The weekend is upon us and it’s full of quality video games. Cooperative games, versus games, farming games, and one Pokopia game. But before we share those, however, here are some of the biggest stories of the week.
- Big Walk Review – A Walk To Remember
- Grand Theft Auto VI Is Getting An ‘Extended Look’ On Netflix August 27
- Nintendo Reveals Digital Sales Up 90% Compared To Last Year, Switch 2 Units Top 23 Million, And More
- Beast of Reincarnation Review – Boring World, Beguiling Combat
- Electronic Arts Has Been Fully Acquired By Trio Of Investor Groups And Is Now Private
- How Capcom Reinvented And Updated Onimusha’s Combat In Way Of The Sword
- Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Director Motohide Eshiro On Onimusha: Way Of The Sword’s Resurrection Of The Series
It’s launch weekend for Tōkon, so players are finally digging into the full roster of Arc System Works’ new 4v4 fighter. Though the Steam reviews have been a bit troubling so far – much of the negativity stemming from Linux and anti-cheat issues – it’s been a pretty entertaining fighting game thus far. These are the best days to play a fighting game, after all, as everyone is logging on, running matches, and figuring the systems out. I’ve been getting a firmer handle on the tag mechanics and ways of sprinkling in assists and mix-ups, and think my team of Blade/Doom/Danger/Black Panther is solidifying. I’ll be interested to see how it fits in with the current crop of visible, high-level fighting games, but for a weekend of running sets with your pals, Tōkon is pretty solid. It’s fast, visually gorgeous, easy to pick up but with some solid depth, and the roster is fantastic; I love some of the dips into both fighting game history, with Deadpool’s arsenal of fighting game references, and the unique slice of Marvel’s broader gallery. Any game where I can play as a walking, talking version of the Danger Room is pretty sick.
Fields of Mistria finally exited early access this week, so if you, like me, have been waiting for a chance to check out this cozy life sim inspired by games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, now’s your chance. It’s a crowded genre, especially in the indie space, so it’s a big deal that the game amassed over 20,000 positive reviews on steam in early access and proceeded to sell a million copies just hours after launch. With farming, fishing, combat, decorating, magic abilities, and a village full of neighbors to meet (or marry), there’s no shortage of things to. It’s even got a 10% launch discount. It’s still a PC exclusive, though – here’s hoping they’ve got a Switch 2 version in the works.
Games inspired by Dark Souls, colloquially referred as Soulslikes, are plentiful, but only a few have risen to the heights of From Software’s landmark design acumen. Lies of P, the gothic retelling of the 1883 novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is among that group. It’s a great game with an arguably bad name, and as of yesterday, it is available on Switch 2. I didn’t dive super deep into my replay of Lies of P on Switch 2, but as has been the case with many Switch 2 ports… it’s solid! It looks good and plays well. I originally played the game on Steam Deck, but it looks and feels better on Nintendo’s handheld. In the future if I have a hankering to beat up some robots as a young Victorian boy in a gothic setting, this is the version I will be reaching for.
Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, with a free trial up through the award-winning Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers expansions? Sign-up memes aside, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the biggest MMOs in the world, and for good reason. With XIV arriving on Switch 2 this week, that’s a good excuse for anyone still holding out to finally jump in. In my personal opinion, you should; some loading issues aside, reports are in that the Switch 2 version seems to be handling the computing load well. Plus, the trial running up through Shadowbringers means you can experience some of the best RPG storytelling in the last decade. My personal sprint from A Realm Reborn through to Endwalker is still among my favorite gaming experiences, ever, and I’m almost tempted to roll a new character on the Switch 2.
It’s worth noting that for existing players that want to have a portable version of Final Fantasy XIV, you will annoyingly need to pay for a second subscription to play on Switch 2. If you’re a Switch 2 owner looking for a long game to play, though, and no shortage of things to do in it, Final Fantasy XIV is waiting for you.
Insomniac’s Marvels’ Spider-Man 2 released in 2023, but it remains a good game. You can read our review right here where we gave it a 9.5/10. Since its release it has been getting tweaked and improved and new suits have been added, but the game has been fairly quiet over the last year. Recently, however, two new suits have been added to the game. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day suit from the what is inexplicably, apparently the most successful movie ever is now in the game.
Another fun nod to recent Spider-Man media, the wall crawler’s suit from Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has also been added. As an added bonus alongside the suits, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 now also supports Enhanced PSSR on PS5 Pro and a Power Saver mode. It’s all basically a bunch of solid excuses to boot up a great game after watching the new movie.
Visit a distant and mysterious jungle, send out workers to find gems and other valuables, and discover the secrets of an ancient civilization – all with the help of anthropomorphic animal friends. Since the 2018 release of Everdell, we’ve seen several new installments that expand the excellent board game franchise in new directions. The newest installment, Emerland, sees the worker placement and tableau-building experience shift over into a jungle setting (including some fascinating ruins to explore), but it maintains much of what has made the series so attractive over the years.
Chief among those great traits is the vibrant and beautiful art, as well as the gorgeous table presence, which includes 3D elements on the board that elevate things both figuratively and literally. Several new mechanics make Emerland slightly more complex than earlier installments, but nothing that should scare off players with even a modest understanding of core board game concepts. And lest the word “series” scare you off: Be assured, Emerland is entirely standalone, and serves as a perfectly acceptable first game in the franchise to explore. Emerland is hitting wide release right now; if you’re lucky, copies should start showing up at your favorite hobby store already.