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Share of the Week: Days Gone Remastered – LandscapesLast week, we asked you to share portraits of broken down and nature-filled landscapes from Days Gone Remastered using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: dfgmendes shares a snowy mountain top MrioMoreno5 shares waterfalls along the canyon AdamWilson82 shares a winding wooden path into the abyss tulippooh3 shares a hazy forest morning meza6_9 […]

May 16

World of Warcraft’s Player Housing Is Deeper Than I Imagined — Hands-On Impressions<img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/16/f743048e/wow_housing_interior_1.jpeg" width="800" height="450" alt="World of Warcraft Player housing" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> Player housing is finally coming to World of Warcraft after 20 years in <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/11/06/blizzard-reveals-three-new-world-of-warcraft-expansions-starting-with-the-war">the upcoming Midnight expansion,</a> and I went hands-on with the new feature at Blizzard’s Boston office earlier this week. Despite experiencing an early, incomplete development build, the housing system’s capabilities have thoroughly impressed me. This new avenue for rewards provides yet another carrot on a stick to keep players like me returning to Azeroth.  In fact, after returning home from my session, I promptly reinstalled World of Warcraft to begin catching up on the latest expansion, The War Within, so I’m fully prepared for the long-requested feature. However, Blizzard tells me owning a home in Azeroth is a simple, low-cost effort — even new, inexperienced players should be able to afford a house soon after leaving the starting area. While I might retroactively unlock rewards by completing quests I’ve missed, there are no requirements I need to worry about satisfying before Blizzard introduces its neighborhoods. <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/16/5c89d1db/wow_housing_neighborhood_1.jpeg" alt="World of Warcraft Player housing" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default"> “If you come in on day one and say, ‘I really want a house in the Horde map,’ we’ll get you there pretty quickly. We want to get you a house you like […] and into a neighborhood with people you like—whether those are your friends, guild mates, or just people that vaguely align with the type of player you are,” Principal Designer Jesse Kurlancheek says. Neighborhoods, each hosting roughly 50 plots of land, are instanced and persistent. Your neighbors won’t change unless they choose to move away. Alliance neighborhoods feature biomes reminiscent of Westfall, Duskwood, and Elwynn Forest, among others. The Horde can purchase land in environments similar to Durotar’s redrock landscapes, the Tauren’s mesas, and coastlines where Trolls typically reside.  Blizzard doesn’t answer most questions related to neighborhood activities, external decorations, or how mounts, pets, and other collectibles might interact with those features. Notably, Kurlancheek does not envision neighborhoods like subdivisions; instead, he reiterates that the team wants to help players realize unique homes, inside and out.  <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/16/cac0ebc6/wow_housing_interior_5.jpeg" alt="World of Warcraft Player housing" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default"> “We're still figuring out what game functionality to include, but it’s important we don't associate player power with housing. You won't get a stove that gives you +5 cooking or anything like that. If we do [make it interactive], it’ll be just a stove you can use,” Kurlancheek tells me.  Adding rooms or interior decorations works just as you’d expect: select the object from the asset library and drop it onto the floor or hang it on the wall. Additionally, you can enter Advanced Mode to scale, rotate, and position the asset using gizmos – the colorful shapes representing X, Y, and Z axes in 3D software engines – to situate it wherever you like easily. Gravity does not affect building components, so players can presumably create floating platforms or kitbash items to create new assets.  <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/16/bd01ea90/wowscrnshot_051225_141054.jpg" alt="World of Warcraft Player Housing Preview" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default"> For example, I designed a small tavern with elements from Orgrimmar, Frostwolf, and Pandaren art sets. While the build’s asset library didn’t have many cooking appliances, I obscured half the mesh of a campfire pauldron inside of a Pandaren bar table to simulate an active stovetop. I complemented the fixture with cheeseboards, beverage steins, and a large keg before bringing it all together with stone floors and wall textures you might find in an Orcish establishment.  “You'll get decorations for your house the same way you get items in the rest of World of Warcraft. You can get them from questing, raiding, Mythic+ dungeons, and achievements,” Kurlancheek says. “It's really exciting having a brand new rewards vector that's completely orthogonal to everything, because now we can incentivize players that may not have wanted to do other content.” Both old and new quests may offer decorations upon completion, so returning players are likely to obtain many retroactive rewards when logging in for the first time after the expansion drops. With 20 years' worth of content to consider, there are going to be many decorations available at launch, with more coming later as Blizzard updates older assets for implementation. While the functionality wasn’t ready for my visit, players can discover new items to unlock using a similar menu to how they currently search for equipment transmogs.  <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2025/05/16/2430661f/wowscrnshot_051225_102259.jpg" alt="World of Warcraft Player Housing Preview" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default"> “There are plans in place for people to be able to see items and know how they can obtain them, so that they can search for and find them. We're also providing a [decor] starter pack with a wide variety when you get your house,” Game Producer Rachel Bussone says. “If you're someone who hasn’t played much before, haven't gotten a lot of previous achievements, and you're worried that you won't have anything at the start, we'll have a lot of stuff available.”  Despite essential tools like a duplicate button still missing, the early glimpse of player housing Blizzard gave me left me very excited for the future of World of Warcraft. I’d still love to see the inclusion of non-uniform mesh scaling and custom light sources, but the building tool provides deep customization in an easy-to-understand package. I cannot wait to own a home in Azeroth — it’s surely cheaper than the real thing.Disclosure: Activision Blizzard covered flight and hotel accommodations to Boston. Game Informer's editorial team proudly remains impartial, professional, and committed to the truth in all forms of our coverage.

May 16

Latest New Shonen Jump Manga Called Otr of the Flame Shueisha announced its new Shonen Jump manga series is called Otr of the Flame . It can be found in English on both MangaPlus and Viz Media . Only the first chapter is available now. Otr lives in the Forest Kingdom, which ended up under siege by the Ice Kingdom. As a result, it’s basically winter all year round. He wanted to do something to help his sister Sanna and people in his community, even though he was considered too young and perhaps unsuitable to be a warrior. So he heads to the kingdom’s fortress to act as a cook. The fortress captain Alajoki noticed something unusual when Otr breathed on the fire there to “help it last longer,” and cautioned the boy while also assuring him he’ll meet his father in Valhalla and make him proud no matter what he does. When Ice Kingdom Captain Beezbl and his forces break in, things look dire, but Otr manages to fight back and get a chance to be the hero he dreamed of by protecting the flame. If the art or style looks familiar, it’s because mangaka Yuki Kawaguchi is something of an established creator. Previously, he worked on The Hunter’s Guild: Red Hood , following a 14th Gold Future Cup win. However, prior to this series, the creative previously tended to work on original one-shot series. This is the second new Shonen Jump manga series to debut in a row. May 2025 kicked off with Magical Girl and Narco War debuting. And at the end of April 2025, Nice Prison launched. War of the Adults and GGG also showed up for the first time in April 2025. Otr of the Flame is now running in Shonen Jump , with the first chapter available worldwide in multiple languages. Chapter two of the series will debut on May 18, 2025. The post Latest New Shonen Jump Manga Called Otr of the Flame appeared first on Siliconera .

May 12

The Unholy Priest Free DownloadThe Unholy Priest Direct Download: The Unholy Priest offers a thrilling blend of simulation and horror genres, creating a unique and immersive experience. Run a spooky funeral service deep in a cursed and terrifying forest. By day, greet mourning customers at the reception desk, handle requests from simple burials to elaborate memorial services, and save […] The post The Unholy Priest Free Download first appeared on WorldofPCGames .

May 12

Ithya: Magic Studies Free DownloadIthya: Magic Studies Direct Download: Unlock beautifully crafted scenes, from serene forests to mystical ancient cities, each providing a calming background for study and creative pursuits. Discover a world created by artist ‘Blue Turtle’ featuring unique, hand-drawn illustrations. Set the tone for each session by adjusting the environment to match your mood. Choose between day, […] The post Ithya: Magic Studies Free Download first appeared on WorldofPCGames .

May 12

How to unlock the Uncrafting Station in Disney Dreamlight Valley Do you have a ton of unused Disney Dreamlight Valley lying around? Do you struggle to figure out what to do with it? Thankfully, the Cheshire Cat has a solution, but it requires completing a few of his friendship quests. What is his solution, then? The Cheshire Cat can teach you how to make an Uncrafting Station, letting you take objects and break them down into their raw resources. Here's how to unlock and use Disney Dreamlight Valley's Uncrafting Station. How to get the Uncrafting Station in Disney Dreamlight Valley Unlocking the Uncrafting Station requires completing the Cheshire Cat's level seven friendship quest . This mission, also titled The Uncrafting Station, walks you through the Cheshire Cat's abilities with destroying objects and receiving their raw materials. You'll then craft the station before viewing a brief tutorial on how to use it. Screenshot by Destructoid There are three steps to completing this quest and unlocking the Uncrafting Station: Destroy Wildly Jubilant Topiaries Gather Blue Spores Craft the Uncrafting Station Before making the station, the Cheshire Cat will ask you to craft and destroy Wildly Jubilant Topiaries. After crafting and placing them, the Cheshire Cat will ask you to break them, revealing his powers of returning their raw resources. He'll show this off further using balloon arches, letting you gain some flowers and other items to use however you wish. Your next goal is to venture into the Alice in Wonderland Realm to collect Blue Spores. They'll mostly appear along pathways, with some clustered around massive blue mushrooms scattered around the beginning area. Travel around this area to find some spores, giving you one of the most important materials for crafting the Uncrafting Station. Screenshot by Destructoid Lastly, you'll need to stockpile the following materials for the Uncrafting Station recipe: Mushroom (28) Glass (17) Purple Bell Flower (6) Blue Passion Lily (4) Hardwood (35) Blue Spores This recipe isn't cheap, requiring you to find two flower types, over two dozen mushrooms, and 35 hardwood. You'll need access to biomes like Frosted Heights, the Glade of Trust, and the Forest of Valor to farm each, but if you have this quest active, you'll likely already have these unlocked. With every item on hand, go to a crafting workbench to make the Uncrafting Station. How to use the Uncrafting Station in Disney Dreamlight Valley As the name suggests, the Uncrafting Station lets you uncraft items you've created or unlocked in the past. If you have furniture items you've picked up throughout your playthrough or crafted and wish to undo, you can toss them into this machine and use Dreamlight to uncraft them. You'll gain the item's crafting resources back after a short delay. Screenshot by Destructoid The delay varies depending on the furniture item's complexity and quantity. If you toss in one furniture piece, you'll likely only need a few seconds and 50 to 100 Dreamlight to break it down into its raw materials. Using dozens or a complex recipe will require more Dreamlight and time. If all your queues take a few minutes, you can take a quest detour or step away from the game for a bit and return later. The post How to unlock the Uncrafting Station in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid .

May 8

Death Stranding 2 Hands-On Impressions – Building A Stronger Connection Platform: PlayStation 5 Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Developer: Kojima Productions Release: June 26, 2025 Rating: Mature I have a love/hate relationship with the first Death Stranding. Prior to its launch in 2019, I was enamored with the world and, as a Metal Gear fan, couldn't wait to absorb a new Hideo Kojima story. Every trailer looked bananas, but as more gameplay footage revealed you're actually just a post-apocalyptic delivery person, I was wary of what the moment-to-moment gameplay would entail. Was this really just a multi-million-dollar mailman simulator? It didn’t seem terribly exciting. My tune changed when I wrapped up Chapter 3 of the game. I loved hiking across the Icelandic version of the US and playing backpack Tetris to efficiently lug boxes to quirky survivors. I felt a real sense of reward and community building roads, bridges, and repairing infrastructure for other players. Conversely, the combat felt tedious, slow, and ill-suited to the core experience. I avoided fights whenever possible and loathed the titanic boss encounters. Death Stranding's baffling plot somehow made Metal Gear’s mythos perfectly comprehensible by comparison, and not in a good way. The final act left a sour taste in my mouth. Despite my complaints, I was happy I saw Death Stranding through to the end because while deeply flawed in some areas, there's nothing else quite like it. Most of all, the foundation was strong enough that a sequel, done right, could be even more special. I’m happy to say that, so far, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is fulfilling that potential. I spent four days at Kojima Productions in Tokyo playing over 25 hours of the follow-up – roughly 40 percent of the experience, according to director Hideo Kojima himself. I walked away thinking one thing: Death Stranding 2 is a very fun game that amplifies the original’s strengths while vastly remedying its weaknesses. I’ve written in-depth features breaking down Death Stranding 2’s individual elements, such as its interactive encyclopedia , new progression systems , improved combat , and delivery/transport features . Check out those pieces for a more technical overview of the game, as this feature will provide a more general summary of my feelings about the game after the event. Death Stranding 2 is staggeringly beautiful. Leveraging Decima, the engine Guerrilla Games created to power its Horizon series, everything from the gorgeous lighting to the immaculately detailed terrain and foliage makes it one of the most visually impressive games I’ve seen this console generation. As sharp as the fidelity-focused Quality Mode looks, I highly recommend switching to Performance Mode. The game looks and plays fantastically when running at a smooth 60 frames per second, and it’s worth taking the relatively small graphical hit, as frequent grass pop-in is the only major drawback I’ve noticed. Everything still looks gorgeous either way, and it’s worth noting I played the game on a base PS5. I’ll refrain from discussing major plot beats in these impressions; I’ll only say I’ve seen a lot of what has been shown in trailers. Believe me when I say Death Stranding 2 is a wild game, even more so with context. The story takes place 11 months after the end of Death Stranding. Protagonist Sam Bridges succeeds in reconnecting the United States, reborn again as the United Cities of America (UCA), and abruptly abandons the government under seemingly bad terms, taking his now-former BB, Lou, with him. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since. That is, until Sam’s ally, Fragile, tracks him down to propose a new mission: work his porter magic again to reconnect other parts of the world, including Mexico and Australia, which I visited during my demo. Sam’s former Bridges allies, such as Die-Hardman (now President), Deadman, and Heartman, have gone their separate ways. Fragile now leads Drawbridge, a new organization consisting of members such as Dollman, Tarman, and, eventually, Rainy and Tomorrow. I’m already more invested in these personalities than I ever was in the Bridges crew, largely because they’re much cooler: Tarman is a hardened yet empathetic ship captain with a tragic past. The endearingly cheerful Rainy brings levity to the party. Tomorrow (Elle Fanning’s role) may or may not be of this world and commands an incredible power. And of course, there’s the chatty and charismatic Dollman, who is his own brand of weird and is possibly the best character so far. Since they all occupy Drawbridge’s mobile headquarters, the DHV Magellan, you spend more time getting to know them than the previous Bridges crew. I always looked forward to seeing Sam interact with this eclectic bunch of personalities, who play off each other well, from what I’ve seen. The plot is much easier to follow from the beginning since it has an established foundation to build upon. We now understand how the world and its people operate. However, the biggest reason for this newfound clarity is the newly added Corpus, an interactive encyclopedia in the vein of Final Fantasy XVI’s Active Time Lore. Notable key terms appear in the upper right-hand corner during cutscenes, and hitting the Options button pauses the scene and displays relevant lore. Corpus also contains a glossary, character profiles, and an evolving synopsis of events called The Story So Far that provides a straightforward recap of each narrative moment. Corpus did wonders in keeping me on track for two dozen hours in Death Stranding 2, and it’s one of several smart new features. Another welcome change is the scenery. The first Death Stranding was a pretty but visually monotonous adventure due to the largely unchanging Icelandic-like landscapes. The sequel immediately remedies this sameness by making the adventure a globe-trotting affair. I can only speak for Mexico and Australia, but the new locations provide a welcome variety. Death Stranding 2 begins with Sam trekking across a desert’s arid, rocky cliffs. Before I tire of this scenery, the adventure soon introduces lush forests. New dynamic weather events bolster these impressive biomes. I trudged through violent sandstorms and dodged raining fireballs that ignited a raging bushfire. These occurrences add another layer of challenge to delivering packages safely. Reconnecting scattered survivors to the Chiral Network remains a thoughtful and engaging balancing act of efficiently stacking boxes on Sam’s backpack and hauling them for miles. Another example of how Death Stranding 2 puts its best foot forward is players gaining access to the motorcycle-like Tri-Cruiser within the first couple of hours. It took ages before you could fabricate vehicles in the original, so I love how quickly the sequel puts you behind the wheel to expedite traversal. You’ll still build bridges, roads, and other infrastructure for you and a community of players to use and maintain. If you loved contributing to Death Stranding’s landscape, the ability to build entire monorail systems to transport materials from mines introduces a deeper layer of complexity for more industrious players. With Kojima Productions introducing monorails and mines relatively early, I can only imagine what other types of factory-like mechanics are in store. Death Stranding 2’s most pleasant surprise is its much-improved combat. Creative new weapons help to improve gunplay, and a freeform approach to encounters reminds me of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’s best elements. The freedom to tackle enemy bases as you see fit, whether stealthily or guns blazing, and the ability to transition between approaches mid-encounter is great. A suite of new, inventive weaponry is a joy to experiment with, including items that produce decoy holograms and even a BT-damaging boomerang. It also helps that every weapon I tried incapacitated enemies instead of killing them, an act that was discouraged in the original game to avoid causing a voidout (the atom bomb-like explosion caused by dead bodies); a sniper rifle used tranquilizer rounds, for example. I look forward to conflicts rather than avoiding them as I did in the original. The boss battles I tackled were visual spectacles and entertaining gunfights against well-designed adversaries. For those who wanted more exciting action in Death Stranding, this sequel seemingly Perhaps best of all, Kojima’s trademark weirdness is everywhere. Whether it's surprising and hilarious interactions with Dollman, the funny ways you can take out enemies, and the myriad of cheeky and overt Metal Gear references, Death Stranding 2 doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even Higgs, whom I thought was the worst and most insufferable character in Death Stranding, is more entertaining now since Kojima just turned him into a cartoonish, guitar-playing cybernetic clown. I clocked 26 hours after four days of playing and was sad to put Death Stranding 2 down. Where I was hot and cold on its predecessor, I’m all in on the sequel, and I’m impressed with how closely Kojima Productions seems to have listened to feedback. Despite offering me a substantial preview, I missed plenty of content, including optional side missions, cool weapons/gadgets, and, potentially, significant plot beats. Players can miss an action-packed and seemingly vital cinematic if they choose not to trek through a particular area during a delivery. After seeing it myself, I spoke to other journalists who missed it because they chose to bypass the area where the scene occurs. Knowing this, I wonder if there were other moments I unknowingly missed due to how I approached exploration. That’s a bold choice, but off-the-wall ideas like that make Kojima games so fascinating, and Death Stranding 2 seems chock-full of secrets big and small. Kojima focused on telling a weird story and creating a bizarre experience around it in Death Stranding, which was only somewhat enjoyable. However, the sequel seems more purposeful in delivering a well-crafted and consistently entertaining experience. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has the makings of a perfect sequel: one that iterates and improves upon its predecessor in every way. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches on June 26 for PlayStation 5.

May 8

Revenge of the Savage Planet Review - Vengeance Worth Pursuing Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Raccoon Logic Studios Developer: Raccoon Logic Studios Release: May 8, 2025 Rating: Teen In 2020, Journey to the Savage Planet offered enticing exploration and inventive combat as you scoured an unaccommodating alien planet for resources and catalogued its inhabitants. Five years later, Revenge of the Savage Planet delivers the same basic concept, but thanks to a new third-person perspective, multiple planets, and a more thoughtful world design, it offers players a more consistent and enjoyable experience. Stepping into the spacesuit of a hapless corporate employee tasked with exploring planets in remote corners of the galaxy, you immediately get to work scanning every object, creature, and plant. I loved activating my visor and seeing a ton of previously unscanned items around me. As you explore, you encounter several different beasts, ranging from cute ball-like raccoons to flaming birds that will not hesitate to spew lava at you. Armed with an upgradeable pistol, I always felt well-equipped to handle the encounters I was thrust into. Add various peripheral weapons like bait that distracts enemies or causes them to attack each other, a hose that can spray everything from lava to conductive goo, and a magnetic fork that lets you turn metal objects into projectiles, and Revenge of the Savage Planet offers engaging combat encounters throughout. You'll need all these weapons at your disposal for the times when you stumble upon nests or find yourself the subject of an ambush. On multiple occasions, I struggled to keep up with the chaos onscreen, as wasps fired projectiles, exploding monsters sprinted towards me, and tongue-lashing beasts tried to rope me in for dinner. In those instances, I relied heavily not only on those secondary weapons, but on my character's mobility, which is also upgradeable. However, some enemy types, like small bees that teleport around and poke at you from multiple directions, were more annoying than challenging. Upgrades are well-paced as you explore and gather resources, find blueprints, and complete quests to unlock new upgrade branches. While defeated creatures drop resources, few feelings surpassed the joy of watching a resource cache you found pop like a piñata. Those resources are essential for upgrading every part of your weapon and suit. Early on, I loved adding more oomph to my pistol, gaining a double-jump, or removing fall damage, while later upgrades fundamentally changed exploration through abilities like attaching a grapple beam anywhere, including mid-air. Though I loved adding that grappling ability to my arsenal late in the game, I was glad it came later, as it flips my favorite part of the game, exploration, on its head. Revenge of the Savage Planet gives you multiple planets, each with distinct biomes and myriad secrets to uncover, either alone or with a friend, throughout its 12-plus hour campaign. Thanks to this entry's shift from the first-person gameplay of its predecessor to third-person gameplay, jumping from cliffside to floating platform is much more intuitive and reliable. From the lush rainforest environment of the starter planet to the icy peaks, sandy dunes, and volcanic craters of subsequent worlds, I relished finding every secret I could and scanning every creature to add them to my catalog. Revenge of the Savage Planet succeeds where many exploration-based open-world games fall short: It offers compelling discoveries nearly everywhere you go. Because of this, I often veered off the golden path to see what was nestled on the cliffside above my objective. Its Metroid-like world design dangles enticing secrets over your head, only to make you realize you don't have the appropriate gear to reach it. I lost count of the number of times I excitedly returned to a previous planet with my new upgrade to finally access an area I learned about hours prior. Though it falls more into the background than the gameplay elements, Revenge of the Savage Planet offers mostly enjoyable satire of corporations and the act of working for one, including a customizable habitat that you can use proprietary corporate currency to decorate. Though I was always more compelled by the checklist nature of my quest log than I was by the narrative's core mystery, I was glad to see the story through. Developer Raccoon Logic lays the humor on thick, particularly in the habitat, where you can watch satirical commercials. The jokes didn't always land for me, but a few elicited more than a chuckle. Revenge of the Savage Planet is an upgrade over its predecessor in nearly every way. Consistently rewarding exploration pushed me to poke around every corner of the worlds I visited, and often-fun combat encounters kept the experience fresh and engaging. The first game was a fun one-off experience, but its sequel is a far more complete and rewarding package that left me hungry for more savage planets to explore. Score: 8.5 About Game Informer's review system

May 6

There’s No Hollow Knight: Silksong Release Date, but It’ll Be Playable in Fall While we don’t know the release date for the Hollow Knight follow-up Hollow Knight: Silksong yet, we do know it will be playable starting in September 2025. Team Cherry’s upcoming title will be a part of the ACMI Game Worlds museum exhibit that starts on September 18, 2025, then ends on February 8, 2026. Tickets to attend will go on sale in July 2025, but the waitlist is available now. [Thanks, IGN !] It is currently unknown how extensive the Hollow Knight: Silksong demo will be at the ACMI exhibit. IGN’s reveal and the ACMI statement didn’t note if this will be a demo Team Cherry specifically constructed for the museum that will offer a slice of gameplay, or if this could be the full game on display. The last update on the game came during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct at the beginning of April 2025. Nintendo confirmed it would appear on both the Switch and Switch 2 in 2025 during the presentation. At the time, only a brief clip of gameplay appeared. Here’s the trailer for the Game Worlds exhibition. While it confirms Neopets, The Sims, and World of Warcraft will be present, Hollow Knight: Silksong didn’t appear in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsE8wTSEhEY&t=3s ACMI often celebrates games and gaming. For example, one of its major events at the end of 2024 was an Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club End of Year Meetup. That offered attendees an opportunity to play Drawful 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe . There’s also a free Big Ant Studios Games Lab that is available every day . In June 2025, Assassin’s Creed Rogue and As Dusk Falls game composer Forest Swords will appear for a “Crafting the Score” presentation. Hollow Knight: Silksong will come to the Switch, Switch 2 , PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X , and Windows PC in 2025, and it will be featured at the ACMI in Melbourne, Australia, between September 18, 2025 and February 8, 2026. The post There’s No Hollow Knight: Silksong Release Date, but It’ll Be Playable in Fall appeared first on Siliconera .

May 1

Andor Season 2 Episode 5 Recap and Spoiler Review — Why Does Saw Gerrera Kill [Spoiler]? Andor Season 2, Episode 5 is an intriguing installment that proves the Empire is playing galactic chess, not checkers. Imperial forces quietly plant seeds across Ghorman, allowing the rebels to believe they’re gaining the upper hand, while the Empire tightens its grip on their community. Also, the guest appearance of Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker […] This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire

Apr 30

Watch the Final Fantasy III Music Special Live Stream In honor of the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy III , Square Enix kicked off a Music Special Live Stream featuring the game’s soundtrack. It is available worldwide on YouTube and is constantly streaming as of April 27, 2025. It is expected to remain online until 5am PT/8am ET on April 30, 2025. As music plays, imagery from the games and series appears. For example, at 12:48pm ET, the “FF Medley” from Bra Bra Final Fantasy: Brass de Bravo appeared. That was an album with brass band covers of tracks from the series. When it played, the song’s name appeared alongside the cover art from that entry. That was followed by the FFIII “Behemoth’s Stream” and “The Ancient Gate” tracks from the Chocobo Racing Original Soundtrack. Again, the cover art appeared alongside it. However, during earlier tracks, some footage from the game appeared. Here’s the embed of the Final Fantasy III Music Special Live Stream. https://www.youtube.com/live/zOrPdsKJO2M In case you miss the stream, the Square Enix Music Channel on YouTube features a number of additional music videos featuring songs from the Final Fantasy III soundtrack. Here’s a list of some of them: “ Battle 1 Fanfare ” “ Battle 2 ” “ The Boundless Ocean ” “ Castle of Hain ” “ Chocobos ” “ Crystal Cave ” “ The Crystal Tower ” “ The Dark Crystals ” “ Elia, the Maiden of Water ” “ Eternal Wind ” “ Forbidden Land ” “ Go Above the Clouds ” “ Jinn, the Fire ” “ The Invincible ” “ Let Me Know the Truth ” “ Living Forest ” “ Lute of Noah ” “ My Home Town ” “ Opening Theme ” “ The Prelude ” “ The Requiem ” “ Shrine of Nept ” “ Swift Twist ” “ This is the Last Battle ” “ Town of Water ” “ Vegies of Geasal ” “ The Way to the Top ” Most recently, Final Fantasy III appeared as part of the Pixel Remaster series on the Switch, PS4, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices. The game first appeared on the Famicom in Japan, and a 3D remake appeared on the DS, PSP, PC, and mobile devices worldwdie. The post Watch the Final Fantasy III Music Special Live Stream appeared first on Siliconera .

