As I play throughThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, I can see all the different inspirations Nintendo pulled from.. The influence of the two most recentSwitchgames,Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, is clear in the big (Echoes' emphasis on finding creative solutions) and the small (the presence of BOTW-era cooking mechanics through the smoothie shops). There are other, smaller influences, as well. Zelda’s hands-off approach to combat has a lot in common with bullet heaven games likeVampire Survivors....

Summary There was a brief moment there where it looked like the newYakuzagame getting announced this month was a mobile title no one seemed all that excited about. Thankfully, that wasn’t the announcement RGG Studio was building towards. Announced during the RGG Summit,the next game in the series will be Like A Dragon: Yakuza Pirate In Hawaii, and its reveal has brought one of the most unexpected collabs of the year along with it....

Summary Metaphor: ReFantaziowas the first foray into fantasy for director Katsura Hashino and his team at Studio Zero (an Atlus internal studio), who had previously worked on Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5. These games had fantastical elements, but they were grounded in a realistic setting and had characters that struggled with real-world problems. Metaphor: ReFantazio, on the other hand, is set in the fictional kingdom of Euchronia and while the characters also deal with real-world problems, they do so within a fantastical backdrop....

Summary TheMonster Hunter Wilds beta is now live on PS Pluswhich means we will start to learn new details about the next installment in the series over the coming hours and days. In fact, we know something new about Wilds already even though the beta is only a few hours old.Monster Hunter Wildshas an arachnophobia mode, and it turns the game’s spiders into something that doesn’t look much like a spider at all....

Summary MultiVersushas finally added the long-awaited Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Harleen Quinzel skins, but fans aren’t happy with their limited-time “Elusive” status. As what must be one of the most datamined games of all time, MultiVersus players have known for a while about most of the skins and characters coming to the store.While there have been some surprises like Jason and the Banana Guard, for the most part, it’s been awaiting game to see when things like Marceline and Raven join the game....

Summary Despite rumors pointing toward the contrary,Palworld’sdevelopers, Pocketpair, have officially come out to announce that the breakout online multiplayer survival game will not be going free-to-play. It will also not shift to a Games as a Service model, either. Instead,Palworld will remain a buy-to-play title. The statement,which was released on Saturday, comes after rumors began swirling about Palworld’s future afteran interview between Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe and a Japanese publication was translated online....

Summary Various items in PlayStation’s 30th anniversary collectionhave been getting restocked here and therebut selling out fast making them very hard to come by. There is still at least one online retailer that has the grey DualSense still in stock, though. The only problem is you’ll need to pick up the Doom Anthology at the same time since the controller has been bundled with the collection. The bundle is still in stock at Antonlineand while it’s unclear why the DualSense has been bundled with the Doom Anthology, if nothing else it’s an inventive way to deter scalpers....

Summary Like it or not, the holidays are right around the corner, especially now it’s Halloween. By this time tomorrow, spooky season will officially be over for another year. That frees up the rest of the year for the festive holidays, andPokemonhas already started to lean into that. The Pokemon Company always has some Christmas-themed plushes to reveal each year, andits holiday collection of soft toysis now available to buy at the Pokemon Center....

Summary Nintendo Switch Onlineis a phenomenal subscription service that gets you access to online multiplayer, cloud saves, and even more benefits for either a monthly or annual fee. One of the best parts about being a member is that you can play classic games from the NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance libraries. Though none of the mainline Pokemon games like Red or Blue are available on Nintendo Switch Online, a handful of spin-offs have been added to scratch the Pocket Monster itch....

Quick Links Each week inEA Sports FC 25brings a new free objective player to earn by completing four objectives related to the player. Afterlast week’s Dani Parejo challenge, this week continues the Spanish theme that has remained prevalent in the first season of EA FC 25. Elena Julve Perez might not be a familiar name, but her card is one you’ll want to consider using either in your starting 11 or asan excellent option to fulfill some of the current Rush objectives....

InLife is Strange: Double Exposure’s fourth chapter, everything comes to a head. You learn about Safi’s shapeshifting powers. Max and Safi team up to expose Lucas for the plagiarizing fraud he is. And Safi confronts Yasmin at gunpoint for her role in Maya Okada’s death. Though the game has been twisting and turning before now, this is where the drama reaches a boiling point. So, when you find Safi confronting Yasmin, how should you handle it?...

The3DSlaunched in 2011, and despite its rocky start, it has since become one of the most beloved consoles of all time. Its portability, wide array of game genres, multiplayer and social aspects, and charming clamshell design all contributed to the console’s massive popularity. Despite the 3DS and Wii U eShops shutting down in 2023, the 3DS still remains one of the strongest handheld consoles ever, with dozens of amazing games released throughout its lifetime....

There are many different types of monsters and villains in video games, from people who are pure spite and aggression to villains who are misunderstood. But there is another type of antagonist, the ones who are power-hungry and willing to go to any lengths to get it. Arguably, those villains are one of the most frightening to encounter, since they will do anything to get their way. Some go as far as making themselves into literal monsters to achieve their goal....