Thank goodness it's not a Leap Year! The highly anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds revealed its official release date as February 28, 2025, during today's State of Play. Pre-orders are available now with a MH Wilds Digital Mini Artbook for those who do so.

I'm so excited for Wilds but until now it only had a 2025 release date, so I assumed it would be mid to late next year. I'm glad that's not the case! Wilds is also gettin?g three unique editions: Standard, Deluxe, and Premium Deluxe. The Delux includes a Deluxe Pack DLC, while the Premium Deluxe includes the Deluxe Pack, two COsmetic DLC packs, and other "premium bonuses".

The trailer also showed off some gameplay including some new monsters, but what caught me by surprise was how much story there appears to be in Wilds, based on the dialogue ??segments. Which to be honest, I'm all for.

Monster Hunter Wilds is set to release?? on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 28, 2025.

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Party for Introverts has announced that their narrative vampire adventure, Cabernet, will arriv??e on October 24. It will be released on Steam.

In Cabernet, you play as a newly turned vampire who has to incorporate themselves into a bunch of aristocrats. They call it a narrative RPG, but I think they mean it’s more of a social RPG in the sense that you get to put points into four categories of snobbery and can leverage them in conversation. There are also transformations, and you can eat t??he rich. It’s pretty rad.

I previewed Cabernet over a year ago, and I dug it. It nails the worldbuilding, and the conversation system is pretty boss. My biggest concern was that this sort of game is deceptively ambitious. It takes a lot of planning to make a “choices matter�?of this complexity. When you show a slice of the first hour-or-so of a game like this, it hasn??’t even left the runway. After that, it becomes more sprawling and entangled, and it can be difficult to manage.

That doesn’t mean that it can’t be done, and Cabernet hasn’t actually given me a reason to believe it won’t. I’ve been surprised by a few games recently?? that?? have similarly taken on difficult formulas with success, so I’m hoping this will be another case of that.

We’ll all find out when Cabernet launches on PC October 24, 2024.

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During today's Gamescom Opening Night Live, developer and publisher NetEase confirmed that upcoming Free to Play Hero Shooter Marvel Rivals officially has a release date. Marvel Rivals will release on December 6, ?2024 on St??eam, Epic Game Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The Overwatch-inspired superhero team-based PvP shooter allows players to choose from a roster of Marvel Heroes and jump into ?6v6 combat across a handful of landmark battlefields fr?om the Marvel cinematic universe.

Marvel Rivals recently had a rather successful playtest, creating a lot of buzz around the fact that there is finally a potential competitor to Overwatch. Our very own Eric Van Allen g??ot some playtime with the hero shoote?r and felt that while it wasn't necessarily revolutionary, it could put some pressure on Overwatch.

All heroes will be unlocked and free-to-play "at launch and beyon??d" which is certainl??y great news for fans looking forward to dabbling in some Marvel madness.

Those interested in Marvel Rivals can jump in when it?? launches on December 6, 2024 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X?|S.

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Developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts released an all-new trailer for the upcoming RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard today that showed glimpses of what to expect from the first title in the series in almost a decade. The focus of the trailer, however, was to indicate when we can expect to get our hands on The Veilguard: October 31, 2024.

Even though we've had to wait almost 10 years to get back to Dragon Age, the wait is almost over. With a Halloween 2024 release date that means we're just 2.5 months away from getting our hands on Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Surely not coincidentally, the story in The Veilguard takes place a decade after the events of its predecessor, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Players will take on the role of Rook and his companions as they put an end to a ritual in progress by Solas, one of your allies and party members from Inquisition who has become a vi??llain. However, doing so breaks free the corrupt Elven gods who are hellbent on blighting the world, and it's now up to you and your party to fight back against the ancient rulers.

For those interested in freshening up on their Dragon Age lore and knowledge, all of the Dragon Age games are currently on sale for 90% off on all platforms through August 19 as part of the ongoing Electronic Arts August sale.

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Pounce Light has announced that its free-form scene creator, Tiny Glade, now has a release date. It’s hitting PC on September 14, 2024.

Tiny Glade (I keep writing “Grove�? is a cozy game where you construct little buildings using an impressively intuitive editor. There’s no judgement (no? “wrong answers�?as the developer says), so the goal is to simply create scenes that please you. Maybe pet the sheep while you’re at it.

The ??unique hook here is its editor. It’s not grid-based, and features that you place adapt to being morphed. The structure adapts to objects placed, such as windows, so it’s all about plopping and dragging. It’s a game that really sells itself because even watching the trailer and the gifs on the ?store page is satisfying. 

I’m someone whose mind has been polluted enough by modernity that I feel the need to have some sort of progression, and it doesn’t look like Tiny Glade has that, but the creation kit alone has me wanting to play it. Considering the fact that poor life choices have practically ensured that I will never own a home of my own, the idea of being able to ?easily create one from my imagination is appealing.

