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If you’re looking for the fastest and easiest way to get free spins in Coin Master you’ve come to the right place. This guide contains daily links where you can get free coins and spins in Coin Master. Use these spins to get coins fast and build your villages quickly and easily without spending any money at all. Free Spin Links for Coin Master So what do you need to do to get the Free Coins and Spins? Simply head to the buttons below while you’ve got the Coin Master game open on your phone and it will instantly be transferred to your game. Each code that we post has been tested for safety and is taken directly from the developers of Coin Master who dispense these codes on various social media channels. New Coin Master Links Each day we’ll post new codes, but don’t be afraid to try previous days codes as from time to time they do still work later. If you run out of free code links and still need some more ideas to get spins and coins, you can check out our checklist at the bottom of this article that reveals some alternative ways to getting free spins and coins in Coin Master. Below you’ll find each day’s group of Coin Master Free Spin and Coin links below the date. The more recent the links, the more likely they are to work. If you receive a different amount of spins and coins by clicking on these links, that may be connected to your level so keep on playing to increase the gains. Feel free to let us know on social media if you find that a link is no longer working and good luck in your village building quest. Daily Free Coin Master Spins & Coins links January 16, 2025 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 15, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 14, 2025 10 spins, 1 million coins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins January 13, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 12, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 11, 2025 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 10, 2025 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 9, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 8, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 7, 2025 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 6, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins January 5, 2025 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 4, 2025 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 3, 2025 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 2, 2025 60 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins January 1, 2025 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins 25 spins 40 spins 25 spins 70 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 70 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins December 31, 2024 50 spins 60 spins 40 spins 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins 50 spins December 30, 2024 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 10 spins, 1 million coins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 29, 2024 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 28, 2024 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins December 27, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 26, 2024 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins December 25, 2024 50 spins 50 spins 50 spins 50 spins 70 spins 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 24, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 50 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 23, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 45 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins December 22, 2024 15 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 40 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 21, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 35 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 20, 2024 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins December 19, 2024 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 18, 2024 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 50 spins 30 spins 30 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 17, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 16, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins December 15, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 14, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins December 13, 2024 25 spins 15 spins 10 spins, 600k coins 15 spins 15 spins 15 spins December 12, 2024 10 spins, 600k coins 15 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 11, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins December 10, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins December 9, 2024 15 spins 15 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 8, 2024 25 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 7, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 6, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 15 spins 15 spins 15 spins 15 spins December 5, 2024 10 spins, 600k coins 15 spins 25 spins 60 spins 10 spins, 1 million coins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 4, 2024 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 3, 2024 50 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins December 2, 2024 50 spins 40 spins 70 spins 60 spins 60 spins 25 spins 25 spins 60 spins December 1, 2024 15 spins 15 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins 25 spins

Updated: January 16, 2025 Looked for new codes! Gamers hoping to find themselves engaged in high-octane combat with some JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure flare should look into the Roblox experience Sakura Stands as quickly as possible. Alongside plenty of combat to partake in against NPC’s and other players, gamers also have the chance to get plenty of experience to level themselves up. Are there any codes for Sakura Stands that will give players a bit of a boost, or will they find themselves at the mercy of Killer Queen? Let’s get ready to live out our lives in this new world, and prepare ourselves for the ultimate form of combat. All Sakura Stand Codes Players will find all of the currently available codes for Sakura Stand below, alongside some questions asked by players of this experience. All Sakura Stand Codes (Working) SpookySpookyPlushie – 400 Candy Corn (New) PinPinponpon – 500 Tokens (New) TheCornBuff – 201 Candy Corn (New) StupidBug – 200 Candy Corn (New) MerryChristmas – 1k Tokens (New) IMustBeTheReasonWhy – 1k Tokens (New) TrickOTreat – 1 Token (New) GodGivenBurger – 2,000 Tokens (New) LobsterActivity – 2,000 Tokens (New) ChxmeiSavedTheDay – 1,000 Tokens SakuraStandSocialExperiment – A random reward between 1-1,000 Tokens (New Servers Only) FreeSFCValuePack – 1,000 Tokens AMMDEVSFROMHEAVENSTANDOMG – 750 Tokens DigitalCash – $10,000 SakuraFinallyAddedStand – Free rewards (Requires Mastery 3) EarlyD4C – Add 50% to Red mist gate (Requires Mastery 3) SFCSpecialCoupon – 500 Token (Requires Mastery 3) RolandAndFriends – 500 Token KuzmaToldMeToAddThisCode – 199 Tokens On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. – Add 50% to Red mist gate (Requires Mastery 3) dolor ipse est amandus – Add 50% to Red mist gate (Requires Mastery 3) Accipere dolorem est amare – Add 50% to Red mist gate (Requires Mastery 3) GiftFromSFC – 500 Tokens SFCOpen4Business – 1.5k Tokens (Requires Mastery 3) Kafk-ISTHATTHEREDMIST – 1k Tokens (Requires Mastery 1) Kaiju-8 – 500 Tokens batheski – 1500 Tokens and Secret Ska shirt ArrivalOfTheSkaFilmShirt1 – 300 Tokens FreeAdjucha – Spawn 1 adjucha (5 adjuchas limit per server) (Requires Mastery 3) fidgetspinner.io – Free rewards SuddenShutdown – 500 Tokens 2monthsdelay – Free rewards (Requires Mastery 10) theSTARRK – Free rewards AnArbiterAwakens – Free rewards fixedcutscenewowowowowowowoowowowowow – 300 Tokens shutdownmb – 300 Tokens tenthousand – Boosts (Requires Mastery 5) 115KLikess – x2 EXP, 1 Stand Arrow, and 15k Cash 110KLikes – x2 EXP and 1 Token CLASSICAUDDY – random 500 – 1,500 Tokens ThisFateWasFatedForTheFatedFate – the Will of Fate title 105KLikes – 2,000 Tokens justice – Boosts (For new servers only) 100KLikes – 1,001 Token (For new servers only) BugsFix2 – Boosts BugsFix – Boosts SorryforShutdown – 250 Tokens and 75 Snowflakes TYForFollowing – Free Boosts HolidayEvent – Free Boosts FOURTHSHUTDOWN – 1000 Tokens AuddyCOOKED – 895 Tokens HeIsGONE – 1 Token WHISPERTEAM – 1000 Tokens sorryguys – 900 Tokens All Sakura Stand Codes (Expired) CodeBugFix – x2 EXP SukunaFingerIncident – x2 EXP How To Redeem Codes In Sakura Stands Players hoping to redeem a few codes in Sakura Stands may be confused about how to actually redeem the codes that are available to them, and it is easy to understand why. The Code Redemption Menu is hidden away, but follow these steps and you’ll be ready to redeem in no time. Access the Menu in the bottom, left corner of the screen Click on Settings in the new menu that has appeared on the screen Scroll to the bottom of Settings to find the “Enter Code Prompt” Enter the code and press Enter Why Aren’t My Sakura Stands Codes Working Players will want to ensure that they’ve typed the codes in exactly as they were typed on this page, and make sure to follow the capitalization. If a code is expired, this experience will let you know that it is no longer valid, but if it says the code isn’t working, there could be a small typo preventing you from claiming your bonuses. Where To Get More Sakura Stands Codes The developer of this experience is not very active on Social Media, so joining the Sakura Stand Discord Community is likely to be the easiest way to claim some new codes as soon as they go live for this particular game. Also, make sure that you have bookmarked this page, as we will be checking for new codes quite often. What Exactly Is Sakura Stands? Sakura Stands is an action game, based loosely on the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise. Players will be able to power themselves up, as well as earn plenty of unique and powerful allies from not only this franchise, but others such as Jujutsu Kaisen and more. Players can also partake in PVP battles, either in a group or via 1 on 1 battle that can be prompted at any time. Those searching for a new action title that have tired from other experiences, such as Blox Fruits may fall in love with this title. It offers quite a competitive nature, and plenty of things to do, such as side quests and a story to follow alongside. Roblox is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Mobile Devices, and PC.

Get the latest Blade Ball codes and redeem them for free rewards fast!

Updated: January 13, 2025 Checked for new codes! Whenever I get nostalgic about PE classes, Blade Ball makes me feel that familiar adrenaline rush that used to accompany every dodgeball match. Well, back in the day, we didn’t have cool features such as customizable swords and explosions in our regular boring dodgeball games—features that make this Roblox experience incredibly addictive and fun. Just like in the real deal, mastering gameplay in Blade Ball is somewhat challenging at first, particularly when your opponents have powerful skills such as Wind Cloak and Freeze and you don’t. The game offers a ton of features to unlock but never enough coins. Thankfully, with some help from Blade Ball codes, you will get your hands on some of that sweet currency and other exclusive Skins and Swords. And if you don’t want the fun to end just yet, check out our Roblox Fireworks Playground Codes for more free rewards in that game as well. All Blade Ball Codes List Blade Ball Codes (Working) XMAS—Redeem for 3 Reindeer Spins (New) SPOOKYSEASON—Redeem for a free Spin DELAYBALL—Redeem for a free Sword 4BVISITS—Redeem for a free Sword SHARKATTACK—Redeem for a free Spin SUMMERWHEEL—Redeem for a free Spin BPTEAMS—Redeem for a free Spin SUMMERSTARTSHERE—Redeem for a free Spin REBIRTHLTM—Redeem for x1 Rebirth Ticket DRAGONS—Redeem for x1 Dragon Ticket ENERGYSWORDS—Redeem for a free Spin ROBLOXCLASSIC—Redeem for x1 Hacker Ticket GIVEMELUCK—Redeem for x4 Luck Boost GOODVSEVILMODE—Redeem for the Free Good vs Evil Crate DUNGEONSRELEASE—Redeem for 50 Dungeon Runes FROGS—Redeem for a Spin GOODVSEVIL—Redeem for a free Spin BATTLEROYALE—Redeem for a Storm Ticket RNGEMOTES—Redeem for a Spin FREESPINS—Redeem for a free Spin Blade Ball Codes (Expired) EASTERHYPE ZEROGRAVITY GALAXYSEASON FALLINGLTM TOURNAMENTSW LAVAFLOOR LUNARNEWYEAR ELEMENTSPIN FREEHOURLY SENTINELSREVENGE HAPPYNEWYEAR MERRYXMAS WINTERSPIN LIVEEVENTS VISITS_TY RRRANKEDDD WEEK4 SORRY4DELAY UPDATETHREE 1MLIKES HOTDOG10K 10KFOLLOWERZ 500K 200KLIKES FORTUNE 50000LIKES ThxForSupport 1000LIKES 5000LIKES 10000LIKES SITDOWN Related: Roblox Pixel Piece Codes How to redeem codes in Blade Ball To redeem codes in Blade Ball, follow the instructions below: Image: Attack of the Fanboy Launch Blade Ball on Roblox. Click on the Extra icon in the top left corner of the screen. Choose Codes when the drop-down menu appears. Enter your code into the Redeem Code text box. Press the checkmark icon to claim your rewards. How can you get more Blade Ball codes? If you want to look for codes on your own and get new updates directly from the developer, join the Blade Ball Discord Server. Devs occasionally release codes on their X account (@Blade_Ball), so feel free to give them a follow. The official YouTube channel (@Blade-Ball) exists, but the developers are not very active on there at the moment. However, the easiest way to catch the latest codes is to bookmark this page and visit it occasionally. We are constantly looking for and collecting new codes in one place, so you don’t have to waste your time and energy. Why are my Blade Ball codes not working? If you tried redeeming codes manually, you probably met Roblox players’ number one enemy—typos. Always double-check the spelling of your codes and be careful with the details, such as capitalization. Copying and pasting codes directly into the game is an excellent way to avoid this problem. It’s also possible that the code you’re trying to redeem has expired. Developers often don’t specify expiration dates for every code, so an expired one can overstay its welcome on our Working list. If you find a code that no longer works, let us know in the comments, and we’ll investigate the issue. Other ways to get free rewards in Blade Ball The more rounds you play, the more freebies you’ll get. If you click the Quests button on the left side of the screen, you’ll open a menu with three Daily Quests. That way, you can claim some extra Coins simply by progressing through the game. Tasks are usually pretty straightforward, such as completing a certain amount of matches. You can get even more Coins and Wheel Spins by playing the game for a particular amount of time. Press the Extra button in the top left corner of the screen, then click on Playtime Awards in the drop-down menu to claim your rewards. What is Blade Ball? Blade Ball is Roblox’s unique twist on dodgeball, where players can dive into competitive multiplayer matches using special abilities. The goal is simple: hit and block the ball and be the last player eliminated from the Arena. Focus and timing are the key if you want to rise through the ranks. Unlock new abilities and find the ones that most suit your game style. In need of more Roblox codes? Check out our Roblox Codes section for more free goodies in the most popular experiences across all genres!

Here are all the currently working Roblox Ohio codes, a popular Roblox game made by DevvGames. Your entire objective is to become the ultimate apartment builder by increasing your tenant populating, keeping them happy, and earning as much money as possible. You will begin your apartment building journey from the ground up with very little money, so earning money in any way possible is extremely important. You can use Roblox Ohio codes to earn in-game currency like Cash and Weapons, giving you a competitive advantage over other players and allowing you to survive the harsh streets of Ohio. Cash and Weapons are the two most important currencies in Roblox Ohio, so you should jump at any chance to earn them for free. Here are all Roblox Ohio codes you can redeem for free Cash and Weapons. All Roblox Ohio Codes List We have provided you with an easy-to-browse list of working and expired codes and instructions on redeeming them. You will be earning free Cash and Weapons in no time! Roblox Ohio (Working) HYPERLASER—Redeem for $5,000 (New) CHRISTMAS—Redeem for $5,000 and a Gift SANTA—Redeem for $5,000 WW2—Redeem for $5,000 HALLOWEEN—Redeem for $5,000 and 1k Candy VOID—Redeem for $5,000 P90—Redeem for $5,000 BIOHAZARD—Redeem for $5,000 FIREWORK—Redeem for $5,000 PIRATE—Redeem for $5,000 MYSTIC—Redeem for $5,000 CRAFT—Redeem for $5,000 Easter—Redeem for $5,000 CRIMSON—Redeem for $5,000 SAKURA—Redeem for $5,000 2024—Redeem for $5,000 MERRY—Redeem for $5,000 and 1k gingerbread CHRISTMAS—Redeem for 1k Gingerbread and $5,000 WINTER—Redeem for $5,000 THANKS—Redeem for $5,000 CLAN—Redeem for $5,000 LUCK—Redeem for $5,000 HALLOWEEN—Redeem for $5,000 Cash & 1,000 Candy REAPER—Redeem for $5,000 100—Redeem for an Exclusive Skin POLICE—Redeem for $5,000 Cash TACTICAL—Redeem for $5,000 Cash MINE—Redeem for $5,000 Cash GEM—Redeem for $5,000 Cash FUTURE—Redeem for $5,000 Cash MANSION—Redeem for $10,000 Cash FIREWORK—Redeem for $5,000 Cash TRADE—Redeem for $5,000 Cash CARNIVAL—Redeem for $5,000 Cash Roblox Ohio (Expired) ALIEN—Redeem for $5,000 Cash FREE—Redeem for $3,000 Cash EASTER—Redeem for $5,000 Cash SKIN—Redeem for $5,000 Cash STPATRICK—Redeem for $2,000 Cash LUCKY—Redeem for $5,000 Cash EMOTE—Redeem for $5,000 Cash 30M—Redeem for $5,000 Cash THXFOR10K—Redeem code for $5,000 Cash HOUSE—Redeem code for $5,000 Cash JOBS—Redeem code for $5,000 Cash 10M—Redeem code for $10,000 cash MERRYCHRISTMAS—Redeem code for $2,000 cash NEWYEAROHIO—Redeem code for $2,000 cash OhioChristmas—Redeem code for a free Deagle gun OhioMoment—Redeem code for $300 Cash SKATE—Redeem code for $10,000 Cash Winter—Redeem code for $2,000 Cash How to Redeem Codes in Roblox Ohio Follow the instructions below to redeem codes in Roblox Ohio. Launch Roblox Ohio Click on the R-Mobile phone icon Select the Codes button Copy a Working Code from above Paste it into the Enter a Code… text box Hit the Submit button How Can You Get More Roblox Ohio Codes? The easiest way to get more Roblox Ohio codes is to check this guide at the beginning of every month. We will update new codes as they appear, so you are always up to date. Additionally, you can join the DevvGames Discord Server and follow @DevvGamesRblx on Twitter. Why Are My Roblox Ohio Codes Not working? Your Roblox Ohio codes may not work because they expired or were mistyped into the text box during the redemption process. Please verify that the code you are trying to redeem isn’t expired and that it was typed correctly into the text box. Other Ways to get Free Rewards in Roblox Ohio You can earn an easy $5,000 by liking the gaming and joining the DevvGames Roblox group. You must also brave the mean streets of Ohio and complete criminal activities to earn additional cash and weapons. What is Roblox Ohio? Roblox Ohio is a popular Roblox game that turns the streets of Ohio into a fun version of Grand Theft Auto. You will fight gangs, destroy robots, protect the streets of Ohio from aliens, and much more. Roblox Ohio is exceptionally violent and bloody compared to most Roblox games, so player discretion is advised.

Ho, Ho, Ho-ld My Controller

It’s that time of the year again when various Christmas lists are being filled out daily. Whether you still haven’t figured out which gifts you want on your list, or are looking for new ideas for that special gamer in your life, we’ve got you covered with this list of the best gaming Christmas gifts to keep on your radar for Santa this year. 7. Zenni’s Blokz Blue Light Glasses Image via Zenni View at Zenni Designed to filter out blue light emitted from digital screens, such as computers, smartphones, and TVs, these blue light filter glasses from Zenni help reduce eye strain, headaches, and disrupted sleep caused by prolonged exposure to blue light. With lenses starting at just $16.95, these glasses make for a fantastic stocking stuffer! 6. Vortex Ergonomic Gaming Chair Image via Staples View at Staples High-performance players need gear that helps them transcend to the next level, and this ergonomic gaming chair is specially designed with your unique gaming needs in mind. The flip-up adjustable arms let you quickly get in and out of this chair, while the padded headrest and plush cushions cradle your body for a more relaxing seating experience. With these advanced features that can easily be fine-tuned to your preferences, you’ll soon be ready to take on your next challenge. Get ready to be in a league of your own. 5. Asus ROG 17.3″ Gaming Laptop Image via Staples View at Staples Raise your game and call the shots with the Asus ROG Strix G17, a powerful and sleek gaming laptop designed for esports domination. It features an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series laptop GPU, and Windows 11 Home for optimal performance. With DDR5 4800MHz memory and PCIe 4×4 storage, multitasking and loading times are fast. Also, the robust aluminum chassis in eclipse gray color adds a subtle yet striking design element to this high-powered machine. 4. Logitech G502 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse Image via Staples View at Staples G502 is the best gaming mouse from Logitech G, completely redesigned from the inside out with LIGHTSPEED wireless and POWERPLAY compatibility so you can game faster and more accurately, The G502 LIGHTSPEED pc gaming mouse is built with superfast 1 ms wireless connectivity and a next-gen HERO sensor delivering 16k DPI class-leading performance and energy efficiency – get up to 60 hours of uninterrupted gaming with this highly reliable wireless gaming mouse. 3. LG 34″ UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor Image via Staples View at Staples The LG 34BP65C-B is a powerhouse of a monitor, designed to elevate your visual experience to new heights. This 34-inch UltraWide QHD curved display boasts a stunning 3440×1440 resolution, providing an expansive and immersive viewing area perfect for multitasking, gaming, and content creation. With a blazing-fast 160Hz refresh rate and 1ms Motion Blur Reduction (MBR), every frame is rendered with exceptional clarity and smoothness, making it ideal for fast-paced action. Whether you’re diving into a game, editing videos, or simply browsing, this monitor promises an unparalleled visual journey. 2. PlayStation 5 Slim Console Image via Staples View at Staples How could we not include one of the world’s hottest gaming consoles on the market today in our list? This PS5 Slim console comes with 1 TB of storage and all the other bells & whistles included in the base version of the PS5 disc edition, but now all packed inside a sleek and more compact console design. 1. SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset Image via Staples View at Staples The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless clears as our top pick for the best gaming headset of 2024. By far the most unique high-tier feature you’ll find here is the ability to listen and communicate with two different outputs. You can, for example, talk to your buddies in Discord on your phone while gaming on your console at the same time. It’s the type of magical technology that even Santa’s workshop is still trying to replicate. And that’s it for our list of the best gaming Christmas gifts. Whether you add these items to your list or not, we hope it at least gave you some ideas for Santa later this year!

Added a new code! Are you wondering what all Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mystery gift codes are so you can unlock free content? Mystery Gifts are an easy way to unlock content for your game and are usually free. Mystery Gifts can include a wide variety of content, like a Pikachu with a special move and Tera Type or an Adventure set with many valuable items. Here are all the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mystery gift codes you can use to unlock free content. All Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Mystery Gift Codes Here are all current Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mystery gift codes available: Mystery Gift Code Gift Expiration Date SEEY0U1NPALDEA Paldean Winds Episode 4 of a Gimmighoul (New) November 30th, 2024 TEAMSTAR Paldean Winds Episode 3 of a Revavroom October 31st, 2024 L1KEAFLUTE Cetitan with the Ferocious Mark August 31st, 2024 SLEEPTALKW0RLDS Tomoya Ogawa’s 2023 World Winning Sylveon N/A 909TEAMUP06 Fuecoco January 31, 2025 NA1CTR1CKR00M Nils Dunlop’s Porygon2 N/A F1ARR0W23MASTER Violet Talonflame June 2, 2024 D0T1STPARTNER Dot’s Quaxly November 30, 2024 GYARAD0S2023SG Gyarados June 30, 2024 987W1THSPECS Flutter Mane May 7, 2024 Code is sent to the email of guidebook purchasers 100 x Potions None Code is sent to the email of guidebook purchasers 100 x Rare Candy S None Automatically given to Double Pack purchasers 200 x Poké Balls None Get via Internet, available to all players Adventure Set Code is sent to the email of eShop purchasers Special Pikachu We will update the above table as new Mystery Gift codes become available. How do I Redeem Mystery Gift Codes in Pokémon Violet and Scarlet? The first thing you need to do is unlock the ability to access the Mystery Gift Codes menu, which you can accomplish by reaching a Pokémon center. This will take you about 90-minutes of playtime. Once you have reached the first Pokémon center, you will gain access to the Poké Portal on the menu screen. From here, you have several options to redeem content. Here are the various options you have available to you: Get via Internet Get with Code/Password Check Mystery Gifts Check Poké Portal News Get via Internet The Get via Internet option will search for available gifts you can download. You can only download one gift at a time. This option is available for all players and is what you want to use to get the Adventure Set gift. Get with Code/Password The Get with Code/Password option allows you to enter a mystery gift code. Once the code has been entered and verified, the gift will download to your game. For example, you want this option to get a Special Pikachu gift using the Mystery Gift code you received via email. Check Mystery Gifts The Check Mystery Gifts option will display a list of all Mystery Gifts you have obtained using either of the above methods. Check Poké Portal News The Check Poké Portal News option will provide you with up-to-date news from Nintendo on anything Mystery Gift related, so check back often! Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.

This article is written in partnership with ROG Stuck for gaming gifts this holiday season? Don’t panic, ROG is here, with enough gaming gifts to knock Santa’s socks off! It doesn’t matter how and where you game, ROG has you covered with some world-class gaming gear. ROG is the king of gaming hardware, and for nearly 20 years, it’s been providing the tech to keep players ahead of the game. So if you’re hunting for a gaming present, whether it’s for you or a loved one, skip Santa’s workshop and head to ROG for gifts that are guaranteed to make a splash. Game on the go with the ROG Ally X handheld PC, the perfect gift for playing whatever you want wherever you like Want to play games on the go? Level up with the ROG Ally X, the perfect ultra-portable powerhouse for gaming anywhere. Powered by Windows 11, it has a pin-sharp, VRR-enabled 7-inch screen and a massive battery for hours and hours of portable fun. Soar through the cosmos with Starfield or get down and dirty with Street Fighter 6; it’s up to you. It boasts: An 80-watt-hour battery life, for up to 2.7 hours of serious gaming or 14.5 hours of video playback and streaming 24GB of memory, 8GB of which can be allocated to VRAM for those more demanding games Full compatibility with all Windows 11 games, so no need to check if your favorite game is supported Don’t let its ultra-portability fool you; the ROG Ally X is a dynamite gaming device and perfect for playing PC games wherever you might feel that gaming itch. Buy the ROG Ally X here Need to play and create on the move? ROG has you covered with the powerful and versatile Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16. The Zephyrus G14 and G16 are ROG’s lifestyle gaming laptops. These dream machines boast epic image quality and next-level gaming performance, with the quality and reliability you can expect from ROG. You don’t have to lock yourself into gaming or creating, either; these laptops have the power to juggle both, perfect when you need a break. Whichever model ends up under the tree this holiday, the lucky recipient can look forward to: A beautiful, sleek aluminum chassis A stunning, color-accurate ROG Nebula OLED display, with a mind-blowingly low 0.2ms response time, perfect for gaming Enough power for games and professional tasks such as video editing and design The Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16 can also be equipped with up to an RTX 4070 and RTX 4090, respectively, giving these powerhouse laptops an extra boost. Whether you’re gifting for a student, a professional, a gamer or somewhere in between, the Zephyrus G14 and G16 offer a brilliant balance of power and portability. Buy the ROG Zephyrus G14 here and the ROG Zephyrus G16 here. Gift the ultimate PC powerhouse with the Strix series, perfect for hardcore gamers who demand the best But what if the person you’re buying for is a hardcore gamer who wants their games to run super-smooth and look amazing with it? That’s where ROG’s Strix series of laptops comes in. There are several to choose from, but every Strix is designed to deliver the ultimate in gaming performance. ROG has used its years of expertise to squeeze every last drop of power out of these models, and it shows. Gift a ROG Strix this holiday season and you’re getting ultimate PC power, including: A top-tier gaming CPU and GPU, with upgradeable memory and storage, with a responsive 2.00mm key travel keyboard ROG Intelligent Cooling, to ensure your Strix hits high wattage, letting you eke out every last drop performance A ROG Nebula HDR Display, Mini LED capable of up to 1100 HDR peak brightness The ROG Strix doesn’t compromise; ROG has gone all out to make the Strix a perfect gift for hardcore gamers who need the absolute best, so if you’re shopping for power, the Strix series should be your first choice. Buy a ROG Strix gaming laptop here Unwrap Exclusive ROG Holiday Deals! Take advantage of these limited-time offers to make your holidays unforgettable. ROG Zephyrus G16 – Enjoy up to $400 off this powerful and versatile gaming laptop! ROG Strix G18 – Save up to $400 on this powerhouse gaming machine, perfect for hardcore gamers! ROG Flow X16 – Don’t miss out on one of the season’s biggest discounts on this stunning, high-performance convertible gaming laptop! Grab These ROG Deals Before They’re Gone! Which gift you should go for depends on who you’re buying for. The ROG Ally X should be your choice for handheld PC gaming, and if you’re after versatility, the ROG Zephyr G14 and G16 are ideal. But if you want the ultimate in gaming power and performance, it’s the ROG Strix all the way. Those are just some highlights of ROG’s massive range, encompassing everything from handhelds and laptops to graphics cards and desktops. Whether you’re hunting for that perfect gaming gift, or just buying for yourself, save yourself some serious time and stop by ROG. Just don’t tell the elves; they’ll only get jealous.

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Check out the Dig Deeper fitness program from BODi today! (free trial offered) We’ve all wished at some point that everything in life was as formulaic as a video game. You develop your skills and strategy, hit certain checkpoints and like clockwork, and you advance to the next level. Unfortunately, as we all know, real life is a little more complicated than that—with plenty of unexpected obstacles that can derail our progress. One area where this is especially true is transforming our bodies. You can hit the gym everyday and consume protein shakes like there’s no tomorrow and still fall short of your goals thanks to the many biological and lifestyle factors at play. The good news is, whether you’re just getting started on your fitness journey or have been on the grind for a while, there is a cheat code for achieving a Kratos-worthy physique—so long as you’re willing to show up and do the work. Enter Dig Deeper, a new online body composition program by BODi. In 12 weeks, the regime promises to help you sculpt a jaw-dropping physique while also making you feel mentally unstoppable every day. Led by (supremely jacked) super trainer Shaun T, the weightlifting program uses proven techniques for reliable results. Take your training to the next level. v Image via BODi Having shed over 50 pounds himself, Shaun T has helped millions of people all over the world get into their best shape. Now, he’s teamed up with BODi by Beachbody to launch this low-impact yet highly effective program that blends heavy weights with zone two cardio. Much like the levels of your favorite RPG, Dig Deeper has three progressive phases you’ll work through in order to build lean muscle while reducing body fat. Collection one is “dynamic circuits,” where you’ll complete fast-paced circuits with moderate weights and higher reps to increase your endurance. Collection two is “sculpt and define,” and calls for you to slow it right down with lower reps, supersets and time under tensions, to enhance muscle definition. Collection three is “the build,” with a focus on controlled heavy lifting with drop sets and pyramids to optimize your gains. There’s also a fourth, bonus collection, “no excuses,” with optimal workouts under 25 minutes that are perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick session during a streaming marathon. Available to stream on the BODi app on your phone, tablet or computer, you can do the fast and effective workouts anytime and anywhere. There’s absolutely no zone five cardio or jumping, and the only equipment needed is heavy weights and a bench. And because nutrition is equally as important as training you’ll also get dietary guidance tailored to your needs with Dig Deeper’s quick-start guides — with zero need to cut out entire food groups. You can try it for free for 14 days by signing up to a six month BODi subscription. Or, you can get lifetime access for just $59.95 as a standalone product. Ready to dig deeper and see what you’re capable of? Hit start on your body reset by signing up to the program here.

James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, has given a lot of praise for David Corenswet, who will play Superman in the upcoming DC Universe reboot. Gunn has stated that Corenswet will “blow people away” due to his acting range and physicality. The director has praised Corenswet’s ability to excel in both comedic and dramatic roles, describing him as “the best physical action star I’ve probably ever worked with.” Gunn has worked with tons of action heroes, so it’s pretty amazing to hear something like that from him. David Corenswet is going to blow people the f*** away. He is the movie star that everyone dreams he could possibly be and I don’t think anyone really understands the depth of this guy’s talent – dramatically, comedically, he’s the best physical action star I’ve probably ever worked with except for Frank [Grillo]. James Gunn More Superheroes: Jenna Ortega May Return To MCU In Bigger Role Gunn has also expressed excitement about Rachel Brosnahan, who will star as Lois Lane. He describes her as “extraordinary” and noted that she delivered “the best audition tape of anyone who read.” Gunn has also commented on the “magic” that occurred during Corenswet and Brosnahan’s first screen test, saying they were “two of the most extraordinary, vibrant, and meticulous actors” he has worked with. Warner Bros. One year ago today David and Rachel screen-tested for Clark and Lois. When they first read together it was like magic. What a wonderful year it’s been with two of the most extraordinary, vibrant, and meticulous actors I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. I can’t wait for you to see them on screen in just a little over a year. James Gunn The casting of Corenswet and Brosnahan has gotten a lot of excitement among fans, particularly after Henry Cavill’s departure as Superman. This looks like he will be a worthy replacement for Henry Cavill. Source: The Direct

Tom Hardy has addressed the rumors surrounding his potential return as Eddie Brock in the upcoming Spider-Man 4. There have been plenty of rumors about him leaving Venom to go to Spider-Man, but we finally have confirmation. While promoting the upcoming Venom: The Last Dance at Comicon, Hardy made it clear that he will not be appearing in the film at this point. However, the way he said it makes us think this is less of a personal choice. He sounds like if he was given an opportunity, he would not be against it. More Spider-Man: Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 Idea Was Rejected Because of Captain America 4 I don’t see him in the next Spider-Man movie because I’d have the script and I don’t have that. Well, it’s been seven years this day… I’ve absolutely loved playing Eddie and Venom. It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life so it’ll be sad to see him go… I would like to fight Spider-Man. I would like to fight him right now. In a movie, 100%. I would never say never. Tom Hardy Sony However, his comments regarding Spider-Man 4 are noteworthy, especially because of the growing anticipation for a potential crossover between the two characters. Many fans have speculated that Hardy’s Eddie Brock could join forces with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in a battle against Knull, the God of Symbiotes. This villain was introduced in Venom: The Last Dance and is expected to play a significant role in future installments. More Spider-Man: Tom Holland Isn’t Sure About His Future As Spider-Man Venom: The Last Dance writer and director Kelly Marcel, however, continues to suggest that the film merely marks the beginning of Knull’s story. She hinted that the film’s ending might set the stage for more exploration of the Symbiote universe. This could potentially open up new avenues for Eddie Brock’s involvement, even if he is not present in Spider-Man 4. It remains uncertain whether Hardy will ultimately return as Eddie Brock in any future Venom or Spider-Man films. However, now that it’s clear he wants to return, Sony only needs to get him signed. Source: CBM

Jenna Ortega, known for her roles in shows such as Wednesday and Scream, is rumored to be in talks to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This rumor, shared by industry scooper on X (formerly Twitter), has sparked speculation about Ortega’s possible return to the MCU after her previous appearance in Iron Man 3. This possibility makes a whole lot of sense, even though Marvel Studios or her representatives have not confirmed Ortega’s potential new MCU role. The thing is that Ortega is currently doing very well in movies, and her career is at an all-time high. She also has a foot in the door from already being a character in the MCU. She was the Vice President’s Daughter in Iron Man 3. Even still, it is important to note that Marvel Studios frequently meets with various talents for different roles. This may be entirely true, but that doesn’t mean that Marvel will go through with it. They could just be scoping Ortega out and getting a feel for where she could fit, how much she’d cost, and how it’d affect the MCU. Ortega would be likely to meet with Marvel because being in a Superhero movie is something many actors likely want on their resume now. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures More Marvel: Tom Holland Isn’t Sure About His Future As Spider-Man Previously, rumors suggested that Ortega was considered for the role of White Tiger in Daredevil: Born Again, but this casting did not come to fruition. Ortega has a busy schedule ahead, and Wednesday doesn’t seem to be going under anytime soon, so any projects need to keep that schedule in mind. So, even with some confirmation, there’s that big hurdle for any studio. If the rumored talks progress further, Ortega’s potential involvement in the MCU would significantly add to her already impressive filmography. If anything, this would set her as an A-Lister. However, once again, there’s no confirmation either way. Source: MyTimeToShineHello

Marvel Studios has finally confirmed that Daredevil: Born Again will be the next R-rated type of project. The news of it has been back and forth, but with an official release date came a rating that is equivalent to R. The series set to debut on Disney+ on March 4, 2025, will be rated TV-MA. This marks the third MCU Disney+ series to receive an R-rating, following Echo and Marvel Zombies. The series will continue the story from Netflix’s original Daredevil series, reuniting Matt Murdock with both his allies and enemies, including Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. It seems as brutal as most people would expect but with the same characters as before. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The announcement of Daredevil: Born Again receiving an R-rating is a significant development for Marvel Studios. It shows that Disney is not afraid to push further into the R-rated areas since Echo and Deadpool & Wolverine came out. Both of those achieved critical acclaim and box office records, so it opens the door to even more movies and shows that should be for more mature audiences. More Marvel: Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 Idea Was Rejected Because of Captain America 4 The R-rating of Daredevil: Born Again suggests that Marvel Studios is willing to explore the Daredevil character’s darker and more mature aspects, which will give a lot more depth and complexity to his story. It also raises the possibility that future MCU projects may adopt a similar rating, further diversifying the studio’s output and catering to a wider audience. Daredevil: Born Again will see Kingpin, who rose to the position of New York City Mayor in Echo’s post-credits scene, face off against Daredevil once again. The series will also feature the return of Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye from Daredevil Season 3 and introduce a new antagonist, Muse. While the overarching plot for Season 1 remains unclear, Matt’s battles with Kingpin and these other adversaries will be central to his story. The series will mark Matt Murdock’s second appearance in the MCU since his adventures in the Defenders Saga were officially incorporated into the MCU canon. This means the future is bright for Daredevil. Source: Variety

Tom Holland, best known for Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), has revealed that one of his ideas for a fourth Spider-Man film was rejected by Marvel Studios. Apparently, it was too similar to the plot of Captain America: Brave New World. Holland was speaking on the Rich Roll Podcast when he discussed his involvement in the MCU. He described how collaborative the process is, but also how some of his ideas have been rejected. He explained that the creative team at Marvel often has plans for the future of the franchise that might overlap with his own ideas, and he seemed to acknowledge that this was part of the process. I’ll come up with an idea, and they’ll say no you can’t do that because we’re doing that in the new Captain America movie. It’s really cool to just see how they’ve got this vision for the future. Tom Holland More from the interview: Tom Holland Isn’t Sure About His Future As Spider-Man Holland’s rejection was not a surprise to him. He seemed to understand that Marvel Studios has a specific vision for its franchise and is always planning ahead. Holland did not reveal the specifics of his rejected idea, but apparently, it’s good enough to be the direction of the MCU. He did say that he felt the script for Spider-Man 4 was worthy of the fans’ respect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room like this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect. Tom Holland More casting news: Sebastian Stan Is Interested In Being The Riddler It is interesting to know, and hopefully, we’ll get some information on what that idea was after Captain America 4 comes out. It’s understandable that Holland wouldn’t tell us now, but hopefully, he will remember the story and we will see how it would work for Spider-Man instead of Captain America. Source: Rich Roll Podcast via SuperheroHype

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who is rumored to have a significant role in Avengers: Doomsday, has expressed a bit of confusion about the future of Spider-Man. Based on what he’s been saying, Holland’s future in the MCU is not set in stone. While Holland seems like he wants to continue playing Spider-Man, he has also said he wants to make sure any future appearances are for the right reasons. He is currently reflecting on his role in the MCU and the power that comes with it, noting that he has been in contact with Robert Downey Jr. regarding his return. Holland seems to be very thoughtful regarding the franchise. I think the biggest thing that I’m facing right now, which is without a shadow of a doubt the most first-world problem that anyone has ever experienced, is the power of choice, and it comes down to Spider-Man. When I signed my contract for ‘Spider-Man[: Homecoming]’, I signed a six-picture deal, I was 18 years old, I was more excited than I’d ever been about anything ever, and for the last 10 years I have been at the beck and call of Marvel [Studios] and Sony, and proudly so, it’s been the best experience of my life. Tom Holland More Marvel: Wiccan Actor Wants His Character To Lead The Avengers Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Holland’s future in the MCU is uncertain due to his desire to make sure future appearances are meaningful and his willingness to take control of his career. He has stated that he is now in a position where he can choose his projects and that he wants to make sure any future Spider-Man appearances are done for the right reasons. More Spider-Man: Venom 3 Directors End Knull Rumors I’m now at a juncture where I can say no, and now that I’ve been afforded that power, I’m struggling to figure out what is the right thing to do. It’s meant I’ve had to put my foot down in certain instances, which I haven’t been allowed to do in the past, and I think the learning curve that I’m on right now is dealing with that new sense of power, making sure that I don’t abuse it, but making sure that I do the best thing for me, rather than for the studio, and really the best thing for the character. I don’t want to make another movie for the sake of making it… It’s a wonderful place to be, but it is something that keeps me up at night… Tom Holland It really makes us wonder about whether we’ll continue seeing Holland’s Spider-Man. Source: Rich Roll Podcast via TheDirect

Sebastian Stan, known for his role as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently said he’d be interested in playing the Riddler in a future DC project. During an interview with Josh Horowitz, Stan shared that he auditioned for the role of Hal Jordan in 2011’s Green Lantern, ultimately losing out to Ryan Reynolds. Reflecting on the experience, Stan admitted that he was grateful for not getting the part, as he wasn’t sure he could have handled the level of attention that would have come with it. To be honest, we think Reynolds might have been glad to avoid Green Lantern, too. More DC: Joker: Folie a Duex Won’t Make Back Cost By Almost $200 Million Green Lantern was another one I screen-tested for. I remember getting there and it was, like, me, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds, and maybe one other person. I’m looking at these guys going, ‘I’m f***ed. There’s no way this is happening for me.’ You come close and it wouldn’t happen, but in a way, looking back I’m almost glad it didn’t. Sebastian Stan Warner Bros. Pictures He acknowledged that the Riddler has already been portrayed on screen, with the most recent portrayal being by Paul Dano in The Batman. However, that doesn’t mean the real DCU’s Batman’s Ridler is taken. Remember that Robert Pattinson’s Batman is not part of James Gunn’s DCU. So Stan actually has a shot. More DC: James Gunn Has Idea For Wonder Woman Replacement I don’t know if Batman’s for me. Never say never, I don’t know. There are so many characters. I told you, I always had a soft spot for The Riddler but that one’s been done. Sebastian Stan While Stan’s interest in The Riddler is cool to hear, it’s important to note that there are no current plans for a project that would feature the character. The DC Universe is undergoing a significant transition under the leadership of Gunn and Peter Safran. If they do mention that the Ridler or even Batman is open, we’d guess that Stan will be one of the people going up for the role. Source: Josh Horowitz via CBM

James Gunn, the director of the upcoming Superman movie, has released a teaser image featuring the titular superhero alongside Krypto the Superdog. This image is the first official look at the character in the film, and for some, is the first time learning the character will be in the movie. The teaser shows Superman and Krypto sitting side-by-side on the moon, watching over Earth. Gunn revealed on Instagram that the character was inspired by his own dog, Ozu, who he adopted shortly after beginning work on the Superman script. Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation and had never encountered humans before, presented several challenges for Gunn. The dog’s unruly behavior, including destroying property and biting, led Gunn to imagine what life would be like if Ozu had superpowers. This thought seems to have ultimately shaped Krypto’s character and his inclusion in the movie’s story. View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) More DC: James Gunn Has Idea For Wonder Woman Replacement While the exact role of Krypto in the Superman movie is not known, but the dog is expected to play a significant part in the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film. Gunn stated that the character will make his on-screen debut in the Superman movie this summer. The teaser image is really nice to see, and will definitely make any fan excited. It offers a glimpse into the visual aesthetic and tone that Gunn is bringing to the Superman franchise. This is vastly different from Synder’s version, which some would say is far too dark for a boy scout hero like Superman. The film’s story will focus on Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent. We expect it will do much better in setting up the DCU than the DCEU did in its universe. We hope to see more of Krypto soon, though, because it’s nice to see dogs with superpowers. Source: James Gunn on Instagram

Warner Bros. is facing a potential financial setback with the release of Joker: Folie à Deux. While the studio has not publicly acknowledged the movie’s financial performance, industry reports suggest that the sequel could cost the studio as much as $200 million due to its underwhelming box office performance. The movie, which had a reported production budget of $200 million, also incurred an estimated $100 million in marketing and distribution costs. This is not as normal as it seems because many movies tend to spend double the cost of making it to market. There may have been writing on the wall already. Warner Bros. To break even, the movie needs to gross $450 million globally. However, the film has only grossed $51.5 million domestically and $165 million worldwide. This is the most important time for a movie, and numbers this low show that it definitely isn’t going to reach anywhere close to $450 million. Experts predict that the film will likely only reach a lifetime gross of $210 to $215 million worldwide. More Joker: Joker 2 Director Getting Harassed After Sequel Flop Warner Bros. is likely going to rely on the home entertainment, scheduled for October 29, to help recoup some of their losses. That is actually where a lot of money used to come in for many movies. The theaters take so much of a percentage that the showings used to be more of a commercial for the DVDs. However, times have changed, and buying a physical version is no longer as popular as it once was. The potential profits from physical distribution will likely not be enough to offset the significant financial gap. The movie received mixed reviews, with some critics praising the performances and technical aspects of the film, while others criticized the film’s story and direction. Audiences also seemed to be divided on the movie, with some finding it to be a compelling and unique sequel, while others found it to be a disappointing and unnecessary follow-up to the original. This is a great example of a movie flop, and DC really doesn’t need that right now. Source: Variety

Joe Locke, who plays the character Teen in the Disney+ series Agatha All Along, has interesting ideas for his Wiccan character. In fact, his opinion would be that Wiccan plays a leading role in the new Avengers team. In an interview, Locke voiced his desire for Wiccan to play a prominent role in the MCU, even suggesting that he could eventually lead the Avengers. While the Young Avengers, a team that Wiccan is a member of in Marvel comics, it seems incredibly unlikely that Wiccan will have a leading role. The issue comes from the popularity of Agatha All Along, which, while it is watched, is not as popular as many other shows, and its watchtime couldn’t even beat Acolyte. That being said, a show being unpopular doesn’t mean that the characters are unpopular. Wiccan is likely coming to Avengers and has opportunities to really stand out there. More Marvel: Andrew Garfield Alludes To Spider-Man Return Talks In my ideal world, Billy would become the next head of the Avengers and be in every Marvel thing ever, but there are higher things at play… I had the most amazing experience filming on Agatha and being a part of the Marvel family and would love to do that until the day I die. But who knows? I don’t. I’m sure someone does. Joe Locke Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures We don’t see Agatha All Along popping up in viewership or becoming a must-see MCU show like WandaVision. While the idea of a character from that show playing a huge part in the MCU is a bit far-fetched, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Locke could continue to do great work and eventually his character could move up. It’s not crazy to see a character that was on the side become popular enough to lead, a lot like Loki. The only issue is that Spider-Man is a clear favorite to lead the Young Avengers. Source: Entertainment Weekly

Venom: The Last Dance will introduce the Marvel Comics villain Knull to the big screen. Many thought that Knull would be its main antagonist, but it seems like we were wrong. Director and co-writer Kelly Marcel came in to clarify things. Marcel said, “One movie could never do justice to Knull,” which shows that his story will extend beyond The Last Dance. This also tells us that this may be the way Spidey gets his symbiote suit in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies. It’d be silly to say this ruins the Venom movie or spoils anything because now we know that Knull surviving isn’t a big part of the movie. If anything, this gives us even more mystery because we want to know who exactly will be the antagonist. Sony The film is supposed to be the final part of Hardy’s Eddie Brock story in the franchise. Having Knull appear is a great way to get a version of Venom in the MCU’s Spider-Man. Marcel explained that they felt the need to establish the Venom character and his relationship with Eddie before introducing Knull. Although he’s not the main antagonist, his role is significant. More DC: Venom: The Last Dance Likely Has Multiple Post-Credit Scenes Marcel revealed that Knull’s role in The Last Dance will only be the beginning of his story. She explained that the film will explore the threat posed by Knull, but it will primarily focus on Eddie and Venom’s relationship. The film will see Eddie and Venom on the run, pursued by adversaries. It seems the real antagonists are the characters played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple, who are part of a military-science complex, and are aware of the existence of symbiotes. While their characters have different agendas, they will be forced to cooperate with Eddie and Venom for the greater good, but we’ll find out more once the movie releases. Source: IGN Interview

James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, has finally spoken up about replacing Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. This is definitely a surprise to many, but there is no guarantee that any actor will stay now that the universe has been rebooted. Gunn stated that he would only hire “professionals” for the role of Wonder Woman in the revamped DC Universe (DCU). This means he will not be holding open casting calls for the part. Gunn was asked about his casting process on the social media platform Threads and confirmed that while he has worked with lesser-known actors in the past, he prefers to work with experienced professionals. I have never only hired well-known actors. I’ve hired many, many actors in lead roles that were less well known than your example of Gal at the time of WW. But I do only hire professionals, same as I do with plumbers, surgeons, and masseuses. I think it’s fair, although fair isn’t my objective – my objective is telling stories the best I can. James Gunn Warner Bros. Gunn explained that his focus is on finding actors who can deliver the best performances, not on their level of fame or recognition. He stated that he only hires “professionals,” comparing his casting process to hiring qualified professionals in other fields, such as plumbers, surgeons, and masseuses. More Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman Actress Angry Over Reboot While he did not disclose who he intended to cast as the new Wonder Woman, Gunn clarified that he had not only hired well-known actors in the past. He has worked with actors in lead roles who were less well-known. The recasting of Wonder Woman is one of many changes being made to the DCU under Gunn and Peter Safran. The duo has already re-cast Superman, with David Corenswet replacing Henry Cavill. Other major roles, such as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, have been recast with Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, respectively. That is not to say that there is no hope for Gal Gadot, as he may hire her again for the role. It all just depends on what he ends up deciding. Source: James Gunn on Threads

The CW’s Superman & Lois was canceled in February 2024, eight months before the release of its fourth season, despite its strong viewership and critical acclaim. The cancellation has sparked controversy among fans, with many blaming James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new heads of DC Studios. However, they aren’t at fault at all. Elizabeth Tulloch, who plays Lois Lane on the show, has defended Gunn. She cleared up the reasoning, saying the cancellation was because of a series of executive changes at The CW and Warner Bros. The CW was sold to Nexstar in 2022, and Warner Bros. brought in a new CEO, David Zaslav, shortly after. The shakeup at Warner Bros. also included a new leadership team for DC Comics. People keep putting the blame on Gunn and Safran, but the reality is The CW was sold to Nexstar, Warner Bros. had a new head in David Zaslav, and then also DC Comics had new heads. If you’re a Superman fan, be stoked about the movie and trust in his vision, because everything I think Gunn has directed has been great, and I think it’s going to be great. Elizabeth Tulloch Warner Bros. Tulloch stated that the show’s creators were initially told that Superman & Lois would run for seven seasons. While the cancellation was unexpected, she believes it was a result of these significant changes within the companies rather than a deliberate decision by Gunn and Safran, who are mainly focused on the movies. Brad Schwartz, the President of Entertainment at The CW, has confirmed that the show’s cancellation was tied to Gunn’s plans for a new Superman movie. Schwartz stated that The CW did not want a competing Superman product in the marketplace, suggesting that the network’s decision was influenced by a desire to avoid conflict with Gunn’s vision for the DC Universe. Source: Elizabeth Tulloch

Andrew Garfield has hinted at the possibility of talks regarding his return as Spider-Man but has not confirmed anything concrete. However, how he did it makes us believe Sony is trying to get him to redo his role. While promoting his upcoming film We Live in Time, Garfield was asked by podcast host Josh Horowitz about conversations he might have had with Sony regarding a potential return to the role. Garfield acknowledged that such discussions could be occurring, given the success of his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Garfield was cautious in his responses, avoiding any definitive statements or revealing specific details. He acknowledged the curiosity surrounding his future as Peter Parker, especially given the ongoing development of Spider-Man 4. The strangeness comes from how he says things. More Spider-Man: Spider-Man Will Come Back Before Fourth Movie, Reports Claim Yeah, of course, your assumption is not unfounded. If I was in your position, I can imagine going, ‘Yeah, he’s probably had some conversations,’ too, yeah… I understand in your position you’re going to be wondering, because it was such a success, that you’d kind of go, ‘Well they must be talking about it.’ Andrew Garfield Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Yet refused to say anything else. Garfield’s coy responses have only fueled speculation about his future in the Spider-Man franchise, though he stopped short of confirming or denying any involvement in ongoing discussions. His comments suggest that conversations regarding a potential return are likely taking place, but these discussions’ exact nature and outcome remain unclear. With Spider-Man 4 in development, the possibility of Garfield reprising his role as Spider-Man is highly intriguing to fans. Let’s not forget that he outright said he wouldn’t be in No Way Home, so he’s always open to denying anything the studio tells him to. More Marvel: Deleted Deadpool & Wolverine Scene Shows Secret Kiss Between Two Characters So we’ll have to wait a bit longer before seeing if he actually appears in the movie. Source: Josh Horowitz

Todd Phillips, director of the critically acclaimed Joker, has faced a lot of backlash following the release of its sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. The musical film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, has been met with widespread negative reception, earning a dismal 33% rating from critics and 31% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes Joker: Folie à Deux the lowest-scoring comic book movie ever on the platform, and its “D” CinemaScore further expresses the audience’s dissatisfaction. However, following the film’s UK premiere, Phillips shared photos on Instagram, where he was met with a wave of negative comments from fans. Many expressed their disappointment and anger towards the sequel, stating that it “ruined” their memories of the first film. Some criticized the film’s artistic choices, while others used generic insults to express their disapproval. Warner Bros. While the majority of the online discourse has been critical, some fans have defended the film, arguing that it was intended to be a commentary on society’s obsession with the Joker persona rather than Arthur Fleck himself. They suggest that the film accurately portrays how people often ignore the struggles of individuals and instead glorify the villainous aspects of their personalities. That makes sense, to be honest. More DC: James Gunn Shoots Down Batman Casting Rumor Phillips has stated that he is finished working with DC, indicating that he will not be directing any further films in the Joker franchise. However, the decision to make a sequel has proven controversial, as many critics and fans believe that the first film did not require a follow-up. The comments are pretty mean, so if you go there, be ready for some really cruel jokes at Phillips’ expense. Source: Todd Phillips Instagram, The Direct

DC Studios has scrapped plans for a third Wonder Woman film, which is much to the dismay of actress Connie Nielsen. Nielson portrayed Queen Hippolyta in the DC Extended Universe. Nielsen expressed her confusion regarding the decision, given the commercial success of the first Wonder Woman film in 2017, which earned over $800 million worldwide and garnered critical acclaim. However, it’s important to note that the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, received a less enthusiastic reception. More DC: Wonder Woman Prequel Is Moving On Without Gal Gadot Even still, the franchise’s overall success and dedicated fanbase led to Warner Bros. and DC to initially greenlight a third film. However, James Gunn and Peter Safran, the newly appointed heads of DC Studios, opted for a fresh start to the entire universe, choosing to largely reboot the DC Universe, leaving many existing projects, including Wonder Woman 3, on the chopping block. Warner Bros. I think it’s crazy. I mean, frankly, I don’t understand it. [Wonder Woman] made $800 million just in the movie theaters, and it has an enormous and passionate, passionate fan base. These are spectacular films, and there’s just no reason I can understand whatsoever for not investing in that. If I were a business person, I would say that’s money on the table. It’s right there. Plus every time we’ve done it, [it was] with budgets that were way smaller than any of the other DC budgets. I really hope that they change their minds, and that they realize this is crazy. This is a billion dollars that is lying on the table. Connie Nielsen More DC: James Gunn Shoots Down Batman Casting Rumor Nielsen is rightly frustrated since the franchise as a whole was doing well. She argues that the financial success of the original Wonder Woman alone makes its cancellation a missed opportunity, particularly considering the film’s relatively low production budget compared to other DC projects. However, Wonder Woman doesn’t stand alone. It’s part of a universe made for the characters that must do well, too. Unfortunately, they didn’t, so Gunn needed to come in and reboot the whole thing. Sources: Den of Geek, Variety

Tom Holland is set to appear in another Marvel Cinematic Universe project before filming his fourth Spider-Man solo film, according to an industry insider. Holland is expected to play a “major role” in Avengers: Doomsday, which is scheduled for release on May 1, 2026. Production for this film is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025, with filming taking place in London. Filming for Spider-Man 4 is expected to begin in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2025, and wrap in October of the same year. The film is scheduled to be released in July 2026, following Avengers: Doomsday and before Avengers: Secret Wars. More Spider-Man: Venom 3 Rumor May Have Spoiled Surprise Casting So basically, it seems like Spider-Man will make his return in another movie before his own. There are a ton of reports on what will happen in Spider-Man 4, and no one really knows for sure. There are many reports that scripts are changing, and confirmations of castings haven’t happened yet, so take everything there with a grain of salt. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures However, the report on Avengers: Doomsday states that Holland will have a more significant role in Avengers: Doomsday than he did in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Given that the film’s villain, Doctor Doom, will be played by Robert Downey Jr. and bear the same face as Tony Stark, Holland’s involvement in the film makes sense. More Spider-Man: Doctor Doom Coming To Spider-Man 4 According To Reports We can assume Holland will be a big part of the movie just because of his bond with Tony Stark. It’s unclear what the future holds for Holland’s Spider-Man beyond the Multiverse Saga. Additionally, the insider has stated that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are working on a deal for Holland to appear in more non-Spider-Man films. This would include future Avengers movies and potentially other MCU films. We’ll have to wait and see as more details come out for the coming movies. Source: Daniel Richtman

There is growing anticipation surrounding the potential post-credit scenes in the upcoming movie, Venom: The Last Dance. According to an online scooper, the film will feature more than one post-credit scene. The news comes as Venom: The Last Dance prepares for its release on October 25, 2024. This installment is poised to be the final chapter in the Venom franchise. The film’s trailer has generated significant buzz, particularly for its introduction of Knull, the God of Symbiotes. The two post-credits scenes will likely be nods to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or Spider-Man. More Spider-Man: Vulture Actor Addresses Spider-Man 4 Rumors Post-credit scenes have become a common practice in superhero films, often serving as a teaser for future storylines or providing additional context to the main narrative. The first Venom film in 2018 also featured two post-credit scenes. One scene introduced Cletus Kasady, the villain for the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The second offered a glimpse into Sony’s Spiderverse projects. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Venom: Let There Be Carnage continued the trend with its own post-credit scenes. One scene depicted Tom Hardy’s Venom briefly crossing over to the main MCU timeline, Earth 616. This crossover was later acknowledged in the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home. Given the previous film’s successful use of post-credit scenes, we all want to know what is coming in these. More Venom: Venom: The Last Dance Reports Claim A Spider-Man Will Cameo We’ll have to wait and see, but since there are two and we know this is the end of the Venom saga, one is likely to deal with Spider-Man, while the other is likely to deal with Venom spinning something off. This may be where Tom Holland’s Spider-Man gets his symbiote suit. Since the Venom series is too profitable to just let die, Sony will likely use this to spin off another villain that fans can keep an eye out for. Luckily, we’re all going to be watching, so it could be a great launching point. Source: Cryptic4KQual

A new deleted scene from the Marvel movie Deadpool & Wolverine has been released online. This scene shows an unexpected romantic moment between two characters. Warning: Light spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine The scene features Rob Delaney’s character, Peter, and Wunmi Mosaku’s character, Hunter B-15. The scene takes place after Peter and Hunter B-15 part ways for the evening. As they say goodbye, they share an unexpected kiss. Following this, Hunter B-15 uses her TemPad to create a Time Door, while Peter walks into his apartment to tell Kidpool and Headpool about his newfound feelings. https://twitter.com/THR/status/1844469433097441701 More Marvel: RDJ’s Doom Getting Strange Romance, Rumors Suggest The scene, while brief, adds a really interesting layer to the relationships explored in the film, particularly the romantic dynamic between Peter and Hunter B-15. This unexpected interaction was ultimately cut from the final film, but it offers a glimpse into the original storyline for developing certain character relationships. This isn’t much to go off of, but because these scenes keep getting released, we could assume that they’re canon. Deleted scenes normally get ignored or brought up sparingly, but many of these scenes seem to be deleted just because there wasn’t enough time in the movie to show them. If we assume that they were meant to give us more context, then they would be canon. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures More Marvel: Captain America Reportedly Setting Up Hulk Sequel Unfortunately, unless Ryan Reynolds or someone else at the studio clarifies, we have to assume these scenes didn’t happen. It’s a shame because the relationship between Hunter B-15 and Peter is pretty sweet to see. Maybe we’ll get some kind of context there in the future. It seems like there is a general fondness between the two characters, and we’d like to see more. Hopefully, we’ll see more deleted scenes release over time, but anyone curious can rent or own it when it comes out. It will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22, 2024, which tends to come with deleted scenes. Source: The Hollywood Reporter

James Gunn, Co-CEO of DC Studios, has denied the rumors that the studio is looking for an aged Batman in the DC Universe (DCU). Gunn addressed the rumors in an Instagram story, stating that a news article claiming he was searching for a “middle-aged” Batman was “bullsh*t.” Gunn emphasized that casting for DC Studios projects generally doesn’t begin until the script is finalized. At this point, there’s not even a script ready to go for Batman. The rumor originated from internet scooper MyTimeToShineHello, who has a reputation for both accurate and inaccurate predictions regarding upcoming films. More DC: Wonder Woman Prequel Is Moving On Without Gal Gadot While Gunn has previously debunked rumors that later proved true, regarding Superman’s suit and Ultraman’s appearance in the upcoming Superman film, he maintains that this rumor about Batman is entirely fabricated. https://twitter.com/MyTimeToShineH/status/1844467161915666867 The upcoming film Batman: The Brave and the Bold is expected to be the first introduction of the DCU’s Batman. As some reports have suggested, the project is not yet in advanced pre-production, and the script is not being written by Andy Muschietti, the film’s director, and Rodo Sayagues. More DC: Dark Knight Director Reportedly Fought Joaquin Phoenix Joker Ending It’s important to note that Matt Reeves’ The Batman films, starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, exist in a separate Elseworlds universe, distinct from Gunn’s DCU. The same goes for The Joker movies with Joaquin Phoenix. Reeves has confirmed that his universe is not connected to the DCU, meaning Pattinson’s portrayal of Batman will not be incorporated into Gunn’s vision. Until we get some concrete evidence regarding DCU’s Batman, we will get many of these rumors instead of real confirmation. The best thing to do is to wait for a place to confirm or deny it before outright saying it’s true. Until it’s confirmed or denied by an official source, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Source: My Time To Shine Hello

Recent rumors have emerged regarding a possible romantic relationship between Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Doctor Doom in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday. This rumor, originating from online scooper My Time To Shine Hello, suggests that Wanda will have a significant role in both upcoming Avengers films and will share a great deal of screen time with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, potentially as his lover. Wanda has been confirmed to have been killed, but this could likely be a Wanda from a different Mutliverse. The rumor of Wanda’s involvement in Avengers: Doomsday has been enough to make fans think she’ll make a return. https://twitter.com/MyTimeToShineH/status/1844080325020070042 The possibility of a romance between Wanda and Doctor Doom is very hard to believe. Doctor Doom does not belong to the main MCU timeline, and Wanda’s established love for Vision makes a romantic relationship with Doctor Doom unlikely. This is why many think these are people from two different universes. More Marvel: Captain America Reportedly Setting Up Hulk Sequel There are instances in the comics where Doctor Doom and Wanda become allies in pursuit of power. That’s one thing, but there’s no storyline where they fall in love. However, there’s even less of a basis for Tony Stark to become Doctor Doom, so we’re in uncharted territory anyway. These are just rumors, but they come from sources that tend to be right. However, we’ve heard too many rumors at this point and are thinking that maybe some are sent out to throw people off the real trail. More Marvel: Vulture Actor Addresses Spider-Man 4 Rumors Marvel Studios hasn’t even spoken about the return of Wanda, but we’re supposed to believe there will be so much built-up that there will be a romance? It makes almost no sense and would be hard to pull off well. We’d say not to believe this rumor if you hear about it. It seems too far fetched. Source: My Time To Shine Hello

Michael Keaton, known for his role as The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, has finally addressed the possibility of returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In a recent interview, Keaton was asked about a potential appearance in the upcoming Spider-Man 4 and said he hasn’t had any conversations with Marvel about it. Notably, he seemed pretty bored with the idea. He said he doesn’t like talking to people. More Spider-Man: Venom: The Last Dance Reports Claim A Spider-Man Will Cameo It’s worth noting that Keaton’s initial appearance as The Vulture was intended for Spider-Man: No Way Home before his character was reintroduced in Morbius. In the film, Keaton’s Vulture is mistakenly sent to the Morbius universe and released from prison. He then tries to recruit the titular character for an unspecified team. Despite this, Keaton hasn’t confirmed any potential involvement with Spider-Man 4. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Nizzi (@joshnizzi.art) Previous plans for Spider-Man: No Way Home involved Peter Parker visiting Adrian Toomes’ home with other villains like Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Electro. Concept art from that version of the film depicted Spider-Man working alongside The Vulture, with several variations of his flight suit. More Spider-Man: Doctor Doom Coming To Spider-Man 4 According To Reports It’s worth noting that Marvel isn’t against replacing the character’s actor. John Leguizamo, originally cast as The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming before being replaced by Keaton, has spoken about the situation. He explained that while he hadn’t signed a contract, he had a verbal agreement with the studio. However, Keaton ultimately replaced him due to a last-minute decision by studio executives. Leguizamo was disappointed by the situation but ultimately chose to walk away, saying he didn’t want to be at a “party” where he wasn’t wanted. While Keaton hasn’t confirmed or denied his involvement in Spider-Man 4, his ambiguous answer leaves the possibility open. Fans will have to wait for official announcements from Marvel to learn more about his potential return and the direction of the upcoming film. Source: Screen Rant

Marvel Studios is rumored to be setting up a World War Hulk project with their upcoming film, Captain America: Brave New World. The movie is coming out on February 14, 2025, but will lead to more. This follows previous rumors from 2021 about a Hulk-focused film, which an insider later contradicted. The new rumors claim Marvel Studios has modified the ending of Captain America: Brave New World to tie the story more closely to the Multiverse Saga and lay the groundwork for a World War Hulk film. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures These changes reportedly involve the introduction of a new gamma monster, Red Hulk, played by Harrison Ford, alongside Tim Blake Nelson’s return as Samuel Sterns, (The Leader). The Leader has a history with Hulk blood was previously aligned with Bruce Banner. It is speculated that his villainous turn in the film could lead to the creation of Red Hulk and potentially other characters in the future. More Marvel: The Silver Surfer May Be The Next MCU Focus Apparently, the Serpent Society, a group of criminals, has been altered from half-cyborg to a group of normal humans with possible super-soldier strength. The group will be led by Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, a character who possesses superpowers and is expected to appear in a Disney+ series after his big-screen debut. These changes appear to be shifting the focus of Captain America: Brave New World from a standalone story to a more important part of the Multiverse Saga. While it’s unclear when a World War Hulk project might be released, the film’s new direction may show the possibility of a potential release date sometime after Avengers: Secret Wars wraps up the Multiverse Saga. However, Universal still holds the distribution rights to the Hulk character, which makes it difficult for Disney to release a standalone Hulk movie without resolving those rights. If the film proceeds as rumored, it will likely be released sometime in 2027 or later. Source: DanielRPK

Christopher Nolan reportedly intervened in the original ending of the 2019 film Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. What would have been seen as a missed opportunity now feels like a relief. The original ending had Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck, carving his face in front of a crowd of rioters. Nolan, who directed the Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale, objected to the scene, believing that only his Joker, played by Heath Ledger, should have the iconic face-carving moment. He was right. Warner Bros. Nolan’s influence on the Joker ending is notable due to his past work with Warner Bros. and his strong vision for the character of the Joker. Since Todd Phillips decided his joker wouldn’t actually be the joker, it feels like we avoided a situation where DC hurt Heath Ledger’s iconic performance. While this scene would have been good for the first movie, the second movie just ruins it. More DC: Wonder Woman Prequel Is Moving On Without Gal Gadot The sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, sees the return of Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and introduces Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. The film deviates from the original ending, and Nolan wasn’t there to save the day. We won’t spoil it but there is a scene that homages to Nolan’s version. The box office for this Joker movie is nowhere near enough to justify a sequel. This was obviously part of a trilogy, but based on the reception, we probably won’t be able to see what is planned for a third movie. There are few movie series that bomb so hard in the second movie that a third isn’t feasible, but it looks like Phillips’ Joker trilogy may have hit that criteria. We’ll see how things go, but we’re happy to know that Ledger’s performance won’t be tarnished with an homage from a poor man’s joker. We’ll have to see what comes from all of this. Source: Hollywood Reporter

New reports about the upcoming Venom: The Last Dance are circulating. Some are suggesting that we may not have seen the last of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective Spider-Men. While many reports say that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could be in Venom: The Last Dance, there are not concrete details. Many insiders have said that a Spider-Man should be in that movie because Holland is rumored to get the Symbiote suit in the near future. The suit’s acquisition is speculated to happen during the next movie or from Venom, having gone to Holland’s universe for a short time. Even with these rumors, Holland is not expected to appear in Venom: The Last Dance. However, there are some rumors that this movie will set up a multiverse chain that may feature Garfield and Maguire. Spider-Man 4 seems to be taking a more multiversal approach than its predecessor, Spider-Man: No Way Home. As more time goes on, more insiders are reporting that this won’t be a street-level movie. This suggests that a collaboration with Daredevil is unlikely, at least for now. More Spider-Man: Venom 3 Rumor May Have Spoiled Surprise Casting Knull, the powerful symbiote entity, will be wielding his All-Black sword, despite his appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder lacking the weapon. He will likely push the symbiotes to other universes, which could open the door to more multiverse adventures. Spider-Man 4 will likely feature a clash between the Spider-Men and a variety of symbiotes. Sony This is mostly speculation, but it’s based on a lot of reports. It is well known that Sony is putting a lot into Spider-Man, and the success of Holland with the MCU seems to prove it’s a formula that could work. Unfortunately, there have been many negative reports about the production of the movie, and we’ll have to wait and see what comes of it. For now, we have to wait until the new Venom movie releases so we can see what they’re building up in Spider-Man 4.

There are rumors circulating that Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom in the upcoming Spider-Man 4. While no official confirmation from either Marvel or Sony has been released, the rumors have gained traction. The rumors come from industry scooper MyTimeToShineHello on X (formerly Twitter), who suggested that Downey Jr. would be playing Doctor Doom in Spider-Man 4. This could see Downey Jr. taking on a new role after playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in previous MCU movies. It also could give a reason for Peter not to hurt Doctor Doom. More Marvel: The Silver Surfer May Be The Next MCU Focus The film is also rumored to be titled Spider-Man: King in Black, with Knull, the God of Symbiotes, as the main antagonist. This would see the movie delve into multiversal storylines, potentially linking to the introduction of Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. Knull is a huge figure in Marvel Comics and is known for creating the symbiotes and wielding the Black Necrosword. https://twitter.com/MyTimeToShineH/status/1843401317949079892 This would be a great storyline. While Tom Hardy claims he’s done, Venom could always make an appearance in Spider-Man 4. According to industry scooper DanielRPK, Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom would come from the same universe as the Fantastic Four, linking him to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps. This would further suggest the film’s multiversal focus, hinting at potential crossovers and collaborations with other MCU characters and storylines. While this is pretty interesting, at this point, Holland’s Spider-Man hasn’t stood on his own at all. There’s always been some connection to the MCU or Marvel movies that has strung him along. Spider-Man 4 was supposed to be his time to shine by himself, but that may not happen if these reports are to be believed. While we love MCU Spider-Man and are happy to see references to other movies, the other Avengers who got stand-alone movies seem to do just fine without needing the support of other Marvel heroes. Even the Venom movies could stand alone, yet not Spider-Man. We’ll see how Spider-Man 4 does overall.

DC Studios is moving forward with its planned Wonder Woman prequel series, Paradise Lost. The series, which was announced alongside other DCU projects in January, will explore Themyscira, the birthplace of Wonder Woman before the hero herself was born. Paradise Lost will not feature Gal Gadot as Diana, who portrayed the character in the previous DCEU films. James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, has confirmed progress on the series. This indicates that the DCU plans to continue exploring the mythology of Wonder Woman despite the absence of Gal Gadot. While there has been no official announcement regarding a new live-action Wonder Woman movie or series starring a new actress, the development of Paradise Lost suggests that we may see a new Wonder Woman in the DCU. More DC: The Joker Box Office Is Criminally Low Fans should have expected this because even Henry Cavill has been replaced by a new Superman. There’s a big guarantee that other actors have replaced every member of the Justice League in the DCEU. Image: Warner Bros. Pictures It’s up to the fans to decide whether they like or hate this. There was a minority that did not like Gal Godot because some scenes seemed amateur. However, a few scenes don’t speak for a movie as a whole. She did a good job in her role as Wonder Woman, and a possible replacement isn’t because of her performance. More DC: Smallville Superman May Return We definitely expect every superhero to be replaced in the DCU unless it was a movie made under James Gunn himself. This is likely why Peacemaker was able to make it through the change. However, it’s open season for other superheroes. We’ll have to pay attention to see how things go from here, but it is likely that Gal Godot is out as Wonder Woman.

The sequel to the critically acclaimed Joker (2019) has underperformed in its opening weekend. It fell very short of initial projections and has been raising concerns about the future of the box office prospects. It seems like Joker: Folie à Deux may not see the sequel it’s hoping for. Joker: Folie à Deux opened to a domestic gross of $40 million over the weekend of October 4 to October 6, significantly lower than the $96.2 million debut of its predecessor. Initial box office predictions for Joker: Folie à Deux ranged from $115 million to $145 million. However, the film’s opening weekend performance fell considerably below these estimates, with Friday’s opening day grossing $20 million. The film’s weekend box office total of $81.1 million, combined with an international haul of $40 million, brought the global total to $121.1 million. While it secured the top spot at the box office, its performance is a far cry from the original’s cultural impact and critical acclaim. The sequel currently holds a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark contrast to the 68% rating of the original. Warner Bros. Related: Hollywood Taking New Measures To Protect Actors From Angry Fans This disappointing performance comes against a backdrop of several recent box office disappointments for DC films, like Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The Flash. Joker: Folie à Deux joins that list with a reported budget of $190 million to $200 million. So the film needs to earn at least $450 million to break even. This figure increases to $550 million to 600 million when accounting for marketing costs and theater chain revenue share. While there is potential for the film to gain traction in the coming weeks, the negative word-of-mouth and the upcoming release of Venom: The Last Dance on October 25, 2024 will likely shoot Joker: Folie à Deux even further down. The future of DC’s box office prospects hinges on the success of James Gunn’s upcoming Superman, set to premiere on July 11, 2025. This project is seen as a crucial step in the studio’s efforts to revive its superhero franchise and restore faith in the studio giant.

Tom Welling, best known for his role as Clark Kent in the television series Smallville, has been open about wearing Superman’s costume on the television screen. This comes after a decade-long absence from the role, following the series finale of Smallville in 2011. Welling has previously shown reluctance to fully embody Superman on screen and was usually a proponent of just showcasing Clark Kent’s journey to becoming Superman. While the finale of Smallville featured a brief glimpse of Superman, Welling has said that he felt it was more important to showcase Clark’s transformation. However, he’s told ComicBookMovie he’s grown warmer to the idea of taking on Superman. More DC: Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern May Be Hurting The DCU In the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, Welling reprised his role. However, it didn’t give him an opportunity to wear the iconic Superman suit. However, in a recent interview, Welling revealed that his perspective has shifted. He mentioned that his two sons’ fascination with superheroes has led him to consider the possibility of donning the suit. Warner Bros. Obviously, many fans want Welling to become Superman in earnest. Given the recent trend of successful television show revivals, there is potential for Welling to reprise his role. This all depends on how much James Gunn wants to make alternate stories that could interfere with the reception of his Superman. It’s hard to say that it will come anytime soon. Despite the uncertainty surrounding potential projects, Welling’s willingness to return to the role of Superman is a big part of what will put him on the screen. He has also shown interest in reviving the series with an animated format alongside former co-star Michael Rosenbaum. So it shows he’s a team player and can get along with people, making things happen. This is an important step in getting a Welling Superman, and now it’s up to the studios to do their part and give him the opportunity. There’s no doubt it will be great to finally see Welling don the costume.

It’s clear that fans of Kenobi have been disappointed by the lack of news on a second season. The first season did very well, but Disney has been tight lipped. However, Ewan McGregor recently offered a positive update on the series’ future. At Los Angeles Comic-Con (via The Direct), McGregor revealed that the team behind the show is actively “exploring” the possibility of a second season. This comes after previous statements from Lucasfilm executives and the show’s director, Deborah Chow, suggested a second season was unlikely. McGregor specifically mentioned the potential for stories between the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi season one and Alec Guinness’ portrayal of the character in the original Star Wars films. He also expressed interest in wearing the armor from the Clone Wars series, which would allow for a reunion with Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy. Christensen and McGregor have already come together in Obi-Wan Kenobi season one, and it’s been memed to no end. More Movie News: The Silver Surfer May Be The Next MCU Focus Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Despite McGregor’s enthusiasm, Disney has yet to officially confirm or deny a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Prior to McGregor’s comments, fans were led to believe that the series was intended as a limited series, with “The Complete Series” listed on Disney+ for the first season. However, Disney’s shifting release strategy and the recent lackluster performance of other Star Wars series like The Acolyte might get the studio to reconsider Kenobi. The show holds a strong fan following and is the third most popular Star Wars series on Disney+ behind The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. They have already tried and failed to gain a fanbase with The Acolyte, so it may be a better idea to stick with what works. While there is no official confirmation yet, McGregor’s comments suggest that a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi is not entirely out of the question. Fans eager for more adventures with Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi will have to wait for further announcements from Disney and Lucasfilm. We’ll have to wait and see if there is any more news to whether or not Kenobi will return, but we sure hope it will.

James Gunn’s reboot of the DC Universe may be facing some issues because of Ryan Reynolds’ 2011 Green Lantern film. Despite the success of Reynolds’ recent projects like Deadpool & Wolverine, his Green Lantern performance has become synonymous with the film’s critical and commercial failure. That’s right, this negative association with the character has led to some reluctance from actors to take on the role of Hal Jordan in the upcoming Lanterns series. Reportedly, stars like Josh Brolin, Matthew McConaughey, and Ewan McGregor were all considered for the part, but Brolin reportedly declined due to the baggage surrounding the character. We are unsure if the others also gave a similar no. Even though Reynolds has consistently poked fun at the film and offered a humorous perspective on the experience, his jokes have ultimately contributed to the perception of the Green Lantern character as a failure. The scene where he shot himself in Deadpool 2 hasn’t helped the new DCU. More DC: James Gunn Finally Addresses Mr. Freeze Movie Reports This idea of Green Lantern has apparently created a significant challenge for DC Studios because they are trying to establish a fresh take on the Green Lantern Corps in their new universe. To overcome the negative association, the studio has chosen Kyle Chandler, known for his role in Friday Night Lights, to portray Hal Jordan in the Lanterns series. However, the negative legacy of Green Lantern is still concerning. The film’s failure has limited the character’s presence in live-action, with only a brief appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League as John Stewart. The upcoming Lanterns series will be the first live-action Green Lantern project in over a decade, and the studio better do a great job if it hopes to overcome the stigma surrounding the character. Until it comes out, we just have to trust Green Lantern’s light (and a really good script).

Amiga Games

CYGNI: All Guns Blazing has been in development for quite some time, and for most shoot-'em-up fans, the wait has been challenging. Keelworks and Konami have certainly built up anticipation, promoting it as the next big thing in the twin stick shoot 'em-up genre.

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Accompanied by the various ghosts of his life, Thomas Eilian journeys through his mind across four seasons, striving to reconcile with his family and himself while battling Alzheimer's and the fragmentation of his soul in both past and present.

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MARE has been on my wish list since it was first announced over 7 years ago, and now that it’s finally available on a platform I own, I’m here—exactly as I hoped—completely blown away.

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Arcade Paradise VR might initially come across as simple, and some might even find it a bit dull, but once it gets under your skin, it becomes a game that truly grows on you, emerging as one of the better management sims available in VR.

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California Games was simply outstanding, making it all the more astonishing how the sequel, California Games II, managed to mess everything up. There isn't a single likable aspect in the sequel, which perfectly exemplifies how the developer completely missed what made the original so great.

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There's a time for everything. Casual and family games might not be the main attraction for most PSVR2 owners, but they certainly help justify the purchase of the VR set to your better half.

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What does one write about if everything on the website is just too good?  Exactly, that's the time to bring out all the trash and while I had a top-rated "worst stinkers games" series here on the blog before, it just felt wrong to try and revive it as I felt it just dragged the blog down too much, but after a lot of feedback it is time to revive the concept, welcome back "stinkers".

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The idea of experiencing a first-person platformer in VR initially seemed daunting, but in truth, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable VR experiences I've had in quite some time. Silky smooth framerate, excellent yet simple graphics set in a universe that I would never have visited if the world was flat. Could it truly be as remarkable as it sounds?

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PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the January Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, The Last of Us Part I Digital Deluxe Edition and many […]

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the January Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, The Last of Us Part I Digital Deluxe Edition and many more. Head to PlayStation Store to see the full list and find out your regional discount. *January Deals promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am JST, Wednesday January 15 until 23:59pm JST Wednesday January 29. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details. Not applicable for Indonesia.

Astro Bot took top honors at the 2024 Game Awards, and we couldn’t be prouder of the little guy and his many friends. But Astro Bot doesn’t exist in a vacuum – Team Asobi’s award-winning hero comes from an illustrious legacy of PlayStation platformers spanning way back to the original PlayStation, from first-party studios and […]

Astro Bot took top honors at the 2024 Game Awards, and we couldn’t be prouder of the little guy and his many friends. But Astro Bot doesn’t exist in a vacuum – Team Asobi’s award-winning hero comes from an illustrious legacy of PlayStation platformers spanning way back to the original PlayStation, from first-party studios and third-party developers and publishers alike. If you’re looking to dig into the legacy of PlayStation platformers from the beginning to the current day, there’s no better way to do it than with the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog. Here’s a sampling of some noteworthy platformers you can play now.* A Hat in Time | 2017 Play Video The “collectathon” subgenre of 3D platformer, emphasizing the hunt for hundreds of assorted doodads in sprawling levels, was quite popular around the turn of the millennium. A Hat in Time is a loving callback to those days spent scouring every nook and cranny, as players control Hat Kid in her quest to retrieve Time Pieces in a large and exceptionally silly cartoon world. Find Yarn Balls to make new hats and earn new powers, battle foes to gather Pons for upgrades, search for hidden Relics and Rift Tokens, and figure out what Mustache Girl’s whole deal is. Publisher: Humble Games | Developer: Gears for Breakfast Ape Escape | 1999 Ready for some monkey business? Science gone wrong has created a gang of hyper-intelligent monkeys causing chaos through time, and it’s your job to bring these too-smart simians back home. As one of the first game series to use the DualShock controller’s dual-analog sticks to their full potential, Ape Escape lets you use careful movement and funky gadgets to sneak up on and nab these naughty simians. Be careful–you’ll want to pay close attention to the apes’ helmets to gauge their mood before you approach. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment Celeste | 2018 Play Video Ah, the humble dash: a truly beloved platformer maneuver. Indie-game pixel masterpiece Celeste elevates the act of using the simple dash to new levels to traverse huge screens packed with challenging hazards. Ground dashes, multidirectional mid-air dashes, dashes from a wall climb, items to grant multiple dashes–you’ll have loads of fun mastering the game’s fast movement to get around and snag all of its secrets. This is one mountain you’ll love to climb. Publisher: Maddy Makes Games | Developer: Maddy Makes Games Gravity Rush Remastered | 2016 Play Video Gravity Rush is your game if you like your platforming with a dose of open-world adventuring and memorable world-building. Amnesiac Kat wakes up in the city of Hekseville in the middle of a disastrous storm, quickly discovering that her cat companion allows her to shift gravity. She’ll use these skills to navigate Hekseville’s stunning architecture, fight off mysterious monsters, and aid the populace–all while delving deep into the mysteries around her. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | 2001 This classic from Naughty Dog stars one of the most memorable platforming duos of the PS2 era. Jak’s buddy Daxter has a problem: he fell into a mysterious pool when the duo snuck onto Misty Island, and now he’s become small and very fuzzy. Now, the two are seeking out the Dark Sage Gol Asheron to fix things up and save the world in the process. Vibrant animations, colorful environments, and a then-revolutionary environment design that minimized load times keep Jak and Daxter feeling classic to this day. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Naughty Dog Jumping Flash | 1995 Day-one PlayStation fans will talk your ear off about just how cool Jumping Flash was and how it wowed them as a showcase of original PlayStation power… but why not try to see what all the fuss was about? This unique first-person platformer starts Robbit, a mechanical rabbit who can jump really, really high. Explore surreal environments filled with bizarre foes, awesome weaponry, and plenty of floating platforms that give you space to hop up to absurd heights. There was nothing like it then, and it’s still a unique and fun game. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Exact, Ultra Rayman Legends | 2013 Play Video Who says you need limbs to perform astounding feats of platforming? Rayman, Globox, Barbara, and the Goth Teensy have to deal with the aftermath of a century-long nap, rescuing the Teensies and once again saving the Glade of Dreams from evil forces. Besides gorgeous hand-drawn HD visuals, Rayman Legends offers up to four-player local co-op, so gather friends for a fantastic sidescrolling adventure. Publisher: Ubisoft | Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | 2021 Play Video Here’s the other well-known duo of PlayStation platforming, whose adventures have continued into the current generation. Rift Apart uses the PS5’s capabilities to give players the biggest and most graphically stunning Ratchet and Clank outing yet, with the new Rift Tether gadget allowing for very fast travel. Prepare for shooting, gadget-driven navigation, and interdimensional hijinks, and the introduction of Ratchet’s alternate-dimension lady Lombax counterpart, Rivet. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Insomniac Sackboy: A Big Adventure | 2020 Play Video He might be made of fabric, but Sackboy’s as tough as nails when it comes to adventure. Our stuffing-filled hero comes to rescue his fellow Sackpeople and Craftworld from the wicked Vex, and he’s got a whole wealth of new skills to show off. You’ll be rolling, diving, fluttering, and smacking foes around as you search for precious Dreamer Orbs. It won’t be easy, and you’ll need some help along the way. Fortunately, you can play with up to three other adventurers in online and local co-op to surmount the toughest obstacles. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sumo Digital Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus | 2002 Who’s the stealthy, suave thief with a family history of heisting and a bushy, ringed tail? Sly Cooper, that’s who, and he’s on a mission to get back the missing pages of the Thievius Raccoonus–his family’s book of secrets–from the shady paws of the Fiendish Five. Platforming and stealth combine as you slink through the Fiendish Five’s lairs, using Sly’s distinct sneaking and thieving abilities to avoid guards, security systems, and other traps to take back the precious pages. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sucker Punch Looking for even more platforming fun? Check out this in-depth feature on some of the best 3D platformers on PlayStation. *The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup may differ in certain regions.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the Until Dawn game, and I’m thrilled to share with you the world premiere of the trailer for Until Dawn the movie, coming to theaters. PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures have been working closely with director/producer David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out) and writer/producer […]

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the Until Dawn game, and I’m thrilled to share with you the world premiere of the trailer for Until Dawn the movie, coming to theaters. Play Video PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures have been working closely with director/producer David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out) and writer/producer Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle series, The Nun series) to translate Until Dawn to the big screen. In making that transition, we wanted to honor the spirit of the Until Dawn game – especially the idea of decisions with branching paths and deadly consequences – while adapting it in a way that maximizes both the entertainment and terror for moviegoers. Though the movie’s story is set in the same world as the game, it was important to us that the movie wasn’t just a retelling. Instead, the film will feature fresh characters in a new, original story. If you’ve played the game, you know not everything is what it seems. With the movie we wanted to keep the audience guessing until the end. We can’t wait for fans to discover how the events of the movie connect to the Until Dawn game. Peter Stormare, whom you know as Dr. Hill in the game, is one of those key connecting links. The film will delve into his character’s involvement in the events of the game, raising questions for fans to explore. Given Peter’s role spanning both projects, it’s only fitting he introduce the first Until Dawn movie trailer to the world: “I have been lucky to be part of Until Dawn since the original, incredible, super terrifying game, and that’s why I’m so excited to be part of this film, because the whole thing is a love letter to horror, and it completely honors the spirit of the game. The movie is going to be full of fresh characters and victims in a brand-new story, loaded with twists. So whether you’re a longtime fan or you’re discovering it for the first time, get ready for Until Dawn like you’ve never seen it before.” – Peter Stormare Now, enjoy the world premiere of the trailer, and keep checking back, as there will be plenty more updates between now and when Until Dawn hits theaters later this year.

Explore the mythical snowy landscapes in God of War Ragnarök, Osaka’s vibrant underworld in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the vast, sandy expanses of Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand, and the futuristic mech-sized battlefields of SD Gundam Battle Alliance. These games and more form January’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup* […]

Explore the mythical snowy landscapes in God of War Ragnarök, Osaka’s vibrant underworld in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the vast, sandy expanses of Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand, and the futuristic mech-sized battlefields of SD Gundam Battle Alliance. These games and more form January’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup* and will be available to play from January 21. Two timeless classics are also joining PlayStation Plus Premium: PS2 adventure epic adventure Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and the original PlayStation’s spooky Medievil II. Finally, in case you missed it, PlayStation Portal released a system update that allows PlayStation Plus Premium members to test Cloud Streaming (Beta) for select PS5 games on Game Catalog. Learn more here. PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image God of War Ragnarök | PS4, PS5 From Santa Monica Studio comes the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018). Embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting go. Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world. Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. As the threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer, Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name | PS4, PS5 Once a legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu faked his own death and abandoned his name for the sake of protecting his family. Now, he is thrust into conflict by a mysterious figure attempting to drive him out of hiding. Under the codename ‘Joryu’, Kiryu embarks on a gripping action narrative with bone-shattering combat in vibrant locations filled with exciting characters and activities. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand | PS5 In this action RPG, master the sands and explore a unique fantasy land teeming with secrets and dangers alone or in online two-player co-op, as you hunt colossal legendary creatures in spectacular combat. Reign of Sand is the ultimate version of Atlas Fallen: an expanded world, new enemies and challenges, revamped progression, new quests, reworked voice acting, additional difficulty mode and ‘New Game+’ modes! View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image SD Gundam Battle Alliance | PS4, PS5 Mobile Suits and characters from across Mobile Suit Gundam history take center stage in this all-new action RPG. The story takes place in G: Universe, a world where Gundam canon twists and turns in ways no one can predict. To correct this world’s distorted history, you lead a 3-unit squadron consisting of Mobile Suits and pilots from across Gundam history – a true Battle Alliance. Experience Gundam history’s most famous scenes as you develop new Mobile Suits to add to your arsenal. In multiplayer, you can play through the game with up to 2 other players in a 3-person team. Enjoy this new SD Gundam action RPG solo, or with friends. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Sayonara Wild Hearts | PS4 Sayonara Wild Hearts is a dreamy arcade game about riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph. As the heart of a young woman breaks, the balance of the universe is disturbed. A diamond butterfly appears in her dreams and leads her through a highway in the sky, where she finds her other self: the masked biker called The Fool. Journey through a custom-written pop soundtrack, chase scores, and set out to find the harmony of the universe, hidden away in the hearts of Little Death and her star-crossed allies: Dancing Devils, Howling Moons, Stereo Lovers and Hermit 64. Let’s Pop! View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image ANNO: Mutationem | PS4, PS5 Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of ANNO: Mutationem. In this Action-Adventure game with RPG elements, you become Ann: a highly-skilled combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in a giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Orcs Must Die 3 | PS4, PS5 Orcs Must Die! 3 ushers orc-slaying mayhem to a previously unimaginable scale. Solo or with a friend by your side, arm yourself with a massive arsenal of traps and weapons. Slice, burn, toss and zap hordes of repugnant orcs in this long-awaited successor to the award-winning series. It’s everything fans loved about the first two games and more. More orcs, more traps, more weapons, more upgrades and even better looking. It’s cranked up to at least eleven. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Citizen Sleeper | PS4, PS5 You are a sleeper, a digitised human consciousness in an artificial body, owned by a corporation that wants you back. Inspired by Tabletop Roleplaying games, Citizen Sleeper uses Dice, Clocks and Drives to create a player-led experience, where you choose your path in a rich and responsive world. Thrust amongst the unfamiliar and colourful inhabitants of the Eye, you need to build friendships, earn your keep, and navigate the factions of this strange metropolis, if you hope to survive to see the next cycle. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Poker Club | PS4 Welcome to Poker Club. Live the life of a poker pro in the most immersive poker simulation ever seen, with Ultra HD 4K visuals and breath-taking ray tracing. Join a community of online players on their way to the top and track your progress in more than 10 Texas Hold’em tournament modes including freezeouts, shootouts, super-turbos, bounties and more. Whether you’re a seasoned poker pro or brand new to the table, perfect your play style for the chance to win big. PlayStation Plus Premium View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings | PS4, PS5 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, originally released in 2009 on PlayStation 2, takes you on a perilous, around-the-world quest for the staff of Moses. This classic third-person action adventure has been enhanced with up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters. Grab your whip and get ready for a thrilling journey in true Indiana Jones tradition. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Medievil II | PS4, PS5 The sequel to MediEvil released on the original PlayStation in 2000. In this new and improved version, featuring up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters, you’ll have to challenge the powers of darkness and untold magic as Sir Daniel Fortesque returns from the grave to thwart an evil sorcerer’s plans. Arm yourself with a mighty arsenal of weapons, including swords, daggers, crossbows, hammers, and even the occasional chicken drumstick. Solve fiendish puzzles and riddles, face ghoulish enemies that will strike fear into the bravest of souls, all of it set to a spine-tingling soundtrack. *PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe lineups may differ by region. Please check PlayStation Store on release day.

We’re back! My name is Blake Stone, Lead Designer at VitruviusVR, the development team behind Mervils & Shadow Legend VR on the original PS VR. We are very excited to launch our newest title Arken Age, a single-player VR adventure set in a terraformed sci-fi fantasy world.  In the game you engage in full physics-based […]

We’re back! My name is Blake Stone, Lead Designer at VitruviusVR, the development team behind Mervils & Shadow Legend VR on the original PS VR. We are very excited to launch our newest title Arken Age, a single-player VR adventure set in a terraformed sci-fi fantasy world. In the game you engage in full physics-based combat using Arkenite infused swords & guns; and can freely explore the densely filled environments under siege by Hyperion’s neural corruption. Arken Age has a full 15-hour story driven campaign, was built from the ground-up for PlayStation VR2, and is launching tomorrow, January 16. 10 years of developing for PlayStation VR In 2015, we were demoing an early version of Mervils: A VR Adventure, our third-person VR platforming game at the Immersed Conference in Toronto, Canada when we were approached by Richard Marks, Head of Sony’s Magic Lab at the time. He couldn’t tell us too much, but said that his team “had something really cool in works for VR” and that Mervils could be a great fit for it. He later sent us a prototype of the Project Morpheus headset which would later be renamed PlayStation VR, and since then we have never looked back. We released Mervils in 2017 and later launched Shadow Legend VR in 2020, a first-person medieval sword-fighting game, and we learned a ton from the PlayStation VR community’s feedback on those games that we have directly applied to Arken Age. From Shadow Legend we learned that players loved the Climbing Picks both for their fluidity of movement in VR and haptics on impact. For Arken Age we took the Climbing Picks one step further and physically integrated them into the players forearms and added the ability to flick your wrists upwards to deploy them at any time during the game. The Climbing Picks is only one example, but there’s so much more included in the game. We further refined our custom VR inventory system, weapon crafting, character interactions, unique combat features, exploration elements, and our design philosophy behind building high-fidelity worlds in VR. Dynamic Foveated Rendering & breath-taking HDR graphics In order to take full advantage of the PlayStation VR2 we worked hard to ensure Arken Age’s rendering, shaders, particle-effects, and post-effects were compatible with Dynamic Foveated Rendering (DFR) for the best image resolution possible. Although, image quality is not the only benefit of the PS VR2, with the vibrant world of the Bio-Chasm in Arken Age, it really showcases the importance of HDR graphics in VR with the bright blue waters, lush foliage, and emissive energy bloom from Arkenite weapons, buildings, & the robotic Hyperion soldiers in the world. VR weaponry & custom adaptive triggers When developing Arken Age our biggest focus was on realistic physics-based combat and one-of-a-kind VR weaponry; each with their own unique Adaptive Trigger haptics. In the game you begin with 3 fully customizable & paintable weapons and can collect over 30 unique weapon mods in total. Each attachment is custom designed for VR gameplay, ranging from the Hyperion God Axe; a throwing axe that uses PS VR2’s eye-tracking & can be recalled at your will, the Tempered Cutter; a deployable saw blade that dismembers enemy limbs, and the Astral Ballista; a high-powered chargeable bow, to name a few. In addition, eye-tracking is used to enable the sniper scopes in the game, just close one eye when your head is close to a scope and watch the magic happen! Uncover the story of Bio-Chasm & your full VR alien body In Arken Age you are a biological alien creation, built with full locomotion and the ability to freely jump, crouch, climb, & swim. You can view your full body in first-person and holster all weapons physically onto your character. Your journey begins in Celestial Custodian’s Tower on the shores of the Bio-Chasm, a terraformed realm created to harvest Arkenite Energy. Its divine founder, the Grand Arborist, has ceased cultivation of your planet and every transmission sent to him has been met with abject silence. In Arken Age you uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the Grand Arborist, forge alliance with the Nara alien race, take up arms against Hyperion’s legion of corrupted soldiers, and learn how your character; who is part Nara and part Hyperion tech, fits into this world. Arken Age takes the player through a full 15-hour adventure, combines both physics-based sword combat with long-range gun combat, has a wide-range of custom VR interactions, epic VR boss fights, and gives the player full freedom to explore the dense environments of the Bio-Chasm. We want to thank everyone in the PlayStation VR community for their support over the years and we hope Arken Age will be something PS VR2 fans can enjoy this Jan 16 and for the years to come!

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the New Year Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, Hitman World of Assassination, The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition and many more.  Get a preview of […]

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the New Year Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, Hitman World of Assassination, The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition and many more. Get a preview of just some of the games under offer below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount. Get a preview of just some of the games under offer below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount. A Way Out Alien: Isolation AQP base game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Deluxe Edition Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gold Edition Batman: Return to Arkham Battlefield 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Deluxe Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Call of the Wild: The Angler™ – Fishing Starter Pack Call of the Wild: theAngler Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 College Football – Deluxe Edition Coral Island Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle Crash Bandicoot Bundle – N. Sane Trilogy + Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition Crysis Remastered Trilogy (Digital Only) Dead Space – Deluxe Edition DEATH STRANDING Director’s Cut Digital Deluxe Edition Detroit: Become Human Diablo III: Eternal Collection Diablo® Prime Evil Collection Dragon Ball FighterZ – FighterZ Edition DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition Dying Light Dying Light 1 + Dying Light 2 Bundle EA Sports FC 25 – Ultimate Edition F1 Manager 2024 Far Cry 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 Bundle Far Cry 6 Deluxe Edition FAR CRY®6 Gold Edition Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach For Honor – Year 8 Gold Edition For Honor – Year 8 Standard Edition Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS4) Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS5) HITMAN World of Assassination Jurassic World Evolution 2: Deluxe Edition Kingdom Hearts All-In-One Package KINGDOM HEARTS III Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Lords of the Fallen – Standard Edition Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition MechWarrior 5: Clans MechWarrior 5: Clans – Digital Collectors Edition Middle-earth: Shadow of War Monster Hunter Rise+Sunbreak Deluxe Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne Master Edition Digital Deluxe Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate + Injustice 2 Leg. Edition Bundle Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate PS4 & PS5 Mortal Kombat XL MW2 – PS4 Cross-Gen Edition MW3 – Cross-Gen Edition MX vs ATV Legends MX vs ATV Legends – Ultimate Edition NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja Storm CONNECTIONS Need for Speed Heat: Deluxe Edition Need for Speed Rivals Outlast Outlast: Bundle of Terror Overcooked! 2 Persona 4 Golden Persona 5 Persona 5: Ultimate Edition Planet Coaster 2: Deluxe Edition Planet Zoo Police Simulator: Patrol Officers PoP:TLC – Complete Edition (post-launch) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Ravenswatch – Legendary Edition Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Sinful Edition SnowRunner – Premium Edition [NEW BUNDLE] Sonic Origins South Park: The Fractured but Whole South Park: The Stick of Truth + The Fractured but Whole Special Edition (EU/US/ASIA) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order & Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Bundle Supermarket Owner Simulator: Business Teardown Tekken 7 Tekken 7 – Definitive Edition The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition The Crew: Motorfest Gold Edition Year 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PS5 THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV DX The Last of Us™ Part I Digital Deluxe Edition The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt theHunter: Call of the Wild Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Ultimate Edition 2021 Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 UFC 5 Deluxe Edition Ultimate Edition (JP/Asia: Sound Ultimate)(EU/US:Ultimate) Unicorn Overlord Unravel Two Way of the Hunter A Way Out Alien: Isolation Anno 1800 Deluxe Edition AQP base game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Deluxe Edition Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gold Edition Batman: Return to Arkham Battlefield 1 – Revolution Battlefield 4 Bus Simulator 21 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Deluxe Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War – Cross-Gen Bundle PS4™ & PS5™ Call of the Wild: The Angler™ – Fishing Starter Pack Call of the Wild: theAngler Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Cars 3: Driven to Win College Football – Deluxe Edition Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle Crash Bandicoot Bundle – N. Sane Trilogy + Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition Crysis Remastered Trilogy (Digital Only) Dead Space – Deluxe Edition DEATH STRANDING Director’s Cut Digital Deluxe Edition Descenders Detroit: Become Human Diablo III: Eternal Collection Diablo® Prime Evil Collection Dying Light Dying Light 1 + Dying Light 2 Bundle EA Sports FC 25 – Ultimate Edition F1 Manager 2024 Far Cry 6 Deluxe Edition Far Cry Primal FAR CRY®6 Gold Edition Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach For Honor – Year 8 Gold Edition For Honor – Year 8 Standard Edition Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS4) Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS5) HITMAN World of Assassination Jurassic World Evolution 2: Deluxe Edition Kingdom Hearts All-In-One Package KINGDOM HEARTS III LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Little Nightmares Complete Edition Lords of the Fallen – Standard Edition Middle-earth: Shadow of War Monster Hunter Rise+Sunbreak Deluxe Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne Master Edition Digital Deluxe Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate + Injustice 2 Leg. Edition Bundle Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate PS4 & PS5 Mortal Kombat XL Musashi MW2 – PS4 Cross-Gen Edition MW3 – Cross-Gen Edition MX vs ATV Legends MX vs ATV Legends – Ultimate Edition Need for Speed Need for Speed Heat: Deluxe Edition Overcooked! 2 Persona 5 Persona 5: Ultimate Edition Planet Coaster 2: Deluxe Edition Planet Zoo Police Simulator: Patrol Officers PoP:TLC – Complete Edition (post-launch) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Ravenswatch – Legendary Edition Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Sniper Elite 4 SnowRunner – Premium Edition [NEW BUNDLE] Sonic Origins South Park: The Fractured but Whole South Park: The Stick of Truth + The Fractured but Whole Special Edition (EU/US/ASIA) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order & Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Bundle Supermarket Owner Simulator: Business Teardown Tekken 7 The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition The Crew: Motorfest Gold Edition Year 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PS5 The Last of Us™ Part I Digital Deluxe Edition The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt theHunter: Call of the Wild Thief Simulator 2 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Ultimate Edition 2021 Tomb Raider: Legend Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 UFC 5 Deluxe Edition Ultimate Edition (JP/Asia: Sound Ultimate)(EU/US:Ultimate) Unicorn Overlord Unravel Two Way of the Hunter WRC Generations – The FIA WRC Official Game – Deluxe Edition *New Year Deals promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am PST/BST, Wednesday January 15 until 23:59pm PST/BST Wednesday January 29. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details.

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand) From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand) From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/en-my/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play. * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Malaysia PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 MYR 2,499 MYR 2,260 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition MYR 2,069 MYR 1,830 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 MYR 2,799 MYR 1,859 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) MYR 369 MYR 309 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) MYR 399 MYR 339 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset MYR 699 MYR 609 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds MYR 999 MYR 869

Dear Trailblazers: On behalf of the Honkai: Star Rail development team, I want to wish you a wonderful New Year! May your journey through the infinite cosmos continue to bring excitement as we embark together on this romantic space adventure. Today, I’m thrilled to share more about Version 3.0 “Paean of Era Nova,” launching January […]

Dear Trailblazers: On behalf of the Honkai: Star Rail development team, I want to wish you a wonderful New Year! May your journey through the infinite cosmos continue to bring excitement as we embark together on this romantic space adventure. Today, I’m thrilled to share more about Version 3.0 “Paean of Era Nova,” launching January 15. This update introduces the long-awaited world of Amphoreus and begins an epic new chapter in our main story. The Trailblaze Mission in Amphoreus will be released in two parts across eight versions, from 3.0 to 3.7, making it the largest story arc in Honkai: Star Rail to date. Get ready to embark on the “Hero’s Journey” with new playable characters — Aglaea and The Herta, plus the Trailblazer: Remembrance unlocking a new Path! Amphoreus, the Eternal Land Leaving Penacony the Planet of Festivities behind, the Astral Express embarks toward Amphoreus under Black Swan’s guidance, seeking both to replenish Trailblaze Fuel and uncover the mysteries of this celestial body — a realm so enigmatic that even the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, could not reach, its existence hidden from most of the cosmos. From the outside, Amphoreus appears as a chaotic vortex, its existence impossible to detect or understand. Similarly, its inhabitants remain completely unaware of the outside universe. Unlike other worlds, they do not know of the concept of “Aeons,” instead worshiping deities known as “Titans.” According to legend, twelve Titans created Amphoreus: Three who wove fate, three who shaped the heavens and earth, three who molded life, and three who brought calamity.” Yet this realm’s history is steeped in tragedy. In ancient times, the arrival of three Titans — “Strife,” “Death,” and “Trickery” — sparked a civil war among the gods. Soon after, a mysterious force known as the “black tide” swept across the world. None know its origins, but all life touched by it loses sanity, with even the mighty Titans proving vulnerable. Over millennia, between the black tide gradually consuming Amphoreus and the gods waging endless war, the world fell into eternal night. Now, in humanity’s final sanctuary — the Holy City of Okhema — only the protection of Kephale, the Worldbearing Titan, stands as the last barrier against the black tide. And now, the Astral Express, arriving as an unexpected force from beyond this world, is destined to change the course of Amphoreus’s fate, but how? Well, that’s for you to find out, dear Trailblazers! The Beginning of the Hero’s Journey As mentioned earlier, the Trailblaze Mission on Amphoreus will span across eight versions, forming an epic and grand narrative. In the upcoming Version 3.0, you will officially set foot on this eternal land and embark on your own Hero’s Journey. Upon entering Amphoreus, the Trailblazer and Dan Heng first descend into a region known as the “Abyss of Fate.” Legend says three Titans — Time, Passage, and Law — once wove here the threads of time, space, and rules that would govern Amphoreus, determining the fate of all creation. Now this land lies in eternal night, with only emptiness echoing through its grand architectural remains.” As the story unfolds, the Trailblazer’s group will return to the Abyss of Fate, pierce through the mists, delve deep into the temple, and finally gain audience with Oronyx, the Titan of Time. Through this encounter, the Trailblazer embarks on the Path of Remembrance, gaining the ability to “draw strength from the past.” Meanwhile, players will meet a new companion who, due to their mysterious origins and tendency to only make “Mem” sounds, is temporarily named “Mem.” Beyond their adorable appearance, Mem plays a crucial role in combat. The Trailblazer can summon Mem during battles, where it gradually charges Energy. Once fully charged, it provides Mem’s Support that allows a designated character to immediately takes action and deal additional True DMG, turning the tide of battle. Together with Mem, the Trailblazer will surely overcome the various challenges that await in Amphoreus. Following the winding path beyond the Abyss, players will reach Okhema, the Holy City built into the mountainside. Bathed in the eternal dawn light of the Worldbearing Titan’s protection, this city will serve as a crucial base for the trailblazing expedition through Amphoreus. Among its most distinctive landmarks stands the Marmoreal Palace, a grand baths. More than just a place for bathing and relaxation, it functions as the city’s heart, a public gathering space fostering daily social connections among residents. And Okhema has much more to offer beyond its architectural marvels. Here, you’ll encounter a variety of fascinating creatures. Among them is the dromas, a loyal helper of the Amphoreans, known for their strength in carrying both people and goods. The Dromas is a creation of Georios, the Earth Titan, one of the Three Titans of Foundation. A specialized Dromas Workshop can be found within Okhema, dedicated to crafting and training these remarkable creatures. Scattered throughout the city, you’ll also find a host of chimeras, each with its unique traits. Their colors, personalities, and temperaments vary greatly—some are quick to anger, others delight in mischief, and still, others offer their help to humans in whatever way they can. In these times of eternal night and chaos, Okhema, sheltered under the Worldbearing Titan’s protection, remains humanity’s final sanctuary and beacon of hope. Local legend tells a romantic tale: Kephale shall one day open their eyes, leading humanity to triumph over the black tide and forge a new world. From beneath this holy city, a group of human heroes known as the Chrysos Heirs embarks on a quest for flame, shouldering the mission to reclaim the twelve Titan Coreflames and restore Amphoreus to glory. In future stories, the Trailblazer will join their journey, fighting alongside the Chrysos Heirs in this legendary expedition. In Version 3.0, Trailblazers will also explore the unique city-state of Castrum Kremnos. It was named after the Blade of Fury that dangles high above the city, and it is also where the Strife Titan resides, thus making it the place where the seventh Coreflame slumbers. In the second half of the Trailblaze Mission, players will borrow the power of the Oronyx to return to the past and experience Castrum Kremnos during its golden age. There, they will discover one of the mechanisms the Trickery Titan Zagreus left behind: The Hand of Zagreus. This mechanism can be used to lift heavy obtains, pick up items, smash open pathways, and obliterate enemies easily in special circumstances. It serves as a major aid to exploration. In Version 3.0’s climactic Trailblaze Mission, Trailblazers and the Chrysos Heirs will face numerous challenges before engaging in a final battle with Nikador, the Strife Titan, to reclaim the Coreflame of Strife. Known as the “Lance of Fury,” Nikador and its followers hold a fanatical devotion to war and combat. To defeat them, Trailblazers need to collect “Glory” stacks to shatter Nikador’s “Titanic Corpus.” The final area of Version 3.0 unfolds in the Vortex of Genesis, the grand sanctuary and birthplace of Amphoreus. This sacred site, home to the primordial essence of the Twelve Titans, is said to be where the Miracle of Genesis will one day manifest. Here, the Chrysos Heirs will return the reclaimed Coreflames after overthrowing each Titan. Above, constellations light up the night sky, representing the journeys of those who came before. The Flame-Chase Journey, a thousand-year odyssey of trials and perseverance, has now reached its turning point. The road ahead will be forged by the Trailblazers, standing alongside the Chrysos Heirs to continue the legend! Companions of the Flame-Chase Journey Version 3.0 will invite two new and powerful 5-star characters to join the player’s teams. The first is the esteemed#83 member of the Genius Society, an Emanator of Erudition: Madam Herta. Since Herta first debuted, she made a deep impression via her unique Herta puppets and idiosyncratic behaviors on the space station. It is said that her true self resides in a place on the Cosmos’ edge, and she rarely reveals herself to others. It is only today that she has finally shown herself. The Herta is an Ice-Type Erudition character that is skilled at AoE DMG. In battle, she can apply Interpretation on enemies, and ally characters attacks can also further apply Interpretation. With the increase of Interpretation stacks, The Herta’s abilities can increase powerful hits of DMG based on their high Interpretation stacks on specific targets and multiple enemies besides. Additionally, The Herta’s Ultimate can also Transfer the highest Interpretation stacks to Elite or stronger enemies, before dealing Ice DMG to all enemy targets.” The second character making her debut is Aglaea from Amphoreus. She bears the divine authority of “Romance,” and is one of the earliest Chrysos Heirs to embark on the Flame-Chase Journey. As Okhema’s dressmaster, Aglaea isn’t just a legendary hero of Amphoreus, but she is also a major figure in recruiting new Chrysos Heirs to embark on the world-saving journey after the Flame-Chase Journey was interrupted prior. As the first limited 5-star Remembrance character, Aglaea can summon her memosprite Garmentmaker in battle to fight alongside her. They demonstrate a duet dance aesthetic in combat. Additionally, through their cooperation, Aglaea and her Garmentmaker can synchronize attacks on enemies. This new joint attacking mechanism not only increases the Garmentmaker’s SPD, and also adds a new layer of rhythm and variability to combat, allowing an exquisite dance for two to unfold at a charming cadence. In addition, in the first half of Version 3.0, there will also be a special Warp event. Limited 5-star characters Lingsha, Feixiao, and Jade will be making reruns. In the second half, the 5-star characters Boothill, Robin, and Silver Wolf will also be making a limited return. These characters will serve stronger reinforcements, walking side by side with Trailblazers to embark on a journey across Amphoreus. Aside from this, March 7th will gain a Preservation outfit. It can be claimed after unlocking the “Characters” function and logging in during the Version 3.0 period. Meanwhile, the Honkai: Star Rail Trailblazer Edition PS5® Physical Disc Bundle will soon be available for purchase, both online and in physical stores! System Optimizations Lastly, we’ve listened closely to player feedback and, in this major Version 3.0 update, have implemented several system optimizations to improve the gameplay experience! Among the new additions is the “Flying Amphora”. Smashing a Flying Amphora will grant you a boost in movement speed as you traverse the open world. Meanwhile, to ensure new players can easily enjoy the main storyline of Amphoreus, we’ve also made adjustments so that after completing the “Silent Galaxy” Trailblaze Mission, you can head directly to Amphoreus without difficulty. Version 3.0 also brings updates to the new Leveling Guide system that allows Trailblazers to evaluate their character’s strength, with recommendations on Character Level, Light Cone, Traces, Relics and more. We’ve also introduced the “Wishful Resin” and “Variable Dice”, allowing targeted modification and redistribution of a Relic’s Main and Sub Stats, offering more flexibility in developing companions. But that’s just the beginning — many more exciting improvements await your discovery! These are just some exciting updates in Version 3.0 — there’s plenty more to explore and enjoy! We wish you all a year filled with adventure, growth, and great moments in Honkai: Star Rail.

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/en-sg/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play. * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Singapore PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 SGD 799 SGD 735 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition SGD 669 SGD 605 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 SGD 869 SGD 599.00 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) SGD 107.00 SGD 82.90 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) SGD 114.00 SGD 89.90 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset SGD 199.90 SGD 173.90 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds SGD 295.90 SGD 256.90

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/th-th/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play . * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Thailand PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 THB 18,690 THB 16,890 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition THB 15,690 THB 13,890 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 THB 22,190 THB 14,890 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) THB 2,590 THB 2,090 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) THB 2,690 THB 2,190 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset THB 5,190 THB 4,490 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds THB 7,790 THB 6,790

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PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the January Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, The Last of Us Part I Digital Deluxe Edition and many […]

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the January Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, The Last of Us Part I Digital Deluxe Edition and many more. Head to PlayStation Store to see the full list and find out your regional discount. *January Deals promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am JST, Wednesday January 15 until 23:59pm JST Wednesday January 29. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details. Not applicable for Indonesia.

Astro Bot took top honors at the 2024 Game Awards, and we couldn’t be prouder of the little guy and his many friends. But Astro Bot doesn’t exist in a vacuum – Team Asobi’s award-winning hero comes from an illustrious legacy of PlayStation platformers spanning way back to the original PlayStation, from first-party studios and […]

Astro Bot took top honors at the 2024 Game Awards, and we couldn’t be prouder of the little guy and his many friends. But Astro Bot doesn’t exist in a vacuum – Team Asobi’s award-winning hero comes from an illustrious legacy of PlayStation platformers spanning way back to the original PlayStation, from first-party studios and third-party developers and publishers alike. If you’re looking to dig into the legacy of PlayStation platformers from the beginning to the current day, there’s no better way to do it than with the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog. Here’s a sampling of some noteworthy platformers you can play now.* A Hat in Time | 2017 Play Video The “collectathon” subgenre of 3D platformer, emphasizing the hunt for hundreds of assorted doodads in sprawling levels, was quite popular around the turn of the millennium. A Hat in Time is a loving callback to those days spent scouring every nook and cranny, as players control Hat Kid in her quest to retrieve Time Pieces in a large and exceptionally silly cartoon world. Find Yarn Balls to make new hats and earn new powers, battle foes to gather Pons for upgrades, search for hidden Relics and Rift Tokens, and figure out what Mustache Girl’s whole deal is. Publisher: Humble Games | Developer: Gears for Breakfast Ape Escape | 1999 Ready for some monkey business? Science gone wrong has created a gang of hyper-intelligent monkeys causing chaos through time, and it’s your job to bring these too-smart simians back home. As one of the first game series to use the DualShock controller’s dual-analog sticks to their full potential, Ape Escape lets you use careful movement and funky gadgets to sneak up on and nab these naughty simians. Be careful–you’ll want to pay close attention to the apes’ helmets to gauge their mood before you approach. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment Celeste | 2018 Play Video Ah, the humble dash: a truly beloved platformer maneuver. Indie-game pixel masterpiece Celeste elevates the act of using the simple dash to new levels to traverse huge screens packed with challenging hazards. Ground dashes, multidirectional mid-air dashes, dashes from a wall climb, items to grant multiple dashes–you’ll have loads of fun mastering the game’s fast movement to get around and snag all of its secrets. This is one mountain you’ll love to climb. Publisher: Maddy Makes Games | Developer: Maddy Makes Games Gravity Rush Remastered | 2016 Play Video Gravity Rush is your game if you like your platforming with a dose of open-world adventuring and memorable world-building. Amnesiac Kat wakes up in the city of Hekseville in the middle of a disastrous storm, quickly discovering that her cat companion allows her to shift gravity. She’ll use these skills to navigate Hekseville’s stunning architecture, fight off mysterious monsters, and aid the populace–all while delving deep into the mysteries around her. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | 2001 This classic from Naughty Dog stars one of the most memorable platforming duos of the PS2 era. Jak’s buddy Daxter has a problem: he fell into a mysterious pool when the duo snuck onto Misty Island, and now he’s become small and very fuzzy. Now, the two are seeking out the Dark Sage Gol Asheron to fix things up and save the world in the process. Vibrant animations, colorful environments, and a then-revolutionary environment design that minimized load times keep Jak and Daxter feeling classic to this day. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Naughty Dog Jumping Flash | 1995 Day-one PlayStation fans will talk your ear off about just how cool Jumping Flash was and how it wowed them as a showcase of original PlayStation power… but why not try to see what all the fuss was about? This unique first-person platformer starts Robbit, a mechanical rabbit who can jump really, really high. Explore surreal environments filled with bizarre foes, awesome weaponry, and plenty of floating platforms that give you space to hop up to absurd heights. There was nothing like it then, and it’s still a unique and fun game. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Exact, Ultra Rayman Legends | 2013 Play Video Who says you need limbs to perform astounding feats of platforming? Rayman, Globox, Barbara, and the Goth Teensy have to deal with the aftermath of a century-long nap, rescuing the Teensies and once again saving the Glade of Dreams from evil forces. Besides gorgeous hand-drawn HD visuals, Rayman Legends offers up to four-player local co-op, so gather friends for a fantastic sidescrolling adventure. Publisher: Ubisoft | Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | 2021 Play Video Here’s the other well-known duo of PlayStation platforming, whose adventures have continued into the current generation. Rift Apart uses the PS5’s capabilities to give players the biggest and most graphically stunning Ratchet and Clank outing yet, with the new Rift Tether gadget allowing for very fast travel. Prepare for shooting, gadget-driven navigation, and interdimensional hijinks, and the introduction of Ratchet’s alternate-dimension lady Lombax counterpart, Rivet. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Insomniac Sackboy: A Big Adventure | 2020 Play Video He might be made of fabric, but Sackboy’s as tough as nails when it comes to adventure. Our stuffing-filled hero comes to rescue his fellow Sackpeople and Craftworld from the wicked Vex, and he’s got a whole wealth of new skills to show off. You’ll be rolling, diving, fluttering, and smacking foes around as you search for precious Dreamer Orbs. It won’t be easy, and you’ll need some help along the way. Fortunately, you can play with up to three other adventurers in online and local co-op to surmount the toughest obstacles. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sumo Digital Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus | 2002 Who’s the stealthy, suave thief with a family history of heisting and a bushy, ringed tail? Sly Cooper, that’s who, and he’s on a mission to get back the missing pages of the Thievius Raccoonus–his family’s book of secrets–from the shady paws of the Fiendish Five. Platforming and stealth combine as you slink through the Fiendish Five’s lairs, using Sly’s distinct sneaking and thieving abilities to avoid guards, security systems, and other traps to take back the precious pages. Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sucker Punch Looking for even more platforming fun? Check out this in-depth feature on some of the best 3D platformers on PlayStation. *The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup may differ in certain regions.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the Until Dawn game, and I’m thrilled to share with you the world premiere of the trailer for Until Dawn the movie, coming to theaters. PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures have been working closely with director/producer David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out) and writer/producer […]

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the Until Dawn game, and I’m thrilled to share with you the world premiere of the trailer for Until Dawn the movie, coming to theaters. Play Video PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures have been working closely with director/producer David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out) and writer/producer Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle series, The Nun series) to translate Until Dawn to the big screen. In making that transition, we wanted to honor the spirit of the Until Dawn game – especially the idea of decisions with branching paths and deadly consequences – while adapting it in a way that maximizes both the entertainment and terror for moviegoers. Though the movie’s story is set in the same world as the game, it was important to us that the movie wasn’t just a retelling. Instead, the film will feature fresh characters in a new, original story. If you’ve played the game, you know not everything is what it seems. With the movie we wanted to keep the audience guessing until the end. We can’t wait for fans to discover how the events of the movie connect to the Until Dawn game. Peter Stormare, whom you know as Dr. Hill in the game, is one of those key connecting links. The film will delve into his character’s involvement in the events of the game, raising questions for fans to explore. Given Peter’s role spanning both projects, it’s only fitting he introduce the first Until Dawn movie trailer to the world: “I have been lucky to be part of Until Dawn since the original, incredible, super terrifying game, and that’s why I’m so excited to be part of this film, because the whole thing is a love letter to horror, and it completely honors the spirit of the game. The movie is going to be full of fresh characters and victims in a brand-new story, loaded with twists. So whether you’re a longtime fan or you’re discovering it for the first time, get ready for Until Dawn like you’ve never seen it before.” – Peter Stormare Now, enjoy the world premiere of the trailer, and keep checking back, as there will be plenty more updates between now and when Until Dawn hits theaters later this year.

Explore the mythical snowy landscapes in God of War Ragnarök, Osaka’s vibrant underworld in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the vast, sandy expanses of Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand, and the futuristic mech-sized battlefields of SD Gundam Battle Alliance. These games and more form January’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup* […]

Explore the mythical snowy landscapes in God of War Ragnarök, Osaka’s vibrant underworld in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the vast, sandy expanses of Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand, and the futuristic mech-sized battlefields of SD Gundam Battle Alliance. These games and more form January’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup* and will be available to play from January 21. Two timeless classics are also joining PlayStation Plus Premium: PS2 adventure epic adventure Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and the original PlayStation’s spooky Medievil II. Finally, in case you missed it, PlayStation Portal released a system update that allows PlayStation Plus Premium members to test Cloud Streaming (Beta) for select PS5 games on Game Catalog. Learn more here. PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image God of War Ragnarök | PS4, PS5 From Santa Monica Studio comes the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018). Embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting go. Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world. Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. As the threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer, Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name | PS4, PS5 Once a legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu faked his own death and abandoned his name for the sake of protecting his family. Now, he is thrust into conflict by a mysterious figure attempting to drive him out of hiding. Under the codename ‘Joryu’, Kiryu embarks on a gripping action narrative with bone-shattering combat in vibrant locations filled with exciting characters and activities. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand | PS5 In this action RPG, master the sands and explore a unique fantasy land teeming with secrets and dangers alone or in online two-player co-op, as you hunt colossal legendary creatures in spectacular combat. Reign of Sand is the ultimate version of Atlas Fallen: an expanded world, new enemies and challenges, revamped progression, new quests, reworked voice acting, additional difficulty mode and ‘New Game+’ modes! View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image SD Gundam Battle Alliance | PS4, PS5 Mobile Suits and characters from across Mobile Suit Gundam history take center stage in this all-new action RPG. The story takes place in G: Universe, a world where Gundam canon twists and turns in ways no one can predict. To correct this world’s distorted history, you lead a 3-unit squadron consisting of Mobile Suits and pilots from across Gundam history – a true Battle Alliance. Experience Gundam history’s most famous scenes as you develop new Mobile Suits to add to your arsenal. In multiplayer, you can play through the game with up to 2 other players in a 3-person team. Enjoy this new SD Gundam action RPG solo, or with friends. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Sayonara Wild Hearts | PS4 Sayonara Wild Hearts is a dreamy arcade game about riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph. As the heart of a young woman breaks, the balance of the universe is disturbed. A diamond butterfly appears in her dreams and leads her through a highway in the sky, where she finds her other self: the masked biker called The Fool. Journey through a custom-written pop soundtrack, chase scores, and set out to find the harmony of the universe, hidden away in the hearts of Little Death and her star-crossed allies: Dancing Devils, Howling Moons, Stereo Lovers and Hermit 64. Let’s Pop! View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image ANNO: Mutationem | PS4, PS5 Welcome to the neon-covered, 2D-meets-3D Cyberpunk world of ANNO: Mutationem. In this Action-Adventure game with RPG elements, you become Ann: a highly-skilled combat-trained lone wolf on a personal mission in a giant Metropolis, full of sinister mega-corporations, mysterious fringe groups and creatures more bizarre than words can express. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Orcs Must Die 3 | PS4, PS5 Orcs Must Die! 3 ushers orc-slaying mayhem to a previously unimaginable scale. Solo or with a friend by your side, arm yourself with a massive arsenal of traps and weapons. Slice, burn, toss and zap hordes of repugnant orcs in this long-awaited successor to the award-winning series. It’s everything fans loved about the first two games and more. More orcs, more traps, more weapons, more upgrades and even better looking. It’s cranked up to at least eleven. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Citizen Sleeper | PS4, PS5 You are a sleeper, a digitised human consciousness in an artificial body, owned by a corporation that wants you back. Inspired by Tabletop Roleplaying games, Citizen Sleeper uses Dice, Clocks and Drives to create a player-led experience, where you choose your path in a rich and responsive world. Thrust amongst the unfamiliar and colourful inhabitants of the Eye, you need to build friendships, earn your keep, and navigate the factions of this strange metropolis, if you hope to survive to see the next cycle. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Poker Club | PS4 Welcome to Poker Club. Live the life of a poker pro in the most immersive poker simulation ever seen, with Ultra HD 4K visuals and breath-taking ray tracing. Join a community of online players on their way to the top and track your progress in more than 10 Texas Hold’em tournament modes including freezeouts, shootouts, super-turbos, bounties and more. Whether you’re a seasoned poker pro or brand new to the table, perfect your play style for the chance to win big. PlayStation Plus Premium View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings | PS4, PS5 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, originally released in 2009 on PlayStation 2, takes you on a perilous, around-the-world quest for the staff of Moses. This classic third-person action adventure has been enhanced with up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters. Grab your whip and get ready for a thrilling journey in true Indiana Jones tradition. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Medievil II | PS4, PS5 The sequel to MediEvil released on the original PlayStation in 2000. In this new and improved version, featuring up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters, you’ll have to challenge the powers of darkness and untold magic as Sir Daniel Fortesque returns from the grave to thwart an evil sorcerer’s plans. Arm yourself with a mighty arsenal of weapons, including swords, daggers, crossbows, hammers, and even the occasional chicken drumstick. Solve fiendish puzzles and riddles, face ghoulish enemies that will strike fear into the bravest of souls, all of it set to a spine-tingling soundtrack. *PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe lineups may differ by region. Please check PlayStation Store on release day.

We’re back! My name is Blake Stone, Lead Designer at VitruviusVR, the development team behind Mervils & Shadow Legend VR on the original PS VR. We are very excited to launch our newest title Arken Age, a single-player VR adventure set in a terraformed sci-fi fantasy world.  In the game you engage in full physics-based […]

We’re back! My name is Blake Stone, Lead Designer at VitruviusVR, the development team behind Mervils & Shadow Legend VR on the original PS VR. We are very excited to launch our newest title Arken Age, a single-player VR adventure set in a terraformed sci-fi fantasy world. In the game you engage in full physics-based combat using Arkenite infused swords & guns; and can freely explore the densely filled environments under siege by Hyperion’s neural corruption. Arken Age has a full 15-hour story driven campaign, was built from the ground-up for PlayStation VR2, and is launching tomorrow, January 16. 10 years of developing for PlayStation VR In 2015, we were demoing an early version of Mervils: A VR Adventure, our third-person VR platforming game at the Immersed Conference in Toronto, Canada when we were approached by Richard Marks, Head of Sony’s Magic Lab at the time. He couldn’t tell us too much, but said that his team “had something really cool in works for VR” and that Mervils could be a great fit for it. He later sent us a prototype of the Project Morpheus headset which would later be renamed PlayStation VR, and since then we have never looked back. We released Mervils in 2017 and later launched Shadow Legend VR in 2020, a first-person medieval sword-fighting game, and we learned a ton from the PlayStation VR community’s feedback on those games that we have directly applied to Arken Age. From Shadow Legend we learned that players loved the Climbing Picks both for their fluidity of movement in VR and haptics on impact. For Arken Age we took the Climbing Picks one step further and physically integrated them into the players forearms and added the ability to flick your wrists upwards to deploy them at any time during the game. The Climbing Picks is only one example, but there’s so much more included in the game. We further refined our custom VR inventory system, weapon crafting, character interactions, unique combat features, exploration elements, and our design philosophy behind building high-fidelity worlds in VR. Dynamic Foveated Rendering & breath-taking HDR graphics In order to take full advantage of the PlayStation VR2 we worked hard to ensure Arken Age’s rendering, shaders, particle-effects, and post-effects were compatible with Dynamic Foveated Rendering (DFR) for the best image resolution possible. Although, image quality is not the only benefit of the PS VR2, with the vibrant world of the Bio-Chasm in Arken Age, it really showcases the importance of HDR graphics in VR with the bright blue waters, lush foliage, and emissive energy bloom from Arkenite weapons, buildings, & the robotic Hyperion soldiers in the world. VR weaponry & custom adaptive triggers When developing Arken Age our biggest focus was on realistic physics-based combat and one-of-a-kind VR weaponry; each with their own unique Adaptive Trigger haptics. In the game you begin with 3 fully customizable & paintable weapons and can collect over 30 unique weapon mods in total. Each attachment is custom designed for VR gameplay, ranging from the Hyperion God Axe; a throwing axe that uses PS VR2’s eye-tracking & can be recalled at your will, the Tempered Cutter; a deployable saw blade that dismembers enemy limbs, and the Astral Ballista; a high-powered chargeable bow, to name a few. In addition, eye-tracking is used to enable the sniper scopes in the game, just close one eye when your head is close to a scope and watch the magic happen! Uncover the story of Bio-Chasm & your full VR alien body In Arken Age you are a biological alien creation, built with full locomotion and the ability to freely jump, crouch, climb, & swim. You can view your full body in first-person and holster all weapons physically onto your character. Your journey begins in Celestial Custodian’s Tower on the shores of the Bio-Chasm, a terraformed realm created to harvest Arkenite Energy. Its divine founder, the Grand Arborist, has ceased cultivation of your planet and every transmission sent to him has been met with abject silence. In Arken Age you uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the Grand Arborist, forge alliance with the Nara alien race, take up arms against Hyperion’s legion of corrupted soldiers, and learn how your character; who is part Nara and part Hyperion tech, fits into this world. Arken Age takes the player through a full 15-hour adventure, combines both physics-based sword combat with long-range gun combat, has a wide-range of custom VR interactions, epic VR boss fights, and gives the player full freedom to explore the dense environments of the Bio-Chasm. We want to thank everyone in the PlayStation VR community for their support over the years and we hope Arken Age will be something PS VR2 fans can enjoy this Jan 16 and for the years to come!

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the New Year Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, Hitman World of Assassination, The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition and many more.  Get a preview of […]

PlayStation Store’s extending the new year celebrations with the New Year Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, Hitman World of Assassination, The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition and many more. Get a preview of just some of the games under offer below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount. Get a preview of just some of the games under offer below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount. A Way Out Alien: Isolation AQP base game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Deluxe Edition Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gold Edition Batman: Return to Arkham Battlefield 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Deluxe Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Call of the Wild: The Angler™ – Fishing Starter Pack Call of the Wild: theAngler Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 College Football – Deluxe Edition Coral Island Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle Crash Bandicoot Bundle – N. Sane Trilogy + Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition Crysis Remastered Trilogy (Digital Only) Dead Space – Deluxe Edition DEATH STRANDING Director’s Cut Digital Deluxe Edition Detroit: Become Human Diablo III: Eternal Collection Diablo® Prime Evil Collection Dragon Ball FighterZ – FighterZ Edition DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition Dying Light Dying Light 1 + Dying Light 2 Bundle EA Sports FC 25 – Ultimate Edition F1 Manager 2024 Far Cry 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 Bundle Far Cry 6 Deluxe Edition FAR CRY®6 Gold Edition Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach For Honor – Year 8 Gold Edition For Honor – Year 8 Standard Edition Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS4) Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition (PS5) HITMAN World of Assassination Jurassic World Evolution 2: Deluxe Edition Kingdom Hearts All-In-One Package KINGDOM HEARTS III Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Lords of the Fallen – Standard Edition Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition MechWarrior 5: Clans MechWarrior 5: Clans – Digital Collectors Edition Middle-earth: Shadow of War Monster Hunter Rise+Sunbreak Deluxe Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne Master Edition Digital Deluxe Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate + Injustice 2 Leg. Edition Bundle Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate PS4 & PS5 Mortal Kombat XL MW2 – PS4 Cross-Gen Edition MW3 – Cross-Gen Edition MX vs ATV Legends MX vs ATV Legends – Ultimate Edition NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja Storm CONNECTIONS Need for Speed Heat: Deluxe Edition Need for Speed Rivals Outlast Outlast: Bundle of Terror Overcooked! 2 Persona 4 Golden Persona 5 Persona 5: Ultimate Edition Planet Coaster 2: Deluxe Edition Planet Zoo Police Simulator: Patrol Officers PoP:TLC – Complete Edition (post-launch) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Ravenswatch – Legendary Edition Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Sinful Edition SnowRunner – Premium Edition [NEW BUNDLE] Sonic Origins South Park: The Fractured but Whole South Park: The Stick of Truth + The Fractured but Whole Special Edition (EU/US/ASIA) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order & Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Bundle Supermarket Owner Simulator: Business Teardown Tekken 7 Tekken 7 – Definitive Edition The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition The Crew: Motorfest Gold Edition Year 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PS5 THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV DX The Last of Us™ Part I Digital Deluxe Edition The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt theHunter: Call of the Wild Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Ultimate Edition 2021 Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 UFC 5 Deluxe Edition Ultimate Edition (JP/Asia: Sound Ultimate)(EU/US:Ultimate) Unicorn Overlord Unravel Two Way of the Hunter A Way Out Alien: Isolation Anno 1800 Deluxe Edition AQP base game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Deluxe Edition Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Gold Edition Batman: Return to Arkham Battlefield 1 – Revolution Battlefield 4 Bus Simulator 21 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Deluxe Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War – Cross-Gen Bundle PS4™ & PS5™ Call of the Wild: The Angler™ – Fishing Starter Pack Call of the Wild: theAngler Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Cars 3: Driven to Win College Football – Deluxe Edition Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle Crash Bandicoot Bundle – N. Sane Trilogy + Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Crash Bandicoot N. 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Edition Bundle Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate PS4 & PS5 Mortal Kombat XL Musashi MW2 – PS4 Cross-Gen Edition MW3 – Cross-Gen Edition MX vs ATV Legends MX vs ATV Legends – Ultimate Edition Need for Speed Need for Speed Heat: Deluxe Edition Overcooked! 2 Persona 5 Persona 5: Ultimate Edition Planet Coaster 2: Deluxe Edition Planet Zoo Police Simulator: Patrol Officers PoP:TLC – Complete Edition (post-launch) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Ravenswatch – Legendary Edition Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Sniper Elite 4 SnowRunner – Premium Edition [NEW BUNDLE] Sonic Origins South Park: The Fractured but Whole South Park: The Stick of Truth + The Fractured but Whole Special Edition (EU/US/ASIA) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order & Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Bundle Supermarket Owner Simulator: Business Teardown Tekken 7 The Crew: Motorfest Deluxe Edition The Crew: Motorfest Gold Edition Year 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PS5 The Last of Us™ Part I Digital Deluxe Edition The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt theHunter: Call of the Wild Thief Simulator 2 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Ultimate Edition 2021 Tomb Raider: Legend Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ 1 + 2 UFC 5 Deluxe Edition Ultimate Edition (JP/Asia: Sound Ultimate)(EU/US:Ultimate) Unicorn Overlord Unravel Two Way of the Hunter WRC Generations – The FIA WRC Official Game – Deluxe Edition *New Year Deals promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am PST/BST, Wednesday January 15 until 23:59pm PST/BST Wednesday January 29. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details.

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand) From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image (NOTE: please check campaign URL for promotion details in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand) From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/en-my/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play. * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Malaysia PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 MYR 2,499 MYR 2,260 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition MYR 2,069 MYR 1,830 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 MYR 2,799 MYR 1,859 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) MYR 369 MYR 309 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) MYR 399 MYR 339 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset MYR 699 MYR 609 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds MYR 999 MYR 869

Dear Trailblazers: On behalf of the Honkai: Star Rail development team, I want to wish you a wonderful New Year! May your journey through the infinite cosmos continue to bring excitement as we embark together on this romantic space adventure. Today, I’m thrilled to share more about Version 3.0 “Paean of Era Nova,” launching January […]

Dear Trailblazers: On behalf of the Honkai: Star Rail development team, I want to wish you a wonderful New Year! May your journey through the infinite cosmos continue to bring excitement as we embark together on this romantic space adventure. Today, I’m thrilled to share more about Version 3.0 “Paean of Era Nova,” launching January 15. This update introduces the long-awaited world of Amphoreus and begins an epic new chapter in our main story. The Trailblaze Mission in Amphoreus will be released in two parts across eight versions, from 3.0 to 3.7, making it the largest story arc in Honkai: Star Rail to date. Get ready to embark on the “Hero’s Journey” with new playable characters — Aglaea and The Herta, plus the Trailblazer: Remembrance unlocking a new Path! Amphoreus, the Eternal Land Leaving Penacony the Planet of Festivities behind, the Astral Express embarks toward Amphoreus under Black Swan’s guidance, seeking both to replenish Trailblaze Fuel and uncover the mysteries of this celestial body — a realm so enigmatic that even the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, could not reach, its existence hidden from most of the cosmos. From the outside, Amphoreus appears as a chaotic vortex, its existence impossible to detect or understand. Similarly, its inhabitants remain completely unaware of the outside universe. Unlike other worlds, they do not know of the concept of “Aeons,” instead worshiping deities known as “Titans.” According to legend, twelve Titans created Amphoreus: Three who wove fate, three who shaped the heavens and earth, three who molded life, and three who brought calamity.” Yet this realm’s history is steeped in tragedy. In ancient times, the arrival of three Titans — “Strife,” “Death,” and “Trickery” — sparked a civil war among the gods. Soon after, a mysterious force known as the “black tide” swept across the world. None know its origins, but all life touched by it loses sanity, with even the mighty Titans proving vulnerable. Over millennia, between the black tide gradually consuming Amphoreus and the gods waging endless war, the world fell into eternal night. Now, in humanity’s final sanctuary — the Holy City of Okhema — only the protection of Kephale, the Worldbearing Titan, stands as the last barrier against the black tide. And now, the Astral Express, arriving as an unexpected force from beyond this world, is destined to change the course of Amphoreus’s fate, but how? Well, that’s for you to find out, dear Trailblazers! The Beginning of the Hero’s Journey As mentioned earlier, the Trailblaze Mission on Amphoreus will span across eight versions, forming an epic and grand narrative. In the upcoming Version 3.0, you will officially set foot on this eternal land and embark on your own Hero’s Journey. Upon entering Amphoreus, the Trailblazer and Dan Heng first descend into a region known as the “Abyss of Fate.” Legend says three Titans — Time, Passage, and Law — once wove here the threads of time, space, and rules that would govern Amphoreus, determining the fate of all creation. Now this land lies in eternal night, with only emptiness echoing through its grand architectural remains.” As the story unfolds, the Trailblazer’s group will return to the Abyss of Fate, pierce through the mists, delve deep into the temple, and finally gain audience with Oronyx, the Titan of Time. Through this encounter, the Trailblazer embarks on the Path of Remembrance, gaining the ability to “draw strength from the past.” Meanwhile, players will meet a new companion who, due to their mysterious origins and tendency to only make “Mem” sounds, is temporarily named “Mem.” Beyond their adorable appearance, Mem plays a crucial role in combat. The Trailblazer can summon Mem during battles, where it gradually charges Energy. Once fully charged, it provides Mem’s Support that allows a designated character to immediately takes action and deal additional True DMG, turning the tide of battle. Together with Mem, the Trailblazer will surely overcome the various challenges that await in Amphoreus. Following the winding path beyond the Abyss, players will reach Okhema, the Holy City built into the mountainside. Bathed in the eternal dawn light of the Worldbearing Titan’s protection, this city will serve as a crucial base for the trailblazing expedition through Amphoreus. Among its most distinctive landmarks stands the Marmoreal Palace, a grand baths. More than just a place for bathing and relaxation, it functions as the city’s heart, a public gathering space fostering daily social connections among residents. And Okhema has much more to offer beyond its architectural marvels. Here, you’ll encounter a variety of fascinating creatures. Among them is the dromas, a loyal helper of the Amphoreans, known for their strength in carrying both people and goods. The Dromas is a creation of Georios, the Earth Titan, one of the Three Titans of Foundation. A specialized Dromas Workshop can be found within Okhema, dedicated to crafting and training these remarkable creatures. Scattered throughout the city, you’ll also find a host of chimeras, each with its unique traits. Their colors, personalities, and temperaments vary greatly—some are quick to anger, others delight in mischief, and still, others offer their help to humans in whatever way they can. In these times of eternal night and chaos, Okhema, sheltered under the Worldbearing Titan’s protection, remains humanity’s final sanctuary and beacon of hope. Local legend tells a romantic tale: Kephale shall one day open their eyes, leading humanity to triumph over the black tide and forge a new world. From beneath this holy city, a group of human heroes known as the Chrysos Heirs embarks on a quest for flame, shouldering the mission to reclaim the twelve Titan Coreflames and restore Amphoreus to glory. In future stories, the Trailblazer will join their journey, fighting alongside the Chrysos Heirs in this legendary expedition. In Version 3.0, Trailblazers will also explore the unique city-state of Castrum Kremnos. It was named after the Blade of Fury that dangles high above the city, and it is also where the Strife Titan resides, thus making it the place where the seventh Coreflame slumbers. In the second half of the Trailblaze Mission, players will borrow the power of the Oronyx to return to the past and experience Castrum Kremnos during its golden age. There, they will discover one of the mechanisms the Trickery Titan Zagreus left behind: The Hand of Zagreus. This mechanism can be used to lift heavy obtains, pick up items, smash open pathways, and obliterate enemies easily in special circumstances. It serves as a major aid to exploration. In Version 3.0’s climactic Trailblaze Mission, Trailblazers and the Chrysos Heirs will face numerous challenges before engaging in a final battle with Nikador, the Strife Titan, to reclaim the Coreflame of Strife. Known as the “Lance of Fury,” Nikador and its followers hold a fanatical devotion to war and combat. To defeat them, Trailblazers need to collect “Glory” stacks to shatter Nikador’s “Titanic Corpus.” The final area of Version 3.0 unfolds in the Vortex of Genesis, the grand sanctuary and birthplace of Amphoreus. This sacred site, home to the primordial essence of the Twelve Titans, is said to be where the Miracle of Genesis will one day manifest. Here, the Chrysos Heirs will return the reclaimed Coreflames after overthrowing each Titan. Above, constellations light up the night sky, representing the journeys of those who came before. The Flame-Chase Journey, a thousand-year odyssey of trials and perseverance, has now reached its turning point. The road ahead will be forged by the Trailblazers, standing alongside the Chrysos Heirs to continue the legend! Companions of the Flame-Chase Journey Version 3.0 will invite two new and powerful 5-star characters to join the player’s teams. The first is the esteemed#83 member of the Genius Society, an Emanator of Erudition: Madam Herta. Since Herta first debuted, she made a deep impression via her unique Herta puppets and idiosyncratic behaviors on the space station. It is said that her true self resides in a place on the Cosmos’ edge, and she rarely reveals herself to others. It is only today that she has finally shown herself. The Herta is an Ice-Type Erudition character that is skilled at AoE DMG. In battle, she can apply Interpretation on enemies, and ally characters attacks can also further apply Interpretation. With the increase of Interpretation stacks, The Herta’s abilities can increase powerful hits of DMG based on their high Interpretation stacks on specific targets and multiple enemies besides. Additionally, The Herta’s Ultimate can also Transfer the highest Interpretation stacks to Elite or stronger enemies, before dealing Ice DMG to all enemy targets.” The second character making her debut is Aglaea from Amphoreus. She bears the divine authority of “Romance,” and is one of the earliest Chrysos Heirs to embark on the Flame-Chase Journey. As Okhema’s dressmaster, Aglaea isn’t just a legendary hero of Amphoreus, but she is also a major figure in recruiting new Chrysos Heirs to embark on the world-saving journey after the Flame-Chase Journey was interrupted prior. As the first limited 5-star Remembrance character, Aglaea can summon her memosprite Garmentmaker in battle to fight alongside her. They demonstrate a duet dance aesthetic in combat. Additionally, through their cooperation, Aglaea and her Garmentmaker can synchronize attacks on enemies. This new joint attacking mechanism not only increases the Garmentmaker’s SPD, and also adds a new layer of rhythm and variability to combat, allowing an exquisite dance for two to unfold at a charming cadence. In addition, in the first half of Version 3.0, there will also be a special Warp event. Limited 5-star characters Lingsha, Feixiao, and Jade will be making reruns. In the second half, the 5-star characters Boothill, Robin, and Silver Wolf will also be making a limited return. These characters will serve stronger reinforcements, walking side by side with Trailblazers to embark on a journey across Amphoreus. Aside from this, March 7th will gain a Preservation outfit. It can be claimed after unlocking the “Characters” function and logging in during the Version 3.0 period. Meanwhile, the Honkai: Star Rail Trailblazer Edition PS5® Physical Disc Bundle will soon be available for purchase, both online and in physical stores! System Optimizations Lastly, we’ve listened closely to player feedback and, in this major Version 3.0 update, have implemented several system optimizations to improve the gameplay experience! Among the new additions is the “Flying Amphora”. Smashing a Flying Amphora will grant you a boost in movement speed as you traverse the open world. Meanwhile, to ensure new players can easily enjoy the main storyline of Amphoreus, we’ve also made adjustments so that after completing the “Silent Galaxy” Trailblaze Mission, you can head directly to Amphoreus without difficulty. Version 3.0 also brings updates to the new Leveling Guide system that allows Trailblazers to evaluate their character’s strength, with recommendations on Character Level, Light Cone, Traces, Relics and more. We’ve also introduced the “Wishful Resin” and “Variable Dice”, allowing targeted modification and redistribution of a Relic’s Main and Sub Stats, offering more flexibility in developing companions. But that’s just the beginning — many more exciting improvements await your discovery! These are just some exciting updates in Version 3.0 — there’s plenty more to explore and enjoy! We wish you all a year filled with adventure, growth, and great moments in Honkai: Star Rail.

