#Multiplayer

Over the Hill's off-roading sim is more laid-back than SnowRunner, but it'll still bite careless drivers

Funselektor's Over the Hill is a more relaxed off-roading sim set in cold Canadian hills and the Algerian desert, compared to harsher games like SnowRunner. Players use winches and jacks to get unstuck, with up to four tool slots after upgrades, while deep-sim elements like deformable terrain and fuel gauges are absent. The simpler mechanics lower the learning curve but careless driving can still leave you wedged between rocks.

Bumper Bout: Two-Player Competitive Pinball Shown at PAX Australia

Bumper Bout is a two-player competitive pinball game that was featured as the final game of the Omegathon at PAX Australia. Players compete on split halves of the screen and can flick balls across the divide to harass their opponent, with bumper hits earning attack balls that unlock character ultimates when four are stored. The game will launch on October 29 with singleplayer arcade and survival modes planned, plus online multiplayer in the final version, and a demo is available on Steam.

Deadlock's City Never Sleeps update reworks the whole map and adds new heroes

Valve's Deadlock has received the City Never Sleeps update, which reworks the entire map, adds new neutral monsters, and gives the lanes and mid-map districts new looks. The update also introduces new heroes including Deadman Danny, Nurse Harrow, Rat King, Solomon, and Baba, plus many new conversations and voice lines for the existing cast. The author, who has put in 350 hours, calls the reworked Cursed Apple one of his favorite game settings in years.

Krafton thinks PUBG Ded.Net's pulpy gameshow hyperviolence and roguelite twist can make it the next big battle royale

Krafton's Wisconsin studio PUBG Madison is developing PUBG Ded.Net, a third-person battle royale shooter in which players are contestants in an ultra-violent gameshow. Its twist is a pick-three-style roguelite system that carries across consecutive matches, where upgrades and injuries from one game affect the next. Creative director Dave Curd says chasing that power-up fantasy is meant to take the edge off losing.

New Deadlock Hero Solomon's Reload Animations Reference Real Chess Matches

Valve's upcoming Deadlock added the chess grandmaster hero Solomon in its recent "City Never Sleeps" update, alongside five other heroes. Each time Solomon reloads, the pieces on his board rearrange into a layout based on his remaining ammo count, with every position taken from an actual historical game. Fans have picked up on the detail, which references matches including the 1851 "Immortal Game" and Deep Blue's 1996 win over Garry Kasparov.

After Overcooked, Ghost Town Games' Stage Fright Wants Co-op to Bring Players Back Together

Stage Fright is the next co-op adventure from Overcooked maker Ghost Town Games, published by Hello Games, and co-director Oliver De-Vine says "Overcooked broke you apart and Stage Fright is there to put you back together." Two players guide a pair of kids through a Luigi's Mansion-style adventure of puzzles, threats, and mystery, relying only on verbal communication with no inventory management. The game supports both local and online splitscreen co-op, with the developers aiming to make online play feel as close to sitting on the couch together as possible.

Square Enix's Forgotten Loot-Shooter Was Years Ahead of Its Time

The 2026 multiplayer shooters Arc Raiders and Marathon both use a loop of venturing from a safe hub into hostile areas, shooting enemies, grabbing loot, and returning to safety. These hits owe a debt to Outriders, a maligned 2021 loot-shooter published by Square Enix.

Marathon Is the Scariest Horror Game of 2026

A Polygon editor calls Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon the scariest game he has played in a long time, largely because dying means losing all the gear you brought in and looted. Playing solo as Rook turns the experience into straight survival horror, and this week streamer Shroud called the game "a little too sweaty" while Ninja rage quit on launch day.

Exploring Arc Raiders' New Frigate Doesn't Go Well

Exploring Arc Raiders' new Frigate. It doesn't go well. 😅

Arc Raiders Storm Huts Are Great Loot Spots

When the weather turns bad in Arc Raiders' Pendola Pass, head to a Storm Hut for some great looting https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/when-the-weather-turns-foul-in-arc-raiders-pendola-pass-take-a-trip-to-a-storm-hut-theyre-some-of-the-best-loot-spots-ive-found/

Gears of War: E-Day review: a return to the beginning

Eurogamer's review calls Gears of War: E-Day a conservative but technically solid prequel whose campaign, Horde Siege, and Versus each have strengths and problems. Horde Siege splits 12 players into four-person squads that pick their own difficulty and complete objectives across the map, and the reviewer says 15 hours in it still produces emergent moments. The review also notes balance and mechanical issues in Versus and baffling checkpoints plus some repetitive beats in the campaign.

