Ethan Gach

Everything Sony Announced In Today’s PS5 Event

At long last we have the PlayStation 5’s release date, price, and teases for the next God of War and Final Fantasy XVI. Sony’s second PS5 showcase gave us most of the answers we didn’t get the first time around, including that the next-gen console will be out November 12 and cost $500. Today’s 40-minute…

Star Renegades Is A Gorgeous Turn-Based RPG Caught In Its Own Time Loop

There’s a ton to love in the beautifully pixelated RPG roguelite Star Renegades. I just wish all of its ambitious ideas came together as elegantly as its art style. In Star Renegades, the latest Steam game from Massive Damage, makers of the excellent Halcyon 6, you assemble a squad of charming cliches—the roguish bounty hunter,…

Gods & Monsters Isn’t The First Time Monster Energy Has Been Annoying About Naming Rights

Monster Beverage tried to stop Ubisoft from trademarking the name “Gods & Monsters” earlier this year to prevent confusion between its brand of highly caffeinated sodas and the upcoming action adventure game. It turns out this is the sort of thing Monster does a lot. Monster routinely challenges “monster”-related trademarks, including, tactical gear, ice cream,…

Rocket League is going free-to-play next week on September 23. That’s also when the game will move to the Epic Games Store and no longer be for sale on Steam. The game’s seasons will reboot then as well, starting back at one.

Nintendo Switch Bans Nicknames Like ‘ACAB’, ‘Nazi’, And ‘Covid’ In Latest Update

A 'bad word' list has expanded based on recent events

EA Is Killing Off The Origin Name Entirely

After nine anticlimactic years the Origin name is no more. Going forward, EA will simply refer to its PC gaming client as the “EA desktop app.” The video game publisher announced the move inan interview with GamesIndustry.biz, saying the name change is part of a larger overhaul of the platform intended to “to create a…

Pop-Up Ad For Sex During Magic Tournament Shows Why The Game Needs A Spectator Mode

A porn spam bot was the icing on the cake during a Magic: The Gathering Arena tournament this weekend, in an event whose technical problems reminded us all that the digital card game’s client desperately needs a spectator mode. “Hi, I’m looking for sex with a stranger,” a fake DM from a no doubt very…

The Outer Worlds’ First DLC Is Too Cynical For Its Own Good

Peril on Gorgon is a good excuse to return to the Outer Worlds’ retro-futurist dystopia. I only wish doing so had finally given me some hope that its neo-feudalist colonies might someday be saved. Out last week on PS4, Xbox One, and PC (it will arrive sometime later on Switch), Peril on Gorgon is the…

Destiny 2’s Weirdo Planetary Vendors Are Finally Getting Their Due

A bristly researcher taking a one-way trip into an ancient alien cave. A gruff warrior making one last stand against the odds. A fanatical cutlist watching the abyss stare back while trapped in a time maze. A brilliant engineer set on rescuing Earth’s last, most advanced artificial intelligence from cyber-death. The unifying thread? Some of…

The Mystery Around Control’s Next-Gen Upgrade Restrictions Takes Another Weird Turn

Owners of the original version of Control say they recently discovered it had automatically switched to the new Ultimate edition that ensures a free upgrade to next-gen platforms, raising even more questions about why the game’s upgrade process continues to be such a mess. The game’s publisher, 505 Games, had previously said that the only…

Everything Ubisoft Showed During Today’s Forward Showcase

Ubisoft held its second summer showcase today, giving updates on a number of its live games and new looks at upcoming ones like Immortals: Fenyx Rising, the revamped mythological adventure shown in years past as Gods & Monsters. The company tried to clear the air beforehand by having CEO Yves Guillemot apologize for the widespread…

Ubisoft Says It Will Donate To NAACP After Using Black Lives Matter Imagery To Depict Terrorist Group

During a pre-recorded video ahead of Ubisoft’s gaming showcase later today, CEO Yves Guillemot called the recent use of raised fist imagery in Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad “an oversight” and said measures will be put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. “I want to be clear, Ubisoft stands for equality and respect…

Ubisoft CEO Apologizes To ‘Everyone Who Was Hurt’ By Misconduct At The Company

Ahead of Ubisoft’s second summer showcase later today, the global video game publisher released a short video in which CEO Yves Guillemot apologized to all of those hurt by “certain Ubisoft employees” who failed to “uphold our company’s values.” “I am truly sorry to everyone who was hurt,” Guillemot said. “We have taken significant steps…

Warframe Devs Plan To Shave Another 15GB Off Its Install Size

Game sizes have spent the last several years ballooning, so it’s always a treat when an update actually makes a game smaller, and Warframe’s developers are making it a lot smaller as they slowly remaster the game. Digital Extremes plans to accomplish this by pushing out several updates modifying the game’s textures and other assets…

How Xbox Series S Compares To Series X

Microsoft is releasing two consoles this fall, and while they’ll both play all the same games, they won’t play all of them the same way. So just how much more powerful is the Xbox Series X than the Series S? It’s impossible to say without actually being able to test both consoles, but based on…

The Xbox Series X Launch Lineup Is Looking Better

Gears Tactics and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla make the Xbox Series X lineup look better than it did a week ago. Prior to this week all we knew was that the Xbox Series X was coming sometime in November. The Series S hadn’t even been officially confirmed. Now we know both will come out on November…

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Release Date Moved Up A Week

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is now set to come out November 10, Ubisoft announced on Twitter today. That’s a week earlier than its previous release date of November 17. It’s also just in time to make it a launch game for the Xbox Series X, which Microsoft revealed this morning is also coming out that day.…

I Really Need A New Chair

This was never part of the plan, but it’s 2020 and here I sit. I’ve heard it all: “That can’t be comfortable,” “You’ll ruin your back,” “Why the hell are you doing this to yourself,” “It’s a crime against god.” And of course it’s all true. I work eight, nine, sometimes 10 hours a day…

Ubisoft’s Immortals Fenyx Rising Comes Out This Year, According To Leaked Xbox Listing

Based on a now-deleted Xbox listing that went live overnight, it looks like Immortals Fenyx Rising, formerly known as Gods & Monsters, will be out on December 3 of this year. The listing, screenshots of which were shared online by Twitter user Wario64, shows new art for the game, alongside its new title, which Ubisoft…

Nintendo Just Threw Super Mario Galaxy 2 Down The Memory Hole

One of the best mainline Mario games ever was nowhere to be found during today’s Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct Nintendo celebrated 35 years of Super Mario Bros. today by announcing that a number of the most beloved games in the series would finally make their way onto Switch, including Super Mario All-Stars, Super…