In a similar way to how Obsidian's The Outer Worlds played very closely to a space-faring Fallout, Avowed sticks closely to the sensibilities of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Its fantasy world isn't as expansive and seamlessly stitched together, but you'd be forgiven for confusing the two at a glance, especially when you're engaged in its first-person combat. Avowed lifts some of the best aspects of the seminal RPG and improves them, especially when it comes to its refined combat. These changes extend to a move away from traditional leveling in favor of a gear-focused approach, as well as the option to experiment with wild weapon combinations. But not all of Avowed's experiments are successes, leading to an uneven role-playing adventure that surprises as much as it frustrates.Washing up on the shores of the Living Lands, you play as one the Godlike: a select few kissed by the grace of a god at birth and left with some distinct (and sometimes frightening) facial features to show for it. On a mission from a distant monarch whose influence within the Living Lands has many of its inhabitants up in arms, your job is to track down the source of a plague that's turning the land's people into mindless, bloodthirsty creatures, before it manages to make it back home. Although it is set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, Avowed does a good job of immediately siloing you into an area that requires little knowledge of what is happening across the ocean, but does reference some historical events from time to time. A glossary of important names and places is available as they're brought up in conversation, providing a handy guide that contextualizes some attitudes characters have to certain factions and events around you.Avowed makes a strong initial impression, quickly establishing your Godlike status but with the odd quirk of being the first not to know which god chose you. This isn't the main purpose of your mission, but that changes after a surprising event in the early hours of the game that sets the stage for a more intriguing answer to the plague ravaging the Living Lands. This setup is ultimately squandered, however, with the two big narrative hooks coalescing with one another in routinely expected and uninteresting ways, making the broader strokes of the story largely forgettable. The conversational writing does have its moments of charm, with equally serious and snarky retorts letting you inject some levity into otherwise dire situations with great comedic effect. But the severity of the plague you're trying to stop and the personal journey of finding out why you're the only Godlike without a god is not as captivating as it could be, taking steps along a narrative path that rarely deviates into surprising avenues.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

During its developer livestream on March 4, Bungie announced a brand-new, limited-time PvP mode called Heavy Metal coming to Destiny 2 in Heresy Act 3.While details were limited, we did get to see some gameplay that shows teams of players sorted into Drake Tank drivers or Brig pilots. Guardians haven't been able to control Brigs before, despite them being in the game for more than half a decade. While we've had access to Drake Tanks before, they now have new functionality including rocket-boosted backflips.Heavy Metal is a 6v6 vehicle combat modeThe 6v6 vehicle combat activity is only going to be in the game for a limited time. Bungie hinted that, if the reception is positive, Heavy Metal could be added to the Crucible rotation, much like the chaotic Mayhem mode, which features near-zero ability cooldowns.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Welcome back to beautiful Hawaii: land of golden beaches, crystal-clear waters, and The Mad Dog of Shimano roving the seas as a swashbuckling pirate. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is exactly as it sounds, with Goro Majima returning as a fully fledged protagonist for the first time since 2015's Yakuza 0. Unlike that game--which saw Kiryu share the spotlight--the focus this time around is squarely on everyone's favorite eyepatched goofball: the perfect leading man for one of the series' more bizarre entries. No one commits to the bit quite like Majima, which is partly why Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii avoids the risk of diminishing returns, despite being the third Like a Dragon game in the past 15 months. This high-seas adventure doesn't stack up against the series' best, but the pirate theme does just enough to differentiate a jaunty return to the Hawaii.Set six months after the events of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii opens with Majima waking up on a beach somewhere in the Pacific. He has no memory of how he got there, his name, or his storied past as a crime boss/cabaret manager/construction-company owner. All he knows is that a young boy named Noah saved his life, and for whatever reason, Hawaii and the surrounding islands are now full of cutlass-wielding pirates who look like they've been pulled out of Tortuga during the 1600s. What follows is the hunt for a long-lost legendary treasure that sees Majima reinvent himself as the pirate captain of his own ship, complete with an ever-expanding crew of new and familiar characters. Stuffing the coffers with booty might be the end goal, but this is also a tale about the friends we made along the way. Like Infinite Wealth before it, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii focuses on a strong sense of friendship and camaraderie. It's frequently eccentric, but its outlandish nature is also mixed with an earnestness and sentimentality that reflects its endearing protagonist. Since Yakuza 0, Majima's Mad Dog persona has felt like a mask he puts on to cope with the trauma he endured early in life. He's always been a caring character, but the way he often shows this is through violence because he doesn't want to be hurt again. Amnesia is an overused trope, yet it's rare to see it affecting an established character we've known for 20 years, allowing for a personality reset of sorts. With no memories of his past, Majima subconsciously lets his guard down and shaves off the rougher edges that define the protective shield he puts up. He still throws himself into deadly situations with utmost glee, hinting that the Mad Dog persona and his masochistic side may have always been a part of him. But his interactions with the crew, and especially Noah, feel like Majima revealing his true self.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Two years ago, Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix announced a collaboration that would bring the worlds and characters of Final Fantasy to Magic: The Gathering, the tabletop card game juggernaut. Recently, WotC gave us our first look at some of the cards included in the set, which ranged from expected faces like Cloud, Tidus, and Terra to wackier inclusions like Jumbo Cactuar and its 10,000-damage ability.The set is still three months away, but based on reactions to the first handful of cards revealed, both WotC and Square Enix are leaning on this set to be a massive success. Recently, at MagicCon Chicago, GameSpot sat down with the Final Fantasy set's lead game designer, Gavin Verhey, and Wizards franchise VP Rebecca Shepard to learn firsthand how this set came to be.The conversation includes both the creative side of developing a set like Final Fantasy--refining 16 games into one set, design philosophies behind some of the cards, and more--and the fostering of the partnership between Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix. To hear Wizards tell it, this may be the first time the two sides have collaborated, but it won't necessarily be the last.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There's so much delightful intrigue to uncover with Cabernet's core message of monsters being hereditary, a concept that initially seems solely meant to draw parallels between the protagonist's vampirism and her father's alcoholism. But Cabernet dares to go deeper with its message, delving into the cyclical nature of humanity's cruelty to each other, especially regarding the treatment of the lower class, and how society's many ills are often the result of the new rich inheriting the evils of the old. It all makes for a deeply compelling consequence-driven story where every choice carries the potential to surprise you with terrifying force. Some late-game glitches mar the game's fantastic conclusion, but even if developer Party for Introverts doesn't address those issues in post-launch updates, the journey to get to Cabernet's final hour is an incredible piece of interactive fiction.A 2D narrative-driven RPG set in 19th century Eastern Europe, Cabernet begins with protagonist Liza's funeral, as you briefly roleplay as her uncle and give a eulogy that determines the direction of Liza's life and which skills she specializes in. Control then shifts to Liza as you awake in a dungeon. Unsure of how she got there, Liza makes a pact with an unseen and silent presence for freedom, before finding herself at a party filled with vampires. It quickly becomes apparent that she is now a vampire as well, and this new life comes with a ton of rules, like needing to satiate a constant thirst for blood and staying away from sunlight. But there are immense freedoms associated with the transformation as well, as Liza is empowered with supernatural abilities that allow her to go to places she never could before, get away with acts others are often swiftly arrested for, and pursue passions and love most mortals of her station cannot yet readily do.Investing in certain skills will allow Liza to talk about their corresponding topics.In this sense, Liza is a stand-in for the middle class, which was emerging during this period in real-life history. Liza cannot relate to the centuries-old Countess who commands all the vampires in the region and lives in a mansion filled with wealth, nor can she completely empathize with the poor farmer girl who dreams of learning music and bettering herself but must toil away in the fields for hours so her family can eat. But Liza can take small steps into both of their worlds to see their respective trials and tribulations, and although she cannot fundamentally change the relationship between the poor and rich, she is one of the few in town who can affect the lives of people in both social spheres. This setup grounds the otherwise supernatural fantasy in real-world politics, implementing considerations into the story that give even the simplest of choices substantial narrative weight.