The international championships of the Pokémon Trading Card Game were held in North America from June 13 to June 15, 2025. In the Junior League finals, two special finalists faced off against each other.
Who were those finalists? In the very last round of the Junior League, Annabelle Oono and Kenji Oono from the USA faced each other. As you might guess from their last name, they are indeed siblings.
Out of 330 participants, it is quite a coincidence that these two ended up in the finals. The sister and her brother wanted to visually show that they belong to the same family, and dressed in red and black colors.
Even their hair and partially their fingernails were red and black. This was a nod to Team Rocket, whose logo features a red R on a black background. Annabelle wore a Meowth plush toy on her shoulder, the mascot of the original Team Rocket. Kenji chose a Zubat as a plush toy, a typical Pokémon of Team Rocket’s minions.
Appropriately, their decks also consisted of Team Rocket cards. The exciting match can be seen on YouTube.
Start video
Pokémon Horizons: The Series – Trailer for the Anime on TOGGO
Sibling Battle in a Pokémon Card Tournament
Who won? The match between the two lasted almost an hour. After many rounds, it was clear: Annabelle is the shining winner and defeated her brother after an exciting match. But instead of breaking into sibling rivalry, which some of you might know, the two embraced each other lovingly and gave each other their special handshake.
However, there must be a reason why they didn’t go to war with each other: 1st place receives a prize money equivalent to about €6,050, and 2nd place still receives a respectable €4,300 (see the official page of Pokémon). Since both are under 18, the money will be paid out either as a Pokémon Visa Prepaid Card or as a scholarship. Still, both should be satisfied with such amounts.
What do others say about it? In the comments under the video, there are many positive remarks. Some users write that the parents must be proud, or that it was wholesome to watch the two.
One commenter even writes that his girlfriend usually rolls her eyes whenever he talks about Pokémon. But even she watched the match with him.
In Dune: Awakening, there are players who annoy others with nasty tricks. However, some also show how beautiful unity can be in a survival MMO – and even help others to survive.
However, the community also has very different sides. Many players report friendly encounters, gifted loot, and spontaneous help in the desert of Arrakis.
To protect your base from unwanted visitors and to grant access to your guild members, you can set certain levels:
Start video
Dune: Awakening: So funktionieren die Zugangsstufen
Players leave bases and play taxi
This is how helpful the community of Dune: Awakening is:On Reddit, a user reports that a player sought shelter in his garage during a storm. He himself was in the process of moving his loot to a new base – so he simply left it for the stranger. Now he occasionally visits him.
The user Cizhu also experienced something similar: During a sandstorm, he was taken in by someone. A sandstorm gradually drains you of a lot of health – and you cannot heal against it as long as you are taking damage. Many players deliberately build their bases in a way that allows other people to seek shelter during sandstorms or sun exposure.
Cizhu also recounts that while messing around in a bar, he jokingly said in voice chat that he needed a drink. Several people promptly approached him, asking with concern if everything was okay, and one offered him water. “In the end, we sat in a circle and chatted for about 10 minutes. I’m still quite new, asked a lot of questions, and the people gave me great tips. I have never had such a wonderful experience in a game,” he reports.
Another user tells on Reddit how he got stuck in quicksand with his sandbike, lost his loot, and then respawned far away. He asked for help in chat – and indeed someone came with a buggy, picked him up, retrieved his loot with him, and brought the player back to his base.
Unlocking the mirror mode in Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2 is so confusing that even Nintendo got it wrong in the description.
Nintendo provides incorrect information: The mirror mode is a popular mode in Mario Kart World, as you race the tracks in mirrored form, giving you a different experience on the course. However, the mode is not available from the start in Mario Kart World and must be unlocked under certain conditions.
In a newsletter email sent on 12.06.2025, in which Nintendo gave tips to players of Mario Kart World, they also described how to unlock the mirror mode. However, the information in it was incorrect, leading Nintendo to correct their mistake in a following email.
Here they also wrote the actual conditions that apply to unlock the mirror mode.
Start video
Mario Kart World – Reveal Trailer
Unlocking the mirror mode in Mario Kart World
How do I unlock the mirror mode? To play the mirror mode, you need to meet the following conditions:
Complete all Grand Prix races in 150cc mode (Bronze or better)
Complete all knockout tours in 150cc mode (as fourth or better)
Find all 10 Peach medals in free driving
Find all 10 ?-blocks in free driving
Find all 10 P-switches in free driving and complete all associated tasks
Complete the special cup again
After the credits, you should receive a new scene that tells you that you have unlocked the mirror mode. From now on, you can select this variant in the menu.
Activating mirror mode in free driving: You can not only race in the Grand Prix or the knockout tour in mirror mode, but you can also activate it in free driving. To do this, you should first drive to Peach’s stadium. Then you need to do the following:
Drive straight from the start and over the winding track, then you will see Peach’s castle on the right side
Pass through the pipes and leave the course on the right side to drive onto the roof of the castle
Drive to the large stained glass window that shows Princess Peach and drive through it. The mirror mode is activated.
Total War: Warhammer 3 received a comprehensive update with 6.2 on June 17, 2025, which is remarkable for several reasons. The community celebrates many of the new features.
What does Patch 6.2 bring for Total War: Warhammer 3? Already in April 2025, my colleague Benedict Grothaus celebrated the announcement that the developers want to finally overhaul the questionably stupid AI of the game, which often declines sensible alliances or starts pointless wars. The new update brings two new options in the game settings that allow you to customize the AI.
The additional highlights of the update:
Comprehensive overhaul of magical items
The installation has been rebuilt, saving you 27 percent of storage space. Load times are also expected to improve significantly. However, you will need to download a hefty 55 GB of data as part of the patch.
More than 1,200 2D icons for units have been optimized.
There are countless bug fixes for the campaign, battles, and multiplayer. Performance has also been significantly optimized.
The update is so comprehensive that the developers have issued a mod warning, as compatibility issues may arise. You can find the full patch notes at creative-assembly.com.
One of the trailers for Total War: Warhammer 3:
Start video
Total War: Warhammer 3 – The official teaser for the DLC Tides of Torment
“Fantastic Work”
How does the community rate the update? Many fans of the strategy game celebrate the adjustments and improvements for Total War: Warhammer 3.
Player#752132 writes under the official patch notes: “Fantastic work! We would appreciate further performance improvements!!!”
toskyrun#2614 especially celebrates the improved load times: “That’s all I wanted.”
Haganaz#8763 is also pleased with the update: “Oh! A surprisingly large number of tremendous improvements under the hood! This is fantastic and extremely welcome!”
Many of the comments show that fans are still excited about Total War: Warhammer 3 and would greatly appreciate further improvements of this kind. But even now, the trend is clearly positive: The overall rating on Steam is still a decent 72 percent positive, while reviews from the past 30 days show a significantly better 84 percent positive.
With Crimson Desert, the developers at Pearl Abyss (Black Desert) have a very hot role-playing fire in the forge of their game studio. But when exactly in 2025 will the potential highlight be released?
However, the Korean website MTN now reports (via pcgamesn.com) that the open-world RPG by the Black Desert creators is expected to be released worldwide on November 2, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series. Why “expected”? Because this is said to be an internal, preliminary date.
The team is currently in the final development phase. If everything progresses as planned in the coming months, the release date remains November 2, 2025, and the date will be officially confirmed, according to MTN. This also means that there could still be delays at the last minute, which would affect the planned launch in November.
Crimson Desert will be a graphics powerhouse:
Start video
Crimson Desert: Trailer shows powerful graphics engine of the open-world RPG
The best action RPG in a strong RPG year?
What do I need to know about Crimson Desert? Unlike Black Desert, Crimson Desert will be a purely single-player experience, but is expected to shine with comparable strengths – such as beautiful graphics and a brutal combat system.
The previous trailers not only shine with great visuals and dynamic battles in the open world (including wrestling moves, destructible siege machines, and mounted combat), but also showcase activities such as fishing, balloon rides, flute playing, arm wrestling, parkour climbing, taming mounts, and much more.
The setting (the harsh continent Pywel) and the characters of Crimson Desert heavily remind one of Westeros from Game of Thrones with their western appearance. The main character Kliff resembles a certain Jon Snow. You can even ride dragons, like the Targaryens.
Who gives positive feedback on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is extremely popular among its players, as the game is “Very Positive” on Steam, but also among other development studios. Both Hideo Kojima and the Community Director Marcin Momot from CD Projekt Red have now shared positive words about the game and its developers.
Clair Obscur is so good that players are sad when they finish it:
Start video
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hinterlässt bei den Spielern eine Leere
“This is my ideal scenario”
What does Marcin Momot from CD Projekt Red say about the game? On X, Marcin Momot posted his brief assessment of Expedition 33 after finishing it. He praises the characters, the fun gameplay, and the music. He also states: “We need more games like this!” and “Brilliant! It must be in the conversations for GOTY!”
What does Hideo Kojima say about Expedition 33? The creator of the Metal Gear series, Death Stranding, and P.T. praised especially the small size of the development team behind Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive, the studio behind the game, consists of a team of just over 30 employees.
Hideo Kojima mentioned in an interview with Dexerto: “They have only about 33 team members and a dog. That is my ideal scenario when I develop something with a team.” He further explains that something in a larger team might not work out as initially envisioned, simply because so many people are involved in a project.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was released in February 2025 and turned out to be a great role-playing game for medieval fans. A related documentary has now been released, providing an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Warhorse Studios.
What is this documentary about? On 17.06.2025, a documentary by our colleagues from Gamestar about Warhorse Studios and their work on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was released.
In it, fans get a detailed insight into the development of one of the best role-playing games of this year. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 impressed both the press and players and holds a rating of 88 points on Metacritic, with a user score of 8.7. Even MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz was impressed.
The path to success on platforms like Steam was anything but easy. The documentary tells this story, featuring not only the leading figures from Warhorse Studios but also developers and the main actors of the game.
Here you can watch the documentary in full length:
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The documentary provides insights into the development
What does the film say? Daniel Vávra and Martin Klíma are the founders of Warhorse Studios and share in the documentary about the beginnings of their great medieval role-playing game. They were keen to depict a scenario that is as authentic and realistic as possible.
Initially, there were difficulties in finding investors. Particularly the first part experienced a lot of rejection, as the underlying philosophy of Warhorse Studios sounded little promising.
After all, historical accuracy was a priority for the first part, and that seems to be just as important for the fans. “People can smell bullshit,” say the developers, explaining why they were so eager to depict every little detail historically correctly. However, it was important to them that players should not only admire the world but also immerse themselves completely in it.
The new documentary ultimately shows how medieval Bohemia was created in practice. Fans gain insights into the planning and creation of the game world and characters. Other aspects such as music and recordings with the actors are also highlighted. It is revealed that Heinrich actor Tom McKay was not the first choice for the role.
