Nvidia's stock is making headlines, but do you know how to pronounce the company's name?

March 24, 20255 min readFEMA Disaster Aid Review Could Deter Migrants from Seeking Help in Extreme WeatherA previously undisclosed FEMA review could block disaster assistance to millions of undocumented people and deter legal immigrants from seeking help in extreme weatherBy Thomas Frank & E&E News People are seen outside a wildfire shelter at the Pasadena Convention Center on January 21, 2025, where FEMA disaster assistance is available. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | The Trump administration is reviewing all disaster relief programs that may indirectly or incidentally aid illegal aliens, according to an internal memo that raises the prospect of shutting off government aid to millions of people during extreme weather events.The two-page memo sent to senior officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its 10 regional offices on Feb. 14 also orders the agency to review nongovernmental organizations that "provide assistance" to undocumented immigrants. That could include groups like the American Red Cross that offer food, shelter and medical care to disaster survivors regardless of their immigration status.The review, which has not been previously reported, has alarmed advocacy groups that work with the roughly 11 million undocumented migrants within the U.S. who could be barred from disaster shelters during deadly hurricanes, wildfires or floods.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.This review shall include identification of those programs and potential policy changes, said the memo by FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton.Potential aid restrictions could deter millions of people who are in the country legally from going to disaster shelters because they fear being targeted by immigration enforcement officers, some advocates said. Those concerns were raised as President Donald Trump attempts to deport two legal immigrants.This is horrifying, said Madison Sloan, director of disaster recovery at Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit that promotes social, economic and racial justice. Historically, FEMA has provided life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to disaster victims regardless of their immigration status, and thats the way it should be.FEMA did not respond to requests for comment.The memo, which FEMA disclosed in a court filing, appears to be so expansive that it could affect programs that were created to help individuals who have evacuated their homes, along with communities that face huge cleanup and rebuilding costs after disasters.What are we going to do? Tell people that theyre not going to be allowed in the FEMA shelter because theyre not a U.S. citizen? said Michael Coen, the FEMA chief of staff in the Biden administration.That should be the last thing youre thinking about when youre trying to save lives, he added.Hamiltons brief description of the review outlined in two sentences within the memo does not identify the programs that are being scrutinized for helping undocumented migrants.The phrasing is so broad that it could potentially apply to FEMA funding that's used to rebuild roads, schools and parks.If youre repairing infrastructure to a community that has a large population of undocumented immigrants, that would be indirectly assisting them, said Noah Patton, manager of disaster recovery for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group.Project 2025, the conservative policy manifesto that has guided the Trump administration, said FEMA grants to states, localities and private groups should go only to "recipients who are lawful actors, can demonstrate that they are in compliance with federal law, and can show that their mission and actions support the broader homeland security mission."Immigrants, including those who are in the U.S. legally, have long been reluctant to seek disaster aid from FEMA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, because they worry about immigration enforcement, Sloan and others said.Hamilton ordered the review days after the administration revoked $80 million it had given New York City for sheltering undocumented migrants who had been released from federal custody after entering the U.S. illegally.Although the money came from a special fund created by Congress in 2023 and not from FEMAs disaster fund the Trump administration tried to generate an uproar by questioning the legality of the spending and falsely claiming that New York City officials used it to house migrants in luxury hotels.In fact, the migrants stayed temporarily in a hotel that was converted years ago to a shelter, which Trump officials said was being run by a dangerous Venezuelan street gang.Risks to Red CrossFormer FEMA officials and disaster experts said the review could target billions of dollars the agency gives to households each year for emergency costs related to hotel rooms, minor home repairs and basic supplies. The