Hyper Light Breaker received some significant criticism immediately after launch, largely for clunky combat, insubstantial progression, and a lack of world-building. Some community feedback is to be expected, since Hyper Light Breaker is still in Steam Early Access, but the community backlash was unexpected, given the success that the game's predecessor, Hyper Light Drifter, garnered. The first major content update aimed at addressing much of the criticism has just dropped on Steam, and many of the changes seem to be welcome by the community.

Some of the biggest changes to Hyper Light Breaker introduced in the Buried Below update include changes to character progression, weapon synergies, and the overall gameplay loop itself. Heart Machine also introduced a new playable character, Rondo, two new melee weapons, a new mini boss—a Crown called Maw—with its own player perks, and new areas for players to explore. Heart Machine also says it has streamlined the game's onboarding process, and that the changes to the game should make the game easier to get into for new players but more difficult to master. In terms of the gameplay loop, the new update reduces player lives from four per run to one per run, making things much less forgiving, however, players will also now always spawn in one of two locations, making the start of a new run more predictable. There are also a number of improvements to the enemy AI that should make encounters and battles somewhat more challenging and interesting. Players are also locked to a single character and companion for the duration of each run, which is a substantial change from the previous system which allowed players to switch characters and Sycoms mid-run. There are a number of other balance patches and new additions, which you can read about in the full patch notes below. Overall, judging from the comments in the Steam Community discussion under the update patch notes, players seem to be tentatively excited about the majority of the changes to the gameplay loop, although some concerns remain.

ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN, the standalone multiplayer co-op action survival game by FromSoftware, Inc. and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., challenges players with PVE combat against a harsh and unforgiving world. Teaming up in squads of three—or daring to go solo—players must choose one of eight Nightfarers, each with different abilities, to outlast a three day-and-night cycle. Of these eight intrepid adventurers, the first four have been revealed with character trailers, the latest of which is the element-wielding mage, the Recluse. ELDEN RING Nightreign launches for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on May 30.

In ELDEN RING Nightreign, players must make split-second decisions about combat and exploration across a map that can fluctuate with different biomes, weapons, and enemies in order to become stronger, and outrun the encroaching circle of fire to be able to take on terrifying bosses at the end of each day. This culminates on the third day, where if players were successful in surviving the night must take on one of the Nightlords—new bosses for this version. Nightfarers must learn to cooperate to take down these challenges, combining their unique abilities together for an unparalleled experience in the ELDEN RING universe. All is not lost for those who fall in defeat. Unsuccessful runs will grant players relics to allow them to customize and upgrade their characters tailored to their personal play styles.

Welcome to the last full week of March and it's jam-packed with new releases, with this week's major release coming out of South Korea and it should appeal to all the single player RPG fans out there. The week continues with driving really really far away, a modern take on an early arcade game, some more RPG action, although this time based on a popular TV show, which is followed up by an open world post-apocalyptic first person shooter that takes place in the UK and the week finally ends with a life sim that is not from EA. There's also a bunch of other games launching this week.

The First Berserker: Khazan / This week's major release / Thursday 27 March
Experience the brutal action of The First Berserker: Khazan, a hardcore Action RPG adventure set 800 years before the events of the Dungeon Fighter Online (DNF) Universe. You will experience the vast universe and journey to the continent of Arad and discover the untold story of General Khazan. Master deep and immersive combat mechanics while you engage in strategic battles against a diverse array of foes and bosses. Will you embrace the path of the First Berserker and embark on Khazan's path of revenge? Steam link

Time flies and as we enter the latter half of March, we have a AAA release from a popular franchise that involves murder by another name. This is followed by a rather weird party game, a 33 player co-op game (good luck finding enough friends), some casual ski resort fun, an anime based game that appears to be related to chemicals and finally some alternative 20th century strategy gaming.

Assassin's Creed Shadows / This week's AAA release / Thursday 20 March
Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Steam link

Welcome to week two of February, during which one of the oldest game franchises is launching its seventh iteration, although this time around it steps away quite a bit from its past versions, for better or worse. This is followed by some mayhem, Hollywood drama, an action co-op RPG, some classic side scrolling action with a lot of big guns and the week is rounded off with a JRPG.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII / This week's AAA release / Tuesday 11 February
In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement. Steam link

French indie developer Exalted Studio and independent publisher Dear Villagers are proud to announce that Big Helmet Heroes (trailer, website, press kit), the zany 3D beat'em up that combines charismatic heroes with unique powers, exhilarating action and beautifully detailed animations is now available on PC (Steam, EGS), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The game is available at the price of 24,99 USD for the base edition on all platforms, and 29,99 USD for the Exalted Edition (includes an art book and the OST) on Steam, Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.

Mundfish Studio and Focus Entertainment are excited to celebrate the release of Atomic Heart's third DLC "Enchantment Under the Sea"! Available as part of the Atomic Pass, this DLC gets back to exploring the aftermath of the campaign's main storyline by leaving Limbo behind and taking players back to explore Facility 3826. There, they'll be introduced to a new underwater Neptune Research Center, new weapons and glove abilities as well as new sea-dwelling threats! Atomic Heart is out now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. Benefit from discounts up to 67% on the Standard and Premium Editions, as well as all the game's DLCs on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam.

Look for answers in the depths of Facility 3826
"Enchantment Under the Sea" goes back to the spectacular combat gameplay that made Atomic Heart one of the highlights of 2023! Meet an eclectic cast of new and returning characters, and dive into the underwater Neptune Research Center with a Twin at your side to regain what was lost and find a way to save Mankind from a dismal future. This new adventure will even take you back to familiar locations that have changed beyond recognition like the flying city of Chelomey, now under the crushing rule of a familiar, formerly-friendly huge Robogirl.

As we enter the second to last week of January, we have another week packed to the brim full of new releases. The major release of this week allows you to walk around in 2016 km² of a mediaeval fantasy world with five different regions for some MMORPG action. This is followed by some 4X Roman strategy, a trip to Norse mythology hell or pretending to be one of King Arthur's knights. This is followed by a remake of another JPRG from a famous franchise and we end the week with an anime inspired PvP shooter.

The Quinfall / This week's major release / Friday 24 January / Early Access
Embark on an adventurous journey to explore the Quinfall universe. Be a part of unique battles and an immersive story with dozens of different professions in the depths of medieval times in an all-new MMORPG experience. Explore the world's largest MMORPG map with an area of 2016 km². Shape your adventure in five regions with their own unique, distinct climates. Steam link

Windblown has not even been out in Steam Early Access for a week, and already community feedback is changing the new roguelike. According to an announcement on Steam, Motion Twin will be changing a game mechanic thanks to an overwhelming amount of feedback from the community. The feature in question is Sudden Death, which is somewhat similar to the old Borderlands mechanic, in the sense that it puts players into a downed state when they lose all their health in co-op mode. Except, in Windblown, it's up to the downed player's teammates to revive them by defeating 10 enemies. While Sudden Death isn't usually an issue in standard missions, it becomes problematic during boss fights, when there is only one enemy to defeat. Obviously, this makes it difficult for the remaining players to complete the mission and resuscitate their fallen compatriots.

Fortunately, Motion Twin confirmed in a recent Steam Store news post that it plans to address the difficulty introduced by the feature, although it's not clear that the planned fix will actually solve the problem for everyone who has complaints about it. Motion Twin says it will not remove Sudden Death from Windblown, instead opting to tweak it, admitting that the current state of the feature "feels harsh and maybe even unfair". Motion Twin says that, despite wanting to address the feedback, it wants to maintain the tension and teamwork that Sudden Death brings to the game.

As autumn continues, we have another week of big game releases to look forward to, hopefully with something that'll suit most gamers here. This week's AAA title involves a lot of sand, wars and monuments. As for the rest of this week's new games, you can be a tycoon, a driver of very expensive motor vehicles, craft your own stick, pretend to be a starship captain or you could be a monster slayer. Let us know if any of these tickle your fancy in the poll.

Total War: Pharaoh / This week's AAA title / Wednesday 11 October
In Total War: Pharaoh, the newest entry in the award-winning grand strategy series, immerse yourself in ancient Egypt at the zenith of its power and experience the dramatic events that threaten its destruction. With dynamic real-time battles and incredible turn-based empire management, can you rise above your adversaries to become Egypt's last great Pharaoh and stand against the collapse of an iconic civilisation?

It was widely reported yesterday that Phil Harrison has left Google, where he served a stint as Vice President and General Manager of the now shuttered Stadia cloud-based game streaming service. An official statement has not been released by Google or Harrison regarding a change in leadership - according to an article published by Business Insider, the latter's LinkedIn profile indicates an end date in April 2023. Harrison's departure from Google coincides roughly with the final shutdown of Stadia services back in January of this year.

Phil Harrison was announced as a new vice president and general manager at Google in early 2018, but the company had not revealed any plans to enter into the games console market at that point in time. The hiring of Harrison was viewed as an early preview of things to come, given his past experience of leadership roles at both Sony and Microsoft video games division. He spent 16 years of his career at Sony Corporation, ultimately becoming president of the company's Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS) until departing in 2008. He joined Microsoft in 2012, following short spells at Infogrames, Atari and Gaikai. At Xbox he was the executive leader of the European Interactive Entertainment team until 2015. Google debuted its Stadia gaming platform in 2019, and to no surprise, Harrison was announced as the product manager for this new endeavor.