Look, given the choice between buying storage and a shiny new game, we’re always more likely to go for the latter, but buying SSDs is getting much easier with prices dropping.
Team Cherry has finally reemerged with a release date for the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong. It’s coming out on September 4, 2025.
First announced in 2019, the release date for the long awaited sequel was finally shared more than six years after Silksong was announced.
Originally confirmed for just Nintendo Switch and PC, but eventually Xbox (and Game Pass) and later PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Team Cherry has been slowly ramping up the conversation around Silksong after going quiet for a long time.
A trailer officially re-revealed the game at the Xbox Bethesda Showcase in June 2022, at which point Xbox also confirmed the game would be available sometime within the next 12 months. Team Cherry didn’t say anything itself, however, leaving some speculation around its release date.
That is until now, of course, and fans don’t have too long to wait before the next tough as nails, side-scrolling action adventure game. Players will have a whole new kingdom to explore, 150 new beasties to defeat, and a new gameplay mode of crushing difficulty.
Developing…
With a particularly spooky reveal.
The Pokémon Company has revealed yet another new Mega Evolution that will make its debut in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and it’s Victreebel being put in the limelight this time.
This classic Grass / Poison Type has been a series mainstay throughout the generations, and its new Mega design looks particularly… sweet (heh).
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
It’s such a simple decision – in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, pressing the block button lets you deflect or parry attacks from any direction. Your character, Musashi Miyamoto, will seamlessly pull his katana into just the right position, sometimes readjusting for multiple strikes on the fly. It’s a single gameplay choice that says so much about this game, and offers so much to the player – built to dominate more than struggle. Plus, performing a no-look block just feels superb.
The long-awaited follow-up to Capcom’s grimdark feudal fantasy series sees you play as a master swordsman, who gains the abilities of the Oni gauntlet that’s attached itself to each of the series’ main characters, and is charged with taking down invading demons by any means necessary.
At first blush, you might expect this to be another entry in the burgeoning soulslike genre but, in a first hands-on, I discovered a game that, while not without challenge, was far more interested in making you feel good than making you get good. This is a consummate action game – one that constantly rewards you for experimenting with its systems, and feels almost incapable of looking bad, even in a non-expert player’s hands.
Much of this is down to animation. Every strike, dodge and, yes, no-look block, feels as though it’s reacting to the situation you’ve found yourself in, always looking natural. Fighting regular enemies rarely has the start-stop rhythm you might have come to expect – instead, you glide through these fights, dispatching demons, deflecting arrows (particularly delightful when you realise you can parry them back into the enemies around you), and finishing skirmishes with the series’ signature, instant-kill Issen attacks.
In these regular fights, offence is often the best defence – overwhelming smaller enemies with blows will deplete their stamina, opening up opportunities to unleash an Issen (with an appropriately over-the-top animation). Stronger enemies will force you to dodge a little more often (which can trigger a Bayonetta-like slow-mo), or parry more effectively, complete with gorgeous visual effects and generous stun windows.
The message is clear – you’re not playing as a character learning the ropes. This is already a master of their craft, and they act like it. For Musashi, these fights should feel simple – difficulty is more down to how you manage a crowd, than how you deal with the individual fighters in it.
But when the game pits me against a fellow Samurai, Sasaki Ganryu, it’s a swordfight worthy of the classic movies the developers have drawn from (even the main character’s likeness is based on legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune). You might expect the game to suddenly embrace that soulslike comparison here, but it resists – it’s not easy, but you get the impression that Capcom would prefer you to be able to choreograph your own film-like encounter, resisting the impulse to truly stop you in your tracks with a fight that needs to be learned, repeated, and mastered.
Healing items are limited by your inventory space, but relatively plentiful, ensuring you can top up in tricky spots. Pulling off an Issen against Ganryu gives you an in-built gamble – do massive damage, or earn more Souls (used as currency and more). And the game prioritizes speed over precision – both you and Ganryu will buzz around the arena, dodging, lunging, and clashing in showers of sparks. It’s absolutely thrilling, featuring some of the smoothest, best-looking combat I’ve seen from an action game this generation.
As a taster of what’s to come, it’s absolutely piqued my interest. This feels like a classic action game waiting to emerge.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword arrives for Xbox Series X|S in 2026.
CAPCOM CO., LTD.
Note: this content has not yet been age-rated. Age ratings information will be published at a later date.
The post Onimusha: Way of the Sword Is a Modern, Graceful Action Classic-in-Waiting appeared first on Xbox Wire.
We love summer music festivals, so here at Wargaming, our team at World of Tanks Modern Armor has made it a mission to bring you a hard-rockin’ annual music event that truly shakes the battlefield: Metal Fest.
New tanks, new 3D Commanders, new Challenges and events: they’re all part of what Metal Fest offers each summer. But this is our third year of the event, coming to you on PS4 and PS5 starting August 26. We knew we had to go bigger and louder than ever.
To borrow some lyrics you might know, we wanted the best—and we got the best.
This year, our featured act is none other than the legendary band Kiss! Not only that; we’ve got the actual voices of core members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in the game.
This is how it all shook out.
Ever since the band’s shows at The Daisy in March 1973, when they debuted the character designs they’d become known for, Kiss has been more than a group of skilled musicians. They’ve been icons and personas.
So even though Metal Fest 2025 features four new Kiss-inspired Premium tanks, we knew specifically that the 3D Commanders representing the four classic Kiss personas (The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman, and The Catman) had to be absolutely right and larger than life.
Fortunately, as World of Tanks’ senior producer JJ Bakken explains, the band was all in. “Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] were gracious enough to give us some of their time for the game, as they represent the highest profile characters in Kiss … Both Gene and Paul saw all our concepts as we created them for characters and tanks. [They] brought the idea to us to really lean into the fantastical elements of each character.”
Our art team worked to get those fantastical elements down, whether we’re talking the feline claws and nimble animations given to The Catman 3D Commander or the enormous pair of bat-like wings that Tanks’ art director Andy Dorizas suggested for The Demon 3D Commander.
But as any tanker knows, when it comes to our 3D Commanders, it’s not just about the look. Our players’ favorite Commanders speak with custom-written voiceover lines, so of course that’s the case for all four of our Kiss Commanders.
“Kiss themselves made the decision to have Paul and Gene featured as voices in the game,” says the game’s audio director, Brendan Blewett. “They were very particular in that the Kiss ‘characters’ are just that—characters, not real-life individuals. Each of them has traits and those are portrayed, in the instance of The Starchild and The Demon, by Paul and Gene.”
So what was it like, working with legendary musicians to bring the voices of their world-famous characters to our console battlefield?
“Working with Paul and Gene was an absolute blast,” says Blewett. “These guys are obviously seasoned studio vets and really made the sessions fun and engaging.”
He adds, “Gene lived up to his reputation as a master of trivia and kept us entertained between takes regaling us with stories from the road and factoids. Paul was absolutely a gracious, friendly individual and belted out an incredibly intense vocal performance and kept it going for the whole session. We even quipped that it was ‘like six months of shows in two hours.’ Impressive!”
As for the voiceover for The Starman and The Catman, tankers and Kiss fans should rest rock out assured that these Commanders have received the same attention to detail. According to Blewett, “We worked with Kiss to understand the character profiles of The Catman and The Spaceman and came up with casting guidelines from there. For instance, The Catman is a smaller guy, witty and agile, while The Spaceman is older and wiser. The word ‘sagacious’ was used in session to describe the personality of The Spaceman.”
If you think the Kiss 3D Commanders sound impressive (and yes, I’m biased, but they are), be sure to recruit them during Metal Fest, and pair them up with our four Premium Kiss tanks, also inspired and named after the characters: The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman, and The Catman.
Each of these tanks not only takes visual inspiration from Kiss; it also has abilities inspired by a specific band member’s persona. You’d better believe that The Demon is a tank that mounts a flamethrower!
All of this is in addition to the Challenges, special event battles, daily login rewards, and more that Metal Fest offers. Rock out while you can, and don’t miss any of it—Metal Fest takes place in World of Tanks Modern Armor from August 26 through September 15 on PS4 and PS5!
Pokémon has just announced an all new Mega Pokémon species set to debut in the upcoming Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 game Pokémon Legends Z-A.
In a video debuted today, fans got a first look at Mega Victreebell, a more bulbous version of the pitcher plant Pokémon.
This new spooky trailer sees the game’s heroes investigate a sweet smell in a creepy building after dark. After various jump scares (Espurr! A Clefairy doll!) we finally see the new Mega species.
Pokémon Legends Z-A features a long-awaited return to the Kalos region, home to the series’ popular Mega Evolution mechanic. A previous trailer announced Mega Dragonite, the franchise’s first new Mega Pokémon in over a decade.
While not confirmed, Legends Z-A expected to feature several dozen new Mega Pokémon designs, as well as familiar Mega Pokémon such as Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Absol, and Mega Charizard X.
As for the game’s main story, it involves the seemingly-spontaneous Mega Evolution of local wild Pokémon, dubbed Rogue Mega Pokémon. You’ll need to utilise your own Mega Pokémon to take them down, and you can also bring in help from one of your allies to battle alongside you.
“Overall, Legends: Z-A didn’t feel like a full action game to me,” IGN wrote in our first hands-on impressions of Pokémon Legends Z-A’s battle systems, “but kind of more like an MMO, with its casting times, cooldowns, and behind-the-scenes math happening. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I do hope Legends: Z-A gets challenging enough to make me more intentionally dish out commands and think about switching Pokémon at just the right moment.”
