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Squid Gamerocked the world with its unapologetic and brutal narrative, peeling back the covers on the nature of humanity and the lengths humans will go to survive. A total of 456 players are put through the wringer, competing in a series ofKorean children’s gamesfor the enormous cash prize of ₩45.6 billion (which is an estimated $31.46 million). But aside from its dynamic and complex characters and vibrant set pieces, Squid Game hit the nail on the head with its fantastic dialogue....

If you want to throw some chaos into yourDungeons & Dragons,then look no further than the Slaad - or Slaadi for its plural form. Slaadi are toad-like creatures that come from Limbo, and they’re famous for being relatively tough enemies thanks to their Magic Resistance and Regeneration, which makes them a bit of a damage sponge. Thus, to make your players' livesworsemore challenging, we’re here to take a look at the updated Slaadi stats from the 2024 Monster Manual and rank them based on overall design and mechanics - and not necessarily easier to hardest because that’d be just a CR rank....

Quick Links Like many of its predecessors,Hyper Light Breakeris a challenging, but rewarding roguelike. Or, at least it can be if you play your cards right. When diving into the game’s maps, known as the Overgrowth, it can be tricky to know exactly how to approach each world without the proper guidance. But, Hyper Light Breaker is a game that rewards patience and careful planning more than anything else. So, before each run, make sure you’re armed with the proper intel....

Quick Links With the release ofApex LegendsSeason 24, Respawn announced they’re “breaking the meta”. Many elements of the game got buffed; among them, almost every weapon this Season got a major buff. You may be wondering what the state of the weapons is with so many changes, so we’ve got you covered with a tier list that aims to explain which weapons to look for, which to avoid, and what they can do for you in the current meta....

Wuthering Waves' has an excellent combat system, from parries to perfect dodges, you have plenty of ways to flex your individual skill. However, out of all combat encounters, there is no place where this system shines brighter than when tackling the many formidable bosses that dot the land. From lightning-fast brawlers to hulking AOE-focused beasts, these encounters are designed to challenge even the most seasoned players. Let’s delve into nine of the toughest bosses you’ll face during your adventures through Solaris....

Summary Hunter X Hunteris experiencing a wonderful revival as it dives even deeper into the most complicated arc yet, that of the Succession Contest. This war between royal children has more characters than ever, a deeply complex story, and some of the most intriguing nen powers the series has ever seen. Since the manga first entered the Succession War in 2012, seventy chapters have been released. That’s a lot of content stretched across more than a decade, and it can be easy to get a little lost with all the characters and scheming going on....

Action is backtion, baby.Tides of Annihilationwas already my standout from theState of Play, but I felt wary. It looked like a cool action game, but it could easily have been Yet Another Soulslike. Worse, it gave a mild ‘not quite there’ yet vibe of aForspoken. Thankfully, we’ve now seen 11 minutes of gameplay, and I refer you back to my first sentence: action is backtion. Though there is some Souls influence in the enemy designs, what we see from Tides makes it look far more like a true action game....

Quick Links Those Who Ruleis a title that cleverly mixes traditional turn-based mechanics with the tactical RPG genre that keeps things fresh and exciting. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter different enemies and wield unique weapons and abilities to make your way through. A game with such a rich narrative and combat mechanics is bound to feel challenging, especially for those who are new to the genre and find turn-based combat intimidating....

Summary Unlike other boomer shooters, what makesBeyond Citadelso special is its focus on realistic gunplay, particularly highlighting the innate challenges other games forget, like jamming and ammo loss from premature reloading. Beyond Citadel, however, doesn’t shy away from these realities, and incorporates them in such a way that it actually feels rewarding to learn and master. That said, it can still be a daunting and confusing mechanic for new players. It might even serve as a distraction — when learning these elements, you might overlook other in-game aspects, like searching for weapons or other resources....

Quick Links Since the series inception up to its latest entries, Monster Hunter has taken great joy in the obscurity of many of its mechanics. Though this has changed over the years to allow for a bit more clarity, there are certain elements that evenMonster Hunter Wildsis willing to keep you in the dark about. Affinity is probably the mechanic that is one of the most central to combat that the game simply does not explain....

Assassin’s Creed Odysseyallows players to bring their imagination to life by creating custom story missions. Ubisoft gives the community quite a bit of freedom when creating these missions, as players can write their own dialogue and create quest objectives. As expected with player freedom, some story missions become rather goofy, while others are filled to the brim with creativity. However, most custom story missions are primarily designed for EXP farming or repetitive grinding rather than expressive storytelling....

Starting with the 16-bit generation, we’ve seen quite a few strong RPG consoles. However, while the SNES famously has an excellent lineup of RPGs, as does the Sega Saturn, PS2, GBA, DS, 3DS, PS4, and Switch, it is clear that the original PlayStation goes toe-to-toe with them all. For my money, the PlayStation is king in the land of RPGs. What makes the PlayStation’s lineup of games so strong? Well, not only is it stacked with absolute classics that are still frequently referenced to this day, such as Final Fantasy 7, Suikoden 2, Grandia, Lunar, Parasite Eve, and Wild Arms (to name a few), but its lineup offorgottenRPGs is improbably strong....

Summary While playing through a game, you can be forced to face all sorts of bosses. Some will be much larger and have better powers than you, but you have to persevere. Then, you get to the final boss, which is the confrontation that the entire game has been building toward. Typically, this adversary is even bigger and better than the others. However, on some occasions, they’re your exact equal. In fact, they are you....