Darkest Dungeon 2 has spent the last year plus change building out its Kingdoms mode. This transforms the party-based roguelike into a more open-ended strategy experience, folding in several features from the original game in the process. It’s gone down relatively well with players, helping to bridge the divides in opinion over some controversial design decisions Red Hook made for the sequel.
Now, the developers have released a new update for Darkest Dungeon 2, which primarily adds a new module (campaign) to the Kingdoms mode. Curse of the Court sees your Kingdom infested by vampiric bug-people with a taste for haemoglobin, Regency-era attire, and giving the people they feed on a horrible curse. The module challenges you to find a cure for the curse and oust the bloodsuckers from your lands before they drain your Kingdom dry (and exhaust your supply of powdered wigs).
Alongside the new module, the update adds three new Kingdom maps that’ll define the shape of your adventure (playable across all 3 modules) while also introducing new music, new achievements, and balance tweaks to conditions like Punish and Acid Rain. The patch also squashes a technical bug for every anthropomorphic one it adds, with fixes for issues relating to ultrawide resolutions, gamepad controls, and the in-game token glossary.
Darkest Dungeon II – Kingdoms: Curse of the Court Trailer – YouTube
To coincide with the update, Red Hook is letting players try out the grim and grisly world of Darkest Dungeon 2 for free this weekend. The sequel is playable for free right now through to September 1 at 10:00 Pacific (18:00 BST). Moreover, if you find battling giant, bloodthirsty bugs to your liking, Darkest Dungeon 2 is also currently 63% off, available at $14.79 (£11.28) for the next fortnight.
Personally, I’ve always found Darkest Dungeon too punishing for my tastes. But Sean Martin enjoyed Red Hook’s dark fantasy follow-up in his Darkest Dungeon 2 review. While he admitted it was “hard game to love at times” he stressed that there’s “a lot of fun to be had in exploring each region, fighting battles tooth and nail, and enjoying the nightmarish scenery and mood”. And this was before the Kingdoms update sprinkled in a little more of the first game’s DNA, so whether or not you’ve played the game before, now might be the time to jump in.
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The announcement that Hollow Knight: Silksong would release on September 4 was such a surprise that even the most tuned-in Hollow Knight fans were in shock at the news. And now, just days before Silksong releases, Hollow Knight is seeing a renaissance with gamers, passing its Steam concurrents records over and over again, hitting a new peak of 56,192 players on August 29, according to SteamDB.
For years, Hollow Knight’s biggest day was in May of 2022 when the game had over 20,000 concurrent players. Since the announcement of Silksong’s impending release date, though, each consecutive day has seen that concurrent peak rising, having hit 21,000 on August 22, just a day after the announcement, and hit 56,192 today. For a seven-year-old indie game, this is pretty big.
Of course, it’s important to note that SteamDB is not the be-all-end-all of game stats. Steam is a dominant platform for sure, but Hollow Knight is available on all last and current-generation consoles, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, with Switch being a particularly popular platform for the game. Even so, it’s indicative that the legend of Hollow Knight continues to grow.
We got a sneak peek last week, and signs are looking good. “Hollow Knight: Silksong appears to be exactly what we all should have expected: a strong, well-designed, visually lovely game that carries forward the aesthetic and design philosophies of the original with thoughtful, if not earth-shattering, updates,” GameSpot’s Steve Watts wrote after going hands-on with Silksong at Gamescom.
Slay or Fall is a text-based roguelike with management elements, in which you must overcome an impending foe within a set number of events. Playing as the Dark Lord, you are set to take control of an enormous Dungeon while brave heroes are coming to take your life! Use magic, scheme, and issue orders to your subordinates — just make sure to defeat the heroes before the final clash! The multifaceted text events contain numerous branches, with every choice you make having consequences that affect both the heroes and the player! Between events, you’ll need to engage in combat skirmishes and tackle political issues, where the player’s decisions also carry weight! DAVY x JONES
Under your dominion reside four factions: Goblins, Cultists, Lizards, and Ratfolks. Not all of them are pleased with your rule… Goblins – greedy and dishonorable creatures. Their sheer numbers and insatiable lust for profit fill your treasury with jingling coins. Cultists – your endlessly loyal subjects. Dark mages willing to stake their lives for your victory! As a result, they are few in number… Lizards – warriors of honor and brute force. They hold little affection for magic, dedicating themselves to logistics within the Dungeon.
Features and System Requirements:
Craft different strategies—corrupt, sabotage, fight directly, or manipulate minds—to stymie your adversaries.
With varied hero presets, randomized events, and divergent narrative branches, each run promises a unique experience.
Built with Godot Engine, the game employs moody pixel visuals that accentuate its dark fantasy vibe—drawing players deeper into its dungeon-lord role.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10/Windows 11
Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD equivalent or above
Memory: 4 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
BETRAYED, ROBBED, and BEHEADED, legendary pirate DAVY JONES sinks to The Locker — the seafarers’ afterlife. But death is merely the beginning of his epic tale of revenge. Control the captain’s headless body — Jones — and forge an unlikely alliance with his stubborn skull — Davy — as you reclaim your stolen artifacts and face your eternal nemesis: Blackbeard. Play as the infamous Davy Jones, split in two: his skull cracks wise and guides the way, while you command his powerful, headless body in a bizarre, unforgettable alliance. Journey through The Locker, a surreal pirate hell shattered into nine islands floating on an infinite sea of clouds. Face twisted fiends, cursed souls and legendary behemoths like the Kraken — guardians of the underworld’s darkest secrets. Mortal Sin
Push through everything that stands in your way. Master fast-paced first-person combat with sword, gun and your own talking skull — and carve your path back into legend. Every fallen enemy drops volatile underworld essence. When essences converge, they merge into a treasure chest containing powerful loot — but each chest also unleashes an unpredictable fiend. Will you take the risk… or flee before the storm? Meet Abby: a young behemoth, hybrid of ship and whale who joins your epic journey. She’s your base, your artillery, and your ally. Recruit legendary Officers to crew her and unleash devastating abilities like CANNONS in combat.