money is separate from emergency services that FEMA provides to survivors immediately after a disaster including shelters, health care, and food and water.FEMA disaster aid is available only to people who can show they are U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or certain types of noncitizen residents. Individuals who don't meet those criteria can receive FEMA aid if they are parents of a child who is eligible under longstanding FEMA policy.If a family has a citizen child, the family can get assistance, said Patton, adding that such funding would likely meet the review's standard of indirectly or incidentally helping undocumented migrants.I would definitely be worried about the emergency response programs that are going to be impacted by this, Patton said.Since 2002, FEMA has given a total of $38 billion in disaster aid to nearly 12 million households, according to an analysis of agency records by POLITICO's E&E News.FEMA established citizenship and residency requirements after former President Bill Clinton signed a major law overhauling the nations welfare programs. The Welfare Reform Act generally barred nonqualified aliens from receiving a broad range of benefits.FEMAs review could threaten activities by the Red Cross, a federally chartered aid group that has an agreement with FEMA to provide emergency services such as shelter, food and supplies. The agreement notes that the Red Cross provides services to those in need regardless of citizenship, race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or political affiliation.The Red Cross and other nonprofits that provide disaster aid have historically resisted any attempt to get that information from them, Patton said, referring to survivors' immigration status.Any move around those programs to institute some sort of citizenship requirement or even an attempt to access information on who doesnt have documented status would have a significant chilling effect for immigration communities, Patton added.Sloan of Texas Appleseed said the Red Cross has decades of experience in responding to disasters and local relationships and a level of trust because they are a nonprofit. You would lose all of that.The Red Cross did not respond to requests for comment.Hamilton, the FEMA leader, initiated the review through a memo explaining an order by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who in late January put a hold on FEMA nonprofit grants that touch in any way on immigration.Hamilton added his own conditions, including the review of all disaster programs that "may indirectly or incidentally" benefit undocumented migrants or nonprofits that help them.Hamilton wrote that his memo is necessary to comply with Noems directive and to ensure FEMA can continue to support the communities and disaster survivors who rely on us for assistance.Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

Disco Elysium staff say rival projects from former colleagues are "friendly competition""We're competing essentially against ourselves."Image credit: ZA/UM News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on March 24, 2025 As Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM continues development on its espionage follow-up C4, staff have described the friendly competition with rival projects from developers who have since left the studio in the wake of messy lawsuits.Key team members from ZA/UM left in 2021 prior to multiple lawsuits filed against the studio, which have since been resolved. In the wake of this, a number of studios have been newly founded and are releasing projects all claiming to be spiritual successors to Disco Elysium - that includes Longdue and its "psychogeographic RPG" Hopetown, and XXX Nightshift from Dark Math Games, a developer which describes itself as a "breakaway group from the original development team of Disco Elysium".ZA/UM itself is working on C4, as well as a mobile adaptation of Disco Elysium to "captivate the TikTok user". I had the chance to speak to lead producer Ruudu Ulas and principal writer Siim (Kosmos) Siname at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC).PROJECT [C4] - Teaser TrailerWatch on YouTube"This, let's say, situation has really built the character of the team in a good way," said Siname. "Each artist faces certain hardships in their artistic practice. This is what makes them better.""But of course, I'm really excited to see what each one of the studios that has grown out of ZA/UM will show over the next months and years," added Ulas.I asked the pair if there was friendly competition between the studios. "For us, always we think it's friendly competition," said Siname. "We're going to really think about what the other writers are doing, or the studios... how can I be better at my own craft? We're competing essentially against ourselves in this way of can we take it further? Do we have to make any compromises? I think it absolutely sets us apart."So what makes a ZA/UM game unique? For Ulas, it's the wide range of people