Dauntless's recent Steam launch proved disastrous, thanks to some changes the developer made to the core gameplay, which we covered in more detail here. Phoenix Labs responded shortly after the controversy, but that original statement was largely seen as dismissive by the community. Now, Phoenix Labs has put out yet another response, this time responding to individual criticisms and laying out a detailed plan for the future of Dauntless.

In the response, Phoenix Labs starts off by apologizing to the community for the lost progression and disastrous Awakening update. Throughout the rest of the statement, the developer breaks down how it plans to address each of the criticisms, including the progression reset, monetization, and core gameplay changes. The most interesting take-away from Phoenix Labs's response is that the returning players will be rewarded with additional in-game resources—300,000 Rams and 5,000 Combat Merits as well as Peerless Aetherite, scaling based on how many weapons players had crafted before the update—to get them back up to speed in the new system. As of Update 2.2.0, dropping "early next year," players will also no longer have to re-do quests they had already previously completed in order to unlock all game modes and regions. Various challenges and monsters have also received reward drop buffs to speed up progression. Monetization changes include making the free battle pass for future seasons more rewarding, and Phoenix Labs also promised to re-evaluate the monetization strategy in future updates "to balance sustainability with fairness while remaining rewarding for players." As for core gameplay changes, Phoenix Labs has already implemented changes to armor perks, shield caps, and weapon buffs based on feedback, and it says that it will continue to find more ways to add diversity and depth to player builds in future updates.

Nearly five years after Dauntless first launched on consoles and the Epic Games Store, the free-to-play co-op ARPG finally launched on Steam on December 5, although things haven't gone particularly smoothly since then. Less than a week after the Steam launch, the Steam reviews of Dauntless are already in "Overwhelmingly Negative" territory, with SteamDB citing just 19.21% positive reviews. The negative reviews seem to stem from the changes the game's developer, Phoenix Labs, made to the game when it was launched on Steam.

As part of the new Awakening update and launch on Steam, changes were made to a few key gameplay mechanics, and those changes have not been well received by the community. Additionally, progression has been reset for all players, new and old, forcing players to replay quests they've already completed and re-level weapons they had already mastered. The Awakening update also introduced Canisters, a sort of loot box monetization system that offers in-game cosmetics and can only be accessed in the season pass or by purchasing Platinum, the game's premium currency. Basically all of the posts on the Dauntless subreddit after the update are complaints about the changes to the game's mechanics or about players feeling slighted over the deletion of past progression. Players are also upset that the removal of a swathe of weapons has negatively affected build diversity and made players feel like they wasted their time thoroughly learning the game's mechanics and tuning builds. The developer seemingly tried to mitigate the removal of these weapons by adding new abilities, but that doesn't seem to have been enough to compensate for the decreased build diversity. Yet more complaints stem from apparent performance degradations on both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Worse still, those same performance degradations appear to be quite random, with some players saying that their performance has remained the same throughout the update.

Capcom today gave gamers a sneak peek at Monster Hunter Wilds, the sequel to the wildly popular Monster Hunter Rise and Worlds, showing off some in-game footage and divulging details about the new ARPG. Monster Hunter Wilds is slated to launch on February 28, 2025, but eager gamers can try out the latest installment in the Monster Hunter franchise a whole three months early thanks to an open beta starting at the end of October. The open beta will be available to PS5, PC via Steam, and Xbox Series S/X, although the PS5 open beta will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers from October 29, while everyone else will have to wait until November 1 at 3:00 AM (GMT) to participate. The open beta ends on November 4 at 2:59 AM (GMT).

The Monster Hunter Wilds showcase introduces players to another new playable area, called the Oilwell Basin, and a new base, called Azuz, the Everforge, and it looks like the new environment will be mostly in underground caves, shrouded in darkness and the occasional lava vein. Along with the new environment, of course, Wilds will also introduce new monsters, which complement their cavernous surroundings. The showcase also gave us some more information on some of the monsters we can expect to see in the Oilwell Basin, like the oil-silt-lurking Rompopolo, the highly mobile Ajarakan, and what appears to be the area's main monster, called the Black Flame, which will seemingly have a significant role to play in the game's story quest. Of course, the Oilwell Basin is only one new area in Monster Hunter Wilds, and previous promotional images from the new game have shown off plenty of wide-open spaces and grassy plains with rock outcroppings, meaning there will be a degree of diversity for players to explore in the game when it eventually launches.

Right on schedule, and as we reported earlier this month, Wayfinder has exited its long, tumultuous Steam Early Access period, and, almost immediately after the full release, the game saw a significant spike in player count—at least compared to its recent player count. Wayfinder released to the general public today, and since its full launch, it has gained at least 100 additional positive reviews. Meanwhile, the initial player count only spiked by around 2,000 concurrent players, and the game's all-time Steam review score barely budged from its overall mixed rating.

Wayfinder's 1.0 release seems to be off to a slow start, especially compared to its 24,000+ peak concurrent player count, which it achieved back when it was still slated to be a free-to-play online MMO released under Warframe developer Digital Extremes's publishing wing. Since then, however, Airship Syndicate has drastically changed the nature of Wayfinder, turning it into a co-op (or single-player) dungeon crawler ARPG that's loud and proud about being microtransaction-free. In the Wayfinder 1.0 update, Airship Syndicate also added a whole new area for players to explore and a new movement mechanic, which should dramatically increase the verticality of the game and the diversity of combat encounters.

After recently announcing PS5 and PC cross-play, Airship Syndicate announced that its co-op, indie, ARPG dungeon crawler, Wayfinder, will officially exit early access on October 21. Along with the full version 1.0 release, Wayfinder will introduce both a new playable area, called The Crucible, and a new vertical traversal tool, called a Hookshot, specifically designed to explore the ruins of the ancient city. The announcement comes with gameplay footage (see on the PlayStation Blog) of the overgrown, gloomy mega-mech that was built by the ancients to fight a war but has since been reclaimed by nature. The new map adds an extra degree of verticality to the game, giving the developers an opportunity to expand the player experience and arsenal.

In addition to the new region and extended mobility options, Airship Syndicate is teaming up with Critical Role for a paid DLC that will add The Legend of Vox Machina characters to Wayfinder as playable characters. Although exact pricing of the DLC is unknown both the Critical Role DLC Supporter Pack and The Crucible will be available on October 21. After the update, players will still be able to play in both single-player and co-op modes, just like before.

Private Division, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Moon Studios are proud to announce that No Rest for the Wicked is now available on PC (via Steam) Early Access for an introductory price of $35.99 on Steam and the Private Division Store. Once purchased on Steam, No Rest for the Wicked is also playable by streaming the game via the NVIDIA GeForce NOW cloud gaming service (separate membership and sign-up required)—giving gamers instant access to GeForce PC performance on compatible PCs, Macs, SHIELD TVs, Android and iOS devices or Chromebooks without any downloads.

No Rest for the Wicked is a mature, precision Action Role-Playing Game (ARPG). The game features brutal combat, a richly detailed world, item crafting, and a customization system that enables your character to create unique equipment and housing with the help of your collection of artisans. No Rest for the Wicked features a deep plot supported by a rich cast of characters, all wrapped up in Moon's signature visual style that is as beautiful as an oil painting. The game is Moon's bold foray into the genre after successfully launching two critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning games - Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Earlier this month, the world lost a one-of-a-kind creative talent with the news of Akira Toriyama's passing. While Dragon Ball will always be Toriyama-sensei's best-known work, he leaves behind a legacy full of many other imaginative worlds across games, anime, and manga. Before leaving us, he worked with Bandai Namco to flesh out one of his short manga creations further: Sand Land. Alongside a new anime series, Toriyama-sensei gave input on a videogame adaptation of Sand Land that would allow players to explore this unique world for themselves.

The classic manga Sand Land lives on in Bandai Namco's new game, which ventures beyond where the original story concludes. Read on to find out what new adventures await our mech-powered demon hero in the wetlands, caves, and Forest Land. Speaking of Forest Land, we also have a reveal of new gameplay from the woodland biome.

Greetings, Flameborn! Our first update for Enshrouded is finally here! Just a few weeks ago we were releasing our first roadmap, and now we're already ticking a bunch of these boxes… As a team, it feels good! Our goal for each update is to include new content, new features, improvements to existing features, as well as the usual fixes and polish.

The biggest part of the update is undoubtedly the Hollow Halls. You can read more on them below, but a word of advice before you proceed: the encounters will test your mettle and we strongly recommend preparing well and bringing your best food items, as well as campfires to rest during your exploration. It is possible to run these as a solo player, but it might be a very challenging experience, and we recommend bringing some friends along. If you team up with strangers, remember that you can create a backup of your save files. Of course since we're in Early Access, we are very eager to hear your thoughts on the Hollow Halls. Do let us know what you think once you've given them a try! And without further ado…

Today (on March 26), wanderers can conquer the horrors of Hell with a suite of new graphical enhancements available to them with patch 1.3.5. Arriving alongside our next content update, Sanctuary will be further imbued with the luscious shadows and enhanced reflections of ray tracing, plus other visual enhancements.

BASK IN THE GLOW OF NVIDIA GeForce
Players using GeForce RTX 40 Series can max out their ray tracing settings and frame rates with NVIDIA DLSS 3 Frame Generation, while other GeForce RTX users can accelerate performance with DLSS 2's Super Resolution technology. With a GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU, you can multiply performance by up to 3X thanks to DLSS 3. NVIDIA Reflex is a game-changer, reducing system latency on GeForce graphics cards and laptops. Pinpoint accuracy and timing are key to overcoming Diablo IV's most difficult fights; NVIDIA Reflex reduces system latency, making gameplay smooth and more responsive, delivering the reaction time needed in critical moments. The newest GeForce Game Ready Driver delivers the optimum experience with ray tracing, available now for download.

Bandai Namco has released a new action-packed trailer revealing the existence of Forest Land! This new world and characters have been imagined by creator Akira Toriyama specifically for the video game and animated series, expanding the world of Sand Land with new adventures. Beyond the dunes and the scorching desert sun, lies a lush and green nation called Forest Land. Although peaceful at first glance, this place is governed by a ferocious army opposing Sand Land. Leading this force is Muniel, fearsome despite his childlike features, he is determined to save his land by getting his hands on a supply of Aquanium, a powerful but dangerous resource, and he will not back down without a fight.

This is another challenge for Beelzebub, his friends and his new allies, promising a handful of explosive battles against each of the Forest Land's army generals. Supported by Ann, players will be able to count on her courage in battle and her excellent mechanical skills to make their vehicle more efficient and powerful. Sand Land is set to release on 26th April 2024 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and PC. A demo is available now on all platforms to take your first steps in Sand Land.

Hi everyone, we're thrilled for our PC community to join Aloy on her journey as she braves the Forbidden West—a majestic but dangerous frontier that conceals mysterious new threats. That's right, Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition has launched on PC. Horizon Forbidden West continues six months after the events of the critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn. Vicious superstorms rage. The land is dying. Machine hunter Aloy has traveled west to investigate the source of a mysterious blight that ravages the remnants of humanity. In these uncharted lands, she will meet strange new tribes and face ever more deadly colossal machines. Together with old friends and new companions, she must brave this awe-inspiring frontier to find the answers she needs, halt the biosphere's imminent collapse, and save life on Earth.

Unlocked frame rates, ultra-wide support up to 48:9 resolutions and performance-enhancing technologies including NVIDIA DLSS 3 AI-powered upscaling and frame generation allow PC players to experience Aloy's journey in its full glory on compatible hardware. NVIDIA DLAA is available to help maximize image quality. The game also comes with NVIDIA Reflex, reducing system latency and improving gameplay responsiveness. Intel XeSS and AMD FSR 2.2 upscaling is also supported. The team at Nixxes is working on an update to add AMD FSR 3 with frame generation.

Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol was removed from Valve's Steam store back in 2019, due to an expiration of music rights. The Irvine, California-headquartered developer has worked quietly on a re-release of their third-person sci-fi espionage ARPG (originally launched back in 2010) alongside Sega and GOG. A DRM-free version is now available to purchase on CD Projekt's digital distribution platform—in upgraded form; involved parties have sought to improve performance on modern PCs. An achievements system has been added, along with support for all sorts of present day controller inputs (PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox). A cloud save feature has been implemented as well, but more goodies could be on the way—as teased in Raycevick's featurette (viewable below).

The team at GOG has admitted (to PC Gamer) that it took longer than expected to get Alpha Protocol relaunched—the "very long release" is the product of half a year of work. Zuzanna Rybacka—Communication Specialist at GOG/Projekt—stated that the game's relaunch is part of their initiative of: "going back to our core, to bringing back classics…basically, our point (is) to not let all those games that would go to perish, and make them accessible for younger generations." The store's main message/vibe of "Good Old Games" has been diluted in recent years, due to a platforming of very modern titles—GOG started to pivot back to that core philosophy two years ago, with a "return to its roots." The reappearance of Alpha Protocol is only one example of their fortified campaign to bring back classic games.

To all Dragon's Dogma 2 players. We would like to update you on the status of the following items, about which we have received numerous comments from the community. To all those looking forward to this game, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

Regarding Frame Rate
A large amount of CPU usage is allocated to each character and calculating the impact of their physical presence in various areas. In certain situations where numerous characters appear simultaneously, the CPU usage can be very high and may affect the frame rate. We are aware that in such situations, settings that reduce GPU load may currently have a limited effect; however, we are looking into ways to improve performance in the future.

Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced the release of a playable demo on consoles and PC for Sand Land, the upcoming action RPG based on Akira Toriyama's original work (Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump). Sand Land is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on April 26, 2024. For more information visit Sand Land's official site; pre-orders for Standard, Deluxe and Collector's Edition of the title are available now.

Beelzebub, Rao, and Thief are just about to hit the road. Fancy tagging along?
This explosive new demo invites players to experience a slice of the exciting vehicle and melee combat and exploration in Sand Land. Step into the roles of the Fiend Prince Beelzebub, his chaperone Thief, and the fearless Sheriff Rao as the band of heroic misfits journeys across this colorful world via Battle Tanks, Battle Armors, and Motorcycles. Fans who play the demo will receive 30 B-grade steel and 30 B-grade bolts in the final game after launch, which can be used to enhance vehicles in Spino.

Greetings, Flameborn! You've all been patiently waiting for weeks now, eagerly wondering what's next for Enshrouded. We have been playing it very safe: on the one hand, we have big ambitions for the game, and loads of ideas! On the other hand, Enshrouded is a brand new game, and some of the things we want to do might turn out to be more difficult than we can anticipate! It's a push-and-pull of wanting to keep you interested, without over-promising on our capacity to deliver.

Nonetheless, we've managed to land on a roadmap that we think will be of interest to everyone. For those of you who have shared your feedback on Feature Upvote, a lot of these items will look familiar! One of the factors that makes us feel so confident in the evolution of Enshrouded is that in so many cases, your feedback and our vision for the game align pretty closely. For those of you who haven't looked into Feature Upvote yet, take a look, search for terms you're interested in, and let us know what you think! We'll reopen suggestion submissions soon.

Ah, Sparta! Home to the finest warriors in all of ancient Greece, a marvel of a city, a true superpower on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, protected by its mighty city walls... wait a second. Wasn't Sparta famous for its walls being its army only? So why can we see Spartans riding home through a massive wall in Titan Quest II's announcement trailer? The latest dev diary for the upcoming action RPG Titan Quest II highlights Sparta and explains how Titan Quest II offers a fantastical twist on the actual ancient reality.