Apr 28

Treasure Hunter Simulator – ReviewTreasure hunting is something that easily piques the interest of many people. Stories of finding a huge chest of gold or some statue worth a lot, like in Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, might even get the adrenaline flowing. In reality, these stories are often not much more than someone with a metal detector who goes over the beach or goes into a forest. In Treasure Hunter Simulator, we get the less adventurous version and just go around with a metal detector. This way of searching for treasure is mostly regarded as a fool’s errand for those who are convinced that there is something valuable on the beach. While we aren’t a fan of getting strange looks while showing off our summer body with a metal detector in our hands, we decided to opt for Treasure Hunter Simulator instead. Story The story in Treasure Hunter Simulator isn’t a complex one. You, the player, are a person who searches for treasures in different parts of the world to add to your collection or for a paid job. It seems that the story in this game is the same as in many cheap simulator games, and it quickly takes the backseat throughout most of the experience. Even though one of the options is the so-called story mode, it doesn’t feel like they are telling a story. Story mode in this game feels more like a choice between slow progression and everything being unlocked. It’s not uncommon for games such as this to lack any narrative value. Graphics The graphics in this game aren’t the best, but that’s not uncommon for ported titles such as this. The quality is low, and everything indicates this was a quick and lazy port, especially considering the amount of clipping we experienced. When digging on a slope, we often glitched out, making what’s under the map visible. The bushes look like they are made out of paper, which also quickly ruins the immersion. All in all, everything feels cheap and unpolished. Sound The soundtrack in Treasure Hunter Simulator is alright. The music playing in the background is calm, and it changes depending on the area you find yourself in. The ambient sounds are decent and add to the otherwise relaxing atmosphere of the game. It’s still a barebones experience, but the sound design did get a lot more care and attention than the visuals. Gameplay Treasure Hunter Simulator is a first-person simulator game. When we start the game and select to follow the tutorial, we get some easy-to-understand instructions on how the game works. After the tutorial, we go back to the office, and from here on out, your career in treasure hunting begins. The office can be explored a bit, and you can see collections that you can complete. The computer serves as your valuable tool to actually start going on treasure hunts. Our first job was a cleanup job, which was easy to complete as it used the basics from the tutorial. Use the metal detector when there is a treasure nearby, and go around the region to find items. Once the detector is yellow, we dig. After simply digging twice, we already found our first item. This did sound a bit simple, but it’s the first stage, so we didn’t assume anything bad. Sadly, we already encountered our first visual bug here, the one we already mentioned above. This happened every time we dug something up on a slope. Identifying our finds was easy, and the clean-up process happens automatically. This way, it feels too basic, as we wouldn’t mind getting our hands dirty as well. It would have been great, for example, to clean up the item ourselves. The way to make progress is by getting money and experience to unlock better detectors and locations. The best way to get those is to complete jobs. Selling some of your unearthed findings does earn you some money, depending on the condition and the rarity of the object. This isn’t the case for the exploration mode, which is basically the creative mode where everything is already unlocked. Another indication as to why this is a cheap port is how the game handled item selection. You’ll still be working with a regular mouse cursor, the same way you would when picking up the PC version. It’s just tedious having to do this, and seeing this is a Switch port, it would have perhaps been better to have touchscreen controls. Of course, this would require some additional work and effort to be put into this port. The D-Pad also does nothing, which makes things even more of a slog. Conclusion Treasure Hunter Simulator is a fairly basic simulator title that received a poor port. The gameplay loop is what you’d expect of games such as this, as you gain experience, level up, spend cash for better tools, and so on. The Switch port graphics are subpar and with many graphical glitches, they fail to impress near the end of the handheld’s lifecycle. The sound design is decent, albeit nothing to write home about. Menu navigation is tedious due to the game still sticking to its original mouse controls with no touchscreen functionalities. If you have the option to pick up the original, we suggest doing so, as this port is forgettable and very rough around the edges.

Apr 27

Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe redeem codes and how to use them (April 2025)Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe is a new casual cat-themed merge adventure from HIDEA. The game will take you on a charming forest adventure with adorable kittens. In this Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe redeem code article, I’ll list down all the codes available in the game that I found after doing a lot of research and … The post Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe redeem codes and how to use them (April 2025) appeared first on GamingonPhone .

Apr 26

Faun Town – ReviewHere in the West, the vast majority of video games that reach us from Asia still hail from Japan. While we don’t expect the gravity point of this to shift any time soon, we have seen a notable increase in Chinese games in recent years. Games like Genshin Impact or Biped, published by large corporations like MiHoYo and Tencent, have seen success with Western players. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that smaller Chinese developers are hoping to find an audience here as well. Case in point: 游乐坊, which has just released its farming sim Faun Town on Steam, courtesy of publisher 2P Games. Does Faun Town have what it takes to compete with the big boys? Story A short series of comic book panels sets up Faun Town’s story. Given that the speech bubbles in these panels are in Chinese, we wouldn’t be able to tell you what is being said, however. It’s not a real issue, as Faun Town’s premise is paper-thin, and once the game gets going, it’s easy enough to figure out what is going on. Our protagonist, the Doctor, has crash-landed his spaceship. In a twist nobody ever could’ve seen coming, he is now suffering from amnesia. Fortunately, he’s taken in by a kind old man, who decides to leave his derelict farm to our space-faring hero. It doesn’t take long for the Doctor to find his spaceship, as it is pretty much right next to the old farmhouse. The ship’s AI tasks the Doctor with repairing the ship. In order to get the parts needed, the Doctor will need to farm resources, craft materials, and trade with the local villagers. The sci-fi angle makes for a nice diversion from the standard “letter from a deceased relative” premise, but otherwise, Faun Town hits every cliché you’d expect. Graphics We wouldn’t be surprised if Faun Town’s pixel art visuals were simply thrown together from pre-existing assets from various sources. The game suffers from a lack of visual consistency, with some sprites looking highly detailed while others somehow look like they were made in a lower resolution. Faun Town lacks a visual identity as a result. The game also takes place across different biomes, although no real care was put into making these match their descriptions. The opening area is supposedly a jungle, but it resembles a sparse forest at best. The final nail in Faun Town’s visual coffin is that on-screen text is often cut off from the screen, with no way that we could find to fix this. Sound It’s probably not surprising that Faun Town’s soundscape suffers from the same shortcomings as the game’s visuals. The game’s sound effects are as generic and repetitive as it gets, and voice acting is expectedly absent. The soundtrack is lacking in variety, with a droning piano tune that keeps repeating over and over. We wouldn’t be surprised if the music was a free-to-use, license-free track rather than something specifically composed for Faun Town, as it doesn’t fit with the atmosphere of a farming sim at all. Gameplay In terms of gameplay, Faun Town presents itself as a jack of all trades, but a master of none. At its core, this is a classic farming sim in the same vein as Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons. Taking control of the Doctor, players can take on a myriad of mundane tasks to turn their humble farm into a thriving agricultural enterprise. On top of this tried-and-tested foundation, Faun Town then adds a Factorio-like automation system for your farm as well as a combat system that seems to have been inspired by Plants vs. Zombies. On paper, either of those additional systems has fantastic crossover potential with the farming sim genre. Unfortunately, Faun Town bites off more than it can chew and tries to cram too many ideas into a single game. The result, like the visuals, story, and audio, comes across as cobbled together rather than as something with a focused, single identity. For what it’s worth, Faun Town at least understands the core mechanics of a farming sim. Gathering resources and processing them is simple and intuitive. You chop down trees to gather wood, then use your workbench to turn said wood into planks. You can mine for ore and refine it, harvest seeds from wild plants, and catch fish. It’s standard stuff for anyone who has ever played a farming sim. This level of accessibility is a necessity because Faun Town’s in-game explanations aren’t very good. This could be chalked up to the poor translation. Still, the game goes into too much detail about some things and fails to explain some other basic mechanics. Like many farming sims, your character only has so much energy and will need to recover this. In Faun Town, this is done by eating, but the game doesn’t explicitly tell you HOW you can eat. We found out by accident that you need to right-click on the food item of choice, but this is the kind of thing you should be told directly. Compared to other farming sims we’ve played, Faun Town’s basic tasks are slow and tedious. This might be by design, as the idea is that you eventually automate them through robots, but this is a painstakingly time-consuming process. It doesn’t help that the game can only be played with a keyboard and doesn’t support controller inputs. Placing items and planting seeds on the grid-based map is a needlessly tedious and inaccurate process. It’s already frustrating enough when you accidentally select the wrong square when tending to your crops, but this is amplified when it comes to combat. Throughout your run, you’ll obtain so-called Xeno seeds. At night, monsters come out and will attack you on sight. You can use Xeno seeds to instantly spawn plants that will fight back against monsters. Positioning is important here, but with Faun Town’s inaccurate grid placement, this didn’t make for a very enjoyable set of mechanics. This perfectly illustrates Faun Town’s biggest issue. There are too many ideas here, and they are poorly implemented. A more focused game, that either perfects the ‘farming meets tower defense’ or a ‘turn a farm into an efficient factory’ angle, would’ve been far more enjoyable than this shallow mess. Conclusion To its credit, Faun Town tries to break away from the classic farming sim formula by layering additional gameplay on top. The issue here is that the game can’t decide what it wants to be. The gameplay is shallow and tedious, and the keyboard controls are iffy. It doesn’t help that there is a lack of audiovisual identity. While we appreciate the sci-fi hook of Faun Town’s premise, the story itself is held together by familiar tropes and clichés. It’s as if developer 游乐坊 simply threw things at the wall to see what would stick, but just ended up with a very messy wall.

Apr 26

Preview: Saintess of the Golden Bow Otome Channels Isekai Stories With how many otome isekai manga and anime there are, it’s a little surprising there are so few games about the topic. Transparent Games and Error 300 are attempting to assist with that with Saintess of the Golden Bow , which is fully funded on Kickstarter and still seeking support. In this case, it’s inspired by Korean web novels and comics, and it really feels like it tries to follow the lead of similar stories that came before it. Like many isekai shojo series, the Saintess of the Golden Bow otome begins with someone getting hit by a truck. Celine is a 21-year-old office woman and bit of a loner who enjoyed games, web novels, and web comics. She’s crossing the street in the rain after work, thinking about the fantasy stories she loves, when we have a “truck-kun” moment. She’s run over and wakes up in a forest as Celeste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw15nQnwS4g&ab_channel=TransparentGames There’s a bit of a twist, however. The Korean web novel Celine is reincarnated into is a boy’s love one. The character she is now, Celeste, was supposed to die in these opening moments to set up the tragic backstory for her knight Levi, who would become the Saint of the Golden Bow. However, Celine has some archery skills and so does Celeste. She uses that to kill the demon that would have killed her. This means when the trial comes to find the person picked by the gods to wield the bow and face the Demon Queen, Celeste/Celine is actually picked. It makes for some interesting moments and takes on the genre. While Celine is familiar with Celeste’s fate and the course of the story from the one she read in her world, things aren’t going to go like that in this Saintess of the Golden Bow isekai. The one she read with as boys love story. Levi was initially madly in love with Celeste, but is bisexual and had potential love interests in Prince Noah and Elijah the priest after she died. Since Celeste didn’t die, Levi is still as infatuated with her as ever. It also means that as the saintess now, Noah and Elijah are having the interactions they initially had with Levi with her. While it’s a bit awkward, since the setup suggests that Levi and Noah were supposed to end up together, I did appreciate some ways in which this is approached early on. Since Celine also inherited Celeste’s emotions and memories, it means she’s aware of how she felt about Levi. The original Celeste was overwhelmed and uncomfortable since he was of a lower station and her knight, and she actually tried to fix him up with other men and women. There’s also the notion that Celine/Celeste isn’t really sure what pairings might happen, even as she starts to fall for and experience some romantic moments with Levi, Noah, and Elijah. Images via Transparent Games and Error 300 One thing I didn’t expect, both from this build and the game, is the level of voice acting. In some scenes, there is voice acting for the leads. The casting seems really well done for an indie otome like this! The art direction is rather good too, though I will say that in the case of some of the CGs I’ve seen, it seems like there’s a big difference between the portraits you see during conversations and those scenes, and it’s a little awkward sometimes. The quality on the portraits and CGs are all good! Just sometimes not as similar as I’d expect. Saintess of the Golden Bow seems like it could be interesting, and the otome game is definitely following the same sort of narrative path as the Korean web comic and novel isekai stories that inspired it. The voice acting is solid. There are occasionally insightful elements to the script. I do wish the character portraits looked a little more like the CG designs, but the quality is generally good! It looks like a promising dating sim. Saintess of the Golden Bow is in development for PCs, a demo is available on Steam , and the Kickstarter ends on April 20, 2025. The post Preview: Saintess of the Golden Bow Otome Channels Isekai Stories appeared first on Siliconera .

Apr 18

Light of Motiram Showcases Gameplay in Outcast Forest With Latest TrailerThe latest trailer for Light of Motiram also shows off plenty of gameplay, both against normal enemies as well as boss fights.