Tiny Glade had an impressive demo this past May’s Steam Next Fest. Paula Vaynshteyn gave it a look and came away with a craving for more.

We won’t have to wait long, as Tiny Glade launches on PC September 14, 2024.

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Clear River Games and Bitwave Games have announced that the sequel to the 1992 NES/Famicom game Gimmick (also known as Mr. Gimmick) is releasing soon. Gimmick 2 launch??es September 5, 2024 for Switch and?? PC. PlayStation and Xbox versions will release later.

I’m rather surprised because we just got the first actual gameplay trailer last month, and the announcement of the game itself was a month before that. Not that I think a 2D revival of an NES game would have the most protracted development cycle, but I would think the PR run-up would b?e a lot longer.

Initially released in Europe and Japan in 1992, Gimmick gained a reputation for its deep, inventive, and extremely challenging gameplay. It also helped that the title also carries a tremendous price tag on the collector’s market. Despite its reputation, it remains a rather obscure title. However, its profile was lifted somewhat by the game’s re-release on modern platforms, Gimmick: Special Edition.

You play as Yokai Yumetaro, a diminutive green thing who can conjure and throw stars. The unique hook of the original title was the physics that control these stars, as you would not only use them to defeat enemies but also ride them over gaps. As I mentioned, it was a rather difficult ga??me.

Gimmick 2 brings new visuals and a soundtrack by David Wise. It looks to follow the formula of the o??riginal title, but (and this is based off the trailer) it seems to focus more on puzzles and combat than it does on careful platforming.

Gimmick 2 arrives for PC and Switch on?? September 5, 2024. The dat?e for PlayStation and Xbox versions will be announced later.

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ColePowered Games has announced (spotted by Gematsu) that its procedurally generated crime investigation simulator, Shadows of Doubt, is ready to end its journey? through Early Access with a full release on September 26 for PS5, Xbox S??eries X|S, and PC.

Shadows of Doubt was released into Early Access in April of last year. It attempts to simulate the noble profession of a private eye using a randomly generated city full of randomly generated crimes. You take cases (usually from bulletin boards in r?estaurants and bars), then are left on your own to talk to people, trespass on private property, and gather as much information as you can in order to crack the case.

There are different types of cases to tackle. You might try to prove that a spouse is cheating, find stolen property, or solve a murder. The city and its citizens are persistently tracked in the simulation and will h??ave things like an apartment and a workplace, so you can typically find informa?tion in multiple ways. Sometimes a set of fingerprints will lead you to your culprit, while other times it’s an email stored on their computer.

It’s a very ambitious game, ??make no doubt. ?More importantly, it works. Mostly.

I previewed the game last year when it launched into early access. At that poi?nt, I fo??und the concept to be intriguing, but the game was way too janky and buggy. There have been plenty of big updates since then. However, the last time I dove in (a few months ago), I found it to be in much the same way. I didn’t get deep enough into it to discover something that I’d point to as a clear bug, but there was some really weird stuff happening.

For instance, I saw someone get murdered directly in front of me on the street. I was actually able to have a calm conversation with the murderer right next to the body of the victim. I then quickly gathered evidence, then strolled off to solve the murder?? for a fat reward.

However, I get the feeling that, even with all the jank, if you put in the work to actually get good at the systems in Shadows of a Doubt, you could probably have a go??od time. There’s also a chance that all the roughness will be sorted out before release. Honestly, I’m looking forward to finding out. The concept is just too intriguing not to.

Shadows of Doubt leaves early access and fully releases for PS5, Xbox Series X??|S, and PC on September 26, 2024.

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We've still a bit to go until the Halloween season is upon us. But now seems like a good opportunity for horror fans to get a wee bit excited. Along with Bloober Team finally getting ready to launch the remake of Silent Hill 2, Saber Interactive has also given us the launch date for A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead.

In the most recent trailer, we're being told that? the horror adaptation will be coming to us on October 17. That's just a couple of weeks before the Spooky Season, which is always?? a bit of a cliché, but it does make sense.

The trailer itself is chock-full of the usual teases and snippets of gameplay. I certainly don't want to get ahead of myself given the general reputation of video game movie tie-ins, but The Road Ahead does look like it has a lot of potential.

To quietly go

Taking A Quiet Place's concept of remaining silent so as not to be detected by monsters should �?on paper at least �?translate well to the gaming sphere. Anyone who's ever playe??d a survival horror game where the object is to avoid combat and?? enemy encounters knows all too well how tense things can get.

As for The Road Ahead itself, it's not a straight-up adaptation of the films. It boasts its own storyline inspired by its cinematic counterpart, although a previous trailer shows there may be some story elements that ha??ve been lifted from the first movie.

