story Archives

AppWizard

November 25, 2025

Who’s ‘The King in Yellow’ And Why Are People So Freaked Out By Him? The ‘Minecraft ARG’ Inspiring Memes And Fan Art Explained

The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories published in 1895 by Robert W. Chambers, featuring a fictional play that introduces elements like the "Yellow Sign," the city of Carcosa, and a mysterious entity called "the Stranger." The play serves as a source of forbidden knowledge, leading characters to madness. The work has influenced horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft and resurfaced in popular culture, notably in HBO's True Detective. In late October 2025, YouTuber AverytheMayo shared a video about a Minecraft character exploring a mine, leading to Wifies creating a 40-minute ARG-style video titled "Searching for a World that Doesn't Exist," which gained over 15 million views within a month. This sparked a wave of fan art and engagement on social media, including a meme by X user @RachRatos that received over 40,000 likes. The ARG has inspired numerous memes and creative interpretations across platforms like TikTok.

BetaBeacon

November 25, 2025

Bleach drops Soul Resonance mobile game on iOS and Android, heres what you need to know

- Bleach: Soul Resonance is a new 3D action RPG mobile game based on the legendary manga series. - The game features intense 3D combat with real-time character switching and seventeen playable characters at launch. - Players can expect regular updates, additional story chapters, character releases, and limited-time events. - The game is free to play with optional in-app purchases available. - The launch roster includes seventeen characters from early Bleach story arcs, with more to come in future updates.

AppWizard

November 25, 2025

‘It wasn’t fun for the first 7 years’ says maker of fantasy sim Tavern Keeper, which spent more than a decade in development

Tavern Keeper is a fantasy simulation game that allows players to manage a pub, featuring extensive animations and user-friendly item design tools. It was released on Steam in November after over a decade of development, during which six versions were created. The game includes an interactive audiobook-style story system with RPG-like dialogue choices. Greenheart Games explored various systems that did not make it into the final game, including a quest system involving heroes, which was ultimately deemed disconnected from the tavern theme. The game incorporates complex mechanics such as temperature effects, food spoilage, and cleanliness impacting the tavern's atmosphere. The development process faced challenges, particularly in achieving a fun gameplay experience, which took several years to realize.

AppWizard

November 25, 2025

2025 Steam Awards nominations are open, and I wonder if Valve’s wonky personalized suggestions will affect the results—you’ll know they did if Bongo Cat gets nominated in the ‘story-rich’ category

The gaming community is currently participating in the nomination process for the 2025 Steam Awards, which has been shifted to coincide with the inaugural Black Friday Sale instead of the traditional Steam Autumn Sale. The nomination interface allows players to select from eligible games they played in 2025 and includes a list of popular and recommended games. Some users have expressed confusion over the eligibility criteria for certain categories, such as "Best Game You Suck At" and "Best Soundtrack Award." Players can write in any game released in 2025 or earlier for the "Labor of Love" category. The "Sit Back and Relax" category features titles that reflect laid-back gaming experiences. Nominations are open until December 1, and participants will earn a "Steam Awards Nomination Committee" badge. Voting on finalists will begin during the Steam Winter Sale on December 14, with winners announced on January 3.

Tech Optimizer

November 24, 2025

Ditching Antivirus: Why One Tech Writer’s PC Got Safer Without It

A writer from MakeUseOf uninstalled all third-party antivirus programs from his Windows PC and found that the system performed better and appeared more secure with Microsoft’s built-in Windows Defender. The experiment highlighted Defender's effectiveness, showing fewer false positives, improved performance, and no noticeable decline in protection. Independent tests ranked Defender highly in real-world protection, and it achieved perfect scores in recent AV-TEST evaluations. The removal of third-party antivirus software led to a significant decrease in CPU and RAM usage, with idle consumption dropping from 15-20% to under 5%. Despite 121 million Americans still using third-party tools, there is growing consideration for Defender due to its free and efficient nature. While Defender excels in many areas, experts caution that it may not fully protect against zero-day vulnerabilities, and layered defenses are still recommended. The antivirus market may face disruption as integrated protection becomes more common, and user feedback indicates a preference for free alternatives that match or exceed the performance of paid solutions.

