Game Informer

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut releases in just a few days on Friday, August 20. If you’re like me and loved playing the original release on PS4 last year, you probably want to know what’s in this new version and how to upgrade to it. Well, I’ve dug up all of the pertinent information; all you have to do is read about it. How about that?

While the PlayStation 5 already runs a version of Tsushima that boosts its performance beyond the previous generation’s capabilities, the Director’s Cut brings more than just a new coat of paint. Jin Sakai will be making his way to Iki Island, a neighboring landmass to Tsushima fraught with the Mongol invasion. There’s a whole new campaign set on Iki and plenty of new places ready to be explored.

That’s not all! Here’s everything that comes with Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut:

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition breathed fresh life into a franchise that inspired one of the most passionate fanbases to date. While many longtime fans boarded the Normandy once more, many newcomers joined the wild ride against the Reapers for the first time. As BioWare continues to work on the next Mass Effect and Dragon Age 4, the studio did tease something cool for collectors. If you love collecting gaming memorabilia as I do, then this Citadel replica tease might be right up your alley. 

BioWare has partnered with many collectible companies through the years such as Gaming Heads, First 4 Figures, and Three Zero and it looks like now it is partnering up with a different company to bring the Citadel to life. For those that may need a little refresher, the Citadel is the heart of galactic society in the Mass Effect universe, a central hub that is vital to important mass relays. It is also home to Council business, a small elected group of different races meant to represent their people as a democratic voice. It also played an important role in taking down the Reapers, which makes this new collectible an interesting new addition. 

We’re nearing the end of summer, and the football pre-season is finally underway. This also means that the next installment in the long-running Madden franchise is around the corner. Madden 22 has a lot to prove as the series’ second title on next-gen platforms. The MUT mode will likely bring back serious competitors, but gameplay tweaks, new stadium interactions, and Franchise changes could be the difference-maker this time around. 

On this episode of New Gameplay Today, the incredible Alex Stadnik and Jason Guisano will be going head-to-head on the gridiron, discussing their experiences with the Madden IP as well as our thoughts on the new game. So if you’re a fan like me that desperately wants Madden 22 to be a revolutionary shift for future sports games, then swing by at 2:30 CT! Let’s talk football. 

Playing a video game and falling in love with it is a phenomenal experience, and that same journey can be made even better with a powerful soundtrack to go with it. For Final Fantasy lovers, many of the mainstay soundtracks have been available on Spotify for quite some time now, but finally (finally) the six glorious hours of musical perfection that the Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringers OST brings to the table is finally added to that list. 

Whether you want to dive into some of the calmer songs to zone out to or want to get in the zone with tracks like Landslide, the choice is yours! 88 tracks are yours to enjoy for those that want to jam out through Spotify, which you can get started on doing just that with the playlist shared below: 

Composer Masayoshi Soken is a musical genius, to be very frank, and I can't recommend this soundtrack enough. While I'm still relatively new to this game, it's a struggle trying to juggle so many MMOs, the sounds of this online experience are beyond compare. Whether you're on the move or still working from home, this is a nice way to keep that gaming love moving even when outside of the game's world itself. 

Ryan Reynolds' new movie Free Guy opened exclusively in theaters this weekend and beat U.S. box office expectations with a haul of $28.4 million. Going into release, experts predicted this video game-inspired movie would likely bring in around $20 million. Despite the ongoing pandemic, it soared beyond that, showing a sliver of renewed interest in returning to theaters.

Free Guy tells the story of a bank teller named Guy (Reynolds) who is content in life until he learns he's a lowly NPC character trapped in a video game. Guy then tries to rewrite his role into the hero, and that's where the fun begins.

Following the recent news that the Stranger Things license is expiring this year for Dead by Daylight, the team over at Behaviour has announced another horror icon joining the extensive lineup of crossovers. Enter: Hellraiser. We've already got our first look at what the latest DLC will have to offer now that a new killer has hit the game's Public Test Build.

The first teaser for the upcoming chapter debuted a few days ago (seen in the video at the top of the article), but the latest social media tease goes a little more in detail. The Public Test Build, or PTB for short, is available and brings more than just the usual bug fixes. Included in update 5.2.0 is a new killer, the Cenobite. Cenobites are extra-dimensional beings known from the Hellraiser series, brainwashed into torturing humans for all time. This makes it the perfect addition to Dead by Daylight. 

I’m not afraid to say that I enjoy silly gimmicks. For example, racing games generally don’t interest me. However, when you toss in some Koopa shells, loop de loops, and Waluigi? You got me. When I play Super Smash Bros., I want all items turned on and to play on the wackiest stages available. If you align more with the “Fox Only/No Items/Final Destination” style of play, I’m more impressed by how you manage to make an inherently silly game boring more so than by how many frames you can read. 

The same applies to shooters. Sure, I can enjoy standard multiplayer titles like Call of Duty or Halo, but they rarely hold my interest long-term, especially if I don’t have friends to entertain me. “Do the same stuff you did in the campaign but less interesting and with real people who behave like gremlins?” No thanks. It takes something extra special/weird to keep me on board, which is why Splitgate has recently tickled my fancy. 

Rocket League, like other popular live-service games, is known for its crossover content drops. After a successful launch on PlayStation 5, gaming’s favorite lombax and tiny bot are taking the main stage in Rocket League. In addition to some Ratchet & Clank-inspired vehicle skins (pictured above and below), starting tomorrow, PlayStation 5 owners will be able to drive around their favorite arenas fluidly in 120 FPS.  

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Young Souls impressed us when it was revealed in 2018 and if you’re a Stadia user, you can play the co-op title beginning today. Developed by 1P2P, the beat em’ up RPG dungeon crawler stars two teenage orphans who battle through a world of monsters to rescue their adoptive father. 

The game stars Jen and Tristan, who have been abandoned by their parents but are eventually taken in by a kind scientist to live a relatively normal life in a small port town. Life gets flipped on its head, though, when their father figure vanishes and the twins discover a strange portal inside his estate. When they step through it they’re transported to a world of goblins and monsters, including a variety of fearsome bosses. Jen and Tristan are scrappy, though, and have no qualms about laying the smackdown on these beasts to find their missing not-papa.  

At night the siblings battle their way through perilous dungeons, but once the sun rises they spend the day prepping for the next excursion. That means getting in a good workout at the local gym and buying trendy clothes because you have to dress for the job that you want, not the one that you have. Or something like that. Watch Jen and Tristan kick all sorts of butt in the new trailer below. 

The team behind Dead by Daylight confirmed earlier this week that Nancy, Steve, and the Demogorgon are leaving the game's store this November as the Stranger Things DLC prepares to leave the horror survival adventure. The loss of DLC is tied to the expiration of the license obtained to make this crossover happen, but fans are begging Netflix, the company that owns the Stranger Things name, to renew the license before it's too late. 

The Dead by Daylight crew confirmed that Stranger Things content would be leaving this November in a recent blog post, including the full removal of the Netflix-inspired map. To compensate, however, the studio is heavily discounting content related to this particular DLC. That being said, any Netflix post made on social media since the announcement has been plagued with fans (respectfully) begging Netflix to reconsider letting the license expire. 

The first trailer for Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Visions anime series was released today, along with casting details for all nine episodes. This series is exclusive to Disney+, with all episodes hitting on September 22. Disney describes each of these original stories as "shorts" but did not provide details on how long each will run.

Lucasfilm partnered with seven different Japanese anime studios for this series. The animation houses of note are Production I.G., Science Saru, Kinema Citrus, TRIGGER, Studio Colorido, Kamikaze Douga, and Geno Studio.

Most of these stories introduce new characters, and the trailer also hints at new Force powers, vehicles, and weapons. The footage is absolutely stunning and appears to open up the entire Star Wars universe to new possibilities both with the stories and their visualizations.

For the English voice cast, Temuera Morrison reprises his role as Boba Fett, and is joined by an eye-opening cast of familiar names. Here's the entire cast breakdown for each episode:

The Duel: Brian Tee (Ronin), Lucy Liu (Bandit Leader), Jaden Waldman (Village Chief)

Even more Xbox Game Pass titles are joining the ever-evolving library, this time adding a little more Star Wars into the mix alongside a few mind-bending adventures like Twelve Minutes. For those interested, here are the new Xbox Game Pass games being added this month. 

Before going into what's coming soon to Xbox Game Pass starting today, here's what you need to know about the subscription service. The Xbox Game Pass library continues to change with new titles being added and others leaving to make more room. These additions include day-one launches of hit games to indie darlings that deserve a little love. This particular membership allows Xbox fans a chance to have instant access to an eclectic library without having to shell out $60 for each experience. There are also two options available, the standard Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate. The standard service is $9.99 a month, whereas Ultimate costs $14.99 and includes Xbox Live for free. This means in addition to the Game Pass library, and Ultimate members will also get the free monthly Games With Gold grabs, as well as special discounts on certain adventures. 

Now, onto the new games arriving to Xbox Game Pass, including Cloud titles for mobile and tablet players: 

The cosplay community is one that I will never fail to be in awe of. The sheer love and dedication that goes into crafting our own spins on some of the most beloved characters in games, movies, and TV is both impressive and inspiring. What's also inspiring is this Borderlands cosplayer's take on the "Fall of Handsome Jack" because I was sure this was a screenshot at first glance. 

The cosplay account is actually a duo, Mary and Feinbobi, a couple that usually cosplays together when bringing their love of gaming to the forefront. The pair has even done a few Borderlands cosplays together, but this one is solely focused on the villain we hate to love and love to hate: Handsome Jack himself. 

Dragon Age: Origins is the first entry into the fantasy BioWare RPG series, but did you know it was almost a multiplayer game? Origins gave fans an incredibly immersive storyline, introducing us to the world of Thedas for the first time, as well as some of the best characters known in gaming. That being said, the entire Dragon Age: Origins experience could have been something completely different, which inspires a spiral of "what could have been" while also offering a healthy dose of "Phew, glad plans change."

In a recent interview with TheGamer, Jay Turner, a writer for the first Dragon Age game, opened up about one of the prevalent pitches for what this game would eventually become. “The big [change] was a multiplayer mode that was cut sometime in the middle of development,” Turner told the site. “There was celebration in the streets at that point because multiplayer was causing all sorts of problems for single-player, and those of us focused on the story got a lot of resources and freedom back.”

Madden NFL 22 officially launches this Friday, but you may be seeing reviews for the latest football game from EA Sports hitting now as those who pre-ordered the MVP or Dynasty editions get access to the game. We're not ready to render our final verdict of the latest effort from EA Tiburon, but I have put several hours into the game and can provide some early thoughts.

This year, Madden focuses on making the atmosphere of the game feel more true to life. In that regard, the title is largely successful. New spectator animations deliver a stronger sense of realism and presence, and the remastered crowd sound makes those big moments in games feel more impactful. Not only that, but the modifiers that the new momentum meter and home-field advantage add give appropriate boosts most of the time. Improved blocking makes the running game more effective, and I like the increased catching responsiveness for the passing game.

EVO Online 2021, a two-weekend fighting game tournament for five headlining fighting games, concluded last night. While the event didn’t have the typical blowout finals day for featuring all of the top games, the competition was as fierce as ever. Like any other EVO, the arrival of new characters and balance changes are hitting fighting games as soon as the day after the tournament concludes. Below are the newest characters out now or coming in the next few weeks to shake up their respective games.

2019’s Lovecraft’s Untold Stories, the action roguelite based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, is getting a sequel, and it’s heading to Steam Early Access this October. Untold Stories 2 builds upon the foundation of its predecessor with a revamped art direction and the addition of multiplayer. 

Like the first game, you’ll have access to multiple characters used to battle across worlds based on Lovecraft’s stories. You can choose between six characters this time, three of which will be playable during the Early Access period, to play alone or with up to three partners in the new online co-op. The Medium, the Veteran, and the Alienist join the game while the Detective, Witch, and Professor make a return. Each character sports its own perks and abilities to allow plenty of variety in how to slaughter the cosmic horrors that await. 

Are you a fan of arcade-style wrasslin’ games and have become disenchanted with the simulation gameplay of WWE 2K? Look towards the aisle because here comes Action Arcade Wrestling. This non-licensed title emulates classics such as WWF Superstars and Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game by going back to basics. The drama unfolds on a 2D playing field with grappling mechanics that are easy for anyone to pick up while also having a fair amount of depth to sink your teeth into. Created by only a couple of designers, AAW isn’t chasing the title of the biggest and best grappler around. Rather, it offers a small but tightly-made throwback to the wrestling games of yesteryear. 

With Halo Infinite on the horizon for later this year and Showtime's Halo TV series inching towards a release, there is a lot of reasons to be excited for the man in green. That being said, the upcoming Halo TV show aims to deliver a new experience that still feels familiar to die-hard fans, something that 343 Industries' head Kiki Wolfkill says is a bigger struggle than many might think. 

In the video at the top of the article, Wolfkill sat down with the folks over at IGN to dig a little deeper into the upcoming show and the challenges that come with bringing Master Chief to life. This is a problem a lot of adaptations face, but especially so for game franchises known for action. Wolfkill opened up about that delicate knife-edge; figuring out what it takes to bring Halo to life again in a live-action format while asking those used to playing as Chief to sit this one out and just enjoy the ride. 

Every day that passes brings us closer to the releases of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and the hotly anticipated Pokémon Legends Arceus. This Wednesday at 8 a.m. Central, a new Pokémon Presents stream will feature brand new information on all three of these Sinnoh-related games.

Valve’s Steam Deck has impressed a lot of people since its reveal. After all, the company effectively designed its own version of the Switch to play your Steam library on the go. That’s pretty cool, and it’s proven to be quite a draw given its pre-order frenzy, and early hands-on impressions have been largely positive. Xbox boss Phil Spencer is among those who got to take the device for a test drive, and he recently expressed his happiness with the product, particularly in how well it runs Microsoft-published software.

Spencer tweeted that he’s been messing around with the Steam Deck for most of last week and recently visited Valve to discuss the handheld with founder Gabe Newell and other employees. He praised Steam Deck’s playability and screen quality while also mentioning that games such as Halo and Age of Empires performed well. He also drops that xCloud, Microsoft’s cloud gaming service, apparently functions as intended on the device as well. 

It feels like the dust is still settling from the Ariana Grande-led Rift Tour, but Epic Games has followed that up by assembling the DC Trinity in Fortnite. First Batman joined the fray. Superman just made his heroic presence known. Now, Wonder Woman is leaping into action this week as a new skin for fans of the Amazonian princess. 

Beginning August 19 at 8 p.m. ET, you can purchase the Wonder Woman cosmetic set. This set includes Diana’s classic and armored outfits, a cape that comes in two variants, Athena’s Battleaxe, the Golden Eagle Glider, and a DC Trinity loading screen. 

Additionally, Epic is launching the Wonder Woman Cup on August 18 where duos will have three hours to earn as many points as possible across 10 matches. The top-scoring teams in each region will earn the Wonder Woman outfit and cape before it goes on sale. Meanwhile, teams that score at least eight points (finishing around 26th place minimum) also get an Honorary Amazons loading screen.

Many games out there offer both enjoyment and reflection, including the beloved Life is Strange series that has taken some wild twists throughout its cycle. From Chloe and Max and the power of friendship to the trials and triumphs that come with family, as seen in Life is Strange 2, digital adventures that tap into the more humanistic and compassionate side of the human experience are exactly what we need. Life is Strange: True Colors is a story about mystery, death, and the power of empathy. As the world continues to tear itself asunder, varying between topics as heartbreaking as war to arguments as silly as whether or not a dress is black and blue, True Colors aims to remind us of one simple truth: We are human, and we are learning. 

This time, it really is a bug and not a feature. When the first Halo Infinite Flight test dropped, we here at Game Informer couldn't wait to dive in. You may remember an article we wrote talking about the teabagging nature of the smart AI in the latest Master Chief adventure, but it turns out that the teabagging in-game was actually just a mistake. A mistake that happened over and over and over ... you get the idea. 

After several videos went viral showing off the smart in-game bots doing the W dance (even though it was impossible to lose a match, which makes for an interesting paradox), 343 has confirmed that the action wasn't intentional. In a recent statement to the site Kotaku, a 343 Industries representative confirmed that the art of teabagging wasn't written into the game's program, at least where the bots are concerned. "We don't have any explicit programming that tells the bots to teabag or taunt you in any way. These bots are meant to be welcoming and fun for players of all skill levels, and a feature designed to taunt a player would oppose that goal."

This means only one thing: Robots — they're evolving. Will Smith tried to warn us about this, but we didn't listen, and now? The teabagging takeover begins. 

Even more casting choices have been revealed for Netflix's upcoming The Witcher prequel called Blood Origin. The latest additions bring Lord of the Rings and The Nest talent into the mix, teasing a small inside look into what's next with the upcoming series. 

The latest cast members to be revealed, courtesy of Deadline, are Lenny Henry (Lord of the Rings series), Nathaniel Curtis (It's a Sin), Dylan Moran (Black Books), Zach Wyatt (Urban Myths), Huw Novelli (The Capture), Jacob Collins-Levy (Young Wallander), Francesca Mills (Harlots), Amy Murray, and Mirren Mack (The Nest). These new additions will be joining Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Laurence O'Fuarain (Vikings), and Sophia Brown (Marcella). Declan de Barra is leading the prequel alongside Netflix's The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. 

The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six-part live-action spinoff show from the mainstay live-action take that came before it and takes place 1,200 years before Geralt's reign. 

Hades is a charming roguelike that took the gaming world by storm when it first debuted and now that it's on other consoles, more players are jumping into Zagreus' quest to defy his father. For those itching to play on a particular platform, there's a new Hades Nintendo Switch Pro controller that is a cool grab for fans of what this mythology-inspired tale has to offer. 

The new Hades controller is made through PowerA, a licensed third-party peripheral brand that makes controllers exactly like these to spice things up a bit. If you like the design of the Pro controller, then PowerA's latest design is perfect for you, though its Enchanced Wireless controller does not include an NFC reader to work with amiibo. 

It doesn't look like pre-orders are available quite yet since it is reading as "temporarily out of stock" on Amazon, but the listing is live. If you're wanting to scoop one of these bad boys up, be sure to be watching for stock to become available here. 

Back in July, District 9 movie director Neill Blomkamp revealed his newest venture: joining Gunzilla Games as its new Chief Visionary Officer. While the team works towards its "next evolution of multiplayer AAA shooters," we sat down with Blomkamp to dive a little deeper into the process of balancing film and games and why the two industries are at such an important precipice of change. 

For those that may not know, Blomkamp was behind some incredible cinematic adventures, including District 9, Chappie, Elysium, and even the live-action short film for BioWare's Anthem. He was also, at one point and time, attached to the upcoming Halo adaptation, showing his love for games and the science fiction genre in another new and creative way. With his new role at Gunzilla Games, Blomkamp revealed to Game Informer what the future holds as help straddles the line between film and games and his thoughts on both industries as they continue to evolve. 

Game Informer: With your background in gaming with Halo and Anthem outside of the games themselves, what is your vision going forward with your new position at Gunzilla? 

As Cassidy, your goal is to conquer the nightmares that plague your dreams. To this end, you employ everything from pool cues, yo-yos, finger guns, and magic bows to complete your adventure against strange nightmares and ghoulish bosses. An excellent combat system creates a flow that has you zipping from monster to monster. Secrets and unlocks await around every corner. Some smart choices – like letting players teleport to rooms they have already discovered instead of walking – add some welcome convenience to the roguelike dungeon crawl.

DC Comics just released the first issue of Batman '89, a six-issue limited series that picks up right where Tim Burton's Batman Returns movie left off. If you didn't like Joel Schumacher's colorful sequels and want to see what would have happened to Michael Keaton's Caped Crusader, this first chapter is well worth a look. Many of the plot points established in those films are in play in this first issue, including exploring more of Billy Dee Williams' take on Harvey Dent. As this series moves on month-to-month, we'll see him transform into Two-Face.

A strong link of authenticity to those films comes from writer Sam Hamm, who penned the screenplay for 1989's Batman film and contributed to the story in Batman Returns. Hamm's continuation works well as a comic and is brought to life beautifully by artist Joe Quinones and colorist Leonardo Ito. This table-setter of an issue places the spotlight firmly on Dent as Batman races across the city. An iconic giant penny is also in play for a nicely designed fight sequence.

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is a bold, violent, fun take on the criminal super-powered team, and an unsuspecting character from DC’s universe had a memorable role in the film. David Dastmalchian’s portrayal of The Polka-Dot Man is a sympathetic take on a killer with a mostly sweet demeanor who suffers childhood trauma and a deadly extraterrestrial virus.

Posted initially on Dastmalchian’s Instagram back in June, photos of the actor and the cat he adopted while filming The Suicide Squad were shared all over social media today. The original post can be seen below, with adorable pictures included. Here’s part of the message from David’s Instagram post: “With the help of my @thesuicidesquad family & some generous animal lovers in Panama, I was able to rescue Bubblegum (full name: Abner Bubblegum Polka Dot Cat). She has been a blessing to our family & was instrumental in helping us through the pandemic.”

I’ve been following along with the development of Hades for many years. From regular check-ins during the lengthy early access period to a review on the game’s initial PC and Switch launch last year, it’s a game that I’ve had the good fortune to reapproach numerous times. I’m stamping one more trip onto my gaming passport to hell with the recent release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. And while some of the luster and curiosity has worn away, the tight action, gorgeous art, and clever structure remain undimmed. If you haven’t yet played Hades, this console release removes your last excuse not to do so. But for returning players, I’m happy to report that coming back to the game a year later is tons of fun.

Capcom’s Monster Hunter series is having a big year and, due to Capcom's partnership with Netflix, that trend continued this week. Unrelated to last year’s live-action movie from Paul W.S. Anderson, an hour-long CG movie titled Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild, which was announced back in 2018, is now available on Netflix. 

Legends of the Guild follows a character named Aiden and a group of fellow hunters as they protect Aiden's village from a fearsome Elder Dragon. Leading the cast in the role of Aiden is Dante Brasco who is best known as Rufio from Hook and Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Other actors include Brando Eaton (Awkward., Dexter), Erica Lindbeck (The Owl House, Pacific Rim: The Black), G.K. Bowes (Aggretsuko), and Brian Beacock (Beastars, Sword Art Online).

Despite fans (it's me, I'm fans) begging for a full, new Alan Wake game, Control scratched that itch expertly with its unique storyline and surprising connections to Remedy Entertainment's previous adventures. As Control surpasses over 10 million players, the studio is already heads-down on a new AAA journey with Epic Games. Even better? The success of the first Control and its DLC has paved the way for a new "bigger budget" Control story that is currently in its concept phase. 

Remedy provided insight into the current status of the company and what the future looks like for the road ahead in a recent investor's meeting. In the meeting, it was disclosed that the studio continues to grow to suit the evolutionary needs that the team needs. At this current time, the team at Remedy consists of over 300 developers working to make the next AAA game a ride that fans of the studio won't forget. At least, that's the hope, but Remedy has a pretty solid track record that they can pull it off.

Originally announced way back in 2018, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls originally saw a soft launch on mobile in Canada in 2019, before being discontinued in that region in late 2020. At the time, for those who could access it, it garnered enthusiasm for its loyalty to the visual and musical palette of the established series. Still, it was criticized for some of its in-game microtransaction elements. Today brought word that the game is coming back on Apple Arcade, this time minus those disliked in-game purchase options.

Apple’s announcement doesn’t detail other changes coming to the game, but Castlevania fans have reason to be optimistic. The side-scrolling action game features character designs from Ayami Kojima and music from Michiru Yamane, who were intimately involved in early and iconic projects within the franchise. Playable characters include a cavalcade of familiar faces from franchise history, including Alucard, Simon Belmont, Charlotte, Shanoa, and Maria.

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We've got a new look at Pokémon Legends: Arceus coming soon, as confirmed by the Pokémon Company. The upcoming showcase will be centered around a few different pocket monster adventures, including Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, and the open-world Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The upcoming Pokémon Direct will be going down later this month on August 18 at 9 a.m. ET. 

The Pokémon confirmed the news on Twitter, giving hopeful trainers a heads up on what they can expect. The video presentation will focus on the aforementioned three titles, which is perfect since we haven't heard anything about what's next from the company since last February. 

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Attention, Trainers!

Tune in to our YouTube channel on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, at 6:00 a.m. PDT for a #PokemonPresents video presentation featuring #PokemonBrilliantDiamond, #PokemonShiningPearl, and #PokemonLegendsArceus! pic.twitter.com/quBEdaCce2

The latest entry in the Pokémon Trading Card Game's Sword & Shield series releases later this month with Evolving Skies. This new expansion focuses on dragon types, Galarian forms of the Legendary birds best known from the Kanto region, and Eevee's various evolutions. In total, Evolving Skies boasts more than 200 new cards, including 18 Pokémon V, 15 Pokémon VMAX, 24 trainer cards, a new Special Energy Card, and more cards that use the new Single Strike and Rapid Strike mechanics.

The Pokémon Company sent us a bunch of booster packs for the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies set. We opened the packs to see what we could pull. While we've seen the Legendary birds from Kanto's Galarian forms appear in a recent expansion, I loved collecting the new versions of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. As someone who loves the Eeveelutions, I loved the ones I pulled, but was disappointed I didn't get any of the Gen 1 forms. My overall favorite card in this expansion is the Gyarados VMAX, which I wasn't lucky enough to get, but I was thrilled to see some of the other full-art Pokémon V and VMAX cards emerge from the booster packs I opened.

You can check out the full gallery of my favorite cards I pulled from the new Evolving Skies expansion below.

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In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of games we've been digging recently, including Axiom Verge 2, Back 4 Blood, Eldest Souls, Dodgeball Academia, Golf Club Wasteland.