Category: Games

Back in October, Humble announced that it was going to transition its Humble Monthly Bundle from being a mystery bundle of PC games to a selection that you get to choose from each month. However, with the introduction of Humble Choice–the bundle’s new name–prices are going up and the number of games you get is going down. That is unless you’re already a Humble Monthly subscriber, which you can still become until December 6 at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST.

If you’re a Humble Monthly subscriber before the transition to Humble Choice occurs, you’ll be locked into the $12/month Classic plan, which gets you 10 games a month, a 20% store discount, and unlimited access to Humble originals and the Humble Trove–a DRM-free collection of games that you can download and keep forever.

For comparison, the Premium plan costs $20/month and grants you access to the same benefits, but you only get to claim nine games a month. The Basic plan costs $15/month and gets you three games, a 10% store discount, and access to Humble originals and the Trove. And lastly, the Lite plan costs $5 a month for access to the Humble Trove, a 10% store discount, and a limited selection of Humble originals. Lite plan subscribers, unfortunately, don’t get any games from the monthly, curated selection. You can see a more detailed breakdown below.

Humble Choice breakdown (click for full-size image)

Some of the games currently available in the Humble Trove include Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, A Short Hike, and Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to), in addition to more popular games like Soma, Tacoma, and Torchlight. You can see the full list of games at the Humble Bundle website.

If you’re interested in subscribing before the transition, you’ll get SoulCalibur VI, Yakuza Kiwami, and My Time At Portia as part of December’s bundle. More games will be revealed on December 6 at 10 AM PST / 1 PM PST. Humble Monthly always held a portion of its game back as a mystery; one of the changes with Humble Choice is that the company will let you know exactly which games you can choose from the get-go.

What were the games of the year?

We have stacks of passes for both Sydney and Melbourne.

PlayStation has recently turned 25 years old, and the industry is looking back on Sony’s consoles and the legacy they have created. As developers who have worked with PlayStation for years taking a moment to reflect on the company’s past, some are also looking towards the future. In an interview with The Verge, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells has talked about his history in the industry, but has also discussed how the PlayStation 5 will be different from what has come before.

Naughty Dog’s history with PlayStation stretches back to the first console, and they’re responsible for series like Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted, and The Last of Us. Wells, who joined the studio after being impressed by the original Crash Bandicoot, reflects on how the PlayStation 2 was an “enormous leap” from the original, and how games now “require massive teams and lengthy development cycles.” Talking about the distinction between the first PlayStation and the PlayStation 4, Wells says “they’re barely recognizable as the same product.”

Wells goes on to talk about the PlayStation 5, and what he sees as the major change it will introduce for players. “I think it will allow us to deliver the content in a way that has no friction for the players,” he told The Verge. “They’ll never have to wait to dive back into their games.” This seems to be in reference to the system’s solid state drive, which will allow for much faster loading. It gives some insight into what developers will be able to achieve on the new system, too–it remains to be seen if more immediate experiences will change elements of how games are designed.

Naughty Dog’s next game, The Last of Us Part II, will release for PlayStation 4 on May 29, 2020.

Apex Legends recently received a major update that increased the level cap and introduced numerous other changes to Respawn’s well-liked battle royale game. But amidst these big changes, one element remained the same – the dominance of the Peacekeeper shotgun, which remained overpowered after an earlier, light nerf. Thankfully, Respawn promised that the gun would be fixed, and after a very short wait a change has been implemented.

The Apex Legends Twitter account has explained that the latest server patch curbed the shotgun’s main problem–the pellet spread and damage numbers allowed players to score cheap kills with it. After these changes, that will be more difficult.

These changes mean that the gun won’t be quite so deadly now, even if you have the Precision Choke equipped. While the gun is still very powerful, players will now need to have better aim to do the most damage possible with it. The EVA-8 has also had its bolt hit size decreased to deal with similar issues.

These changes were promised in the 3.2 patch notes, and it’s great to see them implemented so quickly. Players who jump on before January 14, 2020 can also get themselves a free Star Wars skin for Pathfinder.

Fortnite Chapter 2’s Week 9 challenges are now live on all platforms. As usual, if you complete eight tasks from the set, you’ll unlock a special loading screen that features a subtle clue pointing you to a secret item that’s hidden somewhere around the game’s map.

Up to this point, that item was a different letter that ultimately spelled out “FORTNITE,” but now that all the letters are available, this week’s loading screen leads you to an XP drop, which is essentially like the secret Battle Stars from past seasons. If you need help tracking down the XP drop, we show you where it’s located below.

Where Is The Hidden XP Drop Location?

As previously mentioned, the clue that’ll guide you to the XP drop is hidden in the Chaos Rising loading screen, which you’ll unlock after completing eight challenges from that set. The loading screen features a character gazing at different monitors. Look closely at the monitor in the middle of the image and you’ll see the XP drop beneath the infamous purple cube that appeared way back in Season 5.

As it turns out, there’s a statue of the purple cube in the Kevolution Energy Plant, which is located in the northeastern portion of Steamy Stacks–that’s where you’ll need to go to find the hidden XP drop. We’ve marked the location of the area on the map below.

Fortnite hidden XP Drop location

How To Complete The Challenge

Now that we know where the XP drop is hidden, make your way to the aforementioned Kevolution Energy Plant and the drop will appear on the ground near the cube statue, just as the loading screen teased. Interact with it as you would any other item to collect it and complete the challenge. As was the case with this season’s hidden letters, however, the XP drop won’t appear on the map until you’ve unlocked the Chaos Rising loading screen and its corresponding challenge, so you’ll first need to complete this week’s other missions before you can go pick it up.

The first season of Fortnite Chapter 2 was originally slated to end this month, but Epic recently announced it would be extending the season into February 2020. It’s still unclear if that means we still have more weekly challenges to look forward to, but in the meantime, you can find maps and guides for this season’s previous missions in our Fortnite Chapter 2 challenges roundup.