2023-02

Nintendo leveraged today’s Nintendo Direct as a chance to provide a new glimpse at Pikmin 4. Like in the original game, we see a human-like lead character crash-landing on a mysterious planet in the trailer, but there’s plenty of new twists to keep things fresh. We see a variety of Pikmin with different abilities, including Ice Pikmin that help to freeze enemies and targets. There’s also a cute dog-like creature that seems to ally with the player to smash through barriers, act as a mount, and other as-yet unrevealed capabilities. Nintendo also appeared to reveal a release date for Pikmin 4, flashing up the date of July 21, 2023. It’s a good bet that players will be able to have those tiny sentient plant followers trailing behind them on that date when the game arrives on Switch.  ...

Nintendo announced today plans for a paid expansion pass for Splatoon 3. The first of two planned waves will be available spring of this year. It will allow players to hang out in Inkopolis from the original Splatoon game, and even meet and interact with characters from the original game, like the Squid Sisters, who will perform during Splat Fests. No date or details were offered for the second wave, but it showed a Squid Kid in what appeared to be a snow-covered city. It also seems to have a more melancholy, sad tone. The second wave will be called Side Dish. The Splatoon 3 expansion pass will be available to pre-purchase today. ...

Ever since the first bundle arrived in 2014, The Jackbox Party Pack has been a staple in many households when friends and family come over. The zany, creative, and often-irreverent games have proven to be crowd-pleasers over the last decade of annual iterations, with Jackbox Party Pack 9 releasing last October. Today, Jackbox Games announced a tenth edition of its party-game bundle, The Jackbox Party Pack 10, which will arrive this fall. Like its predecessors, The Jackbox Party Pack 10 promises five games that offer players the ability to be creative, funny, and intelligent, often in an effort to earn the approval of their competitors and/or spectators. While we don't know what games will be included in The Jackbox Party Pack 10, Jackbox games will announce and detail the included titles in the coming months. The included games will be playable in...

Forspoken players still exploring Athia or those hoping to jump in the future should be happy to know that developer Luminous Productions has announced an impending patch to make the adventure smoother across the board.  In a statement by game director Takeshi Aramaki, the update will improve Forspoken’s graphics, performance, and playability while also adding “general updates” and fixes to both the PS5 and PC versions. There's no release date for the patch, nor does the message elaborate on the specifics of these improvements.  “We are committed to making Forspoken the most enjoyable experience possible, and will provide an update about the timing of the next patch as soon as possible,” says Aramaki in the statement, which you can read in full below (click the image to enlarge).  Forspoken earned a 7.5 out of 10 review score from Game...

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Everything you need to know to preorder The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the kingdom (aka Breath of the Wild 2), coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch in 2023....

To many, Cities: Skylines is the premier city-building simulation. When the PC launched in 2015, it quickly became a fan-favorite release for those who felt let down by modern SimCity titles. When the sim title arrived on consoles two years later, the less-intuitive controls didn't detract too much from the experience, enabling it to still deliver a terrific city-building experience. Now, developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interview have announced Cities: Skylines Remastered, which improves the experience for console players in myriad ways. This new version of Cities: Skylines aims to let players create bigger and better metropolises than ever before. In addition to the obvious graphical and performance upgrades enabled by the newer hardware, players can take their city-planning skills to the next level with up to 25 buildable tiles instead the 9 on PS4 and Xbox One versions. Additionally, players...

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A new Nintendo Direct will air tomorrow, February 8, at 2 p.m. Pacific/5 p.m. Eastern.  Tune in at 2 p.m. PST tomorrow, Feb. 8, for a #NintendoDirect livestream featuring roughly 40 minutes of information mostly focused on #NintendoSwitch games launching in the first half of 2023. Watch it live here: https://t.co/8ce3reaEig pic.twitter.com/Pmf41dQWIw — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 7, 2023 The event runs for around 40 minutes and will highlight Switch games launching in the first half of 2023. In terms of notable first and third-party exclusives that we already know about, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon fall under that range. It’s plausible we’ll also see one last push for indies coming to Switch soon, such as Have a Nice Death, Ib, and Storyteller.  Given that this is Nintendo, it's always possible they'll...

Velan Studios, the developer behind Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and Knockout City, has announced Hot Wheels: Rift Rally. This new mixed-reality racing game comes by way of a collaboration with toy maker Mattel, playing off the experience the studio accrued through past games. Much like Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Hot Wheels: Rift Rally comes with a physical remote-controlled car, as well as physical course-creation elements, allowing players to design their own tracks within their house and race using the device's camera. The aptly named Chameleon physical RC car used for Hot Wheels: Rift Rally can digitally transform into more than 140 different vehicle variations, including iconic Hot Wheels vehicles like Twin Mill, Bone Shaker, Mach Speeder, and more. Rift Rally also includes several all-new original and licensed vehicles. In Hot Wheels: Rift Rally, players can enjoy the...