Tag:

nightmare

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ latest update brings in a nightmare difficulty mode and another weird collab

by admin June 25, 2025

Another month, another Assassin’s Creed Shadows update, again one that comes with a list of quality of life changes, but also one that comes with another surprising collaboration. Let’s start with that one, which is, weirdly, a new story pack made in collaboration with Critical Role, the wildly popular actual play series. For some context, Critical Role did an official Assassin’s Creed themed oneshot a little while back. In said oneshot, Hi-Fi Rush’s Robbie Daymond played a character called Rufino, who’s being added into the game through this new mission in update 1.0.6.

“Rufino, an old friend of Tomiko and Heiji, calls in a life debt after uncovering a deadly conspiracy,” Ubisoft explains. “While working as a translator, he discovered evidence that a secretive organization has been hiring assassins to eliminate influential commoners. Now, he turns to Naoe and Yasuke for help in stopping these killers.” Completing this quest nets you Rufino as a new ally, and you’ll get the Critical Role logo as a banner.

Right, now the regular update stuff. A new nightmare difficult setting is now available with this update, which does a few different things. Defensive options are less effective in this mode, and you need to pull off perfect parries for them to deflect the hit fully. Enemy AI is “smarter, faster, and more aggressive in a variety of circumstances, including detection.” And combat resources are harder to find too.

For those of you oddly desperate to wear your headgear during cutscenes, that’ll be an option now too, and there’s toggles for specific types of VFX that you can turn off and on as well. The regional alert system available in castles has been expanded to the whole province on top of that, meaning that when you repeatedly attack “Civilians or Military units outside Castles, the alarm can be triggered, and a group of Guardians will hunt you in the world.” There’s also three different camera presets when on a horse, for your riding pleasure.

Lastly, for us here in PC land, there’s an Ultra Low visual quality level – you can read about the exact specs that’s catered to over on the post about the update, alongside the list of fixes and tweaks that you mostly don’t need to worry about.

Source link

June 25, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Diablo 4 Season 9 Will Bring Big, Permanent Changes To Nightmare Dungeons

by admin June 24, 2025

One of Diablo 4’s main endgame activities, Nightmare dungeons, will be permanently changed come Season 9, as Blizzard looks to make them both more challenging and surprising going forward.

As detailed in a new blog post, when Season 9 launches July 1, Nightmare dungeons will receive some major updates. Most notably, there will be a new activity within them called Horadric Strongrooms. Described as a “potent micro-dungeon,” strongrooms will be found more frequently on higher Torment difficulties and can also be reliably found by using a Nightmare dungeon sigil that guarantees the appearance of a strongroom.

Once players are inside the dungeon, players can discover a portal that will take them to the strongroom. In a system somewhat similar to Diablo 4’s Infernal Hordes activity, players will be able to select from a number of statues that add modifiers to the strongroom, increasing the challenge but also the rewards.

Players will then need to attune themselves with the strongroom by slaying enemies within the vicinity of Horadric Pillars within a time limit. Those who complete the attunement process will be transported to the micro-dungeon’s final boss that when defeated will reward a Grand Horadric cache that scales its rewards based on the amount of attunement players earned. These caches will include Obducite as a reward, an endgame material needed to Masterwork weapons and armor. Completing the strongroom will also grant a buff that lasts for the remainder of the Nightmare dungeon, which a chance to receive more XP from monsters, increased reputation gains, increased Obducite drops, 25% more gold, or Horadric Phial drops (a seasonal item that is used to make Horadric Jewels).

There will, however, be another new way to experience Nightmare dungeons–Escalating Nightmares. This new endgame activity is a sequence of three Nightmare dungeons that see dungeon affixes stack from one to the next, with monster difficulty additionally increasing for each subsequent dungeon.

To access an Escalating Nightmare, players will need to find Escalation Sigils from completing Horadric Strongrooms. In pre-Torment difficulties, completing all three dungeons will finish the Escalating Nightmare. However, those playing on Torment difficulties will instead be transported to a boss fight, where players will take on a new version of Astaroth from the Diablo 4 main campaign. Players will need to defeat both Astaroth and his steed, which will become separate bosses over the course of the fight. Defeating Astaroth’s mount first will see it go into a resurrection state, after which it will rejoin the fight if players can’t defeat Astaroth in time. Astaroth can also be modified by Nightmare dungeon affixes, making the boss fight even more challenging.

A look at everything coming as part of Diablo 4 Season 9.

Last but not least, Nightmare dungeons will receive new affixes. Each Nightmare sigil will sport both a positive and negative affix. New positive affixes include the guaranteed appearance of specific shrines, increased XP gains, the appearance of Treasure Goblins, a guaranteed strongroom, equipment rewards, and currency drops.

