Okay. So, a staple in shojo manga series is to eventually introduce some sort of love triangle conflict. The goal is to add a little drama to possibly add a “will they or won’t they” element to the story. Does it get annoying? Absolutely! Especially when it’s dragged out. Volume 4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga continues that type of plot line from the third one, but Hisui doesn’t drag the situation out and instead introduces the mature and realistic approach of Lily and Prince William actually talking to work it out.

Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for volume 4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga below.

 The conflict in the third volume of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga stemmed from a visit by the princess of the kingdom of Belluno, Marianne. She came to the kingdom of Zavanni for a visit and, throughout much of that installment monopolized Prince William’s time so his fiance Liliana was left to her own devices. When secretly exploring outside of the palace in disguise with guards, Lily ran into the two of them together, with Marianne hanging on Will’s arm. This led to mistaken impressions of the situation, which carried over to the initial issue in this volume. However, instead of dragging it out, things are handled in an actually mature manner.

While the outset of this volume offers are first view of the situation from Marianne’s perspective, confirming she did come to the country to drive a wedge and become Will’s new fiance as some suspected and Lily assumed after seeing them together, it quickly gets into practical advice and proper communication. When Will is lamenting Lily’s behavior and anger, his guard and even Princess Marianne both say he needs to talk to her. Though it is awkward between the engaged couple when they do come together in the next scene, both of them don’t drag out this mistaken situation. Will apologizes and explains, as does Lily. (Though she does freak out a bit momentarily thinking his apology is because he intends to break their own engagement.)

As a result, we get to see how productive conversations between a couple we know love each other works out. The two of them explain themselves. The set a time for another date, which shows their commitment to each other. Then when they go out, which also involves scouting a location for a school Lily wants to build for children in the city, they’re completely focused on the task and each other.

What’s interesting, however, is volume 4 of the The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince manga also shows how communication helps the situation between Lily and Princess Marianne too. After the “crisis” is over, it still seems the foreign royal isn’t entirely giving up on her plan, since she at the time sees it as the only recourse to aid her own country during a salinity crisis. When the two of them get a chance to properly talk upon the opening of the finished school and classroom, it leads to new revelations between them and a possible positive relationship.

Which is great, as it all comes back to The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince being a shojo manga that focuses on positivity. It’s sweet! It’s funny! The leads generally care for and respect each other! Now with this volume, we see they handle issues responsibly and with clear communication. It’s lovely to see.

Volumes 1-4 of The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince are available now, and Yen Press will release volume 5 of the manga on July 28, 2026.

The post The Small-Animallike Lady Is Adored by the Ice Prince Shows Communication Matters appeared first on Siliconera.

Recent shadowdrop release Super Bomberman Collection brings back some classic Bomberman games, some for the first time outside Japan, and we’re happy to see it! But if we’ve learned anything from modern retro compilations, the quality is extremely dependent on execution. So how does this one do?

The package contains the five Super Bomberman games, all originally released on the Super NES and Super Famicom, as well as two bonus Famicom games. The later Super titles didn’t originally release outside Japan and have received localizations here, which is a nice touch! Frankly, though, these are fairly language-agnostic games and you probably would have been fine.

Putting these five games together in one collection might feel a bit redundant! And it is, to a degree. The advantage is in two ways. The first? Historical value. The game makes it easy to look at what power-ups are added in each one, and preserving all five is good regardless. The second is that you can choose your favorite variant. Each of these changes does color the experience, and through either taste or nostalgia, you’ll likely have a favorite.

If you’re having trouble deciding, though? We’d recommend going straight to 5. It has almost all the things from the other games, and there are options to configure it however! And as such a late Super Famicom game that other staff at Hudson were probably already working on Mario Party during development, it really takes advantage of the hardware. If it drops the ball on anything? Maybe it’s aesthetics. It’s trying really hard to do a robot/sentai thing in a way that a lot of the selectable characters feel same-y.

It’s also true that each of these games has a solo campaign. The franchise’s bread and butter is its competitive play, but there’s a dedicated group of people who really embrace the single-player arcade levels. And these are good ones! We’ve spent a while playing, and we are undeniably bad at them but there’s a puzzly element to taking on risky opponents in an optimal order.

When it comes to gallery modes in retro compilations, our usual stance is that it’s a great effort of preservation! But we don’t spend a lot of time with that stuff. Super Bomberman Collection’s “unbox” mode feels a lot more robust, though. With the detail and ability to virtually open the box and pull out the manual, it captures a bit more of the nostalgia of the originals.

