Distant Worlds 2 is enormous. Even when familiar with the original, even after our preview last month, there’s way too much going on to review it comprehensively within a mere few days. But in the spirit of the ancient ones, I can share a review-in-progress of what I’ve seen so far. Alright, alright. Partly it’s because it’s a long game. But it’s also because I really want to keep playing....

The four Idfolks gathered by the Ian Games Network are game director Hugo Martin, level design director Jerry Keehan, lead game programmer Evan Eubanks, and executive producer Marty Stratton. Watch: I do like how Id raised the possibility of fixing some of these issues, but seem to concede that “if we do, [speedrunners will] find something else - and it’ll be just as weird to watch.” They almost certainly would....

We already know parts of the game will take place in Tevinter, homeland of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s best companion Dorian. Now, according to Dragon Age 4’s creative director Matthew Goldman, this concept art shows Minrathous, Tevinter’s capital city. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll probably know a fair bit about Minrathous. It’s one of the oldest and largest cities in the game’s world, Thedas. In the current timeline, it has fallen into decay, full of war refugees and crumbling buildings being held together by magic....

“Control the spice, control the universe,” is a funny slogan to someone who has neither seen nor read Dune (I’ll get round to it). “Spice is the most valuable resource in the universe,” their website says. “The spice extends life, it expands consciousness and makes interstellar travel possible. Create your own story and play as one of several factions, including House Atreides and House Harkonnen, and compete for power over Dune and the spice....

One of the immediately obvious changes in this version of Dwarf Fortress is the graphical overhaul that helps you, well, see what you’re doing more clearly. The devs have been beavering away like a bunch of dwarves in a mine full of gemstones to pop in a new UI and menus, onboarding tutorials for new players, and a new soundtrack and sound effects, too. While the new version of Dwarf Fortress is meant to be more accessible than its ASCII relative, the original will still be kicking about for free if you fancy sticking with that instead....

FIFA Ultimate Team, as I have explained more times in the past few months than in the rest of my life, is the mode where players build their own team from cards representing footballers. Rarer cards have better stats and perform better in the game. A mode heavy on loot boxes does not engender trust, and boy howdy players are perpetually suspicious of EA. On Tuesday, Italian FIFA player Matteo Ribera posted a YouTube video showing screenshots of conversations with someone who claims to be sell ultra-rare cards, depositing them directly into people’s accounts - including cards which the game usually doesn’t allow people to trade....

“The effects, actual and projected, of coronavirus are becoming evident across all aspects of our lives here in the UK and across the world, with many of our exhibitors and creators facing travel restrictions and quarantine measures,” the organisers said in today’s announcement. “After extensive discussions with all the relevant public health, local and national authorities, and with our Rezzed partners, we have taken the decision not to go ahead with this year’s event....

In this guide, we’ll share our top tips for defeating Godfrey and Hoarah Loux in Elden Ring, so that you can enter the Erdtree and get closer to one of Elden Ring’s many endings. If you want to know what comes next, take a look at our Elden Ring walkthrough to prime yourself for the finale of this huge FromSoftware RPG. Elden Ring Godfrey and Hoarah Loux boss fight walkthrough If Godfrey sounds familiar, you’re not mistaken....

Below, we’ll cover everything you need to know to find the three wise beasts and get inside Oridys’s Rise in Elden Ring, so that you can climb the tower and claim your reward. How to unlock Oridys’s Rise in Elden Ring Near the front of the tower, you will find a small Imp statue with a message: “Seek three wise beasts”. While vague, this message holds the key to the Oridys’s Rise puzzle....

Of the 13 deals, Embracer Group have acquired some companies directly and some through its subsidiaries. Flying Wild Hog were acquired by Koch Media. Snapshot Games will become a part of Saber Interactive. The remaining nine studios are Silent Games, Coffee Stain North, IUGO Mobile, Purple Lamp Studios, Mad Head Games, 34BigThings, Nimble Giant Entertainment, Zen Studios, and A Thinking Ape Entertainment. Embracer have also acquired PR agency Sandbox Strategies and quality assurance agency Quantic Lab (no, not Quantic Dream)....

A federal court case claimed that Epic breached the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting details about Fortnite players who were younger than 13 years old without getting parental consent or contacting their parents. That’s been settled for $275 million. The complaint also alleged Epic illegally enabled real-time voice and text chat for young players as Fortnite’s default, which the FTC said put them at risk from strangers....

When asked about games featuring NFTs, Epic said that there would be limitations but that they were willing to work with developers in the “new field”. Tim Sweeney followed The Verge’s story on Twitter with a personal tweet. “Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group. Though Epic’s not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance,” wrote Epic’s co-founder....

Before that, though, we’re lucky enough to have scored an interview with the “It’s me, Blorko” guy. Yes, we have the man who came up with this winter’s most fashionable Marvel-based viral tweet, live and on the podcast (I mean, technically he is on the podcast every week but this week we ask him about the Blorko thing for like 20 minutes). You can listen above, or on on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, or Pocket Casts....

The Crypto Syllabus recently interviewed the self-described “erratic, inconsistent Marxist”, touching on subjects including Team Fortress 2 hats, NFTs, cryptocurrency, metaverses, and how so much of the current metahype is garbage. Honestly, brew a cuppa and settle down to read the whole thing. It is very interesting. He’s not opposed to the technology (he’s (spoken before about liking the principle of blockchains) but boy howdy he’s not a fan of a lot of what’s going on....

According to the videos, the Oculus Quest 2 will be smaller and lighter than the original Quest, and it will have a new soft-touch headset for increased comfort. Its controllers have also been streamlined to be more ergonomic. It’s not yet clear whether old Quest controllers will continue to work with the Quest 2, but I’d imagine these details will be confirmed during its full unveiling at Facebook’s Connect conference tomorrow....

Fairy Tail the game carries on the usual plot of the manga and anime, revolving around “Natsu, a Dragon Slayer of the rowdy Fairy Tail magician guild, and his unique group of friends battling against unusual and memorable enemies,” Koei Tecmo say. You’ll play as all the various magic users from different guilds while upgrading your own guild to take on bigger and badder enemies. Apparently it’ll also feature both “popular fan-favorite episodes” and original ones....

Learn how to get Depleted Uranium in Far Cry 6 below, along with how to use it up purchasing awesome new equipment once you have it. How to get Depleted Uranium in Far Cry 6 Depleted Uranium is, as you might expect, a pretty important and powerful resource in Far Cry 6. Its sole use is for unlocking new Supremos and Resolver Weapons at Juan’s Office on Libertad Island or at his various Arms Dealers....

Streamer Aita Kimochi helpfully translated parts of the FF14 stream where Yoshida suggested that Final Fantasy 16 probably won’t make it to this year’s Tokyo Game Show, which runs from September 30th to October 3rd, purely because the team would like to show it off when it’s closer to release. “We really want to show something for Tokyo Game Show 2021, but we probably can’t make that deadline… we definitely want to show it, but isn’t it better if when we do, you’re able to play it right after?...

“This is a difficult question, but not one that was unexpected, seeing as diversity in entertainment media has become a much-discussed topic as of late. The answer I have, however, may end up being disappointing to some depending on individual expectations,” starts Yoshida. “Our design concept from the earliest stages of development has always heavily featured medieval Europe, incorporating historical, cultural, political, and anthropological standards that were prevalent at the time....