Haunted Chocolatier is the next game from Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe (Eric Barone), we still don't yet know a huge amount about it but the dev recently showed some fresh screenshots. These are just some small teasers, with Barone mentioning on their Twitter to expect plenty more throughout 2022.

On December 25, Barone mentioned the game is "making good progress" and currently work is progressing on the "core elements of the game". We don't expect to get a lot of info before a true full reveal, as Barone mentioned "I don’t really feel like sharing much, because I’d rather let the game be a surprise than reveal everything. I just like working in secret".

The first shot shows off some ghosts in some sort of laboratory, conducting some of that sweet science.

Later on Twitter you can also see these two newer images (click to enlarge):

Given the popularity of Stardew Valley, there's of course a lot of eyes watching to see how this turns out. Are you excited for Haunted Chocolatier?

You can also follow development on the official site .

Continuing to refine the SteamOS-like full-screen experience, ChimeraOS 29 is out now bringing on upgrades and plenty of bug fixes too.

The usual main components have been upgraded including Linux Kernel 5.15.12, Mesa drivers 21.3.3, NVIDIA driver 495.46, RetroArch 1.9.14 and upgrades to their own special helper packages too. Users of a few handhelds will be happy too with ChimeraOS 29 bringing fixed WiFI on the Aya Neo 2021 Pro/Retro Power, there's now a touch-screen driver for the GPD Win 3 and another hardware fix is to stop the ASRock LED controller being recognized as a joystick.

It boots directly into Steam Big Picture mode for a console-like experience.

Along with that there's also some additional libraries added as required by Worms W.M.D, fixed hidden/flickering popup windows in some games, fixed game patches not applying on first boot, improved reliability of downloading and applying game patches and tweaks, an updated default Nintendo 64 config to reduce artifacts on 2D graphical elements and they also updated install media with improved internet connection detection and experimental Intel/Nvidia hybrid graphics support.

I'm still keen to see how ChimeraOS will evolve once SteamOS 3 has a public release. No doubt there will be plenty of things it continues to do that Valve won't be able to do officially (or won't want to do) with SteamOS. Just like you have Proton GE that does things the official Proton doesn't.

See more on the official site .

Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is a very good simulator and it just got that little bit better, with update 1.4.0 out now bringing some major improvements.

Going back to the drawing board for the physics system, LuGus Studios decided to rely less on Unity's built-in physics with their new flight controller, the result is that overall in many places it should perform better. Something that also sounds fancy is a new " A.I. PID tune feature" that will adjust "itself based on the system's performance for a perfectly tuned setup in light" but you can still tune things manually.

They also upgraded the Unity version used, added a new environment with three tracks and quite a bit more .

Check out their short video on the new racing environment:

Watch video on YouTube.com

The most recent user reviews are looking good too giving it an Overwhelmingly Positive score and a Very Positive score overall. Seems like plenty of people enjoy this one!

You can buy Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing on Steam .

During CES 2022 Dell announced the brand new XPS 13 Plus, which overhauls the design and it looks pretty slick. They've confirmed that Ubuntu 20.04 will also still be a supported option, on their Developer Edition.

"Our most powerful XPS 13 was redesigned from the ground up to be our highest-performing flagship ever, so users can do everything they love faster. New modern and simplified interiors are beautiful and provide a seamless touch experience for customers. Stunning displays and enhanced audio bring your content to life. Crafted of machined aluminum and glass in Platinum or Graphite." — Dell.

It's small, thin and light and with the redesign it's about the same size as before with a few major differences.

The one you can notice right away is the new capacitive touch bar above the keyboard, allowing you to switch between function and media keys. It looks fantastic but, I'm always a little wary of these special touch bars. It's not as fancy as the one on the MacBook, which would hopefully mean it would have less problems. At least the new edge-to-edge keyboard looks like it has decent spacing for comfortable typing.

They've also stretched-out the fans to the outer-edges, which they say gives "up to 55%" more airflow allowing it to be more powerful while also keeping the size and without increasing noise or temperature.