Tech Optimizer

November 24, 2025

When prevention fails: the case for building cyber resilience, not walls

Organizations are shifting from a "fortress" mentality in cybersecurity to a focus on resilience, recognizing that the attack surface has expanded due to hybrid cloud environments, remote work, and AI. True cyber-resilience involves integrating security into all operations, utilizing automation and AI for threat detection and response, and implementing real-time data replication and immutable backups for quick service restoration. Continuous cyber-simulations are essential for preparedness, and a culture of security requires involvement from all employees. Resilience is increasingly viewed as a competitive advantage, influencing customer trust and enabling faster innovation, including the exploration of quantum-safe cryptography for future threats.

AppWizard

November 24, 2025

Almost 13 years since reveal, TimeSplitters Rewind is finally out: ‘Sorry it took so long. We’ve only been making the largest free content video game ever’

TimeSplitters Rewind has been released after 13 years of development. It is a fan-driven project that serves as a remake and compilation of the original TimeSplitters trilogy, described as a "greatest hits collection" of maps, modes, leagues, challenges, and story content. The project initially started with Crytek's approval for modders to use CryEngine but faced challenges, including a shift to Unreal Engine 4 that ultimately failed due to policy violations. In 2020, the team expanded significantly after a call for assistance from art lead Cameron Williams. The project aims to enhance the original games using CryEngine to appeal to both long-time fans and a new audience.

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

Timesplitters Rewind Is Available For Download In Early Access

Cinder Interactive has released the Early Access version of TimeSplitters Rewind, which is an anthology of the original TimeSplitters trilogy. The game features 28 maps, 50 arcade leagues, 32 challenges, 91 characters, 41 weapons, and 20 arcade game modes. It supports up to ten players in online matches and includes both online and offline story modes, with a new Team Elimination mode. Development took over a decade. The minimum system requirements are an Intel Atom C2750, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760.

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

Borderlands 4’s new, free DLC hasn’t moved the needle at all, and I think I know why

Gearbox released a free DLC for Borderlands 4 titled 'How Rush Saved Mercenary Day,' which includes a new boss fight, legendary loot, cosmetics, and story missions. The game's peak concurrent users on Steam this week was 15,887, unchanged from the previous week and down from earlier this month. Despite improvements over its predecessor, player engagement has declined, with many players feeling a lack of motivation to return. The DLC is perceived as a lighter addition, and Gearbox's promotion of it has been insufficient. Players who purchased the deluxe edition will receive an additional bounty pack. Performance issues on lower-end PCs further deter players. Upcoming content, including a full Story Pack DLC featuring Mad Ellie and a new Vault Hunter, C4SH, is anticipated to boost interest.

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

Google Play 2025 Awards: Focus Friend wins best app, Pokémon TCG Pocket best game

Google Play has announced its selections for the best Android applications and games of 2025. The Best App award went to Focus Friend, developed by Hank Green, recognized for its gamified productivity features. The Best Game award was given to Pokémon TCG Pocket, a mobile adaptation of the trading card game. Luminar won the multi-device Best App award, while Disney Speedstorm was named the multi-device Best Game. Additional winners included: - Best for Fun: Edits - Best for Personal Growth: Focus Friend - Best Everyday Essential: Wiser – 15 Minute Audio Books - Best Hidden Gem: Pingo AI Language Learning - Best for Families: ABCmouse 2: Kids Learning Game - Best for Watches: SleepisolBio - Best for Large Screens: Goodnotes - Best for Cars: SoundCloud - Best for XR Headsets: Calm - Best Multiplayer: Dunk City Dynasty - Best Pick Up and Play: Candy Crush Solitaire - Best Indie: Chants of Sennaar - Best Story: Disco Elysium - Best Ongoing: Wuthering Waves - Best on Play Pass: DREDGE - Best for Google Play Games on PC: Odin: Valhalla Rising