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Over the weekend Nintendo put out a pretty innocent looking "Nintendo Switch Lite Blue Unboxing + Color Comparison" video, which was supposed to just compare and contrast the new Lite model. But uh, another story sort of took shape and conquered that conversation.

Very early into the video, Nintendo Minute host Kit states "We got Waluigi, yes," when showcasing all of the toys and props that will be used to highlight the color of the blue Lite. But right as they say that, a new seemingly official Waluigi render pops up on screen and it is provocative!

He's stretched around in a sultry manner, with his tongue out (a rare Waluigi tongue sighting), and is ready to lick that rose. Something is going down and right before you can try and imagine what, the video cuts and everyone acts like they never showed that image. But we saw it.

You can see it in the video here, or watch it below at roughly 15 seconds in. Extreme Ghirahim vibes!

Oh, and you get six good minutes in with the Switch Lite blue model if that's what you want. But that's not what you came here for.

Ubisoft announced that, effective immediately, all first-party titles will be branded "Ubisoft Originals."

Ubisoft confirmed the new branding in a succinct statement to Eurogamer. "Moving forward the 'Ubisoft Original' mention is attached to all of Ubisoft's games created in-house by our talented developers," said the Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six Siege studio.

While Ubisoft does not currently publish titles from exterior developers, the soundbyte-happy publisher is likely just looking for a trademark signifier, not dissimilar to "A Netflix Original Series". The mind boggles that it didn't go with "Ubisoft Iconics".

The first game to receive the sparkly new branding is Tom Clancy's The Division: Heartland — a new, free-to-play take on the non-political tactical shooter series. Developed by the series regulars, Red Storm Entertainment, The Division: Heartland is expected to launch on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox in 2021/2022, with a mobile port also in the works.

I'm not really sure of the demographic crossover of vampiric society queens and energy-drink-guzzling esports types but, never one to miss a marketing opportunity, Capcom has collaborated with G Fuel to produce a brand new flavor based on Lady Dimitrescu, one of the popular antagonists from the recently released Resident Evil Village.

Titled "Maiden's Blood", the powered hell comes in a container not quite as tall as the good lady herself, along with a 24oz shaker cup which will make you the coolest person at the gym. Honest. Packed with vitamins and supplements to increase focus, endurance, and reaction, G Fuel hopes that Dimitrescu's horrifying elixir will help consumers reach new heights. But not 9'6".  What does "MAIDEN'S BLOOD" *thunder clap* taste like? Melon. Fucking melon.

Scheduled to launch in July 2021, interested parties can jump on a waiting list right now over on the official G Fuel website. I'll definitely be downing the stuff while I go about my slavish tasks for Lady D, including sweeping her floors, polishing her shoes, getting the bloodstains out of her dress, responding to her emails, and sorting her recycling.

It's a living. Besides, Daniela is surprisingly good at Crossfire.

Did you update to Returnal version 1.3.3? That's old news! 1.3.6 is the new hotness. Ah, modern game development.

In case you didn't hear, Housemarque tried to warn people last-minute about not allowing auto-updates on your PS5, as they may mess with your Returnal run (which requires players to put the game into rest mode). Unfortunately that was an understatement, as 1.3.3 corrupted some saves, amid other bugs.

In response, the studio thankfully got a quick fix out and within two days, had addressed the issue in the aforementioned 1.3.6 edition, which is the latest patch. This one fixes some crashes, collision problems, "incorrect healing behavior, controller mappings, and "numerous minor" bugs, too. You can find the full notes below.

This whole situation is very unfortunate, and I wish that the powers that be allowed the game a little more time in the oven to shore this all up before it shipped. While I haven't had major issues with the rest requirement yet, I've had many run-ins with the PS5's wonky rest mode in the past, and it's just a matter of time. For the long haul, Housemarque should nip this whole system as soon as possible.

Housemarque [Twitter]

Capcom has released its latest financial earnings report and, in news that will come as no surprise to anybody, the long-time developer/publisher's fortunes continue to soar. The new report records a fourth consecutive year delivering record-breaking sales figures for the company, thanks to quality new releases and continued steady sales of its back catalogue.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, overall net sales increased 16.8% on the previous year, raking in just over ¥95 million (or roughly $876 million USD). Meanwhile, operating income skyrocketed 51.6% on the previous year, which translates to around ¥34.5 billion (or roughly $317 million). This figure represents the eighth consecutive year that Capcom's operating income has grown, with the company forecasting growth to ¥42 million by 2022.

In a private briefing with investors, Sony has reportedly told shareholders that it expects the short supply woes currently bothering its PS5 hardware to continue for the foreseeable future, throughout 2021 and leading into 2022.

While the PS5 has gotten off to an incredibly strong start sales-wise — even beating out the launch numbers of the previous generation's PS4 — a shortage of manufacturing components hangs heavy over the industry, with Sony expect demand to far exceed that of production. According to a report by Bloomberg, Sony Japan has openly addressed this problem in a meeting held not long after the release of its latest financial earnings report.

"I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand," Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki reportedly told investors "We have sold more than 100 million units of the PlayStation 4 and considering our market share and reputation, I can’t imagine demand [for PS5] dropping easily."

The shortage of PS5 consoles is, essentially, a two-pronged attack on customers. At the supply level, a lack of internal components is causing slow production of the physical console itself, while at the retail level, customers have struggled in battles with scalpers and multi-buyers to bag what little hardware hits the market. Add to the mix production delays and distribution issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and it's easy to see why all major publishers — not just Sony — are struggling to get their wares into the hands of the public.

We’ve been friends for a while now, right? And after all these Famicom articles, you’re probably thinking, “gee, that lady sure does know Japanese.” That’s not true. My Japanese can best be described as existent. I can sometimes take directions and pick out the odd word from a sentence. I can read some parts of instruction manuals, just enough that I can figure out what is a power-up and what increases your speedo. I was able to tell someone I don’t drink coffee, and I know the difference between a densetsu, a daibouken, and a monogatari.

So, no, I’m hardly fluent in the language. I don’t study as much as I should. Famicom games just rarely require a high level of comprehension.

So, for this Famicom Friday, we’re going to get a little vocabulary practice in using Popeye no Eigo Asobi or (and I’m using my actual language skills to translate this) "Popeye’s English Game". Or play. Or pastime. Let’s go with my first translation.

It's still a bit jarring that there has been two decades between Pokémon Snap games. The first was a highlight in any Nintendo 64 collection; it was a quick, fast, instantly understandable game. Hop in a buggy, roll through the wilds of the Pokémon world, and photograph as much ambient Pokémon wildlife as you can, then laugh as Professor Oak throws your photos in the trash.

New Pokémon Snap feels both old and new. There are new sights to see, new Pokémon to photograph, and new tools to encourage Pokémon into more interesting reactions or interactions. The graphics and effects are obviously much nicer, and there is more happening on-screen than the N64 could've handled.

Yet it's still the same old Pokémon Snap. It is an on-rails photography experience that encourages multiple attempts and determination to nail shot after shot. I still spent a fair amount of time just tuning in the right trajectories to lob app- excuse me, "Fluffruit" at wild Pokémon. I'd take a shot I swore was gorgeous enough to hang in the Poke-MoMA, and the professor would say the subject wasn't centered or large enough and give me a paltry bronze rating.

Same as it ever was, New Pokémon Snap is still a Snap game. It's also a very good one.

One particular facet of video games that has always fascinated me is games where you attempt to make someone happy. I don’t just mean rescuing the princess at the end of a campaign of violence, I’m talking specifically about games where the crux is to solve people’s problems to complete the game. Since the dawn of video games, combat has been central. If it wasn’t conflict, it was the competition of sports. Not a whole lot has changed since then, but gradually, games where you’re not shooting or kicking stuff have crept in.

There’s games like Moon: Remix RPG, Chulip, Chibi-Robo. Facets of the spread-love-not-violence philosophy even crept into games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Yakuza; games where you assist people by saving their cows from alien abduction and helping them come to terms with their kinks. Sure, violence is still front and center with those games, but at least you don’t spend all your time being a murderous jerk.

One game that belongs to this mindset flew directly into my radar while I was browsing through Steam sales, and that is Smile For Me. With a tantalizing art style and the promise of lots of joy spreading, I was willing to dive into something I had never previously even heard of. And I don’t regret it.

Cblogs of 5/1 to 5/7/2021

-Black Red Gaming continues listing their "Game Selections" with entries 17-20 regarding games everyone should play.

-LaTerry presents this month's Band of Bloggers prompt focusing on Photo Modes in Video Games.

-Flegma responds to the prompt quickly with this blog about the shmup, Shoot the Bullet.

-Kerrik52 continues their Tales of series retrospective with this second blog with rankings and awards on the Namco franchise.

-Shoggoth2588 shares their personal April gaming journal.

-Exber reviews the original Xenoblade Chronicles.

-Dango shares the first part of their thoughts on Hitman: World of Assassinations.

-Siflox Gaming reviews Brawl Stars on Mobile.

-Lord Spencer reviews Fear Effect as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.

-Propeller48 talks about how NBA 2K21 tips will help you play the game better.

-GamingDino writes about the first partner you can get in ARK Survival Evolved.

I've been lucky enough to get to meet a lot of game developers from very different walks of life. From people at big names like Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Devolver, Riot, and Bethesda, to little indies likes Tom Happ and Joakim Sandberg, I respect them all, and hope they all get what they want out of this unpredictable, often terrifying industry.

That said, there are some games I feel more hopeful for than others; the games that I think might be "good" for people in the ways that matter. Not just an OK way to spend a few hours, or worse, a way to be preyed upon by predatory game design strategies. I mean games that actually make your life better. Those are the games I throw my heart towards all the way. 

Spirit Swap (now on Kickstarter) may be one of those games. 

When I was growing up, going to Build-A-Bear was a big deal. There was one in the mall we would frequent when I was a kid, and I always dragged my mom out of our way to walk by when we were there. I even preordered the Toothless plush from the collaboration they did for the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 when I was in high school.

Point is, I am something of a Build-A-Bear fangirl. That's why I get excited (and a little jealous) to think about all of the kids today that get to bring home their favorite video game characters! I know if I got to go make my own Pikachu stuffed animal when I was little, I would have lost my mind.

How did we get here?

It feels like just yesterday that I rode to the store (RIP Power Video) to rent the original Resident Evil, which transported me to a magical haunted mansion for an entire weekend. From there Capcom slowly ramped up the action and ham to the utter point of excess in RE6. People couldn't take it anymore! I think some of you drew the line at Wesker's anime son punching zombies.

Sure enough, Capcom got back to their roots with the spooky Resident Evil 7, and it paid off, big time, as it's the most successful entry to date, and their overall second-best-selling game ever. Village brings back some of that lovely Christmas glazed ham and pairs it with the first-person horror of RE7. But mostly in a good way.

Today sees the launch of Capcom's fantastic horror-adventure, Resident Evil Village. Far more important, however, is the premiere of the second episode of the wonderful "Let's Play in Bio Village", the adorably grim puppet show starring the sequel's rogues' gallery.

Episode two sees Heisenberg hard at work on some kind of contraption that appears to have been designed for the sole purpose of turning man into mush. Moreau, kind soul that he is, wants to help Heisenberg out, with predictably gooey results. Having survived his slice 'n' dice escapades, and now wearing his internal organs externally, Moreau rejoins the gang, but the death and destruction isn't quite over just yet...

...Ah, Moreau, will you ever win?

A delightful piece of archival footage has surfaced on YouTube, which shows Japanese cosplayers battling it out in a 1995 tournament on Sega's Fighting Vipers. The footage appears as part of a Japanese gaming show, and was uploaded to YouTube this week by user "Kukun Kun". before being spotted by the eagle-eye of history lover John Andersen.

Do you remember the film The Adventures of Milo and Otis? I don’t. It was based on a 1986 Japanese film called Koneko Monogatari. It’s not bad, I guess, if you think you can trust critics. It’s about a kitten getting lost in the wild and a pug puppy that chases after him. Both have misadventures in their efforts to not die. Sort of like Homeward Bound with better public transportation and a vending machine on every corner.

In the wake of Super Mario Bros., Koneko Monogatari was adapted into a game for the Famicom Disk System. Let’s be fair here, it was 1986. Chernobyl exploded, Microsoft went public, and developers were still struggling to figure out how to make console games that weren’t just inferior ports of successful arcade titles. There were definitely a good few 1986 releases, but Koneko Monogatari isn’t one of them.

After going a little shmup-happy in recent weeks, the retro-loving folk over at Hamster have returned to the world of fantasy platformers for this week's Arcade Archives release, having re-released Jaleco's hack 'n' slash adventure The Astyanax on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Originally released in arcades back in 1989, before being ported to the NES one scant year later, The Astyanax tells a typical tale of a super-macho, axe-wielding barbarian, Roche, chopping their way through a fantasy world packed out with strange, mythological creatures. Players can also pick up a host of power-ups to increase Roche's command of lightning as he battles his way through the game's six stages. A second player can join in the fun as a palette-swapped version of the muscle-bound hero.

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

Is it ever a bad time to replay your Resident Evil favorites? Not really, no!

But those crucial last few weeks leading up to a new mainline game, especially one as collectively attention-grabbing as Resident Evil Village, can heighten that urge to revisit. I've been there — I've pregamed Resident Evil with more Resident Evil — and I know plenty of you have too.

It's always fun to chat about our ongoing experiences with these games — how certain moments or details might stand out in one playthrough compared to prior runs, or how old stances can soften in light of current gaming trends and player sensibilities. Our takes are always gaining nuances.

So let's do it. With Village just days away from launching, let's recount our recent RE outings.

We're just over a month away from the next release in what could prove to be Square Enix's magnum opus, Final Fantasy VII Remake. The publisher has released a "final" trailer for the incoming Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which launches on PS5 June 10.

It should be immediately noted that the trailer opens with ending spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake, as well as featuring plenty of footage — of both characters and events — taken from the all-new Episode INTERmission side-chapter. So consider yourselves warned, friends.

Hello, friends, welcome to the weekend! I hope it has been a pleasant week for all of you. Whatever it is you have lined up for the next couple of days, I hope you are able to find the time for a little R'n'R, some good company, some good entertainment, some good food, or whatever is needed to lift your spirits and keep you smiling. Keep pushing, folks, we're doing great.

I've struggled to stay focused on a single title this week. Having hit NieR: Automata a mere couple of weeks ago, I've also fired up Housemarque's Returnal — a title I've been waiting on for many moons. These two hefty releases offer more than enough gameplay to keep me occupied, but I'm still struggling to stay away from Juri and Rose in Street Fighter V, Outbreak mode in Call of Duty: Cold War, and the Apocalypse event in Rainbow Six Siege. If that's not enough, I'm currently hovering over a store basket containing, of all the games, Fire Emblem: Three Houses!

It was so much easier in the '90s when I was a kid and only got access to two console games a year. This problem that I'm facing right now is the single biggest problem being faced by any human being on the planet. Break out the violins, friends.

Well, I might be struggling to stay focused, but I'll bet y'all are not. Jump into the comments below and fill us in on the video games that are currently occupying your free hours. I don't care whether they're old or new, good or bad, on the PS5 or on the Atari Jaguar — please share with us your current gaming obsessions. Once again, thank you for making this article such a pleasure each and every week.

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

There came a point in Warpips where I was going into battles that I knew I was underprepared for. This game is, at its most core level, about managing limited funds and capacity to field an army that can defeat your opponent's. And in its campaign mode, Warpips really lets you ride the line between success and failure.

If you haven't played a tug-of-war game before, it's not too dissimilar from the "autobattler" craze that took hold for a little while in 2019. Unlike games like Teamfight Tactics, you're working on a single "lane," and using your incremental influxes of cash to purchase units that will automatically run down the lane and fight the enemy.

As always, I'm going in as spoiler-free as possible. I'm not even telling you where this floodgate is in Resident Evil Village, or what you're doing with it!

Also note that the puzzle image below is how it looks when you walk in the room. The solution is embedded in a link. And the header image isn't even related/in the same area!

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due out next week, with a host of improvements specifically targeting the first game. Some of those include the lovably clunky Mako, which could certainly use a tune-up; but if you're eager to re-experience the Mako in its original glory, well, it sounds like there's a setting for that.

In an interview with PC Gamer, environment director Kevin Meek said that for "those people out there who do like pain, we've left the option to leave it back kind of closer to the original controls as well if you want."

Project director Mac Walters told PC Gamer that while it's been made a big point in marketing, the Mako tuning is a "lighter touch" than some might think. He also notes that the "optional control scheme is optional," so you can go back and forth on it.

This seems to strike the balance between the two, keeping the original archived in the Legendary Edition but allowing some modern touch-ups. That said, as one of the certified sickos who loves the clunky catastrophe? Yes, I'm very pleased that I can still get up to my usual Mako hijinks.

Oh no, a safe exists in Resident Evil Village.

In a village?! Man, thanks for spoiling that.

In all seriousness, the puzzle solution is embedded below, so there's no puzzle spoilers so long as you stop.

D-Cell Games' debut project Unbeatable makes a pretty strong first impression. And as it nears the end of its fully funded crowdfunding campaign, the studio has put out a demo so you can check out whether it's your kind of jam.

The demo, titled Unbeatable [white label], is now live on Steam for free. It's an "exclusive side-story set in the world of D-Cell Games' debut work," so it sounds like you're good to jump in without fear of spoilers.

The Unbeatable team has also been uploading a bunch of the demo tapes for its game, so you can check out their YouTube page to get an idea of the vibe they're going for. It's essentially about rebellious musicians rocking out against the world, with an extremely '90s VHS tape-era anime look.

This one's been on my radar for a while, and with both a demo and a funded campaign, I'm looking forward to seeing what D-Cell can cook up.

Six additional developers have taken their leave of Google Stadia in order to join producer Jade Raymond in her new venture, Haven Studios. The new company was founded by Raymond following her own departure from the Stadia project back in February.

As spotted by eagle-eyed Resetera readers, the six developers left the Stadia project to take up new roles alongside Raymond's new Montreal-based studio, which aims to produce brand new games without fear of overlord interference. The name "Haven" was chosen by Raymond — formerly of Ubisoft and Electronic Arts — to represent the studio's ethos of being both a haven for gaming, as well as being a haven for developers to work unimpeded.

"It’s time for us to refocus on GAMES in a place where we can practice our crafts without any barriers or impediments," said Raymond in a recent interview with PlayStation Blog. "We want to create worlds where players can escape, have fun, express themselves, and find community. We want to pour our passion into a project. We want to make something wondrous for people to experience."

It's been at least a few hours since the last one started, so it's time for another industry lawsuit. In the dock this time is Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is facing a class-action lawsuit over the exclusivity of digital software as it pertains to its online storefront, PlayStation Store.

As reported by Bloomberg, the consumer-led lawsuit accuses SIE own maintaining a monopoly over the price of digital games, given that the PlayStation Store is the only place said titles are available. While Sony previously allowed digital game codes to be sold over-the-counter in high street stores — as well as other third-party retailers — this practice was halted two years ago, making the PS Store the only place in town to officially acquire digital games for PlayStation platforms.

"Sony's monopoly allows it to charge supracompetitive prices for digital PlayStation games," reads a section of the suit filing. "[the digital games] are significantly higher than their physical counterparts sold in a competitive retail market, and significantly higher than they would be in a competitive retail market for digital games."

The suit references examples of online customers being charged up to 175% more for purchasing a game via PlayStation Store than it would purchasing the same title in a hypothetical third-party-retailer environment. The case is set to be heard presently at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California.

Magic: Arena is gearing up for several big events these next few months, in what it is calling "Summer of Legend."

That includes a surprise concept titled "Mirror, Mirror," a mode where old cards are "reprinted" in digital form. Here's the quick rundown:

In July, we're running a short but exciting event called Mirror, Mirror. Imagine a world where Oko, Thief of Crowns was printed with balanced abilities and became just another great Historic card. What if Teferi, Time Raveler was printed where he was more of a friend than foe to the format? In Mirror, Mirror, you'll explore this other universe of decks featuring rebalanced versions of some of Historic's iconic banned cards. This legendary event won't stay around for long, but you'll just have to wait and see what's inside later this year.

Interesting, right? I love the implication that Oko will be "balanced" now, and Teferi was a "foe" to all of Magic: The Gathering players. I mean, it's kind of true! And in the case of Teferi, it took Wizards an inordinate amount of time to do something about it. But here we are: in a state where the company can laugh.

It's fascinating, because this is one of the few times Arena has pulled rank and decided to rework cards to suit its needs over the more rigid and unbending paper format. In other words, it's an extremely Hearthstone thing to do and it could lead Arena down a different path going forward, if Wizards decides to pivot more into digital.

While perhaps not at the forefront of the first-person adventure genre, Metro Exodus was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most atmospheric games I'd played in recent years. And real scary to boot. That bar is only set to rise, with the launch of Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

Now available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG.com, and the Microsoft Store, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition takes 4A Games' 2019 post-apocalyptic adventure and gives it a fresh coat of paint for next-gen technology. The new edition includes additional ray-tracing and global illumination effects, improved load times for SSD drives, the implementation of 4K textures, and support for DLSS 2.0 on Nvidia video cards. Best of all, Enhanced Edition arrives as a free update to all Metro Exodus owners.

You can check out a lengthy demo video below to check out the flashy features in action.

Resident Evil Village is out, and we can finally talk about a few elements of it.

Consider this tip as non-spoilery as possible! It's just about a nuance to the shop, which was shown off weeks ago. And it's a helpful warning, before you mess up too badly.

When the Outriders packed up for their mission to a deadly planet, they had no idea they were going to face the most formidable foe of all: data corruption!

In case you haven't heard, some Outriders players have been having issues with their character and inventory being wiped. It's kind of a big problem! But efforts are being made to make it right, and here's the deal.

As of yesterday, the team is making huge strides in terms of what is going to be restored. "Group B" is being worked on now, and will be complete basically any day now. "Up to 20 legendary items" will be restored, for folks who lost an item through April 20.

The interesting thing is that you may not have even noticed a bug stealing an item for you. If that did happen, you'll just kind of get a legendary item or two when you login next time, as that could have struck you via a vendor bug. Group A was worked on and completed roughly two days ago, so you may have already been impacted.

Also note this caveat: "If your inventory is already full, restored items will be held server side until there is space in your inventory and you have logged out and back in again." So thankfully, they're in the blank void until you're ready.

Weird! Modern games can strike without warning. Destiny 2 had something similar happen in the past, and it's probably one of the most annoying things about always-online looter shooters: the idea that loot can randomly just disappear.

Outriders [Twitter]

Today, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced Lost Judgment, a follow-up to its street detective spin-off Judgment. And while Judgment will carry forward the classic Yakuza series action, the Yakuza series will keep diverging into new territory.

Speaking to IGN, Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Kazuki Hosokawa confirmed that Judgment will be the pillar for action going forward, while Yakuza will carry forward the turn-based RPG systems brought about by last year's Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

"The Yakuza series has been transformed into a turn-based RPG," they told IGN. "On the other hand, over the year, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has accumulated resources and know-how of making flashy and exhilarating action games that are effortless to enjoy. We decided that we should let our signature action gameplay live on through Lost Judgment."

 This might be a surprise for some, but it might split the difference of letting Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio continue building on the foundation of Like a Dragon while still creating their particular brand of beat 'em up. Lost Judgment certainly doesn't seem like it's slouching on either the action or the wild side activities either way.

Well, it's pretty much this week's worst kept secret, but now it's official: Sega has officially announced Lost Judgment, the sequel to Team Yakuza's acclaimed adventure, Judgment. The dark-looking sequel will launch worldwide on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S September 24.

Autumn Games, in association with Hidden Variable, has revealed the next character getting set for SHOWTIME in the fantastic tag-fighter Skullgirls. And amidst a bevy of potential pugilists, it turns out to be none other than the adorable, rain-wary moppet Umbrella!

An ancillary character from Skullgirls' deep-lore universe, Umbrella is the younger sister of the divine Parasoul, which makes her a royal-in-waiting for the kingdom of Canopy. A wide-eyed child of wonder, Umbrella has quite a heavy burden hanging over her and her sibling, giving the turmoil that rages throughout Canopy and the ensuing war with the Medici Mafia. Still, Umbrella is already prepping herself for battle, and will do whatever it takes to keep herself and her big sister out of harm's way.

There are plenty of hidden events in New Pokemon Snap. Some of them are pretty intricate, requiring the same sort of timing and positioning that the original Nintendo 64 game did.

Blastoise, by contrast, is not so secretive. The game essentially points you to it. But it is absolutely one of the best moments I've seen in this new Snap. (Just a heads up, there will be mild spoilers to follow—I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but if you don't want to know, best to bounce out here.)

After completing the story of New Pokemon Snap, you unlock a number of new features and post-game goals to chase. You also get permission from Professor Mirror to visit the Reef area during the evening, which is a pretty unique opportunity. While other biomes have Day and Night variations, Evening is a really interesting time to visit the reef—it's a "golden hour" chance for Pokemon photography.

While rolling through this new area, the game will draw your attention back towards the whirlpool. This was there during the day, but a scan hints that it seems like something large is at the center of the whirlpool. After chucking a bevy of Fluffruit and Illumina orbs into the center, I saw a shape emerge: a spinning Blastoise shell, which soon after assumed the Superman stance and blasted off at the speed of light.

BLASTOISE?? pic.twitter.com/yhGhffutRE

[Whispering to Destructoid readers while watching ApeMonkeyBoy's Chappie recreation in Dreams when Chappie first appears on the screen]: That's Chappie.

V Rising caught my eye with its talk of becoming a vampire lord, raising up a castle, fending off supernatural creatures and vampire hunters, and fighting alongside other players. Oh, and the title cracks me up. Let's just say that when I think of "V," my mind doesn't immediately go to Dracula.

The PC action-adventure game popped up on Steam this week — no release date just yet — but the developer, Stunlock Studios, says it's planning a beta "later this year." You might recognize that name from Battlerite if you have vivid memories of the MOBA and/or arena brawler craze in the last decade.

While the trailer isn't that meaningful on its own, there are screenshots, too. You get your own horse!

_{Coming off of something as combat-focused as Battlerite, I'll have high expectations for these vampire duels.}

At a glance, V Rising looks like an isometric point-and-click action-RPG — but actually, we'll use WASD controls for movement and cursor-based aiming for skill-shots, according to Stunlock. In the context of an arena brawler like Battlerite, that gameplay style makes total sense here. It should feel good.

If you're looking forward to World's End Club at the end of the month, you can try a little bit of the game today thanks to a new demo.

The World's End Club demo went live on the Nintendo eShop today, and covers the first chapter of the game. Carrying over your save data will also net some bonuses in the full game launch as well.

World's End Club is the latest game from the combination of Danganronpa lead Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape director Kotaro Uchikoshi. While it still seems fairly narratively driven, but has a lot of side-scrolling puzzle-solving rather than visual novel deduction. Still, it seems to retain a lot of the colorful, quirky fun mixed with dire circumstances, so I'm certainly interested. 

World's End Club will arrive on May 28 for the Nintendo Switch.

Electronic Arts has acquired Metalhead Software, adding the Super Mega Baseball developer to its increasingly large portfolio of studios. The acquisition of the Canadian studio is part of EA's increasing efforts to increase its already momentous catalogue of sporting IPs.

In a press statement, EA noted its intention to work alongside Metalhead Software to further develop and grow the Super Mega Baseball series. In addition, Metalhead will work alongside other teams in the EA Sports division to design and develop new sports titles.

"We’re all players of Super Mega Baseball, and we’ve long admired the work of the Metalhead team," said EA Sports GM Cam Weber. "It’s a unique and beloved franchise among sports gamers - the balance and depth of gameplay, and the unique style of the content, makes it super fun to play with friends. We look forward to supporting and investing in the team so they can continue to build out more amazing games that delight sports fans around the world."

Sometimes we touch on the realm of tabletop here at Destructoid, and this bit of news is definitely worth hitting.

Marvel United, a joint effort between Spin Master and CMON, made some waves with their initial (now "Season 1") Kickstarter for their miniature/card game hybrid project. The gist is that each player picks whatever hero they choose (who comes with an accompanying deck of 12 action cards), then battle it out against an automated villain who has their own deck in a co-op format.

The combination of the hobby-level chibi minis and the easy to learn card game style took off, as the Kickstarter soared to $2.8 million in funding, and a positive word of mouth following the launch of various expansions: like the addition of Thanos, Sinister Six, and Guardians of the Galaxy to the game.

Just a few weeks ago they launched their "Season 2" springboard, catapulting them into a funding effort that closed last night to the tune of $5,988,089 in funding. That puts them as the 10th overall most-funded gaming Kickstarter of all time, including all video games and general "gaming" categories.

For reference, Season 2 opens up from the "core set" (due in September) with familiar X-faces like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Magneto, followed by expansions for Apocalypse, First Class, Blue vs. Gold Team, X-Force, Phoenix Five, Deadpool, Days of Future Past, and a surprise-last-minute Fantastic Four addition.