Kane99

Awaken - Astral Blade is a new metroidvania from the Dark Pigeon Games team. I'm always down for some more metroidvania style games. Especially ones that look this good. You can download a demo of it on steam right now if you want to take a go at it - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/ It's dropping on PC (Steam & Epic Games) and PS5 on October 22nd.

It looks like we're going to be getting a Horizon Zero Dawn remaster sometime soon, as the ESRB recently leaked the news of a PC and PS5 release. There of course is no mention of a release date, but I'd assume sometime in 2025 or early 2026 if we're lucky. Not sure we really need a remaster of an already beautiful game, but we've been seeing this for years with the likes of The Last of Us and other games getting remastered a couple times over. Will you be getting this remastered version? Read more about this news here - https://twistedvoxel.com/horizon-zero-dawn-remastered-for-pc-and-ps5-leaked-by-esrb/

I didn't know Frostpunk 2 was coming out so soon, it's dropping September 20th in fact, but if you preordered the deluxe edition you can play it right now. Who here has played the original game? I played a bit of it and enjoyed it, but couldn't stick with it. Maybe I'll get more into the sequel. It is coming out for PC (Steam & Epic Games), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Source - https://www.ign.com/articles/exclusive-first-battlefield-concept-art-revealed-vince-zampella Looks like Battlefield is making a comeback soon, and it will go back to a modern setting. The last few games have gone back to WWI and WWII. The article above also shares some concept art for the new game. I hope they make a comeback, the last game from what I remember, wasn't well received. So I hope this game can turn things around for the franchise again.

The YouTuber Stampy, also known as Joseph Garrett is working with 4J Studios and Chris van der Kuyl on a new Minecraft inspired game. 4J Studios is the team responsible for developing the console ports of Minecraft, so they have history of working on games. This sees the YouTuber jumping from content creator to video game developing. Since joining, they have been working on a new game called Reforj, which happens to be a creative survival sandbox game, similar to Minecraft. Though it's being said that Reforj will be a completely different experience and play differently. Read more about Reforj and this new team-up here - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-minecraft-studio-and-minecraft-youtuber-looking-to-transform-sandbox-gaming

Targeted -10 Days is kind of an escape room style game, where you play as a former member of the Mafia who has a hit out on him for going against the Don. You're stuck in an underground garage that you have to escape from, but you have to look for anomalies in the level, like stuff that's different or doesn't fit in the level. If nothing looks suspicious in the level, you can than choose to leave in your car. It's a cheap game, but it sounds fun. Reminds me of that game where you're on the train and can only proceed when you find all the mistakes/anomalies. Check it out on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3075050/Targeted_10_Days/

I guess there is a Resident Evil Zero & Code Veronica remake coming, but it's being said to not be as ambitious as the RE4 remake was. But then again, I don't think that's a bad thing. Look at the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes. I don't think either game delves too far from the original version. Just makes it play like a modern game. But with the RE4 remake, I feel like even with the original RE4 that it was unique in gameplay compared to the older games, which suffered from the tank controls. I can see RE Zero and Code Veronica getting the same remake treatment as RE2 and RE3. It doesn't need to be as good as RE4, because it's replicating an already advanced game, at least for the time. Idk, what do you guys think? Will this game be as good as the other mainline remakes? You can read more about this story here: https://twistedvoxel.com/resident-evil-zero-code-veronica-remake-not-as-ambitious-as-re4-remake/

Yars Rising is a new game from Wayforward, and is part of the Yars' Revenge series which started on Atari. Funny enough, Atari published the new game. It's of course not the same Atari we grew up with, but I am happy to see this new Atari helping put out games. Anyway, this game is more of a metroidvania style game. It looks pretty cool. It just came out for PC (Steam/Epic Games), Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and the Atari VCS. Of course they were selling it on their console. I forgot that was still a thing.

This is interesting. Someone who has leaked info before, like about the PS5 Pro for example, has leaked that the Nintendo Switch 2 might launch with two models, and the prices are expected to be around $400. Likely the base model being $399 at release and maybe a better version with more storage for $499. As well, the leaker says to expect an announcement on the Switch 2 in October. Read more about this news here - https://twistedvoxel.com/nintendo-switch-2-announcement-window-price-leaked/ Do you think a Switch 2 is happening? Will they sell it for $400 and up?

Has anyone heard of this? It came out late last month. I saw a YouTuber play it the other day and it looks a lot of fun. It's essentially a 3D Among Us, but in an office. And the purpose is for the manager to find the slackers and fire them, while keeping the good workers on. So, firing a good worker, will penalize you. It's pretty much Among Us, but there's no killing. Slackers can sabotage things and cause problems. Check out the trailer below. You can find it on Steam here though - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2920570/Dale__Dawson_Stationery_Supplies/

Another day and more layoffs in the gaming industry, this time it's Microsoft with them cutting 650 more jobs from their gaming division. A letter to employees from Phil Spencer was leaked. It's alleged that the majority of people fired will be from the Activision-Blizzard side, mostly for corporate and support roles. Sad to see more cuts like this. You can read the full article, including the letter to employees from Phil Spencer, via the link below. https://mp1st.com/news/report-microsoft-cutting-650-more-jobs-from-gaming-division

I don't remember ever playing any of the Last Ninja Games. I think I had one of the games on the commodore 64 growing up, but I probably played it once and never again. Now we're going to get a collection set for the Switch in 2025 after it succeeded in a recent kickstarter campaign. The games included in this set are: The Last Ninja (1987) - Commodore 64 Last Ninja 2 (1988) - Commordore 64, Amiga 500, ZX Spectrum Last Ninja 3 (1991) - Commordore 64, Amiga 500 Ninja Remix (1990) - Commordore 64, Amiga 500 International Karate (1985) - Commodore 64 IK+ (1987) - Commodore 64, Amiga 500, ZX Spectrum Bangkok Knights (1987) - Commodore 64, Amiga 500 The other games in the collection are bonus titles that are included. So you get a pretty decent catalog of games in this set. Have you played any of these games?

This one looks cute. It's a photography adventure game. Think something like Pokemon Snap, but it seems to be more geared around taking photos of day to day life. You essentially take photos of family, friends, wildlife and more in turn living through the eyes of the main character. It's coming out in early 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC through Steam.

Yakuza Wars is an upcoming mobile game from SEGA and BBGAME. It takes place in the Yakuza universe and has the likes of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima featured. So far there isn't much known about the game. More will be revealed on the game come the RGG Summit 2024 late September. Here's what the game is said to be about: Read more about this news here - https://mp1st.com/news/yakuza-wars-is-not-what-you-think-its-a-mobile-game-with-a-gangster-theme

If you're on the lookout for a copy of Rule of Rose, at least the UK release, you may be in luck. A shipment of UK releases were found, and are being sold currently. On eBay the game was going for around $600 or so, but since the find, the prices have dropped down by half. Sadly, since a lot of people are buying up these new copies, it's likely the price will go up again, and possibly by more. But this is good news, as it means there could be warehouses with old stock sitting around collecting dust. Makes me wonder how many classic games are still sitting in a box within a warehouse all these years. I know Rule of Rose is a somewhat popular game. I have wanted to add it to my collection for years, but even with these new copies found, I don't think I'd be willing to pay $300 or so for it. Read more about this news here - https://www.thegamer.com/rule-of-rose-banned-halves-price-sealed-shipment/

PS5 Pro was unveiled. It'll run you $699 and there is no disc drive. Available Nov 7th, 2024. And I guess they are including some AI options to improve upon games. Check out the unveiling below.

