Spider-Man Remastered Is Steam Deck Verified

Over the past couple of years, Sony has brought several of its popular IPs to PC. For example, Horizon Zero Dawn came to Steam and the Epic Games Store in 2020 and was followed by God of War in January 2022. In addition to these successful titles, the company intends to keep the PC ports coming with Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, and news about the game’s performance on the Steam Deck was recently revealed.

The Steam Deck is the latest console produced by Valve and is advertised as a portable gaming PC. One of the perks of this system is that it allows gamers to access and play many of the latest games available on Steam. This means that gamers on Steam Deck will soon have the opportunity to try out Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered when it launches in the coming days. Ahead of its release, fans have learned some exciting details regarding how it will run on the portable system.

Recently, it was revealed that Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered had been officially verified for the Steam Deck. This news came from an August 3 tweet from Insomniac Games. “Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is Steam Deck Verified!” the tweet read with a green check mark attached to the end of the message.

This verification means that fans should be able to play Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on the Steam Deck and have the title run reliably when it releases for PC on August 12. Based on information from Valve, this verification program helps provide quality assurance to those playing certain games on the system. According to the company, games like Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered must meet requirements in four different areas in order to be verified on the Steam Deck. These requirements include reaching certain standards in Input, Seamlessness, Display, and System Support.

While this news about Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered being Steam Deck verified is noteworthy, it is not the only Spider-Man game coming to PC. In addition to Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is expected to release on PC, potentially later this year. However, it is yet to be revealed if this title will be verified for the Steam Deck like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered.

Fortunately, those excited to try Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on the Steam Deck but still waiting to receive their system recently received some good news. In an update, Valve detailed the current status of production of Steam Deck units and noted that those with reservations for the system can expect theirs to arrive before the end of the year. Hopefully, this means those wanting to check out Marvel's Spider-Man- Remastered on the portable system will get the chance soon.

Elden Ring Datamine Suggests Malenia Used to Be an Even Tougher Boss

Elden Ring is an open-world RPG with a vast number of weapons and play styles available. This means that each Elden Ring player’s experience with the game is likely to be unique to them. Players will have differing opinions on separate areas of the game’s map, which bosses should be done in which order, and even which ending is the best. But surprisingly, most Elden Ring players can agree on which of the game’s bosses is the most difficult, namely, Malenia, Blade of Miquella.

Malenia is one of the Elden Ring’s many optional world bosses, and she reaches the top spot on most boss difficulty lists due to being a deadly combination of fast, punishing, and extremely hard hitting. Malenia also has a unique life-stealing effect which causes her health bar to regenerate with every hit she lands on the player, and this coupled with her various combos means that all of a player's progress during the boss fight can quickly be undone in a matter of seconds.

It may be hard to believe, then, but this boss fight was once even tougher in the 1.0 version of Elden Ring, which is the version of the game that can be found on game discs before any patches or updates. A FromSoftware-focused Youtuber named Kotn3l has made a video showcasing all the differences between the 1.0 version of Malenia and the version that was seen in Elden Ring upon the game’s release.

The video reveals many subtle changes that were made to Malenia’s boss fight, such as timings for attack animations and an increased propensity for blocking the player’s attacks. This 1.0 version of Malenia seems to have had increased aggression towards the player as well. Kotn3l’s video also reveals that an attack similar to Malenia’s notorious Waterfowl Dance attack was cut from Elden Ring.

The Waterfowl Dance is Malenia’s most brutal attack and features a flurry of blades swiping around the rapidly moving boss. This combo secretly acts as an AOE attack, which is why it has caught so many Elden Ring players off guard when they try to dodge through it. What Kotn3l’s video reveals, however, is that this notorious attack may not be the original Waterfowl Dance. In the 1.0 build of Elden Ring, this attack is known as Malenia’s Blade. The Boss’ second AOE flurry attack is also far more suited to the name Waterfowl Dance.

As pointed out by a commenter under Kotn3l’s video, this removed second attack has Malenia perform a similar AOE flurry of blade swipes, but this time while hopping on one foot. This is visually similar to how cranes are often depicted standing on one foot and could be where the attack originally received the name Waterfowl Dance.

Twitch Bans Kyootbot

Content creators getting banned from Twitch is nothing new, and at this point, people are used to hearing about somebody being booted from the platform on a nearly daily basis, whether temporarily or permanently. Sometimes these punishments are considered uncalled for or, contrarily, not harsh enough, but usually a person’s ban is understandable when viewed from the angle of a Twitch terms of service violation.

One recent occurrence concerned a fairly high-profile Twitch streamer called GreekGodx who was banned for, according to him, briefly twerking on camera. Others believed that his temporary removal from the platform was due to a recent rant in which he declared that any woman he dated would have to stop streaming or working and spend most of their time in the kitchen. Understandably, many people considered his stance sexist and inappropriate, though he was allowed to return to the platform on July 1.

