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PokémonGO:CityvsRurallivingrurally isahugedisadvanatge.…orisit?

OurPickoftheMonth:DeathMarkII thelong-awaitedsequelishere,andit doesn‘tdisappoint

5CosyGamestoLookForwardtoThis Yearperfectforrainydays

GenshinImpact:FreetoPlayorForced toPay?stillgoingstrong4yearson,but justhowgenerousisthisfree-to-play gachagameforplayerswhodon‘t wanttoswipe

SexisminOverwatch2hearingfrom ourfemalereadersabouttheir experiences.timeformisogyny,yetno timetoshower

Fresh off the boat from the overwhelming success of Genshin Impact, HoYoverse invites you to hop on board the train to their newest RPG gacha game. Ride through the galaxy with the crew of the Astral Express in this science-fiction turn-taking freeto-play adventure, where you (a male or female hero dubbed the ‘nameless’) must choo choo choo through space with your lovable crewmates and help prevent cosmic disasters.

FRom real-time open world to strategic turn-based sparring new for fans of genshin, and new to the devs themselves — hoyoverse’s decision to switch up the combat style allows players to have fun thinking up team combinations and battle strategies to overcome challenges. Turn-based games have always been popular, giving star rail huge appeal, not just to fans of hoyoverse and their past games. but the devs have implemented new and exciting ways to switch up the genre — turn-takin can be interrupted mate attacks tantaneously, Characters have unique, gorGeous animatiONS, and the ory will leave hooked.

but that‘s not all.… with the foundations of turn-taking battling laid, HONKAI: star rail has an abundance of unique puzzles, challenges, events and quests that will leave players entertained for hours.

With frequent updates adding new characters, light cones, relic sets, events and reward refreshes, there is never a shortage of content to enjoy.

Players have complete freedom to create endless team combinations each characters has something different to add to the equation, whether it’s healing, shielding, buffing, debuffing, or just plain beloved dps.

standing alone it‘s impossible not to compare honkai: star rail with its sister game genshin impact, but the former definitely has its own legs to stand on This doesn‘t go without saying how hoyoverse has tapped into the lessons learned from genshin‘s player feedback over its 4 years From quality of life inclusions to generous rewards from a host of events and new features, it is clear that star rail has done its absoulute best to provide players with a fun and rewarding experience.

stunning worlds players might be deterred by the lack of open worlds games like genshin impact spoil us with, but fear not, because the world design in honkai: star rail is not faltered by it. star rail has an ever-expanding number of locations for players to explore - contained, but by no means claustrophobic.

whether it‘s the sc-fi setting of the herta space station, the wintery slavic planet of jarilo vI, chinese-inspired floating airship ‘xianzhou luofu‘, or the newest addition to the game - the hustling and bustling world of penacony - star rail‘s americana love letter to vegas

the restricted linear nature of the world system creates a maze-like feel, where players have the task of navigating their way from waypoint to waypoint, uncovering puzzles, challenges, world quests and boss battles along the wa

Your Interstellar guide

q) How do i choose which characters to use? your 4-character party is used to explore and take the field when entering battle. Players can swap and change their team whenever they like outside of combat, depending on their element, path and enemy weakness type There are a variety of character elements and classes to experiment with, so the combinations are endless

Q) which characters are the strongest? star rail is an incredibly balanced game with an ever-increasing range of 4 and 5 star characters and weapons (light cones) Yes, 5 star characters have better base stats and crazier abilities, but every character is viable with the right investment Players have the freedom to use the characters they like rather than the characters they’re forced to use.

Q) how Can i make my characters stronger?

Levelling up is only the beginning You will need to enhance light Cones, relics and skills if you Want to keep up with the increasing difficulty the further you progreSs You earn all materials required through Enemy drops, events and specific domains.

Q) how do i obtain new characters?

Like genshin and many other games out there, star rail has a gacha system where players can spEnd in-game currency to get characters Every 100 ‘warps‘ (as the game labels them) will guarantee you a 5 star character early game rewards players with multiple free 4 star characters, and constantly updated events and quests might just give you a chance to pick up more freebies too.

Q) what are paths and elements? every character has a path and an element Consider paths alike to character class, i.e. hunt characters who excel in single target damage, preservation characters who provide shields and defence, or abundance characters who are traditional healers. There are seven paths in total Elements dictate the type of damage a character does, for example, your typical fire, ice, physical or wind type, or the more unique star rail exclusive quantum and imaginary type

Q) what are light cones? light cones are ‘memories’ that can be equipped to characters so long as they have a corresponding path (a preservation light cone can only be equipped on a preservation character etc ) They tell stories and provide lore, as well as giving characters increased base stats and a variety of passive effects as well.

Spirit hunter: Death ma ii

Dev experience, ghostlight ltd pub aksys games players 1 price £41.99

set at the prestigious konoehara academy, our beloved protagonist is back again with some more spirits to hunt in this long-awaited Japanese horror sequel. as supernatural rumours escalate amongst the school’s student body, ‘spirit doctor’ kazuo yashiki is called in to put these fears to rest But maybe the mysterious disappearances and going-ons around campus aren’t just rumours after all. Follow yashiki as you tackle gruesome cases, make difficult decisions and get to the bottom of the spiritual terrors haunting konoehara’s four walls.

Death mark ii Is a top tier Japanese visual novel horror and a wonderfully expanded love letter to the previous series titles. fans will be pleased to see the return of beloved characters and the winning formula that makes the franchise so enjoyable.

With engaging exploration featuring nostalgic 2d side-scrolling and beautifully illustrated settings and backgrounds, death mark ii lets you unlock dark secrets and help tortured souls. Scrapping the firstperson perspective the game’s predecessors have doesn’t detract from the tension at all, and disgustingly gorgeous artwork and beautiful animated shorts will succeed in both horrifying and captivating you. assist yashiki as you explore spooky areas, uncover clues, interrogate students and staff, and maybe even save a soul or two.

but there are thousands of visual novel style horror games out there… what sets death mark ii apart? It’s no secret,

japan does horror well, but popular Japanese games such as resident evil or silent hill typically revolve around western themes, characters and locations Death mark ii is unique, with its spirits and stories homaging traditional Shinto mythology. these spirits are grotesque and violent, but the deeper you progress, the more you begin to realise how tragic their stories are. Players have a choice depending on how thorough they are in their investigations save spirits and help them reach ‘salvation’, or risk losing one or two of your friends along the way.

Japanese horror is all about subtlety Nothing like your cliche American cheap scares or unnecessary gore, death mark ii shows an eerie level of restraint when it comes to its fright factor. you’re left feeling a heightened Sense of suspense and dread as you wait for something Spine-chilling to Happen. All in all, death mark ii is the perfect horror visual novel; gripping Narrative, memorable characters, and wonderfully authentic roots in the traditional j-horror genre

Genshin Impact

FreetoPlayorForcedtoPay?

Genshin Impact is a free open-world adventure RPG game created by Chinese video game developer and publisher HoYoverse. Released in 2020, it’s still as popular as ever today in 2024, boasting around 65 million monthly players across PC, PS and mobile. Players can explore the vast world of Teyvat a diverse place filled with unique settings, powerful monsters, a lovable cast of characters, and, of course, micro transactions

Genshin Impact relies solely on micro transactions to generate revenue, being the fastest mobile game to cross the $5 billion mark, surpassing titans like Clash of Clans and Roblox. Genshin has a ‘loot box’ style system where players are given the choice to purchase Genesis Crystals (the game’s currency) which can be used to roll characters and weapons through the gacha

Spending real money to obtain immediate rewards just to experience the instant gratification of getting what you want…sound familiar? Millions of young people are getting exposed to this video game ‘gambling’, raising concerns about the ethics of inapp spending and how easy it is to get pressured into doing it

Though Genshin Impact has a reputation for being on the more forgiving end when it comes to spending pressures, some long-term players still take issue with the current system in place.

After asking 50 high AR (in-game level) players their thoughts and opinions on the fairness of the game’s character gacha system, 54% argued it was fair, with 46% arguing against surprisingly pretty even, right?

‘Of course it’s not easy to get what you want, but if it was too easy, it would be boring’ - yup okay (AR60)

Though some players beg to differ:

‘I feel like it’s not that fair, especially for players who have completed everything. A lot of people are busy, have jobs etc, so can’t get enough for characters’ - Kaworu (AR60)

With less and less rewards up for grabs the further you progress, it’s no wonder why so many long-term players choose to open their wallets A staggering 92% of the players we asked have spent at least €4.99 on virtual rewards, with some dropping as much as €1000 - €4000 over the span of 3 years

HoYoverse

In-gamecombat-HoYoverse

‘There are limited gacha banners which adds time pressure. You know if you don’t get that character before the time runs out, they won’t come back for like a year, maybe more’ - Kaddy (AR59)

Players talked about how the ‘limited’ appeal that comes with certain 5-star characters can pressure them into spending. Genshin Impact’s character gacha has a pretty standard ‘50/50’ model; roll a certain number of times and you have a 50% chance of getting the character you want. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, then keep rolling for a guaranteed chance This may sound alright, but for free-to-play players, this can come at a hefty price.

‘If you don’t spend money it can take weeks to save up enough primogems (gacha currency) to get a 5-star character, so if you lose the 50% chance you have nothing left’ - GattoEgg (AR58)

Players have to be selective when it comes to the characters they want it’s not possible for a freeto-play

player to obtain everyone in the game thanks to the primogem shortage and limited nature of the gacha system…and that isn’t even including the weapons

Genshin Impact has a separate banner for its 5-star weapons, typically perfectly tailored to match with their corresponding 5-star character. The weapon banner has a certain reputation in the community for being a ‘scam’ or ‘player bait’, due to its unforgiving nature.

And sure, these shiny exclusive 5-star weapons might have better stats, passive effects and undeniable style, but they are completely unnecessary — in fact, only 14% of players we asked actually roll for them at all The game’s collection of easy-to-obtain and free 4-star weapons are perfectly efficient, and players should have no problem clearing Genshin’s trickiest content with them alone

All in all, there is no doubt Genshin Impact is riddled with potential in-app spending features it’s not the first of its kind and it certainly won’t be the last. What sets the game apart is how little the content itself relies on microtransactions in order for players to progress; the perfect example of how a free game can be incredibly successful whilst not being pay-towin.

Limitedeventweaponbanner-HoYoverse

5-starcharacter‘Chiori’withmatching5-starweapon-HoYoverse

Sexism in

Misogyny has always been a huge problem in every aspect of the video gaming industry — god forbid women have interests and hobbies too. But alas, by the laws of all basement-dwelling, sweaty Dorito-eaters, gaming is for men only!!! Many are quick to argue that sexism in Overwatch 2 is in the minority or that it isn’t ‘all men’ out there doing it. What better way to see what happens behind closed doors (or microphones) than reaching out to some of our overwatch veteran female readers. Miko, a diamond rank player of 3+ years, had a lot to say when we asked her about her experience with sexism in-game.

q: How frequently do you come across sexism in-game?

A: I would say it’s the minority of guys, but when it happens it’s pretty bad Also, other men ingame never do anything To stop it, or call out others guys on it. I think if more men were to call out sexist guys on their behaviour then it would definitely make things better.

q: do you feel like you‘re treated differently in-game as a woman?

A: as a girl, i feel like i’m more targetted, especially when i play female characters. Like, for example, people assume if you play mercy, you’re a woman. If i try and play other support characters like zen they say stuff like ‘you’re a girl so go play mercy’

Q: do you use the voice chat feature in-game?

a: If i talk in voice chat, they often tell me to shut up. I don’t use chat voice chat most of the time now unless i hear other girls or if i’m playing with my friends Even if i don’t use it, if you have a female sounding username, it happens too. They’ll say ‘you’re a girl so you’re bad at video games’, or ‘go make me a sandwich’, or ‘gg, we have a girl on our team’. Once when i was talking in voice chat, someone started making sexually suggestive noises and inappropriate comments

It’s just not worth it. The perks of being in voice chat are far outweighed by how bad the sexism is, and it’s exhausting. i think a lot of men who are like that probably don’t spend a lot of time around the opposite gender, and being anonymous gives them power

q: Do you think blizzard is doing enough to prevent this type of hate?

A: Overwatch 2 has a report system that’s great because you can report someone for toxic behaviour, and next time you open the game You’ll usually get a note saying ‘thank you for reporting, we have Done something about it’. There is also the ‘avoid as teammate’ feature which allows you to list players you don’t want to be teamed up with again, sort of like a block list Sadly you can only add 3 people, and it only lasts a week, so ultimately it doesn’t really help much.

Beyond Overwatch 2, it’s extremely clear that the esports community needs a big wake up call — if you’re a man and you witness any form of sexist behaviour, hold them accountable and help put a stop to this toxicity. Make gaming a safer space for everybody.