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Remedy has published its latest financial results, reporting a significant spike in revenue for Q4 driven by increases in royalties and game sales from Alan Wake 2 and Control. Read more View the full article

Reviewed on: PC Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Wildlight Entertainment Developer: Wildlight Entertainment Release: January 26, 2026 Rating: Teen Not every game clicks instantly. Highguard was released with little prior fanfare and even less explanation of its novel systems; my early games left me confused and frustrated. But with each match I played, I warmed to the flow of the action, the feel of movement and weapons, and the unique playstyle developer Wildlight Entertainment is trying to introduce. The game has a long way to go to be at its best, but for competitive shooter players looking for a departure from expectation, there’s good reason to be hopeful about Highguard’s future. Highguard drops players into an unusual magical world of high fantasy, but also populates that world with assault rifles and rocket launchers. The towering ruins and castles that dot the maps are impressive, the characters are all visually striking, and the in-game dialogue alludes to what might be a cool fiction. Unfortunately, the lack of in-game lore explanation or exposition left me feeling rudderless and at a loss. Is that person a princess? Why are we fighting each other? How is it that we can summon massive siege towers by slamming a sword into a wall? Wildlight presents a surprising mix of genre influences, but without meaningful, cohesive storytelling, the world is hard to embrace. Thankfully, Highguard’s gameplay fares much better. Wildlight’s background as prior developers of Apex Legends shines through; tight, fast-moving gunplay feels tense and precision-focused. Traversal of the world is great fun, especially the incredibly cool summonable mounts that let you gallop at high speeds across rock and meadow. Likewise, Highguard’s core raid game mode takes several matches to grasp, but it can be deeply enjoyable once you get the swing of things. Borrowing from the likes of Capture-the-Flag, Domination, and Search and Destroy modes in other games, raids emerge as a wholly distinct experience. Players fortify a home fort, set out across the map to scavenge resources, retrieve a relic that can break the enemy fort’s shields, and then infiltrate and detonate bombs to bring them down. The clever push and pull provides points for the shield break and detonations, but also for things like successful defense runs or full enemy team wipes during overtime sequences. At its best, the whole raid loop can be intense and fast-paced. Matches can end quickly if one team gets lucky or is especially well-coordinated, but many matches can run 20 or 30 minutes, as multiple raids bounce back and forth for each team, and the power level of available guns and upgrades on the field continually escalates. I like many of the characters, but they don’t feel especially balanced at this stage, with a few of them essentially required to be on a team for a good shot at victory. Highguard also suffers badly from a lack of variety. Even after the recent addition of a 5v5 option that gives matches a larger scope (but a lesser tactical feel), after a couple of dozen hours, I was definitely feeling the repetition. The early match loop, in particular, is tiresome to repeat. And while I sympathize with the desire to have familiar weapon archetypes that a player can recognize at sight as one scavenges, I’m already feeling like I want more nuance and uniqueness from the firearms. They feel good to use, but don’t inspire excitement. Having given the game time to settle before offering a full critique, it’s clear that Wildlight has the chops to iterate quickly and respond thoughtfully to community feedback. Even in the scant weeks after launch, the arrival of a new season, a ranked mode, tweaks to match-end stats reporting, and a new playable Warden all speak to big things ahead. However, I have to review the game in front of me – not what it might be in the future – and at this stage, Highguard feels like it needs more variety in weapons and play experiences, increased fleshing out of its in-game world, and some ongoing efforts to find balanced matches. Even acknowledging all that, here in the launch window, Highguard already offers moments of satisfying competition; the best compliment I can give it is that in a time when there’s no shortage of great multiplayer fare to try out, I plan to continue to play in the weeks and months ahead, even long after I’m done sharing this review. Score: 7.5 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Riot Games is laying off employees on its 2XKO team, just a few weeks after the game's 1.0 launch on PC and consoles on January 20. The company announced this in a blog post, and though it doesn't share how many employees are being laid off, a Riot spokesperson told Game Developer that approximately 80 employees were let go, which is around half of the game's development team. As for why, Riot says that while 2XKO has resonated with a passionate core audience, "overall momentum hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term." Despite the layoffs, Riot says it's committed to making key improvements to the game and supporting its community through tournament organizers and local fighting game communities. "After a lot of discussion and reflection, we are reducing the size of the 2XKO team," 2XKO executive producer Tom Cannon writes in the blog post. "I want you to know that decision wasn't made lightly. As we expanded from PC to console, we saw consistent trends in how players were engaging with 2XKO. The game hasn't resonated with a passionate core audience, but overall momentum hasn't reached the level needed to support a team of this size long term. With a smaller, focused team, we're going to dig in and make key improvements to the game, including some of the things we've already heard you asking for. We'll share some of our plans soon." Riot's plans for the 2026 Competitive Series are unchanged, Cannon writes in the blog post, adding this decision reflects a shift in how the team operates and isn't a "judgment on individual Rioters or a signal that the journey is over. We're reshaping the team to give 2XKO a more sustainable path forward." Cannon writes that Riot is committed to helping the affected employees through this transition, "including helping them explore opportunities within Riot where possible, and providing a minimum of 6 months of notice pay and severance where it's not." The hearts of Game Informer staff are with everyone affected by these layoffs. View the full article