For a deep dive on the music and world design of Titan Quest check out the previous dev diaries. Forged in the creative crucible of Grimlore Games in Germany, Titan Quest II is currently under development. This epic odyssey is destined for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X, eagerly anticipated to launch when the time comes.

Prepare for your grand adventure, Arisen! Create your characters for Dragon's Dogma 2 in this free tool, available now! Customize the looks of your main character, the Arisen, and the looks and inclination of your companion, your Main Pawn. The character data created in this tool can be transferred to the base game of Dragon's Dogma 2. In this tool you can store up to 5 characters of each, the Arisen and your Main Pawn respectively. PC gamers can download the Dragon's Dogma 2 Character Creator & Storage tool via Steam.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG that challenges the players to choose their own experience - from the appearance of their Arisen, their vocation, their party, how to approach different situations and more - in a truly immersive fantasy world. You can pre-order the Standard Edition or the Digital Deluxe Edition of Dragon's Dogma 2 via the game's official site. Dragon's Dogma 2 will release worldwide on March 22.

Hello everyone! The Thaumaturge is out now! Traverse the complex tapestry of 1905 Warsaw where harsh reality intertwines with mysterious powers and dark entities. Use your mystical abilities to tame powerful salutors and investigate the city's deepest secrets. Step onto the culturally flourishing streets of Warsaw with an even more fashionable style in The Thaumaturge Digital Deluxe Edition.

The Thaumaturge bypasses traditional genre elements and features side quests seamlessly integrated with the main story, along with a meaningful, personal, narrative-driven adventure backed by a myriad of smaller stories. Influence and manipulate characters, carving your path in this world. Exercise caution, as each decision holds consequences that either restrain or feed your inner flaws such as pride, vehemence, or scheming. Give impactful responses through the choice-infused dialogue system. Immerse yourself in turn-based encounters elevated by salutors, ethereal entities commanded by the thaumaturge. Employ your perception to predict and overtake enemy moves, and utilize salutors' unique abilities for strategic dominance. Drawing inspiration from Slavic folklore, these entities feature psychic strikes and manipulation, along with a wide array of upgrades that transform Wiktor's skills in combat into an engaging dance of strength and strategy.

ATLUS has announced Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, coming to the Nintendo Switch family of systems, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows and Steam on June 21, 2024. The latest title in the series, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance allows players to enjoy the story of Shin Megami Tensei V in its entirety, with a new story path, untold in the original. Massively expanded with new areas, demons, and music, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance features more accessible gameplay, an improved battle system, new demon experiences, and greater field exploration.

When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks the protagonist's walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He finds himself in a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da'at. Before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a savior emerges, and they unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.

Greetings, Flameborn! In less than a month since launching, Enshrouded crossed the two million players mark! Since its first week, the game has held a steady Very positive rating on Steam, and the reception everywhere has been both incredible and humbling. Whether you're one of the celebs, athletes, or one of the two million anonymous Flameborn who have taken up the fight to reclaim Embervale, you're all absolute heroes in our book. We couldn't have expected such a response.

We—Keen Games—have already put out multiple hotfixes and a patch to address your concerns and issues. We're hard at work on another patch that we hope to release shortly, and work has started on the first content update, for which we hope to share plans soon! In the meantime, a reminder that you can vote for one of the 2600+ player suggestions on our feedback platform. You've trusted us to make Enshrouded the best game it can be. The journey is barely starting, and we can't wait to share it with you!

Explore, fight and ride epic vehicles in this first SAND LAND gameplay overview. In a distant future, humans and demons live together in a desertic world deprived of water: the SAND LAND. To restore balance to the world, the Fiend Prince Beelzebub forms a strange trio with his chaperone Thief and the human Sheriff Rao. Together, they will set off on an epic journey, in search of the Legendary Spring. SAND LAND is an immersive and exciting Action-RPG, based on the manga by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. In this article, you will discover its environments, gameplay systems, and unique elements that will make your adventure unique and memorable.

