vessel Archives

AppWizard

December 24, 2024

PC Gamer’s highest review scores of 2024

Concerns about "score inflation" in gaming reviews have been raised, with a score of 90% expected to represent an exceptional game. PC Gamer has not awarded a score higher than 98%, with Baldur's Gate 3 receiving the highest score of 97% in its UK edition. The 2024 Game of the Year Award winners are not included, but the year featured quality titles. Scores and their corresponding games include: - 89%: - Persona 3 Reload - Tekken 8 - Dragon's Dogma 2 - V Rising - Little Kitty, Big City - Lorelai and the Laser Eyes - 90%: - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 - Shogun Showdown - Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred - Satisfactory - Riven - Animal Well - Granblue Fantasy: Relink - 91%: - Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake - Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Wild Bastards - Balatro - 92%: - Destiny 2: The Final Shape - Factorio: Space Age - 94%: - Caves of Qud - 95%: - Not specified in the provided text.

AppWizard

December 21, 2024

Free games to grab over the holidays

The Epic Games Store is offering free games daily until January 1, including titles like Vampire Survivors and Astrea: Six Sided Oracles. Diablo 4's free trial for the Spiritborn class is available on Battle.net until January 3. The free 1v1 shooter Straftat is gaining popularity on Steam. The hidden object game 100 Christmas Cats is available on Steam, allowing players to locate cats for achievements. GOG's Winter Sale Calendar features gifts until December 31, including Chicken Assassin: Reloaded for free. The Virtual Interactive Fireplace offers a cozy experience for holiday visuals. Supervive, a blend of MOBA battle royale and hero shooter, is in early access on Steam. The horror shooter Betrayer has returned to GOG after being delisted from Steam. SkiFree can be downloaded from creator Chris Pirih's website. Warframe has introduced a new update featuring an alternate-history '90s boy band called "On-lyne."

AppWizard

December 20, 2024

Bushiroad Games and Frontwing announce visual novel Perennial Dusk: Kinsenka for PC

Bushiroad Games, in collaboration with Frontwing, will release the visual novel "Perennial Dusk: Kinsenka" for PC in 2025, supporting English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. The narrative, crafted by Yukito Urushibara and illustrated by Saine, follows young characters in a world of perpetual twilight as they face trauma and cruelty. The protagonist, Tachibana Sai, cannot feel emotional pain and seeks to protect his sister while becoming involved with Benio Matsuri, a girl from a family of Maledict Exorcists. The story unfolds in an apartment building called Maison sans Nom, featuring various characters, including Kanbara Tatsuki, Tsukahara Ao, Ando Meme, Kirishima Tsuyu, Kandori Yozora, and others, each with their own struggles. The main staff includes Yukito Urushibara for planning and story, Saine for character design and art, and Fuminori Matsumoto and Hitoshi Fujima for background music. The theme song is titled “Anata no Kioku no Naka de” (“In Your Memories”), performed by Mao Uesugi.

AppWizard

November 18, 2024

The Best PC Games (You Should Be Playing)

This second half of the year has seen a variety of PC game releases, prompting a revisit of the Best PC Games feature. The selection includes blockbuster hits, indie titles, multiplayer adventures, and expansions, while previous selections from 2023 and 2022 remain valuable and are available at discounts. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - Genre: Action - Similar: Space Marine, Gears of War, Evil West - Graphics: Beautiful - Gameplay: Third-person shooter, hack 'n' slash, optional multiplayer modes Tactical Breach Wizards - Genre: Turn-based tactics - Similar: Into the Breach, XCOM 2, Invisible, Inc - Graphics: Simple, satisfying - Gameplay: Strategy, isometric view, upgradable characters, level editor Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred - Genre: Rogue-like bullet-hell - Similar: Soulstone Survivors, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Brotato - Graphics: Retro 8-bit style - Gameplay: Autoshooter, top-down, addictive Card Game - Genre: Card game - Similar: Poker Quest: Swords and Spades, Dicey Dungeons, Slay the Spire - Graphics: Simple - Gameplay: Deckbuilder, roguelike Silent Hill 2 - Genre: Survival horror - Similar: Silent Hill series, Resident Evil games, Alan Wake - Graphics: Modern overhaul, ray tracing - Gameplay: Third-person view, puzzles, shooter Black Myth: Wukong - Genre: Action role-playing - Similar: God of War, Star Wars Jedi games, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Nioh 2 - Graphics: Exceptional visuals - Gameplay: Soulslike elements, combat-focused, RPG-light Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Genre: Role-playing game - Similar: Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy 7 remakes, Tales of Arise, Kingdom Hearts III - Graphics: Stunning visuals - Gameplay: Real-time fighting with pause, AI companions, choice and consequence, puzzles, exploration, leveling, relationship building.

