Game Informer

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Game Freak

With Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's reveal this past weekend, hindsight is very much on the side of Pokémon fans who have combed through recent games to find hints at what the future holds for the Pokémon series. A Reddit user may have found Gen 9 Easter eggs in not one but two recent Pokémon titles. 

In a Reddit post, a user named DDD-HERO points out a clever hint hidden within a hotel in Pokémon Sword and Shield:

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS
Publisher: WayForward Technologies
Developer: WayForward Technologies
Release: September 17, 2019 (iOS), 2022 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)

If you’re an Apple Arcade subscriber or were a subscriber anytime after 2019, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Spidersaurs, or have at least seen it in the service’s lineup.

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Publisher: PlayStation Studios
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Release: <time datetime="2022-03-04T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">March 4, 2022</time>

Gran Turismo 7, the latest in the legendary, long-running PlayStation racing franchise, is out on Friday. I'm currently speeding through the content, but I was slow off the line, so I'm not quite ready to render my final verdict. However, from what I've played, Gran Turismo 7 is everything players should want from a simulation racer. 

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Release: October 12, 2021
Rating: Mature

Have you survived the zombie hordes and now you’re looking for some new challenges? The upcoming Back 4 Blood expansion, Tunnels of Terror, comes with some fearsome fare that even the most seasoned survivors will have to adapt to. In a tweet today, Back 4 Blood laid out a bit of the new content scheduled to arrive on April 12.

Tunnels of Terror will be coming to Fort Hope on April 12th, 2022. Here's a little sneak peek on what to look forward to! pic.twitter.com/AOrigv2UuK

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: January 24, 2017 (Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4), April 21, 2021 (Stadia), 2022 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Rating: Mature

Capcom announced that the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes along with Resident Evil 7 Biohazard are making their way to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S this year. 

After purchasing the anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, last year, Sony Pictures Entertainment is shifting its other anime-focused service, Funimation, and all of its content under the Crunchyroll banner.

Effective immediately, Crunchyroll is now the home to an even more massive library of anime titles including many English dubs that previously were produced by and presented by Funimation. A full list can be found on the Crunchyroll site, but here are some of the shows now available for Crunchyroll viewers:

If you missed out on watching the Marvel Defenders series like Daredevil and Jessica Jones while they were on Netflix, as of yesterday those shows are no longer available. The good news is Disney is making room on its streaming service for all of the MCU-related TV shows.

The countdown is on. Marvel's Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, The Punisher, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. start streaming March 16 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/U80cfZCPa8

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 1, 2022

Starting on March 16, Disney+ will be the exclusive place to watch every season of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, The Defenders, and even former ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which was conspicuously missing from the Marvel lineup. Those shows will join the already accessible Agent Carter on Disney+ that weren't natively made for the service, nor strictly tied to the current Marvel Cinematic Universe storylines. However, the Netflix roster, which has always been part of the MCU canon, has only recently started to be more directly referenced in the newer movies/Disney+ shows so bringing them home makes more sense than ever. 

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Also on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Frontier Foundry
Developer: Okomotive
Release: March 1, 2022
Rating: Everyone

Every adventure is a journey of some sort, but we are often so consumed with the destination we sometimes forget to enjoy the ride. Far: Changing Tides pushes you to soak in the small moments that can be overlooked in our rush to reach the peak. Okomotive newest side-scrolling platformer is a meditative odyssey full of trials and triumphs. But this pilgrimage is so powerful I was often content to forget about my end goal.

Okomotive’s freshman release, Far: Lone Sails, followed in the footsteps of atmospheric puzzle platformers like Inside and Little Nightmares. While Lone Sails wasn’t nearly as dark or brooding as those other titles, it set a striking tone as the players navigated a giant land sled across a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape, all the while looking for a new home. Far: Changing Tides is – in many ways – more of the same, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Click here to watch embedded media

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Visual Concepts
Release: March 11, 2022
Rating: Teen

WWE 2K22 launches on March 11 and Visual Concepts/2K has spent the last few weeks rolling out roster reveals. Every wrestling fan knows that the quality of the roster makes or breaks any wrestling game but that's become especially crucial for 2K22. The game arrives in the wake of a pandemic era that saw over 100 wrestlers fired by WWE, leaving fans worried and skeptical about who's left to plug up the holes. 

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

First off, this guide that shows you where to get some of the best rune farming in Elden Ring available assumes that you are okay with spoilers, because we’ll be describing a fairly out-of-the-way area in which you can acquire a ton of runes incredibly fast. So before we begin, spoiler warning. For real.

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release: February 11, 2014 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3), December 10, 2015 (PC)
Rating: Teen

March Madness is in the air! No, not college basketball; we mean the madness of your backlog expanding due to new Xbox Game Pass titles, obviously.

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: May 25, 2018
Rating: Mature

Demon’s Souls started it all. Sure, folks will argue that the concepts that would go on to become the modern-day Soulslike started even earlier in From Software’s history with games like Shadow Tower or the King’s Field games. But the modern incarnations feature challenging action/RPGs that offer battles with larger-than-life bosses, risk/reward offerings, mysteries to explore, and tight combat mechanics that force the player to commit to their choices.

A recent update to the Nintendo Switch has brought a new feature called Missions and Rewards. While not quite achievements, these little tasks encourage Switch owners to use and explore the Switch Online service.

With the update now available, anyone subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online has access to Missions and Rewards. This feature adds tasks that, when completed, will shell out a handful of My Nintendo Platinum Points upon completion. Missions to complete include backing up a save to the cloud or booting up Super Mario Bros. in the Switch Online NES collection or other ways to make sure you're exploring everything you can do with your online subscription. To view these missions, simply head to the Nintendo Switch Online app on the Switch's home screen.

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, PC
Publisher: The Arcade Crew
Developer: 1P2P
Release: August 17, 2021 (Stadia), March 10, 2022 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar Games
Release: November 11, 2021 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), 2022 (iOS, Android)
Rating: Mature

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Godrick The Grafted is the ruler of Stormveil Castle, the first legacy dungeon in Elden Ring. This mandatory boss is a demi-god whose body is clad by extremities taken from his previous victims. Godrick is incredibly agile despite his large size, capable of using his storm-calling abilities to launch into the air or whirl massive gusts of wind. During his second phase, the disgraced lord grafts a dragon head onto his arm, spewing streams of deadly fire. Godrick is a nasty foe, but the good news is he’s easier to beat than Margit The Fell Omen.

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Release: April 20, 2018 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4), January 14, 2022 (PC)
Rating: Mature

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Game Freak

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet will be ushering in a whole new generation of Pokémon late this year when it releases for Nintendo Switch. With its fresh set of starters, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, a whole host of new and returning monsters will fill the ecosystems throughout the new open world.

Which Pokémon will you be able to find? Look no further, as we've compiled every single Pokémon that's been confirmed for Scarlet and Violet in official screenshots, videos, and trailers from the duo of games.

Starters: 
Sprigatito
Fuecoco
Quaxly

Reviewed on: PC
Publisher: Amazon Games
Developer: Smilegate
Release: February 11, 2022
Rating: Mature

Smilegate and Tripod Studio’s newly localized Action/RPG Lost Ark initially launched in South Korea several years ago, and thanks to its western publisher Amazon Games, English territories are now getting their hands on it. While Lost Ark may look and play like Diablo or Path of Exile, it’s an MMO through and through, featuring engaging group content like dungeons, raids, and world bosses within a vast, explorable globe. My time with Lost Ark has had some ups and downs, but the more I stuck with it, the more I wanted to spend time in its world.

The open hours of Lost Ark are sometimes dull but necessary, setting the stage for what’s to come. After creating my character, I was whisked away to search for a mythical artifact known as an Ark, which stands at the center of a rather milquetoast fantasy narrative. Much of the leveling experience follows a military campaign to help a prince win back his land and claim his rightful crown as king while battling relentless demonic forces. Despite much of the plot not keeping my attention, it has some great moments. Important characters, such as the conflicted half-demon priest Arden and the magnanimous Prince Thirain, have compelling arcs that occasionally snapped me out of my boredom.

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Elden Ring has enormous amounts of content hidden away that are quite easy to miss. While the game challenges players to explore extensively, missing a giant area or super boss can be rough. We’ve got you covered! Obviously, there are tons of spoilers here, so if you want to do your own digging, leave immediately! I mean it, get out of here! Again, spoiler warning turn back now!

How To Find Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Platform: PlayStation 5, PC
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release: June 10, 2021 (PlayStation 5), December 16, 2021 (PC)
Rating: Teen

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: Bandai Namco
Release: May 27, 2022

Update, 2/28/22:

After revealing Pac-Man Museum+ in November of last year, Bandai Namco released a new trailer that showcases some of the fun ways to customize your personal Pac-Man museum arcade. This trailer also reveals that Pac-Man Museum+ will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on May 27. Plus, Pac-Man Museum+ will be a day-one title on Xbox Game Pass. 

Click here to watch embedded media

Here are the past Pac-Man games available on Pac-Man Museum+: 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Game Freak

A rare holographic “Illustrator” Pikachu Pokémon card first released in 1998 has been sold for a record-breaking $900,000. 

This news comes by way of Kotaku, which first reported that auction site Goldin announced it’d be auctioning off the rare card. The owner of this now-$900,000 card remains unknown at the time of this writing, but the final auction price blows past previous records for a single Pokémon card. 

A Virtual Boy F-Zero spinoff game called Zero Racers “was done,” according to a former Nintendo Producer. 

However, as anyone who’s ever looked into the history of this spinoff knows, Zero Racers (sometimes known as G-Racers), was never released. This likely had less to do with the game and more to do with the Virtual Boy’s commercial failure. Yes, the Virtual Boy has garnered a fanbase over the past few decades, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t a success. That lack of success likely led to games like Zero Racers never becoming a reality…or so we thought because it turns out Zero Racers was complete and ready for play. 

“Zero Racers was done,” former Nintendo of America localizer and associate producer Jim Wornell told Did You Know Gaming, as reported by Nintendo Life. “We had a complete manual, package, and label done for the game. It went through LOT check, it had an ESRB rating. It was complete.” 

That’s not all that Wornell revealed to Did You Know Gaming, either. He said Zero Racers was never going to have F-Zero in the title, although it was set in the same universe as the famed Nintendo racing franchise. Zero Racers was showcased not once, but twice in the now-defunct Nintendo Power Magazine, complete with screenshots that showed off the tunnel-like nature of the game. It looks more like a Star Wars Death Star run than the racing game you might picture in your head when hear “F-Zero.” 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Game Freak

It's been nearly three years since the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, which began Generation 8 of the long-running pocket monster-catching series. And now, following yesterday's reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, we'll be diving headfirst into Generation 9 later this year on the Switch. 

Click here to watch embedded media

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Release: March 25, 2022
Rating: Teen

The Borderlands series has made a name for itself with excellent gunplay, zany stories, and more, popularizing the looter-shooter genre over the last decade-plus. But with three mainline games and a plethora of spinoffs, many have wondered where the Gearbox Software posterchild would go next. The answer is Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and we're showing off some brand new gameplay in today's video!

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Release: January 28, 2022
Rating: Everyone

It’s February 27, which means The Pokémon Company had a stream to celebrate the series and all of the games within it. This year was nothing short of a great stream, bringing news of updates for many of the franchise’s titles including Pokémon Go, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and even the reveal of Generation 9. 

If you missed today’s stream and are looking for a recap of everything revealed, we’ve got you covered. 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Ilca, Game Freak
Release: November 19, 2021
Rating: Everyone

If you were looking to add the mythical Pokémon Shaymin to your party or your Pokédex in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, today’s your lucky day. 

That’s because Shaymin will soon be available to catch in the remakes later today as a Mystery Gift event. Announced during today’s Pokémon Day stream, which also saw the reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet alongside the Daybreak Update for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Shaymin hits the game via something called Oak’s Letter. 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Release: January 28, 2022
Rating: Everyone

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is getting a new update, Version 1.1.0, otherwise known as Daybreak, later today. 

Announced today during the Pokémon Day stream, which ended with the reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, Daybreak will add a new investigation to Game Freak’s latest pocket monster RPG. You’ll be tasked with beginning an investigation into a new phenomenon that is causing a mass outbreak of what appear to be Alpha Pokémon.

Platform: Switch
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Game Freak

The next mainline Pokémon games have been revealed as Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, and they’ll be released on the Switch in “late 2022.” 

This news comes by way of today’s Pokémon Day stream. Pokémon Red and Blue were released in Japan on February 27, 1996 and these days, The Pokémon Company celebrates the yearly anniversary with a stream about all of its games, including updates and more for them. This year’s included plenty of that, but it ended with the big reveal that Generation 9 is coming this year. 

Click here to watch embedded media

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

If you’re looking for specific secrets to look for as you traverse the Lands Between, you’ll want to check back in a few days for some ways to find some hidden areas and bosses. Today, we’ll walk through some strategies to get the most out of your exploration in the vast open world and legacy dungeons that you’ll experience on your journey and explain how some of the more nebulous overarching concepts work. Obviously, if you’re looking to head into the incredible world of Elden Ring completely spoiler-free, this is the time to stop reading.

God Runes, How Do They Work?

Platform: PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release: November 1, 2011
Rating: Teen

After tackling Metroid in season 1 and then Halo in season 2, Game Informer's Video Gameography podcast turns its gaze to one of Sony's biggest properties: Uncharted. Now, halfway through the series, we reach one of the more divisive entries: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.  

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Frontier Developments
Developer: Frontier Developments
Release: November 9, 2021
Rating: Teen

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is an animated series on Netflix that ties into the Jurassic theatrical releases, much like The Clone Wars connects to the Star Wars movies. Despite targeting a younger demographic, Camp Cretaceous is surprisingly dark, telling the tale of a handful of children who travel to a dinosaur camp, only to be lost in the wilderness and hunted by the thunder beasts.

This weekend is a bittersweet one as we're saying "so long" to an institution of Game Informer. Today marks the last day at our publication for Online Content Director, Street Comedian, and Bizzare Detective Ben Reeves, and we're going to miss him dearly. However this won't be the last we'll see of Ben in games, as he's moving into another sector of the industry and becoming a Narrative Designer at Firaxis. I'm sure I speak for everyone on staff when I say we love him and will miss him, but more importantly, we can't wait to see what he does at the new gig. So while you're letting us know in the comments what your plans are for the weekend, share your well-wishes and favorite Ben Reeves moments to send him off right!

In other weekend business, Elden Ring is finally available, and if you haven't heard: it's extremely good! I'm predicting that it'll be a rather popular topic for our crew and the readers alike. Let's see what the GI staff is up to over the next 48-72 hours or so: 

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Publisher: PlayStation Studios
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Release: March 4, 2022

Gran Turismo 7 launches on March 4, and driving sim enthusiasts are in a tizzy asking themselves one burning question: how would the game's beautifully rendered cars look if Kirby ate them? You haven't seen it, but they're definitely wondering about this. 

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S
Also on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Wired Productions
Developer: LKA
Release: February 24, 2022
Rating: Mature

Martha Is Dead starts extremely strong, introducing immediately a dynamic between twin sisters Martha and Giulia that sets the stage for the entire game. Giulia’s mother never loved her the way she loved Martha, and this relationship, or lack thereof, has eaten away at Giulia’s spirits for years. After Giulia finds Martha, drowned in a lake, her mother runs to embrace Giulia, mistakenly believing her least-favorite child perished. Finally, she gets the love and affection she’s always wanted. What happens next is unexpected, jaw-dropping even, and I was immediately captivated by the premise. Unfortunately, Martha Is Dead quickly becomes a chore to play.