GamersHeroes Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:18 PM Looking to try before you buy? Ahead of Steam Next Fest, a new demo of Tribute Games and Universal Products & Experiences' Scott Pilgrim EX is now available for the PC. The post Scott Pilgrim EX Steam Demo Live appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:48 PM SEGA and Two Point Studios' "mane" attraction has made its way to the Nintendo Switch 2 with today's release of Two Point Museum's Zooseum DLC for the platform. The post Two Point Museum: Zooseum DLC for Nintendo Switch 2 Now Available appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 8:50 PM  The Poké Court will now be known as the Trainer Court |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 8:45 PM  In indie developer Valentin Wirth's upcoming 3D platformer/adventure game, you play as a sperm racing to fertilize an egg |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 7:22 PM  The latest Nickelodeon Universes Beyond expansion has some neat tricks |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:58 PM  The aging Elder Scrolls RPG looks and plays better after the 1.2 update |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:43 PM  The struggling hero shooter recently suffered mass layoffs |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:15 PM  Honk shoo mimimi |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:58 PM  Highguard is in a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation. That's because at the time of writing, the official site only shows the shooter's logo, and text that reads "This site is currently unavailable. Please contact support@codethirtytwo.com for assistance," alongside links to its official Discord server and Dwitter page. This, of course, could just be a blip, but even as I'm writing this it's been the case for several hours, and there's not a single word from developer Wildlight about why it's down. So, it is both dead and not dead until someone opens the box. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:40 PM  "Huh." This, as admiringly as I can make this sound, was the first thought I thunked when I put down the demo for Titanium Court. Here is a game that is many things. The first thing it is is a play, in perhaps a literal sense, perhaps as a tool to immediately allow one to suspend their sense of disbelief at everything that is about to follow. We're watching a play, a narrative vehicle where anything can happen as long as what's on stage is convincing enough to make us believe it's happening. And truthfully, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what did happen. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 17, 2026 6:00 PM
In addition to the secret bachelorette being playable in the Fields of Mistria fourth major update, NPC Studio confirmed that auto-feeders will be in barns and bee apiaries and bug terrariums can be on our farms. Brief trailers appeared showing how we can get each one and how these will work in-game.
In the case of auto-feeders in Fields of Mistria, you can't just buy and install one right away. You first need to actually take care of chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep for quite a while first. Once your Ranching Level is at 45, they will be in Hayden's Shop under Farm Supplies. In the initial trailer, we see it costs 5,000 gold for one. The note on them says "any edible items" will be turned into feed when used. In the video, pizza and fish tacos are used as resources for feed as an example.
As for the bee apiaries and bug terrariums in Fields of Mistria, these will be used to get items like honey and fish bait. The first teaser for that went over the process. When someone approaches an apiary, they can put in bees. a Sweet Bee is used as an example. Different kinds of honey can stem from mixed, common, uncommon, rare, and legendary bees in the same one. Likewise, you can put bugs you find into the terrarium to get different types of fish bait and bug pheromones from mixed, common, uncommon, rare, and legendary ones.
Fields of Mistria is in early access for PCs, the fourth major update appears on February 23, 2026, and the 1.0 launch is set for 2026.
The post Fields of Mistria Bee Apiaries, Terrariums, and Auto-Feeders Shown appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:00 PM
Sanrio announced that the Reality app that lets people make an anime Vtuber avatar now features Cinnamoroll character customization items and furniture. These are available via two Fluffy Moment: Cinnamoroll gacha banners. They will run in the application until March 14, 2026.
There are both F-Type and M-Type items available when it comes to avatar cosmetics. Only a handful of them appeared on the promotional page highlighting the Reality Cinnamoroll Vtuber and anime avatar accessories. For example, there are Fluffy Cinnamoroll Collab Set-Up (M-Type) and Fluffy Cinnamoroll Cute Set-Up (F-Type) full-body outfits. Someone could also end up pulling shirts or hairstyles. As for the room accessories, there are plushies of the Sanrio mascot, a window, and a Cinnamoroll Fluffy Cloud.
