Category:

Game Reviews

Former Switch console exclusive Triangle Strategy is now available on PS5 and Xbox

by admin August 24, 2025

Square Enix has released its tactics RPG Triangle Strategy on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, following its release in 2022 on Switch and PC.

The game was the second to be developed in the HD-2D style, after Octopath Traveler. It features isometric grid-based combat, a political narrative depicting three warring kingdoms, and tasks players with making moral choices to shape the story.

Triangle Strategy is available on PlayStation and Xbox with a limited-time discount of 30 percent until 3rd September.

TRIANGLE STRATEGY | PS5 and Xbox Series X|S Announce TrailerWatch on YouTube

A VR version of the game is also available for Meta Quest headsets.

Triangle Strategy helped to popularise the HD-2D graphical style, that’s been used in the Octopath Traveler games, the Dragon Quest 3 remake, and forthcoming Switch game The Adventures of Elliot.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

Source link

August 24, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Lost Hellden is an action JRPG from veteran Final Fantasy and Gravity Rush developers, here’s a new gameplay trailer

by admin August 23, 2025

JRPG Lost Hellden has received a fresh gameplay trailer to show off its “Deep 2D” painted art style and action battle system.

The game, from Artisan Studios, was previously revealed as a 2025 Switch game, but has now been pushed back to 2026 and is set for release across Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam, Epic GoG).

Lost Hellden is a JRPG in a classic style, which is testament to its veteran developers. Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy 12, Tactics Ogre, Valkyria Chronicles) is behind the music and audio, while its illustrations are from Takeshi Oga (Gravity Rush, Siren).

Lost Hellden – Gameplay Trailer Watch on YouTube

It features hand-painted static backdrops, a Job system with skill tree, and action-style combat.

If you’re a fan of old school JRPGs, keep an eye on this.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Dune: Awakening’s first major DLC and story update is arriving very soon

by admin August 23, 2025

Dune: Awakening is getting a new DLC update as well as its next story chapter on the 10th September.

The story update, which will be free, has you investigate a series of murders. It follows on directly from the main story of the base game, and will take you beneath Arrakeen where all manner of secrets await you.

As for the DLC, it’ll cost $12.99 and is dubbed the “Lost Harvest” DLC. In it, you’ll be called to a mysterious crashed ship out in the desert, and be able to build a new ground vehicle: The Treadwheel. This offers “no material benefit” over base vehicles in the game according to the Dune: Awakening DLC blog post, and can be traded with other players without the DLC.

Watch the DLC and story update trailer here!Watch on YouTube

In addition, the DLC will come with a selection of new cosmetics allowing you to better customise yourself and your base. This DLC is included in the Dune: Awakening season pass, which can be bought separately or as part of the Deluxe and Ultimate editions of the game.

As for more free stuff, additional armours that should allow you to expand your wardrobe, and the Deep Desert is getting additional tweaks and changes.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Horror movie classic Halloween is getting the 1v4 multiplayer treatment, and it’s out next year

by admin August 23, 2025

John Carpenter’s Halloween is the latest horror movie classic to get the multiplayer treatment, and it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in 2026.

Halloween is being developed by Illfonic, the studio behind the likes of Friday the 13th: The Game, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, and Predator Hunting Grounds. And like those movie adaptations, Halloween is also being designed as a “one-versus-many” asymmetrical horror affair as the iconic Michael Myers pursues the residents of Haddonfield.

“In dynamic and ever-changing 1v4 asymmetrical multiplayer matches, hero players must arm themselves with everyday household items, weapons, and knowledge to combat an unpredictable and unkillable enemy,” Illfonic explains. “Convincing townsfolk and contacting the police will lead to increasingly powerful and thorough neighbourhood patrols. To even the odds, you can command and equip NPCs with weapons to outsmart or even overpower The Shape, providing precious windows for escape.”

Halloween announcement trailer.Watch on YouTube

Illfonic reckons its take on Halloween “masterfully recreates” the ambience of the original 1978 movie, with talk of multiple maps set across “authentic” Haddonfield locations, and a soundtrack inspired by John Carpenter’s classic score. Notably too, its familiar asymmetrical multiplayer mode will be accompanied by an offline single-player story mode featuring bots.

