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For the third time this month, the internet is crashing—your favorite online games included It appears the internet is once again going down with no applause whatsoever. For the third time in about a month, global services are suffering outages, slowdowns, and general connectivity issues, including popular live-service games. What couldn't have been said of the early 2000s, when everything you owned you could play offline, is now a grim reality. As per Downdetector, nearly every popular gaming and gaming-related service is suffering significant outages, slowdowns, and problems with connection, including games like ARC Raiders , Fortnite , Apex Legends , and Palworld , but also Steam and the Epic Games Store. https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1p7fbuv/worldwide_web_down_again_huh/ Whereas the last major outage was caused by Cloudflare going down, and a previous one by massive AI-backed DDOS attacks , there does not seem to be a clear cause this time around. I've even noticed that platforms like Reddit, WordPress, Trello, and others are loading forever, and that was after making sure it wasn't just my wi-fi being dumb. And it's a crying shame that we live in a world where everything is always online. Sure, the games above are live service multiplayer experiences that could not be otherwise played without an internet connection, but so many other experiences that are broadly single-player are bound to be affected. Always-online singleplayer games are our reality because publishers simply cannot let us enjoy things off the grid, and so even if a game has no online features, it still has to connect (and can, therefore, crash if stuff like this happens). The timeline is only getting worse, but if you're among the affected, then check out some of our guides ( like the one for ARC Raiders ) in case the issues resolve, but you're still stuck in the dark. Literally. The post For the third time this month, the internet is crashing—your favorite online games included appeared first on Destructoid .

Steam Archives – DestructoidNov 26

Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Soundtrack Revealed Square Enix has released a new piano arrangement album inspired by the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. The album's full title is Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Arrangement, and it is now available in physical and digital formats in Japan. The company is also gradually releasing the album worldwide. This album contains a total of 12 tracks. However, some of them feature a combination of multiple in-game tracks. For example, Gato's Song will immediately connect to the first battle theme and victory fanfare in the same track. While Yasunori Mitsuda was the original composer of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack, Shogo Nomura—who recently contributed tracks to Bandai Namco's Once Upon A Katamari —made most of the piano arrangements here. Sachico Miyano also did 4 out of the 12 tracks in this album. Here is the album's full tracklist: Presentiment / Chrono Trigger Gato's Song / Battle 1 / Fanfare 1 Wind Scene Frog's Theme Lavos' Theme Robo's Theme Ayla's Theme Magus' Castle / Confusing Melody / Battle with Magus Corridors of Time Sarah's Theme Far Off Promise To Far Away Times Square Enix has also published a trailer promoting the new album on its Japanese YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAZ5ivuWZQg Chrono Trigger is a classic RPG that originally appeared on the SNES in 1995. It also later received ports to the first Sony PlayStation and Nintendo DS. The game is presently available on iOS , Android , and PC via Steam . This piano album is not the only arrangement Square Enix will release. The company has also revealed that it will hold a Chrono Trigger orchestra concert and release its orchestral arrangement album in January 2026. The Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Arrangement album is now available digitally worldwide. The physical album is also readily available in Japan at ¥3,630, and Square Enix will bring it to North America at $37.99 and Europe at €29.99 in December 2025. The post Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Soundtrack Revealed appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 26

Review: Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked Is Generally Sound Demeo first appeared as a Dungeons & Dragons style tabletop RPG with strategic elements for the Quest, PSVR, and PC headsets, but it wasn’t explicitly tied to that series. That changed with the follow-up Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked . Resolution Games has the support of Wizards of the Coast now. It doesn’t change the experience much, beyond names for certain classes and places from D&D implemented, and the experience remains as solid as ever. Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked comes with two campaigns and six heroes. The first is Embers of Chaos, which features the elves of Neverwinter and humans of Neverwinter about to go to war after the humans broke a contract and started logging in the woods, but there may be some other forces also trying to disrupt the peace. In Crown of Frost, Icewind Dale is potentially under attack, and our heroes join the forces to investigate the situation and fight back. As you go through sessions, there will be both mainline campaign quests and some supplemental missions for other NPCs. Images via Resolution Games The characters available for each run are a Dragonborn Paladin, Dwarf Fighter, Elf Bard, Halfing Sorcerer, Human Ranger, and Tiefling Rogue, with up to four human players able to play in each session. If you have fewer than four, then there is one “main” character controlled by each human and the remaining party slots are “hirelines” that don’t level up. Those that do level up have some specialization and update options. However, all characters regardless of whether they are standard or hireling do have the options to get more cards in their 10-card deck to change their moveset. Once you head into a quest, regardless if it is a mainline mission or optional task, you’ll get a few cards dealt into your hand. (You can only see ones held by your main character and hirelings and can’t see what other players have.) The four characters in your party will act one after another, able to move within set areas on the grid and use abilities represented on their cards to act. All classes fill their traditional roles from D&D . Once everyone in the party acts, the enemies take their turn. This continues until the stage’s objective is complete. It works well! There are cards that are permanent and others that are single-use, leading to a sense of balance. We also gain new ones at a steady rate, and it seemed like about once per campaign mission or so it would come up. It’s easy to investigate cards before using them, and placing them on the field to attack is simple enough. Being able to have a full party of four regardless of how many human players are there? Also great. Some genuinely tricky situations can come up too. Images via Resolution Games There are some elements in Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked that can feel a bit awkward. All of which you’ll, unfortunately, encounter at some point due to the ways campaigns work and the lengths of them. The most frequent issue I encountered is that the zoom feature effectiveness varies. Sometimes, it works wonderfully and I can get as close or as far as I need. However, there are occasional maps, usually the smaller ones, which seemed to lock me into a certain position and wouldn’t let me focus in enough to get more precise positioning. Some quest item appearances also seem random. For example, in one situation our party was tasked with finding pieces of sheet music for an NPC side quest. We loaded into a campaign quest map and, initially, I saw the piece of sheet music in a position there. Due to a technical issue, we ended up needing to remake the room and return. When we loaded up the save before that fight and went in, there was no sheet music there that time. Speaking of technical issues, that’s the other awkward elements. There’s no way to assign hirelings to specific individuals. When you first make a room and head in, it will clearly assign folks to people. So if there are two folks playing, each will control one hireling. If, say, a person drops out, then needs to get the code again to pop back in, when they do rejoin the match and map, they will have no hireling assigned to them and it is impossible to go into any menu and place them in charge of that character. Images via Resolution Games While getting the D&D license for this VR strategy game is nice, Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked ’s appeal lies in it being an enjoyable multiplayer tactical adventure. There are a few cumbersome elements, like the hireling assigning issue, that I’d love to see worked out in later patches. But what’s here works well and is enjoyable, especially if you have at least one other person to play with. Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked is available for the Meta Quest headsets, PC headsets via Steam, and the PS5’s PSVR2. The post Review: Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked Is Generally Sound appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 26

The best deals in Steam’s 2025 Black Friday sale Black Friday is here once more, meaning it's time to find bargains on silly stocking stuffers for family...and Steam games for you! This year's Black Friday Steam Sale has a bunch of great games at big discounts. I've compiled a list of some of the best discounts and biggest titles, so scroll down and then make sure to check out the sale page and lurk to find some good deals. Table of contents Steam Black Friday sale 2025 Halo: The Master Chief Collection KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- FINAL FANTASY I-VI Bundle Battlefield 6 Silent Hill f Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Dying Light: The Beast Steam Black Friday sale 2025 Halo: The Master Chief Collection Image via Microsoft Sale price: $9.99 Normal price: $39.99 (75 percent off) Six Halo games in one package? Yeah, if you don't already have this, it's 100 percent worth it for just 10 bucks. KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- Image via Square Enix Sale price: $24.99 Normal price: $49.99 (50 percent off) I sure love a good bundle. If you miss Kingdom Hearts or never tried it before, this package is chock full of hundreds of hours of game time. Here's what it includes: KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC) FINAL FANTASY I-VI Bundle Image via Square Enix Sale price: $48.64 Normal price: $74.83 (35 percent off) Another bundle, this price is still quite steep, but it contains six of the most beloved RPGs of all time. If you haven't played them or want to revisit the good old days, this is a really solid deal for the recent pixel remasters. Battlefield 6 Image via EA Sale price: $59.49 Normal price: $69.99 (15 percent off) Didn't this game just come out? It sure did. One of Steam's top titles is 15 percent off, just under two months after launching. It's free for this current week, too, so you can try it out and then purchase it at a discount if you like what you play. Silent Hill f Screenshot by Destructoid Sale price: $55.99 Normal price: $69.99 (20 percent off) Wanna get spooky and a little weird? This game launched just two months ago, and 20 percent off is nothing to gawk at. Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT Image via Playstation Sale price: $35.99 Normal price: $59.99 (40 percent off) Ghost of Tsushima 2 isn't coming to PC likely for another year or so, so this discount is a good chance to catch up on the original PlayStation game. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Image via Saber Interactive Sale price: $23.99 Normal price: $59.99 (60 percent off) One of 2024's best singleplayer titles has a massive discount. Pick it up for that 60 percent tag alone. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Screenshot by Destructoid Sale price: $48.99 Normal price: $69.99 (30 percent off) Although it just launched in August, this is a solid purchase price for a good remake of one of the best games of all time. Dying Light: The Beast Image via Techland Sale price: $47.99 Normal price: $59.99 (20 percent off) Just like the season dictates, the light is dying (right around 4pm). This game is also just about two months old, so it's a good price for the holiday season. The post The best deals in Steam’s 2025 Black Friday sale appeared first on Destructoid .

Steam Archives – DestructoidNov 25

Preview: Moonlighter 2 Feels Familiar A lot of concerns can come up when a developer releases a sequel. Will it properly build on the original? Is there still a story to tell? Will the studio be able to define and differentiate it enough that its merits come through? With Moonlighter 2 there’s another challenge, in that it is going from an what seemed like a successful end for Will, Moonlight, and the town of Rynoka in the first game and is shifting from 2D to 3D. While it’s still early days for this early access game, as Digital Sun noted on Steam it will be in this state “as long as the game needs it,” what’s here now feels comfortingly familiar and promising. To provide an excuse for Will, Tomo, and Zenon being back at square one, Rynoka is gone. The Collector took the town, and the three are now refuges in a new, small, ramshackle place called Tresna. They also don’t seem entirely welcome or well-situated at the start, as the landlord Ms. Scratch is frustrated by the fact that Will isn’t pulling his weight at the new shop where he works and tosses him into a portal to find Relics to sell. While there, he starts hearing a mysterious voice that guides him through the area and seems to go out of its way to assure him that they are a friend. Upon returning to town with a newly acquired pendant and going through a quick shop management tutorial, a mysterious Endless Vault appears and promises to open and grant a wish if Will continues to make money. Ms. Scratch sees it as a chance for success, Will sees it as an opportunity to get into heroics again, and Tomo wonders if the wish could be used to restore Rynoka. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edRTbMtF4Qc In terms of gameplay, Moonlighter 2 feels a lot like the original in many ways, even though there are immediately visible changes and quality of life adjustments. Will starts with a broom as a weapon, but we immediately gain access to the opportunity to pick a sword, large sword, spear, or gauntlets after that introduction. In addition to the normal attack, there’s a special for each weapon type that offers an additional options for things like AOE damage or greater speed. Will has access to a gun for ranged hits, which can be aimed with a joystick, and refills as you deal standard attacks. There’s also the standard dodge for rolling out of the way of attacks, and we have a potion we can use to recover with the tap of the D-pad and a pendant for escaping back to town. Gathering Relics works similarly to the first game. We get the opportunity to grab one typically after clearing each node on the map when we’re going through an area. These fall into different types, have different elements of quality, and can include a curse or influence that affects other Relics in the bag. For example, one of the earliest is one might burn Relics in specific positions indicated, eliminating them. However, some Relics might offer a buff and do things like grant armor to adjacent items when burned. If you get one item, it might add increase the quality of others in that column. Inventory management still feels like it carries weight. Images via Digital Sun Going through areas when outside of town feels like other types of roguelikes, such as Slay the Spire or Monster Train , as you’ll have an idea of what to expect in the next location when going through the Moonlighter 2 map. This means you could make decisions about which direction you take based on the risk and reward. In terms of other roguelikes, I almost feel like it’s a bit more forgiving in its earliest hours so far. We do have the pendant that allows us an easy escape while maintaining our inventory. And the earliest areas do still feel like something of a tutorial even though there can be some challenging enemy groupings and boss-type encounters. Once you get back to Tresna, the shopkeeping element begins. Will’s new, tiny storefront starts with four pedestals for selling things and absolutely no record of proper pricing. So everything you place is guesswork, and you need to watch potential buyers’ reactions to gauge if you should be going lower or higher. It’s simple enough to adjust on the fly. This time there is also robot named K33P3R that Ms. Scratch brings in that can store Relics for you and let you take advantage of a buying buff you select for each round of sales to help move merchandise and increase profits. The Endless Vault also automatically tracks the income milestones. Since we are seeing in real-time the effects of quality on sales and desirability of rare finds, it’s once again a situation where we get an immediate sort of dopamine hit that shows “we did good” after a run. Images via Digital Sun What I also noticed during this early access phase is that the pacing is really spot-on in Moonlighter 2 even during this point in development. While we start with the four weapons, after getting to only a halfway point in my first real run, I already unlocked a recipe node for the next sword. By my second run, I unlocked access to Silver to expand my backpack space when going through Kalina. (Keep an eye out for the character by going to a spot with a question mark on it.) Within a few hours, I’d even unlocked a second Perkmeter for K33P3R to ensure I’d make more money from sales. While it’s early days, it really seems like Moonlighter 2 is already a roguelike in a pretty stable and promising position. The gameplay loop is identical to the original and as satisfying as ever. The transition to 3D means a few more combat elements, with the gun and specials proving handy. The K33P3R robot for shop management perks and storage is handy. Plus, the progression also seems to move at a steady pace. It seems on track to be another success. Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is in early access on PCs via Steam , and it will eventually also be on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The post Preview: Moonlighter 2 Feels Familiar appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 25

Cling to Darkness Needed A Bit More to Shine Cling to Darkness was about an hour and a half of dread and emotional twists, only for one's last impression of it to be a frenetic rock track as the credits play. Though odd, it matches the peculiar (used both positively and negatively) experience that I just had. Though I can appreciate Lizardry’s innovation in the over-saturated market of indie horror adventure, its somewhat counter-intuitive gameplay drowns out the potential. In Cling to Darkness , you play as Satsuki, a young girl undergoing a ritual. This ritual requires her to put on a blindfold and collect five talismans while relying solely on her sense of hearing. A mysterious monster known as Ashioto-san stalks her the entire time, and she absolutely cannot let Ashioto-san touch her. When reading the description for Cling to Darkness , I expected something like Death Forest or Aka Manto —a horror game with an implacable monster stalker and a bare-bones narrative to justify your presence in whatever haunted locale you’re in. But I was surprised when Cling to Darkness actually had a story. Satsuki comes off as an unreliable narrator, which makes you doubt her story and have to piece together her past from dialogue. Contrary to the game's instructions when you first boot this up, I highly recommend playing with visual aides off and not blindfolding yourself. As mentioned earlier, the story wants to be deeper than the run-of-the-mill horror, but the game doesn’t mute or lower the volume of the sound effects during conversations. Many times, they distracted me at key points of dialogue, causing me to miss something since I couldn't read the subtitle before clicking for the next line. It’s also funny that I had to do that. Again, you're meant to play it blindfolded, but the game doesn't have an auto option for the story. I often didn't know when a character had finished speaking and so needed me to click to proceed. How did the playtesters not complain aabout this? This was way more stressful than the actual horror bit. The game wasn't that scary since Ashioto-san sounds like a kid running at the pool, and it's easy enough to beat. The story also doesn't match the game's length. It's only 90 minutes long, which isn't enough time to know or care about Satsuki. That's even with Anya Floris , who voices Satsuki in the English version, acting her heart out. My first impression when I finished the game was that the ending was similar to the Death Note American live-action's. It ends on a confusing note ("Wait, did Satsuki pee herself?") and the last impression is a complete tonal shift from what you had just gone through that it only leaves you with more questions. I would have liked more time with Satsuki to care about her and her plight. In saying that, though, more of the repetitive gameplay would have further dragged down the experience. Cling to Darkness is a game with a good idea, but its execution (from basic QoL to the story and gameplay) just needed some more forethought. Cling to Darkness is readily available on the Windows PC via Steam . The post Cling to Darkness Needed A Bit More to Shine appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 22

Square Enix Black Friday 2025 Game Sale Starts on Steam Square Enix announced that it started rolling out game sales for Black Friday 2025 already on Steam. While the deals are only mentioned for Valve’s storefront , looking up the developer and publisher on places like the Nintendo eShop and the PlayStation Store reveals the price drops can be found on the Switch, PS4, and PS5 in some situations. The deals on Steam are only applied to PC games until December 2, 2025. There is a dedicated page to the sale event this year. The most recent and notable price drops appear in a featured section at the top of the page, and that includes 40% off Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, FFVII Remake Intergrade, and FFVII Rebirth. The New & Upcoming section focuses on full price items. Here are some of the most notable discounts in this sale event: Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition - $7.99 Chrono Trigger - $7.49 Crisis Core FFVII Reunion - $19.99 Dragon Quest Builders - $13.99 Dragon Quest Builders 2 - $24.99 Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake - $35.99 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition - $19.99 Fantasian: Neo Dimension - $24.99 Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster bundle with all six games - $48.64 FFVII Remake Intergrade - $19.99 FFVII Rebirth - $34.99 FFXVI - $24.99 Harvestella - $23.99 Kingdom Hearts: HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX - $24.99 Life is Strange Remastered - $11.99 Life is Strange: True Colors - $17.99 Live A Live - $19.99 NieR Automata - $15.99 Octopath Traveler I and II bundle - $44.62 Powerwash Simulator - $12.49 Star Ocean: The Second Story R - $24.99 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin - $15.99 Visions of Mana - $29.99 The Square Enix Black Friday 2025 sale on games is already live on Steam ahead of the actual day, which is November 28, 2025 this year, and will run until December 2, 2025. The post Square Enix Black Friday 2025 Game Sale Starts on Steam appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 19

Princess Maker-Like Galaxy Princess Zorana Launches This Week Back in May 2025, Hanako Games announced a successor to its devastatingly difficult Princess Maker style game Long Live the Queen called Galaxy Princess Zorana . After a successful Kickstarter to help fund development , it now has a release date. We’ll help a new princess become an empress and survive deadly situations on November 21, 2025. The Steam page is already live. In Galaxy Princess Zorana , we’ll use our character-raising and Princess Maker stat-management skills to help Zorana win the Imperial Election and become ruler of the Celestial Empire following her father’s death. This means training her in various fields, visiting different planets in the empire, interacting with important individuals, finding cabinet members, securing votes, perhaps getting engaged, and staying alive. Because like Long Live the Queen, there will be constant skill checks to see if Zorana is accomplished and knowledgeable enough to handle situations well and survive dangers like assassination attempts. Post-launch, there will be free updates to the simulation. The announcement noted these will be based on Kickstarter stretch goals. Among those were a new plotline that offered a different path that would see Zorana becoming a rebellion leader who attempts to help end the monarchy, rather than continue it as a new empress. Galaxy Princess Zorana will head to the PC on November 21, 2025, and the previous entry Long Live the Queen is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The post Princess Maker-Like Galaxy Princess Zorana Launches This Week appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 19

Octopath Traveler 0 Demo Shows Up in US Airports Square Enix announced on social media that people who are traveling through two US airports will be able to test out the demo for Octopath Traveler 0 while they wait. It is now live in the Gameway: Video Game Lounges in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, CA and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City, NY. The latest JRPG in the series will be available to test until December 9, 2025. This means there are currently four spots where people can test the Octopath Traveler 0 demo in an airport without a console like a Switch or Switch 2 or handheld like a Steam Deck. In JFK, you’ll see it at the location near Terminal 5’s Gate 7 and Terminal 8’s Gate 8. If you are at LAX, Terminal 3 hosts one close to Gate 30B and Terminal 6 features one not far from Gate 65B. The demo that is at these two airports is the one that is available on digital storefronts. So if someone owns a Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, they can sample that same trial on their devices. That is likely the best approach, as the save files can carry over. Each demo experience only lasts three hours, so make sure you have time to get through as much as possible when you start. Octopath Traveler 0 will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on December 4, 2025, and the demo is live on storefronts and playable at Gameway: Video Game Lounges in LAX and JFK in the US. The post Octopath Traveler 0 Demo Shows Up in US Airports appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 18

God Eater Resurrection Returns as a Mobile Pachi-Slot Game Sammy Networks has rev e aled that it will release a mobile version of God Eater Resurrection Pachi-Slot . The company has also opened pre-registrations for the app, which will be available via Apple App Store for iOS devices and Google Play Store for Android devices in early December 2025. The mobile pachinko game will be available as a paid app at 3,480 yen (~$22.40). Sammy also noted that this mobile app will be based on the same pachinko machine that Yamasa Next released in July 2024. The original God Eater Resurrection video game appeared in 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Vita as a remake of the first game that Bandai Namco released for PlayStation Portable in 2010. Yamasa Next has been known for producing pachinko versions of well-known video game entries. In 2021, it released a pachi-slot machine based on the first Fatal Frame entry. Most recently, the company is planning to release a new pachi-slot based on Tekken 6 in January 2026. God Eater Resurrection Pachi-Slot will be available for iOS and Android mobile devices in Japan on December 2, 2025. The pachi-slot game is also originally available in pachinko parlors across the country. The original God Eater Resurrection video game is readily available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and PC via Steam. The post God Eater Resurrection Returns as a Mobile Pachi-Slot Game appeared first on Siliconera .

SiliconeraNov 18