Articles by Ben Sledge

Technology

New fantasy RTS Lessaria is a "spiritual successor" to a true genre classic, but it's not just nostalgia bait

Sometimes, the old ways are the best. The first Alien movie. An aged whiskey. That friend who you don't see so often any more, but catching up feels like you've never been apart. The same is true for games. We gravitate to those that comfort us, those we remember so fondly from our childhoods. Why else would I be playing through a decades-old Pokemon game in my spare time? Developers, too, reminisce. Rockbee Team, the devs behind Lessaria, have borrowed liberally from Majesty, a classic of the fantasy genre. But can nostalgia alone elevate it to mythical status, alongside those in our list of the best RTS games? Lessaria is inspired by Majesty, something reflected if you give both games their full titles. Majesty is suffixed as The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, while Lessaria has opted to drop the 'the' in favor of being a little more humble while paying homage to its ideator. But the similarities go further than just name and genre. Lessaria has borrowed a lot from Majesty, not least the voice actor of your advisor, George Ledoux, who will tug at some nostalgic heartstrings for sure. The developers themselves admit that this is a "spiritual successor" to Majesty, and that's never more clear than in the RTS mechanics. While both games focus on good city building and real-time combat, Lessaria has also nabbed Majesty's unique twist on the genre: you don't control your heroes. No, instead of doing your bidding, these are true fantasy heroes, beholden to their own whims and egos rather than the laws of a king. Read any fantasy novel and you'll notice the same rebellious streak in the protagonist, for better or for worse. This gives Majesty (and, by extension, Lessaria) a spontaneity that other games in the genre lack, an element of RNG that feels ludonarratively resonant. With such an unpredictable army, your city defenses best be shipshape if you want to keep the invading hordes at bay. Lessaria's devs promise a evolution of the Majesty style, rather than a copy, and thus far, players seem to be enjoying it. 80% of Lessaria's Steam reviews are good, landing it a 'very positive' rating on the platform. The only complaints that pop up often are the lack of a sandbox mode and the fact it's a little rough around the edges. If you're a Majesty fan, this seems like a no-brainer to check out. Lessaria Fantasy Kingdom Sim is available on Steam now for $19.99 / £16.79. You can buy it here. If you'd like to continue down memory lane, our list of the best old games may have something for you. If you're after something similar to Lessaria, our picks of the best city building games are perfect. What are your most nostalgic games? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers discuss the latest gaming news, reminisce about old classics, and crumble into dust when we find out some members are younger than our favorite games.

Science

Classic Star Wars MMO's most impressive update yet has me scrambling to find my password

It's good to see a Star Wars game thriving. The entire extended universe has been hit and miss for a while now, with the greatness of Andor and the Jedi games counteracted by the likes of Outlaws and the Book of Boba Fett. Too much relies on crossovers and Glup Shitto, with the companies involved more keen to make the audience point at the screen like the Leonardo di Caprio meme than tell an interesting, original story. Thankfully, Star Wars The Old Republic is a bastion of the old ways. It's right up there on our list of the best Star Wars games, and update 7.8 only looks to improve it further. The highlight of update 7.8 is the new dynamic encounters on outer rim planets. These timed missions make the worlds feel more alive. Think helping a band find a gig on Tattooine, or piloting a mech into battle on Ord Mantell. Star Wars The Old Republic is now adding these encounters to Dantooine, a serene but popular farming planet. It's not so quiet any more, as an enormous spacecraft has crashed onto its lush surface, leaking flora, fauna, and hostile droids. The droids fulfil their primary function, which means destroying Dantooine's natural habitats in order to create an environment suitable for the plants and beasts they had aboard. You can probably see where this is going, but you're going to have to research the craft, explore three new biomes, and challenge a tough, robotic boss. There's a whole set of rewards on offer here, including the usual cosmetics and mounts. However, what's most exciting is the option to build a stronghold on Dantooine, something we've been asking for for a long time. Yes, we'll be able to own our own plot of land on the planet when update 7.8 launches. Not only are dynamic encounters some of the most fun parts of the game, a Dantooine stronghold is the cherry on top. Just look at the YouTube comments alone and you'll see the excitement. If this has got you hankering for more, check out our list of the best MMOs for a good time. Our picks for the best space games will also serve you well if you're looking to scratch that Star Wars itch. Star Wars fan? Head over to our community Discord server, where staff and readers discuss the latest gaming news, and listen to me harp on about how Star Wars Outlaws is actually a great place to hang out, even if it's a less than stellar game.

Technology

Riot's new 2XKO patch nukes Warwick's most irritating strat and fixes annoying collision issues

The League of Legends universe has expanded rapidly over the past couple of years. Arcane was a major leap into the world of television, and there's even a series of novels set in Runeterra. But for many of us, the most interesting iterations are the genre-shifts in the world of videogames. 2XKO reimagines our favorite League of Legends characters punching each other into submission rather than taking potshots from the top lane, and that alone is enough to intrigue me. The game itself is a serviceable fighter, albeit not quite good enough to make our list of the best fighting games yet. While Riot's latest update doesn't change anything fundamental, it fixes plenty of annoying bugs that were already getting on our nerves. 2XKO patch 1.0.1.2 fixes a couple of major bugs. The first is collision, which saw champions occasionally passing through each other instead of, you know, hitting each other. This occurred most often in specific situations where champions were cornered or multiple characters were on-screen. Now, characters should no longer become trapped when surrounded by two other champions, and can be pushed as normal. Characters starting on the left and right now have the same corner priority properties when performing a corner steal with assists, too. As for specific champions, Ekko's ultimate no longer leaves a smoke effect behind, and Warwick "no longer flies away after Handshake Tagging out of Spinning Slicer in Freestyle Fuse." His Ankle Swipe/Primal Leap combos no longer drop on Yasuo, either. Speaking of whom, Yasuo's Turbulent Wind attack now scales correctly, now applying to the second and third hit. A handful of other bugs have also been fixed, so you should no longer crash when entering the champion select screen or disconnect from matches as frequently. Riot is also adding a widget to the home screen which will show the 2XKO server status and upcoming downtime. 2XKO patch 1.0.1.2 goes live on Tuesday, October 21. Online play will be unavailable on that day from 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST until 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST. You can read the full patch notes here. If these fixes excite you enough to get into the game, make sure you're up to speed by reading through our 2XKO tier list before choosing your fighter. If you haven't unlocked all the characters yet, our guide to 2XKO champion tokens has you covered. How are you finding 2XKO? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers discuss their mains, and all the latest gaming news.