with different skill sets that makes the team unique. "We have a lot of people who come from different walks of life, rather than just video games," she said. "I'm trained as a contemporary artist, there are people who come from a fashion background and traditional 2D art and so on."Working together is what sets us apart, I think, and also going through these difficult and challenging times as a studio and growing as a team throughout. When I wake up in the morning and log on to do my work, that's what motivates me."In a presentation, the pair showed me the contrasting subjective and objective worlds of C4, each with their own art style and gameplay elements. The objective world, for instance, includes a greyed overlay as the player character checks his watch, while the subjective world is full of surreal art to convey the psychology of the player.Indeed, with C4, the team is intending to explore the human mind and its complexities as the protagonist operant adopts multiple covers and struggles with his sense of self. Inside his thought cabinet, players will be able to reinforce or suppress thoughts, which will not only impact how the narrative plays out, but provide dissonances as it progresses - perhaps adopting a new cover will cause reinforced perceptions to change. Choices will be influenced not only by dice rolls but by three key limits: anxiety, deliriousness, and fatigue.All of which is to say that C4 looks set to be another wildly intellectual video game from ZA/UM, with a gritty espionage tone far removed from the typical James Bond-esque fare. The remaining team at the studio seems capable of a worthy Disco Elysium follow-up, but whether it can stand above its peers remains to be seen.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won't have a mini map to preserve its sense of discovery, says producerOn Dark Souls, French authenticity, and achieving AAA results.Image credit: Sandfall Interactive News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on March 24, 2025 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won't include a minimap for its exploration, though a compass will be added to the explorable world map for release.The game's producer, and developer Sandfall Interactive COO Francois Meurisse confirmed this to me at an Xbox event during this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), following some criticism during previews that environments were hard to navigate."There won't be mini maps in the levels," said Meurisse. "When there's a mini map, you can end up relying on it. And we want players to discover the world as the expedition does it. They don't have a map because every previous expedition failed. So yes, sometimes it can be difficult to find their way."Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Release Date TrailerWatch on YouTubeHe continued: "What we added on the world map that wasn't in the preview demo is just a compass, so you can find north easily and get your direction more easily." There will also be an overview map of the entire game world.Since the game's first reveal, much has been made of its JRPG influences from the likes of Final Fantasy and Persona, with its turn-based battle system and stylish menus. But what particularly struck me from the preview was the influence of FromSoftware, both from Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. There are obvious parallels: the sense of satisfaction from a successful parry as the camera zooms for a big slow-motion hit, as well as the weapon attribute scaling based on character stats. But it's also there in the aforementioned level design - it may be more linear, but it offers a similar sense of getting lost in an overwhelming, dangerous environment.Meurisse explained the game is balanced between fairly linear, or semi-open levels with side path opportunities, which are accessed through the JRPG-style explorable world map. This is intended to tell a focused story. "The design approach has some links with FromSoftware games," he said, "where it's very linear levels but really intense ones. We don't have the mastery of ideas that they have, but it was part of the inspiration."The Souls influence was definitely intentional, said Meurisse. What's more, the game's director, Guillaume Broche, is not just a big fan of FromSoftware but was also a Sekiro speedrunner. "I hope we'll have some good feedback and players from that community playing the game," said Meurisse. "I can't wait to have some players doing no damage runs, because technically it's achievable."The game's turn-based battles are heavily-inspired by RPGs, but with action elements to allow players to parry and dodge enemy attacks. And rather than mana or skill points for character abilities, the system gives characters a certain number of action points to spend each turn. This was inspired by deck-building games, as Broche is also a huge Magic the Gathering player. Clair Obscur will have a classic-style explorable overworld map full of secrets | Image credit: Sandfall InteractiveBeyond all these influences, though, the game has a distinctly and authentic French tone, from its costume design to the inclusion of French swear words in the script - after all, the Montpellier-based team is predominantly French. While the gameplay is clearly Japanese-inspired, the team didn't want to mimic manga or anime graphics, but instead find its own unique style. "When you tell a story or imagine a world, it's usually good to start with something you're familiar with," said Meurisse, which led to the Belle Epoque and Art Deco references."The will for searching for something more unique made it natural to link with the art references we knew the best, for being French," he added," but it wasn't a specific studio guideline to say 'we are French, we want to do something French'". Still, he's "happy and proud" of the French inspiration.Unlike its 60-80 hour JRPG peers, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is smaller in scope, despite its epic feel. After all, it's being made by just 30 people. Broche had a strong vision for the game from the start, with decisions like no online mode and no open world ensuring that vision remained achievable. What's more, advancements in technology can allow indie studios to achieve outstanding results."New technology allows smaller teams to do big AA 3D hits, whereas five or 10 years ago, it wasn't really achievable," said Meurisse. He cites Hellblade, A Plague Tale and Mortal Shell as examples of smaller teams creating AAA-looking realistic games, but outside of these most indie studios previously had to use stylised or 2D graphics. "Now, thanks to new studios and new tools and great people, it makes a game like this very possible," he said.And while the game is coming to Xbox Game Pass and was first revealed during an Xbox Partner Showcase, which Meurisse described as "the right opportunity to reach new players", he stated it's not considered an "exclusive partnership". "The most important thing for us is most people that would like to play the game, or would like to know about it, have the opportunity to play it," he said.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will release across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on 24th April.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereSaber Interactives Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 hasawesome cross-play functionality for PvE content. However, the games PvP function strictly keeps PC and console players away from each, and thats not going to change.While Saber commits to years of additional updates for Space Marine 2 as the sequel enters development, there are no plans to add PvP cross-play to the game during its lifetime.Space Marine 2 PvP crossplay is unfairSpeaking to Mens Journal, via FandomWire, Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits. While cross-play is important for the game, the advantage that PC players have would make it worse for console players.We believe that cross-play is very important to mainstream games like Space Marine 2 Cross-play is, I believe for a big game, critical, Willits explained. For instance, I like to play on my super fast PC, but my friend has a PlayStation and were screwed otherwise, and then hes got to go buy his $600 machine to play one video game together which is not gonna work.While Willits is right, cross-play PvP has become a much more prominent part of modern games. Games from The Finals to Call of Duty all have fully cross-play multiplayer with some allowing people to manually turn off the feature if they dont want to use it.Hopefully, in the future, PvP cross-play will be available as the game gets older. After all, as the games popularity decreases, having access to a wider pool of players would help to keep it alive much longer.At the end of the day, Operations is the main meat for the multiplayer of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. With more Operations in the works alongside a brand-new Horde Mode that aims to be vastly different from the original, the focus is clearly on PvE.For more Space Marine 2 coverage, read about how the team had to fight to keep the games awesome ending.Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):ActionSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Behind the Scenes: Fighter Pilot By Alina Khan on March 24, 2025 Behind the Scenes Dive into this article as Khaled explores his journey in hard-surface modeling with Fighter Pilot. From refining topology to procedural texturing and lighting, he shares his techniques, challenges, and key lessons learned.INTRODUCTIONHello everyone,My name is Khaled, and I'm from the Middle East, specifically Syria. I'm a self-taught 3D artist specializing in hard-surface modeling.Art was never a shared interest in our household, but from a young age, my older brother and I always had an interest in different artistic activities, especially drawing. By the time I reached adolescence, I had stopped pursuing art and was