Microsoft has confirmed the next batch of titles headed to Xbox Game Pass for the latter half of August: Atlas Fallen, Core Keeper, and Star Trucker.

Then there's that little known game called Call of Duty Black Ops 6. You'll be able to participate in the early access open beta when it kicks off for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on 30th August, 2024, with pre-downloading available from 28th August.

"Sure, it takes itself way too seriously and the loot chase can get monotonous, but everything outside of the monster-slaying is just an excuse to get right back to the monster-slaying. Or make the monster-slaying cooler with upgrades," we said in our Atlas Fallen review.

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Paradox Interactive's streak of game delays continues with the news its Chinese-Room-developed Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is now targeting a release in the "first half of 2025", rather than its previously announced "late 2024" window.

In a post on its website, Paradox called the delay a "proactive decision" derived from its commitment earlier this year to deliver "high-quality games" to its players. "Though [Bloodlines 2] is in a good enough place that we could have maintained our planned release window," it wrote, "Paradox and The Chinese Room collaboratively decided to prioritise polish."

Paradox says the delay will "create a quality assurance buffer, giving more time between testing and launch, ensuring we release the game when it's ready." More specifically, The Chinese Room will use the time to expand Bloodlines 2's story, providing twice as many endings as its predecessor, and to "adjust certain areas" such as Fabien - the voice in its protagonist's head.

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Just when Geoff Keighley had started to fade from your memory, he comes rubber-banding back with a vengeance - snap! It's Gamescom week and it kicks off with Opening Night Live this evening from 7pm UK time (other Opening Night Live timings here). A pre-show with additional announcements will begin at 6.30pm UK. We'll be watching and reporting on it live, as always, right here, so you can either keep abreast of announcements while you do something else, or you can join in with your thoughtful and amusing comments. Please keep us company. Please.

What do we expect to see today? Well, probably Geoff Keighley, but also the new Indiana Jones game, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Dune Awakening. We're also expecting Little Nightmares creator Tarsier to unveil its new project, which could be exciting. On top of that: Diablo 4 expansion Vessel of Hatred, Civilization 7, hero shooter Marvel Rivals, Lost Records (the project made by the creators of Life is Strange), Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (which was recently delayed), and Black Ops 6. Keighley's best pal Hideo Kojima has also been tweeting enigmatic silhouetted pictures of actors who are presumably playing roles in Death Stranding 2.

And before you ask, "Yes, there will be new game announcements," Keighley said on X.

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Vampire Survivors' free Darkasso update is now available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox, and mobile devices.

"It's been a while since we added a new major feature, so we tried not to spoil the contents of this patch immediately," Poncle teased in the patch notes. "Hope it worked to keep the contents a bit of a surprise."

New additions include nine new extra achievements, a new challenge stage and relic, two new "special character skins", and five new Arcanas to spice up your experience.

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During Lockdown, the only thing more scarce than flour was Switch fitness game Ring Fit Adventure. It was the perfect thing at the perfect time: a game that provided a home workout in a period when you had to stay home. Strap the controller to you, grab the oversized resistance wheel thing, and get moving. Everyone wanted one, and the desire for it lingered long after Lockdown. Today, Ring Fit has sold more than 15m units - it's one of the most successful games on Switch. Nintendo sensed there was a market and Ring Fit proved it. And it's not just Nintendo: companies like Peloton, with its uber-expensive exercise bike and integrated workout platform, have shown people will pay significant amounts of money to gamify their fitness needs, and it's into this exact space a new challenger has arrived.

It's called Quell and it's currently £190, and I tried it this week and I really liked it. The topline thing you need to know is that it delivers a punishing workout. It's more intense than Ring Fit; after a short demo plus a 20-minute regular session, I was dripping sweat freely on the rug in Quell's smallish London office. There was no air conditioning - enough said. That's not to say Ring Fit can't be intense but it's generally a calmer experience. Quell is designed to push it up a notch.

The second thing to know is that Quell feels more actively gamey than Ring Fit, which I was quite surprised about. It's built with roguelike principles in mind, so you try to see how far you can get in the game but also build and customise a loadout as you go. Do you want this power or that one? That kind of thing. And then between runs, you equip the items you earned, affecting your power and statistics, adding a layer of role-playing game progression to the mix. "Real fitness. Real gaming," is the company's motto, so you get a sense of the areas it's trying to push on.

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It's rather appropriate that the idea for Paper Trail - a game where you have to fold paper to solve puzzles - came from a brainstorming session where Newfangled Games' founders and brothers, Henry and Fred Hoffman, folded the paper of their hand drawn levels, then noticed that the puzzles on the front and the back could combine to make an even bigger puzzle. This one magic idea stuck from the off - but Newfangled Games' debut indie didn't always look like the polished puzzler it is now. There were some conceptual design bumps in the road, a trip to Boxpark Shoreditch, and a Netflix deal to chase before they could reach Paper Trail's true potential.

In the release version of Paper Trail, you play as Paige, who runs away from the 'forgotten seaside town' of Southfold to pursue her dream of attending university and becoming an Astrophysicist. Instead of just catching the train like the rest of us, Paige bends the space-time continuum to fold the world around her. You see her rural world from a top-down perspective, like looking at a piece of paper, and then you fold the world, just like that paper, to reveal the pattern on the other side to create paths, move objects, and combine symbols. A simple mechanic that creates some deceptively hard, but rewarding, puzzles. However, initially, Paper Trail was more of a sidescroller, but "there wasn't a huge amount of variety you could do with it," Henry Hoffman tells me as I chat with him on a video call. "It was interesting one-off interactions, but it didn't really have any scope beyond that."

