GamersHeroes Friday, August 22, 2025 4:57 PM A nostalgic JRPG love letter to the Game Boy Color era, Exquisite Laundry Pet and Mega Cat Studios' Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land is set to launch for Steam - and physically for the Game Boy Color! - next year. The post Mysterious JRPG Adventure Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land Launching For Steam and Game Boy Color in 2026 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Friday, August 22, 2025 3:52 PM Back after 14 years, the Katamari Damacy series is back with the release of RENGAME and Bandai Namco's Once Upon a KATAMARI - gear up with the newly released opening movie for the title. The post Once Upon A KATAMARI Opening Movie Released appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Friday, August 22, 2025 3:20 PM The team behind PUBG Mobile recently released Meet Your Creators, a documentary that sets out to celebrate the creativity of PUBG MOBILE's community in both the World of Wonder and the Ptopia Design Project platforms. The post PUBG MOBILE "Meet Your Creators" Documentary Released appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Friday, August 22, 2025 2:09 PM Zenless Zone Zero fans, get ready - Version 2.2 of HoYoverse's popular title, dubbed "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," is set to launch September 4. The post Zenless Zone Zero Version 2.2 Launching September 4 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Friday, August 22, 2025 4:25 PM
We're diving into retro frights, a slick new sci-fi shooter, Pac-Man's dark new look, and some game that has to do with that Silksong thing ya'll are talking about The post <i>Kotaku'</i>s Weekend Guide: 4 Great Games We Can't Wait To Get Back To appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 22, 2025 3:46 PM
Preston Mutanga animated the Lego segment in Across the Spider-Verse The post This Fanmade <em>KPop Demon Hunters</em> Lego Recreation Is So Good It Could Be Official appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 22, 2025 2:17 PM
Bubsy 4D from Atari and Fabraz is looking like it might be a damn fine platformer The post The New <i>Bubsy</i> Game Actually Looks Awesome, Seriously appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 22, 2025 1:37 PM
The HBO Max show reshot a scene from the first season's finale to explain its multiverse shenanigans The post <em>Peacemaker</em> Season 2 Officially Removes Zack Snyder's Justice League From The DCU appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 22, 2025 1:32 PM
The company keeps putting out commercials in which the monsters are killing us, and we are here for it The post Pokémon Keeps Releasing Trailers That Scare The S*** Out Of Me appeared first on Kotaku. |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 4:36 PM A few tweaks can turn a gear-focused action RPG like Diablo into something that feels like an entirely new style of game. While Path of Exile 2 and Last Epoch offer experiences similar to Diablo 4, the series has also inspired shooters ranging from Destiny 2 and Outriders to The Division 2 and Borderlands 4. Still, there's something to be said for the demon-slicing and faux-medieval European dungeon-crawling that also gives Diablo some of its charm. A new game called Daimon Blades looks to channel all of these elements into a first-person roguelike hack and slash that serves as a spin-off for cult classic RPG Eye: Divine Cybermancy. And you can try it for yourself very soon. |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 3:32 PM Fallout 76 was something of a disaster when it first launched back in 2018. Taking notes from games like World of Warcraft and Bethesda's own The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout's foray into the MMO genre was initially plagued by glitches, unimpressive quests, and expensive in-game items. It's drastically improved over the years, though, even if certain features still remain frustrating. One of these is Fallout 76's building system, which is now finally about to be fixed with the new Camp Revamp update, due to come out very soon. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best games like Fallout, Fallout 5 release date, Best Fallout 4 mods |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 2:53 PM Dying Light is one of the most compelling takes on the zombie videogame to date. Although it doesn't feature the deep simulation systems of Project Zomboid or State of Decay 2, its concentration on Dead Rising-style weapon crafting and Mirror's Edge-reminiscent parkour makes its action-heavy focus remarkable. Before Dying Light: The Beast, the latest instalment in the series, comes out next month, now's the perfect time to play the first game, especially as it's currently available with a steep discount and as a free trial this weekend on Steam. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best zombie games, Best open-world games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 1:48 PM Syberia is renowned as one of the best written adventure games ever made. Created by Microids and Benoît Sokal, a Belgian comic book artist, the 2002 project was the first official entry in a series that's spanned five games, including the recently remade introduction to its setting, Amerzone. Earlier this year, we learned that Syberia was set to receive its own relaunch, which would bring the classic to current audiences with a new version as fully reworked as other adventures like Myst and Riven. Now, with today's launch date announcement, we have news that this remake isn't far off. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best old games, Best puzzle games, Best story games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 1:13 PM It's always worth listening to your fans. Unless they're asking for every NPC to be turned into a watermelon, that is. But for the most part, they have sensible suggestions and it's up to developers to aggregate all the social media noise into constructive feedback that aligns with their plans. Many were surprised that Tom Clancy's The Division 2 did not include a Survival mode at launch. The DLC by the same name for the first game was wildly popular, and it seemed like an easy win for the sequel. Two and a half years after release, however, a similar extraction mode is finally on its way. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best co-op games, The best multiplayer games, The best MMOs in 2023 |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 4:20 PM August 22, 2025: Four new Hunty Zombie codes just dropped ahead of the weekend update. What are the latest Hunty Zombie codes? If you're as obsessed with the new Roblox shooter title as we are, you'll want to keep sneaking around the lobby for Hunty Zombie codes between rounds. The best hunter is a prepared hunter, and these promo codes are the ticket to your survival. Given you're clearly looking to mow down undead hordes on Roblox, we can only assume you might be interested in any number of FPS games on the platform. Arm yourself with the latest Rivals codes or Arsenal codes to get a taste of what else is around. If you're diving into the game yourself, you can also check out the Hunty Zombie tier list for details on the best weapons and traits. Continue reading Hunty Zombie codes August 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 12:30 PM You can officially build a gaming PC with a Lego PC case, and this Redditor has proved it by building not one, but three. This intrepid PC builder has managed to fit an AMD Ryzen gaming PC into the standalone case, but they've also put together two old-school CRT-style monitor enclosures, both with space for touchscreen displays and mini-ITX gaming PCs. Lego is a pretty versatile building material, and we've seen it pop up from time to time in a number of PC build creations, including this awesome Lego Fortnite gaming PC. I've used it on a small scale for several Raspberry Pi cases, but I have to admit that I'd be intrigued to design a bigger case like these myself. The only concern would be the thermals, because if I wanted specs to match the rigs in our best gaming PC guide, it's probably going to get toasty inside. Continue reading These Lego mini gaming PC builds have a charming retro style MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 12:25 PM When is the Black Ops 7 beta? How is it that time of the year again? It feels like summer has barely started, and we're counting down to those cozy fall evenings spent in front of the newest Call of Duty game. As the Black Ops 7 release date was announced during Gamescom ONL, the first thing on our minds was when we'd be able to get our hands on this year's entry in the iconic FPS game series. There's always a huge multiplayer beta, and 2025 is no different, with a full week of Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta action just weeks away. Continue reading Black Ops 7 beta dates and details MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best multiplayer games, Best single-player games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 12:16 PM It takes a special kind of game to inspire a flock of other developers to follow in its wake. Dark Souls is one. Rogue another, although many younger roguelike players have no clue where the name comes from. Many are starting to coin the term 'Balatro-like,' as well. CloverPit is one of many such games, inspired by LocalThunk's effortlessly engaging poker roguelike. Replace the deck of cards with a one-armed bandit, and add in a sprinkle of scares, and you've got a recipe for success. However, CloverPit developer Panik Arcade has had to push its release back, and it's all down to Hollow Knight: Silksong. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Indie Games, Hollow Knight Silksong release date, Upcoming PC Games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 12:24 PM When is the Black Ops 7 release date? This June, Activision dropped a casual reveal trailer for the next game in the Call of Duty line-up as part of a jam-packed Summer Game Fest weekend. The annualized series tends to bounce between Black Ops, Modern Warfare, and other Call of Duty sub-series, giving the respective teams time to bring their game to fruition. For the first time in Black Ops history, however, we're going straight from one BlOps game to another following 2024's Black Ops 6. That said, we're not continuing the story where it left off. Instead, Black Ops 7 takes us to a futuristic 2035, 40 years on from the '90s setting of BO6. Familiar faces do return in the FPS game, though, while mind-bending chaos takes the series to a place it's never been before. Here's everything we know about the Black Ops 7 release date so far. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best multiplayer games, Best single-player games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 22, 2025 4:22 PM What's Hunty Zombie tier list of best weapons? Though only released in an alpha state in August, Hunty Zombie has enough character mechanics to warrant numerous tier lists. So whether you're looking for the best traits, weapons, or perks in Hunty Zombie ahead of your first match, you'll find the best things to roll for here. New or not, fresh Hunty Zombie codes have been dropping at a rapid pace. With cash, spins, and trait rerolls all being common rewards from these limited-time redeemables, letting a single one expire will mean passing up a potentially free S-tier Roblox upgrade. And if you're looking to break into the premium horror space, try the latest Dead by Daylight codes. Continue reading Hunty Zombie tier list - best weapons, perks, and traits MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, August 22, 2025 5:15 PM  Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but why do product names in gaming sound so aggressive? Why can't we get the Razer SoftKitty V3 Pro? Ah well. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, August 22, 2025 1:52 PM  Did you know that the original Metal Gear Solid 3 on PS2 had a reworked Zone of the Enders 3 prototype hidden in it? I didn't. The secret minigame in question is "Guy Savage", a barebones hack-and-slasher featuring hook swords, bestial transformations and zombie coppers. It's framed as a dream of Naked Snake's - triggered by a combination of torture and an unhelpful reference to Dracula from radio contact Para-Medic during a codec conversation before saving. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, August 22, 2025 1:15 PM  If you're anything like me, you'll know Ultrawide monitors are amazing. Whether it's extra real estate for work or extra immersion while gaming, there's one downside - the monitor mount situation. |
Siliconera Friday, August 22, 2025 5:00 PM
Cygames announced the next Umamusume: Pretty Derby Champions Meeting PVP race will be the Gemini Cup. It will take place in September 2025. However, the developer didn't set an exact date for when we can expect the event. In Japan, it originally ran in June 2021.
While we don't know exactly when the race will run, we do know details that can help us plan when training characters. This will be a Long race, so you'll need runners with that specialty like Narita Taishin. It will be on Firm Turf, so a skill like Firm Conditions could help. It will be Sunny and Spring too, so consider Sunny Days and Spring Runner. It will be a Right run, so Right-Handed is an option. Since it will last 3200m, Standard Distance can be helpful.
For those playing now, the PVP Taurus Cup is now running. Some of the best and most common characters showing up are Gold Ship, Nice Nature, and Oguri Cap.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is available on PCs and mobile devices, the Champions Meeting Taurus Cup runs until August 27, 2025, and the PVP Gemini Cup starts in September 2025. The original anime is on Crunchyroll, while Cinderella Gray is on Amazon.
The post Umamusume Champions Meeting Gemini Cup PVP Announced appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 22, 2025 4:00 PM
At the beginning of August 2025, HoYoVerse and Razer teased merchandise based on Zenless Zone Zero on social media, and now both revealed the collection of four items that also feature art and an aesthetic based on Hoshimi Miyabi. Everything came up during the Special Program for 2.2. The Razer Cobra gaming mouse based on her and Blackwidow V4 keyboard pre-orders are both available now. The Razer Iskur V2 gaming chair and Gigantus V2 mouse mat are still on the way. These are only showing on the Razer storefront right now and not other places like Amazon.
Both the Zenless Zone Zero Blackwidow V4 keyboard andRazer Cobra mouse both come out in September 2025. The former will ship on September 23, 2025, and it will cost $189.99. The latter arrives a day later on September 24, 2025, and it will be $59.99. The keyboard offers RGB and six macro keys, a teal and black color scheme, an outline of her face on the space bar, and her name above the directional keys. You also get 10 Official Investigator Logs, 250 Polychromes, and 60,000 Dennies. The mouse is also an RGB one with "gradient underglow" and optical switches, and that comes with 100 Polychromes and 30,000 Dennies. Miyabi's face is outlined in silver on the left and right buttons.
The Zenless Zone Zero Miyabi Razer Iskur V2 gaming chair and Gigantus V2 mouse mat feature similar designs and color schemes. The mouse pad will be $29.99 when pre-orders open. It has "micro-weave" cloth on top of foam with an "anti-slip base." That will be available in medium, large, XXL, and XXXL sizes, with larger ones costing more. It comes with 10 Official Investigator Logs and 50 Polychromes. The chair pre-orders and notifications aren't open yet. That will be $399.99 when released. It will also come with 15 Official Investigator Logs, 400 Polychromes, and 50,000 Dennies.
Here's how everything looks:
Zenless Zone Zero is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices.
The post Razer Zenless Zone Zero Collection Stars Miyabi appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 22, 2025 3:00 PM
Back when the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice anime adaptation called Sekiro: No Defeat debuted at gamescom 2025, people pointed out AI was mentioned as being used in Qzil.la development according to the studio site. Crunchyroll and the developer now shared a statement that said no AI is being used in the project.
Concerns came up after the first trailer for the show appeared during Opening Night Live 2025. Once Qzil.la was revealed as being behind the Sekiro: No Defeat anime, people checked the studio site and found a statement that said the team uses AI. It is still present in the "Technology" section as of 11am ET on August 22, 2025. The message read, "We challenge the conventional wisdom of existing methods, collaborate with partner companies with high technical capabilities, and utilize the latest technologies such as AI to evolve production processes and expressions, thereby bringing about digital disruption in the anime industry."
Qzil.la took to social media to attempt to dispel concerns about this anime using AI instead of actual handiwork. Crunchyroll then shared the translated version of the statement regarding AI in the Sekiro: No Defeat anime. Part of it mentioned the show being "fully hand-drawn."
Sekiro: No Defeat will air in 2026, and the show will stream on Crunchyroll worldwide. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is available on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The post Qzil.la Said No AI Being Used in Sekiro: No Defeat Anime appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 22, 2025 2:00 PM
Pop Mart announced a new The Monsters Labubu Pin for Love vinyl plush pendant line that includes blind boxes with 30 colors and letter pendants keychains that cover the full alphabet. The plush dolls will be $22.99 each, while the fabric letter keychains are going to cost $18.99 for one box. Both will start shipping on August 28, 2025.
Since there are such a large selection of designs in both The Monsters Pin for Love Labubu plush and letter collections, each one is split in half. So if you go for the vinyl plush pendant blind box, there will be one that covers A-M and another that is N-Z. The A-M series boxes are yellow, to help make them recognizable at a glance, and the fur for the stuffed vinyl dolls inside tend to feature more pastel or muted colors. The N-Z ones are in blue boxes, and the colors are more bold. Each one features one "secret" design that has 1/168 odds of being picked.
Here's how those vinyl plush pendants look:
Likewise, the letter pendant Pin for Love are split into A-M and N-Z selections, with the former boxes being yellow and the latter blue. Each one features a little metal Labubu charm and a fabric letter. The A-M collection includes a question mark, as well as a 1/168 chance of getting one with a heart design. The N-Z selection features an ampersand and a 1/168 chance of getting an exclamation point.
Here's how those look:
In addition to those vinyl plush figures and keychains, there are figures in these collections. One of the most notable recent ones featured One Piece characters as Labubu.
The Monsters Labubu Pin for Love vinyl plush pendant and letter pendant keychains will be available via Pop Mart on August 28, 2025.
The post New Pop Mart Pin for Love Labubu Series Features 30 Designs appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 22, 2025 1:00 PM
Team Cherry updated the Kickstarter page to cover the distribution of Hollow Knight: Silksong keys, and those who supported it will only be able to choose from Switch, Switch 2, and PC copies of the game. As a reminder, when the game launches on September 4, 2025, it will be available on multiple platforms. PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X are also among them.
The developer didn't explain why there is the limitation in terms of which Hollow Knight: Silksong Kickstarter game keys are available. The message only noted that it will begin contacting people. When they do, people will either get a Switch & Switch 2 copy or a Steam or DRM-free PC code. The game will be on GOG, Humble, and Steam, so it's unknown the exact source of the DRM-free copy.
The official site for the game is live with new information too. It confirmed the Hallownest princess Hornet is in a whole new environment as Hollow Knight: Silksong begins. Someone abducted her. Now, she'll not only need to discover what is going on, but also save this additional kingdom and its innocent people. This also confirmed Christopher Larkin is the composer and involved a soundtrack preview.
Hollow Knight: Silksong will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on September 4, 2025, though Kickstarter backers can only select Switch, Switch 2, or PC keys for the game.
The post Hollow Knight: Silksong Kickstarter Backers Get Switch, Switch 2, or PC Keys appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 5:46 PM
No matter if you are looking to speed run Conquest, turn your army into an unstoppable force, or stack up wins in the Arena, investing in the right heroes is a must in Kingshot.
But that brings up a question. After all, has the meta changed with the arrival of Generation 3, or are the game's marked cards still at the top? To answer that and more, here's our Kingshot Hero tier list, going from Jabel and Petra to totally not Geralt, Amadeus.
Table of contents
Kingshot Hero tier list (August 2025)
As you can see below, we decided to divide our list into four tiers, going from S to C. We also added separate sections for each tier further below, featuring quick overviews of its heroes (S and A) and the criteria behind our choices.
Keep in mind that, unlike in most games, your Kingshot hero pool will increase as your server ages. In other words, you will get access to Marlin, Zoe, and Hilde after 40 days, while getting the Gen 3 Heroes (Petra, Jaeger, and Eric) will require a 110-day-old account. If you are an avid player, you can check out your account's age by heading to the VIP screen.
S-Tier, explained
In the S-Tier, we have the game's cream of the crop, each capable of dominating as the top options within their respective classes in all modes. Among them, Amadeus and Petra are our highlights, as while the former has yet to lose his spot as a premier frontliner, the newcomer leaves most of the competition in the dust when the subject is overall DMG. You can check out an overview of all S-Tier Heroes below:
A-Tier, explained
In the A-tier, we have heroes who are either a step behind our S-Tiers DMG-wise or who, unfortunately, cannot match their versatility. Great examples of that can be seen in Jabel, a former S-tier who lost her spot with Petra's arrival, and Helga, who lacks Amadeus's offensive impact or the utility needed to rival Zoey outside of fixed scenarios.
B and C-Tiers, explained
The B-Tier houses all heroes who, even if paired with the best possible compositions, are unable to match the efficiency of the above, be it through lower stats or a lack of skills. The biggest example of that can be seen in Howard, who has a great disadvantage in his low HP. Saul might also be a surprise for many, given his SSR status, but he earned a spot here due to his inability to outperform in PVP. To recap, here are all of the B-Tier Heroes in Kingshot:
In the C-tier, we then have the game's rare units, who have in their low stats and lack of combat skills the bane of their kits. But don't go counting them out yet, as their Growth skills can make them worthy starters when looking to gather resources early on.
With the tier list done with, make sure to also take a look at the most recent Kingshot codes for some extra materials, Hero Shards, and, of course, Gems.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 4:54 PM
Silent Hill f is the latest and arguably most unique title in the survival horror franchise, with a new time period and setting not seen before in the series.
Today at gamescom, Destructoid sat down with series producer Motoi Okamoto and game director Al Yang to discuss the upcoming title and how, in spite of the changes, it's still Silent Hill at its grotesque heart. Here's how that conversation went down.
Note: Parts of this interview were edited to avoid repetition and allow for better text clarity.
This is the first time that you're bringing the Silent Hill franchise to Japan. I wanted to ask how the team took the challenge of making a game based in Japan that kept to the themes of being a Silent Hill game without losing its core identity.
Motoi Okamoto (Silent Hill series producer, translated by interpreter Daiki Yamamoto): The scriptwriter that we have for this game, Ryukishi07, is very talented, and he has a very firm grasp on what constitutes a Silent Hill game. One of the core tenets of the game lies in how it focuses on the female struggle of societal expectations and pressures. This game will be focusing on that journey of someone who tries to fight back against such societal norms.
Al Yang (Silent Hill f Director): Now, to add to that a little bit. The thing with classic Silent Hill titles, it's very different across the board. For [Silent Hill 1] and [Silent Hill 3], you have it focused on the order, for instance. For [Silent Hill 2], it's one man's personal kind of trauma. But across every single Silent Hill title, there's one thing that remains the same, which is this very unique, pervasive, tense, dread atmosphere. No matter where it's set, one of the main things we really had to capture was that feeling, that out of place, out of time kind of identity.
And with Silent Hill f, because it's in 1960s Japan, it's just far enough in the past where things seem familiar to you, like a phone or a car, but, you're not used to seeing these kinds today, so it's an extra layer of unfamiliarity. An example I like to use is like we have a school in the game, as you know, there was a lot of school in the first game too. Everybody from every culture knows what a school is, but do you know what a Japanese school in the countryside is like? The layout, the structure, and on top of that, it's in the '60s, so a double layer of unfamiliarity there. So for that, it was a core part of the classic Silent Hill titles, we made sure to do that for everything in Silent Hill f also.
You've already touched on it with the theme of the game with the female identity and going against the system. I wanted to ask if this theme was very prevalent early on in development and how the team came about creating a story regarding this theme that led to our main protagonist Hinako and the progression of the story overall.
Okamoto (translated by Yamamoto): The concept of female societal pressures is something that was decided on very early on. This was a theme that the script writer wanted to work with. So the early rough drafts for the plot were actually completed very early on and built on from there. And of course, the plot did undergo some additional revisions, so we added more to the plot and that connected to having even more endings than we initially expected, which probably led to a lot of extra work. Yes, but thankfully, Ryukishi07 is a very adept writer and he's very quick to manifest his ideas in writing. So, I believe that that is something that came about very smoothly. And also, adding to the plot, there's a pervasive concept in the game about exploring exploring beauty and terror, as we say, finding the beauty in terror. But this is something that we fleshed out as part of a four-way collaboration. It's not just with the scriptwriter, but also with Kara, the monster character designer, and course our friends at [co-development studio Neobards Entertainment] and ourselves at Konami. We fleshed out that concept of juxtaposing beauty, the beautiful and the horrible, very early on, and we built a path.
With Silent Hill, finding the right balance between player power and player vulnerability is very important. I wanted to talk about the weapon system and also the durability system and how the team pitched this gameplay but also balanced it in a way that felt right for the series.
Okamoto (translated by Yamamoto): It's definitely a challenge, as you've guessed. One of the main things we want to look at is how traditional ranged combat in horror games is very well established, and there's a lot of things that work out very well for it. For instance, the closer an enemy is to you, the more tense you are, and then when you're aiming down sights, have to wait for the crosshair to kind of shrink down. Everything is there to kind of slow the pacing down of the game. And for us, a lot of the actions we have like dodging and whatnot, it's not that action games and horror games can't have them, it's that the pace and rate at which you'd be constantly being attacking, it doesn't feel like a horror game. So, that's something we really took into account. But again, for horror, a big thing is resource control, limited resources; you need to know exactly how little resources you have in relation to kind of the challenges you face to make you feel tense. So for instance, if I see a monster and I have a hundred bullets in my gun. I'm like, "yeah, you know, I'll take this guy or whatever." I have three? You're going to think about whether you want to fight this guy or not. So, even though we're fully melee, there's a lot of analogs from traditional ranged combat. Durability is pretty much ammo. Our focus and sanity system is like aiming down sights, slowing down kind of like your perception and slowing down the focus. And for inspiration of this, we actually, when we started, we looked towards a lot of the older Silent Hill titles. We're like, "okay, what's something that's unique and interesting that might appeal to both older players that might have played this, or also younger players bringing it?" As you know, like, younger players do like action games. So we did go a little bit more that direction, but again, we balanced it. Story mode is something we always like to pitch to classic Silent Hill players, because that's where you get the classic experience. But at the same time, Silent Hill 4, very mainly focused, very heavy there, so we took inspiration from that and kind of built off of that.
Inspiration definitely feels like something that Silent Hill f is based on—not just the story and the history of the franchise, but other games, other horror games that have elevated the genre in some way. What were your main inspirations not just with gaming but with culture and movies when deciding the gameplay but also the world and the story that it's based on?
Okamoto (translated by Yamamoto): Ryukishi07, his breadth of knowledge when it comes to Japanese folklore, mythology, culture in general, so I'm sure that he's taken a lot of inspirations in order to cultivate the overall world building and the lore surrounding the game.
Yang: We actually did a lot of research on one of the prominent filmmakers in that era, prominent media, and basically took a look at how things worked out back then. And you can probably guess without naming names, but also looking at more newer J-Horror, and that slow burn, the way they build tension and hold it there before dropping it. We really wanted to grab that kind classic 60's Showa era style and atmosphere but also marry it with more modern kind of J-horror tropes. So, that's kind of one of the directions we took there.
With such a focus on combat with the gameplay, I'm curious to know if combat has become essential to Silent Hill f to complete it and to progress, or in theory if you were skilled enough, could a player go through the entire game without fighting a single enemy?
Okamoto (translated by Yamamoto): Something we find very interesting, and this is not just Silent Hill f or Silent Hill series but just games in general, is if you give someone a weapon, no matter how bad it is, they will fight everything in front of them. With that in mind, Silent Hill f is because we still are trying to emulate the horror game here. And then as you know, classic Silent Hill titles do have a lot of combat in there. But the key thing here is most of the game is designed [in a way] that you don't actually have to fight everything in your way. That's your choice. Even some of the stronger boss monsters you might have run across, you don't have to fight them. There's lot of opportunities to run away. In terms of the entire game, without giving a very specific number, you can get through most of the game without fighting anyone if you so choose and you're skilled enough to do so, but we do also have bosses that you will have to fight. There's no way to circumvent them, there are actual key points in game where fighting is the only option.
Silent Hill f launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on Sept. 25.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 4:38 PM
LEGO is not only a brand of building blocks, but a driving force behind a series of fantastic adventure video games based on some of the most popular franchises and IPs in video game and entertainment history.
These LEGO titles were part of any modern gamer's upbringing, whether through exposing them to incredible Hollywood productions like Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, or by immersing them in the fantastical and heroic worlds of comic books. Speaking of comics, this next LEGO game focuses on perhaps one of the biggest comic book characters to date—The Dark Knight, Batman.
During Gamescom 2025, we got to speak with Jimmy Sedota, TT Games' Design Director working on LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. He shared the team's reasoning behind going for a Batman game this time around, the combat, the gameplay, and a whole lot more.
LEGO Batman was also the recipient of our Best Gamescom 2025 Game Award.
Here is the full conversation.
Note: Parts of this interview were edited for the sake of text clarity and avoiding repetition.
So, why Batman? Why a LEGO Batman game and not something like a LEGO Justice League game or another property from DC's library?
Jimmy Sedota (Assistant Design Director, TT Games): Yeah, I think because Batman has so much history now. You know, we're over 80 years of Batman lore and history. And so, we felt like there's so much there. You could make a whole game just focused on that, which is what we've been doing. So, there's so much to pull from. We're pulling from film, television, the animated series.
We're looking at comics, of course, and games. And there's so much there, so much depth there for us to tap into, that it just felt like the right time to come back to it.
When I was playing the game, it did feel very much akin to the Arkham series by Rocksteady. When you were thinking of the direction of the game and the gameplay itself, did you look at the Arkham games for inspiration, or was it more about taking bits and pieces off of things to make a complete Batman experience?
Sedota: Yeah, it was more the second. We absolutely love the Arkham series. I'm a huge fan of that series. What Rocksteady did really [was] create kind of a unique genre of combat. So, of course, we looked at that as reference and took inspiration from it.
But it wasn't just that, right? I mean, it was looking at other games and, again, other films and comics, everything. There's going to be natural commonality there. Batman is all about fighting and encountering lots of enemies and using stealth, and using his gadgets, and gliding, and the Grappler Launcher. So, it's natural that there's going to be some similarities there, even if we weren't setting out to build something unique, which is exactly what we wanted to do.
We built the combat from the ground up, based on what we thought was going to be the best LEGO Batman experience. You know, co-op. We have couch co-op. That's important for us. So, that's something that is unique to what we're doing. [There are also] multiple playable characters over the course of the game.
And then, of course, the humor. So, trying to keep things fun, family-friendly. Popping a guy over the head with a frying pan. You know, just keeping things light in tone, but still feeling like it is an authentic Batman experience.
How difficult or how unique was it to try to find ways to incorporate that Batman style while still keeping the authenticity of those other characters in the game?
Sedota: Yeah, it's definitely something that we looked a lot at, thinking about co-op in particular, and making sure that all the characters could stay together. Because it is very easy to be like, well, Batman's the best, so we'll make him the fastest. But then, if I'm not Batman, I'm left behind, right?
So, we wanted to make sure that the base and the core mechanics were very similar and balanced in a way that was the same across them, but then giving them their own unique flavor. So, whether that's the art of the gliders and what they look like [as] every character has their own version of that and what that looks like. The same with vehicles and driving and all that. You've got the Batmobiles and the Tumbler and the Batcycles, but all the other characters have multiple vehicles that they can use that are each unique to that character and, I think, fit the character.
The last thing is an example with Gordon. It's subtle sometimes, but if you notice when you look at Batman grapple, he's very cool. He knows what he's doing. Gordon's kind of, his legs are kicking, and he's a little bit unsure of himself, but he gets there.
So, that's something we feel adds personality and a unique trait for Gordon, but still allows it, mechanically, to work similarly.
Looking at the history of TT Games and your recent project, like Star Wars, it feels like you've learned a lot of lessons, especially when it comes to the free world aspect LEGO Batman has. And, obviously, you're trying to make Gotham City a playground, right? So, I'm trying to understand where the team looks to when creating its own version of Gotham City that fits the LEGO theme?
Sedota: Yeah, so, a lot of it comes from story. A lot of story often unlocks and kind of helps guide a project. So, when we were looking to build the story, we knew that, obviously, Gotham had to be a big part of it and not just a secondary thing to do on the side.
The main story will go through a lot of levels, like you saw with Ace, but the main story will also take you through missions that take place in Gotham. Then we have all the extra open-world content, deciding activities, all these things that you can do. And so, we wanted to make sure that it felt more like a single, cohesive kind of experience.
We're not just kind of recreating film by film by film, [but] taking all this reference from all these different films in this project, and comics, and animation. We felt like the game structure of it needed to be a little bit different, but still similar to things we've done in the past. But it is an evolution.
Let's talk about the design aspects of the characters themselves. As you mentioned, you're taking a lot of aspects from different TV shows, games, etc. For instance, we see Heath Ledger's Joker, then we see what I believe is Danny DeVito's Penguin. When actually figuring out how those characters should look, how did the team decide, well, we want to take this aspect of that and then mix it with this to create a more complete experience?
Sedota: Yeah, so I think there are a couple of things. So, one, it was looking at what are the most iconic moments from the films, and the things that we then wanted to put into the story. And so, sometimes that influenced it. Such as some of the stuff with Heath Ledger, some of those iconic scenes, we wanted to maybe pull that version in. And then some of it was just making sure that we weren't too focused on one movie or one comic.
We wanted to really make sure that we had a pretty good balance of pulling from the different films, the different comics. So, Gordon will be referenced from one set of films, whereas Batman has a few different versions in terms of the suits and the outfits. We [also] wanted to make sure that we had good variety across all the mediums so it wasn't too heavily skewed towards one thing or another.
I assume, at least for now, that the team is more focused on the Bruce Wayne story, right? From the start to when he becomes the eventual Batman we know. But are there going to be any kind of hints or looks at other stories other than Bruce Wayne during the game? And if so, can you hint or talk a bit about that?
Sedota: Yeah, I mean, we definitely do some of that. Because it is a Batman story, but it's not just about Batman and Bruce Wayne. He's the star of the show, but it's [also] about the Batman family.
I think a good example [are] the seven playable characters we talked about. Our Robin is Dick Grayson. He becomes Nightwing in our game. So, it's a Batman lore story, but it's not about Bruce and Batman. So, that's an example that I can definitely talk about where we do tell a story about a character and their arc within the story that's not just focused on Batman. But [our game is] definitively a Batman story.
So, we do try to cover as much as we can.
Does the LEGO Batman universe work with the DC universe or with the James Gunn team? Or is it more your own take and your own DC Extended Universe [story]?
Sedota: Yeah, this game is very much about our take on that universe, for sure. And it is really a mash-up of all this different stuff. And we've made it our own. It's our telling of the legend of Batman. And so, yes, there's gonna be things that are gonna be seen in multiple films and multiple stories. But we've woven it in a way that is unique to us. So, we're taking reference from everything we can.
But it's more Batman universe than it is wider DC universe.
Outside of Batman, if you personally could LEGO-fy and tell the story of any other DC universe character, other than Superman, who would it be?
Sedota: There's so much to draw from. I'm a huge Batman fan. I won't give you a specific character, but there's still a lot that we can tap into that I think would be really exciting for us to look at.
I think the thing is there's a lot of potential. I think with the DC universe, there are so many characters to focus on. It really is hard to pick one. I love animated series. You can tell we know our stuff, right?
[But] I can't pick one. There's too much. I'm sorry, there's just so many things.
Is there any prospect of a DC character outside the Bat Family appearing in this game in some form in the future, whether it's DLC or otherwise? Or is the main focus just to stay within Gotham City and the Bat Family?
Sedota: Yeah, we're focused very much on the Bat Family and staying within the Batman universe. But a lot more will be revealed as we get closer to launch, so I think you'll be surprised by how many things we are tapping into. But yeah, we're very much a definitive Batman game.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:13 PM
It's that time of the year, ladies and gentlemen, when we finally reveal who has won our Best Game award at this year's Gamescom, and this one was a doozy to decide on.
We went back and forth on a lot of games and the various criteria we could use to decide this award. Still, we had to go with our gut instinct, considering the strong list of games that were at the show this year, to pick out the one that we enjoyed playing the most, remembered the most, and had the best memories of after our play session.
That's not to say that over games that we didn't pick here aren't good, but when it came to LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it was just a winner to us. And you can check out our hands-on here before we get into the award itself.
Before I begin, I wanted to give a special shoutout to a bunch of games that we were considering because they were just so awesome to play this year. These included Resident Evil: Requiem, Sonic Racing Crosswords, Silksong, and several other titles that we unfortunately can't reveal at this time. It was truly a delight to play so many wonderful games this year, which made it even harder to hand out the award.
But it was the sheer amount of content available in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and the fun we had driving around the small section of Gotham—taking part in a bunch of puzzles and also experiencing a lengthy story mission along the way—that just made us want more of this game and after talking to some of the team about the development process it was clear that these guys wanted to make this game a labour of loveto. Batman fans from the comics, games, shows, and movies, and it shows in what we played.
The game was first showcased and made playable at Gamescom for attendees, and I think this also boosted its chances for the award. Anytime we had a chance to check out both the LEGO booth and other areas where this game was, it was packed to the brim with lines that only were being rivalled by Silksong.
This game was a delight to play. I'm excited to see what the team has been working on behind the scenes, and I hope those who missed out on the venue get to play soon.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:13 PM
I want everyone reading this article to know that the Reanimal devs were the most excited individuals I met at Gamescom and just seem to be having the time of their lives.
That excitement was evident when I had a 30-minute closed-door play session of a co-op level for the game. It was clear to me when talking with the two devs at hand that there was a sheer joy and delight in bringing this project to life, and they were excited to see how people would react ahead of the game's future release.
It was from that excitement that I saw other people getting excited, and it simply became impossible not to give it the Most Excited For reward.
For the criteria of this award, I looked at games that had a lot of potential and a lot of secrets, but still showed off something that filled me with hope to see more of it in the future—something that I would want to play again in some form, and Reanimal hit all those boxes.
It was clear to me that the devs wanted to make this game to get out of Little Nightmare's shadow and looked to create something fresh and exciting. With all the different monsters that have currently been shown and the intricate gameplay, it really feels like a reimagining of this type of horror game that is going to leave a lot of people curious and mystified about what is coming up.
I'm struggling to put into words just how gripping this game already feels from the brief gameplay demo we've seen, because everything already feels pretty horrifying, and I'm eager to see what the devs have created to scare in this monstrous world truly.
So yes, I am excited to see more from this game, and I hope I get to play it again soon.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:13 PM
I want to start by saying that this was one of the hardest awards we had to give this year, particularly at Gamescom, due to the sheer number of high-quality indie games on offer.
This award is based on all the games that I happened to play at the show, and there might have been others that I didn't get to see. So I just want people to know that if you felt another game was more deserving, this is based on my own opinion, as well as based on all the games I was able to get my hands on during the week.
And trust me, I've played a lot of indie games, but one that always stood out was Super Meat Boy 3D. It's the one I always saw myself coming back to, and it's the one that's stuck with me out of the dozens I've tried. And trust me, I came back to try it a few times.
The 3D areas offer a new layer of gameplay to the classic Super Meat Boy experience, and I was surprised to see how well the indie developers had been able to take the 2D style of gameplay, which is completing a level as quickly as possible while trying to find secrets, and make it work in a 3D environment.
I found many areas during my play sessions where I could skip large parts of the map by jumping over the 3D environments or clipping around them, which, for a Super Meat Boy game, is pretty cool. It also has very tight controls that you'd expect, and it was a delight to play.
That's not to say that it was perfect as some areas have moments where textures blend in and it's hard to see what is a obstacle and what is part of the level and it feels like sometimes you die due to the weird placement But considering the game is still in the development and these things are being ironing out I don't expect it to be an issue for much longer.
I'd like to give a shoutout to the other indie games I played at the show, such as Reanimal, PVKK, Power Wash 2, Silksong, and others I managed to squeeze in. On this occasion, I felt like Super Meat Boy 3D couldn't not win this award. All the indie games I played at Gamescom were pretty cool, though, and it feels like we were in a golden age of indie games once again, and I can't wait to see what developers work on next.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:11 PM
After an arduous and gruelling week of work, work, and more work, you've finally reached another Friday! And you know what that means, my friends: lots and lots-a gaming, alone, with your friends, or whichever way you see fit.
