Little Nightmares is now free on Steam, offering the chance to own this adventure from developer Tarsier Studios and publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment (thanks Console General). The game is yours to keep as long as you pick it up between now and midday tomorrow. Here are some details to haunt your dreams:

Immerse yourself in Little Nightmares, a dark whimsical tale that will confront you with your childhood fears! Help Six escape The Maw – a vast, mysterious vessel inhabited by corrupted souls looking for their next meal. As you progress on your journey, explore the most disturbing dollhouse offering a prison to escape from and a playground full of secrets to discover. Reconnect with your inner child to unleash your imagination and find the way out!

Ubisoft followed through on its promise to reveal details about Far Cry 6 yesterday, revealing the shooter sequel will be released on October 7th for PC and consoles. It looks like the Windows edition will be an Epic Games Store exclusive, as word is: it's coming "on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Uplay, Uplay+, Epic Games and Stadia." There's new information about the game on the Far Cry Website, along with links to preorder the game which comes with a couple of preorder bonuses. There are three videos to illustrate the news, a Character Trailer to introduce Dani Rojas, a Antón & Diego Castillo - Lions of Yara Trailer to introduce "a new figurine directly inspired by the characters and story of FAR CRY® 6," and the big payoff, a Rules of the Guerrilla Trailer offering a "deep dive" into gameplay. There's also a post about all this on Xbox Wire. Here's a bit from that:

As a local Yaran, Dani Rojas (playable as either a woman or man), players will utilize guerrilla tactics to dismantle Antón’s regime. Fortunately, you won’t have to fight alone, as you’ll be joined by charismatic rebels including Clara Garcia, the leader of the revolutionary group Libertad, and Juan Cortez, an ex-KGB spy and guerilla master. You’ll also be able to team up with all-new animal companions like Chorizo, the wiener dog, or Guapo, the ferocious crocodile.

Playable solo or in two-player co-op, Far Cry 6 features the series’ most varied open world yet, with dense urban environments coming to Far Cry for the first time. Players will be able to explore and traverse cities, towns, and the lush jungles of Yara in new ways including horses, tanks, and DIY vehicles. To take down Antón’s regime, players will have to embrace the “resolver” spirit and make use of whatever they can find and customize their arsenal to suit their needs. From a motorcycle-engine-powered minigun to a homing-missile backpack, there’s a resolver solution to any problem.

Continue here to read the full story.

A post on the Microids Website reveals the company is mourning the death of long-term art director Benoît Sokal, who passed yesterday after a long battle with illness. The post offers a short biography that includes an outline of his impact on the world of video games:

Benoît Sokal began drawing for À Suivre magazine in 1978. At this time, he created the Inspector Canardo series, featuring a depressed anthropomorphic duck detective with a penchant for cigarettes, alcohol and femmes fatales. In 1996, he started the video game project Amerzone, published by Microids. Benoît Sokal is one of the first graphic novel artists to design, implement and supervise the entire production of a video game. He then went on to become Microids’ Art Director, publishing his second game, Syberia, in 2002. He was recognized as “Person of the Year” at the 2002 video games Phenix Awards; Syberia was crowned “Best adventure game of the year” in 2002 in the USA. In April 2004, the release of Syberia 2 met the same success as the first episode of the saga and was greeted with enthusiasm by fans all over the world. With Syberia 3, Benoît Sokal chose to stick with the old-fashioned way of drawing with pencils and watercolors, rather than using digital tools, giving his universe and characters a very distinctive look. A multi-talented artist, he also crafted the beloved game story and the characters’ dialogue. During these last months, Benoît Sokal was working with the teams at Microids and Koalabs on the upcoming game Syberia: The World Before.

Despite his prolific career in video games, Benoît Sokal never let go of his original passion, and released the graphic novel Kraa in 2010. He also developed the Aquarica universe for several years with his friend François Schuiten. Together, they released the first graphic novel based on Aquarica in 2017.

• Epic vs Apple - Week Three In Review: Who will the judge find in favour?
• Epic vs. Apple: The (predicted) verdict is in.

A few tweets from Mat Piscatella reflect the latest market research from NPD Group. This tweet has the top selling video games in the US across all platforms for April 2021. Here's the top 10:

Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher
1	NEW	MLB: The Show 21^	Sony (Corp)
2	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	Activision Blizzard (Corp)
3	NEW	New Pokemon Snap*	Nintendo
4	3	Outriders	Square Enix Inc (Corp)
5	NEW	NieR: Replicant	Square Enix Inc (Corp)
6	14	Mortal Kombat 11	Warner Bros. Interactive
7	2	Monster Hunter: Rise	Capcom USA
8	NEW	Returnal	Sony (Corp)
9	22	It Takes Two	Electronic Arts
10	6	Mario Kart 8*	Nintendo
		* Digital sales not included
		^Xbox digital sales not included

Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel - ranked on dollar sales

There's a Call For Artists on the Official Bioware Gear Store soliciting those who might be interested in creating BioWare swag for fun and profit:

Between your awesome ideas and awesome fan art, we know that Mass Effect, Anthem, and Dragon Age fans are an incredibly creative bunch. That got us wondering. Do you want to be part of our creative process? The BioWare Gear Store is looking for artists who want to turn their work into official merch.

Yes, we’re paying. :)

If you are asked to contribute to a project, you will be provided with a project brief, deadlines and compensation information. Since every project is different in scope and scale, we cannot provide that information beforehand.

Nearly $1.2 million raised to assist with COVID-19 Relief! - Humble Bundle Blog.

• Weekend Sale: games featuring giant robots and Electronic Arts titles up to 90% off - GOG.com.
• Save & Sound - An online music festival.
• Curve Digital Publisher Sale 2021 on Steam.
• 2021 Perfect World Publisher Weekend on Steam.
• Save 50% on DEATH STRANDING on Steam.
• Save 70% on Conan Exiles on Steam.
• Save 88% on Open World Trucking Bundle on Steam.
• Save 70% on Bus Simulator 18 on Steam.
• Save 50% on Death and Taxes on Steam.
• Save 66% on Cultist Simulator on Steam.
• Save 20% on Solasta: Crown of the Magister on Steam.
• The Digital Eel Sunshine Summertime Bundle - itch.io. Save 50% on each title or 59% on the bundle.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator Release Notes (1.16.2.0) Sim Update IV Now Available. Cuts base install size in half.

Thanks Neutronbeam and Ant.

• Bus Simulator 21 – Multiplayer Trailer.
• For Honor: Dominion Series 2021 Stage 1 Major Livestream.
• Genshin Impact Version 1.6 "Midsummer Island Adventure" Trailer.
• KeyWe - Release Date Trailer.
• Firearms Expert Reacts To Resident Evil Village’s Guns.
• 9 Fighting Game Combos That Will Destroy Your Motivation (and Hands).
• DiabLoL 2 Ep 22 "Where Izzy."
• Passive aggressive PUBG post game - Team Argument.

• Ubisoft Spoke To "Actual Guerilla Fighters" But Doesn't "Want To Make A Political Statement" With Far Cry 6.
• Inside the House of Ashes - The Latest Installment in the Dark Pictures Anthology - AusGamers.com.
• A Guerrilla and their Croc, Pup and Arsenal - Far Cry 6 Developer Interview and Preview Feature - AusGamers.com.
• "Good Game Nice Try" Loserfruit on Battling Burnout on Apple Podcasts.

• Weaving replayable tales in the Griftlands, out on PS4 June 4.
• How co-op came to Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection, out on PS4 June 1.
• Puzzle Game Trenga Unlimited Available Now for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
• Super Bomberman R Online Available Now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
• Gold Rush- The Game Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X|S.
• Trenga Unlimited Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X|S.
• This Week on Xbox- May 28, 2021.
• Next Week on Xbox- May 31 to June 4.

• 4 warning signs your laptop is about to fail. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Sleep tracking might be one of your smartwatch’s most important features.
• Fitbit may soon be adding snoring detection to its devices.
• Apps Reportedly Limited to Maximum of 5GB RAM in iPadOS, Even With 16GB M1 iPad Pro. Thanks Slashdot.

• Apple delays paid podcast subscription launch to June.
• Canadian Lawmaker, Will Amos, Is Exposed Again on Camera (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Twitch Warns Content Creators About a Flurry of DMCA Takedown Notices.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Logitech CEO says chip shortage could last for up to a year - paper. We're keeping track of predicitons to pick a winner, right? Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• PC Makers Intensify Chip Stockpiling to Fight Shortages.
• Acer Joins the Polling Rate Race With 2,000 Hz Predator Cestus 335 Gaming Mouse (Updated).
• Tastry: The tech startup that taught a computer to taste wine. And you though Skynet was scary when it was sober!
• Microsoft Excel can now do your job for you – yes, really.
• GeForce 466.47 Driver Performance Analysis – Using Ampere and Turing - BabelTechReviews.
• How to Uninstall and Reinstall Cortana on Windows 10.

Thanks RedEye9.

• Venmo will let you hide friends list, after Joe Biden's account was discovered.
• Using Fake Reviews to Find Dangerous Extensions.
• "Have I been pwnd?": What is it and what to do when you *are* pwned.
• Threat spotlight: DarkSide, the ransomware used in the Colonial Pipeline attack.

• Biden Administration Continues to Defend Social Media Registration Requirement in Court. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• Social media and the law: Could your next tweet get you in trouble?
• Boss of ATM Skimming Syndicate Arrested in Mexico.

• Knockout City review - PC Gamer.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• CPU Cooler: Enermax ETS-F40-FS ARGB Review - TechPowerUp.
• Headset: Philips Fidelio X3 Wired Open-Back Headphones Review - TechPowerUp.
• Keyboard: ROCCAT Pyro Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard - Christ Centered Gamer.
• Monitor: Samsung Odyssey G7 review – a big gaming monitor with big value - PCGamesN.
• SSD: GIGABYTE AORUS Gen4 7000s 2TB M.2 SSD Review - TweakTown.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• The Hostile Takeover of a Microsoft Flight Simulator Server…
• In 'Mass Effect,' The Story Starts With The Spaceship…
• IGN management says pulled Palestine charity post was editorial decision…
• The most expensive Steam profile is worth over $250K…

Well, I'm back in the Blue Tower after yesterday's foray into the great white north of upstate New York to attend the burial of my uncle. I'm happy to be safely home, as my three+ hour return trip last night was during a teeming rainstorm punctuated by fog. The ceremony for my uncle was touching. He was a decorated combat marine in the Korean War, and the "grand old man" of the local Marine Corps League. So there were several marines in attendance, including a rifle squad to send him off in style with a noisy salute. And it was a lovely get-together. My cousins and their families are all wonderful people, and it was great seeing them all, even though, as I noted, the circumstances were so sad.

Obituary: 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' & 'Love Boat' Star Gavin MacLeod Dead at 90.

Round-trip Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Link

• The hamburger’s origin story. Thanks RedEye9.

Stories

• Woman arrested at US border with sloth, crocodile parts. Thanks brother19.
• English dictionary of ancient Greek ‘spares no blushes’ with fresh look at crudity.
• Southwest Won't Serve Alcohol Due To Air Rage. I'm a rageaholic. I'm addicted to rageahol! Thanks RedEye9.

Science
Thanks Max and RedEye9.

• Daniel Kahneman on 'noise' – the flaw in human judgement harder to detect than cognitive bias.
• New Dark Matter Map Shows The Bridges Between The Milky Way And Nearby Galaxies.
• Memory Details Fade Over Time, With Only the Main Gist Preserved.
• Do animals hug each other?

Media

• BURNING River of Whiskey Too Much to Resist, 13 Killed - Tales From the Bottle (NSFW).
• Streaker Entertains Crowd During Rain Delay. I said, "Don't look, Ethel!" Thanks RedEye9.
• Sunflower Seeds Shell Removing Machine. If I was that dude I'd have invented a wrist shaver first. Thanks Cutter.