Transport passengers in the city bus simulation The Bus across multiple lines and in different buses through Berlin. The routes of Germany’s capital have been recreated realistically at a true 1:1 scale and offer plenty of famous landmarks to discover, including the Victory Column, the Brandenburg Gate, and Alexanderplatz. In the Scania Citywide LF and other officially licensed buses, you sell tickets to boarding passengers, handle heavy traffic, and bring everyone safely to their destination while the city around you stays in motion. With changing weather and different seasons, every trip is exciting and challenging. Whether you prefer a relaxed run on schedule or the hustle and bustle of a big city,
The Bus brings you as close as possible to the feeling of driving a bus in Berlin. Play alone or together in multiplayer and expand your experience with Workshop content you can download directly via Steam, such as community made maps or repaints, as well as other content that extends the game. You also have modding features that let you create your own Workshop content, either just for yourself or to share with others.
Features and System Requirements:
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i7-9700K
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6650 XT
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 60 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Look, I’m not saying I’m not amazed that games have reached this era of visual hyperrealism where I can count the individual hairs in your character’s nose. It’s an impressive feat, no doubt. But I’m still one of those people firmly in the camp of stylized and exaggerated over indistinguishably lifelike and authentic.
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(Image credit: Future)
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I’m far more interested in a game’s art direction—think the elegant brushstrokes of Okami, the striking impressionism of Disco Elysium, or almost any RPG from gaming’s 16-bit era. That last one is my real weakness, though. Secret of Mana rewired my brain.
And like so many of you, an adoration for the pixely visuals of 8-bit, 16-bit, and even 32-bit games has followed me into adulthood. Modern releases channeling those aesthetics may no longer be limited by the machines they’re running on, but I’m still floored by the detailed pixel-work in games like Hyper Light Drifter or Replaced.
That’s why I’ve dedicated today’s quiz to games with striking pixel art styles. Some of them are far more traditional than others, staying true to their 8- or 16-bit aesthetics, while others are more inspired by the era. You’ve got 10 minutes to name all 15 games based on a single, cropped screenshot.
Good luck, and when you’re done, let me know your score and some of your favorite pixel art games. I’ve got a long list of games I haven’t used stored away for future quizzes, so maybe you’ll see your favorite included next time.
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The tyrant Gibby’s minions seek to reconstitute their long-presumed-annihilated master. It’s up to our crescent headed protagonist Wayne to assemble a crew and put a stop to that sort of thing. Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection
Features: A mesmerizing visual style incorporating stop-motion animation, 3D-scanned clay models, and pixel art. Engage in turn-based RPG combat against over 25 adversaries, each with unique capabilities and behaviors.
Gather Wayne’s crew and explore 3D environments. Use air-dashing, rolling, and gliding to find hidden treasures or evade enemies. Consult the world’s inhabitants for hints, lore, and musings.
Find TVs throughout the world to learn exciting new battle abilities like Poromer Bleb and Soul Crisper.
Optional side content including a diverting platformer minigame and a first-person-view dungeon-crawler.
The followup to 2015’s Hylics. Hylics 2 uses motifs from its predecessor, but players unfamiliar with Hylics may still fully enjoy Hylics 2.
Screenshots
SystemRequirements
Minimum
OS *: Windows 7
Processor: 2 Ghz or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Monitor Resolution 1280×720 or higher. 16:9 aspect ratio for fullscreen
Storage: 4 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
InstallationGuide
TurnOff Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Once nothing more than a basic text editor, Windows Notepad has been expanded in recent years to become almost a fully-fledged word processor. For some people, the little tool has become synonymous with Microsoft’s penchant for bloat and unnecessary changes, so one former Redmond coder decided to do something about it.
In contrast, the latest version of the Windows Notepad executable is 352 kB. Some of that file size can be attributed to additions the text editor has accrued over the years, though hacking those off won’t be enough to get Notepad down to 4 kB in size.
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Incredibly, though, Plummer’s final program is just 2,686 bytes. Not kilobytes, just bytes. That’s only fractionally larger than the games the 1977 Atari 2600 console originally launched with. So how on Earth did Plummer make it so small?
What made this possible is the fact that Windows itself carries around everything an app needs, such as menu systems and a graphical user interface. You don’t need to replicate them, just call them up as and when they’re required. By writing just a few lines of assembly code to tell Windows to ‘show a right-click menu’, standard text editor features now take up hundreds of bytes in size.
OG Atari 2600 games were limited to 2 kB in size. (Image credit: Photology1971 via Getty Images)
Another trick Plummer employed was using Crinkler to generate the final executable. In the 4 kB demoscene, this little compressing linker tool is near legendary. Basically, it takes all the various file objects generated by the code compiler and links them together so that they become a cohesive program; then it compresses the living daylights out of the code.
Plummer’s success at creating an OG Notepad just 2.6 kB in size wasn’t using any cheats or the like: all Windows applications do this, which is partly why the operating system is as big as it is. And to be fair to the current version of Notepad, the code has to be secure, readable, version-compatible, and so on. All those aspects increase the file size.
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The project is a good exercise for any developer to try and replicate, but it’s also a very timely one. With the global memory crisis set to rampage for many more years, game devs will need to employ similar approaches in order to keep memory consumption down. Alas, with numerous game studios at risk of being shut down, decreasing budgets plus pressures over time constraints will almost certainly mean that we won’t see programmers looking to shave off every megabyte where they can.
Be part of a galaxy that evolves through player actions. Mine, craft, trade resources and ship parts. Buy and sell blueprints, accept or offer services, missions and contracts. Participate and adapt to the economy of the Universe, as each marketplace transaction affects prices. nophenia
True power lies in teamwork. Create or join Corporations and collaborate on a larger scale. Develop interplanetary production and logistics by assigning roles, dividing tasks, and managing everything from small crews to vast commercial empires. Freely explore an immense universe where the vastness of space stretches before you, full of untold possibilities. Pilot your spaceship and journey through systems brimming with planets, asteroid fields, abandoned space stations and derelict ships. Cover great distances in an instant with Faster-Than-Light technology, jumping between distant systems with ease.
Maneuver through space in real-time, seamlessly transitioning from the depths of space to the surface of planets. Whether you’re scanning planets for valuable resources or charting a course to forgotten worlds, the Universe is yours. You’re completely free to explore it.
Planets hold an abundance of natural resources ready to be uncovered and exploited. As you explore and scan new systems, equip yourself with a variety of tools to extract raw materials. Scan your environment and use your ship to mine, extract and gather resources. Craft these resources into valuable materials or ship parts, and trade or sell them.
Screenshots
SystemRequirements
Minimum Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64 bits
Processor: Intel i3 8350K
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Geforce 1060
Storage: 25 GB available space
Additional Notes: 1080p@30fps
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
InstallationGuide
TurnOff Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Hideki Kamiya cut his teeth on the Resident Evil games, working as a designer on the original and director of Resident Evil 2 before moving on to other things, like Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and Bayonetta. Ironically, he’s not a big horror guy—he recently expressed a desire for a “non-scary mode” in Resident Evil games—and so understandably is not very interested in returning to the Resident Evil series.
But if he ever did, he would do things very differently. He would make it cozy.
“If I made it, it’d turn into a game where retired Leon goes fishing in the countryside, forages for wild veggies, bakes bread, walks the dog, tends a home garden, drives 50 km to the general store for supplies, invites old buddies over for a barbecue, fixes the neighborhood grandma’s oven at her request, sells homemade lemonade at the local festival,” Kamiya wrote on X(machine translated) in response to a request for a new game that continues the story of Leon and Claire. “But that’d be cool, right… ?”
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(Image credit: Hideki Kamiya (Twitter))
I think it would be cool, actually. It’s an aspect of videogame action heroes that’s not often explored—what do you do when you’re not doing this?—and it’s also a fun way to introduce the series to newcomers who might not be into the usual zombie survival horror thing.
Despite a history of Twitter trolling, Kamiya does seem earnest about the suggestion. “Capcom, there are a lot of voices out there saying they want something like a [Resident Evil] that’s not scary,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. “So if you have some free time, please consider making it… I want to play it too.”
I’m not a Resident Evil guy myself, but I think I’d give this one a look, too. And never say never: As announced at The Game Awards 2024, Kamiya is currently working on a sequel to the 2006 Capcom classic Okami at his new Clovers studio. Even if he doesn’t want to make the game himself, maybe the suggestion will give Resident Evil’s current stewards at Capcom a nudge.
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The Game Awards 2024: Okami Sequel Announcement / Performance – YouTube
And a semi-relevant side note: If you think ‘horror’ and ‘cozy’ are an ill-suited match, I would urge you to check out Creature Kitchen, one of my favorite little indie games in ages: It’s 20% off in the Steam Summer Sale, so just $6.39/£5.35/€6.23, and there’s also a demo so you can get a good taste of what it’s all about before you commit.
The classic Ghost Master returns from the depths of the underworld, resurrected in a glorious rebirth of terror and intrigue. This faithful remake of the beloved original brings back the essence of the classic, now infused with stunning new graphics, a powerful new engine, and refined mechanics that will leave you screaming for more. Dude Simulator
Key Features
Command an army of specters: Wield the power to summon and control a variety of grim specters, howling banshees, and sly gremlins, each with their unique abilities and strengths, now with enhanced visuals and improved AI.
Unleash terror on Gravenville: Explore 11 expansive and distinct locations, including the town’s lunatic asylum, military base, sorority and frat houses, and police station, now with new environments and detailed textures.
Solve puzzles and unlock mysteries: Delve into a world of mystery and intrigue, where clever thinking and strategic planning are essential to success in unique, hair-raising adventures with multi-branching scenarios, now with new challenges and hidden secrets.
Experience a thrilling blend of strategy, adventure, and resource management: Combine the best of strategy, adventure, and resource management games in a coherent plot and complete virtual world, now with new gameplay mechanics and fresh content.
Rediscover the Terror Relive the classic gameplay that made Ghost Master a cult classic, now with the benefits of modern technology and design. Ghost Master: Resurrection is the ultimate treat for fans of the original and newcomers alike, offering a fresh take on a timeless formula.
Screenshots
SystemRequirements
Minimum
OS: Windows 10 (1903 min)/11 64-bit
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i5-8600K
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: 6 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 580 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 14 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
InstallationGuide
TurnOff Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
You’re forgiven if you’d forgotten about Star Wars: Eclipse. After being revealed with a flashy cinematic trailer in 2021, all we heard about Quantic Dreams’ Star Wars game was the briefest of mentions in a blog post by studio founder and CEO David Cage last year, in which he said, “Of course, development of Star Wars: Eclipse continues, and we are eager to share more with you in the future.”
Quantic Dream was also working on a live-service game at the same time, a MOBA called Spellcaster Chronicles, which suffered a fate all too common in the genre when the plug was pulled on it back in May. 115 staff who worked on it came in line for the inevitable layoffs.
As reported by French outlet Gamekult, Quantic Dream’s employees say those staff are needed to help with a struggling Star Wars: Eclipse, and laying them off will hurt its chances of ever being finished. They went on strike during a studio visit by LucasFilm to get their point across.
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“It’s far from being an act of sabotage. On the contrary, we’re trying to save Star Wars Eclipse,” a developer identified as Jules said, via Google Translate. “We could manage to release it with 115 additional people, and that wouldn’t be ‘overstaffed’: it’s what’s needed. We’re understaffed, like in many other companies in the sector, because bosses know very well that passion will lead people to crunch time and that games will eventually be released. But it’s impossible to run a sustainable industry like that. “
Things are complicated by the fact Quantic Dream is owned by NetEase, having bought the studio in 2022. “We’ve already indicated that we want to talk to NetEase,” said an employee identified as Théo, “but Quantic Dream’s management is preventing us. We’ve explicitly asked for them to be at the negotiating table, since we’re often told: ‘Oh no, that decision depends on NetEase, that’s NetEase’s budget…’ Fine, then bring NetEase in!”
Employees claim that it was NetEase who made the call to end development of Spellcasters Chronicles, while Quantic Dream’s management though it was a good idea to continue throwing time and money down the live-service hole. Which certainly makes it seem like NetEase is the organ grinder and management the monkey.
The initial strike is apparently step one in a series of protests planned to run until some time near September under the umbrella of the “Summer Strike Fest” with the aim of making management aware that Star Wars: Eclipse can’t be completed without the additional staff who were working on Spellcasters Chronicles. “David Cage keeps saying that Star Wars Eclipse is a particularly ambitious project. So let him give us the means to achieve his ambitions,” Theo said.
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Intense Fighting Entertainment is back!! Fan-favorite 3D fighting game DEAD OR ALIVE 6 is back with stylish moves, striking animations, and a cast of colorful characters to go head-to-head in the fighting game world’s most extreme battles! Place, pose, and take picture-perfect screenshots of your favorite characters in the new Photo Mode. Play with the classic DOA6 roster and 5 additional DLC characters from the original version, along with new costumes. Whether you’re a new player or a longtime veteran, DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round has the action you’re looking for. Orb of Creation
Includes five additional characters released in the original version! Play with a lineup of 29 characters, including five characters originally released as bonuses or DLC for the original version: Nyotengu, Phase 4, Momiji, Rachel, and Tamaki.
Stage your own battles in the NEW Photo Mode! Choose your stage and characters, position them freely, change their poses and expressions, and create your own legendary moments in the brand-new Photo Mode.
From simple skirmishes to serious strategy, DOA6LR is THE definitive 3D fighting game! Use Holds at the perfect moment to cripple your opponent. Build your Break Gauge and unleash powerful special moves. Mash through a Fatal Rush for an easy yet highly satisfying combo. Toss your opponent into a Danger Zone to deal extra damage. From first-time players to long-time strategists, DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round has something for everyone.
Note:
This version includes a Character Unlock Keys for 29 characters and Story Unlock Key. Be careful not to accidentally make duplicate purchases.
A free-to-play version is available as DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round Core Fighters. Costumes unlocked or purchased in DEAD OR ALIVE 6 may be transferred to this version. Some costumes may not be transferrable. For more information on transferring data from DEAD OR ALIVE 6, see our official website.
Screenshots
SystemRequirements
Minimum Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows® 11
Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or higher, AMD Ryzen3 3100 or higher
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060 (VRAM 6GB) or higher, Radeon RX 590 (VRAM 8GB) or higher
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 80 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD required
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
InstallationGuide
TurnOff Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
It’s been five years since Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone announced the idea of Haunted Chocolatier, since then we’ve got a few small updates on progress here and there, with the bulk of Barone’s time being spent on making Stardew Valley one of, if not the best indie game available (which is currently 40% off in the Steam Summer sale).
It sounds like work on Haunted Chocolatier has been slow yet very deliberate, something that Barone yet again stresses in this latest update on progress. “I know it’s taking a long time,” Barone says in a blog post. “A big part of that is that I am being very thoughtful about every aspect of the game. The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be ‘perfect’. They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, aesthetic.”
(Image credit: Eric Barone)
Barone has already confirmed that Haunted Chocolatier will be bigger than Stardew Valley, which is fantastic for us as it means we’ll have more to chew on once we get our hands on it, but that does mean way more work for Barone. Whether there’ll be a bigger map, more characters, or more systems (or all of the above), Haunted Chocolatier certainly sounds like a much bigger project than Stardew Valley was at launch.
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One area which Barone has dedicated a lot of work to, and a lot of reworks, has been in the actual chocolate making: “I’ve been revisiting the recipe book for making chocolates. As with many things in the game, I’ve iterated on this many times, each time bringing it closer to its final form. To me, it’s not a simple task, as I torture myself over every last detail. This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect. You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks.
“There needs to be just the right amount of data presented to the player: not so much as to be overwhelming, but not so little as to be trivial or mundane. And the way that this data is laid out on the page is crucial. If the data is all clustered together, it will be disgusting to look at. The data needs to be grouped into compelling, intuitive and easy to read/understand groupings. It needs to look appealing and intriguing. And this is just the bare minimum, that players will likely take for granted.”
(Image credit: Eric Barone)
I’ve never really thought about just how well-crafted Stardew Valley’s UI is, because it’s just so bloody intuitive. I always end up explaining the systems to my game-averse mates by simply saying “you just know”. Stardew Valley has the right amount of information dispersed in the right ways to make playing feel instinctive. It’s a brilliant template for Haunted Chocolatier.
But even still, Barone doesn’t seem content with just making the whole experience frictionless: “I want to delight the player” and that means a hell of a lot more work needs to go into iterating on systems “several times before I’m satisfied with it.”
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There is absolutely no part of me that wants Barone to rush Haunted Chocolatier. Sure, I can’t regulate my excitement everytime I read an update on it because it just sounds sick as all hell. But I’d wait many more years to play this game if it’s what’s best for the game and the developer. “It’s a big game, so there are many things for me to fuss over,” Barone explains. “But, this is what it will take to make a game I’m satisfied with.”
