Doom: The Dark Ages gets a lot right with its gameplay. The shield parrying is a welcome addition to the FPS space, and each of its weapons — a personal favorite being the evergreen shotgun — is both useful and fun. The Dark Ages is extremely my thing, too. What’s not working for me, however, are the few sections where the Doom Slayer pilots a giant mech or rides on the back of a dragon-like creature with mechanical, neon wings. Though these sections hit and miss for different reasons, they both don’t seem to fit well alongside the rest of the game’s parry-focused or FPS gameplay. Piloting the Atlan will make you feel like you’re playing a Pacific Rim game. The Gundam-sized mech lumbers about the battlefield, destroying bridges and buildings in its way. You mostly use its fists to deal damage, with the occasional stomp attack thrown in. Not giving the mech a chainsaw shield is a curious choice; surely the Doom Slayer’s parry abilities could have worked for the mech’s fisticuffs against skyscraper-sized demons. Instead, the Atlan just scoots out of the way of demon attacks, leading to lackluster melee brawls that don’t capture the kinetic energy of the on-the-ground gameplay. At certain points, the Atlan will pick up a giant-ass gun, and this is where the Atlan sections shine. Blowing demons to bits is the name of the game in Doom, and doing so as a mech works well. Oddly, though, the gun charges up when you perfectly dodge enemy attacks, which doesn’t quite make sense as a way for a gun to gain ammo. The Atlan will discard the gun once the arena is cleared, and I was disappointed each time. Let me keep shooting giant demons in the face! Ultimately, the Atlan sections end up being very barebones; they have welcome ideas, but the execution lacks. And the dragon levels aren’t any better. Piloting the mechanized dragon is where the shoehorning in of The Dark Ages’ melee combat falls apart. On the surface, riding a dragon with laser wings should be dope as all hell. For The Dark Ages, though, much of the gameplay in these sections involves the dragon strafing in place, waiting for an enemy to attack, and dodging out of the way to, once again, charge up its guns. Who knew playing as a freakin’ mecha dragon in a game could feel so… dull? Waiting for a perfect dodge so you can actually deal damage to turrets — of all possible enemies, turrets, really? — is a choice that falls flat, and it sucks the fun out of what should otherwise be an explosive section. I did enjoy the parts where your dragon would zoom through the levels shooting at demon aircrafts, though. They felt like pared-down attempts to mimic the core gameplay of space shooters, and an expanded version of these almost-dogfights — that ditched the dodge mechanic — would have been better served as the main focus of the mecha dragon levels. Doom: The Dark Ages has plenty of elements that work. Its techno-medieval setting is a win and each weapon in the Doom Slayer’s arsenal is a joy to use — especially the chainsaw shield. Those gameplay highs only further spotlight how the Atlan and dragon sections misfired. They have good ideas in them, but they’re underserved by some puzzling mechanic choices. Next time we get a dragon in a Doom game, let’s hope it feels as powerful — and fun — as the Doom Slayer himself.

Hey there! Welcome to our weekly indie games roundup. We've got lots to get through this time, including some news before we highlight some brand-new games you can play right now. Indie journal publisher Lost in Cult is moving into physical game releases with a label called Editions. The focus here is on preservation — all of the games that it releases will be available to play offline, with no updates required. Physical game preservation team Does it Play? is playtesting each release. There are premium, limited-edition versions of each game with a slipcase cover, essay booklet, poster and more, as well as retail copies. There will be new releases every month, and the first batch includes a couple of humdingers: Immortality and Thank Goodness You're Here. The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, a point-and-click folk horror game rounds out the trio of debut titles. Really looking forward to seeing where Editions goes from here. The latest Six One Indie showcase took place this week. I've mentioned a game or two that was featured in it below (Game Informer has a list of all the announcements), but I just want to call out a couple of things here.  The score for 1000xResist, one of the best-received games of 2024, is getting a vinyl release in October. Pre-orders are open now. Also, the game that closed out the show has somehow flown under my radar. Dinoblade is an upcoming hack-and-slash action RPG that puts big blades in the jaws of big dinosaurs. Hell yeah. Meanwhile, the folks behind the showcase have set up their own publishing label, Six One Indie Publishing. We've got a ton of other gaming showcases coming up over the next few weeks as Summer Game Fest bobbles on the horizon. Fans of brainteasers may want to catch the Thinky Direct showcase from the Thinky Games community. The hour-long stream starts on May 29 at 1PM ET (just as the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase begins on Steam) It will focus on, you guessed it, puzzle games and other titles that should give your brain a workout. You'll be able to watch the stream on YouTube. Meanwhile, a fun showcase of spy games just premiered. The 25-minute video highlights games across several genres that are largely about snoopin' and sneakin'. All of them, including a bundle of the I Expect You To Die VR trilogy, are featured in the Spy Video Game Rendezvous festival on Steam. New releases Deliver At All Costs was among this week's newcomers. It's an action game in which you play a courier in the '50s. As the name suggests, your primary goal is to deliver your cargo, no matter what. Reviews are mixed for this one but, hey, it's free on the Epic Games Store until 11AM ET on May 29. You can also get it on Steam for 10 percent off the regular price of $30 for the time being. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Speaking of vehicle-oriented destruction, it can be a chore to get the first few Grand Theft Auto games running on modern hardware. I live for chaos and Maniac, from Transhuman Design and publisher Skystone Games, reminds me a bit of those early, top-down GTA entries (which were made in my hometown, fact fans). It's out now on Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a little over a year after debuting on Steam. I can't promise it'll tide you over for a year until GTA 6 drops, but Maniac will run you just five bucks. Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a co-op action RPG that just came out of early access on Steam and landed on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. With its colorful visuals, it reminds me a bit of Hi-Fi Rush, aesthetically. There's a town-building aspect to this as well. I didn't get around to digging into the game during early access. Reviews have been pretty solid so far, though, so I'm hoping to try out Lynked (from FuzzyBot and publisher Dreamhaven) soon. A few seconds into the latest trailer for Tales of Seikyu, I spotted a centaur, which was enough to catch my attention. This yokai fantasy life sim from ACE Entertainment and Fireshine Games is out now in early access on Steam. You can morph into other forms (including a slime!) to help with navigation and combat in this one. Centaurs and slimes, what's not to love? Here's one for the turn-based strategy/history enthusiasts out there. Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution (the debut game from Studio Imugi) sees you take control of units like a giant commandant mech in a battle for the future of France. Expect some political intrigue from this one, which is out now on Steam early access. Upcoming Chrono Odyssey has picked up plenty of momentum, as more than 400,000 people have already signed up to try it out. The horror-tinged, open-world MMORPG from Kakao Games and Chrono Studio will have a closed beta on Steam next month. It's also set to be featured at the Summer Game Fest Live showcase on June 6. The latest trailer looks deliciously creepy. Any game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is worth paying attention to. Even more so when publisher Annapurna Interactive is on board. And when it's a game that has a "call unicycle" button, I'm triple sold. Life-sim To a T tells the story of a teenager whose body gets stuck in a T-pose, with their arms stuck out to the sides. Thankfully, they have a cute pup who helps them actually do things. A delightful demo is out now on Steam, and the game will hit PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 28. This one will be available day one on Game Pass. We've mentioned The Wandering Village a few times over the years and the game is finally coming out of early access on Steam on July 17. It'll also hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on the same day. This is a city-building sim that takes place on the back of a giant creature. I do enjoy the voxel destruction of sandbox heist game Teardown. So I was happy to hear that Tuxedo Labs and Coffee Stain are set to release another expansion next month. This time, we're going to space, as all great franchises (i.e the Leprechaun movies) eventually do. The Greenwash Gambit DLC will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on June 24. It'll cost $8, but owners of the season pass and ultimate edition will get access at no extra cost. Artis Impact's pretty pixel art made an immediate impression on me during the Six One Indie showcase. It took Malaysian solo developer Mas four years to make this cozy RPG, which is "set in a decaying world ruled by rogue AI." Although the game has a main, linear main path, there are side quests, hidden interactions and random events to experience. A demo for Artis Impact is out now, and the full game is coming to Steam on August 7.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/chaotic-deliveries-colorful-co-op-action-rpgs-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-140023626.html?src=rss

New papal names often drip with meaning. Pope Francis, in 2013, named himself after Saint Francis of Assisi, signifying his dedication to poverty, humility, and peace. Pope Paul VI, in 1963, modeled himself after Paul the Apostle, becoming the first pope to make apostolic journeys to other continents. When Robert Francis Prevost announced on Saturday he would take the name Leo XIV, he gave an unexpected reason for his choice: the rise of AI. The most recent Pope Leo, Prevost explained, served during the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century, and railed against the new machine-driven economic systems turning workers into mere commodities. Now, with AI ushering in a “new industrial revolution,” the “defense of human dignity, justice and labor” is required, he said. With his name choice and speech, Leo XIV firmly marks AI as a defining challenge facing our world today. But also embedded in the name is a potential path forward. Leo XIII, during his papacy, laid out a vision for protecting workers against tech-induced consolidation, including minimum wage laws and trade unions. His ideas soon gained influence and were implemented in government policies around the world. While it's still unclear what specific guidance Leo XIV may issue on artificial intelligence, history suggests the implications of his crusade could be profound. If he mobilizes the world's one billion Catholics against AI's alienating potential as decisively as his namesake confronted industrial exploitation, Silicon Valley may soon face an unexpected and formidable spiritual counterweight.