Remember back in January when EverQuest franchise players were miffed that Daybreak had decided to skip a roadmap for EverQuest and EverQuest II in 2026, out of a stated desire to avoid “redundancy”? At the time, Daybreak’s Jenn Chan said that the studio would still be putting out its traditional two game updates and an […]
Throughout the years we've featured many lost and recovered games, this is especially true when it comes to either the Amiga or the Commodore 64. Well, today's news is a bit of a special one. As if you have an Atari XL/XE however, we've been told that the 1986 game 'Trap', which featured music by Ben Daglish, has been recovered as a prototype for the Atari XL/XE. A game whereby some
We've been told that if you remember playing the 1984 game called 'XZAP' by Commodore Business Machines, which was released for the Commodore 16 and Plus/4. Then as of today you can download the Commodore Amiga version by Electric Black Sheep. A recreation of that classic game, whereby your objective is to destroy all the aliens on each level, and so progress through 140 different levels. To
HIGH Spellbinding gameplay loop. Meaningful additions to the base game.
LOW Faulty Bifröst mode. Odd UI choices.
WTF Why does Egil always gotta be such a bro?
Like its forefathers Age of Empires and Starcraft, Northgard stands tall in the annals of RTS history.
For eight years, it has maintained loyalty from an active player base, and the developers at Shiro Games have reciprocated that commitment by providing frequent patches, content-rich DLC and now, their massive (and free!) Definitive Edition update. This update, along with key features of the original game, represent the culmination of years spent refining the formula for RTS game development, making it a crown jewel of the genre.
The new update is no surface-level touch up. It grants access to three new clans (Snake, Horse and Dragon) each possessing unique abilities or exclusive units. The DLC, Cross of Vidar, includes an extra clan (Lion) and an additional campaign for the story mode, new biomes such as Valhalla and a retrospective digital artbook. Returning players will also notice general improvements to performance and graphics as well as some rebalancing and other adjustments.
I first played Northgard a few years ago as I was recovering from an Achilles heel surgery. Having virtually nothing else to do, I spent the better part of a day playing it while there was still a promotion running on Steam, which allowed me to download and play the full game for a limited time.
Its cartoonish visuals recalled early entries in the Warcraft series — by today’s standards, a little crude but bright and charming.
From the opening cutscene on, it was clear that the premise behind it wouldn’t be anything to write home about, but I still love a good Viking revenge story. The player controls Rig, the son of a Viking chief who had been assassinated by a rival chief named Hagen. Rig scours the mysterious continent, Northgard, to bring his father’s killer to justice, only to discover that Hagen was but a pawn in an insidious scheme with the end goal of triggering Ragnarok.
Past the plot and into gameplay, zone-based progression is a key mechanic that requires the player to first scout areas before they can be colonized or exploited. Players can take over occupied zones by deploying their military units, and once they reach a given zone, a 45-second timer will start. If they survive, the zone becomes theirs. It is imperative that the player continues to expand their territory (thereby increasing their resource production) lest they fall victim not only to invasion, but also to low morale, economic collapse, famine or any number of calamities.
Given potential threats, the player must pay close attention as they manage their resources — Happiness, Food, Wood, Kröwns, Stone, Iron and Lore.
Happiness can be generated from Feasts and Breweries, Food is sourced from various animals and crops, Wood is gathered by chopping down trees or destroying buildings, while Kröwns are earned from trading resources or raids and can be spent on upgrades, buildings or units. Stone and Iron are taken from ore in Mines and can be used for both building and unit upgrades, and Lore is uncovered by exploring ruins or studying Lorestones, and can be used to unlock stat boosts and improvements on a skill tree.
Northgard offers a good balance of control and automation. As long as their basic needs are met, Villagers will continue to spawn and automatically get to work, but the player can also make adjustments to how the work is being done most effectively by reassigning workers.
For instance, when there is a Food shortage and no immediate threat, the player can instantly turn idle Warriors into Fishermen simply by selecting each of them and directing them to the Fishing Hut. With such flexibility, it’s hard to imagine revisiting the RTS games of my youth and not being frustrated, having to live with my choices every time I made a new unit.
After finishing the campaign, a number of other features and modes greatly increase replay value.
The single player mode has many customizable conditions that allow the player to ramp up the difficulty, thereby supporting the player as they try to develop their own skills. Multiplayer modes provide variety, including the Bifröst mode (PvE co-op for up to 4 players) as well as a co-op conquest mode and invite-only, public, and ranked multiplayer options in various arrangements.
In general, Northgard’s pace is much slower than its contemporaries, allowing the player to be more deliberate about every choice they make — which, as someone who takes a while to make decisions, I appreciated.
Looking back on my first impressions of the game and comparing them with my experiences playing over the course of the last two months, it seems to me that the Definitive Edition update marks a victory lap for the game. Even after two years away, coming back and playing Northgard still feels as fresh and exciting as the continent was to Rig and his band of Viking settlers when they first embarked on their quest, and it’s all ripe for the taking.
