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MindsEye is a GTA/Cyberpunk-ish game about shooting AI robots, and its co-ceo claims there’s “concerted effort” involving evil bots to make people think it’s rubbish

Yesterday, Build A Rocket Boy – the studio helmed by Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies – showed off some gameplay from the GTA-ish, Cyberpunk-ish, FarCry map editor-ish action thriller MindsEye, which is set to let you shoot a bunch of evil AI robots. Now, BARB’s co-ceo has claimed that there’s a real life “concerted effort to trash the game and the studio” going on, involving evil bots.

Yep, he seemingly just suggested these things were the case via some responses to players on the game’s Discord server, as you’d expect an exec to casually do.

Mark Gerhard, the co-ceo in question, goes by the handle MMG in the server, and was asked during a bit of back and forth about the game with fans: “Do you think that all the people who reacted negatively were financed by someone?” He responded: “100%”

Naturally, folks were a bit taken aback by an exec at a studio seemingly suggesting negative reception for a game had been paid for in some fashion, but Gerhard went on to add: “doesn’t take much to guess who”. A user in the server was quick to comment: “a co-CEO for a studio implying another studio is paying previewers to talk negatively about your game is an absolutely wild comment to make in a public environment in any situation”, to which the exec replied: “Not wild when it’s true…..”

Image credit: VG247

Fans and content creators in the server who’d expressed criticism of MindsEye or Build A Rocket Boy then started to question whether Gerhard might be talking about them, leading the co-ceo to respond to such questions being asked about a user with the handle Cyber Boi.

“Folks I never said Cyber Boi was being paid by anyone,” Gerhard wrote, “I just said that there is a concerted effort by some people that don’t want to see Leslie or Build A Rocket Boy to be successful that are making a concerted effort to trash the game and the studio. Its pretty easy to see the bots and the repeated replies to any content that we put out.”

GTA YouTuber GameRoll then asked him directly: “So just to clarify – you believe that individuals, be it content creators or otherwise, have been paid off to criticise Mindseye?” “No I never said that,” Gerhard responded, “I do KNOW that there are bot farms posting negative comments and dislikes.”

VG247 has reached out to Build A Rocket Boy and MindsEye publisher IO Interactive for comment.

Are you keen to give MindsEye a go when it arrives on June 10? Let us know below!

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28/05/2025

WoW Mists of Pandaria Classic finally gets a launch date, and it’s not far off

World of Warcraft has been around for a long, long time now and, as a result, its players are likely to have different opinions on their favorite eras of the game, that timeline punctuated by the launch of expansions ranging from The Burning Crusade through to The War Within. Most agree, though, that 2012’s Mists of Pandaria marks a high point for the long-running MMO, which has made its addition to WoW Classic eagerly anticipated. Today, Blizzard has announced that it won’t be much longer before the expansion is ready to play in something close to its original form once again.

The revamped, throwback version of World of Warcraft has steadily added in each expansion present in the original MMORPG since its 2019 launch. Now, Mists of Pandaria Classic is nearly here, providing a solid opportunity to return to the expansion or play it for the first time.

As before, the expansion brings players to the previously isolated lands of Pandaria, with the new characters and plotlines the setting contains. In the lead up to its full launch, a pre-expansion patch is set to arrive, bringing with it the ability to create a Pandaren character, use the Monk hero class, and earn the Shaohao’s Sage Serpent Skyriding mount to bring into regular WoW. Players can use the Joyous Journeys experience buff until this pre-patch launches if they’re in a hurry to reach level 85 in time for Mists of Pandaria. There’s also a pet battling minigame, reworked classes and loot gathering, as well as the Theramore’s Fall world event designed to serve as a prologue for the full expansion’s storyline.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Classic launches on Monday July 21, 2025. The pre-patch arrives the week of Tuesday July 1, 2025.

In the meantime, you can get more out of your time preparing for Mists of Pandaria through our guide to the best WoW addons, or find something else entirely to check out in our picks for the best free MMOs on PC.

You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.

