No one but a filthy liar would tell you that Deathloop ain't got style. Because the trailers have got all of that. It feels like a blaxploitation Prey, or a disco Dishonored, with vinyl-snob first-person shooter gameplay. This original track, "Deja Vu," really sells the butterfly-collar James Bond vibe, too. I even like the porcelain white face masks that have you casing a joint like you're the 007 Jabbawockeez dancer with a view to a kill.

Ok, that's enough out of me. But the game's style points add up to all of that! It looks great, doesn't it? Not sure what's holding me back. But, hardy har, I'm starting to come around on Deathloop.

There's some classic 1984 Big Brother imagery. There's some hard-hitting stabs, and dexterous knife flipping. There's punchy bullets and chunky reload animations. And enough verbs to use on the battlefield to keep gameplay on the emergent side of things. 

Deathloop [official site] comes back around for you on May 21 for PS5 and PC.

I'm not exactly into space Rollerblades, but I'm 100% into anything and everything the makers of Hyper Light Drifter are making. Which brings me to the cautious optimism I have in Solar Ash [official site].

Your character, Rey (although they should've just named her Ash, right?), wears her glowy skates and glides through teal and magenta landscapes. The journey carves through science-fantasy landscapes, with surreal, mysterious characters sparsely populating this living-inside-a-black-hole fever dream or whatever is going on here.

I'm rooting for it. I am. But this gameplay is mostly about movement and momentum, which is counterintuitive to my naturally slow-walking style of exploratory gameplay. It's a personal problem, I know. But if they give me a photo mode in Solar Ash, I know I'm not going to ever log out.

It's coming to PS4 and PS5 later this year. Here's some gameplay depicting the sweeping movements that carry you through this world, which appears to involve gathering strands of pink goop over leaps and bounds. 

For anyone living under a rock, Valheim is a brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally-generated purgatory inspired by viking culture. It’s also the rising star on Steam, and with that success comes a large internet fan base. What comes with that is a wealth of hilarious memes to share. So, here’s a daily round-up of some of the funniest Valheim memes today.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is the indie game that has the internet salivating over it ever since it was first revealed in June 2020. Well, mouths will be watering even more after the latest trailer shows off at today’s State of Play event. 

A story-driven action adventure with a stunning visual aesthetic combining exploration with fast-paced combat. Players find and grow a team of charming spirit companions called the Rot, enhancing their abilities and creating new ways to manipulate the environment.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits seamlessly blends action and narrative into an unforgettable experience. Travel with Kena, a young Spirit Guide on a quest to uncover the mysterious story surrounding the demise of the village.

We’ve finally got a confirmed release date too: August 24, 2021.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is getting bigger and better later this year with the release of the Intergrade edition on June 10. The PS5 upgrade brings with it a multitude of PS5-specific upgrades, as well as a brand new episode that sees Yuffie Kisaragi join the party.

The brand new episode sees ninja Yuffie Kisaragi on a mission to infiltrate the Shinra Corporation to steal a powerful Materia and restore glory to her homeland.

Thanks to the PS5 upgrade, players can experience the city of Midgar like never before, with improved textures, lighting and atmospheric fog. Switch between the game modes "Graphics mode" which prioritises 4K high-resolution graphics, and "Performance mode" which prioritises smooth action at 60 frames per second and capture and share your favourite moments of this timeless adventure with a fully customisable Photo Mode. Enjoy immersive battles by using the DualSense PS5 controller with its hapic feedback integration.

One of the toughest things to do in Mass Effect is get through the Citadel. The difficulty level isn't in assault rifles and combat armor, but in the sameness of its architecture and the shuffling back and forth across the same white hallways and sleepy blue lighting.

I'm not mad. I say all of these things in love. I can say these things because I'm secure in the knowledge that Mass Effect, for 14 years running, has been at the pinnacle of mostly linear, party-based RPGs. So, don't be mad at me for recognizing that my favorite role-playing game of all time has a few slow spots, or the occasional pacing problem. 

Today, just hopping in quickly over my lunch break, I walk Commander Shepard out of a Council meeting—so many meetings, I swear—that appointed me as the galaxy's first human special forces Spectre agent. I'm kind of a big deal now. It's not exactly top secret knowledge, however, since a dozen random NPCs just hanging around the Council Chambers listened in to the pinning ceremony. 

But just in case I thought there were more important things to do (e.g. stop a rogue Spectre from acquiring a weapon of mass destruction and basically handing it over to a plague of locusts coming to wipe out the galaxy), the game stops me on the way out of the Council Chambers with another side quest. Some guy wants me to check on his brother who hasn't called home in a while, or something like that. 

And then (and then!) on the elevator ride down from the Council Chambers, another side quest invites itself into my mission journal, just from some seemingly rando news report going out across the PA. I'm surprised Mass Effect didn't ninja-drop a third side quest in, just from me walking back along the promenade and riding yet another elevator up to my ship's docking station.

I'll miss the Citadel soon enough, I'm sure. I'll miss the occasional NPC that I can click on who has nothing to say to me—and that's basically all they say. I'll miss the hyperactive blue neon in the C-Sec cop shop, the red light district known as Chora's Den, or the Ringworld lake garden spanning the waistline of the Presidium. 

