Ok ok. Perhaps I was a little harsh on TMNT Splintered Fate for the Nintendo Switch. I gave it a 6.5, based on many bugs, and a very steep upgrade system. While I think Hades 2 was more balanced and rewarding for your progress, or lack thereof, TMNT wanted you to stay in your shell for as long as you possibly could. But this is before all the updates to Splintered Fate, and Super Evil Megacorp and I are hopefully on the road to friendship. Right? RIGHT?!

TMNT Splintered Fate wants to be on everything, and it's about to now come to the Nintendo Switch 2. The upgrade promises visual enhancements, and a better frame rate. Those visuals and that frame rate clocks in at 4K, 60 FPS. You can also use Game Chat, AND Game Share, which means if someone doesn't own the game, they can play multiplayer with you if they have a Switch 1 or 2. This officially means that it's out for everything! 

Releasing December 16th, the upgrade is only TWO DOLLARS AND FORTY NINE CENTS (USD) That's the end of the post. 

I'm not even going to embellish this with any sort of historic nonsense of where I was when Tekken first came out. Katsuhiro Harada, chief producer and game director for the Tekken and Soul Calibur,  among other fighting games, is leaving Bandai Namco after 31 years. You can see his tweet here. 

Tekken 8's team followed up saying that the are "fully commited to the future development and content plans for Tekken 8", and that they "will continue to take community feedback and its content to heart to ensure that we uphold the vision and spirit built by Harada-San..."

Maximilian Dood had his own perspective and kind words to say about the boss of all bosses. More people have weighed in on his departure, but I just wanted to personally say thank you for being one of the best. And I wish you the best of luck. If you don't have Twitter, Gaming Nexus has got you covered.

"I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. With the TEKKEN series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close.

My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centers overseas. I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to “Please try TEKKEN,” and directly facing the players right in front of me.

The conversations and atmosphere we shared in those places became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator.

Even as the times changed, those experiences have remained at the center of my identity.

And even after the tournament scene grew much larger, many of you continued to treat me like an old friend—challenging me at venues, inviting me out for drinks at bars.

Those memories are also deeply precious to me. In recent years, I experienced the loss of several close friends in my personal life, and in my professional life I witnessed the retirement or passing of many senior colleagues whom I deeply respect. Those accumulated events made me reflect on the “time I have left as a creator.”

During that period, I sought advice from Ken Kutaragi—whom I respect as though he were another father—and received invaluable encouragement and guidance. His words quietly supported me in making this decision.

Over the past four to five years, I’ve gradually handed over all of my responsibilities, as well as the stories and worldbuilding I oversaw, to the team, bringing me to the present day. Looking back, I was fortunate to work on an extraordinary variety of projects—VR titles (such as Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the Soul Calibur series, and many others, both inside and outside the company.

Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me. To everyone who has supported me, to communities around the world, and to all the colleagues who have walked alongside me for so many years, I offer my deepest gratitude. I’ll share more about my next steps at a later date. Thank you very much for everything.

Although I will be leaving the company at the end of 2025, Bandai Namco has asked me to appear at the TWT Finals at the end of January 2026, so I expect to attend as a guest.

For 30 years I kept saying, “I’ll do it someday,” and never once performed as a DJ at a tournament event. So instead, I will be releasing—for the first and last time—a 60-minute TEKKEN DJ-style nonstop mix (DJ mix), personally edited by myself, together with this announcement. Listening to it brings back many memories.

Thank you again, sincerely, for all these years.

‘TEKKEN: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix’ by Katsuhiro Harada 1 is on #SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/pEYofA4yXOwyC7lj0O

December 8, 2025 - The Final Day of TEKKEN’s 30th Anniversary"

- Katsuhiro Harada

Well... the time has finally arrived. Tomb Raider fans have waited six years to find out what would be next for our favorite adventurer Lara Croft and it seems we will find out what the future holds for the series as Geoff Keighley has confirmed that there will be a reveal for the "The future of Tomb Raider" and as a huge fan of this series, I'm very excited but I'm also terrified. 

The one thing that I hope for more than anything else is that I really hope we finally go back to classic Tomb Raider where Lara is going on a globe trotting adventure where she's actually raiding tombs, fighting bears and gorillas and giant dinosaurs while the environment itself is a giant puzzle. 

Look the 2012 reboot of Tomb Raider was great and I really liked how it was an origin story and showing how Lara became the Lara Croft we all knew and loved. So I assumed that after that game things would be back to normal. That never happened. Three games into that trilogy and Lara never advanced as a character. She's constantly a victim, constantly calling for Jonah's help, constantly dealing with PTSD and we semi open world games while fighting Trinity, which were awful villains. 

Either way, we will see what's in store for Lara when the reveal happens this Thursday. 

The new Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun Dungeon Master Expansion finally sends D&D 5th Edition's (5e) map beyond the Sword Coast. For too long, too many adventures clung too tightly to the thousand-mile coastline between Baldur's Gate in the south, and Icewind Dale in the north. 

But no more. As only one example, the surprisingly large archipelago called the Moonshae Isles is finally part of the Forgotten Realms' growth. At least as far as D&D 5e is concerned. According to a recent blog on D&D Beyond:

The Moonshae Isles are where wild magic, ancient tradition, and the Feywild all collide into a mix of unpredictable adventure.

I'd even throw swashbuckling high fantasy into the mix, giving the fairytale land a distinctly Peter Pan and the Lost Boys flair. Not to mention the writers at Wizards of the Coast have decided the place needs a catalyst for adventure in the Moonshae—just so it's not all rainbows and pixies when you arrive. What they've added is a curse called the Rusting.