While it doesn’t have built-in functionality for this sort of thing, Super Bomberman Collection takes advantage of system-level multiplayer features like Switch 2’s GameShare and Steam’s Remote Play Together. How well does it work? Better than you’d think! We spent our time testing it out on Switch 2, and didn’t experience any of the frequent connection issues we usually get. What’s more, it’s the sort of game that can weather some minor hiccups if you get them, and it also doesn’t look too bad in the windowed GameShare screen.

Super Bomberman Collection, developed by Red Art Games and published by Konami, is out now on Switch 2, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series and Steam. Physical editions of the game will launch on August 25, 2026.

The post Super Bomberman Collection Is a Multiplayer Blast appeared first on Siliconera.

Death Howl is one of those unique strategic roguelikes that someone could play for 15 minutes for five hours straight, and it means the Switch version couldn’t come soon enough. I thoroughly enjoyed this brutal game when I played it on the PC. But there’s something about the nature of it that makes the gameplay loop and narrative beats feel highlighted so well here.

As a quick refresher, Death Howl is a strategic roguelike with a nearly monochromatic kinds of color palettes and melancholy story. Based on Scandinavian folklore, we follow a grieving mother named Ro searching the other side for her dead son Olvi who was stolen away from her. This means traversing different areas, facing all sorts of entities and beasts with abilities she gathers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGF-v--wGhk

The narrative is fantastic. There are so many themes running through it. Revenge is a critical one, since there’s a central stag figure associated with her son’s death and apparent abduction. Not to mention she’s angry with Death itself over the loss. Coming to terms with the situation is another, since this is a journey about grief and clearly she’s going through the bargaining and depression stages while also being angry about everything and denying that this is a situation that can’t be undone. But there’s also this veil of uncertainty over everything. Due to the use of symbolism and design choices, Ro is an unreliable narrator and there are gaps in our knowledge as players. Which means part of the motivation that keeps us going is to finally know the truth of it all. Having the game on the Switch makes it easy to keep going so we can absorb the information and take in what possible truths could be hinted at as we play.

The Switch also makes for a good way to appreciate the art direction in Death Howl in the same way that the Steam Deck and other handheld gaming PCs do. This is a strategy game with sprite-based designs, an isometric perspective of the board, and limited color palettes for each region. Actual spirit designs play with shading and color options to depict details that wouldn’t otherwise be possible with the limitations. When there are effects from actions and spell usage, we see intricate animations. While it is possible to view these and take away the excellence, I feel like having it in handheld mode where you could really take a moment to look closer at details.

It also helps that the Switch port is a great version of Death Howl. Given how text-heavy it is for cards and combat, the color and font choices make it clear even when the lettering is little. It’s almost always clear and legible. Pair that with the great controller-based scheme carried over from the PC release, and it is quite comfortable to play.

Handhelds are a good fit for roguelike games, and the artistic direction, narrative, and gameplay of Death Howl make it feel especially strong on the Switch. It’s a great port that plays well on the system. The nature of the storyline makes it a perfect game to play in a darkened room. Since the gameplay encourages deck experimentation and strategic decisions, you can really get cozy and experience it. It feels exceptionally at home here.

Death Howl is available on the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

The post Death Howl’s Gameplay and Narrative Help It Fit on Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

When I first played Starsand Island, it was early in development, not all the different types of professions were ready, and the build felt like a work in progress. Now that the game is properly in early access, it feels far more cohesive. Yes, not everything is there yet and I can’t live my virtual life to the fullest. Some balancing definitely needs to be done. But it does feel more pulled together and ready to go than it originally did. 

As a quick refresher, Starsand Island is about moving to a rural community your character is already loosely connected to in order to start a new life. Previously, they’d only visited due to their grandpa living there. Now they inherited the home and, after a friend named Solara helps them settle in, they work on becoming part of the community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5h-VhOriYs

The biggest change I noticed between my initial Starsand Island experience and this return to the early access build is that there’s substantially more here. The Crafting, Exploration, Farming, Fishing, and Ranching professions feel much more fleshed out than before, with especially farming and fishing offering more variety in terms of yields, ranching adding more animal husbandry options, and many more recipes available when it comes to making things. These feel pretty full right now, though admittedly I haven’t completed any of the professions at this point. All of these seem advanced enough that I suspect I wouldn’t miss too much in 1.0 if I try and go ahead and do as much as possible now.  

