Like Xbox Game Pass or Sony’s PlayStation Plus, Indie Pass is built solely for indie titles. These are from small studios or solo creators not AAA. Games including the Dark Deity series, Echoes of the Plum Grove, and Kaamos. The service will launch at $6.99 per month, granting players unlimited access to a library starting with 70+ titles. The team plans to add more games in the future.

Developers will be paid through revenue sharing all based off of how long players spend in each game. According to Indie.io this will allow a “revenue stream that extends well beyond launch.” If a subscriber paying $6.99 a month were to play three games in that time period, the developers would earn around $2.33 each, with room for costs to Indie.io.

Indie Pass will launch on April 13, 2026 and is only available through PC.

Developer: Legacy Forge

Publisher: Numskull Games

Platforms: Steam

Price: $18.99

Genre: Tactical RPG, Roguelite

Played on: Steam

Valor of Man brings the tabletop adventuring party together in a repayable roguelite fantasy world. In a month where Slay the Spire 2 hit Early Access, comparisons could be made between the two, but they play rather differently. Instead of deckbuilding, Valor uses upgradable skills for each class. It’s a fun journey with a focus on resource management and movement that delivers a rewarding experience especially when you scrape by an encounter with barely any health remaining.

Controlling a party of characters, you begin each run by choosing a route to take on a map. Choices range from fighting monsters and bosses, resting, unlocking new weapons or abilities, and events. Plot your course carefully to ensure you unlock new items to boost your characters for the journey.

Paths with events or merchants allow you to get new items such as a magic weapon or holy hammer that deals additional damage. This makes future fights a little easier. You’ll face monstrous behemoths, undead hordes, and dragons in fast turn-based combat. Each character has a finite number of Action Points to be spent on skills in combat. AP is a valuable resource for both movement and attacking and more powerful skills use more AP.

Focusing on what you want to spend the points on makes each encounter engaging. Alistair the Captain relies on melee attacks to bring down enemies. He’s got the highest hit points, so moving him close is important so he can deal damage and take it. Octavia is the Archmage who has powerful ranged spell attacks, but lower health. She’ll get stronger AOE attacks to hit multiple enemies as she levels up. The other ten classes all have specialties in dealing damage and buffing the party. There’s even a healer, so everyone can stay in the fight.

It’s all very Dungeons & Dragons coded and plays out like reading through a stat block or campaign module. While you control the party, you also get to see what the enemies will do next. Everything from attack to how they’ll react if they are hit. Knowing what the dragon will do if attacked allows you to plan out future moves. If one character is low on health, have another stronger character hit them to avoid a reactive strike.

As it does feel D&D, there also comes a bit of keeping track of things. The HUD does a great job at giving you a glance at what is happening. You can see everything from what enemies are planning to do, which enemies are on the field, and how much health they have. However, all of that does feel a bit overwhelming. Many times, I just wanted to attack but wouldn’t understand what the enemy reaction was implying. Learning is part of the game, but again, it can be a bit much to take in.

The story is intriguing and plays out like a campaign. It begins with a mysterious run in with death for one character that feels plucked out of the backstory of a player at a table.

Valor of Man is a cool take on the roguelite genre. If tabletop RPGs are something you’ve been interested in checking out it’s a great look at how they play out, without dice. Encounters are full of tension and strategy and plotting your course provides a sense of exploration full of wonder and mystery. Win or lose, each run is a chance to try again with new knowledge and insight into discovering new ways to take down a challenge.

By the light of Stendarr, we’re headed back to Skyrim in 2027. The Elder Scrolls Online is taking players to a familiar setting many have been exploring since 2011. The land of the Dovahkiin.

The Elder Scrolls Online 2026 Season Direct announced new updates are coming this year with a tease about heading to a new location in the wintry environment of Skyrim.

There’s a joke about Skyrim releasing again, but the announcement is actually exciting.

Studio Executive Producer Susan Kath said, “We explore an iconic region never before explored in ESO. So prepare yourself for what’s coming in 2027.” Game Director Nick Giacomini followed up with new content being a “First ever excursion zone and the teams’ new take on what a zone can be.”

Players can expect adventuring through regional blizzards that remind me of Harrowstorms, also featured in Skyrim.

This year Elder Scrolls Online will get Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk introducing the Night Market in the Oblivion realm of Fragrave. Higher overland difficulty throughout all of ESO will allow players to choose from four options, making the game more or less challenging. This is a feature that many have been wanted added for a long time now.

As a mainly solo player, this is how I’ve played for years. It’s no Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim when it comes to challenge, but this update could make it more so. Dungeons are where the standard difficulty could be considered challenging. With solo dungeons being added to the game in Season One, solo players can explore places they may never got the chance to.

Season one launches this summer with a focus on new Thieves Guild content. So grab your daggers and drop your points into stealth. Sheogorath is making a return to ESO as well. So there will be plenty of madness and cheese for everyone. The developers did bring up cross play is still in the works but won’t be added until later. Maybe in 2027.

There was quite a lot of other goodness announced during the direct as well.

Did the ESO direct get you hyped for more ESO? Let me know!

Leave a comment

My real life camera roll is full of pictures of my two cats. It’s just what you do as a cat parent. My Steam camera folder will now rival my phone when it comes to storing pictures of adorable, fluffy, and sweet furballs thanks to indie game Cat Me if you Can.

It’s a comforting game that is all about taking photos of the floofiest companions. Set in a world of black and white, color is found through the camera lens. Find a cat and snap a photo to reveal its name and reveal their color to each one you snap. It’s essentially Pokémon Snap for cats, except you’re not Todd Snapp. What more could you want?

Each map is stunningly designed with soothing lofi beats to back you up as you search for your feline friends. Each can be found doing everyday cats things. Napping in corners, on boxes, and perched on tall ledges.

As you hunt for elusive cats, you’ll also solve puzzles along the way. There are buttons to press, items to collect, and side quests to complete. The concept is simple and finding each cat or puzzle is rewarding. Objectives lead to giant photo opportunities with gigantic cats. When you snap their photos, they’ll appear in a kaleidoscope of colors bringing vibrancy to the already stunningly crafted maps.

Cat Me if You Can is being developed by indie studio Cosmic Stag Games. A demo will be available on April 8, 2026 with a full release expected for summer.

Being a dungeon or game master is like herding cats with all the tasks you have to manage. There’s overseeing the story, characters, lore, combat, and deciding what music to play to set the scene. If you’re like me, you’ve got hundreds of playlists to work with and bouncing between all of those is time consuming. Not to mention finding the ideal song for the specific scenario the party is facing. To help out DMs, the TableTone app has a ton of music and sound effects fit for countless adventures.

