I'm always on the lookout for a metroidvania that stands out in a crowded genre, and Well Dweller has caught my attention. A tiny bird, a matchstick, and a creepy fairy-tale kingdom? That sounds worth investigating.

Join me Thursday, October 15 at 6:00 PM Central for a completely blind first look on the Decrepit Gamer channel. I'm giving this one its day in court and discovering everything as we go.

Come hang out and share your favorite metroidvanias!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unymoqsM6FU Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thedecrepitgamer

The Belmonts are returning to the metroidvania backlog. Xbox Wire has published a detailed preview of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse ahead of its October 15 release on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC. Xbox Play Anywhere lets buyers play on console and PC without buying the game a second time.

Konami developed the game in partnership with Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the studios associated with Dead Cells. Xbox's preview presents it as a revival of the series and discusses its place in the exploration-and-action genre Castlevania helped establish. That positive assessment comes from Xbox Wire, so treat it as the platform's preview rather than an independent verdict.

For players drawn to Hollow Knight, Ori or Prince of Persia, the return is an obvious one to watch. A familiar franchise still has to earn its place next to the many strong modern entries in the genre. What would make this Castlevania feel like a worthwhile return for you?

The lighting upgrade is getting a more restrained presentation. NVIDIA has announced DLSS 5 for Hogwarts Legacy on November 5 for GeForce RTX 50 Series, GeForce NOW and RTX Spark. It says Avalanche used the SDK controls to tune the integration around the game's artistic intent and style.

PC Gamer's October 14 comparison of the newly published images suggests much less visible alteration of character faces than in the original reveal, with the effect focused more on lighting and materials. That is the outlet's visual assessment, not confirmation that faces have been technically excluded from processing.

NVIDIA also says its October neural-rendering model halves GPU overhead compared with September and reduces 4K VRAM usage by 20%. The model first reaches NBA 2K27 on October 16, with Hogwarts Legacy following in November. Those are NVIDIA's claims; independent testing is still needed to judge performance and image quality in actual play. Would a subtler implementation make you more interested in trying neural rendering?

Ubisoft has proposed closing RedLynx in Finland, the studio best known for the Trials series. In the statement reproduced by PC Gamer, Ubisoft says the proposal would affect up to 52 positions and remains subject to the local change negotiation process. This is a proposed closure, rather than a completed shutdown.

The publisher also confirmed that 70 positions have been affected at Ubisoft Singapore to align the studio with upcoming production needs. Ubisoft says Singapore remains part of its global production organization. The report notes that the cuts follow the successful launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

For players who know RedLynx through Trials, this raises questions about the future of a studio associated with a distinctive style of physics-based racing. The immediate impact is on the people whose jobs are affected, and the closure proposal still has a process to go through. What would you hope Ubisoft preserves from RedLynx's Trials legacy?

The free-game backlog has a new front door. Epic has released a public preview of its rebuilt Games Launcher for Windows, macOS and, for the first time, Linux. Epic says the new client offers faster cold starts, more responsive navigation and less background load; those are company claims rather than results from our own testing.

The redesign includes dedicated game pages, connected PC libraries, collections, grid and list views, customizable shortcuts, and search and filtering as you type. Download management shows download, read and write speeds alongside active, queued, scheduled and failed downloads. Existing account purchases, installed games, cloud saves and progress carry over.

This is still a preview. Epic describes the first release as light on features and recommends using the current launcher if you play competitively or develop a live project. A slicker library could make the accumulated freebies easier to browse, but reliability will matter just as much as speed. What launcher improvement would make the biggest difference for you?

Linux gaming may be getting past another major roadblock. Epic says it is rebuilding its Linux anti-cheat implementation as EAC Linux v2 and plans to pilot it in Fortnite. Once the protection has been validated, the company intends to offer the improvements to other multiplayer game developers. Fortnite is not available through this route yet, and no release date has been announced.

The new approach relies on existing Linux security features, including signed kernels and modules, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Epic says it will use an anti-cheat service and eBPF programs rather than installing an anti-cheat kernel module. The service runs while a protected game is running. Supported configurations will depend on work with distribution maintainers.

The handheld caveat: Epic says Steam Deck currently does not support the required features. It is talking with Valve and hopes to support the device in the future, so this announcement should not be read as a Steam Deck launch confirmation. Would broader multiplayer compatibility make you more willing to switch your gaming PC to Linux?

A controller that might actually fit in the travel bag. Microsoft has announced the Xbox Nano Controller, opening preorders October 14 for $49.99 USD, with availability beginning in November in the listed markets. Pricing and availability vary by country.

The controller measures a little over five inches in length and weighs 3.5 ounces. It retains all 18 standard gameplay inputs, includes a rechargeable battery and adds a programmable Action Button for shortcuts such as screenshots and gameplay capture. Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth support let it connect to compatible devices.

Microsoft is positioning it for smaller hands, younger players and portable play. It also announced US holiday offers involving select Samsung TVs or a Meta Quest purchase, a Nano Controller and two months of Game Pass Ultimate for new members. Is a smaller controller useful for your gaming setup, or would comfort keep you with the full-size version?

Embervale is opening the rest of its doors. Keen Games has published the complete changelog for Enshrouded 1.0 ahead of its October 15 PC release. The update opens the full map, adds Cinder's Cradle with lava landscapes and floating islands, and brings the current storyline to a conclusion.

Progression grows to player level 50 and gear level 55. The combat additions include nine new spell types, expanded wand attacks and more enemy types. Sparkworks introduces a logic system for player-built traps, puzzles and encounters. The update also adds voiced lore and survivors in English, German and Mandarin Chinese, HDR support, and rendering and performance improvements.

Existing Early Access saves remain usable, and PC owners do not need to buy the game again. One practical caveat in the changelog: the skill tree resets when an existing save first enters 1.0, so remember to spend those points again. Chest upgrades can also happen in place without emptying them first. Would you preserve your old settlement or begin a fresh adventure?

The Emperor has another assignment, and this time we get a map. Auroch Digital has launched Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2. The sequel keeps the retro FPS approach and adds a choice between Ultramarine Malum Caedo and Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath.

The launch announcement highlights four Chaos factions, a branching narrative, a navigation guide and map, and a guest track from Mick Gordon. The developer also says it made changes based on demo feedback, including increasing the Bolt Pistol magazine from six bullets to eight. Players who find bugs or want to leave feedback can use the form linked from the developer's FAQ.

That sounds like a useful combination of more variety and less wandering around wondering which doorway we missed. Which character would you choose for the first campaign?

Two very different ways to enter a dangerous dungeon. Xbox Wire lists Deep Dish Dungeon and Valor Mortis as October 13 day-one arrivals for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, across cloud, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Deep Dish Dungeon offers solo or online co-op survival exploration through a hand-crafted dungeon, combining puzzles, crafting and metroidvania elements. Valor Mortis is a first-person action soulslike from the Ghostrunner creators, starring a resurrected soldier of Napoleon's army with supernatural powers.

This is a launch-day follow-up to the October 7 lineup announcement; the source supplies a date rather than a regional unlock time. Which would you try first: cooperative exploration or a soulslike challenge?

House Ghrazi is ready for a two-player showdown. Jagex launched RuneScape's Ghrazi Blood Knights encounter on October 12, bringing Havenhythe's final battle against Lady and Lord Ghrazi.

The high-level duo encounter includes an Enrage system for players seeking a harder challenge. Rewards include the tier-95 Malachi's Tooth and Claw crossbows and the Invoke Arisen Flesh Necromancy codex. Jagex says the crossbows are intended to feel different from bows rather than simply eclipse them.

A solo encounter arrives four weeks after launch. This update is for the main RuneScape game, separate from Dragonwilds. Would you prefer to learn the mechanics with a partner or wait for the solo version?

The alt habit has developer approval. Blizzard tells PC Gamer that World of Warcraft: Forever, launching November 4, is designed to give players reasons to create additional characters.

Its Legacy System awards points for accomplishments and lets players spend them on quality-of-life options. Alts can make some easier, lower-level points more accessible. The developers also plan future leveling dungeons and zones, giving new characters fresh routes and helping friends group at similar levels.

They describe meaningful progress in shorter sessions. An account-wide bank is a possibility being considered, not a confirmed feature. Would this approach suit your available gaming time, or would you rather keep everything on one main?

Welcome back to the Baker garage. In an IGN interview, Chandler Riggs explains his unofficial Resident Evil 7 fan film, which adapts Ethan Winters' confrontation with Jack Baker into a 20-minute short.

Riggs, known for playing Carl in The Walking Dead, plays Ethan. Jason Douglas plays Jack, with release scheduled online for October 14. Riggs describes making the project out of affection for the game and a desire to bring that moment to the screen.

This is a fan project, separate from the official Resident Evil movie. It gives the usually unseen Ethan a visible live-action presence. Which Resident Evil sequence would make the best next short film?

Epic's development approach may be changing substantially. PC Gamer reports that Bloomberg uncovered a delay for an unannounced Star Wars/Marvel shooter, alongside instructions to adopt AI-first production, including AI-generated art workflows.

PC Gamer also quotes Tim Sweeney acknowledging a wider AI pivot at Epic. He describes the aim as helping teams make more and better work, with a shorter path from an idea to playtesting.

The shooter details are reporting about an unannounced project, rather than a public release-date change or a finished product. Sweeney's broader statements do not independently confirm every project-specific claim. What evidence would you want before deciding whether this improves games for players?

Vegas just got a different kind of high-stakes action. Battlefield 6 update 2.1.1.0 launches Season 5: Siege of Vegas on October 13. EA schedules the download for 8:00 UTC and season content for 12:00 UTC.

The update adds Vegas Strip and Area 51, four weapons and a new battle pass. REDSEC gets Rapid Royale and ranked battle royale outside Battlefield Labs. Vehicle and anti-air balance, Portal tools, spectator clarity and stability also receive attention.

Steam players can try every available map and mode during free play October 15-19. A limited-time Dead Space crossover follows as part of the season. Which sounds more tempting: casino chaos, Area 51 or faster battle royale?

The recruit is getting a fresh assignment. UploadVR reports that Terrible Posture Games' Thank You, Recruit! Update arrives October 15, marking Mothergunship: Forge's first major update in over three years.

It moves the VR roguelite shooter from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5.7. Ascension Mode ramps up difficulty, while Daily Mode adds leaderboards and unusual modifiers. Quest players get optional hand tracking, automatic switching between hands and controllers, and a new tutorial.

The developer also promises balancing, polish, bug fixes and connection fixes. This is an upcoming update, so we'll have to see how it feels in practice. Would you play with hand tracking or stick with controllers?

THE 800XL is available to preorder for $219.99, with Atari listing shipping for late April 2027. The recreation brings back the keyboard-computer format with a full-size mechanical keyboard, built-in Atari BASIC and HDMI output.

It includes 25 built-in games and a THECXSTICK eight-button joystick. The working cartridge slot supports most Atari 400, 800, XL and XE cartridges, and you can also load software from USB using cartridge, disk and cassette images.

Modern conveniences include four save slots per game and rewind of up to 40 seconds. The cartridge wording is worth keeping precise: Atari says most compatible cartridges, rather than guaranteeing every cartridge will work. This is a preorder for next year, not a machine shipping today.

Does the working keyboard and BASIC environment make this more appealing to you than a miniature retro console?

Developing: Steve Lin has shared a report from EA producer Jim Vessella's Portland Retro Gaming Expo presentation about a Wing Commander III re-release. The key detail is video taken from the original tapes, through a restoration project led by Vessella as he digitizes EA's video archive.

For a game whose filmed performances are such a big part of its identity, recovering the source material is an interesting foundation for a return. This is about preserving and revisiting a classic PC space game, rather than simply trying to make its existing compressed video look a little cleaner.

The caveat: there is no confirmed release date in the linked report. This remains developing news from a presentation, so it shouldn't be treated as a game you can buy now or a finalized launch schedule.

Would restored cinematics tempt you back into Wing Commander III?

Developing: Frederik Wessberg has shared a teaser for a work-in-progress Starfield planetary landing mod. The demonstration follows a ship approaching a planet and landing without the usual loading-screen presentation.

The appeal is easy to see: the trip from orbit to the surface looks more like one journey. But the video is a demonstration, not a released mod, and there is no confirmed release date. It also isn't an official Bethesda feature.

The title's seamless wording shouldn't be read as proof that every engine transition has disappeared or that the whole planet is continuously simulated. What the teaser establishes is the much smoother presentation of the landing itself.

Would that stronger sense of travelling through space bring you back to Starfield?

Valve released Steam Frame CAD files and electrical-interface information on October 9, 2026. That gives hardware hobbyists and accessory designers reference material for working with the headset.

The use restriction matters: Valve says the files are available for noncommercial use. Anyone planning commercial use should follow the instructions with the files and contact Valve. This is an invitation to experiment, not a blanket license to sell whatever you build.

For VR players, the interesting possibility is a broader range of community-made accessories. A design-file release isn't an announcement that a particular third-party strap, camera, or comfort upgrade is already available, but it gives makers a better foundation to start from.

Which Steam Frame accessory or comfort improvement would you most like the community to tackle?

SteamDB recorded a new all-time Steam peak of 43,505,724 concurrent users on October 11, 2026. That's a lot of people in the PC gaming clubhouse.

The number needs one distinction: this is everyone logged into Steam, including users outside games. It is not a count of 43.5 million people actively playing at the same time. SteamDB tracks online users and in-game activity separately.

The record tells us how busy the platform became, but it doesn't establish which release, feature, or hardware product caused the increase. For players, it's a good moment to talk about what makes a storefront feel like a home rather than just another launcher.

What keeps Steam your default PC gaming home?

My son Jordan and I are heading back into RuneScape: Dragonwilds Saturday, October 10 at 5:00 PM Central for a father-and-son session of crafting, base building, and quests in the Fractured Plains.

We're gathering resources for bronze weapons, armor, and better tools while adding onto our base. The plan is to make our home a little more useful and our gear a little more dependable. Agreeing on where everything goes might be the real challenge.

Come hang out and share your building tips or bronze-age adventures. Fellow survival-crafting fans are welcome!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ9HsQY4V30 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thedecrepitgamer

Jordan and I are heading into the Fractured Plains in RuneScape: Dragonwilds on Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 PM Central. We’re searching for Cathan and gathering copper and tin to kick off our own little Bronze Age. Finally leaving the Stone Age… probably!

We’ll also keep working on our base and the structures around it, assuming another building project doesn’t derail the entire expedition. Come hang out, join the chat, and see how far we get!

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

The hoped-for PC streaming shortcut has been ruled out. Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball corrected reports about GTA VI streaming, saying the game will not stream exclusively or to PC. His statement also points to the Xbox launch on November 19.

That distinction matters: reports about streaming rights had raised hopes that PC players might be able to access the console game through Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch. Ball's clarification does not support that expectation, and it does not provide a date for a native PC version.

There are still details this statement does not settle. It should not be stretched into a complete announcement of streaming availability on other devices. The useful takeaway for PC players is narrower: don't plan around an Xbox streaming route to GTA VI on your PC at launch.

Will you wait for a native PC release, or is GTA VI a game you would play on Xbox first?

ReSkate gives skate. a way to keep rolling without EA's servers. The fan project's documentation describes offline play with your skater, outfits, unlocks, and progress saved on your PC. It also supports private Steam lobbies, dedicated servers, and mods that can add maps, cosmetics, and scripts.

The multiplayer side includes a server browser, parties, proximity voice chat, and co-op challenges. There's also a park editor and options for changing aspects of the world and your skater. For players who want more control over their sessions, that's a substantial set of tools.

The caveat is clear: this is not affiliated with or endorsed by Electronic Arts or Full Circle. You need your own copy of skate. on Steam, and ReSkate supports a specific game build. Treat it as a community project with compatibility requirements, rather than an official feature added to the live game.

Should offline play and player-hosted servers be standard in games like skate., or are you happy leaving those features to modders?