Some professions did really hook me in now in this build. Especially with the Farming and Ranching lines. It seems very easy to get settled, and the range of crops and animal is great right now. There are hybrids possible, if you spend enough time playing, and greenhouses are already present. Like getting to Expert Rancher and accessing the alpaca and ostrich are helpful for the extra eggs, feathers, and wool, not to mention riding them is quite cute. And the DNA element to it is helpful for breeding purposes, should someone focus on that lifestyle. However, I will note that exploration’s combat does seem to still need work. While bows are present as a weapon, adding a nice ranged option, there’s still not much there. We could use more enemies, as well as mechanics like dodging.

While the profession changes in Starsand Island probably the first and most obvious area to get a glow-up in early access, the relationship element feels pretty good right now too. This applies to both animals and people. The pet system reminds me a bit of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, in that you aren’t just buying a new buddy. I mean, yes, Woof and Wow Pets does offer them. But we also adopt wild animals by befriending them and reaching basically three hearts. This means you’re going to need to work to get the fox or squirrel to be a friend. 

As for the human relationship element, it does feel pretty fleshed out even now in Starsand Island. There’s a decent number of love interests at 15 total (8 bachelorettes and 7 bachelors). These feature voice acting, though there’s not much yet, and there are more appearances in quests and interactions with folks that made me want to give gifts and check in daily. In some cases though, I felt like some of the folks were just pretty faces. There isn’t enough to them yet to make them lovable. However, it does seem like that could change. The team stated there will be more to the dating system come April 2026. I would like and hope to see marriage and kids in the endgame too. 

However, I will say some stuff doesn’t feel completely balanced or 100% set yet. This is an issue acknowledged on the Steam product page and in the roadmap. I would like a little better performance when really racing through on mounts or on an item like a skateboard. Some character models could be adjusted a little. Getting your house and land built up does take a lot of time, and it doesn’t feel like it’s quite designed for us to get to the point of a massive complex with a home we could have a romance option move into yet. I do wonder if we might see rebalancing progression and development updates, since the crafting part does feel stronger than the pre-launch build I played and the team did mention that’s in the roadmap.

Starsand Island is essentially coming along, with the early access version showing a lot of progress from the initial build I played. There’s a lot more to every profession in the game, though exploration could use a bit more additions and adjusting. Romance is starting to seem more viable, and pet adoption is enjoyable. Some rebalancing would be great, but the foundation for the 1.0 version later this year seems pretty stable.

Starsand Island is in early access on the PC and Xbox Series X on February 11, 2026, and a full launch that also includes Switch 2 and PS5 versions is set for Summer 2026.

The post Preview: Starsand Island Is Built on a Solid Foundation appeared first on Siliconera.

Back at the beginning of November 2025, we announced our ad-free Siliconera+ subscription would be back. Now that we’ve gotten things situated, we’d like to announce a free-trial. Starting immediately, anyone joining Siliconera+ will get a two month (60-day) free trial if recurrent payment is enabled. So if someone would join on November 17, 2026, then the $1.99 subscription fee would kick into effect on January 16, 2026. 

As a reminder, here is everything you get with a Siliconera+ subscription:

1. No ads appear on the site. 
2. Automatic monthly entries in our contests for a free game. Each month, we’ll give away one PC game to one random Siliconera+ subscriber. (The one for December 2025 will be the PC version of UNBEATABLE.) People who don’t subscribe are also able to enter via a form found in our free monthly newsletter, which you can sign up for at any time. The link to enter for free will appear in that email that shows up on the last Friday of every month.
3. Monthly survey access to help suggest future news and feature coverage. On the last day of each month, the members-only article that announces the free game contest for the next month and winner of the previous month's game will include a survey that allows you to help weigh in on what we could cover. This will also include an open-ended “any other feedback” short answer portion for additional outreach. While we will still prioritize some topics we know bring in traffic (like Hatsune Miku, Sanrio, and some figure and anime stories), this will allow you to offer additional insight into things we might have otherwise missed.

We’d really love to expand what we offer and keep serving the community as we did before, and we hope the support from Siliconera+ will allow us to run more news, reviews, previews, interviews, and playtests each month. If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, please let us know in the comments below. 

Thank you for visiting and supporting us!

The post Siliconera+ 2 Month Free Trial Added appeared first on Siliconera.

