The Elder Scrolls: Legends artwork featuring a steam golem

After the success of the Fall of the Dark Brotherhood story expansion, the developers behind The Elder Scrolls: Online will soon be unleashing yet another adventure. The Return to Clockwork City expansion will bring with it 55 new collectible cards, 35 different missions spread across three chapters, two new mechanics to toy around with, and naturally, a brand new storyline to explore.

You can expect to see plenty of lost treasure throughout the campaign, as well as a variety of steam-powered machinery that you will need to assemble and upgrade in order to deal with the numerous threats that lie in the long-abandoned Clockwork City. As expected, the details are still in short supply, but if you would like to learn a little bit more about the lore and mechanics behind the Clockwork City expansion, you should head on over to the official website.

My Hero Academia artwork featuring the major characters

Bandai Namco has just recently launched a countdown website for a brand new game. The website currently only features a microwave, which when clicked opens its door and drops an egg. When the website first launched the egg was completely intact, while currently it features some major cracks, though don't get too excited as the countdown is expected to run for another 9 days.

That said, there is a pretty damn good chance this countdown is for a My Hero Academia game. First of all, the URL of the website contains the text "mhaoj", which I can only imagine is going to be the full title of the game. The second, and unfortunately final, piece of evidence pointing towards this being a My Hero Academia game is that an egg in a microwave might be a reference to a very similar scene from Episode 5 in the first season.

SpellForce 3 artwork showcasing the evil wizard from the trailer

As you might guess from the title alone, SpellForce 3 is a bit of an interesting hybrid between an RTS and an RPG. What this means in gameplay terms is that you have to create and develop your own hero, as well as a recruit and manage a fairly massive army. Its an ambitious concept, there's no doubt about that, but its also one that can be very easy to mess up.

With that in mind, I am very glad to say that the developers are currently holding a free weekend, so if SpellForce 3 sounds like something you would like to try out, you now have a chance to do just that without springing €50 for the full copy. Simply head on over to GOG, go through the 'purchasing' process, and you'll be playing in no time. And speaking of time, it is important to mention that this promotion will only last until 11pm UTC on November 27th, so you might want to start playing as soon as possible.

Crusader Kings 2 artwork for the Jade Dragon expansion

Continuing the usual tradition of releasing multiple expansions at the same time, Paradox has just recently added a decently sized DLC to both Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings 2. Europa Universalis IV's Cradle of Civilization DLC has brought with it a variety of improvements to the Middle East, including new mechanics and features related to government, trade policies and religion, as well as the ability to essentially exploit a region for short-term gain.

Crusader Kings 2's Jade Dragon expansion has taken things even further east by focusing primarily on China. It features a variety of new units and fancy pieces of artwork, a tributary system that basically lets you suck up to the Emperor for political favors and riches, numerous new artifacts to collect and trade with, and the list goes on.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance screenshot of a massive battle

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an upcoming medieval RPG that aims to be as realistic and immersive as it can possibly be. What this means in gameplay terms is that you won't be throwing fireballs at dragons or beating down scores of bandits with your own bare hands. Instead, if you're smart, you'll get some backup before tackling groups of enemies, avoid them through a bit of trickery, or at the very least attempt to isolate your foes so that you can defeat them one-on-one through sheer martial prowess.

While the recently posted video does not feature much combat, it will give you a pretty damn good idea of the type of decisions you will have to make over the course of a single quest, as well as the consequences that come with such decisions. Have a look, its quite an interesting video:

Official artwork for Total War: Arena without the logo

Total War: Arena is a free-to-play offshoot of the main Total War series. It features 10vs10 RTS battles where each player controls only three units, rather than an entire army as you would expect from pretty much any Total War game. However, while you cannot control more units, you can customize the armor, weapons and skillset of your soldiers, thus giving you plenty of ways to have an actual impact on the overall battle.

If this sounds like the type of game you would like to at least try out, you might be interested to hear that the developers are now holding an Open Beta event. Simply head on over to the Total War: Arena website, download the installer, and you'll be playing in no time. And speaking of time, it is worth mentioning that this Open Beta event will last until 9am UTC on December 4th, so you should have plenty of chances to give it a try.

Sanctum 2 screenshot of a maze filled with turrets

Sanctum 2 is a bit of an interesting take on the Tower Defense genre. You still have to place down turrets and utility towers in order to corral and annihilate your enemies, but instead of being completely helpless when your defenses fail you also have a variety of guns to shoot the enemies with yourself! Its a small addition, but it really goes a long way towards easing some of the frustrations present in pretty much all Tower Defense games.

If this sort of gameplay theme sounds like something you would love to try out, you're in luck as Sanctum 2 is currently free to grab on the Humble Store. The offer will only last for another day and a half (or 37 hours to be specific), so make sure to grab yourself a copy as soon as possible. You don't even need to install it in order to own it forever, simply redeem the key on Steam and you'll be in the clear.

Screenshot of Overwatch's 26th support hero Moira

During Blizzcon 2017 the Overwatch team announced the long-awaited 26th hero - a highly aggressive support hero by the name of Moira. Much like Sombra which was also announced during Blizzcon, Moira made her way onto the PTR a mere couple of days later, a place where she would only stay for about a week before finally being unleashed upon the live servers

However, while Moira has been available in Quick Play and Arcade game modes for around a week now, she has not been unlocked in Competitive Play in order to give everyone a chance to try her out, as well as hopefully devise some counters. And now, as you can probably guess from the title, the floodgates have finally been opened and Moira is available in Competitive Play as well! Whether you consider this to be a good or bad thing, that will probably depend on your willingness to play her, but either way I would recommend waiting at least a day or two for people to stop instantly picking her without even knowing what her abilities do.

Lina from Dota 2 showcasing the new ranked ladder system

While Dota 2's old ranked matchmaking system did its job quite admirably, there was always the problem of what to do with returning players. If someone was gone for well over year their skill level and game knowledge were bound to deteriorate, especially when you consider how massive Dota 2's patches can truly be, yet that player's rating always remained the same. This brought in a heavy dose of uncertainty into the matchmaking system, which is never a good thing as one small mistake can easily result in a 'wasted' hour for 10 different players.

As such, I am very glad to say that Dota 2 has now transitioned to a seasonal ranked system. Each season will last six months and will require the player to do a series of placement matches before they are truly unleashed upon the matchmaking system. Furthermore, players are going to be split across seven different levels (or rather skill tiers), each of which will come with five divisions within them. As you might expect, you will need to climb through all five of the divisions before being given a chance to prove your worth and move onto a higher skill tier.

Seven: The Days Long Gone screenshot of our character standing on a rooftop

Seven: The Days Long Gone is an upcoming 3D isometric RPG that allows you to freely explore a massive sandbox world. You can climb just about anything in order to avoid guards or to reach a more advantageous position, sneak your way through encampments and only attack when the situation favors you, or just throw caution to the wind and attempt to beat down scores of guardsmen through a combination of might and magic.

While the recently posted gameplay trailer does not feature any fireballs, it will give you a pretty damn good idea of what the stealth gameplay is all about. Have a look, its a fairly short but informative video: