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Battle royale block-dropper Tetris 99 is gearing up for its next Maximus Cup event, which is set to take place in-game this coming weekend, allowing players to square off against a horde of fellow Tetris fans in chaotic, non-stop action.

There's also extra incentive to jump into battle for Mario fans, as all players who accumulate 100 event points will receive a free theme, based on smash-selling Switch release Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. As per usual, the theme comes complete with background art, as well as unique sounds and Tetrimino shapes inspired by the Wii-U remake. Launching on Switch in early February, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury saw immediate success, and is currently the best-selling new game of 2021.

The new Tetris Maximus Cup event will begin Thursday, March 4 at 23:00 PT and Friday, March 5 at 02:00 ET / 07:00 GMT and will end at the same time on Monday, March 8 and Tuesday, March 9 as applicable.

Good luck!

When I first started up Valheim and began chopping down trees and picking up rocks, my immediate reaction was, "Ugh, another one of these, huh?"

That attitude quickly changed once I invited a few friends along, built a simple enough base to call home, and began exploring the tenth realm.

Next thing you know, we'd battled our first boss, explored burial chambers and troll caves, and began hunting said trolls for their skin. The hooks were in deep by this point. Time seemingly slipped away from me altogether, and right when I thought I was ready to take a break, another group of friends started their own server and wanted me to tag along. Before I realized it, I'd clocked in over 11 hours into Valheim on my first day.

So, in today's Impulse episode, your local video dudes (Justin Moore and myself) break down and showcase our experiences within Valheim after spending more than 50 hours with it so far. From the visuals and building mechanics to why we think the progression is so addictive, this episode covers that and so much more.

I’m something of an apologist for Superman on the N64. No, I’m not about to claim it was good -- it definitely wasn’t. It was an abysmal void of despair where a game should be. However, I often argue that it’s not the worst game ever like some people claim. It wasn’t even the worst game on the N64. It wasn’t even the worst game developed on the N64 by Titus. No, Titus had a special talent for pumping garbage water from the bottom of the well. I have a mantra about Titus: “It ain’t no fun if there’s a fox on the box.”

The publisher was responsible for bringing us such questionable N64 titles as Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Carmageddon 64. But whereas Xena and Hercules are, uh, playable, to put it charitably, Carmageddon 64 is the deepest pits. It’s like getting your shoelace stuck in the world’s slowest escalator; it may sound like an easy thing to avoid, but if you try to ride it out, you’re in for a very slow, painful, and embarrassing death.

The next Battlefield game is due out this fall, and to make the most of it – to try and do better than the likable but too often shaky Battlefield V – EA has tapped Criterion to assist DICE and DICE LA. As a result, the new main-series Need for Speed game is coming later than expected – in fiscal year 2023.

The news circulated in a publicly-released letter to EA employees written by chief studios officer Laura Miele. "Criterion is one of the strongest racing studios in the industry, and the work they have accomplished on the next Need for Speed is truly inspired and will breathe new life into one of our most storied brands," Miele said. "We're going to give Criterion the time to reach the game's full promise."

As for what's going on with 2021's Battlefield game, EA has "recently seen the first version of the reveal trailer for Battlefield and it's shaping up to be a truly amazing first look at this groundbreaking game."

"The project is tracking towards the franchise's earliest Alpha, the gameplay is at an unprecedented scale, and we are taking full advantage of the technology in the next-gen consoles," she said.

_{Stellar Entertainment released Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered last year. Maybe we'll get another Criterion remaster to help tide fans over? It feels like only a matter of time for 2012's Most Wanted to be revived on current platforms.}

After weeks of Nintendo's dominance, PlayStation finally had reason to celebrate. A supply restock - in addition to several store discounts - saw some of Sony's big-hitters shoot back up the UK Charts.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, comic-book adventure Spider-Man: Miles Morales saw a 172% rise in sales, climbing from number nine to number two in the Top Ten. Naughty Dog's misery-fest The Last of Us Part II was discounted at a variety of outlets, which saw the award-winning title skyrocket up the charts to make a grand re-entry at number three. FromSoftware's PS5 remake Demon's Souls also returned to the Top 40 at number 21.

Developer Frogwares has put out a succinct statement asking users not to purchase the Steam edition of The Sinking City, which recently returned to the PC retail platform following a period of commotion over the title's licensing issues. According to the Ukrainian studio, the Steam edition of the 2019 mystery horror title was not developed by them, though further details are not yet forthcoming.