The Australian communications minister has demanded Roblox respond to concerns "regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service." Read more View the full article

Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment has appointed former EA executive Jean-Charles "JC" Gaudechon as its new CEO. Read more View the full article

PlayStation announces new State of Play presentation for February 12 | News-in-BriefView the full article

Epic Games has disputed it made "provably incorrect statements" to Horses developer Santa Ragione, insisting feedback was provided when it concluded the horror game breached the Epic Game Store's content guidelines and could not be listed for sale. Read more View the full article

After casting Kratos last month, Amazon has filled the role of Atreus for its upcoming God of War live-action series. As reported by Variety, Callum Vinson will play the role of Kratos’ young son from the Norse series of games. Vinson will play opposite Ryan Hurst’s Kratos in the upcoming series. The young actor has previously appeared in series such as Chucky, Long Bright River, Poker Face, and Dead Ringers. He also voices Piglet in the animated series Me & Winnie the Pooh/Playdate with Winnie the Pooh. In addition to God of War, Vinson’s upcoming appearances include roles in Netflix’s The Night Agent, and he will portray a young Jason Voorhees in Peacock’s Crystal Lake, a prequel to Friday the 13th slated to premiere this year. Callum Vinson Amazon’s God of War adapts the storyline of 2018’s God of War, which features Kratos and Atreus on a journey to lay Faye, Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, to rest. Deadline shares Atreus’ official show description as: "The ten-year old son of Kratos, who grew up in a remote forest cabin, isolated from the rest of the world and raised almost entirely by his mother Faye. He is an accomplished archer, has an affinity for animals and is intensely curious about what lies beyond the confines of his forest home. After his mother’s death, Atreus is left with a cold, distant father who he barely knows and who knows little about him in return. Nonetheless, Atreus yearns for his father’s approval and is desperate to prove he is strong enough to survive in a harsh and dangerous world." So far, the announced cast is as follows: Ryan Hurst - Kratos Callum Vinson - Atreus Max Parker - Heimdall Ólafur Darri Ólafsson - Thor Mandy Patinkin - Odin Alastair Duncan - Mimir Danny Woodburn - Brok Jeff Gulka - Sindri Amazon’s God of War currently has a two-season order and is now in pre-production in Vancouver. The series is led by showrunner, writer, and executive producer Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica). It will be co-produced by Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, PlayStation Productions, and Tall Boy Productions. [Source: Variety] View the full article

Chat and community tool Discord has announced that that it will be rolling out age verification for all new and existing users from March, with any account unable to prove its age being limited to a "teen-appropriate" experience. It follows Roblox's recent move to require all users complete age verification to use the platform's chat features. Read more View the full article

