Game Informer

For precisely the umpteenth year in a row, Nintendo held yet another E3 Direct presentation with no mention of Bayonetta 3. Despite debuting way back at the 2017 Game Awards as a Switch exclusive title, the game has been radio silent in the years since with the only updates coming in the form of vague reassurances that it's still happening, keeping the hope alive. Nintendo provided another such update during a recent interview with GameSpot. 

GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain interviewed Nintendo Treehouse’s Nate Bihldorff and Bill Trinen about the company’s E3 showing and wrapped up the fun conversation by asking the million dollar question: Where is Bayonetta 3? Bihldorff began by confirming that the game “definitely still exists” with Trinen adding that Bayonetta 3 is not only real but is “progressing well”.

“We like to show things when we’re ready to show them, and certainly we like to show things when we think the developers are ready to show them,” explains Trinen before telling fans to “stay tuned”. 

You can check out the clip yourselves at the 19:37 mark. 

Rumors have circulated for months and months that Nintendo is working on some kind of updated Switch hardware, a "Nintendo Switch Pro" that would feature a bigger screen and be capable of outputting in 4K resolution. But E3 has come and gone and Nintendo didn’t announce any such device. Is all hope gone that we could see an upgraded Switch before the end of the year? Maybe. Or maybe not. Nintendo is keeping all of its cards very close to the vest.

President of Nintendo of America Doug Bowser addressed some of the Switch Pro rumors in a recent interview with The Washington Post, saying, “We are always looking at technology and how technology can enhance gameplay experiences. It’s not technology for technology’s sake. It’s how specifically can technology enhance a gameplay experience. And then where do you apply that technology? Do you want to apply it on current existing hardware or platforms, or do you want to wait for the next platform? And then what’s the right gameplay experience with that? There’s a host of factors that goes into it, and it’s something we’re always looking at.”

Thanks to a post on Reddit, we may have a glimpse at a new Remedy project in the works. Information is routinely scraped from the Epic Games Store, which sometimes leads to the discovery of new games and products hidden in the store’s file system. Today, a curious folder string was found within Remedy Entertainment’s files reading: {dirUser}/Remedy/AlanWakeRemastered/. Could an upgraded version of Alan Wake be on the horizon?

As of the writing of this story, the folder has been renamed to “Heron” and its directory has been given the overarching name of “HeronStaging." Other files from Remedy within the Epic Game Store also use the “Heron” name going back to 2019, at least the folders themselves have been there that long. Staging, on the other hand, is usually a place where objects are grouped or assembled in preparation for a project. Because we know a folder in here was previously named “AlanWakeRemastered," we can infer this is now a properly codenamed store page for a possible remaster being released by Remedy or Epic.  

Bright Memory: Infinite was among the standout Xbox Series X exclusives that impressed us during the console’s first big showing last year. If you’ve been patiently awaiting your chance to experience the game’s fast-paced blend of first-person shooting and stylish swordplay, a new gameplay trailer has emerged confirming that it still has a pulse and is a wild as ever. 

The game takes place in a futuristic version of Earth, set in 2036. An organization called the Supernatural Science Research Organization (SRO) has discovered strange phenomena occurring in the skies and sends agents out to investigate. Protagonist Sheila is one such agent, and during your investigation you’ll uncover an ancient mystery connected to events that could affect the fate of, not one, but two worlds. 

Today, Epic Games revealed on its blog that Thanos is returning to Fortnite for Season 7. This is fairly appropriate as season 7 has an alien invasion theme, and also includes character like Superman and Rick Sanchez from Adult Swims hit show Rick and Morty.

Thanos first appeared in Fortnite in 2019, as a tie in for the release of Avengers Endgame. Players who discovered the Infinity Gauntlet on Fortnite’s island could transform into the near-unstoppable foe and wreak havoc on the masses. At the time Thanos was fairly overpowered, but that was a limited time event.

The Universe required correction.

Compete in the Thanos Cup for a chance to earn the Thanos Outfit and Infinity Gauntlet Back Bling inspired by Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame ahead of its release in the Item Shop!

