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[Update #2]: ArenaNet has announced that the third Guild Wars 2 expansion will be set in Cantha!
[Update]: Visions of the Past update has now gone live.
These days Guild Wars 2 tries hard to ensure that all of its content is replayable, even many years after its original release. However, in the early days, this was unfortunately not the case. Specifically, the entirety of Season 1, including all of the events and unique missions, are currently lost to the void and cannot be replayed in any way.
Thankfully, this limitation will soon be lifted, at least partially. The upcoming Visions of the Past: Steel and Fire update will bring in four story missions from Living World Season 1, as well as a new mission that offers a different perspective for the "Whisper in the Dark" story.
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If there was one thing that has annoyed me with Apex Legends' gameplay since day one, it would be the muzzle flash that occurs when using your weapon. For some of the slower-firing weapons it's not that big of a deal, but when you're trying to aim with the Spitfire or R99, it's practically impossible to even see your enemy after half a second has passed.
As such, I am ecstatic to announce that the newest System Override update has finally corrected this problem! Every single weapon besides shotguns and snipers, the ones that don't really suffer from the issue anyway, have had the intensity of their muzzle flash reduced by a significant margin - to the point where you can quite clearly see where your tracer rounds are going even on weapons like the R99!
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[Update]: Half-Life: Alyx has now been released, and I'm pleased to say it's been well worth the wait!
Valve's VR-exclusive Half-Life: Alyx will be making its way to Steam this March 23rd. The action will take place between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and as you might imagine, it will focus on Alyx Vance as she attempts to weaken the Combine's grip on City 17 and the planet as a whole.
As for the actual gameplay, you can learn more about that through the three recently posted (and rather impressive) previews. Each of the videos features a unique chunk of gameplay and a different style of movement, so do make sure to give each one a peek. The first video showcases teleportation, the second uses the teleportation method with a bit more movement added into the mix, while the third one sports my personal favorite - continuous movement. Have a gander:
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[Update #2]: Diablo 4 devs have detailed their plans for player skills, items and unique legendaries.
[Update]: The newest Diablo 4 blog post is all about the open world gameplay, storytelling and multiplayer.
While Diablo 4 is still a long way away, you might be interested to hear that Blizzard has just announced a series of blog posts discussing various gameplay elements. The most recent one is all about the decisions that led to the current user interface, the team's inspirations and goals with the monster design, as well as what the control scheme will be like.
"A surprising number of players asked for the option to rebind their primary skill to anything but the left mouse button so that they could separate moving from attacking," reads the developer update. "Adding more flexibility to our binding options had already been on our radar for a while, and the demo feedback helped confirm that this was a customization feature that players really wanted."
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[Update]: Little Hope has been pinned for an October, 2020 release date.
Continuing on with The Dark Pictures Anthology series, Supermassive Games have now unveiled their next horror game - Little Hope. Much like Until Dawn and Man of Medan that came before it, Little Hope will be highly interactive and will feature a variety of (hopefully) tough decisions to make.
The details are still few and far between, but you can get a bit of a sneak peek at some of the new characters, as well as what will be stalking them, through the recently posted teaser trailer. Have a look:
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[Update #2]: Kojima Productions have now announced the minimum and recommended PC specs for Death Stranding.
[Update]: Death Stranding has been delayed until July due to the ongoing pandemic.
While this announcement shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given the previous leaks and teasers, you might still be happy to hear that Death Stranding has now officially been pinned for a June 2nd release date on PC. You can expect to see it launching simultaneously on the Epic Games Store and Steam, so regardless of which platform you prefer, you should be covered.
The PC version will bring with it the new Photo Mode, support for high FPS, and naturally, support for ultra-wide resolutions. And if you're a fan of silly little cosmetics, it's also worth mentioning that Death Stranding will come with a variety of knick-knacks based on Valve's very own Half-Life series!
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[Update]: Lies Beneath has now arrived, and judging by the user reviews, it's pretty good!
VR's greatest strength is immersion, something that is of the utmost importance for horror games, which makes the two a near-perfect fit. As such, you might be interested to hear that the surprisingly stylish Lies Beneath is an upcoming survival-horror game made exclusively with VR in mind!
Expect to see a variety of comic book inspired monstrosities, highly atmospheric locations that often play fast and loose with reality, and naturally, plenty of melee and ranged weapons to help you fight against whatever lurks in the darkness. Here's what all of this looks like in action:
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[Update #2]: After three years in Early Access, Baldur's Gate 3 has now launched to overwhelming praise!
[Update]: Baldur's Gate 3 has now launched into Early Access with around 25 hours of content.
After quite a bit of speculation, Larian Studios have now released an extended gameplay preview for Baldur's Gate 3 and confirmed that the combat will be turn-based rather than real-time. For me this is positive news as the isometric combat system never really gelled with me, especially since it already played like a turn-based game with all of the pausing, but I can definitely understand if any die-hard Baldur's Gate fans might feel a bit disappointed by this announcement.
Whatever camp you might belong to, I'd still highly recommend you check out the recently showcased demo as it'll give you a pretty darn good idea of just what Baldur's Gate 3 truly has to offer, both in combat and outside of it. The demo presentation itself is also pretty fun, especially when things break down in unexpected ways, so have a peek:
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[Update]: Granblue Fantasy: Versus has now landed onto PC, and while the gameplay itself is pretty solid, the €60 price tag is also pretty steep.
If you're looking to sink your teeth into a brand new fighting game, you might want to keep an eye on Granblue Fantasy: Versus as it's coming to PC on March 13th. The studio behind it is Arc System Works, and given their previous success with Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear series, odds are that Granblue Fantasy: Versus will be good bit of fun as well.
In terms of features, the PC version will bring with it graphical customization options, support for both gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls, as well as both Japanese and English voice options. Unfortunately, there will no cross-play with the PlayStation 4 version, nor will there be a bonus code for the Granblue Fantasy mobile game.
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Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is an action-strategy game released back in 2004 for the original Xbox. The gameplay consists of primarily rushing into hack & slash combat with a variety of unique characters, as well as ordering and upgrading your armies in order to help even the odds. A fairly simple formula, but given Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders' cult following, it would appear that it's one that has been handled quite well.
As such, I'm pleased to say that you won't need to dig up an original Xbox in order to play Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders anymore as it has now received an HD remaster on PC! While the remaster itself is fairly basic, mostly just improving the widescreen support and adding an option to use mouse & keyboard controls, the actual gameplay seems to have made the transition to PC without any real problems.