Features and System Requirements:
Engage in fluid and dynamic combat using swords, guns, and even a formidable grappling hook, all from a first-person perspective.
Recruit legendary officers to man her deck and unleash devastating cannon volleys in wild battle scenes.
When multiple essences collide, they fuse into a treasure chest with potent loot—but at a cost: each chest can spawn a dangerous fiend. A high-stakes gamble response to rich rewards.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 version 21H1
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i5-6600K
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 15 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Mortal Sin is built around fast, visceral melee combat where every strike matters. Chain slashes, bashes, and kicks into devastating finishers as limbs fly and blood paints the walls. Combat thrives on momentum: move fast, hit hard, and never give your enemies a chance to breathe. Descend into a surreal, ever-shifting nightmare. Procedurally generated levels, randomized quests, and hundreds of hand-crafted rooms make every run feel fresh. Unlock a growing roster of distinct classes, from the greatsword-wielding Berserker to the gun-toting Pirate, each with their own playstyle and wild synergies. Dive into a bold, graphic novel-inspired world that’s as stylish as it is deadly. Prefer a different look? Mortal Sin now features multiple visual modes and color palettes. Your nightmare, your way. The Knightling
However, it has been improved ever since from the player’s feedback, which by the way are carefully listened and applied to the game, such as an Easy Mode – an incredible feature, since you can now practice your classes and combos and not die every time – and new classes and weapons, which is an amazing addition overall. This game is a lot of fun and can be enjoyed at several different paces depending on how frantic you are feeling. The melee combat is unique and fluid, and the dismemberment is satisfying and strategic. The art style is… bold, as can be seen I happen to enjoy it, but even if you are not sure about it the game features several ways to tinker with and customize the visuals from filters, color palettes, and more. Very cool.
Features and System Requirements:
Brutal, skill-based melee with flashy, satisfying combos.
Beautiful comic-book visuals, now fully customizable.
Dozens of unique enemies that react to your every move.
Over a dozen playable classes, each with their own weapons and abilities.
A huge arsenal: greatswords, spears, guns, claws, and magic.
Hundreds of handcrafted rooms across procedurally generated maps.
Secret platforming zones with rare loot and hidden horrors.
Randomly generated quests with powerful rewards.
Multiple color palettes to match your vibe and mood.
Infinite runs and future updates to keep the chaos going.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
OS: Microsoft Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 3 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
The highlight of this week’s produce at RPS was very definitely this excellent and important feature from Edwin and Nic. Go read it if you haven’t already; then you’re allowed to let us all know what your gaming plans are over the next couple days.
UK gamers, I’ve failed you. In the hours between me spotting that this 32-inch Samsung Odyssey monitor was reduced by £300, Amazon has put the price up by £100.
This Samsung monitor is discounted, but we reckon you can save more soon
At the time of writing, this QD-OLED display, with a 4K resolution, is down to £699, a drop of 22% (or £200), but it was £599 just a few hours ago.
It’s still a fantastic monitor, with a sleek design and that all-important 240Hz refresh rate for buttery smooth gameplay across just about anything, as well as AMD FreeSync Premium Pro built in.
With the price fluctuation in mind, however, I reckon there’s a solid chance this model gets cheaper come Black Friday silly season. If you snap it up now, you’ll undoubtedly be pleased with what you’re getting, but it seems likely there will be another chance to save a further £100.
Still, I wanted to highlight that, while you may have missed out on a further discount, this is a great display. The design is nice, with some subtle RGB lighting on the back, and a nice flat base to the stand rather than some of the chunkier options you find elsewhere.
In the world of Kaiju No. 8, titanic, otherworldly beasts are a constant threat in Japan: to the extent that not only is there a military organisation – the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force (JAKDF) – set up to deal with them, but there are also regimented clean-up crews whose jobs are to come in and cut up then cart away the often skyscraper-sized foes once they’ve been felled.
Lead character Kafka Hibino dreams of being a JAKDF officer, but at the start of the series is working in clean-up, and hoping that when there’s work to be done he doesn’t get assigned the intestines… for obvious reasons. It’s not long, however, before he’s – season one spoiler alert here – both a member of the JAKDF and dealing with the fact that he’s somehow been gifted/cursed with the powers of a kaiju himself, designated by the powers that be as Kaiju No. 8.
Stylish action, goofy humour and bad-ass characters all come together to make what follows a whole heap of fun, and frankly, excellent fodder for a video game. Why so? Well, in terms of action, the series focuses around squad-based combat against bizarre and menacing enemies both large and small, with battles decided by exposing each creature’s core (i.e. weak point) and finishing it off. Pair that with highly individual characters, who have a range of expertise in different weapons and fighting styles, and you’ve got a video game waiting to happen.
Enter Akatsuki Games, and Kaiju No. 8 The Game. This free-to-play turn-based RPG on mobile (with PC to follow) very much fits the mold for modern Japanese live service mobile games, with gacha rolls for characters and weapons, and numerous different currencies and crafting materials that allow you to level up characters, moves, weapons and more. This is a game with daily check in rewards, time-limited events and grinding for materials so you can enhance your characters and take on the next challenge.
Whether that’s your kind of thing is up to you, but there’s no doubt that the team has put a lot of effort into this title. Akatsuki Games has been working on Kaiju No. 8 The Game for more than two years – since well before the anime started airing – with a team size of around 200 people.
The result is a game with excellent presentation, thanks to well-realised 3D character models, a good sense of scale, and super slick combat animations. The core gameplay loop is compelling too, putting you in control of a four person squad in turn-based battles that move quickly and have plenty of room for strategic depth.