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/en-sg/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play. * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Singapore PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 SGD 799 SGD 735 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition SGD 669 SGD 605 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 SGD 869 SGD 599.00 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) SGD 107.00 SGD 82.90 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) SGD 114.00 SGD 89.90 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset SGD 199.90 SGD 173.90 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds SGD 295.90 SGD 256.90

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more.  From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation […]

Hi everyone! Time to level up this Lunar New Year! Purchase a new PlayStation®5 and stand to win prizes such as PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, PlayStation Portal Remote Player, PlayStation Store gift cards, Sony Bravia TV and more. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January to 2nd February, there will be discounts on PlayStation 5, PS VR2, DualSense wireless controllers, PULSE Elite Wireless headset and PULSE Explore wireless earbuds, applicable in participating retailers (https://www.playstation.com/local/retailers/). View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image From 17th January – 17th February 2025, purchase a PS5 console, submit the entry form and stand to win rewards in participating countries/regions* – including the grand prize of a Sony Bravia TV. Additionally, entrants who own PS Plus Membership during campaign period will qualify for special prizes that include PS5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle, DualSense Wireless Controller – Monster Hunter Wilds Limited Edition and PlayStation Portal Remote Player. You can find more details of the campaign here: https://www.playstation.com/th-th/local/campaigns/level-up-new-years-play . * “Participating Countries/Regions” means South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). Please see below for full details of Level Up New Year’s Sale 2025. Thailand PlayStation 5 Consoles Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation®5 THB 18,690 THB 16,890 PlayStation®5 console – Digital Edition THB 15,690 THB 13,890 Peripherals Original SRP Promotion SRP PlayStation VR2 THB 22,190 THB 14,890 DualSense® wireless controller (White, Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, Starlight Blue, Gray Camouflage) THB 2,590 THB 2,090 DualSense® wireless controller (Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, Sterling Silver, Chroma Pearl, Chroma Indigo, Chroma Teal) THB 2,690 THB 2,190 Pulse Elite Wireless Headset THB 5,190 THB 4,490 Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds THB 7,790 THB 6,790

AI agents are poised to transform productivity for the world’s billion knowledge workers with “knowledge robots” that can accomplish a variety of tasks. To develop AI agents, enterprises need to address critical concerns like trust, safety, security and compliance. New NVIDIA NIM microservices for AI guardrails — part of the NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails collection of Read Article

AI agents are poised to transform productivity for the world’s billion knowledge workers with “knowledge robots” that can accomplish a variety of tasks. To develop AI agents, enterprises need to address critical concerns like trust, safety, security and compliance. New NVIDIA NIM microservices for AI guardrails — part of the NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails collection of software tools — are portable, optimized inference microservices that help companies improve the safety, precision and scalability of their generative AI applications. Central to the orchestration of the microservices is NeMo Guardrails, part of the NVIDIA NeMo platform for curating, customizing and guardrailing AI. NeMo Guardrails helps developers integrate and manage AI guardrails in large language model (LLM) applications. Industry leaders Amdocs, Cerence AI and Lowe’s are among those using NeMo Guardrails to safeguard AI applications. Developers can use the NIM microservices to build more secure, trustworthy AI agents that provide safe, appropriate responses within context-specific guidelines and are bolstered against jailbreak attempts. Deployed in customer service across industries like automotive, finance, healthcare, manufacturing and retail, the agents can boost customer satisfaction and trust. One of the new microservices, built for moderating content safety, was trained using the Aegis Content Safety Dataset — one of the highest-quality, human-annotated data sources in its category. Curated and owned by NVIDIA, the dataset is publicly available on Hugging Face and includes over 35,000 human-annotated data samples flagged for AI safety and jailbreak attempts to bypass system restrictions. NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails Keeps AI Agents on Track AI is rapidly boosting productivity for a broad range of business processes. In customer service, it’s helping resolve customer issues up to 40% faster. However, scaling AI for customer service and other AI agents requires secure models that prevent harmful or inappropriate outputs and ensure the AI application behaves within defined parameters. NVIDIA has introduced three new NIM microservices for NeMo Guardrails that help AI agents operate at scale while maintaining controlled behavior: Content safety NIM microservice that safeguards AI against generating biased or harmful outputs, ensuring responses align with ethical standards. Topic control NIM microservice that keeps conversations focused on approved topics, avoiding digression or inappropriate content. Jailbreak detection NIM microservice that adds protection against jailbreak attempts, helping maintain AI integrity in adversarial scenarios. By applying multiple lightweight, specialized models as guardrails, developers can cover gaps that may occur when only more general global policies and protections exist — as a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t properly secure and control complex agentic AI workflows. Small language models, like those in the NeMo Guardrails collection, offer lower latency and are designed to run efficiently, even in resource-constrained or distributed environments. This makes them ideal for scaling AI applications in industries such as healthcare, automotive and manufacturing, in locations like hospitals or warehouses. Industry Leaders and Partners Safeguard AI With NeMo Guardrails NeMo Guardrails, available to the open-source community, helps developers orchestrate multiple AI software policies — called rails — to enhance LLM application security and control. It works with NVIDIA NIM microservices to offer a robust framework for building AI systems that can be deployed at scale without compromising on safety or performance. Amdocs, a leading global provider of software and services to communications and media companies, is harnessing NeMo Guardrails to enhance AI-driven customer interactions by delivering safer, more accurate and contextually appropriate responses. “Technologies like NeMo Guardrails are essential for safeguarding generative AI applications, helping make sure they operate securely and ethically,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, group president of technology and head of strategy at Amdocs. “By integrating NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails into our amAIz platform, we are enhancing the platform’s ‘Trusted AI’ capabilities to deliver agentic experiences that are safe, reliable and scalable. This empowers service providers to deploy AI solutions safely and with confidence, setting new standards for AI innovation and operational excellence.” Cerence AI, a company specializing in AI solutions for the automotive industry, is using NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails to help ensure its in-car assistants deliver contextually appropriate, safe interactions powered by its CaLLM family of large and small language models. “Cerence AI relies on high-performing, secure solutions from NVIDIA to power our in-car assistant technologies,” said Nils Schanz, executive vice president of product and technology at Cerence AI. “Using NeMo Guardrails helps us deliver trusted, context-aware solutions to our automaker customers and provide sensible, mindful and hallucination-free responses. In addition, NeMo Guardrails is customizable for our automaker customers and helps us filter harmful or unpleasant requests, securing our CaLLM family of language models from unintended or inappropriate content delivery to end users.” Lowe’s, a leading home improvement retailer, is leveraging generative AI to build on the deep expertise of its store associates. By providing enhanced access to comprehensive product knowledge, these tools empower associates to answer customer questions, helping them find the right products to complete their projects and setting a new standard for retail innovation and customer satisfaction. “We’re always looking for ways to help associates to above and beyond for our customers,” said Chandhu Nair, senior vice president of data, AI and innovation at Lowe’s. “With our recent deployments of NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails, we ensure AI-generated responses are safe, secure and reliable, enforcing conversational boundaries to deliver only relevant and appropriate content.” To further accelerate AI safeguards adoption in AI application development and deployment in retail, NVIDIA recently announced at the NRF show that its NVIDIA AI Blueprint for retail shopping assistants incorporates NeMo Guardrails microservices for creating more reliable and controlled customer interactions during digital shopping experiences. Consulting leaders Taskus, Tech Mahindra and Wipro are also integrating NeMo Guardrails into their solutions to provide their enterprise clients safer, more reliable and controlled generative AI applications. NeMo Guardrails is open and extensible, offering integration with a robust ecosystem of leading AI safety model and guardrail providers, as well as AI observability and development tools. It supports integration with ActiveFence’s ActiveScore, which filters harmful or inappropriate content in conversational AI applications, and provides visibility, analytics and monitoring. Hive, which provides its AI-generated content detection models for images, video and audio content as NIM microservices, can be easily integrated and orchestrated in AI applications using NeMo Guardrails. The Fiddler AI Observability platform easily integrates with NeMo Guardrails to enhance AI guardrail monitoring capabilities. And Weights & Biases, an end-to-end AI developer platform, is expanding the capabilities of W&B Weave by adding integrations with NeMo Guardrails microservices. This enhancement builds on Weights & Biases’ existing portfolio of NIM integrations for optimized AI inferencing in production. NeMo Guardrails Offers Open-Source Tools for AI Safety Testing Developers ready to test the effectiveness of applying safeguard models and other rails can use NVIDIA Garak — an open-source toolkit for LLM and application vulnerability scanning developed by the NVIDIA Research team. With Garak, developers can identify vulnerabilities in systems using LLMs by assessing them for issues such as data leaks, prompt injections, code hallucination and jailbreak scenarios. By generating test cases involving inappropriate or incorrect outputs, Garak helps developers detect and address potential weaknesses in AI models to enhance their robustness and safety. Availability NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails microservices, as well as NeMo Guardrails for rail orchestration and the NVIDIA Garak toolkit, are now available for developers and enterprises. Developers can get started building AI safeguards into AI agents for customer service using NeMo Guardrails with this tutorial. See notice regarding software product information.

Time to suit up, members. The multiverse is about to get a whole lot cloudier as GeForce NOW opens a portal to the first season of hit game Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games. Members can now game in a new dimension with expanded support for virtual- and mixed-reality devices. This week’s GeForce NOW app update Read Article

Time to suit up, members. The multiverse is about to get a whole lot cloudier as GeForce NOW opens a portal to the first season of hit game Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games. Members can now game in a new dimension with expanded support for virtual- and mixed-reality devices. This week’s GeForce NOW app update 2.0.70 begins rolling out compatibility for Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico 4 and 4 Ultra devices. Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for seven new titles joining the cloud this week, including multiplayer online battle arena game SMITE 2. Invisible No More Sink your teeth into the Fantastic Four. Eternal night falls for Marvel Rivals, the superhero, team-based player vs. player shooter that lets players assemble an ever-evolving all-star squad of Super Heroes and Super Villains battling with unique powers across a dynamic lineup of destructible maps from the Marvel Multiverse. The Fantastic Four will be playable in season one of the game. For Eternal Night Falls, Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic will be released in the first half of the season, followed by Human Torch and The Thing in the second. Season one will also feature three new maps, special events and an all-new Doom Match game mode. Stream it all with a GeForce NOW membership across devices, from an underpowered laptop, Mac devices, a Steam Deck or the supported platform of virtual- and mixed-reality devices. Head in the Clouds Headset on, latency gone. The latest GeForce NOW app update is expanding cloud streaming capabilities to Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico 4 and 4 Ultra virtual- and mixed-reality headsets starting this week. These newly supported devices will give members access to an extensive library of games to stream through GeForce NOW. Members can gain access by visiting play.geforcenow.com or via the Android-native client on the PICO store. The rollout will be complete on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Members will be able to transform their space into a personal gaming theater by playing, on massive virtual screens, their favorite PC games, such as the latest season of Marvel Rivals, Dragon Age and more. With access to NVIDIA technologies, including ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS on supported games, these devices now provide an enhanced visual experience with the highest frame rates and lowest latency. Here Comes The New Become a god and wage war. SMITE 2 is now free to play and has brought a huge update to mark the start of open beta. New god Aladdin joins, along with SMITE 1 fan favourites Geb, Agni, Mulan and Ullr — bringing the total god roster to 45. Twenty of the gods now feature Aspects — an optional spin on each god’s ability kit that opens up even more strategic options. The 3v3 mode Joust has also arrived, featuring a brand-new, Arthurian-themed map. Assault and Duel game modes are also available. Finally, the Conquest mode brings a wealth of updates to the map, features and balance. Hyper Light Breaker (New release on Steam, Jan. 14) Aloft (New release on Steam, Jan. 15) Assetto Corsa EVO (New release on Steam, Jan. 16) Generation Zero (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass) HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 – Turbocharged (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass) SMITE 2 (Steam) Voidwrought (Steam) What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below. Which role is your main? Tank Damage Support — NVIDIA GeForce NOW (@NVIDIAGFN) January 15, 2025

Troves of unwatched surgical video footage are finding new life, fueling AI tools that help make surgery safer and enhance surgical education. The Surgical Data Science Collective (SDSC) is transforming global surgery through AI-driven video analysis, helping to close the gaps in surgical training and practice. In this episode of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Margaux Read Article

Troves of unwatched surgical video footage are finding new life, fueling AI tools that help make surgery safer and enhance surgical education. The Surgical Data Science Collective (SDSC) is transforming global surgery through AI-driven video analysis, helping to close the gaps in surgical training and practice. In this episode of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Margaux Masson-Forsythe, director of machine learning at SDSC, discusses the unique challenges of doing AI research as a nonprofit, how the collective distills insights from massive amounts of video data and ways AI can help address the stark reality that five billion people still lack access to safe surgery. The AI Podcast · How SDSC Uses AI to Transform Surgical Training and Practice – Episode 241 Learn more about SDSC, and hear more about the future of AI in healthcare by listening to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference talk by Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at NVIDIA. Time Stamps 8:01 – What are the opportunities and challenges of analyzing surgical videos? 12:50 – Masson-Forsythe on trying new models and approaches to stay on top of the field. 18:14 – How does a nonprofit approach conducting AI research? 24:05 – How the community can get involved with SDSC. You Might Also Like… Cofounder of Annalise.ai Aengus Tran on Using AI as a Spell Check for Health Checks Harrison.ai has developed annalise.ai, an AI system that automates radiology image analysis to improve diagnosis speed and accuracy, and is now working on Franklin.ai to enhance histopathology diagnosis. CEO Aengus Tran emphasizes the importance of using AI in healthcare to reduce misdiagnoses and improve patient outcomes. Matice Founder Jessica Whited on Harnessing Regenerative Species for Medical Breakthroughs Scientists at Matice Biosciences, cofounded by regenerative biologist Jessica Whited, are using AI to study the tissue regeneration capabilities of animals like salamanders and planarians, with the goal of developing treatments to help humans heal from injuries without scarring. Cardiac Clarity: Dr. Keith Channon Talks Revolutionizing Heart Health With AI Caristo Diagnostics has developed an AI-powered solution called Caristo that detects coronary inflammation in cardiac CT scans by analyzing radiometric features in the surrounding fat tissue, helping physicians improve treatment plans and risk predictions. Subscribe to the AI Podcast Get the AI Podcast through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Google Play, Castbox, DoggCatcher, Overcast, PlayerFM, Pocket Casts, Podbay, PodBean, PodCruncher, PodKicker, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.

Quantum computing is one of the most exciting areas in computer science, promising progress in accelerated computing beyond what’s considered possible today. It’s expected that the technology will tackle myriad problems that were once deemed impractical or even impossible to solve. Quantum computing promises huge leaps forward for fields spanning drug discovery and materials development Read Article

Quantum computing is one of the most exciting areas in computer science, promising progress in accelerated computing beyond what’s considered possible today. It’s expected that the technology will tackle myriad problems that were once deemed impractical or even impossible to solve. Quantum computing promises huge leaps forward for fields spanning drug discovery and materials development to financial forecasting. But just as exciting as quantum computing’s future are the breakthroughs already being made today in quantum hardware, error correction and algorithms. NVIDIA is celebrating and exploring this remarkable progress in quantum computing by announcing its first Quantum Day at GTC 2025 on Thursday, March 20. This new focus area brings together leading experts for a comprehensive and balanced perspective on what businesses should expect from quantum computing in the coming decades — mapping the path toward useful quantum applications. Discussing the state of the art in quantum computing, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will share the stage with executives from industry leaders, including: Alice & Bob Atom Computing D-Wave Infleqtion IonQ Pasqal PsiQuantum Quantinuum Quantum Circuits QuEra Computing Rigetti SEEQC Learn About Quantum Computing at NVIDIA GTC Quantum Day will feature: Sessions exploring what’s possible and available now in quantum computing, and where quantum technologies are headed, hosted by Huang and representatives from across the quantum community. A developer day session outlining how partners are working with NVIDIA to advance quantum computing. Educational sessions providing attendees with hands-on training on how to use the most advanced tools to explore and develop quantum hardware and applications. A Quantum Day special address, unveiling the latest NVIDIA quantum computing news and advances shortening the timeline to useful applications. Quantum Day at GTC 2025 is the destination for leaders and experts seeking to chart a course into the future of quantum computing. Register for GTC.

AI is making inroads across the entire healthcare industry — from genomic research to drug discovery, clinical trial workflows and patient care. In a fireside chat Monday during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang took the stage with industry leaders progressing each of these areas to Read Article

AI is making inroads across the entire healthcare industry — from genomic research to drug discovery, clinical trial workflows and patient care. In a fireside chat Monday during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang took the stage with industry leaders progressing each of these areas to advance biomedical science and meet the global demand for patient care. Healthcare has a more severe labor shortage than any other field — the industry is expected to be short 10 million workers by the end of the decade, according to the World Health Organization. By deploying foundation models to narrow the field of potential drug molecules and streamlining workflows with agentic AI, these innovators are helping meet the global demand by enabling clinicians and researchers to achieve more with their limited time. They include industry luminaries Patrick Collison, cofounder of Stripe and the Arc Institute nonprofit research organization; Christina Zorn, chief administrative officer at Mayo Clinic; Jacob Thaysen, CEO of DNA sequencing technology leader Illumina; and Ari Bousbib, chairman and CEO of clinical research and commercial services provider IQVIA. The four organizations at J.P. Morgan Healthcare announced partnerships with NVIDIA to advance drug discovery, accelerate pathology, enhance genomic research and augment healthcare with agentic AI, respectively. AI’s Evolution, From Predicting to Reasoning Huang opened the event by reflecting on the tremendous progress in AI over the past year, spanning large language models, visual generative AI and physical AI for robotics — and outlining a vision for a future involving agentic AI models that are capable of reasoning and problem-solving. “The future of AI is likely to involve a fair amount of thinking,” he said. “The ability for AI to now reason, plan and act is foundational to the way we’re going to go forward.” To support the development of these AI models, NVIDIA recently unveiled NVIDIA Cosmos, a physical AI platform that includes state-of-the art generative world foundation models. These models apply the same technique as a language model that predicts the next word in a sentence — instead predicting the next action a robot should take. “The idea that you can generate the next frame for a video has become common sense,” Huang said. “And if that’s the case, is it possible that generating the next articulation could be common sense? And the answer is absolutely.” AI for Every Modality Channeling a late-night talk show host, Huang called up the guest speakers one by one to discuss their work accelerating biomedical research with AI innovation. First up was Collison, who shared the Arc Institute’s mission to help researchers tackle long-term scientific challenges by providing multiyear funding that enables them to focus on innovative research instead of grant writing — which he believes will spur breakthroughs that are unfeasible to pursue under today’s funding models. “A lot of the low-hanging fruit, the stuff that is easier to discover, we did,” Collison said, referring to the development of groundbreaking treatments like antibiotics, chemotherapy and more in decades past. “Today, it’s immensely harder.” Already, Arc Institute’s investments have resulted in Evo, a powerful foundation model that understands the languages of DNA, RNA and proteins. The institute is now working with NVIDIA on foundation models for biology that can advance applications for drug discovery, synthetic biology across multiple scales of complexity, disease and evolution research, and more. Next, Mayo Clinic’s Zorn shared how the research hospital is applying NVIDIA technology to one of the world’s largest pathology databases to transform cancer care with AI insights. “We saw a paradigm shift in healthcare. You’re either going to disrupt from within or you’re going to be disrupted,” she said. “We knew we had to embrace tech in a way that was really going to optimize everything we do.” Zorn also shared how Mayo Clinic is approaching the future healthcare worker shortage by investing in robotics. “We’re going to use, essentially, the robots to be a member of the healthcare team in the healthcare spaces,” she said. The evening wrapped with two leaders in healthcare information reflecting on ways multimodal AI models can uncover insights and streamline processes to boost the capabilities of human experts. “Combining other information, other modalities, other ‘omics’…is going to give us much deeper insight into biology. But while DNA was very difficult itself, when you then combine all the omics, it becomes exponentially more challenging,” said Illumina’s Thaysen. “It’s getting so complicated that we do need huge computing power and AI to really understand and process it.” IQVIA is working with NVIDIA to build custom foundation models and agentic AI workflows trained on the organization’s vast healthcare-specific information and deep domain expertise. Use cases include boosting the efficiency of clinical trials and optimizing planning for the launch of therapies and medical devices. The company is committed to using AI responsibly, ensuring that its AI-powered capabilities are grounded in privacy, regulatory compliance and patient safety. “The opportunity here is to try to reduce the dependencies and sequential series of steps that require a lot of interactions, and handle them without human touch,” said Bousbib. “AI agents will be able to eliminate the white space, that is, the time waiting for humans to complete those tasks. There’s a great opportunity to reduce time and costs.” NVIDIA at J.P. Morgan Healthcare The fireside chat followed a presentation at the conference by Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of healthcare. In her talk, Powell discussed the industry collaborations and announced new resources for healthcare and life sciences developers. These include an NVIDIA NIM microservice for GenMol, a generative AI model for controlled, high-performance molecular generation — and an NVIDIA BioNeMo Blueprint for protein binder design, part of the NVIDIA Blueprints collection of enterprise-grade reference workflows for agentic and generative AI use cases. For more from NVIDIA at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, listen to the audio recording of Powell’s session. Subscribe to NVIDIA healthcare news. Main image above features, from left to right, Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen, Mayo Clinic’s Christina Zorn, Arc Institute’s Patrick Collison, IQVIA’s Ari Bousbib and NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang.

IQVIA, the world’s leading provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence, is working with NVIDIA to build custom foundation models and agentic AI workflows that can accelerate research, clinical development and access to new treatments. AI applications trained on the organization’s vast healthcare-specific information and guided by its deep domain expertise will Read Article

IQVIA, the world’s leading provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence, is working with NVIDIA to build custom foundation models and agentic AI workflows that can accelerate research, clinical development and access to new treatments. AI applications trained on the organization’s vast healthcare-specific information and guided by its deep domain expertise will help the industry boost the efficiency of clinical trials and optimize planning for the launch of therapies and medical devices — ultimately improving patient outcomes. Operating in over 100 countries, IQVIA has built the largest global healthcare network and is uniquely connected to the ecosystem with the most comprehensive and granular set of information, analytics and technologies in the industry. Announced today at the J.P. Morgan Conference in San Francisco, IQVIA’s collection of models, AI agents and reference workflows will be developed with the NVIDIA AI Foundry platform for building custom models, allowing IQVIA’s thousands of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device customers to benefit from NVIDIA’s agentic AI capabilities and IQVIA’s technologies, life sciences information and expertise. Enabling Industry Applications in Clinical Trials The healthcare and life sciences industry generates more information than any other industry in the world, making up 30% of the world’s data volume. IQVIA plans to use its unparalleled information assets, analytics and domain expertise — known as IQVIA Connected Intelligence — with the NVIDIA AI Foundry service to build language and multimodal foundational models that will power a collection of customized IQVIA AI agents. These agents are anticipated to be available in predefined workflows, or blueprints, that would accomplish a specific task. This partnership aims to accelerate the innovation cycle of IQVIA Healthcare-grade AI. IQVIA has been leading in the responsible use of AI, ensuring that its AI-powered capabilities are grounded in privacy, regulatory compliance and patient safety. IQVIA Healthcare-grade AI represents the company’s commitment to these principles. One key opportunity area is in clinical development, when clinical trials are conducted for new drugs. The overall process takes about 11 years, on average, and each trial has a multitude of workflows that could be supported by AI agents. For example, just starting a clinical trial involves site selection, participant recruitment, regulatory submissions and tight communication between study sites and their sponsors. NVIDIA AI Foundry Streamlines Custom Model Development To streamline the development of these AI agents, IQVIA is using tools within NVIDIA AI Foundry and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, including NVIDIA NIM microservices, especially the Llama Nemotron and Cosmos Nemotron model families; NVIDIA AI Blueprint reference workflows; the NVIDIA NeMo platform for developing custom generative AI; and dedicated capacity on NVIDIA DGX Cloud. The NVIDIA AI Blueprint for multimodal PDF data extraction can help IQVIA unlock the immense amount of healthcare text, graphs, charts and tables stored in PDF files, bringing previously inaccessible information to train AI models and agents for domain-specific and even customer-specific applications. NVIDIA RAPIDS data science libraries then accelerate the construction of knowledge graphs. Additional AI agents could automate complex, time-consuming tasks, like document generation and patient recruitment, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on strategic decision-making and human interaction. Learn more about NVIDIA technologies and their impact on healthcare and life sciences.

For decades, leadership in computing and software ecosystems has been a cornerstone of American strength and influence worldwide. The federal government has wisely refrained from dictating the design, marketing and sale of mainstream computers and software — key drivers of innovation and economic growth. The first Trump Administration laid the foundation for America’s current strength Read Article

For decades, leadership in computing and software ecosystems has been a cornerstone of American strength and influence worldwide. The federal government has wisely refrained from dictating the design, marketing and sale of mainstream computers and software — key drivers of innovation and economic growth. The first Trump Administration laid the foundation for America’s current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where U.S. industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security. As a result, mainstream AI has become an integral part of every new application, driving economic growth, promoting U.S. interests and ensuring American leadership in cutting-edge technology. Today, companies, startups and universities around the world are tapping mainstream AI to advance healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, education and countless other fields, driving economic growth and unlocking the potential of nations. Built on American technology, the adoption of AI around the world fuels growth and opportunity for industries at home and abroad. That global progress is now in jeopardy. The Biden Administration now seeks to restrict access to mainstream computing applications with its unprecedented and misguided “AI Diffusion” rule, which threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide. In its last days in office, the Biden Administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review. This sweeping overreach would impose bureaucratic control over how America’s leading semiconductors, computers, systems and even software are designed and marketed globally. And by attempting to rig market outcomes and stifle competition — the lifeblood of innovation — the Biden Administration’s new rule threatens to squander America’s hard-won technological advantage. While cloaked in the guise of an “anti-China” measure, these rules would do nothing to enhance U.S. security. The new rules would control technology worldwide, including technology that is already widely available in mainstream gaming PCs and consumer hardware. Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America’s global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead. Although the rule is not enforceable for 120 days, it is already undercutting U.S. interests. As the first Trump Administration demonstrated, America wins through innovation, competition and by sharing our technologies with the world — not by retreating behind a wall of government overreach. We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, bolster our economy and preserve our competitive edge in AI and beyond. Ned Finkle is vice president of government affairs at NVIDIA.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of innovation in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Forward-thinking companies are using AI to reimagine their entire business models, from in-store experiences to omnichannel digital platforms, including ecommerce, mobile and social channels. This technological wave is simultaneously transforming advertising and marketing, customer engagement and supply Read Article

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of innovation in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Forward-thinking companies are using AI to reimagine their entire business models, from in-store experiences to omnichannel digital platforms, including ecommerce, mobile and social channels. This technological wave is simultaneously transforming advertising and marketing, customer engagement and supply chain operations. By harnessing AI, retailers and CPG brands are not just adapting to change — they’re actively shaping the future of commerce. NVIDIA’s second annual “State of AI in Retail and CPG” survey provides insights into the adoption, investment and impact of AI, including generative AI; the top use cases and challenges; and a special section this year examining the use of AI in the supply chain. It’s an in-depth look at the current ecosystem of AI in retail and CPG, and how it’s transforming the industries. Drawn from hundreds of responses from industry professionals, key highlights of the survey show: 89% of respondents said they are either actively using AI in their operations or assessing AI projects, including trials and pilots (up from 82% in 2023) 87% said AI had a positive impact on increasing annual revenue 94% said AI has helped reduce annual operational costs 97% said spending on AI would increase in the next fiscal year Generative AI in Retail Takes Center Stage Generative AI has found a strong foothold in retail and CPG, with over 80% of companies either using or piloting projects. Companies are harnessing the technology, especially for content generation in marketing and advertising, as well as customer analysis and analytics. Consistent with last year’s survey, over 50% of retailers believe that generative AI is a strategic technology that will be a differentiator in the market. The top use cases for generative AI in retail include: Content generation for marketing (60%) Predictive analytics (44%) Personalized marketing and advertising (42%) Customer analysis and segmentation (41%) Digital shopping assistants or copilots (40%) While some concerns about generative AI exist, specifically around data privacy, security and implementation costs, these concerns haven’t dampened retailers’ enthusiasm, with 93% of respondents saying they still plan to increase generative AI investment next year. AI Across the Retail Landscape AI use cases have proliferated across nearly every line of business in retail, with over 50% of retailers using AI in more than six different use cases throughout their operations. In physical stores, the top three use cases are inventory management, analytics and insights, and adaptive advertising. For digital retail, they’re marketing and advertising content creation, and hyperpersonalized recommendations. And in the back office, the top use cases are customer analysis and predictive analytics. AI has made a significant impact in retail and CPG, with improved insights and decision-making (43%) and enhanced employee productivity (42%) being listed as top benefits among survey respondents. The most common AI challenge retailers faced in 2024 was a lack of easy to understand and explainable AI tools, underscoring a greater need for software and solutions — specifically around generative AI and AI agents — to enter the market to make it easier for companies to use AI solutions and understand how they work. AI in the Supply Chain Managing the supply chain has always been a challenge for retail and CPG companies, but it’s become increasingly difficult over the last several years due to tumultuous global events and shifting consumer preferences. Companies are feeling the pressure, with 59% of respondents saying that their supply chain challenges have grown in the last year. Increasingly, companies are turning to AI to help address these challenges, and the impact of these AI solutions is starting to show up in results. 58% said AI is helping to improve operational efficiency and throughput. 45% are using AI to reduce supply chain costs. 42% are employing AI to meet shifting customer expectations. Investment in AI for supply chain management is set to grow, with 82% of companies planning to increase spending in the next fiscal year. As the retail and CPG industries continue to embrace the power of AI, the findings from the latest survey underscore a pivotal shift in how businesses operate in a complex new landscape. Leading companies are harnessing advanced technologies — such as AI agents and physical AI — to enhance efficiency and drive revenue, as well as to position themselves as leaders in innovation, helping redefine the future of retail and CPG. Download the “State of AI in Retail and CPG: 2025 Trends” report for in-depth results and insights. Explore NVIDIA’s AI solutions and enterprise-level platforms for retail.

Driving the future of smart mobility, Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) is partnering with NVIDIA to develop the next generation of safe, secure mobility with AI and industrial digital twins. Announced today at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, this latest work will elevate Hyundai Motor Group’s smart mobility innovation with NVIDIA accelerated computing, Read Article

Driving the future of smart mobility, Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) is partnering with NVIDIA to develop the next generation of safe, secure mobility with AI and industrial digital twins. Announced today at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, this latest work will elevate Hyundai Motor Group’s smart mobility innovation with NVIDIA accelerated computing, generative AI, digital twins and physical AI technologies. The Group is launching a broad range of AI initiatives into its key mobility products, including software-defined vehicles and robots, along with optimizing its manufacturing lines. “Hyundai Motor Group is exploring innovative approaches with AI technologies in various fields such as robotics, autonomous driving and smart factory,” said Heung-Soo Kim, executive vice president and head of the global strategy office at Hyundai Motor Group. “This partnership is set to accelerate our progress, positioning the Group as a frontrunner in driving AI-empowered mobility innovation.” Hyundai Motor Group will tap into NVIDIA’s data-center-level computing and infrastructure to efficiently manage the massive data volumes essential for training its advanced AI models and building a robust autonomous vehicle (AV) software stack. Manufacturing Intelligence With Simulation and Digital Twins With the NVIDIA Omniverse platform running on NVIDIA OVX systems, Hyundai Motor Group will build a digital thread across its existing software tools to achieve highly accurate product design and prototyping in a digital twin environment. This will help boost engineering efficiencies, reduce costs and accelerate time to market. The Group will also work with NVIDIA to create simulated environments for developing autonomous driving systems and validating self-driving applications. Simulation is becoming increasingly critical in the safe deployment of AVs. It provides a safe way to test self-driving technology in any possible weather, traffic conditions or locations, as well as rare or dangerous scenarios. Hyundai Motor Group will develop applications, like digital twins using Omniverse technologies, to optimize its existing and future manufacturing lines in simulation. These digital twins can improve production quality, streamline costs and enhance overall manufacturing efficiencies. The company can also build and train industrial robots for safe deployment in its factories using NVIDIA Isaac Sim, a robotics simulation framework built on Omniverse. NVIDIA is helping advance robotics intelligence with AI tools and libraries for automated manufacturing. As a result, Hyundai Motor Group can conduct industrial robot training in physically accurate virtual environments — optimizing manufacturing and enhancing quality. This can also help make interactions with these robots and their real-world surroundings more intuitive and effective while ensuring they can work safely alongside humans. Using NVIDIA technology, Hyundai Motor Group is driving the creation of safer, more intelligent vehicles, enhancing manufacturing with greater efficiency and quality, and deploying cutting-edge robotics to build a smarter, more connected digital workplace. The partnership was formalized during a signing ceremony that took place last night at CES. Learn more about how NVIDIA technologies are advancing autonomous vehicles. Editor’s note: Main image shows Heung-Soo Kim, executive vice president and head of global strategy office at Hyundai Motor Group, and Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive at NVIDIA.

This GFN Thursday recaps the latest cloud announcements from the CES trade show, including GeForce RTX gaming expansion across popular devices such as Steam Deck, Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico mixed-reality devices. Gamers in India will also be able to access their PC gaming library at GeForce RTX Read Article

This GFN Thursday recaps the latest cloud announcements from the CES trade show, including GeForce RTX gaming expansion across popular devices such as Steam Deck, Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico mixed-reality devices. Gamers in India will also be able to access their PC gaming library at GeForce RTX 4080 quallity with an Ultimate membership for the first time in the region. This follows expansion in Chile and Columbia with GeForce NOW Alliance partner Digevo. More AAA gaming is on the way, with highly anticipated titles DOOM: The Dark Ages and Avowed joining GeForce NOW’s extensive library of over 2,100 supported titles when they launch on PC later this year. Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for six new titles joining the cloud this week. Head in the Clouds CES 2025 is coming to a close, but GeForce NOW members still have lots to look forward to. Members will be able to play over 2,100 titles from the GeForce NOW cloud library at GeForce RTX quality on Valve’s popular Steam Deck device with the launch of a native GeForce NOW app, coming later this year. Steam Deck gamers can gain access to all the same benefits as GeForce RTX 4080 GPU owners with a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership, including NVIDIA DLSS 3 technology for the highest frame rates and NVIDIA Reflex for ultra-low latency. GeForce NOW delivers a stunning streaming experience, no matter how Steam Deck users choose to play, whether in handheld mode for high dynamic range (HDR)-quality graphics, connected to a monitor for up to 1440p 120 frames per second HDR, or hooked up to a TV for big-screen streaming at up to 4K 60 fps. GeForce NOW members can take advantage of RTX ON with the Steam Deck for photorealistic gameplay on supported titles, as well as HDR10 and SDR10 when connected to a compatible display for richer, more accurate color gradients. Get your head in the clouds. Get immersed in a new dimension of big-screen gaming. In collaboration with Apple, Meta and ByteDance, NVIDIA is expanding GeForce NOW cloud gaming to Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico virtual- and mixed-reality devices — with all the bells and whistles of NVIDIA technologies, including ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS. Have a hell of a time in the cloud. In addition, NVIDIA will launch the first GeForce RTX-powered data center in India this year, making gaming more accessible around the world. This follows the recent launch of GeForce NOW in Colombia and Chile — operated by GeForce NOW Alliance partner Digevo — as well as Thailand coming soon — to be operated by GeForce NOW Alliance partner Brothers Picture. Game On AAA content from celebrated publishers is coming to the cloud. Avowed from Obsidian Entertainment, known for iconic titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, will join GeForce NOW. The cloud gaming platform will also bring DOOM: The Dark Ages from id Software — the legendary studio behind the DOOM franchise. These titles will be available at launch on PC this year. Get ready to jump into the Living Lands. Avowed, a first-person fantasy role-playing game, will join the cloud when it launches on PC on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Take on the role of an Aedyr Empire envoy tasked with investigating a mysterious plague. Freely combine weapons and magic — harness dual-wield wands, pair a sword with a pistol or opt for a more traditional sword-and-shield approach. In-game companions — which join the players’ parties — have unique abilities and storylines that can be influenced by gamers’ choices. Have a hell of a time in the cloud. DOOM: The Dark Ages is the single-player, action first-person shooter prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal. Play as the DOOM Slayer, the legendary demon-killing warrior fighting endlessly against Hell. Experience the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in 2025. Shiny New Games Look for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week: Marvel Rivals comes to the cloud. Road 96 (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, Jan. 7) Builders of Egypt (New release on Steam, Jan. 8) DREDGE (Epic Games Store) Drova – Forsaken Kin (Steam) Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Xbox, available on Microsoft Store) Marvel Rivals (Steam, coming to the cloud after the launch of Season 1) What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below.

Over the past year, generative AI has transformed the way people live, work and play, enhancing everything from writing and content creation to gaming, learning and productivity. PC enthusiasts and developers are leading the charge in pushing the boundaries of this groundbreaking technology. Countless times, industry-defining technological breakthroughs have been invented in one place — Read Article

Over the past year, generative AI has transformed the way people live, work and play, enhancing everything from writing and content creation to gaming, learning and productivity. PC enthusiasts and developers are leading the charge in pushing the boundaries of this groundbreaking technology. Countless times, industry-defining technological breakthroughs have been invented in one place — a garage. This week marks the start of the RTX AI Garage series, which will offer routine content for developers and enthusiasts looking to learn more about NVIDIA NIM microservices and AI Blueprints, and how to build AI agents, creative workflow, digital human, productivity apps and more on AI PCs. Welcome to the RTX AI Garage. This first installment spotlights announcements made earlier this week at CES, including new AI foundation models available on NVIDIA RTX AI PCs that take digital humans, content creation, productivity and development to the next level. These models — offered as NVIDIA NIM microservices — are powered by new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. Built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, RTX 50 Series GPUs deliver up to 3,352 trillion AI operations per second of performance, 32GB of VRAM and feature FP4 compute, doubling AI inference performance and enabling generative AI to run locally with a smaller memory footprint. NVIDIA also introduced NVIDIA AI Blueprints — ready-to-use, preconfigured workflows, built on NIM microservices, for applications like digital humans and content creation. NIM microservices and AI Blueprints empower enthusiasts and developers to build, iterate and deliver AI-powered experiences to the PC faster than ever. The result is a new wave of compelling, practical capabilities for PC users. Fast-Track AI With NVIDIA NIM There are two key challenges to bringing AI advancements to PCs. First, the pace of AI research is breakneck, with new models appearing daily on platforms like Hugging Face, which now hosts over a million models. As a result, breakthroughs quickly become outdated. Second, adapting these models for PC use is a complex, resource-intensive process. Optimizing them for PC hardware, integrating them with AI software and connecting them to applications requires significant engineering effort. NVIDIA NIM helps address these challenges by offering prepackaged, state-of-the-art AI models optimized for PCs. These NIM microservices span model domains, can be installed with a single click, feature application programming interfaces (APIs) for easy integration, and harness NVIDIA AI software and RTX GPUs for accelerated performance. At CES, NVIDIA announced a pipeline of NIM microservices for RTX AI PCs, supporting use cases spanning large language models (LLMs), vision-language models, image generation, speech, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), PDF extraction and computer vision. The new Llama Nemotron family of open models provide high accuracy on a wide range of agentic tasks. The Llama Nemotron Nano model, which will be offered as a NIM microservice for RTX AI PCs and workstations, excels at agentic AI tasks like instruction following, function calling, chat, coding and math. Soon, developers will be able to quickly download and run these microservices on Windows 11 PCs using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). To demonstrate how enthusiasts and developers can use NIM to build AI agents and assistants, NVIDIA previewed Project R2X, a vision-enabled PC avatar that can put information at a user’s fingertips, assist with desktop apps and video conference calls, read and summarize documents, and more. Sign up for Project R2X updates. By using NIM microservices, AI enthusiasts can skip the complexities of model curation, optimization and backend integration and focus on creating and innovating with cutting-edge AI models. What’s in an API? An API is the way in which an application communicates with a software library. An API defines a set of “calls” that the application can make to the library and what the application can expect in return. Traditional AI APIs require a lot of setup and configuration, making AI capabilities harder to use and hampering innovation. NIM microservices expose easy-to-use, intuitive APIs that an application can simply send requests to and get a response. In addition, they’re designed around the input and output media for different model types. For example, LLMs take text as input and produce text as output, image generators convert text to image, speech recognizers turn speech to text and so on. The microservices are designed to integrate seamlessly with leading AI development and agent frameworks such as AI Toolkit for VSCode, AnythingLLM, ComfyUI, Flowise AI, LangChain, Langflow and LM Studio. Developers can easily download and deploy them from build.nvidia.com. By bringing these APIs to RTX, NVIDIA NIM will accelerate AI innovation on PCs. Enthusiasts are expected to be able to experience a range of NIM microservices using an upcoming release of the NVIDIA ChatRTX tech demo. A Blueprint for Innovation By using state-of-the-art models, prepackaged and optimized for PCs, developers and enthusiasts can quickly create AI-powered projects. Taking things a step further, they can combine multiple AI models and other functionality to build complex applications like digital humans, podcast generators and application assistants. NVIDIA AI Blueprints, built on NIM microservices, are reference implementations for complex AI workflows. They help developers connect several components, including libraries, software development kits and AI models, together in a single application. AI Blueprints include everything that a developer needs to build, run, customize and extend the reference workflow, which includes the reference application and source code, sample data, and documentation for customization and orchestration of the different components. At CES, NVIDIA announced two AI Blueprints for RTX: one for PDF to podcast, which lets users generate a podcast from any PDF, and another for 3D-guided generative AI, which is based on FLUX.1 [dev] and expected be offered as a NIM microservice, offers artists greater control over text-based image generation. With AI Blueprints, developers can quickly go from AI experimentation to AI development for cutting-edge workflows on RTX PCs and workstations. Built for Generative AI The new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs are purpose-built to tackle complex generative AI challenges, featuring fifth-generation Tensor Cores with FP4 support, faster G7 memory and an AI-management processor for efficient multitasking between AI and creative workflows. The GeForce RTX 50 Series adds FP4 support to help bring better performance and more models to PCs. FP4 is a lower quantization method, similar to file compression, that decreases model sizes. Compared with FP16 — the default method that most models feature — FP4 uses less than half of the memory, and 50 Series GPUs provide over 2x performance compared with the previous generation. This can be done with virtually no loss in quality with advanced quantization methods offered by NVIDIA TensorRT Model Optimizer. For example, Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1 [dev] model at FP16 requires over 23GB of VRAM, meaning it can only be supported by the GeForce RTX 4090 and professional GPUs. With FP4, FLUX.1 [dev] requires less than 10GB, so it can run locally on more GeForce RTX GPUs. With a GeForce RTX 4090 with FP16, the FLUX.1 [dev] model can generate images in 15 seconds with 30 steps. With a GeForce RTX 5090 with FP4, images can be generated in just over five seconds. Get Started With the New AI APIs for PCs NVIDIA NIM microservices and AI Blueprints are expected to be available starting next month, with initial hardware support for GeForce RTX 50 Series, GeForce RTX 4090 and 4080, and NVIDIA RTX 6000 and 5000 professional GPUs. Additional GPUs will be supported in the future. NIM-ready RTX AI PCs are expected to be available from Acer, ASUS, Dell, GIGABYTE, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razer and Samsung, and from local system builders Corsair, Falcon Northwest, LDLC, Maingear, Mifcon, Origin PC, PCS and Scan. GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and laptops deliver game-changing performance, power transformative AI experiences, and enable creators to complete workflows in record time. Rewatch NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote to learn more about NVIDIA’s AI news unveiled at CES. See notice regarding software product information.

In the fast-evolving landscape of AI, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop models that can accurately simulate and predict outcomes in physical, real-world environments to enable the next generation of physical AI systems. Ming-Yu Liu, vice president of research at NVIDIA and an IEEE Fellow, joined the NVIDIA AI Podcast to discuss the significance of Read Article

In the fast-evolving landscape of AI, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop models that can accurately simulate and predict outcomes in physical, real-world environments to enable the next generation of physical AI systems. Ming-Yu Liu, vice president of research at NVIDIA and an IEEE Fellow, joined the NVIDIA AI Podcast to discuss the significance of world foundation models (WFM) — powerful neural networks that can simulate physical environments. WFMs can generate detailed videos from text or image input data and predict how a scene evolves by combining its current state (image or video) with actions (such as prompts or control signals). “World foundation models are important to physical AI developers,” said Liu. “They can imagine many different environments and can simulate the future, so we can make good decisions based on this simulation.” This is particularly valuable for physical AI systems, such as robots and self-driving cars, which must interact safely and efficiently with the real world. The AI Podcast · NVIDIA’s Ming-Yu Liu on How World Foundation Models Will Advance Physical AI – Episode 240 Why Are World Foundation Models Important? Building world models often requires vast amounts of data, which can be difficult and expensive to collect. WFMs can generate synthetic data, providing a rich, varied dataset that enhances the training process. In addition, training and testing physical AI systems in the real world can be resource-intensive. WFMs provide virtual, 3D environments where developers can simulate and test these systems in a controlled setting without the risks and costs associated with real-world trials. Open Access to World Foundation Models At the CES trade show, NVIDIA announced NVIDIA Cosmos, a platform of generative WFMs that accelerate the development of physical AI systems such as robots and self-driving cars. The platform is designed to be open and accessible, and includes pretrained WFMs based on diffusion and auto-regressive architectures, along with tokenizers that can compress videos into tokens for transformer models. Liu explained that with these open models, enterprises and developers have all the ingredients they need to build large-scale models. The open platform also provides teams with the flexibility to explore various options for training and fine-tuning models, or build their own based on specific needs. Enhancing AI Workflows Across Industries WFMs are expected to enhance AI workflows and development in various industries. Liu sees particularly significant impacts in two areas: “The self-driving car industry and the humanoid [robot] industry will benefit a lot from world model development,” said Liu. “[WFMs] can simulate different environments that will be difficult to have in the real world, to make sure the agent behaves respectively.” For self-driving cars, these models can simulate environments that allow for comprehensive testing and optimization. For example, a self-driving car can be tested in various simulated weather conditions and traffic scenarios to help ensure it performs safely and efficiently before deployment on roads. In robotics, WFMs can simulate and verify the behavior of robotic systems in different environments to make sure they perform tasks safely and efficiently before deployment. NVIDIA is collaborating with companies like 1X, Huobi and XPENG to help address challenges in physical AI development and advance their systems. “We are still in the infancy of world foundation model development — it’s useful, but we need to make it more useful,” Liu said. “We also need to study how to best integrate these world models into the physical AI systems in a way that can really benefit them.” Listen to the podcast with Ming-Yu Liu, or read the transcript. Learn more about NVIDIA Cosmos and the latest announcements in generative AI and robotics by watching the CES opening keynote by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, as well as joining NVIDIA sessions at the show.

Data is the fuel of AI applications, but the magnitude and scale of enterprise data often make it too expensive and time-consuming to use effectively. According to IDC’s Global DataSphere1, enterprises will generate 317 zettabytes of data annually by 2028 — including the creation of 29 zettabytes of unique data — of which 78% will Read Article

Data is the fuel of AI applications, but the magnitude and scale of enterprise data often make it too expensive and time-consuming to use effectively. According to IDC’s Global DataSphere1, enterprises will generate 317 zettabytes of data annually by 2028 — including the creation of 29 zettabytes of unique data — of which 78% will be unstructured data and 44% of that will be audio and video. Because of the extremely high volume and various data types, most generative AI applications use a fraction of the total amount of data being stored and generated. For enterprises to thrive in the AI era, they must find a way to make use of all of their data. This isn’t possible using traditional computing and data processing techniques. Instead, enterprises need an AI query engine. What Is an AI Query Engine? Simply, an AI query engine is a system that connects AI applications, or AI agents, to data. It’s a critical component of agentic AI, as it serves as a bridge between an organization’s knowledge base and AI-powered applications, enabling more accurate, context-aware responses. AI agents form the basis of an AI query engine, where they can gather information and do work to assist human employees. An AI agent will gather information from many data sources, plan, reason and take action. AI agents can communicate with users, or they can work in the background, where human feedback and interaction will always be available. In practice, an AI query engine is a sophisticated system that efficiently processes large amounts of data, extracts and stores knowledge, and performs semantic search on that knowledge, which can be quickly retrieved and used by AI. An AI query engine processes, stores and retrieves data — connecting AI agents to insights. AI Query Engines Unlock Intelligence in Unstructured Data An enterprise’s AI query engine will have access to knowledge stored in many different formats, but being able to extract intelligence from unstructured data is one of the most significant advancements it enables. To generate insights, traditional query engines rely on structured queries and data sources, such as relational databases. Users must formulate precise queries using languages like SQL, and results are limited to predefined data formats. In contrast, AI query engines can process structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. Common unstructured data formats are PDFs, log files, images and video, and are stored on object stores, file servers and parallel file systems. AI agents communicate with users and with each other using natural language. This enables them to interpret user intent, even when it’s ambiguous, by accessing diverse data sources. These agents can deliver results in a conversational format, so that users can interpret results. This capability makes it possible to derive more insights and intelligence from any type of data — not just data that fits neatly into rows and columns. For example, companies like DataStax and NetApp are building AI data platforms that enable their customers to have an AI query engine for their next-generation applications. Key Features of AI Query Engines AI query engines possess several crucial capabilities: Diverse data handling: AI query engines can access and process various data types, including structured, semi-structured and unstructured data from multiple sources, including text, PDF, image, video and specialty data types. Scalability: AI query engines can efficiently handle petabyte-scale data, making all enterprise knowledge available to AI applications quickly. Accurate retrieval: AI query engines provide high-accuracy, high-performance embedding, vector search and reranking of knowledge from multiple sources. Continuous learning: AI query engines can store and incorporate feedback from AI-powered applications, creating an AI data flywheel in which the feedback is used to refine models and increase the effectiveness of the applications over time. Retrieval-augmented generation is a component of AI query engines. RAG uses the power of generative AI models to act as a natural language interface to data, allowing models to access and incorporate relevant information from large datasets during the response generation process. Using RAG, any business or other organization can turn its technical information, policy manuals, videos and other data into useful knowledge bases. An AI query engine can then rely on these sources to support such areas as customer relations, employee training and developer productivity. Additional information-retrieval techniques and ways to store knowledge are in research and development, so the capabilities of an AI query engine are expected to rapidly evolve. The Impact of AI Query Engines Using AI query engines, enterprises can fully harness the power of AI agents to connect their workforces to vast amounts of enterprise knowledge, improve the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated responses, process and utilize previously untapped data sources, and create data-driven AI flywheels that continuously improve their AI applications. Some examples include an AI virtual assistant that provides personalized, 24/7 customer service experiences, an AI agent for searching and summarizing video, an AI agent for analyzing software vulnerabilities or an AI research assistant. Bridging the gap between raw data and AI-powered applications, AI query engines will grow to play a crucial role in helping organizations extract value from their data. NVIDIA Blueprints can help enterprises get started connecting AI to their data. Learn more about NVIDIA Blueprints and try them in the NVIDIA API catalog. IDC, Global DataSphere Forecast, 2024.

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang kicked off CES 2025 with a 90-minute keynote that included new products to advance gaming, autonomous vehicles, robotics and agentic AI. AI is advancing at an ‘incredible pace,’ Huang told an audience of over 6,000 at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. “It started with perception AI — understanding images, Read Article

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang kicked off CES 2025 with a 90-minute keynote that included new products to advance gaming, autonomous vehicles, robotics and agentic AI. AI is advancing at an ‘incredible pace,’ Huang told an audience of over 6,000 at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. “It started with perception AI — understanding images, words and sounds. Then generative AI — creating text, images and sound,” Huang said. Now, we’re entering the era of “physical AI, AI that can proceed, reason, plan and act.” NVIDIA GPUs and platforms are at the heart of this transformation, Huang explained, enabling breakthroughs across industries, including gaming, robotics and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Key Announcements Huang’s keynote showcased how NVIDIA’s latest innovations are enabling this new era of AI, with several groundbreaking announcements, including: The just-announced NVIDIA Cosmos platform advances physical AI with new models and video data processing pipelines for robots, autonomous vehicles and vision AI. New NVIDIA Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs offer stunning visual realism and unprecedented performance boosts. AI foundation models introduced at CES for RTX PCs feature NVIDIA NIM microservices and AI Blueprints for crafting digital humans, podcasts, images and videos. The new NVIDIA Project DIGITS brings the power of NVIDIA Grace Blackwell to developer desktops in a compact package. NVIDIA is partnering with Toyota for safe next-gen vehicle development using the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX in-vehicle computer running NVIDIA DriveOS. Huang started off his talk by reflecting on NVIDIA’s three-decade journey. In 1999, NVIDIA invented the programmable GPU. Since then, modern AI has fundamentally changed how computing works, he said. “Every single layer of the technology stack has been transformed, an incredible transformation, in just 12 years.” Revolutionizing Graphics With GeForce RTX 50 Series “GeForce enabled AI to reach the masses, and now AI is coming home to GeForce,” Huang said. With that, he introduced the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, the most powerful GeForce RTX GPU so far, with 92 billion transistors and delivering 3,352 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS). “Here it is — our brand-new GeForce RTX 50 series, Blackwell architecture,” Huang said, holding the blacked-out GPU aloft and noting how it’s able to harness advanced AI to enable breakthrough graphics. “The GPU is just a beast.” “Even the mechanical design is a miracle,” Huang said, noting that the graphics card has two cooling fans. More variations in the GPU series are coming. The GeForce RTX 5090 and GeForce RTX 5080 desktop GPUs are scheduled to be available Jan. 30. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the GeForce RTX 5070 desktops are slated to be available starting in February. Laptop GPUs are expected in March. DLSS 4 introduces Multi Frame Generation, working in unison with the complete suite of DLSS technologies to boost performance by up to 8x. NVIDIA also unveiled NVIDIA Reflex 2, which can reduce PC latency by up to 75%. The latest generation of DLSS can generate three additional frames for every frame we calculate, Huang explained. “As a result, we’re able to render at incredibly high performance, because AI does a lot less computation.” RTX Neural Shaders use small neural networks to improve textures, materials and lighting in real-time gameplay. RTX Neural Faces and RTX Hair advance real-time face and hair rendering, using generative AI to animate the most realistic digital characters ever. RTX Mega Geometry increases the number of ray-traced triangles by up to 100x, providing more detail. Advancing Physical AI With Cosmos In addition to advancements in graphics, Huang introduced the NVIDIA Cosmos world foundation model platform, describing it as a game-changer for robotics and industrial AI. The next frontier of AI is physical AI, Huang explained. He likened this moment to the transformative impact of large language models on generative AI. “The ChatGPT moment for general robotics is just around the corner,” he explained. World foundation models, like large language models, are essential for advancing robots and AVs, but many developers lack the resources or expertise to train these models from scratch, Huang explained. Cosmos integrates generative models, tokenizers, and a video processing pipeline to power physical AI systems like AVs and robots. Cosmos equips AI models with advanced simulation capabilities, enabling them to predict and evaluate multiple future scenarios to select the best course of action. Cosmos models process text, image and video prompts to create detailed virtual environments tailored for robotics and AV simulations. Leading robotics and automotive companies, including 1X, Agile Robots, Agility, Figure AI, Foretellix, Fourier, Galbot, Hillbot, IntBot, Neura Robotics, Skild AI, Virtual Incision, Waabi and XPENG, along with ridesharing giant Uber, are among the first to adopt Cosmos. Cosmos is open license and available on GitHub. Empowering Developers With AI Foundation Models Beyond robotics and autonomous vehicles, NVIDIA is empowering developers and creators with AI foundation models. Huang introduced AI foundation models for RTX PCs that supercharge digital humans, content creation, productivity and development. “These AI models run in every single cloud because NVIDIA GPUs are now available in every single cloud,” Huang said. “It’s available in every single OEM, so you could literally take these models, integrate them into your software packages, create AI agents and deploy them wherever the customers want to run the software.” Accelerated by GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs These models — offered as NVIDIA NIM microservices — are accelerated by the new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. The GPUs are designed to run these models efficiently, with support for FP4 computing that boosts AI inference performance by up to 2x while reducing memory usage compared to previous-generation hardware. Huang explained the potential of new tools for creators: “We’re creating a whole bunch of blueprints that our ecosystem could take advantage of. All of this is completely open source, so you could take it and modify the blueprints.” Top PC manufacturers and system builders are launching NIM-ready RTX AI PCs with GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. “AI PCs are coming to a home near you,” Huang said. While these tools bring AI capabilities to personal computing, NVIDIA is also advancing AI-driven solutions in the automotive industry, where safety and intelligence are paramount. Innovations in Autonomous Vehicles Huang announced the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion AV platform, built on the new NVIDIA AGX Thor system-on-a-chip (SoC), designed for generative AI models and delivering advanced functional safety and autonomous driving capabilities. “The autonomous vehicle revolution is here,” Huang said. “Building autonomous vehicles, like all robots, requires three computers: NVIDIA DGX to train AI models, Omniverse to test drive and generate synthetic data, and DRIVE AGX, a supercomputer in the car.” DRIVE Hyperion, the first end-to-end AV platform, combines advanced SoCs, sensors, and safety systems into a comprehensive suite, already adopted by automotive leaders such as Mercedes-Benz, JLR and Volvo Cars. Huang highlighted the critical role of synthetic data in advancing autonomous vehicles. Real-world data is limited, so synthetic data is essential for training the autonomous vehicle data factory, he explained. NVIDIA Omniverse AI models and Cosmos to Build Detailed Driving Scenarios Using NVIDIA Omniverse AI models and Cosmos, this approach creates highly detailed driving scenarios that significantly expand and improve training datasets for autonomous vehicles. Using Omniverse and Cosmos, NVIDIA’s AI data factory can scale “hundreds of drives into billions of effective miles,” Huang said, dramatically increasing the datasets needed for safe and advanced autonomous driving. “We are going to have mountains of training data for autonomous vehicles,” he added. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will build its next-generation vehicles on the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin, running the safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS operating system, Huang said. “Just as computer graphics was revolutionized at such an incredible pace, you’re going to see the pace of AV development increasing tremendously over the next several years,” Huang said. These vehicles will offer functionally safe, advanced driving assistance capabilities. Agentic AI and Digital Manufacturing NVIDIA and its partners have launched AI Blueprints for agentic AI, including PDF-to-podcast for efficient research and video search and summarization for analyzing large quantities of video and images — enabling developers to build, test and run AI agents anywhere. AI Blueprints enable developers to create custom agents for automating enterprise workflows. This new offering integrates NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, including NIM microservices and NeMo, with leading platforms like CrewAI, Daily, LangChain, LlamaIndex and Weights & Biases. Huang also unveiled Llama Nemotron, a new tool designed to enhance the development of generative AI models for enterprise applications. Developers can use NVIDIA NIM microservices to build AI agents for tasks like customer support, fraud detection and supply chain optimization. Available as NVIDIA NIM microservices, the models can supercharge AI agents on any accelerated system. NVIDIA NIM microservices streamline video content management, boosting efficiency and audience engagement in the media industry. Moving beyond digital applications, NVIDIA’s innovations are paving the way for AI to revolutionize the physical world with robotics. “All of the enabling technologies that I’ve been talking about are going to make it possible for us in the next several years to see very rapid breakthroughs, surprising breakthroughs, in general robotics.” NVIDIA Isaac GR00T Blueprint for Synthetic Motion Generation In manufacturing, the NVIDIA Isaac GR00T Blueprint for synthetic motion generation will help developers generate exponentially large synthetic motion data to train their humanoids using imitation learning. Huang emphasized the importance of training robots efficiently, using NVIDIA Omniverse to generate millions of synthetic motions for humanoid training. The Mega blueprint powers large-scale simulations of robot fleets, enabling companies like Accenture and KION to revolutionize warehouse automation. These AI tools set the stage for NVIDIA’s latest innovation: a personal AI supercomputer called Project DIGITS. NVIDIA Unveils Project DIGITS Putting NVIDIA Grace Blackwell on every desk and at every AI developer’s fingertips, Huang unveiled NVIDIA Project DIGITS. “I have one more thing that I want to show you,” Huang said. “None of this would be possible if not for this incredible project that we started about a decade ago. Inside the company, it was called Project DIGITS — deep learning GPU intelligence training system.” Huang highlighted the legacy of NVIDIA’s AI supercomputing journey, telling the story of how in 2016 he delivered the first NVIDIA DGX system to OpenAI. “And obviously, it revolutionized artificial intelligence computing.” The new Project DIGITS takes this mission further. “Every software engineer, every engineer, every creative artist — everybody who uses computers today as a tool — will need an AI supercomputer,” Huang said. Huang revealed that Project DIGITS, powered by the GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, represents NVIDIA’s smallest yet most powerful AI supercomputer. “This is NVIDIA’s latest AI supercomputer,” Huang said, showcasing the device. “It runs the entire NVIDIA AI stack — all of NVIDIA software runs on this. DGX Cloud runs on this.” Project DIGITS, NVIDIA’s smallest and most powerful AI supercomputer, will launch in May. A Year of Breakthroughs “It’s been an incredible year,” Huang said as he wrapped up the keynote. Huang highlighted NVIDIA’s major achievements: Blackwell systems, physical AI foundation models, and breakthroughs in agentic AI and robotics. “I want to thank all of you for your partnership,” Huang said. See notice regarding software product information.

According to Gartner, the worldwide end-user spending on all IT products for 2024 was $5 trillion. This industry is built on a computing fabric of electrons, is fully software-defined, accelerated — and now generative AI-enabled. While huge, it’s a fraction of the larger physical industrial market that relies on the movement of atoms. Today’s 10 Read Article

According to Gartner, the worldwide end-user spending on all IT products for 2024 was $5 trillion. This industry is built on a computing fabric of electrons, is fully software-defined, accelerated — and now generative AI-enabled. While huge, it’s a fraction of the larger physical industrial market that relies on the movement of atoms. Today’s 10 million factories, nearly 200,000 warehouses and 40 million miles of highways form the “computing” fabric of our physical world. But that vast network of production facilities and distribution centers is still laboriously and manually designed, operated and optimized. In warehousing and distribution, operators face highly complex decision optimization problems — matrices of variables and interdependencies across human workers, robotic and agentic systems and equipment. Unlike the IT industry, the physical industrial market is still waiting for its own software-defined moment. That moment is coming. Choreographed integration of human workers, robotic and agentic systems and equipment in a facility digital twin. Image courtesy of Accenture, KION Group. NVIDIA today at CES announced “Mega,” an Omniverse Blueprint for developing, testing and optimizing physical AI and robot fleets at scale in a digital twin before deployment into real-world facilities. Advanced warehouses and factories use fleets of hundreds of autonomous mobile robots, robotic arm manipulators and humanoids working alongside people. With implementations of increasingly complex systems of sensor and robot autonomy, it requires coordinated training in simulation to optimize operations, help ensure safety and avoid disruptions. Mega offers enterprises a reference architecture of NVIDIA accelerated computing, AI, NVIDIA Isaac and NVIDIA Omniverse technologies to develop and test digital twins for testing AI-powered robot brains that drive robots, video analytics AI agents, equipment and more for handling enormous complexity and scale. The new framework brings software-defined capabilities to physical facilities, enabling continuous development, testing, optimization and deployment. Developing AI Brains With World Simulator for Autonomous Orchestration With Mega-driven digital twins, including a world simulator that coordinates all robot activities and sensor data, enterprises can continuously update facility robot brains for intelligent routes and tasks for operational efficiencies. The blueprint uses Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX APIs that enable robotics developers to render sensor data from any type of intelligent machine in the factory, simultaneously, for high-fidelity large-scale sensor simulation. This allows robots to be tested in an infinite number of scenarios within the digital twin, using synthetic data in a software-in–the-loop pipeline with NVIDIA Isaac ROS. Operational efficiency is gained with sensor simulation. Image courtesy of Accenture, KION Group. Supply chain solutions company KION Group is collaborating with Accenture and NVIDIA as the first to adopt Mega for optimizing operations in retail, consumer packaged goods, parcel services and more. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, offered a glimpse into the future of this collaboration on stage at CES, demonstrating how enterprises can navigate a complex web of decisions using the Mega Omniverse Blueprint. “At KION, we leverage AI-driven solutions as an integral part of our strategy to optimize our customers’ supply chains and increase their productivity,” said Rob Smith, CEO of KION GROUP AG. “With NVIDIA’s AI leadership and Accenture’s expertise in digital technologies, we are reinventing warehouse automation. Bringing these strong partners together, we are creating a vision for future warehouses that are part of a smart agile system, evolve with the world around them and can handle nearly any supply chain challenge.” Creating Operational Efficiencies With Mega Omniverse Blueprint Creating operational efficiencies, KION and Accenture are embracing the Mega Omniverse Blueprint to build next-generation supply chains for KION and its customers. KION can capture and digitalize a warehouse digital twin in Omniverse by using computer-aided design files, video, lidar, image and AI-generated data. KION uses the Omniverse digital twin as a virtual training and testing environment for its industrial AI’s robot brains, powered by NVIDIA Isaac, tapping into smart cameras, forklifts, robotic equipment and digital humans. Integrating the Omniverse digital twin, KION’s warehouse management software can create and assign missions for robot brains, like moving a load from one place to another. Graphical data is easily introduced into the Omniverse viewport showcasing productivity and throughput among other desired metrics. Image courtesy of Accenture, KION Group. These simulated robots can carry out tasks by perceiving and reasoning in environments, and they’re capable of planning next motions and then taking actions that are simulated in the digital twin. The robot brains perceive the results deciding the next action, and this cycle continues with Mega precisely tracking the state and position of all the assets in the digital twin. Delivering Services With Mega for Facilities Everywhere Accenture, global leader in professional services, is adopting Mega as part of its AI Refinery for Simulation and Robotics, built on NVIDIA AI and Omniverse, to help organizations use AI simulation to reinvent factory and warehouse design and ongoing operations. With the blueprint, Accenture is delivering new services — including Custom Robotics and Manufacturing Foundation Model Training and Finetuning; Intelligent Humanoid Robotics; and AI-Powered Industrial Manufacturing and Logistics Simulation and Optimization — to expand the power of physical AI and simulation to the world’s factories and warehouse operators. Now, for example, an organization can explore numerous options for their warehouse before choosing and implementing the best one. “As organizations enter the age of industrial AI, we are helping them use AI-powered simulation and autonomous robots to reinvent the process of designing new facilities and optimizing existing operations,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture. “Our collaboration with NVIDIA and KION will help our clients plan their operations in digital twins, where they can run hundreds of options and quickly select the best for current or changing market conditions, such as seasonal market demand or workforce availability. This represents a new frontier of value for our clients to achieve using technology, data and AI.” Join NVIDIA at CES. See notice regarding software product information.

Generative AI and foundation models let autonomous machines generalize beyond the operational design domains on which they’ve been trained. Using new AI techniques such as tokenization and large language and diffusion models, developers and researchers can now address longstanding hurdles to autonomy. These larger models require massive amounts of diverse data for training, fine-tuning and Read Article

Generative AI and foundation models let autonomous machines generalize beyond the operational design domains on which they’ve been trained. Using new AI techniques such as tokenization and large language and diffusion models, developers and researchers can now address longstanding hurdles to autonomy. These larger models require massive amounts of diverse data for training, fine-tuning and validation. But collecting such data — including from rare edge cases and potentially hazardous scenarios, like a pedestrian crossing in front of an autonomous vehicle (AV) at night or a human entering a welding robot work cell — can be incredibly difficult and resource-intensive. To help developers fill this gap, NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud Sensor RTX APIs enable physically accurate sensor simulation for generating datasets at scale. The application programming interfaces (APIs) are designed to support sensors commonly used for autonomy — including cameras, radar and lidar — and can integrate seamlessly into existing workflows to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles and robots of every kind. Omniverse Sensor RTX APIs are now available to select developers in early access. Organizations such as Accenture, Foretellix, MITRE and Mcity are integrating these APIs via domain-specific blueprints to provide end customers with the tools they need to deploy the next generation of industrial manufacturing robots and self-driving cars. Powering Industrial AI With Omniverse Blueprints In complex environments like factories and warehouses, robots must be orchestrated to safely and efficiently work alongside machinery and human workers. All those moving parts present a massive challenge when designing, testing or validating operations while avoiding disruptions. Mega is an Omniverse Blueprint that offers enterprises a reference architecture of NVIDIA accelerated computing, AI, NVIDIA Isaac and NVIDIA Omniverse technologies. Enterprises can use it to develop digital twins and test AI-powered robot brains that drive robots, cameras, equipment and more to handle enormous complexity and scale. Integrating Omniverse Sensor RTX, the blueprint lets robotics developers simultaneously render sensor data from any type of intelligent machine in a factory for high-fidelity, large-scale sensor simulation. With the ability to test operations and workflows in simulation, manufacturers can save considerable time and investment, and improve efficiency in entirely new ways. International supply chain solutions company KION Group and Accenture are using the Mega blueprint to build Omniverse digital twins that serve as virtual training and testing environments for industrial AI’s robot brains, tapping into data from smart cameras, forklifts, robotic equipment and digital humans. The robot brains perceive the simulated environment with physically accurate sensor data rendered by the Omniverse Sensor RTX APIs. They use this data to plan and act, with each action precisely tracked with Mega, alongside the state and position of all the assets in the digital twin. With these capabilities, developers can continuously build and test new layouts before they’re implemented in the physical world. Driving AV Development and Validation Autonomous vehicles have been under development for over a decade, but barriers in acquiring the right training and validation data and slow iteration cycles have hindered large-scale deployment. To address this need for sensor data, companies are harnessing the NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint for AV simulation, a reference workflow that enables physically accurate sensor simulation. The workflow uses Omniverse Sensor RTX APIs to render the camera, radar and lidar data necessary for AV development and validation. AV toolchain provider Foretellix has integrated the blueprint into its Foretify AV development toolchain to transform object-level simulation into physically accurate sensor simulation. The Foretify toolchain can generate any number of testing scenarios simultaneously. By adding sensor simulation capabilities to these scenarios, Foretify can now enable developers to evaluate the completeness of their AV development, as well as train and test at the levels of fidelity and scale needed to achieve large-scale and safe deployment. In addition, Foretellix will use the newly announced NVIDIA Cosmos platform to generate an even greater diversity of scenarios for verification and validation. Nuro, an autonomous driving technology provider with one of the largest level 4 deployments in the U.S., is using the Foretify toolchain to train, test and validate its self-driving vehicles before deployment. In addition, research organization MITRE is collaborating with the University of Michigan’s Mcity testing facility to build a digital AV validation framework for regulatory use, including a digital twin of Mcity’s 32-acre proving ground for autonomous vehicles. The project uses the AV simulation blueprint to render physically accurate sensor data at scale in the virtual environment, boosting training effectiveness. The future of robotics and autonomy is coming into sharp focus, thanks to the power of high-fidelity sensor simulation. Learn more about these solutions at CES by visiting Accenture at Ballroom F at the Venetian and Foretellix booth 4016 in the West Hall of Las Vegas Convention Center. Learn more about the latest in automotive and generative AI technologies by joining NVIDIA at CES. See notice regarding software product information.

The next big moment in AI is in sight — literally. Today, more than 1.5 billion enterprise level cameras deployed worldwide are generating roughly 7 trillion hours of video per year. Yet, only a fraction of it gets analyzed. It’s estimated that less than 1% of video from industrial cameras is watched live by humans, Read Article

The next big moment in AI is in sight — literally. Today, more than 1.5 billion enterprise level cameras deployed worldwide are generating roughly 7 trillion hours of video per year. Yet, only a fraction of it gets analyzed. It’s estimated that less than 1% of video from industrial cameras is watched live by humans, meaning critical operational incidents can go largely unnoticed. This comes at a high cost. For example, manufacturers are losing trillions of dollars annually to poor product quality or defects that they could’ve spotted earlier, or even predicted, by using AI agents that can perceive, analyze and help humans take action. Interactive AI agents with built-in visual perception capabilities can serve as always-on video analysts, helping factories run more efficiently, bolster worker safety, keep traffic running smoothly and even up an athlete’s game. To accelerate the creation of such agents, NVIDIA today announced early access to a new version of the NVIDIA AI Blueprint for video search and summarization. Built on top of the NVIDIA Metropolis platform — and now supercharged by NVIDIA Cosmos Nemotron vision language models (VLMs), NVIDIA Llama Nemotron large language models (LLMs) and NVIDIA NeMo Retriever — the blueprint provides developers with the tools to build and deploy AI agents that can analyze large quantities of video and image content. The blueprint integrates the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform — which includes NVIDIA NIM microservices for VLMs, LLMs and advanced AI frameworks for retrieval-augmented generation — to enable batch video processing that’s 30x faster than watching it in real time. The blueprint contains several agentic AI features — such as chain-of-thought reasoning, task planning and tool calling — that can help developers streamline the creation of powerful and diverse visual agents to solve a range of problems. AI agents with video analysis abilities can be combined with other agents with different skill sets to enable even more sophisticated agentic AI services. Enterprises have the flexibility to build and deploy their AI agents from the edge to the cloud. How Video Analyst AI Agents Can Help Industrial Businesses AI agents with visual perception and analysis skills can be fine-tuned to help businesses with industrial operations by: Increasing productivity and reducing waste: Agents can help ensure standard operating procedures are followed during complex industrial processes like product assembly. They can also be fine-tuned to carefully watch and understand nuanced actions, and the sequence in which they’re implemented. Boosting asset management efficiency through better space utilization: Agents can help optimize inventory storage in warehouses by performing 3D volume estimation and centralizing understanding across various camera streams. Improving safety through auto-generation of incident reports and summaries: Agents can process huge volumes of video and summarize it into contextually informative reports of accidents. They can also help ensure personal protective equipment compliance in factories, improving worker safety in industrial settings. Preventing accidents and production problems: AI agents can identify atypical activity to quickly mitigate operational and safety risks, whether in a warehouse, factory or airport, or at a traffic intersection or other municipal setting. Learning from the past: Agents can search through operations video archives, find relevant information from the past and use it to solve problems or create new processes. Video Analysts for Sports, Entertainment and More Another industry where video analysis AI agents stand to make a mark is sports — a $500 billion market worldwide, with hundreds of billions in projected growth over the next several years. Coaches, teams and leagues — whether professional or amateur — rely on video analytics to evaluate and enhance player performance, prioritize safety and boost fan engagement through player analytics platforms and data visualization. With visually perceptive AI agents, athletes now have unprecedented access to deeper insights and opportunities for improvement. During his CES opening keynote, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang demonstrated an AI video analytics agent that assessed the fastball pitching skills of an amateur baseball player compared with a professional’s. Using video captured from the ceremonial first pitch that Huang threw for the San Francisco Giants baseball team, the video analytics AI agent was able to suggest areas for improvement. https://blogs.nvidia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/3568870_CES25_Agentic_AI_MetropolisSection_720p_10mb.mp4 The $3 trillion media and entertainment industry is also poised to benefit from video analyst AI agents. Through the NVIDIA Media2 initiative, these agents will help drive the creation of smarter, more tailored and more impactful content that can adapt to individual viewer preferences. Worldwide Adoption and Availability Partners from around the world are integrating the blueprint for building AI agents for video analysis into their own developer workflows, including Accenture, Centific, Deloitte, EY, Infosys, Linker Vision, Pegatron, TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), Telit Cinterion and VAST. Apply for early access to the NVIDIA Blueprint for video search and summarization. See notice regarding software product information. Editor’s note: Omdia is the source for 1.5 billion enterprise-level cameras deployed.

GeForce RTX 50 Series Desktop and Laptop GPUs, unveiled today at the CES trade show, are poised to power the next era of generative and agentic AI content creation — offering new tools and capabilities for video, livestreaming, 3D and more. Built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs can run creative Read Article

GeForce RTX 50 Series Desktop and Laptop GPUs, unveiled today at the CES trade show, are poised to power the next era of generative and agentic AI content creation — offering new tools and capabilities for video, livestreaming, 3D and more. Built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs can run creative generative AI models up to 2x faster in a smaller memory footprint, compared with the previous generation. They feature ninth-generation NVIDIA encoders for advanced video editing and livestreaming, and come with NVIDIA DLSS 4 and up to 32GB of VRAM to tackle massive 3D projects. These GPUs come with various software updates, including two new AI-powered NVIDIA Broadcast effects, updates to RTX Video and RTX Remix, and NVIDIA NIM microservices — prepackaged and optimized models built to jumpstart AI content creation workflows on RTX AI PCs. Built for the Generative AI Era Generative AI can create sensational results for creators, but with models growing in both complexity and scale, generative AI can be difficult to run even on the latest hardware. The GeForce RTX 50 Series adds FP4 support to help address this issue. FP4 is a lower quantization method, similar to file compression, that decreases model sizes. Compared with FP16 — the default method that most models feature — FP4 uses less than half of the memory and 50 Series GPUs provide over 2x performance compared to the previous generation. This can be done with virtually no loss in quality with advanced quantization methods offered by NVIDIA TensorRT Model Optimizer. For example, Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1 [dev] model at FP16 requires over 23GB of VRAM, meaning it can only be supported by the GeForce RTX 4090 and professional GPUs. With FP4, FLUX.1 [dev] requires less than 10GB, so it can run locally on more GeForce RTX GPUs. With a GeForce RTX 4090 with FP16, the FLUX.1 [dev] model can generate images in 15 seconds with 30 steps. With a GeForce RTX 5090 with FP4, images can be generated in just over five seconds. A new NVIDIA AI Blueprint for 3D-guided generative AI based on FLUX.1 [dev], which will be offered as an NVIDIA NIM microservice, offers artists greater control over text-based image generation. With this blueprint, creators can use simple 3D objects — created by hand or generated with AI — and lay them out in a 3D renderer like Blender to guide AI image generation. A prepackaged workflow powered by the FLUX NIM microservice and ComfyUI can then generate high-quality images that match the 3D scene’s composition. The NVIDIA Blueprint for 3D-guided generative AI is expected to be available through GitHub using a one-click installer in February. Stability AI announced that its Stable Point Aware 3D, or SPAR3D, model will be available this month on RTX AI PCs. Thanks to RTX acceleration, the new model from Stability AI will help transform 3D design, delivering exceptional control over 3D content creation by enabling real-time editing and the ability to generate an object in less than a second from a single image. Professional-Grade Video for All GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs deliver a generational leap in NVIDIA encoders and decoders with support for the 4:2:2 pro-grade color format, multiview-HEVC (MV-HEVC) for 3D and virtual reality (VR) video, and the new AV1 Ultra High Quality mode. Most consumer cameras are confined to 4:2:0 color compression, which reduces the amount of color information. 4:2:0 is typically sufficient for video playback on browsers, but it can’t provide the color depth needed for advanced video editors to color grade videos. The 4:2:2 format provides double the color information with just a 1.3x increase in RAW file size — offering an ideal balance for video editing workflows. Decoding 4:2:2 video can be challenging due to the increased file sizes. GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs include 4:2:2 hardware support that can decode up to eight times the 4K 60 frames per second (fps) video sources per decoder, enabling smooth multi-camera video editing. The GeForce RTX 5090 GPU is equipped with three encoders and two decoders, the GeForce RTX 5080 GPU includes two encoders and two decoders, the 5070 Ti GPUs has two encoders with a single decoder, and the GeForce RTX 5070 GPU includes a single encoder and decoder. These multi-encoder and decoder setups, paired with faster GPUs, enable the GeForce RTX 5090 to export video 60% faster than the GeForce RTX 4090 and at 4x speed compared with the GeForce RTX 3090. GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs also feature the ninth-generation NVIDIA video encoder, NVENC, that offers a 5% improvement in video quality on HEVC and AV1 encoding (BD-BR), as well as a new AV1 Ultra Quality mode that achieves 5% more compression at the same quality. They also include the sixth-generation NVIDIA decoder, with 2x the decode speed for H.264 video. NVIDIA is collaborating with Adobe Premiere Pro, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, Capcut and Wondershare Filmora to integrate these technologies, starting in February. 3D video is starting to catch on thanks to the growth of VR, AR and mixed reality headsets. The new RTX 50 Series GPUs also come with support for MV-HEVC codecs to unlock such formats in the near future. Livestreaming Enhanced Livestreaming is a juggling act, where the streamer has to entertain the audience, produce a show and play a video game — all at the same time. Top streamers can afford to hire producers and moderators to share the workload, but most have to manage these responsibilities on their own and often in long shifts — until now. Streamlabs, a Logitech brand and leading provider of broadcasting software and tools for content creators, is collaborating with NVIDIA and Inworld AI to create the Streamlabs Intelligent Streaming Assistant. Streamlabs Intelligent Streaming Assistant is an AI agent that can act as a sidekick, producer and technical support. The sidekick that can join streams as a 3D avatar to answer questions, comment on gameplay or chats, or help initiate conversations during quiet periods. It can help produce streams, switching to the most relevant scenes and playing audio and video cues during interesting gameplay moments. It can even serve as an IT assistant that helps configure streams and troubleshoot issues. Streamlabs Intelligent Streaming Assistant is powered by NVIDIA ACE technologies for creating digital humans and Inworld AI, an AI framework for agentic AI experiences. The assistant will be available later this year. Millions have used the NVIDIA Broadcast app to turn offices and dorm rooms into home studios using AI-powered features that improve audio and video quality — without needing expensive, specialized equipment. Two new AI-powered beta effects are being added to the NVIDIA Broadcast app. The first, Studio Voice, enhances the sound of a user’s microphone to match that of a high-quality microphone. The other, Virtual Key Light, can relight a subject’s face to deliver even coverage as if it were well-lit by two lights. Because they harness demanding AI models, these beta features are recommended for video conferencing or non-gaming livestreams using a GeForce RTX 5080 GPU or higher. NVIDIA is working to expand these features to more GeForce RTX GPUs in future updates. The NVIDIA Broadcast upgrade also includes an updated user interface that allows users to apply more effects simultaneously, as well as improvements to the background noise removal, virtual background and eye contact effects. The updated NVIDIA Broadcast app will be available in February. Livestreamers can also benefit from NVENC — 5% BD-BR video quality improvement for HEVC and AV1 — in the latest beta of Twitch’s Enhanced Broadcast feature in OBS, and the improved AV1 encoder for streaming in Discord or YouTube. RTX Video — an AI feature that enhances video playback on popular internet browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, and locally with Video Super Resolution and HDR — is getting an update to decrease GPU usage by 30%, expanding the lineup of GeForce RTX GPUs that can run Video Super Resolution with higher quality. The RTX Video update is slated for a future NVIDIA App release. Unprecedented 3D Render Performance The GeForce RTX 5090 GPU offers 32GB of GPU memory — the largest of any GeForce RTX GPU ever, marking a 33% increase over the GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. This lets 3D artists build larger, richer worlds while using multiple applications simultaneously. Plus, new RTX 50 Series fourth-generation RT Cores can run 3D applications 40% faster. DLSS 4 debuts Multi Frame Generation to boost frame rates by using AI to generate up to three frames per rendered frame. This enables animators to smoothly navigate a scene with 4x as many frames, or render 3D content at 60 fps or more. D5 Render and Chaos Vantage, two popular professional-grade 3D apps for architects and designers, will add support for DLSS 4 in February. 3D artists have adopted generative AI to boost productivity in generating draft 3D meshes, HDRi maps or even animations to prototype a scene. At CES, Stability AI announced SPAR3D, its new 3D model that can generate 3D meshes from images in seconds with RTX acceleration. NVIDIA RTX Remix — a modding platform that lets modders capture game assets, automatically enhance materials with generative AI tools and create stunning RTX remasters with full ray tracing — supports DLSS 4, increasing graphical fidelity and frame rates to maximize realism and immersion during gameplay. RTX Remix soon plans to support Neural Radiance Cache, a neural shader that uses AI to train on live game data and estimate per-pixel accurate indirect lighting. RTX Remix creators can also expect access to RTX Skin in their mods, the first ray-traced sub-surface scattering implementation in games. With RTX Skin, RTX Remix mods expect to feature characters with new levels of realism, as light will reflect and propagate through their skin, grounding them in the worlds they inhabit. GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs will be available for purchase starting Jan. 30 — followed by GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and 5070 GPUs in February and RTX 50 Series laptops in March. All systems equipped with GeForce RTX GPUs include the NVIDIA Studio platform optimizations, with over 130 GPU-accelerated content creation apps, as well as NVIDIA Studio Drivers, tested extensively and released monthly to enhance performance and maximize stability in popular creative applications. Stay tuned for more updates on the GeForce RTX 50 Series. Learn more about how the GeForce RTX 50 Series supercharges gaming, and check out all of NVIDIA’s announcements at CES. Every month brings new creative app updates and optimizations powered by the NVIDIA Studio Follow NVIDIA Studio on Instagram, X and Facebook. Access tutorials on the Studio YouTube channel and get updates directly in your inbox by subscribing to the Studio newsletter. See notice regarding software product information.

NPR explores the latest in games and gaming culture — from the latest digital titles to what's on our tabletops.

Will GTA6 actually come out this year? Is a new Nintendo console coming? Huge games are creeping on the horizon, including a high-stakes Assassin's Creed title and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Will GTA6 actually come out this year? Is a new Nintendo console coming? Huge games are creeping on the horizon, including a high-stakes Assassin's Creed title and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. (Image credit: Rockstar Games/Ubisoft/Hazelight/Nintendo)

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: A documentary about yacht rock, Colouring's new album, the game Pentiment and an action movie about TSA.

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: A documentary about yacht rock, Colouring's new album, the game Pentiment and an action movie about TSA. (Image credit: Netflix)

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making this annual list since 2010. Big, small, inspirational, silly — what these items have in common is that they are all wonderful and brought her joy.

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making this annual list since 2010. Big, small, inspirational, silly — what these items have in common is that they are all wonderful and brought her joy.

The farming simulation game Stardew Valley came out eight years ago and became a sensation. Developers updated the game last month — making hundreds of changes and adding new content.

The farming simulation game Stardew Valley came out eight years ago and became a sensation. Developers updated the game last month — making hundreds of changes and adding new content.

The Great Circle is all Indy, no Harrison. Iconic video game actor Troy Baker discusses how he reinterpreted the role.

The Great Circle is all Indy, no Harrison. Iconic video game actor Troy Baker discusses how he reinterpreted the role.

Astro Bot, Balatro, and Metaphor: ReFantazio claimed the most trophies at The Game Awards in a night dominated by sweeps, surprising reveals and fourth-wall breaks.

Astro Bot, Balatro, and Metaphor: ReFantazio claimed the most trophies at The Game Awards in a night dominated by sweeps, surprising reveals and fourth-wall breaks. (Image credit: The Game Awards)

Co-host A Martinez and NPR gaming editor James Mastromarino discuss the nominees of this year's Game Awards and their significance in gaming culture

Co-host A Martinez and NPR gaming editor James Mastromarino discuss the nominees of this year's Game Awards and their significance in gaming culture (Image credit: The Game Awards.)

2024 was a surprising year — games from small teams rocketed up the charts, while big releases from major companies slowed. Here are our favorites from a diverse year, sortable by platform and genre.

2024 was a surprising year — games from small teams rocketed up the charts, while big releases from major companies slowed. Here are our favorites from a diverse year, sortable by platform and genre.

In an effort to address child safety concerns, digital gaming platform Roblox announced Monday that it is rolling out a major update to its safety features and parental controls.

In an effort to address child safety concerns, digital gaming platform Roblox announced Monday that it is rolling out a major update to its safety features and parental controls.

The Nintendo Music app lets you listen to dozens of hours of music from games like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong.

The Nintendo Music app lets you listen to dozens of hours of music from games like Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong. (Image credit: Dimitar Dilkoff)

Games. Culture. Criticism.

In this episode, Brad covers: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Blasphemous 2 Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania Crime Boss: Rockay City Naiad 60 Seconds: Reatomized Dragon’s Dogma 2 …And more! You can also hear the show on iTunes and Spotify! Please send feedback and mailbag questions to SoVideogamesPODCAST (at) gmail (dot) com, or post them in the comments section below. Thanks!

HIGH Tons of entertaining characters with lots to say.

LOW It's too short. I want more!

WTF Live-action puppet shows? 

Communication Is Key HIGH Tons of entertaining characters with lots to say. LOW It’s too short. I want more! WTF Live-action puppet shows? Before writing this review I tried to think of titles similar to Great God Grove, and came up with absolutely nothing. I’ve genuinely never played anything like it. Great God Grove was developed by LimboLane, and is their third title. They describe themselves as “…an inclusive and queer-run games studio founded by Day and Yugo. We love to make things that squish and bounce! Our games feature all flavors of strange and compelling characters. Folks of all types and ages are invited into our weird and wacky worlds!” It should come as no surprise, then, that Great God Grove is a quirky and character-driven game with a wacky world. I haven’t played their previous titles, Face Love and Smile For Me, but from the trailers I can see similar elements present in Great God Grove, like the art style and dialogue. My point being, they’ve had time to refine their style, and it’s paid off. The story of Great God Grove follows a tourist visiting an island, who then gets wrapped up in a conspiracy. The island has a tradition of voting an outstanding individual to become a god, and said individual rises to godhood during an event called the Festival of the Rift. Unfortunately, the latest nominee has gone missing, but not before sending nasty letters to each god who ascended before them, throwing everything into chaos. It’s up to the tourist, named Godpoke, to fix things. Gameplay-wise, it’s a linear, story driven puzzler. Every chapter had me walk around a map, and every puzzle was solved by talking to different characters and using their words on other characters. Godpoke can vacuum up specific dialogue, which is the main gimmick of Great God Grove. Each chapter started out fairly restricted, but opened up as I talked to more and more people and solved their problems. For example, in the second chapter I needed to give a baker an idea for a creative recipe. Earlier I had spoken to someone who said “…what if they had edible lipstick?”, and that was the solution. Even if I didn’t immediately know who to use the dialogue on, using the wrong dialogue on someone didn’t feel like a waste of time because they’ll have something to say about it. The vibes of GGG‘s world are on point. The first god to appear is Ms. Mitternacht, a skeletal vulture in a nun outfit. However, before she appears, her presence is felt via her tears — they cause a downpour of rain in the starting area. In this way, every section of Great God Grove showcases the gods’ influence before the player talks to them. It’s an impressive way to build each of the gods up, and it also did wonders for worldbuilding, as it shows how each god influences their area. If it wasn’t obvious, there’s a lot of reading involved. That isn’t usually my style, but I was curious about what each character would say in response to what I shot at them. However, my curiosity would mean nothing if the characters themselves weren’t interesting. Remember the part about strange and compelling characters? Great God Grove is full of them, especially the gods themselves. Everyone on the island has some quirk that makes them stand out as a character. Take the Bizzyboys, for example. They’re green monkeys that follow the God of Leadership, and are faithfully dedicated to helping the grove. They all look similar (they even use the same 2D sprite, with slight differences in the form of accessories) but I was able to tell the difference between them because of their personalities. What’s more, the connections between characters felt believable. Most of them have history with each other, and figuring out this history by being the middleman for tender moments was captivating. This kicked in, full-force, in chapter three, when two gods appear — Thespius, the god of love, and Click Clack, the god of storytelling. Usually, they work as a duo to create love stories, but their relationship has been strained. No spoilers for this situation, but using words from the story they wrote was touching. What binds the whole experience together is the art style. It’s an interesting take on 2D, comparable to something like Paper Mario — colorful, expressive, and at times abstract. However, the most distinct visuals in all of Great God Grove aren’t 2D at all, but live-action puppet shows. Each chapter has a television that can be interacted with and run episodes produced by the Bizzyboys that explain some part of the world. I was not expecting these at all, but they were a nice change of pace and each episode filled in a piece of the overall story. I was immediately hooked by Great God Grove because the mechanics of taking someone’s dialogue and using it on other characters is something I’ve never seen before, and so it fueled my curiosity. I went out of my way to see as many interactions as I could, and I’m glad I did. Everything in Great God Grove comes together to make a great (albeit short) experience that is well worth getting into. Rating: 9 out of 10 — Zack Edwards Disclosures: This game is developed by LimboLane and published by LimboLane and Fellow Traveler. It is currently available on XBX/S, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 7 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes. Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Mild Fantasy Violence. It is safe for kids. There’s no objectionable content, as far as I can see. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and/ or resized. There are no audio cues needed for successful gameplay. This game is fully accessible. Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

HIGH Correctly identifying my first spirit!

LOW Trying singleplayer mode.

WTF Why is there a full ribcage in this garage?

This House is Unclean! HIGH Correctly identifying my first spirit! LOW Trying singleplayer mode. WTF Why is there a full ribcage in this garage? The best I could hope for was to get out alive. It had all started innocently enough, with a group of friends exploring a purportedly haunted house. We brought the standard tools – EMF detectors, infrared cameras, and thermometers in case we found cold spots. Minutes were spent slowly walking from room to room, waiting for books to start flying off the shelves or for a ghostly hand to pick up a pencil and start writing in the notebook I’d left lying on a table. Then a voice on my radio started yelling that ghost activity was spiking. My partner ran for the front door, but dropped dead after just two steps. I turned and ran until I found a pile of boxes to hide behind, and remained crouched there until that same phone voice let me know that things had quieted down. Ten seconds later I had sprinted all the way to the front door, just in time to see it slam closed in my face. A moment later, ghostly fingers pushed in from the edge of my vision, grabbed me, and yanked me into the ghost dimension, where a demon butcher was waiting to torture my soul. …Which is a roundabout way of saying that in VR, Phasmophobia can be a harrowing experience. Of course, that’s exactly what one would expect (and even hope!) from a first-person co-op ghost investigating simulator. No one is playing something like this to wander around a house and find zero evidence of paranormal activity. After all, they can do that for themselves without even turning on a videogame system. What Phasmophobia offers a group of players is the certainty that in every house they enter, something strange will be going on and it will be up to them to properly record and classify it. Like most online co-op experiences, the player is expected to go back to the same locations over and over, so the key element keeping things interesting is the sheer volume of ghost types that the player can run into. A look into the in-game manual reveals dozens of different entities, each with their own idiosyncracies. Some ghosts throw things around rooms, some wander the halls, blinking in and out of visibility. The main gameplay loop is to keep track of every piece of behavior a discovered ghost demonstrates, and then use that to identify what type of ghost it may be. No ghost shows every ability, so once the player has seen objects fly around a room or found ghost scribbles in a notebook, they’ll be able to narrow things down from over thirty options to just a handful. Every new piece of evidence gained lowers the number of ghosts it could possibly be, and this in turn lets players know which technology they should focus on using next. Gameplay is slow and fiddly, but that’s actually a part of its charm. Phasmophobia is the rare experience that demands players engage with it in a very specific way to appreciate it. More than once I found myself standing rock-still, staring at a thermometer and willing it to dip below zero so that I could get the last point of confirmation I was looking for, all the while wondering if the footsteps I was hearing were my partners or a ghost creeping up behind me. It’s rare for a horror title to give me real chills, but Phasmophobia managed it over and over again. That said, Phasmophobia only really works if the player is willing to fully commit to the experience. If the player doesn’t tick off two important boxes before starting, it’s almost impossible to enjoy it. The first is the environment they play in. This isn’t something to boot up casually — it needs to be played in a dark room, at night, with no one around, while wearing headphones. It’s been suggested that the reason real-life ghost hunters only investigate creepy locations at night is that the oppressive shadows and eerie silence give the human imagination fodder to build the supernatural experiences they’re hoping to find – and whether that’s true or not, it’s absolutely what the Phasmophobia experience is built around. A player has to be willing to completely set aside their suspension of disbelief and allow themselves to be scared if they’re going to enjoy it – if they’re not going to commit, not only will they not enjoy it, it’s essentially not even a game any more. The second, and even more important requirement is that they play with a group of people equally committed to the game. While Phasmophobia can technically be played offline, it’s barely functional in singleplayer mode. Players’ inventories are limited to just a few tools but there are plenty available, so unless a group of investigators search the location together, there’s no real chance of getting any decent evidence as it’s unlikely the player will happen to be holding the correct detection equipment when they stumble upon a spooky situation, and by the time they make it to the supply truck and back, the activity will no doubt have ended or moved to another part of the house. Not only is co-op the only effective way to play the game, partners who are as frightened as the player add much to the experience. Every time I got on my radio to ask everyone to stay still so I could confirm that I was hearing a ghost walking around, I felt like something special was happening – this is a unique co-op experience, and one that rewards cooperation and mutual engagement like few I’ve encountered. The biggest obstacle facing would-be Phasmophobia players is finding enough people willing to join in the shared roleplay that it requires. But, anyone able to put together a quartet of ghost investigators who are free for couple of hours on a particularly dark night will find themselves in one of the most effective co-op horror games ever made. Rating: 8 out of 10 Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Kinetic Games. It is currently available on PC, XBS/X and PS5. Copies of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 2 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode. The game was not completed. 15 hours were spent in Multiplayer modes. Parents: This game was rated T by the ESRB, and it contains Blood, Use of Drugs, Violence. Yes, the deaths can be scary – especially in VR – but beyond that there’s nothing here that would keep even younger teens from being able to have a great time with it. Literally the most questionable thing in the game is that players can restore their sanity a little by taking a swig from what’s obviously a flask of liquor. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Sound design is integral to the Phasmophobia experience, and the key audio cues are not subtitled. This game is not accessible. Remappable Controls: No, the game’s controls are not remappable.

HIGH Charming art style and characters.

LOW Clunky controls make complicated repairs impossible to complete quickly.

WTF Why do random customers keep deciding to kill me?

Fix Ships Or Die Trying HIGH Charming art style and characters. LOW Clunky controls make complicated repairs impossible to complete quickly. WTF Why do random customers keep deciding to kill me? With the amount of roguelikes I’ve played this year, I often wonder if developers will ever run out of content to push into procedurally-generated problems. Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop proves once again that limit is nowhere close to being reached as it dares to ask the question – what if we turned a simple mechanic’s job into a life-or-death scenario? The player starts out as Wilbur, a fox/human hybrid forced into a job at Uncle Chop’s, a repair center for spaceships of all kinds, as well as being a pit stop for priests, criminals, and everyday people passing through the galaxy. It’s an incredibly detailed hub full of witty characters drawn in a simple, yet expressive 2D style. However, life at Chop’s isn’t an intergalactic easy street. Wilbur’s life is a life of servitude – the player must fix ships in less than ~8 realtime minutes, with each ship presenting a different problem for players to solve. This problem-solving is the crux of the moment-to-moment gameplay of Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop. Wake up, solve puzzles to repair ships, earn money, pay Wilbur’s R.E.N.T. payments, or else face bankruptcy and death. Yet every time Wilbur fails, he’s thrust right back into the fray like nothing ever happened, called back from the afterlife by some cruel capitalist god. Each day in Uncle Chop’s, the boss gives Wilbur a set of tasks to complete for the ships that dock at the repair shop. He start out with simple jobs like refueling a ship’s fuel tanks, adjusting oil levels, and replacing missing parts. The gameplay for each job is hands-on – the player must unscrew every bolt, manually adjust sliders and switches, and replace missing or malfunctioning parts by themselves. It’s fairly forgiving the first few times, but the skill floor soon rises to an entirely new level because once Wilbur starts projects that are outside of the typical refueling and replacing fuel cells, it’s almost impossible to get them done on the first try. Puzzling work orders like fixing a ship’s virtual reality port, changing a rebreather module by creating breathable gas on a miniature planet, or coddling a ship’s AI companion to make it feel better offer an ever-increasing level of challenge. Don’t get me wrong, these are interesting puzzles to solve, but it becomes more stressful than enjoyable after a certain point because every task Wilbur is forced to complete requires a deep understanding of how every single ship’s system works. Thankfully, there’s a manual, but using it is extremely unwieldy, with the player having to read the information and fix the problem on the fly because Wilbur can’t stop doing a job once he’s started, otherwise he’ll lose precious money that could be going towards his rent payments. Even for jobs that I thought I’d memorized, every panel left open or errant part left astray would mean pay docked from my overall compensation. All of these factors combined mean that every time I was presented with a brand new problem that I was unfamiliar with, I would either spend all of my time trying to figure it out and losing other income opportunities or fail it instantly and be set so far back that I wouldn’t be able to make my next rent payment. Of course, once I figured out the refueling, oil, and rebreather modules, I’d challenge myself to complete these jobs as fast as possible. It takes a while, but eventually overcame them, but let’s not forget that Uncle Chop‘s also offers a roguelike structure that is incredibly repetitive. I’m aware that roguelikes are repetitive by nature, but Uncle Chop’s is a different beast. When the player begins a ‘run’ in Uncle Chop’s, most things remains the same — on every second day of a run, a ship crashes into the repair zone, and Wilbur has to begin putting out the fire and changing the oil. Every third day starts with a job that requires the same four modules to fix and takes nearly the whole day to complete. Every fourth day, a meteor shower starts raining debris on the workstation, and so on. It’s the same exact cycle, over and over and over again. This repetitiveness combined with the time limits, certain missions with finicky controls, and a random chance for customers to hold Wilbur up for money at gunpoint and then kill him if you answer their questions incorrectly (yes, he can get shot by customers!) makes for an incredibly frustrating experience. In the nearly 10 hours I played, I only made it to the first boss once and was flummoxed on how to beat it. Maybe it’s a slow burn and I need more time with it, but Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is so unrelenting in its first act, it left me hanging my head in defeat. It’s a title with a lot of potential, but ultimately, the punishing, repetitive foundation it sits on isn’t enough for me to support continued playthroughs. Rating: 6 out of 10 — Jack Dunn Disclosures: This game is developed by Beard Envy and published by Kasedo Games. It is currently available on PC, Switch, XBX/S, and PS5. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on PC. Approximately 8 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes. Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M for Blood, Strong Language, and Violence. This is not a game for kids. The NPCs in this game use curse words a fair amount, and those NPCs can also kill the protagonist with guns and blades if a job isn’t completed correctly or their rent payments aren’t made on time, often with lots of blood involved. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. Dear & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. They cannot be resized. The game offers full subtitle support, but some puzzles require audio cues, like a reactor puzzle that starts beeping faster and faster the closer it gets to blowing up. This game is not fully accessible. Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

HIGH Addictive puzzle combat with lots of variant play.

LOW The writing and character art are... not great.

WTF Why isn’t turn-based mode the default?

Go With This Flow HIGH Addictive puzzle combat with lots of variant play. LOW The writing and character art are… not great. WTF Why isn’t turn-based mode the default? Like many games birthed through Kickstarter, Flowstone Saga spent a long, long time in development after its successful crowdfunding run. And like many of its Kickstarter siblings, it’s overfull, ambitious, kind of shonky, and undeniably uneven – but it’s also generous, ambitious, and engrossing. Elevator pitches are kind of gross, but using one here is the easiest avenue with which to approach the core of Flowstone — it’s an indie 16-bit style JRPG, with all the narrative and aesthetic trappings of the genre (or it at least attempts at them) but instead of traditional turn-based, menu-select combat, every battle in Flowstone saga resolves with a game of non-copyright-infringing Tetris. During battle, main character Mirai stands at the right side of the screen, and any enemies on the left. Between them lies the empty play field into which the tetromino-ish shapes are dropped, one by one. Any time an entire row of blocks is made, those blocks are removed and Mirai does damage to the targeted enemy. Clearing multiple lines at once increases the amount of damage done. This is the basic premise onto which Flowstone layers its many, many systems, festooning the puzzle battler core like it’s the last Christmas tree at the end of the world. The first one introduced is Heat, in which certain blocks that fall have golden inlays on their faces. Align three of these faces and Mirai’s Heat meter rises, which makes attacks more powerful. Mirai has a combo meter too, which works as expected, and the ability to charge up a 5×1 “Super Block” which is great for doing mondo well clears, or covering a lot of horizontal space at once. Then there’s the flask, which is kind of strange. It can be, um, stuffed with food? This food can be deployed into the well as blocks with various special effects. And then there are the enemies to consider. Enemies do not play their own, separate falling block game as they do in Puyo Puyo Tetris. Instead, they have counters beneath their health bar that tick up, and once these counters are full, they’ll either do a standard attack or start preparing for a special attack which usually throws something unpleasant into Mirai’s play field in addition to doing damage. For instance, just one instance is when a horned beetle’s special plops down shield-emblazoned blocks, and as long as these blocks remain, they give the beetle a defense boost. [Deep breath] …And then there’s gear. Like many an amnesiac JRPG protag, Mirai can equip weapons, armor, accessories, and rings. In addition to boosting her stats, these often have a special trait that activates under specific combat conditions. E.g, the Blizzard Wand does extra damage to enemies as long as their attack counter is at least 50% full. There’s also a job system in Flowstone! And a light town-building system, and resource-gathering, and block puzzles that task you with building specific shapes… Yes, Flowstone follows in the great tradition of “mechanics lasagna” JRPGs — games that groan and swaying under masses of intricate systems and maelstroms of minutiae. One could argue that this many systems is unnecessary, but then that’s missing the point. Developer Impact Gameworks laid out this buffet not because players need every last stat and system to beat the campaign, but because having all of this stuff widens the canvas, allowing for greater flexibility and player expression. One thing to note — I highly, highly recommend playing Flowstone in its optional turn-based mode. By default, the action moves in real time, so players have to juggle all of the above concerns while the enemies charge up their attacks. Setting it so that everything goes in rounds – Mirai drops a block, the enemy counters go up, full counters fire off attacks – feels so much more manageable, so much more tactical, and so much more unique. I’ve spent most of this review steeped in the mechanics because that’s where Flowstone shines. However, when it comes to narrative and aesthetics it falls down and bears no comparison with the classics it obviously aims to be like. The pixel art is competent, but the character designs are… not good. This is an issue I notice often in Western developers’ attempts at JRPG-styled games. They’re so intently trying to rise to the level of their inspirations, but in their adherence to surface-level similarities they never find their own soul, or a distinguishing spark that makes the atmospheres of the best JRPGs so ineffable. At best, Flowstone’s characters lack the stylization of Persona or the baroque melancholy of Final Fantasy. At worst they look like they were sketched out after reading a “How to Draw Japanese Manga!” guides that used to haunt middle school book fairs. The writing, is earnest but bad, suffering from a terminal case of “Creative Writing 101” syndrome. No character has an individual voice, and they all speak the same flavorless English Major-ese. Sometimes there are awkward attempts at delineation, usually in the form of a verbal tic. I particularly disliked Sihd, the mayor of Mirai’s village, who drops “big words” into his conversation in what is clearly meant to be a running gag. That said, huge plaudits go to Andrew Luers, Flowstone’s primary composer. The lush, immense, melodic OST successful captures the 16- and 32-bit magic, and the “trope tracks” – battle themes, cozy town music – can be intuitively slipped into like a favorite sweater while still remaining distinctive and memorable. So what we have with Flowstone is a big, shaggy, messy game — it’s something that stumbles from time to time, but is also crafted with obvious joy that succeeds in its suite of core mechanics, and that’s where it matters most. It’s one of the more uneven titles I’ve played this year and this is not an unqualified recommendation, but it’s memorable, charming, and worth supporting. Rating: 7.5 out of 10 — Ben Schwartz Disclosures: This game is developed by Impact Gameworks and published by Doyoyo Games. It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the game, and the game was not completed. No time was spent in the two-player assist mode. Parents: This game is not yet rated by the ESRB, although it will get one when the planned Switch port releases. All combat animations involve bits of colorful magic flying back and forth with no blood, wounds, or other displays of violence. There is no foul language in the text and the monsters are often cute rather than frightening or imposing. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes present. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized. There are no significant audio cues. This game is fully accessible. Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

HIGH The first game where checking the chamber of my gun has a skill ceiling.

LOW The “worm worm worm worm worm worm worm” scene.

WTF Five headshots and an enemy still gets back up. Really?!?

A Crime & Punishment HIGH The first game where checking the chamber of my gun has a skill ceiling. LOW The “worm worm worm worm worm worm worm” scene. WTF Five headshots and an enemy still gets back up. Really?!? The Metro post-apocalyptic series set in an irradiated, ruined Russia is a perfect fit for a VR experience – its intimate encounters, unwieldy (yet powerful) weapons, and horror-adjacent vibes all suit VR well. Plus, Metro Awakening is by the folks behind classic VR hits like Arizona Sunshine and After The Fall. When it popped up on my radar, it sounded like a dream come true! Mechanically, Awakening is a first-person shooter with stealth elements, light survival mechanics, and a emotionally compelling prequel story featuring one of the most beloved characters in the franchise, Khan. Khan is an influential, mystically-inclined veteran of the titular Metro’s many struggles. After the bombs fell during World War 3, Khan was one of the few doctors still alive. Awakening focuses on showing how he went from a rational medical professional to the spiritualist most players first met in Metro 2033. There’s a lot of potential here that doesn’t get used, but it’s undeniably intriguing as a starting premise. Sadly, instead of shedding light on events in this seminal series, I found a depressing nightmare worthy of Russian poetry. I wasn’t whisked away into the tunnels of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s beautiful apocalyptic nightmare. No, I was met with an abominable combination of the most underwhelming VR gameplay I’ve experienced in quite some time, combined with the small scope and the limited vision of a lesser spin-off title. For those who haven’t played the mainline non-VR Metro games, they offer handcrafted worlds that pride themselves on attention to detail — they’re living, breathing worlds, with environments dotted by flourishes placed there simply because the developers thought they’d be cool. Very few assets are repeated in obvious ways, ensuring cohesive verisimilitude in aesthetics, remaining novel in every area. The main titles also offer clever mechanical nuances like the bullet-based economy system that rewards stealth but grants brief moments of empowerment whenever the player is “rich” with bullets. The morality system is more complex than simply choosing to help an old lady across the street or kicking her into traffic, and there’s an inherent emphasis against violent force unless absolutely necessary. Worlds and systems like these possess the kind of depth that VR games are often still struggling to achieve. With a working blueprint to start from, Metro Awakening should’ve had most of this already solved. Unfortunately, Metro Awakening has somehow failed to learn from the lessons laid out before it. Here in VR, every combat encounter is unavoidable, and I’m often locked in claustrophobic spaces that offered, at best, an optional vent to flank enemies. The levels can be so linear that I almost feel as though I’m on rails. Combat itself is poorly implemented and enemy AI is absent, with foes often beelining straight towards me the second they were alerted. Morality? Awakening has never heard of it. Civilian areas are glorified loading screens between combat encounters. Environmental assets are clearly copy-pasted, sometimes within minutes of each other. Throughout Metro Awakening, the campaign kept trying to sell me mundane moments masquerading as intense thrills — things like random horror movie strings playing when there’s nothing to scare me besides another dead body after already seeing hundreds, or a room filled with two armed enemies — not a challenging hazard to get past. In another section, falling just a few feet (something Khan does regularly) causes enough ‘frightening’ damage to require use of a health item because someone scripted it so. These banalities could possibly be forgiven if Khan’s means of surmounting obstacles were interesting, but they’re not. Too many puzzles grind down to flipping switches in a particular order after using his handcrank flashlight charger, and it takes over two hours before the player is offered anything other than a handgun and AK-47, and the later additions to their arsenal are far from exciting. Meanwhile, the most reliable stealth option is punching enemies in the back of the head, which works most of the time, unless an enemy somehow becomes punch-proof and immediately starts shooting back with laser precision. Then I found I couldn’t move bodies, further undercutting the stealth. It’s as though years of genre refinements were either cut or went unaccounted for. Not content to be mechanically disappointing, Awakening‘s script falls equally flat. For a series known for its poetic, moving storytelling, this narrative is incredibly boring. In a post-Half-Life: Alyx world, how do developers repeat obvious mistakes like forcing players to listen to exposition while locked in a room with nothing to do for several minutes at a time while someone just talks? This is a mistake the mainline Metro games tried to avoid, often by having players travel to a location while talking. Further, there are unskippable cutscenes where camera control is completely taken away from the player, sometimes going so far as to show the camera drifting out of Khan’s head, as if he’s having an out of body experience. It’s disorienting, to say the least, even for someone with a fair amount of VR experience like me, and anyone with a weak stomach should bear this in mind. There was also a recurring issue with subtitles oddly lagging and resetting my camera’s position, forcing me to shut them off entirely for smoother performance. There’s simply no heart in Awakening. It’s a sad experience when looking back, and the biggest praise I have is that each gun makes it easy to check if ammo is already chambered, with the risk of popping out a spare round if not handled delicately. If every element of Metro Awakening were on par with the reloading, it’d be one of the best VR games of the year. Instead, I struggle to imagine who this experience is for. I’m a longtime fan, and after spending time with it, all I have is a list of complaints about how the previous Metro style has been sanded down to nothing. I can only imagine new players being lost on its lore while finding gameplay that comes off like a blander version of every other shooter on the market. It’s not even a technical or graphical showcase. Instead, it feels like a product. The Metro series is an incredible, harrowing journey with moving ruminations on the human condition. Metro Awakening is… not. Final Score: 4 out of 10 Disclosures: This game is developed by Vertigo Games and published by Deep Silver. It is currently available on PC VR, Meta Quest and PSVR 2. This copy of Metro Awakening was provided via publisher and reviewed on Meta Quest 3. Approximately 5 hours were dedicated to the single-player campaign, and it was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes. Parents: This game is Rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, and Use of Drugs and Alcohol. This one is not for the kids — both because of how likely they are to feel their stomachs turn, and because of the dark nature of the Metro universe. Graphic depictions of violence, lots of swearing, horrific monsters, and even a story beat involving human traffickers are all factors to consider. There’s also a substantial amount of leaning on arachnophobia in later sections. Colorblind modes: There are no colorblind modes available. This could be a problem with the stealth meter displayed on Khan’s watch, which dims in color when he isn’t visible to enemies. There are also very bright splashes and flashes of red when taking damage, and some strobe light effects. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are multiple subtitle configuration options for several languages, including the optional feature to enable an indicator of which character is speaking. Barring the glitches mentioned above with the subtitles, it’s a reasonable experience to play without sound. However, since there are audio cues which do not have visual indicators, I have to say that it’s not fully accessible. Remappable controls: This game offers partially remappable controls. Players can swap dominant hands and adjust certain movement options, like automating climbing ladders, instant teleport jumping/falling, and select from multiple types of turning. There is no ability to alter the turn rate speed, which is oddly high and may further jar players.

In this impromptu episode, Brad takes it easy before getting the show back up to speed by covering Bloomtown: A Different Story and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. You can also hear the show on iTunes and Spotify! Please send feedback and mailbag questions to SoVideogamesPODCAST (at) gmail (dot) com, or post them in the comments section below. Thanks!

HIGH Unique setting and tone. Charming aesthetics.

LOW Lackluster quests and NPC interactions. Frustrating combat and farming mechanics.

WTF Not having a grid for interior design is a huge blindspot for a cozy game.

A Farming Fantasy Not Ready For Harvest HIGH Unique setting and tone. Charming aesthetics. LOW Lackluster quests and NPC interactions. Frustrating combat and farming mechanics. WTF Not having a grid for interior design is a huge blindspot for a cozy game. Mirthwood is a new farming sim/sandbox RPG from Bad Ridge Games in collaboration with V Publishing. At first glance, it would appear to be nothing more than medieval Stardew Valley, but that’s neither wholly accurate nor a fair thing to say, even if that might have been what the developers were going for. In many ways, it follows the formula established by its predecessors — the player starts by creating a character who then travels to a faraway place where they receive the deed to a remote homestead to do with as they will — but it differs in setting and overall tone. Everything looks as if it were pulled straight out of some Eyvind Earle concept art, between its storybook-like character models and layered forest scenes that seem like setpieces on a stage, allowing the player to be swept off to their very own farming fantasy. The adventure opens with a brief cinematic before launching into a prologue where the player will learn the basics of movement and interact with NPCs before a horde of bandits descends upon their family home. At this point they learn the basics of combat, fighting their way to the nearest ship bound for the Free Lands. As one might expect from a title that is a farming sim first and a RPG second, the combat is basic — there’s a light attack, a heavy attack and the ability to block or sidestep. It resembles fencing in that the player must be lined up with their enemy in order to attack or evade, which wouldn’t be a problem if the game was entirely 2D. However, because it’s isometric, such limitations make combat frustrating as the engine will sometimes lock the player into attacking in a certain direction even after the enemy has changed position. Once the player arrives in the Free Lands, they can set their own pace as they develop their homestead, harvest crops, chop wood, forage for plants and mushrooms, explore the surrounding environs, aid NPCs and find their footing in pastoral medieval life — warts and all. Once at their homestead proper, the player will be greeted by a mysterious plague doctor who says the player can do whatever they wish with the property. I started with the first items of business — gathering the resources needed to restore the dilapidated cottage and planting seeds for what would become the garden. I used my starter axe to chop down enough wood to replace the worn-down floorboards and my basic pickax split enough rock to replace the crumbling walls which instantly turned what was a dirty hovel into a cozy cabin. Just as one would do in something like Animal Crossing, I started adding decor that I had crafted, like a cooking pot, chest and wardrobe to make it feel homey, but I was disappointed to find that there was no grid to help guide my interior design ideas, and no ability to change viewing angles or use anything except for the very back for wall decor. When I finally made my way into town, a host of NPCs flooded the screen, greeting me as I passed by. These greetings opened up multi-path dialogue chains with options such as romance, gossip, joke, etc. While there were plenty of people to interact with, nearly all of them left me wanting as they lacked any semblance of depth or nuance, which are key components for any farming sim/RPG worth its salt. Meeting back up with the enigmatic plague doctor was little better — the quests he offered me were underwhelming, amounting to glorified fetch quests. However, there was one side quest that I was invested in — investigating what happened to the Medville family meadery outside of town. Arriving on the scene, I fended off attacking bandits and poked around the ruins, finding a few letters written by the owner, Duncan Medville, who described a tragic chain of events that led to the fall of the meadery in harrowing detail. The second part of fulfilling this side quest was to venture across the continent to track down the owner’s surviving wife and deliver the news of her husband’s passing. Rather than receiving a weapon or armor set as one might in a typical RPG, however, she gave me a lucky rabbit’s foot which merely buffed the efficacy of other equipped items — the equivalent of going through all that and getting a t-shirt emblazoned with “I traveled all the way across the Free Lands and all I got was this shitty rabbit’s foot.” From that point on, I became all too aware of the feeling that I was wasting my time in Mirthwood, which in my mind, is the mark of an experience that is mediocre at best. Ultimately, I see a lot of unrealized potential here. Blending cozy gameplay with dark subject matter, Mirthwood offers an experience that is pleasantly familiar, yet distinct enough to stand out from other games of its ilk. That said, it’s not an experience that appeals to me in its current state. Once some changes are made to the combat mechanics and NPC dialogue, perhaps I’ll want to return to the Free Lands and finally see my crops bear fruit. Rating: 6 out of 10 Disclosures: This game was developed by Bad Ridge Games and published by V Publishing. It is currently available on PC. It was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 5.5 hours were devoted to the campaign mode. The game was not finished. There is no multiplayer mode. Parents: This game is not yet rated by the ESRB but there is some blood and violence. The player will frequently encounter enemies in the wilderness who will attack them, as well as commit acts of violence against other NPCs. They will have to fight to survive and make decisions about whether or not NPCs should be executed. Thus, the game will likely be rated T. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game features dialogue presented in text format. Incoming threats are indicated by exclamation points flashing above attacking enemies and there are no sounds that affect gameplay. This title is fully accessible. Remappable controls: The controls cannot be remapped.

HIGH Absolutely dominating bosses with a genocide gun.

LOW No unlocks for beating the highest difficulty? Shameful.

WTF Wait, are we playing Space Invaders?

Look Out, The Earth is Exploding Again! HIGH Absolutely dominating bosses with a genocide gun. LOW No unlocks for beating the highest difficulty? Shameful. WTF Wait, are we playing Space Invaders? It’s a good time to be a fan of Earth Defense Force. This third-person shooter franchise has offered players a chance to throw down with hordes of giant insects and killer robots for over two decades, including two very different titles released this year. First came Earth Defense Force 6, a time travel romp that was (perhaps) the largest third-person shooter ever made, and now comes World Brothers 2, a zany comedy shooter that brings back every enemy that’s ever been in the series and throws them all at the player — which is exactly what the first World Brothers did a few years back, but if there’s one thing the EDF series has proven time and again, it’s that more of a good thing can be a great thing. World Brothers 2 is again developed by Yuke’s, the team responsible for the underwhelming Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain. Their attempt at a more grounded and plot-driven EDF was a mixed bag, and World Brothers was as different from that as one could imagine while remaining in the same genre. Suddenly players had gone from slogging through ultra-realistic, post-apocalyptic hellscapes to bouncing around colorful voxel-based maps, rescuing comrades and blasting enemies into tiny cubes. It didn’t have the narrative heft of Iron Rain, but no one expected anything more than cute combat, and that’s exactly what they got. In Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2, it finally feels like the developer has found the right mix of elements from these previous spinoffs — all of the adorably violent gameplay is still there, but they’ve managed to weave in the storytelling that drove Iron Rain, offering a deeper and more impactful narrative to motivate players through the hundred-plus levels it offers. While it may seem a little strange to single out an EDF story for praise, WB2 earns its accolades by offering a narrative packed with entertaining characters, innovative threats, and genuinely thrilling action setpieces. I won’t spoil late-game revelations, but this is an EDF with a message, and one that manages to be authentically touching in the last few missions. I don’t know if that’s something I’d ever anticipated or asked for, but I’m glad they managed to pull it off. The action is, as ever, flawless. Just like in World Brothers 1, the player controls four members of a squad, switching between them at will – unless they’re playing online co-op, when they can only swap to computer-controlled characters – and race through compact levels, blasting away at enemy hordes. There are dozens of characters to unlock, each one armed with a unique weapon drawn from the franchise’s history, as well as a movement ability tailored to WB2‘s frenetic pace. Where EDF heroes are realistically slow human soldiers methodically plodding their way through battle scenarios far beyond their scale, WB heroes are demigods who freely bound over buildings, sprinting into and out of danger as enemies swarm around them. World Brothers‘ gameplay structure feels completely different than the main series. It’s built around encouraging the player to test out every possible combination of powers, and making the whole experience far more accessible to single players than the main series does. By letting the player build any squad they like and ensuring that missions are just a few minutes long, the developers create an atmosphere where there are no wrong answers, just brief setbacks. Happy with the squad but discover that loads of flying enemies appear halfway through a mission? No problem, just drop out the menu, swap out a melee character for one with homing missiles, and get back into the action in just a few seconds. Like one character’s weapon but prefer another’s super technique? No issue there, just leveling characters up adds the ability to use weapons from different classes. When first unlocked, a character may only be able to use assault rifles – but with each gained level, they unlock use of another weapon class. At level eight, any character will be able to use any weapon in the game. Boxer with a sniper rifle? Why not! Air support character with a laser sword? Worth a try! WB2 is so dedicated to accessibility that there’s even exclusive weapons based on map type – some characters have a super move based on calling in an air strike, which logically can’t happen while in a cave or underground base. Bring an airstrike character to one of those maps and the game gives them a replacement super – a hugely powerful missile that can take out whole crowds of enemies at once. The only priority here is putting as few obstacles as possible between the player and having a good time, and WB2 succeeds at it. By discarding all of their attempts at being the ‘serious, mature’ version of EDF while maintaining their passion for storytelling, Yuke’s has created something truly special in World Brothers 2. It’s a game that embraces the absurdly over-the-top nature of the franchise while offering a story that increases the player’s emotional investment — something that the main series, with its apocalyptic stakes and angry space gods, has never managed to accomplish. Does that necessarily make it the best in the series? I don’t know if I’d go that far – but I can say that it’s the most player-friendly by far, and a perfect jumping-on point for anyone curious about gaming’s most epic action. Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Disclosures: This game is developed by Yuke’s and published by D3. It is currently available on PS4/5, Switch, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 45 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. 5 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes. Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Violence. It’s weirdly-coloured insect blood. I think the kids will be fine. Seriously, this is the rare intense action game that almost feels like an all-ages kind of thing. Except for the scariness of giant spiders, of course. Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are no audio cues that will affect gameplay, and all dialogue is subtitled. Subtitles cannot be resized. All you’ll be missing out on is incidental character dialogue during missions. The game is fully accessible. Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

As editor of GameCritics.com and the host of the So Videogames Podcast — and also as a person who just generally loves videogames — I strive to sample as much of the industry as I can.

As editor of GameCritics.com and the host of the So Videogames Podcast — and also as a person who just generally loves videogames — I strive to sample as much of the industry as I can. What’s the new hotness? What’s the current design trend? What’s everyone talking about? I’m also always on the lookout for hidden gems or indies that fly under the radar, so it basically means that I try a ton of titles every year! For anyone who’s curious what 12 months of plays looks like for me, here it is in the exact order that I played them. There are no notes (except if I rolled credits — that’s mentioned in bold) but you can hear my thoughts on nearly everything on the podcast. Also, if you’re curious what my top 10 were after playing all of these, you can catch me counting them down on SVG episode 420. Total Played: 256 Total Finished: 22 1 – Lies of P, XBX – FINISHED 2 – Marvel Puzzle Quest, Android 3 – Marvel Snap, Android 4 – Rough Justice ’84, PS5 5 – War Hospital, PS5 6 – Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, PS5 7 – Vampire Saviors (DLC), XBX 8 – There is No Light, PS5 9 – Prince of Persia: the Lost Crown, PS5 10 – Frostpunk: The Last Autumn, XBX – FINISHED 11 – LEGO Fortnite, PS5 12 – Cobalt Core, Switch 13 – The Cub, PS5 14 – Bahnsen Knights, XBX – FINISHED 15 – Lil Guardsman, Switch 16 – Rising Lords, XBX 17 – Highwater, Android 18 – Turret Rampage, Switch 19 – Mortal Kombat 1, PS5 – FINISHED 20 – Super Box Delivery, PS5 21 – The Czech Run, PS5 22 – Steampunk Voyage, PS5 23 – Frog Detective, PS5 24 – Roadwarden, PC 25 – Dark Light, PS5 26 – Helldivers 2, PS5 27 – The Office: Somehow We Manage, Android 28 – Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, PS5 29 – Birth, Switch 30 – The Nom, Switch 31 – Beauties Unveiled, Switch 32 – The Pale Beyond, PC 33 – Ultros, PS5 34 – Outcast: A New Beginning (demo), PS5 35 – Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions, XBX 36 – Smalland, PS5 37 – Balatro, PS5 38 – Hawked, PS5 39 – Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge, Android 40 – Sanabi, Switch 41 – Suika Game, Switch 42 – Unicorn Overlord (demo), Switch 43 – Classified: France ’44, PS5 – FINISHED 44 – Pepper Grinder (demo), Switch 45 – Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!, Switch 46 – King Arthur: Knight’s Tale, XBX 47 – Yohane: The Parhelion (demo), Switch 48 – Trash Punk, Switch 49 – Penny’s Big Breakaway, PS5 50 – Regency Solitaire, Switch 51 – Welcome to Paradize, PS5 52 – Abriss: Build to Destroy, PS5 53 – Tamarak Trail, PS5 54 – Tron: RUN/r, PS5 55 – Torn Away, PS5 56 – Space Extractor, Switch 57 – Fortnite, PS5 58 – Outcast: A New Beginning, PS5 59 – Stolen Realm, XBX 60 – The Tales of Bayun, Switch 61 – Highwater, PS5 62 – Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters, PS5 – FINISHED 63 – Passing By: A Tailwind Adventure, Switch 64 – Unables, PS5 65 – Dungeon Drafters, Switch 66 – Empty Shell, Switch 67 – Sand Land (demo), PS5 68 – Stellar Blade (demo), PS5 69 – Alone in the Dark: Grace (demo), PS5 70 – OTXO, PS5 71 – Gord, PS5 72 – A Void Hope, Switch 73 – Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, Android 74 – Storyblocks: The King, Switch 75 – 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Switch 76 – Stacklands, Switch 77 – Broken Roads, PS5 78 – Spaceland, Switch – FINISHED 79 – Hero’s Hour, Switch 80 – Pepper Grinder, Switch 81 – The Kindeman Remedy, PS5 82 – Death Trick: Double Blind, Switch 83 – Stitch, Switch 84 – Reigns: Beyond, Switch 85 – Hellstuck: Rage With Your Friends, Switch 86 – Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, XBX – FINISHED 87 – Traumatorium, Switch 88 – No Umbrellas Allowed, Switch 89 – Into the Breach, Switch – FINISHED 90 – Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, PS5 91 – Ruff Ghanor, XBX 92 – Another Crab’s Treasure, XBX 93 – Sand Land, PS5 94 – Library of Ruina, PS5 95 – Surmount, Switch 96 – Sucker for Love 2: Date to Die For, PC 97 – Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade, Android 98 – Outer Terror, PS5 99 – The Foretold: Exordium, PC 100 – The Foretold: Westmark Legacy, PC 101 – Warhammer 40,000: Horus Heresy Legions, Android 102 – Insurmountable, XBX 103 – Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, Switch (delisted) 104 – The Land Beneath Us, PS5 105 – Gordian Quest, PS5 106 – Indika, PS5 107 – Rise of the Ronin, PS5 108 – Flaskoman, PS5 109 – Slay the Princess, PC 110 – Bad North, Switch 111 – Crown Wars: the Black Prince, PS5 112 – Soul Link, Switch 113 – 1000xResist, Switch 114 – Savage Age, Switch 115 – Capes, PS5 – FINISHED 116 – Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, PC 117 – Hauntii, XBX 118 – Dig or Die: Console Edition, XBX 119 – Warhammer Quest, PS5 120 – Nuclear Blaze, PS5 – FINISHED 121 – Brawlhalla, PS5 122 – V Rising, PS5 123 – Alone in the Dark, PS5 124 – Glyphs of Gitzan, Switch 125 – Paper Trail, PS5 126 – Moonstone Island, Switch 127 – Wartales, XBX 128 – Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, XBX 129 – Frogue, Switch 130 – Space Crew: Legendary Edition, Switch 131 – Rusted Moss, XBX 132 – ArcRunner, XBX 133 – Fireside, Switch 134 – Racine, Switch 135 – The First Descendant, PS5 136 – Bomber Crew, Switch – FINISHED 137 – Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, PS5 (DEMO) 138 – The Riftbreaker, PS5 139 – Loretta, Switch 140 – Mouse & Crane, Switch 141 – Robin Hood: Sherwood Builders, XBX 142 – Summoning Solitaire, PC 143 – DROS, Switch 144 – Princess Maker 2: Regeneration, Switch 145 – Prune & Milo, Switch 146 – Darkest Dungeon II, PS5 147 – SteamWorld Heist 2, PS5 148 – Tavern Talk, Switch 149 – Conscript, PS5 150 – Flock, PS5 151 – Stardew Valley, Switch 152 – Bomber Crew: USAF (DLC), Switch 153 – Dungeons of Hinterberg, XBX – FINISHED 154 – TimeMelters, PS5 155 – Flintlock: Siege of Dawn, XBX 156 – Mudrunner: Expeditions, PS5 157 – Deathbound (demo), PS5 158 – Arranger, Switch 159 – Picross S3, Switch 160 – Punch Club 2: Fast Forward 161 – The Lullaby of Life, XBX 162 – Aero the Acro-Bat, PS5 163 – Mists of Noyah, PS5 164 – Grow Up, PS5 165 – Thank Goodness You’re Here, PS5 166 – Deathbound, PS5 – FINISHED 167 – Mars 2120, PS5 168 – Arco, Switch 169 – Overboss, PS5 170 – Kiborg Arena (demo), PS5 171 – Phantom Spark, XBX 172 – Neo Harbor Rescue Squad (demo), PS5 173 – Star Wars: Outlaws, PS5 174 – Kamikaze Lassplanes, PC 175 – Helldivers, PS5 176 – Vampire Therapist, PC 177 – Verne: the Shape of Fantasy, Switch 178 – No-One Has to Die, PC – FINISHED 179 – Star Trucker, XBX 180 – Peglin, Switch 191 – Space Marine II, PS5 192 – Caravan SandWitch, PS5 – FINISHED 193 – Evotinction, PS5 194 – Akimbot, PS5 195 – Keylocker, XBX 196 – Project Tower (demo), PS5 197 – Melobot: A Last Song, PS5 198 – Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles, Switch 199 – Last War, Android 200 – Mark of the Deep (demo), PS5 201 – Die Again (demo), PS5 202 – Closer the Distance, PS5 203 – Metaphor: ReFantazio (demo), PS5 204 – The Plucky Squire, XBX 205 – Metro Quester: Osaka, XBX 206 – Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, XBX – FINISHED 207 – Bloodless, Switch 208 – Necro Story, Switch 209 – Besiege, XBX 210 – Nano Apostle, Switch 211 – Neva, XBX 212 – Europa, Switch – FINISHED 213 – Shogun Showdown, Switch 214 – Faith: The Unholy Trinity, Switch 215 – The Night is Grey, PC 216 – Metaphor: ReFantazio, XBX 217 – Stilt Fella, PS5 218 – Wildermyth, PS5 219 – Rogue Sentry, PS5 220 – Metal Slug Tactics, PS5 221 – Kong: Survivor Instinct, PS5 222 – 63 Days, PS5 223 – Slavicpunk: Oldtimer, PS5 224 – Kill Knight, PS5 225 – Empire of the Ants, PS5 226 – Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot, PS5 227 – Hardcoded, PC 228 – Redacted, PS5 229 – Fear the Spotlight, PS5 230 – Ved, PS5 231 – Athenian Rhapsody (demo), Switch 232 – Dungeons of Dreadrock: the Dead King’s Secret, Switch 233 – Loco Motive, Switch 234 – Wild Bastards, PS5 – FINISHED 235 – Miniatures, Switch 236 – Keeper’s Toll, Switch – FINISHED 237 – Mindcop, PS5 238 – Infinity Nikki, PS5 239 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, XBX 240 – The Thaumaturge, PS5 241 – Void Bastards, PS5 242 – Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, XBX 243 – Doorkickers, Switch 244 – Hades, Switch – FINISHED 245 – Dungeon Limbus, Switch 246 – Defend the Rook, Switch 247 – Exorder, Switch 248 – Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice, PS5 – FINISHED 249 – Universe For Sale, Switch 250 – Flint: Treasure of Oblivion, PS5 251- Beyond Galaxyland, PS5 252 – Venture to the Vile, PS5 253 – Pine: A Story of Loss, Switch 254 – Between Horizons, PS5 255 – Songs of Silence, XBX 256 – Unicorn Overlord, XBX

Fixes, Tutorials and Guides for Games

Minecraft is a popular sandbox video game enjoyed by millions worldwide, but it seems like Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a is giving headaches to a wide range number of fans. If you are facing this error, don’t worry; this guide will walk you through some proven methods to fix it and get you back to […]

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Minecraft is a popular sandbox video game enjoyed by millions worldwide, but it seems like Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a is giving headaches to a wide range number of fans. If you are facing this error, don’t worry; this guide will walk you through some proven methods to fix it and get you back to your block-building adventures. What is Minecraft error code 0x87e5003a? When encountering the Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a, users are often met with a pop-up error message indicating that the game failed to start, accompanied by the error code. This particular error code emerges and presents the gamer with the following message: “This game is already running. If you just quit the game, it should be ready to launch again in a moment”. While this could potentially be a passing glitch, more often than not, this generally indicates that the ability to partake in the game will remain unavailable even following a waiting period. How can I fix Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a? Check the live status Force closing the game Use an old Minecraft Launcher Reinstall Minecraft 1. Check the live status Open a web browser on your device. In the search bar, type Minecraft server status or a similar query and press Enter. From the search results, select a reliable website or service that offers real-time or updated information about Minecraft server status. Popular options include Minecraft Server Status or Mojang Status. On the chosen website, you may need to enter the server address (IP address or domain) you want to check. Click on the Check or Submit button to initiate the server status check. The website will then provide you with details about the server’s current status, whether it’s online, offline, or experiencing any issues. Review the information presented on the website to understand the current status of the Minecraft server. It might also display additional details about server performance and any ongoing incidents. If you want to cross-reference the information, you can also check official Minecraft community forums, social media accounts, or other community-driven platforms for updates on server status. 2. Force closing the game Time needed: 2 minutes It seems like forcing closing any active related instances is one of the best solutions to get rid of our today’s issue. Use the following keyboard shortcut: Windows + X Choose Task Manager. Make sure you’re in the Processes tab. Search for Minecraft or Minecraft Launcher, then select it, and click on the End task button. Restart your PC or console and check if you managed to get rid of the Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a. 3. Use an old Minecraft Launcher If the error persists on your display, you might consider utilizing the previous version of the Minecraft launcher. If you lack familiarity with this option, you can access the Minecraft alternatives to acquire comprehensive details, along with discovering alternative Minecraft launchers. 4. Reinstall Minecraft Hit the Windows key, then type Control Panel, and open the first result. Under the Programs section, choose to Uninstall a program. Locate and click on Minecraft in the list of installed apps, then click on the Uninstall button, just as we show you with the LoL example in the picture below. Follow the on-screen prompts to remove Minecraft from your system. After uninstalling, open the Microsoft Store and search for Minecraft. Click on the Install button to download and install Minecraft again. Once the installation is complete, launch the game to see if the error is resolved. Related articles: Minecraft Won’t Update: How to Force it to Update Properly Minecraft Packet Loss: How To Fix & Avoid It For Good Minecraft Error Code Creeper: Fix It Effortlessly Minecraft Error 403: How To Fix It Using Quick Solutions Minecraft Exception_Access_Violation 0xc0000005: How To Fix By following the methods mentioned in this guide, you should now be able to fix the Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a. Now, you can dive back into the fascinating world of Minecraft and enjoy your adventures without any hindrance. Happy gaming! In case you encounter any additional questions, feel free to leave a comment in the dedicated section below. The post Minecraft Launcher Error Code 0x87e5003a: Try These Fixes appeared first on Games Errors.

Fortnite has captivated millions of players with its exciting gameplay and vibrant world. However, encountering errors, like Fortnite Error code 0, can be frustrating and disrupt your gaming experience. It seems like this error is pretty popular among worldwide users, so have no fear! There are plenty of solutions to fix it without effort. In […]

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Fortnite has captivated millions of players with its exciting gameplay and vibrant world. However, encountering errors, like Fortnite Error code 0, can be frustrating and disrupt your gaming experience. It seems like this error is pretty popular among worldwide users, so have no fear! There are plenty of solutions to fix it without effort. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through various troubleshooting steps to help you fix Error 0 and get back to the Battle Royale action. How can I fix the Fortnite error code 0? Before getting into our main solutions, we recommend trying these fast fixes: Check your system specifications to see if it is meeting at least the minimum requirements to run the game. Because this error might occur due to missing or corrupted files, you should verify the integrity of game files in Epic Games Launcher. Now, in case you didn’t manage to solve the problem, move to the following solutions: Check the game server status Update the game Reset network settings Temporarily disable your antivirus software or any unnecessary apps 1. Check the game server status Navigate to the official Epic Games status website and check if the Fortnite status is Operational. You can also try to visit the official Fortnite social media channels and search for any notifications pertaining to server downtime or scheduled maintenance. If there’s a server issue, you may need to wait until it’s resolved. In the meantime, you can follow Fortnite’s social media for updates. 2. Update the game Open your Epic Games Launcher client. From the bottom left window pane, choose Settings. Go to the Manage Games section, then ensure to checkmark the box next to the Allow Auto-Updates option. Expand the menu for Fortnite, then make sure it has its Auto-update box checked. 3. Reset network settings Time needed: 3 minutes Resetting your network settings seems to be one of the most efficient solutions to fix Fortnite error code 0. Use the following keyboard shortcut to open Windows Settings: Windows + I. From the left window pane, click on the Network & Internet option. Then, look at the right side of the window and choose Advanced network settings. Now, navigate to Network reset. Once you reach the new window, click on the Reset now button. In the pop-up window, confirm the process by clicking on Yes. Wait a bit, then restart your PC. 4. Temporarily disable your antivirus software or any unnecessary apps Simultaneously press these keys: Windows + X. Select Task Manager from the pop-up menu. Make sure you’re in the Processes tab. Select each app/program you don’t necessarily need, then choose to End task. The error code 0 in Fortnite could refer to a variety of issues, such as problems with game files, network connectivity, or other technical glitches. Some users might suggest disabling antivirus software as a way to rule out the possibility that the antivirus is interfering with the game’s functionality. Related articles: How to Make Fortnite Run Better on PC: 7 Expert Tips to Try Fortnite This Client is Not Compatible: Why & How to Fix Fortnite Successfully Logged Out: Fix It in 3 Minutes Fortnite Unexpected Error Occured on Xbox: How to Fix Fortnite Update Stuck at 100% Xbox One [Easy Fix] Fortnite Error code 0 can be a minor setback, but with the troubleshooting steps provided in this guide, you should be able to fix the issue and jump back into the action-packed world of Fortnite. The below comment section is dedicated to you, so make sure you use it in case of having any other related questions or curiosities. The post Fortnite Error Code 0: Fix It Now appeared first on Games Errors.

