Destructoid

Magic: Arena launched a big expansion in the form of its Strixhaven set, and naturally, there's some bugs.

It's not uncommon to see bugs at the start of a huge patch (Fallout 76, ho!), but Magic: Arena has become sort of known for it, especially day one. But a few bugs lingered for nearly a week before being fixed, and Wizards of the Coast is giving players a little something for their trouble.

In short, a lot of players (myself included) found that their quest bar at the bottom of their main menu was missing. This prevented players from seeing XP-boosting quests properly, and thus halting progress for the Mastery (season) Pass. Other players reported problems seeing their friends list, which is a mighty big issue if you play socially often.

So a hotfix just launched last night, and fixed both of those problems. Wizards is "sorry for the confusion," and decided to launch a code to provide some compensation. To unlock it, just use the code "RestorativeBurst" in the storefront (itself a card reference) to grab two free Mastery Pass levels.

That brings me up to level 18 of 90! The next set is due in July, so I have some time left.

Magic Arena [Twitter]

In a fascinating and quirky revelation, a modder has discovered that a full build of Sega's Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown is housed inside action-RPG Yakuza: Like a Dragon, as well as its predecessor, Yakuza 6.

While hero Ichiban Kasuga has always been able to enjoy a few rounds of the excellent fighter by simply entering one of the cityscape's arcades and parking himself in front of a cabinet, PC modder "Silent" was able to unlock the full Xbox 360 edition of VF5: FS in its entirety - complete with training mode, challenge mode, arcade mode settings, and more.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is criminally unloved. I mean, the real ones know, but as a whole, it's one of the more forgotten JRPGs, with projects like Persona 4 Golden taking the spotlight away from, well, most of Atlus' back catalog.

With Atlus' new HD remaster, I think a lot of people are going to realize they've been sleeping on a classic.

Void Terrarium is a game that will stick with me for a very long time. It's a rather sad affair with a bleak outlook on mankind's future, but with a kick-ass gameplay loop that totally hooked me last year. It's really worth a playthrough, even if I can't guarantee you'll be all that happy when you watch the credits roll.

If you missed out on the title in 2020, NIS America is re-releasing the game next month for PlayStation 5 as Void Terrarium++. This new version of the game will include everything from the original and adds new emotes, hairstyles, diseases, and a new environment to traverse.

[Update: And just like that, the set has been officially announced! The LEGO Luigi Starter Pack launches August 1, priced at $59.99/£59.99. Pre-orders are live at the official LEGO store.]

A since-removed listing from retailer Amazon China has leaked the existence of a new LEGO Super Mario expansion set that will see Mario reunite with his slippery-footed brother, Luigi. The set was originally spotted by dedicated LEGO site The Brick Fan.

Titled "LEGO Super Mario Adventures with Luigi", the new set will add a Luigi variant of the interactive LEGO Super Mario figurine, along with a brand new Starter Course. The kit includes platforms, warp pipes and question blocks, alongside LEGO figurines of Pink Yoshi, Bone Goomba, and Boom Boom. The kit contains 280 pieces in all, and had a listed launch date of July 9, although no price was specified.

[Update: Version 2.51 is now live in Granblue Fantasy: Versus, bringing a glut of fixes as well as numerous character balance tweaks. You can check out the full patch notes for the update over on the official website.]

CyGames has announced a release date for the next fighter headed to its stylish one-on-one slugfest Granblue Fantasy: Versus. As teased back in early March, literal lone wolf Eustace will be joining GF:V's stupidly stylish roster of fighters on April 20.

Master marksman Eustace patrols Skydom as a wandering vigilante, delivering judgment to the wicked via the business end of his ornate custom rifle "Flamek Thunder" and a handful of explosive devices. Afforded heightened senses thanks to his raw... animalistic... untamed... wolf-like nature, Eustace is a fearsome opponent, equally dangerous at both long-range and in close proximity.

As with all previous Granblue Fantasy: Versus DLC characters, Eustace comes complete with a custom lobby avatar, star character icon, and RPG quest chapter. Be sure to check out the Japanese GF:V Twitter account for a selection of short videos showing off Eustace's moveset as we see our fuzzy boy locked, cocked, and ready to unload... Ok, I'm calling this article right now.