The app is a handy tool that makes choosing songs simple. It’s a media player you can use to play songs that match the theme of your game perfectly. It features three Universes–fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. Each contains a Factory preset with music and sound effects like Venture Forth! Presets include several customizable locations to choose from such as Tavern, Town, or Dungeon and tones ranging from relaxed, action, and suspenseful. They’re all found on a wheel that you can swap through just by touching or clicking on it.

TableTone is free and has a subscription option that gets you access to more sound effects and music like the Horror and Sci-Fi Universes. You can pay for individual bundles as well if you see something that fits for your campaign. I got to check out the full subscription option and it's full of fantastic tracks and sounds that add more immersion to each session.

If your session begins in a tavern, opting for the Tavern plays a playlist of songs fit for gathering around a wooden table stained with dried mead and wine. Set it to relaxed as you start your journey. Then when a barfight happens, switch it to action and within seconds the song will transition to one built for combat.

Say the villain then flees from the tavern into the nearby forest. Once the party reaches the new location, hit that forest playlist and new tracks will play. Each song is built to fit within the themes, so you aren’t fussing with clicking through playlists and blocking your screen of notes. You can even bring up a new screen on your tablet or phone and TableTone will continue to play in the background.

You can even create your own custom locations designed to work best with your campaigns. Exploring Castle Ravenloft? There’s a scene for a vampire’s castle. There’s even a sound effects tab where you can choose sounds that play alongside the music. This is great for hammer tings, sword clangs, and dragon fire.

Now, it all can be a bit overwhelming at first glance, but it is laid out rather nicely. Everything is placed in a wheel format with controls for mood, intensity, and ambience. It does look pleasing, but I struggled with even knowing there were ambiences in the first place. I only discovered it after hearing the crackling of campfire under the harbor playlist. My brain said this does not go here, so I clicked the arrow at the bottom and turned off the campfire.

One thing to note, is that moving from one song to another takes a few seconds. It isn’t instant which would be too jarring, but a slow bleed from one song to the next, like flipping a page in your favorite book. Do it too quickly and you may get a paper cut or tear the page. Fading to the next track helps ensure the gameplay doesn't slow down.

What is exceptionally great about TableTone is it uses physical instruments and real life musicians for each track. Plus, every sound effect is performed by actual items. There is no AI to be found in TableTone, an absolute win for the app. There are a lot of cool behind the scenes videos and blogs at the official website that go into detail on how the tracks are made.

TableTone is like a miniature orchestra you can take on the go with you. Imagine carrying the brass, woodwind, and percussion sections with you everywhere and releasing all that human made sound on your players at your next session. It’s the closest thing I can think of to having John Williams actually perform at your tabletop game.

Thanks to TableTone and GreenLobster Media Technologies for providing a deeper look at the app.

And you know who makes video games? People. Really actual people. Developers who spend endless hours crafting game worlds. Solo devs working after a day job to make their passion come true

This Week the tip headlines were focused on Nvidia. I felt it needed to be talked about. The news broke and reaction was negative. AI is not needed in games where people spend their time and energy on a skill they've developed for years to bring them to life. As a creator, I want to create using my hands, my brain, and my voice.

This whole podcast video aspect I'm doing is meant to focus on the games industry. I'm trying something new. I want to talk about games because they are what I know and love. There will be news like this that isn't the greatest but to counter that, there is news to end this article focused on the good.

Games are great. Go out and play your favorite. Support an indie dev. And let's tall about video games and why they are amazing.

Hood Headlines

Nvidia DLSS 5 is coming, and gamers aren’t thrilled about it

From an official press release posted on Nvidia.com.

NVIDIA unveiled NVIDIA DLSS 5, the company’s most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing in 2018.

Announcing the update earlier this week, Nvidia released a video showcasing the new tech. The video shows scenes from popular games including Resident Evil Requiem with DLSS 5 turned off and on. Viewers were quick to note that the graphics AI enhancements make things look a bit too, as the word goes, yassified.

Here’s what DLSS 5 does. It quote “infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials. Bridging the divide between rendering and reality, DLSS 5 empowers game developers to deliver a new level of photoreal computer graphics previously only achieved in Hollywood visual effects.”

Its 2018 release was AI technology designed to boost performance by upscaling resolution and generating new frames. Which it does do that and continues to do so. What has people in an uproar with it is that it uses generative AI.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA “DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics — blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.”

Nvidia’s footage shows before and after DLSS 5 that adds visual realism to scenes. However, while objects may look better, people or characters fall into that uncanny valley element, like using a filter in Snapchat. RE Requiem protagonist Grace Ashcroft looks like a different character when DLSS 5 is turned on. Character artists put in countless hours to design Ashcroft, light and frame the scene, and make it look amazing, only to have DLSS 5 come in and alter it because it thinks it looks better.

But Nvidia is allowing developers with “detailed controls” over color, masking, and intensity, meaning artists can edit scenes how it looks. Just let it be how it was intended by the creators in the first place.

DLSS 5 will be available for Bethesda, CAPCOM, Hotta Studio, NetEase, NCSOFT, S-GAME, Tencent, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Games.

However, as reported by Insider Gaming, those developers agreed to DLSS5, but say they learned about DLSS 5 tech when everyone else did. A Ubisoft developer said “We found out the same time as the public.”

The story went on to say that CAPCOM developers were shocked by the announcement and that the studio was involved in DLSS 5. CAPCOM has reportedly been “anti-AI” with games like Resident Evil Requiem and future projects.

It was reported that the tech demo was running on two RTX 5090s, which is a ton of power that most gamers may not have. DLSS 5 will arrive this fall.

I’ll just play my games like I always have. The way they were designed in the first place. By people.

Subnautica 2

A judge orders Subnautica 2 Studio CEO fired by Krafton to be reinstated and granted him dull control over early access. This coming from Kotaku.

The legal battle between developer Unknown Worlds and publisher Krafton continues with good news for the founder of the game studio. A judge has ordered Krafton to reinstate CEO Ted Gill and grant him full control over Subnautica 2's Early Access release plans.

At a Chancery Court hearing on March 16, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will wrote “Krafton breached the EPA by terminating the Key Employees without valid Cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds.”

This resulted in a July 1, 2025 resolution that ended with Gill and other members fired from Unknown Worlds to be "ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill’s operational control right.”

The judge therefore issued Krafton not to block Gill's "authority over the early access launch of Subnautica 2” and that he should be access “to the Steam platform.”