Now, another popular Twitch streamer, Kyootbot, has been temporarily banned as well. The content creator has been suspended before, though that was due to a mistake by Twitch, making this her first real ban. One viewer states that the reason for the 24-hour suspension is that “her chat was wildin” with no moderation. However, in a subsequent YouTube stream, Kyootbot herself said that she was banned for “just attire sh*t,” and fans will have to take her word for it. Though Twitch began telling users why a channel is unavailable in January in an attempt to be more transparent about bans, that still only provides a vague rather than specific explanation.

In all likelihood, Kyootbot was probably banned for her attire. The streamer rose quickly on Twitch in 2021, thanks in part to her somewhat unique content. Often wearing only a bra and underwear or other lingerie-style clothing, she invites random viewers into a Discord chat where they have seven minutes to attempt to woo her. The opportunity to “speed date” Kyootbot resulted in her channel growing from 68,000 followers in July 2021 to 360,000 at the time of this most recent ban.

While some viewers feel that extremely popular streamers like Amouranth don’t receive consequences proportionate to their TOS-breaking behavior, the Amazon-owned streaming platform does call out creators for inappropriate clothing. Corinna Kopf received a temporary ban for her attire in May, and TheDanDangler faced the same punishment for wearing a bikini during a pool stream just a few days later. The platform’s guidelines are difficult to understand for some streamers, with Twitch allowing Kyootbot to wear sexy clothing on a regular basis and then banning her for donning something that, to many, doesn’t seem that different than usual.

PlayStation 5 Owner Gives Console a PS2-Themed Makeover

While the sleek, white design of Sony's PlayStation 5 is enough for plenty of users, there are those who want to customize their console. As Sony does not have different colored PS5s available for sale officially, a lot of fans have used decals since the PS5 launched back in 2020 to customize their hardware. Controllers and consoles can be given a whole host of new looks through decals, with some fans creating some interesting and unique designs for their PlayStations.

Previously, one Mortal Kombat 11 fan made their own PS5 console and controller skin concept based on the game. Moving away from basing a console on a game, another PlayStation 5 owner has sought to give their machine a unique look, this time with a more nostalgic theme. User HistoricalAd5106 on Reddit showed off their customized PlayStation 5, which has a sleek, all-black design, complete with a logo on the side which takes inspiration from the PS2.

Considering there isn't a logo on the side of the PlayStation 5, this may be a nice touch for any fan wanting to relive their more nostalgic moments in gaming. To make their custom PS5, HistoricalAd5106 first took off the faceplates from the console, which are designed to be removed, before replacing them with slightly transparent, tinted plates for a look that better emulated that of the PS2. Then, the PS5 owner removed the console's center piece and replaced it with carbon fiber. Fans and gamers in the comments of HistoricalAd5106's post praised the user for their custom creation, with many wanting their own PS5 with a nostalgic PlayStation 2 look.

Previously, another fan had made a PS2 design for their PlayStation 5. However, that version of the custom console didn't feature the PS2 logo on the side and had a matte black finish on the machine instead of the glossy look of HistoricalAd5106's PS5. With the PlayStation 5 having been available for some time now and with the plates being easily removable, plenty of customized consoles have been made, even with Sony not offering any official unique PS5s.

Departing from Sony consoles, Xbox has seen its fair share of both officially created custom consoles and fan-made looks. In May 2022, to celebrate the release of The Wild update for Minecraft, Microsoft gave away a custom Xbox Series S with a design based on the game. Fans, too, have made plenty of custom Xbox consoles with themes based on anything from Doctor Who to Mass Effect.

Cult of the Lamb Tells Players How to Start a Cult in New Trailer

Cult of the Lamb is a roguelike game where the player takes on the role of a sheep saved from sacrificial slaughter by a strange entity. While the game does have a cutesy aesthetic, the developers at Massive Monster have discussed using the cartoonish style of Cult of the Lamb as a juxtaposition against its horror elements, similar to shows like Over the Garden Wall. As well as having a horror theme and allowing the player to venture out into a procedurally generated world to destroy rival cults, it also lets them build their own collection of worshippers.

This mechanic was shown off in a new trailer for Cult of the Lamb, which almost acts as a tutorial for how to begin a cult. To begin collecting followers, a player must first take down a rival cult through exploring the roguelike element of Cult of the Lamb. Once the false prophet of that cult has been dealt with, a new follower for the player's cult can be recruited. When a new follower is indoctrinated into the cult, a player can customize their new worshipper how they see fit.

Things like the follower's name and appearance can be altered. Each addition to the cult will also come with a unique trait, but examples of these aren't given in the trailer. Basically, collecting followers in this new Devolver Digital title sounds like a creepier version of getting new villagers in Animal Crossing, except with a bit more customization options. Followers can give the player power from daily sermons and will follow differing rules depending on the chosen doctrine of the cult.

If step one in growing a cult is getting the followers, step two in the Cult of the Lamb trailer is then making sure the faithful followers are rewarded. Players can do this by feeding their followers with grand feasts, granting them gifts, or even marrying them. If the flock is happy, then the shrine in the center of the player's base will shine with devotion. However, if things aren't going so well in the cult, some may grow unfaithful.

