Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3 has arrived, and with it comes a bundle of special Zero Week Quests. Rather than offer up the Week 1 challenges with launch day, Epic has decided to give players bonus challenges to chase before the Week 1 challenges properly arrive later this week. The list of seven challenges will grant you 15,000 XP each for a total of 105,000 XP, which will help you level up your battle pass quickly. Here’s the full list plus tips on how to complete each of them.

Fortnite Zero Week Quests

Collect a Hammer Assault Rifle and a Two-Shot Shotgun in a single match -15,000 XPInteract with Sunbird or Moon Hawk and Rustler in a single match – 15,000 XPJump on a Wolf or Boar’s back in different matches (2) – 15,000 XPPlant or Summon Reality Saplings using Reality Seeds (3) – 15,000 XPSurvive Storm Phases (10) – 15,000 XPTravel 2000 meters in a Baller – 15,000 XPVisit Groovy Grove, Reality Falls, and Rave Cave – 15,000 XP

The Hammer Assault Rifle and Two-Shot Shotgun are two of the new weapons in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3. They’ll spawn all over the map like most other loot, so this one will come purely from luck and playing time. Sunbird (also known as Moon Hawk–it’s complicated) is at The Temple which is just northeast of The Daily Bugle. Rustler is inside Shifty Shafts. You can start by speaking to either one, but leave yourself time to make it to the other in the same round, or else you’ll need to start again. You can find our guide to Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3 NPCs for more info.

Wolves and boars can now be mounted, and you’ll want to do that at least once in two different rounds for this challenge. Wildlife is found all over, now more than ever, but they can most reliably be found around and within Reality Falls.

You can find Reality Seeds within Reality Falls too. Look for them inside glowing purple bulbs often grown on the roots of the Reality Tree. Smashing them open will briefly give you low-gravity movement, but watch and you’ll see Reality Seeds sprinkle out and slowly float to the ground. Plant one in the dirt, then return to that spot in later rounds to tend to your garden and eventually incredible loot will blossom like spring flowers. Nature is magic.

Look on the trunk of the Reality Tree to find smashable plants that sprinkle out Reality Seeds.

Surviving Storm phases is simple enough. Just be mindful of Storm Sickness, a new cascading effect that causes the Storm to do more damage if you stay in it too long. You can find Ballers at Rave Cave in most cases, so grab one there–but do it fast as they’re in high demand.

Visiting Groovy Grove (still Greasy Grove on the map at the time of writing, but it’s where it was before) Reality Falls, and the Rave Cave will take you on a trek across the western hemisphere of the island. You needn’t do it in one round, so don’t sweat it if you fail to do it all in one go.

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It’s Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3, and alongside major new features like the battle pass, new weapons, and map changes, there’s also a host of new NPCs to meet and greet. Fortnite NPCs are important because they offer quests, Exotic weapons, and sell loot and services such as guns and rifts. Even if you don’t want to fill out your collection book in-game by having met all new Fortnite NPCs, you should do it simply for the gameplay advantages they offer. Here’s a rundown of all Fortnite NPCs in Chapter 3, Season 3. Join us as we discover all of their locations and map them out.

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3 NPCs

At launch, there are 25 NPCs on the island. For now, they are friendly, non-hostile folks, which makes sense given this season’s good vibes. Later this season, it’s expected that Darth Vader may be a boss on the island and will drop his Mythic lightsaber when defeated. But for now, it’s all dance parties and roller coasters. While we haven’t yet pinned down the exact locations of each Fortnite Season 3 NPC, we can at least include a full list of them thanks to iFireMonkey‘s datamining efforts.

The Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3 NPCs include:

SunbirdKyleThe VisitorThe OriginThe ScientistThe ParadigmThe FoundationFishstickQuacklingCuddlepoolMetal Team LeaderMullet MarauderRustlerBunker Jonesy – The JonesesLudwig – The JonesesJonesy The First – The JonesesHavenStash’dCuddle Team LeaderThe ImaginedBao BrosMancakeGuacoLil’ WhipCryptic

As we piece together where to find these characters, we’ll be placing them on a map image so you can check in as needed and easily locate any and all NPCs. Stay tuned for more coverage of Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3.

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In Fortnite Season 3, Indiana Jones is one of two major LucasFilm characters included in the Season 3 battle pass. While the other, Darth Vader, can be unlocked as early as today for those who play a lot or buy their way to level 100, Indiana Jones can’t be unlocked quite yet no matter how much you spend or grind. Here’s what you need to know about the new Fortnite Indiana Jones skin–and yes, it looks exactly like Harrison Ford.

Fortnite Indiana Jones – How to unlock

Indiana Jones is this season’s bonus or “secret” skin–though calling them secret hasn’t made much sense in the last two years since Epic no longer hides them. Being the midseason skin means two big differences exist for Indy as compared to his seven battle pass cohorts. For one, he’s locked for all players until a specific date. In this case, you can’t unlock him until July 7 at the earliest according to the in-game battle pass menu.

The other special aspect of a midseason skin in Fortnite is that they get their own bundle of quests for players to complete. Beginning on July 7, you’ll be able to jump in and unlock Indy’s full suit of cosmetics, including his signature whip that acts as his pickaxe in Fortnite. There are 11 Indiana Jones cosmetics overall, and though we can’t see all of them or any of their related challenges yet, we can get a preview of the cosmetics for now.

Harrison Ford-nite

You can bookmark this article today and expect us to update it with his quests and any other information as the season goes on. In the meantime, don’t miss the new Fortnite Season 3 weapons, map changes, or the complete overview of Fortnite Season 3.

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Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 2 just wrapped up after another explosive finale. The Fortnite event put players in control of The Seven’s reborn Doggus mech suit in a battle for the island. Major story implications have come out of today’s event, so in case you missed it, here’s everything that happened and how to make sense of another explosive story event in Fortnite.

What happened in the Fortnite event?

The event started with players and up to three friends loading into some sort of ship on The Seven’s apparent home base, the moon orbiting the Fortnite island. As The Origin, The Foundation, and Jonesy worked to ensure the final pieces of their plan were in place, players could shoot out asteroids in a mini-game–one which would soon prove to be more of a tutorial. Comically, Jonesy tried to wiggle his way into being an official member of The Seven. he even gave himself a name: The Legend. The Foundation wasn’t really on board, but it didn’t stop Jonesy from trying to make the name stick as the event went on.

When it came time for The Seven’s all-out assault, The Origin addressed the team of loopers via holgram, and re-introduced the long-absent Paradigm. That’s right, she’s back! The team’s best pilot took the driver’s seat in the vehicle, which turned out to be Doggus itself, the massive and newly reborn mech last seen (in one piece) in Chapter 1, Season 9. It seems The Origin now trusts The Paradigm enough to give her the keys to the whole operation. She did not disappoint.

As the group barreled toward the island’s home world, players took to their gunner seats once more to clear the way of asteroids and other debris–we even saw a piece of one of The Last Reality’s alien spaceships. Eventually the mech triumphantly made a landing and immediately went on the offensive. As Paradigm charged on from the cockpit, players assisted as her gunners, exploding IO tanks, airships, and other air and ground units. The IO’s numbers were vast, but Doggus pressed on.

After taking on a huge barrage of missiles, the mech was hurting badly and nearly non-functional. Just then, fresh off his weeks of driving lessons, Peely came storming onto the battlefield in a big rig loaded with Slurp Juice. Doggus chugged the healing waters and found itself ready for round two.

Inching closer to the Collider, Paradigm and her squadron continued to clear the air and land of IO baddies, as paradigm unsheathed an impressive new energy sword and took to chopping IO airships like avocados. Slicing and dicing, the mech inched ever so closely to the Collider, hellbent on destroying it before it could destroy all life on the island as intended.

Another massive barrage of explosive rounds proved to be too much for the mech, however, and the ground beneath the mech and the Collider started to give way. Players and The Paradigm barely escaped from the wreck, and were greeted by Jonesy and The Foundation, who led the group up a spiraling interior surrounding the Zero Point, where the Collider once stood. As the group headed up the ramp, flashes from the Zero Point peered into other realities, including a quick peek at a Durrr Burger (the Chapter 1 map?) and a clear-as-day look at a lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader! This seems to have confirmed that the villain will be in the battle pass for Season 3.

The Zero Point peered into another universe… and show us a sign of things to come, perhaps.

As players dispatched more IO forces, Doctor Slone and her tank taunted from above. Having reached the villain, Jonesy tried to reason with her, asking her to lay down her weapons. But it wouldn’t matter. Paradigm was able to operate the mech enough to slam Doggus’ massive fist down on top of Slone, presumably pulverizing her and her tank–though it should be noted we didn’t exactly see her die.

The Zero Point then began to focus on Geno, the presumed true leader of the IO–we’ve heard his name often but this is the first time we’ve gotten a good, albeit still shadowy, look at the mysterious figure. Jonesy and Foundation leaped into the Zero Point destined for parts unknown. They were last seen fist-bumping in a freefall. Their mission will likely linger as an ongoing storyline in Season 3.

Back at the Collider, Paradigm’s team of loopers shot out the device’s energy crystals–they looked like giant batteries, really. Once all four were destroyed, the Collider collapsed and the Zero Point seemed to fall back into Loot Lake, safe and sound–or so we hope.

With that, the game went back into downtime. Now, only a To Be Continued screen awaits players loading into the game. It’s not yet known when Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3 officially kicks off, but we can presume, based on past seasons, that checking in sometime tomorrow morning might be a good bet. We’ll see you in Season 3, looper!

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You just want to turn on your TV and play a video game or use your Apple TV or Roku to watch a favorite show, but any time you have to tinker with your TV’s interface, there are ads everywhere. Ads in the bar that shows the inputs, ads on the screen where you have apps installed–it feels like they’re everywhere. It’s almost impossible to get a “dumb” TV these days and still have anything like modern features. There are, however, ways to interfere with the constant assault of ads on your devices, and we have five on offer, organized by increasing complexity and cost.

Some of these are as simple as being your lazy self, while one involves setting up Linux on a Raspberry Pi. There’s an option for every skill and commitment level, and you can pair more than one of these options together for the most effective scenario. The ultimate goal, though, is to let you make the most of your TV without letting its smart features get in the way.

Don’t connect to the internet

Tips for how to “dumb down” your smart TV

The simplest and easiest way to keep your television from throwing ads at you is to just not connect it to the internet. If you never plug it into Ethernet or type in your Wi-Fi credentials, the TV can’t get online. That means no updates, but it also means no ads. You can always plug in temporarily to download an update if your TV’s manufacturer releases a firmware update that enables a significant feature, as both LG and Sony have done with recent televisions. This is especially worth considering if your television comes equipped with microphones and a camera, as an increasing number do.

Turn off Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)

If you do have to connect your TV to the internet, check to see if your smart TV has a feature called Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR. When enabled, ACR will attempt to identify everything you put on your screen. That includes over-the-air, cable, streaming, and disc media. This information can then be used to show you dynamic ads related to whatever content you’re watching.

Like so many other features, ACR is an industry-standard name that every manufacturer changes on their set. If you’re setting your television up for the first time, it should give you the chance to turn this off immediately. Consumer Reports has a great guide for turning this feature off on some of the biggest brands.

Use a set-top box

Roku streaming device

Instead of installing apps on your television, use a set-top box like an Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku. Many set-top boxes have ads, but it’s usually just one ad on the main screen, making it easier to ignore. Apple’s offering, it’s worth noting, does not have ads.

As a bonus, popular set-top boxes generally have better app support with more frequently updated applications, while smart TV apps can eventually fall victim to the TV being out of date or not powerful enough to play modern content. The box can do what it’s best at–streaming content–while all your television has to worry about is displaying the image.

One thing worth exploring, too, is which TVs will let you set them up without forcing you into using a connected interface. For example, sets that use the Google TV OS (not Android TV), like TCL’s R646 Mini-LED television, will let you choose to use the default of Google TV, which is less of a TV interface and more of a glorified front-end for Google’s media store. You can, however, opt out of the Google TV setup and go for Basic Mode. By doing so, the TV’s only ad is one politely suggesting that Google TV might be a cool thing. That effectively lets you use the television as a dumb television.

Get an AV receiver

AV receiver

This is arguably the single most effective option on this list, as it will work with nearly any television. An audio-video receiver, or home theater receiver, is a receiver that can handle the video signals of your devices and send audio out to your speakers. This can be somewhat complex to set up as we found when we tried to buy a fully HDMI 2.1-enabled receiver recently, but it’s doable and can be very effective. With an appropriate receiver, you’ll be plugging your devices–Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Switch, a set-top box–into the receiver rather than the television.

Then, you can switch inputs on the receiver while leaving your television on the same input all the time. In other words, it minimizes how much you have to deal with a digital interface and lets you instead deal with simple buttons.

Another benefit here is that many modern devices are equipped with HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), allowing your television and device to communicate with one another over HDMI. Turning on your PlayStation will turn on your TV. Using the volume button on your Xbox media remote will change the receiver’s volume. You’ll still need to keep the receiver remote around for more complex actions, but you shouldn’t have to touch it terribly often.

Configure a Pi-Hole

Pi-Hole is a silly, crude-sounding name for a powerful little device. A Pi-Hole is a network-level advertisement and tracker blocker. This device you put together and configure yourself using a DIY computer like a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4. There are tons of guides on the internet, so we’re not going to go into the particulars here. There are excellent guides on YouTube and plenty of text-based ones available. This is by far the most complicated option on this list, but it can be the most effective.

Once it’s set up, this device will protect all other devices on your network from ads and trackers. That includes your computers, phones, and even integrated devices like televisions and set-top boxes. A Raspberry Pi computer can be purchased for as low as $35 and may require that you purchase some extra items like storage, but even with accessories, it’s still cheaper than most set-top boxes and just about any receiver. So if you’re willing to do the work, this option will let you continue using your smart TV’s features without being assaulted by ads–the best of both worlds.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Diablo Immortal is Blizzard’s newest entry in its decades-old franchise, but it marks the first game in the series to launch on both PC and mobile devices. If you’re looking to boot up this fresh release and see what’s what, you’re going to want to be sure your rig or phone can handle what you’re throwing at it.

PC system requirements

Luckily for PC players, the minimum requirements for Diablo Immortal are low, meaning that a large majority of PCs should be able to enjoy the game on low settings at the very least. Even more, its recommended requirements are extremely reasonable, too, so even older gaming PCs should have no issues running the game.

Minimum

CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD FX-8100RAM: 4 GBOS: Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10 / Windows 11 (64-bit)Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, ATI Radeon HD 6850, or Intel HD Graphics 530Pixel Shader: 5.0Vertex Shader: 5.0

Recommended

CPU: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5RAM: 8 GBOS: Windows 10 / Windows 11 (64-bit)Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 or AMD Radeon RX 470Dedicated Video Ram: 2048 MBPixel Shader: 5.0Vertex Shader: 5.0

Mobile system requirements

The system requirements for mobile devices are quite low, meaning all but the oldest phones should run the game without too many problems. Android phones will need to at least run Android 5.0, while the iOS version simply needs an iPhone 6 or newer running iOS 11 or above. It’s all fairly standard stuff.

Android

OS: Android 5.0 or higher

Processor: Snapdragon 660 / Exynos 9611 or higher

Video: Adreno 512 / Mali-G62 MP3 or higher

RAM: 2GB

iOS

Device: iPhone 6 or newer

OS: iOS 11 or higher

For more on Diablo Immortal, check out our beginner’s guide or see which controllers are supported on both PC and mobile.

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They’re frustrating, responsible for a surge in controller sales thanks to rage-induced breakages, and they’ll leave your clothes drenched in tension-induced sweat, but we can’t help but love a good roguelike game. The best roguelikes are learning experiences where you feel like you can take a lesson back with you when you revisit square one, apply it to your next journey, and delve deeper into an unforgiving world that wants to keep you knocked down.

That sense of triumph is hard to beat, and with the genre packed with dozens of great games–and more releasing seemingly every week–we’re taking a look at the 30 best roguelikes that’ll have you pumping your fist in the air when you earn a victory that you had to fight for. Our list isn’t organized in any specific order, and the games featured span across numerous sub-genres within roguelikes.

Spelunky

Easily one of the most influential roguelikes of all time, Spelunky’s fine-tuned descent into procedurally-generated darkness has made a massive impact on the genre. Pure passion expressed through excellent game design, this is easily one of the best “just one more run” games that you’ll find on this list. Spelunky originally debuted in 2008 and then was remade for Xbox 360 in 2012 before being ported to just about every console you can think of. It’s the type of roguelike that you can easily sink hundreds of hours into and still find new surprises and delights on your next run.

Read our Spelunky review.

Spelunky 2

Spelunky’s highly anticipated sequel had a high bar to reach when it launched in 2020, and, in many ways, it surpassed expectations. Spelunky 2 uses everything that made the first game such a success while managing to squeeze even more magic out of those elements and throws in new biomes to explore on top of it. Beware, though: Spelunky 2 is more challenging than the original due to increasingly elaborate level design, smarter AI, and additional systems. That said, it’s also more layered and serves as a perfect test of skill after mastering the original.

Read our Spelunky 2 review.

FTL: Faster than Light

With every intergalactic odd stacked against you as you pilot a rundown ship to its final destination, FTL is all about making certain that you capitalize on your one chance for survival. Tough choices will be made, defeat is always nipping at your space-heels, and the tension is thick enough to cut with a lightsaber in this charming sci-fi strategy game from Subset Games.

Read our FTL: Faster than Light review.

Rogue Legacy 2

A roguelike mixed with Metroidvania influences doesn’t sound too novel these days, but back in 2013 Rogue Legacy showed just how well the genres could work with each other. Its sequel is even better, taking the foundation of the original game and adding transformative twists to the formula that makes it one of the best in its class. The original is worth playing as well, but Rogue Legacy 2 improves on its predecessor in nearly every way.

Read our Rogue Legacy 2 review.

Slay the Spire

Life has a habit of dealing you a tough hand from time to time, but it’s nothing compared to the danger that you’ll face in Slay the Spire. Part roguelike, part deck-building strategy, and all edge-of-your seat strategic action, Slay the Spire’s unique flavor has proved to be incredibly popular and inspired several other games to follow in its card-dealing footsteps.

Read our Slay the Spire review.

Dead Cells

A massive influence in the roguelike scene since it first arrived on Steam’s early access all those years ago, Dead Cells’ combination of lightning-fast action and quid pro quo upgrade system has inspired numerous other games in its wake. It’s still as active as ever, and with a number of fresh updates, this sprawling adventure with incredible boss fights is still well worth exploring today.

Read our Dead Cells review.

Hades

Supergiant’s Hades is a masterpiece of storytelling, design, and rewarding gameplay. Taking an isometric view of the roguelike battlefield, tossing in procedurally-generated levels, and ensuring that the challenge remains consistently fair, this saga of Greek tragedy shines with violent variety and an emphasis on making each run feel like a valuable lesson learned.

Read our Hades review.

Vampire Survivors

Deceptively simple at first glance, Vampire Survivors is currently in Steam’s early access program and is essentially a one-stick shooter where you fire away at hordes of relentless monsters. For now Vampire Survivors is a one-trick pony of a game, but it’s a hell of a trick that it has up its sleeve.

Darkest Dungeon

What toll would exploring a dangerous and badly-illuminated lair really take on a band of adventurers? Darkest Dungeons answers that question, as your squad of warriors quickly succumb to crippling fears and deteriorating mental health in this cult classic game that has gorgeous art design and fascinating gameplay mechanics.

Read our Darkest Dungeon review.

Crypt of the NecroDancer + Cadence of Hyrule

While every roguelike game has a rhythm that’s waiting to be discovered, Crypt of the NecroDancer and Cadence of Hyrule takes that idea and throws it into the spotlight. A fast-paced collection of action delivered through musical timing as the beat goes on, you can even throw your favorite MP3s into the mix for a playlist of pain and percussive execution. Crypt of the Necrodancers is available on multiple platforms, while Cadence of Hyrule is a Switch exclusive set in the world of Hyrule. Along with stellar remixes of classic Zelda tunes, Cadence of Hyrule has multiple campaigns. It’s also more forgiving than Crypt of the Necrodancer.

Read our Crypt of the NecroDancer and Cadence of Hyrule review.

The Binding of Isaac

It may look and feel like a twin-stick shooter set in a more nightmarish version of Hyrule, but 2011’s Binding of Isaac is an essential roguelike that traps you in an endless cycle of death of rebirth. It’s the experimentation and constant rewards that make this game so satisfying though, while the terrifying visuals will ensure that it lives on in your mind long after you’ve put your controller down. The Binding of Isaac has received numerous expansions and re-releases over the years, with last year’s Repentance serving as the final piece of Binding of Isaac content.

Read our The Binding of Isaac review.

Monster Train

While Slay the Spire has helped inspire a new wave of deck-building roguelikes, Monster Train feels like a game that truly does build on its ideas and offers a fresh perspective. Goofy, loaded with free DLC since launch, and a ton of cards to collect, this roguelike will devour hours of your time with its mountain of deep content.

Enter the Gungeon

Both a roguelike and a trip through bullet hell, Enter the Gungeon goes all in on its gun-heavy design. Arsenals feel fantastic, weapons are terrific to wield, and each run will leave you sweating bullets as the action gets increasingly amplified.

Read our Enter the Gungeon review.

Into the Breach

Pacific Rim meets chess and time travel, Into the Breach’s turn-based nature will lull you into a false sense of security and then hammer home just how crucial every nerve-wracking decision is. When destructive forces of nature pound at your door and the options for canceling the apocalypse require necessary sacrifices, it’ll be all up to you to make some hard decisions in this tense game of bite-sized tactics.

Read our Into the Breach review.

Moonlighter

Part adventure-RPG, part shopkeeping, Moonlighter’s ingenious blend of ideas makes for some captivating gameplay. The pixel art looks gorgeous, the gameplay demands all of your attention, and the nods to RPGS of yesteryear make for a consistently charming experience. The demanding procedurally generated dungeons feel inspired by Binding of Isaac, while the town simulation offers a pleasant reprieve from tense combat.

Read our Moonlighter review.

Returnal

Housemarque’s love for the arcade games of yesteryear were combined into a unique package of space horror and roguelike design in 2021. Dripping with sinister atmospheric detail, a dark storyline, and infinite danger from the alien threats around you, Returnal’s brutal challenges still make for some of the best fun that you can have on PS5 right now.

Read our Returnal review.

Dicey Dungeons

Pure character and meta-commentary, roguelike deck-builder Dicey Dungeons oozes charm and personality with every roll of the dice. More forgiving than some other games on this list but still requiring strategy, Dicey Dungeons is one show you’ll want to tune in for to see how the madcap nonsense unfolds.

Read our Dicey Dungeons review.

Downwell

A retro blast from the past, don’t let Downwell’s quaint visuals fool you as they’re layered over an absurd amount of depth. With community development having added hundreds of new gameplay elements to the package, each floor you reach unlocks more content, options, and intense action that combines for a white-knuckle ride down into the abyss below.

Read our Downwell review.

Loop Hero

A Swiss army knife of genres, Loop Hero’s core… loop of roguelike design feels as if its influenced by a dozen other genres and then somehow finds a way to marry them all together. A delicate balance of deck building, simulation, and slaying monsters, Loop Hero is a different but familiar experience to dive into.

Read our Loop Hero review.

Griftlands

Strategic deck-building combat in a roguelike frame? That’s a popular choice within the genre right now, and Griftlands is a prime example of that current trend. Unlike some other games out there, Griftlands does a fantastic job at fusing these ideas together with other genres, creating short but fun campaigns that play well together thanks to the intelligent and nuanced design.

Risk of Rain 2

Adding an extra dimension for the sequel, Risk of Rain 2’s toybox is a deep collection of worlds, monsters, and characters to upgrade so that they’re strong enough to survive the dangers that lie ahead of them. Each run is a dive into chaotic and over-the-top action, and with up to three friends at your side, discovering new loot and gear combinations makes for a great time on the battlefield.

Read our Risk of Rain 2 review.

Cogmind

It might look like hacking code from the 1980s, but Cogmind’s delicious aesthetic is all about unleashing cannibalistic ASCII code on enemies using surprisingly user-friendly interfaces.

Inscryption

Though it’s another roguelike with deckbuilding elements, Inscrytion is unlike anything else on this list. Few roguelikes can compare in the atmosphere department when Inscryption enters the chat. Unnervingly creepy, card games with demons is a surprisingly gripping formula for a great time. Inventive gameplay, a haunting atmosphere, and a story that will keep you guessing makes Inscryption a thrilling adventure. If you survive, that is.

Read our Inscryption review.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

Available for the attractive price of absolutely free, Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is a zombie apocalypse survival simulator where’ll you’ll need to keep an eye on the undead and your supplies if you want to see tomorrow. A game for fans of complex systems and steep learning curves, Cataclysm’s cute visuals offer plenty of options for keeping the walking dead at bay.

Nethack

With literally hundreds of ways to die and graphics that look like they were pulled from an old Commodore 64 game, Nethack’s simplistic nature allows for deep exploration in a time capsule package. A spiritual successor to the classic Rogue game, Nethack dials up the complexity to create a staggering number of systems for you to play with.

Don’t Starve

Don’t Starve is essentially a game about waiting for doom to come to you. You won’t be twiddling your thumbs while waiting for the sun to set as there’s work to be done in this uncompromising look at survival against murderous shadows, but at least you’ll feel like you accomplished something when you finally meet your end.

Read our Don’t Starve review.

Nuclear Throne

Exploring the post-apocalypse guns blazing makes for a fun formula, and Nuclear Throne runs wild with this concept. Charming pixel-art, progressive peril, and twin-stick shooting at weird monsters makes each run feel energetic, and like the best roguelikes, you’ll still gain plenty of experience for the next run when you finally fall in battle.

Read our Nuclear Throne review.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate

An old-school throwback, Shiren the Wanderer’s latest release polishes up the original 1995 game and adds some welcome combat updates to the mix. Its visuals still look great today, its replayability will hook you in, and the core concept of knowing when to risk everything on a dangerous dungeon gamble makes for a classic trip back in time.

Read our Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate review.

Noita

Unlike many roguelikes, Noita takes place in a world that genuinely feels reactive to your presence thanks to unique “physically-simulated” pixels. That idea creates a beautiful landscape to wreak havoc in with a range of spells, turning the procedurally-generated world into a sandbox that you can dig through for more advantages against overwhelming threats.

Read our Noita review.

Streets of Rogue

The flexibility of Streets of Rogue makes for a fun time, as this game gives you freedom to accomplish tasks in a variety of ways that’ll bring all manner of heat down on you. Failure is an option, and in each run, you’ll learn a lesson that you have to live with as the world adapts and prepares for your resurrection in this charming top-down adventure.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Sony has made it clear it’s looking to diversify its business and explore new territories beyond PlayStation’s single-player console games and into PC, mobile, and live-service markets. During the G&S segment of a Sony business briefing, CEO Jim Ryan reiterated the company’s commitment to pursue PC and mobile audiences.

In the slide specifically about mobile, Ryan said the company has “aggressive growth plans.” Sony will partner with successful mobile developers, establish internal mobile development teams, and publish external mobile games. By the 2025 fiscal year (the period ending in March 2026), Sony aims for mobile games to represent 20% of its first-party portfolio releases, a noticeable jump from 0% in 2019 FY and 10% in the current fiscal year. Below is what we know so far about Sony’s developments in the mobile gaming market.

What’s the 10%?

Wipeout Rush (Rogue Games)–Announced in 2021, Wipeout Rush is an installment in the Wipeout universe, a PlayStation classic. It’s a card-based racing game, complete with a retro comic book art style.

Fate Grand Order (Delightworks / Lasengle)–We also can’t talk about Sony’s mobile games without talking about Fate Grand Order, one of the most successful mobile games ever. Sony-owned company Aniplex previously was the publisher of FGO, but in 2021, Aniplex acquired FGO dev Delightworks. After the purchase, Delightworks established Lasengle–a company responsible for all of Delightworks’ business. This is all to say, the studio that originally created FGO is still in charge of it–it’s just owned by Sony now.

FGO launched in 2015 and is estimated, by Sensor Tower, to have made over $4 billion. Delightworks and FGO are not strictly associated with the PlayStation brand at this time, but it’s hard to imagine Delightworks not working behind-the-scenes to help with PlayStation’s internal mobile development. Key FGO creative producer Yosuke Shiokawa did leave the company earlier in February 2022, so it will be interesting to see how the direction of FGO will shift.

PlayStation Mobile

When Sony says mobile gaming, it’s not talking about games on a handheld console like the PS Vita, PSP, or PSP Go. But the PS Vita is related to Sony’s past in trying to attract a mobile phone audience: The PlayStation Mobile program.

PlayStation Mobile launched in 2012 and shut down in 2015, unceremoniously ended by Sony after never really taking off. Though players may remember PlayStation Mobile as mainly a PS Vita imprint, it was a software-development-kit-slash-publishing-arm for both PS Vita and select Android devices (obviously including Sony’s own Xperia phone). On the PlayStation store front, it occupied a separate section. For developers, the PlayStation Mobile publisher fee was only an annual $99–presenting a friendly entry point for newer devs looking to make simple games.

These games could be comparable to what you find on Apple Arcade nowadays (if it were less-curated), or to compare to Sony’s own history, what the PSP minis were for PSP–small, more “indie-ish” games that presented an alternative option to AAA games. The charming Super Crate Box by Vlambeer studios was part of the initial launch, in addition to 19 other games, such as Samurai Beatdown, Aqua Kitty, and Beats Slider.

PlayStation Mobile, however, couldn’t attract an audience on either the PS Vita or Android. The service stopped publishing games on Android a whole year before Sony pulled the plug completely in 2015.

Sony made a notable decision to hire the former head of Apple Arcade in 2021, while also revealing in the job description that it wants somebody to help adapt existing “iconic IPs” into mobile games. It’s too early to say whether PlayStation’s planning some mobile subscription service that looks similar to Apple Arcade by a single hire alone, but it does inspire speculation on the possibilities. At the very least, iPhone users can expect attention, unlike the Android and PS Vita-only targets of PlayStation Mobile.

Xperia Play, PlayStation Mobile, Inc, and Sony Pictures Digital releases

So PlayStation Mobile, Inc. is different from the now-closed PlayStation Mobile–confusing, I know! The Inc. version of PlayStation Mobile still exists and has published Run Sackboy Run for iOS / Android and titles for PlayLink, a service that allows players to use their phones for multiplayer games. It also published Uncharted: Fortune Hunter, a mobile spin-off of the popular series, in 2016 and recently shut down in 2022.

Xperia Play, dubbed the PlayStation phone, was also an initiative by Sony to bring games to mobile devices in 2012. Titles like FIFA 10, Sims 3, Need For Speed Shift, and almost 60 other games launched along with Xperia Play, making it an impressive experiment in combining the phone and handheld console. (Though, it also became somewhat of a competitor with the PS Vita, making it an interesting decision by Sony to launch the two products so close to one another.)

Sony Pictures Digital also released a handful of mobile games over the years. In 2007, it released God of War: Betrayal. And more recently, it published My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero (a game now published by Crunchyroll instead) for a period of time.

PS Vita fans’ 10% hope

And while it’s just plain unlikely, a new mobile console by Sony isn’t completely out of the question. Ryan said in the business presentation, “We’re not restricting ourselves to just content,” which is made clear by the upcoming hyped-up PSVR 2 launch. Nintendo’s highly successful hybrid Switch console and Valve’s Steam Deck show that mobile gaming devices still command a strong audience and could provide a financial incentive for Sony to think about another mobile console. Sony also made a controller for the player’s phone, according to a patent first discovered by VGC.

Though if Sony takes this path, it needs to bring original titles to the new handheld. The Nintendo Switch is supported by popular Switch-only titles like Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and Breath of The Wild, while Steam Deck’s major selling point is the vast library of PC games on Steam. This is something Sony already knows how to do and is doing with the PS5, but didn’t do with the PS Vita. There are many possible reasons why the PS Vita failed (high price point, the 3DS, the iPhone, etc.), but the lack of continuous big, shiny exclusive titles certainly didn’t do the handheld console any favors.

Sony expanding and diversifying its business makes sense. Big AAA games that Sony likes releasing are increasingly a risky bet: They take a lot of money and time to make, and may not necessarily be a hit upon release. Mobile live-service games, on the other hand, like Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact and Epic Games’ Fortnite, rake in a sizable and reliable chunk of cash regularly, and we know that Sony wants to operate a lot of live-service games. Not all of those necessarily need to be on consoles/PC, as some might assume.

It is, however, surprising to see Sony planning to make 50% of its first-party titles in the mobile and PC sector by 2025 FY, basically completely phasing out revenue from PS4 content. With Sony’s dogged pursuit of mobile gamers, we can probably expect more news from the company about its mobile gaming plans soon.

For more reading on PlayStation’s business, you can check out:

Bungie Acquired by Sony for $3.6 billionSony Sees Bright Future For Live-Service Games, But It’s All About Choice, Exec SaysWhether Sony Likes It Or Not, Game Pass Makes The New PS Plus Look UnderwhelmingRead MoreGameSpot – Game News

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be revealed on June 8 with its first trailer, and this will be immediately followed up with a “world premiere gameplay level” on June 9, it’s been confirmed. This sounds like it’ll be the campaign specifically, with more reveals to come for multiplayer.

This footage will debut during the Summer Game Fest Live event that day, which begins at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. It’s not immediately clear when, exactly, during the broadcast that the footage will premiere, however. In any event, the entire showcase will be one to tune in for, as lots of reveals are expected.

See the world premiere gameplay level from @CallofDuty #ModernWarfare2 during #SummerGameFest on June 9th at 11am PT/2pm ET/6pm GMT.
Streaming live at https://t.co/gO9QVWF4nN and also in @IMAX live in select cities, https://t.co/AwYFYvXqHQ pic.twitter.com/QQJQ4Ie2w2

— Summer Game Fest – Live June 9 (@summergamefest) June 3, 2022

A teaser trailer for Modern Warfare 2 focused on Task Force 141, the main team from 2019’s Modern Warfare. The group is getting back together in the sequel to take down enemies once again.

“The ultimate weapon is team,” Activision said, referencing Task Force 141.

Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC and consoles. It’s developed by Infinity Ward and is rumored to be focused, at least in part, on Colombian drug cartels. Leaks have suggested that a beta is in the works, too, with PlayStation users getting in first.

In a blog post, Infinity Ward art director Joel Emslie said Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most “ambitious, beautiful, bombastic, melt-your-face-off game Infinity Ward has ever created.” Emslie added that Modern Warfare 2 is “this studio’s magnum opus and it’s the type of game I’ve been waiting to be a part of my entire career.”

Microsoft is in the process of purchasing Activision Blizzard–including the Call of Duty franchise and all of its developers–but the series will continue to be released on PlayStation in the future. In a big shift, Activision will reportedly not release a new Call of Duty game in 2023.

For more on this summer’s big gaming events, check out our Not-E3 2022 press conference schedule.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

It’s been over a year since Abandoned was first announced on the PlayStation Blog, and by now you may have heard about the controversial game in one of several very different contexts. Shortly after its reveal, some fans began speculating that the game was a secret Hideo Kojima project, perhaps even his return to the Silent Hill franchise after releasing P.T. eight years ago. Seeking to counter their claims, others pointed to Blue Box Game Studios’ well-documented and lackluster development history, arguing that Abandoned is just another in a long line of games announced by the studio that will never see a release.

The lead developer on the project, Hasan Kahraman, has said Abandoned is exactly what he always said it was: an indie survival-horror about a lone survivor stuck in the woods with a cult. However, in the past year, onlookers have also seen it become a game about a rampant superintelligent AI. More recently, it was said to be a game about vampires. As it stands, there is no meaningful evidence that Abandoned exists in any real way–though there is a long trail of dubious business deals, uninspiring leaks, and a chatroom full of fans, including at least one child, where the game’s lead developer has misled a captive audience for months.

Despite once being planned to release on PS5 in the fall of 2021, several people close to Kahraman tell GameSpot that there is no game–at least not one that is actively being worked on. The reason for that isn’t as fun as it being part of some long-con Kojima ARG like fans once suspected. In reality, those close to Kahraman tell GameSpot, despite Kahraman’s public claims that the game’s development is coming along, he has privately admitted Abandoned is on hold and he first needs to fund its development with a playable prologue, which our sources indicate he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to create.

Interviews with more than half a dozen people who have had close contact with Kahraman since September 2021 have detailed a picture of a game in disarray and a developer who promises a lot, including paid work for fans, but delivers very little.

Two months after Abandoned’s original reveal invited a brief spark of fan theories, Kahraman shared a since-deleted tweet from Blue Box’s Twitter account that said a reveal was “closing in” and offered a hint that the game’s real name starts with S and ends with L. By overtly leaning into the Silent Hill speculation, Kahraman reignited the theory that there was more to this game than players were initially led to believe, and so began the summer of Abandoned. Multiple Discord servers, subreddits, and other forums were created with the sole purpose of trying to find the proverbial curtain Kojima and/or Konami were hiding behind.

The now-deleted tweet sent by Blue Box reignited Silent Hill fan theories two months after they quieted down.

It was not an unreasonable belief–after all, it’s something Kojima had done twice before. First, when he briefly hid behind a fake studio, Moby Dick, and used a stand-in developer with the pseudonym Joakim Mogren to sell the charade, before revealing that he was behind the stunt and the team’s game was actually his next project, Metal Gear Solid V, under Konami. Later, P.T. was attributed to 7780s, another studio invented wholecloth so Kojima could surprise players with what the playable teaser was actually teasing: a long-awaited Silent Hill sequel.

For a few days, Abandoned could’ve arguably passed for another Kojima ruse. But as theories around Abandoned grew more outlandish each day, forums began to express pareidolia, a wish-fulfilling drive to find patterns where they don’t exist. These numerous patterns have been well-documented and already debunked. But what’s important is not that fans gathered to discuss the game, but that Kahraman seems to have been there too, following the community he helped create as it tirelessly crafted theories about the true nature of his indie game.

Over time, he seemed to bend the direction of his game and its concept to retrofit what fans were saying. When they thought it was Silent Hill, he released a brief teaser in the game’s strange, almost featureless standalone app on PS5 that included music very much like that of Silent Hill’s longtime composer Akira Yamaoka. When the fans thought he was teasing a Metal Gear Solid project, he reworked the horror story centered on a cult to instead focus on a fourth-wall-breaking AI program and secret government cover-ups.

There are many things still mysterious about Blue Box, such as who else is on the team. Kahraman has said roughly 50 people, including outsourcing studios, are working on Abandoned. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce confirmed with GameSpot that Blue Box was founded in 2015 with 10 employees. To date, Blue Box’s registration with the Chamber of Commerce has never been updated to reflect a different number of employees, though a representative told GameSpot it is the business’ responsibility to update details such as this. Kahraman did update its registration twice in the last seven years: once to change the business address and another time to register an alternate trade name, Pixel Molecule, which the company appears not to have used.

Much of what GameSpot has learned recently about the developer comes from those with knowledge of a private and very exclusive online group chatroom. Sources say since last fall, this has been a space where Kahraman would share game materials such as screenshots, animations, and even a page of the game’s script. The group’s original iteration was composed of roughly a dozen fans from one of the Discord servers that sprang up to study the mysteries surrounding the game. Kahraman hand-picked who to invite based on who he “researched,” he once told the group.

Those in his group chat were often sworn to secrecy–some were even made to sign a vague NDA, of which GameSpot obtained a copy. According to sources, Kahraman sought agreeable fans, and when some members of the group would challenge him on his empty promises and discrepancies between public and private comments, he would kick them out or make a new, sometimes smaller group with only new and/or still-agreeable fans. The group has gone through roughly half a dozen iterations, pulling in various fans from different social media platforms. For a while, some members stuck around because they still believed in the project; others simply liked the exclusive access.

Those with knowledge of the group have described Kahraman as duplicitous and prone to mood swings, often getting into heated arguments when members of the group would ask for progress updates or question his honesty. He’d then profusely apologize later, sometimes attributing his outbursts to the stress he was under due to the wave of fan theories.

One person told GameSpot that Kahraman admitted to keeping some people in the group just so they wouldn’t leak things he had previously shared with them. He took to sending voice messages, which sources felt was a strategy used by him to avoid screenshots of conversations being taken. This is where “the most egregious things were said,” according to a source. He left at least one member feeling “hurt” and others frustrated or confused at how he would say one thing publicly, then another in private to his inner circle.

Often, when members leaked things he shared, Kahraman would publicly deny that the materials were a part of his project while he privately sought to identify the leakers. On one occasion, Kahraman put an audio file on his studio website that he wanted to show the group as the latest exclusive asset. The cryptic audio, which is now available on YouTube, was poorly translated into Japanese as though it was done using a program such as Google Translate. Sources felt the use of Japanese was another way Kahraman chose to lean into the Kojima theories even as he simultaneously refuted them. The audio tied into the “Zero Cell” plot Kahraman was pivoting to at the time, which sources say sounded like a Metal Gear Solid copycat.

But when it was shared online because someone outside the group found it, Kahraman publicly claimed his website was hacked and that he didn’t know it was even there. Messages obtained by GameSpot show Kahraman saying he wanted to find out who leaked it to the Redditor who ultimately shared it widely. A source said this display of blatant dishonesty made things awkward in the group.