In any case, ??I don't want to immediately get my hopes u??p, but I can only contain any vague sense of excitement for so long. I am but human, after all.

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Tinybuild and Matt Dabrowski have announced that Streets of Rogue 2, the anticipated sequel to the hectic sandbox game, is having its Early Access debut pushed back to October 22, 2024. It was originally planned to be released on August 14.

The press release states that Streets of Rogue 2 will ??take “additional time to sharpen its tools of destruction.�?It doesn’t get any? more specific with its details. In fact, when I initially read the PR, it sounded like it was excitedly announcing the launch date, and I had to re-read it to realize that it had an apologetic tone.

The original Streets of Rogue came out in 2019, and it currently enjoys a 96% “overwhelmingly positive�?user review score on Steam. The game’s title should have been workshopped, and I had it confused for a different game for years before realizing that the two aren’t the same and that I should probably play Streets of Rogue. Then I set it aside because I’m a busy person and didn’t get into it for the first time until just now when I needed additiona?l context.

The first game is sort of like a progression of miniature immersive sims, where you’re dropped on a randoml??y generated floor and have to complete objectives using only the skills on hand and items that can be found in the environment.

Streets of Rogue 2 is taking this to a more open world. There’s farming for some reason. The open world is apparently 10,000 times larger than a level in the first game. It promises “uncompromised�?freedom. It looks like how I would imagine a Saint’s Row game would be if it went 2D.

Streets of Rogue 2 is now targeting October 22, 2024 for release on Steam? Early Access.

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Last we heard from Skunkape Games, their remaster of Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse was slated for a Spring release. We’re out of Spring now, but I guess we can let it slide. Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse now has a release date of August 14, 2024 on PC and console.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse was the third season of Telltale’s Sam & Max revival. It was also the last. It’s also the last one that Skunkape Games needs to remaster! Unless they’re going to touch up Sam & Max: Hit the Road. It was also potentially the best one. When it first released in 2010, I wound up?? only playing through half of it. I really enjoyed what I played. I thought it was terrific?. Then I just stopped for some reason.

But that’s not going to happen this time. I’ve read all the Sam & Max comics and watched the show. I am determined to play through The Devil’s Playhouse this time to consummate my love for the series.

If you’re not familiar, the Sam & Max games are point-and-click adventure games. The duo was created by Steve Purcell and adapted into 1993’s Sam & Max: Hit the Road by Lucasarts. It’s one of the developer's classic SCUMM adventure games and one of the best. The Telltale games are essentially a revival of that and were their first successful episodic series. They tried the episodic approach with their adaptations of Bone, but that only made it to two episodes.

Sam & Max feature the “freelance police,�?whose role in society is uncertain. They solve weird crime. Sam is a giant bipedal dog, while Max is a hyperkinetic rabbity thing. If I were to describe their adventures, I’d probably use the word “hijinks.�?/p>

The Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse remaster ??releases on August 14 for PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, ?and Xbox Series X|S.

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Hooded Horse and 3Division have announced that the ridiculously intricate city builder, Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic, will be leaving Early Access on June 20, 2024.

I’ve played a lot of city builders in my time, and Workers & Resources is easily the most complicated. Not only do you need to ??build homes for your citizens and workplaces and industry to employ them, you also need to make sure that your supply and production chain is working as efficiently as possible. 

Supply chains are hardly anything new, but usually, there’s some abstract ??automation there. As long as you have your roads connected, normally, your products get where they need to go. For example, you might need to connect your factory to a cargo train. And then you need to ensure that the train is able to get where it needs to go without bumping into other trains. Then, on top of that, you need to connect its destination to the train so that whatever was produced gets to the next step in its journey.

It takes a lot of trial and error to figur??e out how things work. A recent update?? added a “campaign,�?which largely acts as an extended tutorial. Even with that, I kept making costly mistakes. This feels like the sort of game where it’s going to take a few attempts before you really understand enough to be successful.

That said, the genre rea??lly needs something that really pushes the complexity. I love city builders that gloss over certain aspects in the effort to keep things accessible, but you need some place to go when you really want something to sink your teeth into.

The 1.0 release will include a number of upgrades to the current versi????on. Here’s the bulleted list from the press release:

• New buildings to enrich the lives of citizens through entertainment and fitness, including the amphitheater, and a large stadium.
• Additional playgrounds for the younger generation to stay healthy.
• Brand new Western vehicles to expand the nation’s transit network.
• Revamped education system to maximize the potential reach of teachers.
• Graphical improvements to the electronics components factory, woodcutting post, sawmill, panels factory, and many more key buildings.
• Improved factory connection nodes to facilitate a better flow of resources across complex production chains.
• Plenty of other quality-of-life fixes and HUD tweaks.

Sounds awesome. I really need to take another crack at Workers & Resources. I was starting to get all its systems organized in my head before something else got my attention. Something ?catastrophic, no doubt. The 1.0 release sounds like the absolute b?est time to try again.

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic leaves Early Access for PC on June 20, 2024.

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There has long been a hole in my heart the exact shape of Lionhead Studios 2005 tycoon game, The Movies, and now Super Sly Fox is trying to fill that hole with Blockbuster Inc. And n?ow they’ve announced that it will be released on June 6 f?or PC.

That’s what they’re billing Blockbuster Inc. as: the spiritual successor to The Movies. This means that not only do you manage a film studio, there is also a large degree of customization, allowing you to essentially shoot your own movies. A new trailer showcases this with Barbie and The Room replicated.

 A lot of features from The Movies are replicated here, including the way the game progressed through the history of cinematography. The Movies also had the ability to add voices to your film??s, which, judging by the t??railers, is also present here.

I found the creation of films in The Movies to be kind of tedious back in 2005, but I’d probably di?g it a bit more nowadays. I was mostly interested in running the studio and trying to make stars.

It remains to be seen if Blockbuster Inc. will live up to the game its styled after. However, it’s great to see people try, since The Movies was delisted from online storefronts back in 2008. I’m still hoping to see Two Point Studios take a whack at the formula, as founder Mark Webley was design lead on The Movies.

If you’re curious, Blockbuster Inc. Prologue?? offers a peek at the game. Otherwise, the ga??me is out on PC on June 6, 2024.

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3D Realms has announced that the follow-up to 2019’s Ion Fury, Phantom Fury, will be released on April 23, 2024.

Phantom Fury continues the violent adventures of Shelly “Bombshell�?Harrison, who first appeared in 2016’s Bombshell as a stand-in for Duke Nukem after Gearbox asserted their ownership of him. While her first outing was not very well-received, Ion Fury took a different direction by utilizing the Build Engine �?the same game engine responsible for William Shatner’s Tekwar (and also Duke Nukem 3D). I personally had my issues with Ion Fury, but a lot of ot??her people really co?nnected with it.

Phantom Fury leaves the Build Engine behind but doesn’t completely abandon the retro-inspired graphics. While it’s moving to a full-3D engine, it looks like something more circa Y2K. It hasn’t been explicitly said by the developers (that I know of), but it seems to be presenting itself as an alternate reality Duke Nukem Forever, following an alternate reality Duke Nukem 3D. It’s as if that game actually released when it was supposed to instead of over a decade later. Hopefully, it will actually be ??good.

I played the demo of Phantom Fury a while back when it first became available. While it didn’t entirely sell me on the game, it was a competent enough slice that was full of appreciable small details. It’s important to note that while Ion Fury was developed by Voidpoint, Phantom Fury is being done by Slipgate Ironworks.

3D Realms recently saw layoffs as part of the restructuring of Embracer Group. It has been reported that they are now leaving Embracer as part of the $500 million sale of their parent company, Saber. The whole situation must be hell to try and work through, but it’s nice to see that the team was able to get Phantom Fury to the finish line.

Phantom Fury will be released on PC on April 23, 2024.

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Secret Base has announced the first free content update for Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon will bring survival and versus modes, online co-op, and new characters. The Sacred Reunion will be r??eleased on PC, PlayStation,? Xbox, and Switch platforms on April 4.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon was released last year. I reviewed it then, and it was�?enh. It was all right. I felt that the combat wasn’t that great and, at the ti?me, you couldn’t really do much with the character swapping. You couldn’t tie your second ch?aracter into your combo. I’m not sure how much has changed since then, as there have been patches to tweak the mechanics.

There are three characters joining the roster. One has been revealed, while the other two are shadowed out. I bet one of them is Sonny Lee, the disappointing and unremarkable third Lee brother. The revealed character is Ranzou, who was a character in both Double Dragon 3’s and also an unlockable combatant in Double Dragon IV. He’s a ninja who fights wit?h shuriken and a katana (or maybe a wakazashi).

Also being added is survival mode, which I assume is wave-based. There’s also a versus mode where you can give your friends a savage beating. Also included is online co-op. That should be good news for people with distant relationships, but I prefer to be able to “playfull??y�?pu??nch the person I’m playing with. There will also be new upgrades.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon is available on PS4, PS5, Switch, PC, and XBox. The Sacred Reunion DLC will be available for free on April 4.

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Ravenage Games and Dapper Journey? have announced the launch date? for Biogun, a microscopic exploration platformer coming to PC on April 16.

BioGun is billed as a twin-stick shooter Metroidvania where you play as a vaccine-fighting a “desperate battle�?inside a dog. ?If it’s anything like my dog, it was probably eating bird poop again. Your fantastic voyage takes you “from the depths of the bladder to the pulsating heart.�?Beyond traversing the insides of a dog, you can also complete side-quests to help cells that are in need.

Listen?, this is important. Dogs are getting wiped out by a virus, and this va?ccine (meaning you) is the only thing that can stop it. No one wants to live in a world without dogs.

Although it refers to itself as a twin-stick shooter, it’s not Metroidvania Smash T.V. �?or Smashtroidvania, as I will now refer to it in my design document. It’s still a sidescroller akin to Gunbrella. I’m digging the art style. I find that a lot of 2D games, when they don’t choose to go with pixel art, can sometimes look rather flat and bland, but BioGun has a nice, lively, colorful style to it. Hopefully, it can live up to the intervenous antics of Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon.

If you want to give it a try ahead of time, a demo �?cleverly named BioGun: Clinical Trial �?is available right now.

Otherwise, BioGun will be released on PC on April 16, 2024.

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SFB Games has announced that their retro-inspired survival horror game, Crow Country, will be released on PC and PS5 on May 9th.

Crow Country has you playing as Mara Forest, an investigator who ??explores an abandoned amusement park to discover its dark secrets. While it uses an angled, ¾ angle camera system, it has a more detailed aiming system, allowing it to feel like a mix of modern and classic design. The amusement park also has you roaming, solv?ing puzzles, and gathering items in a metroidvania/gated exploration sort of way.

I played the demo when it dropped back?? in October, and have been anticipating this release ever since. I simply love its style and storytelling chops. A new trailer dropped alongside this announcement, which shows off some areas and events that weren’t featured in the demo, so now I’m even more interested. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long.

Crow Country?? is bei??ng released on PC and PS5 on May 9, 2024. A demo is available to play now.

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Those Awesome Guys and developer Panik Arcade have announced that the N64-inspired collectathon driving game, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, will release on April 9th on PC.

Alongside the release dat??e announcement, there’s a pretty incredible trailer that �?trailer-spoiler alert �?ends in a non-sequitur.

The parts of the trailer that do show the game itself depict a chaotic mix of different gameplay styles centered around the titular yellow taxi. Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom bills itself as a platformer with no jump button. Instead, you simply put the pedal down and defy gravity as best you can. Beyond simply filling your trunk with assorted junk, you’re also trying to “unravel the grand conspiracy happening on Grandma’s Island�?/p>

While Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom describes itself as N64-inspired, it has a manic quality that you wouldn’t typically find on the console. Or in the rather sluggish early 3D era in general, really. Well, aside from Mad Panic Coaster.

I think it looks pretty cool. Not crazy about the name, but the N64 is one of my favorite consoles, even if i?t does occupy a really uncomfortable time period of video game history. The collectathon platformer blossomed and died really quickly, and it’s been nice to see a small resurgence in the indie and small-budget areas of development. Thankfully, there’s a demo to try out right now, which I will probably do tonight after work.

Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom is out on April 9th for PC.

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11 Bit Studios has announced that the follow-up to their 2018 survival city builder, Frostpunk 2, will arrive on Jul??y 25, 2024. You can pre-order the deluxe edition today to get access to the beta.

The original game focused on your building a city in the middle of a disastrous ice age to shelter your people. You had to keep them warm, gather resources, and endure harsh storms. Frostpunk 2 takes place 30 years later, and the focus moves back?? to a larger picture with your city sprawling out into much larger proportions with different factions vying to have their ambitions met.

The new trailer doesn’t have a lot of information we don’t already know (aside ?from the release date), but it does give us another glimpse at the direction it’s going with big, sprawling cities compared to the intimate ones of the original.

The trailer also shows off its Deluxe Edition, which includes seven-day b?eta access in April, post-launch DLC, access to story mode three days before launch, a novella, an artbook, and a soundtrack.

I enjoyed the original Frostpunk, but after I completed its campaign (on maybe my third attempt), I didn’t have much desire to return to it or its DLC. I love survival city builders, though, and Frostpunk is r?oyalty among them, s??o I’ll probably give the second a try.

Frostpunk 2 releases on?? July 25, 2024 for PC, with Xbox Series X|S and PS5 versions afterward. It will be released on da??y one on PC Game Pass.

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El Paso, Elsewhere developer Strange Scaffold has announced a five-game deal with publisher Frosty Pop. As part of the announcement, they’ve revealed a trailer for ??their next game, Life Eater, which is ??out on April 16, 2024.

I find this trailer rather unsettling.