There’s no word of a release date for Halloween beyond its “2026” arrival on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but there’s a mood-setting trailer above.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

My favourite tech at Gamescom is this “falcon-shaped” split gaming keyboard

by admin August 23, 2025

I want to tell you about my favourite thing from Gamescom. It’s not the Xbox Ally X, it’s not an active sim racing brake pedal, and it’s not even that 720Hz tandem OLED monitor. It’s a keyboard – a very special keyboard with one glaring flaw. Let me explain.

The Falcata is another of Asus’ keyboards named after a sword (Falchion, Claymore), and in this case it’s a falcon-shaped sword that was used in the Iberian peninsula. I had no idea that “falcon” was a valid shape for a sword, but there you go. The keyboard itself isn’t Falcon-shaped (thankfully), instead it’s kind of normal 75 percent keyboard sized. It does look a little odd though, with a loop of USB wire up top connecting the left side to the right.

That’s because the keyboard splits in half when given a tug, allowing some interesting possibilities. The left side houses all of the internals, so you can use it fully standalone as a keypad, giving you a huge amount of mousing space even if you have a small desk. You can also keep that right side connected, but separate the two halves, angling them outward for a more comfortable typing position. The bonus here is that a convenient space opens up between the two halves, which is ideal for a steaming mug of tea.

Here’s what the keyboard looks like when you use a proper camera to take a photo, instead of relying on a camera phone in a weirdly lit press area on a boat. | Image credit: Asus

Beyond the split ergonomic design, the Falcata is quite a comfy keyboard for typing. The big difference here is the inclusion of four layers of sound dampening poron and silicone, quieting the keyboard while also making its report deeper and more satisfying. There are also PBT keycaps, which last longer than ABS alternatives and tend to have a bit more texture to them, and detachable wrist rests for each side.

The Falcata is also very capable when it comes to gaming, with a laundry list of “best mechanical keyboard 2025” features: magnetic (Hall Effect) switches, rapid trigger (keys react instantly to being pressed or released rather than only when passing set depth thresholds), SOCD (pairing keys so that pressing one automatically disables the other, useful for side-strafing in FPS titles), 8000Hz polling (rinses your battery life to minimise input latency). And yup, this keyboard has 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, so there is a built-in battery. You can also use the keyboard wired if you prefer, with 8000Hz being an option both wired and via the 2.4GHz connection.

The magnetic switches in the Falcata look just like this, but smaller.

You can see some of the four layers of sound-dampening poron and silicone here.
Image credit: Eurogamer

Manage cookie settings

Setting up your keyboard can take a second or hours, depending on your requirements, but you don’t need to install software to do this with the Falcata. Instead, you can access web software to rebind keys, adjust the RGB lighting or make macros. This is a continuing trend these days, and as someone that is contractually obligated to clutter up my computer with thousands of peripheral drivers and software, I feel very grateful.

Now here’s the bit where I lose the otherwise-interested reader: the Falcata costs £376 or $420, which is about 50 percent higher than even I expected. That’s a ludicrous price, even for the high-end specs and features offered, but sadly ergonomic keyboards like this do come with a massive mark-up. The keyboard isn’t yet out, so I hope there’s room for that price to come down before launch – or a cheaper wired model to be commissioned. Regardless, it’s likely that we’ll see more affordable imitators before too much longer. And maybe one of those keyboards will be my favourite piece of tech from Gamescom 2026.

Disclosure: Asus paid for flights and accommodation to Cologne for Gamescom so that we could see their new products in person.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

The Division 2 kicks off 10th anniversary year with The Division 2: Survivors, “an updated take on the survival extraction experience”

by admin August 23, 2025

The Division 2: Survivors is “an updated take on the survival extraction experience” coming to The Division 2.

At a panel at Gamescom, the company confirmed that though development is currently “in the early stages” under the watchful eye of creative director and “veteran of the Division from the early days of the original game”, Magnus Jansén, the team is keen to involve the community from the off.

The Division 2: The Pact – Official Launch Trailer.Watch on YouTube

“The Division 2: Survivors is as much your baby as it is ours, and we strive for transparency during its development. Clear communication and community involvement are a focus as we build the new experience, and we will be closely involving you as we move forward on the development journey,” said executive producer, Julian Gerighty.

There was no in-game artwork or screenshots to share, but Ubisoft did reveal a handful of concept art pieces, which you can see below.

Image credit: Ubisoft

We don’t quite know when to expect it – it’s still labelled as TBA for now – but we did get a little update on what else players can expect over the course of this year and next:

Image credit: Ubisoft | Image credit: Ubisoft

Interested in trying before you buy and maybe giving a little feedback as you go? Ubisoft is looking to refresh its Elite Task Program, so sign up now if you’re a “committed player [looking] to engage directly with the development team and assist in guiding the future of the Division”.

The Division Resurgence – the free-to-play mobile RPG shooter that picks up a few months after the events of the original game – is also looking for participants for closed tests on both iOS and Android. Ubisoft says it offers “the same gameplay experience as the Division games adapted to mobile gaming”, and “with a familiar map updated to reflect the passage of time, the Division Resurgence will bridge the narrative gap between the Division 1 and 2, adding to the existing lore with additional story beats over time.”

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Overwatch 2 season 18 patch notes

by admin August 23, 2025

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Published: Aug 22, 2025 01:00 pm

A new playable hero is just the beginning of a large swath of changes coming to Overwatch 2 in season 18.

Balancing changes are abound when it comes to things like Perks, Stadium Items and Powers, and more. Summer Games 2025 also returns, while Junkrat’s Loot Hunt event comes back again in September to mark the occasion.

Here’s what’s coming to OW2 in the new season when it launches on Aug. 26.

Overwatch 2 patch notes – Season 18

This is a pretty hefty update for OW2, including a new hero, plus the overhaul of many of the Perks introduced a few seasons ago, while also changing up a bunch of content within Stadium mode as well.

New support Hero – Wuyang

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

After a recent hero trial, the new water-wielding hero is available for all players to begin season 18. Here’s a look at his abilities and kit:

AbilityDescriptionInputXuanwu Staff
(Primary Fire)Fire a damaging water orb. Hold to control its trajectory and empower its explosion.LMB Restorative Stream
(Alternate Fire)Place a passive healing stream on an ally. Hold on the target to manually heal at an improved rate, consuming resource.RMBGuardian WaveSend a water wave forward that increases the amount of healing received by allies and knocks back enemies.ERushing TorrentRide water to move faster and jump higher.LShiftTidal Blast
(Ultimate)Protect an ally or yourself with water that detonates after a short duration. The explosion knocks down enemies and massively heals the host target.Q

New Perks

The majority of the roster has had at least one Perk removed and replaced with a new one, making for some fun new combinations to improve upon this year’s major update for the game that came in February.

I’ve highlighted some of the most interesting new Perks below.

Tank

Screenshot by Destructoid

D.Va

Precision Fusion – Major Perk
- Press Reload to reduce Fusion Cannon’s spread by 75 percent for 3 seconds.

Doomfist

Aftershock – Major Perk
- Enemies hit by Seismic Slam are slowed by 30 percent for 1.5 seconds.

Hazard

Explosive Impalements – Major Perk
- Bonespur hits mark targets with spikes. Quick Melee and Violent Leap’s Slash
  detonate them for 40 explosive damage.

Junker Queen

Rampant Change – Minor Perk
- Gain Unstoppable and refresh all cooldowns when using Rampage.

Orisa

Defense Protocol – Minor Perk
- Regenerate 100 health per second while charging Terra Surge.
Mobile Fortification – Minor Perk
- While Fortify is active, Orisa has no move speed reduction and no heat generation.

Ramattra

Relentless Form – Minor Perk
- While Nemesis Form is active, eliminations extend the duration by 1 second, half that during Annihilation.

Reinhardt

Barrier Recharge – Minor Perk
- Distance travelled while using Charge regenerates your Barrier Field by 150 per second.
Ignited Fury – Major Perk
- For each enemy you hit with Fire Strike, gain 2 seconds of 25 percent increased attack speed.

Roadhog

Shrapnel Launcher – Minor Perk
- Extend the range of Scrap Gun’s secondary fire by 50% and tighten its burst spread by 25 percent.
Pulled Pork – Major Perk
- Gain overhealth based on how far you pull enemies with Chain Hook, up to 250.

Sigma

Hyper Regeneration – Minor Perk
- 50 percent of Hyperspheres’ damage restores Experimental Barrier’s health.

Winston

Barrier Toss – Minor Perk
- Winston now throws his Barrier Projector forward when used.

Zarya

Energy Converter – Minor Perk
- Hits with Particle Cannon’s secondary fire generate 3 energy.

Damage

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Ashe

Remote Detonator – Minor Perk
- After using Dynamite, pressing E again causes it to detonate after a 0.5 second delay.

Bastion

Configuration Reload – Minor Perk
- Refresh the cooldown of A-36 Tactical Grenade when changing configurations.

Cassidy

Silver Bullet – Major Perk
- Peacekeeper’s secondary fire is replaced with a piercing shot that inflicts bleeding. Combat Roll and Deadeye reset its cooldown.

Echo

Focused Rush – Minor Perk
- Focusing Beam’s range is increased by 4 meters and movement speed is increased by 10 percent when active.
Partial Scan – Minor Perk
- Duplicate starts with 50 percent of its ultimate charge.

Freya

Hunters Instinct – Minor Perk
- Direct hits with Take Aim reveal enemies to Freja for 3 seconds.
Momentum Boost – Minor Perk
- Quick Dash distance is increased by 20 percent.
Aerial Recovery – Major Perk
- After using Updraft, heal for 30 health per second until Freja touches the ground.

Genji

Swift Cuts – Minor Perk
- Quick Melee reduces the cooldown of Swift Strike by 3 seconds.

Hanzo

Swift Lunge – Minor Perk
- Arrow hits reduce the cooldown of Lunge by up to 1 second, based on charge.

Junkrat

Mine Recycling – Minor Perk
- Killing blows with Concussion Mine restore one charge.
Bomb Voyage – Major Perk
- After launching with Concussion Mine, Junkrat gains 35 percent increased attack speed for 3 seconds.

Mei

Skating Rink – Minor Perk
- Allies within Blizzard gain 25 percent increased movement speed and heal for 50 health per second.
Glacial Propulsion – Minor Perk
- Double jumping creates a small ice pillar that launches Mei into the air.

Pharah

Sky Spy – Major Perk
- Concussive Blast reveals targets to Pharah for 3 seconds. During this, the next direct Rocket Launcher hit per target deals 30 percent extra damage.

Reaper

Death’s Shadow – Minor Perk
- Shadow Step’s cast time and cooldown are 25 percent faster, but the range is reduced by 25 percent.

Sojourn

Deceleration Field – Minor Perk
- Enemies hit by Disruptor Shot are slowed by 25 percent.
Friction Generators – Major Perk
- While sliding, Power Slide generates up to 50 energy.

Soldier: 76

Tactical Salvo – Minor Perk
- Helix Rockets cooldown is reduced by 80 percent during Tactical Visor.

Sombra

Adept Hacker – Major Perk
- Hacked health packs provide up to 50 overhealth to Sombra.

Symmetra

Hovering Barrier – Major Perk
- Teleporter gains the option to create a forward moving barrier instead. Pressing E again slows down the barrier’s movement.

Torbjörn

Hammer Time – Minor Perk
- Move 20 percent faster while Forge Hammer is equipped.

Tracer

Kinetic Reload – Minor Perk
- Melee hits grant 20 ammo.

Venture

Deep Burrow – Minor Perk
- Drill Dash distance is 50 percent longer while burrowed.
SMART Extender – Major Perk
- Empower SMART Excavator with E to increase its maximum projectile range by 100 percent for 4 seconds.

Widowmaker

Sniper’s Instinct – Minor Perk
- Scoped shots charge 100 percent faster for 2 seconds after using Grappling Hook.
Seeker Mine – Major Perk
- Venom Mine now fires poison darts at enemies within 10 meters and remains active after triggered.

Support

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Ana

Speed Serum – Minor Perk
- Nano Boost grants a 40 percent movement speed boost to both Ana and her target.

Baptiste

Biotic Reloader – Minor Perk
- Hitting an entire three-round burst reloads a healing projectile. Healing projectile direct hits reloads 3 primary fire ammo.

Brigitte

Combat Medic – Minor Perk
- Melee attacks reduce the cooldown of Repair Pack by 0.5 seconds.
Inspiring Strike – Major Perk
- Shield Bash grants 30 percent increased movement speed for 2 seconds. Inspire’s healing is instant when activated by Shield Bash.

Illari

Solar Flare – Major Perk
- Press Primary Fire while using Solar Rifle’s healing beam to consume all energy, healing allies in front of Illari for up to 120 healing.

Juno

Lift Off – Major Perk
- Martian Overboots can now triple jump.

Kiriko

Ready Step – Major Perk
- Swift Step grants Kiriko 40 percent increased attack and reload speed for 2 seconds.

Lifeweaver

Petal Power – Major Perk
- Allies gain 25 percent attack speed while standing on a raised Petal Platform.

Lúcio

Soundwave Rider – Minor Perk
- Wall Riding empowers your next Soundwave, increasing its knockback by 25 percent and damage by 50 percent.

Mercy

Divine Momentum – Minor Perk
- Increases Mercy’s travel speed by 15 percent after cancelling Guardian Angel.

Moira

Destruction’s Divide – Minor Perk
- Coalescence can be toggled between pure healing or pure damage, with 25 percent greater effect.
Reversal – Major Perk
- Reactivating Biotic Orb reverses its direction.
Phantom Step – Major Perk
- Fade lasts 0.5 seconds longer and boosts jump height by 50 percent.

Zenyatta

Transcendant Condemnation – Minor Perk
- While using Transcendence, apply Discord Orb to all enemies within range.

The full list of Perks, including changed and removed ones, can be found on Blizzard’s website.

Stadium changes

New changes to Stadium mode in season 18 include the addition of Quick Play, a new map type called Payload Race, three new maps (Powder Keg Mines, Thames District, Oasis Gardens), and new playable heroes in Winston, Brigitte, and Pharah, with Tracer joining later in the season.

There’s a lot of tweaks to Items and Powers, too, so check out the full patch notes for specific details.

Roadhog revamp

Image via Blizzard

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Roadhog is getting a rework again. Say goodbye to his Pig Pen throwable trap, and welcome back his classic dual-firing kit. Here’s how Roadhog is changing:

Scrap Gun
- Reverted to classic Primary and Secondary Fire functionality.
Primary Fire
- No longer includes a volley of 4 extra large, long-ranged projectiles.
- Number of projectiles increased from 16 to 25.
- Damage per pellet reduced from 6.25 to 6.
Secondary Fire
- Initial volley no longer crits.
Pig Pen
Take a Breather
- Moved from Secondary Fire to Ability 2.
- The option to toggle on the ability is now on by default.
- Added Ability 1, Primary Fire, and Secondary Fire as additional cancel buttons while
  toggled.
- Minimum time before cancelable reduced from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds.

Advanced Info Panel

After a recent tease, OW2 confirmed it will add a new panel for Advanced Information regarding a multitude of facets of the game, like hero abilities.

“From precise damage numbers and healing output to cooldowns and other critical stats, every value will be laid out for you to make smarter plays and master your kits,” Blizzard said. “Whether you’re looking to fine-tune your aim in Competitive or curious about the real impact of your abilities, the Advanced Info Panel will give you the numbers you need to level up your strats and play with purpose.”

Hero Progression 2.0

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Hero Progression changes in season 18 “rebuilds the system from the ground up” and is all about cosmetics to show off your proficiency and playtime for each hero. Here’s what leveling up your individual heroes can bring, with descriptions directly from Blizzard:

Progression Level represents how much you play overall. Every time you level up a hero, your Progression Level also goes up.
Your hero and account level badges are automatically prestiged after reaching certain levels.
Level up your heroes to earn Ascended borders, which displays in most areas during the course of a match. Opponents will not be able to see your Ascended prestige until after the match begins.
As you level up, kickstart your cosmetic collection for your favorite heroes by earning Highlight Intros, Emotes, Victory Poses, Player Icons, Credits, and more.
Additionally, unlock evolving Name Cards and Player Titles to show off your high level heroes!
Progression accolades can be hidden in Streamer Mode settings.

Competitive Play – Hero Skill Rating

SR is back in OW2, but this time for individual heroes, allowing players to analyze their skill level for the different characters in the game. This is purely cosmetic, though, and does not affect matchmaking in any way, with each hero skill level set between 1 and 5,000.

There’s also a rank reset with the new season, due to the plethora of different changes alongside the update.

The full, comprehensive patch notes for season 18 can be found on the OW2 website. The new season begins on Aug. 26 at 1pm CT.

