I've made peace with our 2026 list and accepted that a few of my most anticipated releases may wind up on our new PC games 2027 calendar instead. That's good news for me—legend has it I cannot be slain by my enemies until I've played Gen Atlas, Blight, and The Expanse RPG. Oddly specific win conditions, I know.

My picks remain dateless, much like Grand Theft Auto 6 on PC, but other 2027 release dates are starting to trickle in with Fable, Exodus, and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation among the early headliners. Here's hoping your favorites get penciled in soon, too. Until then, here's our new PC games 2027 calendar.

New PC games to watch in 2027

January

February

March

April

May

New PC games with a 2027 release window

More new PC games for 2027 and beyond

There are three different Phantom Blade Zero endings; one bad, one slightly less bad, and one True Ending which lets you face the final boss, granting the "Final Battle" ending and "With Heart and Blood" achievement. But to get this perfect ending, besides following the main quest, you have to complete a variety of side activities.

The cut-off for completion seems quite generous—though Inanis implies there's a point of no return just as you enter the Mirage Estate, I completed some of these steps later and I was fine. Here's what you need to do

1. Complete the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest

You first get this quest when you discover one of Firefly's Memory Flowers in the Village of Lu, but the main steps are:

• Defeat the four scarecrow acolytes to get their masks.
  • The first is Acolyte Yanru in the Village of Lu.
  • The second is Acolyte Lei Ting in Pangzhen—you can get to her once you acquire the Flaming Mane Phantom Edge on the west side of the town and then burn the barrier near the Pond of Fading Song bell to access her location.
  • The third is Acolyte Guhe in Meigu Lake on the east village dock island.
  • The fourth is Acolyte Hansui in the Crimson Manor—entering requires a load of other quest progress. You'll need to fix the Illusory Pipa, complete Whence the Weeping, plus the Mandate Encampment area, so this stage is definitely the longest (all the details you need are in the linked Crimson Manor guide).

• Enter the Phantom Illusionist's realm via the mirror in northwest Meigu Lake.
  • You'll need the four Acolyte masks to enter.
  • Fight through the area to defeat the final boss, which will summon a puppet statue.

• Insert the Yin and Yang eyes into the puppet and end the ritual.
  • You get both of these in the course of opening the Crimson Manor: one from the hanging puppet who gives you the tongue to unlock it, and the second from the Puppet Scavenger boss in the manor.
  • This will teleport you to the ritual. Kill all the puppet monks to end it and complete the quest.

2. Complete the five Long Pillars in the Bloodline Awakening quest

There are five Long Pillar challenges battling the Gold-Masked One that you need to complete to get the True Ending, plus these are good as the later ones give you Soul Tempering materials for some of the game's best weapons:

• The first Long Pillar is in Weeping Creek Valley. Use the Hunt's Scythes to grab the key on top of the Sha-Chi tower and unlock the area containing it.
• The second Long Pillar is in the Crimson Forest, just off the main path after Stone Fist Iron Fever's arena, near the start of the Mirrorwood.
• The third Long Pillar is in east Meigu Lake on an island.
• The fourth Long Pillar is in the Phantom Illusionist's realm which you need the Acolyte masks to enter, so I suggest doing this as you pass through completing the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest.
• The fifth Long Pillar is in the Mirage Estate. This is the second-to-last area in the game. You can access the pillar close to the Willow Pavillion, where you'll find a path you can grapple to with the Hunt's Scythes if you backtrack a little.

3. Complete all of Quickhand's Requests

Though I haven't seen this requirement mentioned elsewhere, I'm pretty certain you have to complete the Quickhand's Request quests for the True Ending, which involve finding treasures throughout each region and delivering them to the thief.

This is all covered in the linked guide with videos showing the locations, plus this quest gets you two otherwise inaccessible Phantom Edges, Flying Dagger and Goldblaze, so is worth completing anyway.

So what does the True Ending get you?

If you've done everything above, Inanis should tell you right before you emerge onto the peak of Mount Soulrend (after the Mirage Estate) that there's nothing more she can do to prepare you. I assume, if you haven't completed everything necessary, she gives you a point of no return warning that you still have unfinished business.

The True Ending sees you fight Leng Tu, Meng Hua (the lady), and Zuo Shang, but the other endings don't let you fight Zuo Shang's second form, so you get an extra boss fight this way. If you've done all of the above, you'll also get:

• The Hunt outfit
• The Kindred outfit
• The Blizzard outfit
• The Legacy outfit
• The Radiant Heart story item

After this, you can choose to start New Game+ by speaking to Inanis and pick to tweak difficulty as well if you want. You'll carry over your weapons and Phantom Edges, too.

Crimson Desert's Charting the Unknown has arrived, but rather than a focused story expansion, it's more about adding other elements to the existing world.

This includes endgame challenges, new housing options, a romance system, plus a sailing ship and ocean questline about exploring Pywel's treacherous coast and islands. Each feature has different unlock requirements, so here are the exact details for each.

Shipbuilding and exploring the ocean

• You can unlock the ability to buy or build your first ship after "Expanding the Camp" in "Gathered Will" during the "Grounds of the Sunrise" Greymane faction quest.
• The quest to build your first ship will unlock, and progressing this questline will lead to the new ocean story.
• You can upgrade to a medium or large ship for 1.2 million or 6 million camp funds respectively, or build either, which will cost less funds, but more materials.

Garden of Trials and new story quests

You need to complete the main story to unlock the new Garden of Trials combat challenges. Once finished:

1. Visit the Axiom Archive in the abyss, where you first met Alustin near the start of the game.
2. Turn right before the building's staircase and door to find a corridor into the new annex.

There are also new story quests for Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane, which start after the main story is complete in Pailune and Demeniss, respectively, including new combat encounters in the world.

Romances

Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane can each now romance specific NPCs:

• You can check via an NPC's interaction menu to see whether romance is possible.
• After you reach 100 trust, select the "seduce" option, then once likeability is full, you can "propose".
• The four witches have new faction quests that let you build trust and likeability with them as romance options.
• Characters you marry can follow you or reside at your house, and you can also divorce any NPC after marrying.

New housing and management

There is a new upgraded housing mode in the expansion, plus facilities you can now manage:

• Unlock the Greymane Camp on Howling Hill and complete Luke's request in "Grounds of the Sunrise" to unlock new housing options.
• Acquiring the Howling Hill camp will also unlock a number of "facility" icons around the map, which show what strongholds can be rented and used as new management facilities.
• You'll need to liberate the region and complete its faction-related quest before you can access a facility.

Spring has arrived in Forza Horizon 6's Horizon Meets series, which means a new Treasure Hunt chest to find for some seasonal points, which will help you earn some progress towards the new cars on offer.

This week's treasure chest is in central Hokubo by a greenhouse at the Shikisai-no-oka—the distinctive field of colourful strips you can see on the map. To find it:

1. Drive along the road going northwest through Shikisai-no-oka's fields.
2. When the road turns east, look for the greenhouses on your left.
3. The chest is between these, as shown on the map above.

Head there and smash the chest to get 100,000 credits, 5,000 XP, and three Season Progress. Also make sure to complete the new photo challenge, too, if you're looking for extra points.

The Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key is one of the most important to find in Phantom Blade Zero, since it unlocks an entire region that's otherwise inaccessible.

Though you find the gate to the Mandate Encampment when you first arrive in the Village of Lu, the key is actually towards the end of the Pangzhen area (the game's 4th region), which you visit in its second chapter.

Exploring the west side of the town, you'll eventually reach Gu Wangyue, a Chinese opera singer boss. After defeating her, you can drop down the well in her arena, climb the ladder straight ahead, and you'll find the key to the Mandate Encampment on a corpse in the following room surrounded by puppet enemies.

It's on the main track through Pangzhen, so you'll definitely go through this room—just make sure to pick it up when you do so you can unseal the gate.

Upgrading medicine in Phantom Blade Zero improves the percentage of HP, damage negation, and Sha-Chi that these healing consumables replenish, which is pretty powerful, as you'd imagine.

