I wasn’t the biggest fan ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, mainly because of how restricted it feels being confined entirely to Midgar. Thankfully,Rebirthcorrects that by opening things up and giving youdifferent types of environments to explore. As soon as I stepped out into the Grasslands region in the early hours of the game, I was reminded of the open areas in theXenoblade Chroniclesseries. Similar to Rebirth, the Xenoblade Chronicles games follow a linear storyline but have open-world elements as you can freely explore the world’s separate regions....

Quick Links As you’d expect in any murder mystery, sometimes the clues aren’t all on land.Murders at Karlov Mannorbrings a tale of murder toMagic: The Gathering, where a string of grisly slayings has struck the plane of Ravinca. It’s up to you to figure out who done it, and that means getting wet. Just because the suspect wore a pair of concrete shoes doesn’t mean the evidence is out of reach....

Naughty Dogpresident Neil Druckmann has confirmed that moreThe Last of Usis on the way, as he explains that he feels there’s “one more chapter” in that particular story. Druckmann pretty much confirmed the plans for The Last of Us Part 3 in a new documentary about the development ofThe Last of Us Part 2, explaining that while it won’t be the studio’s next game, he feels like he could come up with “one more chapter”....

On the video game front, we don’t know exactly whatPokemonhas up its sleeve when it comes to this year’s Pokemon Day announcements. However, with its gaming slate now empty, it’s safe to assume there will be some big reveals. A Pokemon Presents is planned, but you may want to spend the rest of your Pokemon Day on eBay. The auction site is holding a special event during which some highly sought-after Pokemon items, including some very rare trading cards, will be up for grabs....

Skull & Bonesis seemingly failing to impress players, as it’s hit with overwhelmingly negative reviews on Metacritic. At the time of writing, it sits at 2.8 out of 10 onPC, and it isn’t faring much better on console. It’s also being unfavourably compared toAssassin’s Creed: Black Flag, as many feel that Skull & Bones isn’t much of an improvement, even though the former launched ten years prior. In some areas, players say they prefer Black Flag, suggesting that Skull & Bones doesn’t quite live up to the game it was born from....

Shadow fans, we’re so back. After years of being on the sidelines and kept out of newSonic the Hedgehogreleases entirely, Shadow is back in the spotlight, starring in three different titles this year. With the third Sonic movie, the Sonic Prime finale, and now,Sonic x Shadow Generations, it’s going to be a great year for fans of the anti-hero. In fact, it’s going to be so great that some are already calling 2024 The Year of Shadow the Hedgehog, since we’ve been waiting for him to return for so long....

Summary It’s fair to say thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’spost-launch plans probably aren’t going the way thatRocksteadyandWarner Bros.wanted them to. Its player count has been dropping ever since launch, despitea small bump from the release of the Joker in Season 1, and it’s now dropped so low though that more players are actually playing a game that’s been pronounced dead for months. First spotted byWindows Central, there was a brief moment earlier today in which Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had a smaller concurrent player count than fellow superhero live-service disappointmentMarvel’s Avengers....

TheNintendo Switchhas been hugely popular during its seven-year run, selling 132 million units and counting. Because of that, some of its most popular games have become some of the best-selling titles in video game history.Animal Crossing: New HorizonsandMario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, which together have sold more than 100 million copies. Those staggeringly high sales for popular titles mean Switch games are rarely reduced in price, so when they are, you best take advantage of it....

Quick Links Though you’ll only just have defeated his friend, Jin Shirato, downstairs in Tartarus, Takaya Sakaki himself is also there waiting to stop you from trying to stop the Fall inPersona 3 Reload. You’ve faced Takaya before, but never like this – not only is he stronger, but he can use Theurgy skills just like you. Wade through Takaya’s taunting flavor text as he challenges you head-on one last time with a completely revamped move pool from previous versions of the game....

Tekken 8’s story mode and character episodes have confirmed a popular fan theory that Reina is the illegitimate daughter of the former face of the series - Heihachi Mishima Although most of Tekken 8’s roster is made up of series veterans who have been given new moves and new looks, there are a few exciting newcomers that have joined the fight. As awesome as Azucena is, the most exciting of these is Reina, a mysterious young girl who uses the Mishima fighting style and has previously been teased to have a connection to Heihachi Mishima....

Card combinations inClash Royaleplay a huge role in your victory or defeat, and the synergy between cards is entirely dependent on your skill to harmonize the troops. Creating a deck built upon these card combinations leads to positive elixir trades, meaning you may either defend or attack and end up with more elixir than your opponent, putting you at a slight advantage. Of course, skill plays a huge role in capitalizing on these combos, and some combinations fare much better than others, sometimes requiring lesser skill but better outcomes in certain situations....

Summary Scrolls are very common items in Baldur’s Gate 3, and very valuable too. They offer even those without any innate magical ability the option to cast spells of their own. These scrolls don’t use up a spell slot and, even better, they can be used by anyone. As such, these one-time-use items can quickly turn the tide of a battle or offer a creative solution to a problem. While many of these scrolls can be purchased at the various traders and stores in the game, your best bet for shoring up a solid collection is searching every location....

Some game developers tend to stick to their guns, likeNetherRealm Studioswith fighting games,Bloober Teamwith horror, orLarian Studioswith fantasy A-and-CRPGs. But it’s always refreshing to see something new come from a developer that’s never delved outside its standard genre, often in ways that will surprise you. With the way the game industry is moving in the 2020s, it’s not only remarkable but a delight to see so many development studios still taking risks and branching out beyond what anyone thought possible of them....