Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree - Erdtree On Fire
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
A24 has officially joined forces with Bandai Namco to produce a live-action film adaptation of Elden Ring. The news confirms months of speculation about whether the critically acclaimed RPG would make its way to the big screen. The film will be written and directed by Alex Garland, best known for his work on Ex Machina, Annihilation, and more recently Civil War. Garland’s involvement marks his first time adapting a video game into a film, signaling a major crossover between cinematic science fiction and interactive fantasy. The project is currently in early pre-production stages, and no target release window or casting details have been disclosed yet.
Elden Ring’s Transition to Film
Elden Ring, developed by FromSoftware and released by Bandai Namco in 2022, quickly stood out as one of the decade’s most influential RPGs. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of Dark Souls, directed the game. Author George R.R. Martin helped craft its mythological framework and lore. It sold over 30 million copies worldwide, praised for its detailed open world, tough combat, and rich narrative layers. The story follows a Tarnished warrior roaming the Lands Between, aiming to restore the broken Elden Ring and rise as Elden Lord. Source: Polygon
The production brings together an experienced and well-rounded team. Alongside Alex Garland, the producer lineup includes Peter Rice, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, George R.R. Martin, and Vince Gerardis. As a result, the project benefits from both Hollywood expertise and strong literary roots. Garland, who previously collaborated with A24 on Ex Machina and Men, is likely to apply his cerebral, character-driven style to the bleak and mysterious world of Elden Ring. Moreover, his past work is praised for sharp writing and precise visuals—qualities that align well with FromSoftware’s haunting design and layered narrative tone.
Elden Ring Fans React to Movie Announcement
Fans have responded intensely to the announcement, showing both excitement and concern across forums and social media. Many are hopeful about Garland’s direction and storytelling style. Others doubt whether one film can truly reflect the scale and mystery of Elden Ring. The game offers little direct exposition and focuses on atmosphere and personal discovery. Some fear that fitting this into a typical film structure could flatten the experience. However, Garland’s track record with complex characters and layered themes suggests he may be able to adapt the source material without losing its depth. Source: TheVerge
The film isn’t the only thing on the horizon for Elden Ring fans. The franchise is actively expanding, with multiple upcoming projects. Elden Ring: Nightreign, a multiplayer-focused spinoff, is scheduled for release on May 30, 2025. The new spinoff will focus on co-op and PvP gameplay, building on what worked well in the base game. Details are still scarce. A next-gen Nintendo Switch 2 version is also in development, aiming to deliver the full experience on the go. These projects confirm that Bandai Namco and FromSoftware plan to expand the brand beyond just the film adaptation. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
Schedule 1 is gearing up for another substantial update focused on streamlining base management. The main feature is a new locker system that replaces beds, bringing deeper inventory control, smarter AI behavior, and several quality-of-life improvements. The beta goes live within days, with a full rollout expected next week. Check out our Schedule 1 first look review here!
Locker Filters Are the Core Addition
The next update for Schedule 1 overhauls how players manage employee inventory. Beds, which previously handled worker assignments, will be replaced by compact lockers. Each locker includes eight configurable slots that function as both worker assignment tools and general storage. Unlike beds, lockers take up less space and offer slot-by-slot filtering options. These filters let players define exactly what items go where, improving storage precision and cutting down on chaotic item placement. Each slot can be adjusted to accept certain item types, minimum quality levels, and even rules. For example, you can permit only high-purity stimulants or ban low-tier knives from being stored altogether. This kind of granular control is designed to remove the micromanagement burden, especially in large bases where multiple employees interact with the same storage points during raids or harvest routines.
When the update drops, all beds will auto-convert into lockers at their original coordinates—but only if the surrounding area is clear. To avoid placement issues, players should dismantle clutter, move decor, and create enough floor space in advance. Manual saving before switching to the beta branch is also recommended. Once lockers are in place, filters can be configured for different purposes. You might set Slot 1 to accept only “AK-47s,” Slots 2-4 for pills above 80% purity, and block knives entirely. These rules keep the AI productive and prevent mistakes like storing valuable gear in low-security areas. Labeling lockers clearly—e.g., “Lab Locker A1” or “Field Unit Locker 3”—helps streamline this further. Players dealing with large-scale production or active police threats benefit most from tight inventory control, as misplaced items during a raid can cost time and resources.
