Don’t Starve’s campfire should be the starting point of legends. In truth, it serves more utilitarian purposes —flickering warmth fighting winter’s grasp, defending against the horrors of the moonlit hours, and cooking device for a would-be Bear Grylls. Yet as history will tell, the campfire is also the place for stories, so good they’re told a million times, each variation grander than the last. And what better tool for story creation than a world of horrors and your own papercraft marionettes?

We go hands-on with an early build of Divinity: Original Sin, a Kickstarter-powered RPG with only a few days to go, and find some impressively free-form RPG action.

Sang Froid is tower defense meets third-person action in much the same way its Orc-riddled castle of a distant relation is, but in its offbeat setting of a legend-riddled 1858 Canada, and its unlikely heroes of two woodcutting brothers, Sang Froid’s tale of betrayal, jealousy and the Devil’s wiley ways carries an honesty that’s as endearing as its soundtrack is captivating. There is no wide-sweeping tale of a world in danger, just a town, a prophecy and a devil that dons a top hat among all manner of werewolves and their folk-tale brethren . Sang Froid is refreshing in its focus.

When’d racing become so serious?

Trials and its many brethren have answered the disgruntled time-trial racer’s calls for pin-point finger masochism in the interim — almost-racers in disguise — while cars have waged virtual road wars against one another in needless battle, but now, finally, the time-trial king has returned to reclaim his throne. Trackmania, it’s been too long.

ArmA III‘s alpha is here, and Jamie Dalzell is on hand to watch the sun rise each day over the 20 square kilometres of Stratis island. He’s been flying, swimming, shooting, and running for his life — and he brings us back this report.

Antichamber is an indie puzzler from a single Melbourne-based game developer, and it’s a game for those who enjoy backtracking, getting lost, grinning in joy and shouting in frustration. In short, it’s one hell of a clever and ambitious game — but if you find yourself easily stumped or frustrated, it might not be for you. Jamie explains more…

From subduing the hyperactive UI to altering the ballistics system of every weapon available on the Rook Islands, more than Far Cry 2 before it there’s a mod for most every quirk or annoyance Far Cry 3’s mass-appeal heart may have introduced.

And while no number of modders – no matter how ingenious – can alleviate the woes of Brody, his overly-talkative mouth and the rashness of his tale, today we’ll be looking at those that ensure the time in between all of the ruckus – those moments of planning, silence, and execution – are at their best.

With Handsome Jack vanquished and Pandora saved, our heroes now find themselves seeking peace on Pandora’s newly uncovered continent of Aegrus, following in the footsteps of Sir Hammerlock who himself has made the trek for nothing more than a quiet weekend of “Hunting, companionship, and bawdy jokes about social taboos.“. We sent Jamie Dalzell along to see if he could help out Sir Hammerlock in any of these three key areas.

Far Cry 3 teaches you that being stranded on an island is fine, as long as you’ve got a gun, fast travel points, and a map that tells you where everything is all the time. But Miasmata has none of those things — just you, no food, no water, no idea what is going on, and thirty days to put together a cure to the disease that is slowly killing you.

But you’re not alone on this island. You’re being hunted.

In DayZ’s case, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt so much as rob the world of its lustre, providing an easier pathway lined with the bones of your previous incarnations. Familiarity in DayZ, then, turns the weak into the strong, sending them map-wide in search of challenges that recaptures a slumbering mind. From raiding the North West Airfield to becoming self-proclaimed leaders of the sniper capital elect, Stary Sobor, Chernarus’ challenges are many, but they are never infinite. Chernarus’ challenge, like its world, decays over time.

Lucky, then, that a mod begets mods in this PC ecosystem, ensuring those looking for it can recapture DayZ’s uncertainty, plummeting onto new islands where survival and player-driven horror are renewed. From the cold of Namalsk to the palm trees of LingorIsland, we’ve ventured forth with Makarov in hand to bring back postcards from these uncharted regions across Chernarus’ ocean.

With The War Z inviting comparisons against the infamous ArmA II mod Day Z, we sent veteran Cherno bandit Jamie Dalzell into this post-apocalyptic Colorado to see what was up. But even he felt robbed by the boring, soul-less apocalypse that The War Z had to offer.

Dark Souls is finally on the PC after a petition from gamers convinced From Software to port it over. But is it the same game we know and love, or has it lost something in the process? Jamie Dalzell is one of the few people in the world to have successfully finished the original Dark Souls, and he was distressingly eager to return for another crack. Take it away, Jamie…