Destructoid

Here's a quick PSA in case you find yourself unable to connect to the Switch's store this afternoon: The Nintendo eShop is going offline for routine maintenance from 1pm through 5pm Pacific. 

That's why you can't buy new games or download things you already own. Not for four hours, at least. If you happen to read this before 1pm Pacific, act fast! Download all the stuff that you might possibly need to get you through this four-hour drought. Go bananas.

If you're reading this after 5pm Pacific, congratulations on surviving the Great eShop Outage. You probably didn't even know it happened.

Here's the eShop maintenance schedule which should have updates in case things take longer than planned or something goes wonky. 

After much speculation, it's nearly here: Call of Duty: Warzone – the 150-player, standalone, free-to-play battle royale game – releases for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 10, 2020.

You don't need to own 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to boot up Warzone, but if you do have a copy, you'll be able to start playing a little earlier. The head-start period for Modern Warfare owners begins at 8:00 a.m. Pacific, and then Warzone will go live for everyone at 12:00 p.m. Pacific.

Warzone is set across Verdansk, a battle-royale-as-hell-sounding city with "over 300 points of interest." You'll be able to drive ATVs, SUVs, rovers, cargo trucks, and even fly a four-person helicopter.

Player squads – at least at launch – will be trios.

If you're afraid of facing a quick and early death in battle royale (me too!), don't be: there's a shot at redemption. Warzone has a Gulag in which fallen players can fight in one-on-one battles after their first elimination to earn their redeployment. Contracts ("objective-oriented tasks") and Cash (the in-game currency) are another way to bring back your friends. "For varying prices, you can purchase Killstreaks, Redeploy Tokens to bring back fallen teammates, Self-Revive Kits, and more" at Buy Stations.

So Mario Day is coming up tomorrow, March 10, and Nintendo is celebrating in very menial ways.

One of those celebrations involves a small discount on Mario-related merch, so long as you're willing to jump through a small hoop. Over on My Nintendo you can grab a 20% off discount code for "select Mario merchandise" after forking over 450 Platinum Points. As a reminder, Platinum currency is the easier-to-earn of the two major currencies on the site (the other is Gold and can be exchanged for cash), accrued through various tasks like website scavenger hunts.

So what constitutes "select merchandise?" All of the stuff here, which includes items like clothing, carrying cases, Switch controllers, statues and playing cards. It's not a cornucopia of goods by any stretch, but maybe you'll find something that would serve as a decent birthday gift.

If you need to earn points, just head to the "missions" page. By linking your account to various apps you can easily earn enough. The Yoshi's Crafted World Poochy Pup promo is also still live if you haven't done it already: that's 150 points right there. You can find more details and instructions on how to quickly net those points here.

20% Discount [My Nintendo]

You may have missed out on the first opportunity to play Phantasy Star Online 2 for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it was a closed beta, so maybe you weren't lucky enough to get in. But, even if you got access, maybe scheduling didn't quite work out; the closed beta planned to run for a whopping 31 hours (although that timeline got shifted a bit thanks to some emergency server maintenance).

The next chance to play Phantasy Star Online 2 will (hopefully) be more conducive to, you know, people actually playing it. Starting March 17, there's an open beta on Xbox One, which will mark the first time most people outside of Japan will get their hands on it. 

A year ago, hearing a beloved game from my youth was getting ported to mobile would have only extracted an unenthusiastic groan from me. Classic console games are meant to be played with controllers and no amount of touchscreen buttons can replace the tactile feedback of a real button. Today, getting those old titles ported to iOS and Android is something that excites me, because with full controller support on both devices, there is a lifetime's worth of excellent titles waiting to be discovered by a new generation of players. And what better way to start them off than with one of the all-time greats.

The Apple Arcade experiment is still chugging along (the $4.99 subscription service that works kind of like Xbox Game Pass), and it just got a shot in the arm this month with Crossy Road Castle, its newest exclusive.

In case you missed the phenomenon that was Crossy Road, it was a Frogger-like game that took the world by storm, developed by a studio called Hipster Whale. It went on to spawn multiple spinoffs and arcade machines, and now it's coming home to roost in the platformer arena with its newest incarnation: Castle.