How does the documentary end? At the end of every game development comes the release. An exciting moment that is also captured in the documentary. It shows how the first reactions to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 arrive and how the team ultimately experiences the launch.
The effort and perseverance have paid off in the end. The role-playing game enjoys great popularity and when looking at the work behind the scenes, it becomes clear why Warhorse Studios was able to celebrate this success. The developers are ambitious and pursue a clear vision that sets their game apart from others.
If you got excited about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 again after the documentary, there is good news. The game still has some highlights in store for 2025. Among other things, fans can expect several story DLCs and regular patches. You can find details on this at MeinMMO: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: Roadmap announces new monastery quest, hardcore mode, and more
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Critical Role became well-known through their Twitch streams for Dungeons & Dragons and recently released their own roleplaying system. They have now hired two key employees from Wizards of the Coast.
What happened? Christopher Chris Perkins, the former Creative Director of the pen & paper Dungeons & Dragons, as well as Jeremy Crawford, the former Game Director of the game, left Wizards of the Coast in April 2025. It has now been announced that the two will start in the same roles at Darrington Press – the publishing subsidiary of Critical Role.
According to a news article on the Darrington Press website, the two are supposed to develop new game concepts, but also expand existing ones. Chris Perkins says:
Storytelling has always been at the heart of everything I do, and joining Darrington Press feels a bit like coming home. I’ve loved being a part of the extended Critical Role family as a regular guest over the years and I’m beyond excited to help create new worlds full of adventure.
Start video
The Legend of Vox Machina – Trailer for the animated DnD adventure
Two heavyweights of pen-and-paper development have a new home
Who are the two new employees? Chris Perkins began his career at Wizards of the Coast in 1977 as an editor for Dungeon magazine. In 2007, he became the Story Manager for Dungeons & Dragons, shortly before its fourth edition was released. He later worked as Lead Story Designer on the acclaimed campaign Curse of Strahd.
Between 2018 and 2024, he became the Creative Director of Dungeons & Dragons. He held this position until he left Wizards of the Coast in April 2025.
Fans of Critical Role could see Perkins twice in guest appearances during the live streams: in 2016 as the Goliath Shale during the Vox Machina campaign and in 2019 as the Kobold Spurt during the Mighty Nein. You can see the latter appearance here:
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Jeremy Crawford was hired at Wizards of the Coast in 2007. As Lead Rules Designer, he accompanied the development of the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In 2011, he began working as Co-Lead Designer on the fifth edition of the game alongside Mike Mearls.
Only in 2024 did he take on his responsibilities as Game Director for Dungeons & Dragons. As Lead Designer, he worked on the Player’s Handbook of the 2024 edition. In April 2025, he left Wizards of the Coast. Regarding his start at Darrington Press, he says:
I’ve always believed that great games invite everyone to the table, and that’s exactly what excites me about joining Darrington Press. This team is passionate, wildly creative, and committed to building welcoming, connected, amazing story-driven experiences—I can’t wait to expand on what Critical Role has already created to develop some really fun and unique games.
Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford were significantly involved in the creation of the current, as well as the acclaimed 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons due to their roles and long-standing work at Wizards of the Coast.
From 7 friends playing live to the most important pen-and-paper stream
What is Critical Role? Critical Role is a group made up of seven American voice actors at its core, who began live streaming their originally private D&D campaign in March 2015. From the stream via Geek & Sundry, additional formats such as Talks Machina emerged, discussing the events of the last session.
In 2019, Critical Role was founded as an independent company, and the group moved to its own Twitch and YouTube channel. There they launched their second campaign in the stream: The Mighty Nein.
Currently, the franchise includes:
Streams on Twitch and YouTube as well as live appearances
Streaming platform Beacon
Cartoon adaptation of the first campaign The Legend of Vox Machina in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video
Production company Metapigeon
Darrington Press, the publishing company
In 2021, it was even revealed that Critical Role ranks among the highest-earning Twitch channels, having earned over $9 million in just two years there (via Business Insider).
Borderlands 4 is nearing its release and alongside its price, its system requirements were only recently revealed. Many fans are now worried that the release might face issues.
What have I missed? Everything related to Borderlands 4 and the CEO of Gearbox is causing quite an uproar among many fans of the franchise.
The reason for this is the discussions with fans regarding the previously unknown price. For many, it was clear that $80 for Borderlands 4 would be too expensive; however, Randy Pitchford (CEO of Gearbox) went on to say, if you were a real fan, you would find a way to come up with the money.
A large part of the community found these statements to be audacious. Then came the reveal of the actual price, and although there was no price increase, fans agree that the prices are still too high given the current economic situation.
However, there is another topic that fans are addressing on Reddit, and that is the system requirements for PCs. The community is now fearing that the disaster with Borderlands 3 may repeat itself.
Start video
In Borderlands 4 könnt ihr überall hinreisen, was ihr im Spiel sehen könnt – sogar zum Mond?
Fans fear a rough launch, just like with Borderlands 3
What happened with Borderlands 3? In the comments on Reddit, bad omens can be sensed regarding the release of Borderlands 4. The launch of Borderlands 3 did not go particularly well in terms of performance.
