Latest news with #PCGaming
WIRED
2 days ago
- WIRED
The Radeon RX 9060 XT Is a Great Affordable Video Card for Gamers
It's AMD's turn. After months of $2,000+ GPUs and long discussions of DLSS, we're finally on the red team's turf. AMD's strength historically lies at the budget end of the spectrum, where the majority of gamers are playing at 1080p, and spending $1,000 or less for their entire system. Even though we really recommend splurging on a GPU, that's just not the reality for most folks. An $800 GPU needs $1,200 in other parts, and at that point most people who aren't into PC gaming will start shopping for an Xbox. For under $400, the Radeon RX 9060 XT manages to trade blows with the similarly priced RTX 5060 at 1080p, and pushes ahead in 1440p performance. If you're looking at both on the shelf, this card has a longer life ahead of it, and better performance in demanding games and at higher resolutions. Form Factor and Power Photograph: Brad Bourque I know folks want to get right into performance, so I don't want to spend forever on the physical aspects of the card. This Gigabyte Windforce OC model is somewhat premium, with a full metal backplate that has a nice cut-out for cooling, and three full-sized fans. If you have the room, the extra fan will keep your system quieter and reduce the risk of thermal issues. It still uses the standard eight-pin PCIe power that you're used to, so don't worry about upgrading your power supply or buying an adapter. I think this will make it a much easier upgrade path for most, which is crucial for the budget GPU world. One interesting note about the Gigabyte model I received is that there's an RGB LED on the upper/outer corner. There's a little sliding piece of plastic with the Gigabyte logo you can put over it to reduce the light, but you'll need to use the Gigabyte software or other RGB LED controller to turn it off. Benchmarks Comparing cards with the same GPU manufacturer is more straightforward than crossing lines. Individual developer choices and use of different tech can shift the meter a few percent, and that's often the difference between GPUs at the same price. Synthetic benchmarks can help us get a more precise view of the relative performance in a vacuum, with the least possible variance from game optimization. Courtesy of Brad Bourque
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PlayStation fans can only dream — I hit 316 fps in 'Stellar Blade' on my RTX 5090 laptop
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Don't mind me triple back-flipping into a parry with my Stellar Blade (heh). My blade in this context is an RTX 5090 gaming laptop, the question is: how well does this PlayStation exclusive hold up on PC? If you're nostalgic for the Devil May Cry and Bayonetta era, Stellar Blade is a similar action-adventure game with a whole lot of style and a sprinkle of Soulslike energy. But similar to that era, it also walks a questionable line between objectifying or empowering its female cast. It was written and directed by men, so take that for what you will. I played Stellar Blade on an HP Omen Max 16 outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 24GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, OLED display. Here's how it ran. Stellar Blade threw me right into the action, and I found myself parrying and slashing through the borderline eldritch horrors that are the Naytiba. Then I discovered another eldritch horror… the looting system. Those tiny, unlabeled rainbow dots are way too easy to walk right past. Thankfully, you can enable auto-loot. Good news, my fellow DualSense lovers. Stellar Blade on PC is compatible with those unique DualSense features. I didn't know how much of it would be used, but when I got to the first city, I felt the pleasant tingle of the subtle haptic feedback simulating the rain around me. And each slash of my weapon felt unique and impactful. As for the graphics, I hopped across dilapidated city rooftops with everything turned up to Very High at a 2560 x 1600 resolution. That applies to all of the following tests. Stellar Blade developer Shift Up included native support for Nvidia's DLSS 4 technology, which you can access with an RTX 50-series GPU DLSS 4 is a supersampling technology that boosts visuals and performance. We've seen native support in many titles at this point, from Doom: The Dark Ages to Dune: Awakening. I'm a fan and critic of the technology because I've seen what happens when tools like Multi-Frame Generation are relied upon too heavily, like in Monster Hunter Wilds. For those unaware, frame generation produces frames with AI that analyzes the true frames rendered on your GPU. This is dark magic at best because not everything is all sunshine and rainbows, but let's get into it. I took to the streets with my new perfect dodge and tried to slay those Cricket Slashers and got poisoned to death — ouch. With no help from DLSS, my RTX 5090 laptop GPU managed a strong 106 frames per second on TAA. If you want to go raw graphics with no upscaling, the RTX 5090 will take you for a smooth ride. Now, I am a diehard advocate for making games as playable as possible without upscaling, but I cannot help but enjoy DLSS' DLAA upscaler. This uses native resolution to enhance the overall visuals. It's more taxing than raw performance, but it looked flawless when I gave one of those beefier Guardians a beatdown at 92 fps. But what happened when I turned frame generation on? Frame generation is not without its trade-offs; you might see some artifacts or overall fuzziness here and there. I did see some in the windows of a building in the distance, but for the most part, Stellar Blade does a great job of keeping things smooth. Set to DLAA, I tested 2x Frame Generation (FG) and 4x Multi-Frame Generation (MFG). I saw the immediate impact with FG when I perfectly dodged my way through a group of enemy combos, averaging a strong 141 fps. As I swam my way to the next camp, the RTX 5090 pulled through 224 fps with MFG. If you don't want to use frame generation to maximize your frames, you can opt for the High Performance mode. Upscaling with raw performance netted me 128 fps as I tried to navigate through this hella confusing cityscape — seriously, I'm both delighted and annoyed by the multi-directional parkour. But if you want to really go hard on frame rates, you can flip on frame generation on top of the High Performance mode. With FG, I got 211 fps when I doubled back and failed to dodge that stupid Cricket Slasher. And when I got bodied by Abaddon, the RTX 5090 managed a whopping 316 fps. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so furious at that lightning turd. Overall, I'm happy with how Stellar Blade performs with kitted-out hardware. And thankfully, the minimum spec requirements are quite light as well, requiring just a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB GPU. And if you're interested in getting one of the best gaming laptops, you can expect some stellar performance, with or without DLSS 4 black magic. Settings Frames per second TAA 106 fps DLSS: DLAA 92 fps DLSS: DLAA, FG (2x) 141 fps DLSS: DLAA, MFG (4x) 224 fps DLSS: High Performance 128 fps DLSS: High Performance, FG (2x) 211 fps DLSS: High Performance, MFG (4x) 316 fps
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stellar Blade is already the third top-selling game on Steam more than a week before launch, and just its demo has reviews and players most full games would kill for
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The PS5's biggest winner through a lot of 2024 was Stellar Blade. The game did so well that its developers were given a PS5 Pro and a massive bonus, and now Sony is finally porting the game to PC – where it looks like it's going to be even bigger than ever. While the Stellar Blade PC port isn't releasing until June 11, the game is already sitting at number three in the Steam Top Sellers list just behind the ever-unstoppable Counter Strike 2 and Elden Ring Nightreign (which is doing super well, despite its mixed Steam reviews). However, that's not the only impressive feat Stellar Blade has managed to pull off on Steam ahead of its official release. Last week, Shift Up published a Stellar Blade Demo on Steam, with SteamDB showing the peak player count at 26,443 (for comparisons sake, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – which released around the same time as the game on PS5 – peaked at 13,459). Not only that, but also, the Stellar Blade Demo already has just under 3,000 user reviews on Steam, with a Very Positive rating made up of 91% positive reviews. The reviews seem especially keen on how well the game is performing on PC, with numerous users praising the optimization of the game – with one user even claiming 120fps on max settings with a RTX 3070 from five years ago. Even though I didn't vibe with Stellar Blade on PS5 as much as I'd hoped to, it's refreshing to see what seems to be a great PC port in the era of Monster Hunter Wilds, Rise of the Ronin, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered all having struggled on PC in their own ways. Stellar Blade 2 is in the works and will likely launch before 2027, developer Shift Up reveals.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stellar Blade beats God of War and Ghost of Tsushima to become PlayStation's most-popular single-player Steam launch
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Stellar Blade launched on PC last night, and it's already Sony's best single-player launch on Steam, getting more concurrent players than any of the company's previous former-PlayStation exclusives. At the time of writing, Stellar Blade is at a concurrent player count of 105,975, according to SteamDB. As spotted by Noisy Pixel, this absolutely smashes the Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut of 77,000 and God of War's 73,000. It's not just got a lot of players, but almost 3,000 reviews giving it an "Overwhelmingly Positive" overall score. People are loving it. With the PlayStation-published Helldivers 2 having previously hit a peak of 458,709 concurrent players on Steam, Stellar Blade is still a long way off stealing its crown, but to be fair, Arrowhead's game is multiplayer. Stellar Blade is still winning the single-player competition. To say this reception was expected would be an understatement. Stellar Blade was the third best-selling game on Steam a week before its launch, and even the demo had rave reviews. One player claims they got 120fps on max settings with a RTX 3070 – that's a five-year-old graphics card. As well as the demo getting love from players, it also had mods, and I'm sure you can already see where I'm going with this. The top three mods on Nexus Mods were: Nude Innersuit, Eve Skinsuit SemiNude, and EVE_09_lucency – which is the semi nude mod but with Eve in a trenchcoat, too. Currently, the most-popular mod is one that swaps Eve and Tachy, and in second place is one that further improves the game's PC performance. There's also one that adds a helmet that kind of looks like Bunny's from The First Descendant. Nier creator Yoko Taro recently joked that he regretted his collaboration between his own characters and Stellar Blade developer Shift Up's, but now that the game is on PC, modders can add any outfits they can dream up into the game. In the meantime, check out the best PC games you can play right now.
CNET
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Top 10 Best Steam Next Fest Demos to Play Now
It's nearly time for the Steam summer sale, which is one of the biggest retail events for patient PC gamers. It's also the perfect time to find new and innovative indie games to add to your wishlist: Before each big Steam sale, Valve runs a Next Fest event to let developers show off their projects, get feedback and build hype before their big release. Summer 2025's Next Fest has been chock full of Hades-likes, co-op hack-and-slash adventures and other reliably entertaining games but some of the best stuff in this event is what the algorithm doesn't show you. I've played dozens of demos, ranging from games that are featured on the front page of the store to hidden gems that take some digging to find. Here are the best PC games from this Next Fest showcase that you absolutely need to have wishlisted. Dead as Disco A groovy beat 'em up to the beat Brain Jar Games' Dead as Disco combines Hi-Fi Rush's rhythmic combat with Sifu's brutal beatdowns. It's up to you to pilot Charlie Disco as he braves neon-soaked city streets to take out his ex-bandmates in an '80s-themed revenge quest. As you punch, kick, parry and dodge through throngs of thugs, fights transform into carefully choreographed dances, with every blow landing to the beat of the music. Did I mention that the demo's featured song is a cover of Michael Sembello's Maniac? Dead as Disco embraces the cheesiness of the movies it's obviously inspired by but the game is built on the solid foundations of a kinetic and satisfying combat system. Dead as Disco doesn't have a release date yet but this is one Next Fest demo that has converted me into a day-one customer. Platforms: PC Voidbreaker A breakneck FPS with a focus on environmental destruction I'm a sucker for first-person shooters and developer Stubby Games' Voidbreaker (styled as Void/Breaker) is scratching my itch for a fast-paced, destruction-heavy shooter romp. You're trapped in a combat simulation to fulfill the every whim of a rogue AI, as it tests and perfects killer robots using your training data. But a mysterious voice in the system tells you there's a chance to escape -- if you play your cards right. Voidbreaker is a project created by the same solo dev behind The Entropy Centre, and the once-sterile-now-dilapidated sci-fi visuals make a comeback here. Instead of navigating this urban decay, you'll turn it against your foes. In addition to classic movement shooter gameplay, players will force grip and toss environmental objects and blow building supports to smithereens with well-placed grenades. Fully simulated physics objects rain down on enemies, allowing you to weaponize the world around you. Players can upgrade their grip, grenade or gun with mods found around the map, granting them better odds of successfully completing a run and getting one step closer to escaping the simulation. My favorite find was a legendary mod that turned my pistol rounds into a short-range field of electric sparks but there are dozens of loadout-altering abilities to play around with. You'll get your shot at breaking out of the simulation soon. Voidbreaker will be released on Aug. 20. Platforms: PC Morsels The Binding of Isaac featuring grungy little Pokemon When you see Annapurna's publisher seal in a game trailer, odds are good that the demo won't disappoint. And if you enjoy twin-stick shooter roguelikes akin to Binding of Isaac, you certainly can't go wrong with developer Furcula's Morsels. This game takes place in a world where magical cards fell from space, allowing certain creatures to take on powerful monster forms (it's like a grotesque twist on magical girls). Unfortunately, a gang of hardened criminals rules the world with their superior cards, leaving weaklings -- that's you -- to scurry away from danger and try to scrape by in the muck. When you discover your own card powers, you realize it's time to take the fight to the baddies. A competent twin-stick shooter in its own right, Morsels' big twist is the ability to find additional monster cards that let you diversify your abilities. Certain Morsels fire streams of low damage bullets, others fire shotgun blasts and rarer Morsels have special abilities that can create powerful damage-dealing synergies as a team. If you're looking for a dash of on-the-fly strategizing in your action roguelikes, Morsels is right up your alley. The game's cute-but-grungy aesthetic and retro graininess are a neat artistic bonus. Morsels will be released in 2025. Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Dragon March A sixth generation console's arcade adventure GameCube aesthetics are so back. Developer Ambystoman's Dragon March is what you'd get if the classic arcade game Snake was built for sixth-generation consoles. Players guide Cereal the mecha-dragon through twisting and turning levels to find and reboot his friends, with a retro vibe reminiscent of Dreamcast's ChuChu Rocket. Unfortunately, the cyberspace world is dangerous and there are enemies who'd want to see the adorable polygonal metal lizards shut back down. You'll be able to speed up or slow down the cadence of Cereal's march to avoid slithering centipedes, fireball projectiles and more. Just be careful not to loop around into one of the friendly dragons following your lead. Just like in the original iteration of Snake, it's a surefire way to get a game over. Dragon March doesn't have a release date yet but it's coming along brilliantly with cutscenes and graphics that remind me of classic Digimon. Platforms: PC House of Necrosis Classic survival horror with a turn-based twist I didn't realize that I needed a Frankensteined combination of classic Resident Evil and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in my life and I'm sure you didn't realize you needed this either. But developer Warkus is an absolute visionary so the turn-based RPG House of Necrosis is shambling into our lives nonetheless. In House of Necrosis, you're stepping into the role of a legally distinct female special agent investigating zombies in a legally distinct ever-shifting mansion but instead of fumbling with tank controls, the entire game takes place on a grid. You'll have to carefully plan every step to descend deeper into the mansion while staying healthy, conserving bullets and still earning enough experience to level up and get stronger. Each run is a brutal test of your wits and it's easy to get cornered by shamblers, zombified dogs and other nasty monsters. If you're truly unlucky, you might find yourself stalked by a giant zombie with a blade arm -- his presence inspires fear not unlike Nemesis from Resident Evil 3. House of Necrosis doesn't have a release date yet but the demo is a very polished look at what's to come. Platforms: PC, Linux DuneCrawl Desert freedom fighting in four player co-op Developer Alientrap's DuneCrawl is a great hack-and-slash adventure that supports up to four-player co-op -- I played solo but this game is definitely built to be enjoyed with your friends. In DuneCrawl, terracotta warriors attack your peaceful village with the eponymous Dune Crawler (a massive crustacean converted into a weapons platform). It's up to you and your friends to defeat the invaders, take back the sentient ship and pilot it around a massive map to wipe out any other ne'er-do-wells that roam the sandy seas. DuneCrawl's gameplay is split between on-foot combat where players can use swords, bows, bombs and primitive guns to get the upper hand and Dune Crawler spelunking, where your team will explore the world and use cannons to fight massive opponents. This game has an incredible capacity for co-op chaos but a team of people who often play together will surely move like a well-oiled machine. DuneCrawl will be released in 2025. Platforms: PC Hell Clock Diablo-esque dark fantasy ARPG rooted in real Brazilian history Developer Rogue Snail's Hell Clock is a dark fantasy reimagining of Brazil's War of Canudos -- introducing many gamers (myself included) to a bloody historical period. Pajeu is battling the Republic's military forces when the dead rise once again. Now he's forced to fight a war on two fronts to save his friends and comrades from mortal peril and change the course of history. Hell Clock is an extremely competent Diablo-like action RPG -- it's also a speedrunning game in its own right, because you have a timer ticking down to beat the levels in your run. New buffs automatically apply to your build, keeping you in the action. Once you fail a run, you get sent back to the hub area, where you can unlock new permanent gear and other meta-progression buffs from a massive skill tree. There's a lot to see and do in Hell Clock and your power will cascade as you unlock more powerful abilities and augments. Even casual action RPG fans will find a game they can spend a lot of time with here. Hell Clock will be released on July 22. Platforms: PC 1000 Deaths Psychedelic 3D spelunking through headspace Developer Pariah Interactive's 1000 Deaths is a surrealist platformer (think Psychonauts on even more psychedelic substances) focused on the big "what if" moments everyone experiences throughout life. As you get dragged into the headspaces of four separate characters, you'll alter their life's history by completing puzzling platforming challenges. Players will have to fiddle with gravity as they walk around curved levels, with gameplay reminiscent of some of Super Mario Galaxy's best moments. The decisions you make will alter the narrative and the platforming mechanics of future levels: I sent the rat-like creature, Vayu, to Hollywood with their friend rather than having them stay in their hometown, which opened a diverging branch of levels to explore. I think 1000 Deaths will have a lot of replay value, as most gamers will want to find hidden secrets and explore every branching path. 1000 Deaths will be released on Aug. 7. Platforms: PC Passant: A Chess Roguelike What if Balatro was chess? Developer Marc Makes Games' Passant is to chess what Balatro is to poker and that's no exaggeration. The big difference is that Passant requires you to put in a bit of work -- you need to have a solid understanding of the tabletop game before you start fiddling with all the bells and whistles this game adds. As you defeat enemy setups in Passant, you gain cash that you can spend on new pieces, temporary power-ups and badges that fundamentally change the rules of the game. The benefits you gain from a badge can be as simple as adding more turn undos for each game you play or as wacky as letting you promote units like bishops and rooks if you can successfully move them to the other side of the board. I really suck at chess but I was able to roll through a couple games on the normal difficulty once I put a good setup into play. I'm fond of the dragon bishops, a special unit that can take enemies diagonally or in any adjacent square. Every third round you play, you'll go up against a boss board with buffing badges of their own. I've been able to conquer the first boss a handful of times but that second boss has proven to be a bit of a doozy. Elon Musk infamously said he doesn't like chess because it doesn't have tech trees. That's pretty on-brand for the Tesla CEO, but at least Passant exists so he can take another crack at one of the most pedigreed board games in history. Passant: A Chess Roguelike will be released on Aug. 11. Platforms: PC Under The Island One teenager's tropical island-spanning Zelda adventure Developer Slime King Games' Under The Island combines 2D RPG hack-and-slash action with a heaping helping of teen angst, daring to ask: What if a moody teenager was thrust into Link's Awakening? Nia's parents are moving to Seashell Island to research the local ruins, which means she'll be sequestered on an island with no friends and nothing to do for a whole year. That might seem like a crummy deal, except for the fact that she immediately falls into an undiscovered cave and meets an ancient bird person while her family is unpacking the car. Nia discovers Seashell Island is on the verge of sinking beneath the waves so she has to go on a classical '90s-themed quest for the MacGuffins. Players will need to brave the deceptively gorgeous pixel art island and its nasty critters, find upgrades and solve puzzles to unearth the mysteries of Nia's new home. This game is classic Zelda through-and-through, and anyone who enjoys Link's original adventures will appreciate this contemporary take on the genre. Under The Island's release date has yet to be revealed -- but just like with the other entries on this list, the best way to stay updated on a cool-looking game is to add it to your Steam wishlist. Platforms: PC
