A new Polish game development studio, Covenant, is launching a dark fantasy strategy title called Gord in 2022. At the helm of the project is Covenant founder Stan Just, formerly of CD Projekt Red and 11 bit studios. Gord combines city-building, survival, questing, and a number of other elements such as tapping into procedural generation to explore its dark themes and dire fantasy. All worlds find their inspiration somewhere, and Gord’s is rooted in Slavic folklore. Gord is a single-player affair and is headed to PC. For a quick look into the darkness, check out the trailer below:

As you can see, your little crew of adventurers and townsfolk are at extreme risk of being slaughtered in grisly ways, whether that’s simply being eaten by wildlife or falling prey to demons, insects, giant spiders, or worse. I guess those that get gnawed on by wolves are the lucky ones, eh? Surviving in Gord while building up your city is a key element of the game as you lead the Tribe of the Dawn to greatness or doom. Probably doom, for most of your attempts.

At the heart of your adventures is the city-building or simulation component, but it’s tempered with many other mechanics and features that task you with taking on legendary monsters and setting off into the wilds on quests.  Managing your city includes elements that go beyond keeping your crew fed and physically healthy, you’ll also have to manage their sanity as things go awry. Random elements weave into this to create a varied play experience for each time you have a crack at weathering the wilderness. Things are grim, but they’re not impossible, as you are able to employ powerful magic to augment your adventures as you set off to battle. Before you play, you can customize elements of the game including environment, enemy types, resources, weather, and more. A sort of meta progression system appears to be part of the experience as well, as you collect torn pages from a mysterious lorebook.

City survival games are always interesting, and I’m eager to see where this dark fantasy tale takes us as we attempt to beat back the malignant evils that surround the settlement. While we are going to have to wait a while to play, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on this one. What do you think about Gord? Let us know in the comments!

Sony has revealed the new PS5 April Update, the first major update for the new generation of PlayStation, going live tomorrow. Here is what you can expect from the PS5 April update, including improvements that PlayStation 4 players can enjoy. 

PS5 April Update Details

With game file sizes continuing to get bigger and bigger, storage expansion is key. The new update will increase the storage for PS5 players, making the system compatible with external USB drives, making it easy to transfer PS5 games to an extended storage option. Switching back from external to internal storage is also easy, promises Sony, making reinstallation a breeze. 

There is one caveat to that, however. Sony explains, "Because PS5 games are designed to take advantage of the console’s ultra-high-speed SSD, PS5 titles can’t be played from USB extended storage," reads the official PlayStation Blog. "PS5 titles also cannot be directly downloaded to USB extended storage. However, games that you transfer or copy back to internal storage will automatically update when applicable. Also, you can select which game modes you want to install (such as campaign or multiplayer) for select titles that support the option."

New social features are also on the way for PS5 and PS4 users, including Cross-Generation Share Play. With the new update, players will be able to Share Play together while chatting together in a party for both generations of PlayStation. PS5 users can share their screens with PS4 players, PS4 users can try out PS5 games through Share Play, and vice versa. 

Request to Join Game Session is also being added with the new update, allowing for a selection of friends to join in on game sessions for both PS5 and PS4 consoles. The "Request to Join" option will also act as a shortcut for sending game invites to friends, making it even easier to jump into a new adventure together. 

The new update will also allow for more customization options for PS5 users, including the Improved Game Base. The Game Base menu has seen a few tweaks to make it easier to access the content that players want to access the most. Switching between Parties and Friends is faster than ever before, and players can even set notification standards while in a party chat. 

Other social improvements added include: 

• Disable Game Chat or Adjust Players’ Volume. You can now quickly disable in-game chat, which turns off your mic audio and other players' voice audio. Additionally, you can easily adjust the individual voice chat volume of other players in the same chat, so you don’t have to ask your friends to lower or increase their mic volume each time.
• Game Update Pre-download. Once developers enable it, title updates for games will pre-download to your console if the “automatic updates” setting is enabled and your console is on or in rest mode. This will let you start playing the latest version of a game immediately after the update’s release.
• Customize Game Library. With the ability to search your library or hide games from view, it’s now easier to find content and personalize your view of your game library.
• Screen Zoom. You can now adjust the magnification of the screen to suit your preference from the Settings menu.
• New Trophy Settings and Stats Screen. The level of trophies that results in automatic capture of a screenshot or video clip can now be customized — so you can now choose to only capture and save images/videos of moments when you earn higher-grade trophies, like Gold or Platinum. We’re also introducing a new player Trophy Stats screen, where you can check out the summary of your trophy level and status at a glance.

The PlayStation App is also seeing a few adjustments, including new features for users to enjoy. "In the coming weeks," Sony is going to add the ability to join a multiplayer session on PlayStation 5 from the app itself, allow ways for users to manage storage, and compare trophies with friends. The PlayStation Store is also getting a few improvements through the app, making it a little easier to navigate the storefront. 

Sony promises that this is just "scratching the surface" of what's to come for PS5 users. What other features would you like to see next? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below!