Game Informer traveled to Archetype Entertainment in Austin, TX, to play Exodus, an upcoming sci-fi role-playing game from the creators of Mass Effect, Halo, and more. Eric and Charles return from their trip to share exclusive details about the game, including one of its “awakened” characters, Salt, an octopus inside a railgun-toting mech. You’ll also learn more about the lore, backstory, and combat of this promising time-twisting epic.
Later in the podcast, Alex shares his impressions of Star Wars: Zero Company, Kyle compares Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy to the Uncharted series, and the group finally discusses a great bullet-heaven platformer you should play, Blood Dungeon.
The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Support the show by subscribing to our physical video game magazine! Submit a question or topic you’d like to hear us discuss: Podcast@GameInformer.com
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00:00 – Introduction04:37 – Exodus Cover Story Breakdown32:34 – Sponsored: Get 25% Off Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike34:04 – Star Wars: Zero Company Impressions01:06:48 – Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy01:15:00 – Blood Dungeon
Showa American Story director Xiangyu Luo was born in China and remembers rumors in the 1980s that Japan’s economic prowess had grown so powerful it could buy America. Of course, that didn’t happen, but Nekcom’s upcoming action RPG, Showa American Story, which is set to launch sometime this year, is set in a world where it did. Hollywood is Neo Yokohama; Japanese immigrants have formed gangs like the Warriors, who don clown makeup and 1980s club attire; and protagonist Chigusa Choko has been resurrected from the grave and will kill many of the Warriors (and other enemies in her way) while searching for her sister.
It’s an interesting premise, made even more interesting by the fact that Luo and team have morphed it into a Quentin Tarantino-inspired action RPG that’s raunchy, bloody, absurd, and hilarious. Though the combat feels clunky and could use more fluidity, it’s still packed with personality in weapon design and animation. And that personality extends to the rest of the game, especially its characters and RGG-style storytelling.
There are a few demos I can choose from in the small booth I arrive at for this Gamescom preview of Showa American Story. I select the first one, which sees Choko, the charismatic Bubba, and Michael Hero, who strolls along with us in a wheelchair. We walk up streets that wind around the mountain that used to be famous for hosting the Hollywood sign, but now it reads Neo Yokohama.
We soon come across a band of enemies known as the Warriors, and yes, they are dressed like a street gang from 1979’s The Warriors. They’re threatening a random man who didn’t pay the sex worker whose services he used, and despite his pleas for mercy, they pick him up, spread his legs, and bash his crotch into the tree over and over. I, as Choko, arrive at the scene, and my first bout of combat ensues.
I primarily use a katana for now, using light and heavy attacks to slash through them, damaging their health bars and increasing a stagger meter. It could use some work, as swinging the sword feels sluggish, like it’s stuck in mud, and there’s a noticeable amount of input lag, too (though that could be the result of the demo and the Gamescom show floor). It’s still fun, though, as various combos trigger hilarious and brutal animations. I slice arms, necks, and more while puncturing bellies and stabbing enemies over and over by pressing X during a fast QTE button-mash segment.
I also have a machine gun with limited ammo that feels fine, and a shotgun that’s perfect for execution-style finishers. I also notice Lou and his interpreter in the room laughing at “how American” my use of the shotgun is.
After this combat encounter, I’m presented with dialogue options to ask how the tree is, considering a human being was just smashed into it over and over, or how the man’s “balls” are, considering they were just smashed into a tree over and over. It’s obviously played for laughs, and it works.
I finish this conversation and continue making my way up the mountain, picking up an American Flag weapon on the way. It’s a large, slow-swinging weapon that attacks enemies in large swaths, great for swarms of Warriors or the zombies (I’m not sure why zombies exist in this world, but they do) that I fight later. It’s my favorite weapon of the demo, too, because its execution move is overly and satirically patriotic, and it’s hilarious. I also pick up a massive BioShock Big Daddy-style drill that lets me pierce through multiple enemies at a time across a given combat arena.
