A post by Hazelight's Josef Fares congratulates a pair of Split Fiction players on finding and completing a secret level included in the game as a special challenge. Word is the accomplishment earned the pair a trip to Sweden for an early look at the developer's next game. This trailer shows off the feat and IGN breaks down what it took to find, much less defeat this hidden level called "Laser Hell":

If you and a friend (for some reason) feel like taking a shot at Laser Hell yourselves, YouTuber ItzBytez uploaded a solid look at the whole level from front to back, including the puzzle that needs to be solved to even access it. All you need to do is input a binary code listed under a Skotos label at the location shown, have your partner stand beside you, and you’ll be taken down to a room where you’ll surely spend countless attempts trying to see Fares’ video in person.

Octarine Arts announces Finch & Archie, an episodic murder mystery with co-op support coming to PC later this year via Steam. Set during the Great Depression, you play as either Jack Finch, the detective or Archie, the police dog. A Teaser Trailer connects all the dots, showing the Finch and his best boy, well, connecting all the dots. Here's a bit:

The romance and glamour of the Roaring ‘20s is over; poverty and crime run rampant in the grimy streets of 1930s America. Jack Finch, a reclusive but hard-nosed detective, has sworn he’ll never work with another partner again. When he finds himself teamed up with the newly graduated police dog Archie, he wants nothing to do with the spunky canine.

But with a mass murderer on the loose and an ever-growing case file, the new team will have to learn to work together if they want to catch the culprit and restore peace to the city…

• Escape the Mad Empire - RDA Trailer - Paradox ARC. April 22nd.
• The Knightling – Release Date Trailer. August 28th.
• Ruffy and the Riverside - Release Date Trailer. June 26th.

• Helldivers 2 boss says industry doomed to "unnecessarily brutal" layoffs while "chasing after the battle royales" - Eurogamer.net.

• HeroCraft PC Complete (pay what you want and help charity) Humble.*
• Fulqrum Publishing Spring Break (pay what you want and help charity) - Humble.*
• Humble Heroines 2025 (pay what you want and help charity) - Humble.*
• RPG Maker Beyond Expectations Bundle (pay what you want and help charity) - Humble.*

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

• Historic fantasy ‘Assassin’s Creed’ sparks bitter battles - Taipei Times.

• New Fallout Figures by Dark Horse – Official Bethesda Gear Store.
• Diamond Select Toys Celebrates Jeff the Land Shark in Adorable New Statue - IGN.

Official patches.

• Blood Bowl 3 - Eternal League Open Beta.
• Play Riders Republic Season 14 Today.

• Project: Rush VR shooter announcement trailer.

• Fallout 76 players report a ‘game-breaking bug’ that could leave players unable to complete its new ghoul quest - VGC.

Official trailers.

• American Truck Simulator - Hear Us Out.
• Assassin's Creed Shadows - Full Open World Guide.
• Assassin's Creed Shadows - Master Stealth Guide.
• Assassin's Creed Shadows - Ultimate Combat Guide.
• Riders Republic: Season 14 Launch Trailer.
• Warframe - Techrot Encore - Official Gameplay Trailer.
• 'HORNET'S STING' UPDATE - WAR THUNDER.

• How Stalker 2's Developers Persevered As Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Began - GameSpot.

• Sea of Thieves - Season 15 Community Weekend Raring to Go on March 22nd.

• Captain Soda - Fizzy Arcade Shoot'em Up Platformer by Leoful — Kickstarter. "Captain Soda is an arcade shoot'em up platformer inspired by games such as Super Crate Box. You play as a pop bottle character, wielding powerful weapons to take on the alien invasion force." Here's a Reveal Trailer and there's a playable Windows demo on Steam.

• Reveals and updates on indie games coming to PlayStation – PlayStation.Blog.
• Shred the Underworld in Skate Story, coming to PS5 – PlayStation.Blog.

• Google Messages remote delete will soon save you from texting embarrassment – and here's how it works - TechRadar.
• Spirit Crossing - Official Game Announcement - Netflix.

• Discord CEO discusses IPO rumors, Nitro subscriber growth, and 'device agnostic' future of gaming - Yahoo! Finance.
• Former Game Informer staff tease a possible revival - The Verge.
• Chaos in Cloudflare’s Lisbon office: securing the Internet with wave motion. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Plex Pass is going up in price — and now you’ll need it for remote playback - The Verge.

• PCIe 7.0 Specification, Version 0.9- Final Draft Now Available for Member Review - PCI-SIG.
• Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27818 (Canary Channel) - Windows Insider Blog. Thanks Console General.

• Nvidia Bets Big on Synthetic Data - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• OpenAI’s Deep Research Agent Is Coming for White-Collar Work - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• NVIDIA Blackwell Powers Real-Time AI for Entertainment Workflows - NVIDIA Blog.
• Study finds AI-generated meme captions funnier than human ones on average - Ars Technica.

• US suspends some efforts to counter Russian sabotage as Trump moves closer to Putin - Reuters.
• IBM urges quick patching of critical AIX bugs • The Register.
• Cyberattack on nonprofit affects over 500k PA school workers • The Register.
• Personal info feared stolen from sperm bank • The Register.
• These 10 weak passwords can leave you vulnerable to remote desktop attacks - ZDNET.

• HP avoids monetary damages over bricked printers in class-action settlement - Ars Technica.
• Judge disses Star Trek icon Data’s poetry while ruling AI can’t author works - Ars Technica.

Last Link of the Day: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025) New Trailer - Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves.

The inZOI Online Showcase is a two-hour VOD recording of a one-hour presentation about inZOI, the upcoming lifestyle simulation that hopes to challenge The Sims series for supremacy in the sub-genre (thanks PC Gamer). This includes details on plans for its Early Access launch on March 27th, and a roadmap of what to expect leading up to the game's full launch. This features game director Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim discussing the process from a bizarre virtual bookstore set. This is in Korean, with a voiceover translation, which gets a little strange when another developer named Joel shows up and the translator has to deal with both sides of a conversation. The video includes a look at content and a discussion of the role AI plays in development. Kjun also reveals all the game's DLC will be free for all purchasers until the end of Early Access, which is another way of saying some of the game's content will be put behind a paywall after version 1.0 arrives. We're also told to watch out for Twitch streams today where Early Access keys will drop. Here's (translated) word on the pricing and DLC plan:

As I mentioned earlier, inZOI is not yet a finished product, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The more players participate, the better the game will become. With this in mind, we have internally decided to offer Early Access at the most reasonable price possible. So this [slide shows $39.99 USD] is the price we came up with. But as a developer, inZOI still has a lot to improve on. So this is what we're going to do. Until there's a full launch, all updates and DLCs will be provided for free. That's the decision we at inZOI studio came up with with Krafton.

Now, in order for this promise to mean anything, the development team has to continue consistently, and we are committed to continuing the development and committing to this roadmap [roadmap slides and discussion ensue].

Zorg Games announces Star Vortex. a science fiction action/RPG for PC where you design, upgrade, and operate your own starship. The Official Early Access Announce Trailer takes a look and announces Early Access should begin in Q2 of this year. If you can't wait that long, there's a playable Windows demo to check out right now on Steam. Here are the deets:

Star Vortex is a top-down ARPG space shooter that follows the formula of classic titles such as Diablo 2. Humanity is fighting wars on all fronts. Suddenly a new threat appears out of nowhere and begins attacking the human forces. Earth must be warned about this new danger and it is up to you to escort the mothership back home to deliver the unsettling news.

You play as a pilot of a fighter ship who must venture out into the space sector to find the gateway keys that will allow the mothership to reach Earth. Throughout your journey, you will gain experience allowing you to level up and upgrade your ship from a small frigate to a massive battleship while collecting equipment that synergizes with your build and playstyle. Explore randomly generated sectors fighting elite enemies and bosses then work your way up through difficulties.

Siscia Games is now playtesting Pompeii: The Legacy, its recently announced city-builder set in the aftermath of the famed eruption of Mount Vesuvius that wiped out the city. It promises "a highly polished experience that offers a true sense of what the final game will deliver" for participants. If that sounds good, you can request access on Steam. The most recent trailer offers "Pre-Alpha Footage," and the description explains further:

Pompeii: The Legacy is a unique city-building game set in the Roman Empire, focusing on the legendary city of Pompeii. The game begins 20 years after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, where you are tasked with rebuilding the city from the ashes.

As the head of a Roman family, you will oversee the reconstruction of Pompeii over several generations, making critical decisions that shape the city's future. Your city is a dynamic, living system. Construct buildings, manage resources, and ensure your citizens have everything they need to thrive. Every structure, road, and water supply plays a crucial role in keeping the city alive and prosperous.

Bohemia Interactive and Place of Departure announce details on Brute Horse, a co-op platformer revealed at gamescom. The title relates to its own brute force insertion of its pun, but that fits with a project described as "eccentric." And in case it must be stated about a game where you beat opponents to death with a horse, this includes a tongue-in-cheek element. This is seen in the Official Trailer, an exposition-heavy cinematic narrated by a well-informed pigeon. This post about the news encourages everyone to wishlist this on Steam. With apologies to Richard Harris (A Man Called Horse), here's more on this game featuring a horse called Horse:

Brute Horse is a wild story set in the harsh, fantastical world of South Vulgaria, where danger lurks around every corner across all of its divided kingdoms. Play as Brute, a barbarian with a fierce heart accompanied by his trusty steed.

When a battle leaves his beloved war horse gravely injured, Brute sets out on a frantic adventure to save his dearest companion.

WWith the help of Michelle, a brilliant inventress and a mercenary misfit, navigate through the treacherous lands filled with warring humans and fiendish creatures.

• Tile Tales: Pirate on Steam (Windows). "Solve tile-based puzzles while following the journey of a mischievous pirate as he plunders his way across a mysterious island in search of the ultimate treasure!"

• inZOI- Creative Studio Opening Announcement - Steam News.

• Ubisoft faces make-or-break moment with 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' - Reuters.
• The games industry is -broken- say the CWA - so they're building an "industry-wide union" - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Tencent Reports 90% Increase in Q4 Profits Driven by Gaming and AI - News and Statistics - IndexBox.
• Sensor Tower acquires Video Game Insights, Adds PC-Console Gaming Data - CNW.
• EA increases NIL payment for college football game from $600 to $1,500 - NBC Sports.

• Steam Accounted for More Than Half of Monster Hunter Wilds’ Total Dollar Sales in the U.S. - IGN.

• Palworld - Crossplay Update v0.5.0- Play across all platforms, Global Palbox and more.
• VALORANT Patch Notes 10.05.

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

• Cyberpunk 2077 gets the mod you never knew you needed- a service that'll text you random cat and dog facts midway through emotional chats with Keanu Reeves - VG247.

• PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Weekly Bans Notice (03/10~03/16).

• Heroes of the Storm is now one GeForce Now - Reddit.

• Xbox’s nunchuk-like Adaptive Joystick is now available, priced at $30 - VGC.

• Palworld - Crossplay Update Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• CCOMING SOON- DWARF FORTRESS (4 Part Series) - Noclip (thanks Ant).

• Meet the Game Developer Turning Fanfic Into Deadpool DLC - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).

• Autopsy Simulator - Console Announcement Trailer.
• Skate Story - Overlord Trailer.
• Xbox Beta Ring (2504.250313-2200) Update Preview Release Notes - Xbox Support. Thanks Console General.

• Google reveals Pixel 9a, with the largest battery ever in a Pixel - Ars Technica.
• Samsung’s One UI 7 is rolling out to Galaxy phones in April - The Verge.
• The Pebble E-Paper Smartwatch Is Back. Just Don't Call It Pebble - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• Tesla Got a Permit to Operate a Taxi Service in California—but There’s a Catch - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• The Electric State: Kid Cosmo - Official Game Trailer - Netflix.

• Taboola strikes deal to sell Microsoft display ads - Axios. Leveraging "first-party data" from those paid content recommendations. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• At Nvidia's GTC event, Pat Gelsinger reiterated that Jensen got lucky with AI, Intel missed the boat with Larrabee - Tom's Hardware.
• Nvidia's GTC 2025 keynote- 40x AI performance leap, open-source 'Dynamo', and a walking Star Wars-inspired 'Blue' robot - Venture Beat.
• Intel fans, rejoice - XeSS 2 is coming to more games, as its SDK is available for all developers to download - TechRadar.
• Windows 11 will soon let you know why your PC hardware sucks - The Verge.
• ViewSonic Launches Gaming Monitor with Switchable Refresh Rates Business Wire.
• Nvidia power meltdowns hit 8-pin adaptors — old power supplies are the common factor - Tom's Hardware.
• Nvidia unveils DGX Station workstation PCs with GB300 Blackwell Ultra inside - Tom's Hardware.
• Releasing Windows 11 Build 26100.3613 to the Release Preview Channel - Windows Insider Blog. Thanks Console General.

• Microsoft and NVIDIA deepen AI collaboration at GTC AI conference - Neowin.
• Synchron’s Brain-Computer Interface Now Has Nvidia’s AI - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• Volvo is using AI-generated worlds to make its cars safer and it’s all thanks to something called Gaussian splatting - TechRadar.

• Free online file converters could infect your PC with malware, FBI warns - TechRadar.
• Linux Foundation's trust scorecards aim to battle rising open-source security threats - ZDNET.

• Square Enix suing to stop this ‘Front Mission-style’ mecha game - Polygon.
• Google agrees to pay $28m in racial bias lawsuit - BBC.

• Assassin's Creed Shadows is Two Steps Forward One Step Back - Newsweek.

• Case: be quiet! Pure Base 501 LX Review - TechPowerUp.
• Graphics Card: ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi OC Review - Excellent Cooling - TechPowerUp.
• Graphics Card: ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Steel Legend OC Graphics Card Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• Laptop: Asus V16 V3607V laptop review- GeForce RTX graphics without breaking the bank - NotebookCheck.net Reviews. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Monitor/Projector: ViewSonic XG2736-2K 27-inch QHD 240 Hz gaming monitor review- Getting faster all the time - Tom's Hardware.
• RAM: T-Force Xtreem DDR5-7200 48 GB Pink Memory Kit - Wccftech.
• SSD: Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB SSD Review - A New Contender - TweakTown.

Happy March Madness to all who are getting all crazy with this, as the annual NCAA basketball tournament gets underway today. As I've apologetically noted in the past, I don't really follow college sports, so I won't impose a pool on anybody. This is probably a relief to most of you, who get too much sportsball already from my ramblings about tackle football and the NFL. For college hoops fans, best of luck, and here's hoping that if any of your picks lose you'll find a way to rebound.

Hoop Dee Doo Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Breakfast Link

• JFK Assassination Records - 2025 Documents Release - National Archives.

Stories

• Mexico City introduces ‘bloodless bullfighting’ in win for animal rights activists - The Guardian.
• Why are the most expensive Netflix movies also the worst? - The Guardian. If it's not on the page, it's not on the stage.
• '47 Ronin' director charged with $11 million fraud over doomed Netflix sci-fi series - Engadget. Bought FIVE Rolls-Royces.

Science

• Undiscovered cause of Parkinson’s found for first time by scientists in huge breakthrough - The Independent.
• Man survives with titanium heart for 100 days – a world first - Nature.
• Study on World's Oldest Woman Confirms How to Live Past 100 - ScienceAlert.
• Iguanas likely crossed the Pacific millions of years ago on a record-setting rafting trip - AP News. The William Blighs of lizards.

Media

• 10 Movie Villains Secretly Introduced Way Earlier Than You Realise - What Culture.
• Why Your Brain Blinds You For 2 Hours Every Day - Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. Thanks Simon.
• "It's Complicated": The Midnight Rider Accident - Fascinating Horror. Thanks The Flying Penguin.

Creature Features

• Kayaker saved baby otter-a year later, she hasn't forgotten (video) - Boing Boing.