Destructoid

We're still a couple of months out from the premiere of Netflix CG series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, and honestly, I think it's looking pretty sweet. Capcom obviously has stock in the adaptation, as the publisher has planned a slew of merchandise for the series, including clothing apparel and — of all things — Biohazard booze.

Fallout 76 will host the second part of its Steel Dawn update, Steel Reign, soon enough. But before that happens, Bethesda is doing a little self-reflection.

In their latest blog update, the team notes that they are going to be "reviewing" data and opinions from public test server (PTS) participants, in an effort to adjust all of the upcoming changes like legendary reworks, as well as the Steel Reign content itself. The developers are "keeping a close eye on discussions," and will potentially alter the testing ground as they gear up for the full release.

Here's the full statement: "While it is still early in this phase of playtesting, we are looking to make some improvements in future PTS updates. For example, we’re looking into adjusting some Legendary Core drop rates and permanently increasing the Legendary Scrip limit, to help players more easily scoop up components they need to make legendary items. So, please keep sending your feedback to us on Legendary Crafting, as well as all of the other improvements, content, and features that are headed your way with the Steel Reign Update in July."

In other words, the bulk of the content is done, they just need to shore it all up and check for bugs/make adjustments before the actual July drop. In that case they have plenty of time to massage the numbers to avoid potential Reddit pushback if the new systems are overly stingy: an avoidable event that happens all too often in live service games.

[Update: As reported by TouchArcade, Spike Chunsoft has discovered a last-minute flaw in the final build of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition. The publisher has been left with no option but to delay the launch of the title. A new date will be announced once the build has been fixed.]

We may have moved beyond Danganronpa's 10th anniversary celebrations, but that doesn't mean that there aren't still some goodies in-store for Kazutaka Kodaka's super-twisted murder-mystery franchise. As spotted by Touch Arcade, next week will give fans the opportunity to take the series acclaimed second sequel for a pocket-sized spin, courtesy of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Anniversary Edition, which launches on iOS and Android platforms May 26.

Originally released on PS4, PS Vita, and PC back in 2017, Killing Harmony was the first mainline series entry to launch on home consoles alongside their handheld brethren. The dark sequel features the typical investigative gameplay of its predecessors, as abducted high school student Kaede Akamatsu finds herself trapped alongside a group of similarly aged strangers, each an expert in his or her own field. The party is forced to take part in a violent "game" of kill-or-be-killed, once again presided over by the sinister Monokuma.

Devolver Digital has offered a teasing glimpse into its plans for the upcoming Summer Games Fest 2021 event. The irreverent, punk-rock publisher has four brand new game titles waiting in the wings, alongside new footage from some of its previously announced releases.

Fans can expect more footage and details from morbid, soul-stealing adventure Death's Door, which is currently in development at studio Acid Nerve. We'll also get to see Team WIBY's asynchronous dungeon crawler Phantom Abyss, as well as more details on Flying Wild Hog's utterly boombastic shooter sequel Shadow Warrior 3. Here's hoping for that long-awaited release date.

As for the four new titles? Well, Devolver is currently remaining completely tight-lipped, so we don't know whether to expect sequels and spin-offs, or entirely new releases from some of the industry's coolest up-and-coming studios. Devolver's announcement also featured an appearance from the disgusting Carrion puppet from last year's event, set up like a political party organizer, but this may just be a funny image, as opposed to any sort of sequel hint.

Summer Games Fest 2021 kicks off June 10 at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET / 19:00 BST.

Algorithms are all the rage!

If you watch the TV show Shark Tank, it's a buzzword that comes up in nearly every online-enabled pitch: "we've developed unique algorithms that suggest personalized content for each user." Of course, not all of them are created equal, and some of them are just marketing opportunities for investors; or you may have mixed results with your Netflix suggestions. That whole system might be coming to the Nintendo Switch eShop soon.