Before I finish my lunch, I'm bumped up to level nine, I'm 2.1 out of 16 (?) on the Paragon good-guy scale, and get an insta-promotion from executive officer to commanding officer of the Normandy. I give my first speech to the crew over ship's comms, and make it sound like all humanity is now on our shoulders. No pressure, shipmates. And peace out, former Skipper. Ship's mine now, sorryyyy.

The day has come - February 25th - and that means the Outriders demo is upon us. Here at GamingNexus we’ve been quite excited about this one. How excited, you ask? Well, just check out our own Eric Hauter’s article titled “Why aren't people flipping out about Outriders? You can also check out an article written by yours truly on the “5 reasons why the Outriders demo should be on your radar.” 

In the Outriders demo, players can experience the full opening chapter of the Outriders campaign, up to around three hours of gameplay per playthrough. The demo allows multiple characters and enables players to try out all four classes in the game: Devastator, Pyromancer, Technomancer and Trickster.
 
Progress in the campaign will transfer to the full game for players who purchase Outriders on the same platform.
 
Co-op multiplayer is available in the demo and will unlock after players finish the prologue, including a beta version of the full crossplay system that will be available at launch.

The Outriders demo is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, as well as Steam and GeForce Now on PC.
 
Outriders will release on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam, Epic Store and GeForce Now on PC, and Google Stadia on April 1, 2021.

The indie Souls-like Mortal Shell released to critical acclaim last year, with our own reviewer Carter Kilmann rating it highly in his review. Well, there’s more good news for Mortal Shell fans: it’s receiving the upgrade treatment on next-gen consoles and better yet, the update is free for current owners. 

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition provides a superior spectacle of the game’s haunting beauty, with rich, meticulous details never seen before on consoles. Along with gorgeous upgraded textures and razor-sharp 4K resolution, it will deliver an uncompromised 60 frames-per-second gameplay on PS5 and Xbox Series X. 

This remaster has been calibrated to take full advantage of the PS5 DualSense controller’s suite of immersive technologies. From the whispering sounds and heartbeat vibrations that resonate from your controller as you approach a new Shell, to the impact you feel in the palm of your hands as you utilize the harden mechanics, this enhanced edition gives PS5 owners a rich physical connection to the game’s dangerous and ruthless world like never before.

Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition will be available on March 4 as a completely free next-gen upgrade for existing Mortal Shell customers who already bought the game on PS4 or Xbox One. For new customers, this remastered next-generation version will keep to its last-gen launch MSRP of $29.99 (€29.99 / £24.99). 

While you’re here, consider checking out our own Randy Kalista, a self-proclaimed newcomer to Souls-like games, learning how to die in Mortal Shell.

Oh man, did I use all caps there? Yes, because Zen Studios announced Star Wars Pinball VR today. I am ludicrously excited about this game - and that excitement is amplified by the amazing trailer Zen Studios dropped today to announce it.

Why is that trailer so great? Well, are you old enough to remember seeing this in the theater?

The use of this trailer format is clever as hell, and will instantly cause folks of a certain age to blink in recognition. And the comparison between watching the movies on the big screen and playing the games in VR instead of on a television is apt, as VR adds an entire new dimension to gameplay. And the fact that Zen has blown out the minigames to full VR experiences? Absolutely superb. 

Dork fact about me: I play Zen Pinball games on a 100" screen with a projector and a surround system, and it is utterly fantastic. I thought that was as good as it can get. But them putting Star Wars Pinball into VR? They tricked me and made it even better.

And then there are the two new tables included - The Mandalorian and the newly announced Classic Collectables table. How great is that?

In case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited for this one. I love Star Wars Pinball and I love VR games, so this is something that I can really look forward to. Today's press release gives even more detail: "The “Fan Cave” is the new home for both your pinball table and the customizable array of Star Wars lightsabers, blasters, helmets and more you’ll earn while playing. Place an action figure on the pinball table and the room comes to life – not only with a new table to play, but with life-sized characters and vehicles joining you on either side. Total Immersion mode lets you experience everything at table level, standing you side-by-side with your favorite characters. And full 360-degree mini-games surround you with iconic Star Wars set pieces like the speeder bike chase on Endor, the Bespin carbon-freezing chamber duel, and more."

Oh my, did you say "Total Immersion mode"?

Star Wars Pinball VR will release on the original Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, Steam VR, and PlayStation VR on April 29, 2021. I will be bouncing in my seat like a little kid in anticipation until then.

Milestone, the development team responsible for games like MotoGP, Monster Energy Supercross, and MXGP, have teamed up with Mattel to develop Hot Wheels Unleashed - a new racer coming to consoles and PC in September.

The trailer doesn't show any gameplay, but it does reveal that the racing will be done on those awesome orange Hot Wheels tracks, which players will be able to build and customize with a track editor (this is a must, so I'm glad they got it in there. Hot Wheels Unleashed will offer single player races, as well as multiplayer - both online and local splitscreen. Players will also unlock new cars, which they can then customize with new skins.

Hot Wheels Unleashed is scheduled for release on September 30, 2021 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC.