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A New PC Game Is Free To Download In The Epic Games Store
For the past two weeks, Epic Games Store account holders have enjoyed access to a free download of Oxenfree, and today, a new game replaces that title in the Epic Store: The Witness, a gorgeous puzzle game set on a remote and mysterious island. From now until April 18, you can download and keep the The Witness at no cost–all you have to do is sign up for a free Epic account.
The Witness is a single-player adventure with a beautiful open-world setting and more than 500 interesting puzzles to solve. Very little is explained to you as the player, and the subtleties of its puzzles increase over the course of the game. To put it bluntly, The Witness is challenging, but if you like exploration and puzzle-solving, it’s a gratifying experience you won’t soon forget.
GameSpot’s Mike Mahardy gave the game a 9/10 in GameSpot’s The Witness review. “The Witness makes few attempts at handholding, opting instead to convey its mechanics in subtle, cryptic ways as you struggle to make sense of it all,” he wrote. “This is what makes The Witness special. Unlike many puzzle games, it doesn’t just make you feel intelligent–it begins on the assumption that you are intelligent. It trusts that you are a perceptive human being, capable of patience and critical thinking, and it rewards you for using both.”
On April 18, The Witness will be replaced by Epic’s next free game, Transistor, a sci-fi-themed action RPG set in a futuristic city. The Epic Store is giving away free PC game downloads every two weeks to celebrate its first year in business and already has a record of giving out high-quality games, so it’s worth your time to make an account and keep an eye on its current and upcoming deals.
Get The Witness for free at The Epic Games Store »
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-pc-game-is-free-to-download-in-the-epic-game/1100-6466038/
Ban Fortnite, Says Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and sixth in line for the royal British crown, has sharply criticized the popular battle royale game Fortnite and called for it to be banned. The BBC reports that Harry’s comments came at a YMCA event in London, just before the gaming BAFTA awards.
“[Fortnite] shouldn’t be allowed,” he said. “Where is the benefit of having it in your household? It’s created to addict, an addiction to keep you in front of a computer for as long as possible. It’s so irresponsible. It’s like waiting for the damage to be done and kids turning up on your doorsteps and families being broken down.”
He also suggested that social media is “more addictive than alcohol and drugs.”
Prince Harry’s comments come just after the World Health Organization (WHO) identified “gaming disorder” in its latest list of classified diseases. The disorder criteria list several qualities common among addictive traits, including impaired control over gaming, increased priority of gaming over the interests of daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences.
These comments don’t seem to indicate what it is about Fortnite in particular that is problematic, but the game’s popularity probably played a role. Epic Games recently announced Fortnite had crossed 250 million registered players, and a new concurrent player record of 10.8 million players. It’s still going strong despite increased competition from the likes of Black Ops 4 and Apex Legends. It has had other recent strife with celebrities thanks to several lawsuits over its use of dances, which have been dropped for now. For more on Fortnite, check out our Season 8 challenge guide.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ban-fortnite-says-prince-harry/1100-6466039/
Borderlands Games Getting Review-Bombed Over Borderlands 3’s Epic Exclusivity
The Epic Games Store has been snatching up exclusivity deals as a shot against the bow of Steam, the biggest digital PC game storefront. The company’s latest score is Borderlands 3, and some fans are not happy about it. So not-happy, in fact, that they’ve resorted to review bombing the older games that made them fans in the first place.
Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel have all suffered a spate of negative reviews on Steam. Each is rated as “Positive” or “Very Positive” for overall reviews, but “Mixed” or “Mostly Negative” in hundreds or thousands of recent reviews. Many of the negative reviews explicitly mention the Epic Store. Tales from the Borderlands, which was developed by Telltale Games instead of Gearbox, has been mostly spared.
Borderlands 3 will be exclusive to the Epic Store until April 2020, giving it a six-month window that is shorter than many of the year-long exclusivity periods. The release date of September 13 had leaked before the official announcement, and in that leak a video also showed an Epic Store logo, conspicuously without a Steam logo.
As part of the suite of announcements surrounding Borderlands 3, Gearbox also announced a remastered Game of the Year Edition for the original game, and a 4K texture pack for the other two. Borderlands 2 also had its various pieces of DLC brought into Borderlands VR.
The latest in the loot-shooter series from Gearbox appears similar to prior entries, right down to having a cast of four diverse Vault Hunters with different abilities. Whether you pick it up on PC or elsewhere, Gearbox is looking into supporting cross-play. For more details, including the loot you can gain by putting down your money early, check out our pre-order guide.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-games-getting-review-bombed-over-borde/1100-6466036/
