Technologies

Red Dead Redemption 2’s Strange Tales of the West Update Brings Cryptids to Multiplayer

Bandits aren’t the only things you have to worry about in the weird west. Red Dead Online players will now have to contend with swamp things, automatons and zombies.

Pack your silver bullets and keep your head on a swivel. There’s a bad moon rising over the wild west in Red Dead Online, as four new cryptid-themed missions just released in the game.

You’ll have to take on these quests on behalf of author Theodore Levin, who is investigating outlandish claims from around the country. Strange cases of fearsome monsters, cults and viral outbreaks are exactly the type of pulpy content that could inspire a good story.

The first new telegram mission, Strange Tales of Modern Science, sees players contending with killer robots. But these aren’t exactly Terminators. You’ll be fighting off a tiny tinman army as it stalks the grounds of the Braithwaite Manor.

Another mission, Strange Tales of the Bayou, will have you contending with both human and non-human threats as you wade through Lagras. The Swamp Folk like to ambush hunters who enter their territory — but it’s up to you to bring back the creature from the deep so that Levin can see it for himself.

The Strange Tales of the Wilderness mission is the closest thing to a standard bounty hunt included in the new update. You’ll need to hunt down a gang of murdering bandits in Tall Trees, but rumor has it that a missing scientist might just be experimenting on your foes. Brave the wilderness to take on an evolving manmade threat and bring the gang to justice.

The final mission in the latest batch of content, Strange Tales of the Plague, is an ode to fan-favorite spinoff Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare. A mysterious infection is spreading through Armadillo, and the dead are rising yet again. It’s up to you and your friends to put down the shambling horde and bring back their bodies for scientific examination.

If you want to take on these new missions, you’ll need to pick up a letter Levin left for you at the nearest in-game post office or your camp’s mailbox. Afterwards, these cryptid challenges will become repeatable telegram missions.

To celebrate the launch of the Strange Tales of the West update, all telegram missions (including the new batch of pulp fiction content) will have their rewards boosted until Aug. 4. You’ll be able to earn three times as much gold, Red Dead dollars and experience points during this time.

Red Dead Online’s Strange Tales of the West update is available for free now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Get ready to lock and load to take down the new telegram missions next time you log in.

This update is a rare treat for Red Dead Redemption 2 fans, as the game’s online mode has been largely neglected in recent years. The previous patch from March 2024 squashed some bugs — and the last update that added any amount of playable content came out in September 2022.

The content drought was so extreme that it spawned a movement with the stated goal of saving Red Dead Online. The change.org petition currently has more than 10,000 signatures.

The Strange Tales of the West update is being marketed as volume one of a broader update, which implies that even more pulp fiction content could be coming down the pipeline for the Red Dead Redemption 2 multiplayer mode sometime soon. The wild west is about to get a whole lot weirder.

Technologies

Nearly 500 Starlink Satellites Have Incinerated in Earth’s Atmosphere So Far This Year

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 3, #487

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 3, No. 487.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, and it made me a bit hungry. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Beyond vanilla

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: We all scream…

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CREST, CHAT, REST, PEES, CHAR, BORE, CORE, SIMP, TORE, SECT, FEST, MIST, CAMP, CHEST

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CHERRY, COFFEE, BROWNIE, PISTACHIO, BUTTERSCOTCH

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ICECREAM. To find it, look for the I that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 3, #753

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 3, #753.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tough. The green category came together quickly for me, but purple, as usual, was tricky. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Let’s discuss.

Green group hint: Before a trip.

Blue group hint: Sports stars.

Purple group hint: E-I-E-I-O.