As we've mentioned before, we have a VR pinball contest going on between various members of the Gaming Nexus staff. It's been a ton of fun and Pinball FX VR has really been an immersive pinball experience for us all.

X-Arcade, which we've looked at in the past, came out with the Arcade2TV-XR not too long ago that looks to bring physical controls to the VR setup to make the experience even more immersive for playing retro games and pinball. But they are taking another step into bringing VR pinball to another level.

They announced the X-Force Haptics Kit that will add solenoids, a plunger, speakers, and much more to add that physical sensation of playing pinball to go along with the already impressive visuals of Pinball FX VR. 

The haptics will be driven by the game's audio allowing for shakes, rattles, and bumps you'd feel in a real pinball game. X-Arcade splits the audio into two separate channels so it won't interfere with the game's sounds. 

To control the audio, the kit includes some volume knobs that sit above the speakers so you can adjust it to your liking. Next to it is a vibration knob that allows you to adjust the strength as well.

A hall effect sensor plunger lets you pull back and launch a ball just like in real life. No more pushing a button on a controller and it might help with your skill shots as well.

And for those who like to nudge the tables and found using a joystick to be a little inconvenient, the kit will add an accelerometer so you can physically move t he Arcade2TV-XR in order to nudge the table. That's a lot better than trying to use a joystick and adds the immersion.

Pre-orders are opening soon and no pricing has been made available yet, but hopefully it'll be available soon. We're going to keep a close eye on this one that's for sure.

Another unique aspect of the new Dragon Delves adventure anthology from Dungeons & Dragons is its inclusion of dragons depicted throughout D&D's 50-year history. Ahead of each one-shot adventure are a few pages dedicated to previous artists' renditions of the core dragon types: Black, Blue, Green, Red, and White Dragons, along with Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Silver Dragons.

For consistency's sake, three works kick off each section: there's a black-and-white illustration from the 1977 Monster Manual, a pen-and-ink dragon from the 1993 Monstrous Manual, and a golden era painting from the '80s or early '90s.

The next page then shows a shrunken-down full-page depiction from the 2003 Draconomicon, a from-below sketch of a dragon's full body length and wingspan, and a cross-promotional piece of dragon art depicted on a Magic: The Gathering card.

I have nothing against the card game Magic. But the inclusion of these cards and their stats—rather than just showing the raw artwork itself—overemphasizes each historical section's cut-and-paste nature. Plus, to non-Magic players, the text on these Magic cards is nearly indecipherable.

Whenever Ancient Brass Dragon deals combat damage to a player, roll a d20. When you do, put any number of target creature cards with total mana value X or less from graveyards onto the battlefield under your control, where X is the result.

Like, what? I know there are a lot of rules to D&D. We just reviewed a combined 1,152 pages' worth of the new Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. But again: What?

And besides the text on the Magic cards, there's a conspicuous lack of words accompanying each of these historical sections. There are pictures of dragons simply cut-and-paste from their original pages onto these new pages. There's no visual cohesion that embeds their (non-chronological) placement, or rather scattering, across each page. For a caption, you get an artist and a year. That's about it, aside from a couple sentences insisting, Yep, the distinguishing features of this particular dragon were apparent from the get-go.

I will concede, however, that this lack of context renders these dragons usable in any context and role that I want. For instance, I love Clyde Caldwell's "Dragon of Dreams" (1985). Despite my personal knowledge that it's specifically from a Dragonlance module, the lack of that information here in Dragon Delves frees me to reuse "Dragon of Dreams" in any other adventure of my choosing.

Don't get me wrong. Publisher Wizards of the Coast is masterful at page layout and design. This was a task that outdid them, however. It's the first time I've seen D&D Beyond (that's D&D's online component) completely outclass any of D&D's hardcover books. D&D Beyond's depiction of these "History of..." sections is rather chock-a-block, with one image stacked hard atop another. But it uses your browser's full width to great effect.

Each visual history section ends with the dragon's latest redesign in the D&D 2024 Monster Manual. And I've got to tell you: Every single one of the redesigns is incredible, further extruding the unique features and physiology that make D&D dragons distinguishable from any other dragon you might see. The rhino horn on a Blue Dragon, or the eel-like length of the Gold Dragon. Look at these particular dragons long enough and you'll become an expert at picking a D&D dragon out of any crowd.

Ultimately, there are two more things these History of Dragons sections declare. One, that there wouldn't be any old school renaissance if D&D hadn't been there in the first place. And two, amidst a global-wide backlash, there wouldn't be AI art if, again, D&D (and other brilliant artists over the last five decades) hadn't been there in the first place.