Beyond the lockers, the update includes more general quality-of-life improvements. Employees will now transfer between player-owned properties without needing to be fired. Trash zones shift from circular to square, allowing for better placement in tight spaces. Several navigation bugs have also been fixed to improve movement across large, multi-floor bases. Locker filters tie into updated AI routines as well: employees now recognize slot rules and skip lockers that don’t meet their current inventory needs. This reduces pathfinding loops and shortens task completion time. To prevent bottlenecks, Tyler added a failsafe where items that can’t be stored get placed in a temporary “lost-and-found” crate at the base entrance. If this leads to a drop in clutter, a hotfix is already planned.
Update Access, Timing, and Compatibility
Developer Tyler confirmed that the new beta build will go live in a day or two. Players can access it through the Steam beta tab by selecting “public‐test.” The build is considered feature-complete, with beta feedback focused on performance and stability, not design. The update should reach all users next week, likely on a Tuesday to avoid weekend server strain. It will be around 450 MB, will not reset saves, but may break mods that alter worker inventory, since lockers use a new parent class instead of the old bed system. Modders should review their hooks after the update hits. Clipboard support for copy-pasting locker filters is also in the works and expected to roll out soon after.
Development Pace and Future Systems
Schedule 1 entered Early Access in March 2025 and has been receiving major content drops roughly every four weeks. On May 8, the last patch introduced the Jukebox to boost customer patience, a 1,000-stack off-site Storage Unit, a bulk mixer, and mod tools to save imports. This upcoming locker update continues that rapid development pace. Looking ahead, Tyler has outlined features like dynamic weather, helicopter patrols, and an in-game player voting system. Source: OpenCritic. These future systems will likely rely on the locker framework, especially as secure, rules-based storage becomes vital when weather damages outdoor stock or police conduct inventory checks. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
GameStop has announced a new policy limiting sales of upcoming Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products to one per customer. This measure comes ahead of the May 30 release of the “Scarlet & Violet: Destined Rivals” expansion. The company shared the update via its official social media channels, stating:
“New Pokémon TCG products will now be limited to 1 per customer. Have fun!”
This decision aims to manage high demand and ensure broader access for customers.
Recent Surge in Demand for Pokémon TCG Products
The Pokémon TCG has seen a significant increase in popularity, leading to heightened demand for new releases. Earlier this month, ahead of the launch of the “Prismatic Evolutions Super Premium Collection,” fans began lining up outside GameStop locations days in advance. At the Chicago GameStop, enthusiasts camped out with tents and portable grills, braving cold temperatures to secure the new release. Source: Clit
GameStop acknowledged these dedicated fans in a press release, stating:
“GameStop stands today to press F to pay respect to these brave warriors of the hobby — the noble few who have chosen to bear frigid nights not out of necessity … but for the love of the game.”
GameStop’s Growing Presence in the Trading Card Market
Traditionally known for video game sales, GameStop has been expanding its footprint in the trading card market. In the past year, the company partnered with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and facilitated over one million card submissions. This move signifies GameStop’s commitment to becoming a significant player in the collectibles space.
Details on the “Scarlet & Violet: Destined Rivals” Expansion
The upcoming “Scarlet & Violet: Destined Rivals” expansion is set to feature Team Rocket and includes over 85 Trainer’s Pokémon. Given the recent trends and the expansion’s anticipated popularity, GameStop’s purchase limit policy aims to provide a fair opportunity for all customers to obtain the new products. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
Hell 3 is a complete overhaul mod for Diablo 1. It introduces 24 standard dungeon levels and 35 unique quest levels. Players can also access an alternative route with 49 extra dungeons. After defeating Diablo on the 16th level, new areas are unlocked — Abyss (levels 17–20), Purgatory (21–24), and Hell’s Heart (25–28). These stages are tougher and more rewarding than anything in the original.
Diablo 1 Now Has 29 Playable Subclasses
Six core classes are available, each offering a set of specialized subclasses. As a result, players can choose from 29 distinct class options. Each subclass introduces unique strengths, traits, and mechanics. Consequently, this system opens up varied builds and playstyles, adding much more depth to character customization.
Gameplay Quality-of-Life Improvements
Hell 3 introduces modern usability features while keeping the original game’s spirit intact. Key improvements include:
Automatic gold pickup
On-screen item highlighting
Expanded inventory space (10×7 grid)
Item stat comparison in inventory
Visual trading interfaces with NPCs
Ability to run inside dungeons
These changes make the experience smoother and more intuitive.
New Game Modes and Adjustable Difficulty
Nine game modes, from casual to brutal, are supported: Easy, Normal, Hard, Hardcore, Coliseum, Survival, Ironman, Speedrun, and Nightmare. The mod also features nine distinct difficulty settings, allowing players to fine-tune how challenging they want the experience to be.
Restored Quests and Entirely New Adventures
All quests that were originally planned but left out of Diablo 1 are now playable. The mod team has added new quests, expanding the world with extra storylines and dungeons. This gives returning players fresh content and better continuity with the game’s lore.
Overhauled Loot and Item Systems
The item system has been rebuilt from the ground up. New item types include:
White (basic)
Magic
Rare
Socketed
Enchanted
Unique
Set items
Additional gear slots have been added for gloves, belts, and boots. The game now supports crafting and enchanting, giving players more control over their equipment. Quick-switching between three weapon sets is also now possible.
Diablo 1 Character Development Revamped
Character caps have been raised significantly. The level cap is now 150. Spells can be upgraded past level 100. Stat limits have also been lifted. New traits and “game changers” are available at character creation, allowing for finer control over a build from the very beginning.
Visual and Technical Enhancements
The Hell 3 supports higher resolutions, multiple display modes, and improved refresh rate handling. In particular, the mod can run at up to 4K resolution and offers both fullscreen and windowed gameplay options. Furthermore, performance remains stable across systems, as the engine has been updated to ensure smooth play on modern hardware.
Multiplayer Compatibility
Multiplayer works out of the box. Players can join forces and tackle quests cooperatively. Dungeons and maps scale for multiplayer where needed, keeping the balance tight whether playing solo or with a team.
Installing Diablo 1: The Hell 3
To install and play the mod:
Buy and install Diablo 1 from GOG.com.
Create a new folder called “TH3.”
Copy the “DIABDAT.MPQ” file from the base game into this folder.
Download and extract The Hell 3 mod files into the same folder.
Add the optional music pack into the folder to enable background music.
Run “TH3.exe” to launch the game.
Configuration Settings
To adjust visual settings, edit the “config.ini” file in the TH3 folder. The recommended resolutions are 1056×594 or 1440×810 with zoom enabled. Higher resolutions expand the field of view but don’t improve texture clarity. Setting the resolution manually ensures optimal layout across modern displays. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
Sometimes, revisiting the past offers valuable perspective. Other times, it mostly reminds you how far things have progressed. My recent playthrough of the original Lords of the Fallen, the 2014 title from Deck13 Interactive and CI Games, falls squarely into the latter category. It’s crucial to preface this by stating I came to this gamenow, in 2025, long after its contemporaries like Dark Souls 2 and only a year before Bloodborne changed the game. Playing it with fresh eyes, accustomed to the refinements and innovations seen in countless Souls-likes since, was… an experience. An often frustrating, clunky, and technically troubled experience, despite occasional glimmers of what could have been.
The Weight of Combat: Slow and Sluggish
The first thing that hits you when stepping into the heavy boots of Harkyn, the game’s gruff protagonist, is the sheer weight and deliberate slowness of everything. Movement feels ponderous, attacks have significant wind-up and recovery animations, and dodging lacks the crisp responsiveness I’ve grown accustomed to. It feels draggy, as if Harkyn is constantly fighting against invisible treacle.
This sluggishness permeates every aspect of combat. Finding windows to attack enemies, who are often equally slow but hit like trucks, becomes an exercise in strained patience rather than thrilling reaction. Heavy attacks require long charge times, making them risky propositions. Even light attacks feel deliberate to a fault. Initially, I wondered if this was an intentional design choice meant to convey the burden of Harkyn’s heavy armor and weaponry. Perhaps. But in practice, it often translated into frustrating encounters where the controls felt like they were actively working against me. Compared to the fluidity found even in earlier FromSoftware titles like Demon’s Souls (2009), let alone modern entries, the difference is stark and jarring. Getting used to this heavy, almost lagging feel took considerable time and adjustment, and frankly, it never felt truly good. It felt archaic.
Beyond the inherent clunkiness of the core mechanics, my playthrough was unfortunately plagued by technical issues – issues that, frankly, shouldn’t still exist in a game this old. Several times during intense boss fights, particularly when using certain charged or spinning attacks near walls or environmental objects, Harkyn would simply bug out. I experienced clipping through geometry, getting stuck on top of a boss model, unable to hit them or be hit reliably, only to be randomly teleported nearby and likely take a massive hit during the disorientation. These weren’t isolated incidents; they happened often enough to become a genuine source of frustration, turning challenging encounters into potentially unfair ones.
Worse still were the crashes. Upon reaching the game’s DLC area, presented as an ancient labyrinth or maze, I encountered repeatable hard crashes. Specifically, during the boss fight at the end of this maze – some sort of librarian hurling books – the game would consistently crash to desktop after a couple of attempts. Restarting the game, restarting my PC, verifying files – the issue persisted through multiple cycles.
