Bang! You can now join the Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer Tech Test

Squish the little men War never changes, but sometimes the developers of esteemed WW2 real time strategy games need help checking their servers are set up OK. To wit: theCompany of Heroes 3multiplayer Tech Test just went live, giving you ‘til 10am PT/ 6pm GMT on Monday to blow up some tanks. It’s a good chance to try the game out for free. Watch on YouTube It’s a hefty test. You can try out “eight different multiplayer maps set in both Italy and North Africa”, “compete in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 matches”, as well as “play Skirmish vs AI, Annihilation Mode and create Custom Games”....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 236 words · Andrew Anderson

Classic X-COM-like Xenonauts 2 is heading to early access later this year

It should be hitting Steam sometime between April and June It’s inevitable that as soon as you make a list of yourmost anticipated gamesfor the year, more excellent games start getting announced the moment you hit publish. Case in point: Goldhawk Interactive’s long-awaitedXenonauts 2has just been confirmed to be heading to Steam early access later this year. Huzzah! The original Xenonauts wasan excellent homageto the hyphenated school of X-COMs / UFO: Enemy Unknowns of old, so I’m feeling pretty pumped to find out how its sequel builds on its classic, squad-based tactics....

January 11, 2023 · 1 min · 213 words · Erica Schultz

Final Fantasy 14's perfect steamed bun animation puts its blocky grapes to shame

The most important change in Patch 6.3 Final Fantasy XIV’s latest Patch 6.3 “Gods Revel, Lands Tremble” features new main scenario quests, a 24-player alliance raid dungeon, amongst many other tweaks and additions to theMMO. Really, though, it should be called “Baos Split, Tummies Rumble” as players have discovered the real highlight: a bao bun animation that’ll leave your salivary glands twitching. It’s beautiful. Magnificent. Almost NSFW. Look, nolookat the bun animation....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 336 words · David Hunt

Have you played... Katana Zero?

Time to kill There are few games I think about as often asKatana Zero. You know when something wriggles its way into your brain and sort of just stays there? Considering it’s been three years since Katana Zero launched, I guess it’s gotten to the point where its toothbrush is next to mine. It’s not even for the reasons you might expect, either. Yes, its side-scrolling action is so buttery smooth it should come with a cholesterol warning....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 320 words · Amy Liu

Marvel Snap will speed up card progression on January 31st

You’ll be able to battle your buds, too Marvel Snapis excellent, and when you first start playing it chucks new cards at you faster than a confused magician. That slows down once you’ve got a few hours under your utility belt, but developers Second Dinner have some changes in the works that should make rarer cards easier to snag. If you’re saving up for a particular card from the Token Shop, it’s worth checking whether it’s one of 9 cards that are about to get cheaper....

January 11, 2023 · 3 min · 537 words · Raymond Fernandez

Microsoft are indeed showing off Redfall, not Starfield, on January 25th

Along with new stuff for The Elder Scrolls Online, Forza Motorsport and Minecraft Legends The rumourswere true: Microsoft will indeed be showing off Arkane’s co-op zombie shooterRedfallon January 25th, while savingStarfieldfor a presentation all of its own at a later date. All the other details were spot on, too. The show’s called Developer_Direct, and will also include a peek at new regions in The Elder Scrolls Online, along with fresh footage from Forza Motorsport and Minecraft Legends....

January 11, 2023 · 1 min · 166 words · Julie Long

RetroSpace is a disco-punk immersive sim from the Chicken Police devs

You’ll need your blaster and you’ll need your freezer gun Space is fine, but it could do with more disco. The Wild Gentlemen agree, so they’re makingRetroSpace, a colourful yet horror-filled immersive sim set on a city-sized, time-hopping spaceship from the 60’s. It’s got creepy bug men, creepier flower ladies, and drugs that can turn you into “a tentacle-armed, mind-controlling, shadow-lurking mutant”. The Wild Gentlemen are the developers behind noir detective gameChicken Police, making this a pleasing pivot from grizzled chickens to grizzly chic ions....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 363 words · Jessica Romero

Skull & Bones sails into a sixth delay while Ubisoft axes three more unannounced games

We’ll all be skeletons by the time it comes out At least it’s (sea)faring better than three other unannounced Ubisoft games, which have been cancelled thanks to Ubisoft’s general underperforming sails. Sorry, sales. Watch on YouTube The news comes from Ubisoft’sextremely business-ey annoucement, which is essentially a long letter attempting to reassure shareholders. They say all this calls for “increased cautiousness”, hence the fresh wave of cancellations. Those come on top of already cancelling Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Frontline,Splinter CellVR and two unannounced gameslast July....

January 11, 2023 · 1 min · 125 words · Timothy Rodriguez

The LG 27GL83A gaming monitor is back down to its Black Friday price of $249.99

A great deal on a critically acclaimed 27-in 1440p 144Hz ‘Fast IPS’ monitor. The LG 27GL83A is a legendary gaming monitor, one of the very first to ship with LG Display’s Fast IPS panels that combined TN-like motion handling with traditional IPS colours and viewing angles. The result is a strong all-around screen that works for gaming, content creation and media consumption - and today the 27GL83A is down to its Black Friday price of $249....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 303 words · Jessica Romero

The RX 6950 XT, AMD's former GPU flagship, is down to $730

Better value than RX 7900 XT, for what it’s worth. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is the flagship graphics card in the Radeon RX 6000 series, and one of themost powerful graphics cards on the marketeven after the release of thefirst Radeon RX 7000 series cards. It is designed for gaming enthusiasts, content creators, and professionals who demand the highest levels of performance from their graphics card - and now that the next gen is out, this bleeding-edge card has been heavily reduced....

January 11, 2023 · 2 min · 375 words · Johnathan Delgado

What's better: programmable party members, or optional grinding?

Vote now as we continue deciding the single best thing in games Last time, you narrowly decided—52% against 48%—thatgiant swords are better than calling found phone numbers. I might often agree with you, but today I find myself a little salty. Think of the immersive sims, reader dear! But fine, let’s mark the result down and move on. This week, it’s a choice between cleverness and emptyheadedness. What’s better: programmable party members, or optional grinding?...

January 11, 2023 · 3 min · 637 words · Cynthia Vance

Wordle answer (#571): What is the Wednesday January 11 Wordle word?

Stuck on today’s Wordle word for Jan 11? Read our hints and the Wordle answer below! If you’re having trouble arriving at today’s Wordle answer, we’ve put together some clues below to help you out. Or, if you just want to see the solution in full, scroll down below the video to do just that. Looking for today’s solution? Check out theWordle hint and answer for Thursday 12th December! Wordle today: Hints for the Jan 11 Wordle word...

January 11, 2023 · 6 min · 1138 words · Lance Edwards

"Nobody said a word about a PC version," says Final Fantasy 16 producer

My “also available on PC” trailer is raising a lot of questions… During a recentFinal Fantasy14 developer livestream, the subject ofFinal Fantasy 16’s PC port came up. “Nobody said a word about a PC version release,” said Yoshi P, the producer on both FFXIV and FFXVI. “Why is it like a PC version is releasing 6 months later? Don’t worry about that, buy a PS5!” he said, laughing. We’ve beenworking under the assumption that Final Fantasy 16 would come to PCafter a period of PlayStation 5 exclusivity, but in fairness, that’s because that’s what the Final Fantasy 16 trailers have said would happen....

January 10, 2023 · 1 min · 200 words · David Garza