Later, in a Chapter 4 demo, I learn there’s a man who owns an onsen at the top of this mountain who is in trouble and in need of saving. It turns out, he’s being spit-roasted (literally butt naked over a fire) by two men who turn out to be the final boss of this demo.
These two men are very large, buff, and backed by the William Tell Overture as their boss fight song, and the entire battle feels all the more patriotic because of it. That said, the clunky combat got in the way of what is clearly meant to be a fun and over-the-top encounter. Part of that clunkiness stems from the game’s desire for you to use weapon-switching combos, which, while hard-hitting and flashy, are hard to pull off because you have to use a strange combination of R1 and D-pad buttons; it doesn’t feel great. I have some other issues with combat, such as its confusing Rage system and stamina system, but I get the sense I’ll be more comfortable with these mechanics in the full game, when I’m not having to rush past tutorials to complete a 30-minute demo.
Combat issues aside, though, Showa American Story made me laugh, and not a lot of games do that. Its world is absurdist but charming, its characters are off-the-wall, and I enjoy the America-by-way-of-Japan-by-way-of-1980s-Chinese-rumors setting. I look forward to exploring more of it and seeing what else Choko is up to when the game launches later this year.
Showa American Story director Xiangyu Luo was born in China and remembers rumors in the 1980s that Japan’s economic prowess had grown so powerful it could buy America. Of course, that didn’t happen, but Nekcom’s upcoming action RPG, Showa American Story, which is set to launch sometime this year, is set in a world where it did. Hollywood is Neo Yokohama; Japanese immigrants have formed gangs like the Warriors, who don clown makeup and 1980s club attire; and protagonist Chigusa Choko has been resurrected from the grave and will kill many of the Warriors (and other enemies in her way) while searching for her sister.
It’s an interesting premise, made even more interesting by the fact that Luo and team have morphed it into a Quentin Tarantino-inspired action RPG that’s raunchy, bloody, absurd, and hilarious. Though the combat feels clunky and could use more fluidity, it’s still packed with personality in weapon design and animation. And that personality extends to the rest of the game, especially its characters and RGG-style storytelling.
There are a few demos I can choose from in the small booth I arrive at for this Gamescom preview of Showa American Story. I select the first one, which sees Choko, the charismatic Bubba, and Michael Hero, who strolls along with us in a wheelchair. We walk up streets that wind around the mountain that used to be famous for hosting the Hollywood sign, but now it reads Neo Yokohama.
We soon come across a band of enemies known as the Warriors, and yes, they are dressed like a street gang from 1979’s The Warriors. They’re threatening a random man who didn’t pay the sex worker whose services he used, and despite his pleas for mercy, they pick him up, spread his legs, and bash his crotch into the tree over and over. I, as Choko, arrive at the scene, and my first bout of combat ensues.
I primarily use a katana for now, using light and heavy attacks to slash through them, damaging their health bars and increasing a stagger meter. It could use some work, as swinging the sword feels sluggish, like it’s stuck in mud, and there’s a noticeable amount of input lag, too (though that could be the result of the demo and the Gamescom show floor). It’s still fun, though, as various combos trigger hilarious and brutal animations. I slice arms, necks, and more while puncturing bellies and stabbing enemies over and over by pressing X during a fast QTE button-mash segment.
I also have a machine gun with limited ammo that feels fine, and a shotgun that’s perfect for execution-style finishers. I also notice Lou and his interpreter in the room laughing at “how American” my use of the shotgun is.
After this combat encounter, I’m presented with dialogue options to ask how the tree is, considering a human being was just smashed into it over and over, or how the man’s “balls” are, considering they were just smashed into a tree over and over. It’s obviously played for laughs, and it works.
I finish this conversation and continue making my way up the mountain, picking up an American Flag weapon on the way. It’s a large, slow-swinging weapon that attacks enemies in large swaths, great for swarms of Warriors or the zombies (I’m not sure why zombies exist in this world, but they do) that I fight later. It’s my favorite weapon of the demo, too, because its execution move is overly and satirically patriotic, and it’s hilarious. I also pick up a massive BioShock Big Daddy-style drill that lets me pierce through multiple enemies at a time across a given combat arena.
