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New Baldur’s Gate 3 Native Steam Deck Build Features Better Framerate And Faster Load Times

by admin September 24, 2025

Larian Studios has released Hoxfix 34 for Baldur’s Gate 3, and it brings with it a native Steam Deck build of the game. The team says this build should feature better framerate, lower loading times, and smoother gameplay.

Before today’s hotfix, Baldur’s Gate 3 ran decently on Steam Deck via a Proton build, but it came with some noticeable drawbacks, like a sometimes-unstable framerate and fuzzy resolution. Though we haven’t tested it ourselves, it sounds like Larian’s new native Steam Deck build will be the best way to play Baldur’s Gate 3 on the go moving forward.

“This is not just good news for Steam Deck users either,” the hotfix notes read.” The work the team has put into this build also means that everyone will get to enjoy overall improvements to the way game models are streamed on all platforms, which should reduce framerate spikes in busy areas, such as the Lower City in Act 3.”

Elsewhere in the notes, Larian has addressed various questions players might have about their saves and other aspects of transitioning to this new native build. Head here for more on that. Hotfix 34 is now live.

While waiting for your game to update, check out Game Informer’s Baldur’s Gate 3 review.

Are you going to play Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam Deck with this new build? Let us know in the comments below!

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September 24, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Gearbox tries to prove to Borderlands 4 players that the game is optimised, actually, but just shows it’s a load of Claptrap

by admin September 15, 2025

Borderlands 4 is getting lambasted everywhere online for just how poorly it performs for many players on PC. It’s all anyone is talking about in the game’s Steam reviews and elsewhere.

The debacle has certainly given the game a certain image, and developer Gearbox clearly isn’t happy with this current state of affairs. Unfortunately, the developer has decided to respond to the complaints in a strange way that ends up actually undermining its point.

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The saga of Borderlands 4’s performance troubles on PC is a very common one. It’s a modern AAA game that performs worse than you expect it to given the hardware it’s running on. In this case, too, the visuals aren’t impressive enough to warrant how heavy the game is.

Borderlands 4 also runs on Unreal Engine 5, which has itself become something of a punching bag. Anytime a game that uses it runs into technical issues, players are quick to blame the engine. Add Denuvo DRM to the mix and the game really has the full package.

Gearbox’s solution to all that negative feedback – which includes many hours of content from top tech YouTubers – was to release ideal settings for some of the most popular Nvidia and AMD GPUs on the market, which it suggests players use.

There are two massive guides – one for each GPU brand – that list every single in-game setting, and the recommended value for each for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. It’s a bit of an overkill, considering the initial settings released for Borderlands 4 ahead of its launch were nowhere near as detailed. These updated guides, on the other hand, offer framerate targets, resolution, and whether or not upscaling is required to achieve each one.

Image credit: 2K / Gearbox

Unfortunately, as detailed as they may be, the two lists only serve to prove players’ points that Borderlands 4 simply isn’t optimised well enough to take advantage of the hardware it’s running on. The reason is that upscaling is required for almost every single one.

In fact, for most of the higher-end GPUs, achieving a framerate beyond 60fps requires frame generation, which the two guides clearly state. Frame generation, if you’re unfamiliar, is similar to motion smoothing, in that it interpolates the frame buffer to add more virtual frames, increasing input lag.

Frame generation is also generally recommended for players who can already reach above 60fps comfortably, as its drawbacks become much more serious when your hardware/settings combination can’t reliably achieve 60fps without it.

The guides only really serve to shift the blame onto players, who are clearly advised to temper their expectations (and their settings), not to mention rely on frame generation to achieve acceptable results regardless of how powerful their GPUs are.

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September 15, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Colorado county gives away free corn after truck crash spills load on highway

by admin August 31, 2025

Custer County residents got an unexpected harvest after a semi-truck hauling sweet corn rolled over on Highway 69.

According to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened around 2 a.m. near mile marker 69 just north of Reed Road on August 28. Thankfully, the driver wasn’t injured. Crews worked through the morning alternating traffic in one lane until the truck could be recovered.

The semi’s cargo? An entire load of ears of sweet corn. Instead of letting it go to waste, local officials arranged for the corn to be distributed to the community.

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Corn given away after truck crash

Photos of the crash shared on Facebook show the truck on its side with tons of corn spilled onto the road, still perfectly good to eat, especially considering the start of football season and backyard barbeques still in full swing.

Firefighter volunteers and the county posse handed it out at the Wet Mountain Fire Protection District station in Westcliffe, with residents lining up to grab some free produce.

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Custer County Sheriff’s OfficeThat’s a lot of corn.

Authorities reminded drivers picking up corn not to block fire truck bays so emergency crews could still respond if needed.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a wild crash result in food spill all over a road, but in this case, citizens get to actually enjoy some of it.

