New Game Preview

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Get a sneak peek at the most anticipated games of the year. From action-packed adventures to mind-bending puzzles, we've got something for everyone. Stay ahead of the game with our exclusive previews!

Vindictus: Defying Fate Preview — Signs of a Stronger VisionVindictus: Defying Fate feels like it has finally started speaking in its own voice clearly enough to see the game that NEXON wants it to be.

Previews – CGMagazineApr 16

Metro 2039 Preview – Grim Fiction Inspired By Darker Realities Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Deep Silver Developer: 4A Games Release: 2026 Rating: Mature The Ukrainian-based 4A Games, developer of the Metro series, has been through hell since releasing Metro Exodus in 2019. Like all of us, it endured the hardships of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. But unlike most of us, it had an unfortunate front row seat to watch its country become embroiled in a brutal – and still ongoing – war with Russia. These experiences have profoundly affected the direction of Metro 2039, the fourth mainline entry in the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter franchise. If you’re new to Metro, the universe is inspired by the Metro series of novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The games largely take place in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, which, along with the rest of the world, has been destroyed by a nuclear war. Because of the nuclear fallout, much of humanity was forced to live in the city’s underground metro tunnels as dangerous mutated creatures inherited the irradiated surface. The series has been tonally heavy, but describing Metro 2039’s reveal cinematic as “dark” would be an understatement.   As shown during a special developer presentation today, the trailer begins with a soldier, his face hidden by an oxygen mask, exploring a dark forest as an authoritative voice from a nearby megaphone commands him to wake up, promising clean air and a bright future. Children’s crayon drawings litter the ground, and as he picks one up, a small, red-headed girl appears in front of him. The soldier suddenly finds himself bound in a sea of chains; he sinks into them like quicksand as the girl watches unfazed. The soldier then arrives near a train, as other soldiers pack lines of chained children into its cars. Horrified, the soldier chases the train as it begins to disembark, the panicked cries of its young passengers spurring him forward before a chain around his ankle pulls him to the ground. The man awakens in a subway tunnel to find an old woman who tells him that everything is always about him; the man vehemently refutes this while demanding to know the children’s location. The sky lights up as Moscow burns from the nuclear war that creates Metro’s wasteland. A destroyed classroom filled with rows of faceless, brainwashed children chanting “the enemy must be destroyed,” as blood seeps from what would be their eyes. The arrival of the Dark Ones, the mutated foes from previous games, prompts the man to open fire, but his target winds up being one of the kids he was trying to save. 4A Games states that Metro 2039 will be a hand-crafted single-player story-focused experience. The protagonist is known only as The Stranger, a reclusive soldier plagued by violent nightmares, and who 4A Games confirms will be fully voiced. He must embark on a journey to a place he swore never to return: the Metro, the underground network of subway tunnels most of humanity calls home. Why The Stranger must do this, and what made him promise never to go back to the Metro in the first place, is still a mystery. Previous Metro games explored humanity before and after the world collapsed, and the lengths people will go to survive one more day. Although Metro has always been a bleak window into the consequences of humanity’s shortsighted actions as a form of anti-war commentary, 2039’s tone is perhaps most informed by the real-life horrors 4A experienced during the Russia/Ukraine war. “Everything we had planned for the next Metro changed in 2020, and more significantly in 2022,” says executive producer Jon Bloch. Creative director Andriy Mls Shevchenko adds that the war with Russia shifted Metro 2039’s thematic direction to focus more on “the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, the price of freedom.” The team is doubling down on making choice and consequence matter. “We will go where the worst of humanity will be on full display,” says Schevchenko. Despite this direction, Ulmer clarifies that 4A does not want to romanticize or “make a theme park” out of the post-apocalypse. While the studio’s unique first-hand perspective of enduring the hardships of a real war – including the developer relying on battery generators for electricity and sheltering from rocket and drone attacks – will be reflected in 2039’s narrative, Shevchenko adds that this is still a Metro story. The game will mark a return to the tunnels of earlier games, though we don’t know if it will retain the more open exploration of Metro Exodus. A snippet of gameplay shows The Stranger exploring a richly detailed, bombed-out laundromat. Metro staples, like wiping grime off your protective visor, monitoring your wristwatch that displays your remaining oxygen, and listening to the familiar radiation ticker, are all present. An opening in the wall has allowed snow to partially blanket the room, burying the skeletal remains of humans and other creatures. As The Stranger goes to inspect a fresh body, he’s interrupted by the arrival of large mutants resembling werewolf-like moles. The Stranger bolts down an escalator, turning back only to take a single shot at his pursuer; like previous games, ammo must be scarce. The bullet barely registers as pain to the creature. It pounces on top of The Stranger, who must wrestle it to avoid getting his head ripped off by its gnashing, protruding teeth. The Stranger’s punch is reciprocated with a debilitating swipe by the mutant, and he manages a kick that provides just enough breathing room to lodge his knife through the mutant’s skull, killing it. The Stranger turns around to reveal he was at the doorstep of an underground shelter; soldiers pull him through the heavy doors, which close right before the other mutants can avenge their comrade. This brief gameplay section was impressively rendered and definitely has the hallmarks of what fans would likely want in a new Metro game. We’re excited to see this somewhat underappreciated series make a comeback, and while the subject matter won’t be for the faint of heart, we can’t wait to survive the horrors of its fallen world one more time.

Game Informer PreviewsApr 16

Metro 2039 Preview – Grim Fiction Inspired By Darker Realities Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Deep Silver Developer: 4A Games Release: 2026 The Ukrainian-based 4A Games, developer of the Metro series, has been through hell since releasing Metro Exodus in 2019. Like all of us, it endured the hardships of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. But unlike most of us, it had an unfortunate front row seat to watch its country become embroiled in a brutal – and still ongoing – war with Russia. These experiences have profoundly affected the direction of Metro 2039, the fourth mainline entry in the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter franchise. If you’re new to Metro, the universe is inspired by the Metro series of novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The games largely take place in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, which, along with the rest of the world, has been destroyed by a nuclear war. Because of the nuclear fallout, much of humanity was forced to live in the city’s underground metro tunnels as dangerous mutated creatures inherited the irradiated surface. The series has been tonally heavy, but describing Metro 2039’s reveal cinematic as “dark” would be an understatement.   As shown during a special developer presentation today, the trailer begins with a soldier, his face hidden by an oxygen mask, exploring a dark forest as an authoritative voice from a nearby megaphone commands him to wake up, promising clean air and a bright future. Children’s crayon drawings litter the ground, and as he picks one up, a small, red-headed girl appears in front of him. The soldier suddenly finds himself bound in a sea of chains; he sinks into them like quicksand as the girl watches unfazed. The soldier then arrives near a train, as other soldiers pack lines of chained children into its cars. Horrified, the soldier chases the train as it begins to disembark, the panicked cries of its young passengers spurring him forward before a chain around his ankle pulls him to the ground. The man awakens in a subway tunnel to find an old woman who tells him that everything is always about him; the man vehemently refutes this while demanding to know the children’s location. The sky lights up as Moscow burns from the nuclear war that creates Metro’s wasteland. A destroyed classroom filled with rows of faceless, brainwashed children chanting “the enemy must be destroyed,” as blood seeps from what would be their eyes. The arrival of the Dark Ones, the mutated foes from previous games, prompts the man to open fire, but his target winds up being one of the kids he was trying to save. 4A Games states that Metro 2039 will be a hand-crafted single-player story-focused experience. The protagonist is known only as The Stranger, a reclusive soldier plagued by violent nightmares, and who 4A Games confirms will be fully voiced. He must embark on a journey to a place he swore never to return: the Metro, the underground network of subway tunnels most of humanity calls home. Why The Stranger must do this, and what made him promise never to go back to the Metro in the first place, is still a mystery. Previous Metro games explored humanity before and after the world collapsed, and the lengths people will go to survive one more day. Although Metro has always been a bleak window into the consequences of humanity’s shortsighted actions as a form of anti-war commentary, 2039’s tone is perhaps most informed by the real-life horrors 4A experienced during the Russia/Ukraine war. “Everything we had planned for the next Metro changed in 2020, and more significantly in 2022,” says executive producer Jon Bloch. Creative director Andriy Mls Shevchenko adds that the war with Russia shifted Metro 2039’s thematic direction to focus more on “the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, the price of freedom.” The team is doubling down on making choice and consequence matter. “We will go where the worst of humanity will be on full display,” says Schevchenko. Despite this direction, Ulmer clarifies that 4A does not want to romanticize or “make a theme park” out of the post-apocalypse. While the studio’s unique first-hand perspective of enduring the hardships of a real war – including the developer relying on battery generators for electricity and sheltering from rocket and drone attacks – will be reflected in 2039’s narrative, Shevchenko adds that this is still a Metro story. The game will mark a return to the tunnels of earlier games, though we don’t know if it will retain the more open exploration of Metro Exodus. A snippet of gameplay shows The Stranger exploring a richly detailed, bombed-out laundromat. Metro staples, like wiping grime off your protective visor, monitoring your wristwatch that displays your remaining oxygen, and listening to the familiar radiation ticker, are all present. An opening in the wall has allowed snow to partially blanket the room, burying the skeletal remains of humans and other creatures. As The Stranger goes to inspect a fresh body, he’s interrupted by the arrival of large mutants resembling werewolf-like moles. The Stranger bolts down an escalator, turning back only to take a single shot at his pursuer; like previous games, ammo must be scarce. The bullet barely registers as pain to the creature. It pounces on top of The Stranger, who must wrestle it to avoid getting his head ripped off by its gnashing, protruding teeth. The Stranger’s punch is reciprocated with a debilitating swipe by the mutant, and he manages a kick that provides just enough breathing room to lodge his knife through the mutant’s skull, killing it. The Stranger turns around to reveal he was at the doorstep of an underground shelter; soldiers pull him through the heavy doors, which close right before the other mutants can avenge their comrade. This brief gameplay section was impressively rendered and definitely has the hallmarks of what fans would likely want in a new Metro game. We’re excited to see this somewhat underappreciated series make a comeback, and while the subject matter won’t be for the faint of heart, we can’t wait to survive the horrors of its fallen world one more time.

Game Informer PreviewsApr 15

Soulframe: Digital Extremes CEO Says Putting 'Soul' In The Title Was An 'Idiot Decision' Love it or hate it, the word “soul” is quite synonymous with From Software, whether that’s Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, its other challenging action games like Bloodborne or Elden Ring, or the Soulslike genre the studio inspired. So it’s no surprise that some players expected “Soulframe” to feature gameplay reminiscent of a Soulslike. After playing the game for several hours myself – and if you’re a Game Informer subscriber, you will be receiving a Soulframe Preludes code to check it out for yourself, too – I can confidently say that while there is a slight tinge of that Soulslike feel, I wouldn’t place it in the Soulslike subgenre of action games. Digital Extremes doesn’t admonish anybody who sees its slower, more deliberate fantasy RPG action game with “Soul” in the title and assumes it’s in the ilk of From Software games, though.   “We made the idiot decision to put ‘Soul’ in the title, right?” Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair tells me in the studio’s DevStream recording space during my visit for the Soulframe cover story in the May issue of Game Informer . “Yeah, it’s stupid. We invited that criticism, absolutely, but the ‘Soul’ is supposed to be more about the literal soul [of these characters and the world].” That criticism Sinclair is referencing is the initial response to Soulframe’s combat when players first jumped into Preludes. He says the team used too much of the Warframe system for Soulframe’s combat, a smart and iterative idea in theory, but one that doesn’t work as well because the latter is a much slower system than the former. “[So] when an enemy is lasting 15 to 20 seconds on screen, instead of one [like in Warframe], you see everything,” Sinclair says. “‘That foot slid there, the character doesn’t have a good hit reaction, when he falls, his head clips through the geometry,’ and all this stuff.” The team responded by reworking combat and believes the community would agree it’s in a much better place today. “People definitely love the vibes [...] and the stories we were telling, but yes, mechanically, we just missed the mark, and I think it was a lesson learned and a failure in our messaging because we probably didn’t elaborate enough on the title of the game,” Soulframe creative director and former Warframe art and animation director Geoff Crookes says.   Today, Soulframe is more responsive to your real-time inputs, in stark contrast to the typical animation frame-based combat of Soulslikes. “All this stuff, which From Software has been working on for two decades, we were trying to do in two years [...] and it didn’t work,” Sinclair adds. Speaking to Soulframe lead designer Scott McGregor in a different interview, he tells me the first iteration of early access combat for the game “wasn’t good enough,” but notes the Preludes and Founders programs are about finding out what works and what doesn’t, and addressing it alongside the community actually playing the game. “Warframe’s combat, from where it started to where it is today, is radically different, and I think Soulframe will be a continuing evolution of that core loop,” McGregor says. “We’ll be continually refining it and making it tighter, and I think you can already see that almost on the daily.” Soulframe level designer Penny Shannon, seated beside McGregor, says, “I think it’s really down to being okay with the fact that you’re going to have to change something that you’ve done and are really proud of and be okay with that.” With Soulframe Preludes continuing today, the game will continue to evolve based on the intersection of Digital Extremes’ vision and the desires of its active playerbase. And, if you’re a subscriber to Game Informer before April 22 , you can be a part of that because you will receive a Soulframe Preludes code to check out the game. More information about codes can be found here . For more exclusive Soulframe insight, head to our hub here .

Game Informer PreviewsApr 15

Windrose Early Access Preview: Pirate’s Life For MeWindrose is an ambitious pirate-themed action survival game that offers players a lot of intricate building options, but is somewhat held back by imbalanced combat.

Previews – CGMagazineApr 13

Soulframe Is A 'Response To The Cynicism Of The World,' According To Digital Extremes Warframe developer Digital Extremes is hard at work making its first game in nearly a decade, Soulframe , alongside the community in its early access “Preludes” form. To write the Soulframe cover story in the May issue of Game Informer , I traveled to Digital Extremes in Ontario, Canada, to learn more about the game, and it’s there that I learned this fantasy MMO is a response to the cynicism of the world. “To appeal to the sort of aesthetic or emotional reason for why we would make [Soulframe] is kind of a response to the cynicism of the world we are finding ourselves within today,” Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair tells me. “And I think that is sharper than it even was when we started it.”   He recalls reading a 2021 New York Times article about the appeal of The Lord of the Rings . It posits that the movie trilogy resonates with audiences so much because it shows men in touch with their emotions, and that people can be redeemed. “In this genre, generally speaking, it tends to be dark and sweaty and bleak and gross, and I love Game of Thrones as much as the next guy, but I think we wanted to put a little Disney Princess spin on this whole thing.” That’s why Soulframe, despite all of its video game-isms, doesn’t celebrate all of the killing you will have to do; instead, it saves that elation for the moments when you end corruption in the wilderness and restore various Omen Beast animals to their former harmonious states. Soulframe is ultimately about a hero who wants to stop an extraterrestrial enemy race from mining the world of Alca of is precious natural resources. If you hop into Soulframe Preludes today (reminder: Game Informer subscribers will receive a free code to do this as part of the issue rollout), you’ll find that your main quests revolve around saving those Omen Beasts and stopping Alca from polluting the natural wonder of this world with its machinery and industrialization. “We’re not going to celebrate the destruction of human bodies and celebrate decapitations and other things you might see in the genre, but instead, try to bring a sense of touching grass,” Sinclair says, noting the irony in using that phrase, which typically means stop playing video games and go outside. “That’s kind of the big emotional push for why we think it’s worth making this game, even though Warframe is doing so well.” Soulframe creative director and former Warframe art and animation director Geoff Crookes says he believes the themes of this fantasy MMO are “a reflection of our age.” “It’s a reflection of how fractured we are,” Crookes adds. “There’s not a shared community anymore; there’s not a shared truth anymore. We’re not trying to heal the world, but if there are things that we can do in the game to encourage community-driven gameplay [...] that’s when we start to get excited about how the game can reinforce that.” Soulframe community lead Sarah Asselin says she sees comments all the time in Discord, on streams, and elsewhere that some players love to do “nothing” in Soulframe. “Even to just run around the forest and be immersed in this beautiful world we’re slowly building – it feels like this cozy and optimistic escape.” Sinclair says the strength of the early access Soulframe Preludes program is that Digital Extremes gets to put out various gameplay and content additions to test the waters of these themes and determine, with the help of its player base, whether the harmony the studio is looking for is present. Because Soulframe is the latest game to grace the cover of Game Informer , we’ll be posting behind-the-scenes stories like this alongside exclusive videos and more for the next few weeks. If you aren’t subscribed to Game Informer , you have until April 22 to do so and ensure a copy of this issue reaches your mailbox. Plus, anyone who subscribes will receive a Soulframe Preludes code to check out the game early. You can find more information about codes here . For more exclusive Soulframe insight, head to our hub here .

Game Informer PreviewsApr 13

Saros Preview – King In YellowThe post Saros Preview – King In Yellow appeared first on WellPlayed .

Preview – WellPlayedApr 13

Going Hands-On With Neverway—Calm Before The Static StormCGM went hands-on with Neverway—the upcoming surreal horror farming sim from indie studio Coldblood Inc.

Previews – CGMagazineApr 9

With Soulframe, Digital Extremes Didn't Ask For Permission But Instead, Begged For Forgiveness Last month, I visited Warframe developer Digital Extremes’ office in London, Ontario, of Canada, to hang out with the team behind Soulframe for a couple of days, interview its various discipline leads, and learn about this studio’s first game in nearly a decade. It was during those initial interviews that I learned Soulframe was a game Digital Extremes committed to making before asking its “corporate overlords,” which is Tencent, the Chinese-based megagiant publisher that acquired Leyou, the company that owned a majority stake in the developer. In the words of Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair, the team begged for forgiveness (instead of asking for permission). During my first interview with Sinclair and Co., he showed Game Informer senior video editor Alex Van Aken and I the slide deck he used two years prior to pitching Soulframe to Tencent. Now, anyone familiar with Soulframe, the fantasy MMO that’s available to play in an alpha state today, will know it was revealed at TennoCon in 2022… four years ago. You do the math.   “This is the slide deck I used two years ago for Tencent,” Sinclair tells me. “Because yeah, you’re supposed to – what do you call this, ‘Ask for permission or beg forgiveness?’ Yeah, this was the beg forgiveness. We already kind of said, ‘Here it is! Sign up!’ [And they were like,] ‘Hey guys, do you want to tell us what this is about?’” Sinclair says Tencent was “cool” about it, though, as you might infer from the game’s continued early access program and success. He tells me the reason Soulframe exists is because in 2016, a person in Digital Extremes’ statistics department [ Editor’s Note: Sinclair says they are no longer with the studio, adding they chose to leave] said “Warframe was declining and sunsetting, and it was time to face that fact that it would be over soon and that we needed something new, otherwise we’d be doomed.” “And of course, as we have seen, somehow impossibly, that was not true at all,” he continues. “Two years later, we hit an all-time high with [ the Plains of Eidolon expansion ] release, and then last year, we beat that. So Covid ups and downs, and with [Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford] leading the Warframe ship, it has achieved new, new highs.” Soulframe creative director and former Warframe art and animation director Geoff Crookes says this line of thinking among the aforementioned statistics department employees was common wisdom back then – in 2016 – and that trends have changed, meaning live-service games can last much longer than anticipated with proper support. Because Soulframe is the latest game to grace the cover of Game Informer , we’ll be posting behind-the-scenes stories like this alongside exclusive videos and more for the next few weeks. If you aren’t subscribed to Game Informer , you have until April 22 to do so and ensure a copy of this issue reaches your mailbox. Plus, anyone subscribed will be receiving a Soulframe Preludes code to check out the game early. More information about codes can be found here . For more exclusive Soulframe insight, head to our hub here .

Game Informer PreviewsApr 9

I am in love with Forza Horizon 6's Nissan Silvia Forza Horizon 6 has learned at least one neat trick from Ridge Racer. It's learned that for a certain kind of racing game, something that's dreamy yet exactingly arcadey by turn, it's quite nice to ghost around a corner every now and then and find something dramatic happening overhead. In Ridge Racer this something was often a jumbo taking off. In Horizon 6, it could be one of those chunky helicopters with two sets of propellors, or even a group of jet fighters flying in formation. But games are as prone to inflation as everything else. At one point, I crested a hill and a huge space rocket launched. Not bad, Horizon. Not bad. Read more

Eurogamer.net Previews FeedApr 8