Valheim takes notes from cozy games like Stardew Valley with an update that adds cooking and farming skills, as well as new feasts

Survival game Valheim is set to get significantly cozier thanks to a new update that’s bringing all-new cooking and farming skills, making it feel a lot more akin to a game like Stardew Valley.This is coming as part of ‘The Bog Witch’ update, which is also set to add a new vendor – the titular witch – to Valheim’s swamp biome. This new face will have spices and potions aplenty on offer, as well as new materials for tools and crafting recipes. Gold can also be exchanged for ingredients usable in endurance, strength, and dexterity-enhancing Meads, Tonics, and Draughts.That’s just the start, though, as the specialized Cooking skill is where it’s at for anyone wanting to step into the shoes of a humble chef. Leveling it up by cooking dishes will make preparing culinary delights an even faster process, and grant the chance of crafting additional food items at the same time. Also coming as part of these delicious additions is the arrival of eight new ‘feasts’ – huge banquet…

Balatro creator kicks off supervillain arc, celebrates humanity losing 11,000 years of time to the roguelike across all platforms

Balatro’s taking over the world, and creator Localthunk is loving the view from the top.We’ve seen nothing but a string of successes from the poker roguelike (in the absolute simplest terms) since it launched back in February, going on to sell 50,000 copies in 10 days, and then a million copies in under a month, and double that by August. More recently, it beat out Stardew Valley and Minecraft on the mobile sales charts and was nominated for three different awards at the Golden Joysticks.Now we have a completely different metric by which to measure Balatro’s monumental success, as Localthunk is celebrating the fact that “Balatro has been cumulatively played for over 11,000 years across all platforms.” Balatro has been cumulatively played for over 11,000 years across all platforms 🍌October 8, 2024That is an absolutely staggering figure, and frankly Localthunk seems a little too eager to celebrate humanity losing that much collective time to a video game, even if it is their…

Nintendo had a 9-day Zelda “boot camp” with devs “working from morning until night” to figure out what the heck they were going to do with Echoes of Wisdom

You never know when inspiration is going to strike, and for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom team, inspiration was found during a nine-day boot camp where, according to director Tomomi Sano, they were “working from morning until night” to get the story right.As part of Nintendo’s Ask the Developer Vol. 13 series producer Eiji Aonuma recounts the difficulty of taking creative liberties within the deeper history of Hyrule. This ultimately led to the aforementioned “boot camp” between him and the rest of the team to really figure the new Zelda game out. “It’s very difficult to balance how much to add or change,” says Aonuma. “At first, we were intentionally leaving any parts that might delve into Hyrule’s history vague, but partway through, we just couldn’t find a way forward that way… So, around last summer, we decided to hold a boot camp and work out the story there.”This lengthy excursion centered around the difficulties of touching the existing lore of the franchise and ke…

Ubisoft says Assassin’s Creed Shadows is “the most ambitious entry in the franchise” and was delayed last-minute because “we really want to make sure execution is flawless”

Ubisoft says Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the series’ “most ambitious entry yet” and that the last-minute decision to delay it to February 2025 was made to ensure its “execution is flawless”.During Ubisoft’s latest investor call, CFO Frederick Duguet shared some insights on the decision to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game was previously scheduled to release on November 12, and according to Duguet, it is currently “feature complete” and was close enough to being finished that Ubisoft was preparing to offer preview builds to the press.”As you might know, we were about to run previews, so very close to shipping,” said Duguet. “What we see is that there is, with additional months, the possibility to really further polish the game so that the experience is really flawless and perfect to deliver the fantastic promise of the most ambitious entry in the franchise … What we want to do is really to bring quality to the highest level possible …. We really want to make sure execution is…

Former Sony head responds to those complaining about Ghost of Yotei’s female protagonist: “If you don’t like it, don’t buy it”

Following the big Ghost of Yotei reveal during Sony’s recent PlayStation State of Play event, some have taken to criticizing the Ghost of Tsushima sequel for its female protagonist – and former Sony lead Shawn Layden is having absolutely none of it.Responding to a thread doing the rounds, Layden claps back saying that Ghost of Yotei was made to suit developer Sucker Punch’s vision for the follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima: “It’s a game. An entertainment. A story a team of creators believes in. They want to make this.” He reiterates that “it’s a game,” and if anyone isn’t a fan of it then they can simply not purchase it.1 It’s a game. An entertainment. A story a team of creators believes in. They want to make this.2 it’s a game. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. In fact, why not make the game you want yourself?September 25, 2024″If you don’t like it,” Layden writes, “don’t buy it. In fact, why not make the game you want yourself?” He makes a valid point, and one that many agree with. Ami…

