Summary Over the past several years, retro gaming has experienced a massive popularity boost, with older gamers looking to recapture the nostalgia of their childhoods and younger gamers looking to experience seminal consoles and titles of days past. That boom in popularity has led to games and consoles skyrocketing in price on the second-hand market, particularly titles that were short prints or relatively niche. That said, a new development in the retro gaming market has fans worried about its short-and-long-term consequences....

We loveCitizen Sleeperhere at TheGamer (it was crowned the site’s GOTY in 2022), so you can imagine we’ve all been looking out for its sequel,Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. Our own Ben Sledgepreviewed the game back in June, but for the rest of us unlucky sleepers, we’ve had to wait for a publicly available demo to get our filthy paws on it. Well, the time to whip out your paws is now, because it’s Steam Next Fest....

Summary Berserkhas a wide variety of interesting, disgusting, and frankly horrifying creatures for Guts and his party to go up against. However, the most notable of these is the Apostles. They were once human, but after sacrificing something important to them and using a Behelit, were granted supernatural powers by the God Hand. Apostles are everywhere, and serve as the main opposition to Guts on his quest. There are a number of named Apostles that make their mark on the story, be it over the span of multiple story arcs, or only a few chapters....

Video games have been around long enough that we’re starting to see trends cycle. For a long time ‘retro games’ were almost exclusively 2D side scrollers, made by people who grew up loving the 16-bit era. Now a new generation of game devs who grew up in the ‘90s are tapping into the early era of 3D to revitalize their own childhood experience. While Sony brings us aAstro Bot, a 3D platformer born fromSuper Mario 64’slineage filled with relics of the PS1 era, the indie scene is flooded with polygonal survival horror games that use fixed camera angles and tank controllers to remind us of the terror of playing Resident Evil and Silent Hill on 20” Panasonic TV/VCR combos late at night when we were supposed to be in bed....

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’sSeason 2 is a bit more well-received so far when compared to the first. We now have more information on Sauron’s revival after Adar supposedly killed him, and his trickery and manipulative tactics that led him to assume the identity of Halbrand. After successfully crafting the three elven rings of power with Celebrimbor, he goes back to Egregion to make more rings for the dwarves and men, revealing himself to be a being known as Annatar....

I’ve never been into the plush symbols of gamerdom. I have nothing RGB in my house. I get by with a fairly basic gaming laptop. I hold bothJoy-Conin separate hands like a schmuck instead of buying a Pro Controller. I’m fine with this. But I’ve always considered my chair to be an extension of this ethos, and for the entirety of my time at TheGamer, and my career in games journalism prior, I never had a gaming chair....

Shadows Crossingis an early quest inDragon Age: The Veilguard, and the first one that asks you to make any sort of major decision. Since it’sfairly short, it’s not the best advert for the complex choices the game features, as Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes a while to get going. However, it does still havesome importance. It helps you as a player define the decisions your Rook will make, itimpacts approval, and hiscan have further reaching consequencesdepending on what decision you make....

Quick Links The free weekly objective player is back inEA Sports FC 25, allowing you to earn solid additions to your team or fodder for Squad Builder Challenges (SBCs) for playing games and completing certain tasks. While not every card will be as exciting as addingone of the best FC 25 Heroesto your side, they’ll at least offer flexibility and options for future objectives. While Parejo is far from a top-notch defensive midfielder, he offers another option for you to add if you need a box-to-box player....

Summary Sonic X Shadow Generationsisn’t officially out until next Friday (not counting early access) but late-game spoilers from Shadow’s campaign have already started popping up. It’s been a very long time since Shadow the Hedgehog starred in his own game, but that’s all about tochange in a number of days thanks to Sonic X Shadow Generations. Although it initially seemed like a small add-on to go alongside the long-requested Generations remaster, it’s become clearthe more we’ve learned about Shadow’s story that it’s a much bigger deal than we all expected....

I spent about 20 hours playing throughSuper Mario Party Jamboreeacrossthe review period. Around a third of that was spent testing out the various boards with my partner playing alongside me. Another third was spent on the ‘story’ mode, which unlocks new boards and lets you explore their mechanics by wandering freely. And the final third was spent on the miscellaneous extras that Jamboree has to offer. The first two thirds were great....

Summary Woot kicked off the week with some very good news for anyone who doesn’t already own two of the newest Mario games onNintendo Switch.Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG are both on saleon the site, and they’re still in stock. Three days later andWoot has seriously expanded its Switch sale, adding even more of some of the platform’s biggest games, not all of which are led byNintendo’s plumber mascot....

The Backline Booster Evolution is a special event for left backs, and they get rewarded with improved attributes and jockey playstyle inEA Sports FC 25Ultimate Team. They get a boost in their defending and attacking stats, which makes it possible for them to also play as a left midfielder in the game. This left back special evolution is free to complete, so all you need to do is meet the certain player requirements and pass the four different challenges....

Epic Mickey: Rebrushedis a remaster of the 2010 Wii masterpiece, bringing enhanced visuals and refined gameplay while staying true to the original’s core charm. The game features many of Walt Disney’s forgotten characters and stories, including Clarabelle Cow, the Mad Doctor, and most notably, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who plays a central role in the narrative. As expected from a project that celebrates Disney’s rich history, Epic Mickey is packed with clever references, nods, and Easter eggs that highlight both the famous and obscure aspects of the company’s legacy....