Survival rock climbing game Cairn has announced a new release date of January 29^th for PlayStation 5 and PC. It will set you back $29.99 and also enjoy a 10% launch discount for you early birds.

In Cairn, you’ll play as Aava, a mountain climber who has trained her whole life for the ultimate climb, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits in the process. Over its approximately 15-hour playtime, you’ll do more than just climb rocks, as there are fellow mountaineers to meet along your journey to the summit.

Cairn is being made by The Game Bakers, the independent studio behind titles like Furi and Haven, and it looks like a free demo is still available on both Steam and the PlayStation Store if you’d like to check it out.

It's that time of year again. The Game Awards are a week from tonight and the teases and leaks and reveals have already begun and the developers of Invincible Vs. have teased that they will have a reveal at the show. 

There will be a brand new character revealed at the Game Awards and we may even get a release date as well. The cool thing about this reveal is that it's not a new character just for the game, this is a completely brand new character that wasn't in the comics or the television show so far. The character was also written with the help of writers from the television show. 

I have no idea what they could announce here but I do have a feeling some cross promotion could happen here. We know that this game is scheduled to be released in 2026 and Season 4 of the show is coming in 2026 as well. If I were a betting man I would say that this new character may also show up as a character in the show which would be a great way to hype the next season of the show. If we indeed do get a release date, I imagine the game and the new season may release around the same time. 

Invincible Vs. is scheduled to be release in 2026. 

Well, I didn’t see this one coming. Pathea Games, the studio behind cozy life sim games My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock has revealed its next game – a steampunk fantasy action RPG called The God Slayer, and it looks rad as hell.

Inspired by the Assassin’s Creed series and Avatar: The Last Airbender, The God Slayer is set in an Eastern-inspired steampunk metropolis where gods called Celestials rule the world. You play as Cheng, an Elemancer, which are humans that have learned to harness “Qi” into elemental powers, allowing you to wield fire, water, earth, metal, and wood in combination with martial arts. Celestials want to eradicate Elemancers, and the result is must-see gameplay, which you can check out in a rather lengthy announcement trailer below.

The God Slayer has been incubated as part of PlayStation’s China Hero Project, which means it is coming to PlayStation 5, in addition to Xbox and PC, although no release date was announced. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one from here on out.

IO Interactive started a new developer diary series for 007 First Light today called “Beyond the Light”, with the first episode taking us behind the curtain of development team’s gameplay design philosophy for its upcoming James Bond spy romp.

There are four core pillars of 007 First Light’s gameplay: spycraft, instinct, gadgets, and combat. Players will be free to choose how they approach various situations, with the ability to fluidly blend each of these pillars. Spycraft lets players focus on observation, infiltration, and exploiting opportunities for stealth (sounds very Hitman-like, no?). Instinct tries to embody James Bond’s cunning abilities to bluff, charm, and deceive under pressure. Gadgets are, well, gadgets from Q branch that provide tactical flexibility, and a bit of cheekiness to turn the tables on your enemies. And finally, combat features tight gunplay and close quarters combat with a lot of environmental interactivity.

See it in action for yourself in the first dev diary below. 007 First Light launches March 27^th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

An obvious point to all VR users - that folks never trying the format might not be fully aware of - is the fact that in VR, everything is in 3D. This is normally a pretty cool feature (and yes,you can watch 3D films in VR and it rocks), but it does eventually become something that you just take for granted. Of course everything is in 3D - how else would the pinball tables in Pinball FX VR feel tactile when you plop them into the real world in mixed reality? 

But every now and then, some little added bonus feature jumps out at you when you are playing a VR game that makes you think "Oh, that's pretty cool". And that's the moment I had when first trying out the new Creature From the Black Lagoon table in Pinball FX VR. 

Creature From the Black Lagoon was released today as part of the Williams Pinball Universal Monsters Pack, which continues expanding Pinball FX VR's sprawling arcade basement (A Charlie Brown Christmas Pinball and the Godzilla vs. Kong Pinball Pack are also new additions to the setting, which is now big enough that you can get kinda lost). If you haven't played it, the Creature table is a fantastic tribute to not just the legendary 3D movie, but also 1950s drive-in culture, with features representing the snack bar, the playground, the projection booth, etc. Bouncy synthesized versions of 50s hits play in the background. The whole experience is just a vibe.

But the coolest thing about the original Creature table is the 3D center plate, which is inlaid down into the table's surface as an homage to the original 3D nature of the film. From Wikipedia:

The centerpiece of the table's playfield is a holographic depiction of the titular Creature, illuminated and in motion during multiball play within its "Black Lagoon habitat" (the space beneath the playfield visible through a customized window). The green hologram was produced by Polaroid and is affixed to a metal plate that is divided into three sections which are designed so that the hologram appears to float. A cam behind one section presses against the back of the plate, gently bending the hologram's surface, so that the Creature appears to "ripple" as if underwater and to swipe at the player with its claw. A second motor mounted in the bottom of the cabinet oscillates the light-reflecting mirror, changing the direction of the light source and causing the image of the creature to slowly turn from side to side.

It's a really great effect when you see it in real life, and it is recreated and enhanced to stunning effect when you play the table in VR. The default effect has a bubble field with some very cool depth to it. The Creature actively swims around under the surface of the table, occasionally snagging the ball when the player experiences a ball out and paddling away into the depths with it. In between balls, the Creature swims to the surface and pops his head up onto the table and peers around. It's a stellar effect that really commits to the 3D of the film, the table, the game, and VR in general. 

The trailer for the flat version, which shows off the creature effects a bit.

Zen Studios continues to innovate in ways to both recreate and enhance Williams/Bally tables, but in a basement arcade full of super cool effects, this is one the very best I've seen. If you have a Meta Quest 3 and you don't have Pinball FX VR, you are absolutely missing out on one of the very best experiences available for the platform. 

Since engaging with my relatively newfound love for Walkabout Mini Golf, I've been intrigued with the prospect of trying out every new course developer Mighty Coconut creates for the game. The courses are deeply elaborate, feeling like entire slices of fantastic worlds that just happen to have minigolf courses laid into them. It is amazing how well Mighty Coconut can convey a sense of time and place with it's stylized graphical approach, and the use of some very deliberate sound cues.

The latest (37th!) course for Walkabout Mini Golf releases today, December 4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland takes the player on a tour of some of the more notable moments from Lewis Carroll's classic - and sometimes creepy - literary work. 

As players become more deeply familiar with Walkabout Mini Golf's courses, they start to notice that many of the courses have a "hook". For example, the Laser Lair uses various laser traps that can fry your ball if you mistime your shot. Upside Town plays with the player's perspective and gravity to deliver a funhouse effect. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seizes on the book's shrinking and growing dynamic to deliver a unique and sometimes puzzling experience. 

I've had a chance to play through all 36 holes in the new course (18 easy holes and 18 hard), and I'm pleased to report that Mighty Coconut's trademark creativity is on full display here. Players will quickly recognize the characters from the book and the settings, but the golf dynamics at play are a bit more elusive until you figure out what is going on. How, for example, do you handle a situation when your ball is far to large to fit into the tiny hole?

I don't want to spoil any of the puzzles, but I will say that I recommend playing through the course the first few times just for fun, not worrying about your score until you get a handle on how to best navigate the sometimes surprising effects at play. If you find yourself wondering how the heck you are going to manage a certain shot, take a step back and reexamine the possibilities. As usual, there is likely a solution that will present itself if you mess around a little bit. 

In addition to the new course, Walkabout Mini Golf is also receiving an overall update, adding a friends list that will make it easier to connect with your buddies in-game. New course filters are also available, which will help players that don't want to continuously scroll through the entire list to get to what they are looking for - 37 courses are becoming a bit unwieldy to get through, I suppose. All of this in addition to the other recent additions and changes (you can now play Chess in-game, which Mighty Coconut seems to have added just for the fun of it). 

It's great fun to continue exploring the way Mighty Coconut fills these courses with creativity and life. I love the mini golf, but I also have a great time just exploring the worlds, poking at the corners to see what I can find. I can't want to jump into this course with the Gaming Nexus gang to watch them gasp with surprise the same way I did at certain points. We all know Alice's story, but Wonderland still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

My review for Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked went live yesterday, and while I absolutely love the game, I did reserve some minor critiques for its "Hirelings" system. Demeo is typically a four-player game but can still be greatly enjoyable played alone. Hirelings are the mechanic Battlemarked currently uses to fills out your adventure party when you play solo. To build out a party of four, you choose one of your own custom characters and then fill out the other three with "Hirelings"—which are standardized characters that don't level up. 

From my review:

My primary issue is that, while playing solo, you can only bring one of your created characters into the game. Meaning that if I choose to bring my pet rogue into a solo campaign, the other three characters I play with are “hirelings”, meaning that they don’t pick up XP or advance. My pool of created characters sits stagnant on a server somewhere while I adventure around with look-alike chumps, who never advance and get zero benefit from my adventures. I absolutely understand the reasons for this decision - every player would instantly be dropping into multiplayer with a cadre of maxed out adventurers. But the other side of the coin is that I don’t want to solo the campaigns six times to build out my stable. There has to be a middle ground somewhere between “make everyone a God” and “stupid hirelings”.

Well, one day later, it seems as though this isn't going to be an issue much longer. Demeo dev Resolution Games today announced a two-step "Hirelings Redesign," which will now allow players to fill out their single player party with their own created characters.

From Resolutions Games' Dev Update:

Phase 1 - Singleplayer

The first phase of this change will affect the singleplayer portion of the game, as this is where the basis of a lot of the feedback has come from. What we plan to do is to give players the option of filling the party with customized heroes that then gather XP and can be leveled up. 

Phase 2 - Multiplayer

Multiplayer is much more complex for this; players join, leave, rejoin, and doing that while also bringing your own heroes into the session becomes more complicated. It becomes a much larger task, both from a technical perspective, for user interface design, and overall experience for you.

This phase will be a later update so that we can properly estimate and account for potential issues with this system.

I usually avoid press and user reviews while writing a review of a game so that I don't get unduly influenced by the experiences of others; I was surprised to see that my dislike of Hirelings mechanic was so universally shared. That said, Resolution has long been a very responsive game developer, prioritizing feedback from players to deliver quick solutions to issues, so the fact that they are moving on this almost immediately doesn't surprise me a bit.

From the blog post, it seems as though Phase 1 will be ready fairly quickly, while Phase 2 will need to cook for a while due to the greater complexity of the issue. No worries at all on that from my end, I'm very happy to patiently await these updates. It's just nice to know that Resolution Games is continuing its tradition of responsiveness and care. Three cheers for the end—or at least the "redesign"—of Hirelings!

Publisher Arc Games announced today that it has reached an agreement with Embracer Group to complete a buyout of itself from the Swedish gaming conglomerate, establishing itself as an independent publisher. Arc Games will keep its existing organizational structure and leadership, including CEO Yoon Im, who said the team is excited for the next chapter in a prepared statement:

“This milestone marks a major new chapter for Arc Games,” said Yoon Im, CEO of Arc Games. “We appreciate our time being part of Embracer Group and the accomplishments achieved since the company’s inception over 15 years ago. These experiences have shaped who we are today. As an independent publisher, we are now positioned to more fully pursue our vision—collaborating with exceptional developers worldwide and bringing standout games to market. 2026 is already shaping up to be one of the most ambitious and innovative years in our history, and we are excited for what lies ahead.”

Arc Games is known for publishing AA and indie games on PC and consoles such as Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, the Remnant series, the Torchlight series, and most recently, Fellowship, some of which were published under their old name – Perfect World Entertainment. Arc Games now turns to the future, with new unannounced games on the horizon and a call for new partnerships with developers looking to bring their game to market. Let’s keep an eye on their future endeavors.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition (4e) continues its feature creep into D&D 5e. It all began when the boar showed up in the 5e 2024 Player's Handbook with the Bloodied condition. "Bloodied" simply means that a creature (player character, nonplayer character, monster, or what have you) has been knocked down to half its hit points. For the vast majority of creatures, being Bloodied is merely a narrative footnote. But for an increasing number of creatures, it's having a gameplay effect.

Take the aforementioned boar: When a boar is knocked down to half its hit points or fewer, it becomes Bloodied. When a boar is Bloodied, it begins rolling its attacks with Advantage. Having Advantage on your attacks means you roll with two 20-sided dice—instead of just one—and take the higher result. Advantage is awesome. Everybody loves it. There's never a time when you don't want Advantage. Unless you're volunteering to fail a Saving Throw or Ability Check, etc., and that's a whole other situation.

Suffice it to say, when that boar becomes Bloodied, it gets nasty. 

Now, thanks to the Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun player expansion, there's a general Feat you can select, starting at Level 4, that makes you fight as nasty as that Bloodied boar: Purple Dragon Commandant.

Purple Dragons? There are Purple Dragons in D&D? Close. They're Amethyst Dragons, introduced in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. Only in the last decade have Amethyst Dragons partnered with a faction of warriors called the Purple Dragon Knights.

To get this Bloodied feat, you start by taking the Purple Dragon Squire background. The Purple Dragon Squire background gives you the Purple Dragon Rook feat at Level 1. At Level 4, having the Purple Dragon Rook feat (and/or Martial Weapons Proficiency) gives you access to the Purple Dragon Commandant feat. The Purple Dragon Commandant feat has a benefit called Last Stand. Last Stand gives you advantage on attack rolls while Bloodied. Boom.

That's a lot of proper nouns, I know. And it's less straightforward when I'm typing it out in a paragraph. But that's how you do it.

If being a do-gooder Purple Dragon Knight doesn't sound like your cup of joe, then you're still able to access the Purple Dragon Commandant feat by having Martial Weapons Proficiency. So, it's probably not an easy get for dedicated spellcasters, but players dip into multiclassing builds all the time. 

Pretty awesome when you've got a feat that will make you fight harder, but also make you hold off on gulping that healing potion for one more round, or make your warrior tell the Cleric to heal somebody else on their turn.

That is not a typo. NBA2K26 is already on Season 3, and there's a lot going on, and it's all being highlighted by Piston's star Cade Cunningham. I'll try to sum it up. 

The MyPark for Season 3 is a remaster of the NBA 2K16 Sunset Beach. It call comes with the volcano, the fish tank, the lazy river, and all. Reminder that all park games get you a 25% rep bonus, if you're good at this sort of thing.

Rewards range from a Snowflake Ball Trail at Level 3, and at level 39, you get to play as a gingerbread man. Others include a new release graphic at level 12, a Jetpack (for only Gen 9 players) at level 18, and a No Limit basketball jersey at level 36, which is crazy to me. 

MyTeam cards being added as rewards include Evolution Kyle Kuzma at level 1, Diamond Kyrie Irving at level 20, Pink Diamond Alonzo Mourning at level 30 and Galaxy Opal Rookie #1 Anthony Edwards at Level 40. If you're thinking about playing it on mobile, you will receive a Pink Diamond Jalen Brunson. MyTeam card.

The Pro Pass is where it gets a little tricky. If you buy into the pro pass, you'll get 4 automatic rewards, including a MyTeam Pink Diamond Cade Cunningham, and the chance to earn 40 more rewards that you cannot earn on the standard pass. At level 3, you'll get the No Limit Chain AND Jersey. At level 25, you'll get a legend badge pack, and at level 40, you'll get the Pro-Pass Galaxy Opal Anthony Edwards, which I will probably never get to. 

There are plenty more rewards, unlocks, and other NBA2K26 goodies in Season 3. Go here for more info.