Mocka

Reviewed on: PC Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Annapurna Interactive Developer: Open Roads Team Release: March 28, 2024 Tess and her mother, Opal, have a lot on their plates. In addition to losing their grandmother/mother, they must quickly move out of her now-foreclosed home. Tess is graduating high school and is conflicted over whether to go to college or pursue her personal web design business. Opal is cross at her sister August’s refusal to help with the move. She also finds herself playing the “bad cop” in the complicated relationship between Tess and her father. And if that wasn’tenough, they also discover a secret surrounding their grandmother that could change everything they thought they knew about their family. Compelled to learn more, Tess and Opal embark on a road trip to learn the truth. I was as captivated by the mystery as the characters at the start, but this road trip peters out after a few miles....

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian gives a bit more information about the upcoming transition of the show to its independent format starting next week before Kyle Hilliard joins to cover news surrounding the Zelda movie, the third Sonic movie, and plenty more. Then, the two editors talk about their impressions from playing Splatoon 3: Side Order and Pepper Grinder, then end with a small celebration of the fifth anniversary of Yoshi's Crafted World. If you'd like to follow Brian on social media, you can do so on his Instagram/Threads  @BrianPShea  or Twitter  @BrianPShea . You can follow Kyle on Twitter:  @KyleMHilliard  and BlueSky:  @KyleHilliard . The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way...

If you finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and are curious to learn more about how it came to be, Sony and Square Enix have released a new making-of series called Inside Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The four-part series features interviews with thirty of the game's lead designers, such as director Naoki Hamaguchi, creative director Tetsuya Nomura, and producer Yoshinori Kitase, who discuss how Square brought Rebirth to life. Each episode tackles different aspects of Rebirth. Episode 1 focuses on world-building, Episode 2 covers the story/cutscenes, Episode 3 is all about the characters and combat, and Episode 4 tackles the English voice actors. Each episode runs between 15-18 minutes. You can watch the first episode below. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is out now for PlayStation 5. Be sure to read our review of the game here , as well as helpful guides such as watching every date at the Gold Saucer , Queen's Blood tips and tricks , our ranking of every mini-game , and our list of ...

Red Candle Games made its name developing psychological horror titles such as Detention and Devotion , but its third game, Nine Sols, sees the studio veer into the action genre. First revealed in 2021, the Sekiro-inspired title is coming on May 29. Nine Sols sports a hand-drawn art direction and an aesthetic that blends sci-fi, cyberpunk, Eastern mythology (the legend of Hou Yi in particular), and Taoism. Players control a cat-like warrior named Yi, who is awakened after years of slumber in New Kunlun, a city for humans created by nine god-like rulers. New Kunlun may appear to be a utopia, but a secret surrounds it as Yi embarks on a vengeful quest to take down all nine rulers.  The 2D Metroidvania features fast-paced combat and a parry system directly inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In addition to a sword, Yi is armed with a divine bow and uses Taoist talismans to make enemies explode. A sprawling, interconnected map features numerous NPCs to assist, secrets, and challe...

Reviewed on: Switch Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Konami Developer: WayForward Technologies Release: March 12, 2024 Rating: Teen Once a tentpole franchise in the popular run-and-gun subgenre of action games, Contra has experienced a stark downturn in recent decades. Konami's (mostly) side-scrolling shooter franchise has often gone long stretches without a release, and the games that have come out in recent years range from middling to downright bad. With Contra: Operation Galuga, Konami taps renowned retro-style developer WayForward, best known for its work on the Shantae series, to bring the once-renowned series back to its roots. While far from a one-to-one remake, Contra: Operation Galuga effectively captures the spirit of the original game while modernizing just enough to make for an exciting, albeit short, adventure. The core conceits of the original Contra carry forward into this modern reimagining. Smoo...

Celeste and Towerfall developer Extremely OK Games has announced its next game, Earthblade, has been delayed. The fantasy platformer was scheduled to launch sometime this year but has now been pushed to an undetermined window. Earthblade was first announced in April 2021 before getting its first trailer at The Game Awards in 2022 . The fantasy "explor-action" platformer stars Névoa, a child of fate who returns to uncover the mysteries of a fractured Earth. The game appears to be inspired by the Metroidvania subgenre, with the studio stating it features "seamless exploration, challenging combat, and countless mysteries to pick apart." Outside of PC, Earthblade has no announced platforms.  In a candid blog post , Extremely OK Games’ head Maddy Thorson opens by writing, “I know, I know, this update is long overdue. We appreciate your patience as we try our best to make this video game that appears to be stubbornly determined to not get made. More on the process in...