Whenever a major update arrives in Honkai: Star Rail, it always brings with it tons of new additions and gameplay features, and 4.0 is no exception. However, it seems like this version is building up with its first patch, and that we might see the real major benefits and changes once 4.1 and 4.2 arrive. Keep in mind, 4.0 is still a big deal! Especially when it comes to Sparxie and Cosmicon Collective. But I get the impression we’ll see the full weight of Planarcadia’s Trailblaze Missions and Elation’s power once we get more into it.

With the new Planarcadia Trailblaze Missions in Honkai: Star Rail 4.0, it reminds me more of the early Xianzhou Luofu and Penacony storylines than something like Jarilo-VI and Amphoreus. We’re welcome guests to the planet, with Sparkle acting as a host. It’s a very bright space that feels modern, with lots of games and activities. Now, there is the setting for something more and growing stakes, since there is the Phantasmoon Games competition. The winner gets to meet Aha and wield the power of an Aeon for a minute. Given Trailblazer, Sunday, Sparxie, and Silver Wolf are all competing, there’s a lot of potential for how this all could go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hH0hILcWPs&t=1s

However, I’m more excited about 4.0 for another reason. That’s because Himiko is tied to Planarcadia. We’ve seen recent versions with members of the Astral Express tied to areas including eventual revelations about the characters. Dan Heng came up during the 1.0 Xianzhou Luofu storyline. March 7th ended up featured in 3.0 at Amphoreus. This feels like Himiko’s turn, and I’m excited by the initial teasers and hints we get so far.

One of the best parts of Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 is the new Elation path, though I think most people won’t get to really appreciate it until Sparxie’s banner arrives on March 3, 2026. The new path might feel a bit like the DOTs in Nihility characters or Remembrance Memosprites since Aha could chime in for additional effects and you want to set things up for Punchlines and Elation DMG. It’s most evident with Sparxie, who I got to test out, since her Boom! Sparxicle's Poppin Skill enhances her Basic into Bloom! Winner Takes All for an attack with splash AOE damage and makes her Skill briefly Engagement Farming for a DMG multiplayer and more Punchline points. She can do big numbers even without Yao Guang, especially if Sparkle is on the same time, though she is best when paired with her fellow Elation character. 

The thing is, Yao Guang herself isn’t as exciting or useful without Sparxie. Her Decalight Unveils All Skill’s zone is best for Elation stat boosting, which only applies to Sparxie at the moment. While her Hexagram of Feathered Fortune is a more generic one that helps get Aha acting again and boosting Punchline, due to it helping all-type Res Pen for the party, she’s ideally a buffer for a type of team that probably won’t be possible until 4.2 or 4.3. I’m a bit surprised she’s the first banner for Honkai: Star Rail 4.0, in fact, given the focus Sparxie/Sparkle has in the story and the general usefulness of the other character.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JekiKSvtSCw

What I especially liked about the 4.0 update for Honkai: Star Rail is the Cosmicon Collective card game, which feels like the equivalent of Genius Invokation in Genshin Impact. It’s of course its own beast, with elements like weather influencing matches to offer boosts, and us using Prismatic Dice and collected character cards to fight matches. It’s standard TCG fare in many ways, with attack level determining dice selected and used, defense level determining your defense based on rolls, and us knowing how many D6s and D4s would be used and if a Prismatic Die could be used. We roll dice, select which ones to use to determine damage dealt and defenses set. It goes really quickly, and there being the “Cosmicon, Roll On” event around at launch helps make it more inviting.

The fact that Yao Guang won’t probably be all that exciting until her rerun aside, it feels like HoYoVerse is building something with Honkai: Star Rail 4.0. Planarcadia’s plot is leaving all sorts of threads to follow and hints of things to come, even though the initial quests are more about getting acquainted with the premise. Sparxie feels like a great example of what Elation could be capable of with the right supports. Cosmicon Collective is a lot of fun. It’s like we’re at the foundation now, and I’m excited for what’s next.

Honkai: Star Rail is available for the PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the 4.0 update is live now.

The post Excitement Is Building in Honkai: Star Rail 4.0  appeared first on Siliconera.

Maybe a poetry recitation is a pretty dull affair if you stumble into one at a coffeehouse in real life, but in Project Gorgon, it’s the social event of the week that draws all the partiers — and giant glowing green bears — to slam down some lyrics and boost some skills. There once was […]

In the Venn diagram comparing WoW Classic and Lord of the Rings Online, there’s a large overlapping section that simply says “chill gameplay.” And that’s probably why I appreciate both titles: because they feed that need I have to slow down, drink in the game world, and focus on a long leveling journey with no […]

Join us for our weekly open thread! We're discussing what MMOs we're playing this weekend and answering a bonus question about movies you've somehow never seen...

Time to kick up your feet and listen to a classic MMO tune! This week’s pick is We All Lift Together, a popular shanty from, oddly enough, Warframe and written by Keith Power. Give it a listen and see if you’re not whistling it for the rest of the day! And if you have any […]

I said it, and I’m actually going to deliver on it this time: I’m bringing you back to another round of Eldegarde. That’s Notorious Studios’ recent mini-MMO, which primarily plays as an extraction RPG. And yet it has so many features that MMO players love to see that it’s been self-dubbed a mini-MMO. The game […]

Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken was published in August of 1915, and it has endured an immense popularity since then. Many people can quote the last couplet of the poem (“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”), and for years the title alone conjures images of […]

This weekend will be Pokemon Go local Kalos Tour, and as we mentioned in our prep guide, it hasn’t been looking good. We’ve been expecting a big announcement to drop right before the event, and we were right, but it’s not a great one. The problematic-since-release feature, which has seen some improvement, is taking another […]

This week’s Massively Overthinking is inspired by a tweet I saw from SMITE, of all games, where the Hi-Rez devs asked players to propose one god to delete from the game. Obviously, this is not a serious proposition, but in the aggregate, the answers can kinda show a trend in what people are tired of, […]

The moment I first saw Witchspire was a thing, I knew the exact people in my life for whom the title alone was an alluring promise. I’m not exaggerating with that; there are people who mean the world to me who are here precisely for big witch hats, witch cottages, and everything that goes along with endless […]

We’ve all been there. You’re dragging yourself through another so-so gaming year, playing the same old titles, all while telling yourself that it’s about to get a lot more interesting, because a game you’ve been eyeing should come out before too long. And almost as if you jinxed a cosmic trickster, the next day you […]

Denshattack! was revealed earlier last year, and I do not think I have seen an announcement trailer with this much energy in quite some time. It had everything I wanted from a game reveal: fast-paced gameplay, a unique hook, and a distinct art style to tie it all together.

Ahead of its Steam Next Fest demo release, I had the chance to play Denshattack! and came away hungry for more. Here are my thoughts on its early levels.

Absolum was my favourite game of 2025. Punchy combat, superb art, and plenty of well-realised roguelite mechanics made it a rewarding experience to sink hours into, especially in co op. It has now received its first major update. Threads of Fate introduces even more challenges to satisfy my endgame cravings.

Corrupted Regions and Mystic Ordeals

When you reach the end of Absolum, there is still plenty to do. Whether it is beating the true final boss with every character or wrapping up side quests that lead to new paths, bosses to vanquish, and characters to meet, the game does not simply stop. With the 1.1 update, two major additions significantly shake up the endgame experience.

It’s safe to say Xbox isn’t doing well right now. With dwindling sales and desperate price hikes, the console wars could be coming to an end soon. Amid the decline of Xbox, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has announced his retirement.

“It’s rare in life to know when a chapter is closing, but after 38 years at Microsoft, that moment has arrived for me,” Spencer tweeted on February 20th. “I’ve made the decision to retire and begin the next chapter of my life. It’s a milestone that’s given me a chance to reflect on the incredible journey I’ve been fortunate enough to share with so many of you.”

Spencer started working as an intern at Microsoft back in 1988, initially developing early CD-ROM games. In 1994, he moved to the Desktop Finance Division as a manager for Microsoft Money. He pivoted to a product unit manager role in Consumer Productivity in 1999. He worked as General Manager of Microsoft Game Studios EMEA for a while before he became the general manager of Microsoft Studios worldwide in 2008. A year later, he was Corporate Vice President.

In recent years, he led Xbox through multiple console launches, acquired a bunch of game studios, created the business model behind the Xbox Game Pass, and then Xbox Cloud Gaming,

He tweeted of his journey: “Thinking back to my start as an intern in 1988, I never could have imagined the path ahead. I’ve been lucky to work with so many passionate creators, partners, colleagues, and players across the industry; people who challenged me, taught me, and made this work full of joy and wonder.”

This is gaming we’re talking about, however, so you can definitely expect to see very mixed reactions on social media. While gamers acknowledged all of the work he’s done, many felt his console launches were failures and blamed him for studio closures and increased prices. One angry gamer even said: “I wish you left sooner.”

While Spencer is not winning any medals in my book, I think it’s about to get even worse.

New Microsoft CEO wants to keep up with “rapid change” but not use “AI slop”

Spencer’s position as Microsoft Gaming CEO is being filled by Asha Sharma. She joined Microsoft in 2024 and was the President of CoreAI before taking the CEO position. Before that, she was Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and Vice President of Product and Engineering at Meta.

Said Spencer: “She’s joining an incredible group of people; teams full of talent, heart, and a deep commitment to the players they serve. Watching her lean in with curiosity and a real desire to strengthen the foundation we’ve built gives me confidence that our Xbox communities will be well supported in the years ahead.”

In a letter, strangely shared by Geoff Keighley (is he being paid by Microsoft now, too?), Sharma said she felt “humility and urgency” after taking her new role as CEO: “Humility because this team has built something extraordinary over decades. Urgency because gaming is in a period of rapid change, and we need to move with clarity and conviction.”

Of course, gaming skeptics took this to mean she was implementing much more AI as the technology becomes more prominent in the industry. It’s not a far-fetched accusation after learning of Sharma’s history with AI. It’s not like Xbox has never used AI before.

She did, however, say she was focused on making great games and bringing Xbox back to its core. She said she wants to take risks and encourage “bold ideas” from studios, all with the intention of giving players “what they care about.”

This was followed by saying she wants to “reinvent” play, another statement that had gamers suspicious. She wrote: “To meet the moment, we will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters, and worlds that people love. But we will not treat those worlds as static IP to milk and monetize. We will build a shared platform and tools that empower developers and players to create and share their own stories.  

“As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.”

It’s strange that someone who works in AI would call it “slop,” but I take this to mean that they will use AI, just not in a lazy, unappealing way. I think some gamers would be even more critical than that.

It’s much too early to truly know how Sharma plans to lead Microsoft going forward. It’s going to be tough for her to turn around what Spencer has already done for the past few decades, and he may have left her with some pretty tough challenges. Can AI solve some of these issues? Will she truly avoid “AI slop?” Only time will tell.

But I think Xbox would be screwed either way.

The post Players concerned that Xbox may pivot to more AI as Phil Spencer retires appeared first on The Escapist.

Obviously, those people who post things on Insta like “It’s Fri-yay!” shouldn’t be allowed near technology of any sort, but those posts do signal the arrival of the weekend and some lovely downtime for many of us, so here’s a suggestion of how to waste some of it this week.

Super Battle Golf from developer Brimstone and publisher Oro Interactive is out now on Steam, and it’s less “gentle afternoon on the green” and more “eight idiots firing orbital lasers at each other while screaming in voice chat”.

If that sounds familiar, it should. We covered Super Battle Golf back when it was announced, and even then, it was clear this thing was being engineered in a lab to get streamers over-excited. Since then, it’s racked up over 100,000 wishlists in just four weeks, powered by clips of “influencers” absolutely losing control of situations that went wrong in seconds. That energy carries straight through to launch.

At its core, Super Battle Golf is golf in the loosest possible sense. Up to eight players all take their shots at the same time, racing toward the hole while actively trying to ruin each other’s lives. Courses are packed with hazards like sand traps, water, vegetation, and mines, but the real danger is the other players – isn’t it always?. You’re not just lining up your swing; you’re watching for incoming golf carts, sniper shots, and whatever unholy power-up just came off cooldown for that fool you are playing with.

And yes, golf carts matter here. They’re drivable. They can carry everyone. They can be weaponised.

Matches are scored on speed, disruption, and survival, which neatly explains why “playing well” often means doing something deeply unfair. Smack opponents with your ball. Ram them into a lake. Fire an orbital laser from the other side of the map. What would Tiger Woods do?

If you somehow get tired of tormenting friends, there’s also a point-based solo mode, though even that feels like training for future multiplayer crimes. Across 27 courses, Super Battle Golf constantly escalates, adding just enough chaos to keep things unpredictable without tipping into total noise.

A special mention has to go to the cosmetics. This is a game that lets you swing a chicken leg, launch a billiard ball, and wear a giraffe head tall enough to be a navigational hazard.

At $7.99 with a 20% launch discount, Super Battle Golf isn’t asking for much but it’s obviously one of those games that is better with friends rather than creepy internet randos.

The post Something for the weekend – Super Battle Golf arrives on Steam appeared first on The Escapist.