Later, I learn there’s a man who owns an onsen at the top of this mountain who is in trouble and in need of saving. It turns out, he’s being spit-roasted (literally butt naked over a fire) by two men who turn out to be the final boss of this demo.
These two men are very large, buff, and backed by the William Tell Overture as their boss fight song, and the entire battle feels all the more patriotic because of it. That said, the clunky combat got in the way of what is clearly meant to be a fun and over-the-top encounter. Part of that clunkiness stems from the game’s desire for you to use weapon-switching combos, which, while hard-hitting and flashy, are hard to pull off because you have to use a strange combination of R1 and D-pad buttons; it doesn’t feel great. I have some other issues with combat, such as its confusing Rage system and stamina system, but I get the sense I’ll be more comfortable with these mechanics in the full game, when I’m not having to rush past tutorials to complete a 30-minute demo.
Combat issues aside, though, Showa American Story made me laugh, and not a lot of games do that. Its world is absurdist but charming, its characters are off-the-wall, and I enjoy the America-by-way-of-Japan-by-way-of-1980s-Chinese-rumors setting. I look forward to exploring more of it and seeing what else Choko is up to when the game launches later this year.
Each year in August, the gaming world descends upon Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom. Gamescom 2026 featured some of the biggest upcoming and ongoing games, with massive booths reminiscent of the E3 showfloors of old. Not only was Game Informer in attendance at the show that attracts upwards of 300,000 attendees annually, but we had a large, two-booth presence ourselves, with most of our editorial staff on hand, as well as representatives from the rest of our team.
En route to the various halls, you could spot several Game Informer ads, celebrating our 35th anniversary, the rollout of our international print subscriptions, and our newly released mobile app, but for most, those aforementioned halls were the true destination. We also spent hours combing through those halls, scoping out the biggest and most interesting sights. Below, you can see some of the coolest booths, statues, and more from the show!
Which booth looks the coolest to you? Which taxi-based booth is the best? How would you get that giant Thanos statue from, say, Cologne to Saint Paul, Minnesota (asking for a friend)? Let us know in the comments below!
Each year in August, the gaming world descends upon Cologne, Germany, for Gamescom. Gamescom 2026 featured some of the biggest upcoming and ongoing games, with massive booths reminiscent of the E3 showfloors of old. Not only was Game Informer in attendance at the show that attracts upwards of 300,000 attendees annually, but we had a large, two-booth presence ourselves, with most of our editorial staff on hand, as well as representatives from the rest of our team.
En route to the various halls, you could spot several Game Informer ads, celebrating our 35th anniversary, the rollout of our international print subscriptions, and our newly released mobile app, but for most, those aforementioned halls were the true destination. We also spent hours combing through those halls, scoping out the biggest and most interesting sights. Below, you can see some of the coolest booths, statues, and more from the show!
Which booth looks the coolest to you? Which taxi-based booth is the best? How would you get that giant Thanos statue from, say, Cologne to Saint Paul, Minnesota (asking for a friend)? Let us know in the comments below!
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher:
Capcom
Developer:
Capcom
Release:
2027
Since its announcement, Capcom has made it fairly clear that despite the Dual Override subtitle, this entry in the Mega Man series is not a spin-off. It is a mainline Mega Man game despite being the first to not end in a number, but I wanted to be completely sure. “Yes, that is correct. This is part of the mainline Mega Man series,” producer Hiroyuki Minamitani (who says Zero is his favorite Mega Man game) told me during an interview following some hands on with the game at Gamescom.
Mega Man series producer, Shingo Izumi (Star Force: Leo/Dragon/Pegasus is his favorite Mega Man game) says that it really comes down to making sure new players who maybe discovered Mega Man through Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Fortnite (or maybe even the recently released Pragmata skins) aren’t intimidated by history. “As the number increases over time, certain players who have never had a chance to play past Mega Man games may feel some sort of resistance as we feel many new players will be joining in with Dual Override,” Minamitani says. “We felt that we want the title to be more approachable for that audience, as well. So, the title is a combination of the main title and the subtitle, as well. […] We have hope that people introduced to Mega Man outside of Mega Man games will hopefully give Dual Override a shot now that they’re familiar with the character.”
From left to right, Dual Override producer Hiroyuki Minamitani, director Shinya Ikuta, and Mega Man series producer Shingo Izumi
That effort to welcome new players to a mainline Mega Man game seems to extend to the story, as well. Mega Man has never had a complicated story, but it has maintained a canon of sorts across its 11 games. I don’t think we can expect any unexpected narrative revelations. “The Dual Override story kind of stands alone within the entire canon. I don’t think there is a chronological aspect to it, but it is a standalone story that fits within the overall Mega Man world without having to play the others,” Minamitani says. It will have plenty of callbacks and references to past games, though, as it is intended to be a celebration of Mega Man’s 40th anniversary.
One of the ways this manifests is in a new structure. I played through three stages leading up to a final conformation with Twinkle Girl – a first for a Mega Man game – and each of those three stages featured a boss. The second stage boss was Astro Man R, which Mega Man even commented before the fight started that they made a copy of him. Astro Man was a boss in Mega Man 8.
“If you have played other Mega Man titles in the past you might notice that as you progress through the stage, things become more and more challenging as you get further along to the end of the stage,” director Shinya Ikuta (Mega Man 2 is his favorite) says. “That’s when you feel that sense of accomplishment for defeating the boss. For this title we wanted to provide more segmented senses of accomplishment so you feel that after you defeat the boss at the end of that particular area within the entire robot master stage.”
The intention is effective as I did, in fact, feel accomplished as I made it through each of the difficult (but not too difficult) stages, each being shorter than the typical Mega Man level, but each still full of pattern recognition and combat challenges. It also just means more room for more bosses in general. “Yeah, exactly. That creates an opportunity to include more than just the brand new bosses. There is an opportunity for returning bosses, going back to the decision of, what can we do to celebrate the 40th anniversary,” director Ikuta says.
Among the bosses I played, I had the most trouble with Twinkle Girl, an exuberant performer who fires off exploding fireworks as a main attack, but does plenty of moving and dashing which also must be avoided.
The titular Dual Override ability allows players to build up a meter to activate some limited, extra firepower. I had it set to activate automatically when I reached a certain low health threshold, which I liked. It gave me a “one last shot!” feeling without reducing the challenge too much. Even if you’re shooting stronger blaster shots, your health is still low, so you still need to play defensively. In Dual Override mode, if you can charge your weapon up enough, you also can fire an even more powerful shot. I appreciated the Dual Override mode and definitely see myself activating it basically whenever it is available. I also appreciate that the flashy cutscene that plays when you activate it can be skipped.
I enjoy the core Mega Man games, and I walked away from Dual Override eager to see the rest and what kinds of new bosses it will offer. But my heart will always belong to Mega Man X. The last time we received a new mainline Mega Man X game was X8 in 2004. Mega Man may be celebrating 40 years, but I am commiserating 22 years of no proper new Mega Man X games.
“From my perspective, yes, that is something we would definitely love to visit,” series producer Izumi says when I ask not if one is being worked on or if there is anything to tease, but rather, if a new X game is something he would be open to at least considering. “Mega Man X is an important series within the Mega Man brand. We definitely value that series, and if there is a chance, we would always love to consider that.”
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher:
Capcom
Developer:
Capcom
Release:
2027
Since its announcement, Capcom has made it fairly clear that despite the Dual Override subtitle, this entry in the Mega Man series is not a spin-off. It is a mainline Mega Man game despite being the first to not end in a number, but I wanted to be completely sure. “Yes, that is correct. This is part of the mainline Mega Man series,” producer Hiroyuki Minamitani (who says Zero is his favorite Mega Man game) told me during an interview following some hands on with the game at Gamescom.
