Prime Gaming Blog has an outline of the November perks of being a Prime Gaming member, which is an automatic benefit of being an Amazon Prime subscriber. Every month the service offers members a selection of games for free. In addition to a selection of games that can be played for free on Amazon Luna, the post lists the following giveaways members can collect over the course of this month:

This November, Prime members can claim a fresh lineup of free games, including Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Dishonored — Definitive Edition, Duck Paradox, Close To The Sun, Disney•Pixar Cars, Bang Bang Racing, Snakebird Complete, Ms. Holmes: The Case of the Dancing Men Collector’s Edition, Chasm: The Rift, House of Golf 2, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Blade of Darkness, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Overcooked: Gourmet Edition, Gloomy Tales: One-Way Ticket Collector’s Edition, Super Meat Boy, Moonscars, RIOT — Civil Unrest, Elite Dangerous, Sir Whoopass — Immortal Death, Jurassic World Evolution, Mystery Case Files: The Dalimar Legacy Collector’s Edition and Shogun Showdown.

Don't Be Afraid 2 is now available on Steam, offering a Windows horror sequel from Eneida Games and Cat-astrophe Games that puts you in an escape room, making for a simulation simulation of sorts. The Launch Trailer shows off all there is to not be afraid of here. It carries a 20% launch discount and there's also a bundle that includes the first game for 54% off (see below for details on how to play the original for free this weekend). Here's word on this PTSD-themed puzzle game:

Don’t Be Afraid 2 is a first person perspective horror game and a sequel to the 2020 game of the same title. Take on the role of David, a young man trying to cope with terrible trauma from his childhood, and dive deep into his fears and nightmares.

Relive the darkest moments of David’s life while exploring the horrific locations, gathering clues about his past and solving puzzles left behind by the deranged murderer toying with his life.

Continue here to read the full story.

As mentioned above, a free weekend is underway on Steam for the original Don't Be Afraid, the 2020 horror/adventure for Windows from Limo Games and Broken Arrow Games. If you want to keep playing after that, it currently carries a 90% discount off its already fairly modest price. The plotline here is disturbing, as you play as a kidnapped child seeking to escape your abductor:

You’ve been kidnapped by a child killer and placed in a house filled with puzzles. Try to break the system, escape and end the nightmare.

Your name is David, you are 11 years old... and this is the end of your innocent childhood.

You have woken up in a dark, cold room. Despite the darkness, you are trying to recognize the surroundings, but in vain. You don't know, where you are. Frightening sounds can be heard all around you, the feeling of helplessness fills in your soul. You are too afraid to walk alone in this terrifying space... but you have to.

• Assassin's Creed Shadows delay necessary to change "narrative" of Ubisoft's "inconsistency in quality" - Eurogamer.net. Lack of quality is fine as long as no one mentions it.

• Players Protest on Steam as Space Marine 2 Gets Unpopular Patch Update - DSOGaming.

Official patches.

• Elite Dangerous- Ascendancy - Available Now.
• StarCraft II 5.0.14 PTR Update.
• World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic: Rage of the Firelands Update is Now Live; Firelands Raid Opens on November 7.
• World of Warcraft Hotfixes: November 1, 2024.

• Bridge Constructor Studio - Announcement Trailer.

• Fortnite Chapter 2 Remix Official Trailer.
• Snoop Dogg Takes Over Fortnite in Chapter 2 Remix and Fortnite Festival Season 6. So gangsta.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Stumbling across a scary looking bed - Viva La Dirt League (NSFW). Thanks Ant.

• What 'Dragon Age- The Veilguard' Creative Director Learned From 'Anthem' - Rolling Stone.

• World of Warcraft — Rally Your Forces for Season of Discovery Phase 6 on November 21.

• Dystopika is a beautiful cyberpunk city builder without the ugly details - Ars Technica. Thanks Neutronbeam.

Thanks Console General.

• Xbox Alpha Ring (2411.241030-2200) Update Preview Release Notes.
• Xbox Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring (2411.241030-2200) Update Preview Release Notes.

• I Tried Real Augmented Reality Glasses! - Marques Brownlee (video). Thanks The Flying Penguin.
• Intel’s future laptops will have memory sticks again - The Verge. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.

• Comcast would've returned to broadband sub growth without ACP impact - Light Reading. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• Twitch streams about "political and sensitive issues" including "reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights" now require a label - Eurogamer.

• Nvidia Will Replace Intel in the Dow Jones Stock Index - The New York Times. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• StreamFab version 6.2.0.3. Thanks Console General.

• AI Will Understand Humans Better Than Humans Do - WIRED (may require registration or subscription). Despite how brilliant humans are at understanding ourselves.
• Meta unveils AI tools to give robots a human touch in physical world - VentureBeat.
• AI on your smartphone- Hugging Face’s SmolLM2 brings powerful models to the palm of your hand - VentureBeat.

• Banks urged to improve resilience to IT meltdowns • The Register. The things people need to be told.
• Florida Man Accused of Hacking Disney World Menus, Changing Font to Wingdings - WIRED (may require registration or subscription). Ron DeSantis has an alibi.

• A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Benchmarks & PC Performance Analysis - DSOGaming.

• Case: Ocypus Iota C70 BK ARGB Review - TechPowerUp.
• Laptop: ASUS Vivobook S15 (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite) Laptop - TweakTown.
• Monitor/Projector: Wanbo Dali 1 Smart Projector - Nikk Tech.
• Mouse: G-Wolves Hati-R 8K Review - TechPowerUp.
• Mouse: Turtle Beach Kone II Review- Big but surprisingly comfortable - Tom's Hardware.
• PSU: Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 13 1300W Power Supply Review - Tom's Hardware.

I updated the BIOS on my PC, which turned out to be a scary Halloween experience. The new version was released right before I happened to check, so I normally would have waited. But having one of Intel's more recent CPUs includes the fear that the scandalous voltage wonkiness might cause permanent damage, prompting a little more urgency. After overcoming apprehension about rushing into this, naturally there was a problem, as I ended up staring at a black monitor. The rule about BIOS updates is to avoid restarting during the process, but my motherboard has an LED to display error codes, which is a godsend in a spot like this. The code this threw translated to "Clean-up of NVRAM." This sounds like a disaster, and while it may be one in some cases, the main troubleshooting tip was to indeed restart the machine. So I held my breath and went for it. Thankfully it booted right up, and the BIOS reports its the latest version, so the drama was all an illusion and it all worked out fine. It should only take a few years to recover from the trauma and try something like that again.

Scary Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Brunch Link

• Tom Hanks Is Thankful a 'Forrest Gump' Sequel Was Never Made - The Hollywood Reporter. Unpopular opinion, but I hate the original.

Stories

• Gym requires climbing skills to use urinal - Boing Boing. The lawsuits will be worth all the lulz.
• US Space Force warns of “mind-boggling” build-up of Chinese capabilities - Ars Technica.

Science

• Fungi may not think, but they can communicate - Ars Technica. Future influencers.
• 15 Billion Miles Away, NASA's Voyager 1 Comes Back To Life Using 1981 Tech. Spock! Bones! Meet me in the transporter room!
• This Incredible Photo of an Ant's Face Is Like Something From a Nightmare - ScienceAlert.

Media

• How Da Bomb Hot Sauce is Made. Thanks RedEye9.
• NASA Rover Spots 'Googly-Eyed' Solar Eclipse - Videos from The Weather Channel.
• Doomed: The Czechoslovakian Nuclear Reactor That Kept on Having Accidents - Plainly Difficult. Thanks RedEye9.

Creature Features

• Hysterics As Dog Brings 'Flock of Chickens' and Rooster to His Farm - Newsweek.
• Man Finds Sloth Trying to Drive After Leaving Vehicle's Window Open - People.