Kaiju No. 8 The Game also has an impressive amount of content out of the gate. Not only does it have an original story to play through (set during the second season of the anime, which is airing now), complete with an impressive amount of voice acting (in Japanese), but it has other modes that highlight iconic moments from the manga/anime’s story, tell side stories for the main characters, and so on. It even has a side-scrolling combat mini-game.
Kaiju No. 8’s side-scrolling combat mini-game.
Let’s dig into some of the specifics.
What’s the Story?
In Kaiju No. 8 The Game, Dimensional Gates are opening up in the sky and a stream of kaiju threats are swarming out. Is this a job for the JAKDF? Yes, but with a little help from CLOZER (that’s the rather awkward “Closing Order With Zero Restrictions”, in case you’re curious), a special organisation tasked with sealing said gates. The plot twist, however, is that the captain of CLOZER is Sagan Shinomiya – one of a handful of brand new characters – and fan fave Kikoru Shinomiya’s sister.
The set-up allows for a never-ending stream of gameplay as you fight through the kaiju from a particular gate, culminating in a boss battle and closing the gate, then moving on to another. It’s a fun premise, however, as the gates themselves connect to a different dimension, meaning that iconic kaiju that have already been neutralised in Kaiju No. 8’s world can still appear, allowing the game to dive into battles only referenced in the manga/anime. My hands-on, for instance, culminated in a fight with an alternate version of the legendary Kaiju No. 2.
Kaiju No. 2.
Another important point is that while the manga/anime is set entirely in Japan, these gates are opening up globally, so the game can roam all over the place. You can imagine how a live service title might take advantage of travelling to different parts of the world.
In addition to Sagan, and a couple of other entirely new characters, Kaiju No. 8 The Game is packing all the series mainstays you’d expect, from the captain of the Third Division Mina Ashiro (and her tiger Bakko) and her vice captain Soshiro Hoshina, through to the captain of the First Division (and otaku slacker) Gen Narumi and Kafka’s partner Reno Ichikawa. Each, as you would expect, has a signature weapon and fighting style, from Hoshina’s twin swords through to Sagan’s shield, which she uses like a blunt weapon.
Kafka’s Ultimate sees him transform into Kaiju No. 8… giving him a completely different set of moves.
Kafka is perhaps the most interesting, as he is essentially two characters in one. All the other fighters unleash a flashy attack when their Ultimate is triggered in battle, but Kafka’s Ultimate sees him transform into Kaiju No. 8 for the rest of the encounter, giving him a completely different set of moves.
Kaiju No. 8 The Game Screenshots
Squad Up!
The battle system lets you choose a squad of four before each mission, and the order in which you place them creates two pairs of “battle buddies”, dictating who executes follow-up attacks when you expose a kaiju’s core. (More on that in a sec.)
Combat is turn-based, with the upcoming move order shown at the bottom of the screen. As you’d expect, characters have a wide array of options from single and multi-target strikes through to buffs and debuffs, but there are a couple of key systems that open up strategy. The first is that your party has a shared SP pool (mana, essentially). A normal attack restores a pip, while using a combat skill depletes one. This approach means you need to be tactical in how you manage your resources in order to use your characters’ most powerful techniques.
On top of this is the system for exposing an enemy’s core – a pivotal part of combat in the manga/anime that’s been brought across to the game. Enemies have discreet shields (called plates) that reduce the amount of damage they’ll take, so the main priority in any combat encounter is working out the most efficient way to break them. Some plates can be broken with any attack, others require specific types of attacks. You might need to use an elemental attack, or even more specifically, an attack utilising one of the five elements in the game (fire, ice, wind, lightning and water). Obviously different characters have different types of attacks, so ensuring your squad has the affinities necessary for the combat encounter you’re going into is key.
Breaking enemy plates is vital because once you destroy them all, the kaiju in question’s core is exposed, triggering an automatic follow-up attack from the attacking character’s partner and forcing the foe to skip a turn, bumping it back down the turn order sequence at the bottom of screen. It’s pretty satisfying knocking a kaiju back just as it’s about to attack, or better yet, preventing it from unleashing its Ultimate.
Speaking of Ultimates, each character has a gauge that fills as they fight (with follow-up attacks boosting it significantly), and these are – as you’d expect – some of the flashiest and strongest attacks in the game. Ultimates are great for finishing off kaiju with their core exposed, and can be triggered at any time, overriding the upcoming attack order. One thing to bear in mind is that missions are made up of several combat encounters, one after the other (with fast-paced ninja running in between, as the squad sprint to the next battle), and your SP pool and Ultimate charges carry over from battle to battle so, if the final encounter is significantly harder, you can prep for it.
Missions are made up of several combat encounters.
Combat overall is fast and slick, letting each character show off their individual styles while also working as a team. You’re generally fighting smaller kaiju that attack in groups, but the game does also pit you against the kinds of towering monsters the manga/anime is known for, with the camera set low to really help sell the scale of the encounters.
Enhancing and Ascending
There’s a good strategic foundation to Kaiju No. 8 The Game’s combat, but as with most RPGs, your characters need to be constantly leveling to keep up with the opposition you’ll face next. There are a somewhat overwhelming number of systems in place to allow your characters to grow more powerful, and they’re pretty much all centered around material drops.
Just to quickly give you an idea, you use Defense Force Manuals (of which there are several rarities), along with credits, to “enhance” (i.e. level up) your characters. These all drop from playing the game and are essentially spendable XP. Initially your characters max out at level 20, but the level caps can be expanded, boosting the character in question and also increasing the challenge level of story missions and opening up higher difficulty training options. (Training, incidentally, is how you get the materials to enhance individual skills, but is subject to a stamina system.)
Kaiju No. 8 The Game Gameplay
Characters can also “Ascend”. This requires you to have a double of the character and other resources, and gives you a bonus perk. On top of all this you can enhance your characters’ weapons and individual skills. There’s a lot to keep track of, and it feels like you’ll need to have a decent pool of competitive characters in order to swap your squad around if you need specific plate-breaking abilities, which means engaging with a tonne of different collectables.
New weapons and characters are acquired through the game’s gacha rolls, and utilise a star system for rarity. For the most part you’ll be getting three star weapons, and it remains to be seen how many rolls free-to-play players will be able to generate, as well as how fairly priced the gacha system will be for paying players. One thing is certain, though – the pool of characters and weapons is pretty large, and the rarest drops infrequent, so if you’re hunting for something specific, it may be a long process.
Despite the many trappings of free-to-play mobile game design, Kaiju No. 8 The Game’s moment to moment gameplay has a lot going for it, with clever core battle mechanics, slick animations and impressive visuals. And with its strong emphasis on story, and clear reverence for the source material, this adaptation will definitely be worth a look for fans of the series. Kaiju No. 8 The Game is out on August 31.
Cam Shea visited Akatsuki Games in Tokyo as a guest. He’s a former IGN staffer, now freelance writer and beer geek.
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Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man … and a few of his “friends”
Today, during a panel at PAX West, Wizards of the Coast and Marvel revealed multiple cards from the upcoming Magic: The Gathering – Marvel’s Spider-Man expansion.
The panel focused mostly on Spider-Man’s biggest rivals, with Mysterio, Sandman, and Venom all appearing throughout the hour-long panel. Cards featuring the Spider-Man himself were also revealed, including a Spectacular Spider-Man card with seven different versions highlighting seven different suits from Spidey history.
A special bonus sheet was also announced during the panel, which will feature previously printed cards from Magic’s history adorned with artwork from Spider-Man’s illustrious comic book history. Multiple cards from the sheet were revealed, with more set to be shown in the coming weeks.
Magic: The Gathering – Marvel’s Spider-Man launches in local game stores and big-box retailers on September 26. Prerelease events will kick off September 19-21 in local game stores.
If you’re a tech hobbyist who’s been dreaming of owning a unique robot vacuum, it’s your time. Not only is this a massive $1,000 off, but it’s also a rare opportunity to purchase it since the device was recently released a few months ago and generated a huge buzz at CES this year. Getting your hands on this vacuum for that kind of money is a major win.
Best Robot Vacuum?
The most unique aspects of the Roborock Saros Z70 is its OmniGrip mechanical arm: It’s no standard cleaning arm, and Roborock designed it to perform on different types of floors and move into those tricky corners and edges where dust settles. It cleans with precision and leaves no spot behind. Coupled with its very thin profile—less than 8 centimeters thick—the vacuum smoothly moves under sofas, beds, and other low-clearance furniture. That low profile also means you won’t need to move heavy furniture just to clean your space, which is a huge plus for anyone who hates extra work.
The StarSight Autonomous System navigation system on the vacuum works with a combination of cameras and sensors to map your space with great accuracy. This tells the Saros Z70 exactly where it’s already been and where it still needs to vacuum, and avoids obstacles like furniture legs and walls. It even has a double anti-tangle system that keeps it from getting caught on cables or rugs, something far too common in other robot vacuums.
Perhaps the strongest spec is the suction power: At 22,000 Pa HyperForce, the vacuum draws in dirt, dust, and debris with virtually unbeatable power. Most vacs for consumers, for instance, hover between 5,000 to 12,000 Pa, so this is a whole different story. It performs beautifully on carpets and picks up pet hair and crumbs, and it’s gentle enough not to damage wooden or tile floors. The Saros Z70 further features the AdaptiLift chassis complemented by FlexiArm riser technology: These enable it to adjust its height and grip to offer a clean one even on an uneven surface without hurting sensitive flooring.
Roborock also packed in the Multi-functional Dock 4.0 to ensure that maintenance is easy: The smart dock charges the device not just that, but also vacuums the dustbin and refills the water tank for mopping, and removes from you the time consumed by maintenance. It’s the optimal combination of convenience and efficiency that has your vacuum at your command whenever you are ready to get to work. It means roughly seven weeks of handsfree cleaning.
The Roborock Saros Z70 is a real game-changer for home cleaning, and with the price cut (from $2,599 to $1,599), it’s a deal that’s tough to beat.
In a 2017 interview about the making of Hollow Knight’s map, designer William Pellen told me that Team Cherry “shied away completely” from describing the game as a metroidvania. Artist Ari Gibson added that they didn’t want to “let a genre dictate” the decisions they made about Hollow Knight’s design while they were making it.
And yet judging by its place on Steam, Hollow Knight is not just a metroidvania, a specific subgenre of adventure game defined by nonlinear exploration and gaining new abilities that gradually grant access to more and more of the game world. It is now the Metroidvania.
Sorting the user-applied Metroidvania tag by rating on SteamDB, Hollow Knight is on top at 96.08% positive, just a hair above Dead Cells. By followers it’s also #1, with its upcoming sequel Silksong close behind at #2. You have to scroll down to 12th place to find Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night by its director. (Actual Castlevania games are even lower down the list).
By peak players? First place again thanks to a recent surge, beating out EA’s triple-A Star Was Jedi: Fallen Order.
At 15 million copies sold, Hollow Knight is not far behind the lifetime sales of the entire Castlevania or Metroid series, which both started in the mid 1980s. While the 150-odd games tagged Metroidvania on Steam that predate Hollow Knight show the genre was already starting to blow up in the mid-2010s, the more than 1,350 that have been released since make it a pretty clear inflection point. Like Stardew Valley, Hollow Knight is the rare successor to eclipse its inspiration so totally it became the new de facto template to follow.
Post-Hollow Knight
(Image credit: 505 Games)
It’s certainly changed my own tastes. After playing Hollow Knight, I didn’t spend much time with Bloodstained before bailing on its garish art and clunky platforming. When I dug out an old cartridge for the Game Boy Advance’s Metroid: Zero Mission, I had fun, but its comparatively tiny world (and combat that mostly let me stand still and spam missiles) felt downright quaint in comparison.
There are plenty of others I’ve enjoyed: Death’s Door, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth—but in the same way Baldur’s Gate 3 really did raise the bar for other RPGs, Hollow Knight landed such a bullseye nothing I’ve played since has sent me head over heels.
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In just the last couple weeks I’ve been playing Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, an absolutely beautiful platformer from the makers of Streets of Rage 4. There are bits of Shinobi that are really impressive: the pencil sketch flair of screen-clearing ninjutsu ultimate techniques that evoke ’80s anime, the way it layers in a repertoire of spin attacks, divekicks, launchers, and finishing moves with just two attack buttons and smart timing. Shinobi looked at every game in history that uses momentary freeze-frames to sell the impact of an attack, and called them cowards—there’s more hitstop in this game than in an Old Testament smiting. God wishes he could swing a katana as dramatically as Joe Musashi.
If combat were the sole focus of Shinobi I’d be raving about it nonstop, but instead I’m with my GamesRadar+ colleague Dustin Bailey, who criticized its “blind jumps over gaping abysses” and “hitboxes around instant-death obstacles that are often inconsistent.”
If you’ve played even a few Metroidvanias, you probably have some old wounds from the one where the spikes on top of a platform would prick you as you tried to shimmy up a wall that sure looked like it was safe. Or from the enemies placed to knock you off ledges mid-platforming challenge, which would leave you with enough health to keep going if the game didn’t insist on respawning you at the very beginning of the sequence. Or from a flashy chase sequence that has you dodging through an obstacle course with flames licking at your heels… that’s a lot less flashy the fifth time you do it because you double-jumped at the wrong time.
Shinobi’s guilty of all of the above, and it also awkwardly tries to fit the best bits of a Metroidvania—backtracking once a ground pound or wall-climb ability lets you explore previously inaccessible paths—into linear stages. I appreciate the attempt to make revisiting each level engaging, but after a while it becomes clear that you should either wait until near the end of the game when you have all the traversal powers unlocked, or come to terms with each return visit granting you access to a too-brief excursion with a chest waiting at the end. Warping to the nearest checkpoint and doing a three minute platforming bit for each reward ends up feeling perfunctory rather than adding new wrinkles to an interconnected world.
By the time I got to my third spike maze in Shinobi I started to wonder if I’m just bored of 2D platformers altogether. But I think it’s more that the proliferation of Metroidvanias has made me much pickier about context.
And on to Silksong
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
Hollow Knight has spike mazes and wall jumps and moving platforms you have to hop between just like every other platformer; Team Cherry did not invent some galaxy brain new way to do jumping better than everyone else. But man did they make bouncing across spikes on the tip of your weapon feel exhilarating.
And dang, the atmosphere of that forlorn kingdom, the subtle changes to the environment as one zone bleeds into the next.
And what a thrill it was to get lost in each new area, trying to grasp how each room fit together, until I could find wandering mapmaker Cornifer and finally see my surroundings mapped out. Hollow Knight just gets it all right, and for dozens of hours.
That’s a high bar for any game to live up to. Even Silksong. In the years since playing Hollow Knight and many of the games inspired by its success, I haven’t found another so utterly absorbing. With Hollow Knight’s popularity Team Cherry unintentionally set a two-pronged trap for every game that followed it.
(Image credit: Red Candle Games)
Make a good enough Hollow Knight clone, some thought, and you might see a fraction of its riches. But even the games that land great combat or great platforming are often missing the defter touches that made Hollow Knight so memorable, from its map system to the friend you can sit beside on a bench for a moment of quiet reflection. Out of that monster list of followers, I think the list of true standouts is surprisingly short:
Rain World for compressing a complex, nuanced survival sim into the shape of a 2D platformer
Animal Well for its focus on inventive puzzles within puzzles
Nine Sols for truly nailing meat and potatoes metroidvania design—and the parry
Other games have been lured in by the genre seemingly being more popular than ever—so popular that surely players who like them will be happy for even a taste of that nonlinear exploration. But post-Hollow Knight it’s hard for games like Shinobi to apply a light dusting of metroidvania ideas without looking a bit meager in comparison. While not as dire, it reminds me of the RPG-lite blight afflicting so many triple-A games with loot systems they’d be stronger—or at least more distinct—without.
If Silksong does actually manage to meet the higher expectations Hollow Knight brought about, I think it’ll paradoxically be because of how much Team Cherry focuses on feel over genre, as Ari Gibson told me back in 2017: “Do you make a conscious decision that you’re making something that is a metroidvania, and build off the conventions of that? I don’t think we ever did anything like that. We just said we’re going to make an adventure in this big world, and let’s build an interesting world with lots of things to discover and see, and hopefully keep people engaged throughout.”
In many ways, Visual Concepts’ long-running NBA 2K series mirrors the careers of players it works so hard to emulate. Sometimes, it’s a flash of potential: a hotshot rookie catching fire after putting up duds in consecutive games. Others, it’s more comparable to a wily veteran nearing retirement – we see a glimpse of talent, that peek into what it could still be. That’s what keeps me, for better or worse, hoping for the best as I start playing NBA 2K26. It’s both flashy and old school, like a “how do you do, fellow kids” teacher who wears different Jordans to class every day, it has enough cool new kicks, fits, and gimmicks to make it a much more interesting and enjoyable experience than last year’s entry, even after spending only a dozen hours with it so far.
Of course, “cool” probably isn’t the right word to describe that teacher, let alone NBA 2K26. After all, an annual sports game is obviously not going to be a radically new game, since most of its gameplay and mechanics are fundamentally similar to last year’s iteration, and the one before that, and so on. But in the context of the genre it’s made a good first impression, because several minor improvements cumulatively make such a huge difference to the whole that I’m willing to say it and risk being called a nerd. Yes, I am talking about the new-and-improved shot meter. As always, one of the smallest components in its vast hardwood floor of dribbling and criss-crossing parts leaves a massive influence on how just about everything else on the court plays out.