Here's the full rundown on Patentscope, via a patent recently filed for "generating implicit ratings for video games using external metadata:"

"In certain example embodiments, a computer system for generating an implicit video game rating is provided. The system generates a base rating that is a function of gameplay data for a specific user and other users. The system also generates an average external rating for the video game based on external data categories such as, user reviews, critic reviews, ownership data, etc. An adjustment factor is then calculated from an average base rating and external rating and then applied to the user's individual base rating to obtain an implicit rating of a video game for the user."

Sounds simple right? Well, it's likely just going to boil down to "mining data to suggest stuff for you to buy" in the end. It may even be wildly incorrect or suggest things you would never pick up. As Nintendo Life points out, Nintendo files patents constantly for new physical and digital concepts, whether they actually intent on implementing them or not.

Sony's video game properties have been steadily turning into film productions as well over the last few years. With both movies and TV shows in the works, there are several franchises looking to hit screens in a different way, but it sounds like God of War may not be one of them.

In a story from The New York Times detailing the production of Sony's video game adaptations, a spokesperson shoots down God of War hopefuls. A Sony spokesman told The New York Times that, contrary to speculation, one series that is not getting the TV or film treatment—at least not anytime soon—is God of War.

This doesn't close the door completely, but it does put a damper on some rumors that have been floating around for a little while about Kratos' silver screen prospects.

Sony, meanwhile, is still working on other productions. The Uncharted film is slated for Feb. 18, 2022, production on the HBO series adaptation of The Last of Us is underway, and franchises like Ghost of Tsushima and Twisted Metal are getting their own adaptations too.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Jess Margera: two things I did not expect to write about this morning!

Yep, the CKY drummer and brother of Bam Margera himself recently confirmed on the Behind Closed Doors podcast that his band's music would appear in "the new one coming out too," referring to a new Tony Hawk game. As PushSquare points out, Margera notes that he's not talking about the recently released 1+2. The whole conversation starts around 39:00 into the interview.

So there are multiple possibilities at play here, but the more than likely situation is that Activision is/was developing a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, and was working out getting '96 Quite Bitter Beings on the soundtrack for THPS3. Celebrity leaks for new Activision projects is just par for the course.

A theoretical 3+4 would be a no-brainer and would likely sell very well. But will they be ballsy enough to keep the good times going with THUG and THUG 2? I hope so! I mean they can go for one more and do American Wasteland and Project 8 if they really want to. It's a little complicated because Vicarious Visions as we know it is gone, but it's possible a lot of work is already completed; and they did continue to work on 1+2 after the transition.

[Update: Bungie addressed the bungle in their recent This Week at Bungie post, noting that their "current goal is for cross-play to ship in season 15," but a "beta" will begin early this week.

It actually kicks off Tuesday, May 25, and will run through May 27, and will feature "a unique Vanguard cross-play beta playlist" for all Destiny 2 players." PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Stadia users are confirmed to make the cut, and if you finish three strikes (dungeons) in the aforementioned playlist, you'll get a special "Stars Crossed" emblem. There is a caveat though: it's matchmaking only, no fireteams [friends] or invites.]

Remember when Sony said that cross-play was a no go, and then Epic "accidentally enabled cross-play for Fornite" showing us that it was all a scam? Well, under different circumstances, Destiny 2 just got surprise-cross-play.

We're far removed from the dark times of Sony excusing a lack of cross-play as "Sony systems being the best place to play" (yikes), but not every game has true cross-play even still, including Destiny 2...at least right now. This week a bunch of Destiny 2 players were randomly noticing, with incontrovertible evidence, that folks were interfacing with players from different platforms.

This was officially acknowledged by community manager Cozmo, who addressed the situation on Twitter. Cozmo notes: "We are seeing reports that some players are able to get a sneak peek at Crossplay. This isn't meant to be live yet and is not representative of the full experience. We will be implementing a fix to remove public access later this week, but in the meantime feel free to partake."