Heck yeah.

At less than a week's distance by boat, you're one easy travel montage away from the tired old Sword Coast to a land of fresh, new adventure. 

According to the full-page spread of artwork kicking off the Moonshae Isles in the Adventures in Faerun book, the place looks like Moana windsurfing on the edge of a waterfall, with Jack and the Beanstalk tree growths carrying Disney castles up into the sky. It's lovely.

Until you see the Rusting take over a Basking Shark and you're all like, Siiiick, and then you spot Rusting Pirate ships sitting low in the water like crocodiles flaking away. So, now your Dungeon Master has got a reason to take you there—a purpose for adventure. The Moonshae is no longer just, Oh look, a faerie dragon with butterfly wings, that's cute. 

You now have a bona fide eco-adventure on your hands, leading the peoples of Fern Gully against Captain Hook on his rust bucket. Or something like that. The Moonshae Isles section in the Adventures in Faerun book comes with several of those adventure outlines that give you a page or half-a-page of adventure ideas.

By the way, those short adventure ideas aren't bad. I can flip through D&D books' usual random tables all day and not really narrow things down to something useful. But these little half-pagers cobble together a hook, some encounters, some monsters, and an attainable goal. 

The Moonshae Isles section alone has half-page adventures for DMs that go something like:

• The Rushdown Well (a location-based level 3 adventure) where you save a Moonwell from the Rusting.
• Message in a Bottle (level 4 adventure) where you win a castle from a fey queen.
• Wreck of the Silverhand (level 6 adventure) where you recover a famous treasure from a sunken ship.
• The Treaty of Ostoria (level 8 adventure) where you win the friendship of a fire giant king.

These half-page adventures are a full-court-press away from 5e's previous campaign-length adventure books. Those things can take a year or two. Or three. It all depends on how long, hard, and consistent your group is when meting out D&D "sessions." 

But what are those one-, two-, and three-year campaigns but a series of (basically) half-page adventure prompts with a hook, some encounters, some monsters, and a series of attainable goals? D&D 2024 has simply deconstructed the singular, on-rails, campaign-length adventure and given Dungeon Masters the ability to drag and drop whatever they need into their campaign. 

I like it. Though I haven't been able to try this modular approach yet because I've been running Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen for two years now. When the light finally appears at the end of the tunnel, it might be a time to visit Myth Drannor, a megadungeon in the opposite direction of Moonshae.

The Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun (and Heroes in Faerun player expansion) launched November 11.

Great news for Nicktoons and the Dice of Destiny fans, such as myself, because the game officially launched on Switch2 last week.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny features increased resolution to 1240p and 60 FPS, as well as improved lighting, particle effects, anti-aliasing and more. Already own the original Switch version of the game? No worries, those enhancements will be automatically updated when playing on Nintendo Switch 2 with a free performance update for the game - coming soon.

New to the game and want to learn more? You can read my review here. 

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is available now on Nintendo Switch 2, as well as Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and the Epic Games Store. The "Wardrobe of Wonder" DLC, which includes in-game costumes for each character, is also available on Nintendo Switch 2 as part of the game's Deluxe Edition, or purchased seperately.

Developer 1047 Games announced that Splitgate 2 is set to re-emerge and re-launch as SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded on December 17^th. It will be available free-to-play on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. After a lackluster launch back in June, Splitgate 2 “unlaunched” into a beta phase, and appears it is now ready to reappear with some major changes led by community feedback, according to 1047 Games:

“Splitgate has always been a love letter to the arena shooters we grew up playing,” said 1047 Games Design Director Josh Watson. “We’ve been hard at work rebuilding the game from the ground up, taking the best of Splitgate 1 and Splitgate 2, removing what didn’t work, and refining what did.”

Most notably, SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded removes factions and character abilities, getting back to the basics that made the first game so enjoyable. 1047 has worked on refining everything from core combat to the user interface as well. You can check out the big ticket changes and a new trailer below.

• Removed Factions, Abilities, and select equipment to refocus on classic arena combat
• Rebuilt progression from the ground up and overhauled the Ranked system
• Introduced 5 new, and 6 fully-reworked maps, 3 new Primary Weapons and 1 new Power Weapon: the Railgun
• New Arena modes, playlist selection, and a true Classic Arena mode with even starts and powerups
• Reduced store prices, simplified the Battle Pass, and improved overall cosmetic quality

Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) announced yesterday that it has entered a publishing partnership with Bad Robot Games, a division of Bad Robot, which is the film and television production company founded by JJ Abrams. PlayStation will publish Bad Robot Games’ first video game, a four-player cooperative shooter directed by Mike Booth, the lead designer on Left 4 Dead. The untitled game will launch on PlayStation 5 and PC, though no release window was announced.

My curiosity is certainly piqued, and it sounds like if the game is a success, it may spawn other entertainment ventures, according to Anna Sweet, CEO of Bad Robot Games:

“Partnering with Sony Interactive Entertainment allows us to bring our new IP to life, with an expansive vision for this new universe,” said Anna Sweet, CEO of Bad Robot Games. “With the support of PlayStation, we hope to deliver a bold, innovative experience that is truly special for players. I could not be more excited that Mike Booth is at the creative helm, crafting a cooperative adventure that will lead to unforgettable moments with friends.”

That’s all we have to go on for now – no name, no logo, no trailer, no release date – but I did discover a playtest sign-up link at the Bad Robot Games website, if you’re interested.

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.