Feed aggregator
Mike goes on hike
Airlock Arena: Profit or Perish
Redemption of Liuyin
Minecraft's Happy Ghasts Add New Flying Mechanic To Game
While each of Minecraft's twice-annual game drops have brought new mobs, the second drop of 2025's is a cut above the rest. Meet the happy ghast. Finally, a ghast that doesn't want you dead.
That's right: While ghasts are known for spitting fireballs at you, carving paths of destruction across the Nether, this new variant just wants to be your friend. The happy ghast comes in a few forms, the evolution of which are up to the player to set in motion.
The most interesting aspect of the happy ghast is that it allows players to fly around the overworld. If you've been playing Minecraft long enough and have been to The End, that might not sound all too valuable while you whip around the map with your elytra wings. However, for newer players, the process of getting a happy ghast begins in the Nether--a location you visit long before you venture into The End. That brings flight to users much earlier in the game. The added bonus is that up to four people can travel on a single happy ghast, making group adventures easier.
Continue Reading at GameSpotMinecraft's Vibrant Visuals Update Is A Massive Step Forward For The 15-Year-Old Game
It's been nearly five years since Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, added RTX support. The move allowed creators, modders, and the like to turn the block worlds they build into visually stunning landscapes. However, in that time, there has seemingly been little forward momentum in terms of officially created visual improvements. Now, though, Mojang has taken things one step further with the newly announced Vibrant Visuals update.
GameSpot recently visited Mojang's Sweden-based studio to test the new update, and it's not hyperbole to say Vibrant Visuals is a game-changer for the 14-year-old title. And it's not just for those with PCs that support ray tracing. When Vibrant Visuals launches for Minecraft Bedrock, it'll also be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and some iOS and Android devices. And for those that play Java Edition, Vibrant Visuals is also in the works for that platform.
It's a change that's been in the pipeline for years. As Minecraft executive producer Ingela Garneji explained to a small group of press, "It's been a bumpy road. We've been iterating and learning, failing and then learning fast, and improving things together with the community, actually."
Continue Reading at GameSpotMinecraft's First Game Drop Of 2025 Brings Animal Variants And New Plants
Since September 2023, Minecraft has shifted its major update strategy to twice-annual "game drops" that add new mobs, blocks, and items to the game. With the latest Minecraft Live event, we now know what 2025's first game drop, Spring Into Life, contains. Get ready for a bunch of animal variants and some really cool new plants being added.
Starting with plants, players are getting something they've wanted for quite a while. After first being teased a number of years ago, firefly bushes are being added to the game. The bushes will grow in swampy biomes and near water, offering the twinkling lights of fireflies to add a little brightness to the night. Additionally, per Mojang, you'll be able to place the bushes, which are plant blocks, underneath other blocks to make your builds shine.
Other plant-based additions:
Continue Reading at GameSpotMinecraft Adding Live Event And DLC Tied To Movie, Complete With Jack Black
With A Minecraft Movie headed to theaters on April 4, it should come as no surprise that the game it's based on is adding a bunch of content linked to the release. Minecraft is adding downloadable content from the film, as well as a live event and even a free skins pack so you can look like the movie's characters.
The live event transports you to a custom Minecraft realm that is the home of Midport Village, where you interact with the movie's characters, going on missions and earning exclusive loot for use in the game. The event features voiceover from Jack Black, who plays Steve in the film, and sees the user teaming with the characters played by Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Hansen to play through a series of minigames. The mode also features multiplayer action, so you won't have to face the dangers that await alone. If you manage to complete all five games within the mode, you'll earn an exclusive item, the Yearn cape.
The event, which was announced during Minecraft Live, launches on March 25 at 3 PM PT/6 PM ET and runs until April 7 at the same time.
Continue Reading at GameSpotGod Of War And The Power Of Being Better
God of War is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, March 22, 2025. Below, we examine how Kratos' character arc has shifted over time to become a timely reflection on masculinity and change.
As much as people remember the brutality and the grandiosity of God of War, as a singular game and as a series, it's easy to forget that the first God of War in 2005 doesn't actually begin with Kratos fighting a hydra and ripping soldiers apart with his bare hands.
It begins with a suicide attempt. Starting a new game, the very first thing we hear from Kratos is him gravely intoning that "the gods have abandoned me" before walking straight off a cliff into the Aegean Sea. This is a warlord who accidentally murdered his own wife and child, and is then cursed by an oracle to have his family's ashes permanently grafted to his skin, ensuring there is nowhere in Greece he can go where his crimes are unrecognized. The only help he receives is being conscripted by the gods to murder Ares, who set him up to begin with, which isn't really helpful at all. The reward is the gods' forgiveness, which does nothing to alleviate his consistent nightmares about the deed. When blood doesn't grant him peace, the gods give him power, letting him take Ares' place as the Greek God of War, beginning a reign so destructive that almighty Zeus himself has to intervene to take him down. That's before finding out Zeus himself is Kratos' father, and Kratos having his revenge means laying waste to his entire domain. Which Kratos does.
Continue Reading at GameSpot