Some bonuses are in effect. There is a 1-pull 50% discount nd a 10-pull 50% discount if you pull certain numbers of times on the banners. If people pull 30 times, they can get a Cinnamoroll Ear Gesture Emote for their avatar, and the 50th pull bonus is a Fluffy Cinnamoroll Pattern Friends Wall.
Here are some of the official images of the Reality Cinnamoroll Vtuber anime avatar cosmetics available during this Sanrio crossover.
The Reality app is on Android and iOS devices, and the Cinnamoroll banners are live until March 14, 2026.
The post Reality Vtuber App Gets Cinnamoroll Crossover appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:00 PM
February 17, 2026 is the 20th anniversary of the Vocaloid KAITO. To celebrate the event, Crypton Future Media opened a special webpage where you can look back on KAITO's history or see what's on the horizon for him. Hints at different types of merchandise tied to him, such as SuperGroupies accessories, a Nendoroid, and themed drinks also appeared.
KAITO came out in February 2006 for the first Vocaloid engine, with Yamaha Corporation originally developing him. He is notable for being the first Japanese male vocal released, though he initially suffered from poor sales. It's likely due to Crypton only marketing him (and MEIKO) in DTM, which had a high male reader base. As more producers began using him in songs and showcasing what he can do, his popularity grew.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of KAITO, many companies are releasing KAITO-related merchandise. SuperGroupies announced that it's preparing some special collaboration items that'll appear in Summer 2026. A Cantarella version of him will appear as a Nendoroid, and pre-orders are open until March 18, 2026. Kuroe LLC will release a KAITO botanical drink and gin, complete with themed bottles, with them shipping out in mid-April 2026.
Singer Naoto Fuga provided the voice samples for KAITO. Popular Vocaloid songs that originally feature KAITO include "Cantarella," "Snowman," and "Shanti."
Here's "Cantarella," as an example of what to expect from him.
The special Piapro website for the KAITO 20th anniversary will announce more collaborations and commemorative songs.
The post Piapro Opens Up 20th Anniversary Site for KAITO Vocaloid appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:42 PM
Fantasy FC Team 1 is coming soon to FC 26, and you can expect some fantastic cards in Ultimate Team.
So far, EA Sports has been tight-lipped about what's coming after Knockout Royalty. It appears that the ongoing promo will be a one-team affair, and Fantasty FC (or FC Fantasy) is all set to be the replacement. Let's look at all the information that has already crept onto social media ahead of the official launch.
Table of contents
All FC 26 Fantasy FC Team 1 players
A few names have already popped up on social media who are expected to be part of the first team.
While the names are few as of writing, more leaks will appear closer to the release date. Fantasy FC will feature dynamic cards eligible for upgrades. The upgrades will be based on certain stipulations that will likely depend on real-life football. If you have played Ultimate Team in the last few years, you'll have a fair idea about what to expect.
Fantasy FC will once again feature special cards for Heroes and Icons, along with cards of active footballers. A few of them have been leaked on social media.
FC 26 Fantasy FC Team 1 release countdown
The first team of the Fantasy FC promo will go live on Friday, Feb. 20. The new promo will replace the ongoing Knockout Royalty cards from packs. The following countdown will expire once the first set of Fantasy FC cards is added to the packs.
The countdown is based on the following times.
This is the usual schedule EA Sports follows with promo launches. While most of the cards will be available in packs, we should get new SBCs and objectives to complete. These will be alternate options to get the promo cards without relying on pack luck. We will know which cards eventually make it to the first week of the new promo on Friday.
The post All FC 26 Fantasy FC Team 1 players and release countdown appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 5:36 PM
Season 5 for NBA 2K26 is coming soon, and it will usher in a fresh set of rewards for us to grind for.
The new season will have a similar feel and look to the last four, but the grindable content will be refreshed. While 2K still remains tight-lipped about the rewards, the release date and time have been confirmed.
Table of contents
NBA 2K26 Season 5 release countdown
Season 5 goes live on Friday, Feb. 20. We already had an indication about it from the ongoing Season 4 pass, but the date has been confirmed by 2K ahead of the launch. The following countdown will expire once the new season is live.
The countdown is based on the following timings.
2K is sticking to the usual launch schedule when it comes to seasons. In simple words, you have a few more days to finish the Season 4 pass if you haven't reached level 40.
NBA 2K26 Season 5 pass rewards
As of writing, 2K has yet to reveal any of the rewards we can obtain in Season 5. They will all be a part of the Season Pass. The Season Pass will have two versions. The free version will be available for all, and there will be 80 rewards spread across 40 levels.
If you opt for the paid upgrade, you get 40 extra rewards. Going for the paid upgrade also unlocks immediate benefits, which include special cards, VC, and more. It will be interesting to find out what the rewards for the fifth season will look like.
The key rewards are likely to be revealed ahead of the start of Season 5. For the complete list of rewards, we will need to wait for Season 5 to commence in NBA 2K26.
The post NBA 2K26 Season 5 release countdown: Exact date and time, season pass, and more appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:33 PM
Styx Blades of Greed is now out on advanced access, with the full launch happening soon, and there are a fair number of settings you should tweak before beginning your adventures.
The performances in the early hours haven't been poor by a stretch of imagination. However, I encountered occasional stutters and frame drops. Thankfully, you can avoid those issues by slightly changing the in-game settings.
Best Styx Blades of Greed graphics settings
Before I deep dive into the settings that I am using in Styx Blades of Greed, here's my current setup.
Here are the current graphics settings that I am using in the early access.
If you're still encountering stutters or frame drops, I recommend reducing everything to Low, as that will reduce stress on your hardware.
This should get the job done and help the game run smoothly on your setup. With the full launch coming in a couple of days, expect to find post-launch patches soon. Some of these patches should ease performance issues if you encounter them.
The post Best Styx Blades of Greed graphics settings for no lag and max FPS appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:34 PM
Feb. 17 marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year event in Pokémon Go, and there's a fair amount of Gimmighoul coins that you have to gather.
Of course, getting the Gimmighoul coins isn't a core part of completing the new event. However, it certainly will help you get certain extra benefits before the Lunar New Year celebrations end on Feb. 21. Knowing how to get them in the first place will be helpful.
Table of contents
How to earn Gimmighoul coins in Pokémon Go
To get this elusive item, you'll have to spin plenty of PokéStops. Spinning them is a regular activity, as I don't like running out of rewards. However, not just any PokéStop will reward you with Gimmighoul coins. You'll have to spin a PokéStop where a Golden Lure is active.
Finding such PokéStops is usually a hard task. Thankfully, things have eased up a bit during the Lunar New Year event. PokéStops can automatically become a Golden variant on their own without the need for using a Golden Lure.
This is a pretty handy change if you're looking to get a Gholdengo. Ideally, you'll want to travel in an area that has a chunk of different PokéStops. That way, you don't have to wait for one of them to turn Golden. Go to parks and social areas since they seem to have the highest frequency of PokéStops (at least in my locality).
How to get Gholdengo in the Pokémon Go Lunar New Year event
As long as the event is active, there will be an increased chance to encounter a Shiny Gimmighoul. You'll also get to add Gimmighoul coins from PokéStops (as long as they turn Golden). You can then use the coins to evolve your Gimmighoul to a Gholdengo. Of course, this process isn't going to be easy since you'll need plenty of coins.
While the event is active, it might be worth trading your Gimmighouls. If you get a Lucky Trade, the cost of powering one up will drop by 50%. However, only engage in a trade if you already have the required number of coins with you. This will allow you to evolve your Lucky Gimmighoul to a Gholdengo immediately.
The post How to get Gimmighoul coins in Pokemon Go Lunar New Year 2026 event appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:31 PM
Ever since the GTA series became the biggest game franchise in the world with GTA 3, many have tried to one-up it. No game has succeeded, but many of its challengers have remarkable development stories, so let's remember the fallen.
Driv3r
The first two Driver games are staples of the original PlayStation and legendary car-chase titles. Driv3r, the game meant to beat GTA 3 with its experience in the 3D realm, achieved legendary status, but only for the worst reasons.
Driv3r's development became so troubled that it was delayed to the point of competing not with GTA 3 or GTA Vice City, but with GTA San Andreas, a game lightyears ahead of everything else. And it gets worse.
Driv3r is responsible for "Driv3rgate," a huge scandal that hit when people suspected publisher Atari was cozying up to big gaming outlets of its time in exchange for ridiculously high scores that overlooked all of the game's technical issues. Never heard about Driv3rgate? Well, that might be because Atari then allegedly spent big bucks on a campaign to delete all negative press about Driv3r and replace it with positive reactions from fake accounts. Seems bad, but you gotta give them credit for pulling off this level of crap before AI was a thing.
So, if we're to end on a positive note, as far as criminal simulators go, Driv3r actually outdoes GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, because its development reportedly featured actual unlawful activity! Here's hoping that joke doesn't age poorly very, very fast.
JAK 2
Jak 2 isn't the game most would think of as a GTA competitor, but they'd be wrong.
The original Jak and Daxter was a cool platformer, one that combined the action of the Crash Bandicoot series that Naughty Dog was known for, with much more open play areas. The natural evolution of that alone should've gotten Naughty Dog enough praise and sales to keep the series alive, but then something changed everything.
GTA 3's release deeply shook the entire gaming landscape, and Naughty Dog admitted the Jak and Daxter sequel was heavily inspired by it, and that's why you now have guns, cars, and a huge megacity-like play world. Even the name was changed to a three-letter name followed by a number. Jak 2 is a good game, but it's too far away from the original, and definitely still not the game that would appeal to the more mature GTA-loving audience.
Mafia
If we overlook Mafia 3's considerable technical issues because a dangerous-looking dude told us to, we can say the Mafia series is pretty great overall. It did, however, make a big mistake in its clinging to realism. The original Mafia takes place over the 1930s, some of the greatest years of organized crime, I've been told, and also a time that feels completely separate from the '90s and '80s of most GTA games up until then. Sadly, however, the developers seemingly didn't conduct much research into the cars of that time, a big part of making a GTA competitor. The good news is that cars were, indeed, already a thing back in the '30s, but they were slow as hell and thus not fun for either chasing other bad guys or getting away from the police.
Interestingly, there's one mission in the original Mafia where the cars can actually achieve decent speeds—the racing minigame, naturally—but that's actually gone down in history as one of the worst missions in this kind of game, since the cars are nearly uncontrollable. Mafia is a good game, but beating GTA 3 would have taken so much more than just that.
True Crime: Streets of LA
To anyone growing up in the '90s and Y2K times, everything about True Crime: Streets of LA read like "GTA but BETTER." It had you join the "good" guys, starred a wild number of Hollywood A-listers, and even added cool martial arts and Matrix- inspired shooting shenanigans. How are we not suffering acutely while waiting for True Crime 6 right now? Well, turns out there's such a thing as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Though the idea of putting a greater focus on combat was the right one, the game suffered from a bunch of technical hiccups, like bad camera and clipping that left the gameplay feeling too unpolished to measure up to GTA 3 or Vice City. Weirdly, True Crime's weaker technical side would only get worse with its sequel, True Crime: New York City, and the martial arts GTA-like would only resurface a decade later with Sleeping Dogs.
The Getaway
The Getaway is one of the most expensive games ever made, and it shows. The developers at Team Soho literally cloned a large part of London and put it in a game with some of the best visuals of its time. The Getaway was as real as a game could get up until that point—and that proved a problem. See the sky in the image above? It's grey just like the London sky tends to be, but that just isn't as fun as sunny Vice City, sorry, Londoners.
The same focus on realism over fun is seen in many other parts of the game, like the minimalistic or null HUD, a very realistic and immersive choice that absolutely works with games meant for hardcore players like Escape From Tarkov, but that tend not to work on games aimed at mass market appeal. The Getaway was still a technical marvel, but not a marvelously fun game.
The post Many games have tried to take away GTA's crown, so here are the failures worthy of looking back on and reminiscing what could have been appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 17, 2026 3:25 PM
Nintendo's first foray into "virtual reality," 1995's Virtual Boy, is one of gaming's most forgettable and colossal failures, selling less than 800,000 units worldwide.
And so, 30 years later, it's been brought back! A new, plastic form of the Virtual Boy hardware launched today, and it's compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch along with some software that makes the decades-old experiment playable with a number of games at launch.
To start with, there's seven games to play as part of Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics for both Switch 2 and the original Switch: Tetris, Wario Land, Galactic Pinball, Golf, Red Alarm, TeleroBoxer, and The Mansion of Innsmouth.
Nintendo sent me a physical version of the reimagined Virtual Boy, and it's as cumbersome as I remember. This time, you need an active Nintendo Online subscription to play the software that's required to even use the hardware in the first place. Then, you have to equip a tripod to it and insert a Switch 2 or Switch while disconnecting the JoyCons to play it. And herein lies the main problem, as ever, with the Virtual Boy: it's just not very comfortable to play.
You have to play it on a tabletop and sit at a proper angle to view the screen properly, and this often means craning your neck. After about 15 minutes of play, I already felt uncomfortable and ready to move on to something else in my day.
The Switch 2's screen is used to give the illusion of 3D play, and it honestly works pretty well after some minor tweaking to the separation of the dual images based on the horizontal distance between your eyes. The simulated 3D imagery is pretty cool, even with the drab, red and black appearance of all games available.
From the games on offer right now, I had the most fun with Wario Land, Red Alarm, and TeleroBoxer. Wario Land is a classic, 2D side-scroller with some 3D elements where you can teleport to areas in the background of the stage, Red Alarm is a StarFox-like spaceship battler, and TeleroBoxer utilizes dodging, blocking, and punching in a Mike Tyson's PunchOut-like first-person style. Nintendo says it will add more games to the service over time, similarly to other Nintendo Classics.
Unfortunately, inserting the Switch 2 console into the Virtual Boy means losing access to the console itself. This means you can't charge it while playing, which means sessions won't last long even if you can deal with the potential eye strain and neck or back pain.
If you're into the idea of the Virtual Boy but not really stoked about the $100 price tag, there's also a cardboard version for $25 that also allows you to keep the JoyCons attached. This seems like the move to make if you wanna give the games a try without having to invest triple digits, although I don't have any first-hand experience with it myself.
The funny thing is, the original Virtual Boy's price was one of the problems that contributed to its failure: it launched at $179.99 way back in the mid-90s, so this is actually a sizable bargain by comparison. I jest.
I have to give Nintendo credit for one thing, though: it seems intent on celebrating all of its history, even one of its biggest missteps. This thing is cool for collectors and fans of the company. But in practice, decades later, it's still as unwieldy as ever.
The post Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch 2 is a nostalgic pain in the neck, but not entirely devoid of value appeared first on Destructoid. |
WGB Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:40 PM Game Pass is adding several titles this month, including Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, while notable games like Injustice 2 and Shadow of War will be leaving the service. |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 17, 2026 9:33 PM The debut demo for The House of Hikmah is available now on PC, offering players a first look at the emotional, narrative-driven 3D adventure from Lunacy Studios. The newly formed studio, comprising AAA veterans whose credits include Star Wars: Battlefront, Journey, and Life is Strange, brings a fully narrated slice of its story to Steam […] |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 17, 2026 7:46 PM Mezan Studios has released an updated demo for Nightscape, giving players a refreshed look at its atmospheric 2.5D Arabian-inspired adventure ahead of Steam Next Fest, which runs from February 23 to March 2. Currently in development for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles, Nightscape blends exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat in a world shaped by astronomy and […] |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 17, 2026 7:18 PM Typin has released a brand-new Steam demo for Cupiclaw, its chaotic claw machine-inspired roguelike. The Paris-based studio also confirmed the game will officially launch on March 5. Blending arcade nostalgia with roguelike progression systems, Cupiclaw challenges players to master the art of the claw machine, all in the name of saving a relationship. A Roguelike […] |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 17, 2026 6:40 PM Assemble Entertainment and Norwegian indie studio Lugn Games have announced Kioku: Last Summer, a cozy, story-driven adventure heading to PC via Steam in 2026. A free demo is available now, inviting players to experience a nostalgic summer filled with friendship, exploration, and mystery. Blending colorful visuals with heartfelt storytelling, Kioku: Last Summer draws inspiration from […] |