The judge also extended a period the Unknown Worlds team can earn a $250 million payout due to the developers sale to Krafton where in 2021, the publisher bought Unknown Worlds for $500 million with a deal to pay out another $250 million if Subnautica 2 hit sales goals. . It's extended through September 15, 2026 but could go longer.

Leaders at Krafton claimed Gill and other co-founders failed to get Subnautica 2 ready for a proper launch. They later stated the founders had been working on other projects and had attempted to steal assets before they were fired. The judge threw those claims out.

Reports said the sequel could potentially reach milestone sales so Krafton delayed the launch and removed Gill and other members from the studio. Krafton evidently discovered Sub 2 could hit and overcome goals and didn't want to move forward with the extra $250 million.

According to the court, the judge found Krafton CEO Changhan Kim sought ways to avoid paying, leading to the firing of the co-founders. Evidently Kim used ChatGPt to come you with ways to come up with messages to explain the shift in leaders to the public. The judge ruled this all be in breach of contract.

The court proceedings will continue as they do. IGN did confirm Subnautica 2 will release in early access in May on Xbox and PC, though it is not official what day.

Tangy TD Dev Reacts to Indie Game Sales

Some uplifting news. Game dev Cakez indie title blows up on social media and makes bank.

Tangy TD is a tower defense game where you play a witch named Tangy. Using class-based towers, you’ll equip them with items and abilities like bows, spells, and swords as defense. According to Polygon, Tangy TD took four years to develop and was created from scratch. He did it all without an official game engine.

During development, his PC crashed, but his community pitched in to send him parts and money to continue developing.

Tangy TD was released on March 9, 2026 on Steam. The following day, he posted a live reaction to see analytics and learned Tangy TD had made $31,942 before Valve’s slice. On March 15, Cakez posted another live reaction to discover Tangy TD had made $245,123.

His chat popped off with congratulatory comments has he broke down on camera, hugging his wife.

Game dev is challenging and I am no game designer. But stories like this is what I love most about gaming. The passion of people who work their butts off to create because they love it.

If all indie titles could receive this support, that would mean the world to them. Go out and support your favorite indie creator. Whether it’s with a Wishlist, purchase, or kind comment. Gratitude really matters.

Next week, I'm going to focus on some indie titles. I've got a game I'm reviewing and am excited to talk about it.

I've also been playing Slay the Spire. The first one. Because I never got around to it when it released. It's really good.

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Go out and play some games.

Play some games. 🎮

Here's my take on a podcast I suppose, we'll see how it goes.

Pokémon Pokopia sells huge numbers.

Xbox Project Helix GDC report

New Gaming Print Publication

Solasta II is my most anticipated game of the year.

Print publications are a rare thing nowadays, especially in the gaming industry. They were royalty 20 years ago, with Game Informer, PCMag, and Nintendo Power to name a few. Today, GI is back, joining indie magazines including Debug and Patch. There are plenty more as well, and adding its name to the stack will soon be CONTINUE.

From the minds of Jackson Ryan and Mark Serrels, print gaming magazine CONTINUE is the next physical gaming magazine in development. “We want to create a magazine that sits at the intersection between the immense and incomparable A Profound Waste of Time and the excellent reportage found in magazines like The Monthly or The New Yorker.”

The duo launched a Kickstarter with a goal of nearly $18,000. So far, they’ve reached $40,000+ and climbing. They will be taking pitches from writers and are working with artists, developers, and creatives to produce content for CONTINUE.

It’s an Australian based magazine they are looking at making international in the future. Joining the writing team is gaming industry writer, podcaster, and Malevola in DISPATCH, Alanah Pearce, as well as many other known names in the gaming space. The team is working with writers, artists, and creators to discuss games in a print format.

The first cover is below featuring art from Jack Crosby showing Hornet from Silk Song and perhaps the goose from Untitled Goose Game.

Gaming magazines are something I am fully behind and I am excited for CONTINUE. Though I don’t live in Australia, I look forward to its success and maybe one day it will reach the states.

Xbox is going through a shift at the moment. Nearly two weeks after new CEO Asha Sharma took the helm, she's announced the codename for Xbox's next console Project Helix and that it will play both Xbox and PC games. Oh the times they are a changing.

Officially announced on X, Sharma states, "Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games."

Posting alongside a photo is what appears to be a logo for Project Helix. It takes a helix shape, blending it with that of the Xbox logo. The iconography is pretty pleasing to look at and would make a great official logo if that were to happen.

Sharma will be discussing the new console at GDC with partners and studios. Whether or not the public gets to hear those remarks is unclear at this time. It doesn't even have a release date.

https://twitter.com/asha_shar/status/2029645713962156149

Things haven't been going all that well for Xbox as of late. With studio closures such as The Initiative and games like Perfect Dark and Everwild canceled, and the recent shift of Phil Spencer and Sara Bond leaving, the company is going through a phase.

Admittedly, it was a smart decision to announce the new console through Sharma. If Xbox wants to get back on track and regain trust with players, it's wise to start at the top. A new face could be a great start for the organization. It's too early to tell how things will shape but this announcement could be a step in the right direction.

Game: High on Life 2

Developer: Squanch Games

Publisher: Squanch Games

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation, PC, Steam

Completion Time: 10 Hours

Price: $59.99

Genre: First-Person Shooter, Comedy, Action, Adventure

Played on: Steam Deck OLED

The team at Squanch Games took what worked from the first game and elevated it all. Picking up after the events of High on Life, you are a bounty hunter who has seen and done it all. You’re rich, famous, and living the high life in space. Then it all comes crashing down when your sister is wanted by other bounty hunters. She may not want your help, nor does she need it, but you do what siblings do, arguing while fending off an assault from a fellow bounty hunter. Then things just really hit the fan.

After discovering Big Pharma is turning humans into drugs and armed with wise-cracking guns and an Australian knife, you, your sister, and a former bounty hunter go into hiding. Working in secret, you’re tasked with ending the threat against humans, as you are one, and go after the organization to stop production. While fending off bounty hunter attacks, meeting genuinely interesting characters, and witnessing absolutely outlandish scenes, you’ll fight your way using a plethora of weapons that speak.

As a first-person shooter, the combat feels quite good. It’s fast, zippy, and snappy, without feeling rushed or odd to aim. Each gun behaves differently and each has their own personality. Gus is a frog that sucks in enemies towards him, but can also blast enemies like a shotgun. He’ll also fire a giant flaming rock ahead of him, which is great for taking out larger more intimidating foes. Whereas Sweezy can slow down time with her time bubble ability and fire fast projectiles at oncoming foes.