The Sinking City - a Lovecraft-inspired period piece of madness and intrigue - was pulled from digital sale by the developer following fallout with publisher Nacon (then Big Ben Interactive). Frogwares filed suit against its publisher over a laundry list of allegations pertaining to ownership rights, marketing promises, and payment delays. In October 2020, a court ruled that Frogwares had acted unlawfully in pulling the title from release. The Sinking City would return to digital storefronts in January 2021, only to be pulled from Steam again in double-quick time.

Over on Steam, users are claiming that the latest re-up of The Sinking City is an old build of the game, and does not include access to DLC, post-release updates, cloud-saves, or achievements. Frogwares insists that it will follow up with more news on the situation "soon." In the meantime, The Sinking City remains available on Steam, the Nintendo eShop, and the PlayStation and Microsoft stores.

Apex Legends exploded at launch on Twitch, and has since retreated to a respectable top five position or so since then. But each season waxes and wanes, and the recent launch of Season 8 has been a boon for the game.

Amid a launch on Switch, Season 8 has seen the highest concurrent player count on Steam to date. As reported by SteamDB, Apex Legends managed to hit the 196,799 mark on February 27. That's good!

As a bit of background, we now have access to cold hard data for Apex Legends beyond vague Twitch stream views. Apex Legends is still fairly fresh on Steam as it only arrived in November of 2020, so we're now able to quantifiably track the game's progress for the first time in ages.

Season 8 was undeniably a success so far for Respawn, following a few mixed reception choices in the past few years. Fuse (the new character) is a hit in many circles, and the rework of King's Canyon has been a nice change of pace. Live service games are constantly on a razor's edge, but Apex Legends is surviving, and then some.

Apex Legends News [Twitter via SteamDB]

Early in March, Littlewood popped up on my radar, and it hasn't left.

Originally released in August of 2020 on PC, the "peaceful and relaxing RPG" came at the perfect time, and many comparisons to Stardew Valley started to pop up since. Well, it's out on Switch now as of this past week, and will bring that peace to you in portable form.

What really grabbed me is the hook: of starting the game "after the world has already been saved." It's such a great selling point, and it helped suck me in immediately. Over time, I noticed that the pacing is pretty much on point. It's not going to be a replication of Stardew Valley, and I'm sure the developers never wanted that in the first place.

Instead, the "relaxing" bit of the game's description is apt, as everything is very slow-going without being too slow or exploitative, like some modern "building" games are. Give it a shot if you're looking for a new simmy game in your life.

Littlewood [Nintendo]

Nintendo and cloud gaming? It's a match made in...well, it's technically a match.

The publisher hasn't shied away from cloud-based games, going as far back as Resident Evil 7 and into the recent past with Control. But speaking to financial outlet Nikkei, it seems like it's all a flight of fancy, not a fully-featured focus.

As Nintendo of Japan president Shuntaro Furukawa notes (as translated by Nintendo Everything): "I’m sure new offerings like cloud gaming and streaming will emerge, but they won’t be a top priority when choosing what game to play. I think the most important things there are the contents of a game as well as the kind of games you can play."

He does, however, concede that Nintendo is "always actively researching technologies that could be the starting point of fun," and that they are still trying to "grow the population of people who play video games" through branching out to technology like smartphones. It's good investor fodder: a president who is open to pivot to the newest gold rush.

Still, the times are changing, and Furukawa admits as much. When asked about the old adage that "there is no relation between how fun a game is and how good the hardware is," Furukawa explains: "That’s something that’s always on my mind. Of course, as the times have changed, some parts of our philosophy must change too."

Ominous and wise! Though if I had to put money on what the next iteration of Nintendo hardware would entail, it would be something akin to a "Super Switch."

Perhaps no video game adaptation has struggled to get onto the silver screen harder than Uncharted. Having been in the works for many years, and barreling through a slew of directors and release dates, Sony's cinematic take on the adventurous Naughty Dog franchise is almost in the can, and is now expected to premiere in February 2022.

However, in a recent interview with GQ, actor Tom Holland - who dons the murky shirt of protagonist Nathan Drake - has expressed some disappointment with the role. Talking candidly as the Spider-Man star in wont to do, it appears that Holland found the role to be far more about "looking cool" than he'd perhaps have liked, with GQ choosing to describe Uncharted as "an experiment in vanity that left an odd taste in (Holland's) mouth."

