How will the free-to-play gambit fare? Seeing a ton of classic franchises (I think the DS is a “classic” system at this point) move to free-to-play has been wild, and to say it’s had a mixed reception is understating it.Puzzle Quest 3is out now on mobileand early access PC/Steam, and it’s adopted that very same approach with free-to-play. As a match-three, the monetary shiftkindof makes sense, as games have normalized that system in the genre for nearly a decade (RIP fully-fledged premium Popcap games)....

Where from? I don’t know It’s been discussed at length that the continued survival of the PlayStation Vita is not to be attributed to the console’s manufacturer but to the niche third-party developers and indies that keep its small but active base engaged with a surprisingly steady stream of new games. It’s great little system for fans of Japanese games like myself and last year it kept bringing us hit after hit after hit....

But he seems fun to play “This fall,” Sonic will make his way intoLEGO Dimensions, and we thankfully won’t need to buy a whole new game to experience him — just theSonicLEGO set. And during its 25th anniversarySonicevent last weekend they showed some more gameplay, alongside of their announcement oftwo new standalone games, and it doesn’t appear to be awful? The vehicle bits look clunky and cheesy, but I dig the platforming sections, especially the parts where he’s roaming around the Candy Kingdom fromAdventure Time, or dicking around in theDr....

A new video on Sony’s Japanese YouTube channel teases a prototype head-mounted display set to be unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, during the public days (Sept 22 and 23). They call it the Prototype-SR and it features a full head-tracking system and a front-facing camera that let the wearer experience immersive 360 degree movement. Sony calls it the future of entertainment. This prototype looks a lot like thatgoofy Sony visortthat we tried out during CES earlier this year....

And Octolings, of course Nintendo hasdropped the latest updatefor the arena shooterSplatoon 2. Although the popular Switch release is winding down this summer, it’s neat to see Nintendo continue to support the community withsplatfests, content and patches. Update 4.7.0 is almost entirely built up of weapon balance changes and bug fixes. The N-ZAP, Splattershot and Luna Shot ranges are among the tweaked tools, with changes made to ink consumption and damage as well as a tweak which “lessens spread shot variance....

Super Monkey Ball Banana Maniahas picked up a slew of killer cameos. Today, Sega announced a rather strange but welcome addition: Suezo, ofMonster Rancherfame, will roll out intoSuper Monkey Ball. The memorable cyclops-monster will bepost-launch DLCforSuper Monkey Ball Banana Mania, arriving on Oct. 19 for $4.99. That’s just two weeks after the launch ofBanana Maniaon Oct. 5, and a few months ahead of theMonster Ranchergamescoming to Nintendo Switch on Dec. 9....

Cross-buy for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita The Swappercame seemingly out of nowhere to be a pleasant surprise last year on PC. The fun won’t be stopping there, as Curve Digital has announced that they (through their in-house developer, Curve Studios) will be porting the platform puzzler to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. The game is currently slated to arrive mid-May and will be a cross-buy for all platforms....

MoviePass financials could make The 300 a lot harder and prohibitively expensive Howdy dudes, and welcome back toThe 300, a recurring feature on my perilous quest to watch 300 movies in theaters in the year 2018. I’ll be watching new releases, classics, hidden gems, and festival films to experience the wide world of cinema in all its forms. There ought to be something that you can also enjoy and share....

I’ll pay it The Witnessis said to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 hours tofully complete. Despite knowing that, I somehow had it in my head that it would probably be around $20 or so. That’s a fairly common price point among digital-only titles, after all. Time for a reality check. When it releases for PlayStation 4 and PC on June 01, 2025,The Witnesswill cost $39.99 / €36.99 / £29....

The North American Switch Online trial forThe World Ends with You: Final Remixcan be downloaded prior to that start time, andyou can pre-load iton the Nintendo eShop. Our reviewer, CJ Andriessen, waspretty indifferentaboutThe World Ends with You: Final Remixas someone who clicked with the original Nintendo DS game, which was a “compound piece of craftsmanship” that made the most of the hardware it ran on. You may have a better go of it as someone who’s looking to break into the series, though....

As part of the festivities surrounding the announcement ofthe limited-edition white Steam Deck OLED, a number of Steam Deck developers from Valve have agreed to an interview discussing the device’s success. According to their comments, some recent releases have become particularly popular on the Deck. In the interview hosted onAutomaton Media, Valve’s designer Lawrence Yang and programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais discussed the state of the Deck and some of its biggest successes....

Live at 12:00PM ET In just a few moments, Nintendo is going to have a small Nintendo Direct-esque presentation for their “Nindies” (that one was practically given to them, haha) — or — indie games that are coming to the Nintendo Switch. We expect to hear some more information on some projects that are already confirmed, likeFast RMXandShovel Knight, as well as possible reveals. We may even get a localization announcement or two....

While exploring the world and attempting to restore nature inSnufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, players will be tasked with finding all of the pages of Moominpapa’s Masterpiece. It’s a tall order, but one that’s essential for completing the story. There are also optional pages to gather for additional XP, making this one of those tasks that you want to finish quickly but don’t want to miss out on the benefits from....