EXPLORE TWO UNIQUE WORLDS
The long-lasting desert is yours to explore. Encounter unique creatures, dive into unique biomes such as canyons and dungeons, loot essential materials, but beware of a challenge that awaits: the King's Royal Army, commanded by the Supreme Commander Zeu, is coming… No respite allowed! The end is only the beginning, as beyond the dunes lies an unknown lush world to explore, populated by even more unique and dangerous enemies to overcome. Be ready to dive into an epic adventure!

For the second half of February, we have some surprise games, some not-so-surprise games, Perks, and a DLC—plenty to get you gaming now and to prime your pre-install buttons! Whether you boot up Bluey: The Videogame to play with the family, jump into Madden NFL 24 to try and recreate the big game how you would have played it, or just want to play Maneater to see what it'd be like to be an absolute menace as a shark, we have you covered. Let's get to the games!

Available Today:
Return to Grace (Cloud, Console, and PC)
A daring space archaeologist has just unearthed the ancient resting place of a long lost A.I. god known as Grace. Adventure with various fractured A.I. personalities as you uncover the great mystery of why she was shut down all those years ago in this first-person narrative adventure set in a visually stunning '60s retro sci-fi world.

Last Epoch is releasing Wednesday, February 21st, 2024, at 11:00am CT! Welcome everyone to the patch notes for Last Epoch's Release! It's been an amazing road to this point, and it's unreal to be writing patch notes without using the term "Beta Patch". With this patch Last Epoch will officially be leaving Early Access. We couldn't have made it to this point without all of you, our amazing community driving the world of Eterra alongside us. We can not say it enough, Thank you.

We also want to mention again here that to prepare the servers for our release on February 21st, we will be shutting down our servers 24 hours before the patch, starting: Tuesday, February 20st, 2024, at 11:00am CT. While the servers are down, authentication will not be possible. If you are already playing in offline mode before we take down the servers, you should be able to continue your play session, however offline will not be able to authenticate to log in once the servers are down. This is also a good point to note that one of the features being added with 1.0 is a true offline mode, which will prevent this kind of interference with offline mode in the future.

It's finally (almost) here! With Nightingale's Early Access launch just a few days away on February 20th, we (Inflexion Games) wanted to share with you some gameplay and feature updates before we open the portals to the Faewilds. If you have any questions or feedback on the topics below then jump into our official Discord and join the discussion. Set out on a journey of survival and adventure, into the mysterious and dangerous Fae Realms of Nightingale! Become an intrepid Realmwalker, and venture forth alone or with friends—as you explore, craft, build and fight across a visually stunning Gaslamp Fantasy world.

FSR 3 Removal
After reviewing crash data from the Server Stress Test, a significant number of them seemed to point to FSR 3 integrations, whether or not users had the setting turned on. To ensure better stability, we temporarily have removed FSR 3 from the launch build and are working with various external and internal teams to see if we can implement it, or an older FSR version, in future updates. We've added an update to our Performance Expectation blog to reflect this change. For those who wish to use XeSS or DLSS, these will still be available at launch.

Aye, Banishers!✨We are pleased to announce that Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden launched with critical acclaim on February 13! Discover how the intimate narrative Action-RPG conquered the hearts of players, with a current 89% user score on Steam, and garnered worldwide praise from the press in today's Accolades trailer! Immersing players in an "atmospheric, lore-rich world," Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden strikes a chord thanks to its "engaging and well-written story, dynamic combat system" and "excellent character performances."

Focus Entertainment and DON'T NOD are thrilled by such a positive reception, and can't wait to hear what players will share in the future, as they take on an emotionally moving journey between life, death, love and sacrifices. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and Epic Games Store. Buy the game, grab its Collector's Edition or the Red Echoes Edition, and sign up as a Focus member or subscribe to the newsletter to get the latest exclusive information and upcoming special offers for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and the entire Focus catalog.