So then Paper Trail transformed into more of a Metroidvania, where you fold the map itself rather than the levels. "And it's funny," Henry tells me, "because we weren't aware of Carto at the time, and I don't think Carto had come out, but that's very much what that ended up doing, where you're zooming out and manipulating the environment and rearranging." But this map folding didn't work for them either, "because there wasn't any real immediate feedback from folding the macro environment," Henry explains. "You would do that and then you wouldn't really see exactly what had happened, it would be a little bit confusing and disorienting."

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The special, almost intangible loveliness of the Plucky Squire isn't down to either the game design itself or the way it's presented. It's down to both of these things, combined so thoroughly, and with such imagination, that it's hard to stir them apart.

To put it another way, it's not just that this is a fantasy-action game in which your hero receives a bow and arrow from a beautiful elf. It's that, to win that bow and arrow, the hero first has to venture across the authentic wilderness of a child's cluttered bedroom desk, and into a cardboard castle. There, at the top of a tower formed by a stack of beloved books, the hero and the elf must do battle inside the stiff confines of a knock-off Magic: The Gathering card.

This completely rules. And that's just one moment from the preview build of the game I've been playing over the last few days that has elicited such a gasp of wonder and delight. A battle inside a battling card! And then I walk away from it with a golden bow. Yes please, Plucky Squire. Yes please.

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Two Legacy of Kain games are being re-released, but for the Evercade retro handheld console.

The Legacy of Kain Collection will include both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on one giga cart priced £22.49.

The collection will release next month and will be available to pre-order from 30th August. It's compatible with all Evercade and Super Pocket devices.

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Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. This week, we get sweaty in a new fitness game called Quell; we mull the ways in which Dungeons & Dragons combat is exciting but also frustrating; and Ian goes digging through the crates and revisits a classic.

What have you been playing?

Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.

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The Plucky Squire, one of Eurogamer's most anticipated games of the year, will launch for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S on 17th September, publisher Devolver Digital has announced.

It'll also be a day one launch via PlayStation Plus, for anyone signed up to Sony's subscription service.

An innovative 2D and 3D platformer based in and around the pages of a picture book, The Plucky Squire is the first project from All Possible Futures, the indie development studio set up by former Pokémon artist James Turner.

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I've been playing Arco on and off for the last few weeks on Switch and PC. I'm loving it - I think Arco's pretty wonderful. But the builds I've been playing on are also rather buggy, and I haven't been able to get to the end, either because of show-stopper bugs or random crashes.

What we're going to do in this case is hold back the review until next week, when I'm able to play retail code and know how the final thing runs. Until then, I wanted to give you a brief taste of what this game is like and why I think tactics fans should be excited. Hopefully next week we'll find that the final code is a lot more stable.

I'm going to focus pretty tightly on the combat today, which is an absolute gem. Just to set the scene, though, Arco's a Western story of indigenous people and greedy colonisers, and it plays out across a number of acts with the player shifting between different roles in each act. You take on missions and move from one area to another, helping people, fighting, and generally learning the story of this place.

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Among Us developer InnerSloth has announced a collaboration with Dungeons and Dragons web series Critical Role.

This collaboration means players can now bedeck their little space beans with a number of items worn by those intrepid members from Vox Machina, Mighty Nein, or Bells Hells. I am talking about Artagan's Incredible Brows Visor or the Dust of Deliciousness Nameplate, to name but two.

"Getting to work alongside the wonderful crew of the hit TTRPG show Critical Role to bring some of their magic to Among Us for Gilmore's Curious Cosmicube has been mind blowing," InnerSloth said. "Be sure to go to our in-game store and spend some Stars before the Cosmicube is gone."

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Turtles In Loop

HIGH Fluid combat and solid build diversity.

LOW Paper-thin story.

WTF The Shredder knows who Plato is?!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is an honest attempt at the roguelike genre featuring the four titular heroes in a half-shell.

The setting and art direction successfully mimic Nickelodeon’s beloved TV series, all the way down to the constant banter between Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello, as well as with the inclusion of the handful of familiar baddies they have to beat (and re-beat, and re-beat again) throughout the campaign.

All of this is to be expected by TMNT fans, and the game rightfully delivers on all fronts when it comes to allowing up to four players to spend an afternoon controlling the ninja rascals while slicing through hordes of cutesy foes. However, aside from that specific draw bolstered by some admittedly infectious dynamism, there isn’t much here to warrant prolonged attention. 

As mentioned, Splintered Fate is structured as a roguelike, meaning players will progress through randomly-generated stages in linear fashion while earning currencies, learning skills, and besting bosses at regular intervals during a full run lasting roughly 30 minutes. It’s played from a top-down perspective that allows players a clear view of the action, instantly making it a fair (yet chaotic) romp given the sheer quantity of enemies that will fill up the screen.

The plot has the turtles dealing with an enigmatic character who’s kidnapped their master and locked him away in another dimension. They urge the boys to complete a series of stages accessible through a portal conveniently placed within their hideout. With (roughly) each new attempt, the turtles accrue clues on how to ultimately rescue Splinter and get him back. Unfortunately, the runs don’t vary much, and players will have to witness the same collection of bland, uneventful-looking biomes and the same bosses in the very same order (with only slight random variations from time to time) over and over again. 

