Friday Night Fights: FNF 101

Things are a bit quiet around here this week thanks toPAX East, so my FNF Czars and I threw together an “FNF 101” blog in hopes of attracting some new blood to the cause while some of the old hands are out playing. Inside its digital pages, you’ll find answers to every question you’venever asked about Friday Night Fights and then some, including whom can host (answer: anyone!), what’s expected out of a host (answer: just show up and play the game!...

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 267 words · Nancy Baker

G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout might be the dash of nostalgia you need

Take it back to your childhood You know what they say about expectations. Set them low and you might find yourself surprisingly pleased. Set them high and you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. G.I. Joe: Operation Blackoutis a licensed, B-tier, bargain bin sort of third-person shooter, and it might just the injection of nostalgia you need right now.Operation Blackoutlets you play as both the heroes and the villains.Duke, Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, Destro, Roadblock, Storm Shadow are 6 of the 12 playable characters....

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 218 words · Edgar Smith

Gabe Newell is a big ol’ meanie-head, calls PS3 ‘a waste of everybody’s time’

I’ve always been a fan of Valve. I just picked upThe Orange Boxfor the Xbox 360 yesterday (after having to go to two GameStops, when one was actually gasp sold out), and boy … am I a fan of Valve. So by association, that spills over into a small man-crush on Valve’s Gabe Newell. Sometimes, it’s funny when he talks, too. In a recentinterview with Edge, Gabe bares his fangs towards the PlayStation 3, yet again:...

August 3, 2025 · 1 min · 212 words · Tracy Nelson

GDC 09: All About Noby Noby Boy

If ever were there a game I played that would have benefited from a developer explanation of its design decisions, it’sNoby Noby Boy. If ever there were a designer who I wanted to see in person just to check if he were clinically insane or not, it’d be Keita Takahashi. “All AboutNoby Noby Boy,” Takahashi’s sort-of-except-not-really postmortem of his recent PSN title, did not disappoint; it was random, entertaining, enlightening, and occasionally bizarre....

August 3, 2025 · 11 min · 2343 words · Kristopher Robinson

Genshin Impact Iansan ascension and talent materials

Iansan inGenshin Impactis a 4-star Electro unit and good support who can buff her party members’ ATK and heal them, making her fairly valuable. Here’s a simple guide covering all the materials you’ll need for Iansan’s ascension and her talents, as well as how to farm them. Iansan ascension and talent materials Here are all the materials required for Iansan’s ascension in Genshin Impact: Once you’re done with Iansan’s ascension, you’re able to farm the following materials to level up her talents:...

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 310 words · Matthew Perez

Heroes of the Storm lead muses on the success of the Gladiator’s Medallion, the latest reworks, and Blackthorne

‘At the same time that the Mei design was pitched, we were heavily looking at prototype designs for Reinhardt, Deathwing, and Arcturus Mengsk’ Heroes of the Stormis a beast of a game. It’s survived multiple directorial shifts and countless MOBAs have come and gone since it was initially released. It’s also one of my most-played games of all time. Through thick and thin, theHeroesteam has proven their dedication to the project with numerous balance patches, reworks, arenas, game modes, tweaks, and new characters....

August 3, 2025 · 7 min · 1393 words · Terry Martinez

Heroes of the Storm’s Qhira might not be highly requested, but her whip sword is welcome

The second original creation Heroes of the Stormis having an interesting year. Although a lot of people aren’t happy with the way Blizzard decided to ramp down development, I’ve actually been enjoying the game on a regular basis, just as frequently as I have in the past. There’s work to be done for sure. Middling issues that haven’t been fixed in over four years are still present, and there are a lot of characters that still need to be added before the roster can really feel complete....

August 3, 2025 · 3 min · 617 words · Carlos Dickerson

How to get Seraph key codes and Resonate Stems in Destiny 2

They’re active during the Season of the Seraph I’ve said this so often with live service games: but another season, another currency. This time inDestiny 2it’s the Seraph key codes, which are of course added as part of the Season of the Seraph festivities. Here’s what they do and how to make sense of them. What do you do with Seraph key codes? You’ll use them to interact with the Heist Battleground activity: which is one of the playlists for the Season of the Seraph....

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 294 words · Mary Riley

How to Grow the Fulguria in Botany Manor

A flower that only blooms in a lightning storm? Here’s how to grow the Fulguria inBotany Manor. How to Grow the Fulguria in Botany Manor The Fulguria is a flower with very precise requirements to bloom inBotany Manor. But if you want a quick and easy solution, simply place a planted Fulguria in front of the camera and take a picture of it. But for more details, read on. First, we’ll need to collect five clues....

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 406 words · Dr. Matthew Mullins II

How to make Cthulhu in Infinite Craft

So, you’ve madeShrek,Peter Griffin, andhumansat large, and now’s the time to finally kick things into second gear by summoning Cthulhu itself inInfinite Craft. Indeed, this delightful little game allows you to conjure the Great Old One, and it’s pretty darn complicated. As there are alotof steps to go through before you’ve got anInfinite CraftCthulhu all of your own, we opted to keep this guide’s diagram relatively streamlined. Thus, straightforward elements, such as ‘Ocean’, are not explained in the diagram, but unlocking them is easy....

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 407 words · Derek Joseph

I am officially done with the Kinect

I owe everyone an apology. This past March, I stated that “Steel Battalion: Heavy Armorvalidates owning a Kinect.” As it turns out, I was so, so wrong. We went as far as having theSteel Battalion: Heavy Armorreviewpass through the hands of three different Destructoid editors in an attempt to get the game to work, until finally realizing thatHeavy Armoris, in fact, simply broken. The reason why I was so hyped for Steel Battalion in the first place, other than loving the original Xbox game, was because I wanted to believe that the Kinect could actually succeed with a real core game....

August 3, 2025 · 5 min · 992 words · Ashley Larson

Is that ‘top secret’ Omega Force game a Lu Bu spinoff?

Pursue? When Omega Force first announced that it would have a “top secret” title to show at E3,I used an image of Lu Buand his piercing eyes to get the point across. Now I may have inadvertently cracked the code, as a new teaser site for the project indicates that it will feature “the most brutal Warriors in history.” This could obviously mean a lot of things, but as a general rule, Lu Bu has been a historic “bad guy” for the series, but the use of the phrase “Musou,” could actually apply to anything, includingHyrule Warriors(Zelda Musou)....

August 3, 2025 · 1 min · 161 words · Matthew Curtis

Koei Tecmo confirms there isn’t another Team Ninja game arriving this year

There is not a mystery game after all Following a recent interview with Team Ninja lead Fumihiko Yasuda, reports swirled that the studio had another game in the works, set to arrive before 2024’sRise of the Ronin. But Koei Tecmo confirms those rumors aren’t accurate to Team Ninja’s plans. Speaking toFamitsu, Yasuda discussed Team Ninja’s upcoming docket of games. The previously announcedRise of the Roninis set for 2024. Yasuda also expresses a desire to release something new in 2025....

August 3, 2025 · 2 min · 301 words · Kristin Luna