AppWizard

November 17, 2024

Xbox chief calls recent PC exclusives an “anomaly,” reaffirms Xbox ecosystem goals

Microsoft's upcoming game releases for fall include several major titles debuting as PC exclusives, such as World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion, Ara: History Untold, and Towerborne, which will not be available on Xbox consoles initially. Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's gaming division, described this PC-centric approach as a temporary "anomaly" and emphasized the company's goal of making games accessible across various platforms within the Xbox ecosystem. He stated the intention for ownership across cloud, PC, and console platforms. Spencer expressed optimism about potential cross-platform play with Sony's PlayStation and clarified that the PC exclusives are tied to specific reasons, such as the World of Warcraft expansion's PC roots and Towerborne's early access launch. He reassured fans that this is not the new standard and highlighted the upcoming Diablo 4 DLC as an example of cross-ecosystem availability. Spencer also confirmed that a long-rumored Xbox handheld device is in development and that the Xbox team is exploring a Microsoft mobile game store, which has been delayed for further market research.

BetaBeacon

November 15, 2024

You can get 1 month of PC Game Pass if you sign up for Boosteroid

Boosteroid is offering free access to PC Game Pass until December 5 for subscribers who sign up for their service.

AppWizard

November 14, 2024

Minecraft Releases Moana 2 DLC

Moana 2 is set to be released in theaters later this month. Minecraft has launched new downloadable content (DLC) inspired by Moana and its sequel, featuring iconic characters and locations like Te Fiti and Lalotai. Players can personalize their canoes and engage with familiar adversaries such as the Kakamora and Tamatoa. The DLC is available for 1,510 MineCoins across various gaming platforms. Developed by Starfish Studios, this content follows previous collaborations between Disney and Mojang, including projects related to Star Wars and The Lion King. Moana 2 is one of two major films Disney plans to release before the end of 2024.

AppWizard

November 13, 2024

“We think about the Xbox platform as the Xbox console, PC and cloud. We want them to be Play Anywhere.” Microsoft strives to bring more Windows PC games to Xbox while hitting as “many screens as possible”

Microsoft's Xbox brand is focusing on multiplatform game releases, aiming for games to be playable across various devices, including Xbox consoles, PCs, and cloud gaming. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, stated that the upcoming titles Ara: History Untold, Towerborne, and the World of Warcraft expansion The War Within are exceptions and not indicative of a broader trend towards PC exclusivity. He emphasized the goal of making games accessible on all platforms and highlighted the Xbox Play Anywhere feature, which allows purchases on one platform to be accessible on another with the same Microsoft account. Spencer noted that not all content currently supports this feature but aims for a unified gaming experience across the Xbox ecosystem.

AppWizard

November 7, 2024

PC Gamer magazine’s new issue is on sale now: Path of Exile 2

PC Gamer provides an exclusive look at Path of Exile 2, an upcoming action RPG from Grinding Gear Games, after visiting their headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The magazine includes hands-on gameplay impressions and developer interviews, highlighting features set to debut in Early Access later this year. Additionally, the issue features a discussion with Gunfire Games about Remnant 2, marking its one-year anniversary, and includes previews of various games such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Reviews of new releases like Frostpunk 2 and Final Fantasy XVI are also included, along with a group test of gaming mini PCs and features on gaming mods and guides. Issue 403 is available in stores and on digital platforms.

AppWizard

October 15, 2024

CHARTS: Metaphor: ReFantazio debuts at No.3 on Steam

Atlus' Metaphor: ReFantazio launched on October 11th and became the third-highest-grossing title on Steam, selling over one million copies across all platforms. Counter-Strike 2 remains the top revenue driver on Steam, followed by Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero in second place. PUBG: Battlegrounds returned to the Top Ten in fifth place, while Throne and Liberty dropped to fifth after debuting at third. EA Sports FC 25 and Silent Hill 2 fell to sixth and seventh, respectively, and the Steam Deck dropped from seventh to eighth. Dota 2 fell to ninth, and Diablo 4, boosted by its Vessel of Hatred expansion, rounded out the list. The Steam Top Ten for the week ending October 15th is as follows: Counter-Strike 2, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Metaphor: ReFantazio, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Throne and Liberty, EA Sports FC 25, Silent Hill 2, Steam Deck, Dota 2, Diablo 4.