Ava: February: Why bother? Well, because it’s nearly the end of the voidperiod. February is shorter than January and by the end you can actually feel the days getting longer. Unless you’re in the other half of this big weird ball, in which case you must hate me for always banging on about the seasons. SORRY!
This week on the very Shut Up & Sit Down website, Matt is taking the lead (to buy me some time for me to sing the praises of a little box in MY next review) and reviewing something he’s been excited enough about that I’m now also excited. Isn’t it great that it’s possible for enthusiasm to catch?
That should be Wednesday or thereabouts, and then Thursday, there may be a little sneaky surprise of a launch event on the old twitch channel. Don’t touch that dial if you want to catch some of us doing something silly. Though I guess it’s Twitch not radio so its more ‘set your notifications and then notice them at the right time’.
Finally on Friday, it’s a triple-headed pod-beast, as me, Quinns and Tom shake the cobwebs out and talk about some board games! We’ve got Ishtar, a desertified garden-grower that isn’t as fertile a crescent as I was hoping. Tom wants to talk about Endangered, and how good and/or bad he is at saving animals from endangerers. Finally Tom and Quinns delve into the beautiful duelling card game Radlands, and ask me if I can adjudicate a tricky piece of board game etiquette. I haven’t got a gavel though.
So, folks, what board game problems do YOU want me to pass judgment on? Do we reckon I can become an agony aunt? I’ll ask Matt. You’re probably better off just telling me what you got up to this weekend.
Days Gone occupies a weird place in gaming culture. It sold nine million copies, but barely made a dent in day-to-day culture and gaming discussions. In a strange way, that makes it perfect for a remaster. Old fans get to replay the game optimized for PS5, while new ones can discover it for the first time.
A common criticism – and one that rings true, to an extent – is that Days Gone has an identity crisis. The open world exploration brings to mind Red Dead Redemption. The focus on biking is very Sons of Anarchy. The zombie apocalypse and day/night cycle bring to mind Dying Light, while the emotional beats are reminiscent of The Last of Us. However, Days GoneRemastered manages to feel distinct from all of these.
Image Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment via The Escapist
You play as Deacon St. John – a violent but ultimately good-hearted biker whose beloved wife, Sarah, dies in the opening hours of a zombie outbreak. Two years later, Deacon ekes out an existence living in the wilderness of Oregon, doing jobs for the various survivor camps dotted around the wilderness.
A Bloody Good Time
Gameplay largely consists of travelling around the countryside and abandoned towns, fighting freakers (Zombies, in classic “Not-using-the-Z-word” fashion) and human enemies, ranging from marauders to the deadly Rippers. There’s plenty of side content to enjoy, ranging from clearing outposts to taking down hordes of up to 500 freakers.
While taking down hordes seems impossible at first, it’s a huge moment when you clear your first one. It’s always fun to race through obstacles, waiting for the perfect moment to spring a trap.
Along the way, you’ll find various encampments filled with survivors, which offer an interesting, if ultimately shallow, morality system. Most camps will offer either guns or upgrades to your bike, and early on, you’ll be forced to choose whether to send any survivors you find to a work camp or one under martial law and run by a conspiracy nut. It’s a dilemma, but one that’s instantly solved as soon as you unlock the third camp. Lost Lake offers bike upgrades and guns, and quickly cements itself as the good option. While you might need to send survivors elsewhere from time to time, sending them here just feels right.
Image Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment via The Escapist
Compared to a lot of post-apocalyptic worlds, the Farewell Wilderness feels alive. Everywhere you go, you’ll see deer darting across the path, enemy camps, or survivors to rescue. Deacon will meet plenty of people he can interact with and do missions for. While none of the bonds feel as strong as one like Joel and Ellie’s, these characters still feel important and deep. You’ll see his annoyance at a happy-go-lucky addict, or his protectiveness of a mentally broken young woman. Missions are separated not just into what they are but who they focus on, so you can see these relationships progress; however, there are no choices to make here, and many of them are story-mandated, so you’ll complete most of them as you play the game.
Blood, Bikes, and Booms
The best new addition is Horde Assault mode, an endless game mode where you’ll face progressively bigger and bigger hordes until you eventually die. There are different zones for the mode, each of which thrusts you into a different section of the map. Unlike something like The Mercenaries it’s a frankly huge chunk of the map, and there’s no time limit – you just keep going until your inevitable death.
However, Days Gone Remastered isn’t quite as beautiful or as detailed as many of its contemporaries. It’s pretty, but doesn’t look as good as the games it emulates. The remaster improves the lighting, the number of enemies on screen, and the skybox is gorgeous, but it doesn’t quite look as good as it wants to. There are a few floating textures from time to time, or somewhat cheap visual effects.
Image Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment via The Escapist
As good as the story is, it does make an odd habit of cutting things out. Cutscenes will occasionally jump from Point A to Point C, going from cause to effect without showing us the action. Deacon will frequently discuss the bounties he’s picked up as if we’re supposed to know who they are.
