Destructoid

The cat might be out of the bag with multiple leaked announcements, including Burning Crusade Classic, but there are still surprises in store for BlizzConline 2021, the streaming-only stand-in for BlizzCon. The two-day digital event starts February 19 (that's today!) with an opening ceremony at 2:00 pm Pacific.

After the main event, which is expected to last an hour, BlizzConline will split off into several streaming channels – WoW, Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch, and StarCraft – all of which are free to watch. With that in mind, it's worth perusing the schedule, especially on day one, to see what's happening where.

(I included the main Blizzard channel above; you can flip between the other channels over here.)

I'm pretty much just looking forward to seeing the Diablo II remaster's new graphics. Anything else – say, a meaningful update on the state of Overwatch 2 that gives me more confidence – is a bonus.

Come hang out in the comments if you're free for a bit. I saved you a seat right next to Chris.

While the undead Nazi zombie shooter is a little bit played out as a concept today, indie developer Itzy Interactive is turning the often-used narrative on its head a little with its upcoming twin-stick shooter Mad Devils, in development for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.

Set in an alternate version of World War II, (or "Weird War II" as noted by the press release), Mad Devils will tell the story of a team of the titular squad of G.I.s, recently killed during a failed assassination mission on Nazi officer Major Strauss. However, clearly determined to complete their objective by any means necessary, the Mad Devils have returned from the afterlife, armed with newly attained abilities and an arsenal of occult weaponry, ready to rain the hellfire and brimstone of the infernal on Strauss and his soldiers.

Did you know there's a Rogue Legacy 2? And that it's in Early Access on PC right now?

I know plenty of us prefer to wait until games like this are done, but even with that caveat, I feel like there isn't enough noise surrounding this sequel to such a beloved game. It looks and plays fantastic.

Going in, the biggest criticism I had for Rogue Legacy 2 was a lack of content to keep the roguelike machine spinning. The Far Shores update was a huge boon, and the latest update, Arcane Hallows, pushes the sequel past the original Rogue Legacy "in terms of raw content (excluding NG+)."

In terms of raw numbers, there are four biomes (the latest is the tricky Stygian Study), nine classes (including the just-added Gunslinger and the Assassin), and 650+ potential room layouts to come across. I made a beeline for the Gunslinger, who can fire off a stream of shots mid-air, letting you engage enemies from a safe distance, but they regularly need to reload and the timing is crucial.

Other highlights from the Arcane Hallows update:

Some of the most unnerving video games are the ones that prey on primal fears. They Breathe, for example, with its suffocating underwater atmosphere, or Doki Doki Literature Club with the abyss gazing back at you. But for my money, one of the smartest and most relatable scares comes from tinyBuild's viral hit Kill It With Fire, which is headed to mobile and consoles next month.

Many games feature villainous spiders, usually of the super-sized form. But Kill It With Fire goes one step better and makes its arachnid antics relatable. For those yet to experience the creepy-but-goofy title, Kill It With Fire deposits a spooky spider somewhere in an intricate environment, and tasks the player with tracking it down taking it down with an over-the-top range of weaponry, from bats and books, to chainsaws, handguns, weed-whackers, even a flamethrower.

As if I don't already have a hard enough time sticking to a single character transformation in Nioh 2, Team Ninja went ahead and released the Ryu Hayabusa-approved "Dragon Ninja" look for free in-game.

To celebrate the reveal of NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection, The development team have created the "Dragon Ninja" skin, which players can use to transform themselves into Ryu Hayabusa in #Nioh2! Access the Shrine menu & select the Boons tab in order to obtain the exclusive bonus! pic.twitter.com/G6J5OCuwvo

— Team NINJA (@TeamNINJAStudio) February 18, 2021

To grab it, update your copy of Nioh 2 to Version 1.26, duck into the Shrine menu, and flip over to the Boons tab. It's been a while, so I had a few bonuses waiting for me – including the catgirl garb.

