Everyone has a fighting chance
We visited Capcom to ask 75 rapid-fire interview questions to the developers behind Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the first entry in the samurai action game series in several decades. Join us for another Game Informer Rapid Fire segment with two of the creative leads behind Onimusha: director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki.
The NES library of the Nintendo Switch Online Classics has three new titles: Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, Ikari Warriors, and R.C. Pro-Am II. Each title is available now to subscribers.
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom was released in 1991 as the final NES entry for the series. Its inclusion means the entire classic Ninja Gaiden trilogy is now available to Switch Online subscribers. The same is true of the R.C. Pro-Am racing series, with its 1992 sequel now joining the original (which has been available on Switch Online since February 2024).
The run-and-gun action game Ikari Warriors is the oldest of today’s additions, launching in arcades in 1986 before being ported to NES in the U.S. in 1987. Ikari Warriors is historically significant as one of the highest-grossing arcade games of its time and helped developer/publisher SNK break through in the West.
Be sure to visit our complete database of every classic game currently available on Nintendo Switch Online (+Expansion Pack).
Mario Kart World was the Switch 2’s big launch title, finally providing a sequel to the biggest Mario Kart game of all time. However, today Nintendo updated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, originally released in 2017, enhancing its Switch 2 support with some added features. It’s a surprising move, as one might assume Nintendo would have fully moved on to the newer game, but 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game of all time, and many still prefer it to World, so it’s a welcome improvement.
The most impactful change for most is the addition of more players to local multiplayer. Previously, the mode was capped at four racers, but now it supports up to eight. It makes for a cramped screen, but it’s nice to have the option. It’s also worth noting that you can only connect seven Switch 1 controllers to a Switch 2, so at least one of the eight controllers has to be a Switch 2 Pro Controller or Joy-Con 2.
The Switch 2 version of the game will now have shorter load times and higher resolution as well, on both the Switch 2 display and connected TVs. And for all you fans of CameraPlay (I’ve never met you, but I’m sure you exist), you can now use a USB camera in Online Play and local Multiplayer. That said, the latter is capped at 4 players – you can’t have eight players with cameras.
There are also some minor updates that also apply to the Switch 1 version of the game. All player speeds have been increased “by the equivalent of one coin,” the Boo power-up will now make you immune to slowing down, even when offroading, and players with the Booster Course DLC can now do VS Races with up to 96 courses.
The update is available now, and you can read the full patch notes here. It’s nearly a decade old now, but check out our review for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – the game is even better now than it was back then. Afterwards, you can, read our review for Mario Kart World.
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher:
Saber Interactive
Developer:
Saber Interactive
Release:
TBA
Released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, the original Stuntman was a great concept that, for me anyway, proved far too challenging to be fun. Perfection was demanded, and extreme specificity was required for progress. It took all the fun out of controlling a car in a video game, which I imagine is how movie stunt drivers probably really feel after the fifth take of the same sequence, so in that way maybe it was a perfect simulation of the stunt driving experience.
But I have always remained enamored with the fun concept. Who wouldn’t want to drive a stunt car in a Hollywood movie without the need to sign personal injury waivers and the danger of bodily harm?
I played through four levels of Stuntman: Hollywood at Gamescom, including, perhaps most notably, the recently announced Jurassic World level. The team building the game at Saber Interactive, I believe, took away the same opinion I had back in 2002: if this game were more forgiving, it would be a lot more fun. That isn’t to say Stuntman: Hollywood is a total breeze. With the exception of the opening tutorial level, I had to retry each level at least once, but the challenge doesn’t feel as insurmountable as it did 24 years ago. Perfection is encouraged but not demanded, and specificity is only required in certain places.
In practice, the game almost feels like a slowed-down rhythm game crossed with Simon Says. As you’re driving through the sets – perhaps the biggest sets ever constructed for any movie ever – a director shouts instructions in your ear: drift here, get close to that obstacle there, hit that ramp, drive through that other obstacle there. Along with the director’s voice, there are also plenty of on-screen indicators directing you where to go and telling you what to do. The first run through a level is frantic as you try to quickly respond to every directive, and it can be overwhelming, but there is a joy to being successful, and I maybe had the most fun replaying a level after completing it at least once.
I played two levels that drove me through cities, one where I was trying to escape a collapsing factory during an earthquake, and finally the Jurassic World level. In that level, I drove a motorcycle away from an angry volcano while dinosaurs ran beside me, ramp-jumping over an angry Tyrannosaurus rex and sliding under the occasional obstacle. I haven’t been on many movie sets, but I can confirm from visiting the film set of Detective Pikachu that the animated monsters are not usually there when filming. My understanding is that they’re usually added later in something called “post”. But what do I know, and who cares? I would rather have the dinosaurs there to race with me and jump over, accuracy be damned.
Despite all the bombastic action happening on screen, one of the most notable elements of the Jurassic World level was the fast-paced, percussive remix of the classic Jurassic Park theme. It was bizarre, and you would never catch me listening to it outside of the game, but in context the absurd arrangement worked pretty well.
My big takeaway from Stuntman: Hollywood is that the two-decade-old video game concept might have finally found its footing. For those who want to pull off an undeniable take and nail every moment perfectly, I believe that still exists here. But for those like me who just want to participate in an admittedly hyperbolic simulation of being a stunt driver on a movie set, Stuntman: Hollywood is the most welcoming version of the experience the franchise has offered to date.
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher:
Bandai Namco
Developer:
Bandai Namco
Release:
Rating:
Teen
The Ace Combat series is riding high on the tailwind of its seventh entry’s success, and October will see Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve take off. So far, we’ve seen quite a bit about its single-player campaign, but now, the Project Aces team is unveiling its multiplayer side.
For players like myself, Ace Combat has frequently been a single-player affair, centered on the campaign and missions. The options to play with friends were always there, but I rarely spent much time exploring them. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is trying to change that. Speaking to the developers at Gamescom 2026, they cited the response to Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown as a reason why they wanted to enhance the multiplayer offering this time around.
“Because Ace Combat 7 was really successful and became a long-tail title, we also identified that it’s really critical for the players to be able to play for the long term,” said producer Manabu Shimomoto, via translator. “So for that, to enable that, the online mode and environmental platform needs to be very solid.”
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is planning 100-player online lobbies where you can customize a pilot avatar and walk around, hanging out with other fliers. More options will open up as you complete missions and build up your hangar. I’m both cautious and curious about the cosmetic aspect. Bandai Namco confirms there will be a battle pass – Ace Pass – with free and premium options, and there’s also a supply shop where you can obtain items that have a crate-opening aesthetic.
Of course, the main attraction is actually flying and fighting. Co-Op Assault and Co-Op Warfare are the two big pillars of Ace Combat 8’s multiplayer, allowing players to dip into PvE or PvP, respectively. Co-Op Assault will launch two teams of four into missions competing for the highest score, with live players as your wingmen.
In Co-Op Warfare, teams of four battle against each other alongside allied land, air, and sea units. Once again, you compete for high scores, with escalating scores increasing threat level and netting you a score multiplier. Higher threat also means the enemy gets more points for shooting you down, though, so big swings can happen in the middle of a match.
“There are some players who are not really big fans of playing against people, so PvE is really critical for those players,” Shimomoto tells me. “Whereas some players really enjoy a competitive environment, so [options for both players] is really critical.”
Both modes will allow several aircraft roles as well, ranging from Fighters and Attackers to Multirole all-rounders and support-driven Electronic Warfare aircraft. You’ll be able to progress along tracks for your chosen aircraft, building them up as you would within the single-player campaign. There are also online-exclusive options and visual customization.
Additionally, Project Aces has some special modes, dubbed Scramble and Emergency Sortie, that can pop up in the multiplayer lobby. Scramble pits teams of four against a tough rival NPC squad, while Emergency Sortie hosts special fights against iconic Ace Combat bosses and superweapons.
All of this circles back to the lobby, where a jukebox with music from past games and an arcade with a selection of Namco classics awaits as well. The team wouldn’t confirm which games are being selected for inclusion outside of Pac-Man, which you can see in the reveal trailer, but did say we’ll see some games from Namco’s history in there.
It’s certainly exciting to see the Aces team build out such a large multiplayer offering. The PvPvE and special sorties look like cool reasons to revisit Ace Combat and to get other friends into the series as well. Hopefully this adds to an already impressive-looking Ace Combat.
If you want to learn more about the upcoming entry in Bandai Namco’s flying-shooter series, check out our preview from Issue 379 of Game Informer.
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher:
Saber Interactive
Developer:
Saber Interactive
Release:
2027
Rating:
Teen
Back at E3 2018, I was invited to play a licensed game based on the old-at-the-time movie and even-older-at-the-time book, World War Z. I thought the movie was alright, I enjoyed the book, and I figured an unexpected licensed game might attract some traffic online. I took the appointment, but my expectations for the actual game were rock bottom. I was surprised, however, to play a few rounds of a game that played great and made dramatic gameplay use of the visually defining zombie masses from the film, where they would climb on top of each other to create a gruesome pile. I was impressed at the time, and when I reviewed the game the following year, I gave it a strong 8.25 and often cite it as my favorite of the Left 4 Dead-inspired games that followed Valve’s lead. It made me take notice of Saber, a developer I have been consistently impressed by over the years whose output is multitudinous and often strong, even if it has never quite released an undeniable, massive hit.
Recently, Saber CEO Matthew Karch publicly stated, “I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI,” in response to former Saber writer and narrative designer Stella Sacco saying that is exactly what had happened – she had been replaced by AI for the game Rideshare “Stimulator” (source: thisweekinvideogames.com). Karch’s troubling statement was part of a denial saying that is not what happened; he later privately apologized to Sacco for the comments and said, “For some like me, fighting my urges is one of the hardest things I have to deal with.” He did not, however, deny the use of generative AI in Rideshare “Stimulator”. The game currently outlines how generative AI is being used on its Steam page in a content disclosure.
The debacle and open use of generative AI in Rideshare “Stimulator” took me back to my 2018 expectations. I similarly went into a demo for a Saber game with them low, unsure of what to expect with Turok: Origins (which, by the way, does not currently feature any kind of AI disclosure on its Steam page, and I optimistically have no reason to believe it uses the technology).
Then there is the Turok of it all. The original Nintendo 64 debut was an early staple for the console, but I don’t know that I have ever met a rabid Turok fan in my life. I am sure they exist somewhere. I played the original game’s opening level a number of times and was impressed by it being an early example of a functional first-person shooter on a controller. But once GoldenEye arrived, I forgot about it and never made any time for its sequels. Turok, as a result, is a franchise I, and I am sure many others, are aware of, but I don’t know that there is a frothing demand for a new entry or sequel.
All of that is set up to actually playing the game. Turok: Origins, according to the team, is not a sequel but rather a new entry point for Turok, which I learned is an achievable title and not a person. You can be a “Turok”. You are not a person named “Turok”.
The demo starts with an impressive cutscene detailing invading dinosaur-like aliens using portal technology to ravage a solar system of various planets and how you are the force established to stop them. A commander unable to fight due to injury complains that his daughter, Iscah, is not ready to lead, but his AI robot/hologram companion (the sci-fi kind, not the plagiarism machine that makes people lose their jobs kind) reminds him that he wasn’t ready to lead either until he was placed in the position. From there, he starts the process of training recruits – new members ready to prove they are Turok.
I chose from a surprisingly large collection (I didn’t count them, but there were about a dozen) of playable characters with small backstories and different weapon and class options. I was transported to the Lost Lands to prove my abilities and fight dinosaurs with two other players. This is where I finally recall the headline of this article, which you have probably forgotten about by now. Playing the game reminded me of a live-service game like Destiny, with me and two other players working our way through a linear level shooting dinosaurs and using our various super abilities, each relying on a cooldown.
The soundtrack stood out, with a percussive rhythm narrating our dinosaur fights. I also appreciated a neat reload animation which let steam out of my gun instead of requesting more bullets. Picking up ammo and health from the planet’s fauna creates an attractive bright trail of light signifying your pickup as you sprint past. It looks cool and also lets you know when co-op partners are grabbing what they need. You can also switch between first and third-person at any time, which is a nice touch.
Importantly, the game also feels good. Shooting guns and arrows is responsive, and pulling off a fatality animation on a low-health dinosaur instead of just finishing it off with a few more shots is satisfying. The mechanic doesn’t seem to function exactly as it does in Doom, rewarding you with health and more for successful finale melee kills, but it seems at least inspired by it, which is a good thing.
I also played a little bit of the Switch 2 version of the game alone. Though it didn’t run at the framerate of the console/PC versions, I was impressed with how it felt and looked. The Switch 2 continues to be an impressive option for games like this, even if they are admittedly not quite as smooth as their cousin platforms.
On the way out of my demo, I asked if this was meant to be a live-service game; a game where you are expected to get on a treadmill to play the same levels repeatedly to unlock different materials and weapons. The team available at Gamescom plainly said no, that was not the genre they are aiming for. The entire game can be played as a single-player campaign with a narrative, and though there are incentives for replaying the levels, it is not being designed with that in mind. Considering the opening cutscene made efforts to establish named characters and specific interpersonal dynamics and outline a sci-fi story, I am inclined to believe them, even if there are elements like character classes, cooldown abilities, and encouraged three-player co-op.
I ended the demo fighting an armored Tyrannosaurus – we had to shoot the armor off its face before we could do any real damage. The fight was big and impressive, and it took us two tries to fell the beast and enter a portal to return. At that point we had officially achieved the titles of Turok.
Overall, I was impressed with Turok: Origins. I know this may not be considered a compliment by everyone considering the strange reception the films have garnered over the years (they’re huge hits, but no one likes them or remembers them?), but I got strong Avatar vibes from the tone and action. From me, an Avatar fan, Turok: Origins should take that as a compliment. I just hope it has not quietly morphed into a live-service game upon release. I am looking for experiences, not obligations.
No Rest for the Wicked, the action RPG by Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisp developer Moon Studios, has been delayed. After launching in PC early access a couple of years ago, its 1.0 launch was recently confirmed for this October. This will no longer be the case.
Moon Studios has decided to push the 1.0 launch to March 2027. Creative director Thomas Mahler explains in a video update that after extensive playtesting, the team felt the game was “not quite there yet.” Specifically, it wants to further polish gameplay performance and the class system, among other general improvements.
Another closed beta test will take place in December (the final one planned before launch) to let players take the No Rest for the Wicked through its paces and provide additional feedback ahead of its launch a few months later. Moon Studios is also extending the cut-off date for receiving the Founder’s Pack containing special in-game items. Originally expired on July 1, Early Access players now have until January 1, 2027 to purchase it. PlayStation 5 players can get the Founder’s Pack when console pre-orders begin in January.
No Rest for the Wicked was first revealed at The Game Awards in 2023 and launched into PC early access in April 2024. It also appeared on the March 2024 cover of Game Informer magazine. The dark fantasy RPG centers on players fighting to rescue an island plagued by a supernatural pestilence, and its gameplay design draws inspiration from Diablo, Dark Souls, and town-building games, as players restore a settlement between slaying monsters and dungeon crawling. No Rest for the Wicked can be played alone or with up to three other players in co-op set within a shared instance of the world.
When No Rest for the Wicked launches in March, it will first hit PS5 and PC. The game is also coming to Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2 at an unconfirmed date. You can read multiple behind-the-scenes features in the game by visiting our cover story hub.
Konami has announced a new Press Start digital showcase that will air Thursday morning, September 3, shortly after PlayStation’s scheduled State of Play. The presentation will provide new updates on Silent Hill: Townfall, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, and Rev. Noir.
The showcase begins at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET and will air on Konami’s YouTube and Twitch channels. A press release states, “In this broadcast, Konami will present information on its latest lineup—including Silent Hill: Townfall (releasing Sept. 24), Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (releasing October 15), and the recently announced RPG Rev. Noir—interspersed with new gameplay footage and video messages from the developers.”
It appears Konami Press Start will only feature the three advertised titles based on the verbiage. The press release specifically clarifies that there will be no announcements regarding the remake of the original Silent Hill, which is currently in production by Bloober Team.
Silent Hill: Townfall releases later this month and is a first-person adventure by Screenburn, the developer of Observation. You can learn more about the game in our extended preview from Summer Game Fest. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a new side-scrolling entry by Dead Cells developer Evil Empire, and it launches next month. We played it at a recent hands-on event, and you can read our impressions here. Rev. Noir is an action RPG that was revealed during a PlayStation State of Play in February, and it’s the title we know the least about. It’s currently slated as a PlayStation 5 exclusive and has no release window, so perhaps Konami will narrow that launch timing on Thursday.
The Total War series has portrayed numerous conflicts, both historical and fantastical, but with Warhammer 40,000, the series launches into a new frontier with space, bolters and psykers in tow. It means a lot of changes for what Total War is, but its sense of scale remains intact, alongside a little bit of carnage.
I played a three-part hands-on demo of Total War: Warhammer 40,000 at Gamescom 2026, which stair-stepped me up through the layers of strategy. My personal experience with the Total War series has been frequent toe-dipping and experimenting, but never committing full-time. I love the chaos of a Warhammer 40,000 video game, though, whether that means directing my forces in Dawn of War or tearing through swarms of Tyranids in Space Marine.
So, while I’m reluctant to speak to the changes for this series, I can absolutely confirm Total War: Warhammer 40,000 can sate a thirst for explosions and declarations of loyalty to the Emperor. Four factions are currently planned for the game, and they’re the ones you likely expect: Orks, Aeldari, the billions of humans in the Imperium forces, and of course, Space Marines.
Part one of my demo put me through a small skirmish, pitting my small Space Marine detachment against a raging warband of Orks. Gradually, the tutorial walked me through the basics: units can be deployed behind a line, and then once battles commence, I can order them around, pausing or speeding up whenever I wish.
My Space Marines may have been outnumbered, but their powerful bolters mixed with a good position – on top of a hill and in cover – saw waves of Orks dashed against the proverbial rocks. With enough time – and bombing runs I could call in on a cooldown – it didn’t take long for me to route my foes.
In the second section, I zoomed out to the larger map and commanded forces around the planet I’d found myself on, working my way towards a nearby Ork army. I made the mistake of sending a smaller force in first, rather than my larger outfit nearby, but it was fun to suddenly find myself in a position where I had to hold out for backup.
Did I add unnecessary tension because of my own bad decision-making? Absolutely. But that seems like a fun way to enjoy this kind of game: trying to snatch victory from the encroaching jaws of defeat.
My final section, as a Creative Assembly team member described it, was a battle on the scale of something we’d likely see in the mid-to-late stages of a campaign. I had a sizeable set of units available: some assault units and basic bolter-wielding Space Marines, a number of specialty units like psykers and heavy gunners, and even a few vehicles.
I was warned very few demo players emerged victorious from that battle, and I was not able to best expectations either. Despite carefully planning a strategy to hold a small but defensible line and then pincer from opposing flanks after the enemy closed in, it all fell to ruins fast. Partly because my units weren’t fast enough to swing around and close in while my core still held, but also because I didn’t notice my right flank was blocked off from a faster route by a parked train.
Afterwards, I confirmed with a Creative Assembly developer that I could have blown up the train and punched through to the side of my foes, but a simple “move” command sent my right-side units swinging the long way around instead. I chalk it up to user error, though it does highlight a level of destruction and ingenuity players might need to get used to having, in this far-flung future.
Getting a sense of the breadth of Total War: Warhammer 40,000’s deeper systems and scope in the time I had allotted was difficult. For other games, an hour slice might be enough of a toothpick to see if the cake’s baked well, but for something as big as a Total War game, it felt like just a taste.
