From developer Pigeons at Play and Devolver Digital, Mycopunk is one of those games where you see a few seconds of footage in the trailer, get totally sold and instantly stick it into your wishlist. There’s also a demo available to try.
Your ragtag gang of robot rejects have been hired by the universal megacorp SAXON for one last shot at profitable glory (and avoiding the scrap heap). You are the New Atlas Hazard Crew, a ramshackle squad of exterminators sent to uncover the mysteries behind a planet-wide fungal catastrophe. You get an arsenal of crazy weapons and power tools, and you get to supercharge them with what they’re saying is a ” one-of-a-kind grid-based upgrade system to create the ridiculous sci-fi super-weapon of your dreams”. Yeah, I’m definitely 100% sold on this. I need it.
This looks like one of the absolute wildest shooters in terms of world and creature design I’ve seen for a while. Absolutely love the style of it and the action looks intense too. Check out the trailer:
I tested out the demo with the latest Proton 10 Beta, and it worked perfectly. Even if the trailer didn’t sell me on it, the gameplay definitely would have. Chaotic, good fun and some really interesting game mechanics. Shooting enemies and watching them fall apart, and have pieces remain alive and be picked up by others, it’s really something. This has quickly turned into one of my most anticipated games for 2025.
This is one to watch, could easily end up being the next big co-op shooter.
Insider claims Half-Life 3, codenamed “HLX”, is playable start to finish and in development.
Game is playtested widely with potential plot leaks, with an anticipated release around 2025.
Despite insider claims, Valve has not officially confirmed development, treating this as a rumor.
If there was ever a game that constantly surfaces yet nothing materializes, it’s Half-Life 3. Valve’s follow-up to the award-winning Half-Life 2 has been the stuff of myths and legends at this point. Almost every year, we see a rumor about it surface, and yet we’re all left hanging.
Could this time be different? Tyler McVicker, an insider with a proven track record of leaking reliable information about Valve’s activities, is now the latest personality to claim Half-Life 3 is actually being developed at Valve’s HQ.
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Half-Life 3 Is Real And In A Playable State Claims Insider
Tyler McVicker has pushed out a new “Ask Me Anything” video where it’s mentioned that “HLX,” which is the purported codename of Half-Life 3, is not only in development, but it’s far enough that it can be played from start to finish.
The game is said to be playtested by a sizeable group, with some willing to spill details about it allegedly, McVicker states, “HLX is being playtested so religiously and so widely that there are individuals that will just talk. I personally have a policy of avoiding any story-related questions or information where possible, so I currently have avoided all of them. But I’ve been offered it by people whom are trustworthy and I know that some of my contemporaries have been given it, so there is information out there about the plot.”
Adding to that, McVicker claims this is furthest the project has ever been, and given the state of where it is now, he said Half-Life 3 could be announced this summer and be released in the winter of 2025, if he had to hazard a guess. This would make sense if Valve could do this given Grand Theft Auto 6, which is arguably the biggest release of the generation, has been delayed to May 2026. Releasing something as big as Half-Life 3 in the holidays of 2025 would essentially cement it as the biggest gaming event of the year.
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“This is the furthest it’s ever been, The game is playable end-to-end, period. It’s never been that far. And they’re optimizing it, polishing it. They’re probably content-locked, or if they’re not they’re mechanic-locked,” McVicker noted (via VGC).
Of course, with no official confirmation from Valve, this one should be treated as a rumor regardless of how reliable the insider is. For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Half-Life 2 was released in 2004 and is considered by many to be the best first-person shooter game of all time, and one of the most influential. Since its successful release, most assumed Valve would work on a third chapter, but that never came. Here we are, over 20 years later, and we’re still waiting on whether Valve can really count to 3 or not.
Will we finally see or hear about Half-Life 3 this year? Stranger things have happened, so who knows. The rumors about it have been more active lately, suggesting there is something happening behind-the-scenes to warrant all this smoke.
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It looks like Deadlock has a secret build that adds more characters and redesigns some of the existing ones.
Gears of War: Reloaded has been announced by The Coalition, which has confirmed that the Gears of War franchises is taking its first foray into being a multiplatform series. The game will be available from August 26th for PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and PS5, making it the first time Gears of War has been made available on a PlayStation console.
Developed by The Coalition in partnership with Sumo Interactive and Disbelief, Gears of War: Reloaded is a complete remaster of the original game, with this version supporting 4K resolution, 120 FPS support, and it will have cross-play across all platforms through the game’s two-player co-op campaign and 8-player versus multiplayer. Interestingly, no Microsoft will be required for cross-play, though signing in will enable cross-progressions for Campaign and multiplayer.
The full list of upgrades is as follows;
4K resolution
60 FPS in Campaign
120 FPS in Multiplayer
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Dolby Vision & 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos
7.1.4 3D Spatial Audio
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)
4K assets and remastered textures
Enhanced post-processing visual effects
Improved shadows and reflections
Super resolution with improved anti-aliasing
Zero loading screens during Campaign
While the game coming to PS5 is obviously the biggest shocker, this is still great news for Xbox and PC fans in general. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition launched early in the Xbox One era, and was never updated to support the Xbox One X, so the game has been trapped at 1080p where Gears 4 and later had better compatibility through to Xbox Series X – through backward compatibility it did get 60fps, though. On PC Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the game has some major performance issues (per Digital Foundry), reportedly introduced through Windows 10 a few years ago. With this remaster, this brings the original game back into focus once more.
When Gears of War: Reloaded launches, all the DLC that has been available as part of the package including the bonus campaign the multiplayer maps, characters, and cosmetics. Those of you who bought Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before today, 5th May, will get a free upgrade for Gears of War: Reloaded. Otherwise it will cost $39.99, though the game will be available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
This isn’t the only Gears of War game in the works, with Gears of War: E-Day in development as a prequel to this original game with previous series collaborators People Can Fly co-developing. The one thing that we can seemingly put to one side, though, is the rumours of a Gears of War Collection remaster, which was also rumoured for an August release.
Just like theatrical release windows have condensed from months to mere weeks, so too has the spoiler timeline. Only a few short years ago, a giant like Marvel studio was begging for fans to keep quiet on a post-release Monday about reveals in a movie like Avengers: Endgame. Now, for Thunderbolts*, it’s part of week 2 box-office strategy.
[Ed. note: The rest of this story contains major spoilers for Thunderbolts* that Marvel posted itself so go talk to them.]
On Monday morning, the Marvel Singapore YouTube account let the flerken out of the bag when it posted the “asterisk reveal” for Thunderbolts*, which by the end of the film, transitions in title to The New Avengers.
While many comic book theorists and spoilermongers predicted that the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title indicated an Avengers-related switcheroo, most assumed that The Winter Solider, the new Black Widow, the Red Guardian, Ghost, and U.S. Agent would team up to become the MCU’s take on the Dark Avengers. Not quite. As Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) said at the end of Thunderbolts*, they’re hurriedly dubbed “New Avengers.” Copyright battles with Sam Wilson’s OG Avengers team ensue.
Thunderbolts* made $76 million in its opening weekend — a strong start to a team-up movie that’s essentially a sequel to one of Disney’s COVID-era blockbusters and a bunch of Disney Plus TV shows, but a weaker start for a kick-off-the-summer Marvel movie. Marvel might be finally feeling the heat, after lackluster reviews and box office for Captain America: Brave New World and the major gamble of its Fantastic Four reboot later this summer. Did everyone who wanted to see Thunderbolts* already go this weekend? Will the movie fizzle out or hold strong as more blockbusters pop up throughout May? Marvel isn’t taking any chances. This is an AVENGERS movie. The NEWAVENGERS to be exact. #DontSpoiltheEndgame but #FeelFreetoSpoilThunderboltsforYourFriends if they want to have done their homework in time for Avengers: Doomsday in 2026.
Interactive text adventures were many of our first forays into video gaming. Similar to the Adventure stories we would get as books each adventure was usually a unique, and fulfilling story combined with puzzles, traps, loot, and enemies. The latest release by Remanence Studio is one such classic interactive graphical text adventure game and although it is a horror adventure known as The Doll Maker, it will still feel right at home for anyone who likes entering text based commands such as go east, go inside, look and pick up item.
