Rick Lane
Latest articles by Rick Lane
![Cosplayers at Black Desert's 10th anniversary event.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YKXdNmtHkk4MQVk2Hzr25-320-80.jpg)
Fights, friendships, passions and pugs: At Black Desert's 10th anniversary event, we asked players about why they're still obsessed with the MMO
By Rick Lane published
Story time Tales of love, war and exile.
![A king and a queen in Norland.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bgqXLmN7cZhx3UkxgGCyA4-320-80.jpg)
I tried to stop my peasants from starving in Norland, but their lords only care about sex and holy rings
By Rick Lane published
Hoard of the rings Crusader Kings meets RimWorld in this powerful, if finicky medieval story engine.
![Black Desert Online](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5c9i6iffUK99MEZTezSHuT-320-80.jpg)
As Black Desert Online celebrates its tenth anniversary, Pearl Abyss reveals the future of its MMO lies thousands of years in the past
By Rick Lane published
sands of time "It was like, 'what's the next big adventure?'"
![Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s9KFCMssBqURzNJs8jCY83-320-80.jpg)
With Doom: The Dark Ages, id Software is still searching for what made the original great, and I hope it never finds it
By Rick Lane published
Doom for improvement Hugo Martin keeps getting Doom wrong, and that's what makes the games so good.
![Dosa class reveal](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/khg3gYUjVfUgtHRpJkPg67-320-80.jpg)
Black Desert celebrates its 10th anniversary with a brand-new class: a pipe-smoking swordsman who can summon an army of ghost archers
By Rick Lane published
News Smoking kills.
![Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QAHS776sKsBjb7WXXxCxjR-320-80.jpg)
Asked whether Grand Theft Auto 6 will come to PC, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says Rockstar 'will make more announcements in due time'
By Rick Lane published
News "The only thing that happens after the lack of an announcement is an announcement."
![Slime Rancher 2's slimes play in their conservatory in the Prontomart update](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xP6yewow9LZmzsw2cJQnYj-320-80.jpg)
Slime Rancher 2's latest update adds toys and see-saws for your colourful blobs, letting you transform your ranch into a playground for profit
By Rick Lane published
News Get there pronto.
![Two people standing in front of a mushroom cloud.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X5m57fnUD5HXTxorVqvL2U-320-80.png)
Broken Roads, the wonky Aussie Fallout, receives a major update that lets you pet koalas and explains the meaning of sex trophies
By Rick Lane published
News Koala-ty of life changes.
![Guy looking in mirror](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BrR8VXggXtFfZuEZ5au4UJ-320-80.jpg)
Private Division has canceled a deal for Bloober Team's unannounced survival horror 'Project C', but the mystery game from the Silent Hill 2 remakers might not be dead yet
By Rick Lane published
News Bloober Team is 'prepared for potential alternatives'.
![Helldivers 2 Discord header image - four Helldivers celebrating side by side on a large rock](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VvK79UXJVGgSN8YCEVyhxn-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers 2 player encounters a bug that gives them infinite gas, and haven't we all been there?
By Rick Lane published
News Stuck on a loo(p).
![Prismatic class items from The Final Shape](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XJvm48jkUvbjHPC8zvQ9FN-320-80.jpg)
Sony accidentally leaks the whole of Destiny 2's latest expansion, as its game streaming service let players access The Final Shape days before launch
By Rick Lane published
News Weapons, armor, exotics, and campaign mission details revealed prematurely.
![helldivers 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PqjZecWrax6q2mdfDiJfuE-320-80.jpg)
Arrowhead's new CEO says the studio 'knew it would be impossible' to keep up with Helldivers 2's demand for new content, is now focussed on adjusting 'so that in the long term we can make more and better stuff'
By Rick Lane published
News "We're building a bit of scaffolding so we can make a bigger barn."
![Hermen Hulst, managing director and co-founder of Guerrilla Games, speaks during a Sony Corp. event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Monday, June 15, 2015.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qRsXycwrXrfFCuBJUmaw9U-320-80.jpg)
Sony hopes PC gamers, who'll wait years for Epic exclusives to come to Steam out of spite, will buy PS5s for exclusive sequels
By Rick Lane published
News It could work for them, but then again, we are a notoriously patient bunch when we want to be.
![Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 3-headed dog logo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qjH55GcmphvXjcdumGPvN3-320-80.jpg)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's latest teaser trailer is heavy on analogue horror and creepy mannequins
By Rick Lane published
News Extended trailer also suggests Zombies mode is back.
![The Emancipator Mech on a Moon-like planet in Helldivers 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4SnhxSmBR7pVYyN4dhf4Mh-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers 2 players have successfully emancipated the Emancipator mech from the automaton assembly line, and of course the dual-autocannon exosuit has triggered another debate about balance
By Rick Lane published
News Mech a big mess.
![doom eternal](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4cJLsb4vhUzNcvVJiJEXwJ-320-80.jpg)
The next Doom game will be titled Doom: The Dark Ages and revealed at Xbox Games Showcase, report claims
By Rick Lane published
News I'm Quaking with anticipation.
![Swen Vincke](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NCHqKsgM3CPm3EhF2iwrAB-320-80.jpg)
Larian CEO reveals the studio 'had to do a bit on crunch' on Baldur's Gate 3, but it was 'certainly less' than previous projects it has worked on
By Rick Lane published
News 'You will always have a little bit when you're trying to finish something'
![Assassin's Creed Shadows promo still from Assassin's Creed Red teaser: A ninja leaping through the air, ninja-style, in front of a large setting sun](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EZoC22pwwWprADbqM4Tdj9-320-80.jpg)
Assassin's Creed Shadows is leaking like a freshly-stabbed Samurai, as main character art sneaks online ahead of imminent reveal
By Rick Lane published
News Shuriken look if you want.
![A silhouetted figure plays a flute against a setting sun backdrop.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mgMSRHAugDBYWWAis8aLz-320-80.jpg)
Ghost of Tsushima's crossplay function will launch with a 'beta' tag attached, prompting speculation that Sony is hoping to avoid another PSN-related fiasco
By Rick Lane published
News Ghost in the machine.
![the finals](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Sjn3gNVWx3N3sJiXmKCz3j-320-80.jpg)
Nexon says sweaty FPS The Finals surpassed expectations at launch but has tailed-off badly, pledges to 'understand and address the key issues'
By Rick Lane published
News Final Countdown?
![abiotic factor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sxrrgy5TsoaXhuRuL8SFPU-320-80.jpg)
Abiotic Factor's first major update adds alien cheese and corpse bags, as the Half-Life inspired survival sim sells 250,000 copies
By Rick Lane published
News What's that smell?
![Chocolate assembly lines run through a chocolate castle in Chocolate Factory](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dYiZPiJrmfszf5wnsGHrx3-320-80.jpg)
This chocolate factory-building game asks the question 'What if Willy Wonka had a gun?'
By Rick Lane published
News Chocolate Factory lets you build confectionary assembly lines and shoot gingerbread men in the face.
![helldivers 2 polar patriots warbond](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GoAHXPUGrmqcSjrhgfmBBQ-320-80.jpg)
Helldivers 2's Polar Patriots Warbond gets an icy reception, as over 70% of 21,000 Discord voters declare they'd prefer more patches or simply don't like it
By Rick Lane published
News Cold shoulder.
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