Helldivers 2 just showed the highs and lows of live service in one chaotic weekend

After a 2023 packed with generation-defining games, it felt like 2024 might be more of a comedown. There weren’t a lot of big new releases scheduled to drop outside of a busy first few months, and heavy hitters like Grand Theft Auto 6 aren’t arriving until 2025. Traditional wisdom would have you thinking that gamers were in for a very slow year with few highlights.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes Score Details Pros

may not have been the silver bullet Microsoft hoped for. However, it’s still a way for subscribers to play several free games every month. The second half of May sees the arrival of twelve more games, including a major new release.

This summer, we’re living in a brave new world. E3 is officially dead — for real this time. That means there’s a vacuum to be filled as publishers still look to showcase their games during high-profile events. There’s both good news and bad news for anyone who looks forward to E3 season. The good news? Summer Game Fest is filling that gap, alongside several streams that’ll orbit around it. The bad news? Keeping track of it all is a huge pain.

After years of speculation and wild rumors, it’s official: Nintendo’s new console is on the horizon.

If you only tend to follow the biggest video game releases, it may seem like the Nintendo Switch is currently in a game drought. The system has only gotten a handful of niche releases last year, like Endless Ocean: Luminous, that haven’t been Zelda-level hits. Zoom out a bit, though, and you’ll find that Nintendo’s aging system is still thriving. That’s thanks to vibrant indie and third-party scenes that are keeping the platform engaging.

Whenever we recommend games at Digital Trends, we tend to go heavy on titles available on subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. Rather than telling our readers to buy new games, we always try to find ones that might be on services they’re already paying for. Still, that doesn’t cover every player. There are plenty of more casual gaming fans who aren’t subscribed to any service that offers extra games. We don’t want to leave them out, do we?

I recently moved into a new apartment, graduating from a boxy one-bedroom to a much larger two-bedroom railroad-style space. It’s been a great change for me, but it’s my cat who is thriving. She’s no longer a paperweight glued to my couch. She spends the days bouncing between rooms, jumping off of furniture, sneaking into cabinets, and peering out windows. Her entire world has tripled and she’s become a new creature because of it.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released the Polar Patriots Premium Warbond as planned after the boss of the studio polled fans on whether it should go ahead so soon after what he called “negative sentiment” over the game’s PlayStation Network account linking.

In the most unsurprising news possible, Hades 2 is excellent. Anyone familiar with the first game — which Digital Trends voted one of the best games of all time — should have seen that coming, but it’s almost shocking how great the sequel is in its early access state. One might have expected an incomplete foundation to be built on over time, but developer Supergiant Games has already delivered what feels like a fantastic and fully formed product.

After what felt like a much longer wait than it really was, Hades 2 is out now in early access. PC players can dive into the roguelike sequel right now and start their war against Chronos. Not everyone is rushing to buy their copy, though. Since its release, I’ve seen a common question across social media and my own personal circles: “Should I play it now or wait for 1.0?”

It’s always an exciting week when the sequel to one of the greatest games of all time surprise releases on a Monday. That’s what happened on May 6 when Hades 2 surprise launched into early access. Players are already diving into the surprisingly robust roguelike, testing their might in its new biomes. I’ve been enjoying it myself from the comfort of my couch — and not on my Nintendo Switch, where I played the first Hades. Instead, I’m curled up with my Steam Deck.