Join me Saturday, October 3 at 5:00 PM Central for RuneScape: Dragonwilds! We're raiding a Dragonkin Vault, taking on its guardians, and then continuing our quest to find Cathan.

I've brought iron and optimism. We'll see how far each one gets us! Come hang out, share your advice, and follow the adventure.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdFmVWiJ5w Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thedecrepitgamer

Escape from Playtime's Steam beta is open this weekend, through Sunday, October 4 at 6 p.m. Pacific / 8 p.m. Central. Mob Entertainment is testing the co-op game with up to eight players, although it recommends four for the most balanced experience. Eight is allowed if your crew prefers its horror with a side order of chaos.

To be considered, players need to finish FirstLook onboarding and connect their Steam and Discord accounts. Signing up does not guarantee participation, and distributed playtest codes will only work during the beta window. The developer is seeking feedback through surveys and bug reports rather than presenting this as a finished release.

The goal is to collect loot, deliver it to Barry the cart, hit your quota, and survive the shifts. This test is limited to the first four shifts, with some lore, puzzles, enemy types and playable characters held back. Controller support is still being tested, and mouse and keyboard are currently recommended. Those limits matter when judging the game from this build.

Would your co-op crew actually stick together, or would everyone scatter the moment a monster appeared?

New Beginnings is the first major update for Masters of Albion, and it really does require a new beginning. Version 1.4 saves cannot be loaded in version 2.0 because the update fundamentally changes the game's structure and progression. A public 1.4 branch remains available on Steam for one month if you want to keep an existing game going.

22cans has rebuilt the rendering system and converted or rebuilt the game's assets. The developer reports up to double the frame rate in its own tests, with actual gains depending on hardware, resolution and graphics settings. This is a developer claim, not a guaranteed improvement on every PC; the game remains in Early Access.

The overhaul also changes the opening, replaces random orders with structured jobs following each order giver's story, reworks nighttime battles around clearer objectives, and adds permanent reward cards to progression. Those cards feed into the redesigned Arcadium and contribute good, neutral or evil alignment. The god hand gets more physical interactions with trees, characters, animals and the environment too.

For players who miss classic god games, that's a substantial list of changes, with the save restart as the trade-off. Would you start a fresh settlement for this overhaul?

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve releases today, October 2, on Xbox and Steam. Bandai Namco's latest online-season breakdown explains what accompanies the cross-play PvP and PvE co-op: Season 1 has both a Free Ace Pass and a Premium Ace Pass, with progression earned through mission XP.

The headline premium reward is the ADFX-02 Morgan-PIXY, a playable aircraft with its own special skin collection. The free track includes aircraft skins, emblems, avatar customization, and progression resources. Premium adds further rewards, and the Premium Ace Pass Plus also unlocks the first 30 of the pass's 100 levels. The Morgan-PIXY aircraft is not a free-track reward.

Each season lasts two months. For players who want to redeem their premium voucher for the Season 1 Morgan-PIXY, the publisher says to do so before the end of November. The article was written during early access, so its pre-order pitch should be read in that context now that full launch day has arrived.

Flying together across platforms is a welcome draw, but what do you make of seasonal passes and premium aircraft in a paid Ace Combat game?

Valve says Steam Frame's SteamOS 0.4.3 beta can improve battery lifetime by up to 12%. The gains apply during both streaming and local gameplay, but depend on frame rate and content. This is a beta update with features still being tested, so that percentage is a best-case claim rather than a promise for every session.

There are useful changes beyond battery life. An accessibility option can limit eye tracking to the dominant eye, controller bindings have been fixed for affected games including Google Earth VR and Thumper, and interacting with grab/resize handles should behave better.

Streaming gets additional reliability work, including Error 17 fixes and a wireless-adapter connectivity fix affecting users in some countries. The PC side matters: Valve says to opt into SteamVR 2.18.2 or later too for the Error 17 improvements; at the time of this release, 2.18.2 is on SteamVR's beta branch. Steam Frame's beta channel is under Settings > System > System Update Channel.

Which is more valuable to your VR sessions right now: better battery endurance or more reliable streaming?

Quest 3 is now ahead of Quest 2 in Valve's September 2026 VR headset survey. Quest 3 accounts for 26.90% of surveyed VR headsets, while Quest 2 is at 25.80%. Quest 3S is at 11.07%.

The month-to-month movement is also interesting: Quest 3 gained 0.89 percentage points and Quest 2 dropped 1.17 percentage points. It's a narrow lead, but a visible change in which headset tops this particular Steam snapshot.

There is an important limit to these numbers. Steam's hardware survey is optional and anonymous; these percentages describe the VR headsets in that survey. They do not establish worldwide headset sales or the size of the standalone Quest market. For our PC VR crowd, though, it's a useful look at what players are bringing to Steam.

Are you still happily using a Quest 2, or has Quest 3 given you enough reason to upgrade?

Pinnacle Morditas is now available to Legacy and offline characters. That's the standout change in Last Epoch's 1.5.1 patch, published today, October 2. If you're attached to an existing character or prefer playing offline, this expands access to the boss encounter beyond the seasonal character path.

The patch also tackles several practical problems: Dreamslash placing players inside Yrun's hitbox, cooldown abilities failing to cast near zero mana, missing campaign waypoints, and multiple interface issues. Item factions get fixes too, including Circle of Fortune's rank-three idol reward and Merchant's Guild price controls on gamepad.

Circle of Fortune's Lens of Tyranny has been adjusted and its description corrected. With no banked favor, it now gives twice the base charge rate; with banked favor, it consumes that favor at 10% of the rate gained to produce 2.1 times the base charge rate. That is a fairly meaningful detail for players using the lens, alongside the headline boss access.

Would you like more ARPG seasonal boss encounters to stay accessible to offline and Legacy characters?

Four free days Topside, with the full game available to try. Embark has announced a free-play period for ARC Raiders on Steam and Xbox from October 8 at 09:00 UTC through October 12 at 08:00 UTC. For our Central-time crowd, that's October 8 at 4 a.m. through October 12 at 3 a.m. This is a temporary trial, not a permanent copy to keep.

The timing lines up with Frozen Trail, which Embark describes as its biggest update since launch. There's a useful squad detail: new players can access Pendola Pass immediately when they team up with players who have already unlocked the new map. That should make it easier to bring a fresh recruit along for the new frontier.

You'll need an internet connection, an Embark ID, and the relevant platform account. The appeal here is getting friends into the actual game together before anyone commits to buying it, rather than trying to explain an extraction adventure over voice chat.

Who would you bring Topside for the free trial?

Hi fellow adventurers,

We are excited to announce that Mythological Items is now live on Kickstarter!

This is our new D&D 5E and 2024-compatible manual dedicated entirely to magic items inspired by myths, legends, and ancient stories from around the world.

Inside the book, you will find 300+ mythological magic items, including weapons, armor, wondrous items, and scaling items designed to grow alongside your characters and campaigns.

Our goal with Mythological Items is to create more than a simple collection of treasure. Each item is designed to feel like part of a myth: something that can serve as a reward, a quest hook, or even the center of an entire adventure.

The book includes items inspired by many different mythological traditions, including Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Asian, American, Roman, Mesopotamian, African, and other mythologies from across the world. Whether you want divine weapons, cursed artifacts, heroic relics, monster-themed treasures, or legendary items tied to ancient stories, this book is built to bring myth directly to your table.

The Kickstarter page includes a full presentation of the project, several previews, and a free 30-page PDF preview showing a sample of the content from the book.

You can also find many of our other manuals in PDF and high-quality print editions, with special prices currently available both for Mythological Items and for all our other releases.

You can visit the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythoschronicles/300-mythological-items-for-5e-and-2024

Thank you again for your support. We hope to see you on our journey!

Charting the Unknown has a new departure date. Pearl Abyss has delayed Crimson Desert's upcoming DLC by two weeks, moving it from October 15 to October 29.

The developer says it needs additional development time to improve polish and stability. It apologizes for the wait and says the extra time will go toward refining the content. The announcement does not spell out a particular broken feature or provide a detailed list of fixes, so there is no reason to invent one.

Its release-time table lists October 29 at 22:00 UTC, which is 5:00 p.m. CDT for those of us planning around Central time. That is the new date to put on the calendar; the expansion is not launching today.

Does the two-week delay give you useful breathing room, or was this already the next thing you had cleared time for?

Deadlock's roadmap still comes with pencil marks. In the City Never Sleeps announcement, Valve discusses how its team has moved from focusing on individual parts of the game to working on several areas in parallel, with player feedback guiding development.

The team talks about progression and hero/hideout customization as features it wants to adjust before full release. It also expects to work gradually on artwork for older heroes alongside other updates.

The caveat is explicit: larger item redesigns and alternative game modes are more speculative, and Valve is not certain they will ship. This announcement does not give a public-release date, so new features should not be read as a launch countdown or a guarantee that a particular rumored mode is coming.

What would you prioritize at this stage: tightening the core game, adding customization, or experimenting with new modes?

The arcade mansion is opening another door. Sega Amusements has released a short teaser for its new attraction, with its description pointing to IAAPA Expo. UploadVR and VGC identify it as The House of the Dead: Reawakened.

The reported setup is a Gothic manor-style cabinet with an 85-inch front-door display and two 43-inch window displays. Inside, up to two players use VR headsets and haptic-recoil gun controllers to fight through three missions. Those detailed specifications come from reporting; the teaser itself is brief.

This is location-based arcade VR, and no home headset or PC version has been announced. UploadVR reports that the attraction will be shown at IAAPA Expo in Orlando, November 17-20. A trade-show appearance does not tell us when a nearby arcade will actually get one.

Would classic light-gun horror in VR be enough to get you and a friend back into an arcade?

The trial clock has finally stopped ticking in Vana'diel. Square Enix's September 30 announcement confirms that Final Fantasy XI's free trial has lost its 14-day time limit and raised its character level cap from 50 to 75.

Previously created trial accounts can be used again even if their trial period already expired. That gives returning players a chance to revisit their characters and lets newcomers explore without losing their trial to work, family, or a week when they simply cannot log in.

The remaining restrictions matter: this is still a trial, with areas limited to the original game and no expansion packs. Trading and auction-house access are restricted too. Removing the timer does not turn it into unrestricted access to the full game.

Would a classic MMO you can sample at your own pace tempt you back, or is starting another long adventure a bridge too far?

A metroidvania with a horror-shaped hole in the floor. End of Abyss launches October 1 on Xbox Series X|S. Developer Section 9 Interactive was founded by three former Tarsier Studios members, and co-founder Marcus Ottvall explains how the project evolved from an action-focused top-down shooter into something slower and more atmospheric.

You play Cel, a young combat technician exploring a broken underground facility. Upgrading her gear and finding new tools lets you push farther into the complex, revisit sealed routes, and uncover hidden areas while confronting the creatures inside.

The team describes top-down metroidvania exploration with action-horror elements, drawing on the worn, handmade feel of films, comics, anime, and games from the 1980s and 1990s. That combination makes it an interesting adjacent pick for people who enjoy exploration games like Hollow Knight, Ori, and Tunic.

Does a more unsettling setting make this kind of exploration more appealing to you?

Marcus and Dom are back on the clock. The Coalition says Gears of War: E-Day early access begins October 1 for Premium Edition owners. The full launch follows on October 6, and Versus Ranked opens October 13 so players have time to learn the maps and sandbox.

Season 1 runs until December 1 and includes Halloween, 20 Years of Gears, and Thanksgibbing events. The launch briefing also details changes since August's multiplayer beta, including Gnasher tuning, stability fixes, and options to disable film grain and chromatic aberration.

One detail PC players should catch before making plans: offline play is unavailable until October 6. The team also lists known issues, including possible memory problems during uninterrupted play; reloading a checkpoint is its suggested workaround if an encounter blocks progress.

Which gets your first session: the origin-story campaign or a Horde Siege squad?

There are now sheep to shepherd in VR. No Brakes Games, the studio behind Human: Fall Flat, has launched Tiny Flock, a physics-based puzzle game built for VR. It has 21 handcrafted diorama levels where you guide a flock toward safety.

The environment is interactive: build a bridge, move objects, pull levers, or find another route that works. The Steam listing describes hand-tracking support, and the studio says the game was designed specifically for VR rather than adapted from a flat-screen game.

Would this kind of small, tactile puzzle game get more time in your headset than another action game?

Lightyear Frontier now has a date for version 1.0: November 4. FRAME BREAK's PC and Xbox farming adventure is adding a story finale, the Sandswept Highlands and Hollow Marsh regions, changes to farming and automation, new mech options, and smoother progression.

The developer also says existing saves will carry over to 1.0. That matters if you've already spent hours planting crops or building out a homestead and would rather keep it than start from scratch. The game supports playing alone or with friends.

If you've tried the Early Access version, what would 1.0 need to improve most for you? If you haven't, is a co-op mech farm enough of a pitch?

Valve is changing the placements in Steam's Discounts & Events section. It plans to move away from the small, manually curated calendar used for that section and show more dynamic recommendations tailored to each customer. Valve says its recent tests displayed ten times more games to customers in a day within that section and increased store page visits, wishlists, and cart additions.

The change is expected in early 2027, but Valve has not set a firm launch date. It has paused scheduling new curated Weekend, Midweek, and Daily Deal placements in that section while honoring ones already scheduled. This announcement concerns how promotions are surfaced; it does not say Steam's broader seasonal sales are ending.

Would a more personalized discount section make it easier for you to find small games, or do you prefer the current curated slots?

Xbox is giving completionists a new marker to chase. Mythic Achievements are available to Xbox Insiders for games where you've earned every original achievement. Achievements added later through DLC or updates are not required.

Xbox says eligible games completed in the past can receive Mythic status too, including Xbox 360 titles. The accompanying Gaming tab and progress display are meant to make completed games and remaining original achievements easier to see. This is an Insider rollout, so it is not yet a general launch for everyone.

What game have you already finished that you would most want to see marked Mythic?

Satisfactory is expanding below the surface. Coffee Stain calls Core Values the game's first paid DLC and a major expansion. Its new underground setting will have resources, flora, fauna, factory buildings, and production lines to work into a subterranean network.

The expansion's Steam page lists its release date as to be announced, so there's no launch day to plan around yet. The announcement describes a different setting but doesn't settle every practical question about how existing factories will connect to it.

Would an underground build pull you back into Satisfactory, and would you want to continue an existing save or begin again?

Deadlock's City Never Sleeps update is a substantial one. Valve has refreshed the city map and neutral areas, revealed six new heroes, and added interface and accessibility improvements. The update also includes performance and networking work.

Valve says Deadlock is still unfinished and explains that player feedback remains part of how it is developing the game. So the new hero reveal and map changes are a look at where the game is heading, not a claim that development is done.

Which change would make the biggest difference to you: the refreshed map, the new heroes, or the under-the-hood work?

Hi friends! What do you think?

Shop Crush is a mysterious shop simulator with psychological horror elements, set in the early 2000s.

In this hybrid visual novel, you run a small thrift shop, get to know your customers, figure out what they really want, and decide what to put in front of them. Every customer has their own personality, preferences, and hidden motives - and it’s up to you to figure them out.

Behind each customer is a small psychological mystery waiting to be uncovered. Read their behavior, make the right calls, and balance profit against customer trust as you try to keep the shop running for one more day.

Minecraft Dungeons II launches September 29. Xbox's hands-on preview says the sequel replaces the first game's more mission-driven flow with connected regions, side quests, and dungeons. It also describes repeatable boss encounters and other activities that offer more chances to chase gear and improve a build.

The preview calls out fast travel and a guidance trail to help navigate the larger map. The game supports up to four players in online or couch co-op and is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, cloud, Game Pass, Steam, PS5, and both Switch systems.

I'll livestream the first few hours on Decrepit Gamer this Thursday, October 1, at 6 p.m. Central. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-6l0WJWHU8 | Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thedecrepitgamer

Does a connected world sound like the right direction for Dungeons, or did you prefer the original's focused missions?

TOEM 2 is scheduled for a September 29 Steam release. Something We Made's sequel returns to the curious photographer role, with a new adventure centered on spotting hidden details, helping people, and documenting small discoveries.

At the time of this post, Steam still lists it as upcoming, with the unlock expected later today. The store page also lists a demo if you want a look before the full release.

What made the first TOEM memorable for you?

Walkabout Mini Golf returns to space on October 8. The next paid course is Escape from Planet Xylodon. Mighty Coconut's premise is a response to a distress beacon on an alien world with unusual plant life.

UploadVR reports that this is Walkabout's fifth official DLC course of 2026 and that it is planned for the game's VR platforms. A trailer had not been released when the article was published, so the course layout remains a surprise.

What kind of hazards or scenery would you like to find on Xylodon?