The unfaithful can be dealt with in numerous ways in Cult of the Lamb. There are re-education methods to bring an unfaithful follower back into the flock, but there's also always the option to feed an unfaithful follower to a tentacled monster, something that was shown off in Cult of the Lamb's initial reveal. It seems that these darker rituals will have their benefits in growing a player's power as well, perhaps making the idea of sacrificing a loyal follower that much more enticing.

This Four-Player Speedrun of Phasmophobia Is Insane

For those who want a little challenge from their games, there's always the option to attempt a speedrun in which, as the name suggests, the goal is to complete a game as quickly as possible. With Summer Games Done Quick 2022 going on right now, there are plenty of opportunities for those interested to see some of the best runs of a wide range of titles, and all for charity as well. This year, there's been an interesting attempt in which four players decided to speedrun Phasmophobia.

Typically, runs are conducted by a single person or perhaps multiple people racing each other in a single-player game. However, it's pretty uncommon for players to perform a speedrun of a multiplayer game, especially something like Phasmophobia, which is a game often about luck. However, four people took up the challenge at this year's SGDQ, with them all attempting to uncover what the identity of the ghost in each of the game's six houses, including the slightly larger farmhouses. This was made even trickier by them all having to maintain vocal coordination while also commentating on the event.

The video is now up on YouTube, and it's pretty insane to watch. Runners Brossentia, NPC, FlannelKat, and Peace Egg were able to get through all six maps in a time of 29 minutes. That's about five minutes per map. The sheer speed at which they uncover evidence, move through the houses, and finally reach a conclusion is so impressive in a blink-and-miss-it kind of way that one of the scariest video games in recent history barely gets a chance to frighten any of the players. Through a combination of team work and in-depth knowledge of the game, it becomes a race against time rather than a slow-paced horror investigation, and it's fun to watch.

Not only is Phasmophobia one of the scariest games to come out in the last year or so, it was also one of the highest rated games on Steam. Currently it has a rating of "Overwhelmingly Positive" on the PC storefront. The game has become a staple for many streamers, and its unique take on the genre has helped the developer, Kinetic Games, become an overnight success.

There are many difficult games when it comes to speedrunning, such as Doom and Bloodborne, but it takes a certain level of cooperation for people to make an attempt in a multiplayer setting. As Brossentia said at the start, this was not about guessing what the ghost was, but about using real evidence and deduction to succeed.

Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix Show Leaks New Details, Including Title

Horizon Zero Dawn was incredibly well received when it launched back in 2017, with many praising Dutch studio Guerrilla Games for its creation of a unique and fresh IP, featuring a post-apocalyptic world where humans exist in tribal communities alongside highly advanced machines. The game received a sequel called Horizon Forbidden West that released to positive reviews earlier in 2022. Alongside the video game space, it seems that some companies believe the Horizon franchise would also do well in other mediums.

Namely, with Horizon Zero Dawn's rich world building and lore, it has been deemed by Netflix as a good IP to produce a TV series on. The Horizon TV series was announced officially by Sony in May 2022, alongside a God of War series that is being adapted by Amazon Prime Video. Initially, not much was known about the Horizon TV adaptation besides the fact that it was in the works. Now, thanks to industry insider Jeff Grubb, fans may have a new wealth of details regarding the upcoming show.

According to Grubb, whose source is the Director's Guild of Canada Ontario website, the name of the TV show will be Horizon 2074 and it will feature two timelines. Considering that the name of the show involves a date, it is highly likely that one of these timelines will take place in the year 2074, leading up to the downfall of humanity. The other timeline, then, could take place in the era of the Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West games, some hundreds of years after the fall of the "old ones."

As well as revealing its title, Grubb also tells fans that the show will be set and filmed in Toronto, due to tax incentives. This shouldn't clash too much with the setting of the Horizon games, which take place in North America without referring to specific locations. Also, from the Director's Guild website, some of the names of the crew working on the Horizon show can be seen, including Jack Boem, who has worked on The Boys TV series, as well as Michelle Brady of The Expanse.

The story of Horizon 2074 is split across two timelines, as stated, but it will not copy the story of Horizon Zero Dawn beat for beat. Instead, it is rumored that fan favorite protagonist Aloy will feature, but she may not be the focal point of the series. Instead, Horizon 2074 will involve a reimagining of the major events from the games. While this might not be the faithful remake some fans were hoping for, the Netflix adaptation will still feature two main Horizon attractions: its world and machines.

Riot Games to Begin Monitoring Valorant Voice Chat

While competitive gaming can offer some exciting experiences and even give the best players careers in eSports, there are some issues that players can face when wanting to rank up in games like CS:GO, League of Legends, and Valorant. Often these issues stem from players interacting with each other and can usually be summed up with the term "toxic behavior." Verbally harassing and trolling other players through voice chat is a problem that many gamers face and a few games have tried to fix. Back 4 Blood recorded what players said in its voice chat, for example.

Now, Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends and Valorant, is looking to follow suit. Riot has stated in a brief update posted to the Valorant website that starting July 13 in North America, English voice chat will be recorded. This has caused some concern from players who believe this acts as an invasion of their privacy in Valorant and could lead to some unfair bans from the game.

Riot has since stated that this will be a background launch of a voice evaluation tool that it plans to launch in beta this year. The technology will use recordings of what players say in voice chat in order to determine which users are breaking behavioral policies. Essentially, this tool seeks to detect overly toxic users, working in a similar way to a recent Sony patent that sought to root out toxicity by detecting disruptive play.

Currently, Riot Games' test will only listen to the voice chat of English-speaking users. And to put their minds at ease, the developer has also stated that even if a player is found to be disruptive, it will not automatically ban them. There are "systems in place" to correct any falsely positive or negative results occurring from the detection system. Riot is clearly ramping up its stance against toxic behavior, something that many of its fans have been wanting for some time. Before changing Valorant's voice chat feature, the company previously removed the all-chat function in League of Legends to stop players from other teams from being toxic towards each other.

Even with this change being a major one to Riot's reporting of toxic behavior, the developer introduced the concept of voice chat recording Valorant some time ago. In April 2021, Riot Games updated its terms of service so that it could "record and evaluate" voices in its games, beginning with the competitive FPS. In that iteration, the company would only review recordings when an incident was reported. Now, fans are seeing a more updated version, that will presumably be much better at tracking and identifying any toxicity.

PS Plus Free Games For July 2022 Leak Online

The PS Plus free games for July 2022, otherwise known as the Essential tier, are expected to be revealed by Sony on June 29. Sony typically announces its PS Plus free game batch on the last Wednesday before the first Tuesday of the month, while Sony has also announced that the new PS Plus Extra and Premium games will come near the middle of the month.

For example, Stray is already confirmed as a PS Plus Extra/Premium game in July, which is promising. It should be noted that Sony is still in a transition period in terms of bringing games to the service post-launch of the new tiers, and Sony had previously stated that there would be two free PS Plus games on the Essential tier every month. It seems, for now, that it may have meant at least two games every month, as three free PS Plus games have leaked online.

All rumors and leaks live and die by their source, but as many PS Plus subscribers know, the source of this leak is incredibly reliable. Dealabs user Billbil-kun has leaked nearly every PS Plus release of the last several months, even revealing a couple of Epic Games Store free titles too. Their track record is near spotless. With that in mind, Billbil-kun says that the three games for July 2022 are the following:

• Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (PS5/PS4)
• The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (PS4)
• Arcadegeddon (PS5/PS4)

The first was a long-awaited sequel, with a tongue-in-cheek subtitle, where Crash and Coco may team up, travel the world, gather crystals, and put the elementals into a hibernated state. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is one in an anthology of unique horror stories, with this one telling of four college students who are forced by pirates to look for Manchurian Gold, and in that pursuit, come across a ghost ship. Finally, Arcadegeddon is a co-op multiplayer shooter where players must save an arcade from an evil mega-corporation, which has attacked the new super game with a virus—and that is what players must stop.

These PS Plus games will be available to claim from July 5 to August 2, and interested players will have until then to claim the PS Plus free games for June 2022. These include God of War, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

Xbox Says It Will Support Employees Following Roe v. Wade Overturn

As the country and the rest of the world deal with the aftershocks of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Xbox joined the ranks of organizations and companies trying to assuage fears from its employees. That attempt came in the form of a message on Friday afternoon that promised that Xbox would do "everything it can" to make sure that employees would continue to have access to critical healthcare.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Friday removed decades of legal precedent that held a woman's right to privacy allowed for the constitutional protection of reproductive healthcare, including abortions. It marked the first time in the high court's history that it had rolled back constitutional protections that had been enshrined for so long in this way. In response, several companies in the video game industry and elsewhere voiced displeasure with the ruling. Some of those companies went further than decrying the court's actions and made statements offering up plans on how employees could still get access to the same healthcare benefits they were able to receive prior to Friday.

Xbox took to its official Twitter account first with the message that it would do all it could for people that work for the division of Microsoft. Not long after the initial tweet, it laid out exactly what it was going to be doing in the aftermath of SCOTUS' decision.

In the same vein as Bungie's initiative, Xbox first pointed out that its U.S. health care plans cover lawful medical services like abortion and gender-affirming care. The company then said that it had expanded its travel benefits to include travel expense support assistance.

With Xbox and Bungie being the first to offer this kind of support, it underlines just how the SCOTUS ruling could impact the country in the coming weeks, months, and years. The court did not outlaw abortion outright but instead said that it was a "states' rights" issue meaning that each individual state could either outlaw or allow it. Xbox is essentially saying it will reimburse people who live in a state where abortion is illegal to travel to a state where it's allowed.

Considering the sheer number of companies like Xbox, Naughty Dog, and others that issued statements in support of Roe v. Wade after the Supreme Court's decision, it seems likely that including this kind of benefit inside insurance policies will become quite widespread. Earlier Friday, Dick's Sporting Goods was one of the first companies in the country to offer a similar travel expense support plan.

Elden Ring Fan Makes Impressive Art of the Merchant Kale

At launch, some gamers complained that Elden Ring was a graphically unimpressive game, citing games that looked more photorealistic to put down its art style. However, many more gamers came to the defense of Elden Ring, claiming that its art style is extremely unique and beautiful; the game is full of breathtaking landscapes and awe-inspiring views.