While the Nightmare dungeon changes will be permanent additions to Diablo 4, Season 9 will additionally introduce new seasonal mechanics for a limited-time. Players will be able to create and modify Horadric Spells to compliment their builds, and can further augment them using new Horadric Jewels that can be slotted into amulets and rings. One Horadric teleport spell in particular might be

Updates to Nightmare dungeons are just the latest permanent changes to come as part of a Diablo 4 season. Season 8 overhauled the game’s endgame boss ladder, while previous seasons, like Loot Reborn, reworked Diablo 4’s entire gear progression system. Diablo 4 Season 9 is not, however, bringing changes to the game’s new (and unpopular) Reliquary battle pass system, though Blizzard has stated it is listening to player feedback.

There are currently no available deals

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Source link

June 24, 2025 0 comments

Esports

New Game of the Week! Bad Cheese is far deeper than a mere 1920s-style nightmare

by admin June 23, 2025

Bad Cheese may look fairly straightforward on the surface with its horrific twist on the Steamboat Willie aesthetic, but in speaking with its creator, we learned just how deep the rabbit hole truly is.

On January 1, 2024, one of the most iconic characters in human history entered the public domain. One of the original versions of Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie, became free property for all creators to use as they desire.

Much like we saw with other similar IPs such as Winnie-the-Pooh, it wasn’t long before poor old Mickey was the subject of vile torment. Adopting a child-like creation and morphing it to suit a horror experience quickly became a popular trend, and that’s where Bad Cheese comes into the mix.

Article continues after ad

On the surface, you’re getting a creepy, body-horror-infused tale with a character eerily similar to Steamboat Willie. But as we learned, that really is just the beginning. There’s a deeper meaning to this fascinating indie project, one you wouldn’t suspect just from looking at it.

Article continues after ad

What is Bad Cheese?

BAD CHEESE – RELEASE WINDOW TRAILER is here!

Step into the tiny paws of a mouse spending the weekend at home with a dysfunctional Dad while Mom’s away.

KEEP DADDY HAPPY and WISHLIST now! 🧀 pic.twitter.com/J8CWvkV3Sf

— Bad Cheese 🧀 DEMO AVAILABLE NOW! (@BadCheeseGame) May 24, 2025

At a glance, Bad Cheese is a first-person horror game leveraging the visual style of 1920s animation, and of course, Steamboat Willie in particular. Playing as a troubled mouse, you need to be on your best behavior when cleaning up the house, so as not to make your father mad.

Article continues after ad

From a pure gameplay perspective, this involves first-person shooting mechanics, plenty of jump scares, and a bit of exploration as you unravel the mystery at the heart of it all.

But as we’ve mentioned, that barely scratches the surface. The visual style is enough to draw you in, but the narrative is what will leave a lasting impression.

Bad Cheese is a deeply personal game, as solo creator Simon Lukasik told us. It tells the story of a “disturbed child in a household with an abusive father.”

Article continues after ad

Stemming from Lukasik’s experiences growing up with an alcoholic parent, the game reflects much of his personal trauma. In a sense, portraying his own story has been a form of “game dev therapy.”

Article continues after ad

What the solo dev says about it

A horror game in the “clothes” of Steamboat Willie

“I think with Mickey Mouse – in my game we refer to him as Keymick – He’s overweight, has eating disorders, he’s coping. These were excellent clothes to put on this idea because they create a contradiction. On one side, you’ve got innocent children; on the other, you have this abusive household drama.

Article continues after ad

“His childhood doesn’t allow him to become the lighthearted guy that we expect. That’s the trauma of children in abusive households.”

FeardemicMickey, or Keymick here, isn’t quite the same cheery mouse we all know.

“The most common issue of going with this style is that people see it as a cheap cash grab. Something is released into the public IP, let’s make a horror game!”

“We were aware of this issue and discussed it from the very beginning.”

Working through childhood trauma

“There are three layers to the story. The first, it’s a horror in the style of Steamboat Willie. We hope that can draw someone’s attention. Then you go to the second layer, it’s a story about an alcoholic, abusive household. Then the third layer, the deepest layer, it’s a depiction of my personal story.

Article continues after ad

“It’s all very personal. It’s the story of a disturbed child in a household with an abusive father. Trying to navigate his life, trying to survive in an alcoholic household.

“You never know what condition your [parent] might be in on a given day. In some cases, you need to become invisible. To basically not provoke them. This is important drama that many can relate to.

“I don’t think many games touch upon this topic. It’s a very dark story, and very weird, but eventually, it’s about hope.”

Article continues after ad

FeardemicBad Cheese pulls no punches with its demonic enemy designs.

Disney meets body horror

“I went crazy with it. Making ‘Daddy’ change his appearance every level. I didn’t want anything to hold me back with crazy ideas. I really got a free hand, no one was interfering with the vision.

“At one point, there is a Binding of Isaac reference where you cry. You can use your tears to attack, but ‘Daddy’ feeds on your fears and your pain.”

Article continues after ad

“It’s a little bit BioShock-y. There’s a sock cannon, a potato gun where you’re creating French fries to fire at enemies. Each section has its own unique tool and set of activities. 10 different sections in the game to play around with.”

Article continues after ad

FeardemicEach level brings new mechanics into the fold.

Bad Cheese is set to release this Summer across both PC and PlayStation. You can wishlist the game here and play an early demo.

Source link

June 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Dune Awakening’s early meta is an unbalanced, helicopter-infested nightmare, and I never want it to end

by admin June 19, 2025

The Dune: Awakening community is torn right now. In the Deep Desert, roaming hordes of orniphopters (the Dune equivilent of a plane or helicopter) are dominating the end game and making an already dangerous area even more perilous. The thing is, I don’t think this is a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s good for the game in the long run.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Deep Desert is a no-holds-barred open world PvP area that makes up the majority of Dune: Awakening’s end game. It’s a vast, mostly barren, landscape where the best materials can be found. It’s also a place where any player can kill you and snatch any money or materials you have on you.

So the stakes are high. At the moment, the Deep Desert is being patrolled by Assault Orniphopters. They may not be able to crush you to death anymore, but they’re still armed with missiles, allowing pilots to shoot down other orniphopters with relative ease. One can be evaded easily enough, but when eight of them fly towards you, you’re done for.

Check out our video retrospective on Dune games here!Watch on YouTube

As you can imagine, there are numerous complaints about these flocks of orniphopters dotted around social media and Dune: Awakening community hubs. Take this Reddit post conveying the sadness tied to the Deep Desert compared to Hagga Basin. Or this one, in which user nowheels64 makes a plea for the lock-on missile launchers that appear in the recent Dune movies. The frustration is real. It’s palpable.

Those annoyed by the Deep Desert all have valid opinions. It is undoubtedly frustrating when you’re on your own, mining materials, and get blown to pieces from some unseen threat on high. Losing all your things is a bummer, there’s no two ways about it.

But I’m going to make an argument that the scurge of orniphopters isn’t inherently a bad thing for the Dune: Awakening end game. The Deep Desert, the Landsraad – it’s all about collaboration with your fellows within the faction you have chosen. Player guilds are attached by the hip to the Landsraad, and objectives assigned each week are so lofty as to practically require group effort. Could one person theoretically farm up 1,000 Adept swords and hand them in on their own? Sure. Is that the intention? Obviously not.

So where does this leave the player, fresh from Hagga Basin? Well, they’re outnumbered and unable to make a real dent in the Landsraad. The only option is to join a guild, to dive headfirst into the social pool of a very community-focused end game.

Dune: Awakening doesn’t force you to do this, to be a social animal, but it’s so obviously the point that the only other thing Funcom could do to emphasise it further is to build a big neon sign that says “join a guild” in the small PvE slice of the Deep Desert.

Flying out alone, like this, is perilous. That’s kind of the point! | Image credit: Eurogamer

I appreciate that this isn’t everyone’s bag. In fact, history has taught us it’s not the majority of people’s preferred way to play. Throne and Liberty lost a lot of players who didn’t want to touch the guild zone control mechanics, no matter how cool sieges looked. Dark Fall Online was incredibly PvP focused, and incredibly niche as a result. In World of Warcraft, if you do a War Mode world quest and see another player PvP tagged, a lot of folks will just /wave and go on with their business.

But with a game like Dune: Awakening, the conflict between the factions is so integral to the mechanics, and even the narrative. You’re on Arrakis during the war of assassins, Landsraad bonuses are faction-wide. It’s Atreides vs Harkonnen baby, all the way down into the mud. To shy away from that would be to separate from the source material in a way I’m not convinced Funcom wants to do.

I’m not going to sit here and tell people they’re playing the game wrong: you play the game you pay for however you want. There’s nothing wrong with popping back to Dune: Awakening when a new faction or major story update happens. But in terms of the Deep Desert, I hope this spirit of danger remains. It can be aggravating, yet it’s also a necessary force to push players into the wider faction conflict. And isn’t that what Dune is really all about?

Source link

June 19, 2025 0 comments