What video game mechanic do you wish you could use in real life?

Fast travel? Sign me up! Have you ever done that thing where you’ve played a game too much, and then when you go out into the real world, you find yourself wishing you could use a game mechanic in real life? The example that always comes to mind for me isBreath of the Wild. I first played it when I was in college in South Carolina, and because I lived near the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was also going on a lot of hikes at the time....

July 25, 2025 · 3 min · 526 words · Marcus Vasquez

What’s this, a new Bayonetta game already?

Let’s begin at the beginning With so many games releasing this fall eating up all of my time, I’m sad to admit I haven’t had more than an hour or so to dedicate toBayonetta 3. After all the kerfuffle over the game in the weeks prior to its release, I’ve been trying to find the time to play it and see just about the ending is pissing so many people off....

July 25, 2025 · 2 min · 230 words · Jason Vasquez

With art like that, I don’t even care what Child of Cooper is about

I don’t know what to make ofChild of Cooper, an upcoming PC game out ofShelterdeveloper Might and Delight, and that’s exciting. It’s pitched as a “visual narrative that challenges aspects of normative video game storytelling” with a tale that moves ahead with or without you. The story is told through the lens of a child’s memory, which should open up some neat possibilities. “Nothing will be given to you at any point and even how to maneuver the game will be left for the player (the explorer) to discover,” said the developer during today’s announcement....

July 25, 2025 · 1 min · 177 words · Holly Diaz

Zelda-esque Anodyne partners with The Pirate Bay

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em Those who currently visitThe Pirate Baywill be presented with a curious image. LikeMcPixelbefore it, top-down action-adventure titleAnodynehas collaborated with the popular torrent site. The message from developers Jon Kittaka and Sean Hogan reads: “We’d like to make a living by making games that will give people memorable experiences, but we know not everyone can afford them. So that’s why you can download a torrent of our game,Anodyne, and if you’d like and are able, also purchase the game!...

July 25, 2025 · 1 min · 174 words · Bradley Banks

Zen Studios’ latest is Aliens vs. Pinball

Three tables in one pack It has been some time since I’ve checked out any of Zen Studios’ pinball games, but theAliensfranchise is enough of a draw to grab my attention.Aliens vs. Pinball, a three-table compilation, is coming to consoles, mobile, PC, and Mac this month (basically everywhere except Nintendo platforms). TheAlienstable shown in the trailer initially put me off with its haphazard dialogue snippets, but I like the general look of theAlien vs....

July 25, 2025 · 1 min · 123 words · Rebecca Schneider

‘Dew and Doritos’ teaming up with Xbox One … seriously

‘Unprecedented experience’ promised In what is either the most hilarious or most disgusting move ever, a new website calledDew & Doritoshas opened to co-promote snack foods and Microsoft. Yes, the long-running partnership between the Xbox brand and Doritos is in full effect for the Xbox One. Promising an upcoming “unprecedented experience,” the brains behind Mountain Dew and Doritos have “the next level of play” planned for this fall. Apparently this is the biggest promotion the quasi-food company has ever had....

July 25, 2025 · 1 min · 151 words · Charles Haney

A message to all Aperture employees from Boss Man Johnson

Mr. Cave Johnson, CEO of Aperture Science, recently issued amessageto all his employees, confirming the existence of thePerpetual Testing Initiative (PeTI), and its status being operational as of now. In the message, rather than explaining how it works, Johnson instead opts to categorise his employees as having less intelligence than a dog. However, he reassures them that all is not lost, as he, personally, will be there every step of the way, ensuring that they will eventually become smarter than dogs and that he can squeeze as much out of them as his fists physically can....

July 24, 2025 · 1 min · 134 words · Benjamin Duran

Animal Crossing datamining effort uncovers massive future update potential

Spoilers As more and more of us reach the point where we’ve unlocked terraforming inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons,we’re starting to want a little bit more out of it. We always knew that Nintendo had a long term plan via DLC for the game, but a new datamining effortfrom Twitter user Ninjihas found quite a bit of content to chew on in the coming months. Spoilers. Here’s a short list of what may come if the data is to be believed, straight from their findings:...

July 24, 2025 · 1 min · 183 words · Jessica Figueroa

Baldur’s Gate 3 had a huge launch day on Steam and Twitch

Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studio’s latest RPG, launched on PC on August 3 after spending some time in Early Access. Already, there are signs that the game has had a monumentally successful launch. TheSteamDBcharts reveal thatBaldur’s Gate 3hit a peak of 472,136 within 24 hours, giving it the second-biggest Steam launch of 2023. It has since clung onto a steady player count and continued rising today, August 4.Baldur’s Gate 3has also been performing well on Twitch, where it reached a massive peak of 481,523 views on launch day at an average of around 156k (viaStreamCharts)....

July 24, 2025 · 2 min · 333 words · Jose Zavala

Best Mobile Games like Brawl Stars

Can Supercell ever do wrong in mobile games? My answer is no, and with the many gameplay modes inBrawl Stars, there’s fun to be had. But maybe boredom has struck, and you are looking for other mobile games like it. Here are ten mobile games likeBrawl Stars. What are the best mobile games that play like Brawl Stars? Soul Knight At first glance, this 2D game doesn’t seem to be much likeBrawl Stars....

July 24, 2025 · 7 min · 1461 words · Andrew Harris

Check out the colorful, intoxicating world of Poison Control

Running through my veins NIS America has released a gameplay trailer for its incoming third-person shooterPoison Control. The psychedelic anime adventure will launch on PS4 and Nintendo Switch July 25, 2025. Described by NIS as a “darkly amusing tale of redemption”Poison Controlwill see the player step into the dual roles of the high-energy Poisonette and her “Soul Mate” – a custom character stepping in as the player avatar. Wielding the gun-toting skills of the latter and the toxin-absorbing abilities of the former, the player must free a selection of troubled individuals from their unhappiness, achieved by purging their very souls of Poison Mires and the deadly “Belle’s Hells....

July 24, 2025 · 1 min · 178 words · Robert Anderson

Cuphead Collector’s Edition includes this delightful marionette

There are some strings on me Ever wanted a living Cuphead for your very own? Well, merchandiser iam8bit has the next best thing, opening pre-orders on a special Collector’s Edition of Studio MDHR’s excellent 2017 platformer. TheCuphead Collector’s Editionoffers up a boxed physical copy of Cuphead —complete with itsDelicious Last CourseDLC— on PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch, alongside several suitably old-school goodies. These include a membership card for The Cuphead Club; six art cards or newspaper-style “funnies”; a sweet, hand-cranked music box; a map of the Inkwell Islands, and an exclusive outer sleeve for your game case, all of which are in keeping withCuphead‘s classic cartoon style....

July 24, 2025 · 2 min · 294 words · Daniel Johnson

Deathsmiles I & II will be blasting onto ‘multiple platforms’

Adorable mayhem Good news for shmup fans, as City Connectionhas announced thatanime arcade blasterDeathsmilesand its sequel,Deathsmiles II,are currently being prepped for ports on a selection of currently unknown platforms. The announcement came this weekend during the “Famitsu x Dengeki” live stream, and sees Cave’s 2007 and 2009 arcade releases headed to modern platforms as part of Cave’s “Multiplatform expansion No. 1”, which somewhat implies more of the developer’s classic titles will be ported to said platforms in future....

July 24, 2025 · 1 min · 146 words · Frank Francis