However, perhaps just as impressive as its landscapes are the game's NPCs, specifically the non-hostile ones. The diverse roster of characters one runs into on their journey through The Lands Between makes the journey all the more interesting and varied. For example, many players have made art of Elden Ring's Ranni, dedicating their works to one of their favorite characters from the game.

One of these memorable characters is the game's first merchant; found just past the daunting Elden Ring Tree Sentinel, Kale can be found in the ruins of a church that provides a safe haven from the Tree Sentinel and other nearby enemies. Along with his donkey and his campfire, the merchant is a warm, comforting presence when compared to the rampaging golden boss and the scathing sarcasm of Varre. Recently, an Elden Ring player decided to put their artistry to the test, creating an incredible art piece featuring Kale and his donkey.

Reddit user Groomgrim created the piece and posted it to the site. Besides the background, which features what looks to be Elden Ring's Stormveil Castle, the piece is dedicated almost entirely to Kale and his donkey. The level of detail in the piece is very high, showing off many small details that help to bring the piece together, such as Kale's wares laid out in front of him. The fire serves as a welcoming contrast to the dark background of the picture, as does Kale himself.

Many players took to calling Kale Santa due to his getup as well as his function; he is a cheery-looking fellow who seems entirely out of place with the surrounding dangerous wilderness, offering a reprieve from violence as well as gifts (for a price, of course). Apparently, the merchants of Elden Ring had a darker storyline originally, and were tied to the Frenzied Flame ending of the game; frankly, Kale fits better as Santa than as a potential Elden Lord.

However, it would be incredibly interesting to see what Kale could have been; while the madness questline seems quite out of place for the merchants, perhaps it would've also fleshed out their backstory. Conversely, it probably made Kale evil, and considering how loved of a character he is currently, perhaps it is best for the community that the storyline never reached the final game. Conversely, a Groomgrim piece with Kale as the Lord of Frenzied Flame would be nothing short of incredible; here's to hoping.

Leaker Teases State of Play and God of War: Ragnarok Release Date Reveal

When the soft reboot for the God of War franchise released in 2018, fans were immediately impressed by the new focus on Norse mythology weaved with well-received narrative and gameplay elements. As God of War was such a popular series, fans were of course excited when the sequel, God of War: Ragnarok, was announced. Initially planned to be released in 2021, God of War Ragnarok was later rescheduled to a 2022 launch. However, even as the months march on, many are still unsure when the game will actually release.

Fans have been looking at everything from tweets to pieces of merchandise to guess when God of War Ragnarok will launch. To add to the mass of theories and speculation, one leaker is teasing that they know when the elusive release date will finally be revealed. The leaker is known as The Snitch, an alleged industry insider who has had a flawless prediction rate, recently telling gamers what to expect from Sony's State of Play event in early June and revealing some of the titles announced at Summer Games Fest.

Now, The Snitch is teasing fans with a potential date for a new Sony State of Play event, where it is believed that God of War: Ragnarok will have a major focus. The leaker tweeted a GIF featuring a smiling Kratos while the numbers 11110 appeared onscreen. 11110 is binary for 30, implying the 30th of June. This date would line up as a potential State of Play date, as it marks a Thursday, when Sony typically hosts its presentations. This would also make sense when combined with Tom Henderson's recent prediction that another State of Play would happen at the end of June.

There is also an expectation that both PlayStation and Nintendo have more news to share before June is over, which lines up with the proposed date of the 30th for a God of War Ragnarok release date reveal. Already, fans have some idea of when the latest God of War title will drop, with the strongest theory right now alluding to a release some time in November.

This is primarily due to fears spreading throughout the gaming community that God of War: Ragnarok could be pushed into 2023, sharing a similar fate to a few of the other major releases expected in 2022 like Starfield and Redfall. However, tweets from God of War Producer Cory Balrog have seemed to make fun of this idea that the game will be delayed. Even so, fans are still hoping for a confirmation soon so that their fears can be put to rest.

Skyrim Fan Makes Real-Life Sleeping Giant Inn Sign

The world of Skyrim is massive and full of many unique locales for players to visit. Unsurprisingly, many gamers have traveled to most of these destinations found in the game over the last decade. For example, one of the locations in Skyrim that players can pay a visit to during their journeys is the Sleeping Giant Inn.

Located in the town of Riverwood, the Sleeping Giant Inn is run by Delphine and is a worthwhile stopping point for weary adventurers. Not only does it have lodging for those needing to rest, but it boasts several other amenities for players to use, such as Alchemy Labs. Recently, one fan of Skyrim chose to remake a classic piece from this inn in the real world.

Taking to Reddit, a user known as KitLivingstone shared a picture of an impressive woodworking project they had recently completed. However, this woodcraft stood out because they had decided to carve a real-life version of the sign from the Sleeping Giant Inn found in Skyrim. In the image, the real-life woodcarving shared many of the same characteristics as its in-game counterpart. For instance, the name of the inn was at the top of the sign, while a beautifully carved figure of a sleeping giant occupied the bottom portion of the design. In addition, the woodcarving was painted to match the colors of the one seen in Skyrim.

Interestingly, KitLivingstone did more than just show off the artwork on Reddit. In addition, they revealed the steps necessary for creating the finely detailed woodcarving. According to the Reddit user, the sign was carved out of sweetgum wood using a CNC machine. After this was complete, their wife then painted it. Furthermore, they revealed they intended to make even more signs based on places in Skyrim in the coming weeks.

Unsurprisingly, a number of members of the Skyrim community on Reddit have commented on this incredible real-life Sleeping Giant Inn sign. In only a couple of days, the post by KitLivingstone has garnered over 4,600 upvotes. Among the comments, many praised the level of detail seen in the piece. In addition to complimenting the artist on their work, some believed that the design of the sleeping giant on the sign resembled Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.

It will be interesting to see what other creations fans of The Elder Scrolls series make in the coming days. While many are likely hoping to be able to create artwork based on the in-development Elder Scrolls 6, it appears that the game is still a long way in the future. Until more news about that project is revealed by Bethesda, gamers, such as KitLivingstone and their wife, will likely continue to craft breathtaking pieces of art based on The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Steelrising Beta Happening in August

There are quite a few video games that present an alternate version of real events to play through. Some of the most well known are the Fallout franchise, which takes place in a United States dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear attack in 2077; the later entries of the Wolfenstein series in which the Nazis won World War 2; and of course the Assassin’s Creed games with their storylines that diverge greatly from their real-world historical settings. Other titles, like the upcoming Steelrising, have not yet made their mark in the gaming world but seem well positioned to do so.

Developed by Spiders, Steelrising is set in an alternate history of the French Revolution in 1789’s Paris. In this version of the story, Louix XVI is known as the Clockwork King and commands an army of automatons that is putting a violent end to the civilian uprising. As a female robot named Aegis, it is up to the player character to singlehandedly combat the King’s legions in this action RPG that has been called a faithful tribute to FromSoftware’s Bloodborne.

The game is now available for preorder on all platforms, and the developer has also announced that anybody who purchases Steelrising before its release on September 8 will receive exclusive access to the closed beta that begins on August 25. Additionally, preordering the game will earn players the Marie Antoinette cosmetic pack for Aegis. There will be two editions of Steelrising available for purchase, Standard and the Bastille Edition, which includes “The Discus Chain” exclusive weapon and “The Secrets of Cagliostro” DLC that’s already slated for an early November release.

The protagonist of Steelrising, Aegis, was introduced in a PlayStation Blog at the end of May 2022, and fans were able to learn a bit this interesting character’s backstory. Before becoming a savior of the Revolution, the automaton served as a dancer to the court, and she has now become the bodyguard of Queen Marie Antoinette.

The fairly unique setting of Steelrising could elevate its gameplay, given that the French Revolution hasn’t often been touched on in video games. And as a sleek robot, Aegis should offer up some fun combat abilities, with an increased range of motion and even aerial gameplay. She will also be somewhat customizable, with players able to adjust her facial features, body material, and even her wig.

While Steelrising offers up a Souls-like action role-playing experience, the developer’s other recent RPG, 2019’s Greedfall draws to mind BioWare titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Set in a fantasy world reminiscent of the early 17th century, that game features a highly detailed world in which players must use diplomacy, stealth, and combat to survive on a newly discovered island. There are also a variety of characters – each with their own personalities, class, and backstory – who will team up with the player and can be romanced.

Intel Arc Desktop GPU Finally Arrives, But Only in China

Intel is making the leap into the graphics card industry, but it seems as though the company will have to do a bit of catching up. With Nvidia possibly launching Ada Lovelace this September, and AMD following closely behind with its RDNA 3 technology, team blue is still lagging behind, having seemingly delayed the launch of its Arc desktop cards. However, for those in China, the wait seems to be over, as one of the models is now available.

That's according to a recent report from Videocardz, which says that Intel has released the A380 graphics card, but only to the Chinese market for now. While there's no mention of when it will be launching in other countries, it does represent the start for the tech giant, which seems to have been putting off getting its Arc GPUs onto shelves. The A380 is also a cheaper card, for anyone looking for a more entry-level piece of hardware. The report goes on to say that it's currently priced at 1030 Yuan, which is around $153 US. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, and has a TDP of just 75W.

Despite its limited release, it does sound like a decent budget card for anyone not wanting to spend a lot. It's just unfortunate that it's only available in one country at the moment. The latest rumors suggest that Intel could be releasing Arc desktop GPUs in Q4 of this year. While the mobile variants are basically out, in some laptop models at least, the pushback for desktop products feels like an unusual move, especially when the next generation is fast approaching. Hopefully, the launch of the A380 will get the ball rolling for releases in other parts of the world.

The fact that an Intel Arc graphics card was spotting recently at a pro gaming tournament, sponsored by the company no less, sort of suggests that the tech firm is all but ready to put them on shelves across the globe. Speculations say that the actual hardware is finished, and it's just the drivers that need more work before the products start to properly roll out.

