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Steam’s Latest Viral Multiplayer Game Is A $6 Janky Indie Game That Is Like Prop Hunt, But Good – Kotaku

Steam’s Latest Viral Multiplayer Game Is A  Janky Indie Game That Is Like Prop Hunt, But Good – Kotaku


I’ll admit that when I first saw gameplay of Meccha Chameleon, I didn’t think much of it. It seemed like yet one more janky prop hunt–inspired hide-and-seek multiplayer game. But anything that reached over 300,000 concurrent players on Steam in the middle of a random afternoon is worth checking out, and I’m happy I did because this odd painting game is far more exciting and clever than I expected, even if it is also very, very janky.

Meccha Chameleon is a new online multiplayer game (created, seemingly, by two developers) that pits a group of hunters with shotguns against a larger group of players tasked with hiding around different maps and using a painting tool to camouflage their bodies with the environment. The hunters have a limited amount of time to find and shoot all of the hiding players. And when I first heard this, I assumed that like prop hunt, Meccha Chamelon would be about hiding somewhere out of sight and not moving for a few minutes, which is boring and the main reason I rarely play prop hunt modes. But that’s not how Meccha Chamelon works at all.

Instead, hiding in this new popular Steam online game isn’t how you win. Instead, you need to hide in a spot where you will be visible to the hunters (though hopefully unnoticed by them), as you only get points for being in those players’ direct line of sight. Once I realized this, my goal in Meccha Chamelon was to hide in the most out in the open spots, like against a box in the middle of a room, and to use paint to mask my location. If nobody saw me for a bit, I’d use the taunt button to whistle and bring them over to where I was to get more points. Risky, but extremely exciting. Watching a group of players run by my hidden little guy, painted like a wall or something, over and over again never got dull.

And that’s the other big difference between Meccha Chameleon and other prop hunt games. In those games, you’re simply searching for a prop to turn into. In Meccha Chameleon, you have to take the time to actually paint your character to help them blend into the environment. The painting controls in the game are simple enough that within a few minutes, I understood what I could do, but to truly master it, you’ll need to work fast and carefully, as there is no undo. And brilliantly, once the hunters enter the map and start looking for hiding players, you can still keep painting and moving. I often would keep adding details and texture to my character to make them blend in even better with a woodgrain wall or brick floor.

© lemorion_1224 / Kotaku

The painting controls are a bit janky and wonky, like a lot of Meccha Chamelon. I frequently encountered matches that didn’t move forward because the game just got stuck in the lobby. I had a match in which players fell into a void, with one player typing in chat, “LOL again.” I also saw some players hiding inside of level geometry, which the game tries to stop, but no system is perfect. I also imagine there’s some cheating going on as I saw some hunters who seemed a bit too good at finding hidden players in seconds.

I’m not sure I’ll play 200 hours of Meccha Chamelon, but I’m happy to have it installed on my PC right now as it’s a cheap, fun, low-stakes multiplayer game that, despite some janky edges, offers up an exciting experience. Plus, it’s nice to finally have all my years of using MS Paint and Photoshop with a mouse finally pay off. And I mean, how many games let you become a set of horse testicles?



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Deer & Boy Review | TheXboxHub

Deer & Boy Review | TheXboxHub


A Gorgeous Adventure-Puzzle That is too Familiar to Soar

‘Deer’ gets first-billing in Deer & Boy, and I can see why. It’s the real star of the show, helping ‘Boy’ over countless obstacles and staying unruffled even though giant boars, purple corruption and tentacles are clearly after it. It’s impossibly cute, whether tucked into Boy’s bag or clomping around in the later game. Frankly, Boy would be lost without Deer.

There are other reasons to fall in love with Deer, but if there was ever a game to resist spoiling, it’s this one. Deer & Boy is a platform-adventure in a 2.5D space, very much in the milieu of Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares and Bramble: The Mountain King. Like those games, the experience is paramount. Deer & Boy lurches from surprise to surprise, some of them born from the world, other times from the gameplay. The only constant is Boy: everything else, from your companion to the world, shifts, and it does so constantly. 

Deer & Boy characters
A heartfelt tale?

What Do You Call a Deer with No Eyes?

The game starts with a suggestion that Boy is a runaway child, and Deer – a fawn – has lost its herd. We say ‘suggestion’ because there’s no dialogue or voices in Deer & Boy. This is a story that you have to pick up from details in the environment and the animations of the characters. Luckily, the animations in particular are superb. 

By making Boy a runaway, everyone in the world can be a hazard. There are wanted posters around, asking if anyone has seen Boy, so even a family in a Diner becomes dangerous. Someone at Lifeline Games has something against labourers, as the opening levels tend to make builders and workspeople into enemies that should be avoided.

The platforming at the start of Deer & Boy is pretty simple. Without a chunky fawn in his backpack, the boy can climb, grab ledges and generally be nimble, in a slightly sub-Prince of Persia, sub-Flashback way. But the Boy wants to keep the fawn with him, so you have to find ways to progress without leaving it behind for long. Cue lots of pushing of logs, breaking down walls and pushing buttons. 

Fawning Over the Deer Companion

But while Boy is a constant, Deer is not. It’s really hard not to spoil what follows, but let’s just say that the relationship between Boy and Deer is asymmetrical. Deer changes over the course of Deer & Boy, and the power-dynamic shifts. Where Boy was the dominant one at the start of the game, Deer begins to take over. Boy can always do the same moves, from beginning to end; your companion gains and sheds abilities.

Progression, like Inside, Little Nightmares et al, is about hitting walls. You will make headway thanks to some platforming or exploration, until something blocks your way. Then it’s a case of puzzling out what will get you through. That will be some combination of the abilities of your two characters (Boy can prompt Deer to do things with a hold of the B button, but you never control it directly). There will also be some reading of the environment, as you look for minecarts to push, and elevators to lift. 

Deer & Boy snowy screenshotDeer & Boy snowy screenshot
It’s all quite familiar

But Deer & Boy’s puzzles definitely err towards the familiar. I feel like I’m done with large, unkillable creatures who look one side to the other, and you have to stealthily move past while they are staring the other way. Deer & Boy pulls this trick not once but many times (just because you are changing from torches to eyeballs to blasts of energy doesn’t mean it’s different), and the gameplay starts to feel a bit worn. The exact same is true for malevolent, unkillable forces coming left to right at the player, and the player having to run away. There is a rolling sense of ‘been there, seen that’ with a lot of the scenarios. 

My First Limbo

The puzzles are fine but not overly strenuous. There is an argument for Deer & Boy to be a kind of entry game for the genre. There is a restricted moveset available to the player at any one time, meaning that there are only four or five options for how to solve a given puzzle. Plus the world gives abundant visual cues: ledges are handily marked, characters recoil from things they want to avoid. Checkpoints are frequent and friendly. But anyone who is looking for a challenge from their platform-puzzler should understand what they are getting into. There is nothing here that tickles the difficulty spikes of the games I mentioned in the second paragraph. 

What Deer & Boy does have in abundance is presentational care. My wife said that it looks like an animated John Lewis advert, but I think she means that as a compliment. In its lighting and animation in particular, Deer & Boy is sensational, delivering an immersive world that seems to wrap around the characters and encase them. Emotion pours out of the animations, as you bond with the Deer through its vulnerabilities and strengths. It’s impressive that a game without voice or dialogue can make you feel as much as this does.

But there is a caveat, in that I found certain parts of the story to feel shallow and overly familiar. It didn’t hit as hard as it possibly should have. The enemy, for example, is a bland and faceless purple goo that I feel like I have seen in countless movies, kids platformers and more. Sections are too reminiscent of other games, as industrial areas remind of Inside and a (too long) ending sequence felt drafted directly from Alan Wake. An emotional pivot point recalled Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and it’s too obvious where the ride is heading. 

A Game That we Would Deerly Want to Love More

I’m being grumpy about Deer & Boy because it skirts so close to the classics of the genre. There are moments where I feel like putting down the pad and clapping, whether it’s a beautifully composed cutscene or a soaring musical interlude. But those remarkable moments are often in the moments between gameplay. I felt like Deer & Boy most disappointed me when I was delving into its puzzles or action sequences, mostly because they echoed something I had already played. That and they never pushed me to think, or sharpen my reflexes.

Deer & Boy xbox screenshotDeer & Boy xbox screenshot
Gorgeously presented

I feel like almost everyone who starts Deer & Boy will finish it. Presentationally, it’s incredibly appealing, and the Deer is so cute that it’s almost sickening. The gameplay is frictionless, and there’s a familiarity to the puzzles that means you can complete most of them with a kind of muscle memory. As a first step into games like Inside and Little Nightmares, it’s a steady one.

To my taste, though, I would have welcomed a little less of that familiarity, and a little more friction. I breezed through Deer & Boy, wondering when it was going to grip me, but it never did. As someone who adores the genre, my final feeling was one of confusion. Deer & Boy felt like a game I was going to fall in love with. It was inevitable. But I ended up merely charmed.

Cinematic Platformer Deer & Boy is a Poetic Journey of Friendship – https://www.thexboxhub.com/cinematic-platformer-deer-boy-is-a-poetic-journey-of-friendship/

Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/deer-boy/9nh79h1pvq04



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Dave the Diver In the Jungle: How to Do Bird Hunting

Dave the Diver In the Jungle: How to Do Bird Hunting


Dave the Diver: In the Jungle expansion offers numerous new gameplay features that players can experience exclusively at the new location. One of the features is bird hunting. Bird hunting allows the players to gather bird meat, one of the profitable ingredients that you can use in recipes at Bancho Grill. You can find various birds at the bird hunting spots, and the rarer the bird, the more profitable the bird meat. In this guide, we will tell you how to do bird hunting in Dave the Diver: In the Jungle.

How to Unlock Bird Hunting in Dave the Diver: In the Jungle

Bird hunting is one of the mid-game features that becomes available after rescuing Marone (the Puppy). During Chapter 3, when you visit Setah Forest for the first time, you will come across a crying puppy. After rescuing the puppy and going through the main missions, you will return to Utara Village in Chapter 4. Once you are back in Utara Village, speak with Cobra standing close to Marone. This will initiate the “Bird Hunting with Marone” sub-mission. It is the introductory quest to the bird hunting activity in Dave the Diver: In the Jungle.

How to Do Bird Hunting in Dave the Diver: In the Jungle

There are multiple Bird Hunting spots in the Setah Forest area. You can go to any one of the spots to initiate the bird hunting mini-game. However, the bird hunting spot near the swamp is the best one to get the most profitable bird meat. To initiate the bird hunting, go near the bush and press the interaction key. Marone will jump into the bush to scare away the birds, and you have to shoot the birds to collect the bird meat.

Every hunting spot has 10 birds in total, meaning you can get 10 birds’ meat for shooting all the birds. When a bird flies out, press RMB to focus and then shoot. Focus slows down the time and makes it easier for you to shoot the bird. Every bird you shoot gives you 1x bird meat.

You can get the bird meat from the following birds during the bird hunting activity.

Sparrows

Qualis

Ducks

Pheasants

Ducks and Pheasants provide the most profitable bird meat. You can use the bird meat at Bancho Grill to serve the villagers for Doni.



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Playson adds Super Wheel twist to 4 Pots Riches with 10,000x win potential – Adventure Gamers

Playson adds Super Wheel twist to 4 Pots Riches with 10,000x win potential – Adventure Gamers


Playson is heading back into folklore territory with 4 Pots Riches: Super Wheel, adding another Pots game to the family. This new release keeps the familiar leprechaun-inspired setup, but layers in a fresh Super Wheel feature, hopefully giving bonus rounds a little more excitement.

Set against an enchanted backdrop full of clovers, coloured pots, and gold-seeking charm, 4 Pots Riches: Super Wheel looks to build on the mechanics that have made the series work so far, while giving you a few more ways to land bigger rewards.

Super Wheel adds another layer to bonus play

The headline mechanic is, naturally, the Super Wheel. If the Super Wheel symbol appears when either the standard Bonus Game or the Mega Bonus Game is triggered, the wheel spins and awards one of several prizes. This can include a Jackpot Coin, a Clover Coin, or a cash-value coin worth up to 10x the bet.

Pots remain at the heart of the game

Just like previous entries, colored Clover Coins feed into their matching pots above the reels. Violet, Blue, and Red Clover Coins can each activate a different Pot Feature during the Bonus Game.

The Multi feature, tied to Violet Clover Coins, places multipliers of up to 5x onto empty cells, or combines them with existing multipliers if the board is already packed. The Collect feature, linked to Blue Clover Coins, gathers the values of all symbols on the reels and adds them to its own total. Meanwhile, the Mystery feature, triggered by Red Clover Coins, can award Mini, Minor, or Major Jackpots, or random values up to 75x the bet.

Mega Bonus and Golden Pot boost the chase

The Mega Clover Coin can unlock the Mega Bonus Game, which expands play to a 5×5 grid. That larger setup gives more room for Clover Coins to land and more chances to activate or stack features.

There’s also the Golden Pot Feature, which can appear at random during either bonus mode. When it lands, it transforms into a coloured Clover Coin, either adding a new feature into the mix or strengthening one already in play.

Jackpot Coins can also appear during bonus rounds, awarding Mini, Minor, or Major prizes worth 15x, 30x, and 100x. Fill all 15 cells in the standard Bonus Game and you’ll land a 3,000x win, while filling all 25 cells in the Mega Bonus Game awards the headline 10,000x prize.



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Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 53: The Rabbit’s Foot

Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer Part 53: The Rabbit’s Foot


Return to Part 1: Dumpster Diving

Continued from Part 52: What Am I Going to Do With All This Cheese

Few Linux games can claim to have as gone as native as Lugaru: The Rabbit’s Foot. Developed by David Rosen and released under his Wolfire Games label in January 2005, Lugaru debuted as one of the many games to be birthed by the once vibrant Macintosh shareware scene, before being ported to Microsoft Windows in May 2005 and then finally brought over to Linux in August of that same year thanks to efforts of the prolific Ryan “icculus” Gordon.

From there Lugaru would go through several more evolutions, the first of which was the game being rebadged as Lugaru HD following the official adoption of a fan made high resolution texture pack assembled by Tim Soret. This was the version of the game which would go on to be included in the inaugural Humble Indie Bundle in May 2010, the overwhelming success of which would see Lugaru HD have its source code released under the GNU General Public License as a thank you to its backers.

Wolfire Games then started work on a sequel titled Overgrowth, which after nine long years of development left early access in late 2017, and featured a full reimplementation of the original Lugaru campaign. With this done, Wolfire Games were generous enough to also release the Lugaru game assets under the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, allowing it to exist as a completely free game. OSS Lugaru, the leading community branch, is now widely packaged in many Linux software repositories.

I cut my teeth with Lugaru HD, after the game was no longer sold as shareware, but given its minimal hardware requirements, I grew curious about how far back I could get the game to run. Indeed, the initial Lugaru website from 2005 claims that the game “should run at full speed at full detail on any system with a 700 mhz processor and Geforce 3 or better graphics card”, but that it should also “run acceptably on any system with a 300 mhz processor and Rage 128 or better graphics card”.

With my recent upgrade from a Rage 128 Pro to a Geforce 2 MX 400, Dianoga now falls right in the middle of those two poles. Being shareware made it trivial to find the maiden Linux binaries distributed in the lugaru-linux-x86-1.0.zip archive, which offers a graphical installer providing both the demo and the full game locked behind a registration key. Being from 2005 the Linux port demands a newer version of libstdc++ than came with my distribution, but third party RPM packages can address this.

Lugaru

Game performance was indeed acceptable, with the greatest headache being the animated screen transitions, which I can also remember bogging things down for me much later on in the early days of the free Radeon drivers. Once inside the game world proper things stayed fluid for the most part, even with the detail settings set to high, although I did lower the quality of the blood effects and disabled blur effects and decals. I also had to keep the screen locked at a modest 640×480 resolution.

From there I needed to get my hands on a registration key, which David Rosen very kindly provided for me even without having access to the original key generator, taking the trouble of reconstructing the logic used to produce the keys instead. Too many digitally distributed Linux games from this era are now in danger of becoming lost media, and while Lugaru itself of course has since become ubiquitous, it was refreshing to find how easy a process this all could still be.

As for how well the game plays, Lugaru was very much how I remembered it: a promising first draft of something which had yet to reach the full potential of its premise. The game’s context sensitive fighting system is genius, and the greatest knock one can make against the game is that not enough was done to take full advantage of it. The story campaign is competent but left basic, with larger themes hinted at but never given any greater exploration other than brief asides.

Lugaru thrives on lateral thinking, epitomized for me with the final Challenge level, which has you face three tough wolves with no weapons on hand other than your bare paws. I could take down the first wolf without even taking damage, but my luck would always run out when tangling with either the second or third. Inspiration struck when I realized I could hurl the corpse of the first wolf at the other two for massive damage, flipping the stage from seeming impossible to beatable in just two strikes.