Overwatch's Huge New Sombra Rework Is 10x Better Than Expected

Blizzard moved Overwatch's pesky, perpetually banned hacker Sombra from damage to support, and the rework turned out far better than expected. The author, initially ready to scoff at the change as a concession to players unwilling to learn the game, admitted being proven wrong.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Has the Best Racing Multiplayer in Years

Star Wars: Galactic Racer's multiplayer mode is being called the best racing multiplayer in years. The reviewer had expected it to be a standard affair that blunted the game's originality in pursuit of a level playing field, but found otherwise after further testing on live servers. The reviewer expects the mode to be quite influential.

Arc Raiders Frozen Trails hands-on: the grapple hook is the highlight, the skill tree rework is not yet transformative

A PC Gamer writer spent 3 hours with the Arc Raiders Frozen Trails update and spent most of it using the new grapple hook. The green tier gadget can climb buildings, swing between rooftops, descend safely, stick to almost anything, and be redeployed midair with no cooldown or use limit, allowing chained swings. The update also adds a launcher that tethers two objects and a grenade that yanks Arc bots to the ground, which the writer did not test thoroughly. The reworked skill tree mixes old and new abilities with mutually exclusive branches, and the writer found most nodes to be incremental stat boosts that do not change play in the short term, while the new Pendola Pass map feels visually distinct for its snow but familiar in the areas they visit most.

3 hours with Arc Raiders Frozen Trails update

I had 3 hours with Arc Raiders Frozen Trails update and spent most of it playing with a grapple hook

Arc Raiders' biggest update Frozen Trail preview: the grappling hook turns players into Spider-Man

Arc Raiders' biggest update yet, Frozen Trail, is coming soon, and the author went hands-on with it for a few hours. It adds the raid-inspired Emperor set into the mountainside, an airborne Frigate, new enemies, weapons, gadgets, and a new snowy map, with the grappling hook standing out most.

Overwatch Season 5 turns Sombra into a Support hero, and here's how she plays

Overwatch's Season 5 patch reworks Sombra from Damage into a Support hero, and after several matches the author calls it the most fun he has had with her in over a year. Her retained abilities cast faster, and her new primary heal Hotfix applies healing over time in a way similar to the old Hack, though her numbers trail dedicated healers like Lifeweaver. Cyberspace, which replaces Virus, is an area debuff that halves enemies' healing and damage output and can be escaped by leaving its field.

Gears of War: E-Day review: terrific shooting, sluggish campaign

PC Gamer reviewed Gears of War: E-Day, calling its third-person cover shooting the best the series has felt while finding the 20-plus-hour campaign one-note and overstretched. The prequel covers the day the Locust emerged, with Marcus and Dom written much as they were in the original. The multiplayer fares better, with the 4v4 modes and Horde Siege described as a worthwhile expansion of what Gears can be.

Gears of War: E-Day Review: A Grand Reemergence

Game Informer's Brian Shea reviews Gears of War: E-Day, calling it The Coalition's finest work since taking over the franchise. The campaign spans three days of Kalona's fall, with Marcus and Dom joined by Mags and Lucas, city streets filled with collectibles, upgrades, and side missions, and mods that customize guns, armor, and tactical abilities. Multiplayer keeps team deathmatch, zone control, and the new Crucible mode, while Horde Siege borrows from extraction shooters; the reviewer says matchmaking often ignores player and class levels.

Final Previews Round Up for Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is set to launch on Switch 2 on 22nd October, and the final previews are now live with a broadly positive tone. Eurogamer praised the ruleset variety and open-world potential, Game Informer highlighted the single-player Island Crown mode, IGN was surprised by how much there is for hardcore players, and Polygon called it the most comprehensive entry in the series. Gamespot was more hesitant, questioning how much mileage the activities will have collectively.

IGN Preview: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Appears to Solve Switch Sports' Shortcomings

After more than an hour of hands-on play, IGN's Ryan McCaffrey says Nintendo Switch Sports Resort appears to solve many of Nintendo Switch Sports' shortcomings. Nintendo is bundling the game with the Switch 2 this holiday season. Wuhu Island supports competition, exploration, and leisure, with collectibles and achievements in sports like Power Cruising and a ladder of CPU opponents in Boxing. The author still questions the sports lineup, preferring Swordplay, Baseball, or Frisbee over Table Tennis and Volleyball.

Preview: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Is More Of The Same, But Better

Nintendo Life played Nintendo Switch Sports Resort at gamescom, trying prop plane, table tennis, archery, thumb wrestling, skateboarding, bowling, and boxing. The author found archery the best showcase of motion controls and enjoyed skateboarding's Joy-Con 2 mouse-style input, but felt boxing was not responsive enough and prop plane's controls were awkward. The game launches on 22nd October.

Deadlock's City Never Sleeps update has turned it into a horror game

Deadlock's major City Never Sleeps update added six new heroes, starting with the Rat King, making the MOBA and third-person shooter feel like a horror game. The author, who mainly plays Rem, now gets hunted by the Rat King in the tunnels, where exits close during combat. Encounters with enemies like Abrams and Seven in the new Chinatown district add to the scares.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Preview: A Return Visit to Wuhu Island

Game Informer's Brian Shea spent an hour with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, returning to a renovated Wuhu Island that can be explored by Skateboard, Prop Plane, and Power Cruiser. Thumb Wrestling, Archery, Boxing, Table Tennis, and Bowling all use Joy-Con motion controls, and modes include hundred-pin Bowling and Island Crown, where players face 20 CPU characters across nine sports and take on each sport's Island Legend. The game arrives on Switch 2 on October 22.

Exclusive Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 Space Marine Screenshots and Interview With Creative Director Jan Theysen

IGN published an exclusive interview with Dawn of War 4 creative director Jan Theysen about how the Space Marines faction plays. The Space Marines are the game's most elite faction, fielding few but expensive units that are strong early but cannot cover the whole map, and they can call in buildings from orbit and hold units in reserve for Drop Pod or Thunderhawk deployment. The game launches on PC on December 3, 2026.

Gears of War: E-Day Multiplayer Preview: Horde Siege and Versus Make Me Feel Like a Kid Again

Gears of War: E-Day entered Premium Advanced Access last week, giving the author hands-on time with the final builds of Versus and Horde Siege. Versus launches with four modes, including Conquest, where teams claim zones to reach four points, and Demolition, built around planting and defusing a bomb. The 12-player Horde Siege adds a mod system for weapon-altering attachments, and the author says playing as Marksman with the Longshot has fully converted them to the mode.

Dune: Awakening PS5 Review: Survival After a Solo Mode and a Year of Polish

Push Square reviewed Dune: Awakening on PS5, with the author having previously played the PC version at launch. The review highlights the progression systems, base building, and skill trees, while calling some Fremen trials linear and tedious. The console version's biggest addition is a dedicated single-player mode, though characters cannot be carried over from multiplayer, and the author reports fairly stable frame rates on PS5 and PS5 Pro with some DualSense haptic support.

"We opted out of some things really early on": How the small team making No Law plan to make it look as big as Cyberpunk 2077

Neon Giant's 24-person team is building the open-world immersive sim No Law, and creative director Tor Frick says they opted out of some features early on, such as letting players drive the cars parked on the streets. Port Desire is much smaller than Cyberpunk 2077's Night City, but its tall towers and steep hills create a sense of vertical scale, with no loading screens and interiors that match their exteriors.

Review: Minecraft Dungeons II (Switch 2) - A Fun But Flawed Dungeon-Crawling Sequel With Great Co-Op

A Switch 2 review of Minecraft Dungeons II finds the sequel swaps episodic progression for open-world exploration and adds depth to combat and traversal, while staying a light ARPG. The main campaign runs about 12-15 hours and supports couch co-op plus mixed co-op that lets online players join a local game. The review reports frame drops in both docked and handheld modes, lower frame rates in cinematics, and bugs including invisible invincible enemies and enemy AI getting stuck in terrain.

Between Dinosaurs and Guns, Rediscovering the Hunt: Dinosaur Hunter: Origins TGS Hands-On

At TGS2026, Dinosaur Hunter: Origins was playable as a series reboot developed by Saber Interactive in UE5, using a third-person action-shooter framework with first-person view switching. It adds character growth, a DNA system, three primal forms (cougar, bison, raven), and up to three-player co-op, while keeping classic weapons like the "brain drill gun." A T-Rex boss fight in the demo used missiles and lasers, though how the DNA and skill systems play out in the full game remains to be seen.

Gears of War: E-Day devs on their gore investment, saying fans were getting desensitised to the violence

Eurogamer interviewed The Coalition art director Aryan Hanbeck, brand director Nicole Fawcett, and creative director Matt Searcy about Gears of War: E-Day's investment in gore. Hanbeck said the team felt fans were getting desensitised to the series' violence, so they aimed to make every kill feel more real, down to headshot audio, blood spray height, lingering mist, and body reactions. Searcy said gore was a huge investment and that each encounter was designed like a coiled spring. E-Day's first Season began with Early Access yesterday and runs eight weeks to 1st December, ranked PvP arrives 13th October, and general release is 6th October.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Review Thread

Review Roundup: Minecraft Dungeons II

Minecraft Dungeons II launched this week on Nintendo systems and other platforms, with a Metacritic critic score of 75/100 and user score of 8.2, and an OpenCritic average of 77/100. Destructoid gave it 9/10, saying it expands and improves on the original in most ways, while IGN gave it 6/10, calling it a shallow ARPG that makes poor use of Minecraft's world. Nintendo Life's review of the Switch 2 version is still to come.

How Crazy Taxi's new game became a large-scale open-world title

Yystv played Crazy Taxi: Speed Tour at TGS and interviewed creative producer Kenji Kanno and game director Yo Momodani about the series reboot and its shift to a larger scale. The game is set for a 2027 release and adds more story, online multiplayer for up to six players, and a classic mode using the old Crazy Taxi rules, with the protagonist completing tasks across five city maps; the three revealed maps are the West Coast, Germany, and Japan. Kanno said the gameplay system is more like an action game, requiring repeated precise button combinations to keep the taxi fast and agile.

Gears of War: E-Day co-op impressions: local split-screen remains core to the series

A Polygon writer played Gears of War: E-Day and found solo play a serviceable third-person shooter, while same-screen co-op with a friend felt far better. Developed by The Coalition, the game is out now in early access on Windows PC and Xbox Series X with a full release on Oct. 6, supporting parties of up to four players but only two per screen due to technical limitations. Brand director Nicole Fawcette called split-screen core to Gears, and art director Aryan Hanbeck said local co-op is integral to the series.

March of Giants Preview: A MOBA That Wants to Turn the Arena Into a Battlefield

IGN previewed March of Giants, an in-development 4v4 MOBA whose lead designer says he wants to turn the arena into a battlefield, with players as towering giants commanding soldiers and placing battleworks. Matches are designed to run roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and none of the preview sessions went past 25; teams win by destroying two of the enemy's three final citadels. Some key developers also worked on Rainbow Six Siege, and the game keeps hardcore MOBA staples like separate skill leveling, complex itemization, and last hitting.

Dune: Awakening Review - Only The Strong Survive

Game Informer reviews Dune: Awakening, saying the game succeeds in making Arrakis feel hostile at every turn. The review notes the game is set in its own timeline where House Atreides never falls, a War of Assassins begins between Harkonnen and Atreides, and the Fremen are all but dead. The author describes combat freedom through classes like Mentat and Trooper, says solo play never hit a wall, and points to the weekly-resetting Deep Desert endgame area playable in PvE or PvP.

How Long Is Gears of War: E-Day - Mission List and Hours Played

Gears of War: E-Day's campaign takes roughly 10-14 hours on normal difficulty, and the author finished it in 11 hours while completing about 60% of the optional content. The game is primarily a linear cover-based shooter with semi-open environments between missions for collectibles, upgrades, and side missions, and a war journal tracks what was missed in each mission. After the credits, several multiplayer modes await, including Horde Siege, in which three teams of four players cooperate against waves of enemies.

Gears of War: E-Day Review: The Prequel Campaign and Horde Siege Multiplayer

IGN reviewed Gears of War: E-Day, with the author finishing the campaign in 15 to 18 hours and finding that the prequel still carries emotional weight even though players already know Marcus and Dom survive. The campaign adds a Weapon Mod and Tactical Gear system with four mod slots per weapon, unlocked through yellow Hard Cases and secondary objectives. The author notes ally AI sometimes fails to revive downed players, occasional framerate hitches on Xbox Series X Performance Mode, and that Horde Siege stands out in multiplayer while private matches are absent.

Escape from Playtime Preview: Co-op Extraction in the Poppy Playtime Universe

IGN played several rounds of Escape from Playtime ahead of its October 1 open playtest, a co-op extraction looter set in the Poppy Playtime universe where teams scavenge loot from a factory and return it to a cart named Barry. The author notes a four-slot inventory, items with utility such as glow sticks and an airhorn that reveals your position, no direct combat, and enemies including Boogie Bots, Cat Bees, and Miss Delight. Each shift raises the point quota and difficulty with a larger procedurally generated map, more hazards, and more enemies; the game supports solo play but offers only a contextless ping and proximity voice chat with no matchmaking. It enters Early Access on October 21.