S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – Anomalies, Guns and Enemies Showcased in New Trailer

It’s a somewhat slow week in streaming TV; sure, as ever you’ve got a million shows that you could catch up on, current or otherwise. But as far as actual new premieres go, it’s a relatively quiet week.

NVIDIA announced this week's wave of game additions to the GeForce NOW library. There are some brand new releases, like Chants of Sennaar, SYNCED, and Void Crew, as well older games that are now supported on the cloud streaming service.

I never spent much time with Contra growing up, so I thought of it as a game about one-to-two burly gunmen doing elaborate somersault routines as they run sideways and shoot the kinds of faceless bad guys that other Rambo types tend to shoot at. Maybe the difficulty was a little too impenetrable—the Konami code exists for a reason, after all. Point is: I was surprised to learn that it turns into a body horror nightmare where our beefcake heroes end up in a labyrinth of mutated, alien flesh. Where Contra burns a little more slowly on the flesh terror, upcoming spiritual successor Iron Meat isn't wasting any time. It's flesh all the way down. Iron Meat takes place in an apocalyptic future where mad scientists on the moon have unleashed an «iron-ravenous mass» called «The Meat» that's devouring everything it touches. Or mutates everything it touches? I'm not sure where the line is between the two. Whatever The Meat is doing, it's grody. In just one trailer, you can see that The Meat's made flesh guys with sword arms, fleshy trains with gaping maws, fleshy attack choppers with dangling eye stalks, and more.

Have you ever wanted to play as Mario, but also be an Elephant? If so, your time has finally come. Super Mario Wonder drops on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th. If you count the Mario Maker games more as sandbox experiences, this will be the first side-scrolling adventure for everyone’s favorite plumber since Super Mario 3D World on the Wii-U. Of course, it did breathe new life when it was ported to the Switch in 2021.  A Nintendo Direct this morning gave us some new information about Super Mario Wonder .

The long-awaited “Skyrim in space,” Starfield, is out today after many years in development over at Bethesda. It’s ambitious and lavishly produced, but despite its size it lacks the sense of wonder and vastness that its pastoral predecessor epitomized.

New details are available for Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder courtesy of a recent Direct, showcasing the setting and various mechanics. Set in the Flower Kingdom, the story sees Bowser touching the Wonder Flower and merging with Prince Florian’s castle, spreading chaos with his new powers.

New World: Rise of the Angry Earth has officially been unveiled, with the expansion coming on October 3rd, 2023. The expansion was announced back in February, and the MMO has been laying the groundwork in recent updates, with Amazon Games cutting off one of the first regions of Aeternum, First Light. Picking up the narrative, Adiana has effectively erected a Bramble Wall, barring entry into the region. Rise of the Angry Earth finally showcases what has been happening behind that wall all this time: Artemis has transformed First Light into a new region called Elysian Wilds.

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai was announced last year and the launch date is growing ever closer. Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai debuted as a manga back in 1991 and has more recently been adapted into an anime. Players of the mobile game Dragon Quest Tact are likely familiar with Dai thanks to a couple crossover events that occurred over the last couple years. Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventures of Dai is an action RPG based on the manga and anime. In this upcoming game players will be able to reenact events from The Adventures of Dai. Those who have been curious about the different game modes and what this title will look like in action will have their curiosity at least partially satisfied by the action packed trailer before.

Tower of Fantasy is preparing for its next update, version 3.2, The Dragon Grove. The update is coming September 5th, and there’s a new trailer and new details for what’s on the way.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been officially delayed to Q1 2024.

GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is playable at Xbox’s booth on the Gamescom 2023 show floor. However, while the developer said it wouldn’t delay the title to next year – with Plaion listing it for release on December 1st in its online store – a new fact sheet claims the opposite.

Phantom Ghost's Helskate has a cool name. As a "skateboarding action roguelite", it has a cool premise. And, with a loose billing of Hades meets Tony Hawk Pro Skater, it has an incredibly cool elevator pitch. Further to its reveal trailer at Day of the Devs during this year's Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, Helskate has now dropped a new gameplay footage short at the Future Game Show. And it's a belter.