While the plot isn’t anything to write home about, each line of dialogue is dutifully recorded with a cadence that resembles the TV shows, and it goes a long way to selling the experience to fans. Granted, not every videogame needs to propose a philosophical basis for why we, as players, “need” to willingly initiate the next chapter of play while postulating semi-hidden meta-commentary on the nature of life, but Splintered Fate is an example where it’s clear from the get-go that story doesn’t matter — and truth be told, allowing oneself to get entangled in building an all-powerful turtle is incentive enough to keep restarting the same loop for a good while.

Unsurprisingly, up to four people can play together, either locally or online, each controlling one of the turtles while trying to navigate the ever-increasing onslaught of enemies with brightly colored area-of-attack indicators heralding each offensive move. Splintered Fate does a fine job of intuitively teaching newcomers its core mechanics and allowing them to get into a rhythm before long — the action is always zappy, fluid, and entertaining, with various combinations of enemies and bosses aggressively racking up the difficulty to eventually force the player into a more calculated, hit-and-run style. Learning how to spot tiny gaps between enemies’ attack chains to land a crunchy critical strike is as satisfying and rewarding as one would hope.

In addition to this smooth teaching curve, Splintered Fate also features a fair amount of character variety and RPG elements, evident from the very screen when we get to select a character.

While each turtle uses a different weapon with a unique attack speed, reach, and combos, Leo can store up to two special attacks at once, Donatello heals between rounds and more quickly recharges a “Tool” attack, Raphael is all about scoring critical hits and Michelangelo receives multi-hit bonuses — and is generally more likable than the rest!

On top of that, players get to pick between various boosts upon clearing a room, allowing them to apply elemental damage-over-time effects like fire, lighting, and poison (or whatever “ooze” is supposed to be), as well as increasing their chance to score a critical hit or dodge an enemy swing. Defensively, we can use a small dash move to get out of danger, which replenishes after a few seconds to remind us that situation awareness is supremely important in Splintered Fate. 

While this may sound a bit complex, that’s not the case in practice. Once the action starts and upon clearing a room, a selection of two or three powers appear on screen that players can choose from in true roguelike fashion. For example, playing as Donatello, I might be prompted to choose between prolonging the invincibility period of my Tool attack or increasing the reach of my Special attack, making it easier to strike fools in all directions at once.

Aside from that choice system, we also earn currencies that can be spent to bolster certain aspects of our build — things like getting a revive that automatically respawns the character upon death, or permanently increasing things like health points or faster move speed. Of course, such a scheme coalesces into a satisfying advances, as even failed runs allow one to make critical upgrades across the board, boosting the desire to surmount each of Splintered Fate’s challenges.  

On the flip side, this system proved unable to combat the staleness that started to creep in once I had successfully been through a dozen successful runs. Of course no game is meant to last forever, but replay and variety are hallmarks of the roguelike genre and in this way, Splintered Fate comes up a bit short. It’s a good time while it lasts — especially for Turtles fans — but more content, more variety and perhaps a little more narrative would have boosted the experience to the next level. But still, it’s OK!

Rating: 7 out of 10 

Disclosures: This game was developed and published by Super Evil Mega Corp. It is currently available on Switch, PS5, XBX and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch Lite. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the game, and it was completed. About 45 minutes were spent in online multiplier with two other players, while the maximum player count is four. 

Parents: This game has received an E rating from the ESRB and contains Fantasy Violence. The game features the titular cartoon characters as they battle through hordes of enemy ninjas and robots in an attempt to track down and save their kidnapped master. The writing, action, and art direction are all faithful to Nickelodeon’s long-running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. 

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue in this game is shown via textboxes and fairly well-acted voiceovers, so they’re easy to keep track of even mid-fights. All enemy attacks are clearly telegraphed on-screen with easy-to-note areas of attack. I’d say this game is fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: This game doesn’t offer a controller diagram and the controls are not remappable. However, the controls are displayed at all times during gameplay at the screen’s corners for easy reference. On the Switch, the face buttons are for striking, using special attacks, and dashing in and out of danger, while the left stick moves the character.

ARPG (not to be confused with action RPG, the comments inform me) Path Of Exile 2 will release in early access November 15th, 2024.

Grinding Gear Games have been set on a November window for a while now, but this is the first time they’ve nailed down a date, and possibly clicked on it a bunch of times to show how serious they are. Do a game related verb I can’t accurately name because I never played past that beach at the beginning of the first game, and do it in the general direction of the trailer below. Watch it. Just watch it.

Read more

Oh, hey, would you look at that? Total War: Warhammer 3's patch 5.2.0 (arriving later today) has some new orcs and goblins in it.

Look at 'em! They've got swords and shields now!

Read more

Tactical Breach Wizards is a tactics game for people that don’t like tactics games. Magically, it’s also a tactics game for people who love them like nothing else. It’s permissive and demanding; playful and tense. Its globe-spanning plot covers conspiracies, PMCs, and brutal theocratic dictatorships. It also features a traffic-summoning warlock named Steve wearing a hi-vis robe. It’s finding that one absolutely, perfectly ridiculous XCOM turn, every turn…and at the same time knowing it’s absolutely, perfectly fine if you don’t. In short: it’s one of the most enjoyable tactics games I’ve ever played, and the only tactics game with a pyromancer so rubbish he relies on making his enemies pass out from heatstroke.

Read more

There you are, rambling through the woods of Interactive Entertainment with an empty pack and a spring in your step. Here I am, lying in wait behind a tree. Wham! Bam! You reel back in consternation as I bounce into the path and clobber you with a sack containing no less than eight venerable RPGs, from Baldur's Gate to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue's Trader - well over a thousand hours worth of dungeons, dragons, dicerolls, dwarven shopkeepers and many other things I refuse to spend time alliterating, all of which will (currently) set you back just £32.07.

Were you planning to spend this weekend playing some cute two-hour artgame sideshow, without any levelling at all? Shut up, you DOLT. You will play what the nice journalist tells you to play! Best lay in extra caffeine tablets, because it's going to take you till Monday just to get through the character creators alone.

Read more

Any gags I could make about an update that lets Total War: Warhammer 3’s dawi play tall are far too obvious for the discerning comedic palette that brought you such bangers as that time I just wrote “(penis)” a bunch so the Overkill’s Walking Dead page wouldn’t quote me out of context, so let’s just dive right in to the details. The strategy game’s 5.2 update is on the horizon, and tagging along with it are the first of the “extra bits” the team teased in June. I’m very excited about them. They sit somewhere between the usual patch fare of stat tweaks and errata, and the weightier faction facelifts that come alongside paid DLC. They’re also focused right where Immortal Empires needs them the most: depth, rather than width. In the dawi’s case, quite literally.

Read more

The Plucky Squire stars a 2D sword-slashing protagonist so plucky he busts out of his storybook confines and into the fully 3D world of a kid's bedroom. You'll then spend your time hopping between these various planes on a grand, cartoon adventure.

It now has a release date: September 17th.

Read more

Space 4X strategy game Stellaris launched in 2016, but Paradox can't stop adding to the universe. Last time I checked in, it was school trips to other dimensions. Now, it's Cosmic Storms. Due for release alongside the Stellaris 3.13 Vela update on September 10th, these are a paid "mechanical expansion" (priced at a rather chunky £11, $13 or €13, and available as part of the current season pass) that builds upon the game's existing Space Storms, "providing a deeper experience with strategically meaningful gameplay and beautiful upgraded visuals". Wash that down with new civics, precursor narratives, anomalies, archaeology sites, techs, edicts, a new Ascension perk, and new galactic community resolutions.

Read more

Tiny Glade is a relaxing, wholly escapist building sim where you can kick back and summon villages, cottages and castles whilst listening to whimsical tunes without the worry of combat or busywork. This cosy game has received a lot of attention, becoming the fourth most-played demo during Steam Next Fest and earning a place within our own list of favourite demos. It now has a release date - 23rd September 2024.

Read more

Over 2000 hours spent in various factory games makes me a bit of a purist, I suppose. In theory, I should then be the ideal reviewer to enjoy Shapez 2. But I'm also the ideal reviewer to tear it apart over the most minor hiccups and defects. I'm the Anton Ego of factory games. I don't like food, I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow.

Ah, you needn't worry. This is by far the most fun I've had reviewing a game, and Shapez 2 has, in my mind at least, turned the holy trinity of factory games (Factorio, Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program) into a holy quartet. Its pared back, everything-is-free-forever approach is quite liberating, and I've never had so much fun placing conveyor belts in my life. But 40 hours into my save file, I've often found myself yearning for a bit more creativity in the challenges, a few more curveballs sent in my direction.

Read more

Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...

Read more

ARPG (not to be confused with action RPG, the comments inform me) Path Of Exile 2 will release in early access November 15th, 2024.

Grinding Gear Games have been set on a November window for a while now, but this is the first time they’ve nailed down a date, and possibly clicked on it a bunch of times to show how serious they are. Do a game related verb I can’t accurately name because I never played past that beach at the beginning of the first game, and do it in the general direction of the trailer below. Watch it. Just watch it.

Read more

Oh, hey, would you look at that? Total War: Warhammer 3's patch 5.2.0 (arriving later today) has some new orcs and goblins in it.

Look at 'em! They've got swords and shields now!

Read more

Tactical Breach Wizards is a tactics game for people that don’t like tactics games. Magically, it’s also a tactics game for people who love them like nothing else. It’s permissive and demanding; playful and tense. Its globe-spanning plot covers conspiracies, PMCs, and brutal theocratic dictatorships. It also features a traffic-summoning warlock named Steve wearing a hi-vis robe. It’s finding that one absolutely, perfectly ridiculous XCOM turn, every turn…and at the same time knowing it’s absolutely, perfectly fine if you don’t. In short: it’s one of the most enjoyable tactics games I’ve ever played, and the only tactics game with a pyromancer so rubbish he relies on making his enemies pass out from heatstroke.

Read more

There you are, rambling through the woods of Interactive Entertainment with an empty pack and a spring in your step. Here I am, lying in wait behind a tree. Wham! Bam! You reel back in consternation as I bounce into the path and clobber you with a sack containing no less than eight venerable RPGs, from Baldur's Gate to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue's Trader - well over a thousand hours worth of dungeons, dragons, dicerolls, dwarven shopkeepers and many other things I refuse to spend time alliterating, all of which will (currently) set you back just £32.07.

Were you planning to spend this weekend playing some cute two-hour artgame sideshow, without any levelling at all? Shut up, you DOLT. You will play what the nice journalist tells you to play! Best lay in extra caffeine tablets, because it's going to take you till Monday just to get through the character creators alone.

Read more

Any gags I could make about an update that lets Total War: Warhammer 3’s dawi play tall are far too obvious for the discerning comedic palette that brought you such bangers as that time I just wrote “(penis)” a bunch so the Overkill’s Walking Dead page wouldn’t quote me out of context, so let’s just dive right in to the details. The strategy game’s 5.2 update is on the horizon, and tagging along with it are the first of the “extra bits” the team teased in June. I’m very excited about them. They sit somewhere between the usual patch fare of stat tweaks and errata, and the weightier faction facelifts that come alongside paid DLC. They’re also focused right where Immortal Empires needs them the most: depth, rather than width. In the dawi’s case, quite literally.

Read more

The Plucky Squire stars a 2D sword-slashing protagonist so plucky he busts out of his storybook confines and into the fully 3D world of a kid's bedroom. You'll then spend your time hopping between these various planes on a grand, cartoon adventure.

It now has a release date: September 17th.

Read more

Space 4X strategy game Stellaris launched in 2016, but Paradox can't stop adding to the universe. Last time I checked in, it was school trips to other dimensions. Now, it's Cosmic Storms. Due for release alongside the Stellaris 3.13 Vela update on September 10th, these are a paid "mechanical expansion" (priced at a rather chunky £11, $13 or €13, and available as part of the current season pass) that builds upon the game's existing Space Storms, "providing a deeper experience with strategically meaningful gameplay and beautiful upgraded visuals". Wash that down with new civics, precursor narratives, anomalies, archaeology sites, techs, edicts, a new Ascension perk, and new galactic community resolutions.

Read more

Tiny Glade is a relaxing, wholly escapist building sim where you can kick back and summon villages, cottages and castles whilst listening to whimsical tunes without the worry of combat or busywork. This cosy game has received a lot of attention, becoming the fourth most-played demo during Steam Next Fest and earning a place within our own list of favourite demos. It now has a release date - 23rd September 2024.

Read more

Over 2000 hours spent in various factory games makes me a bit of a purist, I suppose. In theory, I should then be the ideal reviewer to enjoy Shapez 2. But I'm also the ideal reviewer to tear it apart over the most minor hiccups and defects. I'm the Anton Ego of factory games. I don't like food, I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow.

Ah, you needn't worry. This is by far the most fun I've had reviewing a game, and Shapez 2 has, in my mind at least, turned the holy trinity of factory games (Factorio, Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program) into a holy quartet. Its pared back, everything-is-free-forever approach is quite liberating, and I've never had so much fun placing conveyor belts in my life. But 40 hours into my save file, I've often found myself yearning for a bit more creativity in the challenges, a few more curveballs sent in my direction.

Read more

Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...

Read more

Shapez 2 will launch in Early Access on August 15th, bringing the relaxing, shape-cutting factory builder into 3D.

In a new post, its lead developer has laid out what to expect from Early Access. In the main: a polished, 40 hours-or-so experience with no known major issues, and a post-release roadmap waiting to be defined by player feedback.

Read more

Shapez 2 will launch in Early Access on August 15th, bringing the relaxing, shape-cutting factory builder into 3D.

In a new post, its lead developer has laid out what to expect from Early Access. In the main: a polished, 40 hours-or-so experience with no known major issues, and a post-release roadmap waiting to be defined by player feedback.

Read more

WolfEye's debut game Weird West attempted to pack a little of Dishonored's immersive sim sorcery into a top-down action-RPG. For the studio's next game, co-founders Raphaël Colantonio and Julien Roby are leaning into comparisons with their old endeavours at Arkane more earnestly. The new game - currently untitled and without a release date - is a first-person sci-fi RPG set in an alternate-1900s North America, which ostensibly combines the ingenuity and gadgetry of Dishonored and Prey with a "real RPG" experience redolent of Skyrim and modern-day Fallout.

Read more

WolfEye's debut game Weird West attempted to pack a little of Dishonored's immersive sim sorcery into a top-down action-RPG. For the studio's next game, co-founders Raphaël Colantonio and Julien Roby are leaning into comparisons with their old endeavours at Arkane more earnestly. The new game - currently untitled and without a release date - is a first-person sci-fi RPG set in an alternate-1900s North America, which ostensibly combines the ingenuity and gadgetry of Dishonored and Prey with a "real RPG" experience redolent of Skyrim and modern-day Fallout.

Read more

Title: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Type of Game: Action-Adventure, Puzzle
Developer: Hazelight Studios (Remake by Avantgarden Games)
Publisher: 505 Games
Released: Original Release: August 7, 2013; Remake Release: February 28, 2024
Platforms Available: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC Game
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 5
Level of Maturity: Rated T for Teen
Reading Time: 8 minutes

It was 2013, and almost no studio was focused on offering a truly quality co-op gaming experience on a single console. But Josef Fares decided to change that with his studio Hazelight and the Fantastic Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to play the original, but now I’ve got my hands on a remake of a game I’ve heard a lot about, backed by the almost unknown studio Avantgarden Games. That’s also why I had doubts before playing it whether the original game was re-created respectfully by the now legendary co-op game industry studio Hazelight, which has already made such groundbreaking games as A Way Out and It Takes Two. I’ve also reviewed these games, so I recommend checking them out!

From Co-op Classics to a Hidden Gem

I started following Studio Hazelight because of the A above Way Out, and It Takes Two games, and I have completed them several times with my friends. These games definitely rank among the best ever made in the cooperative couch gaming genre. It Takes Two, which also earned high ratings from me, including Game of the Year 2021 recognition, along with A Way Out, are perfect affairs, but they owe their excellence to their predecessor, which, unfortunately for me personally, was relatively unknown until now.

A Journey Through Fantasy and Grief

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons tells the story of two brothers who embark on a perilous journey through a beautiful fantasy world after their father falls ill. The word “beautiful” has a double meaning; I’ll get to it later. The only way to save their father is to search for mysterious magical water to keep him alive. After the tragic loss of their mother, the brothers can no longer risk being alone in the world, and the story begins at the big tree behind their house. Playing the remake, I was surprised by the power of the story, and that’s why Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a great emotional ride, which, as a gamer who loves the story games genre in particular, I appreciate.