"As soon as you start worrying about ‘Do I look good in this shot?’ acting becomes something other than playing a character," said Holland. "I think there are elements of my performance in Uncharted where I kind of fell under that spell of being ‘I want to look good now. I want this to be my cool moment'. I had to play this very tough, very stoic guy - basically be Mark Wahlberg."

While Holland’s comments will no doubt leave Sony Studios’ PR team with their heads in their hands, it should be clarified that the young star isn't necessarily saying that the Uncharted movie is a bad film, but more that the macho posturing that came with playing pseudo-Indiana Jones left him a little out of his comfort zone. Given that Holland was shooting the Russo brothers' Cherry - a drama about an opioid-addicted military veteran - around the same time, it's no surprise that there might have been dramatic juxtaposition between performing in the two, clearly distinct roles.

It's still the early days yet for PS5 development.

Studios are still figuring things out, and as such, "full use the PS5," as it has become to be known, is not going to happen just yet for every single game. Square Enix has confirmed as much speaking to Famitsu recently that this will apply to Final Fantasy VII Remake.

When the remake actually hits PS5 in a few months, it will only offer "partial" PS5 support. Tetsuya Nomura, co-director on part one, states: "As for adaptive triggers, they are partially supported. However, in terms of using all of the features of PlayStation 5, please wait for the next game where we can start from scratch."

Nomura continues to set expectations, explaining that the photo mode in the PS5 version is simpler in nature, and "different from the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind" photo mode, which is more expansive. In other words, you can't change party member poses or expressions. He does, however, state that you can use the mode "right away" without any esoteric unlock requirements.

It's all give and take, right? PS5 features are neat and all, but I don't fully expect them from every game, much less a port. It may, however, color your perception of it, if you were expecting Square Enix to go all out.

Nomura [Famitsu via VGC]

Juro Watari, creator of the exhilarating mech-fighting series Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, has announced that he is leaving Sega after almost three decades of working alongside the studio.

Watari announced his departure on Twitter, thanking Sega and fans for their support of the preceding decades. Watari noted that he has not yet decided on what path his career takes at this point, but expressed desire to continue working in game development. In an additional tweet, Watari said that his resignation was not related to any controversial or negative feelings within the company.

Juro Watari has been with Sega since the mid-'90s, working on arcade releases such as 1994's Jurassic Park and street basketball title Hard Dunk. In 1996, Watari designed and developed Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, a dynamic arena fighter which sees players piloting a roster of unique mechs, (or "Virtuaroids"), battle it out in tactical, twin-stick action. The series would produce numerous sequels and spin-offs, making cameos in franchises such as Yakuza, Super Robot Wars, and even Project: DIVA.

Forever Entertainment, the publisher responsible for Panzer Dragoon: Remake and the recently confirmed Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake - has entered into an agreement with Square Enix Japan to produce multiple remakes based on one of the studio's classic IPs.

While the IP itself was not revealed, nor were the amount of games or a release window, it is believed that the remakes will feature a full visual overhaul while retaining each title's original gameplay. It is unknown whether the new games will be developed before, after, or alongside Forever's incoming remakes of 1996 Sega shooter The House of The Dead and its 1998 sequel, The House of The Dead 2.

Panzer Dragoon: Remake is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake will launch later in 2021.

Forever Entertainment to develop multiple remakes based on Square Enix IP [Gematsu]

I'm always down to seek out and stare at amazing Nintendo crafting projects. This one is no exception.

As shared on reddit by user PandaWalkWithMe (David Lynch would be proud), this is a "1:1 Nintendo Switch, with detachable Joy-Con and a docking station, made entirely out of paper." It was evidently a university project by their girlfriend, who is studying product design.

You can see how the Joy-Con detach here.

It really highlights how fun and unique the Switch design is. When the Joy-Con come on and off, I can hear that audible "snap/click." Drifting aside (haha), the Switch is a really easy sell, notably because of how interesting it looks right off the shelf. Nintendo is going to keep selling these things and approaching the 100 million mark as we speak.

Where it'll end up is anyone's guess, though no one is in position to really challenge the roughly 155 million units of the PS2 and DS line.

Nintendo Switch in 1:1, with detachable Joy-Cons, Docking Station and everything, just out of Paper [reddit]

Last year, Onion Games' Yoshiro Kimura announced he was beginning work on what might be the final RPG of his career. But that's probably months or even years away from completion. In the meantime, Onion Games needs something else to work on and is asking fans what they want to see from the developer in 2021 and beyond. While the idea of physical versions of more of its games does sound enticing, it's the mention of two specific titles that prompted me to write this post.

In the tweet below with a link to the survey, Onion Games mentions the possibility of porting Chulip and Rule of Rose to new consoles. Given its track record, that means Nintendo Switch. Kimura worked on both titles, serving as the director of Chulip and working on the planning draft and cut scenes for Rule of Rose.

[Update: The documentary is out today on Crackle. It consists of five episodes, most of which run roughly one hour.]

In just the past year or so we've gotten two Nintendo-heavy documentaries. There's Console Wars, a feature film that deals with Nintendo's rivalry with Sega; and High Score, a Netflix series that covers all of gaming history, but with large swaths of Nintendo peppered in throughout.

Both projects overlap quite a bit, and we're probably going to get that same feeling with this new work, Playing With Power. Debuting on Crackle on March 1, the doc aims to cover Nintendo's history, and grabs gaming celebrities like Cliff Bleszinski and Wil Wheaton: Sean Astin also narrates, which is a huge bonus. Since it's Crackle, it'll be free to watch (with ads). We can all enjoy it together!

Hopefully it offers up something new that others haven't already. The trailer claims it will get "controversial" with its subject matter, which in some cases means "we'll vaguely show you some well-known facts, not assert them strongly, then get out of there and wade back into excitement." The trailer itself does that very thing, ending on a high note on the impact the publisher has had in the industry.

I'll be watching it on March 1 either way!

Genshin Impact might only have been on the scene for a few months, but it already has a surprisingly large roster of characters just waiting to gobble up your Fate (read: Cash). Despite my soft spot for Fire Emblem Heroes, I'm yet to fall prey to miHoYo's take on the Lure of the Gacha. But things are about to get a little tougher for me, with the arrival of brand new character Hu Tao. I am a simple man: I see Spooky Gal, I click.

Like myself, Hu Tao "walks the line between life and death", whilst somehow holding down a position as the 77th director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Known as the "Versemonger of the Darkest Alleys" Hu Tao can most likely be found in some of Liyue Harbor's creepiest locations, hanging out with her spirit pals and practicing her pole-arm skills. A teasing trailer has Hu Tao introduce herself, complete with a light-hearted jump. I have to admit I think the voice is a little too cutesy, but I love her design.

Elden Ring was announced nearly two years ago at E3 2019, and since then, the wait has been unbearable.

From Software, Hidetaka Miyazaki in the director's chair, and George R.R. Martin handling the lore? Folks are already excited for the successor to Dark Souls III, much less any combination of those two individuals. The game has been in development for roughly four years at this point, but alas, we aren't hearing about it soon, it seems.

Following up on rumors that Elden Ring would show up at Microsoft's March 23 Xbox event, Microsoft marketing GM Aaron Greenberg came out on Twitter to deconfirm the entire outing. Here's what they plainly had to say: "Just to set expectations: this is not happening. There are always things we have in the works, but nothing coming soon that would feature game announcements or world premieres like this."

As we all know, Elden Ring seems to have a connection with Microsoft, as news for it has arisen out of various Microsoft outlets and streams; and Phil Spencer has personally played Elden Ring. Guessing that any given Xbox event would be the one to share Elden Ring news is studious, but it could feasibly show up anywhere.

Aaron Greenberg [Twitter]

It will hardly come as a surprise to anybody at this point, but it appears that, for the second year running, the 2021 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been officially cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

While the event failed to take place last year - one of many industry events forced off-calendar by coronavirus' impact - the organizers remained optimistic that the show would be returning to the L.A. Convention Center for its 2021 edition of the annual gathering of developers, publishers, and fans. But, as reported by VGC, recent documents from the Board of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Development Commission clearly list E3 2021 as a "cancelled event".

There have already been rumblings this year that E3 wishes to transition the show to an online affair, presenting a long weekend of near non-stop live streams, interviews, reveals, and other online presentations. For this, it would require the backing of an army of major industry publishers from around the globe, many of whom may simply choose to host their own live-streams as and when they respectively deem appropriate, similar to the seemingly endless glut of streams that ran throughout the summer (and into the fall) of 2020.

Undaunted, E3 organizers The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have confirmed to VGC that its plans go ahead to host a substitute digital event. "We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together," said an ESA spokesperson to VGC. "We are having great conversations with publishers, developers and companies across the board, and we look forward to sharing details about their involvement soon."

Stardew Valley is a timeless game. It's something I'll be playing for decades to come, so I'm glad it's on as many platforms as possible: way easier to preserve it!

Pictured above is one of my first farms, which I started years ago and still come back to every so often. This past week, Stardew celebrated its fifth anniversary. That's...forever ago in gaming collective consciousness!

While so many projects these days are forgotten a week after release, Stardew has endured. In part, mind, due to the tireless efforts of the creator, Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. They've been instrumental in the game's success, not only crafting free updates to keep the game interesting, but also interacting with fans, adding an allure of endearment to everything Stardew related (including a heartfelt thanks over the anniversary celebrations).

At this point it's far exceeded the reach of the PC original, with countless fan mods, pieces of merch, and most recently, a board game. The gaming sphere is better with Stardew Valley, and Barone, in it.

ConcernedApe [Twitter]

A lot of people have probably forgotten by now, but in December of 2018, it was announced by studio Forever Entertainment that both Panzer Dragoon and the sequel, Zwei, would be getting full remakes. That latter bit was lost in the shuffle, as we haven't seen nor heard anything from the project since then.

Thankfully, the outfit changed that this past week through a Twitter announcement. As plain as day, Panzer Dragoon Zwei remake is slated for release "this year," in 2021. It's still vague, but at least we know that work is heavily underway and it is coming.

Although the original Panzer Dragoon remake started out rough, the team laboriously patched it until it was in a better state. With the hindsight they have now, it stands to reason that Zwei will be in better shape.

It would behoove them to put their best foot forward on this, too, to avoid a hit to their reputation.

Panzer Dragoon [Twitter]

Konami’s output on the Famicom was simply amazing. While we certainly got some good games on this side of the pond, such as Castlevania and Contra, there were a plethora of great titles that stayed in their homeland.

They were once a playful company with a cohesive catalog. Many games in their early days made reference to their other releases, and they even pioneered the idea of crossover titles with Konami Wai Wai World. I really, badly miss those days that I was too young and also in the wrong country to really experience. Creativity was rampant among those titles, and it wound up giving us some really memorable concepts.

Ghosts 'n Goblins is an absolute retro classic.

It kind of embodies the old school, no holds barred feel of some old game development philosophies: you're either in or you're out. And even if you're in, you might eventually be out, after the game tells you to replay the entire story to see the "true final boss."

It was maddening back then, but it was a battle cry and a direct challenge. Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection captures a lot of that same raw spirit, while making things a little more accessible in the process.

This week's retro re-release certainly offers something a little different, history-wise, as the retro fans over at Hamster having chosen SNK's on-foot jungle shmup Guerrilla War as its newest Arcade Archives entry, now available to download on Nintendo Switch.

Originally released in arcades in 1987, before being ported to numerous home computers, Guerilla War follows two UNNAMED commandos as they fight through an UNNAMED Caribbean island in order to free it from an UNNAMED dictator. Similar in style to SNK's earlier Ikari Warriors, gameplay sees one or two players battle through the undergrowth against an army of enemy soldiers. The arcade was notable for featuring rotatable joysticks allowing for simultaneous eight-way movement and directional fire.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber GameingfromTwo.

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times. I don't need to write another lengthy, misty-eyed intro on how my entire formative life years were spent squinting in the noisy din of the arcade, breathing cigarette smoke into my young lungs, straightening out fivers to feed into antsy change machines, and to trying leave as broad-shouldered as possible through sinister gangs eyeing you up for 50p coins... Well, I guess I just did write another, but without rose-tinted glasses I have nothing.

Still, the good folk over at Capcom are offering you younglings the opportunity to relive the excitement of those halcyon days. All of the games without the constant feeding of quarters, long wait in lines, or graduation from The School of Getting The Shit Kicked Out of Me. Capcom Arcade Stadium brings together a bevy of coin-guzzling classics in one easy package, offering a veritable hall of entertainment crammed into a single handheld device.

I'd love to accurately convey how the very idea of having over 30 arcades - that at the time felt like the most complex and compelling video games of all-time - packaged as a simple, carry-around piece of casual entertainment seemed like the stuff of a madman's dream back in 1992, but the last thing I need is more clock-spinning self-reflection. Let's just get to the action, folks.

To some, the Bravely Default franchise exists merely on the peripheral plane.

"We want more old school JRPGs," fans cried out. "Here's a few," Square Enix answered. But the reach of projects in the aforementioned series, as well as one-offs like Lost Sphear, I Am Setsuna, and Oninaki, is lost on some.