Pokémon Legends Z-A arrives for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on October 16.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Fans believe they’ve worked out the setting of Forza Horizon 6, based on a teasing social media post from a car import company connected to the game.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, vehicle import firm Cult and Classic shared an image purporting to show a Forza Horizon staff member digitally scanning a car made by Japanese manufacturer Kei for use in the series’ next game.
The post went on to state that the staff member had travelled to its premises in Australia to scan a series of Kei models, which are unusual to find outside of Japan. And it’s because of this (as well as the post’s subsequent removal) that fans now believe Japan is Forza Horizon 6’s setting.
“Exciting news!” the post read. “We have Cody here, from @forzahorizonofficial, shooting cars for the next installation in the series. As there are no late-model Kei cars in America, he has flown out from the states to use our cars as the basis for their digital versions.
“We are HUGE gamers here at Cult and Classic, and it is an honor to be supporting Forza and making Kei cards accessible virtually for people who can’t have them IRL.”
An Australian car importeur might have leaked Japan as the next ‘Forza Horizon’ setting.
Kei cars could imply that the next game is set in Japan.https://t.co/LKXk3tPlJA pic.twitter.com/uogacUBwOh
— Knoebel goes GamesCom (@Knoebelbroet) August 20, 2025
Japan has ranked highly among the most-requested locations for Forza Horizon 6, following previous series entries set in Australia, Mexico and the UK. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently confirmed that the next Forza game would arrive in 2026, and this is widely expected to be a new Forza Horizon game.
As for the original Forza Motorsport series, Microsoft’s most recent round of staff cuts in July heavily impacted developer Turn 10 Studios, with one former employee stating that the Forza Motorsport team was “no more”, though some staff remain to assist on Forza Horizon development.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Magic: The Gathering’s current set may have taken us to space, but that’s not to say the Final Fantasy set that debuted in June 2025 is gone.
In fact, the set will be standard legal for quite a while yet, but given its incredible popularity, some products are unlikely to see reprints.
Chief among them are Collector Boosters and Collector Editions of Commander Decks, which are sold out, but are selling at a mighty high markup on the secondary market right now.
Collector Boosters offer 15 cards, including 5–6 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 3 – 6 Uncommon, 3 – 5 Common, and 1 Full-Art Land card, with a total of 8 – 12 Traditional Foil cards and 0 – 3 cards with a special foil treatment.
The fact that chase cards are most commonly found in Collector Boosters has meant they sold out quickly soon after going up for preorder earlier in the yrar, and now command a high price on trusted resale sites like TCGPlayer.
While Play Boosters are likely to be reprinted regularly, Collector Booster packs are going for as much as $149.99 – for fifteen cards, where as booster displays are rocking up to $1400 right now as well.
Commander Decks will likely see reprints, and they’re already slipping below MSRP, but the Collector’s Editions are a “one and done” kind of deal.
It’s worth stressing that these don’t offer any additional cards you won’t find in the standard versions, but give every single card a foil treatment. The price for that privelege is $159.99 and up, with the Final Fantasy 7 deck closer to $500 (blimey).
Believe it or not, you don’t have to sell your house to buy Magic cards. There are a whole host of more affordable, but still awesome, cards you can find on the secondary market for a few dollars each.
Even some of the full-art, borderless cards are available if you know what to look for, and we’ve got a handy list.
The complete Final Fantasy precons bundle is now just $185 on Amazon, $95 off its original list price, and the best discount we’ve seen so far on the Commander Decks.
After weeks of being upwards of $70 each (with the exception of Final Fantasy 6’s Revival Trance, which has always hovered close to MSRP), you can now buy a bundle of all four decks for $200 (or $199.99, to be precise).
That’s less than $50 a deck, despite three out of four costing more than that when bought separately. In fact, Final Fantasy 7’s Limit Break is STILL $72.50 at Amazon.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Oi oi, where my Janeway fans at? Where my Parisians and my Torresians? Can I get a whoop, whoop for Chakotay? A high five for Seven of Nine? Daedalic have announced Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, a “story-based survival strategy game” adaptation of the loneliest of the classic Treks. Created by developers gameXcite, who I may yet forgive for capitalising their name that way, it asks you to “manage systems and crew, engage in diplomacy, navigate difficult moral decisions, and face the unknown”. It’s got a cutaway dollhouse spaceship and a HUD made up to resemble a Star Trek bridge display. Also, Ensign Harry Kim is here! He wants orders. Kim, your orders are to roll that trailer.
Take it to the max.
Gulikit has unveiled two new premium controllers at its booth in Gamescom, both of which will be fully compatible with the Switch and Switch 2.
Dubbed the TT PRO and TT MAX, the design is kind of a cross between the Xbox and PlayStation, utilising the former’s overall shape, yet shifting the left analogue stick to the bottom for a more symmetrical design. The controller was originally showcased last year as the ‘Libra MAX’, but Gulikit has since been hard at work finalising the design and specs.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