The game has good bones, so it make sense why Wolfire Games took as long as they did to flesh things out with the sequel, but I will admit that Overgrowth was in early access for so long I had already moved on to other things by the time it grew into its final form. Perhaps it is long past time that I rectified that, but that is certainly not going to happen on a 500 MHz Pentium III processor and 512 MB of PC133 RAM. Or with a six sided dice and pen and paper.

Carrying on in Part 54: Character Building

Return to Part 1: Dumpster Diving

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.



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Ramizes – Tutankham inspiration and winner of ROMA.EXE 2026 demo’d for the Amiga

Ramizes – Tutankham inspiration and winner of ROMA.EXE 2026 demo’d for the Amiga


While the latest news will be slower this week due to an extreme heatwave, I’m still pleased to write up that the playable demo called “Ramizes” by programmer Pawel Tukatsch, widely known in the community as tukinem, has made an appearance and can be downloaded below. While I haven’t yet played the game and will do so soon, this nostalgic production conquered the ROMA.EXE 2026 game competition, securing its spot among the most notable retro titles of the year.

“Ramizes” serves as a direct, loving tribute to Konami’s iconic 1982 arcade classic, Tutankham. The newly released demo transports players back to the golden era of maze-crawling, action-adventure gameplay, optimized entirely for vintage Commodore hardware. 

A Powerhouse Collaborative Effort 

The game’s success relies heavily on a talented production squad. The full development credits include:

Coding & Core Design: Pawel Tukatsch (tukinem)Menu Audio & Sound Effects: Marcin Bialobrzewski (Eightbm)In-Game Soundtrack: Bartlomiej Niedzwiecki (Bartesek)Visual Assets & Graphics: Tomasz Mielnik (Carrion, known for his work with c64portal.pl)

Minimum Technical Requirements

True to the spirit of old-school demoscene engineering, the developers built “Ramizes” to run on highly modest, classic specifications:

Processor: Motorola 68000 running at 7 MHzGraphics Chipset: Original Chipset (OCS) — PAL region displays onlyOperating System: AmigaOS 1.2 or higherMemory Configuration: Requires 512 kB of free Chip RAM combined with either 512 kB of free Slow RAM or a flat 1 MB setup of total Chip RAM.



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GTA 6 prices appear to have been listed on a Portuguese website | TheSixthAxis

GTA 6 prices appear to have been listed on a Portuguese website | TheSixthAxis


File this one under “Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, probably is a duck.. but could be a mouse doing a very good duck impression.”

A Portuguese retailer has listed five SKU’s under the name “RS”, with a launch date of November 19th, which we know is the official launch date for Grand Theft Auto VI from Rockstar.

The prices range from 89.99 Euros to 199.99 Euros, which will include tax at around 23%, so probably the same sort of price in the UK in pounds and starting at $80 in the United States, but without tax.

If the listing is correct, there are five versions of the game, €90, €100, €110, €120, and €200. That does seem a lot, usually it is something like Base Game, Base Game + Cosmetic DLC, and Collector’s Edition, five SKU’s seems a lot.

In the past, there have been instances of retailers listing games before the official prices have been announced, but given we are so close to pre-orders opening, and  that they have used a code name for the game, this could be real.

Or it could be a very talented mouse quacking loudly,  just keep that in mind.

Earlier this week Rockstar Games has announced that the Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders will be available from June 25th on PS5 & Xbox Series XS. Rockstar Games also revealed the official cover art for Grand Theft Auto VI, which you can see below.

GTA 6 had previously been set for launch on 26th May 2026, and while this was the first firm date that we had for launch from Take Two and Rockstar, it had come after the better part of a year of Take Two execs assuring that the game was going to launch in 2025. However it was GTA 6 delayed again to November 2026, with the confirmed release date now being November 19th.

Grand Theft Auto VI will take us all back to Vice City for Rockstar’s latest crime story, featuring Lucia, the series’ first female protagonist, who’s coming fresh out of prison, and Jason, who works with the local drugrunners after quitting the army.

Source: Reddit



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10 Strategy Games Where You’re Actually the Villain

10 Strategy Games Where You’re Actually the Villain


Strategy games are all about being two steps ahead of your opponent, whether that’s through planning your next move, decision-making, or managing resources. Despite new entries launching onto the market all the time, it’s not often that strategy games allow you to be the villain, but when they do, they tend to be memorable experiences of pure domination. There are some video game villains that are more recognizable than the protagonist, after all.