Here’s the latest. “You play ‘Emo’, that answers a strange beacon, originating from a wast and now uninhabited land. You must find the origin of the beacon and discover the dark secrets behind it. The Game is text/graphical adventure that takes the player into a strange and upsetting world. The game consist of original graphics and music, and lets the player enter a realm of strange machines, puzzles and twists in the many locations that exists for the player to explore. The Doll Maker will feature an exciting procedural soundtrack that, not only changes with the game, but will also be unique every time you play”.
The soundtracks is composed by award winning composer Jesper Andersen aka’ The JohnDoe Search.The game is an homage to the genre of interactive graphical text adventures, like Guild of Thieves and The Pawn.The Doll Maker is set for release in 2025 for the Amiga.A very early sneak peek demo is now available for download
Let’s talk about the new weekly challenge, Bitizens! The DILK challenge in BitLife is here and it’s going to require a bit of work to get finished. It’s not too hard really, but our guide can help you speed through the grind much easier.
Last week’s Hot Wet Summer was pretty cool, now we’re back with the weird challenges. Don’t forget to check the Challenge Vault if you have it unlocked, you can do all the old BitLife challenges there as well. Check on some of our BitLife guides while you’re here for tips on those.
This one’s a bit weird, but not so weird as to be a turn off. Keep reading to learn more about this new weekly challenge!
How to complete the DILK challenge in BitLife
Here are the needed steps for the DILK challenge in BitLife.
You won’t need any premium packs or addons to complete this challenge. But certain paid addons like the Assassin’s Blade, Golden Pacifier, and Time Machine can speed this up. Anyway, let’s get to it.
First up, let’s talk about character creation. You don’t need to worry about what city you’re born into, just that you pick the female gender. From there, having high Smarts can help a lot as well.
The real time sink here is getting to be a doctor in Bitlife.
You’ll need to not only have a high Smarts stat, which can be helped by spending a lot of time studying and reading, but you also need to get into Med School. You need to get your hands on the right set of skills to get the job. As you go through school, you want to make sure you get very good grades and have a major in either Biology or Chemistry. From there, you need to earn your actual medical license and get into med school.
This is where those paid addons that can skip the grind of earning your degree can come in handy. But once you get through Medical School, you need to then grind away for 15 years in-game to satisfy the DILK challenge in BitLife. What I would recommend doing is focusing on the fling/hookup step of the challenge during this time.
You have 15 years to find various dads to hook up with Check out the Relationships tab, then click on Love and Hook Up. The roll is random, so it may take a few tries to find the 5+ fathers you need to complete this step. Make sure to use protection at least some of the time, getting an STI will be a real bummer. You do need to have 3 or more kids during this phase, but hold that until after you’ve gotten at least partway through med school, ideally.
How to murder your own father in BitLife
From here, it’s time for the last step. Your last task of BitLife‘s DILK challenge is to murder your own father. You have to go into the Crime option within the Activities tab to find the option to commit a murder in-game.
The hardest part about this last step is timing. You probably need to do it sooner, as your father can pass away from natural causes before you get the chance. If you get caught in the attempt, there’s a workaround. If this happens, you can emigrate to another country and try again, or close and reopen the BitLife app before confirming the failed attempt to try again.
When it comes to getting away with murder in BitLife, it’s somewhat dependent on luck. If you have the Assassin’s Blade, you can finish this attempt without risking jailtime. But since that’s a premium unique item, you’re likely not to have it unless you played A TON of BitLife. So in this case, you just have to get very lucky when doing the deed.
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HoYoverse finally announced the Honkai Star Rail x Fate collaboration release date during the second HSR concert, including details about which characters will join the space game’s roster. HSR x Fate kicks off on July 11, 2025, in an event called Sweet Dreams and the Holy Grail, and it adds two new 5-star characters from the Fate series to HSR’s list of playable characters.
One of them is Saber, a 5-star Destruction character with wind as her element. Saber, aka Artoria Pendragon, is one of Fate’s main characters and first debuted in 2004’s Fate/Stay Night. Saber will run for the usual length of time in a limited event banner. The second Fate character in HSR is Archer, another long-time favorite. Archer is a 5-star Hunt character with quantum as his element, and anyone who logs into Honkai Star Rail during Sweet Dreams and the Holy Grail will get him for free.
Get your very own free man for a limited time | Image credit: HoYoverse
HoYoverse said the free Archer giveaway will last through the end of Honkai Star Rail 3.6. Based on the game’s current update calendar, that’d be sometime in November 2025. Assuming the free Archer event is like the time HoYoverse gave Dr Ratio away, you’ll probably only need to be at the story’s beginning, at the point where you unlock the warp function.
Saber will have “exciting” interactions with the Trailblaze crew during the event’s associated story missions. Fate writer Kinoko Nasu penned the crossover event’s story, and artist Takashi Takeuchi created the Honkai Star Rail versions of Archer and Saber.
HoYoverse also teased a new Honkai game during the concert, though had no further information to share at the time.
If you’re just tuning in for Honkai Star Rail’s second anniversary, make sure to grab your free Ruan Mei or Luocha while the event lasts. Check out our HSR codes page for some freebies, too.
There are various fish types in Palia that players can catch while doing the Fishing Guild. Catching common and rare fish is the crucial step of leveling up the Fishing Guild to unlock advanced versions of the Fishing Rod as well as new items and crafting recipes at the Fishing Guild Store. One of the common fish that players can get in the midgame is the Yellowfin Tuna. This guide will walk you through where to find and catch Yellowfin Tuna in Palia.
Where to Find Yellowfin Tuna in Palia
Yellowfin Tuna can be found in the coastal areas of Bahari Bay at any time of the day. There are several spots in Bahari Bay where you can fish in the coastal areas. One of the best fishing spots to find Yellowfin Tuna is the pier of The Old Lighthouse on the eastern edge of Bahari Bay.
How to Catch the Yellowfin Tuna in Palia
Upon reaching the pier of The Old Lighthouse, look for a fishing bubble in the water. After that, equip the Fishing Rod tool and cast the line inside the bubble while equipping a Glow Worm as bait.
NOTE: Glow Worm bait is mandatory for catching the Yellowfin Tuna. Make sure to equip the Glow Worm Bait on the fishing rod before casting the line into the water.
Once done, wait for the bobber to shake three times. As the bobber starts to move after the third shake, reel in the fish by holding the Left-Click Button and moving the mouse to keep the fish inside the brackets to catch the fish. However, it can take you a few tries to catch Yellowfin Tuna as there are other fish and junk items in the coastal area.
Uses of Yellowfin Tuna in Palia
Players can sell the Yellowfin Tuna fish for 100 Gold (Base) or 150 Gold (Star Quality) to Zeki or at the Shipping Bin. Moreover, you can also gift it to certain villagers who like it or those who need it. The weekly needs for all villagers change every week, so keep an eye out. It is best to catch and store one in the storage so that you can hand it over when someone needs it.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been on my radar for a while now, ever since I first caught a glimpse at one of the many Microsoft and Xbox showcases. I think it was the combination of a beautiful art style and stunning turn based combat that made me sit up and pay attention.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is the product of Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive, but I guess the main question that needs answering in this review then, is whether the game has kept those features that first attracted me all those months ago. And if it has, what accompanies proceedings.
Well, at risk of minor spoilers, the answer is yes – to pretty much everything. So, come with me to the world of The Paintress as we try to figure out what she is doing. Best make sure you’re 32 or under, though!
Heading off on Expedition 33?
A Glimpse into Brilliance: First Impressions of Expedition 33
I have to go straight to the presentation first of all, as the news here is stunning.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is absolutely beautiful to look at, with so many French influences on display that I’m amazed the main character isn’t wearing a stripy jumper, smoking a Gauloises. The game gives many nods to the Belle Epoque period of history, and the way the buildings and even the outfits for the characters are designed just oozes style.
The cutscenes that we watch (and if anything, there are slightly too many: it’s a bit Metal Gear Solid IV in here) are amazingly well directed and animated, and the voice acting is among some of the best I’ve heard. The various locales that are visited all have a strong identity and look wildly different too, from the cityscapes of the prologue to a weird upside down sea (it’ll make sense when you see it). There’s no debating that the design and implementation of the artistic vision is bang on.
And then, the enemies we fight are well done too, with very different looks and weak points. All in all, the graphics and look of the game is on point.
