Chop Chains is a relaxing incremental game where you chop, gather, and upgrade to become the ultimate lumberjack through trees, axes, and skills.
Chop Down Trees! Chop Chains is a relaxing incremental game where everything revolves around… trees! Hover over them with your cursor to chop them automatically. Every tree that touches your axe takes damage, simple, satisfying, and addictive!
Gather Wood! Chopped trees drop wood. The more you chop, the more you collect! Discover different types of wood, each with its own value and rarity. Night Shippers
The Skill Tree Spend your wood to unlock permanent upgrades in the Skill Tree. Increase your power, axe size, luck, and much more to become the ultimate lumberjack!
Unlock Power-Ups! Unlock powerful skills that change the way you play, summon lightning storms, unleash axe chains, call in moles, and more! Each skill hits harder, deals more damage, and pushes your chopping power to the next level.
Shank is the cult-classic revival of the sidescrolling beat-em-up. Play as Shank in an over-the-top grindhouse game, packed to the rim with enemies, bosses, combos, and more by the award-winning team at Klei Entertainment.
The 2D sidescroller beat-em-up is finally on Steamplay, now with improved controls and tuning updates based on popular feedback! Shank will have you shooting and slashing your way through hordes of enemies in a stylized slaughter fest. Embark on a brutal path of blood soaked revenge as Shank battles his way through the criminal underground in his quest for retribution. Boasting fast-paced bloody action, silky smooth controls and a signature pulpy grindhouse art style, Shank is a must-play for action fans.
Violent graphic novel art style: Beautiful and fluid graphic novel art and animation styled by veteran director Jeff Agala. MINOS
Weapon-based combo system: String together endless combos of mayhem and destruction on the fly and pummel your opponents to the ground using an exhaustive arsenal of weapons.
Gorgeous, fully animated story cinematics: Watch Shanks brutal story unfold through beautiful fully animated cut scenes.
Brutal Boss Battles: Over 8 different massive and unique bloody boss battles.
Two-Player Local Co-Op: Murder with a friend. Play in a separate backstory in the two-player co-op mode and face a legion of well-armed enemies in the prequel to the single player experience.
It’s no secret that arcade fighters reward absurd precision and reaction times, and that means you need robust netcode if you want to play these games online and have a good time. While rollback netcode has recently become the standard for big name fighters, the communities behind older games are understandably eager to see it come to the classics—so much so in one case that there’s a big pile of cash in it for capable modders.
FGC streamer and YouTuber Maximillian Christiansen (known online as Maximilian Dood) is prepared to make it raaaain for anyone who can “solve the issue of making rollback netcode work in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3,” which is on Steam but uses less responsive delay-based netcode. If you’re not sure he’s good for it, just take a look at the Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite mod he’d put nearly $30,000 into as of 2024.
It’s hard to overstate how transformative the tech can be for a fighting game—it’s so prized that players will drown out its announcement with cheers and applause. Where delay-based netcode won’t honor your button mashing until both players receive the input data, rollback netcode predicts what will come next and will quickly, you know, roll things back if it was wrong. It’s as good a solution as has been cooked up for a genre where every frame of information matters, and it feels much better than the sluggish stretches that characterize a bad match played with delay-based netcode.
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Christiansen reposted a stream highlight on X sharing his announcement. “I want to do something special,” he said. “We’ve done a lot for the modding scene of Marvel vs. Capcom, I just am willing to put my money where my mouth is. Maybe just maybe we can move beyond this Parsec era of Ultimate Marvel 3 online.”
Parsec is a third-party application that allows players to remotely use local play features through streaming, not unlike Steam’s Remote Play Together. While it can be an improvement over delay-based netcode if all parties have a strong internet connection, Christiansen wants more for the venerable fighting game.
“The Smash Melee community did it, man. They did it in a freaking emulator wrapper. Somehow, they made matchmaking, they had rollback netcode,” he said. “I’d be willing to put my money towards it to help support this community, and to help support this game for the long run.”
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Defend your base against increasingly dangerous enemy waves each night in this minimalist survival strategy. Mine resources, build and repair defenses, and upgrade your structures, tools, and abilities to survive in this harsh world.
Build, mine, and defend your base to survive the nights Balance your time between exploration, construction, and defense as you manage scarce resources and adapt your strategy to unpredictable enemy waves.
Day: Gather and prepare Each day is a short window to explore the map, mine valuable resources, and expand your defenses.
Collect what you can before the sun sets, every resource matters when the night comes.The Occultist
Night: Defend and repair When darkness falls, waves of hostile creatures strike from all sides.
Your turrets hold the line as your walls take damage, repair and reinforce before the next wave arrives.
To the Last Night Each run is a test of endurance and resource management.
Upgrade your defenses, experiment with new layouts, and discover different strategies to last a little longer until you finally conquer the last night.
Nowadays, the rights to James Pond are co-owned by Gameware and System 3. The latter company decided to finally trademark the name in the UK last year, filing an application that would cover its use in categories including “Computer and electronic game programs” as well as “Toys, games and playthings” and “Clothing; footwear; headgear; sweatshirts; t-shirts; caps; jackets.”
The owners of the James Bond trademark and copyright, Danjaq LLC, filed an opposition in response. As reported by the World Trademark Review Journal via Time Extension, Danjaq opposed a similar trademark application in 2012—with the European Intellectual Property Office on that occasion, rather than the UK one—and that application ended up being rejected. In the UK, trademarks of parodies aren’t protected as they are under US law, so it seems like a long shot to try for a UK trademark after failing to secure a European one.
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Gameware and System 3 are planning to relaunch James Pond with a sequel called James Pond and the Rogue AI. The name’s a bit on the nose given that the series’ original creator, Chris Sorrell, who is not involved, has decried “the fact that they’re promoting it with lazy, AI-generated bull-shit” and said, “I hate almost everything they do with a passion”.
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Prep your stations for a cozy cooking game with attitude! Prepare unique meals for quirky small-town locals, upgrade and customize your shop, compete in thrilling cooking battles to become top chef, and protect your family’s long-running restaurant alongside a cast of curious companions!
Ready to battle for the title of top eatery? Yes, Chef!
You’ve just inherited your grandma’s once-famous meatball restaurant in the cozy town of KuloNiku. Now it’s up to you to bring it back to glory as the top eatery! Take on eccentric orders from townsfolk, serve delicious meals, and restore your family’s legacy. Beware—there’s fierce competition from the town’s flashiest rival: Souper Starz, run by the menacing rockstar chef, Stella!
Cook Mouth-Watering recipies
Chop, boil, fry, torch, pour, sizzle, slice, and skewer, and more with immersive, tactile controls that make every action tickle your brain and make your mouth water.
Want to add an extra punch of garlic or a sprinkle of salt? Go for it. You’re the chef – find multiple ways to prepare your customers the perfect dish and rack up those juicy tips!
But your customers aren’t just customers. Some may become your friends, rivals, or even part of your story. The Spotter: Dig or Die
Win Thrilling Cooking Battles
Rival chefs want the top spot, and there’s only one way to settle things: Meatball Brawls!
In these thrilling culinary duels, you’ll go head-to-head to impress a panel of rotating judges. It’s not just about speed – it’s about strategy, creativity, and mastering every step of the cooking process.
Play mini-games to impress both the judges and the crowd watching live, who will issue on-the-spot requests to boost your score!
Upgrade and Customize Your restaurant
Keep things fresh! Unlock new tools, purchase higher-quality ingredients, and discover brand-new recipes to keep your menu exciting.
Personalize your restaurant with fun decorations in a variety of styles – even buy full sets! Decor isn’t just cosmetic; some items give gameplay perks to impress your customers.
Unlock special decorations by playing in special festivals or raising your friendship level with town residents!
A couple of months ago Logitech unveiled quite the surprise for the competitive PC gaming scene with the G Pro X2 Superstrike. It’s the first gaming mouse to feature proper analogue switches under the left and right mouse buttons, meaning it’s the first to offer clicks that respond to the slightest touch, or whatever level of force you set it to.
As soon as I got my hands on the Superstrike—first at Logitech HQ in Switzerland where I got to see everything that went into making it, and then at home for some more extended testing—I knew it wasn’t just a gimmick. At least for some kinds of competitive gamer, the improvement on offer is real, as it cuts down the time between starting to press and having your click register and your in-game weapon fire (for instance).
The Superstrike’s haptic-inductive click technology, I thought, will surely be the future for the gaming mouse market.
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Then Razer launched the Viper V4Pro and reminded me just how impressive a traditional, non-analogue mouse can be, thanks to its practically flawless design and build quality. Analogue clicks are great, but reducing click latency is just one aspect of a whole package. These two gaming mice are both great choices for competitive gaming, and it’s far from a wash for either.
Setting aside the apples-to-oranges switch comparison for the time being, you’re clearly getting a better all-round package with the Viper V4 Pro. That would be true even if it was the same price as the Superstrike, but it’s actually cheaper—in the US, at least.
The long and short of it is that you’re getting a lighter mouse with double the battery life and a more performant sensor. You’re also getting a better, more bulbous dongle that actually stays put on your desk and has some useful LEDs.
Some of you might also be interested to know that the Viper has an optical scroll wheel, while the Superstrike has the same mechanical scroll wheel as in the previous Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2. The latter wheel is known to sometimes develop scrolling issues and in my own testing suffers from problems with long-presses. The optical wheel on the Viper V4 Pro, at least in theory, shouldn’t be as likely to develop problems because there’s less mechanically that can go wrong.
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Overall quality
(Image credit: Future)
Specs aren’t the only place where the Viper V4 Pro comes out in front. It’s also a much more premium-feeling mouse. In fact, it’s the most premium-feeling mouse I’ve had my mitts on, and I’ve tried quite a few.
Both have nice, safe shapes that should suit a variety of grips. The Superstrike’s G Pro/Superlight style ‘potato’ shape has a bit more of an extended hump that pushes into your palm more towards the back, but the two symmetrical shapes are generally quite similar.
The Viper V4 Pro feels a step above the Superstrike, though, thanks to its near-flawless build quality. And while the Superstrike doesn’t feel cheap, it’s far from perfect.
The Viper’s buttons are very tactile and have practically zero pre-travel, there’s not an ounce of mushiness to the scroll wheel, and the skates are nice and smooth. The Superstrike, on the other hand, has mushy side buttons, pretty slow UPE skates, and a mediocre scroll wheel that doesn’t play well with long presses. There’s also quite a bit of left-right wobble to the left mouse button, on my model at least, after bottoming out the button press.
The icing on top for the Viper when it comes to the general experience, in addition to the battery life, is the fact that you can change all your settings on Synapse Web. So, unlike with the Superstrike, you don’t have to keep a local program installed to change your mouse settings.
Are the speedy clicks worth it?
(Image credit: Future)
After spending a lot of time using both mice, I can say confidently that the Superstrike is a boon to games like Counter-Strike and Valorant but not much of a boon to other games such as Overwatch, Apex Legends, and so on. Its clicks are worth it if you primarily play tactical shooters that have a low time-to-kill (TTK) and rely on quick reactions. I suppose games that require a high number of clicks per minute (CPM) will benefit, too, but that’s far outside of my wheelhouse.
In games like CS2, a lot of your time is spent holding angles or peeking around them, hopefully with your crosshair placed very close to where your enemy’s head should appear. In these situations, saving a few milliseconds between spotting that head and having your mouse click register can make a difference. Anyone who has played CS2 or Valorant seriously will be familiar with the post-death certainty that ‘if I’d just shot a split second sooner, I’d be the one alive right now and my team would have won the round.’
You don’t get those feelings quite so often or to quite the same extent in other kinds of competitive shooter. Playing Overwatch, for instance—even when playing as Cassidy—I don’t feel that need for split-second click reaction to anywhere near the same extent as I do in CS2. And if I’m playing a tracking-heavy game like Quake Champions or Apex Legends, I don’t feel the need at all.
(Image credit: Future)
However, just note that even in the games where it is of benefit, the Superstrike’s clicks don’t give a night and day difference and they certainly won’t greatly improve your overall headshot percentage or kill:death ratio.
I started doing some daily tests comparing my scores with the different mice in CS2 and in aim trainers, but I quickly noticed there was no difference. What makes the most difference by far is a combination of overall reaction time and aim. The time it takes your finger to press down is just one tiny part of that.
One big caveat to both the Viper and Superstrike is that, as many an enthusiast is prone to say, shape is king when it comes to gaming mice. If you don’t get on with the Superstrike’s or the Viper Pro’s shape, you’re probably better off getting a different mouse entirely.
Better off, that is, both in general and also regarding competitive performance, because it’s hard to perform well with a mouse you don’t enjoy holding. I, for instance, am currently debating long and hard over whether to ditch the Superstrike for the Zowie EC2-DW, which just fits in my grip so snugly.
Niches on niches
(Image credit: Future)
The shortened answer to the question of which mouse to get is as follows:
First and foremost, get a mouse with a shape that suits your grip. If the Viper V4 Pro and Superstrike fit the bill, then get the Superstrike if you (A) play primarily tactical shooters with low TTK and (B) are happy spending $180 for a slight potential advantage over all other mice. If you don’t fit those two criteria, get the Viper V4 Pro, and bask in its near-flawless quality.
The Razer Viper V4 Pro has brought me back to earth a little. Initially I got a little swept up in the Superstrike’s new and impressive analogue click technology, and while my opinion hasn’t changed on how much of a game-changer it is, the Viper has reminded me just how nice it can be to have every other aspect of a mouse be almost perfect.
For the tactical shooter niche inside the broader competitive niche, the Superstrike beats it for in-game performance, provided you like its shape and are fine sacrificing some broader quality and feel. But for everything else the Viper V4 Pro comes out on top.
Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn’t Direct Download
From letters to lunacy, Cursed Words is a roguelike chasing ever-stronger synergies. Start with simple words like BUY or THIS or GAME, then use game-altering combos to break the rules. Before long you’ll be ¼♖♙K5XNG the ⅗H♗4 out of these 83VK??7?!
WORDS ARE JUST THE START
Starts as Boggle, ends as Schrödinger – Cursed Words is a roguelike adventure about writing words… for a while…until words become NUM83R5, or ♔♘♙, or the infinite void.
Each run is shaped by four pillars: your Character, your Sticker upgrades, your Stamp loadout and the consumable Tiles you bring into each fight. Every attempt becomes its own cursed experiment.
BREAK THE RULES
In Cursed Words you build powerful synergies using Stamps and Stickers, face tricky boss encounters and push your score higher with every stage. A base level run features five stages, each one with two encounters and a boss. Beat Stage 5 to win the run, then take on special Challenges and Crown difficulty tiers that redefine the rules and push your creativity.
NO TWO RUNS ALIKE
Blaze a path through cursed bosses and uncover secret items and challenges that completely change the way the game is played. How about all consonants? Maybe all vowels? How about no letters at all?
A whopping 300 stickers and stamps to boost your scores and break the game Farmer’s Dynasty 2
11 characters with dramatically different playstyles
20 bosses that’ll try to sabotage your runs, or can be manipulated into multiplying your score even higher
26 unique challenges that completely change the rules of the game
UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
And if all that wasn’t enough, mastering each Character’s Pin and playstyle is only the beginning. You can prove it wasn’t just a fluke by taking on the Challenge Crowns, where Score Targets are bigger, Shops are more expensive, and you’ll have to really break the rules if you want to succeed; or you can take on Quests, specific modifiers to the game’s rules that will really put your skills to the test…
Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn creator Lucas Pope spoke about what he’s working on next—and why we’re not hearing about it more—on the latest episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here, the podcast of Nuclear throne developer Rami Ismail and No More Robots founder Mike Rose.
Though Pope said he typically enjoys talking about his work, he thinks “the situation just feels different” in the industry. “You don’t really talk about stuff when you’re working on it,” said Pope. “It’s getting slurped up by AI or people are gonna copy it, or something else like that.
“It’s not a hard rule, but I’ve got a kinda feeling about that. I just don’t feel as comfortable talking about what I’m working on again.”
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Even with the radio silence, you might think that at least means he’s working on something—but it doesn’t mean the artist will ultimately decide to share it. “I was pretty happy with Obra Dinn and Papers, Please,” Pope said. “And maybe I can’t do it again? Maybe I just wanna go out on a high note. Why drag myself down with the next thing that people maybe won’t like.
“I feel lucky with those two games. And I can do the same things again—I can focus on narrative and gameplay and mechanics—but who knows. It could be a total miss. So in that sense, I don’t really wanna push my luck too much.”
Fair enough—two stone cold all-timers is more than most people can aspire to, and with Pope having published both hit games himself, he likely doesn’t face the same financial pressures as other developers. “I’m just finding the fun over here,” Pope said of the last six years of his game dev career, which included the Playdate-exclusive alien support group sim, Mars After Midnight. You can listen to Ismail and Rose’s full interview with Lucas Pope on episode 10 of Mike & Rami are Still Here.
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Hero Siege is a fast paced Pixel Art ARPG featuring an expansive roster of unique classes, deep build experimentation, and a player driven economy.
Step into Tarethiel, a world under siege by the Forces of Hell. Face DemonLords, ancient monstrosities and fallen angels as you hack and slash your path through endless hordes of the undead.
Craft your hero through two main skill trees and individual sub-skill trees that reshape how every active ability works. Combined with a massive item pool and powerful crafting options, the game offers limitless build possibilities; from blood hungry melee bruisers and bow wielding archers to gun slinging demon slayers, sentry engineers, summoners, spell casting mages and everything in between.
Hero Siege evolves in seasonal cycles every four months, delivering fresh content, new systems, items, events, and quality of life improvements. As a small, experienced team, we work closely with our community to improve the game based directly on valuable player feedback. The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City’s Fall
Key Features
23 Playable Character classes Every class offers its own unique play style and skill set. Sub-skills and item based modifiers allow you to push your build in unique and creative directions.
1000+ Unique Items Loot ranges from randomized magic items all the way to handcrafted Satanic, Set, Heroic, Angelic and Unholy items. Runewords can be created using white bases with sockets. Items can be buffed, crafted and modified in various ways through the crafting system.
Tarethiel Market Travel to Village of Mos’Arathim to List your items for sale or buy gear from other players in real time. Trading is a core part of character progression and build crafting.
Adventure Journal A fully integrated in game encyclopedia containing mechanics, unique items, runewords, prospecting recipes, crafting recipes and augments.
Endless Replayablity Designed for seasonal play. Each season adds new content such as: items, bosses, gimmicks and surprises from our development team.
Wormholes Push your character as high as possible and earn seasonal cosmetic rewards such as skins, wings, portraits and more.
BIG NO-NO for Pay to Win We never sell game play advantages. Fair competition is a core value for us.
