GOG.com announces another of its giveaways as part of its ongoing Black Friday Sale.* The store is now handing out free copies of Oaken to all comers, giving the chance to visit the Great Oak, listen to the Oak Song, and experience the turn-based strategy in this offbeat roguelike from Laki Studios and Goblinz Publishing. This is for keeps, and all you need to do is collect your copy within the next three days. Here's the not-sales pitch on why you should get in on this:

The world of Oaken is a mythical place, existing in a not easily defined space and time. It is stretched among the branches of the Great Oak. Its inhabitants are spirits that listen to the same voice, called the Oak Song.

The loss of that voice starts a series of events leading to a struggle that may either heal or destroy the Great Oak.

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

Overseer Games announces a second playtest for KAISERPUNK is now underway, as this alternate-history city builder progresses towards a planned launch in February. The test is on Steam, where you must request access, but the announcement suggests that acceptance is guaranteed. Word is: "Test will last until December 3rd, and time limit on single session has been increased to 5 hours. There is no limit on how many new sessions you can set up and start." This trailer teases the festivities, and you can read on for the details:

This Playtest version is still not a completed game, but it is much larger in scope, with much more features than before. You'll also notice a truckload of changes to previous game elements - that is all the result of your feedback. Reworked tutorial, added hints, many QoL details, these are only some of the changes. Immense bulk of other new content is here as a result of game being bigger and closer to completion. That means you'll encounter many features you haven't even seen in Playtest 1, so your feedback on that will also be taken to heart.

• Man in charge of Diablo thinks we should start calling games that he thinks are like Diablo 'Diablo-likes' - Rock Paper Shotgun. There's a case to be made.

• Garry's Mod: Over 25.4 million copies sold. Claims world record for "best selling PC exclusive."

• Riot Games will now ban creators for bad conduct even if it's not said in-game - Eurogamer.net.

• First-Of-Its-Kind “EA Sports Madden NFL Cast” to Stream Live Exclusively on Peacock for Texans-Chiefs Matchup on Saturday Dec 21.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator November 28, 2024 Development Update.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2- Heart of Chornobyl - Patch 1.0.1 is live! Here is the patchnote.
• Trash Goblin - -Full of Beans- Content Update (version 0.1.4676).

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

• This Starfield Mod attempts to convert the Shattered Space DLC into a fully-fledged Star Wars story - DSOGaming.

• Microsoft is reinstating its £1-$1 Game Pass trial, but only for PC - Eurogamer.net.

• Like a Dragon’s programmers publicly shared some of Infinite Wealth’s source code as a message to aspiring programmers. Thanks Max.

• INDIE Live Expo 2024.12.7 Teaser (English).

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Gideon is EASY - Elden Ring #88 - Carbot. Thanks Ant.

• X4: Foundations - What’s Next for X4- An Early Look into 2025.

• Atari 7800+ consoles now shipping.

• Mozilla Firefox ESR 128.5.1, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes. Thanks Frans.

• Margrethe Vestager, the World’s Top Tech Cop, Is Making Her Exit - The New York Times.
• Windows 11 really isn't that bad - PC Gamer. Best review the OS has gotten yet.

• All Here founder's arrest shows it's easy for startups to scam investors - Axios. Is that your shocked face? Thanks Neutronbeam.

• NHS major 'cyber incident' forces hospitals to pen and paper • The Register.
• Scammers use you're fired lures in phishing campaign • The Register.

• Wolfire and Dark Catt's antitrust lawsuit against Valve granted class action status - GamesIndustry.biz.
• Canada's antitrust watchdog sues Google - BBC.
• Fighting cybercrime with actionable knowledge • The Register.

• Case: FSP M580 Plus Review - TechPowerUp.
• Keyboard: Epomaker x AULA F65 Mechanical Wireless Keyboard - Mad Shrimps.
• Laptop: Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 Review - PCMag. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Mouse: Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless Review - TechPowerUp.
• Speakers/Soundbar: Creative Pebble X Plus Review - APH Networks.

We had a fine old time at our small family gathering yesterday. Our travels went smoothly, the food was good, and it was nice to see everybody. We've hosted big Thanksgivings in the past, and that's very rewarding. But to wake up today to no mess or leftovers to deal with is pretty pleasant. Actually, we do have a leftover, as we brought a pumpkin pie from a local farm, but MrsBlue also decided to make a batch of her decadent brownies, which are always a hit. And since there were already two other pies in the dessert mix (for five people), we were nominated to bring ours back. This suits, since pumpkin pie is about my favorite aspect of the traditional fixings. So the leftover situation couldn't have worked out better. Here's hoping everyone's plans or lack thereof were equally pleasant, and that recoveries from any food comas are complete.

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

Stories

• British lawmakers give initial approval to a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives - AP News.
• Coffee at highest price since 1977 following extreme weather in Vietnam, Brazil - Semafor. As opposed to what? Inflation since 1977 is 500%.

Science

• Almost All Languages Appear To Follow Zipf's Law, And We Have No Idea Why - IFLScience.

Media

• NASA Rocket Engine Fireplace - 8 Hours in 4K. Thanks ScienceAlert.
• Farthest jump pot of a pool ball between two tables. With those reflexes his girl would've taken a missed shot right to the face. #dadoftheyear

Follow-up

• President Macron visits Paris’s Notre Dame ahead of cathedral’s reopening after 2019 fire - CNN.

The Funnies

• Anatomy of a Maltese - Sheldon® Comic Strip. Thanks The Flying Penguin.