Dom Peppiatt

SPEND A ZENNY Monster Hunter Now is, refreshingly, not Pay-to-Win – but damn it's still a grind

MonHunNow has a balancing problem, and even introducing an insect glaive to the game won’t fix that.

HE'S 'ARMLESS Now it’s sold 10 million, can we finally get a Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice sequel?

4 years later, Sekiro hits a key sales milestone. But are we ever going to get a Shadows Die... Thrice?

CRY HAVOC If you’re disappointed with Starfield's exploration and RPG simplicity, you should try EVE Online

20 years strong, and still pumped full on new content, EVE Online: Havoc might be the game that can scratch that Starfield-shaped itch.

SUMS OF THE FOREST A gorgeous, must-play indie puzzler is free on Epic Game Store game this week

Out of Line and The Forest Quartet are both available for free on Epic Game Store this week, and they’re pretty good!

DUST TO DUST EVE: Vanguard isn’t “just another generic shooter in an EVE skin,” promises CCP Games

A brand new PvPvE shooter, EVE: Vanguard, looks to succeed where Dust 514 did not as a candid CCP Games reflects on its 20-year journey.

How to run the Red Mile in Starfield

There are some real standout missions in Starfield – and one of them is ‘Takeshi’s Castle in space’, Red Mile.

PRESIDENTIAL PARDON The president of Iceland just opened EVE Fanfest 2023 – and that’s a big deal

Gu?ni Th. Jóhannesson delivered the introductory speech at the annual Reykjavík event, in an important moment for games.

ROCK, HARD PLACE Is today's Wordle a relief after yesterday’s harder puzzle, or a rock solid trick?

It’s been a tricky week for Wordle lovers, but at least today offers some light relief – even if the last few words could spin you out.

How to cure addiction in Starfield

Popping pills and getting buzzed before battle is all well and good until you're hooked on the heavy stuff.

CHOICE LETTERS Today's Wordle has “too many choices”, say frustrated players

Today was one of those words that could have been about five different things – if you managed to get everything but the second letter.

Starfield Mantis puzzle solution

Dodge some lazers and grab yourself the Mantis suit

What do you do with contraband in Starfield?

Where do you sell contraband, and will you get in trouble for having it? We answer all your pressing questions.

WEB AND FLOW How long is Spider-Man 2? “About the same as the first game”, says Insomniac

There’s a lot to be said of shorter games that respect your time, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man series has been a shining example of that.

MILES AHEAD Marvel's Spider-Man 2 proves how PS5 hardware can make PlayStation’s best even better

Dropping the last-gen hardware may have seemed harsh on the PS4, but the results of Insomniac’s gamble are clear for all to see in Spider-Man 2.

SUITS YOU, SIR Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has over 65 suits (and over 200 ways to customise them)

Insomniac knows what your favourite thing about the last two Spider-Man games was, and it’s upping the ante in the sequel.

PILOT SCHEME One of the PS4's all-time greats is coming to PS Plus – and you need to play it as soon as you can

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is an essential game, and you'd be smart to check it out now it's on PS Plus.

RATHCHILD Monster Hunter Now is the best mobile game I’ve played all year – and it’s not even close

Taking the learnings of Pokemon Go, whilst summoning parts of the halcyon days of Ingress, Niantic has struck iOS and Android gold.

OFF THE RAILS I played Honkai Star Rail on PS5, and now I fear for my life

Oh no, I played Honkai Star Rail for one hour and I can already tell it’ll take all of my free time.

THIS HEAT Payday 3 is ready and waiting to steal all the new Starfield Xbox Game Pass users

Almir Listo, global brand director and head of community at Starbreeze Entertainment, knows exactly how to build Payday 3 up from the foundations of Payday 2.

POINT BLANK Xbox is seemingly ending one easy way to get free money

Logging in every day, week, and month, checking off tasks and greasing your Xbox account with points? It seems it’ll soon be a thing of the past.

EXHIBITION COMPLETE We've got a TikTok channel now, and TikTok is going to EGX

Nick and Cam, Charlotte Murphy, Callum Knight – and now VG247, too. May God have mercy on us all.

Starfield best background: Which is the best to start with?

There are a lot of choices you need to make fairly early on in Starfield – here’s why your background is important.

GOOD GRIEF One of 2018’s most impactful games is finally back on Xbox Game Pass

A fantasy world that’s slowly being erased beneath a veneer of painterly beauty? If you’ve not played Gris before, now is the time.

Starfield: How to sell ships

Commandeered a ship and want to sell it? Want to now how to sell the Frontier now you’ve got something better? Here’s how you do it.

ATLAS BUGGED Forget 30FPS, Starfield's map is the game's biggest problem

There are many, many great things about Starfield, but the map navigation is baffling, backwards, and boring.

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR Persona 3 Reload proves that it’s always worth going back to school – preview

Atlus has made all the right notes from Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, and the result is an RPG that’s scoring full marks.

STAR POWER Despite PlayStation Plus and Game Pass, retro-inspired throwback Sea of Stars is already a huge sales success

100,000 units on day one? That's some pipe dream target stuff right there, even though Sea of Stars was Day One for Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus.

TYRANID SOFTWARE Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 preview: What if Doom or Gears of War had Boltguns and chainswords?

Do you have a Gears of War-shaped scratch that you need to itch? Well, I have just the game for you.

PORTAL FORMAT Nightingale does at least one thing better than Valheim, Sons of the Forest, and Ark – preview

Inflexion Games comes with some serious pedigree, and that manifests in one specific area of the game's identity.

SHEPARD’S DELIGHT Starfield’s first 30 minutes really reminds me of the first Mass Effect

It’s all mysterious artefacts, hallucinations, and the intrigue of ancient space history out here.

ALAN'S WAKE Alan Wake 2 finally sheds some light on the titular character at Gamescom ONL 2023

Remedy has finally pulled back the curtain on it's eponymous protagonist and his struggles within the Dark Place.

VAMPIRE THE ACCOLADE Lords of the Fallen dares to ask: “What if Soul Reaver, but Dark Souls?”

How Lords of the Fallen is paying homage to the 90’s most industrial goth series, Legacy of Kain, in 2023.

TWO WORLD ORDER Lords of the Fallen couldn’t work without the power of PS5, Xbox Series X/S: “The timing is perfect”

Lords of the Fallen blurs the line between life and death, but its developer did not want to do the same with the lines between console generations.

EVERY DEATH YOU TAKE Lords of the Fallen's biggest achievement is how it rethinks the Souls-like death loop –?PREVIEW

In a packed genre, Lords of the Fallen 2023 makes a few daring changes that may rattle genre purist cages – but work incredibly well.

ORIGINAL SIN Xbox fan? Sad about missing out on Baldur's Gate 3? Give Divinity Original Sin 2 a whirl, instead

As tricky local co-op is giving the Xbox Series S version of Baldur’s Gate 3 grief, Xbox players should look elsewhere for their RPG fix.

RIGHT CHOICE TO MAKE Does Overwatch, CoD, Halo, Destiny, Battlefield, Fortnite veterans’ new studio have what it takes to survive?

There's another game development supergroup out there –?Mountaintop Studios – but the question on everybody's lips is: 'is this going to be one of the good ones?'

TODD ONLY KNOWS Xbox seemingly confirms consumer-friendly Starfield feature and cross-save support at launch

Xbox Play Anywhere – one of Microsoft's most consumer-friendly perks – strikes again in Starfield.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS Now one of 2018’s best games is back on Xbox Game Pass, you have no excuse not to play it

Harder than Super Meat Boy, as complete a world as Hollow Knight, Celeste proves 2D platformers are still relevant in the modern age.

BREN TRENNING Tactile, nostalgic, artisanal: Why Tren could be the most charming PlayStation Plus game of 2023

Built and releasing within Media Molecule’s Dreams, Tren is a proper little video game delight that reconnects you with your inner child.

FEEL THE RATHIAN Monster Hunter Now, with the potential of a true Pokemon Go successor,?lands on iOS and Android in September

Seven years after the Pokemon Go phenomena first exploded, Capcom and Niantic look set to recapture lightning in a bottle.

POINT AND SHOOT Now this BAFTA-winning game is on Game Pass, you have no excuse not to play it

Toem simply asks you to take a picture, because it’ll last longer – yet it was one of the most enjoyable and wholesome games of 2021.

HAND IT TO ‘EM This official Final Fantasy 16 merch must be some kind of sick joke

Remember when Hugo Kupka wanted to throw hands? Well, Square Enix does, and I think it’s having a laugh at his expense.

RAD TO THE BONE Starfield can learn some important lessons from one of Bethesda’s worst reviewed RPGs

Fallout 76 may have enjoyed some post-launch redemption, but when it first released, there were a lot of angry ghouls in the wasteland fandom.

GOLD STANDARD Xbox Game Pass Core: All 19 confirmed games included in cheap Game Pass tier

Xbox Live Gold is dead, long live Xbox Game Pass Core – Microsoft's newest version of the 'cheap' tier of Xbox membership.

CORE BLIMEY! Xbox Game Pass gets new cheap tier, replacing Xbox Live Gold

Xbox Game Pass Core is Microsoft's latest iteration of Xbox Live Gold / Games With Gold, as Xbox continues to frontline XGP as a major feature.

NO PAYNE, NO GAIN Alan Wake 2 harkens back to Max Payne in the most interesting – and typically Remedy – way

Alan Wake 2 is set to continue a long-standing Remedy trend, but how it’s incorporated is what makes this new game special.

OX FRESH Every Netflix user can play a brand new PS5 game for free, today

Oxenfree 2 is a superb sequel that follows on from the original's narrative cues in smart, fun, and interesting ways.

MUSIC TO MY EARS Fans of Control’s incredible ‘Ashtray Maze’ setpiece are going to love Alan Wake 2

If you’re a fan of how Remedy folds music into its games, you’re going to have a great time in Alan Wake 2.

KAFKA-ESQUE Honaki Star Rail version 1.2 release date confirmed, Blade, Kafka, and Luka gameplay revealed

Honkai: Star Rail's much-anticipated Version 1.2 is set to launch on July 19, and it's bringing a lot of new content with it.

LIKE A DRAGOON “Experimentation and emotion”: The past, present, and future of RPGs with Final Fantasy 4's Takashi Tokita

One of the most influential RPG creators – developer of Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Live A Live and Parasite Eve – talks about the future of the genre.