Destructoid is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

A few hours into The Rogue Prince of Persia’s 1.0 release, it’s Dead Cells with beautifully balletic carnage – but hopefully there’s a bit more to it

by admin August 23, 2025

Our pal the Prince of Persia has been through a lot since his seminal debut in 1989, his form ever-shifting like, well, the sands of time. But throughout it all, from his eye-popping rotoscoped origins to his leap into the third dimension, and then, over the last few years, back into the side-on world again, there’s one thing that’s consistently defined the series’ core: movement. Sure, old Prince was positively plodding compared to his later incarnations, but a sense of unparalleled fluidity has stayed true. I say all this, because The Rogue Prince of Persia, which has just had its 1.0 release on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation Plus, and Game Pass after a year in Steam early access, still manages to feel like part of the series’ nearly four-decade legacy, despite yet another reimagining of its form.

It’s admittedly still early days for me as far as The Rogue Prince of Persia goes, and I’ve only had a couple of hours with it right now – but already I’m impressed with how chef’s kiss its movement feels. Before we get too deep into that, though, it’s worth taking a step back. The Rogue Prince of Persia, if you didn’t already know, comes from Evil Empire, the studio responsible for the acclaimed Dead Cells’ long tail of post-launch support before original developer Motion Twin pulled the plug. And there’s unquestionably a lot of the old in Evil Empire’s new.

The Rogue Prince of Persia might swap Dead Cell’s dark, dank fantasy aesthetic for the shimmering domes and arid vistas of the titular city – here, you’re attempting to overthrow Nogai the Hun and his invading army – but at its core, it’s still a combat-heavy side-scroller featuring labyrinthine procedurally assembled levels, persistent power-ups, temporary per-run weapons and buffs, and, yes, a roguelike structure. You fight, you die, you go again, slowly gaining news skills and upgrades in the hope that next time, this time, will be the one. It’s certainly not a carbon copy, but it’s familiar enough – right down to specifics like its fast-travel interface – that it’s been hard to shake the feeling that, as a Dead Cells fan, I’ve already danced this particular dance a few too many times before.

The Rogue Prince of Persia release trailer.Watch on YouTube

Exactly how much that matters, though, I’m not yet entirely sure. And mainly that’s down to movement. As is befitting of the series’ legacy, The Rogue Prince of Persia feels fantastic from the off, with a sense of fluidity to the Prince’s parkour-inspired moveset that’s bordering on the sublime. He’s a nimble one; slickly switching from leaps to lunges to wall runs to pole jumps with fleet-footed abandon, and all with the press of a couple of intuitively arranged buttons. And it’s fast. There’s a rhythm to the traversal-skewed action, as you sprint, drop, squat, pounce, slash, and vault over enemies, that – after a bit of initial adjustment – is enormously rewarding. And shrewedly, actually rewarding, given that perfectly timed acrobatics further increase your nimbleness across the world.

That gratifying sense of movement extends to combat too, with melee and ranged attacks managing to feel as punchy and crunchy as the Prince is quick. And the way all those traversal tricks cleverly fold into combat encounters helps give The Rogue Prince of Persia a vibe of its own. All of this, I should note, is wrapped up in some fantastic presentation. It’s gorgeously animated for starters – little moments like the Prince hurling himself backward into each level’s fast-travel wells adds bags of personality to the experience – and the varied biomes look beautiful too. The whole thing’s fashioned from a mix of 3D foregrounds and 2D backdrops seamlessly brought together by a visual style reminiscent of famed comic book artist Moebius. And while you could perhaps argue the game’s original art – with its strikingly purple Prince – was a little more characterful before its mid-development do-over, it’s still a looker.

So a few hours in, my thoughts are mixed. There’s a sense Evil Empire could perhaps have stepped further out of Dead Cells’ shadow, because there’s an underlying familiarity to The Rogue Prince of Persia that’s dulling my enthusiasm a little. My hope, though, is it’ll eventually start to open out into something a little bolder. But for now at least, that movement – that beautiful balletic carnage – is carrying me through.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Overwatch 2 Is Getting A Persona Crossover, And I’m Not Joking

by admin August 23, 2025

Overwatch 2’s next season is bringing a water-bending hero, some major overhauls to its build-based Stadium mode, and new Perks for every character on the roster. I’m not here to talk about all that. I’m here to talk about the collaboration I could not have fathomed that was teased at the very end of the hero shooter’s latest trailer. Blizzard and Atlus have worked out a deal to put skins based on Persona characters in the hero shooter. What a world we live in.