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Hunger Games Deluxe Box Set (Paperback) $36.76 (was $70) See at Amazon Sunrise on the Reaping (Hardcover) $19.59 (was $28) | Releases March 18 Preorder at Amazon Whether you’re looking to relive the adventure or dive in for the first time, the recently released Hunger Games Deluxe Box Set is on sale for a very good price at Amazon. Published on February 4 for $70, this eye-catching four-book collection is now on sale for only $36.76. Amazon's limited-time deal offers a convenient way to refresh your Hunger Games knowledge before Sunrise on the Reaping, the long-awaited fifth novel in Suzanne Collins' series, is published on March 18. While you're picking up the box set, you can save big on preorders for the hardcover edition of Sunrise on the Reaping. Hunger Games Deluxe Box Set (Paperback) $36.76 (was $70) This lovely looking collection gets you all four Hunger Games books in the newly reissued deluxe paperback format. It also comes with a slipcase for easy storage. Both the slipcase and the books feature vibrant, all-new cover designs, and all four volumes have sprayed edges with stenciled artwork that matches the covers. The four books clock in at 1,712 pages total in the new paperback editions. The first three follow Katniss Everdeen and her struggle to survive in a dystopian world, while the fourth book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is a prequel set around 60 years before the main trilogy. It follows President Snow as he mentors a tribute from District 12.If you’d prefer, these books can also be purchased individually--though it'd cost you roughly $50 to get all four.The Hunger Games: Deluxe Edition -- $12.73 ($17)Catching Fire: Deluxe Edition -- $12.73 ($17)Mockingjay: Deluxe Edition -- $12.73 ($17)The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes -- $12.73 ($19) See at Amazon Sunrise on the Reaping (Hardcover) $19.59 (was $28) | Releases March 18 As mentioned, now's a great time to read the hit series with the fifth book releasing this month. Sunrise on the Reaping's hardcover edition is up for preorder for $19.59 (was $28) at Amazon.Like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this 400-page novel is a prequel to the main trilogy. It takes place a few decades before the first novel and focuses on the 50th annual Hunger Games--which is taking twice as many tributes into the arena than usual. Preorder at Amazon If you already own standard editions of Hunger Games, you may want to check out the recently released Illustrated Edition of the first novel. The Hunger Games: Illustrated Edition was published last October and is on sale for $21.38 (was $35) at Amazon. The oversized 368-page hardcover includes stunning artwork alongside the complete text chronicling Katniss' first competition. Catching Fire: Illustrated Edition is slated to release this October and is available to preorder for $29.59 (was $37).And if you'd like to watch the movies after reading the books, The Hunger Games 5-Movie Collection is discounted to $30 (was $43) at Amazon. This Blu-ray box set released last summer and comes with all five film adaptations, including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

I thought I would miss the Wirebug from 2021's Monster Hunter Rise. Not just because of the verticality and fluidity it introduced to traversal, but also because of its vital role in combat--whether you were incorporating Silkbind attacks into combos or using the Wire-dash to avoid certain death by the skin of your teeth. The Wirebug was a fantastic addition, and yet its absence is something I never really felt in Monster Hunter Wilds. Such is the strength of its combat, the seamlessness of its open world, and the impact both of these facets have on a core gameplay loop that remains infinitely compelling. There are a few missteps along the way--of both an artistic and technical variety--but Wilds is another excellent entry in Capcom's beloved series.For seasoned veterans, that core gameplay loop will be instantly recognizable. You hunt monsters, craft their parts to make better weapons and armor, and then use these upgrades to hunt even more challenging monsters. It's an evergreen formula, although an emphasis on narrative hasn't always been part of the equation. The lone exception is 2018's Monster Hunter World, and in many ways, Wilds feels like a continuation of that game's approach to storytelling. By integrating Guild and Village quests into one cohesive story with multiple characters and a fully voiced protagonist, Capcom clearly intends for the story to be more than the afterthought it has traditionally been.The game's opening moments see the Hunter's Guild arrive in the Forbidden Lands: an uncharted region believed to be uninhabited for the past thousand-odd years. This misconception changed, however, when a young boy named Nata was discovered near the border. Pensive and frightened, Nata recounts how his village was attacked by a fearsome monster known as the White Wrath, forcing the Hunter's Guild to embark on an expedition to investigate this mysterious creature and potentially save Nata's Indigenous people from annihilation. As a hunter, it's your role to slay a bestiary of monsters and protect the balance of the ecosystem in this dangerous new frontier.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

March has started off with a bang if you're still roaming the streets of Los Santos in GTA Online. Along with the long-awaited Enhanced Edition that arrived for PC players, Rockstar Games also launched a new set of missions and released a plethora of additional content. The new missions fall under the name "Oscar Guzman Flies Again," and there are six of them in total. They take place at the infamous McKenzie Field Hangar and see you steal arms deliveries from Oscar's competition.If you want to get started with these missions and make some serious cash from the McKenzie Hangar, check out the guide below.How to start the Oscar Guzman Flies Again Missions in GTA OnlineOscar Guzman calling to tell us about his new ideaFor starters, PC players need to ensure they migrate their GTA Online character correctly before attempting to pick up right where they left off after downloading the Enhanced Edition. This is easily done by selecting the GTA Online in the main menu and then following the prompts to migrate your character(s). This process is permanent, but there's no real reason you don't want to migrate your progress in either Online or Story Mode.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Fanatical Spring Sale 2025 is now live, offering thousands of PC games for steeply reduced prices. The vast majority of these are offered as Steam keys, and you'll get a Spring Bonus Drop for spending over $15. Each Bonus Drop includes a free game or discount voucher for your next eligible purchase. See all deals at Fanatical The sale includes plenty of AAA games, including a wide assortment of Capcom hits such as Dragon's Dogma 2 for $34.29 (was $70), Devil May Cry HD Collection for $8.54 (was $30, and the Ace Attorney Anthology for $30.59 (was $60). The DMC compilation features the first three games in the stylish character-action series, and the Ace Attorney Anthology comes with six games: the Phoenix Wright Trilogy and Apollo Justice Trilogy.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There were video games and arcade hits before Pac-Man, but Namco's ghost-gobbling hero quickly became a pop-culture icon after his debut in May 1980. Pac-Man's 45th anniversary is now just over two months away, but Bandai Namco has plans to keep the party going into 2026.To start off the year of "imPACt," Bandai Namco released the following video that tracks Pac-Man over the last four decades, including the original game and its Atari 2600 port, as well as some of the sequels and spin-offs including Pac-Man World 2. There's even a very brief glimpse of Shadow Labyrinth, the upcoming title that reinvents the Pac-Man franchise as a 2D action game. Shadow Labyrinth may be the biggest Pac-Man game on the horizon, but it's not the only one. Bandai Namco is teaming up with Supersocial on Roblox for Pac-Man Simulator, which will let players have more Pac-Man adventures centered around the 45th anniversary. Meanwhile, PowerA has Pac-Man gaming accessories in the works for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. And we've already seen some of the Pac-Man plushies that are coming as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

"I'll remember you, even after I die."This quote, delivered half-way through Lost Records: Rage and Bloom's first "tape," is perhaps the most concise and poignant way to convey what Don't Nod's latest title is about. Lost Records is a game that revels in the melodrama and contradictory nature of adolescence. It understands the yearning we all once had to be completely unknowable and one-of-a-kind while also being fully-understood, accepted, and loved. Within its eight or so hours, insecurity and conviction walk hand-in-hand while the assumed invincibility of youth is stretched to its breaking point. How can one summer--how can life--feel so everlasting yet utterly fragile? Such is the magic of our teenage years.Lost Records captures this phenomenon stunningly, yet doesn't settle for being a game merely driven entirely by nostalgia or reminders of what it felt like to be young in the '90s. At its core is an eerie, supernatural mystery that spans nearly three decades and threatens to consume the four women involved in it--one that promises violence and the reemergence of events perhaps better left forgotten. This intense, slow-burning narrative provides an excellent framework for an empathetic exploration into girlhood, friendship, sexuality, individuality, expression, and the transition from youth to middle age. All this combined with dynamic characters, cinematic visuals, beautifully-rendered character models, and keen sense of atmosphere makes Lost Records one of Don't Nod's best games to date.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Last spring, I flew to Thailand to visit the set of Alien: Earth, the upcoming FX and Hulu TV series based on Ridley Scott's beloved series. As a horror fan, it was incredible to place myself in the middle of some iconic imagery from the series. A VR game like Alien: Rogue Incursion offers a similar promise: Immerse yourself in the world of Alien in a way no game has previously allowed--natively anyway, as Alien: Isolation does enjoy some player-made VR mods today. But Rogue Incursion can't quite capture the essence of the series for a multitude of reasons, but chief among them is a starring monster who feels suddenly toothless.Alien: Rogue Incursion is a VR-only entry in the long history of video games based on Alien. Typically, those titled Alien--singular--look to the slow-paced original for inspiration, while those prefixed with the plural, Aliens, go for a more action-oriented take akin to James Cameron's sequel. That's the first oddity of Rogue Incursion. It's not necessarily beholden to this naming convention, but the game has you spraying-and-praying at so many Xenos that it feels more like an action game than the survival-horror experience you might expect.This is despite the fact that the developers clearly looked toward Alien: Isolation for inspiration, from the look of the androids--which Creative Assembly had introduced to the mythology back in 2014--to the signature movement scanner that you can now physically pull from your inventory in VR. Isolation protagonist Amanda Ripley is even name-dropped at one moment, so it seems Rogue Incursion wants to harken back to its predecessor... until it doesn't.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Unfortunately for me, Split Fiction is the type of game you feel utterly compelled to tell your friends about. It's the type of game that will have you setting your controller aside to wipe away tears, both of laughter and raw emotion, as well as to call literally everyone in close proximity to come see whatever dark, hilarious, referential, or mind-blowing thing just happened. As such, I've spent the better part of the past week impatiently waiting for this embargo to drop--for the second I could talk about it with someone other than the close friend I roped into joining me. In short, Split Fiction is one of the most memorable, brilliant, and spectacular games I've ever played. And at long last, I am allowed to tell everyone about it.With Split Fiction, Hazelight Studios solidifies itself as not only one of the most clever and innovative working studios, but as one eager to grow and utterly devoted to creativity as both an idea and act. Though Hazelight has yet to release anything less than great, it was almost shocking to see how much it had learned from--and improved upon--2021's critical darling It Takes Two. Levels and environments are vast, gorgeous, and varied; our two protagonists, Mio and Zoe, are full of depth, charm, and personality; the game's seemingly endless gimmicks and gameplay mechanics, all of which are introduced at far more rapid pace than It Takes Two, are nearly all so fun, brilliant, and tightly designed that they could stand alone; and its writing, plot beats, and overall structure deliver a remarkable story that rappels from heart wrenching, commentative, darkly humorous, and brimming with joy just as fluidly as our heroines grapple-hook between buildings. Though there is a level of cheesiness that coats the game's overarching story and its primary antagonist, Rader, as a whole Split Fiction is a marvelous game that sets a new benchmark not only for Hazelight, but for co-op experiences as a whole.Mio looks a bit fearfully at a baby dragon perched on her shoulder while Zoe watches.Despite its inevitable greatness, Split Fiction kicks off with a humble (if slightly cliched) beginning in which it introduces its protagonists: Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster. Mio and Zoe are nothing alike. Whereas Mio is an angsty, city-slicking, sci-fi enthusiast who'd sooner yank out her own tooth than open up to a stranger, the fantasy-loving Zoe is sunshine incarnate. And yet, the pair does share one thing in common: They are both unpublished writers in dire need of money and a byline.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Split Fiction and It Takes Two developer Hazelight Studios will never put microtransactions in its games, according to director Josef Fares.In an interview with MinnMax, Fares also said that Hazelight Studios isn't available for bigger publishers to buy it out. "Hazelight is not for sale. I mean, we will always do what we do, and we love what to do period," Fares explained. "And we will never be on the stock market as well; get that in, period. And we will never have microtransactions, bullshit, no shit, just make games. Period."Recently, Fares also said that Hazelight won't make live-service games either. Microtransactions are common to in live-service games, as studios and publishers who make them want a recurring stream of revenue.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Monster Hunter Wilds launches today, February 28, and some players have run into issues with the Steam version. Thankfully, Capcom has provided steps on how to fix problems such as the game not loading or the cutscenes aren't playing.You can read the detailed steps below.Capcom recommended to make sure that your PC meets the minimum PC requirements for Monster Hunter Wilds and that your graphics drivers are updated. Additionally, update DirectX to the latest version and make sure that the game is added to your anti-virus program's exceptions list.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com