There were many bugs, the splitscreen was unplayable, and there were also numerous graphic issues that affected the gameplay experience. As Borderlands 4 is supposed to be much more expansive, fans fear that the sequel would meet the same fate. The following can be heard:
“Don’t you remember how painful it was to run BL3 [Borderlands 3] when it came out” – werti5643
“I tried to play splitscreen with my cousin in the first weeks, just like in the good old days, and man. ‘Unplayable’ doesn’t do it justice. The quality reminds me of the time when Black Ops 3 sold Eisen Dragon [a zombie map] for the [Xbox] 360.” – kleptillion
“On consoles, including PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, it ran absolutely terribly, and ironically with settings that were comparable to the lowest PC settings. On PC, it was extremely demanding, but no one can deny that the game looks fantastic on Ultra/Badass settings. The render distance alone is insane.” – SHTPST_Tianquan
“32gb [RAM] recommended makes me a bit worried about the optimization” – The_Official_Obama
Are the specs really too high? Not necessarily. Those who want to play on the highest possible settings and do not have the latest hardware might run into issues. However, looking at the minimum requirements, they list specifications that many modern gaming PCs have these days, including:
Minimum Requirement
Recommended
CPU
Intel i7-9700 or AMD 2700X
Intel i7-12700 or AMD 5800X
RAM
16 GB
32 GB
GPU
NVIDIA RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5700 XT
NVIDIA RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 6800 XT
Storage
100 GB
100 GB
Everything seems to be within reason and sounds reasonable, but it remains to be seen how performance-hungry Borderlands 4 is going to be, as the open world could truly bring about compromises that fans with strong hardware would also have to deal with. Until then, we must still wait. What do you think of the minimum requirements? Do you find them too high or still reasonable? More about Borderlands 4 can be found here: Pre-order Borderlands 4 – All information about editions, prices, and content
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Pokémon GO has introduced the golden bottle cap and the associated super special training. It is now also clear how much it will cost to get the bottle cap, and this annoys some players.
What is the golden bottle cap? The golden bottle cap is an item that you can use to activate the new super special training. This was recently announced, and now there are more details. With the bottle cap, you can enhance the stats of one of your Pokémon by using it as a buddy, using the bottle cap, and then completing tasks.
For the attack value, the tasks revolve around battles.
Defense is trained through playing, walking, and catching.
And the HP value is improved by spinning PokéStops, earning buddy candies, and other tasks.
You have 365 days for the super special training, starting from the moment you activate it. But: You first have to have the golden bottle cap. And there are now also details about that.
Start video
Pokémon GO: Over 800 Trainers fight in Gigantamax battle
Golden bottle cap in the Deluxe Pass costs 20 US Dollars
How much does the golden bottle cap cost? The golden bottle cap is awarded at the highest level of the new GO-Pass-Deluxe. This is available in the event Legacy of the Ancients, which runs from June 23 to June 29.
The Deluxe variant of the pass will cost 19.99 US Dollars, likely comparable in Euros.
There is also a free version of the pass that everyone can get, but it does not include a bottle cap. Both premium passes offer additional rewards. For the Deluxe Pass, the announcement on pokemongo.com lists the following highlighted rewards:
The golden bottle cap
The avatar item “Zacian Mask”
The avatar item “Zamazenta Mask”
Premium items like incense, a lucky egg, an incubator, lure modules, and more
XL candies
In addition, bonuses such as halved egg hatch distance and milestone bonuses at various levels of the pass. For example:
An extra raid pass per day
Double hatch candies
An additional XL candy for level 5 raids
Double hatch stardust
Three extra candies after level 5 raids
Double hatch XP
5,000 extra XP after completing raids
Overall, there is definitely a lot to gain, but the main reason to buy is likely to be the golden bottle cap. However, the price annoys some players.
What does the community say? In the subreddit “TheSilphRoad”, players are already discussing the bottle cap. After the first announcement of the bottle cap led to discussions about which Pokémon to enhance best, the price is now the focus of the discussions. Some players express dissatisfaction about having to pay 20 euros for the new item – and also having to reach level 100 of the pass before they can even get the item.
I was even willing to spend some money on this thing, but this price has simply removed me from the pool of buyers. It’s way too much, finds user TheReformedBadger on Reddit.
Okay, so… You have to spend 20 dollars. You have to reach rank 100 within a week. And then this thing expires in less than a month?, asks user maniacal_monk on Reddit. Because that’s another point: The announcement states that the bottle cap can only be used until July 6, 2025, at 11:59 PM – after that, it expires if not used.
No silver bottle cap in the free pass – that’s just kind of crazy. I was sure they would go that route, comments user DANOM1GHT on Reddit.
Overall, the voices currently sound rather disappointed, after the initial announcement of the feature had generated a lot of positive excitement. Nevertheless, some in the comments suspect that many will still buy the pass – despite the price. What do you think? Let us know in the comments! And if you want to know what’s next in Pokémon GO, check out the overview of all events in June 2025 in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Twitch streamer Carsten “ELoTRiX” reacted to a video from a YouTuber and was able to earn more money than the original creator of the video.
What is the Money Cheat? On Twitch and YouTube, there are numerous ways to earn money, whether through view counts or sponsorships. Another method often utilized because it requires little effort and offers high profitability is reactions.
In the Twitch stream, a video is watched together with the community, reacting to what the other streamer is doing. Afterwards, it is edited and uploaded as a video to a specially designated YouTube channel.
MontanaBlack is one of the most well-known streamers in Germany – This was his very first video
“What the F***”
How much did ELoTRiX earn with the video? In a stream, Twitch streamer ELoTRiX showcases the video that brings him the most earnings on his reaction channel: a reaction to the video from Jules about the developer Blizzard. The video is about two hours long, while the original is around 1.5 hours long, and with over 1.8 million views, it has earned the Twitch streamer a total of 27,063.13 euros.
