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Today, we’re proudly reintroducing two old school Destructoid shirt designs to our merch store – both of which were designed by Meanderbot; a highly talented member of our own community. 

The first shirt is a reference to an old Dtoid podcast where there was an oft-repeated plea: “Be Better People.” In his blog post promoting the shirt, Meanderbot implies that he felt inspired by this message. When you pick up a Destructoid shirt, most proceeds go towards the artists, so show them some love!

The second of these shirts? Well, its inspirations are apparent from just a single glance, featuring Mr. Destructoid as the mascot for a specific Japan-exclusive attachment to a certain popular line of retro game consoles.

As with all other designs on our store, you can get them printed on mugs, phone cases, wall tapestries, and all sorts of other Destructoid collectibles.

We’ll be continuing to add more designs to our merch store over the next few weeks and months. Some of which are returning designs, others are entirely new. You may even see more stuff by some familiar faces from within our site’s community, so keep your eyes out for those!

Since losing the rights to the Bokujō Monogatari franchise, Natsume's Harvest Moon series has had difficulty finding its grounding. The publisher has tried games inspired by Minecraft, a return-to-roots top-down experience, and last year's delightful Mad Dash spin-off. But it's no longer the only farming game on the market. With the explosion of the genre from its niche origins, farm sims need to do whatever they can to stand out.

Harvest Moon: One World may be a step in the right direction for Natsume. The game was announced a few weeks ago, and during today's New Game+ Expo, we got our first look at what the publisher has in store.

In case you forgot (and I get it, it was years ago!), Inti Creates was initially slated to help with a chunk of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's development work, but was moved off the project mid-stream.

Thankfully they were still able to contribute to the series in a meaningful way, crafting the Curse of the Moon retro spinoff; which was granted as a bonus to some backers and became a full standalone release on 3DS, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita and Xbox One (RIP 3DS and Vita). That universally beloved spinoff is getting a full sequel. Announced today during the New Game+ stream, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 has been confirmed and will once again be handled by Inti Creates.

It's coming to PC (Steam), PS4, Switch and Xbox One "soon," and will contain a multi-episode storyline "supervised" by Koji 'IGA' Igarashi. Zangetsu will return as the lead alongside of "three brand new characters," a roster that includes Dominique (the spear-wielding exorcist from the main game), Robert (a marksman) and Hachi (a corgi who uses steampunk armor).

Ally swapping is in (with their own life bars) as is the return of ally-specific shortcuts. A casual mode is baked-in (on top of the default "veteran"), which provides unlimited lives and eliminates the enemy knockback effect (so you don't fall to your doom). It sounds like a tempered but additive approach, which is the classic Inti Creates touch.

I'm all in on the robot ride armor corgi: Inti Creates is on fire.

Aksys Games is one of the more unpredictable publishers to take part in the New Game+ Expo. You never know quite what you're going to get from it. Over the past few years, it's published everything from Little Dragon's Café to Deadly Premonition Origins to the not-at-all confusingly named Under Night In-Brith EXE:Late[cl-r]. For the New Game+ Expo, however, it played up its collection of upcoming visual novels.

For the New Game+ Expo, Aksys went with some pretty obscure upcoming games, including Piofiore: Fated Memories, Tin & Kuna and Pretty Princess Party, as well as a really brief look at something called Escape from Asura. However, the reveal really speaking to me is Café Enchanté. Developed by Idea Factory, it casts players in the role of Kotone, who inherits her grandfather's café and discovers it serves a clientele of demons, angels, and other mythical creatures.

If this sounds a bit like this year's Coffee Talk, know the art style here is very different. I'm talking eight-pack abs on shirtless demons. Aksys is promising an uplifting tale when Café Enchanté launches on Nintendo Switch this fall.

Café Enchanté [Aksys Games]

It may not be as well known as other Japanese RPGs, but I know the Ys franchise has a very vocal fanbase, and that includes members of the Destructoid staff. For those who've been wondering when the latest game in the series, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, will come to North America and Europe, we now have a better idea of when that'll happen. The New Game+ Expo capped off its show with a reveal of a 2021 western localization of Ys IX to be handled by NIS America.

Not only is the game on its way over to our shores, but it'll arrive on two additional consoles. NIS America confirmed the game will release on Nintendo Switch and PC in addition to the PlayStation 4.

Did you know it has been almost 10 years since the last time we got a new Shiren game? That's far too long for such a wonderful little franchise. While we wait to see what Spike Chunsoft does next with its silent wanderer, anybody who missed out on the Vita port of the fifth game in the series, Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, can rejoice in the news that it's now making its way to Switch and PC.

The existence of a Switch port was announced earlier this year in a Japanese Nintendo Direct, but during today's New Game+ Expo, Spike Chunsoft confirmed it's bringing the title over to our shores. 

If you have no idea what this game is all about, check out my review of the Vita version from 2016. Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate will release for Switch and PC later this year. It's nice to see more and more Japanese games finding their way to PC.

As we learned recently during the EA Play stream, Apex Legends is coming to Switch later this year alongside of cross-play with all existing platforms. The presentation was very brief, but now a few extra details are coming to light.

Speaking to GameSpot via the video interview below, Chad Grenier (Game Director at Respawn Entertainment), explained that although crafting the port was a "challenge," it's "running very well." They also highlight that gyro aiming took a while to implement, but it's going to be good to go by the time the Switch port arrives.

Grenier also says that "all five platforms" (including Steam) will be caught up with another and will be "the same game," by the time the Switch arrives. A lot of the holdup is due to "backend work," which will make sure that players can bring over their account info from prior platforms.

It's all sounding good on paper: we just need to see how the port runs in practice.

In a very surprising and straight-up odd piece of news, SNK's Samurai Shodown's next DLC character is "The Warden" from Ubisoft's medieval multiplayer title For Honor. No, really.

The crossover nobody saw coming was announced during this morning New Game+ Expo, where The Warden was revealed as the final character drop for SamSho's season two pass. Warden is a Vanguard hero from Ubisoft's head-chopping game - armoured to the nines and equipped with a devastating broadsword. While SNK is no stranger to crossovers, it can't be denied that the visual style of Warden seems a little out-of-whack with SamSho's exuberant anime aesthetic, and is perhaps more suited to Soulcalibur.

Have sword, will travel, I suppose.

It looks like another classic fighter from the Neo Geo Pocket Color console is making its way to Switch. As revealed in this morning's New Game+ Expo presentation, The King of Fighters R-2 will launch on the Nintendo platform next month.

Originally released for the ill-fated handheld back in 1999, KoF R-2 is an adaptation of the beloved Neo Geo release The King of Fighters '98, and sees a bevy of popular KoF characters square off in adorable handheld action. Like most of the Neo Geo Pocket fighters, KoF R-2 features splendid visuals and animation, cool character sprites, a smart soundtrack, and slick, well-handled combat.

With no E3 this year, the gaming community has had to make do with a hodgepodge of different streams, surprise reveals, and sudden announcements that have kept the writing staff of Destructoid on its toes. Some shows have been worth the wait, others not so much. We still have several more to go, but for my money, the New Game+ Expo stream has me the most excited. NIS America, Atlus, Spike Chunsoft, Inti Creates; these are some of my favorite publishers/developers, and to have them all in one show is worth taking a vacation day from my actual job to enjoy.

The organizers are promising new reveals, announcements, and updates for upcoming projects. With the variety of publishers participating, there's no telling what is in store.

So sit back, relax, and find out the games some of Japan's finest gaming companies are bringing our way. And if anything catches your eye, be sure to stay tuned after the showcase for a full day of streams featuring some of the games and publishers featured in the show.

Sega seems filled with renewed confidence in its Sakura Wars brand. After years of silence, 2020 has seen the launch of a new PS4 game, a brand new anime, and some delightful merch based around the long-running, closely-held franchise. It would also seem that the publisher is just getting started.

