Son of a Gun is an intense action packed top down shooter full of bullets, blood and explosions. Collect and manage your guns and grenades to fight swarming bugs, gigantic robots, slimy monsters and even space ghosts. Select one of 6 characters and upgrade them while progressing through the single player campaign. Overwhelming enemies can be sometimes dealt with by the prototype time-bending device. You are Son of a Gun – an interplanetary mercenary working for the Sons of a Gun organization. You’re called always when firepower matters and something needs to be solved by force. While being on a vacation on a tropical planet you’re just received a phone call from the SOAG Command Center… AWAKEN – Astral Blade
You’ll have plenty of guns in 7 different classes at your disposal. Grab pistols, shotguns, SMG’s, rifles, plasma guns, sniper rifles, or rocket launchers – you’re defining your own playstyle. Don’t forget about grenades – gear up with your favorite grenade type – cluster, force, explosive, implosive… You’ll fight in the heart of the distant planets with versatile biomes. Each with their own unique environment and challenges – reach a target area, unlock base gates, download data from data-pylons or survive the horde’s attack. Face over 20 different enemy types with swarming bugs, zombie-like creatures, auto-turrets, gigantic robots, horrific degenerations, slimy monsters and even space ghosts.
Features and System Requirements:
Plenty of guns in 7 different classes – pick your shooting style.
Use a time-bending device that will often save your ass.
Play as one of 6 space mercenaries.
Tactically push tactical explosive barrels to gain a tactical advantage.
Use environmental hazards to kill enemies.
Annihilate 8 gigantic bosses with unique mechanics.
Experience full of tropes, sci-fi story 🙂
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
OS *: Windows 7 or newer
Processor: 3.2 GHz Processor
DirectX: Version 10
Storage: 2 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 🙂
Metaphor: ReFantazio released last week to unanimous critical acclaim, which is probably not surprising: its famed director Katsura Hashino commandeered Persona 5. Following the success of Persona 5, Hashino formed a new Atlus arm called Studio Zero in 2016 to work on Metaphor: ReFantazio (then known as Zero Re Fantasy), which involved leaving Persona in the hands of P-Studio.
In a new machine-translated Famitsu interview shared with Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, Hashino revealed Studio Zero is already working on a new game. Asked what the studio will move to after Metaphor, Hashino replied “Ah, they’ve already started”.
Asked if he was helming the new project, Hashino appears to take the humble approach. “I don’t really think about it as an individual,” he said. “I look at Atlus as a whole and think about what our team should create. First, I want our users to be happy, and then I want the company to be happy too. That’s how I always work”.
(He also works according to the logic that he doesn’t want his games to “look like they were designed by a bunch of people in a CEO boardroom,” which explains why we get bosses like Homo Avades and not just a chopper or dragon, or something).
Hashino goes on to reiterate Studio Zero’s role in the labyrinthine Atlus machine. It wasn’t founded just to make Metaphor: ReFantazio; instead, it’s “a place for new endeavors that calls itself Studio Zero”. So it’s unclear whether we’ll be getting more Metaphor or something else entirely. Perhaps a Catherine sequel? I don’t know who wants that. I don’t know if I want that.
That said, given the early success of Metaphor—it sold a million copies in its first day, which is a huge number coming from a studio still considered obscure in the west a decade ago—I wouldn’t be surprised if it was spun off into its own ongoing series.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Once in a while, a remarkable game comes along to the too-often underdeveloped space of VR, that challenges the belief that magic head-goggles are a niche product. Could Batman: Arkham Shadow be one such example? Here’s everything you need to know.
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Early word suggests that like Half Life: Alyx before it, Batman: Arkham Shadow could be a stellar showing for the VR world, that grants full control of the world’s greatest detective as he solves a new mystery in Gotham City—and beats down a bunch of bad guys in the process, obviously. If you’ve been curious about Batman: Arkham Shadow let’s see if we can answer your questions.
Is Batman: Arkham Shadow a direct sequel?
It’s been a long while since we’ve received a game in the Arkham series, so you might be delighted to hear that Batman: Arkham Shadow is set within that same universe.
Taking place between the events of Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Asylum, it casts you as the Caped Crusader once again, as he seeks to protect Gotham City from a fresh threat known as the Rat King. This new villain has abducted a variety of officials from the city, with plans for their execution, giving Batman only a week to rescue them and enact justice once more.
Despite being part of the grander Arkham universe, though, you shouldn’t feel the need to have played the other games in the series. While there are plenty of references and plot points that franchise fans will no doubt pick up on, Batman: Arkham Shadow remains a perfectly enjoyable standalone Gotham adventure.
Who developed Batman: Arkham Shadow?
Batman: Arkham Shadow was developed by Meta-owned developer Camouflaj, the team behind 2020’s fairly well-received PSVR exclusive, Iron Man VR. Before getting bought by Meta to work in-house on VR games, Camouflaj also made episodic stealth game, République.
What platforms is Batman: Arkham Shadow available for?
Batman: Arkham Shadow is exclusively available for the Meta Quest 3 VR headset. As of this writing, Camouflaj has not revealed any plans to bring the game to competing headsets like PlayStation VR2, although given they’re owned by Meta, that seems very unlikely. It’s Meta Quest 3 or nothing if you’re interested in playing it anytime soon.
The good news is that anyone who buys a Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S before April 25, 2025 will receive Batman: Arkham Shadow included with the purchase of the headset. If you’ve been VR-curious but haven’t taken the plunge yet, I’d say that’s a pretty good incentive!
That being said, the Meta Quest 3 can feel a bit pricey at $499. If you don’t mind the slight (though admittedly noticeable) downgrade in pixel count and resolution, the Meta Quest 3S retains a lot of the same technology for $299.
Who voices Batman in Batman: Arkham Shadow?
Screenshot: Oculus Studios / Kotaku
Fans will be thrilled to hear that Arkham Origins’ Roger Craig Smith returns once again to voice The Dark Knight himself. Smith, also known for voicing popular video game characters like Ezio from Assassin’s Creed and Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, is often rated as one of the best actors to bring life to Bruce Wayne and his ass-kicking detective alter ego, since the sad death of Kevin Conroy in 2022.
Other notable stars in the game include Elijah Wood as Scarecrow, Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, Troy Baker as Harvey Dent, and The Walking Dead’s Khary Payton as The Ratcatcher (not to be confused with the Rat King). All in all, it’s clearly a star-studded cast.
How long is Batman: Arkham Shadow?
Many VR games are on the shorter side, so you may be surprised to hear that Batman: Arkham Shadow can take quite a while to complete. As a matter of fact, clearing the game without any side content can take 8 to 10 hours. If you want to see and do everything in this VR recreation of Gotham City, you can spend up to 15 hours tracking down various types of collectibles and completing unique challenges.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is available now on Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S for $49.99.
Nicola Piovesan, Speedollama developer, getting into character
After working on the pixel art for Speedollama, I now have the chance to sit down with Nicola Piovesan, the game’s designer, to ask him a few questions about the project. As part of the team, it’s interesting to hear more about his creative process, the challenges we faced, and what went into making this fast and quirky game.
Let’s start from the beginning. Where did the idea for Speedollama come from?
Nicola (N):Speedollama is my fourth game (fifth if you count an unfinished one), and with each new project, I aim to experiment. My previous games were mostly point-and-click adventures set in a dark, cyberpunk universe, but with this platformer, I explore something entirely different—bright, chaotic, and fun. It’s like my creative yin and yang. After working on something dramatic, I felt the need to dive into humor and vibrancy. Speedollama came from this need to create something colorful and fast-paced. And what could be more bizarre and fun than a war between llamas and alpacas?
What are the game’s standout features?
N: The retro-arcade feel is the first thing that hits you—from the pixel art graphics to the gameplay mechanics. But what really stands out is the speed. Speedollama is designed to be one of the fastest in its genre, especially in later stages when players unlock speed upgrades. It’s intense.
Some people have compared it to Metal Slug. Does that bother you?
N: I’ve seen Speedollama described as “Metal Slug with llamas,” and while that’s flattering, it’s also a bit frustrating when people imply I copied it. Sure, there are similarities—any retro, run-and-gun game will have them—but Speedollama does its own thing. It’s not just a horizontal side-scroller; it develops vertically, making it more of a platformer. Plus, it has procedurally generated levels and a “collectathon” element where players race against the clock to gather items. So, while the comparisons are inevitable, I think we’ve crafted a unique experience.
Isn’t it risky to release this game an indie market saturated with so many pixelated platformers?
N: Absolutely, it’s a risk. I’ll admit, I’m not great at market research or developing games with a specific audience in mind. I tend to go with my gut—if I like an idea, I’ll run with it. That said, I do listen to feedback. We released a demo about a year ago, and I took a lot of player suggestions to improve the game. Yes, the market is crowded, and pixel-art platformers are everywhere, which might make Speedollama hard to notice at first. But I believe that once people pick up a controller and feel the speed and fun, they’ll see it’s something special.
How large was the team behind Speedollama?
N: This is an interesting question because people often wonder if Speedollama was a solo project. The answer is both yes and no. If you define a solo project as one person doing absolutely everything, then no—it wasn’t just me. You, for instance, were the lead pixel artist, and we had a couple more pixel artists, two animators, a music composer, voice actors, and a small team of beta testers. In total, around eight or nine people contributed to the game. However, if by “solo project” you mean one person handling most of the development—coding, writing, level design, enemy AI, UI, sound, and even marketing—then yes, it was largely my work. I did everything except create the art and music, which was handled by you and other talented folks. But their contributions were crucial, especially in bringing the game’s unique, quirky visual style to life.
The indie game market is a tough space, no doubt. There are tons of platformers coming out every month, and standing out is a challenge. But I’m confident that Speedollama brings something fresh to the table—it’s fast, eccentric, and a lot of fun to play. I can’t wait to see how players respond to this wild, goofy adventure.
Speedollama is a fast platformer shooter that sets a new benchmark for speed in the genre. Bursting with quirky humor and vibrant pixelated carnage, this game is not for the faint of heart. Are you ready to embrace the chaos and prove your skills?
Packed with hilarious splatter elements, fast-paced action, a variety of upgrades and weapons, and loads of humor, Speedollama promises to entertain gamers of all ages.
The game’s visuals feature pixel art to capture a retro-arcade aesthetic, reminiscent of late 80s and early 90s games. Drawing inspiration from classic titles like Metal Slug and Turrican, as well as modern hits like Broforce, Mercenary Kings, and Pizza Tower, Speedollama delivers a nostalgic yet fresh gaming experience.
STORYLINE
A wise old llama has enlisted a group of elite mercenaries for an almost impossible mission: to destroy the alpaca army that has waged a brutal war to exterminate the llamas and seize world domination. Equipped with a powerful tunneling machine, the llamas embark on a bizarre journey, burrowing through the earth, collecting funky substances, and battling the relentless alpaca forces along with their beastly allies.
The formation of the CFP formally brings an end to the all-volunteer committee, first formed in 2006. The move also effectively brings the casual, multiplayer Commander format fully under the control of publisher Wizards of the Coast for the first time.
“Ultimately, myself and other designers at Wizards are going to make the final calls [on Commander going forward],” Verhey said in the post, “but I do expect that most of the time majority opinion on the panel will win out.”
CFP members include the following individuals and pseudonyms, whose X social media accounts were also linked in the original announcement:
The Commander format was severely disrupted last month following a series of high-profile card bans initiated by the CRC. An unprecedented period of harassment followed those bans, including threats of violence and death threats, ultimately leading to the resignation of the entire body. For the CFP, Verhey said that Wizards took as its inspiration the Pauper Format Panel, which was spun up in 2022. Verhey is also a member of that panel.
“We’re a bunch of individuals from around the world that work together to monitor the health of Pauper, suggest changes, and discuss things like ban updates,” Verhey said. “I feel like it’s worked out well, and it’s the base that we wanted to model Commander’s community group after.”
Verhey added that previous members of the CRC and the Commander Advisory Group were all invited to join, but that the goal with such a large panel was to expand the core group’s perspective.
“We wanted to add in some new eyes as well,” Verhey said. “I really wanted to bring in players from other places in the world who have different preferred levels of Commander play. That way, the feedback would come from more regions of the world and we could hear the full range of the Commander spectrum, from players who prefer extremely casual decks to “cEDH” (competitive Commander) players.”
Following a break-in period, the Commander panel will provide feedback on the newly proposed “bracket” system, which Wizards pitched immediately after the CRC originally stepped down as a way to mitigate the existing power differential between some cards in the format. You can read more about it on the Wizards website, but fans should understand that it’s still a ways off from being implemented. And, even when it is, Verhey said it shouldn’t have a big impact on casual play.
Following the proposed brackets, Verhey said that Wizards will once again look at the ban list.
“After aligning on a bracket system and running some tests, I expect our focus to turn to our evaluation of the banned card list,” Verhey said. “To set expectations on that timeline, I wouldn’t expect any changes before early next year at the earliest, and you will have advanced notice. As we said previously, it’s still true that you should not expect any new bans in that evaluation.”
We’re deeply grateful for your enthusiastic support following our announcement of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. Your passion and dedication have been instrumental in revitalizing this beloved series, so today we wanted to share some new information on the game, with a first look at the game’s bosses in their remastered glory, as well as more details on the game’s brand-new map system which is a collaboration between us, the original creators and the community.
Remastered Boss updates and reveals
Each boss encounter in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is designed to challenge the player’s mastery of Raziel’s abilities. Our goal with the character models was to improve the textures as much as we could while ensuring that they blend in with the apocalyptic world.
Melchiah received a full texture overhaul with darkened skin and a slimier body-feel. The bones and skeletal mapping are now more realistic and gory and his eye color was adjusted to match the original look.
Melchiah–The first of Kain’s lieutenants Raziel must defeat. This battle takes place in the Necropolis where Melchiah chases Raziel down while phasing through gates, making the spectral realm no longer safe. Strategically use the environment to expose Melchiah’s vulnerabilities and use his own devices against him.
Zephon was too desaturated, so we’ve completely repainted his face.
Zephon–Fought in a dilapidated cathedral, Zephon has evolved into an insect-like creature, fusing with this towering structure. You’ll need to ascend to the highest chambers and become willingly ensnared to be able to confront him. Search the room for any elemental advantages which could aid you in this endeavor.
Rahab’s head has been remodeled, so the eyes now have a reddish glow which gives him a menacing look. We’ve also altered the fangs to look more vampiric and made his skin color a little more gray.
Rahab–This battle occurs in a flooded abbey. Rahab is fully immune to water, which is lethal to Raziel. Use Raziel’s agility to avoid Rahab’s deadly close-range and long-range attacks by jumping and make use of your newly gained Telekinetic projectile ability to exploit Rahab’s extreme vulnerability to sunlight.
Dumah’s armor is now a lot dirtier and has patches of mold and blood all over it (considering he was impaled for centuries).
Dumah–In a desolated fortress, Dumah awaits reanimation. Just like his other brethren, Dumah is invulnerable to any attacks, so Raziel has to be cunning and lure him to a flame powerful enough to melt even the hardest metal, all while avoiding tremendous earthquakes caused by Dumah’s incredible strength.
The models for Kain in both Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 needed to be completely re-designed to mitigate textural issues. With the increased polygon count we felt it was important to bring his look a lot closer to the Kain we got to see in the original FMVs, which was a lot more detailed and showed more-or-less what the original intent was for the character. The original model in SR1 was especially limited so now both games have a Kain that looks consistent between the two titles.
Kain–Raziel first confronts Kain at the Pillars where he must be swift and strike Kain three times to gain the Soul Reaver. The second encounter takes place in the Chronoplast, where the tiered arena makes evasion even more challenging. Track your target’s movements closely and make haste to strike him with the Soul Reaver. If you cannot reach him in time, use your Telekinetic projectile to stop Kain from using his powerful lightning attack. The encounter is intense and dramatic, but we won’t spoil how it concludes. Pre-order to find out!
Map & Compass details & gameplay
In the original versions of the games, players often found themselves wandering the vast, twisting landscapes of Nosgoth, relying heavily on memory and environmental cues to navigate.
The introduction of the Map and Compass marks a thoughtful enhancement that blends modern gameplay conveniences with the preservation of the explorative experience the original titles were known for. The Compass gently nudges the player in the right direction without giving away specific details of where to go or what to do next and the Map is more of a reference tool than a guide.
We also included a collection tracker for any Health and Energy power-ups so that you know if you’ve gotten all of the collectibles within each area. All of the major Nosgoth features are present and accurately condensed based on the setting and gameplay.
For fans who might feel that these additions are a major departure from the original games, we’ve made sure to incorporate a toggle-off function for the compass.
In addition to its gameplay utility, the map is also a wonderful art piece that was created in collaboration with our development team, community advisors, artists, and designers at Crystal Dynamics. We knew accuracy was paramount, so we worked hard to pull from the original source art, design documents, and clues from game lore. We also incorporated community reviews to ensure nothing had been missed.
Thanks to these efforts, the map is accurate enough to feature in the new lore reader bonus menu – identifying the location of each lore entry.
For design direction, Crystal Dynamics designers used a heavily inked approach that sits beautifully with the existing art, creating a stunning new way to visualize the world of Nosgoth.
The Map and Compass are there to serve as welcome tools for exploration, ensuring that the remastered versions remain both a tribute to the classics and a modernized, more player-friendly experience.
The Aspyr Team looks forward to sharing more information before the launch of Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered on December 10, 2024!
Did you have a fine old time in Blackreach, the mazy, Dwemer-built underside of Skyrim’s sprawling mountain map? Do you like murdering Ents in slow motion? Do you want to see smells? You might be interested in The Axis Unseen, which has just launched on Steam – it’s the work of former Bethesda developer Nate Purkeypile, one of the big brains behind Blackreach.
Metal Slug Tactics launches on November 5 across PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One, publisher Dotemu has announced.
The promising-looking grid-based tactical RPG adaptation of the iconic run-and-gun arcade series has a new release date trailer, below, as well as new screenshots. The trailer reveals three new fighters (details from Dotemu are below).
Clark Still: Originally hailing from the Ikari Warriors series and previously playable in Metal Slug 6, Clark’s immense strength and wrestling experience allows this tanklike ally to relocate enemies on the map and dish out wide-reaching, status-inflicting damage.
Ralf Jones: Also returning for battle from the Ikari Warriors series and Metal Slug 6, Ralf is a master of short-range combat, packing devastating punches and the ability to charge at enemies head-on like a raging bull.
Leona Heidern: A newer addition to the Ikari Warriors, Leona is a revered fighter capable of replacing fallen enemies with decoy allies; she can distract and overwhelm enemy forces in her distinct approach to dominating the combat zone.
Dotemu also confirmed a physical release for Metal Slug Tactics (details to come), as well as an original soundtrack composed in full by Tee Lopes (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Sonic Mania, Streets of Rage 4’s Mr. X Nightmare DLC), with a physical vinyl release through Kid Katana Records.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Square Enix is entering the console gaming space, but not in the way that you were expecting. The home of Final Fantasy has had a big merchandising arm for decades now, and it has just unveiled a new line of collectibles based on classic Sega consoles. The only catch? You won’t be booting up any games on these Sega Saturn or Genesis consoles, as they’re adorably tiny replicas of the original machines. Priced at $44 each, they’re expected to start shipping out on July 16, 2025.
A finger on the monkey’s paw curls as a fan’s wish for a mini-Saturn console is granted.
These are durable keepsakes of Sega’s iconic machines, as they’re made from diecast materials and boast a surprising amount of detail. They even come with tiny controllers and each piece is hand-painted. The little Genesis replica is based on the original version of that console, and has its signature toggle switches, grill design, and “16-Bit” on the shell to remind you of one of the key selling points of consoles back in the ’90s.
The Sega Saturn mini-console features a striking design–a pure diecast finish without any paint applications on the main body. While the various buttons on it do have color highlights, the reflective finish is an instant attention-getter, and other neat details include the various ports that you can find on the rear of this Saturn replica. This isn’t the first time that Square Enix has made collectibles based on Sega’s hardware, but those collectibles have been sold out for a while. If you are looking to bookmark a page for when these pieces are potentially back in stock, you can save the listings for a cute Dreamcast and an alternate Sega Saturn design.
If you’re a retro enthusiast looking for something more functional, you can also check out the Analogue 3D console. Designed for N64 fans, the Analogue 3D launched this week and is priced at $250. It plays N64 game cartridges in ultra-high-definition resolution and is designed to offer the “the essence of CRT” on a 4K TV.
Streaming platform Twitch has banned several high-profile Arab streamers for a panel that took place at TwitchCon last month. The banned streamers include CapriSunnPapi, Fr0gan, Raffoulticket, DenimsTV, and Vio (who is not Arab), all of whom took part in a live-streamed panel during day two of TwitchCon San Diego called “Rating Streamers,” where they placed popular Twitch personalities on a tier list of who could or couldn’t say “habibi,” the Arab word for “friend” or “beloved.”
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The 30-day bans were handed out seemingly simultaneously and came after days of social media dialogue accusing several Arab and pro-Palestinian Twitch streamers of being antisemitic. A clip of Fr0gan saying that she “hoped” American soldiers got PTSD during a livestream was shared across X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit and commented on by YouTuber Ethan Klein and Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, aka Destiny.
On October 20, Fr0gan issued an apology on X, writing:
the us military has conducted some of the most horrific crimes against humanity in the modern era in countries such as iraq, afghanistan, syria, lebanon, and palestine my anger is directed at individuals who are currently championing these war crimes as if they “liberated” my people. it’s horrific and disgusting. the beginning of the clip was worded poorly and i do apologize for that. i go onto clarify in the clip that i do not mean “all” military, but specifically those with no remorse. what i said was out of frustration as they are currently bombing my family in the name of “liberation”. i realize that wishing people harm isn’t the best way to talk about these issues and that i could have talked about these topics in a more sensitive way.
However, it appears Fr0gan was not banned for what she said on her more recent stream but instead for the Rating Streamers panel from September 21. During the panel in question, the streamers utilized a popular internet meme called a tier list, in which the top of the tier is the “best” or, in this case, the person for whom using “habibi” is most acceptable and the bottom was the least acceptable. At the TwitchCon panel, the tiers were labeled “Arab Coded, Asks Permission, Thinks It’s a Slur, and Loves Sabra,” a reference to Sabra Hummus, a popular brand of hummus manufactured in the United States. The VOD for the entire second day of TwitchCon (which was when Rating Streamers aired) has been removed from the GivePlz Twitch channel, which hosts all of the TwitchCon videos. The video is still available on the Ayyrabs YouTube page.
Fr0gan, Capri, and Raffoul are all Arab (Fr0gan is Muslim, Raffoul is Jewish, and Capri is Christian) and host a podcast called Ayyrabs together. DenimsTV is an Arab woman and Vio is Middle Eastern. Two other streamers who briefly took part in the panel were not Arab or Middle Eastern. They were not banned at the time of publication.
On October 19, Klein posted a video to YouTube titled “Twitch Has a Major Problem” in which he said that panel was “kinda Arab good, Jew bad,” because Sabra is a “very popular Hummus brand” in Israel that is “the subject of [a] pro-Palestine boycott.” He also shared a clip from the panel in which Denims jokingly says that Klein deserved his own category for “Zionist.” Then, on a live-stream on YouTube today, October 20, Klein discussed Fr0gan, the “Tier List,” Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, and Hasan “Hasanabi” Piker, another noted political streamer who used to host a show with Klein before the two had a falling out. The livestream was titled “Dan Clancy Must Resign As Twitch CEO.”
The ban wave (which also appeared to include a permanent ban of popular streamer Sneako, who Klein mentioned in his October 19 YouTube video as an example of someone who should not have been allowed to return to Twitch) occurred while Klein was streaming. “30 day ban for saying people like bottom of the barrel hummus but other people get 2 WEEKS for advocating for the genocide of palestinians. got it,” Fr0gan posted on X after the bans were announced, referring to Twitch banning streamer Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt for 14 days after he said that Muslim people come from “an inferior culture” and that he’s “not going to cry a fucking river when people who have genocide that’s baked into their laws are getting genocided” on a recent stream.
Before the ban but during the heat of the online dialogue about the alleged antisemitism of the panel, Raffoul, who is Jewish, wrote on X, “These fucks are so anti semitic I’m the one who made the list on ‘who can say habibi’ and they try and spin this as ‘Frogan ranking people from Arab to Jew’ keep Jews out your fucking mouth.”
On October 21, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) shared on X that it had spoken with Twitch staff “after becoming aware of several concerning incidents on the social media platform and/or involving Twitch streamers in the past week.”
“We appreciate @Twitch making the right decision to finally suspend the streamer Frogan for abusing her platform and the @TwitchCon event to spread antisemitic vitriol during this time of intense apprehension for the Jewish community,” the official ADL account posted in a thread. “@Twitch must learn from this situation and improve how they address antisemitism and hate on their platform, which is an ongoing and significant challenge.”
It is unclear why Twitch chose to issue a ban for a panel that took place a month ago, the contents of which the company was aware of, Kotaku has confirmed. During TwitchCon 2024, the company emphasized that the platform was “no place for hateful conduct” after announcing new changes and advancements to its ban policies.
Kotaku reached out to the ADL and Twitch for comment and will update this story accordingly.
Update: 10/21/2024 at 11:20 p.m. ET: Updated story with more context regarding Sneako ban.
Pasokon Retro is our regular look back at the early years of Japanese PC gaming, encompassing everything from specialist ’80s computers to the happy days of Windows XP.
Developer: T & E Soft Released: 1989-1991 Platforms: MSX2, X68000, Mega Drive (Image credit: Mobygames, T&ESoft)
It’s spooky season, and what better way to celebrate the month of pumpkin carving, wobbly lawn skeletons, and overpriced themed lattes than with a great horror game. Some years this means I decide to play something restrained and sophisticated, some esoteric game that tries to make me feel so unnerved by its glimpses of ghosts I “accidentally” leave a light on when I go to bed. I’ve also gone venturing into a dark and foreboding puzzle box of haunted house, experiencing the sort of adventure that makes my brain ache, my hair stand on end, and my team of would-be survivors drop like flies.
But sometimes my spine tingles for something simpler. Something a little silly and cartoonishly gruesome, more B-movie than b-rilliant. And in those moments I get my keyboard ready for an hour’s blast through Undeadline’s hordes of bats, rats, slimes, and giant octopi with visible brains tucked safely inside their glistening heads. The awesome power of swords, spells, and shurikens available for me to throw around turn the game’s unending supply of enemies into piles of gore and guts. Take that, fear!
At a glance this bloody action seems like an odd turn for T & E Soft, the developer most famous for giving gaming the much more subdued RPG action of Hydlide, but in some ways it’s not so far afield. Undeadline may be an auto scrolling shmup-like game, but it’s one with three fantasy characters to choose from, two optional multiclasses for each of them, and four different stats to boost with experience points at the end of each stage. The end result of this unlikely monster mash is something that plays a bit like the unholy offspring of Gauntlet and Galaga, or the edgy goth sibling of the cute and colourful Pocky & Rocky.
There’s plenty of shooting (and being shot at) in here, but I’m also dodging spike traps in the floor and smashing down cavern walls while still trying to pick up treasure chests, hoping I paid enough attention to whatever popped out to pick a weapon that scales off my strongest stat, or remembering that red potions harm rather than heal before I reflexively lunge for one.
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(Image credit: T&ESoft)
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(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
The original MSX2 version of this sinister shooter debuted in 1989 and was an impressive feat for the hardware, but not quite the fully unleashed horror house of fun it could be. The Mega Drive reimagining from 1991 hoped being bright and busy would be enough to disguise its meagre animation. But it’s the X68000 version of the game, released neatly between the two, that’s my favourite. The sprites here are lavishly detailed and well animated, to the point where each of the three playable characters have not only a default costume to call their own but unique multiclass outfits too, perfectly capturing ’90s anime tropes with giant pointy golden pauldrons to excessively flappy capes.
All of Undeadline’s six standard stages have been redrawn and redesigned to flex the technical might of Sharp’s powerful home computer, and then two new and exclusive ones have been added on top, as a tricky sort of treat.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
There’s a lot of very carefully crafted design in here, a lot of tiny ideas working together in perfect harmony, and I love Undeadline for having some serious meat on its reanimated bones for a 35-year-old shmup. I like needing to really understand how the weapons and spells work to get the most out of them, knowing when I can make the most of a piercing icy blast or would perhaps be better off using the controlled throws of the kusarigama. I like being able to work my way through the stages in any order, knowing that however I play there’s always going to be a dramatic final stage waiting for me once they’re all cleared. And I love finding a semi-secret treasure chest with a shiny gem inside, sending my score higher than before.
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(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
(Image credit: T&ESoft)
But it’s the game’s generous helping of cheese that keeps me coming back for one more bite. Lots of shmups are clever and well made, but few take me on a monster mash-up of an adventure covering tumbledown graveyards, waterlogged dungeons, and somewhere ominously referred to simply as “Mold”. It’s also rare for a shmup to let me fling fireballs at maggoty things that split apart in a satisfyingly grisly way or admire fancy demonic torches and stomping across thick rolls of tastefully frayed blood-red carpet as I do so. And I can’t think of any others at all that decide the perfect end of level climax is a fight with an aggressive giant lobster wallowing in a lava bath. More games should feature giant lobsters, in my opinion.
The end result is a game as opulent, bloody, and outrageous as a disco at Dracula’s house, one that can’t go five minutes without showing off some weird beast or fancy parallax scrolling effect, sometimes making flesh-pink walls appear to loom over my character, sometimes just letting me sit back, relax, and enjoy hurling boomerangs at a three-headed dragon or fight off spirits with that classic piece of ghostbusting kit: a magic-spitting fairy.
Undeadline may only last about as long as a trick or treat bag stuffed with sweets, but every moment with it is delicious.
Rejoice PlayStation players, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is almost here. In fact, we’re so close to launch that starting today, if you’ve pre-ordered the game – you can begin pre-loading to make sure you’re ready for day one.
Ahead of launch, we wanted to go a little deeper today into MP and Zombies to make sure there are no details you’re missing. Let’s break down some key components around what to expect.
The multiplayer experience
From new maps and modes to new weapons and equipment, Black Ops 6 gameplay will be an experience unlike any other. There will be the core 6v6 modes you’ve come to know and love from Call of Duty, plus an all-new core 6v6 mode, Kill Order, where you must eliminate the enemy High Value Target (HVT) while protecting your own. In addition to these, jump into 2v2 Gunfight, as well as Face Off Alts of several of the 6v6 modes. Finally, looking for a challenge where your matches only have a limited HUD, friendly fire is enabled, and your health is lowered significantly? Then, prepare for Hardcore, scheduled for launch on certain playlists.
We will have 16 brand-new maps at launch split into two main categories: twelve brand-new Core 6v6 maps and four brand-new, compact-sized Strike maps designed to be played in either 6v6 or 2v2 configurations. We know you got to see several of the maps in the Beta, such as Scud, Rewind, Skyline, Babylon, and Derelict, but you can expect to find incredible action-packed moments on maps you have yet to experience.
There’s Lowtown, a dockside neighborhood with a boat house, fishing shed, lattices to climb, and a canal to swim in. There’s also Vault, a large, lush playspace set within a desert landscape adorned with monuments, sculptures, a central palace, and even an opulent atrium. And this just scratches the surface, there are many more maps to explore from October 25 and on, not to mention the bevy of maps coming in post-launch seasons.
There are over 20 Black Ops 6 Operators to choose from at launch, with some allied to the Rogue Black Ops Faction, and others allied to Crimson One. To give you a little background on these operators. Rogue Black Ops is on the run and being hunted by their former employers. This team seeks to uncover the truth regarding the infiltration of the CIA and expose the conspiracy. As they no longer have state backing, much of their equipment is either improvised, supplied by contacts from other intelligence services, purchased from criminals, or supplied on the promise of IOUs.
They know who’s hunting them and refer to them as “Crimson One.” Crimson One represents the CIA operation initiated to hunt down the Rogue squad. The team is officially sanctioned by the CIA and has access to all intel and tools to complete the job.
By now, you should have heard plenty about the brand-new Omnimovement system coming to Black Ops 6, the most fluid boots-on-the-ground Call of Duty movement system to date. Omnimovement will go across all game modes, but make sure to utilize it in Multiplayer to live out those spy-thriller action-hero moments you’ve always dreamed of.
Weapons & equipment
When it comes to the weapons you’ll be using in Multiplayer, it all starts where you choose your loadouts: the Weapons Menu, which has been streamlined in Black Ops 6 for an approachable, intuitive experience as you level up your weapons over time. Black Ops 6 is set to bring an exceptional arsenal of weaponry and equipment to the game – including returning favorites from the Black Ops universe and weapons all new to the franchise. The primary and secondary weapons slots are going to be your bread-and-butter, but for the first time you have a dedicated third slot to equip a melee weapon, so that knife or bat is always an option when things get heated in close-quarters combat.
Finally, Perks and Wildcard slots in your loadouts will change the way you play, so make sure you’re thinking strategically as you make your choices. Then, tactical and lethal equipment, as well as Field Upgrades and Scorestreaks will round out your arsenal with an array of choices unlocking as you level up and progress, with some new options such as the exciting War Cry Field Upgrade that rallies your team, improves nearby teammates’ movement and health regen speed for a short time. Get ready to gear up!
Zombies
Round-Based Zombies is back in a massive way, with Treyarch delivering the goods across gameplay, narrative, and maps in Black Ops 6 Zombies.
Check out the previous PlayStation Blog post for the full details of Round-Based Zombies, but there are a few key things we wanted to remind you of. There’s a dedicated crew that are the heart of the story for Black Ops 6 Zombies, which continues the Dark Aether storyline that started in Black Ops Cold War. While you can jump into Zombies with any MP operator you’d like, the characters of Weaver, Grey, Carver, and Maya make up the Terminus team, drive the narrative forward, and are the gateway to the most robust experience you can have with this mode.
Then there are the maps, which are basically characters unto themselves. There will be two Round-Based maps at launch, Terminus and Liberty Falls, with additional maps coming in the post-launch seasons. We also went into details on these maps in a previous Blog post, so check that out for more details, but know there will be no shortage of unique and harrowing environments as you and your squad battle into higher and higher rounds.
Finally, the zombie-fighting tools at your disposal will be robust as ever with the return of Perk-a-Colas, Field Upgrades, Wonder Weapons, GobbleGums, Ammo Mods, and the introduction of Augments, which allow you to customize your Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades.
One more thing! For the first time in Call of Duty Zombies history, if you’re playing Zombies solo you can elect to save your solo match at any time and return to it later, provided you’re at full health, aren’t downed, dead, or actively engaged in an exfil. (A relief for many, to be sure).
Progression & prestige
Black Ops 6 marks the anticipated return of a more traditional Prestige system, back in Call of Duty and bigger than ever. Players who reach and complete Max level 55 can choose to Prestige and restart their Leveling over again (while losing some already unlocked items), but this time with the chance to earn exclusive rewards along the way – – we know it’ll be worth the effort. But Prestige isn’t the only Progression system that’s gotten a major upgrade this year.
The Treyarch team has set out to build the most rewarding Progression and Challenge systems ever delivered in a Call of Duty game in Black Ops 6 and there’s a ton of unlockable content packed into the game on Day one. Earn XP from by performing well, playing the Objective, earning Medals, and completing challenges, like Calling Card challenges and Reticle challenges.
Additionally, brand new for Black Ops 6, every Weapon, Equipment, Field Upgrade, and Scorestreak in your loadout has a set of MP and Zombies Master Badges to progress through as you master each piece of Gear.
Those are some of the high-level details you can expect for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Don’t forget to pre-order and pre-load starting today so you can hop right in on October 25 and experience it for yourself.
Hey, it’s the first big patch for the Silent Hill 2 Remake following its arrival in all of our lives a week and a bit ago. What’s it do? Well, aims to help curb some of poor James’ glitchy shenanigans, plus some other stuff.
If you’ve yet to play the game, you probably should if you’re into horror stuff, as our resident scary s**t expert Kelsey wrote in their review that it’s a good thing, one that’s both “faithful and outright terrifying”. Funnily enough, those are also the words I’d use to describe some of the more interesting mods that’ve come out for SH2 so far.
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Anyway, forget about Pyramid Head’s bum, as outlined in the notes for Patch 1.04, Bloober Team’s “[paid] close attention to any reported issues and [gone] through your feedback regarding bugs, game performance and more”, partially in order to reduce the amount of unanticpated weirdness you might encounter.
Among the most noteworthy fixes are ones for “an issue where interacting with the wrong side of the peephole in Brookhaven Hospital teleported James to the other side”, and another “where James was falling under the map when approaching Laura entering Brookhaven Hospital from the bushes on the left”. So, basically, your trips to hospital are now less likely to result in a glitch that could land James in hospital.
This is far from the end of Bloober curbing James’ bad behaviour either. He also now shouldn’t get “stuck in the window frame” after breaking windows near Neely’s Bar, find himself unable to leave the 3F corridor in the Lakeview Hotel, or randomly find his way onto a balcony in the Blue Creek Apartments that’s supposed to be inaccessible.
Oh, and he should finally be able to overcome a small coffee table blocking him into a corner of the room located in Woodside Apartments (apparently that was an unintended bit of spookery), and shouldn’t have his wooden plank suddenly appear next to him if he dies, like it’s a crap funeral gift. The patch has also “improved the deformation of Nurses’ skirts”, which is certainly a sentence.
Alongside some other gameplay tweaks you can check out in the full notes, both PC and PS5 have also each gotten their own list of technical fixes, which should hopefully make you less likely to run into crashes or stuttering on your platform of choice.
How deep a cleanse are you going to be giving your internet history after reading this article? Let us know below, and take a look at our Silent Hill 2 walkthrough if you’re in need of help finishing the game now you’re no longer trapped in a window frame.
Movie tie-in games are something of a dying art. During the heyday of the sixth generation of consoles practically every film got a flashy video game adaption, but consistent misfires mean we rarely get to explore our favorite cinematic worlds in interactive forms in the modern era.
As such, I was quietly excited for A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead. Rather than a direct movie adaption, it takes place within the first few months of the alien invasion that forms the franchise’s key complicating action. What follows over the next six hours is a taut but predictable stealth horror game, with its inspirations clearly on display, but never quite reaching those heights.
Image Source: Stormind Games via Twinfinite
You play as Alex, an asthma-riddled survivor who has lost almost everything since the invasion. We meet her on day 120 after the dystopia began, with frequent flashes back to her life before and immediately after the spindly, noise-sensitive aliens first arrived. Taking place over just a few days, it charts her quest to find solace, escaping to an area where the monsters can’t get her.
To do so, you’ll trawl through this disheveled world alone, dodging monsters and environmental peril to find permanent shelter. As you’d expect from the films, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is an incredibly slow-paced game, without many bombastic set pieces or action sequences. Instead, the bread and butter of the gameplay loop is sneaking around, making as little noise as possible.
If you’ve played Alien: Isolation, you’ll instantly feel at home with The Road Ahead’s gameplay. In one hand you hold a noise sensor, telling you how much environmental noise there is and how much noise you’re making as you sneak around. This is exacerbated by opening doors too quickly, stepping on glass, or taking puffs on your inhaler. Yes, the player character Alex requires frequent bursts of medication to stave off asthma attacks, which are brought on by too much physical exertion or being too close to the aliens.
Image Source: Stormind Games via Twinfinite
Speaking of which, the monsters in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead don’t exactly match up to the xenomorph in Alien: Isolation. While the fundamental encounters feel similar in structure, the AI is much more regimented and predictable, but also less fair in their detection abilities. Sometimes you’ll be far away from any monsters but get grabbed regardless, while other times you can sneak right alongside it and be totally fine. The game doesn’t offer much else other than these stealthy encounters where you have to get through a large labyrinth or puzzle area with a monster stuck in with you, and it gets tiresome by the end of the six-hour campaign.
That said, it’s a novel enough execution of the franchise’s key gimmick that it starts off entertainingly, if a little hand-holdy as you plod through plenty of storytelling beforehand. It’s genuinely nerve-wracking the first few times you accidentally step on a shard of glass, hearing the monster detect you and desperately scramble to get away silently.
The issue is that there isn’t enough meaningful development of this mechanic for it to retain that level of tension by the time you reach the tenth or eleventh encounter of this kind. There are efforts to do so, such as adding sandbags to pour out and make your path silent, and flares that light the way but produce a latent noise that can teeter you over into a monster’s detection zone, but it’s never more than a brief diversion from the tried-and-true sneak method you’ll now be used to.
Image Source: Stormind Games via Twinfinite
When your strategy ultimately boils down to crouching and holding the left stick just gently enough to keep you quiet on your noise sensor, it soon gets frustrating when you’re caught out and have to replay an entire section – or face another massive warehouse to get through just after completing one. A Quiet Place works as a movie franchise because the films find the sweet spot between optimizing their premise and milking them, but due to its increased length, this game doesn’t have that luxury.
Even though it gets tiresome in its latter stages, there’s still enough in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead to warrant fans of the series giving it a try. While there isn’t too much to tie it closely to the movies, the environments look absolutely stunning and the first few hours of survival gameplay are really engaging. It’s a surprisingly interesting, character-driven narrative too, one that inevitably takes a back seat when the focus goes on upping the ante and careening towards the game’s high-octane conclusion.
If you’re after a taut, tension-laden survival horror game based on a hit movie franchise, you’ll be better served by Alien: Isolation than A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead. There’s just not enough substance to its central gameplay arc to keep it fresh as you approach the latter hours, leaving you fed up by the premise of another encounter instead of intimidated by it. Franchise fans will definitely find some value in its execution of the series’ conceit, but far better alternatives are out there already.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t have enough innovation to prevent it from running out of steam in its final hours, though it does a solid job of replicating the franchise’s thesis in video game form.
Pros
Engaging opening hours
Some interesting storytelling
Environments look great
Cons
Rigid, frustrating enemy AI
Encounters that feel similar and repetitive
Lack of meaningful development to keep things interesting
A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PS5.
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In a climactic scene of the original Final Fantasy VII, hero and amateur snowboarder Cloud Strife stands with his fellow adventurers as they are about to face a final, possibly fatal battle. With the steely glare of a polygonal warrior on the verge of killing god, he turns to them and says: “Let’s mosey!” It’s an unintentionally comical moment – an easy-going phrase, as if they’re all going to the shops and not jumping into a big glowing pit at the end of the world.
It’s a result of the RPG’s famously rushed translation. But maybe not in the way you think. A fan translation of Final Fantasy VII has now fixed a bunch of mistakes that were present in the original, and “let’s mosey” is one of them. The fix? Have Cloud say it way more often.
Lust ‘n Dead destroy enemy waves one after another using an extensive range of weapons as you attempt to save the town from invasion! Improve your arsenal, level up, find the cure and witness some hot adult action! Welcome to Lust ‘n Dead, a shooter where you’ll play as Agent K69, a.k.a. Kate – a retired special forces agent being asked to save the day once more. You’ll be sent directly to the center of the zombie virus outbreak since it’s the place where zero patient should be – and he’s the only chance to save everyone! Welcome to Lust ‘n Dead, a shooter where you’ll play as Agent K69, a.k.a. A Hero’s Rest An RPG Town Simulator
Kate – a retired special forces agent being asked to save the day once more. You’ll be sent directly to the center of the zombie virus outbreak since it’s the place where zero patient should be – and he’s the only chance to save everyone! Use a wide arsenal – basic melee weapons, pistols, rifles – from a knife to a bat, from a basic pistol to a shotgun, from a sniper rifle to a tommy gun – find what suits your playstyle and make the most out of it. Gain money, level up, build your character as you like, buy new guns, upgrade them, and try to survive crowds of foes!
Features and System Requirements:
The game immerses players in a world overrun by zombies, demanding strategic combat and survival instincts.
The gameplay revolves around action-packed shooting sequences, offering a mix of hero-shooter dynamics.
The game features adult content, including NSFW and sexual themes, placing it in the mature genre.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
OS: Windows 10 or Newer
Processor: Intel Core I3
RAM: 4 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
Storage: 6 GB
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 🙂
RetroRealms Arcade and its first two games, Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead, released on digital storefronts for consoles and PC on October 18. Physical editions were initially scheduled to launch the same day, but a short delay has moved the $50 Double Feature to October 25 and the $80 Special Edition to October 31. A Halloween release date for a two-game bundle containing a game where you play as Michael Myers is fitting, especially since RetroRealms Arcade’s Collector’s Edition comes with an adorably terrifying Michael Myers plush. It also happens to be the most reasonably priced collector’s edition all year, as you’re only paying $30 extra for the plush, collectible VHS-inspired box, and a poster.
Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead RetroRealms Double Feature Special Edition is available to preorder for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox at Amazon. Preorders for both physical editions come with a pack of Halloween trading cards and two bonus playable characters with unique play styles. The two games are only sold together in physical format, but you can buy them separately for $25 each on digital storefronts. The standard edition Double Feature is $50 regardless of whether you choose physical or digital.
Get 2 bonus playable characters and collectible cards for free with launch edition ($10 value)
All physical edition preorders–Special Edition and standard–come with two playable characters who otherwise cost $5 each: Laurie Strobe, lead protagonist of the Halloween films, and Kelly Maxwell from the Starz TV series Ash vs Evil Dead. Laurie has a different move set and storyline than Michael Myers. The same goes for Kelly Maxwell and Ash Williams. Both bonus characters also have their own achievements. The digital edition of the Double Feature also includes the bonus characters until November 17, but you’ll miss out on the pack of Halloween trading cards, which is only included with physical editions.
