Assassin’s Creed Shadowsis just over the horizon, and it feels like a game that has swelled in importance since it was announced. Theface of a culture warthat has sincerapidly expanded to include every video game, but one where losses are disregarded and victories are massively exaggerated. But also the face ofUbisoft, a company thatonce defined open world gameplay, now sorely in need of a win, and relying on a twice-delayed game to get it....

Quick Links Himiko, High Shaman occupies an intriguing niche withinCivilization 7, as she seizes upon incredible Culture output at the noteworthy cost of a board-wide decrease to Science. This makes her hyper-specialized, and a keen choice for players pursuing the Cultural Victory Path - with the caveat that you don’t want her to completely fall behind on the tech-learning front. Our in-progress Himiko, High Shaman guide will cover your best practices, should you choose to occupy a role as the empress in your next big Civ 7 playthrough....

Summary In case you’ve forgotten, we can’t blame you if you have,Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fateis a real game.Announced all the way back in 2021, it’sthe follow-up to 2017s Dragon Quest 11. That said, outside of a flashy 54-second teaser and a unique subtitle, things on the Dragon Quest front have been rather quiet. That’s why we can’t blame you if you’ve managed to forget. But fear not, series creator Yuji Horii says not worry, the game still exists....

Quick Links Healing is an essential part of any shooter game you play, but when you have Nazi’s lurking around every corner inSniper Elite: Resistance, it’s important to know how to heal so you can stay in the fight. You do regenerate your health over time, but if your health gets too low, or you’re bleeding, you need to use the tools available. Additionally, if you fail to heal and bleed out, you’ll fail the mission and have to start over....

Summary In the expansive Pokemon world, it’s no surprise that some of the card art used inPokemon Trading Card Game Pocketfeatures more than just the star of that particular card. For instance, the one-star Vaporeon card art focuses on the water eeveelution, but you can see Finneon jumping out of the water in the background. However, sometimes there are Pokemon hidden in the cards, making a game within this game. A “Where’s Wally?...

Summary Hello Kitty Island Adventurehas tons of adorable regions, but you can’t just hop to all of them right away. You’ll need to complete quests and become besties with other cute characters to unlock new places. Some spots are hidden off the map, while others only open up much later. But don’t worry—you’ll get to explore them all eventually! For now, just enjoy the journey and soak in the cozy vibes....

Summary It’s hard to describe just how disastrousFallout 76’s launch was to those of you who weren’t there, but I’ll try. For starters, many, many fans hated its entire concept, as they had hoped that the newly revealed Fallout game would be a traditional single-player release. It was not, andwe’re still waiting on one of those. Then, everything that could have caught on fire… did. A$200 collector’s edition did not live up to its advertising, promptingBethesdatogive disappointed customers some in-game currency- which made them more furious....

Summary Fallouthas an incredibly ambitious modding community. There are ground-up remakes of the classic games,ambitious spin-offsthat even launched on GOG, and now… a remaster ofNew VegasinThe Sims 2. It makes no damn sense. Compels me though. Thankfully, this project has its own dedicated subreddit whereu/FalloutPropMaster explains all; “I’ve gotten impatient waiting for a remastered version of Fallout: New Vegas. My dream is to have a remaster that also allows us to revisit some cut content that existed during the in-house beta of Fallout: New Vegas (which I had the rare opportunity of being able to play back in early 2010; long story)....

Summary Where the heck is theFinal Fantasy 9remake? That’s one of the gaming industry’s biggest mysteries at the moment, as the title was part of an infamous Nvidia leak years ago. Ever since, it’s only been vague guesses and teasers from insiders, the latest coming from NateTheHate,who claimed the game is still in “active development”. With Final Fantasy 9’s big 25-year anniversary coming up, it is going to be a little disappointing that we won’t see the remake release for the occasion,but Square Enix did at least launch a new website full of merchyou can pick up if you’re feeling nostalgic....

Summary March is finally here, and while that meansa smattering of new games, including the likes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Bleach: Rebirth of Souls, it also means thatEpic Gameshas sent out a new survey toFortniteplayers. The surveys, which are basically tradition at this point,are used to gauge player interest in potential IPs, as well as celebrities, athletes and musicians that could make their way into live-service battle royale. In the past, such surveys have included the likes ofRed Dead’s Arthur Morgan and Kingdom Hearts, as well asthe potential for One Piece and Yakuza....

Summary For as legendary as the likes ofOkami,Nier AutomataandMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Painare, they have some obscenely long opening hours. We’re talking about hour-plus sections that are some combination of being super linear, lacking in gameplay or full of loads of exposition.As my colleague Rhiannon pointed out, Final Fantasy 8 is another notorious member of the opening slog. If you made it through that initial slog, then you were almost assuredly treated to a life-changing experience....

Summary A reliableXboxinsider has suggested that the rumouredSwitchandPlayStationports ofHalo: The Master Chief Collectionmight not include every game from the series. Over the past year and a bit,Xbox has undergone one of its biggest strategy changes of all time and moved away from first-party exclusives. AsHi-Fi Rush, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Grounded, and Forza Horizon 5 have been proving, Xbox doesn’t really have any interest in exclusives anymore, and is basically shifting towards being a publisher....

Summary It’s been a while sinceHogwarts Legacylaunched, with almost two years having passed since the game’s release. It was a smash hit forWarner Bros., something whichit’s found itself in short supply of these days, so you’d naturally assume that there would be some sort of DLC or expansion to capitalize on its success. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, that was indeed the case. However, the continued financial struggles for Warner Bros....