As with any weekend, we're wrapping up the week Destructoid-style by asking the age-old question of: Whatcha playing?
Crossing through Baldur's Gate
This upcoming weekend is going to be a big one. Having literally nothing to do but play games, the choices are endless for me. Do I go for old gold titles? New experiences and adventures? Or just stick to my guns and keep playing the same live-service slop I always do? No idea!
There are a few titles that I cannot really tell you about, but which you'll know about more a little later. Embargos are a wild thing in this journalistic enterprise of ours, so hush-hush. There's also a special thing going on that you'll have to come back for on Save File Sunday, my weekly episode of rambling about a game that might have flown under your radar way back when.
But outside vaguely job-related gaming, I'll be crossing over Baldur's Gate once again, with a fresh character who is particularly evil and prone to mischief, and even probably has a lizard's head (note: this is most definitely not inspired by my recent watching of Dorohedoro)!
Alien: Isolation is still on the menu as I collect my bravery to continue pushing through the remains of Sevastopol Station, while Hunt: Showdown invites me to finally complete my Battle Pass. After all, it'd be a damn shame to let that Judge Holden-inspired skin go to complete waste.
The crew's got a lot in store as well
Our chief editor, Rachel, is also returning to the Forgotten Realms with her pals, completing a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, though without any Dark Urges (which is, as we all know, the only real way to play Larian's finest).
Madison is also hanging out with folks unlike yours truly, wandering through the derelict Black Mesa-inspired research station in Abiotic Factor and acting as the crew's resident cook. Seriously, if you haven't already, do give this gem of a game a try (and ensure you feed that creepy guy walking on all fours well).
Having completed Konami's MGS 3 remake, Scott is finally free to touch some grass and enjoy the wonders of life, which he aims to cut short with unfiltered anger at his PC running Hollow Knight. Silksong is just around the corner, so it's better to meet this massive new launch prepared, is it not?
And, finally, our very own FIDE-certified chess player is chessing another chess weekend through and through, prepping himself with a ton of theory and variations that make the head spin. I won't let you examine his plans, though.
But, as always, the only voice that matters is yours, Destructoid. We've all been keeping busy and will continue to do so, but, pray tell, whatcha gonna be playin' this weekend? Anything new and awesome we should pay special mind to?
Whatever you are playin', do have an awesome weekend from all of us at Destructoid!
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:11 PM
The Road to FC 26 Evolution is arguably one of the best upgrades released in EA FC 25, and it should be top priority if you plan on grinding Ultimate Team in the upcoming game.
Completing the evolution earns you a 98-rated card for free. Your chosen item will receive stat upgrades, new playstyles, and roles. However, you'll get a bonus pack that will be available in Ultimate Team.
Table of contents
EA FC 25 Road to FC 26 Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of Road to FC 26 Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Road to FC 26 Evolution upgrades
There are three levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade conditions
Level 2 upgrade conditions
Level 3 upgrade conditions
Best players to use in Road to FC 26 Evolution
Here are some of the best players to use in this evolution.
Your club's candidates can provide unique solutions exclusive to your Ultimate Team squad.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 3:10 PM
The Triple 98 Evolution is your new source of having a 98-rated item in EA FC 25, and the latest upgrade packs a punch in terms of the offered improvements.
While the evolution is expensive, it's pretty easy to complete. Your chosen item will get stat boosts, new playstyles, roles, and more. Let's quickly take a look at how to complete all required steps, along with identifying the best possible candidates for receiving the upgrades.
Table of contents
EA FC 25 Triple 98 Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements of Triple 98 Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Triple 98 Evolution upgrades
There are five levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 3 upgrades
Level 4 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade conditions
Level 2 upgrade conditions
Level 3 upgrade conditions
Level 4 upgrade conditions
Best players to use in Triple 98 Evolution
Here are some of the best players to use in this evolution.
Your club's evo chain candidates can provide unique solutions exclusive to your Ultimate Team squad.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 2:00 PM
A new playable hero is just the beginning of a large swath of changes coming to Overwatch 2 in season 18.
Balancing changes are abound when it comes to things like Perks, Stadium Items and Powers, and more. Summer Games 2025 also returns, while Junkrat's Loot Hunt event comes back again in September to mark the occasion.
Here's what's coming to OW2 in the new season when it launches on Aug. 26.
Table of contents
Overwatch 2 patch notes - Season 18
This is a pretty hefty update for OW2, including a new hero, plus the overhaul of many of the Perks introduced a few seasons ago, while also changing up a bunch of content within Stadium mode as well.
New support Hero - Wuyang
After a recent hero trial, the new water-wielding hero is available for all players to begin season 18. Here's a look at his abilities and kit:
New Perks
The majority of the roster has had at least one Perk removed and replaced with a new one, making for some fun new combinations to improve upon this year's major update for the game that came in February.
I've highlighted some of the most interesting new Perks below.
Tank
D.Va
Doomfist
Hazard
Junker Queen
Orisa
Ramattra
Reinhardt
Roadhog
Sigma
Winston
Zarya
Damage
Ashe
Bastion
Cassidy
Echo
Freya
Genji
Hanzo
Junkrat
Mei
Pharah
Reaper
Sojourn
Soldier: 76
Sombra
Symmetra
Torbjörn
Tracer
Venture
Widowmaker
Support
Ana
Baptiste
Brigitte
Illari
Juno
Kiriko
Lifeweaver
Lúcio
Mercy
Moira
Zenyatta
The full list of Perks, including changed and removed ones, can be found on Blizzard's website.
Stadium changes
New changes to Stadium mode in season 18 include the addition of Quick Play, a new map type called Payload Race, three new maps (Powder Keg Mines, Thames District, Oasis Gardens), and new playable heroes in Winston, Brigitte, and Pharah, with Tracer joining later in the season.
There's a lot of tweaks to Items and Powers, too, so check out the full patch notes for specific details.
Roadhog revamp
Stop me if you've heard this before, but Roadhog is getting a rework again. Say goodbye to his Pig Pen throwable trap, and welcome back his classic dual-firing kit. Here's how Roadhog is changing:
Advanced Info Panel
After a recent tease, OW2 confirmed it will add a new panel for Advanced Information regarding a multitude of facets of the game, like hero abilities.
"From precise damage numbers and healing output to cooldowns and other critical stats, every value will be laid out for you to make smarter plays and master your kits," Blizzard said. "Whether you're looking to fine-tune your aim in Competitive or curious about the real impact of your abilities, the Advanced Info Panel will give you the numbers you need to level up your strats and play with purpose."
Hero Progression 2.0
Hero Progression changes in season 18 "rebuilds the system from the ground up" and is all about cosmetics to show off your proficiency and playtime for each hero. Here's what leveling up your individual heroes can bring, with descriptions directly from Blizzard:
Competitive Play - Hero Skill Rating
SR is back in OW2, but this time for individual heroes, allowing players to analyze their skill level for the different characters in the game. This is purely cosmetic, though, and does not affect matchmaking in any way, with each hero skill level set between 1 and 5,000.
There's also a rank reset with the new season, due to the plethora of different changes alongside the update.
The full, comprehensive patch notes for season 18 can be found on the OW2 website. The new season begins on Aug. 26 at 1pm CT.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 1:15 PM
What's your favorite short-form video app of choice? I feel like most people would say TikTok, but for me, it's a mix of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Odds are, these platforms all have the same videos, for the most part. Many content creators cross-upload between all of the apps, but the algorithms are different on each one. Recently, my YouTube Shorts algorithm has been giving me random Grand Theft Auto 5 videos, and I've become hooked on one genre of them specifically.
This genre has been brought to me by a channel by the name of GTA Fun Guy, and they are a guy who has their fun in GTA by provoking random NPCs driving along the roads of GTA Online, instigating road rage incidents that usually end in the unsuspecting drivers dead on the ground. It appears that they have only been uploading for a few months, but I've seen enough of their Shorts over the past few weeks to get sick of them. But I haven't yet.
Folks, these videos are so, so dumb. In the majority of their videos, GTA Fun Guy rides up alongside an NPC and kicks their vehicle, goading them into chasing him across San Andreas. It's totally taken over my algorithm and I can't get enough, no matter how many times I shake my head, say "that's so stupid" out loud, click the like button, and continue scrolling.
I've since sought out more from GTA Fun Guy on their channel, and it's full of Shorts just like the one below, which is their most-viewed clip thus far with 8.8 million views. It's a perfect summation of their content and why I can't stop watching it.
The NPCs always have some choice words for GTA Fun Guy, calling him a cock or telling him to go to hell, for example, and yet he strings them along like the dumb AI they are, eventually finding a perfect spot to send them flying off a cliff or crashing into civilians. Again, it's stupid, but again, it's too damn funny, and it's allowing me to appreciate just how great GTA 5 was and somehow still is.
Be forewarned if you click the above and your algorithm gets taken over by more dumb GTA videos. But at least then I won't be alone in my enjoyment of this outrageous channel and its silly content that's only making the wait for GTA 6 feel longer.
Speaking of, imagine the havoc that GTA Fun Guy will be wreaking in Vice City. I'll be locked in.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 1:07 PM
We are in the endgame in EA FC 25, which means that there won't be any new promo. However, the Pre-Season Best of Re-Release Batch 2 players give you over 300 great reasons to grind and open as many packs as possible.
The older promo cards have been added back to packs along with FUTTIES items that have been released in June and July. You can try your luck with packs to find all these special cards that are now available in Ultimate Team.
Complete list of EA FC 25 Pre-Season Best of Re-Release Batch 2 players
The second batch will feel very similar to Batch 1, which went live last Friday. While it does retain some of its cards, EA Sports has added all the available ones from two more FUTTIES teams into the mix, taking the total number of items to over 300.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 1:06 PM
The Blood of Dawnwalker is an upcoming RPG from a host of former The Witcher 3 developers, with a medieval Eastern European setting mixed with heavy dark fantasy elements.
The game is a narrative-driven experience utilizing a deep day-and-night cycle where gameplay dynamics change based on the time of day. It is gritty, gothic to the core, and filled to the brim with blood, guts, and vampires, as well as some mighty familiar Witcher antics in its soundtrack and art direction.
During Gamescom 2025, we got the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Patryk Fijałkowski, Rebel Wolves' Senior Quest designer, who shared a ton of insight regarding The Blood of Dawnwalker's unique day-and-night mechanics, player agency, multiple outcomes to the same quest, and a whole lot more.
Here's the conversation in full.
Note: We have edited parts of this interview to make the text clearer and avoid common speech repetitions.
The Blood of Dawnwalker has quests that can be tackled from two different times of day, two different perspectives, and they all go in different directions. For example, at night you can use your vampiric powers to find things, but you cannot do so during the day. How difficult is it as a designer to design a quest that has all these factors?
Patryk Fijałkowski (senior quest designer, Rebel Wolves): Well, it is definitely difficult. A lot of headaches, a lot of thought process and iterations. But at the end of the day, it's rewarding, I think. And it made us think about the game in its entirety at an early stage. We have to have the whole game at an early stage, start testing it, find the edge cases, things that don't work, things we have to think through. And there were many.
Like the presentation you saw, for example. We are in the cathedral during the day, and there's this objective that pushes the time forward. And what if the time changes to the night in that situation? There was a lot of stuff like that.
Here we were thinking, okay, so do we just not do an objective that pushes time inside the cathedral, or do we have some other ideas? And in that case, for example, we thought, well, we have the deacon. When the night comes, the deacon can approach us and say, "hey, the cathedral is off limits at night, you have to leave." He shows us the door.
It was really like a puzzle. At the end of the day, we were just thinking about how to overcome it, whether it be taking a step back or thinking maybe we can do this in the production budget that we have, and we just pick our battles.
During the presentation, we saw the boss die during the day. But if we were to beat him at night, would he still die then because of being a Dawnwalker? Or is it a situation where you can get different endings depending on whether you tackle the quest ending in the day or ending in the night?
Fijałkowski: It depends on the quest. I won't spoil what happens at night in this situation. What I can definitely say is that because Mihai is a Dawnwalker, he has a different moveset and there's an entirely different boss fight. But, you know, I guess I will spoil it a little bit.
Like, death is death, Coen can die too, so you can kill him also at night. But there are instances where tackling the quest at night may lead you to different outcomes. Another thing is that because of the dual gameplay, [with] the human Coen, the night Coen, it's not that you'll just tackle the quest at night.
You, for example, may do half of it during the day, half of it at night. [An] example again from the presentation, you can reach the library at night, get the key, but you don't have to do the whole quest. You can just leave the library, for example, to do something else that you have to do at night, at [the] city or something, [and then] go back at day, you have the key, you skip the deacon, you may find clues you need at other places. We showed a lot of this quest, but it's still not the entire quest. There are still different ways to go there.
Being a quest designer, how does it feel to know that some players might miss out on some things the team has worked on entirely? Because if they do a quest during the day, they're not going to see what happens at night and vice versa. How does the team feel knowing that some of their best work might be missed out because players tackle it at different times?
Fijałkowski: Honestly, I'm speaking for myself, but I think some of my teammates would agree. We are excited. Of course, we've put a lot of heart into that. That's part of the fun. We are excited to see players talking with [each other], like "You did the quest at the cathedral? Yeah, I tried to kill Zanti, but she was too hard." And the other one might be like, "What, Zanti? There's Zanti? I met her at a different place."
So I think it's exciting. And, you know, we are trying to do this dual gameplay and give you as much freedom as we can. We call it a narrative sandbox for a reason.
After the prologue, you can just do whatever. We don't want to say that this is a main quest and that is a side quest. We try to enrich the main goal, so Coen doesn't do random stuff that doesn't make sense given that he's on a mission to save his family.
And if you try hard, you can still see 80 percent of the game or so in a single playthrough. Because even though the replayability is obviously a big part of the game, you want players to try different routes, ally with different factions, stuff like that. We still know that there are completionists and there are speedrunners who just want to go forward. For example, [they would] play it once and have a feeling that they have a full experience. And I think seeing 80 percent of the game on a single playthrough is achievable.
We also have to remember that even though there's a deadline, 30 days and 30 nights, it doesn't mean a game over. We try to be as reactive as possible, and we don't want to make these invisible walls, be it in the level design or general game design.
How did the team come up with this idea of a time limit, but made it so that it feels fair? How has taking a quest that's going to push the time forward been made not to feel like a big risk to the player?
Fijałkowski: When we came up with the idea, it was really a natural thing, because we had the vampires, we knew we wanted to make a dual gameplay loop, so we knew the day and night would be important. So then the time should be important too.
And we wanted the players to feel the urgency of the main goal, but we didn't want to stress them out, because, as a player myself, I don't like timers in games. Sometimes the time ticking is stressful in an unfun way, so we didn't want to do that.
We have an open world, after all, and we want players to explore it freely, so you can go loot stuff and be sure that the time won't progress. We always clearly communicate that, hey, if you do this, then the time will move forward. And I think most of the quests will push the time forward in one way or another, and we are hoping that the stories are interesting enough, and the rewards are valuable enough that players will be engaged, and just treat time as a resource.
When you have money in a game, you spend it, right? You see a cool armor, you see a recipe or something like that, you know you have money, and you want to spend it to become stronger, to see new things. It works similarly here: you have this time as a resource, you know how much you have, and you see an interesting story, and you think, well, it's half a day, still 20 days to go, why not?
I think it requires a different mindset, but I think once players have experienced it, they will see that it's an interesting one. Even though they are not stressed, they still have to remember what game they are playing, the world they are in. We try to make everything connected. Quests, the lore, stuff like that, it all comes together into one cohesive experience.
So regarding that connection you just pointed out, let's say that I take on the cathedral quest that we saw in the presentation, I do the night quest, I go to the top of the cathedral, I see the sigil, I get the book, I go to the catacombs. That means I've obviously missed the part where, in the day, I'd have to move the bookshelf and face that enemy beneath.
Are there any quests where an enemy or something that's happened will get skipped, but might come back and be a problem in some other way in the future? Or is it a case of if you didn't do that day quest and went to find that enemy, it just never appears again?
Fijałkowski: It depends on the quest, but we do have situations where you may tackle an enemy in a certain quest, and if you don't, he will appear in a different place and be more difficult. I think some of them are a huge part of the design.
Regarding inspiration for your questlines, because you have this sandbox world, it's very non-linear. When creating these quests, where does the team go to get the ideas, and how do you then take those ideas and bring them into reality using the engine and the world?
Fijałkowski: I think two of the most inspiring games would be Fallout 2 and obviously The Witcher 3. [Fallout 2] has a structure where you have a goal, it's clear, and there are many possibilities to do that. It was really an inspiring structure for us to go and figure out how we can do that with our systems and stuff like that.
I myself didn't work on The Witcher 3, though we have veterans there. We do love the game, the ones that didn't create it. I think the ones who created it are proud of it. And it's in their DNA. They know how dark fantasy works, and they know what kind of stories they want to tell. And we are in sync with that. So I think when it comes to the emotional impact, the cinematic feel of it, The Witcher 3 was definitely an inspiration.
And when it comes to time mechanics, stuff like Persona and Pentiment were the ones to look into how it feels to have this time and use it and decide what you want to do.
If I'm a player who maybe played this before and has extensive knowledge of the game, maybe I am aware of all the main details, where all the main points are, in theory, could I finish the prologue and then go straight to the ending of the game?
Fijałkowski: Yes. It will be really hard, obviously, but we do allow it. I'm guessing probably 12 hours after the launch, there will be a YouTube video, like day one ending, stuff like that. But we are aware of that, we are encouraging [players] to go wild, experiment, and we do give the opportunity to go straight to the castle, solo it, and stuff like that. And we are curious how players will tackle it.
On that, is there a prospect of multiple endings or revisions?
Fijałkowski: Yeah, we have multiple endings, and some of them might be surprising.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 12:21 PM
In a parallel world, Aeterna Lucis and Hollow Knight Silksong could have been competitors in the world of Metroidvania genre, offering an exciting duo for the fans. However, that is not happening as developers Aeternum Game Studios have decided to postpone their upcoming launch.
Team Cherry's Silksong is set to launch worldwide on Sept. 4, which was announced during Gamescom, and it prompted Aeternum Game Studios to get out of the way.
The decision to delay Aeterna Lucis seems to be the right course of action
Earlier on Aug. 22, Aeternum Game Studios put out an official statement, saying they know their game won't have the visibility it deserves if it went up against Silksong.
Forced to pick, most Metroidvania fans would have likely picked Hollow Knight Silksong. Being on Xbox Game Pass on day one makes it even easier for players to access.
This was not the only reason for the delay, however. Aeternum Game Studios also announced that they've yet to have all the necessary dev kits that would let them opt for a simultaneous release on all next-gen platforms. This reason, combined with Hollow Knight Silksong's September launch, prompted the developers to delay Aeterna Lucis to 2026.
Lastly, they included some positive words for Team Cherry and what Hollow Knight has done for the entire Metroidvania genre. In fact, the original Hollow Knight inspired Aeternum to create Aeterna Noctis, to which Lucis is the upcoming sequel.
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Destructoid Friday, August 22, 2025 12:02 PM
Imagine having seasoned video game developers as personal gaming consultants. That's what I'm giving you, with the help of the amazing Brace Yourself Games (BYG) team, the developers behind Crypt of the NecroDancer and Cadence of Hyrule.
We talked about their favorite rhythm games. The list includes released titles and some with demos on Steam. I've added my own notes if I've played the game, since I love rhythm and music.
But the real stars, the Crypt of the NecroDancer developers, not only took the time to give you their top picks for the genre. They also shared exclusive details about the franchise's future and explained how Soulslikes and RuneScape can be considered rhythm games.
Here are the NecroDancer team's favorite rhythm games.
Kill the Music
"Kill the Music is coming out this week, and the demo has been really fun," Alexa told Destructoid. "It's Vampire Survivors to the beat, so it satisfies the roguelike and gradual upgrade itch."
Kill the Music was released on Aug. 21, a day after Alexa's recommendation, with 92% positive Steam reviews. You can play with characters that have different instruments, like bass, drums, or a keytar.
If you can go to arcades, she gives honorable mentions to Mai Mai and Polaris Chord.
Yoiyami Dancers
"[In Yoiyami Dancers] you move around on a grid to the rhythm of each level's song with a fixed BPM for each song, dodging tons of bullets and shooting enemies by moving towards them, which also all move to the rhythm," Adrian said. "Very Crypt-like, minus the roguelike elements. It also lists BYG in the Special Thanks of its credits! Huge recommendation from me, I genuinely love the game."
Spin Rhythm XD
"This is like picking a favorite child, but if I have to pick one, I'd recommend Spin Rhythm XD," Skye said. "I feel like it's probably one of the more accessible rhythm games. You can play it with a keyboard & mouse pretty well, and even if you don't love the electronic/dubstep theme for the music, there are a lot of community charts too. It feels like a great entry point for more traditional rhythm games."
Skye, that's a fire recommendation. I've logged six hours of Spin Rhythm XD and love it. If you, reader, own a Steam Deck, playing this game on the trackpads is extremely fun.
Other honorable mentions from Skye are vivid/stasis, UNBEATABLE, Ongeki, Groove Coaster, Jubeat, Vib-Ribbon, Gitaroo Man, and PaRappa the Rapper.
Rhythm Heaven
"Tough choice, but gotta go with the Rhythm Heaven series," Marlon said. "I just love how silly it is. Every new minigame is a delight, and it always feels so tightly designed with the music. I mean, what other game could make a satisfying rhythm game out of plucking hairs from an onion? Or high-fiving monkeys on a clock face? Or interviewing a wrestler? Brilliant!"
If I had a penny for how often I thought I was killing it in Rhythm Heaven but was "Just... OK," I'd have enough money to buy a Switch 2 and play the new Rhythm Heaven Groove next year. Until then, the game is only on the Nintendo DS and 3DS. I second Marlon's recommendation.
Hi-Fi Rush
"[Hi-Fi Rush] is so stylish, funny, and charming," Madeleine tells us. "It does a really good job of making the action to the beat feel fun and in-sync without ever feeling like you're fighting against your button-mashing instincts."
The incredible launch of Hi-Fi Rush was surprising, but not as much as its death by layoffs a few months after the game released to an amazing reception from critics and, more importantly, players. The game's IP is seemingly safe now in the hands of KRAFTON, and hopefully, we can see a sequel or spinoff of what I'd consider the best rhythm game of the decade.
Madeleine has honorable mentions, too: "UNBEATABLE is definitely one to look out for. The demo is so fun, and the tag line gets me hyped every time. A game where music is illegal and you do crimes??? Sign me up!"
Now that you have this curated list of rhythm games, there's no excuse not to try at least one soon. As for me, my backlog just grew.
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