Ghostrunner is a hardcore FPP slasher packed with lightning-fast action, set in a grim, cyberpunk setting of a futuristic mega-structure. Climb Dharma Tower, humanity’s last shelter after a world-ending cataclysm. Make your way up from the very bottom to the top, confront the tyrannical Keymaster and take your revenge.

The streets of the tower-city are full of violence. Mara the Keymaster rules with an iron fist and little regard for human life. As resources grow thin, the strong prey on the weak and chaos threatens to consume what little order remains. The decisive last stand is coming. The final attempt to set things right, before mankind goes over the edge of extinction.

From the one-man development studio, Double Robot, comes a Rebel Galaxy and Drifter inspired action RPG: BlazeSky. Having officially launched on Steam, this open-world space adventure blends simple gameplay and controls, beautifully handcrafted star systems and 25 hours of fully voice-acted gameplay, into a single player story-driven experience.

Whether you’re exploring the blue wastes of Centauri, the asteroid fields of Lookout, or the sun-soaked Mozzed; where you fly, and what missions you undertake, is up to you. Featuring a rich story inspired by both traditional and modern science fiction, and the timeless gameplay of classic sci-fi titles, BlazeSky allows you to pursue ancient mysteries and discover unique alien races as you decide on which path to take through the stars.

Pumpkin Jack is a classic 3D Platformer before anything else! Every level will challenge you through several themed platforms, all giving you new trials to complete. You will have to master the arts of dodging, timing, and movement to vanquish Jack's foes. During the dynamic real time battles, choose which weapon you want to use and strike at the critical moment!

Solve puzzles that focus on physics, gravity and reflection. Inhabit a pumpkin head and burn books, hammer some moles, create a path for magic spheres… And there is more: In each level, you will be faced with an action sequence using a new exclusive gameplay!

Digital games earned $10.7B in September 2020, up 14% year-over-year. Games earned more across all platform types than during the same period in 2019. Mobile revenue was up 9%, PC rose by 8% and console earnings increased 40% as major fall titles began to hit the market.

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Spend your days hanging out with friends at different parts of the camp, doing activities, deciding how the story will go, and more. When the sun goes down, gather ‘round the campfire, a new system where you can choose who to sit with and who to gossip about. The gossip mechanic lets you spread rumors about other characters or even yourself, opening up new ways to help or sabotage your fellow campers.

Monster Camp features over 50 characters, 350 events, 20 endings and more! Choose your pronouns and pursue whoever you want regardless of your identity, including the series’ first non-binary romance option, the reaper of souls and hearts, Milo Belladonna.

Play on your own or competitively with up to four players in online and local multiplayer, as well as Steam Remote Play Together. You can finish a trip to camp in a single play session, but with tons of characters, events and surprises to discover based on your choices, Monster Camp makes each playthrough a uniquely fun adventure.

• The Outer Worlds Steam Key on Green Man Gaming.* Save 57%.

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item.

• Galacide Is Now Available For Xbox One.
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• Clea Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Inside Xbox Series X Optimized: Maneater.
• Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 379- Spooky Scary.
• This Week On Xbox- October 23, 2020.

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• Diving into the wild world of custom, ergonomic, mechanical keyboards.
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• How to Block 'Address Bar Spoofing' Attacks on Your Mobile Browser. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• The best bad (game) endings…
• 22 terrifying PC horror games to play with the lights off…

The Outer Worlds is an award-winning single-player first-person sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division.

Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the furthest edge of the galaxy, you awake decades later only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the Halcyon colony. As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter various factions, all vying for power, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.

Apex Legends is officially coming to Steam when Season 7 launches on November 4, 2020. If you’re new to Apex Legends, we can’t wait to welcome you aboard. And if you’ve previously been playing on Origin, you can easily switch back and forth with Steam—all your account progression and unlocks will carry over between the two platforms. To celebrate the big event, Steam players will receive free exclusive Portal and Half-Life inspired gun charms for logging in during Season 7. Here’s a preview of the Steam Release Exclusive Gun Charms.

We can’t wait for you to dive into Apex Legends Season 7 on Steam. In the meantime, check out the Apex Legends-themed animated stickers and avatars that we’ve introduced to the points shop, and add Apex Legends to your Wishlist.

When EA bought Westwood in August 1998 and had the studio move office, the Blade Runner source code was lost. While a vault of old Westwood content was unearthed by EA during the development of the Command & Conquer remaster, Kick doesn't think he'll end up with anything Blade Runner-related from it, even if it is found.

"We've had some discussions with EA about what else is in the vault they found regarding Blade Runner, and we haven't been able to get a clear answer," Kick said. "And even if there was something, it's very unlikely they would release it to us for legal reasons, mostly, which is a bit of a disappointment, because we were hoping to at least get the original audio recordings. So we're basically working off what was in the original game at this point and not having access to any original stuff.

"I've been led to believe that there's some stuff but no-one will ever know."

This means Nightdive must reverse engineer the code - an arduous and time consuming task that involves creating tools to extract the original art assets. "It's just taking a bit longer than we originally anticipated," Kick said.

