State Of Decay 2, More Xbox Cloud Games Getting Mouse And Keyboard Support
Xbox Insiders can now try to survive the zombie apocalypse with a mouse and keyboard for State of Decay 2 on Xbox Cloud Gaming. The open-world survival title is one of 14 games getting the additional input support on the service.
Spotted by Windows Central, other notable games also receiving mouse and keyboard support on Xbox Cloud include Quake 2, Terraria, and Slime Rancher 2. Keep in mind that so far this added functionality is only “for users enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview,” per the Xbox Support page.
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It was almost two years ago when Microsoft officially announced mouse and keyboard support was on the way for Xbox Cloud Gaming. This is the second wave of titles, as last month introduced the feature to games like Sea of Thieves, Halo Infinite, and Fortnite. Eventually, the idea is that mouse and keyboard can be used while playing these titles on the cloud on devices like your smartphone or TV, if desired.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is a bonus that’s part of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. New Xbox Cloud games come to the service regularly. For example, a majority of the seven games coming to Game Pass this month will be available on the cloud, such as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
Below is a full list of the new games getting mouse and keyboard support on Xbox Cloud Gaming:
- Cities: Skylines – Mayor’s Edition
- Cities: Skylines – Remastered
- House Flipper
- Inkulinati (Game Preview)
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
- Norco
- Pikuniku
- Quake
- Quake 2
- Slime Rancher 2
- State of Decay 2
- Terraria
- The Sims 4
- Valheim (Game Preview)
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Preorder The Limited Edition Of Oliver Stone’s Vietnam Classic Platoon On Amazon
Oliver Stone’s 1987 anti-war epic Platoon, about the horrors of Vietnam, is getting a new, limited-edition release on 4k Blu-ray. The Platoon Limited 4K Steelbool edition will be available on June 4, but preorders are live now and discounted to just $28 at Amazon (normally $40).
$28 (was $40)
This isn’t the first time Platoon has seen a 4k re-release, but this limited-edition package will definitely look a little nicer on your shelf. It includes audio commentary tracks by writer-director Oliver Stone and military adviser Dale Dye, deleted and extended scenes, and documentaries about the production.
The best part, though, is that the Platoon Limited Edition is on sale in this preorder, down 30% from its usual price of $40. It’s eligible for Amazon Prime, and if the price drops further before its release on June 4, Amazon will automatically give you the better price.
$24
If you’d rather not wait for the new release, the earlier 4k version of the movie, Platoon – Collector’s Edition, is also available on Amazon for a little less–just $24–and it’s also Prime-eligible. While this version has different cover art and lacks the special steelbook case, it features many of the same special features as the new limited edition.
If you’re looking to fill out your classic war movie collection, Amazon also has deals on a selection of other 4K Blu-rays. Check out the list below.
Best 4k War Movie Deals On Amazon
Tetris And 7-Eleven Are Releasing A Handheld Gaming Device Together
Tetris and 7-Eleven have revealed that they are working on several merchandise products together, including one called the Slurpee + Tetris Handheld Game Device.
According to the product description on 7-Eleven’s website, it features an officially licensed Tetris title that plays in full-color on a 1.8 inch screen. It also has a built-in speaker with volume control. The device is powered by three AAA batteries or a USB-C cable.
It’ll cost $30 and there isn’t a set release date yet–the page only says that it’s “Coming Soon.” It also seems like the product is only going to be available in the United States, and it’s unclear if it’ll come to other regions as well. In addition to the game device, this collaboration also includes t-shirts, hoodies, hats, tote bags, and stickers.
Companies collaborating with video games have always been common. Most recently, Uniqlo worked with Nintendo to create a line of Zelda apparel, and Balenciaga collaborated with Fortnite a few years ago.
Fanatical Bundle Gets You 7 Games For Less Than $3 Each, Plus A Chance At Free Stuff
Another build-your-own-bundle is live on Fanatical with a variety of games on offer, and the more games you grab, the cheaper they all are. Nabbing three games in the Platinum Collection Build Your Own Bundle will cost you $10, putting the cost of each one at $3.33. Buy five or more games and the cost per game drops to $3, while adding seven or more games to your bundle drops the costs to $2.86 each.
Fanatical Platinum Collection Build Your Own Bundle May 2024
- Yooka-Laylee Deluxe Digital Edition
- The Chant
- Sprawl
- Corpse Factory
- A Little Golf Journey
- Circle Empires Rivals
- Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara
- Doomblade
- Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action
- Liberte
- Endling: Extinction is Forever
- Power to the People
- Glitch Busters: Stuck on You
- Tails of Iron
- Buggos
- Everdream Valley
- Hell Pie
- Aces and Adventures
- Juno: New Origins
Leading off the May 2024 edition of the is Banjo Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee, a colorful platformer in the early 2000s style. It’s a buddy comedy platforming game, where you control two characters who work together with different abilities. The Digital Deluxe version sports a 24-page digital manual and art book, as well as the game’s original soundtrack.
You’ve got some other 3D platforming options in this bundle as well, if you’re so inclined. Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is another cute and colorful game in the same vein as Yooka-Laylee, with gameplay that ranges from relaxed and chill to highly challenging. There’s also Hell Pie, another platformer that leans into the comedic as you take on the
Speaking of demons, you can also check out the demonically inspired metroidvania Doomblade. As Gloom Girl, you’ll go on a quest of vengeance with the Doomblade, a sentient sword that wants revenge against those who imprisoned it.
In addition to the savings you get from buying in the Platinum Collection bundle, you can also take advantage of Fanatical’s May Madness sale. For every $12 you spend on Fanatical during the sale, you earn a chance to spin a prize wheel as part of May Madness Spin to Win. The wheel includes things like discounts, free games, and other bonuses. It also sports the big Star Prize, the chance to walk off with a Razer Edge cloud-streaming handheld.
If you’re after more bundles, don’t forget about Fanatical’s Fallout Bundle, which comes with every Fallout RPG and is only $25. For even more budget-friendly deals, check out Fanatical’s game bundles hub.
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.
Escape From Tarkov Rival Receives First Hotfix Updates Following Early Access Launch
Gray Zone Warfare, a new extraction shooter in the same vein of Escape From Tarkov, has received its first updates following its recent Steam Early Access launch, with two hotfixes looking to address some of the biggest issues players have encountered so far.
Hotfix 1 released the same day as the game’s release, and fixed various problems causing server crashes, anti-cheat issues that were preventing players from joining servers, and a bug that caused players to spawn without head, clothes, or the ability to secure containers.
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Hotfix 2 released May 2, addressing GPU-related game crashes and adding the ability to wipe characters, after which players are able to go through character creation and choose a faction once again. The wipes are irreversible, developer Madfinger Games warns.
Despite the attempts of Hotfix 1, players are still reporting various spawn issues like spawning without a head or clothes. Madfinger Game’s stated on X that it’s actively working on a solution.
Despite “Mixed” reviews on Steam, Gray Zone Warfare is certainly the game of the moment. It’s currently the top-selling game on Steam, with Madfinger announcing more than 400,000 copies have been sold so far. It’s also rising up the Steam top-played charts. As of writing it’s just shy of breaking into the top-20 games on the platform in terms of concurrent players.
Much like Escape From Tarkov, Gray Zone Warfare is a tactical FPS where players drop into a warzone and battle both against NPCs and other players in an attempt to extract with gear and loot. Players can choose to join one of three different PMC factions, but be warned: only players on the same faction can team up. Thankfully, players can now re-select their faction via the character wipe function added with the latest hotfix.
Gray Zone Warfare’s popularity is only being helped by recent controversy surrounding Escape From Tarkov, which has seen its community turn against it following unpopular announcements from developer BattleState Games. The embattled developer attempted to sell exclusive access to PvE mode for Escape From Tarkov as part of a $250 edition of the game, despite owners of a previous edition being promised all future DLC.
BattleState Games has since walked back its initial plans and apologized, with the developer stating it didn’t “foresee” the negative reaction to locking Tarkov’s PvE mode behind a $250 paywall. The studio is now attempting to win back players by offering the PvE mode for free (but granting access to it in waves) and removing a controversial perk of the $250 edition, priority matchmaking. Whether or not BattleState’s apology resonates still remains to be seen, but it seems many players are eager to move on to greener pastures, and for many that means giving Gray Zone Warfare a try.
Save On Secretlab’s Best Gaming Chair, And Pair It With A New Star Wars-Inspired Skin
Star Wars Day is almost here, and to celebrate, Secretlab has unveiled a new line of skins for its Titan Evo gaming chairs. If you’re looking to give your gaming chair a quick makeover, you can dress it up as a Jedi with these gaming chair skins inspired by the legendary Force-wielding knights.
Secretlab says the Star Wars covers feature a unique jacquard weave inspired by the robe-like texture of a Jedi’s garb, while the sleeves are inspired by the weathered robes of Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi during his time spent on the desert planet of Tatooine. Other neat touches include the symbol of the Jedi Order stitched on the back and the iconic phrase “May the Force be with you” is embroidered below the symbol in the Galactic basic writing system of Aurebesh.
These $179 skins are only designed to fit Secretlab’s Titan Evo chairs. If you’re looking to grab a chair to go with that Star Wars design, you can get a quick deal on Titan Evo and Titan Evo Lite gaming chairs are on sale as part of Secretlab’s Spring Sale.
The Titan Evo has been discounted by up to $100, while the Titan Evo Lite is on sale for $30 off. The Titan Evo remains our pick for the best gaming chair you can buy today when considering price, comfort, and durability. It’s available in a wide range of variant models, from traditional colors to themed chairs based on popular media properties like Cyberpunk 2077 and Game of Thrones. Secretlab released the more budget-friendly Titan Evo Lite earlier this year. If you want to dive deeper into the differences between the two models, check out our Secretlab Titan Evo Lite review.
Secretlab’s Spring Sale also includes discounts on Magnus Metal Desk, a high-end gaming desk with multiple different models, including sit-to-stand Magnus Pro XL. For more, check out our Secretlab Magnus Pro XL review.
And for more Star Wars Day deals and products, check out some of GameSpot’s other coverage:
Read more on Star Wars Day
No Rest For The Wicked Is Brutal And Ambitious, But A Little Confused
With Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, developer Moon Studios deconstructed the fundamentals of metroidvania design and honed in on its most alluring aspects. Combined with some of the tightest platforming in the business and an entrancing visual design, the studio’s debut IP was a standout hit, leading to heightened anticipation for its next project. Yet, No Rest for the Wicked could not be more different from the enchanting veneer of Ori and the Blind Forest, trading in precise platforming for punishing combat, bright colors for a dark and foreboding medieval world, and tight gameplay for systems that struggle to reign everything in.
No Rest for the Wicked puts you in control of a member of the Cerim, a group of warriors charged with protecting the realm from a plague that turns folks into horrific, almost eldritch creatures. While sailing towards the island of Sacra, your ship is attacked by rebels from the land known as the Risen, leaving you stranded on the gloomy shores and at the doorstep of Sacra’s main town, Sanctuary. Many of No Rest for the Wicked’s main narrative pieces are moved into view within the first hour of play, setting up a tense scenario where humanity is fighting against a returning plague while an overzealous religious cult is using the ensuing chaos to carve a place for themselves in the future of the kingdom.
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It’s nothing particularly unique, and you can certainly tell who is presumably going to eventually end up being an antagonist (and who will end up becoming an ally) pretty quickly. But it is easy to forget this when conversing with the many characters you’ll come across, especially in Sanctuary. There’s a lot of personality in every conversation you have, punctuated by the eye-catching character designs that exaggerate facial and physical features in ways that give No Rest for the Wicked a rather unique look.
This extends to the isle of Sacra, which is divided up into visually diverse sections that house a variety of eye-catching flora and decrepit architecture. Traversing dangerous woods filled with enemies is punctuated by a lack of light, bathing the wilderness in a foreboding darkness that heightens the fear of being attacked out of nowhere. By contrast, the warm and soothing sunlight in Sanctuary accentuates how safe this small reprieve from the outside danger is, even if its streets don’t house the most pleasant citizens. Moon Studios’ has been revered for its iconic style and attention to visual detail, and No Rest for the Wicked is just another feather in its cap.
Reducing No Rest for the Wicked down to another action role-playing game not only does it a disservice, but also fails to capture other genres it’s attempting to blend into this familiar mold. Yes, you’re still presented with an isometric camera view, but instead of clicking to move around you have direct control of your character as you make your way around Sacra. The world itself is also more ripe for inventive exploration, with a surprising focus on verticality when it comes to some light platforming. You’ll automatically leap from ledges when sprinting, and treasures are enticingly placed on tricky to reach ledges that will have you moving around a small area in an attempt to figure out how to reach them. This does have some drawbacks, particularly given that you can’t directly control the camera. The density of environmental detail can often make it challenging to determine what is a traversable path, especially when it comes to having to hug a wall to progress forward. Additionally it’s frustrating to fall from ledges or slim beams when moving across them can feel so awkward thanks to the angled view. It’s difficult to gauge your character’s balance correctly when you have to account for the skewed angle you’re viewing them from, making many treasures at the end of these challenges not worth seeking out.
No Rest for the Wicked also drastically changes what you might expect from a combat system in an ARPG. Games like Diablo and Path of Exile revel in larger scale battles where you’re able to vaporize groups of enemies with a single spell. No Rest for the Wicked instead takes inspiration from the Souls-like genre, giving combat a much slower, purposeful feel that works well with its demanding level of challenge. Every enemy is a threat that can easily put you down if you aren’t careful, while groups will quickly overwhelm you if you don’t strategically pick each one off in a careful order. Attacks, dodges, and rolls all consume stamina, while enemy attacks will build up poise damage that can leave you open to attack, challenging you to manage both with care. As such, learning enemy attack patterns, equipping weapons with varying levels of attack speeds and poise damage, and perfecting the art of parrying are all vital. Thankfully, these all coalesce into a satisfying combat system that engages you as it teaches, creating a satisfying sense of control as you pirouette around enemies you’ve figured out.
The user-interface can get in the way of this, however. Both stamina and poise are represented with individual bars around your character, and not on the main HUD placed in the top-left of the screen. As you’re dodging and moving around in a skirmish, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine how much stamina you have left, which can mean the difference between a victory-assuring attack and a deadly overreach. This placement could be an experiment while the game is still in early access to see if keeping this vital information at the center of the battle as opposed to on the periphery is an improvement, but I would much rather see a toggle to let players choose one or the other as development progresses.
Learning enemy attack patterns, equipping weapons with varying levels of attack speeds and poise damage, and perfecting the art of parrying are all vital … Thankfully, these all coalesce into a satisfying combat system that engages you as it teaches, creating a satisfying sense of control as you pirouette around enemies you’ve figured out
No Rest for the Wicked does make some fundamental changes to some of the systems you might have assumed would be brought over from its many inspirations. When you die, you respawn at the last resting site you activated, but you don’t lose any experience. Instead, your gear will lose some durability, which only starts feeling punishing once they’re near useless. Perhaps the biggest diversion is with regards to healing items. Unlike Dark Souls, healing items are a consumable you’ll need to routinely farm. Cooked meals are the most effective way to heal in battle, but they require knowledge of a recipe and then specific ingredients to cook. Though this seems straightforward enough initially, it’s soon revealed that enemies and resources do not respawn after you die. Instead, you have to wait for portions of the map to fog over again, randomizing enemy and resource placements so that you can farm in that area once more.
There’s a tangible tug-of-war between the principles of the Souls inspirations and No Rest for the Wicked’s deviations from them. Farming ingredients for healing is problematic when facing a challenging boss that requires multiple attempts to best, and naturally there are quite a few. This means you’ll regularly have to explore new parts of the map simply to restock on healing supplies, putting yourself in danger that might ultimately require use of the same healing resources you’re trying to stockpile. Coupled with the element of randomization, this process quickly becomes frustrating, and generates friction between No Rest for the Wicked’s attempts at melding together disparate ideas from two genres.
Where No Rest for the Wicked sticks strongly to traditional ARPG tropes is in its loot. There is a significant amount of loot to pick up as you explore Sacra, with weapons, gear, resounces, and more dropped by enemies, found tucked away in chests, and otherwise randomly placed throughout the world. It doesn’t take long for your inventory to be bulging at the seams, leading to numerous trips back to Sanctuary just to unload before continuing exploration. Unfortunately, this process can become tedious quite quickly, and is even more of an issue during aforementioned runs for healing where you’ll have to choose between carrying upgrade resources or meal ingredients. It’s a cumbersome bit of resource management that adds nothing more than tedium to the loop of exploration.
However, finding new gear in the form of weapons and armor is as stimulating as most other ARPGs, and enables you to quickly change the way you play the game or approach previously challenging foes. Weapons are particularly interesting in No Rest for the Wicked, as they eschew traditional rarity tropes for a more risk-reward based system. Standard weapons have four rune slots and a gem slot on them, with the former allowing you to equip special attacks on them to vary your offensive repertoire and the latter offering the ability to boost a particular stat. You can enchant weapons via a vendor, but at a cost. Blue-tier weapons remove all but one rune slot, but augment your weapon with three stat bonuses. A purple-tier boosts these stat bonuses even further, but also introduces a negative stat that you’ll need to consider before using the weapon. A weapon I found early in my quest illustrated this well by delivering far more poise damage to enemies than before, but reducing my overall health by 25%. A sacrifice I was willing to make, and a system I am eager to see explored more with later-game weaponry.
Unfortunately, the steady stream of gear and the ways in which it allows you to change up your gameplay style also ends up contradicting the core character progression system in No Rest for the Wicked. Each time you level up, you’re given three points to spend on attributes such as health, dexterity, strength, and stamina. There is currently no way for you to change how you’ve distributed these points once spent, meaning you’re forced to direct your character progression without knowing if your build will be viable with the random loot you will encounter. There were large portions of my playtime where I was not changing weapons simply because they were less effective with the way I was prioritizing strength and stamina, soft-locking me out of numerous weapons that would otherwise eased some of the increasingly challenging areas I was being thrown into. Games like Diablo IV offer the flexibility to change your character build at any time to match the loot you’re consistently grabbing, while Dark Souls and other games in the genre carefully place gear strategically to make a variety of builds viable. No Rest for the Wicked feels stuck between these two ideals and ends up worse than both as a result. Moon Studios’ has confirmed that it is looking to add a character respec option in the near future, so there’s hope that this can be alleviated somewhat.
Another aspect that is currently missing from No Rest for the Wicked is multiplayer. Moon Studios has stressed that single-player will remain a viable method of play and never require an internet connection, but it’s clear that the direction of the game is headed towards a continual live-service offering like most others in the genre. There’s a character in Sanctuary that offers daily and weekly quests (which, frustratingly, can only be checked out one at a time), enticing you to continually log back in and complete objectives for better loot. This repetitive gameplay loop will most likely be best with some friends in tow, much like Destiny 2’s seasonal content. It’ll be especially interesting to see how the game scales difficulty and enemy density as more players are present in skirmishes, and just how well the combat copes with the additional chaos that will likely ensue.
No Rest for the Wicked is relatively rich in terms of content for an early access title, offering over 10 hours of story content and additional late game activities to stretch your playtime well beyond that. But it’s evident that Moon Studios is looking for critical feedback, and even more so that the current state of several design decisions and gameplay systems require it. The ambition on show here is noteworthy, and some of the elements from multiple genres blended together do ultimately work to create captivating results. But there’s also a lot of friction between those that don’t fit as neatly with each other, and those that will likely occupy a lot of your time as you brush up against the game’s numerous challenges. There’s work to be done on No Rest for the Wicked right now, but it’s saying something that I want to come back for more once it’s taken place.