Netflix is circling the video game industry, with an eye to getting deeper involved in the realms of interactive entertainment. The movie/TV streaming giant is now on the hunt for a new executive to lead a non-specific gaming division within the company.

According to The Information, sources state that Netflix is attempting to find avenues into the gaming industry, though whether this concerns game development, production, distribution, sales, rentals, or all of the above remains a mystery. Netflix has dipped its toe into gaming before — renting video games in its early years, producing TV series based on titles such as Castlevania and The Witcher and working alongside developer BonusXP for a Stranger Things tie-in title for Nintendo Switch.

Given that we now live in a media world where Everybody wants to do Everything with Everyone and earn All The Money, it figures that Netflix would look to expand into gaming's multi-billion-dollar industry, no doubt hoping to carve out a piece of that pie for itself. What exact form this expansion takes remains to be seen, but given the company's stranglehold on streaming, it would be wild if Netflix chose to launch its own Stadia-style cloud gaming service. Don't change that dial.

An online retailer may have outed the existence of a new Sonic the Hedgehog compilation, currently being produced by Sega for the blue blur's 30th anniversary.

French retailer Sogamely, (interestingly the exact same retailer that leaked the supposed Sonic Colors remaster), put up a listing for "Sonic Collection EU version" for PS4 — with the title obviously being a webpage placeholder. This is no confirmation that said compilation even exists, of course, but given the anniversary year, the upcoming movie sequel, and Sogamely's rep for early Sonic the Hedgehog info, it's a strong possibility that said title is en route.

Making its Sega Mega Drive debut in 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog was an absolute smash hit platformer, birthing Sega's first true global multimedia mascot. Sonic and his dopey pals would go on to star and/or appear in well over 40 titles in the ensuing decades, while also appearing on a slew of merchandise and a string of animated TV and web series. To date, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has shifted over one billion sales and downloads.

We'll keep you informed should Sega officially acknowledge the compilation's existence.

It looks like Sega could be planning a new Sonic Collection [VGC]

For the past few seasons, Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has added multiple new weapons, gadgets, and techniques to reduce your opposition to dust — regardless of whether you're playing Defender or Attacker. To date, only Doc and Finka can be considered anything close to "healers" within Siege's fast-paced, fast-dying universe. But that's all set to change come the tactical shooter's newest season.

Operation: North Star welcomes new Defender Mina Sky, better known by her call-sign "Thunderbird". Heralding from the Indigenous Nakoda nation, Mina grew up with a deep love and reverence for Mother Earth, dedicating her early life to the study of both hydrology and medicine. Now a trustworthy pilot, a fearless explorer, and a master of field adaptation, Mina's brave heart and skillful application of aid under fire saved the life of Rainbow operator Saana "Nomad" El Maktoub, an act which brought Mina to attention — and eventual induction — at Team Rainbow.

Marvel Studios recently released a dramatic trailer for the fourth phase of what has come to be known as "The Marvel Cinematic Universe" (MCU). Leading on from over a decade of fantastic comic-book movies — each and every one a chapter within a compelling, emotive, and wildly entertaining universe — the coming years will see a new breed of heroes step from page-to-screen, defending a planet and its populace from the fallout of the devastating Infinity War.

As regular readers will be aware, I love movies. I've had the good fortune to spend four solid decades enjoying many films, from many countries, many budgets, and many generations. And while it's super fashionable to scoff at and mock the MCU, the fact remains that I am completely in love with this franchise. I consider it a blessing that I was able to not only experience the full cinematic run of movies — from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame — but that I was also able to feel the hair-raising highs, heartbreaking lows, pulse-pounding action, and intense drama of this smash-hit series of blockbusters.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier... since you asked.

These days, my mental health has been on the rocks. There's a myriad of factors involved, the pandemic being the most obvious contender, and I'm sure most people out there have been feeling something similar. 

When the lockdown started last year it was obviously stressful, but my personal silver lining was that I was going to catch up on all of the media I hadn't otherwise had the time for. Every game, every book, every show became a respite when seemingly every part of my life — from my work to my relationships to my religious identity — were all exploding.

But after a while though, the effects of my escapism began to lose their potency. Playing games felt like a chore, and any time I put on a show I found my mind wandering back to my stressors instead. Social media became the only thing that could hold my attention, but the constant bombardment of information became too much for me. 

My anxiety had fully taken over, and the distractions I usually deployed to cheer me up suddenly all blurred into noise in my head. I knew I was in trouble when I had no interest in watching Tangled, my comfort movie to end all comfort movies. I was burned out not only on work, but on my favorite media too, and that is not a good feeling.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my 2.5 playthroughs (and counting) of Resident Evil Village. But while the main story is a blast to roll through, I've been having a much less consistent time with The Mercenaries.

It could be worse. It absolutely could be. Capcom could've packed in the throwaway PvP spin-off Re:Verse and called it a day. (No joke, I forgot Re:Verse existed until I spotted it in my PS5 library last weekend.) Instead, we also have The Mercenaries — even if it doesn't quite feel like "Mercenaries."

I'm not sure how the rest of you are faring in this score-chasing arcade gauntlet (or if you've only scratched the surface so far), but I thought I'd share my quick take and we could commiserate.

I'll say this much: as someone who recently went through all of Resident Evil 4 again in the lead-up to Village, including taking the time to earn those five-star ranks with every character in The Mercenaries to unlock the Handcannon, this new version of the mode falls way short of its potential. It's less that it's structured differently — which is fine! — and more that it's just too dang picky for its own good.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD is nearly here (or now if you did the edition with incredibly odd early access). Owing to the fact it's roughly an 18-year-old game, some of its ways might feel obtuse to the modern JRPG player or newcomer to the SMT series. 

I began my life here at Destructoid as something of an enthusiast for this game, even going by Pixie the Fairy for a time because she's actually the Demi-Fiend's canon sidekick. She serves as a way to introduce you to the wild ways of the post-apocalyptic Vortex World, a hellscape I'm starting to prefer to the one we currently live in.

Things can get dire in the Vortex World very fast, especially if you try to play Nocturne by the logic of other JRPGs, so let me set you on the right path.

Shin Megami Tensei is criminally underrated.

Look, I understand that it's rated. In JRPG circles, it's spoken of constantly, and fondly. But the name doesn't carry as much weight in general scenes as, say, Persona. That needs to change at some point.

And Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is helping that happen.

Somehow, Path of Exile is simultaneously in its best and worst state. Every league, it just gets more bloated as Grinding Gear Games (GGG) adds previous league mechanics into the "core" game. As someone who has played in a pretty serious capacity the last handful of leagues, I enjoy the new challenges and additions as I come up with zanier and zanier build ideas.

But the new player experience is at an all-time low. I cannot seriously recommend people to just jump into Path of Exile today and enjoy what's there. I'd recommend spending hours and hours performing some research first, and probably DMing me, and then tempering expectations before jumping into Wraeclast. As a result, this review will mostly be catered to those who have a decent understanding of the game, and ideally a conversation piece for others to share their opinions.

Deathloop always starts back at the beginning. Colt, struck with amnesia, wakes up on a beach with one heck of a hangover and the revelation that time, on this island, is looping. He has a simple objective: to hunt down the Visionaries spread around Blackreef and kill them all in a day, closing the loop in the process. 

He can wield handguns, nail guns, shotguns, a machete, and a handheld hacking device, all in the name of taking out Blackreef's partygoers and scholars, but there is one problem larger than the legion of Eternalists between him and his targets: Julianna Blake. She's armed, and she has one goal: stop Colt from ending the loop.

I recently attended a preview session for Deathloop, where we got to see a slice of hands-off gameplay of the time-looping adventure. Across the preview, we saw a few different options for Colt: means of approach, ways of playing, and methods with which to dispatch the various Visionaries. And it looks pretty dang good.

Cblogs of 5/15 to 5/21/2021

-Eggs&Brewsterjr discusses eight Game Boy games they know they would love to play.

-GamingDino highlights another gaming dinosaur in ARK.

-D-Volt writes about how the Sonic franchise may be limited by their own focus on Sonic's speed.

-Manasteel88 highlights an incoming Sonic fan gaming jam.

-Lord Spencer reviews Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.

-Eggs&Brewsterjr shares a list of random 22 games that they just heard about and might play sometime in the future.

-Black Red Gaming reviews Days Gone on the PC.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Metal Gear and both folk music and synth-pop.

-ABowlOfCereal continues their balancing suggestion of Guardian Tales, with a focus on the Warriors class this time.

-Queen of Philosophy opens this week's TGIF open community forum.

If you think Hamster has already re-released every single 1980s shmup to its Arcade Archives range, they've only scratched the surface. Easily replicable at speed, the credit-killing genre saw a tidal wave of releases, reaching well into the treble figures in a short space of time. Thus, it's likely that we'll see many more examples of the genre's lesser-known entries over the coming weeks, months, perhaps years.

This week's entry is NMK's Task Force Harrier, which hit the arcade scene in 1989 before eventually being reworked for Sega Genesis in 1991. A fairly standard vertically scrolling shmup, Task Force Harrier has players pilot a futuristic jet fighter, alternating between air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry against waves on enemy fighters and terra firma-based defenses. Power-ups add miniature "escort fighters" which add the player vessel with additional firepower.

Task Force Harrier offers little of note, slotting in-between the myriad shmups that packed out arcade centers in the late-'80s. Without much in the way of unique or groundbreaking gimmicks, Task Force Harrier is more of a "completionist" release, only really for those who are really digging building a collection of forgotten sky-fighters. Task Force Harrier is available to download now on Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8. Check out the action in the trailer below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

It’s pretty difficult for small indie games to get noticed these days. There are so many platforms out there and so many other tiny studios pushing out new games on a weekly basis, that getting lost in the crowd is the expectation for so many titles. Small games have to do anything they can to stand out, something to hook people in. That can be a clever game concept, beautiful artwork, or, in the case of developer Snoozy Kazoo, one catchy-ass title.

The name Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion easily burrows itself into the brain. It’s the type of name that I hear once and immediately want to see what it’s about, like Snakes on a Plane or Love Death + Robots. Of course, when you have such an exceptional title, you should probably make sure there is an exceptional game lying underneath.

Nineteen ninety-five was a rough time for games. The market was transitioning to 3D graphics, and there was a lot to figure out. To prove this, you need only look at the earliest PlayStation games; the ones that came in those ugly cardboard clamshells. Games like ESPN Espn2 Extreme Games and the original Twisted Metal plainly show the difficulties developers had with the new hardware. Warping textures, awkward physics, and…

Oh, hold on a moment...

Courier Crisis came out in 1997!? Wow, that’s embarrassing.

Howdy, buckeroos! Welcome to the weekend! I hope that this week was a good one for you, and send love that the weekend will be even better. It was a rough one for yer boy, who had a horrendous flare-up of tendonitis. For those who don't know, my knees are totaled — a hard-run life of exploration, pro-wrestling, retail, and spending a lot of time kneeling down, (grow up). And occasionally, my patellas simply explode. It feels like having ground-glass in your kneecaps. So yeah... sign up for that.

As for video games, feeling under the weather has kept me from really indulging as I'd like. I spent some time in the red, red waters of Maneater for Nintendo Switch, (so expect a port report next week). I also checked out some of the new content for Call of Duty: Warzone, which sees Johns Rambo and McClane enter the world of Battle Royale. Once the pain subsides, I'm finally going to dive into Resident Evil Village... Well, at least until the first jump-scare, when I'll just uninstall it and go hide under the sheets.

But I don't want to know about me, I want to know about you. So before you dive headlong into your weekend, please take the time to drop a comment below and let us know what games you've been playing lately. The release year has started to pick up, and there's all sorts out on the market right now — not to mention the backlog I know all y'all have. So take a second to join the party below and share your current quests with us.

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

I never fully "got" the so-and-so fighting such-and-such mod craze, but that was before I came across this gem on the Bloodborne subreddit — it's a brawl between Lady Dimitrescu and Lady Maria.

This video was orchestrated by Garden of Eyes, and it truly goes places I wasn't expecting.

After watching all ten minutes of dueling, I'm expecting a mess of boss-vs.-boss mod videos to flood my already pretty questionable YouTube recommendations feed. It's a worthy price to pay to see these two fandom-capturing personalities vie for our continued admiration. I have room in my heart for both.

...that's what I'd say if I wanted to play it safe. Go Lady Maria go!

Ever since Stellaris released on consoles in 2019 it has been in a hyperdrive lane, barreling through updates and versions that released since Stellaris first launched on PC. As an older PC player, it has been interesting watching my friends on console get to different stages of the release and remembering all the changes the game has gone through over the game's five-year stint on PC. Console players might not have to live in the past for very long as the next update pack for Stellaris: Console Edition will bring the game much closer in parity to the PC release.

Featuring the Federations expansion as well as the Necroids and Ancient Relic packs, this will bring the console edition up to 2.8, leaving only the Nemesis expansion pack unreleased for consoles, which only released for PC a month ago.

While the Necroids and Ancient Relic packs aren't much to get excited about, the Federations expansion was a huge leap forward for the diplomacy side of the game, expanding not just on intergalactic relations but also expanding on your own society. Having just gotten back into Stellaris after two years away, grappling with the changes from even Federations' free update was enough to make me have to take a step back and readjust how I approached the game.

While no price was announced, previous expansion packs of this size were $24.99 at launch.

For Famicom Friday, I cover a lot of obscure titles because I find it more fulfilling than regurgitating games that people have more likely heard of, but the downside is that the cream usually rises to the top. Often, you haven’t heard of something because it’s not worth hearing of. Not always.

Take Kemco’s Electrician, for example. It’s an obscure Famicom Disk System game from 1986 that I hadn’t heard of until a shopkeep convinced me to buy it one day. I’m glad I took the advice, because Electrician is some of the most fun I’ve had on my Famicom Disk System since the day I changed the belt and recalibrated it. Except, you’re probably going to make fun of me for liking it so much.

While there have been some new games making use of the DualSense's haptics and triggers, plenty of backward-compatible PlayStation 4 games also use their own controller feedback. Today, The Last of Us Part II co-game director Kurt Margenau detailed just why those are feeling better lately.

"As many of you are jumping back into TLOU2 on PS5, you may notice the haptics feel better," Margenau says. (The Last of Us Part II recently got a performance update for the PS5.) "This is actually thanks to a firmware update to the DualSense controller back in April."

As many of you are jumping back into TLOU2 on PS5, you may notice the haptics feel better. This is actually thanks to a firmware update to the DualSense controller back in April. THREAD: pic.twitter.com/zle0XQwDw6

— Kurt Margenau (@kurtmargenau) May 21, 2021

Margenau goes on to say that a few months ago, he was able to send some feedback to the DualSense team, in order to improve "certain timing, intensity, and 'texture' of haptics when in backwards compatibility (BC) mode." This was intended to bring the feel closer to what Naughty Dog created for the original DualShock 4.

There's only so much time each week to check out new games, much less play them — much less fully review them! — and inevitably, plenty of interesting games are destined to slip through the cracks as many of us move onto the next shiny thing. To supplement Destructoid's usual coverage, we're teaming up with our sister site The Escapist to fill in some of these gaps with their helpful 3 Minute Reviews.

In this 3 Minute Review, The Escapist's Will Cruz covers Of Bird and Cage, a metal album meets adventure game from Capricia Productions. It really has to be seen — and heard — to be believed.

Exor Studios' The Riftbreaker is a mix of mech action, survival, and base-building. And if that combination sounds appealing, you'll be able to try it out if you have Xbox Game Pass.

Today, Exor Studios announced that The Riftbreaker will be available day-one on Game Pass, for both Xbox consoles and PC. No firm release date has been set yet outside of this coming fall.

If waiting until the fall seems a bit too long, there's also a demo out for PC. Dubbed The Riftbreaker: Prologue, it takes place prior to the events of The Riftbreaker's campaign, letting you collect resources and fend off waves of angry alien hordes.

The Riftbreaker will be coming to Xbox consoles and PC, as well as PlayStation 4, later this fall.

I pretty much just stick to free games on the Epic Games Store — speaking of which: this week's freebie is NBA 2K21 of all things — but I know some of you love your (basically) limitless $10 off coupons.

With the Epic Mega Sale running until June 17, it's once again possible to knock $10 off any full game priced at $14.99 or higher, and each time you do, you'll get a fresh coupon that can be applied to another purchase. You probably know the drill by now, and you can get your first coupon over here.

If you're open to recommendations, I've got a handful of games to check out:

After years of memes and jokes and wondering if the world would ever see a sequel to Victoria II, it seems that our collective waiting now has a hypothetical end as Paradox Interactive announced Victoria 3 during PDXCON Remixed today.

Victoria 3 will send grand strategy fans back to the industrial revolution with all of its mechanical wonder and societal upheaval. The sequel to Victoria II looks to lean on the population mechanic that allowed the game to endure in fan communities for over a decade, despite using a very out-of-date engine. The population mechanic or pops hopes to create a political puzzle for players to solve by making sure that your citizens stay happy, lest they want revolution to foment in their lands. On top of the returning population mechanic, Victoria 3 aims to expand the trade with its deepest economic simulation yet as well as an emphasis on political negotiation in the last age of imperialism.

While the announcement was met with a wave of excitement from me, the fact that there was no talk of a release date or even a window is a bit worrying. Although whenever the game does come out it will be on Game Pass day one, so any subscribers can immediately dive into the 19th-century simulation.

Victoria 3 will release when it's done on Steam, Xbox Game Pass, and the Paradox Store.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive has released its financial report for the fiscal period ending March 2021, revealing that the Grand Theft Auto publisher raked in a staggering, record-breaking revenue of $3.73 billion USD over the course of the past year.

Recurrent spending is the main driver of Take-Two's profits, with 68% of revenue coming from the communities of ongoing releases such as Grand Theft Auto Online and NBA 2K21, as well as microtransaction heavy mobile titles such as Borderlands 3, Two Dots, and WWE SuperCard. GTA Online was particularly successful, with a record number of players jumping into the MMO over 2020, and in-game spending up 30% on the previous year.

Shadow Warrior 3 knows what its audience wants. Apart from those rare occasions when the marketing focuses on amazing-looking, psychotic, demon women, Devolver Digital mostly directs all attention to the sequel's huge arsenal of ground-shaking weaponry.

This latest trailer is no exception, featuring a little over 90 seconds of explosive action featuring a wild range of pistols, automatic weapons, and heavy artillery — not to mention some pretty brutal melee weaponry for when things get up-close-and-personal. From the fast-firing six shooter "Outlaw", to the dual-wielding SMGs "Sidekicks" and the land-leveling power of the "Crimson Bull", Shadow Warrior 3 has the tools necessary to get the job done. Upgrades too? Give the bad guys a chance, man.

For those of you eager to start mashing monsters in that unmistakable Left 4 Dead-style once again, the Turtle Rock Studios incoming Back 4 Blood will definitely scratch that gross, oozing itch. Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive has released a new trailer, spotlighting the eight heroes getting set to take lead to head come October.