More info: https://t.co/nkxTEr2YLP

Video games unsurprisingly take a long time to create, and the process unfolds in different ways for every game. Elden Ring is like every other game in this respect, but it’s been under a microscope this week, in part because of the excitement from its fanbase, but also because we haven’t heard much about it in quite a while. Following the premiere of the new trailer at Summer Game Fest, the silence of a key creative mind on the project has been broken. That person, of course, is famed novelist and creator of the A Song of Ice and Fire series George R. R. Martin.

Martin was being recognized this week with an honorary doctorate awarded from his alma mater, Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. During an interview about his life and career with Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW, Martin’s foray into game development was brought up. He spoke briefly on when he was part of the Elden Ring project. “My work on it was actually done years ago. These games, they’re like movies. They take a long time to develop,” says Martin.

Hacking Metroidvania Recompile will invade console and PC motherboards this August. The eye-catching indie game puts players in digital shoes of a sentient rogue code exploring the electrifying digital wasteland of a computer mainframe.

Gameplay consists of 3D platforming and third-person shooting, not to mention plenty of physics-based hacking. Exploration is non-linear with Metroidvania qualities, such as finding abilities or items to open new paths while also solving logic puzzles to overcome obstacles. We were impressed with Recompile when it first made noise last year, but if this is your first time catching wind of the game, you should check out its latest gameplay trailer to see what’s in store. 

Are you ready for the final episode of our epic playthrough of FromSoftware's Bloodborne! Grab some snacks and come join us as we take on the last remaining bosses.. Check out our review here and join us today at 2 PM CT!

Are you ready for a chilling thrill ride through FromSoftware's masterpiece? Bloodborne is a dark horror action/RPG that tasks the player with navigating through haunted streets full of werewolves and shuffling, shambling ghouls – and that's just the first hour. Bloodborne showcases immaculate environments dripping with atmosphere, creative and cruel monster designs, and terrors ripped from the great beyond. And we're going to play through it! Super Replay, the legendary Game Informer series that pairs pro players with even more professional commentary, is back.

Scott Cawthon, best known as the creator of the indie breakout Five Nights at Freddy’s, has announced in a post on his website that he is retiring from his current role in the series. This announcement follows the recent surfacing and criticism of Cawthon’s monetary political contributions.

Cawthon starts the post by reminiscing about fans having sent him letters and fan art over the years. Five Nights at Freddy’s released almost seven years ago and, in that time, many fans of the series connected with the characters, games, and even Scott Cawthon himself. “I’ve had a blessed, fulfilling, and rich career. I’ve been shown great kindness and I’ve tried to show great kindness in return,” Cawthon writes in his retirement post.

Scott continues the post by talking about the passage of time and how creating games has transitioned from something he would do in his free time for fun and for his kids. Getting to the crux of the announcement Cawthon says, “All of this to say that I am retiring. I have been shown tremendous love and support over this last week, a lot of which has come from the LGBTQ community. The kindness shown to me has been surreal.”

2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence is getting an enhanced encore for current-gen consoles next month. The game is also coming to Switch via Nintendo’s cloud streaming service. If you missed out on Asobo Studios’ acclaimed narrative adventure, this sounds like the perfect time to hop in now that the sequel is on the way.

On July 6, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners can enjoy a new version A Plague Tale: Innocence with 4K UHD visuals, 60 frames-per-second performance, and 3D audio support. It’s unclear if this will be a digital-only release or if it will come to stores as well. There’s also no word on price either. Take a look at the improvements in action in the announcement trailer below. 

After putting the service on hiatus prior to the arrival of the Xbox Series consoles, Microsoft is reopening the Xbox Design Lab and is selling user-created controllers again. This time, the newest version of the Xbox wireless controller is for sale and set for complete customization.

Those looking to customize a new set of sticks will have many of the choices available previously in the design studio. Ushering the new controller design into the Lab is the arrival of 3 new colors: electric volt, pulse red, and shock blue, all of which have been on stock controllers in the past. There are a total of 18 colors to choose from which can be used in any combination on the front, back, bumpers, analog sticks, triggers, and d-pad. The face buttons have their own options as well including the new black text on color the ABXY buttons, and black icons on a white background option for the view, menu, and share buttons. There seems to be a staggering amount of choices to make a unique controller.

OlliOlli World is an upcoming vibrant skateboarding game that tasks players with landing tricks and combos as they skate through the colorful and weird Radlandia, a totally real place with totally real skateboarders. The OlliOlli series began in 2014 and quickly gained a following for its addictive one-life gameplay loop that had fans replaying levels over and over trying to land their next big trick. OlliOlli World plans to deliver the same beloved precision skateboarding experience but in a more expansive and brightly-colored package. Join Alex Van Aken and Blake Hester as they show off some of the game's colorful courses in this episode of New Gameplay Today.

Dying Light 2 has been in the making for so long that fans assumed the worst: development hell. Small updates and assurances from Techland helped alleviate any worry, but earlier this year an extensive gameplay trailer dropped. Thankfully, Dying Light 2 is coming out this year and collector’s edition copies of the game are nowhere to be found. Luckily, a writing, fan art, and cosplay contest has been announced and collector’s editions are one piece of the reward package if you win. 

According to a press release emailed to Game Informer, starting today the Dying Light 2 Stay Human User Contest offers cash prizes, the Dying Light 2 Collector’s Edition, and the chance for your submitted art piece to be featured in the upcoming sequel. You can submit a short story about The City’s inhabitants, create a piece of visual art, or put your tailoring skills to the test with an impressive cosplay, makeshift Dying Light weapon and all. 

During the extended Xbox Games Showcase, Ninja Theory founder, Tameem Antoniades, talked about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Ever since the first Hellblade released to high praise, I've been waiting for any news about the sequel. The teaser trailer that premiered at The Game Awards a few years ago definitely scratched the itch, albeit briefly. The process that Antoniades’ described today makes me even more hyped. Apparently, Hellblade II “is not a direct sequel,” but Ninja Theory is making big moves to ensure it's an unforgettable experience. You can watch the montage below.

During the early portion of the Hellblade II video, Antoniades affirms that the sequel is set in 9th century Iceland. He goes on to list the boot-on-the-ground work that the developers have committed to the upcoming title. Art and audio teams have been sent to Iceland and have conducted comprehensive photography shoots, and utilized photogrammetry as well as satellite data to recreate the landscape so that Hellblade 2 is more immersive and true to life. Ninja Theory is also working alongside Epic Games to implement next-generation digital characters; we all know how incredible the models looked in the first game, so this comes as no surprise! 

Last summer, Pokémon Unite was revealed by President and CEO of the Pokémon Company Tsunekazu Ishihara during the Pokémon Presents showcase. A 5v5 team-based MOBA, Unite has players drive down their respective lanes to capture wild Pokémon and upgrade their stats and abilities. Because of Unite’s competitive nature, players will have to thwart one another’s progress while traversing the arena. This means that many skirmishes will likely take place so you’ll need to remain cautious as you progress down the battlefield; you can watch some cinematic and gameplay footage below. If this piques your interest you’ll be happy to know that, according to a new press release posted on the official site today, the game is launching on Switch and Mobile this year.

With Resident Evil Village still very much part of 2021’s best of gaming discussion, the iconic horror brand is finding its way to another realm. That realm is Behavior Interactive’s Dead by Daylight, one of the seemingly rare success stories in the asymmetric game category. Four survivors take on one killer in what amounts to a mini-horror movie experience when it works, and as of Tuesday Resident Evil has made its way into the game. With all the buzz of the last week solidly around E3 and new announcements, this content drop brings some big names into the long-running survival game.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I sat down with Team Ninja’s take on classic Final Fantasy last night, but I sure as hell wasn’t ready for what I experienced. At once, it was both a nostalgic romp through one of my favorite Final Fantasy game settings in precision timing action form and a bizarre B-movie with characters hammier than a pork sandwich. I’ve heard a ton of people complaining about the graphics as well, but I actually didn’t have an issue with them. PlayStation 3? Have you actually looked at a PlayStation 3 game lately? Seriously, c'mon. Yes, it's absolutely not the definitive "current gen experience", but to call it a PS3 game is ridiculous.

I’ve been a longtime fan of the Tales series; whether it was watching Symphonia’s Llyod confront his naivety or seeing Abyss’ Luke realize he’s kind of a jerk, I love how the main characters become better versions of themselves through the bonds they build. While Tales’ strongest features are its character interactions and the fast and fun action combat, it’s struggled this last generation to both appeal to modern gamers and provide something new and exciting for its longtime fans. 

Madden NFL 22 releases on August 20, EA Sports and developer EA Tiburon have announced. When Madden NFL 21 launched last year, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X weren't yet to market, but even so, those versions of the game didn't release until December of last year. Now that EA Tiburon has one year of new-gen releases under its belt, Madden NFL 22 will release simultaneously on new-gen consoles, last-gen consoles, Stadia, and PC.

This year's game comes on the heels of a game that was widely criticized for its lack of new features and improvements, particularly regarding the title's franchise mode. While modes like The Yard, Face of the Franchise, and Madden Ultimate Team return in Madden NFL 22, EA Tiburon is paying close attention to the Franchise experience this time around. This version of Franchise implements more immersive interactions with players and coaches, as well as a weekly strategy planning session to allow you to pay close attention to the strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies of each opponent. On top of committing to various post-launch updates to the mode, all of the improvements made in Madden NFL 21 after launch are being carried into Madden NFL 22's iteration of the popular mode.

Every year, being named to the Madden NFL cover serves as a major honor for the player chosen. Despite the long-standing superstition that landing on the Madden cover guarantees that you'll have a major downturn or, in some cases, an injury during that season, EA Sports and developer EA Tiburon have continued naming top players to be their Madden NFL cover athletes year after year. This year, the developer is going about it a little differently, as it's bringing a rare two-athlete cover featuring quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

Interestingly enough, both Brady and Mahomes have been featured on the cover in recent years. Brady, the current quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 18 when he was still with the New England Patriots, while Mahomes, the man under center for the Kansas City Chiefs, was the face of Madden NFL 20. Both athletes are also seemingly impervious to the "Madden Curse," as the 2017 season saw Brady play about as well as ever, making it to the Super Bowl that year (though his Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles), while Mahomes not only made it to the Super Bowl the year he was featured on the cover, but won the championship game and took home Super Bowl MVP honors. 

The announcement of Metroid Dread earlier this week was met with widespread excitement as fans of the series are finally receiving a new 2D Metroid. While some games in the series, primarily 1994's Super Metroid on Super NES, are considered among the greatest games of all time, fans of the 2D style of Metroid have been waiting for news of a new adventure for Nintendo's galactic bounty hunter to embark on.

Following the launch of the last all-new 2D Metroid game, 2002's Metroid Fusion on Game Boy Advance, the name "Metroid Dread" began floating around as early as 2004. Though we've heard rumors of cancellation, development restarts, and platform changes throughout the last 16 years, Nintendo has been largely quiet on the follow-up game to Metroid Fusion. However, Tuesday's re-emergence finally gave long-suffering fans the relief they've been waiting for.

Let's be real, Xbox-Bethesda absolutely slayed its shared E3 2021 showcase. From Starfield to an incredible look at Halo: Infinite and a plethora of other titles, Microsoft wasn't playing around this year when it came to bringing the heat (something that was very much needed because overall, this year's show had quite a few pitfalls). Among the titles showcased was a brand new IP from Arkane Austin, the studio that gave us 2017's Prey. This time, we're not going to space; we're going to vamp town. For those curious, here's everything we know about Redfall. 

From the co-op structure to the dark and explosive nature, many likened Redfall to Valve's Left 4 Dead. But there's so much more we don't know. Luckily, we know more now than we did at the time of the reveal, thanks to Bethesda. 

Welcome to Redfall

With the next big set release still a month away, Magic: The Gathering Arena players are in waiting mode for the next update to the Standard and Historic formats. While there was a significant banning of the blue extra-turn spell Time Warp this week in Historic, the meta is still settling. However, there’s a lot to do leading up to the release of the next Standard set, Dungeons and Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Wizards of the Coast dropped a blog post today about their short-term roadmap for events in Magic Arena in the coming weeks.

E3 2021 was a pale imitation of its former incarnations, but that didn’t stop us from pumping our fists over several big game reveals and exciting indie game announcements. We polled the staff and rounded up our favorite games from the show.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge came out last April and chronicles the journey(s) of its titular protagonist. A sequel, called Battle of the Realms,  is set to drop this summer, and while news about what the movie will focus on is practically nonexistent, we do have casting information by way of The Hollywood Reporter.

Many of the voices from Scorpion’s Revenge are returning. Some of the voice actors listed here will reprise multiple roles in the film: 

Joel McHale (Johnny Cage)
Jennifer Carpenter (Sonya Blade)
Jordan Rodrigues (Liu Kang)
Patrick Seitz (Scorpion)
Artt Butler (Shang Tsung)
Robin Atkin Downes (Shinnok)
Dave B. Mitchell (Raiden)
Ikè Amadi (Jax)
Grey Griffin (Kitana and Mileena)
Fred Tatasciore (Shao Kahn)

Some games stop you in your tracks the moment you first see them. Titles such as Sable, Solar Ash, and Cris Tales have such unique visual styles, but none more so than Tunic. Solo developer Andrew Shouldice has set out to create a memorable ode to the 2D Zelda titles of the past, but that's far from painting a full picture of this gorgeous new action title.

As part of the ID@Xbox Demo Event for this year, the house of Master Chief has rolled out a ton of new playable experiences featuring some of the most exciting indies coming out in 2021 and beyond. As part of that, Marcus Stewart, Ben Reeves, and Alex Stadnik got to check out Tunic and are sharing their thoughts with the lovely GI community.

Rockstar Games announced that it will shut down the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of its wildly successful Grand Theft Auto Online. If you’re a GTA Online player tearing up Los Santos on those platforms, mark December 16 as the final day you can log in.

The shutdown also means that stat tracking for those versions of the game will disappear from the Rockstar Games Social Club. Additionally, Shark Cash cards can no longer be sold for PS3 and Xbox 360 after September 15. Rockstar's FAQ explains that players will not be able to transfer character progress to current versions of GTA Online before the shutdown since no such feature exists. You also cannot transfer or refund virtual currency/goods since those are platform-specific. Rockstar stressed that the shutdown will not impact players' ability to play Grand Theft Auto V’s story mode or effect their existing progress there. 

We all knew that the minute more Breath of the Wild 2 footage was shown, the community would take to YouTube to unearth all the little secrets hidden in the latest trailer. And, of course, those trailer breakdowns did happen. Moreover, of all the interesting theories out there, one has soared above the rest because of how downright compelling it is: what if we’ll actually be playing as Ganondorf the whole time in Breath of the Wild 2?

This game will be learning about the fall of Ganondorf the man and then saving him from the evil that has been ruling over him for generations. And in doing so, we’ll break the cycle started by Demise.

Whether we do that as Zelda or Link, I’m still unsure. pic.twitter.com/0EKgGLl609

We finally got a more comprehensive look at Breath of the Wild 2 yesterday during Nintendo’s E3 Direct. A montage of aerial combat, skydiving/gliding, and new and improved rune abilities set the sequel apart from the beloved original. In the next chapter of Link’s story, we know that Zelda will continue to play a big role (despite her gaping absence from the latest gameplay trailer) and that the narrative will take place at high altitudes. Apparently, the official title of Breath of the Wild 2 could tell us even more, so Nintendo has decided to keep it a secret until it's ready to divulge more details with the general public.

Nintendo Treehouse’s Bill Trinen and Nate Bihldorff talked with IGN about Nintendo’s decision. There is definitely a subtitle that has already been agreed upon but it might be too early for all of us to know. “As for why we’re holding back on the name, you’ll just have to stay tuned because, obviously, Zelda names are kind of important,” Trinen said during the interview. “Those subtitles… they start to give little bits of hints about maybe what’s going to happen.”

Over the last week, gamers got what they have come to expect at the beginning of the summer. A slew of big game announcements, thrilling trailers, and gameplay reveals set the stage for the coming year and showed an industry eager to stride into the future after the shared hardship of the last year in quarantine. For gamers, E3 has become a buzzword that represents a sort-of Christmastime for game reveals – with an accompanying crowd of ravenous fans who can’t wait to tear into the present of the next big announcement. Even among our staff at Game Informer, we used the words “E3 2021” to grasp the trends and cover the big news coming from the game industry.

The issue, of course, is that the news and reveals that excited us all this past week had little to nothing to do with the event run by the ESA – the actual official show called E3. That event – E3 2021 – failed to make the grade.

E3 has had a long history as a showplace for the gaming industry and is no stranger to changes in format and presentation. Over the years, it moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta and back again. It shifted to a small-form business focus in 2007 and 2008. In more recent years, it opened to the public, moving away from its trade show origins. And, like virtually every worldwide in-person event in 2020, it was totally cancelled.

Since before the launch of PlayStation 5 in late 2020, questions arose about when Sony might update its PlayStation VR hardware to the next generation. Throughout this year, there has been a small but steady trickle of information; first confirming the existence of a new headset, to now where we have a potential release year for the product.

According to a report from Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki, Sony is working to bring the PlayStation VR successor to market in 2022. The news comes within a story focused on the LCD screen manufacturer Japan Display Inc. The company said it would be shifting its supply of screens from the mobile phone market to VR headsets. Having been a supplier for technology juggernaut Apple in the past, this move, while inherently to a smaller market, can lead to growth. JDI claims in the article it can produce higher resolution screens for headsets while keeping the cost down, both very important metrics in the VR space.

The Medium, Bloober Team’s occult horror game, is making its way to PlayStation 5. The title launched in January as one of the first (if not the first) third-party Xbox Series X/S exclusive, albeit a timed one. The port adds full haptic feedback support for the DualSense controller. 

The Medium’s plot centers on Marianne, a spirit medium who is summoned to an abandoned and very haunted hotel in Poland. Marianne is not only able to communicate with the dead, but she can access and traverse the spirit world alongside the world of the living. This is represented by a split screen where players simultaneously explore the physical and spirit version of an area to access objects and paths accessible on one side to open routes for the other. As Marianne communes with spirits and uncovers the mystery of the hotel’s past as well as her own, she’s stalked by a malevolent (and invisible) entity bent on making Marianne’s visit an unpleasant one. 

The Medium has some cool ideas that don't always live up to their potential. In his review of the game, GI editor Ben Reeves wrote:

2021 is proving to be a very interesting year in the world of indie games. We've already experienced some unique adventures in titles such as Before Your Eyes and Loop Hero, but there's plenty on the horizon for those who love the smaller but impactful experiences the genre's known for. Games such as Lake, Cris Tales, and 12 Minutes have us hopeful for the rest of the year, but one of our most anticipated upcoming indie titles is Sable, developer Shedworks' new open-world stunner.

If the name rings a bell, it's probably because you've seen the gorgeous visual style before. Recently shown off at the Geoff Keighley Summer Game Fest, Sable's vibrant and distinct art style has generated a large amount of hype, and for good reason. But now that the game's demo is out for Xbox and PC users, is it any fun to play?

Hasbro has been doing amazing things for Star Wars fans through its Black Series and Vintage lines of action figures. Almost every character who was on screen for a second in any of the Star Wars movies has been turned into an action figure. But that's not all Hasbro has done. Numerous comic books, novels, and video games have also been mined for characters that can forever be remembered as action figures.

While the day started with a fervor of anticipation and excitement for what Nintendo would have to offer as part of its E3 2021 Direct, there still was a question of "what were we going to actually see?" Plenty of titles fans can't wait for are in development from the house of Zelda, Mario, and more, but with nary a confirmation, all we had was our hopes and dreams to tide us over. When Nintendo's Direct hit, it finally gave us a good look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, but that was far from it.

During today's Nintendo E3 Direct, Intelligent Systems' long-dormant  Advance Wars series returned, not with a new entry, but a remastered collection that brings back the first two entries in the series for Switch. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is slated to release on December 3 with pre-orders available now.

Advance Wars is a turn-based tactical combat game that pits the player's Orange Star Nation against various computer-controlled forces. Much like a game of chess, the positioning of different unit types is part of the strategy, and has you thinking numerous turns ahead. On some maps, victory is achieved by destroying all of the enemy's units, while other locations push you to complete objectives and secure locations.

Although the first Game Boy Advance games are returning (Advance Wars and Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising), they have been completely reimagined and rebuilt from the ground up. All of the units are now polygonal in design, and your commanding officers are brought to life with stylish hand-drawn animation.

Both of these games were beloved by players back in the day, and offer up a wealth of variety in the maps, units, and changing conditions (such as terrain and weather). If you don't want to take on computer-controlled armies, you can jump into multiplayer, which supports four-player skirmishes on dozens of maps.