GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:43 PM The team at 1047 Games has kicked off the open alpha for their portal-jumping FPS Splitgate 2. The post Splitgate 2 Open Alpha Live appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:02 PM Set to begin March 6, Square Enix is celebrating 1.5 years of FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS with new event story moments, Gear, rewards, and new abilities. The post FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS 1.5 Year Anniversary Happening March 6 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:21 PM Looking to play Hazelight's upcoming co-op adventure Split Fiction on the PC? From ultrawide monitor support to Steam Deck verification, a new official blog post revealed what's to come in this version of the title. The post Split Fiction PC Features Detailed, Steam Deck Verified appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:50 PM Setting the stage for the deepest Monster Hunter story to date, see what awaits players in Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds with the story trailer for the title. The post Monster Hunter Wilds Story Trailer Released appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:32 AM Gear up for thrills in the dark - Velan Studios announced that their hide, seek, and shoot party game Midnight Murder Club is set to release in Early Access on March 13. The post Midnight Murder Club Launching in Early Access March 13 appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:08 AM Gunrunners in Rockstar Games' GTA Online, rejoice; one can take advantage of skyrocketing profits this week, along with a number of other perks. The post Gunrunning Paying Dividends in GTA Online This Week appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:35 PM  Over 300 indie creators have pooled their games to create the California Fire Relief Bundle on itch.io to get funds into the hands of survivors of the recent devastating wildfires in Southern California. You can help a great cause and play some incredible games for just $10. |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:25 PM  Forza Horizon 5, which launched over four years ago on Xbox and PC, is making the leap to PlayStation 5 soon, but because it's 2025, the game will lock "early access" to Xbox's open-world driving sim behind a pricey special edition. It's the next evolution in publishers holding games hostage for extra money. |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:10 PM  After a year of waiting, we finally got our first look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A during the annual Pokémon Presents showcase. The Switch game seems like a significant departure from the untamed open zones of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which is exciting because we don't know what to expect. The stream gave us a trailer as… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:15 PM  Peni Parker is a spider-person from the future, but instead of relying on mutations or enhancements herself, she has her mechanized counterpart to fill the web-slinging role for her. Peni is a fantastic 'setup' tank who excels at area denial, if she has time to set up. Weaker when pushing, she shines when defending… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:50 PM  Terminator 2D: No Fate, a newly announced game based on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, looks like a rad retro-inspired side scroller. And you luckily won't have to wait too long to play it. |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:15 PM  Ahead of its February 28 release, Capcom is already giving fans a tease of Monster Hunter Wilds' first big title update coming in early April. The free post-launch patch will include even more powerful monsters for players to hunt, a relief following pre-release worries that the game might be the easiest Monster Hunter… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:15 PM  If you're the kind of person who likes ripping through baddies with an axe, you'll probably enjoy Avowed's selection of skull-splitters. There are quite a few solid choices to wield, but Drawn in Winter—which can be obtained early in the game—is an incredible option to run with, good through the entire adventure.… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:25 PM  February 2025's Steam Next Fest is upon us, which means there are once again hundreds of free demos to checkout for all different kinds of upcoming PC games. The hail from all different genres and teams, and range from very good to absolutely terrible. Steam is normally a mess to browse, and Next Fest is the usual… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:15 PM  Shrek the ogre, the internet's favorite character—based on all the horrible memes and animations I've seen—will return in a new sequel next year. And this time around, Zendaya is joining the cast as Shrek's daughter in the upcoming Shrek 5. |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:15 PM  For those who like the smell of gunpowder during their trip through The Living Lands, there are a lot of great pistols to find in Avowed. Snagging the best one, though, will have to wait until you're in the game's final region, Galawain's Tusks. The Magic Pistol may have a generic name, but it's a damn fine weapon to… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:09 PM  It's only been a month since Pokémon TCG Pocket's Diamond and Pearl-inspired Space-Time Smackdown expansion released, and it looks like the mobile card game's next set of cards is already here. A promo for a set called Triumphant Light, starring the god Pokémon Arceus, leaked earlier this week. Now fans with… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:05 PM  We didn't see Pokémon Champions in motion during the Pokémon Presents showcase today, but the new battle simulator might be the most important announcement made during the presentation. The game is being positioned as the future of Pokémon's competitive play, as evidenced by the teaser trailer showing players using… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:45 AM  PlayStation VR2 launched at $550 two years ago this month. It was a great virtual reality headset but an intimidating price. Now Sony is dropping it to $400 starting in March amid reports that sales have completely stalled. Can the discount give PS VR2 a second wind or is it just one last attempt to sell off inventory… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:35 AM  Today's Pokémon Presents was more notable for what it didn't include than for what it did. While news of Legends: Z-A was very welcome, what was not mentioned—nor ever rumored to be mentioned—was Pokémon's next mainline entry. And yet, based on the pattern of the last decade-and-a-half, this should have been the day… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:10 AM  We finally have our first real look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A and which Pokémon will grace its world. This time around players are headed to the Kalos region and the starters they get to pick from are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. While I'm a grass-type enthusiast at heart, there's no question who I'm picking this… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:40 AM  It's that time of year when Pokémon fans get to have an early Christmas. It's Pokémon Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the launch of the original Pokemon Red and Green in Japan in 1996. Each year, The Pokémon Company puts on a livestream to talk about upcoming games, updates on current ones, and other… |
Kotaku Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:23 AM  After a year of waiting since seeing that tantalizing teaser last Pokémon Day, Game Freak has finally revealed the first in-game footage of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Before today, all we knew about the Switch game was what was revealed on Pokémon Day 2024. Legends Z-A is set entirely in the Kalos metropolis of Lumiose… |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:30 PM  There's nothing new about games letting you craft your own weapons, but Blades of Fire, an upcoming hack and slash dropping this May, throws in a neat twist; you're the only person in the human world who can forge weapons. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best hack and slash games, Best RPGs, Best new PC games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:18 PM  What are the Lost Soul Aside system requirements for PC? We already have our first game to demand an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5000 series card in its system requirements, but thankfully it's only listed for ultra ray tracing performance. Lost Soul Aside is a PS5 and PC ARPG due out in May but is notable for starting out life as a game in development by just one person back in 2016. As we near the release, it's been revealed that many Steam users won't be able to play the game given that its PSN account requirement will limit sales in 130 countries. |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:18 PM  Where are the Monster Hunter Wilds fish? A nice way to earn some EXP without the threat of getting your head trampled, fishing is a lovely, quiet pastime that not only nets you guild points but also some valuable items for your trouble. Some of the requested fish are notoriously difficult to find, so to save you the trouble of searching for them yourself, we've put together a list of exactly where you can find them. Nabbing wildlife without capturing them usually involves equipping one of the best Monster Hunter Wilds builds, sharpening your MH Wilds weapon, and preparing for violence. Fishing, however, is a relatively calm experience that allows you to take in the ambiance of Monster Hunter Wilds, and if done efficiently, can see you rack up a ton of ranks while you're at it. Continue reading Every Monster Hunter Wilds fish and where to find them MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Monster Hunter Wilds armor, Monster Hunter Wilds weapons, Monster Hunter Wilds review |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:56 PM  What are the best Monster Hunter Wilds settings? Capcom's latest is a demanding game that will put your GPU and CPU to the test. Many will need to use a mix of DLSS and frame generation to hit acceptable performance and visual fidelity on PC, so it's perhaps no surprise that it's a total non-starter on Steam Deck. While Monster Hunter Wilds doesn't demand the best graphics card on the market to achieve sound performance, many with older kit are sure to suffer issues unless you opt for the lowest graphical settings. This is especially true when exploring densely packed areas or during intense combat situations. The Monster Hunter Wilds system requirements also highlight that older rigs will have to rely on aggressive upscaling to hit 60fps even at 1080p with low settings. Continue reading Best Monster Hunter Wilds settings for PC and Steam Deck MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:10 PM  15 years since Tiberian Twilight. If you're a long-time fan of Westwood and EA's seminal RTS game series, it's understandable, of course, to feel like hope is lost. But all of a sudden, like netrunner dancing through the web of cyberspace, the Command and Conquer series has been officially revitalized. After 2020's C&C Remastered, and the shift to Steam last year thanks to the Ultimate Collection, EA has just officially dropped the source code for Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert, and dozens of other Command and Conquer games, while bulking out the mod support for the entire series. Whether you love Kane's Wrath, Generals, Red Alert 3, or Zero Hour, it's clear to see the camera is still running. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RTS games, Best strategy games, Best 4X games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:54 PM  Sihoo, an expert in ergonomic furniture with a focus on health-conscious and comfortable products, is shining a spotlight on its best-selling Doro C300 and enhanced Doro C300 Pro chairs. These are must-haves for anyone who spends their days working away at a desk, as well as avid PC gamers. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:38 PM  Netease's FragPunk, a PvP FPS that mixes in a curious deckbuilding mechanic, is just days away from release. To give us another taste of what to expect, developer Bad Guitar Studio has dropped a new trailer, offering a glimpse of its various game modes. Continue reading Frantic, 5v5 Overwatch rival FragPunk reveals new game modes MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best roguelike games, Best multiplayer games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:29 PM  What are the best FPS games on PC? From the classic physics chaos of Half-Life 2 to Halo Infinite's beautifully rendered worlds, these are the finest FPS games. For more than two decades, FPS games have been the driving force of the PC games industry. They've let us travel from the depths of Hell in Doom to the outer reaches of space in Titanfall 2. Others have taken us on a detour through the likes of Half-Life 2's zombie-infested Ravenholm, while some have embraced futuristic cities. Some of these games are old, others are new, and all are great. Warhammer 40K: Boltgun and its '90s-boomer-shooter-inspired graphics; Rainbow Six Siege's tight tactical multiplayer; Overwatch 2 and its vast array of amazing heroes. No matter what sort of virtual gunplay you're after, whether you want multiplayer games, war games, or something altogether different, the following titles will satisfy your itchy trigger finger. So crack those knuckles, and make every shot count. These aren't only the best FPS games, some of these entries are included in our best PC games too. Continue reading The best FPS games on PC 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Apex Legends characters, Best battle royale games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:23 PM  What are the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods? The modding community working on Larian games has a storied history regarding DOS and Baldur's Gate, and the BG3 community is no different thanks to official mod support for the DnD game. We've delved into the BG3 mods that are available to add even more to the already massively entertaining game to find the very best ones. As we explore in our Baldur's Gate 3 review, the RPG game is filled with interesting and unique experiences, including hours of content that most players will likely never see, which includes most of the Baldur's Gate 3 endings. However, the modding community has still found gaps worth filling to improve your Baldur's Gate 3 experience. Continue reading The 32 best Baldur's Gate 3 mods MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Baldur's Gate 3 builds, BG3 mods, Baldur's Gate 3 classes |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:17 PM  What are the best Fallout 4 mods on PC? Despite having been around for nearly a decade, Fallout 4 remains one of the most popular games in the series, thanks in no small part to its vibrant modding community. With the Fallout TV series spiking interest in the Bethesda series again, what better time than to jump back in with more modded gameplay? Thanks to mods like these, RPG games like Fallout 4 enjoy such longevity after launch. To celebrate the weird and wonderful creations of the Fallout 4 mod community, we've picked more than 50 of the best Fallout 4 mods to get you on your way to a more interesting Boston Wasteland. If that's not enough tinkering for you, check out our list of Fallout 4 console commands, which give you even more customization in one of the best PC games around. Continue reading Best Fallout 4 mods 2025 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Fallout 4 mods, Fallout 5 release date, Best games like Fallout |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:15 PM  If you're keen to get your hands on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 or RTX 5080, there's now a new, official route for you to try. Nvidia is sending out invitations via its new Verified Priority Access program, giving account holders the chance to secure one of these top-tier Founders Edition gaming GPUs at their MSRP price, directly from the GPU maker itself. This isn't the first time Nvidia has taken on the scalpers, using a similar program to help gamers purchase RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 graphics cards when those launches were also affected by stock availability problems. While the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are now among the best graphics cards you can buy, demand for both cards has been exceptionally high, making it almost impossible for gamers to buy one since their launch last month. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Nvidia RTX 5090 review, Nvidia RTX 5080 review, Best graphics cards |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:15 PM  What are the best FS25 mods? When it comes to building the greatest farm of all time, you're going to need the right set of tools to get the job done. While Farming Simulator 25 has practically every licensed tool under the sun, there are some gameplay tweaks that require more than the world's best tractor. Through the power of Farming Simulator 25 mods, you can take your farm to unprecedented heights, with some mods for the simulation game giving you the power to build things to your exact specifications. From being able to place objects anywhere, to being able to control time itself, we've listed the best FS25 mods to help you grow the farm of your dreams. Continue reading Best FS25 mods MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best simulation games, Best co-op games, Farming Simulator 25 mods |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:10 PM  What are the current and upcoming Genshin Impact events? A new version of Genshin Impact arrives every six weeks, complete with new characters, quests, and events. It's difficult to keep track of which events are currently running and if there are any new ones coming soon, so here's a schedule for all current and upcoming Genshin Impact events. There are usually a number of Genshin Impact events running simultaneously, and they aren't just in-game events. HoYoverse often launches a web event every update, which gives players a chance to learn about the latest Genshin Impact characters through an interactive story told through a web browser. Like all gacha games, the rewards for completing events in Genshin Impact range from in-game items like Primogems and Mora, to real life prizes like mouse mats and plushies. Continue reading Genshin Impact events - all current and upcoming events MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Genshin Impact codes, Genshin Impact character tier list, Genshin Impact leveling guide |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:07 PM  What are the latest Roblox music codes? Thousands of popular songs are available to listen to in Roblox simply by entering music ID codes into your boombox or the radio. You can even play your favorite TikTok songs in games with your friends using song IDs. So, how do you play music in Roblox? The method varies depending on which game you want to blast your tunes in. Some games allow free access to the boombox — equip and press it to bring up a text box to enter a song ID code. Catalog Heaven is a great place to test the Roblox music codes you find, as it allows you to equip any boombox in the shop and try it out. Continue reading Roblox music codes February 2025 - the best song IDs MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:02 PM  What are the best Project Zomboid mods? While mods can be applied to most games, there's something particularly special about sandbox games where it feels like almost anything is possible. Project Zomboid is the perfect example of this, featuring complete game expansion transformations and simple quality-of-life improvements. Project Zomboid has been out since 2013, but the zombie game has recently rocketed in popularity, with tens of thousands of players returning for the Build 42 update. There are plenty of mods to improve your experience, and modders are already updating their mods for B42. Here are the best Project Zomboid mods available for the survival game right now. Continue reading The best Project Zomboid mods MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, Best survival games, Best zombie games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:00 PM  The original Splitgate remains one of my favorite FPS games of all time. Despite it being a bit rough around the edges and lacking in the content department, I have extremely fond memories of it. Its blend of Halo-style gunplay and a slick portal system felt so good and, more importantly in a genre that can often feel samey and repetitive, so fresh. As you can imagine, now that the chance to play its shiny new sequel is here, I'm internally squealing with excitement. Sometimes externally too, truth be told. The new Splitgate 2 open alpha has just gone live, letting PC players (and some console players) try out its gameplay and test some new, large-scale, multi-team modes inspired by Halo and The Finals. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best free PC games, Best multiplayer games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:03 PM  With the second Diablo 4 expansion not planned until 2026 and the next Path of Exile 2 update still a month off, Last Epoch developer Eleventh Hour Games reveals the full details of its next season. The indie ARPG proved itself a worthy contender with its 1.0 launch in 2024, and if you're looking for something a little mechanically deeper than Diablo and more polished than PoE 2's current early-access version, Last Epoch is well worth trying. It's got fantastic class identity, an incredibly rewarding gear and crafting system, and the Season 2 launch will provide a great time to jump in right at the beginning of April. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Last Epoch review, Last Epoch builds, Last Epoch tier list |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:01 PM  What are the new Genshin Impact codes? Gathering Primogems and Mora in Genshin Impact can be quite the grind. Fortunately, developer Hoyoverse occasionally sends out gifts in the form of Genshin redeem codes. Most codes only work for a limited time, so it's best to redeem them as soon as possible to avoid missing out. Genshin Impact codes are released periodically, frequently appearing in Hoyoverse special programs: regular video updates detailing future updates to the free PC game. Redeem codes can also drop to celebrate milestones or to coincide with new Genshin Impact events. You can find all the active Genshin codes for February 2025 below, and we also detail what they get you, how to redeem them, and where you can look for more. Continue reading Genshin Impact codes February 2025 and how to redeem MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Genshin Impact codes, Genshin Impact character tier list, Genshin Impact leveling guide |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:54 AM  The original XCOM, 2012's Enemy Unknown, and XCOM 2 represent some of the most brilliantly designed games in history. Everything you do, every choice, has meaning and consequence - every decision on every turn feels like it has resonance, not just mechanically, but narratively and emotionally. Firaxis has been busy lately, first with the supremely underplayed Midnight Suns, and then Civilization 7. The original creator of XCOM also has a new game in the works but, speaking to PCGamesN, he still wants to know about the series' future - in fact, he's just as curious about XCOM 3 as we are. Continue reading XCOM's original creator wants to know what's happening with XCOM 3 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: XCOM 3 release date |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:07 AM  What are the best The Sims 3 house ideas? If you've run out of ideas to make the best Sims 4 house you possibly can or are looking for a challenging new project to test your skills, these are some of the best Sims 4 house designs right now. We're constantly amazed by the incredible skills of the The Sims 4 community and the houses we still see being built over a decade since the life sim's release. We still don't know what's in store for the Project Rene release date if and when it arrives, but we're sure The Sims 4 fans will continue to build incredible designs in its predecessor. For now, here are our favorite Sims 4 houses to inspire your next build. Continue reading The best Sims 4 houses MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Sims 4 mods, Best Sims 4 sex mods, The Sims 4 cheats |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:06 AM  With both the AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards set to be officially imminently unveiled, a confusing new price leak has left us scratching our heads. Early listings for these cards at Micro Center show prices starting at $649.99 for the RX 9070 and $699 for the 9070 XT, but going as high as $1,100, well above what we'd expect these cards to cost. The lower end of the scale, if confirmed, would place the cheapest of these AMD gaming GPUs between two of the new Nvidia mid-tier cards, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, with the potential for them to still be among the best graphics cards for everyday gamers. The higher end, however, would leave these cards costing more than the more powerful RTX 5080, leaving some hope that this pricing data might not be entirely accurate. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:00 AM  There's no setting quite as iconic as Dungeons and Dragons' Forgotten Realms. A sprawling high-fantasy world shimmering with magic and mystery, it's become the backdrop for millions of virtual and tabletop adventures. While Mages of Mystralia isn't a DnD game in name or setting, its overarching narrative is the brainchild of Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms, and it wears its lineage on its sleeve. So if you, like me, are looking for yet another fantasy RPG in the wake of Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed, look no further: Mages of Mystralia is free right now. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best fantasy games, Best RPG games, Best indie games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:56 AM  A budget-friendly Nvidia graphics card with two different variants could be readying up for a launch in just a few weeks. That's according to a new rumor that suggests the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is already in production, with Nvidia planning to launch 8GB and 16GB VRAM versions of the card in March and April. We've seen hints of this new Nvidia graphics card already, thanks to an earlier RTX 5060 Ti leak which also suggested that two VRAM options were in the works, much like its direct predecessor. However, as our RTX 4060 Ti review shows, 8GB of VRAM was a bottleneck for that card's performance. This means that the 16GB 5060 Ti is likely to be the more interesting card for gamers this time around, especially if performance makes it one of the best graphics cards for budget gamers. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Nvidia RTX 5090 review, Nvidia RTX 5080 review, Best graphics cards |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:08 AM  The Metro series has some of the best gun battles in the history of FPS games. Often, single-player shooters are all about spectacle and scale - in Doom Eternal, Half-Life, and Ultrakill, the excitement comes from outlandish weapons, hordes of enemies, and rapid movement. But Metro slows it down. You're against a small number of highly lethal enemies. You don't have many bullets. Your guns feel like they could fall apart. Six years after Metro Exodus, its creator, 4A Games Ukraine, is finally back with something new. But the team isn't called 4A anymore, and the tempo has totally changed. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best co-op games, Best war games |
PCGamesN Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:52 AM  Does Monster Hunter Wilds have crossplay? Capcom's flagship RPG is a ton of fun solo, but it's even better with friends. We've been teaming up with other hunters on our favorite platform since Monster Hunter first came to PC, but we've never been able to extend the invitation to our friends on console... until now. Monster Hunter Wilds is available across a lot of platforms, and odds are at least one of your pals has picked up a different version to your own. Crossplay is the solution, letting you set aside your difference to take on MH Wilds monsters together. Here's everything you need to know about Monster Hunter Wilds crossplay, including all the eligible platforms and how to enable it. Continue reading Does Monster Hunter Wilds have crossplay? MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Monster Hunter Wilds armor, Monster Hunter Wilds weapons, Monster Hunter Wilds review |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:34 PM  EA have restored and released the full source code for several antique Command & Conquer games under the GPL license, in a red letter day for series modders. The games in question are the original Command & Conquer (aka Tiberian Dawn), Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer Renegade and Command & Conquer Generals, plus the latter's Zero Hour expansion. That's a lot of refurbishable strategy game to get your head around. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:40 PM  I've never played 2001's Gothic, developed by Piranha Bytes, but Sin has an article from 2016 about why it is "more believable than modern RPGs". In that piece, she paints an absorbing picture of a magically quarantined penal colony, where three factions of prisoners enjoy an uneasy truce. In this crammed ocean vent of a setting, fights generally end in defeat rather than death, reputation isn't just a points gauge, and the player character's centrality is an accident. It sounds pretty thrilling. I am still searching for this RPG in the Steam prologue demo for Alkimia Interactive's Gothic reboot. There are certainly some intrigues afoot, and I'm quite enjoying the desolate quarry scenery, but I'm distracted by aspects of the presentation, not least the fact that the prologue character looks like a Funko Pop incarnation of Highlander's Christopher Lambert. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:27 AM  I'm sorry to announce that I am yet again going to speak highly of a game about going up and down hills, real quickly like. Haste: Broken Worlds, from Clustertruck and Totally Accurate Battlegrounds devs Landfall, is very much about the haste first and the broken worlds second, sending you hurtling across the inclines of its cartoon gauntlets at what Chris Morris would call terrifying legspeeds. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:05 AM  Some things I have smashed through in the demo for Deliver At All Costs: fire hydrants, surf boards, barns, an entire laundromat, street lamps, palm trees, garbage cans, several pedestrians, mailboxes, food stalls, fish markets, brick walls, a lookout tower, dumpsters, housewives, the city fountain, and a row of unsuspecting sunbathers. This toy-like messabout is proof of one thing. Almost every problem can be solved by driving a 1950s truck straight through it. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:11 AM  Ukraine-based independent games studio Reburn have just announced a new shooter, La Quimera, which I would summarise as Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Cyberpunk 2077 playing kiss-chase in the near-future jungles and neon sprawls of Latin America. It's got world and narrative writing from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn, and is playable in single player with three-person co-op support. Here's a trailer. |
Twinfinite Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:57 AM  |
Twinfinite Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:00 AM  |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 4:00 PM
Consumers can pre-order a Hsien-Ko Bishoujo Darkstalkers figure. It can be purchased from the Kotobukiya Online Shop, and will cost 25,300 yen, or around $168. The item is expected to ship in September 2025. Additionally, if you purchase the Hsien-Ko Bishoujo Darkstalkers figure directly from the Kotobukiya Online Stop, you will receive an additional face plate.
You can take a look at the figure below:
As mentioned previously, if purchased from the Kotobukiya Online Store, or any participating Kotobukiya location, consumers will receive an additional face plate. This features a more "fierce" expression for Hsien-Ko. The website does mention that the images shown are of a prototype, and that the final product could look slightly different. Once again, pre-orders are now open, and the figure will ship in September 2025.
This figure is one of several Darkstalkers Bishoujo figures. Previous releases have included Morrigan, which was announced in August 2021, and Felicia, which received a recolor in 2023. The original release of Felicia, which included her standard colors, appeared in 2022. Lilith also received a Bishoujo figure.
The Hsien-Ko Bishoujo Darkstalkers figure is immediately available to pre-order. It costs 25,300 yen, or around $168, and will release sometime in September 2025.
The post Hsien-Ko Joins Bishoujo Darkstalkers Figure Collection appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:00 PM
Tomb Raider 4 is my favorite game of all time. I say this to get an obvious bias out of the way while reviewing Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered. If this collection was that game alone, I'd slap a 10/10 on it, demand you all play it immediately and leave it at that.
However, this is not just one game. Following on from last year's remaster of the first three Tomb Raider games, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered does the same with the next three. The final three Tomb Raider games made by original developer Core Design, in fact – The Last Revelation, Chronicles and The Angel of Darkness. However, this may be a harder sell overall.
Not for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation though. As a game that saw Core try and bring the series to an end, it feels like a huge extravagant attempt to deliver an adventure that cemented Lara's legacy for good. Take all the best elements of the three games that came before it, stuff it in a blender and this is what comes out. It's also a Tomb Raider game with a strong storyline for the first time, as Lara accidentally unseals Set, the Egyptian god of disorder. This kickstarts a potential apocalypse unless she can find the Armour of Horus and re-seal the dark deity. It's still a goofy pulp adventure, but this gives the game greater stakes and helps expand Lara Croft as a character.
As a result of this premise, the entire game is set in Egypt. This is a far cry from the first three games, which saw Lara flying across the world, uncovering the secrets of multiple civilizations. However, Core managed to maintain this kind of variety, even within a single country. Of course, there are pyramids and Horus and palaces to great pharaohs, but we also see the Roman influence as well as contemporary Egypt. There's even a level set on a moving train.
But what Tomb Raider 4 does so well is taking the creaky old Tomb Raider engine and pushing it to its absolute limit. Obviously, it's less impressive now than it was in 1999, but Core managed to throw in pole-climbing, laser sight aiming and rope swinging into an engine mostly built for pushing blocks around a grid. There's a greater athleticism to Lara's movements and the puzzle design is some of the best in the series. As the game progresses, you'll encounter puzzles that involve assembling an ancient map of the stars, making use of mirror illusions and solving the classic water jug puzzle.
The remaster barely has to do any work to bring out the best in this game. The same visual splash of paint its predecessors got last year is present, but it also feels faster. I don't know if this is just down to an improved framerate or if they did tweak Lara's movement directly, but it works wonderfully. It's a buttery smooth experience that helps an already excellent game shine. If Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered was just The Last Revelation, I'd call it essential.
However, while The Last Revelation is easily the gem of Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered, it's not all we have to discuss. Both Tomb Raider Chronicles and The Angel of Darkness are also here, and they are some of the more contentious entries in the series. Both were rushed, buggy and showed signs of how much the team was tired of the series by this point. There's a reason these two games are the final games made by Core Design before the series was passed over to current owners Crystal Dynamics.
Let's start with Tomb Raider Chronicles. This is a game made over a span of only a few months, a desperate request from Eidos to release a game for the 2000 holiday season. It's a much shorter anthology game, one built around several small adventures from Lara's past. Because it's an anthology, the quality constantly fluctuates.
The game starts strong in Rome, as Lara navigates the eerily quiet streets of the city, encountering strange machines and the remnants of its ancient history. It feels like a minor extension of The Last Revelation. Russia keeps this up, evoking strong comparisons with the industrial parts of past Tomb Raider games. Just a shame that it mostly hangs around a single submarine.
The last two segments show signs of Core's boredom with the series, as they were clearly determined to make anything else here. Ireland chases the contemporary survival horror boom, with an unarmed teenage Lara dealing with demons and fey beings. It's got some fun ideas but the levels feel exceptionally short and forgettable.
And then there's New York, an attempt to emulate the successes of The Matrix and Metal Gear Solid with a high-tech spy adventure. However, this is where the limitations of the engine begin to show. The introduction of stealth takedowns and fast-paced sniping fall apart quickly as the controls simply don't work well for it.
The original version of this section was also compounded by bugs, most of which crashed the game, corrupted your save or created invisible walls. Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered does a great job ironing out these problems, as it was a much smoother experience this time around. However, it does nothing to correct the inherent design problems here, which are sadly just baked into the game.
Speaking of design problems baked into the game, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered rounds off with Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. This was the first game in the series released for the PS2, notorious for almost killing the entire franchise. It's an example of developer ambition far exceeding their capabilities. The original game launched with half its content missing, a broken control scheme and a general sense that the series had lost its way. It's the only Tomb Raider game I've not played multiple times.
The remaster does do a decent job in fixing many of the worst technical issues. The controls were the most obvious example of this, as they're now much more responsive and align better with previous entries. The experience feels less buggy as some of the more egregious issues seem to have been ironed out. However, it's far from perfect, as Lara's overall movement is still sluggish and new bugs appear to have snuck their way in, such as when I got stuck under a bench within minutes of exploring a restored area at the start of the game.
The fixes don't do much to solve the inherent problems with The Angel of Darkness, however. Following on from the feeling in Chronicles that Core wanted to make literally anything other than Tomb Raider, The Angel of Darkness is a moody murder mystery adventure game. There's a lot of wandering around Paris talking to people and finding clues and little actual tomb raiding. Some of this can be interesting, but a lot of it feels half-baked and doesn't feel like Tomb Raider.
The adventure elements like NPC dialog trees and shops do little more than slow down the already plodding experience. Meanwhile, the strength-boosting mechanic remains as useless as ever, prompting endless moments of Lara refusing to open a door until she's hung from a ledge for thirty seconds first. It adds nothing but padding.
As an overall package, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is a great remaster. If you played the remaster of the original trilogy last year, you'll know what to expect here. The blocky polygons of the original PS1 games have been swapped out in favor of newly created models and textures. However, the original graphics are still an option, available at the touch of a single button at any time. The modern controls, while not my personal preference, are a decent compromise between the original design and the expectations of a modern audience. The amount of work applied to The Angel of Darkness alone is impressive. As remasters go, this is a perfect example of how to do it right.
Overall, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is a mixed bag. It's an excellent remaster that balances preservation and improvement. However, two-thirds of this package are games that are, at best, merely fine, even with improvements. For The Last Revelation though? It's worth it for that alone.
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.
The post Review: Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Revitalises the Best and Worst of the Franchise appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:00 PM
The official Warriors: Abyss X account has shared more characters will be joining the musou roguelike. However, only a silhouette was posted. Which means Koei Tecmo has yet to reveal who the character in question is, or when they will appear.
You can take a look at the announcement post below, and give a gander at the next set of characters that could appear in the game.
Those more familiar with Koei Tecmo's Warrior's musuo series will probably be able to sort out who the character in question is. However, this announcement of more characters joining Warriors: Abyss comes hot on the heels of Koei Tecmo adding five new characters to the game. This update also included various adjustments for several characters, and other finetuning. Various bug fixes also accompanied this update.
Announced and released in February 2025, Warriors: Abyss is a roguelike take on Koei Tecmo's Warrior's series. The game is sectioned into stages, with players able to swap between six characters to unleash devastating attacks against hordes of enemies. The initial trailer for the game, which appeared alongside its release, was vague at best.
Warriors: Abyss is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
The post More Musou Characters Joining Warriors: Abyss Roguelike appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:30 PM
Kotobukiya offered a Pokemon figure update on Pokemon Day 2025, which is the X and Y hero Calem and the starter Froakie. There's no release window for it yet. However, since it is only in the unpainted prototype stage, it will likely be a while before we see it appear. It is one of many protagonists in the Pokemon ARTFX J line.
Calem is the first Pokemon X and Y person to appear as a Kotobukiya ARTFX J figure. His prototype build shows he'll wear his default protagonist outfit. His hat will also feature sunglasses perched on it, just like in the official art. Froakie will be able to be posed at his feet. The preliminary photos showed that the starter will be able to be removed and displayed on its own, if someone would like.
Here are the initial photos of the character and Pokemon:
His counterpart in that entry has the canon name Serena.
The last character to appear in this collection was Florian, the male avatar option for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, with Fuecoco. He appeared after the female avatar option Juliana, who showed up with Sprigatito as her partner.The next release in the series will mark the return of Pokemon Sword and Shield's Gloria with Sobble.
Pokemon X and Y are available on the 3DS, and there's no release window for the Calem and Froakie figure.
The post Pokemon X and Y Calem Figure Poses With Froakie appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:00 PM
Human Forum announced that it will open a new wave of orders for the merchandise lineup filled with items based on Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5: The Phantom X that appeared at Animax Cafe +. People who could not visit the collaboration cafe in Shibuya will get a chance to order the goods online.
The collection will mostly contain items featuring the protagonists, mascots, and other main characters from the respective games. Prices for the items will range from 550 yen (~$3.65) for a random character badge or smartphone stand keychain to 6,600 yen (~$44.05) for a sweater.
The highlighted entry in this lineup will be the two light picture panels that cost 5,500 yen (~$36.70) each. The two variations of the panel will respectively feature the key visuals of P5R and P5X with a twist: The items will have an LED light switch that will hide a majority of the artwork when turned off.
Here are all the Persona 5 Royal and P5X items:
For the record, the Animax Cafe + collaboration took place from January 24, 2025, until February 26, 2025. Human Forum's Spinns brand was one of the event's sponsors, and it also provided the apparel and character merchandise. That means the company made this announcement right on the day after the collaboration cafe event in Shibuya had concluded.
As a side note, the Spinns web store has a ZenMarket widget to support worldwide shipping. However, it is still yet to be known whether the Persona 5 series merchandise will also be available for international orders or not. This is because some Japanese web stores still prohibit specific anime and game-themed merchandise from legal overseas orders, despite already including a global shipping proxy widget.
The order window for the Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5: The Phantom X Animax Cafe + merchandise on Spinns' web store will open from March 8 until April 6, 2025. Human Forum will start producing the merchandise after that, with the delivery period planned for around mid-May 2025.
The post Persona 5 Royal and P5X Animax Cafe Items Will Be Sold Again appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:30 PM
There's an update on the next pieces of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot DLC, and it offered release windows for Part 1 and 2 of Daima Adventure Through the Demon Realm Pack. These are the add-ons based on the new anime adaptation. We should see the first piece of this new two-part addition show up in Summer 2025, as it has a launch window that spans July 2025 through September 2025. It costs $34.99 to get both parts, and someone can buy them now for a pack bonus.
The official Steam page offered a few details about the add-ons, though it didn't get into finer details about the story. Each part will adapt the anime for the game, allowing us to follow Goku as he and his friends join up with Glorio and Panzy to fight back against Gomah and restore themselves to their rightful ages.
Here's the official release schedule for each of the parts:
Here are the first DLC screenshots for the Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Daima Adventure Through the Demon Realm Pack.
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot is available on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the first part of the Daima Adventure Through the Demon Realm Pack DLC will debut between July and September 2025.
The post Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Daima DLC Debuts in Summer 2025 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:00 PM
Build-a-Bear announced that it is once again selling its Vaporeon plush on Pokemon Day 2025. It is only showing as available online through the official website. Only a bundle option is available for $67.
Due to the type of rerelease this is, the official page noted there are restrictions on it. You can't get the plush separately, of course. It can only ship as a stuffed item, and you can't get it unstuffed to take to a store to have filled. You also can't choose how "stuffed" it is or add a scent. All this also means you can't place an order, then pick it up from a retail location near you.
All of the content of this Vaporeon Pokemon bundle are the same as the original one Build-a-Bear offered back in August 2020. You get the plush of the Eeveelution, the blue Poke Ball Sleeper pajamas, and a blue Water-Type Cape. It also arrives with a five-in-one sound chip inserted with sounds the character makes from the series.
Here's how everything in the bundle looks:
Prior to this returning character, Build-a-Bear added a new one to the lineup. In January 2025, Yamper joined the collection.
The Pokemon Vaporeon plush bundle is now back at Build-a-Bear's online storefront.
The post Vaporeon Restocked at Build-a-Bear for Pokemon Day 2025 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:30 PM
Atlus has published a new video showing the rehearsal for the upcoming Unicorn Overlord Orchestra Concert on its official Japanese social media account. People can get a sneak peek of the orchestra performance, regardless of whether they have purchased tickets for the concert or not.
This video runs for roughly 21 seconds. It shows how members of the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra are preparing their performances of tracks from Atlus and Vanillaware's strategy RPG that has been available worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The rehearsal video is available to watch via the following tweet:
In the same tweet, Atlus added that tickets for the night show, which starts at 7 PM JST, are still available for purchase. As of February 27, 2025, tickets for the earlier day show at 3 PM JST have already sold out.
In October 2024, Atlus also announced that it would make the concert tickets available to non-Japanese foreigners as well. However, it turned out that only tickets for physical attendance at the Japanese venue are available. The company has already closed the ticketing window for foreigners on February 16, 2025.
The Unicorn Overlord Orchestra Concert will take place physically at the Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
The post Watch the Unicorn Overlord Orchestra Concert Rehearsal appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:00 PM
The Japanese automotive company Honda shared a teaser for its new Pokemon motorcycle project inspired by Koraidon. It will formally reveal the real-life re-enactment of the legendary mascot of the Nintendo Switch game Pokemon Scarlet on March 7, 2025.
Koraidon has been known to have motorcycle-like forms with its Sprinting, Swimming, and Gliding Builds. The teaser video appears to show the re-enactment in Koraidon's Swimming Build, as it has its legs down to support the bike's balance during display. In the teaser video's description, Honda added that it will incorporate its cutting-edge technology into this project.
The new teaser video is available to watch right below:
Honda's Koraidon project will appear as a direct rival to Toyota, which has been producing a real-life replica of Pokemon Violet's legendary mascot, Miraidon. By March 2024, Toyota had revealed its Miraidon re-enactment in its quadrupedal Low-Power Mode and the motorcycle-like Drive Mode. However, Toyota is nowadays known mostly as a car manufacturer—although it used to have a motorcycle subsidiary called Toyo Motors in the 1950s—while Honda is better known for releasing both cars and motorcycles.
Honda will formally reveal its Koraidon re-enactment project at the Honda Welcome Plaza Aoyama in Tokyo, Japan, on March 7, 2025. Koraidon and Miraidon can be found in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch.
The post Honda Teases Pokemon Koraidon Appearance in Real Life appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:30 AM
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is getting another version of Sasuke, and this time he'll be free DLC. Sasuke Uchiha (Young Ver. Final Battle) will debut on February 28, 2025. He'll be a part of the patch that also brings in SS+ weapons and additional rebalancing. That will be followed by a patch that addresses bugs. As a reminder, this game has been around since 2018 and is still being updated.
The character reveal was accompanied by a first trailer on social media. It began by showing his official art and confirming he'll be part of Special Master-Ninjutsu Training Vol. 13. From there, Bandai Namco showed off gameplay by pitting this Sasuke against Naruto. We get to see his Chidori Layering, his Cursemark Second State, and Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu performed in the teaser. The video also highlighted the new cosmetics coming to the title, which are the Sasuke Outfit Childhood Ver costume, the Sasuke Back in Time Ver costume, a Sasuke's Eyepatch accessory, and Sasuke: Cursemark Second State hair.
Here's how all that looks:
There are so many Sasuke options in Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, as he started appearing right at launch in the base game. For example, the original one was Sasuke Uchiha, who was a Range type character. Sasuke (Boruto) showed up after and was another Range unit. When the free Sasuke (Last Battle) appeared, it ended up being a Defense unit.
Here are the full patch 2.61 patch notes regarding weapon, ninjutsu, and secret technique rebalancing, which were shared on Bandai Namco's official site:
Rebalanced Ninjutsu and Secret Techniques
Attack Type
Leaf Whirlwind
Rasengan
Massive Rasengan
Kamui
Ranged Type
Chidori
Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu
Super Beast Scroll: Lion
Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu
Kirin
Host Transformation: Six Tails
Defense Type
8 Trigrams Palm Rotation
Earth Style: Earth Pillar Explosion
Water Prison Rosary Bondage Jutsu
Heal Type
Paralysis Jutsu
Heavy Boulder Jutsu
Cherry Blossom Clash
Crimson Drizzle
8 Trigrams: Air Palm
Byakugan
Nervous System Rupture
Lava Style: Lava Monster Jutsu
Tsukuyomi
Strength of a Hundred: Flower Cannon
Rebalanced Weapons
Defense Type
Certain Defense Type Weapons
Applies to: Shark Skin: Samehada (Seal), Crimson Shark Skin: Samehada (Seal), Adamantine Shark Skin: Samehada (Seal), Shark Skin: Samehada, Crimson Shark Skin: Samehada, Adamantine Shark Skin: Samehada.
Sandspear "Shukaku"
Bandai Namco's only 2.62 patch notes stated, "Bug fixes implemented."
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and Sasuke Uchiha (Young Ver. Final Battle) will join the roster for free on February 28, 2025.
The post Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker Gets New Young Sasuke Character for Free appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:00 AM
Konami announced we'll learn more about the Suikoden series and games in a Special Program on YouTube at 3pm PT/6pm ET on March 3, 2025. It debuts ahead of the Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars collection, which debuts worldwide on March 6, 2025.
The details about the showcase are incredibly vague. We basically only know when it will be. Konami didn't even note if it will be focused on the remaster collection of the first two games or discuss other titles. It did mention "latest news," so it is possible we could learn more about other mainline entries like Suikoden 3, 4, and 5 or perhaps even original and new ones.
While there hasn't been such a possibly wide-reaching Suikoden series Special Program in quite some time, we did see some presentations about games recently. For example, a 2024 Tokyo Game Show one appeared on September 27, 2025, and that focused on Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster.
Leading up to that release, Konami's shared brief tidbits about the two titles in it. It shared lore updates to prepare people for the political tensions in the region. Brief gameplay teasers appeared too, which shows how they look on the new platforms and the new character portraits.
Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will come to the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025. The original games appeared on the PlayStation worldwide. They also appeared together in a collection on the PSP in Japan. The Suikoden Special will discuss the series and its games at 3pm PT/6pm ET on March 3, 2025.
The post Suikoden Special Program Will Discuss Games in March appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:30 AM
Morinaga Chocolate revealed a new collaboration event between its chocolate bar brand DARS and HoYoverse's Honkai: Star Rail. The Japanese company is gradually holding multiple campaigns that reward merchandise featuring six characters from the globally popular Chinese game. The characters in question will be March 7th, Kafka, Ruan Mei, Dan Heng, Jing Yuan, and Argenti.
The first campaign that has immediately launched features the social media X, which is still widely used by Japanese companies. People residing in Japan can follow the @MorinagaChoco account and repost or quote the specified tweets by March 3, 2025, to get a free desktop PC wallpaper. Doing so will also let them enter a sweepstake that rewards 10,000 yen worth of QUO Card Pay to three winners.
On March 3, 2025, select stores in Japan will start distributing a bonus clear file featuring one of the six characters for every three DARS chocolate bars purchased, while supplies last. Morinaga will also launch separate sweepstakes featuring the same products on March 4-31, 2025. Receipts showing multiple purchases of the products made in the specified period will let people earn six smartphone character wallpapers with an additional chance for 500 winners to get a crossover-branded 500 yen QUO card and 250 winners to obtain one of the six character-branded flat pouches.
The primary highlights will appear on March 11, 2025, when Morinaga releases grape-flavored DARS chocolate bars with packages featuring Honkai: Star Rail characters at Seven Eleven outlets across Japan. Each of these packages will include a serial code that lets players obtain actual in-game items. Receipts containing these new products will also be eligible for the sweepstakes that run on March 4-31, 2025.
As a side note, serial codes for Honkai: Star Rail do not only appear in the crossover merchandise. There are many other serial codes available for the game, including the new ones revealed at the Version 3.1 stream in mid-February 2025, although most of them have expiry dates.
Inputting these codes will let players get bonuses in Honkai: Star Rail, which is available worldwide on PC, Android, iOS, and PlayStation 5.
The post Honkai: Star Rail Branded DARS Sweets Will Appear in Japan appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:45 AM
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company revealed the first gameplay trailer for Pokemon Legends: Z-A during the latest Pokemon Presents Showcase. The game will come out for the Nintendo Switch on late 2025 and the three Pokemon starters are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile.
The game is set in Lumiose City in the Kalos Region, while the city is undergoing a high-tech redevelopment plan. Unlike Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the game seems to be set in the present and after the events of Pokemon X and Y. The latest footage showcased various characters, like the protagonist's new friend and ally Urbain or Taunie (depending on gender,) the hotel concierge AZ and his Eternal Floette. Additionally, the CEO of redevelopment head Quasartico Inc, Jett, and her secretarie Vinnie were shown.
Combat will play differently than in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, with an active turn-based system where each Pokemon move is assigned to a face button and has a cooldown after using it. Lumiose City has plenty of Wild Zones set around where both human and Pokemon can co-exist in harmony, and players can capture new creatures.
You can check out the new trailer and gameplay footage for Pokemon Legends: Z-A here:
The game was originally revealed on Pokemon Day on 2024 with a 2025 release date. No new footage or information about the game has appeared since it was first announced. The game is a follow up to Pokemon Legends: Arceus released on January 28, 2022 for the Switch.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is currently in development and will release for the Nintendo Switch in late 2025.
The post Pokemon Legends: Z-A Gets First Gameplay Trailer appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:35 AM
During Pokemon Presents 2025, The Pokemon Company revealed Triumphant Light, which is an upcoming expansion for Pokemon Trading Card Pocket. This new set is a supplementary expansion to Spacetime Smackdown, introducing even more Generation 4 Pokémon, trainers from Pokémon Legends Arceus, and Arceus EX itself.
We can begin to open Triumphant Light booster packs as soon as February 28, 2025. In addition to the new expansion, Ranked Battles have been announced for March 2025, though details have yet to be revealed.
Triumphant Light heavily focuses on Arceus EX, with many cards in the set featuring "Link" abilities that require Arceus in play to activate. For example, Abomasnow's attack requires one less energy while Arceus or Arceus EX is in play thanks to its "Vigor Link" ability.
Triumphant Light also adds a new set of Solo Battles featuring cards from the expansion. Players can also expect new binders, deck covers, player icons, and various other customization options inspired by Generation 4 Pokémon.
The most noteworthy cards include Arceus EX, Leafeon EX, Garchomp EX, Probopass EX, Glaceon EX, and trainers from Pokémon Legends Arceus, such as Adaman and Irida.
Notably, Probopass EX is a brand new addition to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, with no physical cards or appearances in other PTCG games.
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is available to play for free on Android and iOS devices, and Triumphant Light expansion booster packs arrive on February 28, 2025.
The post Arceus Ascends in Pokemon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light Expansion appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:23 AM
During the February 2025 Pokemon Presents, The Pokemon Company International announced that Pokemon Champions is in development for Switch family systems and mobile devices. It will be a multiplayer battle game that can connect to Pokemon Home to get characters for us to fight with against others online.
Following a cinematic trailer, a few details about Pokemon Champions were shared during the presentation. For example, this is a new The Pokemon Works title. It will be compatible with Pokemon GO, Pokemon Scarlet, Pokemon Violet, and Pokemon Home. People will be able to send from Pokemon GO to Home, then to this new game. Meanwhile, as usual, you can transfer characters back and forth from Scarlet and Violet to Home as usual. There will also be in-game Pokemon to partner with in-game, in case you don't have ones on-hand.
Here's the full Pokemon Presents 2025 showcase, which includes the Pokemon Champions commercial.
This isn't the first time we saw a game appear on both the Switch and mobile devices. Pokemon Unite is playable on both. So is Pokemon Cafe ReMix.
There's no release window for Pokemon Champions yet, but it seems it will appear on the Switch, Switch 2, and both Android and Apple iOS devices.
The post Pokemon Champions Heading to Switch and Mobile appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:08 PM
There's nothing worse than getting sick and feeling incapable of doing even the most basic of daily tasks, but if you do succumb to the seasonal flu or other illness, it doesn't have to be all bad.
One of the best things about being sick has always been curling up on the sofa with a blanket, pillow, and something comforting on the TV while you doze in and out of the waking world. Even when you feel like death incarnate, it's a comforting temporary reality. We might not be skipping school anymore, but we all need a little while to check out when we feel poorly.
If you want something to watch in the background that doesn't need too much focus but is enough to lift your spirits when you can't breathe through your nose, here are the best feel-good shows to watch when you're sick.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has everything. Comedy, a will-they-won't-they love story for the ages, an initially grumpy mentor, and all the drama you'd expect for a police unit in the middle of New York City. It's eight seasons of now-beloved moments featuring Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, and a long list of other faces who feel like friends when you've finished the show and watched them grow.
Ghosts
You'd expect an infestation of spirits to be scary, but when Alison moves into an inherited house and gets much more than she bargained for, her spiritual companions are less spooky and more irritating. After they try and push her out of a window and she ends up dead for three minutes, suddenly she can communicate with them and ends up having to help them through their ghostly experiences so that they can ascend to the afterlife.
To be clear, I'm talking about the original British version of Ghosts above because it outweighs the US version for me due to the casting (it's everyone from Horrible Histories). Alison falls down the stairs in the US version. Both versions are just as good as the other, and it falls to personal preference which one you watch, but the British version is a full season ahead.
Scrubs
There's something about Scrubs that makes it infinitely rewatchable (if you discount the final, trainwreck of a season), even if you've watched it a thousand times before and have memorized every line. It's comforting, and the jokes still hit even when you know exactly what's coming.
Plus, when you're sick, who better to have around than a bunch of doctors? It's probably a good idea to keep some tissues handy, though, because Scrubs manages to hit you right in the feels when you least expect it.
Parks and Recreation
The 00s brought many comedy masterclass shows, and Parks and Recreation belongs near the top of that list. Set up as a mockumentary, Parks and Recreation follows Leslie Knope and her government career inside the Parks and Recreation department in Pawnee, Indiana. The relationships between her and the other staff are heartwarming, although at times hilarious, and it's impossible not to love Ron Swanson.
Russian Doll
Russian Doll is the story of Nadia, who somehow ends up reliving the day of her 36th birthday on an infinite loop that always ends in her death. She reawakens repeatedly, lives the same day, loses her mind a little bit, dies, and then does it all again. She eventually meets someone who is also stuck in a loop, and they try to unravel the mystery of what's going on. The second series is straight-up time travel, but it's no less enjoyable than the first.
Cunk On…
Philomena Cunk is the definition of the village idiot, although I mean that in the best way possible, if there is such a thing. The premise of any Cunk On… show is that this idiot discusses big ideas with scientists and experts but asks them questions that nobody wants to know the answers to. She's interviewed Brian Cox, she's explored the history of Britain and the history of the Earth.
Each series is produced by Charlie Brooker, a genius and likely more well-known for his work on Black Mirror. Cunk On… shows are amazing when you're sick because they make no sense anyway, so falling asleep won't make you miss anything.
The Inbetweeners
I will openly admit that this is a very British entry, but it's my go-to show for when I'm feeling down or knocked on my butt by any illness. America did try to remake The Inbetweeners, but the adaptation failed hard, so the original British version reigns supreme.
It's a gross and horrifyingly funny insight into the world of teenage boys and everything they get up to, and I guarantee you'll have known someone in your life who could easily fit into each of the four roles played out.
Bob's Burgers
We all have that one animated show that keeps us coming back. For many, it's Family Guy or the Simpsons, but for me, it's Bob's Burgers. Whether it's Linda's ability to see the good in everything while Bob remains down in his pessimistic slump, the story of Tina and her frankly concerning obsession over Jimmy's butt, or the underlying oddness that runs through Seymour's Bay.
Even on the days when I feel at my worst, a single episode of Bob's Burgers is enough to make me feel just a little bit better.
Our Flag Means Death
What could go wrong when an aristocrat going through a mid-life crisis decides that he wants to try his hand at being a pirate? Well, just about everything as it happens, but that's what makes Our Flag Means Death so fun to watch. Well, that and Rhys Darby, who makes everything he touches turn to gold (even his role as the Interim Deputy Director of Turalism), and Taika Waititi.
While you're laid up feeling wretched, you can count on Our Flag Means Death to remind you that life really isn't so bad.
What We Do In the Shadows
This is a strange choice for this list, and I'm willing to admit that I might just be a little bit of a weirdo when it comes to my personal choice in comfort shows, but What We Do In the Shadows is one of my favorites, and it never fails to lift my spirits. It's a mockumentary about the daily lives of traditional vampires finding their way in the modern world of Staten Island.
The incredible movie came first in 2014 (directed by Taika Waititi), later rebooted into a series by FX in 2019.
Schmigadoon!
Even if you hate musicals, you'll find something to enjoy about Schmigadoon. It actively pokes fun at musicals while undoubtedly being one itself (with one of the main characters constantly complaining about the singing, which is entirely understandable), and the songs themselves are equal parts horrifying and catchy (sex education to the tune of Do-Re-Mi).
So yes, even if you've never enjoyed a musical in your life, I promise you'll enjoy Schmigadoon.
The Office
I have to get something off my chest. As a British person, it's almost blasphemous to say that the American Office is better than the original UK Office. But it is. Michael Scott is just infinitely more likable than David Brent, and the humor just works in a way that Ricky Gervais never managed to achieve. There, I said it. I'll let you know if I get lynched by the great British public.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what The Office is. It's a Mockumentary following the staff at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, and the rest of the team are so familiar to people now that they've essentially become real people, and rewatching The Office feels like spending time with friends, which is always comforting.
Friends
Even if you were born after the last episode aired (2004, as a reminder to those who were around at the time), I can guarantee that you've seen at least one clip from an episode of Friends. It birthed thousands of memes that still live on in infamy, including "You're my lobster" and "We were on a break".
There's a huge amount of comfort from rewatching the journey that the group went on over 10 seasons, even with the questionable 90s fashion choices on display.
Superstore
A sitcom set in a supermarket doesn't sound like it would be the most thrilling of watches, but actually, Superstore manages to be both heartwarming and filled with drama. There are babies nearly born in the aisles, a hurricane that tears through the roof, and even a realistic portrayal of retail life during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Throw in an oftentimes infuriating will-they-won't-they romance, and Superstore feels comforting whenever you watch it and touches on real-life events that we all remember without feeling forced.
The Big Bang Theory
What could be more comforting than a group of science nerds finding their way in the real world? Well, a lot of things, but there's more to The Big Bang Theory than that basic premise. There are love stories, heartbreak, and an almost coming-of-age feeling to the show, even though everyone involved is very much of age.
There are countless cameos from infamous nerd superstars like Stephen Hawking, Bill Nye, Leonard Nimoy, and even Stan Lee, and the pop-culture references to all things even nerd-adjacent will always leave you smiling.
The post 15 feel-good shows to binge when you're feeling sick appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:46 PM
The Mateta and Williams Fantasy FC Player Pick SBC is live in EA FC 25. It offers a choice between two promo cards in Ultimate Team.
For the first time this year, Mateta and Williams have received promo cards in Ultimate Team. First, you'll have to complete all the tasks that are part of the challenge. Then, you'll have to choose between one of them, and the card will be added to your squad.
EA FC 25 Mateta and Williams Fantasy FC Player Pick SBC tasks
The Mateta and Williams Fantasy FC Player Pick SBC has two tasks, and here are their requirements.
Task 1 - Top Form
Task 2 - Premier League
EA FC 25 Mateta and Williams Fantasy FC Player Pick SBC solutions
Here's a set of solutions you can use to complete the latest player pick SBC in Ultimate Team.
Task 1 - Top Form
Task 2 - Premier League
While I like Mateta's card, Williams is a far better choice. He's one of those rare items that has Fullback++ roles on both LB and WB. This particular role++ is extremely rare in Ultimate Team, especially in the right-back position. Secondly, he has a better chance of getting upgrades, considering Nottingham's better form in the Premier League this year.
Since it's an 88-rated item, you should be able to include him in an upcoming evolution. A secondary playsytle+ in a defensive area, along with a few boosts, will make this item extremely worthy of the 50,000 coins worth of fodder that you'll have to spend.
In fact, this SBC is as well valued as some of the recent player pick SBCs that have been released in Ultimate Team.
The post EA FC 25 Mateta and Williams Fantasy FC Player Pick SBC solutions appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:26 PM
The Central to Sensational Evolution is now live in EA FC 25, and it's a new upgrade to use on one of your lower-rated items.
While the evolution costs 40,000 coins to unlock, the boosts are pretty great. Let's take a look at the requirements, followed by the best cards to use.
EA FC 25 Central to Sensational Evolution requirements
Here are the requirements for the Central to Sensational Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 Central to Sensational Evolution upgrades
There are four levels of upgrades, and here are the required conditions.
Upgrade level 1
Upgrade level 2
Upgrade level 3
Upgrade level 4
Upgrade level 1 requirements
Upgrade level 2 requirements
Upgrade level 3 requirements
Upgrade level 4 requirements
Best players to use in EA FC 25 Central to Sensational Evolution
Here are some of the best cards to consider for this evolution.
These items make the best choices and utilize this evolution well, and you won't even need to combine the cards with other upgrades.
The post EA FC 25 Central to Sensational Evolution: Best players to use appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:08 PM
Monster Hunter Wilds players are just beginning to explore the game and compare it to Monster Hunter: World, but CAPCOM already has a major update planned before anyone even requests it.
The studio announced that Title Update 1 (TU1) will arrive in early April, aiming to expand the endgame and give players more content after completing the story and mastering combat. According to CAPCOM, the one-month gap between Wilds' February 28 release and TU1 is enough time for players to prepare for new content and challenges.
This will be a free update, not a paid DLC or expansion.
MH Wilds' TU1 will bring "a monster of formidable strength at a level above Tempered," as well as a second monster vaguely described as "another challenging monster." One of these is like Mizutsune, the monster teased in the game's launch trailer. We'll have to wait and see if this will be tough enough for those worried about MH Wilds being too easy and creating challenges on their own.
The same video also said this Spring update would bring Event quests, which weren't mentioned by CAPCOM in this latest announcement.
TU1 will also bring a gathering hub. "A new place to meet, communicate, have meals together and more with other hunters will be added," CAPCOM wrote. "This area will be available to hunters who have completed the main story."
You might run into MH Wilds devs on launch day
In a separate update, CAPCOM revealed that MH Wilds developers will be playing online on launch day, giving players a chance to bump into the creators behind the game.
It's unclear if encountering a dev in-game will grant any bonuses or just make for a cool story to tell friends.
Also, the devs featured in the announcement video are from CAPCOM Japan, raising the question of whether "the whole dev team" means all global developers or just those playing on Japanese servers.
The post Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update already has a release date—and it's bringing tougher monsters appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:04 PM
It doesn't matter where you are on the globe, World War II affected your history. This six-year conflict still has a lingering effect on life today for people around the world.
Whether you're well-read on the subject or just diving into what happened during those turbulent times, there's always something new to be discovered. Possibly the best way to learn about World War II is through books that offer an insight into life at the time on every side.
Here are 12 books, both fact and fiction, to pick up if you want to learn more about World War II.
Band of Brothers
Stephen E. Ambrose
There's no way I could even begin to think about this list without this being the first book on my mind. Perhaps more well-known from the TV adaptation spearheaded by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Band of Brothers is the true story of Ambrose and his brothers in the 101st Airborne. Some books stay with you forever, and this is definitely one of those. It is always worth reading if you're interested in the time period.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
As fictional as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is, it's still a book that you'll want to forget but be unable to, and it's a haunting tale that will live rent-free in your mind for as long as you live. Bruno is the son of a Commandant, and he befriends a small Jewish boy named Shmuel. They talk through the fence of the concentration camp until Bruno decides to break in so that the boys can play together, a choice with utterly horrifying consequences.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
William L. Shirer
If you want to learn what went wrong leading up to World War II, there is perhaps no better book to read than The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It is the most successful non-fiction work about the terrible times, and even sold well in Germany. Shirer based the book on captured Nazi documentation, the diaries of Joseph Goebbels and other high-ranking officials, and testimony from the Nuremberg trials.
The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank
I can't imagine the horrors experienced by 13-year-old Anne Frank while she hid with her family in an attic for two solid years. I can even less imagine having the brain power to document it in a diary. Since Anne died in 1945, her staggeringly honest Diary of a Young Girl has been published in over 70 languages and offers a rare and terrifying insight into the fear of living under Nazi occupation.
The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard Training Manual
"Captain Mainwaring"
This is a quintessentially British entry on this list, and I'm putting it here unashamedly because I think everyone should read it, or failing that, should watch Dad's Army. Although The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard Training Manual is a fictional recreation, it is based on actual Home Guard Training Manuals, which were used by the men who remained on British soil and were trained to protect it in the seemingly inevitable German invasion. Plus, it's funny, and by this point, we could all do with a laugh.
Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center
Ray Monk
With Oppenheimer being a 2023 blockbuster hit, the world is talking about the inventor of the first hydrogen bomb more than they have in decades, but there's so much more to the man than could be shown in the three-hour movie. Ray Monk's biography, A Life Inside the Center, is cited as the most thorough look into the life of the father of the atomic bomb and an honest account of how much he feared his own discovery and invention.
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
A fictional tale, but another that will remain with you long after you've finished reading All the Light We Cannot See. A blind French girl takes refuge in her great-uncle's house after Paris is invaded by Nazi Germany, briefly encountering a German radio operator during this time.
They develop a connection through the radio waves, with chapters alternating between their points of view and running non-linearly. If that sounds a bit too complicated, there's also a Netflix series adapted from the book that I thoroughly recommend.
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
If non-linear timelines aren't up your alley, then you can probably skip over Slaughterhouse-Five because there's a lot of that going on here. However, if you can get past that and appreciate the story told out of order, including some (apparent) time travel and temporal (or mental) crises, then I can't recommend Slaughterhouse-Five enough.
It centers on Billy, who suffered severe psychological trauma during World War II and therefore feels an utter lack of agency over his own life. It employs an unreliable narrator, which ultimately only acts to make Billy and his story all the more memorable.
Hiroshima
John Hersey
After Oppenheimer created the atomic bomb, the United States then promptly dropped it on Japan. It's a shameful moment in history, and I believe that everybody should know what life was like in the days and weeks immediately following the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
While utterly horrifying, Hiroshima also offers a tale of determination and the human ability to survive, focusing on the stories of people who were nearby when the bombs dropped. If you've got a strong stomach and perhaps a box of tissues nearby, then you should read Hiroshima.
The Secret Life of Bletchley Park
Sinclair McKay
In a previous life, I was lucky enough to help care for a former employee of Bletchley Park, the code-breaking epicenter of Great Britain during World War II, where the Enigma code was eventually broken. He was a phenomenal man, and he told me many great stories, but I always wanted to learn more.
Enter The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, filled with first-hand accounts from former employees, including a couple who worked in adjacent huts but were forbidden from knowing anything about what the other did. Endlessly interesting, and utterly humanizing.
The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line
Mari K. Eder
It's a fact that World War II was mostly fought by the men on the frontlines, with women remaining at home to take care of things while their husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers were away. There were, however, many women who performed much more central roles during World War II, and The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line retells just some of their stories.
Hilda Eisen, captor (and two-time escapee) of the Nazis, who went on to fight with the Polish Resistance. Ola Rexroat, the single Native American pilot to serve with WASP, and Ida and Louise Cook, who smuggled Jews out of Germany, all feature alongside more inspirational women of the War.
The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery
Rick Beyer
I'm not sure they could have come up with a longer title for this fascinating book, but it is completely fascinating nonetheless. During World War II, resources were scarce, but there was still a need to appear powerful to the enemy. Enter the 'Ghost Army', responsible for creating cardboard tanks, completely fabricated army bases, and even entire divisions that never really existed at all, but were real enough to scare the enemy.
Everything they did was top secret and remained so for decades after 1944, but The Ghost Army of World War II features all the details and photos of their creations that littered the French countryside between Normandy and the Rhine.
The post 12 Best World War 2 Books appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:45 AM
After officially welcoming Jasmine and Aladdin to your Disney Dreamlight Valley village, you can befriend both and help them settle back into things alongside other characters. Jasmine's introductory quest is The Enchanted Flower, where she tells you about a strange note in her home and requests help determining its origin.
Enchanted Flower quest walkthrough
You'll begin the 'The Enchanted Flower' quest after reaching level two friendship with Jasmine and introducing Aladdin to your village. As you approach her, she'll tell you about a strange note that mentions Enchanted Pots of Blooming, but she has no recollection of writing it. With the two of you equally confused, you decide to visit Merlin and ask what might've happened.
Finding the Envelope of Seeds
Fortunately, Merlin knows exactly what you're talking about. He previously instructed Jasmine on arcane flower magic that existed before the Forgetting happened, with Enchanted Pots of Blooming and Enchanted Flowers being part of their experiments. He doesn't remember much beyond that, but he does tell you he has seeds hidden in an envelope within the Dreamlight Library.
With our next objective available, it's time to head inside Merlin's House. You'll find sparkles next to a wooden table, which you can interact with to obtain the enchanted flower seed envelope. Bring them to Jasmine before crafting some Enchanted Pots of Blooming.
Making Enchanted Pots of Blooming
You'll need the following resources to make the Enchanted Pots of Blooming:
These items are available in the Plaza and Peaceful Meadow, so you won't have to worry about venturing far. If you need a quick reminder of each spawn spot, we've got a complete list of Disney Dreamlight Valley's flowers and their locations. With every resource on hand, craft three Enchanted Pots of Blooming and return to Jasmine's house to begin planting some flowers.
Planting flowers in Enchanted Pots of Blooming
Before placing flowers in each pot, you can find a notebook on Jasmine's vanity reading the following passage:
"While the sunny daisy needs a window to thrive, the rising penstemon is a flower that prefers the shadows."
Your goal is to place the three daisy types in pots under the house's windows, while the two rising penstemons go in pots away from these areas. Here's a list of every pot location and which flowers to place in them:
Once you place all five flowers, the enchanted flower will bloom, revealing a secret journal inside. While this journal itself is a mystery, Jasmine will need time to decipher it, wrapping up Disney Dreamlight Valley's 'The Enchanted Flower' quest and preparing you for her next mission.
The post Complete The Enchanted Flower quest guide for Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:38 AM
Although Monster Hunter Wilds is still in its early stages, a major update is already set to arrive this April, bringing a new wave of monsters and a Hunter hub.
The update, known as 'Title Update 1,' introduces an all-new beast that goes a step above the Tempered type. Tempered monsters have earned a fearsome reputation among Monster Hunter players, relentlessly testing Hunters with their sheer power and unforgiving difficulty. Given how brutally challenging these creatures are, it's almost impossible to fathom just how monstrous this upcoming beast will be.
The Leviathan, Mizutsune, will be one of the new monsters added to the update, as it was previously teased for a Spring patch. This creature was introduced in Monster Hunter Generations, emitting soapy bubbles to deal damage.
While the upcoming battle will undoubtedly test your limits, you'll have a much-needed escape in Title Update 1's social hub. This fresh new area invites you to relax and unwind with fellow Hunters, swapping stories and sharing hearty meals after a tough hunt. However, to gain access to this exclusive feature, you'll need to finish the main campaign, so it's a good idea to dive into your adventure immediately to be ready for what's to come. Having experienced Monster Hunter Wilds firsthand, I highly recommend focusing on the main storyline first, which helps open the door to side quests galore.
Before the Title Update 1 announcement, we got a look into a roadmap featuring new Event Quests for Spring and Summer. You can bet that there will be an additional batch of monsters to take on, stirring up the challenge even more.
With a slew of exciting updates on the horizon, the future of Monster Hunter Wilds is shining bright. So, sharpen those weapons, polish your gear, and get ready for the game's first major update in early April.
The post Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update to feature challenging beasts and a new social hub appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:20 AM
Pokémon Day 2025 brought a wave of announcements during the Pokémon Presents morning presentation, including the reveal of a new battle-focused spinoff, Pokémon Champions.
The Pokémon Champions reveal featured a doubles battle, confirming that the game will have Terastalization—introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet—and Mega Evolutions, a Gen 6 mechanic from Pokémon X and Y that later appeared in Pokémon GO and will soon return in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
While the gameplay reveal surely excited longtime fans, especially those who enjoyed Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64, another detail caught players' attention—Game Freak is only handling the planning, while the actual development is in the hands of a studio called The Pokémon Works.
The Pokémon Works is a joint venture by The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Works is a joint venture between The Pokémon Company and the Japanese development studio ILCA (I Love Computer Art).
While its name may feel straight out of the 90s, ILCA was founded in 2010 and initially specialized in CG graphics and video production. Since then, the studio contributed to major AAA titles such as:
ILCA's previous Pokémon experience played a key role in securing this joint venture with The Pokémon Company. The studio was responsible for developing Pokémon Home and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (BDSP).
Whether this is good or bad news depends on how you feel about BDSP. Back when it released in November 2021, Destructoid's BDSP review was a 6.5 out of 10, where reviewer Chris Carter said "fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled."
However, one thing is certain—Pokémon Champions will be led by The Pokémon Works, which includes ILCA, with Game Freak overseeing the project, ensuring it meets the franchise's quality standards.
What we know about Pokémon Champions so far
Pokémon Champions is still in active development with no announced release date or window, making a 2025 launch unlikely.
However, it has been confirmed that the game will be released on mobile (Android & iOS) and the Nintendo Switch "family systems"—likely meaning both the original Switch and the upcoming Switch 2.
The post What is The Pokémon Works, the developer behind Pokémon Champions appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:06 AM
Lara Croft is one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world, and she has totally earned it. Still, her games have put her in a myriad of absolutely ridiculous situations that would easily derail the career of any other popular gaming hero.
Let's look at the dumbest moments in the Tomb Raider series, shall we?
Lara Croft kills the same guy in two different games (Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider Chronicles)
In Tomb Raider Chronicles, Lara intentionally causes the unarmed henchman Pierre to plunge to his death. That's bad already because killing defenseless comic relief goons is bad, but the main problem here is how it breaks the Tomb Raider timeline.
Why? Because Lara also kills Pierre in the original Tomb Raider — as she should, because he's shooting at her in that game. So, when you begin playing Chronicles, you assume it takes place before the original game because Lara is up against henchmen who don't survive the events of the game. Fans asked the devs what the hell had happened and got the most hilarious response imaginable.
One of the devs explained that Pierre's segment on Chronicles wasn't a prequel and was actually supposed to take place after the original. The funniest part of it all, however, is that neither option would ever make sense because people tend to only ever die once. So, why did this happen? Well, the developers explained that they just didn't bother with the series' continuity.
The devs destroyed Lara's origin and made it weird (Tomb Raider The Last Revelation)
For the first three games in the series, Lara's background and reason for becoming a survivalist was a plane crash that killed both of her parents and forced her to fend for herself.
Then came The Last Revelation, which features a tutorial segment in Cambodia where Lara is learning her survivalist ropes from an old mentor even before the crash and death of her parents. This not only sh*ts on the cool pre-established origin story but also makes it weird because what kind of still-living parents would let their teenage daughter fly to a dangerous and remote location with a creepy old dude?
Lara has a license to kill until she doesn't (The entire series)
Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness begins with Lara running from the cops for a murder she didn't commit. This murder takes place inside a Parisian apartment without any witnesses present. Still, Lara has to spend a large part of the game running away from the police. That's a very strange state of affairs, given how the previous games in the series had seen Lara, a popular figure in that world, going on killing sprees in densely-populated cities such as Rome, Venice, Cairo, and London without facing any sort of repercussion.
Lara kills to prove her innocence (The Angel Of Darkness)
While on the run from the cops, Lara goes to steal an artifact from the Louvre. I think that's the opposite of what an archeologist is supposed to do, but this time, she's trying to prove her innocence, so I'll give her that.
Too bad she then kills the poor innocent guards working at the Louvre, which, again, I think is the opposite of what a person who's been framed for murder should be doing.
I guess she was originally meant to use a non-lethal option, but the game's messed-up development didn't give the devs enough time for such mechanics.
Lara kills a bunch of innocent people in pretty nasty ways (The entire series)
Most of her killings are understandable — in video game logic, at least — as it's either their deaths or Lara's. What's weird is how so many of these games feature cutscenes where Lara just murders some possibly defenseless people, which the game plays as a pretty cool thing, actually. What the hell is up with that?
One of Lara's big claims to fame was the murder of bigfoot (Tomb Raider)
Do the people who came up with the concept for Lara Croft and Tomb Raider even have the faintest idea of what an archaeologist is supposed to do? I'm no expert, but I'm certain they aren't out there hunting cryptids. That's not the notion you get from the original Tomb Raider. It's a blink-and-you 'll-miss-it moment, but the scene where Lara is introduced to villain Natla shows a magazine cover where Lara is stepping on Bigfoot's corpse.
So yeah, remember that whenever you're playing Tomb Raider, you're entering a world in which Bigfoot isn't real but only because world-famous preservationist Lara Croft has already made him go extinct.
Lara Croft doesn't know how to use an elevator (Tomb Raider)
Please watch the cutscene above and tell me if you've ever seen anyone use an elevator by cutting the cable, grabbing it, and hoping it would take them to the top without getting crushed against the ceiling? You could say that she's doing that to infiltrate the villain's lair, but then why not just do it in a sneaky and not extremely dangerous way?
Also, what kind of elevator do you enter from the outside of the building?
Lara Croft drowns... skeletons (Tomb Raider The Last Revelation)
I bet you thought I was going to mention Lara murdering another innocent in another extremely vile way, but no. This time, she's only murdering what should already be dead — albeit in an extremely dumb way.
I don't care that skeletons shouldn't be able to move — I'm completely ok with the idea of them being controlled by otherworldly entities — hell, isn't that the case with Lara herself? Still, I draw the line at skeletons that die because they cannot breathe with the lungs they don't have. And you know what makes this even sillier? The fact that the series would spiritually double-down on this for its next entry:
Killing cyborg with gas (Tomb Raider Chronicles)
If modern times have taught us anything, it's that we should probably curb our enthusiasm regarding all things automated. Tomb Raider Chronicles, however, came out in the earliest of the early 2000s, a time when we could still have fairly hopeful dreams about robots and AI without sounding utterly delusional. Weird, because that's the game where Lara somehow fills a room with noxious gas to kill a robotic bodyguard, and it totally works.
I don't doubt for a second that any of the so-called visionaries of the 2020s would think a robot who needs to breathe — and that can die from inhaling anything other than oxygen is a great idea, but it just doesn't make sense in that game. Still, big props to the developers of the remaster, who award you with the "Gassassin" achievement for this.
Lara died so that the developers could live (Tomb Raider The Last Revelation)
Spoiler warning: Lara Croft dies at the end of Tomb Raider 4.
Sure, we don't see her death, but the developers will have no problem clarifying that they really intended for the character to die there. They did so because the incredibly demanding development of these games was destroying their lives, and they probably thought this would put an end to their torment. It didn't. They had to come up with another game the following year, just like they had to in the previous three years of the series.
Even worse, the developers also had to come up with a half-assed reason for how Lara came back to life, then scrapped the cutscene showing her resurrection, which left players with no real explanation as to what the hell had happened there.
The post 10 dumbest moments in the Tomb Raider series appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:58 AM
The next Mario Kart on Switch 2 holds a lot of possibilities, and the footage we have so far from the console announcement trailer hints at 24 players on the track at once. If this is the case, we'll need an expanded roster to fill out a race.
So in the spirit of speculation, these are the Nintendo characters we want to see in the next Mario Kart for Switch 2. We've also released a list of all the confirmed characters in the next Mario Kart on Switch 2 if you're interested!
Ashley (WarioWare)
Strangely, the WarioWare series characters have been largely left out of the main Mario spin-off titles like Mario Kart, Mario Party, and the sports games. Perhaps, the next Mario Kart could foray into the characters of this whacky mini-game series.
Ashley is one of the most well-known with a charming personality and a memorable song titled after her. One of the tracks could be the Diamond City mansion she lives in rather than the same old Luigi's Mansion that keeps coming back. Her origin series has multiple recent entries on the Switch, so her inclusion is more likely than ever.
Pit (Kid Icarus)
Someone who hasn't had a recent game in a long time, however, is Pit from the Kid Icarus series. He would fit straight into the whacky chaos of Mario Kart with third-wall jokes and funny animations inspired by his 3DS entry Kid Icarus: Uprising. He would ride in a chariot-like vehicle, racing around the gorgeous Skyworld alongside Mario, Luigi, and Peach.
It would be great to have more representation in the next Mario Kart from other Nintendo series like the Splatoon Kids and The Legend of Zelda's Link from the last entry.
The Broodals & Madame Broode (Super Mario Odyssey)
One of the newest sets of characters in the Super Mario series is The Broodals in Super Mario Odyssey. They're the bosses you'll come across throughout the game who are hired by Bowser to organize a wedding between King Koopa and Princess Peach.
Their bunny-like designs would stand out in this Mario Kart entry with Topper's St. Patrick's Day-like get-up and Hariet's stylish purple dress. You could also include Madame Broode's golden chain chomp as a weapon variety if that item returns to the series.
Honey Queen (Super Mario Galaxy)
The Honey Queen made her one and only appearance in Mario Kart 7 and should be brought back into the Switch 2's Mario Kart. She would act as a larger character like Donkey Kong and Bowser, offering more variety to the roster. Super Mario Galaxy was also recently released for the Switch under the Super Mario 3D All Stars collection, making this character more relevant.
R.O.B (Gyromite)
Another character that hasn't returned for a long time is ROB, who appeared in Mario Kart DS. This robot came during the classic NES era and was a neat accessory for a game called Gyromite. It also had an essential role in the storyline of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
If Mario Kart 8 Deluxe can have more recent characters like the Splatoon Kids, it would be neat to see Nintendo referencing icons from an older period of time. The ROB-BLS kart is also a neat reference to the classic NES game that could return in the next Mario Kart for Switch 2.
Fox (Star Fox)
Fox is a beloved Nintendo character from the Star Fox series that would fit well into the Mario Kart franchise. He is already proficient at driving vehicles like the Landmaster and the Arwing, so a kart would be no problem at all. The sci-fi-oriented tracks he could bring into the game would be wonderful to see, especially on a next-gen system like the Switch 2. Additionally, it would be a great way to treat Star Fox fans after the disappointing Star Fox Zero and the arduous almost decade-long wait for a new game.
Captain Falcon (F-Zero)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a fantastic game, but one mistake it made is not including Captain Falcon from F-Zero.
His vehicle the Blue Falcon and some of the franchise's legendary tracks like Big Blue made an appearance, but not the enthusiastic man himself. That should be fixed in the next Mario Kart entry on Switch 2 as the character's upbeat personality would fit alongside the likes of Mario and Yoshi. While Nintendo's at it, it should bring back F-Zero GX or a completely new entry to show the power of the new system at breakneck speed.
King Bob-Omb (Super Mario 64)
One character from my childhood I remember fondly at the top of Bob-Omb Battlefield is King Bob-Omb. His massive frame and funny white mustache would match the bonkers nature of the Mario Kart series, so it's strange he hasn't made an appearance yet as a playable racer in a mainline game.
He is unlockable in the mobile Mario Kart Tour. It would also be lovely to get a track based on the classic Super Mario 64 level.
Monty Mole
After many appearances as an obstacle in the Mario Kart series, Monty Mole finally got his break as a playable character in Mario Kart Tour. Unfortunately, he hasn't made the leap as a roster member in a mainline entry, while he's been playable in the Mario Party titles.
He is an adorable creature that would fit right in, and after many years of being hit by karts and shells, I think he deserves it.
Paper Mario
We've had Mario, Baby Mario, Metal Mario, Cat Mario, and other forms of the characters but never Paper Mario. It seems like quite a strange omission as there are many fans of this alteration of the Italian plumber.
It would be neat to see how flat the character would be when compared to other racers in the game. Nintendo could also implement paper effects to the items and kart effects during the race. The Paper Mario track would also be quite the sight to behold in the next Mario Kart entry on Switch 2.
The post 10 Nintendo characters we want to see in the next Mario Kart appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:40 AM
While you're running around the veritable maze that is Agrabah in Disney Dreamlight Valley, trying desperately (or maybe just me?) to unlock both Aladdin and Jasmine as residents in the Valley, you'll face a lot of tasks.
One such task, included as a step in the "Breaking Through" quest with Jasmine, will appear directly after you find all of the parts and reconstruct the Alchemy Table in the Artisan District. This step will require you to craft a Gold Lamp that can be used to absorb the Windcaller's Vortex.
How to make a Gold Lamp in Disney Dreamlight Valley
You've likely been in the Aladdin Realm for a while by this point and already upgraded your Royal Pickaxe to destroy the sharp crystals littering the Realm. If you've been destroying them as you go, you will have stocked up on the main ingredient needed to make the Gold Lamp — Gold Shards.
After destroying all of the sharp crystals within the Realm, I managed to stock up on 81 Gold Shards, although drop rates may vary.
Other than the Gold Shards, you'll also need to find a Lamp Mold. This Lamp Mold can be found buried somewhere within the Artisan District, and it's not too far away from where you begin this part of the quest.
If you stand facing the Alchemy Table, you'll see some stairs to the left. In the little alcove to the left of these stairs, you'll find a dig spot:
The Lamp Mold you need can be found in this dig spot, so use your Royal Shovel to get it out and then move on to crafting the Gold Lamp to complete the step.
To make the Gold Lamp, you'll need the following:
Once you've made the Gold Lamp, you're free to return to Jasmine (who should be right behind you when you get to this point) and complete the quest.
With that done, you can move on to help Aladdin by completing his Wish Magic quest.
The post How to make a Gold Lamp in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:30 AM
Looking for all Steel Resolve quest outcomes in Avowed? Steel Resolve is a sidequest in the Emerald Stair region of Avowed that sets you on the path to uncovering a traitor amongst the Ranger's ranks. Making a decision can be difficult, but we're here to be your crystal ball.
Peek into the future in this article with all the quest outcomes and rewards, depending on whether you decide to kill, spare, or work with Ranger Dorso.
Should you kill, spare, or work with Ranger Dorso?
It appears that Dorso has been working to undermine the Rangers and weaken them from within, thus paving the way for the Steel Garrote to take control of Emerald Stair. If you avoid attacking her straight away you can question her more about her motives. Here are the following outcomes depending on what you choose to do:
Should you kill the Steel Garrote in Emerald Stair?
Crucially, if you question Ranger Dorso before making the above choices, you will find out that a cohort of Steel Garrote is holed up in a cave behind the waterfall opposite Dorso's tent (map location pictured above). To get this intel speak to Dorso until you get the 'Does the Ambassador know about your scheme, does Lodwyn?' prompt. Then choose the following dialogue options:
There are a few things you can do with this intel once acquired:
Which is the best Steel Resolve outcome?
In order to get the most amount of treasure and XP from the Steel Resolve quest, you should Kill Ranger Dorso, be honest to Ranger Acierno, and wipe out the Steel Garrote cave. Then, report back to Governor Ignasi for additional gold. You can get even more gold if you speak to the Steel Garrote guard inside the cave and take his bribe before triggering combat (you can do so by attempting to lockpick the main door or by sneaking through the tunnel to the right of the guards and attacking the other members).
That rounds up our guide on all Steel Resolve quest outcomes and what happens if you attack or side with Ranger Dorso. For more Avowed tips and tricks, see our guides to the best weapons, Unique Grimoires, and Unique Clothing sets in-game.
The post All Steel Resolve quest outcomes in Avowed appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:22 AM
Looking for a Sims 2 first-born syndrome fix? The first-born syndrome is a curious glitch that makes all siblings in one Sims household look identical to the first baby born. If you're looking for a way to fix this bizarre Sims 2 bug, read on.
First born syndrome fix
There are a few ways you can reset your household if you encounter the first-born syndrome bug. Follow these steps:
Or
If the problem persists, there is a well-known mod in the community that is said to help fix the glitch. The mod is called the Sims2RPC, created by LazyDuchess and shared on Mod The Sims.
First-born syndrome bug explained
The Sims 2 has a built-in genetic sequencer that determines what traits and features the offspring of two Sims will get. Often this sequence 'resets' and starts from the same position when a game is loaded. This means that unless you have multiple children in one play session, every time you reload your game the genetic sequence will start over.
The above tactics effectively 'reset' the genetic randomizer and ensure that the next baby Sim born into the household will look different.
That rounds up our guide to the first-born syndrome in The Sims 2. If you're in the mood for more, check out our list of Sims 2 cheats and the best Sims 2 mods and Woohoo locations to spice up your gameplay.
The post Sims 2 first-born syndrome fix appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:19 AM
Wondering how to get abducted by aliens in The Sims 2? Alien abductions have long been a staple within The Sims franchise and The Sims 2 is no different. If you want to know how to get abducted, how to get alien pregnancies, alien cheats, and more, read on.
How to get abducted by aliens
To trigger an alien abduction in The Sims 2, buy a Farstar e3 Telescope from the catalog and have your Sims 'Stargaze' through it at night. It must be during nighttime hours (7 pm to 2 am) and this particular telescope. You can find the Farstar e3 Telescope within the Buy Mode menu once you select 'Sort by Room' then 'Outside', and 'Hobbies'.
It's worth noting that the chance for an alien abduction is a random occurrence (around 5%), so it may take several attempts until it triggers. Your chances increase the longer you have your Sims perform the 'Stargaze' interaction. You can also get abducted if your Sim performs the 'Watch for UFOs' interaction at the telescope (unlocked at Science skill level 9).
You can increase your odds of an abduction if you have The Sims 2: Free Time installed. In this expansion, Sims with a Knowledge Aspiration can unlock the 'Summon Aliens' Aspiration Benefit. With this benefit, Sims can perform the 'Summon Aliens' interaction on any telescope to increase their chances of getting abducted.
Additionally, if you have the Nightlife expansion, Sims may get abducted from using the ElectroDance Sphere if they have already experienced the phenomena once before.
How to trigger an alien pregnancy
Unless you use cheats, only male Sims can get pregnant from an alien abduction in The Sims 2. If you just have the base game installed, male Sims are almost always guaranteed to come back pregnant as long as they are not within 5 in-game days from becoming an Elder and there is space in their household (less than 8 members).
This rate lowers if you have the Free Time, Apartment Life, or Ultimate Collection installed. Once a Sim is pregnant with an alien baby it will function the same way as a normal pregnancy with Sims delivering the baby after 3 in-game days.
Young Adults can also get pregnant if you have The Sims 2: University installed but you must age up your Sim soon after the abduction and move them back into a residential lot for it to take place.
It is also possible to have alien twins. Twins usually have a 10% probability, although this can be increased if you have the 'Super Fertility' Aspiration Benefit from the 'Family' Aspiration. You can also increase your odds by having the Sim eat Cheesecake (requires the Open for Business expansion) or by using cheats.
Sims 2 alien cheats
If you wish for your female Sim to have an alien pregnancy or you wish to instantly get abducted without waiting around, cheats can help you out. First and foremost, you'll need to open the cheat window in-game by following these instructions depending on the platform you're playing on:
Then, enter this into the window to enable cheats in your game:
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true
For an instant alien abduction, click to control the Sim you want to get abducted. Now hold down Shift and click on the telescope. Select 'DEBUG - Get Abducted' to trigger the abduction.
For an instant alien pregnancy (male or female) hold Shift and click on a Sim in your household. Select 'Spawn…', then 'Tombstone of L and D'. This will summon a tombstone. Click on it and cycle through the options until you see 'Make me alien pregnant'. Click on it and make sure you're controlling the Sim you wish to make pregnant while you do so.
Once your Sim is pregnant with an alien baby, you can cheat them into having twins. Simply open the cheat window and type 'forcetwins'.
That rounds off our guide to everything you need to know about alien abductions in The Sims 2. If you're looking to spice up your game further, see our guide to the best Sims 2 mods or see our list of all WooHoo locations you can try in-game.
The post How to get abducted by aliens in The Sims 2 appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:16 AM
A surprising number of games nowadays feature some degree of AI usage. If you are against this practice and fear you might be helping it proliferate by unwittingly spending your money on such titles, then I have good news.
Steam asks developers who want their games for sale on the platform to disclose any instance of AI in their making, but it doesn't feature the option to filter out all games using AI. SteamDB, however, is not so kind to them.
If you head over to SteamDB.info/tags, you can now search for the AI Content Disclosed tag under Uncategorized. Clicking on it will immediately show a list of all the games on Steam that have disclosed their usage of AI.
Even better, you can filter all games with AI content from your searches. It's a new feature, so SteamDB currently allows you to use it right at the top of the page by clicking on the underlined "AI generated content disclosures".
I hope that message stays at the top of the page forever, but it might go away at some point. If that happens and you want to use the feature while performing a search, you can look to the right side where it says Tags, search for "AI disclosed", and click on (exclude) in front of it. This will filter out any game with disclosed AI content from your search. Alternatively, you can add &tagid=-1368160 to the end of your URL to automatically filter out these titles.
This is a great feature, though it doesn't necessarily catch every single instance of a game using AI. The developers can simply choose not to disclaim it and hope for the best. Still, Steam's policy requires all games using the tech to do so, so any game caught using AI without letting Steam and its buyers know will hopefully face serious consequences.
At the time of writing, there are just over 6,000 titles on Steam featuring disclosed AI Content. These titles range from the extremely popular Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 to indie hits such as Outlast Trials and Liar's Bar. The usage of AI on these titles can vary greatly, but it's certainly there and certainly worthy of you at least frowning upon them should you end up falling for their charms.
The post How to filter out Generative AI games with SteamDB appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:13 AM
Genshin Impact has a new combat event in Version 5.4 that challenges even the most hardened veterans. And this time, there's an exclusive event namecard on the line. Here's an overview of all stages in the Realm of Tempered Valor event so you can snag that namecard for yourself!
Realm of Tempered Valor rules explained
First, a brief overview of the event overall. There are a total of five combat stages. Each stage consists of a gauntlet of 25 floors. Starting on floor 1, your goal is to fight your way up the floors as far as you can. The higher you go, the tankier the enemies.
There's a 30-second time limit for each floor. Failing to clear a floor in 30 seconds ends your challenge right there. On the other hand, clearing a floor with time to spare lets you skip a few floors ahead, streamlining your progress. You'll need to reach floor 20 to earn the platinum medal and all event rewards.
You will earn some buffs during your challenge. If someone on your friend list has cleared floor 20 of a stage, you will obtain an ATK buff. Just walk through the red orb before you start your challenge. At certain floor milestones, you will also see a green orb and a blue orb. The green and blue buffs are single-use only. The green buff restores some of your team's HP, while the blue buff restores some Energy or Fighting Spirit. Use them wisely; they'll disappear once you pick them up.
Food buffs are also allowed. Try cooking up some Adeptus' Temptations (+ATK/CRIT Rate), Gilded Tajine (+Max HP), and some potions. You can stack the effects of one offensive buff, one defensive buff, and one potion.
You can also cast certain character abilities before actually starting the challenge. Once you're in the arena, set up support skills like Bennett's buff and Xiangling's Pyronado before you interact with the key to summon the enemies. This shaves off a precious few seconds of setup so you can start dealing damage the moment your enemies load in.
Stage 1: Nightsoul Blessing
The first stage demands on-field DPS characters from Natlan. If your character deals damage while in the Nightsoul Blessing state, they will gain a massive DMG buff and deal a bit of additional Pyro damage. Some team suggestions include:
The Mavuika team in particular is incredibly effective. The fastest clears for this stage all feature Mavuika as an on-field DPS. If you don't have Mavuika, bring any other on-field DPS with Nightsoul mechanics. Brute-forcing this stage without using the Nightsoul buffs will be extremely difficult.
 Screenshot by Destructoid
Another tip – when facing the Avatars of Lava (ball-shaped rock/lava monsters), focus on applying as much Pyro as possible. When the red circle by their health bar fills up, they will be instantly defeated. C6 Bennett is great for this since his Burst infuses melee attacks with Pyro. Kazuha is recommended, too, since his Burst can absorb Pyro for some additional application.
Stage 2: Melt, Vaporize, Frozen
The second stage encourages Melt or Vaporize teams. Melt and Vaporize reactions deal increased damage, and triggering Melt, Vaporize, or Frozen grants an ATK buff. My suggested team is:
This is the only team I see represented in my leaderboards. If you don't have Citlali, try Furina instead. Otherwise, bring your most powerful Pyro DPS and hope for the best. Hydro DPS will not work, since some enemies are immune to Hydro.
Stage 3: Swirl
The third stage encourages the use of Swirl, but it's better to use your strongest DPS character rather than focus on Swirl damage. Consider the Swirl buffs a nice bonus. Some suggested teams include:
If you don't have either Mavuika or Neuvillette, just bring your strongest team. None of the enemies are immune to any particular element, so this stage really is just a DPS check.
Stage 4: Healing
The fourth stage grants players an ATK buff when they receive healing. This is another stage where it's best to use your strongest team, as long as there's a healer in there somewhere. Some teams that I've seen do well include:
It's worth noting that HP-scaling DPS units like Mualani and Neuvillette don't benefit from this stage's buffs. You need both healing and an ATK-scaling main DPS.
How to get the namecard in Realm of Tempered Valor
For the first time since 2022, you can earn a free event namecard through the Realm of Tempered Valor event. It's called Celebration: Scorch, and it depicts a little Tepetlisaurus punching an Abyss Mage in the face. Adorable.
To earn the Realm of Tempered Valor namecard, you need to clear a total of 100 floors across all stages of the event. This means shooting for at least 20 floors on each stage. If you can't quite make it to 20 on certain stages, you can try to make it up on other stages. You might have a strong team that's better suited for the latter stages, so don't worry if you fall a bit short early on.
The post Genshin Impact: Realm of Tempered Valor event platinum guide appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:02 AM
Gaming is a solid choice if you need a bit of a break from the monotony and stresses of real life. No genre is better for this than simulation games, providing a whole other life where you control everything, rather than being forced to adapt to the world around you.
There are multiple kinds of simulation games, encompassing everything from animal sims to farm sims to city builders and everything in between. Having the escape of simulation games can only be improved by the portability of the Nintendo Switch. Now you can escape wherever you are, whenever you need a moment's break from reality.
If you're looking for something to control or something to occupy your time while you shut down from a long day, here are 10 of the best simulation games available to play on Nintendo Switch.
House Flipper
There's something incredibly therapeutic about destroying something, and House Flipper not only lets you do that but also rebuild it in a way that suits you. It's all about home renovation, either for clients or as a buy-and-resell business, with more houses unlocking for the latter when you complete more of the former.
There are countless options for decor and furniture, all of which can be customized to some degree, and updates to House Flipper are still being released even though House Flipper 2 has been available to play for 2 years now. The first House Flipper manages to beat out its successor because of the number of gameplay elements added over the years.
Let's Build a Zoo
Let's Build a Zoo is what would emerge if Zoo Tycoon and Stardew Valley copulated and had a life-sim love child. Pixel games are undeniably charming in their aesthetic, but having control over an array of adorable animals while enticing in customers with your decoration choices takes Let's Build a Zoo to a whole new level of enjoyable. And all of that is without mentioning the fact that you'll face a series of moral choices along the way.
Since it was released on Nintendo Switch in 2022, Let's Build a Zoo has received two DLC packs. Aquarium Odyssey is exactly as it sounds, with a whole new campaign centered around fish and other aquatic animals. Dinosaur Island has a separate campaign too, except this one takes you closer to Jurassic Park than a basic zoo experience, adding 50 dinosaurs.
Stardew Valley
Let's be honest, did you really expect a list of simulation games not to include Stardew Valley? It's a classic at this point, and there's a long list of reasons to get stuck in and start a new life on the farm in Pelican Town. From basic farming to diving into the Mines and Skull Cavern, there are hundreds of hours to play through.
Thanks to the recent 1.6 update (a full six months after it was released on PC), there are now even more things to take up your time, including a tree full of adorable Raccoons, the Desert Festival and SquidFest, the Mastery system, and even a whole new farm type among many, many more additions.
Goat Simulator
I never said that all of the suggestions on this list should be taken entirely seriously, and if any of them definitely shouldn't, it's Goat Simulator. However, having said that there's something undeniably fun and freeing about running around a town as a sticky-tongued goat, causing absolute chaos and untold destruction.
Not only do you get the base game when you purchase through the Nintendo eShop, but you also get the MMO Simulator, Goat Z, Payday, and Waste of Space DLCs included. All of those extras are filled with chaos and laughs that are sure to help you unwind if you're stressed.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
When you think of life sims on the Nintendo Switch, I'd hazard a guess that Animal Crossing: New Horizons probably comes to mind first. Thanks to its timely release during the early days of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and all of the lockdowns that resulted, New Horizons immediately became an escape from reality for many and continues to be such to this day.
It's cute, there's nothing too taxing, there's no health bar to worry about and, most of all, you have complete control over what your island looks like and who lives on it (for the most part, sometimes it's hard to get rid of unwanted villagers, but perseverance is key). That control over something is addictive, and it's easy to see why so many people have clocked up hundreds of hours of playtime.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Even if you're not a 'Disney adult', you'll find something to love about Disney Dreamlight Valley. Like Animal Crossing, it offers you full control over a huge amount of space, villagers, and friendships with various Disney characters both new and classic. Whether you want to be best friends with Merlin or drag Stitch along while you do your gardening, there's something for everyone.
Disney Dreamlight Valley benefits from a regular update schedule, each of which has added a massive amount of features to keep gameplay fresh, even when you've been playing for years. Plus, there are two DLCs (Rift in Time and Storybook Vale) which add even more characters and content to get through, so there is never a shortage of things to do.
Bee Simulator
As someone with a deathly fear of Bees, Wasps, Hornets, and basically anything black and yellow that buzzes, I wasn't expecting to love (or even like) Bee Simulator when I picked it up out of curiosity. However, the game itself is stunning, and once I got over the horror that I was suddenly a buzzy bee in this giant world, I found I didn't mind so much. If I can manage that, then you can too.
You will, of course, come into contact with some (usually small) things that suddenly seem indescribably large, such as the Stag Beetle that's suddenly terrifying to behold. However, the Central Park-inspired setting is filled with secrets to discover and pollen to collect, so you won't get stuck with the beasties for long.
Bear and Breakfast
In reality, a Bed and Breakfast built and managed by a bear is a singularly horrifying prospect, but it works extraordinarily well in game format, and Bear and Breakfast is a joy from beginning to end. Once you've built and personalized your cabin, you can invite a myriad of guests to stay, and impressing them will cause more guests.
There are also story quests to complete, all of which will unlock new perks or items to improve your BnB, plus a whole forest to explore so that you can discover its secrets. Plus, you're a derpy bear with the best of intentions, which is always a cute bonus.
Unpacking
Unpacking is different from the other simulation games listed here because you don't have any option to move or much choice over what happens, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable to play, time and again. The concept is simple — you unpack boxes and slowly uncover the life story of the person who owns the items inside.
The art style is adorable, and the story is likely to resonate with everybody at one point or another. Who knows, unpacking these boxes might even help you to unpack parts of your own life, and there's something therapeutic about that.
Fae Farm
Fae Farm is a life sim set in the world of Azoria, a magical land of enchanting creatures and a variety of people to meet and befriend, and it's utterly charming in every way. As with most other life sims of its type, Fae Farm allows you to improve your skills in cooking, potion-making, and crafting.
One of the best things about Fae Farm is the fact that the story develops entirely independently of the in-game calendar, so there's no pressure to do anything in a hurry. You can play at your own pace, even with friends if you want to, and you won't ever risk missing out on anything.
The post 10 Best Nintendo Switch simulation games appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:58 AM
The 87+ Campaign Mix Player Pick SBC is now live in EA FC 25, and you can get a guaranteed promo item in Ultimate Team.
This challenge is similar to an earlier one that we had for the previous weeks, but the reward pool has been improved. Let's take a look at the full set of all available items that you can choose from.
Complete list of EA FC 25 87+ Campaign Mix Player Pick SBC rewards
The rewards include cards from five older promos: Thunderstruck,TOTY HM, Globetrotters, Winter Wildcards, and NumeroFUT. Do note that only the promo items rated 87 or higher are included in the promo.
Globetrotters
Winter Wildcards
Thunderstruck cards
Numero FUT
TOTY HM
After completing the challenge, you can pick from four different items. There's a great chance for you to pack some of the best items that we received as part of the older promos.
The post All EA FC 25 87+ Campaign Mix Player Pick SBC rewards appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:45 AM
The March 2025 games lineup is going to feel like a Pheonix Down for RPG lovers with standout games like Atelier Yumia and The First Berserker: Khazan to look forward to. There's also a collection of remasters for beloved RPGs from Konami that may finally see the light of day on modern platforms.
Missed out on releases from last month? Check them out here.
Assassin's Creed Shadows (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, iOS)
Publisher: Ubisoft
To start us off, the epic open-world RPG Assassin's Creed Shadows takes us to feudal Japan on March 20. Many have requested this location in the series for decades and they're finally getting it. We'll explore gorgeous scenery and enjoy a dynamic world along the way as Ubisoft says that there will be "unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments" on the Steam page.
There are two main protagonists in the game, including the more aggressive up-front warrior Yasuke and the more tactical, stealthy Naoe. Both may provide entertainment for those who want one or the other in the Assassin's Creed series. The storyline seems to matter as well. "Something I noticed throughout my preview that I wholeheartedly didn't expect, is that your choices seem to actually matter, even if Assassin's Creed Shadows doesn't immediately highlight that," said our preview, which explains more.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC)
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Despite the overly long name, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land features an exciting open-world RPG to explore on March 21. You'll craft items to help you on your journey through alchemy, breaking down objects in the environment to proceed, and fighting enemies in turn-based action. An interesting mechanic thrown into the mix is that your synthesized items can be turned into different shapes like swords and spears that can give you the upper hand in battle. Atelier Yumia is a big deal for Xbox fans as this will be the first game in the series to arrive on Microsoft's platform.
The First Berserker: Khazan (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
Publisher: NEXON
The First Berserker: Khazan is another RPG in March, which seems to be catering towards the Souls-like crowd with vicious combat, difficult bosses, and a neat cel-shaded art style. This also seems to be for Dungeon Fighter Online fans as this game takes place 800 years before that particular game. You'll have all manner of weapons at your character's disposal as you carry on through the difficult action title, such as dual-wield swords, spears, and greatswords, which all seem engaging to use. There's currently a demo on Steam you can play to get a sneak peek of what's in store.
Split Fiction (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
Publisher: EA
It Takes Two and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons developer Hazelight Studios is back at it with its co-op formula in Split Fiction and this time, it will be crossplay between all platforms. That means if someone buys the PS5 version, their pal can then try out the game as a partner for free on Xbox Series X|S, PC, or another PS5. InSplit Fiction, Hazelight Studios is treating us to a platformer filled with levels inspired by a mix of sci-fi and fantasy-themed worlds.
Two writers get stuck in a virtual reality universe created by their narratives and must find a way to escape. While strangers at first, the two grow a friendship that will likely be tested. Hopefully, the game lives up to its predecessor and The Game Awards GOTY winner, It Takes Two. Maybe this is one of the March 2025 games that will be nominated for Game of the Year this winter.
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC)
Publisher: Konami
After many years of waiting and paying extortionate prices for the original games to resellers, Suikoden fans and those interested in trying this series can finally pick up these two classics on modern hardware. Despite being decades old, the second game's story sounds current to this day. "Its characters pursue their causes — often fighting for their homeland in an extension of a war that's touched generations — with vigor and grim nobility," said a prior Destructoid article by Ray Porreca in 2018. "More than any other role-playing game of its era, Suikoden II acknowledges and builds upon the underlying humanity of its cast."
These classic RPGs will gain a bunch of modern enhancements to improve your experience. It will have HD background illustrations, updated effects that "breathe new life into the pixel art animation," according to the Steam listing, and new environmental sound effects. There's also an auto-save feature and battle fast forward functionality. It's probably the highlight out of the many March 2025 games for those who like retro.
Honorable Mentions
An indie game that should be everyone's radars is Wanderstop. It is a "cosy" game by the creator of The Stanley Parable, that comes with a twist. You play a warfighter who finds work at a tea shop, creating cool drinks by obtaining resources around the area. However, she doesn't want to be there, and the story seems to grow from that premise.
Also, those birds in the screenshot above look quite angry, wouldn't you say?
Other March 2025 games you should look into include:
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:35 AM
It's no secret that GTA 6 is almost certainly going to be one of the biggest releases in recent gaming history, if not the biggest. Since the fifth game in Rockstar's monstrously lucrative Grand Theft Auto series released back in 2013, many eagerly anticipate the next installment.
We know the studio has been working on it for what feels like an eternity. We've had dribs and drabs of official details, many, many rumors, and a teaser trailer that quickly became one of the most watched videos on YouTube. In short: we're very much ready for the next game.
But how long has Rockstar actually been working on GTA 6? In order to impart some idea of how long it's been in development, I've put together a brief timeline, showing some of the bigger announcements. I think we can all agree, though, that it's been in the pipeline for a ridiculously long time.
GTA 6 timeline
That, believe it or not, appears to bring us up to date. At the time of writing, there doesn't appear to be much more in the way of official news concerning the next Grand Theft Auto game, outside Zelnick's comments about an elusive PC port.
Anything else I add to this would merely be speculation. As of right now, GTA 6 has been in development for about 11 years and as you can see, there's been surprisingly little information we've been privy to. Will it actually live up to expectations or outshine the legacy Grand Theft Auto 5 has left behind? Only time will tell.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:31 AM
Investigating a bridge sounds easy, right? That isn't the case in Ninja Time because the game doesn't tell you where to go. You don't even get a quest marker as a reference, either. With that in mind, we prepared the following guide on the Investigating the Bridge quest in Ninja Time to help you complete it with ease.
Table of contents
How to Complete the Investigating the Bridge Quest in Ninja Time
The Investigating the Bridge quest in Ninja Time consists of three parts. Firstly, you have to find the Informant waiting for you near Kibutos Bridge and help him out. Then, a Boss fight against Hat awaits you on the Kibutos Bridge. Lastly, you need to navigate through the Snake Lair maze to get to the final Boss of the quest, Snake, and defeat him.
Investigating the Bridge Part 1: Finding the Informant (Yamako NPC)
Finding the Informant in Ninja Time is quite simple: just go toward the potion marker on your screen. However, it can take you some time to get to him as he is waiting for you high in the mountains behind the Leaf Village. Preferably, use a flying mount to get up the hill quickly, and then just go toward the potion marker to meet Yamako.
You can accept several quests from the Yamako NPC at the same time, but completing any one of them lets you progress the Investigating the Bridge quest in Ninja Time. Still, it is better to complete all of them for the XP.
Investigating the Bridge Part 2: How to Get to the Kibutos Bridge
After you complete one of the Yamako NPC's initial quests, you can take on a new one that requires you to defeat the Hat Boss. To get to him, continue moving along the valley further away from the Leaf Village until you reach the Kibutos Bridge. In the middle of it, the Hat Boss awaits you, but don't be afraid of him, as he has a very limited moveset. Once you've subjugated him, just continue forward until you reach the entrance to the Snake Lair.
Investigating the Bridge Part 3: Finding the Snake Lair and Navigating the Maze
Inside the Snake Lair, you will have to navigate through a maze to get to the Snake Boss, which is the last enemy you will face in the Investigating the Bridge quest in Ninja Time. However, the maze is actually very simple to go through, as you only have to make three turns in total to get to the Snake Boss. From the entrance, go forward, turn left and then right, and then go down the long hallway until you reach the Snake Boss arena.
The Snake Boss is much stronger than all other enemies you could have faced up until this point in Ninja Time. So, approach it with caution and try not to get hit by its very powerful ranged attacks. The best defense here is a good offense because if you can keep him CCed, he won't get an opportunity to use any of his moves.
That concludes our guide on how to complete the Investigating the Bridge quest in Ninja Time. If you are struggling with damage against some of the Bosses like Snake and Hat, then check out our Ninja Time Clan, Family, and Elements tier lists and get in tune with the current meta.
The post Ninja Time: Complete Guide to Investigating the Bridge Quest – How to Find Kibutos Bridge, Yamako, & More appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||
Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:30 AM
Like all good indie shooters, ULTRAKILL comes with its fair share of secrets to find. And when they're packaged in the form of extra levels, even better! So let's cover how to find all the secret locations in ULTRAKILL.
Where are the secret locations in ULTRAKILL?
Secret Stage 0-S
You can find the first secret stage in the prelude layer, in level 0-2. After clearing all the enemies in the first room, in the room after the two sewage pipes, look up to find a hole in the ceiling. You can try to reach it in several ways, for example by using the wall jump.
Inside it, you will find a blue skull that you can use to enter the secret stage, by using it with the terminal. You can find the terminal just before the final room, by continuing the level as normal and going left at the crossroads. Place the skull on the terminal and the door to the first secret stage will open.
You can decide to go through or finish the level first, which is a good idea if you plan to pick up all five blue orbs. Either way, you are free to access the stage now.
Secret Stage 1-S
This is definitely one of the easiest to find, as it is right at the beginning of the first level in the first stage. When you first walk out of the entrance, you will see a Cerberus fountain to your right. Simply toss a coin into the fountain and the entrance to the secret level will appear.
Again, you can decide to simply continue the level to collect the blue orbs or drop down the hole to face the second secret stage, which is all about minigames.
Secret Stage 2-S
You can find the third secret stage in Sheer Heart Attack, which is the third stage of the second layer. After defeating the first enemies, right where the first blue orb is, you should be able to go under the little bridge, in the waterfall room. There you will find a valve that controls the water flow. Shoot it.
You need to find the other two valves, the second one is right in front of the door you entered through, look up and to your right. The final valve is close to the exit, where you'll find a staircase leading down to it.
Once you shot all three valves, go back to the bridges room (or waterfall if you prefer) and you will find that the door to the secret stage is now open. Get ready for something quite weird in this one...
Secret Stage 4-S
The fourth secret stage can be found in level 4-2, called God Damn The Sun. This one is a bit more tricky, and you need to pick up the moon dial. You'll find it behind a locked door, which can be opened outside the temple, just to the right of the big stone creatures you fought at the beginning.
Operate the button and go through the now-opened door to get the dial. Now, collect the super jump in front of the entrance and get to the top of the temple. After a bit of walking, you will see a little raised platform on which you have to place the moon dial.
Night has now fallen, so it is time to go back to the entrance. Walk a bit on the stand and once you see a bright star shining, go under it to find the entrance to the secret level. Jump in to get into a little bit of classic platforming action.
Secret Stage 5-S
For this one, we are back to more easy platforming action. You will find this secret location in the first level in layer number five, which you can play as usual. In order to finish this level, you have to collect all the blue skulls which, by now, you should be accustomed to.
Once you reach the end of the level, you will find a jump pad just before the final challenge in the level. Instead of using it, look for a little vent to the left that can be opened with your gun. You will find a secret orb and also the terminal to open the hole to the secret stage. This one is all about fishing!
Secret Stage 7-S
For now, this is the final stage available in ULTRAKILL and, as you might have guessed, it is also the most difficult one to access. There is a hint in 7-1 on how to do it, which references a fire hot enough to melt metal. Basically, you need to attract the robots that shoot fire (the Street Cleaners) to run after you.
The best way to do so is to clean out the first two arenas you find. Basically, just before the final blood tree has been fed, since that's the moment when the cleaners will spawn. Go back the way you came and make sure that they are running after you. Lead them to the main tree, and pull one of the robots down with you.
This might be a bit tricky, you want to jump high and grapple one of them down into the arena with you. Once the street cleaner is in the air, pull it down. Make them follow you right to the place where you found the sign with the writing "feed us, we will grow". Make the cleaner burn off the metal leaves on the door to your right. Once done, kill the Street Cleaner and access the final secret level in ULTRAKILL.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:25 AM
The Pokémon Company asked players to be patient for the release of Pokémon Legends Z-A as it revealed it's coming in late 2025, without specifying a release date.
The reveal came during the Pokémon Presents 2025 livestream on Feb. 27.
Legends Z-A battle mechanics brings some dynamics to combat. It mixes the traditional move-based style of main series Pokémon games with some dynamic positioning of your Pokémon on the field, which means you can manually dodge moves now. It also adds ranges to moves, which you have to take into account during battles.
Mega Evolutions are returning in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
The new Legends: Z-A trailer revealed that Mega Evolutions are back. It's unclear if new Megas will be added, but these are the Megas confirmed so far:
Pokémon Legends Z-A starters confirmed
Chicorita, Tepig, and Totodile will be Pokémon Z-A starters, as revealed in the Pokémon Presents 2025 livestream on Feb. 27.
Pokémon Legends Z-A's is bringing back Legends: Arceus mechanics
The extended look into Pokémon Legends: Z-A revealed that players will be able to catch Pokémon in a similar way to Legends: Arceus.
Players can aim their Pokéball at wild Pokémon without entering combat, and the odds of capturing them vary with how unaware they are of your presence.
Pokémon Legends Z-A's Lumiose City
The Legends Z-A story happens entirely in Lumiose City, in the Kalos region from Pokémon X and Y.
In this setting, Lumiose is being redesigned to be co-inhabited by humans and Pokémon, which means players can find, battle, and capture Pokémon inside the city itself inside Wild Zones.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A was announced during Pokémon Day 2024, exactly one year ago. Back then, it built up hype among players since many expected it would borrow or adapt the unique catch and exploration mechanics existent in Legends: Arceus, which was a massive hit on the Switch.
Pokémon Legends Z-A releases in 2025 on the Nintendo Switch and should also be available on the Switch 2 through backwards compatibility.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:21 AM
The Pokémon Company has revealed its newest spin-off title, Pokémon Champions, during Pokémon Presents 2025 are part of the Pokémon Day celebrations.
Pokémon Champions will be a Pokémon battle-focused title that is still under development and has no set release date. It has a motto of "bringing Pokémon battles to everyone," and the early gameplay looks a lot like what Pokémon Stadium was.
From the early looks of Pokémon Champions, the title won't include the traditional player adventure we see in the main series titles like Scarlet and Violet. However, it will still have some sort of system to obtain new Pokémon to play with, as it mentions you can "partner up" with Pokémon in Champions.
Pokémon Champions will launch on the Nintendo Switch "family of systems", which likely means it will release on both the original Switch and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, as well as on Android and iOS.
Pokémon Champions will include HOME connectivity and let you play with the Pokémon you own from Scarlet, Violet, and GO.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:17 AM
According to the official Japanese Sonic the Hedgehog X account on Wednesday, the party battle royale game Sonic Rumble has been pushed back to Spring. This means we'll have to wait for those epic 32-player rumbles just a bit longer.
Hopefully, When it finally launches on PC, iOS, and Android devices, it will have been worth the wait.
The wait continues
"By adding new gameplay and elements never seen before, we are working on creating a game that you can all enjoy for a long time!" said the official Sonic X/Twitter account via a translation through the social media website. "Please bear with us a little longer until the release date." No reason has been given for the delay. Here's hoping we'll get an official release day soon.
Sonic Rumble was initially a mobile-only title, but was later announced to launch on PC (via Steam). Sonic the Hedgehog fans are excited to play as all manner of different characters throughout the series' history, such as Knuckles, Amy, and Espio. If the game attains a certain amount of pre-registrations on mobile platforms and Steam (likely in the form of wishlisting), players will have the movie version of the iconic titular character unlocked, in addition to a Garnet-themed Knuckles skin.
So far, fans have been able to unlock 5,000 Rings and a Happy sticker as part of the pre-registration rewards. The next goal is the Crystal Chao buddy, which unlocks at 600K pre-registrations.
Plenty of success for the hedgehog
The Blue Blur has been on a roll recently with his latest film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 making over $480 million worldwide at the box office (via The Numbers). While the next mainline game hasn't been announced yet, fans are anticipating the new kart racing title Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which will have a mix of Sonic and Sega characters — unlike the last entry.
Whatever the next mainline entry is, it will be hard to topple the Genesis classics like Sonic 3 and Knuckles from 1994. The Sonic Rumble delay is certainly a bummer, but at least there are many games to play and many movies to watch from this Sega character to keep you entertained for now.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:09 AM
Skeleton warriors and swashbucklers, that's pretty much all you need for a good pirate adventure, right? Well, it looks like there's more than just that on the horizon for Trident's Tale, a newly-revealed single-player outing from Italian studio 3DClouds.
While the announcement trailer below is mostly focused on cinematics, you'll get a quick peek at how it plays near the end. There's naval combat — for which you can customize and upgrade your ship — with cannon duels and sea monster battles, as well as island exploration. As you traverse land and sea, you'll be able to recruit various characters to further expand your pirate crew and boost your odds of survival in a rough world.
This isn't 3DClouds' first crack at high seas adventure. Under publisher Team17, the developer released King of Seas in 2021, ultimately ending up with mixed reviews on Steam. 3DClouds has dabbled in a bunch of licensed work over the years, too, including Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers, Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Rise of SH1FT3R, TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials, and other similarly-styled arcade racers. They also brought send the pups on another mission to stop Mayor Humdinger in 2023's PAW Patrol World.
With Trident's Tale, they're really putting an emphasis on its distinction as a single-player action-adventure. The announcement describes it as a game with "no live service nonsense or multiplayer," touting a "tight 10-15 hour campaign." We'll find out how that campaign plays out when it hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC this May.
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Destructoid Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:04 AM
If the latest leaks are to be believed, a new expansion titled Triumphant Light is coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket. It should arrive soon in the game.
Code named A2 for the time being, official ads have hinted at a new expansion for the game on the social media platform Instagram. Based on the cards revealed so far, the upcoming expansion will be themed around the legendary Pokemon Arceus.
Complete list of Pokemon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light cards
The list of cards here includes those shown in the ads. I expect more cards to be added to the list of final releases when the expansion goes live.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light release dates
If the rumors are to be believed, the new expansion will arrive on February 28, 2025. However, the date remains to be confirmed as of writing. Once we have the full official list of cards added to the game, they will be mentioned in the section above.
In the meantime, here's where they've hidden the Genetic Apex cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The post All Triumphant Light Pokemon TCG Pocket (A2) cards listed appeared first on Destructoid. |
WGB Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:31 AM Sony is reducing the PS VR2 price by over 27% to £399.99, effective March. This may attract more users, despite concerns about limited support and exclusive game availability from the company. |
MonsterVine Thursday, February 27, 2025 2:00 PM Find true love and escape from a tragic time loop in Never 7, a classic visual novel now remastered and available in English for the first time. Never 7: The End of Infinity Developer: MAGES Price: $20 Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review. Never 7: […] |
MonsterVine Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:00 PM Pew Pew Games has unveiled Terminull Brigade, a brand-new free-to-play co-op PvE roguelike shooter where players take on the role of Rogueteers, digital warriors battling against an onslaught of rogue AI algorithms. The announcement comes alongside the game's first cinematic trailer, teasing fast-paced third-person combat, strategic roguelike elements, and ever-changing battlefield scenarios. Watch the Reveal […] |
MonsterVine Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:00 PM Midgar Studio and Nacon have announced Edge of Memories, a brand-new action JRPG set in the world of Edge of Eternity. Unlike its predecessor's turn-based combat, Edge of Memories takes a real-time action approach, bringing fast-paced battles and dynamic combos to the world of Heryon. The game is set to launch in Fall 2025 on […] |