Author: Anna

For nearly a decade, Escape from Tarkov has been a ghost story told by hardcore PC gamers—a mythical, “in-beta” monolith that defined an entire genre. It’s the game that spawned a thousand “Tarkov-likes” but was never truly replicated. It’s a grueling, ultra-realistic, soul-crushing extraction shooter that has been developed, argued over, and played in a walled garden for 10 years. Now, that day has finally arrived. Escape from Tarkov has officially launched its 1.0 update and, in a move many thought impossible, has landed on Steam. This 1.0 release is the developer’s definitive statement, adding the long-promised non-linear story campaign,…

Every once in a while, an indie horror game comes out of nowhere and just nails it. Midnight Crane is one of those games. Developed by Dekaizen Studios, it’s a “super simple concept” that is both engaging and terrifying, making it easily one of the top horror games of the year. The premise is simple: You are Marcus, a lone arcade worker on the night shift. Your boss, noticing your love for the claw machines, makes you a bet: win 50 prizes before the night is over for a $500 bonus. What starts as a simple task to win prizes…

The co-op survival genre is crowded, but every so often a game emerges that blends familiar mechanics into something uniquely compelling. MISERY, from developer Platypus Entertainment, is one of those games. It shamelessly wears its influences on its sleeve, billing itself as a co-op rogue-lite for fans of Lethal Company and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. And honestly, that’s the most accurate description you could ask for. Set in a nuclear-blasted “Exclusion Zone,” you and up to four friends play as PMCs who have 60 seconds to grab what you can before a nuke hits, forcing you into a bunker. From there, it’s a…

Orbyss, a visually striking, mind-bending logic game from solo developer Misty Whale, has had a positive launch so far. The cerebral, visually striking puzzle game Orbyss is officially out now on PC via Steam. Developed and published by the one-person studio Misty Whale (solo developer Yannick Audéoud), the game tasks players with reviving a mysterious universe of light that is being threatened by an evil, growing shadow. Praised by critics for its “elegant” mechanics, Orbyss is a logic-based puzzle game where players control a “firefly of energy.” The main hook is a “co-op with yourself” mechanic: you can navigate between…

Every genre eventually evolves, and the Survivor-like phenomenon, largely defined by 2D horde-slaying, has finally entered a richer, more strategic space. Royal Revolt Survivors, from Team Warriors and published by Headup, seeks to blend the highly addictive, build-stacking chaos of its inspirations with the charismatic characters and action-RPG depth of the Royal Revolt universe. The result is a game with a fantastic foundation: it’s graphically charming, surprisingly fluid, and bursts with co-op potential. Yet, for all its visual polish and initial thrills, Royal Revolt Survivors is held back by structural decisions that deliberately stifle the one thing a roguelite must offer: unlimited,…

There is a unique romance to the railway. It’s the deep, resonant rumble of a diesel-electric engine, the rhythmic clack-clack over the tracks, and the immense, tangible weight of pulling a mile-long freight train over a mountain pass. It’s a hobby of precision, patience, and passion. Dovetail Games has built an empire on this passion with its Train Sim World franchise. And now, right on schedule, Train Sim World 6 has pulled into the station. It brings new routes, new features, and the promise of new skills to master. But it also carries heavy baggage. For the sixth year in…