There were also a few glitches – nothing major, but it was annoying to see an aura around a character. A few times, I saw freakers flying through the air or fighting with nothing while I took potshots at them. Most annoyingly was a recurring glitch where the music would play so loudly that it drowned out the dialogue. It only happened a few times, but it was always frustrating, despite the gorgeous soundtrack.
Overall, Days Gone Remastered is a fantastic, if flawed, game. It isn’t quite as good as the games it emulates, but if “It’s not The Last of Us” is a valid complaint, then it’s one you can throw at most titles. It’s a game that absolutely deserves your time, either as a replay or for the first time.
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What is the best gaming CPU? Your choice of processor will fundamentally affect your PC’s frame rates, so you want to make sure you buy the very best gaming CPU you can afford when you’re speccing up a new rig. It’s your CPU that sets up the frames for your GPU to render in games, making it the foundation of your gaming PC hardware.
Our current top choice is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It’s the fastest chip available for gaming and is powerful for other tasks too, yet has quite low power consumption and a reasonable price. For a more budget choice, the Intel Core i5 12400F is a great option. Or, you can opt for the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X that lets you upgrade to a 9800X3D later on. For more options, including high-end and powerful integrated graphics choices, check out the list below. Also see the how to choose and FAQ sections of this guide for more help in learning what to look for in your next CPU.
Why you can trust our advice ✔ At PCGamesN, our experts spend hours testing hardware and reviewing games and VPNs. We share honest, unbiased opinions to help you buy the best. Find out how we test.
Best gaming CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Best gaming CPU overall
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D specifications:
Socket
AM5
Cores
8
Threads
16
Base clock
4.7GHz
Boost clock
5.2GHz
L3 cache
96MB
TDP
120W
Pros
Phenomenal gaming performance
Overclockable
Significantly faster than 7800X3D in multi-threaded software
Cons
Expensive price
You only get eight cores
Draws more power than 7800X3D
AMD has pulled out all the stops for its latest X3D chip, meaning the best gaming CPU right now is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This eight-core CPU isn’t cheap, but it takes the winning formula of its predecessor, the 7800X3D, and runs with it.
The 9800X3D is quite simply the fastest gaming CPU we’ve ever tested, and it absolutely obliterates the current Arrow Lake competition from Intel. This CPU tops our frame rate charts in Cyberpunk 2077 and Far Cry 6, and it’s also much quicker than its predecessor in application software.
The secret to this CPU’s success is its use of 2nd-gen AMD 3D V-cache, a large 64MB slice of silicon that sits under the CPU cores, providing a big boost in cache that saves your CPU having to access slower RAM for its data.
This cache massively improves gaming performance, and the fact that it’s underneath the CPU cores on the 9800X3D (as opposed to on top of them as in the 7800X3D) means your CPU cooler now directly cools those cores, rather than cooling the cache first. This not only means cooler operating temperatures than the 7800X3D, but it’s also enabled AMD to up the clock speeds, with a top boost clock of 5.2GHz.
Add in AMD’s latest Zen 5 architecture and you have a formidable gaming CPU, as well as a chip that can handle multi-threaded software without breaking a sweat. It doesn’t have loads of CPU cores, but it has enough for most people’s needs, and it’s a fantastic chip for gaming.
While the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D has now been usurped by the superior 9800X3D, there are still reasons to consider buying the previous champion, particularly if you can’t quite afford the new chip. The saving isn’t huge – sadly the 7800X3D still hasn’t been heavily discounted, despite the newer 9800X3D being around – but can often be had for around $50 less.
The 96MB of L3 cache inside the 7800X3D does wonders to boost the floor and ceiling of frame rates, ensuring that you’re getting all the pixel-pushing juice out of your graphics card. Its effects are most keenly felt at resolutions like 1080p, making it an ideal choice for competitive gamers.
It will concede ground where clock speeds are king, but these instances are few and far between in our experience. Plus, the AM5 motherboard you pick up to seat the 7800X3D will serve you well for a drop-in upgrade, futureproofing your build.
If you’re looking to build a gaming PC on a very tight budget, the Intel Core i5 12400F is a bargain CPU. The price is amazing for the gaming performance on offer. Unlike newer budget CPUs, such as the Core i3 13100, the Core i5 12400F has six P-Cores under its heat spreader, rather than just four, giving it plenty of raw horsepower in games.
Don’t be fooled by the ’12’ in this CPU’s model number either – the Alder Lake architecture used by this chip is very similar to the Raptor Lake architecture used in Intel’s latest 14th gen CPUs, and we’ve found it more than capable when it comes to gaming. Unlike AMD’s AM5 CPUs, you can run the Core i5 12400F with your old DDR4 memory if you have some in an existing system, and it will happily run an old motherboard with a B660 chipset.
With its TDP of just 65W, this CPU also doesn’t need a massive AIO cooler to keep it in check – a decent air cooler will do the job fine. There are a few catches. One is that this ‘F’ model has no integrated GPU, but that’s not an issue if you buy a separate graphics card for gaming. It also doesn’t have any of Intel’s E-Cores, which provide a boost in multi-threaded work, but these are largely irrelevant when it comes to performance in most games.