A quick search online revealed forum posts from years ago detailing the exact same problem, suggesting this wasn’t a new issue related to my setup, but rather a long-standing bug that was simply never fixed. Eventually, through sheer luck on one attempt, I managed to defeat the boss before the game decided to crash again, and the problem ceased thereafter. But having progress repeatedly halted by technical failures, especially known, unfixed ones, significantly soured the experience. It speaks volumes about the game’s long-term support, or lack thereof.
Navigating the Fog of Confusion
Lords of the Fallen attempts the cryptic, hands-off world design typical of the genre, but often stumbles into outright confusion. The main story is threadbare and poorly presented, with cutscenes offering little clarity. Understanding objectives or where to go next frequently relies on obscure hints or simply bumping around until you find the right path.
This lack of guidance led to one particularly aggravating experience. I spent what felt like two hours aimlessly wandering familiar areas, slaughtering the same respawning enemies over and over. I was completely lost, searching for a hidden path forward, a missed doorway—anything. In the end, I had to backtrack significantly to a much earlier area. A door that was previously locked had become accessible after some story trigger I’d either missed or misunderstood.
Souls-likes often involve backtracking and reward exploration, but Lords of the Fallen handled it poorly. The design felt unintuitive and signposting was weak. It wasn’t clever environmental puzzling—it was just getting stuck because of obscure logic. It brought back the worst parts of 90s game design, where getting lost felt intentional. Eventually, I had to break my usual rule and use an external guide. The pointless wandering had drained all enjoyment from the session.
Fleeting Moments of Merit Amidst the Issues
It wouldn’t be fair to say the game is entirely without merit. Despite the clunky combat engine, some of the boss designs are visually interesting, featuring hulking demons and armored knights that fit the dark fantasy aesthetic. A few encounters introduce decent mechanics that require more than just hacking away. The DLC’s maze, despite the technical issues with its boss, was conceptually quite engaging. Activating levers to shift the labyrinth’s layout while fending off tough, spectral enemies was genuinely interesting and probably the highlight of my entire playthrough.
Furthermore, once I finally acclimated to the sluggish combat rhythm, the overall difficulty wasn’t extreme. Most bosses fell after learning their slow-telegraphed patterns. There was one particular duo boss fight that provided a significant spike in challenge, requiring maybe ten or more attempts, but largely, the game felt manageable from a difficulty perspective – if you could wrestle with the controls and avoid the bugs.
A Dated Presentation
Visually, Lords of the Fallen was likely impressive back in 2014. Playing it now, it looks decidedly dated. Character models are blocky, environments lack detail compared to modern standards, and the overall presentation feels firmly rooted in its era. While the art style aims for that familiar dark fantasy look, the technical execution doesn’t hold up particularly well. It’s functional, and the atmosphere is appropriately gloomy, but it’s leagues behind even slightly later titles like Bloodborne, let alone the visual feasts offered today. Again, the context of when it was released is important, but playing it now, the visuals are merely ‘okay’ at best, and certainly not a selling point.
The core gameplay template is pure Dark Souls imitation – bonfires (checkpoints called Shards), upgrading stats with experience points dropped by enemies, weapon scaling, familiar enemy archetypes. It mimics the structure well enough, but lacks the finesse, creativity, and polish of its inspiration.
Is LoF 2014 Still Worth Trying in 2025?
So, should anyone play Lords of the Fallen (2014) today? That’s a tough question. For the vast majority of players, especially newcomers to the genre, I’d have to say no. There are countless better, more polished, more enjoyable Souls-like experiences available. The clunkiness, the bugs, the crashes, the confusing progression – they add up to an often-frustrating time. It ended up being my least favorite Souls-like title I’ve played to date.
Perhaps, maybe, for the absolute hardcore genre historian, the veteran who wants to see where other developers took the formula in those early post-Dark Souls years, there might be some academic value. Seeing the ideas present here, like the maze DLC concept, does offer some insight. But approach it with heavily tempered expectations and be prepared for a significant dose of jank. It stands as a relic, a sometimes interesting but deeply flawed stepping stone in the genre’s evolution, one that has been thoroughly surpassed by almost everything that followed. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
Lords of the Fallen (2014) – Game and Purchase
Title: Lords of the Fallen (2014) Type of Game: Action Role-Playing Game (Soulslike) Developer: Deck13, CI Games Publisher: CI Games Release Date: October 28, 2014 Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One
