Publisher Vertigo Games and co-developers Vertigo Studios Rotterdam and Exkee announced the revival of legendary 90s PC mystery adventure game The 7^th Guest this week at the Meta Showcase. Like the game, not all is as it seems however, as Vertigo is remaking it from the ground-up for virtual reality, and it’s releasing this year on Quest 2, the newly announced Quest 3, PCVR, and PlayStation VR2. It should be noted that a PS VR2 has not been outright confirmed by Vertigo games, save for the splash screen at the end of the trailer in this tweet.

This VR re-imagining will retain the original game’s live-action FMV sequences, but also features cutting-edge volumetric video capture for ghostly performances. The original story has been preserved as well only with new bells & whistles that take advantage of modern VR hardware, including re-worked and newly added puzzles. The 7^th Guest mansion has also been rebuilt with high-end visuals and optical illusions only possible in VR.

I don’t normally do scary games, but this looks more along the lines of a delightfully creepy VR ghost story, and I am here for it. Check out the reveal trailer below:

Resolution Games is about to level up it's much-loved VR tabletop RPG Demeo, with the announcement of Demeo Battles, a new 1v1/2v2 PVP game played within the "Demeo Action Role Playing System". This means that Demeo Battles will look and play a lot like the original Demeo, using a lot of the existing mechanics to create a very different experience.

In Demeo Battles, players will face off in one of Resolution's carefully designed Demeo dungeons. After choosing a champion, cards, and a monster army, they'll take to the field to try to defeat the other players to become the last character standing. Players will attack each other (and heal themselves), all while trying to avoid "The Burn", a somewhat familiar sounding mechanic that will expand fire across the map, eventually pushing the players closer and closer together.

Is it a battle royale played on Demeo maps? Well, it certainly seems to use some battle royale mechanics, but there is a maximum of four players, and Demeo Battles is still a turn-based RPG board game. You'll still be rolling dice, moving your dudes around, and carefully avoiding monster attacks. 

Frankly, the whole thing sounds fantastic. Demeo is a blast, and it's great to see the team at Resolution Games stretch the franchise in interesting new directions. The Gaming Nexus gang is gonna go nuts for this one, for sure.

Demeo Battles will launch later this year and can be wishlisted starting today on Steam and the Meta Quest Store. Demeo Battles will support cross-play across PC and VR. No word yet on a PS VR2 release, but we'll keep you posted if any news develops on that front. 

It's not all about the Meta Quest 3 today as Bigscreen has announced some nice improvements for their VR HMD, the Bigscreen Beyond.

First off, FOV has increased 9-10 degrees as they are going from roughly 93 degrees to 102 degrees. That's still smaller than the likes of the Meta Quest 2, the Reverb G2, or the Vive Pro, but any increase is a welcome change and this will come to all those who already have their Beyond except for those what have an IPD of greater than 69. That's just due to physical limitations.

Secondly, clarity and sweet spot gets an improvement as well. I do really like the microOLEDs in my Nreal Airs and the Beyond uses microOLEDs as well, so it's good to see improvements in these two categories as the image quality and clarity of the microOLEDs when dialed in are really nice. You can now also expect 32PPD with the Beyond improving the visual quality of the HMD.

Finally, IPD range has increased with the range now consisting of 53MM to 74MM accommodating a wider range of people to use the Beyond comfortably.

The Bigscreen Beyond is up for pre-order now starting at $999. It's not cheap mind you, but it is a very intriguing VR headset in terms of picture quality and physical design. Expect orders to begin shipping in Q3 of this year.

AEW: Fight Forever launches in less than a month and today we got info about the pre-order bonus and DLC for the game. Pre-ordering the game will get you two versions of Matt Hardy. Both regular Matt Hardy and "Broken" Matt Hardy. 

They also announced that there will be an "Elite Edition" of the game which will include a season pass. 

Season pass 1 includes the following...

• FTR Pack: Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Minigame JoinUs, Minigame Deth Race-X.
• Limitless Bunny Bundle: Keith Lee, The Bunny, Minigame MJF Car Thrash, Minigame Sloth Sling.
• Very Evil Pack: Danhausen, Hook.

Considering we are less than a month from launch and we still don't know the entire roster, I'm a little concerned. A lot of these wrestlers have been with AEW now for years. Matt Hardy for instance has been there since 2020 so I'm not sure why he's a pre-order bonus. I am also not a fan at all of minigames as DLC. Myself I want more match types and wrestlers as DLC as the minigames they have showed off look like something you'll play for 30 seconds and never touch again. At the very least the game is looking fun to play. 

AEW: Fight Forever launches on June 29th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X, Switch and PC.

Rumored for a while, Meta finally made official the Meta Quest 3 today. This new headset starts at $499 and has some really good looking improvements over the previous VR HMD.

For starters, it has a lot slimmer profile now, which I assume will be coming from using pancake lenses like the Meta Quest Pro. The smaller profile should also come with reduced making it more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Meta is saying it's 40% slimmer when compared to the Quest 2.

One the front you can see some nice full color cameras for passthrough that should make XR a lot more engaging. The video shows off one of my favorite VR games, Demeo, being played on tabletop where the board is superimposed onto it in 3D. You get to walk around and see it from all angles, making the game a very immersive experience.

Whereas the past controllers had tracking rings, the new controllers are lot more compact with the need for them. I don't think these controllers have inside out tracking themselves like the Quest Pro controllers do, but you can pick those up to use with the Quest 3 if you want that functionality. That said, these new controllers also feature TruTouch haptics that were on the Pro controllers to let you feel what's going on in your VR world.

All games that you have on the Quest 2 will be playable on the Quest 3 so you won't lose any of your game library should you decide to upgrade. The games will run faster due to the Quest 3's newer Snapdragon chip. Fret not though as Meta will be coming out with an update to improve performances on Quest 2 and Pro models.

$499 is the starting price for the Meta Quest 3 and that will be for the 128GB edition and is due this Fall. Starting on June 4th, the Quest 2 will drop to $299.99 for the 128GB version and $349.99 for the 256GB version, making the 128GB version cost the same as it was when it was first released.

More information will be coming on September 27th.

I am loving 2023 for video games right now. It's beginning to shape up as probably the best year in history. Ok, maybe Im exaggerating, but Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons was just announced last month, and not even a month later, we have a release date. July 27th. And remember, Marian is not in distress this time. Check the release trailer below, especially of the dope switch out at any time seamlessly! Modus hitting us right in the feels! 

Publisher Team17 Digital and developer Absolutely Games announced turned-based tactical espionage game Classified: France ’44 today. It is launching later this year for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S and is inspired by the true story of the Jedburghs – a multi-national team of World War II Allied Special Forces who operated behind enemy lines.

The game is set during the months leading up to the Normandy landings in northern France on D-Day and features a non-linear, replayable single-player campaign. Gameplay features a high emphasis on stealth to complete missions, including a robust overwatch ability that provides more tactical options than usual compared to other turn-based shooters. When you’re not engaging in firefights, you’ll be working to gain the trust of political factions and managing your squad to create a resistance force that will decide the fate of the D-day landings.

This sounds incredible and I need it immediately. We don’t have any gameplay yet, but we do have a cinematic announcement trailer, which you can view below:

Admist a sea of cozy crafting and farming games, German developer Cyberwave is putting their own twist on the sub-genre with the newly announced Solarpunk – a cozy survival crafting game developed on Unreal Engine 5 coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch in 2024. Rokaplay, the game’s publisher has also launched a Kickstarter campaign for the title.

Solarpunk is not the typical farming and survival game thanks to its setting, a world of floating islands where you must build a self-sufficient ecosystem either solo or with friends in co-op. Gather resources to build your home, grow farms, and use natural resources like the wind and sun to create sustainable energy. You’ll also be able to build gadgets and robots to help you automate the various processes needed to sustain your infrastructure. The coolest bit is that you can build your own airship to explore the various islands around the world. Check it out below:

The first Hot Wheels Unleashed game was a breath of fresh air, combining wildly fun arcade racing with a seemingly bottomless well of awesome licensed tie-ins, to produce one of the best racing games of 2022. Not to rest on their laurels, Mattel and Milestone today announced Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, scheduled to release this fall.

The first Hot Wheels Unleashed was so overwhelmingly huge and seemingly complete that it's tough to imagine what a sequel might bring. But one look at the below trailer, and the scales will be removed from your eyes: we can expect motorcycles, ATVs, and wild in-race perks and powers. According to a recent press release, "players will be able to further customize their driving style using skill points to earn specific perks and assemble their ideal custom build."

There will be five new racing environments, and two new abilities - dash and jump - which will add even more chaos to the proceedings. Split-screen returns, and online play is going to enhanced by cross-play this time around. A new story-driven career mode is in the works as well, which will allow players to follow four original characters through an original story. And yes, I think we can probable expect the return of the insane level of awesome tie-ins. Take a look at the trailer here: 

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is available now for pre-order on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and The Epic Games Store.

Update: Matt Jackson was revealed along with a trailer as well.

AEW: Fight Forever is getting closer to launch and THQ Nordic revealed two more members of the roster. 

Today we got reveal trailers for Eddie Kingston and Nick Jackson. I have to say thank god because it looks like Eddie Kingston has an updated model because the footage from that was coming out of the Double or Nothing fan fest looked rough to say the least. The game is looking pretty good but there are still some details we don't know about like how story mode is going to work and the creation suite. 

AEW: Fight Forever launches on June 29th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X, Switch and PC.