The DLC vouchers and trading cards seem to be pack-in bonuses for physical versions, so while it’s possible you can still get them after launch, it seems unlikely that future print runs will include the bonus characters. Digital listings describe the offer as a “Day One Edition Bonus.” Based on the marketing for the Special Edition, it will always come with these extras, but collector’s editions rarely get additional print runs after they sell out.
RetroRealms Special Edition: Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead
RetroRealms has flown under the radar since its reveal in August, but if you like retro-style games with pixelated graphics and horror movies, it should definitely be on your radar. It earned an 8/10 in our RetroRealms Arcade review thanks to its well-designed platforming sequences, tight controls, and superb 16-bit graphics and animations. The two launch games, Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead, make great use of the characters and worlds from the iconic franchises, and cross-over potential of RetroRealms feels like the beginning of a fun horror multiverse. Each game is played by approaching its arcade cabinet in the 3D hub world. More games will be added as paid DLC; it’s still early days, but RetroRealms Arcade is off to an awesome start as an ode to horror movies and retro games.
RetroRealms Double Feature Special Edition includes both of WayForward’s new horror-platformer games: Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead loaded on one disc or cartridge. The Laurie Strobe and Kelly Maxwell are DLC characters, so you will need to redeem the provided codes to unlock both.
Here’s everything you get with the $80 RetroRealms Special Edition
Michael Myers 8″ Plush
11″ x 17″ RetroRealms Halloween Poster
VHS-inspired Collectible Box
Halloween Trading Card Pack (8 Cards)
Laurie Strobe and Kelly Maxwell Playable Characters (DLC)
Disc or Cartridge with two RetroRealms Arcade games: Halloween & Ash vs Evil Dead
RetroRealms Special Edition is only available on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. The Xbox disc has Smart Delivery, so it unlocks Xbox Series X and Xbox One versions of both games.
The standard edition of RetroRealms Double Feature costs $50, the same price as the digital version. Here’s what you get at launch:
Laurie Strobe and Kelly Maxwell Playable Characters (DLC)
Halloween Trading Card Pack (8 Cards)
Disc or Cartridge with two RetroRealms Arcade games: Halloween & Ash vs Evil Dead
Unlike the Special Edition, the standard Double Feature is available in physical format for PS4. Amazon has sold out of PS4 preorders, but you can still order a copy for $50 at Best Buy. Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox physical editions are still in stock at Amazon.
We’re optimistic about the future of this expanding horror arcade/museum, and it helps that the game studio behind it, WayForward, has a proven track record of making memorable games across a wide variety of genres, namely in side-scrolling action-platformers. WayForward is best known for its long-running Shantae series, but it also has an expansive list of licensed games and continuations/revivals of dormant franchises: River City Girls, Yars Rising, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, and The Mummy Demastered, to name a few.
Boss Team Games, the publisher of RetroRealms Arcade, also published the 2022 Evil Dead multiplayer game. The studio is also working on a bigger budget Halloween game, and John Carpenter, the legendary director and composer of the original film, is collaborating on the project.
The weekend is officially here, and we’ve rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for Sunday, October 20, below:
Resident Evil 4 for $19.99
Resident Evil 4 – PS5
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Resident Evil 4 was one of the biggest games of 2023, with Capcom recreating one of the highest-praised action titles ever. As Leon S. Kennedy, it’s up to you to travel to Europe and rescue the President’s daughter, Ashley Graham. With the Separate Ways DLC also available, the Resident Evil 4 remake is simply one of the best action games ever. There’s never been a better time to jump in, with this price acting as an all-time low.
EA Sports College Football 25 for $42.99
EA Sports College Football 25 – PlayStation 5
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EA Sports College Football 25 – Xbox Series X
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EA Sports College Football 25 is available on sale for $42.99 this weekend. This game marked the first college football title from EA since NCAA 14, as a lawsuit regarding player NIL (name, image, and likeness) prevented the company from producing further entries. Many of the older modes have returned to College Football 25, including Dynasty, Team Builder, and Road to Glory. Of course, dozens of new features have been added, including Stadium Pulse, which creates challenging road environments in college football’s biggest stadiums.
Save on Popular LEGO Sets This Weekend
There are quite a few LEGO deals available on sale today. This includes the LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant set, the LEGO Ideas Jazz Quartet set, the LEGO Walt Disney Tribute Camera, and more. If you’re preparing to start shopping for the holiday season, these are solid gift ideas!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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Woot! (owned by Amazon) is offering The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch for only $39.99 after you apply a $10 off promo code “ZELDAWELCOME” during checkout. This promo will only work for first orders. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, otherwise there is a $6 flat fee. You’ll be getting a physical copy, which also includes a 90-day Woot! warranty. Woot! mentions that copies may or may not be imported, but all Nintendo Switch games are region-free so you’ll be able to play the game regardless. You won’t have to worry about language either since that setting is determined by your Switch console.
Disney Classic Games Collection
Disney Classic Games Collection
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Next up, you can save on the Disney Classic Games Collection for Nintendo Switch on Amazon. This package includes multiple different versions of Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book that released over the years. You can use new features like Rewind, which allows you to retry any difficult areas, or start the game from any point with access to full game playthroughs. Additionally, there is even a CRT filter that is designed to mimick displays from the original releases!
Xbox Series X|S Seagate Expansion Card
Seagate Storage Expansion Card 2TB Solid State Drive – NVMe SSD for Xbox Series X|S
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Today, you can save $50 off the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S. This is the 2TB model, which will allow you to increase your total storage on Xbox Series X to almost 3TB. Since neither Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S supports a standard NVME SSD slot like the PlayStation 5, you will need to purchase an Expansion Card to increase your console’s storage.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 for $39.99
Luigi’s Mansion 3 – Nintendo Switch
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Luigi’s Mansion 3 is available this weekend at Woot for only $39.99. This is one of the best games available on Nintendo Switch, filled with charm and all sorts of fun puzzles. With Halloween right around the corner, there’s never been a better time to pick up the game if you haven’t already!
Kingdom Hearts All-in-One Package for $35
Kingdom Hearts All-in-One Package – PlayStation 4
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Kingdom Hearts is one of Square Enix’s best series, and it’s a must-play for any RPG fan. The series mashes together the worlds of Disney and Square Enix to tell the tale of light and darkness. This All-in-One package contains a total of ten games, with everything up to Kingdom Hearts III included. Now is the perfect time to get caught up before Kingdom Hearts IV, so pick up the All-in-One bundle today and jump into Sora’s journey.
Mario Party Superstars for $39.99
Mario Party Superstars – Nintendo Switch
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If you’re waiting for Super Mario Party Jamboree to go on sale, Woot has a great deal on Mario Party Superstars that can hold you over for the time being. Superstars features five boards from the Nintendo 64 era, recreated with new twists. You can hop online and play with friends anywhere in the world, with 100 different minigames to discover. While its content offerings are not as good as Jamboree, this is still a great Mario Party game and well worth picking up.
Metaphor: ReFantazio Collector’s Edition Available
Metaphor: ReFantazio Collector’s Edition – Xbox Series X
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Metaphor: ReFantazio Collector’s Edition – PC
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Metaphor: ReFantazio has quickly become one of the hottest games of 2024. Katsura Hashino, known for directing Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5, has led ATLUS’ Studio Zero on this project, with illustrator Shigenori Soejima serving as Character Designer on the project. Metaphor is the first step into the world of fantasy for ATLUS, and it’s been a massive success. In our 9/10 review, we stated, “Metaphor: ReFantazio is poetic, and at times, idealistic, but it also understands its complexities and that change requires action, and that even far-fetched fantasy stories can serve as inspiration to make our world a better place.”
Have you ever wished Hades starred cuddly (but lethal) animals and had co-op? If your answer is positive, you ought to check out Motion Twin‘s Windblown, whose early access launch is just around the corner and is preceded by a killer Steam Next Fest demo.
If the studio’s name sounds familiar, it’s because the team put out one of the roguelite-Metroidvania subgenre’s best, Dead Cells. Now, it’s going for a different approach, starting with a top-down view and a brand-new, distinct art style. After a number of trailers and previews, its early access launch is set for October 24, and that Next Fest demo is a sweet appetizer, I must say.
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Windblown, at least in its demo, gets right into the action, with little dialogues and storytelling getting in the way of awesome-feeling movement (you can speed over so many chunks of land in a few seconds) and breezy isometric-view action. In that regard, it feels very much like Dead Cells, a game that had a well-formed mythology, but wasn’t bogged down by too much worldbuilding nor walls of text.
Another strength that’s been successfully transferred from one game to the other is an easy-to-grasp but slightly-harder-to-master set of controls. Windblown is simple to pick up and play, but there’s a rhythm to each blow, shot, and dash. Battles soon turn into a brisk symphony that’s both visceral and tactical; the right split-second decisions (and not just reacting to visual cues) can mark the difference between coming out of a short combat encounter unscathed or barely ready to fend off another assault. ‘Alterattacks’ also seem to be key to cracking the perfect flow; they require you to quickly switch between two equipped weapons at the right moment, much like perfect dashes.
Image credit: Motion Twin
The setting, an archipelago broken into many pieces of land that are floating up high in the sky, is captivating from the very beginning as well. The vistas are gorgeous thanks to a colorful art style that’s also easy on the eyes and doesn’t feel overstuffed. Return to the village/HQ and the vibes are much more peaceful, but even inside the spooky vortex which threatens to eat everything and everyone you know and love, there’s a constant sense of beauty to Windblown that isn’t derivative.
I also got the impression from this demo alone there’s a bigger mystery to uncover (Who are we really? Why are we stuck up there?), and the fact you’re tasked with other Leapers’ knowledge and equipment teases a larger history that’s gluing the entire premise together. Again, Windblown doesn’t seem too interested in overcooking its narrative, but I can imagine Motion Twin adding more meat on top of those bones as the early access period goes on.
Image credit: Motion Twin
Even with a limited set of weapons and loot available to be found in chests and taken from fallen enemies, there’s a sense of progressing towards specific builds that is also reminiscent of Dead Cells’ approach. Instead of stacking random passives and equipment aimlessly, striking a balance between two weapons that fit your playstyle and then upgrading around them is more rewarding. That said, it’s hard to evaluate the whole thing from the demo alone, as I’m sure the meta layer of helpful progression will add lots of juice to the brew.
In any case, slaying the mysterious emissaries from the Vortex, an army of constructs as far as I can tell, always yields rewards that can be used to upgrade the next run and help the village grow. You know the drill. The big difference here is that Windblown appears to have a faster loop than other games in the roguelite space. It’s strange to just come back from an expedition (even if you fail) empty-handed; there’s always a new thing or friendly someone waiting to be interacted with.
Image credit: Motion Twin
On top of everything, Windblown comes with online co-op built in from the moment it hits early access, making it an even better option to play while you chat over Discord. I’m happy to report it’s already Steam Deck verified too, with the graphic settings even including a full preset for Valve’s little big machine. Framerate on that hardware can be uneven though, so capping it to 40 FPS feels like the right call. I’m expecting performance to get better over time though (remember it’s launching into early access).
For a game that’s dashing into an overcrowded chunk of the market, Windblown already comes across as shockingly confident and polished. I wasn’t expecting any less from Motion Twin, but it’s always great to go hands-on with a highly anticipated indie release and come out satisfied. My experience with Dead Cells also tells me they’ve got that special touch and will turn it into something notable, so bring on the next week.
Japanese Rural Life Adventure is what it says on the tin — it’s a 16-bit-style farming sim that takes place in the countryside, and it’s filled with hallmarks of the genre: You leave the city to arrive at a broken-down farm that you revitalize as you meet the townsfolk and become a part of their community. But this one doesn’t feel cramped or shortchanged on mobile. In fact, it’s designed for the medium.
Released on Apple Arcade on Sept. 15, 2023, Japanese Rural Life Adventure is not developer Game Start’s first foray into life sims nor pixel art — the studio is also responsible for Tiny Island Survival and Tiny Pixel Farm, both of which nail the nostalgic look.
“When developing a new game, we try to create pictures of various worlds using pixel art (for example, a deserted island, space, a museum, an amusement park, etc.),” Game Start founder Takeo Fujita said in an email interview. “When we drew ‘rural Japan,’ we thought ‘this will surely excite users,’ and uploaded the image to social media. The response was beyond our imagination, so we began full-scale development of a game with a ‘rural Japan’ motif.”
The original concept art for Japanese Rural Life Adventure.Image: GameStart/Apple
And that motif is extremely successful in the game — so much so that I’ve found myself searching for images of a real-life place that evokes the town in the game. It’s hilly and filled with relics of the past, like abandoned shrines and overgrown stone walls, and I can almost smell the petrichor of the foggy mornings on the mountainside. But according to Fujita, finding somewhere like this in real life is no easy feat.
“There is no electricity or gas infrastructure, and water is drawn from wells and rivers. It may be difficult to find a place like this in modern-day Japan,” Fujita said, clarifying that despite the rural nature of it, the game is set in the modern day. “An old folk house deep in the mountains, quietly left behind by the current of modernity. This is the setting of the game.”
Your aim in the game is not to bring more modernity, though — it’s simply to make the place more livable for you and the other people who live there. You’ll fix up a shrine, at which you can worship every day. You’ll buff the scratches and dirt out of a grumpy neighbor’s old car. You’ll work on your farm, growing food to cook and feed to your various pets.
The game includes the expected elements, like energy that wanes as you do tasks and gifts that increase your relationship standings with others. But those aren’t the focus of the gameplay. The motivation to keep playing lies in opening up new areas of the map — including the mystical realm that was just added in Oct. 17’s game update — and celebrating as many cultural moments as you can, some of which take the better part of an in-game year to prepare for.
Those cultural elements — like the recipes and the gosekku — shine a light on traditions old and new, religious and secular. For instance, in spring, you’ll engage in ohanami, which simply means to admire the blooming flowers. In winter, you’ll do the “big clean,” where you wash down your home in preparation for the new year.
“We also selected a balanced selection of traditional Japanese events that are held in each period — spring, summer, autumn, and winter. We also wanted players to get to know ‘Japanese food,’ so we developed a cooking mini-game,” Fujita said.
Image: GameStart/Apple
The cooking minigame is a joy to play, and fills the entire screen so you don’t have to squint to click on the right pot or bowl. Each minigame is well thought out, including fishing — optimized for touchscreens with a tap-to-reel mechanic.
Overall, the game is a pared-down version of a farming sim, but that doesn’t mean it lacks depth — it just means that instead of 28 days per month, there are two, and instead of endless missions, there are pointed quests that arise as you progress.
The daily quests could use some work, though. You can grab one of these per 24 real-time hours, but there’s no mechanic that reminds you to do them, nor any notification that you’ve failed when the time is up. Nonetheless, the game doesn’t really need those daily quests, as you could spend anywhere from two minutes to several hours playing Japanese Rural Life Adventure.
The Oct. 17 update, which throws players into a “mysterious world where spirits live,” isn’t the last that Game Start has planned.
“This year, and even next year, we will be adding new areas where you can experience Japanese culture and that are depicted in pixel art. We also would like to add as many requests as possible from players,” Fujita said. So if you’re looking for a mobile-friendly (that’s portrait mode and landscape mode, commuters) farming sim that you can play for weeks on end, Japanese Rural Life Adventure won’t disappoint. I’ve kept up with my farm on and off for the year since the game was released and haven’t run out of new discoveries.
Japanese Rural Life Adventure was released Sept. 15, 2023, on iOS and Mac. The game was reviewed on an iPhone using an Apple Arcade subscription provided by Apple. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
