Early on in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, after gaining access to the open world, you'll overhear a merchant talking about losing control of his cart near a lake and it tipping over. Sounds like an opportunity! Here's where to find the merchant's tipped cart in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Where to find the merchant's overturned cart

Even though you likely heard about this tipped cart in Troskowitz, you'll want to start in Tachov for the fastest route to the merchant's overturned cart. Head west out of Tachov and follow the dirt road all the way until it winds down a small embankment to a flowing river. On the bank, you'll immediately see the overturned cart.

As you get closer to the exact location of the merchant's tipped cart, which you can see on the map above, you'll also see an icon popup in-game indicating the Overturned cart is there.

What should you do with the tipped cart?

Finding the merchant's tipped cart isn't directly part of a side quest or anything, but near the overturned cart are some helpful goodies, especially for early in the game. First off, you'll notice some Cabbage immediately in the cart and floating around nearby. Pick these up as food is important in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Cabbage are nice for cooking some tasty recipes!

Next, look in the nearby chests and barrels floating in the water for some extra useful goods. The barrel located immediately to the left of the cart, floating in the water, actually has a few consumable potions inside including a couple of the very valuable Saviour Schnapps. These incredibly useful consumables are actually how you create manual saves in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, so finding this alone made the trip to find where the merchant's tipped cart was well worth the adventure!

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With the launch of Sid Meier's Civilization 7, players have 21 unique leaders to choose from, five of which have two unique personas with different playstyles, giving you 26 total options. Each leader has their own unique abilities that cater to certain playstyles. Here is our Civilization 7 leader tier list ranking all 26 leaders in the game.

Sid Meier's Civilization 7 Tier List for All Leaders

Even though your strengths and weaknesses in Civilization 7 will also depend on the civilization you choose, some leaders overall are stronger options right out of the gate compared to others. We've put together this Civilization 7 Leader Tier List to highlight the strongest overall leaders who don't require certain civilizations to be useful and have strong leader bonuses alone. Here is our Civilization 7 Tier List for All Leaders:

S Tier

All of the leaders in the S Tier have strong unique abilities that stay strong throughout all Ages in Civilization 7, making them strong options for all players.

• Ashoka, the World Conqueror (Diplomatic, Militaristic)
• Augustus (Cultural, Expansionist)
• Benjamin Franklin (Diplomatic, Scientific)
• Himiko, Queen of Wa (Diplomatic, Scientific)
• Machiavelli (Diplomatic, Economic)
• Xerses, King of Kings (Economic, Militaristic)

A Tier

In the A Tier, leaders have strengths that make them very viable in a specific Age or two that gives them the potential to flourish and dominate that Age.

• Charlemagne (Militaristic, Scientific)
• Friedrich (Baroque) (Militaristic, Cultural)
• Himiko, High Shaman (Cultural, Diplomatic)
• Napoleon, the Emperor (Economic, Diplomatic)
• Tecumseh (Militaristic, Diplomatic)
• Trung Trac (Militaristic, Scientific)
• Xerses, Achaemenid (Cultural, Economic)

B Tier

Our leaders in the B Tier have some strong leader abilities but they fall short of being complete game changers like those in the S and A Tiers.

• Ashoka, the World Renouncer (Diplomatic, Expansionist)
• Ibn Battuta (Expansionist, Wildcard)
• Lafayette (Cultural, Diplomatic)
• Napoleon, the Revolutionary (Militaristic, Cultural)

C Tier

Those leaders in our C Tier might have specific situations in which they shine but overall are weaker options compared to the rest.

• Amina (Economic, Militaristic)
• Catherine the Great (Cultural, Scientific)
• Confucius (Expansionist, Scientific)
• Fredrich (Oblique) (Militaristic, Scientific)
• Jose Rizal (Cultural, Diplomatic)

D Tier

Unfortunately, our D Tier leaders are a bit underpowered at the moment, and don't really have too useful of exclusive abilities to make them worth playing.

• Harriet Tubman (Diplomatic, Militaristic)
• Hatshepsut (Cultural, Economic)
• Isabella (Expansionist, Economic)
• Pachacuti (Economic, Expansionist)

The post Civilization 7 Leader tier list: All Leaders ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

If you head west out of Tachov, you'll come to a house before the two lakes with a woman who is distraught about her missing husband. This will start the Lackey Quest, which tasks you with bringing him back home. Here is where to take Vostatek for the Lackey Quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Find Vostatek hiding in the tree

Vostatek's wife Zlata will indicate that her son, Vitek, probably knows where Vostatek went. Head behind the house and you'll find Vitek, who you can persuade to tell you the whereabouts of Vostatek.

He will explain that he can be found north along the grotto, more than likely blacked out drunk. Head north and follow the road and then continue along the grotto and eventually, you will hear some screaming from none other than Vostatek.

As you get closer you'll see Vostatek is up in a tree, trying to fend off a pack of wolves that are trying to get to him. Take out the wolves one by one—even though there are three of them, they are a piece of cake—and then return to the tree.

Vostatek will jump out of the tree but as a result, injure his food, and no longer be able to walk. He will then beg you to carry him to his nearby hideout where he left his horse, thus continuing the Lackey questline.

Carry Vostatek to the Fallen Tree

Hold the 'F' key by default to pick up Vostatek and carry him on your back. Of course, you'll be moving much more slowly and unable to sprint with Vostatek on your back.

Vostatek indicates that the first spot he wants you to take him is a fallen tree with moss growing on it. This will update and place a general location marker for the Lackey quest on your map, but you can just continue north alongside the west side of the grotto.

It's hard to miss the fallen tree, but just look around the indicated quest market and you will find it lying on its side with moss grown on it.

Carry Vostatek to the Anthill

After reaching the fallen tree, Vostatek will indicate the next location to take him to is an Anthill, just further north of your current location. If just keep heading alongside the western side of the grotto, you'll eventually see it. It looks like a big pile of hay or dry grass, and as you get closer, you'll see a ton of ants crawling all over it.

In his drunken stupor, Vostatek will claim he no longer wants to go to his hideout but would rather you take him to the tavern in Tachov. If you open your map and look, well...Tachov is very far away. Not only would it be a pain to take him there, but you also still need to rescue Vostatek's horse at his hideout!

Here is where a lot of players get confused. You can actually hold the 'Q' key, by default, to respond to Vostatek. Choose the first option which is to tell him you're not taking him to the tavern, and that he has to get to his hideout.

Vostatek will remember he needs to save his horse and then agrees to head to his hideout. If you ignore this and take him to the tavern, it will be a very long walk, only to bring an end to this questline without saving the horse.

Carry Vostatek to the Birch Tree

This should be no surprise, but you must continue north. Just keep following alongside the west side of the grotto, and you will see a birch tree split into two. That is your destination.

Upon reaching the Birch Tree, Vostatek will demand you take him to the next spot: a marked tree next to a pile of stones.

Carry Vostatek to the Marked Tree and Pile of Stones

Continue north into the woods with Vostatek on your back. He will start yelling for his horse, Pepik. You can reply asking what Pepik looks like, though he doesn't provide any useful information.

Keep going north until you find a small stream running through the woods. On the other side of this stream, you will see the marked tree with the pile of stones.

Vostatek will mention that his hideout is just a little further north and that you can put him down there.

Find Vostatek's Hideout

Follow the dirt path north and then to the east and you will find the Hunter's Camp Hideout. Vostatek will tell you to put him down here at this camp, which you should, as it progresses the quest.

Now it's time to find Pepik. Speak with Vostatek who will mention he needs water. Interact with the barrel in the corner of the camp to fill up Vostatek's waterskin, and then return to him. Ask him where Pepik is, and he will comment that based on the footprints nearby it looks as though four thieves might have taken him.

Make sure you are prepared for combat, then follow the dirt path southeast out of Vostatek's hideout to look for Pepik.

Track down and rescue Pepik

Just keep following the path southeast. Along the way, you'll find various pieces of evidence on the ground that indicate you're going the right away.

Eventually, you'll come across the bandit's hideout. There are four bandits in total and you will need to fight all four at once, which can be tricky. If you have a ranged weapon like a Crossbow you can try and take out a few of them at ranged before engaging in melee.

The best strategy is to focus on one at a time and play very defensively. Keep blocking and following up with a counterattack. Do this until all of the bandits are defeated, and you can finally rescue Pepik for Vostatek, thus completing the Lackey quest.

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Having the Food Poisoning debuff in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is quite a headache, slowly draining your health until you either find a cure or inevitably die. Here is how to cure Food Poisoning in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 as well as how to prevent it.

How to cure Food Poisoning

You can cure Food Poisoning by consuming a Digestive Potion. This one-time-use consumable will cure Food Poisoning entirely, decrease your Nourishment by 20, and increase your Vitality stat by one for 10 minutes. Consuming the Digestive Potion will immediately remove the Food Poisoning debuff, so the faster you get one in you, the less damage Food Poisoning will do.

There are several ways to obtain a Digestive Potion. If you have been leveling your Alchemy, you can eventually learn to brew your own Digestive Potion at an Alchemy Bench. However, until you do, you can also purchase them from an Apothecary. The standard going rate for a Digestive Potion is about 22 Groschen.

The only other way to remove or cure Food Poisoning is to simply let it run its course, which takes about five minutes. Unfortunately, you'll be losing health frequently during that time. This means you'll need to have ways to keep restoring your health, like consuming multiple Health Potions, until eventually the Food Poisoning expires.

How to prevent Food Poisoning

You get the Food Poisoning debuff by eating food that is no longer fresh in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. if you select any consumable item in your inventory, you'll see that it has a Freshness rating ranging 0%-100%. The higher the Freshness, the better the food will satiate your appetite. If the food has reached a Freshness of 0%, this means you will receive Food Poisoning when eating it.

As such, you should never consume food that has expired and has a Freshness rating of 0%. Make sure you're always getting new and fresh food, and keep in mind that some foods will expire much faster. A good rule of thumb is to only buy or gather food that will last you for a day or so in game, as past that, it's much more likely the food will have expired and no longer be fresh.

The post How to cure Food Poisoning in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

After completing the prologue quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Henry and Sir Hans Capon find themselves in the town of Troskowitz, looking for a way to attend a wedding Lord Von Bergow will be attending. You'll have to decide between helping the Blacksmith or the Miller in order to attend the wedding.

Should you choose to help the Blacksmith or the Miller?

I would choose to help the Blacksmith over the Miller. Realistically, either option is doable. In fact, the main quest Wedding Crashers very directly gives you two optional side objectives: Get into the wedding party with the help of the Blacksmith Radovan or gain access to the wedding party with the help of Miller Kreyzl. Both are acceptable means to an end, which is granting you access to Lord Von Bergow, but I recommend choosing to help Blacksmith Radovan.

Help Blacksmith Radovan

The main reason I recommend choosing to help Blacksmith Radovan is it immediately opens up one of the exciting and important new features of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: blacksmithing. North of Troskowitz is the small village of Tachov, home of the Blacksmith Radovan. When you met Radovan in Troskowitz, he was very interested in having Henry help him out due to his blacksmithing background.

Head to Tachov and the proper quest indicator on your map and you will find Radovan at his Blacksmithing shop. Accept his offer to join him and this will give you a proper Blacksmithing tutorial. Blacksmithing is incredibly important as it will enable you to later craft the best weapons in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, so now is a good time to get started.

Also, both quest chains for helping either Radovan or the Miller are long and unfold over several different quests. In my opinion, the quest chain for helping Blacksmith Radovan is much more enjoyable overall.

Here are the steps required to help Blacksmith Radovan:

• Learn how to Blacksmith. Serves as a tutorial for the new Blacksmithing feature.
• The Jaunt questline. Join Lord Semine and Captain Gnarly in hunting down a lost supply cart intended for the wedding.
• The Hermit questline. Track down a hermit in the Apollonia region of Trosky.

Help Miller Kreyzl

Despite my recommendation, you still have the option of choosing to help Miller Kreyzl instead, and it will still fulfill the requirements to progress the main questline Wedding Crashers forward. To help Miller Kreyzl, you must head further southwest to the Lower Semine Mill.

Once here, you'll find Miller Kreyzl who's willing to put you to work right away. He'll first task you with collecting bags and bringing them from the barn, paying you a Groschen for every three you deliver. It's not very good earnings, but it's something.

Afterward, you'll have to complete a series of three quests for Kreyzl to gain access to the wedding. These quests will teach you a bit about stealth, lockpicking, and overall thievery, if that's of interested to you.

Here are the steps required to help Miller Kreyzl:

• Materia Prima questline. Steal back a missing document from the Troskowitz guards.
• Forbidden Fruit questline. Find Saltpetere to help Kreyzl with alchemy.
• Opus Magnum questline. Track down an accomplice to join in Kreyzl's plan to distract the Chamberlain at the wedding.

In the end, you actually have the option of completing all the above questlines. Helping the Blacksmith, for example, will not prevent you from then going and helping the Miller. If you want all of the potential rewards, that is the best thing to do. However, if you just want to quickly progress the main quest and access the wedding for the Wedding Crashers quest, I recommend helping Blacksmith Radovan.

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After parting ways with Sir Hans in Troskowitz at the beginning of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, you'll officially enter the open-world portion of the game. You'll overhear guards talking about some fresh graves nearby. Here is where you can find the fresh graves near Troskowitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Fresh Graves location near Troskowitz

You can find the fresh graves to the southwest of Troskowitz near the tree line. Head west out of Troskowitz then south down the road until you pass the farm fields and the hill starts going down towards the trees. As you approach the trees, you will find a couple of graves amongst the bushes and rocks scattered near the treeline. These are the fresh graves you are looking for.

Should you rob the graves?

You have the option of robbing the fresh graves, both for free loot and also to acquire information as to who lies inside them. Keep in mind you will need a Spade to dig up the fresh graves, as you cannot do so with your bare hands. You can buy a Spade from the merchant in Troskowitz, though it will cost you 6.7 Groschen. I simply went outside the town and collected a bunch of Sage and Chamomille to trade with the merchant for the Spade. You only get 0.1 Groschen per, but you get several each time you gather.

I would recommend robbing the graves because this early on in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 you have pretty much nothing, and the loot is worthwhile. For example, one grave has a Von Bergow Knight Shield in it, which has 263 Defence but is also worth 249.6 Groschen, a massive value this early on. You'll also get a Bearded Axe and Flanged Mace, both of which are better weapon options than your current Hunting Sword.

If you choose to rob the graves, make sure you loot the bodies in both of them. One is located near the big rock closer to the road, while the other is under the small tree with a cross hanging from it.

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There are two massive regions to explore in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and running around on foot can be a bit slow. You'll want to know how to get a horse in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 that way you can quickly traverse the world as needed.

Get Pebbles Back

Your first option for getting a horse is to find and get Henry's faithful steed Pebbles back. Yep, Pebbles returns from Kingdom Come: Deliverance and is a horse you can get in the sequel as well.

Early on you'll get a side quest called The Jaunt in the village of Semine. Before you can actually delve into the side quest, you'll need to acquire a horse. On the eastern side of Semine is a massive horse stable. Visit the Horse Trader there and you will see none other than Pebbles!

However, Pebbles wasn't branded, meaning the Horse Trader can't verify he's yours, and therefore is his property. He is willing to let you buy Pebbles back, though. You can either fork over the 150 Groschen (you can probably haggle him down to about 140 Groschen), or you can wait until nighttime and attempt to steal Pebbles!

Buy a Horse

The Horse Trader in Semine sells other horses as well, not just your precious Pebbles. There are various horses available that offer various speeds. These horses range anywhere from 100 to as much as 800 Groschen.

Purchasing a Horse will make that horse yours forever. You'll no longer have to worry about trying to acquire one, as you will have access to the purchase Horse as long as you don't let anything happen to it.

How to Tame a Horse

You also have the option of acquiring your own horse and taming it, which doesn't require you to purchase one. In the Nomad's Camp in the center of the Trotsky region is the Horse Handler Mikolai. Mikolai has his own selection of horses, but he can also assist you with taming a Horse to become yours.

Bring any Horse to Mikolai and he will break it to listen to you for a much smaller fee than the price of actually purchasing one. First, however, you'll need a Horse, and you have two options: steal one, or find one in the wild.

Steal a Horse

If you're the more nefarious type, you also have the option of stealing a Horse. In fact, as long as a Horse isn't saddled and armored, you are capable of stealing it. You'll find Horses in all the villages across both Trotsky and Kuttenberg.

To steal a horse, simply approach it and hold the 'E' key by default to jump on. You'll want to quickly get out of the area before anyone spots you, as it's illegal to steal a horse, of course.

The best strategy is to do this at night when everyone's visibility is limited anyway, which should give you a much higher chance to successfully escape. Afterwards, visit Mikolai at the Nomad's Camp and he will tame the horse to answer to you.

Find a Horse in the Wild

You can also find horses throughout the wild that you can also hop on and take to Mikolai. It's important to note, however, that both wild horses and those that are stolen will not stick around if you have not tamed them at Mikolai.

If you dismount a horse that's not technically yours, it will start to wander away. In fact, doing a quest or even interacting with someone or conversing will be enough time for the horse to completely wander off, leaving you mountless.

The post How to get a Horse in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

If you played the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance, you'll be happy to know that your loyal pup Mutt makes a return. He will assist you in combat, essentially serving as a target dummy for better or worse when engaged in larger-scale battles. But to keep Mutt happy, you've got to keep him fed, of course. Here is how to get food for Mutt and feed him in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Where to find food for Mutt at Trosky Castle camp

You can get food for Mutt during this quest by speaking to Oats at camp. More specifically, one of your first quests in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is Easy Riders, which has Henry and his group of cohorts setting up camp outside of Trosky Castle. Mutt will start barking consistently as he's hungry, and others at the camp will mention that you should feed him. In fact, you can't proceed forward with the main story mission without feeding him first.

Once you regain control of Henry, you'll notice Mutt barking at Oats, who also serves as the group's resident chef. He'll tell you to whistle for Mutt to get him to calm down, which you can do by holding the 'X' key by default. Do this, and then you're tasked with actually getting some food for the pupper.

This will complete the Call Mutt to heel objective and start the Find something to eat for Mutt and feed him objective. Speak with Oats who is now stirring the food in the pot over the fire at camp. Choose the first option, "Have you got some food for my dog?". Oats responds that he only has one sausage left but he's saving it. You'll see three follow-up choices that are based on your current attributes:

• We'll get food at Trosky.
• I'll bring you something from the nobles' feast.
• You wouldn't want Mutt to bite you...

Any of these three have a chance of Success or Failure. As you can see, your best chance of success will be to say 'We'll get food at Trosky', though I've seen the others succeed as well. If you succeed, Oats will hand over the sausage. If you fail, he will instead offer to trade you the sausage for his ring which he lost to Tankard in a dice game.

How to get the sausage from Tankard

Look to the left of Oats and you'll see Tankard sitting at a table with a hat on. Talk to him and choose the option 'How about playing dice for the ring?'. This serves as a tutorial to the dice game, which is essentially Yahtzee. Basically, it's the first person to reach the Goal score, which in this case is 1,500, which is super easy to do.

Winning the dice game will result in Tankard handing over Oats' ring. Return to Oats and choose "I've got your ring." He'll hand over the sausage, and now you can finally feed Mutt! Walk up to Mutt, look at him, then hold Left+Alt and then press the 1 key to feed him the sausage which will complete this quest objective! It's now time to speak to Sir Hans!

The post How to get food for Mutt in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Bleeding in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can literally lead to your death. Henry will eventually start having blurry vision before leading to you dying and having to reload from the most recent checkpoint. Here is how you can stop bleeding in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

How to stop bleeding in KCD2

The primary way to stop bleeding in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is to use Bandages. Go into your inventory to the Utility section, select the Bandage, then hit the 'E' key to use it. You will then get a pop-up window asking which body part you want to patch. In order to completely stop bleeding, you will have to patch up every body part that is not at 0%. Each Bandage you use will stop the bleeding on that body part.

It can take quite a few bandages to completely stop bleeding if you've been badly beaten up and are bleeding from several different body parts. The key is to make sure each individual body part has a 0% beside it, as that means it is no longer bleeding. If any body part at all is still bleeding, you will slowly bleed out. Of course, the more body parts that are bleeding, the faster you will bleed out.

You can also stop bleeding via several consumables like the Marigold Potion, but these are much harder to come by. You want to make it a priority to always pick up extra Bandages when you can; after all, they are cheap and always needed.

How to get Bandages

You can purchase Bandages from tons of different merchants all across the Kingdom of Bohemia. They will also consistently restock them. Thankfully, Bandages are super cheap, running only 2 Groschen each at most vendors. And, they only take up 0.1 Weight, so you'll be able to plan ahead and carry a bunch around with you just in case you need them.

Bandages can also be found in various chests and looted from the bodies of enemies you kill. You should make a good habit of looting every corpse you come across, not only to pick up some extra Bandages but also so you can sell the various items you scavenge to purchase important items, like the Bandages themselves. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to manually craft Bandages.

The post How to stop Bleeding in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

After an early scuffle, a body winds up outside Bozhena the Herbalist's house and she tasks you with burying it. Here's where and how to bury the body for the Fortuna quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Grab the Spade against the post near the body

As Bozhena suggested, you should grab the spade/shovel outside of the hut to dig the grave. Head outside then look to the left and you'll see a body lying near the garden. To the left of the body is a spade lying against a post. Grab the spade as you will need it to bury the grave.

Pick up the body and head towards the stream

Now that the spade is in your inventory, head over to the body. Before picking it up, hold the 'F' key to loot it for any goodies. Then, hold the 'E' key to pick up the body. Head immediately out of the gate that surrounds the house and down towards the stream.

Dig the grave and bury the body

Once you reach the stream, you'll see soft ground under your feet in the surrounding area. Put the body down then hit the 'E' key, which will automatically dig up a grave. Go back to the body and hold the 'E' key to pick it back up, then interact with the freshly dug grave by hitting the 'E' key. After a few seconds, the body will be buried and this optional side quest will be complete.

Head back southwest to the Herbalist's hut and interact with the wash tub outside the hut to wash yourself clean of the stench. With this optional quest done, you're now ready to find the Sage and Chamomile and complete the Fortuna quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2!

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In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Saviour Schnapps is one of the most important consumables in the whole game. Thankfully, you can craft your own Saviour Schnapps. Here is how to get and use the Saviour Schnapps consumables in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

What does Saviour Schnapps do?

In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, consuming Saviour Schnapps is how you save the game. While you can "quick save" at any time by going into the menu and choosing to save and exit, this is only meant to serve as an option if you are simply looking to exit the game. Your save will be created exactly where you exited the game, and once you continue the game, you'll be loaded in the same spot and the save will be deleted. The game also creates a save any time you sleep in a bed that you have permission to use.

If you want to make any sort of actual manual save, you will need to consume a Saviour Schnapps. These consumable potions will create a save state for you, and, if the quality of the Saviour Schnapps is good, it will also boost your Strength, Vitality, and Agility stats.

How to get more Saviour Schnapps

Thankfully, these nifty Saviour Schnapps consumables can be crafted in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2! You'll receive one Saviour Schnapps as well as the recipe to craft Saviour Schnapps as part of the main story quests in the prologue.

Once you have access to the open world, head to any Alchemy Bench—there is one located in the starting town of Troskowitz. At the Alchemy Bench, cycle to the Potions tab and select Saviour Schnapps. Here are the ingredients required to craft Saviour Schnapps:

• Wine
• 1x Nettle
• 2x Belladonna

First, use Wine as the base, and then add the 1 Nettle to the cauldron. Flip the Hourglass and once the sand runs out, flip it once more, as you need to boil the Nettle for two turns. Afterwards, grind up the 2 Belladonna in the Mortar and Pestle, then add it to the cauldron. Get the cauldron boiling again and then flip the Hourglass once more. Once the sand runs out, your Saviour Schnapps is ready and you can pour it into a flask.

Once crafted, the quality of your Saviour Schnapps will be based on your efficiency at crafting it at the Alchemy Bench. To use the Saviour Schnapps, simply go into your inventory, navigate to the 'Food' tab, and then look for the Potions header. Select the Saviour Schnapps then hold the 'E' key to consume it and therefore save your game.

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In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Blacksmithing is one of many activities you can do between traversing the Kingdom of Bohemia. Even though there is an in-game tutorial for how to be a Blacksmith, it's still a bit tricky until you understand exactly what to do. As such we've put together this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Blacksmithing guide as well as some tips to help you be successful.

Where to learn how to start Blacksmithing

You will learn how to Blacksmith from Radovan, the Blacksmith in an early-accessible town named Tachov. After the prologue to the game, you'll me Radovan in Troskowitz where he will offer you some Blacksmithing work. Head to Tachov and find Radovan, and he will give you a beginner tutorial on how to successfully complete Blacksmithing.

Step-by-step Blacksmithing guide

In order to successfully blacksmith an item in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, there are a series of steps you must follow.

1. Make sure you've learned the desired Blacksmithing design. Radovan will start you out with the recipes for Horseshoes and a Work Axe, which need to be consumed from your inventory to learn how to blacksmith them.
2. Check the resource requirement for the recipe. You can either visit a Blacksmithing Anvil or simply hit 'I' to open your Inventory then click on the crafting tab. It also says 'C' brings up this menu, but for me, it just makes Henry crouch.
3. Start the Blacksmithing process at an Anvil. Interact with any Anvil—one can be found by Radovan in Tachov—and choose which recipe you want to craft. As long as you have the required resources, Henry will walk over to the nearby barrel and pull out the base for the item and take it to the furnace.
4. Heat up the entire item on the furnace using the Bellows. As you heat the item, it will begin to glow red, then orange, then a bright yellow. Move the item around in the furnace using your mouse, and keep the heat from the bellows coming in by holding the 'Q' key. As Radovan says, it will "look like straw". For certain items like the Horseshoe and Work Axe, the base item is small enough that the entire thing will fit in the furnace, so it will heat evenly. For other items, like a sword, you will need to move it back and forth across the flame to heat it evenly. If Henry says it's getting too hot or catching fire, it's time to switch it to the Anvil.
5. Hammer to shape the item on the Anvil. While the item is hot off the forge and still yellow, you can hammer it to bend the shape of the item to your will. You can move the hammer around using the mouse, then hold the left mouse button to pull back the hammer, then let go of the left mouse button to strike the hammer down.

   • Pay attention to the sparks flying off the item as you hit it. After each hit, move the hammer slightly away from where you last hit, and strike it again at full strength. Striking the same point over and over is not effective, but moving just slightly is enough to register a quality hit. You will know this happens because there will be lots of sparks, and Henry will start whistling. As you continually strike the item, pay attention to Henry's whistling. It's meant to keep you in rhythm. But also, if you hear Henry stop whistling, it means your most recent hit was not good.

6. If the item cools down too much, return it to the Furnace. Henry will mention the item has cooled too much, but you can also tell by the color of the item. It will slowly cool back down from yellow, to orange, to red. Once it cools enough, you can no longer shape the item. Return it to the Furnace, get the bellows going again, and reheat the item to a bright yellow.
7. Each successful strike that sends sparks flying will shape your item. Once you've done that enough, the item will be completed. If you're quick and efficient with your hits, you can do it after one heating. If you're too slow of ineffective, it may take several heat-ups. Henry will comment once the item is shaped correctly, at which point you then press the 'R' key to move it back to the furnace to temper it.
8. After tempering, hit the 'R' key to quench it. Both tempering and quenching happen automatically, but you must press the key to move on to the next step. Henry will then take the item and dip it in the barrel of water which will complete the item! Congratulations, you are a Blacksmith!

All Blacksmithing and Craftsmanship Perks Leveling Rewards

Even though Blacksmithing is its own activity, skill-wise it is part of the Craftsmanship skill. As you complete Blacksmithing crafts and other activities such as sharpening your weapons, using repair kits on your armor, or washing your clothes, your Craftsmanship skill will increase. As you increase your base level, you will receive Perk Points that you can use to unlock certain Craftsmanship-specific perks. Here are all the Craftsmanship Perks in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2:

The post Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Blacksmithing guide and tips appeared first on Destructoid.

One of the first of many side quests in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is The Jaunt, where Blacksmith Radovan sends you out to find his missing cart of supplies as well as the crew that was transporting it. We've put together this The Jaunt side quest guide to help you complete the entire quest line.

How to start the side quest The Jaunt

You can start The Jaunt side quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 by heading to Tachov, the small village north of Troskowitz. Here you will find the Blacksmith Radovan, who previously informed you back in Troskowitz that he had some blacksmithing work for you. After completing the Blacksmithing tutorial by speaking to him and telling him you'll work for him as a Blacksmith, he will then have a separate dialogue available for you in which you can ask him for more difficult work. He will then tell you that he had a wagon of supplies that never arrived, nor did the crew that was meant to transport it. This will officially start The Jaunt side quest and you should now have it in your Journal!

Head to Semine

The first task for this side quest is to head to Semine. Radovan mentioned that the laborers he hired to drive the wagon to Semine, so that is a good place to start looking. Semine can be found southwest of Troskowitz, so fast travel to Troskowitz, then head southwest out of the town and follow the road. As you reach Semine, a cutscene will start in which you will meet one of the town guards, Jurkov. He will challenge you to a fistfight, but thankfully due to being quite liquored up, is a pretty easy bout.

After the brawl, Captain Gnarly will speak to you and tell you to follow him to speak with Lord Semine about the wagon. Lord Semine will inform you that the wagon never reached Semine, so you three will have to go looking for it. Captain Gnarly mentions that you will need a horse to ride out and search with them, but that thankfully someone in town has one for sale for cheap. Exit the building and head southwest, not into the actual town of Semine, but rather into the wide-open area beside you.

Buy a Cheap Horse in Semine

Head into the horse stables and you will find an NPC named Groom Ballatay walking around. Speak with him and choose the option 'Cheap Horse', which as it turns out, is actually your horse, Pebbles! Unfortunately, Pebbles doesn't have a brand, so you have no claim to him. As such, Ballatay wants 150 Groschen for Pebbles. You can choose the option to haggle the price down a bit, but the lowest I was able to get him to go was 138 Groschen.

You may need to do some other side quests or blacksmith some for Radovan to earn the Groschen to afford it. Once you have, return to Groom Ballatay and purchase Pebbles. If you don't have nearly enough Groschen and don't want to farm it, there are other ways to acquire a Horse.

Regardless of how you get a Horse, return to Captain Gnarly and Lord Semine at the same guardpost you met them at, and inform them you are ready to head out.

Follow Lord Semine and Gnarly

Captain Gnarly and Lord Semine will head out of Semine on their horse, and you should follow close behind. If you fall too far behind, the side quest will fail. You can also hold the Left Alt key by default to automatically follow them at the same tempo.

Along the way, Lord Semine will learn about your fight with Jurkov, and offer to duel you for fun as well. Accepting will gain you some reputation, so I recommend doing it! Furthermore, if you're successful in the duel, Gnarly will give you his Cudgel as well as his shield, which is some decent equipment for early on!

After the duel, get back on your steed and continue following Gnarly and Semine until you reach Troskowitz. Once there, speak to Gnarly and Semine who will tell you to speak with the Troskowitz bailiff to inquire about the cart, but be sure not to mention them being there; they don't want to risk drama between the two towns.

Talk to the bailiff

Head inside the building behind Gnarly and Semine and you will find Bailiff Thrush. Tell him you are looking for the wagon, and he will inform you he saw the wagon hands quickly riding off with the wagon to the east towards Apollonia.

Outside, speak with Gnarly and Semine again and fill them in on what you learned. They will agree it's best to ride after them immediately as it would be faster than sending a message to the guards there to keep an eye out. Hop back on your horse and once again follow Captain Gnarly and Lord Semine east towards Apollonia.

You'll reach a crossroads to the east, and the two will bicker on which way to go. The Bailiff told you that the hands were speeding off in the wagon and that some goods even fell off the cart, so use that knowledge to determine which road to follow. A little way down the northern road that hooks east, you'll find a sack of charcoal lying on the ground. Report back to Gnarly and Semine with the information.

Find the Wagon

After riding a bit further, Lord Semine will comment that you should have come across the wagon by now. He informs Gnarly to look ahead and tells you to double back and check if it's off the road. Just behind you will be a road leading to your right, and you'll see another sack of charcoal on the ground.

Head down that road and you will find the wagon, hidden behind some branches and brush. Hit the 'E' key to inspect it and you will call over Gnarly and Semine who suggest looking around the area on foot to see if you can find where the goods were moved too, which they will assist you in doing.

Scout out the Patrol

As you investigate the area, you'll start to hear voices of a few people chatting. Gnarly suggests scouting out the area and passes the task to you. Double back just a bit and climb up the ledge there to get a good top view of the patrol around a campfire, taking note of there being three of them. Report back to Gnarly and Semine and tell them what you saw.

The two agree you'll have to encounter the patrol, as it's not the Blacksmith's hands, so it's unlikely they will just hand over the goods. If you want an advantage, mention the high-up spot you scouted from, and Gnarly will give you his Crossbow and 20 bolts so you can assist from above in helping thin the patrol with the Crossbow.

Assist in taking out the Patrol

Semine and Gnarly will charge the patrol, as you fire on them from the scouting spot above. They make pretty quick work of them, but if you're able to land a shot or two with the crossbow, it will make the skirmish even easier. Afterward, be sure to loot the dead for Groschen and everything of value. One of them will have a set of keys on them which you can use to loot the chest near the campfire for some more goodies. Just keep in mind your limited carrying capacity, as you don't want to be encumbered!

Speak with Semine and Gnarly and they will indicate this was just a part of the group of bandits, but that you should all go ahead and proceed forth and take them out. Make sure you're prepared, then tell them you are ready.

Attack the Bandits with Semine and Gnarly

You'll push forward and find the Blacksmith's hired hands tied up and being interrogated by a noble who clearly intended to steal Semine's goods from the wagon. Mid-discussion, Gnarly will take one of the bandits out with his crossbow, and the battle will begin.

There are four or five enemies in total here, which can certainly be overwhelming compared to your three. However, I still found the best strategy here was to team up and attack someone who was currently engaged in combat with Gnarly or Semine. If they are busy preparing to block an attack against them, and you sneak up and attack from behind, it's an easy successful hit and big damage.

After taking out the Bandits, Gnarly says he saw one of the hired hands making a run for it. Head southwest back towards the cliffs you scaled down to get here, and you will find the hired hand weakishly trying to get away.

You will have several choices in terms of dealing with the hired hand who betrayed the Blacksmith. If you have high Intimidation or Persuasion, you can convince him to just turn himself in and come peacefully, regardless of what punishment he will receive from the law.

I tried both and failed, so had to decide between letting him bribe me and give me a valuable he scooped off the wagon in turn for letting him go or fighting with him right then and there. I'm going a more noble route so I refused to let him bribe me, which resulted in a quick (but easy) duel against the weakened hired hand. If you follow this route, make sure you loot his body afterward, as he has a few valuables on him including a map. Regardless of the choice you make, return back to Semine and Gnarly for the ride back to Troskowitz, and then return to Blacksmith Radovan to finally complete The Jaunt side quest in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

The Jaunt side quest Rewards

Semine will give you 80 Groschen for coming along with him and Gnarly, which is a nice chunk of change early on. The real rewards for this quest though lie on the corpses of the Bandits you just took out. Make sure you completely loot all of them, as well as the chest in the camp, before speaking to Semine and informing him you want a ride back to Troskowitz.

After you return to Blacksmith Radovan and tell him what happened, he will also give you a Curiass (Gold Quality Rusted Plate Chest Armor) which has some beefy defenses, making the entire quest worthwhile.

The post Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 The Jaunt side quest guide appeared first on Destructoid.

Almost exactly seven years ago, Czech developer Warhorse Studios released the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It was the studio's first project and aimed to be part open-world RPG, part medieval life simulator. An ambitious endeavor, but one that Warhorse Studio proved very capable of pulling off.

With the sequel, Warhorse Studios has essentially doubled down on every aspect of Kingdom Come: Deliverance refining the core systems that made the original great while also adding some new ones as well.

Let's be real, if you were a fan of the original, you probably just want more KCD. And Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is exactly that, and then some. Many of the issues in the original game have been addressed. And as a result, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a truly remarkable open-world RPG.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (PC [reviewed], PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Warhorse Studios
Publisher: Deep Silver
Released: February 4, 2025
MSRP: $69.99

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues the story of Henry of Skalitz, the protagonist you play as in the original. Things pick up shortly after the events of the first game, following Henry as a more experienced warrior on a quest for vengeance against Sir Markvart von Aulitz, the antagonist of KCD responsible for burning down Henry's village and murdering his family.

Playing as Henry this time around is similar, but also very much different. He's no longer just the son of a blacksmith trying to learn the ropes as he goes. He's now a full-fledged knight, sent on an important quest along with Sir Hans Capon of Rattay—Henry's best friend in the original KCD—to deliver a message to Otto von Bergow. The quest goes awry, the pair loses the important message. This sets up the first part of the game where you must roam the Trotsky region of the Kingdom of Bohemia while trying to find a way to complete this quest.

The region of Trotsky is massive, with various villages and castles scattered throughout, connected by dirt roads that wind through dense forests and muddy rivers and streams. It's a beautiful region much like the map you explore in the original game. But later on, you'll gain access to Kuttenburg, an entirely separate region centered around the massive city that played a pivotal role in the early 15th century due to its silver mines.

Both regions are peppered with dozens of side quests that not only give you ways to level up, acquire some loot, and earn some Groschen (money), but also flesh out the immersive world of KCD2. Every piece of dialogue is fully voiced acted, and features perhaps the best voice acting ever in a game. Seriously, I wish every game had the quality of voice acting that KCD2 has. Have you ever been playing a game where the response from an NPC catches you off guard, but then you go, "Actually, I could see someone saying that if they were really in this situation!" Well, that's every line of dialogue in KCD2. It takes the immersion a step further, which you'll notice is a common theme throughout the entire game. Realism.

Speaking of the world, it's absolutely stunning. I'm playing on PC, on an AMD 7700X CPU and an AMD RX 7900 XT GPU with FSR, and for the most part, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 runs as smooth as butter performance-wise. It's very impressive just how good the game looks visually, and while I remember the original having a ton of performance issues, at least early on, that's not the case. There are some minor FPS drops here and there around Kuttenburg, but that's about it.

Of course, we have to talk about the elephant in the room: bugs. If you've played a massive open-world game before, you know bugs are simply part of the package. When you have so much going on at once, things are bound to break from time to time, and break they do. Most of the bugs I've encountered in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 were very minor; in fact, some added some extra charm and even welcome comic relief, like one I kept experiencing where my horse would for whatever reason consistently try to turn and run in on itself. No matter what direction I'd turn or look, as soon as I'd try to move forward it would snap around towards itself and continue doing so. This was a quick fix; jump off the horse and back on.

However, I also encountered some bugs that were pretty annoying, mainly due to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's finicky Saviour Schnapps save system. It's the same as the first game, meaning you only save when you sleep in a bed or consume a limited consumable called Saviour Schnapps. You also get one single "Exit Save" that occurs every time you exit the game. I get why Warhorse Studios chooses to handle saves this way; it adds to the realism by preventing save scumming, especially when your choices mean so much.

But it can be quite annoying when you're traversing through a long quest only to have your character clip into a random doodad like a wagon and get stuck, unable to move. Or when you engage in combat with several enemies only to clip into one and get stuck in a perpetually never-ending rotation of the camera as it tries to pull your body out of theirs while the enemies continue to carve you up until you die and have to reload and lose some progress.

There are a lot fewer bugs in KCD2 compared to what the original launched with, and in the few weeks I've had access to the review build of the game, Warhorse Studios has released several patches fixing tons of bugs. Like I said, in a massively open-world game like this, it'd be silly not to expect some bugs. And for the most part, I didn't encounter anything too game-breaking, only variable levels of annoying.

I wasn't too far into KCD2 when I had somewhat of an epiphany. I had encountered a group of Cumans, which Henry has come to hate seeing as they were responsible for destroying the village in which he grew up and killing his family. After speaking with the leader of the group, I started to change my view on the situation a little bit. As he explained it, he was just trying to get by himself, serving a lord and doing what he was ordered to do. He was very blunt and direct about everything, while also having a comical tone. A very entertaining character, to say the least.

Not long after, I was with the Cumans at their camp, getting completely drunk, and sharing tales. Turns out that this group very well could have been part of the group that attacked Henry's village back in the original. After many drinks, Henry and the Cuman stumbled their way into the woods, where the leader eventually tripped and passed out, completely wasted. Curious, I looked at the Cuman lying on the ground to see if the game would let me loot him while he was drunk. I could, of course, but more interestingly, I had the option to murder him.

This revelation is what triggered my epiphany: a game like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one I often dreamed of existing when I was growing up watching a ton of medieval-time movies and TV shows. One where you get to actually make decisions, and have complete control over your choices, right or wrong. To help drive this point home, I feel it's important to note that this wasn't some main quest decision or anything like that. It was a side activity amongst many throughout KCD2, and I'm pretty sure someone else could play through the entire game and not even encounter this group of Cumans or have to make this choice. A true open-world RPG in every way.

If the open world is half of the formula for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, combat in that open world is the other half. A similar yet refined style of combat system is at play in the sequel, once again featuring a crosshair-style indicator over your enemy when engaged in combat. The indicator has been somewhat simplified; instead of a star-like indicator with five points, the bottom two points have been merged into one. This means that you still have the left, right, and overhead stances of holding your weapon, but the bottom choice now symbolizes a stab or thrusting attack with your weapon.

You'll spend much of the early game playing a sort of patient game of rock paper scissors, often waiting for your opponent to attack first, so you can block it, then following up with a counter-attack on the side they left unprotected. It's similar to the original, but also much more fluid. Attacks with your weapons respond immediately where they connect with their target, rather than seeming like a timed animation going through the motions. And much of the major combat-assisted systems from the original are still here. For example, a successful block from a shield will see that shield take some wear and tear, with wooden shields splintering and breaking over time.

It's such a satisfying and rewarding combat system, and I think the decision to make it mostly similar to that in the original was a good choice. After all, we're playing a more experienced fighter this time around with a more knowledgeable Henry, and with all the enhancements to the combat system, it naturally feels that way.

There are some new weapons as well including one of my favorites, the Crossbow. I wasn't a fan of the bow in KCD, probably because I sucked with it. But in KCD2, the Crossbow feels a lot more accurate and effective. You still have to account for uhh... bolt drop, of course, but it feels as though you could focus primarily on using the Crossbow and have decent results with it. I chose to use it alongside an axe and the occasional longsword, as the combat style is so different with each weapon that it was fun to switch it up from time to time and get better with a variety of weapon types.

Speaking of which, alongside just practicing and getting better at combat, there are two other major ways to improve your combat prowess. First, there are multiple combat experts throughout the world that you can visit to train with. Doing so will unlock new combos and skills that you can use in combat, some of which really change things up.

You'll also increase your skill level with each weapon type and gain Perk Points as you use that weapon type. There are six combat skills in total: Warfare, Swords, Heavy Weapons, Polearms, Unarmed, and Marksmanship. Each combat skill has over a dozen perks you can learn for them that make you better at that specific type of combat. For example, Polearms have a perk called First Strike that makes your first attack in every fight with a Polearm weapon 35% stronger. The Heavy Weapons combat skill on the other hand features perks like Shieldbreaker that make your heavy weapon attacks harder for opponents to block as a shield, as well as increases the damage you do to shields with your heavy weapon attacks.

Combat skills aren't the only skills with perks in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, however. There are skills and perks for Thievery, Survival, Stealth Scholarship, Houndmaster, Horsemanship, Drinking (yep, drinking), Craftsmanship, and Alchemy. Speaking of which, Alchemy and Blacksmithing have their own new and more intricate systems.

For Alchemy, you can collect herbs and other materials before visiting an Alchemy Bench and concocting various potions and elixirs. It's a pretty complex system, with most recipes requiring you to use a certain liquid as a base, and then bring it to a boil over a pot before adding a specific amount of ingredients and boiling it for a specific amount of time. The better quality materials you use and the closer you are to the exact boil time, the better quality the potion you make will be.

Blacksmithing isn't as complex as Alchemy, but is a fun and honestly relaxing reprieve from gallivanting around Bohemia. Once you've gathered the necessary materials for the recipe—oftentimes various metals—you can head to an anvil and begin the Blacksmithing process. First, you'll have to heat the metals over a furnace, bringing the metals to a bright yellow glow. Then, you move the metal to an anvil before shaping it with your hammer. The goal is to spread out where you hit the metal with your hammer, though it can be tricky to do without any sort of indicator of where your hammer swing is going to land. I actually made a good bit of Groschen throughout my playthrough by heading to the anvil in between quests and blacksmithing what I could with the materials I found.

Overall, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 exceeded my expectations in every way. Henry has cemented himself as one of my favorite game characters, and the world of 15th-century Bohemia that the developers have crafted will certainly be one I will always remember. Many games these days proclaim to have a living breathing world full of choices that matter, but few actually do. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 gives you that lively and immersive world full of choices and then implores you to make the wrong ones, and it's a hell of an experience because of it.

While Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a solid title worthy of being called a great open-world RPG, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 essentially redefines what it means to be a great open-world RPG. It's one of those worlds you not only want to tell your friends about, but you want to watch them explore it as well. I'm so torn on what I want to see Warhorse Studios do in the future. On one hand, I'd love to see what such a talented studio can do with another setting. On the other, they're absolute masterminds at crafting such an immersive and realistic early 15th-century medieval world that I just want more of it. The year just started so it's too early to be talking about GOTY, but for me, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is already at the very least a contender.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

The Civilization series has long reigned supreme over the turn-based 4X strategy genre. Even though the genre has recently become more populated with games like Humankind, Old World, and Endless Legend—all of which are great, by the way—none have reached the same level of gameplay that Civilization offers.

Realistically, that's to be somewhat expected. After all, Sid Meier's Civilization is a series that's been around for over three decades with the original releasing all the way back in 1991. Over the years, developer Firaxis Games—and Micro Prose, back in the 90's—continued to build on and refine the 4X formula leading up to the series' seventh mainline entry, Sid Meier's Civilization 7.

Unfortunately, when you're the master of a genre, you can really only refine it so much. Civilization 6 is great, but other than the addition of districts, the argument could be made that it really just felt like an updated Civilization 5.

With Sid Meier's Civilization VII, Firaxis has managed to find a way to really push the series forward in the form of its Ages system. Interestingly enough, the Ages system resolves a lot of long-stand issues with the series, while also offering more for long-term fans of the series and at the same time making the intimidating genre more approachable to newcomers.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII (PC [reviewed], PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: February 11, 2025
MSRP: $69.99

In a nutshell, Ages breaks Civilization 7 into three sections: Antiquity Age, Exploration Age, and Modern Age. At Standard game speeds, each of these Ages will last between 150-200 turns and span anywhere from 3-5 hours, depending on how long turns take you. By breaking the game into these three Ages, players have the option to play a single Age-based game that begins and ends with a single age, or they can opt to play out a longer game across all three Ages that will stretch out over a dozen hours or more.

This one change actually does a lot of Civilization. For starters, Civ players often end up on one side of the coin when it comes to game length. Some complain that the games take way too long, while others wish they could do more, and really mold their empire over the course of a long game. Sure, you could mess with game speeds and lengths in Civilization 6 in an attempt to do so, but that more or less just artificially increased the length.

Now, with the Ages system, players opting for a shorter game can play through just a single Age, while those looking for longer bouts can grow and shape their empire how they want over all three Ages in a much longer game. With the new system, each Age is also more refined to offer somewhat different gameplay, as well.

While each Age can be seen as its own sort of self-contained game, a playthrough that stretches over all three Ages will have its own self-contained goals as well. This primarily happens through the natural gameplay flow of Civilization—laying the foundation for your empire in the Antiquity Age, exploring the world and coming up with a gameplan based on your opponents in the Exploration Age, and then executing your gameplan in the end-game of the Modern Age.

The potentially shorter games of a single Age are a big welcoming point for new players, but so is a revamped tutorial system. I'm the kind of person who usually skips a tutorial, then either learns things on my own or ends up having to go back and suffer through the tutorial anyway. In Civ 7, the tutorial isn't a set of pre-built instructional scenarios or a bunch of videos or even text documentation like most games in the genre. Instead, enabling the tutorial simply adds extra instructions when you're first starting the game as well as explaining new systems or features as you unlock them, including when you reach new Ages.

Pretty much every core system of Civilization has been enhanced or improved upon in Civilization 7 as well. Visually, Civ 7 is far and above the best the series has ever looked. Not just from a directly graphical standpoint; after all, that's to be expected seeing as Civ 6 is almost a decade old now. But with Civ 7, the game takes a more realistic approach than the previous installments, which often favored a more cartoony look. This results in a vibrant and colorful landscape that really evolves as you progress through the ages.

It's always been absolute eye candy to watch the spot of land you chose to plop down your first settlement change and your empire grow over the course of a game in Civilization. With the more realistic graphics, this progression looks even more amazing. It's cool to watch your settlement advance in technology and sprawl out while keeping your Wonders through the Ages. Seeing a modern city built around the Colosseum is still always a fun sight to behold.

The soundtrack for Civ 7 is top-notch as well. This has always been a strong point of the series, and I was happy to see that each civilization still has its own unique music tracks. It really sets the mood for playing each civilization, and I'm looking forward to playing each one eventually for their scores alone.

In terms of content, Civilization 7 launches with 24 Leaders to choose from, and over 30 Civilizations across the three Ages. I believe there are a couple more unlocked by linking your game to a 2K Games account, as well as through various collector's editions. While I'm not a fan of content like this being locked out and not available to everyone, it's worth noting that there are Leaders and Civilizations available for all players of all playstyles: Cultural, Diplomatic Economic, Expansionist, Militaristic, and Scientific.

In my main playthrough across all three Ages, I started as Augustus and naturally, as Rome is my civilization, in the Antiquity Age. Typically, Rome is a Cultural Militaristic civilization. However, I ended up really taking a liking to my only close major opponent (Hatshepsut) and over the course of the Antiquity Age found myself focusing less on my military due to not really needing one, and more on science, especially because I was actually located in a perfect spot geographically for it with plenty of buffs to science to be had by working the lands appropriately.

Naturally, as I reached the Exploration Age, I shifted my civilization to Abbasid, a choice that still catered to Cultural but also Scientific over Militaristic. By the end of the Exploration Age, my dear friend Hatshepsut was consistently being sieged by Xerses and Charlemagne, leading me to shift back towards a Militaristic approach both to aid Hatshepsut but also to defend myself more efficiently. This led to me once again changing course in the Modern Age, and adopting Prussia as my civilization. Despite going into the late game in a three-way World War, I was still able to secure a Scientific Victory.

This type of flip-flopping between playstyle focuses really isn't much of a possibility in previous Civilization games. But in Civilization 7, you not only have the option to change up your focus with each Age, but you're also not penalized for it. In fact, in most cases you'll still retain a lot of the advantages from previous Age focuses even if you shift into something different in later Ages. It's a great change to the series and I can't wait to see what people who are much better than me at these sorts of games end up doing with all the possibilities within this big change.

Legacies and by extension Legacy Paths further complement this change. This new system basically gives you tasks to complete while you're in an Age. Completing them will give you buffs for that Age based on the focus the tasks were part of. For example, building a Wonder in the Antiquity Age will grant you a Cultural Legacy Point and a Diplomatic Legacy Point that can be used in future Ages. But you also receive the option to put one of those points into a specialization of Culture in a future Age that will grant you +1 Culture and +1 Happiness for every Wonder you own. This allows you to further tailor your build to your desired playstyle as you progress through the Ages.

For the most part, Civilization 7 runs great. I'm currently using an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and for some reason when using DirectX 12, my game ends up crashing after some time. Sometimes it's after just a few minutes of play, other times I can go up to an hour without issue. Thankfully, there's also the option to launch using the Vulkan API instead of DirectX 12, and I've had no crashes with it. If this is like previous issues I've had with an AMD card, this is most likely more of a driver-related issue that will be fixed when AMD drops a Civilization 7-specific driver update, but I did feel it was worth pointing out.

Slight technical hiccups aside, I also feel as though the Modern Age feels a bit less fleshed out compared to the other two Ages. The tech tree alone for the Modern Age feels a lot smaller and contained. There are also fewer branches in the tech tree compared to the prior two, and it feels like a pretty narrow progression towards the end. It's not unfinished or anything like that, but definitely noticeable.

Furthermore, I tried starting a game directly in the Modern Age, and it felt a bit rough around the edges. You get to select from a pool of starting staple points for your empire, like a city, a town, some military units, and some tech. Basically it tries to jumpstart you into a game as though you've already built up some in the first two Ages. But paired with the more lacking scope of the Age, it felt a bit off to actually play starting from the Modern Age. This may simply be curtailed by having more playtime and an overall understanding of everything going on on a systematic level, but at the moment I definitely recommend everyone starts in the Antiquity Age at the very least until you've got the game down.

I'm excited to see what direction Firaxis and 2K go in terms of post-launch content for Civilization 7. The current roadmap for the future already talks about new Leaders, Civs, Events, and Wonders, but I'm curious if there are plans to add any new major features much like the early expansions in Civ 6 did.

Regardless of my minor gripes with the game, Civilization 7 is a ton of fun. The Ages system is a major game-changer and really enhances the genre in a big way. Firaxis probably could have gotten away with a safer approach with this installment, opting for just better graphics. Instead, it boldly revamped a lot of the core systems to make the entire game more streamlined for both newcomers and veterans alike. I'm glad Firaxis is still finding ways to improve a genre it has mastered over the years, and as a result, Sid Meier's Civilization 7 has the series in its best shape yet.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization VII appeared first on Destructoid.

Xbox Game Pass is like walking into a candy store. There are so many different options to choose from when it comes to its game selection, and some of the best games on Xbox Game Pass can be hard to spot. Every month more quality titles are added and at the end of the day, the service has quickly become one of the best value subscriptions in video games.

In recent years, really more so in the last year, the available library on Xbox Game Pass has exploded, especially with the addition of Game Pass for PC. Many first-party Xbox titles now release day one on both Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, making the service hold insane value.

Some need acquired tastes like licorice (Dordogne), while many others will enjoy a beloved, comfortable chocolate bar (Minecraft). However, there's a good chance you'll find something to sate your palette in Microsoft's rolling digital library. Here are the top 20 best games on Xbox Game Pass right now waiting for you to jump into them.

[Updated: January 2025]

Best Xbox Game Pass Games on Xbox and PC

One of the greatest things about Xbox Game Pass and its titles as that more and more games are being launched as Day One Game Pass titles on both PC and Xbox. Paired with often-supported cross-platform functionality, this has created another high-value feature exclusive to the Xbox Game Pass service. All of the titles in this category have both Xbox and PC versions of the game, both of which are on Game Pass.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Even though we get annual releases of the Call of Duty franchise now, this is the first time it's been available on both PC and Xbox Series X|S Day One via Game Pass. It's a pivotal change for both one of the biggest franchises in the world and for the Game Pass subscription service. Set during the Cold War and stretching into the Gulf War era, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 revives the popular Black Ops conspiracy-driven storytelling while adding new mechanics in all gameplay formats including the campaign, multiplayer, and zombies mode.

From a purely statistical standpoint, Black Ops 6 set a new record for new subscribers on launch day for Game Pass, as the addition to the service drove over 20 million regular players to the FPS in November 2024. The game continues to receive massive updates and new content through its seasonal patches, with the latest releasing on January 28, 2025. The multiplayer experience, often seen as the cornerstone of the franchise, has thrived on Game Pass, with seamless matchmaking and cross-platform play ensuring robust lobbies even in remote regions. The game’s Metacritic score of 85/100—the highest since 2011—reflects its polished design, balancing nostalgia with fresh mechanics like open-world objectives and stealth missions.

Finally, Black Ops 6 exemplifies how Game Pass can redefine blockbuster releases. By prioritizing player retention through frequent content drops—such as Season 2’s new maps, anti-cheat overhauls, and customizable cross-play options—Microsoft has created a sustainable model for monetization via battle passes and cosmetics. Analysts argue that the title’s “bonkers” engagement levels prove Game Pass can coexist with traditional sales, as Black Ops 6 simultaneously topped charts and revitalized the franchise’s accessibility. For subscribers, this translates to a constantly evolving experience that merges AAA quality with the flexibility of a subscription, setting a new standard for future releases on the platform, and making Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 a must-play option for Game Pass subscribers.

Dead Island 2 - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

After nearly a decade in development hell, Dead Island 2 finally emerged in 2023 to acclaim from both critics and players. Delivering a visceral and chaotic zombie-slaying experience, Dead Island 2 is a solid option for Xbox Game Pass subscribers looking to traverse a quarantined Los Angeles with an open-world setting and geographically accurate areas like Venice Beach and Beverly Hills. Each zone is packed with secrets, side quests, storytelling, and more to encourage players to revisit and more content as they progress.

The ultimate feature of Dead Island 2 is the F.L.E.S.H. system which stands for Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids. This revolutionary gore mechanic lets players dismember zombies with pretty insane precision based on where they aim. Every strike from a variety of weapons including a flaming baseball bat or even electrified claws will peel away layers of flesh, muscle, and bone, creating rewarding satisfyingly grotesque combat.

While the story itself is plagued by rather dull dialogue and massive underdeveloped characters, Dead Island 2 has many moments of redemption in terms of storytelling with its dark humor, satirical take on Hollywood elitism, and its knack for pitting players against zombified influencers and wealthy elites. With co-op multiplayer, Dead Island 2 is the ideal co-op game for Game Pass. With over 2 million copies sold in its early launch weeks, a blend of inventive combat, rewarding exploration, and very over-the-top violence, Dead Island 2 is one of the best titles on Game Pass.

Stellaris - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

The PC version of Stellaris and Stellaris: Console Edition are massive entries into the 4x genre, offering grand strategy gaming on both PC and consoles in a universe teeming with complexity, creativity, and even intricate storytelling. Developed in-house by fabled grand strategy developer Paradox—creators of Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, and Crusader Kings—Stellaris is a sci-fi take on the genre tasking players with growing a fledgling civilization from its first interstellar event to galactic dominance.

The game begins with empire creation, where players design their species’ biology, ethics, and government type. Want to lead a hive-mind fungus obsessed with conquest? Or a pacifist reptilian democracy focused on scientific discovery? The customization tools allow for nearly infinite combinations, shaping how your civilization interacts with alien races, handles crises, and evolves over millennia. This freedom extends to gameplay, where every decision—from diplomatic treaties to ship designs—carries weight. The procedural galaxy ensures no two playthroughs are alike: you might encounter ancient space leviathans, unlock reality-altering technologies, or trigger a robot uprising that reshapes the political landscape.

Exploration and warfare are equally as meaningful in Stellaris. Science ships survey anomalies, uncovering cosmic mysteries like derelict megastructures or precursor civilizations, while construction ships build starbases to secure more resources for your sprawling empire. Combat hinges on strategic fleet customization, with players designing ships to counter enemy strengths—think armor-piercing weaponry for crystalline foes or point-defense systems to negate missile barrages. Battles unfold in cinematic, real-time spectacles, though the focus remains on macro-level tactics rather than flashy visuals. No microing or kiting-style tactics here. Diplomacy also plays a critical role, with alliances, federations, and espionage systems allowing players to outmaneuver rivals without firing a single shot.

Stellaris: Console Edition deserves special praise for its intuitive control scheme, a real feat considering the genre's PC roots. Radial menus and context-sensitive shortcuts streamline navigation through dense interfaces, making planetary management and fleet coordination surprisingly fluid on a controller. While newcomers might initially feel overwhelmed by the sheer depth—resource management, faction politics, and technological research all demand attention—the game’s tutorial and tooltips ease the learning curve. There's a ton of fun to be had over long campaigns which is what puts Stellaris: Console Edition on our list of best Game Pass games.

Inscryption - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Inscryption isn’t just a game—it’s a masterpiece and a wonderfully woven labyrinth of dread, strategy, and meta-narrative brilliance that has cemented itself as a modern indie classic. Now available on Xbox Game Pass, this 2021 gem by Daniel Mullins Games (creator of Pony Island) merges roguelike deck-building, escape-room puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-soaked odyssey that defies expectations at every turn. Starting as a seemingly straightforward card battler set in a shadowy cabin, the game evolves into a mind-bending exploration of identity, obsession, and the nature of play itself.

At its core, Inscryption pits players against a masked figure named Leshy in a high-stakes card game where every move feels like a life-or-death gamble. The combat revolves around sacrificial mechanics: squirrels are offered as fuel to summon stronger creatures, while “bones” from fallen allies power undead armies. Battles unfold on a literal tipping scale, where damage dealt to your opponent shifts the balance in your favor—a system that transforms matches into tense, chess-like duels. But the genius lies in its unpredictability: cards mutate, bosses subvert around rules, and hidden abilities force players to experiment relentlessly.

What elevates Inscryption beyond its peers is its meta-narrative depth. The cabin itself becomes a character—players can stand up from the table to solve eerie escape-room puzzles, uncovering clues tied to the game’s lore. A locked safe, cryptic symbols, and even a jar of teeth (used to tip the scales in your favor via gruesome self-surgery) weave a story that blurs the line between reality and fiction. The game’s three acts shift genres entirely, morphing from a roguelike into a retro RPG and finally a surreal, existential showdown, all while critiquing gaming culture and player agency. It's overall a fun ride, and while it gets a bit weaker at the end, the journey is still well worth it making this one of the best Xbox Game Pass titles available.

Age of Mythology: Retold - PC, Xbox Series X|S

Age of Mythology: Retold stands out as one of the premier titles on Game Pass, combining nostalgic reverence for the 2002 classic with modern enhancements that elevate its strategic depth, accessibility, and replayability. As a day-one addition to Game Pass in September 2024, this remastered real-time strategy (RTS) gem offers subscribers instant access to a polished, feature-rich genre-defining title without the upfront cost of purchasing the game outright. Its inclusion in the service has revitalized interest in the long-standing franchise, attracting both longtime fans and newcomers drawn to its reimagined visuals, rebalanced gameplay, and cross-platform compatibility between Xbox Series X|S and PC. With support for mouse-and-keyboard or controller play, seamless multiplayer matchmaking, and 4K/120FPS optimization, Retold is a stellar experience for any RTS fan.

Furthermore, Age of Mythology: Retold features a 50-mission campaign that spans Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and Atlantean mythologies. The many missions include iconic mythological units like Cyclopes, Centaurs, and Titans, all rendered in upgraded stunning 3D graphics. Beyond the story, Retold boasts a variety of multiplayer and seasonal events, such as the New Year 2025 Event, which launched on January 23 and runs through February 26. This event offers 25 daily challenges across modes like Skirmish, Deathmatch, and Arena of the Gods, rewarding players with exclusive profile icons for completing them. Post-launch support, including balance tweaks and anti-cheat overhauls, further highlights the developers’ commitment to refining the experience in this upgraded version.

The upcoming Immortal Pillars expansion—a free addition for Premium Edition owners—will introduce Chinese mythology in 2025, addressing fan feedback about the original Tale of the Dragon expansion’s shortcomings. This expansion, alongside a second planned DLC, ensures the game evolves alongside its player base and has a future. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Retold has reinvigorated the RTS genre on Game Pass, offering a compelling reason for strategy enthusiasts to subscribe to the service. Its blend of timeless gameplay, frequent updates, and cross-platform accessibility solidifies it as a must-play of the Game Pass library, proving that even decades-old franchises can thrive in the modern gaming ecosystem.

Octopath Traveler 2 - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Octopath Traveler 2 has cemented itself as one of the best RPGs on the service, offering a masterclass in retro-inspired JRPG design, storytelling, and strategic combat. Released as a surprise addition to the service in June 2024, the game’s arrival marked a pivotal moment for Xbox players, who finally gained access to a title previously exclusive to PlayStation, Switch, and PC. Its inclusion on Game Pass invites both newcomers and JRPG veterans to dive into a sprawling 60–80-hour JRPG adventure as part of the subscription. Critics and fans alike have praised the series HD-2D art style—a blend of nostalgic 16-bit sprites and modern 3D environments—which creates a visual feast that highlights the golden age of 1990s JRPGs while feeling fresh and dynamic.

Similar to the original, Octopath Traveler 2 features eight distinct character-driven narratives, each offering a self-contained story that weaves into a grand, interconnected tapestry where all characters play a role. Players choose a protagonist—such as Throné, a thief seeking freedom from her assassins’ guild, or Osvald, a scholar bent on revenge after being framed for his family’s murder—and recruit the remaining seven travelers, each with unique motivations and gameplay mechanics. Unlike many traditional JRPGs, Octopath Traveler 2 avoids a singular “save-the-world” plot, instead focusing on intimate, personal quests that range from emotional dramas to whimsical journeys, such as Agnea the Dancer's pursuit of stardom. This structure allows players to tackle chapters in a non-linear fashion, with optional cross-path interactions that further deepen the eight character's relationships.

A fun and innovative combat system combines turn-based strategy with a “Break & Boost” mechanic. Enemies have specific weaknesses such as swords or fire magic, and exploiting these weaknesses will “break” their defenses and open them up to devastating attacks. The addition of Latent Powers—essentially unique Limit Break-style abilities for each character—adds explosive depth to boss fights, demanding careful planning to an already refined combat system.

If you're looking for many hours of fun and a well-written narrative, you won't find a better modern JRPG experience than Octopath Traveler 2. And with it now on Game Pass, you can't beat the pure value of gaining access via your subscription.

No Man's Sky - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

After a rocky 2016 launch, No Man's Sky has transformed into a sprawling sci-fi epic, receiving over 29 massive content updates in the 9 years since its release. For space fans, it offers unparalleled amounts of exploration and evolution across countless procedurally generated planets, ecosystems, and creatures. Along the way, players can engage in interstellar trade or combat, fully powered by cross-platform multiplayer and even VR support for those who wish to partake.

Now part of Xbox Game Pass, No Man's Sky offers a trove of content for players to enjoy including exploring the expanse of space, landing on exotic planets and mining its resources, building multiple bases, and piloting a variety of unique starships. It's been a unique journey for No Man's Sky, which had mostly negative reviews after its PlayStation-exclusive launch. But now, the much-improved open-world game is now part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription and playable on both PC and Xbox Series X|S.

Tales of Arise - PC, Xbox Series X|S

Tales of Arise stands as one of the best modern-day JRPGs, blending cinematic storytelling, dynamic combat, and breathtaking visuals—all now accessible through Xbox Game Pass. Launched in 2021 to widespread acclaim, the game revitalized Bandai Namco’s long-running Tales series with its anime-inspired watercolor aesthetic and real-time action combat system. Its addition to Game Pass in February 2024 gave subscribers access to its 40–60-hour epic story. Critics hailed it as a “future of JRPGs,” comparing its ambition to the Final Fantasy VII Remake series and lauding its polished mechanics and emotional depth, two landmark elements of the series.

The game’s brilliance lies in its innovative combat and nuanced narrative. Departing from traditional turn-based systems, Tales of Arise delivers fluid, party-driven battles where players swap between four characters, each with distinct styles—ranged, melee, or defensive—and unleash “Boost Attacks” to disrupt enemies or trigger devastating combos. This system, likened to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Granblue Fantasy: Relink, rewards strategy while maintaining frenetic fast-paced but fluid combat. The story, centered on enslaved warrior Alphen and cursed noble Shionne, avoids simplistic morality, exploring oppression through multi-layered worldbuilding. Renan rulers enforce control not just through brute force but psychological manipulation, with characters like Shionne challenging stereotypes by rebelling against her own people. This mature narrative often missing from the genre, paired with stunning cutscenes and voice acting, elevates the game beyond its “ragtag heroes vs. empire” premise.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Those seeking adventure should look towards The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This (take a deep breath) 12-year-old game (breathe out) still has a fervent fanbase, and is still played to this day for good reason. There are many weapons, armor, spells, and even dragon shouts to find across the open world. There are also branching side quests that in and of themselves have deep, fascinating stories and characters behind them. You should take an arrow in the knee in this game and explore the grand landscapes of Skyrim with Xbox Game Pass. The Special Edition also comes with all of the DLC.

Halo Infinite - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

In my opinion, Halo Infinite gets way too much flak. This entry was my first step into the series, and I was floored by this sci-fi experience. Each weapon in Master Chief's arsenal feels powerful, but in the frantic first-person shooter levels, you're scrounging for whatever you can find, adding to the tension of battle. Finding improved weapons from the tough bosses you kill in the open world is gratifying, and the world itself truly grabbed me. The storyline with Master Chief saving the UNSC and the world on the brink is also thrilling to experience. The multiplayer, to me, feels dated with tired map design and modes, but the single-player campaign is the main attraction.

Hi-Fi Rush - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Hi-Fi Rush is one of the best Xbox exclusives in years. It combines thrilling action combat with engaging music rhythm gameplay to create a unique melee-focused experience. You play as a unique, clumsy protagonist, trying to save the day from Vandelay Technologies' evil leader. The slapstick is on point, and the script is laugh-out-loud hilarious. The action is also fantastic as you switch between the powers of your allies and string together combos on your foes.  You also can't forget the stand-out music selection in Hi-Fi Rush with rock hits from Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, and The Black Keys.

Minecraft - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

There's not much else to be said about Minecraft but I'll try my best. It's a worldwide phenomenon for a reason as it allows players to build their own structures, craft their own items, and explore a randomly generated world. Building with your friends is a lot of fun, and many players have created amazing buildings throughout the years like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. Someone even made a working 3D graphing calculator. This game is great for kids, as it lets them show their creative side and figure out how to build materials in the game. Despite existing for over a decade, the game is still getting updates and DLC based on Mega Man X and SpongeBob SquarePants. 

Monster Hunter Rise - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

After many years of struggling to get into the series, Monster Hunter Rise finally got me on the saddle. Alongside your friends, you're taking down monstrous beasts, collecting their materials, fur, etc, and then crafting incredible gear for your player. It's a rewarding game loop that keeps you playing for hours on end.

There's a strategy to each battle, and you need to keep your wits about you to survive in some of these encounters. Ultimately, it's Monster Hunter's new maneuverability of the wirebugs that lets you zip from place to place like Indiana Jones' whip that really made it click for me. You can also mount your pet palamute, letting you get to the battle quicker. It's one of the best games on Xbox Game Pass because of how gratifying collecting resources and physically seeing your character getting stronger is.

Persona 3 Reload - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Atlus' Persona 3 Reload is a fantastic way to get into the series or continue your love for the JRPG franchise. It's a complete remake of the PS2 gem that some fans argue is the best Persona game. Expect engaging turn-based combat revolving around collecting shadows, a provoking, dark story, and plenty of wonderful characters to meet along the way. The visual improvements are a stand-out with stunning UI and a complete uplift on the same level as Persona 5 Royal.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has been out for almost five years now, and I'm still surprised when anyone tells me that they've finished it.

This game’s absolutely massive, taking place in a stunning Greek-inspired open world. You can tell Ubisoft did its research with the spectacular architecture and intriguing culture to be found in the game. Kassandra (one of the two possible playable characters) is one of the best protagonists in the series; she has spunk, charming humor, and an overall badassery that few other Assassin’s Creed heroes can match. The story also takes twists and turns you’ll find fascinating. Oh, and the combat’s thrilling with a deep customization system alongside it.

Dordogne - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

If you’re fatigued from the intense FPS gameplay of most triple-A games, Dordogne is a fantastic palette cleanser. This game features a beautiful watercolor-like art style and a compelling narrative that tells the story of a woman’s childhood. It’s charming and adorable, but there’s an element of drama in the background that continues to grow as the game proceeds.

You’ll also interact with the environment in unique ways. Don’t miss out on this French indie game!

Celeste - PC, Xbox One

It's not often that a game truly moves me, but by the end of Celeste, I wept like a baby. Celeste was completely out of my comfort zone. It's a punishing platformer that tests your skills, and typically I don't have the patience for something like this. However, the challenging gameplay comes hand-in-hand with the storyline. As Madeline, you're trying to overcome your anxiety, and as you climb the mountain, she's pushing herself.

With anxiety and depression myself, this game strongly connected with me like no other did. Also, it will help others understand a foundation of what it's like to deal with symptoms like this daily. You also can't forget about Lena Raine's extraordinary soundtrack for Celeste.

Forza Horizon 5 - PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

One of the best driving games available on Xbox Game Pass is Forza Horizon 5. Variety is the spice of life and this is what you get with this Forza title. You're exploring volcanoes, the desert, beaches, Mexican towns, and even wintry mountain landscapes within Forza Horizon 5. There are also many cars to unlock as you complete challenges, earn cash, and get the best times around the open world. If you love outstanding graphics to test on your Xbox Series X or PC, Forza Horizon 5 is a grand tour-de-force to show off your lovely 4K TV.

Best Xbox Game Pass PC Exclusive Games

While most of the titles on this list are available on both Xbox and PC, there are a few that are PC-exclusive but are just too darn good not to include. As such, we've added this category for the must-play PC exclusive titles currently on Game Pass.