“We have a tradition that views work from a theological perspective. It’s not simply burdensome; it’s where we develop ourselves,” says Joseph Capizzi, dean of theology and religious studies for The Catholic University of America. “Pope Leo XIV is going to be drawing on our tradition to try to make a case for finding work that dignifies human beings—even while making space for AI to do things that human beings will no longer be doing.” Rerum NovarumAt the heart of Leo XIV’s new name choice is Leo XIII’s formal letter Rerum Novarum, which he wrote in 1891. At the time, the Industrial Revolution was upending society. Mechanized production and factory systems generated unprecedented wealth and productivity, but led to the displacement of many agrarian jobs and people to move into overcrowded, unsanitary urban centers in search of work. The jobs there were grueling, unsafe, and paid terribly. The wealth gap widened dramatically, leading to massive social unrest and the rise of communist ideology. In the midst of these many challenges, Leo penned Rerum Novarum, an encyclical that marked the first major example of a pope commenting on social justice. In it, Leo wrote that “a small number of very rich men” had laid “upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.” There now existed as “the gulf between vast wealth and sheer poverty,” he wrote. To combat this trend, Leo explored potential solutions. First, he rejected communism, arguing that workers had a right to the fruits of their own labors. But he also stressed the need for a living wage, time for workers for family and church, and the right to form Christian trade unions. “He was really championing the rights of workers,” says Dr. Richard Finn, director of the Las Casas Institute at Blackfriars, Oxford. In this colorized print from "La Ilustración Española y Americana," Pope Leo XIII directs a phonograph message to the American Catholic people on the occasion of his jubilee, in 1892. (Getty Images—LTL/Heritage Images)These ideas eventually caught hold. One of the first major advocates of minimum wage laws in the U.S. was the priest and economist John A. Ryan, who cited Pope Leo as a significant influence. Many ideas in his text “A Living Wage and Distributive Justice” were later incorporated into the New Deal, when Ryan was an influential supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the 1960s, the Catholic Church eventually came out in support of César Chávez and the United Farmworkers (UFW), which Chávez told TIME in 1966 was the “single most important thing that has helped us.” In Australia, Rerum Novarum influenced political leaders who forged a basic wage in that country. And in Mexico, the Rerum Novarum spurred the creation of many Catholic labor unions and mutual aid societies. “It really shaped Catholic activism, with organizations working to ensure that Mexico was neither an unfettered capitalist country nor a Marxist state-owned state,” says Julia Young, a professor at the Catholic University of America. “It was successful in creating Catholic associations that were very politically vocal.” The Church and AIMore than a century after the industrial revolution, a similarly impactful technological revolution is unfolding, amidst many similar economic circumstances. “In terms of similarities between now and then, there was rural to urban immigration changing the workplace, widespread exploitation of workers, and seemingly growing poverty in urban areas,” Young says. “And so you had the church trying to respond to that and saying, ‘We have a different response than Marx or the robber barons.” While Leo XIV hasn’t yet explicitly called for any of the same measures as Leo XIII, it is clear that he believes the rise of AI necessitates some sort of counterweight. And his citing of Rerum Novarum also perhaps reveals a hunger to provoke widespread social change and offer a third path in a two-power arms race. “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution,” he said on Saturday. Across the world, people are expressing intense anxiety about AI causing job displacement. (Some economists contend that these fears are overblown, however.) Like in the industrial revolution, the initial spoils of AI are flowing to a few ultra-powerful companies. And AI companies have also reinforced some of the worst aspects of predatory global capitalism systems: OpenAI, for instance, outsourced some of its most grueling AI training to Kenyan laborers earning less than $2 an hour. Leo’s interest in this area continues that of Pope Francis, who became increasingly vocal about the threats to humanity posed by AI in his later years. Last summer at the G7 Summit, he called for an international treaty to regulate AI, arguing that it could exacerbate social tensions, reinforce dominant cultures, and undermine education. “We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we took away people’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives, by dooming them to depend on the choices of machines,” he said. Some leaders have signaled the importance of prioritizing workers’ rights during the AI revolution, like Senator Josh Hawley. But until a coherent political movement emerges, moral leadership on human dignity in the face of AI may flow from the church, and Pope Leo’s outspoken leadership. “He’s saying AI is going to change the workplace—but it's got to change it in a way that fits with the dignity of employees,” says Dr. Finn. 

RT Humanoid HistorySyd Mead poster art for the 1983 World Sports Fair in Japan, imagining a pack of ginormous mechanized dogs racing in a mega-coliseum.