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DLC

Crusader Kings 3’s Coronations DLC debuts to boos and jeers from the Steam review court, largely thanks to “broken” oath breaking

by admin September 10, 2025

I bring ill tidings from the land of folks who’re usually busy stressing about their heirs, sire. Crusader Kings 3’s paid Coronations DLC has arrived alongside the Ascendant update, and I regret to inform you that the little expansion’s immediately been put in the stocks. The rotten tomatoes doth fly towards its bonce, and the resulting juice has turned its Steam reviews a mostly negative shade of crimson.

Coronations was always set to be a relatively minor stop in the Chapter 4 pipeline of DLC Paradox have been gradually rolling out to their regal strategy thing since March this year, especially compared to larger expansions like the beefier Khans of the Steppe and All Under Heaven add-ons, which bookend it on the release timeline. Basically, it makes ascending to the throne more of a big deal than it has been in the past, with a proper party and an oath you take to set a goal to accomplish during your rule. You can leaf through the full notes here.

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Given that Paradox were set to charge for those pretty minimal, if important, additions, at least one Reddit seer was predicting a week ago that Coronations might well end up struggling to impress the virtual regents of Steam. It’s currently sitting at a mostly negative verdict from 188 reviews on there, with complaints also having leaked into the top posts of the Redditosphere, so that random citizen’s crystal ball wasn’t playing up. To be fair, predicting a Paradox DLC might be controversial doesn’t exactly make you Nostradamus at this point.

A lot of the objections in these reviews are simply folks arguing that Paradox should have made this update a free one, either because they view it as not offering enough depth to justify the £4.29/$4.99/€4.99 price tag, or because coronation mechanics like these are significant enough they should be rolled into the base game. Much like with Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s paid DLC clans, the publishers are being accused of nickel and diming players with their add-ons. On one hand, Paradox have clearly stated what you’ll be getting if you opt to buy the Coronations pack, so you can’t really accuse them of being deceptive. The argument’s whether this is greedy monetisation, and I’d say it certainly lands on the grubby or unneccesary end of the scale.

The less subjective aspect of the negative reception comes in the form of widespread complaints about those new oaths breaking in scenarios when they shouldn’t. I’ve not managed to ensure peace even though I’m not at war. I completed my oath years ago, but have subsequently been told I’ve broken it, and been served the substantial penalties to match. A number of players also reckon the timeframes given are too short, with 20 years to complete three legendary hunts being the main culprit.

That said, some of the examples I’ve read through feel like they can probably be attributed to the normal bad luck or quirkiness you might get when Crusader Kinging. Oh no, I’ve broken my oath of preparing a good heir because my son died and my grandson’s a bit crap. That’s a bit more c’est la medieval monarch vie to me.

This being Crusader Kings, there’s already a mod to disable the broken oath event if you wish. Coronations has also left a plenty of folks concerned about the game’s future. Specifically Paradox’s ability to deliver something good with the much-anticipated All Under Heaven DLC, which is set to expand the map into Asia, letting you lord over the likes of China and Japan. We’ll have to see if the publisher can wrest back the non-reviled DLC crown.

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September 10, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants DLC feels like a brief, cut down version of the main game, but an enjoyable story carries you through

by admin September 10, 2025

After about ten minutes of running around the Vatican brandishing a biscotti like it was my own holy grail and ultimately angering a fair few fascists in the process (which in turn lead to me heroically fleeing the scene in order to find some kind of weapon – in this case, a crutch – to fight them off) I finally rediscovered my Indiana Jones and the Great Circle sea legs. Several months after finishing the main game, I was now ready to go back for a second helping thanks to its newly-released Order of Giants DLC.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants

The Order of Giants kicks off when Indy opens the ‘A Mystery Begins’ Fieldwork quest and locates Father Ricci in the Great Circle’s Vatican area. The priest, along with his rather endearing parrot companion Pio, speaks of a “Nameless Crusader” believed to be a “giant” of a man who never removed his helmet. This legendary chap appears to have some connection with a secret chamber beneath the Vatican’s Casina and with Indy never being one to shy away from unravelling a good story rooted in history, he agrees to investigate for the duo (because, yes, the parrot is absolutely a team member, and I will not hear otherwise).

Looking further into this nameless and larger-than-life crusader takes Indy under the streets of Rome, as he uncovers a mystery which expands upon the lore of the Great Circle’s Nephilim order. Along with simply discovering more of the order’s story, though, Indy also takes on a number of puzzles and platforming-based excursions in the process. Oh, and of course there are also some skirmishes with yet more fascists as well as a smattering of red-robed cultists. Ooh.

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Before I go too much further, let me say this right off the mark. Order of Giants doesn’t really add much new beyond story and some extra collectables. It feels more like a condensed, Vatican-flavoured microcosm of the full Great Circle game, but with an infusion of Sukhothai’s boat exploration. This DLC really should be considered a general extension to the Great Circle’s core mechanics, rather than something that will suddenly revolutionise what developer MachineGames has done previously. There are two new adventure books, for example (at least that I found), but rather than adding new skills, these books are more about buffs. Of course these are a nice boon – especially I imagine if you have not yet completed the main game – but as said, they don’t hold anything revolutionary that will mix up your Order of Giants experience.

Image credit: Bethesda

Ok, back to it. Now while I really did enjoy the story being told in Order of Giants, in terms of gameplay progress I found it a tad predictable. The platforming sections only really relied on a few small mechanics such as whipping to ledges and pulling on chains to make your way through a predetermined route. Meanwhile, the puzzles themselves were more straightforward than I would have expected from an expansion released several months after the main game, with the likes of directing water through a specific channel, or pulling levers in the order they appeared on nearby images. They lacked a certain amount of creativity.

Then at one moment, probably about halfway through the DLC, I thought I was going to be presented with a mini boss battle. One bit in particular gave me flashbacks to one of my favourite fights against the Great Circle’s blind giant, which was so tense it had me holding my breath (along with Indy). While I wasn’t expecting a carbon copy of that exact moment, I just did not get that same sense of thrill in Order of Giants. Instead, I was soon interrupted by a cutscene that quite literally cut things short. The rest of the DLC then followed a similar formula until the final confrontation (which I will not spoil here, but in terms of story and cinematics, I will say this final showdown did make me gasp with an ‘oh daaaang!’).

Image credit: Bethesda/Eurogamer

Setting aside that disappointment with the action, the storytelling here is still a treat, and is really Order of Giants’ greatest strength. There were several moments during the DLC where I found myself genuinely laughing at the situation Indy had put himself in, with more than just an appreciative titter. I mean, who else could find themself stuck under a car like that and at that exact moment? As an extra optional chapter to the Great Circle’s main game, it was all certainly an enjoyable narrative experience.

I just wish there had been more gameplay variety, and more to explore above ground in Rome itself. Visually, the majority of the Order of Giants grabbed hold of a 50 shades of grey colour card and ran with it, save for some splashes of the labyrinthine underground’s murky greens and browns. Little beams of sunlight from the city above would periodically penetrate through Indy’s subdued surroundings, but when this happened I found myself looking up with a desire to see the fresh blue sky, rather than looking for clues or similar in the immediate and now more illuminated area. I spent a lot of my time during the Order of Giants feeling rather claustrophobic due to being underground and in relative darkness for such an extended period of time.

Speaking of the largely underground setting limitations, while I had so much fun picking up all sorts of makeshift weapons during my playthrough of the Great Circle, there wasn’t the same variety to be found beneath the streets of Rome. Other than a few scepter-like melee items, I mostly made my way through the DLC’s combat sections using just Indy’s whip and fists. This was fine, and at the end of the day an effective enough method, but it didn’t give me the same giddy, silly joy as whopping a baddy over the head with a fly swat. At one point during the Order of Giants, I actually used my gun. I don’t think I ever did that during my playthrough of the main game, because I was having so much fun launching mandolins and mops at my enemies at every opportunity.

Image credit: Bethesda/Eurogamer

As for how long the Order of Giants took me to complete, I would say I was playing for around four and a bit hours in total. I know I didn’t uncover every new artefact there was to find, but I did uncover the majority. In short, the DLC is short. It is certainly not as long as I was expecting, and felt more like an extended and quite straightforward sidequest rather than a full fat standalone expansion with new mechanics and ideas.

It all boils down to this: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants is more of Indy doing Indy things. For me as a huge Indiana Jones fan – both of the Great Circle and the franchise more generally – I had a perfectly enjoyable time back with Indy, and appreciated where the story took me. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say Order of Giants is unmissable. Alas, it just didn’t really add anything to my overall experience of the main game – and given that the Great Circle was overflowing with creativity, characters, grand set pieces and so much more, that just feels like a little bit of a shame.

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September 10, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Starfield’s second DLC might involve a “Terran Armada”, and that sounds quite whelming

by admin September 9, 2025

Steam tells me I’ve spent 171 hours of my life to this point playing Starfield. It’s not an insignificant amount of time, but it pales in comparison to how long I’ve spent with the myriad other works of developers Bethesda. Said devs now look like they might have fired up the tease rocket for the space RPG’s second major expansion. If they have, the very little they’ve shown off so far hasn’t gotten me right on board to play more.

Almost a year since Starfield’s first DLC, Shattered Space, unleashed its spooky gunk, Bethesda commemorated the second anniversary of the game’s release by tweeting the short video below.

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Yep, the piss filter of teaseage was whipped out, with fans rearranging the frames in such fashion that they read “Terran Armada”. Naturally, the conclusion jumped to by plenty of folks is that this could be the name of the second expansion the developers have had set in stone for a while, but haven’t said anything about beyond that.

The name suggests a fleet of ships from or somehow related to Earth, and if that’s the case, my feelings are best summed up by a straight-faced shrug. As much as judging a Bethesda DLC by the name’s pretty pointless, in the absence of any other info, the idea of an expansion focused around Earthly matters doesn’t get me too excited.

DLC2 is titled “Terran Armada”.
byu/Sklain inStarfield

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Let me outline why. With its relative lack of aliens outside of hostile planet-dwelling creatures, a fairly dry and scientific NASA-inspired brand of sci-fi, and the fate of Earth being a key thread in its main plot, Starfield feels to me like it’s done plenty of Earthy stuff already. It’s even done the idea of a ship full of folks from Earth randomly popping up to beef with the residents of the Settled Systems. Remember visiting Paradiso on Porrima II, then serving as the middleperson between the resort and the Earth Colony Ship Constant, the latter of which had somehow managed to roam through space encountering nobody else for about 200 years?

I do, and it was perfectly meh. That’s not to say a DLC couldn’t put a twist on a tale like that or find another, intriguing way to revamp the relatively featureless sand-ball that was Starfield’s ruined Earth. However, as I outlined when I reviewed the Shattered Space expansion at my former home, my view’s long been that the best way Bethesda can utilise Starfield DLC is to paint a bit more colour and vibrance onto the canvas of an impressively vast but often quite bland universe.

On the one hand, that first DLC was about snake worshippers on a purple planet, so you can argue that for variety’s sake trying to go the weird and alien route again wouldn’t be ideal. Though, I reckon at this point you might as well embrace the out-there ideas. No one DLC’s going to rehabilitate Starfield’s reputation from would-be masterpiece that didn’t measure up to the endless hype, to universally beloved sibling of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout juggernauts.

A sequel would have that chance, though, assuming it arrived before the actual heat-death of our universe. So, why not go after the strange and unique, as those other Bethesda-helmed series I’ve just cited have in some of their strongest and most memorable moments, both in the publisher’s hands and outside of them? Even if the game ends up being a one-off, have it go out with one or a series of supernova explosions, rather than the cosmic whimper of an aging comet.