Originally announced on the Xbox Wire, the co-op shooting sensation Helldivers 2 is no longer locked to the Playstation. Coming August 26th, Helldivers will land on the Xbox Series X and S. The release also brings cross-platform play. Both the standard and Deluxe Editions will be available. That Deluxe Edition adds some additional armor and weapon unlocks, the Stratagem Hero Ship Game, and a premium title - "Super Citizen Status". Now's your chance to spread Managed Democracy across the galaxy.

Helldivers 2 is already up with an Xbox store page where you can pre-order.  Pre-ordering will get you some additional armor on release for either version. 

Oh boy, here we go again. 2K has announced that WWE 2K25 will be making it's way to the Nintendo Switch 2 later this month and all wrestling fans are all in a prayer circle that it doesn't end up like the absolute disaster that was WWE 2K18 on the original Switch. 

From the official product description on Nintendo's website, It seems like all the content from the current gen versions of the game will be included in this version including The Island, which was not included on the PS4 and Xbox One version of the game. 

Unfortunately like other Switch 2 games, the physical edition of WWE 2K25 will be this "game key card" nonsense where you have to download the entire game from the internet to the system and have the game card in the system to work. Hope you got a big SD card for your Switch 2 because the download size for WWE 2K25 will be a whopping 73.2GB

WWE 2K25 will launch on Switch 2 on July 23rd.

Under a Rock, the cooperative survival game from developer Nordic Trolls, recently shared a fresh look at base building gameplay for the Unreal Engine 5 title. Playable solo or with up to 10 partners, you and your pals will explore a procedurally generated island, fight for survival, tame wild creatures, and of course, build your own base. That’s the focus of this latest video, which shows off the harvesting and building mechanics. I particularly enjoy the physics system where trees fall over after chopping and rocks break into dozens of little bits.

I guess I’ve been living under a rock, because I’m just discovering this game, and so far it looks great. No release date has been announced but its coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out the new gameplay video:

Completing the lap, TMNT Splintered Fate is now releasing for the Xbox family. That means the One, X, S, your phone, your tablet, your TV, your PC, and a Meta Quest 3, with, or without the Xbox branded version. 

As of earlier this week, not only are you able to play the game, you also get limited access to the Casey Jones Junkyard DLC until July 8th. If you like the DLC, you get to keep it for the price of the base game. If you haven't played this game, it is a isometric top down brawler, with access to all the turtles, and their weapons. They get elemental upgrades as you move through the stages. It's also die, die again, because roguelike.

I'll admit, I was a little unimpressed with the game, but I also had the Switch version. Maybe now since I have the Nintendo Switch 2, I could give it another shot. Update: I'm playing it, and it does run significantly better. Cowabunga indeed. 

The new Dragon Delves anthology of adventures from Dungeons & Dragons has help for running two-person games: one player, one Dungeon Master. While Dragon Delves has one-shot adventures for levels 1 through 12, only a few of them are specifically crafted for running a two-person game.

Most D&D adventures are made for four to six players plus a Dungeon Master. That's the sweet spot for crafting challenging—but not overwhelming—combat encounters around D&D's embattled Challenge Rating. Additionally, four to six players bring a decent mix of classes and personalities to the table. It's also not a bad number for keeping the game session flowing at a decent clip; not too big, not too small.

But sometimes it's just you and your ride-or-die. Whether that's your spouse, your kid, your buddy from work, or your old high school pal.

In these two-person situations, Dragon Delves makes it so you can run a DM-plus-one-player game with just a couple tweaks. One tweak is the recommendation for the character to have proficiency in at least two of the handful of skills they recommend. The other is to give the player something called the Blessing of the Lone Champion.

The adventures are:

• Baker's Doesn't. An adventure for level 3 characters. Proficiency in at least two of the following skills:
  • Athletics
  • Deception
  • History
  • Insight
  • Perception
  • Persuasion
  • Sleight of Hand
  • Stealth 

• The Dragon of Najkir. An adventure for level 7 characters. Ideally, that character should have proficiency in at least two of the following skills:
  • Acrobatics
  • Athletics
  • Investigation
  • Medicine
  • Perception
  • Religion

• A Copper for a Song. An adventure for level 12 characters. Ideally, that character should have proficiency in at least two of the following skills:
  • Deception
  • Intimidation
  • Perception
  • Performance
  • Persuasion
  • Stealth

Were you to somehow hop, skip, and jump your way with a single character across all three of those level 3, 7, and 12 adventures, it looks like Perception is your #1 recommended skill choice. The next three are a tie between Deception, Persuasion, and Stealth.

But it's still dangerous to go alone! Take this:

• Blessing of the Lone Champion. Supernatural Gift (Blessing). You gain the following benefits:
  • Heroic Inspiration. You gain Heroic Inspiration when you finish a Short or Long Rest and whenever the DM has you roll initiative.
  • Temporary Hit Points. You gain a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to 10 times your level when you gain this blessing and when you gain a level.

If being a lone character is anything like being a DM with a lone monster, then that huge burst of temporary hit points will be necessary. Take the level 12 adventure, for instance. The lone player would get 120 temporary hit points. That's an incredible amount of hit points. But the action economy is so hellbent against this one player that I wouldn't be surprised if those 120 temporary hit points disappear faster than anyone's expecting.

How would a two-person game play out in practice? I'd love to find out. Our table, however, is blessed with that four-to-six-players sweet spot. Someday that table could flip, however, and it'll be down to me and my ride or die. Then we might take on one of these two-person one-shots.

Local game stores have hardcopies  starting June 24. Master Tier subscribers on D&D Beyond that pre-ordered Dragon Delves have two-weeks early access also starting on June 24. Hero Tier subscribers have one-week early access starting July 1. Wide release for everybody else is on July 8.

Developer Team Jade announced today during a developer livestream that free-to-play multiplayer shooter, Delta Force, is finally coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on August 19^th. They’re also including the Black Hawk Down single-player campaign as free DLC, after previously being a premium purchase. You’ll be able to wishlist the game on the PlayStation and Xbox stores beginning tomorrow. There will also be a console beta sometime in July with further details to be announced in due time.

The other primary purpose of the livestream was to reveal Delta Force’s next season of content. Dubbed “Season Break”, the new batch of content includes a new Operations mode map called Tide Prison, a new Warfare mode map called Cyclone, a new Operator, new battle pass, new weapons, new vehicles (including jet skis!), and more.

They covered a lot of ground over the course of the 90-minute presentation, which you can view in its entirety below. If you can’t wait for the console release, Delta Force is available now on PC and mobile. Don’t mind me – I’ll just be here, waiting patiently for it to hit PS5.

Neverness to Everness (NTE for short) is a free-to-lay, urban open-world RPG with stylized graphics that I like to refer to as “Anime GTA”, and it’s getting a closed playtest on PC July 3^rd through 16^th. Revealed during a developer livestream, the test will allow players to check out some of the improvements made to the game in recent months, including a new (and very GTA-like) wanted level system that increases as you break the law, such as stealing cars. There have also been updates to NTE’s dynamic weather system, including new snow mechanics.

If you’re hearing about NTE for the first time, it really is trying to be an anime-inspired GTA clone, and that’s not a bad thing. Developed on Unreal Engine 5, what we’ve seen of the game thus far looks very promising. It will take place in the large open-world city of Hethereau, where humans and supernatural entities co-exist. It does have a story and RPG elements, but you’ll also have no shortage of activities to engage with such as collecting and modding cars, buying housing, running a business, and more.

NTE is coming to PC, consoles, and mobile, though no release date has been announced. Interested players can sign-up for the playtest here. Check out the livestream recap below:

Eighteen years on and not every entry in the Assassin’s Creed series has been a smash hit, but there have certainly been more hits than misses. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is apparently an excellent one as evidenced by Nathan's review. They've also laid out the roadmap for this year's planned content including a major expansion, Claws of Awaji, coming later in the year. However, for the first time since the March release, the game is going on sale. Save a few bucks on an excellent game with more to look forward to, what's not to like?

The sale is live now and running through next month until the 25th of July. It'll get you 25% either the Standard or Deluxe Editions of the game as we continue to see improvements and quality of life updates, like this latest patch 1.0.6 that released with the sale. This update adds:

• A new Nightmare difficulty setting
• A new ally to recruit - Rufino, a charismatic character brought to life by Critical Role’s Robbie Daymond. Critical Role is a troupe of voice actors who create content around playing D&D and other type things. They did a special collaboration with Ubisoft on the game and this character spawned from there.
• You can now toggle whether headgear - like a hood, helmet, headband, or more will appear in cutscenes.
• PC specs have been updated to support “Ultra Low Mode” for better framerates on weaker graphics cards
• The Open World Alarm has been introduced, so repeatedly attacking civilians or military units outside of castles will send a group to hunt down the players across the open world.

More details about patch 1.0.6 can be found on the official site. Details on the sale for the game and links to the various marketplaces where you can take advantage of the sale can also be found there. I've embedded the feature on how the Rufino character came to life from the One Shot collaboration below, but if you'd actually like to see the One Shot itself, it's right here. It might be one shot, but it is nearly 4 hours long.