StarCraft Remastered and StarCraft 2 Campaign - PC Only

StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection are landmark additions to Xbox Game Pass, offering both nostalgia and modernized RTS depth that solidify their status as titans of the real-time strategy genre. The original StarCraft (1998) revolutionized gaming with its asymmetrical factions—Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss—and its balance of accessibility and competitive complexity, earning it a place in history as the first video game played in space by NASA astronaut Daniel Barry during the STS-96 Discovery mission. StarCraft: Remastered revitalizes this legacy with 4K Ultra HD visuals, re-recorded orchestral audio, and modern online features while preserving the original’s iconic gameplay and Brood War expansion. Meanwhile, the StarCraft II: Campaign Collection bundles over 70 missions across all three games including Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void, delivering a multi-expansion-spanning narrative that explores galactic warfare through shifting perspectives, from Terran rebel leader Jim Raynor to the Zerg queen herself, Kerrigan, Queen of Blades. Together, these titles encapsulate decades of RTS innovation, making them essential for both veterans and newcomers and a must-play on the Game Pass.

For Game Pass subscribers, these titles represent unparalleled value and accessibility. While StarCraft and StarCraft II multiplayer modes are free-to-play, the subscription unlocks Remastered’s visual overhaul and Campaign Collection’s $40 worth of single-player content at no extra cost. The integration with Battle.net ensures seamless cross-platform play and access to a passionate community, including resources like Team Liquid’s strategy guides and Sean “Day9” Plott’s legendary tutorials. Though cosmetic upgrades like the Carbot Cartooned skins remain separate purchases, the core experience—optimized for modern PCs with 4K resolution and widescreen support—delivers one of gaming’s richest universes in the genre. By bridging nostalgia with contemporary convenience, StarCraft on Game Pass not only honors its legacy but also invites a new generation to experience the series that shaped esports, streaming, and RTS excellence.

Against the Storm - PC Only

Rounding out our 20 best games on Xbox Game Pass right now is the PC-exclusive Against the Storm, a city-builder that redefines the genre with bold innovation, strategic depth, and a relentless focus on fixing one of the genre's biggest flaws: replayability. Released in 2023 and added to PC Game Pass in December of that year, this dark fantasy title merges city-building with roguelike mechanics, offering bite-sized settlement runs set against apocalyptic storms that erase progress with each run. Players act as the Queen’s Viceroy, tasked with rebuilding the Smoldering City by managing diverse races like humans, beavers, lizards, foxes, and harpies—each with unique strengths, like beavers excelling at logging and humans at building. Against the Storm sidesteps the mid-game stagnation common in traditional city builders by introducing roguelite objectives and permadeath, forcing players to adapt strategies across procedurally generated biomes and ever-changing modifiers. With no two playthroughs alike, Against the Storm compresses the complexity of the genre into intense, 1–2 hour sessions, making it ideal for Game Pass subscribers seeking meaningful progression without long-term commitments common for the genre.

Against the Storm really shines with its dynamic risk-reward systems and strategic tension. Seasonal storms and curses threaten settlements, requiring players to balance resource exploitation with villager morale—overharvesting risks discontent, while underpreparing leads to collapse. A Slay the Spire-style progression tree lets players unlock permanent upgrades between runs, such as new buildings or faction perks, creating a satisfying meta-game loop. The roguelike structure is further enhanced via randomized blueprints, which limit available structures per run, demanding creativity and constant adaptation. It's a truly must-play experience for anyone that's a fan of city-builders or even the roguelike genre, as Against the Storm masterfully fuses the two together which is why it earned a spot on our 20 Best Games on Game Pass list.

The post Top 20 best games on Xbox Game Pass right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Whether you're a rookie sorcerer or a seasoned Grade 1 player, money is essentially the lifeblood to unlocking powerful cursed techniques, gear, and more in Jujutsu Infinite. Let's break down how to get money fast in Jujutsu Infinite on Roblox without having to spend Robux.

Best ways to farm money fast

You'll need a lot of cash in Jujutsu Infinite to upgrade and get everything you want. You can buy some with Robux, but here are more consistent and free ways to get a lot of money. Here are the best ways to farm money fast in Jujutsu Infinite:

1. Grind High-Paying Missions

The absolute fastest way to grind money fast is to focus on Purple Capture Missions. These Purple Capture Missions reward both EXP and money at a much higher rate than standard quests, especially when you specifically target the highest-level Mission Set that is available to you. For example, in the early game, do missions in Numa Temple or Kura Camp over Shijo Town as they provide a lot more money per run. Also prioritize missions like Defeat a Curse User which gives a 1,025 cash per completion, allowing you to spam run it for quick and easy money.

When farming the enemies for these missions, use AOE-focused Innate Techniques like Volcano and Infinity to clear waves of enemies faster, increasing your time-to-cash ratio.

2. Complete Boss Raids and Investigations

Once you reach Level 60 in Jujutsu Infinite, you'll unlock access to Boss Raids and Investigations in the Zen Forest hub. Both of these two activities offer huge cash rewards and rare loot for participating in them. Defeating high-difficulty bosses like Jogo or Mahito will net you 5,000-10,000 cash per run. It's recommended you team up with others to be able to quickly clear the Boss Raids to increase your incoming money.

For Investigations, you will complete multi-stage objectives like purging Cursed Energy Zones of enemies to receive high lump sums of cash. These Investigations also scale with your level, so be sure to revisit them as you progress and increase your level. Also, make use of Damage Gourds and Dorayaki EXP Boosters to shorten your mission times and increase your earnings.

3. Tackle One-Time Quests and NPC Interactions

All across the open world of Jujutsu Infinite are various NPCs who offer one-time quests with pretty hefty rewards. You can use the Warp Ability (default 'J' key) to quickly get around and explore areas like the Cursed Forest of Tokyo Tower, where these NPCs also spawn with their quests. For example, the one-time quest Curse Extermination Contracts tasks you with defeating a few elite enemies for a quick 2,500-5,000 cash.

It's important to note that these quests are time-sensitive and will disappear once completed, so make sure you do them each once as soon as you come across them so you don't miss out!

4. Sell Any Extra or Unnecessary Items

You'll quickly find your inventory overflowing with items in Jujutsu Infinite, which can make it a hidden cash trove. Sell all of your low-tier gear, duplicate cursed tools, and any surplus materials you don't plan on using for some quick cash. You'll only get 100-500 cash per common gear you sell, but this can quickly add up when you have dozens of gear sitting pointlessly in your inventory.

Keep in mind that while you can sell rare items like Demon Fingers and Cursed Energy Scrolls, it's not recommended to do so as you will use them for late-game crafting and overall save more time by hanging onto them. Of course, when you're not actively playing Jujutsu Infinite, farm AFK Chests by idling in the AFK Station for more items that you can sell, essentially creating a passive income stream.

5. Optimize Daily Routines

Completing your Daily Quests for bonus spins and bonus cash is worth doing each day, so make sure you are doing them. Also claim your Daily Login Rewards each day as they can have some extra cash boosts, EXP multipliers, and more. Make sure to redeem any active and available Jujutsu Infinite codes that are constantly added. They won't give you cash directly, but increasing the quality of your Innate Techniques will allow you to farm money faster.

If you want to make the most of making money in Jujutsu Infinite, you'll want to combine EXP and cash farming by multi-tasking. Stack Dorayaki Boosters before running Capture Missions to make the most of them. Also, if you get low-value missions like Defeat Band as they don't reward much money and overall aren't worth your time.

The post How to get money fast in Jujutsu Infinite appeared first on Destructoid.

In Dandy's World on Roblox, the toon you choose has specific stats as well as abilities that can make or break a run. Some toons have higher odds of getting to higher floors based on their solo ability. These are the best toons for solo runs in Dandy's World.

Best Dandy's World Solo Run Toons

There are 23 toons in total in Dandy's World, but these are the five best toons to pick purely for solo play. These toons are great specifically when alone, due to increased base stats for survivability and late-game viability.

1. Shelly

Shelly’s unmatched extraction speed (+75% for 15 seconds via “Quick Fix”) lets her complete machines faster than any other toon, minimizing time spent in Twisted territory. Her stamina efficiency allows her to outrun chases consistently, and her passive speed boost after using machines (“Grease Monkey”) ensures she’s always one step ahead. Solo players swear by her for speedrunning floors 1–20 with trinkets like Magnifying Glass or Dog Plush.

2. Pebble

Pebble’s 3-star stealth and “Sniff Out” passive (revealing nearby items like Smoke Bombs and Health Kits) make them the ultimate survivalist. Their speed and stamina let them evade Twisteds indefinitely, while their ability to hoard resources ensures you’ll never lack healing or escape tools. Perfect for players who prioritize stealth and resource control over brute force.

3. Tisha

Tisha’s 25% speed buff (“Team Spirit”) might seem team-focused, but solo players exploit it to reset chases or reach machines faster. Her high stamina and balanced stats make her forgiving for beginners, and her ability to drop distractions (“Decoy Doll”) buys critical seconds during escapes. Pair her with Blue Bandana for stamina regen or Fancy Purse for extra item slots.

4. Brightney

Brightney’s Night Light ability (revealing Twisteds during blackouts) is indispensable for floors 15+, where darkness mechanics spike in difficulty. While her low stealth holds her back early-game, her late-game utility and glow effect (which deters some Twisteds) make her a top pick for players aiming for high-floor clears. Use Pink Bow to offset her stealth penalty.

5. Flutter

Flutter’s dash ability (“Blink”) instantly breaks Twisted aggro, letting players reset chases or bypass threats entirely. Their high base speed synergizes with trinkets like Thinking Cap (stamina regen) or Vanity Mirror (panic escape), and they’re favored by players who prefer aggressive, hit-and-run tactics over stealth.

Solo Run Toon Tier List

We've also put together a Solo Run Toon Tier List for Dandy's World ranking all 23 toons so you know which ones to go for. Keep in mind this tier list is based on solo abilities. As such, our S Tier toons have increased speed, sustain and utility, all crucial for solo survival. The A Tier has versatile picks requiring certain strategic play. The B Tier toons need specific scenarios to shine or work better in teams. Our C Tier toons lack any solo viability and have poor stats or too high-risk mechanics for solo play. Here is our Dandy's World Solo Run Toon Tier List:

S Tier

• Shelly - Unparalleled extraction speed (+75% for 15 seconds) and stamina efficiency. This can be critical for solo players prioritizing quick machine completion and escaping the Twisteds.
• Tisha - Very high stamina and team-speed buffs (25% for 5 seconds), which solo players can actually exploit for their own self-rescue during chases. Also, Tisha's stats make her a balanced all-rounder toon.
• Pebble - With insane movement speed, stealth, and item detection, Pebble is perfect for solo players looking for resource control and evasion.

A Tier

• Vee - Detects Twisteds and incomplete machines, essential for planning solo routes.
• Astro - Stamina regeneration for allies (and self) ensures prolonged escapes from Twisteds.
• Sprout - Healing and speed make them a sustain-focused pick, though less effective as a solo without team coordination.
• Looey - High speed and distraction utility, but risky due to the one-heart penalty.
• Flutter - Dash ability bypasses Twisted aggro, making it ideal for hit-and-run tactics.
• Glisten - Mirror teleportation offers unique escape options but requires map knowledge.
• Brightney - Blackout utility reveals Twisteds which can shine in late-game floors after 15+, but low stealth limits early-game visibility.

B Tier

• Connie - Strong ability potential but held back by her one-star speed.
• Gigi - Luck-based mechanics and stealth make her inconsistent but can be great in a pinch if lucky.
• Goob - Distraction specialist but lacking solo survivability.
• Boxten - Slow extraction speed, and better toolkit for teamplay.
• Rodger - Doubles research gains but offers little in terms of solo combat.
• Razzle & Dazzle - Floor-dependent stats create inconsistency.
• Teagan - Self-heal is useful but overshadowed by S/A-tier sustain.

C Tier

• Finn - Mediocre extraction and stats, outclassed by most A/B- tier picks on this list.
• Toodles - RNG-based stat boosts and low extraction speed make Toodles too unreliable.
• Scraps - Teleportation is risky without team support, and low survivability makes for tough solo play.

Your best option is to pair S or A Tier toons with the best trinkets from our Dandy's World Trinket Tier List, or make sure you have Dog Plush and Magnifying Glass for increased survivability.

The post Dandy’s World: Best toons for solo runs appeared first on Destructoid.

Green Hell developer Creepy Jar announced today that its upcoming sci-fi base-builder StarRupture will be released into Early Access in Fall 2025. To celebrate the announcement, Creepy Jar also released an extended gameplay release trailer showcasing the gunplay, building, and exploring players will be able to do this Autumn.

Set in the year 2021, StarRupture puts players into the role of a corporate prisoner exiled to a deceptively vibrant planet ruled by a merciless star, Ruptura. The star inevitably obliterates all surface life in a fiery doom, resulting in cycles of new life and fauna being formed. It's up to you to harvest resources between each cycle to send back to your corpo-overlords while trying to survive the planet's deadly landscape.

As players survive the hostile ecosystem, they'll build a dynamic base and construct sprawling factories to process the planet's precious resources, unlock new tech, and fortify against the swarms of aggressive alien creatures. You can also uncover clues from prior expeditions, explore abandoned camps, discover cryptic logs, and learn more about the deeper narrative of what's really going on here on the surface of this harsh planet.

I'm a fan of Green Hell as well as pretty much anything sci-fi, so I'm really interested in seeing what Creepy Jar has cooked up with this one. Based on the trailer, it looks like a nice blend of actual gunplay against the aliens while also building up your base and setting up factories. Usually, games focus too much on one or the other which I think is a missed opportunity. Also, I tend to enjoy co-oping this types of games with a friend or two, so having the option to squad up to 4 players total or jumping in solo is an appealing feature.

If you're interested in trying to survive the fiery wrath of Ruptura, StarRupture ignites into Steam Early Access this Fall via Steam.

The post Co-op Sci-Fi base-builder StarRupture blasts into Early Access this Fall appeared first on Destructoid.

Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja announced today that the open-world action RPG Rise of the Ronin, which lets players explore 1863 Japan as a twin blade-wielding Ronin will be hitting PC on March 10, 2025. The PC version will launch almost a full year after releasing exclusively on the PlayStation 5 back on March 22, 2024.

According to Koei Tecmo, Rise of the Ronin will include new features exclusive to the PC version including 8K resolution support, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, Ultra-Wide and Super Ultrade-Wide monitor compatibility, 120 FPS, Ray Tracing, FSR and DLSS support, and more. Players who purchase the PC version of Rise of the Ronin will also receive an "early purchase bonus" of four unique combat styles: Hayabusa-ryu for Katana, Hayabusa-ryu for Naginata, Nioh-ryu for Katana, and Aisu Kage-ryu for Katana. The bonus also includes the Iga Ninja armor set and Iga Ninja Katana cosmetics.

In Rise of the Ronin, players utilize a variety of weapons and weapon styles to slice through various enemies in feudal Japan. Along the way, you'll encounter various historical figures and have to make important choices like whether to assassinate or protect key political figures to shape and mold the world after Tokugawa Shogunate's reign over the country, amidst a period of war and political unrest.

Our very own Kristina Ebanez scored Rise of the Ronin a 7/10 last year, saying you can expect to "have fun dicing up your enemies while learning about Japan's rich culture." With the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows and several other feudal Japan-themed releases coming later this year including the highly anticipated Ghost of Yotei, I hadn't really considered checking out Rise of the Ronin any time soon. But between the hype from the recent reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4 and all the great PC-exclusive features coming to the Steam release, I might have to change those plans.

Rise of the Ronin will slice its way onto PC via Steam on March 10, 2025.

The post Team Ninja’s open-world action RPG Rise of the Ronin coming to PC this March appeared first on Destructoid.

Last week developer Wolcen Studio announced codenamed Project Pantheon, the studio's next title. I recently sat down with members of the development team to get a very early look at Project Pantheon, as well as to hear more about the ambitious future for the title and how Wolcen Studio plans to get it there.

At its core, Project Pantheon mashes together two popular genres: Action RPG and PvPvE Extraction. Or, as the team liked to put it, ExtrAction RPG. Players will have their own Sanctuary, essentially a base of operations that they can customize and upgrade as well as manage their loadout, akin to that in other Extraction-base games like Escape from Tarkov. From here they will queue for matchmaking before being dropped on a map where they will slay ferocious creatures to level up and acquire gear and other loot while other players are doing the same thing, all with ARPG-style gameplay. Once their inventory is filled or they've received a piece of loot they want to hold on to, players must then successfully extract from the map before being taken out by other players trying to get their loot.

It's important to note that Project Pantheon is currently in its very early stages of development. According to Wolcen Studio, despite the upcoming Closed Alpha test, Project Pantheon doesn't plan to release into Early Access until Q4 2025 or even Q1 2026, with major updates to be released every four months.

While this may seem too early to some, Wolcen Studio is deliberately making the decision to get eyeballs—and soon, hands-on Project Pantheon, as they want the community and player base to play a massive role in shaping the game. The team lamented the development process of its previous ARPG, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, and is looking to avoid the pitfalls of that title by including the community from a much earlier stage in the development cycle.

Project Pantheon is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where all the various mythologies of the world are real but have mysteriously all been killed. Players take on the role of a recently deceased soul reaching the afterlife only to be recruited by none other than Death himself to be a worthy agent in investigating the demise of the gods.

To do so, players must hunt down Undying creatures and mythological beasts against other agents of Death, scavenging resources and acquiring powerful artifacts along the way. The goal is to incorporate Project Pantheon with several different mythologies. At the moment, only Norse mythology is present. However, the current plan is to add Egyptian, Greek, and Aztec mythologies over the course of Early Access, as well as more post-1.0 launch mythologies based on community feedback.

As part of the preview, I got to watch a couple of matches between Wolcen Studio developers, with them jumping into the same map together, going their own separate ways, killing creatures and looting up, before eventually coming across each other and duking it out in PvP. Due to its very early state, there were a few bugs along the way, and there were evident temporary placeholders like the simple and block gear and item tooltips. But the gameplay loop was evident, and it was a lot of fun seeing one of my favorite genres, ARPGs, get a worthwhile approach to PvP, something currently missing from the genre.

In Project Pantheon, your abilities and playstyle are dictated by your gear. Weapons act as a sort of "soft class," giving you access to specific abilities for that weapon type. Armor provides passive abilities, while Artifacts grant the player powerful and unique finishing moves. This creates the possibility for players to mix and customize their own gearsets that revolve around their preferred playstyle. It reminded me a lot of the itemization and PvP in Albion Online, giving players the freedom to build their own playstyle through gear rather than locking them to specific abilities based on a class choice.

At the moment, there are only three weapon types available. But Wolcen Studio already has eight weapons currently being designed for Norse mythology, each with 10-12 abilities. Armor and Artifacts add another 50 abilities per mythology, meaning that when all is said and done, Wolcen Studio hopes to have about 150 abilities for each mythology that they add to the game.

Project Pantheon is set to kick off its Closed Alpha 1 test this weekend for European players on January 25 and January 26, while North American players will get access on February 1 and February 2. It will be the same very early in-development build I got a look at, as the goal of this Closed Alpha is primarily to test the overall technical efficacy of Project Pantheon, focused on validating the stability and performance of the title's backend systems and server infrastructure. Essentially, Project Pantheon is making sure it can walk before trying to run.

While it is way too early to have any real opinion on the actual gameplay of Project Pantheon, I greatly admire Wolcen Studio's approach to involving players this early to allow them to shape and influence the development cycle. As someone who enjoyed Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, I'm happy to see the team learning from its development mistakes and ensuring Project Pantheon doesn't fall into the same issues. I'll be keeping a close eye on its development and looking forward to seeing what it evolves into over the next few years.

The post Project Pantheon aims to mash two popular genres together appeared first on Destructoid.

In Dandy's World on Roblox, trinkets provide specific modifiers to the player who equips them. You can equip two different trinkets, which can really change your playstyle in Dandy's World. We've put together a Dandy's World tier list for the best trinkets you can currently get.

Dandy's World Trinket Tier List

There are currently over 35 trinkets in Dandy's World, giving you a lot of potential utility when playing. Each player can equip two trinkets at a time, so it's worthwhile to mix and match certain ones to enhance your playstyle. Here is our tier list for the best Dandy's World trinkets:

S Tier

All three trinkets in the S Tier are so strong that they should be used regardless of what your other trinket is, as they will consistently give you an advantage every match. These are the trinkets you hope to get.

• Dog Plush
• Magnifying Glass
• Vee's Remote

A Tier

Our A Tier trinkets have strong synergies with other trinkets that can make an impactful difference in any match. These are solid options that should almost always be used as well, other than when against S Tier trinkets.

• Clown Horn
• Ghost Snakes in a Can
• Participation Award
• Ribbon Spool
• Speedy Shoes

B Tier

The trinkets in the B Tier have specific uses which make them worthwhile but aren't great universal options compared to those in the higher tiers. Worth grabbing, but will probably be replaced.

• Alarm
• Dandy Plush
• Lucky Coin
• Pink Bow
• Savory Charm
• Sweet Charm
• Vanity Mirror

C Tier

These C Tier trinkets aren't great but can have some specific situations in which they can be useful. They aren't great but can make a difference in a pinch.

• Cardboard 'Armor'
• Crayon Set
• Friendship Bracelet
• Water Cooler
• Wrench

D Tier

The D Tier trinkets are not good and should be replaced as soon as possible. They do provide buffs or advantages, but they are so minor they will hardly make a difference in Dandy's World.

• Blue Bandana
• Bone
• Feather Duster
• Machine Manual
• Megaphone
• Night Cap
• Pull Toy
• Thermos

F Tier

Unfortunately, these F Tier trinkets are so bad they shouldn't be used at all. They are all either so weak they aren't worth using or they can in fact make things worse. Avoid these trinkets at all costs.

• Blushy Bat
• Brick
• Coin Purse
• Diary
• Fancy Purse
• Fishing Rod
• Spare Bulb
• Speedometer
• Thinking Cap

How to get Trinkets via Twisted's Research

While a lot of trinkets in Dandy's World can be acquired via Dandy's Store in the lobby, many of them can only be obtained by completing Twisted's Research. This is essentially the long-term progression in Dandy's World, allowing you to unlock various Toons and Trinkets for playing the Roblox game.

There are currently two ways you can progress your Twisted's Research in Dandy's World. The first is to acquire Research Capsules. Two Research Capsules spawn for each Twisted, with each capsule giving 1% of the total Research towards the Twisted the capsule is for. All player's can pick up the Research Capsules, so you don't have to worry about other player's hogging them all up.

The other way to get Twisted Research is to encounter a Twisted. You can only get this once per floor, so getting chased twice will not grant double. Each time you encounter a Twisted for the first time on each floor you will get 5% of the Research for that Twisted.

The Toon Rodger doubles the amount of Research you get, meaning capsules will give 2% and encounters will give 10%, making Rodger the best Toon for farming Twisted Research in Dandy's World.

The post Dandy’s World: Best trinkets tier list appeared first on Destructoid.

In Haikyuu Legends on Roblox, your Style affects your eight stats which dictates your efficiency at performing various volleyball moves. We've put together the best Haikyuu Legends Style tier list so you know which styles to spin for to be the best competitive player!

Style Tier List

As of Haikyuu Legends Update 2, there are 20 total Styles to spin for. Each time you spin you have a chance of getting either Common, Rare, Legendary, or Godly Styles. Typically speaking, the Common Styles are the worst while the Godly Styles are the best. Here is the best Haikyuu Legends Style Tier List for Update 2:

S Tier

The Styles in the S Tier have at least two maxed-out stats, and other stats that are close to max, making them overall versatile at pretty much all types of gameplay in Haikyuu Legends.

• Bokuto (Godly) - Strengths: Block, Jump, Spike
• Oikawa (Godly) - Strengths: Jump, Serve, Set
• Ushijima (Legendary) - Strengths: Jump, Spike, Block

A Tier

All of the A Tier styles have at least one maxed-out stats and several others that are close enough to make them strong enough options to use until you get an S Tier Style.

• Kageyama (Godly) - Strengths: Set, Block, Jump
• Kuroo (Legendary) - Strengths: Jump, Block, Bump, Spike, Serve
• Yaku (Legendary) - Strengths: Jump, Speed, Block

B Tier

For the B Tier, the Styles have a specific strength that can make them worthwhile against most, though you should always keep an eye out for an S Tier.

• Azumane (Legendary) - Strengths: Serve, Jump, Spike
• Kozume (Legendary) - Strengths: Set, Dive, Jump
• Sawamura (Legendary) - Strengths: Speed, Dive, Bump, Set
• Yamamoto (Legendary) - Strengths: Bump, Dive, Spike

C Tier

While the C Tier Styles may offer a stronger specific stat, it's usually just one, and not even maxed out. The reason they aren't in D Tier is the higher stat is usually at least a useful one.

• Hinata (Common) - Strengths: Serve, Bump, Speed
• Iwaizumi (Rare) - Strengths: Jump, Speed, Spike
• Nishinoya (Rare) - Strengths: Bump, Dive, Speed
• Ohira (Rare) - Strengths: Bump, Jump, Serve
• Sugawara (Common) - Strengths: Set, Spike
• Tanaka (Common) - Strengths: Spike, Jump
• Tsukishima (Rare) - Strengths: Jump, Block, Set

D Tier

Unfortunately, the D Tier Styles are so bad, that even their strong stat is a useless one like Block. Replace these Styles immediately.

• Haiba (Common) - Strengths: Block
• Kita (Common) - Strengths: Bump, Dive
• Yamaguchi (Common) - Strengths: Bump, Jump

The post Best Haikyuu Legends Style tier list appeared first on Destructoid.

Nvidia announced today that the GeForce NOW version of 2023 GOTY Baldur's Gate 3 has received mod support via a collaboration with developer Larian Studios and mod.io. The feature is available now and included for GeForce NOW Ultimate, Performance, and Day Pass users.

According to Nvidia, BG3 players on GeForce NOW can now make use of a wide array of customization options when it comes to mods, with more mod support on the way for both BG3 and various other PC games.

The process to download mods on GeForce NOW sounds incredibly streamlined. Players who launch the RPG on GeForce NOW can navigate an in-game mod menu to download and enable their desired mods. These selections will stay enabled across your GeForce NOW sessions, so you won't have to worry about reenabling them each time. You can also subscribe to specific mods via mod.io which will preload them the next time you launch Baldur's Gate 3 from GeForce NOW.

An interesting point of note is that the mod support is also included across all GeForce NOW supported devices including Nvidia Shield TVs, laptops, Macs, Chromebooks, and even handheld devices including the Steam Deck. This makes it one of the easiest ways to access BG3 mod support on a handheld, which is pretty nifty.

Nvidia also revealed seven new games being added to the service today including the newly released roguelike bullet hell survivor title Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel. Here are all of the new games headed to GeForce NOW:

• Amnesia: Collection
• Among Us
• Lawn Mowing Simulator
• Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
• Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
• STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town
• Townscraper

These seven titles and the Baldur's Gate 3 mod support are available now, January 23, 2025, across all GeForce NOW-supported platforms.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 now has support on GeForce NOW appeared first on Destructoid.

In the first big game showcase of 2025, Microsoft kicked things off with the Xbox Developer's Direct Show case highlighting four AAA titles all set to release this year. Let's take a look at all four games that were part of the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct showcase.

Ninja Gaiden 4

Xbox kicked things off with the reveal of the return of Raiden in Ninja Gaiden 4, being developed in coordination by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames. If it feels like it's been a while since we've had a Ninja Gaiden game, well, you're right. A decade, to be exact.

Ninja Gaiden 4 takes place after the events of Ninja Gaiden 3 in an abandoned Tokyo that has been taken over by demons. Players will step into the role of the longtime series' main character master ninja Ryu Hayabusa as well as a new protagonist, Yakumo.

Team Ninja also revealed Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an upgraded remaster of the Xbox 360 title Ninja Gaiden 2 rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and Ninja Gaiden 4 will be released on the same platforms in Fall 2025 as well as be available on on Day One on Game Pass.

South of Midnight

Next up, Compulsion Games showed off more of the story from the upcoming action-adventure title South of Midnight from the creators of We Happy Few. A hurricane rips through the town of Prospero, whisking away the main character Hazel, and pulling her into a Southern Gothic world where reality and fantasy connect and ancient folklore creatures emerge.

We also got a release date for South of Midnight, and the third-person adventure title is now set to release on April 8, 202,5 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Day One on Game Pass.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

This debut title from developer Sandfall Interactive looks great. The third game highlighted in the showcase was the upcoming RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, featuring turn-based combat mixed with real-time mechanics. Players face off against the Paintress in a Belle Epoque-inspired fantasy world hosting an expansive world, and lots of secrets and side quests. Revealed in the showcase, players will be able to set up and customize their own camp where they can reinforce weapons, bond with Expedition teammates, and plan their next course of action.

We also got the release date for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 which will release on April 24, 2025, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. It too, will also be available on Day One on Game Pass.

Doom: The Dark Ages

Microsoft wrapped things up with Doom: The Dark Ages, showing off its fast-paced brutal gameplay with tons of bone-shattering and decapitating weapons. The showcase highlighted the open-world aspects of the medieval-themed fight against the forces of Hell as well as a handful of the arsenal of weapons players can wreak havoc with. We also got a look at two new badass tools we can use in the fight against Hell: a flying mecha dragon and a colossal Atlas mech.

Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release on May 15, 2025, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. It will also be available on Day One on Game Pass.

The post Everything shown at today’s Xbox Developer Direct showcase appeared first on Destructoid.

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, Microsoft and developer id Software showcased the fast-paced and action-packed gameplay of the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages. It was also announced that Doom: The Dark Ages has locked down a release date of May 15, 2025.

Doom: The Dark Ages serves as a prequel to 2016's Doom and Doom Eternal, and tells the origin story of the Doom Slayer's rage. Set in medieval times, players jump into the role of the Doom Slayer, the ultimate super weapon of Gods and Kings to fight, tasked with fighting the forces of hell in a dark and sinister medieval war. Despite being a prequel, Doom: The Dark Ages will also be a perfect entry point for players new to the series.

According to id Software, Doom: The Dark Ages will feature open-world areas and massive boss fights as players progress through the story while gaining access to a plethora of new badass devastating weapons like the Shield Saw which not only lets players block projectiles but gives them the opportunity to hurl it at enemies like a deadly boomerang and even pull of well-timed parries to devastate attacking demons.

We also got a look at two cool new tools of war against the forces of hell: the Mecha Dragon and a massive Atlan mech. The first is a fire-breathing beast that allows you to take to the skies and rain hellfire on flying demons and enemies below. The colossal Atlan mech is the side of a building and allows you to take on the largest titan demons in style. id Software also pointed out that both tools weren't gimmicky one-off additions to Doom: The Dark Ages, but rather full-fledged features that have their own extensive uses throughout.

Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on May 15, 2025.

The post Doom: The Dark Ages shows off brutal combat, sets release for May appeared first on Destructoid.

Like many Assassin's Creed fans, I've always felt that feudal Japan was simply a natural period for the series. I remember an early discussion by developer and publisher Ubisoft almost two decades ago about future entries into the franchise exploring unique periods, including Egypt—which ended up being a big change for the series with Assassin's Creed Origins—and Japan.

I recently got some hands-on time with the early parts of Assassin's Creed Shadows, including the prologue that introduces both playable characters Naoe and Yasuke, and one of the early sequences of missions in the open world.

My biggest takeaway from the preview was just how immersive Shadows felt in its setting, from the world in which it takes place to the story it's telling. After roughly three and a half hours with Shadows, I can happily say it exceeded my expectations in almost every way, and I'm excited to play more.

Starting off with the prologue, Shadows starts by introducing our two playable characters: Naoe and Yasuke. For Yasuke, the prologue explores how Yasuke came to Japan as well as the start of his journey to become a samurai. Naoe, on the other hand, has her own adventure that leads to her discovering the way of the assassin. From the prologue into the actual open-world sequence of missions I was able to play after, one thing became immediately clear: Ubisoft is telling a story with Assassin's Creed Shadows. It was a much more cinematic experience than previous entries in the series, featuring a plethora of cutscenes which I was told will play a big part throughout the whole game. It felt like the recently released Shogun TV series in playable form, and I'm eager to see where the story goes.

Between the prologue and the open-world segment I got to play, Naoe and Yasuke team up. It's evident that the two uniting is a bigger plot point, and I'm curious to see how it plays out in the time our preview skipped over. Once the two are together, however, you have the option of playing as either one. In the open world, you can switch between the two at any time. During actual quests, you'll have several points in which you can choose which character to play that sequence as.

Before playing, I had assumed the difference between the two would be mostly story-related. But the actual gameplay between the two is drastically different, which makes sense. Yasuke is a massive brute with the ability to take on many foes at once with sheer strength and combat prowess. Naoe, on the other hand, plays more like a traditional assassin in the series. The strengths and weaknesses between the two are very noticeable, and in the questline, I got to play through, the choice of who to use for certain segments felt like an impactful one.

Know you're going to be fighting through a group of enemies? Probably best to use Yasuke. Trying to keep quiet and sneak into somewhere you shouldn't be? Advised to use Naoe. You're not prevented from using either character, it's just that their skillsets make each situation very different based on who you are playing.

Yasuke, for example, doesn't have access to a lot of the staple assassin capabilities like performing the Leap of Faith or utilizing Eagle Vision. You can attempt to be stealthy as Yasuke, but more often than not you're going to have to fight your way through.

Naoe, on the other hand, has no limits to her verticality, able to easily climb up the side of buildings and even make use of a grappling hook to quickly scale onto high-up rooftops. Of course, she has her weaknesses as well. Even though she can hold her own in combat, it's important to make use of her ability to dodge and parry attacks. While Yasuke can take quite a beating, a single heavy attack landing on Naoe can be devastating.

Something I noticed throughout my preview that I wholeheartedly didn't expect, is that your choices seem to actually matter, even if Assassin's Creed Shadows doesn't immediately highlight that. Early on in the questline I played through, I had chased down someone who I believed may have had the information I was looking for. I had essentially two dialogue options: demanding he spill the beans or bring up the fact that his wife, who I had spoken to earlier, was worried about and looking for him.

I chose the first choice, which led to him getting angry and inevitably attacking me. This was one of my earlier combat segments as Naoe and, well, didn't go too well. I then reloaded to the beginning of the dialogue with this character and figured there was no better time to rewrite history, and chose to instead tell him for his wife. This ended up being a purely peaceful route, leading to him giving me the information I was looking for, followed by hurrying off to go see his wife.

The early parts of Assassin's Creed Shadows are a ton of fun, and after a few hours of hands-on time, I'm anxious for more. If Ubisoft can keep the story engaging throughout, I could easily see Assassin's Creed Shadows standing out as another landmark addition to the series. We'll know soon enough as Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on March 20, 2025.

The post Hands-on Preview: Assassin’s Creed Shadows appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming into the Season of Witchcraft, Rogue is in a great spot to level fast and be very effective at end-game through a variety of builds. We've put together the Diablo 4 Season 7 Best Rogue Leveling build to help you get into the end-game grind faster this season.

Best Rogue Leveling Build in Diablo 4 Season 7

The best rogue leveling build in Diablo 4 Season 7 is Dance of Knives. With the Dance of Knives build you can literally just activate your Shadow Imbuement and then hold down Dance of Knives and clear out massive hordes of enemies. This build is so strong you can even start on the hardest starting difficulty, Pentinent, and quickly level up to the end-game. The insane strength of the build paired with its ease of access and ability to play makes this the strongest rogue leveling build in Diablo 4 Season 7.

Skill Order

With this Dance of Knives rogue leveling build you will have infinite Shadow Imbues and Infinite Energy, allowing you to spam Dance of Knives. Here is the order of skills you want to select as you level:

1. Puncture (1/5)
2. Enhanced Puncture
3. Stutter Step (1/3)
4. Stutter Step (2/3)
5. Stutter Step (3/3)
6. Sturdy (1/3)
7. Sturdy (2/3)
8. Sturdy (3/3)
9. Target Practice (1/3)
10. Target Practice (2/3)
11. Target Practice (3/3)
12. Dance of Knives (1/5)
13. Dance of Knives (2/5)
14. Dance of Knives (3/5)
15. Dance of Knives (4/5)
16. Dance of Knives (5/5)
17. Enhanced Dance of Knives
18. Disciplined Dance of Knives
19. Weapon Mastery (1/3)
20. Weapon Mastery (2/3)
21. Weapon Mastery (3/3)
22. Trick Attacks (1/3)
23. Trick Attacks (2/3)
24. Trick Attacks (3/3)
25. Dark Shroud (1/5)
26. Dark Shroud (2/5)
27. Dark Shroud (3/5)
28. Dark Shroud (4/5)
29. Dark Shroud (5/5)
30. Enhanced Dark Shroud
31. Countering Dark Shroud
32. Exploit (1/3)
33. Exploit (2/3)
34. Exploit (3/3)
35. Malice (1/3)
36. Malice (2/3)
37. Malice (3/3)
38. Shadow Imbuement (1/5)
39. Shadow Imbuement (2/5)
40. Shadow Imbuement (3/5)
41. Shadow Imbuement (4/5)
42. Shadow Imbuement (5/5)
43. Enhanced Shadow Imbuement
44. Blended Shadow Imbuement
45. Deadeye (1/3)
46. Deadeye (2/3)
47. Deadeye (3/3)
48. Precision Imbuement (1/3)
49. Precision Imbuement (2/3)
50. Precision Imbuement (3/3)
51. Shadow Crash (1/3)
52. Shadow Crash (2/3)
53. Shadow Crash (3/3)
54. Shadow Clone (1/5)
55. Shadow Clone (2/5)
56. Shadow Clone (3/5)
57. Shadow Clone (4/5)
58. Shadow Clone (5/5)
59. Prime Shadow Clone
60. Supreme Shadow Clone
61. Alchemist's Fortune (1/3)
62. Alchemist's Fortune (2/3)
63. Alchemist's Fortune (3/3)
64. Innervation (1/3)
65. Haste (1/3)
66. Haste (2/3)
67. Haste (3/3)
68. Momentum
69. Aftermath (1/3)
70. Aftermath (2/3)
71. Aftermath (3/3)

Gear

In terms of gear while using this leveling rogue build in Diablo 4 Season 7, you want to primarily target gear that has high Dexterity over everything else. You also want to get Max Life and Armor for more survivability. This build is so strong that you don't need a ton of gear to really be effective.

Here's some Aspects, Unique and Legendary items that synergize well with this build:

• Helm: Cowl of the Nameless
• Gloves: Aspect of Stolen Vigor
• Pants: Umbrous Aspect
• Boots: Wind Striker Aspect
• Ranged Weapon: Clandestine Aspect
• Melee Weapon: Edgemaster's Aspect
• Amulet: Aspect of Star Shards
• Ring 1: Aspect of Elements
• Ring 2: Aspect of Corruption

Witchcraft Powers

In the Season of Witchcraft, you also have access to Witchcraft Powers. Here's the Witchcraft Powers you should use when going with this rogue leveling build:

• Vengeful Spirit (Psyche Power)
• Aura of Misfortune (Psyche Power)
• Aura Specialization (Lost Power
• Twilight Warding (Psyche Power
• Firebat Servants (Eldritch Power)
• Shaken Soul (Eldritch Power)

As you level with this rogue Dance of Knives build, keep in mind the goal is level as fast as possible. As such, make sure you are equipping the highest damage gear you can as you get it, as really increased damage is all that matters for leveling.

Rogue Fast Leveling Tips for Diablo 4 Season 7

The fastest way to level as a rogue using the Dance of Knives build is to skip the campaign and immediately complete the new Season of Witchcraft seasonal questline and then unlock the above Legendary Aspects by completing the necessary dungeons. Afterwards, focus on doing Helltides and whatever Witchcraft-specific activities you see that grant Grim Favors. Once you hit Level 40, clear all of the Strongholds for a big experience boost. Once you reach around Level 60, you can continue to level with this build or transition into a more end-game focused build based on your playstyle preference.

The post Diablo 4 Season 7 Best Rogue Leveling build appeared first on Destructoid.

The new Diablo 4 Season 7, Season of Witchcraft, adds an all-new seasonal questline as well as a plethora of Witchcraft-themed powers you can acquire. In order to access the new content and powers, you first need to Ally with the Coven by seeking out the new Coven NPC Gelena in Diablo 4.

Where to find Gelena in Diablo 4

At the start of Diablo 4 Season 7 you can find Gelena in the town of Geakul located on the western side of the map in the region of Kehjistan. This is actually the port that you visit at the beginning of the Vessel of the Hatred expansion that takes you to the new region of Nahantu.

Gelena can be found by the docks of Geakul, close to the Waypoint for the area. Upon teleporting to the Waypoint, simply look to your left and you should find Geakul standing there waiting to give you the first Coven quest of the Season of Witchcraft.

How to fix Gelena is not there bug

If you are unable to see Gelena, it means you never completed the Vessel of the Hatred or base Diablo 4 campaign. Check your Main Story Quests on the right side of the screen and see if you have any that are the color yellow. If so, that means you did not complete the Main Story Quest, and so the game is basically making you start all over on the new season.

Thankfully, you can login to your old character that you progressed through the campaign on and finish the questline, then re-create your Seasonal character for Diablo 4 Season 7 and you will have the option of starting with the questline completed. This will cause Gelena to spawn for you so you can start the Coven questline.

How to complete Ally with the Coven

In order to completely Ally with the Coven in Diablo 4 Season 7, you will need to farm the new Coven's Favor reputation by completing Grim Favors which will earn you Grim Favors. Once you acquire 10 Grim Favors you can turn them in at the Tree of Whispers to get rewards as well as reset and allow you to acquire more. There are 20 Coven's Favor ranks in total that each grant you exclusive rewards for achieving the rank in this season. Here are all the Diablo 4 Season 7 Coven's Favor rewards:

The post How to complete Ally with the Coven and find Gelena in Diablo 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

The massive Colossal Worm in Dig It on Roblox is one of several Mythics that can be found. While most Mythical creatures can be found at any time, a specific event needs to be active on Dig It to obtain the Colossal Worm.

Where to find the Colossal Worm

You can dig up the Colossal Worm on the Badlands island during the server-wide Colossal Worm event. The Colossal Worm event is completely random but has a 17% chance of triggering and starting each day in Dig It. Players can also manually spawn the Colossal Worm event by speaking to the NPC Gandolf at Nookville and spawning it manually with Robux.

Once the event is active, head to the desert Badlands island and you will see a large yellow circle around The Pit in the middle of the Badlands. As long as you are inside the yellow circle, each dig has a chance of being the Colossal Worm. Of course, being a Mythical creature, the mini-game for successfully digging up the Colossal Worm will be difficult.

How to successfully dig up the Colossal Worm

To successfully dig up the Colossal Worm, you're going to need to use a late-game high-level shovel. If you want to give yourself the best chance for success, you will want to use the Seer Shovel or better. The Seer Shovel can be acquired at Level 25 for 37,500 Doolars, and can be found next to the entrance to the Badlands Pyramid on the same island as the Colossal Worm event.

The high stats of the Seer Shovel make it the first late-game weapon you can use to successfully dig up the Colossal Worm. Of course, if you're past this level and have access to other late-game Shovels like the Fortune Shovel, you can use them as well.

For reference, here are the stats on the Seer Shovel:

Seer Shovel

• How to Obtain: 37,500 Doolars at Level 25 from the Badlands Pyramid
• Strength: 35
• Stamina Loss: 7%
• Loot Luck: 25%
• Control: 35%
• Stability: 40%
• Precision: 40%
• Max Weight: 5,000 KG

After purchasing the Seer Shovel, keep an eye on the popup messages in the center of your screen as well as the Event indicating in the bottom left corner of your screen to know when the Colossal Worm event starts. Once it does, quickly head to the marked yellow circle at the Badlands and begin digging to get the Colossal Worm!

The post How to get a Colossal Worm in Dig It appeared first on Destructoid.