Fortnite is a highly popular and addictive online battle royale game played by millions of players worldwide, but the 0xc0000005 error seems to sometimes generate headaches among fans. Like any other software, it can encounter various errors and issues that disrupt the gaming experience. The 0xc0000005 error is one of the most common occurrences for […]

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Fortnite is a highly popular and addictive online battle royale game played by millions of players worldwide, but the 0xc0000005 error seems to sometimes generate headaches among fans. Like any other software, it can encounter various errors and issues that disrupt the gaming experience. The 0xc0000005 error is one of the most common occurrences for some players. If you’re facing this error while trying to play Fortnite, don’t worry! This guide will walk you through several troubleshooting steps to help you resolve the issue and get back into the game. What is error code 0xc0000005 in games? Error code 0xc0000005 is a common Windows error that can occur when running various applications, including games. This error is officially known as the Access Violation error and indicates that an application attempted to access a memory address that it was not allowed to access. In simpler terms, it means that a program tried to read or write to a memory location that it doesn’t have permission to use, resulting in a crash or termination of the application. There are several reasons why this error can occur in games: Corrupted Game Files: If some game files are corrupt or missing, the game may try to access an invalid memory location, triggering the 0xc0000005 error. Outdated or Incompatible Drivers: Graphics drivers, audio drivers, or other hardware drivers that are outdated or incompatible with the game can lead to memory access issues. Faulty RAM: Problems with your computer’s RAM (Random Access Memory) can cause memory access violations in games, resulting in the error code 0xc0000005. Third-Party Software Interference: Certain third-party software, such as antivirus programs or system optimizers, may interfere with the game’s memory allocation and cause access violation errors. Compatibility Issues: Some games may not be fully compatible with certain versions of Windows or specific hardware configurations, leading to access violation errors. How can I fix the error code 0xc0000005 in Fortnite? Before going deeper into the main solutions, we suggest first ensuring these quick steps: Check if your system meets at least the minimum requirements to run Fortnite. Verify the game files on Epic Games Launcher, by using our expert guide. Now, if none of the above options worked, let’s discover some additional solutions you can try to get rid of the Fortnite 0xc0000005 Error. Update your drivers Run an SFC scan Scan PC with Windows Defender Disable third-party software 1. Update your drivers Time needed: 5 minutes Simultaneously hit the Windows and X keys, then choose Device Manager from the shown menu. Now, look for the Disk drivers section, then double-click on it. Once the section is expanded, right-click on the needed component, then choose to Update driver. Now, choose to Search automatically for drivers (Just as we show you in the example below). Wait until the process is completed, then check if our today’s issue is gone. 2. Run an SFC scan Hit the Windows key, type cmd, then choose to Run as administrator. In the opened window, type the following code, then press Enter: SFC/scannow Because the process might take a while, we recommend being patient until it is completed. 3. Scan the PC with Windows Defender Navigate to Windows Settings by using this keyboard shortcut: Windows + I. Go to Privacy & Security, then to Windows Security. Choose Virus & threat protection. Scroll down until you see the Current Threats option, then choose to perform a Quick Scan. You can also go for Scan options. There, you’ll find multiple alternatives from which you can choose. Initiate the scanning process. After completion, restart your system and follow additional instructions for virus removal in case any is detected. Then, run Fortnite and check if you’ve managed to get rid of the 0xc0000005 error. 4. Disable third-party software Open Task Manager by pressing simultaneously the following keys on your keyboard: Ctrl + Shift + Esc. There, make sure you’re in the Processes tab. Then, look for any app or program you don’t necessarily need or use while running Fortnite, and choose to End Task. Related articles: How to Make Fortnite Run Better on PC: 7 Expert Tips to Try Fortnite Successfully Logged Out: Fix It in 3 Minutes Fortnite This Client is Not Compatible: Why & How to Fix Fortnite Unexpected Error Occured on Xbox: How to Fix Encountering the Fortnite 0xc0000005 Error can be frustrating, but armed with the right troubleshooting steps, you can swiftly overcome this hurdle and get back to the exhilarating world of Fortnite. In case of facing any additional questions, feel free to use the comment section listed below. The post Fortnite 0xc0000005 Error: Try These Fixes appeared first on Games Errors.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) is a cornerstone of the CoD franchise, offering intense multiplayer action and a gripping campaign. However, the gaming experience can sometimes be ruined by various errors, one of which is the notorious Dev Error 12502. This technical problem can stop players in their tracks, leaving many to wonder […]

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) is a cornerstone of the CoD franchise, offering intense multiplayer action and a gripping campaign. However, the gaming experience can sometimes be ruined by various errors, one of which is the notorious Dev Error 12502. This technical problem can stop players in their tracks, leaving many to wonder about its nature and, more importantly, how to fix it. In this guide, we’ll explore what Dev Error 12502 is and provide you with reliable methods to get you back into the action as swiftly as possible. What is Dev Error 12502 in MW3? Dev Error 12502 is a common issue that players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might encounter. This error generally signifies a problem related to the game’s files or settings that prevents it from running smoothly. It can be triggered by a variety of factors, including corrupted game files, outdated graphics drivers, or incorrect game settings. How Can I Fix MW3 Dev Error 12502? To resolve Dev Error 12502 and restore your gaming experience, consider the following preliminary solutions: Run the game as an administrator Close unnecessary background tasks Repair the game files Table of contents 1. Update the game 2. Adjust Your System’s Paging File Size 3. Disable Game Overlays 1. Update the game Updating your game is a crucial step in resolving MW3 Dev Error 12502, as developers often release patches to fix bugs and improve game performance. Here’s how you can ensure that Modern Warfare 3 is up to date: Open Your Game Launcher: Begin by launching the platform you use to play MW3, such as Steam, Battle.net, or your console’s home screen. These platforms typically manage game updates automatically. Navigate to Your Game Library: In your game launcher, locate your library or list of owned games. Here, you’ll find Modern Warfare 3 among your collection. Check for Updates: Highlight Modern Warfare 3 and look for any prompts or options indicating an available update. Launchers like Steam and Battle.net display update statuses directly on the game’s library entry. For consoles, selecting the game usually prompts an update check. Initiate the Update Process: If an update is available, you’ll typically see an “Update” button or similar. Click or select this to start downloading the update. On consoles, updates may start automatically upon selecting the game or may require you to confirm the update. Wait for the Update to Complete: Download and installation times will vary based on the update’s size and your internet connection speed. Ensure the process completes without interruption. On PC, avoid using other bandwidth-intensive applications to speed up the download. Launch the Game: After the update is installed, open MW3 to check if Dev Error 12502 has been resolved. Updated game versions often include fixes for common errors and might resolve your issue directly. Keeping MW3 and your game launcher updated ensures you have the latest content and fixes. If automatic updates are disabled in your launcher, consider enabling them to automatically receive these improvements in the future. 2. Adjust Your System’s Paging File Size Adjusting your system’s paging file size can be an effective way to fix MW3 Dev Error 12502, especially if the error is related to insufficient system memory. Follow these detailed steps to adjust your paging file size for Windows: Press Windows Key + R: This will open the Run dialog box. In the box, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter. This command opens the System Properties window. Navigate to Advanced System Settings: Once the System Properties window is open, click on the “Advanced” tab. Here, you’ll find performance, user profiles, and startup and recovery options. Access Performance Settings: Under the Performance section, click on “Settings” to open the Performance Options window. This window allows you to adjust various settings related to your computer’s performance. Modify Virtual Memory: In the Performance Options window, switch to the “Advanced” tab, and then click on “Change” under the Virtual memory section. Virtual memory is where your computer supplements its physical RAM by temporarily storing data on the hard drive. Adjust Paging File Size: By default, the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” option is selected. Uncheck this box to manually adjust the paging file size. Then, select the drive where your game is installed (typically the C: drive). Set Custom Size: After selecting the drive, choose the “Custom size” option. Here, you will input the initial size (MB) and maximum size (MB) for your paging file. It’s recommended to set the initial size to the amount of RAM your system has and the maximum size to double the amount of RAM. However, these values can vary based on your system’s specifications and the requirements of the game. Apply and Set: After entering your custom sizes, click on “Set” and then “OK” to apply the changes. You may be prompted to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Restart Your Computer: Save any open files and close all applications, then restart your computer. This will ensure that the changes to the virtual memory settings are properly applied. Launch the Game: Once your computer has restarted, try launching MW3 again to see if the Dev Error 12502 has been resolved. Adjusting the paging file size can help accommodate games that require a lot of memory, like MW3, especially if you’re running several applications simultaneously or have limited RAM. If you’re unsure about the best settings for your system, it’s a good idea to consult Windows’ recommendations in the Virtual Memory window or seek advice from a knowledgeable source to avoid system instability. 3. Disable Game Overlays Disabling game overlays can significantly improve game performance and potentially resolve MW3 Dev Error 12502. Many gaming applications provide overlays that offer convenient features like FPS counters, instant messaging, and live streaming, but they can also cause conflicts or use valuable resources. Here’s how to disable the most common game overlays: For Nvidia GeForce Experience: Launch Nvidia GeForce Experience: Open the GeForce Experience application on your computer. Access the Settings: Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner to go to the settings. Disable In-Game Overlay: Find the “In-Game Overlay” option and toggle it off. This will disable the overlay that GeForce Experience provides in games. For Discord: Open Discord: Start the Discord app on your PC. Go to User Settings: Click on the cog icon near your username at the bottom left to access settings. Navigate to Overlay Settings: Select “Overlay” in the App Settings section. Toggle Off the Overlay: Ensure the “Enable in-game overlay” option is toggled off to disable Discord’s game overlay. For Steam: Open Steam: Launch the Steam client. Access Settings: Click on “Steam” in the upper left corner, then “Settings”. Find the In-Game Settings: Go to the “In-Game” tab in the settings menu. Disable the Steam Overlay: Uncheck the box labeled “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game”. For Xbox Game Bar (Windows 10/11): Open Settings: Press the Windows key and type “Settings”, then press Enter. Navigate to Gaming: Click on “Gaming” to access the game bar settings. Go to Xbox Game Bar: Select “Xbox Game Bar” from the side menu. Toggle Off: Ensure the “Enable Xbox Game Bar for things like recording game clips, chatting with friends, and receiving game invites” is set to Off. For AMD Radeon Software: Launch AMD Radeon Software: Open the software through your desktop or search function. Access the Settings: Look for the gear icon or a similar settings menu. Disable Overlay: Find the overlay option and toggle it off to disable AMD’s overlay feature. After disabling these overlays, restart your game to see if Dev Error 12502 persists. Turning off these features can not only solve compatibility issues but also free up resources for a smoother gaming experience. If you’re not using a particular overlay feature, keeping it disabled during gameplay is generally a good practice. Conclusion Tackling Dev Error 12502 in Modern Warfare 3 feels a bit like detective work, doesn’t it? You’ve got your list of potential problems—outdated game versions, mischievous system settings, those sneaky overlays—and it’s all about patiently ruling them out one by one. The key is to keep calm and troubleshoot on, starting with the basics like ensuring your game is up to date, then maybe diving into the more techy stuff like tweaking your virtual memory settings if needed. And, if you ever feel lost, remember that Activision’s official support is like the detective’s handbook, always there to guide you with the latest insights. By methodically following these steps, you’re not just trying to fix an error; you’re ensuring your gaming setup is as robust as can be, ready for uninterrupted action. Here’s to smoother gaming ahead! The post How to Fix Dev Error 12502 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 appeared first on Games Errors.

The Call of Duty series has been a staple of the first-person shooter genre, offering players intense combat scenarios and a rich, narrative-driven experience. However, like any complex games, it’s not immune to technical problems. One such issue that has been a thorn in players’ sides is the MW3 Dev Error 5433, especially within the […]

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The Call of Duty series has been a staple of the first-person shooter genre, offering players intense combat scenarios and a rich, narrative-driven experience. However, like any complex games, it’s not immune to technical problems. One such issue that has been a thorn in players’ sides is the MW3 Dev Error 5433, especially within the game’s zombie mode.. This error can abruptly halt your gaming session, leaving you searching for solutions. What is Dev error 5433 in Modern Warfare 3? Dev Error 5433 in Modern Warfare 3 typically indicates an issue within the game’s system that prevents it from operating correctly. Such errors usually relate to problems with game files, graphics settings, system configurations, or compatibility issues with hardware or drivers. How to fix Dev error 5433? To fix Dev Error 5433, try disconnecting and then reconnecting your internet connection. This quick fix has helped some users, although it may not be a long-term solution. Additionally, run the game as an administrator and remove unnecessary background tasks. Table of contents 1. Verify the game files 2. Update the game 3. Update Windows & Drivers 4. Set Game Priority to High 5. Optimize your internet connection 1. Verify the game files Corrupted game files are a common cause of MW3 Dev Error 5433. Regularly checking the integrity of your game files can help prevent this issue. Here’s a simplified process: Open your game launcher and locate the executable file for MW3. Right-click on the file and choose “Properties.” Navigate to the “Local Files” tab within the Properties window. Select the option to “Verify the integrity of game files.” Allow the launcher to check and repair any corrupted files. Restart your game after the verification process to see if the error has been resolved. This method ensures your game files are intact and can often clear up errors related to file corruption. 2. Update the game Ensuring your game is up to date is another key strategy in resolving MW3 Dev Error 5433. Game developers frequently release updates that fix bugs and errors. Follow these steps to update the game: Open the game launcher (like Steam, Battle.net, or the console’s home screen). Navigate to Modern Warfare 3 in your game library. Look for any available updates. If there’s an update option, select it to initiate the update process. Wait for the update to download and install, which may take some time, depending on the size of the update and your internet speed. Once the update is complete, launch the game to see if the error persists. Keeping the game updated ensures you have the latest fixes and game improvements, potentially resolving the Dev Error 5433 and enhancing your gaming experience. 3. Update Windows & Drivers Keeping your operating system and drivers up-to-date is crucial for fixing MW3 Dev Error 5433. Updates often include patches for software bugs that could be causing the error. Here’s how to go about it: Update Windows: Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and click on “Check for updates.” Install any available updates and restart your computer. Update Drivers: Specifically, your graphics card drivers should be kept up to date. You can do this by visiting the manufacturer’s website (e.g., NVIDIA, AMD, Intel) and downloading the latest driver for your model. Alternatively, you can use the device manager in Windows to check for driver updates. These updates can enhance system compatibility and performance, potentially resolving the Dev Error 5433 in MW3. 4. Set Game Priority to High Adjusting the game’s priority to high in your system’s task manager can potentially resolve MW3 Dev Error 5433 by allocating more system resources to the game. Here’s a simplified guide: Launch Modern Warfare 3. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager. Go to the “Details” tab, find the game process (it might be listed as ModernWarfare3.exe or something similar). Right-click on the game process, hover over “Set priority,” and then select “High.” This action tells your computer to prioritize MW3’s operations over less critical processes running in the background, which could smooth out performance issues and mitigate the dev error. 5. Optimize your internet connection Optimizing your internet connection can play a critical role in preventing MW3 Dev Error 5433, especially in online play where a stable connection is vital. Here’s how to ensure your internet is in the best shape for gaming: Wired Connection: If possible, use a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi. Ethernet connections are generally more stable and offer faster speeds. Restart Your Router: Simply turning your router off for a minute and then back on can refresh your connection and improve stability. Limit Bandwidth Usage: Ensure no other devices are using the network for bandwidth-heavy tasks like streaming or downloading large files while you play. Update Router Firmware: Check your router’s manufacturer website for firmware updates that can improve performance and security. Adjust Game’s Bandwidth Settings: Some games allow you to limit how much bandwidth they use. Lowering these settings can make your connection more stable. Use a Gaming VPN: A VPN designed for gaming can sometimes reduce ping and packet loss by routing your traffic more efficiently than your ISP. Contact Your ISP: If you consistently have connection issues, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be able to help optimize your connection or troubleshoot problems on their end. By following these steps, you’re not just addressing Dev Error 5433 but also enhancing your overall online gaming experience. Fixing Dev Error 5433 on PS5 Restart Your PS5: Sometimes, a simple restart can clear temporary glitches causing the error. Check for Game Updates: Ensure MW3 and your PS5 system software are up to date. Go to the game on your dashboard, press the options button, and select ‘Check for Update.’ Rebuild Database: Boot your PS5 in Safe Mode and select the ‘Rebuild Database’ option. This can fix issues without deleting your data. Reinstall the Game: If the error persists, try uninstalling and then reinstalling MW3. This can resolve corrupted game data issues. Improve Internet Connection: Use a wired connection if possible and restart your router to ensure a stable online experience. Adjust PS5 Settings: Some users find that tweaking network settings or restoring default settings in the PS5 can help. These steps target the common causes of Dev Error 5433 on PS5, focusing on system and game software health, as well as network stability. Conclusion Navigating through the annoyance of Dev Error 5433, whether on PS5 or PC, requires a mix of system checks, game updates, and internet optimization. Each suggested solution targets a potential root cause, from software glitches and outdated files to unstable network connections. Implementing these fixes not only aims to resolve the specific error but also enhances the overall gaming experience by ensuring your system and network are optimized for performance. Remember, persistence is key; if one solution doesn’t work, move on to the next until you find the right fix for your situation. Happy gaming, and may your sessions be error-free! The post MW3 Dev Error 5433: How To Fix It Easily appeared first on Games Errors.

Many believe that Gaming and Esports industry has taken a hard hit as the offices reopened after COVID-19, and the downfall of this industry has begun. While we can say this about just the Esports industry, the Gaming industry is still booming, and if you are wondering how big it is, you can have a […]

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Many believe that Gaming and Esports industry has taken a hard hit as the offices reopened after COVID-19, and the downfall of this industry has begun. While we can say this about just the Esports industry, the Gaming industry is still booming, and if you are wondering how big it is, you can have a look at the comparison between the revenue generated by the Movie Industry, which is widely considered as the wealthiest entertainment sector vs. Gaming Industry. Gaming vs. Movie Industry Revenue: Which Is Bigger? Gaming vs. Movie Industry Revenue Comparison. (Image via S-GAME/Universal Pictures) As per the report by SuperData Research, the Gaming Industry was valued at $159.3 billion in 2020; however, on the other side, the Movie Industry was worth $19.1 billion, which makes the Gaming Industry around eight times bigger than the Movie Industry. Moving forward in 2022, even though the global games market took a small hit of -5.1%, as per Newzoo, it was still the second biggest entertainment industry after the TV industry as it was worth $182.9 billion and once again surpassed the revenue generated by the Movie and Music Industry combined. Global Games Market Revenue in 2022. (Image via Newzoo) Some of the highest-selling video games include Animal Crossing, GTA 5, Minecraft, Call of Duty, and more; however, mobile games had the highest percentage of revenue (around 50% in 2022, as per Newzoo) among all. The reason behind this is the portability of mobile devices and their affordability compared to other gaming devices available out there. There are a bunch of other factors that contribute to the success of the Gaming Industry in comparison to the Movie Industry. One of the biggest factors is the immersive and attractive experience games offer. Unlike watching movies, playing video games will let you control your character in the game and experience the stories as you like, making it a more immersive experience than just consuming content through eyes and ears. Apart from this, it’s a social platform that will connect players from around the world and let them make friends across countries which is not possible in movies. Even in 2023, Activision Blizzard’s Diablo 4 made over $666 Million in just five days after its launch that became their fastest-selling game till date, while on the other hand, Modern Warfare 2 grossed $1 billion in 10 days after it got released, giving us an idea on how well the industry is performing. Global Games Market Revenue Forecast till 2025. (Image via Newzoo) Not only this but as per Newzoo’s report, the Gaming Industry will be worth $206.4 billion by 2025. Thus, it is safe to say that the Gaming Industry massively dominates the Movie Industry and is only projected to grow in the coming years. Related articles: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: What is Different? Japanese Games VS Western Games: Understanding the Key Differences Diablo 4 Monetization: Microtransactions Discovered by Fans Diablo 4 Release: 5 Most Irritating Issues You May Encounter The post Gaming vs. Movie Industry Revenue: Striking Revenue Gap Revealed appeared first on Games Errors.

Apex Legends vs Fortnite. Which one is more popular and better? This question can arise in your mind. But, without proper analysis, it’s not possible to answer. Both of these games are known for their amazing multiplayer experience. But that’s not the complete story. We have looked far deeper than you can imagine and found […]

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Apex Legends vs Fortnite. Which one is more popular and better? This question can arise in your mind. But, without proper analysis, it’s not possible to answer. Both of these games are known for their amazing multiplayer experience. But that’s not the complete story. We have looked far deeper than you can imagine and found many surprising facts. In this analytical article, you will learn about fantastic stats, facts, and graphics that will satisfy your curiosity. Note: We’re excited to share an excellent article comparing Apex Legends and Fortnite. Our dedicated writer spent an incredible 10 hours crafting this outstanding research piece. The extensive research and knowledge poured into this exceptional article will captivate you. Apex Legends vs. Fortnite: A complete overview of Popularity Before we dive deeper, we should have some idea about the nature of these two games: System requirements Both of these games have apparent system requirements that give us a clear idea about the optimization level of these titles. Here are the system requirements for Apex Legends: Processor: Core i3 6th Gen/AMD FX-4350 or Better RAM: 6GB Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640/Radeon HD 7730 Disk Space: 22 GB+ Operating System: Windows 7 or higher After knowing the required specifications, you can see that a PC with basic hardware can run Apex Legends without any problem. Even the obsolete Windows 7 OS is also compatible. Though we don’t know for how long Windows 7 support will exist. Looking at Fortnite, we can see that this game is also compatible with PCs with basic hardware. Here are the system requirements for Fortnite: Processor: Core i3 3rd Gen RAM: 8GB Graphics Card: Intel HD 4000 on PC/AMD Radeon Vega 8 Disk Space: Not specified, but maybe around 40 GB Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit or Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6 Unlike Apex Legends, Fortnite doesn’t run on Windows 7. Also, it needs more disk space. But AL needs at least 6th gen Intel core i3 processor, whereas Fortnite can be played using the older i3 3rd gen processor. In fact, gamers can play both of these titles on very basic computers with minimum GPU power. Gameplay Mechanics Although both of these titles have many similarities, some key differences have made them unique from each other. Apex Legends is a First-Person shooter game, while Fortnite is Third-Person. This characteristic has created many more contrasts, particularly in the shooting, movement, and overall game mechanics. Fortnite has a built-in defense against enemy shootings. But, in the AL, the player needs to be more skillful to protect themself from enemy shooters. The movement mechanics in Fortnite is very basic. You can easily move and play. However, in Apex Legends, a gamer must be an expert and do more to move and fight. Both of these titles with cross-platform play capacity. Also, these two are getting regular updates which improve the stability and add new features to the game. Now, at this point, AL and Fortnite are not the same compared to the time when these were released. Total number of gamers Currently, Apex Legends have a total of approximately 136 million registered accounts and 114,580,698+ active players. On the other hand, Fortnite holds an estimated around 550 million registered accounts and 234,546,282+ active gamers. We have tagged a gamer active if he/she has played the game within the last 30 days. We may not get the whole story after seeing the active players. So, we have made some very specific statistics that represent the changes in the number of total players over the years in different ways. Source: ActivePlayer.IO, EsportsDriven Total number of registered gamers over the last 4 years: Here are the data of total registered player accounts in Million since 2019: Year Apex Legends Fortnite 2019 70 250 2020 90 350 2021 100 390 2022 130 450 2023 136 550 For your convenience, we have featured a graph that gives you a clear view of the total number of players in millions on both Apex Legends and Fortnite. The number in the above graph represents the total number of registered players in both games. This statistic may not be 100% accurate as no precise data is available on the official sources. So, based on the many unofficial sources and our analysis, we have estimated these numbers. The latest data is not precisely available on any recognizable forums or sources. So, we have made our estimation for 2023’s data in some cases. Source: reuters.com, Business of Apps, Statista The number of active gamers changes every month: In the following graph, you can see the number of active players over the years in every month. It shows the trend of the popularity of Fortnite and Apex Legends. The above graph is clearly showing that Apex Legends is slowly gaining popularity. On the other hand, Fortnite is losing its place even though it’s still the most popular battle royal game and far ahead of AL. However, to understand the scene from an even closer position, you should look at the other factors featured in the next parts of this post. Peak players by year: We may see different data if we look at the number of players who are active in the peak hour. Year Apex Legends Fortnite 2020 13,093,785 191,302,008 2021 67,563,911 338,845,462 2022 99,458,463 312,730,506 2023 17,333,097 71,906,471 The following smooth line graph shows the trend of active peak players over the last three years. However, we can exclude the 2023 part, as it’s the middle of the year. The above statistic clearly shows that if we exclude 2023, the number of active peak players of Apex Legends’ is increasing. But the opposite is happening for Fortnite. This information is based on the data available on ActivePlayer.IO. We have used data till April 2023. Average time spent by players: There is no exact data available about the average time spent by players on both of these games. However, according to various unofficial sources, on average, for both Apex Legends and Fortnite, gamers spent a few hours a week on these games. In Fortnite, most of the active players spend 6-10 hours a week; on Apex Legends, it’s around 7 or 8 hours. Platform preferences: Both Fortnite and Apex Legends are available on mobile, PC, and console. If we look at Fortnite, we can see that 69% of players play it on Console, which includes both Xbox and PlayStation. The PS is the most popular platform for this title, with around 40% of gamers. 46% of the players play on smartphones, and 28% play on PC. This percentage seems wrong to you. It is because some players play this title on both PC and Console or even all of these three platforms. Apex Legends’ player count per device has not yet been released by any official or unofficial channel. So, we are unable to give you an insight. Geographical distribution for Apex Legends and Fortnite: Undoubtedly, these two games are very popular around the world. In the USA, Apex Legends has 38.92% of its total number of players; for Fortnite, it’s 21.63%. We have also collected the percentage of other mentionable countries as well. Based on it, we can easily find an estimated number of gamers playing these titles in specific countries. And we did it. After calculation, we have found the following data Country Apex Legends Fortnite USA 44M 51M UK 8.2M 12.1M Russia 6.7M 18M Brazil 6.3M 13M For your convenience, we have made the following graph. It will help to understand the popularity of these two games in the countries mentioned in the above table: We can see that both of these games are very popular in the USA. Apex’s user count is particularly closer to Fortnite in this country. So, we don’t know if Fortnite can hold its position in the United States of America in the upcoming years or not. Demographical distribution for Apex Legends and Fortnite: 62.7% of Fortnite players are young. They belong to the 18-24 years age group. The 25-34 years age group’s percentage is 22.5, and the 35-44 is 12.7. On the other hand, Apex Legends doesn’t have this many statistics available. However, according to various sources, most of the players are below 18. The 18-34 age group has a significant number of players. The Apex Legends also don’t have any clear statistics on player count based on gender. But, it is indeed a male dominant FPS multiplayer where a significant number of gamers are also female. In Fortnite, 72.4% are male players, and 27.6% are female. Source: Exploding Topics Number of tournaments and prize pools for Apex Legends and Fortnite Each year, gamers attend tournaments for both Apex Legends and Fortnite. Some of these events are official. Here are some interesting stats and graphs about these events: The total number of tournaments: According to the Esports Charts, both Apex and Fortnite had many official and unofficial tournaments. The following tables show the number of tournaments for these two games from 2019 to 2022. Year Fortnite Apex Legends 2019 58 28 2020 109 155 2021 54 268 2022 72 293 2023 7 73 The above table shows that the number of Apex Legends tournaments is increasing each year. Even as of May 2023, this game has more tournaments held compared to Fortnite. In the following column chart, we have excluded the data from 2023. It will help to compare the number of the tournament for these two games over the last few years. Source of information: Esports Chart’s Apex Legends and Fortnite page. Prize Pool: Apex Legends vs Fortnite: If we look at the total prize pool per year for these two popular multiplayer games, we find the following data: Year Apex Legends Fortnite 2019 $2.1M $51.9M 2020 $6.6M $5.24M 2021 $5.3M $5.75M 2022 $1.71M $12.62M 2023 $2.27M $0.5M We can see that the tournament prize pool is very attractive for these two games. Fortnite is ahead. But Apex Legends’ ones are also impressive. The above data is based on the information found on Esports Chart. There may be errors as no precise information is available now. Revenue and Profit Margins: Since the release of Apex Legends, EA has made over 2 billion USD revenue from this game. Fortnite is much ahead. It’s making several billion a year. Here is the list of revenue in billion for these two popular battle royal games per year: Year Apex Legends Fortnite 2019-2020 0.4 5.1 2020-2021 0.6 5.8 2021-2022 1 6 The following scatter chart will help to understand the increasing trend in terms of revenue: For this statistic, we have used information from Thcsngogiatu.edu.vn, Demand Sage, Epic Games, and Statista. We have excluded the year 2023 as no complete data is available for this year yet. There is no clear information about the profit for these two titles. However, It’s hard to determine which one is more successful in increasing revenue. According to The Verge, Fortnite made $9 billion in revenue in its first two years, which is much higher than Apex’s 2 Billion in the first three years. During that period, Battle Royal games experienced a sudden spike in popularity which is also a factor. Most popular skin and character Two of these Battle Royal games have a wide range of choices when it’s skin and characters. If we look at the Apex Legends, Pathfinder, Octane, Wraith, Bangalore, Bloodhound, and Ballistic, are the most picked characters. On the other hand, if we look at Fortnite, The Foundation, Jonesy, The Visitor, Leviathan, Midas, The Reaper Fortnite Skin, Drift, etc., are very popular. Source: Dexerto, SportsKeeda, Fiction Horizon. Most viewed and streamed content If we look at the most viewed content for Fortnite, we find Travis Scott and Fortnite Present: Astronomical (Full Event Video) as the most watched content on any platform. It has gained 204 Million views. On Twitch, Fortnite Esports (0.372M views) and Kid jerks off in the Fortnite arena (0.86M views), getting the highest views. For Apex Legends, 【悲報】釈迦、漏らす – Twitch (1.99M views), LOVE_FuryXD Dies!?! (0.46M views); these are the two most popular Twitch content. If we compare the top 3 most watched videos on Twitch related to these two battle royale games, we can see the following data: Rank Fortnite Apex Legends 1 863,669 1,984,064 2 372,305 459,372 3 351,263 331,306 For your convenience, here is the graphical representation: To get an even better idea, we can have a look at the following graph based on the average views in thousand on Twitch: The above graph shows how the average monthly view counts have changed over the last three years. We can see that since January 2020, Apex Legends’ content has gotten more average views than Fortnite. Source: twitchmetrics.net and buzzrank.io, TwitchTracker Average Time-to-Kill (TTK) and Time-to-Survive (TTS) Determining the average TTK and TTS for these two games is tricky, as these depend on several factors. For Apex Legends, killing a player with 200 HP health takes 2.7 seconds on average and 2.4 seconds for 175 HP. For Fortnite, no such information is available right now. If we look at the Time-to-Survive data on Apex Legends, it may vary from player to player. Generally, a player’s survival time can be from a few seconds to several minutes. Fortnite is from a few to 20+ minutes, depending on many things. Factors that work behind the Popularity Apex Legends: We will find some interesting facts behind the scene of Apex Legends’ popularity. These are: Surprise release and announcement: Apex Legends was launched suddenly and surprised everyone. At that time, Fortnite and some other battle royal games were going through prime time. Apex Legends was a new addition with many unique and different features. That attracted young gamers. As a result, it gained a large player base within a few weeks of its release. Influencer partnerships: EA has partnered with many influencers and streamers for Apex Legends. This battle royal game was a very attractive choice for their many followers. Free-to-play model: Since Apex Legends was launched as a free-to-play game, anyone could test this title. Therefore, this title got a considerable player base within a short time. Other factors: Else, active social media presence, developer responsiveness to the players’ feedback, in-game rewards, and the amazing gameplay mechanisms developed by Respawn Entertainment hugely contributed to Apex Legends’ popularity. Fortnite: Like Apex Legends, Fortnite also got the advantage of being a free-to-play game. Apart from this, the following factors also have a significant role in its popularity: Early access and beta testing: The Fortnite beta was released before releasing the full version. That created hype among battle-royale lovers. Celebrity endorsements: To gain more player base, Epic Games have made deals with several mentionable celebrities like DJ Marshmello, Keanu Charles, Travis Scott, and many other people. Often we saw that gamers were playing Fortnite with celebrity skins and faces. In-game events and collaborations: Fortnite held many in-game events and collaborated with many popular franchises, including Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, etc., to bring their skins, themes, and characters into the game. Community Engagement: Epic Games’ engagement with the Fortnite community effectively increased player engagement. Cross-platform: One of the coolest things is Fortnite is available on multiple platforms, and gamers can have a cross-play facility, which also has increased its popularity. Else, cultural impact and social media integration, in-game challenges, community-created content, etc., have made a huge impact on Fortnite’s popularity. Fortnite has made a huge contribution to the increasing battle royal game in the industry. Apex Legends is not too far. While Epic Games is still enjoying the benefits of owning the most popular battle royal title even in 2023, EA is making its strategy to make its title more attractive and unique. We may see many interesting changes in the upcoming years when we compare Apex Legends vs Fortnite. But, the truth is Fortnite is still the most played and popular battle royal title in the industry. The post Apex Legends vs. Fortnite: Assessing Popularity in 2023 appeared first on Games Errors.

Packet loss severely impacts Counter Strike 2 and its players globally. Experiencing high ping and packet loss while playing CS2 can lead to frustrating delays and lagging. Aware of this problem, I made this guide to show you how to fix CS 2 Packet Loss. Unfortunately, I dealt with this problem a few times since […]

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Packet loss severely impacts Counter Strike 2 and its players globally. Experiencing high ping and packet loss while playing CS2 can lead to frustrating delays and lagging. Aware of this problem, I made this guide to show you how to fix CS 2 Packet Loss. Unfortunately, I dealt with this problem a few times since CS:GO turned into Counter Strike 2, but the solutions below helped me fix it in no time. What causes packet loss in CS2? Playing CS2 can be incredibly frustrating if you’re experiencing high ping and packet loss. These issues can cause lag and delay, making it difficult or impossible to play the game smoothly. Various factors could cause packet loss: Server issues Slow and unstable internet connection Corrupted game files DNS server issues Too many programs running in the background How do I fix packet loss in CS2? To fix packet loss in CS2, first make sure that your internet connection works as it should without any interruptions. We recommend starting with these simple steps: Check the Counter Strike 2 service status page. If servers have issues, you must wait until the servers are fully operational. Power cycling your network device. Ensure that your internet connection is steady and without any interruptions. Check with your ISP to see if the issue is on their side of the connection or above them in the network distribution company. Verify and repair game files. If you still encounter packet loss in Counter Strike 2, apply these tips: Update your network driver Flush your DNS Use launch options for the game Use a VPN 1. Update your network driver Packet loss in CS2 may indicate that you are using an outdated network driver. I encountered this problem on one of my older devices. To fix it, update your network driver as follows: Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type; “devmgmt.msc” and hit Enter to open Device Manager. Double-click on the Network adapters to expand. Right-click on your network card, and select Update driver. Follow the on-screen guide for installing the latest network driver. Disclaimer: We are affiliated with the following Driver Update Tool. We suggest utilizing PC HelpSoft to streamline the laborious process of updating your computer’s system drivers. This tool automates the task, guaranteeing a quicker and more dependable solution without requiring manual updates or scouring the internet for authentic drivers. ⇒PC HelpSoft 2. Flush your DNS If you are experiencing packet loss in Counter Strike 2, you can attempt to resolve the issue by flushing your DNS to clear the cache. This will remove any saved IP addresses and DNS records that may be causing connectivity issues. Follow these steps: 1. Press Win+R to show the Run dialog box. 2. Type; “cmd” and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open Command Prompt as administrator. 3. Type “ipconfig /flushdns” and press Enter. 4. Type “ipconfig /registerdns” and press Enter. 5. Type “ipconfig /release” and press Enter. 6. Type “ipconfig /renew” and press Enter. 7. Type “netsh winsock reset” and press Enter. 8. Reboot the PC, launch CS2, and check if the issue is gone. 3. Use launch options for the game Time needed: 1 minute We recommend entering commands in the game launch options that promote an efficient and stable connection to optimize the communication between your PC and the CS2 server. Open Steam launcher Right-click on the CS2 and choose Properties. Set Launch Options Enter the following command in the Launch Options: rate 128000 cl_cmdrate 128 cl_interp 0 cl_interpratio 1 cl_lagcompensation 1 Relaunch Steam Play CS2 to check if the issue is gone. 4. Use a VPN Improve your gaming experience with a reliable VPN like ExpressVPN. It can lower ping, avoid packet loss, and provide fast and stable connectivity. Choose from many servers in different countries for playing with friends online. It should be noted that a VPN can solely enhance your ping if your ISP imposes limits on your connection. 1. Download and install ExpressVPN. 2. During installation, provide your email address; you will get the code to access your ExpressVPN dashboard. 3. Click on Sign In. 4. Connect to a desired server. 5. Launch CS 2 and check if the issue is gone. Do you still have CS2 packet loss? Then, consider these extra methods: Update Windows to the latest version. Update DirectX, .NET Framework, and VCRedist. Update CS 2 Close unnecessary apps and downloads that are running in the background. Temporarily disable Windows firewall or antivirus. If you use WiFi, disable any devices that reduce your bandwidth. Use a wired connection instead of a wireless one. Use public DNS servers like Google’s. Reinstall CS2 Perform clean boot. Conclusion If you’re playing CS 2 and experiencing packet loss, it’s recommended that you first check for any server or internet connection issues. Other possible solutions include flushing your DNS, updating your network driver, using launch options for the game, disabling any unnecessary background apps, or utilizing a trustworthy VPN service. If you have any additional solutions, feel free to add them to the comments. We will test them on our devices, and add them to the list. The post Fix CS2 Packet Loss Easily [Simple Instructions] appeared first on Games Errors.

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Full details on the recently-revealed Switch 2 are coming in April, but games for its predecessors are also allegedly set to be shown soon.

Nintendo has finally officially announced the Switch 2, and obviously, the new console will be what the company will be primarily focused on going forward. Interestingly enough, however, the original, current Switch is seemingly not out of fuel just yet, with more details on its upcoming titles allegedly set to be shared soon. Taking to the Famiboards forums shortly after the Switch 2’s announcement, prominent Nintendo leaker PH Brazil claimed that another Nintendo Direct presentation is also coming in February. The same was recently also stated by known leaker NateTheHate on his podcast, where he also stated that the Direct would be focused on upcoming games for the Nintendo Switch, not its successor. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has released for the Switch, and it’s set to be joined by several other first-party titles officially scheduled to launch for the platform sometime this year. That includes Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. A Direct presentation in February, should one actually happen, will likely bring new looks at all of those games. Pokemon, however, is likely to skip the show, as it usually does, especially with a Pokemon Presents showcase also allegedly coming in the same month.

However, there's no concrete word on whether or not the project cancellations will result in layoffs.

PlayStation is kicking the year off on the backfoot, with SIE Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games’ respective live service titles having been cancelled. But while several similar past cancellations by the company have been tied to those games’ developers closing their doors, Sony says that won’t be the case with these two in particular. Reported by Bloomberg, a Sony spokesperson has stated that closures aren’t on the docket for Bend and Bluepoint, and that PlayStation is currently working with both studios to figure out what’s next with them. “Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family, and we are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects,” Sony said. That said, whether or not the project cancellations will bring layoffs remains to be seen. Generally, that does tend to be the case, but all Sony has said in an internal memo is that it is “working closely with Bend and Bluepoint to determine what are the next projects and plan to do everything we can to ensure there is minimal business impact.” Of course, there’s no guarantees that Sony sticks to its current plans (companies don’t always do that after major failures), but one would hope that it does, at least. Of course, with both studios now gearing up to start entirely new projects from scratch, it doesn’t look like we’re going to see anything from either of them for several years at least.

The project was reportedly a live service spinoff based on God of War, but Sony now confirms that it has been shelved.

Shadow of the Colossus and Demon’s Souls remakes developer Bluepoint Games officially joined PlayStation Studios in 2021, at which point Sony revealed that the studio’s next project would be “original content”. In the years since then, speculation and rumours about Bluepoint’s next game have been rampant, though unfortunately, that project has come to a premature end. Reported by Bloomberg, Bluepoint’s mystery title has been cancelled. Interestingly enough, journalist Jason Schreier claims on BlueSky that the game Bluepoint was working on was a live service God of War project, of all things. Alongside it, Days Gone developer Sony Bend’s new live service open world IP has also been cancelled. Both games join a growing list of prominent failures marking Sony’s once-ambitious live service plans. Though some of Sony’s several recent games-as-a-service cancellations have gone hand-in-hand with studio closures (from SIE London Studio to Firewalk), the company has assured that Bend and Bluepoint won’t meet that same fate. BREAKING: PlayStation has canceled two more live-service games, from subsidiaries Bend and Bluepoint, Bloomberg has learned.Fans have long wondered what Bluepoint has been working on for the last couple of years. I can report it was a live-service God of War game. www.bloomberg.com/news/article… — Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T23:09:48.705Z

The developer confirmed in 2021 that it had started working on a new IP that would utilize Days Gone's open world tech.

SIE Bend Studio’s streak of bad luck seems to be continuing. The studio has faced constant upheaval since Days Gone’s launch in 2019, and after reports of a Days Gone sequel and an Uncharted title having been shelved in the years since, a third successive title has met the same fate. Sony Bend has been at work on a new open world live service IP for several years at this point, though the project has now been shelved. As per a report published by Bloomberg, Sony Bend’s title and Bluepoint Games’ unannounced title are the latest in a long line of live service cancellations by Sony. Back in May 2023, Sony stated it intended to release 12 live service games within the next three years as part of a big live service push. Since then, however, though Helldivers 2 has seen widespread success, Sony’s live service efforts have also endured many failures and cancellations, including Concord, The Last of Us Online, a multiplayer Spider-Man title, London Studio’s title, an alleged Twisted Metal reboot, and others. Sony says these latest cancellations won’t lead to studio closures. Read more on that through here.

Those who own the Khaos Reigns expansion and Kombat Pack 2 can start playing the latest DLC character from January 21st.

After revealing his in-game appearance and Brutality, NetherRealm confirmed that Conan the Barbarian will join Mortal Kombat 1’s roster on January 28th. However, Kombat Pack 2 and Khaos Reigns owners can start playing on January 21st. Check out his gameplay trailer below. Based on the 1982 film of the same name and featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness, much of Conan’s moves involve his sword. Some particularly devastating moves include slicing and embedding his sword into an opponent’s shoulder before forcefully removing it, and powerful spins. He can also stab an enemy, his their body over his head and slam them down. As for his Fatality, it’s pretty straightforward, as Conan boils his opponent in a cauldron, later extracting their skull to admire it. Meanwhile, his Animality involves morphing into a bull and goring threats. Stay tuned for more details when Conan the Barbarian goes live. Mortal Kombat 1 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Check out our reviews for the base game and Khaos Reigns.

Play through the game's first two missions and transfer progress when it launches on March 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Nexon’s free demo for The First Berserker: Khazan is now on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC via Steam (with Steam Deck compatibility). It’s available permanently and offers two missions: Mount Heinmach and Stormpass. The former focuses on Khazan meeting the Blade Phantom for the first time, while the latter presents a tricky spiritual trial. Check out the trailer below. Promising “approximately” three to four hours of gameplay, the demo also sports a difficulty option. Players can choose an Easy option upon finishing the first mission. Since progress carries over to the game, you can effectively farm XP, unlock skills, and prepare beforehand. The demo requires 30 GB of storage space to install. The First Berserker: Khazan launches on March 27th, with Deluxe Edition owners receiving three days of advanced access. Set in the Dungeon and Fighter universe, the story focuses on the titular Khazan (played by Ben Starr of Final Fantasy 16 fame) as he seeks vengeance. Check out our impressions of the closed beta here, which outlines the different weapon types, gameplay mechanics, and more.

As in previous years, Sony is reportedly gearing up for a showcase of its upcoming titles, though which ones remains to be seen.

Fresh off of correctly reporting the Nintendo Switch 2’s reveal date, leaker NateTheHate has teased the next State of Play for February. Further details haven’t been revealed, but it sounds reasonable given Sony’s propensity for the month (or close enough) over recent years. The real question is what it could reveal. Last year featured Silent Hill 2 remake gameplay, the reveal of Sonic X Shadow Generations, Rise of the Ronin, Silent Hill: The Short Message, Metro Awakening, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Kojima Productions also featured heavily on the broadcast, presenting new Death Stranding 2: On the Beach footage and announcing a new stealth action IP, Physint. Death Stranding 2 will receive a release date this year, so why not at the next State of Play? We could also learn more about Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yotei (also out in 2025) and Haven Studios’ co-op heist shooter Fairgame$. Maybe Bend Studio’s next IP will appear as well. Stay tuned in the meantime. How’s February sound? — NateTheHate2 (@NateTheHate2) January 16, 2025

Planning to buy Sniper Elite Resistance? Here are 15 things you need to know before you do so.

Set your scopes on Sniper Elite: Resistance, the latest entry in Rebellion’s long-standing military stealth-slash-shooter series. Sure, the lack of innovation in this upcoming title might make it seem as though Resistance is mere DLC repackaged as a full-size game, and whilst events here take place adjacent to Sniper Elite 5 Resistance’s campaign length will eclipse its predecessor. There’s a handful of new things which we’ll go over in this article too. So, without further ado, here’re 15 gameplay things you need to know before you pull the trigger on Sniper Elite: Resistance. It’s more of the same We don’t mean this disparagingly. If you enjoyed Sniper Elite 4 or 5 and thought ‘hey, I’d love some more of this’ then Sniper Elite: Resistance is right up your alley. After all, the Sniper Elite series is famed for its blend of unparalleled sniping mechanics, stealth, and tactical third-person gameplay. There’s not an awful lot else like it. And with the developer stating they believe there’re still valuable stories to tell in Western Europe’s domain of World War II, then Sniper Elite: Resistance is shaping up to be a worthy entry in the series. Maps The game’s setting is in 1944, with the sprawling streets of Nazi patrolled Paris the most prominent environ shared thus far. The map here – indicative of the maps traversable throughout the game – is a sprawling, labyrinthine network of cobble streets and dusky alleyways, perfect foray for sneaking and parkour. Cities are dense with Gestapo patrols, unpredictable motorcycle riders, and enemy snipers perched within their eagle’s nests. A raft of fortified structures, from buildings to bridges, harbour multiple routes, approaches, and choke points to force numerous creative playstyles. Player agency Sniper Elite as a series is typified by player agency, brilliant sandboxes fostering open-ended mission structure. As you’d expect, Sniper Elite: Resistance is no different. Here, there are multiple ways to complete your missions, from choosing numerous infiltration and extraction points, to taking on optional objectives and side missions. Missions Missions in Sniper Elite: Resistance comprise a main objective – take out a Nazi commander, for instance – plus numerous optional side objectives such as infiltrating an informant’s dwelling, locating allied hangouts, destroying German weapon caches, and so on. Collectibles dot throughout the cityscape too, including items which yield important intel. As this is a sandbox, you’re free to undertake as many or as little of these side objectives as you like, in whatever order you please. Kill list targets Alongside each mission’s major objective there’ll be an optional target on your kill list. Kill lists have been a thing in Sniper Elite for a while, and they’re composed of rogues who have wronged the allies in some shape or form, and we expect Sniper Elite: Resistance will function the same. Each kill list target can be killed via traditional means – knifing, gunning down, and of course, sniping – but in prior titles there’ve been kill list challenges tasking you with knocking off your target in increasingly outlandish ways. Propaganda missions If all this sounds overly familiar thus far – we did say Sniper Elite: Resistance is more of the same – then prepare to hear about something new. Sniper Elite: Resistance has a novel gameplay mode in the form of propaganda missions, which is brand-new side content activated after locating propaganda posters dotted throughout each mission’s level. Here, you’ll undertake objectives in the role of a French resistance fighter across the same location but in a different time period. There’ll be stealth and sniping challenges, with the idea being to replay these missions to chase high scores. New protagonist Another first for the series, your player character for Sniper Elite: Resistance is British soldier Harry Hawker whom players of Sniper Elite’s 3 through 5 will recognise as gruff series mainstay Karl Fairburne’s co-op partner. In Sniper Elite: Resistance the similarly gruff Hawker occupies a story which takes place alongside Fairburne’s from Sniper Elite 5. Both games are similar in length, and thus according to developer Rebellion ensures both games exist as companions of each other. Advanced sniping mechanics return Sorry to beat this over the head, but Sniper Elite’s advanced sniping mechanics will be returning in full force for this latest entry. It’s a game centred on observation, of course, so alongside surveying the landscape and watching for enemy patrol patterns you’ll need to focus your crosshairs on elemental factors like wind speed and direction. For undetectable takedowns, your gunfire will need to be masked in environmental sounds – the whirring of a passing lorry engine or the crackle of a local loudspeaker, for instance. X-ray kill cams still a thing Because of course they are, the star of Sniper Elite’s show has always been the bullets. Every slug blasted out of the barrel of your rifle refocuses the camera, a slomo visage of visceral blood and mulch as your projectile penetrates your target, ripping flesh, eviscerating organs, and shattering bone in a glorious display of x-ray ultraviolence. This staple of the series has been expanded for Sniper Elite: Resistance whereby sniper rifles now share the gory event with every gun in the game. Handguns, carbines, and machine guns, for example, will now all trigger the same x-ray’d viewpoint of your enemy’s innards. Large arsenal of authentic weaponry Sniper Elite: Resistance will provide a smorgasbord of authentic World War II weaponry to wield in the hands of new protagonist Harry Hawker and owing to his British allegiance many of the guns in his arsenal will stray away from the established American made weapons Karl Fairburne carried into battle. For example, two versions of the British-made Lee Enfield bolt action sniper rifle will be at Hawker’s disposal alongside British submachine gun the Sten Mk. II. German MP40’s and Karabiner 98k’s can be adopted too together with infamous American-made sniper rifle the M1903 Springfield. There’s a ton more, with the entire arsenal likely not yet revealed. Weapons are customisable As you traipse through Sniper Elite: Resistance’s levels you may encounter hidden workbenches (there are three in each level). Each workbench unlocks a range of upgraded attachments for your firepower including scopes, stocks, muzzles, and suppressors. Each upgrade supports a style of play, with different weapon elements occupying four key stats of power, rate of fire, control, and mobility. For example, choosing attachments which maximise rate of fire will foster a more gung-ho approach to mission completion whilst a powerful scope and suppressor to boost power and control will support the game’s marquee stealth. Multiplayer modes Developer Rebellion have confirmed that familiar multiplayer game modes will be returning for Sniper Elite: Resistance, including deathmatch, no-cross, and survival, the latter of which taking place in sixteen player arenas. Axis invasion returns A distinct multiplayer mode from Sniper Elite 5 will be returning in Sniper Elite: Resistance. Axis invasion infiltrates your mission with an invading player who can stall your progress via stealth, sniping, or other more extravagant means. Of course, the same is true for you; you’re free to invade another player’s game to stop them completing their objectives too. Accessibility features As is becoming increasingly commonplace in video games Sniper Elite: Resistance will feature a raft of accessibility features. In fact, Rebellion reckons the series’ latest instalment will feature the most in-depth accessibility options to date. Difficulty customisation, tutorials, subtitles, and on-screen text aside, there’ll be colour blindness modes, customisable audio levels – with individual sliders for hit feedback, dialogue, and enemy awareness cues. Aim assist, control remapping, and accessible gamepad options round out the game’s features. PC requirements (and it’ll be PS5 Pro enhanced) Yep, saying it again, Sniper Elite: Resistance will include a PS5 Pro version. However, what exactly those enhancements will be is unclear for now. For PC requirements you’ll need a minimum Intel CPU Core i5-9400f or equivalent processor, Nvidia 2060 6GB or equivalent GPU, 16GB RAM, DirectX version 12, and 90GB of storage space. Recommended requirements haven’t been revealed yet. And just because we haven’t said it yet, the game comes out January 30th.

Square Enix's award-winning role-playing game has also been verified for Steam Deck before its PC launch on January 23rd.

Square Enix has released a new trailer for the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, launching later this month after nearly a year of exclusivity on PS5. It highlights the three main graphical presets and their corresponding requirements – Minimum, Recommended, and Ultra. Check it out below. As outlined in the previously revealed requirements, Minimum requires an Intel Core i3-8100 and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 for 1080p/30 FPS performance. Recommended delivers 1080p/60 FPS at Medium quality with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and a GeForce RTX 2070. Finally, Ultra will necessitate a Core i7-10700 and RTX 4080 for 2160p/60 FPS at High settings. Regardless of other hardware, a solid-state drive with 155 GB of installation space is mandatory. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches on January 23rd for PC. Check out our review of the PS5 version, which we awarded a ten out of ten. On top of showcasing the graphics presets, Square Enix also confirmed that the role-playing game is Steam Deck verified. You can learn more about the PC version’s other features here. Let’s mosey. pic.twitter.com/4DVmXlW3JH — FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) January 16, 2025

While NetEase Games wants Marvel Rivals to have a competitive scene, it wants the game to be for everyone, and will balance it accordingly.

While Marvel Rivals has been incredibly popular since its release, and especially since the launch of its first season, questions have risen about the game’s future for more competitive-oriented players. Creative director Guangyun Chen revealed in an interview with Metro that the developers at NetEase Games want Marvel Rivals to be a game that appeals to every kind of player. When it comes to competitive multiplayer, one of the biggest questions tends to be about how the game and its developers would handle tournaments. Chen talks about how the ranked mode-playing competitive scene for the game could potentially co-exist with a more casual player base that primarily tends to stick to quick play. “We’ve actually been thinking about this on a broader scale, looking at the picture as a whole,” said Chen in the interview. “We really hope that when we do the competitive modes or tournaments, they will co-exist with our quick play. That’s because we’ve been seeing a lot of other successful titles being able to pull off a competitive environment and a quick play environment both healthily at the same time. We’ll be taking a lot of references from them to ultimately let both player pools thrive.” Chen ultimately declares that the important thing for Marvel Rivals is that every type of player enjoys the game. The studio does not want to sacrifice the enjoyment of casual players for the sake of competitive balance. However, this doesn’t mean the studio won’t release balance patches. This is especially important since, for other competitive shooters, balance patches can often be released because of the results of professional players that are winning tournaments. “The team wants every kind of player to enjoy the game in their own way,” said Chen. “So instead of just zeroing in on either tournament results or quick play, we’re going to take a broader look at the overall balance data on all the heroes in all the modes.” The studio wants to instead pay attention to Marvel Rivals as a whole, and the win rates for its various heroes. Analysis of whether some heroes are winning more matches than they statistically should, especially when compared to other heroes, will be more important in deciding the game’s balance. “Moving forward, we will be looking at hero pick rates and win rates in different scenarios,” he said. “Once we have some more detailed analysis and through thoughtful consideration, we’ll definitely make necessary balances and adjustments. It’s all about creating a good experience for our players. It hasn’t been that long since our launch, so we’re going to continue to monitor everything and make sure everything feels right.” In the same interview, Chen had also previously revealed that the studio wasn’t yet interested in bringing more heavily-defined role locks or role queues to the game’s matchmaking. Currently, players can pick heroes from across the game’s three roles – Vanguard, Duelist and Strategist – however they would like. Bringing in role locks or role queues would block players from changing their role in a match.

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Omg, I loved Here with Tom Hanks! Critics and fans might give it low ratings, with scores around 20-30% out of 100, but I’m here to say, don’t let that fool you! This movie is not garbage at all—it’s thought-provoking, moving, and exactly the type of film that makes you think. If you’re the type...

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The Ultimate Guide to the Best Laptops for InZoi – Perfect for Gamer Girls As the release date for InZoi draws near, it’s time to start thinking about upgrading your gaming setup to ensure you’re ready for the ultimate experience. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a hardcore enthusiast, having the right laptop is essential...

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Hey ghost-hunters and treasure-seekers! Grab your Poltergusts, because Luigi is back in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD on the Nintendo Switch! As a long-time fan of this series, from the spooky days of the original on the GameCube to the thrills of the arcade version at my local Dave and Busters, I was super excited to...

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1. InZOI • Release Date: Late 2024• Platform: PC• Details: A life simulation game where players control Zois, engaging in daily activities, customization, and open-world exploration. 2. Virche Evermore: -EpiC: lycoris- • Release Date: November 7, 2024• Platform: Nintendo Switch• Details: An otome visual novel exploring tales of despair and salvation on the island of...

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https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CG_204_runningVSplaying_finalV01.mp3 Join Ang, JT, and guest Alex Thomas as they talk about the difference in the skills needed to run games versus play games. They dive into what they like about both and why it’s important to have both sets of skills! Links: Titan City Serials How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying […]

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CG_204_runningVSplaying_finalV01.mp3 Join Ang, JT, and guest Alex Thomas as they talk about the difference in the skills needed to run games versus play games. They dive into what they like about both and why it’s important to have both sets of skills! Links: Titan City Serials How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying The Vechnoye Saga COSine 2025

In any adventure, the party of player characters (PCs) will inevitably encounter other intelligent creatures and people. These are the non-player characters (NPCs) of the world that are largely controlled, run, an enacted by the game master. There are moments (and some systems greatly support these moments) where an NPC will be “taken over” by […]

In any adventure, the party of player characters (PCs) will inevitably encounter other intelligent creatures and people. These are the non-player characters (NPCs) of the world that are largely controlled, run, an enacted by the game master. There are moments (and some systems greatly support these moments) where an NPC will be “taken over” by a fellow player at the table to reduce the load on the GM or to allow for a wider variety of interactions. That topic, however, is an entirely different article. The article that I’m presenting to you today is about supporting and opposing NPCs. There can also be neutral NPCs, which I had not considered until I started writing this article, so there will be an addendum at the end to touch on that topic. However, most NPCs will be somewhere on the spectrum of opposition-to-supportive. It truly is a spectrum, and not a binary. Few NPCs are going to risk their lives for the benefit of the PCs. An equally small number of NPCs will drop everything in their lives to hammer down on the PCs’ plans to put a stop to them. Sure, both of those can happen, but for the most part, support and opposition will be measured actions, no absolutes. I’m not going to get into how to create effective NPCs on the grand scale. That topic has been covered (in quantity and in quality) via other articles and Gnomecast episodes. However, I’ll touch on a few areas of consideration as it relates to your adventure that you’re designing. Overall Traits NPCs must have goals and motivations. (Sounds like familiar advice, eh?) Your NPCs need to have a reason to be in the adventure as an opposing or supporting force. This is their motivation for doing what they are doing. Of course, if someone is motivated to take action, odds are they have a goal in mind to apply that motivation to. If you’ve read any of my articles on characters or storytelling, then you know I hammer the drums for “goals and motivations” quite hard and heavy. Creating NPCs for your adventure is no different. They need to have a goal that supports (or opposes) the PCs’ goals. Then the NPC needs to have a deep reason for why they’re going out of their way to help/harm the party. Also, by now you’ve determined your Boss (and sub-Bosses, if any). The NPCs in the locales that intersect with the Boss locations should support (or intentionally break) the themes, styles, and tones you’ve set for your Boss and the mooks. This means if you have the party get lost while trekking through a swamp, then a mountain dwarf ranger is probably not the appropriate NPC to show up and help. However, it would be quite humorous for a mountain-based ranger to also be lost in the swamp and team up with the party until the entire group gets oriented. A better alternative to the mountain ranger would be a friendly swamp hag who knows the environment and area. Why would a hag help the party? Perhaps the hag is diametrically opposed to the trolls in the area that the party is hunting. Perhaps the hag lost a sister or parent to the troll’s depravations, but the hag alone is not powerful enough to take down the troll or the Troll Boss. Supporting NPCs What does the NPC have that they are willing to sacrifice for the PCs? Supporting NPCs need to have a reason to risk something to help the PCs. Sometimes the risk is merely a small percentage of profit at their store by giving the PCs a discount at the local store the NPC owns. Sometimes the risk is to step up, put on armor, grab a weapon, and push into the swamplands alongside the party. There’s an infinite number of choices along the spectrum between the “neutral NPC setting” and the “fanatically supportive NPC setting.” The trick is to adjust that dial to the right place, so the party doesn’t suspicious about the over abundance of assistance or the lack of total support. Different NPCs are going to be able to support the party in different ways and to different extents. This entirely depends on the capabilities and motivations of the NPCs. Once you’ve determined ways an NPC can 100% help the PCs, you’ll need to use the NPC’s motivations to determine how close the NPC will push to “100% support.” Opposing NPCs Why is the NPC opposing the party? How are they doing it? Flipping the coin to the other side, why would an NPC get in the party’s way? That’s usually where I start with opposing NPCs. Once I know the why, I figure out the how. Is is sabotaging the party’s mounts or equipment? Stealing something vital from them? Lying to them and feeding them misleading clues? Directly attacking them? Informing the Boss or mooks of what the party is up to? Simply charging them 110% of an item’s value in the general store to try and sap their funds? Once I know the why and how, I determine the “how much” factor of the resources the opposing NPC can throw at the party. Sometimes, the “how much” is trivial (such as charging 110% of items’ values in the general store). Sometimes, the “how much” could be assembling a large strike force to ambush the party on the trail while they make their way to the edge of the swamp. One thing to note is that opposing NPCs should not always be “behind the curtain” and unseen. This is just frustrating to the players and makes it appear as if the GM is “cheating” by having the Boss always knowing what the party is up to when there’s no logical way the Boss should know the party’s plans. The mysterious NPC can be spotted in the shadows or glimpsed from afar (or even hidden in plain sight as a villager), but the mystery should be revealed by the end of the adventure of who the major opposition was during the course of the story. This can easily come in the form of a handout or three where there are letters between the NPC and the Boss. (Side note: Why do the bad guys always keep their incriminating notes around? Why not burn them? Alas, those are questions for another day.) Neutral NPCs Not everyone opposes or supports the PCs. Somewhere in the middle-ground of the supporting vs. opposing spectrum lies neutrality. This is where the bulk of the NPCs will start the adventure. These are your townsfolk, other citizens of the city that don’t know the Boss or PCs, merchants, and folks met on the roadways during travel. Each neutral NPC may have something to offer the PCs, but they will not freely offer it up. At the same time, they will not try to hide or keep the offer away from the PCs. This is where the PCs will need to work just a little (or spread some coin) in order to get the NPC to offer up whatever rumors, tales, wares, or advice the NPC has in hand. Changing Alignment No. I’m not talking about a paladin losing her lawful good alignment and becoming a “mere” fighter in this section. Here, I’m going to talk about shifting an NPC’s outlook toward the PCs based on the party’s actions. In this case, I like to keep it pretty simple. Use a scale of 0-20 with 0 being highly opposed, 20 being highly supportive, and 10 being neutral. After a assign a starting point on the scale, I’ll bump the alignment of the NPC up or down the scale depending on what the PCs do with the NPC. This is purely a gut call and a quick reference. There are no hard-boiled, carved-in-stone rules or mechanics for what a 12 means vs. a 14 on the scale. I just have a note in my document next to each NPC, so I can quickly see if Graynar the Merchant is a 4 or an 18 because that will sway what Graynar is willing to sell to the party and at what percentage of actual value. Conclusion I hope this article helps you out in solidifying your ideas of which NPCs should oppose or support the party (and why!), and how to approach determining what the NPCs can and are willing to do in order to show that opposition or support. Next month, I’ll be talking about some fun stuff: Clues, Rumors, and Connective Tissue.

It being that time of the year, I decided to reflect again on my year of gaming and see what lessons I learned. This is the second year I have done this.  Overall, this year I gamed less than 2023. There were two main reasons. The first was that at the start of the year, […]

It being that time of the year, I decided to reflect again on my year of gaming and see what lessons I learned. This is the second year I have done this. Overall, this year I gamed less than 2023. There were two main reasons. The first was that at the start of the year, I had some terrible back issues, which resulted in several months of chronic pain, such that I was not in a place to feel creative or be able to run any games. I am happy to say that I am free of any back pain, and mobile with the help of physical therapy and a professionally monitored workout regimen. The second reason was the end of the year. My November and December became fraught with both work (the day job kind) and a family emergency, those plus the holiday season killed nearly all my gaming from October until now. So what did I learn this year? The End of the Campaign May Not Be The Most Memorable Thing About It I typically strive to have a large and dramatic climax for my campaign arcs. I think that is pretty natural in terms of how campaigns are structured. I did this for the Children of the Shroud AP that I ran, earlier in the year. The campaign built up to a battle to prevent a new elemental force from being formed. It was the kind of battle that you would see in most TV series or a movie, but it was not the penultimate story of the campaign. That honor went to the third story of the campaign, Smarty Pants, which was recorded the year prior. That story had such emotion and drama that all my memories of the campaign fixate on that story, with the conclusion of the campaign being a distant third. The lesson from this, is that is ok. Your next game does not always have to be better than the one before it. If you are running entertaining games, having fun, doing no harm, etc, you do not have to chase the curve to make every story better than the last one. Also, due to the interactive nature of this hobby, you won’t be able to control which stories or moments are going to have the greatest impact, because what you prep and what happens at the table can be two vastly different things. So don’t sweat it. Keep prepping good material, and let the table do the rest. Some Crunch Can Be Fun Over the past decade I have favored games with lighter rule systems, but this year I ran Mutants in the Now, and its combat system is a bit more crunchy than I am used to. For the first few months of the game, I re-read the combat system before every session. While it took more to achieve any kind of mastery, the combat system for that game was tremendous fun. The Focus system was killer-tech for me. …you should stretch, but also adapt and adjust to make the experience a possible success and not a self-fulfilling prophecy. My lesson learned from this is kind of an obvious one…which is to sometimes stretch beyond your comfort zone, and to make that more useful, you should stretch, but also adapt and adjust to make the experience a possible success and not a self-fulfilling prophecy. What I mean by that, is that when I chose a more crunchy game I increased my studying of the mechanics, in hopes that I could enjoy my play of it by getting to a level of mastery, and it worked. Gaming With Old Friends Is A Treat I am blessed that many of the members of my regular gaming groups have been friends of mine for years, but this year I had the chance to run a game for my high school gaming group. The details of the experience are in my earlier article, but suffice to say it was a great experience and a chance to go back in time, to visit my teenage self. My lesson learned from this, is to do it again. My group is going to plan another gathering in 2026, and I plan to have a game to run for them. The Outside World Can Affect Your Campaign World My Mutants in the Now campaign was about mutant animals as a marginalized community, living in a District-9-like environment. The campaign had themes of oppression and marginalization, with the heroes fighting to overcome those things. The campaign was going along quite well until November. After election day, I suddenly could not imagine running a game about oppressing a marginalized community. I asked my players if we could end the campaign after the current story, which did conclude a small arc. I understand Bleed as a player, but this case was one of the first times that Bleed affected me as the GM. The geo-political situation, and the impending struggles of what could come, bled into my campaign and made me unwilling to play a game that could land so close to a possible reality. For me to do a good job running that campaign, I would need to take on the mindset of an oppressor, and that was too uncomfortable. My lesson learned from this is that Bleed for a GM is possible and not just as a character, but as the world, setting etc. I Was Not Bold Enough Looking back this year, I find myself struggling with something that is not new. I wish I was bolder as a GM. I don’t mean bold, like crushing the characters under opposition, but bolder as in being less casual about my gaming and running things with more energy. Part of this was just the amount of pain I was in at the start of the year, and the amount of stress I had at the end. But in the middle, my own insecurities were the culprit. I am always concerned that I am “too much” and that my natural intensity for things will turn people off. I hide this by trying to be somewhat casual and detached, taking a “no worries” mentality. Often that casual approach is fine, I have run many a successful game and campaign with it, but other times I just want to let “Phil be Phil” (to paraphrase The West Wing). My lesson learned here is that I need to let Phil be Phil and have faith that I won’t be too much or that my group will still like me (and talk to me about it) if I am too much. My Hopes for 2025 First, with my health improved and with my work and family stress passed, I am hoping that I will be able to run more games. I am feeling pretty confident in that. Second, I think I want to get into Traveller. I have always had an interest in the game, and I have been reading a lot of sci-fi recently. I think I would like to try my hand at a long-form Sci-fi campaign. Third, I want to work through my insecurities and really let Phil be Phil. It is something that I can bring to therapy for next year, so that I can do the work. Fourth, I have some ideas about some GMing advice I want to research that could lead to a new GMing book. I am not putting pressure on myself for this, but I like the idea of writing something longer than a blog post. My Wish To You and Your Lessons Learned As I finish up this article, and another year of writing GMing advice (my 16th year since being on this site), I wish for you that your 2025 is full of great gaming, in the games you like to play and the ways you like to play them. I am also curious about your lessons learned from this year. What did you learn from gaming in 2024?

Full disclosure before I launch into my review of the promo issue of Shadowcat Magazine: I received the PDF for free (you can too!) from Chaz Kemp, the creator of the magazine. Additional disclosure: Chaz and I have been good friends for a number of years now, but that has not colored my review and […]

Full disclosure before I launch into my review of the promo issue of Shadowcat Magazine: I received the PDF for free (you can too!) from Chaz Kemp, the creator of the magazine. Additional disclosure: Chaz and I have been good friends for a number of years now, but that has not colored my review and introduction to the Shadowcat Magazine Promo Issue. Chaz has always done great work, and I’ve been impressed with everything he’s done. While Chaz’s primary skills lie in being in artist, he’s no slouch when it comes to role playing games. I’ve been on panels with him (and been in the audience while he’s been on panels) related to the RPG sphere. He’s been a gamer for a long time, and has great insights about gaming and what it takes to help out GMs of all levels across the lands. Enough about Chaz, though. I’m here to talk about his latest venture: Shadowcat Magazine. Click to enlarge The magazine itself will be a collection of evocative art pieces tied with random generation tables that are related to the artwork. These elements will be split up between characters, locations, creatures, items, and other goodies found within RPG settings and adventures. The generation tables will always have 20 options to either pick from or to roll that trusty d20 on. There is always guidance in the magazine on how to use the elements you randomly generate (or pick). These include rumors (unverified information), lore (verified information), tales (exaggerated information), and obscura (unknown information) about the element depicted in the artwork. You can roll/choose as many elements from the table as you desire for each category. Click to enlarge Of course, with all randomly generated ideas, it’s best to let your imagination run wild based on what comes up. If the literal text behind the generated idea fits you, your game, and your world perfectly, use it! If not, there are usually ways to twist things around to make it fit. Of course, if the concept just plain doesn’t fit or make sense, discard it and roll again. I love Chaz’s artwork that he’s included in the promo PDF (more on how you can get it yourself at the end of the article), but his true genius shines in the brief descriptions of the random ideas attached to each element. They’re truly beyond the generic concepts typically found in most random tables. He’s put quite a bit of thought into these. Let’s put the rubber to the road. In the promo PDF, there’s a two-page spread for an Arena of Dalubar. I decided to snag four random ideas (on for each type of information) and see how it’ll fit into my world. Here goes: Rumor: There is an air of wariness here, almost as if you are being watched. Lore: You see the bones of long-dead gladiators in the fighting pit. If you enter the pit, skeletons will attack you. Tale: Anyone stepping into the pit will suddenly be surrounded by long-dead gladiators that must be defeated in order to leave this place. If you win, however, you will be showered with money. Obscura: There is an aura of caution here, bordering on fear. So, putting these four ideas together, I’ve come up with the following: The Arena of Dalubar sits at the heart of of an abandoned city, and anyone entering will find themselves watched by the spirits of the long-dead gladiators. Anyone showing fear will rouse the barely-buried skeletons that will rise from the arena’s sands. If the skeletons are attacked, then combat ensues. However, if the people inside the arena put aside their fear of being attacked, the skeletons will stand guard over the living for three rounds. If no combat happens at the end of the third round, the skeletons fall inert. The disturbed sands from the skeletons’ rise reveal scattered handfuls of coins. This is a pretty cool location that I could use in almost any fantasy game. I like it, and it only took me a few minutes (with the help of the magazine) to put it all together. Click to enlarge Of course, this is a fantasy (or some other magical/supernatural) setting item, but Chaz isn’t going to lock himself into just doing fantasy items. In the promo magazine, he has a two-page spread for the “Widowmaker MK-03” which is strange future-horror bioengineered creature that really doesn’t like humanity much at all. It makes for a great antagonist for an encounter (or full adventure if you make it the boss) in a strange, futuristic setting. Enough of me blathering on about the quality of Chaz’s work. It’s time for you to experience it yourself! You can do so by sharing your email address with the Shadowcat Magazine mailing list. Chaz won’t give away, rent, sell, or otherwise share your email address. Once you sign up for the mailing list to find out about future releases, you’ll automatically receive a link via email that will allow you to download the PDF for yourself. Within the promo magazine, you’ll find spreads for Widowmaker MK-03 (adversary), Arena of Dalubar (location), Raina (character), and The Swindler’s Pen (item). If you’re interested, you can find the mailing list sign up form here. I hope you check out the Shadowcat Magazine promo issue and continue to follow Chaz for his future works.

An interesting side effect of having multiple iterations of D&D 5th edition based on the 5e SRD is that some content allows publishers to produce content that works in their game but may also be helpful to people who aren’t utilizing the entire ruleset. One of the most prominent examples of this are monster books. […]

An interesting side effect of having multiple iterations of D&D 5th edition based on the 5e SRD is that some content allows publishers to produce content that works in their game but may also be helpful to people who aren’t utilizing the entire ruleset. One of the most prominent examples of this are monster books. As long as most of the assumptions of the core game remain similar, monsters can translate across different variants. Kobold Press has had a long history of producing 5e SRD monsters, including The Tome of Beasts I & II and the Creature Codex. Those books have been widely praised but are also known for hitting harder at various challenge ratings than official D&D monsters. With all this in mind, let’s explore the Monster Vault. Disclaimer I received a review copy of the Monster Vault from Kobold Press, but I also backed the Tales of the Valiant crowdfunding campaign and had my own copy. I have used a few of the monsters from this book in play, but not a wide variety. Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault Designers: Wolfgang Baur, Celeste Conowitch, Tim Hitchcock, Rajan Khanna, Jeff Lee, JB Little, Greg Marks, Michael E. Shea, Brian Suskind, Mike Welham Developer: Meagan Maricle Editor: Meagan Maricle Proofreader: Kenny Webb Cover Artist: Hugh Pindur Interior Artists: Felipe Malini, Damien Mammoliti, William O’Brien, Ian Perks, Roberto Pitturru, Kiki Moch Rizki, Craig J. Spearing, Florian Stitz, Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson, Eva Widermann, Mat Wilma, Zuzanna Wuzyk Graphic Designers: Marc Radle, Amber Seger Opening the Vault This review is based on the product’s PDF, hardcover, Demiplane, and Shard versions. I’ve seen this thing from many angles. The book comes in at 384 pages for those versions with pages. That breaks down into roughly these categories: Title Page and Credits Page–2 pages Table of Contents and Introduction–4 pages Using Monsters–10 pages Understanding Monster Statistics–10 pages Understanding Terrain and Creature Types–22 pages Monster Stat Blocks–282 pages Animal Stat Blocks–28 pages NPC Stat Blocks–12 pages Monsters by Challenge Rating, Tag, and Terrain–10 pages Front Cover, Back Cover, Ads–4 pages At this point, there aren’t many RPG companies that will be able to make something that looks nicer than Kobold Press can produce and let’s face it, nobody is going to have the art budget that WotC has when launching an anniversary edition of D&D. I’m a big fan of most of the monster depictions in this book. Most designs balance being recognizable based on your familiarity with various D&D depictions and diverging enough to make them distinctive. There are also a few more dramatic deviations. The Monster Vault Basilisk returns to being the typical serpentine appearance from folklore. The Chuul becomes a bit more humanoid in shape. Most of the fiends are easily recognizable, but they go hard. Black and Gold Dragons take on a more serpentine form, and Blue and Brass Dragons take on some desert reptile traits. Silver and White Dragons pick up some forward sweeping horns. The Ettercap is more spindly and spider-like. Bugbears lean harder into the “bear” side of things. The Hydra splits the difference between the quadrupedal dragon-like appearance and the serpentine body, which has a serpentine body with forelegs. The Guardian Naga gets an entire torso! I wish I had this picture of a Shambling Mound for my Curse of Strahd game when one showed up because this is a scary-looking mound of plants. Tarrasques take more inspiration from French folklore, where it originated, and pics up some feline and turtle-like traits. I’ll touch briefly on the electronic versions of the product. If you’ve used any of the games with a Demiplane implementation, they have the same functionality you would expect. Rules popouts appear when you click on some of the hyperlinks, with links to the detail page of those rules elements. The Shard implementation works well within that platform, and monsters are as easy to modify as the other 5e SRD creatures on the site. You can use Monster Vault versions of creatures even if you don’t use that as your primary ruleset in the campaign you create. The stat block will display in the same format that monsters appear in Tales of the Valiant, but they function identically to standard 5e SRD stat blocks. The D&D 2014 Monster Manual and the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault The 5e SRD doesn’t list every monster that appears in the game. Some creatures are reserved for WotC’s exclusive use as staples of D&D IP. For many humanoid creatures with examples of higher CR “boss” versions of the creatures, only the base creature is generally provided. The Monster Manual and the Monster Vault have over 300 stat blocks in common, and by that, I mean that the stat block has the same name and generally the same abilities and falls within the same Challenge Rating. The Monster Manual has about 100 unique stat blocks that don’t have a version represented in the Monster Vault, and the Monster Vault adds about 80 new stat blocks in places of those that don’t port over from the Monster Manual. I want to be careful to say stat blocks and not monsters because, in both the Monster Manual and the Monster Vault, there are creatures with variations with their own stat blocks that are not new creatures, just more specialized, skilled, or advanced versions of the core creature. If you’ve never looked into it, some of the creatures that WotC holds back from the SRD include some classics like Beholders, Carrion Crawlers, Displacer Beasts, Dracoliches, Githyanki and Githzerai, Grell, Hooked Horrors, Kuo-Toa, Modrons, Myconids, Nothics, Slaad, Thri-Kreen, Twig Blights, Umber Hulks, Yuan-Ti, and Yugoloths. Some of these concepts are pretty broad, so creating new dungeon-crawling bugs, fungus people, undead dragons, or snake people isn’t out of the realm of possibility. All About Monsters You may notice from my breakdown of page count that a significant portion of this book is dedicated to stat blocks and exploring how to pick monsters, work within a theme, and how creatures relate to their terrain. Since this is the monster book for a complete game and not just a supplement to be used with other core rules, some of this is revisiting concepts introduced in the 5e SRD, but there are enough nuances in how this material is presented that it’s worth reading through this to make sure you don’t miss that more subtle but significant changes. Before we even get to the monsters themselves, we have the following sections in the book: Using Monsters Understanding Monster Statistics Understanding Terrain & Creature Types Using monsters introduces the encounter-building guidelines for the game. If you’ve seen Flee Mortals! or Forge of Foes, these guidelines may look familiar because it’s Mike Shea’s encounter-building rules. And by that, I mean that Mike Shea is a contributor to this source. There is a formula that changes a little at 5th and then again at 11th level. There is also a benchmark table that summarizes your budget for monsters based on parties from three PCs to 7 PCs, as well as the minimum and maximum CR any individual monster should be in the encounter. These rules don’t weigh multiple opponents more heavily than single creatures, like the original 2014 encounter building rules, but they provide guidelines about how many monsters should be used. This is to avoid overwhelming PCs and to prevent the GM’s monsters from being mauled by action economy issues. There is also a note about going easy on first-level characters that appears in other versions of these rules, but I’m mentioning it here because it’s probably even more relevant in Tales of the Valiant. Since I first picked up Flee Mortals!, I have used this encounter tool, which has worked well for me. It’s easier to use than the 2014 5e encounter building rules, and it doesn’t suddenly show a spike in encounter difficulty because you add an additional monster, and the multiple monster multiplier kicks in. If you’re interested in looking at these rules, Kobold Press already has an encounter building site set up utilizing this method. There is a section discussing monster roles, using the terms Controller, Leader, Soldier, and Striker. While it does a good job of explaining how monsters with different abilities can complement one another, there isn’t a list of what monsters fall under what categories, which means if you want to use this information, you’ll need to analyze what each monster you’re using is good at and how well it lines up with the definitions given. My favorite part in this section is the Customizing Abilities and Traits section. This gives a list of good traits to tack on to the monster to customize the creature. There is also a discussion of the effects of granting a monster new movement rates for that creature. Essentially, it’s a section on templates that don’t require the more rigorous process for applying a template and is similar to what Green Ronin does in the Fantasy AGE Bestiary. A note mentions that adding one or two of these abilities may not push the CR up too much, but if you’re adding more than that, you may need to look for a monster that already does what you’re trying to get this monster to do. The section on Adjusting CR is one that I’ve already played with in a few games. Essentially, it’s a quick and dirty set of guidelines on how many hit points, how much of a bonus is added to armor class, or the amount of damage to add to the creature’s potential damage. Based on how often you do this and how many of these modifications you apply, you can reasonably adjust a creature’s CR if the one you want to use is just too high or low for what you have planned for the PCs you have in the game. It is recommended that you don’t move CR more than five steps in either direction in this manner. In the few times I’ve used it, this does seem to give a monster a little more breathing room if you increase the CR to survive longer, and it’s another tool that’s useful with being as fiddly as some templates might be. This section also introduces the alternate mechanic of Doom. Doom is a GM currency that can be added to an encounter. There are guidelines for how much Doom should be available based on the encounter CR, and it allows the GM to spend Doom to give a creature advantage on a roll, impose disadvantage on a PC’s save, or recharge a limited use ability of the monster. I’m not a fan of forcing PCs to roll a save with disadvantage. That feels more adversarial to me than boosting the monster itself. I like the idea of having a currency to make monster recharge abilities more predictable, but intentionally triggering a recharge can be deadly, depending on what the ability does. There are some guidelines for when Doom should be used. This includes encounters where PCs are only likely to have one encounter per day, when you have a more significant than expected number of PCs in the party, when the party has a substantial advantage in magic items, or when the encounter is important to the plot of the adventure you’re running. The playtest rules also included some creatures with “Doom Only” abilities, and I would like to see a product that reintroduces that concept. Understanding Monster Statistics and the New Stat Block This is similar to the 2014 5e SRD discussion about monsters and their statistics, but because Tales of the Valiant remixes the order of these and what appears where I wanted to touch on the order in which these elements are presented: Name Challenge Rating Experience Points Proficiency Bonus Size Type/Category/Tags–in addition to the monster’s type, creatures now have tags, often used to signify how the monster interacts with other rules. Armor Class Hit Points–the hit point section of the monster doesn’t have the hit dice and bonus calculation used to derive the monster’s average hit points Speed Perception–stat blocks have a perception score for monsters rather than giving a bonus, essentially meaning you’re using passive perception for all of the monster’s perception checks Stealth–stat blocks have a stealth score, which is the DC that the PCs need to roll against to notice a monster that has a chance to hide or set up an ambush Vulnerable/Resistant/Immune–the main reason I include a description here is that many items that would be individually listed here have been shifted to traits common to a creature’s type Resistant Immune Senses–this line is mainly notable because blindsight has been more accurately changed to keensense, to indicate that the creature can function without its sense of sight effectively Languages Ability Modifiers–instead of including a statistic, a statistic bonus, and a saving throw bonus, this section now only shows the bonus of the ability score, with proficiency bonus added if it’s likely to be good at saves with that ability Traits–similar to D&D 3e stat blocks, specific abilities are bundled together as creature-type traits, for example, (creature type) Nature or (creature type) Resilience Actions Bonus Actions–this isn’t a new section, but more creatures have bonus actions in this book compared to the 5e SRD version of these creatures, and some abilities that used to be full actions have been shifted to a bonus action so the monster doesn’t lose one of its turns triggering a signature ability Reactions–as with bonus actions, some monsters have always had reactions, but more monsters in this book have reactions compared to the 5e SRD version of the creature Monsters in Tales of the Valiant retain the 5e SRD concepts of Legendary Actions, Lair Actions, and Regional Effects for some especially noteworthy creatures. In general, the changes in the stat blocks work. I like the expanded use of tags to group monsters together, and tags are used to indicate effects in cases where alignment may have been a trigger before. For example, some abilities may be key to the Devil tag and not trigger when used against a fiend that doesn’t have that tag. I like knowing the hit dice used to generate hit points because I often moved hit points up or down to address the difficulty of the monsters I used. I like the concept of the ability bonuses, but it can oversimplify using the monster. The GM is instructed to adjudicate when a monster should use a modifier with the proficiency bonus when used outside of their normal combat functions, but many creatures are proficient in saves that don’t correspond with skills their stat block may have had in the 5e SRD. For example, creatures that don’t have a strong Intelligence Save but have various knowledge-based skills. Monsters good at perception or stealth usually have that proficiency added to their Perception or Stealth scores. Moving resistances and immunities to the traits section if they are related to a monster type isn’t as functional as I would like. If you want to save space, you would have a standardized list of creature types and their standard immunities, resistances, and weaknesses, but I don’t like that solution because I remember flipping back and forth in 3e to reference creature types. But if you’re going to reprint bundles of creature abilities in every monster with that creature type, I’m not sure what you’re gaining by moving things to the traits section of the sheet. It could be helpful if there were more game rules that disabled abilities based on monster type. I’ll touch on this more when I do a high-level look at monsters, but I like that more creatures have bonus actions and reactions. In some cases, the bonus action isn’t useful on every turn, but it gives the monster an additional ability to trigger, often after a specific action has happened in the fight, or to set conditions at the start of a fight. Understanding Terrain and Creature Types This is an interesting section because it discusses how to use individual monsters and build the story of your encounters. This section looks at the following types of terrain: Arctic Badlands Coastal Desert Farmland Forest Grassland Hills Mountain Planar Swamp Underground Underwater Urban Each of these entries discusses examples of monsters that would live in that terrain and gives some examples of where the monster might be found in that terrain. The entries don’t cover every monster in the book but create a good jumping-off point to extrapolate. Each creature type is summarized and includes a section on allies, traits, and themes. Some tables show various creatures, along with the most common allies for that creature and a pronunciation guide for the creatures on the table. I like this section. It doesn’t just examine the monster from the standpoint of what makes a mechanically challenging encounter and how to convey the story using specific monsters. I may be slightly biased since I think this is a good topic to explore. My biggest downside is that some of the information on creature types is repeated from elsewhere in the book, but I can understand reprinting that information since this section is likely to be referenced separately from the rest of the book. And Now, the Monsters I won’t go into every monster in the book, or we’d be here forever. I did want to touch on some of the unique creatures that Kobold Press decided should be in their core monster book. I also want to touch on key changes to 5e SRD creatures and general trends. The new Tales of the Valiant additions include: Astral Destroyer (CR 18) Balara (CR 6) Chol (CR 5 to CR 17) Crimson Jelly (CR ½) Deathless (CR 9) Demons (additional types) Derro (CR ¼ to CR 3) Dragon, Void (CR 2 to CR 22) Dragon, Yellow (CR 2 to CR 20) Drake, Scorch (CR 6) Feral Hunter (CR 3) Fey Guardian (CR 5) Flinderbeast (CR 1) Genie (additional types) Ghoul, Necrophage Ghast (CR 4) Giant, Dirgesinger (CR 9) Grimlock, Morlock (CR 2) Hag, Ambush (CR 9) Hippocampus (CR 1) Hivebound (CR 5) Infernal Champion (CR 11) Insatiable Brood (CR 3) Kobold (additional types) Lantern Hagfish (CR ⅛) Lich, Virtuoso (CR 12) Living Colossus (CR 15) Mechadrons (CR ⅛ to CR 6) Moon Knight (CR 5) Mordovermis (CR 3) Mycolids (CR ½ to CR 3) Nimbostratus Spirit (CR 2) Robots (CR ½ to CR 3) Satarre (CR 1 to CR 3) Selangs (CR 4 to CR 7) Selkie (CR 3) Sporeborn (CR ½ to CR 2) Star Crow (CR ¼) Vampire Thrall (CR 1) Voidling (CR 4 to CR 11) Wickerbesat (CR 6) Wood Herald (CR ½) Wyrdling (CR 1) Many new creatures have been added, such as fey, one of the thinner creature types in the 2014 rules. The Chol are mercenary fiends. The Satarre are reptile/insectoid humanoids that worship the apocalypse, and Selangs are satyrs connected to eldritch forces. Vampire Thralls are living victims who haven’t transitioned to undead status yet. Mechadrons and Mycolids may look familiar if you know anything about Modrons or Myconids. Compared to the 5e SRD versions of some of these creatures, many have boosted hit points and do more damage. In some cases, it’s enough to survive a few more hits at its challenge rating, which, with its boosted damage, can start taxing the PCs’ resources more effectively. Kobold Press has a reputation for monsters that hit harder than WotC monsters for their CR, and while I haven’t used many of the new versions in this book, the ones that I have looked at seem to bear this out. As a comparison, the Tales of the Valiant Vampire has about 30 more hit points, gets to use charm as part of its multiattack, does about 12 points more per claw on average, and can grapple if more than one claw hits. The Frost Giant has about 30 more hit points, averages five extra damage per hit, and gets a recharge ability. The adult White Dragon gets about 38 additional hit points and maintains the same damage but gets an aura in effect on rounds when it hasn’t used its breath weapon. Now, looking at the low end of the scale, Bugbears pick up 13 hit points and an extra point of damage on their attack. This may not seem like much of a boost, but thinking about four 1st level characters, 13 hit points can mean a whole other round of the bugbear doing 12 points of damage, and if that hit doesn’t fall on a barbarian, fighter, paladin, or ranger, that could drop a player character in one shot. From my experience using other Kobold Press monster books, the increase in power for characters of higher level is a welcome boost compared to some of the official WotC monsters, but I’ve also seen low-level PCs get wrecked by a low CR monster. To reiterate the advice in the Using Monsters section, be careful using these monsters against 1st or 2nd-level characters. On the other hand, when adventures call for lower CR monsters in adventures for higher-level PCs, I think it works perfectly well to use these in place of the 5e SRD versions. Wild Kingdom One of my annoyances is that monsters in the 5e SRD are hit points with an attack roll added to them, with the type of creature mainly determining if the animal does piercing, slashing, or bludgeoning. Animals have a range of attacks that never appear in their stat blocks. So, how does Tales of the Valiant handle animals? Deer don’t bite anymore. They get a kick and a bonus action to bound away from trouble. Crocodiles get a bonus action they can use to damage a grappled creature with a death roll. Swarms of bats can confuse people with screeching. Several creatures get roars that can cause fear. Mastiffs can use their reaction to bite someone attacking their ally. Saber-toothed tigers can cause a creature to bleed out with its bite. In some cases, the regular version of the monster doesn’t get a neat ability, but the giant-sized version does. Not every animal gets an upgrade, and not every animal gets something that I feel is iconic to that animal, but there are so many more that do, and I’m pretty happy with it. Two of my ongoing pet peeves have been the crocodile’s lack of death roll and the fact that saber-toothed cats used the deep wounds they inflicted to bleed out prey, so right off the bat, they addressed some of my long-term annoyances with animal stat blocks. Also, cats get the ability to meow and cause the charmed condition, and I kind of love that for them. Rogues Gallery Since D&D 2014 came out, I’ve been happy with the wide range of NPC stat blocks. This means it’s not too difficult to find adversaries that aren’t wholly monstrous to throw at the player characters in appropriate situations. Tales of the Valiant brings over the NPCs and makes some tweaks. If you are used to the more recent D&D stat blocks for NPCs, including spell-like abilities as attacks for some characters, the spellcaster NPCs in the Monster Vault continue that tradition. For example, the Archmage gets three Arcane Blast attacks and can replace one with a spell they can cast from their Spellcasting feature. One subtle change I appreciate is that the Tribal Warrior stat block has been changed to Wild Warrior. Was this a significant issue in the 2014 rules? Maybe not, but it was an instance where a naming convention communicated more than intended. This change removes the idea that any people with a “tribe” associated with them will all have the same general stat block. Appendices I know they take up page count, but I appreciate having information arranged in logical groups when looking for information. In the case of monsters, there are so many ways to organize lists, and the Monster Vault contains several summary tables. Monsters have the following organizational lists in the Appendices: Creatures by Challenge Creatures by Tag Creatures by Terrain On the one hand, the encounter builder I linked earlier can sort monsters by these categories, but as I’m regularly reminded, many people don’t use every electronic tool available when prepping or running their games. That makes these lists practical for those users. Legendary Encounter A few months back, I was looking for an Aboleth stat block that fit exactly what I wanted, and I ended up piecing together a version from three different sources. If I had the Monster Vault at the time, this is precisely the Aboleth I wanted. The encounter-building tools are much more functional than the 5e SRD tools. The attention to addressing the story elements of encounter building is an example of supplementary material I love to see in monster books. Many monsters from the 5e SRD didn’t hit hard enough or couldn’t bring their extraordinary abilities to bear before the encounter ended, and the redesigns for many of these creatures have addressed that. Because these monsters retained their challenge ratings from the 5e SRD, this book provides additional options for anyone running adventures referencing 5e SRD creatures, even outside a Tales of the Valiant game. I appreciate Perception and Stealth stats because while I like rolling dice as a GM, sometimes I’m okay with just comparing the player’s rolls to a DC. All Out of Doom Some of the stat block changes address a problem I didn’t know the 5e SRD stat blocks had, and other changes feel like they just miss out on being as functional as possible. Encounter building for 1st or 2nd-level characters may be challenging due to how hard some low CR monsters hit. I’m not a fan of reintroducing standardized traits across an entire monster type, even if those traits are reprinted in every stat block for a creature of that type. One of my reservations isn’t even with this book; it’s with a broad rule change. I do not like how Adamantine and Silver interact with Golems and Shapechangers. Because the material properties aren’t listed in this book, you can easily miss that silver has any special effect on lycanthropes. As written, non-magical silver weapons will do [(weapon damage) + 1d6]/2, which feels less like a specific bane and more like additional math. The golem situation is worse because golems are immune to non-magical adamantine weapons, so the unique property of adamantine only comes into play if you have a magical adamantine weapon, which doesn’t feel like adamantine is a specific weakness of golems. Recommended–If the product fits in your broad area of gaming interests, you are likely to be happy with this purchase. If you are playing a 5e SRD-based game, this will be a solid purchase. It will give you more options for familiar monsters that may provide you with tools for more challenging encounters. Compatibility with the 5e SRD means that this will be useful for just about any 5e SRD-based game, emulating the assumptions of D&D 5e. A few months back, I was looking for an Aboleth stat block that fit exactly what I wanted, and I ended up piecing together a version from three different sources. If I had the Monster Vault at the time, this is precisely the Aboleth I wanted. I’m also considering using the druids in my D&D 2014 Curse of Strahd game with the druid stat blocks from this book. It’s not perfect. You can use the book’s CR altering advice at low levels to adjust monsters by at least 1 CR for 1st and 2nd-level characters. That stat block may not speak to you, especially after seeing some other stat blocks introduced for 5e SRD games. But despite a few imperfections, this is a showcase of one of Kobold Press’ core competencies: a solid, useful monster book, and this time, one that can be used to swap out your 5e SRD monsters that need an upgrade.

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CG_203_Gaming-Resolutions-2025_final.mp3 Join Ang, JT, and Tomas as they look at what they hoped to accomplish RPG wise in 2024, how that turned out, and what they’re hoping for in 2025. Links: Libby JT’s Amazon Link JT’s Website Tomas on Bluesky

https://polygamero.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CG_203_Gaming-Resolutions-2025_final.mp3 Join Ang, JT, and Tomas as they look at what they hoped to accomplish RPG wise in 2024, how that turned out, and what they’re hoping for in 2025. Links: Libby JT’s Amazon Link JT’s Website Tomas on Bluesky

Snowys Maps has been kind enough to come to me to talk about their product. They offered me 2 of their spiral booklets for free (just a press review version which is not the complete one) and allowed me to speak my mind of them. When this happens I try not to post negative reviews, […]

Snowys Maps has been kind enough to come to me to talk about their product. They offered me 2 of their spiral booklets for free (just a press review version which is not the complete one) and allowed me to speak my mind of them. When this happens I try not to post negative reviews, talking directly to the creator why I think that. However, with Snowy’s Maps, the moment I had them at hand I felt the need to try them out in a one-shot with some players. I must say, they were a true success, so I come here to give my own take on them, and state why I believe you should check them out! The non-gif images were taken by me, so you can see the incredible quality for yourself! Over 82 maps will be on the final product, with everything from barns, inns, taverns, temples, marketplaces, gardens, cultist bases, and much more to see! If you don’t have too much space you can always just use one page Art A quick glance at Snowy’s Maps can show the level of quality they display. The city streets look incredibly detailed with plenty of stuff for the players to want to interact to. I have found that these kinds of detailed maps allow player’s imaginations to go wild. There’s a blanket from a vendor on the ground filled with jewels on top? I am sure a player will sometime ask to pull from it for the jewels to break to create a distraction. A fruit cart? You know the barbarian is going to throw it at enemies creating an incredible cinematic experience. What I intend to say is that there is a delicate balance regarding how much flexibility and immersion a map can give. Theatre of the mind gives plenty of flexibility but it might not trigger the player’s ingenuity as much as actually seeing stuff to interact with. A simple marker-drawn map falls into the same problem. If there is a reason for you to want amazing art it is because it allows you to not have to worry as much about placing fun stuff for players to interact with. One last detail that I consider incredible is the fact that if you have good minis you can take gorgeous photos with these incredible looking maps. I mean, just look at the pics I took myself that decorate this article. Incredibly cinematic, right? Look at those details! Flexibility and ease of use The spiral notebook format allows for you not only to use just one page, but with it fully open, using both pages of the notebook at once. If you get a second one, you can even go further than that and make the battlefield even greater. Excellent for city chase scenes!! How about a third one? Let’s make a whole battlefield for an Avengers Endgame finale-like fight, as I did with my Waterdeep Dragon Heist campaign. The pages are A4 sized, an excellent size to carry in a bag wherever you go. If you get two of them together you can make an A2-sized battlemap! Get as many of these map notebooks as you need and carry them wherever you go. This product is absolutely recommended for those GMs who meet at somebody else’s house to play and need something lightweight and comfortable to carry their maps while providing superb quality. Did I mention that these maps are also dry erasable? If you are the kind of person that doesn’t usually get these maps because you can’t write over them, well, this is your lucky day! Draw the area of effect of those fireballs or let your players make notes of which places they should DEFINITELY not go in once they see there are cultists inside. ‘Not here’ can be seen written with a dry-erase marker over one of the houses Quality As you may be able to see from the images I’ve taken, the pages are A4, with premium colour quality, 300ppi. Paper quality? Top notch, and does not seem easy to break at all, allowing you to use these for ages to come. I also took the test of writing over one whole page with different dry eraser markers, and they were easily cleaned leaving no trace behind with one simple cloth. Another additional detail to stand out is that even trying multiple combinations within the two maps they all fit excellently with each other, allowing for endless combinations (maybe fewer than endless but I am not planning on doing the math). Just look at the many combinations of the gif below and see for yourself! Virtual Table Top-friendly Maybe you stopped playing in person, or your friends live on the other corner of the world. Why would you want to support this? What if I told you that all these high-quality maps have been created and adapted to your VTTs of choice? The crowdfunding offers a FoundryVTT (V11+) module and Roll20 addons containing lighting, doors, and walls (dynamic lighting) for every map. All the work is already done for you so you can just plug and play! You can check out some of the maps yourself by checking out the sample provided in the Kickstarter here. Foundry version. Images not final Roll20 version. Images not final Funded Project With a little bit less than a week remaining, there is practically no risk in getting into the Kickstarter. I have received a review copy that has 38 of the 82 maps it will have, so most of the work is already done. The goal has been met, and all the stretch goals but one have been fulfilled. So be sure to jump in as soon as you can to make sure you don’t miss your chance of getting this incredible pile of maps: BACK THE TOME OF MAPS: CITY BATTLEMAPS

Players love getting handed real-life, physical artifacts that tie their characters into the ongoing adventure. There are oodles of props, maps, handouts, images, and so on that can be tossed over the GM screen into the middle of the gaming table. Not everyone has time, energy, or skill* to get super in-depth with this kind […]

Players love getting handed real-life, physical artifacts that tie their characters into the ongoing adventure. There are oodles of props, maps, handouts, images, and so on that can be tossed over the GM screen into the middle of the gaming table. Not everyone has time, energy, or skill* to get super in-depth with this kind of effort, and I get that. However, if you have even an inkling of desire to get into this aspect of creating an adventure, here’s what you can do for your gaming group. Note on skills: I am not an artist at all. I can do decent maps, but not super fancy ones. I do not have the skills developed with practice to do any kind of character sketch or pretty map. However, there are resources out there that can help you out in this area. Keep reading for those resources. Props There are a variety of props you can bring to the table. Props for your game can range from swatches of cloth, to hats, to pins, baubles, jewelry, metal coins, and other key items that players might come across. I highly recommend that you only acquire or create props for key elements. Don’t hand them a literal pile of copper pieces on the table after they kill a dozen rats. That’s just going to annoy everyone as the mess of coins gets cleared from the table in order to allow the game to continue. Instead, if they find a brooch of a noblewoman with a family crest on it, that might be a good time to provide a brooch with some paint on it. Alternatively, you can provide them with a hand-drawn image on a piece of paper and point at it while saying, “You find this brooch in the alley.” This sounds like it can get very expensive (it can) or become very time consuming (it can) or both (yes). Because of this, I’ve not done physical props in a long time. When I used to do it, I’d scour thrift and second-hand stores for things. Sometimes, just wandering the jumbled goods found in those types of stores, I’d come up with a great hook or NPC or aspect to a character that I didn’t know I’d find. Maps Don’t use hex/graph paper for handouts. Maps are easier because they can go on a sheet of paper. The trick here is to use blank paper, not graph paper or hex paper. You can even find “aged paper” that looks yellow-brown and maybe has a faded stain pattern on it. Personally, I like to use thicker (50-60 pounds) paper over the thinner photocopy paper (20-22 pounds) because it takes up the liquids that I use in my aging process better, holds up longer, and allows for a good feel at the table. It’s heftier in a way that can be felt, which tricks the players into thinking the sheet of paper they hold before them is somehow more important. For aging paper, I use tea and/or coffee to lightly stain the paper. This is an art and does take some practice, so you’re not dissolving the paper in the liquid. This is especially true in the day of recycled paper that doesn’t seem to hold up as well under exposure to moisture. After I get my paper properly aged, I draw what I need to on the paper. I usually use charcoal sticks of different sharpness to give it a truly “authentic” look. Once I get the map prepared, I will (on rare occasions) bake the paper for a dozen minutes or so at a very low temperature in the oven. We’re talking around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and I never walk away. I don’t want to char what I’ve just created. I keep a close eye on it while it’s toasting on the baking sheet. There are some additional treatments you can add to the paper as well. Like holes burned in the paper, singed edges, torn off sections that are “missing,” and tearing the map into different bits. The different bits of missing sections can be scattered about different locations within your adventure. Handouts Make each handout fit on a single sheet. Handouts will be things like messages, missives, writs of permission, payment promises, grants of title, grants of land, and so on. I have horrific handwriting (my mom always said I should have been a doctor because of my handwriting), so I do not write these out by hand. Instead, I use a word processor and some fonts with “archaic” appearances to generate the handouts. This is my go to. However, if you are a calligraphy expert, then you can be proud of the work you do with your own creations! Encoded Messages Don’t layer encodings. That’s just mean. If you want to present a riddle to your players, you can even encode the messages using a very basic cipher system such as a Caesar cipher, an alphabet substitution cipher, or some similar encoding method. Don’t get super fancy here because the point of the handout is to show someone is trying to keep something secret and to allow the PCs to figure out what’s what with the message. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about or how to implement these ciphers, head over to Cryptii and use the online tool to encode your messages. In the middle column of settings, you can click the orange text representing the type of cipher, and then choose something under the “Ciphers” header. Images Stock images to the rescue! Images go a long way toward immersing your players in the world. Really, these break down into people, monsters, and locations. Unless you’re planning on publishing the adventure, you can use stock art, free art, and such to print out and hand out at the table. I could list various sites that have stock art, but a good search on the World Wide Web for “stock art” or “stock images” and then using those sites’ internal search engines will do you better than following my lead. There are just so many different sites out there these days. There is also the Google Image search feature out there as well, and I use that quite often. I’ll print out the images on my color printer using standard copy paper. I don’t try to feed the heavier paper through my printer because it’s not really designed to handle the thicker art paper I mentioned earlier. Let The Players Handle The Goods Once you have everything put together and hand things out to the players, I’d recommend letting them handle and tinker with all the things you’ve handed to them. If a handout or prop becomes a distraction from the game, then you can gentle ask the distracted player to refocus, but allowing them to handle the props increases their immersion in the game. I would recommend collecting everything you’ve handed out at the end of each session and keeping those items separate from props that you’ve yet to hand out. This way, when the next session rolls around, you can place the found objects back on the table as reminders to the players on where they were and what they’d accomplished thus far.

Usually, I try to be more timely with reviews here, but I kept running into interesting hurdles while working on my review for Building Better Worlds. I had heard rumors that Alien: Romulus would remove Prometheus and Alien: Covenant from the movie timeline going forward. Then, we received news that there would be a second […]

Usually, I try to be more timely with reviews here, but I kept running into interesting hurdles while working on my review for Building Better Worlds. I had heard rumors that Alien: Romulus would remove Prometheus and Alien: Covenant from the movie timeline going forward. Then, we received news that there would be a second edition of the Alien roleplaying game. At the very least, I wanted to wait until I could see Alien: Romulus before I finished this review. Since I didn’t have time to see it in theaters, that meant waiting for streaming. In the meantime, Free League postponed the crowdfunding for the second edition of the Alien roleplaying game. Some of the confusion around the Alien franchise timeline was cleared up, as Alien: Romulus pulls elements from just about every movie in the franchise to date, and some of the confusion surrounding that assumption was cleared up, as Noah Hawley, the showrunner for the upcoming Alien: Earth television series said that he wouldn’t be pulling from Prometheus or Covenant’s storylines, but not necessarily that he was going to do anything that invalidated them. It’s even possible that the series isn’t meant to fit into the timeline of the movies. Now that I’ve finally seen Alien: Romulus, I can say that this is probably a really good time to look at an Alien product focused on colonial life in the setting. Disclaimer I received a review copy of Building Better Worlds by Free League. I have not had the opportunity to play or run any of the included material, but I have experience with various Year Zero System games. Alien: The Roleplaying Game – Building Better Worlds Publisher Free League Lead Writers Andrew E.C. Gaska, Dave Semark Editor & Project Manager Tomas Härenstam Illustrations Martin Grip, Eelco Sebring, Gustaf Ekelund Graphic Design Christian Granath Map Design Stefan Isberg, Christian Granath, Dave Semark, Clara Fei-Fei Čarija Proofreading Brandon Bowling, Kosta Kostulas Prepress Dan Algstrand Brand Management Joe LeFavi/Genuine Entertainment PR Manager Boel Bermann Event Manager Anna Westerling Streaming Doug Shute Customer Support Daniel Lehto This review is based on the PDF version of the book, which is 304 pages long. The breakdown of pages is as follows: Far Spinward Colonies Maps: 4 pages (front and back endpapers) Title Page and Credits Page: 2 pages Table of Contents: 4 pages Setting Information: 42 pages Player-Facing Mechanics (Character Options, Gear, and Ships): 31 pages Game Mother Game Facing Mechanics and Campaign Information: 62 pages The Lost Worlds Campaign: 132 pages Colony Building and Development Appendix: 16 pages Index: 4 pages Each chapter begins with a two-page image and chapter header with an in-setting quote. If you haven’t seen the layout of the Alien: The Roleplaying Game books, instead of standard headers with header titles, all of the text that would be under that header is included in a stylized box. Thus, each page has multiple blocks with a topic header and several paragraphs. This is one of those situations where I need to be careful what I wish for. Some RPG books have walls of text that can become easier to digest by being broken into smaller topics. The boxes go in the opposite direction. It almost feels like the issues are isolated and don’t flow into the following box on the page, even if they are subcategories of the same overall information. Modiphius had a similar stylization in the first edition of Star Trek Adventures, and the second edition scaled back on some of that stylization. I’d love to see the second edition of Alien: The Roleplaying Game do something similar. I like thematic layouts, but they can go far enough to become distracting. Outside of readability, the book looks very nice. I like how the tables and special topics appear as green characters on a black field, similar to the appearance of the MU/TH/UR computer displays in the movie. What are We Looking At? When Alien: The Roleplaying Game was first released, one part of the product line was the boxed cinematic adventures, which use pre-generated characters with built-in agendas, loyalties, and plot twists. However, to facilitate campaign play, Free League planned to release books to support different kinds of campaigns. The core rules isolate three campaign concepts: Space Marines, Colonists, and Space Truckers. One of the game’s first releases was the Colonial Marines Operations Manual, which included information about locations, organizations, and events in the Alien setting, with a focus on conflicts, wars, and flashpoints. It also included an extended campaign where your space marines encountered various military engagements while finding escalating evidence of dangerous experiments, which they could string together to find the source of this research and shut it down. In campaign mode, you need to have more to do than running from and surviving xenomorphs. In the Operations Manual, what happens between running into the xenomorph-based military experiments is an escalating conflict that they fight in, presenting a different kind of horror, the horror of war. These adventures don’t focus on glorious battles but on ugly engagements where players fight to survive. We haven’t seen the Space Trucker-themed sourcebook yet and probably won’t until after the new edition of the game, but Building Better Worlds is the Colonist campaign book. Just as the Operations Manual presented the horrors of war as the baseline of the Space Marine campaign, Building Better Worlds seeks to introduce survival horror into the campaign. Characters will try to survive hostile environments, keep terraforming equipment working, and deal with threats that corporations or nations have promised to alleviate when those organizations fail to support people isolated in cold, uncaring space. In Space, No One Can Hear Your Setting Information The core rulebook and the Colonial Marines Operations Manual include setting information, but the core book touches on significant events, and the Operations Manual focuses on military flashpoints. This book presents the setting from the viewpoint of humanity’s colonization of space. That means that while wars may be important, much of this information looks at the expansion of various nations and corporations as they reach further from Earth. The Frontier War is a conflict that breaks apart formerly allied nations within the UN. It creates an interesting dynamic, as colonies may not find out who “owns” what stretch of space, and colonists traveling in hypersleep may find a whole different chain of command when they wake up. The significant organizations we have in the setting are: Central Confederation of Africa (CCA) United Nations Interstellar Settlement Corps (UNISC) Throop Rescue and Recovery (TR&R) United Americas (UA) Colonial Marshal Bureau (CMB) United States Colonial Marine Corps (USCMC) United American Colonial Guard (USCG) United American Outer Rim Defense Fleet (UAORDF) The Union of Progressive Peoples (UPP) Progressive Peoples Cosmos Exploration (CEC) The Three World Empire (3WE) Royal Expeditionary Group (REG) Sir Peter Weyland’s Explorers Academy (SPWEA) ICSC Investment Group (ICSCIG) The Geholgod Institutete (GI) Weyland-Yutani Corporation (W-Y) Seegson Corporation (SC) Hyperdyne Corporations (HC) Omni-Tech Resources (OTR) Gemini Exoplanet Solutions (GES) Kelland Mining Company and Consortium (KMCC) New Albion Protectorate (NAPRO) The book has much information on these organizations’ backbiting, warfare, and alliances. There may be more information that you can incorporate into a campaign, but as we’ll see later, I appreciate how the presented campaign uses this information. Some of the highlights include Weyland-Yutani taking control of exploration for many nations after the UNISC lost contact with several colonies and the war breaking out between several nations coordinated by the UNISC, making any UNISC operations highly strained. This also means that Wayland-Yutani is subcontracting from various unaffiliated nations in many cases, and the colonies are more Wayland-Yutani than any nation they are subcontracting from. However, there is enough information that if you don’t want everything to fall back on “Wayland-Yutani sucks,” you can find other nations and corporations to fill your uncaring organization quota for your campaign. There is also an overview of various regions of the galaxy and the settlements found in those regions. These regions include the Outer Rim Territories (you have to have one of these), the Frontier, and the Far Spinward Colonies. Each of the settlements has the following entries: Location Affiliation Classification Climate Mean Temperature Terrain Colonies Population Key Resources Most of these settlements have a paragraph or two that gives an overview and sometimes a plot hook for using the settlement, like the mysterious disappearance of the settlers, a flashpoint in the Frontier War, or a dramatic shift in climate. The chapter entitled Redacted from the Weyland-Yutani Extrasolar Species Catalog includes several creatures that exist across the galaxy, beyond humans, the Engineers, and Xenomorphs. These include Abominations, creatures mutated by the Engineers’ black goo, The Perfected, an intelligent species also created by the Engineers (picture humans with the techno-organic look of the xenomorphs merged with their skin), proto-xenomorphs, and full xenomorphs. There are also creatures like the Harvesters, giant tardigrade-like creatures used to facilitate mining. Life on the Frontier There are notes on modifying the careers presented in the core rulebook for a colonial career. This includes swapping out key talents and equipment and explaining what that career does in a colonial campaign. For example, Colonial Marines in a colonist campaign aren’t going to be part of a larger unit; they’ll likely be stationed as some of the few defenders of the colony. There are also two new careers: the Wildcatter, professional miners and prospectors, and the Entertainer, who tries to brighten colonists’ lives with your professional skills. These are structured like the professions from the core rulebook, presenting the following: Key Attribute Key Skills Career Talents Personal Agenda Signature Item Appearance Gear Typical Names There is a list of new personal agendas keyed to colonial campaigns and suggested ones for the Wildcatter and Entertainer careers. The book expands on the weapons available, including pistols and rifles manufactured by some colonist-focused corporations and tools that can be used as weapons, like mining lasers and flame throwers. There is also an expanded section on outfits, armor, survival gear, and exploration tools. The key to most of these is to highlight that colonists aren’t likely to have higher-powered military weapons or armor, but there will also be gear that can be repurposed to destructive effect. This section details off-road vehicles, trucks, tractors, small aerial vehicles, shuttles, dropships, and exploration pods. It also includes additional FTL ships, mainly exploratory and colony ships. I can easily see why smaller vehicles need stats showing how much damage they can take, how maneuverable they are, etc., but I’m still at a loss for why the larger FTL ships have combat-oriented stats. Capital ship combat seems to be the least “Alien” thing to spend time on in a campaign, and there is a place in the example campaign where they could use these rules, but they (wisely, in my opinion) don’t focus on the ship to ship combat in that part of the campaign. The Mechanics of Survival The campaign section of the book presents the Game Mother with example missions and scenarios for colonists and discusses campaign themes such as Explorer Campaigns and Colony Campaigns. Colony campaigns try to build up and establish one location, while Explorer campaigns survey different worlds, set up preliminary equipment and then move on to other worlds. Various charts handle unexpected or variable events, like what happens when a Wildcatter goes prospecting or what happens when a compression suit has a breach. I’m happy to report that many of these events interact with the Stress and Stress Dice mechanics. You don’t just gain stress from xenomorphs jumping out at you, but when survival gear breaks, you wonder if you’re going to suffocate due to a lack of oxygen. The Appendix includes expansions to the core rulebook’s random star system generation tables. Several charts show what a starting colony looks like in the game. This includes who sponsors the colony (and who you have to keep happy), what the colony was set up to achieve, and the policies, installments, and projects that modify the stats of your colony, which you measure to see how well your settlement survives if it prospers, and what complications come up. For this style of colonial play, there is a cycle to follow: Phase 1–Colony Incidents Phase 2–The Command Team Does Its Job Phase 3–Grow or Decline Phase 4–Colony Initiatives The suggested pacing for this style of campaign is for the PCs to engage in one or two more traditional adventures before advancing to the next colony cycle. While the cycle generates events that the PCs will have to deal with, the GM is going to have to do the heavy lifting to make sure those one or two adventures between cycles have horror themes because, without that, the colony cycle may appeal to people that want more of a “hard work and a little bit of survival” campaign, and less of a “space doesn’t want us out here, and it’s trying to kill us” style horror. The Lost Worlds Campaign This is the strongest part of the book. This section answers everyone who asks, “What does a campaign even look like in an Alien RPG?” While the Operations Manual also included a multi-part campaign, and I don’t think that one was bad, this feels much more like what I envision for an Alien campaign. While colonial marines may not be prepared to face mutated monstres and xenomorphs, they are trained for violence, and they expect someone or something to try to kill them. Colonists and explorers aren’t expected to do anything other than survive the environments they explore and try to tame. The PCs are part of an expedition sent by the UNISC to reconnect to lost colonies, offer help, and reintegrate them into broader society. The expedition has members of multiple polities on board, eventually becoming a problem as word of the Frontier War reaches the expedition. You also have a nice built-in explanation for new PCs if any of your players have a character that meets their demise since the expedition has tons of colonists in hypersleep, waiting to be tapped to take over for a deceased specialist. This campaign most resembles the Explorer campaign model mentioned elsewhere in the book. The PCs will be sent to various worlds to assess them, make contact with lost colonies, potentially help repair and replace damaged equipment, and resolve any local problems at the colony in question. After each mission, the PCs must present the colony’s potential and world, describing how worthwhile it is to spend resources on that lost colony. Six different expeditions can be approached in any order. Six clues to the Metapuzzle, the campaign’s background story, are slowly coming into focus. In addition to the six expeditions and the six clues for the Metapuzzle, campaign events trigger after the PCs take certain actions or after a set number of expeditions. So, what is going on in the background? An intelligent species, The Perfected, have founded a religion among some of the human colonists in this area, and they have introduced a new strain of the black goo to modify these cultists. The Perfected version of the substance can even mutate the synthetic bodies of androids. The Perfected want to prove to their creators, the Engineers, that they are worthy, and to do this, they want to spread their version of the pathogen and seed their modified versions of the xenomorphs to the wider galaxy. Not literally, because they haven’t seen any Engineers for centuries, but the Engineers considered them a mistake. No one in this region has the coordinates to travel back to the core settlements of the galaxy. The Perfected need a means to find that region of space. The Perfected are attempting to fake out the UNISC expedition, trying to make it look like they’ll use one means of leaving this region of the galaxy to secure another way to do so. That means the PCs will encounter modified xenomorphs, weird mutated cultists, and strange humanoids with a chip on their shoulder, in addition to the warlords, cannibals, overenthusiastic automatons, and petty criminals who live on the various colonies with which they are reestablishing contact. They may also run into bioluminescent xenomorphs and possibly even a Xenomorph Empress. I like this campaign’s structure and the Metapuzzle it uses, but I wish some points were executed better. I don’t like the narrative of one expedition, that people who are under duress turn into barely human cannibals. The expedition involving Warlord Zhāngjié suddenly starts to use the word honor left and right since the people in power are Chinese, and some of the presentation feels like caricature. While I like that actual climax, as it’s presented, running it in three parts, it feels like it needs to cut to the scariest, most dangerous parts of the resolution. The climax involves a confrontation at a space station seeded with mutated xenomorphs, with various factions in open combat. At the same time, the cultists and the Perfected pull everyone’s strings. While on the space station, there are also xenomorphs with the “capture” ability, meaning they’ll cart off captured people to be cocooned into one of the queen’s hives. PCS may end up facehuggered or infected with the modified pathogen, and the best resolution may be to perform a major sacrifice play to save the wider galaxy. It’s an Alien RPG campaign, so players should be prepared for a horrible death. However, given the way the ending may require a Kobayashi Maru no-win situation, you may still need to be careful about your expectations. When you get close to the end of the campaign, you may want to reinforce that it’s unlikely to get the best possible ending they can imagine. I Think if We Are Kind, It Will Be A Kind World This book is the answer to your question about what an Alien RPG campaign would look like As I mentioned above, this book is the answer to your question about what an Alien RPG campaign would look like. Focusing on the colonial and exploratory narratives leans into franchise elements that have been highlighted many times, including in Alien: Romulus. The campaign presented does a great job of taking some of the more comprehensive setting material presented in the front of the book and making it relevant to the campaign. I Don’t Dream at All Some of the essential points in The Lost Worlds campaign, things that need to happen to make everything make sense, aren’t called out or bullet-pointed in a way that makes them stand out. While the campaign uses the setting information well, it does feel like it could be more concise. Some of The Lost Worlds campaign expeditions lean on negative stereotypes and assumptions. The climax itself is satisfying, but everything in the adventure leading to that climax feels like it gets a little bloated. Qualified Recommendation–A product with lots of positive aspects, but buyers may want to understand the context of the product and what it contains before moving it ahead of other purchases. Some tables will get everything they want from the cinematic offerings for Alien: The Roleplaying Game. Two or three nights of quality entertainment per cinematic adventure is a good return on investment. But if you explore what Alien can be as a campaign, this is the stronger option that makes the most of the franchise’s wider setting and themes. But it may take a little work to get everything out of it that it can provide to hit all the right notes.

You may have noticed some significant developments in fantasy games that rely on the 5e OGL for their core rules. Not long after the Great OGL Debacle of 2023, Kobold Press announced that they were working on their own set of 5e OGL fantasy rules, and part of the draw for this set of rules […]

You may have noticed some significant developments in fantasy games that rely on the 5e OGL for their core rules. Not long after the Great OGL Debacle of 2023, Kobold Press announced that they were working on their own set of 5e OGL fantasy rules, and part of the draw for this set of rules is that they could keep their own set of rules closer to what they appreciated about the D&D 5e rules. Tales of the Valiant hit the shelves in June, along with the Monster Vault. It arrived before the September release of the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook and launched with a monster book. Also, with the magic items included in the Player’s Guide, the game was less reliant on the Gamemaster’s Guide, which didn’t arrive until October. Initially, I was thinking of covering all three at once, but as time wore on, I realized that it would be important to look at each separately. This is driven, in part, by the fact that each part of the triumvirate of core books can be useful in a D&D 5e game, even without the other two, without the adoption of the complete Tales of the Valiant rules. Because of this, I will start my coverage of the core books with this article, focusing on the Player’s Guide. Most of what I will be looking at is a comparison to the 2014 rules rather than the 2024 ones. I’ll review the D&D 2024 rules as we get closer to the Monster Manual’s release. Disclaimer I backed the Tales of the Valiant crowdfunding campaign and received a review copy of the Player’s Guide. I am very familiar with 5e SRD fantasy games and have been running a Tales of the Valiant game, although everyone still has tier-1 characters. Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide Publisher: Kobold Press Lead Designer: Celeste Conowitch Designers: JB Little, Sarah Madsen, Sebastian Rombach Developer: Jeff Quick Lead Editor: Jeff Quick Editors: Misty Bourne, Scott Gable, Meagan Maricle, Thomas M. Reid Proofreaders: Meagan Maricle, Kenny Webb Cover Artist: Hugh Pindur Interior Artists: Paola Andreatta, Darren Calvert, Basith Ibrahim, Maria Viktoria Kanellopoulou, Erika Lundrigan, William O’Brien, Corwin Paradinha, Ian Perks, Roberto Pitturru, Addison Rankin, Kiki Moch Rizki, Craig J. Spearing, Florian Stitz, Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson, Eva Widermann, Mat Wilma Graphic Designers: Marc Radle, Amber Seger While composing this review, I’ve been able to reference the PDF, the physical copy of the book, and the Demiplane electronic reference site. The page count is 387 pages, and in the PDF and physical copy, the page breakdown is as follows: Front and Back Cover: 2 pages Title Page and Endpapers: 2 pages Credits and Table of Contents: 5 pages Introduction: 4 pages Character Creation: 126 pages Equipment and Magic Items: 72 pages Game Rules: 40 pages Spellcasting and Spells: 116 pages Appendix: 8 pages Index: 5 pages Character Sheet: 3 pages Ads for other Kobold Press Products: 4 pages The book has a very clean layout. It’s not dissimilar to other Kobold Press offerings, but the text seems to have more breathing room in this book. The artwork in the book looks great. I know some of it is reused from previous books, but much is brand new, and Kobold Press has always had strong artwork in its products. While each page has borders with images from elsewhere in the book, the individual pages are white with blue headers, table elements, and black text. I appreciate flourishes like faded art under text or pages that look like ancient parchment, but I have to admit that bright white pages with easy-to-reference layouts usually win out if you ask my preference. Delving into the Text The character creation section is divided into sections for character classes, lineages, heritages, backgrounds, and talents. The magic items appear at the back of the equipment chapter, and this section mentions that magic items aren’t always intended to be for sale despite having prices added to them. The Playing the Game section includes sections about planes of existence (not specific, but what is usually assumed in the type of game these rules are written for) and downtime activities that introduce some new mechanics. Spellcasting splits spells into new source categories and then splits those categories between standard and ritual spells. I appreciate a few things in the introduction beyond serving its general function of explaining what’s inside. There is a section about what kind of fantasy this game facilitates and a section discussing safety. While it’s only about 75% of a page, it’s got a nice procedural presentation instead of what I’ve seen some traditional games adopting, which is to say that safety is essential. Then, it suggests other places to look for a more in-depth discussion. In this case, it runs the reader through developing lines and veils before the game starts and brings up some common issues that may need to be considered in a heroic fantasy campaign. There is also a section discussing some active safety procedures and tools for use during the game. A Quick Look at What’s Changed from the 2014 5e SRD I’m going to try to hit some of these points upfront before I delve into them with more detail later in the review. The most significant changes seem to be: No ability score bonuses tied to character elements in character creation Race is split into Lineage and Heritage, with lineage being physical traits and heritage being cultural Keensense replaces Blindsight and just means you gain the typical benefits of vision via another sense Feats are changed to talents, and no talents provide ability score bonuses Backgrounds grant you a choice of three different talents Subclass levels have been standardized across all character classes Spells are organized into sources instead of class-specific spell lists Each class has some tweaks to it, but one of the most significant changes is that the Warlock is a half-caster that also has pact magic Fighting Styles are now Martial Actions, which take a bonus action to use and which can be used to trigger a weapon’s Weapon Option Weapon Options are additional effects a weapon can have, but when you attack with a weapon, you have to choose either to do damage or use a Weapon Option Luck replaces Inspiration, and it’s a currency that can either be spent to add to rolls one for one or by spending multiple Luck points, you can reroll The downtime activities of Carousing and Researching can generate favors or clues as narrative currency that can be used while adventuring Ritual spells can only be cast as rituals, and spellcasters keep track of how many rituals they know separately Some of these can be summarized quickly but may have more long-term consequences. For example, the changes to spell lists can shift some of the expected competencies of different classes. Making Heroes and What Makes a Player Character The order of character creation steps as presented in Tales of the Valiant rules is as follows: Character concept Class Ability scores Lineage Heritage Background Equipment Fill in blanks The Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide makes an interesting choice to present multiclassing at the beginning of the character creation section. I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of multiclassing. I think there are enough tools to pick up some flavor from other classes that, for story purposes, you can achieve what you want, and fully multiclassing makes class and subclass design trickier because designers have to take into account what abilities are going to synergize, and what abilities might synergize too well. It also means that many classes are designed to hold off on delivering core elements, so a single-level dip doesn’t provide a separate core play experience. There are a few subtle changes. Some classes grant simple weapon proficiency, which is redundant in the Tales of the Valiant rules because every class gets at least simple weapon proficiency. Multiclassing into Bard or Ranger was used to grant an additional skill, which has been eliminated from the ToV rules. Beyond those changes, it works the same way as in the 2014 rules. Most classes have all of their abilities in the 2014 rules or something similar to replace an ability that appears in that source. However, those abilities may shift up or down multiple levels to accommodate the standardized subclass levels. I would love to dive deeper into this, but I could write whole articles for each class so that I will summarize some of the changes to classes here. Barbarian–Unarmored defense has a higher base AC rather than using both Dex and Con. Barbarians can move when they roll initiative. Brutal Critical affects threat ranges as well as critical damage dice. Unyielding Might now works like the other “reliable” class abilities. Bard–Bards get any finesse marital weapon as a proficiency now. Bardic Inspiration doesn’t specify that you need to decide to use it before you know if the roll is successful. Jack of All Trades is removed from the class abilities and replaced with Expertise. Song of Rest is replaced with Bardic Performance, a class feature with multiple persistent effects when active. Cutting Words has been moved to the core class. Bards pickup a subclass feature at 11th level. We’ll go into this later, but Bard is one class that notices the shift to power source spell lists instead of class spell lists. Cleric–Manifestation of Faith allows the cleric to either get heavy armor and martial weapons or an extra cantrip from any source and a damage bonus to cantrips. Divine Intervention is more reliable but is limited to spells or effects similar to spells that the cleric could typically cast. Blessed Strikes rolls back to 1st level. Clerics gain an 11th-level subclass feature. Druid–Druids aren’t proficient in scimitars anymore, but it still appears as an option for starting equipment. Nature’s Gift is a non-spellcasting healing ability that can be used in beast form. Non-beast creatures with animal tags are also fair game for wildshape forms. A hard cap on hit points from wildshape forms is based on level. You eventually gain the ability to burn wildshape uses to recover spells. Nature’s Grace allows you to ignore the need for food or water, and you can’t have ability scores lowered. Fighter–Martial Actions replace fighting style; Second Wind is replaced with Last Stand, which lets you use a reaction to spend hit dice if you’re below 50% of your hit points. Turn the Tide adds additional damage that’s non-reducible. Monk–Monks can throw items they catch with their Deflect Missile ability without spending a technique point. When a stunned opponent takes damage, they get another save against the effect. Slow Fall is moved up to 9th level as part of Perfect Motion. Tongue of Sun and Moon is changed to Astral Teachings, which allows for proficiency in a language, skill, tool, or weapon. The capstone ability is to gain 2 Technique Points per turn and get 4 when you roll initiative. Paladin–You can use Lay on Hands on yourself as a bonus action. Martial Action replaces Fighting Styles, with minimal options (defending or using two-handed weapons). Aura of Salvation was added as a capstone, which grants resistance to non-magical damage and additional hit points. On the other hand, you can now only smite once per turn, which, honestly, is probably a good thing. Ranger–Explorer replaces Natural Explorer, grants a swim or climb speed, and makes you immune to difficult terrain that isn’t magical. Most of Hunter’s Mark is rolled into a class feature called Mystic Mark, which you can trigger when you hit a target. Martial Action replaces Fighting Styles with limited options (two-weapon fighting or archery).You no longer get Primeval Awareness. You can eventually always pinpoint the location of marked targets. Stalker’s Step replaces Hide in Plain Sight and Vanish and shows up earlier than either. It allows the Ranger to turn invisible if they have natural cover or concealment. Strider lets you move without provoking Opportunity Attacks and gives you advantage on any saves against effects that slow or still you. You gain Keensense instead of Feral Senses. Foe Slayer is no longer limited to once per turn. Rogue–Weapon proficiencies are changed to simple and martial with finesse. Precise Critical increases range, and bonus weapon die on a critical hit. Sorcerer–Weapon proficiency is changed to simple weapons. Font of Magic moves down to 1st level, and Metamagic to 2nd. Additional Metamagic options include Hunting Spell, Lucky Spell, Retain Spell, and Shielding Spell. Sorcerous Renewal gives back some Sorcery Points on a short rest. Devour Spell allows you to absorb a spell targeting you to convert it to Sorcery Points. Your capstone ability lets you target another creature in range to be affected by a spell that affects you. Warlock–Eldritch Blast is a class feature instead of a cantrip. Pact Boon is moved down to 1st level. Pact of the Blade lets you attack using Charisma with melee weapons. Pact of the Chain lets your familiar attack without spending any of your actions, and you can speak through your familiar. Some Eldritch Invocations have effects instead of allowing the Warlock to cast a spell. Warlocks gain a half-caster progression in addition to Pact Magic. Wizard–Magic Sense allows you to detect spellcasters, magic items, and ongoing spells. Rote Spells are spells that don’t count against your prepared spells. Superior Recovery allows you to swap out prepared spells on a short rest. You eventually gain advantage to saves against magic and resistance to spell damage. Spell Mastery now lets you cast each of your Rote Spells once without using a spell slot. Archmage enables you to roll when you cast a spell to see if you used a spell slot to cast the spell. In addition to all these changes, each class gains a Heroic Boon at 10th level, which gives you a decision between one of two abilities that might specialize how you want to approach your class’ role. Some feel like valuable tools that can be tailored to play style, while some have more significant effects. Some boons allow you to trigger a class feature when you roll initiative. In some cases, the Heroic Boon is a slightly different expression of an existing ability. For example, the Fighter doesn’t get Indomitable, but at 10th level, they get two effects that do something similar in two different ways. Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards have options at this level to let them add spells of other sources to the spells they can cast. I like the tweaks away from multiple ability dependence, as seen with the Barbarian. Most abilities that could be triggered a number of times per ability score bonus have been changed to proficiency bonus. However, there are a few that still use ability score bonuses. I like Bards gaining an ongoing ability that can be triggered while maintaining their performance. I miss that concept from earlier edition Bards. I like the idea that Martial Actions require a bonus action to activate, which makes them feel more active, and Martial Actions can be used to trigger Weapon Options. I am a big fan that the Ranger streamlines standard abilities, makes them less fiddly, and still frames them as abilities that a hunter or a scout would learn rather than just adding abilities without context. For both the Ranger and the Warlock, I appreciate that a spell that is effectively a class feature just becomes a class feature. I like that the Wizard’s Spell Mastery has been reworked so that it doesn’t break the game to allow Wizards spells outside their standard list (i.e. unlimited healing). There are a few classes where I’m concerned about what happens with 1st level abilities. Nature’s Gift, especially, catches my eye because it scales based on proficiency bonus versus Druid level. The 2014 Bard can almost be the party’s primary healer if you don’t have a Cleric. Still, the Tales of the Valiant Bard loses much of that functionality by being tied to the Arcane source. Their spells become much less subtle, opening up more area attacks with damage that doesn’t focus on psychic or thunder damage. I’m curious to see what the Aim Martial Action does to bounded accuracy in that it doesn’t add +2; it doubles the proficiency bonus for the attack. Moving Slow Fall to 9th level for the Monk feels like it’s really delaying a core Monk feature, and overall, it feels like Monks got a gentle nerfing when it only needed one ability to be nerfed and probably could have used some boosts. The limited Martial Actions for Paladins and Rangers feel very constricting. Paladins have to choose between specializing in a shield or a two-handed sword, so swashbuckling paladins are suboptimal, and Rangers using a spear are just doing it wrong. I can’t even guess what adding half-casting to a Warlock does without taking anything away. I don’t know if it’s an overall negative, but it feels like something significant to tack on without losing anything. Subclasses I’ve said a few times that Kobold Press makes excellent material, but their subclasses have tended to leave me cold. Sometimes, they feel like they’re just a little bit too rigid to be flexible, or they work well mechanically but don’t quite hit the right notes for the story they tell. I’m not saying they’re bad, but they tended to lean toward 2014 mechanics and sensibilities and not fully embrace some evolving design in books like Xanathar’s and Tasha’s. The Player’s Guide has a mix of updated and new subclasses, with some being replacements for subclasses that weren’t part of the 5e SRD. Barbarian Berserker Wild Fury Bard Lore Victory Cleric Life Light War Druid Shifter Leaf Fighter Spell Blade Weapon Master Monk Flickering Dark Open Hand Paladin Devotion Justice Ranger Hunter Pack Master Rogue Enforcer Thief Sorcerer Chaos Draconic Warlock Fiend Reaper Wizard Battle Mage Cantrip Adept Right off the top, I’m thrilled that the Berserker doesn’t cause a level of exhaustion for using their Frenzy, and I like the new ability they get that does extra damage to an opponent with the frightened condition. I like abilities that trigger based on a condition that the target has. It’s great to have a less supernatural barbarian option that might get played. The Wild Fury is an excellent reconstruction of the Totem Warrior. However, players will need to pay attention to notice what abilities shifted to what animals (you’re going to be looking for Toad). I also like that the higher-level abilities have a different set of animals to alleviate some of the confusion from the 2014 Totem Warrior. There is a simple logic to swapping out Cutting Words as a core Bard ability and putting Jack of All Trades in the Lore Bard. Adding ritual-based abilities also reaffirms the Lore Bard as the one who learns about magic on top of everything else. The Victory Bard is similar in theme to the Valor Bard, but it has more “leader” type abilities, allowing other party members to move and even letting everyone make their save versus an area attack if you do. The Shifter Druid is a nice update to the Circle of the Moon, without the confusing Moon connection to a subclass about shapeshifting. The Leaf subclass is an interesting addition that says, “If we have an animal-focused subclass, why not a plant-based one?” They can spend their Wild Shape to generate a moving grove surrounding them. The Spell Blade is a nice update to the Eldritch Knight with a few tweaks. I wish they had gone one step further and removed the school restrictions from the start. The Weapon Master is the Battle Master if none of your options affected other people, and there are no dice involved, just uses of their stunts. My main problem with this one is that it needs more stunts. I love the Flickering Dark subclass for the Monk. You tap into your inner reserves to generate darkness around you that can either boost you or hinder an opponent near you. It’s thematically a replacement for the Way of Shadow, but it has much different mechanics. The updated Quivering Palm has twists and turns that work against each other. It still can last days before you trigger it, but it goes away when you take a long rest, which is a balancing point for being able to activate it on more than one opponent. The Ranger subclasses make changes to the Hunter and the . . . Ranger with a pet that feels like net positives. The Hunter removes some choices and focuses, makes defenses more straightforward, and gives the Ranger the ability to shortcut to a targeted creature. The Pack Master lets your pet get the benefits of your Mystic Mark, and you can sacrifice them to save you if you take an attack that would take you to 0 (how dare you). The Enforcer has a lot of the Assassin in it, but you aren’t sneaking around to kill people; you’re the person called in to hurt people. Their Brawler ability gives them the same ability as the Swashbuckler subclass, granting sneak attack if you pair off with people to beat down. Kill Shot has a feature that implies something we’ll touch on in a bit, but half of the feature works fine. Thief has some useful changes, but it’s hard for me to get excited about them. I like Chaos much better than the Wild Magic Sorcerer, but you need to roll too often to check for Chaos manifestations. I appreciate that there are features that give you something for triggering a Chaos surge, so you have a reason to want to do it willingly. The Draconic Sorcerer doesn’t worry about playing with fear as much, other than imposing disadvantage to save versus the frightened condition. It has more elemental damage tricks, eventually giving your opponents vulnerability to your elemental type. The Fiend Warlock has some positive tweaks addressing common problems with the subclass. The Reaper Warlock gets an ability that lets them attack in addition to firing off eldritch blasts, and eventually, you can reap souls to give you an armor class boost and area melee attacks as a capstone. The Battle Mage is a merging of Evocation and War Wizard, giving the wizard a bonus to AC when casting spells, keeping from blowing up your allies, and doing damage to opponents when the spell is typically a save or no damage spell. I wish the Cantrip Adept had almost any other theme. “I’m really good at cantrips” doesn’t feel like an exciting draw. Converting one action spells to a bonus action is great, but everything else is about cantrips, and adding more damage to cantrips. I didn’t have much to say about the Cleric or the Paladin subclasses. Overall, these are both interesting subclasses that update some known issues for many, if not all, of the classes. My other minor quibble about subclasses is that, for some reason, subclasses don’t have “titles” anymore. It’s not the Circle of the Leaf; it’s a Leaf druid. Some wording in the classes makes it seem like there may have been names for the subclasses, but that didn’t translate all the way through. What About That New Class? The Mechanist is interesting for several reasons. It’s designed to be more of a front-line combatant than the most comparable class in D&D, the Artificer. In some ways, it’s designed to be the opposite of the Artificer. The Artificer can be a front-line fighter with the proper subclass, but the Mechanist is built that way from the start. The Artificer is a spellcaster, but the Mechanist is only a spellcasting class if you take the subclass that grants it spells. Thematically, I like that this class is something I’ve wanted for a long time. Can I play one of those legendary dwarven smiths or elven swordmakers? That makes the name Mechanist an interesting choice for them since it’s easy to picture them as supernaturally gifted crafts-folk. Beyond the name, the one thing that throws me a little is that the Mechanist’s Shard of Creation is flavored as a glowing glob of plasma that can be shaped into various items. I would have almost rather it had been a little more open to interpretation, as a toolkit, a lump of clay, maybe even a runestone housing lots of the Mechanist’s previous works to be retrieved. Lineage and Heritage Beyond loving the concept, I don’t have much to say about the specifics. In general, Heritages are a little broader than I would like, but I understand this is a core rulebook, and you have to go broad, while a setting book can go more specific. I like the Lineages, with a few notes. Beastkin, Sydereans, and Smallfolk are all “multipurpose” Lineages. Beastkin can be anything from Ravenfolk to Minotaurs, Sydereans can be Aasimar-like or Tiefling-like, and Smallfolk rolls halflings and gnomes into the same package. This goes back to the broader appeal a core book needs because, with fewer lineages, a player can emulate more character concepts. But I like these “subcategories” to have more distinct personalities. Given that Kobold Press has released (as of this writing) two smaller PDFs with more specialized Lineages like Bearfolk and Ratfolk, it shows that they will follow up with more specific options. Backgrounds and Talents Backgrounds only have about a paragraph or so of text but have supporting narratives attached to them. For example, each Background has a Reason for Adventuring that shows examples of why someone with that background would start to delve into dungeons or hire themselves out as a sellsword. There are also three different talents attached to each background, allowing it to be used for multiple character concepts, such as a fighter and a wizard, both of which have a soldier background. From the standpoint of starting from scratch while keeping the game familiar, I like Talents being organized into groups that aren’t open to everyone and standardizing them so that there aren’t some that grant ability bonuses and others that don’t. It feels like a more controlled way of making “feats” more familiar to the game’s core experience. Equipment and Magic Items Most of this section isn’t radically different than what you might expect from the 2014 rules, but there are a few tweaks here and there, some of which are more important than others. For example, Weapon Options were added to weapons. Those options don’t trigger every time the weapon is used, but various classes can use them with some of their abilities, and you can always use them instead of doing damage with the weapon. I like that making those options trigger less often they feel more like a tactical choice that will make a player choose what they want to use. The Weapon Options are Bash, Disarm, Hamstring, Pinning Shot, Pull, Ricochet, and Trip. Armor entries have a “natural materials tag,” which shows that armor of that type isn’t affected by something like a Rust Monster or Heat Metal. That tag got me all excited that they wouldn’t remove the Druid’s restriction on metal armor, but alas, it has been removed. Giving certain materials specific properties is something I like, but I’m not thrilled with how it’s executed in the examples in the book. Silver gives you a smaller die to roll when you attack a creature with the Shapeshifter tag with a silvered weapon, and Adamantine weapons do the same to constructs and objects. We’ll look at this when we get to the Monster Vault, but the exception to damage reduction has been taken out of these entries and is left to the material quality. But one problem with this is, as written, a silver weapon doesn’t bypass a lycanthrope’s damage reduction; it does its regular damage, plus the extra die, still halved for the damage reduction. It feels wrong if that’s the intended way for this to work. If you like vehicles with a stat block, they’re still in this book. One of this section’s best parts is in the tool entries. Each of the tool kits that characters can have proficiency with has the following entries: Associated Abilities Components Special Uses Example Tasks I like the additional guidance for these toolkits and the reasons why you may want to use them. Magic items now have prices associated with them, which aren’t restricted to rarity. Other factors can shift the prices up or down. The book clarifies that magic items aren’t commonly available, but occasionally, you may want to make them available, and the prices help facilitate what happens next. A new level of rarity has been added to the book, fabled items. Fabled items gain more abilities based on the character’s level attuned to the item to grow with the characters. These don’t have prices because they are meant to be exceptional story-based items. I like all this, except we only get four in the Player’s Guide. I would have loved an example item that would be worthwhile for each character class in the book. Playing the Game The core rules haven’t been updated much here. Some terminology changes, like shifting Blindsight to Keensense, are made. The biggest change is the addition of Luck. Luck is a new currency players gain once per turn when they fail an attack roll, a saving throw, or whenever something significant happens and the GM wants to award it. You can spend Luck 1 for 1 to increase the result of a die roll and three Luck to reroll. You can only have up to 5 luck. Seeing this in action in a few games, I like this. I like it better than Inspiration (Heroic Inspiration), which it replaces. The biggest complaint is that in combat and action scenes, Luck takes care of itself, but if you go a long time between those kinds of dangers, your GM still needs to remember to find reasons to hand it out. Encounter Gameplay While this is a Player’s Guide, this is essentially the GM’s section of the Player’s Guide, giving examples of how adventures and campaigns unroll and adding some rules like Hazards. It also includes downtime activities and creates some new currencies that surround them. Carousing can be used to find contacts and generate favors, and research can be used to generate clues. There are examples of what kind of favors can be called in from different contacts, and clues can be used to automatically succeed on an Intelligence check to recall information. The training downtime allows characters to learn proficiency with weapons, armor, or talents, in addition to languages and tools. It still takes forever to learn something, but some of those might be more tempting for a player to attempt. Spellcasting The most significant changes to spellcasting involve splitting spells into four sources, Arcane, Divine, Primordial, and Wyrd, and separating Rituals from other spells. There are no class spells, only sources of power, which certain classes use for their spells. Arcane magic is drawn from ambient magical energies, Divine magic is drawn from the gods and powers of creation, Primordial magic comes from the natural world, and the Wyrd power source pulls from places beyond the standard planes of existence. I have the most problem with Wyrd because it mainly exists for Warlocks and shifts some of the Warlock class’ story. Warlocks now are people who learn to cast spells that tap into the Wyrd power source, who need a patron to keep those energies from warping and twisting them. That feels like it detracts from the feeling of a Warlock being someone willing to bargain for unearned power, and it also means that if you introduce the full range of patrons that have appeared in D&D before, you’ll have genies and angels granting Wyrd power because that’s what the Warlock uses. I like the split between Ritual spells and other spells, and letting classes track known Ritual separately. I like the feel of Rituals being a separate, long term style of magic, which fits a lot of fictional narratives. The downside is that there aren’t enough Rituals to make that Ritual spell list feel robust. There are a few new rituals to fill out some of the power sources, and I know we’re never going to have as many Rituals as we have standard spells, but on the ground, as a brand new rule, it feels like a great idea that could use more support. With four power sources, it will be tricky to determine what kind of spells should go on what list and how to keep all of them feeling distinct. While this can be tricky with Arcane, Divine, and Primordial, it gets even trickier with Wyrd. I can see Primordial as having some overlap as a little bit of Arcane and a little bit of Divine, but Wyrd feels like Arcane, and maybe some stuff that lets you reach out to entities you shouldn’t. I almost feel we need distinct Wyrd spells that do what other spells do, with their own quirks, rather than matching existing spells. One change to spells illustrates what I mean in the above example. The Arcane power source has Create Familiar, a spell where you’re pulling together magical forces to create a unique creature bound to you. But the Wyrd power source still has Find Familiar because they are calling some entity to come and work for them. Most of the spells don’t change much in this source from the 5e SRD, but there are a few new ones from other Kobold Press sources, like Gear Barrage. There are also some interesting reframings in some spells, like changing Fire Shield to Elemental Shield and adding additional damage types. While this shouldn’t throw people off too much, it does mean that some spells that could have used some tweaks or clarification, like Tiny Hut or Heroes Feast, don’t get any changes. Goodberry does get a slight change in that it can only sustain people every other day, meaning you can’t infinitely feed a small group of people with spellcasting. As with the Druid’s Wild Shape ability, creatures with the Animal tag may now be subject to some spells used only to affect the Beast type. This is basically the “fix” for using spells that affect animals and also affect hybrids like hippogryphs or owlbears. Appendix The appendix has a variety of information, including the gods of the Labyrinth, Kobold Press’s new “meta-setting” for the game, which holds every other campaign world you can think of. The gods included cover Dreams, War, Deception, Crafting, the Moon, and the Sun, and leave me wanting a little more in terms of covering standard pantheon roles. There are also lists of Egyptian, Greek, and Norse gods. These gods are listed with Domains that go beyond the three presented in this book, with a disclaimer that future products will have more. That makes me wonder if Kobold Press will do books like Xanathar’s or Tasha’s for this line or like their own Tome of Heroes. Without a “core” setting-neutral book providing these options, they may not get as many people invested in setting up books and adventures to get more options. Some stat blocks for different creatures may come up, either through purchase or class abilities. There are some changes to the stat block, which I’m not going to go into here because I’m going to dive into the Monster Vault all on its own. It’s Not in the Book, But . . . When looking for clarification on the Enforcer’s capstone ability, I wanted to see if there was any explanation. On the Kobold Press Discord, it appears that the Rogue’s Sneak Attack was meant to trigger only once per turn on their turn, which would align with some of the earlier playtest documents for the 2024 D&D rules. The indication was that it would be addressed in an errata. I hope they don’t do this. I don’t think the Rogue is overpowered with this ability, and it actually feels like a Sneak Attack to be able to get that damage when they can make attacks on other turns. It also makes the Rogue a little stickier, and dangerous to retreat from without using a full Withdrawal action. I don’t think the Rogue needs to be nerfed in this way. Valiant Tales Many of the rules in the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide do what it says on the tin, staying closer to the pre-2024 iteration of D&D, with some tweaks here and there to make things work better and to curtail noted problems Many of the rules in the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide do what it says on the tin, staying closer to the pre-2024 iteration of D&D, with some tweaks here and there to make things work better and to curtail noted problems. Lineage and Heritage are a great change. Luck is an excellent replacement for Inspiration, and I like creating currencies for Downtime activities that can be used while adventuring. It’s appealing to give secondary uses and traits to weapons, and building ways for them to work that don’t cause them to be triggered and adjudicated constantly is a plus. I love the descriptions and examples of the tools. Magic item pricing that isn’t overly broad is greatly appreciated. I like the logic behind splitting Rituals out from other spells. Lost in the Labyrinth There may be more changes to expected gameplay by grouping sources of magic than is immediately apparent, and the Bard, especially, feels like a very similar frame that will have a different role in the party. I hope the change talked about for the Rogue doesn’t get made in future printings. I think their Sneak Attack is fine, and once it’s in print, it will take a lot of people by (unpleasant) surprise. I don’t know how I feel about the Warlock and just gaining a spellcasting progression, and I don’t like how the power sources change the “story” of the class. I didn’t want drastically reimagined spells, but a few more problem children getting some fixes would have been appreciated. Rituals are a good idea that feels a little thin. Qualified Recommendation–A product with lots of positive aspects, but buyers may want to understand the context of the product and what it contains before moving it ahead of other purchases. If you want a version of the 5e SRD rules that just cleans up the 2014 rules and addresses some issues with the system, and the 2024 D&D rules don’t do exactly what you want them to do, this system will get you most of the way there. I would say using some of the classes with their ToV changes but with their original class spell list is an upgrade in many cases. The Ranger exemplifies this. However, if you do that, you cannot use your 2014 subclasses without modifications, which will be a sticking point for many people. Its strange that more of Kobold Press’ library of subclasses will work better with 2024 D&D than with Tales of the Valiant. Cutting off full compatibility with the 2014 SRD material means that this line will need to provide a lot of variety quickly to feel as robust as the other option. Some of the most needed content will be subclasses and rituals. I’m still waiting to get a feel for how changing spell lists and significant changes like the Warlock’s redesign will affect expectations. But there is enough in here that isn’t an open question, and I appreciate everything Kobold Press has done here.

