Jun 29, 18:00


PCGamesN Sunday, June 29, 2025 12:03 PM
    

What are the best anime games for PC? As varied as the Japanese film, television, and manga that inspired them, anime art styles are everywhere in games. Whether you fancy being trapped in a school with a sadistic remote-controlled bear, defending yourself from gargantuan humanoid monsters, or joining a book club with a dark side, we've got plenty of anime games to play right now.  

We've got everything from the biggest anime games based on Japan's hottest export shows to the finest JRPG games and MMOs influenced by its signature style. Persona, Dragon Ball, and Naruto are all present and accounted for, plus there are a few other gems you may not have heard of before. If you're an anime fan, consider these entries some of the best PC games available on the platform. Let's go.

Continue reading The best anime games 2025
MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best MMOs, FF14 Dawntrail review, FF14 Island Sanctuary guide

PCGamesN Sunday, June 29, 2025 11:48 AM
    

Robocop: Rogue City is, on paper, the exact opposite style to my favorite shooters. I adore fast-paced, frenetic, and movement-based games where my skill is measured by how quickly (and stylishly) I can act. I'm talking about the likes of Neon White, Titanfall,  and Ultrakill. Rogue City, on the other hand, is all about being slow and methodical. You can't run and gun, but you can dominate a shootout simply by standing there and picking off goons one-by-one. As an encapsulation of the movies, it's nothing short of superb, and you can now experience it yourself for the cheapest it's ever been on Steam.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Robocop Rogue City review, Robocop Rogue City system requirements, Robocop Rogue City settings

PCGamesN Sunday, June 29, 2025 11:43 AM
    

There's an undeniable thrill to the vicious lethality of extraction games like Escape From Tarkov; that fear that any wrong move could be your last. Sci-fi looter shooter The Forever Winter is all about making you feel like the little guy; against the shadow of megacorp war machines clashing in a burning, apocalyptic future, you and your friends are mere rats scrabbling in the rubble to survive. With its new June update, developer Fun Dog Studios is taking the realism to the next level, as it introduces a fresh playground to explore.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best horror games, Best co-op games, Best survival games

PCGamesN Sunday, June 29, 2025 11:00 AM
    

The EasySMX X05 is one of the cheapest wireless controllers you can buy, yet it still somehow manages to include Hall Effect thumbsticks and triggers, as well as a rechargeable battery. It's this simple core combination of features and value that means it's one of the highest-selling and well-reviewed controllers on Amazon. We put it to the test to see if it can live up to expectations.

With a spot on our best PC controller guide at stake, this wireless controller doesn't need to do too much more than just work to still be a contender, given its incredibly low price. Thankfully, though, EasySMX has done more than just the bare minimum. [site_jumplinks]

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

PCGamesN Sunday, June 29, 2025 10:23 AM
    

I expected to find and play plenty of great games while walking around the showfloor at Summer Game Fest. What I didn't expect to find was my wife's dream game: Grave Seasons. That's not to diminish my own enjoyment of this horror-infused life sim - my short and sweet 20 minutes with it was great. However, with a charming gameplay loop that closely resembles Stardew Valley and a gruesome murder mystery twist, I can't think of a game she'd love more.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best life games, Best games like Stardew Valley, Best horror games

Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Sunday, June 29, 2025 11:00 AM
    

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! We're doing tabletop designers now, firstly because I think tabletop is cool and secondly…nope, that's it. Every week we stray further from videogames, and every week we regain feeling in body parts we'd forgotten we had. Ten toes, you say? Marvellous.

Read more


Siliconera Sunday, June 29, 2025 3:00 PM
    

April Grove Can Be Quite Soothing

Colorgrave's made a point of bringing the Game Boy Color aesthetic back to gaming, thanks to titles like Curse Crackers, Prodigal, and Veritus, and April Grove is the latest endeavor to utilize that screen size and palette. It's also a more relaxed type of game. At first site, I admit I hoped it would provide the same sort of outdoor experience as maybe the original Survival Kids, especially after the Switch 2 take felt disappointing. This game is generally fine, but I feel it is best as a way to decompress after a long day for a few minutes and calm my mind rather than actually engage with in a serious way. If you play in small doses, it's easier to deal with the more tedious elements.

April Grove begins with our character, a new forester, heading to assist the goddess April with maintaining her forest. The goal feels like responsible forest stewardship. We'll be cutting enough wood for people's needs, but not in a way that tears down a majestic habitat. It strikes me a bit as forestation. You benefit and get more opportunities to be better in your new role. However, you're also not getting to diversify and do anything else. But since it is only $3, it's understandable for an occasional timesink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk8YR2iVzEU

The core gameplay loop revolves around acting as the area's resident woodcutter. You cut down trees. If you get good at it, you'll level up. That means you can cut down new and different types. As you might guess, this can get monotonous. Since there's no farm or real means of profit and crafting tied to this. You cut down logs. These are sold. You can then buy cosmetics. 

The downside is, this gets incredibly repetitive. Rewards for getting good involve being able to buy meals to ensure you're stronger when you cut, you get equipment, and maybe you change your look. April will eventually let you into new areas. But the people in the town around you aren't all that interesting, even though their character designs are great, I didn't feel all that interested in the items I could spend money on, and it isn't compelling in the way other life sims that involve woodcutting are. Like Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time? Still the best 2025 game in which cutting down trees is a major gameplay element.

It ends up coming down to April Grove being pleasant, in its way, and quite pretty, but a little aimless. I wouldn't say it's a game to completely avoid. I'd say I enjoyed about the three hours I've played so far. It's a budget title at only $2.99, so it isn't some grand simulation about forestry and a life as a woodcutter. (Again, that's Fantasy Life i.) I feel it's more about winding down and taking a moment to chop down some trees for 15-30 minutes, calming down and enjoying the ambiance as you do.

April Grove is available on PCs via Steam

The post April Grove Can Be Quite Soothing appeared first on Siliconera.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 4:03 PM
    

jonathan strange and mr norrell faerie

This has been taking me a while. But after many attempts that got lost in the fog, perhaps I now know how to approach this.

Let's keep it simple for starters: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a great book, worthy of all the plaudits it has received over the years. Two magicians appear in England in the Napoleonic era, with something otherworldly in the mist behind their backs amid a flock of ravens. If you like interesting magical worlds, endearing characters, many small details and lots of lore, you will feel right at home. You can go and enjoy it right now, and leave me with my odd little thoughts.

You see, what I found most interesting about it is that I don't tend to like these things—or fantasy stories in general—and yet I deeply enjoyed the story all the same. Not only that, but it survived multiple revisits across different languages, even once I had an extra set of impressions layered atop the tale by reading the author's later work.

So, what gives? Should I formulate a recommendation for people with a similar disposition—how very wooden, academic, almost Norrell-like of me to phrase it as such—and dive into what might make this the fantasy book for non-fantasy fans? Excuse the groan-inducing pun, but what exactly is the magic of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell?

Why is there no more magic done in England?

Definitely not the title. First published in 2004, I first encountered this book quite a few years after its publication, back in my mid-teens, when I still mostly read translations rather than originals—in 2009, to be specific, according to my mother's kind words on the inside of my worn copy. While I could fill many columns about the issues with translated works, especially where title changes are concerned, lifting the primary antagonist and the key mythological figure—the Raven King—into the title still feels like a positive change to me.

I can't believe this was published over 20 years ago. Image via Bloomsbury

I suppose you could say I'm looking for extraordinary events and otherworldly ideas in my genre fiction, not a literal other world—especially when it is populated by regular people doing regular things. All too often, sci-fi and fantasy stories paint a fascinating backdrop to tell an otherwise mundane tale, all in the name of discussing the human condition, making me sad along the way for the missed opportunity. No, the rare sci-fi books that speak to me—think Blindsight or Snow Crash—go all the way with their outlandish approach, and if the author does take the time to build a detailed world with a myriad of rules, they're only there to be immediately broken.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell doesn't really do that, though. There's something Lovecraftian lurking between its lines, something that stuck with me ever since I first read it. While our two mages are dealing with very human matters like the war, their social status, concerns of a bookish disposition, envy, marriage, and more, they unleash flickers of the old magic and the Faerie kingdom, with devastating consequences to themselves and others.

So I hope you can see why I disagree with those who call this an "alternate history" novel. It goes a lot further than that.

Those that came before us (and adaptations that followed)

While the Raven King, or John Uskglass, remains shrouded in mystery, we get to learn a lot about the magic of old England and the aforementioned otherworldly kingdom. We can primarily thank the astonishing number of footnotes for that: Almost 200 of them are scattered across the story, almost all of them serving as classy lore dumps. I found it a great way to add prestige to the background tales and a good way to segment it out of the plot, and it is especially funny when the footnotes end up overtaking almost the entire page at the expense of the regular text sometimes.

I'll leave plot details sparse here to avoid spoilers, but I'd like to mention our two title characters. Norrell sets the plot in motion at first, a reclusive bookworm with ideals that are easily corrupted, ill at ease in the social and political web of London. Mr. Strange is true to his name, but his earnestness makes him very likable, evened out by a recklessness that duly pays off by the final chapters.

Their supporting cast is also strong, often playing straight into tropes but doing so strongly, well-realized throughout as they play out their part in the complicated tale.

They are active, dynamic characters, even the reclusive Mr. Norrell, trying to form and control the events around them—and often coming short. Perhaps my pleasure boils down to the tension between what the reader knows and what the characters are aware of, the smallness and futility of their actions and the irrelevance of their many social goals they try to pursue over the story, digging an ever-deeper hole for themselves and England alike.

Ultimately, I think this is where I found what I was looking for. The tension of knowing more than your characters, even on the first reading, and watching them still try energetically to get to their goal. This dynamic is furthered by the otherworldliness of what surrounds them—hence my appreciation for the fantasy setting.

Even the book's TV adaptation is worth a positive mention. The 2015 BBC miniseries does a fantastic job of capturing the mood and the atmosphere, and having watched it many years after reading the original book, I felt like many of the excisions made sense, with the exception of the slightly mangled ending. It was a shame to lose so much of the scholarly lore, but the tone and the allusions made it feel very much like the book I remembered, which is more than what most adaptations can boast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDujirtX8U4

The author, Susanna Clarke, started working on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in 1992, before I was even born. I couldn't fathom back then how it could have taken so long to write—these days, I'm more astounded by the fact that it didn't take even longer. Her struggles with chronic fatigue syndrome put any sequel ideas far away into the future, but we did get Piranesi in 2020, focused on a chamber in a parallel universe and being trapped within. It received rave reviews, and I enjoyed it myself, but the tension of the dramatic irony wasn't as strong for me as it was in the raven-filled adventure. Still, it also deserves a wholehearted recommendation. Her only other output, The Wood at Midwinter, is apparently also excellent, but a novelette-sized story disguised as a novel, so caveat emptor on that one.

While I'm not sure I'm closer to formulating a key answer to my original question—why Ilike Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell—I hope it served as an exploration of why it is good. Magic has returned to England, and also to my bookshelf, as a rare exception to many literary rules.

The post I'm not a fan of fantasy, but this one book has pierced my veil appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 2:56 PM
    

Ahtinen WEURO card as rewards for EA FC 25 WEURO Cup

The WEURO Cup is now live in EA FC 25, and it's your best source of earning valuable packs and a WEURO promo card for free of cost.

To earn the rewards, you'll have to complete certain tasks. They require you to play and win matches, while scoring a certain number of goals. This guide will provide you with all the required information to maximize your rewards from the cup.

EA FC 25 WEURO Cup guide

The WEURO Cup has eleven different tasks.

Task How to Complete Rewards
Win 2 Win 2 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 83+ x5 Rare Gold Players Pack
Win 4 Win 4 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 84+ x2 Rare Gold Players Pack
Score 5 Score 5 goals in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 83+ x7 Rare Gold Players Pack
Play 6 Play 6 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 500 SP
Win 6 Win 6 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. EURO Olga Ahtinen
Score 8 Score 8 goals in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 84+ x7 Rare Gold Players Pack
Win 8 Win 8 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 85+ x2 Rare Gold Players Pack
Score 12 Score 12 goals in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 85+ x3 Rare Gold Players Pack
Play 10 Play 10 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 500 SP
Win 10 Win 10 matches in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. 86+ x3 Rare Gold Players Pack
Score 14 Score 14 goals in the Live Ultimate Team Friendly: WEURO Cup. Earn a 5* Weak Foot, and an ST and Advanced Forward++ EVO consumables applicable to a Player item with max 94 OVR. ST Evolutions

EA Sports has made it easier for you to gain the highlight rewards, which are available for just six wins. You'll get the 95-rated item of Olga Ahtinen, who can gain upgrades based on how Finland performs in the tournaments. You also get up to 1000 SP, and unique evolutions for your strikers.

Completing the full set also gets you one 87+ x2 Rare Gold Players Pack, which is pretty useful to have with FUTTIES coming soon in July.

The post All EA FC 25 WEURO Cup Rewards and tasks appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 2:27 PM
    

Overseer looking over the balcony in opening cutscene of Funeralopolis

A city sheltered, there's something cosmic brewing outside. Dark clouds loom over, unmoving and unshaken, as if they house a darker secret above their vast layers. The uncertainty of tomorrow has spread across the locals. We're 45 days into something we don't understand. The air is poison, or so the authorities say. Only the Church is trying to do something about it, but can we really trust them?

There's a crack in the wall. It's been there for a month now, and it's only getting bigger, so is that gnawing feeling that the situation will only get worse.

How can you stay positive when everything is telling you—these are our last days?

Overseer looking over at the moving tram in the dead city
Screenshot by Destructoid

Funeralopolis | Last Days is a truly underrated indie horror gem that was released last September on itch.io. Heavily text-based with walking sim elements, games like these demonstrate you don't always need voice acting to deliver lore or a believable setting. With a one-hour runtime, the worldbuilding in this narrative-driven story shines all by itself. The story is where the horror lies, bubbling with each passing day, as the promise of tomorrow becomes more and more uncertain. Confined to an apartment floor, fear spreads among the residents, all of whom are affected by the ongoing epidemic differently. See hope fester through the peephole, look back out into the world you're too hesitant to explore.

A cosmic enigma that calls your name

Overseer and Adam looking out the window
Screenshot by Destructoid

An overarching mystery is constantly pulling you in. What are the Churchmen up to? Is there something nefarious going on with their quarantine camps? It's a wonder whether this is real or if it's all just mass hysteria, caused by the official reports that the inexplicable clouds are making people ill. What is that pitch black hole in the kitchen, and why can we only see it on one side? The few residents that you're supposed to look after as the apartment overseer have so many concerns and questions, none of which you can answer. Some don't even want to step foot outside of their apartment.

The city is cold, grungy, and greyscale, with the apartment interior feeling comfortable in its warm glow. Stories of biohazardous materials we've never seen before keep popping up on the Church's private frequency. A channel you're not supposed to be tuned into.

Everything is quiet; from the environment and its terrified people, to the horror. It's an unsettling feeling that never leaves you. You'd think everyone would be panicked, yet we comply and stay silent in hopes that the monsters will just leave us alone. There's anxiety as society is being pulled taut, like this is all a test to see if you'll give in and go outside. There's a single choice you can make, and it determines which ending you'll get.

A Lovecraftian nightmare as the sky turns red

The red world dream in Funeralopolis
Screenshot by Destructoid

Like something out of Stephen King's The Mist, Funeralopolis is a cosmic horror with clear inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's fear of the unknown. The apartment setting is reminiscent of Silent Hill 4: The Room. The otherworldly terror perfectly captures that dread and incomprehension for something out of this world, that's seeping into our own. The isolation and uncertainty for the future are direct links to the 2020 pandemic, as we were forced to stay indoors and listen out for news in hopes that something would change—something means everything can go back to normal.

You feel as though your life is holding on by a thread that could be cut any moment by the terrifying words spoken through the television and radio. But in Funeralopolis, no such hope is given.

A story-rich world I want to rent a room in

The Churchman looking back as people are put into vans
Screenshot by Destructoid

The slow build of Funeralopolis is tied to the information you learn from radio broadcasts each day, and observed through the cracked wall that spreads open like worry. You're given bits and pieces of the lore that's developing by the day, making the story perfectly paced, with just the right amount of intriguing information making you want to press on. The cutscenes only make the horror more immersive, like you're an active participant or a detective trying to solve the mystery. Tension and anxiety are created through the brooding soundtrack and old-school art design. You feel as though you are actually the overseer of this world, where the apartment residents are yours to take care of.

Does anything you do truly matter in a situation so hopeless, against a threat inconceivable to mankind? You try to do the right thing, but what does it amount to? Actions have consequences, yet in Funeralopolis, your inactions are just as important. Regardless of your choices, time moves forward, life goes on, yet the nightmare's only just begun.

The post Destructoid's Indie Gems – Edition 2: Cosmic horror on the apartment floor appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 1:54 PM
    

Cristiano Ronaldo Flashback as one of the best cards to use in the EA FC 25 Just Like Lessi Evolution

The Just Like Lessi Evolution is now live in EA FC 25, and it's yet another paid upgrade option to improve one of your lower-rated cards.

Once unlocked by spending 50,000 coins, the evolution allows you to upgrade an ST item. Your chosen card will gain an overall boost along with new playstyles and roles. There are plenty of good choices, and this guide will help you narrow down to the best possible options.

EA FC 25 Just Like Lessi Evolution requirements

Here are the requirements of the Just Like Lessi Evolution in EA FC 25.

  • Max Pos. 3
  • Overall Max. 93
  • Position ST
  • Max PS 10
  • Max PS+ 3
  • Dribbling Max. 98

EA FC 25 Just Like Lessi Evolution upgrades

There are five levels of upgrades, and here are the requirements.

Level 1 upgrades

  • Rarity In-Progress Evolution
  • PlayStyle First Touch (^9)
  • Overall +3 (^96)
  • Penalties +5 (^89)
  • Shot Power +6 (^95)
  • Long Shots +6 (^94)
  • Volleys +6 (^94)
  • Positioning +7 (^96)

Level 2 upgrades

  • Overall +4 (^96)
  • Finishing +7 (^96)
  • Agility +7 (^92)
  • Balance +7 (^93)
  • Reactions +7 (^94)
  • Ball Control +7 (^95)
  • Dribbling (attr.) +8 (^96)

Level 3 upgrades

  • SM +3 ★
  • WF +3 ★ (^4)
  • PlayStyle Power Shot (^9)
  • PlayStyle Tiki Taka (^9)
  • Composure +7 (^96)
  • Stamina +7 (^93)

Level 4 upgrades

  • New Pos. CAM
  • Role++ CAM Playmaker++
  • Role++ CAM Shadow Striker++
  • PlayStyle+ Finesse Shot (^3)
  • PlayStyle+ Technical (^3)
  • PlayStyle Rapid (^9)

Level 5 upgrades

  • Rarity Shapeshifters Evolution
  • Role++ ST Advanced Forward++
  • Role++ ST Poacher++
  • Role++ ST Target Forward++
  • PlayStyle+ Low Driven Shot (^3)
  • Pace +7 (^94)

Level 1 upgrade conditions

  • Play one match in any mode using your active EVO player in game.

Level 2 upgrade conditions

  • Play one match in any mode using your active EVO player in game.

Level 3 upgrade conditions

  • Play two matches in any mode using your active EVO player in game.

Level 4 upgrade conditions

  • Play two matches in Rush, Rivals, Champions, or Squad Battles on Min. Semi-Pro using your active EVO player in game.

Level 5 upgrade conditions

  • Win two matches in Rush, Rivals, Champions, or Squad Battles on Min. Semi-Pro using your active EVO player in game.

Best players to use in Just Like Lessi Evolution

Here are some of the best players to use in this evolution.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Flashback
  • Kylian Mbappe
  • Thierry Henry FUT Immortals Icon
  • Ronaldo Winter Wildcards Icon
  • Salma Paralluelo FUT Birthday
  • Jonathan David TOTS
  • Alessandro Del Piero Immortals Icon
  • Michael Owen On This Day Icon
  • Darwin Nunez Fantasy FC
  • Antoine Griezmann Numero FUT

Your club's evo chain candidates can provide unique solutions exclusive to your Ultimate Team squad.

The post Best players to use in EA FC 25 Just Like Lessi Evolution appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 1:12 PM
    

Promo art for Persona 5 The Phantom X featuring multiple characters

Persona 5 The Phantom X is a perfect game to play on your own, but you can make it more fun by becoming a part of the community. The easiest way to do so is to join a Discord server associated with the game.

Most of the available content, if not all of it, is a solo player experience. This includes the main campaign, the side missions, and the daily grind. Joining the Discord server becomes essential as doing so will help you to stay on top of all updates, new banner drops, and more.

How to join the official Persona 5 The Phantom X Discord?

Joining the official Discord is pretty simple, as clicking on this link will take you to the required page. Just accept the invite, the terms and conditions, and you'll be inside the server.

This server has news and updates related to all the regional and global servers, so you'll need to set the preferences accordingly. In my case, I have opted for only following and keeping track of the news and updates pertaining to the global version of the game.

The home  page of the official Persona 5 The Phantom X
Screenshot by Destructoid

On the left (as shown in my screenshot) are the channels. The channels are separated based on topics. For example, the PS5X channels are entirely focused on updates and new content. From gameplay tweaks to new characters being added, you'll find all of it under this tab. The updates are further broken down into smaller topics to make it easier for you to navigate and find the required information.

The Worldwide set of channels has everything related to general information. I find the Builds and Team channel to be extremely useful as it's a great place to discuss bthe est party setups based on the characters you get. Of course, things will be easier if you have a few 5-stars in your inventory, since they are generally considered to be more powerful.

You'll also find channels that cater to more general needs, like simply chatting with other players about their experiences. If you have any general queries, the Discord server is the best place to ask for help. This can be related to which packs to open, and how to set up your party.

If you have obtained a fair share of characters, it's better to invest based on a tier list. Not every character is made equal, so you should be pretty judicious about how you spend different consumables (to avoid running out of them prematurely). You can also get at least one 5-star character pretty quickly after creating your account and starting to play.

The post Official Persona 5 The Phantom X Discord links appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 12:43 PM
    

Death Stranding 2 open world

Hideo Kojima famously said that his 2019 Death Stranding game would be the first of many "Strand-type games" and spawn their own genre. Fast-forward six years, and Death Stranding 2 is now out and is the only other such game to have launched in all that time. It begs the question: why?

Both games are addictive enough to warrant interest

Death Stranding 2 sandstorm gameplay
Death Stranding 2 even expanded on the original formula to improve the delivery gameplay with dynamic and random natural disasters. Image via Kojima Productions

Death Stranding 2 very closely follows the beaten path of the first game, containing more or less the exact same gameplay loop as its predecessor. You pick up orders, deliver them across treacherous terrain, rinse and repeat.

You also perhaps lay the groundwork for other players to do the same much more easily by repairing highways, extending the monorail, or leaving about all sorts of PCC-produced stuff like generators, timefall shelters, and so on.

Both games are spitting images of each other in this respect, with Death Stranding 2 being as direct a sequel as possible. And, being so, it is just as addictive. Many consider "Strand-type" gameplay to be merely a walking simulation, but that couldn't be further from the truth, as I explained in another article on the matter.

This addictive loop has proven, twice now, to be quite successful at ensnaring players for dozens of hours, which further complicates the question of where are all the Strand-type games that Kojima envisioned would come.

It is also interesting to think of what such a game would even look like. In both Death Strandings, this would mean to have a title that revolves around picking up and delivering orders while participating in asynchronous multiplayer, where player activity can show up in any given world. And honestly, there are literally no games like this.

The Strand-type genre has two games only, both produced by Kojima and both immensely successful, both on the PlayStation and PC.

Why is it that developers never hopped onto this trend? Is it too difficult to pull off? After all, it's a pretty simple gameplay loop. Add some story in there, perhaps some cutscenes, and you've got yourself a Strand-type game. If variety is your concern, change the setting, go from esoteric sci-fi to some other genre, make the game set in our own contemporary world but stricken by a plague (we did live through one already, so that shouldn't be too difficult).

But even so, no developers even tried to pick up the genre, which is in stark contrast with what happened to FromSoftware's Soulslikes.

It happened to Dark Souls, so why not Death Stranding?

P goes into a fight with a strange creature in Lies of P.
Some soulslikes even went on to become critically acclaimed, unique games. Image via NEOWIZ

That company, be it purposefully or not, spawned an entire cultural movement within video games that saw them as the basis of a new, neo-Metroidvania genre, aptly named "Soulslike."

And how did others do it? Simply. Bonfires to mark objectives, death returns you to the last bonfire lit, and boss fights are the only true mark of progression. Everything in between is interchangeable, from combat to settings to story emphasis. There are, by now, countless games in the Soulslike genre, to the point it's becoming actually quite tedious to open up Steam and be swarmed by them at every corner.

It's not even that the Souls titles are some gameplay ideal that everyone should follow. Infamy could have played a role, but Kojima is perhaps the most infamous developer of them all. No game of his is conventional, and Metal Gear sure has its own set of copycats and inspirations across the genre.

If it is combat that's lacking in Strand-type gameplay, or rather if it needs to be faster and more visceral in its execution, then that's perfectly doable as well.

Though both the Death Stranding games have quite a good chunk of combat against a variety of enemies and bosses, it can be considered a bit too easy at times. Any given developer could improve on that by pumping up the action, making deliveries more difficult, and each run a challenge, while making sure the perceived tediousness of the originals never seeps through.

Walking simulation, though not really present in the Strand games either, could be reduced by different maps, terrain, moment-to-moment gameplay, dynamic events, and so on. It's not like there's not quite a lot to work with in this potential genre.

The foundations are there in the original games and can be reshaped like clay into something new and refreshing, just like what happened with Soulslikes, Roguelikes, and Skyrim-likes as of recently.

But unfortunately, no one seems to be giving it a shot, for whatever reason that may be. Kojima remains the only Strand-type developer, and I honestly hope he never stops reiterating and refining this genre if no one else will.

What do you think, Destructoid? Should there be more Strand-type games out there? Is the Death Stranding gameplay loop enough of a basis for a new genre to spawn from? Let us know below.

The post Death Stranding 2's addictive gameplay loop proves Kojima right—again—so where are all the Strand-type games? appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Sunday, June 29, 2025 11:27 AM
    

niantic

Scopely is giving trainers four unique codes in Pokémon Go that'll let you get a boost towards certain Pokémon forms during Pokémon GO Fest 2025: Global.

These codes give you energy usable on Zacian or Zamazenta that'll help you towards unlocking their new forms if you are lucky enough to find and be able to battle both of them, for the remaining energy you'll need.

Free Crowned Sword and Crowned Shield Energy codes in Pokémon Go

https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/1937511150108692907

Four codes give you either 100 Crowned Sword energy or Crowned Shield in Pokémon Go. These codes are only active for Pokémon Go Fest 2025: Global, so you need to make the most of the next few days to claim them all.

After signing in to your account, these codes are redeemed via the Pokémon Go Web Store. The four codes are:

  • WTQHZUTXMJY2U
  • EFKN5A2ZJDLS3
  • DJDGC3XBBCSC8
  • T3DZFDW7LY7TZ

You'll be able to get more energy on August 28- 29 by battling in Zacian and Zamazenta raids, and you will need 1,000 total of each energy type to turn one of your Zacian or Zamazenta into their crowned forms. These forms are permanent when used and also have additional adventure effects, which either boost the attack or defense of your Pokémon when in Max Battles.

You are given a random amount of energy after each battle, but usually, you need to complete 10+ raids to get the 1,000 energy needed. This is all very helpful in the grand scheme of things, allowing you to be in one less raid.

Both Pokémon can appear as Shiny, though, which should make all the raiding a bit more bearable. We imagine raiding the duo will also be a part of the global questline. So there will be reasons for you to get involved, so long as you can find a party of players to fight against. If not, remote raiding will be your friend this upcoming weekend.

The post All Free Crowned Sword and Shield Energy Codes in Pokémon Go Fest 2025: Global appeared first on Destructoid.


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