The skateboarding aspect is just plain fun. You get it early on and it’s just a goofy addition to the game. It acts as your sprint but allows you to grind on rails, jump off of platforms, and kick your skateboard at enemies. It’s like throwing the Captain America shield at enemies. It’s entertaining.

I spent the majority of my time on Steam Deck OLED and it may not have been ideal, but it worked. For a game that doesn’t seem graphically heavy at first glance, it actually is. It is a chunk of a game to install. At 115 GB, it will take up a vast amount of space on your drive. I had to mess with the settings to get it to run properly without stuttering or screen tearing. My time on PC was fine as well, but I still needed to fuss with settings to get it to run better. If you want to go full handheld, you can, just drop it down to medium or lower and you’ll be alright. The same for PC. I also had it crash multiple times which was frustrating. I still can’t get it to work well on my PC as it just installs forever in Steam. As for consoles, I can’t say how it runs, but if it was built for a console, then it should run as you’d expect on your console of choice.

As for how it looks, it’s quite pleasing. It’s full of vibrant colors from the characters to the set design. I often found myself just watching the scene unfold as a giant monster ran through the city and people were screaming. I’m sure it looks better if I didn’t play it on lowered settings.

For a game that’s built upon jokes and cheesy one-liners, it does a good job at landing a few. It’s like watching one of the movies featured in the game. They’re fine for just putting on casually, but at the end of the day, are you going to choose to watch a low-budget comedy horror over one of your comfort films? The jokes and witty banter between characters is fine, but don’t match the wit of the first game all of the time.

It’s the voices that really shine in the game. J.B. Smoove nails it as Gus the gun. Characters will banter with one another throughout the game, offering you guidance on where to go and chiming in on what you should be doing. Its charm doesn’t wear off, but if you’re over the weapons talking to you, you can go into the settings and tune them to talk less.

Navigating the settings is easy and features plenty of things you’d find in other games. There’s even a fun boss fight that includes the settings as an arena. It’s just another wacky element of High on Life 2.

I can’t say if I’ll go back to play it again, but I will jump in now and then to explore the world. If you’re looking for a laugh or a FPS where you don’t need to worry about a K/D ratio, but would rather listen to chatty, wise-cracking guns, and explore a world with memorable characters, High on Life 2 is that game.

Pros:

• Frenetic Fun

• Weapons are fun and versatile

• Skateboard

Cons:

• Graphics weigh down gameplay

• Jokes don’t always rise to the occasion

• Short

We all have our favorite set of dice. Or perhaps you still use the first d20 you ever bought or were gifted. Dice are more than just a way to fight monsters or stealth by the sleeping dragon, they are tied to our characters. They hold moments of time locked inside of them. Siruis Dice capture the essence of the characters they portray. NPCs like Karlach and Halsin feature their own die you can roll at the table, but you have to find it first. That’s all the fun of opening a pack.

Siruis Dice offers many dice. From mini dice cups to jewelry and its latest addition the Treasure Pack for Baldur’s Gate 3. Inside each pack you’ll find an oversized d20, one embroidered dice bag, and a metal coin with a Baldur’s Gate theme. The outer wrapping can be torn open at the top to reveal the innards. Like opening a treasure chest in Dungeons & Dragons, you as the player don’t know what’s inside until your character flicks it open.

The goodies inside are a thrill to unpack. There are 40 d20s and 21 metal coins to collect. Each pack includes one of each. The dice and coin feature characters from Baldur’s Gate 3. For my pull I got Karlach, my favorite, and a teal d20 with a deer on it. Others include Halsin and a dice with a forest theme, a Minsc coin with Boo as the 20 on the die, and other familiar characters.

The 20s on each die feature a symbol tied to the character coin in the pack. It’s a nice touch to customize each die and makes for even more excitement when you roll a 20 at the table. However, some of the symbols can be difficult to tell at first glance. A successful Perception check may be required to really make out the figure.

The coins are large and have a good weight to them. They make for a great way to show who’s initiative it is in combat, use as currency trackers, or to display that specific character at your table.

The dice are stunning. Each coincides with the included character. They feel good to roll and with them being oversized stand out at the table or in a bag full of other dice. My first roll was a 13, so I was pretty thrilled about that. However, I am sure, just as with other dice, they will give and they will take away. That’s the fun of a tabletop game. The dice help guide and tell the story and failing can be just as good as succeeding.

At the end of a game, the embroidered bag is a great way to store the dice and the coin. They can hold a full set of dice as well. The bags come in nine colors and look great on a shelf or sitting by you at the table. They are soft and feelable which is great if you want something soft to hold while you’re waiting your turn in combat. Or you can use it to wipe away your tears if your character dies at the hands of a baddie.

They’re fun, exciting, and make for a great way to show off your favorites at the table. While a few symbols can be challenging to read, it was it’s own puzzle to try to figure out what each one was. If you’re a fan of Baldur’s Gate 3 and want to try to pull your favorite character, it’s thrilling to rip open the plastic pack, pull out the die, coin, and bag, and see who you pulled. With 40 dice options, there are plenty of chances to find someone you cherish. In five packs, I pulled five different characters.

Thanks to Sirius Dice for sending over a few Treasure Packs to unbox

*Mission Impossible theme plays* A parkour prodigy, a retired history professor, and a security systems expert gather around the image of a holographic artifact. Taken from Africa, now locked away in museum storage or on private collection only viewable to the wealthy. Their mission: retrieve it, escape in time, and return it to its home country. That’s the goal of Relooted. It’s a repatriation mission to find African artifacts throughout the world and bring them back to their country of origin.

Game: Relooted

Developer: Nyamakop

Publisher: Nyamakop

Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S

Completion Time: 15 – 20 Hours

Price: $14.99

Genre: Puzzle, Action-Adventure

Played on: Steam Deck OLED

Indiana Jones has a few famous lines, but the one that fits Relooted the most is “it belongs in a museum.” His remarks revolve around artifacts being on display for the public, not sold for profit or held in a private gallery for the rich or put in storage never to be seen again. I’m looking at you the Ark of the Covenant. That’s where the team in Relooted comes into play.

The game is an Africanfuturist parkour heist runner set in Africa. You play as Nomali, a parkour legend who is quick, agile, and nimble. She’s is tasked with collecting the artifacts, running through levels, and jumping into the getaway van just in time. She has help from the rest of her group, each with their own skills to aid in missions.

That mission is to find stolen or forcefully taken African artifacts and repatriate them to their country of origin. Many of the artifacts were on display at museums around the world, but are now being locked in storage. Others are kept in wealthy manors or apartments only to be viewed by the owner or their fancy friends.

Near the end of the 21st century, the political powers that be brokered a Transatlantic Returns Treaty, promising the repatriation of African artifacts from museums. Good old fashioned diplomacy was working — until it wasn’t. An amendment switched up the terms and conditions of which objects were to be returned. Museums, now knowing that only publicly displayed artifacts would be given back, were slowly removing artifacts from public display.

As the runner, Nomali books it through levels using swings and vaulting over or under obstacles to reach artifacts. It’s a thrilling way to move and feels great. It reminded me of a side scrolling Mirror’s Edge.

When a Plan Comes Together

Levels are fun and fast. Each is either a museum or fancy home where artifacts are either on display for private viewings or about to be locked away for good. You start by scouting the map looking for entry and exit points, artifacts, robot guards, and switches. You can use a drone, once you unlock it within the first few levels, to view the map as you’re in it. This allows you to better choose your routes to avoid danger and grab artifacts more quickly.

Each mission begins with a briefing. Your group hustles together around a table to go over the plan and discuss the artifact you’re after. You as Nomali can choose to learn more about the layout of the museum or building, the artifact, or where it came from. It’s a great way to add in the lore of each real world item before you attempt to take it back. As a history geek, I was checking in one ach artifact to uncover its origins and how and why each was created. If you’re a fan of archaeology, you can read about all the artifacts you gathered in the headquarters once you collect them.

Building the Band

When it comes to a heist, the group is made up of characters each with their own skill. Nomali’s brother Trevor is the locksmith, Koko, their grandmother, is a former professor with access to information about artifacts, and her student Etienne has access to museums. You’ll gain additional characters along the way building out your group. Each provides their specific talent but I won’t give away them here. They each are full of personality and using their abilities during missions adds for more creative ways to move around the maps. Each member shares their viewpoints about how a mission should be completed, where to go, and how to proceed. Their comments make for engaging interactions between and during heists as they share their thoughts on how and where Nomali is headed.

Each scene plays out like a heist movie, with similar vibes from Now You See Me and the Ocean’s movies. Missions can feature multiple artifacts but you only need to collect the main ones you’re after to complete it. You navigate levels by plotting out paths, opening doors, and placing your team in strategic spots to help Nomali get around. A locked door can be opened by Trevor, a robot guard can be hacked by the hacker, and a gap can be traversed using a zipline.

Once you grab an artifact, an alarm will go off. This places a timer on the screen, leaving Nomali a short window to grab the remaining artifacts and reach the exit. This ramps up the pacing and got my heart pounding as I rushed through corridors, climbed through vents, and vaulted over tables to reach the end.

Comms Check

The dialogue between characters is solid and played out like scenes from a heist film. They banter about missions, each other, and chime in during missions providing comedic quips. It’s their interactions that drive character development. Siblings Nomali and Trevor act like brother and sister with remarks towards one another poking fun or bringing up memories that better connect you with them.

The music of Relooted is an artifact worth grabbing along the way. “Umajola,” the game’s main theme, is powerful. The song captures the spirit of Africa’s culture and heritage, painting a beautiful picture of the world you’re about to dive into. The songs during missions are fast and upbeat, driving the parkour and feeling of making it out before being caught.

What Can go Wrong?

There were a few hiccups during my playthrough, one being the camera. It can be slow to follow Nomali if you change direction suddenly. It can also be jittery making for a dizzying experience. It took some getting used to as the point of the game is to be as fast as possible planning your escape. Though it didn’t happen all the time, the camera would hang in place after characters would remark on Nomali’s progress in the middle of a mission. Once the conversation ended, you gain control of Nomali again only for the camera to not follow her immediately. It would catch up after a second or so. While not game breaking, it was jarring. Graphical glitches happened but weren't common enough to be a bother. The screen would tear and flicker. At least on Steam Deck.

Relooted is a fast game both in how you get around the world and in how long it takes to complete. You can do the main story in about 15 hours. More challenging difficulties make the game harder by allowing less options for the placements of characters during certain situations.

It's a fun, fast, and thrilling heist runner that had me thinking how to best navigate the maps to pickup artifacts quickly and efficiently. It offers plenty of replayability by revisiting levels to try to do better than previous attempts. Developer Nyamakop blends likeable characters with real world lore that make Relooted a must try for any fan of archeology and history.

Thanks to Nyamakop for the code for Relooted.

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Avowed will go down as my game of the year for 2025. When I saw the first trailer in 2020, the scenery, setting, and world sold me within an instant. As it played, thoughts of Pillars of Eternity ran through my head. Whether or not the team at Obsidian Entertainment was hoping fans would connect the dots, the teaser had me excited for the game. Now, it appears that excitement will continue on with future games.

Avowed released in February of 2025 and it was a huge year for the team, having released Grounded 2, The Outer Worlds 2, and turn-based mode to Pillars of Eternity alongside the fantasy RPG. I had Game Pass at the time, so I created a character and explored Eora once again, this time from a third-person perspective. (Thank you Obsidian for having both first and third POV).

Pillars is a setting I am readily familiar with and being able to adventure through the world in a new viewpoint was exciting. Though, I had wished to play as a dwarf like I did in the previous two POE games. My wishes will be granted in an update for Avowed on February 17 when the game gets three new races, including Orlan, Aumaua, and Dwarf, three new weapons, and a whole lot of additional content.

New features are always a bonus to see in games, especially one like Avowed that wasn’t even meant to be a single-player game. Originally, it was pitched as “an ambitious cross between megahits The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Destiny that would allow players to battle monsters together in a massive fantasy world,” according to a Bloomberg Businessweek interview with Josh Sawyer, Obsidian’s studio design director. As exciting as that sounds, it combined a lot into one, making for difficult game design and implementation. A few years later, the multiplayer idea was scrapped leading to the single-player game of today. Lead by Game Director Carrie Patel, Avowed launched after being in development for nearly seven years.

While Obsidian Entertainment launched several sequels in 2025, it appears only one of those titles will be getting more entrees in the series. While the team isn't working on The Outer Worlds 3, according to the Bloomberg interview, and no mention of a new Grounded, it will be making more games set within the Avowed universe. Whether they are direct follow-ups to Avowed or a future Pillars of Eternity are yet to be known.

The numbers for both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 may reveal why one is getting more attention over the other. According to a Vice article citing a post on January 19 on X by Daniel Camilo. “According to the games industry consultant, The Outer Worlds 2 might not have even sold 1 million units yet. ‘Sales for The Outer Worlds 2 are poor. Presumably, less than 1M units almost 3 months after launch, across all platforms. In comparison, the first game sold approx 2M units during the same time.’”

