Vertpaint Games announces Ritual Tides, a cinematic horror title set in 19th century England coming to PC in Q3 of next year with console editions to follow. The Official Announcement Trailer is just concept art, quotes, and whispering, but we're promised a gameplay reveal in February 2025, so mark your calendars. If this leaves you wondering how many streams development is taking, or what special forces team the developers sees itself as, the announcement has you covered:

In Ritual Tides, players will find themselves washed up on a beach with the only goal being to uncover the island’s horrific secrets. Gruesomely designed enemies lurk, danger lies around every corner, and you best hide, or run. Ritual Tides presents a ‘gun’, but not in a typical fashion, candidly setting it apart from other games within this space. More on this to come in February 2025 when we'll be revealing gameplay, no spoilers for now!

Slated for a PC launch in Q3 2025, followed by major console launches, Ritual Tides is set to make waves within the horror genre, and is being developed by a proven team made up of senior talents from the likes of ex-Rockstar, CIG, TT Games, and more. Talent knows no bounds within Vertpaint Games, with glowing appraisals from industry legend and Director Jonathan Berube, who referred to the team as “The seal team of game development.”

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Early Access to Tlatoani: Aztec Cities is underway on Steam, offering Windows gamers the chance to step back in time to design and build a city in the ancient empire of the Aztecs. Even in Early Access this will probably be the most bug-free use of Adobe your PC will ever experience. Paradox Interactive provides an Early Access Release Trailer with a look, and the launch comes with a 20% discount. Here's more on the game and Early Access:

In Tlatoani: Aztec Cities, players take on the role of an Aztec leader responsible for developing a modest settlement into a powerful empire, ultimately achieving the esteemed title of Tlatoani. Success hinges on adeptly managing resources, military strength, public services, festivals, and religious customs, all while attending to the unique needs and daily lives of individually simulated citizens.

The Early Access release includes 8 campaign missions, 6 freestyle scenarios, a random map mode (sandbox) and with even more content planned throughout the Early Access phase.

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Blood On The Thames is now available on Steam, offering a horror story set in Victorian England that apparently does not involve Jack the Ripper (our legal department is still checking to see if you're allowed to do that). Here's word from developer Team Firestorm: "Steeped in Lovecraftian horrors, Blood on the Thames delivers a narrative-rich experience where players will uncover a web of conspiracies, playing detective in a terrifying tale of dread and mystery. Prepare to embrace the macabre as you step into a city haunted by unknown horrors..." The Launch Trailer takes a look, and the announcement explains:

In the dark and dingy streets of Victorian London, Minerva 'Mini' Ernest has lived a peaceful life - that was until her husband's savaged body was found in the Thames River. Returning home after police questioning, Mini discovers her maid collapsed in a pool of blood - sending the trajectory of her peaceful life into a terrifying spiral of death and destruction. As she digs deeper into these terrifying events, Mini realizes that there is a sinister force at play, one that threatens the very beating heart of London itself.

As Mini navigates the shadowy underworld of London, she must use her keen detective vision to spot crucial clues. However, it will be down to players to use their cunning and wit to understand how these strands might weave their way to the answers they seek.

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• Labyrinth Of The Demon King on Steam (Windows). "Venture through the Labyrinth Of The Demon King, solving puzzles and fighting fearsome monsters in an epic quest to track down the demon who betrayed your lord and end its life."

• BioWare Has No Plans for Dragon Age: The Veilguard DLC as It Turns Its Attention to Mass Effect 5 - IGN.

• Save 90% on Narita Boy on Steam.
• Get Up to 92% on Battlefield Games on Steam.
• Save 55% on Tennis Manager 2024 on Steam.

• Seablip - Wizards & Flags Update Out Now.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• Starfield just got a must-have Seamless City Interiors Mod - DSOGaming.

• Kuo- Cheaper 'Apple Vision' headset delayed beyond 2027 - 9to5Mac.
• Bridge Constructor Studio - Announcement Trailer.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - The Replacer "Moderator."
• Delta Force - "33 Days to Delta" PC Open Beta Official Trailer.
• Evil Lurks Below - Trailer.
• Skygard Arena - Early Access Date Reveal Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Destroying a Pay-to-win Rust Server with 5,000 Rafts ☠️. Thanks The Flying Penguin.

• Toyama Says Slitterhead is a 'Bit Rough Around the Edges' Like Silent Hill - GameRant.

• League of Legends Worlds tickets taken from fans last minute and ‘given to Linkin Park’ - VGC.

• Final Fantasy producer claims Square plans to release games simultaneously on Xbox going forward - VGC.

• Mizuho- NVIDIA Might Miss Its Guidance If Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Fails To Find Operational Funding - Wccftech.
• Satoshi Nakamoto- Bitcoin creator hunt hits another dead-end - BBC.
• TSMC rumored to receive High NA EUV machines from ASML this year - Tom's Hardware.
• Windows Server 2025 supports CPUs packing two to 192 cores — CPU support list spans Pentium chips to Xeon and EPYC parts - Tom's Hardware.
• Nvidia has renamed its Blackwell Ultra product series — here’s why - TechRadar.
• Quadruped robot climbs ladders, creeps us out - Fox News.

• China hacked phones of Donald Trump's family, says FBI - The Telegraph. Brace for incoming Eric nudies.
• Thousands of hacked TP-Link routers used in years-long account takeover attacks - Ars Technica.
• DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival - BBC. What sort of scum will they sell your genome to now?

• GlobalFoundries fined $500,000 for restricted chip exports to Chinese firm on U.S. entity list - Tom's Hardware. So, more of a fee than a fine, then? Thanks Max.

• Planet Coaster 2 Review "Buy, Wait, Never Touch?" - AGC (video).

• Laptop: Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (2024 Edition) Gaming Laptop - TweakTown.
• Laptop: Gigabyte G6 review- A swing and a miss - Tom's Hardware.
• PSU: Enermax PlatiGemini 1200 W Review - TechPowerUp.

Happy Standard Time to everyone who had to change their clocks today, as the end of Daylight Saving Time is once again upon us. For a hot minute there it seemed like there was momentum behind legislation to make the United States go with permanent Daylight time, but that seems to have petered out. An article on the Washington Post makes the case for why Standard time is healthier for people than Daylight time, so maybe permanent Standard time would be preferable. But I don't know anyone who thinks that jacking the clock back and forth twice a year is working well, so hopefully this isn't the last we've heard of this.

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

Science

• Huge Study Shows Where Gout Comes From, And It's Not What We Thought - ScienceAlert.
• Surprising 'Nocebo Effect' Shows Gluten May Not Be The Problem in IBS - ScienceAlert.
• Honeybee Behavior Genetically Programmed - Neuroscience News.

Media

• "Why Don't Aussies Celebrate Halloween!" - When Animals Fight Back #14 - Ozzy Man Reviews (NSFW).
• Straighten cables. How to remove the kinks in your cables.

Creature Features

• Pitbull Tries Lettuce His Reaction Is Hilarious 😂😂.

Follow-up

• Gut Inflammation Link to Alzheimer's Disease Confirmed Yet Again - ScienceAlert.