There will be a live stream tomorrow called the PlayStation Technical Presentation, with host Mark Cerny, the Lead Architect of the PS5. Many are speculating it will be the unveiling of the PS5 Pro, which seems possible considering it's been rumored forever now. It's only going to be a quick 9 minute stream though, so if it is a new PS5, I think that would be sufficient enough time to unveil it. Or could we expect something else completely? You can tune in tomorrow on the PlayStation YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/PlayStation - 8:00am PT / 11:00am ET / 4:00pm BST. You can view the blog post with said announcement here - https://blog.playstation.com/2024/09/09/tune-in-tomorrow-for-a-playstation-5-technical-presentation-hosted-by-mark-cerny/

[REDACTED] is an upcoming fact paced isometric roguelike from the people at Striking Distance Studios who developed The Callisto Protocol. It looks to be coming out this October, so not far off to go. Also, I hear this game is set in the same world as The Callisto Protocol.

Has anyone heard of Kvark? It's been in early access since June of 2023, and has mostly positive reviews on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2319390/Kvark/ It's being said the full official release of Kvark is coming October 3rd of this year, taking it out of early access. Anyway, in regards to the game, I guess they call it a retro-inspired FPS. I get a lot of Half-Life vibes from the gameplay and look of the game. It's coming out first for the PC via Steam, but there are plans to release it on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. No official release date has been announced for the console version though. But I assume they could release it around the same time as the PC version.

The Switch 2 hasn't even been announced yet, but it's being alleged that the next Switch will be backwards compatible with Switch games. Which is honestly a smart move for Nintendo, considering how they can keep selling their older games this way. Nintendo has been known to make their consoles and devices backwards compatible to some extent. If the Switch 2 utilizes the same game cards too, I imagine that would make it easier to adapt. The cool thing is, these older games could still receive updates if the devs want to. What do you think about this news? Did you expect it to happen? I sort of did, especially if they are going to go the route of making a Switch 2 instead of a completely new console. Read more about this news here - https://twistedvoxel.com/nintendo-switch-2-will-feature-backward-compatibility-support/

Nintendo Life has an article up listing off the 50 best GameCube games of all time, you can view that list here - https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/50-best-gamecube-games-of-all-time I won't list off all the games, but select a few ones, like #50, #25, and the top 5 or something. #50 - Donkey Kong Jungle Beat #25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 #5 - The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition #4 - Resident Evil 4 #3 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker #2 - Metroid Prime #1 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Do you agree with the top 5? Would you change any of the order in this list?

This is cool news, the PS2 is the first gaming console in Japan's National Science Museum. Japan ended up adding it to the Future Technology Heritage list. This list includes the likes of 400 items that all have been a major part in how far we've come in tech. It also mentions it's about cultural shifts and technical leaps with the tech on the list. This article - https://tech4gamers.com/ps2-first-gaming-console-japan-science-museum/ mentions that the list has stuff like the Sony Walkman, and the first DVD player. So stuff that really were important in how tech advanced I guess. You can view this years list here via this PDF - https://www.kahaku.go.jp/procedure/press/pdf/1441766.pdf, though it's in Japanese, they do show pictures of the items added. I wish I could tell exactly what the other items are. I see a watch, a couple sewing machines, piano keyboards, and weird and big machines I couldn't identify. Either way, I think it's pretty cool. I could see consoles like the Wii, Xbox's Kinect (even though it was kind of a failure), VR, and the Switch making this list if they haven't already.

If you've played the first two Little Nightmares games, you'll know what you're in for. This looks like much of the same, but still as good as ever. There was some gameplay released to Gamescom recently, and the game looks great. If you're a fan, you will probably be happy with what you see. Check it out below.

Has anyone heard of this one? It's a survival stealth horror game where you have to find 3 heads to escape the show. Supposedly Billy (the AI) watches your every move. You choose your path, but you will encounter traps and other obstacles. It's been out on PC since March, but it just came out on consoles recently. It looks to be out for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch.

Source - https://www.ign.com/articles/rocksteady-reportedly-lays-off-staff-following-suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-flop Thanks to the failure that was Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it looks like Rocksteady has laid off 18 employees, taking the company from 33 employees to just 15. It sucks seeing studios let go of staff like this. And I blame this solely on WB for wanting to go into the live service direction. I believe they are to blame for these employees losing their jobs. It's said that the game failing was a $200 million hit to revenue.