Children of the Sun review: unnerving shooter is the feel-bad game of the year

Next month, Nintendo will celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of its finest games. Nintendo GameCube classicPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is getting a Nintendo Switch rerelease that’s somewhere between a remaster and a remake (not unlike the company’s recent Super Mario RPG revisit). But a game as beloved as this presents a challenge for developers: How do you stay true to the original while still upgrading it enough to justify a full-priced double-dip rather than an HD port?

April’s biggest video game isn’t a new release likeTales of Kenzera: Zau or Stellar Blade. Instead, it’s a series that hasn’t gotten a new entry in years.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau MSRP $20.00 Score Details Pros

If you were unable to catch this week’s Nintendo IndieWorld showcase, then you missed a surprisingly loaded show. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes got a May release date, WayForward showed off its Yars’ Revenge revival, and Steamworld Heist 2 got an exciting reveal. In the midst of all those headlines, two smaller games were surprise released on the platform: Stitch and Sticky Business. Don’t sleep on either of them, as they’re both worth a purchase.

If you’ve been following indie publisher Annapurna Interactive over the last two years, you might be familiar with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The new project from Sayonara Wild Hearts developer Simogo has gotten a spotlight at a handful of live-stream showcases since 2022, with trailers teasing its eerie tone and puzzling world. While we’ve known those details for a while, there’s still one burning question that remains: What the hell is it?

History would tell you that 2024 isn’t a year where you should expect a lot of new game consoles. We’re smack dab in the middle of a console generation and we’ve already seen the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series S get upgrades during it. A wave of brand new consoles is likely four years away if the precedent set by previous generations holds up.

If you’re looking for a new mobile game that’ll keep your hands busy and you have $7 to spare, Boxes: Lost Fragments is money well spent.

Harold Halibut Score Details Pros

In November, I reviewed the PlayStation Portal. I was mixed on Sony’s streaming handheld at the time, frustrated with a corner-cutting execution of a good idea. It seemed like a poor value compared to simply slapping a cheaper Backbone controller on a phone. As is often the case with tech reviews, though, I only had a short window to test it out where I was more focused on the more objective side of what the Portal does and doesn’t do. Would my feelings change when I was using it naturally?

When the first trailer for Amazon’s Fallout dropped, the internet was hit by a familiar wave of eye rolls. Every aspect of it was scrutinized, from its Power Suit design to its title card gags. Now, days after the entire series was released on Amazon Prime Video to rave reviews, those preemptive haters are eating irradiated crow.

I don’t envy anyone who sets out to make a roguelike. The genre presents a wide range of challenges that can make or break a game. How long should a run take? What’s the right amount of challenge? How do you keep people coming back for one more run? The answer to one of those questions could be the wrong solution for the others. It’s the most delicate of digital balancing acts that only a handful of studios have down to a science.

It was a romantic Saturday evening when I told my partner the seven words every girl wants to hear: “Are you ready to test the GameScent?”