The peak clock speed of just 4.4GHz could also be higher, and this isn’t a K-series CPU either, so it’s not easy to overclock, but you can’t have everything at this price. This is the best option if you want a decent gaming CPU for the cheapest price possible.
If you want to get a decent gaming CPU on a tight budget, but also want a bit of a boost in multi-threaded work such as video encoding and rendering, the Core i5 13400F is a solid candidate. It features six of Intel’s latest Raptor Lake P-Cores and a 4.6GHz boost clock, making it a capable processor for gaming, but it also has an added bonus over the 12400F.
Unlike its predecessor, the 13400F also has four of Intel’s low-power E-Cores under its heat spreader, giving you a total of ten cores, which gives it a boost in multi-threaded software. It’s an ideal choice for anyone who does more than just game with their system but doesn’t have a huge amount of money to spend.
Like the 12400F, this chip doesn’t have a K in its model name, which means it can’t officially be overclocked by changing the multiplier, and the F means it doesn’t have an integrated GPU either. However, the latter enables you to save some money if you’re buying a dedicated graphics card anyway.
You won’t need one of the best AIO cooler options to keep this CPU in check either, and if you buy the retail version you’ll even get an adequate Intel stock air cooler included in the box.
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a great choice for those seeking to build a new gaming PC but without spending too much. This Zen 4 processor has just six cores but that’s plenty enough for most gaming scenarios, especially as AMD’s cores all support handling two threads per core, so the chip appears like a 12-core chip to the rest of your PC.
Crucially, this mid-range chip not only packs enough of a punch on its own to make for a solid gaming PC but it uses AMD’s AM5 socket that also supports the 7800X3D and 9800X3D (and AMD has committed to supporting the platform for several more years too) making for lots of easy future upgrade options.
All this and the chip sips power, making it economical to run and easy to cool. It won’t be the last word in multi-core CPU performance but for most gaming setups, it’s a great starting point.
For those needing a single chip that can handle CPU and GPU duties, perhaps for building a small system, or if you’re just on a tight budget where spending another $200 on a graphics card just isn’t an option, look no further than the Ryzen 5 8600G. With six Zen 4 cores and a Radeon 760M integrated GPU, it’s a perky performer as a processor and stand-in graphics card.
The 8600G shines brightest in less demanding games, but it’s still capable of playing the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 at 30fps if you’re comfortable with playing at 1080p using low settings. It’s compatible with FidelityFX Super Resolution too, which can help boost frame rates further through upscaling and frame generation.
You’ll need to pair the 8600G with DDR5 RAM clocked at 6,000MHz or above to get the most performance out of its integrated graphics. While this does add to the total cost of putting together a system, you can use the same RAM if you upgrade your CPU in the future. Plus, even fairly fast DDR5 RAM is now relatively affordable.
If you plan to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card in the not too distant future, the 8600G isn’t an ideal processor, as it’s not as fast as equivalently-priced CPUs without powerful integrated graphics and has a limited number of PCIe lanes. However, unless you’re upgrading to a particularly fast graphics card, chances are it will still be your GPU that holds back gaming performance, rather than this CPU.
Easily handles 120fps ‘x264 Slower’ encoding in real time
Great gaming and creative application performance
Cons
Can be beaten by AMD Ryzen 7000 processors
Runs a touch hot
The 13700K is something of a champion for streamers and creatives alike, offering an all-in-one solution that doesn’t carry an overly premium price tag. Featuring 16 cores and 24 threads, the chip is more than capable of handling real-time 120fps encoding using the ‘x264 Slower’ preset.
This is especially useful if you have a Radeon graphics card but it can act as a great replacement for ‘NVENC’ on GeForce GPUs, should the need arise. The chip can keep up with top-tier pixel pushers too, maintaining solid maximum, average, and minimum frames per second.
It’s plenty useful for exporting and editing VODs too, boasting fast export times and rendering capabilities in Adobe suite applications such as Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Sitting at the top of Intel’s gaming CPU stack is the Core i9 14900K, one of the few chips out there capable of hitting 6GHz clock speeds.
It packs the usual makeup of 24 cores and 32 threads that have defined every Core i9 for the past three generations. The only other LGA 1700 processor capable of competing is the Core i9 13900KS, but the 14900K is essentially identical to the more expensive CPU.
The Core i9 14900K is best suited for systems that serve both as a gaming rig and workstation, as its strengths are best realized in multi-core workloads. Just make sure you have a capable power supply and cooler to hand, as it’ll guzzle electricity like nobody’s business.
There is a word of warning with this CPU, though, which is that there have been problems with voltage fluctuations, causing crashes in games, and even permanently damaged CPUs. If you want to run this CPU, make sure you flash the BIOS in your motherboard so it has the latest microcode first.
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is one of Team Red’s most powerful processors, thanks to its 16 cores and Zen 4 architecture. In this chip lies the very best that Zen 4 has to offer, with the flagship hiding some surprising tricks up its sleeve.
While this chip doesn’t boast a higher core or thread count compared to previous generation offerings, they are clocked much higher. This not only translates into higher frames per second but also greatly improves performance in just about every application that can make use of multiple CPU cores.
Its greatest trick, however, is its ‘Eco Mode’, which can force the processor to draw a maximum of 65W. Even with such low power consumption, it can still trade blows with top-tier processors. Naturally, you’ll get the most out of the chip while running at its standard 170W TDP, but it makes the prospect of a small form factor build featuring the 7950X more possibility than a dream.
The place to start when looking for a new CPU is considering whether you’re upgrading your system or buying a new one. If you’re running an older system, there could still be several upgrade options open to you that make a lot of sense. The most obvious of these is anyone running an older AMD AM4 system. If you are, there’s a good chance you can upgrade to the last generation of chips made for those systems, with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 7 5800X3D being great choices.
Meanwhile, if you’re running an older Intel system, the last few generations of Intel Core i CPUs, from 12th through to 14th-gen could fit in the same motherboards, though the generational performance upgrades weren’t huge. Still, if you’re rocking an Intel Core i5 12600K, upgrading to an Intel Core i7-14700K could be a great option.
These upgrade paths aside, if you’re looking to build a new system, your next consideration should be cost. If you’re on a tight budget, mid-range and high-end chips simply aren’t a sensible choice – save the money, buy a budget CPU and spend your saving on one of the best graphics cards instead. You can always upgrade your CPU later. You can get a super entry level CPU for just over $100 while mid-range options are between $200-$400 and high-end chips can cost over $700.
Once you’ve figured out your budget, choosing the right CPU for your system comes down to what you plan to use it for. If gaming is your main focus, with your PC otherwise only really used for casual web browsing, email, and video watching then an eight-core CPU is more than enough for your needs, with six-core chips mostly being ample too.
We recommend AMD’s X3D chips for these situations as the extra stack of cache they have has proven to make a big impact on gaming performance in our tests. The current top-dog X3D chip for gaming is the 9800X3D but the 7800X3D is excellent too. Or, if you’re on an older AM4 system, the 5800X3D is the best gaming CPU option.
If you’re on a budget, though, X3D chips can be a bit expensive, so opting for the six-core AMD Ryzen 9600X or the six-performance-core Intel Core i5 14600K are good choices.
If you want more of an all-round powerhouse of a CPU to provide massive multi-core processing power for tasks other than gaming then you may want to consider a CPU with more than eight cores. The 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best overall CPU right now but the Intel Core i9 14900K is also a mighty powerful chip.
Meanwhile, if you really want to save some money, then it’s also worth considering an AMD APU, which not only has a CPU inside it, but also a basic-level Raden GPU, meaning you don’t need to buy a separate graphics card at all. These chips, such as the Ryzen 5 8600G, can cope with basic gaming at 1080p with low settings, but they’re not as quick as AMD’s full-fat CPUs if you do upgrade to a full graphics card at a later date.
Gaming CPU frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is a CPU?
The central processing unit or CPU is the main processing part of your PC. It does nearly all the calculations that allow apps and games to run. Graphics cards help out with all the processing required to create 2D and 3D graphics, but everything else is handled by the CPU. A CPU sits in a motherboard which connects it to your RAM, graphics card, and other parts, allowing everything to communicate and get power from your power supply. Without a CPU, your PC would cease to be.
The more processing cores a CPU has and the faster its clock speed, the more tasks it can get done and the faster your system. However, past a certain point, a faster CPU won’t get you a higher frame rate in your games. Once a game can run smoothly at lower graphics settings and resolutions, it’s nearly all up to the graphics card to deliver higher frame rates at higher graphical settings.
How we test the best gaming CPUs
There are a lot of gaming CPUs on the market, and it can be hard to know which processors are genuinely worth your money. To help you decide which CPU is right for your system and budget, we evaluate each chip’s gaming capabilities using a solid base spec for our test rig.
This comprises an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition graphics card, a Corsair H100x Elite 240mm AIO cooler, a Corsair RM1000x PSU, 32GB of G.Skill TridentZ 5 Neo RGB 6,000MHz, CL28 RAM, and a 2TB WD Black SN850X SSD. We also test with the very latest version of Windows,
When we test gaming CPUs, our benchmarks include our usual suite ofPC games, including Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, F1 24, and Total War: Warhammer 3. We also test application performance using Handbrake for video encoding, and Cinebench R24 to assess rendering performance. In addition, we observe what temperatures the processor hits under load, and note how long it can maintain its advertised boost clock speeds.
Can I upgrade my CPU?
To upgrade the CPU in your gaming PC, you’ll need to physically swap it out for one of the more powerful processors in this list. It’s more straightforward than you’d think, provided you have a compatible chip, an adequate cooling solution, and the right tools.
Check that a new CPU is compatible with your motherboard before upgrading. Intel’s compatibility tool lets you look up any Intel processor and view all compatible motherboards, while AMD’s search tool does a similar thing.
When you’re ready, our seven-step CPU upgrade guide has plenty of advice on installing a new processor.
How do you install a CPU?
Installing CPUs is relatively simple but not without risk. You’ll need to verify that the CPU and motherboard you’re using are compatible so that they’re using the same socket (LGA 1700 or AM5, for instance) and that your motherboard supports the CPU. Some motherboards that can fit a CPU won’t support it for other reasons while some will require a BIOS update. You can generally check the list of compatible CPUs on the motherboard manufacturer’s website, which is where you can also find the BIOS update.
With these factors confirmed, slotting in a new CPU is generally as easy as opening up the locking clip that surrounds the CPU socket on the motherboard then gently placing the CPU in the socket, making sure the CPU is aligned correctly. Close the clip and you’re done, other than installing a CPU cooler. You can learn more about how to fit a CPU cooler in our how to build a gaming PC guide. Meanwhile, for a full explanation of how to install a CPU, check our CPU upgrade guide.
When to upgrade a gaming CPU
There isn’t a set amount of time that a CPU will last you, but there are several ways to determine the best time to replace your CPU. Either you’ll find that your current system has slowed and is no longer meeting your needs, you specifically want to boost the speed of certain tasks, or you want to futureproof yourself with the latest processor.
If you’re unsure whether the CPU is the weak link in your gaming machine, there are tools to help you figure it out. CapFrameX and Rivatuner Statistics Server can display CPU and GPU loads when you boot a game with it running in the background. If your GPU isn’t consistently hitting close to 100% usage but you’re still getting stutters or generally slow performance, there’s a good chance it’s your CPU (or possible RAM) that’s holding you back. However, if your graphics card usage does hover around 90-100%, upgrading to the best graphics card will likely be better than a CPU upgrade.
What should CPU usage be when gaming?
In a balanced system (i.e. a PC with a CPU and GPU of a similar caliber, think RX 7700 XT and Ryzen 5 7600 or RTX 4090 and Core i9 14900K) your CPU usage will largely depend on the types of games you’re playing.
Certain genres, such as RTS games, will lean more heavily on the CPU as more computational performance is required to manage features like artificial intelligence. That said, more often than not, your GPU usage will be at close to 100% long before your processor is, but higher frame rates (240+) will put more strain on your CPU.
For more ways to boost your gaming PC’s performance, check out our best gaming motherboard guide, which will give you the perfect place to plant your new CPU. Or, have a read of our best gaming RAM guide to find the best memory to match your processor.
Panic over. At least for now. Sort of. Fresh off of the news that Helldivers 2 is getting some fresh content in May, April’s closed with the Illuminate’s planet-eating death ball being stopped in its tracks – something players have been working towards for ages.
Yep, this is not a drill. The Illuminate have gone into hiding too. Take that, the colour purple! I’m sure this relative peace will last forever, and that “more exciting news to come” not long after the next Warbond won’t have a chance of kicking off more squid shenanigans.
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If you take a glance at the Galactic War map right now on April 30, you’ll see no trace of the faction the divers have been going at it with on the reg for the past few months – there are only Automatons and Terminids left, because those two old foes will never totally die out. Though, as Arrowhead explained in its latest briefing, neither have the Illuminate.
“The Meridian Singularity has come to a halt,” this briefing reads, “The Illuminate have disappeared completely; Ministry of Defense analysts have concluded this is likely explained by too few remaining to present a significant threat. The enemy is likely attempting to evade detection in order to survive a second total annihilation.”
MAJOR ORDER: The Meridian Singularity has come to a halt. The Illuminate have disappeared completely; Ministry of Defense analysts have concluded this is likely explained by too few remaining to present a significant threat. The enemy is likely attempting to evade detection in… pic.twitter.com/oF9Ohtlkml
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So, the big wormhole thing that was on its way to try and add the Helldivers’ home planet of Super Earth to the list of worlds it’s blown to smithereens has stopped in its tracks, and the squids have made a tactical retreat. Nice.
This is Helldivers 2 though, meaning the fighting’s never over and there’s still a fresh major order. “The Terminids and Automatons remain significant threats,” Arrowhead continued, “In the Illuminate’s final hours, they dealt significant damage to the defenses of multiple strategic sites across both battlefronts, granting the opportunity for our foes to capture formerly well-defended territory.” Damn. It can never be easy, can it.
So, players are now taking on the task of holding on those weakened sites – the planets Fenrir III, Turing, Claorell, Mastia, and Achernar Secundus. As of writing, the latter two are being battled for, while the first two are currently held by Super Earth with just over five days left on the order. So, by the time it runs its course, that next Warbond reveal on May 8 will be just around the corner.
Are you glad to see that the death ball has stopped rolling towards your Super loved ones? Let us know below!
The Adventures of Robin Hood is another new one, this time an elaborate adventure game packed full of surprises. Players take on the roles of Robin Hood and his Merry Men and embark on a range of missions to help the poor and thwart the Sherriff of Nottingham’s evil schemes. A hardback story book and a great big board full of secret advent calendar-style doors to open are just a couple of the delights in store in this box!
Browse the full selection of games in our shop here or use the ‘family games’ filter to narrow down your search. We’re hoping to manage one more ‘Top 5’ list before Christmas arrives… watch this space, and click back through our previous posts for more suggestions.
Both spells have continuous effects which modify the creature’s characteristics in Layer 2, and the one with the latest timestamp wins. It doesn’t matter that Act of Treason is only temporary (and one could say Donate doesn’t have a duration at all):
611.2a A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability lasts as long as stated by the spell or ability creating it (such as “until end of turn”). If no duration is stated, it lasts until the end of the game.
613.1b Layer 2: Control-changing effects are applied.
613.3. Within layers 2–6, apply effects from characteristic-defining abilities first (see rule 604.3), then all other effects in timestamp order (see rule 613.7). Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a layer. (See rule 613.8.)
The situation would have been different if Act of Treason had read something like
Gain control of target creature. At the end of turn, return it to its owner’s control.
because then that last part would be ‘later’ than, and overriding the effect of, your Donate.
A related example: you cast Donate on one of your creatures and give it to Player C. Player A casts Act of Treason so it comes under Player A’s control; at the end of turn, it’s returned to Player C, not to you.
Matt: Hello! I’m crawling my way out of the Covid mines and am Technically Ready™ to do stuff again! This week on the website we’ve got another collection tour video. Ooh, very exciting! I’d offer further details, but I’m enjoying the mystery of it all too much. Will it be a collection of board games, or hedges, or eggs? Who will be the owner of the collection? Will it be Mystery Kevin, from Mystransylvania?
The mysteries continue: We’ve also got, potentially, another Tunic stream with Tom this week – You can watch the last bits as VODs on Twitch: give the channel a follow if you want to be notified if and when he’s logging on for more chill times.
I must depart the mystery zone now, as there are too many mysteries and I am getting scared. What are you getting up to this week, and how scared are you about that on a scale of 1 to 10?
Beaks just had its first major update, and with it came Quests. These are completely optional, but still a great way to earn some extra XP, currency, and even darts. We’re going to tell you how to start and complete every single one in this All Roblox Beaks Quests Guide.
All Benny Beaks Quests in Roblox Beaks
Screenshot by The Escapist
When you first start playing the game, you’ll be at Beakwoods Camp. On the Right of the sign, you should see Benny Beaks, who has a few tutorial quests for you. Even if you already have a high-level character in Beaks, you should still do these because they take less than a few minutes, and they give you a bunch of darts. You have to finish these in order.
Capture 10 birds Quest
Screenshot by The Escapist
Just like it sounds. Equip your gun and capture 10 birds. Any will do, so feel free to capture 10 Pidgeons or 10 Parrots, which are all over the place. Go back and talk to Benny when you’ve captured 10.
Reward: 50 Coins, 20 XP
The Bird Collector
Screenshot by The Escapist
After catching your 10 birds, Benny tells you to sell them to the Bird Collector. Walk up to the Bird Bazaar NPC (it’s just next to you), and ask to sell all your birds (or if you want to keep a few, just sell 10). Return to Benny for your reward.
Reward: 50 Coins, 20 XP
The Dartsmith
Screenshot by The Escapist
This is actually a great way to see how the Beaks developers reworked the Dartsmith. Before the update, you had to pay 200 Coins to get around 4-5 random darts. Now, you can pick the darts you need, and buy them in sets from just one to up to 10.
Visit the Dartsmith who is next to the notice board and craft any dart. We recommend you get 10 Iron Darts, but you only really need one for the quest. Return to Benny for your reward.
Reward: 15 Steel Darts, 100 Coins, 25 XP
The Gunsmith
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This one can take a few minutes. You need to have 1,500 Coins to buy the Hunter Rifle from the Gunsmith at Beakwoods. So, go into the field and start gunning down birds and then selling them to the Bird Collector. This is a great way to learn the loop of the game. Once you have 1,500 Coins, buy the gun from the Gunsmith. Return to Benny for your reward.
Now, if you already bought the Hunter Rifle before the quest was added, simply talk to the Gunsmith, then unequip and equip the Hunter Rifle again. You won’t get the progress, but with your Hunter Rifle equipped, talk to Benny, and that should finish the quest.
Jimmy is the innocent-looking NPC just outside Beakwoods camp (on your way to Quill Lake). He has a few quests that further teach you about different kinds of birds.
Jimmy’s First Quest!
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Jimmy wants you to collect 5 common and 2 uncommon birds. You’ve probably already figured out that birds like Parrots and Pigeons are really common, while Bulbuls, Sparrows, and Goldflinches are somewhat uncommon (but you really shouldn’t have a problem finding two of them). Once you capture the birds, talk to Jimmy for your reward and next quest.
Reward: 50 Coins, 25 XP
Beakwood’s Rare Birds!
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Jimmy wants you to catch 3 rare birds. Rare birds (in Beakwoods) include: Crossbills, Woodpeckers, and Hummingbirds. Out of all of these, Crossbills and Hummingbirds are the easiest to notice. Just look for anything blue flying around or anything red flying somewhat high. If you can’t see them right away, try to shoot some common birds until these rare ones eventually spawn. It shouldn’t take you too long. Return to Jimmy for your reward and one more quest.
Reward: 75 Coins, 50 XP
Beakwood’s Mutated Birds!
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Jimmy wants you to capture 3 mutated birds in Beakwoods. These can be of any rarity, so even 3 mutated Pidgeons are good. For this one, just look for any bird with weird colors or glowing eyes and gun it down. It shouldn’t take you much longer than the Rare Birds quest. Once you gun down the 3 mutated birds, report to Jimmy for your reward.
Reward: 30 Smoke Darts, 75 Coins, 50 XP
All Moon Quests in Roblox Beaks
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Just before you arrive at the Quill Lake sign, you should spot Moon the Beakwoods Guardian.
Moon’s Quest
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Moon wants you to complete the Beakwoods bestiary. Honestly, out of all bestiaries, the Beakwoods one is likely the easiest. Simply shoot birds until you fill it out (don’t forget about the birds that fly high above the trees) and return to Moon.
Reward: 25 Smoke Darts, 20 Golden Darts, 250 Coins, 100 XP
All Star Quests in Roblox Beaks
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When you reach Quill Lake, you can find Star (Quill Guardian) standing on one of the elevated piers. She actually gives you a choice between two quests, and you can even repeat one (but you probably shouldn’t).
Lake Birds
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Getting into some tougher quests. What you need to do is complete the Quill Lake Bestiary. Refer to our Roblox Beaks All Birds Guide for a list of all birds in the game. When you have the full bestiary, return to Star, and you can then accept the other quest. We recommend you pair this quest with other ones (such as Garden of Eden) because it can take a while.
Reward: 25 Golden Darts, 20 Smoke Darts, 20 Steel Darts, 25 Iron Darts, 1,000 Coins, 500 XP
The Wishing Well
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This one is entirely luck-dependent. You need to use a regular bird on a Wishing Well and (hopefully) get the Bio-Luminous mutation on this same bird. Refer to our Ultimate Roblox Beaks Beginner’s Guide to learn where the Wishing Well is. Essentially, grab any common bird (a Swan worked for us) and dunk them until you get the Bio-Luminous Mutation. Needless to say, this can take a while, so just be patient and if you get bored, just go and do something else. It’s RNG after all.
Note: this quest is repeatable (for some reason)
Reward: No reward (because reasons)
All Laken Quests in Roblox Beaks
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Find Laken in Quill Lake, who is just under the Camp NPC.
Garden of Eden
You need to capture 10 vibrant birds that reflect the beauty of nature. What the game actually means is that it wants 10 birds with nature-like mutations. These are the Cherry and the Mossy Mutation. This can take a while, so we recommend you pair it with the
All Vito Quests in Roblox Beaks
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Vito the Quill Lake Veteran is stationed in Silverstone Camp (the place where you can get the Night and Thermal Vision Goggles).
Big Birds of Quill
Vito’s first quest is for you to capture bigger birds. Pretty much, anything bigger than a Swan is considered a big bird on Quill Lake. So go and hunt down Flamingos, Storks, Sandhill Cranes, Pelicans, and Great Egrets. This shouldn’t take you too long.
Reward: 750 Coins, 500 XP
The Wishing Well (Vito)
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After you finish the quest above, Vito wants you to “sacrifice” a bird to the Wishing Well, so go and do just that. Simply put ANY bird into the wishing well, and once it comes back, you’ll get the progress. Simple as that.
Reward: 100 Coins, 75 XP
Double Trouble
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Vito wants you to capture 5 different species of birds, each with two different mutations. Honestly, just do this one as you do any other quest because you should get it naturally. We recommend you just shoot everything at Quill Lake, and eventually you should have all of them. You can also just go for the common birds like Swans, Black Swans, Ducks, Parrots, and Pidgeons and just focus on them until you capture two versions of each.
Alex the Wanderer is an NPC on the cliff above the Mount Beaks campsite.
Eye on the Skies
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Alex wants you to buy your first set of binoculars. You can buy Binoculars from the Glider merchant. Night Vision Goggles or the Thermal Vision Goggles do not count as Binoculars (we thought we could get away with them). A regular pair of Binoculars costs 1,500 Coins, and an Advanced pair of Binoculars goes for 2,500. You only need the basic ones. Buy it and take it back to Alex for your reward.
Reward: 100 Coins, 50 XP
A Small Ask!
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Alex wants you to capture 10 small birds at Mt Beaks. Believe it or not, this actually isn’t that straightforward. Most Mountain Beaks birds are huge and fly really high. Only occasionally can you see the really tiny birds, and they tend to stick low. So simply aim around the trees until you spot them. These include birds like the Chickadee, the Mountain Bluebird, the Brown Creeper, and the Snowfinch. Once you capture 10 small birds, report to Alex for your reward.
So, here’s a ridiculous one. You need to capture 10 (or 5) high-flying birds with a Golden or Gold-spotted mutation. Here’s where we would post info on how to do it… IF WE HAD ANY! The quest is bugged. Yep, we took down several Golden and Gold-Spotted birds that were definitely flying high, but none of them counted towards the progression. Many other players have been complaining about this, so it’s only a matter of time before it’s fixed. It also seems like this quest is preventing further quest progression.
Reward: 50 Golden Darts, 25 Crystal Darts, 500 Coins, 250 XP
Those are all the quests we have so far. We’ll keep updating the list as we discover the rest. In the meantime, check out our Beaks codes, and to stay up to date with Beaks, check out our Official Beaks Trello and Discord Links.
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While there’s still a huge appetite for competitive PvP shooters, we’re really in a golden age of co-op PvE experiences. Already you can play the likes of Helldivers 2, Space Marine 2, and Deep Rock Galactic, and the likes of Killing Floor 3 and FBC Firebreak will soon join the party. It’s a tough realm to break into, but Mycopunk is the latest to give it a go with a striking art style, surreal weapons with outrageous upgrades, and a humorous tone. Despite only just being revealed, you can try it out straight away thanks to a multiplayer demo that’s live right now on Steam.
Given the prominence of Borderlands in the genre (and with the Borderlands 4 release date on the way in a few months too) a co-op FPS game with cel-shaded visuals might seem like an odd decision. But from what I’m initially seeing of Mycopunk, it’s doing plenty to make sure it stands out. Its overarching premise initially sounds quite Helldivers 2-y, as you’re part of a squad aboard a space station orbiting an infested planet that gears up, enters a drop pod, and blasts down to the surface. The threat you’re facing? Fungus. Out of control, deadly fungus. It’s corrupting the entire planet, its wildlife, and its technology, and you’re part of the clean-up crew.
In squads of up to three players, you’ll head into battle with a loadout packed with futuristic weapons, tools, and abilities. In what is one of the most novel-looking gunsmith systems I’ve seen, you can configure several mods into one gun using an almost Tetris-like minigame. Mods have different numbers of nodes presented in different shapes, and you’ve got to piece them all together like a puzzle on a grid with a limited number of spaces.
While out on your mission, you’ll be mowing down fungal matter, bugs, and out-of-control robots as you look to stop the spread. You’ll also scavenge for resources that’ll go towards upgrading your gear. There’s also a light extraction element where you must return to your pod with everything you’ve gathered. While traversal happens mostly on-foot, there appears to also be environmental elements like jump pads and rails that add different dimensions, as well as vehicles.
Content-wise, there’s an impressive amount on offer given this is the debut game from Pigeons at Play, but it’s the art style that I’m really digging. The robot designs, the weapon details, the grimy and corrupted environments – all of it looks great with its cel-shaded approach.
The best part about Mycopunk is that, despite only being revealed for the first time today, you don’t have to wait to give it a go.
A Steam demo for Mycopunk, with multiplayer support enabled, is available right now. You can download it here.
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Maybe you’re planning a low-key Christmas for two this year… or maybe you’re after a back-up in case the big get-together doesn’t quite go to plan. Great games for two players are always useful to have around in our experience, and they make excellent gifts too! In our final ‘top five’ of the year, here are some of our current favourites…
Bridget is both a neat and addictive strategy game and a lovely object in its own right. With simple rules (just build a path of your colour from one side of the board the other while blocking your opponent), addictive gameplay, and tactile, appealing pieces, this is a game that will be enjoyed by new and experienced gamers alike.
Hive is a near-perfect two-player strategy game in our humble opinion! There’s no luck involved here: purely decisions made by players, who take turns to either add a piece to the hive or move a piece they’ve already added, with the aim of blocking in their opponent’s queen bee so that she is eventually surrounded by pieces. Durable, compact (even more so if you go for the pocket-sized version) and extremely replayable, this game will really stand the test of time.
Azul: Summer Pavilion is technically a game for up to four players, but it works so well for just two that we thought it was worthy of a mention here. All three of the Azul series are excellent games for two people, but this one just might be our favourite given focus on individual strategy rather than blocking your opponents (try the Stained Glass of Sintra version if that’s more your bag!). A gorgeous, medium-weight abstract strategy game that’s as interesting to play as it is beautiful.
Thrive is a fairly recent addition to our collection, but after testing it out we’re very keen to play it some more! The concept here is very simple: aim to capture your opponent’s pieces until they have only one left, then you’ve won the game. All the pieces are identical to begin with, able to move only one space forward. However, on each turn as well as moving a piece, you modify two pieces of your choice by adding pegs, giving them more movement options on future turns. Elegant in every way as well as novel in concept, we’re very impressed with this one.
And now for something completely different… Pucket is a frenetic, hyper-competitive dexterity game about flicking wooden pucks across a board using elastic. Players both start with eight pucks on their side of the board. All you have to do to win is get all the pucks to you opponents side at the same time… despite them constantly trying to fire them back at you! It’s exactly as chaotic and maddening as it sounds, but tremendous fun nonetheless, and it makes a great spectator sport too if there are more than two people in attendance.
Thanks for reading our top 5 series. We hope you’ve found it useful. Wishing you a very happy and fun-filled Christmas, however many players it involves!
Published: Apr 30, 2025 12:01 pm