Green and Slightly Curved
If you were lucky enough not to have experienced last year’s shot meter, I envy you. In place of the nightmare-inducing dial/arrow/ring design from 2K25, NBA 2K26 features a much more intuitive, easier-to-time, and infinitely better-curved bar shot meter. If you’ve heard that before, it’s because it’s similar to 2K23’s – but this isn’t entirely a reversion to that. Instead of remaining static, the new meter’s green field adjusts based on defensive coverage: if a defender is right up in your face, you’ll have practically no chance of making the shot. But if you’re open, it’ll be much easier to time the release right and make a shot.
Trust me, I’m having so much more fun shooting jumpers now than I was this time last year because I’m actually making them consistently. There is a slight tradeoff, though: because it’s easier to get greens, there’s also less room for imperfection. Meaning if you get a slightly early or slightly late timing, you might as well start running back on defense because the shot will more than likely brick. That said, I’ll take this shot meter any day of the week over a barely improved chance to make mistimed shots.
Now, I’m a big believer in the concept of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” because why ruin a good thing, right? But I’m an even bigger believer that if something is broke – like last year’s janky player movement – you b7etter get to fixin’ quick. Visual Concepts did just that because NBA 2K26 makes running, cutting, and defending so much smoother that it makes NBA 2K25’s motion feel like you were stuck running in quicksand. This is no small change because it permeates every single mode, making the entirety of NBA 2K26 feel less robotic and far more natural and enjoyable.
Plus, it makes one of my favorite new features, Go-To Post Shots, look even more accurate and realistic. Remember in last year’s review how disappointed I was that I couldn’t dominate the paint with Jokic’s or Embiid’s shimmy shake fade-aways? Well, dreams do come true because for the past day I have been spamming the Sombor Shuffle an ungodly amount of times in each match I play. It is a delightfully methodical, bruising alternative to the agile, quick-twitch motions of the typical Go-To Moves, and I will continue using it until the AI learns to stop it. Until then, it’s barbecue chicken alert each time down the floor.
Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road
Now for the bad news. What, you thought it was going to be all good from here on out? Sorry, Dorothy, but the years haven’t been kind to this yellow brick road. And by “yellow brick road,” I mean NBA 2K26’s offline-only modes. Last year, the so-called improvements to MyNBA were underwhelming, to say the least. This time, dear friends, they are practically non-existent, and, as an offline-mode truther, I am very disappointed.
With 2K25 we at least had the addition of the Steph Era, even though it already felt redundant alongside two other eras in the 2010s (in addition to the LeBron Era). Are you ready to hear what the 2K26 MyNBA modes have in store? Drumroll, ple…you know what, don’t even bother. It’s called Offseason Scenarios for MyGM. These are tailor-made, long-term quests for each franchise that you must fulfill to appease the fanbase and, more importantly, the owner.
These scenarios come in threes and are given out at the beginning of the offseason. But much like my issues with last year’s MyGM mode, these tasks (and many of the features in the mode itself) again feel forced and, at times, unrealistic. The RPG elements, with their perk and attribute point systems, seem out of place and unnecessary because they hardly make a difference in the grand scheme of basketball operations. At the end of the day, it’s still all about winning as many games and championships as you can. Or, if you’re on the other end of the spectrum, losing and tanking as much as possible. Overall, the whole mode feels like a side project hastily thrown together just to get that last bit of extra credit needed to pass the class.
Despite my problems with its offline-only modes, the fundamental gameplay tweaks show plenty of promise in what I’ve played on my first day with it. I’m especially excited to see how it looks in MyCareer with its new-and-improved storyline, as well as in the potentially wonky online gameplay of MyTeam. But after suffering through last year’s shot meter and molasses-like movement, there really is nowhere to go but up. Whether that shows in my final verdict and score next week, though, remains to be seen.
Battle your friends and enemies in chaotic online multiplayer that combines shooting with deckbuilding.
Learn about the basics and the best cards and characters for beginners.
Hey fellow Xbox enjoyers! Today we announced that our chaotic online PVP shooter Friends vs Friends will be coming to Xbox Series X & S next week on the 1st September!
Friends vs Friends is a game that blends deck-building with first-person shooting. All at once. That can be exciting (or a bit overwhelming) at first, but if you keep reading, you might just get an edge over your friends!
How to Play
Each game of Friends vs Friends is played in rounds. At the start of each round, you’re dealt cards that can modify your abilities or sabotage your opponent’s. Once the round begins, you can use these cards without any restrictions until one player is defeated: either through card effects or with good old-fashioned guns (it’s still a first-person shooter, after all).
When a round ends, new cards are dealt and added to any unused ones you still have. Rounds continue until one player wins three times.
The cards you draw depend on your personal deck, which you can edit in the in-game menu located in Buddy’s Boulevard. All cards are accessible without spending real money – in fact, you can’t spend money on gameplay-related content at all. We’ve done this to keep the game as fair as possible.
Best Cards for Beginners
The starter deck is as balanced as we could make it and gives you a good taste of the variety of strategies the game offers. Once you start earning booster packs with new cards, just experiment! Think about how two cards could work together, look for counters to cards you often face, and most importantly have fun. Don’t stress too much about “optimal” play.
However, the “Big Head” card in particular is a great choice for beginners. Use this one and you’ll be firing off some headshots straight from the get-go!
Best Characters for Beginners
Most of the starting characters are distinct enough to feel unique. The rest unlock naturally as you play (again, there’s no payment system for this, every character is available to everyone, simply by playing).
That said, Spike Remington hits the hardest (literally Spike deals more damage than the others.)
Best Cards for Seasoned Players
As mentioned earlier, there are no truly overpowered cards, but certain synergies can put even the most experienced player on the ropes. We’re not going to list those combos here—that’s part of the fun to discover – but here’s our main tip: think of your deck as a whole rather than just a collection of individual, unrelated cards.
Cards also improve when you get duplicates of the same one. The more you play, the better their stats become. This progression is subtle and absolutely not game-breaking, we’re talking about percentage boosts only noticeable to very experienced players.
Map-Specific Tips
Maps in Friends vs Friends cover a range of styles, both visually and in terms of layout. Some are more open, others are tighter, but all are relatively small and quick to traverse. As with any shooter, mastering the maps is part of improving your game.
While they aren’t overly complex, there are certain tendencies like the importance of holding high ground. Still, you can adapt to the map dynamically thanks to your cards. For example, playing a wall-generating card in a hallway can effectively block an access point.
How to Level Up Quickly
Play. Have fun. And if you lose, hit “rematch” and learn from opponents who seem more skilled. The penalties for losing are very low in this game, so it’s always worth observing when and how experienced players use their cards.
As developers, we’ve learned a lot just from watching people play our game.
(This advice might actually help you level up your IQ as much as your profile level.)
How to Upgrade Cards
Just open card packs (never by paying real money) and hope for the best. There’s also a machine in the basement of the HUB designed to help complete your collection in the late game—so it’s not all RNG.
How to Get the Best Cosmetics
Complete missions—and yes, buying DLC helps too. We have several paid add-on packs that purely add cosmetic items, including new weapon skins and some awesome character outfits. So please, Buy Buy Buy… just kidding.
How to End this Post
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to learn about our game.Friends vs Friendsis a bit unusual in many ways, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we struggled to develop it.
We’ve mentioned several times that there’s no way to access playable content through real-world transactions because, for us, this was a core design principle. It might sound like a small thing, but it’s important to us.
Thanks again for reading. Have a great day!! <3
Friends vs Friends
Raw Fury
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Play 1v1 or 2v2 in online, fast-paced, chaotic combat! Gain player levels, get new cards, improve the ones you already have, and get to know an array of eclectic characters with their own unique passive skills. The best part? At this price, you can invite all of your friends to get wrecked, guilt-free!
●Friends vs Friends: Matchmake with players worldwide in 1v1 or 2v2 combat, or host private matches with your friends. Need Support? Invite your friends to spectate!
●A Game with Character: Choose from a stylish cast of characters, each with their own abilities that improve the synergies of your deck.
●Low Price + High Quality = How?!: In order to keep the crew together, we made sure to level the playing field on cost so jumping in is a big-brain move.
●Progress to Impress: Level up and get new cards through matched bouts and timed challenges.
●Stack Your Deck: Collect weapon, trap, and curse cards, then level them up to increase their power.
●Updates and Seasonal Content: Expect post-launch content including new unique characters, cards, maps, and upgrades to your home base.
●Play Dress-up: Unlock cool cosmetics like skins and card design variants for bragging rights!
●Practice, Practice, Practice: Go up against bots to try out new card combos and improve your skills for when it counts.
Many Roblox games based on Blue Lock throw unique challenges your way, but with Project Blue Lock codes, you can become the best soccer striker in the world! The game revolves around training, leveling up, and playing competitive matches. Plus, you can equip your character with awesome abilities and some sweet skins. The following codes will help you do all that!
You can redeem codes for Project Blue Lock as soon as you enter the game! Here’s how:
Image by Twinfinite
Launch Project Blue Lock on Roblox.
Click the Codes button at the bottom.
Type in your code in the Enter your code here text box.
Click Redeem to receive your goodies.
Once you get your freebies from Project Blue Lock codes, you can buff up your character and dominate the playing field. And if you’re looking for more goodies for Roblox games, check out our Roblox codes section!
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Hey, everybody! Kristen, Tim, and I are back this week to discuss taking up the mantle of Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, soul surfing in Sword of the Sea, the biggest news stories of the week, and more.
Stuff We Talked About
Next week’s release highlights:
Metal Eden | PS5
Hirogami | PS5
Hell Is Us | PS5
Hollow Knight: Silksong | PS5, PS4
Cronos: The New Dawn | PS5
Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots | PS5
NBA 2K26 | PS5, PS4
Romeo is a Dead Man sneak peek — New info on combat and puzzles, along with the major story beats of its ludicrous narrative.
Helldivers 2 update — Enter the Terminid Hive Worlds and battle underground monsters when the Dust Devils Premium Warbond lands September 4.
Lumines Live release date — Try out the limited-time demo for PS5 to experience the new multiplayer mode and more before the game launches on November 11.
GT7 1.62 update — Add the sleek Chevrolet Corvette CX to your collection and other eye candy with the latest batch of new vehicles.
No Man’s Sky Voyagers update — Customizable multi-crew starships are now available. Cruise the galaxy as a unit and face new challenges..
New Judas details — See how your decisions impact gameplay and other insights from Creative Director Ken Levine.
Skate hands-on — Play Early Access starting September 16 for free and explore San Vansterdam and its many choice spots.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance dev interview — Learn what steps were taken to create a modern take on the classic action platformer
The Cast
Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Duskers developers Misfit Attic have revealed Below The Crown, a chess-flavoured fantasy roguelike with an Inscryption-style meta-layer and some sexy 80s CRT visuals. You are a wizard, tasked with Gathering A Party and braving an offbrand Tron dungeon to retrieve some gold. Your upgradeable party members are based on chess units, and each floor of the dungeon is a grid-based combat puzzle inspired by classic chess manouevres like Forks and Pins. Here’s a trailer.
Let’s go back to the good old days when dogs used to help protect property instead of conquering the whole couch. While this is the cutest TD game on Roblox, it still won’t pull any punches. To help your animal pals save the base, you’ll need some Pet Tower Defense codes.
For more free rewards in other Roblox experiences, explore the rest of our dedicated Roblox Codes section.
