I think we can all agree that an always-on minimap is bad. Like the TV in a bar, you find your eyes drawn to it even when there are other things you should be looking at. You stare at a corner of your monitor while ignoring the fancy grandeur of whatever expensive open world is taking up the other seven-eighths of your screen.But the absence of navigational aids can be...

The answer to today's Wordle is only a little trip down the page if you need a hand. You can save it in case you get stuck, go for an easy win and unleash it on your first row, or… not use it at all if you prefer. Don't worry, we can still help. Our hint for the June 22 (1464) game's written up and ready to go, and our...

In our Hypnospace Outlaw review, Andy Kelly called it "a cyber-detective adventure set within a fictional computer operating system", with an alternate 1999 setting let you explore a nostalgic pocket internet full of music, animations, and screensavers. "This garish low-res internet, inspired by the digital shanty towns of GeoCities, is fully realised. There are hundreds of pages to click around, split into zones that reflect the personalities of their eccentric...

You can now listen to the entire soundtrack for grand strategy game Europa Universalis 5, as it's been posted to YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. Composed by Håkan Glänte, the music spans a lot of history and a lot of Europe in an impressive 26 tracks lasting nearly two hours.As you might imagine, it's a suitably grand soundtrack for a game that will encompass nearly 500 years of human history,...

Free-to-play survival adventure shooter Once Human now has custom, dedicated servers available.The independent server infrastructure is officially supported by developer NetEase games, which said in a press release that it hopes players will use private servers to "push the boundaries of the Once Human experience, such as transforming it into a cozy building experience or a brutal survival game where only the most skilled survive."Private servers let those who manage...

Back in 2014, an established Chinese game development studio called Shanda Interactive Entertainment started work on Borderlands Online, a Chinese-market-only MMO version of the two-games-deep Borderlands series. Gearbox was trying to get a jump on the growing Chinese PC gaming market, clearly, but the game didn't happen: It was cancelled in 2015 when Shanda left game development entirely. All that remains now are some screenshots and (rather weird) trailers.Now, on...

A new action-adventure game set in medieval China, Blood Message, has been revealed with a suitably epic trailer for its epic historical journey.Developed by NetEase's 24 Entertainment Lin'an Studio, Blood Message will be a "cinematic, singleplayer, linear story-driven action-adventure" powered by Unreal Engine 5 and released for PC and consoles. NetEase said in a press release that it considers Blood Message to be "its first AAA singleplayer title."And wow, what...

Denmark is switching to Linux, says its Ministry of Digital Affairs, in a move that exchanges Windows and Office 365 for Linux and LibreOffice.Yes, that Danish government. The government of a nation of roughly 6 million people, which is the southernmost Scandinavian nation and/or the northernmost part of Central Europe, comprised of the Jutland peninsula and adjacent islands.It'll migrate about half of the Ministry of Digital Affairs away from Windows...

Creative Assembly's long-running readjustment of Total War: Warhammer 3 presses on with the slow but inexorable determination of an army of dwarves. Back in March, the developer completely overhauled the game's maligned Kislev faction to make its polar-bear riding humans more fun to play. Now, it has issued a new patch targeting another specific area of the game with deep restructuring—its magic item system.For those unaware, Total War: Warhammer 3...

Throwback RTS Tempest Rising is one of my favourite games from this year, a spectacular and thrilling tribute to Westwood's tragically absent Command and Conquer series. I thought its twin campaigns were pretty much perfect when I reviewed it a couple of months back, which is possibly why its first major update focuses mainly on multiplayer.Titled the "Rally and Recon" update, the patch substantially expands and refines player-on-player warfare. Its...