Steam's massive Winter Sale has arrived and will be sticking around until January 5th
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: Valve has announced the best-selling and most played Steam games of 2020.
If you're looking to treat yourself for the holidays, or simply pile on another bunch of games onto the backlog, you might want to check out the freshly launched Steam Winter Sale. Much like before, it's absolutely filled to the brim with discounts on all sorts of games, so chances are you'll easily find a few games to occupy your time.
For those of you looking for a bit of advice, allow me to also share a couple of games I've enjoyed messing around with over the past few years. Here they are, in no particular order:
World of Warcraft has greatly rebalanced the roguelike dungeon Torghast
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: Blizzard has removed the weekly time-gating for the roguelike dungeon Torghast.
[Update]: World of Warcraft has toned down some of the ridiculously difficult Mythic+ Dungeon enemies.
Out of all the new additions in Shadowlands, the roguelike and ever-changing Torghast is by far the most exciting. It certainly was for me anyway, because as I've mentioned throughout my review, the combination of wacky powers and the ability to completely and utterly break the game makes for a pretty good time!
Unfortunately, not all classes and specializations are equally balanced when it comes to Torghast. Playing through it on my Demon Hunter has been a genuine joy thanks to an excellent selection of powers, while my friend's Priest ended up having a significantly tougher time on the higher difficulty levels, on top of significantly longer runs. And sadly, this was not an uncommon occurrence, especially after the recent health buffs.
The charming Monster Sanctuary combines RPG-style monster taming with Metroidvania exploration
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Monster Sanctuary has added New Game Plus and two extra difficulty modes.
If you're a fan of Pokemon but wish there was a greater focus on exploration and using your abilities to help you reach new and exciting places, then you might want to check out the freshly released Monster Sanctuary. It is essentially Pokemon meets Metroidvania, though with enough unique ideas and flare to make itself stand out from the crowd.
So not only will you be able to roam across the world in order to capture and train an assortment of monsters, but also specialize them through skill trees, as well as further enhance their potency with special weapons and accessories. Outside of the 3v3 battles, however, you'll also be able to use the monsters' unique abilities to help traverse the terrain, solve puzzles, and also open up new pathways.
The entirety of Overwatch is free to try out until January 4, 2021
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: Overwatch is giving away a bunch of free loot boxes to celebrate the holiday season.
If you've somehow managed to avoid playing Overwatch all these years, yet you harbor at least a bit of interest in it, today is your lucky day! Blizzard has just launched their massive holiday sale, and as a part of it an extended free trial for Overwatch as well!
As such, from today until January 4th you can play the entirety of Overwatch for free. This includes all of the various game modes and maps, heroes and user-created content, as well as all of the numerous cosmetics released as a part of the base game or the currently ongoing Winter Wonderland event. And should you decide to purchase Overwatch later on, all of your progress will carry over.
Fall Guys' Season 3 update has brought in a bunch of festive new maps
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Fall Guys' futuristic update has brought in Squad Mode and a bunch of new maps.
Fall Guys is one of those games that requires a constant influx of new maps and game modes in order to stay fresh and interesting. As such, I am very happy to say that the recently launched Season 3 update has brought in exactly that, and in far greater quantities than ever before!
To be more specific, Season 3 has added seven snowy new maps to mess around with, as well as a plethora of festive costumes to acquire as you go. While there are some repeats of old ideas, the good news is that most of the new maps are either based around new mechanics or twist some of the classic ones in new and interesting ways. Needless to say, it's all pretty good fun!
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Review Part 2 - Torghast, Castle Nathria, dungeons, and the entirety of the endgame
- By Ash
- in Reviews
During the first part of my World of Warcraft: Shadowlands review I detailed my thoughts on the leveling process, the Covenants and their themed zones, the overall presentation, and just how it all blends together. This second review, however, is going to be all about the endgame and the sort of content you'll be spending the vast majority of your World of Warcraft time on over the coming months.
So if you're curious what in the world Torghast is even all about, as well as how the new dungeons and raid compare to their Battle for Azeroth predecessors, allow me to share my thoughts after spending about a month delving through literally everything Shadowlands has to offer.
Overwatch is bringing in a gorgeous new free-for-all map set in Japan - Kanezaka
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: Kanezaka is set to launch on January 12 alongside a Hanzo challenge, and perhaps most excitingly, Blizzard appears to be teasing a brand new hero!
[Update]: Overwatch is heavily nerfing Sigma, Wrecking Ball and Ashe, while also buffing Hanzo.
With Overwatch 2 looming ever closer, I must admit I didn't expect Blizzard would release anything more complicated than a seasonal event for the original Overwatch. However, in an announcement that I can only describe as an extremely pleasant surprise, Blizzard has now suddenly revealed and released a brand new free-for-all map onto the test servers!
This new map is called Kanezaka and is positioned right outside the walls of Hanamura! It features a wide variety of different locations, each designed with specific playstyles in mind, as well as plenty of teasers for Overwatch 2 heroes, along with generally adorable things like the cat cafe that stars all of Blizzard's pet cats!