It's a big milestone this week as we're celebrating 700 episodes of The Game Informer Show ! Since Episode 1 aired all the way back in 2009, we've recorded and produced hundreds of episodes and we couldn't have done it without your support, which is why this week's edition is all about you, our wonderful listeners! Join host Marcus Stewart along with Kyle Hilliard and Charles Harte as they answer a slew of fascinating, humorous, and outright strange questions from the GI community while reflecting on their thoughts on the show and podcasting in general. Before all of that, however, GI editor-in-chief Matt Miller opens the episode to talk about our revamped magazine subscription program, which you can learn all about here .  Watch The Game Informer Show Podcast! Follow us on social media: Marcus Stewart ( @MarcusStewart7 ), Kyle Hilliard ( @KyleMHilliard ), Charles Harte ( @chuckduck365) The Game Informer Show  is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest vi...

In 2020, indie studio Yellow Brick Games was formed by a collection of industry veterans with experience on triple-A franchises such as Dragon Age, Assassins’ Creed, and Mass Effect. After quietly working on its first project, the team is ready to show the world what it’s been cooking up. The studio released a brief teaser of their yet-to-be-titled first game. A press release states that this mysterious project is a fantasy action-adventure title targeting a 2025 release. We won’t find out more until April 2, when IGN will reveal the game as an IGN First.  The studio also included two pieces of concept art, which you can view in the gallery below.   Yellow Brick Games was founded by Thomas Giroux (co-founder/CEO), Jeff Skalski (co-founder/COO), Frédéric St-Laurent B (game director), and Mike Laidlaw (chief creative officer). The team has offices in both Montreal and Quebec City and currently consists of 68 employees. The studio was founded to foster a "people first...

Sand Land comes from the mind of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, and despite the manga existing for over 20 years, it's never received a video game until now. Its epoynomous video game debut is a open world action RPG featuring an original story, and after fans got to try a recent public demo, we traveled to Bandai Namco to check out never-before-seen sections of the game. Join Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard as they show off a new dungeon and boss fight from Sand Land, along with peeks at Forest Land and the game's deep vehicle customization. If you'd like to know more about what you watched, be sure to read our in-depth hands-on preview about this content and more right here .  Head over to  Game Informer's  YouTube channel  for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of  New Gameplay Today   right here. Source: Game Informer

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch Publisher: PlayStation Studios, MLB Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment San Diego Studio Release: March 19, 2024 Rating: Everyone MLB The Show’s commitment to nuance, iteration, and diversity is what sets it apart. Since the long-running series arrived on Xbox in 2021, the baseball sim has recontextualized sports games – emphasizing the purpose of communities while fitting in new features like Pinpoint Pitching, custom stadiums, and online ranked co-op. The Show 23 pushed the bar further with Storylines: The Negro Leagues, an interactive museum that detailed eight stars of baseball’s segregated past. This year’s iteration mirrors it with new Storyline episodes, a 60-minute tribute to Yankee legend Derek Jeter, and an original RTTS narrative where “Women Pave Their Way.” While it isn’t a hyper-creative leap forward, MLB The Show 24 finds a new swing by tethering style ...

The Marvel Universe is expansive and chockful of some of pop culture's greatest heroes. NetEase Games is taking the word "hero" literally and placing the characters from Marvel in a free-to-play 6v6 hero shooter. Marvel Rivals promises to bring the most popular and iconic superheroes and supervillains to the arena with destructible environments, unique Team-Up skills, and more. Marvel Rivals offers 6v6 PVP action featuring arenas from across the Marvel Multiverse, including Asgard and Tokyo 2099. The title touts a deep roster of heroes and villains to choose from, including members of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and more, all with unique Team-Up skills that play off various synergies between heroes. The closed alpha in May will feature more than a dozen characters, while the announce trailer (below) features 18 characters that represent the current roster. The Roster So Far In case you found yourself scrubbing through the footage in the reveal trail...

Ahead of Stellar Blade's launch on PlayStation 5 on April 26, a demo for the game will be made available that lets players play through approximately the game's opening hour. And ahead of the demo's release on Friday, March 29, we got to go hands-on with it early. Join Marcus Stewart and me for a look at the game's combat, boss fights, traversal, visuals, and more. And for a whole lot more on Stellar Blade, you can read this feature where I spoke with Stellar Blade’s game director, Hyung-Tae Kim, and its technical director, Dong-Gi Lee, about the game's development, how the team was inspired by Nier: Automata, and why it wanted to make a game with an ending. Head over to  Game Informer's  YouTube channel  for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of  New Gameplay Today   right here. Source: Game Informer

Stellar Blade’s development was announced in 2019 by Korean developer Shift Up Second EVE Studio for current-gen consoles, boasting talent from the popular MMO Blade & Soul. It wasn’t until 2021, however, that we got our first proper look at Stellar Blade during a PlayStation showcase, where it was shown with its former title, Project Eve. For those not paying close attention to Korean video game news, it felt like it came out of nowhere. In the trailer, a beautiful woman is seen fighting a hybrid monster robot. She uses a sword to break off one of the cyborg creature’s arms to use as a weapon before being thrown through a wall, revealing the fight was happening on a space station all along. As she careens through space further and further away from the station, it is revealed that a much larger, much creepier creature with too many eyes has grafted itself onto the facility from the outside. It’s an attention-grabbing first look, and the trailer only gets more interesting from th...