Numbers for Avowed are a bit more difficult to track as the game was released on Game Pass. In another Bloomberg interview by Jason Schreier, he says leadership at Obsidian told him “the company said it is happy with sales so far.”

Those sales numbers aee likely to reach new heights when the game launches on PlayStation 5 on February 17. If Obsidian and Microsoft are happy about the numbers for Avowed, that's extra good news for another console release. In comparison, the Outer Worlds 2 is available for Xbox and PlayStation as well.

Whether a future game from Obsidian is Avowed 2 or Pillars of Eternity 3 is unclear. So far for 2026, the developer doesn't have any games scheduled to release. If it takes another six or so years for its next game, we may have to wait until 2030. Until then, I'll be playing Pillars of Eternity.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hQWf4ROuvFc?si=OdxdLRZkc0bD-G6f

Think about the last game you heard about. What was it? How did you hear about it? What made you want to play it?

Most of you probably answered in a similar manner. You saw it online either from a content creator, the developer, or digital media.

Please answer in the comments, share about the games you play.

What Game Was it?

An upcoming AAA, big budget backed hit the masses will play.

Or.

An indie title by a solo dev, small team, or new developer a few content creators play at first then the domino effect takes hold.

How Did You Hear About it?

More than likely, you said the internet. But more specifically, a streamer or creator you follow. Perhaps a podcast like MinnMax.

Fewer may say traditional media such as magazines including Game Informer, Debug, or Patch Magazine. Welcome back GI *waves*

What Made You Play it?

It may have been seeing someone play it online, the trailer, or reading Substacker blogs like over at Good Game Lobby, at Margot Plays, , and . (Is substacker a word?)

Traditional Media

Ask these questions about 20 to 30 years ago and the answer would be rather different. Subscriptions to magazines and print publications covering the latest and future games were popular. Just before the internet really caught on with websites devoted to gaming, Game Informer, Nintendo Power, and Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) were some of the few ways to consume gaming news.

In addition to print media, physical games were the standard. The only way to get a copy of a game you wanted was to put on proper clothes, head outside, and stand in line at Walmart, GameStop, or Best Buy. If you really wanted a game, you would chug a lot of Mountain Dew, get a sugar high, and wait in line outside the aforementioned stores to pick up a copy at midnight. Bonus points if you brought chairs, a table, a tv, and console to play games while waiting. *Pours Dew out for the good times*

Think back to the last time you went to a midnight release? Mine was November 22, 2013 with the release of the Xbox One.

With magazines, you would read about a game a few months or weeks before its release. Journalists or media members would prepare their stories in advance to publish them for readers to build hype. They would work with PR companies to attend media events, previews, and get games early to review them. The role of the PR agency was to raise awareness for games using print media as a way to get people to buy the games they were promoting. “It was all about generating this coverage so people could go visit Walmart, GameStop, or Best Buy,” says Sandbox Strategies co-founder Corey Wade in an interview with gameindustry.biz.

With physical media, it was difficult to judge analytics. Publications knew how many subscribers they had, but a PR company wasn’t able to track how many people actually went and purchased the game. “It was like, ‘Look at this article in this magazine, trust me, people are loving this’. But nobody could measure anything,” remarked Wade. Tracking how well a game was potentially doing came down to how many pre-orders it received.

Today, those concepts are fading away and are replaced with instant tracking, Steam Wish Lists, and views on YouTube, blogs, or Substacks.

Digital Media

While physical magazines continue circulation today, the gaming industry has shifted to being largely digital. If you want a game, you’ll buy a digital copy, or even a physical box with a digital download for whatever system you have. Nintendo has physical cartridges for Nintendo Switch 2, but many aren’t event the game, just a key you download online for the system using the cartridge as if it had the full game on it. There are still physical games available, but they are rare.

Learning about a game today is much quicker than it was in the days of print publications. Now, you’ll learn about a game as soon as a developer or PR company announces it via social media. It may take a few weeks or even days to see gameplay from it. Soon, you’ll see your favorite creator playing it, talking about it, or covering a press release.

The landscape has changed for not only how gamers learn about games, but PR agencies get the word out about them. With the rise of influencers and content creators, developers and PR teams could get the word out faster, but it was a new medium and that needed a new approach. “Working with traditional media, there were rules, right? There’s a code that journalists work by. There’s embargoes and there’s NDAs. And this was new to people who were just streaming from their bedroom. There were no rules,” said Valerie Norton president at Sandbox Strategies.

Content creators and streamers who are truly passionate about games can be a good thing for developers. They can offer devs and PR teams a wider and more diverse reach with larger audiences at a faster rate.

“We’re seeing the rise of blogs that are coming from people who were formerly in games [media] and who are now embarking into more independent journalism,” said Norton. It’s blogs like Substack, alongside digital media like YouTube where viewers are getting their news. Though, please do be careful from who you get your gaming, and news in general from. Always make sure it is a reliable and factual source. Fact checking is the responsibility of a true journalist and writer. There is a lot of false reporting on in the world, so please do tread lightly.

I’m a fan of both mediums. I remember getting Game Informer in the early days before the internet caught hold. I collected Nintendo Power magazines and read monthly about the latest and greatest games out and to be released. When GI relaunched last year, I subscribed as quickly as I could to the physical magazine and enjoy reading every page.

As technology has adapted, so has gaming and how we learn about games. From physical magazines to the age of the internet, we now learn about the latest thing within seconds. No matter how you consume gaming news, the one thing that has remained the same is they have stories worth being talked about.

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Citations

Packwood, L. (2025, November 26). Gaffe prevention, GameStop, and Big Game Hunter: Sandbox Strategies reflects on two decades in PR. GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gaffe-prevention-gamestop-and-big-game-hunter-sandbox-strategies-reflects-on-two-decades-in-pr

The rush of thousands of Arrows fly towards castle walls. Defenders rush to meet the attacking Charr force head on. The cling of metal striking armor and shields rings throughout the battlefield. The wind blows the wild red beaded hair of a human women just arriving into town. Ahead, Sir Tydus in his full heavy armor, shield, and sword beckons her forth to prepare for battle. Drawing her bow, she rushes out of Ascalon’s gates to learn the path of the ranger.

There I stood in the world of Guild Wars Reforged for the first time ever. A game that originally released in 2005, now with a brand new updated version 20 years later. Graphically, it looks about the same as the original. It’s dated, but it plays rather well. I’ve played many a game and if there is one thing that doesn’t bother my, it’s fidelity versus performance. I leave that to the first-person shooter fans. Give me that deep, rich, lore.

What Guild Wars is

If you’re looking for HD-quality that matches Guild Wars 2, you won’t find it here. What you will find is a lively world full of NPCs, henchmen, engaging quests, and a simple yet captivating game that works rather well in the year of 2026.

Starting out, you design your character and choose race and profession. I rolled a human ranger, because there is not a dwarf race available in Guild Wars. That’s fine, I’m not bitter, not at all. *Pours a mug of mead while cursing in dwarvish* And she is basically what my TTRPG character is.

Read about my TTRPG character

The game is listed as an MMORPG, but it doesn’t play like one. It feels more like a single player game similar to Dragon’s Dogma or Elder Scrolls Online with companions. There are instances where you will need a group to complete a quest, but you can instead choose to add henchmen to your team. They aren’t other players—though they can be—but characters with their own profession and identity you can add to your group and explore the world. If you’re someone like me who enjoys adventuring without having to group up, it’s a great option for going in alone with allies.

There are moments when a quest will ask you to choose henchmen for a quest, but it still doesn’t feel forced. As soon as you attack an enemy, they will do the same. Heck, they’ll even fight a monster if it gets too near to you. I really enjoy working with henchmen to complete quests. It’s nice to have a healer when you need one.

Still, there is nothing like exploring alone. Adventuring out in the open world, which are split up into different zones, is fun and rewarding. You’ll encounter other players in cities, but once you leave to adventure in the world, you’ll be on your own and won’t be around tons of other players. You can group up at your leisure, grab a few henchmen, or quest alone. However, it’s getting around those areas that can be problematic.

It’s modern counterpart, Guild Wars 2, focuses on players exploring the map via jumping puzzles to uncover vistas. Guild Wars Reforged has no jumping. This was a problem for me. One that I had to retrain my brain to figure out how to move about the world. Again, it is a dated game, so moving through the world is challenging as you’ll often run into invisible walls while maneuvering around zones. You may see a path that cuts around a tiny ledge and think “hey, I’ll just cut that corner and be on my merry way,” but no. Your character will walk up to the smallest drop and stop. You’ll have to go around, which may not be far, but it can be considered annoying. It did allow me to just explore more and that is one of the biggest charms of Guild Wars Reforged.

As you explore, you’ll encounter quests where you’ll level up your character and their profession. You get your base and a secondary pretty quickly in the main city. From there you can level up any skill from your chosen profession. As a ranger, I chose my secondary to be warrior, because I wanted a pet and giant hammer.

What the New Guild Wars Reforged Title Means

It isn’t a total graphics overhaul. It isn’t a new game. It isn’t a remake. It could be considered a remaster with HD skill icons, rendering improvements like new antialiasing options, ambient occlusion, enhanced bloom, more font size options for game text—which I used on Steam Deck because that screen is small— enhanced 3D environmental audio, and a new quest-tracker.

Launching alongside the game’s 20th anniversary, Guild Wars Reforged is Steam Deck verified. That’s where I mostly play the game, aside from when I captured footage on my actually PC. It runs great on Steam Deck and with the updated controller support options, feels right at home on the portable machine.

You get a lot for what you’ll pay for the game as well. Twenty bucks gets you the Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall campaigns. Plus, if you previously owned Guild Wars, this is a free update for all existing players. If you prefer using the ArenaNet launcher, that’s available outside of Steam, too.

What interested me the most about Guild Wars Reforged is the co-development between ArenaNet and 2weeks. The indie studio formed in 2024 from former ArenaNet staff returning to the franchise after a 15-year break. Members of the 2weeks team have more than 14 years of combined experience working on the original Guild Wars and have brought their expertise to the Reforged experience.

Is Guild War Reforged Worth it in 2026?

To the point: Yes.

It’s a modernized version of a game beloved by a massive fanbase. The official Guild Wars Reddit page is full of players excited about the update. Steamdb lists it as overwhelmingly positive with more than 2,000 reviews giving it an 85% score.

Is it a brand new game? No.

Is it a remaster of a classic. Not quite.

Guild Wars Reforged is a game update that came out of nowhere that has fans looking back to the early days of gaming. It feels good to play. It feels modern, yet has that classic feel of a game you boot up after a long day of work or class then get lost in for hours.

https://youtu.be/VOJTzMjvKyU?si=dH6M9RWAqCzjm8PC

ArenaNet has built a legacy upon just two games. Guild Wars Reforged may not change the game landscape, but what it does do is capture what it felt like to just play a game. No subscription fees. No loot boxes. No hidden agendas. Just build a character, explore a world with rich lore, and play.

*Thanks to ArenaNet for a Guild Wars Reforged code.*

I’m a big fan of fantasy. Fantasy games, books, shows, movies, it’s my favorite genre. What’s not to like? Dragons, magic, and quests full of wander and lore. My earliest memory of the first fantasy video game I played was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Then The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind taught me a game could transport you to another realm as anyone you could imagine.

Two years later in 2004, I was introduced to the world of MMORPGs when a game called World of Warcraft released. I rolled a night elf hunter and was hooked on what a fantasy game could be.

This year, the MMORPG world saw the release of Guild Wars Reforged, an update to the 2005 release of the first game in the series. Developer ArenaNet announced the surprise reveal out of the blue in late November with a release date on December 3. Another reveal was the partnering team who helped make it all possible, the indie studio 2weeks.

Created by Brandon Dillon and Richard Foge, former devs on the original Guild Wars. The team is also made up of members from ArenaNet, Double Fine, Oculus, Santa Monica Studios, and Undead Labs.

The press release says the update brought a lot of new graphical enhancements, updated audio, and an improved quest tracker. Look, it’s quite a lot to list here and a lot of it goes over my head. I just enjoy playing video games. If you’re a major geek for tech enhancements, take a look at what’s new here. (I do actually like tech stuff, it just takes up a paragraph of space here). It is available for $19.99 and is Steam Deck verified, and without a subscription fee, which is pretty nice.

In the olden days when the original released, I missed out on being one of the nine million players with over one billion hours played. It’s a game I feel I would thoroughly enjoy. I have, however, put in time in Guild Wars 2. I typed in /age in the Guild Wars 2 chat and it says I’ve played 34 hours and 34 minutes over the past 4.855 days. That puts my first play day at September 10, 2012, one month after the game released.

Playing what started the Guild Wars series and craze would be great to experience. Add to that that three novels and the newly released The Making of Guild Wars: Celebrating 25 Years of ArenaNet documentary, and I’m ready to dive deep into the lore of Guild Wars.