Blizzard’s cancelled survival game Odyssey resurfaces in alleged leaks showing its fairytale “new universe”

Blizzard’s cancelled survival game, said to have been called Odyssey, has resurfaced in a series of alleged screenshots.Blizzard announced the project early on with the concept art above, which seemingly had our characters leaving their modern-day urban home and entering a fairytale fantasy world set in a “whole new universe.” After years in development, Microsoft and Blizzard scrapped the game just three months post-acquisition, alongside the layoff of almost 2,000 employees. Neither company had formally shown what Odyssey looked like in motion, but new purported screenshots from the game give us a clearer idea.One user on Russian social media site VK posted multiple alleged screens of the game, claiming that they had some involvement in the project. The shots look largely familiar if you’ve played any of the best survival games of the moment – there’s a weapons wheel, crafting, resource management, multiplayer elements, and a status screen showing various debuffs and gauges for …

Just 69 players earned Concord’s Platinum before the doomed shooter could be taken offline, according to a leading tracking site

For now, at least, Concord is dead, and the dust has settled on the game community’s attempts to grind for its platinum trophy.When Sony and developer Firewalk announced last week that Concord would be taken offline while they attempted to find “the best path ahead” for the shooter, players realized that the potential was there for the game’s Platinum Trophy to become one of the rarest awards out there. With Concord only available for days before being pulled from sale, anyone who could grind their way to the Plat would be part of an elite club.With that in mind, Concord quickly became full of players throwing themselves off the map to grind XP as efficiently as possible and reach the level 50 spot required to earn that trophy. Concord servers went offline on Friday night, potentially preventing anyone else from earning the reward. Once the dust settled, it turns out that 69 players (via PSN Profiles) have secured the Living Legend trophy, a number that might never grow any l…

The best God of War Ragnarok armor and how to get it

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Best God of War Ragnarok armor

Best early game armor

Best mid game armor

Best Defensive armor

Best Offensive armor

The best God of War Ragnarok armor sets in the game make a huge difference to the way you play and survive the forces of Odin and Thor. Whether it’s early game armor giving you a slight edge, or late game sets that come with devastating enchantments, armor sets in God of War Ragnarok are an integral part of how to play. Either found in the world or forged by master craftsmen the Huldra Brothers, armor allows you to power through and survive strikes from draugr and deities alike. If you want to wear the greatest garments the nine realms have to offer, here’s how to get all the best armor sets in God of War Ragnarok.Best God of War Ragnarok armor sets These are the best God of War Ragnarok armor sets, depending on build and priorities:Best overall/late game armor – Berserker ArmorBest early-game armor – Nidavellir ArmorBest mid-game armor…

How to break Rock Walls in Star Wars Outlaws

To destroy rock walls in Star Wars Outlaws you need the power option for your blaster from the bolt module. That unlocks a charged shot that can punch through objects made of Amberine that bring up a Yellow symbol when you try to shoot them. While seeing walls you can’t get past can be annoying, finding the charged Power Bolt that destroys these rocks in Star Wars Outlaws is just a matter of time. Read on to find how, and when, you’ll get it. How to destroy walls in Star Wars Outlaws To destroy rocks in Star Wars Outlaw, you need the Bolt modification for the blaster, the first of the “Power” options. When you have the Bolt, you can equip it by holding down the Triangle/Y button you would normally press to swap weapon modes. Once equipped, simply fire at the rock or wall blocking your way to destroy it in Star Wars Outlaws.How to get the Star Wars Outlaws Bolt Blaster power module More Star Wars Outlaws guidesStar Wars Outlaws black bars
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Bungie confirms Destiny 2 is done with annual expansions and Episodes – now the MMO will get 2 “medium-sized” expansions plus 4 free updates a year

Destiny 2 is moving away from its longstanding annual expansion model after The Final Shape, Bungie announced in a seismic blog post marking the series’ 10-year anniversary and charting its future, and embracing “medium-sized” expansions released twice a year and cut with four annual free updates.The game is also quickly dropping the three-Act Episode model which has become the epilogue to The Final Shape. Beginning in 2025, a paid Destiny 2 expansion will arrive every six months. Each expansion will start a new season, with the season itself being “available to all players,” and free “Major Updates” coming every three months will refresh these seasons and introduce new content of their own. Destiny 2’s next expansion, Codename: Apollo, is set for summer 2025, after the end of the ongoing Episodes and Acts already teed up. It will launch with a major update codenamed Arsenal, and then fall 2025 will see another major update codenamed Surge. Looking further ahead, expansion Codenam…