In July, a highway in Pennsylvania turned into a dairy disaster after a multi-truck crash spilled hundreds of boxes of shredded mozzarella cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese was destined for a landfill as the load was deemed unsalvageable due to being unrefrigerated for hours.

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A month later, also in Pennsylvania, over a thousand pounds of frozen hot dogs were ruined after a large truck was involved in a massive road accident.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Opening Night Live buried the lede with WoW’s Midnight expansion – the MMO has a load of new additions coming that are genuinely interesting

by admin August 20, 2025

Gamescom Opening Night Live was packed full of new game reveals as is tradition, one of the fancier looking ones surely being the new cinematic for World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion. Blizzard cinematics are always fantastic, the team responsible for them having seemingly made a pact with eldritch forces to maintain a level of quality one would think insurmountable.

But aside from the glitz and glamour of this cinematic, and the community-wide sigh of relief from the World of Warcraft community that Lor’themar didn’t get murdered live in front of Geoff Keighley, loads of other dope World of Warcraft related information was dropped that you may have missed. Here’s the good stuff.

Watch the cinematic for World of Warcraft: Midnight here!Watch on YouTube

World of Warcraft has housing and it looks pretty cool

My house! | Image credit: Activison Blizzard

A few months back Blizzard announced its intention to eat Final Fantasy 14’s lunch and add player housing into the game, without virtual landlords and camps of destitute players camped outside of plots they’ve heard may be going up for sale soon.

There’s a housing virtual tour website you can use right now to get an idea of what these homes will look like, and a gameplay demonstration at Gamescom gave us a look at what customising a house would actually be like via the lens of various content creators. Seeing internet celebrities place down a dozen carpets has never been so exciting.

Housing will either be a new venture for collectors and social players that’ll add another layer of immersion and lovely personalisation, or it’ll be a barren building speed levelers will run into briefly once when the expansion comes out before racing to max level and wiping in Mythic zero dungeons. Either way, cool. Those who pre-order the expansion can gain access to play housing early, obviously.

New Demon Hunter specialisation and a new allied race

Perhaps the most Avenged Sevenfold spec of all time. | Image credit: Activison Blizzard

A new Demon Hunter specialisation – called the Devourer – has been revealed. This void-focused spin on the edgiest class in WoW allows players to gorge themselves on the power of darkness, using the void to deal loads of damage. Using spells like “Collapsing Star” and “Hungering Slash”, you can pretend you’re not 35 years old and balding.

The Haranir will also be playable as an allied race in Midnight. These subterranean elvish / trollish people were introduced in The War Within and are a pretty rad spiritual subrace of intriguing weirdos. You’ll be able to play them as a Druid, Mage, Monk, Shaman, Priest, Warlock, Rogue, Warrior, and Hunter. Those who level ’em up get a hairy bat mount.

We’re going back to Blood Elf territory

I mean check this out… Brilliant. | Image credit: Activison Blizzard

One of the best zones Blizzard ever made purely from a perspective of vibrancy and high-fantasy vibes was Quel’Thalas. It’s a gorgeous forest filled with beautiful people with one big scar running down the middle. Well it turns out we’re going back, and not only will that big horrible scar be fixed up, but Silvermoon City will also be totally repaired. As a Blood Elf player, it’s a big victory all on its own.

You’re there to make sure the Sunwell doesn’t fall to the forces of evil, a tough endeavor considering the Sunwell has fallen twice already throughout its history. Still, it’s an excuse to head back to Zul’Aman and murder a third generation of Troll, as well as explore two new zones called Harandar and the Voidstorm. Nice.

A Prey system that might just fix the open world difficulty

Now every quest could be a lot more than you bargained for. | Image credit: Activison Blizzard

For years players have been doing quests and roaming around the open world in World of Warcraft with War Mode on, which would open you up to world PvP. This was meant to make questing a little more challenging, but frankly has mainly been used for an XP boost and for some niche collections.

The new Prey system is similar, though doesn’t require any PvP. Instead, by marking yourself as prey, you can go out and hunt (or be hunted) by tough bosses. There are three difficulties too, so it should all be genuinely tricky for those looking for some extra excitement.

Mounts and house customisation pieces can be gained by signing up, so all in all it’ll likely offer a decent diversion for those looking to extend their time in the Midnight zones, rather than through themselves at raids with terrible friends.

So there’s actually a lot to be excited for with World of Warcraft: Midnight. I, someone who swore off the game a year or so ago, has once again reinstalled the MMO and have found myself roaming around the world. Such is the cycle of WoW. I may even pre-order the expansion, for a mount I will ride around only once and transmog I shall never use.

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August 20, 2025 0 comments