When we think of post-apocalyptic settings, we think of settings like Mad Max, Fallout, and The Last of Us. It's typically in the future, it's typically got (the rusted, broken, disheveled) remnants of the real world, and the level of technology is in decline if not entirely erased.

But many fantasy worlds are post-apocalyptic as well. Especially in Dungeons & Dragons. Dragonlance suffered the Cataclysm when the gods threw down a fiery mountain. Critical Role's world of Exandria went through The Calamity, as Dungeon Mastered by Brennan Lee Mulligan. Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic eco-fantasy as wizards defile the land, draining the world of plant life until there's nothing left but bones and dust. Last but not least, Forgotten Realms was rewritten from the events of the Spellplague when the god of magic was assassinated and magic stopped working for a decade.

On a different scale, the Forgotten Realms city of Cormanthor was peak high magic some 800 years ago. It would later be renamed Myth Drannor after a flying city from the Shadowfell crashed into the city, basically causing a Chornobyl-scale event that forced the inhabitants to abandon their overly magical homes and lifestyles. Don't quote me on that; the wiki page on Myth Drannor is over 4,300 words long—and that's before you click on any one of its hundreds of links.

Its novel-length history notwithstanding, the ruins of Myth Drannor are the first above-ground megadungeon I've seen in the Forgotten Realms. Waterdeep on the Sword Coast has Undermountain a.k.a. the Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Now The Dalelands has Myth Drannor for your campaign-length dungeon-exploration needs.

And just look at these depictions of Myth Drannor. The painstakingly hand-drawn map. The wide-angle view from a nearby village in the massive trees. Visit this page on D&D Beyond to get these two megapixel images of the megadungeon.

Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun (a Dungeon Master Expansion) and Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun (a Player Expansion) released November 11. They finally expanded the map of Faerun beyond the Sword Coast, and they're being epic about it.

After I got my access to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, 6 other real world doors opened, so I haven't had the chance to really sink my teeth into it. The staff is talking about getting everyone together and going out to blast zombies, but it hasn't happened yet. I suppose I can round up some other troops in the meantime, but I'm noticing the discourse online. There are people who don't like the campaign, and the always online situation. 

Low and behold, the internet has spoken and showed their disdain for the use of AI in video games, and I'm not talking about the computer controlled enemies. I also don't mean to draw attention to negative thoughts, but I don't even know if this is a play it yourself and find out. This is always why Game Pass was a good thing before they jacked up the price on that. I don't know if I agree with review bombing, especially over a campaign for a multi-player game. I suppose I need to check it out for myself. 

It's out now for everyone who has it. I'll see you out there. Try to hold over until then. Here's some footage from the beta. 

23 months ago, if you're being technical. I pointed out that there were a few things that probably needed patched up for the Nintendo Switch Version of Bluey: The Videogame. Over those 2 years, a few patches and updates came through and definitely made the game more playable. Some of those patches gave a better frame rate as well. The biggest update came with an entire reworking of the mini games, back in May of this year. 

In June, Outright Games added two more characters, Uncle Stripe and Muffin, to the selectable characters, and 7 more dress up items. They also added more items to find, in order to unlock Uncle Stripe, and this was all for the free. I told my kid about this update, but we were knee deep in Animal Crossing, and Luigi's Mansion 3, both on her backlog. 

I guess in September, another update was pushed into the game, adding fetch quests for Grand Dad, Nana, and Aunt Trixie, allowing you to unlock even more costumes and accessories. The update also further expands the sticker book. Noticeable changes for me included a bigger house, and expanded levels. And on the Nintendo Switch 2, even in handheld, these characters look like butter. 

They did it. They finally did it. The couch co-op for the family is indeed Bluey: The Videogame. I suggest you wipe your save and start from scratch to get the full experience, or be like me, and let your kid ask you to play with them. It's up to four players, after all. I should've reviewed it. The added bonus is my kid bouncing the game back and forth between her inherited Switch 1, and our Switch 2, via the Virtual Game Card service. It takes seconds, and is super easy to do. 

Bluey: The Videogame is probably on sale right now. It's on Xbox Gamepas for now, and I'm looking at a brand new Nintendo Switch physical copy at Walmart for $18. The full price is $40, so I suggest you pick it up for your kiddos soon. I liked it then. I love it now. Good work, Outright Games.

The Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide talks about "flavors of fantasy" in the Creating Campaigns chapter. There's Heroic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Mythic Fantasy, Supernatural Horror, Mystery, Swashbuckling, and War. The most important flavor of fantasy, at least according to the new Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun and Adventures in Faerun duology is Epic Fantasy:

An epic fantasy campaign emphasizes the conflict between good and evil, with the adventurers on the side of good. These heroic characters are driven by a higher purpose than selfish gain or ambition. Characters might struggle with moral quandaries, fighting the evil tendencies within themselves as well as the evil that threatens the world. And the stories of these campaigns often include an element of romance: tragic affairs between star-crossed lovers, passion that transcends even death, and chaste adoration between knights and nobles.

Romance? Hey, there's a reason why some of the highest-rated RPG and adventure video games are so highly rated: They weren't afraid to make you pick between Ashley and Kaiden in Mass Effect, Yennefer and Triss in The Witcher 3, or, for a more recent example, Blonde Blazer and Invisigal in Dispatch. (But woe betide the fool that ever goes for both.)

Ahem. "Epic Fantasy." Back to epic fantasy. 

In the short year between the Dungeon Master's Guide (2024) and these new Forgotten Realms player and Dungeon Master expansions, Epic Fantasy may have dropped the romance options, but it won't stop informing you of just how epic its epic fantasy is.

Which is to say, in case you never thought of the Forgotten Realms as epic, don't worry: It'll tell you.

"Heroes in Faerun come from...all walks of life. But they have one thing in common: their epic nature." - Pretty much the first thing the Heroes of Faerun book tells you.

But it doesn't stop there.

• "Characters stand out among these adventurers as epic figures"
• "Inspiration for your own character's epic nature"
• "An epic character is distinguished by their destiny"
• "Develop an epic destiny"
• "Crafting epic characters"

In Adventures in Faerun (the Dungeon Master's Expansion), they push their epic agenda even further.

• "Adventures in the Realms have one thing in common: their epic nature"
• "Dozens of epic adventures"
• "A world of epic characters and epic adventures"
• "Making your Forgotten Realms games—and players!—feel epic"

I could go on. That's on page 4 alone. Turn the page to the chapter on Running the Realms, and it becomes endearingly comical.

• "Epic campaigns require epic adversaries"
• "Epic stories are distinguished by epic stakes"
• "Epic threats and stakes can result in epic deaths"

At least you know publisher Wizards of the Coast is doing it on purpose. They literally say "epic" 47 times in the span of 7 pages. You kind of have to admire their dedication.

The tone of such wildly various adventures can be described by one word: epic.

And by golly they do. To be fair, they ease up off the "epic" gas after that. It's just kinda how they do things at D&D HQ nowadays. Like when the DM's Guide (2024) says the word "fun" so many times it stops making sense.

The Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun player expansion and Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun Dungeon Master expansion came out November 11. While hammering on their epic nature, they do manage to expand 5e's known world to include the Moonshae Isles, The Dalelands, and Calimshan.

Another module has been added to the Atari 50: Anniversary Collection.  The Namco Legendary Pack became available on the 13th. Namco and Atari are back together again. But they're just friends. 

Pac-Man, Galaxian, Galaga, Dig Dug, and Xevious, are all now available as part of the DLC, with an entire interactive module talking about the beginnings of the Atari-Namco. Full of flyers, artwork, and interviews, the module contains more information than you thought you would ever need. It is, however, centered around one of the best selling titles of the the Atari 2600's history, and that is Pac-Man. 

I learned that Namco is the short version of Nakamura Manufacturing Company. They used to make ride on horses for supermarkets, and Masaya Nakamura used to polish and repair those himself. Namco helped Atari get noticed in Japan. They then bought, and ran the Japanese division of Atari after a few hits after they manufactured Breakout and Pong Arcade machines. All this was before Puck-Man was available in Japan. Galaxian was actually before the Pac-Man arcade game, and it wasn't until two years later we would see Pac-Man at home for the states. 

Tod Frye, the developer of Pac-Man VCS talks a lot about his process in porting this game over to the Atari 2600. He talks about how he had limitations, obviously. He speaks on not using the black screen background, how he killed the argument about the flicker with the ghosts, and what royalties he saw from the sale of 8 million copies. 

The ear wax that is Pac-Man for the 2600 is readily available, whether you go through the module or not. Pac-Man is also available for the 5200, and the Atari 800 for this compilation. Sadly, there is no arcade version. Also left out of the arcade version are both Galaxian and its sequel, Galaga. There are versions of these games for the 2600, 5200, and 7800, but that's where it stops. There are arcade versions of Xevious, and Dig Dug, and yes, Dig Dug is just as addictive. 

You can download the add on for $7.99USD. If you haven't added any of the modules to Atari 50, there's a DLC bundle for them all for a little over $20 USD, or buy the game with DLC for $50 USD. It's not a bad compilation at all, and the games that come with span all the way to the Atari Jaguar. I absolutely loved it in my review, even though it left me wanting more. I'm puzzled on why Galaga, Galaxian and Pac-Man arcade versions aren't here, but I guess I can't have it all. I'll just fire up the Arcade 1up, and try to beat my own high scores, but that also means all my plans are cancelled for the evening. 

Nintendo dropped a new trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, available December 4th for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The trailer gives an overview of the story, locations, and the powers and abilities that Samus can obtain throughout her mission. Some abilities will be familiar to series veterans, while others are brand new powers from the planet Viewros such as the Control Beam and Psychic Glove. Three new Amiibo figures will also be available with two available now for Samus along with Samus riding Vi-O-LA, and a new Sylux Amiibo will be available at launch.

Seeker Games, a new indie studio helmed by veteran developers from Blizzard Entertainment, Maxis, Riot Games, and Sony Online Entertainment, has announced its debut project, titled KinForge. These folks have only worked on some of the biggest and most popular game franchises on the planet, such as Diablo, Dragon Age, EverQuest, League of Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, and World of Warcraft.

KinForge is a cooperative, creature-collecting action-RPG where nature has been corrupted by greedy corporations that have found Pokemon-like creatures known as Elementals powering the world. The player characters can bond with these Elementals as companions and use their powers to fight back against the corpos.

Prior to each mission, you will choose which Elemantals to bond with at your home base – the Preserve – which determines which abilities you must fight with. The Preserve is also where you will reincarnate downed Elementals, forge new abilities, and team up with other players between procedurally generated missions.

It looks like a unique blend of several genres, and I’m really digging the art style. KinForge is coming to PC first, and potentially consoles after that, though no release date has been announced. Check out the reveal trailer below:

Racing specialist Milestone has announced RIDE 6, the next entry in its long-running motorcycle racing series, coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 12^th, 2026. Early Access for purchases of premium editions will begin on February 9^th.

RIDE 6 brings with it an all-new career mode called RIDE Fest, which is a touring festival that lets players select a real-life rider to compete across seven racing categories, from off-road to Bagger bikes. Some of the real racers include Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss, and Guy Martin. RIDE 6 will also feature the largest selection of bikes in the series’ history, with more than 340 motorcycles from 21 manufacturers, as well as 45 tracks to take them out on.

Made with Unreal Engine 5, a new dual-physics system is being introduced for 6 to provide a racing experience for everyone. The Pro physics system will feature the highest level of simulation for those wanting maximum realism. Meanwhile, the Arcade phsyics system is more welcoming to newcomers just trying to get their bearings in motorcycle racing.

RIDE 6 also includes Riding School for skills development, full cross-platform multiplayer, local split-screen multiplayer, a full customization suite, and a race creator.

Check out the new announcement trailer:

The long-rumored MMORPG set in PlayStation's Horizon universe is real, it's called Horizon Steel Frontiers, and NCSOFT is developing it for PC and mobile devices. That’s right – no PlayStation 5 version is planned for one of PlayStation’s biggest franchises, which was sired by Guerilla Games, who is collaborating on the development of Horizon Steel Frontiers, of course.

In Horizon Steel Frontiers, players venture into the Deadlands to hunt the robot machines the series is known for. NCSOFT is leaning more into Monster Hunter-style gameplay systems for Steel Frontiers while adding MMORPG elements, which I think makes a lot of sense for Horizon.

I’m not going to lie, I am salty that this is not coming to PS5 – likely to leave runway for the other rumored Horizon online title from Guerrilla Games – but it does look incredible. No release date has been announced for Horizon Steel Frontiers, but you can check out the extensive reveal trailer below.

Nine months after it was released, the final DLC pack for WWE 2K25, the "Saturday Nights Main Event" pack has been released and includes a number of legends from the Golden Era of the 80's. 

The wrestlers included in the Saturday Night's Main Event pack include...

• Junkyard Dog
• Jesse "The Body" Ventura
• "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff 
• Sid Justice
• Tito Santana

The DLC pack also includes 60 new moves and taunts that you can assign to your created wrestlers or assign to wrestlers already in the game. The DLC pack also contains cards that you can use for My Faction. 

With that, another WWE game is in the books as we most likely won't get any other updates after this. If 2K keeps with their schedule for the last four years, we will most likely get the reveal of WWE 2K26 in a few months at the Royal Rumble. WWE 2K25 was a step in the right direction but there are unfortunately a number of small issues that are still plaguing the game year after year. I am hoping that next year we finally see that big update that Universe mode desperately needs.