It’s 4pm on a Monday afternoon in 2021 and I’m playing Phasmophobia. I shift on the edge of my king-size sofa bed, the centerpiece of this cramped yet expensive studio apartment, with my gaming laptop wedged between my mouse and a bottle of wine. I’ll be sitting here for the next eight hours or so, picking through clues in Tanglewood while bullying ghosts with my new friend Andrew as we shriek, laugh, and gripe about life together over Discord. We’d met through my paranormal history podcast. We’d go on spending almost every day together for the next 12 months, trying to forget the outside world exists.Horror has a funny kind of magic to it, enkindling a sense of community like no other genre. It always has for me, at least, but I never felt its galvanizing power like I did during the COVID-19 pandemic. I credit a large part of that to Phasmophobia, a co-op horror game about teaming up to gather evidence of the supernatural in haunted houses – followed by asylums, prisons, and campsites later in the game’s lifetime. During the pandemic, Andrew and I predominantly used Phasmophobia as a virtual meeting ground where we could hang out and have fun from opposite sides of the world…
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When it comes to hoarding ammo, the best survival horror games will have you agonizing over your inventory as well as the terrors all around you. Sure, the best horror games offer plenty of chills and thrills, but there’s something especially petrifying about being pursued throughout your adventure in a relentless chase of cat and mouse while your bullets and health items rapidly dwindle… Be it Mr X in Resident Evil 2, the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation, or Pyramid Head in the new Silent Hill 2 remake, the genre’s greatest hits always include formidable foes who just will not let up. The best survival horror games also often come with a psychological twist, meaning it’s not just the fight for physical strength that our poor protagonists need to contend with. There’s plenty more to come amid the litany of upcoming horror games, but for now, we’re here to focus on the top 10 survival horror games you absolutely need in your library. Keep your shotgun close.10. Resident Evil 2 remake Developer: Capcom
Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PCAlmost 20 years after its original PS1 release, Resident Evil 2 is back and better than ever. The …
Silent Hill 2’s remake is out now for those who paid for early access, and players slightly more nervous about the whole going into a foggy, creepy town thing might accidentally stumble across a fun bonus achievement right at the start of the horror game.As reported by Automaton, it turns out that in the remake, players can attempt to turn away from the foreboding setting altogether, and make protagonist James Sunderland walk back up the road in a desperate attempt to leave before he’s faced with the horrors within. Unfortunately, there’s no Far Cry 4-style secret ending that lets you roll credits within the opening minutes of the game, as you’ll just be greeted by an invisible wall to halt your escape. That doesn’t mean you’re not rewarded for trying, though.Reaching this point of no return will give you a shiny achievement called “No Turning Back Now” – just to rub it in for anyone feeling particularly scared of what’s to come that they’re in it for the long haul (unless they just turn the game off, of course). So, if you’re trying to collect every achievement or trophy possible, make sure you’re not too quick to rush into the action, and get that little bit of backtracking…
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom once included Super Mario Maker-style gameplay, but for dungeons.
In a new Q&A with Nintendo, Echoes of Wisdom’s director Tomomi Sano (the first female director for the Zelda series), Satoshi Terada from the now-confirmed developer Grezzo and The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma spoke more about how the upcoming release came to into being.
Grezzo was asked to pitch ideas for a new game – the team’s first all-new Zelda title. “We asked Grezzo, ‘If you were to make the next new game, what kind of game would you like it to be?’. We had the opportunity to hear ideas from members of Grezzo, which they came up with freely and proposed,” the producer said.
We’ve played Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom! Here’s What You Need To Know
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FromSoftware's intense action hit Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon has found a healthy audience. In a post on X today, the series account noted the sales milestone:"#ARMOREDCORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON has sold over 3 million units! Thank you to all Ravens, new and old, who have braved the fires and flown on borrowed wings."The game launched in August 2023 to strong reviews and high expectations, given the developer's pedigree (Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls) and cultural cache.
In the shadow (of the Erdtree)
While Armored Core VI's sales are impressive, the title can't (and almost certainly wasn't expected to) compete with FromSoftware's mega-hit Elden Ring, which boasted sales of over five million for its DLC (Shadow of the Erdtree) in three days alone late last month. The title had sold over 25 million copies and players at that point.At time of writing, there is no official word whether the mech action title will receive any DLC.…
Global commerce platform provider Xsolla has announced the hiring of Cathleen Nilson as its new chief financial officer. Nilson, who has over two decades of experience in the technology industry, joins the company after a one-year stint at Kami Vision, which specializes in video-based generative AI.Prior to that, she served as CFO at Turing.com and Samsung. She previously spent time in the video game business as the global IT finance controller for Electronic Arts.In February 2024, the company announced a shakeup of its leadership structure, bringing new executives into the company. Nilson's hiring as CFO may be an extended result of this change in management.
Xsolla's financial heft has invited global scrutiny
While players probably don't know the name Xsolla, studios across the globe have partnered with the company to operate their payment and monetization platforms. Among these studios are Dying Light 2 developer Techland, Smite developer Hi-Rez Studios, and Chinese publisher NetEase Games.Xsolla's r…
Epic plans on bringing Fortnite and other mobile titles to a litany of storefronts, but not those it views as "rent collectors" in disguise.The company outlined its new strategy in a blog post and explained it will support marketplaces that offer "all developers a great deal" while ending partnership with some others—including the Samsung Galaxy Store."Today, we're announcing that Epic plans to bring our own mobile games including Fortnite to other mobile stores that give all developers a great deal. And, we will be ending distribution partnerships with mobile stores that serve as rent collectors without competing robustly and serving all developers fairly, even if those stores offer us a special deal for our own games," it wrote.
Fortnite is coming back to the EU iOS store
The company reiterated that Fortnite will be returning to iOS in the European Union soon, while the Epic Games Store is also heading to Android worldwide and iOS in the EU. Those moves come after a new Digital Markets Act was introduced across EU territories, offe…
Tony Pankhurst, an actor for Supermassive Games' Dark Pictures franchise, passed away this past May. He was 67.The actor's family published a tribute page, but offered no details on his passing. They called him a "dedicated football fan," and called for any donations to be sent towards Hospice in the Weald.Born in 1957, Pankhurst provided the likeness for the Curator, an in-universe narrator who occasionally talks to the player about their choices. The character appears across all four mainline games, and the 2023 Dark Pictures: Switchback VR game."[Tony] was the face of the Curator, and we loved working with him," wrote Supermassive. The developer donated £200 toward Hospice, thanking him for co-creating "a character loved by many."Outside of games, the UK actor had minor (and often uncredited) roles in big films like Rogue One, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the Tom Hardy-led film Legend."[Tony] is much loved and will always be remembered," concluded the Pankhursts. "We look forward to hearing your stories of times with him in due course."…
A new report from Yahoo Finance details the allegedly fraught conditions within Meta's Reality Labs division.The studio focused on augmented and virtual reality has repeatedly lost money for the Facebook company, reportedly due to multiple reorganizations and "top leaders" lacking knowledge of the technology.It's been over a decade since Meta (then Facebook) acquired VR developer Oculus for $2 billion. Current and former Meta staff claim things changed after founder Mark Zuckerberg became enamored with the metaverse during the pandemic, which has led to a "pretty chaotic" work culture.Sources allege regime changes would occur every three to six months, with Meta leadership outside the division brought on to whip Reality Labs into shape. An ex-engineering executive described it as "forklifting [leaders] into any position.""They play employee bingo," said another source. "They move people into AR that don’t really understand it. It’s hardware and experience, not a news feed in your hand."There have been "severe doubts" about leadership, said a third source, exacerbated by unrealistic expectations or projects be…
After nearly 20 years, the Xbox 360 has been fully retired. Its digital storefront, which opened alongside the console's launch in 2005, is now closed.Microsoft previously announced the marketplace would shut down late last year. Players can no longer buy games, DLC, or movies for the console, but anything bought prior to the closure can be re-downloaded to Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.The end of the marketplace puts a final bow on the console. Throughout its lifetime, the Xbox 360 helped define the Xbox brand, thanks to Xbox Live, the dashboard (and its many evolutions), and key games like 1 vs. 100 and Gears of War.
The 360 gave Xbox more wins than it knew what to do with
How big was the Xbox 360? Call of Duty had a multi-year exclusivity deal for DLC maps stretched across multiple games, a practice that transitioned over to PlayStation and has now led to Microsoft owning the popular franchise.Changes and add-ons like the Xbox Live Arcade, Kinect, Avatars, and New Xbox Experience helped turn the console into a more c…