The Spring Sale on GOG.COM* rolls on, continuing to provide big discounts on thousands of games. And today comes another game with a 100% discount, which is about as big as they get. All new and existing subscribers to the GOG newsletter are entitled to a free copy of Neurodeck: Psychological Deckbuilder. You have about three days to lay your claim, and it's yours to keep. Here's the deal on this chance to play some mind games:

Features

• Deckbuilding as you progress through the game (Slay The Spire like)
• Meditate and choose personality traits that alter your gameplay profoundly
• Explore a subconscious maze, full of cards and improvements that will help you defeat the monsters in your mind
• Light RPG mechanics that allow you to customize your character stats & skills
• Characters & places from your past that will tell facts & stories about mental health
• Deep gameplay mechanics that put focus on replayability and gameplay diversity
• Horrific monsters inspired by real-life phobias

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

An open beta test is now underway for Voodolls, a co-op tower defense game in the works at SideRift and Tate Multimedia. Just hit the Request Access button on Steam and you should be good to go. This post has an Open Beta Trailer and the following details:

Dear puppeteers, Voodolls Future Games Show Exclusive Open Beta has started! Bring your friends and join in 🙂

Just a reminder: you can enjoy this early look at the game until March 28th (the test ends at 3 PM PDT / 10 PM GMT that day). Play solo or in four-player co-op and check out the prologue, two planets, and three difficulty modes. There's also an endless mode!

Remember, only by playing this Open Beta can you unlock the exclusive Corrupted Skin Pack.

Continue here to read the full story.

Deflector is now out of Early Access, and this roguelite action game is now officially available on Steam. The full release is discussed in this post, which is illustrated by the Full Release Trailer. Another new post kicks off a Survival competition that will run for the next month. Here's a quick description:

Deflector is a fast-paced rogue-lite game set in a deadly microcosm where players can redirect enemy projectiles using unique weapons and mutations to eradicate viruses.

Players can choose from different Bioshells, each with unique abilities to deflect projectiles, starting with the Boomerang-slinging Eradicator, and unlock more Bioshells by advancing in the game.

Additionally, they must learn to overcome the lethal threats they will encounter in each world through trial and error, as even the smallest enemy can be dangerous.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Microsoft hasn't "pulled any games from PlayStation" following Redfall PS5 reports.
• Redfall is the “scrappy underdog” to Starfield, Arkane says.

• Scary Games to Play in the Dark (pay what you want and help charity).*

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

• Mitch Lasky and Junghun Lee Appointed to Serve on Nexon’s Board of Directors.

• G FUEL and Edmund McMillen Charge Up with New “Binding of Isaac” Energy Drink Flavor, Brimstone.

• Wayfinder - Venomess Teaser Trailer - PAX East 2023.
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV DLC｜KIM KAPHWAN｜Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Tedious health meters in survival games - Viva La Dirt League (NSFW). Thanks Ant.

• Xbox: We can't reach the billions of gamers without underrepresented creators - GamesIndustry.biz.

• Introducing the Calling All Heroes 2023-24 Challengers and Speaker Series — Blizzard News.

• "Impossify" Your Park Beyond on June 16.

• Resident Evil 4 PS5 Flickering Lights Issue Workaround Fixes Issued Capcom.
• Space-fantasy RPG Honkai- Star Rail comes to PlayStation soon.
• Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 452: Isle Inspiration.

• Intel is quitting the 5G and LTE PC business.

• Bing’s showing ‘AI-generated stories’ in some search results.

• Microsoft Now Claims GPT-4 Shows 'Sparks' of General Intelligence.
• ChatGPT gets “eyes and ears” with plugins that can interface AI with the world.

• Malwarebytes for Windows 4.5.23 Release Notes. Thanks RedEye9.

• Cops raided Afroman’s home, then sued him for using footage in music videos.

Last Link of the Day: 'City killer' asteroid to pass between Earth and moon's orbits. Thanks Acleacius.

Obituary: William A. Wulf, Pioneering Computer Scientist, Dies at 83.

Resident Evil 4 is now available for PC and consoles, offering the eagerly anticipated remake of this survival/horror shooter originally released in 2005. The Windows edition is available on Steam, where you can also still try out the recent Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo for free. This post discusses the remake and mentions the Extra DLC Pack that accompanies the launch. The Launch Trailer celebrating the release shows off gameplay, and concludes with a splash screen promising the free Mercenaries DLC will come to the game on April 7th. Here's more on the game:

Survival is just the beginning.

Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.
Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president's kidnapped daughter.
He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.
And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.

Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics,
Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.

Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.

Continue here to read the full story.

Here's an additional note about the giveaway of Chess Ultra on the Epic Games Store mentioned here yesterday. In addition to the base game, there's also an Easter Island Chess Set that's also available for free (thanks RedEye9). Word is:

These head-like, monolithic chess pieces have been beautifully crafted, bringing the Moai not only to life - but to the chess board.
This pack contains a chess set only, which can be used in any environment in the game.

Intel now offers new "Game On" Windows drivers for Intel Arc graphics cards. Word is these offer launch day improvements for the Resident Evil 4 remake, and a considerably smaller footprint:

Intel® Game On Drivers deliver the best experience for gamers playing on Intel Graphics with optimized launch-day patches and performance updates as new games release.

This week’s driver supports the new release of Resident Evil 4, re-injected with modern graphics making its iconic terrors look terrific on Intel Arc graphics. No need to get frantic though: you’ll update even faster with Intel Arc drivers now in a smaller download.

The Dungeons & Dragons Online Website is giving away a treasure trove of content for the MMORPG (thanks Dave). For the next month, players who use the coupon DUNGEONCRAWL will receive a bunch of goodies to keep. This may be related to next week's premiere of the Dungeons & Dragons movie, but the only explanation is that this is a "thank you from Standing Stone Games." Additionally, there are four Expansion Quests available at a huge discount. Here's word:

We would like to thank you for supporting us! Now through April 23rd, 2023 you can enter a special Coupon Code through Redeem Code in the DDO Store in-game to unlock a trove of quests, raids, and adventure packs for free! This content will be permanently added to your account. EVERYONE can redeem the code, whether you are a free player, Premium, or VIP!

The Coupon Code is: DUNGEONCRAWL (1/Account, available to redeem through 11:59pm Eastern (-4 GMT) on April 23rd, 2023)

Bandai Namco and Limbic Entertainment announce June 16th is the official release date for PARK BEYOND, the theme park simulation. But if you have the desire to leave your car a tram-ride away from the park (that's where the title comes from, right?), you may be in luck, as there are also plans for a closed beta. Those interested should sign-up on this page for the chance to join a test that will run for a week beginning May 9th. Here's word on the beta and preorders:

Leading video game publisher and developer Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. and developer Limbic Entertainment GmbH today announced that the imaginative theme park simulation game PARK BEYOND™ will open its doors on June 16, 2023, launching on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam®. Pre-orders are now available, with all editions coming with a special bonus: the PAC-MAN™ Impossification Set consisting of exclusive flat rides, shops, entertainers, and decorative items. For more information, please visit www.bandainamcoent.com/games/park-beyond.

Also announced today, future PARK BEYOND visioneers are invited to participate in a Closed Beta Test on PC only, which will be held from May 9-19. Participants in the test who later purchase the game will unlock the golden skin for the “omnicar,” the vehicle used in PARK BEYOND rollercoasters. Players can register for the Closed Beta Test at bandainamcoent.com/promotions/park-beyond-closed-beta-test.

C77 Entertainment announces Combat Champions, a first-person shooter previously known by the codename Project Slingshot. This carries a broad 2024 release window, but the game's Steam Listing has a "Request Access" button for private alpha testing that's currently underway. The announcement stresses the development team's bona fides: "C77 Entertainment is a new game studio developing big action experiences for PC and consoles. C77 is led by Mattias Kylén and Kenny Magnusson; two Swedes with a long history in the industry. Together they've worked on several award-winning AAA titles, including leadership roles on franchise development teams such as Halo, Battlefield, and Mercenaries." Check out the announcement trailer for a look at the game's reality TV setting, and read on for more:

The first game from C77 Entertainment, Combat Champions puts you in the spotlight as your team dominates corporate campuses turned game show arenas, performing crowd-pleasing over-the-top stunts and arena-altering destruction, all while holding key points and outshooting the opposition. It’s a high-stakes, high-reward world out there.

Be the star of the show
Your corporate overlords don’t pay you to be boring; luckily the CMA (Corporate Mediation Alliance) cameras are rolling and they’ve set the stage for your success. Maps full of destroyable terrain are littered with game show props like corporate mascots, exploding fuel drums, air rams, human slingshots, and slides incentivize you to rack up stunts, catch the attention of the CMA play-by-play commentators, and be handsomely rewarded.

Continue here to read the full story.

Tic Toc Games announces Wrestle Story, a pro wrestling game coming to Windows and macOS via Steam, though it does not yet carry a release date. Here's the twist: In real life, professional wrestling isn't even wresting. In this game, professional wrestling is real life. Word is: "LIVE YOUR PRO WRESTLING STORY in this hard-hitting, smack talkin', RPG adventure! Create your wrestler, build your tag-team, and slam your way through an expansive 3D world where WRESTLING IS EVERYTHING!" Here's the Announcement Trailer and here are some details to grapple with:

Gold and glory beckon just over the horizon in the world of the Five Territories. Embrace the fiery spirit of a fearless underdog attempting to topple a corrupt network that seeks to control the sport you love. Turn the tables on each of the so-called “champs” by unleashing brutal timed-based attacks and — of course — flashy finishers ensuring a clean win to make crowds go wild!

Of course, victory wouldn't be as sweet without your loyal crew. Recruit allies on the path to greatness and nurture strong bonds to create an unstoppable force. Customize and level up each member with specialty gear, perks, abilities, entrance music, and more to exploit weaknesses and overwhelm scheming minions with a destructive tag team blitz.

Continue here to read the full story.

Australian developer Prideful Sloth announces Go-Go Town, a city-management game coming to PC and consoles next year. The Announce Trailer sets the story with some cinematics and offers a first look at gameplay. This does not seem like a hardcore politics simulator, as the premise is not based on how cities actually work. Here's word on how you get hired to be mayor by some shadowy corporation:

Dumped into a rundown town, you discover that you’ve been conned into this role by the greedy TownCo corporation, and that their town restoration project is a giant scam. However, with careful planning and a lot of gumption, you have a chance to restore the town to its former glory, and maybe even free the town from the clutches of TownCo in the process!

Who said being Mayor was going to be easy?! Get those hands dirty; terraform the land, play with power tools, construct fresh roads and shiny new shops, attract tourists, and juggle any unexpected challenges and disasters… Every decision and action made shapes the future of your town.

But even the busiest of bees need a chance to relax! Hop in your car and head into town where you can get to know the eclectic townsfolk, dance like no one’s watching, beat your high score at the arcade, indulge in a cheeky hotdog, pop a wheelie while riding your bike around, or even high-five a cow (if that's your thing).

Continue here to read the full story.

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is now available for Windows via Steam and for consoles, offering the latest chapter in this RPG series. Here's the inevitably musical Launch Trailer, and here's the story:

In Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, lead writer Yashichiro Takahashi, who delivered the script for the original Atelier Ryza game, returns to the franchise to deliver an unforgettable third chapter in the Secret series, a chapter that follows fan-favorite alchemist, Reisalin Stout, and her mischievous friends a year after the events of 2021’s Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy. The latest summer escapade finds Ryza and friends enjoying their peaceful lives on Kurken Island when they hear news that a mysterious group of islands have appeared in nearby waters. It turns out that these islands, known as Kark Isles, are having a negative effect on their homeland, so Ryza and her friends quickly set out to investigate. But when their investigation leads to an enormous gate deep within strange ruins, Ryza hears a haunting voice in her head that wants to lead her to the ‘Code of the Universe’. Who is talking to her and what lies beyond the gate?

Continue here to read the full story.

• Counter-Strike 2 Beta Has Leaked, Offline Play Available.
• Counter-Strike 2 may have a new Valve Anti-Cheat that cancels matches.

• UK regulator sides with Microsoft over Call of Duty on PlayStation concerns.

Official patches.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator March 23rd, 2023 Development Update.
• World of Warcraft Hotfixes- March 23, 2023.

Official trailers.

• Viewfinder - Gameplay Trailer.
• Wartales - 1.0 Release Date Announcement.

• Trackmania Challenger League: Promotion-Relegation event- everything you need to know. Thanks Frans.
• FaZe Clan reportedly looking to go private less than a year after Nasdaq listing.

• Lv. 99 Game Jam 2023 begins in three weeks.

• The best Resident Evil 4 Remake settings on PC.

• Comcast's millions kept the FCC in a stalemate. Here's how they won and why we must keep fighting.
• My Channel Was Deleted Last Night - Linus Tech Tips (video).
• Twitter now allows "non-toxic slurs" as long as the slurs are not hate speech. Also: "Most slur usage is not hate speech."

• OpenAI turns ChatGPT into a platform overnight with addition of plugins.
• Elon Musk reportedly tried and failed to take over OpenAI in 2018.
• I feel like my OLED gaming monitor is gaslighting me. Thanks Max.

Thanks Ant and DSLReports.

• Valve warns of Counter-Strike 2 scams offering Limited Test access.
• Police, Private HOAs Team Up to Buy License Plate Readers. Thanks Slashdot.
• City of Toronto confirms data theft, Clop claims responsibility.
• Uncle Sam sent cyber-soldiers to Albania to combat Iran.
• OpenAI CEO 'feels awful' about ChatGPT leaking conversations. They do say "open" up front.

• Lawsuit Over Fatal Call of Duty Swatting Incident Settled for $5 Million.
• South Korea fines McDonalds for data leak from raw SMB share. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• Resident Evil 4 Is Shocking – Review - PLAY OR PASS - ABC Gamer (video). Thanks Ant.

• Case: Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P MAX Mini-ITX Case Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• Case: Corsair iCUE 4000D RGB Airflow Review - TechPowerUp.
• Headset/Earbuds: 64 Audio U4s In-Ear Monitors Review - A New $1000 Benchmark? - TechPowerUp.
• Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming B760-PLUS WIFI D4 review - Guru3D.
• Mouse: ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Review - TechPowerUp.
• PSU: Cooler Master V850 Gold i multi 850W Report - APH Networks.
• SSD: Crucial P3 4TB M.2 NVMe SSD - Nikk Tech.

• Bungie pays tribute to Lance Reddick, more Destiny 2 performances still to come…

Well, I finally gave up on trying to find my unicorn electric kettle. I settled for one that had the proper capacity, lack of plastic, and (somewhat of) a gooseneck. It doesn't have any temperature settings, but it does have a thermometer to try and get things right. That's more fidgety than I'd like, but certainly better than the saucepan system I was using in the interim. The good news, from an odd perspective, is it's a cheap piece of junk. So maybe there will be a better option when it inevitably bites the dust like its predecessors. The best aspect of this whole project is a side-effect. I mentioned recent unclogging a bathroom sink. This has been flowing freely ever since, but there was a bad odor coming from the drain. I'd previously tried pouring mouthwash down there, but pipes can't gargle well, and it didn't seem to help. Since I needed to boil a couple of throwaway batches of water in my new kettle to start with, I poured one of these down the bathroom sink. Bingo! This eliminated the odor right away. The drain is PVC, so I let the water come off the boil first to avoid worrying I'd melt the pipes. Well, I did check them afterwards, so clearly I was still a little worried. But it was fine. I'm sure I'm still going to collect a scolding about this from someone who knows more about plumbing than me (which is basically everyone). But at this point it's water under the bridge, or at least down the drain. In the end, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome of my little project. It's hard to feel clean when you're getting a face full of sink stink.

Unscented Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Links

• It’s been reported that Russia has recruited Steven Seagal to teach martial arts to its soldiers. Thanks Acleacius.
• Blood, Sweat & Tears- How an Iron Curtain Tour Ruined a Rock Giant.

Stories

• Glasslike orchid species found hiding in plain sight in Japan. Thanks Acleacius.

Science

• Researchers turned superglue into a recyclable, cheap, oil-free plastic alternative. Thanks Acleacius.
• DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals a Surprise Almost 200 Years Later. He's 1/16th Cherokee?
• Negativity bias: Why we can’t look away from bad news, according to science. If it bleeds, it leads. Thanks Max.

Media

• Shazam! Fury of the Gods Pitch Meeting.
• Marshall McLuhan predicts ChatGPT in 1966.

Follow-up

• Missouri House advances bill to limit nonexistent vaccine microchips—just in case.