Mega Man series producer, Shingo Izumi (Star Force: Leo/Dragon/Pegasus is his favorite Mega Man game) says that it really comes down to making sure new players who maybe discovered Mega Man through Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Fortnite (or maybe even the recently released Pragmata skins) aren’t intimidated by history. “As the number increases over time, certain players who have never had a chance to play past Mega Man games may feel some sort of resistance as we feel many new players will be joining in with Dual Override,” Minamitani says. “We felt that we want the title to be more approachable for that audience, as well. So, the title is a combination of the main title and the subtitle, as well. […] We have hope that people introduced to Mega Man outside of Mega Man games will hopefully give Dual Override a shot now that they’re familiar with the character.”
From left to right, Dual Override producer Hiroyuki Minamitani, director Shinya Ikuta, and Mega Man series producer Shingo Izumi
That effort to welcome new players to a mainline Mega Man game seems to extend to the story, as well. Mega Man has never had a complicated story, but it has maintained a canon of sorts across its 11 games. I don’t think we can expect any unexpected narrative revelations. “The Dual Override story kind of stands alone within the entire canon. I don’t think there is a chronological aspect to it, but it is a standalone story that fits within the overall Mega Man world without having to play the others,” Minamitani says. It will have plenty of callbacks and references to past games, though, as it is intended to be a celebration of Mega Man’s 40th anniversary.
One of the ways this manifests is in a new structure. I played through three stages leading up to a final conformation with Twinkle Girl – a first for a Mega Man game – and each of those three stages featured a boss. The second stage boss was Astro Man R, which Mega Man even commented before the fight started that they made a copy of him. Astro Man was a boss in Mega Man 8.
“If you have played other Mega Man titles in the past you might notice that as you progress through the stage, things become more and more challenging as you get further along to the end of the stage,” director Shinya Ikuta (Mega Man 2 is his favorite) says. “That’s when you feel that sense of accomplishment for defeating the boss. For this title we wanted to provide more segmented senses of accomplishment so you feel that after you defeat the boss at the end of that particular area within the entire robot master stage.”
The intention is effective as I did, in fact, feel accomplished as I made it through each of the difficult (but not too difficult) stages, each being shorter than the typical Mega Man level, but each still full of pattern recognition and combat challenges. It also just means more room for more bosses in general. “Yeah, exactly. That creates an opportunity to include more than just the brand new bosses. There is an opportunity for returning bosses, going back to the decision of, what can we do to celebrate the 40th anniversary,” director Ikuta says.
Among the bosses I played, I had the most trouble with Twinkle Girl, an exuberant performer who fires off exploding fireworks as a main attack, but does plenty of moving and dashing which also must be avoided.
The titular Dual Override ability allows players to build up a meter to activate some limited, extra firepower. I had it set to activate automatically when I reached a certain low health threshold, which I liked. It gave me a “one last shot!” feeling without reducing the challenge too much. Even if you’re shooting stronger blaster shots, your health is still low, so you still need to play defensively. In Dual Override mode, if you can charge your weapon up enough, you also can fire an even more powerful shot. I appreciated the Dual Override mode and definitely see myself activating it basically whenever it is available. I also appreciate that the flashy cutscene that plays when you activate it can be skipped.
I enjoy the core Mega Man games, and I walked away from Dual Override eager to see the rest and what kinds of new bosses it will offer. But my heart will always belong to Mega Man X. The last time we received a new mainline Mega Man X game was X8 in 2004. Mega Man may be celebrating 40 years, but I am commiserating 22 years of no proper new Mega Man X games.
“From my perspective, yes, that is something we would definitely love to visit,” series producer Izumi says when I ask not if one is being worked on or if there is anything to tease, but rather, if a new X game is something he would be open to at least considering. “Mega Man X is an important series within the Mega Man brand. We definitely value that series, and if there is a chance, we would always love to consider that.”
It’s a lot, but luckily for us, there’s an easy solution for the fatigue of a busy work week: video games. Here’s what you should be playing this weekend.
