That game you bought last month isn’t the same game today. It’s almost certainly been patched, updated, rebalanced, and tweaked. The original version is shrinking from view as it washes downriver. But is it better now? Truer? Should you have played more of it back when you bought it, or waited?

Last week, I documented the constant low-level anxiety I had been feeling about cooling the CPU in my gaming PC. I’d spent a couple of years wrestling with all-in-one liquid coolers and had never found something that worked like I wanted. Well, good news: I’ve finally found something that does.

I’ve been voraciously replaying Monster Hunter: World on PC over the last few weeks, and have been having a hell of a good time. That’s partly because it’s just a good game, but also because I’m so, so much better at it than I was on my first time through.

Monster Hunter: World finally came out on PC last week. It’s a hell of a fun game, but the PC version has some frustrating technical problems. Fortunately, fans and modders have been working on unofficial fixes to improve things while we wait for official ones.

In addition to all those deadly beasts, Monster Hunter: World has loads of colorful non-monster characters. You’ll find them walking in the wild or chilling out at HQ, usually minding their business and occasionally giving you a sidequest.

Bungie has shared a ton of new information about how progression and currencies will change for Destiny 2: Forsaken. Tokens are going away but the ones you have will still work, exotics will always drop above your power level, you’ll be able to pick from one of three nightfalls each week, there’ll be a heroic story…

More than a dozen hours into Hollow Knight, the 2D Metroidvania played a joke on me. It was a really good joke, and also kind of a mean one. Then again, most good video game jokes are a little mean.

Dead Cells is a really good video game, and is a perfect fit for the handheld Nintendo Switch. However, the Switch version performs noticeably under 60 frames-per-second, which makes for a less smooth experience than on other gaming systems. Yesterday, the game’s developers said they’re getting to work on improvements.

Look, starships are cool and everything. They’re great! They can fly, they have lasers, and they usually look nice. But if you’re playing No Man’s Sky, I have some advice for you: Don’t neglect your buggy.

The Castlevania- and Rogue-inspired Dead Cells is out this week on a bunch of systems. It’s a really good game, and also a tough one. Would you believe me if I told you I had some tips for you?

Destiny 2’s Solstice of Heroes event debuted last week. Until it ends on August 28, you can relive the glories of the past while earning powerful new armor… as long as you have a lot of time to spare.

Everyone chases some kind of low-key but elusive white whale, a casual desire or goal that remains forever out of reach. For some, it’s finding the best possible cup of coffee, or the perfect pair of jeans. For me, it’s getting my PC CPU to run below 70 degrees Celsius while under load.

In my first game of Dead Cells, I died after about four minutes. In my most recent one, I lasted almost an hour. The time difference between those two attempts says a lot about how Dead Cells evolves as you play it, and how you evolve alongside it.

For two years, No Man’s Sky has been one of gaming’s great Rorschach tests. View it one way, and it’s a beautiful adventure through an endlessly fascinating parallel universe. Tilt your head, and it’s a janky hunk of junk built on a bed of LIES.

Video games are constantly trying different ways to make you feel like the game you’re playing has exciting, tangible stakes. Some are more creative about it than others.