and PC. This update is primarily for Steam players and marks the end of post-launch support, although the game will remain available and the servers will stay operational. Midnight Murder Club features online multiplayer gameplay where players navigate a dark mansion using stealth and strategy. Despite its innovative concept, the game struggled to maintain a large player base.

AppWizard

June 15, 2026

Gothic 1 Remake PC Performance Analysis

THQ Nordic announced the Gothic 1 Remake for PC, utilizing Unreal Engine 5. The benchmarking was conducted on a high-end setup featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor and various GPUs, including AMD Radeon RX 6900XT and NVIDIA RTX 4090. The game offers extensive graphics settings and supports technologies like NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and AMD FSR 3.1. It does not include a built-in benchmark tool, so testing was done in a demanding scene. At 1080p with Very High settings, it consistently achieves 60FPS across many GPUs. At 1440p, leading NVIDIA GPUs maintained frame rates above 60FPS, while AMD's RX 9070XT and RX 7900XTX averaged 70FPS and 68FPS, respectively. For Native 4K at Very High settings, the NVIDIA RTX 5090 delivered a minimum of 65FPS. The game scales well with graphics presets, achieving over 60FPS at lower settings. DLSS 4.5 improved performance significantly, with frame rates exceeding 100FPS in some scenarios. The graphics are impressive, though character models may not match the quality of top-tier titles. Minor traversal stutters were noted but did not significantly impact gameplay. Overall, the game performs well across various PC configurations, especially at 1080p with compatible monitors.

AppWizard

June 14, 2026

Hide-and-seek game where you paint your body to blend in sells a million copies in four days

Players in Meccha Chameleon control a featureless, white, blobby biped and use a color wheel to paint their bodies in real-time to blend into their surroundings. The game sold one million copies within four days of its release. The developer, lemorion_1224, announced this milestone on the Steam community blog and expressed gratitude to players. The game has gained popularity among streamers and YouTubers, and it supports public matches and streaming. Meccha Chameleon is a lobby-based PvP party game where players are divided into seekers and hiders, with seekers trying to locate all hiders before time runs out. The game features creative disguising techniques, such as blending into shadows or textures. It is priced at just under .