2024-06

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was one of the brand-new reveals during today's Xbox Game Showcase. Developed by Sandfall Interactive (its debut title), the turn-based RPG unfolds in a fantastical world governed by a powerful figure who wipes out countless innocents every year via a mysterious number.  Clair Obscur's world is at the mercy of the Paintress, who awakens once a year to paint a cursed number on a monolith. That number causes every person of that age to instantly vanish in wisps of smoke. The citizens dealing with this recurring threat know that her next number is "33" and a brave collection of them have one day to mount an expedition to her island to stop her once and for all. However, these "Expeditioners" are merely the latest of dozens of failed attempts at killing the Paintress. Thus, this team...

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was one of the brand-new reveals during today's Xbox Game Showcase. Developed by Sandfall Interactive (its debut title), the turn-based RPG unfolds in a fantastical world governed by a powerful figure who wipes out countless innocents every year via a mysterious number.  Clair Obscur's world is at the mercy of the Paintress, who awakens once a year to paint a cursed number on a monolith. That number causes every person of that age to instantly vanish in wisps of smoke. The citizens dealing with this recurring threat know that her next number is "33" and a brave collection of them have one day to mount an expedition to her island to stop her once and for all. However, these "Expeditioners" are merely the latest of dozens of failed attempts at killing the Paintress. Thus, this team...

Beethoven & Dinosaur, the developer behind The Artful Escape, revealed its next game during the 2024 Xbox Showcase, and it's all about being a teenager, getting into trouble, listening to music, and apparently flying through the air (though it is likely a metaphor). The trailer, which features an impressive art style and character animation that drops frames à la Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will feature music from bands like Devo, Roxy Music, Lush, and The Smashing Pumpkins, among others. The game is being published by Annapurna Interactive and is coming some time in 2025.  ...

South of Midnight, Compulsion Games' (We Happy Few, Contrast) next third-person adventure first revealed last year, received an extended look at gameplay during the Xbox Games Showcase. Set in a fantastical world inspired by the Louisiana Bayou, the game is expected to be released sometime next year.  The trailer's description describes South of Midnight's premise: "When a hurricane rips through Prospero, Hazel is pulled into a Southern Gothic world where reality and fantasy are interwoven, and ancient creatures from folklore emerge." We see that as Hazel rides through the bayou-inspired swamp atop a giant, talking catfish. The beautiful art direction combined with the limited-frame animation (think the Spider-verse films) gives the game a distinct look, while a soul-infused soundtrack evokes the culture of the region. The action shows Hazel fighting off monsters with magic-infused daggers and soaring though the sky...

In a press release for the newly announced Winter Burrow, the game is described as a “cozy woodland survival game,” though we have some doubts about the cozy part, given that the tail end of the trailer features the protagonist’s friend being taken away to be eatern by a hungry owl. With that said, much of the rest of the game does seem to match an expectation of crafting, baking, resource gathering, and many of the other features you’d expect out of a survival game, albeit with an adorable aesthetic of anthropomorphic mice as the visual style. Publisher Noodlecake intends to release the game on Xbox consoles, and PC in early 2025. Give a look to the trailer to get a better understanding of how the game plays.  ...

This month, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (you read that right – Dreadwolf is no more) graces the cover of Game Informer. After years developing Baldur's Gate and its sequel early in its history, BioWare struck out to create its own fantasy RPG. That series began with Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. It was followed up with Dragon Age II in 2011, and then Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014. While the Dragon Age series' history has its ups and downs, fans have been patiently waiting for BioWare to return to the franchise, and 2024 is finally the year.  We visited BioWare's Edmonton, Canada, office for an exclusive look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including a look at its character creator, its prologue and opening missions, and more. We also spoke to many of the game's leads about the name change, the series'...

The next expansion for Fallout 76 is called Skyline Valley and it launches next week. More specifically, Skyline Valley expands the game's map southward to the all-new Shenandoah region on June 12.  There, players will investigate the cause of an electrical storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63. In this mysterious vault, players will meet its dwellers and discover a new Ghoul type called The Lost, too.  Check it out for yourself in the Fallout 76: Skyline Valley trailer below:  As you can see from the trailer above, the Shenandoah region is not looking so great in post-apocalyptic America. Plus, the trailer also reveals that Fallout 76 players can play as Ghouls starting sometime next year.  Are you going to play Fallout 76's Skyline Valley expansion next week? Let us know in the comments below!...

Today, we received an in-depth look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the latest entry in Treyarch's popular, long-running subseries to one of gaming's biggest franchises. As part of that, we learned the series is implementing a new movement system, bringing back round-based Zombies and Classic Prestige, and taking us to the year 1991 for its campaign. We also learned another key piece of information: when we'll be able to play it. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 arrives on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 25. Alongside that, players can expect a campaign that hopes to instill a sense of paranoia and intrigue with the Black Ops team going rogue in order to remove an entity that has infiltrated the highest levels of government, as well as a competitive multiplayer suite...

The Xbox Games Showcase revealed three new models of Series X/S consoles coming this holiday. They include two all-digital models and a beefier Series X. If you're all about digital gaming, the new All-Digital Series X and Series S boxes are for you. Both come in "robot white" and sport a 1TB SSD. The Series S is basically a white version of the black 1TB Series S revealed last year. The third console is a special edition "galaxy black" Series X that features a 2 TB SSD (and includes a disc drive) along with a green-accented controller. Here are the prices: All-Digital Xbox Series S (1TB) - $349.99 All-Digital Xbox Series X (1TB) - $449.99 Special Edition Xbox Series X (2TB) - $599.99 ...

The Xbox Games Showcase revealed three new models of Series X/S consoles coming this holiday. They include two all-digital models and a beefier Series X. If you're all about digital gaming, the new All-Digital Series X and Series S boxes are for you. Both come in "robot white" and sport a 1TB SSD. The Series S is basically a white version of the black 1TB Series S revealed last year. The third console is a special edition "galaxy black" Series X that features a 2 TB SSD (and includes a disc drive) along with a green-accented controller. Here are the prices: All-Digital Xbox Series S (1TB) - $349.99 All-Digital Xbox Series X (1TB) - $449.99 Special Edition Xbox Series X (2TB) - $599.99 ...