Arriving after the success of Moonlighter and The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story, Cataclismo marks the studio’s first foray into strategy games. While much of the marketing and buzz surrounding the upcoming early access release (available on July 22) has focused on its LEGO-like building mechanics and the relentless onslaught of deformed monstrosities players have to survive night after night, it turns out more is happening under the surface.

After spending a few hours with the game, prioritizing its campaign over the skirmish offerings and the endless mode that everyone would’ve asked for had it not been there, I’ve been surprised by how much it owes to RTS classics once you look past its main blocky attraction, and I mean that as a compliment.

Without getting into spoilers at this stage, the world of Cataclismo feels like a mix of Against the Storm and Demon’s Souls, with an added touch of Attack on Titan and Dead Space for good measure. Before the current post-apocalyptic state of its fantasy world, a bunch of mysterious objects the humans called ‘Perlas’ descended from the heavens and everything seemed good. A bit later, however, the Mist showed up and engulfed all that mankind had built and turned anyone it caught into deformed monsters. Now, only the cities that are above the Mist – or can push back against it and the horrors it creates – stand tall.

You’d expect Cataclismo to play things relatively safe and focus on the basic resource management we’ve come to expect from similar indie games and on siege defenses that are literally built with LEGO, but it goes the extra mile to create its own voice and make a stronger impression. At least during its early levels, it manages to present the flurry of systems and interlinked mechanics with ease. That said, only a few of them come across as truly novel.

Cataclismo appears to be one of those indie games that excels at reusing and refreshing old parts that have never been put together before, or at least not exactly like this. When coupled with the striking art style and easy-to-understand flow of the levels, it starts to shine. You’ll be tinkering a lot with your base builds, defined by the planning done in a preparation and gathering phase, to survive past the early scenarios though. This is no walk in the park by any means. I personally went with the default Medium difficulty, but even in this early access build, Cataclismo invites players of all skill levels and experience with RTS games into its cursed world.

After a few tutorials about movement, combat, and exploration that won’t be news to anyone who’s been playing RTS in the past, things quickly shift to base defense and improving the location’s weakest spots as best as you can with the resources you have. On a basic level, you’re just picking up different blocks and putting them together to create sturdy walls, bridges, stairs, and even items that boost the performance of the warriors you’ll have to train as well as the main character, who’s a playable hero of sorts.

Resource-gathering is automatic, but much like the blocks used to build up defenses, gatherers can be optimized to collect more rocks and wood (among other things) and faster. This might not seem very important early on, but you’ll soon appreciate every new drop that comes into your main building. I was expecting Cataclismo to be more limited in its scope, yet the town management aspect eventually becomes as important as building the right walls and traps plus equipping them with defender units. As things get even more complicated, it’ll be interested to see whether the complete loop becomes a chore or things remain frenetic and interesting.

Watching the carnage unfold is equally satisfying regardless of the outcome, as entire structures can crumble if the foundations are trashed and the game never becomes visually cluttered, and while the enemies that attack the bases early on seem pretty basic, we do know things get more savage the further we move into the wilderness. Soon, the ability to save entire builds (and Steam Workshop support is there) with a couple of clicks for easy redeployment becomes as crucial to the experience as the protagonist’s in-universe save-scumming capabilities (yes, really).

Hooded Horse, a publisher who’s been making waves in recent times with titles such as Against the Storm and Manor Lords, could have another winner in its hands with Digital Sun’s latest, yet I’m remaining cautious, as much of Cataclismo’s appeal in the long run will depend on how much each map shakes things up and what new building blocks are added to my collection. For now, I’m going to go add another layer of rock cubes to my exterior walls.

Cataclismo is launching in early access on July 22 via GOG and Steam.

Where to Find the Velvet Sword of St. Trina in Elden Ring

To find the Velvet Sword of St. Trina in Elden Ring, you’ll need some patience. Follow these steps to find the sword:

1. Fissure Cross Site of Grace: Once you are in the DLC area Shadow of the Erdtree, go to the Fissure Cross Site of Grace. After that, move northwest toward a giant stone coffin that’s tilted almost vertically.
2. Slowly Climb Down: Now, you will have to climb down onto a ledge that goes under the brick platform. Whatever you do, don’t fall off; you might lose all your runes.
3. Look for a Cave: Below this place, attempt to locate a couple of small cave systems. The Velvet Sword of St. Trina is inside with the corpse that has been crushed by a boulder. Be careful with the putrescent oozes standing around it; they are slow, but they’ll swarm if you’re not alert.

How to Use the Velvet Sword of St. Trina

The Velvet Sword of St. Trina has some amazing abilities that can come in handy in Elden Ring.

Stats and Requirements

Here’s a quick look at what you need to wield this sword:

• Strength: 10
• Dexterity: 12
• Intelligence: 14

The sword scales with these attributes (Str E, Dex D, Int E), and is attractive to builds that balance physical with magical damage. However, it does 95 physical and 61 magic damage right off the bat, with a critical hit rate of over 110. 

Special Skill: Mists of Eternal Sleep

But the best part has to be this sword’s special skill: Mists of Eternal Sleep. This skill inflicts the Eternal Sleep status effect when you slash with it, releasing a purple mist. It will put normal enemies into a deep slumber, which they cannot wake from, and also staggers bosses so you can land some free shots. This is great for the Putrescent Knight in the area.

FP Cost: 23

Combat Tips

1. Use the Mist Wisely: The sword is great for crowd control. When you’re surrounded by enemies, use it to put them to sleep and take them out one by one. For bosses, use the stagger to your advantage.
2. Use as a Secondary Weapon: If you have the regular Sword of St. Trina, consider dual-wielding. This combo can help you breeze through many encounters in the Shadow Realm, putting foes to sleep left and right.
3. Talismans: Equip the St. Trina’s Smile talisman to boost your damage after applying sleep effects. Combining this with the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia talisman can make your attacks even more powerful.
4. Improve: Use Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade the Velvet Sword of St. Trina. As it levels up, its scaling becomes better (to D/D/D at +10) and does 232 physical 149 magic damage. 

Strategy for Boss Fights

While the Eternal Sleep effect doesn’t put Elden Ring bosses to sleep, it does stagger them. Use the mist to create openings in boss fights. Hit them with a few quick attacks, then back off and repeat. Managing your FP is crucial here, so keep some Cerulean Tears on hand to replenish your FP when needed.

Elden Ring is available now.

These Weird and Wonderful Devices All Run Doom

1. Pregnancy Test

Congratulations, it’s a Cacodemon! You might have to squint a little to play it, but hardware wizard Foone managed to play Doom ron a pregnancy test’s tiny black-and-white screen. They initially used it as a monitor, which is an accomplishment in itself, but took things one step further and got it running on the device itself.

2. Single Keyboard Key

Now out of production, the Optimus Maximus was a keyboard where every key was a small display screen. Modder Radio4Active got Doom running (at an admittedly low frame rate) on just one single key.

3. Supermarket Barcode Scanner

Bored to tears as your partner/relative/friend drags you around shopping? Simply grab one of the supermarket’s self-shop barcode scanners, install Doom and you’re away. Okay, it took modder tamay-idk more work than that but I’d still love to see shoppers reach for one of these to find Doom has been installed on every single one.

4. Medical Device

Why hack something to run Doom? For the challenge? The prestige? Just because it’s there? In the case of HTM Workshop, they wanted to show just how vulnerable some medical devices can be. I think they’ve proved their point.

5. Panasonic Welding Robot

I couldn’t hunt down the price for this Panasonic welding robot, but compared so similar models it’s worth five, maybe six figures. It’s probably going to murder us all, but in the meantime, Xenazorro squeezed Doom onto it. I’m assuming it was their own personal property, otherwise their supervisor is absolutely going to want a word.

6. McDonald’s Till

You may have seen the picture of Doom on a McDonald’s kiosk but, sadly, that turned out to be fake. Former McDonald’s manager Fleebs, however, had Doom running on a McDonald’s till which is the next best thing, especially if the lunchtime rush is eating away at your soul.

7. Espresso Machine

Need a boost to sharpen your reflexes? Rouge-agent007’s Doom-playing espresso machine could be just the thing. Decaf is not an option.

8. Kodak DC260 Digital Camera

Virtually every current mobile device can run Doom (and emulate half a dozen consoles) but back in 1998 it was a big deal. The idea of running Doom on one of that year’s Kodak DC260 digital camera seems ridiculous. But as VideoGameObsession shows, it can be done and what’s more it’s perfectly playable.

9. ATM

This hole in the wall machine is missing the wall, but it’s no less impressive that Aussie50 and team got this ATM playing Doom. While the video clearly shows them using a keyboard, the description states they eventually got it running using the side keys and pin pad alone.

10. Sex Toy

Dubbed “Dong DOOM” by modder MyTinyHappyplace, this is a creative use of an AliExpress sex toy. Why does this thing have an LCD screen? I’m not sure I want to know but they’ve succeeded in turning it into an altogether different kind of entertainment device.

11. Ticket Validator

Need your parking validated? This device, from Aussie modder Zbios, will punch, shoot and chainsaw your ticket. It helps that this device runs Windows CE though, slightly disappointingly, this was their own personal property. They didn’t just install Doom on a random street ticket machine and stroll off whistling nonchalantly

12. Thermostat

Ever got moaned at for playing with the thermostat? Cz7asm struck a blow for all of us with Doomstat, Doom running on a Honeywell Thermostat. It makes use of a SNES joypad and the “hot as Hell” jokes write themselves.

13. Treadmill

It’s cool that Kreeator3 got Doom running on a treadmill but what really makes this award worthy that they did this in their school’s gymnasium, while it was in use. “Sadly we got kicked out of the gym before I could figure out how to map the onboard buttons and get the belt to spin as you run in-game,” they explain.

14. John Deere Tractor

It’s not a good idea to get distracted when you’re operating heavy machinery but, like the hacked medical device there’s a point to this Doom device. John Deere has been accused of locking tractor owners out of their tractors’ internals, making it harder to repair them. It was only in 2023 that farmers won the right to repair their tractors. By putting Doom on this machine, modders Sickcodes and Skelegant were highlighting the possibility of jailbreaking John Deere’s tractors.

15. Ultrasound Scanner

I’d like to say that BwaveTV saw Doom running on a pregnancy test and had a hold my beer moment, but this was a full five years before that. Strafing doesn’t work on this ultrasound machine unfortunately, but everything else does and I can see it making for one hell of a gender reveal party.

These are the cream of the crop, as Macho Man Randy Savage would say. But if you’re curious as just what else can run Doom, check out the Will It Run Doom subreddit, which is where a handful of these awesome accomplishments came from.

A lot of gamers have already pre-ordered the game because they want to take advanatge of the early access period, but others will wait to avoid hurting their wallets. Well, QVC is here to help those on the fence, offering a very good deal for College Football 25.

Heading to the QVC website will reveal an offer for $30 off of a customer’s first purchase over $60. So, while veteran QVC shoppers will be ineligible, newcomers have the perfect item to use it on. College Football 25 for both the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 are available on the site, and after entering the promo code HELLO30 at checkout, it will be under $50 total with shipping.

Related: All Legends & Alumni in College Football 25 Ultimate Team (CUT)

Now, it’s important to note that the QVC website says that the item will not ship until July 19, which is the game’s release date. That means there will be a brief waiting period while the game is in transit. However, with a discount this large, a few days or even a week isn’t a big deal. It just means there’s more time to say goodbye to NCAA Football 14 before the new game arrives.

With Dynasty Mode returning and the debut of the brand-new College Ultimate Team, College Football 25 has something for everyone. But just because the game is in demand doesn’t mean people should sleep on a deal this good.

EA Sports College Football 25 releases on July 19, 2024, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Exploring the depths of a procedurally generated planet with your buddies has never felt better than it does in DRG, and we all know that a quick stop at The Abyss is in order after a successful dig. Dwarves tossing around some “rock and stone” after tossing back a few ales and dancing the night away is always on the menu, and we may finally have an official theme song for our upcoming adventures.

Powerful riffs, booming bass, and thunderous drums roar from Wind Rose in the single “Rock And Stone,” lovingly named after the iconic phrase uttered from the mouth of the dwarves in Deep Rock Galactic. Whether you’re giving a Rock and Stone after a successful dig, or use it as a rallying cry to let your friends know that you’re not giving up in the face of adversity, it’s a powerful phrase for players to hear. Something that Wind Rose completely understood when undertaking this rather mammoth task.

If you’re familiar with the source material, “Rock and Stone” does a phenomenal job of bringing this Deep Rock Galactic collaboration to life. Even if you’re not a Deep Rock devotee just yet, this may be the final push that you need to take to the caves of Hoxxes IV. If you’re hoping to check out the video and the song for yourself, you’ll find the full music video below:

I think the best part of this whole track is that it isn’t as cringy as one may expect. When I think of people creating music based on video games, my mind can’t help but think of the admittedly meme-worthy Minecraft videos from yesteryear, but I can’t deny — I would happily blare this while driving down the freeway without a care in the world. I really hope this shows up in the in-game jukebox in a future update. FOR KARL!

The Once Human’s Terms of Service Controversy Explained

As of the time of this writing, Once Human is currently sitting at a ‘Mixed’ rating on Steam with just under 5,000 reviews. Many players have mentioned concerns over the game’s terms of service. To be fair, there are some interesting items that NetEase will have access to, including:

• First and Last Name
• Title
• Prefix
• Email Address
• Telephone Number
• Messaging Accounts
• Postal Address
• Date of Birth
• Age
• Gender
• Country/Region
• Government-issued ID (Passport, etc)
• Debit or Credit Card Details
• Account Details
• Billing Address

Related: How to Redeem Rewards in Once Human

Much of this information is par for the course, including credit card details when microtransactions are in the picture. But players have highlighted an issue with Starry Studio accessing government-issued IDs. There are a few reasons in particular that they could use an ID—let’s say, for age verification purposes—but players are seemingly not happy about that.

While the terms of service are huge in many games, it seems that Once Human has struck a chord, especially considering the need for things such as ID and even nicknames on social media.

NetEase Responds to Concerns

If you’re interested in seeing what NetEase had to say about the terms of service controversy, you can find their full Discord message below:

“We wanted to take a few moments to discuss data privacy.

NetEase takes our users’ data privacy very seriously and adheres to the data privacy principles such as data minimization, purpose limitation, and transparency.

For example, we would only collect government-issued IDs for the following reasons: where the local laws require us to do so (such as for a specific promotion), when the identity of a user’s parent must be verified to obtain consent for their child (if required by applicable child protection laws), or when the user wishes to correct their age information (again, if such verification is required by law). In any case, the ID information is deleted immediately after we have fulfilled the purpose for collecting the ID information in the first place.

Similarly, we may ask our users for additional information such as social media account usernames, names, and address in user surveys that users voluntarily participate in. Users are free to provide as much or as little information in these user surveys, if they choose to respond to the survey at all.

In the spirit of transparency, we have indeed included the type of information that we may collect (which may not be the case if the users aren’t accessing the specific functionality), the purpose for which we collect the data, and how we process the data in our privacy policy. Our privacy policy also clearly states how you can exercise your rights to manage your personal information by contacting our in-game customer services. We have recently revised our privacy policy with the aim to improve clarity and transparency, which will be published soon.

We have heard your concerns and will continue to improve on how we describe our data privacy practices. If you have any specific questions or concerns after your review of our privacy policy, then please feel free to contact us.”

Likewise, Once Human has stated in their terms and conditions that this is in compliance with the Know Your Customer and age verification requirements for the online gaming sector, as instituted by the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. With that being said, it’s well worth reading the terms of service yourself.

Is Once Human Stealing Your Information?

Now, one thing to consider about NetEase is that Once Human complies with Chinese laws. As per AP News, children are only allowed 1 hour of online play per day, which could be part of this verification process. And looking through the Steam forums for Once Human brings up talks of the CCP and your information being given to them, or that the game is being used as a Crypto-mining scheme that is running multiple programs in the background while you’re playing the game.

There are no verified instances of Crypto-mining or any sort of issues regarding the ID systems, for what it’s worth. Once Human is a fantastic free-to-play experience, but you’ll have to use your own judgement when it comes to deciding to play or not.

Once Human is available to play now.

It Is Happening Again

The Exit 8 VR throws you directly into its world without a single note of instruction. I pushed forward, watching a single businessman walk down the hallway, holding a cellular phone in his left hand and a briefcase in his right. Posters adorn the wall to my left, and some doors to my right. I was confused — the bright fluorescent lights of this seemingly uninhabited hallway pierced directly into my eyes. I look around, and push forward, taking a few turns and ending up right back where I started.

At the end of the hallway, I notice a sign that gives me a few instructions and my main takeaway is this — pay attention to everything and let nothing pass by me. After seeing the Exit 0 change to Exit 1, I knew I was on the right track, but I quickly began second-guessing myself. Was this here last time? Wait, did this thing change ever so slightly? As I continued pushing forward, I kept an eye on my Exit number, watching it slowly increase. Then, everything went south as I must have missed a small detail that wasn’t like the others.

The Exit 8 VR is a pattern recognition game mixed with psychological horror. As I examined the world around me slowly changing or staying the same, I began to learn what made the game tick. I got too arrogant, too cocky, and would see a great run come to an end due to me not paying enough attention to the smallest changing details.

For the sake of spoilers, I will not say what any of these anomalies are — I went into the experience completely blind, and strongly suggest doing the same if you decide to try this one out. Some are extremely obvious, and some are small details that could be easily overlooked. It’s an extremely interesting way to deal with the idea of horror, making every moment unknowingly much more tense than it should be.

The goal is simple — avoid anomalies, and exit via Exit 8. If only it was that easy.

Visual Fidelity Is Fantastic on Meta Quest 3

Since The Exit 8 VR takes place in a single area, it can put excruciating detail into the smallest of objects. Virtual Reality, especially on standalone headsets, can sometimes suffer from visual deterioration that makes the experience appear muddled and much less immersive than its flat counterparts. However, The Exit 8 VR on Meta Quest 3 looks phenomenal.

If The Exit 8 VR had lost the visual clarity in its VR port, the experience would not have been anywhere near as impactful as it could have been. Posters are clear and easily readable, the singular man walking down the hallway is visible at all times with high levels of detail, and just looks great all around. Bringing the world into VR worked out surprisingly well, and I was even shocked to see the detail on my virtual hands.

In a game all about pattern recognition, visual clarity may have been one of the most important parts of the experience, and it’s nailed perfectly. Not to sound generic, but it felt exactly as if I was plopped into the hallway that I was exploring instead of just playing another video game.

Sound design is also another strong suit of The Exit 8 VR. The monotonous humming of the electricity filled the air around me, breaking up the sterile and somewhat serene feeling of this liminal space. While there isn’t much noise overall — the footsteps of the approaching or retreating man repeatedly making his way through a neverending hallway is the main source of noise — it’s executed well. Even playing without headphones, a specific type of anomaly was easily detectable because of the clarity of the sound.

The Exit 8 VR Doesn’t Overstay Its Welcome

While The Exit 8 VR may be terrifying, it’s also rather short. All in all, once I picked up on the anomaly patterns, I was able to complete a playthrough in about 20 minutes. To be fair, it took me longer than that to finally start putting the pieces together to realize what sort of hellscape I had found myself in. When I finally escaped, my experience came to a close a little more than an hour after playing.

Repeated playthroughs are encouraged, thankfully — but some of the initial shock factor may have worn off by this point. That doesn’t mean that this is a title that shouldn’t be picked up, however. Its unique blend of horror, mixed with its interesting setting and general premise is enough to freak out even the most dedicated of horror aficionados. Pair this with its price point — roughly $7 — and it’s the perfect way to spend an afternoon or two. Consider putting a friend who knows nothing about the experience inside of this world and watching their world come crumbling down around them, perhaps.

To be completely upfront and honest, I hadn’t heard anything about The Exit 8 until I was approached with this review opportunity. What started as an obtuse walking simulator through the halls of a Japanese subway building quickly turned into one of the most tense experiences I’ve had in quite a while. While the horror isn’t as in your face as some of the genre’s giants, it’s a memorable and worthwhile experience that I’m glad I got to partake in. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be scanning every room in my house when I enter it now, either.

Verdict: Recommended

The Exit 8 VR will be available on July 11, 2024, on Meta Quest. A code was provided for the purpose of this review. Reviewed on Meta Quest 3.

It didn’t take long to see what Square Enix wanted to do with the story, as the post-Endwalker quests quickly established that the Warrior of Light would continue exploring Eorzea and the continents beyond that, as hinted to by Emet-Selch back in Shadowbringers. FFXIV: Dawntrail is the first chapter of a brand new journey, and while it never quite comes close to the highs of Shadowbringers and Endwalker, it’s clear that there’s still plenty of adventure to be had in this world.

Speak With Wuk Lamat

FFXIV: Dawntrail takes place on an entirely new continent. In this expansion, we go west to visit the city of Tuliyollal and the regions that surround it. It’s a sunny, forested region that’s beautiful and vibrant everywhere you look.

Tuliyollal is bustling with activity; shops and market stalls line its winding streets, stone architecture envelops the city to give it a real sense of majesty, and it’s all tied together with a gorgeous view of the coastline.

The story itself centers around Wuk Lamat, who was introduced in the final post-Endwalker patch. As an old friend of Erenville, she’s come to Eorzea in search of a champion who can assist her in a rite of succession. She’s looking to compete with three other claimants for her father’s throne in Tuliyollal, in hopes of continuing to maintain peace in the land.

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of Dawntrail is how the story is so centered on Wuk Lamat. Truly, the game’s success and whether it resonates with you will depend on how much you actually like her, and that can be a pretty tough sell, especially considering we really only had half a patch’s worth of content to get to know her before we’re running off to Tuliyollal. She’s the very embodiment of your typical anime protagonist: young and bright-eyed, a bit of a loudmouth and showboat, naive to the ways of the world, and clearly still has a lot to learn. This can make it difficult to latch on to her as a central character, particularly when you contrast her with the more dour tone of the prior two expansions.

It’s also important to recognize that while the Warrior of Light is basically a celebrity in Eorzea at this point, but she’s no one in Tuliyollal. I can see this being off-putting for some players, especially since a big part of FFXIV‘s appeal is how involved the player character is in the story, but I found it very refreshing. After a decade of being the central figure and having to save the world at every turn, it’s nice to finally be able to take the backseat and let someone else have the spotlight for once. Dawntrail is very much Wuk Lamat’s story, and you’re largely just here to support her.