We’ll just have to see which of those “Terran Armada” ends up being, assuming it’s a DLC tease and not just Todd Howard’s lunch order.

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September 9, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: The Order Of Giants DLC Review

by admin September 8, 2025

At around four to five hours in length, calling The Order of Giants bite-sized doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Within the context of the rest of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, however, that’s precisely what this DLC feels like.

The base game is at its best when you’re dropped into an extensive playground and left to your own devices, whether it’s a maze of undulating rivers in Sukhothai or a stretch of desert surrounding the pyramids of Giza. Donning Indy’s signature hat and exploring these dense locations is a treat, with each level meticulously detailed and focused on player agency, all while weaving the signature elements of an Indiana Jones adventure into each locale.

Maybe it was naive of me to expect a similar setup in the game’s first expansion, but it’s still a tad disappointing that The Order of Giants presents a more streamlined experience instead. The quality is still there; it’s just missing a few key ingredients.

If you’ve played The Great Circle before, you’ll want to head back to Vatican City to add this new batch of fieldwork to Indy’s journal. From here, you’ll meet Father Ricci, a young priest–with a loquacious pet parrot–who’s desperate to track down a lost Roman artifact once owned by Pope Paul IV. This is more than enough information to pique Indy’s curiosity, propelling you on an adventure just beyond the walls of the Vatican as you head into the ancient city of Rome itself. Or, more specifically, descend beneath the Eternal City’s streets, where you’ll rummage through the cramped confines of dusty Roman tombs, catacombs, and the Cloaca Maxima sewer system, solving various puzzles, uncovering hidden mysteries, sneaking past cultists, and punching Mussolini’s fascist Blackshirts in the face.

As the DLC’s title suggests, The Order of Giants delves deeper into the lore behind the Nephilim Order: a monastic society of giants formed by the descendants of fallen angels. As compelling as this backstory is–and despite the giants’ vital role in the events of The Great Circle–the Nephilim are still shrouded in mystery by the time the base game’s final credits roll. The Order of Giants doesn’t necessarily lift the lid on their past, but it does offer another fascinating peek into their cryptic role in history, dating back to Nero’s reign as emperor of Rome and the 11th-century Crusades.

I enjoyed unravelling the story through notes, puzzles, and Indy’s own observations, particularly the way it’s grounded in real history despite the fantastical nature of the Nephilim. The writing is sharp, and Indy’s quips are on point, with Troy Baker delivering another fantastic performance as the iconic archeologist. I do, however, get the feeling the narrative would’ve fit more snugly if I hadn’t already finished The Great Circle. As an extra addendum, it feels distinctly like a side quest with little to no impact on the main story. This is a tricky conundrum to solve with any story-driven DLC, and I don’t think there’s a perfect way to do it. Just know that those playing The Great Circle for the first time will probably appreciate it more as a natural detour within the greater narrative than those returning after reaching the game’s conclusion.

It also makes sense as an extension of the Vatican map, as you’ll spend most of your time traversing similar underground areas to those found beneath the holy city. The Order of Giants is fairly linear in this regard, yet each location is designed with plenty of hidden pathways and secrets to uncover, ensuring that those willing to explore every nook and cranny will be satisfied. It’s replete with a number of delightful puzzles to solve, too, challenging your thought process while being wonderfully tactile at the same time, from referencing an ancient story to figure out which way to rotate various platforms, to guiding a ball down a track by constantly placing and removing different pieces to alter its direction. These room-scale puzzles are some of the best in the entire game, and the DLC’s pacing guarantees that no one aspect overstays its welcome.

When you’re not solving Roman conundrums, The Order of Giants offers a decent mix of platforming and combat to keep things feeling fresh. Both are relatively unchanged, whether you’re swinging over a chasm with Indy’s signature whip or throwing a thunderous haymaker to put a fascist in the ground. There is one section where you get your hands on some TNT, but you’ll be using your fists and makeshift melee weapons to blunt force most enemy encounters. Clobbering fascists remains particularly entertaining, but the smaller scale of the environments isn’t conducive to the kind of freeform stealth present in the base game, so it loses some of that Indiana Jones-style improvisation. For as atmospheric as each location is, The Order of Giants also lacks the same spectacle as the base game, with the absence of set pieces reinforcing how pared down it is in comparison.

What it may lack in scope, The Order of Giants makes up for with some of the best and most inventive puzzles in the game. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get another expansive environment to explore, but this is still an engaging mini-adventure that’s rich in lore and quintessentially Indy. Those playing The Great Circle for the first time might appreciate the detour a lot more, but putting on that wide-brimmed fedora again still feels great (if only I could get John Williams’ theme music out of my head).

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September 8, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Paradox take “first step” in response to Bloodlines 2’s DLC clan backlash with PlayStation refunds, promise more info next week

by admin September 8, 2025

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 publisher Paradox have gotten the ball rolling on the “adjustments” they promised in response to the controversy over the game’s day-one paid DLC vampire clans.

As we’ve covered previously, the Toreador and Lasombra clans were originally revealed to be locked behind a purchase of either Bloodines’ £18.69/€21.99/$21.99 Shadows and Silk DLC pack, or the £74.99/€89.99/$89.99 premium edition that said DLC comes bundled with. Cue understandable unhappiness, and Paradox swiftly moving to declare they’d rejig some stuff before launch.

The first domino’s now fallen, and it’s refunds for PlayStation pre-orderers. “Anyone who pre-ordered the premium edition through the PlayStation Store will be contacted and refunded starting Monday, September 8th,” World of Darkness community developer DebbieElla announced on the Bloodlines 2 Discord. “You will be able to pre-order your premium edition copy again later, before the release on October 21st.”

The good news for us PC folks is that Paradox made clear this is just an “intentional first step” in their planned tweaks following the backlash. “We are working hard on the adjustments that we promised, and we will be able to tell you all the details on September 17th,” DebbieElla wrote. “Making significant changes like this involves many moving parts, and we want to make sure that we get it right with this change.”

So, a little longer to wait for info as to whether there’ll be changes to the DLC/editions and their pricing on PC. However, pulling existing pre-orders and then requesting folks make them again points towards a premium edition price drop being at least one of the measures Paradox are taking. Any change might make paying extra for the two clans a bit more palatable, but unless the premium edition’s brought down to match the price of the base game, dishing the DLC clans out at no extra cost, odds are the sour taste won’t come close to being washed away.

Paradox and Bloodlines developers The Chinese Room previously defended charging for Toreador and Lasombra vamps when our James asked them about the decision at Gamescom, citing the game’s changing scope.

“We have been expanding it from where we originally planned to land it, I think, constantly, and Paradox have been really good when we go, or when the clients go, or when Paradox go: ‘We should add a bit more here. Let’s push the date back.’ As you know, the date has pushed back, but that has been to fatten it out into something that we feel does land where the players want it,” Bloodlines 2 narrative director Ian Thomas said.

We’ll keep you in the loop as to what Paradox announce on the 17th, and keep on hoping that Bloodlines 2 will stop all this Sideshow Bob rake-stepping as it tries to position itself as a “spiritual successor” to Bloodlines.

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September 8, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

GTA Online 2025 roadmap: Leaks, DLC, and upcoming events

by admin September 2, 2025

GTA 6 may be drawing closer and closer, but GTA Online is still going strong with new missions, cars and activities hitting the streets of Los Santos on a regular basis. 2025 has been a great year for GTA Online, but there are even more events, modes, and leaked DLC updates to look forward to in the coming months.

The Money Fronts DLC gave us a lot of cool new toys to play with, but Rockstar also left some fun tidbits in the game’s files that point to even bigger additions for GTA Online’s winter 2025 update.

GTA Online Winter 2025 update

Mansions are the big selling point of the next GTA Online update. Slated for winter 2025, this GTA Online DLC will expand the housing scene with huge new properties that are worth more than just bragging rights.

New houses may not seem like the most exciting thing, but the upcoming mansions are going to be much more valuable than the high-end apartments in the game today—and I’m not just talking about the price tag. Since GTA Online winter updates always fall in the first half of December, you can expect to close the deal on your new mansion sometime before Christmas.

Mansion locations and features

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Data in the GTA Online files suggests that mansion owners can host parties and install custom arcade cabinets, among other things. Think of them like an expanded version of the Diamond Casino penthouse. Things are still subject to change, but considering Rockstar literally left files named “MANSION_TEASER” for dataminers to find, it feels like they wanted us to know at least a little bit of this info.

They’ll be brand-new buildings too, so we won’t just be moving into existing properties that we’ve been driving by for years. Leaks place the mansions on the expensive northern side of Los Santos, far away enough to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city streets but still close enough to have a nice view of the skyline.

Here’s the two locations for the upcoming property with construction props that are going to be a teaser in the future, it seems these will be entirely new buildings https://t.co/SByxYjS2oM pic.twitter.com/nAbImr0J7b June 17, 2025

It also seems like these mansions will be purchased from a new vendor instead of the usual Dynasty 8 real estate. Datamined files mention “Prix Luxury Real Estate,” so the mansions could mark the beginning of a new series of luxury properties for players to blow their cash on.

There may be a small teaser update before the mansions actually come to the game, since the files also mention an “exclusive discount” and that Prix Luxury Real Estate “will be in contact again when properties become available.”

GTA Online 2025 holiday events

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Before we get mansions, there are the usual holiday events to look forward to. Halloween and Christmas are the big two to watch, and Rockstar has a history of adding a bunch of free stuff for these two holidays.

GTA Online Halloween 2025

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

GTA Online’s 2025 Halloween event will bring back all of the spooky festivities from previous years, with bonus RP and GTA$ rewards on certain Halloween-themed playlists and a few new clothing items to earn. Ghosts will also haunt the streets of Los Santos once more, and paranormal investigators can make some extra cash for snapping pictures of the wandering spirits.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Plus, Rockstar has added some new things to the game lately that hint at an even bigger Halloween celebration. Zombies have invaded Cayo Perico in the latest Survival playlist, for example, and there’s no way Rockstar doesn’t repurpose the undead hordes for other Halloween content.

At the very least, there’ll probably be bonus rewards for Cayo Perico Zombie Survival when the time comes.

GTA Online Christmas 2025

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Christmas is coming back in GTA Online this December, but the snowy season doesn’t seem as exciting as the spooky season this year.

You can still expect to see all the usual festivities in GTA Online’s Christmas event, including holiday-themed outfits, free winter weaponry like snowballs and firework launchers, and festive weapon skins.

Previous holiday events like the Weasel Plaza Shootout will return as well so you can unlock their rewards if you missed out last year. On top of that, snowmen will be scattered across the map and The Yeti will rise from hibernation once more. Keep your head on a swivel too, because The Gooch will also return to terrorize the streets of Los Santos yet again.

Other than that, there’s not a whole lot of info about GTA Online’s Christmas update this year. Last year’s holiday event added some highly-anticipated vehicles like police cars, so hopefully Rockstar continues that trend this year. Even if Rockstar deems the GTA Online community to be naughty instead of nice, there will still be snowfall in San Andreas at the very least.

GTA Online age verification

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Age verification has been creeping up in a bunch of online games lately, and GTA Online is next on the list according to datamined info.

References to age verification in GTA Online have been found in the game’s files, so it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to give Rockstar some of your personal info to keep playing the game. It might seem a bit strange considering GTA Online is rated M, but just think about how many kids you hear screaming in freemode lobbies.

A preview of age assurance in-game. This is not active yet.#GTAOnline https://t.co/yw5yq1KWwB pic.twitter.com/AtcgVYvwSc August 5, 2025

It appears that there will be multiple levels to age verification. Some age groups won’t be able to access GTA Online at all, while others can play with restricted text chat or disabled phone messages. This update is coming sooner rather than later, but it’ll come out on a region-by-region basis depending on local laws.

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September 2, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sequel or DLC confirmed: it’s only “one of the stories that we want to tell”

by admin August 31, 2025

You know what, I’m going to bare all: I’ve still yet to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 beyond the hour or so I played at a preview event, during which I approximately deemed it “a pretty tidy slice of RPG with some cheeky QTEs on the side”, but certainly not the diamond-plated GOTY candidate described by Nic in his review. As is my rotten nature, my desire to see what all the fuss is about is proportionately lower for knowing that they’re going to make a sequel – or at least, some rather substantial-sounding DLC. Ugh, I have even more to catch up on now. Why do the gods mock me.

That’s according to creative director Guillaume Broche, following on from lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen’s remarks in May that “chances are good” that Expedition 33 will have some kind of successor.

“Clair Obscur is the franchise name,” said Broche to Youtuber MrMattyPlays this week, as detected by The Gamer. “Expedition 33 is one of the stories that we want to tell in this franchise. Exactly what it will look like and what the concept will be is still too soon to announce, but what is sure is that this is not the end of the Clair Obscur franchise.”

For context, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes place in a society that is being gradually obliterated by an all-powerful Paintress. Every year, she paints a number on her canvas, and everybody that age or older is wiped from existence. The titular expedition 33 are the latest in a series of increasingly junior warriors who set forth each year to slay the mad artiste. I don’t know any of the story’s endings, but I imagine there’s scope, at least, for some melancholy prequel stories involving expeditions 34-75.

I know far more about the kerfuffle surrounding Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s development team size than I do the plot of the game. It’s been repeatedly enshrined as evidence that smaller outfits are the magical panacea for an industry currently prone to laying thousands of people off. As Nic wrote last year, the much-quoted figure of 30 or so core developers is rather disingenuous – it ignores an external animation team, many of the musicians who worked on the killer soundtrack, and dozens of localisation, QA and voice production staff.

Geez fine, I’ll play it already. It’s not that long, right? Brisk little 30 hour campaign, yes? Nothing I need to take time off for?

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle DLC will adjust difficulty levels depending on your progress in the base game

by admin August 30, 2025

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s DLC The Order of Giants will be arriving next week, and as previously announced, will branch off from the Great Circle’s Rome location, which those who have played the game know is pretty early on in the grand scheme of things.

So, does this mean that those of us who have made it further than Rome, and thus managed to tuck a few more tricks and such up Indy’s sleeve, will have an easy time of it? Well, no, actually. You see, the developers have been rather clever with the DLC’s implementation, and the Order of Giants will scale the difficulty depending on how far through the base game you are.

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“Players who are at the end of the game don’t need to worry about the difficulty [being too easy] as actually we have a new system in place where players are dynamically scaled based on how far they progressed,” creative director Axel Torvenius and lead game designer Zeke Virant explained in an interview with IGN. “We know a lot of players are coming back from the endgame and would like to have a continuation of that difficulty, especially if they have health upgrades and a lot of abilities.”

What will happen, then, is if players have made it to the Vatican and Rome, but haven’t progressed any further into the game, they will enter the DLC on the “first tier of difficulty”. Then, if they have made it as far as Giza, the difficulty level will get bumped up to the second tier, while if they have gotten as far as Sukhothai the difficulty level will notch up to the third tier.

“From there we [can tune] the different amount of combos enemies can use, different amounts of health and also how many will gang up on you at the same time,” the developers explained.

Clever!

Image credit: Bethesda

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s Order of Giants DLC will feature “stunning new locations, intricate puzzles, terrifying new foes and more”, with the developer adding Indy will have to do what he can to “outwit a dangerous cult” while uncovering “the dark legacy of the Nephilim giants”.

The Order of Giants is arriving on 4th September, across Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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August 30, 2025 0 comments

A dark haired character from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stands in the sunlight looking upward with her allies standing behind her

Product Reviews

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director adds another DLC teaser to the pile: ‘We may be cooking’

by admin August 28, 2025

I don’t blame any of the developers behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for not immediately thinking about DLC plans just as their game exploded in popularity and hit sales numbers in the millions earlier this year. But in the last few months they’ve acknowledged the hunger for DLC in every way but a direct confirmation and at this point I’d just like to know if those plans are real.

In May, writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen told a fan on Instagram that while there was “nothing concrete” in the works, the “chances are good” that we’d see DLC. But then a few days later she told the Washington Post that those comments were taken out of context and that the studio is focused on improving the base game.

A month later, the official Bluesky account reiterated those plans with a slight wink at possible “new content” coming down the line.

That brings us to a comment from director Guillaume Broche this week in an interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays. When asked about plans to release DLC, Broche said, “There may be,” and that it’s “a bit too early to say.”

“We may be cooking,” he added with a smile that is the closest thing to a “yes” I’ve heard yet.

Earlier in the interview, Broche, seemingly talking about a proper sequel, said Expedition 33 is just “one of the stories we want to tell in this franchise,” and that it’s too soon to announce what that will be.

While he did not confirm DLC is coming, it sure sounds like the studio is already thinking about what comes next for Clair Obscur, whether that’s just a sequel or some kind of expansion in the future. For a game that is being compared to Final Fantasy for its extremely satisfying turn-based combat and eccentric world, it would be a bummer for the journey to end here.

Broche recently said that he doesn’t plan on expanding the team at Sandfall Interactive, preferring to keep it small, so if DLC truly is in the works, it might be a while.

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August 28, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Bloodlines 2 Devs Tweaking Day-One Clan DLC After Fan Outcry

by admin August 27, 2025

Last week, it was revealed that upcoming open-world RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 would launch in October with two of its important, playable vampire clans locked behind $22 day-one DLC. This didn’t go over well with folks online. Now, the devs behind the sequel are planning to make some changes.

On August 19, Bloodlines 2 developers The Chinese Room and publisher Paradox announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live that the long-awaited RPG sequel was finally launching on PC and consoles on October 21. This followed a lengthy and rocky development cycle, so for many fans, it was just nice to know Bloodlines 2 was actually going to come out. However, people soon discovered that two of the RPG’s six playable vampire clans would be locked behind a paywall, which led to a backlash from fans. Now, likely in an attempt to calm everyone down before a scheduled upcoming stream, the studio is promising changes.

On August 27, the official World of Darkness Twitter account posted a link to a Bloodlines 2 livestream happening today and shared this message about the DLC controversy as a reply:

We are listening to you about Bloodlines 2 & the Lasombra & Toreador clan access, & we’re making adjustments to reflect this. We will share more information about this as soon as possible. Until then, join us TODAY on Twitch at 5PM CEST, where we’ll be showing off the game!

This is similar to a message that was posted by a community manager in the official Discord server for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, as spotted by GameSpot and ResetEra users.

Fans were so upset about the clans being locked behind day-one DLC because in Bloodlines 2, vampire clans are a very big part of the RPG. They help determine your playstyle, affect the game’s story, and offer unique powers and abilities. And sure, you can technically get any clan’s powers by leveling up and spending enough resources, but it’s much harder to get abilities that aren’t offered by your selected clan. So locking two of them behind a paywall that requires you to buy an extra DLC or the most expensive version of Bloodlines 2 was a frustrating choice.

Last week, the devs told RPS that the reason for locking some content behind DLC was that Bloodlines 2 had expanded beyond what was planned, and extra work had gone into making more and more content for the RPG. I also imagine Paradox wanted extra dollars after years and years of rocky development and delays. While I get that making games ain’t cheap, locking clans behind a paywall was never going to go over well.

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August 27, 2025 0 comments