Blood Dungeon
The simplest way to explain Blood Dungeon is “Vampire Survivors with jumping,” though that’s a bit reductive. This roguelike bullet heaven adds platforming into the genre’s signature power crawl, and has you hop your way through the chaotic titular dungeon. That said, it’s definitely a bit of an acquired taste – the art style is intentionally crude, and our reviewer Kyle Hilliard didn’t love that, for example, he couldn’t get a fart cloud upgrade without hearing a barrage of flatulent sounds during his run. Still, for some of you, details like that are all you need to pull the trigger and pick the game up, so to each their own.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Blood Dungeon is clearly born from Vampire Survivors’ undeniable loop and sense of progression, but developer Messhof addresses arguably the primary shortcoming of the 2022 Bullet Heaven game (I think that’s what we’ve agreed to call these, right?): movement. Moving in Blood Dungeon is fun and it sets the game apart within the genre and demands enjoyable skill from the player, but some balance annoyances keep the game from soaring.
“XCOM meets Star Wars” is such a solid premise that I knew I’d be sold on Zero Company from the moment it was announced, and now that I’ve started playing it, it’s everything I hoped it would be. It’s set during the Clone Wars (between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) and follows a ragtag group of fighters as they track down a dangerous cult called The Coil. Our reviewer, guest contributor James Galizio, didn’t love the story, but said the excellent tactics gameplay mostly makes up for the narrative faults.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Developer Bit Reactor largely succeeds at what it sets out to do, and if you’re a fan of either Star Wars or XCOM it’s an easy recommendation, even if I wish the story had just a bit more juice. If you’re looking for a sci-fi tactics fix, Zero Company delivers the goods.
This game is technically a spin-off of the other two Plague Tale games, and while fans of the series will find plenty of this setting familiar, Resonance is easily enjoyed as a standalone game. It’s a prequel about a supporting character, so you don’t need to go in with prior knowledge. Ultimately, we think it works very well as an action-adventure title in the vein of an Uncharted or Tomb Raider, and the protagonist Sophia is fun to fight as and makes for a great protagonist.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy borrows from many games. There are puzzles with Tomb Raider flavors; like Nathan Drake, Sophia has never known the comfort of a stable platform; and the combat and ties to Greek mythology recall games like God of War. What’s impressive here is how well Asobo Studio executes those familiar genre staples and delivers a moving story starring a charismatic pirate on what may be the most impactful and tragic adventure of her life.
Scott Pilgrim EX came out a few months ago, but we got the pleasantly surprising news this week that it was getting DLC and a free update – and they’re both already out. The DLC adds Stephen Stills, Kim Pine, and my personal favorite, Knives Chau as playable characters, while the free update adds an Arcade Mode you can use to replay the campaign with scores and limited lives. The game is also on sale at the time of writing, so it’s a perfect excuse to check the game out if you’re interested. For more, you can read our review.
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
This week, Elden Ring comes to the Nintendo Switch 2, meaning you can take one of the greatest games of all time on the go. Dubbed the Tarnished Edition, this version includes the base game, some new cosmetics and armor, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. That said, this is probably the worst way to play Elden Ring. The game is still amazing, but if you’re used to the performance of a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC, the performance on Switch 2 is a noticeable downgrade. It’s far from unplayable, though, and if this is the first time you’ve owned a console that can play it, we can’t recommend it highly enough. Any other platform would likely give you a better experience, but at the end of the day, it’s still Elden Ring, a game we scored a 10/10.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been trapped on the PS3, a console I don’t own, up until this week. Unlike the other games in the series, it hadn’t been ported or remade in any capacity, so it’s a big deal for it to finally make it to a newer platform as a part of the Master Collection Vol. 2. We’ll actually be playing through the game for our next Super Replay series, which is exciting for me, because I’ve never played these games before – I genuinely have no clue what happens in this one. Master Collection Vol. 2 also includes Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which has also not made it to modern consoles – though it did make the jump from PSP to Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011’s Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.
It’s a lot, but luckily for us, there’s an easy solution for the fatigue of a busy work week: video games. Here’s what you should be playing this weekend.
Blood Dungeon
The simplest way to explain Blood Dungeon is “Vampire Survivors with jumping,” though that’s a bit reductive. This roguelike bullet heaven adds platforming into the genre’s signature power crawl, and has you hop your way through the chaotic titular dungeon. That said, it’s definitely a bit of an acquired taste – the art style is intentionally crude, and our reviewer Kyle Hilliard didn’t love that, for example, he couldn’t get a fart cloud upgrade without hearing a barrage of flatulent sounds during his run. Still, for some of you, details like that are all you need to pull the trigger and pick the game up, so to each their own.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Blood Dungeon is clearly born from Vampire Survivors’ undeniable loop and sense of progression, but developer Messhof addresses arguably the primary shortcoming of the 2022 Bullet Heaven game (I think that’s what we’ve agreed to call these, right?): movement. Moving in Blood Dungeon is fun and it sets the game apart within the genre and demands enjoyable skill from the player, but some balance annoyances keep the game from soaring.
“XCOM meets Star Wars” is such a solid premise that I knew I’d be sold on Zero Company from the moment it was announced, and now that I’ve started playing it, it’s everything I hoped it would be. It’s set during the Clone Wars (between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) and follows a ragtag group of fighters as they track down a dangerous cult called The Coil. Our reviewer, guest contributor James Galizio, didn’t love the story, but said the excellent tactics gameplay mostly makes up for the narrative faults.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Developer Bit Reactor largely succeeds at what it sets out to do, and if you’re a fan of either Star Wars or XCOM it’s an easy recommendation, even if I wish the story had just a bit more juice. If you’re looking for a sci-fi tactics fix, Zero Company delivers the goods.
This game is technically a spin-off of the other two Plague Tale games, and while fans of the series will find plenty of this setting familiar, Resonance is easily enjoyed as a standalone game. It’s a prequel about a supporting character, so you don’t need to go in with prior knowledge. Ultimately, we think it works very well as an action-adventure title in the vein of an Uncharted or Tomb Raider, and the protagonist Sophia is fun to fight as and makes for a great protagonist.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy borrows from many games. There are puzzles with Tomb Raider flavors; like Nathan Drake, Sophia has never known the comfort of a stable platform; and the combat and ties to Greek mythology recall games like God of War. What’s impressive here is how well Asobo Studio executes those familiar genre staples and delivers a moving story starring a charismatic pirate on what may be the most impactful and tragic adventure of her life.
Scott Pilgrim EX came out a few months ago, but we got the pleasantly surprising news this week that it was getting DLC and a free update – and they’re both already out. The DLC adds Stephen Stills, Kim Pine, and my personal favorite, Knives Chau as playable characters, while the free update adds an Arcade Mode you can use to replay the campaign with scores and limited lives. The game is also on sale at the time of writing, so it’s a perfect excuse to check the game out if you’re interested. For more, you can read our review.
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
This week, Elden Ring comes to the Nintendo Switch 2, meaning you can take one of the greatest games of all time on the go. Dubbed the Tarnished Edition, this version includes the base game, some new cosmetics and armor, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. That said, this is probably the worst way to play Elden Ring. The game is still amazing, but if you’re used to the performance of a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC, the performance on Switch 2 is a noticeable downgrade. It’s far from unplayable, though, and if this is the first time you’ve owned a console that can play it, we can’t recommend it highly enough. Any other platform would likely give you a better experience, but at the end of the day, it’s still Elden Ring, a game we scored a 10/10.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been trapped on the PS3, a console I don’t own, up until this week. Unlike the other games in the series, it hadn’t been ported or remade in any capacity, so it’s a big deal for it to finally make it to a newer platform as a part of the Master Collection Vol. 2. We’ll actually be playing through the game for our next Super Replay series, which is exciting for me, because I’ve never played these games before – I genuinely have no clue what happens in this one. Master Collection Vol. 2 also includes Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which has also not made it to modern consoles – though it did make the jump from PSP to Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011’s Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.
It’s been six years since State of Decay 3 was announced during a 2020 Xbox Games Showcase, and in the time since, the gaming landscape – as well as the company of its then-parent company, Xbox – has shifted dramatically. Not only has Xbox adjusted its business model and transitioned to a new leadership team, but we have seen the entirety of the Xbox Series X/S generation to this point play out in the time since the announcement. The debut trailer seemed to come and go with little substance beyond the 2020 trailer, and Xbox’s business woes became so dire that many worried State of Decay 3 would never see the light of day. Thankfully, I had the chance to not only watch a hands-off session with the developers at Undead Labs, but spend some time claiming some encampments, destroying a Plague Heart, and, of course, mowing down hordes of zombies.
Emergent storytelling is the name of the game with State of Decay. As you recruit survivors to beef up your encampment, you must ensure you have the resources and weaponry to help your group survive and defend its home, with continually evolving variables to account for at each and every step. As with State of Decay 2, you must carefully consider which survivors you bring on missions. For example, one character might be better in combat, while another is better in negotiations. But it’s never that simple; in my demo, one character had various combat-focused perks, but had a negative trait of being easily overwhelmed. You can evolve those negative traits by completing tasks associated with those negative traits – in this case, killing zombies in high-pressure situations – but it never fully goes away.
In State of Decay 3, moving around feels much better. This is never more evident than when driving a car; it’s clear Undead Labs worked hard to make vehicles feel better than in this game’s predecessor. And you’ll need it, as the Plague Hearts, epicenters of zombie infestations, now operate on networks, where a single Plague Heart has far-reaching effects. Now, if a Plague Heart is too strong for your current survivor squad, you can go clear out other, less intense areas within the network to weaken the central Heart. But don’t worry, even when we attempted a Plague Heart on the lowest severity with three people, it was still a pretty intense battle.
Though my gameplay session was entirely multiplayer, Undead Labs assures me that single-player remains a keen focus for the studio, despite hoping that people who typically play alone turn it into a more social experience. “Personally, I play the bejesus out of this in single-player, so that’s one of the ways in which I get a lot of validation that it’s still working,” executive producer Patrick Hooley says. “But our alpha [test] audience is a great proof point for it because we’re historically so single-player based. We wanted to bring those players in to experience our multiplayer and our single-player to make sure that we’re still going to be satisfying for that. For our hardcore audience that loves single-player, they’re saying ‘Yes, this is totally working,’ and we’re even getting some of those folks who are historically single-player heavy to dabble in multiplayer and have their perspectives shift and think like, ‘Oh, this might actually be the best way to play the game.'”
Perhaps most exciting to that end, Undead has implemented a new system letting you invite people to join your save file. Once you do this, they can jump in and play whether you’re there or not, sharing the world, as well as its characters. However, with choice, consequence, and permadeath serving as crucial components for the State of Decay franchise, you’d be wise to carefully consider who you invite to share your save file.
After being announced in 2020, State of Decay 3 went largely silent. However, in that time, Undead Labs has clearly been hard at work. Following the less-than-stellar launch of State of Decay 2, which Hooley describes to me as “the hair-on-fire, the ship’s-got-some-holes-in-it” phase, Undead focused on not only getting that game into a much better state, but applying lessons learned from that game’s lifecycle to ensure State of Decay 3 is in a much better place. And based on my hands-on time with the game, this early build is already more stable than State of Decay 2 was at launch.
“By pushing to a live audience as early as May of this year, that’s helped us get a little bit battle-hardened, and we’re going to get even more battle-hardened before we actually launch this thing,” Hooley says. “The single biggest lesson we learned is building the game with the community. State of Decay 2 had a little bit of a rocky launch, and now we’re very proud of where we got it to.”
And of course, it goes without saying that Undead Labs has gone through more stress this year than just ironing out bugs. Earlier this summer, the studio, which was acquired by Xbox in 2018, was reported to be on the chopping block for potential closure amid Xbox’s sweeping layoffs and cost-cutting measures. Thankfully for the studio and its fans, Undead was sold to an undisclosed new owner shortly after those reports, giving State of Decay 3 a new lease on life and a much higher chance of release. State of Decay 3 is scheduled to arrive in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