While the lore is vast, deep, and rich in Guild Wars, there is one world I do know rather well: The Elder Scrolls. I’ve played a few MMORPGs in my time, but the one I’ve spent the most hours in is by far Elder Scrolls Online. My log says I’ve spent 31.3 days exploring.

It’s the one game I always go back to. The one I boot up when I just want to chill and explore. I don’t even have to complete quests. It’s a game I can wander around and get lost in. I’ll probably go play it after this publishes. Unless, I get Guild Wars Reforged. Then I’ll play that. Or both, both is good.

“I envy the people who haven’t played it yet! You are in for a treat!” reads a comment on the Divinity: Original Sin 2 latest generation console release trailer. Hot off the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette presses announcement of Larian Studio’s next game Divinity, at The Game Awards, the award-winning 2017 RPG is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, & PlayStation 5.

In the game, you play as a band of four adventurers protecting the world from evil. You’ll fight krakens, undead, and occasionally hide in barrels to stealth around the battlefield. You can choose from up to five playable races: dwarf, elf, lizard, human, and undead. You can go it alone with the entire party or team up with three others in online multiplayer, or with couch co-op.

“In a world where the Gods are dead, you play a wielder of forbidden magic, quarantined in the prison colony of Fort Joy. The Magisters of the Divine Order want to “cure” you of your powers. But the Order has secrets of its own. Secrets that threaten everyone. If the world remains godless, chaos will rule.”

This version of Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the Definitive Edition at $49.99. It includes a longer storyline and enhanced gameplay and if you previously own a Switch, PS4, or Xbox One copy, you can upgrade completely for free to the latest edition.

I wrote all of this with two things in mind. The first was the soundtrack playing in my ears as I typed away at the keyboard. The second being how excited I am for this game.

I am one of those people who has never played a Divinity game. My first Larian title was Baldur’s Gate 3. I knew of the developer’s pedigree with the first Divinity and its sequel. Plus, I’m a huge fan of TTRPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons. With the second game in the series being available on modern consoles, I feel the itch to dive into the world of Rivellon.

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The Game Awards is a showcase of the best games of the year. With dozens of categories for best so and so, it's a great moment to stop and enjoy just how many amazing games and creators there are in the industry.

It's also a moment to appreciate music, with the best score and music category being one of the awards. A few years ago in 2022 we were blessed with a musician who became known as “flute guy”. Pedro Eustache. His over the top expressions and rocking out while performing a montage of game medley’s was and is captivatingly entertaining.

This year Pedro returned with the same energy, playing multiple instruments. Keep it up Pedro, your uplifting attitude lifts all of our moods.

Another performer you may have missed was a trumpet player with an instrument crafted for a Dungeons and Dragons Bard. Sitting in the brass section, a man performed on a transparent trumpet. Not one of gold or silver make, but a see-through trumpet that had me stop the showcase to investigate. Pause the video at 3:27:49 to see this marvelous piece of music instrumentation.

Jon Lewis belting away during the Game Awards final montage.

My background in journalism kicked into high-gear. I needed to know who this man was and why his trumpet was transparent. It didn’t take long to discover his name and origins.

According to Reddit user ematthews003, the trumpet player is Jon Lewis. “He plays principal in most of the major films scored in LA these days. He’s done thousands of films, including playing principal on all of the Star Wars films that have come out since 2015. He is also the principal in the Santa Barbara Symphony. Best of the best and a nice guy.”

Like a trumpeter practicing to reach a high note, I sought to learn more. As it turns out, you may have heard Jon Lewis if you're an avid movie watcher. His list of credits begins in 1991 with the fantastic film Hook. He performed tracks from Batman Forever, Jumanji, Space Jam, Blade, Titanic, and Mulan.

As for video games, The Game Awards isn't his first in the industry. His trumpet can be heard in Spider-Man 2, Lost Planet, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He returned to play in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Plus, Lewis appeared on the soundtrack for the Super Mario Bros Movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

As for the mysterious trumpet Mr. Lewis is playing. It may be the Professional Transparent Standard Plastic Bb Trumpet. Having not played a plastic trumpet professional, I dabbled with toy trumpets and actual trumpet long ago, I can't speak for its quality or cleanliness when it comes to spittle. All joking aside, the thing sounds beautiful and Lewis is a talented and gifted trumpet player.

It certainly looks fantastic though. Looking forward to more of your work in the future Mr. Lewis.

What did you think of The Game Awards? What is your soundtrack of the year? Favorite game soundtrack?

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But before that happens, I wanted to guess which six games I believe will be up for the Game of the Year award. That’s the biggest award of the entire show. The GOTY.

In no particular order.

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Developer: Sandfall Interactive

   

2. Donkey Kong Bananza | Developer: Nintendo EPD

   

3. Hollow Knight: Silksong | Developer: Team Cherry

   

4. Hades II | Developer: Super Giant Games

   

5. Split Fiction | Developer: Hazelight Studios

   

6. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II | Developer: Warhorse Studios

   

Honorable Mention

• Death Stranding 2

The Game Award nominations will be announced on November 17 at Noon ET / 9a PT / 5p GMT.

KinForge, great name for a game by the way, is being developed by indie studio Seeker Games, made up of veteran developers from major publishers including Blizzard Entertainment, Maxis, Riot Games, and Sony Online Entertainment. Blizzard did develop a creature battler system for World of Warcraft, so perhaps the devs that worked on that came over to this.

Back to those corporations. They’re corrupting nature having discovered the hidden Elementals powering the world and are ruthlessly exploiting them for profit. The gameplay will involve you choosing Elementals to fight back against the evil industries. By allying yourself with the ancient spirits, you’ll be granted unique abilities to see into the Mystic Realm. Together, you and each companion you form a bond with go on a quest to restore balance to the world.

Every Elemental you save will unlock new combinations of abilities and new moves to help you in battles. So, the option to have a fire Elemental team up with a lightning one can create some powerful combo moves.

Along with finding new companions, you’ll also be able to play solo or with friends in cooperative multiplayer. You and up to three others can explore the land, rescue lost Elementals, and fight back the spreading doom.

KinForge will release for PC first and is planned to come out for console releases in the future.

It is still in early development, and anyone interested in playing should keep an eye out on the official social media profiles to stay up on the latest news and to be the first to hear about future playtests. No official release date has been revealed.

You can check out the reveal trailer for KinForge below.

Website: https://playkinforge.com/home#creators

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4096150/KinForge/