Tomas Franzese

Netflix unveiled the lineup of games it plans to bring to its game catalog over the course of May. The ones that stand out the most are Sega’s excellent Sonic Mania Plus and Askiisoft’s violently satisfying action game Katana Zero.

Redfall MSRP $70.00 Score Details Pros

Microsoft has just announced massive job cuts and studio closures for the Bethesda portion of its gaming business. They impact the teams that made excellent games like Hi-Fi Rush.

Nintendo has finally confirmed two important things that people were speculating about. First off, we learned that another Nintendo Direct showcase will be taking place this June. More importantly, Nintendo finally confirmed that it is working on a Nintendo Switch successor and said we’d learn more about it within this fiscal year.

Homeworld 3 launches next week, but there’s a game Homeworld fans who own a Meta Quest 2 or 3 should check out right now. Homeworld: Vast Reaches, which came to Meta’s VR headsets on May 2, is a prequel set between the events of the first two Homeworld games. This VR game offers up the core Homeworld experience in a novel niche of the video game medium.

One of my favorite copypastas on the internet comes from someone complaining about a player using mods to make a FromSoftware game easier. “You cheated not only the game, but yourself,” it reads. “You didn’t grow. You didn’t improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It’s sad that you don’t know the difference.”

Hades 2 — the highly anticipated sequel to a roguelike that Digital Trends considers to be one of the best games of all time — is out now.

Sony will no longer require PC players of Helldivers 2 to create a PlayStation Network account in order to access the game. This reversal followed a weekend of controversy that saw both Helldivers games getting review bombed on Steam.

For whatever reason, the internet seems to love mountain-climbing games. Some of the most viral games of the last several years on platforms like Twitch have been titles like Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and Only Up! — games where it’s difficult to climb up something and the punishment for failure is massive. If you’ve found yourself playing or watching content about those kinds of games, then you’ll want to check out one of the first notable games to come out this May: Surmount.

Helldivers 2, February’s surprise multiplayer hit from Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment, is now getting bombarded with negative reviews on Steam. That’s because the game will soon require all PC players to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account.

Another weekend is upon us, and you’re probably looking for some games to kill time with over the course of it. We’re in a bit of a lull right now ahead of a flurry of releases starting next week, so it’s a great time to dip back into the Xbox Game Pass catalog and check out some games that you may have missed. There are three games in particular that I think you should check out this weekend if you’re looking for something to play.

PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra have been around for almost two years, and during that time the subscription service has established itself as an ample competitor to Xbox Game Pass. That means there is a wealth of great games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners to check out if they’re looking for something to play this weekend. I think PS Plus subscribers should be looking toward some of the more underrated games in the subscription service this weekend too.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant, a first-person shooter meant to take on the likes of Call of Duty, will finally get a wide release and enter its Preseason on May 21.

Stellar Blade MSRP $70.00 Score Details Pros

A new month is upon us, so another batch of PlayStation Plus Essential’s monthly free titles is nearly upon us. On May 7, four games will be available for no additional cost to PS Plus Essential subscribers: EA Sports FC 24, Ghostrunner 2, Tunic, and Destiny 2: Lightfall.

The iOS App Store has a new No. 1 app, and it’s Delta — Game Emulator. Recently unbanned by Apple, the app allows players to emulate games from several different Nintendo systems, even though it isn’t officially backed by Nintendo.

A new Batman: Arkham was just announced, but it’s not what you’d expect. Titled Batman: Arkham Shadow, it’s a VR title made exclusively for the Meta Quest 3.

On paper, May 2024 may look like a weak month for games. The biggest release of the month is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, a big Xbox exclusive and follow-up to a 2018 horror action game about a woman suffering from psychosis. But if you enjoy experimental indies, this month may just bring your favorite game of 2024 when all is said and done. Developer Team Ninja is being backed up on the indie front, as INDIKA, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, and Crow Country are all delivering spooky experiences five months ahead of Halloween.

I grew up adoring Lego video games, but recent efforts from TT Games like The Skywalker Saga just haven’t gelled with me. That’s why Funko Fusion piqued my interest. It’s the first release from 10:10 Games, a studio founded by TT Games founder Jon Burton and former TT Games Head of Design Arthur Parsons, and is a video game about a popular set of toys themed around certain properties. I got an early look at Funko Fusion ahead of its September 13 release date announcement, and what I saw was equal parts weird and ambitious.

Ubisoft and Apple have confirmed that the iOS-native version of Assassin’s Creed Mirage will launch on June 6.

Microsoft has set the date for its Xbox Games Showcase this June. It’s also teasing a Direct that will immediately follow the showcase, but won’t say what that’s for just yet.

Microsoft unveiled the batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass throughout the first half of May. It’s a smaller group of only four games, but all of them are neat additions to Microsoft’s subscription service. Here’s the full roster of games coming to Xbox Game Pass between May 2 and May 14.

Samsung announced two new video games for its TVs at the IAB NewFronts 2024 event that won’t require a controller to be played.

There won’t be a new Jackbox Party Pack game this year; instead, we’ll be getting a mature-rated game titled Jackbox Naughty Pack.

Fallout has been the watercooler TV show this month, an impressive feat for a video game adaptation. Although Bethesda doesn’t have any new Fallout games to release alongside it, the Amazon Prime series has reinvigorated interest in Fallout, with all its titles seeing notable player count increases. For now, we’ll have to be content with a Fallout 4 current-gen upgrade, but I’ll admit that my mind is drifting to thinking about Fallout 5.

This has been a pretty busy week for new releases, with the likes of Another Crab’s Treasure, Stellar Blade, Sand Land, and more coming out. Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s video game subscription service, has also had quite a busy week. Three games in particular stand out as must-plays this weekend for those who want to delve a bit further into the service rather than spend money on a new game.

World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch maker Blizzard Entertainment confirmed that BlizzCon 2024 will not be happening.

The Tribeca Festival returns this June, and it will once again feature official games selections and even a game-focused panel. This year, the selections are all promising indie games, including a successor to 2021’s excellent Before Your Eyes. The show will also feature a talk on the making of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Supercell’s Squad Busters will launch globally on May 29. That’s notable because it’s the first game from the Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars developer to get a global release in over five years.

Sand Land MSRP $60.00 Score Details Pros

El Paso, Elsewhere, one of Digital Trends’ favorite indie games of 2023, now has a film adaptation in the works.

The first video game console I ever owned was an original Xbox that came bundled with two games: NCAA Football 2005 and Top Spin. My appreciation for both Madden and tennis games can be traced back to those being two of my first-ever console gaming experiences.

Embracer, the embattled gaming company that went through a massive restructuring over the past year, just announced that it will split up into three different companies: Asmodee, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.

Private Division revealed a new game set in the Middle-earth universe called Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game. The title, developed by Wētā Workshop Game Studio, is a cozy life simulator set within the world of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Something about postapocalyptic video games makes them perfect for adaptations. Fallout, The Last of Us, and Twisted Metal all have that kind of setting and have been some of the most well-liked video game adaptations ever. Maybe it’s because the apocalypse provides such a rich sandbox to play in, or maybe it’s because that kind of setting forces characters to make difficult choices, but it’s the kind of setting that makes for both good gaming and TV.

Warhorse Studios and Deep Silver finally announcedKingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a sequel to a popular 2018 RPG that gained notoriety for grounding itself in a realistic medieval world.

Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order confirmed that it will be offering refunds to people who purchased theBeach Properties DLC, adding more content to the Ultimate Edition version of the game, delaying the launch of Cities: Skylines 2’s console ports and its first expansion, and focusing on free updates and patches in the short term.

We learned that SteamWorld Heist would finally be getting a sequel during the April 2024 Indie World showcase.

We’ve learned about the titles that will come to Xbox Game Pass throughout the back half of April, and several of them are games getting added to the catalog the day they launch. Of those, the most notable is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

Nintendo will hold the first indie world presentation of 2024 tomorrow, April 17. The event will shine a spotlight on some of the most exciting independent games coming to the Nintendo Switch in the coming months. Past showcases have revealed highly anticipated indie games like Another Crab’s Treasure, as well as long-awaited ports for games like Outer Wilds.

In 2023, Strange Scaffold released El Paso, Elsewhere, a horror-tinged throwback to the likes of Max Payne that also told a deeply personal and unsettling story about a toxic relationship. Its next game, Life Eater, puts players in the shoes of a serial killer seeking out new targets to kill and sacrifice to a god he’s starting to question the existence of. This isn’t a Manhunt- or Hitman-style stalk-and-kill game; it offers a feeling of detachment by having players parse through timelines to learn everything they need to abduct and properly sacrifice a target.

Typically, playing city-based or civilization-building games is a relaxing experience for me. There’s an inherent satisfaction in something I created in Cities: Skylines 2 or Mini Motorways running efficiently based on my actions. I’m content with spending dozens of hours crafting a functioning world, and only occasionally having my skills tested in a high-intensity situation. Frostpunk 2 from 11 bit Studios is a city-builder where those feelings are often reversed. Most of my time playing its beta was extremely stressful, as I constantly had to make difficult decisions in order to preserve a society that established itself in a frosty postapocalypse.

An enhanced PlayStation 5, colloquially known as the PS5 Pro, is all but officially confirmed now, with a new report revealing that dev kits for the enhanced console are in the hands of developers and that Sony wants games for it ready by August.

The Fallout TV series just released on Amazon Prime, and it’s one of the best video game adaptations out there. It perfectly captures the tense, humorous feel of the postapocalyptic video game series while telling a new story with original characters. If you’ve just watched the show, you’re probably itching to play a Fallout title again or check out one of the games the series is based on for the first time. Thankfully, if you’re subscribed to one of the major video game subscription services, that’s very easy to do.

A TV show based on the Fallout series of video games debuted on Amazon Prime this week, and now Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76 are both getting new content themed around the show.

Bethesda has confirmed that the current-gen update for Fallout 4 will finally release on April 25.

Elgato is releasing several Fallout Edition-themed items in the wake of the release of the Fallout TV show on Amazon Prime.

The Prince of Persia series’ renaissance is continuing, and I couldn’t be happier.

Sony revealed the batch of video games that will come to PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra’s Game Catalog over the next month. The headliners are three new day-one additions to the service, including the already-confirmed Tales of Kenzera: Zau andDave the Diver as well as Animal Well.

MegaCrit Games announced Slay the Spire 2 during the Triple-i Initiative Showcase.

This April, several different indie studios have come together to hold a showcase of their own instead of relying on ones from companies like Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. Over the course of this 45-minute event, developers and publishers such as Darkest Dungeon 2’s Red Hook Studios, 33 Immortals’ Thunder Lotus, Dead Cells’ Evil Empire, and Hyper Light Breaker’s Heart Machine will showcase new trailers for their upcoming titles.

The video game demo is starting to come back into fashion.

We finally got another look at the Destiny 2: The Final Shape expansion today via a new gameplay preview from Bungie. We learned more about the new Prismatic subclasses and other features coming to the expansion.

EA Motive, the studio behind 2023’s excellent Dead Space remake, confirmed that the next Battlefield game is in development and that it will assist with its development. Unfortunately, work on that new game also means that seasonal updates for Battlefield 2042 will cease after the conclusion of Season 7: Turning Point.

Ubisoft Japan accidentally beat its global counterparts to the release date announcement punch, leaking the fact that Star Wars Outlaws will launch on August 30.

Black Salt Games and Story Kitchen announced their intention to make a movie based on the 2023 horror indie game hit Dredge.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a throwback to an era of single-player video games that I miss.

Following Embracer Group’s sale of Gearbox Entertainment, Gearbox Publishing has rebranded to Arc Games. The newly minted label will handle publishing for Hyper Light Breaker when it launches, as well as other Gearbox projects.

All of us have gaming opinions that go against the grain or zeitgeist around certain titles. Oftentimes, it’s because your personal opinion on a title is negative — I was like that with Sonic Frontiers — but it can go in a more positive direction. For me, a game I’m a very positive outlier on is Back 4 Blood, a Left 4 Dead successor developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by WB Games.

Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku’s next video game crossover was announced and released today, and it’s the perfect kind of collaboration for the character. If you buy a new $2 DLC, you can now play as Crypton Future’s popular virtual singer in the PC and PS4 versions ofCrypt of the NecroDancer.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition will be one of the next free games offered on the Epic Games Store, and that’s a can’t-miss freebie for fans of RPGs or sci-fi.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 intentionally gives players a hard time.

Both Dave the Diver and Tales of Kenzera: ZAU will launch for PlayStation 5 this month, and both will included in PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra’s Game Catalog from day one.

We’ve learned what games will come to Xbox Game Pass over the first half of this April, and leading the batch is Lego 2K Drive, a Lego racing game that’s a solid alternative to the Forza Horizon games that are also available on Microsoft’s subscription service.

While indie video games from smaller developers tend to get more attention on platforms like Steam or Nintendo Switch, that isn’t for a lack of trying on Xbox’s part. Since 2013, it has run the ID@Xbox program to help fund and highlight games from independent developers all around the world. While some Xbox fans feel uncertain about the platform’s future because of Microsoft’s multiplatform push, Microsoft reaffirmed its efforts to uplift indie game developers at this year’s Game Developers Conference by highlighting some of its upcoming ID@Xbox titles.

It’s April Fools’ Day yet again, so social media is rife with fake announcements and gags to celebrate. The video game industry also loves making these jokes, and while not all of them land well, one of the funniest this year comes from The Pokémon Company and Pokémon Sleep.

April 2024 will likely be one of the quieter months of the year in terms of new game releases, but it is also poised to be a very fulfilling one. Harold Halibut, a game over a decade in the making, will finally launch. Akira Toriyama’s underappreciated Sand Land will finally get a video game adaptation just over a month after its creator’s passing. RPG fans will be thriving with a new SaGa game and the long-awaited spiritual successor to Suikoden. It’s also quite a heavy re-release month, with remasters of Gigantic and Braid and multiplatform ports of two Xbox Game Studios titles also coming out.

It’s only March and 2024 is already full of bold, big-budget games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. But one of my favorite games of 2024 isn’t available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or even Nintendo Switch. It’s Mars After Midnight, a game from Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn developer Lucas Pope. The only place you can play it? On the Playdate, Panic’s quirky little 1-bit handheld with a crank.

Embracer Group finally confirmed that it is selling Borderlands studio Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, but there’s a catch: Embracer Group will retain ownership of Gearbox Publishing.

Sega Europe is going through some major restructuring, and as a result, it is laying off about 240 developers and letting Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment spin off as an independent company.

Sony outlined all the new offerings PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can expect in April; surprisingly, Microsoft is the company behind two of this month’s four offerings, Minecraft Legends, and the Overwatch 2 Mega Bundle.

The “hero shooter” is a popular competitive multiplayer game subgenre where players control characters with powerful preset abilities rather than a customizable loadout. Although “hero” is right there in the subgenre name, and Overwatch proved how well superheroes could work with the concept, we haven’t gotten a true attempt at this style of game from Marvel or DC.

Stunlock Studios and Konami have revealed that the survival crafting game V Rising will feature Castlevania crossover content when it leaves early access this May.

Capcom revealed what the first updates for Dragon’s Dogma 2 will fix and change following the RPG’s first weekend on the market.

Shift Up and Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed that a free demo for its upcoming sci-fi action game Stellar Blade will launch this Friday, March 29.

Riot Games has revealed Clove, the next agent that will come to Valorant as part of Episode 8, Act II. This character brings some pretty awesome “post-death” abilities that give players a way to fight back after getting killed, continuing the trend of Riot adding game-changing new agents to Valorant.

As we reach the middle of this current console generation, people are wondering when improved “Pro” versions of consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will arrive. PS5 fans had their curiosity rewarded this week when Moore’s Law is Dead and Insider Gaming leaked the specs of what has become colloquially known as the PS5 Pro and is reportedly referred to as “Trinity” internally at Sony.

Baldur’s Gate 3 game director Swen Vincke shocked fans of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG when he revealed that the critically acclaimed game would not get any expansions and that Larian Studios would not go right into making Baldur’s Gate 4. Considering how much of a runaway success Baldur’s Gate 3 has been, it seemed like that would be the most logical continuation of things. Larian isn’t the only studio to leave behind a wildly successful game either; Nintendo has confirmed The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also won’t get any expansions.

Overwatch 2 finally got some of its long-awaited PvE content last August, but it doesn’t look like more is on the way, according to some new reports.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched today, and while it had a warm critical reception, players are having a lot of problems with its PC port in particular. Currently, it has an overwhelmingly negative user score on Steam, with over 13,000 reviews as of the writing. Capcom has addressed common criticism of the game in the hopes of quelling the frustration of PC players.