Related

9 Best Strategy Games That Respect Your Time

Time is money, and these strategy games don’t waste any.

We’ve ranked the ten best strategy games where you play as the villain. Whether you’re looking to take over the world, erase humanity in more ways than one, or take ownership of a dungeon, there’s something to fulfill all your anti-hero desires.

10

Plague Inc: Evolved

It All Starts With ‘Patient Zero’

plague inc evolved map

Rather than playing as a traditional villainous character, Plague Inc: Evolved puts you in control of a deadly virus that you must spread across the world. There are ten kinds of diseases that each require a different strategy to achieve your goal of eradicating humanity.

Since the game focuses on realism across its campaign scenarios, multiplayer, and co-op modes, I would argue that Plague Inc: Evolved should fall into the horror game subcategory. Humans will try to defend themselves against the virus and find a cure, so expect to adapt your approach throughout your mission to wipe out human history.

9

Creature Lab

The Lab is Your Oyster

creature lab mutant

Developer

Image Power S.A

Publisher

PlayWay S.A, HeartBeat Games

Release Date

June 2023

Moving on to experimenting on humans, Creature Lab allows you to become a mad scientist in your very own hideout. Perform outlandish experiments, combine mutagens to form new recipes, and even grow body parts to attach to your victims.

Apart from the amount of freedom on offer through experimentation, my favorite aspect of Creature Lab is being able to send the monsters you create out into the city to find resources and fend off anyone trying to infiltrate your secret lab. Resource management and planning raids play a role in informing part of your strategy on your quest to find the most powerful mutation.

8

Swarm the City: Zombie Evolved

Command a Zombie Apocalypse

swarm the city zombie evolved gameplay

Developer

Seasun Games

Publisher

Seasun Games

Release Date

June 2022

Become the King of the Dead by unleashing a zombie apocalypse on humanity in Swarm the City: Zombie Evolved. Your objective is to convert humans and animals to zombies through real-time strategy elements, while the art style adds some charm to your undead journey.

Grow your zombie army not only in size, but power, too. One of the most interesting mechanics in the game is that your zombies will steal memories of how to use weapons while munching on human brains. This allows you to put up a fight against even the most powerful foes and evolve your army to reach your goal of world domination.

7

Chambers of Devious Design

Tactical Tiles

chambers of devious design gameplay

Developer

Redbeak Games

Publisher

Redbeak Games

Release Date

September 2022

Have you ever wanted to be an interior designer who builds lairs for an evil mastermind? Chambers of Devious Design places its strategy and puzzle elements in just that, connecting rooms that have their own unique effects.

Upcoming Strategy Games 2026

Related

10 Strategy Games Coming in 2026 that Already Deserve Your Attention

These strategy titles could push the genre to whole new levels in 2026.

What makes Chambers of Devious Design deserving of a place on our list of the best strategy games where you play as the villain is the different play styles on offer. Your designs are used to fight opponents, whether that’s through room placement, passive perks, abilities, or the varying bonuses wielded by different playable characters. I think watching your lair evolve and grow makes survival that bit more satisfying.

6

Ghost Master: Resurrection

The Haunting of Gravenville

ghost master resurrection town gameplay

Back on the theme of tormenting humans, Ghost Master: Resurrection is a remake of the 2003 cult classic that allows you to take control of ghostly apparitions to scare the living daylights out of the townsfolk. Put simply, the core gameplay loop is like if you could haunt characters in The Sims.

Unlike traditional strategy games, Ghost Master: Resurrection welcomes chaos as you unlock mysteries and solve puzzles across the 11 explorable locations. Ghost Master: Resurrection is the best way to command your ghastly army due to its improved visuals, better AI, and new content that is exclusive to this modernized version.

5

Age of Wonders 4

A Fantasy Playground

age of wonders 4 world

Age of Wonders has come a long way since its debut back in 1999. Whether you want to create a clan of cannibals, or go for complete domination, the reactive world of varying realms opens up endless replayability for evil deeds. Moreover, Age of Wonders 4 has robust mod support on PC, offering greater choice over the way you play.

Although sharing some similarities with Sid Meier’s Civilization series, Age of Wonders 4 is the better option for taking the place of a glory-seeking villain because there are more ways to play the role through RPG elements, faction creation, and more diverse combat.

4

Command and Conquer Remastered Collection

Still Holding the Line

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection gameplay

One of the most influential real-time strategy games is Command and Conquer. Even three decades after the original title made its debut, the game is able to stand the test of time.

It’s possible to play as the villain in Command and Conquer through the game’s factions, the antagonists of which are: The Brotherhood of Nod, Global Liberation Army, The Scrin, The Soviet Union, Yuri’s Faction, and Empire of the Rising Sun. My top pick is the Global Liberation Army because of their powerful economy derived from resource gathering and their use of clever guerrilla tactics.

The remastered edition includes all three game expansions, 4K graphics, multiplayer rebuilt from the ground-up, and even mod support on Steam.

3

Iratus: Lord of the Dead

A Rising Evil

Iratus Lord of the Dead necromancer

Adopting the role of a necromancer in a dark fantasy world with turn-based tactical Roguelike elements is the premise of Iratus: Lord of the Dead. The fact that you are trying to break free from a dungeon, rather than being the hero that ventures into them, caught my attention.

After being freed from prison, you must fight your way out of the underworld to the surface world and establish your kingdom. There are 19 types of servants to add to your army, while crafting minions from the body parts of your dead opponents adds a new layer of strategy to your army due to their unique abilities.

There are a range of difficulty levels to choose from in Iratus: Lord of the Dead, which makes it a strategy game that’s accessible for everyone.

2

Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager

You’re Hired by the Dungeons Company

Legend of Keepers Career of a Dungeon Manager gameplay

In a similar vein to Iratus: Lord of the Dead, you play the villain by defending dungeons from hopeful explorers, but as the name suggests, Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager has a focus on workplace management.

Plan your defense against heroes and place traps throughout your dungeon to stop them from advancing in Roguelike encounters. However, you will also run all parts of the dungeon, from hiring monsters and even dealing with employee strikes. Climbing the career ladder of a dungeon master works surprisingly well with this formula by raising the stakes in your role as the villain.

1

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

The Ultimate Comedy Villain

evil genius 2 world domination characters

Inspired by the spy genre, you play the other side of the coin, as you are the criminal mastermind seeking domination with a Doomsday Device in this base-building strategy game.

Create your own lair fit for a villain and train a loyal army to implement your evil plans. Evil Genius 2: World Domination stands out because of its satirical tone that brings a new meaning to playing in the shoes of the villain. Whether you’re selling the British Royal Family or causing mischief elsewhere, be on the lookout for The Forces of Justice, who will attempt to stop you in your tracks.

Tales of Vesperia God of War Devil May Cry 3 Sly Cooper

Next

10 Best Games Where You Play An Antihero

Games like Devil May Cry 3 and God of War have protagonists that aren’t exactly in things for the best reasons.



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5 free Steam games you can play this weekend

5 free Steam games you can play this weekend


If you’re looking to try some PC games this weekend, but don’t want to break the bank, Steam has you covered. You can currently play five games for free on Steam from now through June 22 at 1 p.m. EDT. The list includes a grand strategy classic, one of 2025’s best games, and a multiplayer juggernaut. All of those games are currently on sale too, so if you like what you played, you can pick them up at a deep discount after. Beyond the following lineup of free trials, Don’t Nod’s narrative adventure game Tell Me Why is free to keep for the rest of Pride Month.

1

Stellaris


Image: Paradox Interactive

Stellaris is a grand strategy game about forging a galactic empire. You lead an advanced civilization by sending out ships to explore the cosmos while striking diplomacy or war with alien societies. The game released in 2016 and has since been supported with a dozen expansions. It was created by Paradox Development Studio, a team known for strategy games like Crusader Kings 3, Hearts of Iron 4, Victoria 3, and more. Stellaris is currently on sale for 70% off at $14.99 until June 25.

2

Two Point Museum

A science museum in Two Point Museum, featuring a vomiting janitor and exploding exhibit
Image: Two Point Studios/Sega via Polygon

Two Point Museum is the latest sim from Two Point Studios, casting the player as the manager and curator of a museum. There are five distinct museum types to choose from, including ones focused on prehistory, science, and the supernatural. Players are tasked with catering to guests’ preferences while managing employee satisfaction and turning a profit. The Two Point series has been well received, and this most recent entry is no exception, with an Overwhelmingly Positive user score on Steam, a BAFTA nomination, and an 84 on Metacritic. It will be on sale for $20.09 (33% off) until next week.

3

Dead By Daylight

Dead by Daylight - Halloween
Behaviour Interactive

Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer game that refuses to go the way of a horror movie victim, having stayed alive for an entire decade. You play as either a slasher villain or as the prey, working with or against other players to survive. The game has been a veritable phenomenon, attracting over 60 million players as it has collaborated with almost every major horror franchise, including Halloween, Saw, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Stranger Things, and more. The base version of the game is currently 60% off at $7.99.

4

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

An aerial view of a pitched battle in a large, glistening, futuristic city. The buildings stretch to the horizon.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is getting two new biomes with its paid expansion. They include megacities, like this one.
Image: Piranha Games

If you like giant robots, it may be worth checking out MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. The latest mainline entry in the BattleTech series is set during the Succession Wars, a period of tumult where human colonies from across thousands of star systems wage war. The game is first-person, with an emphasis on the nitty-gritty of these fictionalized death machines, requiring the player to monitor various meters and component damage to survive. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is currently going for $7.49 (or 75% off) until June 25.

5

Speedball

A speedball athlete making an impressive diving grab.
Image: Rebellion

Lastly, there’s Speedball, an admittedly more obscure action sports game that is a revival of the 1988 series of the same name. Set in a dystopian future, athletes compete in a mashup of football and handball that involves parkour and jetpacks. This may be the best time to jump in and try the game out, as this multiplayer title has struggled to find an audience, with only 83 reviews on Steam giving it a Mixed user score. A major complaint is that developer Rebellion seems to have stopped supporting the game, leaving it with solid core gameplay in a bare-bones package. It’s currently going for $8.99, which is 70% off.

Steam Hardware Announcement 1-20 screenshot

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Sea of Thieves Season 20 changes Season Pass progression and renames Plunder Pass – VideoGamer

Sea of Thieves Season 20 changes Season Pass progression and renames Plunder Pass – VideoGamer




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Sea of Thieves Season 20 has brought with it a host of changes, including to the game’s progression structure with a revised Season Pass, a renamed paid tier and new ways to earn Renown.

Yes, you’re reading that right. Season 20. It only seems like yesterday that being a pirate and plundering people’s loot was all the rage. While the game’s not as popular, the devs are still pouring resources into the game, and Update 3.8.0 introduces a whole host of changes, including significant revisions to how you, the pirate, progress through the game.

Update 3.8.0 introduces a 50-level Season Pass. Players progress through the pass by raising Renown, with rewards available across the track. Every five levels, players can earn Doubloon Pouches, playable Voyages and a choice of cosmetic rewards that were previously available through the Pirate Emporium.

Completing all 50 levels of the Season 20 pass rewards the Greed’s Reach Cutlass as the Star Prize.

Players can also purchase a limited number of Season Pass levels during the season. The release notes state that up to 10 levels can be bought for 150 Ancient Coins each directly from the Season Pass. Purchased levels are granted to all Pirate Profiles, and newly unlocked rewards from those levels can be claimed immediately.

The Plunder Pass has also been renamed as the Premium Tier. Premium Tier players can earn Ancient Coins and the Sirens’ Splendour ship set during the season, including Collector’s Figurehead and Sails. Rare said players who complete the Premium Tier can earn back a total of 1,000 Ancient Coins, which can be spent in the Pirate Emporium or used toward a future Premium Tier.

Premium Tier owners also receive a boosted rate of Renown progression for Season 20. The paid tier can be purchased in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, through the Pirate Emporium webpage or through the Steam Item Store.

Season 20 also changes how Renown is earned, with more emphasis on deliberate actions at sea. Crews can earn Renown from completing Voyages, Tall Tales, and World Events, selling treasure, sinking Emissary Ships, taking part in Faction Battles, and competing in Last Ship Standing. Exploration and fishing will continue to provide smaller Renown rewards.

Season 20 does not use an Act structure. Instead, players can complete time-limited Deeds in Custom Seas to earn a boost to Seasonal Renown when returning to High Seas. Completing all available Deeds in Season 20 awards the Custom Crafter Sails.

For the full details and extensive patch notes, head over to the Sea of Thieves page here.



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