برچسب: Steam

Grounded 2 breaks its predecessor’s Steam peak record after mere hours

Grounded is an excellent survival game that is absolutely deserving of a sequel – it’s just that I, and many others, didn’t expect it to get one so soon. Bogged down already this year with Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, I was shocked when Obsidian announced Grounded 2 a couple of months back, and was even more surprised to see a July 29 early access launch date too. Well, today’s the day, and despite Grounded 2’s inclusion in Game Pass, it’s performing very well on Steam – so well, in fact, that it’s already blasted past its predecessor’s all-time player peak on Valve’s platform.

Given that the original Grounded – a worthy inclusion on our list of the best survival games – only dropped in 2022 and was still being regularly updated and played, Grounded 2 is still a rather unexpected sequel. It follows the same four protagonists (albeit a couple of years on from the events of the first game) and still revolves around a very familiar gameplay loop of exploring, base building, bug battling, and ultimately uncovering the secrets of your shrinking.

However, Grounded 2 does make some innovations – could they have been big upgrades to the original game? Perhaps. But collectively, these changes will make for a sequel that feels noticeably different.

The new world of Brookhollow Park is bigger than the previous game’s and contains more biome variety. Dashing has been added as a new movement and combat mechanic, both for you and your insectile foes. Bugs can now be captured and turned into rideable mounts. The UI has been refreshed. It’s all aiming to bring the beloved gameplay of the original up to new heights, and even though it’s launching today in an early access state, it’s proving very popular.

On Steam, Grounded 2’s debut has resulted in a peak concurrent player count of just under 50,000. This is impressive, given it’s immediately available at no extra cost for millions of Game Pass subscribers. That peak player count is also well above the original Grounded’s all-time record, which sits at around 32,000.

While the player counts look healthy, it’s worth noting that on Steam its early user reviews sit on a 64% positive ‘mixed’ score. Most negative reviews are calling out its PC performance, but given it’s hours old and is in an early access state, Obsidian will likely get things running a lot smoother for everyone in no time at all. I’d be surprised if, over time, that review score didn’t improve by a significant margin.

If you want in, Grounded 2 is available right now on Steam and Windows Store for $29.99 / £24.99 or as part of your Xbox or PC Game Pass subscription.

If Grounded 2 is tempting you into picking up a sub, check out what else you’ll be able to play with our list of the best Game Pass games. If you are going to this new world in miniature, we’ve got loads of guides to help you out, such as this one on the Grounded 2 briefcase combinations.

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30/07/2025
Underrated John Wick RTS game is about to disappear from Steam forever

Not every game gets its audience right away. Plenty of classics were not commercially successful or critically derided when they first arrived, only to build a reputation through word-of-mouth. John Wick Hex was one such game, a slick and exciting tactics treat that was a pleasantly small-scale offering. But soon, it will disappear from storefronts entirely.

For the unfamiliar, John Wick Hex uses a combination of real-time and turn-based strategy. Instead of set turns, each action is associated with a specific amount of time. Sure, you can sprint across that room in one “turn,” but you’ll open yourself up to multiple rounds of gunfire if you do. You have to time reloads and and melee to create opportunities and prevent injuries. Like the best RTS games, you’ll need both quick thinking and careful strategy to survive.

John Wick Hex was also developed in collaboration with the team behind the films. Lance Reddick and Ian McShane both reprise their roles. The game is drenched in the same slick neon hue that defines John Wick’s visual language.

However, John Wick Hex will soon no longer be available for purchase on any storefront. Publisher Big Fan Games released the following statement,

“John Wick Hex will be removed from sale on all platforms beginning July 17th, 2025.

After July 17th, 2025, existing owners of John Wick Hex will still be able to access the game via their digital libraries (PC/Console) and/or physical copies (Console), however new purchases of John Wick Hex will not be possible, regardless of platform or storefront.”

The statement does not elaborate on why they are removing the game, so that is up to speculation.

You can buy John Wick Hex on Steam for $19.99 until July 17.

If you want more tactical decision-making, check out our list of the best turn-based strategy games. If you are looking for something at a bigger scale, take a look at the best grand strategy games.

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15/07/2025
Blue Archive scraps obvious rule breaking Steam review event

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Published: Jul 12, 2025 03:12 am

Blue Archive developers, Nexon Games, have canned their “Steam Review Event”, after someone probably gave them a heads up that Valve has explicit rules about manipulating Steam reviews. Announced over on Steam itself, the gacha strategy game has “decided to terminate the event early”, as it goes expressly against Steam’s terms of service.

While Steam’s review system, despite sometimes being used maliciously by players themselves, has strict guidelines on what not to do. Valve clearly states on its support site that, alongside threats and harassment, not to “coerce” players into leaving reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CphCwQJWR3Q

The event would have rewarded players with in-game rewards if it hit 10,000 reviews. Some gacha games will run events through iOS or Android versions that urge you to leave a review, complete a survey, or interact with social media for a prize. Oftentimes, you can simply hit whatever button, have the app think you’ve done it, and return without ever handing over your precious morals or data.

As pointed out by a user on the Gacha Gaming Reddit, it would have been smarter to simply give items out as and when milestones were hit.

Unfortunately, because Nexon has scrapped the event, it won’t be distributing the rewards in any capacity. It’s an odd statement as it is, as it reads as if no one on the team over at Nexon was even aware this wasn’t allowed.

This is even though they’ve been on Steam for quite some time, with MMOs Vindictus and MapleStory in 2012. They even have a direct partnership with Valve to run Counter-Strike Nexon. Baffling, to say the least.

Nexon didn’t even need to coerce reviews out of players

Looking at the reviews themselves, it’s clear that coercion wasn’t even needed, as the game has been positively received by players. Since its launch on July 4, it has had a massive influx of 5700 reviews, which has naturally dipped to a few hundred in the following week. Reviews claim that it’s running great, and cross-saves work just fine, allowing addicts to continue their self-inflicted gacha torture.

Some negative reviews have pointed out that it is running kernel-level anti-cheat, similar to Riot Games’ Valorant. However, it sits pretty at a “Very Positive” rating on Steam as of writing and doesn’t look like that’ll change anytime soon.

Blue Archive is a multi-million-dollar gacha money generator

If you’re wondering what Blue Archive even is, it’s a 2021 gacha game that regularly brings in millions of dollars. In 2023, it was reported to have made well over $400 million in total, and presumably, that number has climbed exponentially. It also makes a lot of its money in the heartland of gacha gaming, Japan. Reports from last year pointed out that Japan provides 72% of the game’s revenue in total.

Blue Archive manages this through its various microtransactions and that key gacha system. It stems from gachapon, the little toys that you’d pop a quarter in for and get a random piece of plastic. Similarly, gacha games run “banners”, which the player “pulls” from and is awarded a random character, skin, item, or whatever else is being flogged.

When I gave it a spin on launch in 2021, I was taken for a little bit by its snappy action and tactics-lite focus. Now it’s hit Steam, maybe it’s time to dip back into it, if only those anime racing horse girls didn’t absorb so much of my time recently.

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14/07/2025
Three free games to grab quick off Steam in Slitherine’s 25th anniversary giveaway

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Published: Jul 11, 2025 06:59 am

Long-established strategy game giant Slitherine is having a celebration of 25 years producing mind-taxing games, and alongside a Steam sale of its catalog, you can also grab three games totally free that are worth adding to your backlog if you like some more cerebral gameplay.

Let’s take a quick look at the giveaway so you can judge for yourself whether you want them or not. The giveaway seems to last until 17th July, but it is worth snapping them up sooner rather than later in case things change.

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock

First up is sci-fi licence Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock which gives you command of the fleet in the first Cylon War. if you grew up watching Apollo and Stabuck blasting Cylon’s from the sky, this will be right up your alley.

DLC for the game is also currently at half price so if you quickly decide you like the game and will be putting a lot of time into it, you can snap them all up too to enhance your experience.

Fantasy General II

2019’s wargaming classic, which still retails at around the $50 mark, is also up for grabs if you are quick. Lead powerful heroes and mighty armies into battle in this critically acclaimed turn-based strategy milestone. Level up and train your units and guide them through a gripping story campaign to decide the fate of a world on the brink of destruction.

Even after all this time, it still has a Very POsitive rating on Steam, so it has clearly stood the test of time. Again, all the DLC is priced at 5-% off at the moment.

Field of Glory II: Medieval

The final game of the giveaway trio is Field of Glory 2: Medieval from 2021 – a turn-based tactical game set in the High Middle Ages from 1040 AD to 1270 AD. Developed by legendary designer Richard Bodley Scott, it brings the best from the tabletop world into the best digital framework.

With 50% off all DLC and another current Very Positive rating on Steam, why would you not pick it up while you can?

How to claim free games on Steam

To claim all three games, head to Steam and look for the Slitherine 25th Anniversary banner, or search for them individually. From there, you can simply add them to your library at no cost.

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11/07/2025
Dead by Daylight hits new player peak on Steam, as Twisted Masquerade returns

Dead by Daylight has gone from strength to strength, bucking the ongoing trend of live-service games getting ignominiously shut down. This asymmetrical multiplayer slashers vs survivors game has just launched its fourth and final Twisted Masquerade online event, and its Steam player count has soared to new heights.

While Dead by Daylight was never in danger of being shut down, thanks to a solid player base, this multiplayer horror game has seen a major uptick in its fortunes.

The release of DbD’s new Five Nights at Freddy’s content saw its concurrent Steam player count hit its highest peak in four years. The update added Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria as a new map, alongside new killer Springtrap, as seen in the FNAF movie. The image of a maskless Matthew Lillard screaming in survivors’ faces has entered memedom, which won’t have done the game’s popularity any harm.

Now, Dead by Daylight’s Twisted Masquerade event has returned for the fourth and final year, raising DbD’s popularity to even greater heights. This event, which allows players to earn fanciful masks and weapons, has pushed its concurrent player count has hit 120,717. That’s an all-time record and a poke in the eye for rival Evil Dead: The Game which was delisted earlier this year.

The event is currently live and runs until Thursday, July 17, 2025, at 8am PDT / 11am EDT / 4pm BST. If you’re wondering what cosmetics are on offer, we’ve got you covered with all the details of DbD’s Twisted Masquerade. But, remember, this is your last chance to get your hands on them.

Why is Dead by Daylight so popular? It has a lot to do with the sheer wealth of killers and survivors on offer. We’ve ranked all 39 of DbD’s killers, and new menaces are added all the time. But while there are plenty of original characters in the game, dreamed up by developer Behaviour Interactive, there are a huge number of ‘celebrity’ killers too.

Not all these famous slashers are available to buy right now, but the crossover factor is just mindblowing. This is a game where you can have the Xenomorph from Alien chasing down Nicolas Cage while Resident Evil’s Leon Kennedy takes on Chucky. And while the Evil Dead game may be gone, Ash Williams lives on as a guest survivor. It’s all our horror fan fiction fantasies come to life – what’s not to love?

Do you want free stuff in Dead by Daylight? Of course you do, which is why we’ve got the latest DbD codes and DbD Twitch drops.

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27/06/2025
Vampire Survivors dev is publishing a $4 action game, and it’s out on Steam now

Since it launched in 2021, Vampire Survivors cannot be stopped. Poncle’s phenomenal bullet hell roguelike is one of the most successful indies on Steam, amassing a 98% positive user rating from nearly 240,000 reviews across its lifetime. That’s for good reason, too, as not only is the core experience infinitely replayable, but a collection of updates and DLC have vastly expanded what’s on offer. Vampire Survivors is easily one of the best value propositions available on PC today, and now Poncle has another one for you. The studio is publishing the incredibly vibrant and kinetic Berserk or Die, which has a truly bizarre control scheme, and it’s available right now.

You’re the last soldier left on the battlefield, and with enemies approaching from all sides, you’ve got one job: survive. Set on a gorgeous 2D plane, that’s the core premise of Berserk or Die from Nao Games, a new action indie game all about chaining together flashy moves.

This isn’t like Castlevania, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, or any manner of classic platformer, though, because in Berserk or Die, you can only move by attacking. Hitting the left or right side of your keyboard attacks in that direction, and the more keys you press at once, the wilder and more powerful your moves. That’s right, you’re encouraged to smash your keyboard to bits with as big a strike as possible. Once you’ve obliterated enough enemies your special gauge will fill up, and you can then shake your mouse and unleash a move that’ll wipe through all the enemies on the screen.

With multiple characters to choose from, and an array of weapons to equip them with, you’ll have more than enough ways to keep gameplay feeling fresh. If you manage to survive until nightfall, you can then visit a lone peddler to sell your wares, heal your wounds, and buy upgrades. You’ll do all this to a soundtrack from Vampire Survivors composer Filippo Vicarelli, too, so you just know it’s going to get your blood pumping.

“Nao Games shares the Poncle spirit of making games that are immediately accessible, affordable, and a bit out of the ordinary; for fun.” Poncle’s Luca Galante says. “When I first met Shibata-san and played Berserk or Die, I knew this was a game that deserved to be seen and played by more people. I’m really happy we got to support Shibata-san and hopefully make that happen.”

Berserk or Die is available on Steam right now, for $3.99 / £2.99. Just head here.

We’ve also got all the single-player games and best PC games you’ll want to keep an eye on as well.

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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09/06/2025
Undertale spinoff Deltarune soars on Steam as Chapters 3 and 4 finally arrive

One of the most surprising, out-of-nowhere indie hits of the 2010s was undoubtedly Undertale, but its episodic spinoff, Deltarune, is just as highly regarded and beloved. Developer Toby Fox already released the first two episodes of Deltarune in 2018 and 2021, but the wait for Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 has been a long one. Now though, they’re both here as part of the complete and ‘final’ version Deltarune. While it was always going to be a momentous occasion for the pixel art RPG, I’m completely blown away by just how high it’s flying on Steam right now, rising above recent behemoths like Elden Ring Nightreign on the platform’s best sellers list.

Undertale is a cherished indie game thanks to its visuals, soundtrack, and choice-influenced story. However, being worked on even before Undertale came out was Deltarune, a spinoff that takes a lot of the same gameplay formula (and even some of Undertale’s characters) and transplants them into a “parallel” narrative and world.

Fox has been chipping away at Deltarune since 2012, but so far only two episodes have seen the light of day. The developer promised that Chapter 3 and 4 would arrive at the same time – bundled together with 1 and 2 – in the future, and after 13 years of work, that day has finally arrived.

Deltarune’s complete collection of Chapters 1-4 is now available on Steam, and fans of Fox’s work have flocked to it in their droves. At the time of writing, just over 133,000 people are currently playing Deltarune on Steam, and that number could rise by the end of today. Right now, more people are checking out the new chapters than are playing huge hits like Marvel Rivals, Apex Legends, and Helldivers 2.

It’s also shot straight to the top of Steam’s top-sellers charts, sitting above the likes of recent megahit Elden Ring Nightreign and the imminent Dune Awakening.

While Chapters 1 through 4 are available in the new release of Deltarune, Fox has already pledged that a fifth chapter will arrive as a free DLC for anyone that owns the game. If you want to try before you buy, a free demo will let you play the previously released first two chapters. You can grab Deltarune or download the demo right here.

For more, check out our lists of the best RPGs and best story 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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05/06/2025
Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 have a fresh rival as pixel-art ARPG soars on Steam

Diablo 4 Season 8 is perfectly fine, but feels safe and more of the same. Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt has improved dramatically since its rocky release, but the early-access ARPG still has a long way to go. Last Epoch Season 2 is strong, but by now you may be looking for something fresh. Enter The Slormancer, a pixel-art indie ARPG from Slormite Studios that was launched out of early access at the start of this week, and has since built up impressive momentum with very positive Steam reviews and an ever-growing player count.

As either a Mighty Knight, Fierce Huntress, or Mischievous Mage, it’s your job to put a stop to an evil warlock called The Slormancer and his hordes of troublesome minions. It’s got everything that makes the best games like Diablo tick. Fast-paced action that sees you dancing through environments and blowing up dozens of hostile goons in quick succession, pouring damage numbers across the screen. Over 200 abilities, upgrades, and passives to create near-limitless build variations. An endless hunt for perfect loot with 200 legendary affixes, 120 game-changing unique weapons, and the ability to keep boosting your gear’s power as much as you want.

Slormite Studios emphasizes its focus on “collection and progression,” meaning you’re able to switch at any point between absolutely anything you’ve unlocked. That includes all skills you’ve gained access to, any items you’ve previously found, and even the very classes themselves. This creates a level of flexibility beyond what you’ll find in most other ARPGs, encouraging and rewarding experimentation.

Don’t worry about losing all your hard work when you switch builds, either; from loadouts to loot filters, The Slormancer has lots of welcome quality-of-life features. It even boasts a sprawling Ancestral Skill Tree that could give Path of Exile a run for its money, with more than 150 element-related skills and passives available to unlock. Your journey will take you across seven environments with a ton of visual variety, and its brief campaign is just the beginning of a much longer quest for power.

First launched into early access in 2021, The Slormancer is now out in full, and it’s quickly beginning to snowball as word of mouth spreads. What began as a gradual climb has escalated to a weekend high of 10,989 concurrent Steam players. The user reviews are filled with praise, too, with particular love given to the freedom of experimentation on offer and the ability to create weird and wacky builds on a whim based on just one small starting idea.

The Slormancer 1.0 is out now on Steam. Developer Slormite Studios is offering a 25% discount until Tuesday May 20, meaning you’ll pay $14.99 / £12.56. If you’re reading this early on and fancy yourself a new adventure, there’s still time to grab it at the lower price, so do so while you can.

For more stat-based satisfaction, here are the best RPGs on PC right now. Alternatively, take a look through the best indie games in 2025 to make sure you aren’t missing any hidden gems.

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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19/05/2025
Steam Deck gamers are playing Oblivion Remastered in droves, despite controversy

As a new month dawns, we’re taking a look at the most played Steam Deck games for April 2025, and it’s surprising to see Oblivion Remastered storm up the charts despite having become a bit of a meme for its poor performance. In the monthly data, however, Balatro still reigns supreme.

Each month, it’s fun to look at which games are performing well on the best handheld gaming PC and look for any surprises. The chart of top played games on Steam Deck lists, quite simply, the games with the most hours played from one to 100, and there are some big debuts in this month’s list.

In April, while it’s no great surprise to see indie games such as Schedule 1 and R.E.P.O continue to climb the rankings, the inclusion of Oblivion Remastered is somewhat puzzling. This is because of the ongoing performance issues affecting the game on the Steam Deck. It’s even become a meme, with players posting to Reddit saying they’ve finally got Oblivion to run well on the Deck, before posting a screenshot of the original game.

While players were always going to try to get Oblivion Remastered running on the Steam Deck, the controversy comes from Valve’s decision to give it a Verified rating, despite it failing on the core criteria that a game needs to earn this status.

We already tested the best Oblivion Remastered settings and found that, on the Steam Deck, you need to at least consider changing the upscaling method, as well as the level of upscaling from balanced to performance. This crucial change alone should relegate Oblivion to a Playable rating, but this hasn’t happened.

Despite the Oblivion Remastered system requirements suggesting that the game would be difficult for the Steam Deck to run, players are clearly just pushing through and running the game however they see fit. Given that the game only released late in the month, the fact that it’s already the number two game on Steam Deck is quite the achievement. It didn’t have quite enough plays to dethrone Balatro for the monthly stats, but it is currently the most played game over the last week.

Other notable inclusions on this month’s top-played list are Clair Obscur Expedition 33 at 26, a game that launched as Unsupported but has already been upgraded to Playable. The Last of Us Part 2 has debuted at 41 while the first game has reappeared at 60, likely due to renewed interest thanks to season two of the TV show.

Finally, there was another strong indie debut in the list as Blue Prince, the intriguing roguelike puzzle game, debuted at 16 for the monthly list, although it did appear inside the top 10 briefly during its release week.

If you want to read more about some of the Steam Deck’s biggest competition, check out our Ayaeno 3 review and Asus ROG Ally X review to see where they Windows handhelds stack up.

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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01/05/2025