If Road was an homage to the Konami classic, Castle in turn takes many cues from the Mario series. The idea is that up to four players can traverse giant randomized castles, which are broken up by a series of boss fights. If you make it to the top floor you win: if not, you get currency that can be applied to a slot machine that grants you access to more characters.

This weekend, Mortal Kombat 11 held its Final Kombat 2020 tournament in Chicago, which saw the gory fighter's finest players throw down to prove themselves the best in the world. Accompanying the spine-snapping action, developer NetherRealm Studios had a couple of reveals in store for eager fans.

The first showcase was the impressive gameplay trailer for long, long-awaited DLC character Spawn, while the second reveal was this uncensored "red-band" preview for upcoming animated movie Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. And, in keeping with that fan-fiction-tastic title, the preview is oddly childish.

In case you missed it, people are still playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

So much so, that new speedrun tech and speedrun categories are popping up as recently as the past few months. Oh, and don't forget the arrival of a few videos that showcase some of the most impressive moments in Breath of the Wild to date, like the gatecrashing den raid, the Mad Max battle and the multi-pot lid deflection. Oh, and Tarrey Town alters the way the world map looks. So many 2020 revelations!

What's the next big thing? Guardian launching.

In case you missed it, SXSW (South by Southwest, a large annual media festival in Austin, Texas) has been canceled this year for the first time since its 1987 debut due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns.

The entire situation has been extremely stressful for everyone involved, as the event was scheduled to kick off this very week, and just six days ago the event leadership was announcing new keynote speakers. Alas, the city of Austin itself canceled the event amid a state of emergency for the city. So what does this have to do with games? Well, Sega was scheduled to hold their annual Sonic the Hedgehog panel there, where a new game reveal was expected.

Like everyone else Sega had to pivot, but it looks like they figured out their plan of attack. Over on Twitter, the official Sonic account tweeted out: "We're sad to see SXSW cancel, but we respect the call and we're working hard to bring our Sonic Panel content to you all in a new format this April!" That "new format" could be their Sonic Station Live broadcast, which just debuted last month.

Either way, expect new big Sonic news in April! I wonder if we'll ever get a movie tie-in game.

Sonic the Hedgehog [Twitter]

Ys Net has announced that the third DLC drop for epic adventure sequel Shenmue III will launch on March 17, and will see your boy Ryo Hazuki board a lavish cruise ship, offering a spot of off-shore escapism from his dogged and dangerous adventures.

The Big Merry Cruise DLC will be seeing the luxury liner harbour at the docks in Niaowu, allowing Ryo to step aboard and enjoy its upmarket facilities. According to publisher Deep Silver, the ship will feature a variety of entertaining mini-games and some exclusive challenges and missions. Completing some of the on-board tasks will offer rewards such as new character outfits.

CyGames and Arc System Works have officially revealed the fifth DLC character headed to lush fighting game Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and of no surprise to anybody it is indeed the guardian of the skies, Zooey, as inadvertently revealed late last week.

As you can see in the hard-rockin' video below, Zooey certainly seems to be momentarily casting aside her kind and sympathetic nature, proudly stepping into battle armed with a resplendent sword and shield combo, whilst accompanied by some spirited wyvern pals. In fact, it was noted by Gematsu that Zooey will have an exclusive "Wyvern Gauge", so no doubt her winged friends will serve her well in combat.

As demonstrated by the new trailer, Zooey is the final character in the GF:V character pass and is expected to arrive late April. Zooey will follow on from Beelzebub and Narmaya - both available in game right now - and Soriz and Djeeta, who are coming at a later date. The next trailer will drop on March 24, though I expect Zooey will have to take a backseat while the spotlight shines on other approaching DLC characters.

Granblue Fantasy: Versus is available now on PS4 in Japan and North America. It will also launch on PC March 13 and on PS4 in Europe March 27.

It may not be at EVO 2020, but Mortal Kombat 11 is unquestionably one of the biggest titles in the fighting game genre. It's sold millions of copies and over the weekend, it was the focus of a mostly audience-free Final Kombat tournament. Not only did spectators online get to see the best in the world duke it out in gaming's deadliest fighter, but they also got their first look at the last Kombat Pack character in action. Judging from the trailer below, Spawn looks like a force to be reckoned with.

_{[There are a lot of amazing blogs that have been promoted to the front page of Destructoid over the years, and some of them absolutely deserve another look. We're going to be occasionally boosting some of the classics, in case you missed them the first time around, starting with this masterpiece from Vadicta. - Kevin]}

_{[Original (12/05/2017): This month’s Bloggers Wanted prompt is all about fan fiction. Whether you want to write your own or drool over your favorite creations from others, it’s all fair game. Almost a year ago, Vadicta took a harmless mobile game about playing cards with your grandpa and turned it into a terrifying story about abusing the elderly. It stuck with me, and I love it dearly. There’s clearly something wrong with this guy, but we can’t stop putting his work on the Front Page. His depravity is so dense it’s endearing. – Kevin]}

After more than a dozen hours with Cribbage With Grandpas, I’m certain of one thing: I have no idea how Cribbage works. I won maybe two games and both were by sheer luck. Cribbage is the kind of game someone desperate to come up with his own card game would create. It’s over-complicated. There are pegs in a board, for some reason, to show score. All of the rules seem totally arbitrary, and I only know what scores based off rote memorization.

I don’t know how to make sure I have a nice crib that MTV would want to visit. What is a Nib? What is a Nob? Why do we do a run of cards before scoring? What reason is there for thirty-one to end one row in a run? Why do we even create cribs? Why are we playing this card game when we could be playing any other card game ever? I feel entirely inept at all times and like I’m only going through the paces in order to experience the most important part of the game.

Disc Room was one of my favorite games of PAX East 2020. That's high praise considering that two new Shovel Knight titles, the laughably sexy Final Fantasy 7 remake, the return of one of Hideki Kamiya's greatest games, and the one and only Animal Crossing: New Horizons were just a few of the things I played over the course of the show. 

My low expectations definitely helped Disc Room to shock me. When I first saw the game I thought "This looks like one of the harder levels in Super Meat Boy except it's top down, and it's the whole game." That assessment isn't exactly wrong, but it's a little like saying that Tetris "... looks like some blocks that you have to put together." Embracing tight limitations can lead to limitless inspiration. J.W. Nijman and Kitty Callis showed how deeply they understand that old game design maxim with Minit (one of the few games to receive a perfect score from this fine establishment), and I think they are about to show us again with Disc Room.  

With its Last Chance Trial now finished, showing off how Nioh 2 has changed since its early alphas, the sequel is less than a week away from dropping, kicking off a deluge of new games for 2020.

Since Team Ninja takes feedback seriously, and frequently makes changes based on it, these recent demos might be a deciding factor for both returning players and newcomers who want to jump in on the prequel. Personally, I absolutely loved the first Nioh and enjoyed my time with the demos, but what are your thoughts?

I love the original Animal Crossing for all the things it does do, and maybe even more for all the things it doesn't. It doesn't let you traverse a big world, fight anything, or ask you to do much other than wander around and engage in a relatively small pool of actions.

If great power means great responsibility, then being powerless gives you permission to be irresponsible. Like going on vacation to a small cabin where there's not much to do, the limitations Animal Crossing puts on you frees your mind to wander to places it might not otherwise go, unencumbered by any distracting hustle and/or bustle. 

With each new entry in the series, I worry that Nintendo will succumb to the urge to make the game bigger and more complicated. Thankfully, New Horizons refrains from trying to transform Animal Crossing into some sort of massive Minecraft/Fortnite social game juggernaut, though it is inching in that direction in more than a few ways. 

[Update: This article was originally published on March 4, the PS2's actual birthday - but has been republished for the weekend as its a great point of community conversation.]

PlayStation 2 is 20 years old today. Can you believe it? Two whole decades since Sony knocked it out of the park with the iconic black box, which came smashing into a new millennium went on to become the best-selling video game console of all time... And it played DVDs!

No doubt many of you have a backlog of memories wound up in the PS2. For many video game fans, the PS2 was the console that sold them into gaming in the first place, thanks to a massive library of varied and unique titles covering a whole variety of genres. Whether you liked fighters, RPGs, sports games, shooters, third-person adventures, racing sims, brawlers, or atrocious movie adaptations, the PS2 had you covered.

Which gets me wondering: What is your definitive PS2 release? I'm not asking for the best PS2 game - or the game that is most closely associated with the console by the industry at large - but the game that defines the console's everlasting legacy for you personally.

Cblogs Recap: Week 10

- Acefondu discusses the Analogue NT Mini, a clone of the NES, and how he thinks its games have not aged well.

- Skazfest talks about platforming in 3D space and how that elevates the "underrated" Devil may Cry reboot.

- LaTerry unveils March's Band of Bloggers prompt which focuses on the over-the-top moments in video games that are pure fun.

- Shoggoth2588 shares with us his gaming journal of February.

- Brady4Jah reviews Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on the Switch.

- Kerrik52 reviews Patapon on the PSP as part of his Traveler in Playtime reviews series.

- Nior sheds light on the history of video game development in Brazil by focusing on the first Brazilian game.

- Black Red Gaming discusses his five most anticipated game releases in March.

- PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtracks of Mega Man 4/5 and many other musicians.

Granblue Fantasy: Versus is finally out, and if you've read our review, you should have a solid idea of how it works compared to other fighting games. Granblue Fantasy: Versus, I think, succeeds in making every character feel distinct in their playstyle and preferred strategy. You'll just need to take some time testing each of them in the training mode to really figure out which fighter is right for you.

If you pick based on aesthetics alone, then it may be easier to pick the seductive Metera or the edgelord Vaseraga. But if you want to figure out who best fits you in terms of playstyle like keepaway, rushdown, or mixup, then here is a general overview of every initial character from launch, from someone who has been at the game since it first debuted overseas.

I’ll go over each character from the launch roster, in a simplified explanation of how they play, and important moves they’ll be relying on. Damage is high, so matches can end quickly if you guess wrong a few times in a row. Plus, there’s not a lot of distance to the corner, so a good chunk of a match is going to be spent either doling out or suffering through some especially powerful corner combos.

As soon as that old blocky look of Final Fantasy VII was in the rear view mirror, Square Enix had a perpetual "break glass in case we need to print money" box with a potential remake. As much as I prefer Final Fantasy games before and after it, VII defined a generation, and helped usher a brand new era into the medium of JRPGs.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake is similarly going to nudge along yet another generation.

Bandai Namco continues to drop character trailers for its upcoming anime brawler One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, giving fans a look at the expansive roster of playable characters gearing up for chaotic, swash-buckling action.

The newest trailer officially announces the arrival of Cavendish: Captain of The Beautiful Pirates. As his moniker suggests, Cavendish is a rogue of incredible handsomeness, often causing those who gaze upon his visage to faint at his mere presence. Unfortunately, the young pirate's personality isn't quite as attractive, with a pompous, arrogant, and vain demeanour.

As if that wasn't enough, Cavendish' aloof nature hides a wild split personality, which sometimes a wild, dangerous, and bloodthirsty alter-ego known as Hakuba to take over, twisting his once-handsome face into a ghastly and demonic grin. In Pirate Warriors 4, Cavendish will be able to utilise his Hakuba form to perform frenzied and powerful slashing attacks, cutting down armies of enemies with ease.

Less than one day before the start of NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 11 major, the studio has told both live audience attendees and competitors registered for a "Last Chance Qualifier" to stay away from the event, due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19, more commonly known as "coronavirus".

Final Kombat, essentially the season-ender in the competitive Mortal Kombat calendar, takes place in Chicago, Il this weekend. But, in a statement posted on Twitter late yesterday, NetherRealm Studios told all ticket holders to stay at home, as only tournament finalists and staff will now be admitted to the Park West venue.

This announcement concerns all general admission audience members as well as a slew of players entered into Saturday's qualifier - the winner of which was expected to take the final slot in the Sunday bracket. While obviously the health and safety of all attendees is absolutely paramount, some ticket-holders were frustrated that NetherRealm made the announcement so late, stating that they had already made the long journey into Chicago for the event.

NetherRealm has said that it will refund all tickets, and that people who have purchased non-refundable flights and accommodation should contact mk@intersportnet.com for further information.

In related news, Mortal Kombat 11 is currently free-to-play this weekend on PS4 and Xbox One. The trial includes all characters released to date, including DLC characters. Final Kombat will go ahead as planned on Sunday, and will feature the first gameplay trailer of the final Kombat Pack 1 character, Spawn.

It seems like just yesterday Warframe was released to tepid reviews and an uncertain future, but here we are seven years later and the game is better than ever. It has millions of players across a variety of platforms and this month, developer Digital Extremes is saying thank you to all the Tenno out there with a free Dex Raksaka Armor set. 

Anyone who logs into the game between now and the end of March will receive the armor set. There will also be weekly alerts on all platforms that will net players gear from previous anniversary celebrations.

Another Monday, another all-new episode of Podtoid. On this week's show, the gang's all here to talk Project G.G., Deadly Premonition, anus potatoes, mosquito trucks, Batman Returns, Bloodstained, and our go-to dishes at Chinese buffets. All that, plus Yakuza 3 and listener questions, on Podtoid Episode 435.

It's the weekend, and I hope that it's been a great week for all y'all. For those of you who now have a couple of days off, I hope you're able to rest and recuperate from all of your hard work this week, spending some time with the things and people you love, including yourself. And if you are still at work, then I at least hope things go smoothly, and that you double down on self-care and happiness when you do get back to your humble homestead.

I've been a bit snowed under this week, not helped by the onset of a bout of hayfever. Repeatedly sneezing in public - purely as an allergic reaction - has lead me to become Public Enemy No.1, so I've spent much of my time indoors. In terms of video games? well, apart from the regular haunts I dipped back into Street Fighter V, which is a game I've had an odd relationship with launch. I don't hate it, but its doesn't have close to the hooks SSFIV had in me, a whopping ten years ago now. Ten years? Sunrise... sunset...

But that's enough from sneezy old me. Drop us a line below and fill us in on your latest gaming escapades. I'm sure many of you dove right into the new Final Fantasy VII Remake demo, maybe share your thoughts briefly? Or perhaps you celebrated the birthday of the PlayStation 2 with a run through some classics. Whatever you're playing, share the love.

Have a wonderful weekend, from all of us at Destructoid.

[Update: The official Dead or Alive Twitter has posted a statement regarding the maligned hair colour change system, which reads as follows:

"Dear fans, we hear and acknowledge your disappointment behind our roll out of the new hair color feature for DoA6. We greatly appreciate your feedback, and are working towards a solution that helps to mitigate this issue and will share our plans in the coming days.

We apologize for our misstep, and are working hard to resolve this situation. We thank you in advance for your patience and hope you continue to enjoy DoA6."

One would think a suitable solution would be "Don't charge people real money to change a video game character's hair colour". But we'll see what Koei Tecmo has in store for its community soon.]


Koei Tecmo's Dead or Alive 6 continues to come up with new and egregious ways to treat its dedicated fanbase as walking cash registers. As its reputation as a quality, underdog fighter seemingly falls further away with each new announcement, DoA 6 is now charging players real money in order to change their favourite character's hair colour.

As of Version 1.20, the PS4-exclusive feature lets players spend Premium Tickets, (only purchasable with real dollarydoos), to change a character's bouffant to one of 16 available colours. The double-kicker comes from the fact that this transaction must be made every time you give your character a dye-job, even if you're changing them back to a colour that you've previously purchased. For full disclosure, each colour change only costs around a single dollar, but that somehow makes the whole affair feel more miserly.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, I never thought I'd live to see the day. The day when what started as a small fan project to update the classic shooter Half-Life into the (at-the-time) revolutionary Source engine would actually come to fruition, but today is that day! Black Mesa which has been in development since 2005 has received its 1.0 release. Here is a triumph of fan love and perseverance, when comes such another?

