Kotaku Friday, August 15, 2025 5:38 PM
This weekend we're jumping into pixely roguelikes, surreal retro-style RPGs, gloomy horror, adorable puzzles, and college football The post <i>Kotaku</i>'s Weekend Guide: 5 Great Games We Can't Wait To Get Back To appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 15, 2025 5:05 PM
Gearbox's newest loot shooter is making big promises The post 6 Things We Just Learned About <i>Borderlands 4</i> appeared first on Kotaku. |
Kotaku Friday, August 15, 2025 4:17 PM
The World Championships are bringing together the best players, but the biggest news is how people are dragging the event down The post Is <em>Pokémon</em> Finally Cooked? appeared first on Kotaku. |
PCGamesN Friday, August 15, 2025 5:09 PM August 15, 2025: New free Bingo Blitz codes are here for the weekend. What are the new free Bingo Blitz credits? You won't be playing much bingo without them, that's for sure. Even if you've exhausted your usual free credits in Bingo Blitz through login rewards and premium subscriptions, the secret to playing another round is through our Bingo Blitz credits links. New Bingo Blitz free credits links work in much the same way as Monopoly Go dice links. One click and your account is automatically topped up with credits ready to be used on multiple rounds or one big blow-out session with multiple cards. The choice is yours. Continue reading Free Bingo Blitz credits August 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Bingo Blitz credits, Best card games, Best PC board games |
PCGamesN Friday, August 15, 2025 4:04 PM When you hear that a game's inspirations include Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill 2, Killer 7, and the Wizard of Oz, you already know that the end product is going to be something pretty wild. That's the case for Off, an eccentric yet disturbing indie RPG that has garnered a cult following. Years before the antics of games like Undertale, Off was doing the rounds on internet forums - a bizarre, beloved, direct-download game unlike any other when it first dropped in 2008. Despite plenty of fan-translated versions over the years, it's never been available to download on an official PC or console storefront. But that's just changed, as Off has just arrived on Steam. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, August 16, 2025 12:00 AM  If you're a newcomer to PC gaming (maybe you picked up our Lenovo deal we spotted earlier in the week), you'll know there are a dizzying number of options for monitors. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Friday, August 15, 2025 9:30 PM  Look, the RTX 5090 is the most powerful offering from NVIDIA right now, but it won't be for everyone. |
Siliconera Friday, August 15, 2025 7:00 PM
The FFVII Remake X (formerly Twitter) account uploaded some detailed pictures of Zack Fair as he appears in the Final Fantasy VII Remake games. The post also provides details behind Square Enix's design philosophy for him.
According to the post, the team referenced Zack's original model when designing him, but they also kept in mind that he's the light to Cloud. This contrasts him with Sephiroth, who is designed to be Cloud's darkness. The full CG version of him combines reliability and kindness with a more intense look in his eyes. Since Zack in FFVII Remake is someone who matured as a person after going through his own adventure, his close-up CG has a calm and unflappable expression that's very distinctly "Zack."
The social media team for FFVII Remake has been sharing concept art, trivia, and screenshots since the first game came out. In the past, the account discussed Cloud in a dress, Rufus's outfit, and Sephiroth's redesign. As Zack is a popular character, the post has garnered quite a bit of attention, with many fans gushing about or discussing him.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. The sequel, Rebirth, is on PS5 and Windows PC.
The post FFVII Rebirth Zack Fair Character Model Design Detailed appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 15, 2025 6:00 PM
Square Enix announced that, once again, the Final Fantasy XI Return Home to Vana'diel and a Discount Campaign sale that reduces both the MMORPG and FFXI Seekers of Adoulin expansion pack will be back in August 2025. Both start on August 29, 2025. However, the Return Home to Vana'diel event ends on September 8, 2025, while the game will be reduced until September 25, 2025.
As usual, the FFXI Return Home to Vana'diel event is about getting older players a chance to return to the MMORPG and play for free for a time. If you have a Square Enix account and active PlayOnline FFXI that as canceled as of August 26, 2025, then you can play for free. This is designed to coincide with a number of summer events in-game.
Here are the activities also running during Return Home to Vana'diel:
As for the Final Fantasy XI Discount Campaign, three items related to FFXI are on sale. The Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition, which includes the MMORPG and expansion, will be $9.99 instead of $29.99. If you own the game, but not the latest expansion, Seekers of Adoulin is $4.99 instead of $9.99. The World Transfer Service is also half off during that period and will be $9, rather than $18.
These are both frequently recurring events in FFXI, as the return campaign and sale both happen multiple times each year. The last one showed up between May 16-26, 2025. That's right when Square Enix announced the paid character race change service. We also often tend to see it around August, as it started on August 18, 2023 and August 23, 2025 in the past.
Final Fantasy XI is available for the PC, with the Return Home to Vana'diel event running August 29, 2025 to September 8, 2025 and the FFXI Ultimate Collections Seekers Edition and Seekers of Adoulin expansion Discount Campaign sale going between August 29, 2025 and September 25, 2025.
The post Final Fantasy XI Return Home to Vana'diel and Discount Sale Return appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, August 15, 2025 5:00 PM
Yen Press announced on social media that it will publish Oshi no Ko TV Anime 1st Season Guidebook: First Report, a compilation book that goes over details about season 1 of the anime adaptation of the manga. There's no release window for it yet, though the Japanese version came out back in July 2024. It is one of 10 announcements that came up on August 15, 2025.
Since this guide to season 1 of the Oshi no Ko anime is already available in Japan, we know what to expect. It is, in part, an art book. So concept art and storyboards from the show will appear in it. However, there are also a number of interviews in it, consisting of people who worked on the adaptation, voice actors, and even YOASOBI, who worked on the opening theme song "Idol."
Here's the image that acted as the official reveal:
This isn't the only Oshi no Ko supplemental material Yen Press published, as it also picked up one of the light novels and some other releases. It released Oshi no Ko: Spica the First Star back in July 2025. Its Oshi no Ko "Coloring x Idol" Color Activity Book debuts in November 18, 2025. The 1st Illustration Collection: Glare x Sparkle came out in November 2024 too.
Oshi no Ko TV Anime 1st Season Guidebook: First Report will come out in English and cover season 1 of the anime adaptation. Said anime is streaming on HIDIVE. Yen Press handles the manga outside Japan, as well as other books based on the series.
The post Yen Press Picks Up Oshi no Ko Anime Season 1 Guidebook appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Friday, August 15, 2025 4:52 PM
The latest chapter in the ongoing AI apocalypse that we are inevitably headed towards is so terrible that I had to write about it.
A TikTok ad for free-to-play The First Descendant has been making the rounds on social media today, and I'm kind of shocked by it. The ad in question was spotted and re-posted by @MoxsyOG on Twitter/X, and it's honestly so awful that it needs to be seen to be believed.
The ad features a totally fake, horrendously-animated AI "content creator" pitching the game's latest update to their nonexistent followers, laid over the top of some gameplay. Thankfully, the ad has been deleted off of TikTok since it started going viral, but one has to wonder how it even got posted in the first place.
"Hey guys, the massive F2P update of the F2P looter shooter masterpiece The First Descendant has launched spectacularly," the digital nightmare says, not even trying to hide the farce that it is. "In it, you play as a Descendant, ride a hover bike to explore the brand new area of Axiom Plains, and can also team up with teammates to fight against the boss Wall Crasher side by side."
As if this wasn't bad enough, the ad is promoting the game's collab with Nier Automata, so Platinum Games is being dragged into this disaster as well. The whole thing is pretty disgusting and nonsensical.
At no point in the video is any of it convincing or interesting. The robo-voice struggles with its speaking cadence in attempting to recreate the vibe of any number of those paid ads you see with actual people in it. But no, publisher Nexon couldn't bother with that, so it plugged its script into an AI to create an abomination.
I've seen plenty of AI ads before, and many other paid ads featuring gamers acting enthusiastic about it, but none have been this bad nor have I seen one from a publisher as well-known as Nexon. Unfortunately, this garbage is likely only going to get worse, so buckle up. At least we can get some joy out of laughing at this trash and hope that other companies don't follow suit.
The First Descendant has a Mixed rating on Steam after launching last June, with many players lambasting the title for its grind and over-priced cosmetics.
The post This awful First Descendant TikTok ad is one of the ugliest, most egregious uses of AI we've ever seen appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Friday, August 15, 2025 4:28 PM
It's another weekend, folks, hard-earned and hard fought for with hard work. It's a time of relaxation and bliss, and what better way to achieve them than falling into 48 hours of unfiltered gaming?
A stacked weekend session
This weekend also encompasses one of my rest days. In between waiting for my inflammation to drop to manageable levels and the return to pumping iron, I'll be pumping a lot of hours into countless games because wrists gotta get that workout too.
So, as EA has launched its second week of Battlefield 6, I'd be inconsiderate at the very least to miss it. Though I've burned out a bit on the game during its previous phase, it's still fresh and exciting, and a place where I can spend a few hours without a worry in my mind.
But shooting at stuff or other players isn't all the fun to be had this weekend.
No, I'm gunning for Titan Quest 2 and its fresh approach to ARPGs built upon the foundations of one of the genre's best titles. Though a sequel to a 20-year-old game, it manages to capture that ARPG magic so many similar games failed to while maintaining a meaty, visceral, and grounded vibe.
The Forever Winter's many updates missed my attention, and it's high time I came back to see what the devs did with it, and they did promise they'd do a lot even before the game came out. The reality: not a lot so far, but potential still exists, hopefully to be capitalized on down the line.
The crew's picks are broad this week
Other than our FIDE-certified editorial legend, Luci Kelemen, sticking to his guns (chess) this weekend and every other weekend at that, the crew's got a lot going on this time around.
Our ed-in-chief Rachel Samples is gunning for more guns in Battlefield 6, trying to find the long-lost comfy feeling of Battlefield 3 on its cramped little maps, while enjoying life catching small creatures in Pokémon GO. That isn't the only Pokémon game in her repertoire this weekend, as nostalgia has started kicking in and brought Pokémon Black 2 to the table for this weekend's meal.
Scott Duwe is still doing his best to keep his mind off Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but nothing's really scratching the itch like it, while Hadley Vincent is laser-focused on Cronos, being our resident Master of Horror.
Naturally, Madison Benson is keeping stuff cheery, simple, and at max fantasy, convincing her friends to come and join her in Stardew Valley for lots of wholesome adventures. Baldur's Gate 3 is there, too, just to add a bit of zest and darkness to the mix (hopefully she'll be going for a Dark Urge play through because, let's be frank, that's the only real way to play it).
But that's enough about us, you hear from everyone here enough as is. Let's talk about you, Destructoid. Whatcha gonna be playin' this weekend, or the weekend after? What are you excited for that's gonna be on your weekend menu down the line?
Let us know below, and, as always, have a fantastic weekend.
The post Whatcha playing this weekend, Destructoid? (Aug. 15-17) appeared first on Destructoid. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Friday, August 15, 2025 5:17 PM Showcases a mission in the game. The post Crimson Desert Gets New Gamescom Gameplay Video appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Friday, August 15, 2025 4:37 PM A trailer was also released. The post PowerWash Simulator 2 Price Officially Revealed appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Friday, August 15, 2025 4:19 PM Features gameplay and cutscenes. The post Neo Berlin 2087 Gets New Gamescom Trailer appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |