Ray tracing is gone, but the package still impresses overall. Otherwise, every other setting appears matched between the two modes. Reflection quality, textures and even world shadows are all exactly the same. Even so, 60fps is the way to go for this one, even with its blurrier image. Interiors lack realistic shading, and light bounce isn’t as accurate. But honestly, I suspect this is a bug with Series X that will soon be fixed....

“Adventure is awaiting you in the fields of a new world” I went into 2022 like many others did, cautiously, and with an exhaustion that came from having endured genuinely world-altering events for a long time prior. For many, January brought with it a collective feeling of uncertainty, as we all slowly tip-toed out of the shadows and looked forward to the approaching light of Spring. The first big releases of the year helped set the tone for what would follow....

My latest structure, located in the Mistlands, is titled ‘Safety Cave’. The cave has no decorations, no personality, and was carved out in an act of pure survival. Progression in the freshly-released Mistlands biome, however, felt like running into a brick wall. As the sixth biome in Valheim’s progression system, the Mistlands was always supposed to be challenging. To everyone’s collective surprise, the reality turned out to be rather different....

It took just over a week for someone to speedrunElden Ring. But the race to the fastest time was only just beginning. Thefirst recorded speedrunclocked in at just under two and a half hours. Two days later the game was completed in under an hour. No sooner had one time been recorded, it was beaten. By April, it had beenfinished in under ten minutes. I am a diligent player. Rather than rush, I like to savour every grim discovery, every horrifying enemy....

Perfecting hijinks on the high seas! With the final vote cast, our galleon dove down beneath the water. Suddenly we began our ascent, crashing above the waves with another galleon dead ahead. The battle was upon us. Most recentlySea of Thieves Season 8arrived. Its a PVP focused game-changer, and the best video game update of 2022. Worse, our supplies were dwindling. If things didnt change quickly, we would be dead in the water....

Sett up. For whatever reason, I haven’t played a good, honest point-and-click game in years, possibly decades (maybe not since the original Monkey Island, or even Hook on the Amiga?) so it’s fitting my return is with the sublime Excavation of Hob’s Barrow, a game which wouldn’t look out of place from the genre’s hay day - albeit with a slightly off kilter style that wonderfully complements its 19th century folklore story....

The RT effect is beautiful - but performance is the best way to play. Foliage is improved too, filling out the landscape with more plant life. A bulk of pixel counts do hit that top 1440p number, however. Secondly, there are very visible differences in foliage and shadow draw distance. The star of the show is the ray tracing mode. Of course, not every effect makes it to the PS5 and Series X....

Everything you’re gonna wanna know about Bergmites Spotlight Hour. This guide was written for a past Spotlight Hour, but theIV stats remain unchanged. This weeksSpotlight Houris all about the Ice Chunk Pokemon, Bergmite. This means that this is a great opportunity to look for aperfect BergmiteinPokemon Go. They’re from different generations and obviously have zero overlap in terms of ecology. ‘Perfect’ means two things in Pokemon Go, depending on how you plan to use a given Pokemon....

I think fiction sometimes forgets about the bonds between brothers and sisters and how powerful they can be. But A Plague Tale doesn’t - A Plague Tale goes for the sister-brother bond. In all this time - about a year’s worth, I think - Amicia is Hugo’s everything. And through it all, and perhaps because of it all, a profound bond forms between them. Maybe this bond was there all along....

My parents aren’t big on this little thing called video games. That changed last Christmas. Intrigued by new technology, they asked for me to bring home my VR kit. My sister slipped on the headset and was immediately sucked intoBeat Saber. That spurred my mum to have a go. Even my grandma was amazed when I put on a nature video for her. What it needs is a silly, intuitive, fun game to hook people in....

35 years ago, Final Fantasy redefined RPGs when SquareSoft pushed the boundaries of 8-bit storytelling. Basic storytelling by todays standards but, aging gameplay aside, Final Fantasy 1 remains iconic. Theres strength in its simplicity and it felt complete. I wasnt convinced at all, and the broken demo left me concerned about the project’s quality. Soon after launch, my curiosity bested me, and Ive never U-turned on a first impression this drastically....

A bumper recap special. Just pop a woolly hat on and they won’t even see the earbuds. I know: you’re welcome. I’ve had a great time recording One-to-one this year. The whole point is to take time to get to know people. What really struck me was talking to Roberta about the unprecedented work she did with King’s Quest. They dreamt it all up. It was also groundbreaking for Roberta to do it, to lead game development, as a woman....

Definitely, but cool? I didn’t go intoGran Turismo 7expecting to be wowed like this. But then Idris Elba came along. Starting out in Gran Turismo 7 feels soulless. All so necessary yet utterly flat. Imagine being a kid tasting Gran Turismo for the first time with…this? There’s a choice of three racing tracks with accompanying music. Iconic tracks at that, but how could you not choose Tokyo Expressway? This is Gran Turismo after all!...