The screen sounds rather nice too. With it you're getting a 13.4-inch 16:10 aspect ratio OLED "InfinityEdge" display, they say it gives "7.4 million pixels are individually lit, turning off completely for black, so dark areas are true black or perfect black, so content comes alive with breathtaking detail especially in dark areas".

Specifications depend on what model you go for, options include:

When will it be available? That's not entirely clear, they say sometime worldwide this "Spring" starting at $1,199.

Looking for a new high-end laptop for your Linux needs? System76, makers of Pop!_OS have teased their latest with the Kudo that blends together the worlds of AMD and NVIDIA.

"The Kudu laptop is for expert multitaskers. The rub-belly-pat-head types. The Mach 12 errand runners. The kind of thinker who can open 10 doors with 1 makeshift key.

Whatever your missions, get them done faster with the Kudu laptop. Between the H-class CPU and 3000-Series NVIDIA graphics, you’ll be the ultimate conductor in a multitasking concerto." — System76.

Starting at $1899, this is one laptop that sounds like it will handle close to anything you throw at it. With the choice of having it pre-installed with Pop!_OS 21.10, Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS or Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

They're only teasing it but they did at least give out the basic specifications, although they don't note what the base model will have in terms of RAM and things like that, we're just given vague details on the max support so far:

What do you think to this new model? No word on release date yet but they do say stock will be limited so you may want to head to the page and sign up to be notified.

Love space sci-fi and roguelikes? Relic Space blends them together and it's really beginning to look like a game that's going to steal endless hours away from me.

Relic Space is a turn-based, roguelike RPG in which you help rebuild civilisation following a galactic catastrophe. Through varied missions as a single starship pilot you will engage in deeply simulated, hex-based combat with an innovative, fluid feel - all set within an epic sci-fi narrative that you help construct through your choices. A bit like Jupiter Hell, the movement is so fluid you often don't remember it's taking a turn each time.

Watch video on YouTube.com

The developer put up a public demo recently and it's really come along, with a couple of hours gameplay available it gives a great look into the game. Heavily inspired by traditional roguelikes, the developer mentions they wish to "break new ground with the variety and complexity of randomly generated missions, and their associated subplots". While it will have a main story campaign, it sounds like there's going to be a lot you can replay through and have it all be different each time.

You can check out the new demo on itch.io and follow on Steam .

Another major update has landed for the sweet top-down wilderness survival roguelike Wayward, bringing with it a whole new Volcanic island type and much more.

The game will also now load up several islands at a time, which helps with quicker travel and means players in multiplayer can actually be on different islands now - so it opens the game up a whole lot more. Have a look at the Horizons upgrade release trailer below:

Watch video on YouTube.com

New features highlight:

• Added a new "islands" dialog, acting as a world map. It's unlocked when obtaining a sea-worthy vessel, which allows you to travel to inspect and travel to nearby islands.
• You can now sail to any island within a certain distance, the travel time and cost dependant on the distance traveled.
• Several islands can now be loaded at a time, allowing for quicker travel and allowing players in multiplayer games to be on different islands from each other.
• Added a new "Seafaring" skill which increases travel distances, reduces hunger and thirst costs when traveling, and more.
• Added a new "Volcanic" island type and biome with new resources, tiles, interactions, and creatures.
• Added the ability to assign quickslots with tool-based actions (similar to "Carve with Tool" previously from the action menu). Alternatively, you can perform actions here by opening a new menu as well with "Shift + Q or Shift + Right Click". These actions will automatically pick the best tool for the given action.
• Added ability to assign action menu actions to the quickslot bar.
• A new item quality, "Relic", has been added. Relics have a high amount of magical properties, but have low starting durability and are dropped exclusively from aberrant creatures and treasure chests.
• Added a "Rejoin as a new player" button to the death screen when dying in multiplayer games that have "clear ghost data on leave" option enabled.
• Added a "Respawn in Casual Mode" button to the death screen when you die while in a permadeath mode so you can continue playing your save.
• Merchant NPCs will now spawn and restock based on the number of buildings (walls/floors) constructed on an island, and will decrease in odds the further out you are from your starting island.
• Added a couple of new craftable "scarecrows" that you can place down to prevent or reduce the likelihood of creatures spawning and/or movement around them (depending on the creature).
• Added a new armor set of "armored scale" with unique properties/usefulness.
• Added needles for all types of metal.
• Added a pangolin creature to the new "Volcanic" island type.
• Added mysterious and coveted "Dryad", a plant-like creature with unique properties and loot.
• Added "Master of All" milestone and milestone modifier for getting all skills to 100%.
• Added the "Traitor" milestone and milestone modifier.
• Added a new form of grass called "Tanglehead", spread throughout the arid and volcanic islands types. Dirt will no longer be native to arid islands as a result.
• Added a new magical property "Regeneration", which repairs/restores durability on items over time.
• Added a new magical property, "Aptitude", which multiplies its effectiveness in crafts.
• Added a new interaction with wisps.
• The main menu buttons and tabs across all menus now have associated icons to improve UX.
• Sailing to new islands now raises your cartography skill.
• Starting at 40% cartography skill, the islands map and item tooltips now show which map items are associated with each island.
• Introduced the concept of spores to mushrooms and ferns.
• There are now non-tattered versions of shirts and pants that are available to craft.
• Added an "Open Backups Folder" button to the save data section in the options menu.
• You can now drag and drop save files onto the game to import them.
• Added +dev command line switch to dedicated servers to enable developer mode.

You can grab Wayward on Humble Store and Steam .

Giving a firm nod to classic 90s RPGs, you can try out a brand new demo for the upcoming Call of Saregnar. Blending together low-res visuals, with shots of real-life actors for the conversations, it's certainly a weird looking mix but it absolutely works.

Not seen it before? Check out the trailer:

Watch video on YouTube.com

"Call of Saregnar is a nod to the wonderful era of party-based RPGs from the 90's. It’s got an intriguing story and interesting characters in a unique low-fantasy medieval setting. The graphics are charmingly old-school with billboard trees and a low-poly 3D world. All the characters are photographs and frame sequences of real actors, that you can interact with, see them in the world and fight with. The combat system is a turn-based hex grid affair with many tactical options. Also the game has a magic systems based on gods and divine favour, which is really unique and immersive. Overall the game has a very relaxing pace, and it feels like reading a good novel; Makes you feel right at home."

Features at a glance:

• 10 chapters involving a mature story in a believable world,
• A tribute to the early 90’s: Low-poly 3D, hand-pixelated custom goodness,
• Real-life digitized actors as characters,
• 100% hand-built levels, 100% hand-placed props, enemies and items,
• An open world to explore, filled with engaging NPCs, locations and quests which support the main storyline,
• Classless per-use skill-based character development,
• Strategic turn-based hex grid combat,
• Unique magic system based on divine favour,
• Less is more: fewer, but well-defined items,
• You won't find a quest marker here, just a map and a journal to aid you in your quest.

Try out the demo now on Steam . It's built with Unity and seems to work great on Linux in my own testing.

There are certain Windows games that work better on Linux with the community-built unofficial Proton GE , plus using Luxtorpeda for Native Linux game engines can give a lot of benefits too - here's how to easily download or upgrade them using the fab ProtonUp-Qt .

It's an application based on the command-line tool ProtonUp, however ProtonUp-Qt actually gives you a full UI and it really just makes everything nice and simple . Do you use Lutris or the Heroic Games Launcher? ProtonUp-Qt can also easily setup Wine-GE for you too.

To install it simply grab it from Flathub or run the AppImage from the releases page . This couldn't be simpler! Once installed you get this easy to understand UI to pick between Steam, Lutris and Heroic and then install whatever compatibility tool you want that it supports by hitting "Add version":

I absolutely love tools like this. Makes it easier for everyone.