Kahraman would speak of potential business partners as “scammers,” including Nuare Studio, an established team he once planned to commission for artwork on the game. According to sources, Kahraman used similar sentiments to describe various producers including Summer Games Fest’s Geoff Keighley and the team behind GamesRadar’s Future Games Show. Whenever one of the game’s scheduled showings was delayed, which happened several times in the last year, sources say he was quick to place blame elsewhere.

He sought to form both a working and romantic relationship with one member of the group and promised to pay them for work done on the game’s PlayStation Trophy-related art after the studio began to receive revenue for the game’s release. He said in March of 2022 that he planned to visit the prospective business and romantic partner in-person two months later when he’d be “free,” which the person took to mean Kahraman expected to be done with the game’s prologue by then. One of several splits in the group chat also separated the pair on both social and professional terms and, according to sources, they haven’t spoken since.

In another situation, he asked a member of the group to act as his shipping partner by storing some of the game’s eventual physical copies in the US to prevent Kahraman from needing to find a storage facility by traveling from The Netherlands to the US himself. He offered to both pay the fan $1,500 for this, which he said would cover expenses with some money left over as “profit,” and set them up with a Blue Box Game Studios email address so they could correspond with Sony. He admitted the final details, including payment, were still to be determined. A few days after sending the fan a form from Sony Interactive Entertainment to fill out, which included his own home address, Kahraman rescinded the odd deal.

Kahraman sought business arrangements with more than one fan in his chatroom.

Oddly, the youngest person in the group was just 12 years old, and was described by other members as loud and rude. On one occasion while the group chatted in a PlayStation voice party, this young fan told another member of the group to kill themself, while Kahraman remained quiet on his end. Other members privately consoled the person and expressed disappointment that Kahraman did nothing about it.

Since last fall, the group has gone through several iterations but has maintained one commonality: It’s been “toxic.” What began as a place for eager fans to socialize with the developer of a game that was in the spotlight had become more like a pledge of allegiance and secrecy to someone who conducts themselves in a questionable manner. Sources say members felt like they were meant to support the game and praise Kahraman in between rounds of Rainbow Six Siege with him–a game he frequently invited some of them to play deep into the night–or they could get out.

Some who have spoken to GameSpot said they have been afraid to speak out on the game’s lack of progress or Kahraman’s erratic behavior due to the aforementioned NDA he had some members fill out and sign. The document asked for their private addresses, among other information. However, a copy of that NDA acquired by GameSpot features a lack of legal language, suggesting it was drawn up hastily and may be non-binding. It also includes some grammatical errors similar to those Kahraman makes in his writings. Those with knowledge of the group have decided to speak up more recently as materials he shared have begun to leak en masse.

A copy of the NDA Kahraman asked some fans in his chat group to sign.

Most recently, a trove of materials shared by Kahraman to the group chat over the course of several months found its way to places like Twitter and Reddit. Some of these materials were verified as having come from Kahraman by GameSpot earlier this year during our ongoing investigation. Among the pieces newly revealed to the public is artwork with the words “Silent Hill 5” on it, using the same asset of a character’s legs in jeans and dark shoes that the developer has utilized in several other items both public and private.

Initially, Kahraman wanted to once more publicly label the leaks fake, but he was convinced by others in private to “come clean” and admit they are real in a since-deleted tweet that he released jointly with a YouTuber who had been following the story. Shortly after publishing the statement on Kahraman’s behalf, the YouTuber deleted his tweet and said he no longer had faith in Kahraman’s version of events. Even in that statement, Kahraman alleged the assets weren’t from Abandoned.

According to sources, this happened often in the group. Kahraman would share something, the group would be unimpressed and possibly even leak it to various outsiders, at which point Kahraman would say he was just testing their loyalty and that the assets are not from Abandoned after all. This began to happen more after the Zero Cell audio leak, at which time Kahraman was said to have become more suspicious of those in the group.

It appears the recent run of Abandoned leaks is a reaction to the many Silent Hill leaks in the news. It’s as though credible reports of a real Silent Hill game are stirring up frustrated reminders that Abandoned was once thought to be that game, but in fact is no game at all.

Kahraman used to tell the group he was actively working on Abandoned, but as time went on, he would fail to show much of anything that seemed genuine or compelling, often even missing self-imposed deadlines. For instance, after saying he had a reveal planned for a day of the week, that day would come and go without a new development.

GameSpot is aware of another instance of a similar tactic by Kahraman, in which he told us Abandoned would be shown across three separate dates spanning Summer 2021 including Gamescom. The game failed to materialize all three times, and according to public remarks from Gamescom producer Geoff Keighley, Kahraman failed to send him any materials.

Sources say Kahraman eventually admitted to the PSN group that Abandoned is not in development, but to this day maintains that a playable prologue is. As previously mentioned, the sales of that prologue are intended to fund the full game and attract investors, but the materials he’s shared with the private group have only caused confusion. He would promise play tests, sometimes to even just one person in the group, but no play tests were ever actually presented. Some members had a running joke that the game should be called “Wallbandoned” because so much of what Kahraman showed them were in-game walls and nothing more. Those close to the situation question how much progress is actually being made on even the prologue.

A major obstacle in that regard is how the game has been reimagined several times, from cult horror to action game and back, to a new vampire concept that one source said sounded like a Resident Evil ripoff. In June of 2021, he told GameSpot that a multiplayer beta was on the way, but no such beta has ever come to be, and sources say even among his inner circle, it seems Kahraman has stopped talking about multiplayer in Abandoned.

Most recently, it’s said that the game is back to telling a story about a cult, but it seems not to matter. Those who spoke to GameSpot say he never appears to be working on the game or its prologue. Since last fall, he has so often been chatting with the group or playing Siege straight through the night that those close to the situation feel the time for meaningful progress doesn’t seem available. They expect Abandoned to end up like the last several games announced by Blue Box: discarded after little progress and without much more than a reveal trailer. His past games were virtually scrubbed from the internet and this one would seem destined for the same fate. Only this time, and for the first time in his career, Kahraman has an audience for his game of smoke and mirrors, and it’s one he seems unable or unwilling to manage.

A representative for PlayStation did not respond for comment. Kahraman declined to comment.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News