I do not care for the Fortnite-ification of Overwatch 2, which has become such a core part of Blizzard’s strategy these days, so even though Persona is one of my favorite video game series of all time, I’m not particularly thrilled that this collaboration is happening. That said, I am morbidly curious as to what this collaboration ends up looking like. The brief clip at the end of the trailer shows someone dressed as Joker, the main character of Persona 5, but we only see them depicted as a silhouette, so it’s unclear who is beneath the mask. Could it be Wuyang, the new support hero joining the roster this season? That doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. Beyond the mysterious Joker skin, we don’t know if this is strictly a Persona 5 collaboration or if we’ll see skins based on characters from other games like Persona 3 and 4. Blizzard could throw a real curveball in there and have cosmetics based on characters from the often-forgotten first two games. The teaser does include what seems to be a new Play of the Game animation made to look like Joker’s All-Out Attack victory pose, so it looks like we’ll get more than just skins during the event.

Beyond turning Overwatch into Phantom Thieves, Overwatch 2’s season 18 is adding new modes and characters to Stadium, as well as allowing you to play it in Quickplay rather than just in ranked modes. This way, you won’t have to worry about losing your rank if you have a bad match or two. Stadium is already one of the biggest time sinks in Overwatch 2 and going through an entire game just to lose your rank feels bad, so this is a good alternative. In the main game, every hero is getting at least one new ability-altering Perk they can choose between over the course of a match. Some will be getting more than one new Perk, however, as Blizzard plans to rework more than 50 across all characters.

Lastly, Blizzard released a new animated trailer for Wuyang that gives us more insight into his family dynamics and also might tease that his sister, the fire-wielding Anran, may join the roster at some point down the line.

Season 18 begins on August 26.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Sam Fisher stares at us through his iconic three-eyed goggles.

Game Reviews

Deathwatch Is Out October, And Sam Fisher Is Old

by admin August 23, 2025

Ubisoft’s long-promised animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch has finally been given a longer trailer and a release date. Due October 14, the Liev Schreiber-fronted anime also stars comedian Janet Varney as Anna “Grim” Grímsdóttir, and has been in the works for about four-hundred-thousand years.

OK, five years, but it really has dragged on. In the meantime we learned an entire Splinter Cell movie starring Tom Hardy was canned, while there’s been no word on other announced Ubisoft TV and movie projects like Watch_Dogs, Beyond Good & Evil, The Division, Ghost Recon, Riders Republic, a Rabbids feature, and even a Just Dance movie. So honestly, the fact that anything at all is coming to screens feels fairly miraculous.

The trailer, however, is…not what I was expecting. In 2024, Michael Ironside—who voiced title character Sam Fisher in the games—said that he was “too old” to play the part at 75, with the role handed over to 57-year-old Liev Schreiber for the anime. So it’s something of a surprise to see Sam appearing in the trailer looking like a 75-year-old man.

There’s still no clear idea what the show will actually be about, beyond it being personal to Fisher, following the death of someone called Douglas Shetland. What we do see is a lot of guns being fired, and Sam mistaking a fair few people for knife racks. Oh, and while it’s weirdly tossed away in the middle of the short teaser, at least the three-light googles appear at one point. I mean, I’m not in charge of Netflix marketing, but given most of the trailer looks like Sam Fisher: The Retirement Home Years, I’d perhaps have ended on the iconic headwear and maybe something that suggested some sort of intrigue.

The better news is the team behind the show. The creator is Derek Kolstad, responsible for Bob Odenkirk’s reinvention as an action hero in Nobody, and the writer of the first three John Wick movies. That’s some caliber, although I struggle not to imagine the scripts for John Wick are mostly “John punches a man, and then another man and then he shoots three guys, and then he gets shot in the leg but shakes it off and punches four other guys and throws knives at a guy.” Along with Kolstad is a writing team that features scribes from Shooter, and some fresh faces too.

It’s an oddly witless and plotless teaser, although given Kolstad is head writer, it seems implausible the show itself could fall that way. Right? Please? As for Fisher’s age, perhaps the show is canon to the games, given the last one—Splinter Cell: Blacklist—came out an extraordinary 12 years ago. Maybe it’s to make the people who remember playing the games feel seen.

Source link

August 23, 2025 0 comments