A Symphony of Sound
Sound is also worthy of extreme praise. The voice acting is brilliant, yet a special mention has to go to the music, which again fits the game perfectly. I’ve wasted many minutes just listening to the music on the gramophone at the campsite, it is that good. Battle sounds are also great, and getting battered by an enemy or unleashing a crunching counter both are wince inducing. Everything here is top notch.
A bit of a curse…
The Paintress’s Curse
But, we need a narrative to be equally as strong, and luckily it is. The Paintress, once a year, awakens and paints a new number on her monolith: when she does, everyone who is older than the number disappears in a ceremony called “The Gommage”. She has been doing this for over 70 years, and has now painted “33”.
Each year, a new expedition is launched to try and put an end to this, but none has succeeded so far; and the world is starting to run out of people. We form Expedition 33 and set off, and while the prologue has some surprisingly emotional moments (even a cynical old sod like me was moved at the beginning), it is when we reach the continent that things really kick off.
In a few words, the story is excellent and really keeps you guessing through to the conclusion. But, as always, no spoilers here.
Strategic Exploration and Turn-Based Tactics
Now, onto the game itself, and here the news continues to be fantastic – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 plays extremely well indeed.
The game is primarily an exploration-based affair, with turn-based combat thrown in, and the juxtaposition between the two is very well judged. As we roam around, enemies can be seen, either on the world map or in any of the locations that we explore, and running up to them with a swift poke of the RB button will let us engage in combat with the upper hand. Alternatively, you can get around the enemies without fighting, but where’s the fun in that?
Exploring around the place will let us find new things to equip, mainly weapons, but also Pictos, which allows the opportunity to learn new skills. They also give each character a passive effect. Being able to equip up to three Pictos means it is worth tweaking your loadout to ensure you are as buff as possible. Once you unlock the camp, then weapons can be strengthened, and as we battle and level up, there are not only skill points to spend, but also attribute points to make your character stronger. Each attribute also affects the weaponry, scaling with certain attributes, so you can make your attacks more powerful if you pick the right attributes to level up. The system is deep, but very simple to pick up, thanks to some well placed tutorials.
A stunning game
Dodging, Parrying, and Tactical Timing
The other side of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the combat, and again, this is amongst some of the best I’ve seen in recent years.
The basic system allows you to pick either an attack, a skill, or an item, and if you have played a turn based game before, these should be pretty self explanatory. However, it is in the finer details where this one shines. For instance, if an enemy attacks you, you can choose to dodge the attack or to try and parry it: dodging is easier, and if you time it just right, you’ll execute a perfect dodge. The timing for this is the same as it is for parrying, so once you are happy with the enemy’s timings (and they are all different, obviously) then a successful parry will not only negate damage, but can also trigger a powerful counterattack. This is amazing to watch and pull off, especially when the whole team counters.
Further, while attacking, there are button prompts to follow, and getting the timing right there can make all the difference; a perfect timing will do more damage and even more attacks, so it is worth practicing. Honestly, there is so much more to the battle system than this, but I’ll just leave it there and confirm that everything is great fun.
A Stunning and Captivating Turn-Based Adventure
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a stunning game. It is emotional, beautiful and utterly captivating. And that all means it is an absolute no-brainer as to whether you should be playing.
Important Links
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Launches on Xbox, Game Pass, PlayStation and PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/clair-obscur-expedition-33-launches-on-xbox-game-pass-playstation-and-pc/
Download Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (£41.74 or Game Pass) – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/clair-obscur-expedition-33/9ppt8k6gqhrz
There’s a Deluxe Edition if you want it – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/clair-obscur-expedition-33-deluxe-edition/9n2vxs6jvjw9
This week saw gaming website Polygon sold to Valnet, the company that owns Screen Rant and Game Rant among other sites, and many of its staffers laid off. Meanwhile publication at another gaming site, Giant Bomb, is currently on hold as owner Fandom engages in what it calls a “strategic reset and realignment of our media brands” and some staffers suggest the company has interfered with the site’s content and its famously irreverent tone.
Elsewhere, Microsoft announced that Xbox consoles were going up in price, effective immediately, and that by this holiday season, we can expect higher prices on Xbox games as well. And we got a closer look at Borderlands 4 via a new PlayStation State of Play presentation. Read on for all the details on these stories and more.