exploring other options in life, while my brother took a leap into a professional 3D art career.Watching his journey from the beginninghow relentlessly driven he was to learn and push the limits of creativityhas been nothing short of inspiring to me. Im deeply grateful that Ive had the opportunity to closely witness his transformation from someone with raw talent into one of the best in his field.Eventually, I decided to try 3D for myself back in 2021. I started out with Blender, like many beginners, and took a couple of online courses to get the hang of the basics. These courses helped me build a solid foundation in modeling simple objects, learning about modifiers, navigating the program, understanding the interface, controls, and other fundamental tools.As I grew more comfortable with Blender, my interest leaned more toward hard-surface modeling as opposed to other fields in 3D. My approach to learning shifted, and rather than sticking to tutorials, I began focusing more on the process of imitation and demonstration. I would study other designers work, dissecting their models to understand how they achieved functional, believable designs.Over time, I started particularly honing in on fundamentalsthings like topology, essential modifiers such as the subdivision surface modifier, lighting, and material properties.INSPIRATIONIve always looked up to the greatsartists like Mike Andrew Nash, Keos Masons, and Nika Zautashvili, to name a few. However, Ive been especially inspired by Mikes Infiltration Unitand his Vested Series - Police Vest (2017).These two masterpieces, in my opinion, are pretty much the pinnacle of hard-surface artistry. I strive to become one of the greats and to achieve the same level of mastery they display in my own work. I know this project is just a first step toward that goal, but I cant wait to see what new heights I can reach along the way.References:As for references, I have used images that include real-life equipment and machinery, as well as works from other artists, such as Mikes Infiltration Unit and Vitalys Pilot Operatorboth of which align with what I aspired to achieve.Real-life images were primarily used as references for creating certain equipment, such as the oxygen pressure regulator. They also served as a foundation for lighting and materials, as I wanted to create a realistic scene for my project.PROCESSI have used only Blender for the creation of this project, Photoshop for post-processing, and primarily relied on just two modifiersthe subdivision surface and mirror modifierswith no add-ons used.Modeling:My process is entirely done in a subdivision modeling manner from start to finish. The first stage is creating the initial shape. Rather than using other methods, such as sculpting the initial shape and then retopologizing it, I opt to create the initial shape using polygonal subdivision modeling.I view the silhouette as the very foundation upon which I build my character. It is of utmost importance for me to ensure early on that it expresses the shapes and forms I desire with as few vertices as possible, allowing me to easily control the topology and make swift changes if needed.Meanwhile, I always focus on the flow of topology, as it dictates the potential functionality and sensibility of the designespecially since the helmet features rounded shapes, which are particularly challenging to control effectively.You can also see that early on, I dissected the model into relatively understandable parts, such as the neck, mask, glasses, etc. This helps me define the role of each part and visualize connections more clearly in order to establish workable structures.From there onward, I focus on establishing these connections between the parts of the design, which may vary in size and shape depending on the components involved.Below, you can see how the first part of the design evolved over time:I continue refining the shapes, making adjustments as I go, while trying to maintain consistency between the edges, sizes of parts, positioning of equipment, and so on. It was also quite challenging to create mechanisms that convey depth and purpose while remaining understandable in terms of function.Below is the second part of how the design evolved into its final form:Texturing & Materials:The materials I created are entirely procedural, except for the secondary layers, such as smudges, scratches, and wear passes. These were added only in post-processing in Photoshop using different blend modes, which enhances complexity and better emulates real-life materials.As for the main material, its entirely procedural and composed of simple textures, all of which are mixed in different ways, then layered and fed into the bump node.Each of these setups creates a certain texture and plays a different role in the shader. For example, the color variance distributes different shades onto the object, better emulating both the behavior of real-life materials and how lighting interacts with them.Each texture is shown separately below on the model:And here is a close-up image of the base shader with the above textures combined:Lighting:As for lighting, I have only used an HDRI with some color adjustments using simple nodes. The setup, as seen below, allows me to control the strength, coloring, and direction of either the environment light or the object light by separating them via the background node.I render the model and background separately using the Transparent option in Cycles' settings. This gives me the advantage of controlling the position, size, lighting, etc., for each in post-processing in Photoshop.Below are the base renders for the environment and the model separately:Rendering:Once I have rendered both the background and the model separately, I begin post-processing in Photoshop. I first work on combining the images to achieve the correct perspective in relation to the positioning of the camera, model, and background.The next step is to accentuate the direction of the main light source.Post-Processing:Afterward, I work on a more general level to further refine the coloring and lighting and correct the gamma using the Color Balance, Levels, and Exposure adjustment layers.I also use the Camera Raw filter to adjust the temperature, tint, shadows, highlights, color grading, and more. Additionally, I resize the canvas to narrow the height and widen the perspective.I continue making slight incremental changes, such as adding lens flare and adjusting the settings in the Lens Correction filter to achieve a more realistic feel of the character within the scene.And that was it! Below you will find the final renders of Fighter Pilot!RENDER: Fighter Pilot And below are some clay renders: Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you, BlenderNation, for giving me the space to display my article here!About the Artist Khaled is a 3D artist from Syria, specializing in hard-surface modeling. Driven by a passion for mechanical design, he strives to reach the pinnacle of artistry in the field.Links

Creeding PostsAssassin's Creed Shadows devs tell players "this is just the beginning" in post-release thank you message that whips out a cheeky quote you might recognise"Its been inspiring. It fuels us. And it helps us keep improving."Image credit: VG247/Ubisoft News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on March 24, 2025 Assassin's Creed Shadows has had a pretty successful launch, pulling in plenty of players and attracting a lot of thumbs up from folks who might have rightfully been a bit sceptical following its multiple delays.Now, the Ubisoft team behind Shadows has posted a message to Reddit, thanking fans on there for posting about the game that's, er, not as discoursey as a lot of the chatter around it has been over the past year or so, as potentially warranted concerns about the portrayal of Japanese culture from actual Japanese people have been mixed in with yelling from internet weirdos who just don't like the idea of a black samurai. Ubisoft's future has also been pretty up in the air.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Anyway, it sounds like the Shadows team has enjoyed having the game's subreddit as a place to just read what people think about the game in the days since release. "This weekend, many of us on the Dev Team spent time reading your reactions across the Assassins Creed subreddit and we just want to say thank you," a post on there attributed to Shadows' devs reads, "The sheer amount of love and positivity we've received has been incredibly heartwarming."Seeing your excitement, your thoughtful reactions, and your joy has meant the world to us. After years of hard work, theres nothing more rewarding than watching the community connect with what weve created. While we dont reply directly, please know were listening. The entire Dev Team has been reading your posts the celebrations, the feedback, the theories and its been inspiring. It fuels us. And it helps us keep improving. "THANK YOU" - A Message from the Assassin's Creed Shadows Development Team byu/Ubi-AssassinsCreed inassassinscreedTo see this content please enable targeting cookies."Thank you for being part of this journey with us. This is just the beginning for Shadows, and we're thrilled to see the game evolve with you by our side."The devs capped off the message, which cites this post from an AC player as the kind of thing being referred to, with a cheeky quote. "Where other men blindly follow the truth, remembernothing is true."Recognise it? Of course you do, you big nerd of all things jumping, climbing, and stabbing people, it's a thing from the actual, er, creed of the assassins in Assassin's Creed. That's not confusingly worded at all, shut up. Basically, someone says it to Ezio in AC2 before a painful thing happens to one of his fingers.If you're not keen on waiting for Shadows' devs to hear your feedback on anything that might have been bugging you about it, you can also check out if mods can help, with some folks already putting out initial tweaks and additions.

Bloody ActionThe First Berserker Khazan review: a love letter to going all-out, bold action, and re-using bossesMy love for you is like a truck, Berserker.Image credit: VG247 Review by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on March 24, 2025 If you had asked me which property, of all the cool IPs out there, would get a major push to new genres, I would never have guessed that Dungeon Fighter would be an option in 2025.An action-oriented MMO that first stole hearts in the early 2000's, Dungeon Fighter is getting a handsome new figurehead in The First Berserker - Khazan. And you know what? As far as missionaries spreading the good word of Dungeon Fighter to the masses go, it's not half bad!Khazan is a Souls-like at its heart, with an emphasis on ruthless aggression. The game wants you to be aggro, rushing in and dodging damage, slicing through enemies in a deluge of blood splurts. With such violence comes shameless joy, and the game is quick to thrust you into the action ballet that has enraptured thousands of Souls-Like fiends around the world. Me included: I'm a lost cause.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Developer Neople shows a deep understanding of what fans of this style of action game want, primarily through its approach to combat design. You get a block and a dodge, right? Standard package. But, time both just right - before you're hit - and you get a reflect or 'blink dodge' that provide additional opportunities for offense, or a stamina bump. You can learn a parry through the skill tree, but there's another parry that only works against special unblockable red attacks. The game throws tools at you, trusting that you're a scoundrel who loves messing around with all these options. And guess what Neople? I am a scoundrel, and revelled in this nonsense.This aggressive approach relies heavily on stamina. Combat, especially against bosses, is a game of action and reaction - using up the majority of your stamina to pump out damage, then playing defence until you're back on the front foot. Stamina recharges over time, but certain skill tree upgrades can provide boosts to stamina generation on reflect and dodge. Your enemies have stamina, too, and depleting that opens them up to a powerful Brutal Attack that totally refills your resources, and allows you to go all out yet again.It's an intriguing approach. Souls-Likes have been stamina-reliant ever since Demon's Souls, but few have built so much upon the resource. Everything ties into stamina. The result of this, at Khazan's best, is that players can engage in this engaging back-and-forth until you deplete a boss's stamina completely, before cashing out the following stun state for a massive hit, a full stamina bar, and an open stage to pull of your nastiest combo. As such, so much of the game is built around pushing your advantage, staying right in the face of enemies to prevent them from catching their breath, and planting you in the danger zone at all times. Equipment plays a big part in this too - check out those set bonuses! | Image credit: VG247Initially, I found myself torn between going ham and playing overly defensive. But at around 12 hours in it all clicked. As you acclimate to Khazan's bubbling waters, you spend less time holding back and more time up in people's faces. In this zone, Khazan has a vigour to it that entraps the heart and kept me keen. Let me put it this way: I would much rather spend three hours grinding Khazan than play an hour any other game out right now. Yes, including that one.The game's approach to weapons and equipment freshens things up too. There are three weapons types in total, which doesn't sound like a lot, but each compliments a specific style. I, caught up in the haze of fast-paced light attack flurries, stayed true to the dual wield weapon type, but if you like big hits or more conservative pokey combat the greatsword and spear respectively will keep you content.You can then compliment your style with gear that drops, all coming in a variety of sexy styles and stat types. Equipment can also come in sets, which have bonuses when combined together, and you can even re-roll stats on gear pieces you like to fine tune your own shirtless himbo. This is a massive part of Khazan. Gear set bonuses are incredibly valuable, more so than pure defensive stats, and some of the ring/necklace sets are bonkers. 30% reduced overall damage taken? 50% increased summoned bestie damage? Ridiculous numbers that prove invaluable during tricky fights.Regardless of your approach, it's worth noting what many of you may have assumed already: Khazan is hard. It's bizarrely hard. Now, I've played my fair share of challenging Souls-Likes, but the unique quirks of Khazan establish it as its own strange place in the genre graph of how hard games like this pull your teeth out. It's worth noting that this game is quite the looker too! | Image credit: VG247Funilly enough, the regular levels aren't hard at all, but Khazan is so quick at throwing challenging bosses at you, especially relative to the hardship you'll face in the mission leading up to them. The second boss has two phases, with different attacks spread between them. The third also has two life bars, unblockable attacks, vastly different attack patterns between the two forms. The fourth boss has a passive elemental damage burn that whittles down your health, a vast AOE attack, and it's even split into two floors so that the boss can totally cover one floor in a vast blanket of fire that'll just straight up kill you. The game quickly throws you into the maw of a great beast, under the understanding that you're a