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Sea of Stars Latest Update 1.011 Releases Throes of the Watchmaker Free DLC

by Alex Co

May 20, 2025 10:51 am in Title Updates and Patches

Sometimes, developers release title updates that are just full of content that we’re left dumbfounded at how can this possibly be free. Well, that happened today with Sea of Stars update 1.011 that brings the Throes of the Watchmaker DLC for free!

Those on last-gen, this should show up as Sea of Stars update version 1.11, and also brings in the free DLC. This isn’t just any new outfit or class, as this is a ful-on eight-hour add-on that can be played all for free! Not only that, but it’s one heck of a ride too! Read our spoiler-free review to see why this is one title update for the ages.

Important to note: this DLC is not included as an automatic update. Players will need to manually download it from Steam or your console’s storefront.

Sea of Stars New Update Version 1.011/1.11 Delivers Free Expansion

Throes of the Watchmaker Features:

An Entirely New Quest: Zale and Valere must help Keenathan, a pirating friend met during Sea of Stars’ main campaign, learn his true name – a selfless goal that leads the duo through an enthralling new quest brimming with adventure, and new friends and foes alike.
A Whimsical New World: Discover the fascinating world of Horloge as well as the mischievous Puppeteer threatening its future while braving new dungeons and enemies.
New Combat Classes: Zale and Valere must adapt to Horloge’s new rules for their magic to fully manifest; Zale adopts the Jugger combat class to face the challenges ahead while Valere dazzles as an Acrobat.
A New Playable Ally: Team up with the laser-wielding sharpshot Artificer to wield new combat abilities and party-synchronizing combos.
Lush Cinematic Scenes: Throes of the Watchmaker’s cinematic budget is equivalent to that of Sea of Stars’ main adventure, allowing Sabotage to richly realize key narrative moments throughout a dense, delightful new tale.
High-flying Minigames: In classic carnival style, experience a series of optional mini-games to challenge the Solstice Warrior’s newfound abilities. And fan-favorite tabletop game Wheels makes a triumphant return.
Lively Original Music: Sea of Stars’ Lead Composer Eric W. Brown returns with stirring new music for Throes of the Watchmaker, along with new contributions from guest composer Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger).
Award-winning RPG Design: Sea of Stars’ modernization of classic turn-based combat, exploration, and storytelling reimagines the ‘90s golden era of RPGs in a refreshing original adventure, now fully playable solo or in three-player co-op.

How to Access the Throes of the Watchmaker DLC?

1. The DLC is not included as an automatic update. To get started, you’ll need to manually download it from Steam or your console’s storefront.

2. Throes of the Watchmaker is a post-game adventure, so you must open up a save file where you have rolled the end credits at least once to unlock access.

3. After meeting the requirement above, return to the world map in-game. You’ll receive a new prompt via a message-in-a-bottle: It’s a message from Hortence urging you to return to the Vespertine and check on Keenathan.

When prompted with: “Hortence sounds really worried. Should we visit the crew right now?” Choose Yes to continue.

4. You’ll be transported to the top deck of the Vespertine. Head below deck and speak with the pirate crew to officially begin the Throes of the Watchmaker side-adventure.

According to Sabotage Studios, this DLC marks the “full realization” of everything they set out to build. First with the Sea of Equinox content drop and now this free DLC.

This marks the end of Sabotage’s support for Sea of Stars, as the studio notes, “We hope that this farewell letter to our dream project will bring you joy, and that you will allow it to tell you one last time, from all of us: THANK YOU!”

If you haven’t played the base game yet, go check it out. When it was released, our review gave it a 9/10 and said, “Sea of Stars will take any seasoned gamer back to a simpler times, when the games were colorful, flat, and lengthy. If you want a turn-based RPG that is easy to pick up and yet quite challenging, then you’ll want to check out Sea of Stars.”

Congrats, Sabotage! Thanks for delivering content worthy of the base game, and all for free.

Tags: Sea of Stars

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker DLC Review – From the Heart

by James Lara

10:22 am in News

Can you believe it’s been almost two years since Sea of Stars was released? Me neither. Since wrapping up that unforgettable journey, I’ve been itching to dive back into its world—hoping, waiting, wishing for a sequel. And while a full-blown follow-up hasn’t landed (at least not yet), Sabotage Studio has gifted us something that might be the next best thing: Throes of the Watchmaker, a free DLC that feels anything but small.

Available as a free update, here’s our review of Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker that should be available to all gamers who own the base game for free.

Or My Name Is Not Keenathan

Our tale begins with Keenathan, a beloved and boisterous member of Captain Klee’shaë’s pirate crew, whom players will no doubt remember for his unrelenting enthusiasm for saying his name. After receiving a letter, our Solstice Warriors, Valere and Zale, set off to visit the crew, only to find Keenathan in an uncharacteristically gloomy state. Why? Because he’s no longer sure Keenathan is even his real name.

This suspicion first arose during a visit to the Sky Giants’ Council at Cloud Kingdom in the original game, where no records of him existed. Now haunted by the possibility of living under a false identity, Keenathan sets out with Valere and Zale to visit the Watchmaker to commission a pocket watch engraved with his name. A simple enough request—except that the Watchmaker is an Ovate, a near-extinct race whose powers come at a steep cost.

Such a request comes at a high cost, and the price for this specific one involves the Solstice Warriors venturing off into a microworld, Horlage, and to cleanse a curse revolving around a carnival. Little do Valere and Zale know that the world they’re about to enter is one of fragmented memories and forgotten identities that will leave them questioning themselves and who they truly are.

I won’t spoil anything else beyond that, as it’s a journey that you should play for yourself. However, with this being DLC and all, you may be wondering whether or not it’s worth playing through. To put it in a way that you can probably understand, this DLC is free, and I don’t think it should have been. Don’t get me wrong, Sabotage Studio is doing an incredible thing by giving this DLC away for free, but having played through it myself, it really could have been mistaken for a sequel. It’s shorter than the base game, with my clear-time clocking in at around 9 hours, but offering that much content for free is insane.

This isn’t just more Sea of Stars—it’s different, yet every bit as magical. Think Phantom Liberty for Cyberpunk 2077: the base story remains untouched (there’s no new ending here), but the expansion offers an entirely separate and meaningful experience that enriches the world. There are tons of new explorable areas to visit, new mini-games, playable characters, new enemies, bosses, and even new classes woven into the story. It doesn’t feel like the type of content you’d expect to see for DLC, let alone free DLC, but Sabotage Studio went the extra mile to make it feel like an actual standalone experience. The story is fantastic, filled with incredible, well-written, and fun characters that I instantly loved.

The new classes introduced in this DLC are also pretty fun as they play into the carnival theme of the DLC, both visually and gameplay-wise. And for those who beat the game already, and are completely overpowered, don’t worry about the lack of challenge here. However, you may be saddened to learn that the DLC does this by underleveling you. Don’t get hung up on that too much, as it is explained through the story, which even has a satisfying payoff for it.

In the end, Throes of the Watchmaker isn’t just a bonus chapter or side story—it’s a heartfelt love letter from Sabotage Studio to the fans who fell in love with Sea of Stars. It captures everything that made the original game special while daring to explore new ideas, new places, and new emotional depths. It’s playful, poignant, and packed with surprises, all wrapped in the same charming, pixel-perfect package. Whether you’re returning for more or just looking for an excuse to revisit this world, this DLC delivers in spades. And the fact that it’s completely free? That’s just the cherry on top of a beautifully made adventure that easily stands on its own.

Score: 10/10

Pros:

Completely free – Honestly, I would have paid for this, knowing how amazing the base game already was.
A standalone experience that even rivals full-priced titles.
Loads of new content to play through, including minigames and new secrets.
It’s a fantastic story with lovable characters, regardless of whether they’re friend or foes.
New locations to explore, and they look great.

Cons:

Honestly, it’s hard to find anything to dislike with this one.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker DLC is now available to download for free on all platforms Sea of Stars is on.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Sea of Stars Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker

James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Baldur’s Gate 3 Update 1.800.306 for Hotfix 32 Fixes Crossplay, Crashing Issues

by Alex Co

10:13 am in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

Even if Patch 8 is meant to be the final content patch for Baldur’s Gate 3, that doesn’t mean Larian Studios is leaving the game with bugs. Today, the studio has pushed out Baldur’s Gate 3 update 1.800.306, which is for Hotfix 32.

The latest BG3 patch applies fixes to crossplay, crashes, performance, gameplay, and even the UI. The complete patch notes, which list every fix implemented, are available below.

Baldur’s Gate 3 New Update on Consoles and PC Fixes Various Technical Issues for May 20

Here’s what’s new according to Larian Studios.

MODDING

Toolkit

The update to the toolkit will begin rolling out later today

Fixed a potential crash caused by entering invalid control characters when renaming or creating resources.

GAME

Crashes and Performance

Fixed a crash when changing input mode while launching a multiplayer game.
Fixed a crash on Xbox cross-play when suspending the game while transitioning between regions.
Fixed a crash when playing on split-screen with DLSS on Vulkan.
Fixed some potential crashes and performance issues as a result of auras trying to apply themselves to items that can’t have auras.

New Subclasses

Fixed a bug causing Starry Forms to be removed by the Shadow Curse.

Gameplay

Fixed a bug on multiplayer where the client’s avatar would appear invisible until they moved around.
Fixed a bug causing the game world and the Main Menu background to appear black after you return to them from Character Creation.

Cross-Play

Fixed a bug letting you enable cross-play and invite players while running a non-cross-play session. If you want your friends to join you in an existing campaign, you’ll need to make sure the save you want to use has cross-play enabled. Find out how by reading on below!

UI and Tooltips

Fixed some developer text appearing on the Upcast Bonus tooltip when upcasting Shadow Blade.
Fixed a bug causing the latest savegame to get deleted instead of the currently selected one if you quickly spam the delete button.
Fixed the ‘Enable’ button being greyed out in the Mod Verification window while using a controller.
Made sure the Direct Connect option doesn’t show up in the cross-play settings, where it is not possible to use.

Art

Half Plate Armour +2 having missing material for male halflings and causing clipping on female gnomes.

Don’t be surprised to see another follow-up patch be released for the RPG.

Tags: Baldur's Gate 3

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Helldivers 2 Update 1.003.002 Marches Out for Heart of Democracy

by Alex Co

5:53 am in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

Arrowhead Game Studios has released Helldivers 2 update 1.003.002 and this is for the Heart of Democracy patch. Aside from the new content, the patch also includes crash fixes as well as Miscellaneous Fixes too.

Check out the full and official patch notes posted down below.

Helldivers 2 Update 1.003.002 Features Heart of Democracy

Helldivers, it’s time to defend the Heart of Democracy!

The worst nightmare of all those who fight for Managed Democracy has been made a grim reality.

Despite the valiant efforts of our Helldivers to push back the fleet, the Illuminate have reached Super Earth. Now they are swarming our cities, terrorizing citizens, and destroying our infrastructure. It’s time to rise up and take arms and fight for the precious foundations
and soil of Democracy manifest. Helldivers, return to our planet and defend what is rightfully ours.

SUPER EARTH… OUR HOME
The urban sprawl of Super Earth is the site of the conflict. Fight among the towering skyscrapers and crowded streets of our home turf as the Illuminate rain down destruction all around you.

Inside the city biomes, you will tackle operations and work to liberate cities together, having a significant impact on planetary campaigns.

REPEL THE INVASION
The Helldivers are tasked with a new objective: to repel the Illuminate invasion by gaining ground over the squids as they fight to control areas where the fleet is landing. It won’t be a walk in the park, divers. Like a game of intergalactic tug-of-war, you will struggle against the incoming forces, gaining and losing control quickly.

ARM THE CANNONS
Even in the face of such danger, we are not helpless, and all is not lost. The might of Super Earth’s arsenal lies hidden beneath our peaceful, democratic streets. With your help, we must activate our Planetary Defense Cannons and take down the Illuminate fleet in a grand show of power.

CALL FOR BACKUP
It’s all hands on deck as you encounter SEAF troops who will help join the fight to defend our Freedom. These small squads will fight enemies on their own, or they can be ordered to follow Helldivers and provide temporary backup as you navigate toward objectives. Salute and lead them on the path to victory, divers!

PROTECT CITIZENS
However, you must also be aware of the many civilians still roaming the streets, fearing for their lives. They may be panicked, Helldivers, but it is your sworn duty to keep them safe and they look to you as the ultimate protectors of liberty. Remember: any civilian lives lost from friendly fire will be punished.

PREPARE FOR THE FIGHT
Last week, we released a powerful primary weapon customization system and expanded surplus options to fight against the Illuminate as they emerged from the singularity. Now that you have learned the tactics of these new squid troops–like the Crescent Overseer and the hulking Fleshmob–you must master these tools to continue the fight on Super Earth. Use every available resource, divers, and decimate their forces!

Patch 01.003.002 Notes

Overview

Crash fixes
Fix for some corpses flinging the Helldivers great distances
Audio fix for the Stingray
Miscellaneous fixes

Fixes

Resolved Top Priority issues:

Attempting to purchase a Master of Ceremony item in the Super Store when on PlayStation 5 while using the “Quality” visual setting will no longer change page

Crash Fixes, Hangs and Soft-locks:

Fixed a crash that could occur when trying to enter the Weapon Customization menu on certain weapons
Fixed crash that could happen when killing illuminates that were about to spawn

Weapons and Stratagems

Fix drone’s not returning to backpack correctly

Miscellaneous Fixes

Fixed an issue where Stingray strafing attack sounds could get stuck for a while
Fixed corpses of some enemies sometimes sending players flying across the map

MP1st will have more news about future Helldivers 2 updates really soon.

Tags: helldivers 2

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

HYTE Announces New Line of Modern Performance PC Cases, the X50 and X50 Air

by James Lara

May 19, 2025 9:47 pm in News

[summaraize]

HYTE is looking to shake up the PC gaming case industry once more with a brand-new PC gaming case!

Introducing the HYTE X50 and X50 Air, the newest series of PC gaming cases by HYTE that take on a bold new rounded design built to deliver the ultimate cooling performance.

HYTE X50 and X50 Air Launch This Summer, With A Lot of Colorway Options

As revealed during Computex 2025, HYTE is launching an all-new series of PC gaming cases, the X50 and X50 Air. While the current craze in PC gaming cases seems to be all about dual-chamber cases, HYTE is looking to bring new innovations to traditional PC cases, and it all starts with the X50 and X50 Air.

“At HYTE, we don’t want to get too comfortable. While everyone loves our Y-series of cases, it is important we continue experimenting on our core component designs to achieve further innovation that will trickle down to the PC community,” said Rob Teller, Product Director at HYTE. “Our new X50 and X50 Air chassis represent HYTE’s goals of reimagining the modern PC with innovative design, function, and experiences at competitive prices, and we are eager to see how our community embraces this new case.”

Both cases have been designed to balance form and function, delivering a design that not only looks fantastic and feels modern but also keeps even the beefiest PC configuration cooled for long use. HYTE states that this is by far, and by a significant amount, their best thermal and airflow out of their entire PC gaming case lineup, including the already incredibly performing Y70 cases.

Now, for those wondering what the difference is between the X50 and X50 Airflow, it all boils down to whether you want a curved glass panel to see the inside of your PC better, or if you want a full-coverage Mesh design for the ultimate airflow.

Full specs on the HYTE X50 are as follows:

The cases are expected to launch this Summer and will retail for $149.99 (HYTE X50) and $119.99 (HYTE X50 Air). Those interested can now sign up for email notifications when the cases become available.

Looking at the cases, I can already picture all the different collaborations that HYTE will likely do for them, as their designs just scream of being perfect for them. That, and I’m also getting a bit of a nostalgic feeling from them, as they faintly remind me of the all-in-one PCs that Apple first launched in the 90s, the iMac G3. Of course, HYTE has nothing to do with that, but I can’t help but think of those when it comes to all the available colorways for the X50 and X50 Air. There’s a sense of familiarity, yet a modernized look to them that makes it seem like they’ll fit in any setup, too.

I cannot wait to see how these perform once tech reviewers get full hands-on with them. I especially love that rounded design, as if you’re like me, and have your PC case under your desk, there’s always this constant fear of potentially hitting one of those sharp corners against your knee. Also, having a tool-free design makes it easy to get into the case to swap out components.

The HYTE X50 and X50 Air flow will arrive this Summer, via HYTE’s official website and participating retailers.

Tags: HYTE HYTE X50 HYTE X50 Air

James Lara

Home > News

ARC Raiders Devs Deletes Game Files to Avoid Getting Datamined

by Alex Co

8:13 pm in News

[summaraize]

With how rampant datamining is these days, developers need to be a step ahead if they want to keep things under wraps before they’re officially revealed. That’s exactly what ARC Raiders developer Embark Studios is doing with the recently concluded Technical Test for the extraction shooter.

With ARC Raider’ Technical Test coming to a close, Embark isn’t just leaving the game files out for everyone to dig around, the studio pushed an update that just blipped the game’s files.

ARC Raiders Technical Test Client Can’t Be Datamined

The ARC Raiders Technical Test got an update today, which didn’t add anything new, but rather, it deleted all the pertinent files to stop people from dataming it. Twitter/X user Scrappy posted the image above confirming the removal of a lot of game files from the client.

Not only that, but the folks at Embark even left an .exe (executable) file that when people run, will show this screen:

The string at the top translates to 2025/xx/yy in base64. While there’s no release date leak, this confirms the game is due for release this year.

While this most likely won’t stop people from datamining the game, it’s a good start. If it works, perhaps other developers will follow suit? Though one can argue that datamining benefits the game rather than harm it, since it does help build hype. Of course, it can also work the other way.

Speaking of datamining, Black Ops 6’s Season 3 Reloaded was datamined, and its game files mention the return of wallrunning, which can even be activated in Black Ops 6.

Tags: Arc Raiders Embark Studios

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Neil Druckmann Reveals He’s Working on an Unannounced Game at Naughty Dog

by Taha

7:36 pm in News

[summaraize]

Neil Druckmann, the creative director of The Last of Us, recently revealed that Naughty Dog is working on another game in addition to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

He shared this in a podcast called Press X to Continue, where he also mentioned that he is not directly leading this new project but is instead taking on the role of a producer and supervisor.

Naughty Dog is Working on Another Game Besides Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

During the podcast, he shared that in this role, he mentors the team, observes their progress, provides feedback, and acts as an executive figure. He finds this variety in his work exciting, as it keeps things fresh and prevents him from getting bored.

He said, “There’s another game that’s being worked on in Naughty Dog where I’m more of a producer role and I get to mentor and and watch this other team and give feedback and be like the executive in the room I enjoy all those roles.”

Unfortunately, no additional details were provided about the new game, leaving its exact genre unclear. While some might speculate that it’s The Last of Us Part 3, Neil Druckmann previously stated in an interview, ‘Don’t bet on there being more of Last of Us,’ suggesting that this is not the case. Could this be another new IP just like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet? Or maybe Naughty Dog is finally ready to relaunch Jak & Daxter again? One can hope.

In other Naughty Dog news, Jeremy Huxley, former Senior Environmental Artist at Naughty Dog, stated that Resident Evil 4 inspired Uncharted, Gears of War, and many other action games.

Tags: Naughty Dog Neil Druckmann

Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > News

Report: HBO’s Harry Potter TV Show First Look Unveiled

by Efrain

4:38 pm in News

The Harry Potter reboot is a project that has been in the works for quite a while, being rumored during 2021 and finally confirmed in 2023 as a TV series for HBO. The show is part of a broader Warner Bros. initiative to revive the franchise, which includes projects like the successful video game Hogwarts Legacy, which has already had a sequel confirmed and is reported to feature “coordinate storylines” with the upcoming series, potentially creating a more interconnected universe with the games.

Filming for the series is scheduled to begin this summer, and new reports indicate that the sets are currently under construction. However, other concrete details remain scarce, with only a handful of cast members publicly announced. Given the very limited information currently available, we are even less likely to see this visual reinterpretation of Hogwarts anytime soon. Nevertheless, thanks to an artist’s slip-up, we’ve come across concept art that might offer a glimpse of what we can expect visually from this version of the book.

HBO’s Harry Potter Concept Art

The concept art in question is from a pitch deck by someone who worked on the series. While these pieces don’t reveal anything groundbreaking, they offer a glimpse at several iconic locations from the saga, such as the interiors of Hogwarts Castle or Diagon Alley.

The first illustration depicts the Great Hall, a location seen multiple times throughout the films. This particular piece appears heavily inspired by a scene from the first movie, which is understandable given the project’s nature. Other images showcase different interiors within Hogwarts Castle, featuring various students, as well as the inside of a common room. The last image presents a view of Diagon Alley, a bustling shopping district filled with establishments for wizards, also featuring another familiar location from the franchise, such as the Gringotts Bank.

Unfortunately, the creation date of this concept art is unknown. However, as an additional detail, it is worth noting that the series’ production designer appears to be Simon Bowles, known for his work on films such as ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ or ‘Apartment 7a’. This is indicated by references that can be found in the concept art files.

Moving back to the timeline, reports suggest the series isn’t expected until early 2027, a slight pushback from the initial plan for a late 2026 release. This means fans still have a considerable wait for the show’s premiere. And the Hogwarts Legacy sequel seems even further off, particularly following reports that its developer, Avalanche Software, canceled plans for a “Director’s cut” of the first game that would have included cut content.

Tags: exclusive Harry Potter hogwarts legacy Leak

Efrain

Home > News

Call of Duty 2025 Rumored to Be Black Ops 7 to See the Return of Wallrunning Per Datamined Files in COD HQ

by Alex Co

3:23 pm in News

[summaraize]

In October last year, info from an alleged focus group meeting surfaced stating that Call of Duty 2025 will see yet another entry in the Black Ops franchise. Multiple Call of Duty dataminers have since claimed this is the case as well, based on what they’ve spotted in Call of Duty HQ.

With the launch of Black Ops 6’s Season 3 Reloaded, a new batch of files have been added to COD HQ, which are allegedly part of COD 2025 or what some are calling Black Ops 7. Chief among the findings is the return of wallrunning.

The Next Call of Duty Will See the Return of Wallrunning If Game Files Are to Be Believed

The datamined files have been spotted by reliable dataminer COD Warfare, which MP1st has communicated with privately as well regarding the findings. Per the dataminer, the code has been added as part of the Season 3 Reloaded download, and it can even be activated in Black Ops 6!

Wall Running confirmed for #Blackops7

🫤 pic.twitter.com/4Y3kVSF21n

— COD Warfare (@CODWarfareForum) May 19, 2025

COD Warfare mentions the files added are “test code” slotted in to COD HQ. and changing a code in Black Ops 6’s files will enable it. This is due to COD HQ and all the Call of Duty games sharing one engine. In case you’re doubting these claims, here’s a video of wallrunning enabled in Black Ops 6!

🚨‼️WALL RUNNING CONFIRMED FOR BO7‼️🚨
There is wall running in BO6 currently It is unclear if it’s leftover from BO3 that managed to make it’s way into a glitch through BO6 or if it’s from BO7 and is left in the BO6 files. @charlieINTEL @ModernWarzone @Dexerto pic.twitter.com/0FJ0guUIEH

— peter (@viipeter_) May 19, 2025

Rumors have mentioned previously that Call of Duty 2025 will be once again developed by Treyarch, and will be Black Ops 7. This info, along with wallrunning feature present in the next iteration of the shooter, should be treated with a bag of salt for now. Unless confirmed by Activision, we should treat this as an anomaly that’s not a confirmation of an upcoming feature.

Who knows? Perhaps Treyarch will roll out a game mode for Black Ops 6 that enables wallrunning? Chances of that happening are low given the game’s maps aren’t really built for that kind of verticality. For now, treat this as a rumor, though one we should hear more about in the months ahead.

Wallrunning in Call of Duty was first introduced in Black Ops 3 to great effect. This was followed up by Infinite Warfare, Black Ops 4, and Advanced Warfare. The movement mechanic was explained as part of the specialist’s suit, which enabled superhuman vertical jumps, wallruns, and other advanced movement.

Tags: Call of Duty Call of Duty 2025 Call of Duty HQ Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 datamine

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Diablo 4 Bug Where Belial Can’t Be Fought in Higher Difficulties Sorted Out in Update 1.086

by Alex Co

1:39 pm in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

Following last week’s patch for Diablo 4 that buffed all classes alongside various improvements, a bug surfaced wherein gamers playing in the higher difficulties in the game are not able to fight Belial. For PS5, Xbox Series X|S players, this should show up as Diablo 4 update 1.086 (complete version 1.086.0000).

This isn’t a big patch, so expect a small download for consoles and PC. If you’re still playing Diablo 4 on last-gen platforms, this should show up as update version 1.86.

Diablo 4’s Belial Encounter Issues Sorted on May 19 Patch via Download 1.086/1.86

Here’s what got fixed per Blizzard:

Fixed an issue where an erroneous Icon was present on the minimap in Ked Bardu.
Fixed an issue where Eternal players in higher Torment Difficulties could not fight Belial.

While last week’s patch ushered in class buffs as its main reason for the rollout, bug fixes for the new season were implemented too.

Season 8: Belial’s Return

Sayeena has become a vendor that sells Oath Scrolls in exchange for Spectral Ash. Oath Scrolls can be consumed to gain Unveiler’s Oath reputation. Sayeena can be found near the Reputation Board in Tarsarak.
The following Boss Powers have been adjusted.
- Sinerat’s Flames: Increased Main Boss Power damage from 50% to 75%.
- Hatred’s Embrace’s Haste: Modifier Boss Power no longer falls off when switching weapons.
- Flesh Reaper’s Disruption: Reduced the frequency at which the Main Power will activate in extreme situations.
The icon for Apparition Incursions has been adjusted to be more easily visible.
Betraying eyes now spawn more consistently near the Apparition Boss.
Another objective has been added to better communicate that season’s reputation can be acquired from both the Apparition Incursion event and defeating any boss across Sanctuary.

Miscellaneous

A Raven of the Tree was added to the following cities:
- Cerrigar
- Gea Kul
- Ked Bardu
- Kyovashad
- Kurast
- Zarbinzet

Having player names read aloud by the Screen Reader is now a toggleable option. This feature can be found under Accessibility Settings.

Don’t be surprised to see another patch be released for the game soon, and if there is one, expect it here on MP1st.

Tags: diablo diablo iv

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

STALKER 2 Update 1.4.1 Released on May 19 Might Be the Smallest Patch We’ve Gotten So Far

by Alex Co

1:21 pm in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

While we’re used to GSC Game World releasing patches for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl that are just packed with bug fixes and improvements, the studio’s latest patch goes the opposite direction, which isn’t surprising given a hefty update was rolled out last week.

The new STALKER 2 update released this May 19 shows up as version 1.4.1, and is focused on crash fixes.

STALKER 2’s Latest Update for May 19 Fixes Crashing Issues

Per the developers, here are the fixes in today’s patch:

Fixed a crash on booting the title with Simple Mod Loader mod installed.
Fixed a crash on loading savefiles on title with installed mods (e.g. UETools).

Last week, patch 1.4 was released, which slotted in improvements and bug fixes. Here’s a look at the highlights of the update.

Mutants can now use corpse-eating animation if there are dead bodies nearby.
Mutants now have an “alert” state if something is happening near or approaching them.
Improvements to human combat:
- Fixed numerous bugs and problems with cover usage for NPC. Now they can properly use available covers, always try to hide before shooting, and don’t rush forward when not needed.
- Characters use trees as cover.
- Updated combat and cover animations to look more fluent and fast.
- Improved flanking pathfinding and transition to close combat.
- Close combat has become tougher on Veteran and Stalker difficulties.
- Fixed issues in communication and actions synchronization between characters in the squad.
- Characters now communicate tactical actions and reactions more clearly in combat.
- Human characters throw grenades when they want to flush out the target, not on the cooldown.
- Squads now have a finite number of grenades, depending on their rank and faction (bandits have significantly less than military).
- Human characters are able to attack mutants in melee. They use kick melee attacks against smaller mutants.
- Human characters can kick players who are crouched.
- Human characters look around for a brief moment, searching for enemies after combat ends, then proceed to the post-combat activities like looting and healing wounded.
- Humans are no longer able to snipe with shotguns. Fixed problems with pellet dispersion and non-natural ballistic distances.
Increased number of generic heads for NPC randomization
Burer can now use his telekinetic abilities to catch and throw grenades
Improved Weapon stat displaying in the inventory. Updated weapon stats bars and their calculation logic.
Added new weapon stat — handling.

Once another patch is out, expect it up here on MP1st.

Tags: Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 “Brushes With Death” DLC Review – Splash of Pain

by James Lara

10:00 am in News

It’s time to take up arms again as you journey back into Trosky for a new adventure. That’s right, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s first story DLC is now available, and though it doesn’t set out to continue the grand story of the base game, it does offer a gripping tale of intrigue, loyalty, and bloodshed—one that stands on its own, yet echoes with the weight of everything that came before.

If you’re looking for more of what the original release had to offer, then look no further, as Brushes With Death delivers just that.

Steel Yourself, Warrior—Fate Calls You Back to Trosky.

The tale of Brushes With Death begins with Voyta, a painter who is strapped to a pole, left for death, that Henry happens to stumble upon in his journey. After a brief skirmish against a pack of hungry wolves, Henry saves Voyta, who is forever in his debt.

However, after rescuing Vojta and spending more time with him, Henry notices troubling signs—Vojta frequently speaks to himself, or worse, holds conversations with a painted human skull. In an era where the lines between faith, madness, and superstition are blurred, it becomes increasingly clear to the player that this story delves into the fragile realm of mental illness.

Vojta openly admits to hearing voices and seeing things that aren’t there—symptoms suggestive of conditions like schizophrenia. Yet within the context of the medieval world, these experiences are interpreted not as medical afflictions, but as divine or demonic encounters, leaving both Henry and the player questioning whether Vojta is touched by madness or something far more mystical.

The story of the DLC, which was well over eight hours for me, is excellently written, full of fun twists, humor, and emotions. Vojta, as a character, is an excellent addition to the game, well-liked, and his tale of dealing with a mental disorder during a time when these things were chalked up to demonism is actually told very well. Especially from Henry’s point of view, who actually aids Vojta in his journey to complete his magnum opus. Overall, it’s a solid piece of content, even if some parts feel like a long, drawn-out fetch quest.

Elsewhere, the DLC also introduces a new shield painting mechanic that allows players to customize their shields with unique colors and designs. I’m always all for more options, but it’s not a feature that I used much personally. Additionally, a free update also launched with this paid DLC, adding more horse races and new archery activities, giving players even more to do in the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Overall, as a whole, this Brushes With Death and the free update that came with it, are spectacular additions to what I already considered to be one of the best games ever created.

That said, there’s one point I feel compelled to bring up, and it has more to do with how this DLC fits into the experience for players who’ve already completed the main story.

See, the challenge with reviewing content like this lies in the context. I’ve already played the original game, I even reviewed it here and praised it to the skies. It remains my top game of the year, so naturally, my expectations for any DLC are sky-high. That’s not to say that Brushes With Death is bad. It’s a fantastic piece of content that further adds to the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but it’s also content that would have been better suited to play back then, and experience it while playing through the base game. With DLC, you often expect it to either continue the main story or spin off entirely into its solo adventure. Don’t get me wrong, Brushes With Death could be a standalone if we were talking specifically about length, which lasted me over 8 hours of playtime, but at the end of the day, it feels more like a sidequest, a very long one, rather than a whole new experience building upon what you played already.

Again, I want to stress that the content itself isn’t bad, but it feels like something that would have been much more enjoyable if you were playing the game for the first time. So, for those who beat the game, don’t expect anything game-changing with this quest. In all fairness, the DLC itself costs $6, and being over 8 hours long, that’s some insane value right there, and the content itself is pretty enjoyable, and well worth the purchase.

That said, if you’ve already finished the game, you might want to wait. With more DLC on the way, it may be more satisfying to return when multiple expansions are available, giving you a fuller experience in one go.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Brushes With Death is now available on all platforms Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is on.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

Excellent writing with emotional depth and engaging twists.
Vojta is a compelling, well-developed character.
Thoughtful depiction of mental illness within a historical context.
Over 8 hours of content for only $6—great value.
More of what we loved from the original game.

Cons:

Feels more like a lengthy sidequest than a major standalone story.
Best experienced during the base game, not after completing it.
Some quest segments feel padded or overly fetch-heavy.

The publisher provided a Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Brushes With Death review code. The platform played on was PC. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Kingdom Come Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

James Lara

Home > News

Rainbow Six Siege X Roadmap, New PC Requirements Revealed

by Alex Co

May 18, 2025 3:13 pm in News

[summaraize]

Ubisoft is ushering in a new era of Rainbow Six Siege on June 10 with part of the game going free-to-play as Rainbow Six Siege X. It’s not just a transition to F2P, but there are graphical upgrades, a new rappel system and loads more.

The publisher invited MP1st to check out Rainbow Six Siege X before today’s reveal stream. The major news here is the reveal of the Rainbow Six Siege X roadmap, which kicks off with Season 2: Operation Daybreak. Operation Daybreak starts with the launch of Siege X, and is the second season of Rainbow Six Siege Year 10.

Players can expect balancing updates, changes to damage, and even an operator “remaster” for the Clash game mode.

Rainbow Six Siege X Roadmap

We previously broke down the new stuff and explained Rainbow Six Siege X, and this time, we’re detailing what players can expect in the coming seasons. But for those not keeping tabs, here’s a quick rundown:

Release: June 10 for consoles and PC.
Launches as Free Access along with the new Dual Front mode (only available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC)
Modernized maps with destructible ingredients
Advanced rappel system introduced
Clash remaster

Operation Daybreak (Season 2)

Coinciding with the launch of Siege X is the start of Operation Daybreak, the second season of Rainbow Six Siege Year 10. This season brings of host of balancing updates for various Operators, changes to electricity and limb damage, as well as an Operator remaster for Clash.

Clash is the first Defender to ever wield a shield, and it’s her CCE Shield that has received some significant upgrades. She can now deploy her CCE Shield MK2, freeing her to move more quickly and position herself to play off of her shield’s stationary position. While the shield is deployed, Clash can operate its taser remotely, applying the shocking and slowing effect in a broad cone-shaped area. Defenders looking to remove this obstacle can use explosives or, if they get close enough, simply burst through the shield and destroy it (but beware, Clash or her allies can also execute this burst-through maneuver for a surprise attack).

Clash can still play with her shield in-hand or on her back as well, and it’s been updated to automatically collapse and expand as she sprints, crouches, vaults, and crashes through barricades. She can deploy it, pick it back up, and put down somewhere else. It’s more nimble, more versatile, and gives Clash more ways to be an absolute force on the defending team.

Electricity will no longer damage any Operators. It will be a neutral element that will still have a slowing effect on Operators, and will destroy gadgets regardless of team affiliation.
Limb damage will be reduced, making it more important than ever to aim for center mass or heads.
Shield Operators will no longer be able to aim down sights while vaulting or dropping from higher levels.
Blackbeard’s shield glass has been tinted to make it easier to see if it’s up or down. • Jackal will only ping an enemy position one time after scanning footprints, and the footprints will disappear immediately after being scanned. He will also be able to use it five times, an increase from the current three.
Jäger will now be able to eliminate Capitão’s bolts and Gridlock’s Trax Stingers with his Active Defense System.
Thunderbird will no longer allow enemies to heal from her Kona Stations (unless Brava’s Kludge Drone takes them over).
Sledge will be able to knock down shield users he comes across (which he is likely to do more often now that attackers and defenders can be on the same team in Dual Front).

Rainbow Six Siege X Season 3 & 4

Looking ahead to seasons beyond Operation Daybreak, the Siege X team has shared some tidbits about what’s on the roadmap for later this year. Season 3 will bring three more modernized maps – Nighthaven, Lair, and Consulate – as well as assignment changes in Dual Front with narrative ties to the new Operator. This new Defender will hail from Switzerland and introduce a new weapon to the game. Players looking for a true competitive challenge will have plenty of opportunities when the Siege Cup becomes available every weekend, and allows you to inspect the stats of your opponents before the match begins. Plus, be on the lookout for a returning Halloween event on a new map.

Season 4 will mark the 10-year anniversary of Rainbow Six Siege, and a special in-game event is planned to celebrate the occasion. The season will also deliver an Operator remaster of an Attacker, as well as another new weapon that will, for the first time, be available for multiple Operators upon release (first as part of the battlepass, and later to everyone). Two more modernized maps are inbound – Theme Park and Skyscraper – in addition to a full rework and modernization for a third map. Significant updates for the training modes, including Keres Legion targets instead of test dummies, are also coming in Season 4, plus improvements to ranked matchmaking, a new Dual Front assignment, and continued balancing work that will address EMP and jamming systems. Finally, a new playlist called Testing Grounds will serve as a place for the team to explore new ideas and gather feedback as they shape the future of Siege X.

The full reveals of Seasons 3 & 4 will happen later this year.

SEASON 1

OPERATION PREP PHASE

New Operator: RAUORA
New Weapon: REAPER MK2
New Battlepass

SEASON 2

SIEGEX — JUNE 10, 2025

DUAL FRONT – New 6v6 game mode
5 Modernized Maps
New Destructible Ingredients
Advanced Rappel
Momentum Movement Improvement
New Pick & Ban System
Communication Wheel
Weapon Inspect
Veteran Rewards
Unranked Return
Audio Overhaul
New Esports Tab
New Player Onboarding
New UI
New Battlepass & Navigation Improvement
Operator Banter
Career Stats Tracker
Siege Cup Update
Balancing Updates
Clash Remaster
2 Seasonal Events

SEASON 3

FREE ACCESS

New Operator [Defender]
New Weapon
Dual Front Updates
3 Modernized Maps
Siege Cup Every Weekend
& Squad Stats
Esports Tab Update
Balancing Updates
New Battlepass
2 Seasonal Events

SEASON 4

Operator Remaster [Attacker]
New Cross-Operator Weapon
1 Map Full Rework
2 Modernized Maps
Training & Onboarding Updates
Ranked Matchmaking Improvements
Dual Front Updates
Balancing Updates
Esports Tab Update
Siege Cup Every Weekend
Testing Grounds Playlist
New Battlepass
2 Seasonal Events – including a special 10-year anniversary event

Rainbow Six Siege X PC Requirements

For PC gamers, Siege X will have a different set of requirements.

Minimum Settings

Resolution: 1080p
Frame Rate: 60 FPS
CPU:
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel i3-8100
GPU:
- NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB
- AMD RX 5500 XT 4GB
- Intel Arc A380 6GB
RAM: 8 GB
OS: Windows 10/11
DirectX: 12
Storage: 65 GB SSD

High Settings

Resolution: 1080p / 1440p / 2160p
Frame Rate:
- 120 FPS (Core Siege)
- 60 FPS (Dual Front)
CPU:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- Intel i5-10400
- Intel i5-11600K
GPU:
- NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB
- NVIDIA RTX 3070 8GB
- NVIDIA RTX 3080 10GB
- AMD RX 6600 8GB
- AMD RX 6700 XT 8GB
- AMD RX 6800 XT 16GB
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Windows 11
DirectX: 12
Storage: 65 GB SSD

Ultra Settings

Resolution: 2160p (4K)
Frame Rate: 120 FPS
CPU:
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- Intel i5-11600K
GPU:
- NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB
- AMD RX 7900 XT 20GB
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Windows 11
DirectX: 12
Storage: 110 GB SSD

Just a reminder: Dual Front will not be available on PS4, Xbox One, and those trying the game in Free Access will not be able to access Ranked playlists, Siege Cup, additional operators and cosmetics.

Expect the Rainbow Six Siege relaunch to Siege X on June 10.

Tags: Rainbow Six Rainbow Six Siege X

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Ex-Naughty Dog Dev Says Resident Evil 4 Inspired Uncharted and Many More Action Games

by Taha

May 17, 2025 5:31 pm in News

[summaraize]

Resident Evil 4 has been one of the most influential games, as it introduced many aspects of modern video game design. Although the title is now over two decades old, it has influenced some of the biggest video game franchises.

During a recent interview with Kiwi Talks, Jeremy Huxley, former Senior Environmental Artist at Naughty Dog, discussed the realistic graphics in modern video games.

Resident Evil 4 Influenced Modern Game Design

He stated that Resident Evil 4 has had an impact on franchises like Gears of War, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, and many more, and further elaborated on how its release has shaped many modern game design trends.

He said, “We’ve come a long way in the past 20 years. If you look at Resident Evil 4, it sort of inspired Gears of War, Uncharted, and all these different games. I recall them saying that Gears of War was inspired by Resident Evil 4, particularly the over-the-shoulder camera view.”

Resident Evil 4 introduced major design innovations, such as the over-the-shoulder camera, which has now become a norm in modern games. While it offers precision aiming, this feature wasn’t really common before the release of Resident Evil 4.

This third-person perspective influenced titles like Gears of War, the Mass Effect series, The Last of Us, Dead Space, and many more, helping modern game design to innovate further.

While recent modern games have evolved a lot when it comes to immersion and graphics, but the release of Resident Evil 4 influenced most modern games, showing them a path to improvement and helping the industry grow.

Tags: "Gears of War" "Uncharted" Jeremy Huxley Naughty Dog Resident Evil Resident Evil 4

Taha

Television kills your vision.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Fortnite on Consoles Gets Updated to Version 1.000.180 on the Weekend

by Alex Co

3:58 pm in Title Updates and Patches

It’s the weekend, but that hasn’t stopped Epic Games from rolling out a new patch for Fortnite on consoles (and we presume on PC), which should slot in fixes to the game.

For the new content, the version 35.10 update was released yesterday, which added Ballstic stuff and more.

This should be a small download and resolve any major issues that has surfaced. We’ve also included the known issues that are plaguing the game’s various modes.

Fortnite Gets an Update on the Weekend

Yesterday, Epic Games added James Earl Jones’ voice as Darth Vader using AI (Artificial Intelligence). Unfortunately for Epic, this resulted in gamers finding ways for Vader to curse and other sorts of zany things. While Epic Games announced they have rolled out a hotfix to prevent this, we have a hunch this patch is connected to Vader going off-script.

Aside from that, here are some of the most recent issues being investigated:
The Soulful One Battle Pass reward is currently only usable as an Instrument. (being investigated)
We are aware of an issue with the Recently Played row in Discover, Library, and Homebar not updating post 35.10 update. (will provide info and a fix confirmed)
Epic is working to fix an issue where players using a controller can’t properly navigate the in-game Shop. This includes navigating between items within Shop offers and navigating across ‘Purchase’, ‘Gift’ and ‘View Bundle’ buttons.

For more issues being looked into, read on for what’s listed in the official Fortnite Trello board.

GENERAL TOP ISSUES

In Development

Nintendo Switch players encountering storage space issues

Fixed in Future Game Update

Investigating

Unable to change the style of Outfits with customizable elements.
Players cannot close the emote wheel without selecting an emote

BATTLE ROYALE/RELOAD/OG TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Can’t reboot a teammate if the ‘Reboot’ key is the same as the ‘Buy Reboot Cards’ key.

In Development

Vanguard Zadie Bonus Goals not being counted
Ranked Repeatable Quests are not working as intended.
Can’t edit structures while a DBNO (knocked) player is nearby.

Investigating

Some Outfits may change their rarity when scrolling in the Locker.
Players may float briefly after using Typhoon Blade’s Cyclone Slash upon exiting a vehicle.
Changing to another item right after using the Fishing Rod breaks the animation.

BALLISTIC TOP ISSUES

In Development

UI may disappear from the top of the screen after spamming the “Inventory” and “Buy” buttons on keyboard.

Investigating

The “Purchase Items” menu closes automatically when accessed with a controller.

LEGO FORTNITE TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
The “Claim your Daily Stipend” Task doesn’t complete.

In Development

Players may get stuck in a cannon if its damaged or falls into water while operating it.
Consumable buff timers can be overwritten when eating another consumable with a buff
There is no indication of which direction some furniture is being placed
The Swag Shot emote is not correctly translating on the Chalk Board

Investigating

Grabbing certain items at Mourndale Academy incorrectly gives flowers instead of the intended items.
Lag/hitching issues in the Storm King fight
‘F’ key conflict: unable to interact with objects.
Vacant Apartment and Housing Lot Icons are sometimes not displayed on Map.
A prompt to flip a vehicle no longer appears when a vehicle is flipped.
Isabelle won’t talk to players while interacting with the blackboard.
Can’t move placed decorations in Edit Mode if the Decor Inventory is full.
The Wasp 8000 Motorcycle may float after hopping off while in motion.
Storm King’s Weak Points and Rift Spawners are immune to damage when an enemy is around.
Invisible collision in Phase 1 after being eliminated in Phase 2 of the Storm King fight.
Enemies’ health bars may not appear at times.
Stuck when exiting the Crusher.
Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.

ROCKET RACING TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Terrain may clip into and overlap with road surface on several tracks.

In Development

[Switch] Non Party Leaders may experience matchmaking errors when attempting to queue for Casual mode while in a party.
Locker’s Vehicles – SUV/Truck and Sports Cars sections changes to a different background color when navigating through the cosmetics options
Vehicles may appear darker than expected.

Investigating

Vehicle handling may be unresponsive after passing through a Teleporter Checkpoint in a Community track.
Players may observe extremely bright lights.

SAVE THE WORLD

Investigating

Unpinned Quests’ progress pop-up does not appear.
Evolution Materials missing from the Weekly Shop.

FORTNITE MOBILE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

Unable to send Game Channel messages in Battle Royale Solos.

That’s about it. If Epic releases a changelog, we’ll update the article with the info.

Tags: Fortnite

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > Title Updates and Patches

Fortnite Update 4.69 Drops on a Weekend

by Alex Co

3:53 pm in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

Epic Games has released Fortnite update 4.69 on all platforms, and yes, on a weekend, which might be a first. This is an emergency patch it seems, and we’re not counting on any new content to be part of the patch. This is a given, since we got the big 35.10 patch yesterday.

This should be a small download and resolve any major issues that has surfaced. We’ve also included the known issues that are plaguing the game’s various modes.

Fortnite Gets an Update on the Weekend

Aside from that, here are some of the most recent issues being investigated:
The Soulful One Battle Pass reward is currently only usable as an Instrument. (being investigated)
We are aware of an issue with the Recently Played row in Discover, Library, and Homebar not updating post 35.10 update. (will provide info and a fix confirmed)
Epic is working to fix an issue where players using a controller can’t properly navigate the in-game Shop. This includes navigating between items within Shop offers and navigating across ‘Purchase’, ‘Gift’ and ‘View Bundle’ buttons.

For more issues being looked into, read on for what’s listed in the official Fortnite Trello board.

GENERAL TOP ISSUES

In Development

Nintendo Switch players encountering storage space issues

Fixed in Future Game Update

Investigating

Unable to change the style of Outfits with customizable elements.
Players cannot close the emote wheel without selecting an emote

BATTLE ROYALE/RELOAD/OG TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Can’t reboot a teammate if the ‘Reboot’ key is the same as the ‘Buy Reboot Cards’ key.

In Development

Vanguard Zadie Bonus Goals not being counted
Ranked Repeatable Quests are not working as intended.
Can’t edit structures while a DBNO (knocked) player is nearby.

Investigating

Some Outfits may change their rarity when scrolling in the Locker.
Players may float briefly after using Typhoon Blade’s Cyclone Slash upon exiting a vehicle.
Changing to another item right after using the Fishing Rod breaks the animation.

BALLISTIC TOP ISSUES

In Development

UI may disappear from the top of the screen after spamming the “Inventory” and “Buy” buttons on keyboard.

Investigating

The “Purchase Items” menu closes automatically when accessed with a controller.

LEGO FORTNITE TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
The “Claim your Daily Stipend” Task doesn’t complete.

In Development

Players may get stuck in a cannon if its damaged or falls into water while operating it.
Consumable buff timers can be overwritten when eating another consumable with a buff
There is no indication of which direction some furniture is being placed
The Swag Shot emote is not correctly translating on the Chalk Board

Investigating

Grabbing certain items at Mourndale Academy incorrectly gives flowers instead of the intended items.
Lag/hitching issues in the Storm King fight
‘F’ key conflict: unable to interact with objects.
Vacant Apartment and Housing Lot Icons are sometimes not displayed on Map.
A prompt to flip a vehicle no longer appears when a vehicle is flipped.
Isabelle won’t talk to players while interacting with the blackboard.
Can’t move placed decorations in Edit Mode if the Decor Inventory is full.
The Wasp 8000 Motorcycle may float after hopping off while in motion.
Storm King’s Weak Points and Rift Spawners are immune to damage when an enemy is around.
Invisible collision in Phase 1 after being eliminated in Phase 2 of the Storm King fight.
Enemies’ health bars may not appear at times.
Stuck when exiting the Crusher.
Villagers exploring with players may destroy structures while trying to harvest.
Bottom of HUD can disappear after using macrobinoculars.

ROCKET RACING TOP ISSUES

Fixed in Future Game Update

Terrain may clip into and overlap with road surface on several tracks.

In Development

[Switch] Non Party Leaders may experience matchmaking errors when attempting to queue for Casual mode while in a party.
Locker’s Vehicles – SUV/Truck and Sports Cars sections changes to a different background color when navigating through the cosmetics options
Vehicles may appear darker than expected.

Investigating

Vehicle handling may be unresponsive after passing through a Teleporter Checkpoint in a Community track.
Players may observe extremely bright lights.

SAVE THE WORLD

Investigating

Unpinned Quests’ progress pop-up does not appear.
Evolution Materials missing from the Weekly Shop.

FORTNITE MOBILE TOP ISSUES

Investigating

Unable to send Game Channel messages in Battle Royale Solos.

That’s about it. If Epic releases a changelog, we’ll update the article with the info.

Tags: Fortnite

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Battlefield Labs PS5 Gameplay Footage From Asia Playtest Leaks and It’s Looking Good So Far

by Alex Co

2:31 pm in News

[summaraize]

Last week, we reported on how the first Asia playtest for Battlefield Labs was set to be conducted this week on PS5. As expected, playtesters in China didn’t care about the NDA they signed, as a crapton of footage has surfaced, and yes, it features PS5 gameplay of the new Battlefield game.

Remember, the PS5 footage shared is from a pre-alpha build, which is evident from the bugs, weird graphical artifacts, and whatnot. That said, it is looking mighty fine for something in pre-alpha.

Below are two videos featuring gameplay, though you’ll probably want to focus on the 17-minute one, given that the player in it actually knows how to play.

New Battlefield Game PS5 Gameplay Looks Sweet Even in Pre-Alpha State

Update: EA has sent a DMCA takedown notice regarding the video, and we have complied with the request.

The videos come from playtesters in Asia who posted the footage on bilibili, China’s version of Twitter via the BF1 Telegram group. The footage above shows copius amounts of RPG shots, and some infantry-action that won’t make you roll your eyes in frustration.

There’s also another gameplay clip also shared on bilibili, and while this is longer, the actual person playing isn’t quite as good, though we still see a good amount of action.

The biggest takeaway I have from the leaked videos is how good the PS5 version is looking so far. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s hard not to get excited for the new Battlefield game,

In other Battlefield news, the BF Labs client just got a major update, and the datamined info seems to indicate the client is getting a full release soon — at least according to the leakers.

The in-development Battlefield game has no release date yet, but it’s reveal will be happening in the summer, which we assume will be next month as part of Summer Game Fest or via EA’s own event.

Tags: Battlefield Battlefield 2025 Battlefield Labs DICE Leaks New Battlefield

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Plastic Battlegrounds VR Review – Plastic Warfare

by James Lara

12:56 pm in News

Developers Simulated Minds are quite literally bringing your childhood to life, as their newest VR title, Plastic Battlegrounds, puts you in the role of a little green plastic soldier, as you face off against other factions in what can only be described as perhaps one of the most chaotic sandbox experience I’ve played yet.

Join me, and the hundreds of other plastic soldiers as we venture off into the battlefield, and have our plastic bodies blown to smithereens.

It’s a Dangerous World Out There…for a Toy

The first thing I want to get out of the way in this review is the visuals. You’ll see a few screenshots sprinkled throughout this review and probably think, “This isn’t the prettiest-looking game out there.” I can agree with that, as the graphics are pretty rough, and I don’t expect them to improve much after early access, outside of possibly the Steam release. That’s actually fine, as not every game out there needs to be cutting edge when it comes to graphics. In fact, some of my favorite games, such as the Earth Defense Force franchise, hardly look like games of this era, and yet they still manage to be incredibly fun because of their gameplay and charm. The same principle applies here. While the visuals might not win any awards, they serve their purpose: effectively conveying the chaotic, action-packed nature of the game. Once you’re in the thick of it—an all-out warfare with bullets and bombs dropping everywhere, and plastic soldiers dying before your eyes—the graphical fidelity quickly becomes a non-issue. What matters more is how the game feels, and in that regard, it delivers where it counts.

So, what is Plastic Battlegrounds? Well, it’s essentially a game based on your childhood of playing with small plastic army men and imagining they were all fighting each other. Only in this game the plastic toy soldiers are alive. So, it’s a bit like Toy Story and Small Soldiers, only with plastic army men. At the moment, the game features conquest mode, where you’re tasked with capturing and holding capture points, and sandbox. Since this is still in early access, Conquest Mode was still a work-in-progress, though honestly, the bulk of your time is going to be spent in Sandbox. Sandbox allows you to set up these custom battles, allowing you to pit factions of soldiers against each other and set up all kinds of props around the battlefield for them to use.

On the gameplay front, it’s split into two kinds of games. The first is your traditional VR first-person experience, where you can play from a soldier’s perspective and watch whatever crazy scenario you set up unfold. The gunplay feels pretty solid overall, as does the movement, and you can pull off some pretty crazy maneuvers even while on foot, as you’re given a grappling gun to swing around the battlefield—a useful tool to gain height advantage over the enemy soldiers.

You can use vehicles like tanks or helicopters. A recent update even added the ability to call in air support, which summons a flock of jets to bomb designated locations.

The game has a ton of physics-based mechanics, too, that players can play around with, like blowing up an enemy soldier and picking up their head and chucking it across enemy lines. Or using the grappling gun to hook yourself to a flying helicopter and using the momentum to swing around to dodge bullets and such. There are lots of fun little things to play around with.

Playing from the soldier’s perspective can be pretty fun, though, as seeing all the mechanics in the game come together from ground level really sells the fantasy. There’s something genuinely entertaining about ducking behind a Rubik’s Cube for cover, peeking over the edge, and watching a chaotic battle unfold in a living room-turned-warzone. Explosions send plastic limbs flying, helicopters buzz overhead, and the exaggerated physics keep everything feeling playful and over-the-top. It’s a perspective that reinforces the game’s core charm—this isn’t meant to be a gritty war sim, it’s your childhood imagination brought to life in VR, complete with all the absurdity and spectacle. There’s something immersive about how it unfolds because it plays so well into your imagination. It’s just pure fun.

The other kind of game plays out before and during these epic battles. As I mentioned, this is a sandbox mode where you get to set the battlefield anyway you want. This is done from your own, human-sized perspective. You get access to many different props and game logics that you can place practically anywhere within the map to build your dream scenarios. Once you’ve done that, you can start the match up, and witness it all from your perspective, or spawn in as a soldier too. Alternatively, if the war isn’t going the way you want it, you could go back into your human-sized mode and basically walk around the warzone as if you’re Godzilla or something. It’s dumb, but I love the fact that it’s included just for the fun of it. Like the studio could have kept the mode strictly to editing, but they didn’t, and some of my favorite moments have come from stomping around the battlefield, swatting helicopters out of the sky, or picking up tanks and chucking them across the room. It adds this layer of chaotic fun and creativity. It’s not about balance or fairness—it’s about giving players the tools to mess around and make their own fun. Whether you’re carefully crafting a tense, tactical skirmish or just causing mayhem like a kid in a toy store, the game supports both equally well. It’s that freedom that makes the sandbox mode such a standout.

Now, with this still being early access, there will be a lot of bugs and work in progress. Even so, in its current state, it’s easy to see just how much potential Plastic Battlegrounds has. With the developer frequently updating the game, adding new content, quality of life improvements, and general bug fixes, I think Plastic Battlegrounds has a bright future. The foundation is solid—fun mechanics, a unique premise, and a strong sense of identity. What it needs now is time, polish, and continued community feedback to shine. If the current pace of development keeps up, I can easily see this becoming a cult favorite among VR players looking for something a little different, a little chaotic, and a lot of fun. It may be rough around the edges, but it’s bursting with creativity and heart, and that’s more than enough to keep me excited for what’s to come.

Plastic Battlegrounds is now available on the Meta Horizon store in early access for $9.99. A Steam release is slated to come later.

Score: 8.5/10

Pros

A fun and cool idea that plays really well into the sandbox fantasy.
The combat feels solid overall, with lots of physics-based things to play around with.
When you aren’t shooting at other plastic soldiers, you can grow big and play as if your a giant kaiju.
Lots of props to use and place around to help build your ultimate warzone.
There’s lore if you look around, with text notes scattered around. Some good humor behind it.
The developers seem pretty active, with constant updates dropping. Good indicator of long-term support.

Cons

Visuals are rough to look at.
Performance on the Quest 3 can get really low with the amount of units you spawn in. Hoping the Steam release fixes most of that.

Plastic Battlkeground review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Plastic Battlegrounds

James Lara

Home > Title Updates and Patches

MLB The Show 25 Update 1.012 for Patch 12 Adds Updated Player Models

by Alex Co

9:46 am in Title Updates and Patches

[summaraize]

San Diego Studio has rolled out update 1.012 for MLB The Show 25, which is also known as Patch 12. While this brings various gameplay fixes, the biggest additions here are a new uniform for the Red Sox, and updated player models.

For those playing the game on Xbox Series X|S, this should appear as version 1.0.58, with the Switch version as 1.12.

MLB The Show 25 New Update Version 1.012 Patch Notes

General:

2025 Boston Red Sox City Connect uniforms have been added.

Franchise:

Fixed an issue where a user could load into an incorrect created stadium when loading from an in-game save file.

Addressed an issue where the CPU would auto-release players if the roster was over 93 players.

Road to the Show:

Fixed a bug where the “ball in dirt“ tutorial could incorrectly trigger when playing as a catcher.

Updated player models for:

Sandy Alcantara
Graham Ashcraft
Jos Castillo
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Jake Cronenworth
Deyvison De Los Santos
Santiago Espinal
Tyler Fitzgerald
Nick Fortes
Hunter Greene
KeBryan Hayes
Ronny Henriquez
Shota Imanaga
Eric Lauer
Wyatt Langford
Jackson Merrill
Sam Moll
Chris Sale
George Soriano
Justin Verlander
Vince Velasquez
Zac Veen
Bradon Waddell
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Updated equipment models for:
44 Pro Fielding Glove-PRX
44 Pro fielding Glove-PRO44
Adidas Adizero Impact Silver Cleat
Evoshield Carbyne Batting Gloves
Franklin Vanilla Batting Gloves

This is another hefty update from the devs, and once another out is out, expect it here on MP1st.

Tags: MLB the Show MLB The Show 25

Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Bungie Confirms Deeper Audit Into Marathon Artwork; Would “Love” to Work With Antireal

by James Lara

May 16, 2025 7:29 pm in News

[summaraize]

In case you missed the news, Bungie is in serious trouble. Yesterday, news broke that their upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, had featured artwork stolen from an independent artist. Shortly after the discovery, the studio took to social media to apologize and clarify how this happened.

Now, they’ve opened up more on the matter, confirming what else is being done at the studio and reaching out to the artist, leaving the doors open for some opportunities.

Bungie Is Confident that a Majority of Art Assets are Original, Despite This Not Being the First Time

As revealed during today’s developers’ stream, the game’s art directors took a bit of time to discuss the recent discoveries of their game featuring art from an independent artist, AntiReal. They once again reiterated the statement they released earlier, about the assets being included by a former Bungie artist, unknown to the team, and where it actually came from.

“I wanted to take a minute to talk about some of the events from yesterday” Joseph Cross, the art director for Marathon sad “I wanted to make sure I get this message right it, it came to our attention that an artist who worked on Marathon in the early stages of pre-production took a number of graphic elements from a graphic designer without permission or acknowledgement and placed them on a decal sheet that was then checked in in 2020. The decal sheet included icons and text elements. These elements ended up in our alpha build and there’s absolutely no excuse for this oversight and we are working on and 100% committed to our review process to ensure instances like this don’t happen again on Marathon or at Bungie”

Cross then says that they’ve reached out to AntiReal, offering a further apology to her, both privately and publicly during the stream. He was later asked in the stream, why doesn’t the studio just hire her, to which he says that they would love to work with her when the opportunity presents itself, which was part of the reason why they reached out to communicate.

For those wondering just how much this might set the studio back, from what Cross said during the stream, the assets derived from AntiReal’s work are relatively small, and he feels confident that a majority of the assets they have are original and created internally by the team. They are doing a very broad audit on the decals in the game, as well as auditing every piece of art contributed by the unnamed former artist.

Undoubtedly, this news has further tarnished the studio’s name, as it’s also not the first time they’ve been caught using art without the original artist’s permission. Fans have taken to social media since the discovery to voice their disappointment in the studio, with the recent stream being flooded with comments and harsh words towards the studio.

I’m just glad that they acknowledged the stolen work. However, whether there’s truth to their not knowing it was her art in the first place, considering how many current Bungie artists, including Cross himself, have followed AntiReal on social media, is hard to believe. Still, it’s good to see the studio has reached out to AntiReal, and here’s hoping it leads to some good opportunities for the artist.

Tags: Bungie Marathon