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PC Publisher: Sega Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios Release: February 12, 2026 The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has emerged as one of Sega’s top dogs over the last decade. For more than 20 years, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Japan-set crime-action franchise has delivered gripping narratives with stellar gameplay. Its latest effort, Yakuza Kiwami 3, a remake of the often-overlooked 2010 original that includes a new narrative side-story called Dark Ties, continues the momentum. While not perfect, it delivers the fun and fury of previous entries and features a plot that doesn’t pull punches. Returning to the crime-riddled streets of Kamurocho and, now, the sunny townscape of Okinawa, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is thrust back into the yakuza scene after his new life as an orphanage owner is threatened. For newcomers, Kiwami 3 isn’t as action-oriented as the original game or even Yakuza 0, but focuses on the drama and familial aspects, with questions of morality and trust at the forefront. As a result, Yakuza 3 has one of my favorite narratives in the series, and Kiwami keeps it mostly intact, apart from some missed opportunities and plot changes. Characters like Mine and Rikiya shine, with this entry’s more dramatic flair bringing out the best from the actors. However, some flaws from the original story, like pacing, are noticeably untouched in this release, which proves even more disruptive in 2026. Fortunately, the game’s fist-to-face combat is still top-notch. One of the original’s biggest gameplay issues was its impossible-to-hit foes, and Kiwami 3 fixes that mistake while keeping the challenge. Plus, with the new Ryukyu style, you get more options in your street fights, like area-of-effect attacks and guard breaks. While 0 and Lost Judgment have Kiwami 3’s combat beat, this modern remake still delivers the brand of high-octane combat that made the series what it is. Plus, nothing beats using a bicycle to slam hooligans in the middle of traffic. I just wish those satisfying fight sequences looked more consistent, as the visuals deliver a mixed bag. Sometimes, the crowded cityscapes and engaging cutscenes look great. Other times, textures and combat can feel a bit muddied. It starts to lose that seamless cutscene-to-gameplay transition the franchise often prides itself on, especially with recent titles like Infinite Wealth and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. That aside, everything fans want in a Yakuza game is present, including mini-games and karaoke. While still fun, some aspects of the side content are a bit contrived. A few of the new activities are little more than minor rebrands of content from Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, like the new Bad Boy Dragon missions, which is disappointing for a mainline title. While managing your orphanage via minigames and substories are fun ways to experience the story and world, its forced inclusion into the main narrative often impedes the momentum of the plot if not actively engaged with. The biggest addition is, of course, the new narrative arc Dark Ties, which follows antagonist Yoshitaka Mine on his rise to power in the Tojo Clan. While only a few chapters, akin to Kiwami 2’s Majima Saga, it does a great deal to show off Mine and his mysterious psyche. In a brains/brawn style matchup, both he and Kanda, the hotheaded leader of the Nishikiyama Family, are fun to watch bounce off each other. We also get some excellent back and forth between Mine and Daigo Dojima, otherwise absent in the main game Unfortunately, Dark Ties’ combat falls well short of the highs achieved by the main game. Mine’s style is too simplistic, and his move variety leaves much to be desired. His Rage system is a neat concept, as each charge makes attacks more powerful, helping against tougher enemies and leveling the playing field. Compared to Kiwami 3’s main game, it’s underwhelming, but the fun story is worth tolerating the underbaked gameplay. Yakuza Kiwami 3 continues the solid streak for Ryu Ga Gotoku and the series. The gripping narrative and fun combat deliver on what players enjoy. It doesn’t raise the bar in any way, but newcomers and returning fans will find it a thrill ride from start to epic finish. Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

PlayStation has announced that it will host a State of Play livestream this week, featuring news, gameplay updates, and announcements from studios around the world. More specifically, the State of Play airs on Thursday, February 12, at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, and will spotlight more than 60 minutes of third-party, indie, and first-party games. The State of Play will stream on PlayStation's various YouTube and Twitch channels. As for what to expect, that's anybody's guess. On the first-party front, PlayStation's Housemarque studio is launching Saros in April, after a delay from its original March date; Insomniac Games is releasing Marvel's Wolverine, which is set in the same universe as the studio's Spider-Man games, sometime this year as well, so there's a good chance we'll see both of these games on Thursday. On the third-party front, nobody would be surprised to see more Resident Evil Requiem, which has been closely aligned with PlayStation on marketing, and given Capcom's history with its prior Resident Evil games, there's a chance we get a Requiem demo – both Biohazard and Village received demos prior to launch. Capcom could also appear with another look at Pragmata before its April release, and we also expect to see various other third-party and indie games as well. With over an hour promised of news and updates, this will likely be one of PlayStation's biggest showcases of the year. Let us know what you want to see at the PlayStation State of Play in the comments below! View the full article

Krafton's earnings in 2025 marked "an all-time high", with revenues surpassing ₩3 trillion ($2.05 billion) for the first time in the company's history. Read more View the full article

Square Enix has published its financials for the nine months ending December 31, 2025, reporting further declines in net sales due following a shortfall in earnings from new titles. Read more View the full article

The French government has honoured Sandfall Interactive with knighthoods in the Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) following the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Read more View the full article

It's February, which in recent years has become an unexpected battleground for big new releases. Resident Evil Requiem is right around the corner, as is the Switch Virtual Boy peripheral – two video games experiences that are inspiring equal amounts of hype. The good news, is we have played both, which you can read about below. But more importantly, you can read about what we're playing this weekend, and what we think you might want to check out, as well. It's Friday and it's time for the weekend and our usual recommendation of games and things you should check out! But before that, here's a recap of the biggest stories of the week: The Oral History Of FalloutDragon Quet VII Reimagined ReviewOverwatch 2 Is Just 'Overwatch' Again And Five New Heroes Arrive Next WeekI Played The Virtual Boy Games On Switch 2, And It Was Actually Kind Of CoolI Played Resident Evil Requiem And Pragmata On Switch 2 – And They Ran Surprisingly WellMewgenics – Review In ProgressThe Games You Should Check Out This Weekend Nioh 3 Marcus Stewart Nioh 3 is out in the wild, and if you read my review in progress, you know I’m still cutting my way through Team Ninja’s latest Soulslike and having a great time doing so. If you’re a newcomer who’s been curious about the franchise or simply looking for a new Soulslike to dig into, Nioh 3 is a great entry point. Its time-traveling story is largely divorced from the previous two games, and its open-world design – a first for the franchise – offers more freedom to explore and grow stronger at your own pace. The format and how it constantly rewards you for uncovering every part of it is a big pull, as is the new, faster paced Ninja combat style. Its more nimble gameplay is a blast and complements the more defensive Samurai style, of which you can swap between instantly. I’m looking forward to spending this weekend finishing up the adventure, as it may be Team Ninja’s strongest outing yet. Deadlock Alex Van Aken After another great update and the introduction of another six new heroes, including student necromancer Graves and vampire hunter Venator, Deadlock continues to impress several of us at Game Informer. Valve is leaning into its past experience developing Team Fortress and DOTA 2 to expertly blend the hero shooter and MOBA genres into a brilliant competitive game that's buoyed by excellent art direction and character designs. While Deadlock is only accessible via a playtest invite, Valve continues to shape Deadlock's eerie, otherworldly rendition of Manhattan into a destination worth waiting for. Cairn Matt Miller If you've been hungry for something decidedly different, I can't say enough positive things about Cairn. It's a remarkable mountain climbing game that features a unique marionette-like control system, letting you control the main character's arms and legs individually as they make their way up the open world of a massive mountain. While the gameplay is tense and rewarding, the narrative is equally notable, exploring complex themes of obsession, loss, and disconnection from the world. It's a standout early surprise release here in early 2026, and one you shouldn't miss. Read our full review for more details. Highguard Matt Miller After a rough first few days, the developers at Wildlight have moved quickly to address community feedback, improving a number of systems and adding significant new content patches. Already, only a week and a half after release, the team is today launching yet more new content with the game's second season, including a new playable Warden. In general, Highguard can be a challenging game to grasp in your first few games. But give it a few matches. With time, the flow of the new "raid" structure starts to make sense, and the tight shooting and fast movement of the game also begins to snap into place. It can be a mistake to dismiss a game out of hand because of a few bad days at launch; Highguard still has a ways to go to be at its best, but there's a lot of promise here. Fortnite Festival Kyle Hilliard I bought a Riffmaster Wireless Guitar this weekend because they were $50 off (and still are, I believe). I have been hunting for a full Rock Band 4 set at a reasonable price for a few years, and it has been a futile exercise. But the Riffmaster guitar, plus Fortnite Festival, has gotten me close to the nostalgic Rock Band/Guitar Hero experience I have been pining for. I was initially underwhelmed by the song selection. It had some music I liked, but it was limited, and there is no simple option to outright buy songs that have been available to play in the past. I know this is the standard Fortnite operating procedure – arbitrary limitations on digital goods in order to exploit the player base (which I remind you is mostly children) into making purchases because they won't be available soon. Everything sucks and I hate it. But, moving on from that ongoing frustration with modern video games, I was surprised to learn the song selection gets swapped out often. Daily, it seems. Which means logging in every day provides new songs. And today, in particular, the selection lined up much more with my taste. Chappell Roan songs (not surprising considering she was recently added to the game [but no "Pink Pony Club" which is surprising]), the Hatsune Miku and Anamanguchi mash-up, Fall Out Boy music from their first album (I never listened to any of the other ones), and "Welcome Home" from Coheed & Cambria. I played a bunch of great songs and I will see what's new tomorrow. They've hooked me in, the jerks. Also, sometimes my character just isn't holding a guitar. See Ms. Roan above. I am not sure why. View the full article

It's a jam-packed show this week, as 2026 is running full-steam ahead. Alex, Marcus, Charles, and Eric sit down fresh off the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase to share their reactions and favorite reveals, then Charles divulges some details from a recent Nintendo preview event where he played a slate of the handheld's upcoming games. After the break, Alex discusses what he played of Overwatch's big overhaul -- so massive, it's dropping the "2." And to cap it all off, Charles talks about the long-awaited launch of Mewgenics, and Marcus shares his thoughts on Nioh 3 so far. It's a feature-length episode of The Game Informer Show, so grab a cold beverage and enjoy. The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Listen to "A Look At Nintendo's Year Ahead, Plus Overwatch's Big Overhaul" on Spreaker.Follow our hosts on social media:Alex Van Aken (@itsvanaken)Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)Jump ahead to specific segments:00:00 Intro04:32 - Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase Reactions22:07 - Nintendo Switch 2 Previews1:00:13 - Overwatch1:28:20 - Mewgenics1:48:57 - Nioh 3 View the full article

Magellania is free on Steam until February 9! Magellania is a cool tactics-RPG set in outer space. Don´t miss it! View the full article

Highguard launched last month on January 26, after closing out The Game Awards back in December, and it's already received some pretty hefty updates addressing player feedback for the free-to-play PvP FPS-raid game. That streak continues today with the release of Episode 2, which adds a heavily requested Ranked Mode, the game's first new warden, a new map, and more. Episode 2 is live in the game already, and those who boot up the gamewill meet Ekon, a "legendary monster-slayer who shapeshifts into a powerful direwolf to track and hunt his prey." Ekon, who is pictured below, has a passive ability called Dread that reveals the heartbeat of wounded enemies, a tactical ability called Wolf Spirit that let him unleash a spirit wolf to hunt the nearest enemy and apply Dread to them, and an ultimate called Fearsome Howl, where Ekon applies Dread to all enemies across the map and increases his movement speed – it can be cast in human and wolf form (yes, Ekon can transform into a wolf). As part of today's update, developer Wildlight Entertainment has released a new story cinematic called "Skydrift" centered on Ekon and his place amongst the other Highguard wardens. Launching alongside Ekon is Skydrift, a new map for the game's 3v3 and now-permanent 5v5 raid modes. You can check out a look at Skydrift in the image at the top of this story, and you can watch the Skydrift cinematic story trailer below: Perhaps the biggest addition to Highguard with the Episode 2 update is Ranked Mode, which allows players to earn Ranked Points, point modifiers, and more as they climb the ranks to gain unique rewards. You can go from bronze (Hare) to grandmaster (Leviathan) if you're good enough. Ranked Mode will be available only in a 3v3 format, as Wildlight believes "3v3 is the more tactical structure of the game and fits best for comp," according to its update on X. All players will start at bronze 3 rank, and each rank has three divisions to climb through: bronze (Hare), silver (Goat), gold (Ape), platinum (Dire Wolf), diamond (Gryphon), master (Manticore), and grandmaster (Leviathan). At the end of each Episode, you will be rewarded based on your final rank achieved. You can also de-rank within a division during a Split, so be careful. More details about how this Ranked Mode works can be found here. The Wolf mount has been added to the game as a rideable beast as part of Episode 2, and is free to all players. If you play 10 matches of Ranked Mode, you will earn the Shadow Wolf skin, which is pictured below. Elsewhere in Episode 2, players can expect better POI loot, new Ultimate Charger items, waypoint markers, changes to Speed Gates, and quality-of-life updates like a new Stats menu, additional Orange Weapon Mods, and balance changes and improvements to gameplay and Highguard's technical performance. All of that and more can be found in the Episode 2 patch notes here. Highguard Episode 2 is now live. For more about the game, read Game Informer's review-in-progress of Highguard, and then check out the Highguard reveal trailer. Are you hopping into Highguard today to check out Episode 2? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

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For the past several weeks, I've been hacking away at Mewgenics, the latest game from The End is Nigh Duo Tyler Glaiel and Edmund McMillen, the latter of which is also known for creating The Binding of Issac. That said, Mewgenics is absolutely massive, and while I'm not finished with it yet, there's plenty to talk about already. My dozens of hours so far have been quite enjoyable, thanks to incredibly varied and engaging combat and an all-timer soundtrack. Though it's frustrating at times and the humor doesn't always hit, Mewgenics, which has been in the works in some form for over a decade, has been worth the wait so far. The adventure puts the player in charge of an ever-changing house full of cats, and you command up to four of them during roguelike runs. Combat is turn-based and grid-based (like Fire Emblem or Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy), and you assign each cat a classic RPG class to determine their pool of stats and abilities. Some are straightforward, like the defensive Tank or the ranged Hunter, but others are more unique, like the weapon-crafting Tinkerer or animal-summoning Druid. Each starting ability set is randomly generated, so with my current set of ten classes (and there are more to unlock), every run feels truly unique. Combat keeps you on your toes (and your cats on their toe beans). Cats usually heal a little at the end of each fight, but heals are otherwise inconsistently found, so it's crucial to battle as carefully as possible. Most of my failed runs come from fights that fall apart in just one or two rounds of combat against especially dangerous foes I've underestimated. Since your cats' starting abilities are randomized, each run also introduces variables to keep track of on the player's end, too. Passive abilities can make enemies' difficulties fluctuate, and sometimes two cats in your party have abilities that can hinder you if you're not paying attention. Every run has unique, often silly specifics that you're unlikely to run into twice. Some are helpful, some are not, but they're always entertaining. Partly because of that randomness, Mewgenics is very challenging and unforgiving. There's no undo button to avoid misclicks or moves gone horribly wrong, and while you can quit the game without saving to restart a battle, a Mr. Resetti-like character only lets you do so once per run. Dying means you permanently lose your current party of cats and all the items in your inventory at the time. This makes a huge difference in subsequent runs. Good cats from past runs give birth to high-stat kittens for future attempts. Meanwhile, items give cats new abilities or improve their stats, and starting a run with a full inventory of equipment from past encounters sets you up for success. Losing doesn't just prevent you from progressing – it sometimes even sets you back. This stands in stark contrast to other modern roguelike conventions, where each failure is a step forward in some way, either because you're leveling up some stat, collecting resources, or progressing a story. Mewgenics has macro-progression, but it moves more slowly, especially on a loss. This is not an inherently bad system, and I like knowing each fight has life-or-death stakes. Still, it is frustrating to get stuck in a losing cycle, especially if you're expecting a more relaxed experience. Before you embark on a run, however, you have to assemble your team of cats, either by adopting strays or by breeding existing cats. Your home base, a customizable house, is decorated with furniture that alters its stats, which factor into how often cats breed and what the kittens' base attributes will be. So far, I'm fine with this system, but not really in love with it. Decorations and furniture are expensive enough that you can typically only buy one item each time you come home, and interior design is strategically irrelevant – an effective room is crammed full of as many items that boost a house's stats as possible. The breeding itself is mostly a passive system, where you place compatible cats in a room together and hope they mate and make a new kitten that shares some of their traits. Fair warning, though – with the default settings, you're going to have to watch a lot of cat humping animations. You can thankfully turn these off, and the game is a lot better for it, because they're replaced with varied, creative, goofy ways the cats have children, like by summoning them from a pentagram or having them delivered by a stork. Mewgenics' crude humor is one of the biggest obstacles keeping me from truly loving the game, especially its emphasis on fecal humor. If it were rarer or used more sparingly, I would find it more tolerable – funny even – but it all comes across as juvenile and gross. Still, there's plenty here that is funny, including the randomly generated cat names (you're just as likely to find one named "Jake" as you are "Ethernet") and each cat's distinct meow sound (one of my favorites has auto tune; the other swears in English when taking damage and goes "oh, I meant, 'meow'"). Most of my criticisms of Mewgenics are admittedly minor because you spend the vast majority of playtime in combat, and combat is absolutely stellar. There's plenty more for me to experience before coming to a final verdict, but the fact that I'm itching to hop back into the game dozens of hours in is a great omen. View the full article

