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25 April 2025 - Game Informer Editorial

Video game genres are typically defined by the main actions a player can perform. In a shooter, you shoot. In a platformer, you jump on platforms. Cozy games are instead defined by aesthetic and emotional impact; they should make you feel, well… cozy. Despite this vague definition, the genre is extremely popular and has wide appeal, attracting people of various ages and genders, and especially people with less experience with video games as a medium. The best cozy games are forgiving, relaxing, and easy to get lost in. We've got some huge fans of the genre here at Game Informer, so here's a list of the ten cozy games you don't want to miss.

A Little to the Left

What if a puzzle didn't look like a puzzle? That's the question A Little to the Left asks and immediately answers with dozens of creative challenges where the player sorts and stacks all manner of household objects. Many puzzles have multiple solutions as well (a group of markers can be laid out by length or color, for example), so in many instances, the challenge is to find the puzzle in order to solve it. There's also a cute cat that shows up to impede your progress. It would be annoying if it weren't so adorable.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo has maintained a cheery, family-friendly aesthetic for decades, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the company at its most welcoming. As the Resident Representative of a remote island, you customize your new town and upgrade your house to your heart's content, befriending the bipedal animal villagers as you go. Animal Crossing runs on a real-time clock, meaning one day in real life is one day in the game, and it actively encourages you to take your time while playing. Still, that doesn't stop players from racking up hundreds of hours terraforming and decorating every inch of their islands.

Journey

This wordless, narrative-driven experience follows an unnamed, scarf-wearing being as it voyages across the desert. The iconic, cello-centric Austin Wintory soundtrack is your only companion–unless, of course, you count the game's subtle multiplayer mechanic, through which nameless players appear in your world and assist you on your journey. Journey is a meditative, moving experience, and a great way to introduce a friend or family member to video games.

Little Kitty, Big City

Cute pets are often a common element of cozy games, but in Little Kitty Big City, they're front and center. This game is the ultimate adorable cat adventure, complete with collectible hats, designated buttons to meow and bap with each paw, and funny dialogue. There's a story to experience and puzzles to solve, but it's also just really fun to pounce at birds and swipe at humans' feet. It's a game that understands the cutest, silliest parts about pets, puts your paws on the controller, and lets you loose to have fun.

PowerWash Simulator

To most people, cleaning is not a relaxing activity, but when it's in a video game, it becomes a chill, enjoyable experience. PowerWash Simulator is one of the greatest examples of this, bringing players to a variety of dirt-caked locations to spray until spotless. If the basic maps aren't interesting enough to you, DLC maps introduce a wide array of crossovers into the mix, including cleanable areas from Final Fantasy VII and Warhammer 40,000 to SpongeBob and Shrek.

The Sims

If you're looking for a silly game to escape from reality, you can't do much better than The Sims. The most iconic simulation game on the market, you create characters in a small town and watch them live their lives, going to work, making friends, and potentially starting a family. If you're new to the series, you can't go wrong with The Sims 4, the newest entry with dozens of DLC packs featuring new vocations, outfits, and crossovers. Fans looking for a blast from the past can instead grab The Sims 2 Legacy Collection, which was recently released on Steam and brings the 2004 classic to modern platforms.

Spiritfarer

Much like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer is a game where you manage a town of sorts, plant crops, and bond with your neighbors. The catch with this one, however, is that you're actually guiding spirits to the afterworld, and eventually, you have to let them pass away. This constant confrontation with death means it's not a game for everyone, but Spiritfarer is a moving experience accompanied by management and decoration mechanics classic to the cozy genre. Pair it with a bright art style and spirited (pun intended) soundtrack, the best hugging animations ever created, and you'll quickly understand why Spiritfarer is a classic.

Stardew Valley

This pixelated farming sim is the quintessential cozy game. As a new resident of Pelican Town, you manage a farm with crops and livestock, bond with (and potentially romance) your neighbors, fish, mine, chop down trees, and craft tools and decorations. Most importantly, the vibes are off the charts, with adorable art, fun dialogue, and a jolly soundtrack. If you've never played Stardew Valley, it's absolutely worth checking out – there's a reason it's as popular as it is.

Toem

In Toem, you take pictures of everything, and your camera can solve any problem. Like the best puzzle games, it's a simple premise stretched to every conceivable situation, often to humorous effect. For completionists, each area offers dozens of tasks to complete, but if you're looking for a more laid-back experience, you can just complete the challenges you're interested in and move on. The experience is made even more charming by the silly dialogue and black and white, paper-like aesthetic.

Unpacking

Whenever I move houses, it takes me an unreasonable, stressful amount of time to fully unpack. But in Unpacking, it's a delightful way to spend a few hours. The game tells the story of a person's life through each of their moves, and you learn more about them based on the things they bring, the things they leave behind, and the places the game allows you to store each item. It's a light puzzle game; just enough to engage your brain, but never enough to force you to think too hard.

Bionic Bay Review - Physics Trap

25 April 2025 - Matt Miller

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, PC Publisher: Kepler Interactive Developer: Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy Release: April 17, 2025 Rating: Everyone 10+

Drawing on some of the best traditions of precision platformers and physics-based puzzle games, Bionic Bay is a surprising and novel release managing the rare feat of consistent and rewarding gameplay from beginning to end. Stack in a speedrunner’s dream of an online mode, and there’s a lot packed in. While the purposefully enigmatic world-building and overpowering industrial theming didn’t land for me, the slick traversal and clever puzzle design make the game an easy recommendation, so long as you don’t mind a challenge.

Bionic Bay opens with a fateful lab accident, after which a hapless office worker finds himself in a catastrophically dangerous world of spinning blades, crushing boxes, freezing rays, and sudden shifts in gravity. Despite occasional diary-like text entries you uncover along the way, the story is almost non-existent. A broader mystery is alluded to, but I was disappointed in the absence of a meaningful follow-through. It’s not that I need all the answers, but the total abandonment of any attempt to illuminate what and why things were happening let me down.

Thankfully, the core experience of 2D platforming is remarkably fun. While moving across fallen beams, strange organic growths, and the remnants of half-built tech, the running and leaping is fast and usually precise, even if I was frustrated by specific one-off movement sequences like one through water.

Players gradually gain a suite of otherworldly powers that manipulate the physical environment, like teleporting and trading places with an object, slowing time, or even tweaking the direction of gravity. Alongside these powers, numerous strange (and usually deadly) effects litter the environment, like bounce pads and cryo-rays that freeze anything midair when touched. With those tools, the player must puzzle their way past seemingly impossible gaps and drops; solutions often require both imaginative thinking and extremely tight platforming timing.

Death is common and often frustrating since there are frequently enough physics variables on screen, such as a pile of wildly spinning crates, that it can be hard to progress past a puzzle you have already solved. Luckily, in the early part of the game, new respawn checkpoints are set at virtually every major hurdle. It was only in the later levels that I sometimes grew tired of repeat jumping sequences set around more extended checkpoint cycles.

The puzzle designs revolve around physics concepts like magnetism, momentum, and the flow of time. I was impressed by how many clever twists were explored within the limited constraints of a given power. Many levels exhibit brilliance that recalls classics like Portal or Inside, with that same high satisfaction when you finally nail the completion.

The visual direction plays heavily with the contrast between dark shadows in the foreground and brilliant colors in the backdrops and effects. It’s a highly detailed use of pixel art that is often breathtaking. However, the constant industrial noise of slamming metal plates and crackling electricity, alongside your protagonist’s constant, repeated grisly deaths, combine to make the sci-fi factory vibe feel oppressive over time.

Upon completing the single-player campaign, dedicated players should be delighted by the online game mode, which offers remixed levels that are more challenging and a chance to race through at high speed for a shot at the global leaderboard. I like these challenges’ dynamic nature, which deserves a special call-out for the speedrunning community. Bionic Bay’s high difficulty and top-tier approach to 2D traversal are an ideal fit for anyone who likes to challenge themselves to improve a level’s run time. I hope that corner of the gaming community finds this game and embraces its potential.

While the severe environment and sound design didn’t always work for me, and some of the puzzle solutions were stymied by wildly unpredictable onscreen variables, I was thoroughly impressed with Bionic Bay’s high challenge and ingenious twists on real-world physics. It’s a tight, fast-moving, and no-nonsense adventure that demands careful observation and strong thumbstick control in equal measures. You already know if that’s the vibe that lands for you; if it is, this mysterious journey should be on your list.

Score: 8.25

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Towerborne Preview - From Tactics To Brawling – The Banner Saga Developers’ Big Multiplayer Swing

25 April 2025 - Matt Miller

Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Xbox Game Studios Developer: Stoic Rating: Teen

Banner Saga and its sequels won plenty of praise from both critics and tactics fans for its deep and thoughtful take on challenging battles set against an inspiration of Norse mythology. After completing the trilogy, the teams newest game feels like a dramatic departure – a bright and inviting multiplayer brawler focused on loot and fast, compelling action.

Ahead of the game’s release on Xbox Game Preview (via Game Pass) on April 29 and as the PC early access title continues to evolve, we had a chance to ask development team members about the project and what makes it distinct.

GI: Towerborne feels like a big departure from the team’s work on Banner Saga. Even so, were there any big carry-over elements or learnings from the team’s prior projects that helped inform Towerborne?

John Watson, CTO & Co-Founder of Stoic: There certainly are some differences between Towerborne and Banner Saga. Banner Saga was driven by the story with the tactical combat mechanics supporting and providing weight and atmosphere. The combat mechanics of Banner Saga were tightly constrained, with small numeric ranges, relatively similar battlefield sizes and opportunities for mobility, and rare loot drops of substantial importance. Towerborne, on the other hand, is driven by its gameplay mechanics and revolves around combat: the action combat skills you develop as a player, the huge amount of variety in combat tactics, the vastly flexible RPG progression system, and of course the great wealth of loot to support and fuel it. The story and lore of the Towerborne world is rich and deep, but unlike Banner Saga it plays a supporting role instead of driving the player's experience. The Towerborne world is much more approachable and hopeful than the dark and serious world of Banner Saga.

One of the biggest carry-overs from our experience with Banner Saga is the desire to engage with our community and participate with them in a living game. One year into the development of Banner Saga, we released Banner Saga Factions, which was a free online version of the game which focused entirely on multiplayer combat. This allowed us to test, tune, and iterate on the combat in real time with our community. The experience was incredibly positive and many of the people who joined us for that are still with us today. Towerborne allows us to do that again, but on a bigger scale.

GI: Towerborne has an appealing and approachable art style with some familiar fantasy trappings. Can you share some perspective on the art direction of the game?

Arnie Jorgensen, Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder of Stoic: We started with the idea that the player is playing an animated film, something Ghibli’esque. I say “esque” because we were never trying to do something like an anime exactly, we just used it as inspiration to get going. We initially planned on the game being fully 2D, similar to Banner Saga, but eventually to make the gameplay what we think it needed to be we pivoted to 3D and I think that move also shifted us away a little from the initial inspiration. Once we started bringing on more artists and the Lead Concept Artist, Jeff Murchie, the game really started taking on its own artistic identity and it’s been growing ever since. My job has largely been to simply make sure we’re staying within the large bounds of what we initially envisioned and it’s been fascinating and rewarding for me to see it grow into what it is today - the team really killed it I think, all props to them and our amazing Art Director, Pedro Toledo.

GI: While the game seems to be leaning heavily into brawling and loot as core elements, can you share anything about the lore and fantasy setting for all that action?

Daniel McLaren, Game Director: We definitely wanted to expand the concept of the brawler through the introduction of a deeper loot and itemization system, but also we wanted to open up an entire world around the game. The central theme of Towerborne is “hope”. When we sat down and started talking about the story (humanity's cities have been destroyed by some mysterious antagonist and now they have taken refuge in the Belfry, where our story takes place), the main thing we said was, “This is not a post-apocalyptic story. It’s a post-post-apocalyptic story.” The idea has always been that this story focuses on the restoration of humanity and the reclamation of the world from those who seek to destroy it.

Without giving too much away, the conceit here is that humanity has always had a connection to “the other side”–or, the Ebb–and some rare, but exceptional, humans can interact with it via friendly creatures called Umbra. Through that knowledge and relationship humans learn how to thrive and survive in this dangerous world. Being completely on-brand, humanity gets kinda soft and thinks “What could possibly go wrong?”, and of course, some mysterious agent of evil is like, “yeah, that’s my cue”, and thus destroys the technology that keeps everyone safe.

Well, that action tears the veil between the real world and the Ebb, so now the Umbra are “bonding” to special humans after they die and bringing them back with powers. These are known as Aces, and of course, you play one! So now the game starts with you trying to figure out what happened, who dunnit, and why.

No pressure.

GI: Would you share some details about combat in the game, and how Towerborne aims to elevate above button-mashing brawling?

Isaac Torres, Lead Live Designer: When designing the combat of Towerborne it was always important to make something that was easily approachable and had tons of depth. Towerborne has a lot of similarities to games like God of War and Devil May Cry in terms of combat prowess. Combos can be intertwined in a variety of ways where it’s just fun to try stuff out.

That's just the start, though. Then you have your more advanced tactics like dodge cancels, jump cancels, special move cancels, and even combo resets. Umbra are reminiscent of assist characters in tag fighting games, giving you an extra tool that you may not normally have. Sometimes you may want to just drop an elbow into a crowd of enemies and see the chaos unfold.

A key philosophy of the combat system is to give players fun ideas that can be explored in a variety of ways. It’s that nuance that really makes Towerborne shine, which is then amplified by the new Class Skills system. Want to expand the capabilities of your favorite move? There’s a Skill for that. You can even change up the functionality of your core Class mechanic. We also have a Skill for players who want to button mash and it’s super fun! There really is something for everyone.

GI: What can you share about Curios and how they feed into the game’s monetization and progression? Would you share some examples of Curios, and how they might differ from items or equipment found naturally through playing the game?

Daniel McLaren, Game Director: One of the most important things we had to figure out early was how we would monetize Towerborne, and something that was incredibly important to us was the idea of getting rid of as much “fear of missing out” (FOMO) as we possibly could. So the main thing here is that none of the rewards in the Curio will impact gameplay, so no Sword of Slaying +100 Damage to Beasts, or boosters, or in-game currency, or anything like that. It’s all cosmetics, expression stickers, emotes, etc. So if a player decided they don’t want to buy a Curio, they’re not being penalized in their actual gameplay.

With that, we wanted to look at how the Curio was structured. Personally I have always hated the idea that the common Battlepass is a linear, arduous system that is stacked with rewards you must get, but might not want to have, and then, if you don’t get all 100 items before the timer runs out–oopsie! Too bad!

So we did a couple things (and happily other games have beat us to the punch so we were able to see our concepts executed in real time): The first was to let players be able to purchase it and complete it whenever they wanted. Or, even better, cherry pick the things you want and then leave it to never be completed if you don’t care. There are a few restrictions in that we’ve structured it in tiers and each tier is unlocked when you purchase a couple items from the previous tier. We do want to incentivize playing the game and giving goals for the players to achieve.

Which leads to the second point: We made sure that the in-game play activities that reward Curio currency (writs) are designed around things you, as the player, want to do. This is important, because a lot of games give you a checklist of challenges to earn battlepass points, and 50% of the challenges are either lame, or they’re things you don’t want to do as a player. So no more, “Go kill 1500 enemies with a pistol while blindfolded and doing a backflip in PvP” tasks. What if I stink with a pistol, or what if I hate PvP? Then I miss out on the currency and my progression is stymied. It’s a terrible feeling and it’s a big reason why players feel penalized for engaging with that kind of a system.

Now one final thing here, and I think this is really important. If a player does not purchase a Curio when it becomes available, normally it would never come back and you would miss out forever on those things. We are working on systems to ensure that the items in the Curio, or the Curios themselves, will make a return. How long until they do? We don’t know, but we want our future players to be able to acquire things that our day-1 players had the ability to acquire–we just want to give the players who bought it when it originally released to have a meaningful window of exclusivity to thank them for helping us thrive!

GI: Can you walk us through the release timeline coming up? Is the game still going to be in early access when update 6 launches at the end of April? On what platforms can players try out the game at that point? Do you have a targeted timeframe for the full 1.0 launch?

Trisha Stouffer, CEO & President of Stoic: Towerborne will continue to be in Early Access / Game Preview throughout the summer and it is available on Steam, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X|S. It is playable on handhelds and via Xbox Play Anywhere. Player reaction and our ability to respond thoughtfully to feedback will influence when we go to 1.0 and the game is free-to-play.

Split Fiction Is Becoming A Movie, Starring Sydney Sweeney

25 April 2025 - Charles Harte

Split Fiction, the follow-up to Hazelight Studios' Game of the Year winner It Takes Two, is one of the biggest games of the year so far. With a 91 on Metacritic and two million copies sold within the first week of its release, it's about as big a success as the studio could ask for. Yesterday, however, Variety reported the game is on its way to an even bigger audience, as it's in the works to become a feature film.

Jon M. Chu, best known for his recent work on the film adaptation of Wicked, would direct the movie. While Chu has never adapted a video game before, he has built his career transferring stories from other media onto the big screen, including books, cartoons, and recently, Broadway musicals. At the very least, he's been successful in directing at least one movie starring two women with magical abilities, so one can see the logic in bringing the assignment to him.

The project will also star Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus, Madame Web), though it's yet to be decided which of the leads, Mio or Zoe, she will play. Sweeney is also set to executive produce the film. Oddly, this is the second piece of Sweeney-related game adaptation news we got this week, since she'll also be producing a Michael Bay-directed adaptation of Outrun, a Sega racing series.

Story Kitchen is set to produce the film and bring the project to movie studios, as none have picked it up yet. The production company happens to have tons of other game adaptations in the works as well, including films based on Just Cause, Ruiner, Shinobi, and a live-action Tomb Raider series.

For more video game movie news, we recently learned the release date for Wes Ball's Legend of Zelda adaptation.

Kirby And The Forgotten Land, Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch 2 Upgrades Cost $20

24 April 2025 - Brian Shea

During the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct livestream in early April, we learned about Nintendo Switch 2 editions of pre-existing games from the original Nintendo Switch. Though Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were the main attractions for many, players can also upgrade their existing copies of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree. Today, as pre-orders went live, we learned that the upgrades for those two games cost more than their Zelda counterparts, setting players back $20 per game.

As Nintendo Life spotted, Best Buy listed upgrade packs for the announced Switch games with Switch 2 upgrades. As previously confirmed, upgrading your pre-existing Switch 1 copy of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will set you back $10 each (unless you have Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, in which case, those upgrades are included with your subscription). Upgraded copies of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom improve resolution, framerate, and add Zelda Notes app functionality for things like voice-note lore additions, GPS navigation, and sharing Ultrahand creations. If you don't already own Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the Switch 2 standalone versions cost $70 and $80, respectively.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree's upgrade packs will set back players who already own the Switch 1 versions of those games $20 each, Best Buy's listings confirm. If you don't already own those games but want to buy the Switch 2 version, they cost $80 each as standalone products. It's worth noting that the Switch 2 versions of both Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree, in addition to having better performance and resolution, add new content. Kirby and the Forgotten Land adds a new story expansion called Star-Crossed World with new Mouthful Mode transformations. Meanwhile, Super Mario Party Jamboree includes new minigames using the Switch 2 mouse controls and camera functionality, as well as two new modes Bowser Live and Carnival Coaster. Meanwhile, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's Switch 2 upgrades notably do not include any additional content beyond the base game, even the Breath of the Wild DLC that arrived nearly eight years ago.

Both Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree were critical successes upon their respective launches. Kirby and the Forgotten Land arrived in 2022 and earned a 9 out of 10 from Game Informer, while Super Mario Party Jamboree came out in 2024 and has an 82 out of 100 on reviews-aggregate site Metacritic.

Spoiler-Free Tips And Story Primer To Help You Play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

24 April 2025 - Kyle Hilliard

In Game Informer's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review, I wrote about how I appreciated the game’s restraint in setting up its melancholy world. Especially in the beginning, the world can be confusing, and that is frequently to its benefit. But with that said, there are still some details that I wish I had known before starting.

Maybe you’ve only heard that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a good game (it is!) and you want to jump in blind, but I would actually recommend watching the game’s reveal trailer. Don’t worry – it doesn’t spoil any major story elements, but it sets up the premise of the game in a straightforward way that is helpful when you’re getting your feet under you at the beginning.

If you came here to read about the game and not watch a video, then here’s the basic outline. In the world of Clair Obscur, the people of Lumière live under the oppressive thumb of the Paintress – a mysterious, gigantic creature seen in the far distance that draws a number on a mountainous pillar. That number dictates how many years people are allowed to live. If you are 33 and the Paintress draws the number 33 on the pillar, then you experience Gommage, which means you die by evaporating into flowery dust. Interestingly, gommage in French translates to exfoliation or scrub, which feels appropriate.

It probably goes without saying that there is a lot more to the story, but I was grateful that I understood that basic groundwork before starting.

Translation

Developer Sandfall Interactive is based in France, and that is incredibly apparent in the game, and not just because of the beautiful melting Eiffel tower. French New Wave cinema and the Belle Époque period in France are both clear inspirations and the characters occasionally use French words (like “gommage”). Here is a small, but crucial glossary to help you know what the characters are saying when they throw in the occasional French word.

Merde - s**t Putain - damn Maman - mom Gommage - exfoliation or scrub

Alongside those story and lore details, I also have a few helpful gameplay tips.

Master Countering, Even If It Means Dying While Practicing

Dodging and countering are crucial, especially if you are playing on the normal or hard difficulties. The dodging window is slightly larger than the counter window, so when you encounter new enemies or take on a boss, use the dodge ability to get the hang of timing, and then shift over to countering when you feel comfortable. I will say, however, that it is worth getting the hang of countering, even if it means fighting the same enemy or boss a few times. Checkpoints are very friendly, so death is typically not a big punishment.

Performance Mode Is Your Friend

To a certain degree, this is generally a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer quality mode, which improves visuals, but lowers the framerate. Game developers certainly seem to want us to play in quality mode because that is almost always the default. I am a performance mode person (better framerate at the cost of visuals), myself, so I will always go in that direction. But I do think it is particularly helpful in Clair Obscur, considering timing for countering and dodging is important. Performance mode just makes everything a little smoother. You can find the option in the graphics tab in the settings menu. It’s the first option.

You Can’t Horde Health Items, So Don’t

Health items function a little like Estus Flasks in Dark Souls in Clair Obscur. They refresh at every expedition flag, which means the only reason to hang on to them is if you need them later in the middle of a fight. You can also heal outside of combat with a separate health item called Chroma Elixirs, and that item similarly refreshes at every checkpoint. There are tons of checkpoints, so don’t be shy.

Try Different Weapons, But Stick To Your Favorite

Every weapon in the game can be leveled up in a similar way, so the damage output isn’t quite as important as just finding what you like. You will definitely find higher-level weapons that do more base damage as you progress, and you should switch to those when you find them, but at a certain point, when you have a nice library of weapons, find one with abilities you like and use currency to level it up. For example, I found one that let me attack twice in one turn, so I leveled that up and took it all the way to the end of the game. Also prioritize leveling up that character's related skills, as each weapon ties its potential to particular stats of its wielder. It's worth the occasional respec of your character's abilities if you change to a new weapon.

Shoot The Flying Enemies

If they’re floating above the ground, it means they will typically dodge your basic attacks. The best approach is to go full Indiana Jones and just shoot them.

Explaining Pictos And Lumina

Pictos and Lumina are Clair Obscur’s take on optional equipment that do interesting and helpful things. Each character has three slots for Pictos, which level up stats like health or power, and also give specific bonuses, like an extra action point during combat, for example.

The specific bonus that a Pictos offers (like the extra action points referenced above) is called its Lumina. Each character can only equip three Pictos, but there is a separate menu that lets you equip many more Lumina, and you can expand the number of Lumina you can equip with a currency found in the game. It’s one of the more complicated systems in Clair Obscur, but if you want to keep it simple, just make sure you have three Pictos equipped, and check the Lumina menu periodically to make sure you have as many of those equipped as you can.

Reader Discussion: Were You Able To Pre-Order A Nintendo Switch 2?

24 April 2025 - Kyle Hilliard

The Switch 2 was fully unveiled about three weeks ago now. At the time, Nintendo shared pre-orders would be happening the following week, but it had to pause those plans in the face of Trump's ambiguous tariff plans. After some time, however, Nintendo made public that pre-orders would begin today, April 24, and that demand was already exceeding supply.

Which lead to last night, at 12 p.m. ET, when pre-orders at retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy officially opened. Many of us here on staff were at the ready, credit cards in hands, to secure our consoles. Some of us were successful. Some of us were not, and some of us fell asleep.

But what about you? Were you able to pre-order a Switch 2? Did you not even bother trying? Are you perfectly happy with your Steam Deck and have no plans to get a Switch 2? Let us know in the comments below!

Frostpunk 1886, A Remake Of The Original, Is Coming In 2027

24 April 2025 - Charles Harte

Frostpunk developer 11 Bit Studios has been hard at work for the past few years developing Frostpunk 2 and its post-launch content as well as upcoming games like The Alters, but today the studio announced a new project: Frostpunk 1886, out in 2027. You can watch the reveal teaser below.

Frostpunk 1886 is a ground-up reimagining of the original game in the series, originally released on this day in 2018. In a press release, 11 Bit emphasizes that, while this new version will be built in Unreal Engine, this is not just a visual overhaul. 1886 adds new mechanics, laws, and a new Purpose path, allowing players to make new decisions at critical points in the game.

The remake will also allow for mod support, a feature 11 Bit states was "previously impossible to realize due to technical limitations of the original engine." Unreal Engine will also allow the development team to add more content over time, either as DLC or other content updates, creating a "living, expandable platform."

To that end, 11 Bit intends to support both Frostpunk 1886 and its recent release, Frostpunk 2, simultaneously. Frostpunk 2 launched last September and earned an 85 on Metacritic, and its developer revealed a post-launch roadmap just a few months after that, promising three major DLC drops between 2025 and 2026.

Frostpunk 1886 launches in 2027. You can read our review of the original game here.

Wartorn Is Trying To Combine Classic Warcraft/StarCraft RTS Gameplay With A Roguelike Structure

24 April 2025 - Kyle Hilliard

Platform: PC Publisher: Stray Kite Studios Developer: Stray Kite Studios

Paul Hellquist is new developer Stray Kite’s creative director, but before helping co-found the studio, he was the lead designer on Bioshock and spent a lot of time at Gearbox working on the Borderlands series. Today, Hellquist and the Stray Kite team shared more about its upcoming debut project, Wartorn, which it describes as a fantasy, roguelike, real time tactics game. We got a chance to see the game in action and learn a bit about the team's intentions and how it hopes its genre mash-up will appeal to roguelike fans, RTS fans, and players who have potentially been intimidated by the games that inspired it like StarCraft and Age of Empires.

Wartorn takes place in a fantasy world where a large family has come under attack and are forced to flee their home. Players control siblings Elani and Yara as they venture out to reunite their family and participate in bite-size RTS battles along the way. Hellquist and team showed off the hub world where Elani and Yara will restart between runs and explained how it will grow and expand over the course of the game. As you find your family members, they will expand your suite of abilities. You will also receive powerful heirlooms and find pages for spell books, giving you access to more spells, all while building a small army.

Elani and Yara flee their under-attack home through the Catacombs for each run, which places them in a moving caravan. The caravan moves along the roads and at the forks, players must make decisions about which path to take. Sometimes it might be a matter of meeting a merchant or other story moments, but often it will lead to combat.

Combat in Wartorn is heavily inspired by classic real-time strategy games, but Hellquist says the team is trying to specifically elevate their favorite parts of the genre and speed up the gameplay. Importantly, however, they also want to let players slow it down when they need to. Pressing the spacebar at any time will slow fighting to a crawl to help assist with decision-making and strategy. “I feel that the Starcraft games and stuff like that – they're awesome, but they get really, really overwhelming, especially for me,” Hellquist says. “One of the things we were trying to design here is [...] more digestible combats where you only have a handful of squads.” The idea is that the combat encounters will feel like a classic RTS game, but with more focused gameplay. It will give combat encounters a little bit of a MOBA feeling in that way.

When you’re in combat, you’re focused on managing your squads. “There is obviously no base building, which is a big part of your StarCrafts and your Age of Empires that split your attention," technical director Shovaen Patel says. Those base building-like elements of classic RTS still exists in a different form in Wartorn, but it’s separated away from combat to help players focus on one thing at a time. “When you're in combat mode, you’re just in combat mode. You don't have to worry about that management stuff." Patel cited another classic game as inspiration for this separation of mechanics, crediting Bungie’s pre-Halo work on the game Myth: The Fallen Lords.

Alongside the RTS inspirations, Hellquist also cites Oregon Trail as an inspiration to the decisions that must be made while in the caravan. And in the way we may have forgotten Oregon Trail is a surprisingly challenging game, Wartorn seeks to give players a worthwhile challenge. In fact, in our hands-off demo, they didn’t make it far and died during a combat encounter.

Stray Kite is targeting a Spring Early Access release for Wartorn on Steam, and was understandably vague on long-term plans. "We're not exactly sure when 1.0 will be yet," Hellquist says. Steam Deck support, however, is a priority, and Stray Kite is hoping to release for consoles, as well, for its eventual 1.0 release. When asked about a potential Switch 2 release with mouse support in the future, Stray Kite was not able to commit to anything, but it did say controller support is important. "We are actually working on controller support,” Hellquist says. “A lot of things in the game are controller supported, but not everything. We highly recommend playing with mouse and keyboard for this, especially on the overworld."

IO Interactive Co-Founder's New Studio Announces First Game, Raiders Of Blackveil

24 April 2025 - Brian Shea

Raiders of Blackveil

Wombo Games, a new studio fronted by IO Interactive co-founder Janos Flösser, has revealed a new roguelite title that is set to launch into Early Access this summer. Raiders of Blackveil is said to combine elements from MOBAs, RPGs, and PvE extraction titles to deliver a strategic action game that can be played solo or cooperatively with up to two friends.

In Raiders of Blackveil, you fight through a dystopian future in which a mega-corporation, Blackveil, oppresses the industrial-fantasy world's animals. Players join the animal rebellion working to take down the company and preserve a future free from enslavement and mindless consumerism.

The Copenhagen-based studio has been developing Raiders of Blackveil in secret for the past two years with developers who have worked on series like Hitman, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Just Cause, and Kane & Lynch on the team. Flösser, who is CEO of Wombo Games, served as chief creative officer at Square Enix during development of games like Hitman's first season, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Deux Ex: Human Revolution, and Thief. He also worked on Hitman: Absolution, Hitman: Blood Money, Freedom Fighters, and more in managerial roles.

"Wombo Games has been developing Raiders of Blackveil for nearly two years so it's surreal to finaly be able to announce it, and Wombo Games, to the world," Flösser said in a press release. "Raiders of Blackveil is our first title so it's very special to us. It is a blueprint of our studio because every person at Wombo has contributed directly to its development. At Wombo, we make decisions by consensus, and plan to continue that with feedback from our players once we launch in Early Access later this year."

Raiders of Blackveil is scheduled to launch into Early Access this coming summer.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

18 February 2025 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Added missing files for Taunt: The Travel AgentAdded No Hat styles for the Cozy Cover-UpAdded VScript support for HIDEHUD_MATCH_STATUS flag to hide the Match Status panelAdded a borderless window option to video settingsAdded bicubic lightmaps (from Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Update)Added radial fog (from Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Update)Added support for Steam NetworkingMade the default server name for listen servers include the player's nameMade the game launch in native resolution by default instead of 640x480Client-side prediction fixes (these fix 'jank'/rollback in certain situations)Fixed a prediction bug where if the player was moved on the client, their input-based movement for that tick was not taken into account in non-player actionsImproved prediction for walking on props and other entitiesMade certain client-side entities only trigger local prediction errorse.g. If the viewmodel experiences a prediction error, the player will not experience a prediction errorFixed prediction of viewmodel swayFixed a prediction error regarding weapon idle animationsFixed certain breakable props not gibbing correctlyFixed an issue where certain variables like position would not be updated correctly to match the server in certain situationsFixed the player's base velocity (eg. conveyors, moving items etc.) getting subtly out of sync from client/serverFixed players being able to spam duel cancellation messages for a duel that doesn't existFixed not being able to join community servers via Steam invites or game infoFixed lighting position discrepancies for cosmetic items, weapons, and viewmodels (community fix from ficool2)Fixed Equipped label overlapping attribute icons in the loadout menu (community fix from Lindon)Fixed an issue with props and team colors when taunting with Australium weaponsFixed the Voices from Below effect not working when taunting with the Highland Hound set equippedFixed player voice commands being abruptly ended when the player enters shallow waterFixed incorrect number on the Geneva Contravention achievement iconFixed the Military Style for The Surgeon General to stay properly semi-visible at all anglesFixed some classes missing the BLU team material for That '70s ChapeauFixed the Spanish-Latin America option being displayed as English in the Settings menuFixed the MOTD dialog not working for Spanish-Latin AmericaUpdated attribute descriptions for The Scottish Resistance and the Stickybomb Jumper to use 'stickybomb' instead of 'pipebomb'Updated equip_region settings for The Little Bear, The Heavy-Weight Champ, The Grand Duchess Tutu, and the Combat Slacks to fix unnecessary conflictsUpdated the Spooky Night and Ominous Night Unusual taunt effects to fix a visual bug (Thanks Kiffy!)Updated koth_overcast_final to improve optimizationUpdated ctf_applejackAdded block bullets to some storesUnblocked a window at mid, allowing Snipers to shot across the middle hutRemoved the missing texture in BLU spawnGave a chicken a friend, because friendship is magicUpdated cp_fortezzaNew radio model for spawn roomsChanged sentry shack ammo pack on last to a mediumAdjusted health pickups throughout the mapChanged kill volume on cap A double doors to be more consistent with visualsImproved bot support (Thanks Star Bright)Detail passUpdated pl_patagonia[Stage 1]Fixed some RED bots stuck forever trying to make an impossible jump on the stairs outside spawnFixed the cart not capping the first point on extremely rare occasions[Stage 2]Improved optimizationFixed a nodraw floor near the first BLU spawn train bridge waterfallFixed 3D skybox looking pitch black for players using mat_hdr_level 2[Stage 3]Improved optimizationFixed wrap assassin baubles colliding with a solid func_brush bounding box outside BLU spawnRemoved the platform above the open choke of the last pointAdded an additional path to the window overlooking the open choke of the last pointFixed RED bots getting stuck on a solid fence outside the RED spawnFixed 3D skybox looking pitch black for players using mat_hdr_level 2

Now Available on Steam - Foundation, 25% off!

31 January 2025 - Valve

Foundation is Now Available on Steam and is 25% off!*Foundation is a grid-less, laidback medi city-building game with a focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.*Offer ends February 7 at 10AM Pacific Time

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

24 December 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Fixed the Battle Balaclava's "No Gloves" style hiding the Heavy's handsFixed broken materials for The Westcoat's "Ugly" styleAdded smoke effect to The Checkered PastUpdate the Buck's Brim's "Bad" styleFixed broken materialsAdded smoke effectUpdated cp_fortezzaDetail improvementsImproved clippingUpdated koth_cachoeiraFixed players being able to get stuck in certain displacementsVarious clipping improvements throughout the mapVarious miscellaneous fixes (Thanks Midnite!) Improved bot navigation (Thanks Katsu!)

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

20 December 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Updated the Brain Cane to fix problems with the texture and phong valueUpdated The Battle MusicAdded missing Hat styleFixed the models due to clipping on Heavy's ears and misalignment on EngineerImproved and strengthen the Noise CancellationUpdated the materials to fix it not being shinyUpdated the backpack icon to reflect the materials changeUpdated cp_gravelpit_snowyFixed potential incompatibility with external VScript files (thanks Le Codex!)Re-implemented cubemap reflections in ice caveFixed perch spotsUpdated vsh_distillery, vsh_maul, vsh_nucleus, vsh_outburst, vsh_skirmish, and vsh_tinyrockRestored Hale's resistance to knockback back to 75%Reduced bonus flame damage against Hale from 50% to 25%Hale can now do 1 extra Brave Jump before the Jump Fatigue kicks in (thanks Wendy)Weighdown is no longer blocked by the Jump Fatigue (thanks Wendy)Removed area-of-effect of Hale's normal punches (thanks Wendy)Demoman shields now absorb 70% of Saxton Punch! damage (compared to normal 50%) to make the following launch into the stratosphere survivableFixed Hale taking mini-crits from Direct Hit and Reserve Shooter while underwater (thanks Bradasparky)Fixed airborne mini-crits of Direct Hit and Reserve Shooter applying against the wielder (thanks Bradasparky)Fixed Hale being able to stomp while underwater (thanks Bradasparky)Fixed Sweeping Charge not working against underwater opponentsFixed the bug that prevented Quick-Fix from mirroring a patient's wall climbing (thanks Bradasparky)Fixed Hale's faulty ground detection (thanks Bradasparky)Fixed Baby Face's Blaster's loss of boost not applying correctly (thanks Whurr and MilkMaster72)Fixed the voice lines refusing to play sometimesUpdated pl_patagoniaStage 1Fixed the cart going under the elevator in extremely rare occasions (Thanks Shocked) Fixed sometimes hearing outside soundscapes inside blue spawnFixed being able to build in a very high rooftop after point AFixed being able to build in blue spawnCart elevator is no longer the glitchiest thing in the universeFixed cart not rolling back after completing the elevator descent sequenceNow, if the cart is rolling into the elevator in overtime, the round timer will be set to 5 seconds left, to avoid unfair loses for blue. Timer will resume once the cart reaches the bottom (Thanks I. C. Wiener).Stage 2Removed rollback from the train container ramp in last point (Thanks b4nny)Gave blue more high ground for last pointAdded an additional dropdown for blue for last pointFixed being able to be teleported into red spawn as blue after capping point ARemoved long hill rollback before point CFixed bots getting stuck on the closed train doors after cap BFixed being able to leave stickies inside blue last spawnFixed being able to get stuck in the point C shortcut door for red. If you get trapped, it will kill you.Fixed a pop-in issue relating to areaportals below point BFixed being able to enter the last blue spawn as redBirdie (Thanks Explocivo808)Stage 3Added a fenced section for the long wood cover wall in last point (Thanks b4nny)Mirrored the window sniper spot in last point chokeFixed being able to build behind a displacement rock wall in last pointRemoved troll teleport spot in last point ending rampAll StagesSlightly lowered sun brightness and slightly raised skylight brightnessImproved skybox transitionsThe cart no longer tries to defy the law of physicsNinjaneers have more freedom to be ninjasThe bots have learned how to play the mapGave the cart another coronación de gloria

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

17 December 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Updated the Dapper Noel to fix an issue with the meshUpdated vsh_maulFixed broken areaportalsChanged some props in the upper area that could be mistaken for a large ammo pack

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

17 December 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Added missing No Gloves style for the Consigliere's CoverupAdded missing Versus Saxton Hale kill iconsAdded some tournament medalsFixed Taunt: Curtain Call voice lines overlapping with other Spy voice linesFixed the Playful Aurora and Frisky Morning Unusual effects not moving correctlyUpdated Aurora Skies Unusual effect to fix a timing issueUpdated the Necroprancer to fix an issue with the materialsUpdated the Dusk Duster to fix an issue with the materialsUpdated the Dapper NoelRemade normal map to be compatible with OpenGLRe-baked Diffuse & updated backpack icon to reflect above changesRemoved misplaced ambient occlusionFixed problematic face flexesFixed an issue where Engineer's beard was protruding from his gogglesFixed an issue with the jigglebones being disabledRigged Sniper's hat to be compatible with his melee tauntUpdated Scrooge McDocTransparent lenses are rigged to the correct bone (prp_glasses instead of bip_head) so it should now work correctly with taunts that move the glassesImproved scarf rigging and positioning to allow for better compatibility with shirt cosmeticsUpdated the backpack iconUpdated koth_overcast_finalFixed an issue with the models/materialsAdded back snow coverings (now using displacements) to some props that were missing themFixed misaligned textures in various placesFixed weird lighting bug on a wall in blue spawnFixed 'Hotel' sign not displaying properlyAdded back indicators under some health and ammo kits that were missing themUpdated cp_fortezzaRemoved sniper window leading into lastFixed Engineer being able to build in some doorsFixed some props being solidSlight art pass updateUpdated vsh_maulPlayers can no longer hide from Saxton in the darkFixed props inside other propsFixed z-fighting brushesFixed missing particle effects for the water featureFixed orientation of water feature particlesMinor lighting changes around the cinemaAdjusted LOD change distances for Cinema signUpdated VSH logicGrounded levitating propsAligned misaligned texturesFixed mis-textured wallsClipped upper metal beamsFixed clip brushes sticking out from walls that could be walked onPlayers will now be pushed off of the fire bellAdjusted cinema sign shadowUsed spell check on Saxton's Package signUpdated how music is activated and deactivatedFixed clipping on the hanging big ornaments

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

11 December 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Happy Smissmas 2024!All players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Stuffed Stocking as a gift! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.Featuring 6 new community maps: Overcast, Fortezza, Penguin Peak, Patagonia, Cutter, and MaulAdded the Winter 2024 Cosmetic CaseContains 23 new community-contributed itemsThe Festivizer can be found as a bonus drop when opening the caseAdded 3 new community-contributed taunts to the Mann Co. StoreTaunt: Fore-Head SliceTaunt: Peace!Taunt: Curtain CallAdded 18 new community-created Unusual effects9 new effects for Unusual hats9 new effects for Unusual tauntsAll cosmetic and taunt cases will grant Smissmas 2024 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event. This does not include crates.Mann Co. Store winter sale!Smissmas runs through January 7th, 2025GeneralFixed a client crash when previewing imported items in the Workshop dialogFixed showing an error model when equipping the Scottish ResistanceFixed The Executioner not hiding the Scout's dog tagsUpdated the Mountebank's Masque to fix a problem with the materialsUpdated/Added some tournament medalsUpdated vsh_distillery, vsh_nucleus, vsh_outburst, vsh_skirmish, and vsh_tinyrockGeneralAdded the gamemode intro movie (made by Lacry, thanks)Improved the delivery of VSH-related voice lines for Soldier, Engineer and SniperUpdated some VSH-related voice lines for Saxton, Soldier, Engineer and Sniper (thanks The Rat Man)Added Hale's kill iconsVisual improvements to Hale's Ability HUD (thanks Funicular)Added a visual cue signaling an upcoming Saxton Punch!Minor visual improvements to Saxton Hale and his particle effectsFixed the boss bar sometimes starting invisibleFixed a rare crash caused by seeing blood decals on Hale while playing on low graphics quality settingsFixed a rare bug when Hale's Ability HUD textures become missingBalance Changes - Saxton HaleAdded Brave Jump Fatigue. Each consecutive jump will be less powerful, requiring a short break to restore to full strengthWeightdown ability is disabled during Jump FatigueIncreased Hale's health by ~100HP per opponentAdjusted Hale's health formula against 24+ opponents - Hale now gains 2000HP for every opponent past 23 (thanks Megascatterbomb)Hale's resistance to knockback reduced from 75% to 35%Head Stomp damage now scales with Hale's downward speed, dealing between 64 and 193 damage (previously dealt flat 195 damage)Balance Changes - MercenariesExplosives and fire now deal 50% more damage against HaleThe 40% minigun damage penalty now applies to full crits onlyBroken Demoman shields now retain the charge abilityDemoman shields now absorb only 50% of the incoming damage upon breaking (a would-be-lethal blow will leave the Demo at 1HP)Greatly decreased sticky trap damage reductionRemoved Scottish Resistance's 20% damage penaltyBaby Face's Blaster now loses 20% of its boost upon Wall ClimbingUpdated vsh_tinyrock (additional changes)Improved performanceFixed odd clipping at one of the spawnsUpdated vsh_distillery (additional changes)Improved performanceUpdated vsh_nucleus (additional changes)Fixed setup time ending five seconds too earlyImproved detailing in some areasImproved clipping on staircasesIncreased control point capture time to 15 secondsRemoved collision on some lightsChanged damage model and damage amount of the toxic waste pit and puddlesUpdated vsh_skirmish (additional changes)Fixed setup time ending five seconds too earlyFixed an issue where Engineers could build in the crocodile pitFixed not being able to wall climb certain trees in the main arenaFixed some lighting issues on stalactites and other propsParts of Hale's intro sequence no longer play while waiting for playersImproved optimization and detailing in some areasImproved clipping on spiral stairs (Thanks Aar!)Updated security systemUpdated cp_brewThe shortcut from RED spawn to the "A" point now has a nobuild trigger Added floor indicator for the health kit in the "A" point wooden shackAdjusted "A" point wooden shack to allow more breathing roomFixed getting stuck on the "A" gate's frameFixed teletrap near "A" point ditch routeFixed being able to place buildings inside an out-of-bounds room outside "A" pointFixed some stuck spots near "B" pointFixed being able to shoot through a crack in the BLU forward spawnFixed floating props in the dinerFixed one way door not forcing itself closedCleaned up some collisions and clipping across the mapImproved lighting on all of the archwaysUpdated koth_krampusFixed missing trees in skyboxImproved look of waterfall texture near full health-kitFixed minor visual errorsMinor NPC clipping changesFed krampus some oatsUpdated pl_emergeSwitched on the cart lightFixed RED players being able to sit on the edge of an exit of BLU's starting spawnFixed some doors showing incorrect texturesFixed the final capture point displaying an incorrect stringFixed the map occasionally playing incorrect ambient soundsMinor visual and performance tweaksUpdated cp_carrierThe Carrier now has full crits rather than mini-critsThe Carrier now uses the robot voice linesImproved hearability of the Carrier's voice lines and footstepsFixed visual bugs with the boss barFixed the Carrier sometimes becoming invisible while tauntingFixed animation glitches when a Demoman Carrier holds a Stickybomb LauncherFixed occasional phasing through the elevator platform at BLU spawnDecreased size of the frog

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

14 November 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Improved matchmaking performanceImproved matchmaker behavior for users with less-than-ideal ping levels. The matchmaker should now be quicker to put you in the best available region.Improved matchmaker decision making for cross-region partiesAdded error messages when being ejected from the matchmaking queue due to connectivity or authentication failures, rather than the queue simply silently vanishingFixed the matchmaking settings dialog frequently failing to display any datacentersFixed multiple cases of in-progress casual matches abruptly terminating or failing to be assigned any new players if the game server ever loses connection to SteamUpdated the Mountebank's Masque, Courtier's Collar, and Harlequin's Hooves cosmetic items to fix issues with their paint regionsUpdated cp_gravelpit_snowyFixed a script issueImproved performanceImproved clipping

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

5 November 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Fixed the Guano and Batbelt cosmetic items hiding the Scout's dog tagsFixed The Beacon from Beyond incorrectly hiding a bunch of bodygroupsFixed the Quoth cosmetic item hiding the Scout's headphonesFixed some broken materials for some props_farm gib modelsAdding "Hat" style for the Fuel InjectorUpdated the Clue Hairdo to fix broken smoke effectUpdated koth_synthetic_eventEdited nav mesh to minimize the Toastmaster running diving into the grinder/death pitUpdated pd_farmageddonRevoked scarecrow gym membership which lowered their health from 500 to 350Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woodsFixed an exploit allowing some players to respawn as a human or play as a human on the Zombie team

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

25 October 2024 - Valve

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:Reverted BLU Scout pants fix because it conflicts with too many existing cosmeticsUpdated the Fleet Commander again to fix import problems from the previous updateUpdated the Phantom Plague and Haunting Haze Unusual effects to fix sometimes spawning away from the playerUpdated cp_freaky_fairFixed issues related to the gamemode logicReapplied check that was mistakenly removed to check if the player is actively buying upgrades in a station or notImplemented new custom system to refund upgrades to hopefully address inconsistencies both in-round and across roundsImplemented logic to handle mismatches in recorded vs actual currency values when leaving the upgrade trigger and having not accepted de-bought upgradesReverted code to do with Ghosts and Sentry busters to fix bugs related to their effects not de-applyingImplemented a way to force kill players to address edge cases where you could survive as the sentry buster past their explosion (Thanks MilkMaster!)Improved the logic which checks if you can apply a new potion effect to yourself to address bugs where effects can overlapFixed sniper and demo shields not having their upgrades clearedFixed canteens not having their values cleared when refunding whilst not equippedIncreased the height of the skyboxIncreased last point capture time from 6s to 7sChanged some clipping to stop giants from building on roofsSmoothed out a divot (Thanks Midnite!)Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woodsGeneralRe-encoded all Zombie Infection sound effects as .WAVThis fixes issues with sound effects not playing correctly and spewing errors in the consoleBug fixesFixed a bug that caused Sniper's Spit Pool to deal much more damage than intendedFixed a bug that caused team names to not display correctly when playing on mp_tournament modeFixed a bug where Engineer would sometimes scream like a charging Demoman while throwing an EMP GrenadeZombie ChangesSniper's Spit Pool damage vs Survivors no longer stacks when standing in multiple zonesZombie Heavy is no longer immune to Critical HitsZombie Heavy's max health raised to 525 (from 450)Zombie Pyro's max health raised to 250 (from 175)Zombie Pyro now drops a medium health kit on deathSurvivor ChangesCrossbow weapons no longer have a flat damage multiplier against ZombiesThe B.A.S.E Jumper can no longer be deployed if you are one of the last three survivorsJumper Weapons can no longer store reserve ammunitionUpdated zi_murky (additional changes)Added more respawn room triggers around the new spawn zones

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