Welcome back to Wednesday, friends! It's another WIRED Games newsletter, and I think I'm finally getting some energy back to push through the summer heat and actually enjoy myself. How about you? So, of course I have to start with the big question: Did you see Valve's new Steam Deck? It looks pretty interesting, and while a few of us over here at WIRED are already sold and want one in our grubby little gaming paws, some of us are a little more skeptical about developer adoption of the console-style controls. Yet to be seen: Whether it'll turn out to be another gimmick (remember Steam Machines?) that falls a little flat, either because of storage (a valid concern, since the base model can't fit some of the games in the promo material without an SD card for storage) or because of price (the model with more storage isn't coming until next year). So are you getting one? Let us know at games@WIRED.com! We're curious to hear what you think. Speaking of things that have been a long time coming, check out Simon Hill's great piece on these amazing Minecraft builds that took years to complete, in some cases by entire teams of people working towards a common goal. We have Hogwarts in there, Westeros, even Middle Earth. I love it when a plan comes together. Also, if you read anything this week, please, please read my colleague Zak Jason on the afterlives of the avatars we create in video games—how we experience childlike absurdity when we give them detailed backstories and incredible, larger-than-life personas, and then eventually forget about them in the annals of our personal gaming histories. It's hilarious and insightful, and features a character named, and I kid you not, Oreo Queefs. If that doesn't get you to click, I don't know what will. Swapna Krishna makes an important point in her Casual Gamer column that we should all stop putting pressure on game developers to rush out new games, DLC, and other seasonal content if we're all also unhappy with bugs and glitches. Want to know how to avoid bugs and glitches? Give game devs and QA testers the opportunity to polish and test their games without executive level pushback or fear of rabid fans. Finally, let's take a quick look at some of the great work our Gear Team has been doing to help you spend your gaming budget wisely, shall we? First, if you're in the market for some old school gaming, we rounded up the best retro gaming consoles to help you play those nostalgic games as close to the way they were intended as possible. Also, if you—like me—are interested in virtual reality at all, consider Jess Grey's roundup of the best VR headsets, which also includes which ones you should avoid. 🎮 Valve's Steam Deck will take PC games on the go this December. Valve's own handheld gaming console promises to put your PC gaming library in your hands, anywhere you roam. It's pricey, and it makes some big promises, but if it delivers it could change PC gaming in a big way. ⛏️ These astonishing Minecraft builds were years in the making. From Middle Earth to Mount Olympus, these builds are beautiful and definitely worth looking at, although I don't know if I can totally recommend the time investment to do them yourself … at least not without friends. 👴 When the game is over, where do our avatars go? Think about some of your oldest game characters. Maybe the first character you rolled in an MMO, or in an RPG where you really gave them a backstory. Now ask yourself: Where are they now? Can you continue the story in your head? 🏃♀️ Stop putting pressure on developers to rush games to market. We all like to joke about how buggy some new launches are from some ... specific game studios. But what if we gave them the time and space to polish out those bugs without forcing them to crunch to meet artificial quarterly deadlines or shopping seasons? 🕹️ These retro gaming consoles deliver a dose of nostalgia. Our rundown of retro consoles will get you gaming like a kid again (or perhaps like your parents did?) in no time, without spending money on something that may not work for you. 🥽 The best VR headsets to try (And some to avoid). We just updated our rundown to VR headsets, so if you're in the market for one, now's a great time to shop around. I've been pondering one for awhile now. Now to choose: Oculus Rift? Oculus Quest? Valve Index? |
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