This week, we take a look at FBC: Firebreak, the new multiplayer shooter and Control spin-off from Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment. We also recommend some outstanding games you can grab for dirt cheap right now on PSN, report on how the market for artisanal, hardware-based Nintendo 64 clones is heating up, and celebrate the recovery of a long-lost game in the Xenosaga series. Read on for these stories and more.
Something about spring always gets me in the mood to play an RPG. So it’s perfect timing that Square Enix is running a sale on some of its biggest releases and has the voice of Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive Rosfield, Ben Starr himself, to give fans a refresher on what’s out there to choose from. - Ethan Gach Read More
As we approach the release of Pokémon TCG’s next set, Journey Together, the card game is in a really weird place. The sealed cards, bought either for playing the table-top game or for collecting, are broadly unavailable thanks to an ever-worsening feverish demand that is seeing scalpers buying everything to resell. More Pokémon Centers, the physical stores that sell all things Pokémon, have made the extraordinary move to open product before they’ll sell it. - John Walker Read More
Some rivalries you just can’t let go, even if one side has clearly outpaced the other. There’s Nintendo vs. Sega, Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake, and of course, Pokémon vs. Digimon. Bandai Namco’s monster tamer series hasn’t kept the vice grip on pop culture that Nintendo’s has, but Digimon has been respectably trucking along with all manner of games, anime and products for a dedicated audience. These days, Digimon is mostly doing its own thing. But, it’s about to release its own mobile card game app to compete with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. - Kenneth Shepard Read More
Games from Remedy Entertainment—like Alan Wake 2, Control, and Max Payne—tend to be single player, third-person, linear adventures with cutscenes, lots of dialogue, and endings. FBC: Firebreak isn’t like those past games at all. And while it might disappoint some Remedy fans, I’m excited to see the studio doing something so different. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
We’re in the midst of a retro console revolution. Between emulation handhelds pouring out of China and more affordable FPGA consoles popping up all the time, there have never been more options to choose from for playing classic games from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s. The Nintendo 64 is one of the platforms getting modern tributes, and the competition is heating up. - Ethan Gach Read More
PlayStation’s Mega March sale is currently available on PS4 and PS5 (sorry, fellow Vita owners) and has some great deals on older games, especially stuff from the 2010s. If you’re looking for something to play and don’t want to break the bank, I have some perfect picks to add to your library. - Ethan Gach Read More
“The quality of health of my morning shit had a bigger impact on my thought process today than you being upset that there’s a Black guy in Assassin’s Creed.” - Zack Zwiezen Read More
After months of teases, we finally have the first issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog x DC Comics crossover. The limited series of comics has Sonic and his friends teaming up with members of the Justice League, each superhero pairing off with one of Sega’s anthropomorphic animals. Sonic naturally ends up racing alongside The Flash, Tails puts his tech skills to the test in tandem with Cyborg, and Shadow has a brood-off with Batman. Bruce Wayne and the Ultimate Life Form have more in common beyond their angsty demeanor, of course, both being defined by a traumatic loss. When the crossover was announced, fans wondered if Batman and Shadow might bond over grief, and just one issue in the comic has delivered. - Kenneth Shepard Read More
A Xenosaga spin-off that was surprisingly important to the series’ story but was thought lost to the old Japanese mobile phone network it was released on has been recovered and shared online. The RPG Xenosaga: Pied Piper is once again playable, with a fan translation on the way. - Ethan Gach Read More
A day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows will address criticisms of how the open-world RPG allows players to go on a violent rampage through religious shrines in 1500s Japan. Parts of specific buildings will no longer be destructible, and the monks inside will no longer bleed when hit, following recent comments on the topic by Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. - Ethan Gach Read More
