Latest

One Off The List

7-games-with-the-best-ai Rock,Paper,Shotgun

7 games with the best AI

June 10, 2022RockPaperShotgun

No, not SHODAN or GLaDOS. I mean the other sort. The magic formulae of raw computer nonsense that runs under the cover of your favourite game and makes enemies flank you, or friendly NPCs toss a health kit just in time. Good AI is not an unbeatable genius. It is smartly stupid. It is both surprisingly clever and capable of wonderful carelessness. It can remind us of ourselves. Quick-witted on a good day, an absolute dunderhead on a bad one. Here’s a list of the 7 best AI in PC games. Read more

Read More
9-minor-npcs-who-became-major-characters Rock,Paper,Shotgun

9 minor NPCs who became major characters

March 4, 2022RockPaperShotgun

Even the most minor character can accrue a rabid fandom. If there’s no outpouring of questionable illustration following the debut of your single-sentence plot-helper, then you’ve either failed at fiction or you are deeply blessed. Some breakaway characters begin as a joke, or an afterthought, some as a narrative necessity, or a kind of walking, talking environment art. Others are born as side characters to lighten the story because the main dudes frown too much and Derek from market research says frowns are “cringe”. Well, shut up, Derek. You’re cringe. Here are nine minor NPCs who became major players. Read…

Read More
the-best-snow-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The best snow in PC games

December 17, 2021RockPaperShotgun

Look outside. Is it snowing? Well, it’s snowing in video games, where it matters. The winter months are here to lay frosty waste to the Northern hemisphere, which is where list goblins like me originate. To celebrate the first flakes of glimmering ice wafting out of the sky like God’s own sub-zero dandruff, here’s a list of the best snow in PC games. Put on a hat, for heaven’s sake. Read more

Read More
the-9-least-convincing-disguises-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The 9 least convincing disguises in PC games

August 6, 2021RockPaperShotgun

Psst. It’s me. You probably had trouble seeing through my clever disguise, a slightly longer coat than usual. But I assure you, it’s myself, the list goblin. My disguise is good, eh? Unlike some of these examples. Here are 9 of the worst disguises in videogames. Read more

Read More
the-9-best-bugs-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The 9 best bugs in PC games

April 23, 2021RockPaperShotgun

The Oxford English dictionary describes a bug as: “a sort of computer oops”. It is the result of errant coding, mismatched texture, wonky physics or (sometimes) a briefcase. Developers must fight bugs day and night to safeguard the digital realms we call our playgrounds. Sometimes they lose that battle and a bug comes stomping ravenously into our game, ready to upset us. But sometimes that bug is not an annoyance or a game-breaker, but instead the funniest thing to ever happen. Here are 9 of the best bugs in PC gaming. Read more

Read More
the-10-most-wholesome-families-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The 10 most wholesome families in PC games

January 8, 2021RockPaperShotgun

One Off The List is our monthly list feature. Is there something you think doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Comment with your reasons why, and next month it may be struck off. Pack your bags, wrap the presents, put your scarf around your neck. And then sit down because, I’m sorry, you’re going nowhere. It’s bad, yeah. Even yours truly, a respected list goblin of note, could not make it back to his family in time for the holidays due to the ongoing vengeance of mother nature. But listen. What if I told you: “video games”? They have…

Read More
the-9-worst-neighbourhoods-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The 9 worst neighbourhoods in PC games

December 18, 2020RockPaperShotgun

One Off The List is our monthly list feature. Is there something you think doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Comment with your reasons why, and next month it may be struck off. Many of you are by now bathing in twinkling neon ravelights and swooning into the metal arms of Cyberpunk 2077‘s humourless unhunks, who stalk the streets of Night City like animatronic pizza restaurant mascots gone feral. That is fine. There are worse places to find oneself in the labyrinthine hell of video games. Places such as these. Here are 9 neighbourhoods you wouldn’t want to bring…

Read More
the-10-worst-kings-and-queens-in-pc-games Rock,Paper,Shotgun

The 10 worst kings and queens in PC games

September 4, 2020RockPaperShotgun

One Off The List is our monthly list feature. Is there something you think doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Comment with your reasons why, and next week it may be struck off. Regicide is once again a topic at dinner, thanks to the release of Crusader Kings III. Your aunt passes you the gravy, and asks about council matters. Your mother comments on the rise in guillotine stocks. Your father, the king, chews his mutton with a rueful and distant glare, probably thinking about war. A cloaked advisor enters and hands you a note on parchment. “The ten…

Read More