Narrated by Spunky & Sarcastic (tm) gal Holly, the trailer introduces us to Back 4 Blood's rag-tag gang of zombie slayers — or "Cleaners" — getting set to wade their way through armies of the undead. These include medical expert Doc, marksman Jim, explosives nerd Hoffman, obligatory alterna-girl Karlee, and a more matured, tough-as-old-leather lady known as "Mom". Each of Back for Blood's eight Cleaners comes loaded for bear with unique skills, allowing for smart synergy between well-scouted teams.

In case you weren't aware, Dante has a part of the Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne DNA for a long while. It spawned an entire cottage industry of "Featuring [x] from the [x] series!" and was one of the most prolific gaming crossovers of all time.

I got to chat with Kazuyuki Yamai, director of the new HD Remaster, to see how it all went down, nearly two decades later.

The ship that carried Commander Shepard and their crew through the Mass Effect trilogy is coming to another game. No Man's Sky players have unlocked the reward for a mysterious expedition: the Normandy SR-1.

Travelers in No Man's Sky can encounter the Normandy as part of the second expedition and have the opportunity to add it permanently to their fleet. The ship's description has some fun little references too, like how it "needs aquarium."

Players have until May 31 to undertake the Beachhead expedition for themselves. So if you want to add the Normandy to your fleet, better get moving!

Expeditions were added a little while ago to bring seasonal content to No Man's Sky, offering rewards for players who ventured and completed tasks together. Honestly, if more ships like the Normandy are going to end up being the rewards, I think it might be time for me to start playing No Man's Sky again.

It may have launched a little rough, but No Man's Sky has been steadily building up over the years, with additions like the massive Origins update bringing it closer to, maybe even beyond, its original vision. With the Normandy in the game, it'll be pretty exciting to see what else Hello Games has in store for future expeditions. 

We've known that Destiny 2 would be reintroducing the classic Vault of Glass raid for some time, but now it's actually happening.

As highlighted in Bungie's new blog, the Vault of Glass will unlock on May 22 (that's a Saturday) at 10AM PT, at which point the race for world first will begin, and the streaming-fests will be flowing. As is customary the developers is doing a "world first title," and a 24 hour "contest mode."

Oh, and there's a real-life freaking ring reward if you finish the raid before May 25 at 9:59AM PT, which you have until June 30, 2021 to redeem. If you finish it before June 1 at 9:59AM PT, you can claim this raid jacket. Note that you have to purchase both, the code just rewards you the privilege of buying them. The ring is $124.99 and the jacket is $149.99. No one said this post-Activision era would be cheap!

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has been out for half a year now, and we already want more content. That's how these things go! People tear through the Warriors games as a whole in an insatiable fashion. But eventually Koei Tecmo and Nintendo did announce that there was more coming: like there was any doubt.

So here's a recap: on May 28, folks who buy the expansion pass will get a new weapon and costume for Link. Then afterward in June, we'll get an "expanded roster," as well as more weapons, Royal Ancient Lab challenges, and "more challenging enemies."

Sonic the Hedgehog came out in early 2020 and managed to sneak in a pretty good box office showing: and was apparently enough of a hit on home video to strike up a deal for a sequel. Thankfully the same creative team is returning, so there's a chance it'll be just as authentic as the first.

With some new plot details leaked via the US copyright catalog, I think the chances of that air of authenticity is even higher.

Mild synopsis spoilers below:

After a lengthy period of hyped and hushed development, THQ Nordic's epic open-world adventure Biomutant is almost upon us. The environmentally friendly journey of an ever-adaptive mammalian warrior will finally launch, May 25, on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

While no next-gen edition exists, developer Experiment 101 has released two new gameplay videos, showcasing the PS4 and Xbox One editions performing on their PS5 and Xbox Series X counterparts. As expected, both editions look great, with PS5 running in native 1080p at 60 frames-per-second (upscaling to 4K with Dynamic Resolution), while Xbox Series X pulls of native 4K at 60 frames-per-second, bringing the luscious and dangerous world of Biomutant to life.