On X, Jules appeared visibly surprised at the discrepancy between his earnings and those of the Twitch streamer. Because although Jules garnered more views, namely 2.9 million, and a longer watch time on YouTube with his video, he only earned “just” 23,979.46 euros, about 4,000 euros less than ELoTRiX.
Why is this special? The situation is particularly noteworthy against the background that Jules once claimed that his YouTube earnings are low for the effort he puts into his videos. In one of his YouTube videos, he calculated that he only receives an hourly wage of 5.29 euros from the monetization on YouTube.
When comparing the effort and the limited earnings Jules has with the earnings and effort of ELoTRiX, the calculation does not really add up and seems unfair.
Fair Solutions for Reactions
What potential solutions are there? YouTuber Robin “RobBubble” Blase also discussed reactions in one of his videos, as he faces the same problem: people reacting to his content earn significantly more than he does.
In his video on YouTube, he proposed a solution: YouTube could introduce a revenue split where reactors can indicate the video they are watching, so that half of the earnings can be redirected to the creator of the original video.
In Stellar Blade, there are numerous quests and puzzles to solve. Some solutions are less obvious than others. We will show you how to complete the Wisdom Puzzle and the associated quest.
Where can I find the quest “Wisdom Puzzle”? The quest is a follow-up to “Simple Puzzle” and can be accepted at the bulletin board in the city of Xion. Once you have completed “Simple Puzzle,” you can take on “Wisdom Puzzle.”
Once accepted, the quest presents you with a riddle where you need to find and enter the correct code. We will show you how to do it.
[toc]
Start video
Stellar Blade meets NieR:Automata – Trailer for the new DLC
This is the solution for the correct code
To solve the quest, you need to enter the correct code at the input terminal at the elevator in the foyer of the audience room.
The code is: 5005.
Once you have entered the code, you are almost done. You just need to go back to the bulletin board, submit the completed task, and collect your reward.
Here’s how to get to the solution
The quest presents you with the following riddle:
37#21 = 928
77#44 = 3993
123#17 = 14840
71#6 = ???
You arrive at the solution 5005 by first adding the numbers before and after the hash, and in a second step calculating the difference. You then multiply those two numbers.
The first three equations show you what the result will look like. The calculation for your solution is as follows:
71 + 6 = 77
71 – 6 = 65
77 × 65 = 5.005
These are the rewards you receive for the quest
Upon completion, you receive the badge “Queen of Arithmetic” and around 1,000 gold. You can find the badge in your inventory under the category “Miscellaneous.”
With a little trick, you can significantly improve the graphics of World of Warcraft. You just need a macro for the “glasses effect”.
World of Warcraft may no longer win aesthetic awards for its graphics, but thanks to its comic look, the game still looks solid even in 2025. There are a few nuances and tweaks that you cannot directly adjust in the game – not even in the advanced graphics options.
For example, if you want the maximum sharpness of the environment, you need to use a macro that a player shared in the WoW Subreddit.
Start video
WoW player finds his old guild again – but it’s quite sad
What is this macro? The player Inevitable-Ad-6334 explained in his post that you first need to set the Reconstructive Sharpness in WoW’s graphic settings under advanced settings to 0, which is the maximum strength.
Then, you put the following lines in a macro or copy them for one-time use in the chat:
/run local o = GetCVarBool(“ResampleAlwaysSharpen”); SetCVar(“ResampleAlwaysSharpen”, not o); print(“Sharpening is now ” .. (o and “off” or “on”))
Note that you will see the differences most clearly with things in the distance. Particularly items that are often referred to as “Clutter” (i.e., environmental details like branches, leaves, etc.) are significantly sharper with this, as are some textures of larger objects.
If you find the effect too strong, you can pull back the slider that was set to 0 a bit until you reach the desired amount of blur.
Why does the macro work? Blur effects are now a standard part of almost all games. Objects in the distance appear somewhat blurred to create a more cohesive look. A little blur in the distance and softer edges prevent objects from appearing too harshly divided.
However, not everyone likes this. Blur effects are controversial, and “Motion Blur” can often cause headaches. Some basic distortion is included by default in WoW and cannot be disabled through options. However, this internal setting is accessible with a macro.
By the way, the macro works as a toggle. You can use it yourself to see how well the effect is visible to you and whether you like the new settings or not.
This is how the community reacts: Players are generally quite thankful for such little tricks and tweaks and thus show satisfaction. One commenter writes:
“Wowee, what a difference. It feels like I’m wearing glasses for the first time.” – anamopea
“The blur drives me crazy, I will definitely try this, thanks.” – A_Blind_Alien
In Helldivers 2, the worthy defenders of Über-Earth are now receiving their reward for saving Über-Earth, but only the true heroes will receive something.
What is the reward? The Ministry of Truth wants to thank the brave efforts of the Helldivers. As a reward, the soldiers receive a new cape called ‘Protector of the Heart’.
The cape is a modified version of the flag of Über-Earth, featuring a golden skull and a golden border. You can also see the usage in the title image. The description of the exclusive cape reads: ‘When the Illuminati threatened Über-Earth, the true heart of democracy, the Helldivers answered the call.’
However, not every Helldiver will receive the exclusive cape, as the developers have now made clear.
Here is another look at the enemy faction that attacked Über-Earth:
Start video
Helldivers 2 reveals the new enemy faction in the trailer for ‘Omens of Tyranny’
Only true heroes get a cape
Who receives the reward? The reward is only available for the defense of Über-Earth and although the Ministry of Truth may not want to hear this, not all Helldivers were involved in the defense.
Only Helldivers who played between May 13 and June 2 and thus contributed to the defense of Über-Earth will receive the cape. Those who missed the event will end up empty-handed and can no longer obtain the cape.
How are the Helldivers reacting to the cape? The Helldivers are excited about the reward. On Discord, the announcement received over 3,000 thumbs up within one hour. There are already initial reactions to the cape on Reddit:
One_Meaning416: ‘I have a new main cape.’
EyMug: ‘I wish the logo had something to do with the Illuminati, like a sword or a mini-flag that is placed on the logo. That would make sense.’
Impressive-Ad8642: ‘Yay! We are now veterans lmao.’
Thormold: ‘Well, my soul was taken by Clair Obscur, so no regrets, just a bit of regret! Nice cape!’
A long-time Pokémon fan reports that upgrading to the Switch 2 cost him his favorite pocket monsters from 20 years. Many in the community can empathize.
What happened to the player? On Reddit, a user reported on June 14, 2025, about a tragic incident during his transition to the Switch 2. He performed the start-up normally and then transferred his data from the predecessor. During the transfer, there was no error message; everything seemed to be working wonderfully.
The shock came when the player opened Pokémon Scarlet, as his save file had disappeared, he reported. Instead, the game would directly start in language selection and then proceed to create a new character. Also, on the original Switch the save file is gone, as the data is deleted during the transfer.
His other save files remain intact, the player further states. But the pocket monsters that meant the most to him were on Scarlet. This includes Pokémon he has had since the GBA days. In total, he lost not only one save file with over 1,000 hours but also his most loyal companions from 20 years of Pokémon – now he doesn’t even know if he wants to play anymore (via IGN).
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Trailer for the Rise of the Royale Champion
Players sympathize: “Tears were shed”
Could this happen to me? The problem seems to be rare, but the player is not alone. Users report in the comments on Reddit about similar experiences:
“Exactly the same happened to me when I switched from the original Switch to the OLED. Tears were shed.” – Reddit user Grouchy-Cress-215 via IGN
“The same happened to me as well, but literally all my data is gone, so BOTW, TOTK, MK8, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet, and so on. I literally have to replay everything from scratch.” – Existing-Possible550 via IGN
Some users have had similar experiences but assure the player: The next game is coming, and eventually, he will go on a Pokémon hunt again.
DefinedAwesomeness explains on Reddit: “[…] Yes, I lost event Pokémon that I will never get back, and that sucks, but we both know I would never have used them anyway. Everything will be fine, buddy. But again, I’m so sorry.”
Some other users also report equally tragic losses, which, however, are attributed to human error: They had let friends or relatives play with their editions, who then promptly overwrote the save files.
So, if someone really wants to make sure not to lose their beloved pocket monsters when upgrading to the Switch 2, they should consider a temporary storage on Pokémon Home. The player also advises to learn from their mistakes and ignore the transfer as the system suggests. Instead, it is safer to transfer the data manually.
If you still want to use the automatic transfer, do it as soon as you start your Switch 2 for the first time – you can learn more about it from the colleagues at GameStar.
Those who build an “Unofficial Crysknife” from a tooth of a sandworm in Dune: Awakening are surely not disappointed. The damage per hit value is incredibly high. The downside of the blade often leads to discussions within the community.
How can I build an Unofficial Crysknife? Those who get eaten by a sandworm in Dune: Awakening, either accidentally or intentionally, lose everything on their body. So far, so familiar. But did you know that as worm food on two legs, you can snag a worm tooth and the corresponding recipe for the “Unofficial Crysknife” (found among the iron products)?
With this schematic, the worm tooth, and a plant fiber, you can create the iconic blade of the Fremen via the Personal Fabricator without too much farming hassle. The characteristics of the weapon are:
191.6 damage per second with an attack speed of 139. For comparison: Melee weapons from the Plastanium category only reach about 115 to 127 damage per second.
The weapon cannot leave its owner. You have to destroy it to remove it from your inventory.
The weapon is very brittle. One hit is enough, and it crumbles into its components. Apparently, it doesn’t even deal the promised damage in the process.
There are players from Dune Awakening who ride on sandworms:
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Spieler schafft das Unmögliche in Dune: Awakening auf Steam, reitet auf einem Sandwurm durch die Wüste
Fremen as the third faction?
What is the community discussing? Players repeatedly discuss the purpose behind this weapon (for example, here on Reddit), which, while promising incredibly high damage, is not practical in practice. The significance of the Crysknives within the lore of Dune is also a topic.
To put it in context: The Crysknife is the traditional and sacred weapon of the Fremen warriors, which one must earn during an initiation rite and is made from the teeth of dead sandworms. When such a Crysknife is bound to a fighter, it must always be near its owner. Otherwise, it dissolves within a few hours.
Despite this fact, Crysknives are considered robust weapons that only break under extreme stress. The reason the weapon breaks so quickly in Dune: Awakening is the “Unofficial” tag and the fact that one has never been shown by a Fremen how to build a real Crysknife.
Will real Crysknives be coming soon? Since the developers have already announced plans to introduce a third faction in Dune: Awakening, parts of the community speculate that this could involve the Fremen. And that players will also be able to learn how to craft a real Crysknife, which will be significantly more robust.
After Rogue Trader, developer Owlcat is now planning Dark Heresy, the next role-playing game set in Warhammer 40,000 for PC (Steam, Epic, GOG), PS5, and Xbox. Fans of the predecessor are now encouraged to pre-order, but it’s going rather mediocre.
In Dark Heresy, you belong to the members of the Inquisition. There are no details on the story yet, only that you are to investigate a stellar anomaly and will apparently face Chaos Space Marines of the Night Lords.
The game will be released for both PC and consoles. The predecessor already had native co-op, so it seems likely that Dark Heresy will also offer multiplayer. A release date for Dark Heresy is still pending.
That’s why fans are cautious: Owlcat has now tried to generate some hype on Reddit and encourage potential players to pre-order. The post is not particularly subtle: Heresy is spreading, and if you don’t pre-order Dark Heresy, it will remain that way. Neither the Inquisition nor the Emperor tolerate that.
The aggressive tone is surprisingly well received; users feel it fits exactly into the dark, fascist world of Warhammer 40,000. Nevertheless, in over 180 comments, most fans agree that they will not pre-order.
Digital pre-orders have often been criticized, but particularly in recent years, gamers have developed a certain aversion to preorders. The opinion: Too many games have been released unfinished or poorly. This is not (only) true for Owlcat, but in general. Additionally, there is too little known about Dark Heresy. There is no release date, no gameplay, too many uncertainties.
In the thread, it is mentioned that they really want to support, buy, and play Dark Heresy – but only after the release when they can be sure that it is good. After all, Owlcat has a certain history with releases.
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Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy in the Announcement Trailer
Owlcat delivers excellent games if you are patient
The developers have published three major role-playing games that all have strong reviews:
Pathfinder: Kingmaker (77% positive)
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (83% positive)
and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (84% positive)
However, each of these games had significant bugs at release, some of which were merely annoying while others could impede gameplay. Each game had a better release than its predecessors, but generally, it has always taken several patches before the games were really stable – sometimes this only happened with the ‘Enhanced’ edition.
However, Owlcat is also working to polish and make the games playable. They will be supplied with new content over the years. Rogue Trader, for example, will receive its second DLC Lex Imperialis on June 24, 2025, in which you will get an Adeptus Arbites as a new companion.
In the new soccer game Rematch, you can do all the things that would usually get you a card. At the release on Steam, there are already 40,000 players on board.
What kind of game is it? Rematch is a soccer game by developer Sloclap. By the way, this is the same studio behind the fighting game Sifu. Unlike in EA FC (formerly FIFA) or the new UFL, you can expect a very different experience here, rather than a realistic simulation of the sport.
Rematch will be released on June 19, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Series X|S. If you pay 10 euros more for the Pro Edition, you can start earlier thanks to “Advanced Access”. You can see a trailer for the game here:
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Rematch: Reveal trailer for the new football game by the creators of Sifu
The art style immediately reminds you of Sifu, the earlier game from the developers behind Rematch: characters and stadiums are designed in a comic style. The developers have especially gotten creative with the latter:
The game sends you to locations such as a coliseum or the desert, which still feel very natural.
In some games, the developers send you underwater or into space during a match.
The venue does not affect the game. Compared to regular soccer, you can expect quite different backdrops here.
No rules, just pure action
In Rematch, the focus is on fast action: Here, two teams of 5 players each face off. Each player on the field is controlled by a real person – you don’t play your entire team. Some of the rules you know from regular soccer do not exist in Rematch: There are no fouls, no offsides, and no breaks.
Each player on the field is an elite athlete: Specific player attributes that help you excel in dribbling or shooting goals do not exist. Your player is only as good as your skills allow.
How is Rematch received by the players? They are mostly satisfied with the release. Out of just over 1,800 reviews on Steam, 75% are positive.
Mikeyroxx writes: “I have never enjoyed football, not in real life, not in games, never. REMATCH has changed that.”
“Who would have thought that Rocket League without cars would be so much fun, apart from little glitches its a fun game.” (zee)
However, some players complain that they frequently lose connection to matches. “If you’re holding off on server stability issues, don’t buy it”, says ECCO. ‘Still a crazy amount of desync, and high server latency is a frequent occurrence.’
The YouTube channel DoktorFroid is parting ways with one of its founding members, Florian “LeFloid” Mundt. The team explains the circumstances in a Twitch stream.The decision was not easy for them, but they had to do it in order to preserve their friendship.
Who is it about? The YouTube channel DoktorFroid is one of the largest gaming channels in Germany. It was originally founded by YouTubers LeFloid and Max “Frodoapparat” Krüger in 2012.
The two content creators have been uploading Let’s Plays of various games since 2013, creating rankings on gaming topics, and sharing various quirky facts about video games in their format “Random Gaming Facts,”
Eventually, YouTubers RobBubble and David Hain joined as members and Frodoapparat left the channel. After that, the DoktorFroid team consisted of LeFloid, Olli, and Paul. Paul had been part of the team for a while and then took the final step in front of the camera.
In addition to the main channel, they also run a Twitch channel and the YouTube channels “DoktorFroid Reacts,” where they upload reactions to videos from Twitch, and “DoktorFroid Live,” where past Twitch streams are uploaded. Recently, they had a podcast together, but now only two of them remain.
Overall, DoktorFroid had a large arsenal of content, but recently LeFloid has been appearing less frequently on the channel. Now the DoktorFroid team has announced that they have parted ways with YouTuber LeFloid as a team member.
Gronkh also belongs to the big YouTube channels in Germany:
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Gronkh, the man with the voice – Career and life of Germany’s most famous Let’s Player
“We had to put on a mask”
Why is DoktorFroid parting ways with LeFloid? In a Twitch stream later uploaded as a VoD on YouTube, Paul and Olli talked in more detail about the separation from LeFloid and answered questions from the community.
DoktorFroid is parting ways with LeFloid because, as they explain, his presence in the project has significantly decreased. LeFloid is said to have not contributed to the organization and content of DoktorFroid anymore and focused mainly on his own projects.
This made it impossible for the DoktorFroid team to work on the channel in the same manner as they had initially intended. They wanted to operate the DoktorFroid channel on the foundation of honesty and friendship. However, this was no longer possible due to LeFloid’s increasing absence.
The pressure behind the scenes led Olli and Paul to feel forced to pretend in some streams that everything was fine: “We really had to put on a mask in many streams.” (via YouTube).
Olli and Paul repeatedly emphasize that this separation served as a last resort and that they had tried everything possible to avoid taking this step. They say: “If we hadn’t done this, it would have completely ended… then there would have been no more DoktorFroid.” (via YouTube).
This is simply not what the DoktorFroid team wants to do. Therefore, they decided on this step before any resentment could arise between those involved.
Olli and Paul in their Twitch stream on DoktorFroid (via YouTube).
Initially, DoktorFroid and LeFloid wanted to publish a unified statement on their respective channels, but LeFloid posted his own statement on Instagram. They later published their own written statement on Instagram as well. Both can now only be found as archived clips in a Reddit post.
Olli and Paul also reaffirm that they have no beef with LeFloid and do not want any factionalism. No one is interested in a rivalry.
What’s next for the future? Finally, Olli and Paul talked about future projects from DoktorFroid and that they do not want to replace LeFloid. They say that nothing will change for the community. All planned projects, such as “Loot for the World” or their appearances at various conventions, will continue as planned.
Mixed reactions to the separation
How does the community respond? Generally, the mood in the community seems to be sad, yet hopeful at the same time. During their Twitch stream, Olli and Paul received some donations and subs with loving messages. The community wishes them all the best for the future and wants to continue watching them.
In forums and comment sections, some voices from the community expressed their opinions:
DunnoMouse is happy about the separation (via Reddit): “Nice. But honestly, given how Flo has developed recently, I might prefer it this way.”
Mike-sg5is writes (via YouTube): “What kind of thing is killing me is how much you can notice how much this gets to you. Thank you for the statement and especially for still sitting down for a stream and answering questions afterwards.”
furchenschweiss1448 is hopeful for the future (via YouTube): “I stopped watching because Flo changed, even though I have grown fond of Olli and Paul. I look forward to the new content with you two.”
mizarkatze seems disappointed and angry with LeFloid (via Reddit): “After watching the stream of the remaining Froids, I am extremely disappointed in Flo. The whole midlife crisis thing, his strange bro development may be subjective and his thing. But leaving Paul and Olli in front of all the followers is really a disgrace. This shows how little he values the people there – so not at all, zero.”
LeFloid has indeed shifted away from his original content in recent years. Many German YouTubers who had large channels in the 2010s have undergone a similar development or have closed their channels entirely. The German channel DieAussenseiter is also among them. One of its former members, Sascha, spoke in an interview about that time: One of the first major German YouTubers was so besieged by his fans that he felt like a Pokémon
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Final Fantasy XIV there are some very rare mounts. One of them is locked behind over 200 hours of grind. One player has now obtained it anyway.
What kind of mount is this? The mount in question is one of the three rare mounts that exist for the hunting achievements: the Triceratops, one of only four dinosaur mounts in the entire MMORPG.
The Triceratops is summoned with the Triceratops Horn. This is obtained by reaching the achievement Nuts for Nutsy, the final achievement of the High Hunt in the Shadowbringers areas. To achieve it, at least 2,000 Shadowbringers A-rank and 1,000 Shadowbringers S-rank hunts must be completed.
According to the Lalachievements.com website, currently, only 1.7% of players in Final Fantasy XIV have unlocked this achievement. After over 200 hours, it’s now even one more player.
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The new trailer for Patch 7.2 of Final Fantasy XIV shows the new, highly anticipated content
A whole 3 years and over 200 hours of hard work
How did the player get it? The YouTuber Bluusiin announced in her latest video from June 17, 2025, that she finally owns the rare Triceratops mount. For this, she grinded the 2,000 A-rank and the required 1,000 S-rank hunts. Her last required S-rank kill was even a particularly rare SS-rank, a special version of a regular S-rank hunt.
In total, it took about three years to defeat all enemies, and she invested over 200 gameplay hours just in the achievement behind the mount.
Bluusiin says it was a lucky coincidence for the last hunts, as the remaining needed ones spawned in comparatively short succession. She does not show the fights in full length, however, the monsters all die quite quickly in the face of several groups of max-level fighters. In the end, she defeats the SS-rank and obtains the mount.
At around 5:30 minutes in the video, the long-awaited achievement finally flashes on screen.
Why is the mount so rare? The Triceratops mount is very rare due to the difficult requirements for obtaining it. The combat achievements Catch an A in Norvrandt III and Catch an S in Norvrandt III are required. These are unlocked after completing 2,000 successful A-rank and 1,000 successful S-rank battles in Shadowbringers areas.
These hunts do not spawn within a few minutes, but reappear depending on the timer after several hours or even days. Therefore, planned or regular farming is not possible. Additionally, the Shadowbringers areas are now six years old, and most players who are ready for these hunts are in the endgame of the current expansion Dawntrail or still busy with the main story.