The trailer shows off the game’s timeline interface where you must learn the habits and schedule of your quarry so that you may find the opportunity to abduct them. You play as a “modern day druid�?who is tasked with performing an annual sacrificial ritual to delay the end of the world. It looks like once you have your quarry, you then take their organs to “water the flower.�?/p>

Life Eater looks to be a rather evocative game. It has you violate the lives of others while framed as someone performing a necessary evil. Just the fact that you’re learning intimate details of the lives of others and monitoring them for the moment to strike is rather discomforting. The information on the game even suggests that the whole “dark god�?angle might be false. ?I'd play it.

The store page promises “replayable blend of authored and generated stories.�?It features music from David Mason who was the composer of Dredge.

As an aside, there are modern-day Druids, as Druidry is a modern religion based on pagan cultures. I don’t think they generally converse with dark gods and perform sacrifices. Just weird to se?e that as a contextual descriptor.

Life Eater releases on PC on April 16, 2024.

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FuRyu and Natsume Atari have announced that action RPG Reynatis will be arriving in N??orth America this Fall. It’s set for Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC.

The press release makes a big deal about Reynatis being set in a “painstakingly-recreated streets of Shibuya, Tokyo.�?A trailer was released alongside the announcement. It’s one of the most ridiculous videos I think I’ve seen since the new Death Stranding reveal. It shows Shibuya government police w??izards that maybe figh?t drug addicts.

One of the first things the Reynatis trailer puts on screen is, “Only by overcoming our fear of idiosyncrasies can we fre??e our tr?ue selves,�?which is just the most pretentious way to say very little.

I can dig it. FuRyu, as a developer of alternative games, is a bit all over the place with its output. However, the art design and even the ridiculously over-the-top dialogue and narrative setup all kind of pop. The game shifts from the “painstakingly recreated�?Shibuya to more abstract places that, I’m guessing, are dungeons. Combat looks pretty Musou-like, w?hich can be hit-and-miss when?? it comes to application.

Something to keep your eye on, at least. It doe??s, after all, feature the incredible Yoko Shimomura as a composer.

Reynatis will be coming to Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC. Its release date is currently planned for ??sometime in Fall 2024.

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Troglobytes Games has announced that the dystopian delivery simulator developed by Tiny Pixel and Stupidi Pixel, Death Noodle Delivery, will be released on PC on April 4th, 2024. Console versio??ns will follow later.

This is the first I’ve heard of Death Noodle Delivery, but it seems to combine two things I very deeply love: noodles and Paperboy. You ride your hoverboard down the neon-soaked streets of dystopia, throwing cups of noodles at people nearby.?? Some of the scenes depict the delivery person riding down a highway on their hoverboard while people try to kill them, so high sodium levels aren’t the only dangers in this game.

Between the delivery and death scenes, the protagonist returns to their depressing apartment. It’s a bit more difficult to discern what goes on at the apartment, but the presser mentions that you deal with “the relationships in his apartment complex, where tech-obsessed neighbors, seedy characters, and AI malfunctions leave little room for boredom.�?/p>

Whenever I��m very stressed out, I often have dreams involving noodles. I’m not making?? that up. The most recurring imagery in my dreams is noodles. I’m not sure what that imagery is supposed to mean, but I think it’s just my subconscious?? comfort eating.

I didn’t bring that up for any specific reason, so I’m just going to use it to segue into saying that I am very interested in Death Noodle Delivery.

Death Noodle Delivery is out on?? PC April 4th, 2??024. Ports for Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch platforms will arrive sometime after that.

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Digital Eclipse has announced that the second game in their Gold Master Series of interactive documentaries, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, will be available on March 13, 2024.

Are you ready for some education? I loved The Making of Karateka. I feel that it’s the most important ev??olution of the collection/remaster format made to date. In that game, it took a title that many newcomers would otherwise try out and move on from, and gave it a lot of appreciable depth by giving context through interviews, design documents, and other behind-the-scenes stuff.

At this point, it wouldn’t matter to me what topic Digital Eclipse picked because they provide such tantalizing insight into their topics that it tickles the part ?of my brain that is hungry to dig into video gaming’s past. That is to say, most of my brain, as it’s been trained since childhood to retain this information.

In fact, I have no attachment to Jeff Minter aside from the respect I have for his career. His contribution to the video game medium has stretched back to the 1980s, when he started programming games for early home computers. He’s perhaps best known for 1994’s Tempest 2000, but his influence g??oes beyond that, as you’ll soon no doubt b?e able to learn.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story will be released for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, ??and PC on Ma?rch 13, 2024.

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Games Operators and Jutsu Games have announced that their zombie apocalypse survival management game, Infection Free Zone, will enter early access on April 11, 2024.

I’m still burnt out from the zombie boom of the late aughts and early �?0s. However, Infection Free Zone still caught my eye despite my exhaustion. Part of this is because it uses real map data to allow you to play on any city. This is similar to Jutsu’s previous games, 911 Operator and 112 Operator. However, while those were just overhead maps, Infection Free Zone gene?rates 3D environments. I wonder how well it will handle rura?l Ontario.

Obviously, the?? buildings aren’t really going to be accurate. However, you mostly just use them to send your survivors to scavenge and bui??ld defenses around them for protection. The goal seems to be to create the eponymous zones free from infection to help humanity rebuild.

There have been plenty of games where I’ve looted while avoiding the undead, so I’m interested i?n a game where you just send people to do it for you. There are pharmacies, schools, and other buildings that you can send survivors to plumb, and their contents are supposedly based on what type of building they are.

Early Access is estimated to last for one year. Jutsu Games is hoping to adapt to player feedback and add new buildings and other additions to the world. Currently, you can play a “prologue�?demo that allows you to test out its gameplay on six preset cities. The demo has been well received, so hopefully that carries over to?? the full version.

Infection Free Zone will be available on?? PC via Early Acc??ess on April 11, 2024.

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Konami and WayForward’s Contra: Operation Galuga now has a release date. It’s coming to all platforms March 12, 2024. To hold us over, there’s a demo avail?able right now.

Contra: Operation Galuga is a retelling of the original 1987 arcade (1988 NES port) narrative that sees Bill Rizer and Lance What’s-his-face storm the Galuga archipelago to take down the Red Falcon organization. This isn’t?? a remake, however. While references are made to games in the s??eries, everything is remade and modernized.

For example, beyond Bill Rizer and Lance Otherguy, there are a number of other characters in the mix. Each one has its own unique abilities. There’s Lucia, Ariana, Stanley Ironside, and Probotector (based on the censored European ports of the Contra series).

I had the chance to talk to the game’s director, Tomm Hulett a while back. This isn’t WayForward’s first try with the series, as they handled 2007’s well-received Contra 4 for the DS.

Okay, the de??mo finished downloading for me, so I’m out of here.

Contra: Operation Galuga will launch on March 12 for Switch, PS4, PS5?, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Limited Run Games will be handling the physical release, and preorders will open on March 1. The demo is available today.

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D3Publisher and Sandlot have announced that bug-basher Earth Defense Force 6 is being pushed back from its intended release window of Spring 2024 and into Summer 2024.

D3 suggests th?at the delay is so Sandlot can “add finishing touches a?nd finalize preparations for its Western launch.�?That’s basically all I got in terms of new information. I deliver nothing but disappointment.

The Earth Defense Force series started back on the PS2 with Simple 2000 Series Vol. 31: The Chikyū Bōeigun, which was released in Europe as Monster Attack. We didn’t receive the series here in North America until 2006 with Earth Defense Force 2017 on Xbox 360. It was released as a budget game and quickly developed a reputation of being so bad that it’s good. Indeed, a friend and I played it during the early days of the 360, ??and we loved it despite its immediately apparent jank. I still like to tell the story of how the light bloom from one of the guns would bleed over the split-screen barrier and make it impossible for t??he other player to see.

The series continued from there, with Sandlot embracing the game’s kusoge aesthetic while also making it a bit more fun and comfortable to play. I wish I was playing Earth Defense Force 5 right now.

Earth Defense Force 6 sees the dregs of humanity protectin??g their shattered civilization from continued attacks from “invasive�?alien species. Thankfully, the eponymous EDF has 1-4 competent soldiers to protect it.

Earth Defense Force 6 will be coming West sometime in Summer 2024. It’s set ??to release on PS4, PS?5, and PC.

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Inflexion Games announced today that their upcoming PvE survival-crafting game Nightingale will be available sooner. The Early Access release date for Nightingale has been shifted forwar?d by a couple of days and will now begin on February 20 as opposed to February 22.

“Having the game release at the start of the week not only allows our community to get into the game earlier but also gives us time to address any launch issues ahead of what’s sure to be a busy weekend. All in all, we’re excited to get the portal network up ahead of schedule.�?/p>

- Aaron Flynn, Inflexion Games CEO

Walk the Realms, Realmwalker

Nightingale just had a successful open-stress test on February 2, opening the window for an earlier release. I had a chance to jump in and play for a bit, and it's become one of my most anticipated upcoming re?leases.

Even though we're in a time of frequent survival crafting game releases like Palworld and Enshrouded, Nightingale has been five years in the making by a team of over 100 developers at Inflexion Games. The team is comprised of many industry veterans including CEO Aaryn Flynn, former GM at Bioware who worked on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect franchise.

Players traverse a "Victorian gaslamp fantasy" world with up to five friends, exploring many diverse Realms they access through portals. Along the way, you'll craft unique Realm Cards that influence what lies inside the next portal. You can also plop down your own Estate?? and build your own home inside these realms.

It's a very ambitious project but from what I saw in the stress test, it looked ??to ?be as special as advertised.

Nightingale releas??es in Early Access on Steam and Epic Games Store on February 20.

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Atari has announced that qomp2, the follow-up to the 2021 Pong continuation, ?will be released on February 20 on PC and console.

qomp was a game that dared to ask dangerous questions like, “What would happen if the Pong ball escaped from the confines? of the court and went on an adventure?�?I’m not sure how you extrapolate further on that, but Atari and Graphi??te Lab are going to try. They promise “An enigmatic story of doubt, fear, and self-acceptance, told wordlessly through simple effects and gameplay.�?Sounds appropriately depressing.

Alongside the announcement of the release date, they released a short video of the Pong ball being interviewed in vertical cell-phone ratio, and I kind of hate it. I wonder if it’s the knee-jerk revulsi?on I have toward social media that’s the problem.

I didn’t play the original qomp, but it does sound like a fun premise. For a little while, at least. The first game was only played using a single button, but qomp2 adds a second one that is used for dash. It’s a logical evolution. Pong used no buttons, qomp used one, and qomp2 will use two of them.

This falls in line with Atari’s new focus on smaller games that leverage their existing brands. It’s a bit interesting that, while the original game was created by a group of indie developers under Stuffed Wombat, qomp2 has been handed off to Atari’s frequent collaborator, Graphite Lab. I have to wonder if they’ll be able to capture the same charm and impact of the original qomp.

qomp2 will launch for PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Ser?ies X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5 on February 20, 2024.

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During the Xbox Developer Direct Livestream 2024, developer Ninja Theory revealed some more details about the upcoming Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 including c?onfirmation of its release date. The action-adventure sequel will release on May 21, 2024 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and as a Day One on Game Pass tit??le.

That will put the sequel release just short of seven years after the release of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Players will once again jump into the role of Senua as she attempts to overcome the barbaric and brutal raids of Vikings in a tyrannical Iceland. Like the original, Hellblade 2 will explore Senua's story in a cinematic way as she struggles to deal with psychosis which actually helps her traverse the brutal I?celandic landscape.

It's looking to be a great year for cinematic and story-driven games. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 will add to that when it release?s on May 21, 2024.

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Bandai Namco has announced that Sand Land, based on? the manga by Akira Toriyama, is set to release on Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and PC on? April 26.

Alongside the release date announcement, Bandai Namco has released a new trailer showcasing the game’s environments and various vehicles. It looks fantastic to me. I know next to nothing about the manga, but I’ve been in love with post-apocalyptic vehicular combat since basically forever. However, it was pushed into overdrive after I discovered the Metal Max series.

Set in a world ravaged by war and environmental disasters, Sand Land stars Beelzebub, the Thief, and Sheriff Ra?o as ??they explore the desert. It’s an action RPG with a heavy focus on customizable vehicles. These range everywhere from tanks, to bikes, to mechs. 

I’m not sure how this will shake out, but I’m hoping for something somewhere between Metal Max and Dragon Quest. As far as we’ve seen, things look promising.

Sand Land will release on April 26, 2024, for Xbox Series X|S, PS4,?? PS5, ??and PC.

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In an official blog post, Blizzard confirmed the next update for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will drop on January 16. Titled Seeds of Renewal, the update brings a handful of new content to the popular MMORPG as w??ell as concludes ??the current storyline campaign of the Dragon Isles.

Worldwide Dragonriding and Azerothian Archives and more

One of the most popular mechanics introduced in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is Dragonriding. Currently, the feature is only accessible in the new expansion area, the Dragon Isles. However, with the Seeds of Renewal update, Dragonriding is being expanded to be useable in all old-world continents where flying is ava?ilable which includes most of Azeroth.

A new system is also being added called the Azerothian Archives. Players will have the chance to deliver into the history and lore of the Dragon Isles and explore an iconic time before the expansion over Weekly Public Events at the Traitor's Rest. Solo and Group activities will be av?ailable and reward players with Battle Pets, Mounts, and a Transmog set.

Fans of Worgens and Genn Greymane, the King of Gilneas, will be happy to see the King finally attempt to reclaim the kingdom of Gilneas in the Seeds of Renewal update. Gilneas has long been abandoned after being invaded by the Forsaken and then ripped asunder by the Cataclysm in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion. Players will have the opportunity to aid King Greymane ??in retaking Gilneas.

Finally, Follower Dungeons are being added in the Seeds of Renewal update as well. Players can enlist the help of NPC companions to clear through dungeons instead of doing so with other players. All eight Normal Dragonflight Dungeons will now automatically scale and fill between 1-4 AI players, with more dunge??ons to come in the futu?re.

The World of Warcraft 10.2.5 Seeds o??f Renewal update is set to laun?ch on January 16.

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