If you're rusty, I've snapped a few pics showing where to find the Dragon Ninja transformation:

Bungie has announced their plans to expand on their official blog this week, with two new board of director additions (one of which is from Viacom CBS) and an expansion of their headquarters.

Bungie explains that they broke ground on an "extensive expansion" of their worldwide Bellevue Washington HQ, which should be finished by the fall of 2022. It'll increase the square footage from 84,000 to 208,000. 

In 2022, they'll also open an office in Amsterdam, and have elevated the following people to new positions: Luis Villegas (Chief Technology Officer), Danielle Porter (Chief Financial Officer), and Don McGowan (General Counsel). Bungie is doubling down on Mark Noseworthy and Luke Smith, who will now "oversee the expansion of the Destiny universe into additional media." So uh, a Netflix cartoon?

Man, that's some NetEase money right there! Speaking of.

We knew this was coming, to an extent. Bungie already announced that they were getting in business bed with NetEase, one of the biggest tech companies in China. We haven't really seen the fruits of that labor from 2018 yet, as Bungie has basically only delivered a scaled-down version of Destiny 2, with more microtransactions than the Activision era, and propelled by the "seasonal" approach.

It's a bombastic missive for sure and a statement to the industry: Bungie has money to spend. Hopefully some of that is put into their flagship game.

Bungie prepares for future growth in 2021 [Bungie.net]

An indie game developer has been banned from PC platform Steam after naming their studio "Very Positive" in a seeming effort to trick Steam users into believing that this was the review consensus for its latest release, an alchemy title named Emoji Evolution.

The developer chose the name for both its studio and publisher so that, at first glance, the words would appear in Steam's sidebar and be confused for audience opinion as it relates to the developer's games. In an interview with Vice, "Very Positive" said that it expected the cheeky tactic "Wouldn't be an issue" with Steam or its parent company, Valve.

Turns out it is an issue. Earlier this week, Valve decided to remove Very Positive and its game from the Steam platform, citing that the developer had broken Steam's rules on "review manipulation." The developer has taken to Twitter to express their disagreement, and will begin the process of appealing in order re-establish itself on the Steam database.

The weird irony to this whole affair can be seen in Simon Carless' Game Discovery newsletter, where it appears that, before Emoji Evolution was removed, it actually had received "Mostly Positive" reviews from the handful of people that had played it.

Steam developer banned after trying to trick users about positive reviews [Vice]

Next week will offer PC and console owners their first opportunity to jump in on People Can Fly's new co-operative shooter, Outriders. In a lengthy thread on Twitter, the studio laid out all of the dates and details as it pertains to the demo - which the developer specifically notes is a demo and not a beta.

The demo will be available to all for free, you don't need to opt-in nor pre-order Outriders, and will launch on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on February 25/26. PlayStation players will require a PlayStation Plus account. The demo will weigh in at roughly 22-24 GB and there are no plans for a pre-load period. Fortunately, the demo is not time-limited, and is expected to run up to and even beyond the official launch of Outriders, so don't sweat it if you cannot get to it right away.

Final Fantasy VII will never be out of style.

Even if the remaster didn't happen! Even if the remaster somehow doesn't have a real end due to some freak accident. People will always try and bring back the original classic, as it was a formative JRPG for many folks. Like Chrono Trigger before it, it's one of the biggest "gateway JRPGs" in history.

That's partially why so many prospective modders are messing with it, even now. Take this Satsuki Yatoshi Mod, for instance. Calling itself the "most accurate modern take on the PC version," this mod outfit is using deep learning AI techniques to really get it right.

The mod is billed as a "cleaner, more detailed" version than past "HD mods," upscaling the game with AI. Interestingly, they don't want to get "too upscaled." No: they're looking to not have an "oversharp or overclean effect," so that it feels constant and still true to the original.

You can get a good look at the comparison between the Steam/PC version and the mod below. These preservationists are doing the lord's work!

One of the most low-key, yet most popular, reveals of Wednesday's Nintendo Direct presentation was the announcement that two '80s classics from the Famicom Detective Club would be making the leap westward, officially localized in the U.S. for the first time in history.

Released in 1988 and 1989 respectively, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind, are two early examples of the visual, and tasking budding investigators with solving two murder mysteries with supernatural overtones. For many older video game fans, the return of these two titles is a big deal, and as such Nintendo has announced a neat collector's edition for Japan.

Just the other day I was talking about how regardless of how many games Shovel Knight crosses over with, the character doesn't really feel stale yet. I'm still in that zone, even hearing the news of this recent crossover with For Honor.

This limited-time crossover adds Shovel Knight gear into the mix, including the "Stalwart Plate" armor, as well as the "Ornate Plate" and "Rodent Regalia" (the latter of which is named after the pesky little rat enemies). Other smaller bonuses include emotes and executions. Yes, executions! This crossover is dark.

It'll all run until March 4. Check out the sweet little cartoon promo image and the trailer below! You gotta give it to the marketing team: they actually tried for this one, and got the tone of Shovel Knight across. I'm surprised they went with the original music, but it totally works.

More news from our favorite spoilers, The Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea, who has released a new listing for a PC port of Super Bomberman R Online, the fast and frantic multiplayer title currently only available on Google's cloud gaming service, Stadia.

The latest release in the now decades-old series, Super Bomberman R Online, takes the maze-blasting gameplay that is the series trademark and expands it to a staggering 64-player battle royale format. In true Bomberman fashion, players compete to make the most of their local play area, cornering foes, bagging power-ups, and strategically placing explosives, while hopefully not painting themselves into a corner. The clock is also against our boom buddies, with the player area shrinking down as the battle continues. Will you be the Last Bomber Standing?

Super Bomberman R Online features a selection of characters, including guest stars from other Konami titles - such as Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid - as well as full customization options. The new Crowd Play function offers streamers and their audiences the opportunity to quickly and efficiently hook up for multiplayer action. While publisher Konami is yet to announce a port of the release, this new rating all but confirms that the title will be arriving on PC - and perhaps other platforms - in the near future.

Activision and Treyarch have spilled the intel on season two of their blockbuster shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and its sister title Call of Duty: Warzone. Kicking off on February 25, the new season brings a massive helping of exciting new content to both titles, including operators, weapons, scorestreaks, skin packs, modes, and a new Zombies experience.

The organizer of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) has officially announced that its 2021 iteration will be an online-only affair. The annual event had originally planned to make GDC 2021 a hybrid in-person/online showcase, but concerns from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have rendered that impossible, forcing organizer Informa Tech to go all digital.

"While we can't wait to gather in the halls of Moscone [San Francisco] together again, and we did consider an in-person component this year, we have decided that it's more important that our speakers, attendees and sponsors be able to plan ahead, to continue to be as safe as possible, and to spend our attention on delivering the best possible GDC," said Informa Tech in a press statement. "As in a more traditional year, this year’s conference will be filled with deep content developed with our advisory board, a focus on community-building, networking and celebrations that GDC is known for."

GDC 2021 is scheduled to take place the weekend of July 19-23, and will offer developers and publishers the opportunity to network and converse online, showcasing their respective wares, discussing the industry, and looking for new talent and opportunities. Both the Independent Games Festival and Developers Choice Awards will take place on July 21.

In today's contest you can win a MapleStory M physical prize pack!

It's physical prize time! I love giving away actual, tangible objects for people to get their hands on. And today, we've got a prize pack full of useful objects!

MapleStory M just dropped a content update, which means I'm here to promote it by giving away free stuff! It's my thing. Don't @ me.

The Epic Games Store has two free PC games lined up this week: Rage 2 and Absolute Drift. You can swing back and forth between all-out apocalyptic chaos to the chillest of chill score-chasing.

Here's a refresher on both games while you mull over logging in to claim them.

You have until Thursday, February 25 at 8:00 am Pacific to add the games to your library.

In my head, Rage 2 seems like it's been around for a long time, but 2019 wasn't that long ago – it just feels like it. Back then, I figured I'd enjoy it as someone who digs Far Cry, Borderlands, Doom, and Mad Max, but it wasn't something I was in the mood to play, even with ridiculous gunplay and abilities.

Getting it for free helps – as does Chris' one-liner about it being "screw around: the game."

As for Absolute Drift, it seems like a zen experience for the right type of person. I'm not sure I'm the guy, but I got a chuckle out of "Driftkhana" and the soundtrack is dope. There's free-roaming, if you're down.

Konami just launched an online merch store, and I know, I know – you're not in the mood.

Regardless of how out-of-sync the company can be with modern sensibilities, we've got the good old days, and there are some surprising back-catalog picks in here like a Sunset Riders mug, a sweatshirt plastered with Goemon, and Track & Field t-shirts. I'm not here to dwell on that stuff, though.

I immediately darted toward the Castlevania section, straight past the apparel, to this:

Your eyes don't deceive you. Those are pillows with Alucard and Richter looking all majestic.

My recent (and at this point probably annual) trip down memory lane with Castlevania Requiem and Castlevania Anniversary Collection has been building to this silliness. I can't stop laughing.

$40 for a video game pillow? I shouldn't. I really shouldn't.

Even though Crusader Kings III is already out and available for all your nepotistic megalomaniacal fantasies, Paradox is continuing to push its Crusader Kings II candy on strategy fans at large. The base grand strategy game was previously made free for all just before the announcement of the sequel in late 2018, and it's currently free-to-play on Steam.

The problem is that the Crusader Kings II base game is simply that, a base – and Paradox used that base to build and sell six years' worth of DLC and expansions, some of which vastly changed how the game was played. If you wanted to buy the entire catalog of expansions, DLC, and soundtrack additions, it would run you around $300. That's a lot of dosh.

To give new players the option of trying all the DLC at a reduced rate, Paradox has now implemented a subscription service where $5 a month grants you access to the entire collection. You'll still be able to buy any and all of the DLC that tickles your fancy to own forever, which is nice as there's a lot of fluff in the form of art and music packs. To me, those seem a bit frivolous when compared to the mechanic and gameplay expansion sets.

In the forum release announcing the start of this new venture, Paradox stated that it is exploring the option to bring a subscription service to other games. Ominous.

The real question I have is what does this tell us about Victoria III? Nothing? I reject your answer.

Second Extinction, a dinosaur-horde-blasting co-op shooter, reminds me of eating sugary cereal for dinner. It's not something you can pull off on a regular basis, but there's a time and a place, for sure.

This would go over well in Game Pass, wouldn't it? That electrified tripwire speaks to me.

I first heard about the game in the Xbox Series X showcase event last May, where it stood out in the crowd as a not-so-guilty-pleasure. While it has been playable on PC in Steam Early Access since October 2020, Second Extinction hasn't made it over to consoles yet – but it's finally getting closer.

Systemic Reaction is planning to launch the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One versions in spring 2021. That's not to say it'll be "done" by then, though – Second Extinction will be a Game Preview title.

The work-in-progress PC version is a week away from getting its Pre-Season 3 update, so it's still trucking. One of the focal points is making sure players can jump in alone and learn the ropes.

Young me would've wanted action figures of these mutated dinosaurs. They could've faced off against my cherished Primal Rage and Jurassic Park toys (with an assist from the Kenner Aliens line).

The Legend of Zelda would not be what it is without its music. In 1986, composer Koji Kondo struck gold when The Legend of Zelda released in Japan on the Famicom. As players loaded up the game, the unforgettable melody from the “Overworld Theme” began to play over the main menu screen, and it never really stopped.

The success of the series would go on to snowball into its first 3D release on the Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time, but just as the visuals gained an extra dimension, so too did the game’s music. It became interactive.

Rumors are circulating that Konami is finally doing something significant again with Silent Hill.

While the forsaken series has drawn will-they-won't-they speculation for years, it's hard not to daydream about what could and should be, no matter how many rumors fail to materialize. The latest word, from VGC, suggests Konami has turned to external partners to help revitalize Silent Hill.

The outlet heard from sources that a Supermassive pitch didn't move forward, and that Konami has "outsourced a Silent Hill project to a prominent Japanese developer, with a reveal due this summer."

(The author noted on Twitter that it's not Kojima Productions – a frequent guess – and added that Konami is eying externally-developed Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania projects further out.)

On a separate but (maybe) related note, potentially suggesting that there could be more than one modern interpretation of Silent Hill, speculation has come out of a GamesIndustry.biz interview with Bloober Team CEO Peter Babieno, in which he commented on the studio's next horror game.

You don't need to rebuy Hitman 1 or Hitman 2 to bring their levels into Hitman 3 on PC.

From the outside looking in, that should be a no-brainer with the (mostly generous!) way IO has handled its modern Hitman trilogy so far, but a last-minute switcheroo in mid-January meant that PC players weren't going to be able to freely bring their content forward by verifying their Steam purchases of Hitman 1 or 2 to unlock corresponding stages in the Epic Games Store-exclusive Hitman 3.

Fans were rightfully put off by the situation, and IO said it would reverse course. Now it has.

Hitman 3 players can head over to this support page to read about – and begin – the Hitman 1 and 2 location-importing process. Using an IOI Account, you'll be able to claim the Hitman 1 and/or Hitman 2 Access Pass DLC if you own those games, and then it's just a matter of launching Hitman 3. That said, IO warns to "double-check all your choices before claiming content. They cannot be undone or reversed."

If any of this unpleasantness was holding you back from getting into Hitman 3 on PC, it's time to hunt.

As part of last night's Nintendo Direct presentation, it was confirmed that Telltale Games' 2014 release Tales from the Borderlands is headed to Nintendo Switch. The port was recently rumored after a new listing popped up on the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee's website.

The episodic adventure follows the hapless exploits of Hyperion employee Rhys and savvy con-artist Fiona as the duo collide while on a quest to find and open one of Pandora's many vaults. The mismatched pair team-up in order to faster achieve their individual goals, utilizing each other's unique talents in a quest for riches beyond belief. Of course, it isn't smooth sailing, and the likable adventurers soon find themselves in hot water and on many a hit list.

Tales from the Borderlands was received positively by both critics and Borderlands fans upon release, praising its visual style, interesting cast, and wry humor. But the episodic series failed to find the same success that had been afforded similar releases such as The Walking Dead. Frustratingly for fans of the series, it seems that a sequel is currently not on the cards, but with this new re-release (which also recently arrived on PS4 and Xbox One) perhaps the fires will be ignited and the right people will take notice. Here's hoping at any rate.

Everyone tuned in to see if we'd get more Zelda news during the new Nintendo Direct, and we...sort of did!

Although the Skyward Sword HD Switch project was confirmed, Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was a no-show. Series producer Eiji Aonuma did show up to deliver the bad news however, specifically explaining that there was no news.

Capcom's Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Ghosts 'n Goblins are renown for many things, not least of which is each titles' rock-hard difficulty. Still, it appears that when brave Sir Arthur takes to the graveyards once more in Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection, he'll at least have the option of a few helping hands.

For the first time in series history, Ghosts 'n Goblins will feature a new co-op multiplayer mode. But this helping hand isn't manifested in typical "two-player" fashion, and instead takes a far more unique tack. While the first player will control Arthur as he runs, double-jumps, and lances his way through each stage, the second player will control one of three supporting sprites, known as Archie, Kerry, and Barry.

Back in November of 2019, Phil Spencer declared that Microsoft was going to bring Final Fantasy XIV to the Xbox platform.

It was a nice decree, and if it really could interface with PC and PS4 (now PS5 too), it would mean even more people could adventure together in Eorzea. But it seems like that's too tall of an order for Square Enix, at least for now.

Speaking to The Washington Post, producer and all-around personality Naoki "Yoshi P" Yoshida explained that it's a matter of resources. He puts it pretty plainly, stating: "We provide content on a fairly regular basis and our cycle is rather condensed. And it is a fairly stable cadence that we continue to follow...we have to think about long-term planning with additional platforms, we need additional testing for that particular platform. So it kind of exponentially grows the amount of resources that needs to be allocated.”

Of course, Yoshi P is talking about the recently revealed PS5 edition, which took priority. As well as any potential graphical enhancements on PC, which Square Enix peppers in for each expansion release.

I reached out to both Square Enix and Microsoft last year to see how talks were going, and both offered an emphatic "no comment" on the situation. Now at least we have a hint of why the partnership might not be happening after all. This has been on and off since 2016: it would be nice to see it finally resolved at some point.

During last night's Nintendo Direct broadcast, Mediatonic announced that its silly battle royale title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was making a heavy, saggy leap onto the Switch platform. This morning, Devolver Digital was quick to let Xbox owners know that they won't be left out, as the madcap multiplayer title is coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X this summer.

In case you've been living under a rock, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is an en masse multiplayer title in which a huge squad of colorful "beans" battle it out in a sequence of ridiculous rounds that include races, obstacle courses, inertia-based puzzles, wild charges uphill, and many other over-the-top events, all to grab the prestigious crown located at the end of the show. Just like Connor Macloed, there can be only one.

Launching on PS4 and PC in the summer of 2020, Fall Guys was an instant mainstream hit, thanks to its pick-up-and-put-down nature, simple learning curve, and basic control system, pulling in players from all over the globe and raising a lot of laughs and smiles while doing so. Now confirmed for Switch and Xbox, and with a China-exclusive mobile port in the works, it looks as if Fall Guys is set to keep 'em rollin' on in 2021.

Atlus must be happy, as Persona 5 Strikers is finally out in the west on multiple platforms, including Switch!

So far the Switch edition has been favorably received by critics (we only had access to the PS4 version), so time will tell what the general audience thinks. You can also grab Capcom Arcade Stadium, Curse of the Dead Gods this week.

We're hard at work on a review for the surprise-dropped Arcade Stadium. In the meantime, here's the rest of the eShop releases this week!

After learning that Apex Legends was going to arrive on Switch, we got yanked around a bit on the release date.

Of course Respawn had to put on the finishing touches (launching it with cross-play couldn't have been easy), but for weeks on end we got comments like "soon," or "any day now!" Finally, we got confirmation of "full feature parity" and a March 9 release date earlier this month.

But now Respawn is doubling down on that definitely-the-case date with a new showing at this week's Nintendo Direct presentation, which has "March 9" emblazoned on the game's video splash screen.

Nintendo reminds us that yes, cross-play is in on Switch, but you'll be able to nab an "all-new legendary Pathfinder skin," as well as 30 free levels for the season eight mayhem battle pass. Plus "for the first two weeks after launch, you'll earn double XP on Switch."

You can find the relevant bit on Apex Legends buried inside of the below Direct at around 41:15. It's a blink and you'll miss it sort of thing!

Oh hey look new Nintendo hardware that's highly sought after and wasn't up for pre-order when they were announced.

Yes, it's none other than a new pair of sleek looking Joy-Con: the Skyward Sword HD controllers. Nintendo noted the Joy-Cons will "launch on the game's release date [July 16] at your local retailers." Thanks! We could use a heads-up so these don't go on sale on a random midnight hour while some of us are asleep.

If you're just interested in the hardware goods, that picks up around 2:30 in the below video. As the video explains, the right Joy-Con is meant to emulate the Master Sword, while the left is the Hylian Shield.

Good luck! If we hear anything we'll get the word out. In the meantime you can take a gander at them.

Fans have been waiting a long, long while, but after a year of production woes and calendar shifts, Warner Bros. has finally released the trailer for Mortal Kombat, the upcoming cinematic adaptation of NetherRealm Studios' legendary fighting game franchise.

The new film will take the MK story back to its roots, as a cast of the series' original characters (as well as a few sneaky sequel stars) will defend Earthrealm in a brutal and hellish hand-to-hand fighting tournament, presided over by Outworld's malevolent sorcerer, Shang Tsung. Led by Thunder God Raiden, this motley crew of warriors will face off in a violent battle for personal pride, vengeance, and the fate of the very universe itself.