Can you push back against fate, live among ruthless gangs and fight back the zombie horde, with just a handful of ragtag militias to help you?

Enjoy an unique blend of old school turn-based strategy, post-apoc survival mechanics and a thrilling RPG storyline. With all the benefits of the modern Unreal Engine, real bullet ballistics, day/night cycle, fire with dynamic material consumption and spread, advanced sound propagation mechanics, AI NPCs with independent lives and faction based morals and, hunger, thirst, wounds and sickness and last but not least, advanced modding support.

Starting as an amnesic survivor, rescued half dead by the kind people of Urban city shelter, somewhere in backwater south of USA, you need to raise up and become a true leader, rebuild the pillaged camp and bring hope back in the hearts of the survivors. Then venture out to negotiate alliances with ruthless factions or go to war against them. And finally, bet everything you have and know to survive an impending return of the massive zombie horde that almost ended civilization just two years before.

Like its predecessor, Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice features easy-to-learn point-and-click controls, making getting Larry where he needs to be smoother than ever! Players will guide Larry in his self-made boat through various islands, each featuring their own sensual surprises, ultimately leading him to his one true love — the lovely and intelligent Faith! Although Larry can sweet-talk his way through just about any situation, he’ll still run into plenty of perplexing puzzles, eccentric characters, and need to collect a number of useful items — some phallic-shaped, some not. The world is his oyster!

DreadStar: The Quest for Revenge is now available on Steam for $9.99! The top-down shooter inspired by Tyrian brings a pumping chiptune soundtrack and pixel-perfect gunplay, while blending in RPG elements, level-ups, skill points and ship upgrades, without putting players through bullet hell.

For that truly authentic retro experience, DreadStar is presented in 4:3 with an old-school CRT mode, with the game releasing with 6 replayable sectors, multiple difficulty settings, leveling, skill points, ship upgrades and numerous customization options. If things get a little too hot to handle, you can always warp out, gear up and get back in there to seek revenge.

This is the Zodiac Speaking is a noir, fact-based single-player psychological thriller. Told from a first-person perspective, you play as Robert, a Bay Area journalist who survived a brutal attack by the notorious Zodiac serial killer. He will have to confront his own traumatic demons if he hopes to stand a chance of discovering the Zodiac’s identity and bringing him to justice.

This is the Zodiac Speaking offers two distinct gameplay modes. One that blends storytelling with stealth and action gameplay elements, while the second (Detective mode) puts emphasis on storytelling to let you fully immerse in the Zodiac investigation. The game mixes factually recreated crime scene details and clues down including the Zodiac’s cipher and even the misspellings in the Zodiac’s letters to the press with a fictional storyline to create a mind-bending experience.

Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition includes:

• An epic campaign, Sandbox mode, and dozen of scenarios
• Pests & Puppies DLC with lovely pets and malicious pests
• The Pit DLC: Open an underground basement and run all kinds of illegal activities
• Hooves & Wagons DLC: guests now own horses and wagons with them
• Bath & Beauty DLC: offering beautiful bathtubs and bathrooms
• Crops & Harvest DLC (new content!): time to gather crops and feast!
• Digital goodies pack: unique cookbook, soundtrack, all sketches, and concepts that were used during development
• New bard and a new adventurer
• Chinese language support! - Crossroads Inn turned out to be a hit in China and so the Anniversary Edition will include a Chinese (simplified) version of the game! The game will continue to support Polish, English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian languages.

Narco Tycoon is an economic strategy game with a top-down 2D view. The developers are focusing on single-player gameplay, which is expected to be very extensive and varied. Players will be able to design and build drug factories from scratch, taking care of the smallest details of the production process. The gameplay will also involve, among others, managing the members of the organisation, taking care of the proper distribution of goods, fighting for market dominance and impunity, as well as research and development works. Your main goal will be to completely take over the drug business in the city.

Narco Tycoon – main features:

• building a drug empire;
• extensive production and distribution system;
• fight for market dominance;
• research and development;
• many random events.

TRANSFORMERS: BATTLEGROUNDS is an all-new tactical combat game, featuring fan favorite characters from the Transformers franchise including Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Starscream, and Megatron as they battle it out for control of the AllSpark in single-player and co-op gameplay. Combat takes place across an array of diverse levels, including iconic locations such as Central City and Cybertron where players will take command of their squad and fight together to save (or destroy) the galaxy.

Players have the option of purchasing the Standard Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition of the game. The Digital Deluxe Edition contains the base game found in the Standard Edition, alongside bonus character cosmetics, including four new character skin packs and the exclusive CUBE arcade game-mode. CUBE pits the Autobots and Decepticons against one another in one of four 'capture the cube' arena environments where they must use their special abilities and battle it out for control of the Cube.

• Blazing Sails Halloween Update.
• Circle Empires Rivals - Halloween Update- new terrain type & balance changes.
• Deep Rock Galactic - UPDATE 32- ROUGHNECKS AT WORK.

• Private Investigator Finds The Impostor In Among Us. Thanks Ant.

• NME - Video games about real world crimes are a step too far.
  "None of these claims can be made for This Is The Zodiac Speaking, which only serves to embolden the celebrity status of whoever was – or is – the Zodiac Killer. It’s worth remembering that the Zodiac case is still an active investigation and that many of the victims’ family members are still alive. What, you might ask, of David Fincher’s incredible 2007 film, Zodiac? Well, it’s surely a different experience being told a story rather than living inside of one. All of which poses an interesting question about what sort of subject matter is acceptable to be adapted for video games."
  
  
• NME - There’s something sadly soulless about video game digitalisation.
  "But, to me, the biggest problem when it comes to all digital games is that you don’t own them. You can’t loan them. And you can’t resell them either. Although I doubt publishers lose sleep over any of these problems. No, they’re not taking up valuable real estate in your home anymore, but you’re also not able to run your hand across them or stop to admire the cover art."

• Flight Simulator Files Suggest Microsoft Has Discussed VR on Xbox Series X & S.
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• Free-to-play third-person shooter Operation7- Showdown now available for PS4.
• Truck Driver + Hidden Places & Damage System DLC Bundle Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Lord Of The Сlick Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Grood Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Transformers: Battlegrounds Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Pumpkin Jack Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Grey Skies: A War Of The Worlds Story Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• AXES Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• Crystal Ortha Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• Sweet Witches Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• Next Week on Xbox: October 27 to 30.

• Hummer EV 'supertruck' has a UI built on Unreal Engine and runs Android. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Dolly Parton Brings A Word Of Her Own To Popular Mobile Game Words With Friends.

• An Update to Patreon’s Policies on QAnon. Thanks Boing Boing.
• After Dutch bloke claims he hacked Trump's Twitter by guessing password, web biz says there's 'no evidence.'
• The Expanse – Season 5 Official Trailer. Thanks Ant.

• Here’s why Intel’s stock just dropped 10% after reporting earnings. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• AMD's Zen 3 Powered Ryzen 5 5600X $299 CPU Is Now The Fastest Single-Threaded Chip In Passmark.
• Intel: DG1 GPU Now Shipping, Xe-HPG DG2 GPU In Labs.
• Intel's Xeon Scalable 'Ice Lake-SP' Volume Ramp Delayed to Q1 2021.
• Alaska Airlines and Microsoft sign partnership to reduce carbon emissions with flights powered by sustainable aviation fuel in key routes. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Nvidia Reflex Tested: Low Latency Revolution?
• Seagate Technology Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2021 Financial Results. Thanks Hypothermia.

• Nvidia tackles code execution flaws, data leaks in GeForce Experience.
• Massive US Voters and Consumers Databases Circulate Among Hackers. Thanks DSLReports.
• French IT outsourcer Sopra Steria hit by 'cyberattack', Ryuk ransomware suspected. Thanks DSLReports.
• Google removes 3 Android apps for children, with 20M+ downloads between them, over data collection violations.
• How 30 Lines of Code Blew Up a 27-Ton Generator.

• Xiaomi patents foldable smartphone with sliding display.

• Amnesia: Rebirth Review – The Fine Line Between Fear And Frustration - Game Informer.
• Old School Physics Gauntlet - Pilots of Darsalon - Indie Showcase. Video.
• Second Extinction Early Access Review - IGN.
• Serious Sam 4 Performance Analysis - Overclockers Club.

• This CPU Cooler is SO GOOD - Arctic Freezer 50 Review - Hardware Canucks (video). Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 3080 Vulcan OC Graphics Card Review - Impressive Overclocking - TechPowerUp.
• Cooler Master MM711 Blue Steel Mouse Review - APH Networks. Derek Zoolander should sue.
• Corsair 4000D PC Chassis Review - Guru3D.
• Corsair MP400 4TB NVMe SSD Review - Corsair MP400 4TB NVMe SSD Review - Neoseeker.
• EVGA Z490 FTW WiFi Motherboard Review- Looks Can Be Deceiving - Tom's Hardware.
• Gigabyte RTX 3090 Eagle OC 24GB Graphics Card - Bjorn3D.com.
• Intel Xeon W-1290 CPU Test - OverClocked Inside. German.
• Razer Blackshark V2 Pro Gaming Wireless Headset Review - Mad Shrimps.
• Secretlab TITAN Dark Knight Edition Gaming Chair Review - The FPS Review.
• SilverStone AR01 V3 CPU Air Cooler Review - The FPS Review.
• Tesoro Zone X TS-F750 (2020) Gaming Chair Review - Nikk Tech.

• 15 Years On, The Lonely Legacy Of 'Shadow Of The Colossus'…

Stuffed Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Link

• Moog’s limited-edition theremin marks 100 years of weird sounds.
• Better than the Scoville scale: Chili-shaped device can rate pepper hotness.

Story

• Man who loses bag with €40,000 of cocaine rings gardaí to report it missing. Thanks Boing Boing.

Science

• Precision metrology closes in on dark matter.
• Take a Guess at What NASA’s Exciting Moon Discovery Might Be.

Media

• CasUno Royale.
• Collapsing floor by filling room with water. Thanks Boing Boing.

Follow-up

• FDA approves first drug for Covid-19- remdesivir.

The Funnies

• The Far Side.