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Kraken are referenced in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, but players never actually get to fight one in CD Projekt Red’s 2015 open-world epic. So the animated movie The Witcher: Sirens of The Deep is giving fans the next best thing: a front-row seat to Geralt going Berserk-mode on one of the giant-tentacled sea…

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Fortnite Festival’s new season starring digital superstar Hatsune Miku is now live and that’s cool and all. The big news from this update, however, is that you can now play with three other people on a single console and TV, which means Fortnite Festival is getting closer and closer to being an actual Rock…

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Some people want to make their mothers proud, others don’t, and then there’s Bad Bunny. In his recent Rolling Stone interview, the multi-platinum superstar expressed his interest in returning to the WWE ring, only if he can take it to a level that would frighten his mother.

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The Until Dawn movie is an adaptation of the 2015 horror game with different characters, a different story, and an entirely different premise. So what’s the point exactly? That’s what fans are wondering and the first teaser trailer doesn’t do much to address that question.

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Update: 1/15/2025, 9:55 a.m. ET: We’ve received a statement from The Pokémon Company International regarding this situation, which is reproduced in full below. In it, the company states that it is attempting to print more cards for the sniped sets, as well as promising restocks on the Pokémon Center websites in the…

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Jonathon Rees, better known by his stage name, Greg Ellis, was the voice behind Dragon Age’s fan-favorite templar knight and romanceable NPC companion, Cullen Rutherford. He was arrested last week on multiple charges of coercion, unlawful surveillance, and harassment stemming from a 2022 breakup after which he…

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The Australian Open, the first big professional tennis tournament of 2025, is happening right now in Melbourne. But depending on where you live or whether you have access to cable or not, it’s very possible that you can’t easily or freely watch matches. Don’t worry, the Australian Open has a solution and it looks a…

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 raced into theaters late December and has already earned more than $380 million worldwide. That’s impressive enough! But over the weekend, Sonic 3 did something only one other video game movie has ever done: It has now earned over $200 million domestically.

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The first season of Castlevania: Nocturne didn’t end too well for Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel), and the second season looks like more trouble is on the way. In the final trailer for Castlevania: Nocturne’s second season, Erzsebet Báthory (Franka Potente), now referred to as The Vampire Messiah, has unleashed a war…

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Changes coming in Path of Exile 2's first update of 2025 have been previewed in a recent developer diary. While bigger overhauls of the early-access action-RPG’s economy, progression, and class balancing will come in the future, fans have some worthwhile teaks to look forward to in the meantime.

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Support characters are the backbone of any team-based game. While some might believe you can just out-damage an enemy team to victory, if they have someone healing their team and providing utility beyond making numbers go up or down, they’re more than likely going to outplay you. That’s certainly the case in Marvel…

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If you spend any amount of time playing Path of Exile, whether it’s the free-to-play original or the current Early Access, paid version of its sequel, you’ll notice countless players running around as the iconic Witch class. It’s a fan-favorite due to its highly viable minion builds that sprint through zones, clearing…

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After years of rumors suggesting it was in the works, a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion appears to be closer to releasing than ever, with some sources suggesting it could come as early as 2025. The modern version, created in Unreal Engine 5, would give fans of the open-world RPG series something to take their…

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A Marvel TV series can’t exist for too long before its chronological placement in the tapestry of titles known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is revealed. Weeks before Disney’s cel-shaded series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man makes its debut, executive producer Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt decided to put the latest…

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A lot of Minecraft’s more recent attention tends to be about the upcoming movie adaptation, but the game is still getting plenty of love and support. If you’ve been tuned out of Minecraft, you might’ve missed news about the recently released game drop, which added a brand-new biome to explore called the Pale Garden.…

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Nearly 19,000 video games were released on Steam in 2024. That’s a lot! In fact, it’s more than hit the platform in any other year. But most of those games, around 80 percent of them in fact, went mostly unplayed, according to publicly available data.

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Werewolves may not be as sexy as vampires, or as spine-chilling as ghosts, but their violent and tragic stories make for fascinating supernatural creatures that have been a crucial part of the horror genre for decades. Their stories typically revolve around someone losing their humanity and sense of self, becoming…

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AMD TechTalk provides insight on data center to edge innovation that helps IT managers optimize today's deployments and tomorrow's infrastructure planning. Hosted by AMD's director of server competitive marketing, Jim Greene, and featuring leading technologists from AMD and the industry, AMD TechTalk features discussion on servers, cloud computing, AI, HPC and more.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Arun Nandi, Head of Data and Analytics at Unilever, about how AI and Gen AI are driving smarter decision-making, optimizing sustainability, and creating real business impact across Unilever’s global operations.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Neeraj Kumar, Chief Data Scientist at PNNL, about how AI is accelerating discovery across scientific research, energy efficiency, and healthcare.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Iddo Kadim, Field CTO at NeuReality, about the rapid evolution of AI, the future of enterprise deployment, and the infrastructure changes driving innovation.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Todd Koelling, Senior Director of Product and Solutions Marketing at Synopsys about how AI is reshaping the semiconductor industry and how the partnership between AMD and Synopsys led to the fastest ramping product in AMD history.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Steen Graham, founder of Metrum AI, to explore the evolving world of AI infrastructure, testing, and enterprise solutions.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Mahdi Ghodsi, Director of Engineering at Aupera Technologies about how edge AI is transforming video processing across industries like retail, security, and smart cities.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Eric Herzog, CMO of Infinidat about how it leverages cutting-edge technology to revolutionize enterprise storage, AI, and cybersecurity.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Linda Yang, the Senior Solution Manager at Supermicro about the transformative impact of AI on computing infrastructure and the sustainable innovative solutions Supermicro is providing to meet these demands.

TechTalk Host Jim Greene chats with Meena Arunachalam, AMD's AI Systems Engineering Director and Fellow, about how RAG is paving a simpler path to AI adoption in the enterprise and delivering capability to ensure an enterprise-class reliability to AI solutions.

Tech Talk host Jim Greene chats with Alan Czeszynski, VP of Product at BeeKeeperAI, about how BeeKeeperAI's EscrowAI platform enables secure collaboration between algorithm developers and data stewards, preserving data privacy and intellectual property. Jim and Alan explore the technology, its applications across industries, and the future of AI and data security.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Robert Daigle, Director of Global AI Business at Lenovo about how AI is evolving in the enterprise, challenges organizations are currently facing to deploy AI solutions, gaps in sustainable infrastructure solutions, and how Lenovo is positioning itself to help customers deploy technology right sized for responsible delivery of AI at scale.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Oii co-founder and CEO, Bob Rogers, about how his organization is tapping AI to bring new levels of insight and control to supply chains, and how infrastructure optimization is critical to fully unleash the potential of Oii solutions.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with the VP of Sales and Alliances at RadiusAI, Robert Hubbard, about how they're transforming the retail checkout game with AMD EPYC CPUs. With AI-assisted checkout, RadiusAI is lowering shrink and food waste, and increasing employee retention and customer satisfaction.

AMD TechTalk host talks with Oracle's VP of Mission-Critical Database Product Management, Ashish Ray, about how his organization is shaping the future of enterprise data management and how Oracle is tapping AMD EPYC processors to deliver the performance required by enterprise customers.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Chaos' Director of Media and Entertainment and Strategic Products, Albena Ivanova about how her company is disrupting the world of media and entertainment with new software capabilities that tap AMD EPYC performance.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Geico's Rebecca Weekly about how her organization tackles compute innovation to serve corporate requirements and customer needs and how AI's advancement represents new opportunity for IT innovation

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with GigaIO CEO Alan Benjamin about his company's unique take on delivering SUPERNODE, a scalable platform alternative that fast tracks company deployment of AI workloads.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with IronYun's Paul Sun about how his company is infusing AI into analytics solutions that yield breakthrough results for customers and how the IronYun team has worked with AMD to deliver improved performance and efficiency for customer deployments.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Ateme's Director of Technology and Standards, Jan Outters, about how the company is transforming media delivery with AI infused encoding innovation.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Altair's Fatma Kocer-Poyraz about how her company is driving unique engineering solutions to market by tapping the confluence of AI and data science.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with Ansys's Wim Slagter about how his company is tapping AI to improve simulation and comments on the deep collaboration between Ansys and AMD in driving the highest performance solutions to customers.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene sits down with Cadence's Dan Lee to discuss the Spectre simulation suite and how the company is helping to advance silicon design with the help of AMD EPYC processor performance.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with AMD's Server Solutions Group CVP Ravishankar Kuppuswamy about changing computing requirements in the AI era and how AMD EPYC processors will deliver core capabilities to customers as they implement generative AI models.

AMD Tech Talk host Jim Greene chat's with Hexagon's Vicky Tsianika about the company's multi-physics and fluid dynamics solutions, how these markets are being re-shaped by AI, and how Hexagon has tapped AMD EPYC processors to fuel improved performance for their customers.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with security expert Sally Eaves on the latest requirements for data center security in the AI era and how a hardware root of trust is becoming even more important for trusted environments.

AMD TechTalk host Jim Greene chats with IT veteran Ramki Balasubramanian about challenges facing IT professionals with today's workloads and how his organization approaches infrastructure modernization including use of AMD EPYC processors.

TechTalk host Jim Greene chat's with Clarify 360 analyst Jo Peterson on her view of the state of data center security, new opportunities and threats posed by AI, and how a hardware root of trust can help data center managers best protect their organizations.

AMD Tech Talk host Jim Greene chats with Cloudflare VP Rebecca Weekly about her organization's challenges in delivering to customer demands at the edge, where industry innovation is headed to deliver the performance required to fuel AI workloads, and how her company has tapped AMD EPYC processors to fuel innovation.

AMD Tech Talk host Jim Greene chats with Charles Luzzato, SIMULIA Industrial Equipment Industry Process Director, at Dassault Systèmes about how SIMULIA taps data to improve data center performance and efficiency, and how AMD EPYC processors deliver a performance foundation for SIMULIA deployments.

AMD Tech Talk host Dylan Larson sits down with tech guru Jason Collier to chat about the realities of managing virtualized environments and how AMD EPYC platforms can help IT managers drive innovation into the enterprise.

In this episode, TechTalk host Dylan Larson chats with Lynn Comp, AMD Vice President of Server Technology Marketing, about the unique opportunity new infrastructure represents in freeing IT resources for innovation.

TechTalk host sits down with the TechArena's Allyson Klein to discuss performance characteristics of multi-cloud environments and infrastructure evolution with the shift to distributed computing environments across cloud and edge.

AMD TechTalk host Dylan Larson chat's with CTO Advisor Keith Townsend on the hidden costs of IT inaction in modernizing data center infrastructure and what can be done to spur innovation.

In this episode AMD TechTalk host Dylan Larson chats with AMD's Server System Architect Mahesh Wagh about disruptive innovation coming to server platforms and how technologies like CXL will create new opportunity for memory capacity scaling and system design flexibility. Learn more at www.amd.com

Video Game Reviews, Features, and Gaming News

Marvelous has officially revealed the release date for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. The next installment in the action RPG and life-sim series will drop for Nintendo Switch and PC on May 30, 2025. Set in the Japanese-inspired land of Azuma, Guardians of Azuma puts players in the shoes of an Earth Dancer, a hero […]

Bandai Namco Entertainment America has released a new Bleach Rebirth of Souls trailer that goes deeper into the combat and game modes of the upcoming fighting game. The new video, dubbed the System Overview Trailer, delves into the battle system and the many different combat styles of the playable roster. It explains the different attacks and awakenings […]

Square Enix has confirmed that the upcoming PC port of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is officially verified for the Steam Deck. A video posted to the company’s Twitter account showed the critically acclaimed game running on the Steam Deck, confirming it will be verified for the portable console.  The PC version is set to release on […]

Nintendo has finally given fans their first look at the successor to the Nintendo Switch console, dubbed the Nintendo Switch 2. Details on the console were given, including a release date window for the successor. The Nintendo Switch 2 will release this year in 2025, with a more in-depth presentation on the console set to […]

Stray Kite Studios has released a trailer revealing a new fantasy tactics game titled Wartorn. The trailer shows off the title’s dynamic combat and many of the mythical monsters that inhabit its world. According to a press release, it features destructible environments, a slow-time feature, a roguelite progression system, and more. The game is set to […]

Tales of Graces f is considered one of the better Tales of games. With a strong focus on combat, a lovely cast of characters, and an easy to follow story, Tales of Graces f stands out in the series. And if I were to be reviewing Tales of Graces f on its merits as a […]

NetEase Games and Nitro Plus have revealed the Rusty Rabbit release date for the upcoming 2.5D side-scrolling action-adventure game. In a trailer released by NetEase yesterday, it was announced that Rusty Rabbit will be released for the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC on Thursday, April 17, 2025. The title will cost $19.99 MSRP, and preorders for the […]

Rebel Wolves has unveiled a cinematic trailer and gameplay teaser for its upcoming action RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. Set to be the first chapter in Rebel Wolves’ dark fantasy saga, players got their first look at the dark world of The Blood of Dawnwalker in the video released today under the full Wolf Moon. The […]

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an intriguing take on the tried-and-true musou formula that will rope you in with its story, characters, and dynamic gameplay. It can be repetitive and has some so-so line deliveries, but this is a great entry in this long-running and beloved series. Dynasty Warriors: Origins Developer: Omega Force  Price: $70 Platform: […]

FuturLab and Square Enix Collective have revealed that Wallace & Gromit will be the next franchise to cross over with PowerWash Simulator. Following the recent release of the new film Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, it was announced that players will be able to clean up everything from the British suburb Wallace resides in to the cheesy […]

N4G: news feed

VGChartz's Evan Norris: "Even if, as a remaster, Ys Memoire doesn't move the needle much, the base game is absolutely worth playing, both for admirers of action-RPGs and for newer Ys fans who want to experience Adol's earlier adventures. If you already have the Steam or PSP version, you'd probably need this version only for the convenience of playing on a modern console. If, however, you've never experienced the game, this is a perfect opportunity to play the best, most complete version of it."

During a recent preview event, NIS America announced that The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II  will be getting a new Story and Gameplay demo in the West on January 24 exclusively for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

A prominent former PlayStation executive has discussed the future of Bloodborne, stating that everyone is likely waiting on Miyazaki.

Tales of Graces f Remastered maximizes its own potential by utilizing many options that already existed in the game. By adding boosts to practically everything, players can customize their experience to cater to their wanted playthrough. Throw in nearly all the DLC seen in the PS3 original, and this remaster is essentially the perfect version of Tales of Graces f to experience.

Publisher Koei Tecmo and developer Team NINJA have released a new trailer for immersive romance adventure game Venus Vacation PRISM: DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme dubbed Carrot and Stick.

"You have to tell us what you want and not what you don't want" - Tm Cain, the co-creator of the original Fallout game.

Infold Games: "Hot off the press! The very first issue of Whimsical Tabloid in 2025 is now available across Miraland! (´`*) Unbelievable! So many stylists have conquered every level of the Wishing Nebula! What a catch! The Lucky Fishing Day brought in an incredible haul of Pink Ribbon Eels! All this and more exclusive news await in Whimsical Tabloid! P.S. Whispers of a spectacular carnival are spreading Stylists, you won't want to miss this! Come check it out! ()"

It surely would have been a contender at The Game Awards if it hadnt been released a matter of days too late

Balatro, 1000xResist, and Another Crab's Treasure are finding new ways to make development more sustainable

As a game designed to bridge the gap between mainline entries, just like The Man Who Erased His Name, you won't find another 70+ hour RPG in Goro Majima's latest escapade. That's okay, though, because RGG Studio is already primed to deliver long-lasting quality in a different way. That's in its memorable absurdity, but RGG Studio has already managed to communicate it much more effectively in just four words: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Your source for news, information, product releases, events, sports, entertainment & exclusive content relating to Xbox

The post Free Play Days – January EA Sports Takeover appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Games January 16, 2025 Free Play Days – January EA Sports Takeover Kyle Ocean, Marketing Manager, Xbox Gear up for a weekend of non-stop thrills and epic showdowns! Whether you’re scoring goals, hitting the gridiron, racing to the finish line, or landing knockout punches, this weekend has it all with Free Play Days! FC 25, College Football 25, Madden NFL 25, F1 24, NHL 25, UFC 5, WRC 24 and PGA Tour are available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core members to play from Thursday January 16 at 12:01am Pacific until Sunday, January 19 at 11:59 Pacific. How To Start Playing Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on Xbox.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Keep The Fun Going Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region. Free Play Days (Membership Required) EA SPORTS FC 25 Standard Edition Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 594 ★★★★★ $69.99 $27.99 Get it now EA Sports FC 25 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S EA Sports FC 25 gives you more ways to win for the club. Team up with friends in your favorite modes with the new 5v5 Rush, and manage your club to victory as FC IQ delivers more tactical control than ever before. EA SPORTS College Football 25 Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 1307 ★★★★★ $69.99 $27.99 Get it now Free Trial EA Sports College Football 25 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S In EA Sports College Football 25, experience explosive gameplay variety across 134 FBS schools and immerse yourself in the iconic atmospheres of college football as you chase college greatness. EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 677 ★★★★★ $69.99 $20.99 Get it now EA Sports Madden NFL 25 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Hit like you mean it with FieldSense powered by Boom Tech on Xbox Series X|S. Experience how the new physics-informed dynamic tackling system unlocks realistic collisions & new gameplay animations on both sides of the ball. F1® 24 Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 203 ★★★★★ $69.99 $13.99 Get it now Free Trial F1 24 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Be One of the 20 and drive like the greatest in EA Sports F1 24, the official videogame of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship. NHL® 25 Xbox Series X|S Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 245 ★★★★★ Get it now Free Trial NHL 25 (Xbox Series X|S) Optimized for Xbox Series X|S EA Sports NHL 25 is powered by ICE-Q, a new gameplay intelligence system that gives you the time and space to control every inch of the ice. Experience true hockey intelligence. UFC® 5 Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 515 ★★★★★ $69.99 $34.99 Get it now UFC 5 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Powered by Frostbite, EA Sports UFC 5 is the next evolution of the fight game. From unrivalled graphics upgrades to all-new damage systems and doctor stoppages that affect gameplay in truly authentic fashion — this is as real as it gets. EA SPORTS WRC 24 Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 126 ★★★★★ $49.99 $14.99 Get it now EA Sports WRC 24 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Experience the thrill of the 2024 rally season with new locations, moments, stages, high-performance vehicles, and licensed crews. Drive the latest models in new liveries. Brace yourself to embark on your rally journey. EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Electronic Arts ☆☆☆☆☆ 309 ★★★★★ $69.99 $6.99 Get it now EA Sports PGA Tour Optimized for Xbox Series X|S The exclusive home of the Majors, EA Sports PGA Tour features Pure Strike for superior golf gameplay powered by ShotLink, and unrivaled access to the world’s most exclusive golf courses. Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news. The post Free Play Days – January EA Sports Takeover appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Celebrate the New Year With UFC 5 Joining the Play List and EA Sports Week appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Xbox Game Pass January 15, 2025 Celebrate the New Year With UFC 5 Joining the Play List and EA Sports Week Charlie FortescueDirector, Global Corporate Communications, EA EA Sports UFC 5 Get ready to unleash your fury as EA Sports UFC 5 is now on the Play List for all EA Play members (conditions, limitations and exclusions apply – see here for details). Members can now step into the Octagon with their favorite MMA players for the most definitive MMA experience with authentic gameplay and graphics maximized for modern consoles. Alongside unlimited access to EA SPORTS UFC 5, EA Play members can score the Bruce Lee Bundle and play as Alter Egos of the father of MMA. The bundle is available to all members at no additional cost from January 14 through February 11. Powered by the Frostbite Engine, EA Sports UFC 5 features the all-new Real Impact System, which elevates the stakes, technique, drama and excitement; players can feel every strike and deliver highlight-reel finishes bringing the intensity and strategy of a fight to life. The game’s advanced visuals and enriched gameplay, coupled with features like Cinematic K.O. Replays, Doctor’s Checks and Stoppages, Seamless Submissions and more, create an unparalleled MMA interactive experience, making EA Sports UFC 5 as real as it gets. EA Sports Week This month, the fight continues outside of the Octagon as Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can punch into EA Sports Week with a special, 90% off discount for UFC 5 Super Deluxe Edition! Members can celebrate EA Sports Week with friends as everyone will be able to access the EA Sports game collection, earn discounts on EA Sports games, get a Free Play weekend January 16-19, 2025 for all sports titles, and more. The celebration starts with the EA Sports FC 25’s ‘Team of the Year’ two-week activation and the addition of EA Sports UFC 5 to the Play List. January Rewards If you thought that was it, you’re mistaken! The gifting continues this month for EA Play members as the new year brings new heart pumping action with all the great rewards, including: Apex Legends Feelin’ lucky? Weapon Charm – Now to February 3 Battlefield 2042 Winter Series – Now to January 28 EA Sports F1 24 5000 XP Boost – Now to January 31 Madden NFL 25 MUT Pack – Now to January 31 EA Sports FC 25 Black FC Mask & Clubs Coins – Now to January 30 EA Sports FC 25 Football Ultimate Team Draft Token– Now to February 14 EA Sports NHL 25 WOC Battle Pass XP Modifier Tokens – Now to January 30 EA Sports NHL 25 3000 CHEL Coins – Now to January 30 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members receive EA Play with their Game Pass subscription. Members can experience the world of EA with unlimited access to a collection of top titles, trials of select new games, in-game member rewards, 10% on EA digital purchases and more. Members can unlock the thrill of their next favorite game with up to 10-hour trials of EA’s latest titles such as EA Sports FC 25, EA Sports NHL 25 EA Sports Madden NFL 25, EA Sports College Football 25, F1 24 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, in addition toaccess to an unrivaled collection of EA’s best-loved series and top titles, including Madden NFL 24,EA Sports FC 24, EA Sports WRC and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Visit the EA Play page for more details, and to stay up to date on the latest from EA Play, follow EA Play on, Instagram, or X. Please see EA.com/EA-Play/Terms for terms and conditions. Related Stories for “Celebrate the New Year With UFC 5 Joining the Play List and EA Sports Week” Category: Games Free Play Days – January EA Sports Takeover Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17 Category: Developer_Direct Developer_Direct Returns on January 23 – A Celebration of What’s Coming for Xbox Players The post Celebrate the New Year With UFC 5 Joining the Play List and EA Sports Week appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Introducing More Ways for Players to Repair their Xbox Consoles, Reduce Waste and Save Energy  appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Responsible Gaming January 15, 2025 Introducing More Ways for Players to Repair their Xbox Consoles, Reduce Waste and Save Energy Trista PattersonDirector of Gaming Sustainability, Xbox At Xbox, we’re continuing to improve how we design, build, distribute, and use our products to reduce our environmental impact and help us reach Microsoft’s goal of being a zero waste, carbon negative, and water positive company by 2030. Finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint of gaming not only helps the environment but also creates benefits for our collective community of players. We’ve heard from players that they want more options for support when their Xbox consoles need repair. Today, we’re expanding our repairability program, giving players even more options to get their Xbox Series X|S console options – the Xbox Series S – 1TB in Robot White, Xbox Series X – 1TB Digital Edition in Robot White, and Xbox Series X – 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition – fixed should they ever need to, while also reducing and preventing waste. Expanding Repairability, Updating Console Packaging and Reducing Plastic Waste Players will soon have more options for support when considering in-person repairs for the three Xbox Series X|S console options. On January 20, uBreakiFix by Asurion will become the first Xbox Authorized Service Provider to repair Xbox consoles at its nearly 700 participating store locations across the U.S. In-person Xbox console repairs were previously only possible through the Microsoft Store, which means players will now have even more ways to repair their consoles, separate from Microsoft’s own support channels. Players should check with their local uBreakiFix by Asurion store to confirm participation in this repairability program. Additionally, replacement components for the three Xbox Series X|S console options are now available for purchase via the Microsoft Store and replacement console parts are also now available for purchase online via the Microsoft Repair Hub on iFixit. With the purchase of replacement components previously limited to controller parts and only available through the Microsoft Store, these additional repair options allow players to choose the repairability solution that works best for them, even if their console is out-of-warranty. By expanding the number of ways players can get support and repair for their Xbox consoles, we also help extend the longevity of Xbox devices, reduce waste, promote re-use, and ultimately reduce our environmental impact. Providing more options for repair isn’t the only way Xbox is reducing plastic waste. At Microsoft, our goal is to eliminate single-use plastics from our packaging by 2025. Packaging for the three Xbox Series X|S console options are now fully paper and fiber-based, eliminating all single-use plastics. Reducing Carbon Impact through Energy Updates We recently announced that, in just three years (FY20-FY23), Xbox has contributed to Microsoft’s goal of becoming a zero waste, carbon negative, and water positive company by 2030 with interventions to reduce energy from console usage that have prevented over 1.2 million metric tons of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide equivalent) compared to usage without interventions. According to US EPA estimates, this reduction prevents emissions equivalent to more than 3 billion car miles (driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle) being released into the atmosphere. Through recent system updates to Xbox consoles, we have also made significant advancements in how Xbox Series S handles video content. So far, these improvements have led to an average reduction approaching 10% in power consumption across all media apps on Xbox Series S, contributing towards lowering Microsoft’s usage-based carbon footprint and potentially allowing players to save on their monthly electric bills. Making Xbox consoles more energy efficient through system updates and player adoption of energy saving features like the Shutdown (energy saving) power option, which do not compromise gameplay, media app, or console performance, have been the primary ways Xbox and our community have contributed to these energy and emissions savings. To ensure you’re taking advantage of the latest energy efficiency features on console, go to Settings > General > Power options and confirm that Shutdown (energy saving) is active. Collaboration Between Game Studios The work towards building a more sustainable future for gaming is never complete, and at Xbox we are committed to continuously enhancing sustainability in gaming by implementing innovative solutions to reduce our environmental impact that preserve the gameplay experiences our players love. Achieving these goals is only possible through collaboration with others in the industry, and we’re proud to see game creators not only leverage the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit, which helps them create more energy-efficient games, to implement energy savings via their own games but also take those learnings and continue their own work of identifying new ways of reducing impact on the environment. Gaming brings joy to players, but we recognize it also has an impact on our environment. Our commitment to our players and the industry is to work to minimize that impact. We have set ambitious goals at Microsoft and it won’t be a straight path to 2030, but we are committed to achieving these goals by empowering game creators, designers, and production teams with the cutting-edge analytic tools, bespoke toolkits, and cross-team solutions that can allow everyone to continue to a build a more sustainable gaming future. To learn more about our efforts to improve our environmental impact, visit xbox.com/sustainability. Related Stories for “Introducing More Ways for Players to Repair their Xbox Consoles, Reduce Waste and Save Energy “ Category: Holiday 2024 How to Ensure a Fun, Safe and Welcoming Gaming Experience for Your Kids on Xbox This Holiday Season Category: Responsible Gaming Xbox Introduces New AI Solutions to Protect Players from Unwanted Messages in its Multifaceted Approach to Safety Category: Responsible Gaming A Progress Update on Our Carbon Reduction Goals at Xbox The post Introducing More Ways for Players to Repair their Xbox Consoles, Reduce Waste and Save Energy appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Happy new year! 33 Immortals is back for Xbox Insiders with a third playtest starting January 28. The playtest will be available for 10 days and end on February 6. Thunder Lotus Games incorporated more updates and is excited for Xbox Insiders to try them and to get your feedback. Limited space is available so […]

The post 33 Immortals Third Playtest is Back from Jan 28 to Feb 7 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Happy new year! 33 Immortals is back for Xbox Insiders with a third playtest starting January 28. The playtest will be available for 10 days and end on February 6. Thunder Lotus Games incorporated more updates and is excited for Xbox Insiders to try them and to get your feedback. Limited space is available so be ready to join on January 28 to experience this co-op action-roguelike for 33 players. About the Game: Play a damned soul, and rebel against God’s final judgment. Dive straight into epic 33-player co-op battles with instant “pick-up and raid” matchmaking. Cooperate with your allies to survive against hordes of monsters and massive, challenging bosses. Expand your arsenal and equip powerful new relics to permanently upgrade your soul. Face the Wrath of God in a fight for your eternal life. If you want to learn more, please sign up on the 33 Immortals Website! Updates and Fixes: First Time User experience: New cutscene has been added to welcome players to the game. Dialogue has been streamlined. New dialogue added. New compendium entries have been added with updated UI. Other: Relics can now be rerolled in the Relic Inventory. Meta currencies (Eternal Shards, Paragons, Stardust) totals will now appear when collected during a run. Reduced the speed of a player being revived while in soul form. Players will now be healed for a % of HP instead of a flat number when using Bone Shrines. Adjusted the difficulty of Inferno Wrath of God phases to allow them to scale in difficulty in later maps. For a full list of updates, please see our patch notes. Playtest Times: Start: Tuesday, January 28, 7:00 AM PT (10:00 AM ET / 2:00 PM GMT) End: Friday, February 7, 7:00 AM PT (10:00 AM ET / 2:00 PM GMT) How to Participate: On January 28, sign-in on your Xbox Series X|S console or Windows PC and launch the Xbox Insider Hub app (or install the Xbox Insider Hub from the Store first if necessary) Navigate to Previews > 33 Immortals Select Join Wait for the registration to complete and be directed to the Store and install 33 Immortals Beta NOTE: Limited space is available and offered first-come first-served. NOTE: This playtest is available on Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC. How to Provide Feedback: If you experience any issues while playing 33 Immortals Beta, don’t forget to use “Report a problem” so we can investigate: Hold down the home button on your Xbox controller. Select Report a problem. Select the Games category and 33 Immortals Beta subcategory. Fill out the form with the appropriate details to help our investigation. Other resources: Get the Xbox Insider Hub app Xbox Insider FAQ How to provide feedback as an Xbox Insider For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit. The post 33 Immortals Third Playtest is Back from Jan 28 to Feb 7 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Dynasty Warriors: Origins Truly Reinvents a Decades-Long Series appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Games Dynasty Warriors: Origins Truly Reinvents a Decades-Long Series Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Published January 13, 2025 Dynasty Warriors is comfort food for me – Omega Force’s long-running series tells the same kingdom-spanning tale in with each instalment, always aiming to deliver on its “1v1000” combat conceit with each new game. Discovering the series with Dynasty Warriors 2, I’ve returned again and again over the last 25 years to see this huge cast of characters play their part in the same epic tale – developing favorites (hello, Guan Yu) along the way by sheer weight of time spent with them. So it was with some curiosity that I started playing the 10th mainline instalment. The title tells you what you need to know – Dynasty Warriors: Origins is going back to basics, a reinvention that goes beyond the incremental changes fans have been used to from most new versions of this series. For a start, Origins tells a deeper, more focused story – in fact only telling the first half of the tale we’re used to, but with far more detail added along the way. Dynasty Warriors games series typically begin with players crushing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a battle that sets the Romance of the Three Kingdoms – the semi-fictionalized historical tale of ancient China the games are based on – in motion. But Origins’ first chapter shows us the Yellow Turbans faction forming, becoming corrupted, and then being taken down. It’s an origin story for, well, the series’ traditional origin story. As part of that, we’re also introduced to a brand new protagonist (who you can name); an amnesiac travelling warrior with a past that’s slowly revealed as you play. You’ll spend the majority of Dynasty Warriors: Origins playing as this character – perhaps the biggest marker that this game is making a major change. Where Dynasty Warriors games have previously had players pick from dozens of officers from across the many factions in this tale, you’re now leading this single character through a story that puts you on path to meet those familiar faces (some of whom will be playable along the way). It’s a bold choice, worthy of a game looking to shake things up, and it certainly lends a different feeling to proceedings. While Origins drops the open world format of 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9, having a single main character allows the developers to craft a more mutable Story Mode. Rather than moving from battle to battle with cutscenes in between, you’re now placed in an overworld between main levels, able to explore, find secrets, tinker with your loadout, meet and befriend officers, and take part in skirmishes to level up. All of this speaks to a renewed focus on how combat works in Dynasty Warriors. While fans will be pleased to know that the bones of its classic hack ‘n’ slash action remain in place, there’s far more nuance on show here. Blocks, parries, and evades are far more necessary when taking on enemy bosses, miniature puzzle elements have been introduced to certain battles, and customizable Battle Art special abilities let you tinker with your playstyle for every weapon type. This feels less like an experiment for an experiment’s sake, and more like a confident step forward – I’m still getting the familiar feeling of being, effectively, a 2nd-Century superhero, but the added level of thought required for each one-on-one fight along the way is meaningfully different. And it’s that balance between old and new that defines Origins’ approach – this is recognizably Dynasty Warriors, but with new ideas slotted in place among that familiar framework. To put it another way – it’s still my comfort food, but with new ingredients. DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS KOEI TECMO AMERICA ☆☆☆☆☆ 5 ★★★★★ $69.99 Get it now Pre-order bonus: – Protagonist's costume "Nameless Warrior Garb" A "Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty" collaboration costume that can be worn in the game. Note: Please be aware that this bonus may become available for purchase or for free at a later date. Early purchase bonus: – Early Works Soundtrack Collection (Digital Edition) A soundtrack featuring a total of 191 original music tracks from the series, including background music from titles spanning from "DYNASTY WARRIORS 2" to "DYNASTY WARRIORS 5 Empires," as well Omega Force's first title, "DYNASTY WARRIORS." The soundtrack can be played by accessing the main menu, Special Content, and then Music, and selecting "Early Works Soundtrack Collection." Note: – The early purchase bonus will be available for those who pre-order or who purchase the game by January 30, 2025. – The soundtrack includes content that is also available for purchase on music streaming sites. Please be aware that the bonus may become available for purchase or for free as add-on content for this title at a later date. Become immersed in exhilarating battles as a nameless hero in the Three Kingdoms. ・ The most exhilarating action in the series' history Tension-filled battlefields where you clash against massive armies stretching as far as the eye can see. How will you handle the onslaught of enemies? Your military prowess will serve you well as you fight in tandem with your allies in tactical battles unique to the "DYNASTY WARRIORS" franchise and experience the most exhilarating action in the series' history. ・ A new version of the Three Kingdoms from the perspective of an original protagonist The story of the Three Kingdoms is set in the vast mainland of China where the convictions of different heroes intersect. Experience this magnificent and alluring world through the eyes of the original protagonist, a "nameless hero." Note: The product "DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Digital Deluxe Edition" is also being sold. Please confirm that you have selected the correct product before making your purchase. Note: Images are taken from an in-development build. The final product may differ from the footage shown. Note: If an add-on finishes installing while the game is running, it will become available after you return to the title screen. Related Stories for “Dynasty Warriors: Origins Truly Reinvents a Decades-Long Series” Category: Games Free Play Days – January EA Sports Takeover Category: Xbox Game Pass Celebrate the New Year With UFC 5 Joining the Play List and EA Sports Week Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17 The post Dynasty Warriors: Origins Truly Reinvents a Decades-Long Series appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Candy Crush Solitaire Arrives on February 6 – Register to Play Now appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Candy Crush Solitaire Arrives on February 6 – Register to Play Now appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17 Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor Published January 10, 2025 Next Week on Xbox highlights all the games arriving soon on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass. Below are more details on these upcoming games, with links to their profiles for further information (release dates may change). Beautiful Sakura: Surfing Club (Windows) Cropware ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Beautiful Sakura: Surfing Club (Windows) – January 15 Going in with low expectations, Kaito couldn’t believe it when he hit it off with the new girl at school, Michiko. But just as the two were getting to know each other, Kaito discovered that his new crush has a twin sister, Yuuki, and he begins to question everything he’s feeling. When Kaito finally comes to his senses, he realized that it may be too late. Who does Kaito end up choosing? The Bit's Escape RainForest Game Studio ☆☆☆☆☆ 2 ★★★★★ $4.49 Get it now The Bit’s Escape – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Join Bit’s, a small machine built in an underground lab with a big dream: escaping and discovering the world above! The Bit’s Escape is a dynamic platformer with simple controls and engaging gameplay. Perfect Ninja Painter 3 SilenGames ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $4.99 $4.49 Get it now Perfect Ninja Painter 3 – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Perfect Ninja Painter 3 is a colorful puzzle platformer where players embark on a vibrant adventure with three ninja characters who must bring life and color to a world shrouded in gray. Armed with paintbrushes, the ninjas are tasked with coloring entire levels, solving puzzles, and overcoming obstacles that require a clever mix of creativity and strategy. Runny Bunny – Console Edition Eastasiasoft Limited ☆☆☆☆☆ 1 ★★★★★ $4.99 $3.99 Get it now Runny Bunny – Console Edition – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Get ready for a fast and furry twist on puzzle action in side-scrolling pixel art platforming style! Play as a frantic little bunny as you dash between floors, walls and ceilings collecting power dots and yummy carrots. Sokorobot Afil Games ☆☆☆☆☆ 3 ★★★★★ $4.99 $3.99 Get it now Sokorobot – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery A captivating puzzle game where you control an ingenious robot clearing and creating paths to reach the button that unlocks the next level. Combining classic puzzle mechanics with a futuristic setting, Sokorobot challenges players to think ahead and execute plans to conquer the levels. Suikaiju Synnergy Circle Games ☆☆☆☆☆ 2 ★★★★★ $3.99 Get it now Suikaiju – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Play as a mad scientist with the goal of creating the biggest and mightiest Kaiju of all time! Merge Kaiju Cores, a fundamental material to trigger evolution, into bigger ones. Repeat this process until your Kaiju can finally evolve. Can you make your little monster big enough to conquer the world? SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada Deluxe Edition Pre-Order Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. ☆☆☆☆☆ 2 ★★★★★ $69.99 Get it now Synduality Echo of Ada (Deluxe and Ultimate Edition Early Access) – January 15 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Taking place in the year 2222, years after a mysterious poisonous rain called The Tears of the New Moon wiped out most of humanity and birthed deformed creatures that now hunt the population. Amidst the calamity, humans are forced to build an underground haven to survive. Take on the role of a Drifter whose goal is to collect the rare resource known as AO Crystals. In your quest, you must collaborate with your artificial intelligence partner to face xenomorphic creatures known as Enders and survive the hazards on the surface. Morkull Ragast's Rage Selecta Play ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $17.99 Pre-order Morkul Ragast’s Rage – January 16 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S A 2D video game that combines platforming and action with a touch of exploration, control Morkull, God of Death and Darkness and Lord of the Ragast. His main mechanic – breaking the fourth wall, which allows him to communicate with you in a multitude of ways. Mystery Box: Evolution Ocean Media ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $6.99 Get it now Mystery Box: Evolution – January 16 Enjoy the second chapter of the ‘Mystery Box’ puzzle game series! Unlock 57 boxes by solving tons of intriguing riddles that will put your brain to work. Turn wheels, move handles, push buttons, and think smart to solve the puzzles. Professor Doctor Jetpack Roflcopter Ink GmbH ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $9.99 Get it now Professor Doctor Jetpack – January 16 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Professor Doctor Jetpack is a physics based, pixel art, precision platformer, in which you embark on a dangerous journey to… control your jetpack. Join Albert Einstein’s digital remains on his whacky quest to save the world from hidden threats, like The Internet. Things Too Ugly Baltoro Games ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $7.99 Get it now Things Too Ugly – January 16 Clock in for the night shift at TEREBRO INC., 1986. As a newly promoted Risk Assessment Data Processor, your job is simple: safeguard the company’s future. But the deeper you dig into the archives, the stranger and more unsettling the details become. Vanity Fair: The Pursuit NiuGamer ☆☆☆☆☆ 1 ★★★★★ $14.99 Get it now Vanity Fair: The Pursuit – January 16 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere A fictional real-life interactive narrative with the theme of life “choices” and “survival in the entertainment industry”. The background of the story takes place between 2004 and 2024 in an imaginary world view. The gambling agreement you signed to realize your movie dream will be gradually involved in the whirlpool of “Vanity Fair”. When you are in a dilemma, what should you do? 911: Cannibal 17Studio LLC ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $9.99 Get it now 911: Cannibal – January 17 Can you hide and outsmart the cannibal and survive without missing a single detail? Or will he catch you in the very first minutes and in the evening you will find yourself in his plate? In this horror, survival depends only on your ingenuity, attentiveness and memory. 911: Prey 17Studio LLC ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $9.99 Get it now 911: Prey – January 17 Explore a scary house and look for notes to learn more about Minnesota’s scariest maniac. There are many endings, of which only one will turn out to be good. Try to cope with the horror that gripped the main character and complete all the hidden tasks to survive. Cherry Tower Series X|S Webnetic s. r. o. ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Cherry Tower – January 17 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S A charming 2D pixel platformer that will take you on a sweet adventure unlike any other! Join Cherry on her small adventure, climbing a tower to return home and maybe even more. Overcome obstacles and traps to achieve your goals. DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Digital Deluxe Edition KOEI TECMO AMERICA ☆☆☆☆☆ 51 ★★★★★ $89.99 Get it now Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Digital Deluxe Edition Early Access) – January 13 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Become immersed in exhilarating battles as a nameless hero in the Three Kingdoms. Play upon tension-filled battlefields where you clash against massive armies stretching as far as the eye can see. Standard edition launches on January 17. HEN, CHICKS AND CATS RISING MOON GAMES ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Hen, Chicks, and Cats – January 17 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery A fun logic puzzle game where you must think before you move — one wrong move and the hen ‘Ju’ could fall into traps or run into an unfriendly cat. The hen is scared, so it won’t stop running until it bumps into something, so think before you run around. Hexa River Omegga Interactive ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $4.99 Get it now Hexa River – January 17 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Immerse yourself in the tranquil world of Hexa River, where your task is to bring life to the islands by guiding water through intricate puzzles. With a relaxing soundtrack and stunning low-poly visuals, each level offers a satisfying challenge that will keep you engaged as you ensure the crops grow lush and healthy. Spot Challenge Vol. 1 Lucky Raccoon Games ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now Spot Challenge Vol. 1 – January 17 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere Inspired by the classic “Spot the Differences” game, where you need to compare two images and identify the differences between them. With over 360 differences spread across 35 levels, will you be able to find them all? Tales of Graces f Remastered Pre-Order Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ $39.99 Pre-order Tales of Graces f Remastered – January 17 Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery Tales of Graces f is back with a beautiful and easier-to-play version in this action RPG about adventure in fantasy worlds and overcoming obstacles through friendship and determination. The game also includes Lineage and Legacies, an after-story to the main scenario. Related Stories for “Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17” Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week(s) on Xbox: New Games for December 16 to January 3 Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week on Xbox: New Games for December 9 to 13 Category: Next Week on Xbox Next Week on Xbox: New Games for December 2 to 6 The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for January 13 to 17 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Developer_Direct Returns on January 23 – A Celebration of What’s Coming for Xbox Players appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Category: Developer_Direct January 9, 2025 Developer_Direct Returns on January 23 – A Celebration of What’s Coming for Xbox Players Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief It’s time to get a look at what’s next – Developer_Direct is back. On Thursday, January 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, fans will get an inside look at a selection of highly anticipated games coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass players this year. Presented by the game creators themselves, Developer_Direct offers an in-depth look at upcoming titles, how they’re being created, and who’s creating them. We’ll visit Compulsion Games in Montreal, Canada to learn more about South of Midnight, head to Montpellier, France to see Sandfall Interactive for a look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, stop by the legendary id Studios in Richardson, Texas to check in on DOOM: The Dark Ages, and visit a surprise location to see another studio’s brand new game. Fans should tune in on Xbox channels at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK, January 23 to see all the latest on: DOOM: The Dark Ages – Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the Doom Slayer’s rage. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the Doom Slayer in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell. Learn more during the full game reveal at Developer_Direct. South of Midnight – Compulsion Games, the creators of Contrast and We Happy Few, will share a deep dive on South of Midnight, a third person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South. As Hazel, you will explore the mythos and confront mysterious creatures inspired by Southern Folklore to unravel her family’s hidden past in this dark, modern folktale. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive will take us behind-the-scenes at their studio to shed some light on the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this debut studio’s incredible new RPG. The team will share more about the game’s creation and how they plan to deliver an incredible story in a gorgeous fantasy world. Stay tuned to our official social channels for more from Developer_Direct, airing on Thursday, January 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK. Related Stories for “Developer_Direct Returns on January 23 – A Celebration of What’s Coming for Xbox Players” Category: Developer_Direct Avowed: The Official Xbox Podcast Shows Off Extended Gameplay Category: Developer_Direct Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Gameplay Reveal Category: Developer_Direct Xbox Developer_Direct: All the News and Announcements The post Developer_Direct Returns on January 23 – A Celebration of What’s Coming for Xbox Players appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The post Railway Islands 2: a Puzzle Game for Train Fans and Cozy Gamers, Now on Xbox appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Summary Engaging Yet Simple: Solve puzzles that challenge your logic without overwhelming complexity. Seasonal Charm: Explore colorful islands that reflect the beauty of the four seasons. Creative Freedom: Use the Level Editor to design your own islands and railway layouts. For train enthusiasts, there’s nothing quite like designing tracks, solving logistics challenges, or simply watching trains run smoothly. Whether it’s the detailed realism of train simulators or the tactile joy of arranging model railways, the appeal of trains transcends generations. But what if you could enjoy that charm in a more accessible, relaxing way? Enter Railway Islands 2, now available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Created by Alysson Moraes of Rising Moon Games, a one-man indie studio, and brought to Xbox by the small but passionate team at Mens Sana Interactive, Railway Islands 2 is a minimalist puzzle game that combines strategic thinking with a cozy, stress-free experience. A New Way to Enjoy Trains Railway Islands 2 distills the essence of railway management into bite-sized challenges perfect for quick gaming sessions. Players design safe train routes for passengers and packages across 40 vibrant islands, each inspired by the four seasons. You’ll coordinate up to two trains on shared tracks, carefully managing routes and railway switches to prevent collisions. Unlike complex train simulators or sprawling strategy games, Railway Islands 2 embraces simplicity. Its calming atmosphere, intuitive controls, and thoughtful puzzles make it ideal for relaxing between more intense gaming sessions. And while train enthusiasts will find much to love, the game’s cozy aesthetic and approachable design make it a perfect fit for players of all ages who enjoy casual or relaxing games. A Modest Tribute to the Joy of Trains At its heart, Railway Islands 2 is a humble celebration of the creativity and joy that trains inspire. Whether you’re a fan of model railways, a lover of train simulators, or simply looking for a cozy game to relax with, this title invites you to enjoy the journey. Hop aboard and start your railway adventure! Railway Islands 2 is available right now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows Store. Railway Islands 2 Mens Sana Interactive ☆☆☆☆☆ 3 ★★★★★ $4.99 $3.99 Get it now Welcome to the long-awaited sequel of the beloved railway puzzle game! Once again, you take on the role of managing railway lines in charming island settings, now with the added challenge of coordinating up to two trains to safely transport passengers and packages to their destinations. With shared railways, strategic route-building and proper railway switch placement are crucial to prevent collisions! Experience a minimalist and soothing journey with a unique aesthetic: – Solve puzzles across 40 distinct islands. – Immerse yourself in a different setting for each season of the year. – Enjoy satisfying and relaxing music and sound effects. Unleash your creativity and problem-solving skills! Design your own islands and railways using the intuitive Level Editor. The post Railway Islands 2: a Puzzle Game for Train Fans and Cozy Gamers, Now on Xbox appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Xbox Insiders can now join the preview for Belly Bumpers! Use your belly to knockout other players in this 2-8 online and local party game. Eat juicy burgers to increase the size of your belly or force-feed opponents until they burst. Bump it out in a world of food-themed stages. About Belly Bumpers Local and […]

The post The Belly Bumpers Preview is Now Available for Xbox Insiders! appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Xbox Insiders can now join the preview for Belly Bumpers! Use your belly to knockout other players in this 2-8 online and local party game. Eat juicy burgers to increase the size of your belly or force-feed opponents until they burst. Bump it out in a world of food-themed stages. About Belly Bumpers Local and Online Multiplayer Bump your friends out of the arena in this belly-centric party game. Play with 2-8 local players on a single device! Cross-platform online multiplayer is also supported for 2-8 players. Eat Burgers Eat burgers to increase the size of your belly and the power of your bumpers. Be careful as you eat a variety of foods because some have horrible side effects! Force-Feed Opponents Force-feed opponents until their bellies burst by slapping them in the face with food! Food Arenas Bump it out on over 10 food-themed stages. Each stage has unique interactive food elements such as stretchy licorice! Custom Games Play with only the tastiest foods. Set your own rules, modify bump powers, choose stages, and more with in our customizable games. How to Participate: Sign in on your Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One console and launch the Xbox Insider Hub app (install the Xbox Insider Hub from the Store first if necessary). Navigate to Previews > Belly Bumpers. Select Join. Wait for the registration to complete, and you should be directed to the Store page to install it. How to Provide Feedback: If you experience any issues while playing Belly Bumpers, don’t forget to use “Report a problem” so we can investigate: Hold down the home button on your Xbox controller. Select Report a problem. Select the Games category and Belly Bumpers subcategory. Fill out the form with the appropriate details to help our investigation. Other resources: Get the Xbox Insider Hub app Xbox Insider FAQ How to provide feedback as an Xbox Insider For more information: follow us on Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for release notes, announcements, and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit. The post The Belly Bumpers Preview is Now Available for Xbox Insiders! appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Gaming news, reviews, previews, and coverage from around the world

Square Enix shares today that the impending PC release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth received Valve’s “Steam Deck Verified” status. The digital storefront marks games verified when they “pass all compatibility checks and are a great experience on Steam Deck.” We also get a look at how the game runs with varying sets of hardware: […]

The post Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be Steam Deck “Verified”, shows off PC graphics presets appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

Earlier today, Square Enix shared an updated version of its ‘Group Customer Harrassment Policy‘, which defines the ways its employees receive harrassment from customers and also the steps they will take against them. In this policy, the company states that they believe that feedback and comments from customers are “essential” to the development of its […]

The post Square Enix targets customer harrassment of the company’s employees in updated policy appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is set to release for PC on January 23, 2025 via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Previously landlocked to the PlayStation 5, Rebirth‘s PC port follows an ongoing trend of Square Enix spreading their titles across more platforms – a trend likely to continue according to the company’s medium-term business […]

The post A look at Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s PC features appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis has a new story update due out January 15, 2025 (6:00 PM Pacific) for iOS, Androud, and Steam. This update includes a new chapter for Final Fantasy VII scenario, which follows the party as they travel to Rocket Town and meet the pilot Cid Highwind. The free-to-play gacha-stype RPG includes […]

The post Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis next story update “Encounter with the Past” arrives January 15 appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

The Heavensturn limited-time seasonal event returns to Final Fantasy XIV from December 31st, 2024 through January 16th, 2025. Subtitled “Blessed Hebi Turn as the Heavens Turn”, a short scenario quest will be available in game with a variety of seasonal rewards. Limited time items from previous years’ iterations of the event can also be purchased […]

The post Heavensturn seasonal event returns to Final Fantasy XIV on December 31, 2024 appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

A new interstitial patch following the release of Crossroads (Patch 7.1) arrives in Final Fantasy XIV on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Patch 7.15 will add several sidequests including a new chapter of the Wachumeqimeqi crafting/gathering quests, new custom deliveries featuring Nitowikwe as a client, new Hildibrand quests, and a Chaotic Alliance Raid that will go […]

The post Where to unlock content and features in Final Fantasy XIV 7.15 appeared first on Nova Crystallis.

Pure Nintendo and Pure Nintendo Magazine are your sources for the latest news on the Wii U, 3DS, and all things Nintendo.

As if to spite all the rumor-mongers and leakers, Nintendo today officially unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 with a 2025 release in a decidedly "meh" manner. Check out the first-look trailer and let us know if you agree.

The post The Nintendo Switch 2 is officially official appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

As if to spite all the rumor-mongers and leakers, Nintendo today officially unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 with a 2025 release in a decidedly “meh” manner. Check out the first-look trailer and let us know if you agree. Physically, there’s not a whole lot in there that hasn’t been spoiled recently on social media. The video highlights the size difference and the enhanced support stand, and spends a lot of time on Joy-Con connectivity. It’s like Nintendo said, “You’re leaking the boring stuff, antsy pants. We’re saving what really matters until April.” Specifically, April 2nd, when the company will run a Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Direct. Immediately thereafter, they’ll host a hands-on Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the following locations and dates: North America: New York, April 4-6, 2025 Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025 Dallas, April 25-27, 2025 Toronto, April 25-27, 2025 Europe: Paris, April 4-6, 2025 London, April 11-13, 2025 Milan, April 25-27, 2025 Berlin, April 25-27, 2025 Madrid, May 9-11, 2025 Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025 Oceania: Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025 Asia: Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025 Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025 Hong Kong, To be announced Taipei, To be announced What games will be playable at these events? Well, a new Mario Kart, based on the first-look trailer. We’ll undoubtedly get more gaming news in the April 2nd Nintendo Direct. In the meantime, be sure you’ve got your Nintendo account in working order if you plan to attend. A Nintendo Account is necessary to participate in a Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event. Ticket registrations for consumers will begin in the near future. Please visit https://www.nintendo.com/us/nintendo-switch-2-experience/ for more information. The other big news is the confirmation that, “Nintendo Switch 2 plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games.” However, certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.” What and why will be made clear down the road. That’s a road we’re ready and eager to travel. Be sure to join us for the next Pure Nintendo Podcast, as there’ll undoubtedly be plenty of discussion on what we expect in the coming months. Exciting! The post The Nintendo Switch 2 is officially official appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II is sure to delight JRPG fans. How am I so sure? Because I've now attended two Discord previews from NIS America, the most recent of which focused on the game's Märchen Garten.

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We’re less than a month from the Valentine’s Day release of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II and the JRPG-coated delights it’s sure to provide gamers. How am I so sure? Because I’ve now attended two Discord previews from NIS America. The first was wrapped up here. The most recent of which focused on the game’s Märchen Garten. Well, that and the two demos, neither of which will be coming to the Switch. Let’s break this all down in our traditionally handy bullet point format…now with advanced NASA technology sub-bullets! Unfortunately, the two available demos will be PS4 and PS5 only. I emailed for confirmation, and the official reply from NIS was “At this time, the demos are only available on PlayStation, but we are always evaluating opportunities to bring demos to all our platforms. We’re committed to ensuring that players on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation enjoy a complete and memorable experience when the full game launches.” So, we’ll see if this changes ahead of release. Although Switch gamers likely won’t be able to enter the aforementioned Märchen Garten until February 14th, series fans will find it worth the wait. Why, you ask? Because it’s somewhat like Trails Into Reverie’s True Reverie Corridor, but a little more focused and fun. The Märchen Garten is completely optional. I point this out because I felt the True Reverie Corridor killed Trails Into Reverie’s momentum, creating a disjointed experience that hurt the game a bit. Whether that happens here is up to the player. Also, developer Nihon Falcom has provided more incentive for people to visit the Märchen Garten. Items, outfits, and level gains obtained there will get carried over to the main game, so it provides a less repetitive way to grind when the main game battles are giving you problems. It also provides a way to create teams that the flow of the main story does not. 15 characters will be available for you to assemble at your discretion. You’ll even get access to two (yet to be identified) characters who aren’t playable in the main game! The multi-floor combat dungeons in the Märchen Garten are randomly generated, so you’ll get a different experience each time you enter. It’ll also feature exclusive post-game floors and story content to keep the fun going after you’ve completed the main adventure. In addition to combat, visitors are able to participate in four mini-games: Fishing – This is the most refined fishing game in the series history, with mechanics that get trickier when casting for rare fish. Find the right spot to cast, then time your controller movements to reel in your catch. Hacking – A time-based trip through a maze of doors to open and enemies to avoid. Seven Hearts – A card game. Always with the card games. 1-on-1 Basketball – A simple game of shooting and blocking. Slide left and right and try to time your shot when your opponent isn’t able to defend it. Items obtained in the main game can be used in the Märchen Garten for various gains—such as using skill stones to customize character crafts. There aren’t a lot of these, so players will have to be judicious with their use. They can, however, be reallocated at a cost. The Märchen Garten clearly provides many ways for Trails Through Daybreak II players to enhance their characters. The main benefit I see, however, is that it’ll provide a different experience when you’re not ready (or don’t have time) for a big push through the main game’s story. Want some Legend of Heroes fun without all the large narrative dumps or prolonged boss battles? Just play some hoops or go fishing! What you do and when you do it is now entirely up to you. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II can still be pre-ordered in a Limited Edition physical release at nisamerica.com/games/daybreak2. Various other physical editions are also available where you’d expect to find them. The post The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II preview II appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Even though I was disinclined to watch the ‘90s TV show, I have a more favorable opinion of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind...and "rewind" is definitely what we get.

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I never thought I would have to put the following words together in print, but, for the sake of this review, here they are: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. There, I said it. But even though I was disinclined to watch the ‘90s TV show, I have a more favorable opinion of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind. “Rewind” is definitely what we get. The graphics are a bit old school with a dash of CRT vibes. The imagery is true to the show, albeit slightly pixelated. The music for the game seems to be an easy drop-in of some of the musical themes from the show, which helps keep Rita’s Rewind true to the source material. With all the appropriate visuals and sounds in place, I’m sure the fans of the show will be well pleased. For those who didn’t watch the show but still want to play the game, the overall effect is a bit retro, but well done. The only audio gripe I have, and it is a personal thing and possibly particular to certain types, is the overly repetitive sound bites spoken by the characters. The first two or three times I heard my character say a particular phrase, I thought “OK, now I know what he said, and I get it”. After about the fourteenth time hearing it in one game session, I was a little more than over it. If this repetition doesn’t bother you, or you can tune it out, then it’s no biggie. As with the TV show, there is a story to be had with this game. Our baddie, Rita, has a time machine, and her future self is coming back to team up with her past self just to give you a hard time. She brings along her host of horribles, including putty people, flying nasties, dudes with a big rock, and a gold armored monkey-man (yes, Goldar). Since this is yet another origin story, you get to see the horror in the eyes—er, that is circuits—of Alpha 5 when he’s instructed to find some (cue dramatic music) teenagers. In an effort to be true to the teenageryness of our heroes, they can spend some time in a café equipped with some people they can talk to and some video games they can play. There are some parts missing (from the video games, not the people), but if you are thorough in your finding stuff skills, you should be able to find the repair parts along the way. That whole “along the way” part is where the game gets a bit more challenging. Much of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind looks like a 2D side scroller. While the bulk of the game progression happens in left-to-right screen travel, there is within each scene the ability, and necessity, to move around in three dimensions. For certain rounds/levels, the game switches to a 3D view as you travel forward and dodge to the left and to the right as you fight the boss. There are even places reserved for fighting with your Dinozord and with the combined Megazord. I must confess that the fighting style you need to use with the Megazord was not what I expected, and it left the game feeling a bit flat during that round. It wasn’t all bad, just a bit slow and clunky. I suppose a giant fighting bot would be slow and clunky, but it was a significant disadvantage against the opponent. There are three difficulty settings in the game, so you get plenty of replay value whether playing on your own or with up to five other single-system rangers. The controls are responsive and not overly sensitive, which is good for the small scene combat areas that are also filled with plenty of inanimate objects to break for coins, food, and other interesting stuff. One thing which seemed a bit overdone is the controller rumble. Since this is basically a combat game, the controller is rumbling most of the time, which starts to lose meaning and which becomes another irritant. As I noted at the top of the article, I was never a fan of the show, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is actually a rather good arcade fighting game. If you can either ignore the cheesy factor, or better yet, embrace the cheese, you’ll find it served with a coherent story, plenty of combat action, ongoing bad jokes and puns, a slightly neurotic robot, and a time traveling baddie to defeat. Go go give it a shot, but don’t forget to only use your weapons for defense, as you’ve been trained. The post Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Originally released as Ys III: Wanderers from Ys in 1990, this remaster of that game's 2005 remake will be a comfortable fit for anyone who started with the more modern 3D adventures.

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As someone who came late to the Ys franchise, Ys Memoir: The Oath in Felghana provided me a clear indication of how logically this series has progressed. Originally released as Ys III: Wanderers from Ys in 1990, this remaster of that game’s 2005 remake be a comfortable fit for anyone who started with the more modern 3D adventures. It starts, as Ys games tend to do, with Adol and Dogi sailing into town—this time Dogi’s home village of Felghana. The two adventurers quickly find that things aren’t going well for the villagers; monsters have been attacking uncharacteristically and Dogi’s best friend from childhood has been missing for months. Who’s better to solve these problems than Adol Christin? Gameplay starts quickly and moves along briskly, especially when compared to the more recent Ys games that tend to have a bit too much exposition. The action is also paired down and more accessible, which is logical considering the game’s age. Standard attacks are altered by their timing, not by button complex combos, making the system easier to master early on. Of course, you do get more powerful magic attacks as the game progresses. Three bracelets to uncover yield the powers of earth, wind, and fire. Learning how and when to use these abilities (and their charged attacks) quickly becomes a necessity, especially when you’re facing the game’s brutal bosses. The progression for all of this is typical Ys fare. The story will unlock new areas of the world map as you push through, and those areas have “dungeons” to explore. Certain areas are off limits at the start, but it’s up to you to find a way through to the objective, which always culminates in a boss fight. There are plenty of treasures to locate and uncover as you go, along with numerous respawning enemies to defeat. If you defeat a group, leave that area, and come back, that group will be there waiting for you. This is great for ensuring you stay leveled up, but annoying when you’re just trying to find your way through. There are plenty of dead ends and causes to re-explore multiple areas, not to mention the occasional lack of direction, so Ys Memoir becomes highly repetitive. It helps that combat is spritely and involving. You can’t just hammer (or hack and slash) your way through, you’ll need to learn to jump and run out of the way and attack when the enemies can’t immediately retaliate. Even against the most basic enemies, I felt I had to stay engaged in order to survive. The boss battles are something else entirely. They can take a long time to defeat even when you’re perfectly optimized to defeat them. Memorizing their attack patterns is one thing, but executing the defensive maneuvers to avoid them is another. To make matters worse, the environment is often working against you, too. Even with the multiple difficulty settings available, you’ll either need to grind for experience or become highly adept at the combat controls in order to push through. That’s expected with an Ys game, though, right? The challenge is built into the series. You don’t want Ys Memoir: The Oath in Felghana to be too easy, anyway, as it’s actually quite short; you can beat it in around 15 hours. This helps to prevent repetition from becoming a sticking point, but it also means that taking on the bosses multiple times before winning becomes an important way to prolong the experience. That experience is aided somewhat by this remaster. The environments are brought together by colorful and detailed graphics, although textures become muddy with certain areas and objects. Character designs have been updated to match those of similar games of the modern era, but you have the ability to swap in the original illustrations if you want to experience the game closer to its origins. The same goes for the music, which allows you to alternate between the original, PC-8801, and X68000 versions, all of which have been remastered. And hey, Adol is voiced in this version! That should maybe be a bigger deal considering it’s the first time we’ve heard his voice, but it ends up not contributing much. Longtime fans may feel a bit more passionate about this. That’s about it for the benefits of the remaster: enhanced graphics, new difficulty levels, soundtrack options, and turbo mode. Did I mention turbo mode? There’s a turbo mode. Ys Memoir: The Oath in Felghana therefore has to be carried by the strengths of the original game, and it’s up to the task. It’s a tight, focused adventure that moves quickly and engages the player throughout, save for some exploration and combat repetition. Ys fans will be glad to get their hands on this game, as should anyone who enjoys the PSP era of action RPGs. The more I’m exposed to games like this, the more I realize I’m part of that group myself. The post Review: Ys Memoir: The Oath in Felghana (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

I've come to appreciate two aspects of visual novels: their low-pressure gaming experience their typically unique visions. Both of these are on display in Tmesis Studio's Universe for Sale.

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I’ve come to appreciate two aspects of visual novels. First, a low-pressure gaming experience is sometimes exactly what I need. Second, their typically indie developers are able to bring their vision to fruition unfettered. That’s certainly the case with Tmesis Studio’s Universe for Sale. Set on Jupiter, this bedtime story (more on that in a bit) tells mainly of a guy who’s removed all of his skin (and seemingly muscles and tendons) in order to achieve enlightenment and a woman who is able to create mini-universes over cups of tea. Does this make her a god? She’d like to think not. Along with this, we’ve got robots, talking orangutans, and business owners who keep their buildings under tarps so the acid rain doesn’t melt them away. And here you thought visual novels were all about falling in love with one of the customers of your inherited patisserie. I won’t provide many story details, mainly because it’s too bizarre to wrap up in a paragraph or two. Basically, our floating-skull skeleton (the nameless Master) and our universe builder (Lila) have an undefined past together. They also have a present, as the Master takes a strong interest in Lila’s unique ability. He’s not the only one, either. So, playing as the two of them in turn, you’ll wander through the slums of Jupiter piecing together the story of these two and their surroundings, completing light puzzles and various mini-games along the way. Universe for Sale plays out like a point-and-click adventure game. You’ll use the L-stick to move a cursor around the screen. The cursor changes when you can interact with an item/person or move to a different location. There is no inventory to manage, so exploration is key. There’s plenty to discover and, as with point-and-click adventures, this can become frustrating. The game doesn’t always provide a clear indicator of where to go or what to do, so I often found myself wandering aimlessly with hopes of discovering something I’d previously missed. Most often, the missed trigger was a bit of dialogue. You’re given options on how to reply during conversations, and getting to the right statement is important. In other words, scour every location, exhaust every conversation. Is this a fun way to play a game? Not always, but visual novels rely on two factors to hold your interest: the visuals and the novel. Starting with the latter, the story presented in Universe for Sale is certainly unique and intriguing. A sense of despondence hangs over the environment, but we’re given some hope in Lila and the Master as they seek something bigger than their circumstances seem willing to provide them. The narrative arc is purposely disjointed, requiring you to connect the dots which often appear out of order. There’s also the bedtime story element I mentioned earlier. Universe for Sale doesn’t actually begin on Jupiter, it begins with a mother reading a book to her child. Whether these narrative elements are related or it’s a Princess Bride kind of thing I’ll leave for you to discover. The visuals are what really carry the game. The hand drawn artwork is simultaneously striking and oppressive. The muted colors and darkened. Stormy skies reflect the bleakness of the locale, but stark splashes of color clearly indicate there is life here. It gives off the vibe of gathering with others around a fireplace, and the cozy (albeit creepy) soundtrack from Guglielmo Diana adds nicely to the atmosphere. These elements come together to make Universe for Sale a worthwhile experience. I believe the story and the game’s themes will appeal mostly to fans of sci-fi from the Amazing Stories and Weird Tales eras. Its modern devices and approachable mini-games, however, should keep visual novel fans entertained even if the story is a bit more challenging than the common fare. Just be prepared to occasionally get lost in more ways than one. The post Review: Universe for Sale (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

It’s time to usher in the new year! This week on the Pure Nintendo Podcast, we welcome 2025 with open arms as we count down our annual predictions of the

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It’s time to usher in the new year! This week on the Pure Nintendo Podcast, we welcome 2025 with open arms as we count down our annual predictions of the year to come. We know the Switch 2 will be at least announced this year, but what about pricing? Launch titles? Amiibo? We go through our predictions, hopes, and dreams for the year ahead! Last week, we counted down the best titles of 2024. This week, Jemma, Kirk, Trev, and Justin kick off the new year by looking ahead at what could be in store. It’s an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan, and if this episode doesn’t get you pumped, we don’t know what will. What are your predictions for 2025? We’d love to know, so comment below or hit us up on Blue Sky or YouTube. We’re also excited about bringing you fresh new content each week, so tune in every Monday for the latest dose of all things Nintendo. Until next time, game on everyone! Support the show! Please support the Pure Nintendo Podcast by leaving us a review on Spotify or liking on YouTube, and tune in each and every Monday for more Nintendo-related goodness. It’s all happening on the Pure Nintendo Podcast! You can find our podcast on: Spotify Apple Amazon Or view the entire collection! You can also subscribe to our bi-monthly magazine over at patreon.com/PureNintendo and follow us on Bluesky. We’d love your support! The post Our 2025 predictions episode| Pure Nintendo Podcast E94 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

It’s hard to believe 2024 is already over, but at least we can carry over some of its best memories – gaming memories, that is. Here at Pure Nintendo we

The post Pure Nintendo’s Top 10 Games of 2024 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

It’s hard to believe 2024 is already over, but at least we can carry over some of its best memories – gaming memories, that is. Here at Pure Nintendo we played and reviewed hundreds of games! It was tough to sift through since there were so many gems from 2024. However, we narrowed those hundreds down to our top 10 favorites of 2024. #10: Unicorn Overlord “Unicorn Overlord is one of the best tactical strategy RPGs to have been released for the Nintendo Switch. Maybe one of the best games, period. No matter which series first made you a fan of the genre, Unicorn Overlord will help you discover that thrill all over again.” – Kirk Hiner #9: Tetris Forever “The greatness of Hatris, the excitement of the all-new Tetris Time warp, and the nostalgic ’80s and ’90s stories of a gaming icon make it a must. This Digital Eclipse release satisfies your Tetris craving and makes for a great package “from Russia with love.” – Trevor Gould #8: Cat Quest III “Cat Quest III is a fantastic addition to a terrific series. with local co-op and a sea-faring theme, everything feels fresh yet familiar. A humorous story coupled with fast-paced action makes this one a fun time all round.” – Jemma Casson #7: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a splendid return to form for the series. The developers have done a terrific job with an original story and a visually impressive title that’s well implemented on the Switch. The smooth gameplay, terrific map system, and satisfying combat and exploration make this a must-play for genre fans.” – Jemma Casson #6: Stray “Overall, Stray is an ambitious outing featuring a feline trying to find its way home. The post-apocalyptic setting is both creepy and uplifting, with many characters to interact with. The visuals and audio are delightful, and the story is satisfying to see through to completion. Well done!” – Jemma Casson #5: Princess Peach: Showtime! “Princess Peach: Showtime! is a welcome return to the spotlight for our favorite princess. It oozes charm, with loads of variety, providing plenty to do across multiple transformations, levels, and modes. It’s not super difficult, but it’s so entertaining that I don’t care. There are also multiple challenges and collectibles to keep players coming back for more.” – Jemma Casson #4: Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged “It’s the compelling interplay of thrilling story, memorable characters, enjoyable puzzles, and stunning presentation that ensures Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged will become a top choice for a new generation of players. Let’s hope the sequel (and the rest of the series) finds a home on Nintendo hardware.” – Trevor Gould #3: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door lives up to the hype as a “page-turning adventure.” It’s also a long adventure, so be sure to pencil in the time, especially if you’re a completionist. With memorable bosses, much to find, and plenty of extras, this game will keep Switch players busy.” – Trevor Gould #2: Super Mario Party Jamboree “It’s a celebration of boards, and “Pro Rules” go a long way in making previous series’ complaints no longer valid. While there are a few minor issues, let’s face it: this game will sell millions, and deservedly so. Imposter Bowser and his boss minions don’t stand a chance, whether you’re a party of one, a group of local friends, or an online crew. Collecting stars hasn’t been this much fun in years.” – Trevor Gould #1: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first brand-new top-down adventure in almost a decade. Fans might be used to long pauses between outings, but Echoes was worth the wait. It not only introduces Zelda’s first canonical solo adventure, but merges familiar and new to create an incredibly creative and beautiful experience.” – Jemma Casson Let us know your 2024 Game of the Year! The post Pure Nintendo’s Top 10 Games of 2024 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Happy new year! As we usher in a new year and begin another annual treck around the sun, there’s still the reliability of new content for the Nintendo Switch eShop.

The post Ys Memoire, final holiday sales, sweepstakes and more join this week’s eShop roundup appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Happy new year! As we usher in a new year and begin another annual treck around the sun, there’s still the reliability of new content for the Nintendo Switch eShop. This week’s list of new titles is smaller than usual, with just a pair of new games, but we have continued sales and a new Echoes of Wisdom sweepstakes to welcome us all to 2025. If you’re a fan of Echoes of Wisdom – we certainly are – then you won’t want to miss the current My Nintendo competition. This sweepstakes ends on 7 January, giving you a chance to win a goodies pack of lovely Zelda-themed items. The holiday sale continues, with some massive discounts on the eShop until 5 January. If you haven’t already, check out the full list of discounted titles. With literally 100s of specials, the only problem is narrowing down the choice, really. In terms of new games, there might only be two titles this week, but that gives us both something to look forward to as well as allowing plenty of time to catch up those 2024 back logs. We all have those, right? Check out our 2024 top ten for gaming inspiration! This week, though, we begin with the impressive-looking Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, a revamped version of the classic action RPG. We’re already working on a review for this one, so stay tuned. You can check out our Ys Memoire preview in the meantime to whet your appetite. Next up is Rivenaar’s Grove, a top-down fantasy adventure with sliding mechanics. You play the role of a magician’s apprentice who must clear fields in over 50 levels full of obstacles. Check out the full roundup of what’s happening on the eShop this week below. How are you ringing in the new year? Digital Spotlight: Happy New Year! – As we start ringing in 2025 with family and friends, why not bring your Nintendo Switch system into the mix? Keep the party going with the Super Mario Party Jamboree game, where you and your loved ones can choose between 22 playable characters and compete to collect coins in over 110 minigames! You can also get a real kick out of EA SPORTS FC 25, where you can team up with your friends and experience more ways to win for the club in 5v5 Rush. Or, if you’d rather start the year with something punch-y, Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer gets you moving in a boxing workout that fits your lifestyle! Box to the beat of 30 songs, solo or with a friend in 2-Player Mode. Want to give it a try? A free demo of Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer is also available on Nintendo eShop. No matter how you plan on spending your quality time with your loved ones during the first part of the year, Nintendo Switch is here to keep the ball rolling even after it drops! Activities My Nintendo Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Sweepstakes – Celebrate Princess Zelda’s new adventure with the My Nintendo Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Sweepstakes, featuring a prize pack inspired by Princess Zelda’s wisdom and the kingdom of Hyrule in the Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom game! Enter now for a chance to win this collection of prizes, a great starting kit for just about any adventure. Hurry – this sweepstakes ends Jan. 7 at 11 p.m. PT! For more information, visit https://my.nintendo.com/rewards/02cd6fb1b5ebc046. Nintendo eShop sales Last Chance to Save with the Hits for the Holidays Sale! – Time is running out to save up to 50% on select Nintendo Switch games! From now until Jan. 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT, find great deals on select games when you shop on Nintendo.com or Nintendo eShop on your device. Remember that when you shop digital games, you can earn My Nintendo Gold Points***** – awarded based on 5% of the amount you pay (excluding tax and any points or discounts used). Then, you can redeem your Gold Points towards the purchase of other eligible digital games, DLC, Nintendo Switch Online memberships and more. For more information and to view the full list of games, visit https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/sales-and-deals/hits-for-the-holidays/. Also new this week Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana – Available Jan. 7 Rivenaar’s Grove – Available Jan. 8 The post Ys Memoire, final holiday sales, sweepstakes and more join this week’s eShop roundup appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

An enhanced version of the 2022 PC hit, Potionomics: Masterwork Edition introduces you to a fabulous fantasy world through your very own magical business.

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An enhanced version of the 2022 PC hit, Potionomics: Masterwork Edition introduces you to a fabulous fantasy world through your very own magical business. You play as Sylvia, a novice brewer who inherits her uncle’s potion shop and enormous debt. Luckily, a series of potion brewing competitions happen to offer prize money of exactly the amount you need to make each payment when the debt collectors come calling. The gameplay consists of the day to day management of the shop, developing your business and ingratiating yourself into the surrounding community of colourful characters. People you meet around town bring the game to life, as well as offer the tools you need to make your business a success. You meet heroes who can venture out into the surrounding areas to source new ingredients for you, a witch who can replicate and stock those ingredients for purchase, and various craft folk who can help with upgrades to your shop and equipment. Each day is broken up into time slots you can use to set potions brewing, sell the potions you’ve already brewed, and travel around town visiting your friends, while managing your stress level. Different tasks take up different amounts of time, and figuring out how to make use of these as efficiently as possible becomes crucial as the tension swells. Getting the hang of the daily routine isn’t particularly hard, but making sure you have everything you need to thrive soon gets tricky. You have ten days between each stage of the potion brewing competitions, each of which requires you to bring three specific potions to showcase and sell. In those ten days, you need to figure out which ingredients will create those potions based on colour-coded recipes. You have to brew other potions to provide heroes going out on expedients and to sell to the community. This allows you to source those ingredients from the heroes who can retrieve them and the shops that sell them. Selling your potions requires you to haggle with customers that come into your shop. Each potion has a base price determined by its type and quality. Upgrades to your shop, including general decorations and specific display shelves, boost this. Then you haggle with customers in a turn-based mini game where you use a deck of negotiation skills to get the highest possible price for each sale. You start with a basic deck which you can customise with cards you gain as you develop relationships and learn from other characters. Stress you carry into the negotiations scuppers your haggling skills, while taking time to relax with your friends reduces your stress. Your opponents in the competitions are cleverly written and satisfying to defeat. The writing effortlessly weaves in ideas of environmentalism, uncouth legal practices, data mining, and more in a way that fits with the fantasy setting and raises genuinely interesting conversations about issues within contemporary business practices. It’s very easy to get sucked into the world of Potionomics. The characters are wonderfully developed in terms of design, dialogue, and relationships. The management of the shop is a fun challenge, and the card battles to haggle make for a fun approach to the selling element of the game. The aspects that are left up to chance—such as the random nature of ingredients found on expeditions—can be frustrating, but even then it serves as an accurate reflection of the limitations of your control over the world around you. The post Review: Potionomics: Masterwork Edition (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Another year is here and that means it’s time for our yearly Nintendo predictions! Put on your thinking caps 🧢 and join us as we try to guess what Nintendo

The post Our Nintendo Predictions: 2025 Edition appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Another year is here and that means it’s time for our yearly Nintendo predictions! Put on your thinking caps and join us as we try to guess what Nintendo will do next! Check out last year’s predictions HERE to see how we did! For Justin in 2024: Metroid Prime 4 will finally, finally be shown off to the world again, it will be one of the key games to show off the visual capabilities of the Switch successor 0.5 point, we finally got a new trailer but nothing yet a key game for the Switch successor but here’s hoping for 2025! The Pokémon company will announce Black/White remakes this year, most likely during a Pokémon Presents on Pokémon Day Nope The Switch successor will be announced AND released this year, I don’t think it’ll be called ‘New Nintendo Switch’ (at least I hope not ) but I could see something like that such as Switch Nitro or something that still includes the ‘Switch’ name while also indicating a big step up from a processing power perspective. Nope We are due for a new 3D Mario, I could see it launch with the new system Nope Metroid Prime 2 will get a remaster announced this year and maybe MP3 but I could see that being released later Nope The F-Zero franchise will get some more love in 2024 Yep, although I was hoping for a new game or remaster of F-Zero GX, we still got a ton of updates to F-Zero 99 as well as some NSO love for the series. Maybe this will build to a new game in 2025! Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD will get ported to the Switch in 2024 Nope Nintendo will continue to sell the original Switch alongside the successor Nope / we don’t know yet Backwards compatibility will be a main selling point of the new system, all Switch games will carry over and be able to be played Day 1 on the new system, this will be Nintendo’s first digital account setup that has full carry over Yes, this was one of the only things Nintendo officially confirmed in 2024 about the successor Nintendo made good strides with 3rd party support with the Switch. I think that will continue and I think we’ll get a major franchise announced for the successor that even the Switch missed out on (think franchises like Madden, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Far Cry, etc) Nope / we don’t know yet Wild Cards (2 points each) I said this last year that we’d get a new Donkey Kong game announced but I think 2024 is the year especially with the new system launching and the new DK section going in at Super Nintendo World in Japan Nope, we did get an HD port announced but I’m not counting that. I was speaking about a brand new DK game, hopefully someday! The next Mario Kart game will also be announced Nope That’s 2.5 points for Justin For Trev in 2024: While they’re not really my thing, Nintendo will add another new mobile app or game in 2024. Speaking of… Yes, Pokemon TCG Pocket Forget the mobile Dr. Mario World or the ports available on Switch Online. The puzzle series will get a brand new entry. And unlike the download-only entries such as Online RX, Miracle Cure, or Express, it will be a full-fledged release (if this does come true, expect it to make Justin’s Top 5) Nope There was already a rumor on this one a couple of months back due to a trademark filing. But to celebrate its 10th anniversary, one of the best-selling 3DS games, Tomodachi Life, will arrive on Switch in one form or another. Nope Along similar lines, I predicted last year that the 3DS hit, A Link Between Worlds, would get an HD update to celebrate its 10th anniversary. That never occurred, but I still believe the Link’s Awakening HD engine will be used again—the game’s, after all, among the top 25 best-selling Switch games ever. So, I’m revisiting a prediction I initially made in 2020, speculating that the Oracle games will receive the remake treatment. 0.5 point, the engine was used again but on a completely new game (Echoes of Wisdom) instead of the Oracle games Nintendo will offer something sizable to attract new or returning Switch Online players. Something beyond game trials and sporadic releases of older games. Think free new content. Yes, Nintendo Music was introduced as a free app for NSO subscribers. I’ve never predicted a Switch follow-up, even though those rumors have been flying for years. That finally changes now, as I predict that Nintendo will announce (though not necessarily release) a Switch successor in 2024. Yes, Nintendo officially confirmed it but did not release it If the above is true, some footage of launch games will likely be shown. Metroid Prime 4, finally? Nope, MP4 was shown but we don’t know if it’s a launch game yet If a new console/system/hybrid won’t be out until 2025, Nintendo will want to ensure they’re still moving the various Switch models on the market. Expect a mixture of budget ports, price cuts, and a Nintendo Select line of best sellers. Nope, only bundles again from Nintendo Speaking of best sellers, the Switch has (at the time I write this) over 80 games that have passed 1 million copies sold. What new games could be added to that list? When all’s said and done, can the million seller game list hit triple digits? Probably not in 2024, but there will be a few new additions. Yes, not quite triple digits but 97 games (according to Wikipedia) What’ll be new with amiibo in the coming year? Given all I’ve heard about the unique characters in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I wouldn’t be surprised (and happy) to see some arrive when the game returns for a Switch release. Nope Wild Cards (2 points each) Skylanders will return in one form or another. Given the relationship with past games on Nintendo hardware, I think the new release will eventually prove most popular with Nintendo fans. Just don’t be greedy, Activision! Nope As more and more depart Twitter, Pure Nintendo will find a new audience on the Blue Sky social app. Yes! Find us on Blue Sky – Pure Nintendo on Bluesky That’s 6.5 points for Trev Trev took the win this year since Nintendo decided to wait a bit longer for the Switch 2. Here’s hoping 2025 is the year! 2025 Predictions Justin’s Predictions GameCube games will be announced for the Nintendo Switch Online service. A new Mario Kart game will be announced in 2025, hopefully releasing this year too. 2024 was a rare year without a new Pokémon game (not counting Pokémon TCG Pocket, even though I have been enjoying it myself). I think we’ll see Pokémon Legends ZA release in 2025 and maybe a tease at another Pokémon game. I think we’ll see a new Kirby game this year – it could be a port of an older game but here’s hoping for a follow up to Forgotten Land. (Switch 2 related – Carry over from 2024) – The Switch successor will be announced AND released this year. I could see it being called simply Nintendo Switch 2 to be the least confusing on everyone. (Switch 2 related – Carry over from 2024) – We are due for a new 3D Mario, I could see it launch with the new system. (Switch 2 related – Carry over from 2024) – Nintendo will continue to sell the original Switch alongside the successor. We will see an announcement about a new Smash Bros. game whether that’s moving Ultimate from the Switch up to the Switch 2 with new characters/stages (like the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass) or a whole new game entirely. (Switch 2 related – Carry over from 2024) – Nintendo made good strides with 3rd party support with the Switch. I think that will continue and I think we’ll get a major franchise announced for the successor that even the Switch missed out on (think franchises like Madden, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Far Cry, etc) (Switch 2 related) – I think the Switch 2 will launch at $399. For context: GameCube price at launch: $199 Wii price at launch: $249 Wii U price at launch: $299 (deluxe version at $349) Switch price at launch: $299 Switch OLED price at launch: $349 Wild Cards* It hasn’t been that long since we’ve had a Zelda game but I feel like Nintendo will at least announce a Zelda game for the Switch 2’s first year, even if it’s just the oft-rumored Twilight Princess HD and/or Wind Waker HD ports. A new Wave Race will be announced. Trev’s Predictions The Nintendo Switch will be the first console to hit 160 million, surpassing both the DS and PS2 in the process. Will Jim Ryan move the goalposts again and claim the PS2 actually sold 170 million? We’ll get a movie-themed Direct for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. 2 and/or Zelda film(s). The vocals will generate chatter, Mario voiced by Chris Pratt in the former, and Link voiced by (likely) nobody in the latter. I predict Nintendo will discontinue the original Switch models, with only the Lite and OLED remaining at retail. Expect bundles for each pushing Switch Online, with free offers. Along those lines… Nintendo Switch Online will see a sizable alteration. Whether it’s the addition of new consoles like GameCube, changing the price structure, or merging plans, expect a change to come with the introduction of new hardware. Speaking of new hardware, Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) will have a pack-in game at launch, unlike its predecessor. Will it be a Mario game like the SNES had? A family game like Wii? Or one highlighting whatever the unique hardware features are a la Wii U. At least one launch window title for the new hardware will incorporate motion controls, leading to decry or delight depending on if you’re a fan or not. 2025 will bring a new console, but I predict some older hardware features will return. I’m thinking along the lines of Nintendo Badge Arcade or some of the Wii channels (which have come back into awareness thanks to Nintendo Music) Not only will popular amiibo keep seeing re-releases, but new ones will be introduced to tie in with at least one launch window game. More in the gaming industry will continue to flee Twitter for Bluesky. Perhaps Nintendo will even reintroduce screen-sharing integration. Despite new hardware, Nintendo will keep supporting the Switch. Expect sizable updates to some popular games (new content fee DLC updates) plus ports of older hits (Metroid Prime 2 & 3, Super Mario Galaxy 2, etc.) Wild Cards* Nintendo hasn’t been known for traditional sports games for quite some time, but in the past, they’ve worked with stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Kobe Bryant. Will 2025 be a year where we get a first-party sports sim? It might be a long shot, but I’ll say yes. 2025 will be ten years since Tri Force Heroes and twenty since Four Swords Adventures. I predict some multiplayer Zelda love in one form or another. *Wild Cards are worth 2 points What are your predictions for 2025? Let us know in the comments! The post Our Nintendo Predictions: 2025 Edition appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

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An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed the Battle Balaclava's "No Gloves" style hiding the Heavy's hands Fixed broken materials for The Westcoat's "Ugly" style Added smoke effect to The Checkered Past Update the Buck's Brim's "Bad" style Fixed broken materials Added smoke effect Updated cp_fortezza Detail improvements Improved clipping Updated koth_cachoeira Fixed players being able to get stuck in certain displacements Various clipping improvements throughout the map Various miscellaneous fixes (Thanks Midnite!) Improved bot navigation (Thanks Katsu!)

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated the Brain Cane to fix problems with the texture and phong value Updated The Battle Music Added missing Hat style Fixed the models due to clipping on Heavy's ears and misalignment on Engineer Improved and strengthen the Noise Cancellation Updated the materials to fix it not being shiny Updated the backpack icon to reflect the materials change Updated cp_gravelpit_snowy Fixed potential incompatibility with external VScript files (thanks Le Codex!) Re-implemented cubemap reflections in ice cave Fixed perch spots Updated vsh_distillery, vsh_maul, vsh_nucleus, vsh_outburst, vsh_skirmish, and vsh_tinyrock Restored Hale's resistance to knockback back to 75% Reduced bonus flame damage against Hale from 50% to 25% Hale can now do 1 extra Brave Jump before the Jump Fatigue kicks in (thanks Wendy) Weighdown is no longer blocked by the Jump Fatigue (thanks Wendy) Removed area-of-effect of Hale's normal punches (thanks Wendy) Demoman shields now absorb 70% of Saxton Punch! damage (compared to normal 50%) to make the following launch into the stratosphere survivable Fixed Hale taking mini-crits from Direct Hit and Reserve Shooter while underwater (thanks Bradasparky) Fixed airborne mini-crits of Direct Hit and Reserve Shooter applying against the wielder (thanks Bradasparky) Fixed Hale being able to stomp while underwater (thanks Bradasparky) Fixed Sweeping Charge not working against underwater opponents Fixed the bug that prevented Quick-Fix from mirroring a patient's wall climbing (thanks Bradasparky) Fixed Hale's faulty ground detection (thanks Bradasparky) Fixed Baby Face's Blaster's loss of boost not applying correctly (thanks Whurr and MilkMaster72) Fixed the voice lines refusing to play sometimes Updated pl_patagonia Stage 1 Fixed the cart going under the elevator in extremely rare occasions (Thanks Shocked) Fixed sometimes hearing outside soundscapes inside blue spawn Fixed being able to build in a very high rooftop after point A Fixed being able to build in blue spawn Cart elevator is no longer the glitchiest thing in the universe Fixed cart not rolling back after completing the elevator descent sequence Now, if the cart is rolling into the elevator in overtime, the round timer will be set to 5 seconds left, to avoid unfair loses for blue. Timer will resume once the cart reaches the bottom (Thanks I. C. Wiener). Stage 2 Removed rollback from the train container ramp in last point (Thanks b4nny) Gave blue more high ground for last point Added an additional dropdown for blue for last point Fixed being able to be teleported into red spawn as blue after capping point A Removed long hill rollback before point C Fixed bots getting stuck on the closed train doors after cap B Fixed being able to leave stickies inside blue last spawn Fixed being able to get stuck in the point C shortcut door for red. If you get trapped, it will kill you. Fixed a pop-in issue relating to areaportals below point B Fixed being able to enter the last blue spawn as red Birdie (Thanks Explocivo808) Stage 3 Added a fenced section for the long wood cover wall in last point (Thanks b4nny) Mirrored the window sniper spot in last point choke Fixed being able to build behind a displacement rock wall in last point Removed troll teleport spot in last point ending ramp All Stages Slightly lowered sun brightness and slightly raised skylight brightness Improved skybox transitions The cart no longer tries to defy the law of physics Ninjaneers have more freedom to be ninjas The bots have learned how to play the map Gave the cart another coronación de gloria

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated the Dapper Noel to fix an issue with the mesh Updated vsh_maul Fixed broken areaportals Changed some props in the upper area that could be mistaken for a large ammo pack

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Added missing No Gloves style for the Consigliere's Coverup Added missing Versus Saxton Hale kill icons Added some tournament medals Fixed Taunt: Curtain Call voice lines overlapping with other Spy voice lines Fixed the Playful Aurora and Frisky Morning Unusual effects not moving correctly Updated Aurora Skies Unusual effect to fix a timing issue Updated the Necroprancer to fix an issue with the materials Updated the Dusk Duster to fix an issue with the materials Updated the Dapper Noel Remade normal map to be compatible with OpenGL Re-baked Diffuse & updated backpack icon to reflect above changes Removed misplaced ambient occlusion Fixed problematic face flexes Fixed an issue where Engineer's beard was protruding from his goggles Fixed an issue with the jigglebones being disabled Rigged Sniper's hat to be compatible with his melee taunt Updated Scrooge McDoc Transparent lenses are rigged to the correct bone (prp_glasses instead of bip_head) so it should now work correctly with taunts that move the glasses Improved scarf rigging and positioning to allow for better compatibility with shirt cosmetics Updated the backpack icon Updated koth_overcast_final Fixed an issue with the models/materials Added back snow coverings (now using displacements) to some props that were missing them Fixed misaligned textures in various places Fixed weird lighting bug on a wall in blue spawn Fixed 'Hotel' sign not displaying properly Added back indicators under some health and ammo kits that were missing them Updated cp_fortezza Removed sniper window leading into last Fixed Engineer being able to build in some doors Fixed some props being solid Slight art pass update Updated vsh_maul Players can no longer hide from Saxton in the dark Fixed props inside other props Fixed z-fighting brushes Fixed missing particle effects for the water feature Fixed orientation of water feature particles Minor lighting changes around the cinema Adjusted LOD change distances for Cinema sign Updated VSH logic Grounded levitating props Aligned misaligned textures Fixed mis-textured walls Clipped upper metal beams Fixed clip brushes sticking out from walls that could be walked on Players will now be pushed off of the fire bell Adjusted cinema sign shadow Used spell check on Saxton's Package sign Updated how music is activated and deactivated Fixed clipping on the hanging big ornaments

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Happy Smissmas 2024! All players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Stuffed Stocking as a gift! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries. Featuring 6 new community maps: Overcast, Fortezza, Penguin Peak, Patagonia, Cutter, and Maul Added the Winter 2024 Cosmetic Case Contains 23 new community-contributed items The Festivizer can be found as a bonus drop when opening the case Added 3 new community-contributed taunts to the Mann Co. Store Taunt: Fore-Head Slice Taunt: Peace! Taunt: Curtain Call Added 18 new community-created Unusual effects 9 new effects for Unusual hats 9 new effects for Unusual taunts All cosmetic and taunt cases will grant Smissmas 2024 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event. This does not include crates. Mann Co. Store winter sale! Smissmas runs through January 7th, 2025 General Fixed a client crash when previewing imported items in the Workshop dialog Fixed showing an error model when equipping the Scottish Resistance Fixed The Executioner not hiding the Scout's dog tags Updated the Mountebank's Masque to fix a problem with the materials Updated/Added some tournament medals Updated vsh_distillery, vsh_nucleus, vsh_outburst, vsh_skirmish, and vsh_tinyrock General Added the gamemode intro movie (made by Lacry, thanks) Improved the delivery of VSH-related voice lines for Soldier, Engineer and Sniper Updated some VSH-related voice lines for Saxton, Soldier, Engineer and Sniper (thanks The Rat Man) Added Hale's kill icons Visual improvements to Hale's Ability HUD (thanks Funicular) Added a visual cue signaling an upcoming Saxton Punch! Minor visual improvements to Saxton Hale and his particle effects Fixed the boss bar sometimes starting invisible Fixed a rare crash caused by seeing blood decals on Hale while playing on low graphics quality settings Fixed a rare bug when Hale's Ability HUD textures become missing Balance Changes - Saxton Hale Added Brave Jump Fatigue. Each consecutive jump will be less powerful, requiring a short break to restore to full strength Weightdown ability is disabled during Jump Fatigue Increased Hale's health by ~100HP per opponent Adjusted Hale's health formula against 24+ opponents - Hale now gains 2000HP for every opponent past 23 (thanks Megascatterbomb) Hale's resistance to knockback reduced from 75% to 35% Head Stomp damage now scales with Hale's downward speed, dealing between 64 and 193 damage (previously dealt flat 195 damage) Balance Changes - Mercenaries Explosives and fire now deal 50% more damage against Hale The 40% minigun damage penalty now applies to full crits only Broken Demoman shields now retain the charge ability Demoman shields now absorb only 50% of the incoming damage upon breaking (a would-be-lethal blow will leave the Demo at 1HP) Greatly decreased sticky trap damage reduction Removed Scottish Resistance's 20% damage penalty Baby Face's Blaster now loses 20% of its boost upon Wall Climbing Updated vsh_tinyrock (additional changes) Improved performance Fixed odd clipping at one of the spawns Updated vsh_distillery (additional changes) Improved performance Updated vsh_nucleus (additional changes) Fixed setup time ending five seconds too early Improved detailing in some areas Improved clipping on staircases Increased control point capture time to 15 seconds Removed collision on some lights Changed damage model and damage amount of the toxic waste pit and puddles Updated vsh_skirmish (additional changes) Fixed setup time ending five seconds too early Fixed an issue where Engineers could build in the crocodile pit Fixed not being able to wall climb certain trees in the main arena Fixed some lighting issues on stalactites and other props Parts of Hale's intro sequence no longer play while waiting for players Improved optimization and detailing in some areas Improved clipping on spiral stairs (Thanks Aar!) Updated security system Updated cp_brew The shortcut from RED spawn to the "A" point now has a nobuild trigger Added floor indicator for the health kit in the "A" point wooden shack Adjusted "A" point wooden shack to allow more breathing room Fixed getting stuck on the "A" gate's frame Fixed teletrap near "A" point ditch route Fixed being able to place buildings inside an out-of-bounds room outside "A" point Fixed some stuck spots near "B" point Fixed being able to shoot through a crack in the BLU forward spawn Fixed floating props in the diner Fixed one way door not forcing itself closed Cleaned up some collisions and clipping across the map Improved lighting on all of the archways Updated koth_krampus Fixed missing trees in skybox Improved look of waterfall texture near full health-kit Fixed minor visual errors Minor NPC clipping changes Fed krampus some oats Updated pl_emerge Switched on the cart light Fixed RED players being able to sit on the edge of an exit of BLU's starting spawn Fixed some doors showing incorrect textures Fixed the final capture point displaying an incorrect string Fixed the map occasionally playing incorrect ambient sounds Minor visual and performance tweaks Updated cp_carrier The Carrier now has full crits rather than mini-crits The Carrier now uses the robot voice lines Improved hearability of the Carrier's voice lines and footsteps Fixed visual bugs with the boss bar Fixed the Carrier sometimes becoming invisible while taunting Fixed animation glitches when a Demoman Carrier holds a Stickybomb Launcher Fixed occasional phasing through the elevator platform at BLU spawn Decreased size of the frog

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Improved matchmaking performance Improved matchmaker behavior for users with less-than-ideal ping levels. The matchmaker should now be quicker to put you in the best available region. Improved matchmaker decision making for cross-region parties Added error messages when being ejected from the matchmaking queue due to connectivity or authentication failures, rather than the queue simply silently vanishing Fixed the matchmaking settings dialog frequently failing to display any datacenters Fixed multiple cases of in-progress casual matches abruptly terminating or failing to be assigned any new players if the game server ever loses connection to Steam Updated the Mountebank's Masque, Courtier's Collar, and Harlequin's Hooves cosmetic items to fix issues with their paint regions Updated cp_gravelpit_snowy Fixed a script issue Improved performance Improved clipping

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed the Guano and Batbelt cosmetic items hiding the Scout's dog tags Fixed The Beacon from Beyond incorrectly hiding a bunch of bodygroups Fixed the Quoth cosmetic item hiding the Scout's headphones Fixed some broken materials for some props_farm gib models Adding "Hat" style for the Fuel Injector Updated the Clue Hairdo to fix broken smoke effect Updated koth_synthetic_event Edited nav mesh to minimize the Toastmaster running diving into the grinder/death pit Updated pd_farmageddon Revoked scarecrow gym membership which lowered their health from 500 to 350 Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woods Fixed an exploit allowing some players to respawn as a human or play as a human on the Zombie team

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Reverted BLU Scout pants fix because it conflicts with too many existing cosmetics Updated the Fleet Commander again to fix import problems from the previous update Updated the Phantom Plague and Haunting Haze Unusual effects to fix sometimes spawning away from the player Updated cp_freaky_fair Fixed issues related to the gamemode logic Reapplied check that was mistakenly removed to check if the player is actively buying upgrades in a station or not Implemented new custom system to refund upgrades to hopefully address inconsistencies both in-round and across rounds Implemented logic to handle mismatches in recorded vs actual currency values when leaving the upgrade trigger and having not accepted de-bought upgrades Reverted code to do with Ghosts and Sentry busters to fix bugs related to their effects not de-applying Implemented a way to force kill players to address edge cases where you could survive as the sentry buster past their explosion (Thanks MilkMaster!) Improved the logic which checks if you can apply a new potion effect to yourself to address bugs where effects can overlap Fixed sniper and demo shields not having their upgrades cleared Fixed canteens not having their values cleared when refunding whilst not equipped Increased the height of the skybox Increased last point capture time from 6s to 7s Changed some clipping to stop giants from building on roofs Smoothed out a divot (Thanks Midnite!) Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woods General Re-encoded all Zombie Infection sound effects as .WAV This fixes issues with sound effects not playing correctly and spewing errors in the console Bug fixes Fixed a bug that caused Sniper's Spit Pool to deal much more damage than intended Fixed a bug that caused team names to not display correctly when playing on mp_tournament mode Fixed a bug where Engineer would sometimes scream like a charging Demoman while throwing an EMP Grenade Zombie Changes Sniper's Spit Pool damage vs Survivors no longer stacks when standing in multiple zones Zombie Heavy is no longer immune to Critical Hits Zombie Heavy's max health raised to 525 (from 450) Zombie Pyro's max health raised to 250 (from 175) Zombie Pyro now drops a medium health kit on death Survivor Changes Crossbow weapons no longer have a flat damage multiplier against Zombies The B.A.S.E Jumper can no longer be deployed if you are one of the last three survivors Jumper Weapons can no longer store reserve ammunition Updated zi_murky (additional changes) Added more respawn room triggers around the new spawn zones

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Added missing list of authors for arena_lumberyard_event Fixed the Crook Combatant hiding the Scout's dog tags Fixed some sound script entries not playing because they were looking for .wav instead of .mp3 Fixed BLU Scout using the incorrect team color pants Fixed some props_farm models using an incorrect surfaceprop setting Updated the large version of the backpack image for The Fast Learner to be consistent with the small version Updated the schema entries for The Hound's Hood and the Thrilling Tracksuit to remove unused settings Updated a couple of the community console images to fix missing nomip/nolod settings Updated Freaky Fair's expert contract to be "Win a round on Freaky Fair" Updated the Fleet Commander and Delldozer to fix import problems from the previous update Updated arena_lumberyard_event Fixed mini-crits being removed from the last player standing if they used the Crit-a-Cola Added missing navigation mesh Fixed areaportal windows in spawn fading in too early Fixed cases where players would get stuck on the setup doors Adjusted prop fades Updated cp_darkmarsh Lowered spell spawn timer (from 180 seconds to 120 seconds) Spells that spawn outside respawn rooms will disappear after 30 seconds of not being picked up Added several more pumpkin bomb spawn points Fixed portcullis doors turning pitch black when opening Lowered RED respawn wave time for the last point (from 10 to 8) Updated tow_dynamite Fixed an ammo pick-up differ on BLU side Added a missing wagon wheel on BLU side Added Tug of War objective strings Made the jump pad's deathpits deeper A new critter has arrived Updated pd_circus Fixed spell books being prompted despite none spawning in the map Reduced points per player from 6 to 5 Reduced distracting lighting and details around the inaccessible areas of the circus Fixed being able to place teleporters too close to spawn doors Fixed erroneous collisions Fixed small displacements cutting through walls Fixed some gaps in geometry

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed an issue with Blazehattan contracts Fixed an issue with Outburst contracts Fixed an invalid Soul Gargoyle location on Mann Manor Fixed players not being able to select a class and spawn after watching an intro video Recompiled props_farm\box_cluster03.mdl to fix a problem with the material Updated the Dusk Duster to adjust the rigging a bit to reduce distortion Updated the Triboniophorus Gentlemannus Fixed clipping Updated texture to fix mipmapping Added jigglebone Added attachment for genteel smoke effect Updated the Clue Hairdo to fix a rim mask problem with the 'Case Open' style Updated the Fleet Commander Fixed white seams when moving camera away from character Improved position of Style Selection camera by deleting unused bones Updated the Delldozer to fix a problem with the specular map for the Re-Mastered and Re-Engineered styles Updated The Witch Doctor to fix a problem with the diffuse textures and normal maps Updated Taunt: Commending Clap to fix some issues with sounds and timing Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woods Reduced Zombie Engineer's EMP Grenade Cooldown from 10 seconds to 9 seconds Adjusted Zombie Pyro's death explosion to briefly ignite players hit by the blast Fixed a bug that allowed Zombie Medic to spawn infinite dispenser entities (Thanks Psychicpie!) Fixed Zombie Heavy's ability appearing as an active instead of a passive on the HUD (Thanks NeoDement!) Fixed a bug that caused Zombie Heavy's knockback effect to trigger on afterburn damage when quickly swapping from Pyro to Heavy Updated zi_blazehattan (additional changes) Fixed top roof having no collisions, causing players to 'sink in' Made the brick decoration near the wooden ramp slightly lower to make jumping to the top roof easier Removed some redundant clip brushes Changed the round timer from 6 minutes to 3 minutes 30 seconds Fixed missing textures behind the windows of the warehouse building Fixed rendering issue in the A Gate zombie spawn (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed several instances where players could stand on top of clip brushes and in high places (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed floodlight stuck spot near B Gate (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed troll teleporter spots (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed telephone pole collision (Thanks Midnite!) Added no-build triggers on top of barrel clusters at the top of the containers for consistency Added barrel clusters and wood debri on top of the red container with the floodlight to make it more apparent engineers can't build there, as well as to provide cover for zombies Various small changes Updated tow_dynamite Doubled the chances of a Jump Spell drop Fixed the main gates killing players when touched on the side Fixed the main gates killing you prematurely before they are fully closed Fixed HUD textures going missing on occasion (Thanks Aar) Fixed the rooftop fire being too strong Fixed multiple locations that allowed players to build out of bounds Fixed an overly aggressive propfade in front of spawn Fixed edge bugs on multiple roofs that allowed players to remain alive Updated vsh_outburst Improved performance Fixed menu images Fixed a minor visual issue Fixed being able to stick to the invisible walls Updated koth_sawmill_event Reduced the amount of skeletons that spawn Added a new pathway to the secret underworld exit Redid some detailing near Reds base Improved lighting near some shacks near mid Fixed clipping for a shack Reworked where Soul Gargoyles spawn, now favoring Mid more often Made some new greener water for Mids lumber place New spectator cams Updated cp_freaky_fair Fixed issues related to the gamemode logic Fixed players being able to retain upgrades on their weapons by putting them in their loadout before the round changes and then switching back to them Fixed some currency bugs related to players having upgrades pending but not accepted, and then leaving the upgrade trigger Fixed players being able to retain their upgrades when switching classes inside the upgrade trigger after having refunded Fixed character upgrades being occasionally set to incorrect quantities Changed uber and kritz potions so they use the equivalent lakeside conditions to allow Medics to switch weapons and maintain their effects Fixed players being able to put a class into a massive debt Several minor fixes Merasmus is very talkative, so we asked him to talk a bit differently Merasmus will only sometimes say something after he already talked about his financial problems during the first seconds of setup time Merasmus will no longer say something that is too long to say before he needs to announce something else, he will say something different now Merasmus now has more things to say Merasmus will now announce overtime, stalemate and last control point being captured instead of the Administrator Made changes to the upgrades Ghost Potion: ghost spooking radius reduced from 512 hu to 384 hu Ghost Potion: ghost spooking frequency increased from 5 to 7 secs (this is a nerf) Sentry Firing Speed: removed redundant 3rd level Disposable sentry: Maximum amount reduced from 4 to 3 Crit boost on kill: Now disabled Shield Recharge Rate bonus: Maximum level reduced from 4 to 2 Shield Recharge Rate bonus: Price increased from $150 to $250 Rocket Specialist: Price increased from $300 to $450 Rocket Specialist: Maximum level reduced from 4 to 3 Crit damage resistance: Resist reduced from 30% to 25% per level (this is a nerf) Crit damage resistance: Maximum Resist reduced from 90% to 75% (this is a nerf) Thermal Thruster impact stun: Price increased from $600 to $750 Explosive Headshot: Price increased from $350 to $450 Mad Milk and Jarate speed on target debuff: Debuff reduced from 35% to 25% Mark For Death: Price reduced from $500 to $300 Fixed several roof spots players were able to stand on (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed several teleporter stuck spots (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed floating pumpkins and planks (Thanks Midnite!) Fixed several spots that could be abused to spawncamp enemy team (Thanks Midnite!) Removed some visible dev textures (Thanks Midnite!) Removed stool from the arcade that was blocking the path previously Fixed being able to deal splash damage through metal grates Clipped the attic in respawn room to prevent players from getting and building there Clipped several beams in the lobby room Fixed missing wooden board near Red respawn room door Moved Merry-Go-Round sound source closer to make it louder Brightened several dark spots Closed the tree gap

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed broken path for community_maps_5 in the ConTracker Renamed Team Blackout war paint to Blackout Fixed the names of the Delightful Doves, Ravenous Ravens, and Vicious Vampires Unusual effects Updated Toxic's second objective to be 'Collect a Halloween Pumpkin on Toxic' Updated the School Nuisance to update the backpack icon and fix some clipping issues on the LODs Updated the Sear Seer to fix a paintability problem with the 'Dusk - No Lenses' style Updated the Heavy Rain Unusual taunt effect to improve visual quality of the effect in dark environments Updated cp_darkmarsh to reduce fog intensity Updated zi_atoll, zi_blazehattan, zi_devastation_final1, zi_murky, zi_sanitarium, and zi_woods Fixed missing overlay material for Sniper's Spit ability Fixed missing particle effects for Pyro's Dragon's Breath ability Fixed a bug that would cause players to get stuck in spectate mode when attempting to join a game in progress

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated vsh_outburst to fix a problem with sounds not playing correctly Added missing strings for the new Strange Filters

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Scream Fortress XVI has arrived! Featuring 7 new community maps: Toxic, Darkmarsh, Freaky Fair, Dynamite, Circus, Outburst, and Blazehattan Added the Terrifying Trove Case Contains 21 new community-created cosmetic items that make up the Terrifying Trove Collection Has a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item Added 4 new community-contributed taunts to the Mann Co. Store Taunt: Crushing Defeat Taunt: Peace Out Taunt: Commending Clap Taunt: The Punchline Added 22 new community-created Unusual effects 12 new effects for Unusual hats 10 new effects for Unusual taunts Added the Scream Fortress XVI War Paint Case Contains 12 new community-created War Paints that make-up the Scream Fortress XVI War Paint Collection Has a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item All players who launch the game will receive a Soul Gargoyle if they don't already have one Grants access to Merasmissions and Halloween item transmutations Tracks Merasmissions completed and souls collected All Halloween Contracts have been reset, allowing them to be completed again Added new Contracts for this year's featured community maps Completing a Halloween Contract will give players a classic Halloween item and the chance for a Terrifying Trove Case Continue last year's event by collecting the souls of dead players for your Soul Gargoyle by killing enemies, doing map objectives, or collecting the Soul Gargoyles that spawn in the maps All cosmetic and taunt Cases will grant Halloween 2024 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event. This does not include Crates. Join Halloween matches by using the Special Events category in Casual Scream Fortress XVI runs through November 7th, 2024 General Added UI scaling based on resolution for better HiDPI support Fixed the reload speed attribute in Mann vs. Machine not scaling projectile speed and gravity correctly for the Huntsman (community fix from Marxvee) Fixed the damage bonus attribute in Mann vs. Machine not scaling correctly for the Huntsman (community fix from Marxvee) Fixed not being able to pickup currency in MvM if it's on a teleporter Fixed Keyless Winter 2016 Case not playing the special winter case sound Recompiled some skybox models to fix UV issues Updated the Scariest Mask EVER to fix some issues with clipping Updated Sapped Unusual effect to fix the animation playing at the wrong speed Added check to prevent copying a disguise target's action slot item when disguised as them Exposed CTFBaseBoss::SetResolvePlayerCollisions() for VScript users Updated/Added some tournament medals Updated Sapped Unusual effect to fix the animation playing at the wrong speed Updated several maps to fix localization issues Updated zi_murky, zi_devastation_final1, zi_atoll, zi_woods, zi_sanitarium General Changes Zombies no longer spawn instantly- their respawn timer is now dependant on the map Changed team names to "Survivors" and "Zombies" (Instead of "RED" and "BLU") Note: this change is only visible in casual mode or servers with mp_tournament set to 1 Survivor Spy can now disguise as a Zombie and will be seen as a Zombie by the enemy team (Thanks Sprinkles!) Note: disguised Survivor Spies will still be highlighted by Zombie Spy’s “Reveal” ability The Pomson 6000 now puts Zombie abilities on cooldown on hit Survivor Pyro can now destroy Zombie Engineer's EMP Grenade by hitting it with the Homewrecker Walking in to Zombie Sniper's Spit now consumes the Spycicle and prevents initial damage Standing in Zombie Sniper's Spit now emits additional sound effects and a burning green HUD overlay Added new kill icons for every zombie attack Zombie Changes Removed the out-of-combat speed buff from all Zombies Zombie Pyro Zombie Pyro has a new ability - "Dragon's Breath" Fires a Dragon's Fury fireball The initial cast of the fireball can reflect projectiles and airblast enemies Zombie Pyro now deals mini-crits to burning players on melee hit Zombie Pyro now creates a small explosion on death, knocking back enemies in a 125 hu radius Zombie Pyro no longer emits a Gas Passer cloud on death Zombie Demoman Added new sound effects to telegraph Zombie Demoman's Blast Charge ability Zombie Heavy Zombie Heavy's health reduced to 450 (from 600) Zombie Heavy now drops a Medium Health Kit on death Zombie Sniper Zombie Sniper's Spit damage vs buildables is now reduced by half Zombie Sniper's Spit now applies a screen overlay to players standing in the pool Zombie Medic Zombie Medic now emits health like a dispenser to nearby Zombies Zombie Medic can no longer attack while using Heal Added a new sound effect for Zombie Medic's Heal ability Zombie Spy Zombie Spy no longer emits particle effects while cloaked, making him fully invisible when not attacking. Jumpscare warning! Zombie Scout With other zombies getting slower, Zombie Scout's speed stands out more than ever before Bug Fixes Fixed a bug that allowed Zombie Demoman to survive his own Blast Charge (Thanks gasous nebule!) Fixed a bug that caused Zombie Demoman to not receive kill credit when killing players with Blast Charge Fixed a bug that caused Zombies to not gib correctly Fixed a bug that caused Zombie cosmetics to persist on RED players after the round restarts Fixed a bug that caused Zombie Sniper's Spit Pool to nudge players slightly in certain circumstances Fixed a bug that caused players to have the incorrect player skin when respawning at round start Fixed a bug that would cause players to become stuck in spectate mode when attempting to join a game in progress Fixed an issue with "game_text" entities not being correctly cleared after round reset Updated zi_murky (additional changes) Survivors now spawn across the map in multiple small groups instead of all at the sewage plant Added a life preserver shop to connect to the lonely shack in the southern end of the map Added a new dock network with a series of platforms leading to the roof of the central boathouse Added a small ramp to the left-most sewer pipes Removed some awkward ladder-ramps and replaced them with proper docks De-cluttered the roofs across the map Removed the floating large medkit Removed expensive reflections from the water Reduced color correction intensity Clipping improvements Updated zi_atoll (additional changes) Set a culling distance to most props Added occluders on the lighthouse to improve performance Updated zi_woods (additional changes) Fixed the announcer not being silenced when time is added Updated zi_sanitarium (additional changes) The roof is now accessible Added several routes to the roof Slightly reduced the intensity of the fog Added more pumpkin bombs Raised the skybox height Updated cp_gravelpit_snowy Improved performance by combining props Improved clipping Increased volume of laser gun finale Miscellaneous improvements Updated koth_sawmill_event Fixed an overlay Updated koth_undergrove_event Fixed several out-of-bounds exploits in the Underworld (thanks MN!) Adjusted overworld pumpkin bomb placement and increased maximum bomb count to 6 Fixed an incorrect texture on RED's side Updated koth_synthetic_event Moved spells away from mid Detail adjustments Clipping fixes Very minor lighting changes Updated pd_mannsylvania Added even more Bats! Added more spawnpoints for pumpkin-bombs Added new nag voiceline for if Dracula does not receive any blood donations Removed setup time, replaced it with a normal countdown instead Increased duration of the Vampire Powerup after leaving Dracula's Castle from 15 -> 20 seconds Decrease dropped blood bag timer from 15 -> 10 seconds Decreased respawn wave times for the losing team from 4 -> 2 seconds Decreased respawn wave times during a neutral gamestate from 4 -> 2 seconds Changed the main spawn doors to have windows Removed Rare Spell spawn by the graveyard area, replaced with Common Spell Health and ammo pickup adjustments Clipped stairs by the Castle's exit portal Minor visual updates Updated ctf_applejack Fixed the projectile weapons from not working inside the buildings Removed bullet collision from the intelligence room handrails Removed the prop jump up to the sniper balcony, to help snipers feel more comfortable there Removed the vents with missing textures Fixed the bug with being able to get stuck in the blue shed Fixed a stuck spot in mid shed (ty Midnite!) Fixed a texture being weird in the intel rooms Fixed a black displacement in the red intel yard Removed the collision from the food in the red spawn table Updated cp_ambush_event Fixed exploit where players were able to build into RED 1st base (Thanks MN!) Improved lighting at RED base in stage3 Fixed lantern being clipped into cliff wall in cavern at stage1 Fixed odd shadows cast by some props Fixed coffin from being non-solid in stage2 Fixed spawncamping spot in stage2 at RED indoor exit Fixed few hovering lamp props Fixed some prop fading too soon Fixed rare issue where players fell of directly to lava on underworld teleportation Clipped few crates to make it easier to jump on them Updated arena_lumberyard_event Recreated the game mode in VScript Significantly increased server performance Instead of using the best-of-seven round system on top of casual's best-of-three system, the map will simply run 15 traditional game rounds like ZI and VSH Updated the healing ghost appearance for RED team Text pop-ups are now drawn in chat instead of in the middle of your screen Reduced volume of the incoming spell Removed the random Skeleton King and the Horseless Headless Horseman Removed the rare spell given to the last player standing Converted some medium health kits into small health kits Removed small health kits from the second story of both churches Fixed a pumpkin bomb that was stuck in the terrain Updated pl_embargo Fixed an exploit that allowed BLU to teleport to RED spawn (thanks Jameson) Fixed the lack of countdown at the end of the round

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed regression with some .mp3 files not playing Updated description for the Backpack Expander Updated some tournament medals Updated the Desk Engineer cosmetic item Fixed clipping with the Gunslinger Fixed clipping with Engineer's buckle Fixed rotation in the paint preview Fixed skin parts being tinted green from texture compression Updated the Daring Dell cosmetic item Fixed rotation in the paint preview Fixed shading artifacts on the helmet Updated The Big Star cosmetic item Fixed rotation in the paint preview Fixed various instances of clipping with the player model Updated mismatched backpack icon Fixed parts of the textures Updated koth_cachoeira Players can no longer shoot through the metal fence

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Increased the maximum number of backpack slots to 4000 (from 3000) Fixed record/stop .dem file exploit that was used to reveal cloaked Spies Fixed Robot Destruction death notice events not properly highlighting when the local player kills a robot Fixed regressed self-illum setting for the Earbuds Fixed hearing the deflection sound when deflecting arrows that are already stuck in something (community fix from Marxvee) Fixed a problem with .mp3 sounds not playing if they were very short Fixed arrows instantly breaking when being fired by an invulnerable player with the projectile penetration upgrade in Mann vs. Machine (community fix from Marxvee) Updated tf_zombie_spawner entity to support setting team numbers for the zombies (defaults to the original behavior if no team is set) Updated Taunt: Unleashed Rage to fix incorrect outro timing Updated Taunt: Can It! to fix MvM bone Updated koth_sawmill_event Removed stray spell Updated koth_megaton Fixed rockets being able to quite literally crash the beach party (Thanks again, ficool2!) Updated pl_cashworks Updated menu photo to match map changes Removed strange texture glitch at RED spawn 1 Added shutter for drop exit at RED spawn 1 RED spawn 2 big door can't be stickied anymore Removed collision on some lamps Added minor visual changes in BLU spawn and final cap side route Fixed minor clipping issues Updated koth_cachoeira The sightline from the helicopter has been blocked off Fixed missing door texture (Thanks Hoppkins!) Various miscellaneous fixes (Thanks Midnite!)

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated Taunt: Can It! to fix missing flies particle effect Updated the backpack image for the Impact Impaler Updated Violent Viridian Unusual effect to fix a visual bug Updated/Added some tournament medals Updated cp_hadal Fixed control point capture messages Fixed door locking in RED spawn after C capture Removed unintended buildable areas Increased capture time on final point Improved directions around the map Updated pl_embargo Reduced respawn time on Last for RED from 34 to 22 seconds Asked Botlers to speak and explode more quietly Minor visual fixes Updated koth_megaton Improved performance by up to 20%, with more significant improvements possible depending on system specs (Thanks ficool2!) Fixed the grates around the capture zone allowing blast damage to pass through Fixed a few cases of alpha painted displacement seams Improved lighting on several models, especially on the rocks throughout the map Fixed surfaceprop on BLU's metal plates Fixed several pixelwalks along thatch roofing and exteriors of the team buildings Improved clipping throughout Fixed a support beam intersecting with spawn doors Fixed a few instances of visible displacement holes in the perimeter dropoff Added a unique kill icon for the end of the round Fixed floating spawndoor motors Plus... all you need for a beach party! Updated pd_atom_smash Fixed the Casual Administrator overriding the Scientist Fixed some floating lights Updated koth_sawmill_event Removed the spells in the underworld since players could spawn camp with them too easily Increased the time players get crits and health from the underworld after leaving Added some additional effects to the secret exit from the underworld

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated pl_embargo to fix visual glitches

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Updated the Loyalist's Coronet Unusual effect to fix team BLU particles in the team RED effect Updated the Rainbow Reverie, Warp Drive and Overdrive Unusual effects to work better with larger hats Updated the Rainbow Reverie Unusual effect to add a fade in when spawning and make the refract more noticeable Updated the Dragonflies' Embrace, Dragonflies' Nature, and Dragonflies' Lucent Unusual effects to fix trailing issues on the grass and ground particles Updated the Distress Signal and Carioca's Call Unusual effects to fix some issues with overlapping sprites Updated the Desert Wind and Monsoon Season Unusual effects Fixed the wind flickering on moving taunts Fixed the tumbleweed having incorrect physics Updated the wind and dust to trail slightly on moving taunts Updated the Control Patrol cosmetic item Reduced the size of the glasses Lowered the hat slightly on Soldier's head Fixed UV map issue with LODs Updated the Justice Johns cosmetic item Slimmed down the legs and raised socks cuffs to reduce overall thickness of the legs Fixed rigging issue with boot laces Updated the Pathfinder cosmetic item Slimmed down the arms slightly Adjusted shoulder and armpit rigging to reduce stretching of the vest Adjusted mesh transition from forearms to hands Fixed some clipping issues around where the shirt collar meets the zipper Raised the zipper pull tab for better compatibility with other Soldier cosmetics Updated ctf_doublecross Fixed an incorrect team-colored material in the BLU base for real this time Updated pl_enclosure_final Fixed a clip wall blocking a dropdown in stage 3 Updated pl_embargo Minor visual and clipping improvements Fixed the cart's missing outline Added an extra Botler to the playable space Fixed the paint splat overlay not applying to players within the explosion range The ambient music inside the casino now respects the music volume settings Improved player visibility against certain walls (Thanks Arthur) Added the kill icon to the helicopter blades Fixed an override of a TF2's base texture Fixed being able to block the cart shortly after point A (Thanks Aar) Fixed getting stuck in a door near C while it closes Fixed indoors fog sometimes getting applied outside (Thanks Phe) Increased respawn time for RED on the last point Fixed the client crash related to custom models Improved performance on the last point Updated koth_cachoeira Engineers can no longer build inside the cliffs Fixed teleporter stuck spot under the control point Adjusted respawn waves Minor visual improvements Various clipping fixes Improved performance Updated ctf_applejack Improved clipping Brought some stairs Improved tree collision Added more chickens Improved detail Fixed Ol'Betsy (Thanks Aar!)

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Moved 64-bit Steam binaries to the correct folder Updated the equip_region for the Free Mann's Fashion Updated the Distant Drift Unusual effect to fix a visibility issue Updated the Butterfly Season Unusual effect to fix problems with the scale and effect trails Updated the Fiesta Royale and Grand Jubilee Unusual taunt effects with performance improvements Updated the Botler 2000 to fix problems with its positioning Updated koth_megaton Fixed the finale being cut off by a round ending too early Fixed players not being blown to smithereens during the finale Fixed players being able to get stuck in the edges of the thatch rooftops Improved optimization. Investigation into further improvements for lower-end and config users is ongoing. Updated cp_canaveral_5cp Fixed an out-of-bounds exploit Fixed some stuck spots Fixed some hovering props Added some missing overlays Updated cp_overgrown Fixed being able to build in RED spawn Adjusted clipping to fix a few perch points Removed extra shadow_control entity (Thanks Lacry!) Fixed a number of small visual and gameplay issues on the map (Thanks Midnite!) Updated pl_odyssey Fixed an exploit that allowed BLU players to enter RED spawn Fixed lighting issues in BLU first spawn

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include: Fixed the Distress Signal and Carioca's Call Unusual effects sometimes causing the game to crash Moved ctf_haarp out of the CTF matchmaking category and into Attack/Defend Updated the Treasure Trove Unusual taunt effect Renamed to Bountiful Riches to fix a naming conflict Updated the materials to fix a problem with the coins Updated pd_atom_smash Fixed missing UI elements for the capture zone Increased rarity of The Scientist's idle chatter between capture zone availability Updated koth_megaton Fixed a missing material on the sandbags Fixed clipping on an open crate

Local game stores have reported a Pokemon TCG Prismatic Evolutions shortage. The Pokemon Company has issued an official statement regarding supply.
Read this article on TechRaptor

Local game stores have reported a Pokemon TCG Prismatic Evolutions shortage. The Pokemon Company has issued an official statement regarding supply. Read this article on TechRaptor

Our Aloft Resources Guide will cover where to find all crafting materials needed throughout your journey while exploring Aloft's sky islands and biomes.
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Our Aloft Resources Guide will cover where to find all crafting materials needed throughout your journey while exploring Aloft's sky islands and biomes. Read this article on TechRaptor

Endnight has released a new Sons of the Forest update, and it's packed to the brim with improvements, as well as new structures and more.
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Endnight has released a new Sons of the Forest update, and it's packed to the brim with improvements, as well as new structures and more. Read this article on TechRaptor

A report has emerged which claims that Nintendo is preparing its Switch 2 pipeline for 20 million shipments in the console's first year.
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A report has emerged which claims that Nintendo is preparing its Switch 2 pipeline for 20 million shipments in the console's first year. Read this article on TechRaptor

Sharkmob has announced a playtest for its upcoming natural disaster-themed extraction shooter Exoborne, and it's coming this February.
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Sharkmob has announced a playtest for its upcoming natural disaster-themed extraction shooter Exoborne, and it's coming this February. Read this article on TechRaptor

Marvelous has announced the release date for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and it's landing on PC and Switch this May.
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Marvelous has announced the release date for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and it's landing on PC and Switch this May. Read this article on TechRaptor

The Old World is a vast and dangerous place and the best place to start exploring is with our Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set Review.
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The Old World is a vast and dangerous place and the best place to start exploring is with our Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set Review. Read this article on TechRaptor

Grinding Gear Games will release Path of Exile 2 Update 0.1.1 tomorrow, and its patch notes are, as you might expect, rather extensive.
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Grinding Gear Games will release Path of Exile 2 Update 0.1.1 tomorrow, and its patch notes are, as you might expect, rather extensive. Read this article on TechRaptor

The indie scene continues to thrive with plenty of games that can take over the industry like their AAA brethren. Here's the best of 2024.
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The indie scene continues to thrive with plenty of games that can take over the industry like their AAA brethren. Here's the best of 2024. Read this article on TechRaptor

Nintendo has finally officially announced the Switch 2, putting an end to months of speculation and rumors regarding the timing of its reveal.
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Nintendo has finally officially announced the Switch 2, putting an end to months of speculation and rumors regarding the timing of its reveal. Read this article on TechRaptor

Ambitious GTA 5 mod Liberty City Preservation Project has been taken down, but its creators insist the takedown wasn't the result of a DMCA claim.
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Ambitious GTA 5 mod Liberty City Preservation Project has been taken down, but its creators insist the takedown wasn't the result of a DMCA claim. Read this article on TechRaptor

Nvidia's RTX 50 series of GPUs look very impressive, but is it merely for tech demos or is there an actual market for a $500 graphics card?
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Nvidia's RTX 50 series of GPUs look very impressive, but is it merely for tech demos or is there an actual market for a $500 graphics card? Read this article on TechRaptor

Our Aloft Ecosystem Guide tells you how ecosystems work in Aloft and what you need to do to repair the health of an island's environment.
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Our Aloft Ecosystem Guide tells you how ecosystems work in Aloft and what you need to do to repair the health of an island's environment. Read this article on TechRaptor

Gaijin Entertainment and developer Atypical Games have announced Cubic Odyssey, an ambitious-looking voxel space adventure coming this year.
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Gaijin Entertainment and developer Atypical Games have announced Cubic Odyssey, an ambitious-looking voxel space adventure coming this year. Read this article on TechRaptor

Butterscotch Shenanigans has revealed the Crashlands 2 release date, so get ready to revisit the surface of Woanope as Flux Dabes.
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Butterscotch Shenanigans has revealed the Crashlands 2 release date, so get ready to revisit the surface of Woanope as Flux Dabes. Read this article on TechRaptor

We review Tales of Graces f Remastered - and despite some issues with the story and location design, it's a grand effort in getting the classic RPG up to modern standards.
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We review Tales of Graces f Remastered - and despite some issues with the story and location design, it's a grand effort in getting the classic RPG up to modern standards. Read this article on TechRaptor

Kaizen Game Works has revealed some of the voice talent behind upcoming narrative adventure Promise Mascot Agency, and the list of names is crazy.
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Kaizen Game Works has revealed some of the voice talent behind upcoming narrative adventure Promise Mascot Agency, and the list of names is crazy. Read this article on TechRaptor

Hyper Light Breaker developer Heart Machine has promised fixes are coming this week for some of the game's biggest performance and accessibility issues.
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Hyper Light Breaker developer Heart Machine has promised fixes are coming this week for some of the game's biggest performance and accessibility issues. Read this article on TechRaptor

This guide will show you the Aloft map, explain the symbols on the map, and tell you what you can find in the different regions and biomes.
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This guide will show you the Aloft map, explain the symbols on the map, and tell you what you can find in the different regions and biomes. Read this article on TechRaptor

This Aloft guide will teach you the basics of the game, explain the HUD, and give you a walkthrough for the first hour of the game.
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This Aloft guide will teach you the basics of the game, explain the HUD, and give you a walkthrough for the first hour of the game. Read this article on TechRaptor

Our Aloft Ship Building Guide tells you how to unlock ship building, how to get new ship parts, and the best way to build your home island ship!
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Our Aloft Ship Building Guide tells you how to unlock ship building, how to get new ship parts, and the best way to build your home island ship! Read this article on TechRaptor

Follow our Aloft Farming guide to find out how to grow your own crops, and where to get each type of seed currently in the game.
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Follow our Aloft Farming guide to find out how to grow your own crops, and where to get each type of seed currently in the game. Read this article on TechRaptor

Our Aloft Knowledge Guide will go over how to unlock every crafting recipe, along with some specific aspects of this system to look out for.
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Our Aloft Knowledge Guide will go over how to unlock every crafting recipe, along with some specific aspects of this system to look out for. Read this article on TechRaptor

Our Aloft Animals Guide will go over how to add animals to your island, and the items you can obtain by looking after them.
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Our Aloft Animals Guide will go over how to add animals to your island, and the items you can obtain by looking after them. Read this article on TechRaptor

Tech giant Microsoft has been hit by yet more layoffs across several of its divisions, including gaming, although we don't know how many staff are affected.
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Tech giant Microsoft has been hit by yet more layoffs across several of its divisions, including gaming, although we don't know how many staff are affected. Read this article on TechRaptor

The ending for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is finally here, and it doesn't seem like it was worth waiting for at all.
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The ending for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is finally here, and it doesn't seem like it was worth waiting for at all. Read this article on TechRaptor

There's always a game or two you just keep coming back to, new or old. Here we highlight what game did the best job of serving its players in 2024.
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There's always a game or two you just keep coming back to, new or old. Here we highlight what game did the best job of serving its players in 2024. Read this article on TechRaptor

The upcoming Delta Force campaign, which reimagines the events of the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, has been delayed out of January.
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The upcoming Delta Force campaign, which reimagines the events of the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, has been delayed out of January. Read this article on TechRaptor

The Fortune's Run developer known only as Dizzie has revealed that development on the game will end...because they're going to prison.
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The Fortune's Run developer known only as Dizzie has revealed that development on the game will end...because they're going to prison. Read this article on TechRaptor

They usually don't see a lot of coverage, but expansions and DLC give us more of things we know we'll love - sometimes its the best version of a game. Here are 2024's best.
Read this article on TechRaptor

They usually don't see a lot of coverage, but expansions and DLC give us more of things we know we'll love - sometimes its the best version of a game. Here are 2024's best. Read this article on TechRaptor

Six Days in Fallujah was originally announced in 2009. It is a first-person shooter based on the 2004 conflict in Iraq. It was met with much opposition because it is based on modern real-world events. This may not seem like a big deal in 2024 but things were slightly different in the years following 9/11. …

Real Warfare with Six Days in Fallujah Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/real-warfare-with-six-days-in-fallujah/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Mad Catz, the company known for their fight sticks, is releasing a new force feedback racing wheel. The Mad Catz M.2.X. Pro force feedback racing wheel is the perfect plug-and-play solution that works with your consoles and PC. In the box you get the racing wheel, a six speed shifter, foot pedals and all the …

Level Up You Racing Experience With the Mad Catz M.2.X. Pro Racing Wheel Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/level-up-you-racing-experience-with-the-mad-catz-m-2-x-pro-racing-wheel/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

When Fortnite was initially released in 2017, it was a PVE defense game that didn’t seem like it would be around for long. With the growing popularity of games in the battle royale genre, Fortnite decided to throw its hat in the ring. Soon it would become not only the most popular battle royale but …

How Fortnite Hurt The Gaming Industry Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/how-fortnite-hurt-the-gaming-industry/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

https://youtu.be/Cagxj2RchQI?si=_fFf3fs_fsh7d0Fq Many people have a gaming franchise that changed their life in some way. I have life-long friendships that have been formed while playing games like Mario Kart and Golden Eye late into the night. Halo is the franchise that shaped a good portion of my gaming life. Halo 2 strengthened my passion for the …

What Halo Infinite Should Have Been Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/what-halo-infinite-should-have-been/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

https://youtu.be/EVSbA2Yxx2k?si=G2KXmPguAB_45u5n Meta recencetly heald their Meta Connect conference and announced some excited things if you’re into VR and AR. The Meta Quest 2 was once the hottest item in their lineup be we have some new tech on the horizon. It looks like the Meta Quest 2 is no longer being sold but it may …

Should You Buy A Meta Quest 3S? Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/should-you-buy-a-meta-quest-3s/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

https://youtu.be/a2CCRgycbLI?si=3juhSUwirUTpKWoJ There have been rumors for years about what is next for Halo. Today during the Halo World Championships, we got our answers. 343 Industries will now be known as Halo Studios. This is exciting because it let’s the fans know that Xbox/Microsoft has not given up on the franchise. The long rumored move to …

What Is The Future of Halo? Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/what-is-the-future-of-halo/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

It may surprise many, but there has never been a Power Rangers arcade beat ’em up game. (I know right!?!?!) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a passion project from people who felt the Power Rangers deserved their shine. You and four friends can join up to go against classic enemies from the Power …

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind | Developer Interview Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-ritas-rewind-developer-interview/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Going into PAX West 2024, I knew that I was going to enjoy ‘Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch’, but I did not know it was going to be my game of the show. Some may remember the retro style ‘Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl’ game that was released in 2020. Well, The …

Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch | PAX West 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/jay-and-silent-bob-the-chronic-blunt-punch-pax-west-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Ash Habib has a true passion for boxing and Undisputed is his love letter to the sport. ‪@PlayUndisputed‬ aims to be both a technical and fun boxing game. The game is currently in early access and will have over 70 boxers, you can also create your character in a deep career mode. I had a …

Undisputed at PAX West 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/undisputed-at-pax-west-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Star Wars games have been around for longer than many gamers have been alive at this point. You have played as clone troopers, Jedi, fighter pilots, and now in Star Wars Outlaws, you will be playing as a scoundrel. This is a slightly more grounded story than the ones many players have experienced before and …

Is Star Wars Outlaws Any Good? – Review In Progress Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/is-star-wars-outlaws-any-good-review-in-progress/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

There has been some rumor and speculation that we would be getting a PS5 Pro as soon as this year. We are halfway through the year and past ‘E3’ season and there is still no word. With the lack of console price drops, is the mid-gen refresh still a thing? There are some people who …

Where Is The PS5 Pro Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/where-is-the-ps5-pro/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

I’ve been playing the Marvel Rivals for a couple of weeks and there are a ton of things to dissect here. The game is a ton of fun but it is definitely not perfect. If you enjoy games like Overwatch, then this will definitely be a game for you. The gameplay loop is very similiar …

Is Marvel Rivals Any Good? Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/is-marvel-rivals-any-good/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

In Hive Jump 2: Survivors, try to survive as long as you can against what seems like endless waves of aliens. With many weapons and jumpers to unlock, be prepared for hours of fun. This is a smaller game that packs a big punch. Hive Jump 2 takes a lot of the weapons and enemies …

Let’s Play Hive Jump 2: Survivors Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/lets-play-hive-jump-2-survivors/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

The long rumored price increase of Xbox Game Pass has finally been confirmed and we have a detailed breakdown of the pricing structure. With these new prices and a new tier, is this still the best deal in gaming? I believe that there are a couple of different ways to assess the value of Game …

The Price of Xbox Game Pass is Going Up Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/the-price-of-xbox-game-pass-is-going-up/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

If you missed it, Xbox is bringing its cloud gaming services to Amazon Fire TV devices. There have been talks about an Xbox streaming device for years now. With the partnership, will we still get streaming hardware from Microsoft? Is this the best way to get Xbox games in more homes? Let’s talk about it.The post https://thegamefanatics.com/xbox-cloud-gaming-is-coming-to-amazon-devices/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Ubisoft just released season 1 of XDefiant and it comes with a ton of content. If you are not aware, XDefiant is a free-to-play shooter that ties in characters and abilities from various Ubisoft games. XDefiant Preseason was originally released in May of 2024 and it garnered a lot of attention. Some even went as …

XDefiant Season 01 Is Here! Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/xdefiant-season-01-is-here/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Nintendo’s most recent direct delivered a ton of games and I am sure there was something for everyone here. From HD Remakes to long awaited sequels, Nintendo made sure that there was a reason for lapsed players to dust off that Switch. Now I have to admit, I am one of those lapsed players who …

Nintendo Gave The People What They Wanted Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/nintendo-gave-the-people-what-they-wanted/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

During the most recent Xbox showcase, they announced three new SKUs of the Xbox Series X|S consoles. While we didn’t get an announcement of a new handheld like many were hoping there may still be a possibility in the future. Phil Spencer was questioned about this during IGN live and he seemed excited about the …

What is The Future of Xbox Hardware Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/what-is-the-future-of-xbox-hardware/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

If you are not familiar, SolForge Fusion is a CCG (Collectable Card Game) created by Richard Garfield (Magic The Gathering) and Justin Gary (Ascension). It started as a physical card game and it is now making its way over to Steam. I have been having the best time in its single-player campaign mode. It reminds …

A Collectable Card Battler – Let’s Play SolForge Fusion Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/a-collectable-card-battler-lets-play-solforge-fusion/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

For those who are not aware, Gigantic was originally released in 2017. It is a third-person MOBA Hero hero shooter originally developed by Motiga and published by Perfect World Entertainment. I had a ton of fun with the game when it was originally released but unfortunately, the servers shut down a year late. Now, in …

Gigantic Is Back and You Should Be Playing It! Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/gigantic-is-back-and-you-should-be-playing-it/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Most people who have used a PC or had some sort of laptop bag have heard of Targus. They are a well-known name in the PC peripheral space and have been around since 1983. Targus has continued to innovate when it comes to laptop bags and things like PC docking stations. We saw a ton …

Targus Targets Sustainability and Innovation With Their Ecosmart Line of Products Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/targus-targets-sustainability-and-innovation-with-their-ecosmart-line-of-products/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Many people are most familiar with Moon Studios from their games in the Ori universe. Those games are filled with some of the best and most complex platforming mechanics and amazing art. With No Rest For The Wicked, Moon Studios is partnering with Private Division for a totally new experience. They will be applying their …

No Rest For The Wicked Launch Trailer Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/no-rest-for-the-wicked-launch-trailer/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

People have questioned the benefit of Game Pass since its original release in 2017. Subscription services can have amazing benefits for the consumer but does it negatively impact developers? The amount of content that is available continues to grow (along with the prices of said content) but people’s time and budgets continue to stay the …

Are Subscription Services Like Xbox’s Game Pass Good for Developers? Read More »

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When we say that Shidosha has an interesting taste in games, we are not exaggerating. Are you into bullet hell shooters? How about dating sims? Well if that piques your interest, Kamikaze Lassplanes may be a game you need to check out. This may not be the style of game you expect from a Polish …

A Plane Dating Sim? Kamikaze Lassplanes @ PAX East 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/a-plane-dating-sim-kamikaze-lassplanes-pax-east-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

No Love Lost is a new extraction shooter from Ratloop Games Canada. You are dropped onto an alien world and have to compete against not only the enemy team but the environment as well. The concept of an extraction shooter is not new but the team-based competitive elements make things feel a little fresh. There …

A Colorful Competitive Extraction Shooter – No Love Lost @ PAX East 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/a-colorful-competitive-extraction-shooter-no-love-lost-pax-east-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

PAX continues to deliver new and unique gaming experiences. This year, one of our favorite games was Heartworm, a PS1 style horror game with Tank controls. Inspired by games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis, Heartworm aims to scratch that nostolgic itch that some many people have been feeling. You play as Sam, …

A PS1 Styled Masterpiece – Heartworm @ PAX East 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/a-ps1-styled-masterpiece-heartworm-pax-east-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Digital Extremes held their most recent Devstream live during PAX East 2024, celebrating 11 years of Wareframe. One of the most exciting bits of news was the deeper look into the upcoming Warframe 1999. This included a new cinematic trailer launching later this year: Jade Shadows. Here you are introduced to the 57th Wareframe, Jade …

Warframe and Soulframe Make an Apprearance at PAX East 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/warframe-and-soulframe-make-an-apprearance-at-pax-east-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

It’s been a while since we first got word that the great Amy Hennig was working on a new Black Panther and Captain America game. After creating something like Uncharted, many couldn’t wait to see what was next from Amy. Her highly anticipated Star Wars game was canceled so many were delighted when they got …

Get a Closer Look at the New Black Panther and Captain America Game | Marvel 1943 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/get-a-closer-look-at-the-new-black-panther-and-captain-america-game-marvel-1943/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

I have been on the search for a decently priced wireless keyboard and there is no shortage these days. Our friends over at Mad Catz sent over their S.T.R.I.K.E. 11 mechanical keyboard for us to try out. The first thing you will notice is its unique design. The red and black colorway is striking (no …

Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 11 Mechanical Keyboard Impressions Read More »

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Nanoleaf has been one of the market leaders in the gaming lighting space for years now. They have a variety of products to level up not only your office space but your entertainment system. The Nanoleaf 4D kit is definitely one of the best led kits that I have tried. The camera takes the immersion …

Level Up Your Set Up with Nanoleaf Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/level-up-your-set-up-with-nanoleaf/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the next big game set for release and the rumor mill has been set ablaze with talks of Xbox going multi-platform. We take a few minutes to talk about our past with the Final Fantasy franchise and Brandon gives us his thoughts on what he thought of the State of …

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and What’s Next For Xbox | Let’s Chat Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-and-whats-next-for-xbox-lets-chat/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

AR and VR were some of the bigger topics during this year’s CES. Last year I was able to go hands-on with the Pimax Portal but this year it was all about the Pimax Crystal. The Pimax Crystal has some of the highest quality when it comes to VR headsets on the market. Each eye …

The Pimax Crystal 8K VR Headset | CES 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/the-pimax-crystal-8k-vr-headset-ces-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

A year can’t go by without a huge announcement from NVIDIA. During CES 2024 in Las Vegas, NVIDIA announced an upgrade to its 40 series cards. The GeForce RTX 40 Super Series will allow gamers and creators to step up their game and have a ton of gas left in the tank. The pricing for …

NVIDIA Announces 40 Series Super Cards and More at CES 2024 Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/nvidia-announces-40-series-super-cards-and-more-at-ces-2024/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

Videogames based on movies have been around as far back as the release of E.T. on the Atari back in 1982. Movie-based video games have not always been the best experiences but they sold because gamers were familiar with the characters and franchises. In recent years, the gaming community has been blessed with games like …

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Impressions Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-impressions/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

If you enjoyed Celeste and games like Metroid and Castlevania, Lucid is a game that you need to keep your eye out for. We have had the chance to check out Lucid a couple of times over the last few years. PAX West 2023 gave us our first hands-on experience and it was a great …

The First Celestoidvania – Lucid Interview Read More »

The post https://thegamefanatics.com/the-first-celestoidvania-lucid-interview/ appeared first on The Game Fanatics,.

iPhone and iPad Games

Oh hello there. Yes, we ARE still alive, thank you for asking. We took an unintended month-long hiatus due to …

Continue reading "Where Have We Been!? – The TouchArcade Show #610"

Oh hello there. Yes, we ARE still alive, thank you for asking. We took an unintended month-long hiatus due to me starting my new job as well as the holidays being as hectic as they always are, but we’re back and with any luck we should be able to settle into a mostly regular recording schedule from here on out. I know I’ve said that before, but here’s to hoping! At any rate, this week’s show is mostly just me and Eli catching up after not really talking for an entire month, but we do keep things slightly on topic by talking about some Apple Intelligence stuff and the latest games that I’ve been playing on Steam Deck lately. It’s good to be back, enjoy the show! Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-610.mp3

In this week’s TouchArcade Show we’re all over the map, as usual. We kick things off with my experience going …

Continue reading "Polar Express is SCARY – The TouchArcade Show #609"

In this week’s TouchArcade Show we’re all over the map, as usual. We kick things off with my experience going on the Polar Express train ride thing, as well as my experience rewatching the Polar Express movie for the first time in 20 years. We then dip into some Apple Vision Pro discussion, and Eli tips me off on a very cool pair of AR glasses called the Even G1. This leads into some Apple Intelligence talk, as I have only just now upgraded my Mac and signed up to enable the Apple Intelligence stuff on my Apple devices. I’m living on the cutting edge over here! We then jump into a couple of reader emails before talking about an actual video game for once; in this case it’s Mario & Luigi: Brothership on the Switch. All that and more! Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-609.mp3

In this week’s exciting new episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with a lengthy discussion about Eli’s …

Continue reading "Remember Payphones? – The TouchArcade Show #608"

In this week’s exciting new episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with a lengthy discussion about Eli’s new toy: A fancy 3D printers. Yes, he bought one, just like I predicted he would last week! I then relay the awkward discussion I had with my young kids trying to explain what payphones were. Man, I feel old. We also hit on some recent Apple Arcade news and then finish up talking about the sad state of affairs that is the streaming industry. Is going back to buying physical DVDs the answer? All that and more in this week’s show. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-608.mp3

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show I give a recap of the past 2 weeks of my life, …

Continue reading "They Put the Power Button WHERE!? – The TouchArcade Show #607"

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show I give a recap of the past 2 weeks of my life, which included my 5-year old son breaking his arm and all that ensued as well as taking the first step towards becoming an instructional aide in my local school district. Hooray careers! We also talk about the latest Apple scandal, which appears to be #MacMiniPowerButtonGate. We also touch on the Arcane TV show, the poor experience of going to an Apple Store, get to some listener emails which–once again–leads to a pedophile discussion, and more. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-607.mp3

In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has …

Continue reading "Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The TouchArcade Show #606"

In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been trending upwards lately. Thank you for the support! We briefly touch on the latest version of iOS 18 before hopping into listener emails which leads into some interesting discussion, as always. Like, is the internet more dangerous now for kids than it was when I was growing up in the ’90s? We weigh in! Finally Eli gives us a rundown of his Dungeons & Dragons situation and the hardships between physical and digital ownership. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-606.mp3

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, it’s kind of a weird one! We kick things off talking about …

Continue reading "Just Don’t Huff Anything! – The TouchArcade Show #605"

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, it’s kind of a weird one! We kick things off talking about whip-its and huffing duster. Yeah. We then switch to an update on what’s going on with our Patreon and some of the new stuff we’ve posted there this past week. What do YOU think about it? Let us know! We also talk about Eli’s home audio woes, read a listener email with some key insight into the whole Roblox situation, and much more. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Show Notes: VERY disturbing video of the guy addicted to computer duster, watch at your own risk! Matthew Struggles With Addiction to Inhaling Air Duster | Intervention | A&E [YouTube] Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-605.mp3

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with some discussion about AR/VR devices like Apple’s …

Continue reading "Terrorizing Pasadena – The TouchArcade Show #604"

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with some discussion about AR/VR devices like Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s recently revealed Orion AR glasses. Also, whatever did happen to that whole Metaverse thing Zuck was so obsessed with? We then take a wild turn and talk about the “Piss Bandit" that has been (allegedly) terrorizing folks in Pasadena, and hit on other current events like the Epic vs. Google ruling and the insane stuff happening with Roblox. We wrap things up with some listener emails and an update on how things are going with our new Patreon content strategy. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Show Notes: Introducing Orion, Our First True Augmented Reality Glasses [Meta] Amazon Echo Frames Store Page [Amazon] ‘Piss Bandit’ Keeps Leaving Big Bottles of Piss Around Pasadena [Vice] Google must crack open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge [The Verge] Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids [Hindenburg Research] Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-604.mp3

Hello! We are still in a transitional phase of moving the podcast entirely to our Patreon, but in the meantime …

Continue reading "A Phoenix from the Ashes – The TouchArcade Show #603"

Hello! We are still in a transitional phase of moving the podcast entirely to our Patreon, but in the meantime the only way we can get the show’s feed pushed out to where it needs to go is to post it to the website. However, the wheels are in motion for transitioning not just the podcast but some of the content we’d normally post to TouchArcade onto Patreon. That kicks off today with a Game of the Week post. Spoiler: It’s Balatro. We plan on having a mixture of content available to both free and paid Patreon supporters, as well as some stuff that will be exclusive to paid supporters only. The Game of the Week will likely be one of those paid-only articles, but for this first one it is available to everyone for free. Check it out to get a taste of what the “new" incarnation of TouchArcade might end up looking like. Oh yeah, and the podcast. This week’s show is episode 603 and we talk about Hurricane Helene, Eli’s Homekit woes (and resolution!), the new iPhone 16 Pro which is now in Eli’s hot little hands, the usefulness of the weird new side button, new phone cases, listener emails, and more. It’s a jam-packed XL episode clocking in at almost 90 minutes, enjoy! Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-603.mp3

This is a post that I’ve known was coming for quite some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier …

Continue reading "TouchArcade is Shutting Down"

This is a post that I’ve known was coming for quite some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to write. After more than 16 years TouchArcade will be closing its doors and shutting down operations. There may be an additional post here or there in the coming weeks as we try to honor any previously agreed to obligations, and a proper farewell post is in the works too, but as of now our normal daily operations have ceased. The reason we’re shutting down probably isn’t a surprising one: Money. Many of you who have followed TouchArcade for a long time are well aware that we’ve had financial troubles for many years now, and to be frank I think it’s a miracle that we’ve been able to last as long as we have. The truth of the matter is that a website like ours just doesn’t make money anymore. To our own detriment we’ve resisted things like obnoxious in-your-face advertising, egregious clickbait headlines, or ethically questionable sponsorships, which sadly are the types of things that actually still make money in the internet of today. There are a number of other reasons that have contributed to us reaching this point, but I’d rather not get into all that right now. TouchArcade was an institution for many millions of people over the past 16 years, and it was my full-time job for the last 14+ years. A solid third of my life. In many ways it is like one of my children, and having to say goodbye to it is very difficult to do. I’d really rather focus on all the great times we had than dwell on the things which we cannot change. Also, as a man with a wife and two young children, and a mortgage, and all that other fun adult stuff, this is the end of my livelihood, and despite them being “freelancers" in a technical sense that is true for the other two people who have been the beating heart of TouchArcade, Shaun Musgrave and Mikhail Madnani. Which brings me to my next point… PLEASE HIRE US! The job market is not great anywhere, and finding new work is tough, especially in the games industry. If you are reading this and you have a need for very capable game industry veterans such as ourselves, please reach out. Jared Nelson – That’s me! Obviously I have more than 14 years of experience working right in the very thick of the mobile gaming boom here at TouchArcade. Writing, editing, managing staff, traveling to conventions. I’ve pretty much done it all. I also have a pretty varied work history previous to TouchArcade, including in management roles, that I think gives me a really well-rounded set of skills. You can contact me on LinkedIn or by email at jared [at] toucharcade [dot] com. Shaun Musgrave – Shaun has been with TouchArcade for a bit over 11 years, but has been in professional games media for more than 25 years overall. He is hands down one of the most gifted writers I have ever encountered, and if we needed a review for a big, important game and needed it by a very tight deadline Shaun was always dependable. He also uses his vast, almost uncanny knowledge of video game history to find interesting angles to write about games that only he could find. Shaun lives in Japan and is fluent in both Japanese and English, making him a great candidate for localization work as well. Please reach out to him at muzkind [at] hotmail [dot] com. Mikhail Madnani – As part of TouchArcade for more than 7 years, Mikhail has been the workhorse of our staff. Posting the bulk of what you would see on a day to day basis, there is no possible way our website could have kept running for so long without Mikhail’s contributions. An expert at sniffing out interesting news stories and then posting them in a timely fashion, but also able to put together huge features like in-depth interviews and multi-platform reviews. His coffee-laden header images are legendary as well. If you need someone who can reliably and consistently post video game-related content, then I cannot recommend Mikhail highly enough. Reach out to him at hello [at] failgunner [dot] com. So What Happens Now? If there is some sort of silver lining to all of this, it’s that for the foreseeable future all of the content that has ever been posted to TouchArcade will remain online and accessible to all. More than 33,000 published articles, including more than 4,000 game reviews, not to mention all of our yearly Best Of content and Game of the Year picks. These should hopefully all continue living on into the future for reference purposes and just to look back and see how drastically the mobile gaming landscape changed over the last decade and a half. We are also hoping to continue with our Podcast, The TouchArcade Show, which very recently just celebrated its 600th(!) episode. There are a couple co-hosts who have come and gone during the course of the podcast (shout out to Brand and Mike!) but myself and Eli Hodapp have been a constant presence on the show since the very beginning, and it’s really crazy that we’ve both spent 13+ years of our lives putting out hour-long podcasts on a (nearly) weekly basis. Related to that, you may be wondering about our Patreon. The support from our Patreon has far and away been the biggest contributor to TouchArcade continuing to exist since we launched it in June of 2015, almost a decade ago. Our thoughts are to pivot the Patreon contributions towards keeping the podcast going, and perhaps occasional posts or special features written by the staff here. Perhaps a random “SwitchArcade" or a review about a particularly high-profile mobile game launch. Maybe we could even squeeze in a Game of the Year for this year? It’s just a nugget of an idea right now, but it would be pretty cool to see TouchArcade be able to live on even in that small way. Whatever the case ends up being, I will explicitly change the verbiage of our Patreon to state that it’s no longer about supporting the website, and if people choose to stop contributing then that is totally understandable. If people are giving us money monthly I want to be absolutely transparent about what it’s going towards. Anyway, look for more news about this in the coming weeks, and at the very least be sure to follow along as a free member on our Patreon to stay in the loop. Also if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at tips [at] toucharcade [dot] com or leave a comment below. Well, that about does it, I think. I speak for all of us who have contributed to running TouchArcade over the past 16 years–from the co-founders Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson, to the first full-time hire and future Editor in Chief Eli Hodapp, and to the dozens of other writers and freelancers who have helped make TouchArcade what it is–we just want to give a sincere thank you for ever reading our site, listening to our podcast, or attending one of our events. It has been an absolute pleasure to have such a wonderful audience who appreciated what we did so much and we will all forever be grateful for the time that we were able to spend together.