Apr 18

Final Fantasy XI Feast of Swords Returns in April Square Enix announced the next Final Fantasy XI event is the Feast of Swords, and it seems like the 2025 edition may be identical to past iterations of the FFXI seasonal activity. It always happens around the second half of April and beginning of May, starting from its 2005 debut. This time, we can take part between April 22, 2025 and May 10, 2025. To start the Feast of Swords, you need to talk to a Moogle in one of six locations to get an Ibushi Shinai. Here are the spots where you’ll find them: Bastok Markets (G-8) Bastok Mines (H-9) Northern San d’Oria (D-8) Southern San d’Oria (J-9) Windurst Waters (F-5) Windurst Woods (K-10) Once you have that sword, you need to visit another Moogle to imbue it with magic so you can fight the armor enemies, such as the Omodaka Armor, and earn points for your assault. To start that second portion and enter into the fight, you need to go to one of the NPC mascots at the places below: Batallia Downs (K-8) East Ronfaure (G-6) East Sarutabaruta (G-11) Jugner Forest (I-8) Konschtat Highlands (I-6) La Theine Plateau (J-8) Meriphataud Mountains (E-5) North Gustaberg (L-8) Pashhow Marshlands (K-6) Rolanberry Fields (K-5) Sauromugue Champaign (E-5) South Gustaberg (L-8) Tahrongi Canyon (I-6) West Ronfaure (I-6) West Sarutabaruta (J-8) As in the past, after beating the enemies, you need to trade your points to the character remaining with a “???” overhead. You’ll then get a reward. The announcement didn’t specify which rewards will be part of the 2025 Feast of Swords event in Final Fantasy XI. However, if it follows past patterns, we have an idea of what it might involve. In the past, the amount of points earned would sometimes influence what we’d get. So some of the lower-rank items would be Elvaan, Galka, Hume, or Tarutaru Mochi. Some of the better rewards in the past included a Shobuhouou Kabuto, Hardwood Katana, and Katana-kazari. Final Fantasy XI is available on PCs, and the Feast of Swords event runs in FFXI between April 22, 2025 and May 10, 2025. Other updates, including new single-player options, are planned for the game for 2025. The post Final Fantasy XI Feast of Swords Returns in April appeared first on Siliconera .

Apr 16

Honor of Kings launch ‘Protect Nature, Protect All Life’ event as part of Green Game Jam 2025Honor of Kings is taking a green step forward with a new global event called Protect Nature, Protect All Life as part of the Green Game Jam 2025 initiative. Organized by Playing For the Planet, you will get to learn about forest conservation while unlocking cool in-game rewards. A free Legendary Sakeer skin is available … The post Honor of Kings launch ‘Protect Nature, Protect All Life’ event as part of Green Game Jam 2025 appeared first on GamingonPhone .

Apr 6

825 Forest Road ReviewStodgy paranormal thriller doesn’t boast enough character or intensity to reach the heights of its director’s Hell House movies.

Apr 5

How to find and beat Mizutsune in Monster Hunter Wilds The first major Monster Hunter Wilds update is here, bringing a wide array of new features, including new weapons, armor sets—and above all else, the arrival of MH Generations' Mizutsune. But how exactly can you unlock both the regular and tempered versions of the monster? Here's how to find and beat Mizutsune in Monster Hunter Wilds . Table of contents How to unlock the Mizutsune hunt in Monster Hunter Wilds How to find and unlock the Tempered Mizutsune How to beat Mizutsune in MH Wilds All Mizutsune armor recipes How to unlock the Mizutsune hunt in Monster Hunter Wilds You can unlock Mizutsune in Monster Hunter Wilds by completing the Spirit in the Moonlight mission . The mission will become available once you reach Hunter Rank 21 and can be triggered by talking to Kanya at the Scarlet Forest Base Camp after completing Fishing Life, in Microcosm. Image by Destructoid How to find and unlock the Tempered Mizutsune After completing Spirit in the Moonlight, you can then unlock the ability to spot and hunt the Tempered Mizutsune by reaching Hunter Rank 41 . I was, however, only able to find the Tempered version of the monster in Ruins of Wyveria. Image by Destructoid How to beat Mizutsune in MH Wilds Image by Destructoid Like in Generations , spatial awareness is a must when facing Mizutsune in MH Wilds , as the monster pairs its highly aggressive moveset—composed of tail spins, lunges, and jet streams—with the ability to constantly let out damaging bubbles capable of applying both Waterblight and Bubbleblight. The effects of Waterblight can be cancelled by rolling around or using a Nulberry, while Bubbleblight can be cured by using a Cleanser. While enraged, the monster becomes capable of also applying Fireblight, which will eat away your HP until removed. I know the above can be overwhelming, but don't worry—the Mizutsune is weak to Ice, Dragon, and Electric, and can be countered by aiming at its head while making use of Cut and Blunt weapons. Image by Destructoid Being aggressive is also key here, since most of Mizutsune's big attacks can be easily telegraphed even when up close. Just make sure to respect its bubbles and jets, as a Tempered Mizutsune can easily one-shot even the most prepared hunter by pairing its heavy damage and its effects. If you want a bigger layer of protection, equipping water-resistant armor sets can also help a lot. All Mizutsune armor recipes Like all other big monsters in the game, you can craft both Alpha and Beta versions of the Mizusune armor set in Monster Hunter Wilds . The High Rank sets will become available after facing Mizutsune for the first time, and each of its parts can be crafted by using the materials below: Mizutsune Helm : Five Mizutsune Scale+, three Bubblefoam+, and two Piragill Fin+ Mizutsune Mail : Two Mizutsune Cerfificate S, two Mizutsune Claw+, five Mizutsune Fin+, and one Wyvern Gem Mizutsune Coil : One Mizutzune Cerfificate S, five Mizutsune Purplefur+, three Mizutsune Claw+, and two Torrent Sac Mizutsune Greaves : One Mizutzune Cerfificate S, four Mizutsune Scale+, four Bubblefoam+, and one Mizutsune Water Orb As a true hunter never forgets their loyal companions, you can also craft the full Alpha Mizutsune Palico set by expending one Mizutsune Claw+ for the Parasol, one Mizutsune Scale+ for the suit, and one Mizutsune Purplefur+ for the Feline Mizutsune Kasa. The post How to find and beat Mizutsune in Monster Hunter Wilds appeared first on Destructoid .

Apr 4

The ForestAs the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.