The 14th Sakura Wars stream was held this past weekend to coincide with the premiere of the aforementioned anime's final episode. While the stream was mostly focused on the TV show itself, various remarks were made suggesting that there were plans for the Imperial Combat Revue going forward. Specifically, Sakura Wars series producer Tetsu Katano referenced a recent Sega survey, noting that fans are already clamouring for a sequel to the latest Sakura Wars video game - a request that fills him and his team with the confidence to push forward. It's probably worth remembering that Sega recently trademarked several mystery titles, including Sakura Ishin ("Restoration") and Sakura Wars B.L.A.C.K.

During last week's EA Play stream, the publisher vaguely promised "seven games" for the Switch platform. One of them, a Burnout Paradise port, had already been released. Another (an Apex Legends port) was confirmed on the stream. So what about the rest? Well, VentureBeat reportedly has the full list.

With two of the seven down, it's time to cross off another old racing game port: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, from 2010, will allegedly be headed to multiple platforms. Yet another (not-so-old) port, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, is also part of the list, according to sources at VentureBeat. FIFA 21 is also apparently headed to Switch, alongside of Lost in Random and the next project from Velan Studios. 

It's not an exciting list per se, but it's a start. While the super old ports are off-putting to chalk up as "Switch support," simultaneous releases for a few other titles would be a step in the right direction. Either way, EA loves to "commit" to Nintendo platforms with old clunky ports and then bail out, so hopefully they stick around this time.

Here are the 7 EA games coming to Nintendo Switch in the next year [VentureBeat]

So, you've caught yourself a Galarian Slowpoke, and you're wondering how you go about making it a Slowbro? Fear not! I'll be breaking down everything you'll need to achieve the Slowbro dream and achieve evolutionary success with your Slowpoke in Pokémon Sword and Shield!

First up and most obvious, you'll need the Expansion Pass.

Once you've arrived at the Isle of Armor, you'll likely already stumble into your first Galarian Slowpoke. To be extra clear, you'll want to make your way over to the Fields of Honor and run along the beach to find Slowpoke. After you've caught your Slowpoke, you'll need to do some exploring around the Isle of Armor in search of Galarica Twigs.

[Update: A selection of new screens can be viewed in the gallery below, courtesy of Gematsu.]

D3 Publisher has announced a new spin-off title in its bug-squashing Earth Defense Force series... and this one is particularly peculiar. Earth Defense Force: World Brothers will feature all the typical EDF giant-insect action we've come to know and love, but stylised in a cutesy, voxel-graphics aesthetic.

Developed by Yukes, World Brothers will allow the player to form a team of four EDF fighters from a roster of around 100 characters, before going into battle against hordes of giant spiders, wasps, ants, and other creepy crawlies, all hell bent on taking over the planet. All of the characters, skills, monsters, and weapons have been collated from previous EDF titles, making World Brothers a celebration of the entire series. There is unfortunately no trailer as of yet, but the official website is live right here, and there is a selection of great screenshots available for your perusal at Famitsu.com.

I'm really digging this concept. EDF is a lot of fun at the best of times, but this unique visual style is so well-suited to the franchise' goofy action. Currently in development for PS4 and Nintendo Switch, we'll be sure to bring you more news on Earth Defense Force: World Brothers as and when it hatches.

It ain't quite LEGO: Earth Defense Force, but I'll take it.

We need some help settling a little office uncertainty: Does this trailer for Smilegate's CrossfireX tease a Metal Gear Solid Walker Gear at the end of it? Here's the timestamped link.

On one hand, the trailer makes a point of going out with a bang, ending on this extremely quick moving biped machine advancing on a Humvee. On the other, Metal Gear didn't invent the idea. This could just be some generic Gundam/anime shit.

But -- and we're back on that first hand again -- this seems like a partnership that maybe Konami would sign up for. Crossfire is literally the world's biggest video game, as it has a lifetime player count of over one billion. It's immensely popular in China and South Korea. Konami has done crossovers for much less. Now, on that second hand yet again, maybe this is just a conceptual ripoff of Metal Gear. A lot of CrossfireX looks like a conceptual ripoff.

When I started writing this story, I was in the camp of "Yes, That's Definitely A Walker, How Could It Be Anything Else?" I was ready to bring the Metal Gear Goodness to the masses. Now, I'm hesitant. In my own head. I still want to believe but it's almost a coin flip.

There's not much to say about this masterpiece, that our own Tony "The Italian Tiger" Marzano didn't say in his original review. RUINER is an amazing, visceral, and fun game. One of my personal favorite twin-stick shooters. Now Devolver Digital has allowed it to grace our Switch consoles, and the port is absolutely fantastic. Reikon's cyberpunk gem sings on the little portable that could, and I'm fully absorbed in this jacked up world again. Especially with Her in my ear, egging me on. 

The sooner developers can come right out with it and confirm their next-gen upgrade plans, the better.

For its part, Square Enix is launching Marvel's Avengers on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday season, and players will be able to upgrade from the PS4 and Xbox One versions "at no additional cost."

Player progress will carry over and, going a step further, there's cross-gen multiplayer.

"PS5 players will be able to play [Marvel's Avengers] with their friends on PS4 and Xbox Series X players will be connected with their friends on Xbox One," Square Enix confirmed this afternoon. A quick reminder: the current-gen console and PC versions of Avengers are launching on September 4.

The publisher also shared new screenshots and details on the PlayStation Blog.

More specifics about the Xbox Series X and PC versions are coming "at a later time," but Crystal Dynamics CTO Gary Snethen ran down a list of PS5 features. The big one? You can select an Enhanced Graphics mode or a High Framerate mode – the latter "targets 60 FPS with dynamic 4K resolution."

"The new GPU allows us to increase our texture resolution, push a higher level of detail farther from the player, enhance our ambient occlusion, improve our anisotropic filtering and add a variety of new graphics features such as stochastic screen-space reflections with contact-aware sharpening," said Snethen. As for the fancy new SSD: "When [the team's] optimization is complete, loading content will be nearly instant, allowing players to seamlessly jump into missions anywhere in the game world."

Square Enix will have more to say during its War Table stream at 10:00 a.m. Pacific on June 24.

Calling all streamers, content creators, YouTubers, Twitchers, pontificators, talking heads, and smartasses -- think you've got what it takes to impress Mr. Destructoid and win the hearts and minds of our adoring fans? Then enter our So You Think You Can Stream? challenge!

We're looking for the next big name in streaming and it just could be you! From June 15-30 we're asking all talented streamers to throw their name into the hat to audition to be Dtoid's next big thing.

At last week's EA Play event, Apex Legends kicked off the festivities, probably in part because its news was so pressing: the upcoming Lost Treasures event launches tomorrow. With it come several features that were shown in the video and/or explicitly pointed out by Respawn.

Today, Respawn released patch notes and a developer commentary video, and there is more changing than just the addition of mobile respawn beacons, Crypto's town takeover, and Lifeline's ability to have her Drone of Compassion revive teammates without her help. A good portion of the thirteen-character roster is getting tweaked, and some of those tweaks may have a significant impact on how the battle royale's competitive scene plays out.

Some of us still associate Ready At Dawn with the cinematic PS4 shooter The Order: 1886, but recently, the studio has leaned into VR with games like Lone Echo and its in-development sequel Lone Echo II. That path is even more set in stone today. Facebook went ahead and acquired Ready At Dawn.

Excited to share that we’re joining the Oculus Studios team! Together, we will continue to pursue a future of rich, immersive and original VR game content. Excited for what’s to come! https://t.co/Cmj2bAGtO5

— Ready At Dawn (@RAD_Studios) June 22, 2020

According to Oculus, "the entire Ready At Dawn team will be joining the Oculus Studios team."

The current staff "will continue to build amazing game experiences as an independent studio operating out of their current offices in Irvine, CA, and Portland, OR, with the full support of Facebook and the Oculus Studios team behind them." Despite a delay, Lone Echo II is aiming for a 2020 launch.

Big picture, Ready At Dawn is striving for "memorable, immersive, and innovative VR content."

This is a smart buy. As for other potential studio acquisitions, Oculus Studios says it is "exploring many ways to accelerate VR, and we have awesome and innovative plans for the next few years of gaming."

Game Freak's cutesy RPG Little Town Hero will be bringing its spirit of adventure to PC this week. The story of a small kid who dreams big will arrive on the Steam platform June 30, following its previous release on Nintendo Switch and PS4.

Little Town Hero is the story of bored boy Ax, who gets more excitement than he bargained for when an army of monsters invades his sleepy little village. Gathering pals, Ax decides to fend off the array of beasts himself, armed with only a warrior's eye and "Big Ideas," which play into Little Town Hero's "Izzit" and "Dazzit" combat mechanics. For more info on Little Town Hero, check out our own Adzuken's review right here.

Little Town Hero is available now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch and launches on PC via Steam June 30. A physical edition is still available to pre-order on consoles until June 23.

It's been too long, Rocksteady. We're getting antsy over here!

Batman: Arkham Knight feels like a lifetime ago, and Batman: Arkham VR was so short-lived. When E3 2019 came and went with nothing to show, I finally accepted that we were stuck in a long, long wait.

The latest rumors concerning Rocksteady and Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montréal probably aren't the updates you were hoping to see this late into 2020, but they're worth bringing up. Over the weekend, ResetEra connected the dots on newly-registered domains with ties to Warner Bros.

• SuicideSquadGame.com (reportedly Rocksteady's next game)
• GothamKnightsGame.com (reportedly WB Games Montréal's new project)

Teases, rumors, and speculation – when will the cycle end? Not anytime soon.

For what it's worth, Eurogamer says these two games are bound for next-gen and "set to be teased" at the live-streamed DC FanDome event scheduled for August 22, 2020. The outlet believes Suicide Squad is "further off from launch," and also heard that a third domain – for "Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League" – "is a good summation of what you can expect Rocksteady's next big project to be about."

Less than a year ago, Microsoft was wrapping up Twitch's biggest streamers to exclusive deals as it prepared to wage war against the world's biggest game streaming platform. Now, it's waving the white flag.

Microsoft has announced that it's shutting down Mixer effective today. Microsoft's streaming platform started was acquired as Beam in 2016 and rebranded as Mixer in 2017. The past three years have been mostly tough for Mixer, as it was never able to achieve the popularity it should've considered all the attention and money Microsoft threw its way. For instance, Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming all saw substantial upticks in traffic over the past three months because of stay-at-home restrictions; Mixer's traffic stayed nearly flat.

Now, Microsoft intends to transition Mixer's audience over to Facebook Gaming in a partnership that brings two major video game audiences together. Xbox's Project xCloud streaming service is the linchpin of this agreement, as Microsoft is seemingly enamored with Facebook's social media presence and the userbase it harbors for potential xCloud players. Microsoft says it envisions there being only a single click between watching someone stream on Facebook to that user playing the game for themselves.

After countless fever-dream gifs and a few strange trailers, it's finally out. Hylics 2 is a real video game and it's playable today for $13.49 on Steam and itch.io if you're in the mood for an otherworldly RPG.

I once called it "3:00 a.m. in video game form." I stand by that.

There's a lot to dig into. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, Hylics 2 makes great use of freaky clay models and stop-motion animation to create a world all its own, and that's mostly what I'm into.

Combat is turn-based, which is fine. It fits. When you aren't fighting, you'll explore 3D spaces – "air-dashing, rolling, and gliding to find hidden treasures or evade enemies" – and there's even a first-person dungeon-crawler segment. Early user reviews point to less-than-ideal platforming and drawn-out brawls, but if you can handle that sort of mechanical unevenness, it's overflowing with style.

Do you need to play the first game? According to creator Mason Lindroth, the sequel "uses motifs from its predecessor, but players unfamiliar with Hylics may still fully enjoy Hylics 2." That said, it's $3.

I don't want to play this so much as I want to study every frame.

PUBG got C4 added as a throwable explosive last week, and I called it "a frag grenade with a very long fuse." That's accurate, and that's the way most players are using it. C4 has a 25-meter blast radius and causes damage through walls, but it also takes 16 seconds to detonate. The obvious strategy is to throw it, flush opponents out of cover, and spray at them while they scramble.

The World's Smartest Strategy, however, is to turn it into a missile. That's what streamer (and incredible PUBG player) chocoTaco did. He strapped the C4 to the armored BRDM and ghostrode the whip straight into the building of someone who thought they had prime shelter with good circle position. Wrong because someone just drove a nuke at you.

Let's go over what this guy could've done. ChocoTaco came around the corner too fast and the BRDM has too much armor for him to have blown up the vehicle. And, the explosion is too big and too perfectly timed to run away. Short of predicting the future, this guy had no choice but to suck an explosion straight to the face.

Mediatonic's nonogram adventure Murder by Numbers is to receive a physical release. A region-free hard copy of the Nintendo Switch puzzler can now be pre-ordered exclusively from Play-Asia.com, while stocks last.

Murder by Numbers is available in both a standard and Limited Edition format. The standard edition includes a region-free boxed copy of the game for Switch, while the LE includes a copy of the game, a 60-page art book, a double-CD soundtrack, sticker sheet, and numbered art card. This latter edition retails for around $35 and is limited to 2000 copies, so think fast if you want to pre-order. Both editions are expected to ship in September.

It has been a little bit since we last checked in with Sea of Stars -- almost exactly three months, actually -- so it feels fitting to get an update now that the seasons have changed again.

A new trailer for Sea of Stars was part of the Summer Game Fest showcase stream this morning. As a refresher, Sea of Stars is: a prequel to The Messenger, an SNES-like RPG "without any of the tedium" that bogged down a lot of those games, a turn-based affair with combat similar to Super Mario RPG, and a game where the protagonists harness the power of summer/the sun and winter/the moon. There's a lot going on, so read our reveal preview/interview from March for the full primer.

Developer Sabotage took to Kickstarter to get Sea of Stars made and crowdfunding was a success. It ended up netting about $1.2 million across more than 25,000 backers. People very clearly want this type of game and Sabotage has proven it has the chops to deliver a quality product. 

All of that brings us to today's new trailer. It's mostly just another reassuring look that Sea of Stars seems fantastic. We're briefly introduced to Garl the Warrior Cook, who appears to be a party member. Otherwise, just soak it all up. Sea of Stars is a fantastic way to start your week.

SNK has announced that it will reveal the identity of Samurai Showdown's final season two DLC character tomorrow. The reveal will be made during the New Game+ Expo presentation, which will see a selection of international publishers gather together to showcase various wares.

While no details or hints were offered pertaining to the mystery character's identity, SNK did release a silhouette of the incoming warrior, who looks to be particularly chonky. The new character will join fellow season two fighters Mina Majikina, Iroha, and Sogetsu Kazama.

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road has launched on iOS and Android devices. The new title is a spin-off from the beloved Square Enix/Disney crossover series, and tells the story of a young Master Xehanort, and how his fate twisted his role from that of a cheerful young man living to the Heartless Master that would serve as the series antagonist.

According to Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura, it's a tale that he has been hoping to tell for some years. In an impromptu statement - apparently tapped out while commuting - Nomura has shared his passion for the Dark Road concept, the Xehanort backstory, and how this troubled tale fits within the mammoth Kingdom Hearts timeline.

"I had the concept in my head for many years," begins Nomura. "It got shelved because it never really fitted what our team wanted. But around then, I heard from the Union X team that they'd like to do a parallel title with a new protagonist. And, since it seemed there was an unexpected number of Xehanort fans out there, it all came together like it was destined to be. I do tend to believe in destiny."

"Dark Road depicts [Xehanort's] boyhood: the protagonist of Dark Road is the Xehanort who we see playing a board game in KH3... What kinds of people does he come into contact with? What does he think? Where is he headed? ...Well, he's headed for darkness. But I hope you all will come and walk with him and see what path he takes to get there."

The Pokemon Company was extremely vague (especially in regards to microtransactions) when it teased that Pokemon Cafe Mix was arriving on Switch and mobile devices soon, but thanks to a Nintendo database listing, we now have a firm release date of June 23.

The page also enlightens us on a few more details, like the fact that TV and tabletop mode will not be supported: instead, you'll need to play completely in handheld form. Oh, and the premium currency is called "Golden Acorns," which you can "earn in-game," and allows you to buy continues or "regain hearts."

Yes folks, this is an energy-based game: a route that Pokemon puzzlers have taken before. The good news is that it's free-to-play and will only take up 112MB, so I'll be giving it a go to see how quickly the paywalls kick in.

Pokemon Cafe Mix [Nintendo]

Well, the secret is finally out.

Following a very clever jigsaw puzzle tease and a full-on leak, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time has been confirmed this morning by Activision, developed by Toys for Bob. Sporting a latter-era Crash visual style (which is sure to ruffle some feathers), the classic formula of behind-the-back platforming is still a go, with the core gang of Crash, Coco and Cortex all intact.

Cortex has been banished to the past, where he's been "planning Crash's doom" for ages; subsequently escaping and creating a multi-verse. To combat Cortex, Crash will use new masks and powers, one of which is the companion from the above puzzle. He'll be joined by Coco and Cortex as playable characters.

They're straight up throwing shade at Crash games other than 1-3 at the end of the trailer, noting that the crew has "only beaten Cortex three times" though the team "could have sworn there were more" adventures. After the clip, a developer confirmed that they are calling it "Crash 4" to go back to the basics and build off of what Naughty Dog created. 

In an understated announcement, CI Games has revealed that it will be releasing Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 later this year. Currently planned for release on PS4, PC, and Xbox One, the follow-up to 2019's Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts is slated for a fall 2020 release.

Outside of a new "landing page" and some splash art, CI Games has not released any details pertaining to the new title. Given that its predecessor only launched last November, some fans are wondering whether Contracts 2 is a fully-fledged sequel or just an expansion, in the vein of Hitman 2. It seems that, for now, wannabe Tom Berenger will just have to lie in the long reeds and wait for further info.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 launches this fall on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 announced [Gematsu]

Today during the Smash Ultimate Min Min stream, Sakurai finally confirmed a fall 2020 release for the Joker and Hero amiibo.

This is the first major amiibo update in a long, long while (the last bit of news was a November 2019 reveal for Dark Samus/Richter), as 2020 has mostly been a dead period for the figures. While Hero looks perfectly fine, the detail on the Joker amiibo is insane, and a huge step up from the original 2014 molds. As always, our full amiibo list is once again up to date.

Sakurai also notes what we already know: Nintendo will continue to produce amiibo for DLC fighters going forward, but is vague on whether or not every fighter will get one (my money is on possibly a limited run for Fighters Pass 2 figures). The dream is not dead! In case you're wondering, we still need amiibo for Banjo/Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, Min Min and five more unannounced DLC fighters. You can find the full list below.

Sakurai announced today during the latest Smash Ultimate stream that Vault Boy would be joining Smash Ultimate in the form of a gunner Mii costume.

Although the Smash boss didn't have much to say on the matter (like a grand partnership between Nintendo and Bethesda that would involve new Fallout games on Switch), he did confirm the outfit alongside of Min Min and all of the other costumes.

All of the Mii costumes are available on June 29 at $0.75 each.