For our last full controller review on TouchArcade, I’ve been using the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition …

Continue reading "Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review – Customizable, Comfortable, but Lacking in Ways"

For our last full controller review on TouchArcade, I’ve been using the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition for PC and PlayStation across my Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4 Pro for over a month now. Before I interviewed PDP Victrix about the controller and arcade sticks, I was very curious about the controller for its modular nature and also because I’ve wanted to try out another “Pro" controller after adoring the Xbox Elite (1st generation) and DualSense Edge over the years. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller – what’s in the box Usually, controllers just ship with a cable and sometimes a charging stand. In the case of the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition, you get the controller, a braided cable, a high quality protective case to house the controller and everything else it ships with, a replacement fightpad module with a six button layout for fighting games, two gates, two replacement analog stick caps, two d-pad caps, a screwdriver for use with the controller, and a blue wireless USB dongle. The items are all neatly placed within the case which is very good quality on its own. Unlike the normal Victrix Pro BFG controller, some of the items with this one are themed to match the new Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition aesthetic. Keep this in mind as I don’t see replacements available officially for this, but I hope they start selling them soon. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller compatibility On paper, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller supports PS5, PS4, and PC. I don’t use Windows anymore, so I was curious if this would work on Steam Deck out of the box. Since I prefer the PlayStation button prompts in games, I set it to PS5 and plugged in the dongle into my Steam Deck Docking Station. It worked without issue and without needing any update. On the console side, if you want to play wirelessly, you need the same dongle and to set the toggle to PS4 or PS5. I had no issues playing with it on my PS4 Pro in PS4 mode and on my PS5 in PS5 mode. In fact, since I don’t have any PS4 controller that works outside of arcade sticks with PS4 support, this is a very good bonus to have for when I want to test something on PS4 to compare with PS5. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller features The big draw of the Victrix Pro BFG controller is the modular nature letting you work with a symmetric stick layout, asymmetric stick layout, change things up for fighting games with the fightpad, adjust the triggers, thumbsticks, and also the d-pads. The aim with this design was to allow you to adjust the controller depending on the game you’re playing. As an example, I’d use the symmetric stick layout when playing Katamari Damacy Reroll, but I might swap to the Xbox-style asymmetric layout while playing DOOM Eternal. Being able to adjust the trigger stop is also great as I can change that when playing a racing game with analog trigger support and also go for the shortest stop when playing a game with digital trigger support. Beyond that, the multiple d-pad options are very nice, but I’ve been trying to stick to the default diamond shape one to get used to it, and I like it a lot. I wouldn’t use it for platformers though, but the other d-pad options work well here. Since this is an official PS5 and PS4 licensed controller, it is worth noting that this has no rumble, no haptic feedback, no adaptive trigger support, and no gyro/motion control support. I don’t care about gyro much, but no rumble at all is disappointing since you have sub $30 controllers now offering decent rumble, though they aren’t PS5 compatible. I’ve been informed that third party wireless controllers for PS5 might have restrictions for rumble as well, and I’ve seen more reports from folks using other third party controllers here. Either way, this is disappointing. The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition ships with 4 paddles or well paddle-like buttons. I wish there were proper paddles you could remove though. I mapped two of them to L3 and R3 and the ones above to L1 and R1 since I use those the most in games like Monster Hunter World and also hate pressing the sticks. Having four buttons here is very good though. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller look and feel Visually, I love the gorgeous and bright highlights and colors used on the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition. It isn’t as elegant as the default black model with purple highlights, but for a themed controller it looks very good with its light blue, pink, purple, and Tekken 8 branding. The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition feels very comfortable, but it is a bit too light for my liking. The material on the main controller body ranges from feeling premium to just fine. It is a far cry from the premium feeling DualSense Edge, but that controller has that ugly glossy front plate that ruins things. The grip on this controller makes a big difference, and I’ve had 8 hour sessions with the controller wired without getting tired of holding it. It being light pays off here. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller on PS5 On PS5, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is an officially licensed controller, but you can’t turn on your PS5 with it. This seems like a limitation for 3rd party controllers on PS5, but is an annoyance to keep in mind. Beyond that, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and gyro are not available here. Aside from that, it has touchpad support and all the buttons I use on a DualSense controller including the share button. Victrix Pro BFG on Steam Deck Like I mentioned above, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition works out of the box on Steam Deck with the dongle plugged into the official Docking Station I use. It even correctly is recognized as a PS5 Victrix controller with the share button working for capturing screenshots and the touchpad working as it should in PC games that have PlayStation controller support. This was great to see as some games don’t even recognize my DualSense correctly. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller battery life The huge advantage the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller or the normal one has over the DualSense and DualSense Edge is the battery life. It lasts multiple times longer than the DualSense and the DualSense Edge on a single charge. It also helps that the logo on the touchpad indicates when the battery is low. This is good for playing on Steam Deck as other controllers don’t really visually indicate when the battery is low. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller software The software is something I couldn’t test as it is only available on the Microsoft Store and I don’t use Windows anymore. Thankfully, it works out of the box with Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4. The one thing I was hoping to see is if the controller would work on iOS. I tested wirelessly with the dongle on my iPad, wired on my iPhone 15 Pro, and also wired on my iPad Pro with no luck. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller negatives Right now, it has a few big negatives. These include no rumble, the low polling rate, not shipping with the Hall Effect sensors, and it requires a dongle for wireless, at least for the model I have. The lack of rumble might not be an issue for some, but for a “Pro" controller, the polling rate is disappointing. There are multiple videos on YouTube showcasing this and why it is a problem as well. Comparatively, the DualSense Edge wired is massively better with its response. As for the Hall Effect sensors, I’m glad Victrix now sells the new modules, but why do new purchases of the controller not just ship with those in the first place? Also if I were to buy either of the module color options available for my Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller, it wouldn’t fit with the aesthetic and will not have PS5 face buttons. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review Having gotten well over a hundred hours of use out of the controller per platform across games like UFO 50, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Persona 3 Reload, and many more, I can safely say that I love using the controller, but the few issues are annoying to see given its price point. In a lot of ways, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition has the potential to be one of the best controllers in years if it sees some fixes and changes for a potential successor. Right now, there are a few too many caveats involved for its high asking price that make sure it is very good, but not amazing. The big issues holding it back right now are the lack of rumble (which seems like a restriction from Sony), dongle requirement, additional cost involved for Hall Effect sticks, and the polling rate. These might not matter to some folks, but for a “Pro" controller priced at $200, I expected a bit more. Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Review Score: 4/5 Update: Added more information for the lack of a rumble feature.

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, we talk about the site’s closure and what that will mean moving …

Continue reading "Is This Goodbye? – The TouchArcade Show #602"

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show, we talk about the site’s closure and what that will mean moving forward. We plan to still do this here podcast, but there are a few logistical things to figure out first. Most likely we will be pivoting to have our Patreon be the new home of the podcast, so be sure to at least join up as a free member over on our Patreon so that you’ll be sure to get any news or updates regarding the future of the show. And, just because it wouldn’t be a TouchArcade Show without off-topic banter, we weigh in on the hock tua girl’s new gig and give you our thoughts about all of Apple’s new gadgets that were launched this month. And we read emails! Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-602.mp3

A lot of folks got into the SaGa series a long time ago through its many releases on prior console …

Continue reading "Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Interview With Game Producer Shinichi Tatsuke and Steam Deck Hands-On Preview"

A lot of folks got into the SaGa series a long time ago through its many releases on prior console generations. For me, Romancing Saga 2 on iOS was actually my gateway into the series nearly a decade ago, and I remember struggling with it quite a bit initially because I kept playing it like a normal JRPG. Fast forward to today, I adore the SaGa series as you can see in the photograph at the bottom of this article, and I was surprised to see Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, a full remake of Romancing SaGa 2, announced for Switch, PC, and PlayStation a little while ago. For today’s double feature, I’ve been playing Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven on Steam Deck through an early demo code and I’ve also had a chance to interview Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Game Producer Shinichi Tatsuke who was behind Trials of Mana’s remake. We discussed Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, learnings from Trials of Mana, accessibility, potential ports to Xbox and mobile, coffee, and more. This interview was conducted on a video call. It was then transcribed and edited for brevity in the case of some portions. TouchArcade (TA): How does it feel having worked on a remake of Trials of Mana, a beloved game, and now working on Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, a remake of another classic and beloved game? Shinichi Tatsuke (ST): Yeah, so both trials of manna and the romancing SaGa series are entries from the pre-square enix merger. It was when Square Enix was Squaresoft. These are both considered legendary titles from square. I do feel that it’s an incredible honor for me to handle the remakes of these two incredible titles. Both romancing SaGa 2 and trials of manna, when we remade these titles, it’s been 30 or almost 30 years since the original release. There was a lot of opportunity for us to kind of improve with the remake. So it was very fun to work on. So romancing SaGa 2, as you may know already, it’s a very unique game that has a lot of unique systems. So these systems are not only considered unique back then, we felt that these are still considered unique today too. So we felt that even remaking this title, even though it’s been more than 30 years, we felt that it would still be a great title to remake because of its uniqueness. It would still be considered unique for the modern players. TA: Romancing SaGa 2, the original game, was very challenging. When I played it, I think I got a game over in the first 10 minutes, and that was a nice wake up call for me with it being my first SaGa game. The remake, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, has multiple difficulty options. I wanted to know what were the challenges for you to stay true to the original while still making it accessible? This is likely going to be the first SaGa game for a lot of people with its modern graphics. ST: I think you bring up a great point because as you mentioned, the difficulty of the SaGa series is very well known throughout the fanbase and again, this is something that you probably already know, but the SaGa series has a lot of hardcore fans in Japan and outside of Japan as well. And there are a lot of people that would claim that the difficulty of SaGa is what makes the game, that’s what it’s essential for the SaGa title, for the SaGa series. But on the other hand, we have a lot of people that also feel that there’s a very, I guess, high barrier to start playing the SaGa title, because they feel that the SaGa titles are too difficult for them. So there are a lot of people that say they know about the SaGa series, but have never tried it out before. And when you ask them why, usually the answer is, oh, because it sounds like it’s too difficult. So because of that, we wanted to cater to both of these groups of fans. So the newcomers that haven’t yet to try the SaGa title, the SaGa series, but also for the hardcore fans. And one of our solutions that we thought was going to be a solution was to present the new newly added difficulty system. So we have the normal mode and the casual mode. So the normal mode is more catered for the standard RPG fans, but we also have the casual mode for people who just want to experience the narrative or the story of the game. So in the development team, we also had the core SaGa fans as well so that was our collective decision and solution to come up, solution to kind of resolve this situation where we have a lot of newcomers or people who haven’t played the SaGa title yet, trying to try, we wanted to try to hook them in by adding this difficulty, adding these new difficulty settings. So this is kind of a metaphor, but when you add, when you have spicy food, so in Japan, the curry is typically very spicy. So what you would do to kind of alleviate that ease to spice is that you would add honey sometimes. So the very spicy curry would be the original Romancing SaGa 2, where it’s just really, really difficult for a lot of players. So we kind of added the honey and the honey being the difficulty option. So like the casual mode. So to make that, to make it easier for our players. TA: One more question about the difficulty here. How was it like trying to deliver the original experience for veteran fans, but also offering some quality of life improvements into the gameplay and just the game in general? How did you decide which features to bring in to modernize the game, but also keep it very challenging for long time fans? ST: Our belief is that the SaGa series is not just all about the difficulty. it’s not just all about how difficult the games are. It’s more so how difficult it was to understand the game. For example, in the original release, there were a lot of elements or a lot of data that weren’t visible for the players. One of the examples being the weaknesses of enemies. The weaknesses did exist in the game, but it wasn’t really presented to the players, so players had to figure that out. This also applies to other stats like defenses. Again, it exists in the game, but it’s not displayed for the players. Players had to figure it out on their own to get an understanding of these aspects of the game. We thought that this wasn’t necessarily really difficult, it was just really unfair to the players. That’s something that we wanted to really improve on, because this is going to be a remake for the modern audiences, so we wanted to get rid of those unfair elements and make it fair and enjoyable for the players. That’s why in this remake, the weaknesses are going to be actually displayed for the players, unlike the original. There are, again, player areas that we’ve adjusted that just made it too difficult in the original. In order to make it fair and more enjoyable for the modern audiences, we made improvements and focused on that area. TA: When I started playing Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven on Steam Deck, because I’m playing it on PC right now, it is really good and it impressed me quite a bit with how well it runs. That got me thinking about Trials of Mana, because I played that on PlayStation 4 and Switch, and then I eventually played that on mobile also. I wanted to know, has the team been working to optimize the game specifically for Steam Deck? Editor’s Note: This was asked before the game had an official Valve rating of Steam Deck Playable. ST: Yes, so as you have already experienced the demo of the game on your Steam Deck, the full game, the full release, is going to be compatible with the Steam Deck as well, and it will be playable on the Steam Deck. TA: Can you comment on how long the development was for Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven? ST: I can’t really provide the details of that, but I can say that we started the main development towards the end of 2021. TA: What learnings from Trials of Mana remake did you take into Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven to make sure that this is also a remake which fans love? ST: Because of our experience working on Trials of Mana remake, we felt like we did develop a good understanding of what the players want and what players would enjoy out of remake titles. One of the examples being the soundtrack of the game. We learned that players generally prefer arrangements that are not too different from the original tracks. They would rather prefer something that’s more faithful to the original arrangement. Something not too different to the original. But that being said, back then, the original tracks were released, or the original title was released on older platforms like the Super Famicom, but then we’re releasing the remake on the modern platforms like the PlayStation 5 and whatnot. The technical limitations are very different between these two eras, so we were able to utilize that and then make the quality of the arrangements higher. The general direction of the tracks are going to stay the same, however, the overall quality has been refined for these remakes. That’s the area that we learned and we adapted into the Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. Another thing that we learned was that players generally would prefer to, or there are a lot of players that also just prefer the original soundtrack and not the newly arranged tracks. We added an option in Trials of Mana remake that players can switch from two different arrangements of tracks. They can either choose the original tracks as is, or they can choose the newly composed or newly arranged tracks for the remakes. We added that system in Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven as well because we learned that players really loved that choice. Having that choice offered to them for the music was really well regarded, so we added that in Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven as well. There’s also a couple of different areas that we worked on newly that’s not something that we did on Trials of Mana remake. One of the examples is the graphics. The characters are typically a bit shorter on the Mana series because the graphic style is a bit more on the adorable side. In SaGa, we can’t really keep the same aesthetics in the graphics. The characters are going to be a bit taller in this remake compared to the others. Even when you look at the backgrounds as well, for the Mana series, we added shadow effects into the textures of the backgrounds. Again, SaGa is going to have a different worldview. We wanted to keep it a bit more serious. In order to do that, in order to keep things realistic, like that’s more suitable for the SaGa franchise, we utilized the lighting effects to add these shadows and not the textures like we did for Mana. Even though there were a lot of areas that we were able to utilize and bring in as is for the SaGa remake, there were a lot of areas that we worked on newly as well. A lot of different knowledge experiences, know-hows that we were able to use, but also new stuff that we figured out on our own with this remake. At this point, I thanked him and the team for making the “Romancing SaGa 2 Primer" video where he introduced the game in English. I was very happy with that video and I’ve shared it with a lot of my friends who haven’t played a SaGa game before. TA: Trials of Mana remake eventually came to mobile. I wanted to know if there are any plans to bring Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven to mobile or Xbox in the future. ST: We do not have any plans to release on those platforms at the moment. TA: My final question is how do you like your coffee? ST: I don’t drink coffee because I’m not a fan of bitter drinks. I can’t drink beer either. I’d like to thank Shinichi Tatsuke, Jordan Aslett, Sara Green, and Rachel Mascetti for their time and help with this interview and preview access over the last few weeks. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Steam Deck Impressions When I was offered a Steam key for Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven to try out the demo beforehand, I was equal parts excited and worried. I was excited because the reveal trailer looked excellent, but a bit worried because I had no idea if it would be a good experience on Steam Deck pre-release. Thankfully, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is not only great on Steam Deck OLED out of the box, but the few hours I spent with the demo made me not even want to bother getting the game on PS5 or Switch to play. It is that good on Valve’s handheld. But what about the remake and how it feels to play? I’m going to cover my early thoughts here. Right off the bat, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven looks great and sounds fantastic on Steam Deck. This remake also properly introduces the basics of battle, stats, and more gradually. If you’ve played Romancing SaGa 2 before, there are some changes through quality of life improvements with information, how combat flows despite being turn-based, and also the new audio options. If you never played the original, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is shaping up to be a lovely modern entry point into SaGa in general for newcomers. The visuals definitely make it more approachable, but this is very much Romancing SaGa 2 with a fresh coat of paint and some new features. Playing on the difficulty meant to be like the original still is challenging. As for the remake’s visuals and feel, it is a lot better than I expected. I loved Trials of Mana’s remake, but I think Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven will end up the better remake overall. This may be because I love the original game a lot more than Trials of Mana, but only time will tell on that when I get access to the full release. It also helps that at least on Steam Deck, the PC port is quite a bit better than I expected. When it comes to sound and language options, you can toggle between the new remake soundtrack or the original, English or Japanese audio, and also various graphics options. The PC port of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven lets you adjust screen mode (windowed, borderless, exclusive fullscreen), screen resolution (800×450 and more with 720p support on Steam Deck), frame rate (30 to unlimited), toggle v-sync, toggle on dynamic resolution, use graphics presets, toggle anti-aliasing, adjust texture filtering quality, adjust shadow quality, and adjust 3D model rendering resolution. I set most things to maximum or high with shadows on medium and still got a near-locked 90fps on my Steam Deck OLED at 720p. On the audio side, I stuck to English for my first playthrough. The voice acting is good, but I will likely play the full game with Japanese first to see how I feel when I get it. I might even do English on console and Japanese on Steam Deck. Either way, a lot of care and effort has gone into not only making Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven feel modern, but also retain its SaGa-ness. I’m looking forward to digging into the full game when I can, and also seeing how the demo feels on consoles. Right now, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a game you should have on your radar if you enjoy RPGs. I hope this leads to more folks trying out other SaGa games as well, but Square Enix needs to give us SaGa Frontier 2 next. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven launches on October 24th for Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PS4 worldwide. A free demo will be available on all platforms today and I recommend trying it out. You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with Sukeban Games here, FuturLab here, Shuhei Matsumoto from Capcom about Marvel Vs Capcom here, Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.

When I first wrote about boomer shooters last year on Steam Deck and also on Switch, aside from New Blood …

Continue reading "Andrew Hulshult 2024 Interview: DOOM IDKFA, Blood Swamps, DUSK, Iron Lung, AMID EVIL, Music, Guitars, Cold Brew Coffee, and More"

When I first wrote about boomer shooters last year on Steam Deck and also on Switch, aside from New Blood and Nightdive, the most common name was Andrew Hulshult who has done some amazing music over the years. He recently was involved with the DOOM + DOOM II re-release that included his IDKFA soundtrack with new music for DOOM II, and having wanted to interview him for a while now, I finally had a chance to chat with him on call for a few hours to discuss game soundtracks, composition, bands he likes, guitar strings, pickups, cold brew coffee, his first film soundtrack, games he’s playing, and a lot more. This interview was done on video call and then it was transcribed and edited for brevity. Just like my interview with Dave Oshry from New Blood, this one was more casual than usual, and this is likely the longest interview on TouchArcade so strap in and grab a cold brew. TouchArcade (TA): So for those unaware, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. Andrew Hulshult (AH): Yeah, my name’s Andrew Hulshult. I’m a composer and sound designer for mainly video games, but I’m starting to move over into film as well. I like to just write music by myself sometimes when it’s not for a game or film. But that’s primarily what I do. I work in the game and film industry doing sound design, soundtracks, and sometimes voice acting. TA: How did you end up working on the canceled Duke Nukem project and also Rise of the Triad 2013? AH: Duke Nukem 3D Reloaded was actually just kind of like, I think that was 2010. That’s, I’m reaching back here a little bit. So I think Frederik at the time, Frederik Schreiber, the guy who runs 3D Realms now, or I think he still does, basically he was remaking maps in the middle of Unreal Engine 3 of like some of the original Duke 3D maps and posting them on Gearbox forums, which I think one of them that got a lot of hits was like all of the 3D renders of like Hollywood Holocaust, which is like E1M1 for Duke 3D. That caught my attention as well. I was like, wow, that looks really neat. You know, like I reached out on the forums, I was like, hey, do you need any music? Maybe this would be fun. Like, I really liked Duke 3D back in the day. And he said, yeah, sure. You know, like if you want to remake some of the stuff and hand it off to me. So I just did some of that. I just had gear laying around and I wanted to kind of learn how to do this anyway. So I just dove in head first and started kind of remaking some of the old Duke 3D tracks. That kind of spawned into, you know, not a lot, not a lot was done in Duke 3D Reloaded. It was just like, you know, like some odds and ends stuff. Somehow that turned into Apogee, Terry Nagy, head hunting us and saying, hey, I have an IP that I’d really like you to work on called Rise of the Triad if you guys want to give it a try. And he had an investor with him at the time who was interested named Dave Oshry And this was a very long time ago. And it’s crazy. Like all those people now are like, you know, on the, we were all on the forefront of like the retro FPS revival stuff. But basically after Duke 3D Reloaded, yeah, Apogee came, said, hey, we’re interested. And Fred said yes on our side. And we started making Rise of the Triad 2013. TA: It was funny you mentioned Dave Oshry because when I finally got an interview with him, I think it was easier for me to meet Iron Maiden than get that interview, but after getting that done, I had New Blood covered. I recently also interviewed Nightdive about The Thing, but I needed to complete the trifecta for boomer shooters: Andrew Hulshult. Now that’s finally happening. We both laugh. TA: I remember in a prior interview you did, you mentioned how when you were doing the 3D realm stuff, you weren’t aware of how much you were in demand in the industry. So when that door closed, suddenly you had like a, like thousands of opportunities and stuff like that. But, and obviously you’ve gone on to do some of like some huge titles since then. Obviously Doom Eternal DLC is the one which a lot of people think about you. For me, it’s like other titles like Nightmare Reaper and Dusk and stuff like that. I want to know how you’ve changed as a musician and as a professional from back then to now. AH: Oh, that’s a great question. Man, starting off in the industry with, you know, doing the whole stuff with Interceptor, like where we were, what we were just talking about, it was a completely fresh experience as a musician. So you don’t know what you’re getting into. And then a lot of times you’re like, I don’t even know what I should be getting paid, you know, like you have an idea, but you’re not, you don’t know. And so like wading through those waters is interesting and also dangerous territory. But the stuff that I have learned has been all from, you know, tripping on agreements as you go forward. You sign an agreement, you go for it, you make the money, and on the back end you’re either like, this didn’t really work out, or you’re like, hey, this worked out, we need to make sure that we do this again, you know. It’s learning the entire time. Because this is the thing that I feel like musicians get hung up on a lot, which is, you know, they just, they want to make really, really awesome, beautiful art for games. And like, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. You should, that should be the core principle that you do. But you have to make sure that you get paid so that you can continue to do it. Because otherwise you burn yourself out and you don’t want to work in the industry anymore. And that, to go back to what you were talking about with, I didn’t know how much, like how in demand I was. I was right at that point. I was about to walk away from everything right after the whole stuff with 3D Realms. I was done with games. I was like, you know what, like there’s not a lot of avenues here and I’m just getting more bitter as time goes on. And the last handful of things I’ve worked on have just bombed so why am I putting all this effort into this? I should try and do something else. And I didn’t realize until I stepped out from 3D Realms how many people wanted to hire me. And like, it’s one of those weird things where like, I’m sure you can probably relate. When you have a job, like a day job, if you’ve ever just held like a simple, simple day job, you can get sucked into that entire cycle of that job and nothing else matters around. So an example of this would be, I worked for a music retailer for about 15 years, okay. I was doing well for them. They wanted to give me my own stores. I was working on management. And the cycle that comes with that where you get so wrapped up in the business of that makes you lose focus of lots of other things in life. And that’s kind of what happened to me while I was working with 3D Realms. That’s nothing bad about them. It’s just when you’re working for a company rather than working for yourself, it turns into that. From the start to now has been like just a crazy learning process. You do have to walk on landmines. You do have to get blown up a couple of times until you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Stepping out from 3D Realms after they said, hey, we don’t have the cash to pay you. It’s like, oh, okay, I guess I’ll go figure this out now. And then all of a sudden, DUSK, you know, like that’s literally the next thing that and AMID EVIL were the very next things that I worked on. It was crazy. TA: Obviously you get a lot of questions about game music, but what is like, since you brought up this whole thing about how you’ve changed, what is the biggest misconception that people both in the industry and like the players have about video games music right now? AH: The biggest misconception. Oh, that anybody can do it and it’s a small part. laughs It’s like, you can’t just throw anything in there. Like, man, it’s I’d say that from a public like standpoint of I don’t play games that much and I’m casual kind of thing, some of my friends and some of my family are like, you have the easiest job. I’m like, you have no f***ing idea. You know, walk in my shoes for a day and let’s talk again. Yeah, it’s really difficult because you, you really have to trick yourself into getting into whatever atmosphere or whatever world someone else has painted already. Right. Like they’ve already built everything out. This is their vision. You have to step into it and you have to step into it with respect to their design philosophies. And you also have to have the confidence to say, well, this is what I think we should do and why we should do it. And there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of social confidence that’s needed to do a gig like this. It’s complex in a lot of different ways. The art side of it is hard enough, like pulling shit out of thin air, is difficult already, but then, um, explaining to people why you want to go this direction and sometimes even arguing to get that direction can be a hassle in and of itself. So yeah, I’d say the biggest misconception is that it’s easy and that it’s not easy. I swear to God, so many times my friends are like, ah, you’ve got the easiest job. I’m like, no, man, I live, I, I threw a hundred pound boxes from 6 AM to 4 PM. And sometimes I miss that. Whiskey and coffee fueled half of the @RiseoftheTriad OST. Most songs were composed between 9pm and 3am. The more you know — Andrew Hulshult (@AndrewHulshult) September 30, 2015 TA: So I also want to talk a lot about your gear, but before that, I think we should discuss some of the game specific things. So let’s start with ROTT 2013. I’ve just sent you a tweet right now, which I wanted to reference. This is quite an old one (linked above). Well, I actually didn’t know much about this soundtrack until recently. I had heard about it and I had heard that a lot of my friends bought that release. They said that it wasn’t that great. I played the original on DOS but not the 2013 version, so I didn’t really hear it all in-game until the Ludicrous Edition and when folks made a big deal about it having Andrew Hulshult’s music. I decided I wanted to properly try it then. I wanted to talk about your thought process between like, you know, redoing those tracks and coming up with your own flare on them, because anyone who, at least any fan of yours, if they listen to that, they know it’s your music. It’s not like, oh, this is just like him doing a cover of someone else. It still feels like it’s you. AH: The first and foremost thing was to make sure you respect your elders. I wanted to make sure that whatever I did obviously served the fanbase and by proxy served everything that Lee Jackson had written. Lee Jackson and Bobby Prince, as far as I’m concerned, that’s the de facto composers for FPS. The originators. You’re already stepping into something well established back in the day. People are very familiar with this. If you f*** it up, you are toast. That was my first professional gig. Stepping into that kind of pressure. Just really what it came to, it was all really natural. I heard these songs and I saw the game and what they’re making and I’m like it is kinda jank, but it is fun. It is ridiculous. ROTT is so ridiculous. I was like man, I was talking to Dave and Fred about it. What if we did like rock and metal stuff predominantly? That’s the kind of music I listen to all the time. They said let’s try it. Even Terry was like you should do it. Really they just kinda gave me free reign to give it a try on some of these things. The first one I did as a demo to work on it was “Goin Down the Fast Way" and I remember I handed that to Terry. Terry is awesome and he has been great to me for my entire career. Never had a bad piece of advice from him. He is the CCO for Apogee by the way. I remember handing him the very first demo of “Goin Down the Fast Way". His comment coming back to me was “It is in the right direction but it sounds like a diarrhea of sound" Because it wasn’t mixed correctly. I was just excited to hand him something. I was like ok this is one of those moments where I’m going to have to learn how to accept feedback even if it is not from a musician and I know that they mean well. I remixed a couple of things and I think this is what he was talking about and I sent it back to him and he said it was way better and it was awesome. Ok cool, this guy doesn’t just hate me. It kind of just came from the heart. All the soundtracks I work on, it’s me. Even if it is stepping into someone else’s shoes, I have to remember that the source material comes first, then you put your influences on. So the source material is the structure of the house but you can put up whatever walls you want and paint on it, and hang and decorate, but just make sure that the house is still the same house that people remember. Now to address the Tweet above, Whiskey and coffee fueled half of the Rise of the Triad soundtrack. Most songs were composed between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. That’s true. Here’s one little tidbit with it too. Terry Nagy, the guy I was talking about, the CCO from Apogee, he would regularly take me down to a bar called Hula Hands. And he would buy the drinks and then he would just take me home and be like, “Alright, now go write some more songs." It was awesome. I miss those days. TA: This reminds me of that one track in IDKFA where you used a tremolo to replicate a specific sound and it was the perfect way to do it. AH: That was Dark Halls in DOOM. It has the tremolo guitar that’s supposed to be the rolling bass synth from that sound. I love that song. TA: After ROTT 2013, another game I didn’t really play until recently was Bombshell and I literally only bought that game because of your soundtrack. I got it when I was researching boomer shooters for an article and was looking at the games I don’t own. I bought it and didn’t really care for much of it, but the music was great. I kind of think of that soundtrack with Nightmare Reaper where they feel like just metal albums from Andrew Hulshult rather than dedicated game soundtracks. Was this the point in your career where you realized you’re really good at bringing metal into these kinds of games? It felt like a turning point. AH: That’s that’s a great question too like actually yeah like right around that time I was experimenting a lot with just you know making big atmospheric like synth stuff and like orchestral as you can hear on that soundtrack if you got far enough, laughs, but also like for the for the bigger fights and stuff, I really wanted to start dialing up you know my own sound and my own writing and you know I’d already done the cover stuff I wanted to want to show people what what I could do and so yeah that is kind of really where my introduction to like my own original pieces started coming into place, so yeah that is actually right. I never even thought about that that is where that started and also like I mean I gosh that’s if I think about it, that was 2013 is the end of 2013 is when development started on that, and it originally started as a Duke Nukem game before the lawsuit, and I had an eight string by that time. I was tuning down big time at that point, and there’s a lot of stuff that never made it maybe I’ll put that up on Twitter at some point but there’s a lot of stuff that never never showed up on it because it was a little too aggressive you know but that stuff would later show up in DOOM you know. laughs TA: When just discovering your music many years ago, everything was really good metal, and this was probably around the time I was mainly listening to metal before I started broadening my horizons. I went through this phase when I was learning guitar and I started listening to more Dream Theater and then got a seven string guitar, and eventually got into Meshuggah. It got me thinking about how when I listen to your music now, you manage doing unique things for each game and make the songs fit the game properly. It isn’t just metal anymore so there’s no worry about being typecast. Did you have that fear that everyone is just going to expect metal from you when you’re behind a specific soundtrack? AH: Oh man. You just saying that just out loud makes me wow. I still worry about that sometimes. There are moments where I’m like am I getting typecast at this point, and you saying, yeah I don’t have to worry about that anymore, I’m like oh thank god I heard it from someone else where they were you know like, because I don’t want to be like I don’t want to be like straight up known as metal guy you know like I love metal I love playing it I’ll make those records all day long as people as long as people will listen to it and even if they won’t I’ll probably make them, but yeah I like to paint with different brushes like especially when I get older, like I really enjoy mixing sound design with guitars. I like mixing sound design with orchestral instruments, I like just going full hand on my Eurorack synth stuff over here and just getting lost. As a musician I’m fortunate enough at this point where I can just experiment, and I know I can find, I have the confidence now after working on all these games and having some success with it where I know if I get lost I can find a way out because I’ll find something that I like, and chances are if I like it, I can probably show it to some people who will dig it as well. I’m so glad to hear that you’re like I know that I can get some variety. laughs TA: I mean if someone just heard DUSK and I’d say if they heard DUSK even that is pretty different. I mean if someone’s not into metal maybe they think dusk sounds the same as bombshell but you can totally tell that DUSK was trying to be like this middle ground of what you like and Nine Inch Nails’ Quake. I think it has one of my favorite guitar tones in gaming right now, and it’s still pretty timeless. I want to move to AMID EVIL. I love the soundtrack to the main game, but I want to ask about the DLC for two reasons. Now the first thing is kind of like a personal topic because I believe you were going through a family emergency during the time when you were recording the soundtrack, right? When I was playing Dragon Quest VIII on the 3DS and my grandfather was in the hospital before he passed away, whenever I think about Dragon Quest VIII now it reminds me of that. So do you go through the same thing with the AMID EVIL DLC music? AH: I don’t think I’ve been able to sit down and digest it that way yet. But I know exactly what you’re talking about and I’m sure that is what I will absolutely go through. Yeah, to harp back to what you’re talking about, to what you’re referencing, my father had a heart attack. And it was just out of nowhere. And it was on, gosh, I think it was on New Year’s Eve. It was like 9 PM on New Year’s Eve. It was the year before it was released And I was halfway, I was like midway through working on that soundtrack. And it just scared the shit out of me. As anybody would. Your father’s dying And he ended up having like a, all four valves around his heart were like 90-95% clogged. So yeah, he had to have a quadruple bypass. And thankfully, We have a really, really good heart hospital right next to us. And they’re at an age now where they’re on Medicare. I think it’s Medicare. I can’t remember. It’s like once you’re past 64 at a certain age in this country, you can get on Medicare. And you know, like health stuff isn’t as much of a nightmare as it normally is. But they got great care, got taken care of. But it was months. It took months for all that stuff to happen. And there’s like so many things that happened in between that. Like this was right in the middle of COVID. So like whenever he got, it was right in the middle of the big Omicron spike for the world. So as soon as he got admitted, he couldn’t get to an actual emergency room. He had to sit in another room for like two or three days and they actually had to sedate him for a few days before they could transfer him to another hospital to get looked at. Like it was just crazy. And I was out of my mind. I was crazy at that point. And so once they got to a point where they said we’re going to do surgery and he came out of surgery, I just needed something to occupy myself. Otherwise, I was going to self-destruct. So I started writing a lot on the AMID EVIL stuff and started really finding that old like playing with a band and writing songs for you kind of vibe going in. And a lot of that stuff in a AMID EVIL, the stuff that’s like got a lot of energy behind it, that is pretty personal for me. There’s a lot of emotions on that soundtrack. There’s also something else that I haven’t talked about in public yet and I’m not going to talk about it here that I started working on that has a lot of that as well. And that’ll still be a while before that pops up. But I’d say that that was my main outlet for a while. You have something to look forward to. But yeah, like that soundtrack let’s wrap it up. That soundtrack did have a lot of tension and a lot of emotions tied to my father almost passing away and me trying to wrap my head around that. You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. TA: The other thing about the AMID EVIL DLC is this specific song I want to touch on: Splitting Time. This song is interesting for a few reasons. It reminds me of some of my favorite game trailers like the song used in the Nioh 2 launch trailer, I’m not sure if you’ve seen it. But more interesting than that is I was playing Street Fighter 6 with a friend of mine and listening to this in the background and he asked me if I was listening to Killer Instinct music? I said it was the AMID EVIL DLC and he wanted to know who made it. It reminded me quite a bit of Mick Gordon’s non DOOM music. We spoke about Killer Instinct and my friend said “they should get Andrew for a new Killer Instinct album" and I wanted to ask if Killer Instinct influenced that song? AH: No I didn’t actually. But there might be little hints of that back and forth because gosh, there are moments when I went back to that Killer Instinct reboot because I thought Mick did such a great job on it. Where I’m like, man, the production here is exactly what I have been trying to do for like a handful of years, And like that soundtrack was just really inspiring to listen to. I think he’s just, he’s a brilliant composer. TA: That’s another game I bought because of the soundtrack because when I played DOOM 2016, I was like I need to play more games with this guy’s done the music for and everyone was like Killer Instinct. I was like I’ve never heard this. I didn’t own an N64. What the hell is this game? I bought it and liked the music a lot more than the game. AH: That whole soundtrack slaps, man. He did a fantastic job on that. When you realize @AndrewHulshult put his whole bussy into the Nightmare Reaper OST instead of saving it for DUSK 2 pic.twitter.com/tU1AsySok0 — Dave @ Home (@DaveOshry) October 11, 2023 TA: OK, so now let’s go to Nightmare Reaper a bit. I already mentioned how this could be your own metal album. I don’t even think it needs to be related to this game. And this is another game I just bought because the music was so good. And I was like there’s kind of like this disconnect between what I expected in the game and after I heard the music, because I heard the music before playing the game and I was like, OK, I need to get used to this. But so before I ask you about your thought process between doing the music, I want to just bring up this other tweet (linked above) from New Blood’s Dave Oshry, which is interesting for Nightmare Reaper. When I saw that Tweet, I knew I had to bring it up whenever I interviewed you in the future and here we are. Laughs AH: Whenever Bruno reached out to me, Bruno is the developer of Nightmare Reaper. Whenever he reached out to me, we just literally started talking about some of our favorite bands and we would just go off back and forth because he showed me a game that he was making. I was like, “That looks cool." I was like, “Well, let me know if you’re ever interested." And then we just started talking about music. He’s like, “Would you be interested in working with me on this?" And I said, “Yeah, I think that would be cool." And he literally was like, “I just want this to be like a metal record from you." I was like, “Really?" He was like, “Yeah." He’s like, “You’ve got good influences." He’s like, “I just want it to sound like you just made a straight metal record." I was like, “Well, it can’t be just that." I was like, “But it’ll be mostly that." You still need to like, we need to, it needs to still be for a game. Because otherwise you’d have me, you know, screaming over top of everything as well. But yeah, it is pretty close to something I would have written at that time. You know, as you go with a, as time moves on, tastes change. And you know, but like at that time, for sure, that’s what you would have gotten for a metal record. I think that’s pretty close, yeah. TA: How do you manage doing that and also keeping the soundtrack dynamic for a game then? AH: Um, play through it a lot of times where you can figure out where you can have rests and lulls. And where somebody’s gonna possibly just walk around and look for things. And then try to write something that you yourself would not get bored of. And that’s still interesting in terms of like, you know, like an ambient track or like a low energy track that still moves a little bit. Just music to explore to, right? And then try and make a piece that complements what that is, but is super high energy or, uh, just higher energy for it. So like, so that those two can work together. You really have to think of it as like, you’re gluing two or three different pieces together. Because like Prodeus has like three pieces. It has an ambient, it has a light combat, and it has a heavy combat. And they’re structured in triggers throughout that game. So I have to think of how this ambient works with this low combat song and then work with this high combat song. Or this heavy combat song. And do they all move well between each other, um, if you were to just crossfade them at random times, you know? Because that’s what the engine is going to do. So yeah, it’s like, I don’t know, you just, you gotta take one of those pieces of music, build it out first, and then think about the other piece. TA: Since you brought up Prodeus, that was the next game I was going to ask about. I don’t even remember what happened with Prodeus when it launched on Steam, because I remember being sent a code for it and just tried it out for review, but was blown away by the music. I remember I even joked about that when I wrote about boomer shooters. At the time, it felt like everything boomer shooters was all about New Blood, Nightdive, and Andrew Hulshult. So Prodeus feels like metal, industrial, bass heavy, and punchier in general. It works well with the aesthetic but I think Cables and Chaos is my favorite. You’ve spoken a lot about Prodeus, but I wanted to know what your favorite track is from that and whether you can give us an interesting anecdote from composing which people might not know about? AH: Cables and Chaos is definitely my favorite one. Like, for sure. Like, that was the moment. Um, so, like, they originally only wanted me to work on, like, the music that first shipped. Not a lot of people know that I went through, like, this whole nightmare where I had to pull the entire soundtrack down across the entire, like, all this digital distribution and put it back up with all the songs because originally there was only, like, ten pieces of music with Prodeus. And then when they were getting closer to release they were like, “Hey, we want to… we want to… we want, like, ten more." And I was like, “Oh, uh, okay. Well, I’ve already put out the soundtrack. We already agreed on this, so this is weird." So, um, they showed me what else they were working on in terms of, like, the levels and everything that I hadn’t seen and I was like, “Good lord, these look incredible!" So I got really inspired with that and made a ton of really just more aggressive pieces of music which turned into things like Chaoscaster, Cables and Chaos, uh…I’m just trying to think of the other ones. Dystopian Dimension. That whole soundtrack is awesome. Like, that whole soundtrack, like, it was built in an interesting time where it’s…it was… half of it was pre-pandemic and the other half was during isolation during pandemic. So, it’s got these really interesting tangents of, uh, the second half of the record’s way more aggressive than the first half. Just because, like, I don’t know, I was at home and I’m like, I can’t get anything out. Like, in terms of my outlet, I can’t go out. I can’t do this. So, like, all of my energy was focused on how aggressive can I make the rest of this, you know? Like, and then we finally get to put it out. I think that was 2022. Here’s one thing from Prodeus that I thought was super neat. So, Spent Fuel is one of the only times that I’ve been…Well, it was one of the first times I’d done it at the moment. Where I’d taken an idea and I was like, how do I write a concept around this? And really, like, the map they showed me was just, you know, green sludge and radiated bullshit everywhere. It looked like Chernobyl. And, um…I was like, man, I really want to find ways to take things like Geiger counters, uh, and, uh, pulses from, from, uh, from fission reactions and, like, maybe even the sound of the, uh, the flash that happens in the video whenever they’re testing the atomic bomb stuff. Like, anything that’s gamma or uh, radiation that is audible, I want to take that and make a piece of music with it. So, there literally are all of those things in that piece of…that piece of music. So, there is the sound of a nuclear reactor turning on, doing what’s called a pulse, uh, for the first time. And that’s actually used in part of the beat. The Geiger counters used as portions of the beat that kind of sounds like a drum machine a little bit. I reversed the sound of, uh, the atomic bomb, the initial flash hitting the camera, making this “bzzz" sound. I reversed that and made it pulse back and forth through the beat. And then, you know, later on the music is like a lot of guitar stuff to go with it and everything, but all that stuff that’s going on with the synthesizer is all based around, you know, like radiation. And I was like, “Ah, this is cool!" Whenever I got done with it, I was like, “Finally!" I had an idea, like a concept idea for a piece of music that stems from like a real life thing and put it all together. So that was like, that’s one of the standout moments for me on that soundtrack. I was really proud of that. TA: Can you say anything about the DLC music or is that just up to the devs for them to release? AH: Uh, that’s up to the devs for them. TA: Anything that’s different or interesting or should we just expect another banger soundtrack? AH: I’m not sure if they’re going to use the base game stuff or if they want me to work on anything new. I have my suspicions that they’ll give me a shout probably somewhere in the near future, but I haven’t heard from them yet. TA: I think in a recent interview where you spoke about the Iron Lung soundtrack, which you’re doing, obviously you can’t talk much about it, but I, don’t want to know about the soundtrack specifically, I’ll wait for the movie to come out, but I want to know three things: How is it working on a movie soundtrack? How is it working with Markiplier? How has the budget available for the soundtrack changed how you’re able to approach music composition? AH: So the first one was, how’s it working on a movie soundtrack? Completely different. Like, I thought that, I thought that I’d be able to walk in and just be like, “Eh, this won’t, this’ll be simple." Oh. Like, it’s just as challenging as the game stuff, but in a completely different direction. Where I would know exactly to talk to a developer about “Let’s put a piece of music here, let’s put a piece of music here, let’s do that." I can do that with Mark, but they’re completely different conversations. One is, you know, I know exactly what’s supposed to be happening in the game here, this is, you know, you’re picking up this weapon, or you’re, this adventure is happening in front of you, this is the tone. The other is a film that I may get something out of, but Mark may be intending for a different emotion. So we have to talk about those things back and forth before I make a piece of music. So it’s really interesting. It’s a fun challenge, to be honest with you. The second one was working with Mark? Mark is awesome. He is so much fun to work with. He hears things that I don’t hear, uh, brings things up in, in my own music, where I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t even think about that." And he’s very much, um, a musician without, like, being a musician. Like, he doesn’t, he doesn’t write, like, as far as I know, he doesn’t write a bunch of music, like, on the regular, but he understands it very, very well. And will, uh, regularly make decisions when I hand him a piece of music, and he’s like, “Okay, this is, you know, sometimes we will have to cut these back and forth, but I promise you, like, like, to make it work for a scene." He’s like, “But I promise you, we’ll do it as best as we can, or I’ll do it as best as I can." I’m like, “Uh, you know, like, maybe I should just recompose the scene." And every time he cuts something to, like, possibly make it, like, a tiny bit shorter, I’m like, “No, that’s exactly what I would have done. Like, how are you this good at editing this stuff?" Like, it’s, it blows my mind. Um, so he’s been fantastic to work with. The third is about the budget for the movie soundtrack and how it changes how it affects composition? Budgets were a lot bigger. I’ll just, I’ll just keep it at that. They were, they were, they were much bigger. Um, just because of how much, it wasn’t, like, due to, um, you know, like, “Oh, you’re working on a film now." It was, it was because of how much music we went through. Um, I wrote demos with them on the set. So, like, they flew me down to Austin and Mark said, “Hey, you know, why don’t you just write music while I’m doing scenes?" I’m like, “Wow, that sounds actually really, really f***ing cool, yeah." So, I would go down there about once every two weeks and spend about two or three days there, just sitting at, uh, sitting out front while they’re, they’re doing scenes, and I’d be writing music with my headphones, just watching on a monitor, you know, what’s going on in front of me, like, 50 feet in front of me. And so, there was a ton of music from that, and there’s a lot more music that came afterwards that we wrote, and in fact, um, I’m actually about to jump on a call because I think they need one more, one more piece of music. I’m gonna jump on a call in like two hours, ’cause I think they need one more piece of music. Um, but it’s, it’s just been a lot. There’s a lot there. And it’s picking the emotions that go where. So, like, there would be, I wrote all these songs for, you know, um, catching a vibe of depression, and these songs for catching a vibe of anger, and these vibes for tension, and this, and this, and we have this giant palette to just choose from and pick where we want things to go, and that’s what, that’s what Mark’s been doing. So, yeah, it’s, it’s pretty much, I mean, financially, the exact same thing as, that I would agree on with games, but it’s just, there’s the volume that, like, we’ve done with stuff is like, whoa, that’s a lot! So, yeah. So, yeah, it’s been great. It’s helped me out a ton. I’d love to work with Mark again after this. TA: Going from your first movie soundtrack, let’s talk about your first chiptune album, which was Dusk 82. So, was that actually the first time you did any sort of chiptune remixing or composition or arrangement, I should say? AH: Yeah, the first real one, like, I mean, like, you could, you could argue that, like, the Rad Rodgers stuff has some of that on there, but that’s, like, closer to synth wave more than anything else, I feel like. And, like, that kind of retro feel. So, yeah, this was the first real time that I, like, approached, like, a chiptune. Like, this is, you have to stay within these boundaries of limited technology. And it was literally, like, you know, choose your, choose your sine wave. Do you want, you want sine, or choose your audio wave. Do you want sine, square, or, you know, triangle? So, it’s one of the three. Just building, like, drum kits based off of that and, like, white noise and everything. And, yeah, that was, that was interesting. Like, when David approached me about that, I was like, “You wanna do what?" You know, like, completely make, like, the Dusk soundtrack and chiptunes of, like, why don’t we just, like, choose a handful of, like, the hits and go from there. Like, the ones that people remember the most, you know? And that was fun. Uh, that was super cool. Just bouncing those back and forth off Dave and David. But, yeah, that was, that was the first time I ever did that. And it was, it was pretty cool. I’m glad people like it. TA: I think, uh, Dusk 82 was, like, this free pre-order bonus with the Nintendo Switch release. So when I started playing that, I was like, “Wait, did they actually do this for the soundtrack?" And then I looked it up and I’m like, “Of course they did!" I know obviously you’re, like, super busy with, like, a ton of projects, but if you had, like, unlimited time and resources, would you do a chiptune demake of any of your other albums? And if you would, which one would you pick? AH: Gosh. Which one would be the most interesting is really the, uh, the question there. I think the one that would be the most interesting if I were to do that would be probably AMID EVIL. Because there’s so much going on in some of those, it would be, it would be a lot of fun to go back and, like, hear some of those melodies that are, like, on, like, all string sections and stuff, and here I’m taking all the way down to, like, 8-bit, you know? I think that that would fit really well too. But yeah, if money wasn’t an issue. Yeah, and time. Time’s the biggest one there. TA: Speaking of time and money, I was going to ask you about remastering one of your old soundtracks, like bringing it to the modern Andrew Hulshult sound. You mentioned that you’d do ROTT 2013 if they paid you to remaster it. AH: There’s a ton of work involved in that. Doing that just for IDKFA was a ton of work. Like, that was months of getting that together. Um, yeah, I’d love to do that for ROTT if Apogee would be interested in it, but, like, it’s a time thing more than anything else. I think it’s a time thing for them, and it’s a time thing for me. I mean, they’re literally down the street, so, like, they can open up that conversation anytime they want, and it’s just a matter of when, you know? When’s the right time. TA: WRATH: Aeon of Ruin, I think is a game you composed a long time ago, at least in gaming, like, a few years ago, and it finally released this year. That’s a soundtrack where if anyone hears it, I think they probably wouldn’t expect it to be you when they listen to the soundtrack, and that’s one of the things I love about it, because here, like, he does more than just metal, like, you need to get that into your head, like, that feels like one of those things. How was it working on that soundtrack? AH: It was interesting back and forth. Jeremiah, the developer on that, the original developer, at first, I think he’ll be okay with me saying this, at first we did not, we didn’t see eye to eye on things, because I wanted straight up, like, almost no guitar at all, Quake, Like, this is what you’re going for, this is the audience, we need to harp even further into this, and he wanted some guitar mixed in there, and like, we would butt heads back and forth on it quite a bit, until we finally came to like a mutual understanding, and I started hearing him out a little bit more, and he started hearing me out, and I was like, okay, okay, I think we’re all good on this. But yeah, it was, that one was a little, a little more tough, just because the, like, the development cycle was, wasn’t, you know, as people know, like, didn’t, it didn’t go as great, like, towards about halfway through, maybe a little, even a little earlier than that, and I could see some of that happening in real time, just because I know all those guys, so like, it was unavoidable. So that’s, that’s hard to make art for when you know that the product itself is having some problems. But I think Christalynne Pyle did a good job with wrapping everything up towards the end of it, which was a task in and of itself, for sure. But, I don’t know, there were some weird ideas pitched out there at one point, where like, I think Fred wanted like, like straight up, like really over the top metal tracks at one point. I think they even had a trailer at one point where I was like, this is not the tone of this game. I don’t know where you guys found that music, but like, this is, this is not that. But I’m glad that everything in the end was able to have some cohesiveness and, and meld together. I really wish that we had time to do some action tracks, like, for that game. Like, I feel like there are moments where that could have, that could have been helpful, but also at the same time, that’s a big what if. You know, like, because there’s two things that you have to take into consideration. Which is, that’s the Quake engine. It’s like the OG Quake engine. You know, what are the limitations that we’re working with here? Can we dynamically swap music, and is it going to work well, just as well as you’ve heard in other titles? And number two, um, would that take people out of it? Because everybody remembers like the OG Quake having like, you know, every map had its song. Well, I say that. It was a disc running that just played a bunch of music. But basically, every map had a song for it. So, yeah, there’s, there’s a handful of things there. But I like the soundtrack. I think it’s cool. I think it’s, it’s, it’s got some really interesting moments in it where like, one of them where I was, I just said, “F*** it, whatever. We’re gonna, we’re gonna bow a guitar through a bunch of pedals and see what that comes out like." That’s one of my favorite pieces from that. I think that’s towards the end. But, um, yeah, it was a little bit of a struggle, but I’m glad I still went through it. I had fun, and I think that everybody that worked on it was pretty proud of it by the end. TA: Now, DOOM Eternal’s DLC. How did it feel for you doing IDKFA and now doing official DOOM music? Like, it’s your soundtrack with David Levy? Did id Software actually talk to you about IDKFA beforehand? AH: I know that IDKFA was, was passed around that studio a whole bunch, cause I, I’d get, um, DMs from people that work there that are now, like, I consider great friends, where they would reach out in, like, 2015, and 2016, and, like, all the way back as 2014, where they would be saying, you know, hey, I’m working at id right now, I just want you to know that I’m listening to your, to your music while I work, and I was always just like, oh, holy cow, that’s crazy, you know? Um, and I, you know, as far back as that, I was just like, hey, if you ever, you know, if you ever, if you ever need music, let me know, you know? So, but, like, never, never, you know, like, pushing like, the button or the boundaries, cause like, I think it was announced that Mick was working on there in, like, 2015? Like, it was like the year before, or something like that, when they really started showing some of the music, and I was like, oh, they’ve, they’ve, they’ve got that handled, okay, cool. So, um, but I was always interested in, in finding a, a way to work with that studio, cause I love DOOM, and, like, it’s really is, like, the core of my DNA wanting to work in games, is DOOM, and like, Duke 3D, um, so, yeah, I always wanted to work with them, and IDKFA, I kinda looked at almost as a resume, like, I was like, I’m gonna put this out there, if it gets popular enough, it’ll speak for itself, and it did exactly that, because, uh, in, gosh, that was, that was right at, like, quarter one, quarter two of 2020, when, when they approached me, I think it was, actually it was, I think it was quarter two of 2020, and said, hey, we, uh, we are in a position where we need, we need music, where we need music, and, uh, we need it quickly, and would you be up to the task for this? They fully were, they knew what they were asking was, was a tall order, in a short period of time, and they said, you know, we can absolutely use the base game stuff, but we wanted to at least reach out and, and ask you, because we, we feel like we can trust you, cause I, I’d made relationships with, with, uh, with Marty, some light ones with Hugo, with Chad Mossholder, their sound guy, I knew all of those people by then, and, um, I was like, hey, you know what, it’s, it’s like 35 or 40 days, f*** it, we, let’s do it, it was like, this sounds like a challenge, I’m totally up for it, and, you know, I had to keep my composure the entire time, but in the inside I’m like, oh my god, you know, like, I’m working on an official DOOM game, uh, and when, but when we got done with that, like, I don’t know, it’s one of those weird moments where you go, holy cow, we went from, uh, you know, a mod project, uh, all the way to the official thing, and it’s just, it’s insane, it’s, it’s crazy, I keep running into those portions of my career, I hope they never stop, there are, something always surprises me like that. TA: I think it’s safe to assume that a lot of people who tell you they love your music bring up Blood Swamps from DOOM Eternal’s DLC. Because I think every person I see on YouTube is like, everyone’s just doing Blood Swamps, it seems like the most popular thing and all, and for you that’s probably a weird feeling because you have this song which a lot of people love or something which you’re really proud of, but you can’t stream it or buy it legally. Can you comment on that in any form? What do you tell people who ask about buying your music from DOOM Eternal’s DLC? laughs AH: Well, Bethesda and id own all that stuff, they paid me well for it, so like I was happy to do all that, um, that’s not like a bullshit PR thing, like, for real, they took care of me. They own all that, so you know, if they, if they ever choose to put that stuff out, that would be awesome, I’d totally embrace it and get behind it with that, but sometimes studios do that, sometimes they don’t, and it’s just completely up to their call, but I will tell you that they have no problem with you, you know, grabbing it off YouTube or anything like that, so do that to your heart’s content, throw it on your phone, whatever you want to do, they just, they’re just glad that you like the stuff, and so am I, to be honest, but hey, hopefully one day we can get an official release, like, that would be cool. TA: Yeah, because I have the DOOM 2016 vinyl soundtrack, and I’d love to have DOOM Eternal music on vinyl as well. Anyway that’s something I’ve been thinking about because it’s probably a difficult situation for you to be in, because people would who want to support you, like, obviously they can buy DOOM Eternal and buy the DLC and stuff like that, but it’s an unfortunate situation for fans, is all, like, I’ll leave it at that. AH: It’s not really like a weird situation at all. I’m totally okay with whatever, Bethesda and id want to do with that, because they were completely up front, they’re like, we’re gonna own this, what we choose to do with that is…Yeah, yeah, and I was like, yeah, that’s fine, I just want to help, I want to make like, a cool DLC for everybody that’s stuck at home, and I want to write like, some kick-ass music for it. And, so there’s no feelings of like, you know, oh, this is weird because this isn’t out, or anything like that. I know people are gonna rip it out of the game, I know, like, so do they, and like, that’s fine. But, you know, hopefully, I would like to see an official release one day, but that is completely up to them, and I will respect whatever they want to do, because they’ve been nothing but awesome. TA: Now let’s just talk about Blood Swamps for a bit, because like, everyone loves the riffs and stuff like that, so, what was your thought process in creating that song? Did they ask you to make something that fit with the base game or tell you to just go wild and be Andrew with the music? AH: They told me to go wild and just be me, which I was like, that felt pretty dangerous to me, because I was like, man, the, you know, what’s established here from Mick? I’m like, that’s pretty strong. Like, that’d be like somebody walking into another DUSK soundtrack, you know, like, for the Indie Shooter, and then being like, we’re gonna do all synthwave, you know, like, no, that’s not how that works. You have to serve what came before you. You have to show respect to what came before you. And that’s really important for the fans before anybody else. Doesn’t matter with an executive producer, doesn’t matter with the musician, doesn’t matter with the artist. It’s for the fans. Like, you have to make sure that whatever you’re going to do is going to, they’re gonna go, okay, cool, yeah, I understand, you know, why you chose this. So really, for me, looking at it when they were like, hey, you just be you, do whatever you want, what you think serves Doom the best. I was like, well, that’s a no-brainer. I’m gonna, I’m gonna, you know, I’m gonna source some inspiration from 2016 and Eternal, and then write what I would want to write. So, the colors that I’m painting with are familiar, but the writing that I’m using, what I’m using to paint, or the picture I’m painting is different. So there’s some familiarity there. Because, you know, like, Blood Swamps is quite a bit different than stuff that you would hear on 2016 or Eternal. It’s a little bit more, this is, uh, this is like almost like a traditional metal song. And like, in fact, uh, I remember handing that over to Chad the first time and him being like, “Oh, metal. Alright." And I was like, “Really? That’s like, you’re surprised. But, um, the, uh, it’s just a little bit more almost traditional. But, um, yeah, there’s, like, it was nice having David and Chad to bounce stuff off of. Because where I would hand them something, like Blood Swamps was originally like just guitar, just, just bass, and just drums. And it started, I started adding things in at, uh, after talking to, um, to Chad and David quite a bit. Where they would be like, you know, “Have you thought about any sound design stuff?" I’m like, “Well, what did you, you know, what are you thinking? Show me the instruments that you’re working with and, you know, like, let’s just talk stuff out." We’d have like hour long conversations every single day. And we would all just learn from each other. It was, it was so cool. But, yeah, like Blood Swamps comes from a point, I just remember, I have to write something that if this is the only DOOM game I work on, it has to be just, like, way out there. Like, I have to, I have to, I have to just take my shot. And it has, I have to rip out all of the barriers that are like, “Hey, should I do this? Shouldn’t I do this? Who gives a f***?" Just, just just write the fastest, most aggressive thing that you can think of at this point in time, and we’ll go from there. And that’s what, that’s what Blood Swamps was. And then everything else came after it, I was like, “Okay." It was like, “We can do different things now." You know? TA: I think you mentioned how you had a few weeks to do the DLC soundtrack, but because you had the support system of those two, it was all possible in the end. I think you mentioned that in one of the other interviews. AH: Yeah, because David was handling, like, on the first DLC, he was handling the cutscene work, and he had his own, like, stuff where he was working on a boss, and a level, and then I got these two levels, so they split up the work evenly between us on both DLCs. And there’d be so many times where I’d call David or Chad and just be like, “Hey, how are you doing today?" You know? And one of us would be like, “Oh my God, I don’t know where to go." You know? And we would just talk back and forth, and somehow we would give each other ideas. It was magical. Like, it was crazy. Just after talking to David, if I had nothing in my head on what I should write, after talking to David or to Chad, I’d be like, “I know what I need to do now." It was cool. TA: Going back to IDKFA a bit, you mentioned how much work you had to put into revisit and, like, Remaster the original soundtrack. What did you think about revisiting those songs? Like, did you feel like, you know, maybe I should have done something differently? Or were you like, “No, I’m happy with this. I just want to preserve it for fans of IDKFA." AH: Yeah, it was more of a, it was a little tiny bit of, “I want to do things a little differently." But, like, I’m talking to really, really small degrees. It was more about preservation than anything else. And if something was being destructive while trying to preserve it, those were the things that I would try to eliminate. An example of that is there was a lot of compression on the original IDKFA. Just because I was still in my early 20s at that point, early to mid 20s at that point, mixing in an apartment that isn’t, like, acoustically sound or anything like that. So I’m making mix decisions that aren’t the greatest, but still hold up. Like, that album still sounds great, but just some of the compression side, like, on the master of it, is a little aggressive. So when I went back this time around, I actually went through every single one of those songs one by one and just gave it a little bit more head room, a little bit more breathing room, so that if you listen to it enough times, you’re not going to get, like, ear fatigue or something like that. That’s really what I was concerned about. And that’s all of the Doom 1 stuff from the original IDKFA all got that treatment where the threshold has been raised just a little bit so that it sounds a little bit more open and natural. And I replaced a couple snares here and there, and maybe like a kick drum and a bass, but they’re so small I still haven’t seen anybody notice them. TA: You should revisit Metallica’s St. Anger and do this for all the fans. AH: It is impossible to fix that! laughs There’s been bands that have done that. I’ve re-recorded that entire record and I see it on YouTube every now and then. I’m like this is… this would have been a cool record if it would have sounded okay, and maybe some structure changes were different, but yeah, it’s whatever. TA: I think when Metallica did Death Magnetic, they had the Guitar Hero Metallica stems which people used to mix it better than the actual album. How does this keep happening? AH: James attests to it. Those guys are so big that they legitimately have final say on everything that they do. So whenever they’re touring and you already have Tinnitus and you’re mixing in a tent, I remember them talking about “Yeah, no shit, the guitars are bright." I was listening to mixes in a tent and making mix decisions on the road. I’m like, “Oh, that makes a lot more sense now." Like, oh my god. Because the Guitar Hero mixes do sound way better. TA: This reminds me of when I watched Deafheaven and how amazing they sounded live. You have so many bands that release albums with brickwall mastering ruining the sound of an otherwise good album. It is a shame that some bands don’t get outside help for things like mastering. AH: Yeah, it’s…I mean I still do my own mastering stuff so I’m the start and finish with all my stuff but I totally get it whenever I see a band that has a record that’s just completely smashed. I’m like, “Yeah." If I was just a musician who really knew how to play guitar and that’s about it or really knew how to play drums and that’s about it, I understand how this happens. It’s just a bunch of guys in the room going, “Louder! This needs to be louder." laughs TA: So you revisited IDKFA’s original DOOM 1 music, but you also did almost a complete Doom II soundtrack. I think there was one track which was on YouTube or two tracks. When you were doing these new songs, how did it feel for you because now you’ve come so far ahead as a musician and did you feel tempted to make it a modern Andrew Hulshult album versus trying to be Doom II? How did you approach that? AH: Man. This whole IDKFA thing with id’s blessing has been an incredible experience. It feels like I’m closing a chapter of my career with the fans because IDKFA is what got me so many jobs and so much recognition beforehand. Well, IDKFA and Rise of the Triad, but IDKFA was a big one and I still get people that are like devs that reach out that are like, “I know you from the DOOM stuff." And I’m like, “What? DOOM Eternal?" They’re like, “No, IDKFA. I played that DOOM WAD." And I’m like, “Oh my god." So I still get jobs because of that. So whenever I sat down… Whenever Marty Stratton sent me an email about a year and a half ago to ask if I had time to sit down at QuakeCon last year and talk about some things, I was like, “Uh oh. Something’s either gone terribly wrong or he just wants to hang out." So we sat down and he was like, “Hey." He’s like, “I have an idea." And I was like, “What’s that?" He’s like, “What if we give you a license for the DOOM soundtrack for IDKFA so that you can put that out on all of the streaming platforms yourself and do whatever you want and you give us a license to do with what we’re working on, which was the DOOM and DOOM II remasters." And I was like, “That sounds cool." I was like, “I’d love to finally get that out on official sites and everything." And he was like, “Oh, it’s awesome." He’s like, “I was hoping you’d say that because this would just be so cool to have this as a selectable thing. Like to go from the Bobby Prince to this if people wanted to." And I was like, “Yeah." And I’ve been doing that with soundtracks recently anyways. About halfway through that whole thing, we were just trading war stories about the industry and just getting along. And I was having a blast. I was thinking, “Man, this is really going to be closing a chapter in my career." I was getting a little emotional. I was like, “I’ll tell you what." I was like, “I’ll do you one better." I was like, “Why don’t we finish DOOM II and make it the real deal?" People have asked for it forever. I’m like, “That would really poke my audience." They’d be like, “Holy shit! Doom 2 is finally finished!" And he was like, “If you’re up for it, yeah, absolutely." He’s like, “We’ll get you a license for anything that you do on that as well so that you can put that out as well." So, yeah. It was…walking into doing DOOM II was so much fun. Every step of the way. Adam Pyle, the guy that worked with me on Quake Champions, was the guy that I bounced all my mixes off of. He told me at the beginning, he said, “Hey, you know, do whatever you want." He’s like, “It’s you. It’s the reason people want to listen to it, so I don’t really have much of a say." I was like, “Bullshit!" I was like, “You worked with me on Quake Champions. I’m going to bounce every mix that I do off of you, and I want to hear feedback from you." It’s like, “I respect your opinion because we got stuff like we did on Quake Champions because we talked back and forth." So we did. I’d send him… I’d finish Running from Evil and send it to him, and he’d go, “This sounds great, or, you know, like, what if you did this?" It was only a couple times where he was like, “What if you did this?" I was like, “Oh!" They were always cool ideas. But I really respect Adam’s ability to throw out things every now and then. He’s just a great person to bounce mixes off of. So, just doing those one after another and getting to the end of it. Once it was all wrapped up, I’m not going to lie, once it was all together, I was just in my office and I was like, “Oh my god!" Having a moment where I had a grown man cry where I was like, “I can’t believe that this is happening. I can’t believe that, number one, I’m going to be part of the original DOOM in an official capacity. Number two, they’re going to ask me to talk at QuakeCon, like, live on stage and announce everything. And number three, they gave me a license for all this stuff so that I can put it out and I can actually make some money off of it. That doesn’t happen with a big studio. They don’t just go, “Here’s the soundtrack. Have fun." I don’t know. It’s just still so crazy. It hasn’t really sunk in for me still. I’m still in that weird spot where I’m like, “Yeah, this is out there. We’re promoting it." And once that’s over, I’m sure I’ll be like, “Oh my god." You know, like, “Holy cow." But it’s been fun. The DOOM II stuff, I wanted it to be something a little bit more fresh on where I’m at as an artist. I didn’t want it to be exactly like IDKFA, like the original DOOM I stuff. Because if I were to do that, I’d have to go back and completely remix all of DOOM I stuff, which I was like, “No, that has to be preserved. People know what that is." So you can’t touch that. That’s already done. So I thought, “Okay, well what if I just gave them how I would do DOOM II right now?" Which is exactly what it is. All that stuff is like, “Yeah, f*** yeah." Those are the exact decisions that I would make with synths, with guitars, with drums. I think everything slams. I think it sounds great. So it’s just a picture from 2011, 2012 with the original IDKFA. It got officially released in 2016, but it started working on it as far back as back. So it’s a picture of where I was as a musician, that far back. And then this one is a picture of 2024. So you get it’s kind of like a time capsule. TA: Was The Healer Stalks one of the new songs because it definitely feels like modern Andrew Hulshult? AH: Yeah, that was the second one written. I think I almost went in chronological order doing that entire soundtrack. TA: You and I have both been playing DOOM since the 90s. When I started learning guitar and playing a lot, I started thinking about the DOOM soundtrack and some of the songs definitely have bits that remind me of other band music like Pantera. When you did IDKFA and just heard the music in general, what did you think of that and how does it feel revisiting some of those songs now? Stuff like A New Level and This Love from Pantera instantly spring to mind. laughs AH: Yeah. Some of that stuff’s pretty close. Like sometimes, right? But it’s different enough where you’re like, oh, okay. Yeah. But yeah, there’s definitely some inspirations that were taken from like thrash metal for sure. Because I mean, like they always talked about Romero having on like Slayer and Metallica and all that stuff like playing while they were making the game. So it only makes sense that they’re like, you know, hey, make something similar around this. I don’t know exactly how that story went. I wasn’t there. I was like, you know, I was like four. But that makes complete sense in my head. And yeah, going back and listening to them like, yeah, it’s there somewhere in the ballpark of it for sure. Like TA: So after DOOM II, have you gotten people saying, when are we getting an IDKFA version of Quake and stuff? Because you did one song, right? AH: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did the theme. I think I did that just for fun. And I think I honestly did that as people were, I saw a bunch of forum posts. It was either forum posts or Discord about people not sure like about me on DUSK of all things. Like it wasn’t even like a fully announced game, but they were like, “I’m not sure Andrew". And I was like, OK, you know what? I was like, f*** you. I’ll just remake the Quake theme. And then you’ll see if I’m the right person for the f***ing job. laughs And so I put that out and people were like, oh, and I remember like a bunch of the comments were like, oh yeah, okay, he can work on DUSK. TA: Do you listen to that soundtrack often? The original Quake? AH: Oh, man. I don’t listen to it. Listen to it. But like every time I go fire up Quake, which is about like once twice a year. A little more than that if I’m playing multiplayer with friends. That’s the thing I look forward to the most besides like the level design is the soundtrack just because it’s so out there. Reznor did such a good job on that. It’s incredible. God, I wish it’s a pipe dream, but I’d love to work with him on something and Atticus Ross on something at some point. That would be crazy. But they’re like way up there, you know. TA: Their movie soundtracks are amazing. I’ve actually been watching some of the movies just because they’ve done the music because I think the audio design in The Social Network is incredible. I think they did like the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thing, which I still need to watch. AH: It’s so cool when artists step out of their comfort zone like that, where it’s like you’re known for like you’re angry and depressing music and then it’s like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s like now I’m interested. Yeah. TA: Going back to your music, we covered Blood Swamps being the most popular song which people bring up when they meet you and stuff. I saw this interview with Final Fantasy 14’s composer Masayoshi Soken who was asked about a song which he really liked, but no one actually brings up, and that he thinks deserves more attention. He said Game Theory. I want to know what’s that for Andrew Hulshult. AH: Splitting Time. Like whenever you brought that up, I was like, oh yeah, from the AMID EVIL DLC. I mean like it’s well it’s DLC. So like by nature, DLC doesn’t get as much attention, you know. But like the AMID EVIL DLC altogether before I talk about the music, the DLC is incredible. Like that’s my that’s one of my favorite things I’ve worked on like in recent memory. Like all the music’s great. Like it was , it was a joy to put it all together. All the sound design, all the traps and everything. It’s just an incredible DLC. If you don’t have it, you should go get it. That’s not me shilling and just oh go buy the game. Like it’s f***ing awesome. They did an incredible job. TA: Everyone should buy that game and DLC. AH: Well, I don’t want to look like a shill. If you like it, you like it. Like if you don’t, if you don’t dig it, don’t buy it. You know we’re not not here to like, you know try and sell a bunch of stuff. But like splitting time finishing up that piece of music. It felt like a real moment where I don’t know. I felt like kind of a shift as an artist where I was. I was way more comfortable with a lot of the more aggressive sound design elements being mixed in with compositions and finding ways to make them gel better. And everything really came together on that track and out whenever halfway through I was like, this is the final boss track. I was like I don’t care what you’re designing. I’m like, this is the final boss track. And you know, two seconds after they started listening to it, they’re like, oh yeah, this is the final boss track. We hadn’t even made the character yet. I was just like, here it is. That one hung around for a long time. And yeah, that’s I feel like that song is very much a good indicator of where I am musically right now. TA: Now let’s get a bit into the weeds. Let’s talk about your current guitar setup, your pedals, your amps, string gauge, pickups, I want to know whatever you’re using. AH: So the guitar I’m using the most is a Caparison Dellinger 7. I actually just had a pickup swap on it where I put some Seymour Duncans. I think I put an SH5 in the bridge and an SH2 in the neck on this one. Specifically because the SH5 on it has a really interesting thing where it doesn’t emphasize the low mids a whole bunch but they still cut through really well. So whenever you’re sitting there and like, you know, like chugging on stuff and you have to track that four times, it just sits a lot better in the mix than if you were to just use like stock pickups. There’s nothing wrong with Caparison stock pickups. They’re great. They’re super, super punchy. But for my mixing style I just, I know what I want in terms of pickups so I just, I swap those out. I also did the same thing actually last week with the 8 string. This is a Caparison Brocken 8 string. I don’t think they make this anymore. I swapped out the pickups on this one as well to a gosh, what is it? It’s Duncan. They’re really, really famous 8 string pickups by Duncan. And I can’t remember what they’re called now. TA: I didn’t know Seymour Duncan even had 8 string pickups. AH: They do 8 and like, I was originally going to get some Fishman Fluences for it because they seem like they would hold the top end in the midrange a little bit better but after I don’t know, I’ve just always been a Seymour Duncan guy. And after finding a couple that I really liked at a shop called Tone Shop up the street from me. I was like, man, I really want to put these in my 8 string and they have a tech there that’s just incredible at what he does with all my guitars. So I was just like, hey, order those and I’ll just leave the guitar with you and like a week later they came back and I was like, yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted, sounds incredible. I’ve got my Caparison 7 and 8, and I still have all the guitars that I’ve had over the years for the most part. I’ve got another Schecter 8 string here that is a really cool color. It’s super neat, like, it actually changes from blue to purple. TA: I think it is called Prism or something like that. John Petrucci has something like that on one of his guitars. AH: But yeah, this one has like the EMGs in it and it’s a cool guitar. It still plays great. Like, I still like it. But let me show you something that’s actually pretty sweet. So I still have, I bought this in like 2004. And I still have it. This is the guitar that I actually wrote all of IDKFA or most of it on and I wrote all of, I tracked all of Rides of the Triad with. It’s just a Schecter C6. It’s like just stock. It even still has the plastic in the back which is crazy. But yeah, this is like, I still have this guitar. I was like I was so close to going up to id, like which is just on the street for me and being like after IDKFA was finished, I almost was just like, here, you guys, you need this. You know, like, hold on to this or something. Like this is the one. But like, I don’t know. It’s not like a mainline DOOM game, you know? Like, it has to be something like a mainline game where I’d be like, I wrote this on this guitar here. You know, if you want this, it feels like it belongs to you. And also, part of me is like, no, don’t do that. Like, hang on to it. TA: Ok now string gauges. AH: For string gauges, 10 to 59 on 7 strings. And on 8 strings, I think it’s 10 to 65. And then typically on 6 strings, I just like 10 to 46. TA: Do you use D’Addario strings? I use them mostly. AH: I use D’Addario for the most part, but I bounce back and forth sometimes to Ernie Ball. TA: What about your amp setup and your pedals and stuff like that? AH: So amps, I’ve sold almost every amp I’ve ever owned. I had a JC-120. I had a couple of those Crate Blue Voodoos way back in the day. The ones that were like, yeah, the ones that were, were basically copies of those Ampeg tube amps that they made a long time ago. I had a Valve State 8100. I had a bunch of amps and a bunch of VHT cabinets as well too. And I sold all of them years ago. I’ve really just been like working inside the box for the most part with like neural DSP plugins into an RME interface and I also went as far as getting one of these recently, which is a Neural DSP Quad Cortex. So basically this is all of their plugins built into like a really nice processor. But for a project I’m working on recently they were like, hey you need an amp. And I was like, yeah, you’re probably right. I do need an amp. So I went and bought this and I plug it into two 100 watt Seymour Duncan power stages. Okay. They’re like, they’re these little tiny like 100 watt power amplifiers. They’re solid state power amplifiers. And I run the stereo out from that thing into the left and right side of those and those go into two Engel 2×12 cabinets. Which, okay, Engel 2×12 cabinets are awesome. Ever since I heard a Rammstein record that used them I always wanted to grab one because I was like, god, those things sound huge. TA: I wasn’t sure about this because a friend of mine said he was sure AMID EVIL was recorded on an Axe FX Ultra. AH: Any guitar stuff I’ve done has used either Native Instruments Guitar Rig from way back in the day. Like IDKFA used a ton of Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5 and Guitar Rig 4. But pretty much everything since DUSK has used Neural DSP for guitar work. It’s just me plugging directly into my RME UFX and sometimes I’ll use pedals going into it like the Exotic BB Preamp but most of the time it’s just a dry DI signal getting manipulated inside the box. So, the ones that got the most use on DUSK were the Moogerfooger low pass filter. Believe it or not, like anytime you hear the sound of something becoming kind of lo-fi or anything. It was always run through this filter. It was pretty cool. But the thing I like about it the most is the drive circuit on it. Like I don’t even like it that much as like a filter filter. The drive section on it is just so aggressive that it’s a really interesting sound and like that sound that you hear on the DUSK soundtrack which is like all of the really high high end that’s like really high energy. It’s almost like the Nine Inch Nails stuff. A ton of that comes just from driving the front end of this thing. And same way with the Fulltone Catalyst. But yeah, it’s just a few of them. I think there’s one more that I use a lot. I don’t think I have it here. It’s the ZVEX Fuzz Factory which is just an insane sounding pedal. It just sounds like garbage. And that’s why I like it. It just sounds like you are destroying a signal which is perfect. I’m cool. That sounds cool. That’s a great effect. I like that. TA: You’ve accomplished a lot in your career so far with recognizable music. As a musician, how have you been learning to improve your own skills like programming drums, software, and how do you balance doing that while you have a lot of folks who want to work with you on new projects? AH: Every day is just like I don’t know. If you’re not teaching yourself something every day, this is my train of thought. If I’m not trying to sound better in my own head, whatever I think is better, I’m wasting my time. So if I feel like the drum kit I’ve used like two or three times on two to three different records, if I’m like that feels stale. If I then go if it feels stale and I know the ends and outs of it and how to make it sound good then I need to change that drum kit. I need to find something different and work with it and see if I can get some different sounds out of it. So I’ll change instruments and just purposefully put myself in positions where I don’t know where I’m at or what sounds good with it just so that I can find my way out of it. It’s kind of like limiting yourself, like putting yourself in a box that’s really important as an artist to make sure that you are working within a certain scope of things and going hey, you know, here’s something that’s completely unfamiliar, get used to it and this is what you have to work with. So, yeah, like I don’t know, just constantly challenging myself is part of who I am for the most part. So, it’s just how it always goes. TA: I’m glad you brought that specific bit up because in another interview of yours you mentioned how once you got to your thirties the most important thing became getting good sleep which a lot of people take for granted in their twenties. So my question is that trying to have a routine is very important even if you can’t stick to it 100%. What does a day in your life look like right now? AH: A day right now looks like about, a typical day is about anywhere between 6 to 7 hours of sleep which is about what I need I’ve found out, like it’s like somewhere around there, sometimes 8 and then randomly I’ll have days where it’s like, oh you need like 11 hours I don’t know why, but I feel fine waking up completely recharged with like 6 and a half to 7 and a half hours of sleep. So what I’ll do every morning is I’ll wake up, I’ll go take a shower immediately, like that’s the only way I can start my day is like I feel like I’ve got to it feels like I’m washing off yesterday I don’t know how else to explain that and then I gotta have a coffee and then I gotta start writing things on a whiteboard that’s right over beside me to the left because otherwise I’m just gonna spin my wheels all day long and think, oh I should do this, I should do that, I’ll be thinking about everything I need to do and then never actually do anything. I don’t know if that’s ADD, ADHD or whatever that’s undiagnosed, I’m sure it is to some degree which I’ll get to that at some point but until then I have the whiteboard and as long as I write stuff down on it on what I want to do that day, I’ll knock it all out, every single piece of it. But what’s super important for me to do is just plan out the day early on and then everything just comes to it afterwards. The other thing that’s kind of new for me too is around like 4 o’clock typically I’ll now try and do, this has been within the last 3.5 months, I’ll try and do about 20 to 30 minutes of cardio. Just because I feel like for some reason elevating my heart rate really takes me from hey I could focus before to now I’m super laser focused and can get through whatever I need to and it also puts me in a much better mood if I’m having a shit day. TA: You’ve previously mentioned that you love playing Cities Skylines. Did you play Cities Skylines 2? laughs AH: Yeah, but you know like I haven’t gone back to it yet. I need to try it again at some point. But oh boy like it needed some more time in the oven whenever I tried it. Like no offense to them. I was just like wow. TA: I mean you probably tried it on like your proper gaming PC. I just like to play Steam games on a Steam Deck and I could get it at 5 fps or something after a bit of playing. AH: Even with the 3080 I think I was at points I was sitting there at like 35 frames a second. I’m like really? With the 3080? This is where we’re at huh? Okay. TA: Do you still play Hunt: Showdown and did you try the new Hunt: Showdown 1896 update? AH: Yeah. They had some really interesting choices with their UI that they just pushed with this one that a lot of people aren’t in favor of. I’m getting a little more used to it as time goes on. But man there are some things they need to hammer out with it. But yeah I still play that like a couple times a week with my buddies in New Blood. Like with Dylan who’s working on Gloomwood. I’ll play it with David every now and then. I’ll play it with Mason who’s the developer on Faith. Like we’re all, just like we all just hang out. We’re all just friends. So Leon, me and Leon play it I think the most. Leon’s the lead on AMID EVIL. But yeah like New Zealand and America playing an online fps game is a wild thing but we have a great time doing it. TA: Before we wrap up, I want to know your favorite bands and artists right now in and out of video games. AH: I’m pretty boring on this one to be honest with you. I need to branch out a little more. Favorite bands outside of video games right now like for sure and they’ve sat there for a while is Gojira. I really like their mixing. I like how tight they are live. I like their choices on composition. I don’t feel like they write a bad song. I could throw out the obvious ones. Metallica is another one just because James Hetfield’s right hand is like what inspired me to play guitar. Like how fast you can do those things is crazy. Outside of or in video games I’d still say I still think and it’s going to be a weird choice because you’re like well you write all this aggressive music. What is Jesper Kyd? That guy is just like great on everything he touches and everything he touches is always unique. But I always go back to his early stuff like the Hitman franchise because it’s just so strange and like it really suits those early games really well. If you listen to it outside of it, it feels like a really weird cold kind of soundtrack. Even from the very first game which has a lot of interesting things like almost drum and bass choices. It still feels like a cold front. You know, like a Hitman. And I always just find that stuff fascinating. How he was able to take so many different genres of music between all those games and still make them fit correctly for that character. So yeah and I think he worked on the Darktide stuff more recently which I need to give a listen to. Everybody’s told me that’s incredible but I don’t know I was knee deep in like four active developments whenever that game came out. So I just haven’t given it a chance. TA: Hypothetical situation, if you had no time or budget constraints, if you could compose for any single game and any single movie which would you pick? AH: So let’s see for any game if it had the right direction I’d really like to take a shot at like a Duke game. Because I feel like that is an IP that could be brought back if it’s brought back in the right way. And you have to think that’s really going to be dictated by whoever the creative production is at the time. So if it was done in the right way I’d love to step into that. Either that or I’m going to throw another one out to you. I’d love to work on Minecraft. Just like chill out you know. Like just make something that’s completely chill. So those are completely two opposite sides of the spectrum. But as far as a movie, man, that’s a great question. Let me think about it for just a second. Man on Fire. Like I love Denzel Washington’s work as number one: as an action hero I think he’s great. But number two whenever he is able to have enough time to put drama into things. And like either I don’t know how else to explain it other than he does a f***ing crazy fantastic job. Either Man on Fire or American Gangster. One of those two soundtracks I think I could do would be great to work on. Because there’s so many different emotions between both of those films. It’s a big roller coaster that doesn’t go up and down once. It goes up and down and does like a loop. And like you know, it takes you side to side. Like both of those films do that really well. 01:48:40.760 –> 01:48:42.760 TA: You have a lot of bands you’ve been listening to for a long time like Metallica. What are your thoughts on their recent or new albums? AH: I can find things I like on like the records that they put out because like I’m a die hard. Even with this last Megadeth record. I could still find stuff that I like I can chew on. No problem. Absolutely. But you know these guys aren’t going to write like another Master of Puppets. That comes around once in a lifetime. You know what I mean? And they struck it four times. Like with Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and …And Justice for All. So like to even just get that is crazy. But I do find things that I like on all their newer stuff. Like I think What was the 2016 record that they had? Hardwired to Self Destruct. Yeah I think that that actually had some real moments of really really good writing on it. Specifically the last track. I felt like Hardwired was a great track. But I also thought Moth into the Flame was written super well. There’s a handful of just really really really good writing on that record. On 72 Seasons, there’s still a handful that I really like. But they don’t sync as much for me. And I’m not sure if it’s because I’m looking for something faster or not. Which that’s just not where they’re at at the moment. That’s not what they’re writing. And that’s okay. I will say the last track on that record I feel like is perfect. It’s so good. I can’t remember what it’s called off the top of my head at the moment. I’m terrible with song names sometimes. It’s crazy. It’s like 11 minutes and it feels like a 5 minute and 30 second song. I remember listening to it the first time. I was like gosh. There’s so much emotion thrown into this song that it’s just a joy to listen to. I love it when I can tell that someone really dumped all their emotions onto something. That’s when it really strikes a chord for me. But yeah even the last stuff from Slayer, there’s things that I can find that I enjoy. but I know I’m not going to get the revolutionary record that we had growing up. That’s okay. I’m just glad they’re still making music. And it’s still pretty sick. TA: What’s the most random piece of music memorabilia that you’ve held onto for a long time? AH: I had a friend that I worked with a long time ago who fell on hard times at one point and he was friends and and like worked with Pantera for a long time. And he was like man he’s like I’m trying to get rid of this stuff I’m like why don’t you just hold on to it and like like here’s here’s you know here’s some cash if you need some cash to get by. He’s like no no no he’s like you hold on to it just pay me for it. I was like okay so I’ve got this vinyl of the Great Southern Trendkill that’s one of the original vinyl releases, but I also have a plaque that came like it was given to one of their either their sound or their lighting crew at one point and it’s like for the tour in Japan for the Great Southern Trendkill that same time. And I was like where did you get this you know like what the hell. And he’s like yeah we just you know had him and I knew the guy and he had like five or six of them that they gave him by accident so he gave me one. I was like oh okay all right. So I have both of those things in my closet they’ve hung out with me for like gosh I want to say 15 16 17 years now but those old ones will never go away. Some people keep expensive booze in a decanter. Teah and I keep home made cold brew coffee. pic.twitter.com/7DJlgWcjaB — Andrew Hulshult (@AndrewHulshult) October 10, 2020 TA: Ok for my last question, how do you like your coffee? I usually ask this at the end, but I remember an old Tweet of yours (linked above) made me even more curious about your answer. AH: Yeah man I like the cold brew stuff. I loved hot coffee forever but like cold brew I don’t know the longer I go the easier it is to just sit on a desk and sip on. I don’t have to be like that’s hot. I can just be like no we’re just getting all of the caffeine all at once if I want to. So cold brew coffee. Cold brew black. I’d like to thank Andrew Hulshult for his time and help with this interview over the last few weeks. You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with FuturLab here, Shuhei Matsumoto from Capcom about Marvel Vs Capcom here, Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.

Back in December, I reviewed Square Enix’s monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch. I loved …

Continue reading "‘Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince’ iOS Review – Much Better Than Switch, but Lacking in Two Ways"

Back in December, I reviewed Square Enix’s monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch. I loved my time with it despite its many technical issues. I expected it to hit PC like Dragon Quest Treasures, another Nintendo Switch exclusive, but I didn’t expect a mobile release. Square Enix’s newest release of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS, Android, and Steam brings all prior paid DLC into the game at a lower entry point, but removes one feature. This is the online real-time multiplayer battles. Beyond that, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Steam and mobile is already a massively better experience just on value with its lower price point and the content included, but is the game worth your time in this crowded release period and with its premium price? That’s what I aim to answer with my Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince mobile review also covering the game on Steam Deck. If you aren’t familiar with Dragon Quest Monsters itself, it is a spin-off series of the main Dragon Quest games featuring turn-based combat, but instead of the main player fighting, you capture, breed, and raise monsters to fight for you. When I played Dragon Quest Treasures, I enjoyed it, but was told that it is a “Monsters-lite" game so when Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince was announced for Switch, I was excited to play it. I ended up loving it as you can see from my review linked above, but I think it is a very strong monster collecting RPG with turn-based combat regardless of if you like Dragon Quest or not. What made Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince more interesting, is in how it feels like a side story and prequel to Dragon Quest IV. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince also had a seasonal feature where the monsters changed depending on the season and area you’re in. When it comes to the story, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, the bits from IV already made it more interesting than the usual spin-off, but I found myself focusing more on getting my own dream monster party rather than worrying about the narrative. I’m super pleased with how well thought out the mechanics are and how the large zones, hundreds of monsters, and combat made me want to keep playing it more even on Switch when I first beat it let alone now on iPhone, iPad, and Steam Deck. Beyond the normal turn-based battles and recruiting new monsters, Synthesis in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is like Shin Megami Tensei’s fusion, and there is just so much you can do with skills here. The seasons here don’t just change monsters, but also areas you can explore with map changes. This means a water body that you can’t cross will be frozen in one season letting you access a new secret. Combat in games like this can get monotonous so I’m glad to see the many quality of life features here like the tactics menu that plays out similar to the original Persona 3, direct commands, and more. You aren’t here to just defeat enemies, but also scout them to bring to your party and become stronger. I didn’t end up testing the online multiplayer on Switch much, so I can’t comment on how big a loss that is here, but it is a game mode being cut nonetheless. If you did play it on Switch, keep that in mind as it is the only area the mobile and Steam versions are lacking compared to Switch. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince already shipped with a lot of content, but the DLC only elevated the experience. This DLC was sold in the Digital Deluxe Edition or as standalone DLC for the base game. Just the DLC was over $25 on Switch, so having the full base game with all DLC included for $24 on mobile makes it an amazing deal, but I’ll get to that in a bit. This DLC included The Mole Hole, Coach Joe’s Dungeon Gym, and Treasure Trunks. The Mole Hole was a dungeon that lets you scout (recruit) monsters you’ve fought before and it made min-maxing a lot easier during the game. The DLC was also good to speed things up since you could also easily scout monsters who only appear during a specific season or through synthesis. The Coach Joe’s Dungeon Gym DLC has randomly generated maps and they are meant to be postgame challenges rather than experienced while playing the game. The final DLC is just a chest that can be opened once an hour with 10 items in total. This is like a cheat DLC if you may. I didn’t think it was good to have useful game modes or content in paid DLC, but that isn’t a problem anymore with all of it included on iOS, Androidl, and Steam in the base asking price. Now let’s get to the mobile port features. With Square Enix, you can never be sure what features will make it into the final game. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince does not have controller support. This is beyond disappointing since the game is literally a console title ported to mobile. I tried 6 different controllers without any luck to be sure. Aside from controller support, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS has cloud saves and a few graphics options. The cloud saves work well. When it comes to controls, I was surprised at how well Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince felt with touch controls. It uses a floating joystick on the left for movement and a jump button mainly while exploring. The one minor issue you might run into is some touch targets being a bit small on the non Plus/Max phones. These aren’t an issue on iPads at all though. The controls feel good, but Square Enix should’ve left full controller support in since this is a console game ported to mobile after all. One of my only real issues with Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch was on the technical side. The frame rate was rough at launch with visuals not being great either. The former got addressed to some degree unlike Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, but the latter never got fixed. On iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 12, and even iPad Pro, I had no major issues with the visuals or performance. There are some hiccups on iPhone 15 Pro when running at the highest graphics quality setting and moving through some locations, but it isn’t remotely as bad as on Switch. The game feels massively better to play on iOS. Check out the comparison below for the low and high graphics options on iPhone 15 Pro: There aren’t specific visual or frame rate settings on mobile outside of the resolution option in display settings. This lets you play at low, medium, or high graphical quality options. These presets also affect other settings like the frame rate limit and post-processing. This setting can only be changed from the title screen on mobile while you can adjust it on the fly on PC. I stuck to the high setting on all my iPhones. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince sadly has some minor performance issues even on iPhone 15 Pro as I mentioned above. The low setting seems unusable with how blurry it gets. On my 2020 iPad Pro, the high preset has more regular frame drops than iPhone, and it also seems to be running with some tweaked settings. Overall, even the older iPad Pro runs it well, but not as good as iPhone 15 Pro as expected. Every device I tested on including the iPhone 12 ran it a lot better than Nintendo Switch. Visually, it looks a lot cleaner than Switch even on older iOS devices when played at high. Square Enix didn’t just do a bare-bones port here. It has fullscreen support during gameplay on my iPhone 15 Pro, and even has a pattern or artwork to fill the screen during areas with pre-rendered or static 16:9 elements. This pattern or artwork is mainly used on my iPad Pro since it doesn’t support fullscreen there for gameplay. This also applies to Steam Deck to make up for that aspect ratio in parts. I’m glad to see Square Enix put in the work here to make sure it still looks good regardless of aspect ratio. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Steam Deck impressions On Steam Deck, regardless of my settings, I couldn’t get Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince to run at a locked 90fps even at the low preset when played at 800p. I decided to opt for a 60fps target, and that was a lot easier to achieve. One oddity is the game not letting you adjust resolution when playing on Steam Deck normally. You can do this by forcing the resolution from the game’s properties before launching it. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on PC lets you adjust graphical quality (low, medium, high), anti-aliasing (off, low, medium, high), maximum frame rate (30 to uncapped), toggle v-sync, and adjust display mode (windowed, fullscreen, borderless). If you play at 60fps, I recommend setting your Steam Deck OLED refresh rate to 60 to avoid jitter as well. Having now played Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS, iPadOS, Steam Deck, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite, there’s no doubt that the Switch version is the worst of the lot despite the online mode being removed from mobile and Steam. The massive increase in performance and better visuals with all DLC included at a much lower asking price only makes it better. One thing to note is that the game is marked as Steam Deck Playable and not Verified because Valve says some in-game text is small and may be difficult to read. I didn’t have any issues with this, and I feel like Valve has marked games with smaller text as Verified before. Either way, you can safely buy this one to play on Steam Deck. If you skipped Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch, the new mobile and Steam ports are the way to go. While the mobile version lacking controller support is disappointing, it is still a game I see myself playing regularly with its improvements over switch and fantastic core gameplay loop. Having all the DLC included means you will have enough content to last you even longer. If you do value controller support in a game like this, the Steam Deck is the way to go. Hopefully we see Square Enix keep bringing more Dragon Quest games to mobile in the future. Right now, the iOS version of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is easily one of the best mobile releases of the year.

Over the years, I’ve been able to interview some of my favorite developers ever including a few I never though …

Continue reading "Sukeban Games 2024 Interview: Christopher Ortiz AKA kiririn51 Talks .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, Inspirations, Fan Reactions, VA-11 Hall-A, The Silver Case, and Much More"

Over the years, I’ve been able to interview some of my favorite developers ever including a few I never though would be possible, but it isn’t often I get to talk to one of the few people responsible for what is likely my favorite game of all time. That’s where Christopher Ortiz AKA kiririn51 of Sukeban Games comes into the picture. We’ve covered their titles on TouchArcade for years because at one point VA-11 Hall-A was even supposed to come to iPad (and I asked about that later in this interview). With Sukeban Games’ newest project, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, officially announced, I had a chance to have a long chat with Christopher Ortiz about the game, fan reactions, VA-11 Hall-A, inspirations, Suda51, The Silver Case, and also coffee of course. TouchArcade (TA): Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Sukeban Games. Christopher Ortiz (CO): I’m Chris, I’m a game creator and I do way too much in this company. I like to hang out with friends and eat delicious food when I’m not locked in. TA: I last spoke to you in 2019 around the time VA-11 Hall-A hit PS4 and Switch following its prior release on PS Vita and its debut on PC. Even back then, as a fan of the game, it was wild seeing so much merchandise and promotion in Japan. You recently visited Japan for Bitsummit. How has it been for you visiting Japan and seeing the reception to VA-11 Hall-A and now your new project, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND? CO: Japan is like my home away from home even if its government doesn’t like it, so that’s a homecoming for me. Very emotionally charged. I also haven’t been at a game event as an exhibitor since Tokyo Game Show 2017; that was 7 years ago. That’s 7 years of roaming game events and being like “I want that” “I want some of this energy”. Now I feel like a pro-wrestler that’s coming out of retirement to a brand new world and industry; I’m lost, confused, not knowing if I still have it… but I was worried about nothing. People didn’t forget about us and still support the studio no matter what, so I’m never taking shit for granted, or letting these memories slip away. This will be my fuel to move forward. TA: I consider VA-11 Hall-A one of my favorite games of all time, and I replay it each holiday season. When you worked on it many years ago, did you ever expect to see it grow this big and even get multiple figures with a new one coming for Jill soon? CO: I didn’t expect the game to sell more than 10-15k copies, but we definitely knew we had something special brewing, or else we wouldn’t have pushed through with it. It’s just that the scale of said success was a little overwhelming and I think we’re still recovering from some of its unexpected side-effects. TA: VA-11 Hall-A is now playable on PC, Switch, PS Vita, PS4, PS5 (through back compatibility). Whatever happened to that iPad version that was announced years ago? Are ports like that up to Ysbryd or do you also have some involvement? I’d love to see it hit Xbox as well if that’s possible. CO: I actually playtested a build for iPad but it didn’t go anywhere for whatever reason. Maybe I failed to respond to an email. You’d have to ask the publisher. TA: Many years ago, Sukeban Games were just Kiririn51 (yourself) and IronincLark (Fer). How has the team changed since then? CO: We’re currently six people. Some have come and go, but overall we want to keep a small and tight operation. TA: Leading into this question -> How has it been working with MerengeDoll? CO: Merenge’s a trooper. She has this supernatural ability to pull ideas directly out of my brain and give them visual shape, so it’s always been a pleasure to work with her. It sucks that some of the projects she was working on as main artist got canned for reasons beyond our power, but it is what it is. The day will come when people will get to see Merenge’s true power. There’s still a lot of Merengedoll in 45pb so that’s cool as hell. TA: Can you talk about how it was working with Garoad on the music on VA-11 Hall-A? Just like the game, the soundtrack is one of my favorites ever. CO: Michael and I always had similar music tastes and influences, so the process was very free-form. He’d make a track, and I’d love the shit out. Repeat the process until the soundtrack is ready to go. Sometimes I would send him a song I liked as a reference, sometimes he’d create a completely original song that would inspire images in the game, then the images would inspire more music. This synergy gave the game a firm identity that stands the test of time in my opinion. TA: I didn’t realize it until recently, but VA-11 Hall-A kind of became one of those indie games that had a very vocal fanbase and got a good amount of merch that keeps selling out. I think the vinyl box sets are also on multiple pressings now and that SLUT shirt keeps selling out. A good friend of mine recently bought it as well. How much input do you have in the merchandise? Is there anything you want to see made that hasn’t happened yet? CO: I don’t have much input on merch creation. I mostly give the thumbs up or down once a whole chain of people already made the hard choices beforehand. Would like to be a little more involved for 45pb now that I know what I’m dealing with. TA: I still have a few more questions before getting to your new game. Let’s go back to 2019 for a second. Playism’s JP release of VA-11 Hall-A included a fantastic art book cover. I really wish I could get that piece of art signed by you and framed. Can you talk about the inspiration for it and how you pay homage to your favorites like that in your work? CO: Back when I drew that cover I was going through really tough times; even though I hadn’t fully realized yet. We were very focused on surviving the collapse of our country and many other things. During this time, at our old office, we’d listen to a lot of Gustavo Cerati; his album Bocanada to be more precise and its tunes managed to keep us going in the face of uncertainty. So when I was asked to draw a new piece for the artbook I couldn’t help but pay homage to it. I admit now that it’s a little too overt and I would do it differently now, but I’m still proud of it. In fact, I’ve been reconsidering my approach to inspirations a lot in the past few years, and this will be obvious once people play 45pb. TA: You and Fer have spoken a lot about VA-11 Hall-A over the years, but I cannot pass up a chance to talk about how amazingly written and designed the characters are. Looking back at the work you put into it, did you expect certain characters to become as popular as they did? CO: I expected Stella to be the most popular one since her gifs would often go viral before release, but you can never predict this sort of thing. And it’s like I said before; I sort of knew certain things were gonna be a hit, I’m just unable to properly articulate why I thought that way or why it worked, and at this point I rather not know. The moment a hunch becomes a science the magic disappears. Formulas are terrible in this line of work. You gotta let things flow; Let them become their own beautiful thing. TA: I’ve joked with friends about how N1RV Ann-A is my “Silksong", but I have no problem waiting as long as it takes. I still enjoy revisiting VA-11 Hall-A often. Do you go back and try out whatever you had done for N1RV Ann-A or VA-11 Hall-A while working on unrelated projects? CO: I like jotting down lore and characterization stuff for a rainy day. I love to draw Sam, I love coming up with new designs, characters; playing around with the general looks of the game, ideas for shots during cinematics; one liners, environments, atmosphere. I even like to imagine “what if this didn’t have to be a bartending game?” and other extreme musings, but that’s about the extent of the mindspace I dedicate to it currently. Once we’re done with 45pb Nirvana’s development will pick up dramatically, though that really depends on if the spark is still there by then. So far it has no signs of extinguishing. TA: As a huge Suda fan myself, I’m curious what you thought of No More Heroes 3 and Travis Strikes Again? As much as I love No More Heroes 3 (more than 11 playthroughs), I think Travis Strikes Again might just be Suda’s most “Suda" game yet. CO: I REALLY like No More Heroes 3’s combat, but I wasn’t a fan of its writing. Maybe it was COVID, and game development is really tough; especially with the hardcore deadlines they had. But in general I think it wanted to be one thing at the start and then had to become another in order to be shipped. It’s a shame, and it is what it is. I just hope they only make new original games from now on and forget about sequels and reboots. Re-releases are OK; especially of the lost media kind, like Frog Minutes or the 25th Ward back in the day. As for Travis Strikes Again, I agree it’s the best of the newer games. Feels like reading someone’s diary sometimes and that’s the kinda art I enjoy. I guess I didn’t see much of that in 3 outside of continuing some plot threads from TSA. TA: What are your thoughts on Grasshopper Manufacture under Netease and the remasters announced? Suda even mentioned today that he’d love to bring Flower Sun and Rain to Steam. CO: Netease is a big corporation so my hope would be that Grasshopper gets all the money and time they need to cook. TA: VA-11 Hall-A’s journey from PC to PS Vita was quite something, and it involved many parties across regions. I remember buying the Japanese release just for the box art with no English included for publisher reasons. When it came to Switch and PS4, I think you wanted the JP release to have English so anyone could import it. How has it been for you now in Argentina trying to get your own game’s merchandise and merchandise in general? It is a pain over here with delays and extra import fees. CO: I simply don’t import anything these days. I don’t wanna bother with Argentinian customs. Protectionist policies are stupid. Sure, make all electronics more expensive to import so the local market has a chance to compete, but there’s no Argentinian PlayStation to compete with, is there? There’s no Argentinian Steam, and so on. Only idiots come up with this sorta policy. Brazil does the same shit as well. Would be cool if they stopped. TA: You’ve worked in PC-98 and PSX aesthetics a few times. When .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND was announced, I was floored by how it looked like the perfect game I’d want from you. The reception has been largely positive, but I can’t imagine what you and the team went through leading into its reveal with N1RV Ann-A and such. Can you talk about how the last few months have been for yourself? CO: We’ve been locked in and doing our thing. No crunch, all fun. We party, we feast, we travel. We touch that proverbial grass. Lots of insecurities and self-doubt for sure. We even tried to downplay things and manage expectations before the reveal, bracing ourselves for possible apathy from the crowd because it’s not Nirvana. But when it came to actually putting in the work there was no hesitation. I’m happy the announcement worked out, but now we gotta buckle up and finish the story. TA: .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND has been revealed, people can wishlist it on Steam, and I immediately thought of Vagrant Story x Sukeban Games’ Vibe when I saw the trailer. How has it been interacting with fans discussing it online and offline? CO: It’s been incredibly fun, even though there’s so many comparisons with old games. Not that I mind but there’s been some ridiculous comments out there that boggle the mind. One thing that surprised me was the amount of fanart right after the reveal. That shit was great. A fan even brought us a drawing that we proudly displayed on our table at Bitsummit for everybody to see. Our crown jewel By @TumugiV !!! Thank you as always!!!!! pic.twitter.com/N1hbLMY25Q — Sukeban Games (@SukebanGames) July 21, 2024 TA: Probably too soon but when can I buy the key art as a poster and get it signed? CO: Maybe on release. TA: What were your main inspirations for .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND from a visual and gameplay perspective? CO: When coming up with the actual gameplay for 45PB there was a unique concern. People know Sukeban as a Visual Novel/ADV developer because of Va11halla, and I wanted a sort of bridge between that audience and something more action-focused. I saw Parasite Eve’s battle system, but instead of saying “I want more of that” I thought “This is a good solution to my predicament” thanks to the hybrid of real time and turn-based gameplay. And that’s pretty much the way we work. Rather than wanting to imitate something, or wanting more of it, I look to games of the past in order to solve modern problems. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. For the visuals, I remember roaming the streets of Milan in 2019. I was ultra depressed, and didn’t actually have a country to live in at the time so I was also in a state of limbo. The mix of modern structures and old buildings, then juxtaposed to all the neon lights and LED screens along the river had my imagination running wild. For me that was the genesis for the game’s look. This marriage between the old, the new and the decadent. The cherry on top was when I moved to Buenos Aires and found a similar atmosphere, except it included that South American roughness and texture that’s absent in Cyberpunk worlds (which tend to be mostly inspired by east asian aesthetics), so I decided to lean on that to create something unique. TA: Tell us a little bit about the team working on it including the composer, and how long it has been in the works. CO: We’re two people working on it day-to-day (me and the programmer), plus Merenge helping with additional character and production design. The composer this time around is Juneji, who has been doing a LOT of work with us over the years. We have this massive stash of incredible music that he’s made, but it remains unfortunately private due to circumstances with failed projects. Same with Merenge’s art. There’s been some hella demoralizing moments since it’s hard to work on things for so long, pouring your soul into them only to see them crumble in front of you, but we’ve remained a tight group over the years and one of my goals is that the world can finally witness their talents on a large stage. I owe them that much. We also added an old friend in a producer/babysitting role and it’s helped us to not neglect important non-game stuff. As for how long it’s been in development: Technically since 2019 but the current iteration is roughly 2 years old. Before that it was all experiments until we arrived at the right “moment to moment” gameplay. TA: .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND had a teaser, gameplay, and now has a steam page. Are there any plans to offer a demo on PC in any of Valve’s demo fests on Steam in the near future? CO: It’d be a pain in the ass to maintain a demo for this particular game so we rather keep those for offline events. Never say never though. TA: A lot of my friends who love VA-11 Hall-A are excited for .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND. Will it be accessible for everyone or is it too soon to say how the difficulty will be handled? CO: It’s too soon to explain, but as I’ve mentioned before, the battle system itself is meant to be a bridge between vibes-based players and action-oriented players. Not that I’m trying to satisfy both, but rather ease one type of player into a new system. TA: What is your favorite aspect of .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND right now? CO: As a game? definitely the atmosphere and the script. I sometimes play it for leisure on my Steam Deck while tryna sleep and wonder “Damn, what’s gonna happen next?” only to be like “you wrote this shit! you know where it goes!”. Also the combat is fun as hell once it opens up after the first chapter. Chaining skills and upping the tempo of combat after pulling off sick tricks makes for addictive gameplay. This will make sense later unless we fumble it. TA: Can you give us an interesting development / design anecdote for .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND and VA-11 Hall-A? CO: So I mentioned the influences of cities like Milan and Buenos Aires in the creation 45PB’s world, but one thing that people might have noticed by looking at very early screenshots was that it used to feature some locales reminiscent of Hong Kong. I actually scrapped a lot, if not all of it, in favor of the “South American Cyberpunk” I’m aiming for after a conversation I had with a friend from China. I was consulting with him about getting the fonts and the text of the billboards just right so it felt authentic, but then my mind broke and I began asking to myself “Why go through all this effort trying to be authentic when I can just leverage my own culture?” and it’s a sort of mantra I’ve been following ever since. I find terms like “cultural appropriation” silly, but the word “appropriation” by itself is something I’ve been contending with a lot. “Is it my place to tell this type of story?” “Is it okay if these characters speak this or that way?” and so on. Not that it limits my creativity or that I’m afraid of hurting sensibilities; I frankly don’t give a shit. I just think that more original works can be born if we leverage what makes us unique instead of trying to make more of what we like. It’s all about balance. TA: Since the announcement, you’ve no doubt had folks asking for a console version when we don’t even have a release year for .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, but I wanted to know if there was any thought into working with a publisher or will this be self-published? CO: We want to self-publish on PC and let other companies handle consoles. We’re in the process of finding the right partner for this. TA: What were the inspirations behind Reila Mikazuchi’s design and character? CO: I don’t know if I’ll get in trouble for this but I admire actor and singer Meiko Kaji a lot. I love her movies, you name them: Prisoner Scorpion, Stray Cat Rock, Lady Snowblood, Jeans Blues. Something in her look is so captivating and I wanted my own Meiko Kaji for 45PB. I needed a character design that can say a lot with just the eyes. Someone who can project that inner pain and tragedy effortlessly, so using Meiko Kaji as a point of reference was a must. As for the writing, every time I come up with characters they’re always a composite of several people I know and myself. So as to not ruin your impressions of her, I shall keep these inspirations a secret. TA: How many iterations did you go through for her final design which rules by the way? CO: I always had in mind the main look of long, black hair and pale skin. Plus the third eye. The thing that took me the most work was coming up with the outfit. She was wearing a suit at first actually! Then I wanted her to have a jacket, but finding the right type of jacket was a challenge. I gave her a biker jacket but it looked weird and I had to experiment a lot until I stumbled upon the current design. Merenge helped me with some accessories, such as the shoes, gloves and the logo on the back of the jacket. TA: VA-11 Hall-A saw VA-11 Hall-A Kids and Sapphic Pussy Rhapsody released following the game. Ahead of .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, should we expect any smaller projects like that? CO: Never say never but our plan with this game is to release it, let it be and move on to something new. No DLC or anything like that. Ports to future platforms are always on the table but that’s the extent of it. If A24 or someone else wants to make a movie about it I’ll listen. TA: What does a day in your life look like right now? CO: Right now I’m a little f***ed up. I’m usually a good boy who works from 9am, takes a little lunch break then locks in again until 4 or 5pm, but sleep escapes me lately so I’m just trying to contend with that in whatever way I can. The key is to not stress over not having much sleep. As long as shit gets done it’s all good. When I’m not working I try to catch a movie at one of the many small cinemas in my neck of the woods, or go outside and take a walk and buy books I’ll take forever to read. Buenos Aires has this magic that inspires me to go outside and have low key adventures. Can’t get too crazy because this is still latin america and we don’t f*** around, but I love it here and being surrounded by so much culture, great food, and a crazy clubbing scene keeps me sane. Especially when there’s friends around. I owe them a lot for my mental health even if I’m a huge recluse sometimes. I’m the type to uninstall messaging apps for a minute when I really need to be alone. TA: What have you been playing lately that you’ve enjoyed a lot? CO: There’s so many video games. This year I really loved Children of the Sun and Arctic Eggs. Late last year I was really into The Citadel, Lethal Company and RoboCop: Rogue City. I’m now in the process of going through The Evil Within, which feels like a lost Grasshopper game sometimes. There’s the Elden Ring expansion, and I also recently replayed Kane and Lynch 2 with a friend and had a blast as always. That game is so f***ed up in the right ways. We need more grit like that. TA: What do you think of the current state of indie games? CO: Every time I go to a game event I’m always madly inspired by all the unique games I see at the indie spaces and that energy is partly what kept me going despite all our production hiccups. That sense of community. That we all have this burning desire to create for the sake of creation. That shit is great. I f***ing love indie games and I think they’re better now more than ever. BUT… I worry that we are trying to lean too much on familiar concepts and inspirations. Games like Arctic Eggs do it right in that it’s trying to look like an old PSX game, but there were no PSX games like Arctic Eggs. Then there’s games that feel so blatant in their desire to be like one of the classics that I’m like “weren’t we supposed to be the creative ones?” not to mention the over reliance on “Roguelike” mechanics and such. But it’s not all bad. There’s some really cool shit all the time; especially on places like itch.io. It’s just that humans in general can be creatively bankrupt regardless of production scale. There’s triple A slop, there’s indie slop. There’s no escaping the slop. Being indie doesn’t make you inherently more creative and that’s okay. There’s always room for growth as long as we’re cognizant about our shortcomings. TA: Are you looking forward to playing any specific game this year? CO: I’m really looking forward to Slitterhead. Dunno if they’ll be out this year but there’s also Sonokuni, Elation For The Wonder Box 6000, Studio System: Guardian Angel, Eating Nature (from the Arctic Eggs dev)… There’s a lot I’m excited about. My Twitter feed is an endless stream of cool indie games I doubt will ever see the light of day but the attempt is appreciated nonetheless. TA: Obviously scheduling and such, but if we managed doing this interview on a call, I’d have taken this chance to nerd out about The Silver Case with you. I’m glad I listened to my friend and powered through it because that typewriter sound was too much for me. I adore The Silver Case and I know you love it as well. What elements from it inspired you the most and what’s your favorite track from the soundtrack? CO: The Silver Case has always been one of those games that felt like a white whale to me. It was so utterly inaccessible that my mind pretty much created its own Silver Case by trying to fill the gaps. I used to browse this creepy Suda51 fansite way back in the day and I was always searching for every bit of info on this inscrutable-ass game, so when it actually released in a language I can understand I was afraid I wasn’t gonna like it but I think it was much more than I could ever have imagined. In that sense, the way Silver Case inspires me is tightly related to this need to fill gaps. The space between the real Silver Case and what I was imagining it to be is where a lot of the ideas for the presentation in games like Va11halla or The Radio Wave Bureau were born. I can’t choose a single favorite song if I’m being honest. The whole soundtrack has such a vibe. Could be the Sayaka Baian theme that plays in Kamuidrome, but tomorrow it could be the opening theme, then the next day another one. TA: Did you end up trying it out on console or just playing it on PC? CO: I bought and played the game on every platform. TA: The Silver Case’s original box art and aesthetic is probably the only thing I love as much as that in VA-11 Hall-A. What elements from its visual style had you curious back then? CO: Definitely the stoic look of every character. Takashi Miyamoto is my goat along with Yoshitoshi Abe. For Va11halla I had to be very expressive with the characters because that’s what the story commanded, but ever since I was a kid I always had an affinity towards designs that say a lot with minimal facial expressions. Two of my favorite films are Patlabor 2 and Ghost in the Shell, and Serial Experiments Lain is also one of my favorites, so you can probably tell where I’m coming from with this. I was also so transfixed by the UI. I could go on and on about this subject, but I’ll always lament that The Silver Case didn’t create a movement after its release. Visual Novels could look so much better if we had 1% the imagination of that original Grasshopper team. I’m not sure, but I think the look was done by Akihiko Ishizaka who would go on to work on Killer7 and Danganronpa. I wish he was still working with GhM. Or maybe he still does and I’m talking out of my ass. TA: I think you’ve met Suda more than once now. How has that been for you and has he played VA-11 Hall-A? I know Travis Strikes Again has a VA-11 Hall-A tshirt that is the objectively best and only one everyone should use. CO: I’ve met the guy twice and I’ll always lament not knowing enough japanese to just talk and talk all day with him. We share a lot of common interests, though the generational gap can be felt when he starts yapping about Japanese media from the 70s. I do know he played my game but I’ve no clue if he actually enjoyed it. Will have to ask if I ever see him again. TA: Are you still up for this if the opportunity arises? CO: There’s a story behind this that I’ll have to sit on for a while longer. TA: My current game of the year for 2024 is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I know you loved Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but did you end up trying Infinite Wealth/8 or Gaiden last year? CO: I love Like a Dragon so much but I didn’t play Gaiden, and Infinite Wealth seemed like too much of a commitment when I played at launch. The game was throwing mechanic after mechanic at me in a way that made me feel overwhelmed. Like there was too much game ahead of me, so I put it off for the time being. Maybe once I’m in the mood again I’ll give it a honest shot. TA: VA-11 Hall-A has always been perfect to play on a portable. I loved it on Switch and recently found a mod that adds full controller support to the PC version. I’ve been revisiting it on Steam Deck. Have you had a chance to try it on Steam Deck yet? CO: I did and saw it sort of works but not quite. I wish I could go back and tweak it but it’s not technically feasible. The Game Maker version we used doesn’t even work properly on modern Windows and it’s the reason we haven’t been able to do any sort of fix or update to it. Aside from simply not having the time to deal with all that mess we made (at a technical level). TA: Honestly I still have a lot more I want to discuss with you, but I think I should save that for part 2 or a future interview. Let me end this with one final question. How do you like your coffee? Go into as much detail as you can. If not coffee, talk about your favorite beverage. CO: I like my coffee black like a moonless night. Even better if it’s accompanied by cheesecake on a beautiful afternoon. TA: Probably not smart, but it is nearly 2 AM and sending these questions over made me want to replay The Silver Case. Next time we talk, let’s do a dedicated discussion on The Silver Case. CO: Absolutely! I’d like to thank Christopher Ortiz for their time and help with this interview over the last few weeks. You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with FuturLab here, Shuhei Matsumoto from Capcom about Marvel Vs Capcom here, Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics ($49.99) As a fan of Marvel, Capcom, and fighting games back in the …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Review Round-Up: ‘Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection’, ‘Yars Rising’, & ‘Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland’"

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics ($49.99) As a fan of Marvel, Capcom, and fighting games back in the 1990s, Capcom’s line of fighters based on Marvel’s characters were like a dream come true. Starting off with the excellent X-Men: Children of the Atom, these games just kept getting bigger and better. Moving on to the wider Marvel Universe with Marvel Super Heroes, then the at-the-time unbelievable crossovers between Marvel and Street Fighter, on to the over the top Marvel vs. Capcom, and then the wildly over-the-top in all the right ways Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom kept raising the stakes. That wasn’t the end of the series, but it takes us up to the end of what is covered in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. Oh, and you get Capcom’s excellent Punisher belt scrolling beat ’em up as some extra mustard. A fantastic set of great games. This collection appears to have been handled by whoever did the Capcom Fighting Collection, and in most respects it has similar features and extras. That unfortunately extends to only having a single save state across the entire collection, shared by all seven games. That was annoying enough in a collection full of fighting games, but it’s even worse with a beat ’em up in here where you might want to, you know, save your progress independently of whatever you’re up to in the fighters. Oh well. Everything else here is as you would want it. Lots of options like visual filters and gameplay options, great extras including an extensive array of art and a music player, and rollback online multiplayer. New to this set is NAOMI hardware emulation, and whoever Capcom had on the job did it well. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 looks and plays great. I’m not going to knock it for this, but I do want to say that I wish some of the home versions were included. The PlayStation EX versions of the tag-team based games are different enough that it would be neat to have them in here, and the Dreamcast version of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has a lot of fun extras that make it a superior choice for home play for the solo player. I also wouldn’t have minded if Capcom had tucked its two Super NES Marvel games in here, even if they aren’t the greatest of games. Well, the collection’s name says Arcade Classics, and unlike with Blizzard it seems the word is being properly applied here. Marvel fans and fighting fans alike have a reason to rejoice with this fine collection. The games are superb, they’ve been treated with care, and you get a good suite of extras and options. Only having a single save state shared between the games is a serious bummer, but otherwise I can’t find much to pick on here. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is another must-have compilation from the folks at Capcom, and it plays great on the Switch. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Yars Rising ($29.99) I’ll admit that I was pretty skeptical of this game from its announcement. I like Yars’ Revenge a lot. One of my favorite 2600 games. So when I read that WayForward had been tapped to make a Metroidvania-style Yars game starring a young hacker with a bare midriff code-named Yar, I felt like I had accidentally surfed over to a parody site. Just the perfect storm of “why", you know? So do I have to eat those words? Yes and no. First and foremost, this is a good game. WayForward does a solid job with this kind of thing, and so it did here. Looks and sounds good, plays well, and the map layouts are fine enough. In true WayForward fashion, the bosses tend to drag on too long, but it’s not a deal-breaker. Commendations must also be given to WayForward for doing its best to handle a bit of a tough ask in trying to connect this game to an ancient single-screen shooter. You get to play Yars’ Revenge-style sequences fairly often, the abilities you earn are evocative of the original game, and it connects to the relatively fleshed-out lore as well as it can. It still feels like a massive stretch, but I suppose Atari has little choice but to try to make long passes like this one. Its classic library can only be Recharged so much, after all. It just feels like a game that is torn between two audiences with very little overlap, and I’m not sure if that was the right call versus doing something wholly original. Still, while the argument can rage on about whether or not this made sense conceptually, there’s no doubt the game itself is enjoyable. I don’t think the finest in the genre have much to worry about, but if you’re looking for a Metroidvania game to sink your teeth into over the course of a weekend or so, you won’t have a bad time with Yars Rising. And who knows? Maybe they follow up on this once or twice and it all feels natural. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland ($24.99) I’m a few years too old to have much nostalgia for Rugrats, though not so old that I didn’t watch it with my younger siblings from time to time. Like, I know the names of the main characters and the theme song. Don’t ask me about the movies or the grown-up versions, and certainly don’t ask me to recall any specific episodes. I know the Rugrats, but I have no special warm and fuzzies for the brand. With that in mind, I didn’t really know what to expect from Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland. I heard someone say it was like Bonk, and that does fit Tommy’s physical build if nothing else. Well, only one way to know for sure. I started up the game, picked Tommy, and went into the tutorial stage. First thing to hit me was the crisp visuals. Crisper than the show, if my memory serves. The next thing to hit me was the awkward placement of the controls. Luckily, there’s an option for that. The music was the Rugrats theme, so that all checks out. There were some Reptar coins to collect, and some simple puzzles and enemies to deal with. Alright, no problem. Platformer with some exploration in the levels, a tried and tested formula. Not very Bonk-ish, but that was never promised. At a certain point Tommy had taken a few hits, so I decided to swap over to Chuckie to enjoy his full life meter. I then noticed that he had a very familiar jump. A very high but somewhat hard to control jump. Surely they didn’t? I swapped over to Phil, who had a low jump, then to Lil who could… float. They did. They really did! Folks, this is a Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)-inspired game! Sure enough, the enemies I had just been stomping on could also be picked up and thrown. There were also blocks I sometimes had to pick up and pile up to reach higher places. Slightly non-linear stages with lots of verticality! Stages where you have to dig in sand, and you know Phil is the expert digger of the bunch. Awesome. I mean, there are some homages to other platformers in here, but the main gameplay evokes what is probably one of the higher-selling classic games that never gets riffed on. Not bad, not bad at all. The boss battles are even interesting and enjoyable. After playing for a while, I even noticed I could swap the visuals and soundtrack between the spiffy modern versions and NES-level 8-bit renditions. It plays well either way, and both styles have their merits. Oh, and you can use a filter. There if you want it. But yes, creative and fun. Inspired by a game I love quite a lot. Uses its license well. You can play multiplayer! Aside from the control issue, the only gripe I have is that it’s a bit too short and simple. Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a better game than I expected it to be. It’s a quality platformer in the style of the Western Super Mario Bros. 2, with some extra elements and features to keep it from being too close to its source. The Rugrats license has been implemented well, though I did find myself wishing it had voice acting for the cut scenes. A little on the short and breezy side to be sure, but worth a play for fans of platformers and the Rugrats alike. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

For a lot of folks who have been following Capcom’s fighting games over the years, the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting …

Continue reading "Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review – Switch, Steam Deck, and PS5 Covered"

For a lot of folks who have been following Capcom’s fighting games over the years, the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics announcement was unbelievable given recent events and the reception of the last Marvel vs Capcom game. As someone who has only played Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, I had always wanted to play the earlier games given the praise a few of them got from competitive and casual players. I’d be lying if I said I also wasn’t just excited to hear the Marvel vs Capcom 2 music officially because it is that good. So here we are months after its announcement, and Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is available on Steam, Switch, and PlayStation with Xbox coming in 2025. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics games included Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics ships with seven games included. They are: X-MEN CHILDREN OF THE ATOM, MARVEL SUPER HEROES, X-MEN VS. STREET FIGHTER, MARVEL SUPER HEROES vs. STREET FIGHTER, MARVEL vs. CAPCOM CLASH OF SUPER HEROES, MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 2 New Age of Heroes, and THE PUNISHER which isn’t a fighting game, but a beat ’em up. These are based on the arcade versions so you don’t need to worry about missing features like some older console ports here. These include the English and Japanese versions so yes, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter does include Norimaro in this collection when you choose the Japanese version for that game. This review is based on me having played Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for about 15 hours on Steam Deck (both LCD and OLED), 13 hours on PS5 (via backward compatibility), and about 4 hours on Nintendo Switch. I’m not qualified enough to talk about the ins and outs of the games included here because this collection was my first time playing them, but I will say that the fun I’ve had with Marvel vs Capcom 2 pre-release has more than justified the asking price to the point where I want to buy both console physical releases just to own a physical version of it. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics new features If you played Capcom Fighting Collection, the interface and front-end of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will feel familiar. In fact, it even has the same issues that collection has, but I’ll get to that a bit later. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics includes online and local multiplayer support, local wireless support on Switch, rollback netcode for online play, a training mode, customizable options for games, an important option to reduce white flashes or light flickering per game, various display options, and a few wallpaper options. Outside the games, the training mode included (you can access this per game), includes hitboxes, inputs displayed, and other options making it even better for newcomers. Speaking of newcomers, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics has a new one button super option that you can enable or disable when you play online and search for other players. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics museum and gallery Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics also includes a robust museum and gallery with all the game soundtracks (more than 200 tracks) and more than 500 pieces of artwork. Having played Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics online with a friend who is also covering it, he let me know how a lot of the artwork in this collection has never been public before. For me, it is all new, but I thought that was notable for longtime fans. It is worth noting that things like sketches or design documents don’t have translations on them for any Japanese text. As for the music, I’m glad we finally have an official way to listen to these soundtracks in 2024, but I hope this is the first step to getting a vinyl release or streaming releases for them. How is the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics online multiplayer experience with rollback netcode? Before getting into the online experience, the options menu features its own network settings letting you enable or disable microphone, voice chat volume, input delay, and connection strength on PC. On Switch, you can only adjust input delay. The PS4 version lets you adjust input delay and connection strength with no voice chat options. I assume folks will use the PS5 and PS4 native voice chat options here instead of an in-game one. It is disappointing to see the Switch version lack a connection strength option as of the build I have. Pre-release, I only managed testing the online on Steam Deck wired and wirelessly with another player who was also on Steam. In our experience, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics online is similar to Capcom Fighting Collection on Steam, but massively improved over Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. You can adjust input delay and cross region matchmaking as well. We tested most of the games and also did a bit of co-op in The Punisher. It just works despite the distance between us. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics ships with matchmaking support for casual matches, ranked matches, and also leaderboards including a High Score Challenge mode. I also want to note that when you rematch when playing online, the cursors remain correct so you can pick whoever you were playing as before in games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 instead of having to manually move the cursor each time to select your team. Little things like this add up to make the collection feel like a lot of love went into ensuring the best possible experience for players including ones learning the games for the first time. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics issues My biggest complaints with Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics are with how it has just a single save state (quick save) for the entire collection. This isn’t one single save state per game, but one for the entire collection. I was hoping this issue from Capcom Fighting Collection wouldn’t carry over but here we are. Another minor complaint and settings not being universal or an easy apply or toggle the light reduction or adjust visual filters at once. Having options per game is good, but I would’ve liked to just enable light reduction and turn off the filter for every game at once. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Steam Deck – Verified already I first tried Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Steam Deck and it works perfectly out of the box. Given it is Steam Deck Verified I shouldn’t be surprised, but you can never tell with new games until you try them yourself. When played on the Deck itself, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics runs at 720p and it supports 4K when docked. I played at 1440p for the most part docked and then 800p handheld. It is still 16:9 though with no 16:10 support. The Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics PC graphics options are under the PC Settings menu in options. These let you adjust resolution, display mode (fullscreen, borderless, windowed), and toggle v-sync. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Nintendo Switch While Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics looks fine on Switch, the biggest downgrade from other platforms is the load times. Going in and out of games on Steam and PS5 is almost instant while the Switch version has loading for basically everything. This adds up and since I’ve been playing it on all three platforms at once, it was very noticeable. I hope the connection strength option is added eventually as well since PlayStation and PC have it. The Switch version does support local wireless while the others do not though. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on PS5 I wish Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was native on PS5 rather than played via backward compatibility because PS5 Activity Card support would’ve been amazing to get in and out of different games from the dashboard. Barring that, it looks excellent on my 1440p monitor and loads quickly even when played off an external hard drive. You can move it to the SSD for even faster loading. I have no complaints with the PS4 version on PS5. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is one of Capcom’s best collections yet across everything and not just fighting games or arcade games. It offers superb extras, fantastic online play on Steam, and it has been a joy to experience these games for the first time. I just wish there was more than one save slot for the entire collection for save states. Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Steam Deck Review Score: 4.5/5