As mentioned above, it could be a bad sign that Intel is dragging its feet on releasing Arc. With graphics card prices continuing to fall, with some models being below their MSRPs, now seems like a good time to get hardware out. With any luck, team blue will make further announcements soon.

Cult of the Lamb Release Date Announced

Announced at Gamescom in August 2021, the Devolver Digital published dungeon-crawling, base-building roguelike Cult of the Lamb immediately gained attention for its unique mix of cute with horror. Players take on the role of a possessed lamb who has been rescued by a stranger and must as a result begin a cult in his savior's name. Developed by Massive Monster, Cult of the Lamb has been compared to Don’t Starve due to its art style and even some gameplay elements.

People shouldn’t get the wrong idea from the cutesy graphics, however. The game’s director, Julian Wilton, has stated that Cult of the Lamb took inspiration from horror films like Midsommar and Hereditary, which are both known for generating a growing sense of unease rather than tossing in gore for shock value. In that vein, the cute art style will not dampen the horror, said Wilton, but will instead work “like a nice juxtaposition.” The dark elements of Cult of the Lamb will feel that much more jarring because of their pleasant backdrop.

During June’s Summer Game Fest, the Devolver Digital Showcase treated viewers to a few new trailers, including one for Cult of the Lamb. In it, an unfortunate pig travels through a spooky and monster-infested forest, but just when it seems overwhelmed, the game’s titular lamb heroically appears to lead the pig to safety, or at least back to the cult compound. In addition to the enticing aesthetics and cheerful music that will likely lure many gamers in, the trailer also revealed the game's August 11 release date.

For those eager to jump into a cute cult and think that August 11 is a bit too far away, there is currently a PC demo available on Steam, which shows the two distinct gameplay elements of Cult of the Lamb. The game is a roguelike with maze-like dungeons that call to mind The Legend of Zelda or The Binding of Isaac. Players will encounter bloodthirsty, close-quarters combat, which they tackle using a variety of weapons, health boosts, and other resources. In stark contrast, the more serene base-building element is where the player will indoctrinate new cult members and gather useful items like wood, stone, and food.

The other games showcased at the Devolver Digital event at Summer Game Fest were Card Shark, which has already released, Anger Foot, Skate Story, and a new adventure game called The Plucky Squire that's being developed by All Possible Futures, a studio cofounded in 2019 by Pokemon Sword and Shield Art Director James Turner and The Swords of Ditto Game Director Jonathan Biddle.

Nvidia RTX 4080 Could Be 100W Hotter Than Its Predecessor

The industry is moving ever closer to the next GPU generation, with Nvidia and AMD still battling it out. As Intel's Arc desktop card may be delayed, possibly until Q4 of this year, it's the other two giants that are vying for supremacy, leaving team blue to eat their collective dust. As can be imagined, there are many rumors flying around about what each company will be offering, and as speculations begin to heat up, so do the products themselves, it seems.

As spotted by Videocardz, according to a recent tweet from known leaker kopite7kimi, it looks as though one of the upcoming Ada Lovelace GPUs from Nvidia will be a mite warmer than its predecessor. Specifically, the leak suggests that the RTX 4080 will have a TDP, or thermal design power, of 420W. Compare that to the RTX 3080, which runs at 320W, and that's a hundred watts warmer than the current card.

While that's not as hot as the Nvidia RTX 4090 which may have a TDP of 450W, it will still be a noticeably warm piece of kit. Of course, this may be expected, given that the next generation of products from both team red and team green will represent the next stage of graphics power. That said, more than 400W is quite toasty, and that's not taking into consideration additional outputs from other parts of a user's system. Of course, it goes without saying that these are just rumors, so it's best not to digest this latest information just yet.

Nvidia is expected to launch its RTX 4080 in September, with the 4070 possibly coming out in October. But before that, there's the RTX 4090, which may be just a few weeks away, as rumors indicate that it could be hitting shelves in August. This feels like a neat schedule, and it's also evident that team green is looking to make a big push into the next generation before its biggest rival and before Intel can even get its shoes on.

On top of that, graphics card prices are continuing to come down, with May seeing a 15% drop on average. There are even some Nvidia and AMD products that have been seen at lower than their MSRPs. Currently, there are a ton of speculations flying around, but the general gist is that Lovelace and RDNA 3 will aim to provide better performance, but seemingly at the cost of more power consumption.

Resident Evil: Ethan Winters' Story May Not Be Over

The father's story may be done, but that doesn't mean that Resident Evil's Ethan Winters' story is over, with several possible avenues for his return.

At the end of Resident Evil Village, protagonist Ethan Winters sacrifices himself to destroy Mother Miranda and the Megamycete – the root cause of the events of the game and its predecessor, Resident Evil 7. Before his sacrifice, Capcom reveals that Ethan is a creation of the Mold, through vision interactions with Evelyn and Jack Baker after Mother Miranda rips his heart out from him. He discovers his regenerative Mold powers and heads off to save the day, leaving behind his wife Mia and daughter Rose.

The credits of Resident Evil Village deemed that 'The father's story is done,' which seems to suggest that fans have seen the last of Ethan, and the explosion in the unnamed Eastern European village setting of the eighth game seems to confirm this. But, Ethan Winters' story may not be over just yet, which could be explored in Resident Evil Village DLC or RE9.

Ethan Winters May Return in the Next Resident Evil

Although Ethan's regenerative powers seemed to have weakened before he blew himself and the European horror village up, he has survived death before – his heart was ripped out from his chest by Mother Miranda before fans discovered that he had a relationship with the Mold. Plus, if fan theories and investigations are to be believed, the approaching body at the end of the final cutscene with Rose Winters could actually be her very father rather than just Ethan's character model. The fact that the black van Rose was in seemed to have suddenly stopped seemingly supports this.

While it seems highly unlikely that Capcom will bring Ethan back to act as Resident Evil 9's protagonist, it won't be surprising if Ethan's story is not truly over. Although fans may not hear of a new Resident Evil game for a while, fans are more than happy to speculate of what may come next. The likelier candidate for a protagonist in Resident Evil 9 would be either Rose Winters or Chris Redfield, but there are a few ways that Capcom could approach the return of Ethan.

Resident Evil 9 should avoid making big mistakes with his return. Perhaps the most easily explainable solution would be that Ethan miraculously survived the explosion and was only able to fully recover his body over a long period of time – hitting home the fact that his Mold regeneration powers had weakened. By the time he fully regenerates, Rose has grown into a teenager and is under the protection of some agency. In this timeline, Rose will be the protagonist, but Ethan may be some sort of partner.

Another way Ethan can be reinserted into the series is by acting as a guide to Rose. In Resident Evil Village, Evelyn and Jack Baker explains that the Megamycete will store the DNA and memories of those it infects, so Ethan's imprint within the Mold could create a connection through Rose's Mold-related powers. The figure walking towards the van at the end of her cutscene in Village would be the start of Rose 'seeing' Ethan, and he would act as a guide to Rose, communicating to her in the same way as Evelyn.

But, this is Resident Evil, and Capcom could instead take a dark twist to Ethan's story – in a similar situation to Jill Valentine. The now-evil BSAA could wind of who exactly caused the explosion in the Village, and since the Mold keeps a person's memories and DNA, the organization could find a morsel of remains and figure out how to manipulate it to piece Ethan back together. Ethan, who wouldn't know how Rose looks like, acts as the pawn of the BSAA to get to the powerful Winters daughter – or maybe he could become the new embodiment of the Megamycete and is a final boss.

Either way, the story of Ethan Winters may not be over. While Resident Evil 9 has some mysteries to solve, it would also most likely have a different protagonist for players to play, and there are a few ways that Capcom could bring the Winters father back into the fold.

Elden Ring’s Radahn Festival is FromSoftware’s Most Rewarding NPC Experience

Elden Ring's Radahn Festival and Starscourge Radahn boss fight is easily FromSoftware's most unique and satisfying questline.

Many quests in FromSoftware games have players interacting with NPCs and following loose instructions that involve opaque guidelines. Indeed, FromSoftware is known for how little it holds the player’s hand, and while this is a concern for many players who are uninitiated with the developer’s niche gameplay formula, it can be a breath of fresh air to those who dislike how coddling traditional action-RPGs can be.

If players like to feel as though they must learn everything about a game’s world on their own and enjoy the struggle of finding one’s path organically, FromSoftware games such as Elden Ring may be a perfect fit. Elden Ring is more approachable than other FromSoftware titles due to how broad its scope is as an open-world game, which is new for the developer. But Elden Ring’s questlines, while as elaborate and dense as any, are also more rewarding as there are throughlines players can closely follow. One of these through lines results in Elden Ring’s Radahn Festival.

Elden Ring’s Radahn Festival is Optional, But Worth It

In Elden Ring, the Radahn Festival is a ceremonious event that comes before a battle against General Radahn. The festival is held at Redmane Castle on the southeastern corner of Caelid, where the red shores of the Wailing Dunes meet the water. This festival is a necessary prerequisite to being able to fight Starscourge Radahn, as the NPC companions who may be summoned need to be available. There are multiple ways to trigger the Radahn Festival, and it is entirely possible for players to have triggered it in a way unbeknownst to them in a first playthrough, such as not even having journeyed to Redmane Castle until the festivities had already begun. But when players arrive after it has started, they will see a number of spectral NPCs waiting for them there.

However, the Radahn Festival, as well as facing Radahn himself, is completely optional. In order to progress through the Lands Between and access the later areas, players only need to have killed two demigod bosses and activated one of their Great Runes. The choice is up to players, and as such Radahn could be avoided throughout the entire game if players choose instead to kill Godrick and Rennala, for example.

Likewise, players do not need to actually seek out and befriend the NPC summons that appear at the festival. These NPCs include Blaidd, Iron Fist Alexander, Bloody Finger Okina, Lionel the Lionhearted, Great Horned Tragoth, Castellan Jerren, Finger Maiden Therolina, and Patches. Many of these characters are not actually NPCs players can find to interact with anyway, while quests for some of them are long-winded and may span the entire game.