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As you're probably well aware at this point, Epic is giving away an assortment of free games throughout the entirety of 2019. So if you have a bit of free time and you're feeling like taking them up on their offer, it's well worth mentioning that both Mutant Year Zero and Hyper Light Drifter are currently up for grabs!
Simply head on over to the Epic Games Store, go through the 'purchasing' process, and you'll be ready to play in no time. Just bear in mind that I'm more than a bit late with this announcement and that the whole thing will be ending on August 22nd, so do make sure to grab your games before the giveaway switches to something else entirely.
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[Update]: Ion Fury's successor Phantom Fury will be taking the over-the-top action on a road trip across the USA.
If you're in the mood for oldschool FPS action, you might be glad to hear that Ion Fury has now officially released from Early Access. It brings with it a variety of over-the-top weaponry, hordes of enemies to turn into a shower of giblets, hand-crafted levels with multiple pathways and plenty of secrets, and perhaps most importantly for its longevity, full mod support!
For those of you wondering why the name sounds a bit familiar yet still odd, it would be because Ion Fury was just recently known as Ion Maiden. However, due to the name being somewhat similar to Iron Maiden, 3D Realms was unfortunately forced to changed it or risk a prolonged and undoubtedly expensive lawsuit.
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It's quite funny how history likes to repeat itself. When THQ was falling apart, the developers behind the Darksiders series left the company and joined forced with Crytek in the newly formed Crytek USA studio. However, due to Crytek's own financial problems, the leadership from Crytek USA ended up leaving the company once more and founding their very own studio - Gunfire Games.
Since then Nordic Games have resurrected the THQ name and re-branded themselves as THQ Nordic. As you might expect, one of the first things they decided to do afterwards was to continue with the Darksiders series, and so they acquired the IP and hired Gunfire Games to work on Darksiders 2: Deathinitive Edition and Darksiders 3. And now THQ Nordic has announced that we have officially gone full circle, by which I mean that THQ Nordic has now fully acquired the Darksiders studio Gunfire Games!
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If you're a fan of collecting fancy armor sets and mounts in Final Fantasy XIV, but you've been holding off on grabbing the PvP ones, you might want to get on top of that. According to the latest announcement, the rather cool-looking GARO armor sets, mounts and titles will no longer be available once Patch 5.1 arrives.
When exactly Patch 5.1 will actually launch, nobody currently knows, but I'd say October is a pretty good guess. Now that might sound like you have a lot of time, but there is quite a few items to collect if you're planning to get multiple sets, so I would highly recommend starting sooner rather than later.
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[Update]: System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition will feature VR support!
These past few years have been pretty good for System Shock fans. The original System Shock has received a solid Enhanced Edition, System Shock 3 is being developed as we speak, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, there's even a fully fledged remaster of the original currently in the works.
Continuing on with the good news, I'm also happy to say that System Shock 2 is now getting its very own Enhanced Edition. Much like System Shock 1, the System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition will be developed by Nightdive Studios who have a fair bit of experience with remastering ancient games.
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[Update #2]: I'm happy to say that World of Warcraft: Classic has now been officially released and that the servers are practically overflowing with players!
[Update]: Blizzard has announced they will be adding a whole bunch of new WoW Classic servers on August 26th, right before launch!
Blizzard recently opened up World of Warcraft: Classic's character creation and gave players the ability to reserve up to three names per account. As you might imagine given the hype behind WoW Classic, the moment the servers opened up was also the moment some of them ended up getting filled to the brim with eager players.
In order to avoid hour-long queues and give players another chance to reserve their favorite names, Blizzard has now launched two additional servers: the Stalagg PvP server (EST) for North America and the English-speaking Gehennas PvP server for Europe.
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After spending a little bit of time in closed beta, Vermintide 2's Winds of Magic expansion has now finally released for PC players. As for the console versions, they are currently under development, though no official release date has been announced just yet.
In terms of content, the Winds of Magic expansion brings with it Beastmen as a brand new enemy faction, Weaves as highly challenging pre-set content, one new weapon for each of the heroes, and a brand new map to toy around with. Most importantly, for those of you seeking a true challenge anyway, the Winds of Magic expansion has also brought in the absolutely brutal Cataclysm difficulty where everyone needs to play together or face almost immediate destruction.
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Back in 2017 Mojang announced that they are working on a massive new update for Minecraft - the Super Duper Graphics Pack. This was supposed to be a complete visual overhaul of Minecraft, including reworked lighting, new models and textures, as well as comprehensive changes to how the whole graphics engine functions.
A truly ambitious project, but it would appear that it was a bit too ambitious. According to the most recent developer update, the Minecraft team is unfortunately no longer working on the Super Duper Graphics Pack.
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[Update]: The second "Voidwalker" event has now arrived with a redesigned area and a bunch of new cosmetics!
If you're like me and you've been itching from the start for Apex Legends to add a Solos mode, you'll be happy to hear that Respawn has now finally done just that. Admittedly, the Solos mode is only a limited time event so it will be going away in the not too distant future, but it's definitely as fun as I expected it would be!
The circle closes down much faster than in the normal mode so everyone is pushed together within the first five minutes, there is no real reason to spend an eternity looting items when you can simply go for the more fun option of looting other players, and best of all, you get to practice your aiming skills without negatively impacting any of your teammates! So if even if you're a bit worried about your performance, I'd highly recommend giving the Solos mode a try as it will help you iron out any gameplay flaws real quick, all due to the amount of firefights you'll find yourself in.
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[Update #2]: Role Queue has now been officially released for both Competitive and Quick Play!
[Update]: Overwatch devs have now answered some of the most common questions about Role Queue and the intend behind it.
After a few dozen leaks and an extended testing phase, Role Queue has now finally made its way to Overwatch. The new system will now ensure each team has exactly two supports, two tanks and two DPS, while also giving you the ability to queue for exactly the role (or roles) you want. Best of all, each role has its own unique matchmaking rating, so regardless of what role you decide to play, you'll be matched with people of equal skill! Right now Role Queue is only up and running in the competitive mode, though it will become available in quick play on September 1st as well.
Besides Role Queue, the highlight of this update is definitely the new main tank Sigma. Not only does he have a downright awesome story trailer, but he's also another shield-focused tank to help give some diversity to poor main tank players that have been stuck on Orisa and Reinhardt for literal years at this point. Here's what Sigma can offer: