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The First Descendant is a free-to-play looter shooter from Nexon. There have been beta sessions before now, but the game is getting a full, proper launch next Summer. The exact date is up in the air still, but according to a blog post from the developers, it will be announced as soon as they can pin it down. Check out the latest trailer below.

In The First Descendant, you play as, you guessed, Descendants – a group of unique characters that each have distinct abilities and movesets. Your goal is to defend the planet from invaders called Colossi using the game's third-person shooting and RPG mechanics. The new trailer gives us a cinematic look at one of those fights, this time showcasing an entirely new Descendant.

There's no gameplay in this trailer, but the team assures fans that they're working to refine said gameplay, based on feedback from the nearly two million players who checked out their last open beta session. The main purpose of that beta was to test crossplay features, which makes sense, since the game is launching on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. Check it out for free when it launches simultaneously on all of those platforms in Summer 2024.

Dave the Diver publisher Nexon and developer Neople have revealed The First Berserker: Khazan, a single-player action RPG that is the next entry in the long-running Dungeon & Fighter universe. The First Berserker: Khazan stands in stark contrast to the most recent entry in this universe, DNF Duel, a multiplayer fighting game released last year. 

Neople says the DNF series combines the fast-paced, higher-energy action of old-school brawlers with classic RPG elements, all wrapped in an anime-esque art style. However, with The First Berserker: Khazan, players can expect hack 'n' slash combat and plenty of customization. 

Check it out for yourself in The First Berserker: Khazan reveal trailer below: 

"The Pell Los Empire has been saved – at a cost," a press release reads. "After the Great General Khazan and Archmage Ozma defeat the Berserk Dragon Hismar and the Dragon Legion, players will step into the shoes of Khazan as he is falsely accused of treason and exiled beyond the empire."

Neople says in The First Berserker: Khazan, combat takes center stage in Khazan's quest for vengeance against those who orchestrated his downfall, "marked by intense, aggressive, and ever-changing styles of battle." 

To survive, players must master combat, upgrade character skills, and combine weapons and armor (each with unique perks). The more missions cleared, the tougher the bosses, but defeating them and finishing missions earns players powerful gear and abilities. 

The First Berserker: Khazan will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in the future. 

What do you think of The First Berserker: Khazan's reveal trailer? Let us know in the comments below!

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been in development for a long time; by the time it comes out next year, it will have been nine years since Rocksteady's last game. But after years of secret development and repeated delays, it's finally around the corner, and The Game Awards just gave us our latest look. See for yourself in the trailer below:

The notion of killing the Justice League, some of the most powerful people in the DC universe, has always felt like an impossible task for the Suicide Squad, and the more we see of these corrupted superheroes, the harder it looks. This trailer gives us a look at Green Lantern's arsenal of hard light weaponry, the Flash's speed and lightning bolts, Wonder Woman's lasso of truth, and a shadowy Batman (which is potentially related to Scarecrow's fear gas, though that's just speculation).

Luckily, the Squad is equipped with a wide array of weapons and traversal techniques, making them way more mobile than they would normally be in the comics or movies. We get a good look at new gameplay of them swinging, soaring, and shooting as well, which you can experience solo with AI companions or online with friends.

But the best part of the new trailer? The release date hasn't changed. We can take on the Justice League next year on February 2.

Developer Game Science's Soulslike action RPG, Black Myth: Wukong, is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC next August. More specifically, it hits those platforms on August 20, 2024, as revealed in a new gameplay trailer that aired during The Game Awards 2023. 

Alongside the August 20 release date, this new Black Myth: Wukong trailer also gives us our biggest look yet at the game's combat, which continues to look great. 

Check out it in the Black Myth: Wukong release date trailer for yourself below: 

Black Myth: Wukong pits the player's monkey warrior character, known as the Destined One, against various legends, foes, and creatures from throughout Chinese Mythology. It also features a story based on Journey to the West. 

Black Myth: Wukong hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 20, 2024. 

For more, check out this Black Myth: Wukong gameplay trailer from earlier this year. 

Are you excited for Black Myth: Wukong? Let us know in the comments below!

While they may have been tided over by recent remakes and re-releases, fans of the Mana series have gone a whopping 15 years without a taste of a new mainline entry. Luckily for them, the fast is over; Visions Of Mana was just announced at The Game Awards, and it's out next year. Check out the reveal trailer below.

Square Enix has more details on their website. "Once every four years," it reads, "The Faerie visits regions of the world to choose alms - people who are fated to travel to the Tree of Mana, which presides over the world’s vital flow of mana. Val invites his childhood friend to a festival to welcome the visitor, but as the night falls, the sky lights up with sparkling lights and the Faerie chooses her as the alm."

The game will also feature "a vibrant semi-open 3D field," though it's unclear exactly what that will look like in game. We can at least be certain it will have plenty of enemies (including series staple Rabites), and you'll be able to battle them using fast-paced, real-time combat. The wait will be over soon – Visions of Mana is out next year.

Team Ninja revealed Rise of the Ronin, its PlayStation 5-exclusive action game, during a State of Play last year. The game made an appearance at The Game Awards 2023 to showcase more of its fast-paced action alongside the news that it will hit PS5 on March 22, 2024. 

In the trailer, we see a Ronin take the steps to save a late-Edo period japan from chaos, dark magic, and more. While the trailer focuses on the game's combat, with trademark Souls-like Team Ninja action at play, it also highlights some of its traversal. Players will get to explore Japan on foot, on horse, and by way of glider.

Check it out for yourself below in the new Rise of the Ronin trailer: 

"Japan at the end of the 19th century was characterized by the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, a period of oppression and stagnation," the trailer's description reads. "Explore the vast world of late-Edo period Japan by horse and glider, while battling foes using a wide range of weapons and equipment – melee weapons like swords and spears, as well as ranged weapons like firearms and thrown weapons." 

Rise of the Ronin hits PS5 exclusively on March 22, 2024. 

For more, watch the Rise of the Ronin reveal trailer from last year. 

Are you excited for Rise of the Ronin? Let us know in the comments below!

Earlier this year, Supermassive Games, the team behind The Quarry, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and Until Dawn, announced it was collaborating with Behaviour Interactive to create a single-player game set in the latter's Dead by Daylight universe. After teasing an appearance at The Game Awards 2023 yesterday online, the teams have officially revealed The Casting of Frank Stone. It hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in 2024.

"The shadow of Frank Stone looms over Cedar Hills, a town forever altered by his violent past," a press release reads. "As a group of young friends are about to discover, Stone's blood-soaked legacy cuts deep, leaving scars across families, generations, and the very fabric of reality itself." 

Check out The Casting of Frank Stone reveal trailer for yourself below: 

The Casting of Frank Stone is set in Cedar Hills, Oregon. In the depths of a steel mill, the gruesome crimes of a sadistic killer spawn horrors beyond comprehension, according to a press release. Players will dive into the mysteries of these horrors with an all-new cast of characters in the Dead by Daylight universe. In classic Supermassive Games fashion, every decision players make shapes the story and impacts the fate of its various characters.  

Behaviour Interactive head of partnerships Mathieu Côté says the team knows its players have been interested in single-player narrative experiences for some time, noting that it's "excited to expand the Dead by Daylight universe and explore new territory with Supermassive Games, a studio that is at the forefront of modern video game storytelling." 

 

Supermassive Games studio director Steve Goss said in yesterday's tease that this game is a "brand-new, single-player interactive story game set in the terrifying omniverse of Dead by Daylight." Supermassive Games executive producer Traci Tufte adds, "Our game will be set outside the Entity's Realm and feature the story of a new cast of characters who players will follow for an unprecedented experience beyond the fog." 

The Casting of Frank Stone hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store in 2024. 

Supermassive Games is also working on Little Nightmares III, which we learned about during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023, also created and hosted by The Game Awards 2023's Geoff Keighley. Check out 18 minutes of unsettling Little Nightmares III co-op gameplay here. 

Are you excited about The Casting of Frank Stone? Let us know in the comments below!

Moon Studios, the team behind Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, has revealed No Rest for the Wicked, its first action RPG. It will be released as an Early Access title on Steam sometime during the first quarter of 2024 before it later releases onto PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. 

No Rest for the Wicked features a hand-crafted world with a painterly art style. In it, players explore an island called Isola Sacra, spelunking through cavernous depths, lush forests, treacherous mountain passes, and more, according to publisher Private Division. Each location on Isola Sacra is home to protagonists "with their own problems," a press release reads, as well as hidden treasures, creatures, and secrets. 

Check out the No Rest for the Wicked reveal trailer for yourself below: 

Moon Studios says fights in the game are animation-driven, direct, and tactile, "allowing skilled players to combine visceral strikes and deadly moves." No Rest for the Wicked prioritizes skill and timing over button-mashing, according to the team. 

"We have been dreaming of being able to contribute to the [action RPG] genre that we all grew up with and love," Moon Studios co-founder and creative director Thomas Mahler writes in a press release. "After the success of Ori, it was clear to us that Moon was now mature enough to finally realize those dreams. We can't wait to see how players will react to this entirely new take on the genre." 

 

Here's more about the game, straight from Moon Studios and Private Division: 

"In the year 841, a pivotal moment dawns upon the kingdom, marked by the passing of King Harol Bolein. A devastating conflict arises when a peaceful transition of power devolves into chaos.  In addition to this political turmoil, a deadly plague has reemerged on the remote island of Sacra, twisting the land and its inhabitants. Players must brandish their arms in an effort to quell both the grotesque beasts and the Kingdom’s invading army throughout a turbulent atmosphere where they are pulled in every direction."

Outside of the single-player experience, No Rest for the Wicked's multiplayer mode allows players to share their world and progress with up to three friends at their side in the campaign's online co-op. Every quest, boss, and hidden secret is shared with those you play with. 

While No Rest for the Wicked's debut at The Game Awards 2023 was nice, Moon Studios fans can watch the Wicked Inside digital showcase airing on March 1, 2024, for additional information about the game. 

What do you think of No Rest for the Wicked's debut? Let us know in the comments below!

Untitled Goose Game was one of the most viral indie games when it launched in 2019. It was simple and fun, overflowing with charm and personality. It seems like developer House House has some of that personality left in the tank, because their next game, Big Walk, looks incredibly intriguing. Check out the reveal trailer below,

In Big Walk, you and your friends will explore an open world full of puzzles and things to discover. According to the Steam page, you'll need to figure out new ways to communicate when you suddenly find yourself speechless. This explains why, in the trailer, we see lots of attempts at communication, from waving arms to holding up certain images.

The aforementioned Steam listing also says "Sit and watch the sunset, or steal your friend’s binoculars and kick them into the ocean." It seems that much like Goose Game, there will be plenty of time for shenanigans. You'll be able to check it out in 2025.

Developer Ninja Theory made another appearance at The Game Awards, this time with a new trailer for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. In the trailer, we get confirmation that it's still expected to hit Xbox Series X/S in 2024 alongside a new look at its extremely visceral combat. 

Like previous Hellblade II trailers, we see Senua trudging through some dangerous wilderness. She's not fighting giant monsters this time, though, as instead, she's up against more human-sized enemies. And this trailer gives us the most in-depth look at Hellblade II's combat yet – unsurprisingly, it looks great (and gruesomely realistic). 

Check it out for yourself in the Senua's Saga: Hellblade II gameplay trailer below: 

"The sequel to the award winning Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice sees Senua return in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland," the trailer's description reads. "Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming darkness within and without."

Hellblade II hits Xbox Series X/S sometime next year. 

For more, watch this Hellblade II gameplay footage from earlier this year, and then check out this behind-the-scenes look at the game's facial animation technology. 

Are you excited for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II? Let us know in the comments below!

Finji, a studio known for its work on Indie hits like Tunic and Chicory, announced its latest project at The Game Awards today. It's called Usual June, and it tells the story of a girl struggling to balance her summer break with saving the universe. You can watch the reveal trailer below.

Even after watching the trailer, you might not have much of an idea of what the game is about; it's pretty scarce when it comes to concrete information. We see the protagonist (fittingly named June) as she hacks and slashes her way through spectral creatures in a mysterious world. Luckily, the Steam listing for the game provides some context to her actions. Here's a bit of what the developer has to say about the game:

Follow June and her new besties (alive and dead) as they investigate the town’s century-spanning secret history, explore a shattered multi-dimensional continuum, chill at the cemetery, defend themselves against massive monsters from beyond the pale, and deflect their parents’ questions about what they’re doing after they graduate.
 

 It sounds like it'll be telling a typical coming-of-age story mashed up with supernatural heroics. In between story beats, players will also be able to experience some "frantic, flexible combat." We'll be able to get a taste of that ourselves when the game drops some time in 2025.

Motion Twin, the team behind Dead Cells, has revealed its next game and it's an isometric action game called Windblown. Revealed during The Game Awards 2023, Windblown's most striking feature, other than being the next game from the team behind Dead Cells, is its animated art style. 

The game itself drops the 2.5 nature of Dead Cells for a more top-down, isometric approach with 3D action, and it looks great. It's due out on PC early access sometime in 2024. Other platforms were not mentioned. 

Check out the Windblown reveal trailer for yourself below: 

In Windblown, players control a Leaper on a mission to defend the Ark from a "very aggro Vortex." You can absorb memories of fallen warriors, according to Motion Twin, and then put them to good use by infusing their skills into your weapons. Plus, you can take part in all of Windblown's action with up to two friends. 

Are you excited for Windblown? Let us know in the comments below!

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons, the award-winning 2013 indie from developer Starbreeze Studios, is getting remade. Italy-based developer Avantgarden, the team behind 2017's Last Day Of June and formerly named Ovosonico, is handling the remake and building it in Unreal Engine 5. Original publisher 505 Games is publishing the remake, which hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on February 28, as well. 

505 Games says original Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons director, Josef Fares, who later founded Hazelight Studios, which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021 for It Takes Two, has endorsed the remake. 

Check out the Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Remake for yourself in the reveal trailer below: 

"Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Remake faithfully re-tells the remarkable heart-rending journey of brothers Naia and Naiee as they embark on a quest to save the life of their dying father," a press release reads. "Built on the Unreal Engine 5, every step of the brothers' journey has been painstakingly rebuilt from the ground up for the most immersive story possible, whilst remaining faithful to the original game. 

"As an additional bonus, the classic single-player experience is now also joined by local co-op, allowing friends to each control a brother's actions." 

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons won a BAFTA for Game Innovation, the Downloadable Game of the Year from the D.I.C.E and Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awards, and Best Xbox Game as the VGAs after its release. 

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Remake hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam, the Epic Game Store, and GOG, on February 28, 2024.

For more, read Game Informer's review of Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons. 

Have you played the original Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons? Let us know if you're excited bout this remake in the comments below!

<p><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/12/07/c7abd35c/ultros_ngt_thumb.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="Ultros gameplay video" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p>Ultros is a bizarre and mesmerising Metroidvania-style action game arriving on February 13. Our layman's description wouldn't do the game justice, so here's the official synopsis on its <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2386310/Ultros/">Steam page</a>:</p> You wake up stranded, after seemingly crashing your ship on The Sarcophagus — a giant, space-drifting, cosmic uterus holding an ancient demonic being known as ULTROS. Trapped in the eternal loop of a black hole, you will have to explore The Sarcophagus and meet its inhabitants to understand the part you play. <p>What does all of that even mean? Join Marcus Stewart and Charles Harte as they explore an early slice of Ultros to figure out what the heck is going on while indulging its promising gameplay.&nbsp;</p> <iframe width="560" height="315" frameBorder="0" allow="autoplay" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SAK-jGSRAI" width="640"></iframe> <p>Head over to&nbsp;<em>Game Informer's&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gameinformer" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>&nbsp;for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of&nbsp;<em>New Gameplay Today</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt" target="_blank">right here.</a></p>

Before starting Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, I was reminded of what I think of when considering any open-world game: Killscreen's review of Fallout 4 by Chris Breault, and the opening line, "Here comes the trashman!" Breault discusses an experience of constantly picking up and covering yourself in the garbage scattered around that game's massive world. It's a description that feels highly applicable to most open-world games--huge, but full of refuse that you spend endless hours picking through and carting around, only to replace it with newer, better garbage. Most open-world games are too concerned with filling their worlds, both literally and metaphorically, with a deluge of needless stuff, and it’s why I find the genre can be off-putting.

It's the fear of that torrent of trash that made Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora surprisingly refreshing and also endearing. Frontiers pushes aside some of the concerns about sifting through heaps of junk and clearing incessant icons from your HUD by keeping your screen clear so you can appreciate its gorgeous vistas and strange creatures, thus encouraging you to take in and understand the world around you. Though it still has a lot of open-world staples, like numerous activities and an expansive crafting system, it manages to incorporate them as systems that enhance an overarching feeling of exploration and discovery, and it never bombards you with them. These elements feel like they're meant to help you experience the world itself, instead of just filling it up with more litter.

Two things make Frontiers of Pandora work: its incredible setting and its alien protagonist. I've never had much more than a passing interest in the Avatar films, but Pandora, the lush alien world on which they take place, is an outstanding location to set a video game. It's an enormous and strange place, filled with alien plants, creatures that glow in darkness, and wildlife that towers over the landscape.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Platform: PlayStation 5
Publisher: PlayStation Studios
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release: January 19, 2024
Rating: Mature

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, The Last of Us Part II is getting the big remaster treatment in January, over three years after it was released for PlayStation 4. This updated version leverages the PlayStation 5’s hardware with graphical bells and whistles like native 4K resolution, improved textures, and unlocked framerate. It also adds new interactive goodies, such as developer commentary and previously unplayable lost levels. But the centerpiece of the package’s new offerings is a new mode called No Return.

In this new roguelite adventure, players choose from one of 10 playable characters, from main stars like Ellie, Abby, and Joel to previously unplayable faces like Tommy, Dina, and Lev, to battle a randomized series of combat encounters. I traveled to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s office in San Mateo, California, to play several rounds of No Return and speak to the director of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Matthew Gallant, to learn how and why Naughty Dog implemented this surprising addition.

My initial assumption was that No Return was an idea intended for the original release of The Last of Us Part II that didn’t make the cut. However, Gallant states the mode was conceived after Naughty Dog decided to update the sequel. “We're like, okay, we knew we were going to be doing this next-gen upgrade and offering the PS5 improvements and the fidelity and the performance mode, haptics, and all that really great stuff,” says Gallant. “That was for sure going to be in The Last of Us Part II Remastered, but then we were thinking, ‘What else would be really great? What would surprise people, delight people, give them something to make this a really robust offering?’”

Naughty Dog wanted something that took advantage of the game’s exceptional combat that had the same high stakes as The Last of Us Part II’s Grounded difficulty, in which players must restart the entire game if they die just once. It also wanted to challenge players to constantly change their tactics and behaviors; Gallant believes many players settled into their chosen playstyles and loadouts once they got deep into the story campaign. The run-based, randomized blueprint of the roguelite became the clear answer. “We thought that this roguelike mode [would] be a really great way to surprise players, get them thinking on their feet again, throw them into situations where they might be uncomfortable having to react or to plan on the fly,” says Gallant.

Upon starting a new run, I choose one of two available characters: Ellie or Abby. Each character has a playstyle and specialized traits. Ellie is classified as “Balanced," meaning she’s well-rounded, while her three traits are gaining 50 percent more supplements, the ability to craft Molotovs (other characters must unlock this recipe), and two upgrade branches. Abby is a Brawler, meaning she hits harder, and her traits include a health regen that restores HP each time she performs a melee attack. Dina excels at crafting, based on how she’s able to repair the WLF radio in the story. Lev, who I unlock later, is stealth-focused, so he’s automatically equipped with his powerful and silent bow. His sister Yara’s trait allows Lev to accompany her as an AI companion at the expense of starting with only a basic firearm, meaning her upgrade path is longer by default. 

I choose Ellie, and my run begins in the hideaway. This HQ takes different forms location-wise and has a workbench to upgrade weapons and a trading post to purchase new guns and tools from a randomized selection, which changes upon each visit. If you’re unhappy with what the trading post currently offers, you can reroll the selection by spending a small amount of currency. I begin with a pistol, a knife, and a couple of health packs. A corkboard displays the current run, a branching web of levels represented by Polaroid photographs that display any stipulations.

The first level’s match is Assault, which tasks me with defeating three waves of enemies. I can go loud, but I choose to pick them off quietly, my preferred tactic in the story campaign. I’m reminded of how good the combat feels after being away from it for three years. The action is brutal, and I find myself wincing all over again at the sickening sound effects as I pierce throats with my knife or cave in someone’s skull with a bat. And yes, human enemies still scream out the names of their fallen comrades (“No! Mike!”) in agony upon discovering my handiwork. 

The Last of Us Part II’s unsettlingly grounded depiction of violence is juxtaposed by No Return's more video game-y elements. Abby’s health regen trait means that health symbols explode out of enemies when she strikes them. Level modifiers can be goofy, such as one that makes all enemies invisible, detectable only by using listen mode, or by shining your flashlight to cast their shadows. Gallant, who worked on Part II’s combat in the original game, says Naughty Dog always valued keeping things grounded when it came to the series combat, but No Return’s non-canonical nature presented the opportunity for them to cut loose and get wild. 

“We know our combat mechanics are really fun, we know our gameplay is really fun, [and we’re] trying to give that its own space to be fun and not quite as heavy as the main story,” says Gallant. 

Between killing enemies, which range from human factions such as the WLF, Seraphites, and Rattlers to various types of infected, I scour the zones for crafting ingredients. Resource chests, which are highlighted with an indicator and appear in different places throughout a level, offer larger rewards for those brave enough to reach them. 

After working my way through the web of zones, I eventually reach the endpoint: a boss battle. I’m pitted against a giant Bloater (along with a few Clickers), and, to my embarrassment, I’m killed after only a few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to exact my revenge, though it wouldn’t be a guarantee that I could. Other bosses could appear instead, such as a Seraphite Elite or a Rattler Captain, which are new encounters not seen in the campaign. 

My death means having to start a whole new run. It’s disheartening, but at least I know my path won’t unfold the same as before. Levels occasionally have mods such as adding a thick fog that makes it harder to spot enemies (and, in turn, concealing you better) or causing hazardous pustules of spores to rain from the sky. Sometimes, tripwires will be placed all over the arena. Some levels provide an AI companion to lend a hand. Using Ellie, I play one mission that pairs me with Dina for some tag team play. Other mission types include Hunted, which throws a never-ending barrage of enemies at players with the goal of surviving until the time limit expires. Certain levels have their nature obscured and labeled as mystery zones, meaning you have no idea what you’ll get until you play them. 

“If you don't make it out of the situation…knowing that the game's going [to] be just rolling this entirely new random run at you, it's going [to] be rolling all these new challenges, new combinations of stuff that you wouldn't have expected,” says Gallant. “So [it] just makes coming back to the combat and running into new situations and new combinations just really exciting and really fun.” 

A list of challenges provides additional objectives, and completing these unlocks new characters, outfits, mods, weapons, recipes, and more. For example, I unlock Lev by completing two levels as Abby. I also unlock Gambits, a feature that introduces a riskier set of challenges once per encounter for much greater rewards. Naughty Dog has ensured that No Return is regularly evolving and expanding the more time players put into it, which helps keep it fresh for the long haul. 

 

A multitude of difficulty options means No Return can be as easy or hard as players make it. A Custom Run option even allows players to tailor their runs by choosing what mods, perks, and match types appear. Gallant believes that this flexibility in how players can mold No Return, along with the opportunity to play as fan-favorite characters, most of which were not playable before, offers enticing hooks to draw in fans who don’t traditionally play roguelites. 

As a fan of The Last of Us Part II and roguelites in general, No Return is a fun blend of the two ideas that feels like a better fit than I expected. The evolving challenge, fun mods, and the tension of losing an entire run due to one mistake squeeze more juice out of the already enjoyable combat. Most of all, it offers an entertaining and substantial dessert to the meaty main course of the campaign (which Gallant recommends playing before jumping into No Return). I’m not sure if I’m ready to endure The Last of Us Part II’s emotionally taxing narrative again, so I’m glad No Return lets me enjoy the gameplay side of things without that stress. 

The Last of Us Part II Remastered launches on January 19 for PlayStation 5.

Purchase

<p><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/12/05/5b16d1e3/tlou_no_return_thumb.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="The Last of Us Part II Remastered No Return Preview Impressions" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p><a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/11/19/the-last-of-us-part-ii-remastered-hits-ps5-this-january-with-10-upgrade-option">The Last of Us Part II Remastered</a> arrives in January, and we got to take a hands-on tour of its new roguelite mode, No Return. The mode tasks players with surviving a randomized series of levels as their favorite The Last of Us characters with ever-changing stipulations, enemies, and perks. Join Marcus Stewart and Charles Harte as they break down No Return's features and give their overall impressions so far.</p> <iframe width="560" height="315" frameBorder="0" allow="autoplay" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SDKtY5dGBXI" width="640"></iframe> <p>Head over to&nbsp;<em>Game Informer's&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gameinformer" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>&nbsp;for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of&nbsp;<em>New Gameplay Today</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt" target="_blank">right here.</a></p>

At a glance, Thirsty Suitors is a game about revenge. Its story follows the recently heartbroken Jala Jayaratne, who returns to her hometown only to be relentlessly attacked by a league of evil exes. But it is also so much more than that. As the story progresses, we come to discover that none of these exes are evil per se, and Jala herself is incredibly fallible. She left scorched earth in all of her previous relationships in Timber Hills, and her only option now is to reconcile and take accountability with each of these exes. Her attempts to make good take the form of turn-based combat built upon RPG progression that has a unique flavor and is fun to engage with. There's even a surprisingly enjoyable skateboarding mechanic. In so many ways, Thirsty Suitors is unique and creative, but when all is said and done, what makes a lasting impact is a personal, vulnerable, and culturally nuanced tale about making things right.

As previously mentioned, you will be fighting each of Jala's exes throughout the game in turn-based combat, leveling up stats, learning new skills to make fights easier, and using summons that can be unlocked through sidequests or the main story. Each fight is a conversation, a puzzle, and a battle in one where the objective is to discover the weakness of an opponent through a process of trial and error. Once you've identified that weakness, you can inflict status ailments or deal additional damage to chip away at their health. The RPG mechanics and the process of exploring and exploiting weakness are presented as a back-and-forth between Jala and her interlocutor where old wounds are reopened and issues are hashed out until the dynamic between them evolves or resolves. This system manages to work in the foundational element of RPGs but cleverly rethinks it to also give it narrative weight. The trial and error process is one of picking dialogue options, and these can have an impact beyond the battle too. Make the right decisions and you'll come up with a plan that'll pinpoint the enemies' weaknesses through taunts, so you can easily trounce them with the use of the correct skills.

Jala's initial ambition and awareness of her wrongdoings are unique for the main character of an RPG, let alone one spearheaded by a queer South Asian woman. Jala conveys her self-awareness by internalizing that she is the one at fault in all of her previous relationships, which manifests in the game as a banter between herself and a narrator. The narrator is a voice she has conjured up that is reminiscent of her sister, Aruni, in looks, voice, and tone. This, it turns out, is also a way for Jala to grapple with her strained relationship with her sister while still having guidance internally. The dialogue between them had me laughing throughout the game's 17-hour runtime. The snide, direct, and reassuring nature of this narrator figure allows Jala to convey her struggles effectively by presenting these challenges to another entity in a candid way. The Narrator offers the guidance she seeks throughout the game even though her actual sister avoids confronting Jala. Each of Jala's exes also has a coping mechanism such as Irfan and what other characters call his “obsession with his cat” to the point of carrying his pet around wherever he goes.

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It's a weird year for Call of Duty, as Modern Warfare 3 arrives with mostly recycled content in a game that is looking to sell you on nostalgia. However, despite being a hodgepodge of old ideas and content from previously launched games, this continuation of the rebooted Modern Warfare series still manages to deliver lots of exciting multiplayer with fast-paced movement and an extraction-style Zombies mode that keeps you hooked on the gameplay.

On paper, Modern Warfare 3 sounds like it should be suffering from a chaotic identity crisis, as it's cobbled together with many parts of previous Call of Duty games. It's a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare 2, but the standard map pool at launch exclusively consists of the full map set from 2009's original Modern Warfare 2. Additionally, the game's third game mode is a Treyarch-developed Zombies experience, which plays on Warzone's upcoming battle royale map with tons of features pulled from Black Ops Cold War.

New Call of Duty games typically launch with multiplayer maps inspired by the game's campaign locations, but other than the airport map "Terminal," most of the other multiplayer maps don't tie into the campaign settings in any way. Releasing solely with old maps doesn't really do the multiplayer any favors, as longtime players like myself don't have new areas to explore and it creates a very noticeable disconnect that reminds you what a patchwork job Modern Warfare 3 really is.

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Super Mario RPG is one of the wildest games in Nintendo's catalog. Loaded with eccentric characters like a Santa-esque big bad, random bouts of dark comedy--Toad cosplayers tickle as a form of torture and a four-eyed dog swallows you whole and comments on the taste--and moment-to-moment gameplay that is as raucous as it is eclectic, Super Mario RPG memorably capped off the SNES lifecycle. Fittingly, the new Switch version is one of the weirdest remasters I've ever played. Its surface-level appearance as a modern Mario game is merely a facade. Relentlessly faithful to the original, Super Mario RPG is a bold and largely successful experiment.

In fact, it's misleading to refer to Super Mario RPG as a remake, especially in a year where numerous remakes, such as Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space, have retooled beloved classics for modern sensibilities. Heck, I'd even say Super Mario RPG is closer to Metroid Prime Remastered. Yes, the graphics here were fully remade--this isn't a touch-up; it's a complete glow-up for contemporary eyes--but everything that gave the SNES game its identity is present. Outside of a few minor quality-of-life improvements, Super Mario RPG is mostly a remastered product of its time--and an utterly fascinating one, at that. With its heartfelt humor, standout personalities, satisfyingly straightforward combat, and an expeditious mindset devoid of the bloat that regularly plagues modern RPGs, Super Mario RPG is timeless.

Almost all truly great stories transcend time. When it comes to video games from the 16-bit era, narrative was often an afterthought. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the writing in Mario's debut role-playing holds up. Endearing characterization deftly builds a world that draws you into the overarching good versus evil story.

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