Maybe Bravely Default II, with the power of the Switch install base behind it, will change that narrative.

Growing up, I had a friend who was very into the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. He carried two binders with him throughout the fifth grade: one for his school work and one for all of his cards. I don't know if he actually played it with other people -- I certainly didn't know of anyone else at school who was into it -- but he loved to break that binder out at lunch to show us all the new cards he'd bought over the weekend. If YouTube was a thing back when we were kids, he'd probably have a channel of nothing but him opening booster packs that makes $125,000 a year.

I didn't get the appeal of collectible card games, and as I grew up and was introduced to more of them, that opinion didn't change. But in 2004, I started to soften to the idea of playing a game built around collecting cards and managing decks. That was the year Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories came out, and while I know its battle system is a major point of contention, it grabbed me hook, line, and sinker. I loved going through the menus trying to assemble the best deck possible, and out of that game, I found myself ready to give the genre a go. Or, at the very least, a video game version of it.

Unfortunately, the first two games I played were SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS and Marvel Trading Card Game. Nothing will turn a newcomer away from card games faster than something as shitty as those titles. Whatever goodwill in the genre Chain of Memories planted in me was dead by the time I gleefully traded them into GameStop for $2.

Cblogs Recap: Week 8

-Gamingnerd takes an in-depth look at the many generations of Pokémon for its 25th anniversary.

-Gamingnerd writes about The Legend of Zelda series in celebration of its 35th anniversary.

-Kerrik52 deep dives into his backlog and shares his thoughts on several of those games.

-Eggs&Brewsterjr shares his thoughts on the fan translation of DoReMei Fantasy.

-Black Red Gaming reviews several games in "Mini-Reviews".

-Eggs&Brewsterjr shares a list of his Top 10 gaming regrets.

-ABowlOfCereal shares a possible move set for a Shantae/Risky Boots combination in Super Smash Bros.

-ChronoLynxx opens this week's TGIF open community thread.

-RedHeadPeak is back at Destructoid and wants to start blogging again.

In the 25 years since its original inception, the Pokémon universe has grown from just a handful of lead critters to a ridiculous menagerie of monsters. The designs tend to get a little weirder and more abstract as the developers run low on animals, plants and... erm... fashions to adapt, but each and every evolution is always bursting with life, character, and personality.

Even if, like myself, you aren't a big-time Pokémon fan, it can be easy to see elements of yourself in some of the little dudes and dudettes. For my part, I see elements of my style (and resting face) in Gothitelle, hunger for validation in Jigglypuff, and my... well let's face it... a whole lot of me in Snorlax. But I think I have the energy of no single Pokémon more than Generation VII's Mimikyu - relating to its lonesome nature, its desire to be part of the pack, the masks it wears in efforts to fit in, its occasionally overly friendly nature, and its inability to keep its physical head of the dang ground.

Above all else, however, we're also both super-duper totes adorbs.

Pokémon pretty much has it made.

It has a huge history, and enough nostalgia to mine forever. Having a good cadence of "remakes, and new stuff" is pretty much perfect at this point. And they delivered both today.

Here's a full recap, including all the ancillary announcements before the big ones.

Back in middle school, I remember my classmates saying Pokémon was just a fad. It was 1998, school had just started up again, and the anime had just started up in preparation for the arrival of Pokémon Red and Blue in North America. I didn't have a Game Boy at the time and couldn't stand anime, so I didn't really pay attention. But one of my classmates fell hard for the series, being the only guy I knew who carried a Game Boy Pocket in his backpack at high school so he could be Gold and Silver. He didn't think it was a fad, and today, 25 years after Pokémon first debuted, he's been proven right.

Pokémon has been nothing short of a cultural phenomenon since 1996. While the popularity of some franchises can wane over time, it seems to only be getting stronger with each passing year. Twenty twenty-one is already looking good for the series with New Pokémon Snap and the remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. And then there is that whole Pokémon Legends: Arceus launching next year.

Today, I'm a pretty decent fan of the series, but I didn't play a proper entry in the franchise until Pokémon Emerald. Before that, my only experience with it came a few years earlier with Super Smash Bros. I couldn't control Pikachu worth a damn and wouldn't pick Jigglypuff because my friends might have thought I was gay...or, you know, figured out what should have been so obvious to them. But I loved the Saffron City stage and how Pokémon were implemented as random summons.

I gave up on Emerald around Fortree City. The next few games I bought (Pearl, HeartGold, and White) shared a similar fate, and I seemed destined to never understand the appeal of this global sensation. Then I played Pokémon Rumble for WiiWare, and everything changed.

Welcome to the weekend, folks! May I be the first to wish you a very happy Pokémon Day... PokéDay? Well, whatever it is, I hope for all of you budding trainers out there it's a fun one. Pokémon is such a social game, but has somehow managed to survive the difficulties of these socially distanced times. Then again, given that Pokémon as a brand has been going for some 25 years, the lil' critters are pretty much bulletproof at this point.

I have to admit, it all kind of passed me by. I was already a little old and the weight of the world had already crushed my youthful spirit, (I was 16), but I do remember the flurry of excitement for various releases from my years working in gaming retail - Pokémon Stadium's release on N64 was a particularly a nightmare time to be a shop worker. Oh, and I also hit someone with a plush Pikachu in a wrestling match... There was half a brick inside it. That part's important. I choose you.

But this article doesn't have to be about Pokémon, (you'll get some fun articles on that later today). For now, toss your (Poké)balls into the comments and let us know what games you've been hitting this past week, or have lined up for your weekend. Old or new, good or bad, Pearl or Diamond - it's all valid here. Fill us in on the action and then get on with enjoying your day. As always, thanks for stopping by, y'all!

Have a safe and pleasant weekend, from all of us at Destructoid.

It's a rainy Friday afternoon, it's somehow almost March, and the weekend feels just out of reach. I want to shut off my brain and zone out to the wonderful Final Fantasy VII Remake soundtrack without bouncing around YouTube – doubly so in the aftermath of Intergrade. Anyone else in the mood?

Yesterday was overflowing with FFVII news and here's one more nugget: the Remake soundtrack is streaming on Spotify today. It's also on Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music if you prefer.

The tracks aren't the easiest to follow out of order – their titles are currently listed in Japanese by Square Enix – but you can use your intuition if you're pretty familiar with the flow of Remake.

Take us away, Uematsu. We're in your hands now.

Sad, funny story: I recently dropped my Spotify Premium because "I don't use it that much anymore." Less than 24 hours later, after trying out the free version once in my car, I was back. They got me. It had been many years since I used non-Premium and I didn't realize what I was in for; good timing, I guess.

Maybe you've got enough games to play in your backlog, maybe you don't – or maybe you do but you're in too deep, you need a little breather, and you're looking for a short-lived distraction, the cheaper the better. How about free? Deep Rock Galactic is free-to-play this weekend on Steam. Like right now.

If you already know the drill, download away. The promo lasts until 10:00 am Pacific on Monday, March 1. For anyone feeling out the loop, this 1.0 launch trailer sets up Deep Rock Galactic rather well.

I recently brought up the alien-blasting space-miner game in light of it passing the two-million-sales mark, and there was a lotta love to go around from players. Multiple readers ranked Deep Rock Galactic among the best co-op FPS games since Left 4 Dead (RIP), to put that in perspective. While I can't speak to it much – I need to take my own advice and go hard with the free trial – I do believe the kind words.

For the third anniversary, players can earn the Scale Brigade Armor and Headwear through a new assignment – you need to have cleared the extended Conquer Hoxxes IV intro. There's also a party hat.

Do I embed the polished announcement trailer for Stonefly or go with the "gameplay first look" video featuring a pet reptile chilling on the technical game designer's shoulder? As if that's even a question.

Creature in the Well was an unusual pinball-with-swords romp from Flight School Studio, and the team's summer 2021 game, Stonefly, is even more conceptually out-there. In a good way, I mean!

It's an overhead action-adventure title about piloting an insectoid mech – with a painterly natural world you'd never normally associate with mech games. The young pilot has to "shoo" bugs off massive tree branches, collect resources for ability and traversal upgrades, and reclaim her father's precious rig.

She'll also "forge relationships with a cast of memorable characters from the Acorn Corps, a band of castaway mech pilots," which is the icing on top to keep me motivated once the eye-catching art fades.

I have to appreciate the creative "we're really going for it" energy flowing through this project. It stands out in a sea of small- to medium-sized games that either look the same, play the same, or both.

Much has been said about Halo Infinite, whether it's in-depth fan discussions dissecting every detail, ongoing status updates from the developers, or even just onlookers making memes. But in the wake of the big delay, how are things looking? How does the game compare to what we saw last year?

343 Industries shared screenshots in a lengthy-as-always monthly Halo Waypoint blog post. Compared to the usual armor renders and artwork, they're substantial enough to warrant highlighting here.

These work-in-progress shots are taken from the Halo Infinite campaign running on a PC:

If you're worried about the PC-versus-Xbox divide, I hear you. Graphics producer Alex Le Boulicaut said they're "committed to deliver a great experience and high level of visual fidelity across all platforms."

Among the bevy of colorful titles appearing during yesterday's PlayStation State of Play presentation, we got to see much more of Electronic Arts' Knockout City, following on from its appearance during last week's Nintendo Direct. Developed by Velan Studios, the madcap dodgeball-style multiplayer will launch on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on May 21.

And for those of you who wish to jump into the wild 'berg of Knockout City, you're in luck, as EA has announced it will be holding a special cross-play testing beta in early April. For the weekend of April 2-4, players on the aforementioned platforms can get a taste of the action, battling it out in two modes - 3v3 and 1v1 - on four maps, including the newly added Back Alley Brawl. Just make sure you sign up over on the official Knockout City website. Should players choose to commit to a full purchase, then they will be able to pre-order Knockout City at the budget price of $19.99.

The full version will feature a roster of OTT characters, customization options, distinct techniques, balls, and arenas, with free access offered to seasonal new content. For more info on the characters, maps, modes, and most importantly the rules of Knockout City, (so you can break 'em), then check out the video below - as featured in the State of Play presentation.

EA Play has become my preferred way of checking out EA-published games in most cases. Rather than paying to buy a digital copy of a game I don't need to own – or subscribing for a full year of EA Play – I spend the five bucks needed for one month of access, and make extra sure auto-renewal is turned off.

The service has three more games on the horizon: Madden NFL 21 (March 2), Star Wars: Squadrons (March), and NHL 21 (April). If you're subscribed to EA Play, you'll be able to play the full versions.

Worth noting: EA Play is baked directly into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, so if you already have that big-boy membership, you're covered here. (What about PC players? EA reiterated today that EA Play will be rolled into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on PC "later this year.")

Did any of you rack up multiple years' worth of Game Pass Ultimate in a conversion deal? Jealous.

Also worth noting if it's been a while: EA Play used to be called "EA Access" on consoles and "Origin Access" on PC, and these three games are joining The Play List, which used to go by the "Vault."

I'm probably going to pass on these titles, but if you need your Madden or NHL fix (particularly the latter) or you wouldn't mind dipping into Star Wars: Squadrons' single-player campaign, there you go.

Unsheathe that steel, friend, Koei Tecmo has revealed a release date for the western launch of its warfaring musou sequel Samurai Warriors 5. The latest chapter in this epic  drama will arrive on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on July 27, just one month after its release in Japan.

Omega Force's latest venture into the ground-shaking 1 vs. 1000 battle franchise will feature a huge roster of 27 characters handpicked from the series previous releases, all of whom have received a visual overhaul in order to better acclimatize them to Samurai Warriors 5's Sengoku time period. Favorites such as Hideyoshi Hashiba, Nou, and Yoshimoto Imagawa will be joined by ninja newcomer Mitsuki, with further new characters expected to arrive as post-release DLC.

While the typical en masse brawling and tactical combat will return as expected, Samurai Warriors 5 will include new mechanics and features, such as the all-new "Musou Frenzy," which sees the playfield transition to a traditional watercolor effect to truly showcase your chosen warrior's devastating, screen-clearing specials. Check out the action in the brand new trailer below, while you ready yourself for a hell of a lot of sword-assisted head-ectomies.

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making Final Fantasy VII Remake from the ground up.

A full team had to basically reimagine this classic JRPG without screwing things up, and that included new sound effects, visuals, music, designs, mechanics: you name it. So it makes perfect sense that it took a team of three directors and countless others to make that happen. That directorial trio involved Testuya Nomura, Noaki Hamaguchi, and Motomu Toriyama. At least for the first part.

Speaking to Famitsu, Nomura confirmed that Part 2 will only have one director: Naoki Hamaguchi. Part of the reason is that Nomura will be busy, working on "more projects now than ever before" (okay, I want to know more about that). Since a lot of the groundwork is already done, Nomura feels comfortable that this one can be helmed by one person. However, Nomura is still involved as the "creative director on all things Final Fantasy VII," which specifically includes the remake and the mobile games. He says that it is "not a significant change."

Slowly but surely the Part 2 pieces of the puzzle are coming together. We know that it should feature the open world at some point, and that Square Enix is working on it in earnest remotely.