Resident Evil Village is one of my most anticipated games.

I mean, some of you know I've played every Resident Evil entry in existence (even the lightgun ones, with the accessories!), but coming off of Resident Evil 7, I really want to see how Capcom is going to follow it up. RE7 set a huge bar for what the series has now become.

Existing on a different plan entirely than say, the complete fumble that is RE6, the newest mainline entry brought folks back to basics with horror at the forefront. Based on what I've seen of Village so far, it looks like they're going to nail it again.

Netflix's Dota 2 series premiered fairly recently, and it's already been locked in for another season. The Dota 2 Twitter account has confirmed that Book 2 of Dota: Dragon's Blood is on the way.

A tweet today says the second season of Dota: Dragon's Blood is in the works. No more details have been provided, though it also notes that Free to Play—a documentary following several professional Dota 2 players through the first International—is now on Netflix as well, with an updated end credit sequence.

Book 2 is coming! The second season of DOTA: Dragon's Blood is in the works.

While you wait, revisit the story of the tournament that started it all — FREE TO PLAY is now available on @netflix with an updated end credit sequence. pic.twitter.com/CINeVNlheM

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) April 19, 2021

I'm pretty pumped about this news. The first season of Dota: Dragon's Blood was solid, and it left some threads hanging that I'd love to see tied off. Also, there are a ton of weird Dota characters that would be a blast to see animated. I know Pudge and Rubick are obvious favorites, but I would love to see what Storm Spirit or Enigma would look like in a series like this.

Capcom didn't make things simple with the new Resident Evil Village demo that can only be played for a certain amount of time on certain days and certain platforms. It's enough to justify an explainer.

I'm not here to recap all of that nonsense again, but after playing the first slice of the demo on Saturday on my PS5 — a quick 30 minutes in the village area — I wanted to talk about the rollout. Will Capcom try this stunt again with another game, or is this a one-off experiment? Either way, it needs tweaks.

_{The whole "8 Hours in Village" branding only makes the demo schedule more confusing at a glance.}

A bit of background. If you were in the right time and place on April 17, you could've spent half an hour with Resident Evil Village on a PS4 or PS5 during an early-access phase that lasted only eight hours.

I happened to be around, and I'm stoked for Village, so I pre-loaded the demo and was ready to go. Except when 5:00 p.m. Pacific rolled around, I didn't immediately start playing — instead, I began watching someone else's playthrough in a YouTube live stream. I wasn't going to waste my demo!

After TowerFall and Celeste, you better believe I'll keep tabs on Earthblade, the next 2D game from Extremely OK Games. The team shared a "vibe reveal" today alongside a preview of Lena Raine's soundtrack, the logo and a teaser poster by Pedro Medeiros, and a studio check-in from Maddy Thorson. Put another way, we're still in for a bit of a wait here, but they've landed on a direction.

Earthblade 🌷 Vibe reveal! (🔊sound on!)
A 2D explor-action game in a seamless pixel art world. The next release from the Celeste team, coming 20XX. pic.twitter.com/ceAM80PEaG

— Extremely OK Games (@exok_games) April 19, 2021

The developers are calling Earthblade a "2D explor-action game in a seamless pixel art world." I'm immediately picturing what it'll be like to wield a sword given how fantastic Celeste and TowerFell felt.

Here's the full poster (is that a castle tower, a giant sword, or both?):

IO Interactive, developer of the popular and critically acclaimed Hitman franchise, continues to flourish since stepping away from Square Enix to go independent. The Danish developer has recently announced that it is expanding its operations with a brand new studio, opening in beautiful Barcelona, Spain.

"There are exciting times ahead at IO Interactive and I am proud to announce the next step in our plans for the most desirable game company in Europe," said IO CEO Hakan Abrak in an official statement. "IOI Barcelona will become the third studio to join our efforts to create phenomenal experiences for our players and communities."

"All three of our studios have extremely talented developers who are passionate and driven towards making an impact in our industry. A core part of our philosophy is that everyone at IOI has a significant and impactful role to play in realizing our dreams, regardless of where they’re located. Think of it as one studio, in multiple locations.”

IOI Barcelona joins the developer's previous two studios IOI Copenhagen and IOI Malmo, and will be used for the development of IO's current and future releases. This is expected to include Hitman, the exciting James Bond title "Project 007" and a third, unannounced IP. IO notes that all three of its studios should be recognized as "elite," as all will be equally focused on the developer's releases going forward.

It has been a hot minute since we last talked about EA bringing its wildly successful battle royale Apex Legends to mobile. The console and PC versions of the shooter recently surpassed 100 million players worldwide, but if the success of PUBG Mobile is any indication, its greatest successes may still be yet to come. After keeping quiet on the game for the better part of two years, Chad Grenier, game director on Apex Legends, has pulled back the curtain on the mobile, free-to-play shooter.

Designed in-house at Respawn, Apex Legends Mobile takes its battle royale formula and reworks it for the touchscreen controls at the forefront of the mobile experience. As such, there will be no cross-play with the console and PC versions, and Apex Legends Mobile will have its own unique battle passes, cosmetics, and unlockables. 

Closed beta tests on Android platforms will begin soon. However, Respawn is initially limiting these to a few thousand players in India and the Philippines. I can't wait to see these tests come to our shores, and I'm quite interested in seeing if my phone will be able to run this game or if it'll be time for me to upgrade to the newest Pixel.

Amazon Game Studios' ambitious MMO set within the Lord of the Rings universe has hit the bricks, following failed negotiations between Amazon and its development partner's new owner, Tencent.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, the project was a joint development between Amazon Game Studios and holding company Leyou Technologies. The latter company was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Tencent in 2020, forcing new contract negotiations. But it seems that Amazon and Tencent failed to find common ground on the new terms, which has led to Amazon canning the LOTR project altogether.

"We love the Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won't be bringing this game to customers," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. "We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time."

Apex Legends has always been set in the Titanfall universe, utilizing many of the series' weaponry and linking characters into the broader narrative. The latest story cinematic for the free-to-play battle royale is a serious gut-punch for Titanfall 2 fans, though.

The newest Stories from the Outlands, titled "Northstar," premiered earlier today. Right away, we see some Titanfall imagery: specifically, a Pilot's helmet. After a deal goes south, our main character Kairi Imahara even meets up with Titanfall 2 antagonist Kuben Blisk. But then she pulls out a card—an Apex card, similar to one held by the members of Blisk's pack in Titanfall 2—and it becomes clear this isn't just a quick cameo spot.

It's revealed that Kairi is the daughter of Viper, one of the Titan Pilots that Titanfall 2 protagonist Jack takes down over the course of the campaign. Viper piloted the high-flying Northstar configuration, and you face off against him on top of a ship near the end of the campaign.

While Viper certainly makes an impression in Titanfall 2, "Northstar" is here to not only flesh both this character and Kairi—who's joining the Apex Legends lineup as Valkyrie—but to make me feel pretty bad about winning that boss fight. Viper was cool as heck and has one of my favorite Pilot intros in Titanfall 2. Dang.

There might be some delays already this year, but Double Fine has reassured it's still aiming for 2021. The studio tweeted today that yes, Psychonauts 2 is still slated for this year.

The statement reaffirms what the company's Twitter account has said a few times before: that Psychonauts 2 is "this year." No specific date has been set yet, "but it is real. It is playable. It is coming."

And yes, Psychonauts 2 is this year and yes I've been mentioning that here and elsewhere for a while but no I can't tell you when because someone from THE COMPANY would arrange for a mysterious "cactus accident" to happen to me...

But it is real. It is playable. It is coming.

— Double Fine (@DoubleFine) April 19, 2021

Even if it's been said before, some confirmation is nice to have. Games like Deathloop and Guilty Gear Strive have already had their release date pushed back, and the effects of the pandemic have resulted in a number of game delays over the last year or so.

Magic: The Gathering Arena just launched wide on mobile, and Wizards of the Coast wants people to know about it: with a Japanese commercial.

Like many commercials in the region, it starts with a bored salaryman at work dreaming of something more. He looks at the clock, and it says "MTG" as he falls asleep standing up. Suddenly his boss turns into a Danny Devito-esque troll and a bunch of big Magic: The Gathering lore characters start appearing to inspire him to play more video games at work. Classic. Chandra and Jace in the workplace!

Oh, and it has subtitles! And it's sort of a musical! And has some actual gameplay. It kind of has it all, given that it clocks in at just under 1:49. Love the glowing Jace eyes.

Enjoy the ride and smile on a potentially busy and rote Monday.

Last month, Sony confirmed a report that it would be closing the online storefront for PlayStation 3, Vita, and PSP. Today, the company announced it would no longer be closing two of those stores.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said in a statement on the PlayStation Blog that while Sony had recently planned to close the stores this summer, upon further reflection it was clear that it made the wrong decision. The PlayStation Store for PS3 and Vita will stay operational, though PSP commerce functionality will still retire on July 2, 2021 as planned.

"When we initially came to the decision to end purchasing support for PS3 and PS Vita, it was born out of a number of factors, including commerce support challenges for older devices and the ability for us to focus more of our resources on newer devices where a majority of our games are playing on," said Ryan.

"We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations."

Nintendo of America has filed a new lawsuit against an associate of long-time hack-maker Team Xecuter.

Following an F.B.I. investigation, Canadian Gary Bowser was arrested in the Dominican Republic in September 2020, before being extradited to the U.S. to face felony charges for the alleged creation and distribution of Nintendo Switch "jailbreak" devices such as the SX Core and SX Lite.

As reported by Polygon, Nintendo served a new lawsuit in a Seattle court last week, alleging that Bowser infringed on Nintendo's copyright by creating and distributing the hacking devices. The lawsuit demands restitution in the amount of $2,500 USD for each trafficked device, and $150,000 for each copyright violation, as well as the complete shutdown of Bowser's mod-making operations.

Bowser is one of a trio of Team Xecuter members facing felony charges for their part in alleged Switch hacking operations. French National Max Louarn was also arrested in September in Canada, with authorities still seeking U.S. extradition. A third associate, Chinese national Yuanning Chen, is still being sought by authorities.

The big news in Fallout 76 is the impending release of the "Locked and Loaded" update, which brings in a ton of quality of life upgrades for Daily Ops, among other facets of the game.

But it's also heralding a brand new season: one of Bethesda's many monetization tools for Fallout 76. We're up to Season 4 now, and it's called "Armor Ace and the Power Patrol in Cold Steel," going along with the classic sci-fi b-movie/'90s cheese feel of the older seasons. It's a shame one of Fallout 76's most charismatic elements is locked behind a time-gated monetization system, but that's more of a sign of the times than anything.

Anyway, Season 4 is happening on April 27, and will feature 100 ranks to climb, as well as mannequin rewards, power armor, weapon skins, CAMP objects, backpack flairs, badges, and a Nukashine. Oh, and a "carry weight booster" that lets you carry 50 extra pounds for 30 minutes. Yeah, the art team knocks it out of the park for seasons, but the monetization intent is scummy.

Oh, and Bethesda also just put out a new community calendar that's a bit more immediate than the giant "end of 2021" infographic they released recently. In May the team is focusing on CAMP creations with an event every weekend, then the "Summer Heat" Moleminers focus, then the July Steel Reign 2 update that also has a big emphasis on legendary items and crafting.

Inside the Vault [Bethesda.net]

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition gets a much-needed dose of class today, as franchise veteran Rose returns to the roster as Season 5's second DLC character. The Italian psychic - who made her series debut in 1995's Street Fighter Alpha - returns to the ring armed with a whole new deck of tricks.

Joining an arsenal of trademark Rose attacks such as Soul Spiral, Soul Piede, and Soul Satellite are a new airborne projectile, an optional teleport ability, and a deep, strategic V-Skill based on our good lady's mastery of the Tarot. Overall, this looks like it could prove to be the most interesting and exciting iteration of Rose the franchise has ever seen. Not to mention her attractive character model and an awesome array of launch costumes - check out her amazing war outfit and that floppy hat/swimsuit combo!

Monster Hunter Rise has some amazing art.

That's partly why it's won the favor of the gaming community these past few weeks, all told. The universe is so full of life, and the Wirebug mechanic allows players to explore that to the fullest, unlike any prior Monster Hunter game. We get to bask in it on a constant basis.

Reddit user Surrealz knows this, and managed to create a gigantic rendition of the game's scrolling loading screen. So basically, remember the art you see when the game loads between hunts? The ukiyo-e style monster images? Well, Surrealz screenshotted all of that and pasted it together with Photoshop.

The result is stunning, and tells a story. I love how you start at the lowliest archer, then slowly rise (ha) up and witness the townsfolk fighting off an entire invasion; not unlike the Tower Defense-esque Rampage mode in the game. Also seeing the Magnamalo at the end is glorious.

Now I just want to play again.

Surrealz [Reddit]

So Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been doing swimmingly for Nintendo. So good, in fact, that it's the top-selling Switch game of all time.

You thought it was Zelda? No, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is actually three whole spots ahead of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with a whopping 12 million more units sold. It's a complete powerhouse of a series on pretty much every platform it's on. It even sold on Wii U!

Speaking of, those legacy Wii U sales have come in handy, because with the combined numbers from the original version of Mario Kart 8 with the Switch Deluxe edition, the game has now taken the spot of the best-selling racing game in US history.

Taking to Twitter, the NPD group's Mat Piscatella shared the latest data, and explains that so far year to date in all of 2021, Mario Kart 8 is the sixth ranked game in terms of sales: right above Minecraft! And they made sure to point out that Mario Kart 8 just surpassed Mario Kart Wii for the top spot.

For a (now) four-year-old port of a seven-year-old game, that's not too shabby. It's crazy that Nintendo hasn't capitalized on it in any way in recent years, even with some free DLC to get people talking again. But that's Nintendo for you.

Mat Piscatella [Twitter]

This week sees the long awaited arrival of Square Enix' NieR Replicant. For those of you who simply cannot wait those final few days, PlayStation Underground has your back, delivering 15 minutes of gameplay captured directly from the PS4 edition of the remaster. In addition, Publisher Square Enix has released a new "extra content" trailer just this morning, showcasing some of the cool new features being added to the updated edition of the action-RPG.

Bandai Namco has announced that its premier 3D fighter Tekken 7 has officially surpassed seven million global sales on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The impressive number had been teased earlier by series producer Katsuhiro Harada, with the milestone officially declared this past weekend.

Speaking on Twitter, Harada-san also took the opportunity to post an updated version of the title's recurring "party" artwork, which shows the entire Tekken 7 roster chilling at a swanky gathering. The image has been expanded to include the sequel's recent DLC characters, including Kunimitsu II and Polish prime minister Lidia Sobieska.

Tekken 7 hit the Japanese arcade scene back in 2015 and took a long two years to finally make the leap to home consoles. Given that six million sales were reached in September 2020, Tekken 7 has shifted a further one million copies despite being six years into its lifespan, an astounding achievement for a fighting game of that age. Tekken 7 is now the second best-selling release in the long-running franchise, sitting just behind 1998 PlayStation classic Tekken 3.

Artist Daniel Cortes (@Dannycortoons) has completed a painstaking project to depict the entire roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in an aesthetic reminiscent of 1930s animation, perhaps more commonly known as the "Rubber Hose" style, and recently popularized by Studio MDHR's platformer, Cuphead.

"After many months, and over 120 characters drawn, here's every single #SmashBrosUltimate character in a style inspired by #Cuphead #Rubberhose #1930sCartoons! Everyone is Here!" announced Cortes on Twitter. "Thank you guys so much for support throughout this project, can't wait to share more in the future!"

The incredible image features well over 100 characters, representing the entirety of the roster from Nintendo's popular fighting title, including alternate skins and Mii cosplay characters. From Mario to Jigglypuff, Sans to Solid Snake, Joker to Wii Fit Trainer, "Everyone is Here" in this colorful and lively banner - a real who's who of gaming.

Cortes has noted that they will update their artwork with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's two remaining DLC characters once they are finally revealed. In the meantime, enjoy picking out your favorite characters in the full image. Everyone looks fantastic, but I think Wendy O. is my favorite here... or Fox McCloud... or Bayonetta... Or...

Part of what draws me to Famicom games is the fact that I missed out entirely on the culture around it. Not only am I of an age that would have given the Super Famicom more significance, but -- and this may shock you -- I’m not Japanese.

One of my biggest windows into the Famicom culture is Game Center CX, a Japanese show that involves a guy, Shinya Arino, in an office playing video games for hours at a time in an attempt to beat them. There are segments that celebrate the games of yore and explore the many arcades that still exist scattered across the country, and bit by bit, you’re given insight into the Japanese perspective.

Among the things I’ve learned is that there was a period in the mid-‘80s where players seemed to be obsessed with “secrets.” This would sometimes merely be the presence of a warp zone, a concept that was grasped by Western audiences as well. Other times it would be a cameo appearance by characters from another game. But developers would occasionally go overboard. The most high-profile example of this in the West is probably Milon’s Secret Castle or Super Pitfall, impenetrable games that are almost impossible to topple without some sort of guide. We’d also be spared from the true Super Mario Bros. 2, which equally enjoyed screwing with the player unless they knew what they were doing.

Dig deep enough, and you’ll find quite a few examples of this, but one of my favorites is the absolutely stupid Atlantis no Nazo.

PlayStation 3 games have gotten expensive lately — as have a lot of other old games that are either rare, genuinely desirable as something an adult would play and enjoy in 2021, or heaven forbid, both.

I'm not about to sell off anything, but it's to the point where I've found myself re-checking all of my collections in astonishment after seeing the prices games are fetching right now. In some cases, especially my DS library, these are titles I haven't touched (much less thought about touching) in years. I know myself well enough to know that ditching them would end in eventual regret, but it's tempting.

It's a similar story on other consoles, including my bestie, the GameCube, and while it's not necessarily a new trend — the pandemic has done a number on retro game prices — the PS3 is worth watching.

In the wake of Sony announcing its plan to remove the ability to purchase digital PS3, Vita, and PSP games later this year, I've been on a mad dash to catalog my existing purchases, figure out my longstanding gaps, and begin buying up digital copies (so far mostly PS1 Classics) before the store shutdown in July. I was so fixated on this initial goal that I hadn't looked that much into stocking up on physical copies of PS3 games. In retrospect, that was a mistake. It's probably too late for me.

Millions of California residents like myself are bracing for what could be a very dry year for our state. Water conservation may have to make a comeback in 2021 as our snowpack is below the yearly average, and I honestly can't remember the last time it rained where I live. While I guess I should be thankful to reside somewhere that's bright and sunny nearly every day of the year, I could sure go for some clouds right about now. Especially a jerk cloud, like the one in Rain on Your Parade.

Life is stressful, which is a phrase I hate saying because it reminds me of all the stressful things in my life. We’re living in crappy times, and many of us are in crappy situations. Thankfully, things are starting to improve for me, but every day is a constant battle. I’m not trying to turn this into a competition, though. You all know how it is.

Given that video games are my hobby of choice, it seems natural that I use them to relax. But not every title is fit for this purpose. For example, I wouldn’t want to play Overcooked with my parents as a way to unwind. I’d probably only use that if I wanted to give myself a reason to be disappointed in them for a change. Likewise, I don’t use games for escapism. Some people can get lost in World of Warcraft for days at a time, but my mind doesn’t work that way. I just need something calming that sets my mind on the right track and slows my heart rate.

So, what games do I use to max and relax? That depends on what kind of stress I’m under, but here’s a few examples:

Animal Crossing fans, this one's for you.

There’s a method to my madness when picking kusoge. A lot of the time, I go by reputation. I may not have played Carmageddon 64 or BMX XXX until I chose them as subjects for articles, but they’re generally understood to be crap games. This helps in two ways; the first is that I’m not going to be stepping all over someone’s favorite game, and the second is that more people will recognize it off the hop.

But I’m not always going to do that, and this is one of those times.

This is a time where I’m going to look at a game because it’s an easy target. Its relevance is long past stale, I’m not even in the same area code as its target audience, and I’m completely detached from its source material. It’s a game that I’m completely divorced from, and I know I’m going to hate it, so let’s dive into Mary-Kate and Ashley: Crush Course.

One of the most amusing aspects of old-school game development is the WGAF? mentality when it came to naming video games. While today's publishers pour hours and hours into titling their wares - wringing hands over the amount of words or letters used, and holding focus groups over where the chosen title plays in multiple territories - gaming's formative publishers seemingly slapped a name on the design document, then broke for lunch.

Case in point, Nichibutsu's 1981 release, Frisky Tom, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch as this week's Arcade Archives release. The bizarrely named puzzle-platformer put players in the role of a bowler hat-sporting plumber, who must dash along a fragile piping system fixing joins, repairing punctures, and staying one step ahead of a gang of mischievous mice who attempt to thwart his efforts by literally bombing his fine work.

Should Tom succeed in his efforts to keep the drainage system flowing smoothly, then he - and we - get to ogle a bodacious 8-bit babe taking a simultaneous bath and shower... I guess this scene is supposed to represent the "Frisky" part of "Frisky Tom"... maybe? Obviously dated today, Frisky Tom is a fun enough title, and while it would never see home release (aside from a mostly forgotten Game Boy port in 1995), it would inspire an array of suspiciously similar titles, such as the C64 classic Super Pipeline.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Old Classic Retro Gaming.

Cblogs of 4/10 to 4/6/2021

-Siflox Gaming reviews Apex Legends in its current 2021 form.

-Aurachad shares their thoughts on Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

-Lord Spencer reviews SaGa Frontier 2 as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.

-Exber reviews all the games they played in the first quarter of 2021.

-Beatlemaniaxx writes in detail about Mole Mania, a game that few people know was actually made by Nintendo.

-Siflox Gaming reviews Rouge Company.

-Gamingnerd rants on Sony and the future of gaming.

-Black Red Gaming reviews Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4.

-TheBlondeBass's Awards now have their [Epilogue].

-Boxed Swine discusses the Netflix show, Disenchantment.

-Spazzzh20 shares their thoughts on how to fix Evangelion 3.0+1.0.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Donkey Kong '94 and old-time pop music.

As any avid Path of Exile player can now tell you, yesterday sucked. We are used to some day-one server issues, as all online-only playerbases are, but holy cow was yesterday an absolute mess. After a very slow-moving player queue, Path of Exile finally let people in only to be disconnected five minutes later. Maybe this would have been more tolerable if it also didn't come with rollbacks, essentially wiping the last 1-3 minutes of progress off the board.

I must have hit level 13 about four times before I eventually gave up for the day. The Path of Exile Twitter account recognized these issues, but provided little comfort to those anticipating a fix, even updating late at night (on the east coast of the US) simply to mention that they have no new information.

Eventually, the developers put up an official announcement detailing everything to the users. While they avoid getting too technical, they do a good job of explaining their moves behind the scenes that caused a lot of the issues. As of now, the servers seem to be running mostly fine, and the only real information they have mentioned is for other developers to "be careful with your database page sizes," whatever that means!

Fantasian has really proven itself to be an Apple Arcade title worth paying attention to. Not only is it a blast to play with a few great twists on the JRPG formula, but it employs an art direction we really haven't seen in the industry. The 150 dioramas created for the title look absolutely spectacular, and in the video below, you can see a small sample of just how much work went into putting this world together.

Purveyor of fine physical media, Limited Run Games, has announced that it will be releasing a hard copy of SNK's upcoming Nintendo Switch compendium Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1.

The compilation of handheld classics from the early '00s handheld will be available to pre-order in a limited four-week window, which opens on Thursday, April 22. Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 will be available in standard boxed cartridge form, while a special edition will feature steelbook casing, a double-sided poster, and a short retrospective booklet taking a look at every game in the compilation, housed in NGPC-style reproduction packaging. A price was not announced.

Hello folks and welcome to the weekend. This week was a crazy fast one for me, accelerated by a lot of work and legitimate efforts to have earlier nights. I'm getting old and I need the extra strength - although whether I get 11 hours or four, I wake up with the same level of exhaustion regardless. I think we're all feeling a little extra exhaustion at the moment. For many of us diet and exercise have taken a bit of a backseat lately. But these remain strange days, and as such we should all cut ourselves a bit of break. At least until things return to a sense of normalcy... Boy, that's some quality enabling. You're welcome.

I bounced between a bunch of games this week. I made sure to get my quota of having the tar kicked out of me on a variety of fighting games, before making myself feel like a Big Man by rat-a-tat-tatting through Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. I also finally got around to putting a few more hours into the PC edition of Persona 4 Golden - a title I am still yet to complete despite having owned it on multiple platforms. There's only so many hours in the day, right? and Persona 4 eats up a hell of a lot of them. JU-NE-SU.

I'm not sure how all of you manage to squeeze in all of your gaming, but I'm nevertheless consistently impressed by the number of games, old and new, that you report back on each and every week. I hope it's been a good week of gaming for all of you, (as well as a fine week in general). Be sure to jump into the comments and let us know what you've either been playing, or have lined up for the weekend. This article continues to hit staggering numbers of comments each week, and I love y'all for it. Thank you.

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

The Emily is Away series has been two-for-two for both resurfacing fond memories of long-gone messenger days and also tugging directly on my heartstrings. Today, the third game arrives on Steam and Itch to, presumably, attempt the same.

Emily is Away <3 is a brand-new story, once again set purely online. The difference now is, rather than the old faux AOL Instant Messenger application, Emily is Away <3 takes place in the halcyon days of Facebook (excuse me, Facenook), circa 2008.

You can still chat of course, only it's over the Facenook messenger interface. There are also wall posts, tagged photos, and poke fights. It is, much like previous Emily is Away games, a concentrated blast of aught-nostalgia. 

And of course, there are branching paths and conversation choices that will result in different endings. Will the conversations you hold online reinforce real-life relationships, or burn them to the ground? Will you, true to real-life, start a fight over answering an event invite with a "Maybe" instead of Yes or No? God, I hope so.

I'm in the "not actively playing but still watching clips" phase of Bloodborne, and it's a beautiful place to be. I get to feel all of the highs and none of the lows. I'll return, of course, but I'm chilling for now.

This clip of a player putting Micolash out of his misery sure is a fun one — they stop him before he can run circles in his nightmarish maze and endlessly spout off his numerous grating-as-hell lines.

When you're sick of Micolash's shit from r/bloodborne

It's heartwarming to watch such a pesky boss get bodied with a calculated setup.

Reddit user godoflemmings had just enough ammo for their Augur of Ebrietas to catch Micolash in an endless cycle, which is the perfect taste of his own medicine. The clip is made even better with an impromptu HP-refueling "One of your notes was rated 'fine'" pop-up message during the fight.

Boss-stomping clips have become my go-to way to fondly remember tricky action-RPGs. Between Souls, Bloodborne, and Nioh, there's an endless supply. People can't seem to put these games down. After having my fill of all three — for the time being, anyway — I'm happy to cheer from the sidelines.

On that note, I also love the sheer disrespect of dodging Micolash's bullshit while emoting.

If you've never heard of Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, I wouldn't blame you. The manga series started in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1989, following the exploits of the titular Dai and his friends as they embarked on a quest for revenge in a world full of humans, demons, and the classic monsters of the Dragon Quest series. The comic ran until 1996 and was also adapted into an anime, as well as a few theatrical films, back in the '90s. 

After lying dormant for a few decades, Square Enix has revived the property with a new manga series, a new anime adaptation of the original manga, and a trio of games that were announced last spring. A Hero's Bonds is the first of those games to make it outside of Japan. It's a free-to-play RPG developed by DeNA and published by Square Enix. DeNA is a developer you probably most associate with Nintendo's mobile output, but it's worked with Square Enix before on the hit title Final Fantasy: Record Keeper. 

A Hero's Bonds represents the developer's first crack at the Dragon Quest franchise, but rather than doing something bold with it to make the title stand out in a ruthlessly competitive field, DeNA has chosen to play it disappointingly safe.