The ZX Spectrum games that ought to be on Steam

Pixel Games. However, with the utmost respect to their output… these are not the kind of games that are going to foster interest in the Speccy amongst modern players. Of course, that may well not be the point, but I’d be a little taken aback if even avowed old-school gamers were going to bother picking up the likes of gardening simulator Pedro, a game that scored 63% in Newsfield’s iconic Crash magazine back in the day, or Sam Stoat: Safebreaker, which did a little better at 68%.

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Atomic Heart review: a mad science experiment that yields mixed results

Atomic Heart. It’s a fascinatingly chaotic medley of ideas, and a rare FPS that lacks even the slightest whiff of battle pass-peddling live serfdom, but those ideas so often fail to gel that it can feel like a game made by several different dev teams. For a shooter set within an alternate history Soviet Union, it could perhaps have used some more central planning.

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Lies Of P brings Soulslike mecha-Pinocchio to PC and Game Pass in August

Lies Of P is coming to PC and Game Pass in August.

Lies Of P’s newest trailer is mostly a black screen with a lot of VO, but we get a clear look at Pinocchio’s daddy Master Gepetto this time. The trailer follows a blob wobbling through very Victorian streets before it slides into some automation and uses the machine’s body as a puppet. The result is a boss-sized monstrosity that sits halfway between Lovecraftian horror and industrial defect. It also reminds me of Gears 5’s weird infected robots, with tentacles and slime hanging off their metallic arms – equally gross and cool.

The newest trailer doesn’t show off any Bloodborne-style combat, but we’ve had plenty of looks at that already, including a fight with a gorilla robocop. This Soulslike looks just as aggressive as you’d expect, emphasising quick dodge rolls and last-minute, anxiety-fueled parries. Pinocchio’s arm doubles up as a grappling hook to pull enemies in, which is always cool in a hack n’ slasher, and makes even more sense when you’re playing as a puppet. Also, is it just me or is Pinocchio pretty this time around?

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Strategy game from hell Solium Infernum gets its first gameplay trailer

Solium Infernum revival was first revealed at the end of last year, and while I got to see a very early alpha version of it back then, the subsequent demo footage wasn’t quite ready for public consumption. Happily, League Of Geeks have now added the final bit of infernal spit and polish to Solium’s first gameplay trailer, which has been shown off during IGN Fanfest this week. Come and have a gander.

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Ultimate Audio Bang #30: Steam’s most wishlisted FPS is in our crosshairs

Ultimate Audio Bang, we get an update on Hayden’s knees and the various ways in which he’s attempting to save them. We also take a gander at fantasy FPS Dark And Darker, Steam’s most wishlisted ‘shooter’. I’m less keen on it than Hayden is.

In the second part of the pod, we talk about the goals we’ve achieved in theHunter: Call Of The Wild, including a tale about moose and a deer that knocked me out.

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Outbound Ghost devs DMCA strike their own game and accuse publisher of withholding royalties

The Outbound Ghost was delisted from Steam after a statement from lead dev Conrad Grindheim claimed his relationship with publisher Digerati had “dissolved.” Soon after, Digerati filed a lawsuit against developer Conradical over a breach of contract and “several false defamatory” statements. When reporting on the original news, CJ thought the messy situation could get messier, and he was right. Grindheim has now DMCA’d his own game on console storefronts and accused Digerati of withholding royalties.

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