The cavernous lore of the DOTA franchise has been relentlessly expanding for over 19 years. In fact, many content creators are working full-time trying to unravel the lore behind this title. It is thus only fair that the trailer for the Netflix Anime DOTA: Dragon's Blood is lined with Easter eggs only hardcore fans of DOTA can s

@kerrocosplay takes a video-game purist's approach to bring Garen to life. Resting his massive sword on his shoulder in an intimidating-yet-relaxed pose, it's clear that this cosplay means business; sword aside, the clean design of Garen's breastplate embodies the character's in-game design, foregoing a more realistic take on ar

Over the years, while Valve has made several attempts to make Dota 2 more beginner friendly, most ended up ineffective. The biggest problem was that there was no in-depth tutorial for newcomers to follow. Despite its complex mechanics, the in-game tutorial was underwhelming in design and as a result, newcomers would often learn to play through online videos or through their experienced friends. However, another problem in Dota 2 emerged with its poor matchmaking system . Once newcomers had learned the basics and played some bot games, they would finally queue in an actual 5v5 environm

The cosplay seems to prioritize the in-game appearance of Garen over adopting a more realistic approach, Hanzo gameplay as the material maintains the soft coloring and presentation featured in League of Legends . The unique take comes in the form of the lighting, as the cosplay is embued with a sense of energy that conveys the power of Garen's ultimate ability, "Demacian Justi

These new changes represent an exciting step forward for competitive games in general. While the competitive nature of the eSports scenes are what draw people towards these games, they are often inaccessible for newcomers. With Valve taking a big step forward in addressing these concerns, this hopefully means that its other games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will follow suit . Its stance on smurfing should also serve as an example for other competitive games as well. Games like League of Legends and Overwatch have had smurfing problems for years but since their developers rarely crack down on it, they turn off many potential newcomers. As Valve continues to improve its matchmaking systems, other games should take note of how Dota 2 has begun catering to a new audie

With The International 2020 being cancelled as well as the future of the tournament left uncertain, Valve decided to work with Netflix to create a new animated show titled Dota: Dragon's Blood to hopefully attract new players to Dota 2. Together with the show, Valve also decided to release a massive update for Dota 2 that overhauled the new player experience. Introducing a number of diverse tools and resources, Valve hopes that new players are provided gradual learning opportunities instead of a single dump of complex informat

The trailer's crescendo sees the green dragon and Slyrak breathe fire at each other. While certainly a spectacle, the most important thing about this moment is how Davion runs up a hill and jumps with his sword at the p

South of the Circle is an Apple Arcade game by the studio State of Play Games that brands itself as a "narrative adventure" game. Players play as an academic called Peter who ends up in Antarctica during the Cold War after a plane crash with his colleague Clara. Like If Found , South of the Circle deals with human connection and memory, as well as adding in the survival aspect one would expect from a game about people trapped in the South P

Proudly leaning on "Fishbones," the rocket launcher has received a makeover that explicitly expresses anti-living-dead warnings, as seen by the crossed-out green face and the "x-eyed" barrel. This iteration of Jinx showcases her morally gray nature—happiest when blowing things up, she can fight on the side of good or evil depending on what exactly is being destro

As League of Legend's primary form of monetization, the skins—costumes—developed for characters often reimagine them in an alternate setting that may realize a different sort of fantasy. This not only entices fans of the characters but may attract players who weren't invested in the character's original des

Unfortunately, since the matchmaking system was flawed, new players would routinely end up in games where their teammates or enemies would have thousands of games worth of experience over them. With no designated matchmaking pool for beginners, they would soon become frustrated at the skill gap and quit the game. Another problem was smurfing in the matchmaking system, where more skilled players would create alternate accounts with the intention of playing against lower skilled players. In short, newcomers rarely played against others at their skill level and this was a big reason why Dota 2 stagnated in grow

If Found 's hand-drawn art and soundtrack both served to give it the charm that many people loved. Some people enjoy a game best for its mechanics, its high-quality graphics, or the rush of getting past obstacles or taking down enemies. What If Found has to offer is narrative writing, a realm within video games that can easily make or break a game. Other perks of the game that people connected with were how unified its atmosphere was and how it dealt with themes of gender transit