Well, the time has finally come. After that March tease a lot of folks have been itching to figure out who is going to be kicking off the second Fighter's Pass, and it's none other than Min Min, revealed from series boss Sakurai's own home.

Spring Man was an obvious guess (and typically the poster boy of the game alongside of Ribbon Girl), several folks pointed out that given Spring Man's status as a trophy assist, he should be removed from the running. Whether he's coming down the line or not (multiple Arms characters would be pretty odd, right?) it doesn't matter: Min Min has the spotlight today. So why Min Min? Sakurai states that Yabuki-san, the producer of Arms, said "he wanted [her] in." Well that'll do it!

She'll sport different arms that can be used in tandem with one another (an aspect of Arms proper), which can be "bent" up and down to aim her (long reaching) melee attacks. The A button controls the left arm and the B button controls the right arm, which allows her to wield a wildly different playstyle compared to most of the cast. Sakurai points out that Min Min is hard to hit with counters, as her basic attacks are at a range (while also noting that her wind-up is long, leaving her open to punishes).

Industry giant Nintendo may be making plans to pump the brakes on its foray into mobile gaming, following disappointing numbers from its various releases in comparison to other to games and apps from other mobile publishers.

Naughty Dog's grim adventure The Last of Us Part II has debuted at number one in the UK Charts. More significantly, it is Sony's fastest selling PS4 release this generation, beating  previous record-holder Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's launch sales by a slim 1%.

As noted by GamesIndustry.biz, the hugely-anticipated sequel has taken sales by storm. Not only is The Last of Us Part II the UK's biggest physical release of the entire year, outselling Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons by 40%, but it is also up 76% on the launch sales of the original TLOU, which dropped on PS3 back in 2013. It's worth remembering that all of the above statistics count for physical sales only, so one can only imagine the numbers once you include global digital downloads.

A single room with a pair of friendly NPCs, enough space to dodge-roll, and a wall to leap off of – that's all it took to convince me that Gestalt: Steam & Cinder, an upcoming revolver-firing, sword-slashing platformer, will be worth picking up this year. Aletheia's movement and attack options are on-point.

As you might've seen (but no worries if you missed it), Gestalt has a demo up this week on Steam. You should play it! Or at least consider it among the literal hundreds of other newly-released demos.

_{If the opening is any indication, Gestalt will have an expansive cast of characters and lots of side-quests.}

There are a few things to note that you might've missed in trailers or other coverage. For starters, Aletheia has to manually reload her gun (using LT) and draw it (RT) before firing shots. That might sound like a small-ish detail, but it has big implications. Her foes – mostly thugs and robots, in the case of the demo – have health and "break" meters that she can effectively burst down with bullets to stun them.

Facing off against common creeps and especially the first boss, a man-turned-beast, I felt pressure to constantly be on the move, sneak in slashes, and find windows of opportunity to fire off shots and reload. Aletheia has generous i-frames on her forward and backward dodges, but still. It's all so fast.

Pokemon Sword and Shield were a pair of polarizing games, weren't they?

Despite my complaints with them, I ended up finishing both, netting a full living Pokedex. Yet, during those lengthy journeys I noticed some of this generation's biggest mechanical issues, juxtaposed against the beautiful new perspective that allowed the world of Pokemon to sing on an aesthetic level.

The game's first big DLC, Isle of Armor, doesn't fundamentally fix those aforementioned problems, but it does give people an excuse to dive back in again.

_{[Read our reviews of Pokemon Sword and Shield here.]}

Nintendo doesn't see very many racing games hit its platforms. The genre is known for its outstanding and realistic graphics, something that's not always capable of being pulled off on hardware that tends to lag behind the competition. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Seven years ago, Criterion Games and EA released arguably the best racing sim to hit a Nintendo console with Need For Speed Most Wanted U.

It's one of the most visually impressive titles on the Wii U platform and still entertaining as hell to play. I anticipated the same sort of brilliance with the Switch port of Burnout Paradise Remastered, but perhaps that previous game set my expectations a bit too high.