The definition of what consitutes a game was important to Epic’s case against Apple, because whether something is a game or not determines how it’s treated in Apple’s rules regarding in-app purchases. The developers of Roblox argue that the games you play within their ecosystem are not actually games, but “experiences.” As the court ruling states however, “Unfortunately, no one agrees and neither side introduced evidence of any commonly accepted industry definition” of video games....

Our game of the year 2021 is Inscryption. Of course it is. Alice Bee: Looking back at some of our other game of the year games, it’s not really a surprise to see Inscryption nabbing the primo spot on the Calendar this year. It’s a very us kind of game: weird, dark, interesting, innovative. A deck-building game that is both a great example of the genre as well as a subversion of it....

Like so many of Swery’s previous games, most notably Deadly Premonition, The Good Life is characteristically goofy and haphazard. It can be broadly categorised as a daily life simulator — in the vein of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, but not like either of those — with a Pokémon Snap style camera mechanic in which you take photographs of interesting things and people about town for kudos and cash rewards....

In a new trailer with commentary from founder Sean Murray, Hello Games give a last look at The Last Campfire and its protagonist Ember before launch day. It may look cute, but Campfire is a bit grim as well, with darkness and death amidst the charming color palette. “At its heart, this is a game of exploration in a world filled with puzzles” Murray says. “It’s hopefully a sort of melting pot of different puzzle concepts....

Our agent will roll up to Club Low with seven stat skills (Athletics, Cooking, Deception, Music, Observation, Wisdom and Wit) and roll dice to attempt various challenges. These include a pizza which we can… bake with different ingredients to give it different abilities? Interesting! Apparently various approaches can lead to different endings—11 in all—and it’ll have extra optional mutators and challenges on top. I’m interested to see how an RPG will shake out because so far we’ve visited his Off-Peak world through mild adventure games with walking simulator vibes....

If you’ve forgotten what Rogue was like before rogue-likes, here’s your refresher course, courtesy of publisher Pixel Games UK: “In the early 1980s, a computer game emerged that changed the world of fantasy gaming forever. Randomly generated rooms meant that each journey into the infamous Dungeons of Doom was unique. The potent combination of random generation with perma-death proved to be intoxicating.” You’re challenged to survive 26 levels of the Dungeons of Doom, gather gear, fight baddies, and sample magical potions....

That’s just me, though. On an everyone’s-invited macro level, 2022 ended up being the most transformative year for PC gaming kit in recent memory. We’ve had it all: long overdue launches, bitter disappointments, and genuinely impactful performance innovations. Also, Valve made a handheld PC. That was cool. Instead of me banging on about peripherals I liked, then, let’s look back at the highs, lows, and occasional mids of hardware throughout 2022....

All the PC Gaming Show trailers and announcements There was a veritable mountain of world premieres, announcements, and trailers revealed with this year’s PC Gaming Show (and one or two actual mountains, as well). To save you having to climb said mountain just to get to the bits you’re interested in, feel free to skip ahead to any of the show’s 43 trailers using the below list. Soulstice Rotwood Tactical Breach Wizards The Invincible Endless Dungeon F1 Manager 2022 Chivalry 2 Deceive Inc....

What’s this? The eleventh door of the RPS Advent Calendar is being held captive by a tiny gnome? Better make him some tasty porridge with the ingredients in your backpack so you can make peace and discover the treasure waiting inside. It’s Röki! Katharine: Röki is the gentle point and click adventure we needed in 2020. It’s a tale of lost children, lost parents and finding your way through the mist and murk to come out stronger on the other side....

At last we come to the final door of the RPS Advent Calendar. Behind this is our game of the year, and you know what? It’s been a tough journey to get here. We’ve been through several different realms. Many beasts and several family friends have attacked us. Our dad has been weirdly unsupportive about the whole thing. But you know what? It feels like there’s a real boon waiting behind door 24… It’s… Hades!...

Pagonia’s announcement trailer doesn’t divulge much information, but the team detailed some of the things we can expect in early access. As a city-builder game, you can expect to place structures, build alliances, and transport goods. Each map in the fictional islands of Pagonia is also procedurally generated, so the geography of your city will likely change in each playthrough. The team say early access will include over 40 building types and 70 good and production changes, allowing you to get more creative when building an economy....

Developers Shiro Games promise more info on House Corrino at Gamescom during the end of August but, for now, we know that the Imperial House will skew the game’s economy in their favour. House Corrino can receive taxes on Dune’s valuable spice, as well as bribes from other factions. There’ll also be some more improvements and small game features coming alongside the arrival of House Corrino, but Shiro are keeping quiet on those for the moment....

The feature adds new options during the Create-A-Sim process. As shown in the screenshot above, there are three new details to define for your character: whether they are romantically attracted to men, women or both; whether they are interested in “Mess Around” with men, women or both; and whether the Sim is “exploring romantically.” Answering ‘yes’ to that last question means that who your Sim is attracted to can change through gameplay....

The Sims Twitter account tweeted a short teaser video with the news, in which a sim flips through channels on a TV, each hinting at the content to come: There’s more information if you hit “Learn more” on the Sims site (although for some reason the link only sometimes works for me). The tagline for all three sets is “Step into the moonlight and explore who you are after dark”....

Tim Sweeney has praised the device on Twitter, calling it an “amazing move by Valve”. But why would I ever buy a PC game anywhere other than Steam ever again? I want the Steam Deck because I primarily use my Nintendo Switch to re-buy indie games I already own on PC so I can play them on the go. A device that lets me play those same games on the go without the need to buy them twice is extremely appealing....

Get the Dell S2522HG for £234 with code DELLNJMON103 (was £260) The Dell S2522HG isn’t as well known as Dell’s other 25.5-inch 240Hz monitors, the Alienware 25 AW2518H and Alienware 25 AW2521HFL, but it looks to use the same modern IPS panel as the latter. That should ensure excellent gaming performance with low input lag and rapid pixel response times (1ms GtG), while also being good enough for web browsing or content creation thanks to its wide viewing angles and accurate colour reproduction....

Creator Aedenthorn says that Pacifist Valley “replaces all weapons with hearts, feathers, stuffed animals, flowers, and other non-violent love devices.” I’ll just come right out and say that “love devices” is an interesting choice of words but I won’t be the judge of what you do with the monsters after you’ve hugged them. We do like smooching monsters round these parts, after all. Instead of dying, cave monsters now fall in love with your farmer....

That’s not super cheap - the RTX 3060 is meant to cost around £300 in a sane world! - but for a friend that wanted both a new power supply and a modern graphics card at a sane price, it does the job nicely. Here’s why this Scan bundle is a good deal - and another option that brings the RTX 3060 down to just £440 when you buy it with a 2TB NVMe SSD....

First up is the deluxe edition of Resident Evil 2 for £20, which is 55% off its usual price and better than the 50% off deal that’s running on Steam right now. Not the 22-year-old (yes, that’s twenty-two) original, of course, but the all-singing, all-dancing third-person remake that our Matt was rather fond of when he put it through its paces last January in his Resident Evil 2 review. Nic Reuben also found a whole new lease of life in the Ghost Survivors mode, which is like a horror obstacle course....

Does the game’s combat rule? Yes, without a doubt. But will I continue playing? I’m not so sure. From what I’ve sampled, one strong pillar might not be enough to hold my attention for much longer. In Thymesia, you play as Corvus, an assassin dude dressed as a plague doctor who’s suffering from memory loss, most likely caused by an actual plague that’s swept across the world. To figure out how the heck the land’s become such a disease-ridden hellscape, you must plumb the depths of your memories....