But enough of my yakkin', y'all know the plot, so let's get to the NSFW action.

I guess I should be happy Miis had a pretty decent showing at yesterday's Nintendo Direct. After all, it was just over a month ago I was lamenting the lack of Mii games on Switch. Sure, they still play a decent role in Smash Ultimate, but the number of games that support Miis has diminished since Nintendo left the 3DS behind.

Things are starting to look up, though. Not only will Miis play a central role in the story mode for Mario Golf: Super Rush, but the 3DS sleeper hit Miitopia is coming back this May on Nintendo Switch. I reviewed the original release over three years ago and found it to be a mostly funny and enjoyable experience.

Part of what endeared Miitopia so much to me was how it utilized Miis. Rather than fill the game with randomly generated NPCs, it would pull Miis from all over and cast them as characters in your adventure. When I was preparing to cover the Direct yesterday and the big leak that correctly predicted most everything in it dropped, Jordan Devore posted this picture into our Slack chat:

Capcom has been building a steady amount of momentum with Monster Hunter Rise, and it's amazing to see. From the very first Direct-like showing to the new actually-Nintendo-Direct trailer this week, Rise has become one of the hottest games of early 2021. It even got a demo!

Speaking of new footage, this Nintendo Direct clip was just released, and it's a quick three-minute look at some new areas and monsters. Pretty much every aspect of this trailer is firing on all cylinders: the environments, the music, a little hint of the overarching story (and the impact of The Rampage).

Riding Rajangs, an Apex Arzuros, charge blade wirebug abilities, town defense scenarios (that look like a blast in multiplayer): this looks to be just as action-packed as prior Monster Hunter games, if not more so.

In a little over a week's time, Nintendo Switch owners will be able to return to the kingdom of Excillant, as a quartet of brave heroes embark on an epic journey to restore a ruined city to its former glory, hugely outnumbered by the armies of enemies who would see them fail. Bravely Default II is just eight days away from its long-awaited release on Nintendo Switch.

Publishers Square Enix and Nintendo have released one last trailer in order to stir the adventurous spirit in series fans old and new. The near four-minute preview gets us acquainted with heroes Seth, Adelle, Gloria, and Elvis, while giving us a whistle-stop tour of the kingdom of Excillant and its five distinct regions. We also get to see some of the adversaries our party will come up against, which must be defeated if Princess Gloria's realm is ever to see the light again.

It won't be an easy quest, as many who have played the recent demo will tell you. But with smart tactics, an eye for exploration, and perfect mastery of the "Brave" and "Default" battle system, players will help our heroes overcome insurmountable odds and hopefully save the day. I mean, Good always triumphs over Evil in these endeavors... right?

Is anyone tired of the Lady Dimitrescu discourse yet? Well, I'm sure not. I loved Resident Evil Village's high society queen when we first encountered her back at E3. I loved her when we recently discovered she was 200 feet tall (possible exaggeration). And I loved her when she skewered my face off in last month's PS5 demo.

Since her arrival in the zeitgeist, the good lady and her infectious daughters have gotten the creative juices flowing in a lot of artists. And not just Rule 34 lovers. Take for example these wonderful Minifigs - designed by Redditor and LEGO fan Demonic_Cucumber - that showcase Alcina (we're on first-name terms, y'see) and her offspring in classic blocko form. Thanks to @LeonHurley for spotting these creepy-cute creations.

SNK has announced that it will be compiling its recent Neo Geo Pocket Color re-releases for an all-in-one compilation for Nintendo Switch. The publisher did not announce a release date nor a price for the Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection, with more information arriving "in the coming weeks."

The compilation will include the six previously released NGPC titles. This includes Samurai Shodown! 2, SNK Gals' Fighters, King of Fighters R-2, Fatal Fury: First Contact, The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, and finally the just-released SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium. All of the above titles are currently available for around $8 each, it remains to be seen whether the compilation will offer the set at a discount.

Regardless of the price, many of the above titles - particularly SVC: MotM and Gals' Fighters - can rarely be found in the original NGPC format outside of expensive boutique outlets and online auctions, so it's been one of the recent years' small victories to see these very slick, cool, and hugely underplayed titles made available to fans at affordable prices once again. The Neo Geo Pocket Color might not have been a success, but the creativity utilized in order to shrink down SNK's huge library of fighters to pocket-size deserves to be preserved for current and future generations. Hopefully more NGPC titles are en route.

In today's contest you can win roguelike action platformer 30XX on Steam Early Access!

Have you heard of 20XX? It's a fun little ditty in the vein of Mega Man where roguelike elements and old-school platforming unite. Since it was such a success, we're getting a sequel!

30XX just hit Early Access, and we've got some keys to give away! A new game for the prize of zero? We rock, man! And roll.

Nintendo just had a real Direct today and it was fast!

Some of you probably had a kid since the last real Direct or had some other major life change. I mean, collectively, we've been through a lot. But Nintendo is back today, and they ran through some announcements rapidly over the course of roughly 50 minutes.

The kickoff was the announcement of Pyra and Mythra in Smash Ultimate, which is already soliciting...opinions! We also got cold hard release dates and windows for elusive games like No More Heroes 3, which is always nice.

But the big bombshells at the end were a Skyward Sword HD remaster and the existence of Splatoon 3. It might not be what everyone wanted (the "Breath of the Wild 2 showing" that was on like every leak bingo card or "insider info deck" did not happen, and Nintendo even apologized for it), but it was a Direct again, half a million people tuned in 10 minutes before it even aired.

It's nice to see Nintendo back in the Direct groove.

The rumors were true and the Plants vs. Zombies universe is coming to Nintendo Switch. Well...

Battle for Neighborville, the third game in the Garden Warfare shooter sub-series, will officially be out for Switch on March 19 with an "everything's included" Complete Edition. It's the system's first Frostbite engine title (co-developed by PopCap Vancouver and QLOC), which is wild to reflect on in 2021.

The Switch version of the game will support motion controls if you're into that sorta thing.

The prior versions of Battle for Neighborville leaned into scheduled battle-pass-like Prize Maps to dole out rewards. Here on Switch, you can "unlock all characters and content from the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC Standard Editions, as well as post-launch content, directly through offline or online play."

In other words, you can earn every cosmetic item and class "without any premium store or currency."

This game has had an interesting rollout (including an early access phase), and while it's not my favorite Garden Warfare entry, it will surely find an eager young audience on the Switch. Even if you have no intention of facing off against other players, there's a lot to like as a PvE fan. I mostly played Battle for Neighborville as someone who enjoys tracking down trinkets and secrets in hub worlds. Let me loose!

I would've liked to see a Switch port a while back, but March 2021 is better than never.

We're in an era of video game re-releases and remasters where publishers are pulling out deeper and deeper cuts that many of us either hazily remember or never actually got around to playing. That's how I feel about Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse resurfacing this year on modern platforms.

It's coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One on March 16, 2021.

Apart from the basics, the game will also have "modernized controls" and achievements. (If any of this sounds familiar, the updated ports were recently leaked via an achievement list of all things.) One on-brand example: there's an achievement for "soil[ing] the water supply with your finely aged urine."

Stubbs the Zombie was a 2005 Xbox and PC game about a salesman-turned-zombie who converts the population of a "retro-futuristic" city into the walking dead. Think along the lines of Destroy All Humans, kinda. I used to always mentally file those two games away in a similar headspace – anyone else?

The new versions of Stubbs were handled by Aspyr, a studio you might recognize for its work on the Nintendo Switch ports of Star Wars Episode I: Racer and Jedi Outcast, or the Civilization VI DLC packs.

Funnily enough, at some point, I totally forgot this wasn't just called "Stubbs the Zombie." What a name! If you need a refresher (and you're in a hurry), here's a 46-minute speedrun of the original.