Later this month on September 27th, NIS America will release FuRyu’s action RPG Reynatis for Switch, Steam, PS5, and PS4 …

Continue reading "Reynatis Interview: Creative Producer TAKUMI, Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima, and Composer Yoko Shimomura discuss the game, coffee, and more"

Later this month on September 27th, NIS America will release FuRyu’s action RPG Reynatis for Switch, Steam, PS5, and PS4 in the West. Ahead of the launch, I had a chance to talk to Creative Producer TAKUMI, Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima, and Composer Yoko Shimomura about the game, inspirations, collaborations, how the project came into being, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, coffee, a potential Xbox release, and much more. This interview was conducted in parts with TAKUMI’s portion being done on video call with Alan from NIS America translating and then it being transcribed and edited for brevity. The portion with Kazushige Nojima and Yoko Shimomura was done over email and is towards the end of this interview. TouchArcade (TA): Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Furyu right now. TAKUMI: I’m a director and producer at Furyu. A lot of my work involves creating new games and working on brand new projects. For Reynatis specifically, I’m the person who came up with the main idea for the game. I produced it, I directed it, and I saw pretty much everything through from the beginning to the end so anything and everything related to Reynatis, I handled everything. TA: I’ve been playing FuRyu’s games through many publishers in the West from the 3DS days, leading into PS Vita, PS4, PS5, PC, and mostly on Nintendo Switch. It feels like Reynatis has the most hype around it from any game which I’ve seen from FuRyu. How does that make you feel as a creative producer? TAKUMI: First of all, I’m very happy. I take it very positively. I’m just simply pleased that people like it so much. About the buzz and attention it is getting, it feels like it’s actually more from abroad than inside Japan. I’ve been checking things out on Twitter and I noticed that a lot of times whenever they post information about the game, when they post trailers, when they post things like that, a lot of the comments that they’re receiving are from people outside of Japan. And so he says it seems like the fan base for this game abroad is large, or will be large. And it also seems like, as you mentioned, up till now, this game has been receiving more feedback and more positive user interaction than any other FuRyu game in the past. So I’m really pleased to see how it seems to be being received in the West so far. TA: Okay, so the game is obviously available now in Japan for people who live there to buy on console. How has the response been from players in Japan for the game? TAKUMI: As someone who’s liked Final Fantasy Kingdom Hearts and things like that, I feel that the fans of those works, basically the works of Tetsuya Nomura in particular, seem to have really latched onto the game. They really appreciate what I’m doing and I really get the sense that they kind of understand everything. I’ve seen that as they’ve been playing the game, they’ve been noticing things and seeing how the story progresses and being like, “Oh, yeah, that’s how it should be," or, “Yeah, I kind of expected that to happen." And so they’ve gotten really excited and really delved into the world of Reynatis. They’ve also, kind of without really even being prompted, have kind of taken things farther to the next level, like, “I wonder where he’s going to take the story from here. I wonder what’s going to come next. I wonder…" All these little sub things that he hadn’t really had a chance to maybe flesh out or think about yet are things that the fan base has already decided to move forward with and already decided to start thinking about what’s going to come in the future. Of course a creator, that makes me feel incredibly pleased and also kind of gets my creative juices flowing as it were, too, to think about what I want to do next. On the gameplay side of things, FuRyu games always kind of have areas that stand out a little bit more than others or have things about them that make them kind of unique and very FuRyu you could say. A lot of players have come to appreciate those things, too, and really enjoy those things as well. So for the people who really have always appreciated FuRyu games and have played them up until now and enjoyed them, they seem to be liking and enjoying the game as well. So far on both of those fronts, it seems that user reaction has been positive and people have really been enjoying it. TA: I’m glad you mentioned Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy because from when the game was revealed, a lot of my friends who are hardcore Kingdom Hearts fans and who have been following Final Fantasy for a long time, everyone brought up Final Fantasy Versus XIII’s trailer and everyone’s trying to draw parallels with that and talking about how is this connected here, is that connected there? Can you comment on whether Final Fantasy Versus XIII’s trailer and that whole hype cycle over there had any influence on the project. TAKUMI: So that question is a sensitive question, it’s a sensitive topic. There’s things that I can and cannot say in regards to it, but one thing I want to point it specifically is that as a fan of Nomura-san’s work and as someone who saw that original trailer for Versus XIII, and purely wondered what would this game have been like, what kind of game would this have been, how would it have played, and all these things like that running through my head, as a fan, I wanted to put myself on the same level as other fans. And as a representative of that fan base, I wanted to create my own take on it. If this game would have come out, maybe it would have turned out like this. So that feeling in terms of how Reynatis is related to Final Fantasy Versus XIII, you could say it’s something like that. I can’t speak too much beyond this little window of speaking, but I have talked to Nomura-san. They’ve talked about several things about this,and the idea is that Nomura-san knows what he’s thinking and the things that they’ve talked about. As a fan and as somebody who really loves these works, I really wanted it to be from one fan to all the other fans out there. I feel like that group of fans who did love those games, that’s who Reynatis is for. At the end of the day, all that really comes from that specific title is the inspiration. So seeing that initial trailer and that initial thought of “I wonder what this would be like" was an inspiration, certainly, for Reynatis. Reynatis is something that is wholly his own. It’s something that totally came from me as a creator. It is dyed in my own color as a creator. Everything that I wanted to express as a creator is what’s in this game. It’s not a copy or a rip-off of something else that’s come before, something that might have existed. It’s completely wholly my own. This was simply an initial spark of inspiration to make me think about what this world would be. Everything else about this world that is Reynatis is something that I made myself and created myself. TA: So out of the many FuRyu games I’ve played over the years since Lost Dimension and stuff like that, my favorites are The Caligula Effect 2, Crymachina, and The Alliance Alive. Every single game usually has I’d say 75% of it is really good with memorable story, music, and stuff like that. But there are some aspects which fall short, and we usually see either technical shortcomings or some people might not like the gameplay or something like that. So I wanted to know if you’re happy with the current state of the game because I know there are updates planned. TAKUMI: The game originally came out on July 25th in Japan, and from there, we had an actual play session where we streamed it, and there were people watching on Twitter, commenting, and since then, people have had a chance to play the game and receive their comments. Obviously, to recreate the game, or to do things on a fundamental level, that’s impossible, but obviously, small things that we can brush up, as we are going through, for example, boss balancing, the amount of time that enemies come out, little quality of life features that kind of have to do with those things, all of those things will be addressed in the updates that are coming out. There’s an update coming out on September 1st in Japan, and then either with that, or a little bit before that, we plan to, again, start addressing some of those issues Beyond that, obviously, if there’s any bugs or any kind of technical flaws or things like that, those are all intended to be addressed to over the coming months, because the last DLC is scheduled to come out in May, and so up until that time point, we are going to continue to work on the feedback that we’ve received, and implement as much as we can, as is reasonable and possible, into the game. One thing I also want to point out is that specifically for players in the West, the version of the game that you be getting, essentially, will be a version that’s been refined and brushed up, compared to everything that’s come out in Japan, so please look forward to the best version of the game when it does come out here in the West. TA: So I read the NIS America translated Famitsu interview with Takumi-san, Yoko Shimomura, and Kazushige Nojima in two parts (here and here). It was the two-part long interview and was really nice. So first, thank you to NIS America for translating that officially for us. Secondly, I wanted to touch on the part about how you approached both of them because it was very interesting and funny. I wanted to just ask you about that. How did you approach them directly? Is it just something like you messaged them or do you approach their representatives or the companies at all? TAKUMI: It was pretty much what I said in the interview. Most of this was direct. I reached out to them directly. I didn’t contact them through a company. I didn’t do super formal emails or uptight things. The thing about Shimomura-san specifically is that Furuyo had actually done some work with her in the past on some other titles, so I kind of had an in there, but even still I ended up reaching out to her through X / Twitter. For Naora-san, who was the illustrator for the game, it was a PM to him on X / Twitter. Kaburagi-san, who also did the illustrations, I spoke with him on X. Nojima-san, they did a lot of LINE. Even once the project had begun, a lot of the communication was still done via PMs and via private messaging and things like that. At no point was it ever really a very formal thing. I would just kind of reach out to people as necessary and say, “hey, what do you want to do about the music?" or something like that. It’s a lot rougher than you might have imagined in terms of how a company normally performs its business. TA: That’s hilarious. It makes sense why you contacted them because they are very talented folks, and while the premise and game seem interesting, I wanted to know what prior works of theirs made you reach out to them individually? What are your favorite works by them? TAKUMI: Well, basically, I’ve been playing Kingdom Hearts since I was a kid. I think the big part is that my personality and values were formed by Kingdom Hearts. So, when it comes to Shimomura-san’s music, I have a strong image of Kingdom Hearts. And then, in connection with that, I’ve been playing titles like Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X. I think Nojima-san’s scenario has a strong feeling from that. I think I’ll just say that I wanted to do Nojima-san’s scenario with Shimomura-san’s music. for Shimomura-san, obviously, most people think of Kingdom Hearts. It’s a really, really special game. It’s a series that I started playing when I was little. It influenced my values and who I am as a person. So, that was someone that I really wanted to work with specifically. In terms of Nojima-san, obviously, I’m a big fan of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, and works like that. I wanted to work with them because I just wanted to work with them. I liked their work and he wanted to work with them. TA: I wanted to know, before the game started production, what games did you play that maybe inspired some aspects of this thing? Did you start doing research and playing more action games from other developers to see how they are? TAKUMI: I’m honestly an action game fan to begin with. So, whether it be older titles, whether it be more recent titles, I feel like I’ve played them all. Whether you’d want to call that research or not is kind of something different, but I have played them and I have enjoyed them and obviously, there’s a lot of things that I’ve taken inspiration from, you could say, from within that. However, one thing I want to point out really specifically is that, and this is something you know as someone who’s played many FuRyu titles, is that FuRyu size-wise and scale-wise doesn’t have the budget to do something like a Final Fantasy VII Remake or a Rebirth. That’s just on another level. When I was creating the game and thinking about what I wanted to do, I thought carefully about what would be fun for the players. What will the players enjoy? Let’s make that and then let’s also try to make everything within the game something that’s fun. So for example, even beyond the gameplay, you have the scenario, you have the story, you have all of these things that individually are disparate, but all of them together are what makes Reynatis the experience that it is. I want players to experience it as a whole and not so much as an action game solely, for example. If you compare Reynatis to something like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it’s obviously not going to compete on that level. Where it can compete is on this level as an entire package, as a game experience that is the sum of its parts beyond being some specifically one thing. TA: Can you talk about how long Reynatis has been in production? TAKUMI: About three years, give or take. TA: So how was it working for the team during the pandemic? TAKUMI: The pandemic was just at its peak. I think it was a time when we couldn’t meet face to face and talk about it. But I don’t think I was in that much trouble. The development company that was actually developing it was basically all-in-one, and we were able to work with the top development team. If we had been able to communicate with them, I think we could have made the game without any problems. After the pandemic actually settled down, we were able to meet face to face. We were able to communicate while eating together. I don’t think there was a big problem in terms of development because we couldn’t meet face to face because of the coronavirus. Things kind of kicked off right at the beginning of the pandemic, specifically when it was really difficult to go out and actually meet people. Truthfully, at the very beginning, we didn’t have a lot of opportunity to actually meet face to face and talk about things.However, A, as time went on, and B, because we were having lots of meetings and things like that, the people that we were working with to develop it, all of them actually were in the office. Because we had a good direct line of communication with the development staff, the head of the development staff, we felt like there were no issues there. Also, as the project continued, things loosened up, and so I was able to meet people face to face. We were able to go out to eat and talk and have meetings and things like that. So things proceeded smoothly. Even in the midst of the beginning of the pandemic, when it was more difficult to meet people, I don’t feel that it really impacted the work negatively. We were able, and I specifically was able to do my work without any problem, and things proceeded well. So there were really no issues from that sense in regards to the pandemic situation. TA: So one of the things I noticed is, before the game was officially revealed for localization, there was a lot of hype around “NEO: The world ends with you. Everyone was speculating if this is part of the same universe or what’s happening And now we have an official collaboration, which is officially licensed and stuff like that. So I wanted to know two things: As a fan, play NEO :The World Ends with you and how did you approach Square Enix for the collaboration? TAKUMI: I played the original on DS in the beginning. I played the smartphone game that only lived for a brief period. I played Final Remix when it came out on Switch and then of course NEO: The World Ends With You as well. I’m a simple fan just like everyone else when it comes to the series. I have played them all. For the collaboration, I did go directly to Square Enix as a company and approached them from an official capacity as a company. Thinking in the console game space, looking at collaborations between companies it’s very rare. All I can think of is that there was a collaboration between Capcom and Konami using Metal Gear Peace Walker and Monster Hunter 2G. Aside from that, I can’t really think of anything else in terms of console creators coming together to make it. Because this is something that hasn’t really happened before, it had to be a bit more official. On the flip side, because it hasn’t happened before, there was really nobody I could talk to internally to be like, “Hey, so how do I go about approaching this? How do I go about making it happen?" I got a lot of feedback like “Oh, that’s impossible. You can’t do that." However, I have the kind of personality where I’m very strong and straightforward with things. I said “No, no, no, look, if it’s not impossible, there’s a way to do this. I’m going to find a way to do this." The simplest thing in that case was to drop the plan, to go to Square Enix directly and say, “Hey, look, I’m making this game. I really like The World Ends With You. The setting for my game is also Shibuya. Is there anything we can do together?" That’s basically how the collaboration came about. TA: Can you comment on what platforms Reynatis was always planned for? What was the lead platform? TAKUMI: All of the platforms were decided from the beginning, but as you mentioned, you have to come up with a lead platform. In this case, it would have been the Switch and so the Switch was the main, and then the others came out from there. TA: In the past, whenever I played FuRyu games, regardless of how much I liked them, the lead platform usually has some technical issues. I remember playing The Legend of Legacy on 3DS, which had a lot of technical issues, but now it’s perfect when you play it on modern platforms. Reynatis is a very visually striking and good-looking game from its trailers. So I was just wondering how it would run on Switch. TAKUMI: I understand where you’re coming from. Even though the Switch is the lead platform, honestly speaking, this game pushes the Switch to its limits. Within me, there’s two rules I have to fulfill for this game. One is the producer, and the other is the director. As the producer, I have to be more mindful of things like unit sales. How many players are going to purchase and play the game? So within that, obviously, it makes the most sense that you release a game on as many platforms as you possibly can to maximize those elements. On the flip side, as the director and as a player myself, it would have been great to focus on maybe one platform like PS5 or something to really push things to the next level. But at the same time, that’s a balance that I have to maintain within all things. There was a lot of internal struggle within how to handle that. But at the end of the day, the balance was essentially taken within those two elements of myself that I had to do. I’m happy with what came out. TA: So far, FuRyu games release on consoles in Japan and get ported to PC for the Western releases. Has Furyu ever considered doing PC internally in Japan for these games? TAKUMI: Actually, there was a title that came out recently that we did internally on PC. So it is something that we have been thinking about and working internally on. So yes, games are coming out made by us specifically for PC platforms. At this point, Mr. Sonobe, FuRyu Localization Coordinator, added that FuRyu has established a partnership with NIS (America) to sell full-priced console RPGs due to their expertise in translation, promotion, and sales capabilities. TA: The reason I ask is because we’ve seen a lot of promotions in Japan for Steam versions from publishers there. Like SEGA does with competitions for Like a Dragon and Steam Deck. Obviously you need to release on Switch, but you now also have a high end handheld PC. I see a lot of interest for Steam versions. Do you see more people recently asking for PC versions in Japan? TAKUMI: Please take this as my opinion specifically and not a representative of the industry. For me and the people around me, the two worlds are very different. There’s the world of console gaming, as we call it, and then there’s the world of PC gaming. Those worlds don’t necessarily meet, and it seems like the players of one specific place, like console or PC, generally want to keep their play experiences limited to that space specifically. If you were to divide it up into three things, you would have consoles, you would have PCs, and then you would have smartphones. And so these are kind of the three arenas that exist. And these are kind of the three arenas that people generally tend to stay in when they’re developing and releasing games. I don’t even necessarily know people who play on PC who have a Steam Deck or who want to play specifically on it. If they want to play a console game, they would play it on console if they had the desire to do so. That’s kind of where I feel the industry is specifically in Japan. TA: Because you mentioned smartphones, I think FuRyu has one title which is available in the West on smartphones through another partner, Arc System Works, which is The Alliance Alive Remastered. I believe it uses NIS America’s translation for English. Do you have plans as FuRyu to do more smartphone ports of premium games? TAKUMI: As a company we don’t have a plan to make games specifically for smartphones. It is more that our division specifically is focused on making console games and we believe that consoles are a place that can provide specific experiences that can only be provided by console games. The reason you saw something like The Alliance Alive Remastered come out on smartphones, was because we felt that it would be appropriate and because we thought it would still play well on the smartphone. For something like a super hardcore action game or something that would require more intricate controls, that wouldn’t really be suitable to be on smartphones so it wouldn’t happen. Our plan and goal going forward is to develop first for console and to bring out the best we can do in the console gaming space. IF that work is suitable enough to be brought to a smartphone, and still be able to be played well, and it doesn’t lose any of its intrinsic fun that you have from playing on console, then we will think about it in the future, but it kind of is on a case by case basis. TA: So I play FuRyu games on multiple platforms, but there’s one platform that hasn’t seen FuRyu support much. This question isn’t just from myself, but also from readers who usually want to know why some games aren’t coming to Xbox. only myself, but a lot of our readers also usually ask us to check in on the possibility? I know there could be many reasons for why, but I still wanted to ask you directly about this if there are plans to do Xbox Series X versions of these games from FuRyu? TAKUMI: Personally, I would like to do Xbox versions of the games but the reality is that in Japan there’s not enough demand from consumers. There’s not enough recognition from consumers for the platform itself to be able to justify being able to make an Xbox version. To talk about things from a development standpoint, you have to understand that adding another platform to the development cycle means you have to account for that within the schedule. Within that as well, the development team has to have the experience to be able, having worked on that platform, to be able to develop it appropriately for that platform. Because the team doesn’t have that experience, it suddenly becomes a very high hurdle to clear and be able to make this game. I would definitely like for us to be able to do it. I find it would be something that would be interesting. It’s just the reality of it that it’s a difficult thing to do for the reasons I mentioned. TA: Reynatis is coming out in the West in a few weeks. I wanted to know what you’re most excited to see when players get their hands on the game in the West? TAKUMI: I really want players to enjoy playing the game for a long time. Nowadays, you kind of have an issue that when a game comes out, it’s not uncommon for spoilers to get posted, whether that be videos or things like that. We’ve worked really hard to make sure that those spoilers don’t get out there. One of the ways that they’ve avoided having things spoiled is by having this– we talked about it a bit earlier–but by having this free DLC release schedule going forward that will bring up new story content and secret story content. There’s going to be one that comes out October 1 that will be global. NIS America will release the game in the West in September. So players will kind of have to catch up first, but after that, they get to experience everything in real time with the Japanese player base as well as the updates come out. I hope that this is something that encourages people to keep playing the game and to play it for a long time to come and to really enjoy what they’re playing and seeing all the secrets and things that they have, because these are things that, again, are going to be not spoiled because it’s all coming out at the same time once the game gets released in the West. TA: One of my favorite aspects of FuRyu games is always the art and music. That’s usually consistently very good. I wanted to know, are there any plans after all the DLC is out to have a Japanese release of the full art book covering everything and a full soundtrack? TAKUMI: At the moment there are no plans specifically to do either of the things that you mentioned, but in regards to the music I really think Shimomura-san made a fantastic soundtrack and I would love to be able to get that out there to people in some fashion. So, hopefully we can do it, but there are currently no plans. TA: Unrelated to Reynatis which we’ve covered a lot, I wanted to know what you’ve been playing outside of work in the last year, like in 2024, which you’ve enjoyed a lot, and what platforms you’ve been playing on? TAKUMI: So for this year, I played Tears of the Kingdom and I played Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Generally speaking, due to everything going on with Reynatis, I have a feeling that I didn’t get to play as much as I would have liked for everything else, but those are the two ones that I remember playing the most. Platform-wise, I probably played most on PS5. As an addition, I’m a huge Disney fan and I’m also a big fan of Star Wars. All the information coming out about the new Star Wars materials has gotten, like, kind of reawakened that fire that I have, for the Star Wars property, so I’ve really been enjoying Jedi Survivor. TA: What project that you’ve worked on so far is your favorite. If it is Reynatis, talk about another one as well. TAKUMI: So I’ve only worked on two games: Trinity Trigger and Reynatis. To talk about Trinity Trigger, I was only the director on that game so I didn’t have the opportunity to do anything on the Producer’s role so thinking about the broader scope of things and how to reach out to customers on that. That’s something I felt was an area missing for me. I really wanted to do it. As a result of having that feeling on Trinity Trigger, I was able to, when the time came to Reynatis, I was able to take on the role of Producer, Creative Producer, and Director and therefore I was able to do everything that I wanted to do in this game. To oversee every single aspect of it. By the same token, because Trinity Trigger was the first game I had worked on and I directed, I was able to do a lot of what I wanted to do with it. It is of course a title to him that remains really deep in his memory, but the game that I have the most affection for is Reynatis. TA: For a lot of people, when they see FuRyu’s games, there are quite a few available on current platforms. Reynatis has the most hype. What would you like to say to folks who are excited for this who have not played a FuRyu game before? TAKUMI: One of the things that I feel is most representative of FuRyu titles in general, is that they all have a very strong theme. If you look at each and every one of these games, the theme is very strong. The message reaching out to people is very strong. Reyantis is no different. This might be a rough or harsh way to put it, but if there are people who feel that they are weak, if there are people out there who feel like they are being put down by society, they can’t live and carry out their lives like they want to, I want you to play Reynatis. One of the big themes in the game is that within Japanese society itself, there’s a very famous expression that you’ve probably heard many times before: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down" People in Japan have a tendency to go with the flow, and supplement themselves into what the rest of society wants them to do or say, and as a result of that, many people kind of feel really pressured and they’re stifled within what they actually want to do. Whether it be in Japan or outside, if you feel that way, this is absolutely the game for you. The message within this is very strong and I feel like it will resonate with people who feel like they maybe are put down by society or that they are not a place they want to be in society. Going back to what we spoke about before, while the game might not be able to compete in the arena of graphics or richness in setting, the game does have a message that resonates just as strongly as for Final Fantasy VII if not more. I believe it can compete and beat it in that. I think that because the message in the game is so strong, it will remain in people’s hearts and minds and it will be something that will be a really positive and memorable experience for them. I hope people pick up the game for those reasons. This part of the interview with Yoko Shimomura and Kazushige Nojima was conducted over email. TA: How did you get involved in the Reynatis project? Yoko Shimomura: Via a sudden attack from TAKUMI. (laughs) TA: What have you learned composing for games for many years now and how do you implement these learnings in your future compositions and recent ones like Reynatis? Yoko Shimomura: It’s difficult to put into words. I think that experience does become a new power, but I mainly compose via feeling, so turning that into words is difficult. TA: My favorite soundtracks done by you are definitely LIVE A LIVE, Radiant Historia, and Street Fighter II. I’m very curious about the Reynatis soundtrack. What has been your favorite part of working on it so far? Yoko Shimomura: Thank you! The night before recording, even though I was totally worn out mentally and physically, I just had more and more compositions flowing out of me, which was fun. (laughs) I was really ablaze with the idea, “I’m definitely going to finish this!" TA: As a composer you have a very distinct style that when someone hears a work by you, they know you composed it. How do you feel that your style is recognizable through multiple iterations of technology? Yoko Shimomura: I wonder! I get told that a lot, but I don’t really understand it myself. People have said that in the past, my compositions tended to be different based on the work, so there isn’t really a feel that they were all composed by me. I think maybe my style hadn’t quite come out yet. TA: Were you inspired by any other games when working on the Reynatis soundtrack? Yoko Shimomura: I wasn’t influenced by any other work in particular. TA: You’ve worked on the scenarios of many of my favorite games of all time. How do you approach different games today compared to how you worked in the 90s? Kazushige Nojima: It depends on the game genre. For games where the narrative comes first, players today want a character who is a convincing portryal of a fully-fledged person, rather than a character that is an avatar for the player, as was common in the past. In that case, it then becomes important to give the world the character inhabits a sense of presence. I do like those old games that were more akin to a fairytale, though. I’d like to work on one again in the future. TA: How did you get involved with this project? Kazushige Nojima: I received a call from my old acquaintance, the composer Ms. Shimomura. She asked if it was OK to share my contact info with TAKUMI. Things started from there. TA: Is it influenced by Versus XIII in any way? Kazushige Nojima: I didn’t think it was when I was writing it, but I can’t say for certain. TA: Having now seen the game’s scenario all the way, what is your favorite aspect of it, and what do you think fans of your other work should pay attention to here? Kazushige Nojima: It’s difficult to answer this while avoiding spoilers. I think that Marin’s change in mannerisms [throughout the course of the game] is well-depicted. TA: What have you enjoyed playing this year and have you played Reynatis yet? Kazushige Nojima: I’ve been doing nothing but dying in it, but I’ve enjoyed ELDEN RING. I’ve also enjoyed Dragon’s Dogma 2. Embarassingly enough, I’m only partway through REYNATIS. Sure enough, I’m just not good at action games, so for the games I mentioned, I’m enjoying the atmosphere of their worlds. I think the game I’ve played the most of is Euro Truck Simulator. TA: So now the last question is for everyone here. How do you like your coffee? TAKUMI: I don’t actually like coffee. *laughs* I don’t like things that are really bitter. I generally go for iced tea or black tea. If I’m going to drink coffee, I’m going to put a ton of cream, milk, or sugar to drink it. It is kind of funny that in university, I worked at Starbucks so I had to know a lot about coffee, so it is kind of funny that way. Alan Costa: I like coffee with milk or soy milk. If I’m drinking iced coffee, I like just an americano with just ice and no sugar. The two responses below were via email. Yoko Shimomura: I like iced tea. I drink it all the time. I like doubling up [on the bags] to make it strong. Kazushige Nojima: Black. And strong. I’d like to thank TAKUMI, Alan Costa, Chihiro MacLeese, Mr Sonobe, Anna Lee, and Lottie Diao for their time and help with this interview. Editor’s note: I unfortunately lost the recording I took myself where the other attendees from NIS America and FuRyu mentioned how they had their coffee and could only include these two. You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with FuturLab here, Shuhei Matsumoto from Capcom about Marvel Vs Capcom here, Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 6th, 2024. Well, this is the last one. You’ll …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku’, Plus New Releases, Sales, and Good-Byes"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 6th, 2024. Well, this is the last one. You’ll see one more special from me next week with a few reviews that have specific embargo dates, but this is the final regular SwitchArcade Round-Up for TouchArcade by yours truly. We’ve been at this for several years and I wish I could have seen the Switch through to its end with these articles, but circumstances dictate another course. We’re going out with another chunky one, with a pair of reviews from our pal Mikhail, a pair of Shaun reviews, a handful of new release summaries, and the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Let’s ride one last time! Reviews & Mini-Views Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU ($49.99) After Imagineer’s success with the Fitness Boxing games that led to the hilarious but good Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star, I didn’t know what IP the team would work with for a new fitness game. When Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU was announced, I thought it was a smart collaboration, but was curious to see how the game felt after Fist of the North Star. I’ve been playing it over the last few weeks alongside Ring Fit Adventure and I’m impressed with Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU in many ways. If you’re new to the Fitness Boxing series, these games, as the name suggests, use boxing and rhythm game movements to get you into shape through daily exercises, mini-games that also get you sweating, and more. With Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU, everyone’s favorite vocaloid gets in on the action and there’s even a separate dedicated mode for her songs in addition to the normal songs included in this release. Keep in mind that this is a Joy-Con only game so you can’t play it with a Pro Controller or any third party accessories as far as I’m aware. As with other games in the series, there are difficulty options, a free training mode to do as you please, warmups, and tracking with reminders and the systemwide alarm that can remind you even if your Switch is in sleep mode. There are cosmetics you can unlock through the points you earn by playing as well. I can’t comment on the DLC yet, but as for the base release, I liked Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU more than Fist of the North Star aside from one issue. The audio in Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU is great, but the main instructor’s voice isn’t great. I ended up turning this voice down because it felt out of place with the rest of the game, and just sounded a bit weirdly directed. Just like the Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star release from Imagineer, Fitness Boxing feat. HATSUNE MIKU is a solid fitness-focused game that does a great job of bringing Miku to the world of Fitness Boxing to try and appeal to her fans. While it is a competent fitness game with its daily workout, customization, and tracking, I feel like it would be better as a complement to something like Ring Fit Adventure or your own other exercise routine rather than being the sole exercise you do during the week. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Magical Delicacy ($24.99) Magical Delicacy from sKaule and Whitethorn Games is one I hadn’t paid much attention to until a friend of mine linked me to an Xbox Game Pass announcement for it. Since then, I’ve played it on Switch as well, but feel like it needs a bit more time in the oven. I adore Metroidvania-style platformers and cooking games, but it feels like Magical Delicacy takes the good bits of both genres while not putting them together in the best way possible. This results in a game I adore in parts, but one where the flaws hurt a bit more. You play as Flora who is a young witch in a story that’s equal parts mysterious, magical, and wholesome. Your aim is to cook meals and craft for various folks, and I was surprised at how well the exploration was implemented aside from the backtracking that annoyed me sometimes. I expected it to be lacking compared to the cooking and crafting, but the team nailed the Metroidvania elements. There are some issues with ingredients in the crafting and in how inventory is managed. This is made a bit worse by the UI that I took a while to get used to with interaction. Magical Delicacy makes a great first impression with its gorgeous pixel art visuals, lovely music, and tons of settings. The latter includes UI scale and text options that are both very useful when playing on Switch in handheld mode. I feel like Magical Delicacy would have benefited a lot from an early access release or will from potential updates. When it comes to the Switch version, it plays very well aside from some seemingly frame pacing-related hiccups. It has good rumble as well. Having played it on Xbox Series X, this is definitely a game I’d play more on a portable so a Switch or Steam Deck version would be best. I just play the genre more on handhelds. Magical Delicacy is a game I should’ve loved given it is basically a blend of a Metroidvania and a crooking/crafting game, but it feels a little undercooked (I couldn’t resist) in parts thanks to some inventory and backtracking issues. While it is a very good game right now that feels at home on Switch, a few quality of life updates and polishing will make it an essential. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Aero The Acro-Bat 2 ($5.99) A lot of companies tried their hand at the whole mascot platformer thing in the 16-bit era in the wake of Sonic the Hedgehog‘s explosive success. Like, the sheer number of them is just baffling. Even more than I remembered. Not many of them managed to see sequels, but Aero The Acro-Bat is part of that elite few. How each member of that club got there is its own story, but in Aero’s case it seems to have been a combination of the first game going over well enough, and sheer force of will to try and make fetch happen. Sadly, fetch did not happen. Aero spin-off Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel launched several months after Aero 2, but outside of that Aero was never seen in another original title again. Does that make Aero The Acro-Bat 2 a bad game? I don’t think so. It doesn’t seem like it was a big enough success to merit another follow-up, at the very least. But then again, Sunsoft’s parent company had recently lost a ton of money on a bad investment involving golf courses, and that certainly put it in a fiscally conservative mood for a while. Either way, I don’t think the fault can be placed on the quality of the game. It’s as good as the first game was, with all that implies. A more polished experience that in shedding some of those rough edges loses some of its character, but a decent enough platforming romp. I was fully expecting this release to be in Ratalaika’s usual emulation wrapper, but much to my surprise there’s been an upgrade in the presentation. This feels a lot more tailor-made for the game, and in terms of both options and extras I think this is a far better experience overall. Box and manual scans, achievements, a gallery of sprite sheets, a jukebox, a bunch of cheats, and more. I frankly have no complaints at all about how the game plays and the suite of features here. The only nit I will pick is that you only get the Super NES version of the game here. I feel like the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version should have been included too, just to keep everyone happy. Those who enjoyed Aero The Acro-Bat should naturally give Aero The Acro-Bat 2 a shot. I even think those who were slightly put off by the first game’s quirks might have a better time here. I really have to commend Ratalaika for stepping up its game with the emulation wrapper for this release. Perhaps I’m being greedy, but I’d love to see the first game updated with a similar interface just for consistency. A fine release for Aero fans and those on the look out for 16-bit platformers to play, and one that makes me optimistic for the remaining reissues of this series. SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Metro Quester | Osaka ($19.99) I got quite a bit of enjoyment out of the original Metro Quester when it released a while back. It’s a bit of a bear to get into, but once you understand its rules and what you have to do, it’s an immensely satisfying dungeon-crawling turn-based RPG. Experimenting with party builds to try to find the optimal team was a task I truly enjoyed taking on. With that in mind, I was very happy to see that there was another game in the series coming. Metro Quester | Osaka feels a little more like an expansion pack than a proper sequel, but I’m more than happy with that given how much I got out of the original. The story here is a prequel to the original game, and we’ve moved to Osaka as a setting. You get a whole new dungeon to explore, and some new character types to do that exploring with. Osaka is a much wetter location, so you’ll need to use your canoe to travel over the water in places. With the new dungeon comes new weapons, skills, and enemies to deal with. Definitely more to chew on here for those who have wrung out the original game, and if you had a good time there then you will enjoy this one, too. That said, this game shares much of its broader mechanics with the original Metro Quester. If you need an explanation, please check out my review of that game for more details. Short version: turn-based combat, top-down dungeon exploration, and a whole lot of inching your way outward a little further each time before having to head back to camp. You know, the good stuff. Those who are careless will find themselves in hot water very quickly, as planning and cautious play is practically a necessity in this game. Those who found themselves fully absorbed in Metro Quester will find plenty to enjoy in Metro Quester | Osaka, and new players should probably just skip right to this game. It’s more of an expansion pack than a sequel, but that in no way should be taken as a bad thing. Rather, it just seems like the designer wanted to send players on another adventure that pushes out the existing systems in some fascinating ways. It’s certainly a game you’ll have to be patient with to get the most out of, but those willing to invest the time will enjoy the dividends. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Select New Releases NBA 2K25 ($59.99) NBA 2K is back… in 25 form! You know, I find myself wondering something. What happens to the name of this series when we hit the year 2100? NBA 2K100? Just feels weird. We’ll have to talk about that when the situation arises, I suppose. Apparently this year’s version has improved gameplay, a new feature called Neighborhood, and some nonsense about MyTEAM. I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going on here, so instead I will just toss out the amount of space you’ll need on your memory card for this game and then move on. Here we go. 53.3 GB! Shogun Showdown ($14.99) Got room in your heart for another riff on Darkest Dungeon? This one has a Japanese-inspired setting, and there are a few bits in here that change things up a little. Setting all of that aside, this is very much a familiar style of game and I think it’s a decent enough example of such to be of interest to those on the hunt for another one. Aero The Acro-Bat 2 ($5.99) Well, there’s a review up above this section, but in case you’re in the habit of skipping down the page, let me fill you in. This is the somewhat more polished sequel to the successful Aero The Acro-Bat, all done up in Ratalaika’s emulator wrapper. Said wrapper was given additional effort for this release, and it looks good! The version of the game included is the Super NES one, and you can play the North American release or the Japanese one. I wish the Genesis/Mega Drive version was in here, but I can’t imagine Aero fans being unhappy with this overall outside of that. Sunsoft is Back! Retro Game Selection ($9.99) Sunsoft is back! Okay, Sunsoft has been back for a while now, and you probably don’t need a trio of heretofore non-localized Famicom games to sell you on that. So instead let the games sell you on themselves, as you get a trio of unique and varied titles in this bunch. A side-scrolling action platformer, an adventure game, and an action-RPG of sorts. I reviewed this set a couple of days ago, so I advise checking that out if you need more details. Short version: if you like weird old games, this is a good pick-up. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Some fun stuff in the inbox today, including a really good price on the Cosmic Fantasy Collection. A little dear at its normal price, but at 40% off I think it is worth considering for retro RPG fans. I’ll also call out the enjoyable platformer Tinykin, which is at its lowest price yet. Have a good look through those lists and see what catches your eye. Select New Sales Zombie Army Trilogy ($8.74 from $34.99 until 9/12) Zombie Army 4: Dead War ($14.99 from $49.99 until 9/12) Wild Seas ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/12) Chants of Sennaar ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/13) The House of Da Vinci 3 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/13) Warhammer 40k: Boltgun ($15.39 from $21.99 until 9/13) Toziuha Night: Dracula’s Revenge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/16) Monkey Barrels ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Banchou Tactics ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/19) Transiruby ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Picontier ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/19) Kamiko ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/19) Fairune Collection ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/19) Alchemic Dungeons DX ($3.19 from $7.99 until 9/19) Ninja Smasher! ($6.39 from $7.99 until 9/19) Ninja Striker! ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/19) Great Ambition of the Slimes ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/19) Shinobi Non Grata ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/19) Let’s Build a Zoo ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/20) Owlboy ($8.74 from $24.99 until 9/20) Hakuoki: Wind & Blossom ($44.99 from $49.99 until 9/20) Omen of Sorrow ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/20) Dungeonoid 2 Awakening ($4.49 from $8.99 until 9/20) The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt CE ($23.99 from $59.99 until 9/22) Knights of Grayfang ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Gale of Windoria ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Justice Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Armed Emeth ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Jinshin ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Alphadia Genesis ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Grace of Letoile ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/26) Tinykin ($6.24 from $24.99 until 9/26) Despot’s Game ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Cosmic Fantasy Collection ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/26) Cosmic Fantasy ($15.90 from $26.50 until 9/26) Cosmic Fantasy 2 ($15.90 from $26.50 until 9/26) Spirittea ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Punch Club 2: Fast Forward ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Railway Empire 2 ($37.49 from $49.99 until 9/26) Lil’ Guardsman ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Potion Craft Alchemist Simulator ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Euphoria ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/26) Of The Red, the Light, & Ayakashi ($25.06 from $50.13 until 9/26) Modern Combat Blackout ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/26) The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/26) Arrest of a Stone Buddha ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/26) Fading Afternoon ($16.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Astor: Blade of the Monolith ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/26) Tamarak Trail ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/26) Rigid Force Redux ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Yaga ($6.24 from $24.99 until 9/26) Rabi-Ribi ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/26) Sales Ending This Weekend Dead in Vinland: True Viking ($2.79 from $27.99 until 9/7) Gunslugs ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Gunslugs 2 ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Heroes of Loot ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Heroes of Loot 2 ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/7) Meganoid ($5.39 from $8.99 until 9/7) NOISZ re:||COLLECTION G ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/7) Phoenotopia: Awakening ($6.99 from $19.99 until 9/7) Space Grunts ($8.39 from $13.99 until 9/7) Stardash ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/7) Superhot ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/7) Dormitory Love ($24.49 from $34.99 until 9/8) Dying Light: Definitive Edition ($9.99 from $49.99 until 9/8) Fur Squadron ($2.79 from $6.99 until 9/8) Tchia: Oleti Edition ($23.44 from $34.99 until 9/8) That’s all for today, this week, this month, this year, and forever, friends. I haven’t been very loud about this, but this is not only the end of the SwitchArcade Round-Up, but also of my eleven and a half years at TouchArcade. I’ll still be writing here and there at my blog at Post Game Content as well as putting up exclusive articles on my Patreon, but other than that I think I’m hanging up the ol’ webs on this specific kind of work. Twenty-six years in this end of the business is a good run, and I’m ready for new challenges. Do look for me at one of the aforementioned places, hit me up on BlueSky and say hi, and if you’re a fancy executive looking to hire a very seasoned writer, I’m your guy. With that said, I will extend the highest possible gratitude to all of TouchArcade’s readers for being with me on this leg of my life’s journey. I treasure all of you more than you can know. I wish you all the sincerest happiness in your lives, and forever and always – thanks for reading.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. If you missed my Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 Steam …

Continue reading "Steam Deck Weekly: NBA 2K25, ARCO, ODDADA, DATE a LIVE Ren Dystopia, Star Trucker, Skull and Bones, & More Reviews With New Verified Games"

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. If you missed my Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck review, read it here. Today’s article focuses on Steam Deck impressions and reviews for many games I’ve been playing over the last few weeks with the Steam Deck Verified games and one notable set of discounts on right now. Steam Deck Game Reviews & Impressions NBA 2K25 Steam Deck Review While many scoff at yearly sports releases, I’ve always been a fan of 2K’s NBA games despite the issues. NBA 2K25 is notable for a few reasons. The first is that this is the first time since the PS5 generation began that the PC version of NBA 2K25 is actually the “Next Gen" version rather than being based on the older consoles. The second reason is that the official PC FAQ confirmed that NBA 2K25 is optimized for Steam Deck. While it doesn’t have an official rating from Valve yet, this was great to see. Now that I’ve played NBA 2K25 on Steam Deck and also both consoles thanks to review codes and buying a disc, I’m more than pleased with the game, but it has some of the usual issues you’d expect. If you’ve been playing NBA 2K on PC for a few years, the standout features of this year’s entry are the ProPLAY technology for improved gameplay which has only been on PS5 and Xbox Series X prior to NBA 2K25. WNBA also makes its PC debut with NBA 2K25 alongside the MyNBA mode. If you ended up skipping the last few years of NBA 2K games on PC in the hope of getting the full experience, NBA 2K25 is it for sure, and I hope it does well enough se we keep seeing not only the Next Gen version on PC, but also 2K doing good work on Steam Deck. On PC and Steam Deck, NBA 2K25 has 16:10 and 800p support which is already a good sign. Beyond that, it has AMD FSR 2, DLSS, and XeSS support, but I disabled this. I’ll get into why a bit later. You can also adjust v-sync, dynamic v-sync that targets 90fps during gameplay and 45fps outside that (including The City), toggle HDR (yes it works on Steam Deck), texture detail, overall quality, and two shader options. I recommend letting the game cache all the shaders on initial boot for the best possible experience during gameplay. For some reason, NBA 2K25 on Steam Deck does a quick shader cache on each boot. It isn’t too long but is notable. The NBA 2K25 PC graphics options have an advanced menu with many options including shader detail, shadow detail, player detail, crowd detail, NPC density, volumetric effects, reflections, era filters, global illumination, ambient occlusion, TAA, motion blur, depth of field, bloom, and max anisotropy. This is quite a feature packed PC port when it comes to settings. I left most on low or medium with turning off the upscaling since it made gameplay look a bit too blurry. The main settings I left at medium were player level and shader detail. I also capped the game to 60fps at 60hz using the Steam Deck quick access menu. This provided the best and most stable experience with better clarity than the defaults. Speaking of the default, if you don’t care about adjusting any settings, the game has a Steam Deck visual preset which works fine out of the box, but it looked a bit too blurry for my liking. This is what made me play around with the settings over the last few days. I was curious if NBA 2K25 is playable offline. I know many of the modes require an internet connection but what happens if you try booting up the game when not online? When trying this on my Steam Deck OLED in airplane mode with wifi turned off, the game booted up but didn’t let me load MyCAREER or MyTEAM. There’s a Connect option in the menu to retry connection, but I could get into quick play and eras fine while offline. I noticed some load times were quicker when offline as well. When looking at the console versions, NBA 2K25 is a much better experience than Steam Deck technically, but I find myself playing it more on Valve’s handheld after years of enjoying these games on Switch and more-recently on Steam Deck. The biggest differentiator is the load times. Even on my Steam Deck OLED’s internal SSD, NBA 2K25 doesn’t load as fast as PS5 or Xbox Series X. It isn’t as bad as older systems, but this was a notable difference. Beyond that, keep in mind that there is no crossplay for the PC version with both consoles. As with every recent NBA 2K, the microtransactions are still a problem. This is important if you want to play some of the modes that have a focus on them. If you just want to get this to have a great looking and playing basketball game, they might as well not exist, but keep that in mind when you make your purchase since NBA 2K25 is a $69.99 game on PC as opposed to being priced lower for the last few years. With NBA 2K25, the Steam Deck now delivers a fantastic portable basketball experience at feature parity with PS5 and Xbox Series X. With a bit of tweaking, it looks and runs great, and I’m glad to see 2K finally bring all the features to PC after many years. If you own a Steam Deck and were hoping for a good experience with NBA 2K25, 2K and Visual Concepts have delivered. Just be aware of the microtransactions in some of the game modes though. NBA 2K25 Steam Deck review score: 4/5 Gimmick! 2 Steam Deck Impressions If you’re not familiar with Gimmick! 2 yet, read Shaun’s review of the Switch version here. I was curious to see how it felt on Steam Deck. As of this writing, Gimmick! 2 hasn’t been tested by Valve, but it runs fine out of the box. In fact, it even has a mention of Steam Deck and Linux fixes in its newest patch. Gimmick! 2 is currently capped at 60fps on Steam Deck, and I even recommend forcing your Steam Deck screen to 60hz if you play on an OLED to avoid any jitter issues. There are no graphics options at all, but it does seem to support 16:10 display by default for the menus at least. When I forced the game to run at 1080p on the Steam Deck’s own screen, I wanted to make sure the game wasn’t stretching the visuals like some others do. I can confirm it indeed supports 16:10 properly after making sure of the aspect ratio of the UI and other elements. This only applies to menus though as the actual gameplay runs at 16:9. While I was hoping to see Gimmick! 2 support above 60fps, it isn’t a deal breaker or even close. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets Steam Deck Verified soon because it runs perfectly out of the box. As for the game itself, I definitely agree with Shaun’s review linked above. I’m just glad to see Gimmick! 2 run so well out of the box on Steam Deck. Arco Steam Deck Mini Review Arco is a game I adored from the get go, but it felt like it was a few updates away from greatness. The dynamic turn-based RPG with pixel art visuals and a lovely story hit PC and Switch a few weeks ago, and it has gotten a major update on Steam already fixing most of my issues. As of this writing, the update isn’t live on Switch and I decided to review the Steam Deck version since that is the most up to date right now. When looking at Arco trailers, you might think it is just a nice looking tactical game. Well, it is a lot more than that, and the combat system is very interesting. In fact, the audio and story surprised me the most. Arco has you experiencing different stories with characters that have unique gameplay styles (in a way). While it is a turn-based affair, there are real-time elements. I saw someone call it Superhot meets a pixel art tactical RPG and I feel like that isn’t giving you the full picture, but it is a glimpse into the kind of blend of gameplay you can expect here. On Steam Deck, Arco ships Verified from the get go, and I had no issues playing it on both my Steam Decks. It is capped to 60fps as far as I can tell and has 16:9 support only. The current build on Steam Deck includes an assist mode (beta) letting you skip combat, get infinite dynamite, and more. These are good to have if you want to skip the combat, but I’m happiest about the option to skip the first act when replaying the game. On paper, Arco seemed like it would be very good, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do now. It feels dynamic across the board with superb visuals, music, and a lovely story. If you want an interesting tactical RPG with a memorable story, get Arco right now. There’s even a free demo you can try on Steam right now. Arco Steam Deck review score: 5/5 Skull and Bones Steam Deck Steam Deck Mini Review Skull and Bones is an interesting release to cover. It launched on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC earlier this year, but wasn’t on Steam until just over a week ago. Having never played it before, I wasn’t sure what to expect aside from a friend of mine telling me he enjoyed it despite its many flaws on Xbox. I was also curious to see how it felt on Steam Deck as a current generation console title, but Ubisoft posting about it being playable gave me some hope. For this review, I’m focusing on the Steam Deck port more than the game. On Steam Deck, Skull and Bones has an official Valve rating of being Playable. On booting it up for the first time, you have to login to your Ubisoft Connect account and this process isn’t smooth because the interface feels sluggish. I was hoping it would just pick up my details since I logged into Ubisoft Connect for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but I had to do it again for Skull and Bones. Beyond that, the tutorial runs fine, but I wanted to get more stable performance. I set it to a 30fps frame rate limit and it runs at 16:10 and 800p. I opted for FSR 2 quality upscaling as well, though performance is more stable with the performance upscaling preset. I left everything else on low aside from textures which I set to high. I found this delivered a good experience overall. As for Skull and Bones as a game itself, I’m still early on since I’ve only played it for just over a week now, but I see the potential here. If Ubisoft keeps supporting it, it will be an easier recommendation. It is already a better experience than before looking at what was added in recent updates. Skull and Bones is a hard game to recommend at full price, but I do recommend checking out the free trial. I enjoy naval combat and open world Ubisoft games, and Skull and Bones with all its updates so far is good, but it has potential to be better. If you do plan on playing Skull and Bones on Steam Deck, keep in mind that it is an online only experience. I will likely grab it on console to also play there with cross progression. Skull and Bones Steam Deck review score: TBA ODDADA Steam Deck Review I love interactive toys like Townscaper because they are excellent at letting me spend a few minutes trying to create something cool. When ODDADA was announced, it felt like the next great interactive toy for me, and that’s exactly what it ended up being with a small caveat in its controls. ODDADA is not technically a game, but a music maker hybrid that feels like a game. The aesthetic reminds me of Windosill in a way, but it really is a gorgeous and elegant little toolbox with a plethora of ways for you to create something special. You interact with it using a mouse or touch controls on Steam Deck, and slowly progress through the different levels and instruments working your way to the end. The randomness element makes it so every creation sounds and feels different. On Steam Deck, I mentioned ODDADA has no controller support yet, but it runs perfectly at 90fps out of the box. There are a few graphics options like resolution, v-sync, and anti-aliasing toggles. You don’t need to worry much about settings in this one, but the text in the menu is a bit small for Steam Deck. Aside from the lack of controller support, I have nothing bad to say about ODDADA. I would argue that even with full controller support, it will play best with touch or mouse controls, but I know some folks prefer a controller across the board. If you enjoy music, art, or just want to make your own music with a lovely little game, ODDADA is for you. In its current state, ODDADA doesn’t have controller support, but it plays perfectly with touch controls on Steam Deck. The team is working on getting it Steam Deck Verified so keep that in mind if you plan on purchasing it now or later. ODDADA Steam Deck review score: 4.5/5 Star Trucker Steam Deck Mini Review Sometimes, a game is released blending two genres together in a way that might not satiate either fanbase. These situations can result in a game that doesn’t hit as hard for anyone, but there’s also a chance that it manages to capture a new audience. I feel like Star Trucker is one of those with how it tries to do automobile simulation and space exploration at once, but without going too deep into either of those genres. This one hasn’t been rated by Valve, but I didn’t have any issues playing it on Proton Experimental right now. Your aim in Star Trucker is to explore space, take on jobs, earn money, and unlock more to do on the massive galactic map. It includes many difficulty options and the ability to tweak things as you like before starting a new game. While I love the gameplay loop, the real highlights are the visuals, writing, and voiced banter on the radio. On PC and Steam Deck, Star Trucker lets you adjust video mode, resolution (16:10 support included), refresh rate, v-sync, graphics quality, render scale, shadow quality, temporal anti-aliasing, ambient occlusion, mesh detail, and light shafts. I opted to use a custom preset with low shadows but left everything else at normal. I also turned off temporal anti-aliasing. This was good enough for a 40fps or so target. I’m sure someone will find a better compromise in visuals for improved performance, but I was happy with this while playing. The major issues holding Star Trucker back are the controls that took me a good while to get used to. I hope these see some improvements in updates. Star Trucker surprised me with its blend of truck simulation and its setting in a way I didn’t think was possible. This feels like a game catering to what I enjoy a lot in automobile simulation and exploration games. While it might not be for everyone, I’ve enjoyed playing Star Trucker quite a bit ever since I got review code on Steam Deck. I hope the developers optimize it a bit more for Valve’s handheld though. Star Trucker Steam Deck review score: 4/5 DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia Steam Deck Mini Review Originally released in Japan on PS4 only back in 2020, Sting and Idea Factory’s DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia has made its way to the West only on Steam, and it is a great follow up to DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation. If you’re not familiar with it, Date A Live is a light novels series from Koshi Tachibana with illustrations by Tsunako. DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation was a great introduction to that world, and every fan of that release needs to play DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia has you playing as Shido who has a dream about a girl named Ren, and this is where the narrative begins with multiple paths and returning characters. There are many choices to make as you’d expect, and it is all accompanied by very good art from Tsunako. DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia feels more lighthearted across the board, and it serves as a perfect compliment and follow-up to DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation. I’m just surprised it took this long to see it released in English. DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia runs perfectly on Stema Deck out of the box. I didn’t need to change anything. It has 16:9 support at 720p and plays all cut-scenes without issues out of the box. I recommend checking the system settings to ensure the confirm button is set to A and not B. Also make sure it isn’t stretching the 16:9 image to 16:10 in fullscreen mode. DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is an easy recommendation for fans of DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation with its lovely art, music, and memorable characters. I don’t recommend playing it before Rio Reincarnation though. DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia Steam Deck Review Score: 4/5 Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES Steam Deck Review Impressions I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen a free game update or re-launch get a new store page on Steam, but that’s what happened with Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES. When SEGA reached out asking if I wanted to try the update early, I figured it would just be early access to the update, but not a brand new app on Steam. I always thought Total War: PHARAOH was good and had potential, but it clearly wasn’t ready for a full price launch when it debuted. Fast forward to today, Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES is exactly what the original should’ve been, and it is an easy recommendation on PC, but the Steam Deck version has some caveats. Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES builds on the original by nearly doubling the main campaign content, adding in four new factions, the Dynasty system, and tons of improvements to existing areas of the game. If you already own Total War: PHARAOH, Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES will feel like a sequel in some ways, but also an enhanced re-release in others. It is a great game right now. On Steam Deck, Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES still doesn’t have controller support, but it is playable with the trackpad and touch controls. I’m still playing it on and off to see how it feels, but my initial impressions are very positive as someone who enjoyed the original Total War: PHARAOH but thought it needed more work. Pinball FX Steam Deck Impressions Shaun has been talking about Zen Studios’ Pinball FX series so much over the years, that I’ve always wanted to check it out on a handheld. I ended up getting some of the tables for older games on Switch before, but with the new digital version of the game simply titled Pinball FX out on Steam since last year, I was curious how it would play on Steam Deck. When the two new DLC tables were released, I downloaded the game on Steam Deck to see how it and the DLC tables felt. What surprised me the most is the PC port features, and how it plays on Steam Deck. I’ve not played every single DLC table so I can’t comment on how the game will run there, but having access to a lot of PC graphics options including proper HDR support on Steam Deck makes it hard to not recommend at least downloading the free client to see how you find it. As for the gameplay, I’ve played about 7 tables since getting the game, and I love this release. I’m looking forward to covering more of these tables in the future, but Pinball FX feels like a love letter to the world of pinball. While not a review, Pinball FX is absolutely worth your time on Steam Deck. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, I recommend grabbing the free to play version on Steam to access a few of the tables at no additional cost. This will let you see how the game looks and runs on Steam Deck as well as sampling a bit of the many tables available as paid DLC. New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week I’m surprised Black Myth: Wukong is marked Unsupported and not Playable given it performs better than a lot of Verified games. I’m glad to see Hookah Haze and OneShot: World Machine Edition Verified this week. I’m looking forward to playing them both. Black Myth: Wukong – Unsupported (Read my review here showing it is playable) F1 Manager 2024 – Playable Hidden Through Time 2: Discovery – Playable Hookah Haze – Verified METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED – Verified OneShot: World Machine Edition – Verified Slash Quest – Verified Syberia – Verified Toree’s Panic Pack – Verified Volgarr the Viking II – Playable Steam Deck Game Sales, Discounts, and Specials Check out the Games from Croatia sale with discounts on the amazing Talos Principle series and much more this week. This sale is on until Monday morning. That’s all for this edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. As usual, you can read all our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback for this feature or what else you’d like to see us do around the Steam Deck, let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Apple just announced October 2024’s new Apple Arcade games with NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition () as the headliner. Following yesterday’s …

Continue reading "‘NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition’ Headlines October 2024’s New Apple Arcade Releases With Three App Store Greats"

Apple just announced October 2024’s new Apple Arcade games with NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition () as the headliner. Following yesterday’s news about Balatro, Apple confirmed that NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition will release on October 3rd with three App Store Greats. NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition is notable because it marks the debut of The Neighborhood on iOS letting you explore the immersive world, outdoor streetball courts, NBA legends recruiting, a new badge system, and more with limited-time quests planned. Check out the NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition gameplay screenshot below: Alongside NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition, we have Smash Hit+, Furistas Cat Cafe+, and Food Truck Pup+ joining Apple Arcade as App Store Greats. I’ve only played the first of those before so I will be checking out the others assuming I can stop playing Balatro+. If you’d like to sign up to get the new games, check out NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition here on Apple Arcade. With Balatro+ and NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition this is definitely the best month in a while for the service. What do you think of the newly revealed Apple Arcade games?

Well here it is, friends. This will be the last of my retro game eShop lists, mostly because I am …

Continue reading "The 10 Best PlayStation 1 Games on Nintendo Switch – SwitchArcade Special"

Well here it is, friends. This will be the last of my retro game eShop lists, mostly because I am running out of retro consoles with a good variety of games to choose from. I’ve left one of the best for last, though: the PlayStation. Sony’s first whack at the ol’ console market succeeded beyond any expectations, and it’s little wonder it built a library so full of great games that we still see re-releases to this day. Sure, these games gave Nintendo a black eye a quarter of a century ago, but it’s all smiles now for everyone who can enjoy them on their platforms of choice. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, in no particular order of course. On with the PlaySta-Show! Klonoa: The Door to Phantomile – Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series ($39.99) Klonoa is a really great game that probably didn’t get as much attention as it deserved, but got enough that it didn’t go totally unnoticed. Probably one of the more successful 2.5D platformers on the console, even. You play as a little floppy-eared cat-creature who is navigating the world of dreams to stop a dangerous threat. Vibrant visuals, snappy gameplay, interesting bosses, and a surprisingly impactful story for what it is. The second game, originally released on PlayStation 2, isn’t quite as good as the first, but you have to get them as a set anyway. Final Fantasy VII ($15.99) This is one of the big ones, isn’t it? The Japanese RPG that finally woke the wider Western market up to the genre, Square Enix’s biggest success ever, and one of the main instruments of the PlayStation’s rocket to the top of the business. Sure, there is that remake of Final Fantasy VII out there, but I hope by now that people realize what that really is. If you want to play the original Final Fantasy VII story, you’ll have to risk getting your eye poked out on some sharp polygons. Still a very good game, and it’s not hard to see why so many people took to it the way they did. Metal Gear Solid – Master Collection Version ($19.99) Another very big name from the PlayStation, Metal Gear Solid dragged a franchise that was more or less dormant into the spotlight of a much bigger stage. The Metal Gear Solid series got a lot sillier over time, and perhaps started gazing into its own belly button a little too deeply. But it’s hard to argue with this first game, which feels less like a bizarre trip through Kojima’s philosophical musings and more like an episode of GI Joe. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a very fun game to play, either. And hey, if you enjoy it enough, both of the PlayStation 2 follow-ups are available on Switch too. G-Darius HD ($29.99) Alright, let’s venture into the weeds again just a little bit. G-Darius took Taito’s classic shoot ’em up series into 3D, and it’s amazing just how well it made that transition. Sure, those chunky rough-textured polygons haven’t aged as well as the sprites in the 2D games, but there’s a real charm to them. The vivid colors, enjoyable enemy-catching mechanic, and creative bosses make for one heck of a solid shooter. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition ($19.99) I could almost fill this entire list with Square Enix games, but I’m going to leave it with this one and Final Fantasy VII just to give other games a chance. Chrono Cross had an impossible job: follow up one of the most well-liked Japanese RPGs ever made. And no, it couldn’t quite manage that task. People today do not speak of Chrono Cross the way they do Chrono Trigger, and that’s fair. But pull it away from that comparison and you’ll find a really clever and gorgeous RPG with a huge cast of (admittedly poorly developed in the main) characters to recruit and play with. Also, one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. Feel free to @ me, I’m right. Mega Man X4 – Mega Man X Legacy Collection ($19.99) I love just about every Mega Man game to some extent, but I am well aware that my vision is clouded by bias stemming from a severe case of childhood nostalgia. As such, when it comes to recommending games in the series with clearer eyes, there are only a few games in each series I feel good about putting in the hands of non-fans. With the Mega Man X series, it’s just two games: Mega Man X and Mega Man X4. While I enjoyed the games between them, X4 just feels like it has itself put together better than most of its siblings. This was a short-lived slice of balance, because things went off the rails again with the next game. But hey, don’t take my word for it – buy the Legacy Collections and see for yourself! Tomba! Special Edition ($19.99) You know, there were a lot of games published by Sony as first-party releases that it ended up not owning. I always assumed Tomba was as much a first-party property as Crash Bandicoot was, but… oh wait, I guess it was. Anyway, Tomba! is a really interesting platformer. It incorporates a lot of adventure game elements, but the action is on point too. Just don’t forget that that creator of Tomba! is the same guy behind Ghosts ‘n Goblins. It might seem breezy at first, but it’s going to challenge you as it goes on. Very neat game, and I’m glad it’s available again. Grandia – Grandia HD Collection ($39.99) Okay, technically Grandia was a SEGA Saturn game first, but the PlayStation port was clearly used as the basis of this HD release so I’m putting it here. Grandia comes from many of the same people who made Lunar, and it channels much of its spirit. In a time period where many RPGs were taking heavy cues from Evangelion, Grandia dared to be a bright and cheerful adventure. It also has a very satisfying combat system that builds on what Game Arts was doing with the Lunar games in strong ways. The other game in this set isn’t too shabby either. Tomb Raider – Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft ($29.99) Another true icon of the PlayStation era, Lara Croft had five adventures on the PlayStation by the time the console reached its end. The quality varied from game to game, and some of them were stronger at some things and weaker at others. If you asked me to pick the best one, I think I’d have to go with the original. It was more focused on actual raiding of tombs and less on action, and I think that was putting the best foot forward as far as the Core Design period of the franchise went. But this is another chance to make up your own mind, because you get the first three games here whether you like it or not. moon ($18.99) Let’s finish up with a deeper cut. Originally only released in Japan, moon was something of a deconstruction of the contemporary RPG. Indeed, its creators refer to it as an anti-RPG. In practice, it’s more of an adventure game than anything else, and it is very… punk? Can I call it punk? There are parts of the game that aren’t very fun at all, but it’s also not trying to be fun all the time. There’s an interesting message to this game if you see it through, and I’m glad we finally got to see this come out in English. And that’s the list, friends. Are there any PlayStation 1 games you enjoy on the Switch? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. I hope everyone has enjoyed this series of articles as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. As always, thanks for reading!

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 5th, 2024. Thursday already, eh? Where does the time …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Emio – The Smiling Man’, Plus Today’s New Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 5th, 2024. Thursday already, eh? Where does the time go? We’re going in hard on the reviews again today. I have two for you, covering Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate. Our pal Mikhail chimes in today too, with his looks at Nour: Play With Your Food, Fate/stay night REMASTERED, and TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK. We then move into the finest new releases of the day, then sweep up with the lists of new and expiring sales. Ah, Thursday. I shall miss you when it is Friday. Let’s go! Reviews & Mini-Views Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club ($49.99) It seems like the latest trend is making sequels to decades-dormant franchises. Video games, always trying to be like Hollywood. Nintendo has rather unpredictably decided to resurrect Famicom Detective Club, a series mainly known in the West through the “blink and you’ll miss it" remake of the first two games that came out on Switch a couple of years back. I feel like there may be a connection here. At any rate, for the first time this millennium we have a brand new Famicom Detective Club adventure! That’s nifty. The challenge with bringing back an old brand is in deciding how faithful to the original the new game should be. The risk of being too faithful is that the game could be seen as old-fashioned or out of date, but change too much and there’s a chance fans could be completely turned off. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club leans more toward maintaining the style of the recent remakes, themselves hewing quite closely to the originals. It’s an odd blend, to be sure. The visuals are as good as anything you would see in similar games from modern times, and the story certainly pushes a little further than what the Nintendo of the 90s would have done even in Japan. But the gameplay feels very old-school, and I think that is a determining factor in whether or not you enjoy this game. A student is found dead with a paper bag over his head that has a smiling face on it. This digs up some old unsolved murders from eighteen years ago that featured a similar calling card, which raises all manner of questions. Then there is the urban legend about Emio, a killer who promises to give his victims an eternal smile. Has a previous killer resurfaced after all this time? Is it a copycat? Is there really any such thing as Emio? The cops are stumped, so it’s time to call in the Utsugi Detective Agency! Using the powers of going around to places and badgering people, you’ll do what the law enforcement was powerless to: find the truth! Basically, you’re searching around every scene for clues, talking to all of the people you meet (sometimes you need to press the issue and ask multiple times to get what you want), and trying to find the connections you’ll need to solve the case. Think of the sections of Ace Attorney outside of court and you’re not too far off the mark. Depending on how well you take to this kind of gameplay, you mind find parts of the game to be annoying or a slog. There are certainly bits I feel could have been handled more smoothly, and it feels like specific chains of logic needed just a little more signposting. Well, this is a Cat Hair Mustache genre, and I suppose by that standards Emio isn’t doing anything particularly egregious. And you know what? That’s where I’m going to leave it. I have some criticisms of the story, but I enjoyed it on the whole. It was engaging, twisty, and well-written. Some of the plot beats didn’t hit me the way it seems they hit others, but I can’t really talk about that in detail without ruining the story. And I really don’t want to do that, because this is a tale that is best experienced fresh. I liked more than I didn’t, and when it picks up it really picks up. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is not the sort of thing we typically see from Nintendo, but if there was any rust on the team it assuredly doesn’t show. It’s perhaps a little too adherent to the original games in its mechanics, and while the plot is mostly excellent there are some times where the pace falls off or things resolve in ways I didn’t find as satisfying as I would have ideally hoped for. Still, these are minor complaints for what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable mystery adventure. Welcome back, Detective Club. Don’t stay away so long this time. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate ($29.99) We’re starting to get a nice little set of TMNT games on the Switch, aren’t we? You can enjoy the Konami classics in the Cowabunga Collection, get an incredible modern take on the arcade beat ’em up formula with Shredder’s Revenge, bring the modern arcade home in Wrath of the Mutants, and now satisfy your urge for something with a little more home console flavoring in Splintered Fate. There are a couple more on the way, too. We’re swimming in Turtles! With Turtles? Turtles, they’re everywhere. So how is this one? Not too shabby, actually. I mean, if you’ve played this on Apple Arcade then you know the deal, and if you’re reading this site then the odds are somewhat decent you have. But just in case, let’s go over the broad pitch. Basically, imagine taking a TMNT-style beat ’em up and blending it with Hades. Alright, that pretty much does it. You can go it alone in the usual roguelite style, or play with up to four players via local or online multiplayer. Mikhail and I did the online multiplayer thing together and it worked rather well, so that’s a good way to go. The game is fine when you’re on your own, but adding more people predictably improves the experience. That’s TMNT for you. Anyway, some kind of shenanigans occur with Shredder and a mysterious power. Splinter is in trouble, and the Turtles have to try to figure out how to save him. When all you have is a katana, every problem looks like a Foot Soldier. Slice, dice, and/or bludgeon whatever enemies come in front of you, dash tactically to avoid attacks, pick up some perks that you can enjoy in your current run, and collect another currency to score some permanent upgrades. If you die, it’s back to the lair to try again. Roguelite beat ’em up. But with the Turtles, so it’s automatically better than it would be without them. It isn’t particularly inspired, but it does its job well enough. I wouldn’t call Splintered Fate a must-have in general, but TMNT fans will probably enjoy this twist on the usual fare. The multiplayer is well-implemented, and it’s good to see that important TMNT element wasn’t passed over despite this being the kind of game that is usually played solo. Those without an affinity for the Turtles can find better roguelite games to play on the Switch, but with this being such an intensely competitive genre on the platform it’s to the credit of Splintered Fate that it can manage to keep pace at all. Not bad. SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Nour: Play With Your Food ($9.99) When Nour: Play With Your Food originally released on PC and PS5, I was a bit surprised to see it not also released on Switch and mobile. It felt like a perfect fit for touchscreens as an experimental food art experience. I played it on PC and liked it quite a bit, but this isn’t a traditional game for everyone. If you enjoy playful sandbox-like experiences and love food, you will likely find a lot to love in Nour: Play With Your Food, but the Switch version is a bit lacking. If you’re new to Nour: Play With Your Food, it has you playing with specific food types across different stages with interesting music and a lot of over the top nonsense (compliment). It feels like a combination of an interactive app made for those who love food and art equally. Initially, you only get access to the basics, but I found myself surprised at how much the developers added to let you literally play with your food as the name suggests. This is when I realized why it might not be as easy to play on a touchscreen. I am disappointed in the lack of touchscreen support on Switch though. Aside from that, Nour: Play With Your Food was a bit of a heavy game on Steam Deck as well, and you can see the cutbacks on Switch to have it run decently. The biggest issue is the load times being long both docked and handheld on Switch. Nour: Play With Your Food is worth experiencing if you love food, art, and interactive apps. While the Switch version isn’t the best way to experience it, Nour still feels best on a portable, and I hope it does well enough to get more DLC or even a physical release. We don’t see many releases like this in gaming, but games like Nour and Townscaper are the perfect compliment to more-involved RPGs and story-driven games. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Fate/stay night REMASTERED ($29.99) Fate/stay night REMASTERED launched about a month ago on Nintendo Switch and Steam worldwide. I was hoping to have it covered sooner, but the month has been really busy and Fate/stay night itself is very long. Before covering the game itself, I want to take you on a bit of a journey. Many years ago, a close friend convinced me to watch Fate/Zero as one of the first few anime I watched from start to finish. Back then, I wanted to experience more from the universe, but there wasn’t really something interesting I could officially play in English. I ended up importing the PS Vita version of Fate/stay night Realta Nua just to own it, and since then have basically been playing whatever Fate-related release or Type Moon property we see in the West. This includes Fate/EXTELLA, Fate/Samurai Remnant, watching Fate/stay night, and even trying out Fate/Grand Order for a bit. All of that led to me being very glad that Aniplex brought over Witch on the Holy Night and Tsukihime‘s remake recently, but there was the one game I was hoping we’d see released in English somehow. I didn’t bother with fan translations, and kept hoping we’d see Fate/stay night in English. Here we are. It still feels unreal that this is in English and on Switch. But is it worth your time and money? Well I can save you some time and say absolutely on both fronts with a few caveats. Fate/stay night REMASTERED is a remaster of the 2004-released Type Moon visual novel covering the story of Emiya Shirou, the Holy Grail war, and more. This is basically the best entry point into the Fate universe, and I know there are many who have only experienced it through anime and other games so far, so this is now a chance to see the origin of the series as it was meant to be. Fate/stay night REMASTERED even with its few quality of life features is still a 55+ hour experience at least, and that makes the low asking price shocking. I get that this is a remaster of an older game, but the volume of text and work done really makes it one of the best value releases on the eShop this year. If you already played the original versions of Fate/stay night in Japanese, Fate/stay night REMASTERED does a lot to improve the experience. Obviously it adds English, but the 16:9 support is welcome. It also feels like a lot more work went into this than I initially expected. I’ve been playing a bit of the PS Vita release to compare, and the developers of this remaster have done a great job at making Fate/stay night look good on modern displays, but don’t expect the gorgeousness of Tsukihime‘s recent remake. While I love Fate/stay night itself, I’m glad that the developers actually put in touchscreen support on Nintendo Switch. I played most of Fate/stay night REMASTERED on my Switch Lite (which is sadly busted now) and then synced it to my Switch OLED to play at home and also docked. It feels perfect on Nintendo’s hybrid system. Hopefully it gets more platform releases in the future like iOS and PS5 so more can experience it. Speaking of more platforms, I also played a good amount of Fate/stay night REMASTERED on Steam Deck. It works perfectly out of the box. If you were wondering where to play Fate/stay night REMASTERED assuming you owned a Steam Deck or Switch, get it wherever you want but make sure you play it. It is that good. There’s nothing really holding Fate/stay night REMASTERED back right now aside from no physical release on Switch, and I hope it does well enough to get one in the future to go on my shelf with Witch on the Holy Night and Tsukihime. Fate/stay night REMASTERED is basically an essential for visual novel fans and I still can’t believe it is not only available in English, but also on both Switch and Steam. The low asking price makes it an even easier recommendation. While it may not look as good as Tsukihime‘s recent remake, Fate/stay night REMASTERED is still worth your time, and I’m glad I finally got to play it in English after all these years of owning the Japanese PS Vita release. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 5/5 TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK ($49.99) As someone who didn’t bother with VR outside of borrowing a PS VR headset on PS4 Pro years ago, I know I’ve ended up missing out on some great games. When looking at what my friends who own current VR headsets talk about, in addition to games like Thumper or Beat Saber, I used to see rumblings of TOKYO CHRONOS and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos mentioned. Both were praised for their stories and also for being full experiences in VR. I never got to experience the stories until TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK hit Switch through Izanagi Games just over a month ago. When you first boot up TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK on Switch, you get to choose which game you want to play. The first game has you experiencing the story of high school friends in an alternate version of Shibuya, lost memories, killers, and more. If you’ve played many visual novels or adventure games, the narrative here will feel very predictable in parts, but it isn’t bad. It has good visuals and I feel like trying it out in VR after seeing how it feels on Switch just for the novelty of a full visual novel in VR. ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos on the other hand is a lot better with its production, music, writing, voice acting, and characters in general. It also goes beyond being a pure visual novel in parts, and I love when developers do this. Punching above your weight in a visual novel usually makes for a more memorable experience when coupled with important story beats. ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is the standout of the two, but I think the pack is definitely worth buying if you’re ok with the controls and movement in the demo. Aside from some aspects of the stories not hitting as hard, the Switch version has some performance issues when it comes to camera movement. These aren’t a dealbreaker, but it is distracting having that happen during first person and other encounters. The rest of the Switch features more than make up for it though with touchscreen support (my favorite feature in adventure games) and good rumble. TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK is a great experience on Nintendo Switch with its touch controls and rumble support added to make it even more immersive. I’m glad I got to finally experience these stories since I never owned a VR headset, and I hope to see more from this team in the future. If you enjoy sci-fi stories, I urge you to download the demo at least to see how this one feels on Switch. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Select New Releases Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku ($49.99) This might be the winner for the title that does the most clear and concise work in explaining a game’s content. At least for 2024, anyway. So yes, this is Fitness Boxing. Featuring Hatsune Miku. It has 24 songs from Miku and friends, plus 30 more from the Fitness Boxing series. Plenty of tunes to punch it out to, in other words. Mechanically, it looks like the other games in the series. No surprise there. Pick it up if you want a Fitness Boxing game featuring Hatsune Miku. Gimmick! 2 ($24.99) I reviewed this yesterday, but in case you missed that, allow me to bring you up to speed. This is a very faithful follow-up to the original cult favorite, building on its foundations a bit, bringing in a slick new presentation, and still as hard as that piece of a Subway pizza sub you lost under the sofa back in the 90s. If you don’t mind a challenge and enjoy clever platformers, you’ll want to check this one out. Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost ($29.99) Are you tired of switching between games based on whether you feel like playing a rhythm game or a bullet hell shoot ’em up? Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost is here to save you from the inconvenience! There are two modes in this game, and it kind of feels like peanut butter and chalk in some sense. But the Touhou theme ties them together, and for fans of the property I’m sure it will pass muster. At least you know the music will be good? EGGCONSOLE Hydlide MSX ($6.49) We’ve already seen one version of Hydlide release in EGGCONSOLE, but here’s another one for good measure. It came after the one we have, but before the NES one. It falls somewhere in between them as a result, and I suppose if you are a Hydlide super-fan then you’ll want to grab as many versions as they release. For everyone else, I’m not sure how much more you’ll get out of this MSX version if you already played the PC-8801 release. Arcade Archives Lead Angle ($7.99) Well, at least Hamster’s mixing it up a little. This is a 1988 Seibu Kaihatsu release, a follow-up to Empire City 1931. It’s one of those gallery shooters that were all the rage at the time, though I can say with some confidence that Lead Angle was not all the rage at the time. It’s a decent enough example of the genre though, so if you enjoy this sort of game you probably shouldn’t be too quick to push the plate away. Shooting gangsters! You don’t see that kind of theme all that often anymore either, come to think of it. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Not much excitement going on today, but No Man’s Sky is never a bad choice. The rest of the good games in the inbox are frequently on sale, so do what you will with them. Oddly, one could say the same about the outbox. I’ll leave all of that business to you today, as I don’t have any strong feelings on the matter. Select New Sales No Man’s Sky ($23.99 from $59.99 until 9/17) The Last Campfire ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/17) XALADIA: Rise of the Space Pirates X2 ($8.09 from $17.99 until 9/18) Scars of Mars ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/18) Die for Valhalla ($3.59 from $11.99 until 9/25) Moonlighter ($3.74 from $24.99 until 9/25) Thea: The Awakening ($5.39 from $17.99 until 9/25) Children of Morta ($5.49 from $21.99 until 9/25) Dungeon of the Endless ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) Yes, Your Grace ($2.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) Hypnospace Outlaw ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) Nowhere Prophet ($2.49 from $24.99 until 9/25) Soccer Story ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) Family Man ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) South of the Circle ($6.49 from $12.99 until 9/25) Wingspan ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/25) Sales Ending Tomorrow, September 6th Ambition: A Minuet in Power ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/6) Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey ($2.39 from $15.99 until 9/6) Fear Effect Sedna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Galak-Z The Void Deluxe ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush Frontiers ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush Origins ($8.24 from $14.99 until 9/6) My Time at Portia ($4.49 from $29.99 until 9/6) PowerWash Simulator ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/6) Skulls of the Shogun ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Suhoshin ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/6) The House of Da Vinci 2 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/6) Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD ($10.49 from $29.99 until 9/6) Violet Wisteria ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/6) What the Fork ($4.49 from $17.99 until 9/6) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow to finish things up, with more reviews, new releases, and sales to look at. Hey, did you know? I have an at-the-moment dormant blog that is going to get active again soon. You can find it at Post Game Content. If you like reading Shaun’s thoughts on games, you’ll certainly find some there. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Back in April, the Razer Nexus (Free) app on iOS and Android was updated with support added for an unannounced …

Continue reading "Razer Kishi Ultra Mobile Controller Review – The Best Mobile Controller in 2024?"

Back in April, the Razer Nexus (Free) app on iOS and Android was updated with support added for an unannounced “Razer Kishi Ultra" controller boasting features like analog stick deadzone customization and more. Since then, Razer has announced and released the Razer Kishi Ultra with support for more than just phones. The Razer Kishi Ultra is also the most expensive mobile controller as far as I’m aware, but it offers more features than expected for specific devices. Having used the Razer Kishi and the Backbone One including the new USB-C versions for years now, I didn’t think I needed a new controller, but the Razer Kishi Ultra changed my mind in a way the Hori Split Pad Pro did on Nintendo Switch a few years ago. Razer Kishi Ultra – what’s in the box The Razer Kishi Ultra box included the controller itself, a few sets of rubber cushions to use depending on your device, a sheet of stickers, and an instruction booklet. For the price point of $149.99, I expected to have a carrying case or at least a pouch included. Beyond that, the box and casing for the controller in the box are good quality as usual from Razer. The Razer Kishi Ultra rubber cushions come in pairs that are properly labeled for use with iPhone (Pair A), iPad Mini 6th generation (Pair B), and Android (Pair C). If you use a case, you don’t need to use any of these rubber cushions. Razer Kishi Ultra compatibility – iPhone, Cases, Android, and iPad Mini While most mobile controllers, especially the telescopic ones, only support iPhone and Android, the Razer Kishi Ultra also supports tablets like the iPad Mini 6th generation. We’ve also recently had some telescopic controllers ship with bluetooth support, but as for USB-C, this one seems to have some of the best compatibility. For the purpose of this review, I tested the Razer Kishi Ultra on my iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 14 Plus, and wired on my iPad Pro. I didn’t test on Android or Windows, but I did try it on my Steam Deck wired. It is detected as a generic Xbox gamepad, but it did work when I was playing NBA 2K25 on Steam Deck yesterday for review and it also supports decent rumble in games like Bakeru that I tested with. Razer Kishi Ultra buttons, d-pad, and triggers Before getting to the new features, how does the Razer Kishi Ultra actually feel and perform? I was a bit worried about the d-pad, but it ended up working great when I played games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves ACA NeoGeo or even newer ones like Hades and Hitman Blood Money Reprisal. Beyond the d-pad, the shoulder buttons and triggers work well just like Razer’s older controller. The analog sticks are comfortable and smooth to use with the face buttons being clicky albeit with more travel distance which I didn’t expect after the original Razer Kishi. Overall, I have no complaints with the Razer Kishi Ultra d-pad, buttons, or triggers after considerable use including some sessions lasting a few hours where I played Zenless Zone Zero while charging my phone through the passthrough charging here. In terms of feel, the textured finish isn’t rubbery, but it works well for a grip and remains very comfortable to hold even for a few hours. I don’t usually care for Chroma stuff on controllers, and just like the Razer Kitsune, I would’ve preferred if the lights could somehow match the gameplay on screen. Razer Kishi Ultra – new features The main draw of the Razer Kishi Ultra is the full-size form factor. Instead of feeling like a compact mobile controller as we’ve seen with Razer’s prior release or the Backbone One, the Razer Kishi Ultra is a full-size one that feels like you’re holding your phone in the middle of a good quality console controller. This may not be a plus for some looking for a compact solution, but it isn’t meant to be that. The full-size form factor makes this the comfiest mobile controller I’ve used by far. The other features are the Chroma customization through the app, haptics (for Android and Windows), and virtual controller mode (Android only). The virtual controller mode is good for Android games since we see some notable ones skip adding controller support outside iOS on mobile like Genshin Impact. Aside from the new features, the Razer Kishi Ultra has a 3.5mm headphone jack, passthrough charging (15W), and the L4 and R4 shoulder buttons. Razer Kishi Ultra features missing on iOS – haptics and virtual controller mode The haptics and virtual controller mode are only available on Android (or Windows as well for the former) and not available on iOS. I don’t really care about virtual controller mode, but I hope Razer can work on something to enable the haptics in some way for iOS devices as well. I love haptic feedback on PS5 and HD Rumble on Switch, so having something that tries to do similar things on iOS would be nice. Razer Kishi Ultra price point – is it worth it? I already think most folks are better off getting a PS5 or Xbox controller to play wirelessly on iOS as the best possible and cheaper option. If you do want a good controller that has a telescopic form factor and attaches onto your phone, the most popular options are already $99.99 so the Razer Kishi Ultra at $150 is definitely a more premium controller. Is it worth that much more? If you’re ok with the current Razer Kishi and Backbone One price point, this is definitely worth the extra price for the comfort, but the lack of the haptics makes it feel like a lesser experience on iOS compared to Android where you get the fully featured experience. It remains to be seen if the joysticks on this one don’t drift over time as well. Razer Kishi Ultra – the best mobile controller in 2024? If you’ve not read my review of Razer’s older controller, check it out here. Moving from that more compact form factor that I’ve gotten used to for years across Razer and Backbone products to this big one has been interesting. Just like the Hori Split Pad Pro for Nintendo Switch, I find myself wanting both a full-size controller and a more compact one for iPhone. The Razer Kishi Ultra is easily the comfiest mobile controller I’ve ever used, but I wish it was easier to travel with. I worry about how it might end up in my bag unless I carry it in the big box it ships with. I don’t know if the Razer Kishi Ultra will replace my normal Kishi or Backbone One when I travel, but I’m definitely only using it when I play at home. At the asking price, I was hoping for hall effect analog sticks though. I’ve had drift issues with multiple controllers over the years and while it hasn’t happened to the Razer Kishi Ultra yet (or the Razer Kishi itself), but I can’t say how things might be in a few more months. This is more of a thing to keep in mind when you buy it. Having now covered the Backbone One and Razer Kishi models, I definitely want to try out the GameSir lineup as they seem more than worth checking out. Hopefully in the near future. Razer Kishi Ultra 2 wishlist When thinking about what I’d like to see in an updated Razer Kishi Ultra, aside from hall effect sticks, I’d like some of the sharper edges like the passthrough charging port to be smoothed out a bit. Beyond that, while I love the L4 and R4 buttons as options, I vastly prefer having paddles on the bottom of the controller since they feel more natural to use. It would be good to have those as options given the premium price. Maybe even L5 and R5 as paddles on the bottom with remapping available in the Razer Nexus app. The final thing I want is a carrying case for this to come with the controller. When looking at the pro level controllers on console, they usually come with a nice hard case. Granted this one doesn’t cost as much as a DualSense Edge or Victrix Pro BFG, but it would be a nice addition to the package that wouldn’t cost too much. Razer Kishi Ultra review If you’re used to playing on traditional PS5 or Xbox Series controllers or basically any full-sized controller and don’t enjoy using the compact Joy-Con size buttons and sticks we usually see in mobile controllers, the Razer Kishi Ultra is perfect for you with its comfortable grip, great d-pad, and face buttons. The lack of full feature support on iOS is disappointing, but this is a great addition to the mobile controller space, and I hope Razer can build on this through the years while also offering a carrying case so I don’t have to worry about anything happening to this in my bag when I go out. Razer Kishi Ultra review score: 4.5/5 Amazon Link: Razer Kishi Ultra If you’re curious about the book in the header image, it is Andy Kelly’s upcoming book titled Perfect Organism: An Alien: Isolation Companion that I’m currently reading for review. You can pre-order it here. Disclaimer: TouchArcade may earn a small commission from purchases made using the affiliate links above.

In the latest look at retro game offerings on the Nintendo Switch, I’ve opted to take a different approach. You …

Continue reading "The 10 Best Game Boy Advance & Nintendo DS Games on Nintendo Switch – SwitchArcade Special"

In the latest look at retro game offerings on the Nintendo Switch, I’ve opted to take a different approach. You see, there aren’t quite so many distinct Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS ports on the Switch as some other consoles. I know, it surprised me too! So they’re going to be sharing a list, much like how they shared a few years on retail shelves. While you can find plenty of great games from the Game Boy Advance in the Nintendo Switch Online app, we’re instead looking at those games that dare to exist in the wilds of the Switch eShop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, four from the Game Boy Advance and six from the Nintendo DS. No particular order, of course. On with the show! Game Boy Advance Steel Empire (2004) – Over Horizon X Steel Empire ($14.99) We’ll start off with a decent little shoot ’em up, Steel Empire. While the original Genesis/Mega Drive version is the better game in my opinion, this isn’t a bad take at all. Worth playing just to compare with the other version, and it’s certainly a breezier experience in some ways. Steel Empire is a pretty cool game no matter how you play it, and it’s one that even those who don’t normally get into shooters tend to enjoy. Mega Man Zero – Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection ($29.99) While the Mega Man X series started to flounder on home consoles, the true successor to the Mega Man crown was rising up on the Game Boy Advance. Mega Man Zero is the start of an excellent series of side-scrolling action games, and one that perhaps didn’t figure out how to present what it wanted to do in the smoothest way. Those rough edges would get sanded off as the series went on, but the first game is where you want to start. Feel free to continue on from there. Mega Man Battle Network – Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection ($59.99) Yes, I’m double-dipping on Mega Man here. But I think it’s warranted here, because Mega Man Zero and Mega Man Battle Network are very different kinds of games, and both are very good at what they do. This one is an RPG with a unique battle system that manages to incorporate a bit of action to go with the more strategic elements. The core concept of this whole virtual world existing inside of electronic devices is a clever one, and the game doesn’t do things halfway with it. The returns diminished harder on this series than they did with Zero, but there’s plenty of fun to be had here. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – Castlevania Advance Collection ($19.99) Another collection where you’ll probably just want to run the whole board, but if I have to pick one best one it’s clearly Aria of Sorrow. When I’m in the right mood, I’d rather play this than even the amazing Symphony of the Night. The soul collecting system encourages grinding, and the gameplay is so fun that I don’t even mind that. Throw in an unusual setting and some fun secrets and you’ve got a real winner here. One of my favorite third-party Game Boy Advance games full-stop. Nintendo DS Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut ($9.99) The original Shantae was something of a cult hit, but the low distribution numbers meant that relatively few people had a chance to play it. It was with the DSiWare release of Shantae: Risky’s Revenge that the Half-Genie Hero had a chance to make a bigger splash, and she certainly did that. Indeed, this established Shantae so well that she hasn’t missed a console generation since. This game kind of sits on a fuzzy line since it was sort of built from the ashes of a Game Boy Advance game that never released. Curiously, that game will be getting a release soon and might fit this list when it does. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy ($29.99) Look, if you’re really bothered about the lists being imbalanced, you could (and maybe should) count this as a Game Boy Advance game. That is the console where it originated after all, it just wasn’t localized at that time. Anyway, you probably know Ace Attorney. Fun adventure games that blend on-location investigations with overly dramatic court scenes. Goofy humor, but rather good stories. This first game completely knocks it out of the park, and while I might prefer later installments I wouldn’t be able to argue against anyone who said this was the best. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ($29.99) From the creator of Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick is just as well-written but has its own cool gameplay hook. You’re a ghost and need to use your abilities to save people, all with an eye to figuring out the truth behind your own untimely demise. This game is a complete wild ride and I recommend everyone play it from start to finish. It was a bit slept on in its original Nintendo DS form, and I’m glad to see Capcom hasn’t given up on it. Reward them for their tenacity. The World Ends With You: Final Remix ($49.99) The World Ends With You is, quite frankly, one of the top games on the Nintendo DS. Ideally, it’s the place where you should play the game. It’s just so tightly built around that hardware and its capabilities that none of the ports have been able to get just right. Still, time marches on. The Switch version of this game will do just fine if you don’t want to dig up a working Nintendo DS, and you really should play it somewhere. Why not here? A great game in just about every possible way. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow – Castlevania Dominus Collection ($24.99) The Castlevania Dominus Collection just released not long ago, and it collects all of the Nintendo DS Castlevania games. This is another case where all of the games are worth playing, and I’m picking Dawn of Sorrow simply because having its gimmicky touch controls replaced with more fitting button controls makes for a significant improvement. But really, play all three of the Nintendo DS games in this collection. They’re all great in their own ways. Etrian Odyssey III HD – Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection ($79.99) This is another franchise that in some ways can’t exist easily outside of the DS/3DS ecosystem. But Atlus made a good attempt here, and I think the results are playable enough. Each of the Etrian Odyssey games stands alone, and they’re all pretty substantial RPGs. Etrian Odyssey III is the largest of the three, and while it’s more than a little wooly, it’s well-worth sinking your teeth into. And that’s the list, friends. Are there any Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS games you enjoy on the Switch? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. As always, thanks for reading!

Feral Interactive’s tease seemingly was about Total War: Empire from Creative Assembly and SEGA because the developer just announced that …

Continue reading "‘Total War: Empire’ Is Coming to iOS and Android This Fall From Feral Interactive"

Feral Interactive’s tease seemingly was about Total War: Empire from Creative Assembly and SEGA because the developer just announced that it will be coming to iOS and Android this Fall with release date and pricing to be announced shortly. Feral Interactive also confirmed that Total War: Empire will feature intuitive touch controls for phones and tablets, a redesigned UI, new quality of life improvements, and more. If you’ve not played it yet, Total War: Empire takes the franchise to the 18th century Age of Enlightenment and it is considered one of the best games in the series. Watch the Total War: Empire mobile iOS and Android announcement trailer below: Ahead of Total War: Empire hitting mobile this Fall, you can try it out on Steam right now in its definitive edition release here. Total War: Empire on mobile will also be the first time (on mobile) the series will feature real-time naval battles. I can’t wait to see how it looks and feels on modern iOS devices. I also hope we get news for all the DLC and pricing soon. Have you played Total War: Empire before and what do you think of the trailer today for its iOS and Android release?

Balatro from developer LocalThunk and publisher Playstack is finally coming to mobile later this month on iOS, Android, and also …

Continue reading "‘Balatro’ Is Coming to Apple Arcade and Also iOS as a Standalone Premium Release Beginning September 26th"

Balatro from developer LocalThunk and publisher Playstack is finally coming to mobile later this month on iOS, Android, and also directly on Apple Arcade. Yes, this will be a premium release on iOS and Android, but also one available as a “+" version on Apple Arcade from day one. The Poker-inspired roguelike Balatro has sold over 2 million units across PS5, Switch, Steam, PS4, and Xbox platforms in less than six months, and I can’t wait to see how it performs on mobile with more planned including a major free update in 2025 bringing new ideas and strategies. Balatro will be launching for $9.99 on mobile and you can watch the mobile announcement trailer ahead of its September 26th release date below: If you’ve not played Balatro yet, read my 5/5 review of it here on Switch and check out my feature on the best games of the year so far on Switch where I included it here. I also interviewed LocalThunk about the game, the mobile release, and more. Read that here. You can pre-order Balatro on the App Store for iOS here and pre-register for it on Android here. The Apple Arcade version is here. Have you played it before and will you be getting one of the best games of 2024 later this month on mobile?

It has been pointed out to me that perhaps I could be fairer to other Marvel games. I’m always covering …

Continue reading "Check Out The Latest Events In ‘Marvel Future Fight’ & ‘Marvel Contest of Champions’"

It has been pointed out to me that perhaps I could be fairer to other Marvel games. I’m always covering Marvel Snap (Free) whenever it gets any kind of update, but the others tend to get relegated to the Best Updates articles on Mondays. That… is a valid point! And thus, let us enjoy a Marvel Minute and see how other Marvel games are faring at the moment. It turns out that both Marvel Future Fight (Free) and Marvel Contest of Champions (Free) have some cool events going on at the moment. Let’s have a look-see! First up, over in Marvel Future Fight, it’s Iron Man time! You know Tony. He’s always concocting new suits, finding bigger and better guns to deal with whatever the situation presents. This particular event is inspired by Invincible Iron Man, and has some new threads for Tony and Pepper. Here’s what you can look forward to in this event, straight from the update notes: “Invincible Iron Man has joined Marvel Future Fight. Beat the enemies with upgraded suits! 1. New Uniforms Added! – Iron Man, Rescue 2. New Tier-4 Advancement! – War Machine, Hulkbuster 3. The New World Boss: Legend+ Added! – Returned the Black Order, ‘Corvus & Proxima’ 4. The New Custom Gear, ‘C.T.P. of Liberation’ Added! 5. Getting 200 Crystals Event – Obtain 200 crystals by linking your e-mail account!" Okay, now over to the ever-popular fighting game, Marvel Contest of Champions. New events for this game typically bring some new playable fighters with them, and at this point in the game’s life some of these cuts are getting very deep indeed. I don’t think we’ll ever see a Marvel fighting game again with a roster this varied. Like, Count Nefaria? Seriously? As an old-butt Marvel fan from a very long time ago, I like seeing these less common characters show up at all, let alone as playable characters. Over to the update notes to give you the full skinny on all of this: “NEW CHAMPIONS Count Nefaria Count Luchino Nefaria was the descendant of a long line of Italian noblemen, and used his wealth and connections to become a powerful leader within the Maggia crime syndicate. He furthered his rise to power by subjecting himself to scientific experiments that granted him superhuman abilities, but cost him his life. He was later resurrected as a being made entirely of Ionic energy, rendering him effectively immortal as long as he drains other Ionic beings to maintain his power. Shathra Daughter of the Elder Goddesses Oshtur and Gaea, Shathra comes from the world that would come to be known as Loomworld. Shathra was tasked with creating the Celestial Map of Humanity, however, after being outdone by her younger sister Neith, she became enraged with jealousy and spite towards her sister and the Great Web she had designed. Consumed by her vengeance and envy, Shathra gave into her feral nature to tear down everything her sister created, one Spider at a time. NEW QUESTS AND EVENTS Event Quest – Lupus In Fabula There has been an undertaking to overthrow The Collector’s ship! The Summoner is being called in to evict these evil-doers! But as they make it deeper into the ship they also find themselves deeper in trouble as each villain seems to be making their own plans for how best to make the most of The Collector’s treasures. Will The Summoner be able to manage these miscreants? Or will they go down with the ship? Find out in LUPUS IN FABULA! Side Quest – Ludum Maximus The Maestro has declared four months of celebratory games to honor his return. The festivities begin with the Circus Maximus, an onslaught of games and challenges hosted by Count Nefaria. The Count will not accept anything less than the best, the mightiest, the greatest of games. So dare to enter LUDUM MAXIMUS! Nefaria knows that a true battle is a mix of skill and luck, so 5x weekly Maps will open which present randomized Paths filled with fearsome foes! Act 9; Chapter 1 Glykhan has self-destructed but the sinister plotting of Ouroboros is far from over. However clues for where to head next seem few and far between. Luckily (depending on your definition of luck) Superior Kang has some secrets to share in the form of holo-tapes scattered around Battleworld. Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom send The Summoner on an intel retrieval mission, but they aren’t the only ones looking for answers. Will the past come back to haunt The Battlerealm? Find out in Act 9 – Chapter 1: THE RECKONING Glorious Games Introducing our third Saga: Glorious Games! To celebrate the history of the Contest and his triumphant return, The Maestro has declared four months of celebratory games. Each month of the Saga will revolve around a different element of games, starting with September’s Circus Maximus and culminating in the celebration of December’s Grand Banquet! Featuring a classical antiquity aesthetic, an exciting Champion chase, surprise Champion reworks and brand new kinds of Events and Quests, Glorious Games is sure to usher in our 10-year anniversary celebration in style! Realm Events Get ready to work alongside every Summoner in the Battlerealm! Realm Events are a brand new type of Event in which points will be contributed on a global level. Milestone rewards can be claimed once global and individual point contribution thresholds have been reached. For those more competitively-inclined Summoners, ranked rewards will also be up for grabs, including an exclusive and unique player title." And that’s that. Let it never be said that Shaun was not interested in a level playing field. Kind of. Anyway, both of these events look very cool in their own ways, and if you haven’t played these games before or fell off a while back, this might be another good opportunity to give them both a try. I mean, I know I’m going to try out Count Nefaria. Look at him! He’s so nefarious! He cavorts with nefarious fellows! Hadouken? More like Ha-Don’t-ken! Okay, sorry. I’ll leave now. Enjoy!

Beginning today, Apple will have released one new Apple Vision Pro game, one App Store Great, and upgrading an App …

Continue reading "NFL Retro Bowl 25, Monster Train+, and Puzzle Sculpt Release Today on Apple Arcade Alongside Major Game Updates This Week"

Beginning today, Apple will have released one new Apple Vision Pro game, one App Store Great, and upgrading an App Store Great to an Apple Arcade Original (as a standalone release) alongside some notable udpates. NFL Retro Bowl 25 () (Edit: No longer an update) will let players create their own dynasty using official NFL teams and players featuring official retro art, attributes, stats, and contracts. Since this was announced, I was surprised at how much interest I saw for it online. I don’t follow the NFL much, but I didn’t expect as much of a positive reaction to the NFL Retro Bowl 25 announcement. Hopefully it ends up well when it goes live as an update later today. Alongside NFL Retro Bowl 25, App Store Great Monster Train+ has launched on Apple Arcade including The Last Divinity DLC from the get go. Check out a screenshot from NFL Retro Bowl 25 below: Puzzle Sculpt is a Vision Pro-only set to launch today on Apple Arcade letting players solve puzzles in their own living room by removing blocks to reveal a cute collectible in a cube. As for this week’s notable updates, Hello Kitty Island Adventure has the Jam Jamboree on with Petunias appearing in the Merry Meadow as a festive flower. Rabbids Multiverse has new cards, outfits, seasonal events, and quality of life improvements with this week’s update. Wylde Flowers has its Magical Creatures update now live with jewelry crafting, secrets in the lighthouse, and more. Disney Spellstruck adds Hercules with a limited time event, a high contrast event, and more. What the Car brings in yet another update with a “Meet the Developers" special, scissors, bear improvements (yes), and more. What do you think of this month’s new Apple Arcade additions? Update: It looks like they launched NFL Retro Bowl 25 as a new app and not an update.

After tackling the best party games on Switch in 2024, the recent release of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom …

Continue reading "The Best Switch Visual Novels and Adventure Games in 2024 – From Fata Morgana and VA-11 Hall-A to Famicom Detective Club and Gnosia"

After tackling the best party games on Switch in 2024, the recent release of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club being as amazing as it is pushed me to write about what I consider the best visual novels and adventure games on Switch to play right now. I’ve included both because some games are pure visual novels while some are adventure games (and not visual novels). This list has quite a few games from across regions and release years, and I hope you find something you end up loving here. As usual, this list is in no particular order. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club ($49.99) + Famicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection When Nintendo not only remade both Famicom Detective Club games back in 2021, I couldn’t believe it. They were amazing adventure games, and my only complaint really was the lack of a physical release back then. Fast forward to 2024 and Nintendo has released Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club physically and digitally as a brand-new entry in the series, and I’ve been floored playing it. Not only does it feel like a true series entry which might be a negative to some, but this might be one of the most lavish productions I’ve seen in a game like this ever. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but the ending is shockingly good and it really justifies its M rating. I definitely didn’t expect to have a new Famicom Detective Club game in 2024 on my top games of the year list, but Nintendo managed to do that with Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. Download the demo now. If you’d rather play the first two games before Emio, grab the Famicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection. If you are ok with some old school design and gameplay for adventure games, you will adore these. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ($14.99) If you’ve been reading the few “best Switch games" lists I’ve been doing this year, you’ve seen me feature VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action twice before already, but as you know, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to write about one of my favorite games of all time. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is notable for its story, music, aesthetic, and most-importantly the characters. Having played it multiple times over the years on every system, it also feels right at home on Switch, and is a game I recommend to everyone literally. I don’t care if you like point and click adventure games or not. Go ahead and mix drinks and then change some lives. The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition ($39.99) The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition is the definitive edition of one of my favorite stories in any medium. It includes the original game and much more to deliver a stunning version of a masterpiece in storytelling. This one is a pure visual novel, and I’m glad that after its many releases, it found a lot of success on Switch, where it plays best. If you want to play something that will stay with you for a long time, this gothic horror experience will do much more. It also happens to have some of the most incredible music ever. Coffee Talk Episode 1+2 ($12.99 + $14.99) Ok this one is cheating since the games are sold separately on the eShop and the physical releases I imported from Japan are also separate, but since there’s a bundle of both games sold in North America on Switch, I’ve included both Coffee Talk games as one entry here. I love them both, and while they didn’t hit the same highs as VA-11 Hall-A, Coffee Talk perfectly satiated what I wanted from a game set in a coffee shop, and delivered a very relaxing experience with a great story. If you enjoy coffee and listening to interesting people with great pixel art and music, this is for you. Type Moon’s visual novels: Tsukihime, Fate/stay night, and Mahoyo (Variable) This is another entry where I’m cheating. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include just Tsukihime or Witch on the Holy Night (Mahoyo), but then the recent release of Fate/stay night Remastered made things even harder. Instead of worrying too much, I’ve included all three as essential visual novels in this article on Switch. They are all very long but very good. If you’ve wanted to sample a classic visual novel, go with Fate/stay night, but I recommend Tsukihime’s remake on Switch to everyone. Witch on the Holy Night is probably the game to play after these two in terms of quality. PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo ($19.99) Square Enix’s PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo reminds me of Nintendo’s Emio in a way that I’m surprised it even exists, let alone turned out this good. I went into it with no expectations, but was blown away by the narrative, its delivery, and even some wall breaking that I enjoyed quite a bit early on. Square Enix released one of the best mystery adventure games I’ve played with amazing characters, great art, and interesting mechanics here, and it is worth your time if you want a fantastic new horror adventure game. Gnosia ($24.99) People call Gnosia a sci-fi social deduction RPG, but it is more of an adventure and visual novel hybrid for me. Your aim here is identifying the Gnosia among a group using information you gather and then vote to put the Gnosia into cold sleep. You and your crew both improve over time, and aside from some RNG issues to get two specific outcomes, Gnosia was a fantastic experience. I liked it so much on Switch that I bought the physical release on both Switch and PS5 in addition to getting it on Steam. This one might not be for everyone, but it remains one of the nicest surprises in the genre. Steins;Gate Series (Variable) Spike Chunsoft’s Switch releases of the Steins;Gate series, especially Steins;Gate Elite, are as important as Fate/stay night when it comes to introducing newcomers to visual novels to the genre. While I still hope the publisher brings over the original version of Steins;Gate, Steins;Gate Elite is an easy recommendation for those who watch anime and want to get into a great visual novel. The Steins;Gate games are must plays only after you experience the original story in Steins;Gate Elite. I’ve cheated here as well by including multiple games, but my list my rules. AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES and nirvanA Initiative (Variable) AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES and nirvanA Initiative from Spike Chunsoft brought Zero Escape creator Kotaro Uchikoshi and No More Heroes character designer Yusuke Kozaki together for an incredible set of two adventure games that honestly feel too good to be true when it comes to the budget behind them with the quality they delivered on story, music, and characters. While a lot of folks lament the lack of Zero Escape on Switch, I think the two AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES games are absolutely worth experiencing at full price, and gems of the Switch library. Don’t make us wait too long for a new game in the series please. NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD ($19.99) When it comes to adventure games or visual novels, I’m often recommended games where a friend will say “trust me and just play it but don’t look up anything about it". One such game was NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD when I first played it on PC. It is an adventure game with multiple endings that can flip flop between disturbing horror and wholesome moments. It revolves around the daily life of a young girl trying to be the best streamer. I liked this one enough to pre-order the Switch limited edition from Japan, and I’m glad I did so. It is unforgettable. Ace Attorney Series (Variable) Capcom has now brought the entire Ace Attorney series to Switch with the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy (1,2,3), Apollo Justice Trilogy (4,5,6), The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (1+2 of those), and the two Ace Attorney Investigations games in this week’s Ace Attorney Investigations Collection release. I would say there are no excuses now, but this adventure game series is beloved for a reason and it has spawned a fanbase that has lasted for years since the DS debut in the West. If you are new to the series, I recommend The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles as the best entry point even above the original trilogy which feels dated in ways. Either way, you can now play the entire series on one handheld, and I love that. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark, NG, and Death Mark II (Variable) Another series rather than a single game? Yes. Aksys Games and Experience Inc’s Spirit Hunter trilogy is now fully available on Switch, and it manages to blend horror adventure and visual novel elements with one of the most striking art styles I’ve ever seen. It is a bit harder to recommend this series given how grotesque some of the designs are, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget some of the images I’ve seen while playing the Spirit Hunter games with their excellent localizations and stories. I hope we see a new entry in the next few years. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim ($59.99) 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim isn’t a pure adventure game, but one that has real-time strategy battles. I usually try and include a fantastic game at the end and the double whammy of not being a full adventure game and also being one of the best games I’ve played in a decade has me ending this feature on Vanillaware and Atlus’ sci-fi masterpiece 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. I first played this on PS4 and enjoyed replaying it from start to finish on Switch thanks to the OLED screen in handheld mode. Regardless of where you play it, you need to experience 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. If you made it this far, you’ve realized that this isn’t a top 10 but more, and the games are ones I recommend playing at full price. I didn’t want to cut out something I like a lot to hit an arbitrary number of games featured and that’s why I even included some full series here instead of just individual games. That’s my list of the best visual novels and adventure games on Switch to play in 2024. If you have a game you think I should’ve included, please let me know in the comments below. I’m always on the lookout for more amazing stories in two of my favorite genres that feel perfect on Switch. As always, thanks for reading! Note: I’m working on a separate list of otome games since there are too many good ones in that subgenre.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 4th, 2024. The long summer has more or less …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Ace Attorney Investigations Collection’, Plus New Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 4th, 2024. The long summer has more or less come to an end. It was sometimes hot and uncomfortable, but we had some good times that are worth remembering. I’m a little older and a little wiser than I was at the start, and I’m grateful I got to make that journey with all of you. As we head into another new season in our lives, I just want to say that no matter what happens from here you were all the best summer pals a person could ask for. In today’s article? Tons of reviews! A few new releases! Some sales! Let’s get this done! Reviews & Mini-Views Ace Attorney Investigations Collection ($39.99) One thing I will say about the Nintendo Switch generation of gaming: it’s given us second chances at a lot of fish that got away from us in the past. Trials of Mana! Live A Live! The original Fire Emblem! And now, the one and only Ace Attorney game that remained unlocalized comes to us by way of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, a set including Miles Edgeworth’s two post-Trials & Tribulations adventures. One thing this series has proven good at is building on plot threads established in previous titles, and the second Ace Attorney Investigations title does this quite well. It’s one of those sequels that makes the original better in hindsight, and it’s amazing to finally have it officially in English. The Ace Attorney Investigations games, in focusing on Miles Edgeworth, show us how things look from the prosecution’s side of things. Outside of a couple of new gimmicks, things aren’t all that different mechanically. Search for clues, question witnesses, and try to crack each case. Still, the very different and rather cool presentation helps liven things up, and Edgeworth as a protagonist certainly lends the narration a particular feel. The pacing has less structure to it than the usual Ace Attorney games, and that can sometimes make some cases feel exhausting, but by and large I think anyone who enjoys the main games in the series will be happy with this sub-series. If you find the first game to be a bit of a drag, stick it through to the second. It’s a lot better, and as mentioned it makes some of the things you suffer through in the first game make more sense. In terms of bonuses, this feels more like the Apollo Justice set than it does the others. A gallery mode is on offer with art and music to enjoy, a story mode lets you chill out and let the game beat itself, and you have the option to switch between the original graphics/soundtrack and the fancy new stuff. There’s a dialog history you can access if you miss something that was said, which is something that should be a stock feature in games like this. I’m glad to see it. The two games in Ace Attorney Investigations Collection offer an interesting contrast, and taken as one whole I think it’s a great experience overall. Getting the second game localized officially is amazing, and the suite of options and extras make for an excellent package. With this, every Ace Attorney game outside of the weird crossover with Professor Layton is now available on the Switch. If you like the series enough to have picked those up, you’ll definitely want to grab this as well. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Gimmick! 2 ($24.99) It is enormously odd to see a sequel to Gimmick!. I just want to say that before moving on. One of Sunsoft’s later games for the NES, Gimmick! didn’t even manage to get a release in the West outside of Scandinavia. Here we are thirty years later, and not only is the original game more widely available than ever, we now have a follow-up. This game was developed by Bitwave Games with no involvement from the original creator, but it’s incredibly faithful to the original anyway. Maybe too faithful in ways for some tastes, but there’s nothing wrong with a first sequel hewing closer to the line than farther. Six very lengthy levels of challenging physics-based platforming await you here, and as with the original you’re going to be up against the wall pretty quickly. There’s an easier mode this time, however, so those who want a slightly less bumpy ride can opt for it. Indeed, if you want to play the normal (Gimmick) difficulty, you’ll have to pass a little test right off the hop. The way protagonist Yumetaro’s star attack works is quite familiar also, with it serving as weapon, vehicle, and all-purpose puzzle solver all at once. One new element comes in the form of collectibles, often serving as rewards for completing more difficult sections that aren’t necessary for progression. These take the form of new customization options, but simply completing the more demanding tasks feels good in and of itself. It’s not a terribly long game if you just try to bolt through the whole thing, but it’s going to be a tough one either way. In that respect, it’s also quite similar to the original. You’ll die a lot here, often in spectacularly stupid ways, but generous checkpointing keeps the aggravation from boiling over. Well, most of the time. The adorable look and lively music also try to keep the fire from burning too hot, but don’t for one second underestimate Gimmick! 2. For all of its small concessions, this game understands that part of what made the original game so memorable came from its challenge. Platforming mastery is a must, and you’ll need to make clever usage of Yumetaro’s star and the enemies to make it much farther than the first level. Gimmick! 2 defies the odds by being a very good follow-up to a decades-old game made by another team entirely. It builds on the original game in some smart ways, but it never feels like it’s paying too much homage to be its own thing. If you enjoyed the first game, you’ll be thrilled with this. Platformer fans who aren’t put off by a high level of challenge will also want to check it out. That said, if you’re looking for something easy-going, don’t be fooled by the look of Gimmick! 2. It’s just as tough of a nut to crack as its predecessor, even with an easier difficulty setting. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Valfaris: Mecha Therion ($19.99) Valfaris: Mecha Therion takes a real risk with its game design, dropping the action-platformer set-up of the original game in favor of shoot ’em up action along the lines of Lords of Thunder. The most surprising thing is that it kind of works. Indeed, the biggest problem is that it’s sometimes a bit too much for the Switch’s aging hardware to do proper justice to. I don’t think anyone can really be blamed here. This is just where we’re at in the console’s lifespan now, I think. It’s not terrible, mind you. If this is the only option you have, you’ll still get a kick out of Mecha Therion‘s intense action, rocking soundtrack, and creepy visuals. There’s a fun juggling act going on in Mecha Therion thanks to how the weapons are set up. You’ve got your usual gun, but when it runs out of energy it weakens significantly. You’ve got a melee weapon that you can use to slice bullets and enemies, which recharges your gun energy. Finally, there’s a rotating third weapon or item. You start off with a lock-on missile attack, but you’ll have access to others. You can also dash, an offensive and defensive maneuver depending on the situation, and it has its own cooldown. With how many enemies and obstacles the game throws at you, mastering the rhythm of keeping your weapons ready and fending off shots is essential and satisfying. Don’t come into Valfaris: Mecha Therion expecting a similar kind of game as the first, but you can look forward to a similar vibe. It’s a heavy metal shoot ’em up with a style all its own, and it thankfully avoids many of the traps that so many games that try something different in this genre end up falling into. You’ll get better performance on other platforms, and in this genre that’s important, but this Switch conversion will absolutely do the job should it be your console of choice. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash ($44.99) Saying a licensed game is for the fans feels like a truism. Of course it’s for the fans. Some do a better job of pleasing that bunch than others, but typically speaking fans of the property used in a licensed game will get more out of it than non-fans. Which boils all of this down to two main questions. First, just how much fan service is baked in? In Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash, I can say that there is enough to please those who enjoy the exploits of these horse-girls. Indeed, I think that is the one thing the game does best. The writing is good and fits the property, and there are lots of meta-systems built in that reward you with things for the fans. The second question pertains to whether or not there is anything here for non-fans. Regrettably, I can’t be as positive here. You get a small number of half-baked mini-games to play, and while the presentation is solid there just isn’t much to do here if you aren’t really into Umamusume. You just play the same four mini-games again and again, watching a story unfold that only fans are going to properly enjoy. One of those mini-games offers so little interaction that I hesitate to even count it. The other three are better, but they just don’t have the staying power that a party game needs. The best part of all of this is an unlockable mini-game, and even that is a meager meal. Even for fans of the property, Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash feels like it emphasizes the wrong things at great expense. I think a great job has been done here in terms of serving the look, sound, and world of Umamusume, and the wide array of unlockables might be enough to keep those dedicated to the horse-girls interested for a while. But it fades far too fast, and if you’re lacking that attachment to start with, you’re probably going get tired of this well before the final furlong. SwitchArcade Score: 3/5 Sunsoft is Back! Retro Game Selection ($9.99) I think when Western game enthusiasts think of Sunsoft, if they think of Sunsoft at all, they probably think of games like Blaster Master, Batman, or Fester’s Quest. Recently some of the publisher’s rarer treasures have gotten a new shot at fame, bringing Ufouria, Gimmick!, and Trip World into the light. Even short-term mascot Aero the Acro-Bat and his buddies are getting play again. But there is a whole other side to Sunsoft that is less well-known in the West, and what makes it amusing is that it is what the company is mainly known for in its home country of Japan: charmingly rough-around-the-edges 8-bit games. Sunsoft is Back! Retro Game Selection aims to change that, offering up three such games in one very reasonably priced package. In this collection, you get the straightforward side-scrolling platforming of Firework Thrower Kantaro’s 53 Stations of the Tokaido (just rolls off the tongue, don’t it?), the adventure game Ripple Island, and the slightly hard to categorize action game The Wing of Madoola. All three games are delivered in a wrapper with most of the basic features you would want. That includes save states, rewind, some display options, manual scans, and a little art gallery for each game. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that all three games have been fully localized, all the way down to their title screens. For Ripple Island, that was no small task! This is the first time we’ve seen these games get an official release in English, and that’s worth celebrating on its own. So how are the games? A real mix, friends. 53 Stations is a frustrating game due to how your weapon is awkward to use against the swarms of enemies that appear, but there is a real charm to it thanks to how hard it leans into its theme. Ripple Island is a good adventure game, and I would lightly recommend it to anyone who enjoys that genre. The Wing of Madoola is the most ambitious game of the three, and it sometimes feels like it misses as often as it hits, but it’s worth putting some time into. None of these will make the list of top NES games by any means, but I wouldn’t call any of them bad either. Vexing, perhaps. Sunsoft fans and those who like digging into the margins of console libraries will get a real kick out of Sunsoft is Back! Retro Game Selection‘s offerings. Each game has been handled with care, and it’s great to see some games that missed their shot at localization back in the day finally get a chance. Hopefully this is just the first of a series of such collections, but even if this is all we get, it’s nice to see another side of this once-mighty publisher’s library of classics. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Select New Releases Cyborg Force ($9.95) If you like run, but also gun while running, you might want to give Cyborg Force a look. It’s a very tough action game in the vein of things like Metal Slug and Contra, and you can play alone or bring a buddy along for some local multiplayer fun. This has been out for at least a few months on a number of other platforms, including the NEOGEO, so you can probably find some feedback out there if you’re in need of it. I think fans of this genre will be into it, at the very least. Billy’s Game Show ($7.99) I know, this looks like a Five Nights rip-off at a glance. Thematically, it kind of is. But this is actually more one of those games where you’re moving around trying to find stuff while a weird creep stalks you. You have to hide or run away when he shows up, because you have no way to stop him. You’ll also need to watch out for traps and keep the three generators running, because you do not want the power to go out. Not my kind of thing, but it might be yours. Mining Mechs ($4.99) A very descriptive title that doesn’t leave me with much to add. Use mechs to do some mining. Collect ores and treasures, sell them, buy upgrades or better mechs that allow you to make even further progress underground. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets. As you reach certain profit levels, the story will progress. Not the fanciest of dining, but for a fiver I imagine you’ll get a fair amount of enjoyment from it. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) A tiny inbox, with very little worth getting fussed about. I know, I know. I don’t get to decide that. The outbox has some treats worth mulling over, however. I’ll let you comb through those lists. It is important to learn to find things on one’s own sometimes, I think. Select New Sales Nora: The Wannabe Alchemist ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Deflector ($1.99 from $22.99 until 9/10) Sky Caravan ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) The Blind Prophet ($1.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) They Know ($1.99 from $6.99 until 9/10) Conjured Through Death ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/15) Dark Days ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/24) Another Bar Game ($3.89 from $5.99 until 9/24) Cook Serve Delicious ($4.41 from $12.99 until 9/24) Blood Will Be Spilled ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/24) Feudal Alloy ($3.39 from $16.99 until 9/24) Sales Ending Tomorrow, September 5th Adventure Bar Story ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/5) Anomaly Agent ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/5) Avenging Spirit ($2.99 from $5.99 until 9/5) Bug & Seek ($11.24 from $14.99 until 9/5) Burst Hero ($5.99 from $11.99 until 9/5) Cat Quest II ($3.74 from $14.99 until 9/5) Corpse Party ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Deadcraft ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Dice Make 10! ($3.59 from $3.99 until 9/5) Eldgear ($12.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Evil God Korone ($3.35 from $3.95 until 9/5) F1 Manager 2024 ($27.99 from $34.99 until 9/5) Fairy Elements ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/5) Freedom Planet 2 ($18.74 from $24.99 until 9/5) Genso Chronicles ($9.74 from $14.99 until 9/5) Gibbon: Beyond the Trees ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/5) Hide & Dance! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5) Magical Drop VI ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/5) Marchen Forest ($6.99 from $34.99 until 9/5) Mom Hid My Game! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5) Mom Hid My Game! 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5) My Brother Ate My Pudding! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5) Port Royale 4 ($17.49 from $49.99 until 9/5) SCHiM ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/5) Silent Hope ($13.99 from $39.99 until 9/5) Super Toy Cars Offroad ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) The Sinking City ($5.99 from $49.99 until 9/5) Untitled Goose Game ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Wing of Darkness ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/5) WitchSpring R ($35.99 from $39.99 until 9/5) Yggdra Union: WNFA ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/5) That’s all for today, friends. There are still more reviews coming this week, so do look forward to those. Plenty of new releases coming to the eShop in the next couple of days, which is about what you would expect from September. Let’s try to reconvene tomorrow, but if we get separated somehow and are trying to find me, you can always head on over to my personal blog Post Game Content. It’s rarely updated, but something tells me I’ll be back into the swing of it soon. I hope you all have an amazing Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Let’s dive in earlier this month to make up for last month’s slightly late edition. A new month and season …

Continue reading "The Best ‘Marvel Snap’ Meta Decks – September 2024 Edition"

Let’s dive in earlier this month to make up for last month’s slightly late edition. A new month and season is upon us, and I’m ready to help you out with some deck-building advice to keep you competitive in Marvel Snap (Free). Truth be told, I feel like the game got into a decently balanced zone over the course of the last month. A new season means new cards though, so it’s all about to go topsy-turvy again. Let’s do our best to figure out where things are going, shall we? Remember as ever: today’s winning deck could be tomorrow’s crunchy brown leaves. These guides are one way to keep your finger on the pulse of the scene, but they aren’t the only method you should be using. Note that most of these decks are the best of the best at this point in time. They assume you have access to a full range of cards. I’ll once again be including the five strongest Marvel Snap decks of the moment, and I’ll throw in a couple more decks that don’t need things that are too hard to get and are just sort of fun to play with. You know, a little variety and all of that. I would go as far as to say that most of the Young Avengers cards didn’t really make a big splash. Kate Bishop hit her mark, as she is wont to, and Marvel Boy definitely made a difference for fans of 1-Cost Kazoo decks, but the rest were kind of all over the place. You’ll see them here and there, but they haven’t shaken things up yet. I can’t say the same for the freshly launched Amazing Spider-Season, as it looks like it and the new Activate ability are coming in like a wrecking ball. Next month is going to look very, very different, I’m certain. Kazar and Gilgamesh Included Cards: Ant-Man, Nebula, Squirrel Girl, Dazzler, Kate Bishop, Marvel Boy, Caeira, Shanna, Kazar, Blue Marvel, Gilgamesh, Mockingbird So it has come to this, eh? Never thought I would see the day when Kazoo was among the top decks, but the Young Avengers have made it happen. At its heart, this is a very familiar deck. Get a bunch of low cost cards out there and then buff them with Kazar and Blue Marvel. The new tricks here are Marvel Boy adding more buffs and Gilgamesh benefiting big-time from all of that. Kate Bishop and her arrows can help fill spaces for Dazzler if needed, and her arrows will help bring down the cost of your other heavy hitter, Mockingbird. A very nice deck with strong performance. We’ll see if it can hang in there. Silver Surfer Still Never Dies, Part II Included Cards: Nova, Forge, Cassandra Nova, Brood, Silver Surfer, Killmonger, Hope Summers, Nocturne, Sebastian Shaw, Copycat, Absorbing Man, Gwenpool Silver Surfer is still flying high, with a few tweaks to react to balance changes and new cards. If you’ve been playing a while, you know how this goes. You’ve got the classic Nova/Killmonger pair for boosting your cards a bit once you have some out there. Forge ideally boosts Brood so that its clones will be stronger. Gwenpool boosts cards in your hand, Shaw gets beefier as he gets buffed, Hope lets you get more Energy, Cassandra Nova grabs power from your opponent, and the Surfer/Absorbing Man combo is there finish things off in style. Copycat steals Red Guardian’s spot, as she has proven an extremely useful general-purpose tool. Spectrum and Man-Thing Ongoing Included Cards: Wasp, Ant-Man, Howard the Duck, Armor, US Agent, Lizard, Captain America, Cosmo, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Man-Thing, Spectrum Even the Ongoing archetype is up here at the top, which is another interesting outcome. You’ve got some generally useful cards here, all with Ongoing abilities. That means Spectrum will give them a nice final turn buff. The Luke Cage/Man-Thing combo is also a very nice one, and Luke will even protect your cards from US Agent’s powerful effect. The other good point of this deck is that it’s pretty easy to play, and I have a feeling Cosmo is going to become even more useful than he already was with things going the way they are. Discard Dracula Included Cards: Blade, Morbius, The Collector, Swarm, Colleen Wing, Moon Knight, Corvus Glaive, Lady Sif, Dracula, Proxima Midnight, MODOK, Apocalypse The classics are the order of the day right now, is the theme. Here’s the very reliable Apocalypse-flavor Discard deck, with the only real change from the standard being the presence of Moon Knight. He got better after his buff. Anyway, your big cards here are Morbius and Dracula, and if everything goes well you’ll end up with nothing more in your hand than Apocalypse on that last round. Dracula will eat him, you’ll get a Mega-Drac, and Morbius should be morbing all over the place with all that discarding you’ve been doing. Collector might even be a bit cheeky if you go to town on Swarms enough. Destroy Included Cards: Deadpool, Niko Minoru, X-23, Carnage, Wolverine, Killmonger, Deathlok, Attuma, Nimrod, Knull, Death Yes, it’s the Destroy deck. Very, very close to the traditional one even. Attuma has grabbed a spot here thanks to his recent change. A very successful buff, that one. Destroy Deadpool and Wolverine as much as possible, get extra energy with X-23, finish up with a nice Nimrod swarm or drop Knull if you’re feeling cute. Weird to see this kind of deck without Arnim Zola, but counter-measures are getting too common these days I suppose. And now, a couple of fun decks for those still climbing up the collection ladder or who simply want to try something different. Darkhawk Is Back (Did He Ever Leave?) Included Cards: The Hood, Spider-Ham, Korg, Niko Minoru, Cassandra Nova, Moon Knight, Rockslide, Viper, Proxima Midnight, Darkhawk, Blackbolt, Stature I have always liked Darkhawk, despite him being unspeakably goofy from virtually his first appearance. So I’m glad he’s a competitive card in Marvel Snap, to the point that I like to tinker around with decks using him. This one has the classic combos, with Korg and Rockslide adding cards to your opponent’s deck. It also has some spoiler cards like Spider-Ham and Cassandra Nova, plus a couple of cards that will cause your opponent to discard and make Stature cheap to play. Yay, Dorkhawk! Budget Kazar Included Cards: Ant-Man, Elektra, Ice Man, Nightcrawler, Armor, Mister Fantastic, Cosmo, Kazar, Namor, Blue Marvel, Klaw, Onslaught If that Kazar deck up there looks nice but you’re just starting out, you might as well practice with this beginner-friendly variant. No, it probably won’t win as reliably as the fancy version. But it will teach you how this kind of combo works, and that’s valuable experience. You still get that nice Kazar and Blue Marvel mix, with a flavorful Onslaught on top to spike the football. And that’s it for this month’s deck guide. With the latest season and whatever balance changes Second Dinner opts to make during the course of the month, I’m sure things will look quite different come October. That Activate ability really changes up the flow of games, and Symbiote Spider-Man is looking to be a complete beast. As ever, it’s also going to be interesting to see what cards and decks Second Dinner feels like addressing with balance changes. It’s interesting to see the classics on top again, but I can’t imagine it will stay that way. For now… happy snapping!

Mobile games don’t have to make sense, as evidenced by the enduring popularity of a franchise that sees players catapulting …

Continue reading "‘Foxy’s Football Islands’ Offers Up Something Very Different on Mobile"

Mobile games don’t have to make sense, as evidenced by the enduring popularity of a franchise that sees players catapulting birds (which can fly) at pigs (green). But even in the topsy-turvy world of mobile game concepts, Foxy’s Football Islands is gloriously out on a limb. The hypercasual gameplay spans a number of different genres, including football, building, collection, and multiplayer tit-for-tat. These genres aren’t natural bedfellows, any more than a fox is an obvious choice for a football game, but it all works like a dream. Here’s how it all works. Your first port of call is an island called Aztlan, a lush green habitat dotted with palm trees and building sites. Tap on one of these sites and you’ll begin construction on a building. Once that building is finished, you can tap again to upgrade it, and again, and again, all over the island, until every building has reached its final form. Then you move to the next island, earning stars that determine your place on the leaderboards. But hold up. It’s not that simple. Construction is an expensive business, and you’ll need to keep filling your coffers with gold coins to finance the work. And what’s the easiest way to earn coins fast? That’s right: by playing football. The soccer part of Foxy’s Football Islands sees you taking shots at a goal – or, more specifically, at targets nested within a goal. To take a shot, you slide your finger up the screen in the direction of the target. Unless, that is, there’s wind over the pitch, in which case you have to adjust for the gusts. Some targets move, too, requiring you to lead your shots. Hitting a target can have a number of different results, the most common of which is a great cascade of coins. The size of this cascade depends on the amount you stake. While a basic shot uses up one unit of energy (more on that later) it’s possible to double or treble the ante in exchange for proportionately greater rewards – as long as you don’t miss. You’ll also get to attack another player’s island, either at random or in a targeted fashion, destroying one of their buildings and setting them back in their quest to overtake you on the leaderboards. Sometimes you’ll bring up a moving target, opening the way for a major payday, and on other occasions you’ll obtain a special glove that lets you block a single attack on your own island. There are familiar elements in Foxy’s Football Islands, including an energy system that limits the number of shots you can take (unless you pay for more), gems for buying coins, a tiered upgrade system, and so on. But it’s the way the game manages to bring together a vast range of different genres that really helps Foxy’s Football Islands really stand out. One minute you’re enjoying a physics-based football game, and then next you’re expanding your territory by ploughing coins into the construction of an Aztec pyramid or an Ancient Egyptian monument. The multiplayer is equally varied, combining the extremely devious with the extremely wholesome. For instance, when you’re not taking revenge on players who have aggrieved you or targeting your friends for lols you’re trading the adorable relics that you obtain throughout the campaign. We’re not sure whether Foxy’s Football Islands is a nasty game with a nice streak or a nice game with a nasty streak. Either way, there’s nothing else quite like it. To play the game for yourself, head to the Google Play Store or the App Store and download Foxy’s Football Islands for free right now. Sponsored Content This article is sponsored content written by TouchArcade and published on behalf of Frank’s Football Studios to promote Foxy’s Football Islands. For questions or comments, please email ads@toucharcade.com

While most fans have been looking forward to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 or basically a sequel to Warhammer 40,000: …

Continue reading "Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck Review (in Progress) – GOTY Contender, but Play It Elsewhere for Now"

While most fans have been looking forward to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 or basically a sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine for many years, I wasn’t really aware of the first game until I played Total War: Warhammer and was looking into other Warhammer 40,000 games. Since then, I’ve played many of them, with my favorites being Boltgun and Rogue Trader. I did end up playing some of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine on Steam Deck many months ago to see how it felt. Having played many of the Warhammer 40,000 games on PC and even console more recently, I was excited to see how Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 felt after that amazing reveal it had. Over the last eight days, I’ve put in about 22 hours into Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 across my Steam Deck and PS5 making use of cross progression and also testing out the online. This Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck review is an in progress one for two reasons. The first is I cannot score a game like this without testing out cross platform multiplayer and also the online in general with public servers. The second is because Focus and Saber have confirmed that they are working on official Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck support and aiming to have it out by the end of the year. Having seen how amazing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine looks and plays on Steam Deck, and because Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has cross progression, I was very curious to see how it plays on Steam Deck if at all. There’s good news and bad news right now, and I’m going to cover all of that in this Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck review in progress with the gameplay, online co-op, visuals, PC port features, PS5 features, and more included. Note that the screenshots in the article with the performance overlay or fps displayed are from my Steam Deck OLED while the 16:9 screenshots are from my PS5 playthrough. My testing has also been done on Proton GE 9-9 and Proton Experimental (bleeding edge). Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a third person action shooter that is equal parts brutal, gorgeous, and fun, and this also applies to newcomers to the world of Warhammer 40,000. After a brief but well thought out tutorial-like intro segment that introduces you to the basics of combat and movement, you arrive at your main hub, the Battle Barge. This is where you choose your missions, game mode, adjust cosmetics, and much more. The moment to moment gameplay is superb with the controls and weapons all feeling perfect. I’m sure some will gravitate to using ranged more, but I adore the melee weapons and how visceral the combat feels up close. I never got tired of the executions and just plowing through tons of fodder enemies before the more powerful foes appear. The campaign is super fun solo and with a friend (or two) in co-op, but I hate any sort of defense missions. Thankfully I wasn’t too bothered by the implementation here. When playing with a friend of mine who lives in another country, I kept thinking how Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 felt like a big budget take on a co-op shooter from the Xbox 360 era that we don’t really see much of these days. It managed to get its hooks in me just like Earth Defense Force or the recent Gundam Breaker 4 have done, and I really hope Saber and Focus can somehow work with SEGA to give the original game’s campaign a modern facelift. Before going further, my knowledge of Warhammer 40,000 is through the Total War Warhammer, Dawn of War, Boltgun, and Rogue Trader more or less. With that said, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has been refreshing to play and is one of my favorite co-op experiences in years. It is too soon to say if this is my favorite Warhammer 40,000 game, but I just want to save this review draft and get back to playing right now. I’m addicted to playing with a friend in Operations mode while trying out the different classes and slowly progressing through the missions and unlocks. I don’t want to definitively say this since I’ve not played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 once the full game launches with randoms, but what I’ve experienced in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 co-op so far is superb. I cannot wait to properly try out the online this week once the game launches with cross progression and cross platform online. Visually, I can only comment on how Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is on PS5 and Steam Deck, and it is definitely a looker in the 4K mode on PS5 when played on my 1440p monitor. While it has always looked good in trailers, I’m floored at how good the environments look and also how much work has clearly gone into making everything feel alive not only with the massive number of enemies in the swarms, but also the texture work and lighting. This is all complemented by stunning direction for the main character voice acting and all the gear and customization options included. You can tell a lot of care went into making it so that you can show off your creativity with the customization options and more. There’s also a photo mode you can access during singleplayer letting you adjust frames, expressions, characters visible, FOV, and much more. One thing to note is that if you do this on Steam Deck right now, some of the frames or effects don’t look too good when using FSR 2 and a lower resolution. On PS5 though, the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 photo mode is amazing. On the audio side, I didn’t know what to expect from the music. Ideally, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 would have shipped with Bolt Thrower’s Realm of Chaos, but that likely wasn’t an option. I know bringing this up is like when I wished God of War (2018) had some Amon Amarth music. That tangent aside, the real star of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s audio is the voice acting and general sound design. This is top tier stuff. The music is very good so far, but I’ve not heard anything (so far) that I would want to listen to a lot outside the game. It works perfectly in-game though. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC graphics options So how is the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC port? I’ve only played it on Steam Deck of course, but I can still cover what features it includes. When you boot up Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, it installs Epic Online Services, but there is no need to link your Epic account. I have one, but didn’t bother linking it. As for the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC graphics options, you can adjust display, display mode (windowed, borderless, and fullscreen), resolution (800×600 and above), render resolution (native, dynamic to hit the fps target), quality, balanced, performance, and ultra performance), resolution upscaling type (TAA or FSR 2 on Steam Deck), dynamic resolution target, toggle v-sync, adjust brightness, motion blur intensity, fps limit (30, 60, 90, 120, unlimited), and then change many quality-related settings. The Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 visual quality settings include four presets that adjust the following: texture filtering, texture resolution, shadows, screen space ambient occlusion, screen space reflections, volumetrics, effects, details, and cloth simulation. As mentioned in the blog post linked above, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on PC ships with DLSS and FSR 2 support. FSR 3 is planned for post-launch. I imagine the game will benefit from this on Steam Deck whenever it ships. I also hope the team adds full 16:10 support when the ultrawide update ships because the game is 16:9 only now. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC control options On the control side, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has keyboard and mouse controls in addition to full controller support. Initially, I wasn’t able to get it to display PlayStation button prompts on Steam Deck by default, but turning off Steam Input fixed this. I noticed an adaptive trigger option under control settings, and this made me try disabling Steam Input. This menu also lets you remap keyboard and mouse bindings. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 displays PlayStation button prompts when I use my DualSense controller over Bluetooth, and it even supports Adaptive Triggers wirelessly on PC. This isn’t too common so I thought it was worth highlighting. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck performance Before getting to the visuals and performance, I want to note that I had some freezing (only while booting up the game) on the default Proton or Experimental (bleeding edge), but I did not have any freezing when using Proton GE 9-9. Aside from that, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is playable (technically) on Steam Deck with no config change needed. The bad news is that it is a bit too much for Valve’s handheld right now. When playing at 1280×800 (it still is 16:9) and using the low preset with FSR 2.0 at Ultra Performance, it still cannot hold a locked 30fps. There are regular dips to the mid 20s in tense combat, and it can even go lower. Even when playing at a lower resolution, it drops below 30fps. For a game like this, that isn’t close to ideal. I hope it can eventually reach a stage where it can run at 30fps, but it isn’t possible right now as far as I can tell across the 10 hours I played on my Steam Deck OLED. When using the dynamic upscaling for a 30fps target and the low preset, it can hit the 30s, but it drops to the low 20s often. This mode does still look very good on the Deck’s own screen, but as you can tell, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is too much for Steam Deck right now. It also sometimes doesn’t exit out correctly requiring you to manually force close the game when you hit quit. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck multiplayer impressions With all that aside, I wanted to make sure Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is playable online on Steam Deck. We sometimes have games where the developers add some anti cheat that blocks online play on Proton or Linux. Thankfully, I can report that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 works perfectly online. I tested with a friend in Canada and we had a blast for a few hours playing in co-op. The only issue I had was some internet related disconnection, but since these are pre-release servers, I will be waiting to test out the game in a more public environment with randoms and friends once the game launches. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PS5 features – DualSense, Activity Cards, and Performance Mode Since I also played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on PS5, I wanted to cover how it feels on a current console for those who play on Steam Deck and consoles like I do. I’ve only tried the performance mode so far, and it feels mostly great. Don’t expect a locked 60fps though, and there seems to be some dynamic resolution or upscaling happening because I noticed it got very blurry in two big fights in the operations mode with a friend. Aside from that, I have no qualms in recommending Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on PS5 right now based on the time I’ve put into it, but I want to make sure the online works cross platform before giving it a definite recommendation. The load times are fast and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 also has PS5 Activity Card support for different modes and getting back into your save file saving time from the PS5 dashboard. As of this writing, there is no gyro support on PS5. If this changes, I will update this section, but sadly I didn’t see anything hinting at it in the build I’ve played pre-release. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 cross save progression explained While this may change with the full launch, I’ve been able to take my Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 progress across Steam and PS5. There is some sort of two day cooldown period before you can sync it back or to another platform. I reached out to Focus to check if the final build will let you do it again immediately or still have the cool down. Is Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 worth it for solo play only? This is a question I cannot fully answer yet because the servers are not as populated as they will be at launch. I will be updating this once I’ve played with randoms and seen how the matchmaking works in the Operations (PvE) and Eternal War (PvP) modes. Speaking of Eternal War, I’ve not been able to test that yet. I will be doing so to update this review in the near future. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 features I want to see in updates and patches Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is clearly going to get a ton of post-launch support through updates and DLC, and the main thing I want to see aside from improvements to Steam Deck performance is proper HDR support. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is gorgeous and the texture work, materials, and lighting would pop even more with HDR. Aside from that, I’m pleased with the DualSense implementation of triggers and vibration, but haptic feedback would be great. The blog post mentions haptics won’t be in “at launch" and I hope that means it is planned for later. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is an easy game of the year contender so far. While I still need a bit of time to test the online when cross play is available from launch day, the gameplay is sublime and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 looks and sounds superb across the board. Having played it on PS5 and Steam Deck with cross progression, I don’t recommend playing it on Valve’s handheld right now. It gets an easy recommendation on PS5 though. I will be updating this with a full score once I’ve gotten enough time with the multiplayer and some patches. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Steam Deck Review Score: TBA

With August in the rear-view mirror, taking the Young Avengers with it, we’re about due for another season in Marvel …

Continue reading "Swing Into ‘Marvel Snap’ With The Amazing Spider-Season"

With August in the rear-view mirror, taking the Young Avengers with it, we’re about due for another season in Marvel Snap (Free). And indeed, a new one has kicked off today! What is the theme, you might be wondering? Why it’s the best kind of Marvel theme! The deadly… the terrifying… the Amazing Spider-Season! BONESAW IS READY! Sorry, Bonesaw isn’t in this season. Maybe someday. But there are some cool new cards and locations, so let’s check them out! This season is a bit of a doozy as it is introducing a new type of card ability: Activate. With Activate, you choose when to fire off the card’s ability. It’s like an On Reveal that you can trigger at any time, while also dodging things that affect On Reveal abilities. The Season Pass card naturally takes advantage of this new feature, and so far he is looking like a real doozy. If you want to see the folks at Second Dinner introduce the new season, I’ve linked the video below. Read on for my summary. Symbiote Spider-Man is the new Season Pass card. He’s 4-Cost 6-Power, and he has an Activate ability that absorbs the lowest cost card at the location and copies the text of that card. If that includes an On Reveal ability, it will fire off again as though the card was just played. Combine with Galactus for HIJINKS. I’ll be really surprised if this card survives the season without being nerfed, but he sure is a whole lot of fun already. Now for the rest of the lot. Silver Sable is 1-Cost 1-Power, but she has an On Reveal ability that steals two power from card at the top of your opponent’s deck. Decent as a standalone, really useful in combinations with certain locations and other cards. Next, the star of the hit film Madame Web. She has an Ongoing ability that allows you to move one of the other cards at her location elsewhere once per turn. Next, Arana. Another 1-Cost 1-Power card, and she’s our next Activate ability user. Activate her to move the next card you play to the right and give it +2 Power. She’s going to be a staple of move decks, I’m sure. Rounding out our Spider-Friends is Scarlet Spider, the Ben Reilly variety. He’s a 4-Cost 5-Power card, and he has an Activate ability too! Use it to spawn an exact clone to another location. Power him up, then multiply him! Clones don’t have feelings! As for the new locations, there are two. The Brooklyn Bridge is a big part of Spider-Man lore, and it’s certainly due for an appearance in Marvel Snap. The gimmick with this location is that you can’t place cards there two turns in a row. You’re going to have to get creative to dominate this spot! The other location is Otto’s Lab, and it works a lot like Otto himself. The next card you play there will pull a card from the enemy’s hand to the location. Ooh, surprises! THE DIE IS CAST! And that’s the lot for the new season! Some very interesting cards this time around, and that new Activate ability is sure to create some fascinating possibilities. We’ll have our September deck guide up very soon, as we could all use a little help in handling this wall-crawling menace and his friends. What do you think of this season? Any cards you’ll be playing? Are you buying that Season Pass? Let us know in the comments!