Solo Play with a Twist

The original was always seen as a co-op game. Still, the remake reminds me of this, so primarily, it is a single-player affair that is spiced up with the ability to control both brothers simultaneously. It takes some practice, but you can get used to it quickly. After all, the controls are very intuitive and easy. Each of the analogs controls one of the brothers, and each has one action button corresponding to the analog above. R3 is used to control the younger brother, and R2 is used to perform his interactions. For the older brother, it is L3 and L2. The last thing you can do in the game is rotate the view using R1 or L1, depending on which side you want to rotate the screen.

Cooperative Play: A Friend’s Adventure

So, the title is primarily announced up front as a single-player title, but I thoroughly enjoyed it with the two of us and a friend who also tried out the short part with me.

You turn on a second controller, each controlling one of the brothers. In this mode, the default control is also retained for the individual controllers. In single-player mode, you’ll occasionally run into situations where the brothers you’re controlling switch positions on the screen, and you’ll wonder why they’re running elsewhere. It’s widespread, and the game can occasionally rattle the hemispheres of your brain.

Puzzles and Trophy Hunting

Although it’s been over ten years since the release of the original game, due to my lack of experience with the original, I did all the puzzles unthinkingly, which brought the playtime up to almost 5 hours, which isn’t much, but trust me you’ll still enjoy the adventure to the fullest especially if you are playing the game for the first time, as I did. For connoisseurs of the original, the game time might be shorter. Also, here is the additional information about the platinum trophy, which took almost 5 hours. In terms of difficulty, it was nothing challenging, and the trophy composition was straightforward. The game has a total of 15 trophies, including the Platinum one. So, for a trophy hunter like me, it’s the perfect thing to do in one long afternoon! One last important thing – trophies are only earned by the Host of the game, so unfortunately, your friends will have to invite you to help out at their house for the next playthrough if they are interested in the shiny trophies too.

Puzzles: Cooperation Over Complexity

But back to the puzzles. These are relatively easy to solve and are more about cooperation and coordination between the two brothers. It will always be primarily about finding a way forward. They managed to climb a wall together, move an object, steal something carefully, row the boat in the right direction, and so on. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of playing the game yet, it may come as a surprise that you are “only” completing specific interactions, and besides that, you are still running forward. With minor exceptions, the game has no branching or extended locations to navigate. It’s a very straightforward but all the more intense adventure for it.

A Tale of Two Worlds: Beauty and Grit

Here I come to what I mentioned at the beginning: the game has a beautiful world. The remake’s graphics, which were taken care of by Unreal Engine 5, are very nice. While I can’t put it on the same level as, say, the Demon’s Souls remake, there are scenes that I can describe as breathtaking.

Avantgarden has done an excellent job in this regard, and connoisseurs of the original version, in particular, will be surprised at how detailed the remake is. I also greatly appreciate the sharp visuals and smoothness of the game. In all my time playing, I haven’t encountered any significant problems I must mention here. The music and sounds have improved significantly, but I can’t say that due to the lack of dubbing. Instead, the brothers communicate in some form of sign language and an unspecified language.

From Fairy Tales to Harsh Realities

The other side of the “beautiful” world is the utterly raw and gritty portrayal in the second half of the play. For a long time, the title feels like a beautiful fairy tale inspired by the first Fable. Gorgeous scenes, a relaxed atmosphere of villages and fantasy countryside, and then there’s a significant change. The beautiful setting is replaced by a barren wasteland and a harsh medieval setting many would not expect. The whole game’s highlight is the Valley of the Giants, which will leave you uncomfortably stunned.

Conclusion

The remake of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons has done more than well. It’s a pleasant surprise that certainly doesn’t put the original to shame. On the one hand, I wonder if it lacks any innovation, and on the other hand, I worry about how it would turn out if the studio tried to set the game up with new passages, for example. For those who have already played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the remake needs to make more sense and may work more in the context of nostalgia. However, players who have not come into contact with the game, as was the case with me, have an excellent opportunity to play one of the best adventure games with an emotional story at a very affordable price of under 20 euros. And at a discount, as was the case with me, even for 12 euros.

Where to Buy The Game?

• Steam (PC): Available for $19.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
• Xbox Store (Xbox Series X|S): Available for $19.99. Check it out on the Xbox Store.
• PlayStation Store (PS5): Available for $19.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
• Nintendo Shop (Switch): Available for $14.99. Purchase it from the Nintendo Shop.
• Epic Games Store (PC): Available for $19.99. Purchase it from the Epic Games Store.
• GOG (PC): Available for $19.99. Purchase it from GOG.

Official Page: Visit the official Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Subreddit for community insights and updates.

The post Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake – Hazelight’s Reworked Original Of The Emotional Story of Two Brothers appeared first on WePlayGames.net: Home for Top Gamers.

Beneath The Mask Is A Good Game, Maybe?

GOOD Beautiful, well-crafted environments.

BAD Incessant narration every five seconds.

WTF Leaving the best feature until the end of the campaign.

I love a great lore-rich experience. It’s one of the main reasons why I love videogames like Elden Ring and Assassin’s Creed. But to support the weight of that storytelling, it needs a solid foundation based on interesting gameplay, mechanics and pacing. Astor: Blade of the Monolith is what happens when that foundation isn’t as strong as it should be.

Astor is a cartoony hack-and-slash title that tells a lore-rich, interesting story about the implications of humans creating artificial life, and how that life interacts with the natural world. Unfortunately, the message is often lost behind waves of mundane combat, mind-numbing narration, and boring traversal mechanics.

Things open with the titular character and his friend Zan exploring an ancient temple to find artifacts of the past. Astor and Zan are masked puppet-esque androids who live in a sprawling fantasy world that’s been long-abandoned by humans. Astor then falls through the temple floor, collects a mysterious artifact, gets a magic sword, and finds out that he is “The Chosen” — a special member of their species that was meant to overcome an insurmountable evil.

After a lengthy tutorial, I soon learned Astor is a Diokek — puppet androids created by the humans who are no longer in this world. The Diokek are locked in a constant battle with the Hiltsik, which are similar masked androids, but evil. Both of these factions derive from the Monolith, a tall structure of black stone that towers over the land in Astor and emanates with dark energy. Later, a town elder gives a typical cut-and-paste quest structure where Astor has to go through three trials and come out the other side somehow.

My next few hours of gameplay were spent looking at Astor‘s environments while learning the basic mechanics, and the art direction in Blade of the Monolith is a shining light in a sea of mediocrity. Every environment is crafted with the intent of being a wonder to behold, featuring sweeping vistas and beautiful colors.

Yet while there are countless wonderful environments to explore, there’s not a lot to do once Astor is in them. He’s either fighting the same band of enemies for the fifth time in a row, collecting haphazardly-scattered resources to upgrade his combat abilities, or walking to the next mission. This is compounded by the incredibly annoying narrator, who quite literally spells out every single thing that happens to Astor, not leaving an ounce of space for original thought from the player to interpret their surroundings.

This monotony is extremely evident in the first world, the desert, as I had no other means to get to a distant objective other than to walk. Eventually, Astor unlocks the ability to traverse the environment more easily, but I didn’t get this until two-thirds of the way through — one of many small tweaks that could be made to the pacing of Blade of the Monolith that would make it far more enjoyable.

Additional tweaks are needed in Astor’s combat. The game tries its best to emulate Devil May Cry-esque flurries of light, heavy, and special attacks, stringing them together in elaborate combos, but the execution is lacking. For example, I’d smack a normal enemy with the starting sword, and then it would fly back, yet I’d still be in the combo so Astor would do a weird glitch-jump to continue it. None of the attacks have synergy with any other, and combos feel janky.

Furthermore, this janky combat would often distract me from crucial story moments. I’d spend entire gameplay sections not remembering what happened in the plot because I was too focused on how jarring the combat was, all while the narrator was spewing words at me.

Eventually, the combat does begin to click, but it soon becomes more of a chore than anything else, and a lack of enemy level scaling makes the entire last third of the campaign a cakewalk — but there’s a hidden beauty in that. The story that I wasn’t paying attention to in the first two thirds was now my only focus, and when I wasn’t toiling through boring encounters or walking to my next mission, I began to appreciate the slightly deeper meaning of the story in Astor, which is passable, save for the narration.

There’s a good experience buried beneath all the issues in Astor: Blade of the Monolith, I think. There’s no reason why some reworking of the combat, reordering certain elements to speed up the pacing, and putting some duct tape over the narrator’s mouth wouldn’t do wonders, but in its current state these flaws are simply too glaring.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

— Jack Dunn

Disclosures: The game was developed by C2 Game Studio and published by Versus Evil and tinyBuild. It is currently available on PC, PS4/5, Switch, and XBX/S. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 9 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Fantasy Violence and Animated Blood. This is an action-adventure game in which players play as Astor, an android who goes on a quest to save his species from war with an evil faction of androids. Astor will get into sword combat with these evil androids, but these smaller fights have no blood and end in the enemies disappearing off the screen. A few of the boss fights have some animated blood in them, but it’s extremely few and far between. Outside of the combat, there is no violence in the game and it’s very tame in its themes.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. There are no audio cues needed for successful gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The game features 4 preset controller settings, but no remappable controls.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom continues to look brilliant in this latest trailer from Nintendo that gives you a whistlestop tour of its version of Hyrule.

From Hyrule Castle to Gerudo Desert and Kakariko Village, the upcoming Switch game will let Zelda see all the sights, plus hang out with Gorons, Deku Scrubs and both flavours of Zora.

As well as fast travel points, Zelda will also be able to explore on horseback to hop over small echoes. Just create a carrot "echo" - using your ability to conjur up objects you've seen previously - and your trusty steed will come running.

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Larian began a continuation of its work on the beloved Baldur's Gate 3 last year as it was "the obvious thing" to do - before ultimately deciding to change course.

Speaking to PC Gamer on the anniversary of Baldur's Gate 3's full release, Larian boss Swen Vincke said the initial decision to continue working on the Dungeons & Dragons-based franchise saw his team focus on an obvious follow-up - an idea that sounds like it was initially pitched as an expansion, before being considered as the basis for a potential Baldur's Gate 4.

"It's something that you all would have liked, I think," Vincke said. "I'm sure, actually. And we actually went pretty fast, because the production machine was still warm. You could already play stuff."

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China has approved a number of new mobile games for release, most notably Marvel Rivals, Rainbow Six, Dynasty Warriors, and Final Fantasy 14 Mobile.

According to Niko Partners, a total of 15 games were approved yesterday (2nd August), including the still-as-yet-unconfirmed Final Fantasy 14 mobile port.

The news adds credence to a recent rumour that Final Fantasy developer Square Enix had linked up with Tencent to develop a mobile version of its fan-favourite MMO, Final Fantasy 14.

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Somehow, it's that time of the year again already! THQ Nordic's annual gaming showcase has returned to offer a look at its upcoming slate of releases, both previously known and newly announced. This time around, the long-awaited Gothic 1 Remake and Titan Quest 2 both got gameplay reveals, and Epic Mickey: Rebrushed popped up to remind us all it's coming out relatively soon. As for the new stuff, Wreckfest is getting a sequel, Little Nightmares studio Tarsier's creepy new game has been teased (as has a new Darksiders), while strikingly animated platforming adventure The Eternal Life of Goldman looks like a real gem.

So if you didn't catch the showcase and are curious to see what you missed, you'll find a full round-up - augmented by a few additional details from an earlier press briefing - below.

We were big fans of 2018 demolition derby racer Wreckfest ("Wreckfest offers primal pleasures," wrote Martin Robinson, "with little by way of pretension), and developer Bugbear Entertainment is ready to do it all over again in the newly announced Wreckfest 2. Details are relatively scant at this early juncture, but it promises "unmatched deformation and physical damage models" as its high-octane single-player and multiplayer racing unfolds.

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Activision and Microsoft have reportedly approved the creation of a new "smaller" team within Blizzard Entertainment - mostly comprised of employees from Activision's mobile-focused King division - to develop new "AA" games based on existing Blizzard properties.

That's according to Windows Central's Jez Corden, whose sources say the new initiative reflects an eagerness at Microsoft to "explore and experiment" with smaller teams within the larger organisation, in response to the "monstrously ballooning costs" of AAA game development.

Corden notes Microsoft has seen success with the likes of Sea of Thieves and Grounded, both built by comparatively small teams - and, of course, 2023's Hi-Fi Rush, created by a small team within Tango Gameworks, was heralded as a "break out hit" by Microsoft after its release.

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Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. This week we push through to get to better times in a game, which we hope are coming; we change our perception of a game after talking to the people who made it; and we find the familiar in a game that also manages to feel completely new.

What have you been playing?

Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.

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With Planet Coaster 2's big reveal out the way, Frontier Developments is ready to start talking specifics - and it's now done just that in the first in a series of developer deep dives, showcasing some of the sequel's new features in 15 minutes of first gameplay.

The big new thing in Planet Coaster 2 is , of course, water - or rather water parks, with the likes of pools, lazy rivers, and flumes. Frontier's deep dive offered a quick walk through the basics here, noting its sparkly new pools can be carved into the earth using geometric or custom shapes, while body flumes - just like rollercoasters - can be constructed piece-by-piece. Expect to see the likes of plughole, sphere, vertical, and boomerang flume pieces, even a six-person raft flume ride, adding variety to the basic flume styles.

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Flippin’ heck, what a journey it’s been for Baldur's Gate 3, eh? It seems just yesterday I was getting very jealous at Matthew Castle (RPS in peace) for getting to preview the sequel to my beloved Shadows Of Amn. Fast forward several turns, Larian’s RPG banger is officially one year old since release, and there’s now a much higher chance that strangers at pubs will understand why my failed romance with Jaheira as a youth was such a deeply heartbreaking experience. Baldur’s Gate 3 itself looks to be done and dusted following the upcoming patch, but Larian now seem to be gearing up for their next charm offensive with a new “community focused” YouTube channel, as well as further teasing their two games currently in development.

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Flippin’ heck, what a journey it’s been for Baldur's Gate 3, eh? It seems just yesterday I was getting very jealous at Matthew Castle (RPS in peace) for getting to preview the sequel to my beloved Shadows Of Amn. Fast forward several turns, Larian’s RPG banger is officially one year old since release, and there’s now a much higher chance that strangers at pubs will understand why my failed romance with Jaheira as a youth was such a deeply heartbreaking experience. Baldur’s Gate 3 itself looks to be done and dusted following the upcoming patch, but Larian now seem to be gearing up for their next charm offensive with a new “community focused” YouTube channel, as well as further teasing their two games currently in development.

Read more

Somehow, it's that time of the year again already! THQ Nordic's annual gaming showcase has returned to offer a look at its upcoming slate of releases, both previously known and newly announced. This time around, the long-awaited Gothic 1 Remake and Titan Quest 2 both got gameplay reveals, and Epic Mickey: Rebrushed popped up to remind us all it's coming out relatively soon. As for the new stuff, Wreckfest is getting a sequel, Little Nightmares studio Tarsier's creepy new game has been teased (as has a new Darksiders), while strikingly animated platforming adventure The Eternal Life of Goldman looks like a real gem.

So if you didn't catch the showcase and are curious to see what you missed, you'll find a full round-up - augmented by a few additional details from an earlier press briefing - below.

We were big fans of 2018 demolition derby racer Wreckfest ("Wreckfest offers primal pleasures," wrote Martin Robinson, "with little by way of pretension), and developer Bugbear Entertainment is ready to do it all over again in the newly announced Wreckfest 2. Details are relatively scant at this early juncture, but it promises "unmatched deformation and physical damage models" as its high-octane single-player and multiplayer racing unfolds.

Read more

Activision and Microsoft have reportedly approved the creation of a new "smaller" team within Blizzard Entertainment - mostly comprised of employees from Activision's mobile-focused King division - to develop new "AA" games based on existing Blizzard properties.

That's according to Windows Central's Jez Corden, whose sources say the new initiative reflects an eagerness at Microsoft to "explore and experiment" with smaller teams within the larger organisation, in response to the "monstrously ballooning costs" of AAA game development.

Corden notes Microsoft has seen success with the likes of Sea of Thieves and Grounded, both built by comparatively small teams - and, of course, 2023's Hi-Fi Rush, created by a small team within Tango Gameworks, was heralded as a "break out hit" by Microsoft after its release.

Read more