HBO and Craig Mazin, who is currently working on Season 3 of The Last of Us, are adapting Baldur's Gate 3 for TV. According to a report from Deadline, HBO's Baldur's Gate 3 adaptation will be a continuation of the game, which developer Larian Studios released in 2023 to widespread acclaim, and take place immediately after the event of the game's finale. Deadline says characters "old and new" will be dealing with the ramifications of the events of Baldur's Gate 3 in this adaptation, which The Last of Us showrunner and co-creator Mazin will write, executive produce, and showrun. Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O'Connor will also serve as executive producers alongside Hasbro Entertainment's Gabriel Marano, with Chris Perkins, former Head of Story at Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast subsidiary, serving as a consultant. Hasbro, by way of Wizards of the Coast (which own D&D), owns the Baldur's Gate IP. "After putting nearly 1000 hours into the incredible world of Baldur's Gate 3, it is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of the Coast created," Mazin said to Deadline. "I am a devoted fan of D&D and the brilliant way that Swen Vincke and his gifted team adapted it. I can't wait to help bring Baldur's Gate and all of its incredible characters to life with as much respect and love as we can, and I'm deeply grateful to Gabe Marano and his team at Hasbro for entrusting me with this incredibly important property." Deadline reports that Mazin plans to reach out to the voice cast of Baldur's Gate 3 "with ideas for them to participate in the TV adaptation, if possible," which is something he and The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann (who is also a co-creator of The Last of Us games) did in its adaptation. HBO head of drama programming and executive vice president Francesca Orsi told Deadline, "We're thrilled to continue our partnership with Craig Mazin on Baldur's Gate," while Marano told the publication, "The fans have been eagerly awaiting an adaptation of Baldur's Gate, and we could not ask for better partners than HBO and the incomparable Craig Mazin to build this world with." Game Informer has reached out to Larian Studios for official word about its lack of involvement and will update this story if it learns more, but on X, Larian CEO and Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke replied, "Not to my knowledge," when asked whether any of the studio's writers are consulting on the show. He also added, "But [Craig Mazin] did reach out to ask if he could come over to the studio to speak with us. From the conversation we had, I think he truly is a big fan, which gives me hope." Before that, though, Vincke posted the following to X as a quote-tweet to Deadline's report: "Crazy that a story that started out in a small hotel conference room eventually evolved into a narrative inspiring enough for it to become a HBO series. We worked incredibly hard on making Baldur's Gate 3 worthy of its legacy. Its characters and narratives are the result of many teams working together and I think I can speak for them all in saying that they'll think this is cool and hope that what comes next will enjoy the same level of passion. The endings of BG3 were created so they could serve as narrative soil for new adventures. There's plenty of directions they could go. I'm eager to find out which ones Craig and his team will pick. He's reached out for a chat so we'll have the opportunity to tell him our thoughts. Crossing fingers that the story we're cooking up for Divinity will eventually grow to the same heights. Certainly putting in the hours." In response to news of this adaptation, reception online has been... not great. Fans of the series seem disappointed that Mazin is behind the project, likely an alignment of online reception to Season 2 of The Last of Us, and upset that the adaptation aims to pick up after the events of Baldur's Gate 3. Notably, there are multiple dozen endings to the game, meaning HBO will likely canonize an ending (or aspects of various endings) to move forward with its storytelling goals; that's somewhat antithetical to the spirit of player freedom and storytelling choices present in the Larian-developed RPG. All that to say, Mazin and HBO have a big lift on their shoulders adapting what is easily one of the most popular games of the last decade, if not all time. There's no word on when production of this Baldur's Gate 3 adaptation will begin, but Mazin currently has at least one more season of The Last of Us to get out (and it could be the series' last). In the meantime, read Game Informer's review of Baldur's Gate 3, and then check out the brutal and gory trailer for Larian Studios' next game, Divinity. After that, read why visiting the set of The Last of Us was equally boring and intense, and then read this update about why Baldur's Gate 3 won't be ported to Nintendo Switch 2. [Source: Deadline] What are your thoughts on this announcement? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

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