masochist that'll enjoy pulling yourself out of its jaws.This means that Khazan doesn't have a difficulty spike, as it were, more of a difficulty stegosaurus. One can glean from the game that you're meant to bash your head against these bosses. In fact, the game rewards you for doing so! Every time you die in a boss fight, you get a kickback of level-up currency that you can slowly use to improve your stats after each botched run. Same for skill point XP, too. So the bosses are built as these big walls that you need to bash your head against and - eventually - through. Now, that's masochism.If you want, you can summon a Spirit of Advocacy to help you out. It's similar to other ghostly allies from the game's contemporaries, but it starts off weaker than an American lager. To power them up, you need to defeat summonable mini-boss phantoms for currency, the same currency used to call in your golden homie to your side. These are spread across the various missions in Khazan, and are intended as optional challenges that make progress through regular enemies spicier and, in turn, make the missions' final fight easier. A trade-off that equals the scales. These summons aren't free though, so get ready for dozens of enemy spirit fights to farm those tokens. | Image credit: VG247What this means for those thoroughly stuck, though, is that if you want to boost up your summonable pal, you need to farm. Farm up currency to summon allies, sure, but also to strengthen them up enough so you can surpass your foe. Again, if you're a lover of smashing your head into bosses ad neuseam like me it's not a huge problem, but spare a thought for Terry Jenkins, age 45, fresh back from a shift down the mines and looking to play some video games in his spare time. He, and normal people I'd assume, may not be keen on gathering dozens of summon tokens. And who can blame 'em, really?The game also suffers from ample boss reuse, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if the game had spread the second coming of main story fights out a bit more.. The second boss I mentioned earlier has a slightly different variant; you're asked to fight them in a side quest right after the main story mission in which you first encounter them, same for the fourth boss, and this trend continues. When used conservatively, boss reuse can be a welcome sight. Even a hype one. But in Khazan, it's done too often, too soon, and so the enemies lose their wow factor entirely.The game has a sort of animated movie feel with its 3D cel-shaded graphics that won me over. It's like the game popped out of one of those higher budget CG anime movies, and this goes a long way in setting the game apart from grimdark Souls-Like action game number 56 on Steam right now. The background artists have also done a stellar job; from the moment the game started, I found myself looking out at the vistas just out of reach and going, cor, that looks lovely. Khazan breathes fresh life into the Dungeon Fighter universe in a way that almost made me want to download the OG MMO. It's a love letter, really.Where this falls to the realm of mediocre is the story itself, which is a fairly standard revenge tale with the world's angriest man hunting down those who did him wrong. It's quite standard, though it's side missions where things go from average to comical. I shall not spoil it here, but aimagine Khazan handing an orphaned baby gorilla a loaded gun, only for Khazan to be horrified that this gorilla has not only attained sweet revenge, but also a boss bar under him 30 minutes later. Great job Khazan, very cool. Otherwise the game is a soaking in tragedy and angry yelling which, y'know, I'm not averse to. It's just not exactly the main draw here.Khazan is the perfect example of a game that's more than its individual components. The game does re-use a lot, but the gooey core of the game is so engaging, so fun, that you don't really care. It's moorish, devilishly so, and while the game doesn't nail everything, it has got enough guts behind it to warrant a sturdy recommendation to almost everyone. That is, unless you struggle with the challenge these sorts of games champion. In that case, Khazan won't welcome you to the Dungeon Fighter universe with an open hand, but rather smack you away with a closed fist.The First Berserker - Khazan was reviewed on PC, using a code provided by the developer. It's available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on March 27.

Everything the light touches.Updated with Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Enjoy!You see that mountain on the horizon? You can go there! That old gaming chestnut has been around for a very long time now, but for old-school gamers who remember the compartmentalised kingdoms of yore, there's a special magic still to be derived from being able to trek your way to a distant summit in modern open worlds. Video games, eh? Marvellous.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

"If it's beefy enough".While its patent lawsuit with Nintendo rages in the background, Palworld developer Pocketpair isn't willing to completely turn its back on the House of Mario just yet. Namely, the dev would still consider Switch 2 a prime target for a Palworld port down the line, if it's powerful enough, of course.That's according to Pocketpair communications director John 'Bucky' Buckley, who recently told IGN that a Switch 2 port is "100% worth considering" if the console is "beefy enough". He made it clear that the studio has no inside knowledge about the console's specs for the time being, but hey, we're all hoping for a power boost.Read the full article on nintendolife.com