It’s a quiet Saturday, June 21st for the gaming industry. But on Twitter, the war against The Last of Us Part II rages on…

Path of Exile: Harvest Turns Players into Farmers

The latest Path of Exile season/update began earlier today, bringing a new mechanic that has players planting seeds that grow…monsters, of all things. Killing these special mobs gets you lifeforce that you can use to craft more garbagio items. Of course, there are some ultra-rare seeds that can spawn three new unique bosses. And a number of minor updates across the board.

Honestly, the mechanic sounds cool. For me, I quit Path of Exile after getting pissed off for the last time during Delirium league, where there was a thick fog that spread through the entire map (aka zero visibility) and bigger and badder monsters that would randomly one-shot you despite the fact you were chilling a screen away.

And with that, I’m out.

Source: Path of Exile

Neil Druckmann Trolls Angry “The Last of Us Part II” Players

The war on The Last of Us Part II continues on another front, with impassioned gamers attacking the game’s ratings across a number sites. Naughty Dog Vice President Neil Druckmann responded to the backlash on Twitter:

Oh man… in just a few hours we have almost DOUBLE the number of user reviews for #TheLastofUsPartII than the first game received in seven years. Love that passion! 😘 pic.twitter.com/cXRfuUijNG

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) June 20, 2020

Review scores for The Last of Us Part II have been ravaged in part by gamers unhappy with several of the game’s story beats.

UK Gaming Industry Launches PLAY&TALK Weekend During Loneliness Awareness Week

Did you know that this weekend is PLAY&TALK 2020? Did you also know that this week was Loneliness Awareness Week?

Of course not – if you’re like me, you’ve been sitting around playing The Last of Us Part II all day.

The PLAY&TALK initiative aims to “reduce the feelings of isolation” by challenging people to spend an hour playing games with friends and family. I will say that I did my part today by playing four League of Legends games with a friend and losing every single one. Isolation: -1, Toxicity: +5

Anyway, I’m not trying to make (too much) light of the situation. Mental health matters. And so, as Persona 5 says, “Wake up, get up, get out there“.

Source: AskAboutGames

Summer Daze at Hero U Release Date Announced, Playable Demo Now Available

In lighter, more refreshing indie gaming news: Lori and Corey Cole today announced the release date for Summer Daze at Hero-U – October 1 – along with the news that the playable demo was now available on Steam. Summer Daze is an adventure game/visual novel set in the Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption universe (also recommended). And if the Coles sound familiar, it’s because they’re legendary game designers best known for the classic Hero’s Quest/Quest for Glory series (published by Sierra) back in the ’90s. Take it from me: the Quest for Glory is goddamn amazing.

Source: Steam