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28/05/2025

[⚔️] Complete Noobs Must Die Item Tier List and Guide [Alpha]

Items are the most important aspect of power in Noobs Must Die. As waves of Noobs grow stronger and more relentless, players must rely on a different Items to hold their ground. Each Item offers unique strengths and, when combined thoughtfully, can create powerful synergies that turn the tide of battle. Understanding how these Items work together is key to surviving longer, so follow along with my Noobs Must Die Item Tier List and Guide to find the most effective way to destroy all the Noobs.

Noobs Must Die Item Tier List

None of the Items in Noobs Must Die are bad, but some are better than others. Each item has a synergy with another item, so even the Tier 1 Items have a use. Battle Armor is the best, as it allows you to become unkillable for a few seconds, letting you jump into groups of enemies and killing all of them without a risk of losing your run.

Noobs Must Die Item List

Below is a complete and detailed list of all Items in Noobs Must Die, listed by how good they are and accompanied by their best synergies with other Items:

Noobs Must Die item Synergy

Items in Noobs Must Die offer a creative and strategic system that rewards smart combinations and timing. Standout Items like Battle Armor and Windforce offer powerful defensive and offensive benefits, with the former granting invincibility and the latter summoning an orbiting sword for continuous damage. Pairing Windforce with Speed Coil or Bloxiade creates a fast, aggressive playstyle, while mixing Battle Armor with Regen Coil or Chezburger boosts survivability. Items like Domino Crown and Taco enhance critical and luck-based builds, and TNT can add unexpected explosive power when supported by Witches Brew or Breath of Fire.

How to get Items in Noobs Must Die

A guide on how to get new Items in the Noobs Must Die Roblox experience. — Go to the Shop, and then buy them for TIX.

To get new Items in Noobs Must Die, you simply need to head to the Items Items on the right side of the screen and purchase new Items. Once you purchase them for the specified number of TIX, the Item will be available in the Item Pool for your next attempt.

That is all for my Noobs Must Die Item Tier List and Guide. Check out our other Roblox Articles for more fun games and codes that can help you get freebies.

The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

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27/05/2025

Kickstarter Tips & Tricks — Pine Island Games

A couple of months ago I wrote up a pretty comprehensive guide on How to Structure a Kickstarter page. We’re still deep in the weeds putting together our Kickstarter for Sigil (launching 05/16!!), and I wanted to share some more tips and tricks that for taking your page to the next level.

Dead Space & Boarders

Kickstarter automatically inserts line spacing between images (the cannot abut against eachother). This means that when create assets for the page you need to take into account that there will be dead white space between them. There are a few ways to deal with this.

1. Combine Assets into Large Images

This is a trick we are doing for our Sigil Kickstarter. Instead of having a headline image, quote, and then what’s in the box image each separately, we are combining them into one master image. We have more control over the flow of the page, and can seamlessly have assets flow into each other without dead space.

You do need to break images (and have dead space) when you want to insert a link, a button or a video. So, eventually you’ll need to plan for the image to end, and how it will transition to dead space or your next graphic.

2. Fade Images into the Negative Space

A good example of this approach is the Elden Ring board game campaign. The IP includes a lot of mist effects which the creators incorporated to allow their images to blead into the negative space that Kickstarter forces between images.

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27/05/2025

Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 19

Welcome!

Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.

We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.

On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.

Sarah’s segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we’re all familiar with.

Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.

We hope you enjoy the additional content!

Our History

We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.

Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!

Contact Us

Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.

You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.

Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

If you have questions that you’d like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish!

Burning Questions for Ludology

Support the Show

Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.

We currently have 3 “First Listen” series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.

The Memories that Made Us (monthly) – memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
Ludology Live – recordings from conventions around the world

Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!

Become a Ludology Patron

You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page – sorry!

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27/05/2025

The Board Game Content Ecosystem — Pine Island Games

Paid Versus Unpaid

It’s important to note the difference between paid and unpaid content. Most review content and round ups is unpaid, while a lot of preview content is paid. Whether content is paid or unpaid will also depend on the individual creator, and the size of the channel’s audience.

For instance, a smaller channel will likely create preview content for free (to help build its audience and have novel content), while larger established channels will charge a fee for content.

Not all paid content is created equal, and it’s important to partner with creators whose tastes and audiences align with your design. Even when content is paid, you can tell how enthusiastic content creators are about the game they are covering.

Getting Coverage

There are two main kinds of coverage – coverage before your game is released or crowdfunded, and coverage after your game is published.

I wrote up an article on how to reach out to content creators: How to Query Content Creators.

It’s worth noting that the process of reaching out to content creators is relatively similar in each case. However, once your game is published you will get a higher proportion of inquiries for coverage, as well as unprompted coverage.

Once a game is published, unless you are paying for specific content (like a how to play video), the vast majority of coverage will be unpaid (although you may send a review copy of your game).

Where to Find Content Creators

Most readers will have their own favorite board game content creators. Those are a great place to start when looking for reviewers and previewers for your game. But, it’s always worth expanding your playlists. Here are a few places to look for content creators for your game:

Who are your favorite under the radar board game content creators?

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27/05/2025

Balatro meets Hades in The Devil’s Due, a poker deckbuilder where cheaters win

They say that cheaters never prosper, but in The Devil’s Due, it’s the only way you’re going to save yourself from Hell. This deckbuilder sees your cowboy losing his soul to the Devil in a poker match, and the only escape is to put together the most dishonest, low-down dirty deck of cards you can.

The Devil’s Due may not be out until next year, but it’s already off to a strong start. The trailer for this card game tells its tale through a brilliantly silly song, with your cowboy protagonist on a Hades-style quest to escape the underworld.

To accomplish this goal, you’ll have to face off against a host of demonic poker-playing characters who want to send you back down to the lowest pits of Hell. So what do you do? You cheat. After all, no-one can send you to Hell for it, you’re already there! You’ll swap out cards, hide others, and generally be as underhanded as you can.

You can fail, absolutely, but that’s where this game’s roguelike element kicks in. You can unlock permanent upgrades, new cheat cards and more until you’ve finally earned your redemption.

Except, does it really count as redemption if you cheat your way there? Your cowboy’s cheating is what drew the Devil’s attention in the first place, after all. As Joachim Barrum, the artist behind the game’s delightfully bizarre monsters puts it:

“The monsters hate when you cheat. It makes them feel like they’re being treated unfairly. Sure they are demons. But which of you is the real tormentor?”

The Devil’s Due is pencilled in for a Q2 2026 release date. If you want something to play in the meantime, we’ve got the best strategy games and the best indie games.

You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.

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27/05/2025

Which property group colour gives the best ROI , undeveloped or fully developed, in Monopoly?

Everybody always goes for the dark blues in Monopoly (Mayfair and Park Lane in the UK edition), but I’m convinced that the cheaper colour groups offer a better return on investment, partly because you can fully develop them quicker, and partly because you can own more squares, thereby giving you more "hits" and a steadier income. But is there any analysis to support (or refute) this view?

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27/05/2025

Definitive Volleyball Legends Abilities Guide and Tier List [UPDATE 20] – Best Abilities for Each Position

If you’ve seen others score some easy points using special moves that you haven’t seen before, then they are definitely using abilities. Compared to styles, abilities in Volleyball Legends aren’t necessarily stronger the rarer they are. Still, some stand out from the rest. So, here is a Volleyball Legends abilities tier list to help you choose the right one for you.

Volleyball Legends Abilities Tier List

We decided to rank abilities in the above tier list based on how useful they are in Volleyball Legends Pro servers. Playing on Pro servers assumes that your team will be more coordinated and ready to play off of each other. Volleyball Legends is all about team play, and most abilities are designed with that in mind. However, skills like Redirection Jump, Super Sprint, and Steel Block can be even more useful when playing with random players.

Best Abilities for Spiking, Blocking, Setting, Serving, and Receiving

In contrast to the tier list, some abilities in Volleyball Legends are way more useful, depending on your play style. With that in mind, below are a few abilities that pair up well with some styles from our Volleyball Legends styles tier list:

Shield Breaker ability from Volleyball Legends Roblox experience — Screenshot by Escapist

Redirection Jump ability from Volleyball Legends Roblox experience — Screenshot by Escapist

Ability	Details	Rarity
	• The Shield Breaker makes your next spike go through blocks. • Shield Breaker is the best ability for spikers, allowing you to score easy points.	Secret (0.01%)
	• Redirection Jump makes you immediately jump, scaled by the stat of your style. • While in the air, you can spike the ball in any direction you are aiming at. • Without this ability, you can only spike the ball in the direction your character is facing.	Godly (0.5%)

Ability	Details	Rarity
	• Curve Spike makes your next spike curve in the direction of your tilt (A/D on the keyboard while in the air). • How much the ball is curved depends on the power of your spike. With very powerful spikes, the ball barely curves a bit.	Godly (0.5%)
	• Zero Gravity Set is the best ability for any setter out there. However, it only works while you are on the ground.	Legendary (2%)
	• Steel Block speeds up and angles your next block. • It’s perfect for scoring easy points on the net. • Before you jump for a block, make sure to face and angle yourself to the side so that you bypass the players trying to block in front of you.	Legendary (2%)

Ability	Details	Rarity
	• Boom Jump enhances your jumps. • It is most useful when serving and when trying to catch super-high sets from your teammates.	Rare (35%)
	• Team Spirit lives up to its name as it increases the movement speed of all players on your team. • If you are a team player who likes to sit in the back and support your team, bring Team Spirit with you.	Common (62.5%)

Ability	Details	Rarity
	• Moonball shoots the ball way up in the air and makes it fall quickly back to the ground. • It’s only useful when all opponents try to play on the net.	Rare (35%)
	• Super Sprint greatly increases your movement speed. • It is a very versatile ability that is great for catching stray balls and repositioning before a block or a spike.	Common (62.5%)

Ability	Details	Rarity
	• Rolling Thunder allows you to make a super dive and bump difficult-to-catch balls. • Very situational ability overall.	Common (62.5%)

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27/05/2025

Stretch Goals & Startfalls — Pine Island Games

I like to think of stretch goals in a couple of categories:

Component upgrades (ex: black core card stock)
Additional game content (ex: playable character unlocks)
Non-game content add-ons (ex: sticker sheets included with the game)
Out of game content (ex: phone wallpapers)

While I understand game content as a stretch goal for content heavy games that are still in development (writing quests costs money), I prefer games that have a strong baseline of component quality and include stretch goals that take a game beyond what would be expected in a retail edition – add-ons like sticker sheets, super-premium stock & finishes, or even a box insert (an expensive component for the publisher).

Are Stretch Goals Powerful?

Qualitatively stretch goals seem to have at least some impact on campaign success – I noticed more activity on our Nut Hunt campaign when we were approaching stretch goals (which increases visibility). However, it is hard to really know how much of an impact stretch goals have.

My gut is that monetary stretch goals are more meaningful for smaller and moderate sized campaigns where backers understand that stretch goals are more of a sharing of economics – and the publisher doesn’t necessarily expect all goals to be hit. In this sense, I expect some backers of big (multi-hundred-thousand dollar) campaigns go into backing with the expectation that all stretch goals will be unlocked (as evidenced by big box publisher behavior of unlocking all goals after the campaign even if they weren’t hit).

In this sense, the power of stretch goals for bigger campaigns is more in the excitement they provide for the community, and the interaction they drive, rather than as an mechanism for component upgrades or additional game content.

Which brings us full circle to Fractured Sky

Starfalls

In forgoing traditional monetary (content & component upgrade) stretch goals, IV Studios has what they call “Starfall Rewards”.

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26/05/2025

بلاگ

Noobs Must Die Item Tier List

Noobs Must Die Item List

Noobs Must Die item Synergy

How to get Items in Noobs Must Die

Volleyball Legends Abilities Tier List

Best Abilities for Spiking, Blocking, Setting, Serving, and Receiving

List of Abilities in Volleyball Legends

S-Tier Abilities

A-Tier Abilities

B-Tier Abilities

C-Tier Abilities

D-Tier Abilities

How to Reroll Abilities in Volleyball Legends