I’d certainly like to see how the other factions and races fare against the Orks and Space Marines, and get deeper into the longer-term progression systems. What I’ve seen so far confirms to me that Creative Assembly isn’t holding back on its first foray into the 40,000 universe.
Reviewed on:
Switch 2
Platform:
Publisher:
Kepler Interactive
Developer:
Shapefarm
Release:
Rating:
Everyone 10+
The first time I saw footage of Orbitals, the anime-themed co-op game from Shapefarm, it was love at first sight. But the more I got to know it, the more I realized good relationships are built on more than appearances. Orbitals is a stunningly beautiful sci-fi adventure with decent gameplay and a disappointing story. Despite my criticisms, Orbitals is kind of like a misbehaving puppy; any gripe I have is immediately softened by its charming appearance, and I left the experience more positive than negative.
By far, Orbitals’ greatest feature is its presentation. Cutscenes are animated in a gorgeous retro anime style, gameplay has a similarly pleasing 3D-rendered aesthetic, and the soundtrack (especially the title theme) is an electrifying throwback. Whimsy is off the charts, with fun banter, animal-like aliens to interact with in each level, and inspired cassette futurism environmental designs.
Players control Maki and Omura, two young adults living in an isolated space station. Their home is in danger of being overrun by a deadly storm, and the only way to protect the community is to gather three reactor cassettes. The duo ventures out in their ship to explore abandoned and run-down space stations in hopes of finding the parts they need. The premise is decent enough to propel most of the game, which prioritizes gameplay over the overarching narrative.
That focus shifts in the last half hour or so, however, dumping a ton of story content on the player all at once. The resulting finale is rushed and unsatisfying, and snuck up on me after Orbitals’ mostly slow pace. Ultimately, the story concludes with moments that lacked enough setup to make the emotional payoff worthwhile. Because of this, I wish the game focused more specifically on Maki and Omura’s connections to their community rather than a MacGuffin-motivated mission. While I conceptually understood the duo loved the people back home, those relationships were talked about more than I experienced them in-game, and I never cared about most characters the way the protagonists did.
Maki and Omura, on the other hand, are (inter)stellar leads. While it’s never properly established, they have a fun sibling dynamic, and clearly enjoy each other’s company, speaking in sync, making puns, and singing silly songs. It’s oddly refreshing after playing similar games where the player characters are constantly butting heads – I like the person I’m playing this game with, and it’s nice to have our respective avatars feel the same way.
Gameplay is co-op only, and almost always asymmetrical, save for some minigames and occasions when Maki and Omura don’t have tools equipped. The bulk of the gameplay has each player wield a different piece of tech – usually some combination of a laser, grappling hook, and water cannon – and work together to solve puzzles. No two sections felt the same, and I was impressed by Orbitals’ sheer puzzle variety, finding new ways to use each tool.
Some felt unsatisfying and too simple; solutions were reduced to “player 1 uses a tool, then player 2 uses a tool, and vice versa until the level is complete,” with little critical thinking or coordination required. That said, the whimsical vibes help a lot, elevating middling gameplay with fun concepts. Shooting platforms at a wall for my partner to jump on wasn’t particularly exciting or novel, but when those platforms are bright blooming flower petals I’m blasting into a wall of soil, I don’t mind as much.
To travel between stations, you team up to pilot a home base spaceship that evolves over the course of the game with new critters and minigames. When you’re ready to take off, one player sits in the pilot’s chair and the other controls the guns. It’s an engaging way to solve puzzles, with one of us moving obstacles and flipping switches and the other maneuvering, but I was regularly frustrated by the space combat. Dodging fast homing missiles was a consistently uncomfortable affair, and one late-game sequence was downright overwhelming.
Orbitals doesn’t quite crash and burn, but its execution leaves a bit to be desired. That said, even after a lukewarm ending, returning to the game to hear the title theme and see the smiling protagonists once more makes me undeniably sentimental. I wish I connected more to Orbitals’ story and systems, but I can’t deny its playful, cozy vibes.