A fighter, a mage, and a thief walk into a forest… Vampire Survivorsis one of my favorite games of 2022 and it’s pretty hard for me to explain why. It’s the type of game everyone needs to play for themself to see if they vibe with it. Some people won’t, others definitely do, and this bit of news is for the latter group. Today, the developers at poncle announced new paid DLC for the indie darling is coming in about two weeks....

–Queen of Philosophywonders what’s next for theGod of Warseries. –TheBlondeBasswrites a retrospective about all the games he completed in 2022 and a personal update as well. –Taterchimpranks all the games they played in 2022. –TroyFullbustercelebrates game randomizers and writes about why you should give them a try. –Virtua Kazamadetails his hopes and expectations forVirtua Fighterin 2023. –Dinokaiserdoes a deep dive intoMidgard(1998)on the PC, an early 3D Action-RPG with a unique history....

Not ‘free-to-play’ [Update:Nintendo of America has confirmedthat the promo will run in the west. The exact US times are July 29 through August 4 at 11:59PM PT.] [Update #2:The promotion is live today!You can downloadPokken Tournament DXhereand play it until the above time.] Once again, Japan gets to reap an extra benefit of regional Switch Online: free game sessions. Basically from those dates on, you’ll be able to download the entire game and play it for free, so long as you meet those aforementioned regional and subscription requirements....

Nani? [Update:Speaking on Twitter,Yakuzaproducer Masayoshi Yokoyama has said that Sunday’s stream will not feature the debut of a newYakuzatitle, but did note that a new game in the seriesiscurrently in production. New information pertaining to theYakuzaseries is still expected. The quote was translated byGematsu.] In a statementsince deleted from Twitter,it was seemingly revealed that Sega has plans to debut the latest entry in theYakuzafranchise this Sunday at the Tokyo Games Show....

Gainfully employed villagers inMinecraftcan easily score you plenty of resources through a simple trade, so you don’t need to waste time gathering them yourself. With 15 professions in total, there are tons of items these guys can provide you with. However, not all working villagers are equal. Some are simply more useful than others, and that’s why we’re here to rank them. This is every profession for villagers inMinecraft, from least to most useful....

As well as a host of tech and equipment at your disposal,Phasmophobiaoffers up Cursed Possession items as well, which can help you out, but also leave you feeling worse off. One such example of this is the Tarot Cards. Whether you’re playing with friends or you’redoing a solo investigation, these cards can give you an edge, but there’s a lot of danger when it comes to using them. Much like the Ouija Board,Monkey Paw, or any other Cursed Possession item, the Tarot Cards have a one in seven chance of spawning when you start a new contract....

Valid up until two weeks after launch Amazon Prime members are getting a nice bonus starting today: 20 percent off newly released physical video games (including pre-orders) shipped and sold by Amazon. The discount is offered on new titles until two weeks after launch, so you may wait for reviews if you’d like. While collector’s editions are applicable, “product bundles including but not limited to console game bundles” are excluded. Individual product pages show eligibility, and you’ll see the savings applied to your purchase at checkout....

TheAssassin’s Creed: Brotherhooddevelopers lurking in the shadows wearing hoodsare back! In this second developer diary, we learn more about Rome, where Ezio moves after his villa (which you busted your ass building inAssassin’s Creed 2) is destroyed. Here, he works to build his order while fighting against Rome’s strong military presence, helping build the city up for the good of the people. The game, as you’d expect, looks gorgeous. I’m still impressed that Ubisoft is looking to create such a polished, full-featured follow up toAssassin’s Creed 2, and so quickly....

Craft the potent new item at the Elder Melder I may not be able to hunt every week, but I still like to keep up withMonster Hunter World: Iceborneupdates as much as possible so I know what to expect the next time I log into the game. The latest update on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,version 13.00, has two things you’ll want to remember. First, you’re able to upgrade your Master Rank armor even further (as long as you have spare spheres and cash – I burned through my savings)....

Kick up more leaves than an Autumn breeze Some say money is the root of all evil. If that’s true, consider us the villains you need. Leaves are an essential resource inOctopath Traveler 2. Strong equipment can make several sections of the game a cinch,especially if you visit the Black Market early on. That said, if you use Path Actions like Hikari’s Bribe or invest in materials for Castti to Concoct, you could quickly run low on funds....

Also other transit options, I guess I have been playing city-management sims throughout my life, and despite that fact, nothing I have created in them can be considered either efficient or beautiful. I shamelessly blame my inability to do so on growing up in a region that couldn’t plan its way out of an empty room. Whatever the cause, my cities are an endless sprawl of gridlocked roads and badly shoehorned rail lines....

In Glorious Fulcimation Notoriously gory anime franchiseCorpse Partyis headed to the Nintendo Switch in the form of a new remake,Corpse Party Blood Covered… Repeated Fear, which will bring its head-caving, eye-gouging misery to the Nintendo platform later in the near future. As a quick refresher for those less inclined,Corpse Partyis a multimedia franchise that began way back in 1996, before finding its feet in handheld gaming a decade later.TheCorpse Partytitlestell ghoulish tales of hapless schoolgirls who venture into haunted scenarios, before fast becoming utterly destroyed in extraordinarily grim fashion....

I felt more relaxed in a boss fight For my money,Cupheadhasunrivaled art direction and animationin the gaming space, but how does it actually play? Is it fun or frustrating? Well, it depends which side you’re talking about. After trying Studio MDHR’s run-and-gun title at E3,I’m with Steven: the boss fights — the main appeal ofCuphead— are lovely to look at and figure out on the fly. That’s reassuring. I tried one of the shoot-’em-up fights, “A Threatenin’ Zeppelin,” and lost track of how many attempts it took me to mostly get the patterns down and scrape by with an eventual win....