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 3rd, 2024. In today’s article, I have a few …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Castlevania Dominus Collection’, Plus Today’s Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 3rd, 2024. In today’s article, I have a few more reviews for you. Some lengthy thoughts on Castlevania Dominus Collection, a look at Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn, and some quick critiques of a pair of Pinball FX tables that recently arrived as DLC. After that, we check out the new releases of the day including the quirky and cool Bakeru, then roll into the latest sales and expiring discounts for the day. Let’s get into it! Reviews & Mini-Views Castlevania Dominus Collection ($24.99) Say what you will about Konami in the modern era, but it has been absolutely killing it with most of its classic collections. Castlevania in particular has been enjoying a great deal of love in this regard, with Castlevania Dominus Collection being its third on modern platforms. This time around, the focus is on the Nintendo DS trilogy of games in the franchise. The development chores have again been handled by M2, with the usual excellent results. But there’s more here than meets the eye, and with everything taken into account this may well be the most essential Castlevania collection yet. I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s talk about the main course first. The Nintendo DS era of Castlevania was a historical one in some ways for the franchise, and not all of them good. On the positive side, all three of the games had a unique identity and make for a surprisingly varied trio. Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow. It hit very early in the Nintendo DS’s life, and is thus cursed to some stupid touchscreen gimmicks that have thankfully been mitigated in this release. Portrait of Ruin shoves the touchscreen nonsense into a bonus mode, relying on an interesting dual-character gimmick to distinguish itself. Order of Ecclesia really mixes things up, with considerably higher difficulty than its predecessor and a design that calls back to Simon’s Quest of all games. All good games. Great even? Would recommend. On the negative side, this was the last gasp of the run of exploratory Castlevania games created by Koji Igarashi, who gave the series a kick in the pants with Symphony of the Night when it needed it most. Returns were diminishing, and Konami thought it had a better play in MercurySteam’s Lords of Shadow. Well, hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. Were these games so distinct from each other because IGA wanted to stretch his creative legs, or was it a desperate attempt to find something that would stick with an increasingly disinterested audience? We’ll never know. I do remember at the time many people were feeling exhausted with this type of Castlevania, and I will shamefully admit that despite buying them on day one every time and playing the heck out of them, I was also feeling like the series was falling into a rut. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone? So, weird thing here is that these games don’t appear to be emulated, but are instead native ports. That allowed M2 to do neat things like replace the annoying touchscreen seals in Dawn with far more manageable button presses, and show you not only the main screen and the status screen at all times, but also the map as a third screen. What is this, a Nintendo TS? There are still some very DS-like aspects to these games, but they all had to work with a controller for docked mode, and so they all do. This actually makes Dawn of Sorrow a lot better, and I would now put it within my top five Castlevania games of all-time. In terms of options and extras, there is plenty here. For general options, you get a choice of which region of each game you’d like to play, the ability to swap confirm/cancel button mapping, and the choice of whether you want the left stick to be mapped to character movement or the touch cursor. The latter is important for one of the bonus modes in Portrait of Ruin. There is also an incredibly adorable credits sequence where one of the unsung heroes of the series achieves his dreams. Make sure you watch them. There’s a nice gallery where you can view some art, manual scans, and box art for each of the three DS games. You can also listen to the music from all of the included games, and when the music is this good you know that’s a treat. You can even make your own custom playlist of tunes. Once in-game, you can make use of save states and a rewind feature, remap the controls as you like, adjust how the three screens are laid out, choose from a handful of background colors, and adjust the levels on the different audio elements. There is also an exhaustive compendium for each game, with information on equipment, enemies, items, and other points of interest. Pretty much anything you would need to enjoy these games to the maximum. About all I could ask for is perhaps a few other screen arrangement options that allow me to make the play area bigger, but that’s a very minor nitpick. This is a great way to enjoy three very cool games, and for the price it’s an absurd value. But wait! There’s more! The absolutely dreadful arcade Castlevania game, Haunted Castle, has been included here. I’m not sure why it was left off the first collection and shunted to the otherwise shooter-heavy Konami arcade collection, but here it is. Here too you get a variety of options, including the virtually necessary option for unlimited continues. Seriously, this game is brutally unfair. Good music, a terrific opening that sees Simon in a snazzy tux, but the game itself is horrible and completely irredeemable. Or… is it? The last extra, and it feels ridiculous to call something so substantial an extra but it’s M2’s wording not mine, is a complete remake of Haunted Castle. Much like when it took on the task of remaking Castlevania: The Adventure with Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on the Nintendo Wii (please reissue all of the Rebirth games), M2 basically took a look at the original game and decided to make a good one instead. Haunted Castle Revisited takes a lot of cues from the arcade original, but it really does its own thing virtually from top to bottom. Yes, we have a new Castlevania game! A very good one! It’s tucked away in the Extras tab of a Nintendo DS collection, but it’s here! If you like Castlevania, you really should buy Castlevania Dominus Collection. There’s an entire new Castlevania game here and it kind of rules. You also get what you’re ostensibly buying the collection for with the three Nintendo DS IGAvanias, presented in as fine a form as you could hope for. The original Haunted Castle is also here. If, on the other hand, you don’t like Castlevania, we are not friends. And finally, if you don’t know Castlevania, you should pick up all three of the collections and get to the good times. Another absolutely stellar showing from Konami and M2. SwitchArcade Score: 5/5 Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn ($19.99) I’ve been through a bit of a roller coaster with Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn. I’ve enjoyed all of Tengo Project’s releases so far, and I believe its versions of Wild Guns and The Ninja Warriors are definitive in every way. I had a few issues with Pocky & Rocky, but overall that was also a very enjoyable romp. Shadow of the Ninja seemed like a different kettle of fish in a lot of ways, however. The Tengo Project team members didn’t have much to do with the original game, and this was an 8-bit game being updated rather than a 16-bit one. I also personally don’t think the original game is as good as Wild Guns, The Ninja Warriors, and Pocky & Rocky were. As a result, when this remake was announced I was a little hesitant. Then I had a chance to play the first little part of the game at the Tokyo Game Show last year, and I enjoyed that well enough to get excited again. Now that I’ve played through the game a few times, I’ve settled somewhere in the middle. I think relative to the other games from this developer, Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a bit less well-rounded. The improvements from the original game are many, from the excellent presentation to a more refined weapon and item system. You don’t get any fun new characters in this one, but the two existing playable characters have been differentiated. It is, as one would expect, better than the original game while maintaining the important aspects of its spirit. If you loved Shadow of the Ninja, you’ll really love this. If on the other hand you’re like me and only found the original to be a decent action-platformer, you probably won’t land much further from that mark with Reborn. Having access to both the chain and the sword at all times is a great improvement, and the sword on the whole is more useful than it was in the original game. The new inventory system is cool, adding a little spice to a game that needed something like that. The presentation is excellent, and you would never know it was based on an 8-bit game. There are a couple of rude difficulty spikes, and I think this is actually a more challenging game on the whole than the original. Perhaps that’s necessary, as it’s not a very lengthy affair overall. It’s the best Shadow of the Ninja you could play, but it is still Shadow of the Ninja. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is another solid effort from Tengo Project, and in some ways is the most substantial improvement over its predecessor of any of their releases yet. Whether or not you should pick it up is really going to depend on how you feel about that original game, because the core is still very much in line with that NES title. Those without any prior experience will find an enjoyable but not essential action game here, one that very much subscribes to an 8-bit design sensibility. SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Pinball FX – The Princess Bride Pinball ($5.49) Just a couple of quick Pinball FX DLC reviews, partly to celebrate the massive update Pinball FX has received that finally makes it properly playable on Switch. To go with that, two new tables were released as DLC: The Princess Bride Pinball, and Goat Simulator Pinball. The former is based on the cult classic movie, and it includes not only real voice clips but also video clips from the film. Now that’s the kind of thing I want to see in these licensed tables, Zen. Mechanically speaking, this table feels like something you could actually see a real physical version of. Relatively straightforward to learn, relatively authentic to the license, and satisfying to score attack on. Zen Studios doesn’t always hit with its licensed tables, often missing things like music, real voices, and likenesses. The Princess Bride Pinball is one of the better ones in that regard, and I think any fan of the movie who isn’t allergic to pinball would do well to check it out. It’s not the most innovative of tables, relying on a lot of well-worn design choices, but I think that too fits. A good time for newcomers or veterans alike. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Pinball FX – Goat Simulator Pinball ($5.49) Then we have Goat Simulator Pinball, and this one understands its license equally well. That means this is a very odd table in a lot of ways, and it certainly could only exist in video game form. You’ll get involved in a lot of silly goat-related incidents, adding effects to your ball to trigger various elements of the table. It’s a little bewildering at first, but stick with it and you’ll be rewarded. More of a table for the veteran players, I think. Goat Simulator fans with no pinball experience will probably have some difficulty getting a handle on it enough to see some of the funnier antics. Goat Simulator Pinball is another solid piece of DLC from the folks at Zen Studios, who have made so many tables by now that they likely relish a chance to do something off-the-wall like this. It’s a tricky table to learn, but once you do you’ll get to see some truly wacky stuff. Fans of the Goat Simulator games who can stick with the game long enough to learn the ropes will be rewarded, but it’s going to take a bit more work to get there than with some other tables. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 Select New Releases Bakeru ($39.99) If you read my review yesterday, you’ll know I really enjoyed this breezy, charming 3D platformer from the fine folks at Good-Feel. Play as a tanuki named Bakeru who is on a mission to save Japan from an evil overlord who has trapped people in an eternal festival. Battle enemies, get interesting Japan trivia from hidden poo, collect souvenirs, and maybe even laugh here and there. The framerate in this Switch version is inconsistent, so tech heads may want to play it elsewhere. If you don’t mind that aspect, this is a nice game to play on your Switch. Holyhunt ($4.99) This is a top-down arena-based twin-stick shooter. It describes itself as a love letter to 8-bit games, but I don’t really remember seeing many games like this back then. At any rate, it looks amusing enough for what it is. Shoot, shoot, dash, dash, get new gun, repeat. Watch out for bosses. That kind of thing. Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography ($20.00) I don’t normally include these language-learning things since we’re more game-focused here, but this one at least seems to have some additional effort put into it. You go around, take pictures of things, and learn the Japanese names for them. Would I spend twenty on it? Probably not. But everyone learns in different ways, and this might be how you learn. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Some decent games in the inbox today, including OrangePixel’s selection of great pick-up-and-play titles. Alien Hominid is enjoying an extremely rare discount, and you can also scoop up Ufouria 2 at a nice price. Over in the outbox, titles from THQ and Team 17 are finishing up their latest discounts. Check out their publisher pages as I’ve only included a handful for each. Have a gander through both lists, as ever. Select New Sales Space Grunts ($8.39 from $13.99 until 9/7) Meganoid ($5.39 from $8.99 until 9/7) Stardash ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/7) Gunslugs ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Gunslugs 2 ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Heroes of Loot ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/7) Heroes of Loot 2 ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/7) Warhammer 40k Dakka Squadron ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/9) Castle Crashers Remastered ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Alien Hominid HD ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/10) Alien Hominid Invasion ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Conscript ($17.59 from $21.99 until 9/15) Overdelivery ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/15) Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption ($2.99 from $19.99 until 9/16) Agent Intercept ($7.99 form $19.99 until 9/16) Secret Files Tunguska ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/16) Secret Files Puritas Cordis ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/16) Secret Files Sam Peters ($2.02 from $6.99 until 9/16) Lost Horizon ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/16) Lost Horizon 2 ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/16) Zombo Buster Advance ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/16) Skautfold Usurper ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/17) Nuclear Blaze ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/17) Helvetii ($5.09 from $16.99 until 9/17) Heidelberg 1693 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/17) Sophstar ($6.49 from $12.99 until 9/17) Harmony’s Odyssey ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/17) Ufouria 2: The Saga ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/17) Promenade ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/17) Shinorubi ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/17) Last Night of Winter ($6.99 from $9.99 until 9/17) Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/18) Nobody Saves The World ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/23) Summer in Mara ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/23) Guacamelee 2 ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/23) Railbound ($2.59 from $12.99 until 9/23) Sales Ending Tomorrow, September 4th Capes ($29.99 from $39.99 until 9/4) Fates of Ort ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/4) Floogen ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/4) Fluffy Horde ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/4) Gum+ ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/4) Hopping Girl Kohane EX ($16.74 from $24.99 until 9/4) Kingdom Come Deliverance ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/4) Kona II: Brume ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/4) Metro 2033 Redux ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) Metro Last Light Redux ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) Outward Definitive ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/4) Overcooked Special Edition ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) Rolling Car ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/4) Stunt Paradise ($5.19 from $7.99 until 9/4) Tiny Pixels Vol 1 Ninpo Blast ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/4) Worms WMD ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/4) Yoku’s Island Express ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, and perhaps some news. Maybe a review? No promises. I think we’re officially in the season of TOO MANY GOOD GAMES, so hold on to your wallets and enjoy the fun. It’s probably the Switch’s last holiday ride, so let’s make it worth the while. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home has been a very interesting game to follow pre-release. I say this not only because …

Continue reading "‘Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home’ iOS Review – A Great Start, but Needs More Work"

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home has been a very interesting game to follow pre-release. I say this not only because it is a premium mobile-first Harvest Moon game, but also because the reactions from my friends who are longtime fans of the series have gone from apathy to interest with every bit of gameplay shown. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home launched recently on iOS and Android as a mobile-exclusive entry in Natsume’s Harvest Moon series, and I’ve been playing it for about a week and a half now on iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro for review. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is a very good farming simulation game, but one that is held back by a few issues right now. A lot of fans of the Harvest Moon series of games from Marvelous have been around since the SNES or N64 days, but I only got into it on 3DS with Story of Season. Back then, I had no idea about the name change and that Marvelous’ releases would be called Story of Seasons while Harvest Moon would be the name used by Natsume going forward. I’m making that clear now because I don’t want people confused about what Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is and also to give you my history with the series before getting into how I feel about Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home ($17.99). If you’re new to farming and life simulation games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home takes you back from the city to a calming village where you fish, farm, interact with many NPCs, partake in festivals (that need to be unlocked), and even find a companion. The village of Alba, your new home, is dense and cozy (sorry but I had to), and I’m glad it isn’t a big open location because those usually result in a lot of empty spaces when it comes to life simulation games. If you’ve played many in the genre, think of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home as one that focuses more on the characters with a bit less depth when it comes to farming. After a short tutorial explaining the basics of movement and a bit of farming, you unlock the map and main menu letting you save just about anywhere (this is very important for a mobile game), and this is where you get into the flow of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home where you try and finish quests for NPCs, upgrade your tools, gather, mine (this unlocks a bit later), and of course farm through the game’s main chapters. The more I played Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home, the more I realized that the developers understood what makes life and farming simulation games great, but fell short in some ways. These may or may not affect newcomers to the genre, but those who have played many recent games will find them lacking. The potential partners are likely the weakest aspect of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. They just aren’t as interesting as other games in the genre. If you don’t care about that aspect, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is quite a polished entry in the genre. Approaching Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home from a general life simulation game enthusiast’s perspective feels different though. While other platforms are spoiled for choice with tons of games from big and small developers, we don’t really see much like that on mobile, but that doesn’t make up for some of the flaws here, especially at a much higher price point. I think this is a very solid base that the developers can build on to the point where it would even be a great fit for PC and consoles. The only “mobile" aspect of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home right now is the touch control option. Visually, aside from the performance and load times that I will cover below, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home looks very good. Some characters look generic, but the interface, farm, building layout, and everything looks good. I also appreciate that Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home supports fullscreen on iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. It really feels like a game properly tailored to mobile with its visuals and controls. While Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home does look nice visually for the most part, it is lacking when it comes to the character designs. This applies to your own character with customization options that should’ve been more detailed and also the main NPCs in the town. A lot of them feel lifeless even during cut-scenes. Barring that, I like the aesthetic a lot, and Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home looks excellent on my iPhone and iPad. The one disappointment is in performance. Right now, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is capped at 30fps on my iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. I was expecting above 60fps let alone 60fps, but it isn’t possible to play at a higher frame rate now. The load times are also not as fast as they should be. On the audio side, I was pleased with the music and sounds in Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. Nothing stood out to the point where I’d listen to it outside the game, but it sounded good and the music changes were appropriate to the gameplay. When Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home was announced as a mobile-exclusive game, I was curious how it would control. The developers have done a fantastic job with the touch controls here letting you play by tapping to move, dragging to move, and more. Interacting with objects or characters, farming, and navigating menus all feel good. Some text and touch targets feel a bit too small on iPhone, but they are fine on iPad. I would’ve loved some haptic feedback on iPhone though for using tools and even fishing. Maybe this can be added in a future update. If you’ve played the two best life simulation games on mobile: Stardew Valley and My Time at Portia, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home feels closer to the former, but it isn’t as polished. I dislike bringing up other games in the same genre to compare, but I’m doing it here specifically for the mobile port. Those two games were built for PC/console and brought over to mobile while Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home was built for mobile and yet it doesn’t feel as tailored to the platform in its features. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is a mobile-exclusive game, and while I appreciate the touch control scheme, it has a few issues right now when it comes to features. The lack of cloud saves is beyond disappointing. When I first downloaded Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home on my iPhone, I played it for about three hours before picking up my iPad to see how it feels there. I found no way to get the save across, and still haven’t been able to move saves across devices. The lack of controller support is also disappointing for a game like this. The developers did a great job with touch controls, but it would be nice to have controller support for when I play on iPad. I would also like some quality of life features for movement, like we’ve seen in recent games in the genre. As a newcomer to Natsume’s new Harvest Moon games but a fan of all the recent Story of Seasons and other life simulation games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home ended up being worth playing, but it needs a few updates and features to be truly essential at full price. I have no issues with developers wanting to charge premium prices on mobile, but Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home lacking basic features like cloud saves and controller support definitely makes it harder to recommend alongside a few other design issues. If the developers continue working on this, it will be one of the best in the genre on mobile, and I’m glad to see them take a chance on a premium mobile life simulation game because that is very rare.

Summer holidays might be over, but fans of Gunship Battle: Total Warfare are still in for a treat as Joycity …

Continue reading "‘Gunship Battle: Total Warfare’ Launches Massive Sky Ace Update"

Summer holidays might be over, but fans of Gunship Battle: Total Warfare are still in for a treat as Joycity released one of the game’s most impressive updates that introduces Sky Ace alongside numerous QOL enhancements and a special event to keep things as exciting as possible this fall. Sky Ace is a classic 2D puzzle shooter that pays homage to the legendary shooters of console gaming with an unquestionably high level of polish and prestige. It also has its own storyline. With the help of a famous cast of fighter jets, players will be able to engage in aerial battle against enemy troops in Sky Ace and retrieve lost allies and locations. Players control their fighter jets left and right against a barrage of guided missiles and fast-moving enemy incursions as they shoot and strafe their way through simple calculation-based tasks. This vibrant, engaging feature combines the thrill of solving puzzles with traditional shooter action. But Sky Ace is not the only thing to look forward to and we are sure that players will enjoy the enhanced unit, the inventory navigations, rings that provide fast access to more easily control essential features at log in. Additionally, a new statistics tool has been implemented to let players confirm, use, and increase things more quickly. Together with input from both new and experienced players, these improvements significantly improve player convenience on all fronts. And to mark this special occasion, Joycity also decided to treat the GBTW with a special event that awards all players with an exclusive Jet, the ‘F-35 Sky Pro’ when they successfully complete specific Sky Ace stages. You can find out more about this major update on the official website or on the game’s Facebook page for the latest developments. Gunship Battle: Total Warfare is available for free on the Google Play Store or App Store. Sponsored Content This article is sponsored content written by TouchArcade and published on behalf of Joycity to promote the new Sky Ace update for Gunship Battle: Total Warfare. For questions or comments, please email ads@toucharcade.com

[youtube] Netflix has just showcased its full Netflix Geeked Week 2024 trailer alongside the announcement of tickets going up for …

Continue reading "Netflix Geeked Week Trailer Teases More Game News for Event on September 16th"

[youtube] Netflix has just showcased its full Netflix Geeked Week 2024 trailer alongside the announcement of tickets going up for sale on the official website. Netflix has been announcing and releasing new games at a regular pace for a while now, and the next releases will be SpongeBob: Bubble Pop and the original Monument Valley (Free). Today’s new trailer for Geeked Week 2024 includes a tease for more games news including but not limited to (as far as I can tell) Monument Valley and more. I’m curious to see what else we get at the event. Watch the full trailer below: I hope we see some more premium indie game ports get announced for Netflix because the year has been bonkers good for indie game releases, and I’d love to replay some of them on iOS. If you somehow haven’t played Monument Valley on mobile and would like to on Netflix, you can sign up here for it on iOS. Aside from games, the event will have updates on many shows and there will also be an in-person event on the 19th in Atlanta with a Games Lounge to play some of Netflix’s latest mobile games. What would you like to see at the event?

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 2nd, 2024. I think it’s a holiday today in …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Bakeru’ & ‘Peglin’, Plus Highlights From Nintendo’s Blockbuster Sale"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 2nd, 2024. I think it’s a holiday today in the United States, but here in Japan it’s Monday as usual. That means I’ve got some goodies for you, and in our typical week-starting fashion that means a bunch of reviews. Three written by yours truly, and one from our pal Mikhail. I take a look at Bakeru, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, and Mika and the Witch’s Mountain. Mikhail dives once more into Peglin, a game he can speak to better than anyone else at TouchArcade Towers. Beyond that, we’ve got a bit of news from Mikhail, and a massive list of deals from Nintendo’s Blockbuster Sale. Let’s get to it! News Guilty Gear Strive Nintendo Switch Edition Coming January 2025 Arc System Works has done it. They’re bringing Guilty Gear Strive to Nintendo Switch on January 23rd with 28 characters included and rollback netcode for online battles. It won’t be crossplay sadly, but should be good for playing offline and with other Switch owners. I adore the game on Steam Deck and PS5, and will definitely try this one out. Check out the official website here. Reviews & Mini-Views Bakeru ($39.99) Bakeru is not Goemon/Mystical Ninja. It is made by some of the people who worked on that series. There are some superficial similarities. But it is not Goemon, and coming into it expecting Goemon is both a disservice to Bakeru and yourself. Bakeru is Bakeru. Goemon is still on the milk carton, to the upper-left of the Sunset Riders. Expectations set, let’s talk about this game instead. Bakeru comes to us by way of Good-Feel, a studio that has frequently worked with Nintendo on games in the Wario, Yoshi, and Kirby franchises. Most recently, it developed Princess Peach: Showtime!. Its specialty appears to be in cute, low-friction, well-polished platformers. Guess what Bakeru is? Bad things are going down in Japan, and a little goober named Issun stumbles on some assistance in the unlikely form of a tanuki named Bakeru. With his mighty abilities to change forms and wield a taiko drum and drumsticks, Bakeru might just be the guy for the job. You’ll tour Japan prefecture by prefecture, whacking baddies, grabbing cash, talking to poop, and looking for secrets. You’ve got more than sixty levels to play here, and while I wouldn’t say they’re all super-memorable, it’s an easy-going experience that remains rather engaging throughout. I genuinely enjoyed the collectibles in this game more than those in most platformers I’ve played, just because they usually reflect the location you’re in. Lots of little nuggets about Japan, and some things that even a long-time resident like me didn’t know. Boss fights! Okay, this is one part where I’ll allow comparisons to Goemon. Or any other Good-Feel game, I suppose. This is a development team that understands the value of a good boss battle, and gosh are they fun here. Creative spectacles that nicely reward the player for winning. Indeed, Bakeru takes a lot of creative swings for what is essentially a straight-up 3D platformer, and I will admit some work out better than others. Well, that’s how this kind of thing goes. I genuinely appreciated the ones that worked out well, and I can forgive the ones that didn’t. I kind of fell in love with this game despite seeing all of its flaws as I went along. It’s that sort of game. Intensely likeable. The only real fly in the ointment here is the performance on Switch, something I believe Mikhail talked about in his look at the Steam version of the game. The framerate is quite variable here, at times climbing up to 60 fps but frequently dipping considerably when things get busy. With the full admission that I am not a person that tends to be bothered by inconsistent framerates, I will say that it wasn’t enough of an issue to dampen my enjoyment of the game. But if you are more sensitive to that than I am, I want to make it very clear that there are still problems here despite the improvements since the Japanese launch last year. Bakeru is a highly endearing little 3D platformer, one with a well-polished design and lots of fun ideas to spice things up during its relatively lengthy adventure. It really commits to its bit, and that part of it is almost infectious. Some framerate issues keep this from being all it could be on Switch, and I think people who come into this expecting Goemon are going to be disappointed by the fact that it’s not even trying to be that, but otherwise this is a highly-recommended title to close out your summer with. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Star Wars: Bounty Hunter ($19.99) There was a lot of merch put out around the releases of the films in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Video games were a big part of that, and it’s kind of impressive how many Star Wars games we saw put out in that era after going entire generations of consoles with only a handful. And while the movies weren’t exactly critical darlings, it’s inarguable that they opened up a lot of new story-telling avenues. Remember Boba Fett? The guy with the cool armor who got knocked into a living pit by a guy who couldn’t even see? Well, here’s his dad! He also has cool armor, and is also defeated in a very undignified way. But maybe you’re wondering about how his life was before we met him in Attack of the Clones? Star Wars: Bounty Hunter fills in that story, whether you asked for it or not. This is the tale of Jango Fett, a bounty hunter so cool and awesome that an entire army ended up being cloned from him. The finest in the galaxy! Don’t ask what happened ten seconds after he had to face off against a Jedi Master. Cool armor! Besides being the number one manhunter in the business, what else made him fit to be the model for the clone army? That’s what this game is about, actually. Jango’s try-out for the job, if you will. He is sent to hunt a Dark Jedi by the totally innocent Count Dooku, and if he picks up a few extra bounties on the way, more’s the better. That’s pretty much how this one goes. You take on each level with a particular target in mind, but there are optional targets you can find, mark, and bring in dead or alive. You get access to a wide array of weapons and other toys, including the iconic jetpack. It’s pretty interesting at first, but the gameplay doesn’t really change things up enough as it goes on so it’s quite repetitive over the long haul. It has a lot of problems you would expect from a 2002 video game, an era where some of this stuff was still being figured out. Targeting is an absolute mess. Cover doesn’t work as well as you might hope. Level designs are often trying to be open but somehow end up feeling cramped and badly sign-posted. Even in its time, this was an average game at best, tied to the worst Star Wars movie. Well, at least that’s not the worst Star Wars movie anymore. In some ways age has not been kind to Bounty Hunter, but Aspyr has done what it could to improve it without changing too much. The game looks and runs better than it ever did, and the new default control scheme is a lot better. Nothing was changed in how it saves your progress mind you, so be prepared for the very real possibility of having to start the lengthy stages over if you mess up too much. Oh, but you can unlock a Boba Fett skin, so that’s neat. If you were ever going to play this game, this new version is the way to do it. There’s a certain nostalgic charm to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. There is a particular flavor to games from the PlayStation 2/GameCube/Xbox generation of consoles, and this game is absolutely steeped in it despite the nips and tucks made by Aspyr in the porting process. And it’s really in that capacity that I can most confidently recommend it, when I think about it. Are you in the mood to time travel back to 2002 and play a thoroughly rough-edged yet genuinely earnest action game? Here you go. If on the other hand you lack that proclivity, this might be a bit too much Jank-o Fett for you. SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Mika and the Witch’s Mountain ($19.99) After some horrible video games based on Nausicaa, Hayao Miyazaki put his foot down in a very Miyazaki way and essentially forbade any further games based on his work. Did that extend to all of Ghibli? I’m not sure, the story isn’t clear on that. It seems likely, since we have not seen even one video game based on a Ghibli movie since then. I respect that, but it does mean I will never have my epic Porco Rosso open world flying game. It happens. Game studios Chibig and Nukefist clearly had another Ghibli movie in mind when they made Mika and the Witch’s Mountain, and I’ll trust your reasoning skills enough to sort out witch on your own. You’re a rookie witch, ready to get going on witchy things. The teacher you were sent to see decides to chuck you off the mountain top, breaking your flying broom. Get back up and she might help you out, but your broom isn’t going to bring you there in its current condition. The good news is that there is a town nearby with someone who can fix brooms and even make new ones. The bad news is nothing is free in this world, so you’ll have to take up a job delivering packages to earn some scratch. Zipping around on your broom makes that kind of a job a bit easier and a lot more fun, and the town in question has a lot of things that need delivering. That’s pretty much how it goes. There are some side jobs you can do, but most of the time you’ll be going back and forth in the world trying to get things where they need to go, when they need to go, and hopefully with a minimum of damage done in the process. It works well enough, and the vibrant world and interesting cast of characters contribute greatly to the experience. The Switch is clearly struggling with all of this at times, and the resolution and framerate both take regular hits depending on what part of the world you’re in and what’s going. I would imagine this would play better on more powerful hardware, so if you have that option you might want to take it. Otherwise, people who can forgive some technical flaws (and we’re Switch owners, I imagine most of us are getting good at that) will probably be able to roll with the punches here. Mika and the Witch’s Mountain wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and it is so dedicated to its core gameplay mechanic that it can wear a little thin before the game is up. It also suffers from some performance issues on the Switch. With all that said, I can’t say I didn’t have some fun zipping around on my broom, delivering packages to a bunch of quirky characters. This is one of those games where if you think the concept sounds good, you’ll probably like what you get well enough. SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5 Peglin ($19.99) About a year ago, I reviewed the early access version of Peglin on iOS. We also featured it as our Game of the Week when it hit mobile. Peglin, a pachinko roguelike, has always had a lot of promise, and things have only gotten before for it through major updates over time. Last week during Nintendo’s Indie World and Partner Direct combo, Peglin was announced and released for Switch. I thought the team had just brought the current game to Switch, but I didn’t realize it was actually 1.0 until a few hours later when I got the game. Peglin hit 1.0 last week on Steam and mobile as well alongside the Switch debut, and it definitely is a more complete experience now, but Peglin is a great game for a very specific kind of person. Your aim is to, well aim, your orb to target specific pegs on the board. This lets you damage enemies (above the board) and you make your way towards the end of each zone map like you would in Slay the Spire. There are events, bosses, shops, tons of battles, and more in Peglin, and it is very difficult early on. As you make your way through the zone, you can upgrade or unlock new orbs, heal, and collect relics. You don’t just need to get your orb to a specific portion of the board at the bottom though. Peglin’s strategy is aiming so you correctly use critical or bomb pegs depending on the situation with enemies. You can also refresh the board by hitting a specific peg. There’s a lot to take in at the start, but it all clicks soon and you will be humming the songs even when you aren’t playing Peglin. Having played Peglin on Steam and mobile, I was curious to see how the Switch port would feel. It is mostly great when it comes to performance. The aiming isn’t as smooth as on other platforms, but I got around this by using touch controls. Aside from that, the load times are longer than mobile and Switch. These aren’t huge issues given how some recent Switch ports ship in a miserable state, but it is worth keeping in mind if you own multiple platforms and are curious where to buy Peglin. I’d say Peglin is best on Steam Deck, but the second place is close between mobile and Switch. While the Switch has no achievements, there’s a system in place inside Peglin to track those. I like it when developers do their own achievements since the Switch lacks them on a systemwide level. You can ignore these as usual, but I liked the addition here. One feature I wished to see in 1.0 was cross save across platforms. This likely isn’t feasible for a small developer, but some way to carry over or unlock things on Switch from mobile/PC would’ve been nice. Other than that, my only issues with Peglin on Switch have to do with the load times and aiming not being smooth. Hopefully these can be improved over updates because more free updates are coming as confirmed by the developers at Red Nexus Games. I already thought Peglin was fantastic even in its early access state. While some balance issues hold it back a bit, it is an essential on Switch if “pachinko x roguelike" sounds good to you. I also love that the developers made full use of the Switch hardware features by adding good rumble, full touchscreen support, and button controls making it so that you can play however you want. Now we just need a physical release. -Mikhail Madnani SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Okay, wow. A lot of stuff on sale, and while I’ve got a lot of it here this is only scratching the surface. I’ve put together another article with what I think are the best picks from the sale, so keep your eyes open for that as well. Anyway, good luck with all of that. I’ll meet you at the bottom. Select New Sales Avenging Spirit ($2.99 from $5.99 until 9/5) NOISZ re:||COLLECTION G ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/7) Fur Squadron ($2.79 from $6.99 until 9/8) Agnostiko Origins ($13.74 from $24.99 until 9/9) Sonic Mania ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ($13.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Puyo Puyo Tetris ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Super Bomberman R ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) The Red Strings Club ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Goat Simulator The GOATY ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Downwell ($2.00 from $2.99 until 9/10) Sayonara Wild Hearts ($7.79 from $12.99 until 9/10) Ghostbusters: The Video Game ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/10) Hotline Miami Collection ($6.24 from $24.99 until 9/10) Torchlight II ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Huntdown ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions ($7.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Streets of Rage 4 ($11.24 from $24.99 until 9/10) Disc Room ($3.74 from $14.99 until 9/10) Kathy Rain: Director’s Cut ($4.94 from $14.99 until 9/10) Mayhem Brawler ($6.79 from $19.99 until 9/10) TMNT Shredder’s Revenge ($16.24 from $24.99 until 9/10) Gal*Gun Returns ($16.49 from $49.99 until 9/10) Gal*Gun Double Peace ($13.19 from $39.99 until 9/10) Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Infernax ($13.39 from $19.99 until 9/10) Rise of the Third Power ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Astroneer ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Lair Land Story ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Return to Monkey Island ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/10) Shiro ($2.19 from $4.99 until 9/10) Horgihugh And Friends ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Card Shark ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Pac-man Museum+ ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Sonic Origins ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Sonic Frontiers ($20.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Sonic Superstars ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Escape Academy: Complete Edition ($17.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Gunbrella ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Unicorn Overlord ($41.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Terra Nil ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Reverie Knights Tactics ($6.24 from $24.99 until 9/10) Windjammers 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition ($7.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Blizzard Arcade Collection ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Deluxe ($24.49 from $69.99 until 9/10) Gloomhaven: Mercenaries Edition ($7.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Fae Farm ($41.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Mr. Sun’s Hatbox ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Best Day Ever ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Willy Morgan & the Curse of Bone Town ($7.49 from $24.99 until 9/10) FEZ ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Tales of Kenzara: ZAU ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Make Way ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Cult of the Lamb Cultist Edition ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Life is Strange 2 ($12.79 from $31.99 until 9/10) Strayed Lights ($5.19 from $12.99 until 9/10) Rakuen: Deluxe Edition ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Valrithian Arc: Hero School Story 2 ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Stones Keeper ($8.79 from $19.99 until 9/10) Bat Boy ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Jack Jeanne ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Bandle Tale: League of Legends Story ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/10) Song of Nunu: League of Legends Story ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Convergence: League of Legends Story ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) The Mageseeker: League of Legends Story ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Vanaris Tactics ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) The Last Spell ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Charon’s Staircase ($2.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) The Vale: Shadow of the Crown ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Dungeon Drafters ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Pentiment ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Demon Slayer KnY – Sweep the Board ($41.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Tetris Effect: Connected ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Boomerang X ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Tenderfoot Tactics ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) CEIBA ($4.39 from $9.99 until 9/10) LEGO Marvel Super Heroes ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Tears of Avia ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Vengeful Guardian Moonrider ($11.04 from $16.99 until 9/10) Dorfromantik ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Persona 3 Portable ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Persona 4 Golden ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Persona 5 Royal ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Persona 5 Strikers ($17.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Persona 5 Tactica Digital Deluxe ($39.99 from $79.99 until 9/10) Astebros ($7.79 from $12.99 until 9/10) Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble ($37.49 from $49.99 until 9/10) GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Ys Origin ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Archetype Arcadia ($20.09 from $29.99 until 9/10) Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood ($10.79 from $17.99 until 9/10) Solar Ash ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Adore ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Prison City ($7.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Two Point Campus ($7.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) OMNIMUS ($4.39 from $9.99 until 9/10) Ring Racer ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10) RWBY: Arrowfell ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) The Dragoness: Command of the Flame ($11.69 from $17.99 until 9/10) Die After Sunset ($13.39 from $19.99 until 9/10) Outer Wilds ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) COCOON ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) The Talos Principle ($4.49 from $29.99 until 9/10) Alien: Isolation ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Dicefolk ($11.24 from $14.99 until 9/10) Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Heads Will Roll: Reforged ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Eternal Threads ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Paper Trail ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Spellbearers ($10.04 from $14.99 until 9/10) Wrath: Aeon of Ruin ($20.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Spy x Anya: Operation Memories DE ($45.49 from $69.99 until 9/10) Luxor Evolved ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) MotoGP 24 ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Reigns: Beyond ($3.24 from $4.99 until 9/10) The Mildew Children ($6.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Class of Heroes 1 & 2: CE ($27.99 from $34.99 until 9/10) Tengoku Struggle: Strayside ($34.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Plague Inc: Evolved ($5.09 from $14.99 until 9/10) Catherine: Full Body ($9.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/10) Spyro Reignited Trilogy ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Wobbledogs ($8.19 from $19.99 until 9/10) Adventure Academia: TFC ($17.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) McPixel 3 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Crypt of the NecroDancer ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Her Majesty’s Spiffing ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) South Park: The Stick of Truth ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/10) Into the Breach ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Raging Loop ($10.49 from $29.99 until 9/10) Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Rogue Legacy ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Rogue Legacy 2 ($13.74 from $24.99 until 9/10) Valkyria Chronicles ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Valkyria Chronicles 4 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Minit ($2.49 from $9.99 until 9/10) Contra Anniversary Collection ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Castlevania Advance Collection ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Reigns Game of Thrones ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10) Spirit Hunter: Death Mark ($19.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Spirit Hunter: NG ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II ($34.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog ($2.39 from $7.99 until 9/10) Darkest Dungeon ($7.49 from $24.99 until 9/10) GRIS ($3.39 from $16.99 until 9/10) The Lara Croft Collection ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/10) Gorogoa ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Enter the Gungeon ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/10) Exit the Gungeon ($2.49 from $9.99 until 9/10) Ion Fury ($6.24 from $24.99 until 9/10) Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Power Rangers: BftG Super Edition ($12.49 from $49.99 until 9/10) Minecraft Legends Deluxe Edition ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/10) Minecraft Dungeons Ultimate Edition ($24.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Parasite Pack ($3.19 from $7.99 until 9/12) Rider’s Spirits ($4.19 from $5.99 until 9/12) Shockman Collection Vol. 1 ($7.69 from $10.99 until 9/12) Cities Skylines ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/12) Empire of Sin ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/12) Demon’s Tilt ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/12) Shadowrun Trilogy ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/12) Date Z ($13.49 from $14.99 until 9/14) Gerda: A Flame in Winter ($6.99 from $19.99 until 9/14) Cardfight! Vanguard Dear Days ($48.99 from $69.99 until 9/20) West of Loathing ($4.18 from $11.00 until 9/20) Shadows Over Loathing ($15.87 from $23.00 until 9/20) Adventure Field Remake ($2.99 from $4.99 until 9/20) MADiSON ($20.99 from $34.99 until 9/20) Frowntown ($7.79 from $12.99 until 9/20) Infantry Attack: Complete ($2.99 from $10.99 until 9/20) 100 Demon Fantasia ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/20) Shadow Gangs ($14.39 from $23.99 until 9/22) Suicide Guy: The Lost Dreams ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/22) Sales Ending Tomorrow, September 3rd Balatro ($13.49 from $14.99 until 9/3) Blade of Darkness ($2.75 from $14.99 until 9/3) Door Kickers ($1.99 from $11.99 until 9/3) Kamitsubaki City Ensemble ($3.59 from $3.99 until 9/3) Neodori Forever ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/3) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more reviews, some new releases, more sales, and perhaps some news. The typhoon has fizzled out, giving way to hot temperatures and sunny skies. I suppose I’ll take it for a day or two. I hope you all have a magnificent Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!

It’s that time again: eShop sale time! Nintendo’s calling this one the Blockbuster Sale, so I’m sure we can expect …

Continue reading "The Best Nintendo Switch eShop Sales From The ‘Blockbuster Sale’"

It’s that time again: eShop sale time! Nintendo’s calling this one the Blockbuster Sale, so I’m sure we can expect a lot of VHS tapes and stale candy. Hm? Oh, it means big games. Alright, that does make some sense. At any rate, there are a ton of games on sale right now, too many to really deal with on your own. As ever, TouchArcade is here to help you out with a list of fifteen hot discounts you should consider. No first party games, but there are still a ton of great games to pick from. No particular order as usual, so let’s get into the deals! 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim ($14.99 from $59.99) A unique blend of side-scrolling adventure and top-down real-time strategy gameplay, 13 Sentinels tells the story of thirteen individuals from various points in time who must battle against invading kaiju in an alternate 1985. They do that through use of their Sentinels, large mechs designed for taking down giant monsters. It has a very good story and the presentation is at the level we’ve come to expect from Vanillaware. The RTS bits are… somewhat less good, but they’re not bad. A sleeper hit that is well worth checking out at this deeply discounted price. Persona Collection ($44.99 from $89.99 until 9/10) If you need to fill a few months’ worth of free time, this will be the best forty-five bucks you could spend. You get Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal, all excellent RPGs and great Switch ports. That works out to fifteen bucks per game, and each of them will easily keep you busy for hours on end while also teaching you the important value of friendship as a means of defeating any evil. It totally works in real life, too! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R ($12.49 from $49.99) I’ll start with a proviso: if you mean to seriously get into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, you’re probably better off heading over to one of the other platforms where it runs at 60 fps. This Switch port is solid enough to play, however, and JoJo fans will likely have a good time with it. This is a quirky fighter in a lot of ways, and it’s well-suited to the license. Something a little different if you’re tired of the usual Capcom fighters and Mortal Kombat games. Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 ($41.99 from $59.99) Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 could have been better than it is, particularly with regards to performance and game options. It has received a number of updates to improve it, however, and for what it is, it’s an easy title to recommend. You get a bunch of absolutely top-tier games to play and some really cool extra materials to dig through. Sure, there isn’t much new here for people who have played these games before. But for those craving Metal Gear on the go, or those who somehow haven’t dug into these titles in the past, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is a fantastic value with this tidy discount. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition ($41.99 from $59.99) Ace Combat 7: Unknown Skies is an excellent port of a high-quality action game, and it fills a gaping hole in the Switch’s library almost perfectly. It’s more approachable than you might expect, and it’s very easy to get sucked into both its story and gameplay. It’s unfortunate that the multiplayer seems to have a handful of oversights and balance issues, but you’ll get your time and money’s worth out of the campaign and its many unlockables all on its own. Definitely one to add to the collection for those feeling the need for speed. Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection ($39.99 from $79.99) Hm, I guess this is an Atlus list now. The excellent Etrian Odyssey series came to Switch with these HD remakes of the first three games. These are awesome, challenging games that just kept upping the ante with each new installment, and trying to buy the Nintendo DS cartridges now can get very expensive indeed. The signature mapping feature doesn’t work as smoothly here as it did on the DS, especially if you’re playing docked, but it’s as good as it can be. Plus, you can use auto-mapping if you don’t want to deal with it. At half the usual price, you get a lot of game for your buck here. Darkest Dungeon II ($31.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Embrace the fact that Darkest Dungeon II isn’t interested in building on the original game’s structure but rather in doing its own thing, and you’ll be able to enjoy the charms of this moody, chunky roguelite. Its merits are many, from its distinctive style to its combination of traditional story-telling bits and the magic of emergent, personalized stories. Roguelite fans will want to check it out, even if Darkest Dungeon fans might feel like pushing away from the table and going back to the original. Braid: Anniversary Edition ($9.99 from $19.99) One of the poster children of the indie boom that kicked off in the late 00s, Braid came back with a big splash in this fancy Anniversary Edition. You get a nicely remastered version of the original game, with one of the best developer commentary features seen in a game so far. Braid might not have the punch it once did, but only because so many games that followed were so heavily inspired by it. Even if you’ve played it before, the discounted price should be enticing enough for a replay. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition ($11.69 from $17.99) Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition doesn’t add very much to the original, but it was already a strong game that stands for itself quite well in modern times. Dotemu did a capable job of bringing it to the Switch, and it fits the platform almost as well as it fit the Nintendo DS. If you’re looking for a cool puzzle game that offers both a substantial single-player mode and enjoyable multiplayer gameplay, you’ll likely be quite satisfied with what this game has to offer. Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection ($15.99 from $39.99) While the Switch versions of the games in Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection suffer from a number of visual and technical flaws compared to other platforms, the games themselves still shine as brightly as ever. It’s hard to say what the future holds for this franchise, but if you’re new to it all and just want a quick and slightly dirty way to explore its origins, picking this up at its sale price is a fine enough way to do that. Loop Hero ($4.94 from $14.99) Loop Hero is as hard to put down as the finest of idle games, but with enough meat on its bones to make it feel like your input actually matters. It’s the kind of game that has something to offer no matter how much or how little time you have to throw at it, and one that will likely keep you coming back now and then to play again. While it isn’t the most challenging of affairs, it’s certainly engaging and full of enough surprises to keep your interest over the long haul. Death’s Door ($4.99 from $19.99) Death’s Door is one of those nice combinations of a superb presentation and strong gameplay. The game could coast well enough on either of those points, but it hits them both and is excellent as a result. There’s nothing overly deep about the gameplay mechanics, and its brand of action is going to be familiar to most. The most impressive bits are the bosses, which require strong pattern recognition and good reflexes. The gorgeous sights and sounds along the way add tremendously to its atmosphere, doing their part to keep the player pulled into this unusual, compelling world. Action-RPG fans will certainly want to give this a go. The Messenger ($3.99 from $19.99) This is the lowest price yet for the Switch version of this popular indie action game, and it’s so low that I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to give it a punt. What seems like a straightforward ninja action game gets bigger and more ambitious as you go, and it juggles things relatively well as it does so. It’s not a perfect game, and I feel like its star has faded a bit over time, but it’s one of those indie games that everyone with any love for 8-bit and 16-bit classics should at least try out once. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 Turbocharged ($14.99 from $49.99) Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is just as fun of an arcade racer as the first game, and the various tweaks and improvements to the formula makes it a far smoother experience. Some players might run into some issues with the challenging post-game content, but that’s why it’s in the post-game. If you enjoyed the first game, you’ll probably like this one even more. Series newcomers should feel comfortable jumping immediately to this sequel, too. For fifteen bucks, it’s hard to go wrong if you like racing. Pepper Grinder ($9.74 from $14.99) Pepper Grinder is an enjoyable, unique platformer with a zippy pace, interesting mechanics, and some cool level designs. The boss battles are a bit clunky and only subtract from what is otherwise a very tight experience. It’s also worth noting that the game is quite brisk in its run-time, so do take that into account before buying. I personally think it ends a little too soon, but that’s not a terrible problem for a game to have, especially with a little shaved off the sticker price. And those are our picks from the Blockbuster Sale on the Nintendo Switch eShop. There are plenty more great games on sale right now besides these, so make sure to check your wishlists and dig into the pages for your favorite publishers just to be sure you aren’t missing anything. If you have any sales you’d like to share, please hit those comments below. Thanks for reading!

Following developer TRAGsoft bringing monster collecting game Coromon to mobile after it debuted on PC and Switch, we are getting …

Continue reading "Roguelite ‘Coromon: Rogue Planet’ in Development for Release on iOS, Android, Switch, and Steam in 2025"

Following developer TRAGsoft bringing monster collecting game Coromon to mobile after it debuted on PC and Switch, we are getting a roguelite spin-off in the form of Coromon: Rogue Planet (Free) due next year for not only Steam and Switch, but also iOS and Android. Coromon: Rogue Planet aims to blend in the turn-based combat of the main game with roguelite gameplay to deliver an endlessly replayable monster collecting gameplay loop. The Steam page mentions “10 ever changing biomes", 7 different playable characters, over 130 monsters, and more. Watch the Coromon: Rogue Planet official announcement trailer below: The original Coromon is a free to play game on mobile. I’m curious to see how Coromon: Rogue Planet ends up on mobile when it does arrive and also whether it hits alongside the Switch and Steam versions. As of now, you can wishlist Coromon: Rogue Planet on Steam here. I haven’t played Coromon in a while, but the gameplay in Coromon: Rogue Planet sounds more interesting. It feels like the perfect pick up and play game based on the Steam screenshots as well. Until this one is out, you can grab the original for free on iOS here. What do you think of Coromon: Rogue Planet so far and did you play Coromon?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of …

Continue reading "Best iPhone Game Updates: ‘Peglin’, ‘Brawl Stars’, ‘Genshin Impact’, ‘Royal Match’, and More"

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. You know it’s one of those weeks when Shaun has to throw more than one free-to-play matching puzzle game update in the list. Don’t worry, we have some cool stuff in the mix too. And you get to see Shaun kick King Robert, an activity we all enjoy. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s go for it! Peglin, Free I know it’s somewhat rare for me to do this, but I’m giving out the coveted UMMSotW award to the first game in the list this week. Peglin‘s 1.0 update allows you to challenge up to level 20 in Cruciball, battle a new Slime Hive mini-boss, and take advantage of a whole ton of tweaks, bug fixes, balance adjustments, and other improvements. This game didn’t really need much in the way of updating, but I’ll take it anyway. Brawl Stars, Free Brawl time! Stars time! Dare we say… Brawl Stars time?! Yes, we dare. SpongeBob. SpongeBob is here in a new event, and that is cool. A couple new Brawlers coming in the form of Moe (Mythic) and Kenji (Legendary), and a handful of new Hypercharges for various characters. All of this will roll out over the course of the next couple of months in the usual Brawl Stars fashion, but the SpongeBob stuff should be kicking off rather soon if it hasn’t already by the time you read this. stitch., What more would one expect from an update to the soothing and satisfying stitch but more Hoops to play? That’s just what you get here, this time with a bit of a martial arts theme. Sort of, anyway. Like with any good puzzle game, it doesn’t really matter as much what the theme of the puzzles are so long as you get more of them. So yes, update your app and go do some Hoops. You’ll feel better. Genshin Impact, Free I guess this game is called Genshin Impact: Natlan Launch now. Nothing to be done about it. You’ve got a new region, Natlan, and three new characters to go with it: Mualani, Kinich, and Kachina. New weapons as well, of course. Plenty of new events and stories to take on, and some new artifacts too. Regular players likely know by now what to expect from Genshin Impact updates, and while this one is a little bigger than the usual one, it’s very much in line with previous ones in the broad strokes. Temple Run: Puzzle Adventure, Alright, here we go. At least this one is on Apple Arcade, so it’s not completely free-to-play. It sure is a matching puzzle game update, though. There are one hundred new levels to play in this Temple Run spin-off, which is quite a lot as these things go. The tournaments have also been refreshed, as usual. That’s about all, but I’m sure it will keep many players busy for a bit. Maybe even until the next update? I’ve seen how people who play games like these chew through levels, so I’m not super-confident about that! Jetpack Joyride 2, In this very special update to the Apple Arcade sequel to Halfbrick’s mega-hit auto-runner: Barry Steakfries escapes to the one place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism – SPACE! It’s a shame that leaving that be would ruin the formatting for the article. Really best as a mic-drop reference, but if I do that things will look very messy, so I have to stand here and ramble a bit so that everything stays properly in its place. Tim Curry, folks. He’s a treasure. We were graced by his many performances, big and small. Much love to Mr. Curry, who I am 99% sure is reading this. Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, Moving right along, it’s another matching puzzle game. But to be fair, this is one the all-timer matching puzzle games. At least in it’s original form, anyway. As for this particular version, there are new character episodes for Sig, Carbuncle, and Rafisol in the Adventure Mode. Meena has been added as a playable character, minus an episode of her own. An additional seven music tracks are available in the shop, all arrangements of fan favorite tunes from previous entries. Add in some bug fixes and that’s that. Hearthstone, Free Hearthstone time! This one is usually pretty good with its update notes, so let’s open the ol’ paperwork and see what’s in front of us. Hm. Well, we’ll make do. Battlegrounds Season 8, Trinkets & Travels, is incoming. All the kinds of new stuff we’ve seen in previous seasons, which is nice. The Trinket Shop is here, with Buddies taking a hike. Two times per game you can buy Trinkets with Gold, which will affect the rest of the match. That seems troublesome for balancing, but I suppose that is where Hearthstone is at by this point. Toon Blast, Free The first of the two actual obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle game updates for this article is Toon Blast. There’s a whole new episode here, giving you fifty new levels to play. Some business involving bees, or happiness, or the combination thereof. Bees are pretty cool, even if I am a little scared of them sometimes. They’re cool little buddies that help the ecosystem, and I’d give them tiny hugs if not for the pointy ouchy bit. Hang in there, my bug friends. We’ll get through it all together. Royal Match, Free I don’t know which is more preferable to me: King Robert perishing permanently and never appearing again, or King Robert continually perishing and returning to perish again, in a perpetual and heckish cycle of pain. One hundred new levels. A new jousting arena. That seems to have some potential. I love that one ad where they have swapped King Robert in for the freezing pregnant lady and her child, like we’re supposed to care about this garishly garbed monarch who’s a little chilly. Burn your velvet robes to warm your flesh, you decadent old ogre. That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!

Among Us (Free) has done loads of crossovers and collaborations over the years, but one I didn’t expect at all …

Continue reading "‘Among Us’ Is Collaborating With ‘Ace Attorney Investigations’ for Its Newest Free Cosmetic DLC Out Next Week"

Among Us (Free) has done loads of crossovers and collaborations over the years, but one I didn’t expect at all just got announced for next week. Later this week, Capcom is releasing the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection for PC and consoles bringing remasters of both games to modern platforms. Read my preview covering the Switch and PC versions here. Among Us is bringing in Miles Edgeworth from those games as a free cosmetic DLC on September 9th as a collaboration with the Ace Attorney series. Check out the promo art for Miles Edgeworth in Among Us below: Among Us x @aceattorneygame let's hope ur accusations aren't ludicrous. Miles Edgeworth is coming to Among Us as a free cosmetic drop on Sept 9th! pic.twitter.com/6XHdrD29zi — Among Us PAX West (@AmongUsGame) September 1, 2024 If you’ve not gotten Among Us yet, it is available for free on the App Store for iOS here and Google Play for Android here. Check it out on Nintendo Switch here and Steam here. Here’s our forum thread for the game. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection releases on September 6th for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Steam worldwide. Hopefully it comes to mobile in the near future as well. Have you been playing Among Us often on mobile and what do you think of the current state of the game?

One thing I love is when a game can successfully blend two fairly different types of gameplay into one cohesive …

Continue reading "TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Ocean Keeper’"

One thing I love is when a game can successfully blend two fairly different types of gameplay into one cohesive package. I’m thinking of games like the Blaster Master series with its vehicle-based side-scrolling platforming that’s coupled with cool top-down on-foot sequences. Or heck, a recent favorite like Dave the Diver with its roguelike diving portions blended with restaurant management. Well, Ocean Keeper from developer RetroStyle Games is another one of those games that successfully blends two sets of different mechanics together, and it does so with a gameplay loop and upgrade path that has you coming back over and over again. The basic gist of Ocean Keeper is that you’ve crashed onto a strange underwater planet in your big cool mech. You’ll need to dive down into underwater caves to harvest resources, but you can’t spend too long down there because waves of enemies are approaching and you’ll need to man your mech to defend against them. The mining portions play out from a side-view and involve digging out rocks to unearth various types of resources or special artifacts. Mining also earns you coins, for some reason. As mentioned you only have a short window to mine before enemies show up. Once you’re back in your mech things turn into a top-down twin-stick shooter with light tower defense elements as you attempt to fend off multiple waves of all types of crazy underwater creatures. All your resources go towards upgrading both your miner and your mech, and there is no shortage of branching skill trees to work your way through for both. This is a roguelike so if you die during the enemy encounter portion your game is over and you’ll lose any upgrades or abilities you unlocked during that particular run. However, there are also persistent upgrades and customizations you can unlock in between runs so this is the type of game you always feel like you’re making progress in even if you have a bad run or two. You can also expect the layouts of the overworld and the caves to be different each time you play. This is probably a good time to mention that Ocean Keeper starts off kind of slow, and you definitely will have some real clunker runs in the beginning. Just power your way through and before you know it the upgrades start flowing, your skills begin to improve, you start to get a better grip on the flow of the game, and before long you’ll be a whirling underwater mech of destruction. The synergies between the weapons and upgrades are really the heart of the game and it’s endlessly fun to try different builds or different tactics as you progress. I wasn’t quite sure about Ocean Keeper when I first started since things do start out so slow, but man once things pick up it’s been hard to want to play anything else.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. If you missed my Gundam Breaker 4 Steam Deck review, …

Continue reading "Steam Deck Weekly: Visions of Mana and More Reviews, Reynatis Preview, Age of Mythology Retold Steam Deck Impressions, News, and More"

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. If you missed my Gundam Breaker 4 Steam Deck review, read it here. Today’s article has Steam Deck impressions and reviews for Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash, Visions of Mana, Gori: Cuddly Carnage, Bloons Card Storm, and more. This week also sees a few notable new Steam Deck Verified games and the usual slew of sales and discounts. Let’s get into the reviews and impressions first. Steam Deck Game Reviews & Impressions We are officially in the very busy season of the year, and I’m going to try and cover as much as I can this week through a few scored reviews and impressions of games on Steam Deck with one preview as well. Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash Steam Deck Impressions Over the years, we’ve seen Cygames try and expand its Umamusume property through indirect ways with DLC in its other games, through the anime, and more. Umamusume: Pretty Derby itself is finally getting localized this year as well on mobile, and Cygames has released a party game based on Umamusume with Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash. I need a bit more time for my full review of Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash when I’ll likely also cover the Switch version, but I’ve been playing Cygames’ first ever official Umamusume: Pretty Derby release in the West on Steam Deck ahead of its launch this week. Until then, I wanted to give you an idea of how Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash is on Steam Deck. Out of the box, Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash seems to run at full 16:10, but it is stretched. I recommend going into the settings and changing the resolution to 720p and display mode to full screen so it displays correctly. One thing to keep in mind is Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash currently has some video playback codec issues resulting in a color bar pattern for some videos. I tested 3 different Proton GE versions including 9-9 with no luck as the game wouldn’t load some modes unless I used Proton Experimental. Aside from the videos, Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash runs fine at its 60fps target. I’m looking forward to playing more of it for my full review that hopefully covers the console versions as well. As of now Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash doesn’t have a Steam Deck rating from Valve, and I imagine it will be marked unsupported until the cut-scene issue is addressed. Reynatis English Release Preview Reynatis from NIS America and Furyu is set to release on September 27th for Steam, PS5, PS4, and Switch following its Japanese debut. Ahead of its launch, I had a chance to attend a preview event for the game to check out some of the English build. Usually, I don’t bother doing hands-off previews, but I’ve been curious to see how the English localization is, and also learn more about this release. Since this was a hands-off preview, I can’t comment on how the game feels or how it is on PC, but Reynatis is shaping up to be one of Furyu’s more ambitious games with its story, setting, and seemingly smooth combat. Over the years, I usually end up clicking with Furyu game stories and soundtracks, but one or two aspects always feel lacking. With Reynatis, I’ve been interested in the narrative and combat as well. Reynatis takes place in a recreation of modern-day Tokyo and the different perspectives make it seem like it will be unique. I won’t comment on much of the gameplay until I try it out for myself, but the English localization so far seems very good. I am a bit disappointed at no English dub though. A lot of folks likely are interested in Reynatis because it has music by Yoko Shimomura and a scenario from Kazushige Nojima both of whom are well known to Square Enix fans for their work on Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and more. If we do get a demo in the near future, I recommend trying it out to see how you find it for yourself. I’m looking forward to playing Reynatis myself hopefully soon for review, but it definitely feels like this might end up one of Furyu’s better games in recent years. While the story and setting are definitely highlights, I’m very interested in seeing how the combat system feels. Stay tuned for more Reynatis coverage in the near future. Visions of Mana Steam Deck Review When Visions of Mana was announced, I was very happy to see the series back after we saw the superb Collection of Mana and then the remake of Trials of Mana released across multiple platforms. When I tried the demo for Visions of Mana, I was concerned because there were some aspects that didn’t work for me at all, but I was hopeful. Fast forward to today and Visions of Mana is available on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Steam. I’ve been playing it on both Steam Deck and PS5 for review, and it ended up surprising me in a good way, but I feel like it would have benefited from a few months of polish and tweaking when it comes to its general movement. I’m going to focus on the game on Steam Deck in this review, but also cover how it feels on PS5. If you’re new to the Mana series, you can still start with this one. Visions of Mana is a new game in the series covering the Mana Tree and more. If you, like me, have played prior games, this will feel great in some ways, but you might be let down in parts, especially for the story. Visions of Mana’s strength is in its gorgeous world, the combat, and general gameplay. It is a huge step up over Trials of Mana in its scope and visuals, just like Tales of Arise felt in a way when it was released. The issues I have with Visions of Mana are to do with its general feel. The movement and camera never feel good. While I managed fixing this on PS5 with the camera distance and movement speed, I wish it was snappier in general. On the PC port side, Visions of Mana is quite bare-bones. You can adjust screen mode, resolution, frame rate target (30fps to unlimited), toggle v-sync, adjust FSR 2, and just “graphics settings" presets. These presets are low, standard, and high. It doesn’t tell you what the three options change, but it does affect draw distance, post-processing, and more. While the game boots up seemingly fullscreen at 16:10, it is actually stretched. Don’t be fooled into thinking the game supports the native resolution. Changing the display mode from borderless to windowed or fullscreen will have it adjust to 16:9 where the elements and screen are not stretched. A friend of mine recommended trying out forcing a lower resolution in the demo to get better performance, but that seems to come with its own issues where the resolution options bug out even when you go back to forcing native or higher resolution on the Deck’s own display. Visions of Mana is currently rated as Steam Deck Playable by Valve, but it has notable performance issues right now. Regardless of the settings I used when it comes to frame rate target or upscaling, I couldn’t get a locked frame rate even targeting 30fps with it dropping below in crowded areas. When using the low preset and different upscaling methods for testing purposes, the game runs above 60fps in parts, but it also drops below 30fps. Some areas just stutter in general, and even playing on Ultra Performance upscaling with the really low image quality isn’t enough. Visions of Mana’s art style really doesn’t work with heavy upscaling so I would not recommend it. After spending about 5 hours just testing out different settings across my save files in Visions of Mana, I settled on playing with FSR set to quality and the high preset for a 30fps target with drops below to the high 20s. If you’re ok with around 30fps and regular drops below to the high 20s, Visions of Mana is fine on Steam Deck, and looks excellent on the handheld’s screen when playing at the high graphics preset. I would recommend downloading the free Visions of Mana demo to try out the different graphics options, but note that the final game runs a bit differently. It is still worth checking to see how the aesthetic scales on Steam Deck with different settings used. Visions of Mana needs more optimization right now on PC in general though. I’d also love for the PC port to actually see more detailed graphics options added so that players can adjust things individually rather than relying on console-like modes. On the control side, Visions of Mana has support for controller and keyboard + mouse inputs. You can also change the controller glyphs which is always a welcome option. Speaking of console, Visions of Mana on PS5 is great after some tweaking. The default camera movement and distance felt awful. Having changed it to zoomed out and the camera speed to 10 resulted in a massively better feeling experience. The default gave me motion sickness in parts. I would also recommend toggling on auto-run. If you, like me, play on both current consoles or Steam Deck, I would grab Visions of Mana on PS5 for sure over Steam Deck until it gets some patches on the latter. Visions of Mana has higher highs but also lower lows than Trials of Mana, but it is a game I’m glad I got to experience by the end. If you enjoyed Trials of Mana and games like Tales of Arise specifically on the gameplay side, Visions of Mana is worth your time. I just wish the movement and PC port were better. In its current state, it is excellent to have a modern Mana game and Visions of Mana delivered on that front. Just don’t expect it to reach the highs of Secret of Mana. While it is rated Steam Deck Playable by Valve, I recommend playing it on PS5 rather than Steam Deck with how bare-bones the PC port is in its current state. Visions of Mana Steam Deck review score: 3.5/5 Gori: Cuddly Carnage Steam Deck Review When I first saw promotional art for Gori: Cuddly Carnage, I thought it would be a short horror game. I didn’t expect it to be a blend of Ratchet & Clank, Cyril Cyberpunk, and an action game with a ton of early 2000s humor sprinkled across. If that sounds good to you, just go download the demo because it is great. Gori: Cuddly Carnage has you playing as a badass cat in an action platformer that happens to have better combat than any recent game in the genre. While the aesthetic might not work for some, I found it perfectly suits the writing and was impressed by the smooth animations and visuals throughout my time playing it. On PC, Gori: Cuddly Carnage lets you adjust graphics presets (low, medium, high, very high), resolution, display mode, FOV, frame rate target (30fps to unlimited), toggle v-sync, toggle motion blur, toggle ray tracing, upscale method (off, DLSS, XeSS), and also adjust the quality for anti-aliasing, shadows, textures, effects, and post-processing. The PC version is quite a feature packed port for a game like this, and it controls perfectly on Steam Deck with good rumble as well. On Steam Deck playing at the very high preset with no upscaling used, expect to play with a 30fps target. I didn’t want to settle for just 30fps of course. Using the medium preset with no upscaling is good for playing with 45fps at 90hz on Steam Deck OLED. If you want to aim for 60fps or higher, I recommend playing with higher visuals but XeSS. Taking things all the way down at the low preset and XeSS set to ultra performance results in 90fps with some drops. It doesn’t look bad even now, but it is definitely a visual step down from native anti-aliasing. I also had access to Gori: Cuddly Carnage on PS5, and that version is just as impressive as the PC version with multiple performance modes including a ray tracing mode, 120fps mode, and more. It also has good DualSense support. When it comes to the game itself, Gori: Cuddly Carnage has some camera issues that affect platforming sections and also a few boss battles that annoyed me. While the latter could just be certain encounters not clicking with me, I hope the former can be addressed. Overall, I’m very pleased with how Gori: Cuddly Carnage is on Steam Deck, and expect it to get Verified very soon. The game itself surprised me with its quality, and it is one I won’t forget for a while. It excels with its fun gameplay, good writing, and great combat and feels right at home on Steam Deck from start to finish. It is just held back by a few annoyances. Gori: Cuddly Carnage Steam Deck review score: 4/5 Bloons Card Storm Steam Deck Gameplay Impressions When I learned about Bloons Card Storm, a collectible card game set in the Bloons game universe, I was curious about it. I had access to a Steam preview build of the game ahead of its full launch later this year on mobile and Steam, and it has been an interesting experience. Having played the Bloons games on iOS with touch controls, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Bloons Card Storm, but it feels right at home on Steam Deck with touch controls. As of now there is no controller support in the preview build, but it plays perfectly with touch controls. As for the game itself, Bloons Card Storm feels like a nice addition to the crowded genre. I played a few levels of the PvE mode and like how the team brought over Bloons characters and abilities to this world. If you’re new to Bloons, I recommend playing the super popular Bloons TD 6 or TD Battles 2 before, but you can still play and enjoy this one. I just hope the monetization is handled well when it launches because I can’t see what the in-game store is selling right now. I can safely say that it runs and looks great on Steam Deck even in its early preview build. Hopefully it gets controller support at or around launch though. It is shaping up to be a nice and accessible card game, and the cross platform multiplayer means I’m definitely going to get a few friends to give it a shot at launch. Age of Mythology: Retold Steam Deck Gameplay Impressions I’ve been very excited for Age of Mythology: Retold because I played the original a ton back in the day. The action RTS bringing together gods and monsters was already great on PC, but this remake had me more interested because it was coming to console day one. You might be wondering why that matters for a Steam Deck review, and I need to go back a bit to Age of Empires coming to Xbox for that. When Microsoft brought Age of Empires II Definitive Edition to Xbox, it played wonderfully with full controller support and a fantastic port. The company sadly did not bring this controller support to the PC version and I’ve had to rely on using the trackpad on Steam Deck to play Age of Empires II Definitive and also Age of Empires IV. I ended up playing both of those more on Xbox because I really love the controller support. It isn’t as good as playing with a mouse and keyboard for some specific areas, but I played enough of these games with a keyboard and mouse when they first released. Age of Mythology: Retold had a beta test on Steam, and when I tried it out, I was glad to see it included controller support even on Steam. This was enough for me to pre-order the game’s Premium Edition a few days ago to play on Steam Deck. So far, Age of Mythology: Retold feels great on Steam Deck, after making one change. By default, Age of Mythology: Retold is marked as Steam Deck Playable by Valve, but I actually couldn’t get it to boot up at all on my Steam Deck OLED or LCD models. It kept freezing or crashing. Moving to GE Proton 9-9 fixed this issue for me. I haven’t played enough to do a full review yet, but I’m glad at how good Age of Mythology: Retold feels and looks on Steam Deck right now. I’m looking forward to playing it more over the coming weeks. As for the best graphics settings for Age of Mythology: Retold on Steam Deck OLED, I need a bit more time to see how it performs later on. Right now, I’ve settled for 45fps at 90hz with a combination of medium settings with FSR 2 set to quality. It is going to be interesting to see how it fares later on in the campaign. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn Steam Deck Gameplay Impressions Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is Tengo Project and NatsumeAtari’s newest remake of a classic, and it is a damn fine release overall. Shaun is working on a full review of this one, but I wanted to cover how it feels on Steam Deck and also Xbox briefly. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn on PC lets you adjust resolution and screen mode (borderless, windowed, and fullscreen). It only has 16:9 support, but the aesthetic absolutely shines on Steam Deck with the particle effects and crisp animation work. As for the PC port itself, there are some control issues if you want to use a keyboard, but I played Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn on Steam Deck only and it felt right at home on Valve’s handheld with fast loading and no performance issues. While Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn’s source game isn’t as amazing as the likes of Pocky and Rocky or even The Ninja Warriors like we’ve seen from Tengo Project in the past, it has gotten an excellent release that runs and looks perfect on Steam Deck and Xbox Series X. I also enjoyed playing it online through Steam Remote Play Together with a friend of mine in another country. If you aren’t sure about this one yet, I recommend downloading the demo and trying it out for yourself. News and Trailers Let’s start this week’s section with a brand-new extended showcase for Atlus’ upcoming RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio. It continues to look amazing and I can’t believe it is only a little over a month away. Watch the trailer below: Following that, Square Enix just posted new details for the upcoming Romancing SaGa 2 remake titled Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven coming to Steam and consoles this October. Check out some new screenshots here and one showcasing Glimmer below: Now let’s shift gears to the Nintendo Indie Direct + Partner Showcase that had 99% games coming to or on Steam. I’ve included the highlights here. Marvelous USA had an impactful trailer for Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma coming to Switch and Steam in Spring 2025. Watch it below: Bandai Namco announced Tales of Graces f Remastered for January 2025 release on Steam and all consoles with visual upgrades and DLC included. Watch the trailer below: Konami and M2 have released Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia in one collection out now on Steam and all consoles. I’ll be reviewing this one next week so stay tuned for that. Capcom announced Capcom Fighting Collection 2 featuring Capcom Vs SNK, Power Stone, and 6 other games coming in 2025 to Steam, Switch, and PlayStation. Capcom also announced that the Marvel Vs Capcom collection launches in under 2 weeks. The excellent Cuisineer from Marvelous USA is coming to Switch and other consoles early next year alongside a big update for the Steam release. I’m definitely getting the physical edition. The Ghibli-inspired action-adventure game Europa was showcased for Switch during the Nintendo Indie World showcase and will launch on October 11th for Switch and Steam. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, the next mainline Atelier game is coming to Steam and all consoles including Xbox, a series first, in early 2025, and it looks incredible. Tetris Forever is the new Gold Master Series release from Digital Eclipse coming this year featuring more than 15 playable classic games from the series’ history. Some have never seen a release outside Japan before. PowerWash Simulator is going deeper into the madness with the Shrek Special Pack coming soon for Steam and all consoles. FAIRY TAIL 2 from Gust and Koei Tecmo is finally coming to Steam, Switch, and other consoles beginning December 11th. Watch the trailer below: Fantastic Games: Presented by Day of the Devs will be taking place from September 20th to 22nd, and the full list of games and developers has been revealed. I’m excited for quite a few of those, and I even have played a few of those already (but I can’t say which ones yet!). Channel: Death by Night City, Big Sir Games darkwebSTREAMER by We Have Always Lived in the Forest Fear the Spotlight by Cozy Game Pals and Blumhouse Games Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic by Steel Wool Grunn by Sokpop Collective Hollowbody by Headware Games Holstin by Sonka Horses by Santa Ragione Karma: The Dark World by Pollard Studio, Wired Productions and Gamera Games Pinball M (DLC) by Zen Studios Post Trauma by Red Soul Games and Raw Fury Skate Story by Sam Eng and Devolver Digital Tom the Postgirl by Oopsie Daisies SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream got two new character trailers this week. Check out the Yui and Oberon trailers below: D3 Publisher launched the first DLC pack for Earth Defense Force 6 in the form of Earth Defense Force 6 – Lost Days DLC 1. It is out now on Steam and PS5. Super Evil Megacorp posted a roadmap for TMNT Splintered Fate following its launch on Apple Arcade and Switch revealing that it will be Steam Deck Verified and more. Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is coming to Steam and current consoles on November 7th with 120fps support and more. It plays amazing on Steam Deck already. Try the demo here. Panic’s newest showcase aired a few days ago and it is absolutely worth watching if you like interesting games. Ahead of Tokyo Games Show, SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced the next RGG Summit for September 20th at 3 AM PT. You can watch it below when the event begins: Pinball FX brings in Goat Simulator and The Princess Bride as DLC tables this week on Steam and other platforms. Stay tuned for my coverage of both of these and the game itself in the near future: The first DLC for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles, “A Strange Fate" is now available with Hinata as a new playable character and an original story by the original author. Watch the launch trailer below: SYNDUALITY: ECHO OF ADA has a new trailer with closed network test sign ups now live. Sign up here and watch the trailer for it below: The final bit of news is The First Descendant’s Season 1: Invasion now available bringing in a new descendent: Hailey, battle pass rewards, new dungeon invasions, and much more. New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week A lot of interesting additions this week with the newly released Castlevania collection and Gundam Breaker 4 being marked as playable alongside Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics getting Verified ahead of its launch in under two weeks. I’m also glad to see the upcoming Dragon Quest Monsters release and Regency Solitaire II get tested by Valve. Age of Mythology: Retold – Playable Castlevania Dominus Collection – Playable DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince – Playable GUNDAM BREAKER 4 – Playable MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics – Verified Pool Panic – Verified Regency Solitaire II – Verified Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Verified The Elder Scrolls Online – Playable Visions of Mana – Playable Steam Deck Game Sales, Discounts, and Specials The notable sales of the week include a Tales of franchise sale where I recommend Tales of Berseria as the best game in the series on Steam followed by Tales of Arise, Kingdom Come Deliverance at 90% off, and Red Dead Redemption II at 60% off on Steam. Note that for Red Dead Redemption II, you can’t buy the Steam version outside Steam while you can for the other games I’ve mentioned here. That’s all for this edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. As usual, you can read all our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback for this feature or what else you’d like to see us do around the Steam Deck, let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 30th, 2024. In today’s article, we have a handful …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Umamusume: Pretty Derby’, ‘Super Dark Deception’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 30th, 2024. In today’s article, we have a handful of new releases to look at as we bid farewell to August. A few decent ones, and a few unique ones. Outside of that, there isn’t much more than the lists of new sales and expiring discounts. This has been a busy week for me in many ways, but we should be back to the normal routine next week. Let’s get to what we’ve got! Select New Releases Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash ($44.99) I say thee neigh, Umamusume! Everyone’s favorite horse-girls arrive on Switch with this party game for up to four players via local or online multiplayer. There are four different minigames to play, and you get a full story mode with twenty-five playable characters to enjoy. It’s unbridled excitement for fans of the series, so if that’s you it’s time to start horsing around with your friends. I give you free rein to be as sore of a winner as you like, but get ready to hoof it if they get mad about it. Super Dark Deception ($17.99) Take Dark Deception, and then imagine how that would look as a sprite-based 2D game. Would it look like Super Dark Deception? Maybe not, but someone’s idea of it clearly did because here we are. Try to escape the mazes with your life intact, using anything and everything at your disposal to avoid being killed by the roaming creatures that go bump in the night. At launch, the game only includes the first chapter, consisting of four levels. More will be added over time as free DLC, but do consider that relatively low amount of content and admittedly uncertain future before purchasing. Forest, Fields and Fortresses ($4.99) A tile-placing puzzle game where you’re building a kingdom one piece at a time. There are two modes of play here. One is a puzzle mode where you have a set number and type of pieces and need to place them in such a way that you’ll earn enough gold to pass. The other mode is called Adventure Mode, where you can unlock and use a variety of starting maps and a random assortment of pieces to build with. Not bad at all if you’re looking for an affordable bit of puzzling fun today. Date Z ($14.99) A choice-based visual novel dating sim where you have to find a date by Friday or die. Well, no pressure there. There are five potential partners to woo, and naturally a bunch of different endings to uncover. I was ready to write it off as another in the big pile of games like this, but then I saw the above screenshot. How do I not include a game with that kind of screenshot on its store page? Bedrotting ($14.99) Well, this is a horror game premise I haven’t seen before. You play as a young girl who has been in a car accident. While your body is fine, your mental state isn’t. You can’t seem to get up out of your bed, basically. You need to survive for twenty days, which means eating, using a bucket as a toilet, and doing whatever you can to keep yourself together. That last bit becomes a very big problem as strange visions start to appear. Are they real? Your imagination? Does it matter? One for the enjoyers of creepy games, I’d say. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Not quite as interesting a list of new sales as yesterday’s, but if you’re looking to fill up on Pinball FX tables a number of them are discounted right now. Retro City Rampage DX and Shakedown: Hawaii are at their lowest prices yet, and that may be of interest to some. Over in the weekend outbox, the latest sale from Limited Run Games is wrapping up. Grab what you must. Select New Sales WitchSpring R ($35.99 from $39.99 until 9/5) Dice Make 10! ($3.59 from $3.99 until 9/5) Bug & Seek ($11.24 from $14.99 until 9/5) The House of Da Vinci 2 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush Origins ($8.24 from $14.99 until 9/6) Kingdom Rush Frontiers ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/6) Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey ($2.39 from $15.99 until 9/6) Charlie Brown Christmas Pinball DLC ($2.74 from $5.49 until 9/9) Marvel Pinball Collection 1 DLC ($11.99 from $23.99 until 9/9) Tiny Thor ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/12) Cilla ($5.59 from $6.99 until 9/12) The Legend of Dark Witch ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/12) The Legend of Dark Witch Ep. 2 ($8.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Brave Dungeon + Dark Witch Story ($4.49 from $8.99 until 9/12) Forward To The Sky ($9.79 from $48.99 until 9/13) Wall World ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/13) The Oregon Trail ($17.99 from $29.99 until 9/19) Sherlock Holmes The Awakened ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/19) Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Shadows of Adam ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Retro City Rampage DX ($3.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Shakedown Hawaii ($3.49 from $19.99 until 9/19) Rise: Race the Future ($6.59 from $16.49 until 9/19) Speed Overflow ($7.79 from $12.99 until 9/19) Path to Purge ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/19) Sales Ending This Weekend Another Crab’s Treasure ($23.99 from $29.99 until 8/31) Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/31) Cosmic Star Heroine ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/31) Dark Quest 3 ($7.59 from $18.99 until 8/31) Geometry Survivor ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/31) Hot Wheels Unleashed ($5.99 from $39.99 until 8/31) Hot Wheels Unleashed GotY Edition ($11.99 from $79.99 until 8/31) Jurassic Park Games Collection ($17.99 from $29.99 until 8/31) Night Trap ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/31) Oddworld Soulstorm ($17.49 from $49.99 until 8/31) Operation Wolf Returns ($10.49 from $29.99 until 8/31) The House in Fata Morgana ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/31) Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery ($13.96 from $19.95 until 9/1) That’s all for today, this week, and this month, friends. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, this was an unusually busy week for me beyond my work here on the site. I apologize if things have seemed a bit light as a result. We’ll be back to the normal schedule next week, and that means plenty of reviews, new releases, sales, and some news. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!

In our tour through retro games available to buy on Switch, we’ve worked our way through the NES, Game Boy, …

Continue reading "The 10 Best Super NES Games on Nintendo Switch, Plus 5 We’d Like to See – SwitchArcade Special"

In our tour through retro games available to buy on Switch, we’ve worked our way through the NES, Game Boy, and SEGA Genesis selections among other more recent console libraries. This time we’re taking a look at the games that originated with Nintendo’s 16-bit console, the Super NES. While you can find plenty of great games from the console in the Nintendo Switch Online app, we’re instead looking at those games that dare to exist in the wilds of the Switch eShop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, plus five more games that we’d like to see. No particular order, of course. Oh, and to cut off potential comments at the pass: Mega Man X isn’t here because I feel the input lag in the Legacy Collection hurts it too badly. Stone-cold classic, just not a great play experience on Switch. On with the show! Sparkster – Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked ($29.99) A very rare case of a Konami franchise born on a SEGA platform, Rocket Knight Adventures was a game Super NES owners could easily envy. While that game never came to Nintendo’s console, a version of the sequel did. Sparkster is the name of two distinct games, and the Super NES offering bearing that title is probably the better of the two. Not quite up to the original game, but plenty of fun. Rock ‘n Roll Racing – Blizzard Arcade Collection ($19.99) Before Blizzard became a household name for joking about phone ownership, it was making some very good console games. Also a pretty iffy Justice League fighting game, but we’re not here to talk about that. Instead, we’re talking about the highly enjoyable isometric racer that fused exciting gameplay with a fantastic licensed soundtrack. This game alone is worth the price of admission for this collection, but you get a handful of other cool Super NES games with it. Top Racer – Top Racer Collection ($19.99) More popularly known under the title Top Gear, Top Racer is one of the better choices in the racing genre on the Super NES. It rides the line between arcade and sim very well, and the soundtrack is absolutely outstanding. You get all three of the games in this set, and I’d argue the second game goes toe-to-toe with the first. The third game… well, how about those first two games, eh? Secret of Mana – Collection of Mana ($39.99) Square Enix seems to favor remakes with its Switch takes on its Super NES classics, and while those aren’t technically against my rules for these lists I think I’ll go with a purer choice. Secret of Mana can be found in the excellent Collection of Mana alongside the Game Boy original and the Super NES third game in the series. The emulation was handled by M2, so it’s working just as it did back in the day, bugs and all. Secret of Mana is a thoroughly enjoyable action-RPG, despite its many rough edges. You get to save Christmas at the behest of Rudolph! What more do you need? A fluffy dragon you can ride in a Mode 7 overworld map? Well, you get that too! TMNT IV: Turtles in Time – TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection ($39.99) The 16-bit generation was the era of beat ’em ups, and Turtles in Time jostles with Streets of Rage 2 for the title of king among the many challengers. It looks almost as good as the arcade game, plays even better, and leans into its time-traveling gimmick in a lot of fun ways. One of the best games on the Super NES full-stop, and I’m glad we’re able to buy it on modern consoles for the time being. Contra III: The Alien Wars – Contra Anniversary Collection ($19.99) Lots of Konami here again. It occupies a lot of spots in these lists, but it has earned it. Here’s the third Contra game, and the first to have no roots in the arcades whatsoever. It aims for a more futuristic setting and feel, and in true Konami style it pushes the hardware in a variety of fun ways. Sure, those Mode 7 overhead levels don’t play quite as well as you might like them to, but there’s no denying the style that runs through this entire game. Super Castlevania IV – Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($19.99) For some people, this is the best action-based installment in the Castlevania series. I’m not sure I’m fully on-board with that, but this is one heck of a great game. The visuals, sound effects, and music create an incredible vibe, and Simon’s overpowered whip skills make you feel like a real pro. The Super NES would see a lot of great action games, but few of them are as confidently showy as this one. A highly memorable game, and if you’re looking for a somewhat fairer entry point into the series this is one of the better choices. Zombies Ate My Neighbors – Zombies Ate My Neighbors & Ghoul Patrol ($14.99) Okay, Konami published this back in the day, but it’s really a Lucasarts title. A really unique one, at that. A stage-based top-down action game with tons of wacky enemies, locations, and tools you can find and use, Zombies Ate My Neighbors offered an experience you couldn’t find anywhere else on the console. Play alone or pull in a friend, especially if you want to make an actual go at beating this tough game. Aladdin – Disney Classic Games Collection ($29.49) The debate rages on about which 16-bit console version of Aladdin is better, but the nice thing about the Disney Classic Games Collection is that it doesn’t force you to choose. Both are here, have fun. Since this is a Super NES list, we’re talking about that version of the game. Directed by Shinji Mikami, who later got up to some zombie nonsense, this version of Aladdin can’t match the authentic presentation of the Genesis game, but makes up for it with some excellent Capcom platforming action. A bit of a breezy affair, but that’s not so bad sometimes. Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move (16-Bit Console Version) ($7.99) Let’s squeeze a puzzle game in here to finish things out. Call it Bust-A-Move, call it Puzzle Bobble, either way you’re in for a good time. Shoot the bubbles, make the matches, and try to clear the field before you get squashed. A charming presentation and some devilish stage designs make this a hard one to put down. Sure, the sequels have a lot more to offer, but you can have plenty of good times with this version all on its own. And… 5 Super NES Games We’d Like to See on Switch Chrono Trigger I mean, of course. One of the best games on the console, and cited by many as the finest game in the genre. It’s a bit silly that it isn’t on Switch, even if there are probably good reasons for it. Well, this is a wishlist. I don’t care about reasons! I want results! Bring me pictures of Chrono! Er, bring me Chrono Trigger on Switch! SimCity The theme of these picks is going to be licensing issues from here on out, though I have to believe SimCity is somewhat possible. All we need is Electronic Arts and Nintendo to come together to make it happen, and it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. Why don’t we have any SimCity on Switch? Mysterious stuff. Give me this one and I’ll forget about how you parked the IP in the river, EA. For a while, anyway. Terranigma The one that got away for North American Super NES owners. Quintet’s run on the Super NES was outstanding, and I’d love to see all of them available to buy again. If I had to pick just one, it’s this one. A very enjoyable action-RPG with a story that will definitely stick with you, wrapped up in a gorgeous package that rivals what Square was doing on the console in a lot of ways. I’m hoping this can one day slip out of the vault it’s currently trapped in, even if that place isn’t on the Switch. U.N. Squadron There’s something about U.N. Squadron that tends to click with people who aren’t usually into shoot ’em ups. Maybe it’s the manga/anime-born style. Perhaps it’s the lenience afforded by the life bar. The cool jets? Maybe it’s the cool jets. Whatever the case, it would be amazing to see this game get a reissue. It’s tied up with a license which probably makes things difficult, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Capcom makes it happen someday. Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage The author’s bias on full display here, wow. Maximum Carnage? That iffy beat ’em up based on the comic event where Spider-Man defeats Carnage with the literal power of friendship? Yes. I love this game. It is stupid and kind of bad and I love it. I want it, even if I have to put up with it being packaged with Separation Anxiety or something. Get Green Jelly on the phone, patch Marvel into the conference call, find whoever bought the husk of LJN/Acclaim, and get it done. And that’s the list, friends. Are there any Super NES games you enjoy on the Switch? Any you would like to see? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. As always, thanks for reading!

HoYoverse’s Honkai Star Rail (Free) version 2.5 update titled “Flying Aureus Shot to Lupine Rue" was just showcased during a …

Continue reading "‘Honkai Star Rail’ Version 2.5 “Flying Aureus Shot to Lupine Rue” Update Releases on September 10th, New Trailer Showcased During Livestream"

HoYoverse’s Honkai Star Rail (Free) version 2.5 update titled “Flying Aureus Shot to Lupine Rue" was just showcased during a livestream. It will release on September 10th for iOS, Android, PS5, and PC. This update’s highlights are the Wardance ceremony, many new enemies, new characters: Feixiao, Lingsha, and Moze alongside the silkpunk saga in the Shackling Prison reaching its climax, and also reruns of Black Swan and Kafka (!). Topaz will be returning for a rerun in part 2 of version 2.5. Watch the newest Honkai Star Rail version 2.5 update trailer below: If you’ve not played the game yet, you can download Honkai Star Rail on the App Store for iOS here, on Google Play for Android here, and here on the Epic Games Store in addition to its regular PC version. Check it out here on PS5. Have you been playing Honkai Star Rail recently and what do you think of 2.5 so far?

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 29th, 2024. We’ve got another big plate of new …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Emio: The Smiling Man’, ‘Gundam Breaker 4’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 29th, 2024. We’ve got another big plate of new releases to check out today, and that’s going to be the bulk of the column as it usually is on Thursdays. We also have a relatively hefty list of new sales to delve into, and that’s really about it. We can’t have Nintendo Directs every day, after all. Let’s get to the games! Select New Releases Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club ($49.99) After a few decades without any sequels, Famicom Detective Club is back. This new case is very faithful to the original games, for better or worse. You get an entirely new mystery to unravel, and in terms of the presentation it’s relatively similar to the remake releases in Switch a little while back. Can you solve the latest serial murder case? I’ll be giving it a try in my review, coming soon. Gundam Breaker 4 ($59.99) Mikhail has already written a veritable book on this game in his review, so I’ll just direct you towards that if you want a full breakdown of the gameplay and how it performs on Switch. The short version is that you’re building and battling Gunplas, and while this Switch port is obviously going to falter behind the others in terms of performance, it does the job well enough that if it’s the option in front of you, it’s more than fine. Anyway, go read Mikhail’s review. It’s a goodie. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn ($19.99) Tengo Project has had a very good run with its remakes/re-imaginings so far. Wild Guns Reloaded, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, and Pocky & Rocky Reshrined brought back some 16-bit cult favorites with a lot of awesome extras. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn sees the team applying its touch to an 8-bit game, and as you might imagine it’s quite a bit more different from its source material than the aforementioned games. Still, if you’re fixing for an action-platformer with a classic style, this will serve you. I’ll be reviewing this early next week, so watch for that. Valfaris: Mecha Therion ($19.99) This is a follow-up to Valfaris, but don’t expect more of the same kind of gameplay you saw in that game. No, this is a 2.5D side-scrolling shoot ’em up, and it’s decent enough. I think some people were caught off guard by the genre shift and were put off as a result, but embrace the change and you’ll find plenty to enjoy. Yes, this is another one I’ve got a review coming up for. Funny how that works! Nour: Play With Your Food ($9.99) I’d like to pretend I know what’s going on with this game, but I really don’t. Those sure are some nice images of food, though. And you’re meant to play with all of that? Take some pictures, I guess? Look for secrets? Maybe I’ll dispatch our pal Mikhail to investigate this further. It seems like his sort of thing. Monster Jam Showdown ($49.99) If you like monsters, or you like jam, then… I have no idea if you’ll like this game. It’s about Monster Jam, the monster truck thing. No preserves or strawberries or goblins at all. Well, what can you do? It has support for multiplayer, both local and online, and seems to have plenty of modes and such to play around with. It seems to have met with a middling reaction on other platforms, but monster truck fans don’t have a whole lot of choices in front of them, I suppose. If that’s you, do what you must. WitchSpring R ($39.99) I think this is a remake of the original WitchSpring, but I might be wrong about that. WitchSpring to me was always the mobile “we have Atelier at home" series, and in that capacity and at that price point, it served its role well enough. Now that it’s getting very near to the price of an actual Atelier game, I’m not sure if I’m quite so on board with it. But if you’re willing to give it a go, it does look like the nicest WitchSpring game so far. Depths of Sanity ($19.99) Oh, this is one of those undersea exploration games. Those always have an interesting vibe to them. This one leans into the fantastical horror side of things, as you might expect from the title. You’re trying to figure out what happened to your missing crew, and you’ll have to poke around a big, dangerous interconnected underwater world to sort it all out. Yes, there will be fighting. This one is well-regarded on other platforms by fans of exploratory action games, and I suspect it will find an eager following on the Switch as well. Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire ($19.99) Kids, am I right? Voltaire is rebelling against his vampiric daddy by taking up a vegan lifestyle to prove there are other ways to live than biting necks. Daddy doesn’t dig that, and is going to try to teach his son a lesson. What this amounts to is farming, of course. This is the Switch, after all. But also some action, because you’re going to need to fend off daddy’s attempts to mess things up for you. I’m a little bit burnt out on this genre at the moment, but if you’re more energetic about picking up a hoe than I am you might want to check this one out. Marble Abduction! Patti Hattu ($11.79) One of those marble roller games, this one with seventy stages and eighty marbles to collect. There are some secret collectibles to find, and special challenges that will score you some of the rarer marbles. The usual appeal is here of trying to go as fast as you can without flying off the track, so if that’s your thing then here is a heaping helping of it. Leo: The Firefighter Cat ($24.99) We’ve seen a few firefighting games on the Switch so far, but most of them aim for a somewhat realistic style. But you know what? Kids can often be interested in firefighting too, and there might be something in a firefighting game more geared towards their tastes. There are twenty missions here, and it seems to have the main details you would want to see in this kind of thing. I doubt it’s Fancy Feast, but it will probably do the job for the right kind of kid. Gori: Cuddly Carnage ($21.99) And on the opposite end of the cat game spectrum, here is a grotesque action game about a hoverboarding cat who slices and dices his foes with glee. Early reports seem to indicate that the game itself is decent enough, but this Switch version suffers from a lot of technical issues that drag down the overall experience to a meaningful degree. Not to the point where there isn’t any joy to be had in it, but worth thinking twice about if you’re bothered by framerate issues at the very least. Arcade Archives Finalizer Super Transformation ($7.99) You know, I consider myself a relatively knowledgeable fellow when it comes to video games. But every once in a while, Hamster pulls out a game for Arcade Archives that I really have no memory of, and this 1985 Konami vertical shooter fits that bill. The gimmick here is that instead of a ship, you’re a transforming robot hero of some sort. Let’s call it a Blundam. Grab power-ups to change your form or activate various powers. As shooters go, this is very much a post-Xevious pre-Tiger Heli affair. There’s a charm to that, if that’s the flavor you’re after. EGGCONSOLE Xanadu Scenario II PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49) A very early example of an expansion pack for a video game, Xanadu Scenario II gives you a whole new underworld to explore. Since this was originally an expansion and not a new game, the gameplay mechanics and many other elements are identical to the first game. It’s naturally more difficult too, so you’ll likely want to finish the first game before trying this one. The most noteworthy thing about it? This game features the debut of the legendary video game composer Yuzo Koshiro, then just 18 years old. That might be reason enough alone to drop the cash for this depending on your tastes and interest in gaming history. The Backrooms: Survival ($10.99) A bit of horror, a bit of survival, a bit of roguelite, and overall a game that many players have enjoyed over on PC. You can play with up to ten players online, and that’s really the ideal experience for this game. Playing solo, it’s going to be more of a specific taste thanks to its repetitive-by-design nature. Can of Wormholes ($19.99) You are a sentient tin can, and you need to deal with worms in a variety of ways in this clever little puzzle game. You get one hundred hand-crafted puzzles to solve, and the game is really sharp about sprinkling in new ideas as you go so that it never gets stuck in a rut. Something of a whiff of Stephen’s Sausage Roll about it, and that is in no way a bad thing. A real winner for puzzle game fans, if you ask me. Ninja I & II ($9.99) A pair of modern NES games running under emulation that are essentially a ninja spin on Wario Ware-style microgames. All of them are competitive, so you’re either pulling in a friend for local multiplayer or going up against a CPU that may or may not drive you up the wall. Kind of neat to see game like these running on NES specs, if nothing else. Dice Make 10! ($3.99) Sometimes these unassuming titles can be a lot of fun, and this is one that does it for me. You have two modes of play here, one with Tetris-style falling blocks and the other where you’re just placing pieces like those wood block puzzle games. Regardless of which version you play, your goal is make rows or columns where the faces of the dice add up to ten or multiples of ten. They’ll clear out, and on you go with the next line. Yes, I like it. Very good. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) It’s the 30th anniversary of The King of Fighters, and Hamster and SNK are celebrating with a sale on every single game in the series on Arcade Archives. Time to finish your collection if you haven’t got them already. There are also a ton of Pixel Game Maker Series games at their lowest prices yet, so if you’ve been holding off on those, perhaps now is the moment. Nothing too thrilling outside of those, but you might as well check while you’re at it. A few good indies in the outbox, so I recommend giving that a scan as well. Select New Sales Kamitsubaki City Ensemble ($3.59 from $3.99 until 9/3) Floogen ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/4) Rolling Car ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/4) Fluffy Horde ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/4) Gum+ ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/4) Stunt Paradise ($5.19 from $7.99 until 9/4) My Time at Portia ($4.49 from $29.99 until 9/6) SpongeBob Krusty Cook-Off ($4.94 from $14.99 until 9/9) PPA Pickleball Tour 2025 ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/11) Talisman: Digital Edition ($2.99 from $5.99 until 9/12) Mystic Vale ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Baron of Blood ($4.95 from $9.90 until 9/12) Fighting Fantasy Legends ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Deathtrap Dungeon ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) White Eternal ($3.24 from $6.49 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’94 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’95 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’96 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’97 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’98 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters ’99 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters 2000 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters 2001 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters 2002 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters 2003 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) Kittey 64 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/12) Last Bloody Snack ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Cat and Tower ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS Cat and Castle ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS Pentacore ($6.59 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS BombMachine Gunzohg ($3.95 from $5.99 until 9/12) PGMS Pearl Vs Grey ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) PGMS Hunter of Devil ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS Lunlun Superherobabys DX ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS Storm Swordsman ($5.27 from $7.99 until 9/12) PGMS Project Nosferatu ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/12) PGMS Ninja Runner ($2.50 from $5.00 until 9/12) PGMS Ninja Sneaking R ($3.59 from $5.99 until 9/12) PGMS Ninja Sneaking VS ($3.60 from $6.00 until 9/12) PGMS Angel’s Gear ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Angel’s Blood ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Ninja Otedama R ($3.59 from $5.99 until 9/12) PGMS Tentacled Terrors ($8.99 from $11.99 until 9/12) PGMS Loplight ($3.29 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS ClaM KNight ($2.99 from $5.99 until 9/12) PGMS Jetman ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Lab ($4.19 from $6.99 until 9/12) PGMS Steel Sword Story S ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Arcanion: Tale of Magi ($6.59 from $10.99 until 9/12) PGMS Shiba Mekuri ($2.74 from $5.49 until 9/12) PGMS Buraigun Galaxy Storm ($8.99 from $11.99 until 9/12) PGMS Block Slime Cave ($3.50 from $7.00 until 9/12) PGMS Game Battle Tycoon ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/12) PGMS MessiahEnd Refrain ($2.99 from $4.99 until 9/12) PGMS Oma2ri Adventure ($2.47 from $4.95 until 9/12) PGMS Dandan Z ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Cham The Cat Adventure ($5.49 from $10.99 until 9/12) PGMS Verzeus ($7.91 from $11.99 until 9/12) PGMS Oumuamua ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) PGMS Jewelinx ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) Sushi Battle Rambunctiously ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/13) My Incubi Harem ($2.99 from $4.99 until 9/13) Hot Blood ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/13) Jenny LeClue Detectivu ($2.99 from $24.99 until 9/18) Asterix & Obelix Slap Them All ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/18) The Sisters 2 Road to Fame ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/18) Noob: The Factionless ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/18) New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/18) Garfield Lasagna Party ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/18) Muv-Luv Remastered ($26.99 from $29.99 until 9/19) Muv-Luv Alternative Remastered ($35.99 from $39.99 until 9/19) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 30th #BLUD ($19.99 from $24.99 until 8/30) 8th Millennium: WAtPG ($7.49 from $29.99 until 8/30) Alpha Particle ($3.39 from $9.99 until 8/30) Batman: The Enemy Within ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30) Batman: The Telltale Series ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30) Empire of Angels IV ($6.79 from $19.99 until 8/30) Enter Digiton: Heart of Corruption ($2.39 from $7.99 until 8/30) Forager ($6.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Hell Well ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/30) Midnight Fight Express ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Mineko’s Night Market ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Moonscars ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) OBAKEIDORO ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Puddle Knights ($2.99 from $9.99 until 8/30) Roxy Raccoon’s Pinball Panic ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/30) Slay the Spire ($8.49 from $24.99 until 8/30) Space Mercenary Defense Force ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/30) Super Woden GP ($5.99 from $11.99 until 8/30) Supraland ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Surmount ($9.89 from $14.99 until 8/30) The Last Dragon Slayer ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/30) The Last Worker ($3.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Thunder Ray ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30) Unpacking ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/30) Void Bastards ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/30) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow to finish up the week, with the remaining new releases, sales, and major news items on the schedule. Maybe some reviews? Perhaps. We’ll see. There’s a huge typhoon blowing through here this week, and I should acknowledge there is a chance I won’t be able to get to my office to do tomorrow’s article. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!

This week, Apple Arcade sees a major game update for Apple Vision Pro and a few notable updates. Castle Crumble …

Continue reading "Castle Crumble for Apple Vision Pro Is Now Available on Apple Arcade Alongside Big Updates for Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, Crayola Adventures, and More"

This week, Apple Arcade sees a major game update for Apple Vision Pro and a few notable updates. Castle Crumble [apprice url="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/castle-crumble/id1616814625"] for Apple Arcade has been updated to be a fully universal game with support for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple is treating this like a new release ahead of September’s game launches. Read about those here. As for the regular game updates, the highlights include Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop bringing in three new character episodes, Meena as a playable character, and seven new BGM songs from the series. Crayola Adventures has a new micro story added with Video Games Day celebrations going on with Lights Camera Action and Pixel Madness. The Koala Face accessory is also available in-game. Time to Puyo-Party with even more Playable Pals! #PuyoPuyoPuzzlePop Update 1.5.0 has arrvied! Join additional playable characters and jam to 7 new BGM selections! #PuyoPuyoPuzzlePop is available now on @AppleArcade!https://t.co/PFEStkKxeO pic.twitter.com/e29H0op4k9 — Puyo Puyo Official (@PuyoOfficial) August 28, 2024 SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit brings in its next Tale of the deep with Karate Island where you can play as Sandy. Jetpack Joyride 2 brings in a new event taking Barry to outer space looking for a new signal. stitch. brings in new hoops featuring Taekwondo. The final notable update is Zookeeper World bringing 12 new puzzle stages. With the updates done, head over to our forum threads for Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop here, Castle Crumble here, Crayola Adventures here, SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit here, and Zookeeper World here. For all other Apple Arcade related things, check out our dedicated Apple Arcade forum for discussion on the service and every game included here. What do you think of Apple’s newly released games and updates recently?

Last month, GungHo announced a new casual RPG for mobile in the form of Disney Pixel RPG (Free), due later …

Continue reading "Casual RPG ‘Disney Pixel RPG’ From GungHo for iOS and Android Gets New Gameplay Trailer, Listed for October 7th"

Last month, GungHo announced a new casual RPG for mobile in the form of Disney Pixel RPG (Free), due later this year. Today, Gungho has released (via Gematsu) the first trailer for Disney Pixel RPG. Disney Pixel RPG aims to let players explore with pixel versions of Disney characters across multiple worlds with battles, action, rhythm, and more challenges. It features an original story taking you on a journey with Mickey Mouse and other characters with many customization options. Watch the first gameplay trailer for Disney Pixel RPG below: Disney Pixel RPG is currently listed for October 7th on the App Store, but this should be treated as a placeholder date since it was originally listed for early September as a placeholder and that has already changed. Disney Pixel RPG is set for release this year on iOS and Android as a free to play game with in app purchases. Check out the official English website for Disney Pixel RPG here. If you’d like to play Disney Pixel RPG, you can pre-order it on the App Store for iOS here and pre-register for it on Google Play for Android here. What do you think of Disney Pixel RPG so far based on its debut trailer? Update: Added new English trailer.

Earlier this month, Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Ganbarion revealed Dragon Ball Project:Multi, the franchise’s first 4v4 team based battle …

Continue reading "‘Dragon Ball Project:Multi’ Gets New Character Trailers Showcasing Super Saiyan Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo"

Earlier this month, Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Ganbarion revealed Dragon Ball Project:Multi, the franchise’s first 4v4 team based battle game, with a regional closed beta planned. Today, Dragon Ball Project:Multi has gotten three new character trailers with the closed beta now available in select regions. The new trailers focus on three characters focusing on their gameplay. Watch the Dragon Ball Project:Multi Piccolo trailer below: Watch the Dragon Ball Project:Multi Super Saiyan Goku trailer below: Watch the Dragon Ball Project:Multi Krillin trailer below: Dragon Ball Project:Multi still doesn’t have a release date or window yet, but the closed beta is available now until September 3rd at 5:59 AM UTC on iOS, Android, and Steam. You can currently wishlist Dragon Ball Project:Multi on Steam here. The Dragon Ball Project:Multi regional closed beta is available in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Check out the official Dragon Ball Project:Multi English website here. What do you think of Dragon Ball Project:Multi and the new character trailers?

Square Enix just announced that Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (Free) is shutting down on October 30th (this year) following its …

Continue reading "‘Final Fantasy Brave Exvius’ Is Shutting Down on October 30th"

Square Enix just announced that Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (Free) is shutting down on October 30th (this year) following its debut back in June 2016. Since launching on mobile, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius has seen many collaborations including ones with some of Square Enix’s best games like NieR: Automata and also its other titles like Final Fantasy XV. It is being shut down because Square Enix says that it will be “difficult to maintain the app experience." Following this announcement, in app purchases will no longer be offered but you will be able to use anything you’ve bought until service ends. Bundles will no longer be sold as well. [Important Notice] Thank you for playing FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS. We regret to announce we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS app service as of October 30, 2024 23:59 (PDT). Please see details here: https://t.co/vcL5Dn8xe4 pic.twitter.com/W6U9QArq5O — FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS (@FFBE_EN) August 29, 2024 On October 30th at 23:59 PDT, service will end and accounts will be deleted. If you’d like to play Final Fantasy Brave Exvius until then, you can grab it on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. Read our review of the original game launch here. If you’d like to check out discussions from the game’s launch until now, check out our very old forum thread here. Have you played Final Fantasy Brave Exvius before and what do you think of today’s announcement?

Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a …

Continue reading "Out Now: ‘Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home’, ‘Ocean Keeper Mobile’, ‘Ogu and the Secret Forest’, ‘Death Travelers’, ‘Snake.io’, ‘RWBY: Arrowfell’ and More"

Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a big old list of all the best new releases of the past seven days. Back in the day the App Store would showcase the same games for a week, and then refresh those features each Thursday. Because of that developers got into the habit of releasing their games throughout Wednesday or very early Thursday in order to hopefully get one of those coveted features spots. Nowadays the App Store refreshes constantly, so the need for everyone to release all on the same day has diminished. Still, we’ve kept our weekly Wednesday night format as for years that’s the time people knew to check TouchArcade for the list of new games. And so without further ado please check out the full list of this week’s new games below, and let us know in the comments section which games you’ll be picking up! Death Travelers (Free) iTunes Description The Afterworld needs your help to stop it from collapsing! Travel the Afterworld’s various realms to save lost souls. Dodge and destroy obstacles along the way while stabilizing it with the resonance of music. Build your base, upgrade your car, unlock various abilities, play new music, and above all have some fun! Can you save the lost souls and stabilize the Afterworld? Forum Thread: Death Travelers (by Death Travelers LLC) Dusk of Dragons: Survivors (Free) iTunes Description Survive in a Medieval Fantasy World with Dusk of Dragons: Survivors! Immerse yourself in a thrilling survival sandbox where you’ll face extreme weather, hunger, traps, and hordes of zombies. As a true survivor, you’ll need to master the wilderness and outwit the undead. Forum Thread: Dusk of Dragons: Survivors (by COREGAMES) Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home ($17.99) iTunes Description Head back to your roots and leave the city life for your childhood village of Alba in Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home, where the freshest fish and tastiest veggies are grown and caught by the local farmers and anglers! However, with its population getting older and younger villagers leaving for the big city, Alba Village has seen better days, so can you help turn it from a village on the decline to one of prosperity? With its beautiful surroundings, Alba definitely has the potential, so work hard to bring tourists and even new residents to this sprawling green village! Reunite with your childhood friend and other familiar faces to help put Alba on the map! Forum Thread: Harvest Moon Home Sweet Home (by Natsume Inc) MMC KENKEN Math (Free) iTunes Description Stretching the ability to make fun becomes academic ability – Solving puzzles in a fun way improves academic ability The hit teaching material that has sold over 2.5 million copies has been turned into game software as “Daizen"! A total of 3,000 math puzzles for children and adults to learn while having fun. Forum Thread: MMC KENKEN Math (by Tetsuya Miyamoto / KenKen Puzzle LLC / Gakken / MAGES.) Ocean Keeper Mobile (Free) iTunes Description A roguelike shooter with a top-down view where you play as a Miner whose spaceship has crashed on a planet, filled with underwater monsters! Use the time between each attack to power up your diver, mech, or weapon. Build automatic turrets, use drones to gather resources and improve your skills to increase your chances of survival. Discover mysterious locations and fantastic undersea deep biomes. EACH time you explore the underwater worlds, the layout changes, making every journey unique. You never play the same scenario twice in this drill dungeon core roguelite. Forum Thread: Ocean Keeper Mobile (by RetroStyle Games) Ogu and the Secret Forest (Free) iTunes Description Explore the wonderful world with baby Ogu! ‘Ogu and the Secret Forest’ is a 2D adventure game with hand-drawn characters and various types of puzzles. Befriend bouncy characters and defeat strange creatures to unravel the mystery of the charming world. Forum Thread: Ogu and the Secret Forest (by Sinkhole Studio Inc.) RWBY: Arrowfell (Free) iTunes Description Dive into an explosive new RWBY action-adventure! Instantly switch between all four members of Team RWBY — Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long — and use their signature weapons and Semblances to battle the Creatures of Grimm and other foes in this in-canon story set during RWBY Volume 7. Featuring voiceovers from RWBY’s original cast, all-new cutscenes from the team behind the show, and a brand-new theme song by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams, RWBY: Arrowfell lets you explore Atlas and the surrounding areas to solve environmental puzzles, slay massive bosses, power up with Skill Points, and interact with characters such as Penny, Winter, and General Ironwood, as well as the enigmatic new team of Huntresses, Team BRIR! Only Team RWBY can protect Remnant from a mysterious new threat in RWBY: Arrowfell! Forum Thread: RWBY: Arrowfell (by Crunchyroll) SlidewayZ: A Musical Journey (Free) iTunes Description Welcome to SlidewayZ, a new kind of sliding block puzzle! Slide adorable character pieces through fun worlds to collect soothing classical music. Easy to learn and fun to play, SlidewayZ adds a new twist to sliding block puzzles with moves from games like chess and other classic board games. A gentle soundtrack of Classical music helps you unwind from the stresses of the day. Perfect for commuting or a quick brain break, no internet connection required! Filled with collectables, beautiful art and engaging gameplay, SlidewayZ will provide hours of low-key puzzling fun! Forum Thread: SlidewayZ: A Musical Journey (by DiG-iT Games) Snake.io (Free) iTunes Description It’s a snake-eat-snake world: Slither around the screen to collect energy, grow bigger and devour your competition in this fast-paced arcade game. You’ll start out as a small snake in each round. Eat energy pellets to expand your size, and surround or cut in front of other snakes to explode them into (edible) segments. But watch out — because they’ll be trying to do the same to you. In this reptilian battle royale, how long can you stay in one piece? Forum Thread: Snake.io (by Kooapps) Spidersaurs (Free) iTunes Description Alert! Alert! The nightmarish dinosaur-spider hybrids known as Spidersaurs have run amok and only you (and a friend in co-op mode) can stop them! Created by InGest Corp to provide the meat and muscle that humanity needs to end world hunger, the Spidersaurs are now on the loose, leaving it to two former taste-testers – officer-in-training Adrian and punk-rocker Victoria – to use their awesome firepower to overcome six stages of ferocious run-‘n’-gun action. Blast through a sweltering jungle, an infested laboratory, the heart of a live volcano, and more! The tangy food source with a bite is biting back, but by grabbing power-ups, gaining new abilities, and obliterating everything in sight, you can send these mutant monstrosities back to the stone age. Forum Thread: Spidersaurs (by WayForward)

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 28th, 2024. Gosh, that presentation yesterday sure had a …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Pizza Tower’, ‘Castlevania Dominus Collection’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 28th, 2024. Gosh, that presentation yesterday sure had a lot of good stuff in it, didn’t it? A bunch of shadow dropped games, too. That means our usually quiet Wednesday is anything but, and that’s not a bad thing. We’ve got a bit of news, a look at all the new games on the eShop today, plus the usual lists of new and expiring sales for the day. Lots to see, so let’s get going! News The Partner/Indie World Showcase Had Plenty to Offer Sandwiching together two slightly smaller versions of the usual types of Directs was an interesting choice, and it means we got a bunch of announcements. I can’t go through all of them here, but highlights included some shadow drops we’ll talk about in the New Releases section, Capcom Fighting Collection 2, the Suikoden I & II remakes, Yakuza Kiwami, Tetris Forever, MySims, Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition, new Atelier and Rune Factory games, and many, many more. I’d advise just setting aside some time and watching the video. Skim if you must. Plenty of great games there for a variety of tastes. Select New Releases Castlevania Dominus Collection ($24.99) One of the many cool shadow drops from the Direct was a third Castlevania collection. This one includes the three Nintendo DS games: Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia. It also includes the absolutely rancid arcade game, Haunted Castle, and as an extra, a remake of Haunted Castle by the folks at M2. It’s a lot better. As you would expect from this developer, this is a top-notch treatment that features great emulation and pretty much all of the features you’d want. An absurd value for the price. Pizza Tower ($19.99) The Wario Land-inspired frenetic platformer dashes on to the Switch with this Direct shadow drop. Make your way through the five massive floors of the Pizza Tower in order to destroy it and save your restaurant. If you miss Wario’s handheld adventures, you’ll really want to grab this. If you have no strong Wario feelings but like platforming, you should also give this a look. We’re hoping to review this one, but we’ll have to see how things go. Goat Simulator 3 ($29.99) The shadow drops continue. Look, it’s a Wednesday. If it weren’t for these, we wouldn’t have much at all. Anyway, Goat Simulator 3. You know how Goat Simulator works by now. I can’t verify how this game runs on Switch, but I know more powerful consoles struggle with it in places. So, you know, proceed with caution. Though I suppose even if it does run badly, it might just play into the whole sh**post nature of the game. Well, I leave it to you to decide. Silly goats doing silly things in an open world, may or may not make your Switch vomit blood. Peglin ($19.99) I know it’s cliche to armchair quarterback and talk about companies leaving money on the proverbial table, but I genuinely think Electronic Arts made a giant mistake by not putting Popcap’s games on the Switch in some form or another. Maybe even a collection? Well, they didn’t. They aren’t going to. And so we must scratch that itch in other ways, and for my fellow Peggle fans I can’t recommend Peglin enough. This one has been available on mobile for a while, and it’s just as good here on Switch. It’s basically Peggle blended into a turn-based RPG roguelite. We’ll have a review of this soon in case you need more details. Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story ($20.00) How can Kairosoft spice up its now incredibly well-worn formula for simulation games? Well, I suppose one way is to add a license to the mix. That’s what we’ve got here with Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story, a standard Kairosoft shop sim featuring the characters from the popular Doraemon manga and anime series. A decent effort has been made to do the license justice, and you might even spot some characters from the manga artist’s other works popping in as customers. Cute. Pico Park 2 ($8.99) More Pico Park for the Pico Park fans out there. Up to eight players can join in via local or online multiplayer, and this is one game where the rule of the more, the merrier is in full effect. Play through a bunch of puzzle stages that require some sharp thinking and cooperation to solve. One for those who didn’t get their fill with the first game, but not really different enough to be likely to pull in anyone new. And that’s fine. Kamitsubaki City Ensemble ($3.99) An affordable little rhythm game featuring music from Kamitsubaki Studio. Hit the notes, follow the story, enjoy the tunes. Not the fanciest dining, but for that price it doesn’t have to be. SokoPenguin ($4.99) Yes, that’s a Sokoban-style crate-pushing puzzler starring a penguin, alright. One hundred levels. You know if you want it or not. Q2 Humanity ($6.80) More quirky physics-based puzzles, over three hundred this time around. You’ll have to make use of your character’s abilities in addition to drawing to solve the problems now. Up to four players can get in on the fun, either via local or online multiplayer. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Mostly NIS America games in the inbox today, but you can also score some deals on Balatro, Frogun, and The King of Fighters XIII Global Match if you want. The outbox has a fair bit in it, so you’ll probably want to have a careful look through there and see if there’s anything you want. Select New Sales Bilkins Folly ($12.59 from $19.99 until 9/2) Balatro ($13.49 from $14.99 until 9/3) MLB The Show 24 ($19.79 from $59.99 until 9/10) Frogun ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/11) Frogun Encore ($11.04 from $12.99 until 9/11) Death Road to Canada ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/11) Demon Gaze Extra ($17.99 from $59.99 until 9/12) The King of Fighters XIII GM ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/12) Lapis x Labyrinth ($7.79 from $29.99 until 9/16) Raiden III Mikado Maniax ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/16) GrimGrimoire OnceMore ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/16) Void Terrarium 2 ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails ($24.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/16) Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Sword City ($17.49 from $49.99 until 9/16) Disaster Report 4 ($17.99 from $59.99 until 9/16) Labyrinth of Galleria: TMC ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/16) The Cruel King & the Great Hero ($13.49 from $29.99 until 9/16) R-Type Final 2 ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) The Legend of Legacy HD ($34.99 from $49.99 until 9/16) Poison Control ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Labyrinth Legend ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/16) Giraffe and Annika ($9.99 from $29.99 until 9/16) LA-MULANA ($4.99 from $14.99 until 9/16) LA-MULANA 2 ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/16) The Princess Guide ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Ys VIII Lacrimosa of DANA ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory ($4.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Fallen Legion: Revenants ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) RPG Maker MV ($14.99 from $49.99 until 9/16) Happy Birthdays ($7.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Penny-Punching Princess ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) The Longest Five Minutes ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/16) Disgaea 4 Complete+ ($17.49 from $49.99 until 9/16) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 29th A Cat & His Boy ($1.99 from $2.99 until 8/29) Alan Wake Remastered ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/29) April’s Diary ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/29) Astebreed ($3.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Bio Inc. Redemption ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Botany Manor ($22.49 from $24.99 until 8/29) Crashout Xtreme ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/29) Cyber Citizen Shockman ($4.19 from $5.99 until 8/29) Dead Cells Castlevania Bundle ($18.89 from $31.49 until 8/29) DoDonPachi Resurrection ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Bundle ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/29) DRAINUS ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Ebenezer & the Invisible World ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Escaping a Fireworks Factory ($2.00 from $4.90 until 8/29) Espgaluda II ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Gematombe ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Gnosia ($17.49 from $24.99 until 8/29) Gunman Tales ($2.09 from $6.99 until 8/29) Gynoug ($3.49 from $6.99 until 8/29) Hero of Fate ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Kero Blaster ($2.99 from $9.99 until 8/29) Kowloon High-School Chronicle ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Matchpoint: Tennis Championships ($31.99 from $49.99 until 8/29) Mighty Goose ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Moonshine Inc ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) My Little Universe ($6.74 from $14.99 until 8/29) Noel the Mortal Fate ($9.99 from $24.99 until 8/29) OnlyUP! ($5.27 from $7.13 until 8/29) Operation Steel ($5.99 from $9.99 until 8/29) Overboss ($13.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Pogo Joins the Circus ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/29) Radiant Silvergun ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Red Colony ($2.99 from $6.99 until 8/29) Red Colony 2 ($2.99 from $6.99 until 8/29) Red Colony 3 ($2.99 from $6.99 until 8/29) Remote Life ($9.49 from $18.99 until 8/29) Retro Mystery Club Vol.1 ($7.90 from $9.90 until 8/29) Retro Mystery Club Vol.2 ($7.90 from $9.90 until 8/29) Retro Revengers ($7.90 from $9.90 until 8/29) River City Saga: Three Kingdoms ($20.99 from $29.99 until 8/29) Satay Shop Tycoon ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/29) Smashing the Battle ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/29) Smashing the Battle Ghost Soul ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Spy Bros. ($4.79 from $7.99 until 8/29) Super Sean 007 ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/29) Taboo Trial ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) The Good Life ($15.99 from $39.99 until 8/29) The Ouroboros King ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/29) The Sokoban ($8.99 from $17.99 until 8/29) UNO Ultimate Edition ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Vera Blanc: Supernatural Mysteries ($5.59 from $7.99 until 8/29) Within the Blade ($3.29 from $10.99 until 8/29) That’s all for today, friends. Tomorrow is Thursday, and that means we’ll have another pretty big day for new games. The new Famicom Detective Club is among them, but there are other big names in there too. We’ll have summaries of the games worth summarizing, plus whatever sales and major news items roll in over the course of the day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Fans of Jujutsu Kaisen and beautiful, anime-inspired JRPGs received a special reason to rejoice this week following the announcement that …

Continue reading "BILIBILI GAME Will Launch ‘Jujutsu Kaisen Mobile’ Worldwide Before the End of 2024"

Fans of Jujutsu Kaisen and beautiful, anime-inspired JRPGs received a special reason to rejoice this week following the announcement that Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade, the mobile game adaption of the acclaimed manga series, will finally receive its global release before the end of 2024. This announcement was part of Juju Fest 2024, which featured several notable reveals for fans of Jujutsu Kaisen, including a Hidden Inventory movie slated for 2025 and a Season 2 Guide Book set to be released for Japanese audiences in October. However, the most significant revelation was that publisher BILIBILI GAMES would be bringing Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade to players across all regions this year, with pre-registration already underway. Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade is free-to-play and you can pre-register right now via the game’s official website as well as stay up to date with the game’s latest developments via Discord, Twitter/X, and Facebook. But, if you’re only just now hearing of Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade and would like to know what it’s all about then here’s a quick breakdown of what lies in store. Gameplay Overview Developed by Sumzap, Inc. and initially launched in Japan by TOHO Games in 2023, Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade gives players the chance to immerse themselves in a dark and mystical world where gifted sorcerer’s battle cursed spirits to keep humanity from being destroyed. The core gameplay involves players forming teams of four sorcerers from various classes, such as tank, support, and damage dealers, and engaging in turn-based battles against cursed spirits. Players will have the opportunity to utilize the abilities of beloved characters like Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and Satoru Gojo, all of which faithfully capture the character traits that fans have grown to love through the manga and anime series. Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade allows players to revisit several pivotal moments from the first season of the tv anime, while also introducing an entirely new storyline set in the Fukuoka Branch Campus, offering a fresh and unique narrative experience. Pre-registration Rewards Pre-registration for Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade is currently in progress, and participants will be rewarded with exclusive bonuses upon the game’s release. The exact rewards they receive will depend on the game hitting the following key milestones: 1 million pre-registrations: Cube x500 2 million pre-registrations: Cube x1000 3 million pre-registrations: Cube x1000 5 million pre-registrations: Cube x2000 8 million pre-registrations: Cube x3000 10 million pre-registrations: [Redrawable!] SSR-Character-Guaranteed Gacha Ticket x1 There’s little doubt that the game will hit the 10 million mark, but just to ensure it gets there, pre-registered players will also receive Cubes worth 25 draws to go alongside their re-drawable SSR-Character Guaranteed Gacha Ticket. Sponsored Content This article is sponsored content written by TouchArcade and published on behalf of BILIBILI GAMES to promote the global launch date for Jujutsu Kaisen Phantom Parade. For questions or comments, please email ads@toucharcade.com

Yesterday during the Nintendo Indie World Partner Direct whatever it is called for the double feature, Red Nexus Games’ pachinko …

Continue reading "The Huge ‘Peglin’ 1.0 Update Is Now Live on iOS, Android, and Steam Following Switch Launch Yesterday"

Yesterday during the Nintendo Indie World Partner Direct whatever it is called for the double feature, Red Nexus Games’ pachinko roguelike Peglin (Free) got announced and released on Switch. I didn’t realize it was then that it hit 1.0 on Steam as well. I got it on Switch and while we need a bit more time for our review, Peglin has also finally hit 1.0 on iOS and Android following its Switch launch yesterday and Steam update a few hours later. The highlights of this include the final Cruciball levels (17-20), a new forest miniboss, a new rare roundrel relic, tons of balance adjustments, gameplay changes to how dull pegs work, bestiary research rate changes, and much more. Read the full patch notes from the game’s Steam news story here. Watch the gameplay trailer for Peglin below if you’ve not played it yet: With Peglin hitting 1.0 today, it is still planned to get more updates, and I can’t wait to see what else the team does with over time. If you’re interested in playing it right now, read my review of Peglin on iOS here from its launch last year. You can also read my interview with Red Nexus Games here covering the game, pricing, and a lot more. Peglin on mobile is a free to try game, and you can grab it on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. We featured it as our Game of the Week when it launched. Check it out on Steam here and Switch here. Head over to our forum thread for more impressions and discussion around the iOS version. Have you played Peglin before on mobile or PC, and what do you think of this huge update?

It looks like SNK is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the superb The King of Fighters series with a big …

Continue reading "All of SNK’s The King of Fighters ACA NeoGeo Games Are Discounted on iOS and Android, Switch Later Today"

It looks like SNK is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the superb The King of Fighters series with a big discount on the complete set of ACA NeoGeo games on mobile and Switch (coming later today). Many years ago, Hamster started releasing SNK’s older games through its ACA NeoGeo lineup. These saw a few useful emulation features arrive for classic games on consoles over the years. We started seeing these hit mobile at half the price ($3.99 compared to $7.99 on console) published by SNK as well. While the pricing was already great, you can now buy all the games in The King of Fighters ACA NeoGeo series of releases on mobile at just $1.99 each. ACA NeoGeo The King of Fighters game discounts list on mobile: The King of Fighters 94 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 95 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 96 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 97 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 98 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 99 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 2000 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 2001 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 2002 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) The King of Fighters 2003 ACA NeoGeo ($3.99) Check out the games on Android here. I own a few of these on iOS, but all of them barring 96 on Nintendo Switch. The Switch eShop deals should go live in a few hours today in North America with the deals already being up in other parts of the World on Switch and PS4. Check out the official website for the series on mobile here. What’s your favorite recent ACA NeoGeo release and are you grabbing any of the KOF games today with this sale?

Following pre-installation going live earlier in the week, HoYoverse has just released the major Genshin Impact (Free) version 5.0 “Flowers …

Continue reading "‘Genshin Impact’ Version 5.0 Update Is Now Available Worldwide on iOS, Android, PC, PS5, and More"

Following pre-installation going live earlier in the week, HoYoverse has just released the major Genshin Impact (Free) version 5.0 “Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" update on mobile, PC, and PlayStation worldwide. The highlights of this update include the new nation: Natlan which is open to early and mid-game players, new characters like Mualani, reruns for Raiden Shogun, and much more. The first Genshin Impact 5.0 banner features: Mualani, Kachina and Kaedehara Kazuha while banner 2 has Kinich and Raiden Shogun. Read about the improved visuals in Genshin Impact 5.0 here and the full patch notes for the update here. Watch the new Genshin Impact trailers for Mualani and more below: If you pre-installed the update on iOS, you should be able to play without downloading much, but the game will take a bit of time to split up old resources once you login. If you’d like to play Genshin Impact and don’t own it yet, you can download it for free on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The PC version is available on the official website here and the Epic Games Store. If you play on iOS, with iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 and later, you can use PS5 and Xbox Series X|S controllers to play Genshin Impact. We featured Genshin Impact as our Game of the Week when it released and awarded it our 2020 Game of the Year. I also featured it as one of the best iOS games to play with a controller. What do you think of Genshin Impact 5.0 so far?

When Square Enix released the monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch last year, I loved …

Continue reading "‘Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince’ Is Coming to iOS, Android, and Steam on September 11th With All DLC Included From the Switch Release"

When Square Enix released the monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch last year, I loved my time with it. It had technical issues, but the charm and gameplay loop elevated it well beyond other Dragon Quest spinoffs on the platform bringing up to the same level as the superb Dragon Quest Builders 2. I always expected Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince to be ported to PC soon after just like Dragon Quest Treasures, but I didn’t even consider it hitting mobile anytime soon. Today, Square Enix announced that the Switch-exclusive Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince ($29.99) is coming to iOS, Android, and Steam on September 11th with all prior DLC included. This means the Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Digital Deluxe Edition content will also be included. Watch the trailer for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince below: Square Enix has also posted comparison images of the game on mobile, Switch, and Steam on the official Japanese website. Check out one of them below: The store pages also confirm that the network mode for Online Battles from the Switch version where players battle one another in real time will not be included in the Steam and mobile versions. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is currently available on Nintendo Switch priced at $59.99 for the standard edition and $84.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition. Having loved this on Switch, I’m looking forward to replaying it for review on iPhone, iPad, and Steam Deck for the new platforms launch on September 11th. It is great to see Square Enix bring more Dragon Quest to mobile soon after the original platform launch. I expected we might see this one by 2027 on mobile given delays between console and mobile these days for the series like we saw with Dragon Quest Builders. It is priced at $29.99 on mobile and $39.99 on Steam. Check it out on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here where you can pre-register for it. Have you played Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince before on Switch or will you try it out on mobile and Steam in two weeks when it releases? Update: Added comparison image and website information.

About two and a half years ago we were treated to a lovely gaming experience titled Dungeons of Dreadrock from …

Continue reading "‘Dungeons of Dreadrock 2’ Announced, Launching on Nintendo Switch in November with Mobile and PC Versions to Follow"

About two and a half years ago we were treated to a lovely gaming experience titled Dungeons of Dreadrock from developer Christoph Minnameier. The game was a dungeon crawler inspired by the likes of classics such as Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder, but played from a top-down perspective rather than a first-person one. It also had a more puzzle-like focus in the designs of its 100 different levels, each one a different floor in the dungeon you were descending in order to rescue your brother. Dungeons of Dreadrock was quite challenging, with some levels almost feeling like logic puzzles as you sussed out when exactly to activate a trap or how to approach a certain batch of enemies. We loved the game in our review, and Dungeons of Dreadrock went on to release on basically every other gaming platform where it was similarly well-received. And now we’ve got a sequel to look forward to. Say hello to Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 – The Dead King’s Secret. That red background and big ‘ol Switch logo with the familiar finger snapping sound is an indication that this time around this new Dungeons of Dreadrock game is targeting Nintendo’s platform first, and according to the game’s website it’ll be launching on the Switch’s eShop on November 28th of this year. Fear not though! A PC version is also planned, and in fact can be wishlisted on Steam as we speak, and iOS and Android versions are also in the cards. It’s not super clear exactly when we’ll be getting Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 on mobile, but it makes me happy just knowing that it’s coming. Once more news on release dates for other platforms materializes we’ll be sure to update you.

Back in April we took a look at the trailer for Super Farming Boy from developer LemonChili. It took the …

Continue reading "‘Super Farming Boy’ Available for Pre-Order on iOS with 20% Discount, Launch Planned for Next Year"

Back in April we took a look at the trailer for Super Farming Boy from developer LemonChili. It took the basic idea of a cozy farming game–planting crops, harvesting, building out your own little dream property–and amped it up with lighting fast arcade-style gameplay mechanics and a devious antagonist to fight against. They dubbed it “Harvest Moon on steroids" and I got that same sort of vibe from watching the trailer. You play as a boy with super powers (your name is literally Super) so you’re able to zip around your farm harvesting crops, and the act of harvesting can trigger cool combos and chain reactions. Check out the trailer if you missed it before. Anyway, I love the idea of a farming sim turned up to 11, and this week LemonChili has announced a more specific roadmap for the release of Super Farming Boy and have even put the iOS version up for pre-order on the App Store. The launch isn’t exactly close, and the plan as of now is to release in Early Access in Q2 of next year with a full launch to follow afterwards. That’s definitely a while away, but if you’re really sure this is the type of game that’s up your alley then pre-ordering the mobile version now will net you a 20% discount off the price, so there’s some incentive. You can also check out how the game is shaping up thanks to a playable Windows demo on both Steam and Itch.io. Whether you feel like taking the plunge on the pre-order or not, Super Farming Boy is definitely one you’ll want to keep your eye out for next year.

JOYCITY has launched an exciting new update for Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War, inviting everyone to join in …

Continue reading "‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War’ Adds Cross-Server Battles in Latest Empire Invasion Update"

JOYCITY has launched an exciting new update for Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War, inviting everyone to join in on thrilling conquests against other Captains all over the world. In particular, the Empire Invasion event offers server-versus-server competitions that will have you vying for first place in exchange for valuable pirate treasure. Gear up for an all-out sea brawl – can you fight to stay afloat and sink those enemy ships across servers? After the matchmaking phase, you’ll need to clear missions in the Eve Festival preliminary round to enjoy some handy buffs for the final battle. This includes server-wide perks and the ability to switch between servers – a handy trick to have up your sleeve when you’re conquering the opposing Empire’s territories. During the Invasion Conquest, victorious Captains can switch to the opposing server and wreak havoc in Port Royal, while defenders need to hold their ground and remain in their Empire to see if they can survive the attack. Whoever wins the Empire Invasion Port Royal Conquest will not only grab bragging rights but will also nab awesome in-game goodies such as special base skins to boot. If all that sounds absolutely fabulous to you, you can head on over to Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War’s official website and start your naval dominance today. Sponsored Content This article is sponsored content written by TouchArcade and published on behalf of JOYCITY to promote the latest update to Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War. For questions or comments, please email ads@toucharcade.com

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 27th, 2024. In today’s article, we kick things off …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Today’s Nintendo Direct, Full Review of ‘EGGCONSOLE Star Trader’, Plus New Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 27th, 2024. In today’s article, we kick things off with a bit of news. After that, we’ve got one review for you to snack on. Just my look at the latest EGGCONSOLE release from last week, and the regulars probably know how that’s going to play out. After that, we have just one new release to take a gander at. Luckily, it’s a good one. We finish things up with the usual lists of new and expiring sales, and they’re okay as well. I have no idea what’s in that Direct tonight, so maybe it will make for a more exciting Tuesday? That is a mystery I cannot solve as I write, but you already know the answer to as you read. Let’s get into it! News Check Out Today’s Nintendo Direct/Indie World Showcase As recently prophesized by the once-in-a-while-correct insiders, Nintendo has scheduled a Nintendo Direct for August at nearly the last minute. We’re getting 40 minutes in total, split between a Partner Showcase and Indie World Showcase. Don’t expect any first-party stuff, and definitely do not expect anything about the Switch’s successor console. As you read this, the presentation should be long since finished. You can watch it above, and I’ll summarize the most important points tomorrow. Reviews & Mini-Views EGGCONSOLE Star Trader PC-8801mkIIsr ($6.49) It always comes down to two questions with these non-translated EGGCONSOLE releases. First, how is the game itself? Second, can it be enjoyed without understanding Japanese? Star Trader is an interesting game, though not what I would call a great one. Falcom fused a Japanese-style adventure game format with some side-scrolling shoot ’em up stages, and it doesn’t do either of those things amazingly well. The adventure game side at least has some nice art, and it’s interesting to see a shoot ’em up try to tell a story in this way. You’re mostly talking to people and picking up quests, the successful completion of which will earn you money you can use to upgrade your ship. This is important, because you’ll need to keep that cash coming in to stay on top of the action segments. As for the shoot ’em up parts… well, the PC-8801 wasn’t very good at scrolling the screen smoothly. So what you get here is a very choppy experience, and one that I’m not sure would even be all that great if things were moving at a normal clip. I’m not sure which part of the game is meant to serve the other, but in the end Star Trader is more interesting than it is good. Which naturally brings us to the second question. As you might expect, the adventure game segments are text-heavy and require some informed input from the player to achieve the best outcomes. If you can’t understand them, you’re not only missing out on half of the game, but you’re likely hobbling yourself for the other half because you’ll fail to earn enough credits to keep your ship up to date. You can brute force this one better than some EGGCONSOLE releases, but it’s not going to be a good time. Star Trader is an interesting piece of gaming history, showing a developer working outside of the lane we usually associate them with. Unfortunately, what joy could be had from poking at this curio is severely dampened by the fact that there is a ton of Japanese text in here that most Western players won’t be able to read. You might still get something out of messing around with it, but it’s hard to recommend it with much vigor. SwitchArcade Score: 3/5 Select New Releases Crypt Custodian ($19.99) A top-down action-adventure game about a recently-deceased cat named Pluto who, after a bad meeting with the Afterlife Guardian, is banished from the palace of the afterlife and sentenced to eternally clean. Dang. Explore, fight enemies with your broom, meet weird characters, battle bosses, expand your abilities, and so on. You know how this kind of game works. You know what? This is pretty good. If you enjoy this genre, I’d say you should give it a go. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) If you like colorful shoot ’em ups with some quirky mechanics, I recommend checking out the Dreamer games and Harpoon Shooter Nozomi. I’ve enjoyed all three of them. Over in the outbox, buy 1000xRESIST. Do it. Other things to consider: Star Wars games, Citizen Sleeper, Paradise Killer, and Haiku, the Robot. Maybe some Tomb Raider, as a treat. Check those lists! Select New Sales Return ($10.49 from $13.99 until 9/2) Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/9) Please Fix the Road ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/9) Ticket to Ride ($26.99 from $29.99 until 9/9) King ‘n Knight ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/9) Spiritfarer ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/9) Harpoon Shooter Nozomi ($6.98 from $9.98 until 9/16) Like Dreamer ($5.99 from $11.99 until 9/16) Cosmo Dreamer ($4.10 from $8.20 until 9/16) Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate ($8.99 from $59.99 until 9/16) Gluck ($5.59 from $6.99 until 9/16) Love Love School Days ($4.19 from $10.49 until 9/16) Ugly ($6.79 from $19.99 until 9/16) Replik Survivors ($3.44 from $4.99 until 9/16) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 28th 1000xRESIST ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Citizen Sleeper ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Genesis Noir ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Haiku, The Robot ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Heads Up! Phones Down Edition ($1.99 from $39.99 until 8/28) Legend Bowl ($18.74 from $24.99 until 8/28) MythForce ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/28) Paradise Killer ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Battlefront Collection ($28.00 from $35.01 until 8/28) Star Wars Bounty Hunter ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Episode I Racer ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Jedi Academy ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Jedi Outcast ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/28) Star Wars KotOR ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars KotOR II: Sith Lords ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Republic Commando ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars The Force Unleashed ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Super Mutant Alien Assault ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/28) Suzerain ($4.49 from $17.99 until 8/28) The Pale Beyond ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Times & Galaxy ($17.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Tomb Raider I-III Remastered ($22.49 from $29.99 until 8/28) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow to talk a bit about whatever was in that Direct, plus have some new games, sales, and perhaps a review or two on top. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Action adventure game RWBY: Arrowfell from WayForward is now available on mobile through the Crunchyroll Game Vault. RWBY: Arrowfell, developed …

Continue reading "‘RWBY: Arrowfell’ Now Available on Mobile Through Crunchyroll Game Vault"

Action adventure game RWBY: Arrowfell from WayForward is now available on mobile through the Crunchyroll Game Vault. RWBY: Arrowfell, developed by WayForward, is an action adventure game featuring Ruby Rose, Weiss, Blake, and Yang using their signature weapons and Semblances to take on Grimm and more enemies. It has the original cast included, new cut-scenes from the show creators, and more. Shaun wasn’t too hot on RWBY: Arrowfell when it hit Switch, but he did say it is worth playing if you like the show. Read his review here. Watch the RWBY: Arrowfell Crunchyroll Game Vault trailer below: Check out RWBY: Arrowfell on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. If you have an active Crunchyroll Mega or Ultimate membership right now, you can play RWBY: Arrowfell at no additional cost today. While it didn’t have the best reviews on PC and console, I’m happy to see more WayForward titles hit mobile. I’m excited to try it out today since I skipped the original release. What do you think of today’s new Crunchyroll Game Vault release and have you played RWBY: Arrowfell before?

Usually, updates for premium priced ports on mobile are good to have for optimization or compatibility reasons, but Capcom’s newest …

Continue reading "Capcom Updates ‘Resident Evil 4′, ‘Resident Evil Village’, and ‘Resident Evil 7’ on iOS With Online DRM"

Usually, updates for premium priced ports on mobile are good to have for optimization or compatibility reasons, but Capcom’s newest update pushed out an hour ago for Resident Evil 7 biohazard (Free), Resident Evil 4 Remake (Free), and Resident Evil Village (Free) on iOS and iPadOS adds an online DRM that checks purchase history when you launch the games. This checks to see if you own the game or DLC and then proceeds to the title screen. If you click no, the game will close. If you’re connected to the internet, this takes a few seconds before you can get back to your save, but you cannot boot up any of these three games and play it offline. You will need to be online for the purchase check on launching the game. This is unfortunate, and frankly is awful because the games are all now worse off with online DRM as opposed to being playable and launchable offline before. I tested this with all three games before updating them and verified that they did launch and work offline as of the update prior to today. With today’s update, you see the alert above or a similar one and clicking no closes the game. If this doesn’t matter to you, that’s fine, but I’m not a fan of online DRM like this being patched into a game people have already paid for before. Hopefully Capcom can find a better solution for checking purchases or do it once in a while and not on every launch. Stuff like this makes it harder to recommend Capcom’s premium priced ports. If you’ve not gotten the games yet, they are free to try, and you can grab Resident Evil 7 biohazard on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, here. Check out Resident Evil 4 Remake here on the App Store and Resident Evil Village here. Read my reviews of them here, here, and here. Do you own the three modern Resident Evil games on iOS and what do you think of this update for all three?

Back in early 2016 when I was looking for import-friendly games on PS Vita, I used to often see Gundam …

Continue reading "Gundam Breaker 4 Review – Steam Deck, Switch, and PS5 Tested"

Back in early 2016 when I was looking for import-friendly games on PS Vita, I used to often see Gundam Breaker mentioned. If you’ve never heard of the series before, think of them as hack and slash action games with RPG elements, deep customization, and a pure unadulterated love of Gunpla. Around the time I was looking into the series, Bandai Namco announced an Asia English release for Gundam Breaker 3 on PS4 and PS Vita, and I decided to buy both versions. I ended up loving it as my first Gundam game. Since then, I’ve imported and played Gundam Breaker 1 and 2 on PS Vita, and also gotten basically every Gundam game released in English across platforms. To see Gundam Breaker 4 announced earlier this year and confirmed for a global multi-platform simultaneous release remains one of 2024’s biggest surprises. Fast forward to today and Gundam Breaker 4 is finally here on Steam, Switch, PS4, and PS5. Having put in about 60 hours across platforms, I adore Gundam Breaker 4, but it has a few issues right now. Gundam Breaker 4 is a very important release not only because of the game itself, but because of how far we’ve come with the series in the West. So what makes Gundam Breaker 4 a big deal? Gone are the days of waiting for an Asia English release to import. Gundam Breaker 3 was an Asia English release not released in the West, and just on PlayStation. I can’t recall the last Gundam game that had an English dub option, but here we are with a dual audio option and multiple subtitle options (EFIGS and many more). But what about the game itself and the different platform versions? I’m going to cover all of that in this extended review that will also take you on a journey of me starting my first Master Grade Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Kit if you’re new to this) after building some High Grade (easier and smaller kits) before. Gundam Breaker 4’s story ranges from getting the job done to some highs and lows. The lows are when I felt like certain pre-mission dialog was going on a bit too long, and the highs were in the latter half of the game when there are interesting character reveals and also more interesting dialog. If you’ve not played a single game in the series before, Gundam Breaker 4 still does a good job of bringing you up to speed, but you might wonder why the appearance of certain characters is a big deal later on. The embargo only allows me to talk about the first two chapters of the story, and it feels like a straightforward affair during those two. I ended up liking the main characters quite a bit by the end, but my two favorite characters appear much later in the story. The real draw of Gundam Breaker 4 is not the story though. It is building your own perfect Gunpla, improving it over time, getting better gear, and becoming stronger to tackle higher difficulties and more quests. When you begin, you get the basics, but what the team really underold in the promotion is the customization aspect. It is incredible. Not only can you adjust individual parts like left and right arms, but you can also adjust ranged weapons for each arm, melee with dual wielding, and adjust the individual part size and scale. This means you can even use SD (super deformed) parts on your normal Gunpla and either have it look like this weird frankenstein suit or scale things to your liking. Beyond the actual parts for each main category in assembly, the customization in Gundam Breaker 4 takes things further with builder parts that let you add even more things to your Gunpla. Some of these even have their own skills. Speaking of skills, you have EX and OP skills to use in combat. These depend on your parts and weapons. Later on, you also unlock ability cartridges that have their own specs that give you buffs or debuffs. As you go through the missions breaking parts and earning S-rank reward parts, you also get materials. These can be used to level up your parts. Each mission in Gundam Breaker 4 usually has a recommended parts level indicating how suitable it is for your current gear. In addition to materials you earn to upgrade parts, you start earning materials to increase part rarity later on. This lets you upgrade for more skills as well, and you can use older or lesser part skills when you upgrade and cannibalize those older parts. During the main story, I spent a bit of time on the optional quests to earn money or parts, but feel like the game is balanced enough where you won’t really need to grind during the main story on the standard difficulty at least. Speaking of the difficulty, you unlock three higher difficulties as the main story progresses, and these up the challenge and part level recommendation quite a bit. If you do plan on skipping most of the optional quests during the main story, make sure to keep an eye on the new unlocks because some of the optional quest types are a lot of fun, especially the survival mode. Outside of all of this, you can also adjust the paint of your suit which lets you color schemes you’ve unlocked through progression or from DLC. If you put time into Gundam Breaker 4, there’s a ton of stuff for you to get out of it, and I’m floored by how much has gone into this. When you’re done with paint, you can work with decals and weathering effects as well. Gundam Breaker 4 is the real deal for Gunpla enthusiasts, but does it play well? Having enjoyed everything Gundam Breaker 4 has to offer in its gameplay through story missions, side content, and boss fights aside from one specific mission type, I think the team nailed it. I never got bored of combat even though the normal difficulty is on the easier side. I kept swapping out weapons and trying the various types before settling on a greatsword style weapon for the rest of my playthrough. Everything feels varied enough, and the individual skills and stats make for a fresh experience throughout. When it comes to the bosses and minibosses, I love having them appear on the stage in the Gunpla boxes and then breaking out before fighting you. This never gets old, and seeing one of the Gunpla kits I built appear as a boss later on was awesome. Most boss fights involve targeting weak points, damaging the many health bars, destroying shields, and the usual. I did have trouble with one particular boss’ weak points using specific weapons, but I changed to a whip and sorted it immediately. The only real hard boss fight in the story was dealing with two of a specific boss at once. I won’t get into details for spoiler reasons, but I did struggle with the AI in one specific fight. Visually, Gundam Breaker 4 ranges from great to fine. The environments look lacking early on, but I found the variety good overall. Most of the work went into making sure the Gunpla kits and animations look the best, and it shows. The developers clearly weren’t trying to go for a realistic art style here, so don’t expect something like Gundam Evolution or even how some bits of Gundam Breaker 3 looked. The aesthetic in Gundam Breaker 4 works well and it scales as it should on lower end hardware. The effects look great, and the scale of many boss fights is awesome. The music in Gundam Breaker 4 ranges from forgettable tunes you won’t think of outside the game to a few really great songs in specific story missions. I am disappointed in no way to set music from the various anime and movies here. Usually we’d see some anime music pack DLC or a premium bundle for Asia and Japan, but I’ve not seen any of that yet in the game or announced. I also don’t see a way to load custom music like in Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs Maxiboost ON on PS4. The voice acting has been a pleasant surprise. I played through the game completely with English on one save, and also spent about a dozen hours with the Japanese voice option on another platform save. Both were very good and I found myself liking the English more during missions because I hate reading small subtitles during action battles when I’m focusing on fighting enemies. So far, aside from one mission type really annoying me (thankfully not too prevalent) and a few bugs, I’ve had no real issues with Gundam Breaker 4. If you are new to this series and aren’t a fan of replaying missions to grind out better gear and drops, you may find things repetitive. I’ve always viewed Gundam Breaker like Earth Defense Force and Monster Hunter where after finishing the story, I spend time building my perfect Gunpla. As for bugs, I ran into one where certain names wouldn’t save or two I think are Steam Deck-specific. The first is that returning to the title screen from in-game takes way too long. The second is one specific mission that crashed for me only when playing on my monitor. I replayed it on the Deck itself and it was fine. It might just have been relating to the performance penalty I see in some games docked, but I can’t say for sure. The one aspect I’ve not touched on so far is the online. Pre-release I managed to play a good amount of the network test on PS5 and Switch, but I only managed to test a bit of the retail release on PS5 with a friend who is reviewing that version. The PC version’s servers have not been online pre-launch at all, so I cannot test if the online works fine on Steam Deck yet. I will be updating this once servers go online and I’ve managed testing the PC version on Steam Deck with friends online. At this point, you’re probably wondering about the Gunpla I was building. I made some progress and got through 5 sets of runners, but made a mistake with one small part. I panicked and almost broke it while trying to separate things. This is where my guitar pick came into the picture and saved me. I ended up stopping with my RG 78-2 MG 3.0 about halfway done. Once the review embargoes of this week are over, I’ll get back to it and finish it. Now let’s get to the platform differences and features. Gundam Breaker 4 PC port controls – keyboard, mouse, and controller support Gundam Breaker 4’s on PC is the only version of the game that supports above 60fps. The PS5 version is capped at 60fps and the Switch version hovers around the 30fps mark. The Gundam Breaker 4 PC release also has mouse and keyboard support in addition to controller support with multiple button prompt options. When playing on the Deck itself, it displayed Xbox button prompts. When using my DualSense controller over the Dock on my monitor, Gundam Breaker 4 showed PlayStation prompts correctly. It also auto switches between keyboard mouse and controller prompts based on your input. The only controller-related issue I ran into is the game not correctly detecting when I’ve reconnected a controller. I tested this on my DualSense and 8BitDo Ultimate controllers wirelessly. Gundam Breaker 4 ships with three controller presets and a custom option. You can adjust the keyboard mouse and controller settings independently. One setting I recommend changing immediately or after you try out the first few missions is camera sensitivity and distance. You can do this in Player Mode from the game settings. I found the default too slow and close. Gundam Breaker 4 PC graphics settings and display options Gundam Breaker 4 supports multiple resolutions and frame rate caps. On the Steam Deck itself, it sadly doesn’t support a full 800p and runs at 720p and 16:9. On the frame rate side, it can go from 30fps to 360fps and unlimited on PC. I set it to 120fps when playing on Steam Deck since I played it almost exclusively on my Steam Deck OLED. You can also toggle v-sync. On the graphics side, you can adjust the quality of textures, anti-aliasing, post-processing, shadows, effects, and also adjust brightness and toggle motion blur. Gundam Breaker 4 Steam Deck performance – does it work out of the box? I played Gundam Breaker 4 with Proton Experimental (bleeding edge) as I normally do for untested games, but I also tested it on the default Proton. It works perfectly out of the box and even invokes the on-screen keyboard for text input. I have confidence in this being Steam Deck Verified pre-launch or soon after. The 35 hours I put into it on just my Steam Deck OLED prove that. When playing with all settings at High aside from shadows, Gundam Breaker 4 easily hit 60fps, but I wanted more. For this, I turned things to medium and played at 80-90fps almost across the board. A few late-game missions saw drops to the high 60s during gameplay, but otherwise I had no issues in actual gameplay. In-engine cut-scenes do take a hit to performance and run in the 50-70fps range for me on Steam Deck. I did run into one issue where the assembly section suddenly dropped to 1-3fps for a few seconds before shooting back up to 90fps. This didn’t happen more than three times total, but I couldn’t figure out what caused it. If this is a Proton related issue, I hope Valve can fix it. The only visual issue I had when playing on the Deck itself is some of the icon glyphs and menus had either smaller than expected fonts, or they weren’t as crisp as they should’ve been. I noticed this even on Switch so it likely is an issue with the game being designed for a higher res and bigger screen. Not a dealbreaker, but worth pointing out. Gundam Breaker 4 Switch vs PS5 – what to buy? On the console side, I didn’t have time to test Gundam Breaker 4 on my PS4, so I focused on the Switch (Lite and OLED) and PS5 versions. Gundam Breaker 4 on PS5 looks amazing and runs basically perfectly at 60fps in the time I put into it, but I didn’t reach the few missions in the story towards the end that were more visually demanding. I also didn’t reach here on Switch, but I put nearly two dozen hours into the Switch version to see enough of how it runs there. Check out a comparison of the opening tutorial mission on PS5 and Switch in the screenshot comparison below: The biggest downgrades on Switch aside from the performance are with resolution, detail, and reflections. This applies not only to the stages, but also the Gunpla parts. During the network tests, a friend of mine pointed out how the Switch version looked like an HG Gunpla while the PS5 version looked like an RG in some scenes. If you built Gunpla you will understand this, but for everyone else, it just means Gunpla in the Switch version ends up lacking in many details like decals, lining, and even weathering effects in specific situations. They do appear, but I think the lower resolution and draw distance makes it so that they are invisible sometimes. This is one of those changes you won’t realize until you see the game outside Switch. I honestly expected this to run at 120fps on PS5 given the visuals. Playing Megaton Musashi at 120fps was good as a recent release. Maybe the developers capped this to 60fps for multiplayer reasons with the PS4 version, but I’m not sure. Aside from the 60fps cap, Gundam Breaker 4 has decent rumble support and even has PS5 Activity Card support to load into your save quicker. Since the review embargo prevents me from showing anything beyond chapter two in the story, the screenshot below is from when I just began playing showing the Activity Card implementation for story mode. I hope this supports online play and lobbies in the future as well. Speaking of loading, the Switch load times are really long compared to PS5 and Steam Deck. Even running the game off the SD card on my old Steam Deck LCD had much faster load times than Switch. If you only care about portability, you obviously won’t bother with the PS5 version, but the Switch port currently has one major issue that makes me hesitate to recommend it. The assembly section and diorama mode feel very sluggish. While the main lobby or hub is also sluggish, the performance in missions is better albeit still not a perfect 30fps. I saw drops even in early missions from 30fps, but again, this is a lot better than I expected given some recent Switch ports. I would be ok with this given the hardware if the assembly section ran better considering you will be spending a lot of time there after each mission. Diorama mode also needs more optimization on Switch with how sluggish it feels. If you played Gundam Breaker 3 on PS Vita, you will be more than fine with the Switch version, but I was hoping for a better port all things considered. Since there are more content updates planned, I hope we see some optimization on this front. For those who own multiple platforms, I only recommend the Switch version if you exclusively want to play portably and don’t own a Steam Deck. Speaking of portable play, I enjoyed Gundam Breaker 4 on my Switch Lite aside from the text size in some menus. Gundam Breaker 4 is also sadly the final game I reviewed on it before the screen developed some LCD-related issues. Is the Gundam Breaker 4 Ultimate Edition worth it? I had access to some of the DLC included in the Gundam Breaker 4 Deluxe Edition and Gundam Breaker 4 Ultimate Edition. I can’t comment on the story DLC yet since it isn’t available, but the early unlocks aren’t game changing. You get level 1 parts for the suits listed on the store page, but I found the builders parts to be better as early DLC to help you get started. Beyond that, the Diorama content doesn’t seem to be fully available right now, but there is some content from the DLC I had access to, and it was really good for posing Gunpla and using the cel-shaded filter as well. Having tried the Diorama mode a lot across my playthroughs on all platforms, photo mode enthusiasts and those who enjoy those kinds of modes in games will find a lot to love here. Having more items and accessories in this mode will be good, but you could get those separately I assume. I love how Gunbarrel Strike Gundam – Gundam Breaker Ver looks, so having those parts was nice. I liked the design enough to order the collector’s edition the moment pre-orders went up as well. Is Gundam Breaker 4 worth it for the story? I’ve seen some folks excited to play Gundam Breaker 4 for its story, and while it is a fine story, you really are here for customization, battles, and building your ideal Gunpla. If you want a story-focused game instead, look at Megaton Musashi. Both games have their strengths and weaknesses, but I ended up clicking with the gameplay in Gundam Breaker 4 more as a fan of the older games. When I got my review codes for Gundam Breaker 4, I had a fun idea of starting the MG 78-2 Version 3.0 kit and building it alongside the game to finish both at the same time, but sadly there are too many other games releasing for me to be able to do that. Not only was it great to play a new Gundam Breaker alongside building my newest Gunpla kit, but there’s a new found appreciation I have for the work that goes into designing these kits now after moving to an MG and also an RG from HG kits. I’ve also been lucky enough to have some friends who are super helpful with Gunpla tips for decals, panel lining, and also what to do when stuck. I look forward to finishing this kit and then working on my RG next. The wait for Gundam Breaker 4 has been super long, and I didn’t even think we’d see a new game in the series after New Gundam Breaker, but here we are. Gundam Breaker 4 is real and it is spectacular in almost every way. It is my favorite Steam Deck game this year since Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance, and one I look forward to playing online and offline over the coming months with all the DLC planned. Gundam Breaker 4 Steam Deck review: 4.5/5

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 26th, 2024. In today’s article, we get the week …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Fragrant Story & Papaya’s Path’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 26th, 2024. In today’s article, we get the week started with a somewhat lighter edition than we usually go with. No reviews today as I’m a bit busy on other projects, which means we just have a few new releases to go through plus the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Well, at least one of the new releases is interesting. The sales lists aren’t too shabby either. I’ll have some reviews tomorrow, hopefully. Let’s head on in and check out what we’ve got! Select New Releases Fragrant Story and Papaya’s Path ($7.99) Ah, the sordid tale of Fragrant Story, one of the would-be final Nintendo 3DS releases. There’s a lot of confusion out there around this game, so let me sort it out. Despite being a seemingly star-studded tactical role-playing game, those who bought the game on its release were surprised to get a game that lasted all of twenty minutes. The real story? Nintendo’s deadline for 3DS releases was coming quickly, so the developer pushed an unfinished game to the eShop. It was later updated into its intended from, a far more substantial game that lasts more than ten hours. So don’t worry if you see anything about this game being ridiculously short. It’s not. This version has the updates already packed in, and is a pretty solid pick-up for eight bucks if you’re into the genre. Quack Jump ($3.99) A simple platformer, but a functional one. It tries to keep things fresh through its 40-level run by sprinkling in new gimmicks as you go. For four dollars, it’s amusing enough. Underground Station ($7.90) Something of an idle game where you’re trying to repay your debts by working in a dungeon. It doesn’t look very fancy, but on a day where we have to wade through Moist Editions of AI-generated bikini anime girls, we take what we can get. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Okay, let’s check that inbox first. Another sale from Limited Run Games, which is nice if you’re missing any of their quirky releases. Most of TROOOZE’s junk is on sale, of which I’ve listed only a few. Some Team 17 sales, too. Over in the outbox, the recent somewhat rare sale on the Front Mission remakes is drawing to a close. You might want to add them to your collection if you’re interested, because it seems like they’re discounted far less frequently than Forever’s other games. Select New Sales Jurassic Park Games Collection ($17.99 from $29.99 until 8/31) The House in Fata Morgana ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/31) Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/31) Night Trap ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/31) Cosmic Star Heroine ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/31) Phoenotopia: Awakening ($6.99 from $19.99 until 9/7) Enoh ($5.49 from $19.99 until 9/13) CosmoPlayerZ ($5.49 from $10.99 until 9/13) Knowledge Keeper ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/13) Three Minutes to Eight ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Fall of Porcupine ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/13) Star Gagnant ($22.80 from $38.00 until 9/13) Moon Dancer ($13.29 from $18.99 until 9/13) Re:Touring ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/13) Life of Slime ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/13) Cybertrash STATYX ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/13) Awesome Pea 3 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/13) Itorah ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/13) Pizza Tycoon ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/13) Lacuna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/13) Alien Survivors: Starship Resurrection ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/13) World War: Battle of the Bulge ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/13) World War: D-Day Part One ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) World War: D-Day Part Two ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Out Racing: Arcade Memory ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/13) Last 4 Survive: The Outbreak ($8.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Modern War: Tank Battle ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Counter Delta: The Bullet Rain ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Haunted Dawn: Zombie Apocalypse ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Urban Warfare: Assault ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Operation Scorpion: Takedown ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/13) Hamster on Rails ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/14) Ultimate Chicken Horse ($6.74 from $14.99 until 9/14) Our Field Trip Adventure ($3.99 from $14.50 until 9/15) Overcooked! All You Can Eat ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/15) Worms Rumble ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/15) The Survivalists ($2.49 from $24.99 until 9/15) Blasphemous 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/15) Moving Out ($7.49 from $24.99 until 9/15) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 27th Aeterna Noctis ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/27) Arise: A Simple Story ($2.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/27) Badland: GotY Edition ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/27) Bang-On Balls: Chronicles ($9.99 from $24.99 until 8/27) Blazing Beaks ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/27) Bus Driving Simulator 22 ($2.99 from $27.99 until 8/27) Chippy & Noppo ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) Cult of the Lamb ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/27) Descenders ($4.99 from $24.99 until 8/27) Everdream Valley ($9.99 from $24.99 until 8/27) Flame Keeper ($3.99 from $11.99 until 8/27) Front Mission 1st: Remake ($17.49 from $34.99 until 8/27) Front Mission 2: Remake ($23.44 from $34.99 until 8/27) Gamedec: Definitive ($2.99 from $29.99 until 8/27) LOUD: My Road to Fame ($1.99 from $7.99 until 8/27) Nine Parchments ($4.39 from $19.99 until 8/27) Ready, Steady, Ship! ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/27) Red Wings: American Aces ($1.99 from $11.99 until 8/27) Soundfall ($4.49 from $29.99 until 8/27) Summum Aeterna ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) SuperEpic: The Entertainment War ($1.99 from $17.99 until 8/27) Terra Flame ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) Tools Up ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) Trine 2: Complete Story ($3.73 from $16.99 until 8/27) Trine 3: Artifacts of Power ($4.39 from $19.99 until 8/27) Trine Enchanted Edition ($3.29 from $14.99 until 8/27) War Titans ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/27) Xiaomei & the Flame Dragon’s Fist ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/27) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, and perhaps some reviews and news. It really depends on what else I’ve got to deal with. Wish me luck in getting things done in a timely manner. I hope you all have a magnificent Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of …

Continue reading "Best iPhone Game Updates: ‘TMNT Splintered Fate’, ‘Subway Surfers’, ‘Another Eden’, and More"

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. Lots of big names in the list this week, though one heavily skewed towards free-to-play stuff. Some Apple Arcade games as well, naturally. Still, it’s a good mix of games with some interesting updates to consider. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s go for it! Subway Surfers, Free Sydney is a city, and Sydney is the center of a couple of updates this week. Apparently in the world of Subway Surfers, there is a veggie revolution happening. Veggie, not Vegimite. Collect Veggie tokens, build a bean burger, and unlock Billy Bean. On top of this, you can look forward to a bunch of green-themed characters, boards, and bundles. Oh, I see. It’s a whole “green" thing. Okay, that’s fun. Save the planet, kids. It’s the only one we’ve got. Mars isn’t happening anytime soon. Tiny Tower: Tap Idle Evolution, Free Out with the Olympics event, in with the summer event. It’s still summer! So says the calendar, so says the temperature. Anyway, the gist of this event is that you serve up VIPs and roll the dice to earn event points, and at certain thresholds you get rewards. Each week is its own thing, and at the end you’ll get rewards based on your overall progress across all weeks. Different VIPs are worth different amounts of points, and you know the pay to win option is real here. But hey, free stuff. MARVEL Puzzle Quest: Hero RPG, Free I don’t talk enough about Marvel Puzzle Quest, but that’s more because it trucks along consistently and quietly. As with other Marvel games, this one was doing an event tied in with Deadpool and Wolverine. It’s over now, and all the sweeping up has been done. That includes a rebalance for Old Man Logan, complete with a new costume. The latest PVP Season of Mind has come to a close, so keep your eyes out for the next one. Hm. I’m now realizing this update is mostly clean-up, but at least you’re thinking about Marvel Puzzle Quest now. ANOTHER EDEN, Free The King of Fighters! In addition to being a pretty good little RPG in its own right, Another Eden has been home to some truly strange collaboration events. Is The King of Fighters the strangest? Probably not, but it’s up there. On top of that cross-over, this update adds a new Parallel Time Layer Ally, the Thornbound Witch Shanie. Is Mai here? Let me check the paperwork. Yes, she is. Good. Terry, Kyo, Mai, and Kula. Good enough. I’ll give this the UMMSotW award for this week because Mai is cool. Temple Run: Legends, The relatively recently-launched stage-based Temple Run game already has a nice little update to enjoy. The new Outfit System does pretty much what you would think it does. Unlock new Outfits to equip to the characters to change their looks. But wait, there’s more! Those Outfits have some useful new traits to give you a variety of advantages during your runs. Wacky looks that work for you? If only real life was like that! Instead people just point and laugh, which is not an advantage at all. TMNT Splintered Fate, Those Toitles are at it again! Splintered Fate launched on other platforms recently, and it seems the developers have decided to bring over some of the improvements for those versions over to the mobile release. Couch co-op! Cross-platform online multiplayer! Improved controller interfaces! All that, plus some nice upgrades to the graphics, audio, and more. It’s like getting extra cheese on your pizza without asking for it! Disney Dreamlight Valley, The Princess and the Frog is in the spotlight in the latest version of Disney Dreamlight Valley. Tiana is here to set up a restaurant and a new Stall, and apparently Remy is somewhere around too. Makes sense. Cooking is kind of his thing. You can also get a New Orleans style parade going on. That’s fun. I always like seeing Disney movies outside of the biggest hits get some representation in games like these. Outlanders, Okay, let’s try to parse the update notes for Outlanders. Always a challenge. Volume VI of Outlanders Chronicles is here, giving you six new playable leaders and following the rise and subsequent fall of a community. Something to do with a comet not appearing when it should have. Maybe they’re one of those weird cults? Well, I’m not about to bother them to find out. They seem sad about it. You, however, can feel free to bother them by checking out this latest version of the game. SimCity BuildIt, Free Here’s our other Sydney-themed update today, and it’s also somewhat focused on the whole green angle. Okay, that’s fine. Captain Planet would certainly approve, and I never mess with someone with a green mullet. Add buildings like the Beam Wireless, Green Exchange, and Flower Bud to your city. There are also some limited-time structures like the Sydney Zoo and Paper Bag. Jump in on this Mayor’s Pass Season and liven up your city with these new sites. Sights? Sites and sights. Merge Mansion, Free The obligatory free-to-play matching puzzle game update of the week is our closer this time, and I’ve picked Merge Mansion. A new area is available in the form of the Speakeasy. Wait, are those legal? Like Grandma would care. Some improvements have been made to the Landing Room and Lounge, a new Mystery Pass offers an intriguing new pet, some balance adjustments have been made, and a whole mess of events have been seeded in that you’ll see pop up in the coming weeks. Add in some bug fixes, and that’s about it for this one. That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!

Niantic and Capcom just detailed the next major update coming to Monster Hunter Now (Free). Monster Hunter Now Season 3 …

Continue reading "‘Monster Hunter Now’ Season 3 To Add Magnamalo, Heavy Bowgun Weapon, Cooking, and More on September 11th"

Niantic and Capcom just detailed the next major update coming to Monster Hunter Now (Free). Monster Hunter Now Season 3 “Curse of the Wandering Flames" sees Magnamalo arrive as the first Monster Hunter Rise original monster joining the Monster Hunter Now roster. Alongside Magnamalo, two other monsters join in the action including my favorite: Rajang. The final monster addition is Aknosom. Monster Hunter Now’s Season 3 update also brings in a new weapon, the Heavy Bowgun, cooking as a feature, and more. I’m curious to see how Magnamalo and Rajang are in-game as I adore hunting both of them in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne for Rajang. Check out Magnamalo’s artwork for Monster Hunter Now below: Check out some of the new gear from the update below: If you’ve not played Monster Hunter Now recently or are planning to just start playing, I put together tips and tricks for the game, details on the weapons, special skills, the current monsters list, my wishlist for future update monsters, and more. You can grab Monster Hunter Now on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The in app purchases include different sets of gems and upgrades. Check out the official website here. What do you think of the current state of the game and are you looking forward to Teostra next month?

At Anime NYC this weekend, Aniplex USA shared more details for its upcoming 3D action RPG Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist …

Continue reading "3D Action RPG ‘Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story’ From Aniplex Gets a New Trailer Ahead of Its Launch on Mobile and PC"

At Anime NYC this weekend, Aniplex USA shared more details for its upcoming 3D action RPG Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story (). Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story is in development for iOS, Android, and Windows release this year. Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story is based on the Blue Exorcist IP, and the story of the game features new original characters showcased in the game’s new trailer. In addition to this new trailer, pre-orders and pre-registrations have gone live for the game. Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story sees you taking on the role of an exorcist assigned to the Special Investigations Unit in the Japanese branch of the Knights of the True Cross. Watch the new trailer below: Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, and the App Store page also confirms that the date listed there is a placeholder. If you’d like to try Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story, you can pre-order it on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. Check out the official website here where a lot of the pre-registration reward tiers are detailed. Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story is due this summer on iOS, Android, and Windows. What do you think of Alterna Vvelt: Blue Exorcist Another Story so far?

Netflix recently announced more games coming to its service in the coming months, but an unannounced (as far as I’m …

Continue reading "‘SpongeBob: Bubble Pop’ Is a New Bust-a-Move-Like Coming to iOS and Android Through Tic Toc Games, Nickelodeon, and Netflix"

Netflix recently announced more games coming to its service in the coming months, but an unannounced (as far as I’m aware) casual Bust-a-Move-like game in the form of SpongeBob: Bubble Pop has gone up for pre-order on the App Store and pre-registration on Android. SpongeBob: Bubble Pop (Free) from Tic Toc Games and Nickelodeon is due on September 17th going by the App Store listing, and it aims to offer players hundreds of puzzles where you match colors and free sea snails to save Bikini Bottom. It will include boosters, various unlocks, SpongeBob cosmetics, a skill crane to earn even more costumes, and more. Check out some screenshots from it below: If you’d like to play SpongeBob: Bubble Pop at launch, you can pre-order it on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. If we get a gameplay trailer, Ill post about it, but I think everyone knows what to expect from a game like this. I’m curious if we see more games announced at Netflix Geeked week in the near future. What do you think of SpongeBob: Bubble Pop and Netflix bringing more casual games like this to its service?

HoYoverse has begun pre-installation for the major Genshin Impact (Free) version 5.0 “Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" update for …

Continue reading "‘Genshin Impact’ Version 5.0 Update Pre-Installation Now Live, New Trailer Released"

HoYoverse has begun pre-installation for the major Genshin Impact (Free) version 5.0 “Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" update for on supported platforms. If you’ve not followed the game recently, Genshin Impact 5.0 brings in the sixth nation: Natlan, new characters like Mualani, reruns for Raiden Shogun, and much more. The update will launch beginning August 28th for mobile, PC, PS5, and PS4 with the game launching on Xbox Series X this November. The first Genshin Impact 5.0 banner features: Mualani, Kachina and Kaedehara Kazuha while banner 2 has Kinich and Raiden Shogun. This update is also supposed to bring in updated visuals. Read about that here. Watch the new Genshin Impact trailer for Kachina below: You can pre-install it by tapping the pre-install resource package button. The download size is 2.67GB on iOS and about 16GB on PC. If you’d like to play Genshin Impact and don’t own it yet, you can download it for free on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The PC version is available on the official website here and the Epic Games Store. If you play on iOS, with iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 and later, you can use PS5 and Xbox Series X|S controllers to play Genshin Impact. We featured Genshin Impact as our Game of the Week when it released and awarded it our 2020 Game of the Year. I also featured it as one of the best iOS games to play with a controller. What do you think of Genshin Impact 5.0 so far?

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show I talk about how I finally ended up getting sick after weeks …

Continue reading "Ok I’m Actually Sick Now – The TouchArcade Show #601"

In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show I talk about how I finally ended up getting sick after weeks of being teased with it, and then I really bum out the vibe of the show sharing my horrible cat-sitting story. We then go into the fiasco that is the latest Overcast update which really screwed the pooch for Eli’s podcast listening lifestyle, and touch on some of Apple’s latest upcoming changes in the EU region. We also hit on some more iOS 18 beta talk and finish things off by going through some listener emails, which is always a blast. Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! As a companion to this audio podcast, we also do a video version of the same show that is exclusive to Patreon which allows you to see us playing the games we’re talking about. Backers can view the most recent video episodes of the TouchArcade show by clicking here. Be sure you’re logged in to see the latest content. For everyone else who is curious, you can check out our public patreon posts to see older episodes of the video podcast. If you like what you see, consider becoming a TouchArcade Patreon backer. Stitcher: The TouchArcade Show via Stitcher Radio for Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-601.mp3

I’m a simple man. Give me an old-school first-person dungeon crawler and I’m a pretty happy guy. Make one centered …

Continue reading "TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat’"

I’m a simple man. Give me an old-school first-person dungeon crawler and I’m a pretty happy guy. Make one centered around rescuing a cat and, oh boy, now you’re really speaking my language. Throw in a really unique touchscreen control scheme that I’ve never seen in a game of this type before and we’ve got a winner winner chicken-that-you-found-in-a-barrel dinner. That accurately describes Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat from developer ZombiSoft, who appears to be just a single person named Anders Gustavsson. There are some rough edges here, and some negative things to note, but by and large I’m just having a super good time with Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat and I’m excited to see where it takes me. So as the story goes, you’re an apprentice wizard who is tasked with finding the runaway cat of your mentor wizard, and you graduating to become a full-blown wizard hinges on you completing this mission. Just when you think you’ve cornered the adorable little feline you find yourself transported to a dungeon labyrinth filled with traps and enemies. You also spot the kitty roaming around and so your mission now becomes more difficult as you try to make your way through this dungeon alive as well as rescue your boss’s pesky little cat. Now, Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat isn’t a highly complex game by any means. There’s some light RPG elements in the form of leveling up and finding cool new weapons and gear, but there’s no party system or any extensive character progression. It reminds me a lot of Questlord in that it’s a pretty simple affair mechanically but the story, the visuals, and the personality of the game compel you to keep moving forward. Also, just because this game is bright and colorful and has a fairly straightforward design don’t think it’s some pushover. The game actually gets rather difficult rather quickly, but thankfully you can save anytime and anywhere, which is something you should practice doing often. The really neat feature here is the control scheme. You can choose between virtual arrows or swipe gestures for directional movement, which is pretty par for the course. But if you lay a second thumb down on the screen you can free look in any direction. It takes a little getting used to but the swipe gesture movement coupled with the free look gesture combines to make for a very satisfying touchscreen control scheme. It almost feels like you’re playing a first-person shooter at times, once you get comfortable and start zipping around to and fro, but you’re actually still playing a game with grid-based movement. My small nitpicks are that I really wish this game had an option to play in portrait, and the swipe detection for movement is a bit finicky. It recognizes short, fast swipes as opposed to longer ones, and before I figured that out I was having a really frustrating time thinking the game wasn’t detecting my inputs. Probably something that can be smoothed out in an update. Overall though, despite being a bit basic overall and having some rough edges, Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat is a very enjoyable retro dungeon crawler, which is something we don’t get too many of nowadays. If that’s not worth a couple of bucks then I’m not sure what is.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. I delayed publishing this because Gamescom 2024 is on right …

Continue reading "Steam Deck Weekly: Gamescom 2024 Steam Deck News, Reviews Including Bakeru and SCHiM, New Verified Games, Discounts, and More"

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. I delayed publishing this because Gamescom 2024 is on right now with news from Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live, game announcements, show floor information, and more. If you missed my Black Myth: Wukong Steam Deck review, read it here. Today’s article has Steam Deck impressions for Bakeru and Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, reviews of a few notable indies, Shaun’s take on the Warhammer 40K: Boltgun DLC, bundles, new Steam Deck Verified games, and more. Let’s get into the reviews and impressions first. Steam Deck Game Reviews & Impressions Bakeru Steam Deck Review When Bakeru was released in Japan, a friend of mine imported it and praised it quite a bit. I tried the demo and was turned off by the technical issues. It was charming, but not enough to put up with no localization and performance issues on Switch. When it leaked on the eShop, I was hoping we’d see performance improvements or a port to PC. We ended up getting both more or less. Bakeru’s Switch release in the West is improved over the Japanese launch version, and it is also now on PC with an excellent port. Bakeru is an action platformer from Good-Feel who are most known for the Yoshi games and also more-recently Princess Peach Showtime from Nintendo. The studio has done some games outside Nintendo brands, and the newest in this line of non Nintendo games from Good-Feel is Bakeru. Shaun will be doing a full review for this one, but so far Bakeru feels and plays great on Steam Deck. On Steam Deck and PC, Bakeru lets you adjust display mode (windowed and borderless only), resolution (with full 16:10 support), toggle v-sync, adjust frame rate cap (Note that v-sync off means the game runs at 60fps. Turn it on if you would like to play at your monitor’s refresh rate or at 90fps on Steam Deck OLED), anti-aliasing (off, FXAA, SMAA), adjust filtering quality (trilinear, 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x), and draw distance (low, medium, high). I played Bakeru on both my Steam Decks. My LCD is running the newest SteamOS beta. On that, I had zero issues with the game and it ran at a locked 60fps at maximum settings. On Steam Deck OLED running the public build of the OS, I only had some issues at 90fps. This seemingly wasn’t related to the settings, but something in the game because I had some shader-related or traversal stuttering in parts, but they only happened initially. I imagine Bakeru will be Steam Deck Verified soon as it runs perfectly if you play at 60fps and near-perfectly at 90fps. The one issue I ran into pre-release that Spike Chunsoft and the developers already fixed is button prompts being incorrectly displayed. This had the game showing Switch positions instead of Xbox ones when using my 8BitDo Xbox controller or the Steam Deck itself. I’m glad this was resolved pre-release as the game has no port issues, and it is dramatically better than the Switch version. When using a DualSense, it correctly showed PlayStation prompts with the proper labels and positions as well. Bakeru is a good platformer that I recommend playing on PC over Switch right now. The Switch version, despite performance improvements over the Japanese demo, still has too much variance in its performance to be an easy recommendation. The HD Rumble there is nice, but everything else holds it back. On PC, you miss out on the HD Rumble, but Bakeru runs a lot better across the board, and I’ve been enjoying digging into it over the last week. Stay tuned for Shaun’s full review of the Switch version in the near future. Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Steam Deck Review There have been many game franchises that I completely missed out on over the years. The Sam & Max series of games is one of those. When I was offered a code to play Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, I figured now was the time to finally play these games with the new remasters. If you’re just here for the game itself, I urge you to read Shaun’s Switch review here. I’m going to focus on how it plays on Steam Deck. Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse is the final game in the episodic Sam & Max main trilogy. This new remaster is amazing in basically every way. This includes how it controls, looks, sounds, and feels. It even has many accessibility options to make things go smoothly if you’re new to this kind of adventure game. You can toggle different hint levels and disable flashing in the accessibility settings. On the graphics and display side, you can play Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse at higher resolutions when docked on Steam Deck, but performance doesn’t hold close to 60fps if you play at 4K. I recommend sticking to it in handheld mode for a 60 or higher experience. You can adjust the graphics quality, texture quality, anti-aliasing, toggle v-sync, and adjust display mode and resolution in the graphics settings. With Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, I’m glad I finally got around to playing these games. Not only are they all absolutely worth your time and money, but they play superbly on Steam Deck. I’d love for the remasters to hit iPad, but until then the Steam Deck is my favorite way to play Skunkape Games’ remasters. SCHiM Steam Deck Review Given the sheer amount of releases lately, I didn’t get around to playing SCHiM much at launch. I’m glad I finally rectified that because it is equal parts charming and gorgeous, and it has been the perfect game to relax with as a break from the longer upcoming games I’m playing for review right now. Developers Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman have released a brilliant take on a 3D platformer using light, shadow, and more for puzzles, and it is all elevated by excellent audio. Aside from the striking aesthetic, what really carries SCHiM through its four or so hours long runtime is the animation work and sound design. As you work towards solving the various puzzles in the game, every interaction has a lovely little animation, and it all feels beyond polished when played at a rock solid 90fps on Steam Deck OLED. The blend of the shadows and lights for puzzles also are enhanced by the screen in handheld mode. So SCHiM runs perfectly out of the box on Steam Deck at 90fps, but how about docked? When played at 720p docked, it nearly does a locked 144fps. Playing at 1080p results in well over 100fps at all times. SCHiM supports 16:10 as well which is great to see on Steam Deck. I have no complaints with it aside from the fact that it might seem short for its price to some, and that there really is no evolution of the mechanics over the course of the game. While this isn’t a dealbreaker, it does hold SCHiM down from perfection. SCHiM is a lovely abstract take on games like Frogger for the modern era. Come into this expecting a work of art with excellent audio design more than a complex puzzle game. I enjoyed just about every level despite the mechanics not really evolving. I enjoyed it enough on Steam Deck to order a physical copy of the Switch version from Japan already. This is definitely worth your time if you enjoy delightful, gorgeous, and relaxing puzzle games. SCHiM Steam Deck review score: 4.5/5 Gestalt: Steam and Cinder Steam Deck Review Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is another game I wish I got around to playing sooner like SCHiM above. It has been on the review backlog for a bit now, but having played it, this action platformer is fantastic. Not only does it nail the aesthetic with its blend of 16 and 32-bit visuals, but the sound design, story, and gameplay are sublime. What initially drew me to Gestalt: Steam and Cinder, is the steampunk visual style in pixel art. I adore the character designs, but wasn’t sure another action platformer would be able to hit hard enough for me in recent years. Having played it, the story is very good, but without getting into spoilers, I feel like there’s more to this tale. Hopefully we see some story DLC in the future. On the gameplay side, Gestalt: Steam and Cinder felt a bit easier than I expected outside of two bosses I had trouble with. Nothing major though, and the responsive controls help across the board. Gestalt: Steam and Cinder ships Steam Deck Verified, and it is perfect on Valve’s handheld. The only thing I’d like to see, if feasible, is support for 90fps. Right now, the game is capped at 60fps and 16:9. I tested this on both my Steam Decks docked and in handheld mode. Given how crowded the genre is, I know most people roll their eyes when they see another action platformer, but Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is one you cannot afford to miss. It is one of the best in the genre with its excellent gameplay, narrative, music, and slick visuals. Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is also perfect on Steam Deck from start to finish. Gestalt: Steam and Cinder Steam Deck review score: 4.5/5 Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun – Forges of Corruption Expansion Steam Deck Review The original Boltgun was a refreshing surprise for me when it was released last year. While I’m not as into first-person shooters as deeply as some, I can certainly enjoy a good boomer shooter. Give me fast, furious action with some interest levels to explore, a satisfying selection of weapons, and challenging enemy encounters and I’m there. Boltgun had all of that, all dressed up in a Warhammer theme that if nothing else helps the world feel like it extends outside of the borders of the game. A thoroughly enjoying game to play through, and one that left me properly sated… or did it? While I thought I had had my fill of Boltgun, I was actually quite happy when Forges of Corruption was released. I guess I was still hungry. This expansion gives you five more levels of carnage to engage in, and they run on the larger side. You get two new guns to play with, one being an enhanced flamethrower and the other a rocket launcher. Sure, can’t argue with that. You also get some new enemies to try those toys out on, and you’ll need every edge you can get to deal with them. When compared to the original game’s levels, Forges of Corruption‘s stages favor more wide open spaces. This puts your mobility skills to the test, as you’ll have to keep on moving to avoid getting surrounded or cornered. If you haven’t mastered the dash already from playing the main campaign, you’ll need to get up to speed fast here. It’s an interesting change-up from the more compact design that the base game relied on so much. The enhanced flamethrower’s spread can really help you out here, and rockets always prefer open spaces. Difficulty-wise, these levels are mostly going to be a relative breeze for those who played through the first game. The last one is a real beast though, and you’re going to have to use everything you’ve learned to overcome it. Which is to say that while you can play this expansion without finishing the main game, you really should leave it for after. All-up, it takes a few hours to get through it all. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun – Forges of Corruption keep the party rolling with a set of new stages that show off a slightly different design intent than those of the original. The new weapons and enemies are appreciated, and the level design makes the most of both. I do wish there was something more interesting going on visually here, and the difficulty curve isn’t as smooth as it was in the base game. Still, those looking for more Boltgun challenges to tackle will find them here.-Shaun Musgrave Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun – Forges of Corruption Expansion Steam Deck review score: 4/5 News and Trailers Let’s begin the massive (and fast-paced) news section of this week with a brand-new trailer for my most anticipated game of 2025: Monster Hunter Wilds. The trailer has the game looking better than before, and I’m getting more excited reading all the details from hands-on gameplay sessions people have at Gamescom. Watch the third Monster Hunter Wilds trailer below: The next bit of news I’m excited for is Final Fantasy XVI, the best singleplayer Final Fantasy game since XII, is coming to Steam in a few weeks with pre-orders and a demo now live. It is sadly pretty rough on Steam Deck, but I hope things improve. Terry Bogard launches on September 24th in Street Fighter 6 as the second DLC for the Year 2 Pass. His gameplay trailer looks incredible. While not directly Steam-related, Capcom is also bringing Resident Evil 2 to GOG on August 27th. I couldn’t get Resident Evil 1’s GOG release to work on Deck, but I hope this one works. Capcom also released a demo for the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection on Steam and consoles. Check it out here. Read my preview of the full game here. Silent Hill 2 from Konami got a new story trailer, and this is the first trailer that’s been liked by a friend of mine who is a huge fan of the series. This will be my first Silent Hill game, so I’m excited to try it. Square Enix released a new “Final" trailer for Visions of Mana ahead of its launch next week. I can’t wait to talk about the full game soon. A few days ago, Cygames released the big Version 1.50 update for Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising on Steam and consoles bringing in big balance adjustments, the new DLC character Versusia, and in-game content included with Battle Pass Round 5. Watch the trailer below: Persona 3 Reload’s expansion Episode Aigis is adding Joker as a boss fight. I didn’t expect that one, but I’m looking forward to playing the DLC very soon. Atlus will host a new ATLUS Exclusive showcase for Metaphor: ReFantazio on August 28th at 8 PM. It will be on YouTube. I’m looking forward to playing this hopefully soon for review. Atlus also revealed the English voice cast for the game. Check it out below: Protagonist – Caleb Yen Strohl – Stewart Clarke Hulkenberg – Kristin Atherton Gallica – Alejandra Reynoso Heismay – Phillipe Spall Junah – Emma Ballantine Eupha – Emily Burnett Neuras – David Monteith Louis – Joseph Tweedale More – Greg Chun Grius – Gordon Cooper A new trailer for Metaphor has also gone live, and it is the best one yet for the game ahead of its launch in October. Watch it below: SEGA released a new trailer for Sonic X Shadow Generations that makes me wish the game was out sooner. We need anime music videos based on this for sure. Tempest Rising from 3D Realms got a new PvP teaser trailer this week at Gamescom 2024. It looks superb. Check out the footage below: A game I’m excited to play later this year, Slitterhead from Bokeh Game Studio, got a new story trailer this week. Watch it below: A game most thought wouldn’t release this year, The Plucky Squire from Devolver Digital, launches on September 17th with a lovely new trailer you can watch below. I’m excited to try this out on Steam Deck and Switch. Devolver Digital is also launching Sumerian Six, the real time tactical stealth game via Steam, on September 2nd. Raw Fury is releasing the horror survival game Post Trauma on October 29th. Check out its release date trailer below: Blizzard is celebrating Warcraft’s 30th anniversary in Overwatch 2 with a new skin for Widowmaker as Sylvanas next month. Check it out below: Action adventure game Unknown 9: Awakening from Bandai Namco launches on October 18th for Steam and consoles. Pre-orders are now live with a new gameplay trailer you can watch below: Eternal Strands, set to launch in 2025, got a new gameplay trailer at Gamescom 2024 from Yellow Brick Games. Watch it below: Superhero-themed visual novel Sacrifice Villains from Shiravune is set to release on Steam this year. It will be priced at $19.99. Check out the Steam page here. Little Nightmares III also had a new trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024. It releases on Steam and all consoles next year. Diablo IV’s Vessel of Hatred expansion got a new trailer showcasing the Mercenary companions ahead of the expansion’s launch this October. Inti Creates is releasing a demo for Card-en-Ciel on September 4th for Steam. Alongside this news, a new gameplay trailer has been released. Watch it below: A sequel to Wilmot’s Warehouse is set to release on Steam on October 23rd in the form of Wilmot Works It Out. I loved the original and cannot wait to play this. Risk of Rain 2’s Seekers of the Storm DLC launches on August 27th for PC and consoles. I’ll be checking this one out on Steam Deck. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II launches on February 11th, 2025 and a new gameplay showcase this week makes me wonder if this will even run on Steam Deck with how good it looks. I’ll definitely try it. Watch the showcase below: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves from SNK launches on April 24th, 2025 for Steam, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X. The launch price is a special edition with the first pass. Watch the new trailer showing off the amazing Mai Shiranui and the release date showcase below: Level Infinite streamed its recent “Into the Infinite" showcase featuring updates from its partners covering games like Soulframe, Warframe, and much more. Watch it below: https://www.youtube.com/live/KAIFQ8TZCp8 Sharkmob’s Exoborne had a new trailer released during the showcase above as well. Watch it below: Civilization VII from Firaxis and 2K launches for Steam and all consoles on February 11th, 2025 with pre-orders now live. Check out the gameplay trailer below: 2K also revealed two other games for 2025, and they’re big ones. Borderlands 4 and Mafia The Old Country are in development for Steam and consoles for 2025 release. Watch the trailers below: Arc System Works has revealed new details for Double Dragon Revive including the composers and story details. The composers include Raito and many more. Check out the website here. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches on Steam and Xbox on December 9th with pre-orders now live on Steam. I’m looking forward to playing this. The newest Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream trailers focus on Leafa and Sinon. Watch them below: Delta Force, the first person multiplayer shooter, previously known as Delta Force: Hawk Ops launches later this year for PC via Early Access on Steam from Level Infinite. It is also set to come to iOS and Android and consoles. Amazon Prime is doing a series on video games titled Secret Level with a focus on specific games over 15 episodes. These include Armored Core, Spelunky, New World: Aeternum, and more. It is set to begin streaming this December. Speaking of New World: Aeterum, a new video series based on the game can now be watched ahead of the game’s launch on October 15th: Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games launches as a free to play game on December 6th for Steam and consoles with all heroes included for free. Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC launches on September 30th for Steam and Xbox. A new update is also available now on all platforms. Akatsuki Games released a new trailer for the extreme action game Tribe Nine ahead of its launch on Steam and mobile. Free to play third person MOBA Predecessor is now available on Steam and consoles from Omeda Studios. Watch the trailer for it below: Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO gets another trailer showing off more of the game in its “50 days from now" trailer. Watch it below: Path of Exile 2 launches on Steam and consoles via Early Access on November 15th. Watch the new trailer from Grinding Gear Games below: Dying Light: The Beast is a standalone open world game that’s free for owners of Dying Light 2 Ultimate Edition. It is set to release in the future. Idea Factory International announced that Date A Live: Ren Dystopia releases on September 5th for Steam. I’ll be reviewing this one. Check it out on Steam here. Torn Banner Studios (Chivalry 2) announced that the UE5-powered shooter No More Room in Hell 2 will launch in Steam early access this Halloween. Watch the trailer below from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024: Warner Bros Games also showcased a new Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns gameplay trailer focussing on Cyrax who is a part of the new DLC. Tokyo Xtreme Racer from Genki is a new entry in the long-running series coming to Steam in 2025. I’m glad to see this because a friend of mine is a huge fan. Watch the trailer below: Square Enix released a new trailer for Life is Strange: Double Exposure showcasing Max’s powers. Watch it below: New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week This week, Yakuza 4 and Devil Blade Reboot are the highlights for new Verified games, and EA’s anti-cheat issues continue to make more games unplayable on Steam Deck. Check out every notable game tested by Valve since the last article below: #BLUD – Verified Atlas Fallen – Unsupported Battlefield 1 – Unsupported (new anti-cheat issues) DEVIL BLADE REBOOT – Verified EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 – Unsupported (new anti-cheat issues) Eastward – Playable Flatout 3 – Playable hololive treasure mountain – Verified Isles of Sea and Sky – Verified LISA: The First – Unsupported Metropolis: Lux Obscura – Playable Mika and The Witch’s Mountain – Verified Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition – Unsupported (new anti-cheat issues) Pocket Bravery – Playable shapez 2 – Playable Skull and Bones – Playable SNK VS. CAPCOM SVC CHAOS – Playable SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories – Playable Squirrel with a Gun – Verified Sword of Convallaria – Unsupported Teeny Tiny Trains – Playable The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker – Playable THE LAST BLADE – Playable Tomba! Special Edition – Playable Wild Bastards – Verified Yakuza 4 Remastered – Verified Steam Deck Game Sales, Discounts, and Specials The highlights of the week when it comes to sales and discounts are the Steam Rhythm Fest until August 26th with discounts on games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, Trombone Champ, and DJ MAX RESPECT V, and also the new Capcom Resident Evil Humble Bundle. Next week, following the Rhythm Fest, the Isometric Games Sale begins with many discounts from publishers and developers including Owlcat Games. Check out a trailer for the event below: That’s all for this edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. As usual, you can read all our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback for this feature or what else you’d like to see us do around the Steam Deck, let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 23rd, 2024. It’s the end of another week, and …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Thermonuclear’, ‘Magnus Trilogy’, Plus Today’s Other New Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 23rd, 2024. It’s the end of another week, and we’re creeping ever closer to the end of the month and the season. In the world of Switch, sometimes a slow Thursday means a big Friday. Well, not this time. We’ve got a few new releases to look at amidst the junk, plus the usual lists of new sales and expiring discounts for you to consider. Things will be busier next week, but only a little. September can’t come soon enough. Let’s finish up the week! Select New Releases Operation: Polygon Storm ($14.99) A relatively basic real-time base defense game, just from a slightly different point of view than the one we usually see in this genre. I wouldn’t exactly call it visually impressive, but the destructible environments do add a little spice to an otherwise straightforward take. Not my genre of choice, but if it’s yours then you might want to give it a closer look. Thermonuclear ($7.99) Set in a distant future where a third World War has broken out, Thermonuclear casts you as a member of a megacorporation out to claim victory. You have access to a powerful new technology called Thermonuclear, an advanced combat cyborg. Guide your cyborg through procedurally-generated stages, engaging in turn-based strategic combat with the enemies found within. You’ll upgrade your cyborg as you go, and if you’re lucky you might just be able to take down the Allfather AI and save the world. If not? Well, you can always try again. Seems decent from what I’ve seen so far. Magnus Trilogy ($8.99) A series of visual novels in the Magnus series, bundled together in one simple package. These lean more towards the bizarre and psychological end of the curve. At the very least, you can’t argue with the price per title here. Not for everyone, but some will get a lot out of this. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) An intriguing assortment of new sales, but a short enough list that I’ll mainly leave it to you. What I will mention is that PowerWash Simulator is not only featuring a discount on the main game, but also all of its paid DLC packs. Now is the time to stock up if you don’t already own them. In the weekend outbox, Team 17’s got a round of titles finishing up their sales. They’ll certainly be back on sale again soon, but maybe you want them now? Choices to make. Select New Sales Botany Manor ($22.49 from $24.99 until 8/29) Puddle Knights ($2.99 from $9.99 until 8/30) Batman: The Telltale Series ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30) Batman: The Enemy Within ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30) Fuga: Melodies of Steel ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/2) Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/2) Kingdom Come Deliverance ($29.99 from $49.99 until 9/4) Outward Definitive ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/4) Metro 2033 Redux ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) Metro Last Light Redux ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/4) Kona II: Brume ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/4) F1 Manager 2024 ($27.99 from $34.99 until 9/5) Adventure Bar Story ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Anomaly Agent ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/5) Ambition: A Minuet in Power ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/6) Skulls of the Shogun ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Galak-Z The Void Deluxe ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/6) PowerWash Simulator ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/6) Fear Effect Sedna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Suhoshin ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/6) Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD ($10.49 from $29.99 until 9/6) Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/6) Hampuzz ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/11) Yeah! You Want Those Games, Right? ($7.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Carry Onward ($2.99 from $4.99 until 9/12) Abyss of the Sacrifice ($11.99 from $39.99 until 9/12) Starward Rogue ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/12) Commandos 2: HD Remaster ($14.99 from $19.99 until 9/12) Commandos 3: HD Remaster ($20.99 from $29.99 until 9/12) Incredible Mandy ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/12) 4 The Elements ($7.19 from $8.99 until 9/12) Lunar Axe ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/12) TMNT Wrath of the Mutants ($17.99 from $29.99 until 9/12) Frogue ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/12) Toridama2: Brave Challenge ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/12) The Fall of Elena Temple ($2.39 from $2.99 until 9/12) Omega Labyrinth Life ($17.99 from $59.99 until 9/12) Funghi Explosion ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/12) A Dark Room ($2.79 from $6.99 until 9/12) Samurai Maiden ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/12) Beholgar ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Raccoo Venture ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/12) Time Rift ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) Doomsday Hunter ($8.99 from $17.99 until 9/12) Super Trunko Go ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) WorldNeverland: Elnea Kingdom ($8.99 from $29.99 until 9/12) Zero Tolerance Collection ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/12) The Tale of Clouds & Wind ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/12) Sales Ending This Weekend All Noobs Must Die ($1.99 from $12.99 until 8/24) Demon Turf ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/24) Full Metal Sergeant ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/24) Mystic Academy: Escape Room ($5.49 from $10.99 until 8/24) Right and Down and Dice ($5.99 from $11.99 until 8/24) Venari Escape Room Adventure ($4.19 from $5.99 until 8/24) Blasphemous ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/25) Blast Brigade vs. The Evil Legion ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/25) DREDGE ($16.24 from $24.99 until 8/25) Overcooked 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/25) Rack and Slay ($5.09 from $5.99 until 8/25) That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new games, more sales, more reviews, and some news. I have a lot of things I need to get done this weekend, so wish me luck in doing them. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and as always, thanks for reading!

For our next dive into the retro games available on Switch, we’re going all the way back to 1989. Er, …

Continue reading "The 10 Best Game Boy and Game Boy Color Games on Nintendo Switch, Plus 5 We’d Like to See – SwitchArcade Special"

For our next dive into the retro games available on Switch, we’re going all the way back to 1989. Er, and then to 1998. We’re heading back to the old monochrome beast and its colorful successor: the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. While there is a robust selection of games from these handhelds in the Nintendo Switch Online app, we’re instead looking at those games that dare to exist in the wilds of the Switch eShop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, plus five more games that we’d like to see. No particular order, of course. Time to Play It Loud! Shantae ($9.99) Once a genuine scarcity that would cost you hundreds of dollars to get your hands on in any legal capacity, Shantae is now quite readily available in digital form. This game is considerably rougher than its sequels, but it pushes the Game Boy Color hardware in a lot of interesting ways, providing a platformer with a bit more to it than the average Game Boy hop-and-bop. Wow, I haven’t seen the term “hop-and-bop" in something like twenty-five years. Well, there you go. Shantae: it’s pretty good fun. Trip World DX ($19.99) Here’s another game that would have cost you a pretty penny to play officially until very recently. Trip World is an interesting platformer from Sunsoft that offers up a short but sweet experience. This release of the game does a full-on colorization job while also including a number of extras to dig into. It’s an excellent way to play this quirky, charming tale. Final Fantasy Legend II – Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend ($19.99) Time to wade into the compilations, and we’ll start with one that is all Game Boy games: Collection of SaGa. You get all three games in the Final Fantasy Legend series here, and they’re all really good handheld RPGs. I’m picking out Final Fantasy Legend II to highlight here, simply because I think it’s the best of the three. It has plenty of the weird mechanics that make SaGa games so interesting, but feels more well-rounded and approachable than the first game. Probably the best turn-based RPG on the system pre-Pokemon. Final Fantasy Adventure – Collection of Mana ($39.99) Going hand in hand with the Final Fantasy Legend games, Final Fantasy Adventure is the game that kicked off the long-running Mana series. As such, you’ll find it in the Collection of Mana with the two Super NES follow-ups. Again, all games worth playing. This action-RPG provided an excellent alternative to the superb Link’s Awakening on the system, with a snappy pace and some surprisingly ambitious storytelling. It’s been remade a couple of times, but there’s nothing quite like the original. TMNT III: Radical Rescue – TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection ($39.99) Konami did some great Game Boy games, and it has made a handful of them available through its various collections. The Cowabunga Collection has all three of its original Game Boy TMNT games included, and I think they all have their merits. The open-ended, pseudo-Metroidvania TMNT III: Radical Rescue is the pick of the bunch, though. Plenty of action as you would expect, but the additional layers from exploring the world, rescuing your brothers, and finding all the upgrades makes this one you can really sink your teeth into. Operation C – Contra Anniversary Collection ($19.99) After the somewhat tepid attempt to bring Castlevania to the Game Boy via Castlevania: The Adventure, one would be forgiven for thinking there was little hope the tense run-and-gun action of Contra would survive the transition. Surprisingly, Operation C turned out to be really awesome. Sure, you can’t play with another player. Strictly a solo affair. But it’s fast, fun, and challenging in the way you want a Contra game to be. Perhaps there was hope for Konami action-platformers on the handheld after all! Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge – Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($19.99) How’s that for foreshadowing? Yes, after mostly biffing the first Game Boy Castlevania game, Konami turned things around in a big way with Belmont’s Revenge. This is an excellent Castlevania game, one that easily hangs with the home console entries even if it can’t quite surpass them. Given it was sandwiched by some less-than-great games, it’s possible many players skipped out on this one thinking it would be the same. If you haven’t played it yet, here’s a handy way to do that. Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure – Ninja JaJaMaru: Retro Collection ($14.99) Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure isn’t the best game in this bunch by any means, but I think it’s an important representation of some of the more off-beat titles that filled out the library around the releases from huge publishers. Some proper work was put into this reissue, too. It has a new localization and has been colorized, giving a nice spit-shine to a game that might not have topped anyone’s lists for such an effort. While The Great World Adventure is the only Game Boy game in the lot, this collection is an interesting one to poke at in general. Xtreme Sports ($9.99) WayForward’s most famous wholly-original property on the Game Boy Color is obviously Shantae, but Xtreme Sports is no slouch either. Essentially a collection of sports mini-games tied together with an open world, Xtreme Sports is a lot better than it has any right to be. The graphics are good, the gameplay is great for pick-up-and-play grazing, and those looking to completely finish everything will find a stiff challenge ahead of them. The Rescue of Princess Blobette – A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection ($9.99) Another game that is here more for its unique feel than anything, The Rescue of Princess Blobette brings the home computer-esque puzzle-adventure gameplay of the NES original to the small screen quite well. In some ways it’s a more polished game than its predecessor, delivered in a more compact and well-paced form. If you like games that take some figuring out due to occasional bits of opacity, you’ll love this one. And… 5 Game Boy and Game Boy Color Games We’d Like to See on Switch Batman: The Video Game Yes, it’s kind of weird that Batman is using a gun the whole way through this early Game Boy action game. But it’s also weird that Keaton’s Batman gleefully murders bad guys, so let’s just call it a sign of the times. The important thing is that this is another really great Sunsoft Batman game, and while I know the odds of any of these movie-based Batman games ever resurfacing are next to nil, I will never stop asking. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal I’m generally avoiding games that I think might show up on Nintendo Switch Online at some point, which means most first-party Nintendo stuff is out. I really hope I’m wrong about this, but something tells me that while the Pokemon spin-offs will probably keep appearing in the subscription service, the mainline games won’t. Thus, I formally request the ability to purchase and play these fine Game Boy RPGs on my Switch. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault I waffled between including this or the excellent R-Type DX, but ultimately we have R-Type Dimensions on Switch to scratch that itch, whereas Gradius: The Interstellar Assault only exists in Game Boy form. For a platform whose display should have made it terrible for shooting games, the Game Boy had a good handful of excellent ones. This was Konami’s second kick at the Gradius can on the platform, and while that first one was fine this one really kicked things into gear. Honestly, I just kind of want a Gradius collection in the vein of Konami’s Contra, Castlevania, and TMNT ones. If that happens, this game ought to be in there. Metal Gear Solid Lots of Konami in this article, I’m coming to realize. Anyway, this is arguably the best third-party Game Boy Color exclusive. Just about everything that was great about the PlayStation Metal Gear Solid was somehow squeezed into this completely original adventure. This game completely blew me away at the time thanks to that fidelity, and it still impresses me today. Yes, much of the template was laid down in the MSX2 Metal Gear 2, but it’s cool to see something like this on a Game Boy Color. Maybe this will show up in the next Metal Gear collection? Dragon Warrior Monsters Pokemon spawned a lot of imitators, but to be fair to Dragon Quest it had monster-catching elements in the main games before Pokemon arrived. So, you know. We forgive you, King. Dragon Warrior Monsters is one of the better Game Boy games inspired by Pokemon‘s success, and I think it would be terrific to see it available on Switch. And you know what? It is available on Switch, but only in Japan. Come on, Square Enix. Just drop the Western ROM in the wrapper and help some Dragon Quest fans out! And that’s the list, friends. Are there any Game Boy or Game Boy Color games you enjoy on the Switch? Any you would like to see? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. As always, thanks for reading!

Playtonic Friends just announced that Victory Heat Rally from developer Skydevilpalm is coming to mobile through Crunchyroll and also on …

Continue reading "‘Victory Heat Rally’ From Skydevilpalm and Playtonic Friends Is Coming to PC and Crunchyroll for Mobile on October 3rd"

Playtonic Friends just announced that Victory Heat Rally from developer Skydevilpalm is coming to mobile through Crunchyroll and also on Steam this October. Victory Heat Rally is an arcade racer with stylish visuals. I aims ot be a 2.5D pixel perfect racer featuring 12 drivers, solo play, multiplayer, a world tour mode, and more. It also features tons of customization across paint jobs, parts, and more. Playtonic Friends also confirms that Victory Heat Rally will be playable on Switch at Gamescom. Watch the Victory Heat Rally release date announcement trailer for mobile through Crunchyroll and Steam below: While the mobile page isn’t up yet, you can wishlist Victory Heat Rally on Steam here. Victory Heat Rally is confirmed to have 4 player splitscreen, but I’m unsure if this is just Steam or also on mobile. If you have an active Crunchyroll Mega or Ultimate membership right now, you will be able to play Victory Heat Rally when it releases at no additional cost on October 3rd. This is definitely one of the better Crunchyroll Game Vault announcements as it is a day one release alongside PC. I’m excited to check it out. What do you think of today’s announcement and the Crunchyroll Game Vault releases so far?

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 22nd, 2024. In today’s article, we continue to bear …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Rise Eterna War’, ‘As Per My Last Email’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 22nd, 2024. In today’s article, we continue to bear witness to the slow yet clear decline of Switch releases in this eighth year. It’s Thursday, but we don’t even have a dozen games worth mentioning today. Even among the ones we have, there isn’t anything that is jumping out. Sure, it’s August. Things are going to pick up soon. But it’s still odd to see such dry Thursdays, even at this time of the year. At least the sales are healthy. Let’s have a look at all of that! Select New Releases Verne – The Shape of Fantasy ($14.99) Play as Jules Verne, who has been brought into a world sprung from his own imagination, in this adventure game. He’ll join forces with Captain Nemo as they try to fend off an evil force determined to destroy all imagination, which I reckon would be pretty bad. Solve puzzles, engage in dialogue, and enjoy the story. An interesting premise, and that’s a big part of the battle when it comes to this genre. Rise Eterna War ($9.99) A prequel story to Rise Eterna, this looks to be a base defense-style game to me. Build your team and use your limited resources to deploy them against the enemy. Seems fine for what it is, even if what it is isn’t terribly novel. With more than forty stages to play, it will keep you busy for a few days at least. As Per My Last Email ($6.29) One of those stress relief games. You’re an office worker and you have a sledgehammer. You can break pretty much everything in the office. Go for it. Play the ten-level campaign mode, or enjoy the infinite Mayhem Mode as you like. The affordable price is about right for the experience on offer. Ring Sculptors ($14.99) A choice-based narrative adventure where you pick from nine different characters and try to survive a trip to the Ring Sculptors’ base. On top of making choices at various points, there are also stats to manage, dice rolls to try to luck out on, and plenty of endings to uncover as a result. Argol – Kronoss’ Castle ($8.99) This is a side-scrolling action-platformer in the vein of games like Castlevania or Valis. You play as a sword-wielding warrior on a quest to vanquish evil. Or at least I presume that’s the story, anyway. All I know is that there is a fellow named Kronoss and his castle must be stormed. A decent game with a pretty lively soundtrack backing it. Nothing I’d run down the street yelling about, but it might scratch an itch. Ataraxie ($4.99) An affordable Metroidvania-style game starring a mummy. It’s really rough around the edges, but for the price you might not mind. I at least appreciate the novel protagonist. Shame about the ropey collision detection, though. Arcade Archives The Ninja Kids ($7.99) Taito’s 1990 beat ’em up featuring puppet ninjas is the latest Arcade Archives release. Up to four players can join in on the fun via local multiplayer, and that’s probably the best way to enjoy this one. Even going alone, the wacky tone makes this an enjoyable game to play through. The mechanics aren’t as tight as in the better titles in this genre from Capcom or Konami, but there’s some charm in the janky nature of it all. Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch ($29.99) Here’s a visual novel with some simulation elements. Maybe it isn’t right to call it a visual novel because of those elements? Forgive me if my choice of words isn’t on point. Your character ends up homeless on a mysterious island, and soon runs into a witch that is having some problems of her own. They decide to work together, and they’re eventually joined by several others. Can this rag-tag group survive Toyotoki Island and grow along the way? Play to find out! I should write box copy, I swear. EGGCONSOLE Star Trader PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49) When you think of Nihon Falcom, you definitely think of… shoot ’em ups? Okay, maybe not. But this one did happen back in the day, and as you might expect it’s not an orthodox take by any means. There are adventure game scenes mashed in with the shooting action here, and your skill at handling trading will determine your available funds for upgrades. Naturally, this is all in Japanese. EGGCONSOLE and all that. If I think it’s even remotely playable for someone who can’t understand the language, I’ll do a review soon. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Another sale for 1000xRESIST. Buy 1000xRESIST. Maybe Freedom Planet 2 and Haiku, the Robot too, depending on your tastes. The latest sales from id Software and Inti-Creates are finishing up today, so fill your boots while you can. Check those lists! Select New Sales 1000xRESIST ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Times & Galaxy ($17.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Super Mutant Alien Assault ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/28) The Pale Beyond ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Suzerain ($4.49 from $17.99 until 8/28) Paradise Killer ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Genesis Noir ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Citizen Sleeper ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Haiku, The Robot ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Ebenezer & the Invisible World ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/29) Freedom Planet 2 ($18.74 from $24.99 until 9/5) Deadcraft ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Silent Hope ($13.99 from $39.99 until 9/5) Untitled Goose Game ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Corpse Party ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/5) Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/5) Wing of Darkness ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/5) SCHiM ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/5) Marchen Forest ($6.99 from $34.99 until 9/5) Violet Wisteria ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/6) Oops, I Said Yes?! ($20.99 from $29.99 until 9/9) even if TEMPEST Dawning Connections ($34.99 from $49.99 until 9/9) Pirate Bloopers ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/11) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 23rd Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/23) Berserk Boy ($14.00 from $20.00 until 8/23) Blaster Master Zero 3 ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/23) Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 2 ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/23) CounterAttack: Uprising ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/23) Dead End City ($9.89 from $14.99 until 8/23) DOOM ($7.99 from $39.99 until 8/23) DOOM 3 ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/23) DOOM 64 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/23) DOOM Eternal ($9.99 from $39.99 until 8/23) Dragon Marked for Death ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/23) Fireside ($11.99 from $14.99 until 8/23) For The Warp ($1.99 from $17.99 until 8/23) Froggie ($2.99 from $4.99 until 8/23) Gal Guardians: Demon Purge ($13.74 from $24.99 until 8/23) Gunvolt Records: Cychronicle ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/23) Little Kitty, Big City ($19.99 from $24.99 until 8/23) Luminous Avenger iX 2 ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/23) PuzzMiX ($2.99 from $3.99 until 8/23) QUAKE ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/23) Quake II ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/23) Sally Face ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/23) TES V: Skyrim ($29.99 from $59.99 until 8/23) TES V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition ($34.99 from $69.99 until 8/23) Umbraclaw ($17.49 from $24.99 until 8/23) Wolfenstein II: TNC ($5.99 from $39.99 until 8/23) Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue ($20.39 from $29.99 until 8/23) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the remaining releases for the week, plus whatever sales and major news items roll in during the course of the day. We’ve been getting so many thunderstorms lately around here. Hot and sunny during the day, stormy in the evening. Very odd, and not conducive to the laundry schedule. Oh well. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a …

Continue reading "Out Now: ‘Punch Club 2: Fast Forward’, ‘Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat’, ‘TENSEI’, ‘Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York’, ‘Auto Pirates: Captains Cup’, ‘Jenny LeClue – Detectivu’ and More"

Each and every day new mobile games are hitting the App Store, and so each week we put together a big old list of all the best new releases of the past seven days. Back in the day the App Store would showcase the same games for a week, and then refresh those features each Thursday. Because of that developers got into the habit of releasing their games throughout Wednesday or very early Thursday in order to hopefully get one of those coveted features spots. Nowadays the App Store refreshes constantly, so the need for everyone to release all on the same day has diminished. Still, we’ve kept our weekly Wednesday night format as for years that’s the time people knew to check TouchArcade for the list of new games. And so without further ado please check out the full list of this week’s new games below, and let us know in the comments section which games you’ll be picking up! Auto Pirates: Captains Cup (Free) iTunes Description Auto Pirates is a competitive player vs world strategy game where you choose your crew, equip your ship and battle, earning plunder based on your global rank. Earn plunder and collect trophies for your exploits on the seas and create the perfect pirate hideout for your crew. Combine pirates from four fantasy factions with magical relics and a multitude of ships to optimize your strategy or create crazy hijinks. You can shoot, board, blast, burn, sink or push your opponents to get the upper hand and go for the top 1% prize. Forum Thread: Auto Pirates: Captains Cup (by Featherweight Games) Baron of Blood (Free) iTunes Description Baron of Blood is a 2D pixelart platformer game in which you have to fight your way through numerous levels and defeat different monsters. Collect coins to buy powerful items. 24 different levels in 5 different zones and boss fights await you and offer an exciting and varied gameplay. Hidden diamonds and various achievements will keep you busy even longer after you finish the game. Forum Thread: Baron of Blood (by Castle Village Games) Cube Farm (Free) iTunes Description -no ads or pay-to-win mechanics -quick sessions, break from scrolling -endless progression with prestige bonuses -time slows at higher layers, with larger harvests -dynamic produce market with supply and demand -pets to collect, feed, train, and battle Forum Thread: Cube Farm (by Tarot Focus) Dadish Collection ($8.99) iTunes Description Three great games in one! He’s a dad AND a radish! Join Dadish on his quest to rescue his missing kids in three classic platforming adventures. Dadish Collection combines Dadish, Dadish 2 and Dadish 3 in one rad package. Forum Thread: Dadish Collection (by Tomas Young) Demon Squad (Free) iTunes Description A long time ago, the demons had lost the war and scattered away. “Now, they shall gather for the revival of the Demon Lord and the demon race" 1. Team idle RPG that takes strategy to new levels Train 3 demons to form the ultimate squad! Auto or manual control. Utilize both options to conquer the battlefield! Forum Thread: Demon Squad (by SuperPlanet) Fish Hero! (Free) iTunes Description Discover a world as a fish outta water! A physics, parkour adventure! Launch yourself up a collection of biomes as a lonely fish to become Fish Hero! Explore a unique world as a fish out of water. Good Luck! Forum Thread: Fish Hero! (by Henry Mead) Going Up ($1.99) iTunes Description Going Up is a strategy game where you control groups of lifts in a skyscraper to deliver passengers before they lose their patience. Optimise elevator movement as you deal with a fussy cast of passengers—impatient CEOs, mean soldiers and confused tourists. There is no one solution to elevator optimisation: every stage will have its unique bottlenecks, passengers and problems. Forum Thread: Going Up (by Dylan Kwok) Jenny LeClue – Detectivu ($6.99) iTunes Description Jenny LeClue is a thrilling story of mystery, adventure and growing up. Set in the sleepy town of Arthurton, the game is filled with memorable, complex characters and rendered in a unique aesthetic. Embrace the choosiness and shape the metanarrative. You are not the only guiding hand shaping Jenny’s destiny, but your choices will help her unravel the tangled mystery and become the detective she was born to be. Forum Thread: Jenny LeClue (by Mografi) Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat ($1.99) iTunes Description Enter the dungeon and help the master wizard to find his missing cat in this oldschool dungeon crawler game with nice retro pixel art graphics. Make your way deep into the dungeon. You will explore levels filled with challenging enemies and various traps & puzzles. Discover powerful magical items and weapons and fight your way through hordes of enemies in this real time combat dungeon crawler. Forum Thread: Labyrinth: The Wizard’s Cat (by Anders Gustavsson) LEVELS II (Free) iTunes Description This is a dungeon where treasures slumber. Level up and strengthen adventurers, defeat monsters blocking your path, and gather treasures. # New Feature: Tile Appearance Rules In previous LEVELS, the color and level of appearing tiles were determined randomly. However, in this game, the next appearing tile is determined based on how the player moves the tiles. Forum Thread: LEVELS II (by flow Incorporated) Lyra 2 (Free) iTunes Description Lyra 2 is the sequel to a simple, relaxing, minimalist puzzle game that offers endless levels. The only goal is to clear the level, there are no timers, no achievements, no distractions, just the number of cleared levels going up. Are you looking for a game that you can just relax and play without thinking too much, a game that you can play anytime, anywhere? Lyra 2 is here for you. Forum Thread: Lyra 2 (by Cold Hours) Overboss ($3.99) iTunes Description Become a villain in this retro-inspired board game. Draft terrain tiles, recruit monsters, build your dungeon, and become the OVERBOSS! Forum Thread: Overboss (by Goblinz Studio) Phantom Rose 2 Sapphire (Free) iTunes Description Unique roguelike deckbuilding adventure. Explore, fight, and collect powerful cards. ◆ A Special Card Adventure Phantom Rose is an indie game by solo developer & artist makaroll. Craft your deck with cards obtained by defeating Phantoms. There’s no random card draw during battle. Instead, manage your card’s cooldown to defeat your foe swiftly and efficiently. Forum Thread: Phantom Rose 2 Sapphire (by Studio Maka) Punch Club 2: Fast Forward (Free) iTunes Description You’ve spent your whole life living in the confines of your overbearing mothers garage, your father mysteriously vanished before you were born. But hey, you had plenty of time to work out and dream about the wonders of the world. Sucks to be you though, people eat slime, corruption is rife and everyone wants to fight you… But maybe you can find your father and become the ‘dark fist’ people whisper about, somehow you could actually be humanity’s savior, the one who uncovers the super secret secrets of the Goodness Corporation… Or not. It’s a choose your own adventure, stay in the garage if you want. Forum Thread: Punch Club 2: Fast Forward (by TinyBuild) TENSEI ($2.99) iTunes Description An experience of self-discovery set in soothing Zen landscapes. “Tensei" is an ultra-casual endless action game. Leap and fall over and over in the style of a brush flowing across paper, and go on a relaxed journey into the sky. Leave the hectic routine of life behind for a chance to enjoy this deeply immersive experience. Forum Thread: TENSEI (by NEURON AGE) Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York ($4.99) iTunes Description **Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York** is a visual novel set in the rich universe of Vampire: The Masquerade, and is the continuation of the story started in **Coteries of New York.** You don’t need to have played **Coteries** to appreciate and understand the story behind **Shadows of New York.** While Coteries was a general introduction to the world depicted in the 5th Edition of the hit tabletop role-playing game, Shadows presents a more personal and unique tale. Forum Thread: Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York (by Plug In Digital)

Back in October last year, Feral Interactive announced that cross platform multiplayer was in the works for Company of Heroes …

Continue reading "‘Company of Heroes’ Mobile Multiplayer Beta Announced for Next Week on Android, Full Update Coming to iOS and Switch As Well"

Back in October last year, Feral Interactive announced that cross platform multiplayer was in the works for Company of Heroes ($14.99) on iOS, Android, and Switch. If you’ve not played it yet on mobile or Switch, read my iOS here and Switch review here. Today, Feral Interactive confirmed that the first Company of Heroes mobile multiplayer beta will take place only on Android from August 29th until September 3rd. A full FAQ is here covering what you need to know about the test. Watch the Company of Heroes Collection Switch trailer below: The FAQ also confirms that the update with full multiplayer will be shipping simultaneously on Switch, iOS, and Android using learnings from the Android test. The test is only on Android since the Google Play Store has a better functionality for opt-in betas. As of now, the multiplayer update has no release date. If you’ve not kept up with the game on Switch and mobile, read my interview with Feral Interactive here. If you’ve not bought the base game yet on mobile, Company of Heroes is available on the App Store for here and on Google Play here. Check out our forum thread for it here and the official website for the mobile conversion here. Have you played Company of Heroes on mobile or Switch yet and will you be checking out the Android beta next week?

Following yesterday’s big Disney Dreamlight Valley update on Apple Arcade and other platforms, a few more notable games on Apple’s …

Continue reading "Apple Arcade Weekly Round-Up: New Content and Feature Updates Are Now Live for TMNT Splintered Fate, Temple Run: Legends, Vampire Survivors, Simon’s Cat, and More"

Following yesterday’s big Disney Dreamlight Valley update on Apple Arcade and other platforms, a few more notable games on Apple’s gaming service have gotten big updates. Alongside its standalone release, Vampire Survivors+ got a new stage, secrets, character skins, and more. Read about this update here. TMNT Splintered Fate on Apple Arcade now supports couch co-op on the save device and also online co-op with cross platform support. This is great since it is also coming to Steam following its Switch release. Temple Run: Legends adds support for a new Outfit system with the ability to unlock new cosmetics, powerful traits, and more. Outlanders’ Volume VI of the Outlanders Chronicles: Wandering Stars is now live with six new playable leaders and more. Simon’s Cat – Story Time has a Summer Search Party on for daily rewards when you find beach balls in the gardens. SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit concludes the latest Tales of the Deep in this week’s update. The final notable update of the week is Disney Coloring World+ bringing in the Muppets in a new coloring pack featuring Kermit, Fozzie, and more. With the updates done, check out our forum threads for Outlanders here, SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit here, Simon’s Cat – Story Time here, Disney Coloring World+ here, and TMNT Splintered Fate here. Head over to our dedicated Apple Arcade forum for discussions on the new and older releases on the service. What do you think of the state of Apple Arcade right now and this week’s updates?

Nintendo just announced that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Free) is shutting down on November 28th at 3 PM UTC. Animal …

Continue reading "‘Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp’ Shutting Down This November, New Paid Game Set To Release With Save Transfer"

Nintendo just announced that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Free) is shutting down on November 28th at 3 PM UTC. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp debuted on iOS and Android nearly seven years ago, and it has since received multiple content and feature updates. From November 28th, you will no longer be able to play this version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, but the team is developing a version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile with save carrying over. This will be a flat-fee paid version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Social aspects from the original game will not be available here. Details for the new paid app are here. A full release date announcement for the paid app will be made around October. Check out the full announcement below: We have an important announcement for everyone playing the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp app. Please see the following page for details as well.https://t.co/JGacPgXFyo pic.twitter.com/RHZt5u7SPU — Pocket_camp (@Pocket_Camp) August 22, 2024 While this is good news for those playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp since we rarely see games like this get paid standalone releases, I can’t help but be annoyed that Nintendo didn’t do something like this for Dragalia Lost. That game deserved so much better. At least I still have the music from it. Either way, you can play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on iOS and Android right now ahead of it shutting down in November. I’m curious to see how the paid version feels when it launches. Check out our forum thread for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp here. Do you still play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp regularly and what do you think of today’s news?

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 22nd, 2024. In today’s article, we’ve got a handful …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Mika and the Witch’s Mountain’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 22nd, 2024. In today’s article, we’ve got a handful of new releases to check out. That’s unusual for a Wednesday, but I suppose it makes up for the slowness of the last couple of days. After summarizing those, it’s time for the lists of the latest sales and expiring discounts. Star Wars and Capcom, if one must make long stories short. Let’s get to those games! Select New Releases Mika and the Witch’s Mountain ($19.99) If you’ve ever been watching Ghibli’s classic Kiki’s Delivery Service and felt like playing a video game version, you might be into what Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is offering. I mean, it isn’t Kiki, but it’s clearly inspired by it. You play as an apprentice witch who has to fly around on her broom to deliver all kinds of packages to the various residents of a mountain town. The game has a nice, colorful vibe and I’m certainly going to be investigating it further to see if it lives up to its initial potential. My Lovely Empress ($19.99) A lovely wife, a lovely daughter, and now a lovely empress? Phew. In this game you play as an Emperor who reigns over a massive empire. Seems like you’ve got it all, but your wife passes away and suddenly none of it matters anymore. Still, you’ve got to keep things running. This is a simulation game of sorts, but one with a heavy narrative bent that will eventually lead to you having to make a critical choice. The previous games in the series have been fascinating despite their rough edges, and I expect this will deliver in the same way. Cyber Mission ($9.99) I’d call this a run-and-gun action game, but it’s probably better classified as a fly-and-gun action game. You play as a cyber trooper who is on a mission to destroy hostile alien forces. If you don’t feel like being a one-trooper army, you can grab a friend or family member for some local co-op multiplayer. Looks like a pretty good time for those enjoy things like S.C.A.T. or Contra, and reasonably priced to boot. Mangavania 2 ($4.99) More Mangavania for those who want it. A gentle reminder that these games are not Metroidvanias, just linear stage-based platformers with very light exploratory elements. If that’s your thing, this does that. Not terribly well, mind you. But it does it. That’s all I’ve got to say about that. White Eternal ($6.49) After his friend goes missing during the harsh winter, Simon sets out from his mountain town to try to find out what happened to them. This is a turn-based RPG where you explore a land cursed to harsh winters (Winnipeg?), seeking out allies and battle monsters as you go. You can actually get in battles where you have as many as sixteen party members. Neat! The description promises over twenty hours of gameplay, which would be quite a lot of game for the price. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Bounty Hunter is already on sale? Wow. Well, that’s good news for Star Wars fans, who likely already own everything else in that sale. We also have a good selection of the usual Capcom stuff, a sale on the Tomb Raider remasters, and a very deep discount on the Switch version of Heads Up!. Over in the outbox, don’t forget to stock up on Picross. Everyone needs more Picross! Have a look through both lists. Select New Sales Star Wars Bounty Hunter ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Battlefront Collection ($28.00 from $35.01 until 8/28) Star Wars The Force Unleashed ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Republic Commando ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Episode I Racer ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Jedi Academy ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/28) Star Wars Jedi Outcast ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/28) Star Wars KotOR ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Star Wars KotOR II: Sith Lords ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28) Tomb Raider I-III Remastered ($22.49 from $29.99 until 8/28) MythForce ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/28) Heads Up! Phones Down Edition ($1.99 from $39.99 until 8/28) Street Fighter 30th Anniversary ($9.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Ultra Street Fighter II TFC ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Capcom Fighting Collection ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Capcom Fighting Bundle ($19.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Monster Hunter Generations Ult. ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak ($19.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil Revelations ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil 0 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil 5 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Resident Evil 6 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Mega Man Legacy Collection ($7.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Mega Man X Legacy Collection ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection ($9.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Mega Man Battle Network Collection ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/10) Mega Man 11 ($9.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ($19.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Shinsekai Into the Depths ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Okami HD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection ($9.99 from $29.99 until 9/10) Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10) Capcom Arcade Stadium Bundle ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium Bundle ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/10) Disney Dreamlight Valley Gold ($45.49 from $69.99 until 9/10) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 22nd A Fragile Mind ($2.99 from $5.99 until 8/22) Bunny Garden ($19.54 from $22.99 until 8/22) Conjured Through Death ($2.24 from $14.99 until 8/22) Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/22) Football Manager 2024 Touch ($19.99 from $49.99 until 8/22) Hard Racing Stunt Car Driving ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/22) Hero’s Hour ($8.99 from $17.99 until 8/22) Inkulinati ($17.49 from $24.99 until 8/22) Insurmountable ($18.74 from $24.99 until 8/22) Life of Delta ($6.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Love on Leave ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/22) Maid of the Dead ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Pickleball Smash ($7.99 from $39.99 until 8/22) Picross LogiartGrimoire ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Picross S Genesis & Master System ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/22) Picross S8 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/22) Picross S9 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/22) Plantabi Little Garden ($4.54 from $6.99 until 8/22) Sentimental Death Loop ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Smurfs Kart ($13.99 from $39.99 until 8/22) Starward Rogue Complete ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Survivor Castaway Island ($11.99 from $29.99 until 8/22) The Night of the Rabbit ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Trinity Fusion ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/22) Ultimate Racing 2D 2 ($6.69 from $9.99 until 8/22) You Suck at Parking ($6.79 from $19.99 until 8/22) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the big Thursday new releases. Should be some goodies in there. I hope, anyway. August. It’s rough. We’ll also have whatever sales and major news items that arrive during the course of the day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Digital Extremes has released the next big update for Warframe in the form of The Lotus Eaters update. This update …

Continue reading "‘Warframe’ Prologue Quest for Warframe 1999 The Lotus Eaters and Sevagoth Prime Now Available"

Digital Extremes has released the next big update for Warframe in the form of The Lotus Eaters update. This update brings in a prologue quest for Warframe 1999 which is due this Winter. Alongside that update, Warframe also adds in Sevagoth Prime access from today. If you’ve not played Warframe in a while, The Lotus Eaters is the game’s next story beat available a free narrative chapter. As for Sevagoth Prime access, this includes cosmetics, the Epitaph Prime weapon, and much more. You can collect the required blueprints to craft Sevagoth Prime for free or buy it from the Warframe Marketplace. Digital Extremes also confirms new Jade Shadows TennoGen with a deluxe Ares Skin for Warframe Styanax, the Rhodora Syadana backpiece, and more. Check out the Warframe patch notes here and key art for the update below: Check out Sevagoth Prime art below: Watch the newest game trailer below: If you’ve not played Warframe in a while, read my interview with Creative Director Rebecca Ford about Warframe Jade Shadows and more here. If you’d like to play Warframe on iOS now, you can get it on the App Store for iOS here. Check out the official Warframe Mobile iOS website here. You can pre-register or check out the Android website for the game here. You can also read my interview with Warframe Creative Director Rebecca Ford & Mobile Product Lead Jussi Elonen about the game, cross platform support, controls, and a lot more from launch here. I featured Warframe Mobile as one of the best mobile games of 2024 so far as well. What do you think of Warframe so far if you’ve played it on iOS and what would you like to see added in the next update?

Last week, Gameloft announced the next major and free Disney Dreamlight Valley update for PC and consoles alongside Disney Dreamlight …

Continue reading "‘Disney Dreamlight Valley’ Dapper Delights Update Now Available for Apple Arcade, Consoles, and PC"

Last week, Gameloft announced the next major and free Disney Dreamlight Valley update for PC and consoles alongside Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition () for Apple Arcade in the forming of the Dapper Delights update. This update has now gone live alongside Act III of A Rift in Time. A Rift in Time is the paid expansion for PC and consoles, but it is included in the Apple Arcade release. Today’s update brings in Tiana from Disney’s The Princess with you trying to help set up her own restaurant: Tiana’s Palace. A Rift in Time Act III brings in Rapunzel, EVE, Gaston, and Oswald joining in for a final confrontation with Jafar. Watch the new Disney Dreamlight Valley Dapper Delights update launch trailer below: If you’ve not gotten it yet, you can download Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition on Apple Arcade here. Read my review of Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition here. It is also available as a paid game with the expansion pass sold separately or in a bundle on all other platforms including Switch and Steam. It plays great on Steam Deck if you’re curious about that version. Check out the official website here for details on the expansion pass and more. Head over to our forum thread for Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition here. We also have a dedicated Apple Arcade forum for discussion on the service and every game included here. What do you think of Disney Dreamlight Valley if you’ve been playing it recently and will you be getting back for this update today?

Another mobile reveal from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 was the latest trailer for the open world dress up game …

Continue reading "Open World Dress Up Game ‘Infinity Nikki’ Gets New Trailer With Closed Beta Sign Ups Now Live, Pre-Registrations Also Available"

Another mobile reveal from Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 was the latest trailer for the open world dress up game Infinity Nikki (Free) from developer Papergames. This was announced for mobile and PC a little while ago, and was also confirmed for PS5 which seems like the home for free to play games these days on the console side. The newest reveal for Infinity Nikki includes a trailer and also pre-registrations going live. The full game for Infinity Nikki will also have English voice over and the German localization is available for those to try out at the Gamescom showfloor. Sign-ups for the global Closed Beta Test are also now live. Watch the newest trailer for Infinity Nikki below: Infinity Nikki will launch with text support for English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, German, French, Thai, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, and Indonesian. Audio support will be available for English, Chinese (Simplified), and Japanese. If you’d like to sign up for the closed beta, you can do so here. A release date has not been announced so treat the date listed on the App Store page as a placeholder for now. You can pre-order Infinity Nikki on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. Pre-registration for console is not live yet. As a different premise than usual for an open world game, I’m curious to try this one on iOS and PS5. What do you think of Infinity Nikki so far?

Following its announcement recently, Netflix’s upcoming multiplayer game based on Squid Game, Squid Game: Unleashed, has gotten its first reveal …

Continue reading "‘Squid Game: Unleashed’ Gets Full Trailer at Gamescom 2024, More Games Announced for Netflix"

Following its announcement recently, Netflix’s upcoming multiplayer game based on Squid Game, Squid Game: Unleashed, has gotten its first reveal gameplay trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024. Squid Game: Unleashed is a 32 player showdown featuring challenges from the show in addition to new ones for the game. There will be daily missions and events inspired by the brand’s universe. Squid Game: Unleashed is in development at Boss Fight (a Netflix Game Studio) and Season 2 of the show arrives this December. Watch the first Squid Game: Unleashed gameplay trailer below: Alongside that, Netflix also revealed other games coming to the service in the near future including the Monument Valley series. These include recently-released games like Diner Out and Ludo King: Netflix with more coming soon like Battleship, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and Snake.io. So far, Netflix has been killing it with quality releases on mobile. I hope the service continues to bring premium quality titles and also older games to the service while not just adding engagement focused releases like other gaming services have been doing these past months on other platforms. What do you think of the current slate of Netflix Games titles arriving this year and will you be trying any of the new games?

During Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, HoYoverse had reveals and new information for each of its main games. Genshin Impact …

Continue reading "Gamescom 2024: Zenless Zone Zero, Honkai Star Rail, and Genshin Impact See New Announcements and Trailers"

During Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, HoYoverse had reveals and new information for each of its main games. Genshin Impact (Free) will see its major 5.0 update release next week bringing in the brand new region and much more. For Genshin Impact, HoYoverse’s big reveal was that it is coming to Xbox Series X on November 20th. Alongside this news, a new look at Natlan was also revealed in the Gamescom 2024 trailer for Genshin Impact. Watch it below: Zenless Zone Zero (Free) just had its major 1.1 update launch, the first big one for the game since launch, and Gamescom 2024’s trailer had a tease of the new region coming in version 1.2. This will be the base for the next chapter of the Zenless Zone Zero story. The trailer also highlighted some of the Zenless Zone Zero 1.1 characters. Watch it below: Honkai Star Rail (Free) had a trailer showcasing Feixiao, who is joining the game in the near future. Feixiao is a female warrior from the Xianzhou Yaoqing who will be added to Honkai Star Rail in version 2.5. The trailer also had new information about the upcoming Honkai Star Rail Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collaboration. Watch it below: You can grab Genshin Impact on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. The PC version is available on the official website here and the Epic Games Store. It is coming to Xbox Series X on November 20th. Grab Honkai Star Rail yet for iOS here, on Google Play for Android here, and here on the Epic Games Store in addition to its regular PC version. Check it out here on PS5. You can download Zenless Zone Zero on the App Store for iOS here and on Google Play for Android here. Check out the links to the PS5 and PC versions here. What do you think of HoYoverse’s reveals?

I did not have Another Eden, beloved mobile role-playing game, having a crossover event with The King of Fighters, legendary …

Continue reading "Legendary Fighting Series ‘The King of Fighters’ Crosses Over into ‘Another Eden’ with the “Another Bout” Event that Kicks Off August 22nd"

I did not have Another Eden, beloved mobile role-playing game, having a crossover event with The King of Fighters, legendary fighting game series from SNK, on my Bingo card, but here we are! Actually I shouldn’t be surprised, as Another Eden crossing over with popular IPs from all walks of the universe is nothing new, and they always do a fantastic job with it. This latest crossover, which is titled Another Bout, is no exception. Aldo gets a mysterious invite to a fighting tournament, and before he knows it him and his party are transported into the world of The King of Fighters, where they get to fight alongside some of the series’ most recognizable and beloved characters: Terry Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, Mai Shiranui, and Kula Diamond. Together you’ll play through a brand new branching story with the ability to unlock the King of Fighters characters for use throughout the rest of Another Eden. The Another Bout event really leans into its fighting game crossover by providing a new battle arena where you can pick a team of 3 fighters and fight against another team of 3. Skills have been replaced with actual fighting game-style input combos, and you’ll need to learn to chain your moves together in order to unleash your Special Moves. At the end of it all you’ll face off against Rugal, longtime King of Fighters boss and tournament mastermind. The Another Bout crossover event in Another Eden officially kicks off this Thursday, August 22nd across PC, iOS, and Android, so be sure to check it out.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 20th, 2024. In today’s article, I’ve got a couple …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse’, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 20th, 2024. In today’s article, I’ve got a couple more reviews for you. I’ve got my take on the lovely remaster of Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, plus my thoughts on the rather messy Elrentaros Wanderings. Then there’s one new release to check out, plus the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Not a very busy day today, but that works out well for my schedule. Let’s go! Reviews & Mini-Views Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered ($19.99) Ten years ago, you would never have expected things to end up the way they did for Telltale Games. Having just wrapped up The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season Two, the adventure game publisher seemed like it was nigh unstoppable. Just a few years later, everything fell apart. And here we are in 2024, happy to see any of those pieces picked up and made available again. For all of Telltale’s problems, there was really something to the games it released. Adventure games were finally part of the popular conversation again, and it was in no small part thanks to Telltale’s work. That’s why I’m happy to see what I feel is the heart and soul of Telltale Games fully available on Switch via this release. To a great extent, Sam & Max Save the World brought Telltale into the eyes of many players. The follow-up, Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space kept the ball rolling. The last of the trilogy, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse feels in some ways like the end of a particular era. Scant months later, Back to the Future: The Game would launch its first episode, and it laid down the track that Telltale would drive on for the next several years. Big licenses, a focus on character relationships, and less of a focus on traditional puzzle-solving. Nothing wrong with that, of course. I just happen to like what Telltale was up to before that. So, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse. The first two Sam & Max seasons from Telltale came off like the developer was trying to find its feet. Good, to be sure. But sometimes lacking in confidence, and the games seemed to be put together on a shoestring budget. The Devil’s Playhouse was different. The writers were clearly comfortable with these characters enough to take them places. Telltale had sharpened its skills significantly and had more money to put into projects. It shows. The story here is excellent. Irreverent, funny, and smart the way you would hope a Sam & Max game would be, but with a slightly darker tone that adds a bit of spice. The puzzle design is refined without being toothless. The locations you visit are well-realized. The last episode (remember episodic games?) doesn’t quite stick the landing, but it’s hard to be too upset about it given the quality of the rest. This Remastered version follows in the footsteps of the last two. In cooperation with members of the original team, the visuals have been enhanced in a number of ways. The lighting is more interesting, the lip-flap is better, and there have even been some adjustments to the cinematography. It’s not too strong by any means, maintaining the feel of the original release. It’s Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse as you perhaps remember it, not how it actually was. I’ve been quite pleased with how these remasters have been handled thus far, and I didn’t expect the team to drop the ball here. A fine job all-around, one the whole team can be proud of. Out of all the things that could be salvaged from the defunct original form of Telltale Games, the Sam & Max trilogy was just about the highest on my list. Now, with this excellent remaster of The Devil’s Playhouse, that job is complete. If you’ve never played a Sam & Max game before, feel free to slide on in with Sam & Max Save the World and see it through to the end of The Devil’s Playhouse. It’s quite the wild ride. If you have played these games before, the enhanced presentation might just convince you to go for a replay. They quite literally don’t make them like this anymore. SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5 Elrentaros Wanderings ($39.99) Sometimes it feels like a game is just a few smart tweaks away from greatness. And then there are games like Elrentaros Wanderings. The basic premise is solid enough, and one that gets the engine running when you find out this game is from Rune Factory’s creator. You’re an amnesiac wanderer who comes across the town of Elrentaros. The people there are friendly, if a little one-note, and they have all kinds of work for an adventurer like yourself. Dungeon work, mainly. As time progresses you can get closer with the townspeople and deepen your bonds with them. So far, not so unusual. But then you beat a boss, and suddenly you’re in a school setting in modern Japan. All the townspeople of Elrentaros are there, but they’re acting differently and don’t seem to know you. What is going on? That’s a good hook. Good enough to keep me happily playing despite how tired I was getting of running the uninteresting dungeons again and again, trying to complete objectives and get my gear in shape. Bored of seeing the same enemies, just in a new color palette. If I beat that next boss, I can move towards resolving this mystery. If I keep talking to these uninteresting townspeople, maybe I can see where this all goes. I wish I could say it was worth it in the end, but it wasn’t. A decent story, but not one worth the slog of playing through this game. Anyway, the basic loop here follows a fairly standard looter dungeon crawler template. Dive into the dungeon, battle enemies, get some new gear, dive in again, and so on. There are multiple dungeons to tackle here that each culminate in a boss battle. What’s different here is that powering up your character is more a matter of completing particular tasks in each dungeon and reaping the rewards. You won’t know what those tasks are on your first run, and you really do need to check off those lists to keep your character strong enough to push forward. At a bare minimum, you’ll be doing each dungeon twice. Beyond gear and more direct power-ups, you’ll also get your hands on gifts that you can offer up to the townspeople to win their favor. That pursuit has its own rewards, so you don’t want to neglect it either. The problem is that just about none of this is very interesting. The townspeople aren’t very deep or well-written. The dungeon layouts are bland and certainly aren’t better on subsequent runs. The enemies are cool the first time you see them, but you’ll be seeing them again and again in slightly different colors. The battle system offers little to sink your teeth into, and the loot fails to hit the spot the way it ought to in a game like this. The story is spread far too thin across the gameplay, a meager oasis in a vast, exhausting desert of repetition. I was enjoying this game early on, patient to see how things unfolded as it went on, but the reward never came. I think if you are okay with a pure grind, Elrentaros Wanderings might not turn you off the way it did me. But if you have even the slightest allergy to excessive banality, then this game is likely to have you heading for the hills. Its few good ideas are squandered by watering down the broth too much, stretching far too little content far too far. Not without any merit, but thoroughly disappointing. SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5 Select New Releases Stumble Guys (Free) Here’s a Switch version of Stumble Guys, the game that seems to have wrested the ball away from Fall Guys and ran with it. Up to thirty-two players compete online in a variety of events and modes. The game is free to start, just like on other platforms. But there are a wide range of ways to spend your real cash, so don’t you worry about that. Anyway, it’s free, it’s here, try it if you want or walk on past if you don’t. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) Not a whole lot to get excited about today, beyond Dadish and company being on sale. All good games, from Dadish on down. Buy and enjoy. Over in the outbox, the main thing of note is Kairosoft’s latest sale wrapping up. It won’t take but a minute to check those lists, so you might as well do just that. Select New Sales Rack and Slay ($5.09 from $5.99 until 8/25) Sagres ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/26) Gravity Oddity ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/26) Warhammer 40k Dakka Squadron ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/26) Guilt Battle Arena ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/26) Chippy & Noppo ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/27) Soundfall ($4.49 from $29.99 until 8/27) Last Encounter ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/2) Ultra Foodmess ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/2) Dadish ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Dadish 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Dadish 3 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Dadish 3D ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/10) Daily Dadish ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Super Fowlst ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10) Super Fowlst 2 ($2.00 from $10.00 until 9/10) Molecano ($1.99 from $8.00 until 9/10) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 21st 50 Pinch Barrage ($4.29 from $4.99 until 8/21) 8-Colors Star Guardians + ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/21) Attack of the Karens ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/21) Cafe Master Story ($6.00 from $12.00 until 8/21) Children of Morta Complete ($7.99 from $26.99 until 8/21) Claire: Extended Cut ($2.99 from $14.99 until 8/21) Goliath Depot ($3.49 from $6.99 until 8/21) High Seas Saga DX ($6.00 from $12.00 until 8/21) Oh!Edo Towns ($4.62 from $14.00 until 8/21) Pocket Stables ($3.96 from $12.00 until 8/21) Whitestone ($3.99 from $19.99 until 8/21) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new games, more sales, perhaps some news, and maybe even a review? I wouldn’t bet too much money on that last one, but who knows? I have a family thing tonight, and so I’m cutting out a little early today. Don’t tell the boss! I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Gamescom is kicking off in Cologne, Germany as we speak, and during their Opening Night Live event they’ve already revealed …

Continue reading "‘Monument Valley 3’ Coming to Netflix Games in December, ‘Monument Valley 1 & 2’ Heading to the Service in the Coming Months As Well"

Gamescom is kicking off in Cologne, Germany as we speak, and during their Opening Night Live event they’ve already revealed some major news across all of gaming. One of the big announcements that pertains to us in the mobile gaming world is the official unveiling of Monument Valley 3 from developer ustwo, which will be arriving as part of the Netflix Games library on December 10th. We’ve known that Monument Valley 3 was in the works since at least July of 2019 so it’s very satisfying to see some real news about when we’ll be able to get our hands on this latest entry in the legendary puzzle game series. Here’s the announcement teaser. As you can see, it’s not just Monument Valley 3 that’s heading to Netflix Game, but the previous two entries will also be making their way to the service. The original Monument Valley will hit Netflix next month on September 19th with the sequel Monument Valley 2 making its way to Netflix on October 29th. It’s been clear for a while now that Netflix Games is not messing around when it comes to bringing high profile titles to their mobile library, and Monument Valley 3 is certainly another one to add to the list. The trailer also says to expect more news about the game during the Netflix Geeked Week which is set to take place from September 16-19th, so look for some more about Monument Valley 3 then.

When thinking about the classics or games I’d recommend people play on mobile, Mini Metro is one of the best …

Continue reading "Exclusive: Dinosaur Polo Club Interview – CEO Amie Wolken on Mini Metro, Mini Motorways, the Team, Free DLC, Working With Apple, Ports, and More"

When thinking about the classics or games I’d recommend people play on mobile, Mini Metro is one of the best by far. Sure, it is on other platforms, but having played it just about everywhere, the iOS version is my favorite. When Dinosaur Polo Club announced and released Mini Motorways, I was curious if it would manage to deliver something amazing again. The team did. Since then, we’ve seen both games get multiple updates including a collaboration between them. A few weeks ago, I had a chance to talk to Dinosaur Polo Club’s new CEO Amie Wolken about the studio, the Mini series, canceled projects, coffee, expanding the studio, working with Apple, Nintendo, the future, and more for an exclusive interview. This was conducted on a video call. It was then transcribed and edited for brevity in the case of some portions. TouchArcade (TA): Before getting to the things you’ve been doing recently, can you tell me a little bit about what you’re doing right now at Dinosaur Polo Club. Amie Wolken (AW): I’ve come on board as the new CEO and it means working with the team to set strategy and vision for the next few years, and to really get them humming on the next project that they’re working on. TA: You previously were the Studio Director at Weta Workshop’s games studio and you worked on Tales of the Shire as Lead Game Programmer. How was it working at the game studio and also how was it working on Tales of the Shire which is supposed to finally be coming out later this year? AW: It was amazing. I was the Lead Game programmer on Tales of the Shire and before that, I had been working closely with the Magic Leap and Weta Workshop collaboration working in the augmented reality space. I’d been focused on the technical side of things and after Weta Workshop went on its own journey of game development after the Magic Leap collaboration, we decided to pursue Tales of the Shire as our first game as an independent game studio and it was amazing to be there from the ground up working on the Prototype. TA: Since you joined earlier this year, I think it was April, how involved have you been with the two current live game projects: Mini Metro and Mini Motorways. I ask because both of them still get updates despite Mini Metro being really old now. It is getting a lot of great support. AW: I try to stay involved over only in the periphery. The game teams know best what their games need, and so my role is more to support them to make sure that they have what they need to make the games great, and to work closely with them on long-term strategies for those games. What does the studio need out of those games and then really enable the teams to just do their good work on the games itself. TA: How did you end up getting in touch with Dinosaur Polo Club to basically take over as CEO? When I was looking at when you took over, everyone was very positive from the start looking at reactions from developers around. AW: So I saw the role advertised, and I’ve also known quite a few people who worked at dinosaur Polo Club over the years. So a couple of people let me know that they were looking for a new CEO and so I applied. So I just went through their application process. Yeah. TA: Did you play a lot of Mini Metro and Motorways before taking over? AW: I did not. In fact, I think I played Mini Metro when I applied for the job. I thought I better play the games. *laughs* TA: What does the day in your life look like right now as CEO of Dinosaur Polo Club? AW: That’s a good question and honestly it changes all the time. Recently and after a few months of being in the job, I thought that the studio could benefit from sort of a few weeks of tools down and coming together as a team, and working on sort of high level studio goals. So actually a lot of my time over the past couple of months has been working on that. We called it a studio pause, and we put tools down on the games, and we really focused on coming together as a team and trying to envision the future that we wanted as a studio. So a lot of work was done around that and then there’s a lot of work around budgeting and finance, making sure that we’re compliant, and making sure that we have good practices and processes in the team. So policies, making sure that leadership development is well supported and it really kind of depends on what the team needs at the moment. Working with the teams on pitching upcoming products and projects. TA: So when you joined Dinosaur Polo Club, I saw “Foster great culture and games" mentioned a few times. Obviously the studio pause seems like one of the major steps to having great culture to get everyone together and stuff. But I was curious what other things are planned for this year on that front to help grow the team? AW: I mean, we always take growing the team and onboarding quite seriously. So having good recruitment processes and practices to make sure that you’re finding people who want to come on the same journey as the studio is on, and part of that means having a clear idea of where you’re kind of going as a studio, and exactly like you said, the pause was really designed to make sure that everyone in the studio, because we’re a small studio at 30 people, so everyone is on the same page with the way we’re going, which means that everybody can be ambassadors for who we are, and what we’re creating together, and it also helps to speed up decision making processes because everybody is on the same page about where we are going and we’re going there together. Now we’ve actually got a lot of really great information and the pause as well. So we generated a lot of really good ideas for what we could do going forward, and part of what I’ll be doing is looking at that and carrying forward some of the ideas that came out of that around how we sort of live our values and what it means to be part of Dinosaur Polo Club, and what it means for us to create an impact in the world in the way that we want to do it sustainably and looking after our people while we make games. The future and for the rest of this year I suppose, a significant portion of that will be taking what we’ve learned in the pause and applying that in practice going forward. TA: So you’ve been there since April till right now. That’s less than six months. How have you grown with the team? How does it feel for you and have you accomplished what you wanted to in a few months? I know it is a very short time for this kind of question, but given the positive sentiment around the studio and announcements, I was curious how it has been for you over the course of this period. AW: It has been great. I do feel like I have grown with the team over the last few months. A lot of my time, especially in the first couple of months, was just listening to the team trying to figure out where everyone was at, trying to figure out where the pain points were. Everything that you put out you try to look at the positives. Every team has things that they can work on and Dinosaur Polo Club is no different. The first few months were listening to the team, figuring out where I could have the biggest impact, and then the pause was sort of what came out of that. TA: Before asking specific questions about the games, since you’ve been the CEO for a few months, have you been involved with any of the teams working with Apple and other platform holders? Dinosaur Polo Club has Mini Motorways which is one of the best Apple Arcade games right now even though it is also on other platforms. Have you been working with Apple in any way or is that another team at the studio? AW: I have been involved in conversations with Apple on a regular basis. TA: I first played Mini Metro on iOS many years ago. Since then the game has been ported to a lot of platforms. Mini Motorways launched directly as an Apple Arcade exclusive and that made its way to Nintendo Switch and Steam. I still feel like the games are best on a nice big touch screen like an iPad because you get the gorgeous visuals and you have direct interaction with them. I wanted to know if you could comment on how the games have been doing outside mobile because it feels like these are very much designed for touch screens? I know some folks play them with a controller or a mouse as well on Switch or Steam. AW: It’s not something I’m really super close to. I don’t think it’s any surprise that the games do play really well on the touchscreens, but there is a wide audience that are enjoying the games, and we try and make sure that we’re designing the games to support those audiences too, and all of the controls that we support. But I agree, I think that there is some nice synergy there with the touch screen in there and iPads and iPhones. TA: A few weeks ago, Dinosaur Polo Club announced that it was working on a game which has now been canceled called Magic School. This announcement was interesting for a few reasons. Obviously having a game canceled is never a good thing, but the phrasing of the announcement and the response has been very positive with how you all are trying to take the best from the situation and move forward. How was it working towards that announcement for you and the team? AW: I wasn’t actually involved in making the decision to cancel. I was there for the tail end of it, but that decision had already been made as I was onboarding. So I don’t want to speak closely to it. I think there are other team members who are much closer to that decision and that project then been, but I have been there to talk to the team as they sort of process the impact of canceling a project that had been worked on for years, and that is significant. It was a piece of work that many people care deeply about and had poured their creative hearts and souls into, so we’re always very conscious of that, and I think that’s a big part of why you want to share as well the efforts that have gone into a project that doesn’t necessarily make it to launch, but had a huge potential, a huge amount of talent, and effort that went into it, so it is a pleasure to be able to share those when you can. I’m really glad that we were able to do that for the team who worked on it and for the studio as a whole as well. TA: Getting back to Apple Arcade. Can you comment on whether anything has changed in the last few months for how your work with Apple or things still going smoothly and is everyone happy with the arrangement you have with them? Mini Motorways still gets updates so it is still ongoing. I also wanted to know if there are any plans to do any more projects with Apple? AW: Yeah, that’s probably not something that I can comment on right now, but I can say that we’ve got an incredible relationship with Apple and we really enjoy working with them. TA: You said you played Mini Metro when you were working on getting this role and stuff, but since joining, have you started playing them and giving any feedback to the team directly? AW: No. Even though I have been a game developer, and because I’ve not been a game developer of this style of games, or involved in developing the Mini games, I’m super tentative to have creative opinions unless they are looking for creative opinions from lay people who are under NDA. That is where I really try to power the team who are the creative masterminds behind the Mini series, and sometimes the weight that your opinion can carry as a CEO, certainly in my situation would far outweigh any actual practical relevance of my opinion. TA: You mentioned since taking over that Dinosaur Polo Club is a small studio. Is there any need to grow the studio? AW: We’re pretty good. We do have a small plan for bringing on new people as we start developing more products as well. We have an ambition to remain a small studio. So, in terms of studio size, we would love to not grow Beyond say 40 to 45 people. That is kind where we want to go in terms of the kinds of games that we make. We want to make sure that we stay small. We want to make sure that we can still know everybody’s names. We know everybody that we work with and focus on making games within that capacity and excelling at that rather than expanding and expanding. TA: Mini Metro is on iOS, Android, Apple Arcade, PC, Switch and PS4. Mini Motorways is on Apple Arcade, Switch, and Steam. Are there any plans to bring them to Xbox and also to bring Mini Motorways to PlayStation and have you noticed any demand to bring your games to more platforms? AW: It hasn’t featured highly in the conversations that I’ve had in the studio. That’s not to say that there isn’t demand or there hasn’t been conversations, but it’s just that they haven’t been conversations that have been a high enough priority in the last few months for it to be raised with me. TA: You said that you were happy with how the team has been handling Mini Metro and Mini Motorways. Has anything changed since you took over where the team now feels like it can do more with the games? Both games are pretty great as it is. AW: I think everybody can expect that Mini Motorways will continue to have some exciting updates. The team is working on an update plan and the strategy is fully behind supporting Motorways to continue to be supported and content updates. So I think people can expect to see cool things coming out of Motorways. TA: That leads into my next question well. Both games are successful critically and they’ve gotten a ton of post-launch support through free content updates. Has there been any consideration to doing a paid expansion for any of them? AW: No, we’re pretty set on the free content update strategy. TA: So basically have a premium game and support it for years and build your audience who wants to keep supporting you as a publisher? AW: That’s right. TA: How do you like your coffee? AW: I drink oat flat white. I’d like to thank Amie Wolken from Dinosaur Polo Club and also Noah Vaca and Yunah Smirnov from Stride PR for their time and help here. You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with FuturLab here, Shuhei Matsumoto from Capcom about Marvel Vs Capcom here, Santa Ragione here, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman about PH3 and Falcom here, M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.

Earlier this year, Feral Interactive’s superb iOS version of Alien: Isolation (Free) was updated to change the game’s business model …

Continue reading "‘Alien: Isolation’ for Android Is Now a Free To Start Release Just Like iOS Letting Everyone Try Two Missions for Free"

Earlier this year, Feral Interactive’s superb iOS version of Alien: Isolation (Free) was updated to change the game’s business model to be free to try with a single in app purchase for the full game unlock. Today, Alien: Isolation on Android has been updated to be a free to try game just like the iOS version. With this, Android players can sample the first two missions. After that, a single in app purchase will be required to unlock the full game for $13.49. Those who own the game already should see no change. For new customers, the saves from the first two free missions will carry over to the full game once the full game unlock purchase is complete. Watch the new trailer for Alien: Isolation on iOS and Android below: I featured Alien: Isolation as one of the best games to play with keyboard and mouse on iPad, and I assume it plays well on Android tablets as well. If you’ve not gotten it yet on iOS, read my glowing review of the game here covering the game at launch. We featured it as our Game of the Week as well when it launched. The full version of Alien: Isolation on mobile includes all seven DLC packs in its unlock price of $14.99. You can grab Alien: Isolation for free on the App Store here and on Google Play here. Check out our forum thread here. Have you played Alien: Isolation on mobile yet or will you be trying it today for free?

I’ve been a big fan of SIGONO’s OPUS series of narrative adventure games for a long time. If you’ve not …

Continue reading "‘OPUS: Prism Peak’, the Newest Entry in the Amazing ‘OPUS’ Series, Gets New Gameplay Screenshots"

I’ve been a big fan of SIGONO’s OPUS series of narrative adventure games for a long time. If you’ve not checked it out yet, OPUS: The Day We Found Earth (Free) is a great place to start but OPUS: Echo of Starsong, the newest release, is brilliant as well if you want to try a newer game. Read my review of the mobile version of that release here. Following its reveal back in January last year, SIGONO’s latest project, OPUS: Prism Peak, is shaping up to be another excellent narrative adventure game. With Gamescom 2024 beginning today, SIGONO has shared new screenshots for OPUS: Prism Peak in addition to a gameplay trailer that I missed from a few weeks ago. Watch the newest OPUS: Prism Peak gameplay trailer below: Check out a new screenshot from OPUS: Prism Peak below: OPUS: Prism Peak will feature multiple endings and it has you playing as a photographer using your camera to find your way back home from an ethereal realm. The music in OPUS: Prism Peak will be from Triodust and Audio Textural with a story from Brian Lee who wrote OPUS: Echo of Starsong. While OPUS: Prism Peak hasn’t been announced for mobile yet, my interview with Scott Chen, co-founder of SIGONO and executive producer of the OPUS series, mentioning Echo of Starsong on iOS being like returning home gives me hope to see this one on mobile as well at some point. You can wishlist OPUS: Prism Peak here as of now. It hasn’t been officially announced for more platforms yet. Have you played the OPUS games and what do you think of OPUS: Prism Peak so far?

Back in May, Dysmantle ($9.99) from 10tons Ltd. got its final major content update on Steam. Dysmantle version 1.4.0 titled …

Continue reading "Dysmantle’s Final Major Update Is Now Live on iOS Bringing In Ark Level 4, Night Terrors, Link Towers, and Much More"

Back in May, Dysmantle ($9.99) from 10tons Ltd. got its final major content update on Steam. Dysmantle version 1.4.0 titled “The Final Patch" brought in Night Terrors, Link Towers, Ark level 4, and more on PC as the team started working on porting it to other platforms. Earlier today, Dysmantle 1.4.0 hit iOS and it isn’t live on Android as of this writing. After day 24 in-game Night Terrors are a new enemy type for the base map. The Frore and Hibernus regions have been expanded and DLC owners will be able to use Link Towers to travel between base and DLC maps thanks to today’s update. Dysmantle was one of our favorite games of 2022, and with all of its paid DLC and updates, it is even better. With it being content complete, now is a great time to jump in. Watch the Dysmantle Pets & Dungeons DLC trailer below: If you’ve not gotten it yet, we featured Dysmantle as our our Game of the Week when it hit iOS. Dysmantle has you trying to escape the island by breaking everything for materials, fight creatures, survive, build outputs, and more. You can grab the iOS version of Dysmantle for $9.99 (or regional equivalent) usually with it being discounted once in a while. If you’d like to play Dysmantle on iOS, you can grab it here on the App Store. It is available on Android here. Check out the official website for Dysmantle here. Make sure to head over to our forum thread for more discussion around it here. Have you played Dysmantle yet and will you be trying out the final content update this week?

One of the biggest advantages to PC gaming is having access to multiple generations of game releases. We’ve seen entire …

Continue reading "Musou Games on Steam Deck – Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi, Empires, and Much More Tested on Steam Deck OLED"

One of the biggest advantages to PC gaming is having access to multiple generations of game releases. We’ve seen entire franchises released over time, and in many cases, Steam has more entries in a single franchise than consoles where said franchises began. With Omega Force and Koei Tecmo’s Musou or Warriors games, I usually enjoy playing them on a portable, and have played tons on PS Vita, 3DS, and Nintendo Switch over the years. The Steam Deck changed things, but Koei Tecmo’s older ports are not the best. This got me thinking of an article and here we are. There is a very specific kind of person I’m aiming to help with this feature, and I’ve gotten every Koei Tecmo published Musou/Warriors game installed on my Steam Deck to see how they run (or don’t run) today. I also want to help those with multiple platforms decide if they should play a game on Steam Deck or another platform here. What is a Musou game or Warriors game? For a lot of newer fans of the genre including myself with Hyrule Warriors on 3DS, Koei Tecmo and Omega Force’s Musou or Warriors games basically are hack and slash action games where you play as a character plowing down hundreds of enemies on a battlefield, but also doing things like taking down captains (more powerful enemies), capturing forts, taking down bosses, and much more. Over the years, we’ve seen Omega Force bring this formula to many collaboration projects like Fire Emblem Warriors and Hyrule Warriors for Nintendo, One Piece Pirate Warriors for Bandai Namco, and even bring elements from the Warriors games to action RPGs like Dragon Quest Heroes for Square Enix and Persona 5 Strikers for SEGA/Atlus. Basically, the Warriors games are the best podcast games or mindless fun games as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve been playing every single one that was released after getting into the genre. My testing setup for Musou games on Steam Deck I played all of them on my Steam Deck OLED, used an external controller as well to see how the games handle those, and then tried different Proton versions to see if performance improves or issues are fixed. I’ve also specified Valve’s rating if applicable for every game featured here. Note that the Steam Deck Verification system is not even close to perfect, and hopefully this article helps you realize that and also find your next favorite Musou. Samurai Warriors 4 DX Samurai Warriors 4 DX is Steam Deck Verified. On my Steam Deck OLED, out of the box Samurai Warriors 4 DX runs with a 60fps target, but drops to the mid 40s often during busy combat when played at 720p. I turned everything low or off and had it running around the 50s in the test area. I then turned everything on and used the high preset. This is good for a 30fps target because the game hovered between 30 and 40fps. As of this writing, a locked 60fps is not possible at 720p as far as I can tell. I hope this can be improved in patches. The high and medium presets look very good on the handheld screen. Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition is Steam Deck Playable for not setting the native res by default. On my Steam Deck OLED, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition defaulted to a very low resolution. After setting it to 720p, everything went smoothly at 60fps. I didn’t need to change anything, but I turned shadows down as usual since I always do in most games to ensure the performance doesn’t drop later on. Touken Ranbu Warriors Touken Ranbu Warriors is Steam Deck Verified. Touken Ranbu Warriors runs fine across the board including cut-scenes. I played at 720p and medium graphics quality on Steam Deck. It runs and looks a lot better than the Switch version, and this one also targets 60fps. I don’t really have much to say about this one aside from the Steam Deck is my favorite way to play it by far. If you like Touken Ranbu, this one is worth getting, but there are better Warriors games on this list to consider before getting this one as a newcomer. Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is listed as Steam Deck Unsupported. Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires using Proton GE boots up and plays the videos on the title screen, but lacks controller glyphs. I expected this to run a bit better than Dynasty Warriors 9 given it is on Switch as well, but it isn’t an amazing experience. When playing at the low preset and 720p, I saw at most 40fps outside combat. I would not recommend playing Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires on Steam Deck if you have access to the home console versions, but if you want to play on a portable, this is better than Switch, but that’s a low bar given how it runs and looks there. I recommend this one on PS5 or Xbox Series X at this stage. Samurai Warriors 5 Samurai Warriors 5 is listed as Steam Deck Unsupported. Before Samurai Warriors 4 DX released on Steam, this was my favorite Warriors game on the platform. I still love it, but I hadn’t played it since launch year on PC. Revisiting it showed me that it can run ok and look very good, but the performance is a bit iffy. A friend of mine recommended using Proton GE, so I ran it with 9-9 and turned shadows to low. This helped a lot and it stayed almost locked at 60fps in the three maps from the campaign I revisited to test from my old save. This test definitely made me want to play more Samurai Warriors 5. It is superb. DYNASTY WARRIORS 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition DYNASTY WARRIORS 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition is Steam Deck Playable and not Verified because some text may be small, the resolution is not set correctly by default, and because it shows keyboard and mouse prompts on Steam Deck. After setting DYNASTY WARRIORS 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition to 720p it seemed to run perfectly at 60fps, but it started dropping to the mid 50s in the opening stage. I didn’t have any other issues, but there is no Steam Cloud save support. My 30 hour save file from when I used to use a Windows laptop is sadly gone. I can forgive a lot of port issues, but the lack of Steam Cloud is beyond awful in games like this. Despite that, if you are ok with a manual backup, DYNASTY WARRIORS 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition is superb value and it runs a lot better than expected on Steam Deck. Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate Warriors Orochi 4 (Ultimate with the DLC) is Steam Deck Playable for not setting the display resolution by default correctly. Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate can have an issue where it doesn’t display anything, and you can resolve this by forcing fullscreen off by playing the game in Desktop Mode first and then going back to Game Mode on Steam Deck. Aside from that, and it didn’t happen to me, but did happen to a friend, Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate out of the box runs at around 30fps, but if you set it to the low graphics settings from the title screen and run it at 720p, it holds a locked 60fps in the missions I tried. Thankfully, this one does have Steam Cloud support so my save carried over from when I played it before. Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate runs and looks a lot better than the Switch version even at the lowest settings. Dynasty Warriors 9 Dynasty Warriors 9 is Steam Deck Unsupported. This is the big one. Not in terms of its importance, but because Dynasty Warriors 9 is one of the worst-performing games I’ve ever played on console back on PS4 and Xbox One. It is just about good on PS5 and Xbox Series X via backward compatibility. Playing on Steam Deck is not a great experience out of the box. Switching to Proton GE (9-9 in my case) helps, but it still was stretched up and down for some reason regardless of the display mode I chose. Not only are controller glyphs missing even with that, but the default medium preset has it running at about 20fps often with some video playback issues. Turning things to low or off resulted in it running at about 5 or 10fps more, but still not great with how much it was fluctuating. It also didn’t help that the game seems to think I’m playing the trial when I own all the season passes and the base game on Steam. I’ll need to revisit this one later, but I’d skip this on Deck right now. Warriors All-Stars Warriors All-Stars is listed as Steam Deck Playable for not setting the display resolution by default and having a launcher that requires the touchscreen. It does not have Steam Cloud support. After setting Warriors All-Stars’ launcher to 720p, the game refused to display anything but a small dot on Proton Experimental and whatever I used. I realized fullscreen was the issue. Turning fullscreen off in the launcher fixed this. On the default settings, Warriors All-Stars runs at between 40 and 60fps. Playing at low resulted in a smooth 60fps. Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is listed as Steam Deck Unsupported. Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada cannot get to a locked 60 regardless of the setting. In fact, even when using Proton GE to get improved performance, it hovers in the mid 30s. Other than the subpar performance at even low settings, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada runs fine on Steam Deck. This is fine if you want to play at 30fps. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is listed as Steam Deck Unsupported. Just like Spirit of Sanada, I set Berserk and the Band of the Hawk to low, and while that had issues, this one plays fine at 60fps on my Steam Deck OLED in the early parts. The later stages get more chaotic and see drops, but this runs better than the PS4 version by a lot. I used Proton Experimental and disabled fullscreen. That’s basically all I had to do to get Berserk and the Band of the Hawk to run on Steam Deck. Arslan: The Warriors of Legend Arslan: The Warriors of Legend hasn’t been tested by Valve yet. Arslan: The Warriors of Legend has a launcher you navigate with a touchscreen. Beyond that it works fine on Steam Deck and with an external controller outside cut-scenes that displayed a color bar pattern by default. Playing with GE Proton 7-20 resulted in cut-scenes working, but there was no audio in them. I then tried GE 9-9 and had no luck with audio in cut-scenes. Barring the opening cut-scenes, the game seems to hover around 40fps. Not great and without cloud saves, it is hard to recommend on Steam Deck right now. Samurai Warriors 4-II Samurai Warriors 4-II is listed as Steam Deck Unsupported. Without changing any compatibility, Samurai Warriors 4-II doesn’t boot up on Steam Deck. I swapped to GE Proton 9-9 and then Experimental and still had no luck. Going back to Proton 7 had it finally load for me. Samurai Warriors 4-II does not have Steam Cloud support and it also only displays keyboard and mouse button prompts on Steam Deck. When it comes to performance and visuals, it looks good, but performance is erratic. Particle effects during combat tank the frame rate from 60 to the 30s often, and it has shader-related issues as far as I can tell. It can run at 60fps for parts of a battle, but it varies too much. Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires is Steam Deck Unsupported. Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires surprisingly has Steam Cloud support. I say surprisingly because this game is nearly 10 years old, and older Koei Tecmo ports were not good. Either way, after launching the config and disabling fullscreen, I had no trouble playing Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires on Steam Deck with no change to any settings. Performance in the battles I tested was also solid. The only issue is it displays keyboard and mouse button prompts. I couldn’t figure out how to make it display controller prompts as of this writing. DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition is Steam Deck Unsupported. After disabling fullscreen through the config launcher, DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition loads correctly with cut-scenes and audio playing as they should. DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition also displays only keyboard and mouse prompts for some reason. This one sadly does not have Steam Cloud support. If you do own a Nintendo Switch, I’d recommend playing it there despite the fact that DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition runs better on Steam Deck only because all the DLC included on Switch makes that a massively better value proposition right now. I used to play DYNASTY WARRIORS 8 on console, but moved to PC and have gone back to playing it on Switch to treat it as my main platform for that game. Bonus Persona 5 Strikers Persona 5 Strikers is currently Steam Deck Unsupported. Persona 5 Strikers is not a Musou/Warriors game, but it has elements from those games. The reason I’ve included it as a bonus is because it isn’t a traditional Warriors game, but I’ve had a lot of folks ask me about this one when I talk about Warriors games in recent years. On trying to boot it up for the first time, I thought my Steam Deck froze. I waited a whole minute and it was stuck on a black screen. I switched to using Proton GE (9-9) and Persona 5 Strikers finally booted up with cut-scenes and audio playing correctly. I had no issues testing different points of my old save from when I reviewed the game years ago on Steam Deck after that. One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 is currently Steam Deck Playable by Valve for not showing the correct button prompts on Deck. If you’re wondering why I’ve featured One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 and not 4 here, well the latter is region locked and I tried buying a Steam key for it, but that didn’t activate. I do own One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 so I may as well test that as I enjoyed it a lot on Nintendo Switch a few years ago and on PS Vita before. One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 does not have Steam Cloud support. It seems capped to 58 fps regardless of the settings I used. I also couldn’t find a way to get this to show controller prompts on Steam Deck. Just like Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, at this point you’re getting a better experience in One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 by playing on Switch despite the frame rate being variable on Nintendo’s hybrid system. Which is the best Musuo game to buy on Steam Deck? As of now there isn’t a single answer. My top three for Steam Deck are Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition, Samurai Warriors 4 DX, and Samurai Warriors 5. The first two are cheaper and offer more value with DLC included, but I love coming back to Samurai Warriors 5, and having a great version on Steam Deck makes me not want to touch my Switch save anymore. Is the Steam Deck the best portable for Musou games? Well, yes and no. Almost all the multi-platform ones are best on Steam Deck compared to Switch, but there are three particular Nintendo collaboration games that are on Switch (and N3DS for one). Hyrule Warriors Definitive, Fire Emblem Warriors, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes are excellent Warriors/Musuo games that you can’t play on PC. Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity is a technical mess that I do not recommend. Hopefully it runs better on the Nintendo Switch successor whenever that launches. A combination of older Koei Tecmo ports being lacking, some Proton issues, and some features missing mean the PC versions of some of these games in general are not the best way to experience them. Since I own all the Musou/Warriors games from the PS4 and later on all platforms, I usually have a different platform I use for some of them. As an example, Samurai Warriors 4 was best on PS4, but the DX version on Steam Deck is now my favorite. Warriors Orochi 4, I’d play on PS5 or Xbox Series X, but I’ll play Warriors Orochi 3 on Steam Deck. I play Dynasty Warriors 8 and One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 on Switch for the good ports and massive value with all DLC included. Dynasty Warriors 9 I don’t really play anymore outside of listening to the music. Hopefully this helped any Musou fans who own a Steam Deck or are considering getting one to play these games. I can’t wait for Dynasty Warriors: Origins in 2025. The big takeaway for Musou fans who own a Steam Deck, is that you need to spend some time fixing some of the older ports to run well on Steam Deck.

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 19th, 2024. It’s the beginning of a new week, …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘SteamWorld Heist II’, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales"

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 19th, 2024. It’s the beginning of a new week, and we’re doing our usual Monday thing with a couple of reviews for you to enjoy. I’ve got my thoughts on SteamWorld Heist II and… one second, I need to take a sip of water first… That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles. After that, there’s a new release to have a quick gander at, and then the lists of new and expiring sales for the day. Let’s get to today’s business! Reviews & Mini-Views SteamWorld Heist II ($29.99) I’m in a weird zone with the SteamWorld series, I think. I initially missed the DSi Tower Defense game and when I went back to it I found it a bit too intense to enjoy. I loved SteamWorld Dig, and the original SteamWorld Heist was right up my alley. SteamWorld Dig 2 was a big step up from the first game in many ways, but I somehow liked it a little less. SteamWorld Quest was interesting, but didn’t quite come together for me. And SteamWorld Build was a decent game, but the Switch just wasn’t up to running it the way it needed. I think all of these games are of good quality, with a lot of polish and plenty of care put into the designs. But I will admit that the shine has come off of SteamWorld for me to an extent. So here we are with SteamWorld Heist II, which is the second time the developers have revisited a concept within the series. SteamWorld Dig 2 took a relatively simple game and built something far bigger from it, but SteamWorld Heist was already plenty big. And so instead of reinventing the wheel, what Thunderful has done here is to give us a new adventure with slightly refined mechanics and a few new twists. The ocean exploration is the biggest new feature, and it’s fine. A nice break from the turn-based combat, if nothing else. You also get a very in-depth job system, which is very satisfying to tinker with. With that said, all of this is no revolution by any means. I don’t see much space for someone to be blown away moving from the first game to the second as we saw with Dig. On the other hand, that means those who enjoyed what the first game offered can safely dive into this one. One of the big differences with this game comes via its theme, which sees you sailing the high seas battling Dieselbots instead of rocketing through space. Part of the fun of the SteamWorld series has been seeing how the setting gets fleshed out with each installment, and you’ll certainly get some of that here. The humor and writing is as good as ever, giving these ‘bots plenty of charm whether they’re on your team or an enemy you’re going to blast away and never see again. Hats? Yes, you can still shoot off hats and collect them. The side-view turn-based tactical RPG gameplay remains engaging, with the desire to find that perfect shot driving every turn. SteamWorld Heist II isn’t as novel as the first game, and it more or less keeps to what worked before. It can be a little difficult at times, and you’ll always have to be vigilant for gimmicks because some battles are fond of them. The job system is a treat for people who enjoy searching for broken combos, and the overworld exploration breaks up the action while helping to better establish the setting. If you enjoyed SteamWorld Heist and are ready for more of that gameplay, plus some more of that enjoyable SteamWorld lore, you’ll get what you’re looking for with this one. SwitchArcade Score: 4/5 That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles ($49.99) I really am not sure what to do with this one. I’m somewhat familiar with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, at least in its manga form. I dropped off after a while because it was getting a little boring for me, but I stuck around long enough to know the premise and most of the main cast. So, familiar but perhaps not a fan. I don’t dislike it, mind you. I suppose the one thing I can say without doubt about this game is that it doesn’t run as well on the Switch as I’d like. There are some framerate shenanigans going on at times, and with how relatively simple this game looks that really shouldn’t be happening. Alright, let me lay out what you’ve got here. This game retells the story of the series from the start up to the battle against Falmuth, though it speeds through the early stuff. A couple of new game-specific stories have been added, and thankfully they are from the hand of the original author. The gameplay is broken into three styles. There are visual novel-style scenes, sometimes with some animation mixed in. Then, side-scrolling action. You get some basic combos and dodge/counter mechanics here. Nothing fancy, but it’s fun enough. Finally, a very basic city builder. You have to build up the Jura Tempest Federation, after all. It gives you an excuse to grind for materials, basically. And that grind is the key. The gameplay mechanics are a bit too thin to carry things here, and the battles get repetitive in a hurry. Nevertheless, you’ll have to engage in a lot of them. There are sub-quests to complete that can add a little extra spice, but you’ll fall into a loop very early on that never changes much. The fuel that keeps you going is the story, but if you’re familiar with this property you’ll already know most of it. You never really get the sense that you’re playing these stories, thanks to how limited the gameplay is. If you’re not a fan of the series, this is one way to get caught up to a certain point. I think it might be the worst way to digest this story for a first-timer, mind you. Well, this is a common problem with this kind of thing. I think in general, fans will enjoy it. Maybe that’s good enough. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles is probably best enjoyed by those who love the property, but even they’ll find it a somewhat meager meal. The two new stories are interesting, and for a while it’s fun to see these characters in action and build up the Federation. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself never really expands out the way it needs to, so unless you’re in the mood for a whole lot of repetition you might find yourself getting bored fast. SwitchArcade Score: 3/5 Select New Releases Rack and Slay ($5.99) A roguelite dungeon crawler? Boring! Wait a minute… wait a dog-gone minute! Is that hero a… billiard ball?! Well that’s a horse of a completely different color! So yes, this is a game where you’re launching your ball hero at ball enemies to knock them into ball pockets. There are plenty of items to find, and a surprising number of modes to enjoy. A cute idea that works out fairly well in practice. Sales (North American eShop, US Prices) That outbox is very tiny. I like Super Lucky’s Tale a lot even now, though admittedly having an indie 3D platformer isn’t the novelty it once was. As for the new sales, nothing in the list is really speaking to me much. Not that there aren’t good games in there. Gynoug is a good shooter, Superhot is really fun, and Door Kickers has its charms. But all of these are on sale often, so it’s hard to drum up much excitement. Check the lists, do what you must. Select New Sales CounterAttack: Uprising ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/23) Gunman Tales ($2.09 from $6.99 until 8/29) Within the Blade ($3.29 from $10.99 until 8/29) Gynoug ($3.49 from $6.99 until 8/29) Remote Life ($9.49 from $18.99 until 8/29) Vera Blanc: Supernatural Mysteries ($5.59 from $7.99 until 8/29) Cyber Citizen Shockman ($4.19 from $5.99 until 8/29) Gematombe ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/29) Another Crab’s Treasure ($23.99 from $29.99 until 8/31) Neodori Forever ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/3) Blade of Darkness ($2.75 from $14.99 until 9/3) Door Kickers ($1.99 from $11.99 until 9/3) What the Fork ($4.49 from $17.99 until 9/6) Superhot ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/7) Dead in Vinland: True Viking ($2.79 from $27.99 until 9/7) Tchia: Oleti Edition ($23.44 from $34.99 until 9/8) Dormitory Love ($24.49 from $34.99 until 9/8) Dying Light: Definitive Edition ($9.99 from $49.99 until 9/8) Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 20th New Super Lucky’s Tale ($7.49 from $29.99 until 8/20) Road to Valhalla ($3.99 from $7.99 until 8/20) That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new games, more sales, perhaps some reviews, and maybe even some news. I have to visit the doctor again and prepare for a family event in the evening, but we’ll get something together. I hope you all have a marvelous Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Reviewing all the coolest, newest games for Xbox, Playstation, Switch & PC!

Sony has cancelled two live-service titles from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, including a God of War game, reducing their live-service projects to two following recent reviews and past failures.

The Nintendo Switch 2 trailer prominently featured the potential reveal of Mario Kart 9, showcasing new tracks, expanded racer slots, and updated character designs, marking the franchise's return after over a decade.

Nintendo officially announces the Nintendo Switch 2, showcasing an understated reveal trailer. The console supports original Switch titles, but compatibility issues might arise. A new Mario Kart game was mentioned.

PlayStation Plus Extra is adding Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and Medievil 2 this month, featuring enhancements like up-rendering and quick save. Trophy support and purchase options remain unclear.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 was a significant success in 2024, selling 4.5 million copies in a month. Games Workshop reported a major boost in licensing revenue, primarily due to this game.

An Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake has been confirmed on a Ubisoft designer's LinkedIn, highlighting new features and an updated engine, with a potential release pushed to November 2025.

Numerous leaks about the Nintendo Switch 2 suggest a reveal on January 16. Insider Nate the Hate indicates the announcement will focus mainly on the hardware, with few game details, confirming widespread anticipation ahead of the event.

Rumors suggest an upcoming remake of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, featuring major graphical and gameplay improvements using Unreal Engine 5, but concerns remain about maintaining the original's charm.

Ubisoft's Star Wars: Outlaws is deemed a commercial failure, selling less in 2024 than Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. Despite some game improvements planned, Ubisoft faces significant challenges amid declining stock and sales.

Microsoft is reportedly expanding its multiplatform strategy, planning to support Switch 2 and PS5 with titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator and Halo: The Master Chief Collection launching this year.

Free Video Game Alpha & Beta Tests. The Worlds Biggest Beta Testing Site

MINDWAVE is a narrative-driven Sci-Fi adventure where you enter the minds of your opponents and defeat them by completing WarioWare style microgames.

In MINDWAVE you are a young (and rather grouchy) woman who has entered a competition within the Mindscape Tower – the headquarters of MINDSCAPE, the world’s most popular cognitive reality game. There are hundreds of other competitors and as they ascend the tower … Read More

The post MINDWAVE – Kickstarter Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

ODDCORE is a fast paced roguelite boomer shooter that blends vaporwave aesthetics with liminal spaces as you blast corrupted entities in the Backrooms.

Although it takes place in the Backrooms, ODDCORE is a very different take on the setting. You can select a loadout of weapons and equipment, then venture into a series of vaporwave styled Backrooms arenas where you blast hordes of enemies. There … Read More

The post ODDCORE – Beta Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

ANEURISM IV is a multiplayer dystopian sandbox game where you’re a spirit seeking physical form in a world where the working class toils endlessly and a force called the Rot threatens to consume everything.

In ANEURISM IV you’ll be given complete freedom in how you interact with its decaying urban landscape. Players can choose various roles – from loyal Cortex enforcers to chaos-spreading Zealots – … Read More

The post ANEURISM IV – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Tears of Metal is a medieval hack-and-slash roguelike where players lead a Scottish battalion to reclaim their homeland following the mysterious Dragon Meteor event.

Currently in development by Paper Cult (creators of Bloodroots) Tears of Metal combines brutal combat with strategic progression, allowing solo or cooperative gameplay across 45 handcrafted battlefields. Players can choose from multiple unique heroes, each wielding devastating combinations of powers … Read More

The post Tears of Metal – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Iron Roads is a post-apocalyptic train management game set in a world where humans have vanished and animals rule.

Promising a unique take on the train management genre, Iron Roads is a top-down 2D simulation game that tasks players with connecting isolated animal communities through an intricate railway network. Players must strategically lay tracks, manage trains, and establish efficient routes while balancing resources and passenger … Read More

The post Iron Roads – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

The Last Grape is a fast-paced action platforming adventure that puts you in control of a skilled ninja grape on a quest for vengeance.

In The Last Grape you take on the role of a ninja grape who’s seeking revenge against a ruthless and greedy corporation. You’ll battle your way through lush forests, neon-lit cities and treacherous caves, with each environment presenting unique challenges and … Read More

The post The Last Grape – Beta Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Becoming Saint offers a unique blend of real-time strategy and roguelike elements set in the vibrant landscape of medieval Italy.

In Becoming Saint you’ll embark on a spiritual journey, striving to achieve sainthood through conversion, conquest, and divine leadership. You’ll craft their own religious doctrine and lead a diverse group of followers across the Italian peninsula.

With 16 different unit types to unlock and command, … Read More

The post Becoming Saint – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Glitch Gears features a very odd blend of racing and Vampire Survivors style auto-shooter gameplay as you race along a highway, dodging traffic and earning perks.

In Glitch Gears you speed along a highway being pursued by the cops. You need to dodge traffic to keep your speed up but you also earn points for dangerous driving. These points allow you to level up, which … Read More

The post Glitch Gears – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Haunted PS1 is back with Demo Disc: Flipside Frights – another massive demo disc packed with excellent retro styled horror games, and this time it’s got a flipside with some non-horror games too!

The Haunted PS1 Demo Disc: Flipside Frights features 24 different retro/PS1 styled games (and one secret one), all presented by Skully and pals in a beautifully presented virtual package. There are 12 … Read More

The post Haunted PS1 Demo Disc: Flipside Frights first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Monster Care Simulator is a simulation game that puts you in charge of your own creature care center, where adorable Pokemon-esque monsters of all shapes and sizes await your healing touch.

In Monster Care Simulator you’ll treat unique monsters, each requiring specialized care and attention. As you earn their trust and build your reputation, your business will grow, as you reinvest earnings into better equipment, … Read More

The post Monster Care Simulator – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Anoxia Station is a dark Sci-Fi horror colony building strategy game where you manage a mining colony in a dystopian world devastated by the eruption of a supervolcano.

Taking place in an alternate 1988 on Earth, Anoxia Station sees humanity teetering on the edge of extinction after a catastrophic supervolcano eruption. The Earth’s surface is now inhabitable so miners are sent to the depths of … Read More

The post Anoxia Station – Alpha Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Yellow Trouble is a lighthearted 2D twin-stick arcade shooter where a brother, sister and their dog battle an army of rubber ducks.

In Yellow Trouble mysterious duck-like creatures have invaded Yellow Sands Island and all adults have vanished. Siblings Mei and ZK, along with their dog Fibo, must now take to the streets and save the day using special water guns.

Yellow Trouble offers two … Read More

The post Yellow Trouble – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Airframe Ultra is an incredibly cool looking hoverbike racing game where Airframe racers wielding katanas race and fight their way through a vast megacity.

Currently in development by Akupara Games and Video Cult (creators of Rain World), Airframe Ultra is a very stylish battle-racer that looks like a 3D low poly blend of WipeOut and Road Rash with a touch of Akira. In … Read More

The post Airframe Ultra – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Yet Another Killing Game is a well crafted mystery adventure where you find yourself locked in a mansion with two women, and you’ll have to choose who dies to escape.

Drawing inspiration from Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, and Zero Escape, in Yet Another Killing Game you are a young woman who wakes up in a mysterious mansion with no memory of how you got … Read More

The post Yet Another Killing Game – Beta Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

ZeroSpace is an innovative new RTS where all of the game modes (even the single-player ones) are played on a shared MMO galaxy map.

If you’re looking for an RTS that plays out on a truly massive scale, ZeroSpace has you covered. All of the game modes (single-player, co-op and PvP) take place in a shared galaxy where thousands of players vie for dominance in … Read More

The post ZeroSpace – Beta Sign Up first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

House of Necrosis is an isometric turn-based roguelike survival horror adventure where you fight your way through a monster-filled mansion inspired by Resident Evil’s Spencer Mansion.

With a setting and visual style heavily inspired by the original Resident Evil Game, House of Necrosis sees you entering a creepy old mansion in search of a special forces team that went missing. The game has two … Read More

The post House of Necrosis – Alpha Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Dark Moon is a survival strategy game where you must navigate a hostile lunar environment where the Sun’s rays obliterate everything they touch.

In Dark Moon, players face an unprecedented threat on the Moon’s surface: sunlight itself. Following a devastating solar storm that destroys Earth’s electronics, you must navigate a hostile lunar environment where light means death.

As a stranded engineer, you command the … Read More

The post Dark Moon – Open Beta first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.

Sonic Galactic is a fantastic SEGA Saturn styled fan made Sonic The Hedgehog game where Sonic and pals battle Dr Eggman on an island that’s home to a meteorite of extreme power.

Previously featured on Alpha Beta Gamer back in 2020, Sonic Galactic is a stunning 32 bit styled Sonic fan game with massive multi-route levels, stunning 2D visuals and fun 3D bonus stages. … Read More

The post Sonic Galactic – Beta Demo first appeared on Alpha Beta Gamer.