Greetings, gamers! In our latest roundup, we’re excited to share the most important news in the video game industry with you. We have everything from groundbreaking releases to major updates that bring your favourite games to life. We know that the passion for gaming goes beyond consoles and PCs, so we recommend a special review for those who want to enjoy the excitement of playing in a casino. If you’re new to gaming, Wanted Win Casino is a great place to start. It’s safe and has a wide range of games. So, enjoy the slots as much as you like, but remember to play responsibly. For more information about all things gaming, keep reading.
Manor Lords, the most anticipated game on Steam, is now on sale
Manor Lords has been added to Steam’s wishlist more than 3 million times.
At the time of writing, Manor Lords has very positive user reviews – 90%. The game has been undergoing closed testing, so some owners have already played hundreds of hours or more.
Player opinions of Manor Lords
One of the users writes that Manor Lords is a game of the type that appears only once in a generation. Some gamers note that there is a lack of clear learning, the strategic part does not work properly and it needs polishing, but in general, the reviews are positive.
Manor Lords also has a sky-high online presence – more than 170,000 people at a time and the sixth place in the Steam top 100 at the time of writing. Manor Lords has become the most popular release from Hooded Horse. Previously, the publisher took Under the Wing Against the Storm, Xenonauts 2, Terra Invicta, Old World, and Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic.
What Manor Lords is about
Manor Lords is a medieval city-builder that is similar to Anno in its meticulousness: here, too, you need to monitor a large number of resources and build complex production chains. In addition, there is a change of seasons, off-grid building, trade routes, the ability to walk around the settlement with a third-person view, and strategic battles where you control troops like Total War (although you should not expect a Total War level, the developer warns).
The development of Manor Lords was started by just one person with the support of those interested through Patreon. However, there is almost nothing to give away the solo development: the game uses photogrammetry, motion capture, destruction simulation, and other technologies that are not usually typical for projects from single authors.
Manor Lords is available via Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and PC Game Pass. A 25% discount is available until 10 May.
It is expected that early access will last for about a year, but it all depends on how much the game design will change after player feedback.
Stellar Blade ratings
The game attracted attention long before its release, thanks to its pretty female protagonist. And although some Western journalists have called this appearance ‘controversial’, so far they have all praised the game. On Metacritic, the game has an average score of 82 points.
Stellar Blade scores on Metacritic Stellar Blade scores on OpenCritic
The reviews note the excellent and dynamic combat. Timely dodging and counterattacks play an important role in the combat system, reminiscent of the Sekiro fighting style: Shadows Die Twice. The game pleases with a variety of enemies and their design. The game also has small puzzles that fit perfectly into the overall gameplay. However, the plot is not exciting, it is too banal, and the characters lack charisma.
It is known that the main story takes about 25 hours to complete, and if you complete additional quests, you will spend about 35 hours.
The game has good graphics and optimisation. The technical review from Digital Foundry notes an interesting artistic design, excellent character detail, and the overall technological capability of the game, although it uses the old Unreal Engine 4. However, the game lacks ray tracing and some textures look blurry.
TheSixthAxis underestimated Stellar Blade because of its sexy protagonist
The attractive body shape of Eve from Stellar Blade became an object of hatred for the progressive community as soon as it became known who she was modelled after. The heroine’s model was scanned from a popular Korean model, but journalists, even when passing a verdict on the action film, could not believe in the existence of such beautiful girls.
Thus, TheSixthAxis gave Stellar Blade 7 points because of the revealing outfit that deliberately emphasises the attractiveness of the main character. The journalists noted that the project could have earned a better score if all characters had received the same attention, regardless of their gender.
Insider: Sony is preparing PS Vita 2
An insider believes that the new portable console may receive a special APU from AMD. The PS4 and PS5 are also equipped with these chips, and the companies work closely with each other on hardware issues. It is expected that the device will be able to run games from the PlayStation 4 library without any problems and support most PlayStation 5 titles.
Possible Sony plans for PS Vita 2
It is noted that the chip can receive 18 CU and operate at a frequency of about 1.8 GHz. It is assumed that the console will be able to run the entire PS4 game library natively. At the same time, PS5 titles should also work, but they will have to be further optimised.
We should not expect the release of a new Vita in the coming years. Currently, the project is at an early stage of development and may not reach commercial implementation at all. Alternatively, the new handheld could be positioned as part of the PlayStation 6 family, meaning that it could be promoted as a portable alternative to the main console. In this scenario, we will have to wait even longer for the PS Vita 2 release.
Although all these are just rumours, they do make sense. First, Sony has a successful track record in creating portable consoles. Second, the market has changed since the PS Vita was released in 2012. Nintendo and Valve with their Switch and Steam Deck have proven that there is a demand for portable gaming. And gamers have been waiting for a full-fledged portable PlayStation for a long time.
Enshrouded is out in early access
The name of the project may sound familiar to those who followed the autumn demo festival on Steam last year. The game became the winner of the event, outperforming all other games.
All the features of the genre are in place in Enshrouded. We start the game as a naked ragamuffin, search for resources, create tools, build housing, fight evil spirits and bosses. To stand out from the crowd of similar projects, the authors decided to make the entire world around us voxel-based. This means that you can engage in terraforming for fun, and build castles not from a boring set of walls and roofs.
Features of Enshrouded
Local co-op is designed for 16 people.
The player can level up independently by choosing skills without tying his character to a specific class. Although many abilities have obvious choices for a mage, warrior, ranger, or rogue.
Local fauna and monsters will not attack the player’s home.
You can populate your castle with various NPCs that will open access to new resources and even give you several quests.
The player’s character will not die of thirst or hunger, but his or her characteristics will be reduced.
For now, the project is available only on PC (Steam).
Switch 2 will have the largest screen in Nintendo history
Here is what Bloomberg reports:
The screen of Nintendo’s new console is 8 inches. This is the largest display in the company’s history: for example, the Switch OLED had 7 inches, the basic Switch and Wii U had 6.2 inches, and the Switch Lite had 5.5 inches.
The screen is again based on LCD technology, like the base Switch and Switch Lite.
Nintendo’s reaction to Switch 2
Officially, Nintendo refuses to comment on the rumours and does not acknowledge the existence of the Switch successor. However, there are too many rumours: various developers say that they are already working on games for Switch 2, or claim to have seen the console’s characteristics behind closed doors. Insiders have even started to leak what games will appear on Switch 2.
It is worth reminding that an updated line of Xbox consoles is also expected this year: this was reported in leaked internal presentations that Microsoft itself accidentally posted online. So, perhaps, at the end of 2024, we will see a battle between manufacturers that will fight to attract users to their new console.
Critics have praised Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
The average score on Metacritic was 90 out of 100.
On OpenCritic, the game received 90 points out of 100. All journalists recommended it for completion.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: score on OpenCritic
Many journalists wrote that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth feels like a grand adventure. The game captures your attention from the very first minutes and does not let go until the final credits. According to some reviewers, Infinite Wealth has some problems with the pacing of the narrative, but the story is still great. The author of GamesRadar also warned that the story in Infinite Wealth is quite long.
Journalists’ reviews of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Journalists praised the combat system, which the developers have improved compared to the previous part. The game has many battles in which players need to think carefully about the strategy. GamesRadar emphasised that the combat system is exciting and fun, and this is the main thing.
All the reviewers wrote that Infinite Wealth has a huge amount of side content that players can enjoy for dozens of hours. Journalists also praised the carefully crafted setting of Hawaii, as the developers clearly paid a lot of attention to it.
Among the disadvantages, some reviewers mentioned the need to ‘grind’ money and experience, a not very exciting system of weapon upgrades, and enemies that are repetitive and begin to get boring over time. In addition, some of the busiest areas experience lag, at least on consoles.
Valve announces the most successful games on Steam in 2023
As in previous years, there are several categories, each of which is divided into groups: platinum (1-12th place), gold (13-24th place), silver (25-50th place) and bronze (51-100th place). The lists were compiled using data collected from 1 January to 15 December.
Bestsellers on Steam 2023
The Bestsellers category includes projects with the highest gross revenue. It takes into account the total revenue from the sale of games, additional content for them, and in-game transactions. The company does not disclose exact revenue data, and games in each group are listed in random order. ‘Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, Apex Legends, Lost Ark, Dota 2, Destiny 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Starfield, Call of Duty, and Sons of the Forest.
The most popular new releases on Steam in 2023
If we talk exclusively about this year’s releases, the biggest revenue was generated by the remake of Resident Evil 4, Remnant 2, Payday 3, Street Fighter 6, EA Sports FC 24, Starfield, Sons of the Forest, Hogwarts Legacy, Cities: Skylines II, Baldur’s Gate 3, Armoured Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Games with the largest online presence on Steam in 2023
The Most Popular Games category lists projects with record-breaking online sales. This year, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG can boast of more than 300 thousand simultaneous players: Battlegrounds, Lost Ark, Baldur’s Gate 3, Destiny 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Goose Goose Duck, Sons Of The Forest, and Starfield.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 release postponed again
Initially, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was scheduled for release in 2022, but the final date was repeatedly postponed until 2023, but later the developers postponed the date again and announced that the game would be released in the first half of 2024. GSC Game World showed the working build of the shooter at gamescom 2023.
Currently, it has been announced that the game will be released on 5 September 2024 on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Let’s hope that this was the last release postponement. =)
Reason for the postponement of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
In a post in the Steam community, the reason for the postponement was technical imperfections in the game that need to be fixed to reach the level of quality that players expect.