Twinfinite is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Last week, we asked you to surf through the deserts and oceans in Sword of the Sea using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
HappyMoonIncshares Wraith riding down a chain surrounded by sealife.
fogsblueshares Wraith riding an orca after freeing the sea on a new region
MdeavorVPshares Wraith falling in darkness alongside gold currency
Download the image
LazareGvimradzeshares a look up at Wraith doing a trick over sealife on the hoversword
hedgehog860Wraith riding an orca with another floating nearby
Photo_Ra_Physhares Wraith and their companion riding in a bubble
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on September 3, 2025
Next week, sneak through the world of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and share Naked Snake’s most epic moments using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
This is what you may have been expecting would be called version 6.0. Its official name was revealed to be Version Luna 1, which could signal a change in what these will be called going forward.
Song of the Welkin Moon: Segue is the name of this particular episode, and it’s only the first part of what the developer says will be a year-long Song of the Welkin Moon saga.
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Version Luna 1, or Song of the Welkin Moon: Segue, will arrive in Genshin Impact globally on September 10. If you’ve been following the action RPG with any regularity, you’ll no doubt be aware that it introduces the new Nod-Krai region.
After you install the update, you’ll be able to sail north towards the new region – provided you’ve completed Mondstadt’s main story and and reached AR 28. Nod-Krai is made up of three islands. This kicks off the new Archon Quests, where you’re going to accompany Lauma of the Frostmoon Scions and learn more about the conflict with the Fatui. The same quest can be started after finishing Liyue’s storyline.
Hot boy Flins is the second ally in this story, who, with your help, may resist the Wild Hunt. There’s a major story thread about a plot to claim the moon’s power (!) by the Fatui, and that’s where Fatui Harbinger, Marionette, comes in. There’s another Harbinger in this story, too, one who’s retreated to her birthplace in Nod-Krai. She’s referred to as The Damselette, and she’s worshiped as the Moon Maiden. And you do want to meet her, because you may get a buff or two to help you out.
Nod-Krai is home to an elemental force called Kuuvahki, which you can draw upon. It can sometimes take the firm of the Kuuhenki, an elemental lifeform. Kuuvahki, of course, can be used in combat, with the big new special being Lunar Reactions.
Three new companions, who hail from the same region, will join the roster. Lauma is a 5-Star Moonchanter and Catalyst wielder. She’s the first to utilise the new Lunar-Bloom reaction, which grants her her Verdant Dew that she uses to boost the team’s Bloom damage.
The recently-teased Flins is another 5-Star companion. A Polearm wielder, Flins fires Lunar-Charged strikes that can either be delivered in a massive single attack, or turn into a storm of smaller spear attacks. If you bring him along with you as you explore, he may lead you to some discoveries, thanks to his ability to hear the whispers of the Wild Hunt
The third and final new addition is Aino, a 4-Star Hydro Claymore wielder. Aino is something of a genius, with her mechanical contraptions doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The list includes a duck-shaped device she calls Knuckle Duckle, which is just delightful. Aino will join your team for free if you progress the new Archon Quests in Nod-Krai.
It doess look pretty cool! | Image credit: MiHoYo.
Did we mention that this is a stacked update? Meeting Points is one of the new features arriving with Version Luna 1. MiHoYo says it will let you “step into the daily lives” of your companions, which sort of sounds like royalty missions from Mass Effect and other RPGs.
Lauma will be available immediately upon the update’s release, who will arrive with the rerun of Nahida in the Event Wishes. The update’s second half is what’s going to add Flins, Aino, and bring back Yelan.
Elsewhere in this episde, you can look forward to a few big tweaks to Adventure EXP, which can now be earned from more sources. MiHoYo is adding materials to the battle pass rewards, too. It will also now be possible to preview the locked affix of any Artifact in advance. If you have too many parties already, you’ll be happy to learn that you can save more team presets. One of the biggest additions is a new item – Masterless Stella Fortuna – which lets you use any extra 5-Star Stella Fortuna you might have acquired over the years — available retroactively from when you opened your account! — to push a character beyond the cap and up to level 100.
If you log in when the update arrives, you’ll find a host of freebies waiting for you, such as a free 5-Star character of your choice (from the Standard Wish Pool), Primogems, and more.
HoYoverse also took this opportunity to reveal more details about Miliastra Wonderland, which brings UGC gameplay elements into Genshin Impact. Creators can create stages using the Miliastra Sandbox editor for all players to enjoy.
You can pull from the game’s many existing assets to create your content. We’ll have to wait until Version Luna 2 before we can get our hands on it, but the trailer above shows off some of what’s possible.
Explore the most obscure levels of Banban’s Kindergarten. Survive the new deceives and mysteries that await you. Uncover the truth behind the place, and find the whereabouts of your missing child… After the latest events, you were tricked by your friends. Delve deeper into the mysterious establishment that is Banban’s kindergarten. You are now completely on your own and the future of everything depends on you. Your friends are either dead or turned against you. From now on, you only meet new enemies who will make sure you never feel alone! In Banban’s Kindergarten, there are enemies to be made in every corner… Garten Of Banban 7
This game is amazing, and by far the best in the series. The graphics actually look good, the clearly game has a well-written story, and there’s been other major improvements over the last games in the series. Chapter 8 comes with some of the biggest lore drops in the series, but the ending left me disappointed. It felt abrupt and anti-climactic. There was no big boss fight and no intense chase. From the teasers, I expected a massive Banban mutation chase, but it never happened. It’s like working hard on a chemistry project but never getting to see the reaction.
Features and System Requirements:
Designed for solo players but allows Family Sharing on Steam—making it replayable across household accounts.
A deep roster of familiar and new characters both allies and enemies.
These may include elements like hiding spots, sound-based illusions, and evolving AI behavior.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10/Windows 11
Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD equivalent or above
Memory: 4 GB RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
