We’re really hurtling our way through the summer months, and Gamescom is now almost upon us, with the hordes of gamers and fans set to descend on Cologne next week.

Dom and I will be out there, going hands on with upcoming games, speaking to their creators, trying to churn out previews and, come the nighttime hours, demanding that bar staff serve Kölsch in larger glasses.

But what about the week that’s been? Let’s round up this week’s gaming news.

In the News This Week

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard October release date confirmed
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 gets delayed February 2025 release date
• Tango Gameworks is back as Krafton revives Hi-Fi Rush studio
• The Plucky Squire is leaping from the page on 17th September, and day one with PS Plus Extra
• nDreams announce Vendetta Forever for PSVR 2 and Quest
• Curate quirky exhibits in Two Point Museum, ‘coming soon’ to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC
• Surprise Arizona Sunshine Remake revives one of the best VR shooters this October
• Trombone Champ will glissando its way onto VR later this year
• Terminator: Survivors early access will now release in 2025

Games in Review & Featured Articles

Black Myth: Wukong was the biggest embargo drop of the week, but did it live up to the hype and expectation?

• Sam and Max: the Devil’s Playhouse Remastered – PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO NSW, PC – 9/10
• Black Myth: Wukong – PS5, PC – 6/10
• MTG Arena – Bloomburrow – PC, iOS, Android – 6/10

Dom also dished out a gaming accessory review:

• CRKD Nitro Deck+ – NSW – 8/10

Beyond the reviews, I dipped a toe back into VR with the PSVR 2 PC Adapter, and with Sony’s first party investment in the platform seemingly non-existent, this feels like the future of the headset. Also, I got to finally play Half-Life: Alyx.

Speaking of older games that I’m playing for the first time, I also got to sample the opening few hours of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, which is a much bigger deal than its title would suggest.

And Dom played the Early Access release Cataclismo, which is a really intriguing fusion of construction and defence.

Rounding things out as always, What We Played featured Kunitsu-Gami, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and Black Myth: Wukong.

Trailer Park

Watch the 36 minutes STALKER 2 developer deep dive for another big gameplay reveal

Do your own stunts in Action Hero for Meta Quest 2 & 3

Your Achievements

Let’s check in on what you’ve been playing in the community:

• Andrewww helped his daughter play Bendy and the Ink Machine this week, which is “just the right type of scary for her age.” Speaking of scary, he’s off to watch Alien Romulus this weekend.

That’s the round up for this week. We’ll be back next week for more gaming news and more. See you then!

We’re getting over the hump of the Olympics this weekend, and Team GB has been doing a generally fantastic job of picking medals through the first half. Oh sure, a few of those came from the horsey stuff (it’s still super strange that horse dancing is an event, right?), but we’ve also done pretty darn well in and on the water, with early biking events, triathlon, and more!

There’s always this kind of scepticism in the run up to the Olympics – invariably from the locals who fear being subjected to local travel and life disruption – but it’s followed by a swell of pride and joy as everyone gets to see their nation’s representatives compete, and this year is no different.

Anyway, on to the video games stuff.

In the News This Week

The end of the week brought the THQ Nordic Summer Showcase, with a good haul of new trailers and announcements, but the biggest and most depressing news came from Bungie’s mass layoffs.

• Bungie lays off 220 staff – Destiny spin-off cancelled and The Final Shape underperformed, but Bungie layoffs were always planned
• Car smashing sequel Wreckfest 2 has been announced
• Avowed gets new release date of February 18th 2025
• See the first gameplay trailer for Titan Quest 2
• Prison Architect 2 delayed indefinitely
• The Eternal Life of Goldman is a platformer with a wonderful ligne claire art style
• The Thing: Remastered artwork shown in developer deep dive
• Skydance Games and Plaion partner for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra
• Zula Hendricks revealed as the protagonist for Alien: Rogue Incursion
• The PS Plus Monthly Games for August 2024 have been revealed

Games in Review & Featured Articles

It was a high-scoring week for reviews, as we all found games that we thoroughly enjoyed playing.

• SteamWorld Heist II – PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, NSW, PC – 9/10
• F1 Manager 24 – PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, NSW, PC – 8/10
• Earth Defense Force 6 – PS5, PS4, PC – 8/10
• Deadlink – PS5, XSX|S, PC – 8/10
• Thank Goodness You’re Here – PS5, PS4, NSW, PC, Mac – 7/10

Away from the reviews, Dom got to go hands on with Star Wars Outlaws and decided that, yes, this definitely feels like the open world Star Wars game we’ve been looking for.

Reu ventured into the latest Ace Attorney remasters, getting to play the Miles Edgeworth spin-off Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, one of which is coming to the West for the first time.

And with the latest themed expansion for Magic: The Gathering, Nic took a look at the cutesy Bloomburrow and shared how best to get started with MTG Arena.

Rounding things out as always, What We Played featured SteamWorld Heist 2, EDF 6 & Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Trailer Park

Darksiders is coming back: watch the teaser now

Get a deep look at Gothic Remake’s world, gameplay and story

Slide into 15 minute of Planet Coaster 2 water parks and coaster changes

That’s the round up for this week. We’ll be back next week for more gaming news and more. See you then!

It’s been a lovely, sunny week, and that’s meant that I’ve actually been outdoors, collecting Vitamin D to see me through the dark days (as in, the normal UK weather when you live up North). I have, however, played a chunk of Overwatch 2, loads of F1 Manager 24, Zenless Zone Zero, Cataclismo, and some more Elder Scrolls Online: The Gold Road, which is, unsurprisingly, something of a time sink.

Tuffcub has been playing Destiny 2, as per, and the very funny Thank Goodness You’re Here for review. Oh sure, it it doesn’t sound like much of a game, it sounds like I’m going to chortle my way through it, so I’m sold!

Nic B has been dipping his toe (paw?) back into MTG Arena with the release of its cutest set, Bloomburrow. Beyond that, it’s the usual: Monster Hunter Now!

Aran played Deadlink for review, saying, “It’s a fun roguelike arena shooter with a banging soundtrack.” He’s also been heading back in time though, “I’ve also played more Enslaved Odyssey to the West. I’m nearly at the end of the main story and then I’ll start the DLC.”

Chanting “EDF! EDF!” in his sleep has been Ade, who said in his waking hours that EDF 6 “is everything an Earth Defense Force fan could ever wish for.” He’s also been playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and seriously enjoying it. He says, “It’s the kind of creative and unique experimental game that I thought major publishers (other than Nintendo) just didn’t make any more. I’m so glad Capcom proved me wrong though, as Kunitsu-Gami is an absolute gem and proving to be one of my favourite games of the year so far.”

Miguel has been playing some Zenless Zone Zero, some Frontier Hunter, and Shadow Tower Abyss on the PS2! From Software’s weirdest and coolest pre-Souls game. Meanwhile, Gamoc has been playing Elden Ring, yet more Baldur’s Gate 3, and Mount and Blade Bannerlord, but the bigger challenge has been playing a game of telephone, trying to convince someone, anyone to come and install internet. Hopefully a chap will come along to sort that out today.

And finally, Tef handed in his review for SteamWorld Heist 2, and had a whale of a time with crew of submariner Steambots, taking on the game’s distinctive side-scrolling turn-based action. He’s also been out and about playing a much anticipated game… but sadly can’t tell us anything about that until later this month.

But what about you? What have you played?