Disclosures: This game was developed and published by Shiro Games. The game is currently available only on PC. It was obtained via publisher and reviewed for PC. Approximately 28 hours were devoted to the campaign mode and approximately 6 hours were spent in multiplayer for a grand total of 34 hours. The main campaign was finished. There are both PvP and PvE modes for online multiplayer.
Parents: This game is rated E10+ by the ESRB with Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Use of Alcohol. Also includes Users Interact. This is a strategy game in which players help a clan of Vikings establish a new settlement. From an overhead perspective, players build structures, gather resources, and deploy scouts/warriors to explore and colonize new areas. As players explore the land, they can encounter and battle various creatures (e.g., ice zombies, dragons, giants) and other Viking colonies. Battles are accompanied by weapon clashes, impact sounds, and cries of pain; enemy units are depicted on the ground when defeated. During the course of the game, players can build a brewery; villagers can sometimes be seen drinking from mugs. The word “hellbent” appears in the game.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game has text-based dialogue with some sound effects (usually laughing or grunting as a way to emphasize certain lines) but no audio cues that impact the gameplay in any significant way, thus making it fully accessible.
Remappable controls: The controls can be remapped.
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Welcome to Recap, our weekly feature--running every Monday morning--where we round up what’s been going on around video games, the internet and beyond.
Legendary Sega hardware designer (and one-time acting President) Hideki Sato has died at the age of 77.
Just four years after a LEGO game needed only 8GB of RAM on PC, the upcoming Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight--which originally said it would need 32GB--last week dropped that number to 16GB, just in time for RAM prices to continue going through the roof.
Discord's UK users have been told they "may be part of an experiment", which is very interesting wording for a user's age verification data now being sent to the third-party age-assurance vendor Persona instead of being processed on their phone locally as had originally been announced.
Mewgenics creators Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel certainly made some choices when it came to the game's guest voice cast, then McMillen certainly tried to explain those choices in an interview with RPS.
GameStop, the largest retailer dedicated to videogames, is reportedly shutting down hundreds of stores in the United States. The reports started appearing on social media and were quickly conflated into one very long list on the 'GameStop Closing List' blog, which reckons there are at least 410 GameStop stores confirmed to be closing and another 11 reported but as of yet unconfirmed. This is only the latest round of closures for the retailer headquartered in Grapevine, Texas. In the annual 10-K SEC filing issued in February 2025, the company stated: We have also initiated a comprehensive store portfolio optimization review […]
When you play Forza Horizon 5, it’s not just a racing game. You experience a sun-drenched Mexico where you can endlessly explore, while every mile is celebrating car culture. For me, the game is perfect because I have spent countless hours obsessively building my dream garage in Forza Horizon 4. However, the game is not a rehash of familiar roads. There is a special electric feeling that keeps you wanting more.
The Thrill of the Open Road (and Even Off It)
Of course, Forza Horizon 5 is primarily about racing, but the main focus of the game is exploration. The map has humid jungles, arid deserts, sleepy villages, and wild coasts, and every inch of this virtual Mexico is begging you to drive. If you are like me, you will take every opportunity to drive off-road. In the past Horizon titles, when the standard was to buy cheap PS4 games, it always felt that the fastest way to earn points was to stick to the main roads. Here? Not even close. Smash a patch of cacti, throw your car into a riverbed, and charge down a mountain. The more reckless, the better. There is something amazing about skidding to a stop in a dusty cloud, yanking a barn door open, and finding an old car that is just waiting to be restored.
The Pulse of Mexico’s Roads.
There’s something deeply intoxicating about cruising down a sun-drenched highway, the horizon shimmering with the promise of the unknown. Whether you’re drifting through a dense jungle, tearing through arid desert plains, or weaving through cobblestone streets of colorful villages, the world feels alive and personal. It’s not just a map—it’s an experience.
The team at Playground Games has designed a Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 that is not only personalized but also vast; a Mexico that has postcard views and a Mexico that has little treasures begging you to stop and appreciate. Every little detail is accounted for, like when you speed through a tropical storm and sunlight reflects off your car and paint, and you appreciate the sunlight. They are extremely chaotic but comforting; a good reminder that natural machines are just as important as the storms and the other machines you are controlling.
A Collector's Dream
Having stored numerous cars and having built a dream car garage in Forza Horizon 4, I Forza Horizon 5 fulfilled my needs in ways I didn't know I needed. I could spend hours in Forza Horizon Vista in the car observation mode just to check the car and interior details. The detailing down to the aggressive lines of the Lambo Huracan and the rich and shiny leather of the Jaguar E-Type is impressive. Some players who buy PS5 racing games enjoy making shifts to their customization settings. Customization is incredibly satisfying. There is nothing quite like the feeling of tuning the handling of a Ford GT to match your every nerve and command.
While the interaction with the simulated car is satisfying, it also experiences the most refined and improved car interaction. The driving experience has improved with a greater connection to the road and the vehicle being driven. There is a single spot for every driving experience that can be achieved by a driver, whether the driver is a casual driver or more serious.
The new Horizon Arcade mode replaces the structured Forzathon Live events and offers a more organic and untamed multiplayer experience. It’s not flawless—some events in Forza Horizon 4 are more memorable—but the variety is enough to keep things interesting. There are plenty of high-speed sprints to salt flats and plenty of designed technical tracks to urban centers of the country.
The Essence of Mexico
However, the finest thing about Forza Horizon 5 is the Mexican culture it represents. Most certainly, the main story missions, even when they are somewhat cheesy to partake in, narrate deeper stories about the culture. One of the more memorable moments involved a barn find of a venerable Volkswagen Beetle, forked in a race, that the finder restored to its former glory. There was personal history in the story beyond the car, and plenty of rich culture and people.
Cars, Cars, and More Cars
Each car has a personality, like a McLaren 720S that begs to be driven at top speed, or a Baja Bug that is unstoppable in the dunes. Customization is unbelievable. I have spent—actual hours—doing liveries, tweaking suspension, and adjusting power-to-weight ratio. While the design tools are complex, the designers made them user-friendly to the point where they can save you from getting frustrated. My favorite moment? Creating a custom paint job for a classic Mustang and then watching it shine while I jumped off a ramp going 120 mph.
The Auction House
Collecting cars is not as simple as racing through the campaign. You can collect the rare cars, but it will take some work. You can enter the auctions where people are able to sell the cars they no longer want. While this isn’t new to the series, it has a better flow here. You can have the thrill of sniping a rare car at the last moment, then flipping the car for a profit.
Word of advice: Most players who buy PS5 games already have mission-earned cars, so their value drops quickly. If making money is your goal, go after cars that are rare and in demand. You shouldn’t miss the thrill of a great deal either. Like the adrenaline rush I get from racing, finding a great deal, like a Porsche 959 in great condition for a small percentage of the real price, is a racing thrill unlike any other.
A Couple of Bumps in the Road
While the Forza Horizon series is spectacular, this one definitely has flaws. The Horizon Challenges can feel somewhat monotonous, and while the game provides you with what seems like an excessive amount of events to pick from, I found myself wishing for a little more organized flow. There are only so many times one can sprint from point A to point B and not feel bored.
While connecting with your pals is simple, it can feel painstaking when a whole party is trying to compete in coop races and their game progress doesn’t match up. However, the feeling of unity when you and your buddies are driving all over and conquering the land definitely redeems it.
Conclusion
There is no need to reinvent the wheel on Forza Horizon 5, and it simply doesn’t need to. If you have even a casual interest in racing or cars, the open-world gameplay, authentic car culture, and attention to detail in craftsmanship will make it a game you simply have to experience. Playing Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 is amazing. The light and chrome of the supercars and the dust of the off-road trucks are in sync with the changing weather. I find myself stopping mid-race to take in the stunning scenery, be it the neon festival or the waterfall.
Developer: KID Publisher: VAP Release: 08/09/91 Genre: Action In the mid-90s there was an odd surge of 2d platformers featuring soccer. I suppose if cavemen and witches can have their day than football deserves its turn too....
Publisher PM Studios and developer PICOMY have announced a release date for Bandit Trap, their chaotic multiplayer action game. Bandit Trap is set to launch early next year on February 6th, 2026 across PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PS5. Here’s a rundown on the game, plus a […]
As I type this, we’re at the top of January and waiting for two events that should be happening in the WoW Classic space this month. The first is the Burning Crusade Anniversary prepatch on January 13th, which will reshape the systems of those servers and open up some more character options. But the second […]
Fresh on the heels of its 2026 roadmap, Lost Ark is preparing to unleash its first patch of the year on January 14th. In the latest dev video, the team talked up the “extreme” Thaemine raid that’s been adjusted from the Korean version to match the current playerbase. The team also encouraged players to collect […]
Saturdays are for putting your hand in a bucket of ice, swallowing a mouthful of honey and lemon, and breathing a sigh of relief. All that practice you put into your welcome handshake and 'Here comes trouble!' paid off. Almost every member of the treehouse has been successfully greeted home.
If nothing else, we can at least be generally assured that The First Descendant will have things going on between now and the first half of next year. That’s thanks to details from the latest livestream as Nexon talked up the content that’s arriving sometime in December (moments away, apparently) and laid out a roadmap […]
Video Games ChronicleAndy Robinson
KotakuEthan Gach
PlayStation.BlogGillen McAllister (he/him)
Eurogamer.netVikki Blake
Game DeveloperBryant Francis
Rock Paper ShotgunMark Warren
