“PAINKILLER HAS GOT ME AND A LOT OF THE PC GAMER TEAM EXCITED”

The original Painkiller was the very definition of

PC STAYS WINNING

NINTENDO can brick your Switch; I’ve never been happier to be a PC gamer

CURSED TO CORRECT

At this year’s Computex keynote, Nvidia’s CEO said,

NO MORE WEAKAURAS

WoW ’s going to be slowly phasing out

SADDLE UP, PARTNER

For the first time since the game came

Highs & Lows

HIGHS Scroll up The project to remake

The Spy

BUT WHO WATCHES THE SPY?

BLUE SHIFT

How BLUE’S NEWS stayed alive and evaded ‘enshittification’ for 30 years

Incoming

THE BIGGEST GAMES ON THE WAY

ANNO 117: PAX ROMANA

An epic strategy game and city builder with a big toga to fill

BLACKSMITH MASTER

Who knew working hammer and tongs could feel so relaxing?

ERIKSHOLM: THE STOLEN DREAM

Entry-level stealth paired with high-end period drama

OUTWORLD STATION

This sim is threatening to devour hours of my time

EUROPA UNIVERSALIS 5

This grand strategy game is going to take hours to unpack

OFFSCREEN

The perils of not getting enough screen time, exposed

CAST N CHILL

Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream

OFF-WORLD PROSPECTING

Dig to discover in the sands of an alien world

HALF SWORD

Rip and tear and fall over in an amusing fashion

PROHIBEAST

A faithful hound has beef with Al Capone

PAINKILLER returns, and this time it’s brought friends

LANAESTHETIC

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Does a lack of choice make CYBERPUNK 2077 a bad RPG?

REVIEW

Bullet heaven

UNCIVILISED

DOOM: THE DARK AGES is indulgent and deliciously violent, but surprisingly safe

BLESS THIS MESS

REVENGE OF THE SAVAGE PLANET is a Metroidvania designed for breezy co-op

NIGHT SHIFT

ELDEN RING: NIGHTREIGN is a flawed, but strangely compelling experiment

TOUGE PARTY

JDM: JAPANESE DRIFT MASTER has grand ambitions, but the execution drifts off course

ALL BY MYSELVES

Fraught and flexible, THE ALTERS expertly blends storytelling with survival

BURROWING IN

SKIN DEEP , Blendo’s first game in seven years, is a small triumph

ROUGH GEM

BLADES OF FIRE doesn’t quite manage to bring the heat

RECORD SCRATCH

LOST RECORDS: BLOOM & RAGE TAPE 2 leaves more dead space than game

OIL’S WELL

Cosy cleanup sim SPILLED is peacefully brilliant

A-MAZE-ING CHASE

LABYRINTH OF THE DEMON KING emphasises the horror in classic dungeon crawlers

CARMAGEDDON

Hell on wheels just about sums up FUSED 240

EAT FLAY LOVE

Beauty isn’t only skin deep in THE FLAYED MAN

SUIT YOU

PACK sees the satisfaction in packing a suitcase

GRANITE FEET PORTER

Life’s a beach in DEATH STRANDING

POSTAL GETAWAY

A change is as good as a break in LAKE

HAUL OR NOTHING

EURO TRUCK SIMULATOR 2 makes me love things I hate

Hardware

GET THE PC YOUR GAMES DESERVE

AIR COOLERS

Move aside, liquid cooling: Air coolers are unbeatable on a budget

XP BOOST

Why our infrastructure still depends on Windows’ 24-year-old OS

REVERSE GEAR

Software remasters are in – now it’s time for hardware to lean into retro appeal

THE BUILD

The CPU King

BUYER’S GUIDE

Build the best PC for your budget

“Completely and utterly impolite”

Indulging my grimiest powergamer impulses in BALDUR’S GATE III

“This is Star Wars done right”

Getting challenged at every step in KOTOR 2

“As you unlock new librarians, you’re going to need a lot of cards”

Though it does itself no favours, LIBRARY OF RUINA presents a stacked deck I just can’t resist

“Nothing says ‘don’t notice me’ like fighting 14 people at once…”

Undercover in LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN: THE MAN WHO ERASED HIS NAME

BALDUR’S GATE III

Patch 8 caps off an expansion’s worth of updates

STREETS OF RAGE X

Revisiting the 16-bit era with some added punch

MAKE THE MOST OF STEAM

Sneaky tips and tricks for the savvy Steam user.

BEING CHARMING IN VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES PART 3

The most cultured thug in town gets more than he bargained for.

INJUSTICE 2’S STORY MODE

A fighting game you play for the plot

REDNECK RAMPAGE

A comedic FPS that still leaves me in hog heaven

MUST PLAY

A PERSONAL LIST OF THE BEST GAMES YOU CAN PLAY RIGHT NOW

THE PCG INVESTIGATOR

Dick Ray-Tracing is who PC gamers go to for help when no one else will. This month’s case: THE FINAL PWN