You can upgrade your medicine when you reach the Green Serpent House in west Pangzhen (the game's 4th region after the Village of Lu). You'll arrive at this location during Pangzhen's second chapter, which sees you exploring the west side of the town, specifically, after you defeat Xie Qiudong, The Divine Healer and progress down the street, where you'll spot a big house with green banners and the Green Serpent House bell.

The Apprentice Healer here will upgrade your medicine using Apprentice Healer's Memories and Skilled Healer's Memories, some of which you likely will have already picked up during your explorations. You'll also get the Green Serpent Brew medicine, which removes status effects, when you visit for the first time.

Opening the entrance to the Order's underground tavern in Phantom Blade Zero took me longer than I'd like to admit, but it's required to continue progressing through Pangzhen during the Town of Death quest.

In the wine yard behind the tavern building, Soul will note that the pavilion's floor on the right is hollow—this is where the secret entrance is, so you'll want to head behind the pavilion and smash the big black jar, as in the video above.

This reveals a crank which will unlock the cellar and let you inside. Similar to Weeping Creek Valley's outpost or the Crimson Forest's Thieves Camp, this is an important location in Pangzhen and a hub for many of the region's sidequests.

The Illusory Pipa is a phantom edge capable of dispelling certain barriers, but also an important story item in Phantom Blade Zero, unsealing a special barrier in the north of the Meigu Lake area.

To craft it, you'll first need to arrive at the Order's underground tavern in Pangzhen, where you'll meet Myst, the third sister who's capable of repairing the instrument once you find its parts. Here's where to get each of them, though be aware they require significant progression through the game:

Illusory Pipa Head

Defeat the secret boss, Dusk, in the Village of Lu. Find Firefly's Memory Flowers as part of the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest to unlock the barrier at the Temple of Blue Fireflies, then drop down to fight him.

Illusory Pipa Strings

Defeat Yan Qiansui, The Zither Maiden at the sunken opera house in south Meigu Lake, accessible via north Pangzhen after you've defeated the region boss. Collect Yan'er's Memory Flowers floating around the island, with two towards Pangzhen docks, to access it and fight her.

Illusory Pipa Backplate

Defeat the final boss at the Mandate Encampment and collect it after. You'll need a key found in Pangzhen (details in linked guide) to access this region near the entrance to the Village of Lu. Once inside, fight through the region to the final boss and grab the backplate on a table just after the battle.

Once you've got all three parts, head back to Myst in Pangzhen and select the relevant dialogue option to repair the Illusory Pipa. Now you can unseal the barrier in the northeast of Meigu Lake.

The Four Fierce Axes quest is likely the second you'll acquire in Phantom Blade Zero, after Flesh Lily, when you find a "Four Axes" case file in the Broken Puppet Valley early on.

You'll have to "uncover the truth behind the Four Axes Rebellion" which involves continuing to the outpost and defeating the Peng Meng boss there. After that, you'll have to "gather evidence of the conspiracy against the Four Axes", which means finding seven more "Four Axes" case files in Weeping Creek Valley, besides the one you already have and one Peng Meng drops. Here's where they all are:

1. Near the Broken Puppet Valley bell in the house on the table.

2. Also in the Broken Puppet Valley on the corpse by the shrine.

3. After the Rustblade Pavillion bell, before the Outpost Courtyard bell, on a table in the area where the game gives you a tutorial to jump assassinate a man by a campfire.

4. Near the Axemaster's Holding Cell bell on a table in the area where The Hunt has killed everyone.

5. After you acquire The Hunter's Chain Sickle and use it to get the Sha Chi Tower Base Camp Key from the top of the Sha-Chi Tower, use it to unlock the door by the Creek Valley Plains Entrance bell, and search the lower level of the tower to find it on a table in the forge area.

6. Through the Festering Secret quest. Use the Dread Axe to smash the barrier in the outpost after you defeat Peng Meng, defeat the enemies, speak to the captain, and deliver the letter to the lieutenant at the Long Pillar Overlook bell in the area you unlocked above. He'll give you the sixth case file.

Thankfully, all of these locations are marked on your map, which makes things easier. "Hang on, that's only six out of seven, though" you may be thinking.

To get the seventh case file, you need to progress to the Village of Lu region after the Crimson Forest. You'll get the Leave None Alive quest, which directs you to head back to the outpost, and upon arriving, you'll find you're now able to get past the barrier to the location of the final case file.

Simply head into the area with the houses, up into the Lady's Cave, follow it through and outside, where you can use the Hunter's Sickles to reach the platform with the last case file.

Deliver the evidence to the Child of Insight in Pangzhen

The final step of this quest is bringing all the evidence to the Child of Insight in Pangzhen, the game's 4th region. You'll have to progress through the Village of Lu area to reach Pangzhen, then a little way into the town itself—thankfully, you'll also have a map marker for this, so it's straightforward enough.

Fight the Shadow Order guarding the marked building near the Pavillion of Knowledge Crossroads bell, then battle through three floors of masked enemies to get the key to the roof. Open the door on the top floor to find the Child of Insight standing on the roof outside and then speak to him about the Axemaster to get your reward, the Blood Oath Dagger, which Soul Tempers the Dread Axe once you unlock the ability to do so with Myst at the Orders underground tavern.

The Honor Among Thieves quest in Phantom Blade Zero is relatively short—you kill an enemy in the Crimson Forest who drops a letter, which you then deliver to his brother in the Thieves Camp a little further down the trail after Jing Ye.

The brother, however, can't read, and demands you answer some questions about its contents to prove it's genuine. The answers to his questions are:

1. Stole a landowner's belt.
2. Butterfly.
3. The letter never said. His fate is unknown.

Don't worry if you get an answer wrong, he'll just end the conversation and you'll have to talk to him again. These answers are, of course, in the letter itself. Look for the Wulin Tales section of the archive and then the 8th entry, Blood Letter from the Nimble Thief.

Answer all three correctly and you'll get the Silent Wrap accessory, which reduces noise from assassinations and movement by 40%, though you can upgrade this further once you unlock polishing in the Village of Lu.

Though you find it early on, the Crimson Manor is actually a bit of endgame area in Phantom Blade Zero that you'll be able to open later on.

You need the Puppet's Tongue item to unseal the door, which comes from completing The Herald's Illusion quest, finding three portals into a strange realm with a hanging puppet. Each portal opens an eye—once you have all three, he'll give you his tongue. Here's where to find each portal:

1. The first portal is by the Puppet Testing Grounds bell in the Village of Lu (the game's 3rd region). This is at the end of the area, after you go down the well, though it's basically impossible to miss.
2. The second portal is at the end of the Mandate Encampment area after the region boss. You'll need a key from Pangzhen to open the gate to this region near the entrance to the Village of Lu (details in the linked guide).
3. The third portal is at the end of the Mountain of Imprisonment area, again, after the region boss. To access this area, you need to repair the Illusory Pipa and unlock the barrier in the northeast of Meigu Lake.

Once you head through the third portal, speak to the hanging puppet, and he'll give you his tongue to unlock the Crimson Manor, plus his Yin eye, which is related to another quest. Now, you can get inside the manor and fight the fourth acolyte for the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest.

You first meet Quickhand Zhang in Phantom Blade Zero's Crimson Forest and, assuming you free him, arriving at the Thieves Camp and his first hideout, he quickly recruits you to find his counterparts and unmarked treasure in each region.

I've included videos below of where to find Zhang's hideout and the jade treasure chest locations in each region, plus corresponding text entries that explain what you'll need to do to reach each in terms of battling enemies or grabbing any keys required.

Crimson Forest treasure locations

• Reward: Flying Dagger (Phantom Edge) - Thrown knives that apply poison buildup.

1. From the Outlaw Trap bell, head into the cave directly behind you with the butcher and the dogs to grab the Crimson Forest Tunnel Crank. Use it to unlock the grate in the floor near the bell, drop down, descend the ladder, cross the wooden bridge and defeat the second butcher and dogs, then take the left path up a slope to where you'll find the chest.

2. This second chest is behind the locked Thieves Camp Dungeon gate. To get the key, progress through the Crimson Forest until you arrive at the Cliffside Lodge. Head upstairs to grab the cellar crank, unlock the cellar, then drop down to where you can spot the corpse with the glowing item (the key) below you. Unlock the gate back in the Thieves Camp to find the chest immediately on your right.

3. The third chest is in a cave near the Thieves Camp bell. Exit the camp via the path heading towards Zhang's Hideout, follow the path down around the cliffside into the cave, then fight past the dogs and their master to find the jade chest on your left.

Village of Lu treasure locations

• Reward: Fine Thread (accessory) - Increases the damage and Sha-Chi depletion of summoned objects by 50%.

1. From the Well of the Three Puppets bell, head up the stairs to the big house at the very top with the mother puppet who attacks you in the entrance. Turn left, climb the ladder, open the door, and pass through the creepy puppet room to find the chest to the left of the altar at the end.

2. Close to the Lady's Grounds bell, which unlocks after you defeat Master Bi Yuan of the Tianxuan Sect. Head right out of the courtyard, climb the wall to your left, and circle around onto the upper level of the Lady's Grounds where you'll find the chest.

3. From the Survivors' Courtyard bell, head left out of the entrance, go down the stairs, then descend the rope down the shaft to your right. The room at the bottom is filled with puppet enemies, but also the third jade chest.

Pangzhen treasure locations

• Reward: Goldblaze (Phantom Edge): Essentially a rifle.

1. You'll need the Tianxeng Pavillion Key for this first one, which you get by talking to the puppet in the Order's underground tavern to start the Star Performer quest. From the Huang Manor Crossroads, head west down the road with the hanging lanterns and turn left to find the door to Tianxeng Pavillion. Unlock it, taking care of the puppet enemies inside, then take the left staircase to the first floor, and circle around the balcony to find the jade chest in the room at the back.

2. For this one, you'll need the You Loong's Deluge Phantom Edge, which you get by defeating You Loong, Leader of the Blackwater Crew in the pond near the Banyan Tree in the far west of Pangzheng. From the Marketplace bell, use the deluge to put out the nearby flaming barrier, head inside, turn right, use the hunter sickle to get up on the rooftops and you'll find a jade chest on a platform just up ahead.

3. From the Backstreet Archway bell at the start of Pangzhen's western section, defeat Wu Xuan, The Fallen General boss, then head through the circular gate behind him and up the stairs to find the chest in a small house at the far end of the garden filled with puppet enemies.

4. From the Pond of Fading Song bell just before the well where you fight Gu Wanyue, The Wailing Wraith, backtrack along the street to just before the pool, and turn right up a set of stairs, through an archway, into a building where you'll find the final jade chest for this region.

Meigu Lake treasure locations

• Reward: Sha-Chi Blood Catalyst (medicine) - Increases Sha-Chi combo damage by 20% for 15 seconds and restores 20% HP, but ignites you.

1. From the Blackwater Crew Dock bell, on the northern island in the lake, head through the arena where you fought You Loong, The Frenzied Blackwater Crew Leader, out the right side via the ramp, then immediately through the house on your right towards a zipline you'll spot ahead of you. Ride this down, hop over the poles, and turn right onto the sand where the chest is located.

2. The second two treasures in Meigu Lake require you to unlock a special area via the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest. In the northwest of Meigu Lake, you'll find a snowy area with a mirror which can only be unsealed by defeating the four acolyte scarecrow bosses around Wulin, including one in the Crimson Manor, which you'll have to fix the Illusory Pipa to ultimately access. It's quite elaborate, but once you're through the mirror, continue through the area until the second bell, then make your way along the cliffside coffins to find the jade chest on a platform at the end.

3. I didn't include this final chest in the video because I didn't want to spoil the area, but it's on your main track through the secret region mentioned above, towards the end of the section where you're navigating across ships. The chest is on the final ship, just before the shrine to the lady that teleports you and is almost impossible to miss.

Mirage Estate treasure locations

• Reward: Thundermoon Lantern (accessory) - Inflicting Thunderstrike on an enemy automatically triggers lightning strikes on enemies in a certain radius.

An important note before you find these: the Mirage Estate is one of the final areas in the game, so unless you want spoilers, please don't watch the video. Another note: you have to get the second treasure chest in the Opera House on your first run through. I'm unsure if this is a bug, but the Opera House door will lock after you've activated the opera and come out the other side, so there's no way back to it.

1. From the Training Grounds bell, pass through the arena where you fought Yuding and out the other side into the courtyard and straight ahead inside the house that the herald appears on the upper floor of. Turn right just inside the entrance to find the chest in a room there.

2. From the Opera House bell, find this chest through the Opera House main gate you unlock once you have the Opera Ticket item, on the left side of the first room. It's very important that you grab this on your first time through the building, as the main gate seems to lock again after you watch the opera and come out the other side.

3. Just after you unlock the secret passage in Leng Tu's Study on the main track, by the Perfect Vessel Estate bell. The chest is just behind the big sculpture in the centre of the room.

And that's every treasure for Quickhand Zhang, completing his quest.

The Aberrant Three-Faced Puppet is the first optional boss you can encounter in Phantom Blade Zero, but it's definitely not one you're supposed to beat when you first find it.

It's definitely possible, but with no Phantom Edges and only your un-upgraded starting weapon, you don't deal anywhere near enough damage to be likely to defeat her, and won't for a while. Here are some tips that'll help you best her when you're ready:

• Return later: There's no rush to defeat this boss or complete the Triple Threat quest. Defeating her doesn't give you a weapon or anything that's useful in the early game, either, so there's really no reason to bang your head against the fight. To beat her when you first meet her, you basically have to no-hit the entire thing, so it's not really worth it. As you can see in the video above, I returned later in the game and the fight was much more manageable.

• Upgrade your weapon and polish your accessories: In particular, I recommend the Ancient Armor Fragment, Jewel's Knot, and Resonance Talisman for increased damage negation, HP, and Sha-Chi. Also upgrade your weapon—remember you can buy extra materials from vendors. Upgrading your weapon will also unlock new useful skills and ways to deal damage.

• Use the Livingwood Talisman to inflict bleed on her: Puppet bodies aren't susceptible to bleed, but if you grab the Livingwood Talisman in a chest near the Smuggler's Tunnel in the Village of Lu and polish it, you'll deal bleed at 70% effectiveness to the boss with a weapon like Jagged Steel, doing some bonus damage.

• Dodge her smoky black attacks: These drain your stamina fully if you try to block them, so dodge. Luckily, she doesn't have too many red or blue attacks to dodge counter or parry counter, respectively, which makes things easier.

• Always be attacking: Your regular attacks don't cost stamina, but they do still deal damage and deplete her Sha-Chi over time, so keep up the aggression, blocking her attacks between yours. When her Sha-Chi is broken, spend stamina on Sha-Chi combos to deal proper damage, and don't forget your LT attack when your weapon is powered up.

After you complete the fight, you'll get the Three-Headed Doll story item, though the next stage of the quest isn't until one of the final areas of the game, so I'd suggest coming back later to check this guide if you're still unsure.

Triple-Threat part two (late-game spoilers)

After you arrive in the Mirage Estate in Pangzhen (towards the end of the game), you'll eventually find a Memory Flower near to the Training Grounds bell, off to the right side of Yuding's arena. This will trigger the next stage of Triple-Threat, in which you have to find three Memory Flowers marked on your map in the estate.

You'll then be directed to return to the Crimson Forest, which has now partially frozen over due to the Frost Mask, but before you face this puppet boss again, you need the Soul Tempered version of Sanguine Reach to defeat them, which requires the Roaring Flames item:

1. The first part comes from defeating Zhu Yuan, The Searing Blade below the Pangzhen Sha-Chi Tower. You get to this by entering Meigu Lake, accessible via north Pangzhen, then continuing north along the shore, before using the exploding enemy to blow up the barrier leading to the lift, similar to how you access the Crimson Manor area.
2. The second comes from completing the third Long Pillar challenge in east Meigu Lake.

Once you have both of these, you can Soul Temper Sanguine Reach into Blazing Edge after you've met Myst at the Order's underground tavern in Pangzhen, which you already will have at this point.

Now you can return to the Crimson Forest's Mirrorwood, progress through the area a second time towards where you found the region boss originally (there are new bells, enemies, and chests), then face Yucong, No.34 Twisted Puppet. As my 13 minute video above will attest, this is the longest and trickiest optional fight I've found in the game, so I'd suggest:

• Upgrade Blazing Edge fully: This is your main method of dealing damage to them and they have a lot of health.
• Fire Meteor is really good: As you can also see in the video, fully upgraded Fire Meteor is very efficient on a spark-to-damage ratio and since it's fire, is good against puppets.
• Upgrade your medicine: I used Kuye Dew and Merciful Dew since they're so HP efficient (even if the restoration is gradual), and Kuye grants damage negation which stacks incredibly well alongside the Ancient Armor Fragment accessory.
• Use the LT charge on Blazing Edge: This is especially strong in the section of the fight where you face three separate entities, as you can deal with one of them quickly. The Chaos Mask tends to be the most aggressive, and Frost Mask the most defensive.

Beyond that, you'll just want plenty of health and Sha-Chi. My other accessories were Talisman of Despair, which increases damage when you haven't attacked for four seconds, up to 35%, so perfect for Blazing Edge's nuke attack. Then Jewel's Knot and Resonance Talisman for more HP and Sha-Chi, then Battleforged, which negates an instance of damage every six seconds you aren't hit.

Defeat the boss and you'll get their extremely fun Freezing Chaos sword, which can inflict frost or chaos fire. You'll also get the second Chaos Dagger fragment to Soul Temper Sanguine Twin. The other drops from the fourth Long Pillar challenge past the mirror in north Meigu Lake, in case you haven't located it yet.

Whence the Weeping might seem like a sidequest you're supposed to complete in Phantom Blade Zero's first Weeping Creek Valley area, but it's actually a major quest that takes a significant portion of the game to finish. If you've just started and are here wondering if you've missed something: you haven't, and you don't need this guide right now.

It's also relatively straightforward—it's just that quest tracking isn't available for it until you progress further. I'll run through its steps below, but these will contain spoilers for how to access a later game region, so you might want to steer clear:

1. As you progress through the Crimson Forest (2nd region), you'll hear the weeping again, giving you a nav marker that coincides with the region boss, which provides a few more answers.

2. When you arrive in the Village of Lu (3rd region) and speak to Jewel about the weeping, she speculates that The Chord wants to tell you something, and you're directed to the northeast of Meigu Lake.

3. You'll have to progress through Pangzhen (4th region) and defeat its main boss in the west to get the Phantom Edge that unlocks the way to Meigu Lake via the north of the town.

4. In the northeast of Meigu Lake, you'll find a barrier that only the Illusory Pipa Phantom Edge can dispel—fixing it is a whole quest in itself, so see the linked guide for details.

5. Once fixed, dispel the barrier to enter the Mountain of Imprisonment region, progress to the region boss at the top of the mountain, and defeat it to complete the quest.

As mentioned, this will require significant progression through the game, but it's relatively straightforward and follows alongside the main track for the most part.

I spent a long time in Phantom Blade Zero searching for the Backstreet Courtyard Key, convinced it would unlock the inaccessible area where Old Man Gen's house is located, as well as the third acolyte scarecrow. Turns out, that gate doesn't lead to either.

If you're searching for that key with that in mind, you instead need to acquire the Flaming Mane phantom edge from the region boss and follow the main quest to repair it with Lei Dang, then use it to burn the barrier by the Pond of Fading Song bell where you fought Gu Wanyue, The Wailing Wraith. This leads around the back and lets you access both quest locations.

Now, if you're here because you're genuinely interested in the Backstreet Courtyard Key, you won't get it until you reach the Mountain of Imprisonment area. Speak to the couple near the Shrine Outer Gate, complete the Ledger of Atonement quest by finding the ledger in the caves below, and then speak to the woman there to start the Bai Xue quest, getting you the key. The location is mainly relevant to this specific quest and doesn't hold much value beyond it.

If you're wondering how to reach the Mountain of Imprisonment, you'll need to complete the Illusory Pipa quest first.

You'll need The Banyan's Heart in Phantom Blade Zero to unlock certain skills like Fluid Form Level 2, Quick Remedy, or Opening Strike.

You can get your first Banyan Heart towards the end of the Crimson Forest area, just after you activate the Parting Mists bell, after you fight Stone Fist Iron Fever—it's basically impossible to miss:

1. Drop down from the Parting Mists bell and head across to the island with the tree directly ahead of you.
2. Interact with it to be transported into The Banyan Tree's trial realm.

You'll have to defeat three waves of enemies, culminating in Jing Ye, the bleed bandit boss from earlier in the Crimson Forest. Similar to the Long Pillars, if you die, there is a bell you can use, and as with boss phases, if you complete a stage of the trial, it's done and you'll start at the next.

I genuinely think Jing Ye is the most annoying boss I've encountered so far. I recommend equipping the Cavalrybane accessory you can get in the Crimson Forest for more damage when he's mounted, plus the Shieldbreaker talisman if you found it in the Weeping Creek Valley to break his shield quicker. Other than that:

• Draw him away from the two other enemies who spawn.
• Dodge his bleed projectiles as blocking them still builds bleed.
• Use your Dread Axe Phantom Edge to smash his shield—as soon as he falls off his horse, charge a full one.

If you're still struggling, I've included my video of the boss above, but remember you can come back later, too. Once you defeat him, you'll get the Banyan Heart.

All other Banyan Tree locations

Getting your first Banyan Heart will also start The Heart of the Banyan collectible quest to find four more:

• The second Banyan Tree is in Pangzhen during its second chapter, near the Lion Dance Hall in the northwest.
• The third Banyan Tree is close to the start of the Mandate Encampment.
• The fourth Banyan Tree is on an island in Meigu Lake.
• The final tree is in the Mountain of Imprisonment on the main path through the region, though you'll need the Illusory Pipa to get here.

You can also buy Banyan Hearts from Quickhand Zhang for 100,000 at his den in the Village of Lu onwards. He seems to get a new heart for each new den you find, though this may be linked to completing his treasure hunts (which I did).

Hua, Deadly Betrothed is one of the first optional bosses in Phantom Blade Zero, below the Sha-Chi Tower in the Weeping Creek Valley, but you'll have to defeat her if you want to find a Flesh Lily for Yu'er.

The trickiest part of this fight is avoiding Hua's spider lilies, but here are some tips to defeat her, plus a video above of my successful run employing these strategies:

• Avoid her lilies and stay mobile: There are three types of lily in this fight:
  • Those that bloom periodically and when she attacks, before exploding.
  • Those that patrol the arena and explode when they all meet in one spot.
  • White lilies she fires out that track and stun you, letting her follow up with a red grab attack. These are the most dangerous, especially as she teleports to attack you after she fires them. Make some distance and either dodge or block them when you're sure she isn't attacking.

• Learn to counter her red grabs: This is Hua's deadliest attack, when she flashes red, grabs you and deals a lot of damage with a decapitating slash. If you're struggling to react, remember, red attacks are right bumper to parry, blue attacks are left, though you can just press both if it's less confusing. Hua also seems to attempt a grab if you get clipped by the red flying lilies, so watch out.

• Use the Dread Axe to extend your damage phase: After you stun Hua, you'll be able to safely damage her for a while, but you can extend your damage phase a bit by charging the Dread Axe Phantom Edge to its first level towards the end (until it pings blue) as this will knock her over.

• Prepare yourself: I recommend upgrading a weapon to Level 5 to unlock its ability. I used Jagged Steel (though bleed doesn't work on her), so use whatever's comfortable. Remember you can buy more upgrade materials from the outpost merchant. Also, make sure to upgrade your healing art and grab the Focus Pill medicine from the chest up the hill to the left (just after The Axemaster's Holding Cell bell). You'll have to use the axe to smash open the way.

• Remember the fundamentals: You can attack with X without it costing stamina, but when you stun her, you should use Y combos instead for extra damage. When your weapon is charged, remember to use LT to perform a special combo. Also, parry her attacks as much as possible, as this will retain your stamina for attacking, dodging, and blocking.

• Dodge her stamina draining attacks: She'll occasionally perform a downwards slam where she gives off a smoky black aura—this means her next attack will drain all your stamina, so it's better to dodge, especially as it summons a bunch of lilies which explode afterwards. Dodging, in general, is very useful in this fight.

It can be a tricky fight early on, but she doesn't have all that many combos, and her blue parriable attacks are quite predictable, coming at the end of her four hit sequence. The real key to this fight is making sure you don't get hit by the lilies by making space and being mindful of the arena, while also countering her deadly red grab attacks.

Once you beat her, you'll get the Scarlet Wraithblade weapon, which can also summon exploding lilies.

Finding a Flesh Lily for Yu'er is the first sidequest you'll encounter in Phantom Blade Zero, but you can't complete it until a few areas and bosses later.

You can find the Flesh Lily below the Sha-Chi tower, an area you reach after arriving at the outpost and beating Peng Meng. Specifically, it's accessible from the Valley Sha-Chi Tower 1st Floor bell when you arrive at the base of the tower, though you'll have to fight a boss to get it. Follow the video above, or:

1. From the Valley Sha-Chi Tower 1st Floor bell, ascend the stairs and then circle around the right side of the tower.
2. Drop down the hole at the back and slide down the long wooden ramp into the cavern filled with red spider lilies.
3. Turn left and head up the slope into the lily-filled clearing above.

When you arrive in the clearing, a cutscene will play, and you'll find yourself fighting Hua, Deadly Betrothed. She's relatively tricky, but this Hua boss guide offers more tips for defeating her, which will get you her powerful Scarlet Wraithblade. You'll also find the Twinned Flesh Lillies item on the corpse by the pavillion where she was standing at the start of the fight.

After you defeat Peng Meng, Yu'er appears next to Forge at the outpost, so head there to give her the lily to complete this stage of the quest. She'll offer you the other lily as a memento. When you reach the Thieves Camp in the Crimson Forest, you'll encounter Yu'er again, after which, her questline will continue.

The Gold-Masked One inside the Long Pillar in Phantom Blade Zero is a bit of an unconventional boss fight. Each of the pillar fights in the Bloodline Awakening quest is a challenge battle against this boss which teaches you different aspects of the game's combat.

The first battle is all about parrying, hence why it gives you the tip box in the top right. This fight is tricky because of its main gimmick:

• You can't damage The Gold-Masked One apart from after a parry or perfect dodge (a blue or red attack) or unless his Sha-Chi is broken.

Usually, in Phantom Blade Zero's boss fights, it pays to attack constantly, especially as regular attacks don't even cost Sha-Chi. But in this fight, your attacks won't do anything. Instead, you should:

1. Counter his red (perfect dodge) or blue (perfect parry) attacks and then attack after that to deplete his Sha-Chi. If you're struggling with reacting and hitting the right or left bumper on controller, just press both.
2. When it's depleted, deal as much damage as you can in the duration. I recommend using Jagged Steel since he's susceptible to bleed.
3. Rinse and repeat.

The video above shows the process, but this fight can be quite tricky early on because he has a lot of health and it's a battle of attrition. Make sure your weapon is as upgraded as much as it can be for the attempt, and have the best accessories you can equipped—I was using Quick Hand Pendant, Ancient Armor Fragment, Jewel's Knot, and Resonance Talisman, for increased one-hand damage, damage negation, HP, and Sha-Chi. But I came back to this fight later after I arrived in Pangzhen.

There's really no rush to beat The Gold-Masked One. As you progress, you'll get more HP, Sha-Chi, weapon upgrades, and the ability to polish accessories, increasing their buffs, which makes things easier. If you are intent on doing it when you reach it, though, be prepared for a long battle.

Once done, the reward is the Counterstrike Bracers, which increase damage dealt by 20% for two seconds after a parry, and you can also attempt the second Long Pillar challenge in the Crimson Forest.

Crimson Desert's first Charting the Unknown DLC is releasing imminently, despite its initial delay, a mere seven months after the base game released, during which time Pearl Abyss has updated it with content relentlessly.

Charting the Unknown releases on October 29 or 30 depending on where you live, but it's a simultaneous release around the globe. Here's when you can expect to play it:

• West Coast US: 3 pm PDT (October 29)
• East Coast US: 6 pm EDT (October 29)
• UK: 10 pm GMT (October 29)
• Europe: 11 pm CET (October 29)
• Australia: 9 am AEDT (October 30)
• New Zealand: 11 am NZDT (October 30)

If you're unsure whether you can run it, you can see the updated system requirements on the Steam page. The preload is also currently live, though it requires a pretty hefty storage footprint to install. The game itself is 135GB, though, so you'll probably want a headstart downloading it, unless your internet is more capable than mine.

Phantom Blade Zero's release is almost here, and the reviews are looking pretty positive—I've been playing it the last couple of weeks and it's definitely the best action game of the year, if not the past few years.

The release date for Phantom Blade Zero is October 28 or 29 depending on where you call home, but the exact time will vary. However, it is a simultaneous release around the globe:

• West Coast US: 7 pm PDT (October 28)
• East Coast US: 10 pm EDT (October 28)
• UK: 2 am GMT (October 29)
• Europe: 3 am CEST (October 29)
• Australia: 1 pm AEST (October 29)
• New Zealand: 3 pm NZDT (October 29)

If you're unsure whether you can run it, you can see the updated system requirements on the Steam page. The preload is also currently live, though it requires a pretty hefty storage footprint to install. The game itself is 135GB, though, so you'll probably want a headstart downloading it, unless your internet is more capable than mine.

You can now dual wield certain weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 thanks to its Edgerunners 2.5 patch, though sadly it's limited to revolvers and pistols from the power category, which you can either use dual-wielded, or mix and match if you want to have multiple iconics at once.

First, though, you need to unlock the Double Trouble perk in the Cool tree at 9. There are also four subsidiary perks, which improve your dual-wielding proficiency. There are a few important things to remember:

• Dual-wielded iconics will retain their abilities and effects.
• Dual wielding two weapons will make them weaker, though this is somewhat mitigated via Double Trouble's other perks.

Either way, using two iconic power pistols and revolvers adds a lot of potential in terms of comboing effects and running and gunning your way through Night City's mean streets

Though perhaps not the most memorable of Edgerunners 2's characters, Weak Kingsley, or "The King" has the best outfit, including his spectacles and crown-emblazoned coat.

No wonder, then, that Cyberpunk 2077 added the new Clampdown quest that lets you get his outfit and gigantic hand cannon in the Edgerunners 2.5 update, similar to how it did for David's jacket and Rebecca's Shotgun for season one. To complete this quest, you need to:

1. Complete The Heist, two gigs for Wakako, and then wait for her message, starting the Clampdown quest.
2. Read the message, head to the meeting at BuryGer diner and speak to King, accepting the job.
3. Go to the prison.
4. When directed, head to the bathroom and interact with the duffle bag under the bench.

The quest will continue, but you'll have King's iconic Coronation Tech Revolver, plus his full outfit, including the glasses.

It's winter time in Forza Horizon 6's Horizon Meets series, so once again we have a new Treasure Hunt to find to get some seasonal points for earning the newest automobiles on offer.

This week, the chest is in east Sotoyama, the northernmost region, by a mountain lake. You can see it in the image above, but this one is exceptionally easy to spot on the map.

1. Just pan north on the map from Soni Circuit in Takashiro and you'll spot the big pool in the far east of Sotoyama.
2. The chest itself is on the beach that runs along its right side from northeast to southwest.

Head there and smash the chest to get 100,000 credits, 5,000 XP, and three Season Progress. Also make sure to complete the new photo challenge, too, if you're looking for extra points.

Clearing a compound is one of the early orders you'll have to complete when you arrive in Modern Warfare 4's DMZ mode, and it requires you to assault a mini enemy stronghold.

Compounds are marked with the little tent and flag symbols on the map, though they vary in difficulty, and some of them require keys to open. If you're looking for an easy one to complete, I recommend the two in Daesong Ridge in the south of the map. These army camps are open, so they're easy to access, and they don't have too many enemies. To clear a compound you need to:

• Kill every enemy in the compound—your current progress is represented by the percentage bar on the left, though it counts up instead of down.
• When you kill the last enemy in the stronghold, make sure to pick up the Medical Extraction Intel they drop and extract it to complete the order.

If you can't find the last enemies, they may be stuck in something, so search around, or just make some noise to attract their attention, or if all else fails, find another compound.

While you're in the compound, don't forget to loot any safes you find for some decent valuables—in the army camps, these are in the tower and in the main building, though the smaller barracks also have lockers and containers with loot.

You'll need electronic sensors in Modern Warfare 4's DMZ mode to upgrade your starting stash, which quickly runs out of space after the first couple of matches. Unlike rigid synthetics, the other material you need, you likely won't find enough electronic sensors without looking in the right place.

The best places to get electronic sensors are:

• Inside buildings, but particularly apartments and apartment blocks. I found quite a few as loose items or inside bags.
• Inside computers. If you spot a computer, open it up and take a look.
• While there are residential buildings all over the map, I had the most luck in Hanrin Village in the north, where one run south along the road gave me all ten sensors I needed.

The good thing about apartment buildings is that they also usually have a lot of rigid synthetics, so you can kill two birds with one stone. So, search buildings, computers, and make sure to bring a blue, medium backpack so you can secure slot what you do find, and still progress to that upgrade even if you don't manage to exfil.

Got a confusing order about finding a "dynamic op phone" in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ? You're not alone there: I've played around 15 hours of DMZ so far and this is the only objective that has genuinely confused me.

The good news is the answer is simpler than it sounds. The whole order is really just a tutorial for DMZ's free roam option, demonstrating how to lay low and complete contracts.

Where to find a dynamic op phone in DMZ

The page four order that asks you to "Collect a dynamic op phone in Cheongun Village" is really just asking you to pick up and complete a dynamic op. Dynamic ops are any of the missions marked by green satellite phone shapes on the map.

Since the order calls for starting one from Cheongun Village, the quickest way to do this is to enter a DMZ match through free roam (the third option on the deploy screen). This ensures that you won't have a dynamic op or story mission already assigned when the match starts, as you won't be able to start another until that one is finished.

So just get to Cheongun Village as quickly as possible—it's at the northwest corner of the South Korea part of Hajin, near the casino and hospital—and find one of those green markers. You can ping one to find it quickly, but they also make a distinct beeping sound that you can follow to the phone. They look like this:

Be sure to actually complete the dynamic op to finish the rest of the order, or you'll have to do the first step again. If you want to finish the whole page of orders in one run, then you'll also want do the following while you're at it:

• Craft a suppressor, a throwing knife, medium backpack, and two-plate armor vest
• Bring a silenced gun (cheapest is a pistol)
• Using the suppressed gun, kill eight enemies without taking damage

Roblox always has a few anime games in mainstream rotation, and Anime Dice is among the more popular ones as of late. Just as its name suggests, this manga-inspired character collector is all about rolling dice to collect your favorite heroes and villains. Rewards from Anime Dice codes can give you extra chances to collect more characters or ways to improve your current roster.

All active Anime Dice codes

• Halloween - 1x Pumpkin Jackpot
• UPDATE8 - 50x Trait Reroll, 50x Gems, 5x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE7 - 30x Trait Reroll, 30x Gems, 20x Tickets
• 50KCCU - 30x Trait Reroll, 30x Gems, 20x Tickets, 3x Lucky Spin
• 400KLIKES - 20x Trait Reroll, 20x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE6 - 30x Trait Reroll, 20x Tickets, 30x Gems, 3x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE5 - 20x Trait Reroll, 20x Tickets, 20x Gems, 3x Lucky Spin
• 250KLIKES - 20x Trait Reroll, 20x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 30KCCU - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 40KCCU - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 100KLIKES - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE1 - 3x Trait Reroll, 3x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE2 - 5x Trait Reroll, 5x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE3 - 5x Trait Reroll, 5x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• UPDATE4 - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 1KCCU - 5x Trait Reroll, 5x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 5KCCU - 5x Trait Reroll, 5x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 10KCCU - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin
• 20KCCU - 10x Trait Reroll, 10x Gems, 2x Lucky Spin

Expired Anime Dice codes

• sorry4delay - Limited code
• JpCoooooode - Limited code
• ABCD123 - Limited code
• freejp - Limited code
• JPCALLING - Limited code

How to redeem Anime Dice codes

When it comes to Enshrouded base locations, Embervale real estate has no bad options, but I tend to favor scenic waterfront properties over any strategic positioning. The world has plenty of fast travel points, so I don't suffer much from my form-over-function choices, though I do appreciate conveniently placed mines or higher elevations to get a good running jump with the glider.

After hundreds of hours base hopping all over Embervale, my map is packed with markers highlighting my favorite spots, so I might as well share them. Here are some of the best base locations I've found in Enshrouded 1.0.

Springlands

Springlands map

Fort Kelvin

🏘️ Pre-built town for renovating
Fort Kelvin sits on the Springlands' northern border, near Revelwood and just west of the Pillars of Creation. It's a sprawling abandoned town with a central square, underground tunnels, and even its own pre-built tower. Restoring the whole place is a massive undertaking, but it's a lovely fixer-upper if you're willing to put in the work.

Pondside ruins

🌳Empty lot for building
This little pond just west of Fort Kelvin is a personal favorite, and I almost always wind up building something here in every world. I love the island in the middle of the water, so I spend a lot of time fixing up the pier and expanding it. Just be careful building near the path. Enemy patrols occasionally pass through, and they've caught me unprepared and killed me once or twice.

Western waterfront

🌳Empty lot for building
Surprise, surprise—it's another waterside lot for your next build. This one's almost a little too close to the nearby Shroud, but it's too cute to pass up. The uneven terrain may put some players off, but I'd leave the terrain tool alone and embrace the challenge of building around it.

Revelwood and Blackmire

Revelwood and Blackmire map

Glenwood's End neighboring waterfall

🌳Empty lot for building
Look, I'm no fan of building in Revelwood—the thick foliage makes it too dark for my taste—but I'm obsessed with this lonely waterfall beside Glenwood's End. And it's not just any waterfall. It's a proper RPG waterfall, complete with a fancy secret alcove.

Blue Goblet Tavern

🏠Pre-built tavern for renovating
I understand renovating entire towns is a big ask, so here's a single building you can move into with considerably less hassle. What I really like about this old tavern is its hilltop location, which gets more sunlight than most places in Revelwood. There's also plenty of ore and clay nearby.

Nomad Highlands and Kindlewastes

Nomad Highlands and Kindlewastes map

Top of the Pillars of Creation

🌳Empty lot for building
Even if I'm not building here, I always place a Flame Altar atop one of the two pillars for easy fast travel around southern Embervale. The northern pillar is easier to build on since the Engine Chambers occupy the southern one, but the latter has nearby copper mines to sweeten the deal.

Southern foot of the Pillars of Creation

🌳Empty lot for building
This adorable mountainside nook is tucked between two vast stretches of Shroud. It's not exactly overflowing with resources, but there's a limestone deposit within easy reach thanks to a handy hookshot shortcut.

Shorewatch

🏘️ Pre-built town for renovating
Most Kindlewastes towns are a little too big for my liking, but Shorewatch is manageable. Southern Kindlewastes is pretty sparse on fast travel points, making this a handy spot to settle down. It even has a pre-built tower you can keep extending upward to get more mileage out of your glider jumps.

Albaneve Summits

Albaneve Summits map

Hermit Lodgings

🏠Pre-built cottage for renovating
Far to the east in the Albaneve Summits, tucked away on an unassuming mountainside, is one of Enshrouded's most heartbreaking journals. I won't spoil it, but since I can't bring myself to disturb the actual 'Hermit Lodgings' landmark, I settle a little northwest in this cute lakeside cabin instead. I like to imagine it belonged to the journal characters during happier times, though I'm sure they'd hate to see what I've done with the place.

Veilwater Basin

Veilwater Basin map

Dragondream Lake - Riverreach

🏘️ Pre-built town for renovating
Against my better judgment, I'm including the massive town of Riverreach. It sits in the northernmost corner of Dragondream Lake, stretching across the area's biggest waterfall. The town has three main levels, not counting the floors in each house, and renovating the whole place is a monumental undertaking. I'm sure none of us need this much space, but the allure of its enormous, working waterwheels and intricate underground cells is too good to pass up.

Dragondream Lake - Driftwood Wake

🏘️ Pre-built town for renovating
If Riverreach's dark wood and stone aren't your thing, Driftwood Wake sits across the lake to the southeast. It's closer to the water (and therefore better for fishing), with its own waterfall tucked against the western mountainside. It's smaller and probably more practical than Riverreach, so it earns a spot on the list, but its northern neighbor still has my heart.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is releasing soon, but also features early access for many of its modes, including its campaign and the hotly anticipated revival of the DMZ extraction shooter.

To get early access to both the campaign and DMZ, you need to preorder the game digitally, otherwise, you'll be able to play on October 23. Activision hasn't revealed an exact time for the campaign early access unlock on the 16th, but the PC preload is already live.

There also hasn't been any official info about the DMZ early access release time on October 20. However, some sources predict it will be 10 am PT (1 pm ET/6 pm BST). What we do know is that:

• Modern Warfare 4 will release on October 23 at midnight local time, wherever you are.

You'll need 115GB for the game's storage and you can find the official system requirements to run it on the Steam page.

As we draw closer to the DMZ unlock and the full release, I'll update this article with any official time announcements that Activision drops.

Attention fellow base-building ghouls and survival masochists, I've got good news and bad news. Starting with the good: Some of the best survival crafting games are no longer in early access, and have hit their 1.0 milestones. The bad news? Three of them piled into the same one-month window.

I've seen a million posts all asking the same advice: "Should I get Valheim, RuneScape Dragonwilds, or Enshrouded first?" And as someone who can't stop sinking hundreds of hours into mining the same three types of rock, I'm qualified enough to help you decide. I've also recruited my colleague, Chris Livingston, who is always up to in-game riffraff resulting in funny animal encounters or injuries like some sort of bizarre, survival-crafting Jeff Corwin.

Comparing Valheim, Dragonwilds, and Enshrouded

We've got our own opinions on who's who among the recent survival crafting 1.0 launches, but maybe you just need something to compare features before getting into recommendations. It's by no means everything included across all three games, but here's a quick comparison of the differences and similarities between features and default settings in Valheim, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, and Enshrouded.

Valheim vs Enshrouded vs RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Valheim vs Enshrouded vs Dragonwilds: Our picks

Autumn is here in Forza Horizon 6's Horizon Meets series and that means a new Treasure Hunt to track down for some season points. These points will let you earn the new seasonal cars that are currently on offer.

This week's chest is in the east of the Takashiro region, at a rest area surrounded by long pampas grass southeast of Soni Circuit, pictured on the map above. To reach this chest, you need to:

1. When passing the entrance to Soni Circuit going west to east, turn right down the winding road.
2. Take a left down the road into the fields of long pampas grass.
3. Keep an eye out for the rest area on your left side close to the pool on the map.

You could also look for the brown spot on the map with the pond in east Takashiro (which marks the long grass) to find it.

Smash the chest to get 100,000 credits, 5,000 XP, and three Season Progress. Also make sure to complete the new photo challenge, too, if you're looking for extra points.

An Unheard Farewell is likely the first quest you'll encounter in Valor Mortis, and it sees you helping the Adjutant Sous-Officier in the Valley of Ashes track down his missing scouts.

The scouts are located in a cave halfway up the elevator shaft from 'The Climb' lantern, but you'll have to progress to the top of the elevator first to unlock the route.

From the Adjutant Sous-Officier, you'll want to:

1. Progress through the level, grabbing the pistol, unlocking the lift, and progressing through the caves until you reach the top of the elevator.

2. As in the video above, shoot the two glowing Nephtogloblin growths to unlock the lift and pull the lever to call it up.

3. Take the elevator down and jump off to the left about halfway, where you'll spot a ledge and a wall you can burn.

4. Defeat the tough soldier enemy in the cave—I suggest using fire to chip his health—and grab the notes by tent behind him.

If you continue along the main track after this, you'll eventually find yourself back at the Adjutant Sous-Officier, where you can choose whether you want to tell him the truth about the fate of his scouts or lie.

• If you tell the truth you'll get the Sleight of Hand amber and you can return to speak to him after resting to get some additional catalysts as a bonus.
• If you lie you'll still get the Sleight of Hand amber, but after resting, you'll find his corpse in the cave where the scouts were, with a Remnant's Return (a one-use item that lets you reclaim catalysts you've dropped on death wherever you are.)

The Emissary quest in Valor Mortis is likely the third you'll encounter after crossing the bridge in the Valley of Ashes and making your way into the army camp.

You'll find the seal of an emissary from Bonaparte in an abandoned carriage, but the quest will indicate you somehow need to get through the clouds of poison infesting the camp to progress it further.

To do this, you need the Shield Transmutation ability, but you won't unlock this until much later in the game, when you visit the university in the city. The Valley of Ashes is the game's 2nd area, while the university is the 9th, which puts into perspective just how much you'll have to first progress in order to return and complete this quest.

Once you do have the ability, use it to cross the poison, head through the camp, and interact with the unusual corpse to start a miniboss fight of sorts. After this, open the chest to get the Perfect Copy amber, which increases the ranks of all other equipped Tier 1 and Tier 2 ambers.

In Valor Mortis's The Scarecrow quest, you have to collect two possessions belonging to the unfortunate soul tied up in the field: a medallion and a note with a drawing.

The video above shows the three locations you need; where to find both items and the hay loft once you've returned them to the scarecrow. You can find the medallion just to the left of the scarecrow, down a short path through the field that leads to a cross resting against a tree, with a corpse who looks to have dropped it. The note with a drawing is slightly more complicated, though:

1. Progress through the level until you unlock the shortcut gate by the big house, leading back to the "Fields" lantern.

2. From the lantern, head down the path until you reach the gate to the open area with the Volunteer enemy guarding the carriage—turn left before the gate instead.

3. Continue through the haystacks towards the house in the distance—note the barn with the diamond-shaped window to your right, as you'll return here later. Enter the house through the back door.

4. Head upstairs and grab the note with a drawing from the table.

Now, return both items to the scarecrow, after which you'll have to locate the lover's old hideaway. This is where that barn I asked you to remember comes in.

Follow the same steps as above, but after you turn left (before the gate leading into the area with the Volunteer guarding the carriage), you'll want to head towards that barn you can see on your right, making your way around the back of it and climbing into the hayloft.

You'll encounter an echo of the lovers meeting each other and will be rewarded with the Bountiful Harvest amber, which grants health when picking up Nephtoglobin remnants, as the completion reward.

General Lothaire, The Eagle-Bearer, is the first boss in Valor Mortis and is one of those classic starting soulslike fights you're really not supposed to win.

The odds are very much against you, especially as you only have one attempt. Dying will start a cutscene where Lucjan appears to save you and provides a bit of an info dump about the world, but the boss will disappear.

While spending way too long beating Lothaire to find out what happens, I realised you can actually ALT + F4 the moment you die, and it generally puts you outside the boss arena when you load back in, letting you attempt the fight again. If you beat General Lothaire, you'll get:

• 10k catalysts (effectively souls in this game)
• The General's Catalyst Clot (which gives a further 10k)

It's a pretty big bonus in terms of initial levelling. Valor Mortis also doesn't have boss weapons, so you can spend that clot without missing out.

You'll also get the Torn-Banner achievement. Since I beat him, I can't confirm whether Lothaire turns up later, so this might very well be the only way you can get this. Still, is it worth repeatedly ALT + F4ing to fight him until you win?

Not really. Valor Mortis isn't a particularly hard game by soulslike standards, so an early levelling boost doesn't matter too much. If you are set on it, though, I recommend that you

1. Use fire to ignite him for DoT damage.
2. Parry during his first phase to get critical attacks.
3. Dodge his more predictable combos during the second phase, dealing damage when you can.

You can see me doing these in the video at the top—though you could likely afford to be more aggressive in the second phase than I was when feeling out his moves.

You'll most likely find your first amber in Valor Mortis before you're actually able to equip it. The game has a fairly simplistic skill tree that focuses around passive buffs, so the ambers you equip are more what add a bit of spice to your build.

You can equip an amber once you reach Level 5 by leveling up at any lantern. When you enter the level up menu, you'll notice that a slot with a + symbol has unlocked on the bottom layer—click on this and select the amber you want to equip, and don't worry, you can swap them at any time. After this, you'll unlock a new slots every ten levels at:

• Slot two: Level 15
• Slot three: Level 25
• Slot four: Level 35
• Slot five: Level 45

This means there are five amber slots overall. You'll generally get new ambers from quests and chests, and any amber you already own will level up to provide a more powerful passive bonus when you acquire a copy of it.

Arc Raiders' Frozen Trail update adds a series of upgrades that let you create "Amplified" weapons, but to do this you'll need a Level 4 Gunsmith bench, which requires an Emperor Modulator to craft.

To get this item, you first have to acquire an Emperor Gateway Conduit blueprint to craft the key required to open The Emperor on the Pendola Pass map. You can apparently find this as a rare drop in Arc Couriers and on other maps, but you can also get it the same way you acquire the materials to craft it:

• Arc Conductive Coupler
• Arc Insulated Coupler
• Arc Plated Coupler

You get all three of these as random drops in the Redirection event on Pendola Pass. Wait for one of the Damaged Emperor Relays on the map to activate, grab the beacon from it, place it down in a quiet open area, and stand back. Harvester payloads will drop in—loot the big central one sticking out the ground for a chance to get one of these materials. You could also try entering The Emperor when someone else unlocks it.

How to complete The Emperor dungeon

Once you have your key to open The Emperor, you're ready to attempt the dungeon by opening the door in the west of Pendola Pass, though you'll need to bring a decent amount of equipment:

• Snap Hook: This is mandatory in my opinion for the platforming puzzles. You could even bring a Grappling Hook as backup in case it breaks, which is a real possibility your first time.
• Anvil or Renegade: You'll need this to destroy the yellow nodes in the more puzzly encounters.
• Hullcracker: This is for destroying the Hydra turrets inside The Emperor. You could also use a Rascal, though it'll slow you down a bit.
• Plenty of healing and shield rechargers: There are many hazards inside the dungeon, so you'll want plenty of healing.
• A Looting augment: You'll want plenty of space to pack in loot, plus a couple of safe pockets for more valuable items, including the modulator.

In terms of a play-by-play of the specific encounters, this walkthrough by crazymrpipz is really good and I can vouch for its accuracy having completed the dungeon myself, though I'll also lay out the encounters below.

The initial section with the corridor, the Hydra turret, and the electrified elevator you make safe by destroying the yellow nodes is always the same, but at the top of the elevator, The Emperor has multiple possible encounter layouts:

The Emperor layout one

The Emperor layout two

There might be more layouts than this, but the Hydra room seems to be a fixed encounter no matter what. After this point you will:

1. Descend down a tube, carefully dropping from platform to platform.
2. Enter into another room filled with pillars, but this one is a maze.
3. Ascend up a couple of tubes by Snap Hook-ing between boxes, avoiding the electrified ones, and climbing ladders to reach a door.

You will enter the final room, drop down onto a lower platform and descend a ladder to the base, though when you touch the floor, the big door at the far end will open and a load of Arc enemies will appear. Hiding is a good idea to see if they leave as opposed to fighting them all. Afterwards, you can loot the containers and also destroy the yellow nodes on either wall to reveal even more loot payloads which pops out of the racks.

One or two of these will contain Emperor Modulators, so make sure to stow one in your safe pocket. After that, you can either leave via the big hatch that opened, or the side doors if you destroyed the yellow nodes.

Arc Raiders has made lots of new tweaks and additions with Frozen Trail's 2.0 update, but one long-requested change of significant note is that you can turn off the light on your backpacks.

To do this, you need to:

1. Select the "Raider" menu.
2. Enter "Customization" on the bottom left of the screen.
3. Go to the "Style" menu at the top.
4. Choose "Backpack" on the left side.
5. Toggle the Emissive option to "off".

As you'll see, while looking at the backpack, the light will disappear and reappear as you toggle this, though where exactly the light is varies from pack to pack. This should help you be a little sneakier, though it might make your character a bit harder to spot in some of the game's darkest areas.

You'll need to find the new plank and sheet metal items in Arc Raiders for the new Sheltered Retreat project, after you've taken a picture of the Ruined Homestead, and are ready to start committing resources.

There are a few ways to get both items:

• Celeste sells planks and sheet metal for three seeds a piece.
• You can find loads of planks in residential and old world areas, particularly in the houses in Old Town in the southwest of Pendola Pass, as well as research items and furniture blueprints, too.
• You can find loads of sheet metal in technological and industrial areas, such as the Assembly and Loading Bay in Stella Montis, where every yellow drawer container (pictured above) seems to be a guaranteed drop for sheet metal.
• You can also find planks and sheet metal in other areas, though less frequently.

Thankfully, you don't need much for the project, so you might want to simply spend the 24 seeds required to just buy them all from Celeste.

The Tracks of the Beast quest in Arc Raiders involves travelling along some train tracks and pinging the new Pendola Pass enemies, the Bully and the Skulker.

First off, head to the northern tracks area in the north of the new map—this area encompasses the entire north, so it's easy to complete. After that, head to Almaterra Station to the south, preferably following the train tracks, since there are often Bully and Skulker enemies in this area for the next step.

Ping a Bully

The challenging part of Tracks of the Beast is you have to do all of the steps in a single round. The Bully is the first enemy you have to ping and it's kind of like a big arc horse-dog robot:

• There's usually a Bully in Old Town in the southwest of the map.
• I've also encountered one on the tracks north of Almatera Station.
• Also at the Railroad Junction to the east.

Ping a Skulker

The harder enemy to track down is the appropriately named Skulker, a little turret on four wheels that rolls around and emits a beep beep noise:

• I've found a lot of Skulkers in the ravine between the Railyard and the Commissary Supermarket.
• I've also encountered them by the Gondola exfil north of Old Town.
• Or in the northern tracks area north of Almatera Station.

There are plenty around the map, they're just quite sneaky and small, so you have to keep an eye out and listen for the beep beep. They're also hard to damage before they've deployed their turret, though a heavy ammo weapon can still kill them.

Once you've pinged both and completed the other steps, you're all done. You could attempt the optional steps to destroy three Skulkers and extract a Skulker Targeter, but frankly, it's hard enough to find one, so I wouldn't worry about that just yet.

Arc Raiders' To the Skies quest involves finding a few arc parts to repair one of the Prototype Gondolas being used to shuttle raiders to Pendola Pass.

First things first, to complete To the Skies you're going to need a variety of arc parts:

• 1x Arc Performance Steel: Salvaged from big arcs like Bastions, Bombardiers, Leapers, or Baron Husks.
• 1x Pop Trigger: Salvaged from small exploding Pop robots or couriers.
• 1x Arc Thermo Lining: Salvaged from Pops, Fireballs, or Baron Husks.
• 1x Arc Synthetic Resin: Salvaged from intact Arc Probes or Baron Husks.

There are a number of other ways to get the materials above, generally by salvaging arc enemies, so if you don't have one of each yet, keep your eyes peeled.

The first step is to scan a crashed Arc Probe and an Arc Courier. These spawn on almost every map and you can find them by following smoke plumes and looking for their icon when you're close on the map. Your best bet for finding lots is the Electromagnetic Storm map condition (you can see the current event schedule here). To scan them, simply interact with the icon at the head of each.

Repairing the Gondola Prototype

After this, you'll have to find and repair the Gondola Prototype on any one of four maps—I did it on Spaceport, so that's the one I'll show you. Grab those listed arc materials and head to the spot above, just east of the eastern exfil elevator, north of Communications Tower and south of East Plains Warehouses.

There, you'll find the Gondola Prototype resting on its side on some crates by a raider structure. Now just install those four parts and interact to activate the Gondola Prototype and complete the quest, though you might want to back away from it a bit.