To say I've been waiting for this for a long time would be an understatement. I've been waiting for this since...well since I finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and needed more of it in my veins. I still have my copy of the pre-Xen release from back before it came to Steam as a retail release. To put it in perspective, Destructoid has reviewed the game twice in its long road to release.

Surprisingly the game is launching at an MSRP of only $19.99, which, after so long feels like such a small price to pay.

Black Mesa in its completed state is now available on Steam.

The final Bleed Edge closed beta is running from Friday, March 13 to Monday, March 16. Like before, Nina Theory is letting in Xbox Game Pass subscribers and players who pre-order the PvP brawler.

With only a few more weeks to go before launch on March 24, the studio also showed a wacky new character. Not unlike certain other animal-in-a-mech combatants, Mekko the dolphin is a ranged tank with a sonar gun, bubble shield, and the ability to create Safety Zones that generate armor and lifesteal.

Mekko can also attach a Lifeline to allies to take a percentage of their incoming damage, Surge forward to knock enemies around, and either send a Sonic Barrage as his super move or trap a foe in an Exclusion Bubble to disable them from the firefight until their teammates burst it open.

I can see how that would be really useful. I can also see how, like Hammond, I'd be terrible with Mekko. The vengeful dolphin will be playable within the "launch window," according to Ninja Theory.

Landslide, a new map set in Mexico, was also confirmed for the full version of the game.

Bleeding Edge Gets Even Bigger with Mekko and a Brand-new Map [Xbox]

Even though Destiny will continue to receive regular updates and upkeep, no one will be in Bungie's offices in Bellevue, Washington -- at least for a little while. 

The entirety of Bungie is going to work from home for the foreseeable future because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Bungie says that it "rapidly built a remote work infrastructure," and that there shouldn't be a disruption to Destiny's current content roadmap. However, the developer does note that this "could affect our patching cadence in the short-term," while also acknowledging that the studio will be transparent in communicating any sort of hiccups or delays.

Bungie is located in King County, Washington which is the densest population of active coronavirus cases in the United States. There are more than 50 confirmed cases which have led to 12 deaths; nearly all of the fatal instances were confined to a single nursing home in the city of Kirkland, which is a neighboring city of Bellevue.

For anyone who wants access to a wealth of data about COVID-19, John Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering put together this fantastic interactive map that tracks confirmed cases across the globe.

Bungie COVID-19 Update [Bungie]

There's a rare opportunity at Target next week. In celebration of Mario Day (March 10 which alphanumerically abbreviates to "MAR10"), a handful of first-party Nintendo games are going on sale. That's not something that just happens all the time like it does with PS4 and Xbox One games.

From March 8 through March 14, Target is running a sale on some Switch games, mostly Mario-themed ones. Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario Party, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 are all discounted down to $40. Additionally, Yoshi's Crafted World is also $40.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe gets the sort of promotion Nintendo titles are used to seeing: A free Joy-Con steering wheel with purchase of the full-price game. Other Target Mario Day sales include 20 percent off a red Mario GameCube controller and 20 percent off some plushies.

You can view the Target ad here, complete with the "Fun to Play" section that has the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate featured. Not on sale, mind you. Just featured. It's a great reminder that even when some first-party Switch games are discounted, the real system-sellers stay $60 until the heat death of the universe.

Weekly Deals in Stores Now [Target]

The TurboGrafx-16 Mini console will miss its March 19 release date due to ongoing issues with the coronavirus, and Konami doesn't have a replacement release window in mind. It's delayed indefinitely.

"Regarding the PC Engine Core Grafx mini console and its peripheral accessories, the manufacturing and shipping facilities in China have encountered an unavoidable suspension due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak," Konami said in a statement posted to the console's official website.

"As a result, the delivery of all PC Engine Core Grafx mini products, which was originally scheduled for March 19, 2020, will be delayed until further notice. We deeply apologize to our customers for the significant inconvenience, and we humbly ask for your understanding and patience while we keep our close attention on the situation. We are investing all of our efforts to deliver the PC Engine Core Grafx mini as soon as possible, and will provide further details on the delivery timing once confirmed."

I honestly hadn't realized how close the mini console was to release – it snuck up me – but I'm sure collectors were counting the days. Unlike other mini consoles released in the past few years, this would've been a largely new experience for me. I never had this system. And I never played Snatcher!

The impact of COVID-19 will continue to be felt for quite some time in the video game industry – in manufacturing, events, and even day-to-day work, which is starting to go remote. You can count on it.

Publisher Ratalaika Games has acquired the rights to bring seven independently-produced visual novels to the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch platforms. All seven titles will be released this year.

The visual novels - or "VNs" for the hip kids out there - lined up for release are Hanako Games' blackly comic God Save the Queen, Man-Eater Games' espionage adventure Blind Men, NomNomNami's cutesy comic Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet, and Sake Visual's amnesiac thriller Jisei: The First Case.

Also on the way are Radical Phi's scaly mystery title Angels with Scaly Wings, Quill Studios' pupper drama An Evening with the Shiba Inu, and finally Winter Wolves' fantasy RPG Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf.

You can check out all seven releases in Ratalaika's Nintendo Direct-style showcase below.

[Update: Capcom and OXM have clarified that Nemesis can't enter Resident Evil 3 "safe rooms" as previously thought, but he can enter certain areas that have a typewriter. Here's the correction:

"In this month's Official Xbox Magazine's hands-on preview of the game, we reported on needing to dodge past the Nemesis when he broke into a room with a progress-saving typewriter. This location was not in fact a designated safe room. The clue's in the music, as is traditional in the Resi franchise – and not all save points are in safe rooms."

"The big bad of Resident Evil 3 is certainly relentless, and unlike Mr. X can and will break down doors in his pursuit of Jill, but thankfully certain areas are still off limits to the big bully."]

Capcom raised the stakes for Mr. X in last year's remake of Resident Evil 2, and it's doing the same (and then some) for Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. In a new preview from Official Xbox Magazine, the publication said the pursuer was able to enter their safe room. I'm thinking back on all the times I escaped Mr. X and laughed in his face as he refused to open safe-room doors. This is payback. This is terrifying.

"The situation is desperate, but at least we can take a moment to gather our thoughts," OXM wrote. "Except we can't because all of a sudden, Nemesis barges into the room. Into the safe room. That long-established Resident Evil oasis of calm, ink ribbons, and item storage has been compromised."

Every so often the Final Fantasy XIV team shares a bit of their inside development process, and it rules. The team is clearly very proud of what Final Fantasy XIV has become: escaping the legacy of the original failed XIV and forging its own path with the leadership of Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida.

You may have missed it, but the most recent incarnation of that shared passion for the game is the "Creation of Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers" mini-documentary series, which focuses on different facets of the game across an episodic format. The first one, which dropped in late February, is centered around the narrative. The second is more aesthetic-centric. You can find both of them below: just remember to turn on closed captioning.

There's a lot of good stuff here, like how the Amh Araeng zone was inspired by a Saudi Arabia business trip, Kholusia is supposed to look like the Seven Sisters coast, and how Rak'tika Greatwood's Ronkan Ruins are actually based off of Angkor Wat. Every single second is worth watching if you actively play the game and frequent these zones on a daily or weekly basis: you probably won't look at them the same.

Both videos are available below.

Get your brawlin' mitts on, because this week's Arcade Archives release from the retro muddy funsters over at Hamster is SNK's hard-punchin', knife-slashin', gun-totin' P.O.W. Prisoners of War, now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released back in 1988, at the height of Cannon Films' domination of the silver screen, P.O.W. is reminiscent of hokey action flicks such as Missing in Action and The Delta Force, as two musclebound Hoo-rah soldiers bust out of their somewheresville prison camp and single-handedly take down an entire army.

One or two players can battle their way through waves of soldiers and boss characters, utilising martial arts abilities and procured weaponry such as knives and assault rifles. While the spirit of arcade brawlers such as Double Dragon and Renegade is clearly apparent. P.O.W. is unfortunately snail-paced, with bland gameplay, and would unfortunately launch right before the genre's golden era, immediately fading into obscurity in the wake of far better genre examples.

You can check out P.O.W. in action below, courtesy of YouTube channel World of Longplays.

We're at the point where I'm just ready for Nioh 2 to hit. It's out worldwide on March 13: that's soon! But it was also revealed with little to no gameplay in mid-2018, and outside of a very recent string of demos, we didn't get any substantial glimpses at it. That changed recently, and that initiative includes this new Japanese commercial.

As always, I'd recommend going in completely blind if you can. Although the clip is only 37 seconds long, it does touch on a few encounters that are best as surprises. Still, if you can't help yourself, this very brief commercial does deliver the goods and showcase just how crazy Nioh 2 can get. As in, a heavier emphasis on demons, oni and yokai this time around.

Expect our review next week from Jordan!

Taito only released retro-compendium Darius Cozmic Collection in Japan just yesterday, but already the old-school arcade maker has announced a sequel, titled Darius Cozmic Collection 2, naturally.

As noted by Japanese site Dengeki Online, (translated by Gematsu) Darius Cozmic Collection 2 will be coming to Japan on PS4 and Nintendo Switch at the end of 2020. No further information was released by Taito, and given that the first collection is quite comprehensive, it will be interesting to see what arcade and home ports fill out a second release.

In the meantime, here's the trailer for Darius Cozmic Collection, which is now available to download from the Japanese PSN and Switch online stores now.

Call of Duty: Mobile came out late last year and you know what? It wasn't bad. One of the big draws of course was the zombies mode that was added a month after launch, but that gametype is actually being removed after shambling along for just four months.

According to the official update on Reddit, zombies mode will be removed on March 25. The justification is that "it was always limited" in terms of when the mode would be removed, however, the mode "just didn't reach the level of quality" that the co-development teams wanted. So instead of being reworked, it's being pulled (for now). That includes the planned Nacht Der Untoten map, which is not being added.

Oddly enough, the update even highlights that fans constantly requested zombie mode updates, and were enjoying the mode: or at least the idea of it. The team "may bring it back" but for now there are no promises, and you're stuck with multiplayer, ranked and battle royale. Nuts!

Call of Duty: Mobile [Reddit]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent had a huge impact on the horror genre back in 2010, and its ripples are still felt. It was popular enough for developer Frictional Games to support several expansions, and now it's getting a full sequel nearly a decade later.

Revealed for PC and PS4, Amnesia: Rebirth is arriving this fall. The game's creative director Thomas Grip describes it as "something completely new," with "no gimmicks," that's centered around a new story, setting (desert of Algeria) and protagonist (Tasi Trianon). Yet, it will still keep classic mechanics and aesthetics that are true to the Amnesia series and the horror focus.

The trailer, thankfully, keeps things very vague. Fall 2020 sounds like a perfect target for this game. Horror titles kind of come out of nowhere and surprise everyone, so I don't mind the wait. Speaking of surprises, Grip explains that just like in the past, the studio doesn't want to rely on jump-scares.

Amnesia: Rebirth [Steam]

The Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea is at it again with all the unintended hot scoops. This time, the frequent leaker of releases appears to have outed a Nintendo Switch port of 2015 JRPG sequel Megadimension Neptunia VII.

Already available on PS4 and PC, Megadimension Neptunia VII is one of the larger-scale titles in the goofy Neptunia franchise, and sees everyone's favourite pudding-lover Nep Nep transported to a mysterious new dimension, where she learns of a dangerous shift in the balance of power that threatens the very existence of Gameindustri itself.

Teaming with new CPU Uzume Tennouboshi - along with many of her old friends and acquaintances, Neptune embarks on an epic quest to save the very universe, in an RPG peppered with Hyperdimension Neptunia's recognisable brand of colourful worlds, grindy boss battles, and very silly humour. The title was remade for PSVR in 2017 as Megadimension Neptunia VIIR.

We will keep you informed should any official news be forthcoming regarding this Switch release. Megadimension Neptunia VII and VIIR are available now on PS4 and PC.

Megadimension Neptunia VII rated for Switch in Korea [Gematsu]