Road to the Golden City

As part of the rite of succession, you’ll need to help Wuk Lamat collect several keystones. This involves visiting the various regions on the continent and completing feats to earn said keystones. After collecting all of them, the claimants are then tasked with finding the fabled Golden City.

Aside from Wuk Lamat, you’re also up against her siblings Koana, Bakool Ja Ja, and Zoraal Ja. While Koana is methodical and level-headed, the other two are much more aggressive and prone to starting conflicts with you. These two serve as the primary antagonists for much of Dawntrail, and I have to say that the lack of a proper central antagonist also hurts the game in the first half.

Bakool Ja Ja is your typical asshole villain who will lie and cheat at every turn to get in your way, though he does get some much-needed character development in the latter half. Zoraal Ja is more calculated, but his motivations are rather uninspired; he seeks to bring war to the land to teach his people the importance of peace. Neither claimant is particularly engaging or intriguing, which can make the first half of Dawntrail a drag.

The good news is that the game does pick up significantly once you reach the second half. Without diving too deep into spoiler territory, there are much more interesting revelations to be had here, including a fantastic redemption arc and even proper character development for Krile, who has been a criminally overlooked Scion for far too long. The bad news is that it just takes a little bit too long for Dawntrail to actually get there.

No More Training Wheels

For all of my complaints with Dawntrail‘s pacing, though, you’ll be glad to know that Square Enix hasn’t lost its touch when it comes to dungeon and encounter design. Final Fantasy XIV has truly come a long way from its ARR days, and with Dawntrail, the team has once again outdone themselves in terms of combat and boss fights.

The new dungeons feel fresh, innovative, and unlike anything else that came before it, and the trials are no slouch either. I was even caught off-guard by the very first trial in the expansion, which wasted no time in throwing some seriously tricky mechanics at the player.

Right off the bat, you’re hit with boss moves that don’t come with a cast bar tells after the first time they’re used, along with moving stack markers that you bounce between players with each cast. Being forced into proper coordination for the very first trial of the game was surprising but also very refreshing, as it’s clear that FFXIV is no longer interested in holding your hand. If you’re playing Dawntrail, the game assumes that you’ve already played through every other encounter prior to this, and you should be able to pick up on these mechanics within your first few tries. That level 93 trial felt very reminiscent of the early Stormblood Shinryu days, and that’s a good thing.

Snakes and Painters

Aside from all of the exciting new story content, I’d be remiss not to at least mention the two new DPS jobs that have been added to the game: Viper and Pictomancer.

Overall verdict? These jobs are kinda meh and don’t really add much to the game, in my opinion. Viper, in particular, is easily my least favorite melee DPS job in a long time, thanks to the game’s need to over-complicate its job actions and descriptions. And once you finally manage to wrap your head around all its different actions, buffs, and debuffs, you’ll quickly realize that Viper isn’t really all that complex at all and plays very similarly to the existing melee DPS jobs that we already have.

Viper is all about positionals and keeping your buffs up in a rotation. There’s nothing new here, and while I was initially excited about the prospect of swapping between single and dual blades, I was disappointed to see that it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I’m a little more partial towards Pictomancer, though this is really just your typical caster job with a few bells and whistles thrown in. You’ll still be casting your usual spells like Aero, Fire, Ice, Thunder, etc, but the difference is that you’ve also got a few other job actions to weave in, and they’re pretty darn cute.

Painting the Pom and Wings or the Hammer will allow you to deal additional damage, while painting the Starry Sky will let you provide a group-wide buff to your party. All of this is tied together by an adorable job gauge that shows you what you have on your canvas at all times. I appreciated that you could prep all three paintings at any given point in time and hold the actual spells themselves so you could choose when to use them.

All in all, the jobs aren’t really anything special, but they’re serviceable. I would’ve much preferred getting a new tank or healer, and I suspect I’m not alone in that, but look, I’ll take what I can get.

What’s Next?

By the time you reach the end of the Dawntrail MSQs, it’s clear that there’s still plenty of life left in our Warrior of Light yet. The endgame loop remains the same: do your dailies and weeklies for gear and Tomestones, wait for the next major patch to drop for the story to continue.

Big picture thoughts: Dawntrail kinda feels like the filler arc as we gear up for bigger and better adventures. It’s rare to get to enjoy a moment of peace, where things don’t feel so doom and gloom all the damn time, and that’s exactly what FFXIV needed after a decade of facing world-ending threats. It won’t land for everyone and that’s okay; there’s always next time.

Verdict: Recommended

Final Fantasy XIV is available to play now.

With four different editions to choose from, players will have a different cover athlete gracing them, with Jayson Tatum on the standard, A’ja Wilson on the WNBA Edition, the dynamic duo on the All-Star Edition, and eight-time All-Star Vince Carter on the Hall of Fame Edition. There’s even more exciting news to share — we’ve got a first look at some of these athletes in-game to share with you.

Alongside the reveal of the cover, 2K Sports has sent a first look at Jayson, A’ja & Vince in-game for a first look at NBA 2K25. While the NBA 2K franchise has always led the world of sports video games with its graphical fidelity, this year looks to push them further than ever. It’s somewhat uncanny how realistic these characters look now.

Related: When is NBA 2K25 Coming Out?

As per the official press release for NBA 2K25, fans playing on PC can rejoice; visual fidelity, content, and settings will be on par with the Xbox Series & PlayStation 5 versions of the game. You can read the official statement below:

• For the first time in the series, NBA 2K25 introduces mode parity between PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with the exception of Crossplay support. Players on PC with compatible specs will now benefit from the enhanced realism of ProPLAY^TM technology, and the ability to compete in modes such as MyNBA, The W, and in The City. Crossplay will only be available on New-Gen consoles.
• With NBA 2K25, players will forge a dynasty in MyCAREER, compete in new MyTEAM modes, and, for those on New-Gen platforms, players will also experience an added sixth era in MyNBA, a more compact and interactive City, along with the chance to cement their G.O.A.T. status in The W. 
• In addition to new updates in MyCAREER and MyTEAM, players on Current-Gen will experience an all-new Neighborhood metropolis to explore where they will complete quests, earn rewards, and eclipse their rivals

It’s about time that PC players could look forward to the latest and greatest version of their favorite sports game, and it seems that NBA 2K25 is shaping up to be the best installment yet.

NBA 2K25 will be released in 2024.

The character portrayals in the first season already sparked a little bit of controversy from fans, especially since Ramsey wasn’t exactly what most fans had in mind for Ellie, and it looks like that trend will continue with season 2. For starters, there are already comments that Ellie’s new arm tattoo placement isn’t accurate to the game, and neither is her bob and tied back hair.

While I’m not exactly particular about the look of the character — it’s near impossible to make a real-life actor look exactly like a video game character after all — I’ll admit the tattoo placement is a little jarring. It’s important to remember that the reason why Ellie got a huge arm tattoo in the first place (aside from looking badass as hell) is that she needed to cover up the bite mark on her arm.

While Joel and Tommy are already aware of her immunity to the cordyceps virus, no one else is, and it’s important to get that plot device right at least.

Still, it’s exciting to see the actors back on set for season 2, especially since The Last of Us Part II takes the story in some pretty fun (and very controversial) directions going forward. We already relived the whole “Was Joel wrong?” discourse with the season 1 finale, and I’m especially looking forward to the dumpster fire that will surely be the season 2 (or 3) finale discourse.

HBO’s The Last of Us season 2 doesn’t have a release date just yet, but be sure to keep it locked to The Escapist for more information and updates on the show, including my diss on the adaptation after having watched Fallout.

How Does Gwenpool Work in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool is a 4-cost, 6-power card with an ability that reads: “On Reveal: Pick a random card in your hand 3 times. Give +2 Power each time.”

This ability might be a tad confusing. What Gwenpool will do is randomly select a card in your hand and give it +2 power. It will then do so again, where it can hit the same card or a different card before randomly buffing a card one last time. 

Gwenpool can activate when you have a single card in your hand, buffing a single card by +6. Of course, cards like Wong and Odin will activate her effect again.

Best Gwenpool Decks in Marvel Snap

Given her random nature, you don’t want to build a deck around hitting a specific card like Black Panther but rather put together a list that has multiple cards that want Gwenpool’s buffs. There’s one deck in particular that loves hand buffs above all others, and you’re probably already thinking it: yes, Silver Surfer strikes once again. Here’s a Gwenpool list:

• Forge
• Iron Heart
• Brood
• Magik
• Silver Surfer
• Phastos
• Sebastian Shaw
• Wong
• Absorbing Man
• Gwenpool
• Sera
• Odin

Click here to copy the decklist from Untapped. 

Replacements for this specific list are quite difficult as it goes all-in on buffing your hand and deck with Phastos; however, if you do not have Phastos, consider swapping him out for Hope Summers. 

Gweenpool might seem a little awkward at 4-cost in a Surfer deck, but the extra turn provided by Magik and discounts from Phastos and Sera alleviate that issue somewhat. This deck aims to play down a flurry of cards on turn 6 like a normal Surfer deck before retriggering them with Odin. This also allows you to hit Gwenpool twice (or four times with Wong) and possibly buff a Brood or Sebastian Shaw sitting in your hand to incredible heights. Do keep in mind, however, that this deck is incredibly susceptible to Wong. This list, as you can see, is super greedy with Wong, Absorbing Man, and Gwenpool in it, so winning one lane with Brood and another with Sebastian Shaw is necessary.

While Gwenpool has some synergy with Zoo decks, I do think she’ll fit more cleanly into a value list featuring the likes of Kitty Pryde, Thena, and Sage, which is also known as Good Cards Ravonna. Here’s a list:

• Kitty Pryde
• Thena
• Angela
• Ravonna Renslayer
• Mysterio
• Mystique
• Sage
• Hope Summers
• Gwenpool
• Iron Man
• Mockingbird
• Sasquatch

Click here to copy the decklist from Untapped.

While this is one of the best Gweenpool decks in Marvel Snap, it’s full of a lot of expensive cards. However, you can swap out one of Mockingbird or Sasquatch for Darkhawk if you’re still seeing a ton of Arishem decks. In fact, you should probably do so if that’s the case. Swap Sage for Wolfsbane if you do not have the former. Ravonna Renslayer is a must with this deck, however.

While there’s no double activators for Gwenpool here, she has a ton of synergy with most cards in this list. Mysterio’s clones will get the Gwenpool buff (and in turn discount Mockingbird and Sasquatch), and the Iron Man into Mystique combo will receive double benefit from her. Throw in the fact that the disjointed power levels will give Sage a boost as well, and I dare say we have a top-tier meta deck with Gwenpool in it on our hands.

Related: Best Sersi Decks in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool Counters in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool isn’t easily counterable herself. You can snipe her effect with a Cosmo, sure, but you should run Cosmo only if you’re seeing a lot of greedy lists like the Silver Surfer one with Wong. Otherwise, Shang-Chi or Shadow King can chop down the cards she buffs, such as Sebastian Shaw or Black Panther. There isn’t much else you can do to counter hand buff effects.

Who Is Gwenpool?

Gwenpool is one of the oddest characters in comic history. Gwendolyn Poole is actually a young woman from the real world – yes, the one you’re in right now – that somehow got transported to the Marvel Universe alongside her brother. Her adventures saw her learn empathy for the denizens of the Marvel Universe as she believed them merely to be fictional creations, though she did work for arch villain M.O.D.O.K as a henchwoman. In fact, superheroes traveled back in time to stop her from becoming the next major Marvel villain.

Her abilities are quite literally the ability to transcend the comic book medium, manipulating textboxes and the course of a story to better favor her. She also has out-of-universe knowledge, meaning she’s quite informed on the secret identities and lives of superheroes and villains alike.

Is Gwenpool Worth Purchasing the Season Pass For?

As always, the Marvel Snap season pass is the best deal you can get with all the gold and credits that come along with it; however, Gwenpool herself is an amazing card that will likely be a staple for the foreseeable future. She is, if all the cards she buffs are played, essentially a 4-cost, 12-power card with synergistic upside. I do not see her getting nerfed anytime soon either, so you shouldn’t have to worry about Second Dinner devaluing your purchase anytime soon.

And those are the best Gwenpool decks in Marvel Snap.

Marvel Snap is available now.

Once you create your character, you’ll be given the choice to select a server. But if you chose to put your character on PvE but suddenly feel the deep desire to kill your fellow players, you’re out of luck. Once you’ve created a character with your account, you’re stuck with that character in that server.

This can have some upsetting complications, especially if you opt to play solo on a server instead. Some scenarios, which are seasonal events, are wholly PvP-focused. Which means you’ll be missing one of the best parts of an update. Likewise, if you find that PvE scenarios are a little too tough or even lonely without a group of randoms, you’re also out of luck. The same can be said if your friends opted for a different server, leaving you stranded with the Eldritch monstrosities.

Fortunately, this is a known bug. And I do emphasize bug. On the Discord, an announcement stated the following:

“This is important:

Be aware to choose your server!

Due to some tech issues, you can only create one character, and you can NOT delete your character. This means if you chose the wrong server, you can not switch to any other servers with your current account.”

 We can expect a fix, likely sooner rather than later, considering how much of an impact this will have on the social dynamics of the game. And Starry Studios has made it very clear that they want to bolster the community feeling of the game and even made Enternaland for you to hang out with your friends whenever you want.

But until that fix lands, be sure to select your server carefully. The only way for you to get around it is to literally make a brand new account and start fresh. And that might mean losing out on your pre-registration rewards, Twitch, and beta rewards. I recommend selecting “All Scenarios” or “Manibus” to get the most out of this early season.

Once Human is available to play now.